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Archived News:
The
Game Informer April 2009 Cover Reveal features BioShock 2, and confirms
speculation that the shooter follow-up would contain Big Sisters, as one is
depicted on the cover. Meanwhile,
Take-Two's financial results
for the quarter include losses, and the post release guidance includes
confirmation of previous reports that BioShock 2 is expected in
the third quarter of this year.
Monolith announces new DLC is coming next month for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin,
adding a Toy Soldiers map pack to the shooter sequel, among other things:
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, developed by Monolith Productions and
published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will deliver a new
dimension of paranormal horror, cinematic combat and highly kinetic action with
the release of new downloadable content that will be available beginning in
April. The new content will include a “Toy Soldiers” map pack that will allow
players to experience multiplayer from a new perspective, as well as a premium
theme and picture pack.
F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin is a blend of advanced visceral combat mixed with
seamless game pacing set inside a sinister and paranormal universe that begins
shortly before the ending of F.E.A.R. A Special Forces squad is on a routine
mission when the city of Auburn is rocked by a supernatural explosion. Alma, a
girl with immense power and a thirst for revenge, has unleashed her wrath upon
the city and thrown it into chaos. Tension builds as the squad must combat enemy
forces and the supernatural as they struggle to find a way to stop Alma and
uncover the mysterious forces arrayed against them before it’s too late.
F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin is rated “M” for Mature and is available now for Xbox
360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer
entertainment system and Games for Windows.
Steam News announces an
encore of their Unreal Tournament III sale and free weekend promotion: Unreal
Tournament 3 Black, the fully updated version of UT3 with the Titan Pack,
has enjoyed an increase of over 2000% in simultaneous player numbers since its
March 5th release and last week's Free Weekend on Steam. In addition, UT3 Black
has claimed the number one spot on Steam's bestseller list.
To celebrate the game's overwhelming success and meet the huge demand, the UT3
Black 40% off Steam sale has been extended through Sunday, March 22, and an
encore Free Weekend of play begins this Friday via Steam. Pre-load for the
encore Free Weekend begins today.
The
Warhammer Herald has word that final transfers are taking place to remove
the remaining players from 43 servers, after which time those servers will be
shut down. Here's word for player show don't end up getting transferred, or do
not like their destination: "Starting on March 11th, all characters still
present on the source servers, along with all the characters that we have
transferred over to the destination servers will be permitted a one-time free
transfer to any other server of the same type, regardless of level." Thanks
VG247.
X-Men
Origins: Wolverine Website offers a new trailer with the first looks at
gameplay from Raven's game tie-in with the upcoming X-Men movie. They also
announce details on a preorder bonus on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions
being offered through GameStop, which will earn four bonus rooms with
environments to allow you to play around with fun activities such as
dismemberment.
Universal's Pete Wanat On Wanted- Weapons Of Fate's Unusual Construction on
Gamasutra talks with Universal producer Pete Wanat about collaborating with
GRIN on their game based on the Wanted movie. They discuss the bullet-time
release process that sees the game trail the movie by so long, working with
rival studio Warner Bros. as publishers, his thoughts on Swedish developer GRIN,
their access to movie assets, and the approval process for "official" additions
to the story.
A new movie is now available from
Warrior Epic, introducing the "spirit system" in True Games' upcoming
MMORPG. Word is: "Warrior Epic's 'Spirit System' is a unique gameplay feature
where the death of a character can actually be the beginning of a whole new
strategy in the game. The 'Spirit System' offers a player the chance to revive
their fallen warrior and use them in a number of different ways to advance
through the game." The movie is available
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
GOG.com announces a pair of Apogee titles are the latest new old additions to
their DRM-free online marketplace for good old games. They now offer
Duke
Nukem: Manhattan Project and
Blake Stone:
Aliens of Gold. They also tease they will soon announce another big
publisher who will be adding titles to their service.
The Games
Company announces an English language edition of Dark Sector for the
PC for release this summer (thanks Gamer's Hell), though the only release territories
announced for the third-person shooter are Australia, New Zealand, and South
Africa. A Russian version of Dark Sector was recently released,
though it's not clear how this relates to that, as Digital Extremes, developer
of the original console versions, are handling the English Windows version.
Here's the description of the game: In Dark Sector the player accompanies
special agent Hayden Tenno on a dangerous mission: In Lasria a chaotic city
somewehere in Eastern Europe, Tenno uncovers a dark secret and mysterious relict
from the cold war. During his mission Tenno is attacked by an unknown enemy and
infected by the Technocyte-Virus, a brutal biological weapon, which turns it’s
victims into will-less combat machines. Tenno surprisingly survives the virus
attack and realizes that the biological changes to his body go much deeper than
expected. Soon he learns that the biological manipulations expanded his
abilities, providing him with supernatural powers. Among these powers is the
control of the mysterious GLAIVE – a unique blade-like boomerang with
exceptional abilities. Will Hayden be able to accomplish his futile mission or
die in the process? The outcome is in the hand of the player! Shooter fans, can
expect spectacular boss fights and levels with a large diversity in this
cinematic action blockbuster.
A new patch for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is now automatically
available via Steam to
fix three bugs in Relic's sci-fi RTS sequel. There is a fix for problems with
Population Caps during reinforcement, for a problem that prevented owners of
high-end graphics cards from selecting the Ultra graphics settings, and "a Fatal
Scar error in Mission D (Angel Forge)." They note the fix for the Pop Cap bug is
to be followed by a more complete fix, but the remaining instances of the issue
are "rare and require intended exploitation in order to recreate."
Steam is now serving up
automatic updates for Empire: Total War, Crerative Assembly's new
real-time strategy game. The update fixes issues with Alt-Tabbing, text
rendering in certain resolutions, localized font overrun issues crashes and
memory leaks, "a variety of multiplayer client lock," and trade nodes. Thanks
Quboid.
Also now on Steam is an
automatic update for Project Aftermath to add 92 unlockable Steam
Achievements to Games Faction's squad-based arcade real-time strategy game.
CCP announces EVE
Online: Apocrypha is now live, the latest free update to their
science-fiction MMORPG, which will be part of the game's return to store shelves
as a boxed retail product. Here are some of the highlights of Apocrypha,
presumably none of them apocryphal: · The sudden appearance of unstable
wormholes in space, making the universe 41% larger and much more dangerous. On
the other side, a first acquaintance awaits to a formidable NPC group that
guards the key to the next level of technology. This unknown, uncharted space
allows for a true sense of exploration for those brave enough to grab hold of
the dynamic new scanning mechanics.
· Strategic Cruisers come with the introduction of ancient technology into
production. These modular ships allow for an extravagant level of customization
and versatility.
· The first Epic Mission Arc joins an enhanced new player experience to guide
fledgling pilots toward the opportunities space has to offer. This massive
branching set consists of dozens of missions that are guaranteed to forge any
soft-shelled rookie into a battle-hardened veteran.
· Massive sensory improvements for every player: an upgraded sound engine,
brand-new animations for almost every effect in game and beautiful original
assets in wormhole space.
· A newly designed skill queue allows EVE's unique character progression system
to truly shine and Neural Remapping provides an opportunity for players to
refocus their development as they so choose.
· We are releasing our Premium Graphics client for Mac users and introducing
Premium Lite as our new lower-end graphics suite for a more beautiful experience
all around.
· Full Russian language support.
A new patch to Runes of
Magic adds guild castles to this subscription-free MMORPG, a new form of
shared player-owned housing that offers several gameplay benefits. They also
outline how they plan on introducing guild conflict in a future update that will
allow the capture of an opposing castle.
CodeWeavers Outlook for 2009 outlines plans for CrossOver Games, the
software that can play Windows games under Linux and MacOS. Part of the update
indicates they plan on bringing DirectX 10 support in a future update: "We're
really pushing Direct X 9 support pretty far along, and getting ready to move on
Direct X 10." Thanks Mike Martinez and
Slashdot.
Activision CEO confident in tough economy is a conversation with
Activision's Bobby Kotick about weathering the current economic storm and future
plans. He mentions their plans to launch three franchises this year
(Singularity, Prototype, and a still-to-be named racing game), talks about doing
a better job at creating original content for the Wii, and expresses optimism in
the game business continuing to offer good values to cash-strapped customers.
The article also outlines what he envisions doing and not doing with
Activision's huge cash stockpile: Armed with a $3 billion cash pile,
Kotick said Activision plans share buybacks along with select acquisitions of
intellectual property and development talent. Although the company he leads was
formed through the merger of Activision with Blizzard, the former games unit of
France's Vivendi SA, Kotick was skeptical of any further large-scale
consolidation in the gaming sector, even though valuations have been hammered in
the economic downturn.
Activision and Jolt Online Gaming sent out their first newsletter for
Legends of Zork looking to expand
their beta group and promising that more details about the game will be released
in the next few days (thanks Kxmode). One thing they want to clarify right now
is that the game will not be an MMORPG, as has been speculated: Now, a
word about LoZ (as we affectionately call it). I've been reading a lot of
speculation about what kind of a game this will be and I really want to set
expectations correctly. LoZ is a casual adventure game. We've designed it to be
the kind of game that sneaks into your soul and steals about 20mins of your time
each day. It's not an MMO (collective sigh of relief, I'd imagine). We genuinely
think it's a worthy addition to the Zork universe but at the same time we know
that some of you won't agree. You'll have the opportunity to try it out very
soon though.
Got Game Entertainment announces
Hinterland: Orc Lords, an updated version of Hinterland, Tilted
Mill's strategic RPG to be released for digital distribution on March 25. Here's
the deal: Developed by Tilted Mill of Massachusetts, “Hinterland: Orc
Lords” finds you charged with taming a wild territory of the king’s realm by
building a prosperous town and conquering all enemy sites in the region. In your
quest, you will encounter the characters and creatures of myth and folklore, and
cunningly utilize resources to expand your village.
But will you tame the wild hinterland as hero or as villain?
“Now, more than ever, we’re all looking for the most value for our dollar, and
‘Hinterland: Orc Lords’ brings it with hours of entertainment, fantasy, and
escape for just 20 bucks,” said Got Game Entertainment President Howard
Horowitz. “Strategize, roleplay, and replay as a Human and then do it again as
an Orc Lord or Shaman.”
“Hinterland: Orc Lords” features:
+ Party-based RPG Action - Variety of characters, weapons, and
strategies. Will you lead the charge with a two-handed strike or stand behind
the armored herder with your bow?
+ Town Building - Choose who will settle in your town. Arm them for
defense, or give them tools for production.
+ Character Development - Command an Orc tribe as Lord or Shaman, or lead
a Human village as Human, Dwarf, Elf, or even Undead Warrior. Develop lowly
farmers into great warriors. Customize your character to help in adventure or
improve village life.
+ Random Fantasy World - New locations with different resources, items,
enemies, and challenges for maximum replay. Orc war camps, dark elf raiding
parties, goblin infested mines, ruined undead cities, and more.
+ Customizable Gameplay - From hardcore game to a world without raiders,
you decide the type of game you play.
The Ryzom Forums
announce a third patch is now available for
Ryzom updating the recently revived "science-fantasy" MMORPG to version
1.4.0.
The patch notes outline the changes, including reworked Silan missions, new
custom text for crafted objects, fixes for map and localized text problems.
1C Company and Battlefront.com announce April 24 as the worldwide release date
for Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943, saying an English language demo of the
World War II tactics sequel is due shortly: MOSCOW - March 10, 2009 -
Leading Eastern and Central European publisher 1C Company and Battlefront.com
are excited to announce the official release date for the upcoming tactical
World War II title Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943. The game will be available
worldwide on April 24 2009, in a simultaneous release by 1C Company in Eastern
and Central Europe and by
www.battlefront.com for the rest of the world.
The game will cost $45.00 USD and will be available both as digital download and
physical copy (DVD with printed manual). Pre-orders will be opened later this
month. An English-language demo with an original mission (different from the
Russian language demo) will be released shortly as well.
Theatre of War was considered to be the most realistic simulation of battle ever
played on a PC. The sequel, Theatre of War 2 , covers the events of 1943 during
the operations in Tunisia. Recovered from losses after their defeat at
Al-Alamein, Germany's Afrika Korps, supported by an Italian military contingent
and new powerful weapons, marched against the Allies. The German troops were
commanded by General Rommel and had the chance for a quick victory. However,
their military operations were severely prolonged, and the plans of the German
general were about to fail. Players will have the option to lead the German
Afrika Korps of Rommel in their last full-scale attack or be at the head of the
opposing English and American armies, led by Montgomery and Eisenhower, during
15 missions in three campaigns.
The game presents more than 40 types of different vehicles, new types of units,
improved graphics and sound, a new advanced visual system that considers
observation angle and smoke screens, fights inside buildings and hand-to-hand
fighting, a brand new interface, improved soldiers' AI, soldiers' independent
search for cover and an improved infantry damage system. Special attention is
being devoted to multiplayer and user created missions.
EA announces open beta testing of BattleForge, their RTS game based on
virtual collector's cards that will go live later this month on March 24. You
can sign up for the beta on the
BattleForge Website,
and here's word on the open beta: The open beta players will have access
to all 200 BattleForge cards and all maps in the game. Everyone who takes part
in the beta will get the bonus, upgraded Firedancer unit that will be available
after launch. Players who pre-order BattleForge from participating retailers
will receive four, exclusive units, one from each faction to jump start their
decks.
BattleForge combines fast-paced strategy with a digital trading card mechanic in
a dynamic online environment. Players use virtual trading cards to build custom
armies and lay waste to their foes. Combining the strategic, real-time gameplay
of classics such as Command & ConquerTM with a fully enabled, online collectible
community, BattleForge is a breath of fresh air in the strategy genre. With an
all-new style of play that is more accessible for casual gamers, BattleForge
also offers a rich, deep gameplay experience that veteran RTS players seek. The
collectable cards are the tools of war -- each representing a spell, building or
unit that is conjured directly onto the battlefield in stunning 3D graphics.
BattleForge features single-player scenarios and cooperative scenarios for 2 to
12 players, as well as Player vs. Player (PvP) ranked and unranked duels. With
co-op play, guilds, chat rooms, and a robust marketplace featuring direct trade,
an auction hall, and in-game mail, BattleForge is the first RTS to combine the
social and community aspects of an MMO with an exciting RTS. Let the battles
begin!
The promised patch for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is now available,
updating the real-time strategy sequel to version 1.08. Word is: "This patch for
Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 adds support for predefined teams in 2v2
automatch, fixes several exploits and bugs, improves balance (inspired by
community feedback), provides assorted user interface enhancements, and more.
More further information on Patch 1.08 and to report any issues, please
comment on our forums here." This update is automatically available, and
there are manual patches on
Red Alert Universe. The English patch is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's
Hell, and The
Patches Scrolls.
New patches are now available for World in Conflict to update the various
localized editions of Massive Entertainment's RTS game to version 1.010, paving
the way for the launch of the Soviet Assault expansion. There is some
scheduled downtime on MassGate for the update, and here's word on the new
release: "This tenth update for 'World in Conflict' makes the original version
compatible for multiplayer games with the upcoming March release of 'World in
Conflict Complete' and 'Soviet Assault'. It also includes several new features
and bug fixes. The missing maps issue preventing players from joining certain
servers has been addressed, a new difficulty level has been added for bots,
helicopters can now fire at targets directly beneath them, single-player
missions have been balanced and tweaked in several ways, admin spectators can
now chat to both teams and much more." There are complete
Update Notes on the
MassGate Website. The new version can be acquired automatically, and the
manual US patch is available on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
Fileplay, Gamer's
Hell, and
The Patches Scrolls. The UK patch is on
AtomicGamer,
Fileplay,
Gamer's Hell,
Fileplay, and
The Patches
Scrolls. The French
patch is on AtomicGamer,
Fileplay, and
The Patches
Scrolls; the
German patch is on
AtomicGamer,
Fileplay, and
The Patches
Scrolls; and the remaining language patches can be found on
Fileplay and
The Patches
Scrolls.
THQ Announces
development of Up: The Video Game, a
tie-in with the upcoming animated film from DisneyPixar. The game is due this
spring for Games for Windows, MacOS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2,
Wii, DS, and PSP, but a playable Windows demo is already available. Word is:
"The Up video game will take players on an exotic adventure with Carl
Fredricksen and his young sidekick, Wilderness Explorer Russell, as they set off
on a wild journey through the undiscovered jungles of South America. Players
will be able to experience all four main characters from the movie -- Carl,
Russell, Dug the lovable dog or Kevin the prehistoric bird -- while playing as a
single-player or with a friend cooperatively throughout the entire game. Players
will encounter exciting, new environments as they navigate through treacherous
jungle terrains, battle dangerous creatures and trek the slippery slopes of the
Amazonian Tepuis. In addition, the game also features multi-player game modes,
including an epic level that will allow up to four players to compete in aerial
combat." Thanks Gamer's Hell.
A thread on
Cheap Ass
Gamer has a listing of a bunch of bargains on
Newegg where they have many PC titles for under $10.00. including
Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars for $7.99. Thanks Ant.
Capcom and PC
gaming on VideoGamer.com is a Q&A with Capcom's Christian Svensson focusing
on the Japanese developer/publisher's efforts at expanding their presence in
the world of PC gaming. They discuss the challenges this entails, their history
of PC games trailing their console counterparts, their laudable track record at
quality PC ports, piracy concerns, and more. When asked about Capcom's view of
the health of the PC market, he indicates they are taking emerging territories
into account: We view the PC gaming market as a growth platform. To be
fair, we don't have it 100 per cent right either right now in terms of content,
in terms of presentation, in terms of how we're going to reach our audience on
the PC. Some of this is still a learning process for us. The PC for us as a
growth platform, that growth comes in a number of areas. I'll use international
and emerging markets as a key one. There are plenty of territories around the
world where our content will never be viable as a console product within those
territories. It will only be viable as a PC product. There are emerging markets
that are fantastic markets, or within a few years will be even better markets.
Russia and Brazil are prime examples. Our content should be there, our brand
should be there and there is no reason why we shouldn't be building an audience
in those territories.
Curving Bullets With
Wanted- Weapons of Fate's Nick Torchia on GameZone chats about Wanted:
Weapons of Fate, the third-person action game based on Wanted, last year's
bullet-curving action movie. They discuss Nick's role as producer on the
project, what makes a good licensed property, recreating some of the movie's
cool effects, "assassin time," acrobatics, stealth, the cover system, and more.
Gearbox Software sends along one of their semi-regular notices of employment
opportunities at the Dallas, TX-based developer. They say: "Gearbox Software is
looking for the best of the best to join us! Our generous compensation/ benefits
package and fun/creative work environment make for a FANTASTIC opportunity in
Dallas, TX. We’re looking for an incredible Art Director and top-notch
Multiplayer Gameplay Programmers. If you want to work with some of the most
creative minds in the industry, check out the jobs information on our website at
www.gearboxsoftware.com. And be
sure and send your resume/portfolio to
gamejobs@gearboxsoftware.com."
Ten Ton Hammer - Flaccid
Launches Hurt F2P Performance.
"If Mike Tinney, North American President for CCP, is right when he says
retention is a bigger factor than big numbers in the success of MMOGs, then
F2P games have got to change their focus from cycling players through a
network full of games to a focus on keeping players in a single game. As I
have noted before, this means making betas be about fixing bugs, finding
different ways to market, and making launch day noticeably different from
beta. If retail boxes aren’t the answer, then television commercials and
print ads will have to fill in the gaps."
MrsBlue seems to have survived her dental ordeal, though it took a bit longer
than expected, leaving me with some free time to explore the minimally
interesting town where the Endodontist is located. There was a crappy little
mom-and-pop games store there that was interesting to peruse, partially because
some of its offerings seemed like museum pieces. As I was getting set to leave I
pointed out to the guy that it might be time to pull the copies of Tabula Rasa
he had for sale, since the game is offline. The grunt he replied with was vague
enough that I clarified that he might end up with an irate customer if they
bought a worthless game from him, and this time his grunt was less equivocal: I
should mind my own business. You're welcome creepo - I hope a GameStop moves in
right across the street from your dump.
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