Archived News:
If you find yourself wondering whatever happened to Jumpgate Evolution, NetDevil's MMO space game remake, you are not alone, as Codemasters is suing NetDevil and its parent Gazillion ( Adobe Acrobat-format) for breach of contract over failure to deliver the game. Jumpgate Evolution was last expected in the middle of last year before hitting a delay of unspecified duration, and according to the court documents, Codies paid $1.1 million in advances and just under $300K for art assets, and that their agreement obligated delivery of the game for commercial release on or before February 24, 2009. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, seeks return of those expenditures, as well as Codemasters' legal costs. Thanks IncGamers.
Here we have a rumor about a rumor, as Marbridge Consulting reports having heard that Blizzard is investigating whether Blizzard China is the source of the recent document with what are allegedly release dates for Blizzard's upcoming games, attributing the rumor to "an industry source." They also say: "The source stated that the leaked internal documents also contain player numbers, revenues, advertising budgets and detailed promotional plans for all Blizzard games worldwide." Thanks Ant via IncGamers.
James Bond fan site MI6 has word that with MGM's resumption of the James Bond movie series, Activision's Raven Software has likewise resumed development of an untitled "stealth-centric" James Bond video game. The source of this information is not supplied. Thanks Develop via Shacknews.
The Warsoup First Introduction Trailer and another clip called Welcome to Warsoup offer first looks at an upcoming game described as a real-time strategy/first-person shooter in the works at Moon Games. The clip carries logos for Windows, Mac, consoles, as well as various browsers. Thanks Kotaku.
Two or more eligible games on the EA Store are 50% off. GamersGate has a buy four, pay for three promotion.
On Direct2Drive 1-in-5 orders is free. There are a bunch of strategy games on sale on Matrix Games.
- Chime on Steam. Save 75%.
- Poker Night at the Inventory on Steam. Save 40%.
- R.U.S.E. on Steam. Save 33%.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on Games For Windows. Save 95%.
- Star Trek Online on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.
Valve has kicked off a Steam Treasure Hunt which runs from now through December 20, offering new challenges every 48 hours to provide chances at winning free games, and concluding with three grand prizes of 100 games of the winners' choosing, which is in no danger of being overshadowed by the opportunity to unlock Team Fortress 2 hats along the way. This announcement has details on the first set of tasks, and while they state that their lawyers tell them to say "No purchase necessary," three of the four of these are game achievements, so they are also offering sales on the three games involved, with 33% savings on R.U.S.E., 40% off on Poker Night at the Inventory, and a 75% discount on Chime.
A Fallout tweet announces work is complete on an upcoming patch for Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian's action/RPG sequel. Word is: "We’ve wrapped up work on the Fallout: New Vegas patch and submitted it. We’ll let you know when it’s up on PS3, 360, and Steam."
The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion is slated to go on sale tomorrow, with sales beginning in some places as early as 12:01 am. There's a World of Warcraft Then and Now feature on GameSpot with a look at how the cataclysmic expansion will impact the virtual world of Azeroth, offering a World Reborn Trailer, a Gear Up for Cataclysm Trailer, and a Then and Now Flight Comparison. There's a Road to Cataclysm Interview with Greg Street on Games On Net discussing the new add-on. A report on GamesIndustry.biz (registration required) says that some GameStop stores in Sweden sold copies Cataclysm over the weekend, breaking an international sales embargo, though an embargo on an MMOG expansion that can't be played until the servers are updated seems fairly pointless. Also IncGamers reports that Microsoft Retail is holding a Cataclysm launch event at almost 15 percent of their locations, which is the one at Oak Brook, IL. Blizzplanet has details on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Holiday 2010 T-Shirts. There's an unboxing the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition unboxing article on Ars. Finally, WoW Marathon is planning a charity event looking to create the first level 85 character (thanks Ant via IncGamers).
Square Enix announces TOMB RAIDER, the not unexpected news that a next installment in the platformer series is in the offing. If you think the series is due for one of those reboots, your instincts are correct, as word is: "Here begins the first adventure for a young and inexperienced Lara Croft in a story which charts the journey of an ordinary woman who finds out just how far she must go in order to stay alive." The related image shows a bruised and dirty look for Lara Croft suggesting a grittier approach to the character than in the past. "Forget everything you knew about TOMB RAIDER, we are exploring things that have never been done before in this game," said Darrell Gallagher, Head of Studio, Crystal Dynamics. "This is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other." There will be more in the new issue of Game Informer magazine, which is now available for subscribers, and will be on newsstands on December 11.
MCV - Opinion: Panorama. (See Safety Dance.)
But there’s nothing sinister about this. The reward of further play or extra items/abilities/weapons is the very essence of their success. The promise of another gun, a new killstreak, an extra attachment or high-level perk is absolutely why we play on. The same principle can be seen in FarmVille, in Final Fantasy XIV, Borderlands or in an endless number of titles – both good and bad. And it’s no different to the narrative that propels you to the next chapter in a book or the cliff-hanger that makes you stay up late to watch just one more episode of Lost or 24. And that’s the problem with this Panorama show. Is the impact of widespread online gaming in South Korea of interest? Of course. And are there things to learn from it? Definitely. But isolated cases of people whose addiction happens to be gaming (it could just as easily be alcohol, or gambling, or drugs, or sex, or Weetabix) only serves to cheapen the show.
Last week I called Raising Hope the favorite show of the new season in the BlueTower, but it would be more accurate to call it our favorite new comedy. We watched the season finale of Boardwalk Empire last night, and never stopped enjoying the show for one minute. Going into it we expected to be more like The Sopranos set in an earlier time but it ultimately seems more like Deadwood set in a later time. The other finale we are looking forward to from last night is The Walking Dead, but we're still a little behind, so that's still in the DVR.
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