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Archived News:
The Euro Force booster patch for Battlefield 2 is now available for purchase and
download via the
EA Downloader service. Word is: "Are you looking to expand your Battlefield
2 experience? If so, Battlefield 2: Euro Force is now available for purchase.
Visit the EA downloader for more info on this exciting booster pack!"
Telltale Games
announces a release date for Bone: The Great Bone Race, saying the next
installment in the episodic comic-inspired series will be available next month:
Just like the competitors in the Bone saga's big contest, the team at
Telltale has been moving rapidly to get Bone: The Great Cow Race game ready for
release this April. Visitor's to
http://cowrace.telltalegames.com can now view screenshots and concept art
from this title, and can also sign-up to receive a timely alert upon the game's
release next month.
The Great Cow Race is the continuation of a new breed of episodic interactive
entertainment that Telltale began last fall. The company released Bone: Out from
Boneville as the first episode in this series to wide acclaim in September.
Hailed by reviewers and educators alike as engaging for all ages, the Bone books
on which these games are based have become the anchor for a line of graphic
novels from Scholastic’s new Graphix imprint. In an un-paralleled feat in the
games industry, Telltale is distributing this follow-up to its first title in
the series within a six month period, in order to match Scholastic's book
publishing schedule.
Ubisoft
Releases IL-2 Sturmovik Series Complete Edition has word that a bundle of
the World War II flight sim and its expansions is preparing to land at retail:
London, UK – March 14, 2006 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world's
largest video game publishers, announced that the IL-2 series, the critically
acclaimed combat flight simulator is now merged into one DVD including: Il-2
Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, the Ace Expansion Pack, Pacific FightersTM, and
all the intermediary add-ons.
This epic collection of WWII air combat spans the entire globe, from the sands
of Iwo Jima to the snow-covered steppes of Russia. Fly in more than 200
life-like aircrafts over the Ardennes, Guadalcanal, D-Day beaches, or over
Stalingrad: the possibilities are endless!
Key Features:
•
Join any Air Force: British, Russian, American, German and more
•
A dynamic campaign system creating endless varieties of missions in dozens of
campaign scenarios.
•
42 meticulously modeled maps: Fly over the Reichstag and the Hermitage, Midway
and Crimea, Pearl Harbor and Murmansk.
•
Free servers all over the world offering exhilarating multiplayer experience: up
to 128 players on 29 online maps.
IL – 2 SturmovikTM Series: Complete Edition, rated "12+" for PEGI, is
scheduled on PC on March 31st for a retail price of £19.99.
- Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The
Elder Scrolls Website now offers downloads of a new "countdown to
Oblivion" movie touting the appearance of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in
stores in a week. The trailer showing off Bethesda Softworks' RPG sequel is
an 8.46 MB download.
- Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
A new Blazing Angels:
Squadrons of WWII trailer shows off the now-gold aerial combat game, the 60
MB download is available on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell.
As noted in
this press release, the official
Alliance: Future Combat Website
is live, as Flash home, albeit a bit of a discombobulated one, for the modern
warfare RTS game. The site offers a couple of post-dated announcements,
including the promise of the game's release in Europe last month, and a link to a broken
movie. The site also offers a pair of movie links that do work, a gallery
of 17 new screenshots, and the revelation that
Gameyus is the developer of the project.
- The Chronicles of Spellborn on
1UP.
- City Life: First Look on
GameSpot.
- CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder on
Adventure Gamers.
- Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan on
GameSpy.
- Glory of the Roman Empire on
GameSpot.
- Supreme Commander on
IGN.
The Olympics are over, right? Now it's March Madness... another sporting
phenomenon that has just never captured me.
R.I.P.:
Crash kills former game show host, wife.
Steam News
has word that Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, Tripwire Interactive's Russian
Front WWII first-person shooter, is now available for digital distribution via
Steam along with a dedicated server that can be run without purchasing the
game. Word is: Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, Tripwire Interactive's
first-person action game set on the Russian Front of WWII, is now available via
Steam for just $24.95. For more information, please visit
www.steampowered.com.
Ubisoft announces that Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII is gold, and the World
War II aerial combat game is winging its way into U.S. stores for PC, Xbox 360,
and Xbox next week: SAN FRANCISCO -March 14, 2006 - Ubisoft, one of the
world's largest video game publishers, today proudly announces that Blazing
Angels™: Squadrons of WWII, the intense squadron-based flight action game, has
gone gold for the Xbox 360™ and Xbox® video game and entertainment systems from
Microsoft and PC and will be releasing to U.S. stores on March 23, 2006.
In Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII, players test their air-combat skills as
they experience the most famous battles of World War II. As a squadron leader,
players can fly up to 38 WWII aircraft in both single-player and multiplayer
missions.
Developed by Ubisoft, Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII features innovative
squadron-based combat, in which each artificial intelligence wingman's
specialized skill can be used to the pilot's advantage. During the course of the
18-mission campaign, players will evolve along with their wingmen into an ace
fighting force. Spectacular graphics enhance the combat experience in true World
War II battle sites such as England, Germany, France, Morocco, Pearl Harbor,
Midway and Tokyo. The heroic storyline that follows the evolution of a single
squadron and the cinematic presentation create moments reminiscent of classic
World War II movies. Pilots fly in close to Germany's industrial terrain during
a bombing raid or emerge from the fog and cloud cover over London to engage the
enemy. Up to 16 players online can engage over Xbox Live® online game service in
head-to-head dogfights or cooperative team play between squadrons in 10
additional missions.
EA announces that The Godfather: The Game is gold for PC, Xbox, and PS2, and
that the mob movie-inspired game will hit North American stores next week before
appearing back in the old country a few days later: Electronic Arts
announced today that The Godfather™ The Game has gone gold for the PlayStation
2, Xbox, and PC. Gamers worldwide will step into the Don’s dangerous world of
intimidation and negotiation via their PlayStation®2 computer entertainment
system, Xbox® video game system from Microsoft or PC on March 21st in North
America and March 24th in Europe. The Godfather The Game will also be available
for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and PSP (PlayStation®
Portable) handheld entertainment system later in 2006. EA’s The Godfather The
Game puts you at the center of one of the world’s most revered stories. In the
role of a young man just entering the Corleone family, you create your own mob
character and work your way to the top. For the first time ever, you will go
beyond the films and book to actually step into the living world of The
Godfather fiction throughout 1940s New York City. You will work your way up the
mob ranks your own way, choosing just how much force to use as you rise to
power.
More information about the game is available at
www.info.ea.com or the game’s homepage at
www.godfather.ea.com. The game is
rated M for Mature by the ESRB.
Turbine
Announces Dragon’s Vault Module for Hit DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE: Stormreach
announces the first add-on module for Turbine's MMORPG: March 14, 2006 -
Turbine is pleased to announce the first module for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINETM:
StormreachTM (DDO). The Dragon's Vault module will provide players the
opportunity to battle the dangerous Vault of Night that is protected by a
ferocious guardian – the red dragon! This module, scheduled for release in
April, is the first in a series of planned modules that will provide new content
and features for DDO, the hit MMOG that launched February 28th and quickly
became the fastest growing MMOG in North America.
The Dragon's Vault module contains 15 compelling dungeons and a new large-scale
raid feature focusing on a vicious red dragon. The new dungeons provide a
variety of additional content for players of all levels in the game. Turbine
announced today that the Dragon's Vault module will be free of charge for all
current DDO subscribers as a way to say "thank you" to all of its fans. Turbine
also declared its plans to release additional modules over time that include new
content, features, and other improvements to the hit MMOG.
Battle of
Europe is Ready to Soar is a press release announcing the completion of
development on Battle of Europe, saying the World War II flight simulator is
due in Europe by the end of this month: The fast growing publisher Black Bean today announced that the WW2 flight action
title Battle of Europe will be landing in stores on March 31st. The title brings
together an immensely playable and addictive arcade style shoot 'em up with a
simulation feel. Become the best pilot in the sky and learn to dogfight in your
Spitfire. Listen as the engines struggle with each death defying manoeuvre and
hear the bullets glancing off the wings of your precious flying machine! Take to
the skies in a wide range of aircraft and take out targets in the air, on the
ground and even at sea: Battle of Europe really provides an exciting experience.
"We are very excited to be launching Battle of Europe." Said Marco Minoli, Black
Bean's Marketing Director. "This title has everything! It is addictive and great
fun there are plenty of missions and it will keep players coming back for
more... All this at such a great price really makes this one title not to be
missed"
Battle of Europe launches across Europe this end of month. Be the hero!
This press
release (thanks Frans) announces that Act of War: High Treason is gold,
saying development is complete on the expansion for Act of War: Direct Action.
Word is that the High Treason expansion and an Act of War Gold Edition that
bundles the original game with the add-on will be available in Europe on 24
March 2006: Atari today announced that development is complete on the Act
of War: High Treason expansion pack for the critically-acclaimed,
techno-thriller RTS, Act of War: Direct Action. Developed by Paris-based Eugen
Systems and loaded with new features including modern-day naval combat and
mercenaries, Act of War: High Treason is on schedule for release on 24 March
2006 for the Windows platform.
For gamers craving a taste of the second-to-none RTS action offered by Act of
War: High Treason, but who haven't purchased the original game, the Act of War:
Gold Edition featuring the original game and the expansion will be available
simultaneously.
"With this expansion we are delivering a really incredible fully-featured RTS
experience which exceeds all that has come before," said Cyril Voiron, Marketing
Director, Atari Europe. "Act of War: High Treason pushes the limits of the genre
- Eugen have produced something unmissable for any fan of RTS gaming."
Act of War: High Treason takes the stunning visuals of Act of War: Direct Action
a step further, whilst simultaneously raising the bar in terms of gameplay.
Amongst the host of original features are modern naval combat with bump-mapping
and physics, fully customizable multiplayer games, mercenary units, improved
control system, new units, revised aircraft and artillery, an entirely new
campaign set in a new real-world location, new maps, and additional multiplayer
enhancements.
Act of War: High Treason and Act of War: Gold Edition for Windows will be
released across Europe on 24 March 2006.
NCsoft has launched several localized homes for Dungeon Runners, their upcoming
online action/RPG. The US Dungeon
Runners Site offers the largest
collection of
screenshots, and there is also a new general
European Dungeon Runners Website, a
German Dungeon Runners Website and a
French Dungeon Runners Website. Word
is: "Dungeon Runners will start taking sign-ups for its Closed Beta from 14th
April 2006, with the Closed Beta scheduled to begin in May-June. Dates are
subject to change."
Steam News
(thanks Frans) has word of several updates now automatically available via the
Steam service. There is a new version of the Steam client that allows access
to the beta of their friends program, updates to the Source and Half-Life 1
engines, and a fix for a Counter-Strike exploit.
This Nival Interactive Press
Release announces that the publisher is opening U.S. offices under CEO Kevin
Bachus, formerly of Infinium Labs: The company’s new leadership based in
Los Angeles, CA, is moving Nival beyond its dominance in the PC market, where it
has developed 15 successful and profitable games over the past decade, into
globally relevant, high quality console, video and mobile games and outsourced
asset production. The company will combine proven U.S. creative and management
resources with exceptional development talent in lower cost regions of the
world. By using these “reverse outsourcing” techniques, the lead designers, art
directors and programmers based in Los Angeles, along with the company’s 300
overseas developers in five development studios, assure Nival’s partners that
the company’s products will rival those developed anywhere in the world.
Further, the company is able to leverage its excess capacity to offer
outsourcing work to its partners while simultaneously developing its own games
in concert with leading worldwide game publishers.
- Auto Assault
There's an
NCsoft Q&A on Computer Games talking with Max Brown and Marcus Whitney
about what NCsoft is up to: "The online gaming market is a very competitive
one and there are a lot of players out there which have different tastes.
That’s why we try to launch AAA games to cover as much as the player’s needs
as possible. However, not all games have the same success worldwide. City of
Heroes and City of Villains had a huge success in North America, were
there’s already a comic-book culture, but that wasn’t the case in Europe.
The same thing goes for Lineage 2 as well; it did great in Europe, but it
was a lot more popular in Eastern part of the continent. So our goal is to
cover as many of the player’s tastes as possible."
- Rush for Berlin
Gamecloud's
Rush For Berlin Q&A talks with Ferenc Nagy-Szakall of Stormregion about
their upcoming WWII RTS game: "There will be three main campaigns in Rush
for Berlin (each containing seven missions) playable from different sides.
All nations have specialities [sic]: Russians can produce infantry units
faster, the Allied forces gain more resources and the Germans get more
experience points from battles. Of course all nations have their own
infantry units and tanks, Germans can even use some prototypes in the game."
The Galactic
Civilizations II: Dread Lords Website has a follow-up on the recent dust-up
about the non-inclusion of any copy protection in Galactic Civilizations II:
Dread Lords ( story). The blurb points the way to
a
story on GameSpot where Stardock's Brad Wardell answers questions about all
this, and here's a bit from the statement: We received email from
StarForce today apologizing for the incident. We appreciated them taking down
the link. It also gave us the opportunity to request the various meta-torrent
sites to remove links to illegal torrents.
In every case, the torrent list site in question responded quickly to our
request. One might make the argument that a simple polite email to a
meta-torrent search site is as effective as copy protection.
There is probably some irony that this whole thing occurred just before last
week's EBGames.com top selling games list got posted on their site. They list
Galactic Civilizations II as the top telling PC title and the #2 overall (all
platforms). And that was before this incident.
I don't want us to come out like we're on some sort of anti-copy protection
crusade. We just don't think CD copy protection is an effective means to
increase sales.
A half-dozen new Tomb Raider: Legend movies are now available, showing off lots
more of the upcoming return of Lara Croft being created at Crystal Dynamics. The
clips can be found on 3D
Gamers and
Worthplaying.
I figured out what was wrong with my mail last night and everything is working
now... There seems to be an odd gap in my inbox from the middle of the night,
though, so either some messages got delayed or bounced along the way.
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