Archived News:
The Shattered Horizon interview on Ars Technica chats with Antti Summala about Shattered Horizon, the recently released zero-G shooter from Futuremark Games Studio. Though they've put a lot of effort into their game engine, the following reply indicates they are not looking to get into the licensing business just yet: "We're working hard to gain a reputation as a game studio that makes fun and innovative games. Now that Shattered Horizon has been released, we'll concentrate on supporting the game and its player community. The engine licensing business, on the other hand, is different from game development. Licensing our engine and tools and all the work that entails—for example, committing to product updates and finding and supporting clients—would sidetrack us from our main focus of making games. That's why we're not looking to branch in that direction right now."
The Metro 2033 Interview on Computer and Video Games talks with THQ's Dean Sharp and 4A Games' Andrew Prokhoror about Metro 2033, the upcoming post-apocalyptic shooter. Topics include the reasons for the game's quiet period after it was first announced, challenges in adapting the source novel as a game, standing out from the many games exploring a similar theme, and much more.
There's a new BioShock 2 painting on The Cult of Rapture, which is part four of their "BioShock 2 Artist Series." The painting is titled "subject Delta," created by husband-and-wife fantasy art superstars Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. Word is: "They have taken Rapture and painted it in their own style, creating one of the most striking paintings I have seen in a long time."
We have posted the Medal of Honor debut trailer from the Spike VGAs on the YouTube showing off the just-revealed modern installment in the military shooter series. This video was posted elsewhere yesterday, and here's the reason for posting it again: We recently started posting trailers to our YouTube Channel as a repository for clips we could not find elsewhere online. Something we didn't anticipate was that people would subscribe to the channel, so this is a test case to see if we should post other clips there as well for completeness. Feel free to comment here or in the YouTube comments for the clip if you have an opinion about whether this is a good thing or not, which we can also gauge by seeing how often it is viewed. The embedded clip follows. Continue here to read the full story.
- All Kalypso Media Digital Titles on Steam. Save 25-50%.
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 on Direct 2Drive. Save 50%. Divorce lawyer not included.
- Stormrise on Direct2Drive UK. Save 50%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
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Steam keeps spitting out new top sellers lists, there's another one today that's different from the one we posted over the weekend. We confirmed with Valve the list that follows is accurate, and will try to get this sorted out to avoid future confusion.
- Call of Duty- Modern Warfare 2
- Counter-Strike: Source
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Borderlands Zombie Island DLC
- Borderlands
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition
- Medieval II: Total War
- Colin McRae DiRT 2
- Torchlight
A post on Newswise describes a paper published in the latest edition of Perception, an academic journal, where Rolf Nelson, a psychology professor at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass, discusses the impacts of different types of gaming on cognitive thinking (thanks GamePolitics). In what seems like an expected outcome, action games help you do things quickly, while puzzle games enhance accuracy: Nelson performed two different experiments in which participants played either a fast-action video game (Unreal Tournament) or a puzzle-solving video game (Portal). Before and after their gaming sessions, participants performed a task in which both speed and accuracy were emphasized. “People who played the action video game did tasks faster, but at the cost of being less accurate,” he says. “Those who played the strategy game did things more accurately, but more slowly.”
Atari announces Zachary Quinto is embracing typecasting, as the actor who played Spock in the latest Star Trek movie will be lending his voice to Star Trek Online, Cryptic's upcoming MMORPG. Here's word on this logical move: "Quinto, who garnered critical and fan acclaim as Spock in the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek, will play the part of an Emergency Medial Hologram and will voice the tutorial of this first-of-a-kind massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), teaching fans how to explore the Star Trek Online universe, improve their characters, attain higher ranks, and succeed in space combat and on away missions."
Refused-Classification.com has word that Aliens vs. Predator is being re-reviewed for possible release in Australia (thanks GamePolitics). Earlier this month it was revealed that Rebellion's shooter remake was refused classification in Australia, where the maximum rating allows games considered appropriate for 15-year-olds, and Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley has gone on the record saying the game will not be edited to pass any such standards. It seems they are appealing the decision on the uncut game, with a decision expected on Friday, and they are soliciting interested parties through today. Word is: "If an individual or organisation wishes to apply for standing as an interested party to this review, please write to the Convenor of the Review Board. The closing date to lodge your application for standing as an interested party and any submissions is Monday 14 December 2009."
A new trailer from Star Trek Online shows off an epic battle on Starbase 24 in Cryptic's upcoming Trekkie MMORPG. The clip describes the tactical situation and shows off frantic space combat that would make Geometry Wars proud. We have the trailer on the YouTube, and the embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Valve announces The Passing, the first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2, which will bring the survivors from the original Left 4 Dead into the zombie shooter sequel for new single-player, multiplayer, and co-operative gameplay, saying the add-on will "include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge mode and introduce a new co-operative challenge mode of play." Here's a bit on the add-on, which is currently expected in Spring 2010. "The Passing will become the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign," says Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "It will also be a huge offering of new gameplay content, with something new for every game mode plus a new uncommon common and weaponry." Word is: Targeted for release in early spring, "The Passing" takes place just after the Dead Center campaign of L4D2. Set in a small town in rural Georgia, players assume the role of the L4D2 Survivors as they meet with the L4D1 characters.
In addition to the new co-operative campaign and associated narrative, "The Passing" will include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge mode and introduce a new co-operative challenge mode of play. The Passing will also include a new "uncommon common" zombie class, melee weapon, and firearm.
Activision officially announces True Crime, the open-world action game from United Front Games revealed during the VGAs. They describe the new installment in the series as a "reboot," which is due for release in the fall of next year. Here's a bit: Set in Hong Kong, True Crime takes gamers through diverse neighborhoods, ranging from the high class Central HK to the bustling fish markets of Aberdeen and beyond in a wide variety of story missions and sandbox activities. The game also introduces handfuls of intriguing characters for gamers to interact with as they navigate through a truly unique and dangerous city.
Gamers can go undercover and “become one of them” when True Crime arrives in Fall 2010 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Games for Windows®. The game is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB.
A new narrated trailer from Mass Effect 2 introduces the Sentinel class from BioWare's upcoming RPG sequel, accompanied by three Sentinel screenshots. We uploaded the clip to the YouTube, and here is a description: "Sentinels are truly unique, bringing both tech and biotic abilities to the battlefield. They are versatile and always equipped to deal with any situation. After overloading an enemy shield, Sentinels have no trouble throwing the opponent with their biotic powers. Additionally when battles become too heated, they can Cryo Freeze an enemy buying the Sentinel precious time eliminate foes or take cover. Sentinels are also equipped with the most advanced Tech Armor to keeping them safe in hostile situations. If overloaded, the system discharge and stun all enemies within a short distance. Learn more about the Sentinel in this Mass Effect 2 Sentinel Class feature video, where lead combat designer Christina Norman shows you the unique versatility of Mass Effect 2’s Sentinel class." Here's the embedded version. Continue here to read the full story.
BioWare and Transgaming announce a Mac Edition of Dragon Age: Origins is being prepped for release, and should be available a week from today on December 21. They will offer the standard version via digital distribution, as well as a deluxe version, described here: "The Digital Deluxe version will feature additional content including: a collection of wallpapers, in-game bonus items, the game’s soundtrack and the Warden’s Keep additional content. Warden’s Keep provides players 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. The Standard and Digital Deluxe versions are available now for pre-order through many popular online digital retailers."
Funcom announces that all players who begin playing the trial version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures before January 1, 2010 will be entitled to play the game for free up through level 20. The game is available from the official website, and here's word: Durham, USA – December 14th, 2009 – Funcom is delighted to announce a unique holiday offer for its massively multiplayer online game `Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures'. Anyone who downloads, registers, and starts playing the trial before January 1st 2010 will be able to enjoy all of level one to twenty – the entire Island of Tortage experience – without ever having to upgrade to a full account or pay a subscription fee. This unique Unlimited Free Trial campaign is only available until January 1st as a special holiday offer to anyone who wishes to experience the sexy and savage world of Conan.
A cinematic new trailer is now available to promote Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, the next installment on the platformer series. Here are three new environmental screenshots and we've posted the clip to the YouTube. The embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
The Wolfenstein Forums outline plans for upcoming Wolfenstein patches, with separate change lists for the three separate platforms for the supernatural World War II shooter sequel (thanks Worthplaying). The PC patch list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
NCsoft announces holiday plans for their variations online games, offering details on the Solorius Festival that gets underway Wednesday for Aion, Wintersday for Guild Wars which starts Friday, the City of Heroes Winter Event that starts tomorrow, tomorrow's Raising Rudolph event for Lineage, and a Christmas event for Lineage II that kicks off on Festivus (December 23).
The BioWare Social Network now offers a new version 1.01 of the Dragon Age: Origins toolset, updating the tools for the creation of custom content with BioWare's RPG. The new tools are accompanied by a warning for upgraders: "If you are upgrading from version 1.00 of this toolset and have database content that you wish to migrate into the new version, you will need to follow a special sequence of steps to preserve it. Builder-to-builder files (extension DADBDATA) are not compatible between the first released version of the toolset and subsequent versions." The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer and FileFront.
A new patch is now available to update Blood Bowl to version 1.1.2.2 that addresses a couple of bugs. The patch is available automatically, and details can be found on the Blood Bowl forums along with a manual patch, which is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, The Patches Scrolls, and Worthplaying.
A new patch is now available for Strength & Honour 2 to update the empire building strategy game to version 1.05. The patch is available on the Strength & Honour 2 Website, and it is mirrored on AtomicGamer, The Patches Scrolls, and Worthplaying. The complete patch notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
2K Games announces Spec Ops: The Line, the modern military third-person shooter from YAGER revealed at Spike's VGAs, saying the game will be released for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 by October 31, 2011. The Spec Ops: The Line Website is live, and here's a bit: Spec Ops: The Line unfolds within the destroyed opulence of Dubai. Once the playground for the world’s wealthiest elite, Dubai has fallen victim to a series of cataclysmic sandstorms. The city’s ultramodern architecture lies half-buried under millions of tons of sand. The very sand that blankets the city plays a marquee role in altering combat situations and serves as a powerful but unpredictable force that will both help and hinder players throughout the course of the game.
While most people have fled the now-barren wasteland before the sandstorms swept through, U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad and his loyal squad remained behind to protect those incapable of escape. Unable to reach anyone in Dubai after the storm hit, the U.S. Army feared Konrad and his team dead until they picked up a weak distress signal and launched a rescue operation. As U.S. Army Captain Martin Walker, you and your elite Delta Force team are sent to infiltrate the treacherous region to bring Konrad home. Players will experience “The Line”, that razor's edge known only to men who deal in war. It is the line they cross when death and duty become one and the same. It is the end -- of self and sanity -- when their duty is done and only they remain.
Disney Interactive Studios officially announces TRON: Evolution, the game that was revealed at Spike's VGAs, saying the tie-in with the upcoming TRON: Legacy film will be released in the holiday 2010 season, prior to the release of the movie. Word is: Set during the era between the two TRON films, TRON: Evolution conveys the story of significant events within the TRON mythology. The game features an epic adventure across a massive digital world filled with high-mobility disc-based combat and advanced light cycles.
TRON: Evolution is one of the keys to unlocking the TRON mythology. The game’s story takes place before the “TRON: Legacy” events and provides insight into the film’s past. As an integrated entertainment experience, the film will reference elements of the game’s story. Fans will want to play the game to learn more about the TRON mythology seen in the film, but each entertainment experience will stand on its own.
The Napoleon: Total War Website now features the first trailer from Napoleon: Total War, Creative Assembly's upcoming RTS sequel. The clip introduces the game's story mode. Word is: "The first Napoleon: Total War gameplay trailer is now live and unveils the new Story Mode with three unique theatres of War: Northern Italy, the Middle East and the Grand European campaign." Thanks The Patches Scrolls.
An R18+ Classification for Computer Games Public Consultation is underway, offering the chance for Australians to voice their opinions about whether an R18+ rating should be added to the system to allow adults to enjoy adult video game entertainment (thanks IGN). Word is: Submissions are being sought on whether the Australian National Classification Scheme should include an R 18+ classification category for computer games. Submissions can be made by downloading and completing the submission template. Submissions may also be mailed or faxed. The discussion paper and submission template contain the contact details for making a submission.
As noted over the weekend, our new general forums are live, and a site suggestions thread is underway if you have suggestions for other improvements or changes here. We look forward to seeing your comments.
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