Archived News:
Romanian indie developer Inovare Studio announces their first game, a multiplayer first person shooter called Battle for Freedom that's been in development for two years using their own 3D and physics engines. The game will support eight players in a seven-versus-one scenario, where the one player uses a real-time strategy interface to attack the seven others, who do combat with an FPS view. "When we decided to create Inovare Studio. We wanted to make another kind of videogames. Every year there is always more of the same. BATTLE FOR FREEDOM is based on a great gameplay, coupled with an artificial intelligence never seen before," says programmer Adrian Patzaichin. According to marketing manager Sabin Grigorescu: "With BATTLE FOR FREEDOM, we intend to achieve domination of Eastern Europe games developpers [sic]. After STALKER, METRO2033,... Nobody denies the talent of the studios from Eastern Europe. Inovare Studio have the ambition to sit alongside the greatest." Their website has a single, somewhat blurry screenshot, and they promise a trailer soon.
Battlefront.com now offers a new updated demo for Empires of Steel which no longer carries a timed expiration date. In addition to the removal of a time limit the new version also includes all the changes since the release of the original demo. This includes Play By Email, improved AI, adjustments to game-balance, new game-options, new victory conditions, improved map generator, hotkeys, and more.
Industry analysts Anita Frazier of NPD announces record sales figures for the month of November, as report in this CNET article, where they say the $2.99 billion November 2010 take is up 8 percent from $2.76 billion a year earlier, and about $30 million more than the previous record November in 2008. They break down the figures a bit, and note along the way that Call of Duty: Black Ops sold 8.7 million units in the less than a month following the release of the military shooter sequel, which makes it the seventh best-selling game of all time.
The Derek Smart interview Lore Hound talks with the president of Quest Online about Alganon, their MMORPG. Topics include what the team is currently working on, the game's low-key marketing, their free-to-play business model, server populations, social elements, what the game needs to do to succeed, and what the future holds.
Two or more eligible games on the EA Store are 50% off. GamersGate has a buy four, pay for three promotion. There are a bunch of strategy games on sale on Matrix Games.
DreamCatcher, Spellbound, and JoWooD Group announce ArcaniA - Fall of Setarrif, an add-on due next year (we've been told "early January") for ArcaniA – Gothic 4, the action/RPG sequel. The expansion will offer new quests and missions adding about 10 hours of gameplay, the ability to import your Gothic 4 character, as well as the ability to play as other characters. Here are a few screenshots, and here's a bit more: ArcaniA – Fall of Setarrif ties up the loose ends of the main game´s story and adds yet another chapter to the epic tale. After the demon that possessed King Robar III was exorcised, it made its way to Setarrif to find a new host. In Setarrif, which is cut-off from the rest of the island, chaos and anarchy spread rapidly!
King Robar III is troubled by these facts and is afraid of losing the city and some of his companions, which are in Setarrif at that very moment. The nameless hero therefore is sent by the king and must journey to Setarrif… but he has no idea of what lies before him.
This Battlefront.com Patches Page has a new version 1.4 hotfix for PT Boats: Knights of the Sea, the World War II naval combat game. The patch addresses a single issue experienced by some users who have a problem opening the game's help files, and they say those not encountering the problem do not need the hotfix.
This new trailer shows off gameplay and cinematics from Dungeons, Kalypso's upcoming strategy game where you play an evil dungeon lord attempting to battle heroic interlopers as well as the machinations of his ex-girlfriend. The clip concludes saying to expect the game in February 2011, and those interested in this game still have the opportunity to sign up for closed beta testing. Here's the embedded version. Continue here to read the full story.
2K Games reveals plans to release a Spain and Inca double civilization and scenario pack for Civilization V on December 16, adding Queen Isabella and Spain and Pachacuti and the Incas to the turn-based strategy sequel for $7.49 USD. Here's a description of the included scenario: "The year is 1492. To the courts of England, France, and Spain come intrepid explorers, anxious to voyage across the Atlantic in search of a western route to China and the Indies. Will they find a new trade route and uncover untold riches from the Asian shores? Or will they perhaps run aground on undiscovered lands along their way? Will native populations be receptive to the knowledge and trade prospects presented to them, or will they fight against the invaders of their homeland? What riches, fame, and opportunities await those who brave the unknown waters? What path will you choose? Who will prevail in the struggle for supremacy over this New World?"
Battle.net announces that Blizzard is offering free character moves in World of Warcraft to help deal with the influx of new and returning players since the release of the new Cataclysm expansion for the MMORPG. These will be available to players in certain realms, who are being offered the opportunity to move to selected other realms. These one-time, one-way moves are available now through December 22, but they warn that they may close any of the destination realms when they grow full, so those who plan to move with friends or a guild are advised to coordinate their efforts to reduce the chance of stragglers being left behind. They offer a FAQ with details on what is or isn't allowed for transferred characters. Thanks Ant.
The Cataclysm Hotfixes thread on Battle.net was updated again yesterday with even more slipstream changes in World of Warcraft following the launch of the Cataclysm expansion. As before, they say: "While many have already been deployed on all realms, some may not be implemented until the next time your realm is restarted. We will continue to update this thread in the days ahead as additional hotfixes are applied." Thanks Ant.
A seconds closed beta event for RIFT will kick off a week from tomorrow, December 17, at 1:00 pm EST and will run through Monday, December 20 at 1:00 pm EST, offering another chance to check out Trion Worlds' upcoming MMORPG. The event, titled Guardians of the Vigil, will be localized for English, French, and German speaking territories, and will feature the first 20 levels of the game. This page is where to signup if you are interested, and here's more word on what to expect: "Players will be reborn as Ascended souls of the Vigil, prophesized to put an end to the tyrant Aedraxis and his plan to sacrifice the world to Regulos. Save the forest of Silverwood from the war between fiery minions of chaos and the corrupted followers of the elven prince Hylas. Venture into the Realm of the Fae to break the hold that Greenscale’s lieutenant Lord Twyl has over the ancient home of the elves." On a related note, newly launched digital game distributor WeGame is offering beta keys.
The Wolfire Games Blog has word that customers who've purchased the pay-what-you-want Humble Indie Bundle are now entitled to also download their games through Steam for no additional charge. They are offering product keys for those who own the bundle, and instructions on how to activate your games. Thanks Kris.
- AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition CPU on Hardware Secrets.
- ASRock H67M-GE-HT Sandy bridge Intel H67 Motherboard on OCWORKBENCH.
- ASRock ION 3D 152B Intel Atom D525 HTPC with NVIDIA 3DTV Play on TweakTown.
- ASUS ENGT430 GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card on Tweaknews.
- ASUS P8P67Pro Intel P67 Motherboard on OCWORKBENCH.
- BigFoot Networks Killer 2100 NIC on XSReviews.co.uk.
- Evercool Royal NP-901 Notebook Cooler on ASE Labs.
- GIGABYTE GA-H55N-USB3 Mini-ITX Motherboard on Futurelooks.
- GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 570 Graphics Card on Legion Hardware.
- Glacialtech Alaska Heatsink on FrostyTech.com.
- Logitech G700 Wireless Laser Mouse on [OC]ModShop.
- LG Flatron W2340VG 23-inch Widescreen LCD Monitor on Big Bruin.
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB Graphics Card Roundup on iXBT Labs.
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Graphics Card at GTX 480 Clocks on TweakTown.
- OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 Portable SSD on ThinkComputers.org.
- Patriot Convoy 425XL 4 x 2.5- Drive Enclosure on TechwareLabs.
- PowerColor Radeon 6870 PCS+ Graphics Card on Guru3D.
- Razer Imperator 5600dpi Gaming Mouse on [OC]ModShop.
- Samsung Continuum Cell Phone` on Test Freaks.
- Thermalright Archon CPU Air Cooler on [H]ard-OCP.
- Thermaltake BlacX 5G USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station on TweakTown.
- ZEROtherm ZT-560D and ZT-570D CPU Coolers on TweakTown.
I'm very happy with the news of Howard Stern re-signing with SIRIUS-XM for another five years. He's been part of my mornings for a long time now, and it would have been a bummer if his show went away. Baba Booey! Baba Booey! Baba Booey!
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