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Archived News:
Eidos Interactive announces that Imperial Glory has invaded North American
stores as of today: Today the ships set sail and the march is on for
Imperial Glory for Windows PC as it ships to stores across North America. In
honor of this glorious day, Eidos announces a new official trailer and official
website update! Imperial Glory transports you into the Napoleonic era of the
early 19th Century where you will take control of one of the 5 greatest empires
of the time- Russia, Great Britain, Austria, France or Prussia. Using your array
of strategic talents, your diplomatic relations, and military mind, you have the
power to become the strongest economic, political, and militaristic empire in
the word! Command your troops in epic real-time land and naval battles! Use the
management map system to deploy resources and negotiate with other countries.
And even enjoy optional Quests if you are feeling adventurous!
The job of a leader is not easy. It will take a lot of brilliant planning and
strategic strikes on many fronts. It’s time to show the world the strength of
your empire. And with up to 4 players online, this will be one incredible battle
for global control. Imperial Glory for Windows PC ships to store today, May
17th, 2005.
The full City of Villains Website
is now online in place of the teaser site that was holding its place. The site
includes news on their E3 plans, a gallery, game details, info on getting into
the beta test, and more. Also, the
Panzer Elite Action Website
has likewise been upgraded to a full Flash website from a teaser, and offers
new shots in the
gallery. Finally, the official
Petroglyph Website has re-launched, accompanied by
a new product page
for Star Wars Empire at War, their upcoming Star Wars RTS game. Thanks
Frans.
- Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising
The Gods and Heroes: Rome
Rising E3 movie is now available to give a look at Perpetual Entertainment's
upcoming MMORPG. The whopping 368 MB download is available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
FilePlanet (registration required), and there is also a smaller version on
3D Gamers and
FilePlanet (registration required).
- Tomb Raider Legend
There's a second Tomb Raider
Legend Movie on the
Eidos Interactive Website (registration required) showing off more of the upcoming return
of Lara Croft in the works at Crystal Dynamics. The download is mirrored on
and 3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell,
Tomb
Raider Chronicles (thanks Tiscali Games)
- Just Cause
The Just Cause movie from earlier today is
mirrored on 3D
Gamers and
FileFront in case you are looking for faster mirrors.
New Brothers in
Arms Named on IGN has a tidbit from the E3 expo, where in advance of the
show they spied (and photographed) a banner by the Ubisoft booth emblazoned with
the unrevealed title Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood.
- Civilization IV
There's a
Civilization IV Q&A
on IGN that talks with Firaxis' Barry Caudill about the upcoming turn-based
strategy sequel: "As with Sid Meier's Pirates!, we are using the Gamebryo
engine and that allows us to really open up the visuals in Civilization 4.
One of our main goals was to really bring the world to life. So you will see
rivers flowing, resources like horses, cattle, or elephants animating, and
different animations when those resources are being "worked", etc. In
addition, unit movement and combat will be much more interesting and
exciting than ever before. We are also shooting for a WYSIWYG approach where
you will know what city a wonder is in because you can see it in the world,
along with many other aspects previously relegated to menus and screens."
- Sims 2
The
Sims 2 Nightlife Q&A on GameSpot talks with producer Tim LeTourneau
about the addition of vehicles to the people sim in the upcoming expansion:
"Well these are Sims cars obviously. I don't want anyone to think we've made
The Sims 2: Need for Speed, though wouldn't that be cool (imagine Mortimer
Goth as a high-speed racer through SimCity!). The cars really provide a time
convenience, and saving time is what Sims players are always trying to do.
Sims don't have to worry about missing the carpool anymore, and they don't
have to wait for a cab either. But the real power of cars is in storytelling
by the player. They are such an important part of our own daily existence;
they make the sims seem even more like us, which is always a design goal.
The more that players can relate to the world of the Sims, the more we have
done our job right."
The Society Preview on
GameSpy unveils a new persistent online strategy game in the works at
Stardock with the unusual twist of being free. Here's a bit: The free
version of Society will be available to anybody who wishes to download it.
Setting up an account, joining an "Empire" (Society's version of guilds), and
playing through the basic game will all be completely free of charge. There will
also be a premium version of the game that comes with a $9.95 per month service.
Wardell was quick to emphasize, though, that the premium version is just that --
a premium. There will be no effective gameplay difference between somebody
playing the free and somebody playing premium -- in other words, no special
items, powers, or weapons will be available only to fee-paying players. The
major difference between the free and pay versions of the game will be the
customized artwork available for their cities and the ability to declare certain
provinces untouchable.
ATI Technologies has posted new version 5.5
CATALYST software package that includes an updated Microsoft Certified WHQL
CATALYST driver for Windows XP and Windows 2000, an updated CATALYST CONTROL
CENTER for Windows XP and Windows 2000, an updated Microsoft Certified (WHQL)
driver for Windows XP x64 Edition, an updated CATALYST Multimedia Center
software package, and an updated Linux driver.
This press release (thanks Frans) unveils plans for The Mighty Eighth-A
WarBirds Series Combat Simulation, the next World War II multiplayer flight
simulator from iEntertainment Network ( Warbirds),
expected for release in 2007 for PC, Mac, and possibly consoles. Here's a bit:
CARY, N.C.—May 17, 2005 -- iEntertainment Network, (BB:IENT.pk), the
award-winning developer of the World Famous WarBirds TotalSims Combat Series,
announced that "The Mighty Eighth-A WarBirds Series Combat Simulation," will be
released to retail stores in March 2007! IENT believes this new combat flying
simulation about the Air War over Europe during World War II is likely to win
accolades as ‘The Best Flight Simulation of the Year, 2007!"
"The Mighty Eighth" will include 1) brand new Total European Continent,
Satellite Data Derived, Detailed Flight Terrains, 2) brand new communications
abilities between players and artificial intelligence controlled vehicles and
with other live human players in the game, 3) stunningly detailed vehicle
models, 4) great atmospheric, weather, lighting, and storm special effects, and
5) the "Total Immersion" game system to put the player back in time to England,
1942, by allowing the players actions to affect the outcome of all major
battles!
2K Games has opened their product pages for
Prey, Human Head's
upcoming DOOM 3-engine shooter;
Sid Meier's Civilization IV,
Firaxis' upcoming strategy sequel; and
Snow, Frog City's
upcoming drug lord sim. There's not much on any of the sites yet, but expect
screenshots for all these games to appear all over tomorrow when an embargo
lifts. Thanks Frans.
Atari's 'Driver'
Franchise Set to Break New Ground In 2006 (thanks Frans) is the press
release announcing plans for a return of Tanner the wheelman in another Driver
game from Reflections Interactive, due on PC, Xbox, and PS2 next year. No title
(can I be the first to suggest drIVer?) or other details are offered for the
game, but word is it will be more like Driver than DRIV3R, and for the first
time the series will offer multiplayer support: "Backed by a distinct
driving dynamic that gave rise to a completely new sub-category within the
driving genre, and with millions of fans worldwide, it is no surprise that the
Driver franchise is often called the 'father of action driving games'," said
Marc Metis, senior vice president of Marketing. "With our next Driver game, we
are concentrating on those qualities that defined the franchise and established
it as a perennial best-seller."
Without yet revealing details, the brand will return to its game play roots with
a highly sophisticated, adrenaline-pumping car chase AI and unprecedented
vehicle dynamics and physics. The new game is set in a photorealistic
interpretation of New York City, features a seamless open mission structure
integrated around a central storyline, and will be one of the first games of the
genre to incorporate online play for console versions.
Eidos officially announces Just Cause, the upcoming action game from Avalanche
Studios first unveiled last October ( story). The
Just Cause Website is online in
conjunction with the announcement, offering a dozen new screenshots and a
technology trailer showing off the game in a couple of different resolutions.
Here's the announcement: Eidos Has Just Cause To Start A Revolution
Eidos, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment
software, announces first details on Just CauseTM. Developed by Avalanche
Studios, Sweden, Just Cause will be released on PlayStation 2, Xbox & PC.
In Just Cause, you take on the role of the flamboyant Rico Rodriguez - an
undercover CIA operative specialising in regime change - as he tries to
overthrow the corrupt government of San Esperito. This rogue South American
island is suspected of stockpiling WMDs and it's your job to negate the threat
to world peace. It could be to your advantage that this tropical paradise is
about to implode as various factions vie for power - it just needs a gentle
nudge in the right direction.
Just Cause offers the freedom to tackle your assignment however you want: play
the island's factions off against one another; incite a rebellion among the
masses; or build alliances with rebel forces and drug cartels. The incredibly
detailed game world consists of 1,225 sq. miles of mountains, jungles, beaches,
cities and villages which can be explored by land, sea and air. And you will
have at your disposal one of the most varied and exciting array of vehicles,
planes and watercraft ever seen in a video game.
Christofer Sundberg, director at Avalanche Studios says: "Our overall vision for
Just Cause is to create a realistic game world where players can unleash their
creativity in order to bring down a regime using any means possible. We want to
provide the player with close to endless opportunities to play missions, explore
the world and perform stunts using land, sea and air transport."
As noted in this press
release, a demo version of Delta Force: Xtreme is now available, offering
the chance to sample NovaLogic's new game based on the original Delta Force. The
de-voxeled demo is a 290 MB download, available on
this pop-up page
on the NovaLogic
Website. Warning! The first link on that page is to a corrupted file,
while the second one is a link to the working version. The wrong/broken version
has been widely mirrored, so take care not to get this from anywhere it is
listed as a 201 MB file. A working mirror can be found on
3D Gamers and
Gameguru Mania.
Midway & Epic Games
Announce Unreal Tournament 2007 is the official announcement of the upcoming
shooter sequel that was already known to be in production at Epic Games. Here's
the deal on the game, which is due next year, rather than it's namesake 2007:
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2005-- Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY -
News), a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software,
today announced that the latest entry into the Unreal franchise, Unreal
Tournament® 2007, is now in development. Like its predecessors, Unreal
Tournament 2007, is being developed by North Carolina-based, Epic Games Inc. The
game will be shown for the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)
in Los Angeles, May 18 - 20, in Midway's booth located at Petree Hall, room
4001.
Source: Midway Games Inc.
"Unreal Tournament 2007 is the newest addition to one of, if not the greatest
multiplayer PC franchises ever created," said Steve Allison, chief marketing
officer, Midway. "UT2007 will be a major evolution for the Unreal series. Fans
will be blown away by the next generation gameplay, modifiability and visuals
that Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology will bring to the franchise. Without
question this will be the most visually stunning and in-depth Unreal Tournament
game to-date."
"We feel confident that Unreal Tournament 2007 will deliver on Epic's promise to
gamers to develop only the highest quality and most innovative titles using our
cutting-edge Unreal Engine 3 technology," said Mark Rein, vice president and
co-founder, Epic Games. "Unreal fans should rest assured that UT2007 will indeed
raise the bar for not only the UT franchise but for all FPS titles, PC or
console."
The latest entry into the Unreal franchise, Unreal Tournament 2007, will blow
fans away with the gameplay, modifiability and visuals that Epic's Unreal®
Engine 3 technology will deliver. Unreal Tournament 2007 is scheduled for
release in 2006 for the PC.
The Larian Studios Website
announces that they have been at work on the game engine for their next
generation role-playing game. The update is accompanied by
some new screenshots from the
project, one of which shows off a road sign for Verdistis, one of the towns in
Divine Divinity, hinting that this might just be the next installment in the
Divinity series. Thanks TheMysterD.
- Quake 4
A Quake 4 E3 movie is now available, showing off
Raven's upcoming DOOM 3-engine follow-up to id's Quake II. The 52 MB
download can be found on
3D Gamers,
BoomTown,
FileFront,
Filerush
(torrent), Gameguru Mania,
and Gamer's Hell.
- The Matrix: Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo E3 movie
is online with a look at Shiny's upcoming third-person action game inspired
by the Matrix trilogy. The clip is available in two resolutions on
Atari Australia
and one or both versions are mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
Filerush
(torrent), Gameguru Mania,
and Worthplaying.
- PoP3
The E3 movie for Prince of Persia 3 is also now
online, offering 90 seconds of cinematics from the acrobatic prince's
upcoming sequel. You can find the 25 MB trailer on
Ubisoft's FTP server
(direct link) or mirrored on
3D Gamers,
Computer Games Romania,
FileFront,
Filerush (torrent), and
Gamer's Hell.
- The Movies
A new The Movies movie is now available,
showing off Lionhead's upcoming cinema simulation. The clip is available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying.
- Quake 4
The
Quake 4 Q&A on IGN
talks with id Software's Tim Willits about the upcoming Quake II sequel in
the works at Raven Software: "One of our main game objectives was to
leverage the Doom III landscape with a lots of different things. The thing
is, if you look at the Xbox 360 titles, the great thing about it is Quake IV
has so much depth and content. It will have so much more stuff in it. You
know, buddy stuff, vehicles you can ride in, outdoor stuff, classic
first-person shooter tactics, Strogg enemies, a great in-depth story, you'll
use and work with your squad and you'll experience their personalities. The
whole game is deeper all around. Quake IV is not just a straight shooter,
it's not just a game where you blow stuff up."
- Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End
RPG
Vault's Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End Q&A chats with Headfirst's Simon
Woodroffe about their just-announced survival horror game: "Lovecraft is one
of the most recognized horror novelists in the world and has inspired many
writers to this day, including the best-selling novelist, Stephen King. The
game will take the players on a voyage between health and insanity, through
the mysterious streets of the abandoned fishing town of Innsmouth. With the
possibility to play two characters, the brutal Jacob Armitage or the tender
and smart Emily Carter, the game will pit the players against the fearsome
creatures haunting the vicinities."
- Serious Games
Gamecloud's
Ben sawyer Q&A talks briefly about the Serious Games Initiative that
will be shown off at E3.
- Silicon Knights
Gamecloud's
Silicon Knights-Unreal Engine Q&A is a quick conversation about their
recent Unreal 3 engine licensing deal.
- Irrational Games
The
Irrational Games Q&A on Gamecloud talks with Ken Levine if Irrational
Games about their future plans.
- Universal Combat: A World Apart
The
Universal Combat: A World Apart Q&A on Gamecloud is another short Q&A on
this new site talking with Derek Smart about the upcoming U.C.
sequel/add-on.
"Staten Island, NY, May 17th, 2005 - Matrix Games ( www.matrixgames.com)
and Strategic Studies Group (SSG) ( www.ssg.com.au)
are very pleased to announce that the next game in the Decisive Battles Series,
Battles in Italy, has gone gold and is anticipated to be available to the public
in late May via the Matrix Games Online Store. Battles in Italy brings the
award-winning series to three pivotal battles: Sicily (Operation Husky), Salerno
(Operation Avalanche), and the unfortunate Operation Shingle, the invasion at
Anzio."
RPG Vault's World
of Warcraft Tips #24 discusses the pros and cons of the Troll class as well
as tips on improving group play.
Relicnews
has details on the release of an updated version 1.10 toolkit for Warhammer
40,000: Dawn of War. Word is "Updates the mod tools for compatibility with
version 1.3 of the game, and contains revised tools and a utility to assist
modders in the conversion from 1.2 to 1.3 data. Documentation included."
Downloads are available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, and FileShack
(registration required).
The fence guys are here today finishing off the repairs to our backyard,
returning our little doggie penitentiary to maximum security status. This could
not be more timely, as we discovered over the weekend that intrepid little
Gunnar had found a spot to squirm out conveniently hidden by our
garage. He was ratted out by our neighbors, and when they explained what he was
doing, it became clear why on occasions when called it would take an unusually
long time to appear from that area. The troubling aspect of all this is that he
is not yet fixed (A.K.A. broken), so his being able to leave according to his
whims was terribly irresponsible, and it's not out of the question that a
neighbor will show up at our door one day asking if we know anything about some
half-poodle pups their pet has mysteriously produced.
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