Archived News:
Pirates of the
Caribbean: Armada of the Damned Unveiled on IGN is a Q&A with Alex Peters of
Propaganda Games who reveals they are working on Pirates of the Caribbean:
Armada of the Damned, an open-world action/RPG for Windows, PS3, and Xbox
360 for publisher Disney Interactive Studios. The conversation reveals this is a
prequel to the movie series, how there will be both land and sea to explore, and
a few other details about gameplay. No release date is offered, but they have a
piece of artwork and a screenshot we suspect may also be concept art.
Steam News has details on a
new update that's now automatically available for Team Fortress 2,
Valve's teamplay shooter. The new version fixes Ambassador critical hits for
headshots, tweaks the Dead Ringer, makes server log improvements, and fixes a
couple of bugs, including a pee-jar crashing problem (yum!).
Mafia II is delayed until the first half of 2K Games' 2010 fiscal year,
which concludes April 30, 2010, and console western shooter Red Dead Redemption
is delayed until that point as well. The delays are reported in
this Reuters
report along with the company's Q2 2009 results, which were better than
projected, but still show a loss compared with profits in the same period last
year when they released GTA4. The delays are described as necessary by a
spokesperson: "We have a pretty stern policy at Take-Two about serving no wine
before its time."
A
Jumpgate Evolution Development Update on the Codemasters Forum breaks the
news that Jumpgate Evolution is delayed, and NetDevil's MMO space-combat
remake is not going to be released in June as planned, and they are not offering
a revised release date at this point. The update, written by Scott Brown, says
that the game is actually feature-complete, but that friends and family testing
has allowed them to see the game's shortcomings in its current state through
fresh eyes, and they are working on making a more fun experience. Word
is: Based on these results, it is clear that the product needs more time
to meet its objectives. As an example, we have received and read lots of
feedback regarding the instanced and public PvP systems. The feedback has been
vital in helping us polish and improve this core feature of the game. We take a
lot of time in digesting and considering what people say and take feedback
seriously. Given that situation I can tell you that we would rather delay the
release, than let you down by releasing an unfinished product. We will continue
development past June while extending the test schedules and respond to the
results of those tests.
The NovaLogic Website announces Delta
Force Xtreme 2 is now available for online purchase via
Direct2Drive. The boxed version of the military shooter sequel is expected
in North American stores on June 2.
MindFuse Games is now accepting
signups from those interested in beta testing Gatheryn, their upcoming
Victorian-themed MMO adventure game. Word is: "Mindfuse intends to start with a
small number of beta testers, but that number will grow rapidly over the course
of the beta phase, which will extend until the game’s launch later this year."
The
Interview with Krome's Robert Walsh on Develop highlights the increasing
cost of game development: "I think that’s one thing that the press, to a certain
extent, is forgetting. They’re saying sales have increased over ten percent
since last year or whatever; I mean, dev costs have probably doubled or tripled
in the console transition. To go back to the PS2 days, not too many people were
making ten million dollar PS2 games." Thanks
GameBizBlog. On a semi-related note, the results of
The Develop Quality of Life Survey are now online.
The Cult of Rapture
has release dates for BioShock 2, saying the Windows, Xbox 360, and
PlayStation 3 editions of 2K's underwater shooter sequel will hit North American
store shelves on November 3, after being released in all other territories on
October 30.
Epic Games announces that preloads are underway for the Unreal Tournament III
Black Free Weekend on Steam that will begin on Thursday. Unreal Tournament
III Black is how they are referring to UT3 with the addition of the Titan Bonus
pack, and they also point out the multiplayer shooter is further improved since
the previous free weekend with the addition of the
recently released version 2.1 patch. Full details are on the
Steam Website, where they
also point to new Phase
3 results in the Make Something Unreal contest.
Aspyr Media announces that NecroVisioN is now available in North America,
providing the chance to experience this supernatural first-person shooter set
during World War I. The game is already available in Europe, and it is now in
North American stores (free of DRM), and available for digital distribution via
GameAgent.
Word is: "NecroVisioN is the spiritual successor to Painkiller, created by some
of the people from the original developer. NecroVisioN is a first-person shooter
that blends fast action, fun First World War combat and magical weaponry with
zombies and vampires in an occult world. The year is 1916. A young American
joins the British Army in WWI to experience the adventure of his life and soon
realizes that a greater evil is hiding beneath the Great War storm. He has to
face the underground world of vampires, demons, evil genius creatures and even
become a demon himself to rescue humanity from the forces of darkness." On a
related topic,
Games On Net has details on what is changed after the game's
banning in Australia to allow the game to be sold in Australia,
saying some of the game's gore has been toned down (for example blood spurts now
appear as dust clouds).
The
BattleForge Website announces this card-based strategy game is now free
to download, and play, just three weeks after a price reduction on
the game. Booster packs for the game can still be purchased, but word is: "With
Play4Free you can now explore the full world of BattleForge, for free! An army
of 32 units from all factions awaits your command. Lead your forces in single
player scenarios now, or team up with your friends in epic co-op real time
battles."
There's a
New Panzerkrieg Map Feature on the Company of Heroes Website with details on
the promised new map for Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
and a few screenshots offering a look at it. The map is called "Hébécrevon," and
they say: "This map is a derivative of mission eleven of the original Invasion of
Normandy campaign where you battled a number of hidden Panthers. Considering
that this map was originally designed to be a tank and vehicle battle map, we
felt it had great potential to serve as the basis for a Panzerkrieg map. Thus
Panzerkrieg: Hébécrevon was born."
Monte Cristo has released new
Cities XL
Details outlining subscription fees and other details about the persistent
aspects of the upcoming urban planning game. The monthly fees are in Euros: one
month is 7€, three months are 5€/month, and six months are 4.5€/month. Finances
aside, here's a bit on persistent gameplay: Multiplayer gameplay both
in-game and on the web:
• Trade resources with other players to develop economic strategies,
specialise your cities, maximise your possibilities in a global economy
• Work cooperatively to build Mega Structures – special buildings that enhance
your city aesthetically and economically
• Web-based city management -- check your trade contracts, receive alerts,
adjust your decisions from any computer in the world
Persistent MMO world:
• Each player receives five slots to build five persistent cities on different
Planets
• Contribute to the life and statistics of the Planets (economics, population,
pollution…): what you do has an impact on the world
Community features and animations in-game and on the web:
• Visit one another’s cities, see other players’ creations and content, chat
with other players • Create and participate in online events, discover virtual
cities and real people
Paradox Interactive announces the release of
Restaurant Empire II, Enlight's
casual cook-'em-up sequel, which is now available for online purchase from
GamersGate. A
playable demo is promised, but not yet available, but a video on the
YouTube offers a look at
the game's sizzling strategy.
The
City of Heroes Forums have word that a number of badges are being removed from
City of Heroes since the Mission Architect system has been so thoroughly
exploited by players. Giving players the opportunity to create their own
missions seemed like a good idea at the time, but now word is: "What this means
for the Mission Architect badges is that many of them are going to be removed in
Issue 15. This is because they encouraged farming, because they encouraged
aberrant behavior by doing one thing over and over again, they were unobtainable
by a large portion of our players, or earning them was completely out of a
player’s hands and in the hands of other players." Thanks
IncGamers.
GSC On Call Of Pripyat on Rock, Paper, Shotgun is an interview with GSC Game
World's Oleg Yavorsky about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat, the upcoming
continuation of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of shooters. Topics include lessons
learned from the Clear Sky prequel, new areas, changes to the A-Life
system, the new Sleep function, freeplay mode, and more.
From The Past To The Future- Tim Sweeney Talks on Gamasutra is an extensive
interview with the Technical Director and CEO of Epic Games about his background
and his work. Some of the specifics covered include his early days as a hobbyist
programmer, the Origins of ZZT and Epic, his education, his BBS,
Xargon, Jazz Jackrabbit, Jill of the Jungle, shareware
publishing, their entry into the shooter scene, and where the future of computer
and video gaming lies.
Significant Bits - What made those old, 2D platformers so great? Thanks
Mike Martinez.
It’s important to note that the majority of 8-bit and 16-bit games
actually ran at 60 frames-per-second. Sure, many of the animations might’ve
been composed of only 2-3 frames, but the actual motion of the sprites was
very smooth. This not only aided the physics, but also created a very
dynamic sense of movement.
Gamasutra - Ditch The Script -- The Art Of Developer PR.
In this way, the press' first contact with a game is extremely
artificial. Usually, the precise quotes cooked up in a prep session between
the devs showing the game and the marketing team are exactly the ones that
make it into the preview stories. "Successful" marketing campaigns will
maintain this artifice all the way up until the game's launch. At which
point everyone's usually disappointed, of course.
How hot does cast iron get in a charcoal grill? Hot enough to melt through
heavy-duty fireplace gloves is what I learned over the weekend, when I used my
gloved hand to brace a cast iron smoking box as I moved it out of the fire, and
managed to collect a burn in under a second. I stopped cooking my finger
quickly enough that it didn't blister, but it is very painful, so as a
two-finger-typist, I am at half-capacity for the moment.
R.I.P.:
Former Wilco member Jay Bennett dead at 45. Thanks Mike Martinez.
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