|
|
 |
Archived News:
An
image on the Age of Empires III Heaven Forum (thanks Tiscali Games) shows off what's
purported to be the last page of the artwork book that accompanies the Age of
Empires III Collector's Edition. The page offers images of five soldiers under the Age of Empires
banner, numbered 1-5 in Roman numerals. Images I, II, and III correspond to
their respective AoE games, while IV shows what appears to be a soldier in the
Vietnam War, with V showing off a futuristic soldier. This bit of bonus art
might just be a flight of fancy or it may represent future plans, only time will
tell.
Koei Confirms Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper For PC on TotalVideoGames (thanks
Mike Martinez) follows up on the revelation earlier this year that a PC edition of
Dynasty Warriors 4 is in the works ( story) with word that Dynasty
Warriors 4 Hyper will be released in Europe on December 9. They also have word
on the graphical enhancements that make the PC edition so Hyper: The
game, which brings all the elements of the PlayStation2’s 2004 release Dynasty
Warriors 4 to the PC platform, but will also take advantage of the higher
monitor resolutions so that Hyper will have extended draw distances, feature
twice as many opponents on screen at once, anti-aliasing, improved enemy AI,
dynamic shadows, and texture filtering.
The BattleBorne Entertainment
Website now offers a Six Gun movie that can be either streamed or
downloaded, showing off the project formerly known as 6Gun, though the "coming
soon to PS2 and Xbox" leaves a question about the future of the PC version of
the third-person modern combat game.
The X3:
Reunion Designer Diary #3 on GameSpot offers A Typical Day in X3 as Greg
Kingston of Egosoft finishes off this series of diaries on the creation of their
space game sequel. Also, the
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Developer Diary #1 on GameSpot is written by
Funcom's Ragnar Tørnquist who discusses the "very long journey" over the past
two years during development of the sequel to their adventure game The Longest
Journey. Also, RPG
Vault Hero's Journey Peek #9 is penned by Simutronics designer Steph Shaver
discussing the creation of the Fields of Sorrow area in Hero's Journey, their
upcoming MMORPG. In another location-oriented MMORPG update,
this The Lord of the Rings
Online Diary discusses the landmark of The Barrow-downs in Turbine's
upcoming online interpretation of Tolkien's universe. Finally, the
Atriarch News Page (thanks
Frans) offers the latest tales of development on World Fusion's upcoming MMORPG,
going a bit further into player buildings.
- The Matrix: Path of Neo
There's
a The
Matrix: Path of Neo Q&A on Shacknews talks with Benjamin 'BJ'
Cholewinski about Shiny's upcoming return to The Matrix franchise: "The
ending is different in PoN. It's actually so different that... ah, I can't
go there. But what I can tell you is that the Wachowski bros. make a special
appearance and personally introduce the new ending and divulge thoughts on
the original. It's great. It's original. And it's for the gamer. Cool."
- GUN
FileFront
has downloads of high- and low-resolution versions of a video interview with
Chad Findley to discuss GUN, Neversoft's upcoming western game, during a
recent Activision press event.
- The Movies
FileFront
is also offering high- and low-resolution versions of a video interview with
Brynley J. Gibson, associate producer on The Movies, Lionhead's cinema sim,
conducted during that same Activision event in San Francisco on October 12.
- Music
Music
4 Games' Call of Duty 2 Q&A talks with Graeme Revell about his
soundtracks for Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty: Big Red One: "Call Of Duty
2 is a game which has the British, Russian and American regiments in
different territories fighting against the Germans. In that sense, it's big
action and very grand music of different themes. With the Russians, we know
Russian music when you hear it. Then, trying to differentiate American
forces from the British without getting into "God Save the Queen" or
something like that. In Call Of Duty, the other part of it is they're in
North Africa at one point and Italy, so there's some local color in the
music there as well."
Red Planet Arena is a new website
dedicated to Alien Arena and the CodeRED series, offering updates on their
upcoming Alien Arena 2006. Also, a new
High Moon Studios Website is a new home for the developer of the console
western Darkwatch.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Frans.
I dunno, I'm still thinking this all through, and I'm not sure when a second set
of round-ups would logically fit in after a Midnight start, so no sweeping
schedule changes for the time being.
As noted in
Timothee Besset's .plan file and the
Quake IV GNU-Linux FAQ,
the Linux edition of Quake 4 mentioned this morning ( story) is
now available, allowing users of penguin-powered PCs to join the fight against
the Strogg. The Linux version, which requires the retail Windows edition of
Raven's first-person shooter sequel, and the Linux server, which requires no
other files, can be found on the
id Software FTP Server
and mirrored on 3D
Gamers,
Filecloud,
FileFront, Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell,
VGPro, and
Worthplaying.
This Page offers
new version 81.85 ForceWare reference drivers for NVIDIA graphics accelerators
running under WinXP and Win2K (thanks Kennett). The WHQL Certified drivers add
support for new cards, mixed vendor support for NVIDIA SLI, performance
enhancements for dual-core CPUs, and more.
Tighten Those Safety
Belts! It's About to Get Wild As Atari Prepares to Launch 'RollerCoaster
Tycoon(R) 3 Wild!' (thanks Frans) follows on this morning's announcement
that the Wild! expansion for RollerCoaster Tycoon is gold in Europe
( story) with the news that the add-on is also complete for the
U.S., and is slated to ship on October 25.
The Earth 2160 Demo is now available, offering the chance to sample Reality
Pump's RTS sequel that's available in Europe and due soon in the U.S. The demo
offers two levels, each of which supports games of up to 45 minutes. The demo is
a co-premiere of 3D
Gamers and
FilePlanet (registration required), and mirrors can be found on
Gameguru Mania,
Playfuls,
VGPro, and
Worthplaying.
Award-Winning PC
Strategy Game Empire Earth II To Expand Empire With Add-On In February 2006
is the expected ( story) announcement of Empire Earth II: The Art
of Supremacy, an expansion for Mad Doc Software's RTS sequel. The first
screenshots from the project can be viewed on
ToTheGame, and
here's the announcement: READING (October 20, 2005) - Sierra®
Entertainment and Mad Doc® Software, LLC are developing the first expansion pack
for their best-selling strategy game, Empire Earth® II, scheduled for release in
Spring 2006. Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will build on the success of
Empire Earth II, which received numerous Editor's Choice Awards and was anointed
"The new king of real-time strategy gaming" by PC Gamer Magazine (US).
Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will return gamers to the front lines of
the greatest battles in history with new civilizations at their command, new
campaigns and a host of new features that make this year's best strategy game
more addicting than ever. Bold victories on far-off battlefields, from wintry
Russian plains to scorching African deserts, will establish the player's
undisputable reputation as the world's greatest leader - past, present and
future.
Groove Games announces retail shipments of Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s
Green are underway, and that Brainbox Games' first-person shooter based on the
George A. Romero film should be appearing in North American stores. For those
interested in a sample, a 130 MB demo for the game was released last week
( story). Here's the announcement: Toronto, ON – October
20, 2005 – Groove Games, a global interactive entertainment software publisher,
today announced the shipping of the adrenaline-packed, first-person shooter Land
of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green. Developed by Brainbox Games, Land of the
Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green is releasing on Xbox® and PC. This fully featured
interactive game is based on Universal Pictures and Atmosphere Entertainment
MM’s’ recently released horror film, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead. The
film, which critics have called "a compelling, striking vision,” "a masterpiece"
and "tour de force," hit theatres on June 24th, 2005.
“We’re extremely excited to see gamers and horror fans alike finally get their
hands on Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green,” said Jon Walsh, CEO of
Groove Games. “The unique multiplayer modes allow players to work with or
against other humans in ridding the world of the Zombie plague, and the
gameplay, like the movie, is unbelievably addictive.”
George A. Romero’s latest film installment, Land of the Dead, serves as the
basis for the game. Players are immersed in a “classic” zombie film setting,
playing out a terrifying storyline that leads up to the events of the film.
Gamers must seek refuge from the undead in the “City of the Living”, a refuge
created by an enigmatic stranger, Mr. Kaufman. Before players are granted access
to the city, they must fight their way through 26 horrifying levels.
Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green is releasing to major retail stores
this week for a suggested retail price of $29.99 USD on Xbox and $19.99 for PC.
The game has an ESRB rating of M for Mature. For more information about Land of
the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green, visit
www.landofthedeadgame.com
A new Quake IV GNU/Linux
FAQ (thanks Frans) outlines what's going on with the Linux port of Raven's shooter sequel:
We are preparing the release of the Quake4 GNU/Linux installer we expect
to have it ready within a few days, with a dedicated server and a native
client.
EvStream announces development of
Armada Online, an
upcoming MMORPG set in the depths outer space:
Armada Online is a vast multiplayer universe packed with great gameplay. You
take on the role of a starship captain and wage war against a biomechanical
alien horde, known as the Armada.
AO mixes the smooth and satisfying feel of a space shooter with the long-term
growth and exploration of an rpg, combined with the depth and intensity of an
rts.
The alpha test starts in a few months. AO will ship for PC at the end of 2006.
We’ll have a few rounds of beta tests, so come visit
our website if you want to join
in.
This press release (thanks Frans) has the news that the Wild! expansion for RollerCoater 3 is gold, and the theme
park sim expansion is due in European stores on November 4. Word is: LYON,
FRANCE - 20 October 2005 - Life is about to get a bit more wild as Atari
announced today that developer Frontier has completed development on
RollerCoaster Tycoon®: Wild!, an adventure-filled expansion pack for the
highly-successful RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Scheduled to ship to retail across
Europe on November 4 for the Windows platform, RollerCoaster Tycoon®: Wild!
invites tycoons of all ages to create and manage a safari-themed adventure park
that features thrilling new rides as well as many different animal species to
manage. According to the NPD Group, RollerCoaster Tycoon is the top-selling
tycoon franchise, having sold nearly nine million units life-to-date
worldwide.
This DICE Press Release (thanks
Battlefield Nation) looks
like the latest version of the same press release they've already issued twice
prior to this ( story and story), though the date
and development studio have changed, so it's possible this is an additional
project, rather than just a restatement. Presumably this will all be cleared up
eventually with some details to fill in the blanks. Here's the latest
announcement: Digital Illusions signs a new contract for the development
of a PC game within the shooter genre. Publisher is Electronic Arts. The game is
based on Digital Illusions’ brand and is planned for a fall 2006 debut.
- Digital Illusions is one of the best developers of PC games in the world. The
product is expected to generate royalty incomes to the Company during 2006, said
Patrick Söderlund, CEO at Digital Illusions.
The development of the PC game will take place at the Company’s Stockholm
studio. Digital Illusions receives a development budget from the publisher
Electronic Arts.
The game is planned for a fall 2006 debut. So far the product is
untitled.
The London Gazette (thanks Mark) has indications that publisher Digital
Jesters is on the verge of bankruptcy: In the Matter of DIGITAL JESTERS
LIMITED
and in the Matter of the Insolvency Act 1986
A Petition to wind up the above-named Company whose registered office is at Unit
4, The Weltech Centre, Ridgeway, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL7 2AA,
presented on 6 September 2005, by Independent Magazines (UK) Limited whose
registered office is at Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS,
claiming to be a Creditor of the Company, will be heard at the Royal Courts of
Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL, on 2 November 2005, at 1030 hours (or as soon
thereafter as the Petition can be heard).
Any person intending to appear on the hearing of the Petition (whether to
support or oppose it) must give notice of intention to do so to the Petitioner
or its Solicitors in accordance with Rule 4.16 by 1600 hours on 1 November
2005.
- City of Villains
MMORPG.COM's
City of Villains Q&A, Part Three talks further with David 'Zeb' Cook
about NCsoft's now-gold MMORPG follow-up: "Getting PvP where we want it to
be is no small concern for us. We want to make sure it feels fun for all
sides. We've taken what we've learned from building, playing and watching
the Arenas and improved on it. The different PvP zones are set at different
power levels, so players will be more or less equal. There are goals and
objectives in the PvP zones that do and don't relate to PvP itself. And each
zone has different gameplay so that players can engage in the kind of action
they want."
- Music
Gamecloud's
Call Of Duty 2 Music Q&A chats with composer Graeme Revell about his
first game soundtrack that he composed for the upcoming Call of Duty PC and
Console games: "While I was involved in experimental music with my group SPK
I realized that I usually had a visual or image of some kind in mind when I
wrote. I was inspired by the music for some films (mostly the scores of
Morricone and the films of Tarkovsky) to think about film scoring."
Anti-game
activist Jack Thompson under investigation (thanks Mike Martinez) reports on the
latest bits of insanity from the world of Jack Thomson, Crusading Attorney™,
saying his shenanigans are subjecting him to the type of scrutiny he seems so
eager to focus on the actions of others. Here's a bit on the aftermath of the
whole modest proposal/Penny Arcade ( story) episode: The
threats then escalated. Jack then faxed a
letter to the
Seattle Police Department claiming that Penny Arcade was "criminally harassing"
him, and urging the arrest of "this little extortion factory".
At this point, the nerds swung into action. Penny Arcade forum members wrote,
edited and sent letters and faxes to the Florida Bar Association detailing
Thompson's activities and urging the review of his license to practice law. Jack
Thompson has already received a reprimand by the FBA for his antics in 1998, and
according to a spokesperson, the letters and faxes have been
received and forwarded to the disciplinary committee.
Already, other activists against video game violence are starting to distance
themselves from Jack Thompson. Earlier this month, the National Institute on
Media and the Family
wrote a letter
to Jack, asking him to remove the link to their organization from his web site.
While Mr. Thompson's fifteen minutes of fame may be waning, the issue of
violence in video games remains a hot topic.
A new version 1.0.2 of the Tremulous
modification for Quake III Arena is now available, a reversal of the previous
plan for the next release of this project to be a stand-alone game. Word is:
"The primary reason for making another release is that we've reached a point
with the 1.0.1 data where it is clear what the changes accomplished, and
gathering further data is essentially useless."
Thanks Mike Martinez.
- U.S. Prepares
for Battle Over Internet Control - Senator Coleman shores up support for
fight.
-
Furor Grows Over Internet Bugging.
- Serious
Firefox bug, or how Firefox deleted 2 gigs of data. Thanks mrdataNY.
-
Netscape update fixes Firefox bugs.
- Spread Firefox
has the news that they've served up 100,000,000 downloads of their browser,
just slightly less improbable than their additional statement that "it
reached 100,000,000 million downloads," which would, of course, be 100
Trillion!
- Navy, Marines
Ban Webmail Overseas - Google, Yahoo, too big of security threat?
-
Surfing Through the Power Grid.
-
Kerio to scrap desktop firewall.
-
Zone Labs offers standalone spyware tool.
-
Voice phone calls to be free within years: eBay CEO.
-
Google Mapping Service in Age-Old Dispute.
-
eBay Reports 40 Percent Surge in 3Q.
- Whereonearth
is Yahoo!'s.
-
'I Will Eat Your Dollars'.
-
Court Stops 'Legal' File Sharing Site.
-
Microsoft eyes Internet partnerships, mum on AOL.
- AOL
trims staff by more than 700.
-
New copyright suit filed against Google.
-
Airport Fight Extends to Wikipedia.
Gamecloud's
Shattered Faith Q&A talks with the Prolific Games mod team about their
upcoming Battlefield 2 modification.
I skipped the Into the Black dealie last night again... I'm considering the
benefits of a few recent morning updates that took place shortly after midnight,
and I may just start playing with a new schedule that incorporates those updates
on an ongoing basis.
|
Twitter 
