Archived News:
Dead Rising 2 will ship in North America for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on August 31, followed by the release of the Zombie action/adventure on September 2 in Japan in Europe on September 3, announces Capcom. They also announce the release will be preceded by an Xbox 360 exclusive prologue called Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO. Here are some Dead Rising 2 screenshots and some Dead Rising 2 "b-roll" gameplay footage, embedded here. Continue here to read the full story.
A Preview of The Passing DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 on Kotaku looks past the upcoming DLC for the zombie sequel with news that its planned March release will be followed a "month or so" later by another DLC pack for the original Left 4 Dead, saying this will be "an episode that will tell the story of the original survivors' journey to 'The Passing'." The Passing DLC for L4D2 is also going to be followed by a digital comic book that tells more of the survivors' back stories.
Star Trek Online announces the Borg update, upcoming high-level episodes that will look to assimilate players of level 43 or higher. Word is: "Previously, the Borg were thought to be severely weakened by the actions the USS Voyager, as fans of the show will remember. But in 2409, the Borg have regained and surpassed much of their old strength, and Episodes in the Borg Update will add more substance to that portion of STO’s story. Players will eventually face off against the Borg Queen, the leader of the Collective, but the road to her lair is a very dangerous path." Here are some Borg screenshots and here is a Borg faction trailer, which is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Third Wire Productions has released First Eagles 2, an update to their World War I combat flight simulator updated to run properly under Windows Vista and Windows 7. Word is: "Four campaigns feature air combat action in the last two years of the Great War 1917-1918. Join the British Royal Flying Corps, French Aviation Militaire, US Army Air Service, or Imperial German Air Service and engage in a desperate struggle to control the sky over the trenches!" The completely DRM-free game can be purchased online from the Third Wire On-line Store. Thanks Jim.
Kotaku reports rumors of cuts at Radical Entertainment, saying they've received indications from "development sources close to the Vancouver-based studio" that as many as 90 jobs were lost. They have a follow-up on the news in a statement from Activision, which does not actually confirm any cuts, but speaks of business realignments in a way that seem to be a tacit acknowledgement that the story is accurate.
Settlement. Colossus is now available from Alawar Entertainment, this is a casual adventure game that puts the player in "the role of a 300-year old emperor cursed to live without his true love until he appeases his god for a grievous offense." The full version operates as a trial, as it can be downloaded and played for free for an hour before it must be unlocked using a key that can be purchased online. Here's a bit more on the game: "There are no boundaries as you search the surrounding wilderness, attract sea trade and eventually build a colossal statue to the god Helios. Find magic artifacts, play dozens of exclusive mini-games and follow a captivating story as you enjoy hour upon hour of revolutionary gameplay. Featuring outstanding graphics and a breathtaking score, Settlement: Colossus is as epic as it is thrilling!"
Multiplayer arcade game Plain Sight is due next month, announces Beatnik Games, or as they put it: "their caffeine fueled dream-inspired debut game, Plain Sight, hasn’t been canned and is in fact set to be unleashed onto an unsuspecting world on March 22nd via Steam and other digital download platforms at the ridiculously low price of $9.99." Since it's been a while since this game was announced, they offer a refresher: "Playing as your average ninja robot about town, you begin each game with a sword and a quantum of energy. Leaping across each level leaving a bright trail in your wake, you must destroy other ninja robots to steal their energy. As you get more energy you change colour and get bigger, stronger and brighter. This is where the catch comes in! You only get to convert your hard earned energy into game-winning points if you blow yourself up. The more opponents you take out in the explosion, the higher the multiplier, the higher the score!"
The debut release of the Human Error modification for Half-Life 2 is now available, where you play the game from the Combine side, offering the chance to see if you can put an end to that annoying human resistance while finding out it can still be fashionable to wear a white gas mask after labor day. Word is: "In Human Error, relish the opportunity to join Civil Protection and stop the Xenians from ever finding peace! Step into the jack boots of Anders, and follow his story through a moral quagmire of thinly disguised genocide and raging psychotics. Vortigaunts, Alien Grunts and Controllers stand in your way from dashing the hopes of an entire civilisation, but worry not: you have at your disposal all the perks of the Combine empire. Step into the APC, equip your manhack and stand side-by-side with equally disgruntled traitors to the human race, Eloise, Noah and Larson." Thanks Ant via Planet Half-Life.
Syntensity, currently in open beta testing, describes itself as "a world of 3D games that anyone can play in and anyone can help build." This is because the whole shebang is built using the Sauerbrauten editor and JavaScript. Thanks Ant via LinuxGames.
GOG.com has added some new titles to their DRM-free marketplace for older games updated for newer systems. New on the service are Phantasmagoria the 1995 horror-themed adventure game designed by Roberta Williams. They also offer Space Quest 4+5+6, continuing the point-and-click sci-fi adventures of space-janitor Roger Wilco.
Telltale Games announces their Mac Revolution has begun, with the release of Tales of Monkey Island for Mac. This is not a one shot revolution, but to help devise their future plans, they are asking fans what to release for Mac users next: "Which title appears on Apple's platform next is up to the people. Telltale is opening the ballot box at www.telltalegames.com/macgames where Mac devotees can cast their vote for one of three critically-acclaimed series: Sam & Max, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, or Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures. Polls are open until Feb. 21, with the winning game announced the following week and launched on Mac in March."
- eGames Burger Bundle on Impulse. Save 75%.
- eGames Casual Bundle on Impulse. Save 75%.
- Sherlock Holmes Sleuth Pack on Impulse. Save 50%.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat on Steam. Save 33% if you own another S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game on Steam. Thanks Jim.
- Sword of the Stars Ultimate on Impulse. Save 75%.
- THQ Ultimate Bundle on Impulse. Save 70%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
Continue here to read the full story.
"Ultimate Multiplayer" is the title of another new trailer from Aliens vs Predator which highlights the cross-species mayhem in Rebellion's upcoming shooter. The clip includes snippets of gameplay from the point of view of each of the game's three factions and depicts, however briefly, each of its seven multiplayer modes. The embedded HD clip follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Futuremark Games Studio has released a new update for Shattered Horizon, their multiplayer PC first-person shooter. The update includes community-requested features, including voice chat, a new rank system, tutorial content, 5:4 monitor support, point limited servers, and bug fixes. The game’s menus and audio have been given an overhaul and as an added bonus the studio has also released the soundtrack from Shattered Horizon to the community as a free download. Downloads of the soundtrack are available on the Shattered Horizon Website, while the patch is available automatically through Steam. The full patch notes are here and the major change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
A new clip from Aliens vs Predator shows Rebellion's upcoming first-person shooter remake from the perspective of the Alien, which is occasionally looking down from the ceiling. The clip is embedded below, giving us the chance to test our new age gate, which Frans put together to keep from running afoul of the ESRB, as this will be impossible for younger viewers to penetrate. Continue here to read the full story.
A tweet by EA's Jeff Green seemed to reset the Dead Space 2 PC conversation, saying: "Rumor fact check: There *will* be a PC version of Dead Space 2. Worry not!" The journalist-turned-developer then added "I'm fairly certain it's a same-day PC release, too." After raising hopes, he proceeds to dash them with a follow-up, saying "Fact checking my fact check: Dead Space 2 PC is just 'Under Consideration.' DOH I'm just an excitable PC dork. Should I start the petition?" He caps this saying: "Sorry for misleading/jumping the gun, y'all! But let's cross our fingers!" (thanks Kotaku). EA's financial reporting earlier this week listed Dead Space 2 for consoles and handhelds only, leading to EA telling us: "As of right now a PC sku is not in the plan." It sounds like it's still not firmly in the plan, but at least it's not being ruled out.
There's an interview with Bruce Shelley on GameZone talks with the Ensemble Studios and MicroProse veteran about his new role consulting with Ubisoft's Blue Byte studio on The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the next installment in this strategy/management series. They learn how he got involved, his role in the project, the ups and downs of working on an existing franchise, interesting North Americans in the series, the current state of the strategy genre, and more.
Mythic Entertainment announces they have assumed European publishing for Dark Age of Camelot from GOA, who had been the EU operator of the MMORPG. Word is: "Mythic Entertainment plans to assume operational responsibility for Dark Age of Camelot European players beginning February 17, 2010. All characters and account information will be migrated to Mythic servers and be available to present and past players. Current paying European subscribers will be fully updated to the latest North American version of the game. In addition, current European subscribers will receive one month of free gameplay beginning February 17. For more information, please visit www.darkageofcamelot.com/international/goa."
I waited until I was pretty sure the snow had stopped yesterday to shovel the walk, and there was a boatload of snow out there (it was difficult to shovel it all into a boat, but I am a stickler for precision). All that effort paid off as I only had 40 minutes of shoveling this morning to finish the job (yeesh). And I have no rights to complain, either, as I distinctly said I thought it would be cool if we got so much snow.
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