|
|
 |
Archived News:
Voodoo
Extreme has dug up the fact that Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax
Media has registered the domain elderscrollsonline.com. This combines with the
recent formation of the MMO-focused ZeniMax Online Studios to offer a pretty strong
suggestion that an Elder Scrolls MMOG is in the works.
Warhammer Online retreats to
mid-2008 has word that the frequently delayed Warhammer MMORPG is delayed
once more. In a follow-up
EA Mythic chief demystifies Warhammer Online delay on GameSpot is a Q&A with
Mark Jacobs explaining the delay: "The short answer would be that it's hard to
make this kind of game. Now, for a more detailed answer. It really boils down to
this: Our game is going to live and die by two things. One is realm-versus-realm
(RvR) gameplay. The second is overall quality. This is not 1999, 1997, or even
2001. This is 2007. We have to be able to release a game that, in terms of
quality, without even going into game systems or RvR, is top-notch. We've seen
too many games in this industry, and in this space, release without that, and
we're not going to do that."
This press
release announces Chapter 7 for Star Wars Galaxies has gone live as planned,
adding a bunch of content, including an "in-game reward from C-3PO himself." On
a related note, the
Star Wars Galaxies Chapter 7 Q&A on RPG Vault talks with Jake Neri about the
newly launched Chapter 7 content for the Star Wars MMORPG.
The Strategic
Command 2: Blitzkrieg Downloads Page offers a new patch for the strategy
game, updating it to version 1.08, and adding a
1939-46 WW2
Global Conflict Campaign. Word is: "As part of the newly released v1.08
update to the game, we are including an awesome all new 1939-46 WW2 Global
Conflict Campaign, designed by David Stoeckl (and modified by Hubert Cater)
completely for free. Play Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg like never before, on a
truly global scale."
A new patch is now available for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, updating the sports
simulation to version 1.10. The update is available from
Konami, and
is mirrored on
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches Scrolls.
And bad buzz it is:
EA Posts Loss of Nearly $200M, Announces Reorganization & Potential Layoffs reports losses of millions of dollars
and hundreds of jobs. Meanwhile,
Midway's Sales, Losses Increase in Q3 offers the good news and the bad news
from Midway's financials. Finally, the big winners of the day are THQ, as
they are only reporting having lost $7 million for the quarter.
- Pirates of the Burning Sea on
WarCry.
Okay, as promised,
here are the
photos, the first one of Gunnar the criminal and Hudson as Spider-Dog (oops, wrote SuperDog at first) is from
last year, and the other three are the new ones. The shot of them together is
looking out the door, just as the trick-or-treaters see them, and yes,
Gunnar-man's hat looks more like he's a pimp than Zorro.
R.I.P.:
'Enola Gay' Nuke Bomb Pilot Dies.
A demo for Empire Earth III is now available, offering the chance to
sample Mad Doc's installment in this RTS series that's due in stores on November
6. The single-player demo includes three maps and a tutorial, and word is: "The
demo is your first chance to play the new Earth-shattering World Domination
mode. Build an enduring empire across an entire globe that is yours to conquer
as you command your armies through the span of human history and beyond. Charge
Through The Ages. Command Your Empire. Conquer The Earth. Empire Earth III your
quest for world domination begins November 2007." The 1.6 GB demo is available
on the Empire Earth III Website,
and mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FanGaming,
FilePlanet (registration required),
FileShack,
Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required),
Internode
Games Network, and
Strategy Informer.
The first patch for TimeShift is now available, updating Saber Interactive's
just released first-person shooter to version 1.1 (shouldn't they have just
travelled back in time to include this in the box?). The 27 MB download is
available
on Sierra's FTP (direct link) and mirrored on
ActionTrip,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches Scrolls.
This press release
announces that The Command & Conquer Saga is now in North American stores
(thanks Gamer's Hell), offering 13 C&C
titles in one package, obviating the 12-game Command & Conquer: The First Decade
compilation released in early '06 ( story). Here's word: LOS
ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three generations of the popular Command & Conquer™
series are now available in one bundle! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS -
News) today announced The Command & Conquer™ Saga is on store shelves today in
North America for the PC. This massive compilation of over a dozen Command &
Conquer games includes the award-winning Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ and
all the titles featured in Command & Conquer™ The First Decade. The Command &
Conquer Saga marks the largest PC franchise compilation to date.
With 25 million copies sold worldwide, the Command & Conquer franchise has
defined the Real-time strategy (RTS) genre with its signature fast and fluid
gameplay, cutting-edge visuals, epic storylines, and rich campaign missions. The
series has evolved over a decade, spawned over a dozen titles, and continues to
be the genre benchmark by which all RTS games are measured. With its explosive
style of warfare, the Command & Conquer franchise has grown over the years to
span multiple fictional genres, including the science fiction Tiberium Universe,
the revisionist history of the Command & Conquer Red Alert Universe, and a twist
on modern warfare with Command & Conquer™ Generals.
Server
Coming Down on the Hellgate: London Website announces plans to take the
servers offline for an update that will offer their promised Halloween content
for all players. Also,
this forum
post (thanks Hellgate IncGamers)
has word that the beta grace period for the game is extended for another week,
and there's a
transcript of the launch IRC session on Xfire (formatted with nifty retro 90s-style HTML).
Here's word on the downtime and patch: Howdy folks. We're taking the
servers down just for a bit at 5:30PM PDT. We're going to add a patch that opens
up the Halloween content for everyone, subscriber or not. We should be back up
shortly. Thanks!
Rock, Paper, Shotgun points
the way to a post on the
Crysis-HQ.com Forum (thanks Ant) where they've discovered loads of content
in the recently released Crysis demo ( story) that's not included
in the demo map. They've cooked up a Demo Map #4 download that adds additional
vehicles and weapons to the original demo map, and a new Demo Funmap #5 that
adds a new small island to the demo map along with these hidden toys. Of course
this is all unsupported, and those who choose to do this may be spoiling aspects
of the full game for themselves.
GameTap offering free Hitman games and retrospective in November on Joystiq
(thanks Mike Martinez) outlines GameTap's plan
to freely offer the games in the Hitman series prior to Hitman: Blood Money,
starting the original Hitman: Codename 47, which is available right now.
Valve announces a
Steam client
update, another
Steam client
update, a
Portal
Update, a
Team
Fortress 2 Update, and another
Team
Fortress 2 Update, all, of course, automatically available from within
Steam. Most significant is the first TF2 patch, which includes several fixes
and tweaks, including anti-bunny hopping code.
A new patch for Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is now available, updating
the World War II RTS expansion to version 2.103. The change notes can be found
on the RelicNews
Forums and the English and French patches can be found on
FileFront and
The Patches Scrolls.
The
G2 Games Website offers a new patch for Enemy Engaged 2, updating the
helicopter combat sequel to version 1.01. A number of tweaks and bug fixes are
included in the patch, which is mirrored on
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches
Scrolls.
Chapter 7: A Collection of Heroes is the newest chapter for Star Wars
Galaxies, an update for SOE's MMORPG that's due for launch today. The update
includes a new level 70 town, high-level "heroic encounters," collection
achievements, a chapter 7 gift, and more.
The White Gold: War in Paradise
Website is live, dedicated to Deep Shadows' upcoming first-person shooter
based on the war on the war on drugs. The site includes information and various
media, including the latest in-game trailer showing off the game's vehicles.
- Portal
There's another
Portal Q&A on Rock, Paper,
Shotgun talking with Kim Swift and Jeep Barrett about their work on the
game as well as how they hooked up with Valve in the first place. As with
most Portal Q&As, spoilers are inevitable; just a warning for those who have
not played the game yet. On this topic,
GLaDOS Speaks on
IGN (thanks nin) is an interview with Ellen McLain, who voices the role
of the game's computer. She discusses the gig and the game in another
spoiler-laden conversation.
- Rand Miller
The
Rand Miller Q&A on Adventure Classic Gaming talks with the co-founder of
Cyan about their various Myst games, and the revival of Uru on GameTap.
We had a fine old time serving out sweets to the trick-or-treaters last night,
and as usual the doggies had a great time with all the attention they received
for their outfits (due to popular demand, I have to get the photos from MrsBlue
and make like a dork and post them). We did have to wonder why we get fewer kids
every Halloween, since the village seems to be as busy on the occasion as ever.
MrsBlue hit on what we think is the answer, which is that being located on a
side street off a side street, and with some of the older folks around us not
giving out candy, we are on a bummer block. I'll have to give this some thought
between now and next year, as it seems like we should go one way or the other
with this and either turn off the porch light and join the non-participants, or
get one of those dramatic light-up lawn fixtures like a giant inflated
jack-o-lantern or something that will let folks passing the corner know that we are
here.
|
Twitter 
