Archived News:
The
Warhammer Online Website has word from Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs on
a change in plans for the upcoming version 1.0.5 patch for their MMORPG. After
identifying some issues with the patch after placing it on their new Public Test
Server, they are going to shift the Combat and Careers content to the version
1.0.6 patch that will follow. He outlines some specific career changes they are
planning, and in the meantime, says they will continue to test version 1.0.5 on
the PTS, saying: "we will not rush these changes on to the LIVE servers until we
are sure that they have been thoroughly tested and that the changes are working
the way that the designers planned." This must mean they are confident that the
changes remaining in the version 1.0.5 update are ready for prime time, as he
goes on to say: "Additionally, 1.0.5 will now focus on the “Heavy Metal” event
that paves the way for the introduction of the Blackguard and the Knight of the
Blazing Sun as well as a few other changes including fixes/improvements to our
Realm War system. We expect to deploy 1.0.5 tomorrow to our LIVE servers."
Thanks
Massively.
VideoGamer has
a quote from Graeme Devine from a Microsoft press event last week where the
Ensemble designer definitively says there will be no Halo Wars for
Windows, in spite of near constant speculation that the Halo-themed RTS game
would inevitably land on the preeminent real-time strategy platform. That would
seem to clear this up once and for all, except, of course, for the part where he
admits the owner of the property has the final say in the matter: "Zero. Never.
I'm going to go on the record and say never ever! Microsoft may go and announce
it, but I'll say never." So there, it's settled. Sort of. Graeme also goes on to
comment that the successor to Ensemble mentioned when the studios'
closing was announced is still in the cards: "There's a new studio forming
that will rise from Ensemble."
Frictional Games announces the release of
Penumbra: Requiem for
Mac & Linux, the puzzle expansion for the Penumbra horror series that
was released for Windows during the summer. Requiem for Mac and
Linux is available only via digital distribution, for $9.99 USD, and also:
"Driven completely insane from creating the Penumbra games, Frictional Games is
offering all three Penumbra games as a collection at a horrific price of USD 35.
This offer is available through the online store and is for Mac & Linux only."
Demiurge Studios announces they've hired designer Harley Baldwin White-Wiedow, a
14-year veteran of the game development industry, most recently serving as lead
designer on Tomb Raider: Underworld. An interesting aspect of the
announcement is the indication that Demiurge, a developer mostly associated with
ports ( Mass Effect for PC, Brothers in Arms: Double Time for Wii)
is looking to develop their own intellectual property: "White-Wiedow will be
working on an unannounced project and heading Demiurge Studios' original
property development efforts."
Prince of Persia interview on Destructoid chats with producer Ben Mattes
about the return of the prince, discussing the game's concurrent development
with Assassin's Creed, how the new game is the spiritual successor to
Sands of Time, and how you can have a Prince of Persia game where the
main character is not a prince and the setting is now Persia. They also
highlight a quote where Ben says the " Wii
version is non-existent," though he does say: "I hope that we will see
another Prince of Persia game on the Wii." Thanks Mike Martinez.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
The Spore Patch Page
announces the availability of the promised third patch for Spore,
updating the life simulation to version 1.03 for either Windows or MacOS. Here's
word on what the patch offers in addition to a few bug fixes: "Maxis wants to
thank you by giving you some free parts in the Creature Creator. We've created
24 new exoskeleton limbs! You can combine them with parts from Creepy & Cute
Parts Pack to create new, awesome creatures. To get the patch, launch Spore. If
you didn't install the EADM when you installed Spore, you can download it
here."
Thanks Gavin.
Gamasutra
offers some quotes from Stardock CEO Brad Wardell, who admits they have other
old-school ambitions after acknowledging their recently announced
Elemental: War of Magic is an homage to Microprose's Master of Magic. Wardell
says he's also pitched Atari on revisiting both the Star Control and
Master of Orion franchises, albeit unsuccessfully, so there are no current
plans to pursue either project, but he does say Stardock is contemplating
another game as they prepare to put a second internal development team to work.
His comments about the Star Control series and Master of Orion series are
interesting, as, like the recent Superman movie, he envisions pretending the
most recent games in each series occurred in the same non-existent alternate
universe in which Superman III and IV were set, saying a Star Control game would
follow Star Control II, rather than III, and likewise, were they to take on
Master of Orion IV, it would be a sequel to Master of Orion II, sagely
observing: "If you're making a game that ends with '3,' or Something: The
Sequel, it should be similar to the original game."
Monolith's upcoming F.E.A.R. sequel is on display in a new F.E.A.R. 2:
Project Origin behind-the-scenes trailer, in which designer Craig Hubbard
talks about the story in the horror-themed shooter. The clip is available on the
game's community
website, and mirrored on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
Valve has released another TV spot for Left 4 Dead, a new clip that will
begin airing tomorrow to coincide with the retail availability of the
multiplayer zombie shooter. The clip is part of their $10 million ad campaign
for the game, though I'm pretty sure they are not sending any of us any of that
money for watching it on our own machines. If you're okay with that, you can
grab the clip from
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell. In the meantime, today is the last day the playable demo will be
running, and also the last day the Steam
Left 4 Dead pre-purchase
discount is in effect.
There's an interview with
Dave Pottinger on Shacknews that talks with the director of technology at
Ensemble Studios about the news that they are being closed by owner
Microsoft. Topics include the success of the Age of Empires franchise,
the promise of their Halo Wars project, and their cancelled
Halo MMOG. The conversation about all those successful and potentially
successful projects naturally drifts to questions about why a studio with such a
pedigree would be closed, but Dave seems as mystified by this as the rest of us:
"They... they have a plan. We're not in it the way that we used to be. It's...
they're making the choice that they need to make to be profitable, and make the
right choice for the shareholders and things like that. It's hard to look at the
stuff Ensemble's done and equate those two things, and justify it in that sense,
but..."
Telltale Games now offers
digital sales and distribution of
Dangeresque 3: The
Criminal Projective, the fourth installment in the five-episode adventure
series known as Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. Word is:
"Move over, James Bond! Strong Bad's here to show you how it's done in his
hand-crafted cinematic masterpiece. You play Dangeresque, a dirty cop in pursuit
of action and big sacks of cash. Can our hero defeat his arch-nemesis and save
the world? Looks like he's gonna have to jump... " The game, which is also
available via WiiWare, is accompanied by a playable demo, which is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Publisher Lighthouse Interactive and developer Nitro Games offer a new trailer
from East India Company, the upcoming historical real-time strategy game.
Here's the official description of the clip: "This teaser highlights the key
gameplay aspects of this stunning historical real-time strategy game – Manage,
Rule, and Fight to build the World’s greatest trading empire! East India Company
(PC) is scheduled for release across Canada and the United States in Q1 2009."
The movie is posted on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
The A Vampyre Story Website now
offers a playable demo for A Vampyre Story, offering the chance to see if
this vampiric adventure game from Bill Tiller and Autumn Moon Entertainment
sucks in a good way or not. Word is: "In the demo, Mona and Froderick are in
trouble: They are on the Vlad's Landing Graveyard and Picknick Grounds, looking
for Mona's grave, in order to retreive [sic] some grave dirt that Mona needs to
put in her coffin for travelling. This short slice of the game gives a short
glimpse of how versatile and multi-faceted the puzzles can be - as well as
presenting the athmospheric [sic] art and music and humor, of course!" The demo
features support for both English and German languages. Word is the full game
"will be released on the 24th in the UK and soon in the US and on any decent
download retail service, like GameTap, metaboli and GamersGate." The demo is
mirrored on AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront.com, and
Gamer's Hell.
A couple of folks asked about my plans to catch the new Bond movie. I had hoped
to see it over the weekend, but that did not work out, so we'll just have to see
how it goes. I'll just remain happy they've repaired the franchise to the point
where I care again: Before the Daniel Craig reboot it was a long time since I
concerned myself this much with seeing the latest Bond in theaters, and I'm
enjoying it before they build back up to having invisible cars.
R.I.P.: Mitch
Mitchell, drummer for Jimi Hendrix Experience, dies at 62. Thanks Brad
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