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Tuesday, Oct 04, 2005

  

Return to Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Xbox 360 Launch Lineup Announced is one of the announcements from the X05 extravaganza about the next-generation console system. One of the titles it contains is an Xbox 360 Castle Wolfenstein game. There are no indications of plans for a PC version (not that there necessarily would be in such a press release), but Raven Working on the Next Wolfenstein on Shacknews reveals the developer of the project and the fact that it will utilize "a sort of extension of the MegaTexture tech used by ET: Quake Wars," suggesting a PC version may indeed be in the works, though "the Xbox 360 is the primary development platform." They go on to say: "Basically, expect Wolfenstein to have one huge game world. No more loading individual levels." Here's the blurb on the game from the PR:

id Software's newest chapter in the legendary "Wolfenstein" series will deliver players deep behind the enemy lines of a war-torn Germany, where Nazi experiments with technology and the supernatural threaten to turn the tide of World War II. Utilizing a revolutionary new graphics technology targeted specifically at next-generation hardware, this new "Wolfenstein" experience will draw players into a world of unmatched exploration, action and espionage.

Ships Ahoy - Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood

Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood Video Game Deploys for Xbox and PC (thanks Frans) is the press release announcing that Gearbox Software's World War II shooter sequel is heading into stores for the PC and Xbox, with the PS2 edition to follow later in the month. Here's a bit:

Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers and Gearbox Software, one of the world's leading development studios, announced that Brothers In Arms Earned In Blood(TM) has shipped to retail stores for the Xbox® video game system and the PC. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is projected to ship to retail stores later this month. Brothers In Arms Earned in Blood is the second episode in the successful Brothers In Arms franchise. Known for its unprecedented combination of authenticity, compelling story and squad-based action, the Brothers In Arms franchise established itself as a benchmark for military action games quickly after its initial release in March 2005. Brothers In Arms Earned In Blood has an ESRB rating of "M" for Mature and an MSRP of $49.99.

Hell Tycoon Announced

Anarchy Enterprises announces Hell Tycoon, an unusual, if not a trifle ironic take on the mogul game genre, due for release on June 6, 2006, or 6/6/6. Here's word:

Anarchy Enterprise's has confirmed "Hell Tycoon" -kept secret- deep down in the dark guts of their game vault for some time now. "It's just time to set our demons free," said Bill Wallace. "It started off as a joke. You know, what will they come up with next - Hell Tycoon? Then one of the artists made some kind of hell-spawned creation and stuck it into one of our other tycoon games. It was running around breathing fire on all the happy little tycoon village people, and we all had a laugh. Next week someone else took it a step further and there was a lake of fire, and we had another laugh. This goofing around went on for a few months - until one day we were looking at each other and saying, hey - this isn't a joke anymore - this is freakin' awesome!"

While specific details are still shrouded in mystery, at least the following is certain: You are in charge of tormenting damned souls on all 9 circles of Hell. The souls (bad little sims) are running around trying to repent for their sins on the chance they might make it to Heaven, but you've got to make sure that doesn't happen. No - they need to be punished... in the lake of fire... for eternity! (insert diabolical laughter here) Your job is to see to it they get a good and fitting eternal damnation for their earth-bound evil-doings.

As in any tycoon game, you expect a nice variety of buildings. In Hell Tycoon, buildings are torture devices, plain and simple. And who better to subject to a generous helpings of depraved and merciless horrors, than a cast of villains including Lawyers, Terrorists and Nazis. (Who could get tired of torturing Nazis?) In the end, success is measured by distributing pain and grinding the damned into an eternity of terror. Said Bill Wallace, "Nobody goes to Heaven on my watch!"

Hell Tycoon is slated for release on June 6, 2006.
For more information visit: www.anarchyent.com

Ships Ahoy - Diplomacy

Diplomacy arrives in stores on GameSpot announces that the latest PC edition of the classic board game is arriving in North American Stores. Here's word on Paradox Interactive's adaptation:

The game features single-player and online and LAN multiplayer modes, a graphical negotiation language that makes the act of diplomacy the same whether you're dealing with other players or artifical intelligence, an in-depth tutorial, and online ranking ladders, tournaments, and matchmaking services.

Space Hack Trial

A demo/trial version is now available of Space Hack, Rebelmind's hack-and-slash science fiction RPG. The trial version allows 60 minutes of gameplay before unlimited play must be unlocked via a key purchased online. The download is 252 MB. available on FileFront and Trygames.

Psychonauts Patch

The Psychonauts Downloads Page now offers a new patch for Psychonauts (thanks Frans), updating Double Fine Productions' psychic romp to version 1.04. The change log on the Majesco Games Forums outlines what's new.

Evening Q&As

  • Guild Wars
    The Guild Wars Extended Computer Gaming World Post-Mortem on 1UP.com (thanks Guild Wars Slovenija) is a Q&A with ArenaNet's Gaile Gray about how their MMORPG is doing on its six-month anniversary: "Offering 450 skills is bound to cause a lot of concerns about balance and fair play. Players have seen the 'überbuild' in enough games to be somewhat wary of elaborate progression systems. But balance has been our first and main focus from day one, and it continues to remain our primary objective even now. We've been able to stream modest changes, and we've held major events such as our PVP Extreme Weekend (PVPX) in late August to verify necessary changes."
  • Starship Troopers
    RPG Vault's Starship Troopers Q&A discusses Strangelite's upcoming game based on the Heinlein-inspired sci-fi movie. Want to know more? "Our storyline is original, but some of the missions are based on episodes from the film - notably Whiskey Outpost and the first battle scene (the night battle Klendathu Drop). We want the fan of the film to immediately feel at home in the game - so the troopers, the weapons, dropships - and even some of the classic film lines - should be instantly recognizable. For those unfamiliar with the film, we aim to present them with a coherent storyline that sweeps them along and into the game."
  • The Matrix: Path of Neo
    There's a The Matrix: Path of Neo Q&A on Computer and Video Games (thanks Frans) talking with Shiny's Dave Perry about their upcoming Matrix game: "The twist to the Path of Neo is that while you are indeed Neo, you don't have to get captured or lose a fight when Keanu Reeves did in the movie. A great thing about working with the [movie] directors is that they happily added a lot of new content. I would guess that 50% of Path of Neo is all new content... New places, new characters, new situations. One level even has five new Animatrix style episodes in it! Another major feature is the new fighting system, it allows you to blend together multiple fighting systems (like guns, swords, sticks, poles, acrobatics, special powers, bullet time etc.)."
  • GT Legends
    The GT Legends Q&A on TotalVideoGames talks with Rod Chong, producer on the old school racing sim: "It was reasonably straight forward researching the cars. We went to several FIA GTC-TC races and photographed all the cars and worked closely with the drivers, owners and mechanics of these amazing machines. Everyone involved was quite helpful. The FIA organization also gave us access to the FIA Homologation booklets for some of the cars."
  • Spend the Night
    Erotic MMO Targets Female Audience on Next Generation (thanks Frans) is a Q&A with Republik's Robert Coshland discussing Spend the Night, their upcoming hot-to-trot MMORPG being developed for an adult audience.

The Late Show

A new GUN movie is online, offering a look at the "Towns of the West" in Beenox's upcoming violent horse opera. The clip is available on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying. Also, a new Warhammer: Mark of Chaos movie is the high resolution version of the Flash clip from Black Hole's upcoming RTS game, available on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gameguru Mania, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying. Finally, a new Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones diary movie #3 features a few of the folks at Ubisoft discussing the upcoming return of the acrobatic prince. One or both of two different sizes are available on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, GameSpot, and Worthplaying.

Evening Previews

Evening Tech Bits

Evening Consolidation

Evening Mobilization

Evening Metaverse

etc., etc.

Into the Black

Wow, yesterday a Corporal, and today a Gunnery Sergeant. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman would have been so proud. Well, maybe not... I'm sort of the Private Joker type.

R.I.P.: Actor Nipsey Russell dies at 80 (thanks Richard) and Paul Pena -- star of 1999 documentary 'Genghis Blues' (thanks Mike Martinez).

Promoted Links! Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Link: Fatal1ty Easy Bake Oven.
Story: Odyssey over as sleuth 'finds Homer's island'. Thanks Warren.
Science: This Laser Trick's a Quantum Leap.
High-Tech Homes Debut in Utah.
Mars Balloon Could Offer Supersharp, Superfast Surveys.
Auction: Britney Spears Charity Jewel Encrusted Bra. Thanks Stormbringer.
EBay 'Hippie Vacation' Auction Spawns Cult Following.
Follow-up: Official Offers Shuttle Foam Loss Theory.

DNF in December?

Duke Nukem Forever to arrive December, Amazon claims on the Inquirer (thanks Richard) is an article all amped up over a Duke Nukem Forever listing on Amazon with December 2, 2005 as the release date for the long-in-development shooter sequel. While we are dubious about the accuracy of all this (the long-standing official release date for Duke Nukem Forever is "when it's done"), the Inquirer article is not, saying "We don’t believe that Amazon plans to trick its customers..." offering some legal advice that would make Jackie Chiles proud: "...it's not its style and the customers can sue if it fails."

Peter Jackson & Halo Movie

Peter Jackson puts on 'Halo' for Hollywood (thanks Lance) has word that the Lord of the Rings director is to co-executive produce the upcoming Halo motion picture, warthogs and all:

Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, will serve as the executive producers for "Halo," which is targeted for worldwide release in mid-2007 by Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox film studios.

Universal will oversee the film's production and domestic distribution. Fox will handle international distribution.

"Halo" will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand, and will use Jackson's production and postproduction facilities there.

"I'm a huge fan of the game and look forward to helping it come alive on the cinema screen," Jackson said in a statement.

The executive producers will collaborate with Universal, Fox and Microsoft's Bungie Studios, which created the game.

"Halo," the best-selling franchise for Microsoft's Xbox game console, follows the adventures of the futuristic super-soldier Master Chief as he battles an alien onslaught.

Screenwriter and novelist Alex Garland wrote the original feature film adaptation of Halo. A director will be named in coming weeks, but the cast has yet to be announced.

Splinter Cell 4

Ubisoft announces the next installment in the adventures of stealthy Sam Fisher is in development under the working title Splinter Cell 4. A teaser Splinter Cell 4 Website is online, where registration is being accepted for future updates on the project. Here's the announcement:

Revolutionary New Installment from the Blockbuster Stealth Action Franchise Coming Spring 2006

Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS – October 4, 2005 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announces Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® 4 (working title), the next masterpiece in the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® series. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® 4 will be available in Spring 2006 for current and next generation consoles as well as for PC.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® 4 will thrust players into a new breed of game play that promises to innovate and revolutionize the Splinter Cell® franchise. Ubisoft is taking the saga of Sam Fisher into entirely new territory, expanding the story and depth of his character.

Games in the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® series have garnered some of the industry’s most prestigious awards and outstanding reviews, including Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2002 and 2004, The Academy of Interactive Arts and Science’s Action/Adventure Game of the Year Award, (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow™) and the highest review score ever from Official Xbox Magazine (U.S.) for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™, a 9.9 out of 10.

“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™ received record-setting reviews and countless awards,” said Yves Guillemot, president and CEO of Ubisoft. “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® 4 will be even more thrilling and heart-pounding than its ground-breaking predecessors. This new version will both enrich the gaming experience on current consoles and take full advantage of the capacities of next-generation consoles to deliver players the most fabulous gaming experience ever.”

The Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® video game franchise has sold more than 12.5 million copies worldwide since the first game launched in 2002.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® 4 please visit www.bewaresamfisher.com. For more information about Ubisoft, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

Battlefield 2 Patch

The long-promised patch for Battlefield 2 has arrived, updating DICE's military shooter sequel to version 1.03. There is a new 171 MB client patch on the EA Games Website, mirrored on 3D Gamers, AusGamers (Australia), eXtreme-Players.de (Germany), Filecloud, FileFront, FilePlanet (registration required), Filerush (torrent), Fragland.net, Gameguru Mania, Gameswelt (Germany), GameSpot, Playfuls, VGPro, and Worthplaying; a 128 MB non-ranked dedicated server on the EA Games Website; mirrored on 3D Gamers, eXtreme-Players.de (Germany), FileFront, GameSpot, and Worthplaying; and a 133 MB non-ranked Linux dedicated server on the EA Games Website; mirrored on 3D Gamers, eXtreme-Players.de (Germany), FileFront, GameSpot, and Worthplaying. The patch notes outline what's new.

Black & White 2 Ships - Patch Plans

EA and Lionhead Descend onto Store Shelves with Black & White 2 for the PC (thanks Frans) has word that Lionhead's god game sequel is headed to stores in the U.S., while this press release says the U.K. version is due on October 7. Also, the Black & White 2 News Page offers a link to a new community update, both the news page and that update referencing plans to release the first minor patch for the game on October 6. Here's a bit from the announcement:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2005--Will you be an evil or benevolent deity? Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS - News) and Lionhead Studios today announced that Black & White® 2 has begun to ship to retail outlets for the PC. From the creative minds of god game developer Peter Molyneux and RTS-creator Ron Millar, Black & White 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed hit Black & White®.

"Everyone at Lionhead is very proud of what they have achieved with Black & White 2 -- it is a monumental task these days to complete a mass market game. I'd like to thank the whole team for all their hard work and EA for their support," said Peter Molyneux, Managing Director, Lionhead Studios.

Gold - Dark Age of Camelot: Darkness Rising

Mythic Entertainment announces the completion of development of the sixth expansion for Dark Age of Camelot, their MMORPG:

Mythic Entertainment (R) Unleashes Unspeakable Evil on the Realms in the Sixth Expansion for Dark Age of Camelot (R)

FAIRFAX, VA – October 3, 2005 - Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of massively-multiplayer online role-playing games, today announced that Darkness Rising (TM), the sixth expansion pack for the critically-acclaimed Dark Age of Camelot (R), has “gone gold” and will be available on October 11th. The expansion will be available as a stand alone product via Mythic’s new integrated digital distribution system and as part of the upcoming Dark Age of Camelot: Epic Edition.

Dark Age of Camelot subscribers can now pre-order Darkness Rising for $19.99 through a new in-game menu option. Anyone ordering before October 10th will receive an exclusive suit of armor for their new in-game mount. For more information about pre-ordering Darkness Rising, visit: www.darkageofcamelot.com/DarknessRising/preorder.php.

“The launch of Darkness Rising showcases our ongoing commitment to our flagship title with thrilling, new content that evolves the world of Dark Age of Camelot beyond its current boundaries,” said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer for Dark Age of Camelot. “With our new digital distribution system, this new content will be immediately available to players upon release.”

Darkness Rising will be included, along with the original game and all expansions released to date, in the new Dark Age of Camelot: Epic Edition to be available at retail on October 11th for $39.99.

Darkness Rising requires the original Dark Age of Camelot, and Catacombs expansion pack to play. Former players returning to the game can re-activate their account, regain their original characters and take advantage of the online availability of the expansion.

For those who have yet to discover what has kept people playing Dark Age of Camelot for four years, a 14-day free trial version, which includes the original game as well as the Shrouded Isles, Foundations, and New Frontiers expansions, is available for download from www.darkageofcamelot.com/downloads.

Gold - Legion Arena

Strategy First announces that the North American edition of Legion Arena is gold, following the gold announcement for the European edition of the strategy game (story). Word is:

Montreal, Canada. October 4, 2005. Software publisher Strategy First Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSTR), announced today that Slitherine Software’s epic strategy title, “Legion Arena,” has officially gone gold. Devoted Roman historians and fans of the Roman era alike can expect “Legion Arena” to be available for retail sale late this fall.

“There’s something about classic combat that always draws wargamers to this time period,” said Jay Podilchuk, Executive Producer at Strategy First. “Slitherine Software has succeeded in bringing the real experience of commanding these epic legions to wargamers everywhere.”

“In Legion Arena we have really focused on combat and battle tactics. There are over 100 missions and you will learn every trick in the book as you guide your fledgling army through a series of historical campaigns,” said J.D. McNeil, Director at Slitherine Software. “We have gone through great pains to make sure everything is as accurate as possible, but we never compromise on gameplay.”

Dear Diaries

The Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach Designer Diary #1 on GameSpot features thoughts on the upcoming D&D MMORPG from Turbine Lead designer Ken Troop, discussing the fantasy world of Eberron where the game will take place. Also, there's a The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II Designer Diary #1 on GameSpot in which EA LA art director Matt J. Britton discusses the overall look of their upcoming Tolkien-inspired RTS sequel.

UT2004 64-bit Patch

This AMD64 Downloads Page (registration required) now offers downloads of a 64-bit update for Unreal Tournament 2004. The download is mirrored on 3D Gamers and Worthplaying.

The Early Show - Battle Carry Gold

A new Serious Sam 2 gameplay movie shows off Croteam's now-gold first-person shooter sequel. One of both of the two versions of the clip can be found on 3D Gamers, Filecloud, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, Playfuls.com, Seriously, and Worthplaying. Also, a new Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood movie shows off gameplay from Gearbox Software's upcoming World War II shooter sequel accompanied by interview commentary from designer Patrick Blank. The clip is available on 3D Gamers and Worthplaying. Also, there's a new Shattered Union movie to show off PopTop Software's turn-based strategy game, one or both of two versions of the clip can be found on 3D Gamers. Meanwhile, a new Possession movie is now available, showing off Blitz Games' upcoming horror/survival game. The 4.9 MB download is available on 3D Gamers, Filecloud, and Worthplaying. Finally, The Battle Carry Website now offers a new gameplay trailer from this multiplayer tank game that's now gold and is to be released this Friday, October 7.

Morning Q&As

Thanks Frans.

  • Call of Duty 2
    A new Call of Duty 2 interview movie is now available from FileFront talking with Infinity Ward's Grant Collier about their now-gold World War II shooter sequel. The clip is available on high resolution and low resolution versions.
  • Bad Day L.A.
    HC.Gamer's Bad Day L.A. Q&A talks with American McGee about the upcoming action game: "The game is VERY simple and very easy to control. The idea here is to make the game accessible to even non-gamers. Personally, I think that game controls are getting out of hands these days. I think this has more to do with the fact that game controllers aren't advancing as quickly as game designs. Nintedo's new Revolution controller is a step in the right direction. Now we need the same for the PC. "
  • Supreme Commander
    IGN's Supreme Commander Q&A chats with Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games about their upcoming RTS game: "I avoid, whether I believe in this ethically or not, maybe for Karmic reasons, trashing anybody else's game or talk about what they're doing wrong. I don't think there's a wrong answer. I just think big is a lot of fun. If you saw this one saucer right now, it's called the Tzar at the moment, it's kinda like Independence Day and you can have these huge transports land in the Tzar. So you're flying this gigantic crazy saucer over a body of water and you get to the other player's base, detach the transports to fly them in, and then you can fly the Tzar in. If you can talk about an experience and it sounds exciting and refreshing and different you know you're on the right track."
  • Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion
    The Wargamer's Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion Q&A discusses the new RTS expansion with Creative Assembly's Mark Sutherns: "The perfect balance between historical accuracy and fun gameplay is something we’re always striving to achieve with the Total War series. As a rule we always attempt to stay as true to history as possible but there are just some instances where rigidly to history and realism just wouldn’t make the game fun to play. In these cases the gameplay always wins out."
  • Stubbs the Zombie
    Gamasutra's Wideload Games' Q&A talks with Alexander Seropian about Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse, their upcoming action game: "For us, since we work with many different groups of talent, having a very proprietary pipeline has been a real training and implementation challenge. The Halo engine is extremely powerful and, therefore, complicated. Jamming the thousands and thousands of assets from many different contributors into a cohesive whole has been hard work. But I think we did better than even we expected."
  • Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
    The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A on Computer and Video Games talks with Noah Berry about the next installment in Bethesda Softworks' RPG series: "Real-world excursions are integral, at least in the initial stages, to designing and building landscapes for a game like Oblivion - so there are several local parks and forests that our art staff have visited to digitally photograph flora and fauna for use in the game. Most of my own forest and landscape research comes from a large reference library I've been compiling, which contains hundreds of photographs of visually striking realworld locations and settings. These always serve as great artistic inspiration and as an invaluable reference when building landscape art."
  • Gene Troopers
    The Gene Troopers Q&A on HC.Gamer discusses the upcoming science fiction shooter with Marian Holler: "The universe is in the greatest conflict it ever witnessed. There is a massive and global mobilization executed by the terrifying elite battle forces called the Gene Troopers (GT). They violently fulfill their task: finding, securing and gathering of life forms. The gene material is the new strategic resource. The gene transformation technology changes suitable individuals into loyal and powerful GTs. You didn't know anything about this. Nobody in your part of universe had. The player plays a role of a human lost in an alien universe, trying to find and save his lost daughter."
  • Irth Online
    Gamecloud's Irth Online Q&A talks with Alan Chipura of Magic Hat Software about their upcoming MMORPG: "Players won’t have to worry about what to do with items they acquire and will not have to worry about the outrageous price of housing. All players will receive one house per account free of charge. This is real virtual property and not a virtual room. All players get a house and land with expansion possibilities. Players can make improvements to their properties by building additions, retail shops, storage areas, etc."
  • The Witcher
    HC.Gamer's The Witcher Q&A is a three-part conversation with CD Projekt about their upcoming RPG. Here's Part One, here's Part Two, here's Part Three, and here's a bit: "Fighting in the Witcher basically covers three main aspects: character development, arcade elements and magic use. As mentioned earlier, our hero develops six fighting styles, with five levels of experience in each - from novice up to master. By gaining a new level the witcher improves his attributes, but even more importantly learns a new move to be used within fighting sequences. Sequences will be discussed in more detail later, lets concentrate on skills for a moment. Besides the main Style levels and new moves, the hero can buy special power-ups (stronger versions of particular attacks triggered by double-clicking) and upgrades (additional attributes and abilities like a greater chance of stunning your opponent). A separate category gathers the alternates, or attacks made only when certain conditions are met which kind of substitute 'normal' moves."
  • Titan Quest
    RPG Vault's Titan Quest Q&A - Part 2 continues this conversation with Brian Sullivan and Arthur Bruno of Iron Lore about their upcoming RPG: "We don't let our monsters take their loot to the afterlife. When equipment-wearing monsters are spawned into the world, appropriate equipment is randomly generated for them. Equipment using monsters can wield any of the weapons the player can and many of them can also equip player armor. Many others have custom looking "monster equipment" specifically designed for them that drops as equivalent, visually similar, special player versions. For example, a Centaur Elder might be wearing an Outrider's Tunic, which is a special piece of centaur armor. A Centaur is larger than the player, so if you killed him, he'd drop a player-wearable Outrider's Tunic that had exactly the same attributes and looked very similar."
  • Dark & Light
    MMORPG.COM's Dark and Light Q&A #3 talks with Stephane Quilichini of NPCube about their upcoming MMORPG: "Quests use a tree structure with multiple decisions, and it is quite possible for one quest to have several endings. Every answer a player gives to an NPC will have an impact on what will happen in the quest. The difficulty level will increase with time. For instance, in the hardest quests in the game, the player will have to manage his or her divine factions (a way to show your relations with each of the 9 gods in Ganareth) in order to speak with specific NPCs. In order to do that, they will have to somewhat damage their relations with their own god and gain interest from their enemy gods, and then speak with that NPC. This also means the player will not benefit from his or her own god’s protection, which can be a problem later on."

Site Seeing

A Skiracing 2006 Website is online, complete with a Flash sport coat-clad tour guide to introduce the upcoming downhill skiing game. The site offers a batch of new screenshots along with a brief teaser movie. Thanks Frans.

Morning Previews

Warcraft III/The Frozen Throne Patches

The Blizzard Entertainment Technical Support Site now offers new version 1.20 patches for Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne expansion for the RTS game. The Frozen Throne v1.20 Patch Notes explain the updates to the add-on while the Reign of Chaos v1.20 Patch Notes do the same for the original game. Thanks Frans.

Morning Screenshots

Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory Patch

The GMX Media Forums offer downloads of a new patch for Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory, updating the World War II shooter to version 2.02.

Morning Tech Bits

Morning Consolidation

Morning Mobilization

Morning Metaverse

The Mod Squads

GameDAILY's Ill Clan Q&A talks with the folks from The ILL Clan about their passion for machinima movies and their collaboration with MTV 2.

Gatherings

Game & Mod Development

Help Wanted

John Romero has posted a couple of job openings for his new company to the forums of ROME.RO. The specific jobs being offered are for a Lead Artist, a Lead Programmer, and a Lead Game Designer.

Op Ed

Tuesday Game Reviews

Tuesday Hardware Reviews

etc.

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