Archived News:
EA announces that
Spore has sold over one million units for PC, Mac, and DS since the launch
of the life simulation a couple of weeks ago, and that over 25 million
creatures, vehicles, and buildings have been uploaded to the
Sporepedia (26,531,862 as
of this writing). They also highlight the game's critical reception, pointing to
its
Metacritic score, which currently stands at 85.
The Spore Website has word that a patch
is now available for the Macintosh edition of Spore. No version number is
mentioned, but the change list is the same as the PC version 1.1 patch. Mac
users can get the new version simply by launching the game.
City Interactive now offers a playable demo for MOTORM4X Offroad Extreme,
a 4x4 racing game that's due for release next month. This is an English demo in
spite of the page being written in Polish (thanks Tiscali Games), and the 468 MB download
is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Games
On Net.
GameTap Partners with Metaboli to Form Global Service has news that Turner
Broadcasting is partnering with online game distributor
Metaboli to expand the
GameTap service into Europe. This summer
Turner announced they were seeking a buyer for GameTap ( story),
but this deal involves them managing GameTap during a transitional period,
and then assuming the role of equity investor as Metaboli takes over the combined global
online gaming service, which will continue to operate under the GameTap brand in
the U.S. and the Metaboli brand in Europe.
Got Game Entertainment announces an October 5 release date for
Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches,
a first-person adventure that is based on classic Welsh legends, rather than a
Fleetwood Mac song. The website has some screenshots and a trailer, as well as a
"buy now" link that is presumably for preorders (though the order page says "in
stock"). There is also a "play demo" link, but clicking that brings up a "coming
soon" message.
The Hinterland videos
page offers a pair of new videos showing off Tilted Mill's upcoming
fantasy-themed MMORPG. In one clip "A warrior and craftsman clear out a Goblin
Patrol encounter," and in the other "A warrior, archer and acolyte win big after
defeating a group of trolls." The videos are accompanied by
a batch of new
screenshots.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Q&A on GameSpot talks with Amer Ajami about
EA's upcoming RTS sequel, focusing on the Empire of the Rising Sun. They discuss
the reasons for including this new faction, their pop culture inspirations in
designing it, the capabilities of the faction's units, and much more in a
lengthy conversation.
Frans has continued on his impressive roll, and more significant progress was
made on the new server today. Among the noticeable changes is how the RSS feed
properly now identifies itself to Firefox and MSIE. We're also set to resume a
favorite feature from times gone by tomorrow, and I'm pretty confident it will
be as popular now as it was then. I'd like to offer a hint, but I'd hate to give
2 much away in advance.
The Atlantica Online Website is now
accepting testers into the open beta of Atlantica Online, NDOORS'
strategic turn-based MMORPG. NDOORS is taking an aggressive approach to
attracting players, as the open beta includes random drawings offering the
chance to win prizes like Wiis, PSPs, iPods, and thousands of dollars in cash.
Prizes aside, here's a description of the game: "The strategic game play
incorporated into the turn-based combat, mercenary and nation management systems
will appeal to strategy and RPG players. The turn-based combat system offers
players the chance to strategically plan every move of the nine characters in
their group. The mercenary system gives players the chance to manage multiple
characters’ development simultaneously. The town/nation management system adds a
layer of strategic play where guilds establish control of cities or even
countries and go to war with each other."
A few new trailers from Tomb Raider Underworld show off more gameplay
from the upcoming return of curvy archaeologist Lara Croft. There's a "diving"
trailer showing off some under water action (and Lara's wetsuit) on
ActionTrip and
FileFront. Also, a new Jungle trailer is on
FileFront, though this highlights Lara's acrobatics in infiltrating a temple
more than the jungle setting itself. Finally, there's a trailer promoting the
game with gameplay footage on
Tiscali Games that
was released at this year's Eidos Moscow Summit.
EA announces in celebration of the 10th anniversary, they are now shipping the
Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary Edition, a collection of the five PC games in
the series. They are fudging their dates here a bit with this 10th anniversary
stuff, as Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, the first PC installment in the
series, was released in early 2002, and while this was preceded by two
PlayStation Medal of Honor games, the first of these was released in November
1999, making this more of a ninth anniversary collection. Quibbles about the
title aside, the $39..99 bundle will offer Medal of Honor Allied Assault,
Medal of Honor Spearhead, Medal of Honor Breakthrough, Medal of
Honor Pacific Assault Director’s Edition, and Medal of Honor Airborne
(said to comprise "over 50 single player levels and dozens of multiplayer
maps"), an exclusive Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary soundtrack, strategy guides
"covering every mission in Medal of Honor Allied Assault." Exclusive in-game
weapons, as well as documentaries, interviews with WWII veterans,
behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the Medal of Honor franchise are also included.
The
Courthouse News Service has news of a class action lawsuit filed in US
federal court against Electronic Arts over the digital rights management in
Spore, the recently released life simulator (though their reporting of the
details of the case is inaccurate). The suit is over the stealthy install of the
SecuROM software, rather than the aspects of the DRM that have already been the
source of controversy like activation limitations ( story). Here's
a bit from the
court filing: "What purchasers are not told is that, included in the
purchase, installation, and operation of Spore is a second, undisclosed program.
The name of the second program is SecuROM, which is a form of Digital Rights
Management (DRM) for computer game. Although consumers are told the game
uses access control and copy protection technology, consumers are not told this
technology is actually an entirely separate, stand-alone program which will
download, install, and operate on their computers, along with the Spore
download. Consumers are given no control, rights, or options over SecuROM. The
program is uninstallable. Once installed it becomes a permanent part of the
consumer's software portfolio. Even if the consumer uninstalls Spore, and
entirely deletes it from their computer, SecuROM remains a fixture in their
computer unless and until the consumer completely wipes their hard drive through
reformatting or replacement of the drive." Thanks
BingeGamer/ N4G.
The NeoGAF Forums have
a teaser image for the upcoming issue 195 of Edge Magazine, showing a wireframe
of what looks like a spacecraft, leading
Videogaming247 to speculate this may tease revelations about plans to remake
the classic space combat Elite. Elite co-creator David Braben has given
indications in the past ( story) that Frontier Developments may
someday take on an Elite remake, but VG247's forum posters point out that
wireframe looks more like it is from Starion, another space combat game from
back in the day. Presumably we'll learn more on October 23 when the magazine
hits newsstands.
As the release of Fable 2 draws near,
GamesIndistry.biz has quotes from Peter Molyneux about his next game project
that fit with the Lionhead designer's penchant for hyperbole. He says they've
been working on their next project for a while, and will be "very, very
different" from his previous games, and that "obviously it's ridiculously
ambitious, but it's ridiculously ambitious in a very simple way." After talking
a bit about the game, he points out he's not really talking about it: "I haven't
said anything about the game to anyone, and neither should I until next year,
but I think it'll surprise people."
MTV Multiplayer speaks with Gearbox Software's Jeramy Cooke, asking the game
director on Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway about the game's gruesome
depiction of the violence of war as highlighted in their most recent game movie
( story). An interesting aspect of the conversation is how
Jeramy's late grandfather, who was in the British military for D-Day, did not
approve of games like Brothers In Arms and the concept of selling a game about
war. When asked if games will eventually cross "a line" with overly realistic
violence, Cooke responds: "The more real it becomes, I think, in terms of
graphical representation and physical representation, the more people are going
to start to ask questions about ‘Is this right? How should I feel about this?’ I
hope people will have that to some extent with our game. I hope they can step
back from it for a minute and go ‘Why did I find that cool? Was that really a
gross thing or was that something I should like?’"
OG Soft now offers a
playable demo for Pro Duck Hunting, a sample of this game that
allows you to wade into the virtual marsh to wage war on these creatures most fowl.
They offer online purchase of the game if you like the demo, which is a 402 MB
download which is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
Strategy Informer.
A new beta patch is now available for Depths of Peril, updating Soldak
Entertainment's action/RPG to version 1.013, warning: "A beta patch means it has
been tested, but not enough to be an official patch. So use at your own risk."
What's new and different, mostly tweaks and bug-fixes, can be found in
this change
list.
Gametrailers now
offers part two of the Far Cry 2 diary movie highlighting the development
team's research trip to Africa to research Ubisoft's upcoming first-person
shooter sequel. The clip features 90 seconds of credits, an incongruous
bluegrass soundtrack, and lots of travelogue footage, but very little gameplay.
Along the way they learn how to tell if a female baboon is "ready for action,"
but we're pretty sure we don't want to know why.
A German language demo is now available for Sacred 2: Fallen Angel,
ASCARON Entertainment's now-gold action/RPG. The 1.7 GB download is available on
the German Sacred 2 Website, and
mirrored on AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell. Playing the demo will require an understanding of German, or a lot of
patience.
Lighthouse Interactive announces development on the A Murder of Crows
expansion for Sword of the Stars is now complete, and the add-on for
Kerberos Productions' 4X space strategy game will be available in the UK on
October 10. Preorders are being accepted by exclusive online retailer
GamersGate, where they say A Murder of Crows will be available online on
October 9, and they have
four new screenshots celebrating the news. Playing A Murder of Crows will
require either Sword of the Stars: Collector's Edition or the Born of Blood
expansion.
Slitherine Strategies announces that Commander: Napoleon at War is gold,
saying they have now completed development on the sequel to Commander -
Europe at War, and it will be released via
Matrix Games and on the Slitherine
Strategies Website on September 29. The turn-based strategy sequel will
offer eight campaigns "including the Grand campaign and a number of small
campaigns including France’s assault on Austria in 1805 up to the 100 days
campaign ending at Waterloo in 1815."
FreeStyle Street Basketball
Website has a farewell message from this subscription-free online basketball
game, saying the final tip-off will be tomorrow. The announcement calls
the game a "great success," which is presumably meant in that GLaDOS sense, given
the game's demise. No reason for the closure is offered, but the game is
operated by Sierra, and their projects have been on the bubble since Sierra
parent Vivendi merged with Activision to form Activision Blizzard. Thanks MxxCon.
Encore Software announces that
Nostradamus:
The Last Prophecy is shipping to stores, just as Michel de Nostredame
predicted in 1552. The Machiavellian adventure game features puzzles based on
astrology, alchemy, pharmacy and ancient runes, as well as the opportunity to
dress in drag, so there's basically something for everyone. Word is: "During
your search, you encounter a series of murders and political intrigue that could
destroy the French royal family. Use only your wits and courage to save
Renaissance France, changing the course of history!"
The Strands of Destiny Website offers
the debut release of the Deception modification for The Witcher, CD
Projekt RED's RPG. The mod adds a new area, a new story with 4-5 hours of
gameplay, new art, new voice acting, and more. Downloads of the mod are mirrored
on
ComputerGames.ro and
Gamer's Hell.
Pete Hines On Fallout 3 Mods on Rock, Paper, Shotgun talks with the Bethesda
Softworks spokesman about Fallout 3, the upcoming RPG sequel. They
discuss the game, their perspective on cynicism towards the project, and mod
support, which Pete says hasn't been ruled out, just because it won't be
included out of the box: "Is that to say it’ll never come out? No, I’ll never
say that. If we have the time, we’d absolutely like to put them out… It’s
just the tools take time. They don’t magically appear. Someone’s got to write
help files for what all the scripts do, and get it released as a consumer
product. Because it’s not in that state otherwise. Developers will make do with
anything."
More hard work by Frans today resulted in some further improvements around here,
and some account cleanup on the forums, where a handful of spam posts had shown
up. These were pruned as were their accounts, along with a staggering
20,000-some accounts registered by spam bots that hadn't managed to
make any posts. Prevention being the best cure, the tireless Frans then
implemented a Captcha system to thwart such automated sign-ups. No word on any
internet pharmacies or ED drug manufacturers have gone out of business as a
result.
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