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Archived News:
Tom Mustaine Talks SiN on
1UP talks with the recently departed Ritual tribesman about what he's up to,
and what's going on with the second installment in SiN Episodes: But he
did express a feeling that the world hadn't been quite as ready for episodic
content and digital delivery as they had banked on it being. The problems of
being able to sell in stores also came up with him adding "we would have been
better off selling it at $35 than $19. At 19 bucks it went straight to the shit
bin in many places."
Along with marketing struggles, the team ran into new challenges once they got
the first episode out the door. Mustaine explained, "we could have done episode
2 in 6 months, but we'd have needed double the team size just to keep up with
the Half-Life 2 engine." As it turns out, hitching their wagon to Valve became
as much a curse as blessing. Besides having to merge the code every time the
engine was updated, it also drew inevitable comparisons to Half-Life 2. So, the
lack of a gravity gun, for instance, stood out as something "missing" from SiN
to some gamers. And then there were the distractions. With Original SiN -- the
remake of SiN using the Source engine -- up and running, and the pull of doing
multiplayer with the new episodic game Mustaine said that it was hard to keep
focused on just cranking out the next episode.
A trio of new Vanguard Saga of Heroes movies are online, continuing the flow
of clips from Sigil's upcoming MMORPG. Each of the three movies highlights a
different flying mount from the game. The downloads can be found on
3D Gamers.
Man... a few downloads today, huh?
A new version of America's Army is now available, bringing the U.S. Army's
freeware shooter/recruiting tool to version 2.8 and once again changing its
subtitle, which is now Coalition. The new version includes a new mission editor,
offers a pair of tutorial maps, and incorporates a number of bug fixes and other
improvements. There is a patch to update version 2.7, available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
and
Internode Games Network, while a new full installer
that tops out well over the 2 GB download limitation of many browsers is on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
Gamer's Hell,
Internode
Games Network, and
VGPRO.
A playable demo for Armed Assault offers the chance to try out a portion of an
island from Bohemia Interactive Studios' new military shooter in any of the
three multiplayer modes. The 846 MB download is available on
3D Gamers,
ComputerGames.ro,
eXp Download,
FileFront, Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
2K Games is serving up holiday gifts for owners of Sid Meier's Railroads! with a
new scenario as a free download as well as a new patch adding new features. Word
is: "The new scenario is available at
www.sidmeiersrailroads.com and
includes a new holiday train with 2 skins and custom sounds; holiday-themed
goodies like cookies, eggnog and toys; cheerful music to get players in the
holiday spirit; a wide-open, rugged North Pole environment; and a challenging
scenario that pits you against up to three other robber barons who are out to
destroy Christmas. We have also released a new patch at
www.sidmeiersrailroads.com which
includes some nice new features like a free camera, a 'use all trains' command
in the traintable mode, a Terrain Editor and plenty of new graphics and
functionality." The downloads aren't actually available from the site at this
time as they state, but the patch is available from
2K GAMES and the scenario can be found on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers, and Gamer's Hell.
A Stoked Rider Alaska Alien demo offers the chance to get stoked for Bongfish
Interactive's snowboarding sequel. The demo features two challenges which can be
attacked with any of three snowboards. The download can be found on the
Stoked Rider Website and
mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers, eXp
Download,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
VGPRO,
and Worthplaying.
The headline in this
Rainbow Six UK
Website News Story says it all (literally, as there is no text in the story
below) in announcing "R6 Vegas PC 1.02 Patch Released!"
The main site offers the patch
notes as well as a link to download the patch, which is also available via the
game's internal auto-update function. Downloads of the manual patch are mirrored
on 3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell,
VGPRO,
and Worthplaying.
The patch
section on the framed
GTR 2 Website
offers new patches for GTR 2, updating the FIA racing game sequel to version
1.1. There are separate patches for the US, European, and downloadable editions
of the game, some or all of which are mirrored on
3D Gamers,
eXp Download,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
VGPRO,
and Worthplaying.
The Pacific Fighters
Website now offers a pair of new dedicated server patches for Pacific
Fighters (thanks Frans), the ever-more-confusing octopus of World War II combat
flight simulators from 1C: Maddox Games that includes the IL-2 series. There is
a new version 4.06 dedicated server to support the Sturmoviks over Manchuria
expansion (included in IL-2: 1946), and a newer version 4.07 dedicated server
(which must be installed over version 4.06) for the IL-2: 1946 expansion.
Matrix Games now
offers a new version of the PureSim Baseball 2007 demo. Here's the deal: "The
new v1.51 demo file is weighing in at about 106 MB in size, allows players to
experience the in-depth management features and almost endless statistics
presented in PureSim Baseball 2007. With fantastic realism and scrupulous
attention to detail, you can put yourself anywhere in the realm of baseball: in
the stands, in the front office, at the ticket booths, or in the dugout. PureSim
Baseball 2007 allows you to sit, stand, or direct from whatever perspective you
wish to mold the next baseball dynasty."
America's Army
Version 2.8 release notes outline everything to expect from America's Army
Coalition, the next installment in the U.S. Army's freeware military shooter,
which is expected to be released today. The update describes the new map editor
to be included with the update, new tutorial maps to demonstrate the editors
functionality, and a warring that even with a tutorial, creating new America's
Army missions "will require patience and probably a bit of trial and error."
This press
release announces the North American release of
Football Mogul 2007,
the latest installment in Enlight's Mogul series of sports management games.
Here's word: With new features and improvements to Football Mogul 2007,
players now have the opportunity to call every play of the game, to exploit
mismatches and maximize the production of your talent. Football Mogul 2007
offers an extreme amount of realism and flexibility with thousands of
combinations to choose from. Your success in Football Mogul 2007 depends heavily
on your play calling ability as opposed to simply reacting after the ball is
snapped. The game gives players the ability to formulate a strategy around your
team’s strengths and exploit opponent mismatches these strengths expose.
The addition of updated year-by-year stats and customized ratings for every
team's complete 2006 roster, gives players full control over everything
including personnel, rosters, finances, trade negotiations, and even this year’s
draft picks. Building your franchise into a dynasty means taking on the role of
president, general manager and head coach simultaneously, making every decision
a crucial one.
The sluggish Diver: Deep Water Adventures
Website now offers online sales of this submerged action game, so grab your
SCUBA tank, and watch out for the bends. Word is: Several of the game's
missions are based on actual diving sites from around the world. For example,
players will have the opportunity to go wreck-diving down to the "Thistlegorm"
ship, which was sunk in the Red Sea during World War II.
Diver: Deep Water Adventures successfully combines two game genres in one
excellent underwater adventure. It is an authentic diving simulator that will
satisfy real divers and novices alike, and a full-fledged arcade game that will
appeal to everyone. The game's creators are sure that Diver: Deep Water
Adventures will be enjoyable for divers and also for the mass market.
A new patch for the European edition of Gothic 3 is now available, bringing
Piranha Bytes' RPG sequel to version 1.12. The patch is available on the
JoWooD Forums, and
mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
ComputerGames.ro,
eXp Download,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
Strategy
Informer,
VGPRO,
and Worthplaying.
Matrix Games is
offering a new patch for Gary Grigsby’s World at War: A World Divided, the first
update for the recently released strategy sequel. Word is: "The update comes
with a handful of stability and bug improvements in addition to a helpful user
interface change that makes War Readiness appear in a consistent format
throughout the game."
The Die Siedler VI
Website, the German home for The Settlers VI, now offers a new movie from Blue Byte's upcoming strategy/management sequel (thanks Frans). The
clip offers an interview, but this has been redubbed in German.
The Warhammer Online:
Age of Reckoning Interview Part 2 on GameZone is an article-format
conversation with EA/Mythic about their upcoming Warhammer MMORPG: "If you say,
‘There are tanks in every race,’ you’re sort of miss-selling it. You should be
saying, ‘There are interesting fighting experiences for each race.’ We don’t
replicate. Once you know how to be great in one does not mean you know how to be
great in another. You’ll be able to go and play the game again and say, ‘Hey,
even though this is fundamentally the same thing, it actually plays and feels
differently.’"
MrsBlue was almost completely forthcoming about the brownie deal. I knew they
were a variation on an existing recipe, and she was free in passing along word
that they are based on
The Ultimate Brownie from everybody's favorite ex-con, Martha Stewart. I say
almost completely forthcoming, because she quickly added that she will not
reveal exactly how she deviates from the recipe, which I find amusing, because
that was a trick my mom always accused my grandparents of when they passed along
cooking instructions. So in fairness, I'll have to say MrsBlue's are the
ultimate brownies, and Martha's are penultimate, but I stand by my comment that
they will not disappoint.
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