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Archived News:
GameSpot reports on the
results of a Take-Two conference call where a general plan for a third
installment in the BioShock series was revealed to follow BioShock 2
( story). In response to a question about the Gore
Verbinski-directed BioShock movie ( story), Take-Two Interactive
chairman Strauss Zelnick said: "It's unlikely that the picture would be released
to coincide with BioShock 2. It would be more likely that it would be released
coincidentally with BioShock 3. That also remains to be seen."
Publisher Gamecock Media Group and developer Crackpot Entertainment announce
that part one of Insecticide is gold, and the action/adventure will be
available for purchase and download next week: Cockpit, Austin, TX – June
5, 2008 – Indie-publisher Gamecock Media Group today announced that Crackpot
Entertainment’s ‘Insecticide’ Part 1 for the PC has gone gold. ‘Insecticide’
combines the intellectual challenge of a mystery with the intensity and
quick-witted tone of an action classic to bring players a whole new gaming
experience.
Chrys Liszt is a rookie detective eager to make her presence known by
eradicating crime in Troi. However, Chrys quickly discovers that her objective
is easier said than done. What starts off as a string of petty crimes is, in
fact, part of an intricate chain of events that will leave Chrys smack-dab in
the middle of an epic mystery with Troi’s powerful elite.
The PC version of Insecticide promises more voice-overs and video than ever
before and brings the world of Troi to life in a way that has yet to be
experienced by gamers, raising the quality not typically seen in a downloadable
title.
The downloadable Part 1 of ‘Insecticide’ on PC will be available June 13 for
$14.99 through paradox, Direct2Drive, and GameTap. Visit
www.insecticidethegame.com to
learn more.
This page on the Depths
of Peril Website now offers a sales of a Mac edition of Depths of Peril
alongside the PC edition of Soldak Entertainment's action/RPG. A playable demo
of the Mac edition was recently released ( story), but even if you
buy before you try, this game comes with something you don't usually get with a
game: a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Aspyr Support
is now serving up a new patch to update the Macintosh edition of Neverwinter
Nights 2 to version 1.12, or to be more specific: "This is an official
update for Neverwinter Nights 2. This patch has a variety of changes and will
update any previous version of Neverwinter Nights 2 to version 1.12.1295." The
download is mirrored on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
The Glorious Cause Website is
online as home to this new wargame developer, revealing development of their
debut project,
Civil War General. They have a help wanted to add to the team, and here's
the deal on the game: Civil War General brings you right into the heart
of The American Civil War. You are put in command of The Army. You decide who
leads your Brigades, Divisions, Corps' and even Armies.
You are given ultimate command. Do you wish to Free The Slaves as The South, or
bring in European assistance to help you supress the Confederacy. You decide
your Nations policy, its diplomacy, and even its taxes.
You are the heart of your armies decisions. You decide how much to spend on
their gear, and rifles. Do you raise their pay for better morale or have a large
army with no morale. Its all up to you. Your The Commander in Chief.
Release Date: TBA
The Frontlines: Fuel of War
Website now offers a new patch to update Kaos Studios' military shooter to
version 1.1.0. The new version incorporates PunkBuster anti-cheating software
and spawn protection, a number of gameplay tweaks, bug-fixes, a new server
browser, and more. The patch can be found on the
Kaos Studios downloads page.
Updates for the digitally distributed editions are expected soon from Steam
and Trymedia.
The debut episode of the Jace Hall Show
is now live on Crackle, offering a look at the world of gaming through the
King of teh monstars. In spite of efforts at tempering our expectations
( story), the initial tease that the show would offer a look at
Duke Nukem Forever turns out to be reasonably accurate, though it's not
actually a "trailer" as was originally stated ( story). After
learning that crack, hookers, and WoW playing are causes for the game's
protracted development cycle, at around the 4:20 mark Jason plays a bit of the
game with the camera peeking over his shoulder. While this is not the best point
of view, and the editing does not portray any extended sequences, there is
actual gameplay and combat from the game on display. Here's response from The
Jace to what he experienced: "Perfect. I saw it, they have been working. It's
not a myth. You are going to be pleased." Update: Just the DNF portion of
the program has been excerpted into
a clip posted on
YouTube. Another update: Looks like the YouTube video has been
yoinked.
2K Games announces a playable demo for Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
is now available on both the Xbox LIVE marketplace and the PlayStation Network,
offering a sample of the new console installment in the long-running strategy
series. Word is: "the demo allows aspiring conquerers [sic] to sample both the
single-player and multiplayer elements of the next great entry in the
Civilization franchise. As either Cleopatra of Egypt or Caesar of Rome, players
can get a glimpse of the gameplay through 1250 AD as they lead their
civilization against cunning AI opponents or human opponents from around North
America. Also included in the demo is an intuitive tutorial that will ease
players into the addictive and fascinating world of Civilization."
Calling JC Denton! GameTap announces the new free game they are offering as of this week is the
Deus Ex: Game of the
Year edition, ION Storm's cyberpunk RPG/first-person shooter first released
in 2000. Update: The two other new games this week are
Astro Fury and
Cradle of Rome
(which are not free, as this story implied before it was corrected).
Frogster Interactive announces StoneAge 2, an upcoming anime/manga-themed
free MMORPG that will enter beta testing in the summer. If you are wondering
what happened to StoneAge 1, this has apparently been operating in Asian
territories for quite some time now. The initial testing will be for a German
edition of the game, and preregistration for beta testing is underway on
the German Stoneage2 Website, but word is
they will be rolling out other language editions after that: Even the Stone Age will go online soon. In StoneAge 2 Anime and Manga fans
will discover a fanciful online world for their home computers. Besides the
interaction between human players, the relationship between the characters and
their pets, constitutes an essential game-play element. The skills of these cute
companions and their capability to learn are decisive factors in determining the
outcome of the turn-based fights.
Players will be able to download StoneAge 2 completely free of charge and play
permanently with no monthly fees. The open beta of the localized German version
will most likely start in late summer 2008. Other European language versions are
in development. Interested players can find information and screenshots on the
brand new German teaser site www.stoneage2.de.
Historians and Manga fans can pre-register right away for the upcoming beta and
will then receive all news about StoneAge 2.
In the land before time - StoneAge 2
Primeval spirits, mythical beings and dinosaurs once roamed the lovingly
animated world of StoneAge 2. But since the mysterious disappearance of the
mighty dinosaurs, aggressive and evil creatures have taken over the world.
Hunting, gathering and defending their soil now dominate the everyday life of
the Manga characters. Players fan out from their individual housing to look for
food and resources. Fortunately for them, the pets stand by their sides with
their unique fighting and healing talents. Players will attentively take care of
their virtual companions. With good upbringing and training some might even be
used as mounts. Hobby Neanderthals can choose from almost 200 pets and even
create their own unique creature as a loyal escort. Before StoneAge 2, the
Japanese developing studio DigiPark had already successfully operated its
predecessor in China, Korea and Japan with almost 10 millions of players. You
can find further information and pictures on
www.stoneage2.de.
Features of StoneAge 2
- Free online role-playing game
- Turn-based fights
- 12 different main characters
- Sophisticated and extensive pet system: almost 200 pets to choose from, which
can communicate with their owners via e-mail
- Pets can be used as mounts
- Breeding of your own Pets
- Housing system with furnishing and possible relocation
- Guild system with guild events and guild housing
- PvP and tournament system (PVP duells)
- Battles against boss characters
- Weather system with impact on the world
- Item crafting: create your own equipment
- Egg laying function: Pets can father offspring
- Integrated item shop
- In-game chat and blog system
This announcement from EA reveals plans for The Sims 2 Apartment Life,
a PC Sims 2 expansion, as well as a Nintendo DS game called The Sims 2
Apartment Pets (the Pets part added in compliance with strict federal
cuteness regulations), both slated for release on August 22. Did you know living
in an apartment is rife with "adventure, fun and drama"? Well now you
do: GUILDFORD, UK — June 5, 2008 — The Sims™, an Electronic Arts Inc.
(NASDAQ: ERTS) Label, today announced the first details for The Sims 2 Apartment
Life for the PC, and The Sims 2 Apartment Pets exclusively for the Nintendo
DSTM. The Sims 2 Apartment Life brings the adventure, fun and drama of close
quarters of apartment living to your Sims. Launching simultaneously, The Sims 2
Apartment Pets places your Sims in their very own apartment with a variety of
pets. Also, just downstairs from your Sims apartment is their own pet spa where
they must take good care of a variety of visiting animals, including their own
personal pets. Both titles are due for launch on August 22nd.
This expansion pack for The Sims 2 takes your Sims out of the suburbs and into a
brand new busy apartment building! Adventure, fun, and drama await them as they
explore their new neighborhood, mingle in coffee shops, visit a playground, meet
new friends, and much more. Because there is now the ability to control multiple
households in The Sims 2 Apartment Life, your Sims can live in happy harmony, or
comical conflict.
A playable demo is now available for Belief & Betrayal, the
conspiracy-themed adventure game due in North America next week and in Europe
the week after. Here's word, which turns the phrase "gutsy scholar" for the
first time we can recall: "The demo will introduce players to the main
character, Jonathan Danter, a young tabloid journalist from New York City, who
is thrust into a ten year old cold case murder investigation, which is somehow
linked to a deep conspiracy reaching back to 1194 A.D. In the full version of
the game, players will take on the role of two other characters: Katrin
McKendal, a gutsy scholar of ancient languages, and Damien, a low-key computer
expert." The download is available on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
Strategy Informer.
Following word that Crytek has trademarked Crysis Warhead
( story) and launched a teaser website ( story),
comes the official announcement of the Crysis Warhead game, a PC-only first-person shooter set in "the parallel story to Crysis." The game is being
developed in Crytek's Budapest studio using the CryENGINE 2 for release this
fall. When Crytek announced that they were likely not going to further patch
Crysis ( story) they said "we hope you understand when you hear
more about the reasons why in the very, very near future," but it's not clear if
this announcement is somehow related to that near future revelation they
promised. Word is: REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maximum
freedom, maximum explosions and maximum Psycho! Electronic Arts Inc.
(NASDAQ:ERTS - News) and award-winning independent studio Crytek today announced
Crysis Warhead® – the parallel story to Crysis, one of the most
critically-acclaimed first person shooters and PC games of 2007. Shipping
exclusively for the PC this fall, Crysis Warhead is the first title to be
developed at Crytek’s Budapest studio, and is built on a new, enhanced and
optimized version of Crytek’s CryENGINE® 2 technology.
“We were very pleased with the reception of Crysis from both gamers and media
after our launch last year,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek.
“That being said, one of the key principles of our studio is to always raise the
bar. With Warhead, we are focusing on refining our storytelling and game
performance, while also delivering more of the visually stunning graphics and
immersive, free-roaming gameplay everyone loved in Crysis.”
“The best result of a partnership that we can ask for in the EA Partners program
is when a world class independent studio like Crytek chooses to continue to work
with us,” said David DeMartini, Vice President and Global General Manager, EA
Partners. “Crysis was an amazing game and is going to be a blockbuster
franchise. We could not be more excited to be working with Crytek to launch
another hit with Crysis Warhead this year.”
In Crysis Warhead, players will don the Nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known
as ‘Psycho’, one of the most memorable characters from Crysis. More brash and
aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience
Psycho’s parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that
life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than
they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho’s Nanosuit is just as capable and
he’s equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customizable weapons and new
vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any
situation. Aside from this new, exciting single player campaign, Crysis Warhead
will also feature new multiplayer content. Stay tuned for more details this
summer.
Crysis Warhead has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For more information
about the game, please visit
www.crysisthegame.com.
NVIDIA's Japanese SLI
Zone Website is serving up a new playable demo for Devil May Cry 4, along
with a Devil May Cry 4 DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 system benchmark. The 804 MB
demo is also available on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FanGaming,
FileFront,
FileShack,
Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required),
Internode
Games Network,
PixelRage, and
Strategy Informer. The 484 MB system benchmark is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront,
FileShack, and Gamer's
Hell, and
PixelRage.
A new version 1.1.459 of XTac is
now available, offering a 0.0.001 improvement to this RTS/FPS tactics planning
software. The new version addresses a bug from version 1.1.458 that caused the
program to cease working after 24 hours, which some users apparently found to be
problematic.
The Played
Podcast Episode 40 is online, which primarily consists of an interview with
Albert Reed of Demiurge Studios. The topic at hand is the role Demiurge played
in the development of a PC edition of Mass Effect, BioWare's sci-fi RPG.
I recently had a run-in with the law when a State Trooper pulled me over for
going a bit too fast. Nothing excessive, and I was in the flow of traffic, but
that's speeding nonetheless. We spoke for a moment, he glanced at my license and
registration, and asked if there were any problems with my license. When I
answered no, he told me to be more careful and sent me on my way. You see folks
let off with a warning on TV and in movies all the time, but I'd never
experienced this before. Needless to say this was quite the pleasant surprise.
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