Archived News:
The Darkspore Website is now accepting registration from those interested in beta testing the upcoming action/RPG from Maxis based on the Spore engine. There is a form where you can input your information, though there's no indication at this time when the beta will commence or what it will involve.
Iron Grip developer ISOTX announces Iron Grip: Lords of War, a renamed version of Iron Grip: Lords of Atelia featuring Facebook integration. This is currently in beta, and they expect to invite about 500 players to test things out. Word is: "This release honors the culmination of an 18 month development period in which new concepts were tested, balance was improved, and the gameplay itself has been enriched. Lords of War also opens the opportunity to explore other segments of the Iron Grip world, expanding possibilities for stories and advancement well beyond the boundaries of just Atelia."
The Din's Curse Patches Page now offers new version beta 1.010 patches for the Windows and OS X editions of Din's Curse, Soldak Entertainment's action/RPG. The changes page has the list of what's new and different, which is reproduced below. Continue here to read the full story.
Reuters has THQ's second quarter financial reporting, saying sales are down 24% year-over-year, which is blamed on lack of new game releases. Word is: "The company forecast full-year sales to be in the range of $825 million to $855 this year, up from $800 million to $825 million. Analysts were looking for sales of $808 million for the year. THQ's sales in the second quarter were $77.1 million, down 24 percent from a year earlier."
Thanks Acleacius and Ant.
EA announces Dragon Age Legends, an upcoming free-to-play version of BioWare's fantasy-themed RPG planned for launch on the social networking website in February of next year. They say the game will offer "accessible and engaging tactical combat with compelling co-operative gameplay," and it will give gamers the chance to earn "exclusive unlocks" for Dragon Age II, the upcoming full-blown Dragon Age: Origins sequel. Word is: "Dragon Age Legends will give players their first taste of the Free Marches, the primary setting of Dragon Age II. Alongside their Facebook friends, players will take on challenging quests within an engaging storyline, earning loot, sharing rewards and growing their kingdom. The game will include a gratifying character customization and upgrade system that will allow players to tackle demons and darkspawn to become a legendary hero within the Dragon Age universe."
Gaikai is gearing up towards beta testing, reports MCV, where word is the cloud gaming initiative may be nearing a deal with a gaming site, as they quote spokesperson Dave Perry saying: "At the 11th hour a major USA gaming site has asked us to let them run our Closed Beta. If the deal can be done quickly we will do that, if not we will invite 100,000 people in to play from our own users." Perry also says that Gaikai, which now seems to be billing itself primarily as a "video game advertising network," is actually ready for its close-up: "Gaikai is ready to launch now, we've started working on Server Design 2.0 while we wait for launch to happen."
1C Company announces that open beta testing is underway for Men of War: Assault Squad, Digitalmindsoft's upcoming standalone expansion for the World War II real-time tactics game. Signups for the beta are being processed through this page, where you can get a key for the test, which is being conducted via Steam. Here's the description of the beta: "Players will be able to try out the new skirmish game mode on two maps with up to four players, and play other popular online game modes such as Assault Zone, Combat and Frontlines, which have all been improved. For instance players can now use Special Units throughout the entire battle."
The Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising Website is now accepting applications for closed beta testing for Heatwave Interactive's planned revival of this MMORPG that was cancelled during its development by Perpetual Entertainment. No details on the test period or what testing will entail are offered at this time. Thanks Cale.
Battle.net announces that Blizzard is granting free name changes for players in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, so those remorseful over choosing a "seemed like a good idea at the time" name now have the chance to rectify their error. Blizzard warns this is a one-time offer, and that users should be sure to use it wisely.
As usual, MrsBlue and I exercised our right to vote yesterday, and also as usual, this was a very painless process thanks to the relative tininess of our village. What was unusual was the method, as New York has finally dispensed with the lever-operated polling booths that have been in use since the dark ages before I was born in favor of an optical scanning system. In a way this seems like a step backward, as using a magic marker to fill-in circles on a paper is pretty low-tech. On the other hand, it also seems like a good way to deal with large groups of voters in places where that happens, as there is no limit on the number of people that can be filling out ballots simultaneously before they are fed into a scanner, and while I can't recall any hanging chad-style voting disputes in these parts, the paper trail would certainly come in handy in the event of recounts.
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