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Archived News:
FiringSquad has first details on the next project from 3000AD, Galactic
Command, a departure from the long-running Battlecruiser/Universal Combat
series, though once again set in the space combat genre. Describing the game as
a Freespace-style action shooter in episodic format for both PC and Xbox 360,
they offer the first screenshots from the game, which they say will be
officially announced Monday, at which time they will offer a Q&A with 3000AD's
Derek Smart.
More On Sam
Suede's Shut Down on FiringSquad is an article-format Q&A with Leisure Suit
Larry creator Al Lowe about the shutdown of iBase Games and cancellation of Sam
Suede: Undercover Exposure, their planned adult adventure game. The bottom line
in the game's demise was the realization that the costs associated with creating
a next-generation console title are greater than anticipated combined with the
realization that the game would likely not make a profit if only released for
the PC.
Analyst: EA brand tarnished
on GameSpot quotes analyst Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities as
describing the EA brand as "tarnished," using steadily declining review averages
for some key franchises as an symptom of the problem. The analyst notes that
this does not necessarily correlate to poor sales at this time, while seemingly
contradictorily saying "one or two bad iterations can ruin the long-term value
of a license" while going on to say he still feels positive about EA as a
long-term investment, before a reversal in conclusion saying "However,
higher-than-expected development expenses, a ballooning number of developers and
poor game quality have hurt EA's operating structure, in our view. Electronic
Arts' growth rate and earnings power, we believe, will lag its top competitors
in the near term." The article concludes with an update quoting EA, citing
record sales, their commitment to innovation, and their investment in
next-generation technology as reasons to be optimistic about their future.
The
Unknown Worlds Game Development Blog offers a gameplay movie from Natural
Selection 2 showing off "dynamically generating bacterial infestation in the
world based on what portions of the map the alien team occupies" in the coming
commercial version of the shooter (thanks
Voodoo Extreme).
Also, a new Vanguard: Saga of Heroes movie introduces the Shadow Hound from
Sigil's upcoming MMORPG. The high-resolution clip can be found on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
As noted on the MadMinute Games Website,
a new patch is available for Take Command: 2nd Manassas , their American Civil
War sequel. The download is available on
this page, and
the release note are in
this
forum post.
- Cryptic Studios
The
Jack Emmert Community Q&A #1 on MMORPG.COM talks with Cryptic Studios
about their superhero MMORPGs: "I just reread Fantastic Four #100 - 104
today. I'm trying to reread all of the Fantastic Four (all 500 issues) as
preparation for Cryptic's current project, the Marvel MMO. Last night, I
read Ultimate X-Men #70-73 and Uncanny X-Men #476 - 479. Rarely is there a
day that goes by that I don't read at least one comic!"
- Neverwinter Nights Support
Official
Atari/Obsidian Interview on Neverwinter Nights Vault discusses support
for Neverwinter Nights and NWN2: "The real question in my mind is how will
Atari support the Neverwinter franchise moving forward and most importantly
the players and builders who have been so loyal to the property over the
years. Everything has a lifecycle, and NWN1 has defiantly had one for the
history books. It's because of this and our dedication to the people that
have been so supportive of it over the years that we have really attempted
to support the community in as many ways as we can. Such as keeping the
scripting language the same and being able to import not just that but your
dialogue from NWN1 into NWN2. We believe its things like this that let the
community know that we continue to appreciate the work they have put into
the franchise in the past and that we are excited to see them continue with
it into the future."
- Warhammer Online
RPG
Vault's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Empire Q&A - Part 3 continues
this video interview series on EA/Mythic's upcoming Warhammer MMORPG.
- Music
The
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Composers Q&A on IGN talks with Sascha
Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco about their soundtrack for Dark Messiah of Might
and Magic.
Well, we got some of the predicted rain and winds today, but the temps stayed
freakishly high - close to 70. I'd feel guilty with most of the country socked
by blizzards, except for two things. One, living in the northeast often means
getting worse winter weather than most of the country, and two, this may be the calm before the storm, as they are predicting when the cold finally
overtakes this warmth, we may be in for a doozey of a storm.
Seven Lights Brings
Customizable Best-of-Breed Online Gaming and Entertainment to Players Worldwide
introduces this developer and The
Continuum, their upcoming turn-based strategy game that incorporates
elements of collectible games (though this was apparently shown at GenCon 2006).
There's a
Seven
Lights Q&A on FiringSquad discussing things with the developer, and here is
a bit on The Continuum, said to be due early next year: The Continuum™
combines classic turn-based wargaming, collectibilty and RPG character
development into one multi-player adventure that will change the way you game.
Characters, abilities and equipment combine with in-game artifacts, epic
battlefields, and changing scenarios to provide an experience that is at once
familiar and all-new.
Oxygen Games announces that PDC World Championship Darts has hit its intended
bull's-eye of UK retail: Northamptonshire, UK. 30th November, 2006.
Oxygen Games is pleased to announce that PDC World Championship Darts has hit
the shelves of all good retailers today for its widely anticipated launch.
Heralded as “without a doubt the best darts game ever made”*, PDC World
Championship Darts looks set to create as much of a stir this Christmas as its
real-life counterpart broadcast on Sky Sports – the biggest Championship in the
UK - the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
“We’re delighted with PDC World Championship Darts,” said Jim Scott CEO of
Oxygen Games “together, the PDC, Mere Mortals and Oxygen have combined their
talents to create what is set to be a legendary adaptation of the world’s most
beloved home-grown sport!”
It’s not just Oxygen and the press that feels the title is set for success this
holiday season … stars of the game commented “The game looks great to me. I
think it’s going be a massive hit.” Said Colin “Jaws” Lloyd, PDC World Number
One. “It’s very good…I’d get addicted to it!” added Phil “The Power” Taylor, 13
time World Darts Champion
Offering players the thrill of an ‘as seen on TV’ darts experience, PDC World
Championship Darts challenges players to take on the champions and bring victory
home.
As noted
here, a new patch is available for Evochron Alliance, a point release
bringing the space combat game to version 2.0 (actually 2.008). Word is:
"Evochron Alliance 2.0 is now available! This is a major update to the game that
includes a lot of new features and gameplay options. Directional shield arrays,
support for TrackIR, new physics, a 3D cockpit, and new control options are just
some of the improvements. Based on player requests and feedback, the graphics
have been updated substantially to include new effects, logos, textures, and
menus. These improvements have been designed to enhance the look and feel of the
game with a minimal increase in system requirements. So most players should not
encounter any performance changes, although some low end systems may see a
slight framerate drop due to the higher resource needs of this new version. The
game has been updated to support Windows Vista (while remaining compatible with
earlier versions of Windows) and has received several other updates requested by
players. Best of all, this update is FREE to players who purchased the original
game through this website. To update the game, simply download and run the
installer." The download is available
on this
page.
A new patch for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines continues the unofficial
support for the Source-engine action/RPG from defunct developer Troika Games.
More bug fixes and gameplay tweaks are on tap in the version 3.2 patch, which
can be found on 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying.
A high-resolution edition of the DirectX 10 flyover clip from Crysis is now
publicly available, showing off Crytek's eagerly anticipated first-person
shooter (see Q&A below). The clip is available on
IGN and
mirrored on
inCrysis. Also, the
EVE Online Videos Page (thanks Frans) now features a new clip showing off
the just-launched Revelations expansion for CCP's MMORPG.
- Crysis
The
Crysis Q&A on IGN offers the movie mentioned above along with discussion of Crytek's
coming first-person shooter: "As with Crysis, we are working on making the
Crysis franchise the most realistic and compelling experience ever created.
For upcoming titles, we will continue to push the bar for realism while
still making the game pure fun and exciting. Luckily for Crysis, we have
basically been given everything we asked for in the design stage (who would
have guessed we could break trees?) and more, so we can't really give you a
definitive answer to this."
- EA
New
Challenges on GamesIndustry.biz is a Q&A with Glenn Entis of industry
giant Electronic Arts: "Life's too short to be proud of a place that isn't
inspiring to people, doesn't let people do their best work, doesn't attract
great people. The people that I work with, we all have to run a responsible
business, but if we felt like we couldn't aso [sic] create a great
development environment - which means improving on some things we've done in
the past, really trying to make EA a phenomenal place for talent - I just
don't think we'd be as excited or we'd probably be doing something else."
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on
Gamepro.
MrsBlue had her rescheduled check-up this morning, making this quite the medical
week here at the BlueTower, between her visit, two trips to the vet, and
journeys to three different pharmacies. Hopefully this will conclude on Monday
when Gunnar-man returns to the vet to check on his progress. The vet originally
thought we could decide whether this was necessary based on whether Gunnar
seemed to feel better, but the trouble is he's such a trooper you can't really
tell he's sick, so we decided to do follow-up tests no matter what.
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