Archived News:
Battlefront.com has details on Combat Mission Shock Force - British
Forces, the second add-on module for Combat Mission Shock Force, the modern
combat strategy game. Word is: "Everything from the new version of the L85A2
rifle to the Challenger 2 with all the latest upgrades is included in order to
give a full accounting of the capabilities of the modern British Army. Play with
them on their own or as part of multi-national joint task forces using any of
Shock Forces' other units. As with the Marines Module, all new scenarios and a
campaign are included for exciting play right out of the box, before digging in
and using the powerful editor or sharing scenarios with other Shock Force
gamers. New voices (multiple accents), sound effects, and game features round
out the game experience. Oh, and of course some great surprises which will be
revealed as the release date nears! "
Two more machinima movies from Grand Theft Auto IV show off more of the
type of output expected from the video editor included with the Windows edition
of the open world action sequel. There is a soft drink commercial clip titled
"Get Sprunk" that's available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers. There's also an offbeat clip called Super Niko, posted on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and
MyGameTrailers.
There's a
Mirror's Edge interview on MTV Multiplayer talking with Tom Farrer, producer
on DICE's first-person action game. They discuss the evolution of the action
game's design, which started with the main character carrying a gun and at a
later stage had them considering dropping gunplay from the game altogether. They
also discuss the research into how to depict the cityscape, whether to show
Faith's limbs on screen, and more.
The Agency Interview on Kikizo infiltrates SOE Seattle to interrogate senior
world designer Kevin O'Hara about The Agency, their espionage-themed MMOG
heading to Windows and PlayStation 3. Kevin makes it clear this is a
shooter, saying: "Although you'll have different character skills you can deploy
to help you through, a headshot's a headshot. In a Player versus Player game,
even if I play for two years and you start today, you're going to be competitive
with me if you're a shooter fan. If you're not a shooter fan, then certainly
getting those skills will help you to advance." As such, the conversation goes
on to discuss what this means as far as their business model ("shooter players
are not used to playing monthly fees, so I doubt we'll go for an outright $15 a
month") and other implications of making an MMO shooter.
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Tomorrow's morning update will go up at 1:00 am EST, rather than midnight to let
this update stay more visible a bit longer. It seems pretty minor to me, but
feel free to share any feedback on this if you care to.
The Wright Stuff Spore
UGC is a chance to win a trip for two to the Spike video game awards to pal
around with Will Wright and stuff for the best user-created Spore movie:
"This year, video game Designer Will Wright will be honored with the first ever
Spike VGA 'Gamer God' award. As a part of the celebration, Spike and EA
celebrate the SPORE user community with 'The Wright Stuff SPORE UGC'; a contest
that gives YOU the chance to come out to this year's VGAs as a VIP and meet the
legendary designer himself! Using the in game tools, or the free Creature
Creator program, upload your most creative, entertaining, weird, and fun 60
second movie to Spike.com. A panel of judges including game creator Will Wright
will select the best of the best!"
FIFA Manager 09 Website now offers a new patch to update FIFA Manager 09
with a number of improvements, changes, and bug fixes for the sports management
game, along with the latest database update from November 11. The patch is
mirrored on AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches
Scrolls.
The 13th annual
MediaWise Video Game Report Card from National Institute on Media and the
Family is online. They include a lengthy
Parents' Guide to Video Games, a
list of "E" and "T" rated games recommended for children, as well as a list
of
games to avoid for young children like Dead Space, Fallout 3,
and Left 4 Dead, with every one of the games on that list already carrying an
"M" rating. Their
year
in review includes some statistical breakdowns, though all of these are
drawn from other sources. They seem to be more upbeat this time around, as the
line about those for whom "video games once conjured images of violence and
cruelty" may have once applied to them: "As video game technology continues to
evolve, so does its influence in the lives of American families. Once perceived
by some to be a hobby for the young and the isolated, the video game is now an
undeniably mainstream medium and often a catalyst for social activity involving
people of all ages. And just as video games once conjured images of violence and
cruelty in the minds of many, the term 'video game' is now regularly accompanied
by the term 'family entertainment.' Video game producers continue to release
ultra-violent and mature-content titles, but increasingly, the big industry
players are targeting parents and families as an important market for their
products and services. Despite the controversial M-rated games (for Mature)
still receiving much of the hype and the headlines, the vast majority of game
titles have family-friendly ratings."
Jumpgate Evolution Interview part two on IncGamers continues their
conversation with NetDevil's Hermann Peterscheck about Jumpgate Evolution,
their upcoming space combat MMOG reboot. NetDevil regained control of the
original Jumpgate near the end of 2001, and
according to Peterscheck, they will continue to operate the first Jumpgate
after the remake goes live: "We plan on keeping them open. My feeling is even
with the first generation of MMOs, even RuneScape is still around, and those
things tend to stay open. I feel bad turning an MMO off because you’re
destroying a world that people have invested in. Unless there is some compelling
business reason for doing that, I don’t believe there is any benefit in
switching off a server. There are people that have played Jumpgate since
‘98/’99, so you’re talking about a ten year investment and I got to tell you,
there is a lot of pain in just turning off a whole world with a switch off a
button. It’s very cold to me."
Gamecock Media Group announces they've opened Pandora's Box, as
Legendary is now available for
Windows, offering PC owners the chance to play Spark Unlimited's mythology
inspired first-person shooter that's already available on Xbox 360
and Playstation 3. Word is: "Windows PC users can now join the Xbox 360®
video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 owners as
they experience the mystery, mythology, and massive destruction that centers on
Deckard’s opening of Pandora’s Box. With secret societies battling over control
of the Box, players will be thrust forward into an adventure that spans the
world as they guide Deckard from one devastated location to the next as he
fights against griffons, werewolves, minotaurs, and more in an effort to stay
alive long enough to stop the creatures, and the societies, from taking over the
world."
GameTap offers their usual Thursday
content update a couple of days early, so as not to be lost in the Thanksgiving
holiday. Painkiller
has been added as a premium title, while
Hitman: Blood Money
is free to play for the next week. Also now available is
The Golden Goose,
the latest installment in
American McGee's Grimm, the episodic adventure series. The new episode is
now available, and in further deference to Thanksgiving, will be free to play
through Friday. Here's word on the new episode: "As a reward for his kindness, a
young boy is given a goose made of pure gold, which causes quite a catastrophe
when local townfolk try to pluck its golden feathers and find themselves stuck
together in a twisted conga line. In the original tale, the boy wins the heart
of the Princess, the blessing of the King, and lives happily ever after - that
is, until Grimm pops his filthy head into the picture."
GOG.com has word on more good old
games newly added to their DRM-free online marketplace. They expand their
offering for Epic's Unreal series, adding
Unreal
Tournament 2004 and
Unreal II:
The Awakening SE. They also now sell
FlatOut, offering the
breakneck competition of Bugbear's racing game.
The father of FPS on GamesRadar is a short Q&A with John Carmack, talking
with the id Software Technical Director about Quake Live and the state of
gaming. One question asks about PCs versus consoles, and he expresses mixed
feelings about the whole platform balance of power: "There are definitely days
when I wish we could just focus on the PC, and do bleeding edge stuff on there.
There are interesting technical things, looking across the spectrum of graphics
cards, looking at the very latest stuff on there, but there are also times when
I say, “Wow, the 360 is a nicer place to develop games.” You bypass a lot of the
issues there. Wouldn’t it be nice just to develop strictly for that platform. As
far as future research, there’s interesting things where—as we look toward the
next generation of console development—most of these technical trends will be
preceded by earlier versions of them on the PC. And we’re certainly looking at
CUDA programming, Larrabee prototyping, as AMD looks toward Fusion, those are
all things where we use the PC as an early sounding-ground for what the more
dominant (sales-wise) consoles are going to eventually wind up being."
Eurogamer
reports learning from Techland of a further delay to Warhound, the
mercenary-themed first-person shooter first announced in 2006 and
then re-announced last year. There was an unannounced delay in
there somewhere, as the game was originally planned for release last year, but
now word is the game won't be out this year either, and Techland says:
"Unfortunately the release date of the game will be much later than we thought."
The setbacks are said to be caused by Techland's attention to a "secret project"
they worked on along the way, and they have also been struggling getting their
Chrome game engine running on the PS3, indicating that a version is in the
works for Sony's console, in addition to previously announced Windows and Xbox
360 editions. The game no longer carries a set release date.
Bethesda
Softworks Announces Creation Kit and First Downloadable Content for Fallout 3
announces plans to release additional content for Fallout 3 over the next
four months, beginning with the release of the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation
Kit) editing tools for Windows next month, followed by three DLC packages, one
in each of the first three months of next year. Here's word on the editor: "The
release of the G.E.C.K. provides the community with tools that will allow
players to expand the game any way they wish. Users can create, modify, and edit
any data for use with Fallout 3, from building landscapes, towns, and locations
to writing dialogue, creating characters, weapons, creatures, and more." DLC
released for Games for Windows and Xbox 360 begin in January with the release of
Operation: Anchorage, followed in February by The Pitt, and in March they will
release Broken Steel, with each package promising new quests, items, and content
for the post-apocalyptic RPG sequel.
BFG Tech is now offering
free upgrades for owners of certain AGP-based versions of their graphics
accelerators, who can get higher-performing PCIe replacements for no cost. The
upgrades are available for a limited time in the US only, and qualifying
products are the AGP versions of the BFG GeForce 7600 GS OC 512MB, BFG GeForce
6800 OC 128MB AGP, BFG GeForce 6800 GS OC 256MB AGP, BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC
256MB AGP, BFG GeForce 6800 Ultra OC 256MB AGP, and BFG GeForce 7800 GS OC 256MB
AGP. In addition to the free upgrades, they are also offering even higher
performance upgrades for a $50.00 fee. No explanation for their generosity
accompanies BFG's announcement. Thanks Mike Martinez.
Spiderweb Software
now offers Geneforge 5: Overthrow for the Macintosh, as well as a
playable demo for the MacOS edition of this RPG sequel, saying: "At last, the
epic Geneforge saga comes to a conclusion. The rebellion has brought Terrestia
to the brink of ruin. Will you crush the rebels, or will you help them to win
their final victory? Achieve your goals with cunning, diplomacy, or your own
horde of custom-made, mutant monsters." Word is the Windows edition will be
released in March, 2009. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
iZ3D offers downloads of the version 1.09 3D
display driver released with their latest 3D monitors. These apparently offer
support for other 3D devices, so they are offering sales of the drivers for
these cases, with trial versions available for your 3d sampling pleasure. Full
details are in
this
press release.
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 on
Gamepyre.
Well, I survived my experience at the Department of Motor Vehicles; there was a
pretty long line there, but things moved along smoothly enough. As was pointed
out in the forums, I am still well within the grace period for license renewal,
so I'm still on the road. You have been warned.
|
Twitter 
