Archived News:
Steam News has word that the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 free weekend is underway: Jump in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Free Multiplayer Weekend, on now! Also includes double XP earned during gameplay this weekend, plus buy the game before Monday and save!
If you already have Steam installed you can click here to install or play. If you don't have Steam, you can download it here.
VG247 has a tidbit from the post-earnings conference call for Activision's latest financials. During the call, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says the company had "no choice but to fire" former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella. "We felt we had no choice but to terminate the Infinity Ward executives. There was no gray area, as talented as they might have been," said Kotick. "There was nothing that would have allowed us to retain them, we did this to protect the company’s assets and the interest of our shareholders." He doesn't offer specifics, just citing their "insubordination," but also saying the move had nothing to do with being unwilling to pay out bonuses. Kotick estimates 35 have departed Infinity Ward since this whole situation boiled over, saying: "we wish we could have convinced some of these incredibly talented people to stay."
Kotaku has some placeholder artwork for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which says this unannounced project is due this fall for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Blurbs on the art indicate this game will include multiplayer support, and indicates that Ezio is joined by a group of assassins that are the brotherhood in the title. After posting it, they received a confirmation of its authenticity from Ubisoft: "Ubisoft confirms the authenticity of this image and will provide more information next week."
A new patch for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction updates the stealth/action sequel to version 1.02. The new version adds DLC support, among other changes. The download can be found on AtomicGamer, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. The patch notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
The Dawn of War II Forums now offer the patch notes from the upcoming version 2.2.1 balance update for Warhammer 40,0000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising. They also have a version 2.2.1 preview, and this Q&A where Designer Clint Tasker answers fan-submitted questions about the patch. Here's an overview: "With this patch our main goal was to level out the meta-game in terms of racial balance. The races (arguably) are already very close statistically in terms of wins and losses. One of the major problems is Orks have issues scaling to late game which makes them less desirable in team games. Space Marines on the other hand have trouble early game in some match ups because of their awesome potential for critical mass in the late game." Thanks The Patches Scrolls.
The Trine Website is offering a new patch for Trine to update Frozenbyte's action/platformer to version 1.07. In addition to tweaks and bug fixes, the patch also adds "Path to New Dawn," free DLC for the game. Word is: "Path to New Dawn is a unique level with new visuals and challenging gameplay, especially on Very Hard difficulty setting. It also features 10 special items for the player to collect. The level is unlocked and available in the Select level menu once the game has been completed." This trailer shows off the new content.
GBase.ch has word, in German, from Topware, that there will be no prerelease demo for Two Worlds II, the RPG sequel. They point out what they were told does not preclude a post-release demo. The demo for the original Two Worlds followed about three months after the release of the game.
Slitherine Studios now offers a "major update" for Commander Europe at War with a number of new features and changes for the Grand Strategy expansion for the World War II strategy game. The lengthy list of changes in this new version 1.05 follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Another new update is now automatically available for Supreme Commander 2, Gas Powered Games' real-time strategy sequel. Steam News has the change list, which is reproduced here. Continue here to read the full story.
Another new Garry's Mod patch is now available. Here's the skinny from Steam News. Continue here to read the full story.
Steam News announces the availability of a new version of the Steam client. The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
There's an interview with Steven Peeler on Tales of the Rampant Coyote and another on Random tower of games, each talking with the Soldak Entertainment boss about Din's Curse and his past work at Ritual Entertainment. He explains to the Rampant Coyote why he does what he does: "I like RPGs. It really is about that simple. Since I started Soldak, the 'smart money' in the indie world has shifted from making match 3 games to hidden object games to iPhone apps and now to Facebook social games. I could have worked on any of these to “make the quick bucks”, but if I can’t work on something I love, what’s the point of being an indie?"
The interview with Dark Energy's Rob Hewson on xblafans.com discusses Hydrophobia, the underwater Xbox LIVE Arcade shooter that's still coming to PC. They discuss the game's origins as a project by a PhD in Astrophysics to create a realistic depiction of realistic water, how it's more than just a tech demo, how it was not originally intended for Xbox LIVE Arcade, and more.
Much travelled MMORPG Ryzom announces the game is now open source. Word is: For you as a Ryzom player, nothing changes. The game continues to be pay-to-play to help pay for the cost of development and running of Ryzom. Your financial support is essential for us and it's only thanks to you that Ryzom is still alive today. The game will continue to be developed by the same team as today.
If you are a developer, you can now take the source code and/or the art assets of Ryzom to make your own MMORPG or any other project.
Direct2Drive Spring Sale Week Four is underway. And remember: "Direct2Drive will be giving gamers $15 in store credit when they spend $75 or more on any titles site-wide during the Spring Sale."
- All Tank Simulators on GamersGate. Save 50%.
- Arsenal of Democracy - A Hearts of Iron Game on Impulse. Save 33%.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Steam. Save 17%.
- Democracy 2 on Impulse. Save 50%.
- Flotilla on GamersGate. Save 10%.
- Immortal Defense on Impulse. Save 50%.
- Insane Amnesia on Frictional Games. Save 50% on preorders.
- Pole Position 2010 on Impulse. Save 10%.
- SimCity Societies on Impulse. Save 50%.
- Tropico 3 & Absolute Power Pack on Impulse. Save 15%.
- Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War- Gold Edition on Impulse. Save 50%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
Continue here to read the full story.
The latimes.com has Activision Blizzard's quarterly financial reporting, which show a 33% increase in revenue and an even more impressive 100% increase in profits. Word is: "The Santa Monica game publisher posted a profit of $381 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $1.3 billion in the quarter ended March 31. That compares with $189 million in net income, or 14 cents a share, on $981 million in revenue a year earlier." They include an analyst quote: "Activision's game franchises are pretty healthy in spite of what's happening with Infinity Ward," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets. "The impression was that things were falling off track, but for now Call of Duty remains strong."
Medal of Honor Website now offers a registration-free version of the "leave a message" trailer from the upcoming modern reboot of the Medal of Honor series of military shooters. The clip features cinematic footage and concludes repeating the game's just announced October 12 North American release date and word that a beta is "coming soon."
The Team Fortress 2 Website explains some tweaking being done to the 119th update badges in the game, and a new Team Fortress 2 Trailer teases plans for the Engineer update for Valve's multiplayer shooter. In other TF2 movie news, they add: "On a quick side note, we've been having fun watching QuickActionTF2's movies, which inspired Community Fortress's Moments of Glory. If you haven't seen the latest one, it's worth it just for knoxxx's awesome move. It's also a great way to brush up on your french."
An update on the Battle.net Website offers further details on the Real ID system in the new Battle.net, explaining the advantages of this identification system. Word is: "Real ID is a completely voluntary and optional level of identity that keeps players connected across all of Battle.net. When you and a friend mutually agree to become Real ID friends, you'll have access to a number of additional features that will enrich your social gaming experience in new and exciting ways." A Real ID FAQ has the full rundown. Thanks Big Download.
2K Games announces Steamworks support for Sid Meier's Civilization V, the upcoming continuation of the long-running turn-based strategy series, saying Steam will also offer a special Digital Deluxe Edition. Steamworks support will include auto-updating, Steam Achievements, downloadable content, multiplayer matchmaking and more, and they say anyone who preorders either edition through Steam will also receive a free map pack when the game ships this fall. In the meantime, they are offering Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition at a 75% discount. Here's word on the Digital Deluxe Edition and the Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia preorder bonus: Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will expand players’ conquests with the new Babylonian civilization and their ruler, Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 630 – c. 561 B.C.). As King of Babylon, gamers will be able to expand their empire with advanced Babylonian Bowmen to rightfully earn the title of Nebuchadnezzar the Great. Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will also include an in-depth “Behind the Scenes at Firaxis with Civilization V” video feature, as well as the game’s epic soundtrack.
Gamers who pre-order any version of Sid Meier’s Civilization V from Steam will receive the downloadable bonus content, Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia, for free when the game is available. The map pack will let players experience the traditional Western and Middle Eastern “Cradle of Civilization.” The pack will include the Fertile Crescent with the Nile River valley to the west and extending east down the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the Persian Gulf. Leaders will be able to explore new terrain, cultures and conquests.
Matrix Games announces a new version 1.0.4 patch for Distant Worlds, calling this a "major update" to the 4X sci-fi strategy game. Word is: "This new v1.0.4 update includes over thirty bug fixes as well as more than forty improvements to the game balance, interface and usability. For the best play experience, Matrix Games strongly recommends that all owners of Distant Worlds upgrade to v1.0.4. While 1.0.4 will work fine with older saved games, we also strongly recommend starting new games with 1.0.4 as some of the bug fixes and many of the balance changes will not work with saved games from older versions." The patch is available on this page.
A new patch is now available for Restaurant Empire 2 to update this food services simulation sequel to version 1.02. The new version fixes an issue for multi-core systems, and will now automatically disable shadow rendering on systems with video cards incompatible with the system the game uses. The download is available on The Patches Scrolls.
Atomic games announces the breach birth of the official BREACH Website, which is a virtual home to this upcoming multiplayer military first-person shooter. The site offers info on the game's active cover system, the destruction toolbox, as well as weapons, missions, classes, and more.
Subscription-free MMOG Evony celebrates their one-year anniversary by announcing the game has attracted 19 million players since launching in May 2009, and has expanded to 210 servers, after starting on only two (no word on how many of those servers are for their ubiquitous ads). They say: "The recently launched Evony: Age II features new quests involving historical heroes and cities, a redesigned graphical interface, and Facebook Connect integration, providing innovative ways for players to build their own kingdoms, form alliances with friends, conquer enemies and make new friends - all from a simple browser interface."
NYTimes.com - Video Games and Free Speech.
Even if the interest were legitimate, the state could have used less restrictive methods. The video game industry, like the movie business, has a voluntary rating system that provides buyers and sellers with information on the content of specific games, including age-specific ratings, ranging from “early childhood” to “adults only.” The government could do more to promote the use of voluntary ratings by retailers and parents.
California lawmakers may have been right when they decided that video games in which players kill and maim are not the most socially beneficial form of expression. The Constitution, however, does not require speech to be ideal for it to be protected.
Wolfire Games Blog - Another view of game piracy. Thanks Mike Martinez via Slashdot.
Does this also apply to PC (Windows/Mac/Linux) gamers? Many PC game developers find that about 90% of their users are running pirated copies -- does this mean that piracy is killing PC games? Let's try our alternative explanation, and see if these statistics are possible even if only 20% of worldwide PC gamers are pirates. The average PC gamer worldwide only buys about three games a year, and plays them for a long time. I buy many more than that, and you probably do too, but again, we are not average gamers! On the other hand, game pirates might download a new game every few days, for a total of about 125 games a year. Given these numbers, games would see 90% piracy rates even though only 20% of gamers are pirates.
Bonus EXP - Gameplay - Chapter 1: Freedom. Thanks Sugoi x2.
What we experience in games today is not true freedom, it is a freedom created and controlled by game developers. Sometimes a game will feel extremely limited and other times the possibilities set before us can seem endless. Developers create by hand the possibilities and choices within a game, or by permitting the player to use in-game tools to potentially create solutions never dreamt of by the developer. But sometimes a developer will rein in freedoms, artificially limiting what a player might otherwise do.
The pollen is so thick in these parts that you can actually see it floating in the air almost all the time. The past couple of days the pups and I walked on our local trail, not only did I end up coughing and gagging on all the particles in the air, but the dogs were hacking a bit as well. I can only imagine how people with real hay fever are reacting to this.
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