Archived News:
Steam News announces that
the promised new patch is now automatically available for Team
Fortress 2, along with word a new version of Day of Defeat: Source is
also now available via Steam. The new Team Fortress 2 includes the predicted
bug and exploit fixes, and the plan is to follow with another patch this week,
which will pave the way for the Scout class update for Team Fortress 2.
An Entrenchment Beta
2B Change Log is online, outlining changes planned for the next beta version
of this add-on for Sins of a Solar Empire, though they clearly state that this
list is not necessarily final. They also say: "As of this posting, we have not
set a date for the release of Beta 2." We have received a couple of comments
from folks saying they see this as a sign the space strategy game add-on will
not make its latest release date of February 11, but we've
confirmed that date with both Ironclad and Stardock, and now a new post on
the official website
repeats that date as well.
Big Download reports that the "Time Trial" DLC for Mirror's Edge will not be
released for this week as planned, but rather has been delayed until sometime
next month. The statement they received from EA suggests this is about
smoothness: "To offer a completely smooth experience for players, DICE announced
today that the DLC map pack for Mirror's Edge on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and
PC will be delayed until February." This does not impact plans to release a free
three map pack exclusively for the PlayStation 3 tomorrow.
NFL Union
To Pay Retired Players For In-Game Likeness follows up on the
ruling from November, saying the judgment has been upheld on appeal, and
the NFL Players Association is going to have to pay a group of retired NFL
players $21 million.
New patches are now available for Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory to update
the World War II combat flight simulator to version 2.09. There's a patch for
the English edition on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell; and there's an international patch on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
A new "faction feature" movie from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II shows off
some multiplayer action in the upcoming real-time strategy sequel. The faction
on display are the Orks, with the "k" differentiating this sci-fi unit from
fantasy-style Orcs. The clip is posted on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and
MyGameTrailers.
HanbitSoft and gamigo announce a partnership where gamigo will operate a
European version of Neo Steam, a Korean
MMORPG with a steampunk setting, or at least an anime take on steampunk. They
are currently accepting applications for closed beta testing of the
subscription-free game, and the website
offers the introductory video from the game, which is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's
Hell, and
MyGameTrailers.
The second of the four promised movies from Blood Bowl is now available
with another cinematic from Cyanide Studio's upcoming fantasy-themed sports game
where there's no such thing as unnecessary roughness. Word is: "Watch as the
legions of Chaos punish the Humans for daring to face off against them. In the
end, the Human team’s only hope is to cheat by calling in a blast of fire from
above and steal the ball away in the confusion!" The clip is available on the
Blood Bowl Website and mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's
Hell,
Strategy Informer, and
MyGameTrailers.
- Heroes over Europe on
GamesRadar.
- Street Fighter IV on
IGN.
- Wanted: Weapons of Fate on
IGN.
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 on
1Up.
Tiscali Games has
early details on Tropico 3, a third installment in the strategy series.
As announced in November, Kalypso Media has acquired rights to the
series from Take-Two, and has enlisted Bulgarian developer Haemimont Games ( Imperium
Romanum) to develop Tropico 3. Word is the game will be set in a
historically accurate depiction of the Cold War, will allow the player to play
as a ruthless or benevolent dictator and custom design his own island, will
feature a "random play" mode, and the game's new engine will be detailed enough
to see laundry hanging on line, and will allow the player's dictator to wander
the island in a free mode to engage in activities like sunbathing or gambling in
a casino. They offer some new screenshots from
PC Games, where there is another preview of the project, though this is
written in German.
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) announces the 12th Annual
Interactive Achievement Awards will be shown on the Independent Film Channel
(IFC), marking the first time this award show will be televised. The awards take
place on February 19, 2009 at the Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, but
the broadcast is not live, it will be a half-hour of highlights to air in April.
I would like to personally volunteer to help with the show; I don't presume that
I could replace Jay Mohr as host, but I would like to do the red carpet
interviews, like Joan Rivers: 'Bruce! Bruce Shelley who are you wearing?'
The Hollywood Reporter confirms rumors that another Tomb
Raider movie is in the works that will "reboot" the cinematic version of
Lara Croft, since reboot is the new black. They take some air out of the idea
that Megan Fox is the new Lara, saying: "An actress who could play the role
Angelina Jolie made famous would likely come on after a writer and director are
attached." The article describes the wrangling involving these movie rights:
"Paramount previously made the two movies based on the game, but the rights have
since reverted to Eidos. When Time Warner upped its stake to 19.92% in Eidos in
December, films rights to the property were included as part of the deal." This
leads to some speculation from
MCV
that Warner may yet take over Eidos, as has long been rumored.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Dark
Horizon.
An update to the official
Team Fortress 2 Blog by Valve's Robin "Texas Ranger" Walker announces that
their design and coding teams have already turned their attention to the next
update pack for Team Fortress 2, as the Scout pack is basically complete
except for some final art, which he says they like to do: "as late as possible
to ensure that we don't waste any work." He describes how this worked in their
favor as they tried several alternatives to the Scattergun, which he also says
presented tricky balance issues. He offers some answers to some fan-submitted
questions, and outlines their projected update schedule: "We've got an update
that should be out tomorrow with a bunch of bug & exploit fixes. Later this week
we hope to have another update out that changes the way we store your unlockable
items. You shouldn't notice much difference, other than if you play on multiple
computers we'll now propagate your item choices. You can think of that update as
the one that moves your inventory into the Steam Cloud. Once that's out of the
way, we'll be able to ship the Scout pack." The post is dated yesterday, so that
bug fix patch he mentions for tomorrow should be expected today.
IncGamers has some details about changes in direction planned for The
Secret World, Funcom's secretive upcoming MMOG. They hear from designer
Ragnar Tørnquist, who says they are happy with their graphics, but are
revisiting the story: "to link everything thematically, to emphasise the
importance of the story, to add contrast and drama and spectacle, to create a
world that people will want to experience and live in. Permanently." He also
comments that they don't want the game to be considered "a WoW clone," which may
hint at the reasons for the redesign. He describes their goal: "We’re going to
play up the strengths of our universe and differentiate ourselves in both the
setting and the gameplay - and particularly in how players can become exactly
who they want to be, their secret selves, both visually and in terms of powers."
Phenomic
Launches BattleForge to Stores on March 24 offers a March 24 release date
for this trading card-based RTS game in both North America and Europe. The
announcement offers a reminder that open beta testing is currently underway and
outlines preorder incentives: "Prior to launch, players can get into the
BattleForge Open Beta by registering at
www.BattleForgeCardHunt.com.
Worldwide, pre-order customers will receive four exclusive units, one from each
faction: Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow. These units will feature exclusive card
artwork and in-game animation. They will also be leveled-up, giving player’s a
head start as they prepare for battle online. For more details on pre-ordering
BattleForge, please visit
www.battleforge.com."
Kotaku reports that Nexon Vancouver has been closed, leaving about 90
employees without jobs. The studio was working on future projects for Nexon
America, the western arm of MMOG mavens Nexon, so this will have no impact on
existing games. Thanks Mike Martinez and
Edge
Online.
A new Crysis
Monthly Update offers the full patch notes from the next patch for Crysis
Warhead, saying the update for Crytek's first-person shooter will be
released "soon," though no exact date is set. Most significant will be the
inclusion of 64-bit executables for Windows XP and Windows Vista.
The
Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Forum have a sneak peak at the changelog for an
upcoming version 1.7.8 patch for S2 Games' action/strategy sequel. They say they
hope the patch will be release sometime this week, but they want to give players
a chance to give them feedback. The list of changes is pretty extensive, but not
complete, and mentions the inclusion of Bunker, a map remake from the original
Savage, saying a subsequent post will provide more details on the map.
The
Dead Space Postmortem on Crispy Gamer is an interview with Chuck "Real Name"
Beaver, producer on the horror-themed shooter. They discuss the game's difficult
beginning, the removal of cutscenes, chapters, boss battles, the anonymity
of your avatar, the creepy music, their reaction to reviews and sales figures,
and more. Will there be a Dead Space sequel? Chuck says: "We'll see. I hope so."
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Q&A on GameSpot gets senior producer Tim
Holman talking about Relic's upcoming World War II real-time strategy follow-up.
They discuss why this is a standalone release (rather than an expansion), the
campaign's focus on small-scale battles, "direct fire" mode, multiplayer
support, and more. Those eager to reenlist take heart, he says they are almost
done: "We're closing bugs at the moment and about to finish--close enough that
we started thinking about the wrap party! "
A new version 0.75 of the
Battlefield 2
Assault Mod is now available, declaring the project "done," offering
single-player, co-op, and multiplayer "RageWar" support. The assault mod
heavily emphasis solo play, offering bots with enhanced AI, custom skins, and
changes to ballistics (including bullet penetration), and the new version adds
new maps, among other things. Thanks Ant and
Planet
Battlefield.
Today is Data Privacy Day
2009 (thanks
NetworkWorld). So if you write back to the widow of that general about that
$22 million, be sure to tell her to keep your personal details to herself.
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