Archived News:
Paradox Interactive is now offering Europa Universalis III Divine Wind on Steam, a fourth expansion for Europa Universalis III that adds battles in the Far East to the grand strategy sequel. Word is: "Enhancing every aspect of the original game to create an even deeper and more rewarding experience, you play as one of four major daimyo’s in Japan vying for influence over the Emperor and control over the Shogunate. Other additions include improved diplomacy, more realistic development of trade, multiplayer for up to 32 players and over 50 unlockable Achievements."
Square Enix announces plans for closed beta testing of the North American edition of WAKFU on January 31. You can sign up to be a tester here, and here's word on the game: "WAKFU is an innovative Tactical MMORPG that takes place in a fantasy universe created by Ankama for adventurers of all levels. WAKFU will transport you to a magical universe full of action and adventure, with over 14 character classes, a unique turn-based combat system, and strange, colorful landscapes. It’s up to you to find your own strategy and succeed in the challenges you’ll face along the way. Who knows, maybe you’ll become one of WAKFU’s greatest heroes?"
The PC Gaming Alliance Interview on bit-gamer.net talks with Intel's Matt Ployhar, the new president of this trade group. They discuss the organization's goals, how much it costs to be a member, DRM, and more. One answer discusses changes planned under the PCGA's new regime: "Several things actually. The biggest is setting a level of expectations. We’re in a marathon, not a sprint, and there are no instant fixes for some of the things we’d like to tackle next. PC gaming is an extremely dynamic ecosystem, and there’s a definite need to update the definitions of what a PC is, and who PC gamers are. We’ll be a lot more transparent moving forward. I believe we’ve been holding our cards a bit too closely, and frankly that doesn’t serve us or the ecosystem very well. It also seems to spool off into all sorts of speculation." Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
MyCrysis has news to expect a playable multiplayer demo for Crysis 2 on January 25, but word is this will be an Xbox exclusive. This press release has further details, and since there's no explanation for skipping PC and PS3 with the demo, we've contacted Crytek asking about this, but haven't yet received a reply (it's already evening in Germany, so it's entirely possible they're gone for the day). Last April when Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli expressed doubts that there would be a demo for their shooter sequel at all, he cited economics as a reason we might see fewer demos in the future, saying: "I think that we’ll see more and more games not carrying a demo in the future, because it becomes prohibitively expensive." There's also an answer in The Crysis 2 Multiplayer Tech Test FAQ that may apply to the demo, where they say: "CryEngine 3 allows us to develop Crysis 2 similarly on all three of our platforms – PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. While we’re marching ahead quickly on all three platforms, at this time we’re just testing the Xbox 360 game architecture." There's also a multiplayer trailer of which they say: "Watch as 2 teams of 6 go head-to-head with the strength, agility, and stealth that only a Nanosuit can offer." The site is being hammered so hard that the trailer doesn't really stream, so we've taken the liberty of posting a copy to the YouTube. The embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Here's the official announcement of the just revealed plan to release Duke Nukem Forever on May 3, 2011 in North America, and May 6, 2011 in Europe. This includes word on how to qualify for the demo: "Players looking to get access to the Duke Nukem Forever playable demo before it is publicly released can join the Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club. A membership certificate for the Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club is included within the Borderlands™ Game of the Year edition, where customers will be able to experience the definitive, value-packed collection of the critically acclaimed and best-selling Role-Playing-Shooter that has captured the imagination and attention of single-player and cooperative gamers around the world." The press release is accompanied by new Duke Nukem Forever screenshots (along with the box art), as well as the Duke Nukem Forever "reveal" trailer, which includes gameplay footage from the shooter sequel. The clip is embedded below after you show your ID to our vigilant digital doorman. Continue here to read the full story.
A playable demo for Crash Time 4: The Syndicate is now available, offering the chance to sample this racing sequel based on a German reality television series. The demo is available on the game's official website, where word is: "The 700 MB big PC-demo is ready for a test drive from today on. Experience the singleplayer-campaign with spectacular shootings, reckless driving through the german [sic] city of Cologne and a blind date in way [sic] you will never forget. And if that is not enough action, battle your opponents online in exciting races and pretty desctructive [sic] deathmatch-fights." There are mirrors on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and WorthPlaying, but the demo requires an activation code from the Official Website, which will display on screen when you hit the "download" link.
This trailer offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the voiceovers in Black Prophecy, gamigo's upcoming space combat MMORPG. We meet some of the folks behind this process who discuss their work, but the clip does not offer much in the way of gameplay. Here's the embedded version. Continue here to read the full story.
GameInformer musically announces May 3, 2011 is the North American release date for Duke Nukem Forever, the first-person shooter sequel announced during the Clinton administration. The game is expected on May 6 in Europe. They offer a posterior-smooching quote from Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford: "Somehow the guys at Game Informer magazine discovered Duke Nukem Forever's launch date before I did," jokes Pitchford. "But I cannot imagine any better video game news source team than Game Informer to reveal the moment of truth for the most inconceivable, incorrigible and inspiring turn around story in the history of the video game industry – the coming of Duke Nukem Forever on May 3, 2011."
The rhetoric is escalating in the legal dispute between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay, as the two companies have expressed completely opposite opinions about the status of the Fallout intellectual property, which was sold by Interplay to Bethesda in 2007 with a provision to allow Interplay to create a Fallout MMORPG if certain conditions were met.
On the one hand, Interplay president Eric Caen tells Eurogamer that if Bethesda blocks their MMORPG, the IP will revert to them after one more Fallout game. "We sold the Fallout IP to Bethesda in exchange for a certain amount of cash and the right to do the Fallout MMO," he said. "If they refuse to let us do the game, then the sale of the IP is terminated, and they will be allowed to do only one more Fallout, 5." He explains: "The original licensing deal was for three games and their DLC," Caen states. "So they already did Fallout 3, then Fallout: New Vegas, and they can only do one more Fallout, 5, if the sale of the IP is cancelled by the court."
On the other hand, Bethesda's Pete Hines tells VG247 that Bethesda already owns the rights to the Fallout MMORPG, seeming to refute the idea that this was ever Interplay's. "We own the rights to the MMO," he says. "We own the rights to everything Fallout. The license is ours. Fallout belongs to us. That’s what I’ll clarify. Beyond that, I’m not commenting on anybody else’s comments. It’s a legal matter. A specific MMO or project or any of that stuff, the lawyers are all going to sort it out."
The League of Legends Website has details on a new co-op mode being added to this Defense of the Ancients-inspired strategy game in the "near future." This will allow players to join forces to play against the game's AI, but be warned, the machines are being bolstered for this onslaught. Here's word: League of Legends is known to be a competitive game where millions of players are battling fierce PvP matches each day. Now a new game mode has been announced and it is time for human players to join forces and fight against selected champions controlled by a clever and tactical artificial intelligence. Coop vs AI will soon be added to League of Legends and gives players the chance to practice with their friends and secretly try new tactics before heading into the real PvP. But be warned, do not underestimate the AI - they have lots of tricks up their sleeves and will not hesitate to use them.
UK advocacy group Gamers' Voice tells IncGamers they plan on reporting Activision to the Office of Fair Trading since Activision has not replied to an open letter they sent to Activision over bugs in the PC and PS3 editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops. That open letter says, in part: "The complaints range from freezing when a new map is being loaded, locking up of PS3's and PC's while running the game, inability to log into multiplayer matches and connection drops mid game. None of this apparently applies to the Xbox 360 version, which is clearly the lead platform for the title." Chris O'Regan of Gamers' Voice tells them, "As a result of their inaction we will test the might of government agencies against Activision. We can only hope this brings about some litigious action. These agencies do exist to protect our rights as consumers, let us see if they can fulfill their remit on this pressing issue. GV wish to set an example with Activision to ensure games are not released in an unfinished state. If litigation is initiated, then a precedent would be set. In other words, publishers will have to reconsider releasing unfinished code in the future, in the UK at least."
Perhaps relevant to the story above, Steam News announces the release of a new automatic patch for the Windows edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Steam News has word that APOX is now available on Steam, offering a post-apocalyptic RTS/FPS hybrid. The game is on sale for the first week at a 33% discount. Here's a bit: "Use first-person shooter tactics like crouching, switching active weapons and looting corpses, while performing the real-time strategy moves of making bases, controlling strategic sites, and managing your resources. Enjoy over 100 maps and huge 32 player games!"
A new Bloodline Champions Trailer celebrates the launch of Funcom's PvP arena game. Word is: "'Bloodline Champions' sees players charging into battle using 20 different bloodlines, each with their own unique powers and abilities. Through quick and intense battles players must defeat the other team by skillfully using their bloodline’s abilities while at the same time trying to predict their opponent’s moves."
The Stardock interview on Examiner.com talks with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell, discussing games, Impulse, DRM, ImpulseTV, and more. When asked his opinion about publishers paying for lavish trips for journalists to preview their games, he offers an amusing response: "Well, my view is that I need to become a journalist."
Well, the weather reports were once again infuriatingly accurate (when did that start happening?), and we got dumped with some more snow here in the New York area, though this was not a nor'easter (I believe this one was a mild Alberta Clipper), and I don't think we got hit nearly as badly as the middle of the country. This is the fourth major storm of the winter, which is only one-third over as of today, so we're not out of the snowy woods yet. In fact, the Farmers' Almanac forecast for this area includes the word snow no fewer than six more times. Weee!
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