Archived News:
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008
Crysis Patch Imminent [8:31 pm ET] – Share – 14 Comments
The
Crysis Weekly Update #6 offers word that the version 1.2 patch has been
given a final seal of approval, and they expect a worldwide release sometime in
the next few days. There is word that the new patch will offer improved
anti-cheating protection, and that they are prepping a guide on how to make best
use of the game's cheat prevention technology. There is also a mention of an
exploit that has been crashing Crysis servers they are working to address,
saying a hotfix patch will likely appear soon.
Ziff Davis Filing Chapter 11 [8:31 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments
This Press
Release has word that Ziff Davis will be
filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the failure of "good faith
negotiations with certain of its subordinated unsecured noteholders," leading to
an agreement with an ad hoc group of noteholders to reorganize under Chapter 11
(thanks Neutronbeam and
PaidContent.org). Word is the owner of PC
Magazine, 1Up, and
ExtremeTech has filed a number of what
are called "customary 'first day' motions" to allow them to continue paying
employees and vendors while reorganizing.
UBO Becomes Cal Ripken's Real Baseball [8:31 pm ET] – Share – 3 Comments
Netamin announces Cal Ripken's Real
Baseball as the new title for the MMO sports game formerly known as Ultimate
Baseball Online (though the game is no more "real" now than it was before the
title switch). The hall-of-fame shortstop is the new spokesperson for the game,
which has been in beta testing for three years now. Word from Netamin's Andy
Wang is: "We are very excited to partner with Cal in an effort to make our
website and video game even better for baseball lovers across the globe. We
strive to make Real Baseball the most authentic baseball video game it can be,
and adding Cal to our team not only strengthens our brand, but connects us with
a baseball legend that will take our video game and community to the next
level."
Preserving the History of Video Games [8:30 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment
This Sydney Morning Herald Article is about the arrival of the Game On
exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, where it will run
through mid-summer (or mid-winter in down-under terms). The article outlines
what they describe as the "race" that's underway to preserve the history of
video games, which is falling more and more on museums and libraries, rather
than individual enthusiasts. This includes the difficulties in maintaining aging
hardware, and the perceived importance of preserving such culturally significant artifacts
in their original form, rather than relying on emulators to play games on newer
systems.
New Platinum Arts Sandbox Beta [8:30 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment
A new beta 2.1 of the
Platinum Arts Sandbox is now available, offering an update to this
OpenSource game development platform described as "easy enough for kids to use
but also powerful enough for full game projects."
The Late Show [8:30 pm ET] – Share – 3 Comments
- Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
The Command & Conquer Website offers a new single-player trailer from C&C 3: Kane's Wrath in HD along with HD version of other recently released (story) movies from the upcoming RTS expansion. The clip is mirrored on AtomicGamer and Gamer's Hell. - X3: Terran Conflict
A new X3: Terran Conflict teaser trailer offers a look at the upcoming continuation of Egosoft's X series of space combat games. The clip is located on the Egosoft Website and mirrored on ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, and Gamer's Hell. - The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
A clip showing off The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is online, giving a feel for just how enhanced this updated version of CD Projekt RED's action/RPG will be. The 46 MB trailer is on FileFront and Gamer's Hell. - Sam & Max
A second Sam & Max 204 Chariots of the Dogs Trailer shows off the coming episode in Telltale Games' comedic adventure series. The movie is posted on the Sam & Max Website and mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and Strategy Informer. - Arctic Stud Poker Run
A new Arctic Stud Poker Run trailer offers a look at this unusual racing/combat/card game. The clip is on FileFront and Gamer's Hell.
Evening Q&As [8:30 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment
- Champions Online
There's a Q&A with Chris Lena on the Champions Online Official Site that's the second installment in their "Meet the Team" series, introducing a producer on Cryptic's upcoming superhero MMORPG, learning a bit about his life and his work. - Dead Space
The Dead Space Q&A on ActionTrip chats with Glen Schofield about the upcoming survival/horror game, discussing the sci-fi setting, the lack of a HUD, zero-G, interactivity, and more. - Stargate Worlds
A Glimpse into Cheyenne Mountain's New Sci-Fi MMO on Stratics Central offers just that, in a conversation with Cheyenne Mountain's Dan Elggren and Kevin Balentine about Stargate Worlds, discussing the player experience, PvE versus PvP, team options, community support, and more. - Jumpgate Evolution
The Jumpgate Evolution Q&A on Ten Ton Hammer converses with Hermann Peterscheck of Netdevil about the upcoming return of Jumpgate's MMO space combat, focusing on combat and controls.
Evening Previews [8:30 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Europa Universalis: Rome on IGN.
- Huxley on IGN.
- Legendary on Play.TM.
- Left 4 Dead on Computer and Video Games.
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate on RPG Vault. Diary #4.
- Sacred 2 on Ascaron Entertainment's IGN Blog.
- Star Wars Galaxies on WarCry Network. What 2008 holds.
- Tabula Rasa on 1Up. NCSoft producer on Tabula Rasa's future.
Evening Screenshots [8:30 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Ancient Wars: Sparta - The Fate Of Hellas on Strategy Informer.
- ArmA2 on the Bohemia Interactive Website. Vegetation progress. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
- Mafia 2 on Tiscali Games.
- Numen on the Akella Website.
Evening Consolidation [8:29 pm ET] – Share – 4 Comments
Thanks Mike Martinez.
- EA's ARMY OF TWO Shipping to Stores Today. Thanks Gamer's Hell. One is the loneliest number.
- Red Mile appoints Simon Price president. Restructures.
- 'Sin City' video game goes straight to the source.
- Eddie Van Halen = next Guitar Hero?
- Doctor Who Coming To PS2, DS.
- Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games Wii, DS Sells 5 Million Worldwide.
- Halo 3: The Future of Forge.
- User-Generated Guitar Hero Content At Least Five Years Away.
Evening Tech Bits [8:29 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment
Mobilization [8:29 pm ET] – Share – 2 Comments
Metaverse [8:29 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Yahoo Scrambles to Block Microsoft Deal. Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Shaw Users Seeing 'PermaBoost'. Thanks Ant.
- HughesNet Users Report Massive Peak Congestion Problems.
- Nine Inch Nails Sells Out Of $300 Deluxe Edition In Under Two Days. Thanks nin.
- Kids see mum raped on YouTube. Thanks Ant and Digg.
Safety Dance [8:29 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
etc., etc. [8:29 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Bioshock 2 Fan Art Catches Eye of 2K Games. Thanks Mike Martinez…
- Study uncovers MMORPG gender-swapping epidemic…
Into the Black [8:28 pm ET] – Share – 9 Comments
| Links with Flair!: | Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez. |
| Play: | The Morning After |
| Link of the Evening: | Penny Arcade - Bordering On The Semi-Tasteful. Thanks nin. |
| Stories: |
Steve Jobs' cancer a secret for nine months. Try out 'dream job' before you jump. Thanks Neatorama. Hold the Syrup! Aunt Jemima Mixes Recalled. |
| Science!: |
Study:
Daylight Saving Time Uses More Energy, Not Less. Thanks Greg. Government unleashes flood to restore Grand Canyon ecosystem. Thanks Neutronbeam. California cows start passing gas to the grid. Thanks Digg. |
| Media: |
Phoenix Wright uses the Chewbacca Defense. Japanese Spider-man. Thanks Karrillion. Lucky Granny Has Nerves Of Steel. |
New ATI Catalyst Drivers [4:13 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments
The ATI Drivers & Software
now features the promised release of new version 8.3 Catalyst reference drivers
for ATI graphics cards.
These release notes outline the changes, the most significant of which, such
as quad Crossfire support, were detailed yesterday (story). The
drivers also offer performance increases for several games, and clear up a
number of issues under Windows Vista.
Sims 3 Info Soon [1:43 pm ET] – Share – 22 Comments
TheSims3.com is online, offering a
preliminary home to the not-yet-announced next installment in the lifestyle
simulation series (thanks Tiscali Games). That unannounced part may be rectified soon
enough, as the teaser site says "More Information Coming Soon*!" The footnote
connected to that asterisk provides the date when this info can presumably be
expected: March 19, 2008.
38 Studios Gets Unreal for their "OEE™" [11:16 am ET] – Share – 6 Comments
38 Studios announces they have licensed the Unreal Engine 3 to power the client
end of their upcoming MMORPG, not long after announcing BigWorld Technology
middleware will be used on the server end (story). Thus the body
of knowledge about the tech being used by Curt Schilling's development studio
continues to grow in the absence of details about the game itself. There is a
blurb in the announcement about the game, which will apparently be enough of an
"Online Entertainment Experience" that they've trademarked the term
OEE:
Led with the artistic vision of Todd McFarlane and the enthralling storytelling of R. A. Salvatore, 38 Studios is developing an original IP made up of fantastical elements, settings, characters, creatures, rules, and experiences. The IP will encompass multiple media forms including a massively multiplayer online game that is currently scheduled for release in late 2010. The company is utilizing a combination of Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 toolset and BigWorld’s server-side technologies to meet its requirements for achieving an unparalleled OEE™, the premier Online Entertainment Experience.
Multiwinia Testing Sign-ups [11:16 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
This post on the Introversion Forums (thanks Gamer's Hell) puts out the call for
beta testers for Multiwinia, the upcoming multiplayer game based on
Darwinia:
We will start the process soon with a small number (around 50) of testers running a non-playable "Hardware Test" build. This build will pit 4 AI players against each other and will report back to us with frame rates, hardware stats, problems etc. During this phase we're looking at hardware compatability problems, frame rate issues etc. After this we'll start rolling out playable versions for the testers to break, gradually adding applicants to the test group in batches of 50 or more.
Chronicles of Spellborn Delay [10:22 am ET] – Share – 8 Comments
The Chronicles of
Spellborn Website has word of another delay, saying Spellborn
International's MMORPG is now due in the second quarter of this year (thanks
Gamer's Hell). The last official release date for the game was Q1 2007
(story), a horse that obviously long ago left the barn, as word
in late 2006 (story) was "Depending on the feedback during the
last closed beta phase we will reveal final dates for open beta and release,"
which is basically the same thing they are saying more than a year later:
We have recently started the final tests for The Chronicles of Spellborn.
Beginning of last week, a new phase within the internal beta phases has been initiated with a brand new version of the game. Up to now these tests have performed very satisfactory, so that they can be expanded pretty soon to larger participants groups like enlisted community members. Server stress tests have been successfully completed by our team in Autumn already.
Thus we expect a release of The Chronicles of Spellborn in the second quarter of 2008. Based on the test results of the next weeks and the upcoming series of Closed Beta tests, we will announce the beginning of the Open Beta and then specific release dates for each territory.
To conclude, I’d like to remind you to make sure the email address you used to register on our website is working and not full, for, who knows, there might a nice little email coming your way.
Crime City Demo [09:23 am ET] – Share – 2 Comments
As announced
here, Crime City
is a real-time strategy game where the player controls police patrols to chase
down and capture criminals to take the namesake crime out of the city. The game
is now available, as is a playable demo, a 45 MB download that's mirrored on
Gamer's Hell and
PixelRage.
Auto Cross Racing Demo [09:23 am ET] – Share – 2 Comments
A new demo for Auto Cross Racing is now available on the
KJM Software Website, offering the chance to test drive this rally racing
game, and it's self-described "touchy" controls. A write-up on
Game Tunnel gives a
feel for the game, and the demo is mirrored on
Gamer's Hell and
PixelRage.
WhiteMoon Dreams Formed [09:23 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
This Company
Fact Sheet reveals the formation of WhiteMoon Dreams, a new independent
development studio focused on console games. The company has a strong gaming
pedigree: It is co-founded by Scott Campbell, designer on the original Fallout,
and Jay Koottarappallil, who once worked at Looking Glass Studios.
Develop Magazine reports WhiteMoon Dreams already has a console publishing
deal with an unnamed Japanese company.
Company of Heroes Patch [09:23 am ET] – Share – 25 Comments
The RelicNews
Forums have news that new patches is now available for Company of Heroes,
updating the various localized editions of the Word War II RTS game to version
2.202. Here's the description of the sole change offered: "Increased version for
CoH Gold Edition Release. Unlock both products with one key!" The multiple
downloads are mirrored on
Gamer's Hell,
The Patches Scrolls, and
PixelRage.
SimCity Societies Patch [09:22 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
The SimCity Societies Website
offers a third patch for SimCity Societies, updating the sociable urban planning
game to version 1.02.119. Word is: "With this update, we are adding performance
improvements, a variety of user interface enhancements, and the UFO Attack!"
Hopefully Jeff Goldblum is available to infect the alien computers with a virus.
Downloads of the patch are mirrored on
ActionTrip,
FileFront,
FileShack, Gamer's Hell,
The Patches
Scrolls,
PixelRage, and
Strategy Informer.
Heavy Duty Movie [09:22 am ET] – Share – 1 Comment
A new Heavy Duty trailer is available, showing off some third-person aerial
combat from the upcoming science-fiction action game. The clip is available on
the Akella Videos Page,
and mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
Strategy Informer.
The Three Most Important Moments In Gaming? [09:22 am ET] – Share – 26 Comments
The Three
Most Important Moments In Gaming on MTV News gets Sid Meier's thoughts on
that topic. I haven't given much thought to what my own such list would be, but
I don't think it jibes at all with his, which consist of the IBM PC, Sim City,
and Nintendo's Official Seal of Quality.
Morning Q&As [09:22 am ET] – Share – 2 Comments
- Valve
Rock, Paper, Shotgun Interviews Valve’s Chet Faliszek talking with the Valve writer with a focus on Left 4 Dead, the upcoming multiplayer zombie shooter. The conversation also covers working with Turtle Rock, playing Team Fortress 2, Alyx's potty mouth, other games, and more. - Red Alert
The mysterious origins of Red Alert on PC Gamer hears from Petroglyph's Adam Isgreen and Frank Klepacki about developing the original Red Alert game when they were at Westwood. Thanks Voodoo Extreme. - State of the RPG
The State of the RPG on Gameplayer offers a roundtable discussion with developers like Lionhead, Square Enix, Bethesda, and Mistwalker about role-playing games, calling 2008 "the year Xbox takes control of the RPG." The article concludes with links to some related Q&As.
Morning Previews [09:22 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Demigod on ActionTrip.
Morning Screenshots [09:22 am ET] – Share – 3 Comments
- Assassin's Creed on GameInfoWire.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky on GameInfoWire.
Morning Consolidation [09:22 am ET] – Share – 5 Comments
Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Xbox 360 price cut coming this month.
- Saints Row 2 dev: 'we can compete with GTA 4' and Saints Row 2 'won't be bug free' admits dev.
- Grand Theft Auto 4 Hands-On preview on AusGamers.com.
- Finally, Guitar Hero Wii Gets It Right.
- Vibration enhances emotional impact of videogames, Swedish study suggests. Same for horseback riding.
- Watch TV with Your Wii! …in Japan!
- War Games: Air Force Buys 300 PlayStation 3 for Research.
- New details on SOCOM Confrontation.
- Bungie McFaralane's Halo Action Figures Arrive (Don't Call Them Dolls).
- FaceBreaker Xbox 360 Screenshots.
Morning Tech Bits [09:22 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Catalyst 8.3: Better Hardware through Drivers on TheTechLounge.
- ATI Catalyst 8.3 driver feature analysis on Elite Bastards.
- EVGA reveals 9800 GX2 to HEXUS.tv at CeBIT 2008.
- NVIDIA's GeForce 9800 GX2 gets official courtesy of Albatron.
- A.M.D. Cuts Time Needed to Shift Production Method.
- Intel G45 (X4500HD) to be 3x faster than previous integrated GPU.
- Microsoft missing the cloud with Windows on a USB stick.
- Language packs delay Vista Ultimate SP1.
- Thermaltake merges chassis and fridge technology on HEXUS.net.
Tuesday Game Reviews [09:21 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Audiosurf on Internode Games Network.
- Galactic Command Echo Squad SE on Games32.
- Imperium Romanum on RealGamer.
Tuesday Hardware Reviews [09:21 am ET] – Share – 1 Comment
- 3DCONNEXION SpaceNavigator PE Thingamabob on Altgamer.
- Albatron 8800GTS-512X Graphics Card on X-bit labs.
- AMD's 780G Chipset on AMDZone, bit-tech.net, HEXUS.net, HotHardware, Legit Reviews, PC Perspective, The Tech Report, and Techware Labs.
- Asus P5E3 WS Professional Motherboard on Mikhailtech.
- Cooler Master Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler on TweakTown.
- Intel's 45nm Dual-Core E8500 CPU on AnandTech. Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Landisk NS347 NAS on Review Spring.
- LG GGC-H20L Super Multi Blue Blu-ray Disc & HD DVD-ROM on CDRLabs.com.
- Noctua NF-B9 92mm Fan on DragonSteelMods.
- NVIDIA Quadro FX1700 512MB Graphics Card on Phoronix.
- NZXT Cryo LX USB Laptop Cooler on Everything USB.
- Samsung YP-S5 Multimedia Player on Hardware Canucks.
- Shuttle XPC P2 3500G SFF PC on Tech Bitch.
- Sony MDR-NC500D Headphones on Digital Trends.
- Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico Security Mini-Computer on ThinkComputers.org.
etc. [09:21 am ET] – Share – 9 Comments
- Cradle Of Rome is a Roman-themed puzzle game, a playable demo is available…
- Report: Video Game Ads to Reach $1 Bil. by 2012…
- Brothers In Arms Machinima TV Series Announced. Thanks Ant…
- Would You Play a Call of Duty MMO? Wouldn't that be worth fighting for? Wouldn't that be worth dying for?…
- Uwe Boll Uwe Hates On Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley. Thanks Mike Martinez…
Out of the Blue [09:21 am ET] – Share – 14 Comments
"March madness" is almost upon us, the annual event where it takes extra effort
for me to ignore college basketball than the remainder of the year. There are
certainly enough folks who feel otherwise, though, so for you, enjoy your
madness.
| Mad Links!: | Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez. |
| Play: | Canyon Defense. |
| Links of the Morning: | Phase III Case Mod. |
| Stories: | Makers of Airborne Settle False-Ad Suit With Refunds. |
| Science!: | New twist in Hobbit-human debate. |
| Image: | Nestography. Re-captioned 8-bit game screenshots. Thanks Neatorama. |
| Media: |
Legend of Zelda: The LEGO Version. Top 10 Mike-Era MST3K WTF! Moments. The Onion Movie Coming to DVD. Thanks Digg. |
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