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Archived News:
Interplay
and Masthead Studios to Jointly Develop Massively Multiplayer Online Game
announces development details about Project: V13, the MMOG widely
understood to be Fallout Online, the MMORPG that Interplay retains rights
to create, provided it meets certain standards. Word is: BEVERLY HILLS,
Calif., April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC
Bulletin Board: IPLY - News) announced today that the company has signed a
binding letter of intent with Masthead Studios to fund the development of a
Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG), code named "Project: V13."
The game has been in design and development at Interplay since November 2007.
Masthead and Interplay teams will work together under the direction and control
of Interplay to complete development of the project.
As a part of the agreement, the game will utilize Masthead's proprietary tools
and MMOG technology developed for Masthead's "Earthrise" project.
Commenting on the announcement, Interplay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Herve Caen said, "We are looking forward to turning the vision of our game
designers into a compelling online gaming experience. The planning and design
completed for Project: V13 thus far, combined with Masthead's resources, tools,
and growing team of dedicated MMOG developers, will bring this unique game to
reality."
Masthead Studios President Atanas Atanasov said, "This arrangement is ideal
because it leverages the technology our professionals have specifically built
for advanced Massively Multiplayer Online Games into what we expect will be a
groundbreaking Interplay gaming title."
Variety.com has a confirmation that Konami has picked up rights to create a
Saw game in conjunction with the release the next movie in the horror
series. The game was in flux following the demise of publisher
Brash, but they have some screenshots, and word that the game will be
released for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. In case you are worried this might be some
game unrelated to the nature of the gory series, word is not only will it be
based on the trademark torture traps of the series: "Some traps will even be a
direct translation from the movies, particularly the iconic ones fans love."
NVIDIA now offers new WHQL-certified version 182.50 drivers for GeForce 6, 7, 8,
9, and 200-series desktop GPUs. There are new drivers for
Windows XP,
Windows XP Media Center Edition,
Windows
Vista 32-bit,
Windows XP x64,
Server 2003 x64, and
Windows
Vista 64-bit.
The
Battlefield Heroes Website offers
this form to add an alternate email address to your beta application, as
they attempt to get invites out to everyone, but are suffering from some bounced
emails.
The Team Fortress 2 Blog
has real details on the next Team Fortress 2 update, which will indeed
update the Sniper class in Valve's teamplay shooter, as indicated in
yesterday's April Fools'
update. Word is: It's been a couple of weeks since we posted, so we
thought it'd be good to do some housekeeping. The next class pack will focus on
the Sniper. It's actually shaping up to be the largest TF2 update yet, with
multiple new maps and a bunch of gameplay tweaks. In addition, we've got another
update in the works that should be done before the Sniper, and that one will
include some new content for all classes.
The XBox 360 update is still being worked on. If you're wondering what's taking
so long, since the content is "done" on the PC already, it's mostly been around
fitting it all onto the XBox. The original version of TF2 in the Orange Box was
very close to the XBox's memory limit, and all the additional TF2 content we've
produced has pushed well beyond it. We've found a couple of nifty ways to get
back a bunch of that memory, but it's turned out to be a lot of work, and that's
what most of our time is being spent on. In the meantime, we're going to get a
code update out to address the server cheating that's going on.
Like many other folks online, the TF2 team has been loving the Top 10 TF2 Plays
of the Week videos that Push Gaming has been doing. If you haven't seen them
yet, you can catch week 1,
and week 2.
We're hoping for a third one soon, but we can't really complain. If we were
doing them ourselves, you'd probably see the third one sometime next year. While
waiting though, you can check out the exploits of some of the Sniper's
countrymen in the second frag video of Aussie clan
Mad Dogz.
Soldak Entertainment
is serving up new demos for Kivi's Underworld, imbuing the Windows and
Mac samples of their action/RPG with the same changes as in the new
patches for the full game. The Windows demo is also available on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell, while the
Mac demo is also available from
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
A Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs Website is live for what turns out to be an actual movie tie-in
game, rather than an April Fools' joke. The movie is an animated romp about an
invention that turns water into food, and the game is due on September
15: Join the food fight with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the
videogame based on the upcoming movie. Play as Flint, the wacky inventor who
creates a machine that causes food to rain from the sky! When the machine
spirals out of control, it's up to you to save the town with a variety of
outrageously fun and wacky gadgets. Hurl hamburgers, sling spaghetti, and join
the most hilarious food fight ever.
Play Flint, hero of the movie, and save the town from the rain of food!
• Use wacky and fun gadgets Flint invented to move,
transform, and destroy giant pieces of food!
• Explore 20 levels and environments from the movie and
beyond, from Jello-Land to Ice Cream Falls!
• Have fun with friends in two-player co-op mode starring
Steve, Flint's sidekick monkey (Wii, Xbox 360, and PLAYSTATION 3 only).
In stores September 15th in Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360. PLAYSTATION 3 system,
PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, and PC. Check back soon - details on all the
wacky gadgets and food you'll play with are yet to come!
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
The
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Website now offers a new patch to bring Ascaron
Entertainment's action/RPG to version 2.40, adding some new features, including
support for NVIDIA's PhysX. Here's a bit more from the page: "Beside this, the
devs also took a close look at the wishes of the community and implemented
several of the most pressing ones. This is why several other new features are
also making it into the game with this patch, like a pause-function for the
singleplayer mode, the ability to control hirelings directly, a polished
achievement system and several improved interface options (e.g. at the
characterview), as well as a new questchain, new bossmonsters and more!"
PC Games Hardware has a write-up on the new PhysX features, and downloads of
some or all of the localized patches are mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
Gamer's Hell, and
The Patches Scrolls.
A new behind-the-scenes movie for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is now
available. The clip offers some footage from the game along with commentary from
a bunch of the developers at Raven about their work on the upcoming game,
describing various gameplay elements and the passion they share for the project
as they strive to make "a movie game that, finally, does not suck!" The clip
can be found on
AtomicGamer and Gamer's
Hell.
Three new Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood movies show off Techland's
upcoming wild-west shooter prequel. There's a NSFW gameplay clip is posted on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell. There's
also an artillery movie on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell. Finally, a
new slo-mo trailer is posted on
Gamer's Hell.
A new movie from GDC that Epic created to show off new features in the Unreal
Engine 3 is now available for general consumption. The clip demonstrating the
Unreal Content Browser, Unreal MCP, and Unreal Lightmass is available from
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
Three new trailers are online to show off more of Wolfenstein, Raven's
upcoming installment in the World War II shooter series. There's a new
"Nazi-Palooza" trailer on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell; a new
"Heavy Trooper" clip on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell; and a "The
Despoiled" movie on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and Gamer's
Hell.
An extended version of the Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer is now
available. Word is: "Join Sefton Hill, Game Director at Rocksteady in this
extended video as he guides you through one of the Challenge Modes from Batman:
Arkham Asylum showing off the Invisible Predator gameplay moves. Learn to propel
yourself into the shadows, take out enemies with pre-planned explosive attacks
and finish them off with a devastating glide kick." You can find the movie on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell.
Online registration is now underway for Game
Developers Conference Europe 2009, scheduled for August 17-19 in Cologne,
Germany. Word is: "Online registration for the 2009 Game Developers Conference®
Europe (GDC Europe) is now open through August 18. GDC Europe will play host to
over 80 lectures, panels, and keynotes from top international speakers—serving
as the country’s premier professional event and addressing the needs and
opportunities for developers and business professional throughout Europe today.
Early registrants to GDC Europe receive additional discounts before the end of
Professional Discount Day, July 29."
Elven Legacy earned a general April release window when the turn-based
wargame was declared gold. Now Paradox Interactive offers more
specific dates for Ino-CO's fantasy-themed game, saying it will be available in
North America on April 7, and in Europe on April 9. Word is: "Elven Legacy sends
players on an epic quest aimed to restore the former glory of the Elven race.
With a thrilling non-linear storyline and tools that allow players to create
their own missions and share them in multiplayer mode, Elven Legacy will provide
hours of exciting gameplay for strategy fans."
Reality Panic, the
personal blog of Jason Della Rocca, has a recreation of a rant he presented at
GDC 2009 with some shots at the games industry as he ends his run
as executive director of the International Game Developers Association (thanks
GamePolitics). This takes the form of an apology, starting with a mea culpa
over not finding a way to overcome
participation
inequality in the organization, and concluding with regrets over not helping
game developers understand their positions better: Sorry for not getting
you to be more serious about the profession of game development. You are no
longer a bunch of hacks. This is a real art and science. We need to be way more
deliberate and control the path the profession takes as it evolves into the
future.
Most of all, sorry for not doing more to help you realize your power! Both,
collectively as a profession to tackle industry issues, and as creators of
culture. You are all having a massive impact on society. You are transforming
the world day-by-day without even realizing it.
Oh well, f* you, it’s not my job anymore!
A new patch for The Settlers 6: Rise of an Empire is now available,
updating the strategy sequel to version 1.7.1. The new version disables
multiplayer cheats and includes unspecified bug fixes. The download can be found
on AtomicGamer and
The Patches Scrolls.
GameSpot has word that
THQ has revealed tentative plans for follow-ups for Red Faction: Guerilla
and Darksiders: Wrath of War. In spite of the fact that this report
appeared late yesterday and neither game is out yet, this is apparently not an
April Fools' joke, as word is: "THQ slipped mention of the games into a single
slide from a February investor's presentation, including them among the titles
set to launch during its fiscal 2012 (which runs April 1, 2011, through March
31, 2012). The games aren't set in stone just yet, as the slide specified that
the release lineup was subject to change."
This press release announces a
free trial for Age Of Conan is now available, offering the chance to sample
Funcom's MMORPG. They outline improvements to the game since its launch,
including new content, enhanced PvP combat, improved siege warfare, enhanced
performance, and more. Word is: "Funcom has also teamed up with Fileplanet and
Ausgamers, and depending on which source you download from you will receive
between seven to fourteen days free play time and a host of special rewards.
Various websites across the world will also be doing exclusive give-aways where
gamers can receive a special key that will unlock rare virtual items in addition
to the free trial play time."
The buzz surrounding the OnLive cloud
gaming service announced at GDC continues.
GamesIndustry.biz quotes Dave Perry about Gaikai, his planned rival service,
saying: "Our solution is arguably better than anything OnLive has - they're
never going to be able to beat us on this." This is an excerpt from an
interview with
Perry on the topic. Meanwhile,
TechRadar UK reports Guy de Beer, CEO of competing cloud gaming company
Playcast, says he believes OnLive is positioning itself for acquisition by a
giant like Microsoft or Google. Finally,
GamesIndustry quotes Crytek's Cevat Yerli saying when they investigated such
a concept in 2005 they found that internet infrastructure would make it
practical sometime between 2013 and 2015.
A new website
for The Saboteur is live to promote Pandemic's World War II action/stealth
game that is due for release over the next 12 months. The site
offers info, screenshots, and community forums. Thanks
Eurogamer.
A new Firefly Studios Website is
live to help keep up with games from this independent developer. They kick
things off with a
Dungeon Hero Update that explains that the demise of GameCock Media has
caused a setback for the upcoming dungeon crawler, saying it is "going to take a
little longer than we first thought." They do say: "Rest assured that Dungeon
Hero lives on and we have a couple of exciting projects built around the Dungeon
Hero universe that we will be talking about soon." That update also mentions
they will be making an announcement soon about the next game in the
Stronghold series.
NVIDIA and AMD announce new GTX 275 and HD 4890 accelerators. There are articles
comparing the two new products on
HEXUS.net,
Legit Reviews, and
PC Games Hardware, and here's word on each card:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275
NVIDIA Extends
Performance Lead With New GeForce GTX 275 GPU announces new GeForce GTX
275 graphics accelerators from NVIDIA, which will be available starting
April 14. The new cards will occupy a price and performance point between
the GTX 260 and GTX 285, as suggested by the naming convention. Word is:
"Based on the GT200 architecture, the GeForce GTX 275 GPU features 240
processor cores operating at 1404 MHz, 80 texture processing units, a
448-bit memory interface, and an 896 MB framebuffer." There are reviews on
Bjorn3d,
Hardware Canucks,
HotHardware,
Ninjalane,
Overclockers Club, and
techPowerUp.
ATI Radeon HD 4890
ATI
Radeon™ HD 4890 Overview has word on AMD's newest graphics accelerators,
though details like pricing and availability are not included. Word is: "The
newest addition to the award-winning ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series boasts a
whopping 1.36 TeraFLOPs of compute power, superior GDDR5 memory, and
super-high engine clock speeds capable of nearly 1GHz." The new cards are
reviewed on
AMDzone, Bjorn3d,
Benchmark Reviews,
Elite Bastards,
Guru3D,
Hardware Canucks,
HotHardware,
InsideHW,
Neoseeker,
Overclock3D.Net,
Overclockers Club, PC
Perspective,
techPowerUp,
techPowerUp (Crossfire),
TweakTown, and
X-bit labs.
Gameplayer - Games & the Global Financial Crisis.
"In games media there has been a swing in power from the editorial to the
advertiser. Media advertising has definitely suffered in the economic
downturn and with game publishers nervous they are thinking harder about
their advertising spend and want more bang for their buck. Even though
unethical, major coverage is expected in return for advertising dollars and
fear of a low review score is almost palpable. Anything less that a 9/10 is
now considered a failure by some publishers – if game critics agree that a
game sucks, sales can suffer, share prices can drop and heads can roll.
Retailers are watching their inventories carefully, reluctant to offer too
much shelf space to games that aren't going to be hits."
Well another April Fools' Day has come and gone. I think there were actually a
greater number of funny ones this year than usual, which is actually not that
hard to accomplish. Thankfully over the years most companies have realized
making real announcements on April 1st is not a great idea, so the fear of
getting fooled seems lesser all the time.
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