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Archived News:
Ubisoft announces a collector's edition for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, which will be in stores on February 23, 2010. The announcement describes added content including a custom USB drive packed with art and more, a Splinter Cell art book, decals, a comic book, all packed in a steelbook DVD case. The $79.99 bundle also includes two in-game items; first access to the MP5-SD3 close-quarters submachine gun with an integrated suppressor and an exclusive 3rd Echelon outfit for you multiplayer character. These bonuses are shown in this Splinter Cell Conviction Preorder Info Image.
The 12th Annual Independent Games Festival reveals the 306 entrants in this year's competition. Word is: "This total entry tally comprises 35% more games than last year's record 226 Main Competition entries, itself a 30% increase on the previous year -- showing the continuing popularity of independent games and the IGF."
The Darkest Of Days Website now offers a new patch to update 8monkey Labs' alternate-history shooter to version 1.05. This is called an "instant action patch," as it "unlocks the ability to travel back to your favorite missions after completing the story campaign. Wield weapons from any era and experience different gameplay styles by trying out various weapon upgrade modes. Think you're man enough to bring a musket to WWII?" The full changelog is here. Also, Steam has the automatic update for the Steam edition.
The Electronic Arts UK Community has word from DICE Associate Producer Barry Tingle that a new patch for Battlefield 2142 is now in closed beta testing (thanks Planet Battlefield). Word is the update will remove the DVD check, but there is no ETA as of this time: "I can't give you a date on when it will be done but programmers are still working on it here. Localisation has been completed and we have been in closed beta for a couple of weeks and fixing some issues that came up in those tests."
Square Enix has filed a trademark registration for Fantasy Earth Zero reports superannuation, who also point to the Wikipedia article that says Fantasy Earth Zero is a Japanese MMORPG. That article also explains that the game was developed by Square Enix as a subscription-based game, but they cancelled the game due to lack of demand. The game is now operated in Japan by Gamepot, making Square Enix grabbing the western trademark more intriguing. They also report Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises has filed a trademark registration for Margaritaville for gaming-related use.
BradyGames Reveals Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Guide has details on not one, but two strategy guides planned for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, one of them a hardcover "Prestige Edition." Here's a bit: Tuesday 3rd November/... Official strategy guide expert, BradyGames, today announces it has been working exclusively with Activision and Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Signature Series Strategy Guide – the ultimate accessory to the most anticipated game of 2009. Published by BradyGames, for PAL regions, the guide, which is the only choice for gamers looking to discover everything the new theatre of operations has to offer, will be released the day before the game, on 9th November 2009, with an RRP of £12.99 for the Signature Series book and £19.99 for the Prestige Edition hardcover that also includes additional bonus content.
BradyGames’ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Signature Series Strategy Guide is an essential addition to any Call of Duty player’s arsenal, weighing-in at over 300 pages with an exclusive bonus foldout and has been written by one of the videogames industry’s most highly respected guide authors, Philip Marcus and multiplayer specialists the Sea Snipers, in direct collaboration with Activision and Infinity Ward for Xbox 360™, PlayStation®3 and PC.
A new "Future Past- Part Two" video developer diary for Star Trek Online hops into the DeLorean for a second look at the future history of the Federation, setting the stage for Cryptic's upcoming Star Trek MMOG. The clip is available on AtomicGamer. There is also a new gameplay trailer for the game, which is available on AtomicGamer and GameTrailers.com. Live long and prosper.
BioWare announces This is War, the title track from the new Thirty Seconds to Mars is featured in the soundtrack of Dragon Age: Origins, their just-released RPG. There is also a new trailer from the game featuring the track, which can be found on AtomicGamer and FileFront.
Holing up with Kerberos at Fort Zombie on Neoseeker is an interview about Kerberos Studios' just released action/RPG set during one of those zombie invasions that seem more common all the time. The interview also includes a video where Chris Stewart outlines the game's premise and mechanics. The conversation covers scripted versus random events, weapons, magic zombies, zombification, the game engine, and more.
Off to vote. For whom? I have no idea. Democracy in action.
Steam News announces that the Windows demo for Left 4 Dead 2 is open to all Steam users: Nov 3, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the availability of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo to all PC gamers via Steam.
The Left 4 Dead 2 demo features gameplay taken from "The Parish" campaign, set in the New Orleans French Quarter. Playable by 1 to 4 players over local or Internet connections, the demo features all the new boss infected zombies and many of the new melee weapons included in the full product.
L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009's marquee titles. Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.
Smoking Gun Interactive has launched Exoriare.com, home to an online graphic novel called X written by media theorist Douglas Rushkoff that is set in the universe of an unannounced new IP Smoking Gun plans to launch on multiple platforms. Smoking Gun includes veterans from Relic where they worked on Company of Heroes, but the nature of this new project remains mysterious for now. The graphic novel will roll out over the next four weeks. Here's a bit from the announcement: The preview will be delivered over the course of four weeks starting today, and can be experienced online at www.exoriare.com and provides a first glimpse into the universe and characters of Smoking Gun’s as-of-yet undisclosed debut franchise. With a focus on real-world mystery, ancient locations, and deep conspiracy, X promises to explore the secret history of mankind in a way that has never been done before.
As a small, scattered group of people stumble onto the truth, they find that they are too late: every great power on earth has already aligned itself against humanity. The war is all but over. Their struggle to discover the truth will lead them into a massive conspiracy that predates humanity itself - from the world's most ancient sites to the global centers of power.
Sports Interactive and SEGA of America announce that Football Manager 2010 is now available in North America, offering the latest installment in the association football/soccer series. The game is available for Windows and Macintosh, and there is also a first-ever mobile installment in the series for the PSP. There is also a digitally distributed version on Direct2Drive and Steam, and a playable demo is also available.
There's an Infinity Ward interview on Develop talking with Robert Bowling about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Topics include the prominence of the CoD series, the pressure caused by a high expectations, the temptation of a new IP, console support, and more. An interesting bit that is highlighted in a separate article is how Activision proposed a budget for Modern Warfare 2 that was so large, Infinity Ward felt it was "ridiculous," saying "No, we don’t need that," as they are typically "pretty tight" with development budgets. "Much like we don’t let ourselves get distracted by hype, if you have excess you feel like you should use excess," he told them. "So we said ‘let us design a game the way we’d always design a game. And let us focus on that.’ So we didn’t let the budget affect our mentality. We would only put stuff in the game that is right for the game, and not because we can."
Direct2Drive announces the 10 bestselling games for the week of October 25-31:
- Borderlands
- Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition (Preorder)
- Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Ed. w/ Prima Guide (Preorder)
- Torchlight
- Tropico 3
- Dragon Age: Origins (Preorder)
- Civilization 4: The Complete Edition
- Aion
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Halloween Promo)
- Risen
LucasArts announces that Star Wars The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition is now available in stores for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, offering Windows their first crack at the Star Wars action game. Word is: SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Nov. 3, 2009 - LucasArts today announced that Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition is now available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and for the first time ever, PCs. The Ultimate Sith Edition shows gamers the deepest, darkest side of the Force in a story that puts them on a collision course with Luke Skywalker himself.
Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition includes all of the original missions found in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as well as content previously only available via download and an all-new bonus level set on the planet Hoth. It comes packaged in a premium case along with a special edition art book and collectible art cards that showcase the memorable characters in the game.
Paradox Interactive announces that For the Glory: A Europa Universalis Game is gold, and will be released via digital distribution on November 10. The announcement is accompanied by these new screenshots, and here's a bit: Developed by Crystal Empire Games, a team formed within Paradox’s Europa Universalis II fan community, For the Glory is built upon the Europa Engine. The title is a product of the developers’ vision for the ultimate historical strategy game. Players take the reins of a country, guide domestic and foreign policy, navigate thousands of historical events, engage in various struggles and lead their country to prosperity – all in the name of glory.
The team has been actively discussing its efforts in a series of developer diaries that can be found on the For the Glory forums at the following address: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=444.
The Runic Games Forums outline issues being collected for the first patch for Torchlight, saying they will announce the status of the patch after more issues are collected. They also note that distribution will be tricky, as they "have to patch across multiple partners, and each one has to have a slightly different patch." The post outlines a number of issues, and many of them include a reassuring note saying they are fixed. Likewise, the Torchlight Post-Launch and MMO Q&A on Ten Ton Hammer talks with various folks at Runic Entertainment about the game's launch, as well as the plan to follow this up with an MMO variant on the single-player RPG. Along the way Travis Baldree indicates they hope to release the patch as well as the game editor this week: "We’re hoping this week [the week of November 1st]. Basically, what we’re doing right now is taking a lot of assets – the 3D Studio Max files, the characters, the wardrobes, the tilesets, monsters - from the game and give them out with the editor. The editor’s ready to go, it’s just a matter of packing it up with a little bit more documentation. We’re getting one patch out the door first, and that’s the plan. It should be real soon."
BioWare announces Dragon Age: Origins is now available in North America, offering the RPG they are calling the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate. The game is available for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, and multiple bits of DLC are available for each platform. Here's a bit: EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that the highly-anticipated game Dragon Age™: Origins is now available on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. Dragon Age: Origins introduces a dark and gritty approach to the fantasy genre where players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind. Several downloadable content packs are also now available, including Warden’s Keep, The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor.
“The launch of Dragon Age: Origins is the fantasy event of 2009,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group at EA. “I am extremely proud of the entire development team - and we’re all very excited to release one of our best games yet!”
BioWare has also launched a robust package of downloadable content (DLC) for Dragon Age: Origins. The Stone Prisoner gives players access to new environments, items, hours of additional gameplay and the mighty stone golem Shale who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game. The Warden’s Keep premium DLC provides players of Dragon Age: Origins with a new dungeon-exploring adventure, new loot including a set of ancient Grey Warden armor, a chance to gain two of six mysterious new abilities, a new base complete with merchants and a party chest to store their hard-earned items. In addition, BioWare has released the Blood Dragon Armor DLC, a set of themed armor that gives players additional protection in combat and will be available for use in both Dragon Age: Origins on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and in Mass Effect™ 2 on the Xbox 360 and PC.
Develop announces Funcom has received a $260,000 grant to develop On The Edge Of The World, an upcoming snowboarding game. The grant comes from the Norsk Film Institutt, Norway's governmental division representing the digital arts sectors. Word is: "On The Edge Of The World will be developed for both PC and Mac, with both editions featuring online competitions, social networking access, and trans-media integration."
Natural Selection 2 Interview on Shacknews talks with Charlie Cleveland about Natural Selection 2, the upcoming commercial sequel to the action/strategy modification. The conversation introduces developer Unknown Worlds, the sources of their funding, how the plans for the game evolved, engine selection, the hybrid FPS/RTS genre, various gameplay elements, and more.
The Team Fortress 2 Blog announces that those who have preordered Left 4 Dead 2 at Steam or elsewhere will get a crossover bonus of an in-game version of Bill's hat for Team Fortress 2 (not everybody can pull off the beret, but it looks great on you). Word is: Is Bill's hat the tenth class? All will be revealed in time, but don't hold your breath. Will you get to wear Bill's hat right now, in TF2? Go ahead and hold your breath—now exhale like a champ, because you're a winner and it's happening.
Even if you haven't pre-ordered yet, it's not too late to get in on this unprecedented hat-wearing, history-making crossover event! Pre-order Left 4 Dead 2 now, and the hat is yours. (Also the game at 10% off.)
Steam News has word of a new automatic update for Team Fortress 2. The new version adds the hat mentioned in the story above, as well as a fix for performance problems after changing levels on Koth_Harvest_Event.
Alganon Website announces open beta testing of this fantasy-themed MMORPG will commence on November 11, saying: "This is the final stage of beta testing before Alganon's official launch on December 1st, 2009." They will be distributing keys through numerous partner sites. Here's word on the game: Alganon is an upcoming fantasy-based MMORPG that allows thousands of people to play together in a virtual world that features a rich history dominated by commanding deities, powerful weapons and armor, deadly magic, epic quests, ancient places to discover, the utilization of detailed tradeskills, and more. Designed from scratch and based in a uniquely created world, the initial goal in designing Alganon is to provide "Fun game play with unlimited growth in a massive world of immersion and interaction".
A new Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight preview on the Command & Conquer Website offers a profile of the GDI Mastodon. The preview of this "All-Terrain Base Assault" unit offers details and a short trailer showing the Mastodon in action.
Attempts to hijack online game logins via malware are on the rise according to Microsoft, reports BBC News. Cliff Evans, head of security at Microsoft UK, describes strong growth in a family of malicious programs known as Taterf, saying infections were up 156% in the first half of 2009 compared with the last six months of 2008. The article also describes the impact of stolen accounts on things like gold sales, and outlines the common sense to be used in avoiding have your own account hijacked. Thanks Mike Martinez via Digg.
Upcoming Update 1.08 - Preliminary Changelog on the Kalypso Forums outlines plans for the next Tropico 3 patch, which is said to be due by the end of the week. Here's the preliminary change list: - Support for legacy ATI cards (fixes graphics issues on X19x0 models)
- Elections and rebel activities persist if you keep playing after your regular
- Population limit raised to 1200
- Road element limit raised to 800
There's a Dragon Age: Origins Q&A on GameZone talking with BioWare’s Mark Darrah about the RPG that's being released today. They discuss the game, the RPG genre, and what the future holds, talking about raiding the bar, which hopefully didn't leave them too drunk to raise the bar: "I knew to a certain degree we are always trying to raid the bar ourselves, to do better than we did the last time. In the case of Dragon Age, to a large degree, I do think this is the game that we wanted to make and it pushes the boundaries in a lot of ways because we refused to compromise on quality, and refused to compromise on length and told the story that we wanted to tell."
Al Rivera Talks Star Trek Online on IncGamers chats about the upcoming Trekkie MMORPG, covering topics like playing as a Klingon, Klingon ships, crafting, playable factions that may come in the future, the game's timeframe, lessons learned from the Champions Online launch, the influence of the recent Star Trek movie's alternate continuity, and more.
The EverQuest Interview on The MMO Gamer talks with SOE's Alan Crosby about the tenth anniversary of EverQuest, EverQuest II, and what the future holds for the fantasy-themed MMORPG franchise. When asked about the prospects for EverQuest III, he outlines the state of the series: "I can’t say whether you’re going to see one any time soon… I do know that we have not given up on the EverQuest franchise. The brand is strong, in fact we now call it the EverQuest Universe, and we’re continuing to work on EverQuest 1 and 2, adding expansion packs and new content. Eventually, I’m sure there will be some announcement… I’m not sure when, I’m not sure when work will begin… but this franchise is not going away."
Destructoid - Why I will support Modern Warfare 2.
Choice is the important word here. Peter Molyneux once interestingly noted that, given a choice, most players decide for themselves not to walk down the path of evil on their first time playing a game. His own game, Fable, allows players to either be good or evil, and evidence suggests that players actually prefer good. While it's a given that there are players out there who will choose to shoot as many civilians as possible for a laugh (and really, I don't think a laugh is a bad thing, even if it is in bad taste), it's totally reasonable to expect that many players will choose to do the 'right' thing.
TechCrunch - Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem Of Hell.
In short, these games try to get people to pay cash for in game currency so they can level up faster and have a better overall experience. Which is fine. But for users who won’t pay cash, a wide variety of “offers” are available where they can get in-game currency in exchange for lead gen-type offers. Most of these offers are bad for consumers because it confusingly gets them to pay far more for in-game currency than if they just paid cash (there are notable exceptions, but the scammy stuff tends to crowd out the legitimate offers). And it’s also bad for legitimate advertisers.
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising on GameInfoWire.
It's election day here in the US. There are some significant races in some areas, but ours is not one of them, as we don't have any major offices up for grabs this time. This leaves us choosing things like judges, and I cannot claim to be informed enough to know who is running or why. It sort of makes me think the responsible things is to not vote, since I'll be guessing anyway.
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