Archived News:
GameTap's Thursday update brings a new episode of
American McGee's
Grimm, which is free to play for today, while their new free game for this
week is Rogue
Trooper. Included in the new premium offerings on this online game service
is Fable: The Lost
Chapters. The new Grimm episode is the story of Pinocchio, and surely your
nose will grow if you claim you need a description of that one. A glitch
prevented today's additions to the catalog from going live until just now, but
it is not clear if free access to the Grimm episode will be extended to a full
24 hours from now.
The
Codename: Panzers - Cold War Website now offers a multiplayer playable demo
for Codename: Panzers - Cold War, the alternate history strategy game.
For the complete experience, a single player demo for the game was
released last month. Word on the new MP demo is: "With support for
LAN and online play, the multiplayer demo showcases the Domination mode and
features the Islands of Hope map in which the players are charged with seizing
control of a nuclear weapon. Players will have access to the full range of units
available in the multiplayer game, and will be able to capture several Points of
Interest including a radar station, HQ and radio station, each of which affords
special strategic and tactical advantages." The demo is mirrored on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
Neverwinter Nights 2
Vault has word that Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate is
gold, and that Ossian Studios' RPG add-on is being prepared for digital release.
This NWN2 adventure pack was announced in 2007 with a 2007 release
date, but got sidetracked somewhere along the way. Thanks
Voodoo Extreme.
Steam News has word that
Grand Ages: Rome should
now be available in most territories. This does not, however, include North
America, as word is: "North American customers can pre-purchase around the 13th
and play when the game is released on the 20th." In the meantime, a
playable demo was released last month for the sequel to the
historical strategy game Imperium Romanum.
Steam News has word that
a new patch is now automatically available for Team Fortress 2, Valve's
teamplay shooter. The update has engine fixes, bug fixes, closes off a couple of
exploits, implements changes relating to ducking and bounding boxes, returns the
side-stab to the spy's bag of tricks, and more.
Matrix Games has issued a new patch for Close Combat - Wacht am Rhein,
updating the latest installment in the Close Combat series to version 4.50.07b.
Word is: "This new update includes a sizeable amount of graphical improvements
and tweaks to units and maps, a few AI improvements in both the tactical and
strategic portions of the game, and a variety of bug fixes."
MacNN
has news that a MacOS port of Multiwinia is now available, offering Mac
owners the chance to play Introversion's multiplayer strategy game. The game is
being digitally distributed through the
Ambrosia Software Website,
where they also have a playable demo. Thanks Ant.
City of Heroes Captain Dynamic Episode Two is a new live action/gameplay
comedy movie by Rooster Teeth ( Red
vs. Blue) starring Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies. The new episode is
available on the Rooster
Teeth Website, where they also have episode one. The movie is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
Gamer's Hell, and
MyGameTrailers.
The
ACE Team Blog has a post outlining the Survival Mode in Zeno Clash, their
upcoming fighting game, describing its unlockable Tower Challenges and Ranking
System. They also have a new
Developer Video "that features a closer look at the combat mechanics & shows
some examples of how a skilled player can combine the different moves to deal
more damage!" The movie is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers.
A new Aion: The Tower of Eternity video offers a tour of the Poeta zone in
NCsoft's upcoming CryENGINE MMORPG. The movie is available from
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers.
The Impulse Website
now lists the weekend sales for Stardock's digital marketplace, and their
definition of a weekend is the appealing four-day sort, so the sales are already
underway. They are offering discounts on Warlords Battlecry III,
GalCiv I: Ultimate Edition, Mr. Robot, Painkiller, Alpha
Prime, Unreal Gold, and Civilization III: Complete, with
prices ranging from $3.99 to $9.99.
1UP.com reports The
Pitt will be released on March 24, following up on recent
indications the second DLC for Fallout 3 would be out in March. They don't
offer the source for this tidbit, but it is accompanied by word that The Pitt
will cost 800 MS points on via Windows LIVE or Xbox LIVE. Thanks Mike Martinez.
There's Something in the Sea
(www.somethinginthesea.com} is online as a viral teaser site for BioShock 2,
the upcoming shooter prequel/sequel in the works at 2K Games. The Flash site
shows a world map with an X over the UK dated 2/20/67. There are three clues
"pinned" to the map, including a newspaper clipping datelined with that date and
the location of Liscannor, Co, Clare, so presumably this seaside Irish town is
the precise location of that marking. The clipping describes the kidnapping of a
young girl, and the other clues are a photo of a Big Daddy doll, and a note
speculating this is a clue in the kidnapping, as are "wet footprints" (hmmm).
Kotaku also has a reproduction of a real-life hand-drawn (looking) poster
teasing the site taped to a light-pole in some unnamed town. Thanks
Shacknews and nin.
Activision announces a double-XP weekend for Call of Duty: World at War,
saying players will get twice the normal experience for games on all playlists
on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. The event kicks off tomorrow morning
(Pacific Time) and runs through Monday morning.
Steam is offering a
free Unreal Tournament III Black (the original game plus the new Titan Pack)
trial weekend to anyone with a Steam account, allowing the chance to sample
Epic's multiplayer shooter and its new content. They are also offering a 40% off
sale price on purchases of the UT3 Black through March 15. Thanks
BeyondUnreal.
The Warhammer Online: Age of
Reckoning Website now offers a 10-day free trial of Mythic Entertainment's
MMORPG. "A call to arms has been issued! With the new free trial we are making
it possible for everyone to experience non-stop Realm vs. Realm combat wrapped
up in a next generation MMO." is the accompanying quote from Mark Jacobs, who
adds: "What started out as a great game has only gotten better as the team has
added an incredible amount of content with our first live expansion. For gamers
that have yet to experience the glory of WAR, there is no better time to join
the battle!" The free trial offers the opportunity to participate in the
Bitter Rivals event, and the 10-day trial can be upgraded to a
full retail account at any time.
The Men of War Website has three new
gameplay movies showing off Best Way's World War II real-time strategy sequel in
their trailers section.
Word is: "Three new action packed videos from Men of War show off actual game
play footage including the destruction of an entire town, in-game physics
including fire and action aspect of the title." This follow-up to Soldiers:
Heroes of World War II and Faces of War was recently released in
Europe and is due on March 17 in the US.
Dave
Perry's Blog highlights private research conducted by GameQuarry analyzing
some Metacritic data that he's been
given permission to post. They looked through historical data to determine which
publishers had the best track record at producing hit games based on their
cumulative Metacritic scores. Based on this concept, the most consistent
publisher in the study is Rockstar Games, while the least consistent publisher
is Ubisoft. The nine publishers rounding out the most consistent list are
Telltale Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft, Valve, Stardock, Bethesda
Softworks, Nintendo, 2D Boy (obviously there was no minimum number of releases
required), and Square Enix. The other nine entries on the least consistent list
are Activision, THQ, DreamCatcher Interactive, Konami, Sega, Namco, Eidos,
Majesco, and Strategy First. Thanks
GamesIndustry.biz.
GameStop may be selling fewer used games
in the future, though this may not comfort the many game industry insiders
who have complained about the economic impact of used game sales, since the
reason is other players entering the used games marketplace.
1UP.com reports that
Best Buy is considering reentering the used games market following closely on
recent indications that Toys R Us (why doesn't my keyboard have a
backwards "R"?) is also looking at buying and selling used games. It's not just
brick-and-mortar sales, as
the Silicon Valley Insider has news that Amazon.com has already launched a
Video Games Trade-In Site.
Apple Corps, Harmonix, and MTV Games announce The Beatles: Rock Band is
the official title of their upcoming Beatles music game, revealing September 9
as the game's symmetrical (09/09/09) release date for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3,
and Wii. Word is: "The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar,
bass, mic or drums and experience The Beatles extraordinary catalogue of music
through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and
evolution of the band’s legendary career. In addition, The Beatles: Rock Band
will offer a limited number of new hardware offerings modeled after instruments
used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr throughout
their career." The Abbey Road Studios-themed
The Beatles: Rock Band Website
is online, teasing that date and offering sign-ups for notifications of when
preorders begin (they are promising exclusive preorder bonuses). They also
announce pricing details, with the standalone game costing $59.99, standalone
guitars costing $99.99, and the premium bundle priced at a whopping $249.99
(pricing outside the US to be revealed at a later date). The game will be
compatible with all current music game peripherals, but there is no indication
of whether or not the music from the Beatles game can be imported into Rock
Band/Rock Band 2.
There's a hands-on
Left 4 Dead Preview on IGN with a look at the upcoming free downloadable
content in the works at Valve, giving impressions of new Versus mode and
Survival mode gameplay being added to the multiplayer zombie shooter, and more.
The preview is accompanied by four new gameplay movies on their
Left 4 Dead
Trailer media page.
A new patch for Unreal Tournament III updates the first-person shooter to
version 2.0 with a number of fixes and changes while also paving the way for the
new Titan Pack for the game, which is also now available. The patch adding
client-side demo recording, improvements to Steam integration, server browser
changes, UI tweaks, and much more can be found on
AtomicGamer,
BeyondUnreal, eXp.de,
FanGaming,
FileFront,
FilePlanet (registration required),
Fileplay, Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls. The Titan Pack that adds 16 new maps, three bonus pack 1 maps, two
new game-types, the titular Titan mutator, vehicles, deployables, 57 Steam
achievements, and more is available on
AtomicGamer,
BeyondUnreal, eXp de,
FanGaming,
FileFront,
Fileplay,
FilePlanet (registration required), Gamer's Hell,
and The
Patches Scrolls. The
UT3 Titan Pack Reveal on BeyondUnreal is a good place to read all the
details about this update.
Grey Dog Software sends word
to expect the release of World of Mixed Martial Arts 2 on April 8,
preceded by a demo that's expected the week before. The sports management sequel
will be available via digital distribution, and here are some planned
features: - Highly detailed fighters, with a multitude of statistics
covering all major elements of MMA from striking to jiu jitsu
- Advanced play-by-play engine where the player can watch fights unfold in real
time via detailed commentary
- In-game web site keeps you up to date on all the happenings around the game
world
- Deal with injuries, fight refusals, upsets, money wrangles and more
- High pressure contract negotiations with fighters; will you play it safe or
call his bluff
- Automatic archiving keeps track of details on every fight that happens in the
game world
- Full detailed and intuitive game editor allows in-depth customization
Gamasutra - Recession, The Beginning Of An Era.
"It's very possible that this recession could usher in the next age of the
indie. Smaller, less expensive games made by smaller, more agile teams seem
like a very logical step, now that the industry structure is better able to
support it, with no less than three venues on which to distribute content as
a small team. These are downloadable console, direct to consumer PC
downloads via Steam-like services, portals, or direct sale, and iPhone and
potentially DSi downloads. Consumers have shown that they're willing to buy
games like Castle Crashers in droves."
Gamers
Underground - The abuse of "professional gaming".
"Alas, that brings us to the core of the problem at hand. Which is of course
that we've had a string of naive yet opportunistic business men with little
true interest in gaming running our 'electronics sports' world for quite
some time. They usually have little commendable business development
experience, nor any genuine history or interest in the video game and sports
industries. What they obviously have had a genuine interest in is the market
share that could capitalise on..."
Well I got my monitor back from Acer, and my skepticism aside, it looks like
they may have actually repaired my original monitor rather than sending a new
one. I still feel pain when I consider the $80 it cost me to ship it to them
with insurance, but now that it's back, that pain is being erased by my joy of
playing with my now dual-monitor set-up, which is pretty awesome.
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