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Archived News:
ArenaNet announces that Guild Wars Nightfall is shipping, and the MMORPG
follow-up should be in stores tomorrow, when the servers will go live:
Thursday 26th October/...Guild Wars Nightfall™, one of the most
anticipated PC game releases of 2006, is on its way to retailers and will be
available on store shelves in Europe and North America on October 27, 2006.
Nightfall™ is the latest campaign release in the award-winning Guild Wars®
franchise created by ArenaNet® and published by NCsoft® Europe, the world’s
leading developer and publisher of online computer games.
Set in the land of Elona, an evil ruler is attempting to summon her outcast god,
and the stout of heart are asked to answer the rallying cry to fight back the
looming darkness that falls on the land. As you explore opulent cities, brave
savage coasts, delve deep into ancient monuments, and find your way across
poisonous deserts you will determine the fate of the new realm of Elona.
To aid you in your duty, Nightfall introduces exciting new features such as: ·
Heroes– customisable companions that level up with you, use weapons and skills
of your choosing, and go forth with you into battle. · Hero Battles, the
ultimate one-on-one challenge, this new PvP (Player versus Player) game play
allows two players, and their Heroes, to compete against one another. ·
Templates will let players save, store, and exchange Hero builds, providing
countless combinations to create the ultimate team of Heroes. · Along with the
new features are new missions, hundreds of new skills, new armour, two fierce
new professions, and endless replay ability.
“The response to the recent preview events has been over whelming, so much that
Guild Wars Nightfall is already being heralded as the best of the Guild Wars
series,” says Geoff Heath, CEO, NCsoft Europe. “Nightfall brings innovative new
features to the game that revolutionised the online gaming genre and NCsoft is
thrilled to launch this flagship game.”
Guild Wars Nightfall will be available in both Standard and Collector’s
Editions. The Collector’s Edition includes the Guild Wars Nightfall game as well
as a Making of Guild Wars Nightfall behind-the-scenes DVD produced by Gameplay
HD, a collector’s art book, collectible skill pins, a character mini-standee, a
poster-sized map of Elona, the Guild Wars Nightfall soundtrack CD, and more.
Guild Wars, an instant bestseller in Europe and North America upon its release
in April 2005, and Guild Wars Factions™, the number one game in both Europe and
North America earlier this year, are global online role-playing games. With a
suggested retail price of £29.99 and still no subscription fee, Guild Wars
Nightfall will be available worldwide and servers supporting the new release
will “go live” at 8:01 BST / 9:01 CET on October 27, 2006.
The Made Man
Website (thanks Frans) reveals a delay to the upcoming life of organized
crime game. Admits is probably a better term, as there was no longer a chance to
hit the September 2006 date that had been listed there, which has now been
updated to read November 2006.
A new clip from Rainbow Six: Vegas shows off more of Team Rainbow's upcoming
excursion to Sin City. The "Calypso Casino" movie is available from
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Also, a new movie showing off Tony Tough 2: A Rake's Progress is now available,
offering some high-resolution footage from the adventure game. The clip is
available on 3D Gamers
and Worthplaying.
Terrorist
Takedown: Covert Operations Product Section is live, home to CITY
Interactive's coming shooter sequel featuring McBain's arch-enemy Mendoza. The
site includes information about the game, the just-released demo
( story), and
a gallery with a bunch of new screenshots. Also, a new
War Front: Turning Point
Product Section is online, signifying 10tacle Studios' deal to publish
Digital Reality's upcoming alternate-history World War II RTS game, offering
info and screenshots. Thanks Frans.
- Jade Empire
The
Jade
Empire PC Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Diarmid Clarke about the coming
PC edition of BioWare's RPG: "Jade PC remains absolutely faithful to the
original story our writers wanted to make, so we didn’t want to add
arbitrary new content which would not fit with the writing vision. But we
did focus on adding 3 main layers of development: 1) Providing the PC player
with the technical improvements that they expect and demand, such as
improved resolution and great keyboard and mouse control, 2) New content
such as cool fighting styles and monsters, and 3) Really enhancing the
combat and balancing to improve the gameplay experience."
- AIAS
A
Sit-Down With AIAS President Joseph Olin on Digital Trends talks with
the head of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences about his
organization: "We try to stand up first and foremost for developers, the
individual artists and sound and design people who are really at the core of
the game-making process. I don't want to take anything away from publishers
– without their financial resources a lot of great titles would never see
the light of day. But the Academy is really here to recognize the work
itself, not necessarily the brilliance of a marketing decision. I think for
publishers, what the Academy does is provide an extended window to market
and promote a game. Why? Because it was recognized by game makers as being a
singularly great title out of the 800-plus titles which might ship in any
given year."
- The Broken Hourglass
RPG
Vault's The Broken Hourglass Q&A - Part 1 talks with Jason Compton about
Planewalker Games' upcoming fantasy-themed RPG: "We don't make any secret
out of the fact that the Infinity engine titles, particularly Baldur's Gate,
its sequel and Planescape: Torment, have keenly and directly influenced our
design - because those are the games we enjoyed playing, and the ones whose
successors are most profoundly missed. Rather than focus on a slavish
reproduction of the Infinity experience (which is both impractical and
unnecessary), we've simply used its most successful gameplay concepts as a
base, and built our own notions on top. Our novel magic system, for
instance, has received positive early notices from some core RPG fans, and
we hope to deliver on those expectations."
- Postal 3
Gamasutra's
Postal III Q&A talks with Vince Desi of Running With Scissors about the
coming continuation of their outrageous shooter series: "First, I think that
game developers have forgotten we’re in the game business; we don’t make
movies or write books, we make games. That said, I’ve always considered
Postal an expression in free will for both us as developers and for the
people who play games. Our audience has always been somewhat older and more
appreciative of our dialogue and general stab at American pop culture. In
fact, I think the message is very clear and simple: you are responsible and
held accountable for your own actions. Wouldn’t it be nice if that was the
case in reality?"
A little work on clippering some of Gunnar-man's coat today showed me I will
have to come up with a better method of grooming. My current technique involves
doing this while he's in the bathtub to keep the hair contained, but the pain in
my knee afterwards made me regret the contortions this involved - all the more
so since this is the knee that had surgery years back, making it actually my
"good" knee, compared to the unrepaired one. I enjoy the bonding with the dogs
that comes from the grooming, but not at the expense of being able to walk, so
it may come to turning such chores over to a professional.
Ubisoft announces that the PC edition of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double
Agent is gold, and the stealth Sam Fisher sequel is due in stores on November 9.
There are new
screenshots here, and word is: San Francisco, CA – October 26, 2006 –
Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today announces that
the PC version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent™ is now gold and will
be available in retail stores November 9th, 2006 for a suggest price of $49.99.
About Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent
In the highly anticipated sequel to the 2005 game of the year, Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell Double Agent, play as a double agent spy for the first time ever.
Take on dual roles of covert operative and ruthless terrorist, where your
choices of whom to betray and whom to protect actually affect the outcome of
your game.
Experience the relentless tension and gut-wrenching dilemmas of life as a double
agent. Lie. Kill. Sabotage. Betray. All to protect the innocent. How far will
you go to gain the enemy’s trust? As covert operative Sam Fisher, you must
infiltrate a vicious terrorist group and destroy it from within. You’ll need to
carefully weigh the consequences of your actions. Kill too many terrorists and
you’ll blow your cover. Hesitate and millions will die. Do whatever it takes to
complete your mission, but get out alive.
A Terrorist Takedown: Covert Operations demo offers the chance to go undercover
and take down some terrorists in CITY Interactive's first-person shooter sequel.
The two-mission demo is available from
CITY Interactive, and mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
A playable demo for Sid Meier's Railroads! allows the chance to make like Bobby
Bacala and play with your model trains in a sample of Firaxis' transportation
simulation. The demo co-premieres on
3D Gamers and
FilePlanet (registration required). The download is mirrored on
3D Downloads,
FileFront,
Fragland.net,
Strategy Informer, and
Worthplaying.
The Galactic Civilizations II:
Dread Lords Downloads Page now offers a new patch for Stardock's space
strategy sequel, bringing it to version 1.40X. Word is: "Galactic Civilizations
II. Version 1.4 of the game updates some of the graphics, tweaks the balance of
planetary improvements based on player feedback, is more forgiving of bugs in
mods and more." The
change log outlines all of the changes.
The Star Trek:
Legacy FAQ now offers a specific release date for the coming Trekkie game
(thanks Frans). Where the site previously listed Fall 2006, it now has November
21. The December 2006 release date for the European edition of the game remains
unchanged.
A new Rayman: Raving
Rabbids Product Section is live, offering a home to the upcoming installment
in the offbeat platform series (thanks Frans). Included is an updated release
date, offering March 2007 as when to expect the project, which was previously
due sometime this year.
Take 2
Games announces the release of the Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition, a
collection that bundles the Broken World expansion with Gas Powered Game's RPG
along with some additional bonus material. Word is: New York, NY -
October 26, 2006 - 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
(NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition for PC is
available now. This special collector's set includes full versions of the
original Dungeon Siege II, Dungeon Siege II: Broken World expansion pack, and a
number of collectible items including a fold-out map, concept art, character
portraits, wallpapers, and "The Making of Dungeon Siege II" video.
There's an update on the 4D Rulers Website
(thanks Frans) about Patriots: A Nation Under Fire, the latest project from
the developers of Gore. The official
Patriots: A
Nation Under Fire Product Section is live, offering the first screenshots
from 4D Rulers upcoming shooter and this
description: "Terrorists have just invaded US soil in an attempt to overthrow
the superpower and achieve global supremacy. 50 major cities have already been
devastated by nuclear attacks while others are left in total chaos. Join the
Resistance as you grab your weapon and take to the streets to fend off the
powerful surprise attack. From urban downtown city streets to rural residential
parks, you'll engage in countless battles as you help fight for America's
freedom."
Empire Interactive Support now offers a new FlatOut 2 patch, updating the US ediiton of BugBear's racing sequel to version 1.2 (thanks Frans). Word is: "This Patch
update is ONLY for the US Version of Flatout 2. Any issues regarding the patch
or the US version of the Flatout 2 game have to be raised with Vivendi in the
US. Contact details are in the manual that is supplied electronically with the
US version of the Flatout 2 game."
A triple-feature of Murder on the Orient Express movies is now online, showing
off the upcoming Agatha Christie-inspired adventure game. Each clip includes cut
scenes, lovingly adorned by logos. The movies can be found on
3D Gamers.
- Guild Wars: Nightfall
The
Guild
Wars: Nightfall Q&A on FiringSquad chats with Gaile Gray, learning more
about the imminent MMORPG expansion from the ArenaNet community relations
manager: "I am sort of fond of the lunatic plants that are running around
Elona, like the Iboga and the Jacaranda. I mean, imagine being attacked by
the flailing braches of an enormous bush… and dying! ;) I have to say I
really like the Harpies, too—they’re classic. One of my team members chose
the Margonites as his favorites, and a few members of the Art Team I polled
in passing cited the Rain and Rock Beetles, the Rinkhal Monitor, and the
Junundu amongst their favorites."
- Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes
The
Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes Q&A
on MMOReports talks
with Sigil’s Nick Parkinson about their coming MMORPG: "We recently entered
into phase 3 of beta and we’re pretty excited. With beta 3 we opened a new
continent, Qalia and now we’re polishing Thestra based on player feedback
we’ve had there for both content and art. We’ve still got a lot of work to
do but the game is really coming along nicely and we’re looking forward to
launch. You work at something like this for years and years and it really
only isn’t until towards the end that it starts to come together and you can
take a step back and look at all that you’ve accomplished. It’s a great
feeling and we can’t wait to see the reactions as more and more people get
the chance to play."
- Sid Meier's Railroads!
The
Conductors of Sid Meier's Railroads! on Gamespy offers a Q&A with the
folks at Firaxis about their new transportation sim: "For us, the joy of
trains was and is all about the trains themselves. We tried to make them the
star of the show. So we really focused on the fun of laying down those
tracks, getting trains onto them, and then enjoying seeing how they interact
with the world and how the world grows as a result. Obviously, there's a fun
strategy game in there too that adds fuel to the builder aspect of the
game."
- Eragon
The
Eragon Q&A on Game Chronicles talks with Vivendi Games producer Tim
Ramage about the coming movie tie-in: "The design team at Stormfront is a
veteran and very talented group. They knew from the get-go that the key to
integrating the dragon into game play while maintaining combat balance was
in the level set-ups. And this is also where the fiction really helped. The
action in the movie and the book provided the framework, and within that
framework the designers played with enemy numbers, flow, weapons and level
gating to make sure that the challenge was realistic enough to reward the
player without cheapening any of the awesome power of Saphira."
I have a suggestion for Major League Baseball on how to avoid postseason
postponements like last night's rainout due to an autumn rainstorm. Just push
back the playoffs one month, and the chances of rain will go way down, though it
might be necessary to shovel snow before some games.
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