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Archived News:
The
ANNO 1701 Website (thanks Frans) has word that Related Designs'
strategy/management sequel is shipping out: ANNO 1701 has hit the shelves
today, and the Aristocrats are now making their first appearance on the website.
Luxury is also moving into the ANNO world and you will now see an increasing
number of graceful cats and splendid peacocks.
The Needs of the spoilt Aristocrats are many and, in some ways, satisfying them
will prove a real challenge. Now that the Indians are the fourth and latest
Foreign culture to enter the Island world of ANNO, it should be possible to
provide the inhabitants with the Colonial goods they desire. Furs, Talismans,
Jade and Ivory; the Goods are as expensive as they are urgently needed; your
organisational skills will be put to the test here!
Focus Home
Interactive announces February 2007 as the North American release date for
TrackMania: United, but that a limited run of 10,000 advance copies of the
bundle of Nadeo's racing game and its add-ons will be sold online on November
17: October 27, 2006 - French publisher Focus Home Interactive will be
giving North American gamers a reason to fire up their engines, having today
announced the impending release of TrackMania United for PC.
TrackMania United is the latest title in the TrackMania series, and will combine
high-speed racing with pure, uncomplicated fun. The game contains all the
features of the previous titles, and introduces an extensive new content editor.
The new editor and in-game browser allow both veteran and rookie players the
ability to create, showcase and share customized paintjobs, tracks, environments
and videos. TrackMania United will offer players the opportunity to enjoy a rich
gaming experience both online and offline, while taking part in a friendly and
fun online community.
TrackMania United will see full North American retail distribution in February
2007; however, a special early international release of 10,000 copies will be
available for sale on November 17, 2006. These 10,000 copies will only be
available for purchase online, and will be the full game, with no limitations.
This early release will allow fans to get a jump start on developing content to
share with the TrackMania United community.
Fasten your seat belt and get ready to race at blazing speeds through some of
the most insane environments ever seen by gamers! Mammoth jumps, loops, raised
hairpin turns, half-pipes, ramps and a multitude of other outlandish obstacles
await the intrepid racer in TrackMania United.
For more information about TrackMania United, please visit
http://www.focus-home.com.
FiringSquad (thanks Frans) reports getting word from Atari that the PC
edition of Test Drive Unlimited is delayed, along with the PS2 and PSP editions
of the racing game that is already available for the Xbox 360. The PC and other
editions were announced with a Fall 2006 release date, but they are now expected
to race into stores in February 2007.
An updated Space Empires V demo is now available, bringing the sample of
Malfador Machinations' space strategy sequel to the same version 1.08 as the
recently released retail version (thanks Frans). The updated demo can be found
on the
Strategy First Website and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying.
The
M.A.N.2 News Page announces the release of an updated version 266 beta
Massive Assault 2 Network 2, saying this is the final beta version of the MMORTS
game before its retail release. The update adding new units, planets, and more,
is available on the
M.A.N.2
Downloads Page.
A new patch for the European edition of Gothic 3 is now available, updating
Piranha Bytes' RPG sequel to version 1.08. The patch is available on the
Gothic 3 Website and it is mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying.
A new Rogue
Warrior Product Section is live, offering information and screenshots for
Bethesda Softworks' just-announced special forces shooter. Also, new from
Bethesda is The
Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine Product Section, also offering info
and screenshots, dedicated to the recently unveiled MMORPG expansion. Thanks Frans.
A Jade Empire Special Edition movie shows off the upcoming PC edition of
BioWare's martial arts-theme action/RPG. The clip including eight minutes of
gameplay and cut-scene footage is available on
3D Gamers and
Gamespot.
Also, a new RoboBlitz movie offers a lengthy narrated look at Naked Sky
Entertainment's upcoming action game. This clip is available on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Shacknews'
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Q&A drops the hammer on Thor Frølich in a
conversation about IO Interactive's upcoming action game: "For the majority
of the game they will share objectives. We like to emphasize that these two
guys are forced to work closely together, despite their mutual distrust and
to keep the single player and co-op mode as unified as possible, to maintain
the integrity of the storyline. But in the single player situations where
Lynch is doing something that translates well into gameplay, in co-op we'll
let that player handle it. For example providing cover fire for the other or
hold a part of a building until the other arrives."
- Introversion Software
The
Introversion Software Q&A on Game Overdrive talks with the indie
developer about their game projects as well as digital distribution: "Yes
digital distribution has really been our saviour and I think it will play
that role for many other independent games developers. Modern game
development costs millions of dollars that developers usually have to seek
from a publisher. In doing so the publisher takes a large financial risk and
as such the royalty payments made back to the developers are not favourable.
Traditionally once retail and the distributor have also taken their cut a
game needs to be enormously successful before the developer actually sees
some profit. This is destructive as it means that developers tend to shy
aware from making innovative and creative games, sticking to what they are
told to do by the publishers. On-line distribution may provide a route by
which a developer can directly profit from each individual sale and cut out
the middleman - thus requiring fewer sales to make a profit, and enabling
them to take more risks in gameplay innovation."
MrsBlue came home today and said she thought she might be feeling a little
under-the-weather, so I'm trying to stay quarantined, as I want no part of that.
R.I.P.:
'Owen
Marshall' actor Arthur Hill dead and
Runaways drummer Sandy West dies at 47.
Aspyr sends word that the North American edition of Gothic 3 is gold, and gamers
can begin having their time devoured by Piranha Bytes' RPG sequel on November
13. Here's the announcement, which also pimps a contest: AUSTIN, Texas –
October 27, 2006 – Aspyr Media confirmed today that its highly anticipated PC
RPG Gothic 3 will ship on November 13 in North America, ensuring that it lands
on store shelves by November 20.
“Obviously, Gothic 3 is an important title for Aspyr, but as a gamer I can’t
wait for the holiday's best PC RPG to land in stores next month,” said Michael
Rogers, President and CEO of Aspyr Media. “I can already picture folks across
America grabbing a turkey leg, rolling up the sleeves of their snowflake
sweaters and gathering the ones they love around the PC hearth to stomp orcs -
as a family. After all, that's really what the holidays are all about."
Gothic 3 is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and will carry a SRP of $39.99. To
learn more about Gothic 3, and to enter for your chance to win a high-end gaming
PC, go to
http://aspyr.com/product/info/54. Contest ends November 30.
As announced here, a
playable demo for RACE is now available (thanks Frans), offering the second
motorsports sample to race across the internet today. Here's word on this
audition for SimBin's official game of the World Touring Car Championship:
"Featured cars in this PC demo are the Seat León and the BMW 320i, representing
the versatility of the WTCC Championship. At the legendary circuit of Brands
Hatch, UK, players can experience a taste of what’s to come. Chase your ghost in
the Time Attack mode, push yourself to the limit and break your own record." The
download is available on this page.
This EA FTP
Directory offers a playable demo for Need for Speed Carbon, allowing the
chance to test drive the latest installment in the street racing series. The
demo is a 650 MB download, which is mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront,
FilePlanet (registration required), Gamer's
Hell, and
Worthplaying.
This page offers
downloads of two new patches for Universal Combat: A World Apart updating
3000AD's space combat game to version 1.00.18. Likewise,
this page features
three new version 1.00.02 patches for the Special Edition of Universal Combat.
The Version
Control File outlines what's new and different.
A new demo for Medieval II: Total War is now available, offering an updated
sample of Creative Assembly's turn-based strategy sequel. A magazine cover-disk
demo for the game hit the internet a couple of weeks ago ( story),
and this demo offers the
same content as that one with the addition of a new Battle of Otumba
map. The download is available from
Sega of America
and mirrors of the 640 MB download can be found on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
VGPRO, and
Worthplaying.
Bethesda Softworks
Announces Its Return to First-Person Shooters With Rogue Warrior is the
press release announcing development of a tactical Navy SEALs first-person
shooter at Zombie Studios that's planned for release in the fall of next year.
Going along with the news, the first screenshots are on
3D Gamers, there is
a Rogue Warrior's John
Williamson Q&A on IGN, there are
Rogue Warrior First Impressions on GameSpot and a
Rogue Warrior Preview on
IGN. Here's a bit from the announcement of the Unreal 3 engine
project: ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Bethesda Softworks®, a
ZeniMax Media company, today announced its plans to publish Rogue Warrior(TM),
an authentic, tactical first-person shooter based on the best-selling book
series by Richard (Dick) Marcinko, former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of both
SEAL Team Six and Red Cell. Rogue Warrior is being developed for the Xbox
360(TM) videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3
computer entertainment system, and Windows by Zombie Studios in conjunction with
Bethesda Softworks. Rogue Warrior is scheduled for a fall 2007 release.
"We are very excited to be working on Rogue Warrior, which allows us the chance
to bring Bethesda's creative vision and development expertise to this brand,"
said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "This game marks our
return to shooters since our highly successful Terminator series, and we hope to
offer fans a true next-generation gameplay experience."
Rogue Warrior is a story-driven shooter that provides team-based tactical combat
set in massive, contiguous levels using Unreal 3 streaming technology. Central
to the game's single and multiplayer experience is the idea of a freeform
battlefield, where players are given the freedom to choose how to complete a
given objective, allowing for creativity and surprises, rather than heavily
scripted events and tightly contained spaces traditionally used in this genre.
Funcom announces that the anarchy will
continue in Anarchy Online, as they are extending the program that makes the
science fiction MMORPG free-to-play through the beginning of 2008. Word
is: Durham, USA - October 27, 2006 - Funcom announces an extension of the
completely free and play-all-you-want offer in Anarchy Online until January
2008. The free offer was a major MMO first when originally introduced and to
date almost one million players have registered a free account in ‘Anarchy
Online’, making it one of the most successful western MMO games of all times.
The expanded free offer now not only extends the opportunity to play the most
heralded sci-fi MMO for free, but also include the award-winning ‘Anarchy Online
- Notum Wars’ giving free players the chance to take part Player versus Player
combat.
The Need for
Speed Carbon Theater Page (thanks Frans) offers a new trailer called 55DSL
Sizzle from the street racing sequel (scroll down the list of mostly familiar
newly added clips). The new movie introduces more of the game's supporting
characters. Also, the
Nexus Forums
(thanks TheNetrunner) link to downloads of a new trailer apparently teasing
Nexus 2, the upcoming space combat sequel.
- Valve
Newell
on Steam, Half Life and Source on Next Generation features Gabe Newell
blowing off some steam about the games industry: "It’s not something we’re
really looking at right now. In general in this industry you’re always
working with people. I mean Scott’s licensed other people’s engines, so he
certainly can get over his resistance in other domains. You know Valve got
its start by working with it on the Quake engine. Everybody in the industry
works with Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo who have their own first party
titles as well, so, I think that we’re a really good partner for the people
that we work with, I think we have a good reputation, and that the people
who are working with us on Steam have been super-happy to date with the
success they’ve had by working with us."
- Flight Simulator X
The
Microsoft Flight Simulator X Q&A on FiringSquad discusses the latest
installment in the flight sim series with Mike Gilbert: "For the first time
in the history of the Flight Simulator franchise we’re offering players the
chance to play the role of Tower Controller in a multi-player session. Tower
controllers will be able to see other players on their radar screen
represented on their PC and communicate with other players using
voice-over-IP (VOIP) technology. This will make a tremendous contribution to
the immersion and fun of on-line play."
Another sign of the times: We had our first frost of the season today. Old man
winter is a-knocking.
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