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Archived News:
Levine Talks BioShock’s Checkered Launch on Next Generation talks about
technical issues, outrage over being mean to the Little Sisters, and the
likelihood there will be a BioShock sequel. Meanwhile,
Joystiq interviews BioShock's Ken Levine about success and harvesting Little
Sisters covers similar topics, and includes the revelation that the reviled
SecureROM activation scheme will eventually be going away: Given the
internets and what they are -- with their tubes and all -- I want to sort of
talk about the concerns people have. We take the concerns people have very
seriously. There's been some concern like, "What happens if it's three years
from now, or ten years from now, when I want to play this game. And, you know,
Irrational Games has been hit by a meteor?" We will unset the online activation
at some point in the future -- we're not talking about when. If people have
concern about that they shouldn't be worried about that. This activation is for
the early period of the game when it's really hot and there are people really
trying to find ways to play the game without buying it. Of course, there are a
lot of people who are legitimately trying to play it. We're not trying to be
Draconian, we're trying to find a balance.
This press
release announces Two Worlds is shipping to US stores: SEATTLE, WA -
August 24, 2007 – SouthPeak Games, from the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), today
announced that Two Worlds, the publisher’s new, open-ended role-playing game for
PC and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft is now
available in stores nationwide. Two Worlds features over a hundred hours of
single-player quests, stackable weapons and magic, as well as epic online
multiplayer PvP and RPG gameplay. PAX show attendees will be among the first to
experience Two Worlds through demos and mini competitions at the SouthPeak Booth
# 603 during the three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers.
Developed by TopWare Interactive and Reality Pump Studios, Two Worlds delivers
the ultimate role-playing challenge. The game features unprecedented “player
freedom,” with player decisions shaping the world permanently and directly
affecting how the world reacts to the mere presence of the main mercenary
character. Their journeys will take them through cities, dungeons, snow-covered
mountains, bamboo forests, barren deserts and cause kings to be overthrown,
cities to be sacked, and organizations to be eradicated. The world lives its own
life, but it’s well within the player’s power to change it. The entire game of
Two Worlds explodes with personality and original features like stackable
weapons and magic - for the first time in an RPG, every item you collect has
value. The ambience is at a new level with stunning graphics and Grammy Award
winning composer Harold Faltermeyer providing the soundtrack. Combine this with
online options that allow players to adventure together, and it’s easy to see
why Two Worlds is destined to become the premier role-playing game experience.
“Two Worlds is a huge leap forward for role-playing games in terms of scale and
new ideas,” said Melanie Mroz, Executive VP of SouthPeak. “We can’t wait for
everyone to start exploring the world of Antaloor.”
The storyline, based in the ancient world of Antaloor, thrusts players into a
silent war amongst all of the civilized races and the Orc hordes, an evil legion
of vicious beasts. The Orcs are desperately seeking to rediscover the power of
their fallen leader, Aziraal, the god of war to launch their own holy crusade
and take over the world. As one of the few people able to unlock the secrets of
Aziraal’s tomb, gamers play a pivotal role in this ancient conflict. All the
forces of the world wish to find the tomb first and seize its power. It is up to
the players to save the world or destroy it.
Two Worlds is rated M for Mature, and comes in both a Standard Edition and
Collector’s Edition for both platforms. The collector’s version includes a bonus
disc with additional art, videos and music, along with a collector edition map
and hardbound role-playing book based off the game. For more information about
Two Worlds or SouthPeak Games, please visit www.2-worlds.com or
www.southpeakgames.com.
CDV and Slitherine announce THE HISTORY CHANNEL: Great Battles of Rome is gold,
and the strategy game is due in stores on September 17: cdv Software
Entertainment and Slitherine Strategies today announced that their upcoming
strategy title, THE HISTORY CHANNEL® Great Battles of Rome, has gone gold. The
game, based on some of the greatest conflicts of the Roman Empire, combines
elements of role-playing and strategy, and features program footage from The
History Channel®. cdv Software Entertainment USA will ship THE HISTORY CHANNEL
Great Battles of Rome for the Windows PC platform on September 17. For more
information, please visit http://www.cdvus.com.
Highlander
details emerge on Eurogamer has some details on plans for the Highlander
game that was first revealed almost three years ago ( story). It
turns out that the PC is one of the game's target platforms, along with Xbox 360
and PS3, with French developer Widescreen Games creating all three versions. The
game will be a third-person action/adventure, involving sword combat versus
other immortals in the vein of the films and television series. The game is
expected some time next year, and its violent content is expected to earn it an
adult rating. They accompany the news with a new
Highlander
screenshot gallery.
The Guild Wars: Eye of the North sneak peek weekend is now underway. The
Guild Wars website has the map and manual that should be helpful if you are
someone who has earned the chance to participate by preordering the Guild Wars
expansion.
- Fallout 3
The
Fallout 3 Preview on
1Up offers a ten-question Q&A with Emil Pagliarulo, lead designer on
Bethesda's upcoming Fallout sequel. Weapon construction, the VATS system,
the Fallout community and more are among the topics covered.
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
The
Wrath of the Lich King Q&A on ActionTrip talks with Jeff Kaplan and
Chris Robinson of Blizzard about the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion.
They discuss returning element from the Warcraft series, group instances,
PvP, balance changes, and more.
- Neverwinter Nights 2
The
Neverwinter Nights 2 Q&A on
WarCry profiles Obsidian art director Justin Cherry. Topics include the
upcoming Mask of the Betrayer add-on, games he like to play, sniffing
permanent markers, and more.
The Cult of Rapture
now offers downloads of the musical score from BioShock as a collection of a
dozen mp3 files. They have their own write-up, but I'm digging the description
from the press release, if nothing else for its use of "aleatoric": Today,
2K Games released the original score to BioShock as a free download on The Cult
of Rapture website. The score was created by film, television and video game
composer Garry Schyman and features a combination of early twentieth century
writing, aleatoric elements, musique concrete, traditional tonal and late
romantic styles that capture the distinct retro-futuristic aesthetic of the
game.
The promised ( story) playable demo for World in Conflict is now
available, offering the chance to try out Massive Entertainment's upcoming
action/strategy extravaganza. The download is 1.2 GB (or MB or KB, or
something), which debuted on
GameSpot (registration required), with mirrors now available on
3D Downloads,
AusGamers,
FanGaming,
Fileaholic,
FileFront,
FileShack,
Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell, and
Internode
Games Network. Word on GameSpot is: The World in Conflict demo
includes new content never before seen in the beta tests, including the first
playable look at the expansive single-player campaign. The demo also includes
multiplayer, skirmish, and tutorial modes.
Customers who pre-order World in Conflict will gain access to an additional
multiplayer map in the demo and will be able to reserve their Massgate online
account name prior to the game launch.
The
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Website (thanks Ant) now offers the
manual editions of the new version 1.07 update for Command & Conquer 3 that was
released last night ( story). Once again, word on the patch is:
"This patch for Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars enables the Mod SDK, fixes
several bugs, and makes some balance changes." That SDK can be found
on this
page.
SouthPeak announces September 7, 2007 as the official UK launch date for Two
Worlds, Reality Pump's RPG: Friday 24th August/...SouthPeak Games has
officially announced the release date for Two Worlds, its epic free-roaming RPG
for PC and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®.
Launching on 7th September, Two Worlds’ marriage of deep single-player questing
and expansive multiplayer co-operation makes it the ideal choice for filling
those longer autumnal nights.
Two Worlds will be available in normal and Collector’s Edition packs, both
available for pre-order now. The PC Collector’s Edition, which includes a wealth
of additional materials and free un-lockable content, will be exclusively
available at GAME. The Xbox 360 Collector’s Edition, which includes the same
additional material and a free 48-hour Gold membership to the Xbox LIVE® online
game service, will be available at all good retailers.
Melanie Mroz, Executive Vice President, SouthPeak Games comments: “We’re
overjoyed to confirm Two Worlds’ release date for the UK. It’s been a long time
coming, but we think a game of this complexity and scope shouldn’t be hastily
rushed to market. We’re making sure that Two Worlds has been exhaustively
balanced and bug-tested, meaning that UK players will get the very best
experience possible on September 7th.”
Two Worlds will be released for PC and Xbox 360 on the 7th September.
- Fury
Stratics
Central's Fury Online Q&A talks with Adamn Carpenter, lead designer on
the game actually known as Fury, Auran's upcoming MMORPG. Topics include
customization, dueling, matchmaking, abilities, combat, and even more.
- World in Conflict
The
World in Conflict
Q&A on GamersInfo talks with David Polfeldt about Massive
Entertainment's RTS game. They discuss the project's origins, multiplayer,
DirectX 10, the game's alternate history, rushing and other strategies, and,
as always, more.
- Penny Arcade
The
Dorks Behind Penny Arcade, an Obscure Webcomic Turned Vidgame Empire on
Wired talks with he dorks about their comics, their upcoming game, PAX,
Child's Play, and more. Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Spore
for consoles.
-
ESRB says 'M' for Manhunt 2.
-
Demo Madden NFL 08 on Xbox Live Marketplace. For Australia, Canada,
Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, Spain, UK, and US.
- Blazing Angels 2
Secret Missions of WWII Demo Now Available On Xbox Live Marketplace.
-
Sony PS2 still a contender in gaming market. Thanks Mike Martinez. "I coulda been
someone."
- EA Unveils Plans
for 10 Players to Connect Online Playing a Single Game of FIFA Soccer 08 on
Next-Gen Consoles.
- EA Showcases Top
Titles at Leipzig Games Convention and Unveils FIFA 08 on the Playstation 3.
- Blue Dragon Updated
Xbox 360 Fact Sheet.
- Halo 3 Special
Edition Xbox 360 Console Priced, Dated For Europe.
- Folklore
preview on IGN.AU.
I'm in the midst of a marathon grooming session for the Gunnar-man. The breeds
of both our dogs were selected for their hypoallergenic qualities, but the
trade-off is hair rather than fur, and when you let enough time pass between
haircuts (as I am prone to doing), things can get a little out of hand. The good
news is that our poodle is very patient about the process, which is almost done,
but has spanned about four hours now, and generated more clippings than a
scrapbook.
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