Archived News:
Impulse is now offering
digital distribution of Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, offering North
American customers first crack at the standalone World War II RTS expansion
that's scheduled for release tomorrow. Update: The expansion is now also
available on Steam. The
add-on is currently on sale for $2.00 off the $29.99 price. Word is:
"Users can purchase, download, and keep up their copy of Tales of Valor up to
date using the Impulse client and install it on multiple machines without hassle
thanks to its use of the new Impulse Game Object Obfuscation technology (Goo)
that associates a game with a person rather than a machine." Here's a bit on
Tales of Valor, which does not require the original game to play: "Tales of
Valor contains three campaigns based on historical events from World War II.
There are a great many stories to be told from the war, and these campaigns each
tell a unique and intimate tale that is translated into gripping tactical
combat."
TimeGate Studios has another lawsuit brewing over Section 8, about a year
after forcing ABC to rename a TV series from using the name of
their upcoming first-person shooter. Now Paramount Digital Entertainment and
Paramount Pictures are the target of their legal ire, as
TeamXbox reports that TimeGate is suing to protect the name again, while
alleging that some underhanded dealings were involved (thanks
Joystiq): In the lawsuit, TimeGate reveals both companies had meetings
regarding "potential business ventures" and to discuss TimeGate’s Section 8™
game. After a couple of meetings and showcase demos of the game, TimeGate
received a voicemail from the assistant of Paramount’s Vice President of
Interactive Development stating that a meeting for later that day was canceled
without explanation and with no follow-up communication thereafter.
TimeGate explains that three days after Paramount’s executives canceled their
meeting to see and play TimeGate’s Section 8, Paramount Digital Entertainment
announced via a press release that it had partnered with a foreign entity for
its latest project—Section 8. TimeGate found out that Paramount plans to release
an interactive web series called Section 8 in which the audience engages
specific characters and participates in plot development.
TimeGate alleges that "essentially, Paramount’s Section 8 is nothing more than
an interactive game."
Reakktor Media announces the launch of the
Black Prophecy Community Forums
as well as the first gameplay trailer from Black Prophecy, their upcoming
space/action MMOG, saying: "The trailer provides a first look at parts of Black
Prophecy’s game-play like the user interface, the mission system and the modular
ship design." The trailer is posted on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
MyGameTrailers.
Sony's Station Marketplace
now offers items for purchase to allow players to change the name, gender,
and/or appearance of their toons in EverQuest II. In case you were
worried that Sony doesn't appreciate the implications of allowing players to
cast off identities that may have negative associations, the bundle of the name
change potion and gender/appearance change potion together is named the
"Norrathian Witness Protection Pack." Thanks
IncGamers.
Maxis' Lucy Bradshaw on Will Wright's Stupid Fun Club and the Future of Spore on
GameDaily is a Q&A with the GM at Maxis about Will Wright's new
venture with EA. As for Spore, she sees it living on: "One of the
things Maxis has is a wealth of very strong creative individuals. They
collaborated with Will on his vision for Spore through its fruition to becoming
a product. It is a very interesting platform to continue to evolve."
Happy Passover to all who are celebrating, as tonight is the first night of
Pesach. This has me off to a Seder with my step-family, hence the early update.
New patches are now available to update Company of Heroes and the
Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor expansions for Relic's World War
II RTS game to version 2.500 and 2.501, adding a number of changes and fixes,
including multiplayer support (the Tales of Valor expansion is actually not
expected in stores until tomorrow).
These patch notes outline all the changes, while
this page has links to download the various localized patches via bit
torrent. Manual versions of the patches are also starting to show up, mirrors of
some or all of the localized patches can be found on
AtomicGamer and
The Patches
Scrolls.
The ATI Drivers &
Tools Page now offers new version 9.4 Catalyst reference drivers for ATI
accelerators, though the headline still refers to version 9.3. The new drivers
include a new ATI Overdrive auto-tune application "to estimate the over-clocked
engine and memory values for ATI Overdrive supported ATI Radeon accelerators,"
clear up a flickering issue in World of Warcraft, fix an artifact problem on
Age of Conan DX10, and more. New Linux drivers are promised "soon."
GameDaily reports that Will Wright is parting ways with Electronic Arts, and
the designer of The Sims and Spore will now concentrate on running
Stupid Fun Club. The
association with EA is still there, however, as not coincidentally,
this press release announces EA is making an equity investment to partner
with Wright in the Stupid Fun Club. Word is: EA and Will each own equal
percentages of Stupid Fun Club and are the principal shareholders. In addition,
EA has the right to develop game concepts that spring from Stupid Fun Club
projects. Will Wright is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
"The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary
change," said Will Wright. "Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that
are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a
variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I've had the pleasure to work
alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the
industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future."
"We believe in Will's vision for Stupid Fun Club and we're looking forward to
partnering with Will and his team long into the future," said John Riccitiello,
EA's Chief Executive Officer. "Will is a great designer and he's been part of a
great legacy of globally recognized game franchises like The Sims, SimCity and
Spore. The teams that have been leading those franchises in recent years have a
lot of exciting content coming."
BioWare announces they are seeking beta testers for the toolset for Dragon
Age: Origins, the SDK that will allow user-created content in their upcoming
MMORPG. Registered members of their community can sign-up for the beta
through this page, and
here are the details: BioWare, makers of the highly anticipated video game
Dragon Age: Origins, has created a powerful toolset that will allow gamers to
easily create their own Dragon Age: Origins levels and adventure modules to
share online with the world. Applications are now being accepted for this rare
opportunity to test the Dragon Age toolset and help BioWare fine tune it before
its release later this year.
To select beta testers, BioWare is seeking a wide range of computer systems,
testing experience and technical expertise. It doesn’t matter if a gamer has
never used a toolset before – BioWare is looking for testers with different
levels of experience, as well as fans who are simply curious about building
their own adventures for the first time.
A post to the Dawn Of War
2 Community Website from last week outlines plans to patch Relic's sci-fi
RTS game going forward (thanks Akkinokage). Here's word on fixes, balance
tweaks, and a new multiplayer map: Many of you have been awaiting
information on upcoming patches and changes to the game, and we have some to
share with you today.
We have a small code patch that is currently undergoing the certification
process, which we hope to have finalized in the near future. Since there’s
always a chance that something can go wrong during the certification, we’re
unable to give an exact release date, but as soon as that date firms up, we’ll
let you know.
Code changes to look forward to in the next patch include:
-A final code-based fix to the Population Cap issue.
This will also resolve the problems with Space Marine upkeep costs.
-A change to retroactively grant achievements to those
people who rightfully earned them in the Single Player Campaign, which also
prevents this from occurring to new players.
-We’ve made some adjustments to the matchmaking system
to provide better quality matches based on TrueSkill™ Rankings.
-Squashed a bug that was allowing players to instantly
win in Ranked matches after modding local files.
In addition to the code changes, we’re hoping to include some balance changes at
the same time. Issues addressed include:
-Several changes to how energy shields work, making
them less overpowered.
-A melee damage debuff added to Tactical Marines when
they use “And They Shall Know No Fear”.
-Tactical Sergeant’s melee attack is less potent.
-Reduction of Warrior Adrenal Gland vehicle damage.
-Spore mines won’t be able to enter Ravener tunnels or
Webway gates.
-Warp Spiders will do more damage.
-The build cost for the Carnifex increased.
Last but not least, we’re releasing a new 3v3 map, (6p) Tiber Outpost, for both
ranked and custom matches!
The above isn’t an all-inclusive list, it’s still subject to change, and it’s
certainly not the last time we’ll be doing balance changes.
Beyond this, we have another, larger patch in the certification pipeline that
addresses even more issues, but is still several weeks out. Once again, as
details firm up, we’ll let you know.
The GTR Evolution Website now offers
a new patch to update SimBin's racing game to version 1.2.0.1, while the
RACE Website has the corresponding patch
for RACE 07 to update the official WTCC Game to version 1.2.0.1. These
patches do not apply to the editions of each game released through Steam. The
GTR Evolution patch is mirrored on
The Patches
Scrolls and the RACE 07 patch is mirrored on
The Patches Scrolls.
The
ARMA II Website has word that some new vehicle details have been
declassified for ARMA II, Bohemia Interactive Studios' upcoming military
shooter sequel. The new info can be found on
the ARMA II Vehicles page,
where over 50 vehicles are profiled. Word is: "Vehicles in ArmA 2 come in
unsurpassed numbers and variety: civilian cars and boats, military cars and
trucks, wheeled and tracked armored personnel carriers, tanks or aircraft; all
of them created with strict attention to detail. Every vehicle in the game can
be controlled by both players and AI alike and provides features authentic to
each vehicle." Thanks Dodgy Man.
Mezmer Games
announces Stalin vs. Martians will be released digitally worldwide on
April 20th, and if the
quirky
nature of the game is any indication, the 4/20 release will probably occur
at 4:20. Here's word on the project: New York City – April 8th, 2009
Mezmer Games today announced that the arcade RTS game Stalin vs. Martians will
be released world-wide through all major digital games retailers on April 20th.
Stalin vs. Martians is a blazingly fast real-time strategy game developed by an
alliance of three independent studios: Black Wing Foundation, Dreamlore and
N-Game.
The announcement and earlier videos from Stalin vs. Martians has triggered a
huge interest in the game from the public, with hundreds of thousands of views
of the videos on YouTube.
Tom Söderlund, executive producer at Mezmer Games, explains:
“One contributing factor to the success could be the high level of historical
accuracy, that is completely missing from the game.”
Three posts on superannuation
reveal new game-related trademarks, pointing out that Codemasters has registered
BodyCount with the USPTO, once for Electronic game software and the like,
and
again for "Online entertainment, namely, games, music, news and information
relating to games," etc. They also point out Konami has registered
JUKABEAT as a game software trademark and that Apogee has filed a trademark
request for
Balls
of Steel, even though they released their first pinball game using that
title in 1997.
This press release announces Majesco Entertainment's plans for a game tie-in
with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the upcoming fantasy movie
sequel. The game is planned for release on Windows, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS on May
22 to coincide with the debut of the movie. Word is: "In Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian, players assume the role of Ben Stiller's
character, Larry Daley, former night guard of New York's Museum of Natural
History. Larry must rescue Jedediah and his other friends from Akhmenrah's
brother who captured them while stealing a powerful Magic Tablet that can raise
the Army of Horus to take over the world."
WARNING- Far Cry 2 is still a broken game on GamesRadar is an article
discussing the outstanding bugs that still plague the first-person shooter
months after its release. They outline some of the issues with the game, and
offer a painful history of Ubisoft's promises to issue Far Cry 2 patches
that have not yet been fulfilled. They conclude by suggesting review scores,
including their own, should be adjusted downwards based on this situation: "But
something else is fishy here: how come the reviews (including our very own score
of 9) don’t mention any outstanding bugs like those mentioned? To be honest,
we're willing to bet everyone who reviewed the game never experienced the bugs
we mentioned. And to be fair, the bugs don’t occur in every single copy of the
game. But based on these findings we propose a post-launch reduction of the
score across all platforms and all publications."
Activision announces PROTOTYPE will ship in Europe on June 5 and in North
America on June 9, following-up on their previous announcement
that the open-world action game would be released in June. The
PROTOTYPE Website (which
features the kludgiest 5-step age-gate ever contrived) celebrates the news with
some new content, including the first half of the game's cinematic trailer.
Here's the official party line on the game: "PROTOTYPE lets gamers feel the
power of being the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. You are the PROTOTYPE: Alex
Mercer – a genetically mutated man without memory, armed with amazing
shape-shifting abilities, hunting to discover what created you and determined to
make those responsible pay. As Alex, gamers tear through a densely populated
contemporary New York City moving with Parkour-style fluidity, consuming anybody
that gets in their way…assuming their physical form, memories and abilities.
Fueled by a three-way war between Alex, the Blackwatch (military) and a viral
outbreak known as the Infected, players venture into a deep, dark conspiracy 40
years in the making!"
MyCrysis has
word that Crytek has addressed a problem with the auto-patcher for Crysis
Wars that was partially responsible for a diminishing player population in
multiplayer Crysis games. Crytek also grants that attrition may be part of this
equation as well, a situation they hope the free Crysis Wars trial that
kicks off tomorrow and next month's retail release
of Crysis Maximum Edition will change: As a few of you have noticed
recently the numbers in Crysis Wars have seemed to rapidly decrease. After some
investigation of the communities concerns we have ascertained that there was an
issue with the prompting message from Patch 1.3 to 1.4. Unfortunately due to a
mix up, the wrong version was being forwarded.
We've now solved this issue and all people remaining on Patch 1.3 will now be
forwarded to Patch 1.4 and therefore we expect the numbers to pick up somewhat.
We are also aware that this is not the only reason for concern, as some of you
have been quite disappointed by the dropping numbers in Crysis Wars recently. As
we obviously want to make sure you guys, and everyone that plays our games is
able to hop straight in to their favourite server with plenty of others, we're
offering the Spring Trial Period starting tomorrow.
Along with this fix and the trial, Crysis Maximum Edition hits the shelves on
May 5th, which should also be help in revitalizing the numbers. We thank those
of you that have stuck with us for so long for your continued support, and we
want to asure you once again that we're definitely going to be producing some
great stuff in the near future to make sure that playing Crysis Wars, never gets
dull!
Grey Dog Software
announces World of Mixed Martial Arts 2, their sports management sequel,
is now available via digital distribution. A playable demo was
released earlier this month, and here's word on the game: "World of Mixed
Martial Arts 2 is a PC-based management simulator set in the world of Mixed
Martial Arts. You are the match maker! Adam Ryland's, World Of Mixed Martial
Arts 2 allows you to take control of an MMA company and run it the way you want;
amongst other things, you get to decide who to hire, what matches will take
place, and who doesn't make the cut! Can you make it to the top of the
industry?"
VG247 posted a story a couple of days ago with quotes from SCEA about the
possibility that the Grand Turismo series of racing games may be shifting
gears, and heading onto other platforms. They combine this with
previous indications the series may have a PC release in China to work up
hopes that the PC is one of those platforms. The specific provocative quote is
this: "But we look for that franchise to continue on as many platforms as
possible." Thanks Ant and
Digg.
UK paper
Mail Online quotes the father of a soldier killed in Iraq expressing his
feeling that Six Days in Fallujah is "crass," and this
recently revealed game set in the Iraq War should be banned, "if
not worldwide then certainly in the UK." They go on to quote him saying: "These
horrific events should be confined to the annuls of history, not trivialised and
rendered for thrill-seekers to play out, over and over again, for ever more.
It's entirely possible that Muslim families will buy the game, and for them it
may prove particularly harrowing. Even worse, it could end up in the hands of a
fanatical young Muslim and incite him to consider some form of retaliation or
retribution. He could use it to get worked up and want to really 'finish the
game'." Thanks
GamesIndustry.biz.
MCV
has word that Konami has officially announced Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, not
that there was much doubt that they would kick off a new installment in the
sports simulation series. The new version of the European Football game is
expected for Windows, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, and mobile phones this fall, and
here's a bit on what to expect: The publisher claims to have listened to
feedback from both core and casual gamers as it looks to take its series
forwards, and claims the result is “the most challenging, realistic and
satisfying PES to date”. It also expanded the PES development team.
Gameplay wise, zonal defending enhancements will force players to constantly
work harder to find space, whilst the AI and abilities of both keepers and
referees has been reworked. In fact, Konami claims the series has now returned
to its simulation roots, with midfield and defenders working more closely
together.
The
Doomworld Forums have an interesting follow-up to the fact that DOOM 3
made use of a "zfail" method of rendering shadows that is patented
by Creative Labs (thanks Ant). Recalling this, they asked id's John Carmack
how this might impact plans to release the DOOM 3 source code under the GPL at a
future date. Sure enough, this situation could potentially result in patent
infringement: When we release the code (no date set), anyone that uses it
would potentially be infringing. There are workarounds at a modest performance
cost.
Games On Net chats with Blizzard's Tom Chilton is an interview with the
World of Warcraft lead designer about the upcoming version 3.1 content patch
for Blizzard's MMORPG. The conversation goes into a great deal of detail about
new high-level content and new PvP play.
Gamasutra - Kicking The Dog At The Game Critics' Rant.
"But a dearth of cultural maturity -- and the social maturity that tends
to go with that -- is a long, long way away from a lack of manhood. Okay,
many game developers may be culturally unsophisticated, but challenging
their human adulthood and masculinity is a really low blow. And blaming
men's fabled "fear of intimacy" for just about everything is a chestnut as
old as, well, Lord of the Rings."
Gameplayer - Gaming Flips the Power on Film.
"Dante’s Inferno is the catalyst of this subtle, yet powerful tremor that
is rippling through the games industry and whose aftershocks are set to be
felt well into the future. It is flipping the relationship we have seen
between film and games on its head. Our eyebrows were first raised in
November of last year when it was revealed that four major motion picture
companies were in a bidding war for the rights to a video game that had yet
to be properly announced. Rights eventually won by Universal Pictures."
So we have this package of trail-mix from BJ's that says it contains pistachio
nuts, which have been in the news lately due to a product recall. We were
planning on tossing them out, as the warnings on this were general enough that
it didn't seem worth playing with. Then we got a letter from BJ's telling us
that throwing the mix out was indeed warranted, and they would send us a refund
if we called them about it. Normally I tend to look at the downsides of so many
places tracking our buying habits through various means, and this is the first
time it occurred to me (me being slow and all) that there could be benefits to
this as well.
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