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Archived News:
VG247 reports from QuakeCon that John Carmack has confirmed plans to add a
premium subscriber component to QUAKE
LIVE, their completely free (for now) online shooter, though he adds that it will
likely always include a free element. He also tells them that this web-based
version of QUAKE III Arena is not a failure and that it is not in danger.
There's no indication for now of what form a premium service will take.
THQ to publish Blood Bowl in UK has word from THQ that they will be
publishing Blood Bowl in the UK on September 18 for Windows, DS, and PSP, with
the Xbox 360 edition of the fantasy themed tackle football game due later in the
fourth quarter. THQ will be showing the game to consumers next week at
Gamescom.
Mythic Entertainment now offers pre-patch downloads of the version 1.3.1
patch to pave the way for the coming update to Warhammer Online: Age of
Reckoning. Word is: "This pre patcher is for North American and Oceanic clients
only. The GOA team will be launching our European pre patcher early next week."
Thanks
Massively.
Newegg has a sale on PC and console hardware as well as a number of games.
For instance the PC edition of
Prince of Persia is $7.99 and they offer discounts on preorders of
Aion. The deal of the week on
Direct2Drive is 50% off on
World of Goo, and they also offer
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut for $27.95 and
Trine
for 25% off. Meanwhile, Steam
is also offering indie platformer
Trine for 25% off for
the next week, and they also have a new
trailer to show off the
game. On Impulse you can also
pick up The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
Director's Cut for $27.99, and they also have
Hacker Evolution and
Hacker Evolution for $12.49 each
(half off), and Mr. Robot for $9.95.
Finally, all games on casual portal
Addictive 247 Games are $4.95 through August 30.
GOG.com has added
Lords of the
Realm 3 to their DRM-free marketplace, and they also now offer the game
manual and box art for
Earthworm Jim 1+2
and the soundtrack to
Giants: Citizen
Kabuto for anyone who bought or will buy those games from them. Also,
the new game in the subscriber area of subscription gaming service
GameTap is
Dracula: Origin, while the game they've transitioned to their
subscription-free zone is
Just
Cause.
The World
of Warcraft Under Development Page outlines plans for a version 3.2.2
content patch that will feature the return of Onyxia (thanks Mike Martinez and
1Up). Word is:
This permanent update to Onyxia will convert the dungeon into a normal
10-player mode and a Heroic 25-player mode. We will be adding new items to
Onyxia’s loot table that have the same model as some of the classic loot from
this dungeon, like Tier 2 helms, with stats updated to match the current level
of content. There will be a special new item too: a normal drake-sized 310%
speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia herself called an Onyxia Broodling. We
will also be updating the encounter mechanics to be more fitting for modern
raiding, but we can guarantee players will get to experience the frightening
horror of deep breaths once again.
Then for a limited time, after the 5-year anniversary event officially begins in
November, anybody who logs in will receive an Onyxia Brood Whelpling
pet.
NCsoft sends a reminder that the sixth and final closed beta session for Aion
kicks off tomorrow, and will offer a look at content changes. Word is: After
five successful closed beta events, NCsoft is excited to announce that our sixth
and final closed beta event for Aion begins this Friday, August 14th at 21:00
CEST (8 PM BST) and will go thru Monday, August 17.
Closed beta testing will conclude with a series of story driven in-game events
which will hint at the upcoming content changes.? We will be treated to the
story players will find in the 1.5 update called The Shadow of the Balaur. The
events in the game will showcase the transition the world of Atreia and the
players will experience from 1.0 to 1.5. We are retaining the level cap for both
Elyos and Asmodians at 30 in order to allow players to focus on getting to the
same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together.
A new slo-mo deathmatch trailer for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin shows off
the new multiplayer mode coming to consoles on September 3, along
with the Reborn DLC for Monolith's shooter (the DLC has been confirmed for
release at a later date on PCs, though it is not certain whether the new
deathmatch mode is PC bound as well). The clip has an amusing live-action
portion on the "science" behind the update, along with some glimpses of
gameplay. The clip is posted on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
GameTrailers.
There's a Gabe Newell Interview on
Steamcast, a podcast that covers al things Valve and Steam. The questions
they pose to the Valve cofounder were submitted by fans, so the voice of the
people will not be denied! The conversation with Gabe begins at about the 49
minute mark (not that you would want to avoid the admitted rambling that
precedes it). There's a
transcript of the
interview if you'd prefer to use your eyes on this instead of your ears, and
here's a bit from that from Gabe on Valve's approach to entertainment as a
service as opposed to entertainment as blockbuster: Right now we’re
moving towards something that we call ‘entertainment as a service’ and with that
you try to answer the question of how we can do something every day, how can we
be entertaining on an on-going basis and how can we create value for people? How
can they say I’m glad I’m a fan of this because I read this interesting post or
they added a new weapon or there’s this new map, and that’s very much where our
customers are. I think if you look back at the late 90s your average Quake
player was so much more sophisticated in his or her understanding of where the
marketing and distribution of games were than your typical game publisher. If
you took all the publishers in the industry and put them in a room, your average
group of gamers knew a lot more about what the future was going to look like and
I think the same thing is true today.
The
APB ABC Part 1 and
The APB ABC Part 2 on Edge Online comprise a two-part conversation with
Realtime Worlds boss David Jones about APB, their upcoming open-world action
game. The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to the project,
including a response
highlighted here that's familiar after the Gabe Newell interview (above), as
Jones also talks of Realtime Worlds transforming to a service-based company,
though he and Gabe are not necessarily discussing the same thing.
A new
Command & Conquer 4 Interview on IncGamers chats with EA producer Jim
Vessella, who discusses the next installment in the RTS series. Topics include
player progression, changes to the RTS genre, possible backlash from old-school
gamers, balance, crawlers, the story, familiar C&C elements that will return,
and more.
A new teaser trailer for Fairytale Fights is now available to show off
Jack (as in beanstalk) and the Emperor (as in fake new clothes) in this
fractured fairy tales game. The clip is posted on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Link of the Day:
Trailer: FX's 'Lawman' (NSFW). Looks very cool. Maybe Timothy Olyphant can
only play that character?
R.I.P.: Guitar legend Les Paul
has died at 94.
The Team Fortress 2 Day
3 Classless Update is live with the surprising news that the new free
content update or the class-based shooter is also now available, offering new
maps, a new King of the Hill mode, and, of course, hats. The update offers the
full patch notes, which are also available on the
Steam Website.
A new RAGE trailer is now available, released by id Software to show off
their upcoming shooter as QuakeCon 2009 gets underway, the clip can be found on
AtomicGamer,
Kotaku,
and Shacknews. Also,
VG247 has a detail from John Carmack's QuakeCon keynote where id's Technical
Director says the company now has three development teams to work on three AAA
titles. id is currently known to be developing RAGE and a new DOOM game,
but a third project has not been announced. Finally, if you are hoping for news
on the new DOOM, you'll have to
wait for QuakeCon 2010.
Freaky Creatures announces
two additions to their freaky subscription-free MMOG. There's a new "Creature
Comfort" game available to both free and premium members where you must race
to attend to your creature's every need. Also, "Freaky Pipes" is the latest
addition to the mini-game collection at the Freaky Creatures Web site, this
puzzle mini-game involves laying pipe, in that completely non-euphemistic way.
The Lionhead Studios Website has a teaser
image of Che Guevara, along with a quote from the socialist revolutionary: "At
the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided
by a great feeling of love." We have no idea what they are teasing, so, um, Viva
La Revolution? Thanks
Joystiq.
The Virtual Property Problem
is a paper examining: "What property rights in virtual resources might look
like, how they might work, and why they are a bad idea." Thanks
Slashdot.
Mythic and EA announce that the Darkness Rising and Labyrinth of the
Minotaur expansions for Dark
Age of Camelot are now free to all players of Mythic's MMORPG. Existing
subscribers will have this content added automatically to their clients, while
for those interested in checking out the game, a
new 14-day free trial is
now available that includes all five of the game's retail expansions. They also
offer "The Come Back To Camelot" campaign for former players with accounts that
have been closed for 90 days or more, who can receive 10 days of free game-time
when they update and reactivate their accounts. Here's a quick blurb on the two
add-ons: "Darkness Rising, released in 2005, introduced Champions of the Realms
to Camelot, which included new weapons, advanced mounts and expanded Champion
levels which allow players to gain new skills and learn abilities from other
classes. Labyrinth of the Minotaur, released in 2006, introduced the playable
Minotaur race and the Mauler class, as well as the largest dungeon in Camelot
history."
P15 Studios announces plans for RPTV
("Role Play TV"), described as "reality-based TV in which gamers use video game
play to determine the show storyline." The first game planned for this is a
first-person shooter that's now entering preproduction called Tears Of God,
though shooters are not the first game genre that comes to mind when considering
storytelling (a preliminary Tears Of God
Website is online, but we can't see any way of telling if this is the same
project). They have some backing on this, as
the announcement is
headlined: "New Video Game Genre Revolutionizes Reality TV While Capitalizing on
Michigan Entertainment Tax Incentives." Here's a bit: "This is a game
industry first," says creator Doug Kinnison. "During an established window of
time, we'll take the most popular game play results to drive the outcome of each
live action video episode. The game will be updated every two weeks with a new
map, weapons and features. A new video episode will be downloadable every two
weeks to create a ten show season and will be available on the major consoles."
"We know how much gamers love technology so we're designing RPTV to incorporate
their PC, game console platforms, TV and even their phone," added Director of
Game Development Jon Gagnon. "Viewers can truly engage with the storyline by
playing the game. This is going to be an unparalleled entertainment experience."
P15 is entering pre-production with the first RPTV series, "Tears of God," a
sci-fi thriller, first-person shooter. "As a director you think, well every
things been done, but then you find something like this," says the Video
Director Nate Andersen. "Although the story behind Tears of God isn't totally
new, the idea of convergent media through games and video is cutting
edge."
Frogster
announces a September 15 release date for the final content from Runes of
Magic Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy, though they will be rolling out parts
of the first add-on for Runes
of Magic over the coming weeks. September 15 is also the release date for a
boxed version of the game in German, French and Spanish retail stores for €9,90,
which seems odd for a free game, but this will include a "a starter kit worth
more than 10 Euros." The
full announcement has further details on the game, the add-on, and the
retail box.
Eidos announces release dates for Mini
Ninjas, the upcoming action/adventure game from IO Interactive. The game
is expected on September 8 in North America and on September 11 in the United
Kingdom and PAL territories except France and Germany, who will get the game on
October 9. Target platforms are Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, and
here's a bit on the game: Mini Ninjas takes you on a journey to feudal
Japan where you join Hiro, Futo, and the rest of the ninja clan on their biggest
ninja adventure ever as they embark on an epic and electrifying quest to restore
harmony to a world on the brink of chaos.
“We’re incredibly excited to be launching the unique and beautifully quirky MINI
NINJAS,” said Niels Jørgensen General Manager of IO Interactive. “The art
direction and humor are endearing and it has won a special place in the hearts
of the IO studio. Giving life to these fierce little ninjas has been an
adventure in itself and we really hope that people will enjoy the game as much
as we do."
Dark
Sky Entertainment announces a new subscription-free MMORTS game called
Star Alliances, from the folks
behind Beyond Protocol,
another MMORTS game set in outer space. According to Dark Sky this new game "is
much faster and more focused on the casual gamer than Beyond Protocol is, but
still incorporates the massiveness and incredible customization which made
Beyond Protocol popular." Game time and access to better technology are limited
in free trial accounts, restrictions that are lifted by subscribing. The game
features three factions and ten resources, and here's a bit: Star
Alliances gives the player massive amounts of customization with the ability to
jump into the midst of interstellar war instantly, for FREE (more on the FREE
part later). There are similarities between Star Alliances (SA) and Beyond
Protocol (BP), but they are very different games. Unlike BP, SA focuses more on
the intensity of fighting for supremacy, and less on the complex strategy of
building an empire. However, much like BP, SA takes place in a galaxy with
hundreds of environments in which war can rage simultaneously. Environments
range from any of the 8 planet types and 5 planet sizes, to the orbit above
those planets, to the very center of any of the 100+ star systems, to the cold
outer reaches of space.
MyCrysis has a
mini-update on the Crysis Wars Summer Trial mentioned at the
end of last month. The trial was promised for "the end of" August, and this
update puts a date on that, saying: "Adapt. Engage. Dominate. August 28th!" Word
is: "This is the perfect opportunity to get your friends and family involved in
some great online battles in Crysis Wars. You'll get full access to both LAN and
Online play and you can even use the editor with the trial client, for free!"
By the Numbers:
Battlefield Heroes offers insights into the subscription-free
microtransaction-driven model for
Battlefield
Heroes. The article goes into various statistics relating to play, such
as the over 40 million times the "play now" button has been pressed, breakdowns
of how often each class is played, faction loyalties, and more. As for the
microtransactions, according to EA, players who use the in-game store end up
spending about $20.00 each, but they are not revealing what percentage of
players actually use the store, so there's no way to get a handle on what to
infer from that.
Bohemia Interactive announces ARMA II Operation Arrowhead, a standalone
expansion for ARMA II, the military shooter sequel. The project does not yet
have a release date, but Bohemia Interactive states it "is fully committed to
supporting the existing ARMA II user base whilst also working on the expansion
pack." A couple of
images accompany the annoucement, which outlines the game's central Asian
setting and a bit about gameplay: Prague, Czech Republic, August 13th
2009 - IDEA Games and award winning independent development studio Bohemia
Interactive announced today the development of ARMA II Operation Arrowhead; the
standalone expansion pack to ARMA II, one of the most anticipated sandbox PC
military simulator of 2009.
Three years after the conflict in Chernarus, portrayed in the original ARMA II,
a new flashpoint in the Green Sea region heats up and coalition forces led by
the US Army are sent to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further
civilian casualties.
Set into the new, visually attractive environment of hilly central Asia,
Operation Arrowhead will offer realistic combat simulation experience in a
modern day setting with unprecedented freedom of movement, actions and tactics.
Players will enlist into various roles within the US Army, from basic
infantrymen, through special operatives, to pilots and tank crew in this new
installment in the award winning line up of military simulators for PC from
Bohemia Interactive.
ARMA II Operation Arrowhead will be presented during the Gamescom; trade fair
for interactive games and entertainment in Cologne, Germany 19th - 23rd August
2009. Visit us at our stand in hall 4.2, stand no. L034.
"Bohemia Interactive is fully committed to supporting the existing ARMA II user
base whilst also working on the expansion pack, this will not only allow us to
introduce a new and original theater of war to the simulation series, but also
improve numerous areas of the core game, for both the original game and the
expansion, where we can go even further with adding completely new features"
said Marek Spanel, Bohemia's CEO.
A playable demo for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is now available for
those interested in sampling this wild-west shooter sequel from Techland. The
demo includes a portion of the "prison break" level from the full game, offering
single-player gameplay, but no multiplayer support. The download is a bit over a
gigabyte, and it is available on
4players.de,
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FanGaming,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
Strategy Informer, and
The Patches Scrolls.
CCP Games reveals their World of Darkness MMOG, confirming
indications from earlier this year that such a project is in the
works (thanks
World of Darkness Online). In 2006 CCP merged with White Wolf,
creators of the pen-and-paper World of Darkness RPG, paving the way for this
move. The confirmation of the World of Darkness MMOG is a side-note in
a post about CCP's
contributions to the economy in the state of Georgia that says the
following: "Its flagship property, the World of Darkness, has a rich history of
over 18 years of creative development and is now the basis of one of CCP's major
virtual world projects. Currently in preproduction, The World of Darkness is the
undying heart of the development efforts in CCP's North American office."
The earlier story about this project was based on a document that
described it, though keep in mind this is from July, 2008, and may not reflect
current plans (for instance it mentions a 2010 release date that is undoubtedly
inaccurate). So here's a bit from that summer 2008 document: "In the
World of Darkness, you are the monster, struggling to remember the memory of
your humanity while you struggle against the evil that lurks within us all. CCP
and White Wolf are now hard at work in pre-production on the World of Darkness
the persistent world. Given the World of Darkness legacy, its large fan base,
and proven appeal to both genders, we estimate the subscriber potential of this
product to be two to three times that of EVE Online, without competing head on
with CCP’s existing products thus enabling wider total appeal."
Update: The game will in fact include LAN support. Codemasters
clarifies: "Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising does indeed feature LAN play and
system link, and the offline MP play Sion Lenton is referring to is splitscreen."
Original Story: The
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising interview on Fragland is a brief
interview with Sion Lenton about Codemasters' upcoming military shooter. Topics
include how long the game has been in development, achieving the depth of a PC
game for the console versions, the learning curve, DLC plans, and multiplayer
support. As for multiplayer, it sounds like this is another game like
StarCraft II that will not support multiplayer over a LAN, as word is: "There
will be no offline multiplayer, nor an offline co-op mode. Online you can play
the co-op mode with up to four friends."
The Natural
Selection 2 Website reveals the Armory, the vending machine where marines
can purchase weapons and equipment in the upcoming online shooter sequel "that
pits aliens against humans in a strategic and action-packed struggle for
survival." There's a short clip showing an Armory animation on the
YouTube.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Can you spot the new product?
- AeroCool System Cases Roundup on
X-bit labs.
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU on
Benchmark Reviews,
Bjorn3D,
Elite Bastards,
Guru3D,
HEXUS.net,
HotHardware,
I4U News, Legit
Reviews,
Neoseeker,
Overclockers
Club,
PC Games Hardware, PC
Perspective, The Tech
Report,
TechSpot,
TechwareLabs, and
X-bit labs.
- ASUS P7P55D Deluxe Motherboard on
TweakTown.
- Cooler Master Hyper N620 CPU Cooler on
Modders-Inc.
- Coolermaster TX3 Low Cost CPU Cooler on
ProClockers.
- Corsair HX 750W Modular PSU on
ThinkComputers.org.
- G.Skill Falcon 128GB RAM on
PureOC.
- JETART miniSTAND NP8900 Notebook Cooler on
OverclockersHQ.com.
- Kingston HyperX Memory Fan on
Legit Reviews.
- LG BH08LS20 Super Multi Blue Blu-ray Disc ReWriter on
CDRLabs.com.
- Magellan Maestro 4370 GPS on
TechReviewSource.com.
- Noctua NF-S12B FLX 120mm Fan on
Overclockers Online.
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 SLI Graphics Card Comparison on
X-bit labs.
- OCZ 550W (OCZ550FTY-UK) Fatal1ty Series PSU on
Vortez Hardware.
- Thermaltake Element G Case on
Motherboards.org and
Neoseeker.
- TrickleStar TV TrickleSaver on
Test Freaks.
QuakeCon 2009 gets underway today, here's
hoping all the attendees have a fine old time. You have to admire the adherence
to tradition that has the 14th edition of Texas game convention scheduled once
again for mid-August. Here are the high temperature forecasts for Dallas over
the convention: 94º F, 97º F, 94º F, and 95º F. Whew!
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