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Archived News:
Ubisoft announces Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2, answering half of the recent mystery of two unannounced Tom Clancy games in development. The aerial combat sequel is expected this fall for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. The H.A.W.X. Website now reflects the new announcement, and here's a bit on the game: "Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 plunges fans into an explosive environment where they can become elite aerial soldiers in control of the world's most technologically advanced aircraft. The game will appeal to a wide array of gamers as players will have the chance to control exceptional pilots trained to use cutting edge technology in amazing aerial warfare missions."
BioWare announces Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles, a new DLC pack to be released on May 18 for Windows and Xbox 360 for BioWare's role-playing game, and at some future date for the PlayStation 3. The DLC will provide the chance to play as one of the game's bad guys in exchange for 400 Microsoft points/400 BioWare points. Here are a couple of screenshots and here's word: "The Darkspawn Chronicles offers players a look at an alternate history in the Dragon Age universe. Darkspawn Chronicles begins as your character dies during the Joining ceremony, and the Grey Wardens now march under Alistair's command. As a hurlock vanguard, you alone hold the power to make thralls of their fellow darkspawn and drive them into the heat of battle as Denerim burns! This adventure gives you command of genlocks, hurlocks, shrieks, and even the mighty ogres."
1C Company announces Star Wolves 3: Ashes of Victory, a standalone expansion for Star Wolves 3, the third installment in their epic intergalactic science fiction series. Word is the expansion will offer improved graphics, "with carefully preserved esthetics of the original game." A release date is now offered, but they outline the Ashes of Victory story, and provide the following feature list:
- Improved graphics with carefully preserved esthetics of the original game
- Large-scale scenario which covers more than 110 stellar systems
- Thoroughly re-worked tactical and role-playing systems
- New protagonists and NPCs, plus well-known ones from the previous games
- New factions, ships, weapons and equipment
Steam News announces the release of a new patch to automatically update Global Agenda, Hi-Rez Studios' MMO third-person shooter. The patch introduces some balance changes, listed here. Continue here to read the full story.
There are details on Steam News about another new patch that's automatically available for Team Fortress 2. The list of major changes follows. Continue here to read the full story.
MCV has a quote about game piracy from Revolution Software’s Charles Cecil, who is currently contributing to the BBC's upcoming Doctor Who game. "Personally, I think that the level of piracy we have is nature’s way of turning around and saying games are too expensive and the way that they are distributed is not ideal, he tells them. “Yes, we can pressure internet service providers and take any number of anti-piracy measures. But ultimately iTunes has shown that if you make the means of distribution easy and the price compelling, you will build the respect of your audience." In conclusion, he adds: "And while this won’t eradicate piracy completely, it won’t become such a serious issue anymore."
Steam now offers sales of the Napoleon: Total War - Coalition Battle Pack, new DLC to add six brand new units to the historical real-time strategy game, along with the Battle of Friedland scenario recapping a battle fought between France and Russia not available in the original game.
The Two Worlds 2 interview on Two Worlds Vault speaks with Jake DiGennaro and Devon Smith of Topware about Two Worlds 2, the upcoming role-playing sequel. The main focus of the conversation is role-playing, and Devon also offers an interesting view of the game's take on morality: "As far as the ways the player's morality will affect our hero? It's not so much about collecting good or evil points so much as eliciting interesting reactions. We try to make sure our Hero's reactions reflect those that the player might have themselves. It's a subtle system that isn't designed to punish anyone -- but pose the question as to whether or not you are much different than the man you set out to destroy by the time you reach his doorstep."
A new trailer from Transformers: War for Cybertron offers an overview of multiplayer support in the upcoming Transformers prequel. The clip highlights game modes and shows actual multiplayer gameplay footage and concludes with the game's previously announced June 22 release date. Some new screenshots accompany the trailer, which is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
The full promotional trailer from Tyrannis for EVE Online is now available, showing off the upcoming 13th expansion for CCP's science fiction MMORPG. According to CCP: "We think it did a good job of hinting at the strength of the expansion as well as explaining what sets EVE's sandbox-style gameplay apart from most other games." The clip is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
The Spiderweb Software Interview on GameBanshee and The Awesome of Jeff Vogel on Mac Gamer each interview the Spiderweb Software boss. Jeff explains how extremely exciting and liberating it is to be bringing the Avernum series to a conclusion, and here's a bit from Mac Gamer on Spiderweb's future plans: Right now, we are working on an all-new RPG series. We've heavily revamped our basic engine. We're making a new game system, new world, new storyline, new graphics. It will play very differently from our previous games, but it will still have much of that old Spiderweb flavor.
The fundamental sort of game will be the same. A RPG, a class-based system, turn-based combat. And it'll be low-budget and retro like everything else we've ever done. But we're going the extra mile to make it the most attractive game Spiderweb has ever made.
The Bethesda Blog points to the flood of RAGE previews from the recent Bethesda press event. There are previews on 1UP, The Escapist, Eurogamer, GameDaily, Game Informer, GamesRadar, G4TV, IGN, Joystiq, Kotaku, NowGamer, Shacknews, and The Sixth Axis. There are also some interviews on id's upcoming shooter on GamePro, GameTrailers, Giant Bomb, NowGamer (and part two), and VideoGamer.
Today's post about LIVE Activity for the week of April 26 on Major Nelson's blog actually adds Games for Windows Top LIVE titles to the usual console data (thanks Big Download), showing the most played games on the service based on unique users. The list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
- Kane & Lynch 2: Fragile Alliance on Joystiq. Thanks Mike Martinez.
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on Hooked Gamers.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant
Link of the Day: Mickey Rourke on Twitter. Thanks Devicer.
R.I.P.: Ernie Harwell- Gone now, but never forgotten. The only broadcaster ever traded for a player. Thanks MERACE.
THQ Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results, saying this demonstrates "the company's significant financial turnaround in just one year." Word is: "For the twelve months ended March 31, 2010, THQ's net sales rose 8% to $899.1 million, compared with net sales of $830.0 million a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported fiscal 2010 net sales of $888.7 million, up 9% from $812.6 million in the prior year." The announcement also says that the company's fiscal 2011 guidance reflects "continued momentum."
An interview on latimes.com talks with California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) about video game violence (thanks Neoseeker) in light of the US Supreme Court agreeing to judge the constitutionality of the law Yee authored to prohibit the sale and rental of violent video games to children. Yee presents his case in a reasonable fashion, admitting it's "a fair criticism" that he is attempting to regulate a medium with which he is unfamiliar, but countering: "With a movie you can sit there for two hours and see everything. In these violent games, parents may never fully understand what they contain because you have to be a very sophisticated player to trigger them." He also calls games "artful," saying he would never favor an outright ban: This is where some critics misunderstand me. I think video games are artful and it takes a lot of creativity to make them. I also think the interactive nature of them and the technology behind them can have great educational value.
I'm never going to be the person who stands up and says we should ban these ultra-violent video games. I'm just saying children ought not to be allowed to access them unless a parent buys it for them. Otherwise, video games are just as worthy under the 1st Amendment as movies.
Blizzard announces that Facebook has accepted Battle.net's friend request, which will allow Facebook users to enhance the social experience of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, saying players will be able "to quickly add Blizzard gamers who are friends on Facebook to their Battle.net friend lists." Word is: "Information about other Facebook-related features on Battle.net will be announced at a later date."
Electronic Arts announces precise planned release dates for Medal of Honor, saying the upcoming first-person shooter modern combat reboot is due in North America on October 12, 2010 and in Europe on October 15. Celebrating the news, the Medal of Honor Website features a new "leave a message" trailer, which is "a 24 hour Tier 1 Operator exclusive" (meaning you must register to view it). Word is: "The trailer shows a U.S. Army Ranger platoon heading into combat aboard a helicopter. The chaos and uncertainty of the mission is belied by the reassuring voice of one of the Rangers as he reaches out to his family back home. Today's provocative trailer is the latest in a series of trailers portraying the poignant experiences of today's soldier."
Futuremark Games Studio announces the release of the Firepower weapons pack for Shattered Horizon, their multiplayer zero-G first-person shooter. The free DLC adds eight new weapons (Railgun, Machinegun, Assault Rifle, SMG, Shotgun, Pistol, Grenade Pistol, and Moon Mining Pick) and three new grenades (Flare, Pulse and Decoy) to the game. Celebrating the release, the Shattered Horizon Website now offers sales of the game at a 25% discount over the next week (remember that the game requires DirectX 10 at minimum). Some Shattered Horizon Firepower screenshots show off the eight new weapons. "We believe players should be rewarded for supporting a game and that’s why we have released all our DLC packs for free," said Jaakko Haapasalo, Head of Futuremark Games Studio. "In fact for $14.99, the same price as 'that other map pack' released this week, PC gamers can now get the complete Shattered Horizon game, including both the Moonrise map pack and the brand new Firepower weapons pack, from a developer that puts players first."
Steam News announces preloads are underway for a free weekend of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, coinciding with the double-xp event currently underway for the military first-person shooter sequel. If you have the Steam client installed, you can kick off the preload on this page.
Team6 announces they are developing a video game based on Squash, the racquet sport, saying this: "targets both the general gamer audience, as well as the real squash fanatics, with insane fast, intuitive but accessible controls." The game will include multiplayer support and will be released via digital distribution for Windows and Wii, though when it is due is not specified for now. Word is: Squash is a realistic sports game with hundreds of unique motion-captured moves, promising a very close to real-life squash experience. The game targets both the general gamer audience, as well as the real squash fanatics, with insane fast, intuitive but accessible controls. At this time, little is known yet about which top players, locations or licenses are involved but the game will contain several tournaments, a quick play mode and also multiplayer.
A new patch is now available for the Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom to update the strategy/management sequel to version 1.04. The patch is available on ActionTrip, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. The Settlers 7 Forums have the release notes, which follow. Continue here to read the full story.
There's a Transformers: War for Cybertron video preview on G4tv.com chats with Matt "Hold That" Tieger about their upcoming Transformers prequel. The clip includes some new direct-feed footage from the game, including a look at Optimus in his pre-Prime days.
If you are hoping to see 17 previews on the same game at once, you are in luck, as there are previews of Fallout: New Vegas on 1UP.com, AtomicGamer, The Escapist, G4tv.com, GameDaily, GameInformer, Games On Net, GameSpot, GamesRadar, Giant Bomb, Joystiq, Kotaku, NowGamer, Shacknews, TheSixthAxis, Yahoo! Games, and VideoGamer.com. There are also a bunch of interviews about the game: MTV Multiplayer interviews Josh Sawyer, Obsidian CEO describes Fallout: New Vegas as 'almost' original IP on Joystiq, Obsidian’s Chris Avellone on Fallout: New Vegas on VG247, Josh Sawyer on Fallout: New Vegas on Giant Bomb, Bethesda's Pete Hines interview on Joystiq. Thanks Duck and Cover via No Mutants Allowed.
1Up has a big story about a Wookiee superhero game that LucasArts pitched before settling on the concept of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. "At one point we were kicking around an idea where you were playing a Wookie [sic]," recalled Haden Blackman. "It was going to be a big open world, and you'd be running around, and you'd be able to grab the heads of AT-STs and throw them at stormtroopers." Saying the design was inspired by Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Blackman says: "It was a very over the top-style superhero game." Blackman explains that using discretion woefully lacking in the prequel movies, George Lucas himself rejected the concept: "He just looked at me and said, 'I just spent the last half hour talking to you about the importance of characters talking to each other, and you pitch me a game idea where the main character can't talk?"
BitMob - What Indie Developers Can Learn from the Organic Foods Industry.
Independent game developers are in a prime position to take advantage of the new revenue models. The little guys can offer things that the EAs and Activisions of the world cannot: the care, time, and attention of a small group of people focused on a product for a niche audience.
To best harness these resources, indie developers should look to an unlikely source: the world of organic food.
IFC.com - As Gamers Get Older, There's a New Need for an Easy Button. Thanks Ant via Digg.
The common theme here, for Fisher and gamer, is that we have to change how we play as we get older. For most first-wave hardcore gamers, gone are the days of Mountain Dew-fueled all-night sessions. That Japanese RPG with more than 60 hours of playtime? Just not an option anymore, with a wife and/or kids. Yet, in defiance of all that, the faithful still want to squeeze some button-mashing into their lives. The tweaks in "Splinter Cell" create a way to scratch that itch without necessarily having to play the same thing over and over in frustration.
Thanks Joker961.
- Gears of War 3 mag scans surface, man-made island the focus?
- Rockstar Games Announces 'Outlaws To The End' Co-Op Mission Pack for Red Dead Redemption.
- Sony (SCEA) Announces Playstation Protection Plan for Playstation 3 And PSP.
- Coming Soon to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
- 5 Things Bungie Should Fix in Halo: Reach.
- Halo: Reach tops US purchase intent list.
- Get $60 off Xbox 360.
- Xbox LIVE Activity for week April 26.
- Alan Wake reviews on 1UP.com, Ars Technica, Computer and Video Games, Co-Optimus, Destructoid, GamePro, GameTrailers.com, Gaming Today, Giant Bomb, IGN, Joystiq, and Planet Xbox 360.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! I was reading in the Wikipedia about this commemoration of the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, and was interested to see that this occasion is more significant here in the U.S. than in Mexico. They quote a 2007 UCLA research paper saying: "The holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico."
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