|
|
 |
Archived News:
GameSpot has news that
Dennis Durkin is the new corporate vice president and COO of Interactive
Entertainment Business at Microsoft Game Studios, as it has also been announced
that 19-year MS veteran Shane Kim will be retiring. MGS is
Microsoft's first-party publishing label for Xbox 360 exclusives, who also used
to dabble in PC games before Ensemble Studios and the MS Flight Simulator teams
were cut loose. They have a quote from an MS spokesperson saying Kim's retirement is
based on a "desire to spend more time with his friends and family," which has to
be the truth sometimes, and maybe this is one of them.
Darkling Room announces
The Last Crown: Haunting of Hallowed Isle,
a sequel to The Lost Crown (thanks
Gamer's Hell). Here's word on the game, which is expected next year: The Last
Crown: Haunting of Hallowed Isle: It is a direct sequel to The Lost Crown, set
in the town of Saxton, but exploring new areas and a new story. Originally,
Saxton had three kings, and three crowns. One was destroyed, one was 'found' in
The Lost Crown, and the third is thought to have washed out to sea, many
hundreds of years ago. But, Lucy Reubans and Nigel Danvers are on the case, so
expect to find more than you'd expect, lurking out there, in the landscape. To
expand the gameplay, and heighten the enjoyment, gamers will be choosing between
Nigel and Lucy, throughout the game, to exploit their differing strengths and
weaknesses. Gamers will also have the chance to build their own, customised,
ghost-hunting gadgets, from the electronics, junk and household items found in
the gameworld. I am very excited about the game, as I believe series has a long
way to go...and will be with us for some time to come
Jonathan Boakes, July 28th, 2009.
How World of Warcraft (WoW) Promotes Innovation on the Deloitte Website
offers downloads of a Adobe Acrobat document with an academic look at how collaborative
techniques are being innovated in World of Warcraft (thanks Neutronbeam).
Word is: "The online game World of Warcraft (WoW) has become a global phenomenon
with more than 11.5 million total active subscribers. WoW constantly changes and
morphs not just as a result of the actions of game developers but in response to
those of the players as well, making it unpredictable and challenging. This
characteristic of the game makes it an intriguing simulacrum for the real
world—and a fascinating laboratory for emerging trends in learning,
collaboration, and performance improvement. As gamers grapple with an
ever-changing, ever uncertain in-game environment, they are pioneering new
techniques that may prove highly relevant to the business world."
Grey Dog Software offers
Total Extreme Wrestling 2005 as freeware, offering the full version of this management simulation for totally real sport of professional wrestling.
This was actually released on July 1, but was unnoticed here until it was brought
up by Gamer's Hell, who
are offering a mirror. There's also a mirror on
FileFront.
A new trailer from Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is now available
on
G4tv.com, offering a look at one of the later levels in Bohemia Interactive
Studios' upcoming military shooter. Word is: "The video shows off the game’s
hyper-realistic gameplay including small touches such as bullets that take real
ricochets and the fact that you may not be in danger if you hear a machine gun
shooting, but will be in danger if you hear the bullets thudding into the
ground."
A Real Warfare: 1242 trailer offers a look at the
just-announced real-time strategy game set in 13th century
Russia. The clip is available on
AtomicGamer and
Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Paradox Interactive prepares for the imminent release of Majesty 2: The
Fantasy Kingdom Sim with a new trailer for the RTS sequel, which can be
viewed on the YouTube.
Here's the dillio: "Paradox Interactive begins the release week countdown by
unveiling a freshly conjured trailer, 'Enemies and Fighting', showing off
several of the game’s missions and ‘bad guys’. Gasp at the sight of the Skeleton
King, be repelled by the power of the Fire Elemental, cower in fear at King Rat,
and watch in awe as the Ancient Lich run amok and decimate their enemies!"
The Star Wars: The
Old Republic Website now has the direct-feed version of the Coruscant movie
first available last week in SkhakyCam form. They also offer some
screenshots showing off the planet that is the capital of the Republic.
The Borderlands
Interview on AtomicGamer chats with Randy Pitchford of Gearbox about
Borderlands, the upcoming role-playing shooter. Topics include immersion, the
ever-more common post-apocalyptic setting, the art style, characters, DLC plans,
and more.
- BioShock on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Frontlines: Fuel of War on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Garry's Mod on
Steam. Save 50%.
- Max Payne 2 on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- MLB 2K9 on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Order of War Pre-Purchase on
Steam. Exclusive
content.
- Painkiller on
GOG.com. Save
$2.00.
- Saints Row 2 on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Serious Sam Gold on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Sid Meier's Pirates! on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
- Thief: Deadly Shadows on
Direct2Drive. $5.00.
Still on sale (previously reported)
- All Strategy First Games on
Steam. Save 50% off each individual title.
- All SEGA Games on
GamersGate.
Save 50% on all games (except preorders).
- Braid on
Steam. Save 66% this weekend.
- Champions Online on
GoGamer. Save 16%.
- Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Premier Edition on
GoGamer. Save 55%.
- Dark Void Preorders on
GameStop. Outlines the preorder bonus.
- Darkest of Days on
Steam.
Save 10%.
- Dawn of Magic 2 Pre-Purchase on
Steam. Save 10%. Not in North America.
- Fallen Earth Preorders on
the Fallen Earth Store. Save 10% on multiple
keys.
- Fallen Earth Preorders on
GoGamer. Save 16%.
- Fallout 3 on
GoGamer. Save 40%.
- Fuel on
GoGamer. Save 34%.
- Guild Wars Trilogy on
GoGamer. Save 40%.
- Majesty 2 Preorder on
GamersGate. Save 20%, get Majesty Gold, plus new GG bonuses.
- Majesty 2 Preorder on
GoGamer. Save 18%.
- Majesty 2 Pre-purchase on
Steam. Get Majesty Gold Edition for free.
- Red Faction: Guerrilla on
GoGamer.
- Resident Evil 5 Preorders on
GamersGate,
Impulse, and
Steam. Save 10%.
- Strategy First Complete Pack 2009 on
Steam. Save 50% off the package price.
- Ubisoft Games on
Ubisoft European E-Shop. Games as low as £9.99.
Eidos and WBIE announce details on the promised free DLC for
Batman: Arkham Asylum that will launch on Thursday: Monday 14th
September/... Eidos Interactive Ltd. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
today announced the Insane Night Map Pack, a free downloadable map pack for the
critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum™ action adventure title. Beginning
September 17th, the Insane Night Map Pack will be available from PlayStation®
Store, Xbox® LIVE Marketplace, and Games for Windows® LIVE Marketplace, and
offer gamers two new Challenge Maps to hone their FreeFlow™ Combat skills and
test their Invisible Predator™ prowess.
In the ‘Totally Insane’ FreeFlow Combat map, players will be tested to their
fullest as scores of escaped lunatics bear down upon BATMAN as they make their
escape through the asylum’s secure records facility. These fast-moving foes will
challenge all but the most practiced players, with quick reactions and expert
timing needed to fend off wave upon wave of insane inmates, bent on taking down
the DARK KNIGHT. In the ‘Nocturnal Hunter’ Invisible Predator map, players take
on a wholly different approach, practicing their predatory skills to remain in
the shadows, utilizing the Arkham watchtowers and Batman’s arsenal of gadgets to
gain the upper hand on The Joker’s army of goons patrolling below.
The Insane Night Map Pack will be available from September 17th for
PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and
entertainment system from Microsoft®, and the soon to be released Games for
Windows® LIVE edition.
Timothee
Besset's Blog has an update from the id Software programmer that offers a
little more encouragement on the prospects of Linux versions of id's upcoming
Tech5 engine games than recent pessimistic comments on the topic
by John Carmack (thanks Jacek Fedoryñski). While Carmack specifically said, "It isn't out of
the question, but I don't think we will be able to justify the work," TTimo
indicates otherwise: It is unlikely the new Wolfenstein title is going to
get a native Linux release. None of it was done in house, and I had no
involvement in the project. QuakeLive offers a lot of challenges and eats away
everything else right now.
As far as idTech 5 (the Rage engine), it runs on PS3 and Mac already. Setting up
idTech 5 to run on those platforms early on in our development cycle was a
direct result of carrying Linux/Mac support in idTech 4 beforehand. It is likely
i will be involved with idTech 5 in the near future, I'll be damned if we don't
find the time to get Linux builds done.
Evony, LLC has
filed suit against blogger Bruce Everiss "for posting defamatory and false
statements online about the company" and
Evony, their eponymous MMORPG. This follows indications that
a lawsuit was brewing on Bruce
On Games,
where several posts over time have questioned various aspects of this operation,
most recently a
post
today theorizing one of the game's mini-games may constitute illegal
gambling under US law. Also, as Bruce suggested in a previous post about this
situation, this lawsuit has been filed in Australia where libel is easier to
prove, but where neither UK-based Bruce Everiss nor US-based Evony, LLC are
actually located. Word from the complaint is: "Evony’s attorneys said Bruce
Everiss’ attacks have caused significant damage to the company’s brand and the
gaming experience for Evony’s users and millions of fans around the world."
Latino Review reports a confirmation of a Tron Legacy game to tie-in with
the upcoming Tron movie sequel, saying this was confirmed at this
weekend's Disney D23 Expo by producer Steven Lisberger. He told them this in
spite of his indications that this might not be something he should be
discussing publically, but it's hard to imagine a movie that takes place
within a video game without a video game tie-in. Thanks
Kotaku.
1C Company announces Real Warfare: 1242, a new real-time strategy series
set in the same time period as their XIII Century games (ignoring the
part where they refer to "Improved unit animation" since this is a new series).
No release date is offered for this game centered on historic battles in
medieval Russia, but here are some details: MOSCOW - September 14, 2009 -
Leading Eastern and Central European publisher, 1C Company, announced today the
development of the first title in a new series of strategy games to be released
under the Real Warfare label - Real Warfare: 1242.
Russia during the XIII century was a huge state, much larger than any other
European country. Split by internal conflicts, and yet standing strong against
numerous outer threats, it was attacked by the infamous Mongol Horde. They came
suddenly and pierced through the country like a blazing arrow. The native people
fought valiantly, led by a fierce warrior and prince, Prince Alexander Nevsky.
Real Warfare: 1242, is a realistic real-time strategy game based on authentic
historic events. It invites you to experience the glorious times of princes,
knights and vast battles. The player's goal is to direct Alexander Nevsky
through meticulously recreated historic battlegrounds and achieve the greatest
of victories by repelling the attacks of Teutonic and Swedish knights, bringing
Lithuania to peace and eliminating every single invader in 1242.
Features
• The engine incorporates state-of-the-art technologies
used in real-time strategy titles
• Vivid, lifelike real-time graphics Carefully maintained
historical accuracy
• Vast territories to conquer and control Significant level
of depth and in-game freedom
• Improved unit animation (with the transition to motion
capture)
Random Blog of Random Blogginess - Graphics? Storyline? Or Price? Thanks
Slashdot via Mike Martinez.
The paper does state, in the body, that factors such as gameplay and
storytelling matter, but they appear to be secondary factors when compared
to the other factors. The fact a “franchise” matters isn’t that surprising,
based mainly on the fact that we see copies of the new Halo or RockBand or
Grand Theft Auto, even when we know that Halo was always over-hyped and the
last real GTA was Vice City. The fact that price is a major factor just
doesn’t sit right with me.
Okay, there's been a mixed response to bolding the italicized game names in
various lists here, so if you care one way or another, please feel free to share
your feelings as a decision will be made on this soon.
R.I.P.:
Real ‘Norma Rae’ dead of cancer after battle with health insurer. Death
panel? Thanks Acleacius.
|
Twitter 
