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Archived News:
DIRECTV
announces worldwide event access to the sold-out BlizzCon 2009 beamed
straight to you from their satellites, which will also go straight into the
dishes of those who buy the $39.95 pay-per-view event. The 18 hours of
interviews, tournaments, and commentary over two days is hosted by Geoff
Keighley and it will available in SD or HD for nine hours per day starting at
11:00 am August 21. Other highlights of the purchase include a World of
Warcraft in-game Grunty the Murloc Marine pet, access to the internet stream
of the show, and a closing concert by WoW's presumptive Prince of Darkness, Ozzy
Ozbourne. Full details
are here.
There's a Diablo III
preview on IGN with their hands-on impressions of Blizzard's action/RPG
sequel. They also offer new ShakyCam movies shoot off a monitor at GameCom:
This clip shows off some combat while
this clip seems intended to just blow our minds like a hall of mirrors.
Final word on MW2 beta rumors on IAMfourzerotwo is a blog update by Infinity
Ward's Robert Bowling to "clarify the supposed 'news' coming out of GameCom this
morning regarding no MW2 Beta." If you think this means he'll deny reports
from this morning that there will be no public beta for the
military shooter sequel you will be disappointed, as he says: "It is true that
we have not announced a Public Beta for MW2, and that remains true unless I
announce otherwise." He then indicates that a public beta will only happen if
necessary: "Once the internal beta is completed, if for any reason we feel we
didn’t receive the feedback, address the issues, or have the result we expect.
We would consider pushing forward with a public one, however at this point only
an internal Closed Beta is planned." So after clarifying that the "supposed
news" is actually news, it seems the real goal here is to offer reassurances
that the lack of a public beta will not hurt the quality of the game:
That said, any fears that no Public Beta will result in any quality loss
in the final multiplayer game is completely unfounded; Multiplayer has always
been and will always remain a major focus for the team at Infinity Ward and we
would never ship a product we didn’t feel lived up to the high standards we hold
ourselves to.
While we love public betas for all the obvious reasons, an internal Closed Beta
allows us the extra freedom and flexibility to give the entire multiplayer a
chance to be widely beta tested without requiring excess development time simply
to prep the game for public release instead of an internal beta test which is
ran on dev kits / test kits. That fact alone, allows us to have a smoother and
faster process of iteration when addressing issues and pushing fixes out to beta
participants.
This decision allows us to deliver a more polished experience, which in the end,
is what we all want.
Shacknews has an
explanation from Valve writer Chet Faliszek that Valve actually intended to
release the "Crash Course" DLC for the original Left 4 Dead prior to E3,
which might have tempered the unhappy reaction to the Left 4 Dead 2
announcement, "but some things held us up." The L4D2 brouhaha might have also
been lessened had they mentioned this at the time, but Chet says: "We just
didn't think to mention it, we were focusing on other stuff," which he
acknowledges was a mistake: "I think if we had that out before the Left 4 Dead 2
announcement, then it would have been clearer for our intentions. Losing the
opportunity to get that right hurt us, but I think we made the right choices
otherwise."
MTV Multiplayer reports Bethesda's Pete Hines tells them a new game
announcement is coming from them in the "next month or so." They probe for
hints, and can eliminate id's and Bethesda's planned iPhone games and Todd
Howard's secretive game from the list of suspects. Feel free to speculate
wildly.
John
Carmack Interview Part I and
Part
II on GameTrailers.com offers a sit down with the id Software technical
director at QuakeCon to discuss games, their upcoming RAGE in particular.
Topics include progress on engine development, healthy competition in the game
market, the new generation of alternate input devices, QUAKE LIVE, how he
expects to still be working on games a decade from now, and more. He offers an
interesting comment on PC gaming: "the tough thing about the PC market is that
the market's smaller than the console market, but the standards are still very
high," though he corrects himself to point out this doesn't necessarily apply to
more casual PC games.
Steam announces they are
offering digital distribution of
Ashes Cricket 2009,
calling it "the most authentic Ashes experience possible without having to don
your whites."
GameTrailers.com has a new Singularity movie showing a little time
manipulation, a little shooting, some ghosts, some explosions, mad scientists,
and still more from Raven's upcoming shooter. The clip concludes warning: "Time
is your weapon. Time is your enemy. Time is collapsing." And of course, as Mick
would sing it, time is on my side.
The GamesCom trailer from Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim shows off
Paradox Interactive's upcoming real-time strategy sequel just as it's being
shown at the show in Cologne. The clip is available for your viewing pleasure on
the YouTube.
Electronista
has a look at a 17-button mouse said to be designed for MMOGs. The mouse has a
12-button keypad in addition to five more traditional mouse buttons, making it
look like the offspring of a mouse and an Intellivision controller (thanks
Ant). On what seems like a more practical front,
OhGizmo profiles two new mice from Logitech that feature "Darkfield
Technology," which can't be as awesome as it sounds (which would require
matter/anti-matter containment), but is still pretty cool, as it should allow
the lasers in the mice to operate properly on reflective surfaces such as glass
(thanks Mike Martinez).
Steam News announces that
classic titles from Interplay are now being sold through Valve's digital
marketplace. "We are excited to offer the millions of Steam customers online
access to Interplay titles beginning with some jewels of our classic PC catalog
priced below $10," is the quote offered from Interplay CEO Herve Caen. As of now
they are offering Fallout,
Fallout 2,
Fallout Tactics (or
all three in the Fallout
Collection),
Sacrifice, and
Kingpin.
Online game publisher Uforia announces Mercenary Wars, an online military
first-person shooter scheduled to launch next month. A
Mercenary Wars Teaser Website is
online, and here
are some Mercenary Wars screenshots. Here's a bit: Unlike other first
person shooter games available today, Mercenary Wars features a unique stat
system that players can use to upgrade and customize their lifelike characters.
The combat in the game is designed to feel very realistic, while also allowing
players to adjust their speed, accuracy, and health stats. Mercenary Wars is set
in the not so distant future in a world where order and society as we know them
are a thing of the past. The economies of the world have crashed and have been
replaced with total chaos. New alliances have been forged and the world is now
controlled by well-trained groups of mercenaries. Players must determine who to
swear their allegiance to and fight side-by-side to the death, if necessary, in
the quest to ensure becoming the new global powerhouse.
The
Paradox Interactive Forums reveal plans for Victoria 2, a sequel to
Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun, a Europa Universalis-engine
strategy game released in 2003 and expanded three years
ago (practically to the day). Here's the deal: A sequel to the 2003
cult-hit, with a large devout following around the world. Victoria 2 is a grand
strategy game played during the colonial era of the 19th century, where the
player takes control over a country, guiding it through industrialisation,
political reforms, military conquest and colonisation. Guide the USA to its
Manifest Destiny, Make United Kingdom into a world-spanning empire, and make
Germany the dominating nation in Europe.
Features
• Deep engrossing political simulation, with dozens of different types of
governments.
• Detailed economy with over fifty different type of goods and factories.
• Historical game-play on a large map covering the entire world.
• Over 200 different countries can be played, from 1835 to the start of world
war 2.
• Advanced Technological system with thousands of inventions to be discovered.
• Possibility to export a save game at the end of the game into HoI3.
• A streamlined interface, which makes the game easily accessible.
• Automation of various tasks, including trade and population promotion.
• Advanced spheres of influences system, where the great powers battle over the
control of the world.
• New types of pops, including bureaucrats and artisans.
• Cottage production simulating pre-industrial economies.
• Gunboat Diplomacy, no need for negotiate as a fleet outside a port may be a
more persuasive argument.
• Overhaul of education, where clergy educates people of the same religion, and
each pops have their own literacy levels.
• More reform categories with more options to select from in each.
• New election system with coalition governments and an upper house/senate.
• Historical and Dynamic missions guiding your country through the history.
• Thousands of historical events and decisions.
The Games Company follows on the revelation of Demonicon: The Dark Eye
that came late last year with platforms and a release window for
Silver Style Entertainment's action/RPG. They say to expect the release of the
game for Windows and Xbox 360 some time in 2011. They also serve up some new
Demonicon
screenshots "showing the dark look & feel of Demonicon." They add: "You will
recognize a female warrior fighting against undead monsters."
A second boxed retail edition of Fallout 3 DLC is expected in stores next
week (we guess this makes this SBC, for store-bought content). According to
Blend Games this will bundle Broken Steel and Point Lookout
much the way a previous retail box bundled Operation Anchorage and The
Pitt. There's no word on whether the upcoming Mothership Zeta will
also eventually land in stores.
There's a
Star Wars: The Old Republic Q&A on GameSpot discussing the Sith
Warrior class in BioWare's upcoming MMORPG set a long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away. Since this is the class Darth Vader would fall into it's easy to
imagine this will be a popular choice. Here's a bit on the topic from BioWare's
James Ohlen: "At E3, we did show off a Sith, and today, we are revealing that
the Sith that was shown at E3 was specifically the Sith Warrior. Darth Vader was
the primary inspiration for the this character class. The Sith Warrior is a
heavily armored Force user driven by darkness and rage. He depends more on
overpowering his opponents with martial skills than Force powers but often uses
iconic powers, such as [the] Force choke. His story revolves around hunting down
and crushing the enemies of the Empire, though sometimes, he is given the task
of corrupting--rather than destroying--an enemy."
GamesIndustry.biz has the latest financials from Nexon America, who report a
35% increase in July revenue compared to the same month last year, though they
decline to specify how much money that represents. They do offers some concrete
figures about the population of their subscription-free MMORPG
MapleStory, however, which
are pretty impressive: "MapleStory now has over six million registered users in
North America - helping to bring the game's worldwide user total to 92 million.
The game itself set a new record in July, said the company, notching up more
than 70,000 concurrent players."
There are
Mafia 2 Hands-on impressions on PC Games Hardware after some face time with
the life of crime sequel in development at 2K Czech, offering their thoughts on
the game's engine. On a related note, some new
Mafia II
screenshots are available for your perusal. Here's a bit about the engine
from the preview: "In an interview with Producer Denby Grace we learned that 2K
Czech (formerly Illusion Softworks) has recreated the engine of Mafia 2 almost
from scratch. The result is a D3D9 renderer - support for DX10 or DX11 has not
been integrated. Mafia 2 is a pure cross platform title although the PC is said
to be the lead platform. Due to the higher resolutions as well as additional GPU
Physx particle effects, like dynamic, interactive smoke) the PC version will
also offer better graphics than the console variant."
The Fallen Earth
Beta on FilePlanet is now open to all FilePlanet users, not just paying
subscribers. Word is: "After hundreds of bug fixes and gameplay improvements,
Fallen Earth has entered Open Beta and challenges you to the fight of your life.
This will be a limited access first-come-first served beta with limited keys."
Also, preordering the game through Direct2Drive
gets you access to that beta well as a custom horsie for use in the game.
Konami Digital
Entertainment announces an October 22 release date for the Windows, Xbox
360, PS3, and mobile editions of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, the next
installment in the association football/soccer series. Also, the versions of the
game for PS2 and PSP will follow on November 5, and PES 2010 for Wii is expected
on November 19. Word is: "PES 2010 marks the greatest advance for the series to
date, with the PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD versions benefiting from 360
degree control, while also feature the most detailed visuals and most realistic
animation to date, and all new Master League elements. The Tokyo-based
development team has worked closely with the PES fan base to implement the most
requested advances, and as a result PES 2010 is set to be the ultimate football
fans’ game."
Pandemic Studios clarifies the gameplay movie released yesterday
on The Saboteur Website
did not represent the way The Saboteur will look in most territories, as
this clip from the World War II stealth/action game was "softened" for Germany's
GamesCom: The Saboteur Trailer is the softened version for Germany's
Gamescom - Blood, Swastikas etc... Are all still in the game.
The Telltale Games
Blog now offers a sneak peak at a cutscene from Tales of Monkey Island:
The Siege of Spinner Cay, tomorrow's second chapter in the episodic Monkey
Island series. No undead pirates were harmed in this clip, which focuses on
Guybrush's brushes with domestic bliss.
Publisher JoWooD Productions announces a delay to ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale,
the RPG sequel once known as Gothic 4. The game
was due in Winter 2009, but now JoWooD announces they have upped
the game's budget and set back its release until 2010 to ensure this will be a
AAA game: Vienna, 19.08.2009 The Austrian publisher, JoWooD today
announced that the release of its awaited action-RPG title, ArcaniA - A Gothic
Tale has been postponed to 2010.
ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale, the next opus of the Gothic series, is planned to come
on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. In its commitment to release a AAA title, JoWooD has
committed substantial extra development budget for ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale to be
a flagship title and one of the best RPG releases of 2010. « A stong investment
in quality and innovation is the way for a publisher like us to take a strong
position in the RPG market. We want, with ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale to offer the
best of the Gothic franchise, as we believe we have in our hands the game to
compete against the best RPGs out there » says Albert Seidl, JoWooD CEO.
www.arcania-game.com
Eurogamer has word on plans for a Clash of the Titans game that will
tie in with the upcoming remake
of the 1981 movie noteworthy
for its Ray Harryhausen stop-motion special effects. The game is in the works at
independent Japanese developer Game Republic to be published by Namco Bandai,
and while details (including target platforms) are scarce, they do describe a
brief GamesCom demo movie depicting "huge minotaurs swinging axes, dragons
swooping over snowy landscapes, chicks with horns, wings and tiny bikinis and
that sort of thing." The game is due for release alongside the movie this coming
spring.
Another pair of Final Fantasy XIV ShakyCam clips are available on
GameTrailers.com, where there's a
character animations clip and a gameplay clip where a little girl keeps
running headlong into men's crotches before starting to just run around.
Super sleuths
superannuation inform us that Electronic Arts has filed not
one
but
two new trademark registrations for Dungeon Keeper, which, of course,
is the "evil is good" franchise created by Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog
Productions, as EA is now owner of the old Bullfrog IPs. Both trademarks cover
games, though the second one seems to emphasize a product that will be
downloadable. On a semi-related note, a recent interview with
Harvey Elliot of EA Bright Light Studio expressed an affection for the older
Bullfrog properties.
Dark Void is now expected on January 12, 2010 in North America and
January 15, 2010 in Europe, reports
Gamer's Hell. This
follows up on the recently announced delay to Airtight Games'
upcoming jetpack-powered action game, which was explained like so: "So instead
of rushing through development just to release Dark Void in the crowded fall
game season, we have decided that it would be best to give it just a little bit
more time to bake. Both teams really want to 'wow' you with enhanced game play,
graphics ... and maybe even some extra surprises that we know have the time to
implement." Also, there are some new
Dark Void
screenshots on IGN and a the
Dark Void GamesCom 09 is on
GameVideos.
A couple of new
Modern
Warfare 2 screenshots were released at GamesCom, offering a pair of
ginormous looks at the upcoming military shooter sequel in the works at Infinity
Ward. Also,
Computer and Video Games has word from Infinity Ward that unlike the first
Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2 will not have an open multiplayer beta.
Mythic Entertainment
announces the one year anniversary of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
is approaching, and they've got some related celebrations planned for players of
the MMORPG. They say
The Wild
Hunt event will be followed by special weekend-only events: The Mourkain
Temple (September 11-14), Gates of Ekrund (September 18-21) and Temple of Isha
(September 25-28). Here's a bit more: Throughout September’s celebration,
exclusive anniversary items, including Halfling Pies and the Jubilee Cloak, will
be delivered via in-game mail to all players. Fans that have waged non-stop war
for the past year will be rewarded with a special veteran’s reward, the WAR
Aegis, and unique title, Weapon of WAR. In addition to all players receiving a
20% experience and renown bonus throughout September, enemies defeated in RvR
combat will drop fireworks, exploding stout and other unique limited edition
anniversary items.
GameVideos has two
ShakyCam trailers of Final Fantasy XIV shot off a monitor at Gamescom
2009, making note of the fact that these are taken from an alpha version of
Square Enix's MMORPG if portions seem rough.
This clip shows our
intrepid adventurer chasing some helpless dodos, until they decide to stop and
kick his ass, and this clip
shows off a bit more combat, your mini-me, and a fluorescent enema (that's the
best we could do, not speaking German to understand the narration).
The Mini Ninjas Website now
offers the promised playable demo for IO Interactive's upcoming
action adventure game. There is also an Xbox 360 demo on the Live Marketplace,
and a PS3 demo is expected on the PlayStation Network tomorrow. Here are some
new
Mini Ninjas screenshots that accompany the announcement, there are two new
trailers on Gamer's Hell,
and downloads of the demo are mirrored on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer,
FanGaming,
FileFront,
and Gamer's Hell.
SEGA announces
Napoleon: Total War (not to be confused with Commander:
Napoleon at War), saying the next installment in the Total War series of
real-time strategy games from Creative Assembly is due in February, 2010. The
Napoleon: Total War
Product Section is live with a trailer and some screenshots,
IGN has an early
Napoleon: Total War Preview, and here's a bit from the announcement, which
references the "turn-based campaign": LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (August
19th, 2009) – SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America, Inc. today announced
Napoleon: Total War, the first in an all-new story driven branch of The Creative
Assembly’s multi award winning Total War RTS franchise. Napoleon: Total War will
keep the franchise’s genre-leading 3D battles on land and sea. The turn-based
campaign is split into three different story-driven campaigns, telling the story
of the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte through his most famous battles.
In Napoleon: Total War, aspiring generals have the chance to play as the
legendary French general Napoleon Bonaparte or as one of his opposing factions.
Battling through his three biggest military campaigns, the game will take you
through Italy and Egypt, narrating the early years of the fearsome commander,
while the third campaign will tell the story of his fateful drive towards Moscow
and, ultimately, his showdown with the Duke of Wellington at one of the most
famous battles of all – The Battle of Waterloo.
Fable III Announced
has the revelation some predicted when Lionhead started teasing last week. Fable
III will be an Xbox 360 exclusive planned for release in the holiday season of
2010, and there's already a
Fable III Preview
on Eurogamer and a
Peter
Molyneux Q&A Part Two on GamesIndustry.biz discussing the game. The announcement also reveals plans to re-release
Fable II in
five episodes. Here's why all those teases featured a revolutionary theme:
"We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the
gameplay and progress the world of the ‘Fable’ games for its third chapter, and
we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for ‘Fable
III,’" says Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux. "Though I can’t give too much away
right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far
wider consequences than ever before in Albion — and with many more interactive
adventure elements." The first episode of the Fable II re-release is expected on
September 29.
bitComposer
Games announces they have worldwide rights to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat,
GSC Game World's first-person shooter sequel they will publish this fall. The
announcement is accompanied by
new
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat screenshots, and a reminder of what to
expect from the game: "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat takes PC gamers once
again into the deadly area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion
of 1986. Cordoned off by the military, this highly contaminated “Zone” is
scoured by treasure hunters known as s.t.a.l.k.e.r.s, who search the irradiated
lands for unique artifacts. In the role of Agent Alexander Degtyarev, the player
must go undercover as a s.t.a.l.k.e.r., investigating the mysterious
disappearance of five military helicopters while standing against various
s.t.a.l.k.e.r. groups."
Edge
Online - The Harder They Come.
Nevertheless, developers who try to come up with unique solutions to this
problem can quickly find themselves under fire from gamers who not only want
to climb a sheer rock face, they want everyone else to do so as well. Take a
look at the response to the news of Nintendo’s Demo Play patent, which
proposed three solutions to assist players when they get stuck. The first,
‘Game’, lets players bring up video-recorded hints. The second, ‘Digest’,
allows players to see video of the game being played; what’s more, they can
jump into the actual game at any time, thanks to game saves that are
downloaded in the background. The third and final solution, ‘Scene Menu’,
lets players navigate through sections of the game in a manner similar to
the chapter function on the DVD. The responses on a number of blogs and
message boards were fairly negative, and that only intensified when a USA
Today interview with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto suggested that players
could use Demo Play to have the AI to take control of the player’s avatar,
then resume play at the moment of their choosing.
Gamasutra - Would You Kindly? BioShock And Free Will. Thanks Mike Martinez.
BioShock effectively toyed with players' perceptions of free will, all
within the confines of a linear narrative. In this spoiler-inducing piece
(warning!), Gamasutra looks at how the game gave players a feeling of
control without actually handing it over.
Ten Ton Hammer -
Overgeared and Underskilled.
To make matter worse there has been a steady increase in the number of
players that have highly geared characters but have very little skill in the
game. Does the term ‘Overgeared and Underskilled’ really apply to most
players in the World of Warcraft? Find out as Byron “Messiah” Mudry wades
into this delicate topic with his usual not so delicate manner.
A mix up at the electrician's means my gable fan is still broken, but
theoretically they will fix this today. I imagine this means this heat-wave is
about to break; and I was just starting to get a good tan... no, I haven't been
going in the sun, I think I'm getting a tan through the roof.
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