Computer
and Video Games has word that development of a new fantasy-themed open-world
game called AionGuard is revealed in the new issue of Edge Magazine, now
available to subscribers and due on newsstands later this week. AionGuard has
been in the works for two years at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios,
and it is described as offering strategic warfare on a grand scale where the
player will lead a thousand-man army. The name comes from the game's elite
AionGuard, described by the developer as a combination of "WWI dogfighter
pilots, Samurai and medieval knights." The article outlines a bit more on
gameplay, and presumably more details will come when the game is formally
announced.
A report from the Macworld Expo on
Macworld
relates indications they've picked up that a Mac edition of BioShock is in the
works. They spotted Big Daddy characters on the shirts of the exhibitors in the
Feral Interactive booth, and when they asked, they were told a Mac version of
the first-person shooter is in development, though they have no further details
to share. Thanks Mike Martinez and
1UP.
Rep. Baca Introduces Legislation to Make Violent Video Games Sold With Health
Warning Label outlines legislation introduced by US Congressman Joe Baca
requiring that video games with an ESRB rating higher than "T" carry an
additional warning reading: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games
and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior." The California
representative's is seeking the accountability from the game industry that we
are seeking from Washington:
We must hold the video game industry
accountable and do everything in our power to ensure parents are aware of the
detrimental effects that violent games can have before making decisions on which
games are appropriate for their children to play,” concluded Rep. Baca. “I am
proud to introduce the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009, and am hopeful my
legislation can work to stop the growing influence of violent media on America’s
children and youth.
GamesIndustry.biz has word that Funcom is closing more than half the servers
for
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, saying the fantasy themed MMORPG's
49 servers will ultimately be consolidated into 18 servers. They outline how the
servers will be merged, pointing out that this is an indicator of how much
attrition the game's population has suffered following its launch, but that this
should provide a better game experience for remaining players, who should find
servers more densely populated.
Game Developer Layoffs- The Real Story on Gamasutra discusses some of the
recent game industry layoffs with a few folks who are directly impacted, three
developers who recently lost their jobs: R.C. Montesquieu formerly of Pandemic
Studios, David Lewis previously of Ensemble Studios, and Michael Souto, who had
been at Eidos Interactive. They also speak to a couple of game industry job
recruiters for advice and insight: "Our industry is having record sales. What
we're seeing is a combination of the not-so-unusual year-end layoffs that we see
every year at this time when games have been shipped... plus a few companies
that are having troubles, like EA, which has been struggling for some two and a
half years. Those companies are going through some much-needed restructuring,
just like the banking industry, which had to restructure after the problems they
encountered."
A new
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin movie shows off the Elite Powered Armor
(EPA), some Shogo/mech-style combat armor from Monolith's upcoming shooter
sequel. The clip showing solo and multiplayer action can be found on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
FileFront.
The
Democracy 2 Website now
offers an updated version of this strategy sequel based on the non-violent, but
conflict-filled world of politics. Here's word on the new version 1.23: "This
latest patch changes a number of the simulation variables to improve game
balance, and also introduces a new policy (Space program!) and a new event
(Pirates capture oil tanker)." The new version is accompanied by an updated
playable demo; full details an instructions can be found on the
Positech Games Forums. The patch is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell; and the updated demo is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell.
Bill Tiller On A Vampyre Story on IncGamers is an interview about
A
Vampyre Story, the adventure game from Autumn Moon Entertainment, talking
about the game, working at LucasArts, art styles, sequels, and more. As for this
talk of sequels,
as they highlight separately, along the way Bill talks about multiple
sequels: "We won't get to meet Shrowdy's mom until A Vampyre Story 4, though she
makes a brief appearance at the end of the credits in A Vampyre Story 3."
It's always a day of mourning here at the BlueTower when the Giants are
eliminated from contention. I'm fine with not winning back-to-back Super Bowls,
but it is more disappointing than it might have been since for a portion of this
season they were actually playing like the best team in the league. Oh well,
there's always next year.
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