Archived News:
Manual downloads of the Football Manager 2011 demo are now available to go along with the sample of Sports Interactive's association football/soccer simulation released yesterday via Steam. All four variations of the demo are posted on the Football Manager 2011 Website. The vanilla PC demo with the bare essentials is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell; and the vanilla Mac demo is also posted on AtomicGamer and Gamer's Hell. The more feature-rich strawberry PC demo is available from AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell; while the Mac strawberry demo can be found on AtomicGamer and Gamer's Hell.
A new Diablo III PvP Section discusses what to expect from player versus player combat in Diablo III, Blizzard's upcoming action/RPG sequel. There's also a BlizzCon panel recap called Diablo III - A Hero Emerges, and also from BlizzCon is the introduction of the game's Demon Hunter along with a Demon Hunter cinematic trailer showing off some of her moves. Word is: "Armed with twin crossbows, an arsenal of deadly contraptions, and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance against the legions of the Burning Hells, the demon hunter strikes quickly and excels at hit-and-run tactics."
The Biographies section on the Star Wars: The Old Republic Website now has some new bios from the upcoming Star Wars MMORPG of what they describe as some of the most enigmatic characters in The Old Republic Era, "the renegade ex-Republic General, Bouris Ulgo; the disillusioned Republic diplomat, Diab Duin; and the mysterious Imperial Spymaster known only as ' Keeper'." There's also a new Fan Friday with community art and a new Developer Corner with a step-by-step look at the creation of a piece of concept art.
Battle.net outlines some of the all-new Blizzard custom StarCraft II maps featured at BlizzCon 2010: Aiur Chef, Left 2 Die, StarJeweled, and Blizzard DOTA. This accompanies an article on the StarCraft II Custom Maps and Editor BlizzCon Panel.
The Left 4 Dead Blog outlines this week's new Left 4 Dead 2 mutation, Lone Gunman. No grassy knolls to hide behind here, as word is: "You and your Magnum against the deadly horde and Boomers. So you have your Magnum pistol and… well you do have your Magnum pistol. You better be counting bullets because four swipes by a common and you are dead. Getting boomed? Forget about it." Steam News announces the mutation is live, and another update has word on a bug fix in the zombie shooter sequel, saying: "Fixed versus servers sometimes shutting down before both teams have fully connected."
- Air Forte on Steam. Save 10%.
- Archon Classic on GamersGate. Save 34%.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition on Steam. Save 66%.
- Bellatorus Deluxe on GamersGate. Save 50%.
- Big Brain Wolf on Steam. Save 50%.
- Darkstar One on GamersGate. Save 60%.
- DeathSpank on Steam. Save 10%.
- Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time on Steam. Save 10%.
- Football Manager 2011 on GamersGate. Save 55% on pre-orders and receive 20 classic SEGA games.
- Grotesque Tactics Premium Edition on GamersGate. Save 20%.
- Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes on Steam. Save 20%.
- Guardians of Graxia on GamersGate. Save 10%.
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on Games for Windows. Save 75%.
- Numen: Contest of Heroes on Steam. Save 80%.
- Poker Night at the Inventory on Steam. Save 10% on pre-purchases.
- Port Royale 2 on GamersGate. Save 60%.
- Railworks 2 on Steam. Save 50%.
- Rig'n'Roll on GamersGate. Save 50%.
- Shank on Steam. Save 10%.
- Sniper Ghost Warrior DLC Map Pack on GamersGate. Save 50%.
- The Ball on Steam. Save 10%.
Still on sale. Continue here to read the full story.
2K Games announces a November 23 release date for the Joe's Adventures add-on for Mafia II, also revealing the price of the expansion for the open-world crime sequel from 2K Czech as $9.99/800 Microsoft Points. Here's a bit on what it will offer: Joe’s Adventures offers an engaging narrative and allows players to explore new locations, including a train station, the cathouse, a boat yard, a seasonally changing lakefront and some never-before-seen buildings in Empire Bay. This exciting new chapter in the Mafia II saga includes new clothing, 20 new Playboy collectibles and even more classic 40’s and 50’s music. In addition to the story-based missions, Joe’s Adventures opens up a slew of optional city-based quests packed with arcade action gameplay and a points-based system that allows players to move up the ranks on the online leaderboard through combos and multiplier bonuses.
The AMD Website now offers new version 10.10 Catalyst reference drivers for AMD/ATI accelerators, which add Blu-ray 3D playback, stereoscopic 3D gaming support, and performance improvements. The new drivers are available as a traditional release, or as part of a new "Accelerated Parallel Processing" edition which also includes an OpenCL driver. They also now offer a 10.10a Performance Optimization Hotfix, an unsupported Windows 7/Windows Vista release with performance optimizations for systems with an Radeon HD 6870 or Radeon HD 6850 series graphics cards.
Steam is now offering pre-purchases of Call of Duty: Black Ops in advance of the release of the military shooter sequel on November 9. Valve also confirms the game will be using Steamworks for various functions, saying: In addition to leveraging Steamworks' Auto-Updating, Achievements, and more, Call of Duty: Black Ops will support Steamworks Cloud technology. The PC version of the product will be powered with Steamworks for both the digital and tangible versions of the game and, as with all Steamworks titles, offline play will also be supported.
"We are delighted to be delivering the year's most anticipated title with Black Ops to PC gamers around the world," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "We've collaborated with the development team to leverage the Steamworks suite of services to deliver the highest level of service to Call of Duty: Black Ops PC customers."
"Steam has been a great partner throughout development of Black Ops," said Mark Lamia, president of Treyarch. "We're working closely together to take full advantage of Steamworks to ensure we deliver the most polished and secure PC experience that our community deserves."
Steam News announces the release of the recently promised patch to automatically update Sid Meier's Civilization V with a bunch of changes and fixes. The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Edge Magazine has a follow-up to the ongoing legal battle between Interplay and Bethesda Softworks over the rights to a Fallout MMORPG, which Interplay is still pursuing, having retained rights to make a Fallout MMOG under specific conditions when they sold the Fallout franchise to Bethesda. Edge hears from Interplay president Eric Caen, who tells them his brother Hervé offered the full rights to the intellectual property, but Bethesda balked at the price tag. "My brother said: 'If you want the full IP, the value of it is $50 million.' They said: 'No way. Why $50 million?' We said: 'Because the MMOG strength of this universe is huge.' Bethesda said: 'We don’t want that. Let’s buy everything else but the MMOG. Do the MMOG.' They said that Interplay had to start development and by a certain time we had to have a full game in development," Caen tells them. "They bought everything, but left Interplay with the licence to do the MMOG - under certain conditions, thinking that Interplay would never fulfil these conditions. But Interplay did. Spring 2009 - this is public information - Bethesda sends a termination letter to Interplay, saying: 'You did not fulfil your obligation.' So all the litigation is about that. I think Bethesda, off the back of Fallout 3’s success, realised that Hervé was probably right about the value. They said: 'OK, how can we get that without paying?'"
1C Company announces development of Royal Quest at King's Bounty and Space Rangers developer Katauri Interactive, the first MMORPG from the Eastern and Central European publisher. Word is: "The fantasy world of Royal Quest's MMORPG is called Aura. It's a world full of magic, technology and alchemy. Aura is under imminent danger by dark alchemists who will kill to find the highly rare and precious Elenium mineral with its many unique features. The King has put out out [sic] the call in search of courageous heroes to banish the invaders once and forever. As a reward he promises titles, castles and riches." The Royal Quest Website is live with media and details on the game, which is expected to launch in spring 2012. The feature list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Matrix Games announces the Blitzkrieg France add-on (which could be confused with the Blitzkrieg series) for Battlefield Academy (which could be confused with the Battlefield series). In the new add-on, which is expected next month, "Players will be able to take command of German forces and lead them to the conquest of Paris." They say the expansion will include nine single-player missions and four multiplayer missions along 25 new units and other additional features, adding: "Blitzkrieg France takes Battlefield Academy to a new level." Also, a new Battlefield Academy patch is now available, described as a "major update" for the turn-based strategy system. The version 1.4.1 patch adds a bunch of new units and maps to the game.
Microsoft is revamping their Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace, which has lagged behind the competition in the digital distribution marketplace over the years. Joystiq spoke with Peter Orullian, who is in charge of revamping the service after he helped develop digital distribution strategies for Xbox LIVE, and Peter cites Amazon as an example of the simplified, consumer-oriented experience they are looking to create. He explains that while the GFW client will still allow customers to manage large downloads and see their transaction histories, it will no longer be required to browse and purchase games. Word is the relaunch is expected some time next month.
Atomic Games announces details about the 'hardcore mode' in Breach, their military first-person shooter in development for Windows and Xbox 360. They explain this incorporates aspects of simulations they have created to aid military training, saying: "Breach's Hardcore Mode promises players the opportunity to test themselves and their tactics in an FPS like never before all in a title that costs less than $20.00." They offer some Breach hardcore mode screenshots, and the list of features in hardcore and the accompanying "sole survivor" mode follow. Continue here to read the full story.
MCV excerpts an interview with Square Enix management where Square Enix CEO and president Yōichi Wada explains the company's high hopes for the Deus Ex franchise they picked up along with Eidos. He speaks of the success they've had with the FINAL FANTASY franchise, and how they hare hoping for a decade-long run with a revived Deus Ex IP. "Deus Ex 3 is something we're trying to revive," Wada tells them. "We want to keep on producing profit from that IP for the next ten years."
Though it's not yet available on the under-motivated Lionheart: Kings' Crusade Website, the first patch for Lionheart: Kings' Crusade is now available, updating the just-released fantasy-themed strategy game to version 1.01. The update is available automatically through Steam, and the manual patch to update either the retail DVD or the Gamer's Gate version of the game is available on The Patches Scrolls. The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Steam News announces another automatic patch for Fallout: New Vegas is now available to update Obsidian's just-released role-playing sequel. Word is: "Preferences, quicksaves, and autosaves should behave normally. Cloud support currently disabled."
GameZone - Are Warzones Acceptable in Videogames?
But is it acceptable for a game to recreate an ongoing warzone? The question hasn’t really been raised before the Medal of Honor controversy, but has gained a significant amount of discussion within the last couple of weeks with the bombshell that players can play as the Taliban in MoH. Many consider it in poor taste that players can take on the role of the Taliban and kill American soldiers. Plenty of voices have spoken; you know it’s a full-on controversy when Fox News get involved to deliver their opinions on the matter.
GameZone - Post Release Support - A Developers Obligation?
A recent offender in post-launch support, and one that affected me personally, LEGO: Harry Potter, from Traveler’s Tales. It is a charming game, with a vicious game-breaking bug, via a gold brick that doesn’t generate properly near the end. The issue is unfixable, and requires you to start a new game in order to finish, hoping of course, the same thing doesn’t happen again. My poor girlfriend spent well over 20 hours on LEGO: Harry Potter, reached 99-percent completion, and realized her game could never be completed. It’s now been nearly two months since the game’s release, and there’s still no patch to fix problem. Considering that the game cost £40, is it too much to ask that it at least be finished?
NDA expiration day for the 6850 and 6870.
- AMD Radeon HD 6850 Graphics Card on Benchmark Reviews and InsideHW.
- AMD Radeon HD 6870 Graphics Card on TechSpot.
- AMD Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire Graphics Cards on techPowerUp.
- AMD Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 Graphics Cards on Bjorn3D, Guru3D, [H]ard-OCP, Hardware Canucks, Hardware Heaven, HEXUS.net, HotHardware, Neoseeker, Overclockers Club, PC Perspective, Rage3D, and Techgage.
- AMD Radeon HD 6870 & 6850 CrossfireX Graphics Cards on Guru3D and Legit Reviews.
- AMD Radeon HD 6870 Graphics Card on Legion Hardware and TweakTown.
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP Cooler on Overclockers Online.
- ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU 1 GB Graphics Card on techPowerUp.
- ASUS Radeon EAH6870 1GB Graphics Card on PureOC.
- ASUS Radeon HD 6870 CrossFire Graphics Cards on Overclock3D (exclusive?) and techPowerUp.
- Ballistic HC iPhone 4 Rugged Case on OverclockersHQ.com.
- Bigfoot Killer 2100 NIC on Examiner.com.
- Corsair Hydro Series H70 High Performance CPU Cooler on Futurelooks.
- Cougar CMX 550 Cooler on Technic3D. In German.
- Diamond HD Mini Media Player on Missing Remote.
- GIGABYTE Radeon 6850 1GB Graphics Card on PureOC.
- HIS Radeon HD 6850 1 GB Graphics Card on techPowerUp.
- HIS Radeon HD 6850 1GB Graphics Card CrossfireX on TweakTown.
- HIS Radeon HD 6870 1 GB Graphics Card on Bjorn3D.com and techPowerUp.
- HIS Radeon 6850 & 6870 Graphics Cards on Overclock3D.
- Lian Li PC-8FI Case on Hardware Secrets.
- Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard on Examiner.com.
- Logitech K800 Wireless Illuminated Keyboard on EverythingUSB.
- Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700 on MetkuMods.
- MSI N480GTX Lightning Graphics Card on Overclock3D.
- MSI R6870 Graphics Card on Vortez.
- Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1GB Graphics Card on Bjorn3D, ProClockers, PureOC, ThinkComputers, and TweakTown.
- SilverStone Precision PS05B Case on [Phoronix].
- TomTom XXL 550TM GPS on TechReviewSource.com.
- Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB SATA Hard Drive on TechRadar.
- Zalman VF3000A VGA Cooler on OCIA.net.
- Zalman VF3000F VGA Cooler on Big Bruin.
- Zalman ZM-MH200 U3 Dual Hard Drive Docking Station on Tweaknews.
Having spent the summer refining my technique for Buffalo Wings, I have another local chicken recipe to try on the grill thanks to Acleacius, who sent along a recipe for Crispy Cornell Chicken, described as "an upstate New York classic." There's an arm of my family that lives in Cortland, NY, which is pretty close to Ithaca, the home of Cornell University (which lends the dish its name), but I had never heard of this before. Luckily, the weather report calls for a pretty nice day tomorrow, as there's rain in the forecast for Sunday on, so I may have my chance to try this tomorrow. If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.
|
Twitter 
