Archived News:
Deeko News has details
purportedly from the cover story of the new issue of
Game Informer Magazine, which has a cover story on Max Payne 3
(thanks
GamesBrasil). The cover shows a slightly pot-bellied Max, now bald and
bearded, and according to the article on the magazine story he is also addicted
to painkillers. They say the game is set in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will feature
a new cover system, day/night cycles, and online multiplayer support. None of
this is confirmed yet, but it does fit with the concepts in the game's
announcement, which says: "Since leaving the NYPD and New York
itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way
from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using
his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out."
Impulse now offers preorders of Sword of the Stars: Argos Naval Yard,
the expansion for Sword of the Stars slated for release one week from today.
Word is: "Sword of the Stars: Argos Naval Yard adds 3 new scenarios, 10 new
weapons, over 75 new technologies and more. This expansion requires either Sword
of the Stars: A Murder of Crows, or Sword of the Stars Ultimate Collection
installed to play."
New patches are now available for X3: Terran Conflict to update EGOSOFT's
space combat sequel to version 2.01. There is a patch for version 2.0a that's
found on AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches Scrolls.
There's also a patch to update version 1.0.1 that's available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and The Patches Scrolls.
Finally, the Steam
edition of the game will update to the new version the next time you login to
Steam.
In addition to the X3: Terran Conflict patch mentioned above,
Steam also now offers
automatic updates with the Company of Heroes patch from
earlier today, as well as a new version of the
Steam client.
A new patch is now available for Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond The
Sword, updating the turn-based strategy expansion to version 3.19. A large
number of tweaks and fixes are in the patch, which can be found on
this page
along with the release notes. A mirror is available on
AtomicGamer. Update: The automatic
Steam edition of the
patch is now available.
Why
Dungeons & Dragons Online Went Free-To-Play on Gamasutra interviews Turbine
director of communications Adam Mersky about the just-announced
plan to offer Dungeons & Dragons Online with no subscription fees in
North America. Adam offers reassurances that while they will sell items via
microtransactions, no one will be able to "buy their way to the level cap,"
saying, "All the best loot is still in the game, and the hardcore can play their
way from level one to 20 totally free." He also explains that this is not to be
taken as an indication the game was failing with a subscription model, but that
with DDO "definitely a niche game," it offered them an opportunity to
experiment with new business models. Adam is also one of the folks participating
in a DDO Unlimited Interview
with Turbine Developers on Ten Ton Hammer that also rounds up Fernando Paiz
and Kate Paiz to discuss the new business model.
Crystal Dynamics studio has laid off an additional 25 positions, Eidos
Interactive has confirmed to
GamesIndustry.biz, following about 30 layoffs at the Tomb Raider
developer earlier this year. According to Eidos: "This decision is
a reflection of the continued drive to focus resources at the studio. We would
like to thank all of the employees affected by this difficult decision for their
hard work during their time at Crystal and we wish them all the best in the
future."
GOG.com is offering a
25% off sale on the catalog of strategy games on this DRM-free digital
marketplace. This makes their $9.99 titles just $7.49 and their $5.99 titles
just $4.49 for the duration of the sale, which ends next Monday.
A new video on the YouTube
shows off gameplay from Legio, an upcoming turn-based strategy game from
Mezmer Games. Word is: "The new gameplay movie showcases one of the main
characters of Legio, the King, lurking around at night until he runs into an
opponent slightly out of his own league, the Giant. The movie also displays the
prominent gameplay elements of Legio. Each game starts with players setting up
the game board and placing their battle units in position. In the actual battle,
you can see how the different units move around, attack, and eventually die -
all of it being performed differently by different characters. The movie clip
also shows the timing element when attacking an enemy."
The Company of Heroes Patch Page now
offers the promised new version 2.600 patch for Company of
Heroes: Tales of Valor.
The patch notes were previously released outlining what's new
and different, including a new map. The English patch is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
The Patches Scrolls, and some or all of the patches for various other
languages are mirrored on
AtomicGamer
and
The Patches Scrolls.
G4TV.com reports that development of Battlefield 3 was confirmed
today during a presentation at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference by
Electronic Arts chief operating office John Pleasants. "I've had the luxury of
looking at Battlefield 3 over at DICE in Sweden and was highly impressed by the
way the team is working on that product," they quote him as saying. "Of course,
that's not [coming out] in the fiscal year, but that is a product that is
looking very good."
A playable demo for All Aspect Warfare is now available, offering a
sample of 3000AD's science-fiction combat game, and as noted in
this All Aspect
Warfare developer blog update, both
All Aspect Warfare and
Angle Of Attack (which
turns out to be the A.A.W. aerial combat spin off mentioned a couple
of months ago) will likely go gold this week. The update goes on to
describe the complications involved in releasing both games following the
collapse of their Xbox 360 publishing deal that leaves the retail release of
A.A.W. in jeopardy and may delay the games, even via digital
distribution, depending on preorders and other factors. There is also the
possibility of an XBLA deal for Angle Of Attack that means there will be
no demo for this aerial combat game . The 291 MB All Aspect Warfare demo is available
on AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro, and
Gamer's Hell.
This press release from
Black Inc. announces Fireburst, an action-oriented off-road racing
game planned for release by the end of this year for Windows, Xbox 360, and
PlayStation 3. Here's a bit: Fireburst sends players into a fiery,
four-wheeled adrenalin frenzy. Behind the wheel of numerous different racers,
drivers get to speed along paved race courses or wicked off-road tracks, showing
no respect for their rivals. Thanks to a novel boost system, opponents are kept
at a distance in spectacular ways in various single and multiplayer modes. The
element of fire prominently features in all special maneuvers. It is possible,
for example, to coat your own vehicle in protective flames, or make a rival's
car explode with a burst of fire.
Fireburst also offers brilliant graphics: In order to bring glorious effects and
breathtaking landscapes to the screen, exDream's developers base their graphics
on Unreal Engine 3. Many dynamic objects and impressive light effects on
vehicles and tracks make for fantastic top-level, high-speed racing
action.
The
Company of Heroes Website has word that the version 2.600 patch for
Relic's World War II real-time strategy game should be released today. They say
they will update the servers around 9:00 PST, which we're presuming is 9:00 am
PDT, or noon eastern time. On a semi-related note,
they
also warn against falling for attempts they've seen to steal CD keys from
CoH players.
GamesIndustry.biz follows up on yesterday's news of plans to
offer Dungeons & Dragons Online as a
subscription-free game, saying this plan does not apply to players in European
territories, at least for the time being: "To clarify, for the time being, DDO
Europe will not be assuming this new business model and the European DDO game
service will remain a monthly subscription-based game with all new content
created available to all subscribers, as has been the model up until now," is
their quote from Codemasters, who hedge a bit more: "As the beta progresses we
will release more information regarding the future plans for EU players."
The Dante's Inferno Website
kicks off a series of updates slated for the ninth of each month in a reference
to the nine circles in Dante's vision of hell. There's a
video
interview with Jonathan Knight conducted at the end of E3 where the
executive producer on the game offers his perspective on the show and how
demonstrating the game to the masses turned out. They also have a new
Official Blog where Visceral Games lead designer has an entry called "hell
is a real place," which isn't a joke about E3. Finally, there's a new
developer diary movie about that describes the Limbo area in the game. The
diary pops up a password request, but this error can be bypassed by using your
elite hax0r skills to click on the "x" a few times to close it.
GamersGate announces 1C Week,
offering a 25% to 75% discount on 1C-Company titles through Sunday, June 14.
Deals include 4x4 Hummer and 7.62- High Calibre for 75% off,
Fantasy Wars and King’s Bounty: The Legend for 50% off, Men of War
and Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason for 60% off.
A new
German-language Democracy 2 Page has details on the release of a
German-language edition of Positech's politics simulation. The turn-based
strategy game is available via digital distribution, and there's also a
corresponding German demo to try before you buy.
Gamasutra - What Are The Rewards Of 'Free-To-Play' MMOs?
"Free-to-play is all about upping your ROI," he explains. "All the costs
of boxes and distribution that are associated with a subscription model go
away. The cost of development is significantly lower. Even your marketing
budget changes radically; our product's reputation will spread primarily via
word of mouth. And because it lowers the barrier to entry for people to come
in and try things, it gives you a huge shot at acquiring large numbers of
customers."
I dragged a few items out of the garage (actually a storage building, as it is
not actually accessible by car) over the weekend to deal with some clutter.
Included was a broken outdoor light to discard and a bird feeder that needed
hanging. Since we couldn't figure out a good place to hang the feeder, I decided
to turn the broken lamp into a feeder hanger. It turned out very well, and we've
already seen some activity there, the cardinals in particular seem to like it.
I've always wondered why bird-feeder owners like my dad engage in wars on
squirrels, so now I'll find out if I was right about not minding feeding our
four-legged friends as well as the birds.
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