Archived News:
JoWooD announces Painkiller – Redemption, a new installment in the first-person shooter series originated by People Can Fly before they were bought by Epic Games. The game is to be launched through digital distribution later this month, and refers to it as an add-on, though we have no doubts that this is a standalone product. The game promises 7-10 hours of gameplay, six levels, and over 6,000(!) enemies. Here's a feature list:
- 7 to 10 hours of playtime
- Collect souls to transform into a demon
- Better graphics with detailed ambience
- Over 6000 enemies, more than any previous PK game!
- Equip yourself with powerful tarot cards which can be found in secret rooms
- Up to 1000 monsters per map to ensure an intense battle with the army of hell
- Two heroes – play the characters Belial and Daniel
- Better AI – there is nowhere to hide! Enemies will get you
During the investor conference call following THQ's financial report today THQ CEO Brian Farrell said: "We moved our Homefront launch date by one week to March 15." This first-person shooter from Kaos Studios was previously expected on March 8, and Joystiq notes that this is also the release date for Pokemon Black & White and Dragon Age II, suggesting that avoiding this competition may be the meaning of the comment they got from THQ about the one week delay: "We think we have a great opportunity to dominate retail on this date."
The promised continual post-release support for Magicka rolls on with another patch that's automatically available via Steam. Here are the patch notes. Continue here to read the full story.
Matrix Games announces the release of a new patch for Larry Bond's Harpoon – Ultimate Edition, updating the naval strategy game to version 3.10.1a. Word is: "The update serves as a hotfix for a critical issue that could cause the game’s executable to expire, in addition to fixing issues with the Harpoon Media Viewer that could occur when multiple versions of Harpoon 3 were installed." The patch is available on their downloads page and it is also available automatically from within the game.
THQ's third quarter earnings report shows losses at the developer/publisher, compared with a small profit for the same period last year: "For October through December, THQ said its net loss was $14.9 million, or 22 cents per share. In the same period last year, THQ's net income was $542,000, or one cent per share." The company's stock rose during the day because these losses were smaller than projected, and then dropped after hours because of lowered fourth quarter projections. Word is: "Shares sank 85 cents, or 13.3 percent, to $5.56 in after-hours trading. In the regular session, the stock rose 40 cents, or 6.7 percent, to close at $6.41." Thanks Joao via Gamasutra.
Kalypso Media and bitComposer Games announce Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is the new title for the Jagged Alliance 2 remake announced with the title Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded. The announcement also includes news that Kalypso Media is digitally distributing the game in North America, Asia, and English-speaking export countries; while bitComposer Games will publish the game in all other European countries, including Russia and Poland. Here's word on the game: "Jagged Alliance: Back in Action revives the top-selling Jagged Alliance series of mercenary-themed strategy games with significant updates to visuals and gameplay. Back in Action will showcase a fully updated experience, with modernized gameplay, state-of-the-art graphics and premium production values." Accompanying the announcement is this batch of new screenshots.
The Linux fanatics at [Phoronix] spotted an interesting note on the RAGE Website suggesting id's Tech 5 engine will be open source, as it reads: "Developed by id Software, id Tech 5 is an advanced open source engine capable of creating incredible environments." John Carmack made comments at QuakeCon 2007 saying Tech 5 would be released as open source a few years into its life (like their previous game engines), so we wrote the id Technical Director to ask if the engine was actually going to be open source upon the release of RAGE, and he clarified that this was a mistake on the website, and it will be corrected.
A new Be Strong Trailer from Crysis 2 shows off more of Crytek's upcoming first-person shooter, demonstrating the capabilities of CryENGINE 3, the game's powerful nanosuit 2, and its setting in New York City, the town so nice they named it twice. The embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
The Duty Calls Website is online, offering downloads of Duty Calls, a satirical free game created by People Can Fly and Epic, the developers of Bulletstorm, the over-the-top shooter planned for release on February 22. Duty Calls is intended to poke fun at more serious shooters, Call of Duty in particular, and this trailer shows off what this is all about. Here's a feature list:
- Duty Vision™ slows down the action so you can unload a storm of bullets
- Immersive dialogue from the front lines
- Cold, calculated realism
- Killing animations motion captured from real actors
- True-life reloading system allows for mistakes in putting the cartridge in the gun
- Iconic sound effects
- Thwart an enemy threat that could topple the country and possibly the world
- Significant and historically accurate props
This page on the Dragon Age Website is for GameStop employees, as EA expresses their appreciation for their support of the Dragon Age franchise. This gives GameStop employees exclusive early access to the playable demo Dragon Age II, and along the way reveals the demo for the RPG sequel will be released to the public on February 23: "This early demo access is being granted to GameStop employees only. Any form of distribution, recording, posting of any elements of the Dragon Age 2 demo and any of its files is strictly prohibited until February 23, 2011 when the demo is made available to all consumers." Thanks Gamer's Hell.
The German Crysis Facebook Page now offers minimum system requirements for Crysis II, Crytek's upcoming first-person shooter sequel (thanks Gamer's Hell). Here's a translation:
- Internet connection to play for the installation of the game and get online
- OS: XP / Vista / Windows 7
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz, AMD Athlon 64 X2 2Ghz or better
- 2 GB RAM
- Hard Drive: 9 GB
- DVD ROM: 8x
- GPU: nVidia 8800GT 512Mb RAM, ATI 3850HD 512Mb RAM or better
- Audio: DirectX 9.0c-compatible
- Keyboard, Mouse or the Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows
The Dragon Age II Website announces their Facebook game Dragon Age Legends is now in closed beta testing, offering a social networking installment in their RPG series. The Dragon Age Legends Website has more details on this. EA recently announced that players of the Facebook game will be able to unlock items for Dragon Age II.
World of Gothic now offers a new "mini-patch" for Gothic 4 to clear up some texture and animation glitches in the RPG sequel. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying.
The Hollywood Reporter has news that Ringo Starr has trademarked "Ringo" for use in "computer game software" and "games via the Internet and wireless devices," as well as "toys, plush toys, stuffed toys and board games." There's no more on what sort of game this might be for, but I look forward to playing while shouting "I've got blisters on my fingers!"
Happy Groundhog Day, as today is the annual celebration of woodchuck weathermen. We're in the middle of an ice storm here in the northeast U.S., so it is a formality to check with the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to confirm that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, traditionally a harbinger of an early spring. Staten Island Chuck agrees with Phil, and managed to make his prognostication without biting the mayor this time. An early spring will certainly be welcome at this point, so I've decided the science behind this forecast is solid.
|
Twitter 
