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Archived News:
Episodic content is the future for BioWare titles on Computer and Video Games
has word from BioWare's Ray Muzyka from a yet-to-be-published Q&A about Mass
Effect and other upcoming projects that the Canadian developer has ambitious
plans for episodic content for several upcoming titles. It's not clear, but the
quote makes it sound more like plans for episodic add-on/expansion releases for
the listed titles, rather than the announcement that Dragon Age, Jade Empire:
Special Edition, Mass Effect "and other upcoming BioWare titles, both on console
and PC" would all be strictly episodic from the start, but this should all be
cleared up soon enough. Here's word: "...we have big plans afoot at
BioWare for post-release and episodic content for upcoming cool BioWare games
like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Jade Empire: Special Edition and other upcoming
BioWare titles, both on console and PC", BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka divulged in an
interview with CVG which we'll be publishing shortly.
…
"There have been a lot of innovations in the PC space in online games - World of
Warcraft and other MMOs continue to expand the business and we're excited about
joining that world ourselves with the upcoming title we're developing down with
our great team at BioWare Austin [BioWare's in-development MMORPG] - and digital
distribution and episodic content".
ANACONDA reveals a few project delays in addition to that of Gray Matter
mentioned this morning ( story). The release date on the
Drakensang: The Dark Eye Product Section now reads Q1 2008 in place of Q4
2007 for the epic role-playing game. Also, the
Overclocked Product Section now offers October 2007 as a new release date
for this point-and-click adventure game in place of the old April 2007 date.
Finally, the Q1 2007 release date that formerly graced the
Sabotage
Product Section has been sabotaged, and the action/stealth game now carries
a Q4 2007 date. Thanks Frans.
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow
of Chernobyl Product Section now lists 23/03/2007 (March 23, 2007) as the
release date for GSC Game World's upcoming first-person shooter. I counted this
out to be March 22 when the countdown appeared on
Man Made Hell, but I may have missed
a toe. Thanks Frans.
Paradox Interactive announces an unusual exclusivity arrangement, saying the
Collector's Edition for Europa Universalis III will be available only in Target
Stores when the RTS sequel ships in North America next week: New York,
USA (January 18, 2007) – Paradox Interactive announced today that they have
reached an exclusive deal with the national chain, Target. The details of the
deal includes Target as the exclusive carrier of "Europa Universalis III"
Collectors Edition for the North American market.
The Collectors Edition will be stocked in stores nationwide and will be
available through their online store Target.com. The product will include
exclusive assets like a giant world map complete with provinces, a 100 + page
Strategy Guide, the official game soundtrack with a composer diary, a Producer
introduction to the game and special download bonus material.
The Myst Online URU From
GameTap outlines plans to release new content for the online Myst game
tomorrow, consisting of a "new area of the city and an all-new,
never-before-seen Age." They also announce that a Mac client is in the works:
"GameTap is also proud to announce that a Macintosh compatible version of Myst
Online is in active development by TransGaming Inc., which will bring the world
of Uru to Macintosh users for the first time."
A new The
Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Product Section is online for the newly
announced ad-on for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (thanks Frans). Included are
details and screenshots from the project. Also online is
a
Shivering Isles overview on the Elder Scrolls Website that includes a
Shivering
Isles FAQ.
A new Maelstrom movie shows off K-D LAB's upcoming action/strategy game. The
52.3 MB download is available from
3D Gamers. Also, a
new Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 movie is now available from the Xbox
360 edition of the coming sporting simulation. The clip is available on the
Codemasters Website for those willing to register, but there is also a
higher resolution version that is not carried there. Mirrors of one or more
editions of the clip, including the high-def edition, can be found on
3D Gamers. Finally,
The Sims 2 Website now
offers the first movie from the upcoming Seasons expansion for the wee people
sequel.
- Saga
The
Saga Q&A on FiringSquad is a discussion of the newly announced MMORTS in
the works at Wahoo Studios with Wahoo's Jason Faller: "My coworkers and I
are longtime RTS lovers, and three years ago grew frustrated with the
temporary nature of RTS gameplay. The more we thought about it, RTS games
and collectible games had so much in common that our idea of the perfect RTS
game arose: a game that was persistent so that our accomplishments meant
something in the game space, and collectible so that the excitement of
collecting, trading, and forming the perfect strategic army took center
stage. It's basically the RTS of my dreams."
- Another World
The
Another World 15th Anniversary Edition Q&A on games xtreme talks with
Eric Chahi about the game's re-release: "Well it is not a remake, it is a
re-release with extra features but it is the same game, I wanted it to
remain respectful of the original release. Another World is my most personal
project; it’s the one that brought me recognition. This game was the outcome
of everything I had learnt since I started to create games. Over time and
with the arrival of the internet I realised that people still remembered it
and it had a special place in their heart as it has a special place in mine.
The 15th anniversary was coming, and I thought that a special edition would
be very nice."
I'm trying not to panic, but I looked outside this evening, and there is this
layer of stuff all over everything. It's this sort of gleaming white, and
it's everywhere! I was going to… huh? What is that? Snow? Oh yeah, I remember
now. Okay, never, mind.
R.I.P.:
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Writer Art Buchwald Dies and
Buchwald Announces Own Death In First 'NYT' Online Obit Video.
A new Steel Fury alpha demo provides a sample of Discus Games' upcoming World
War II armored combat game. The demo offers a day mission and a night mission in
exchange for 205 MB of your bandwidth and disk space. The download is available
on 3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
The
Battlefield Website now offers the official confirmation of Battlefield
2142: Northern Strike (thanks Frans), the BF2142 booster pack first
inadvertently revealed yesterday ( story). Included is a
screenshot and a bit of info, but tomorrow will see the release of the official
press release and a gameplay trailer with more. Here's what they've posted for
now: Today we would like to announce to all our players the coming release
of the Battlefield 2142 Northern Strike booster pack! There is a press release
going out tomorrow, along with a trailer showing the action in one of the new
maps. This addition to the Battlefield universe contains new content to expand
the war for the survival deep into the frigid wastelands of Europe. With three
new maps players will be challenged to engage in Titan and Conquest game play to
secure victory for their team. Both sides have brought forward new vehicles to
aid their forces along with 10 new unlocks available to soldiers through both
standard and field unlock systems. We also wanted to inform players that we will
be working with Combat Studios Testing to host a closed beta in the near future.
The Faces of War Website now
offers a new patch to update Best Way's World War II RTS game to version 1.04.1A
(thanks Frans). Word is the framerate is improved in the new version.
A new UFO Afterlight demo provides the opportunity to sample the next
installment in ALTAR Interactive's strategy series based on close encounters of
the worst kind. The demo includes all the features of the full game playable on
five randomly generated missions. The download is on the
Cenega
Publishing Website and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
4Players.de,
ComputerGames.ro, Gameguru
Mania, Gamer's Hell,
Strategy Informer, and
Worthplaying.
Supreme Commander Goes
Gold announces that Gas Powered Games' new real-time strategy game is complete, and set to
embark on its rush to retail by February 20: AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Jan. 18
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI - News) today announced that
Supreme Commander, developed by critically acclaimed Real-Time Strategy designer
Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games, has reached the gold master stage of
development and is now entering manufacturing. Supreme Commander offers
unprecedented scope and scale, superior RTS command and control and three unique
single player campaigns. Developed for Windows PC, the game is scheduled to ship
to retail outlets worldwide on February 20.
"Supreme Commander is pushing the boundaries with its massive size and scale,
delivering an innovative gameplay experience that advances the genre
tremendously," said Kelly Flock, executive vice president of worldwide
publishing, THQ. "THQ is leading the industry in strategy games, and on February
20th gamers everywhere will be able to experience the ultimate in strategic
conquest."
"Supreme Commander delivers the first-ever full Theatre of War zoom function,
adding tremendous depth to the three story-driven campaigns and highly addictive
multiplayer," said Chris Taylor, creative director and CEO, Gas Powered Games.
"We've taken RTS gameplay to a whole new level and I can't wait for fans to get
their hands on it."
Bethesda
Softworks Announces The Elder Scrolls IV Shivering Isles - Official Expansion
for Oblivion offers the official announcement of the next expansion for The
Elder Scrolls IV: Morrowind, Bethesda's RPG sequel, and there are new
screenshots from the add-on on
3D Gamerss.
Shivering Isles will be available this spring in stores for PCs and on the Xbox
Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360: ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ --
Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, today confirmed the upcoming
release of The Elder Scrolls IV®: Shivering Isles(TM), the official expansion
for the award-winning The Elder Scrolls IV®: Oblivion(TM). Shivering Isles will
be released for Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft
and Windows this Spring. Details are presented in the exclusive cover story for
Official Xbox Magazine's (US) February issue, which hits newsstands this week.
Shivering Isles features more than 30 hours of new gameplay and allows you to
explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion -- the realm of Sheogorath, the
Daedric Prince of Madness. Shivering Isles adds to the existing world of
Oblivion so you can continue playing with your existing save game/character, or
create an all new character just to explore the new content.
THQ Teams Up With Zuffa,
LLC to Create Videogames Based on Ultimate Fighting Championship announces a
new agreement to create PC and console games based on the Ultimate Fighting
Championship: THQ Inc. today announced that it has entered into an
exclusive, worldwide agreement with Zuffa, LLC to publish videogames based on
the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand through 2011.
Based on the agreement, the videogames will feature many of the past and present
UFC superstars and UFC champions. Rights also include all other UFC event
content including the famed Octagon. Recent UFC live events have experienced
sold-out crowds, while the pay-per-view telecasts continue to make the sport
available to additional viewers around the country. Based on Nielsen Media
Research, the Spike TV reality television series "The Ultimate Fighter," now
heading into its fifth season, received top billing in its first season with the
coveted 18-34 male viewers, and regularly enjoys ratings higher than the NBA,
NHL, and NASCAR, as well as collegiate football and basketball in this key
demographic.
The
ANACONDA Website indicates a delay for Gray Matter, the upcoming adventure
game being created by renowned developer Jane Jensen (thanks Frans). The release
date that formerly listed Q4 2007 now reads Q1 2008.
The
Silverfall Forums offer a new version 1.4 patch for the French edition of
Monte Cristo's fantasy-themed RPG (thanks Frans). There is an extensive change
list, all in French, though this should not be an issue for the patch's target
audience.
This new The Mark
Product Section offers info and media from this upcoming modern-day
first-person shooter, signifying the game's new publishing arrangement with
DreamCatcher Games. Also, a new
Secrets
of the Ark Product Section is a home to the upcoming US release of Broken
Sword: The Angel of Death. Also, a new
Hans
Christian Andersen - The Ugly Prince Duckling Product Section offers a home
to the upcoming game based on the classic fairy tale, while also revealing a new
publishing deal for the project with The Adventure Company. Thanks Frans.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Q&A on Pro-G talks with Blizzard's
Jonathan LeCraft about the just-released WoW expansion: "There were a few
systems that we weren't able to complete that we did think were going to be
good; for example the hero quest was something we wanted to put in, but we just
didn't have the resources. But I can't think of anything off hand that didn't
get killed pretty early that we got very far with and said no; not that we
haven't done that previously, I just can't think of any Burning Crusade
specifics. Here's an example. With Hellfire Peninsula, basically the entire
thing was quested and all the monsters were put down and we just ripped
everything up and did it again because we weren't happy with it. And then we did
that again. We got to point when we were working and we were just like, 'no I
don't think so.' If we're not happy with something, we'll just keep iterating on
it until it's good."
- A new version 2.3.5 of the
Stella multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator is now available. Thanks
Ant…
- Tribal Trouble version 1.6 is an
update to this cross-platform RTS game…
Do you have a penny jar? We used to… The other day I heard what sounded like a
car crash that I thought was from outside. MrsBlue then informed me she had
dropped something that hit the glass water cooler jug that contained something
like 30 lbs of pennies. While it did break, thankfully the whole shebang didn't explode, which is a
bit surprising when you imagine the considerable outward pressure being exerted
on the bottle by the mass of coins. Everything is cleaned up now, and the
pennies are temporarily residing in what is now an immobile cardboard box until
we can find another container for them. I think this time we will opt for
plastic.
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