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Archived News:
Silverlode Interactive announces their subscription-free MMORTS SAGA is entering open beta
testing starting tomorrow: The World’s First Collectible MMORTS entered Open Beta testing on Tuesday,
February 26th, 2008. All players who sign up at
www.playsaga.com will receive accounts,
allowing them to create nations on the Beta servers. For the duration of the
Beta test, all game features will be unlocked and available to testers. At
release, a full unlocked copy of SAGA will cost $19.95; however, promotions will
be available during the open beta period to purchase the full version of SAGA at
a reduced price.
During the stress test conducted on Saturday, February 23rd, the servers
performed excellently, with no crashes or other server issues. The SAGA servers
are expected to support up to 20,000 players per realm with thousands of
simultaneous users. Should a greater-than-expected number of players attempt to
login to the world at the same time, a login queue will be implemented and
additional realms will be brought online.
Go now to www.playsaga.com to check out
SAGA Open Beta!
Publisher D3Publisher of America and developer Infinite Interactive
announce Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, a science fiction-themed installment in
this series that started with Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. The
game, which centers around match-four play, was prototyped with assistance from
Australia's
Film
Victoria - Digital Media Prototyping program, and a release is currently
expected this fall for PC, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo DS. A preview was posted
on
GameSpot last week ( story) that offers some screenshots and
an interview movie with creator Steve Fawkner.
PCGH has a quick Q&A with Charles Beauchemin of Ubisoft about how the PC
edition of Assassin's Creed will run faster under DirectX 10 than DirectX 9,
though both versions will look the same. They discuss why this is the case,
though this all applies to Windows Vista, and it is not stated whether Assassin's
Creed will run faster under DirectX 10 and Vista than it will under DirectX 9
and Windows XP.
Congrats to our old buddy Redwood, who has gone and gotten himself engaged to be
married. Well done Sean!
This press release
announces that Frontlines: Fuel of War has shipped to stores worldwide for PC
and Xbox 360 (thanks Gamer's Hell): AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--THQ
Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI - News) today announced Frontlines™: Fuel of War™ has shipped
to retail outlets worldwide for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment
system from Microsoft and Windows-based PC. Set against a desperate, near-future
energy crisis, the game lets players experience the intense battlefields of
tomorrow through a cinematic, single-player campaign and epic, 50-plus-player
multiplayer games. Developed by THQ’s Kaos Studios, Frontlines: Fuel of War is
available for the suggested retail price of $59.99 on Xbox 360 and $49.99 on
Windows PC.
“Frontlines: Fuel of War is the biggest, baddest open-world battlefield on any
platform, complete with a gripping, topical story and unparalleled multiplayer
excellence,” said Kevin Kraff, director of global brand management, THQ. “The
game continues the Kaos team’s strong history of FPS innovation, and we’re
thrilled to be releasing it to gamers worldwide.”
“Frontlines brings the experience of next generation warfare to life with
cutting-edge combat drones, infantry weapons, land vehicles, helicopters and
jets all fighting on some of the most massive battlefields ever realized in a
game,” said Frank DeLise, general manager of Kaos Studios. “We’re excited to
introduce our unique frontline-based combat system and dedicated multiplayer
servers for both Xbox 360 and Windows PC users.”
Slitherine Strategies
announces Commander: Napoleon at War, a Napoleonic follow-up to the World War II
strategy of Commander: Europe at War. A
product section for the game
is online with some screenshots, and here's a bit on the game, which does not
yet carry a release date: Commander: Napoleon at War is the second game in
the Commander series and is in development by Commander: Europe at War’s
original developer Firepower Entertainment and historical games developer The
Lordz Games Studio. Both studios are working under the Kameleon Project
umbrella.
'Commander: Napoleon at War will not be re-inventing the strategic approach of
its predecessor', continues Iain McNeil. 'We want to adapt the gameplay to the
different war mechanics and troop movements of the Napoleonic era but keep the
same fresh and simple gameplay approach that is easy to learn, but hard to
master. Also thanks to the support of an ever growing community of fans,
Commander: Europe at War has evolved into a great gaming experience and so we
don't want to change too much of it'.
Here's some of the inevitable more on EA's efforts at acquiring Take-Two
Interactive ( story). EA has launched a new
website dedicated to the proposed deal,
and MCV
reports that Take-Two's pre-market stock valuation jumped around 47% this
morning on the news of EA's $2 billion bid. Meanwhile,
EA: We waited
until GTA IV was complete before making $2bn move and
Take-Two
willing to negotiate with EA after GTA IV release discuss the timing of the
move as it relates to Take-Two's marquee franchise.
Sports games
alone justify EA's Take-Two offer, says Pachter has some analysis from an
analyst, and
GameSpot offers more from Pachter, who puts his .300 batting average
( story) on the line by predicting the move will happen whether
Take-Two likes it or not. Meanwhile,
GameSpot and
Gamasutra
each have Q&As on the offer with EA CEO John Riccitiello.
Sony Computer Entertainment announces the resignation of Phil Harrison, who had
served as Worldwide Studios president. The resignation takes effect at the end
of this month, at which time Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO of SCEI, will
assume Harrison's responsibilities. "Resigned" is often code for "fired," but
the announcement doesn't include the 'spending more time with his family' code,
so this may be a genuine resignation ( GamesIndustry.biz
is reporting there are indications Harrison may be joining Atari). Either way,
the reasons behind the move are not apparent from the press
release: Tokyo, February 25, 2008 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
(SCEI) today announced that Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer
Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), will resign from Sony Computer
Entertainment Group as of February 29, 2008. Kazuo Hirai, President and Group
CEO of SCEI, will immediately assume responsibilities as president of SCE WWS,
in addition to his current duties.
Prior to the launch of the original PlayStation, Phil Harrison joined Sony
Electronics Publishing, Ltd. in 1992, which later evolved into Sony computer
Entertainment Europe, and since then, he has made a tremendous contribution to
the company playing a strategic role in the launch of four PlayStation
platforms, as well as building strong relationships with game developers and
publishers throughout the world. Since his appointment to the position of
president, SCE WWS, Harrison applied his considerable skill, knowledge and
expertise to lead SCE Group’s first party game development as well as
aggressively pursuing the development of new online entertainment experiences.
“As one of the founding members of SCE, Phil played a key role in the
development and growth of the PlayStation business and our industry,” said Kazuo
Hirai. “It is sad to see him departing from SCE, but I wish to express my
gratitude for his many invaluable contributions and also wish Phil the very best
of luck in his future endeavors.”
“The past 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment has been the defining journey
of my life so far,” said Phil Harrison. “I am grateful to all the PlayStation
family for their incredible support, guidance and friendship. It has been a
privilege to serve as part of the team and be inspired by them on a daily basis.
I am so proud of everything PlayStation has achieved and will continue to
support its future in every way I can.”
The Battle Rage Website announces the
completion of development of this third-person shooter from Destan Entertainment
(thanks Gamer's Hell). At this point the game has no release schedule, as they are still
hunting for a distribution deal: "Battle Rage is in its full version. As soon as
we know any release dates we will announce that. Right now we're looking for the
partners that could license the game."
The T.W.T.P.B. Website has
a new brief prerelease demo for this shoot-'em-up game that was started as a
challenge to create a game within eight hours. The game is now in a
collaborative design phase with fortnightly releases. Here's word on the new
version: "This time there is a whole new first level and a new boss in addition
to some massive game play changes."
The Glest Downloads Page
offers a new version 3.1.1 of Glest (thanks Gamer's Hell), a freeware RTS game,
described thusly: "The core game allows the player to take control of two
completely different factions: Tech, which is mainly composed of warriors and
mechanical devices, and Magic, that prefers mages and summoned creatures in the
battlefield."
A new
Australian Silverfall: Earth Awakening Website is home to this upcoming
add-on for Silverfall, the hack-and-slash RPG. Earth Awakening has also been
released in a couple of territories, the
German Silverfall Website
announces the German availability of the expansion, while its release in France
is likewise outlined on the French
Silverfall Website. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
FPS players feel better after dying than after killing others, say researchers
(thanks Ant and
Boing
Boing) summarizes the results of a study
in the February issue of
the journal Emotion showing that the reaction to players who are killed in
first-person shooter games tend to experience feelings of relief, rather than
anger, and conversely, players experience "anxiety, anger, or both" from earning
a kill, rather than feeling joyous. Another interesting tidbit from the study
includes that while players "who tested higher for psychoticism (based on a
pre-trial psychoticism questionnaire) experienced less anxiety from killing
enemies," the participants in the study "showed no signs of desensitization over
the course of multiple play sessions." We take all these bits of research with a
large grain of salt whether they show positive or negative trends about gaming,
and the results of this study are described as tentative too boot, but it is
always interesting when man bits dog, and the outcome of a study contradicts
intuition and/or the results of other research.
- PC Gaming Alliance
Can
These Men Save PC Gaming? on Tom's Games (thanks
BeyondUnreal) offers a Q&A with Epic's Mark Rein on the new PC Gaming
Alliance (story). Along the way Rein responds to CliffyB's
negativity about PC gaming by jokingly calling his colleague an idiot.
- The Club
Ben Ward
addresses The Club on Play.TM is a Q&A about Bizarre Creations
third-person action shooter, discussing the departure from the racing genre,
the game's sporting elements, gunplay, characters, locations, environments,
and more.
- Brothers in Arms
The
Kristin Price Q&A on WomenGamers.Com talks with this associate producer
on the Brothers in Arms series. Topics include her personal background and
work in the industry, as well as a bit about the game.
- Ensemble
There's also
a very brief
Q&A on HeavenGames talking with an unnamed member of Ensemble Studios
about future game, learning they are prototyping a game at the moment, while
probing for details about future sequels.
- The Nexuiz Website
has been updated, and now offers details and a video from the coming version
2.4 of this freeware shooter…
Most years I talk about the Oscars in advance of the Academy Awards®™© and fail
to see the program itself. This year I failed to mention them (basically because
I lost track of when they were somewhere along the way), but did get coerced by
MrsBlue into watching the broadcast. Seems like we saw the appropriate picture
when we checked out No Country for Old Men, but as always, will end up
seeing whatever we see of the honorees after the fact ( There Will Be Blood
is the only other choice I'm particularly worked up over).
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