Archived News:
Valve's Steam Service is
now accepting preorders for Crysis Warhead, as they will be carrying the
shooter prequel. They are also now offering the original Crysis, as well
as a bundle of Crysis now and Warhead when it is released.
Steam News also has this
weekend's sale, offering "indie hits" Gumboy and Gumboy Tournament
for $4.99 (regularly $29.98) when
purchased together in
celebration of the 10 year anniversary of Cinemax. Finally,
Steam also announces that
if you preorder Introversion's
Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest before September 19, you'll get
Darwinia now for free.
Gamasutra
has a report on the ongoing controversy over the digital rights management in
Spore, reporting that for a time today the Amazon reviews criticizing the DRM
( story) disappeared (they were later returned with an
explanation that their removal was an accident). EA responds to the negative
reaction to their SecuROM implementation by restating the reasons things are
being done the way they are, and statistics about activations of the Spore
Creature Creator they say indicate they have accurately gauged the needs of
their users by allowing three activations of the game.
The Warhammer Online
Video Interview on AtomicGamer is a fun video that peppers Mythic's Paul
Barnett with questions about their upcoming MMORPG, including talking about the
lessons learned from beta testing, what differentiates WAR from WoW, an
explanation of PvP (that's "labeled" an explanation of RvR), accessibility, a
humorous rundown on the game's overall appeal, and more.
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Open Beta testing is planned for Stargate Worlds just prior to the launch
of the science-fiction MMORPG, according to
VideoGamer.com.
They spoke with Dan Elggren of developer FireSky at the Leipzig Games
Convention, and he told them: "Yeah. I want to do that just before launch. To me
you've got to have a pretty solid product when you go into open beta." He cites
Age of Conan as a game that was fixed with a "miracle patch" between open beta
and launch, saying they want the open beta to produce a "positive experience" to
help market the game. The story is pulled from an interview to be published
later today, as is
this story that says FireSky is already working on post-release content,
even though Stargate Worlds is not due for release until next year: "We're
actually developing some of that post-live content before we launch. That's
going to consist of new story lines, new worlds, new creatures to fight, as well
as we're looking at adding two more levels, so going from 51, 52 and then so on
and so forth. So that's new abilities, new armour sets and new ways of exploring
the universe as well." He says such content will be free for subscribers, and
notes that an MMOG will often see spikes in activity surrounding its launch and
subsequent expansions, which is a situation they hope to avoid. Meanwhile, there
is a new note on the
Stargate Worlds Website saying the closed beta test is "just a few weeks
away," and to sign
up here to express your interest.
Iron Tower Studio
Forums have a section for a project called
Cyclopean which includes a
FAQ
describing Cyclopean as an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired role-playing game currently
in preproduction with a small two-person team. This is all very early, but for
now word is: "It will have all the features that we love and cherish: isometric,
turn-based, focus on dialogues and choices." Thanks
Strategy Informer.
Gamekyo quotes the organizers of the Games Convention on plans to add a North
American show to the huge annual events they already hold in
Asia and
Germany saying they are
leaning towards a Canadian venue. Word from GC high command is: "It seems to
become a city in Canada, not in the US. We'll inform you as soon as we arrived
at a decision." Thanks
GamesIndustry.biz, where they say they've heard that Vancouver is likely the
location under strongest consideration.
Gametrailers offers
a new developer diary movie from Quantum of Solace, featuring several
folks from Treyarch discussing how the Call of Duty 4 engine is powering
their upcoming James Bond movie tie-in. They describe how using this established
technology lessened the number of hurdles they had to vault, and discuss changes they made to offer features not found in CoD4, like a new cover system
in Quantum of Solace.
A new trailer F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin offers another look at
Monolith's upcoming horror-themed shooter sequel. A variety of gameplay
sequences are included in the clip, which is posted on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
FileFront.
Codemasters plans to release Rise of the Argonauts for Windows, Xbox 360,
and PlayStation 3 in European territories in November, reports
Eurogamer.
Release information for Liquid Entertainment's action/RPG based on the story of
Jason and the Argonauts for other territories is not included, but the game was
announced with 2008 release date ( story), so it seems likely it
will be released elsewhere around the same time. On a related note, a new "Pan"
trailer offers a game-engine cinematic from the game introducing the Pan
character, who is not as cherubic as typical depictions, but this is probably
welcome, since he has seems to be more of a combatant than a musician. That
said, Zamfir fans will still hear the strains of a pan-flute in the background
at certain points. The clip is posted on
AtomicGamer and
FileFront. There's also a two-part Rise of the Argonauts team Q&A on RPG
Vault, here's part
one and here's
part two.
Paradox Interactive announces the completion of development of Dark Horizon,
saying Quazar Studios' space action/combat game is on track to make its scheduled
release dates of September 23 in North America and September 26 in Europe
( story). Word is: "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." The game will be available in
retail stores and for online purchase from
GamersGate.
The EA Forums
have a confirmation that only one account can be created in Spore per
purchased copy, in spite of the game's manual saying otherwise, an issue first
reported here last week ( story). According to Violet from EA, the
manual for the just-released life simulation has a misprint: "That section in
the manual was a misprint and will be corrected in future printings of the
manual. There is one Spore registration/account per game/serial code so you are
correct in that you cannot make multiple accounts at this time." She does say
she will raise this topic with the powers that be: "I have sent your guys'
feedback to the game team though since I can understand the desire to share a
game on a system that you entire family uses." Thanks
Consumerist/ Digg/ Ant.
Activision acquires UK studio FreeStyleGames has word that Activision
Publishing has acquired FreeStyleGames. This UK-based studio has most recently
been working on localized content for Guitar Hero, so this may relate to
Activision's stated recommitment to downloadable content for the series.
According to president of Activision Publishing Mike Griffith: "An important
part of our European growth strategy is to work with local developers and
provide music content that resonates with the market."
The
Evochron Renegades Website offers a new version of Evochron Renegades,
the freeform space combat, trader and mercenary simulator. The new version 1.908
offers a number of improvements, most focused on multiplayer play. As always,
the new version serves as patch for previous versions, a playable demo, or the
full game, should you choose to buy a license key and unlock it.
Blizzard
Support announces the availability of new patches for StarCraft and
the Brood War expansion, updating the RTS game and its add-on to version
1.15.3. Both patches can be found on
this Blizzard Support Page, and the StarCraft patch is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
FileFront, and The
Patches Scrolls. The Brood War patch is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
FileFront, and The
Patches Scrolls.
GTA IV Sales Slow, Complicating Take-Two/EA Merger is an analysis based on
the new NPD game sales data ( story) saying sales of Grand
Theft Auto IV "have slowed considerably, which may complicate ongoing talks
to buy the company." EA is in negotiations to takeover Take-Two
( story), and the article suggests Take-Two's case for a higher
share price may be weakening: "GTA IV, the company's flagship game, was the 46th
best-selling game in August, according to new NPD rankings. That's down from
45th place in July. The slowing sales have also brought fresh concerns that at
about 8.5 million sold to date, Take-Two's powerhouse GTA IV may have a tough
time meeting sales expectations."
1C
Publishing now offers a new 17 MB patch for XIII Century: Death or Glory
to update the European edition of this real-time strategy game set in the middle
ages to version 1.2. Word is: "The patch includes several improvements in
gameplay and balance. The patch is universal for English, German, French,
Spanish and Italian versions of the game." There is also a patch for the Russian
edition of the game on
The Patches Scrolls.
The
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Interview on 2404 talks with Tim O’Neil, Lead
Gameplay Programmer on the upcoming web-slinging superhero game. The questions
are fairly generic, asking about the setting, AI, the game engine, enemies,
characters, and more.
A new version 1.9.4 of the
SourceForts modification for Half-Life 2 is now available as an updated full
client or as a patch for the previous version of this tower defense--style
project. The new version address bugs and exploits, and the client release is
accompanied by an updated Linux dedicated server. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
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