Archived News:
ThinkNext has previews of
all sorts of features in Windows 7, one of which is the ability to scan for
automatic updates for installed games, apparently in the vein of the automatic
online updates for Windows and Office. They show a setup screen where Windows
offers the option of scanning for updates to installed games, and the installer
does not seem to make a particular distinction about whether these are official
Games for Windows or not. Thanks
Shacknews.
Activision announces November 4 as the North American release date for
Quantum of Solace for all platforms, fairly close to the planned November 14
US release of the James Bond movie to which it is tied. They mention a deal for
preorders for a couple of the console editions: "Beginning September 22nd and
continuing through early November, those who pre-order Quantum of Solace through
GameStop will receive an exclusive token for a multi-player map pack on Xbox 360
and PLAYSTATION 3 that will be available post-launch." They also note a Best
Buy promotion for preorders that can get you a coupon for $10 off of any Bond
movie on DVD. There's also a new behind-the-scenes level design video for the
game available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
As noted on the SimBin Website, a playable
demo for STCC: The Game is
now available via Steam,
offering the chance to test drive this racing game that's now available in
Nordic territories, and planned for release elsewhere soon. Word is: "The tracks
in STCC The Game are short, technical and intense rollercoaster rides, and are
perfect for an action packed racing experience. SimBin also informs that they
have spent lots of effort on the track details to recreate the real thrill of
Nordic racing and its atmosphere." The demo includes English, French, German,
Italian, and Spanish language support. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
A playable demo for Pipe Mania allows you to lay some pipe in a sample of
the puzzle game remake that recently hit store shelves ( story).
The demo is a 93 MB download, available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Ubisoft announces that Hell's Kitchen: The Game is hitting store shelves
for Windows, Mac, Wii, and DS, offering gameplay based on the reality television
show starring the bellicose Chef Gordon Ramsay. Word is: "The game will allow
players to step into Hell's Kitchen to experience the show's high-pressure
atmosphere. After successfully executing the three phases of an order –
preparation, cooking, and service – players will be rewarded with recipes from
Hell's Kitchen and Chef Ramsay. Failure will shut down the kitchen and incur the
wrath of the man who put the hell in Hell's Kitchen."
A few more tweaks to the server here by Frans have things running that much more
smoothly. Probably the only apparent new thing is the change in how search
works, as it now defaults to exact searches, with free text a secondary option,
and the search options now show
on this page. These are little details, but hopefully helpful changes
nonetheless.
A banning we will go, a banning we will go. Heave ho off the servers yo, a
banning we will go! This is the cheery headline of the latest blog entry
from Mythic's Mark Jacobs who says the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
banhammer has already been bloodied: "Since WAR launched we have been banning
these jerks like crazy." The "jerks" his ire is focused on are gold sellers, who
he hates with every fiber of his being, and gold spammers, who seem to be
getting to most of those fibers as well. He says they have banned 400 accounts
as of Saturday night, and that they have a zero tolerance policy in this regard.
He also heads off suggestions that they are cracking down on gold sellers just
so they can enter that business themselves with the following: "I’ve been
offered 'a piece of the action' both personally and corporately in the past if I
will either turn a blind eye or help them in their actions. This would have
netted me and/or Mythic a very, very tidy sum, far more than we would see from
box sales. My answer was and always will remain the same: Go to hell."
The Tilted Mill Entertainment Website
announces a slight delay to Hinterland, the base-building strategy game
announced for release this past summer. They say they were going to release the
game today, but by pushing back the release date for a week or two they will be
able to implement additional features and content, based in part by suggestions
from the community. They say: "We know this delay may be disappointing to some,
but we're confident it will ultimately provide a better play experience for
all." It's a far far, far far far, fa da, da da da. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
The Frictional Games Website
announces plans for a new first-person survival/horror game from the developers
of the Penumbra series. The game does not yet carry a title or a release
date, but a preliminary Next
Frictional Game Website is online, offering general info, some concept art,
and a coded message sure to strain your secret decoder ring. They describe their
goal of making a truly scary game, and say they have ideas from creating the
Penumbra games they have yet to explore. Word is: "Though the project will have
a large focus on freedom, story will not be neglected. Frictional Games have
been hard at work to develop a multitude of new ways to tell a story and yet
allow for a dynamic gameplay. The goal is to make the story and gameplay
converge and create a truly engaging and unique experience." Thanks Gamer's Hell.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project
Origin Website now offers an ask
the devs round 2 trailer, answering more fan-submitted questions about
Monolith's upcoming F.E.A.R. sequel that recently changed titles
( story). This time around art directory Cory Allemeier and
primary art lead Dave Matthews answer questions about the game's art direction.
The movie is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
The Testament of Sin Website
officially announces this point-and-click adventure in the works at City
Interactive based on the discovery of a secret dating back to biblical times
(and to think I have trouble remembering where I put my car keys). The game
centers around a young female archeologist, though she seems to have neither a
sports bra nor dual-pistols, and word is the game "requires fast thinking and
impeccable logic." This project was first revealed last month with the title
Testament of Faith ( story), and the description on that
website also refers to the game by that title, which we imagine stems from a
confused translation. In this case Sin will probably win out over Faith, as the
website URL is testamentofsingame.com. No release date is offered, but the site
does have screenshots and gameplay trailers. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
A manual patch to update Europa Universalis III: In Nomine is now
available, corresponding to the new version released through the auto-update
function last week for the real-time strategy expansion ( story).
There are patch notes
on The Patches Scrolls, and the manual version 3.1 patch can be found on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches
Scrolls.
GamesIndustry.biz has an interesting quote from CD Projekt on the
interesting and quote-worthy topic of digital rights management in discussing
the launch of Good Old Games, the
DRM-free vintage gaming marketplace. CD Project CEO Michal Kicinski describes
their efforts at overcoming publisher's resistance to DRM-free offerings out of
fear of piracy, and their reasons for swimming against that tide: "DRM makes
customer's lives too complicated, and this is usually because of some corporate
ideas, policies and trying to be smart, too smart, in how to get customers and
how to keep them and no let them go somewhere else. We are believers in the free
market and bringing freedom to customers."
Lighthouse Interactive announces an October 17 European release date for
WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger, their armored combat simulation. Word is:
"WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger allows players to experience the power of
some of the most advanced tank weaponry of its time, as they battle the enemy
head on during critical World War 2 campaigns. Its historically accurate
representations of environments and vehicles (interiors and exteriors),
realistic physics, and Internet and LAN multiplayer gameplay for up to sixteen
players, promises to engage simulation fans in true-to-life tank warfare."
New patches for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames are now available to
update various editions of the open-world action sequel to version 1.1. The
Mercenaries 2:
World In Flames Website has downloads of all the patches, and
the pdf patch notes outlines the changes in the new version, which are all
bug-fixes. The North American patch is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls; the Spanish/Italian patch is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls; the German patch is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls; and the EU English/French/Russian patch is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls.
Command & Conquer Gold v1.06 is an unofficial patch for the gilded edition
of the original installment in this real-time strategy series. This is an
unsupported user-created patch, accompanying by all the appropriate warnings
about the risks this entails. Here's word on what it is for: "This version
includes several program bug fixes, graphics updates, mission fixes and new
features, like the advanced options in conquer.ini, and a 1024x768 high
resolution mode accessible through CCSetup.exe." Command & Conquer Gold was
reissued as a free release in summer 2007 ( story). Thanks Ant
and Planet
Command & Conquer.
The Jess Lebow
Video Interview on The Vault Network sits the Carbine Studios designer in
front of the camera to discuss what he can of their unannounced project,
described as a "science-fiction/fantasy-based open-world" MMOG. He says they
hope to be making more detailed information available by early next year.
Happy equinox, as today is the first day of autumn or spring, depending on your
locale. Autumn it is here, though last couple of weeks of summer have been
pretty chilly around here. Anyway, hopefully we'll all get lots of good
presents. No wait…
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