Archived News:
G4tv.com has a new trailer previewing the S.M.A.R.T. system of freedom of movement in Brink, Splash Damage's upcoming first-person shooter. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain, which they explain is not an auto-pilot system, even though that's what it seems to be. The game was announced with a spring 2010 release window, but this trailer reflects a delay, concluding saying the game is due in fall 2010. A post to the Bethesda Blog addresses this without comment: "The release date for Brink is, indeed, Fall 2010. That’s when the game will be ready for everyone to play. Hope everyone enjoys the videos we’ll be putting out this week for everyone that didn’t get to see the Brink demo at E3/PAX/QuakeCon/GamesCom/etc."
Headup Games and Radon Labs announce Future Wars, a turn-based strategy game planned for release in Spring 2010. The announcement is pretty shy of details, but the main portion clearly looks like an automated translation, which has inherent entertainment value: The agreement includes the development and the release of the round based strategy-title „Future Wars“. The title appeals in contrast to genre references of former days due to modern 3D graphics and extensive modding opportunities to a larger and creative target group. Furthermore Headup Games and Radon Labs emphasize to bring the game back to the genres’ roots by creating definite rules, a rich story and classic gameplay elements. Players of the older generation, fans of customizing and also newbies of the genre will feel themselves homelike in Future Wars.
Gamasutra has a follow-up to the recent report from Stardock stating that Impulse is the #2 digital distributor behind Steam. "Stardock’s recent assessment of its service [that Impulse holds a clear number two position in the digital distribution space] is misinformation at best," says Sutton Trout, Direct2Drive's VP of digital content. "An NPD report from earlier this year refutes Stardock's claim outright and clearly identifies Direct2Drive as a top-performer." They also have a response from Stardock's Brad Wardell: "The data we used came from the publishers. When you add in the fact that Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod, Galactic Civilizations, etc. are sold exclusively on Impulse, that is what allows Impulse to edge third parties." He added, "Without [Impulse's] own titles, Direct2Drive would indeed be number two. But then again, without Valve’s own titles, Steam would be nowhere near 70 percent of the market either."
PAX East Panel & Speaker Submissions are now being accepted. The inaugural east coast edition of the Penny Arcade Expo has 90 hours of "Satellite Theatre" content to fill, so you might get accepted with your vacation slides. PAX East will run from March 26-28, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts.
A second English patch for Machinarium is now available to update Amanita Design's puzzle game with some bug fixes. The patches for the Windows, Linux, and Mac editions can be found on the Amanita Design Blog, and the Windows patch is mirrored on AtomicGamer and WorthPlaying, while the Mac/Linux patch is mirrored on AtomicGamer.
A new patch for Football Manager 2010 is now available to update the association football/soccer sequel to version 10.1.1. The PC and Mac edition patches can be found on the Football Manager 2010 Website, where they warn: "If you are running via Steam it will AUTO-PATCH. Patching your game via the links below will corrupt your game and you will have to re-install." There are mirrors on AtomicGamer and WorthPlaying. The Steam patch is also now available. Here's the list of bugs this fixes: - Fixed the game running out of memory when entering a match for some users
- Fixed the game sometimes losing activated status on Uniloc-protected versions
- Fixed a Mac-only crash relating the incorrect loading of a sound file
- Fixed a rare crash in the tactics panel
- Fixed rare issue with score divergence
- Fixed occasional crash when responding to red card
Van Caneghem Talks EALA's Vision, Command & Conquer on Gamasutra is a conversation with Might and Magic creator Jon Van Caneghem about his new role with the Command & Conquer team. He discusses the future of the franchise as a games-as-service product, calling EA a "sleeping giant" that has awakened to connected entertainment. As for the digital future of the real-time strategy series, he says: "It allows you to do everything you would have expected from a boxed game, but it adds a lot more to it... being connected and connected with players, and persistence, the social elements of playing against each other with other friends."
Independent developer Zatun announces The Legend of Vraz, a 2D action adventure this Indian studio plans to release "soon" via digital distribution. The Zatun Games Website has further details, here are some screenshots, and here's a bit: The player controls “Vraz” as he jumps runs, ropewalks and fires arrows. Vraz can either jump on enemies or use the arrows to neutralize them and has to collect keys to open locked doors and use levers to operate platforms or start/stop objects.
The gameplay is forgiving and game has no blood or violence. There is no concept of lives in the game and Vraz does not die; if his health is low he faints and restarts at the previous check point or starting point. For Health, the player can use mangoes, milk cans or go near the cow which recharges the health when the player is near it.
A fourth developer diary trailer for Avatar: The Game is now available, showing off more of the upcoming movie tie-in. The clip discusses the nature of the game's two factions, offering gameplay footage as illustration. The trailer is available on Gamer's Hell, GameVideos, and Worthplaying.
The Exclusive Interview with Cryptic Studios on Ten Ton Hammer chats with Joe Harrington about gear in Star Trek Online, Cryptic's upcoming sci-fi MMORPG. Along the way they discuss storage, the absence of permadeath for bridge crew, armor types, a more "item-centric" approach than other Cryptic games, gear scavenging, and more.
Bohemia Interactive interview on The Mystery Examiner is the English translation of a Spanish conversation with Bohemia Interactive PR manager Jan Pražák about the ARMA series of military first-person shooters, including many comparisons between ARMA 2, ARMA, and the original Operation Flashpoint. They also discuss ARMA 2, the shift to more casual games since the OpFlashpoint days, how the game has been selling, what to expect from the Arrowhead expansion, AI and NPC improvements, and more.
- Aztaka on Impulse. Save 50%.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
- Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood on Steam. Save 33%.
- Bullet Candy on Impulse. Save 50%.
- The Corporate Machine on Impulse. Save 60%.
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena on Steam. Save 50%.
- Cyber Monday Deals on Newegg.com.
- Cyber Monday Sale on GamersGate.
- Cyber Monday Savings Event on Staples.com.
- Cyber Monday Video Games Deals on Amazon.com.
- Dawn of Discovery on Steam. Save 33%.
- Elven Legacy on Impulse. Save 50%.
- Evil Genius on Steam. Save 75%.
- Evochron Legends on Impulse. Save 20%.
- LightWeight Ninja on Impulse. Save 60%.
- Mass Effect on Direct2Drive. Only $4.95.
- Mirror's Edge on Steam. Save 75%.
- Nemesis of the Roman Empire on Impulse. Save 33%.
- The Political Machine 2008 on Impulse. Save 80%.
- Quantz on Steam. Save 80%.
- Section 8 on Steam. Save 50%.
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Steam. Save 75%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
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Link of the Day: Rotate Me. Thanks Ant via Digg.com. If you want to chill with a burger and read the site like the Hoff.
Hot on the heels of the Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter news below, Seriously! has word from Croteam's Alen Ladavac on plans for multiplayer support for Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. Word is to expect deathmatch mode and dedicated server support in upcoming updates, and while no time-frame for the releases is offered, they speculate deathmatch support may come before dedicated servers. They also report he mentions that Serious Sam: The Second Encounter HD may include more multiplayer surprises and that there are some all-new deathmatch maps in the works, though for which of the two games is not specified.
Croteam and Devolver Digital follow the recent release of Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter with word to expect Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter early next year, offering a remade follow-up to their remade first-person shooter: Croteam and Devolver Digital today announced that Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter will be unleashed in early 2010 for PC and home console. Following in the tradition of The First Encounter, the game will feature all the insane action of the original game but with visuals beautifully rendered to current standards.
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter will also feature an all new Co-Op Tournament mode that will allow teams to compete with one another. And there’s good reason for everyone to practice up. At the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China – an event expected to draw more visitors than any world’s fair before it – The Second Encounter will be a main attraction, allowing teams to compete for the Digital Youth Award, which promotes the values of creativity, culture, friendship, education and unity.
It’s time for the WORLD to get Serious!
Joystiq has another "mystery' teaser" from the upcoming Spike VGAs. The clip shows someone dropping a Hong Kong police badge from a rooftop, but it offers no specific hints about what the game is or who are the developer and publisher. The VGAs are on December 12, so you have less than two weeks to form your theories.
The Codemasters Forum has news that the playable demo for Colin McRae DiRT 2 will be released tomorrow at 2:00 pm GMT, which is 10:00 am EST (thanks Derek). Codemasters also explains a prerelease demo for the rally racing sequel was leaked over the weekend, but they advise against playing it: We will be releasing the Official DiRT 2 Demo Tomorrow (1st Dec) at 2pm GMT
Over the weekend a leaked early version of the DiRT 2 demo has appeared on the net on various download sites. I would advise people not to download this unsupported version of the demo as it is not the final version and will not give you the best experience of the game.
As I mentioned previously this is a work in progress version of the demo which was not intended for release.
Once again I would advise people not to download the leaked version of the Demo and hold out until tomorrow and experience DiRT 2 the way we wanted you to.
Kalypso Media announces Reign of Augustus, an expansion pack due digitally in January 2010 for Grand Ages: Rome, the historical strategy game. A batch of Reign of Augustus screenshots accompany the announcement of the add-on, which includes the following new features: • All new campaign with 12 Missions
• 12 new maps
• 6 new multiplayer maps
• 4 new buildings: Senate, Tax Office, Odeum, Hospital
• 20 new estate bonuses
• Roads - connect your city to the major roman roads to gain or generate additional resources and enable units travel faster
• Authority - certain buildings generate Authority that can be used to benefit the player or hinder opponents
• New talents for each family (21 new talents in total)
• Remove tool for roads, trees, platforms and decorations
• New decorations – statues and gardens
• God Mode - free build map with few disasters and unlimited resources
• New campaign intro video
• Additional multiplayer features including pre-built towns & pre-built town walls
• 3 new patrons (Agrippa, Nero, Drusus)
A "D-Day Pic" was posted Friday to Duke Nukem's Facebook Page perhaps teasing some Duke Nukem game, or maybe just laser-carving the turkey at the Nukem family Thanksgiving celebration. 3D Realms claims to still be developing Duke Nukem Forever, in spite of laying off most of their staff, and a mysterious project called Duke Begins is in the works at Gearbox. Thanks Shacknews.
The Electronic Arts UK Community Forums have further details on the upcoming version 1.51 patch for Battlefield 2142. Also, this forum thread has some map screenshots and details on the inclusion of a Goliath in one of the maps. As this bit explains, the patch currently has no release date: "There is no release date yet because as I mentioned earlier, I'm waiting for the programmer from BFBC2. So until he is back on BF2142 I can't estimate how long he will take to finish the update. There has been closed beta testing of the update with Combat Studios which is why we know of the major loading bug we have to deal with." Thanks Ant via Planet Battlefield.
The Interview for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction on UGDB talks with Maxime Beland, the creative director on Splinter Cell: Conviction, the next installment in the stealth/action series. Topics include the evolution of Sam Fisher, game locations, the addition of the Krav Maga martial art, weapons, stealth, interrogation, and the return of Michael Ironside. Questions they duck include the length of the game and the possibility of a PS3 edition.
The Avatar: The Game Interview on Strategy Informer is a short conversation with Kevin Shortt about his writing for the game tie-in with the upcoming James Cameron movie. They discuss the process, Cameron's participation, the project's challenges, the game's two storylines, the possibility of another game in this setting, and more.
Well we had a fun long holiday weekend here at the BlueTower, it was great getting together with the family, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I managed to overeat significantly over the span, which is unusual for me, but I had a fine old time nonetheless (burp). Here's hoping you had fun as well. Also, the problem posting to the forums over the weekend has been cleared up: apologies for any aggravation that caused.
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