Archived News:
A patch to update original versions of The Witcher with
the new The Witcher Enhanced Edition content should be released on Friday,
according to CD Projekt RED in response to our inquiry. Friday is the release
date for the Enhanced Edition of the action/RPG in Europe, so it seems the
patch release is timed to coincide with that. This patch will be free to those
who have registered their copy of the original game at
The Witcher Official Website.
Atari announces that The Witcher Enhanced Edition should now be
available in stores in North America. The
press release announcing the game's availability also outlines the titular
enhancements to CD Projekt RED's reworked RPG, which include engine
improvements, new content, new animations, a re-worked script and all-new voice
acting. The game is due in Europe on Friday, and presumably a patch to add the
enhanced content for owners of the original version of The Witcher will be
available soon. The game is also available for online purchase and download from
Direct2Drive,
Impulse, and Steam.
Disney Interactive Studios announces they've begun shipping
PURE
to stores in advance of next week's release of this off-road racing game from
Black Rock Studio. This is part of what's seeming like a new trend in advance
shipping notices, as the game is due in stores on September 23 for Windows, Xbox
360, and PlayStation 3. Word is: "PURE delivers heart-pounding racing
experiences unique to the genre by taking players over the edge with massive
jumps and spectacular airborne tricks. PURE is set in seven real locations all
over the globe and features more than 35 multiple-route tracks and 70
unbelievable tricks."
Diablo III
Interview on VideoGamer.com chats with the lead designer on Blizzard's
upcoming action/RPG sequel, Jay Wilson. Interesting tidbits they single out
include his comment that
the only risk in
previewing games is to the developer's ego and another comment that
GTA 4 is like an
MMO but with one quest. Most noteworthy is his statement that the
next Diablo III
class will make players hate Blizzard, as he says of their class choices
that they "can't make everybody happy," so apparently they've made a class that
will make nobody happy: "You can't make everybody happy, but I think when the
game finally come out players will find there's a good class for them, one they
will love as much as the ones that came before. And if they don't, I absolutely
promise that in the expansions we'll consider bringing back old classes."
Ars puts Spore DRM to the test—with a surprising result relates the
experience of Ars Technica with the controversial digital rights management in
Spore. Their findings include that the life simulation can be installed
an unlimited number of times on the same computer, that the game cannot be
installed if the authentication servers are down for any reason, and most
interestingly, they found a very simple way to get EA to authorize further
installations by claiming they had rented the game. The catch there is that
they were issued a new authentication code that rendered installations with the
original authentication code invalid.
Warhammer
Online's Paul Barnett Interview on Eurogamer speaks with Mythic's outspoken
creative director in another conversation about the impending launch of
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Their sister site
GamesIndustry.biz pulls a noteworthy quote as Paul reflects on the rocky
launch of the MMORPG's European beta test ( story). In spite of
GOA's difficulties with beta sign-ups, Paul heaps praise on them, saying they
were a logical choice because they have European experience, while skewering his
corporate overlords at Electronic Arts: "EA couldn't have done it, what the hell
would EA know about it? They know nothing about launching MMOs in Europe, unless
it's spending lots of money closing them down I suppose."
Eurogamer
also highlights a comment by Paul, as he is predicting WAR will have a
million subscribers after a year, and will eventually have three million
users.
A new trailer from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 takes a look at the
allied campaign in the upcoming real-time strategy sequel. This clip can be
found on AtomicGamer
and Gamer's Hell.
Also, a new "Tanya" trailer shows off Jenny McCarthy's muscles and her mad
thespian skills from the Red Alert 3 cut-scenes. This clip is available from
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
Okay, the server has been re-relocated, and everything seems to be in order.
I'll post more about his in the morning, but in the meantime if you notice
anything that's out of whack, please feel free to let me know.
EA and Crytek
announce Crysis Warhead is shipping to stores, paving the way for Thursday's
North American and European release of the first-person shooter sequel. Here's
how Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli characterizes the occasion: "The launch of Crysis
Warhead marks a significant milestone for the entire Crytek family. The team at
Crytek Hungary has delivered a dynamic and intense single player experience more
than worthy of the Crysis franchise, while the multiplayer team in Frankfurt has
revisited and extended multiplayer in the Crysis universe with Crysis Wars. They
are both great representations of our studio’s core values of technical
excellence, craftsmanship and quality."
Paradox Interactive announces that
Mount & Blade has finally
landed in North American stores, after years of beta testing, and TaleWorlds
Entertainment's action/RPG is due in Europe on Friday (September 19). Here's the
party line on this project: "Mount & Blade is a single-player, third or
first-person action/role-playing game set in the medieval war-torn land of
Calradia. The game features groundbreaking horseback combat, intuitive
swordplay, and a free-form environment in which players can roam freely to
explore new cities, conquer foreign armies and earn a reputation as the realm’s
most courageous warrior."
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway for the PC will ship on September 30, a
week after the console editions of Gearbox Software's upcoming World War II
shooter sequel. The Windows edition of the game was noticeably absent from
yesterday's announcement that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions will ship
next week ( story). We contacted Ubisoft and they supplied the
September 30 date for the PC.
Okay, the time has finally come to make the second of our recent server moves, which will hopefully clear up the script issues we've experienced for the last month or so since the previous move. I need to thank John at UGO for helping make this all work, but more importantly Frans, who has again sacrificed his time to work through a lot of the issues associated with all this, and for putting up with my being an utter monkey about a lot of technical stuff, which certainly didn't make the process any easier. We don't anticipate issues resulting from the move, but if there are any, hopefully they will clear up over the next 24-48 hours as the DNS propagates. Thanks for whatever patience you have had for the problems this has caused using the site lately.
The Faramix Enterprises Website has news
that CellZenith is gold, and this action arcade game will be available
for online purchase and download on September 30, as promised when the game was
announced ( story).
This
press release has full details and a release info for the game they hope
will be the next Geometry Wars. Preorders are currently being accepted.
GamesIndustry.biz quotes a Cowen and Company analyst saying that Activision
Blizzard is set to release new James Bond games annually, meaning some of them
will not be specifically associated with a movie release. Analyst Doug Cruetz is
quoted saying, "James Bond will become an annual franchise, which we had not
necessarily expected given the lack of an accompanying movie next year." On a
related note, a new Quantum of Solace movie was released last week highlighting
the game's use of the Call of Duty engine ( story).
Another movie is now available to showcase the zero gravity gameplay in Dead
Space, the upcoming futuristic horror game. The narrated clip discusses the
disorienting aspects of playing when up may be down, the use of your magnetic
boots, how enemies take advantage of zero-G, and more. The clip is posted on
ActionTrip,
FileFront, Gamer's
Hell, and
MyGameTrailers.
World of Warcraft Test Realm Patch Notes now have the notes on the new
version 3.0.2 patch that's now live on the test servers ( story)
as Blizzard preps for an update that will precede the November 13 release of
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
Matrix Games offers a new patch for John Tiller’s Campaign Series,
described as a "comprehensive update" bringing the tactical wargame compilation
to version 1.04. This adds the ability to make the new assault and visibility
rules optional, OOB improvements for all games, a new series of scenarios for
Rising Sun, and more.
Lighthouse Interactive announces November 7, 2008 as the European release date
for the boxed edition of Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942, their historical tank
simulation game, offering the less specific early November as when the game will
be available for online purchase in North America. Here's how they describe this
game from developers Discus Games and Graviteam: "The events of Steel Fury:
Kharkov 1942 are based on a little-known Russian offensive that occurred during
May 1942, in which a German counterattack had three Soviet armies surrounded,
forcing them to fight their way out of the Barvenkovskiy Kotel ‘meat grinder’."
Peter Hines grilled on Fallout 3 on Play.tm
hits the Bethesda Softworks spokesperson with question about Fallout 3,
their upcoming RPG sequel. They discuss the basics of the game, storytelling,
working with Liam Neeson and other actors ("they're well known actors for a
reason, and they're really good at acting"), future Fallout plans, and more.
A new installment of
Ask
Cryptic on the Champions Online Website hears from several members of the
team at work on Champions Online, Cryptic's upcoming superhero MMORPG.
Topics include alpha and beta testing, controllers, weapons, costumes, and more.
Cryptic also announces a deal with IBM to provide servers for Champions
Online.
- ASUS EAH4870X2 TOP Graphics Card on
Elite Bastards.
- ASUS M3A78-T, 790GX Motherboard on
Neoseeker.
- BFG GeForce 9600 GT OCX Graphics Card on
HotHardware.
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro Sound Card on
TechSpot.
- Foxconn DigitaLife A79A-S Motherboard on
bit-tech.net.
- Lian Li PC-X500 Computer Case on
I4U News.
- Sapphire Pure 780G AMD Motherboard on
Techware
Labs.
- Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD4850 512MB Graphics Card on
Big Bruin.
- TekNmotion Yapster Gaming Headset on
OCIA.net.
- Thermaltake Vi-on 3.5 Hard Drive Enclosure on
Overclockers Club.
Yeah, it turns out I'll need a root canal on this touchy tooth after all, I'll
get to have that next week. I'm thinking about one more incident like this and
I'm just going to have 'em all yoinked and live on pudding.
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