Archived News:
Futuremark Games Studio announces that Shattered Horizon is now available, the zero-G shooter that's their debut title. The game can be purchased through the Shattered Horizon Website, though keep in mind that this game requires DirectX 10 and features no support for Windows XP. "We are very excited and proud to launch our first game," said Jukka Mäkinen, Head of Futuremark Games Studio. "Shattered Horizon is this year’s most original first-person shooter offering PC gamers everywhere a fresh and innovative FPS game with intense zero gravity combat that cannot be found in other games."
Steam News announces the availability of an automatic patch for Killing Floor, Tripwire Interactive's co-op zombie shooter. The update reduces memory usage, fixes some bugs, closes off an exploit, and adds measures to impede pipe-bomb spamming.
The first patch for FIFA Manager 10 is now available to update the association football/soccer sequel to version 2.0.0.3. There's no word on what the patch does, but the download can be found on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and The Patches Scrolls.
THQ Reports Fiscal Second Quarter Results reports lowered net sales compared with last year, noting: "The company had no major product releases in the fiscal 2010 second quarter, and as a result, net sales were driven primarily by continued sales of previously released games." Losses for the quarter, on the other hand are lower than the same period last year. Also, Digital River announces a deal with THQ to operate a new THQ Online Store. Word is: "The new U.S. store supports digital download sales of THQ’s PC games, including popular titles such as Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II and Red Faction®: Guerrilla™. THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software."
Steam News announces the Steam editions of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition are now unlocked for mainland Europe, saying "Other regions will receive Dragon Age: Origins on November 6th."
Rockers No Doubt sue Activision over "Band Hero" reports that No Doubt is suing Activision of misappropriation of the band's likeness in Band Hero. In a complaint similar to objections to Kurt Cobain's use in Guitar Hero 5, the objection is the depiction of the band performing the music of other artists. The suit uses the example of Gwen Stefani singing the Rolling Stones song Honky Tonk Woman, saying this "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes."
The Left 4 Dead Blog offers the second TV commercial for Left 4 Dead 2, Valve's upcoming co-op zombie shooter sequel. We never did get our slice of the $25 mil for posting the last one, so we'll just put this one on Valve's tab.
The Interview with Bill Roper on Techulous talks with the executive producer of Champions Online about this superhero MMORPG from Cryptic Studios. They discuss the game's launch, the Blood Moon update, plans for more content, their concurrent development of Star Trek Online, the Xbox 360 edition, and what the future holds. Also, there's a Champions Online Developer Diary on Ten Ton Hammer penned by Cryptic's Systems Designer Brian Urbanek on the topic of systems balancing.
The For the Glory Interview on Gaming Nexus chats with Philippe Paillarès, project lead on For the Glory, the new Europa-engine strategy game from Crystal Empire Games. They discuss the originations of this project, the game's niche audience, the number of included units and nations, the UI, balancing accuracy and playability, and more.
- Agatha Christie: Double Murder Mystery Pack on GoGamer. Save 80%.
- Agatha Christie: Peril at End House on GoGamer. Save 75%.
- Battlestations: Midway on GoGamer. Save 87%.
- Borderlands on GoGamer. Save 26%.
- Chain of Command: Eastern Front on GoGamer. Save 74%.
- Commander In Chief on GoGamer. Save 74%.
- Death to Spies: Moment of Truth on GoGamer. Save 67%.
- Europa Universalis: Rome on GoGamer. Save 50%.
- F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin on GoGamer. Save 63%.
- Football Manager 2010 on GoGamer. Save 42%.
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Second Edition on GoGamer. Save 60%.
- Grappling Hook on GamersGate. Save 50%.
- LEGO Batman on GoGamer. Save 50%.
- Neopets Puzzle Adventure on GoGamer. Save 67%.
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising on GoGamer. Save 25%.
- Outcry on GoGamer. Save 75%.
- Overlord 2 on GoGamer. Save 75%.
- Painkiller Black Limited on GoGamer. Save 88%.
- Perimeter 2: New Earth on GoGamer. Save 67%.
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 on GoGamer. Save 30%.
- Raven Squad: Hidden Dagger on GoGamer. Save 68%.
- Rise of the Argonauts on GoGamer. Save 80%.
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars- Republic Heroes on GoGamer. Save 17%.
- SuperPower on GoGamer. Save 67%.
- Titans of Steel: Warring Suns on GoGamer. Save 80%.
- Tom Clancy's End War on GoGamer. Save 88%.
- X Blades on GoGamer. Save 80%.
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition on GoGamer. Save 68%.
- X3: Gold Edition on GoGamer. Save 25%.
- XIII Century - Blood of Europe on GoGamer. Save 15%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
- Alganon on
Direct2Drive. Preorder and get beta access and in-game items.
- All In-Stock Games on the EA Online Store. Save 20%.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on
Amazon and
Walmart. Includes a $20.00 credit.
- Gratuitous Space Battles on
Impulse. Save 13% on
preorders.
- Ground Control Pack on
GOG.com. Save
30%.
- Halloween Bundle on GOG.com. Save 30% on ObsCure, Personal Nightmare, and Waxworks.
- Lugaru on Direct2Drive. Save 75%.
- Nation Red on Steam. Save 30%.
- Nemesis of the Roman Empire on
Impulse. Save 33%.
- The Path on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
- Plants vs. Zombies on
PCGameStore.
Only $6.99.
- Restaurant Empire on
Impulse. Save 33%.
- SFI Mission 4-Pack on
the Strategy First Website. Four games for $19.99.
- Street Fighter IV on the Capcom Store. Save 50%.
- Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
- Team Fortress 2 on
Best Buy and
FRYS.com.
Only $9.99. Thanks Johnny.
- THQ Classic FPS Bundle on
Impulse.
Save 25%.
- Warlords Battlecry III on
Impulse. Save 33%.
- X-Com Complete Pack on
GamersGate. Save
40%.
Link of the Day: Priceless! The 25 Funniest Vintage Tech Ads. Thanks Ralph. "Sabrina demonstrates the world's finest projection equipment." LOL!
R.I.P.: Sheldon Dorf, founder of world-famous San Diego Comic-Con, dies at 76. Thanks Jim.
Ars Technica collects a number of forum posts indicating that customers who bought their copies of Dragon Age: Origins via digital distribution from Steam or Impulse are having difficulties getting the DLC included with their purchase. They outline problems downloading the DLC as accounts on both EA.com and the beta BioWare Social Network are required, saying some users have not been able to get this process to work. They also report the process is even trickier for Impulse customers, as Impulse does not automatically install the required update service, and addressing this requires jumping though some hoops, and even worse, some copies of the game bought through Impulse won't authenticate after getting the DLC. They summarize this saying: "The main issue is that EA and Bioware used the launch as an excuse to force consumers to create accounts on their sites, and the process of linking Bioware and EA accounts seems either too complicated or completely broken for many users. Why not allow you to download the content directly from the in-game menu? Maybe they want your information. Maybe this is another way they feel they're stopping piracy." The story has been updated since it was first posted with a statement from Stardock about Impulse problems: While we are aware of the folks having issues with the DLC, we are also experiencing thousands of people playing the game with no hiccups on Impulse. For those few who are indeed experiencing issues with authentication due to EA's process, we are working now on a fix and expect this problem to be remedied very shortly.
A post on the World of Warcraft Forums introduces the World of Warcraft "Pet Store," as they now offer the opportunity to purchase Pandaren Monk or the Lil’ K.T for $10.00 USD each. The pets can also be gifted to another player, and word is half the proceeds of sales of the Pandaren Monk are being donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Thanks Wowhead via ZAM.
The Dungeons & Dragons Online Forums announce Turbine is opening a new server for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited to cope with the influx of players since the game's subscription requirement was dropped. The new server is called "Orien," and word is it "will be open to new characters only. Character transfers will not be available for the new world at this time." Thanks Massively.
Ubisoft announces their financial results for the first half of their fiscal 2009-2010, which concluded on September 30. Sales for the period were just under half of what they were for the same period last year, with Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood listed as their main title during the period. Overall they are projecting €80.0 million in losses for the half, compared with earnings of €33.0 million for the fist half of 2008-2009. They also say: "The third quarter of 2009-10 will be the most important quarter in Ubisoft’s history," listing the following as their main releases for the quarter: − Assassin’s Creed® 2 for Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3, Nintendo DSI™ and PSP™
− James Cameron’s Avatar™: The Game for Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, PSP™ and PC
− Rabbids Go Home™ for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™
− Shaun White Snowboarding World Stage for Wii™
− Just Dance™ for Wii™
− Your Shape™ for Wii™
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Live Chat Session transcript on the Best Buy Forum recaps a chat with Infinity Ward about their upcoming military shooter sequel. Included is some follow-up to the revelation that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will not include dedicated server support (thanks Brave New Gamer via Destructoid). Along the way they are asked multiple times about PC dedicated servers, which they clearly resist, but designer Mackey McCandlish admits: "Our goal is to provide the best experience for our users, so nothing is ever 'off the table'. We are always evaluating our options." Infinity Ward also questions the legitimacy of the petition for dedicated servers, with Vince Zampella saying not all of its 178,000 signatures are legitimate ( This petition actually now has 180,700 signatures), with McCandlish adding "402 signed it 4 times I heard." A couple of other new bits of info were also pinned down, one a confirmation that with all this talk about IW.net being a superior alternative to dedicated servers, multiplayer games will indeed be hosted by one of the players, and that the limit for multiplayer games is 18 players on a nine-on-nine match (says McCandlish: "The max number of players on all platforms are 1v1 through 9v9. This is the number of players we focused on when we were balancing map size, perks, classes, challenges, etc."). Here's the part about hosting multiplayer games: IWNet matches players together based on several factors including ping and skill. After players are matched, the most suitable host is determined. That player hosts until they quit, at which time hosting responsibilities will normally migrate to another player without interrupting the match.
The Darkest Of Days Website now offers downloads of the modification tools for Darkest of Days, the alternate-reality first-person shooter from 8monkey Labs. Included is the Habitat level editor, mesh editor Toolbag, a Maya plugin for exporting from Autodesk Maya, and Cagebreak, which is for expanding the game data files and generally making things editable. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and The Patches Scrolls. Also, Berlin-based publisher The Games Company announces they have acquired the rights to distribute this game in Europe, and we thought this was redundant news, since Steam announced they were distributing the game in Europe a few weeks ago, but we just noticed that news entry has been disappeared from the Steam site.
Richard Morgan's Blog has word that the British science-fiction author is collaborating with EA on a few projects (thanks nin via Shacknews), saying "I can cautiously reveal that I've been pulled in to consult on three separate games, have spent more time on airplanes and in overseas hotels during the last year than in my entire previous life, and have hit one of the steeper learning curves of my creative existence." He adds: "And it hasn't hurt that the projects I'm working on are all science fiction." As Shack notes, John Miles, Morgan's contact at EA, is associated with the EA Partners group which includes developers Crytek and Starbreeze, and the author's work with dystopian and cyberpunk themes would fit nicely with a Syndicate revival, which has long been rumored to be in the works at Starbreeze.
Codemasters announces new Skirmish DLC will be released tomorrow for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising along with a patch for the military first-person shooter. The console versions will be patched as well as the Windows edition (here is the PC Patch Full Fix List - thanks Shok), and the DLC will be free for Windows users, but will cost 400 Microsoft points for Xbox 360 and £3.19/$3.99/€3.99 for the PS3. The announcement is accompanied by a batch of Skirmish screenshots and there's a new Skirmish trailer on the Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Website. Here's a bit on the new content: The ‘Skirmish’ video, available from www.flashpointgame.com, demonstrates the breadth of exhilarating new content. Players are shown going head to head in attack helicopters, deploying tanks and APCs and engaging in ranged and close quarters combat in the wide ranging new maps and missions featured in the downloadable content.
The ‘Skirmish’ DLC features four new multiplayer maps and two new Fire Team Engagement (FTE) missions featuring both solo and four player co-operative play. Hunt down SAM launchers hidden in the sprawling complex of ‘Lumberyard’ and assault dug in PLA forces and fight room to room in ‘White Fang’, two tense new ‘Infiltration’ multiplayer maps. ‘Annihilation’ multiplayer maps pitch armour and infantry against each other in rolling battles across a valley in ‘Stomping Grounds’ and in ‘Force Dispersal’ military bases separated by a strategic hill become a close-quarters killing ground.
New FTE missions include ‘All Round Defence’, which places gamers in control of air support and attack helicopters as they defend a fortified complex against relentless waves of PLA. In ‘Uphill Struggle’ players must capture a bunker under heavy fire from hillside reinforcements. Gamers can also recon the entire 220 km² island of Skira alone or co-operatively in a range of vehicles at day or night in ‘Island Tour.’
Positech Games announces the release of Gratuitous Space Battles as well as a demo version of this space strategy game. The Impulse listing for the game still lists it as a preorder as of this writing, which will get you a 15% discount on the purchase. The game's website has details, videos, and screenshots, along with downloads of the demo, which is mirrored on AtomicGamer. Here's a bit from the announcement: Gratuitous Space Battles is an innovative strategy game that plays like a 'massively-singleplayer' hybrid of RTS and tower defense. The player takes on the role of supreme admiral of embarrassingly large fleets of spaceships, which are all individually designed by the player, and is in charge of placing them in formations and issuing orders for them to fight against AI-controlled enemy fleets. Unlike a conventional RTS, the battle itself is non-interactive, as individual AI ship commanders carry out the general rules of engagement set by the player. This makes GSB a true strategic game, where the player is effectively winning or losing the battle before it starts by cunning ship design and clever orders, rather than twitch based reflexes mid battle. The battles themselves are suitably gratuitous, with a heavy emphasis on things exploding and going zap.
Telltale Games' Wallace & Gromit 20th Anniversary Celebration offers Wallace & Gromit in Muzzled, a free episode featuring the Claymation boy and his dog. The offer for the free episode runs now through Monday, and during that period you can also get the four episode Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures for $20.00 USD, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. The DVD version of the series is expected in December, and you can get the DVD along with your order for the cost of shipping.
The Devolver Digital Twitter Feed had a tweet about Serious Sam HD saying the first-person shooter remake is gold, but that post has since been deleted. A tweet from Sunday (that has not been deleted) said: "Pre-order the digital version of Serious Sam HD for PC later this week! A discount you say? Could be!" So it seems safe to assume the game is near.
Shakespeare enters Cities XL, stage left has details on "The Old England Pack," a content pack for Cities XL that will be released for free this week for owners of Monty Cristo's urban planning game. The pack includes maps, buildings, and new megastructures. Word is: "This pack will include a set of medieval buildings inspired by Shakespearian England, along with a paved road and a medieval plaza, with which you will be able to create your very own historic town centres! As for the other buildings already available in the game, we have spent countless hours searching for references in England and have paid special attention to the limitless details of this type of architecture."
American McGee’s Blog has an update clarifying the nature of the Alice 2 video released the other day: Here’s the official statement regarding the “Return of Alice” video which was being presented at www.returnofalice.com
Yesterday, a few sites picked up a video of Alice made by one of our fans and confused it as an official trailer of Alice 2. I wanted to clear up any confusion – as I mentioned in my post it was unofficial, and does not represent any of the final art direction or story elements in Alice 2. We look forward to sharing information on the game in the future.
The content has since been removed from returnofalice.com, but it still lives in its original location – on the website of its creator, Troy Morgan. You if you missed it, you can see it here.
RGF's Torchlight Mods Database offers a one-stop repository of user-created modifications for Torchlight, Runic Games' recently released action/RPG. Thanks Ant.
GameSpy's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Videos Page offers a number of videos from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 showing developer tips on the Xbox 360 edition of Infinity Ward's military shooter sequel. Thanks Ralph.
AusGamers has a video showing what has been edited out of the Australian edition of Left 4 Dead 2 to meet their stringent local standards. The clip is a side-by-side comparison of the cut and uncut versions of the demo, showing the dramatic difference between the two.
So after my joking about not knowing what I was voting for yesterday, we hit the polls and learned about two propositions on the ballot. One of them involved allowing six acres to be used for power lines in exchange for at least ten acres of undeveloped land in return. The woman checking voter registration then informed me that it was actually over forty acres, and I asked how we could know, and she told me that was because the deal was done already. I made sure I understood her, and she said yes, the proposition on the ballot was for something that had already been decided. Like I said: Democracy in action.
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