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Archived News:

Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009

Geneforge 5 Ships; Demo
 [8:15 pm ET] – Share – 10 Comments

Spiderweb Software announce the release of Geneforge 5: Overthrow for Windows, the concluding chapter in this role-playing series. Here's their overview of the game: "Geneforge 5: Overthrow has a huge, open storyline. You can choose to serve one of five different factions, each of which has its own path to bring the war to an end. There are dozens of different endings and paths to victory. Help the rebels or fight them. Kill your opponents or use stealth and diplomacy. Focus on the storyline or simply seek wealth and carnage. No matter how you play, Geneforge 5 offers an epic adventure with plenty of replay value." A playable demo is also available, which is mirrored on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, and Gamer's Hell.

Dungeon Party Open Beta
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 2 Comments

Focus Home Interactive announces Dungeon Party has entered open beta testing, offering a crack at this zany subscription free MMORPG. There's a new video celebrating the opening of the beta, described thusly: "Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive are pleased to offer an exciting new video of Dungeon Party -- giving you a complete glimpse at what is waiting for you in this crazy game where fun is king! This video will show you some of the available character customization options, along with the highly charged atmosphere that's omnipresent inside the game's dungeons, where teams of heroes are fighting to capture the Chest." The movie is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

Game Release Dates Spreading?
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 32 Comments

EA: We've learned our lesson on release dates on GamesIndustry.biz talks with Glen Schofield of EA's Redwood Shores studio, who indicates that he thinks the industry finally agrees with game fans who have been saying for years that targeting the holidays for every major game release doesn't make much sense:
"I think the industry has finally gone, 'Wow, we could probably just come out just like the movies do'. Movies launch on Christmas day, they launch blockbusters during the summer, and we're now learning that we could probably launch a game at any time, and if it's a good game it will be well received.

"I think that we traditionally thought that people only buy games at Christmas or around holiday time, and now we're looking back and going, 'You know what, GTA launched in May; Resident Evil comes out in March'."

QUAKE LIVE Mac & Linux Plans
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Joystiq has an excerpt from an interview with id Software's John Carmack, who says they have an outside contractor working on Mac and Linux support in the browser-based shooter, though he says compatibility: "is going to be a much bigger factor in [the Mac and Linux markets] for people wanting to play the game than it is on the Win32 market where you have so many more options." The story also includes word from id's Marty Stratton that the game currently works in Google Chrome "with some glitchiness," but that he suspects Chrome full support will eventually arrive.

Team Fortress 2 Patched
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 12 Comments

Steam News has word that another new update is now automatically available for Team Fortress 2, their multiplayer shooter. The update addresses several bugs, and includes two tweaks: Removal of the damage reduction against non-stunned enemies with the new Scout bat, and players with full health can now pick up dropped sandviches.

More Battlefield Heroes Beta Keys Coming
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments

The Battlefield Heroes Website has news that all beta keys for those who signed up for the Battlefield Heroes beta through QA Boss have been sent out. This means they are preparing to send keys for those who applied as testers directly through their website, saying: "It’s going to take us a couple of days to soak in this new flood of players. After that we will be ready to steadily start sending out keys to everyone who has been patiently waiting since signing up on January the 21st."

Savage Patched
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

The Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Forum has word that a new version 1.80 is live in S2 Games' action/strategy sequel. That thread offers discussion of the patch, and this post includes the complete change list for the new version.

WoW Movie
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments

There's a video teaser for Ulduar on the World of Warcraft Website, introducing the new raid dungeon in the upcoming content patch for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Word is: "Check out the video now to get a taste of some of the environments and denizens that wait within this ancient Titan structure."

DC Universe Online Movie
 [8:14 pm ET] – Share – 6 Comments

A new movie from DC Universe Online introduces the Doomsday, one of the supervillains in the upcoming comic-inspired MMORPG, describing the character, how he fits in the DC comics universe, and his role in the game. The clip is available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and MyGameTrailers.

Battlefield 1943 Interview
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment

The Battlefield 1943 interview on Gamasutra talks with Patrick Liu of DICE about Battlefield 1943, the project Patric describes as an "experiment that turned out too good not to release." Topics include plans for digital distribution, regenerative health (which he optimistically calls "just another kind of depth"), how the game will fit in the Battlefield hierarchy, download size, plans for a summer 2009 release, and more.

Need for Speed Online Interview
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment

There's a Need for Speed Online Interview on the Need for Speed Website discussing the upcoming Asian launch of the MMO racing game, and the launch in the west to follow. One relevant question is about their previous experience with Motor City Online: "We tried an online game with American muscle cars on a subscription basis. Some of the experience and the things we learned about the community features will translate, but NFS World has some marked differences. The new game plays in an open-world environment with a huge number of cars and events. Modes such as Co-op, Team Events and presence of cops all provide a very different experience than Motor City Online delivered." Thanks Gamer's Hell.

Evening Previews
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Evening Screenshots
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Evening Consolidation
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments

Thanks Mike Martinez.

Evening Tech Bits
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.

Mobilization
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment

Metaverse
 [8:13 pm ET] – Share – 4 Comments

Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.

Safety Dance
 [8:12 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Thanks Mike Martinez.

Legal Briefs
 [8:12 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment

etc., etc.
 [8:12 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment

Into the Black
 [8:12 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Spider-Man musical set for 2010. Thanks Mike Martinez. My spidey-sense is tingling to beat the band. And not in a good way.

Ships Ahoy - PC EndWar
 [4:23 pm ET] – Share – 14 Comments

Tom Clancy's EndWar is now available for digital distribution via the Ubisoft Digital Store, and it looks like it is also available on Steam. Also, a new EndWar launch movie features cinematics and gameplay from the PC edition of the Tom Clancy real-time strategy game. The clip is posted on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and MyGameTrailers.

Stormrise Movie
 [4:16 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment

A new Stormrise movie profiles the line-of-sight features intended to help console playability in the post-apocalyptic real-time strategy game under construction at Creative Assembly. The clip is available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

Ships Ahoy - Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment
 [3:50 pm ET] – Share – 12 Comments

Stardock announces the Entrenchment "micro-expansion" for Ironclad's Sins of a Solar Empire is now available for online purchase and download on Stardock's Impulse service. Here's a description: "Entrenchment adds a host of new features including starbases, defense upgrades, a new defense technology tree, mine fields, and hundreds of enhancements to both the gameplay and graphics of the game." Of course, the original Sins of a Solar Empire is required to play. Word is Ironclad has plans for further micro-expansions over the next year.

The Last Remnant Demo & Benchmark
 [3:43 pm ET] – Share – 10 Comments

A playable demo is now available for The Last Remnant (aka THE LAST REMNANT), offering the chance to sample the upcoming PC edition of Square Enix's fantasy-themed RPG. Word is: "The Games for Windows version boasts a host of new features, these include; giving the player the choice to select Japanese or English voice-overs, improved character animations, the ability to allow multiple leader units to form unions and faster gameplay during battles." The 1 GB download is available on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, FileShack, Gamer's Hell, and Games On Net. There is also a benchmark utility to test your system's worthiness, which is available on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, and Gamer's Hell.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood in Summer
 [3:37 pm ET] – Share – 12 Comments

A new trailer from Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood offers a look at the upcoming wild west shooter prequel in the works at Techland. "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is going to heat things up this summer," is the accompanying quote from Tony Key of publisher Ubisoft, who goes on to say: "With all of the makings of an epic Western, this game will remind players what the genre is all about – outlaws, duels, treasure and women, and will leave them wanting more." The clip is available on ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

WoW Patch Plans
 [1:26 pm ET] – Share – 15 Comments

The World of Warcraft Test Realm Patch Notes have been updated to reflect a new version 3.1.0 patch that now on the test realm for Blizzard's MMORPG. The notes outline new features like the ability of ground mounts to swim with a rider, the new Uldar area, dual talent specialization, a new gear manager, and a healthy list of balance changes.

Braid Steam Plans
 [12:54 pm ET] – Share – 7 Comments

Valve announces Braid will be released via Steam when the Windows edition of puzzle platformer is released on March 31. Word is this version will support Steamworks: "Created by Jonathan Blow, Braid is a multi-award winning title that blends platform and puzzle game play with time manipulation. The game features a rich story and plays out across seven unique worlds, each its own time-based game mechanic. The Steam version of Braid will also leverage Steamworks for integration of Achievements and Steam Community features."

ESA Fee Hikes
 [12:54 pm ET] – Share – 2 Comments

ESA fees jumped 1,700% from '06-'08 on GameSpot outlines some details about the financial ups and downs of the Entertainment Software Association as the trade group has downsized and then re-upsized the format of E3 of the past few years. The headline highlights the fact that as E3 income has dropped, income from membership fees has increased, and the article's math is actually generous to come up with that 1700% figure, as the ESA's income from membership fees has risen that much over the past three years, but a dwindling membership over that time would suggest fees were raised by an even greater percentage.

More on the Aliens RPG's Fate
 [08:21 am ET] – Share – 16 Comments

David Kondor's LinkedIn Page has another indication that Obsidian's Aliens RPG has been axed, following rumors the game has been either cancelled or shifted to a new developer by publisher SEGA. David is listed as an ex-designer for Obsidian Entertainment, and his online CV lists his last project as "Designer for canceled third-person action Aliens RPG (Xbox 360, PS3, & PC)." Thanks Strategy Informer.

TF2 Scout Update
 [12:46 am ET] – Share – 42 Comments

Steam News announces the new Scout update for Team Fortress 2 is now available, and in celebration they are selling Team Fortress 2 on Steam for half-price through Friday. The update to the teamplay shooter has been detailed for the past week, but here's the rundown:
Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

New features
    • Added The Force-A-Nature, The Sandman, and Bonk!
    • Added 35 new Scout achievements
    • Added crit boosted on/off sound effects
    • Added new sounds for upgraded teleporters
    • Added new sound for a fully charged medic dying
    • Add bonus points section to scores
    • Scouts earn a bonus point for killing Medics who are actively healing a target
    • Added several new speech concepts, mostly hooked up to new Scout lines
    • Added new "Remember last weapon between lives" option to the Multiplayer Advanced dialog
    • Spies can now control which weapon the enemy team sees them holding. Hitting the "last disguise" key while disguised updates the disguise to show the Spy's currently held weapon
    • Added several new Arena mode announcer speech events.
    • Added "First Blood" to Arena mode
    • Removed 2x item respawn times in arena
    • Changed backstab handling to fix facestabs
    • Spies disguised as enemy team can now see player IDs for enemies

New maps
    • Added community maps: cp_egypt, arena_watchtower, and cp_junction
    • Updated cp_fastlane with Arttu's new version

Mapmaker requests
    • Added new input for forward speed modifier to FuncTrainTrain
    • Added TeleportToPathTrack input to func_tracktrain

Bugfixes
    • Fixed a bug where players would sometimes gib from non-gib damage kills
    • Fixed stat screen showing an entry for a class called "map."
    • Fixed item model panels not using team skins

- Fixed obscure bug where spectators were able to carry the flag

Trainz Simulator 2009 NA Plans
 [12:46 am ET] – Share – 6 Comments

TriSynergy announces they will be distributing Trainz Simulator 2009 World Builder Edition in North America this spring. Full details on the game are on its official project section, where they offer this overview: "Create and operate the rail world of your dreams. Build routes, drive locos, issue Driver Commands, download content and much more. Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder Edition delivers a whole new level of realism. With new graphics capabilities, higher detailed terrain and dozens of great new features. TS2009 is the "must-have" version for all Trainz lovers."

Tiberium Movies
 [12:45 am ET] – Share – 4 Comments

Voodoo Extreme has some rough cut movies from Tiberium, the cancelled C&C first-person shooter. The clips were released by EALA animation and cinematic director Robert R. Coddington to show the direction the game was taking.

Gatherings & Competitions
 [12:45 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Hardware Reviews
 [12:45 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment

Out of the Blue
 [12:45 am ET] – Share – 10 Comments

An ad server switch here has caused some pop-up problems. The wonky code has been disabled until things are worked out, apologies for the problems. Also, sorry for being a few hours late on the Scout update for Team Fortress 2. We got caught up watching the president giving his speech, as the White House failed to coordinate things properly with Valve last night.

Wonky Links: Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play: Panda Star. Thanks Jay is Games.
Grow Tower.
Links: The Top 7... Sadistic moments in games.
Quiznos Million Sub Giveaway.
Sam's Toybox. Thanks dakslf.
Stories: Andy Richter, Conan O'Brien reunite for 'Tonight'. Thanks Digg.
AmEx Pays Some Cardholders $300 to Close Accounts. Thanks Devicer.
Science: Military Airplanes and UFOs.
Media: Violin Hero -- Through the Fire and Flames.
Antiques Roadshow in the Future.
The dangers of the runway. Never gets old.
Follow-ups: NASA satellite crashes minutes after launch.
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