Archived News:
As noted on superannuation, Atari has filed a new trademark for Saboteur, not to be confused with The Saboteur. They say this is "in relation to Howard Scott Warshaw’s Atari 2600 game that wasn’t released by the company until 2004 as part of the Atari Flashback device." They also report another registration filed by Polish developer People Can Fly (Painkiller) for the game title Bulletstorm.
The December 2009 Letter from the Age of Conan Game Director is online. Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison offers seasons greetings to AoC players, a welcome to Korean players participating in the closed beta test, a progress report on the upcoming expansion, and word that the version 1.06 patch is now available for testing on the game's test server.
Happy 10th anniversary to Battlezone 2, the action strategy hybrid developed by Pandemic Studios. The Battlezone Universe Forums feature a still-active community and comments saying the game came out 10 years ago yesterday, while our archive says the Battlezone 2's tenth anniversary is tomorrow, so we'll split the difference today.
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
The launch trailer for Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot is now available for the Borderlands DLC that's now available for the Xbox 360, and coming soon to the PlayStation 3 and Windows editions of Gearbox's role-playing shooter. The clip introduces the DLC's arenas, where presumably two men enter and one man leaves, as well as Moxxi's rules, the bank, and more. You can view the clip on the YouTube or embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
BioWare announces January 5 as the Windows and Xbox 360 release date for Return to Ostagar, the Dragon Age: Origins DLC announced last month, saying the PS3 edition will follow later in January. Here's word: Return to Ostagar allows players to exact their revenge and embark on a quest for the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan when they revisit Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens’ darkest hour, to reclaim the honor and learn the secrets of Ferelden’s fallen king.
“We are thrilled at the way the fans have embraced Dragon Age: Origins and we’re excited to welcome them back into the game,” said Aaryn Flynn, General Manager and Vice President, BioWare Edmonton. “Return to Ostagar represents BioWare’s commitment to providing a steady stream of compelling post release content as we continue to expand the Dragon Age universe.”
Return to Ostagar summons players to a new quest in which they will return to the fateful battleground in Ostagar where the Grey Wardens were nearly wiped out. Players will discover King Cailan’s top-secret political agenda and go behind enemy lines to revisit a place that many feared had been lost to history.
Return to Ostagar will be available for 400 BioWare Points on the PC and 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 on January 5. It will be available for $4.99 on the PlayStation® Store later in the month. Dragon Age: Origins is rated M by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI.
Penny Arcade's PATV is online, offering the first episodes of Penny Arcade: The Series and the debut of Blamimations with Kris & Scott, a new series of original animated shorts by Kris Straub ( chainsawsuit.com and Starslip.com) and Scott Kurtz ( PVPonline.com). The PATV FAQ has details, including word on plans to eventually release this stuff on DVD.
Duck and Cover has more follow-up in the legal proceedings between Bethesda and Interplay over rights to the Fallout series. Bethesda's motion for a preliminary injunction was recently denied, and now Interplay wants reimbursement for $9,539.38 in legal expenses: Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 54 and Rule 109.2 of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Defendant/Counter-Claimant Interplay Entertainment Corp. ("Interplay"), hereby moves the Court for an award of the attorney fees and expenses that it incurred in successfully defending against the Motion for Preliminary Injunctions (the "Motion") filed against it by Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant Bethesda Softworks, LLC, ("Bethesda").
SouthPeak announces plans to release retail boxed editions of Blood Bowl in North America next month for Windows and Xbox 360, with a PSP edition to follow in the spring. "We’re thrilled to have a part in bringing a proper retail version of Blood Bowl to North American gamers on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PSP," said Aubrey Norris, Manager of Human-Orc Relations at SouthPeak. "It’s never easy to get all these races to agree on something – but if there’s one thing they love its [sic] good competition with a lot of bloodshed!" The Warhammer-themed sports game is currently available for PCs through digital distribution. Here are some new screenshots, and there's a new trailer on the YouTube that's embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Elder-Geek.com - Video Game Violence: What Do Gamers Really Want?
It’s a topic that gets a lot of attention. And for good reason. Violence is an easy talking point for the media. It’s an intense allure for a gamer. It’s a wonderful tool for the developer. Violence can be the central theme of an entire marketing strategy. I’ve heard that love and peace are the great unifiers of civilization. Nonsense. Nothing reaches across multiple demographics like some simple, in your face, head exploding, shotgun pumping, shovel to the back of the head style violence.
That said, I’m starting to find modern video game violence a bit… lacking.
Gamasutra - 2009 - The Last Days of the Japanese RPG?
The post-PlayStation 2 era has not been kind to the Japanese role-playing game. At the start of the decade it was easy to imagine Japanese RPGs taking over the world. Titles like Final Fantasy X and XII, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Xenosaga, Shenmue, Shadow Hearts, Skies of Arcadia, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and Phantasy Star Online were just some of the highlights of time when another new JRPG was added to the stack faster than we could play them.
- Half-Life on Flickr. Original Gordon Freeman model. Thanks Ant via Digg.
MrsBlue is making beef stew, starting in this early because of how long the whole process takes. Normally I'm one of those people who doesn't eat breakfast, but this has me craving hamburgers!
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