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Archived News:
Ubisoft announces release dates for
Heroes Over Europe, saying the
World War II aerial combat game will be released on September 15 for the X360
and PS3 and on September 22 for Windows. Also, a new Heroes Over Europe
trailer shows off multiplayer action from the game. The clip is available on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell, and it is accompanied by a batch of
new screenshots.
The Start of September Status
Report on the Demigod Forums is an update from Stardock's Brad Wardell on
the action/strategy game from Gas Powered Games. Demigod version 1.2 is
currently in private beta testing, and Brad discusses changes like the addition
of replays, mod support, fixes, new Demigods, "Ready to Play" support, and
,more, concluding with his outlook on the game's future: "We’ve said this before
but it’s worth saying again, from Stardock and GPG’s perspective, Demigod is a
long-term thing for us. We’re very happy with the game and we plan to support it
and enhance it for the long term. The pacing of its evolution may not always be
to the liking of some users but as we develop new things for other games, we’ll
find ways to bring it back to Demigod as long as we think there’s sufficient
demand for it. Things like Clan Wars and the like will make their way in from
Elemental or other projects (for example) as long as people still want them."
Thanks The Patches Scrolls.
The
Impulse Website announces their catalogue of digitally distributed games now
includes EA games, and they have added
The Sims 3,
Command & Conquer Red Alert 3,
Red Alert 3 Uprising, and
Spore. In other Impulsive news,
as announced here. they are now accepting preorders for
Resident Evil 5 in the
Americas and Asia (except for China and Japan).
The
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Website offers a new movie from GSC Game
World's upcoming shooter sequel. The clip shows off a number of environments and
introduces Burer, a new creature the new installment in the irradiated series
will introduce. The clip is also available on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
GameVideos.
Strap on your parachute, as a new diary movie from Just Cause 2 has the
developers from Avalanche Studios discussing gameplay in their upcoming action
sequel. There is a bunch of accompanying gameplay footage, including the
vertigo-inducing sight of the in-game base-jumping record. The clip is available
on
GameTrailers and
GameVideos.
A new "Choose Your Hero" from Borderlands can be found on
GameTrailers, introducing the crew from Gearbox Software's upcoming
role-playing shooter.
New version 9.9 Catalyst reference drivers for ATI Radeon graphics cards are now
available. The
release
notes (in Adobe Acrobat format) outline various issues resolved by the new drivers,
but no performance improvements. Downloads for the various flavors of Windows
can be found through
the AMD
Graphics Drivers & Software Page.
LucasArts follows the Lucidity reveal with an official
announcement that confirms the PC as the other target for the puzzle platformer
to be released on October 7. This is accompanied by
some screenshots, and here's word: LucasArts Announces Lucidity™
Addictive Puzzle Platform Game Coming to Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360®
video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC on October 7
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – September 11, 2009 – LucasArts today announced Lucidity,
a new game under development from the LucasArts team that re-imagined The Secret
of Monkey Islandâ. Set for release on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PC via digital
download on October 7, Lucidity is an addictive puzzle platformer set in the
surreal dreamscapes of a little girl named Sofi.
In Lucidity, players take a trip into the imagination of Sofi, a young girl who
is filled with a persistent desire to explore new worlds and overcome all
obstacles in her way. In this challenging puzzle platform game, players are
tasked with keeping Sofi safe as she drifts deeper into the strange new world of
her dreams. Through quick reaction and placement of randomly generated puzzle
pieces, players must create a path through beautifully detailed dreamscapes to
keep Sofi in perpetual motion and deliver her to safety.
“Lucidity comes from our effort at LucasArts to form several small internal
development teams and give them the creative freedom to make games that
surprise, amaze and inspire,” said LucasArts President Darrell Rodriguez. “The
re-imagining of The Secret of Monkey Island and the development of the all-new
Lucidity are just the beginning of this effort.”
More information about Lucidity can be found at LucasArts’ newly launched blog,
The Workshop, at
http://www.LucasArtsWorkshop.com/. The Workshop at LucasArts has been
created to share the latest news about the company’s digital distribution
initiatives.
DirectX 11 – What to expect on the AMD at Play Blog discusses the upcoming
version of Microsoft's Direct X gaming API. In addition to technical details,
the article also reveals that support for DX11 is snowballing, as the slate of
games to use the API has now tripled (to three). In addition to the
already announced DX11 support in DiRT 2, they also list GSC Game
World's upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of
Pripyat and EA's already released
BattleForge as DirectX 11 games. Thanks
Big Download.
A playable demo for Tropico 3
is now available, offering a tutorial and two full missions from the tropical
island dictator simulation. The 1.1 GB download is available on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront,
Gamer's Hell, and
The Patches Scrolls,
and here's word on the included scenarios: MISSION 1: Bananas
The abdication of the old Presidente of St. Helena provided the perfect
opportunity for your rise to power. Now as the head of state it is your job to
lead this small island nation to a new age of prosperity.
St. Helena is a modest island with rich and fertile lands, which have attracted
the attention of the American food conglomerate Fruitas LTD. You should make use
of the gringos to secure the financial future of the island as well as your own
Swiss Bank Account.
MISSION 2: Second Chance
The band of rebels led by your twin managed to drive you out of your own island.
Taking the entire treasury, you hitched a ride on an old fishing boat, seeking
refuge in your summer residence on the island of El Acantilado.
Chased away from their own homes, your most loyal supporters have followed you.
Taking the burden of leadership once again you have promised them a fresh start.
Your new island is a poor and dry hunk of rock. Several rich iron ore deposits
are its only viable resources…..
Tropico 3 goes back to the roots of the hit strategy series closely following
the original Tropico story-line. Tropico 3 is being developed by Haemimont Games
who previously developed the popular Imperium Romanum and Grand Ages: Rome for
Kalypso Media.
A write-up on the
L4D2 Boycott Forums has the impressions from the visit to
Valve by the founders of the
L4D2 Boycott Group
(thanks Dave). Included is an outline of future DLC plans for the original
Left 4 Dead: Now for some good news: There is more DLC for Left 4
Dead coming after CrashCourse. We were given a rough idea of what it should be,
however we were asked not to talk too much about it so it didn’t “influence the
creative process”. I can tell you this: it’ll either be a new Special Infected,
a new Campaign or new Weapon(s). It’s definitely one of the three, perhaps more.
This is pretty much the only thing that we were asked not to talk about
(remember, *asked* we didn’t sign anything). To that end, we’ll continue to bug
Chet about this after Crash Course drops.
I can tell you guys this though; Chet and the rest of the L4D team are still
excited about the original four survivors and working the stories of L4D and
L4D2 together. To that end, Gabe told us that they’re working on a project that
will bridge the stories of L4D and L4D2 and that it will be available through
steam (I believe the word ‘free’ was tossed in there too, just don’t quote me on
it). It was also hinted at that they were doing something for the Mod community;
Agent of Chaos heard more about that though.
Gametrailers TV with Geoff Keighley has the LucasArts announcement
teased earlier this week, which turns out to be a downloadable
Xbox LIVE Arcade title called Lucidity (we see reports this is coming to
PC as well, but that doesn't seem to be confirmed in the show). This is a simple
puzzle/platformer that involves helping a young girl named Sophie help her
grandmother as you create a path she follows, rather than control her character.
They offer a little footage of the game at about the 11:20 mark and more at
about 15:10. They also reveal they are working on "multiple" internal Star Wars
titles, and perhaps the most welcome news is mentioned in passing, that the
Jedi Knight series is coming to Steam next week.
Yesterday's version 1.1 patch for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was not
actually intended for release. According to
Ubisoft: "Since yesterday some websites offer to download Patch 1.1 for Call
Of Juarez : Bound In Blood PC. This file is NOT the final patch and was
wrongfully released prior to the deadline set by Ubisoft. Our teams are working
on the final patch, which will be released in the coming days." Thanks The Patches Scrolls.
Matrix Games now offers a patch for War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition
to update this World War II Pacific Theatre strategy game to version 1.00.84
with over 200 changes, fixes, and improvements. They say: "Of particular note
are a set of new configuration switches to better support the newest dual and
quad core processors, as well as four new scenarios (including “Quiet China”
variants), interface improvements and improvements to surface combat and pilot
training as well as other areas of gameplay. Most of these improvements and
fixes can be applied to existing games in progress simply by loading the saved
game and continuing play. The full set of changes is documented in detail in the
included update readme file."
A new trailer from Dragon Age: Origins introduces Leliana, a warrior/sexpot
that plays a role in BioWare's upcoming fantasy-themed RPG. The trailer and some
further details on the character are posted on the
Dragon Age: Origins
Website (thanks Eldaron) and the clip is mirrored on
ActionTrip,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Story and StarCraft
II on IGN is an interview with Andrew "Marilyn" Chambers about his role as
writer on StarCraft II. They discuss writing for a project with a
significant established history, how Blizzard's penchant for changing things
impacts development, story arcs, working with voice talent, and more.
The Escapist - Ten Things I Hate About You, Gaming.
While gamers complain about the monopoly of stores like GameStop,
removing their ability to shop around for a title by buying in pre-order
gimmicks only feeds the madness. And then there are those trinkets
themselves - they used to just be useless plastic gimmicks, until they
started becoming useless in-game items. How long before pre-order bonuses go
the way of the worst kind of DLC - to wit, become things that would have
been on the disc in a previous generation? Honestly, I would have thought
gaming would have grown out of this way of doing business by now.
Ars Technica - #EAFail- the absolute worst (best-) PR campaign in gaming?
Like a reality show contestant, EA isn't here to make friends... it just
wants to be talked about. The reaction to these stunts and promotions have
have been overwhelmingly negative, but they're being written up, discussed,
and the game's theme of hellish temptations is being preserved.
Outraged Christian bloggers, complaining female and LGBT gamers, editors
being sent checks made out directly to them—all of this makes for delicious
copy, and much of the gnashing of teeth seems to be centered on the fact
that the gaming press continues to fall for the contrived controversy to
give the company exactly what it wants: coverage. The campaign has been
childish, daring, and borderline tasteless. Writing checks directly to game
writers is cheaper than advertising on a site, with a much better result.
Test Freaks - Will The Cloud Make My Loaded Computer Obsolete? In Many
Cases, Probably.
The numbers of cloud users are beginning to grow, but eventually I can
see the advantages getting most, if not all, casual users on board. It’s
often free. It works with many different classes of inexpensive machines. It
removes the worry of lost computers and its files, and it works at both home
and the office without lugging a laptop back and forth. I have seen other
migrations to a solution with a much weaker advantage list.
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