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Archived News:
FiringSquad
notes new job openings at Relic that indicate the primarily RTS developer is
working on two as-yet unannounced titles, one an RPG and the other an MMOG. They
list
an opening for an "experienced and motivated Senior Designer to contribute
to our new RPG project" and
an opening for "an experienced and motivated Senior Designer to join our MMO
team."
Enlight announces the promised retail boxed edition of SpaceStationSim is now
available in stores: PARKVILLE, MD — (November 28, 2006) — Enlight, one
of the world’s leading developers and publishers of entertainment software for
the PC platform, announced today that Vision Videogames’ SpaceStationSim has
shipped to North American retail outlets. Available exclusively on the PC,
SpaceStationSim is rated E 10+ and carries an MSRP of $19.99.
SpaceStationSim offers players the unique opportunity to build and operate their
own version of the International Space Station (ISS). As the first game ever
developed in collaboration with NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, players assume the role of Chief Administrator of NASA and
manage astronaut crewmembers as they live, work, and play aboard their uniquely
created ISS. Gamers must successfully run their space station by guiding the
astronauts through rigorous missions and numerous challenges such as fires and
equipment malfunctions.
“SpaceStationSim provides everyone with the opportunity to become part of the
space station program by allowing players to create their own unique ideas and
innovations for space exploration,” said Paul Lombardi, chief executive officer
of Enlight Interactive, USA. “Adults and kids alike will be able to bring the
adventure of space home this holiday season.”
As noted here, two new
UFO Afterlight movies offer a pair of high-resolution looks at ALTAR Games'
upcoming continuation of their xenophobic strategy series. There is a cinematic
clip and a gameplay clip, both of which can be found on
this page.
Also, the newly opened Theseis Website
features a pair of movies from Track7 Games' upcoming adventure game. There is a
story preview clip from last year, and a new "sneak peak" gameplay movie. Thanks
Frans.
- BioWare
BioWare
Austin Talks About Upcoming MMO on 1UP (thanks
Shacknews) talks
with BioWare about their plans to enter the massive world of MMOGs: "And we
can talk about the high-level goals: We basically want to bring what
BioWare's famous for to the online space, and one of the things BioWare's
famous for is storytelling ... and it's something that pretty well doesn't
exist in the online space right now. Most "storytelling" in MMORPGs is just
FedEx quests -- you know, you have to go get some eggs -- and it's presented
in a format that's just a bunch of text thrown at you in paragraph for ...
and that's not so exciting. We want to bring a level of storytelling that's
equal to the single-player box games that BioWare has done. I think we can
do that. One of the big challenges will be making our storytelling work in
an environment that has multiple players."
- Lord of the Rings Online
The
Turbine Q&A on TenTonHammer talks with Jeff Anderson about Lord of the
Rings Online: "And when we took over the rights we changed the name to Lord
of the Rings Online. That was a conscious decision on our part too. We
wanted to make sure that players understood what the game was really about.
When you talk about Middle-earth, it really undervalues the totality of the
intellectual property. The movies have taught us all that The Lord of the
Rings is what it’s about and that’s really what we ‘re about too.
Middle-earth Online (the name) missed the opportunity to tell the epic
story. It would have been a Middle-earth simulator. As opposed to living in
Middle-earth, we want to be in the greatest adventure of all time and we
want to make you part of the fellowship, part of the adventure, part of the
story. You’ll get the chance to fight with Gimli and Legolas and Boromir and
that’s just a blast and those things really make you feel like you’re a part
of something special."
- Voyage Century
RPG
Vault's Voyage Century Q&A - Part 2 continues their discussion of this
free-to-play MMORPG: "We are planning to operate this MMORPG free of charge,
with the option of purchasing in the item mall. Operating an MMO is a very
costly endeavor, but we still do not plan to charge in order to attract more
and more players join and build their own world. In China, Voyage Century
was originally charged using monthly cards, but this has been changed to the
same free game concept that we plan in the West. We will offer much more
highly free way to play after game launch and support the platform that the
players make own history."
- Chair Entertainment
The
Chair Entertainment Interview on FiringSquad sits down with (Colonel)
Donald Mustard of Chair Entertainment to discuss Empire, their first-person
shooter collaboration with author Orson Scott Card.
Nope, the shock of this past weekend's Giants game hasn't really warn off yet.
If you see me you'll understand if my jaw is still agape.
EA's The Lord of
the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king Has
Shipped for the PC announces availability of the new expansion for the
Tolkien-inspired RTS game (thanks Frans). Hate Hobbits? You're in
luck: REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts' (NASDAQ:ERTS
- News) The Lord of the Rings(TM), The Battle for Middle-earth(TM) II, The Rise
of the Witch-king(TM) shipped to retailers nationwide today, and shipped
Internationally on November 24, 2006. As the expansion pack to the fan favorite,
The Lord of the Rings(TM), The Battle for Middle-earth II(TM), this Real-time
Strategy (RTS) game enhances every existing feature and offers players the
chance to command the rise of evil in Middle-earth while experiencing the epic
battles that took place before those depicted in the films from New Line Cinema.
Full of exciting content, including an entirely new faction, completely new
single player campaign, and additional units for all six existing factions, The
Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king,
allows players to explore the evil side of Middle-earth. The all new single
player campaign tells the story of the evil Witch-king's rise to power and
invasion of the great kingdom of Arnor, home to Aragorn's ancestors. To fully
experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar
faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes. Create-A-Hero's
entirely new and unique Troll class grants players more creative freedom for
their heroes in addition to new weapons and armor that will allow players to
have even more choices in customizing their favorite heroes. War of the Ring, a
risk-style meta-game, offers upgraded army persistence, a new siege dynamic on
the Living World Map, and unified territories that serve as major control
points.
The Ghost Recon
Website now features a new patch for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter,
advancing the war fighting game to version 1.35. The update centers around
advanced bug-fixing, as it addresses a bunch of crashes, bugs, and other issues.
Frogster
Interactive now offers downloads of a playable German demo for Bet on
Soldier: Black-out Saigon, Kylotonn's first-person shooter expansion. The demo
includes a level from the full game, but requires an understanding of German or
some guesswork. The 828 MB download is mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
A new Call of Juarez patch is now available, updating Techland's wild western
first-person shooter to version 1.1.0.0. The new version includes bug fixes and
other improvements as well as a new anti-cheat system. The patch is available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
gameSlave,
The Patches Scrolls,
VGPRO,
and Worthplaying.
Lighthouse Interactive announces plans for an expansion for Ship Simulator
2006, an untitled add-on due for release in European territories (except
Germany) in February 2007: Haarlem, The Netherlands, November 28th 2006.
Leading publisher Lighthouse Interactive and Dutch developer VSTEP have jointly
announced today that an Add-On pack is in the works for their highly successful
entry into the simulation genre, “Ship Simulator 2006”. The Official Add-On will
feature a.o. 6 new ships, one of them a giant cruise ship capable of carrying
thousands of passengers. All new ships are playable in the 2006 version
environments and can be used to create new missions.
Ship Simulator is a simulation game that puts players at the helm of some of the
most varied and detailed ships to be found at sea, all set within stunningly
realistic 3D environments. Players can take control of a wide array of ship
types, from massive cargo ships to speedboats, yachts, water taxis and even the
mighty Titanic. The waters you sail are also as varied as the ships, from the
biggest harbours in the world to calm aqua marine tropical waters. Perform tasks
in the numerous available missions or just head out for a leisurely cruise. You
are in control.
Ship Simulator 2006 is published by Lighthouse Interactive throughout all
European countries, excluding the German speaking territories and Benelux. The
game is also published under the Lighthouse banner in e.g. Australia and Japan.
The Ship Simulator Add-On to the game will be available in retail by early
February 2007 at an RRP of €19.95 or £14.99.
- Armed Assault
The
Armed Assault Q&A on
IGN talks with Paul Statham about Bohemia Interactive Studios' upcoming
military shooter: "Well, the main island itself and the smaller islands
around it are complete for every mission: there are no locked areas, or
areas that have to be loaded in from time to time. You could start a
mission, spend a few hours exploring the island by driving or flying around
and then go back to the area you started and complete your mission as
normal. Obviously that's not a very practical way to complete missions but
that's what freedom is about and that's what we believe games should be
about - freedom, playing the way you want, using the tactics you want, even
if you want to play stupid and get killed over and over and over again,
that's your right. You bought the game!"
- Company Of Heroes
The
Company Of Heroes Post Mortem Q&A on FiringSquad looks back at
development of the World War II RTS game through the eyes of Relic producer
John Johnson from Wisconsin: "There were no real marketing or sales concerns
in making Company of Heroes an M rated title. The vision we had for the
product was to tell the story like it is, and not hold back on some of the
more gritty and brutal aspects of that war and that meant that we’d have to
accept an M rating. The vision just didn’t hold well to making this an E
rated game."
- Uru Live
The
Myst Online Q&A on
IGN talks with Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds about the revived plan to
breathe MMO life into the Myst series in Uru Live: "At the very core of Uru
is the idea of ownership. As you explore Ages and places, you become the
owner of an instance of that Age. In the initial Myst you found books and
they felt like yours. they'd be in the state you left them. The same thing
applies to Uru. Every time I use a book, it appears on a bookshelf in a very
personal space. I start to collect them and they almost become trophies. I
can invite people to go with me, and have a team of people who explore them
on a regular basis and share them but they are mine and I control access to
them and can explore them on my own if I like."
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl on
GameSpy.
The Gunnar-man seems better all the time, he's obviously happy with the relief
offered by his eye goop. The funny thing is how Hudson the wonder dog is acting
since we returned from the vet. Gunnar and I made the trip to the doc without
her, and now she's following me around like a puppy trying to figure out if
she's in the doghouse or something.
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