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Archived News:
The Official War Rock Website
is accepting registrations for the open beta of this upcoming free-to-play
MMOFPS game, saying the testing will get underway tomorrow. Word is:
Though still in Beta test, gamers can play all three game modes (Mission,
Infantry and Vehicle), pick from five distinct combat specialties and tote an
armory-full of guns into the frontlines while driving the combat vehicle of
their choice. Depending on the game-mode selected, players can duel up close and
personal in war-torn streets or take their battles to land, sea and sky.
Combatant vehicles range from motorcycles and Humvees, to gunboats and Blackhawk
attack-choppers.
Thanks Frans.
- Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
The
German Might and Magic Website now offers downloads of a new video
showing off the combat, stealth, and magic in the previous three videos from
Arkane's upcoming first-person M&M game. (Update: Not actually a Fire
clip, so I'll save the Artie Lange AC/DC scream for later).
- Company of Heroes
THQ
Germany now offers a new Allied Armor trailer from Relic Entertainment's
upcoming World War II RTS game.
- Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
Also on
THQ Germany is a new Necron Wraiths trailer from Relic's upcoming
Warhammer RTS expansion.
- Demis Hassabis
The
Demis Hassabis Q&A part 1 on Computer and Video Games kicks off a
two-part discussion with the ex-Bullfrog, Lionhead, and Elixir developer
about his break from the gaming scene and his plan to start a new company to
return
with a new secret project, though part one is mostly about history:
"Yeah, I mean ever since I can remember I've always loved games and
particularly computer games and programming. I've always played games from a
very young age - I was four years old when I started playing chess, and
played for England and stuff. So videogames seemed like the perfect marriage
of games and programming. I never really thought about any other career,
even though I could have done all sorts of things."
- The Ship
The
Ship &A on Computer and Video Games chats up Chris Peck of Outerlight
about their just-released mystery game, learning along the way
they
are contemplating The Ship 2 and a 360 edition of The Ship: "I think
inevitably, with a game like the Ship, the best fun is to be had online,
killing other people. I think this is true of lots of games, beating an AI
is never as much fun as beating friends, or indeed strangers. A human is
always a more worthy opponent. However, the single player does have its
place. The Arcade Mode is a great place to practice, and the Story Mode
offers things that the online gameplay doesn't, and allows us to tell a
story and develop the characters, as well as to use some of the technology,
with lip-synching and facial expressions."
- Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
The
Gods & Heroes Q&A on MMOsite.com talks with Stieg Hedlund about Gods &
Heroes: Rome Rising, Perpetual Entertainment's upcoming MMORPG: "GnH takes
place in a fantastic ancient world inspired both by the history of Rome and
the surrounding areas of Europe, as well as by the myths of those places.
The timeframe is roughly 300 BCE, an interesting time, when Rome is a small
city-state struggling for survival against rival tribes such as the
Etruscans, Greeks, Gauls and Samnites. The gods and all the creatures of
myth are alive and present in the world as well, some friendly to the player
character and some presenting grave challenges to overcome as they are sworn
to destroy him."
- Prey
Prey
- Human Head CEO offers his closing comments on the sci-fi shooter on Games
Radar collects some very brief thoughts from Chris Reinhart about Prey:
"It's a breath of fun, fresh air in an industry currently enthralled by
pretty, but ultimately vapid games."
The Might and Magic Website now
offers the new version 1.1 patch for the D2D edition of Heroes of Might and
Magic V. The new version offers the same changes and additions as the standard
patch that came out over a month ago ( story).
The Battle for Middle-earth II Website now offers "the one RTS Mod SDK to
rule them all," with the release of the tools for the Tolkien RTS sequel. In
addition to the tools to create and import custom content into BfME2, the SDK
will also work with the original Battle for Middle-earth, Command and Conquer:
Generals, and Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour. Thanks Frans.
I was in ye olde tech shoppe today when the UPS display caught my eye, reminding
me that I had one of mine die recently, and most of my system was just plugged
into a power strip. When I was checking out, the guy at the register joked
about how all the thunderstorms lately must have gotten me worried, which it
hadn't, I feel that much more negligent for failing to replace the UPS
considering just how many electrical storms we've had since the old one went
south.
360, PS3 Half-Life 2 top
EA's summer showcase--LIVE NOW on GameSpot ( Update:
GameSpot now has a more fleshed out article about this) has a running
journal from an attendee of a press event being conducted today by Electronic
Arts (thanks Frans). The presentation by Valve had word on console Half-Life 2
plans, a new project with the working title Portal ( Update: It sounds
like this is a new Half-Life 2 weapon), and word that TeamFortress 2 is still in
the works as the multiplayer mode for Half-Life 2: Episode Two, long after being
written off as vaporware ( story, story,
story, story, story, and
story). Here's word: Newell's gone on to discuss the
episodic-gaming business model. Short version: Valve likes it. It will even let
them explore new types of gameplay in a new upcoming game called Portal (which
seems to be a working title). It looks like they took the portal concept from
Prey and slapped it on a gun--you can shoot them into walls and floors to solve
all kinds of crazy puzzles, teleporting objects around and stuff. Looks like a
total mindbender.
TEAM FORTRESS 2. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? Hey, they're still making it! It's
got a totally exaggerated, crazy art style now. Looks a little like Spy vs. Spy
or No One Lives Forever, kind of a '60s spy feel. It's going to be the included
multiplayer mode in Episode 2! Class-based, etc. You know the drill. Great news
for shooter fans. We all thought this game was dead years ago.
And hey, Half-Life 2: Ep 2 wlil ship for Xbox 360 and PS3 simultaneously with
the PC. The console games will basically include all of the HL2 back content, so
you'll get everything on there that you can get on the PC. Who expected all this
Valve news?
Atari to Raise $24
Million Through Asset Divestiture (thanks Frans) has word that Atari has
sold the Driver franchise, along with most of the assets of Driver developer
Reflections, to Ubisoft for a reported $24 million. Word is: "Atari will maintain
sell-off rights for a three month period for all Driver products except Driver:
Parallel Lines, which the company retains until end of calendar 2006. Specific
financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed and the agreement between
the two companies is subject to normal closing conditions. The Company
anticipates closing of the transaction to be completed prior to the end of its
fiscal second quarter ending September 30, 2006."
This press
release announces The Lord of the Rings: The White Council, an RPG that's
planned for release on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 late next year that's
based on the LotR movie series. The game is being overseen by EA's Steve Gray,
and is presumably the project that's previously been teased under the working
title Project Gray
Company ( story). Here's the announcement: CHERTSEY, UK
July 13, 2006 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today the
development of The Lord of the Rings™, The White Council™, an all-new role
playing game (RPG) for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system,
PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and PC. The game, inspired by
the New Line Cinema feature film trilogy that grossed more than $3 billion, will
feature an original storyline derived from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the
Rings novels under an agreement with EA. The game is scheduled to ship in late
2007.
“Our extremely talented and dedicated team is committed to creating an
incredible new experience for fans of The Lord of the Rings and role playing
gamers,” said Steve Gray, executive producer, The Lord of the Rings, The White
Council. “With its next generation gameplay and epic new storyline, we think The
Lord of the Rings, The White Council will be a huge success.” Players have the
freedom to explore the open world of Tolkien’s
Middle-earth™ in The Lord of the Rings, The White Council.
Players can
choose their role as a man, an elf, a dwarf, or a hobbit. Each role’s
destiny is to become a hero allied with the White Council, whose members include
the famed characters Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, and Elrond.
A combination of
stunning graphics and expansive environments, along with the freedom of movement
demonstrates the innovation and quality of the next-generation RPG, where
players can create their own adventures. The Lord of the Rings, The White
Council has not yet been rated by PEGI. For more information about the game,
please visit: www.whitecouncil.ea.com.
There's a new Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow movie on the
official website for the
tie-in with the movie sequel tie-in, offering the E3 trailer for the game in low
and high resolution. The downloads are mirrored on
3D Gamers.
- Star Trek Legacy
The
Star Trek: Legacy Preview on Computer and Video Games offers an
article-format Q&A with Mad Doc's Dr Ian Lane Davis about their upcoming
Trekkie Game: "Star Trek has very grown-up themes of humanity, politics and
personal drama, and the story is best told by characters who have a firm
identity. If the character is young and constantly changing, it's harder to
portray the changes and conflicts in the drama."
- CivCity: Rome
The
CivCity: Rome Q&A on FiringSquad converses with Firefly's Simon Bradbury
about CivCity: Rome, their upcoming ancient urban planning game: "Firefly is
the developer but the daily production overview is being handled by Firaxis,
we are developing it but they are constantly critiquing it. Its actually a
great way for two developers to work together, no falling out so far! We
have also had many design meetings with Firaxis, with Sid and other
designers and producers as we try and ensure that what is already quite a
natural fit (the game) feels a part of the Civ family."
- Midway
Marketing
Midway: Steve Allison on Redefining An Image on Gamasutra (thanks Mike Martinez)
is an article-format conversation with Midway's Chief Marketing Officer: "If
you ask someone about Midway, they’ll say Mortal Kombat, Spy Hunter,
Rampage. They still don’t say, Stranglehold, Unreal Tournament, Psi-Ops. We
have a long way to go."
- Hard Truck: Apocalypse: Rise of Clans on
GamingExcellence.
- Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy on
1Up and
IGN.
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption on
1Up.
QuakeCon 2006 Website now offers details
on the tournaments at this year's QuakeCon extravaganza, where a combined total
of $100,000 in prizes will be distributed to the winners of four tournaments.
Thanks
FiringSquad and Frans.
Wow, damage from that Tornado I mentioned last night was more significant than I
was aware at first, thank goodness there were no injuries reported. According
to this story
one of the businesses that was damaged is one of the local Chinese restaurants
where I've been food poisoned, which is right across the road from the multiplex
that I've decided to avoid in the future, but I promise these are coincidences,
and I do not actually have any control over the weather.
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