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Archived News:
This press release announces the launch of EverQuest: Seeds of
Destruction, the 15th expansion for the long-running MMORPG. The expansion
is available for online purchase through the
EverQuest Website, and here's a bit on the nature of the add-on: "The
timelines of the world of Norrath have been destroyed completely. The only
objects left are the drifting asteroid shards called The Void. Portals in The
Void allow players to travel into the past and potentially alter the world of
Norrath as we know it today. Revisit the Plane of Time, Bloody Kithicor or the
Field of Bone to help stop the forces of Discord. For the first time ever,
players will have the ability to hire non-player characters (NPCs) to aid them
in their heroic endeavors in Seeds of Destruction. These mercenaries will be
valuable player assets as they thwart the efforts of Discord's Dark God. This
expansion also includes a level cap increase to 85, dynamic high-level raid
content, new spells and updated alternate advancement abilities." The game's
launch trailer can be found on
MyGameTrailers.
BioWare,
LucasArts Talk Design, Chastize MMO Genre In Old Republic Session on Gamasutra
recaps a Q&A session with the folks from LucasArts and BioWare following today's
announcement of Star Wars: The Old Republic ( story), the
upcoming Star Wars MMORPG. Also,
Videogaming247 has the audio of a Q&A session with lead writer Daniel
Ericson, though he is being pretty guarded about details for now.
The 2K Sports
Forums are abuzz with comments from purchasers of the PC edition of NBA
2K9 who have discovered the game was shipped without the CD keys required to
activate their installation. This page on the
2K Sports Website offers a
workaround, saying: "If you've had issues installing NBA 2K9 for the PC, please
know that a solution is now in place. This solution will be downloaded
automatically and seamlessly when you install your game, and no Product Key is
required." They have contact information for anyone who cannot get this to work.
Thanks
Voodoo Extreme.
NVIDIA has released new beta version 180.42 ForceWare reference drivers for
GeForce accelerators. Though a beta, these are the recommended drivers for
playing Far Cry 2, which hit shelves today. There are new drivers for
Windows XP,
Windows
Vista,
Windows XP x64, and
Windows
Vista x64. Thanks Ant and
FiringSquad.
The American Library Association announces November 15, 2008 will be National
Gaming Day at your library: CHICAGO –Hundreds of libraries across the
country will join the American Library Association (ALA) in celebrating the
popularity and educational value of video and board games for the first-ever
National Gaming Day @ your library on November 15, 2008.
During National Gaming Day, libraries of all types will participate in two
events, a national videogame tournament and an attempt to establish a record for
the most number of people playing the board game "Pictureka!" at the same time.
For more information on gaming events taking place in your community, please
contact your local library.
The ALA is the voice of America's libraries and the millions of people who
depend on them. The Association is the oldest and largest of its kind, and holds
a mission to promote the highest quality library and information services and
public access to information.
- Call of Duty: World at War on
Eurogamer.
- Cities XL on
GamesRadar.
- Diablo III on
1Up. Barbarian
skill tree.
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria on
GameSpy.
- Otherland on
GamesRadar.
- Mirror's Edge on
ComputerGames.ro.
- StarCraft II on
1Up. Everything
you need to know about the trilogy. Thanks Mike Martinez.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic on
IGN.
LucasArts and BioWare announce Star Wars: The Old Republic, the long rumored
Star Wars MMORPG following in the vein of BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic.
The first screenshots are online and the
Star Wars: The Old Republic Website is live. An official release date and
further details will be announced at a future date, in the meantime, here's part
of the announcement: In Star Wars: The Old Republic, players will explore
an age thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when war between the
Old Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy. Players can choose to play
as Jedi, Sith, or a variety of other classic Star Wars roles, defining their
personal story and determining their path down the light or dark side of the
Force. Along the way, players will befriend courageous companions who will fight
at their side or possibly betray them, based on the players’ actions. Players
can also choose to team up with friends to battle enemies and overcome
incredible challenges using dynamic Star Wars combat.
“Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the most critically acclaimed Star
Wars game in LucasArts history and a preeminent example of our company’s
interactive storytelling heritage,” said Darrell Rodriguez, President of
LucasArts. “For a long time, we’ve wanted to return to the franchise in a grand
way, and we felt that the best setting for it was an online world that would
allow millions of people to participate in the experience together. We knew that
the developer capable of working with us to deliver an engrossing story with a
fully-realized online world was BioWare.”
“Traditionally, massively multiplayer online games have been about three basic
gameplay pillars - combat, exploration and character progression,” said Dr. Ray
Muzyka, Co-Founder and General Manager/CEO of BioWare and General Manager/Vice
President of Electronic Arts Inc., “In Star Wars: The Old Republic, we’re fusing
BioWare’s heritage of critically-acclaimed storytelling with the amazing
pedigree of Lucasfilm and LucasArts, and adding a brand-new fourth pillar to the
equation – story. At the same time, we will still deliver all the fun features
and activities that fans have come to expect in a triple-A massively multiplayer
online game. To top it all off, Star Wars: The Old Republic is set in a very
exciting, dynamic period in the Star Wars universe.”
Added Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Co-Founder and Vice President Development Operations,
BioWare and Vice President, Electronic Arts Inc., “Star Wars: The Old Republic
is set roughly 300 years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic, a
timeframe that is completely unexplored in the lore. BioWare has been able to
add to the Star Wars history in developing the game’s story and has created an
overarching narrative that players can enjoy, regardless of their play style.
Our goal is to offer players an emotionally rewarding experience that combines
the traditional elements of MMO gameplay with innovations in story and character
development.”
VideoGamer.com
excepts an interview with Dragon Age: Origins lead designer Brent Knowles
they will publish tomorrow that reveals BioWare already has plans in place for a
sequel to Dragon Age, even in advance of next year's release of the RPG, saying
"we're definitely hoping to see the Dragon Age IP have a really bright life
after the initial release." He also says: "Post release content will be coming
out fairly regularly for people to download. And then we'd obviously want to
have some other product out in a reasonable time frame so people haven't
forgotten about Dragon Age by the time it comes out. So it'd be smart of us to
have stuff come out sooner rather than later."
The King's Bounty: The Legend Website
now offers a new patch for to update the English edition of King's Bounty:
The Legend to version 1.6.5. The patch along with a complete list of changes
is available from this
page, and the 9.22 MB download is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Ubisoft announces that Far Cry 2 is now available, offering open world
first-person shooter gameplay set in the wilds of Africa: "SAN FRANCISCO –
October 21, 2008 – Today, Ubisoft announced that Far Cry 2 has shipped to
store shelves for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from
Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and PC. Far Cry 2
has an ESRB of 'M' for Mature and will be available at the manufacturer's
suggested retail price of $59.99 for Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION 3 system and
at $49.99 for Windows PC. 'From the beginning, we've set out to create a truly
dynamic, open-world experience in Far Cry 2,' said Tony Key, senior vice
president of marketing and sales for Ubisoft. 'Our team has focused on pulling
players into the realistic African landscape to allow them to fully immerse
themselves in the game's riveting conflict. We're confident that we've created
not only one of the most remarkable shooters in recent years, but also one of
the year's best games.'" On a related note,
the African Swim
page on the Adult Swim website has more "making of" footage from Ubisoft
Montreal's research trip to Africa they are eager for folks to see to ensure the
trip is deductable. They also have music clips showcasing the talents of some
South African musicians. Finally, owners of ATI accelerators should recall the hotfix
released yesterday ( story).
The Alan Wake Website now
offers the trailer that debuted at the opening of the Max Payne movie
last week in Finland to promote Remedy Entertainment's upcoming psychological
action game. The modem their web server connects to seems overwhelmed by the
demand, so the cinematic clip is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
eXp Download,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
Gametrailers,
and
MyGameTrailers.
Aspyr announces Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith for Windows and Mac is now available in stores, offering the
latest installment in the Guitar Hero series released on consoles some time
back. They additionally announce plans to release a bundle combining Guitar Hero
Aerosmith with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock in two weeks on November
3. Word is: "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith brings these quintessential rock legends to
the interactive realm to create the ultimate gaming experience. As fans progress
through their careers in the game, they can rock out to scores of Aerosmith¹s
greatest hits including various tracks re-mastered by the legendary band for
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, as well as songs from celebrated artists that the band
has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way. Highlighting the
list of celebrated artists is an in-game guest appearance from one of the
pioneers of hip-hop and kings of rock, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels. Venues from
historical moments during the band¹s illustrious career offer the experience of
"sweet emotion" and further capture the essence of the band¹s rise to fame."
Activision
announces that Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is swinging into stores,
and that Shaba Games and Treyarch's superhero game is now available for PC, Xbox
360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, and DS. Word is: "With a story penned by acclaimed
Marvel comic book writer, Brian Reed, the title features a New York City
devastated by a deadly symbiote invasion, in which players are faced with the
choice to play the heroic web-slinger in his classic, agile red suit or the
dark, formidable black suit. Battling with or against a huge cast of
fan-favorite Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains, gamers can switch
allegiances instantly as they decide which missions will ultimately save
mankind."
The
Legendary Interview on Gaming Nexus chats with John Garcia-Shelton, producer
on Legendary, Spark Unlimited's upcoming first-person shooter. Topics
include the game's mythology-inspired storyline, liberties they've taken with
the Pandora's Box myth, creature battles, weapons, the evolving FPS market, AI,
the twist to their "Safari" multiplayer mode, and more. Meanwhile,
Eurogamer
has word that the Xbox 360 edition of the game is expected on October 31, a
delay from the game's planned September release ( story), and that
the PC and PS3 editions are delayed further still, as it's no longer certain
when either of those versions will be released.
There's a Warhamnmer Online: Age
of Reckoning interview on GamesIndustry.biz where Mark Jacobs discusses
Mythic's recently released MMORPG. An interesting bit that's
highlighted in a separate post is Mark's contention that PvP elements in the
upcoming World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion are inspired
by the release of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: "It wasn't like all
of a sudden the idea of open world PVP or leveling through PVP came into their
heads and went 'nobody's ever done this before'. I don't think it was accidental
that they're talking about doing it when Warhammer comes out. Four years and
suddenly, miraculously, at the same time Warhammer comes out that's when they
start talking about these things... I think it was Jeff Kaplan who said they
like to look at other games and learn from them - well, I'm flattered."
The Salvation
Q&A on gry.o2.pl talks in both English and Polish with Aleksey Savchenko of
Black Wing Foundation about Salvation, their upcoming Source-engine
third-person shooter set in a "complex cyber-punk dystopia of a near future."
They discuss the project in detail, covering its "10-12 hours of very rich
gameplay," setting, story, weapons, enemies, the new "opposition" multiplayer
mode, and more. They indicate the game is still on track for a 2009 release, and
there are plans to issue a playable demo about a month before the game.
Gametrailers now
offers a new "units" trailer from Red Alert 3 showing off a few of the
goodies in the various arsenals in the upcoming real-time strategy sequel, as
well as the over-the-top cutscenes that are a hallmark of the series.
Breaking Out of
Prison and Into Saint’s Row 2 With Lead Designer James Tsai on GameZone is a
Q&A with Violation designer James Tsai about their open-world action sequel. The
story is discussed as well as several aspects of gameplay, like this portion on
new weapons: "With the weapons arsenal in Saints Row 2, we went in the direction
of fun rather than going for an authentic gang collection. So the player isn’t
just limited to submachine guns and pistols, but instead gets stuff like
automatic shotguns, assault rifles with grenade launchers, laser guided rocket
launchers, remote charges, flashbangs, and swords, to name a few of the toys.
There are also some very cool reward weapons that get unlocked as the player
completes higher levels of activities. And if the guns we provide aren’t the
right tool for the situation, the player can always pick up a bottle or a brick
or rip a sign post of the ground to use as a bludgeon."
Steam News has word of a
Race 07 update that will be automatically installed via Steam. A combination
of new features and bug fixes are included, including new dedicated server
weight penalty functionality, a new message board in the main menu, updated pit
menu functionality, updated tire wear display in pit menu, and more.
I have the second appointment for my root canal today. I'm hopeful this means it
is the minor, not painful portion of the program, but I have to admit to myself
that my instincts tend to be 100% wrong on this topic. Any dental work I imagine
will be routine is traumatic, and vice versa. But you must have known I was not
a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine
in front of me. No wait, I've gotten off track there.
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