Archived News:
Though the
Cities XL Website says a demo is due next week, a playable demo for Monte
Cristo's urban-planning game is actually already available. This sample of the
urban-planning and management game has English, German, and French-language
support and includes three maps that can be played for a week after you first
begin playing, though the population of cities is capped at 22,000 in the demo
version, and users are required to register a free account in order to play.
There's also a new trailer from the game on
AtomicGamer, and
downloads of the 1 GB demo can be found on
4players.de, AtomicGamer,
AusGamers,
ComputerGames.ro, eXp
Download,
FileFront,
and Gamer's Hell.
Also, official use of the inconsistent all-caps version of the title seems to be
diminishing, so we guess this is really Cities XL, and not CITIES XL; at least
for the moment.
Codemasters will cease operating
ArchLord, the subscription-free MMORPG, as they announce free MMO mavens
Webzen will take up the project going forward. There's an
ArchLord Transition FAQ on the Codemasters Forum explaining what's
happening, and Webzen's new Official
ArchLord Homepage says worldwide service will commence on October 3. Thanks
Kotaku.
An Assassin's
Creed tweet is a little bird that tells us to expect the release of the
first gameplay movie from Assassin's Creed II on Thursday. Please make
sure you assassin's hoodie is properly pressed for the occasion. Also,
Geoff Keighley
tweets we can see "the epic world premiere trailer for BioShock 2
multiplayer" on GTTV Thursday night, though this is the version of
Thursday night that takes place on Friday morning, as the show actually airs at
12:30 am.
This post about a
San
Francisco/Bay Area AMD Community PC Gaming Event on Rage3D is pretty vague,
saying: "On the evening of September 10th in San Francisco, AMD would like to
invite fans to join us for the unveiling of a new visual PC experience.
Basically, I can't say exactly what you're going to see there, but I can tell
you that we’ll be holding a big party with food, drink and tunes, very cool
demos of unreleased games, incredible hardware set-ups you have to see to
believe and a lot more." A
tweet by
CatalystMaker adds a little hype, calling it "the chance of a lifetime."
Variety has Vivendi's latest financial reporting, saying their revenues are
up 17% over the same period last year. The games business for the media
conglomerate are a mixed bag: Greatest growth came from games division
Activision Blizzard, with revenue soaring to just over $2 billion this year from
$636 million in the first half of 2008. Main drivers are the "Call of Duty" and
"Guitar Hero" franchises, plus "World of Warcraft."
However, division net revenue forecasts for the year have been revised down from
$4.8 billion to $4.5 billion, due to lower market expectations and the delay in
release "Singularity" and "StarCraft II" to 2010.
A new trailer from Batman: Arkham Asylum shows off the NVIDIA PhysX
support in the upcoming PC edition of the superhero action game. The trailer is
available on GameVideos.
Also here are a batch
of new Batman Arkham Asylum screenshots.
The Community Bonus Pack Website now
offers downloads of Community Bonus Pack 3: Volume 4 for Unreal Tournament
III PC owners, saying the PS3 version of the pack is expected within the
next couple of weeks. Word is: "The pack features 11 new maps (4 DM, 5 DOM, 1
CTF, 1 WAR) and 2 new pickups! It also includes the Domination gametype again
(same as Volume 3)." Thanks
BeyondUnreal.
The
BeyondUnreal Forums offer downloads of the first public release of
Jailbreak for Unreal Tournament III. Here's an outline of the
Jailbreak teamplay concept for the unfamiliar: "Frag an enemy player, and you
send them to jail. Get them all into jail and they will be executed in all kinds
of crazy ways and your team scores! To avoid being captured, find the release
switch in the enemy base to free your team! Bored in prison? Fight for freedom
in the Arena!" This release includes 11 maps and is localized for English,
German, and Russian. They do warn, however, that this is not the final version,
so we should expect future updates.
Blizzard
COO Says New MMO ‘Significantly Different’ From Warcraft on Wired.com hears
once again from Paul Sams COO of Blizzard, who answered questions about various
topics at BlizzCon. The conversation covers several projects, but highlights
Sams' comments about Blizzard's mysterious other MMORPG, saying it will be
different enough from World of Warcraft that it probably won't cannibalize a lot
of the WoW user-base: "I think the (new MMO) is going to be significantly
differentiated enough," he says. "Such that, you’re not going to feel like
they’re one and the same resulting in that you have to pick or choose." Of
course if it comes to that, they will live with it, as he also says: "If the bad
thing that happens to us is that they leave WoW and go to this other thing of
Blizzard’s, then we’ll work through that pain."
The Brink
interview on UGDB.com talks with Edward "Bababooie" Stern of Splash Damage
about Brink, their upcoming multiplatform multiplayer shooter. Topics include
accessibility, the storyline, the drop-in/drop-out multiplayer, development
challenges, visuals, character customization, role-playing elements, the dynamic
mission system, and more.
The
Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited Q&A on MMORPG.COM talks with Fernando
Paiz of Turbine about the new subscription-free version of Dungeons & Dragons
Online. Topics include the reasons for the new version, challenges in changing
the existing game to fit the new business model, how the player experience will
change, new features, and other variations on those questions.
More sales than you can shake a stick at (if you like shaking sticks).
A new installment in
nZone's In the
Trenches is online, offering a look at some "next generation character
lighting" in Terminal Reality's Infernal Engine. In honesty, the clip is kind of
dull visually, as TRI's Mark Randel discusses character animations and how they
can be made more realistic, but the on-screen presentation is the Dan Aykroyd
model from Ghostbusters in an editing program, who is called upon to utter a few
phrases while standing in place like a Ghostbuster zombie.
- Red Faction: Guerrilla on
Kotaku.
- WWIIOL: Battleground Europe on
MMORPG.com. Preview of the upcoming version 1.31.
Link of the Evening:
Leaders mark 70th anniversary of World War II. Thanks Mike Martinez.
Also:
Fox Reboots "Fantastic Four" Films (thanks Ant). They should just keep
Jessica Alba and start over. Okay, maybe Julian McMahon too.
NVIDIA and
Stardock announce plans for a special NVIDIA-branded version of Impulse,
Stardock's "digital download platform." The NVIDIA version of Impulse will offer
the online marketplace and other functions of Impulse, along with the ability to
automatically detect and update drivers for NVIDIA graphics cards, and they
quote Stardock's Brad Wardell saying: "The single biggest issue preventing PC
gamers today from having an optimal experience is a failure to update their
video card drivers." We're not sure about that, but we are surprised an
auto-update function hasn't been part of normal graphics drivers for years now,
even if driver updates are not quite as complicated as the CEO and president of
Stardock would have us believe: "For many users, updating video drivers has been
a complicated and sometimes confusing experience."
Take Two has
posted
quarterly financial results (thanks Neutronbeam), reporting a
smaller-than-expected loss for the quarter, though they are adjusting future
estimates downward. They also have settled a couple of cases of shenanigans:
"Separately, Take-Two said it has reached an agreement in principle to settle a
consolidated securities class action related to allegations of sexually explicit
images in "Grand Theft Auto" and the backdating of employee stock options."
During an earnings
conference call Take Two also said BioShock 2, Max Payne 3, Mafia II, and
Red Dead Redemption are all expected before the middle of 2010. Here's word on
earnings: The "Grand Theft Auto" publisher on Tuesday said it swung to a
net loss of $55.5 million, or 72 cents a share, in the fiscal third quarter
ended July 31, from a year-ago profit of $51.8 million, or 67 cents a share.
Excluding items, Take-Two posted a loss of 66 cents a share, better than the
average analyst estimate for a loss of 69 cents a share, according to Reuters
Estimates.
Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick told Reuters in an interview that the company
continued to cuts costs and sold its catalog titles aggressively in what was its
lightest release quarter.
"We took enormous pains to distribute and sell through our catalog aggressively
and we had some good success there and we've also continued to focus on making
the company more efficient."
Revenue tumbled 68 percent to $138.6 million, versus Wall Street's estimate of
$125.3 million.
Sales were led by catalog titles including "Grand Theft Auto IV," "The Bigs 2"
and "Major League Baseball 2K9."
The company lowered the top end of its forecast range for earnings and revenue
in the current quarter ending Oct. 31. It now expects earnings excluding items
of 30 cents to 35 cents a share, on revenue of $350 million to $375 million.
Wall Street was expecting earnings of 35 cents a share on revenue of $369.4
million.
The promised uncut multiplayer footage from Modern Warfare 2
is now available on the
YouTube, offering a look at a flag capture from Infinity Ward's upcoming military
shooter sequel. The high-resolution direct-feed clip runs almost two minutes.
Norwegian developer Funcom announces plans to take off for the great white north
and open a new studio in Montreal, Canada, which is a beauty way to go, though
it will not be The
Longest Journey
ever undertaken by the company. Word is Funcom "will build a strong and
competent development team that will work on several games in the Funcom
portfolio." The new studio will be staffed by new hires and existing personnel,
and there are more details in
the official
announcement, though this mostly discusses the tax incentives that helped make this possible.
MyCrysis has
news that the Crysis Wars summer trial period has been extended until
Tuesday, September 8, offering further free access to Crytek's Crysis
multiplayer game. Apparently there were issues for some users that prevented
them from being able to properly generate a CD key, but these have been resolved
now. Extending the trial allows those just now able to get a key to enjoy a full
week's worth of play, while providing a bonus to those who have already been
playing.
The version 1.50 patch for Battlefield 2 first promised in
June 2008 is now available for download, offering gameplay changes, bug
fixes, the new Operation Blue Pearl map, and the free release of both the
Euro Forces and Armored Fury booster packs.
This post outlines the change list, and
this post lists download locations for the patch, which requires version
1.41 be already installed. They also point the way to a Battlefield 2 Patch
History Movie on the
YouTube to watch while you download the whopping patch, which weighs in at
just under 2 GB.
The August 2009 Steam Hardware
Survey Results are now online with the latest data collected from Steam
customers (thanks Ant). Here are some of the most popular results in several
categories of interest: Windows Version: Windows XP 32 bit - 53.48%
System RAM: 2 GB - 33.03%
Processor Vendor: Genuine Intel - 67.99%
Intel CPU Speeds: 2.3 Ghz to 2.69 Ghz - 24.18%
AMD CPU Speeds: 2.0 Ghz to 2.29 Ghz - 10.91%
Physical CPUs: 2 cpus - 56.46%
Multi-GPU Systems: NVIDIA SLI (2 GPUs) - 2.04%
VRAM: 512 MB - 38.56%
Primary Display Resolution: 1280 x 1024 - 21.26%
Multi-Monitor Desktop Resolution: 2960 x 1050 - 14.40%
Audio Devices: Realtek HD Audio output - 20.17%
Language: English - 59.74%
Network Speed: 2,048.0 Kbps - 32.70%
Games On Net chats about StarCraft II with Dustin Browder has answers to
interview questions from the lead designer on StarCraft II as well as
snippets from BlizzCon panel discussions of the upcoming RTS sequel. They
discuss the new Battle.net, matchmaking, competitive gaming, and more. Also,
Games On Net chats to J Allen Brack about WoW- Cataclysm is another BlizzCon
Q&A where they ask what the Brack is cooking for Cataclysm, the upcoming
World of Warcraft expansion. Topics include integrating the Cataclysm
storyline into the lore of the MMORPG, plans to revamp areas, a bit on
Deathwing, and more. Chris Metzen jumps in along the way to assist with answers
to questions about game lore. Finally, there's a
World
Of Warcraft: Cataclysm video interview with Tom Chilton on GameTrailers.com.
There's a State of the Game:
Launch Day Special update on the Champions Online Website outlining
balance tweaks bug fixes and other changes from the beta Cryptic Studios has
implemented as their superhero MMOG goes live today. They also say that today
they will be announcing the first of their planned free content updates for the
game: "Today we’re announcing our plans for Blood Moon – our first FREE update
to the game. We’re diving right in to making more content for you, but I don’t
want to spoil the awesome job the crew did on the announcement page, so keep
your eyes on the website!"
Zombie Cow
Studios announces 'Revenge of the Balloon-Headed Mexican', "the first
bite-sized episode in the ongoing saga of loveably-haphazard geeks Dan and Ben."
The Zombie Cow Studios have
further details on this, including that while these new episodes will be set
following the events of Time Gentlemen, Please!, they are a direct
sequel: "People will be able to jump straight into Revenge of the Balloon-Headed
Mexican without worrying about what’s happened in previous installments. We’re
shooting for these being truly episodic in size and scope - we’re looking at it
being about the same sort of length as a TV show, depending on player skill."
They also explain the name: "It should be made clear that it’s not some sort of
clever allegory or metaphor - our antagonist genuinely does have a balloon for a
head."
Turbine announces the first players have entered the world of Dungeons &
Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited through a head start program open to
current and former subscribers of the premium version of Dungeons & Dragons
Online and DDO Unlimited beta testers: First Premium Free to Play MMO
Opens to Select Players
Turbine, Inc. announced today that Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron
Unlimited™ (DDO Unlimited), the premium free-to-play massively multiplayer
online role playing game (MMORPG), is now live for all current and former
subscribers as well as recent participants in the closed beta. DDO Unlimited
introduces an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and
play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la
carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of
the game’s content.
DDO Unlimited raises the level cap, introduces a new player class, adds major
new content and makes the game free to play for everyone. The new DDO Unlimited
delivers heart-pounding gameplay featuring the industry’s best combat system, a
massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of
features that until now could only be found in premium subscription-based MMOs
DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS), under
license to Infogrames Entertainment S.A.® Published by Atari, Inc.®, DDO has
been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York
Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please
visit www.ddo.com.
The
Dave Grossman interview on Telltale Games talks with the Telltale Games
designer (no to be confused with the "murder simulator" guy).
They discuss the Tales of Monkey Island series, writing the episodes, the switch
to 3D, their evolving control scheme, new IPs, the current adventure game
renaissance, and still another attempt to wrap a tentacle around the possibility
Telltale will also revive LucasArts' Day of the Tentacle series: "I'm bemusedly
sure you'll read more into me not answering this question than you would if I
did. But: No comment."
I am working right now in a completely uncaffeinated state, so I'm probably
firing on two cylinders right now as opposed to my usual three. I have my
long-overdue annual physical in a bit, and they want to take a blood sample
before I've consumed anything, including coffee (apparently there must be some
irritability test included in there). I guess the good news is I won't be
completely conscious for my prostate exam, though lack of coffee puts me at risk
for non-compliance, as it may cause me to bite someone's head off along the way
(which would probably count as eating something). Anyway, I should be all fired
up properly in a bit, and in the meantime, there are probably even more typos
than usual littered around today, so apologies in advance.
R.I.P.:
EMC co-founder kills himself. Thanks
Slashdot.
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