Archived News:
IGN reports that
preorders are now underway for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning,
outlining a number of bonuses for those willing to buy before they try the
Warhammer MMORPG. Those who preorder will gain access to the game's beta test as
well as exclusive in-game items. Additionally, preorder customers will get a
head-start on the live game, though it's not specified how much time they will
have before the game's official launch to build up their
characters.
The
Battlefield Heroes Website has word that demand for beta keys has put their
server out of commission, and they are embarking on maintenance to bolster it
for future demand: Turns out there were so many people waiting to win a
Beta key that the server basically...up and croaked.
Talk about things going horribly right.
We'll be doing some maintenance over the next day or two; we want to make sure
that the site can handle all you Battlfield Heroes enthusiasts.
Apologies for the delay, but don't worry, we'll be back!
The Savage 2: A Tortured Soul
Website has word that they are putting more servers for the action/strategy
game online this week to handle demand: Due to tremendous response we
have more players than expected. We will be putting more official servers online
this week to handle the popularity! Thanks everyone
There's a new
Fallout 3
Q&A on Strategy Informer talking with Pete Hines of Bethesda Softworks in a
detailed discussion of their upcoming continuation of the post-apocalyptic RPG
series. They wrap things up with what seems like the essential question gamers
have about this project, which is how a Fallout game that will also
appear on consoles will live up to the expectations of hardcore fans of the first two
games: Ultimately, I think it’s up to everybody to make up their own mind
about whether or not Fallout is a game they want to play, and whether it’s a
game worth playing, and how good or not it is. There’s no one source in this
world for “I determine the Fallout-ness of any game in this universe”, nobody
gets to do that, everybody has to decide for themselves and even just sitting
here I’ve had people say “I have a fan who is a hardcore Fallout fan, and he
says what he remembers most about Fallout is X”, and whatever he says ends up
being slightly different or completely different to somebody else. Everybody
takes something different from every experience. Our thing is we’re going to try
to make the best possible fallout game that we can, we believe that it is a game
where if you loved the original games, you’ll see lots of things here that will
remind you those previous Fallout’s. If you’ve never played Fallout, there’s a
lot here to make you become a big fan of this universe.
But we just get to make the game, we don’t get to make that call on how good or
not good it is. We just focus on what we’re doing and then guys like you will
decide if we were right or not.
Call of Duty: World at War Q&A on GamesRadar talks with Treyarch Studios
boss Mark Lamia about Call of Duty: World at War, the next installment in
the military shooter series. Topics include new features, what sort of
improvements to expect, how the PC edition will differ from console versions
(besides the obvious mouse and keyboard support), and more.
The
Tilted Mill Q&A Part I and
Part II on GameShark each talk with Chris Beatrice and Jeff Fiske of Tilted
Mill Entertainment about a variety of topics, including their new push towards
independence, their reacquisition of the Children of the Nile property,
digital distribution, the upcoming content pack for Children of the Nile, and
some details about Hinterland, their recently announced upcoming life
sim.
A new patch for Galactic Command: Echo Squad SE updates 3000AD's space
combat game to version 2.11.02, the
version control file
outlines what's new and different. Likewise, a patch for 3000AD's Universal
Combat Collector's Edition updates the game to version 1.00.08, and
here's the version
control file for that one. A list of download locations for each patch can
be found on the 3000AD Patches
Page. Finally, there is also a new demo for Galactic Command: Echo Squad SE,
which is now up to that same version 2.11.02. Download locations for the new
demo are located on this page.
2K Boston's Ken Levine is quoted on
Eurogamer
expressing his opinion that if BioShock had not been successful, it may
have ruined the first-person shooter genre, at least in its high-end
story-driven form. He adds that many of the publishers to whom they pitched the
underwater shooter shared the opinion that it would not be a big seller, and
they repeatedly met with a response that was essentially: "sounds like a great
idea, you'll sell 150,000 units - next." If Ken's opinion on the topic is
correct, then shooter fans should be glad those publishers were wrong, because
he thinks a BioShock flop would have crippled the first-person shooter genre: "I
can pretty much guarantee to you that if BioShock wasn't successful, there never
would have been another game like this."
The suddenly very quotable John Carmack is quoted on
Eurogamer
saying Steve Jobs not being a gamer is the reason Apple doesn't "deeply get"
gaming, as he commented during his QuakeCon 2008 keynote. The full quote,
extracted from
a lengthier Q&A, gives a bit more context, while also recognizing that he's
probably going to tick off the Apple honcho with his comments: "The truth is
Steve Jobs doesn't care about games. This is going to be one of those things
that I say something in an interview and it gets fed back to him and I'm on his
s***head list for a while on that, until he needs me to do something else there.
But I think that that's my general opinion. He's not a gamer."
id Software turned down offers of "good money" to develop a Quake MMOG
says John Carmack in a Q&A tidbit on
Shacknews, who adds
that id "has no interest in MMO development," and will not be attempting a
project like that anytime soon, saying he is "fully cognizant" of the challenges
and risks associated with MMO game development. They quote another recent
conversation with the id Software technical director where he points out that
development of Quake Live is a "significant effort" for the company and they
underestimated how difficult it would be to get up to speed on all the website
and database backend development such a project entails.
PCGH takes a look at new graphics the Wrath of the Lich King
expansion is bringing to World of Warcraft, using console options for
things like Level of Detail and the concentration of foliage to see the impact
of the increased density of foliage in the add-on. They have screenshots
demonstrating the visuals and benchmarks showing the impact cranking up
such options has on framerates. Update: Edited for accuracy.
An
interview with World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan on MTV Multiplayer
from the other day (thanks Mike Martinez and
Joystiq) reveals that Blizzard plans on implementing achievements into many
games, including Diablo III and StarCraft II, which is not that
surprising considering plans for WoW achievements have already been
unveiled ( story). These achievements will be tied to what are
described as "new Blizzard accounts," which will lead to players having a
"Blizzard Level." Word is: “Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement
system to become an account-based system,” he explained.
When the new Blizzard Accounts are active, a player’s ‘WoW’ points can be added
to an overall score dubbed an account holder’s “Blizzard Level.” “It’s basically
a gamerscore,” Kaplan said, when I made reference to Xbox Live’s Achievement
system. “For now the points are just a ‘WoW’ character score. As we graduate to
that Blizzard Account system, which is right on the horizon, it will switch over
to a Blizzard Level.”
He added, “Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your
Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like
you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and
you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he
never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW.’ That sort of thing.”
Gamescampus announces tomorrow night
is the launch date for open beta testing of Asda Story ( screenshots),
their free-to-play anime-style MMORPG. In addition, they unveil the unusual
twist of a " fun
guarantee" that will pay $30.00 cash to players who achieve level 40 between
now and September 4 who are not satisfied with the game. Word is: The open
beta session will commence on August 5, 2008 at 9:00 PM PST and will run through
late August at which point the game will officially launch. Gamers are invited
to join the open beta by going to the official website at
www.asdastory.gamescampus.com
where they can create an account and sign up to participate.
"We chose to bring this game to the west because we believe in its potential.
The Guaranteed Fun Promotion is our way of showing our belief in the game and is
even better than a money-back guarantee because you don't have to spend a penny
to play Asda Story," said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and
Business Development for Gamescampus.com. "We are just asking you to invest your
time in playing our game, and if after playing for 30 days you don't feel it has
been the great game experience we feel it to be, we want to hear your feedback
and we'll give you $30.00. It is as simple as that."
In order to ensure players have spent enough time with the game, players must
reach level Level 40 by September 4th, 2008 to qualify for the program. Again
full details for the program can be found here
http://asdastory.gamescampus.com/event/fun.html. The open beta for Asda
Story will also be celebrated with many other in-game events that are detailed
on the Asda Story site. With the Guaranteed Fun Promotion and in-game events
players will have a lot of exciting reasons to be one of the first players to
try the game.
Paradox Interactive announces September 23 as the North American release date
for Dark Horizon, and September 26 as the European release date for
Quazar Studios' space combat game, which is making its promised Q3 release
window with a good deal of time to spare: NEW YORK - August 4, 2008
Paradox Interactive today confirmed the release date for their upcoming space
action combat simulator for the PC, Dark Horizon. Dark Horizon will be released
in North America on September 23rd and in Europe on September 26, 2008.
Dark Horizon is a space combat adventure where the player fights for survival
through 22 missions of space combat. The title is laced with RPG elements such
as original weapon and equipment creation, several modes of combat and advanced
ship customization. Dark Horizon also offers joystick support.
Dark Horizon will be available for purchase in stores and for digital download
at GamersGate, the leading digital distribution platform creating easily
accessible gaming experiences for gamers worldwide.
A playable demo for Ironclads: American Civil War is now available,
providing a sample of this game based on the dawn of modern naval combat. The
demo is a mere 23 MB download, which is located on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
A new version 1.0.3 of Supernova 2: Spacewar is now available, updating
this resource management game with tweak, bug-fixes, a new stats screen, a new
ship customization screen and a new skirmish gameplay mode. The new PC and Mac
versions are available on
this page as
they also serve as trail versions for each platform.
A new patch is now available for Total Extreme Wrestling 2008, updating
this sort-of sports simulation to version 1.1. The 16 MB download is available
on the Grey Dog Software
Website. Additionally, the site has a recent note about price cuts for the T otal
Extreme Wrestling 2007 and Total Extreme Wrestling 2005. The download
is mirrored on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
The
Codemasters Website offers downloads of an E3 trailer for Operation
Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising (thanks Gamer's Hell). The clip of a tank firing its
cannon at night shows off the lighting effect of the muzzle flash, complete with
a slow motion replay.
CNET - Can 'Spore'
meet its lofty expectations? Comparing the hype and the game's budget to its
sales potential. Don't expect an answer, though, as they don't even pin down
those expectations. Includes quotes from a financial analyst and
Kotaku's Brian Crecente.
Internode
Games Network reports confirming from the Australian Office of Film and
Literature Classification the submission of an edited edition of Fallout 3
to hopefully overcome the objections that will prevent the sale of the uncut
version of Bethesda Softworks' upcoming RPG sequel. It's not certain what has
been changed about the game's depictions of drug use, and there are no
guarantees that the revised version of the game will be approved.
- Galaxy GeForce 9600 GT Silent Heatpipe Graphics Card on
Guru3D.
- Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Motherboard on
InsideHW.
- Icy Box IB-3218 Enclosure on
OCIA.net.
- Kingston 8GB microSDHC Flash Card on
DragonSteelMods.
- NZXT Performance Power 800W PSU on
OCIA.net.
- SilverStone SST-TS01B RFID External Drive Kit on
Benchmark Reviews.
I worked on pruning the base of the evergreen in front of our house and it
didn't turn out particularly well. I think I have a new adage to work out, something to the effect of the man who does his own landscaping having a fool
for a gardener. I also think I need to consult a professional now... much like
someone going to a hair stylist to help them out after screwing up an attempt at cutting their
own hair.
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