Archived News:
A Battle vs Chess Website is now online as home to this upcoming game that combines the classic turn-based strategy of chess with the animations and graphics of a modern video game. The game is being developed by Zuxxez Entertainment to be published by TopWare Interactive on multiple platforms in May of this year. They tout the game's fidelity to real chess, saying it uses "ChessBase’s world renowned Fritz! chess algorithm software, widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated chess engines in the world," adding, "even the most experienced chess experts will be presented with a daunting challenge." It sounds like there is also a decidedly non-chess aspect to this all, as they state: "All these features paired with an atmospheric soundtrack, several distinct game board environments, special game modes, and a plethora of unlockable bonuses guarantee players long lasting fun with the timeless game of kings!"
The Tiny and Big Website now offers playable demos for this platformer from independent developer Black Pants Studios that plays out in a setting "where common physics apply but everything else looks different." There are demos for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and some gameplay trailers and screenshots on their media page. Thanks Mike Martinez.
There's a Splinter Cell Conviction Q&A #1 video on the YouTube where Maxime Béland of Ubisoft discusses the next installment in the stealth/action series in response to video questions posted by fans. The final question asks if there will be a playable demo, and the answer is simultaneously affirmative and elusive: "The number one question we've received is 'is there will be a demo on Conviction.' Yes there will be one. I can't tell you what map or when it's going to be released yet. My lips are sealed.
A post on the Allods Online Forums outlines the release of new items in the shop for this subscription-free MMORPG, including the Dragon Hide Backpack, Large Bag of Crystal Chips, Waters of Life and Death, Elixirs, and Rune Removal Picks. The pricing of some of these items has cause some outrage as players do the math on how much it will cost to play this ostensibly free game, with one poster pointing out it can now easily cost an Allods Online player $15.00 a week to play, compared with the $15.00 a month for a typical MMOG subscription. Thanks Kxmode.
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell made some comments about DRM that drew cheers from the audience when he collected his Pioneer Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards. "One thing that you hear us talk a lot about is entertainment as a service," Newell said. "It’s an attitude that says ‘what have I done for my customers today?" He went on to relate this to DRM: "It informs all the decisions we make, and once you get into that mindset it helps you avoid things like some of the Digital Rights Management problems that actually make your entertainment products worth less by wrapping those negatives around them." Thanks Develop.
Speaking of the Game Developers Choice Awards reminds us to post the results of this year's competition, where Uncharted 2 was named game of the year. Two games available on the PC were honored, as Batman: Arkham Asylum won for Best Game Design and Runic's Torchlight was named Best Debut Game. As previously noted, Valve's Gabe Newell was honored with their Pioneer Award and id Software's John Carmack took home a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Independent Games Festival also handed out its awards, with the Seumas McNally Grand Prize going to Monaco by Pocketwatch Games.
Following recent word that there are hints about Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier in the announcement video for the next installment in the series, Kimi Matsuzaki's Twitter Feed now offers about a half-dozen clues about what to look for.
There's a video i nterview with EALA's Richard Farrelly on BASHandSlash.com where he answers some questions about the upcoming Medal of Honor game. The questions are printed on screen in German, but Richard's answers are in English. The answers provide enough context as it is, but the accompanying article also provides a translation of the questions for the record. On a related note, GameTrailers now offers a Medal Of Honor (2010) Exclusive Tier One Trailer with some gameplay footage. Thanks Joker961.
There's a Supreme Commander 2 interview on WorthPlaying chatting with Chris Taylor, supreme commander at Gas Powered Games, about their just-released real-time strategy sequel. Topics include the origins of the sequel, working with a Japanese publisher, making the console port an in-house project for the sequel, why the game doesn't support cross-platform play, their new approach to marketing their upcoming Kings and Castles, Mac support, social networking, and more.
Daylight saving time is upon us again, as we are supposed to "spring forward" in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. I don't like losing an hour of weekend, as this will make tomorrow a 23 hour Sunday, but I do tend to prefer the later sundowns: I just think they should change it and leave it that way. There's an interesting factoid about that from an article on the topic of DST sent along by Ant: "Swedish researchers say there may be some health benefits to turning your clock back. They studied 20 years of records and found that the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks moved back an hour. Moving clocks ahead in the spring had the opposite effect. There were more heart attacks in the week after springing forward — especially during the first three days of the week."
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