Archived News:
IGN has a hands-on preview of Survivor Mode in Aliens vs. Predator, a multiplayer mode they feel may be the defining point for the upcoming sci-fi shooter, saying: "It's a mode that will keep people going long after the campaign's credits have rolled and the deathmatch numbers have dwindled." They offer a trailer of Survivor mode in action, and describe how it works, which is similar to a mode in the 1999 version of the game: "Survivor pits one to four players up against a horde of Aliens, their numbers growing and more deadly breeds introduced as the wave number increases. It's a premise that's familiar from any blockbusting action game of the last couple of years, and Gears of War 2's Horde mode is but one of many examples of the art of gunning down ever increasing numbers of adversaries."
Steam now offers two new DLC packs for King Arthur - The Role-playing Wargame, the, well, role-paying wargame. There's a King Arthur: Knights and Vassals DLC which includes Briton Archers, Briton Cavalry, Saxon Knight, Welsh Pikemen, Sir Alymere and Sir Lucan and a King Arthur: Legendary Artifacts DLC offering three new item sets. They also offer the whole shooting match (jousting match?) in a King Arthur - The Role-playing Wargame + Knights and Vassals + Legendary Artifacts DLC bundle.
Steam News announces a new automatic patch that's now available for SpaceForce: Rogue Universe, with two changes and a number of fixes, outlined below. Continue here to read the full story.
Mass Effect 2 Interview with Casey Hudson Part 3 of 4 on GameZone continues their audio interview with BioWare's Casey Hudson about Mass Effect 2, the RPG sequel. There's also a Mass Effect 2 Extended Interview on G4tv.com that adds video to the (higher quality) audio to also interrogate Casey about the game, focusing on the topics of "Combat And Gear."
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
The BioShock 2 on Steam Page has been edited since this morning's news on the game's DRM. Earlier today the 3rd-party DRM section listed a 15 machine activation limit, generating many comments on how this was hard to complain about, but this has now been changed to show a "5 machine activation limit," which will likely not be as acceptable to some. Thanks nin.
The Mass Effect series will continue on after the conclusion of the planned trilogy, reports Kotaku based on their Kotaku Talk Radio session with BioWare's Greg Zeschuk, reassuring anyone naive enough to think such a successful series would be abandoned any time soon. Dr. Greg refers to Mass Effect as a "valuable universe" and speaks of the third game in the series in general terms, saying the persistent save game system will continue, and giving an outlook on the future: "We're actually going to continue to use it for stuff and we're going to continue to make games there," Zeschuk told them. "Believe me, we have our work cut out for us for the next little while getting Mass Effect 3 done after this. Don't worry if you love Mass Effect, there will be more Mass Effect in the future." Thanks nin, who wants to go on record as the first one predicting a Mass Effect MMOG.
Green Man Gaming announces plans to launch a trade-in service for digitally distributed games. It's not clear how this is supposed to work, but their announcement indicates they plan on having a mutually beneficial relationship with the gaming industry, saying: "We will pay significant royalties to the publisher each time the game is traded in perpetuity." The Green Man Gaming Website is still under construction (or perhaps we just caught it in flagrante delicto, as the graphic has a certain, well, graphic quality), so we'll have to wait for full details on how this will work, and whether there will be any territorial restrictions (the company is based in the U.K.). The entirety of the fairly short announcement follows. Continue here to read the full story.
AvPGalaxy offers minimum and recommended system specifications for Aliens vs. Predator, Rebellion's sci-fi shooter remake (thanks Blend Games). Here they are: Minimum Requirements:
Windows 7/ XP/Vista 1 GB System RAM (XP)/ 2 GB System RAM (Vista) 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4/Athlon 64 3000+ or equivalent processor DirectX 9.0c compliant video card with 128 MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better, ATI X1600 or better)
Recommended Requirements:
Windows 7/ XP/Vista Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 or equivalent processor 2 GB System RAM DirectX 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI HD2900 PRO or better)
Criterion Games Tweets that they are burnt out on Burnout Paradise DLC, and will not be producing any additional content for the driving sequel: "Please stop asking us for Burnout Paradise DLC. There will be no more! Sorry everyone! But we did WAY more than everyone else..." Thanks Destructoid via TheSixthAxis.
The Dawn of War II Community Website has a new unit profile of the Wraithguard, a new short range heavy infantry unit for the Eldar Army in the upcoming Chaos Rising expansion for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. Word is: "Although they look similar to the larger Wraithlord, the three member Wraithguard squad is best used at range against enemy infantry."
Napoleon: Total War will include multiplayer co-op and competitive multiplayer support spanning all three of the campaigns in the historical real-time strategy sequel, which is due next month. The SEGA America Blog has the announcement along with some screenshots. Word is you'll be able to play alongside or against one other player, and that the game will also include a new drop-in battle system "allowing the players [sic] opponents to be controlled in real-time by an online adversary."
Crysis 2 will be set in New York, New York, the town so nice they named it New York City. This is shown on the cover of the March issue of the Official Playstation Magazine, which says: "Aliens invading New York City? No problem! Blast their faces off with the Nanosuit 2.0." The cover art shows off that Nanosuit 2.0 from Crytek's upcoming shooter sequel in all its 2.0 glory. Thanks Joystiq.
A post to the BioWare Social Network on behalf of Fernando and the Dragon Age team explains the recent delay to the Return to Ostagar DLC for Dragon Age: Origins, which was released and rescinded last week. The post outlines how it is impossible to test every aspect of an update to a system as complex as Dragon Age, so they rely on targeted testing, but this let them down this time. They say as a result they are revamping their testing methods, but in the short term the release of Return to Ostagar continues to be delayed. In conclusion, they add: "In addition, while this creates a delay with the immediate content already expected to have released, the additional testing actually benefits some of the upcoming DLC and expansion pack, and as such is not expected to impact dates of the future content." Thanks Eurogamer.
Publisher Square Enix and developer Gas Powered Games have released a new trailer and some new screenshots for Supreme Commander 2, along with an updated Fact Sheet for the upcoming real-time strategy sequel. The trailer offers a mix of cinematics and a little gameplay, and the fact sheet repeats the game's March 2 release date and outlines its features. Update: For some reason YouTube is not playing the audio for this clip. This version (thanks DG) has sound, but lower-quality video. The embedded version of the trailer follows. Continue here to read the full story.
A new "dynamic campaign" trailer from Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic is now online, showing off some impressive visuals while offering an example of the types of tactical decisions the player is faced with in the World War II naval combat simulation announced last August for release sometime this year. The clip is posted on the YouTube and embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Mass Effect 2 Interview with Casey Hudson Part 2 of 4 on GameZone is an audio interview with BioWare's Casey Hudson about Mass Effect 2, the upcoming RPG sequel. They cover a number of topics, and when asked if there will be an opportunity to visit Earth, Mars, or Venus in the game he indicates Earth may be part of a future DLC release: "They're there in the galaxy map, but currently they're not... it'll be like Mass Effect 1 where you don't land on any of them; in Mass Effect 1 you can go to the moon on some of your missions. So I think there's potential for that in some of the downloadable missions for the future." He goes on to discuss the significance of Earth in the Mass Effect story, and says: "we do plan to go there at some point, just not yet."
Square Enix announces new details about Front Mission Evolved, the third-person shooter in the works at Double Helix Games based on the Front Mission tactical RPGs. These details are accompanied by a Front Mission Evolved Trailer with some cool cinematics, a batch of screenshots, and word the game's official website is online. The announcement has word that: "Players will take full control of the Wanzer, a massive humanoid, fully customizable war machine, in single player campaign and online multi-player." They also touch on customization option: "Players can choose from dozens of weapons, shoulder attachments, and wanzer parts to build a war machine that suits their play style." The embedded clip follows. Continue here to read the full story.
The BioShock 2 Listing on Steam offers system specifications for 2K Games' upcoming shooter sequel, which feature an outline of the game's use of DRM and how Games for Windows is required to play the game (thanks nin via Shacknews). They do not list activation limitations. They list a "15 machine activation limit," reminiscent of the the original BioShock which had lower number of allowed installations until they were removed, and the game will use Games for Windows LIVE as well as Sony DADC SecuROM. Word is: "Initial installation requires one-time internet connection; Ability to save game, earn achievements, receive title updates and online play requires log-in to Games for Windows LIVE; software installations required including Microsoft Visual C++2008 Runtime Libraries, Games for Windows LIVE client, Games for Windows LIVE Client Patch, Sony DADC SecuROM, Microsoft DirectX." The system specs follow. Continue here to read the full story.
Paradox Interactive announces Majesty 2: Kingmaker, the first expansion to Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, 1C:InoCo's RTS sequel. The add-on is expected via digital distribution in Q1 of this year, offering a brand new "Return of Grum-Gog" campaign, where "players will be called upon to challenge Lord Blackviper and his army of goblins as they wreak havoc and bring turmoil to the lands of Ardania." The announcement is accompanied by a batch of screenshots.
A new patch for Dark Void is now available to add PhysX support for NVIDIA GeForce owners to the just-released action game from Airtight Games. The 330 MB download is available on the NVIDIA nZone, where they also offer downloads of the Dark Void PhysX Benchmark, which does not require the game. The patch is available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. The Dark Void PhysX benchmark is mirrored on AtomicGamer.
Duck and Cover describes how Bethesda Softworks has been scrambling to redact court transcripts from their ongoing court battle with Interplay to prevent details on a secret "World of Warcraft type MMO" project from coming to light. In a follow-up, VG247 reports they are "very reliably informed" that this is an Elder Scrolls MMORPG that they say was supposed to be revealed last year, something that has been hinted more than once since Bethesda parent ZeniMax opened an MMOG studio in 2007. Development of this game has apparently been ongoing since late 2006, with "tens of millions of dollars" already invested and a development team of "close to a hundred people."
Crate Entertainment announces Grim Dawn, an upcoming action/RPG planned for release later this year, aided by funding from fans willing to preorder the game. Crate Entertainment was formed by veterans of defunct developer Iron Lore Entertainment, and will use the Iron Lore engine used in Titan Quest. The Grim Dawn Website is online outlining their hopes for a fan funded future, and a description of Grim Dawn follows. Continue here to read the full story.
A three-issue Dark Horse comic book miniseries based on The Guild is due to launch on March 24, featuring illustrations by "Street Angel" artist Jim Rugg. ComicsAlliance has all the details on the announcement, as well as a short Q&A with Felicia Day, the creator of the gaming-themed web show. They are also running a contest to give away a signed copy of the first issue. Thanks Ant.
Jagex Talks War Of Legends on IncGamers is an interview with Adam Tuckwell of Jagex about War of Legends, the just launched MMOG. They discuss Jagex's new role as publisher, expanding their userbase, their role in the game's development, the setting in Chinese mythology, and more. There's also a War of Legends interview on Elite Bastards discussing the game with Jagex's Adam Tuckwell and Christian Reshoeft. The Jagex interview on GamerZines chats with Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard about RuneScape, what's next, and the press. Finally, the Jagex Interview on The Reticule talks with Adam Tuckwell and Christian Reshoeft about the project.
- Dark Void on Ars Technica, Blend Games, Computer and Video Games, Crispy Gamer, EW.com, GamePro, Games Radar, GameZone, Giantbomb, TheHDRoom, IGN, Shacknews, and USA Today. Thanks Joker961.
- Dark Void on MTV Multiplayer and Shacknews.
- Dawn of Discovery on Worthplaying.
- Divinity 2: Ego Draconis on ActionTrip.
- Serious Sam HD - The First Encounter on Edge Online. Thanks Joker961.
- Torchlight on GamersInfo.net.
Some major changes were rolled out here in the wee hours in the morning, though they may not be particularly apparent, as many of them are aimed at search engine optimization, hence Frans has dubbed it "the SEO release." Frans made this forum post outlining the changes for those who are interested in what's going on under the hood, which includes new URL structure for articles and single-story views and those single story views now include a new sharing widget, related story links via Google, and 75% less ugly. Huzzah and kudos to Frans.
R.I.P.: Robert B. Parker, Best-Selling Mystery Writer, Dies at 77. Thanks Joker961.
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