Archived News:
Steam now offers an NBA
2K9 demo, offering the chance to sample the first Windows edition of this
long-running sports simulation. We may be a bit behind the curve on this, as the
page carries an October 31 date, but we did not see it previously (thanks Rick
for the heads up). There are no specifics about the contents of the demo, but
word on the game is: "NBA 2K9 is the premier basketball game for serious
players, and will deliver the most realistic, stylistic, and feature-rich
simulation experience ever available in the NBA 2K franchise - from game play to
graphics, presentation and online features." The demo includes English, French,
German, Spanish, and Italian language support.
Codemasters Online announces plans to launch an all-new ArchLord hardcore
PvP server called "Cyripus." The ArchLord
Website doesn't seem to carry this announcement, but it does have word of a
Champions of Cyripus Competition that begins tomorrow.
This press release has details on the new PvP server, saying: "Due to
popular demand and the hugely growing player-base of the 100% free MMORPG,
Codemasters Online are opening the new server with focus on player vs player
(PvP) combat for both new and existing players alike to battle it out in this
epic, siege-focused MMORPG."
The second installment in the three-part Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
"Introduction to Ancaria" movie is now available. Word is: "In this new video
from Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, the upcoming action-RPG for Windows PC and next
generation consoles, watch as several of the game's playable characters do
battle with a fearsome undead army whose sole goal is the destruction of the
world." The clip is posted on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers.
A new "runners" trailer from Mirror's Edge offers another cartoon clip
promoting DICE's upcoming parkour action game, discussing the dangerous life of
a runner. The movie can be found on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers.
- Elemental: War of Magic on
IGN.
- EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey on
Eurogamer.
- Shaun White Snowboarding on
IGN.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Well I didn't jinx us this morning when I mentioned how we never encounter long
lines to vote, as we were in and out of the place in all of five minutes, which
included finding our names, signing up, reading the verbiage of the proposition
on the ballot, and voting. Here's hoping that all the attention paid this time
around to long lines to vote in other places will help provoke improvement to
how these things are handled where it has been problematic. Meanwhile, hats off
to those willing to put up with such conditions to perform their civic duty.
A post to the
Hellgate: London Forums by a NAMCO BANDAI's Diane "Tiggs" Migliaccio
indicates that despite recent indications that HanbitSoft is
continuing development of Hellgate: London, the action/RPG will be going
offline for the US and Europe at the end of January as previously
announced, saying: "People are speculating and I don't want anyone shocked on
January 31, 2009 when the server and forums shut down and there is nothing." She
goes on to explain Hanbit does not have the rights to publish the game in the
territories that NAMCO is going to stop supporting, saying: "Hanbit owns the IP
and rights to publish anywhere other then the US and EU and I think the other
territory is Japan. NAMCO owns the rights to publish in the US and EU." Thanks
Mike Martinez and
Gamasutra.
This press release
officially announces Elemental: War of Magic, a fantasy strategy game in
the works at Stardock for release in first quarter of 2010, with a public beta
test scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year. Word is: "Elemental:
War of Magic is set in a world filled with magic and ancient lore. As the ruler
of your kingdom, you must expand your empire through a combination of magical
power, military might, diplomatic skill, technological advancement and bold
adventuring. Your worlds will be of your choosing, or players are free to create
their own." The announcement also notes that: "Like all Stardock titles,
Elemental: War of Magic will include no on-disk DRM and will be available for
re-download and updates through the Impulse digital distribution platform ( www.impulsedriven.com)
regardless of wherever it is purchased." A preview of the game is already on
GameSpy,
and
Stardock's Wardell On Elemental: War of Magic on Gamasutra is a conversation
with Brad Wardell about the project, and Brad discusses the game's inspiration
in Master of Magic, and the power of their new game engine, which offers 32-bit
and 64-bit support and will scale dynamically with the number of cores in a CPU.
Word is the game also integrates mod support directly into the main interface,
of which Wardell says: "We ourselves use the same system [as the users]," and:
"After Spore, it probably seems a lot less original," [laughing]. "But we had
the idea before Spore."
MCV has a
new schedule for upcoming Capcom releases that indicates a PC edition of
Resident Evil 5 is coming, listing March 13, 2009 as the release date for
the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 editions of the survival/horror sequel. They
also pin down a release date for Street Fighter IV, narrowing down the
recently announced winter release window for the fighter sequel to
February 20, 2009.
A new patch for Crysis Wars is now available, updating the multiplayer
mode from Crysis Warhead to version 1.1. The update address some bugs,
removes online authentications, and as promised last week, adds
Linux server and 64-bit support. The update can be acquired automatically, as
outlined on the
Crysis Warhead Website, and manual downloads of the patch and dedicated
Linux server can be found
on this page
along with complete patch notes. The patch is also mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront,
FileShack,
Gamer's Hell, and
The Patches Scrolls.
Manual editions of the new version 3.0.3 patch for World of Warcraft are
now available, presumably the last update to Blizzard's MMORPG before the
release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. The US/Au editions of
the patch can be found on
AtomicGamer, Gamer's
Hell,
Games32,
Strategy Informer, and
The Patches
Scrolls. Various international editions of the patch are available from
AtomicGamer,
Gamer's Hell,
Games32, and
The Patches Scrolls. Details on the new version are posted in the
Test Realm Patch Notes, and according to the
WoW Realm
Status page all the game's realms are currently still down for maintenance.
Amazon.com is offering "day-of" deliveries of the Wrath of the Lich King
expansion pack for World of Warcraft, so those who preorder the add-on
will have it delivered on November 13, the same day it will appear in stores. As
far as we know, this is the first Windows game to get Amazon's
recently announced day-of release policy. Thanks nin. In other WoW news,
the servers are all down at the moment to install the new version 3.03.
Eurogamer
announces a delay to Damnation, the multiplatform shooter that began as a
modification and was anounced for retail release "in late 2008".
Codemasters now says we should expect the game early next year, saying this will
allow time for further polish as well as a little breathing room from more
high-profile releases, saying: "The game will be much stronger and better as a
result, and will also give people time to get all the pre-holiday releases out
the way - ready for the fresh (and vertical) gaming experience that Damnation
offers." On a semi-related note,
GameZone Learns Why
They Call It The "Shooter Gone Vertical" is an interview with Jacob Minkoff
and Katie McNamara discussing the game and its unusual orientation.
Though it's not reflected on the
Dungeons &
Dragons Online: Stormreach Website yet, Turbine sends
word that the Prisoners of Prophecy update is now live for Dungeons &
Dragons Online. In brief: "This major update to DDO delivers a completely
upgraded experience for new players, improves solo play with the introduction of
Hirelings, upgrades the DDO engine to support DX-10 graphics technology, and
adds more monsters, spells, magic items, and challenging dungeons. Prisoners of
Prophecy continues Turbine’s commitment to delivering fun, engaging and exciting
updates for players in its online worlds."
EVE Online:
Quantum Rise Expansion's Last Staged Release has word that November 11 is
when to expect the culmination of the staged two-part release of the Quantum
Rise free expansion for EVE Online, CCP's spacey MMORPG. Word is:
"EVE Online players have already begun to enjoy the performance-enhancing
improvements of the StacklessIO and EVE64 initiatives which were introduced in
an earlier phase of the expansion’s release, and both of which have set the
stage for truly limitless combat. Several times in recent weeks, over 1,000
players have participated in single-system battles with extremely minimal lag
thanks to these new industry-leading advancements."
This page offers a
complete list of features in the new add-on.
Matrix Games now offers a new patch for Gary Grigsby’s War Between the
States, updating the American Civil War strategy game to version 1.030. Word
is: "The v1.030 update focuses primarily on gameplay changes that improve
historical realism in addition to bug fixes and improvements to
computer-controlled production."
KOEI announces that DYNASTY WARRIORS 6 is gold for both PC and PlayStation 2,
and scheduled to be available in North America on November 18. The PS2 edition
of the action/tactics sequel will be available in stores, while the PC edition
will be available for digital distribution to customers in North America, and
for some reason, Brazil. Word is: "DYNASTY WARRIORS 6 delivers the unparalleled
exhilaration of single-handedly destroying thousands of soldiers on massive
battlefields. Utilizing spectacular fighting techniques motion-captured from
some of today's leading stuntmen and stuntwomen in Asia, DYNASTY WARRIORS 6
immerses gamers in a truly cinematic kung-fu adventure. The game's
lightning-fast fighting, intuitive combat system and breathtaking environments
create a visceral gaming experience that pushes the limits of Tactical Action."
The Spore Website now offers the second
patch for the MacOS edition of Spore, which was released a
couple of weeks ago for the Windows edition of Maxis' life simulation. Mac
users can update the game simply by starting it up and allowing it to
automagially update itself. Word is: "The focus of this patch is to fix bugs
that have been reported via our customer service department and directly from
the Spore Community. In addition, we've modified some gameplay tuning, added a
way for you to select multiple items for deleting or banning while in Sporepedia
and included a cool new planet style."
After what seems like a four year campaign, we finally get to vote today here in
the US. MrsBlue and I will hit the polls this evening, though we do not even remotely
live in a swing state. The other thing that does not happen around here is these
long lines for voting that have been shown in the news lately, as folks in some
states have had to wait hours to participate in early voting, and of course many
places will have long lines today. I'm not clear on the reasons for this, but I
have never in my life had to wait more than about 15 minutes to vote, which
seems to me how it should be. Oh well, best of luck if you have a line to
contend with.
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