Archived News:
Duke Nukem
Forever: "things are coming together" on Computer and Video Games hears from
George Broussard of 3D Realms about progress on Duke Nukem Forever. According to
George, "there are several hours of fairly polished game to play," and they are
currently getting feedback from play testers "and things are coming together."
He also says "It's fun, it's in focus, we know what bits are fun and which are
not, and it's just a matter of time now. I've probably never been as happy or
excited about the game as I am these days."
AGEOD announces World War One:
La Grande Guerre 14-18 (WWI), a turn-based grand strategy game set in
World War I planned for release on November 11, the 90th anniversary of the
signing of the armistice that ended the first world war. The game is designed by
Philippe Thibaut (Europa Universalis, American Civil War, Great Invasions) based
on the board game of the same name, allowing the player to lead one of the seven
main nations involved in the conflict (France, Great-Britain, Russia, Italy,
Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire). Word is the game
"will not only propose to play the war on a military strategic and operational
level, but also to manage diplomatic maneuvers, technological research and
domestic political stability of each nation in a period of revolutionary
turmoils [sic]." The game will offer multiplayer play, supporting up to four
players via LAN or TCP/IP.
This press release has word that
Star Wars
Galaxies: Champions of the Force is now live, offering the next installment
in this SWG Trading Card Game. The game is available to all current and former
subscribers to Star Wars Galaxies, and word is: "In addition, all Star Wars
Galaxies subscribers with current, valid, paid accounts in good standing are
eligible to automatically receive five digital trading card Booster Packs each
month included with their paid Star Wars Galaxies subscription at no additional
cost, providing a simple way for them to quickly and easily build their decks."
Thanks
Massively.
A fourth behind-the-scenes trailer for Legendary is online, offering another
look at Spark Unlimited's first-person shooter based on the myth of Pandora's
Box, as well as a chance to catch up on the third movie
in this series, which we failed to note when it was recently released. The new
BTS trailer #4 is available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell. The earlier Legendary BTS clip #3 is available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
A new trailer from Mercenaries 2: World in Flames offers another look at the
airstrikes in Pandemic's upcoming open-world action sequel. This clip is
available on AtomicGamer
and Gamer's Hell.
The
Multiwinia Mondays page now features another movie with a look at
Introversions upcoming multiplayer game. Word is: "This week we took a closer
look at Capture the Statue – a mode which probably doesn’t require much
explanation for seasoned RTS veterans!" The clip is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
A new movie from Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People shows off
Strong Badia the Free, the upcoming installment in the episodic series
based on the webcomic. This clip is available on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell. There is also a new Behind the Bad movie kicking off a series that
will profile the developers on this project, this movie is posted on
Gamer's Hell.
A boxer who skates? A skater who boxes? The new NHL 09 "Be A Pro Player
Types" trailer looks at the different types of hockey players you can portray in
the next installment in EA's hockey series. You can find this movie on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
A new movie from LEGO Batman: The Videogame introduces Bruce Wayne's
loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth. Be sure to bring your Ritalin, as even featuring
"the help," this clip is just as hyperactive as the other clips we've seen from the
game. The trailer can be found on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Okay, no beeping from the workmen today, just the clinking of sledgehammers on
rebar. Much less like living inside a pinball machine, and closer to working on
a chain gang. Still a welcome improvement.
New patches are now available for the Spore Creature Creator, to update
the full and trial editions of this tool to give birth to life-forms for Maxis'
imminent life simulation. The patch for the trial version is on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell and the patch for the full version of the Creature Creator is on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell. On a related note, a new trailer offers a look at the civilization phase in Spore. The developer-narrated clip looks at the RTS elements
in this phase, where we learn that civilization is apparently a euphemism for war. The clip is
available from AtomicGamer
and
MyGameTrailers. Finally, to continue the celebration of Spore, there's
an article about the game and its future on CNN.
Ubisoft and GeoEye Integrate Satellite Imagery into Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X has
word that the upcoming Tom Clancy-themed aerial combat game will make use of
satellite imagery courtesy of GeoEye, "a premier provider of satellite, aerial
and geospatial information." The game will feature more than 16 real-life
locations, including Rio de Janeiro, Cape Canaveral, and the Middle East, all
off which will be depicted using satellite imagery. Additionally: "During the
development process the H.A.W.X team has also worked with the U.S. Geological
Survey and the Center for Earth Resources Observations and Science (USGS/EROS)
to understand how to best create a topographical 'underpinning' for the
satellite imagery, creating a very realistic representation of the Earth."
The Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II movie from the Leipzig show is now
available, offering a look at Relic's upcoming futuristic RTS sequel. The clip
is posted on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Blizzard announces Pre-Wrath content patch on the WOW Insider relates info
they picked up from World of Warcraft community manager Eyonix on a
content patch that will arrive for WoW prior to the release of the Wrath of
the Lich King expansion. Though they point out there is no mention of the
Dance Studios promised for some time, nor of the Death Knights which are
supposed to precede the expansion. As for things that will be included, they
outline plans for new class spells and talents, Stormwind Harbor, Barbershops in
capital cities, Zeppelin towers outside of Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades, two
brand-new arenas, terrain hazards, moving obstacles, and more. Thanks nin.
This press release from EA and Mythic announces that Warhammer Online:
Age of Reckoning is gold, and the MMORPG based on Games Workshop's tabletop
role-playing game is set to launch simultaneously in North America, Europe, and
Oceania on September 18. The Warhammer
Online Website has more details, and those with paid FilePlanet
subscriptions interested in the game should head over to their
Warhammer Online
Beta Page for the chance to participate in the game's testing.
Joystiq reports a rumor picked up from the latest print issue of OXM
magazine that says that Halo 4 is in the works, but at Gearbox Software ( Halo
PC), rather than Bungie, originators of the shooter series. It's not clear
how much certainly the print article expresses in this prospect, but it apparently also indicates Halo 4 is planned as a launch for the follow-up to the
Xbox 360, which will of course be a next-next-generation console. Thanks nin.
A second playable demo for Ironclads: American Civil War provides another
sample of this naval combat game set during the war between the states. It's not
clear what's different from the first demo ( story), but the
download is a mere 18 MB, which can be found on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
The German website for The Settlers series,
now offers a German-language playable demo for Die Siedler: Aufbruch der
Kulturen (The Settlers: Rise of Cultures), the latest installment in the
strategy management series. The demo is also available
on this page,
which is also in German, so you can probably presume that if you can read either
page, you'll be able to work out the German in the demo. Thanks Gamer's Hell. The latest
installment in The Settlers series is gold in Germany, and is expected in stores on
August 28.
A playable demo for Euro Truck Simulator is now available. Update: It
turns out this was actually a leaked version of the full game that was labelled
as a demo. Word from SCS Software is that an official demo will be released by
the end of the week.
A new patch for Kingdom Elemental Tactics is now available to update
Chronic Logic's strategic/RPG to version 1.56. The new version includes a
revamped skirmish mode, an improved interface, a new destiny mode, over twenty
new challenge levels, bug fixes, and the ability to download and play user
created levels. The complete change-list can be found
on this
page, while this page
has movies and screenshots. Meanwhile, a new demo for the game
is located here,
offering a sample of the game in exchange for 46 MB of your bandwidth and
storage.
The Age of
Conan interview on Boomtown talks with Funcom's Erling Ellingsen about
Age of Conan, discussing plans to add content to the barbaric MMORPG. They
talk about Tarantia Commons, a new zone that will introduce new types of quests,
plans to give some of the game's existing dungeons a visual makeover, new high
level content that will involve longer quests and "epic" boss battles, DirectX
10 graphics, and more. Word is the game's first add-on is planned next year, and
it's not clear how many of these changes will come in content updates before the
game officially expands.
Grey Dog Software
announces World of Mixed Martial Arts 2, an MMA sports management sequel
planned for release via digital distribution early next year. Word is: "The
player is in charge of just about everything to do with its running, including
hiring fighters, match making, marketing, and so on." Which is nice, because
sometimes you have to pay extra for the so on.
The Agency Fain Faire Interview Part 3 on The Agency HQ continues this
interrogation of SOE's Steve Kramer, Lorien Gremore, and Hal Milton about their
upcoming MMORPG. The subjects of this installment are combat and missions,
talking about boss battles, rewards, weapons, ammo, "agency moments," and more.
The Frontlines Website has
another update on the patch in the works for Frontlines: Fuel of War that
will update the modern combat shooter to version 1.20. The post says the patch
is due in September, and goes on to offer further details on the Phase 2 updates
for the server browser and the Server Commander dedicated server tools.
Another update mentions that
the login servers for the game will be offline for maintenance on Thursday
between about 8:30 am and 11:00 am EDT.
Qtracker maintainer Ron Mercer sends news
that this independently developed alternative server browser is losing its home
on the web in under three weeks, so he is putting out the call in case an ISP or
server administrator has the space and bandwidth to donate to give the project a
new home. That bad news is compounded by the fact that Ron worked at the old
host, which is going out of business taking his job with it, so anyone in need
of, as he puts it, an "IT Director, VC++ Programmer, server/network administrator, and all
around great guy with over 15 years experience" should also take note. If you
have a home for Qtracker, a job for Ron, or both, contact
saveqtracker@qtracker.com. On
brighter Qtracker news, Ron says to expect the new version 4.8 later this week.
So the work has begun in earnest on our new sidewalk, as they tore up the old
one today with the backhoe, leaving a trench in its place. This apparently
entailed keeping one or more vehicles firmly in reverse gear for the entire day,
so I had to endure several straight hours of ear-piercing warning beeps. Now I
want the guys working out there to be safe, and I would certainly hate to have
one of them run over by a backing up earth mover, but another day or two of this
and no one is going to be safe, because I will end up going postal.
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