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Archived News:
Sierra announces that TimeShift
is gold, and that Saber Interactive's "M"-rated 4D shooter will ship on October
30. A PC demo was released last week ( story), and there's also
demo on Xbox LIVE. Here's word: Sierra Entertainment is pleased to
announce that TimeShift for the XBOX 360® and Windows PC have gone gold, with a
planned retail ship date of October 30, 2007. Developed by Saber Interactive,
the highly-anticipated shooter allows players to master time to become the
ultimate weapon. Armed with the experimental time-manipulating Beta Suit and a
huge arsenal of weaponry, players have the ability to slow, stop and reverse the
flow of time, allowing them to control several aspects of each battle sequence
and puzzle situation. Intuitive time controls give the player the ultimate
advantage in strategic attacks used to outsmart the enemy.
With a comprehensive online 16-player multiplayer mode, featuring
time-controlling "chrono" grenades, 14 different maps and over 40 different
customizable options, TimeShift is a truly unique multiplayer experience for
every level of gamer, whether a novice or an expert.
The
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Website has word that update #3 is now live for
this fantasy MMORPG (thanks Ash). A number of changes and fixes are outlined in
the dense patch notes.
Microsoft Game Studios announces that Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals is now
available, expanding the zoo simulation with the chance to display corpses, or
fossils, or something: Biggest expansion pack for the award winning “Zoo
Tycoon® 2” now available to all animals lovers looking for new challenges and a
slew of new extinct creatures
Microsoft Game Studios today announced that “Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals,” the
biggest expansion pack for the award winning “Zoo Tycoon 2,“ has landed onto
retail store shelves starting today.
Developed by Blue Fang Games LLC, “Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals” enhances the
“Zoo Tycoon 2” experience by introducing new challenges, more than 30 new
animals, new exciting ways to play and a new look through extinct-themed objects
and buildings. “Zoo Tycoon 2” players can experience all of these new features
with ease, as the expansion pack seamlessly integrates with the core game so
that gamers can play immediately.
“Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals” is available for the estimated retail price of
$29.99 for Windows. “Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals” is rated “E10+” for everyone
10 and older. “Zoo Tycoon 2” is required to play “Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct
Animals.”
For more information and free downloadable content, including new animals,
scenery and demos, please visit the official Zoo Tycoon Web site at
http://www.zootycoon.com.
Disney announces
an "Unlimited Access" preorder campaign is underway for
Pirates of the Caribbean Online, their upcoming MMORPG: Players that
pre-order now become an official member of an elite crew of founding pirates and
receive:
- 50% off first month (making the first month subscription only $4.95)
- A limited edition certified cloth map
- An exclusive Founder title for every pirate on your account to let everyone in
the Caribbean know that you’ve been here from the beginning!
With Unlimited Access, players will receive many members-only benefits including
the ability to:
- Captain bigger and better ships
- Master advanced weapons and skills
- Create and lead your own Pirate Guild
- Embark on expanded quests
- Engage in expanded PvP combat
- And will receive an exclusive crew kit in the mail
Entropia Gateway is a newly
launched information hub for Project Entropia, MindArk's "leading virtual world
platform for online entertainment, social networking and e-commerce using a real
cash economy."
- Crysis
An
Audience with Crytek on Computer and Video Games hears from Crytek boss
Cevat Yerli about progress on Crysis, their coming shooter. They discuss
Crytek's philosophy, creativity in the FPS genre, PC development, the
success of Far Cry, and more.
- Jagged Alliance 3
RPG
Vault's Jagged Alliance 3 Q&A talks with Andrew Kazakov about the coming
turn-based strategy sequel. Topics include an overview of the game, the
reasons for a Russian developer, the setting NPCs, and more.
- Tabula Rasa
The
Dev Question of the Week - #2 on Tabula Rasa Vault actually covers two
questions about Destinations' MMORPG, asking about the medic class and the
associated Biotech abilities.
- BioShock
Ken
Levine on BioShock DLC on 1UP offers brief comments on prospects for
additional BioShock content, with Ken discussing the ups and downs of trying
to expand up Rapture.
- Fury
The
Fury Launch Q&A with Michael Hampden on TenTonHammer is a podcast
interview on the launch of Auran's new MMOG.
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on
YouGamers.
- EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark on
WarCry (preview) and
WarCry (developer diary).
- Universe at War: Earth Assault on
GameSpot. Designer Diary #4 - Synergy and Tactics.
- The Witcher on
GameSpot.
UnrealAdminWiki is online for Unreal Tournament 3 demo server admins. Thanks
BeyondUnreal.
I hear it's raining cats and dogs in Idaho!
A demo for Painkiller: Overdose is now available, providing a chance to sample
two single-player and two multiplayer levels from the upcoming Painkiller
prequel from Mindware Studios. The demo premieres on
FilePlanet (registration required), and mirrors of the 750 MB download can be found on
3D Downloads,
ComputerGames.ro,
FanGaming,
FileFront,
FileShack, Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required), and
Internode
Games Network.
Auran and Gamecock announce that like Ben Stiller in Mystery Men, they have
unleashed their Fury, as Auran's PvP first-person MMOG is now available in North
America: Cockpit, Austin, Texas – October 16, 2007 – Auran and Gamecock
Media Group today announced that FURY has shipped to North American retailers.
Combining the fast paced gameplay of a first-person shooter with in-depth
role-playing game elements, FURY is a Player versus Player powerhouse that wants
you to waste enemies, not time. Rated T for Teen, FURY is available now on PC
for an MSRP of $49.99.
With the success of the recent open-Beta tournament, The FURY Challenge, there
have been many changes and improvements to both the gameplay and look of FURY.
The revamped character creation/customization brings new meaning to the phrase
“pick up and play.” New players will be given increased flexibility when
creating their avatar to get them into the fight harder and faster than ever
before.
“FURY is pushing the boundaries of what people expect from an MOG,” said Harry
Miller, ’El Presidente’ of Gamecock Media Group, “Players have been looking for
a game that embraces PvP for years and now thanks to Auran they’ll finally have
it.”
FURY is free to play right out of the box, which means all players from casual
to hardcore can join the battle right from the start. An optional “Immortal”
subscription plan will also be available at $9.95/month, but all players will
have unlimited access to the game. All abilities, weapons, armor and free
content updates will be available no matter which subscription players choose.
For more information please visit
www.unleashthefury.com
Atari Ships Three PC
Games with 1C has news of the North American release of You Are Empty, Death
to Spies, and Dawn of Magic (thanks Gamer's
Hell), a triple-play of games from 1C Company: NEW YORK, Oct. 16
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR - News), one of the world's
most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced
that You Are Empty, Death to Spies and Dawn of Magic® for Windows PC have
shipped to retailers across North America. You are Empty, Death to Spies, and
Dawn of Magic are all rated M for Mature and will each be available at the
suggested retail price of $29.95.
"We are excited to bring these innovative 1C titles to the North American
market," said Todd Slepian, Producer, Atari, Inc. "Each title offers players a
unique world to discover and fascinating gameplay: You are Empty throws gamers
into an alternate history of the late 1950's Soviet Union, Death to Spies offers
players a chance to be stealth spies during World War II, and Dawn of Magic
presents a medieval world where players must rely solely on magic. These games
offer intense immersive gameplay with interesting twists on tried and true
genres."
You Are Empty is an intense FPS where players fight mutants that were
inadvertently created by Soviet scientists in this alternate spin on history.
Taking place in a 1950's Soviet Union, an experiment to create super humans
capable of spreading communism goes terribly wrong. As a result, whole cities
become infected, entire towns are overrun by mutant monsters and the main hero
must try to understand what's happening around him to save the day.
Set during World War II, Death to Spies is a third-person stealth action game
where you, the player, work for a soviet counterintelligence service and are
tasked with various missions set within the heart of enemy territory. As an
officer, you will have to complete missions such as stealing important
documents, eliminating enemy officers or officials, kidnapping, and sabotage.
In one of the first action role-playing games (RPG) where players must rely
solely on magic, Dawn of Magic will throw fans into the midst of a medieval
world on the brink of destruction. Players will choose either to protect the
medieval world from total annihilation, help aid in its destruction, or attempt
to remain neutral in the struggle with almost limitless spell possibilities.
More information about these 1C titles and Atari can be found at
www.atari.com.
Capcom announces that Bionic Commando is returning, with a remake of the action
game in the works for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 in the works at GRIN (with this
following on the return of the Bionic Woman, can the Six Million Dollar Man and
the Bionic Dog be far behind?). A multi-language
Bionic Commando Teaser Website is
online with info and media, saying the "battle is imminent," though no release
date for the project is offered yet. Here's the deal: London – 16 October,
2007 – Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games,
today confirmed a return for one of its classic franchises with the announcement
that Bionic Commando is in development for the Xbox 360™ video game and
entertainment system from Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3
(PS3™) and PC platforms.
Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo
Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer
(voiced by former lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton), a government
operative who represents the ultimate fusion of man and machine. After
distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is
betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.
Three years later, on the day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes,
an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely
powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in
ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large
terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet
their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in
control of Ascension City’s air defences the FSA has only one option open to
them – the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.
Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to
fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The
ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of
towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer
rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using
swinging, rappeling, climbing and wall-walking techniques.
An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies
while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close
quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such
as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.
The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling
collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living
in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN
providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of
Capcom’s strategy to work with the best developer talent, whilst maintaining the
unique elements of creativity and approach to game design for which Capcom is
renowned.
The official Bionic Commando website is now live at
www.bioniccommando.com
As mentioned in the
World in
Conflict Broadcast Tool Q&A on The Gorbenko Report the just-released
broadcast tool for the RTS game ( story) actually includes
undocumented support for DirectX 9 graphics cards. Here's how to launch this
unsupported single-monitor DX9 mode courtesy of
Massgate.net: During
the development of the Broadcast Tool, we tested a single-screen dx9 version. It
has not undergone any proper QA testing.
If you want to test, here's how you access the tool via dx9:
Create a shortcut to "wic-BroadcastTool.exe"
Right-click it and select "Properties"
In the "Target" field, add " -dx9", whitout the quotes. The result should look
like this:
"c:\Program Files\Sierra Entertainment\World In Conflict\wic-BroadcastTool.exe"
-dx9
How To Run Team Fortress 2, Portal, Half-Life 2, HL2 EP 1&2 In Ubuntu Using Wine
does a little thinking outside The Orange Box, providing instructions on how to
run Half-Life 2, Episodes One and Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 in Linux
using WINE (thanks Ant and
Digg). They outline the procedures for getting installed, activated, and
debugged.
SwitchBlade Software is now
available to allow using the Xbox 360 controller in World of Warcraft. They
offer a video showing this in action, and links to where the software can be
downloaded on Xfire.
- EA/Pandemic
Q&A
Pandemic's EA deal post-mortem on GameSpot offers another discussion to
further understanding of the recent acquisition of BioWare/Pandemic by EA.
Once again the fact that nothing will change following the deal is the main
thrust of the conversation.
- Warmonger
The
Warmonger Q&A on
Gry.o2.pl is a bilingual English and Polish conversation with Chris
Sherland about Warmonger: Operation Downtown Destruction, Netdevil's
upcoming physics-oriented shooter. They discuss the game, its story, its
five levels, weapons, the possibility that vehicles will be operable in
future releases, and more.
Big Blue looked pretty solid yesterday, though that's easier against a team like
the Falcons, who have been struggling without their franchise player (not that
the Giants aren't famous for losing games they should win). The G-men versus the
Falcons has become one of the wackiest matchups in the NFL, last night is the
12th time in a row they have met that the visiting team was the winner. Oh yeah,
and the MNF theme song is still the same, the whole new Sunday Night Football
dealie got me confused. You know, I didn't really think that theme fit the
broadcast when they introduced it, but after close to 20 years I'd miss it at
this point.
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