|
|
 |
Archived News:
Paradox Interactive announces Europa Universalis III Chronicles, a bundle of Europa Universalis III along with all four expansions for the grand strategy sequel, Napoleon’s Ambition, In Nomine, Heir to the Throne, and Divine Wind which combine to cover 1399 to 1820. The bundle is due on March 22nd, and the announcement is accompanied by this trailer, which they say "highlights the staggering scale of Europa Universalis III Chronicles, an exceptional gaming experience as players guide their nation to greatness in the fields of diplomacy, trade, politics, exploration, religion, culture and warfare."
The Serious Sam 3 interview on Big Download talks with Croteam CEO Roman Ribaric and CTO Alen Ladavac about the upcoming continuation of the Serious Sam series of not completely serious first-person shooters. They discuss the Sam's place in the current market after all these years, the game's plot, sticking with the masses of enemies nature of the series, returning enemies and weapons, multiplayer and co-op support, the uncertainly of a demo, and more. A fun moment is Roman describing the game as: "No cover, only man." In related news, they note that Joystiq has Devolver Digital's announcement of the Serious Sam Indie Series, a trio of independently developed games to be released in the months before the appearance of Serious Sam 3. Here's word on the three games: Serious Sam: Double D (Mommy's Best Games)
Serious Sam explodes across the second dimension as Mommy's Best Games (Weapon of Choice, Explosionade, Shoot 1UP) slams the legendary hero into a frantic side-scrolling shooter on PC and consoles. Featuring killer hand drawn artwork, classic and original enemies, and the innovative weapon stacking system, Serious Sam: Double D is a uniquely exciting chapter in the Serious Sam saga. All that stands between victory and annihilation is a man with a T-shirt and jeans... and a great big pile of guns.
Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! (Be-Rad Entertainment)
Pledge allegiance to the evil lord Mental, join the ranks of the Headless Kamikaze brigade and destroy the vile Serious Sam. Be-Rad Entertainment's (Lame Castle) hand drawn auto runner brings the awesome to mobile platforms as you guide your fearless group of Headless Kamikazes across the battlefield, dodging hazards and pitfalls while avoiding oncoming fire from the deplorable Serious Sam.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (Vlambeer)
The classic RPG turn-based battle gets a seriously frantic overhaul as Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Radical Fishing) turns their talent loose on the first Serious Sam role-playing game. Traverse a harsh and dangerous world map as Serious Sam and his team are thrown into rapid-fire battles against towering numbers of enemies on their way to glory against the legions of Mental's horde. Arm your squad to the teeth with massive ordinance, throw down some special items and take aim at the hordes of charging enemies holding that sweet, sweet loot you crave so badly.
MLB Manager Online is now in spring training, as SEGA offer North American gamers to check out pre-season play in this free Internet-based, multiplayer baseball management game. They describe this as the "game that allows game players to scout, train and trade over 900 MLB players to build a championship team and compete against family, friends or colleagues in online tournaments."
AMD offers a Catalyst 11.4 "early preview," providing the chance to check out a prerelease version of the next Windows 7 reference drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards. The drivers include performance enhancements for the Radeon HD 6000 Series and a fix for when Dragon Age II hangs in DirectX11 on Radeon HD 5800 Series cards. Thanks Ant via the AMD Game Forums.
With development of Age of Empires Online replacing the on hold Kings and Castles as the primary development focus of Gas Powered Games, it's only appropriate that an Age of Empires Online Video Blog replace the on hold Kings and Castles Video Blog. The debut installment gets a little meta as we visit the game development bunk to see a brainstorming session for the video blog itself. Much frivolity ensues, but they also offer some gameplay footage from the upcoming online installment in the strategy series, though the result could be best described as collateral damage.
This interview on Games On Net chats with Kim Haar Jřrgensen and Kenneth Ellegaard Andersen of Zero Point Software about Interstellar Marines, Zero Point's upcoming Windows and OS X first-person shooter. They discuss competing with better-financed developers, the ambitious nature of this three-part game, targeting core games, the early gameplay snippets they've released, breaking the FPS status quo, multiplayer support, and more. Likewise the Interstellar Marines interview on Neoseeker talks with Kim Haar Jorgenson about the game. They offer the full audio of the conversation, as well as a transcript for your reading pleasure, and topics include the game's over-the-top sharks, underwater levels, A.I., PC versus console shooters, control refinement, genre-mixing, co-op support, their development team, working with the Unity engine, plans for a full demo, and more. Here's a reassuring quote about their approach to supporting multiple platforms: "Make it work first on PC, and create an outstanding port afterwards to the consoles, that's our approach."
The City of Heroes interview on Examiner.com talks with Melissa Bianco, lead designer on City of Heroes, Paragon Studios' superhero MMORPG. They discuss why the superhero MMORPG market is so relatively small (it is?), attracting and retaining players, competing with more action-based MMOGs, and more.
A new patch for Ship Simulator Extremes is now available on the official website for the seafaring sim, bringing the game to version 1.3.5. Word is the patch "contains improvements for both Ship Simulator Extremes and its recently released Mission Editor. The v1.3.5 improves overall game performance (up to 30% on some pc's, depending on configuration) and contains new gameplay fixes, improved visuals and updated vessel dynamics & behavior." The full details are in the release notes, and the download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and The Patches Scrolls.
The TrackMania Forums offer a recently updated version 2011-02-21 2.11.26 dedicated server for TrackMania Nations/United Forever. Thanks The Patches Scrolls and Frans.
The Spring Break Sale on Direct 2Drive gives 20% off when you use the code "hangover" at checkout. The 5th Anniversary Sale on GamersGate offers a huge selection of games up to 75% off.
- Lost Planet Extreme Condition - Colonies Edition on Impulse.
- Majesty Complete on Steam. Save 42%.
- Majesty 2 on Steam. Save 80%.
- Majesty 2: Kingmaker on Steam. Save 80%.
- Wings of Prey on Steam. Save 50%.
Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.
Link of the Day: Team Fortress 2 - The Demo Knight. Thanks Mike Martinez.
A new trailer from The Lord of the Rings: War in the North shows off the brutality of the combat in the upcoming Tolkien-inspired action/RPG, concluding with an encounter with a slightly large opponent. The embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Topware Interactive announces that since there is still no retail version of Two Worlds II in North America, they have allocated the remainder of the collectible "Royal Edition" of Reality Pump's role-playing sequel to meet demand, with TopWare Interactive managing director James Seaman explaining: "the multi-platinum PC hit has finally come to the North American shores and we are excited to be able to bring this edition which, to date, has not been released by our third party publisher." This is being sold exclusively through GameStop, and word is the limited North American Royal Edition includes two additional codes not contained in its European counterpart. The complete list of bonus materials follows. Continue here to read the full story.
A new two-part video developer diary for Total War: Shogun 2 assembles some members of The Creative Assembly in a Benihana to discuss their upcoming strategy sequel set in Feudal Japan and show off some gameplay and artwork. In part one "Enemy Territory," the conversation, which arguably could benefit from a talking stick, discusses multiplayer support, which they admit was more of an afterthought in the past, saying it is getting more attention this time around, discussing context for battles, and player investment in their elite units. They also show off the game's concept art, which some have taken for museum pieces, delve into the influence of director Akira Kurosawa and Japanese literature, authenticity, and more. Part two discusses the elements that will hook players on the game, accessibility, the return to more of a rock/paper/scissors paradigm, the quality of their visuals, the spectacle of battles, drumming and other music, motion capture, calligraphy, and what they feel are the strongest aspects of the game. The trailers are embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Aeria Games announces the launch of Call of Gods, a new free-to-play browser-based MMORTS/RPG, calling this a "revolutionary update to the tired city-building, quest completion browser genre." Here's word on the game: "In Call of Gods, players will experience the next generation of browser RTS/RPG gameplay. In keeping with the traditional core style, players create a human, elf, or undead hero and venture out into a massive fantasy world where they can progress through elaborate quest arcs, fight their way with other players through challenging dungeons, amass armies, and ultimately build a powerful castle stronghold within your race’s kingdom."
The ArenaNet Blog offers a new entry on crafting in Guild Wars 2, their upcoming MMORPG sequel. The illustrated entry, which is written by designer Andrew McLeod, discusses the eight crafting disciplines, resource gathering, and how players will make use of crafting stations to create new items. Andrew also notes that crafting has been added to the build of the game being shown at this weekend's PAX East.
What’s Playing reports on a rumor they've encountered that Universal Studios is planning to reboot the DOOM movie franchise, following on the 2005 Dwayne Johnson vehicle based on id Software's beloved first-person shooter franchise. While this does offer a chance to make up for the miserably received original, it should be noted that the unconfirmed report indicates this DOOM remake would be in 3D, which is not generally cause for optimism. Thanks nin via Dark Horizons.
Unreal Development Kit Website now offers downloads of the March build of the UDK, the free software development kit for creating Unreal Engine 3 games. This is accompanied by a new high resolution trailer (you can switch the format to 1080p if your connection/system can handle it) showing off new enhancements, as word is: "Epic recently presented a brand new Unreal Engine 3 real-time demonstration entitled 'Samaritan,' which leverages DirectX 11 support, high-end rendering features, NVIDIA APEX physics technology and other engine upgrades. These new technical additions are now available in the March build of UDK." Epic also wants to remind developers they've recently reduced their share of royalties on commercial games created with the UDK, saying: "Under the new license agreement, developers don’t pay any royalties until their total revenue exceeds $50,000 (US). Beyond that, developers keep 75 percent of each dollar they receive and Epic receives 25 percent." They point to an article on Develop that breaks down how this works in more detail. The March UDK is mirrored on AtomicGamer, and a complete list of new UDK features follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Atari announces the departure of John Needham from Cryptic Studios "to pursue other opportunities within the games industry," saying the new CEO of the MMO developer is Jack Emmert, the Cryptic co-founder and City of Heroes lead designer who previously served as the company's COO. "As a colleague, I am sad to see John go, but our vision remains clear," says Emmert. "Cryptic continues to develop great gaming experiences while ensuring the success of its current projects, Champions Online: Free for All, Star Trek Online and Neverwinter. I co-founded this company and am extremely proud of everything our teams have achieved. We will continue to set high goals for ourselves and under my leadership we will continue to meet them."
Gamasutra talks with Blizzard COO Paul Sams about MMOGs in a conversation centered on Blizzard's plans to continue to support World of Warcraft for many years to come. He does also say that their still-unannounced next MMORPG, codenamed Titan, is already in a playable state: "We're very confident in that product. It's an awesome one," he tells them. "We're playing it already. It is a total ball to play. We think that the reach of that product is greater than anything that we've done before. We're very excited about that. I believe that it's the type of game that will have a very long life, much like World of Warcraft has." Thanks GameSpot.
Goblin Garage Studios announces The Carnic Chronicles, an Unreal Engine 3/ UDK episodic action/adventure game they are calling "revolutionary." They say the series will use "techniques that focus on interactive storytelling," and the first episode, titled The Island, is due next winter, offering "the first in a series that covers the extraordinary life of Alexander Bailey." The preliminary The Carnic Chronicles Website is online, and they plan on launching the full site on March 15.
There's an EA interview on Gamasutra where EA Games label president Frank Gibeau talks about PC gaming, suggesting their appreciation of the platform is rebounding. "The user base is gigantic," he says. "PC retail may be a big problem, but PC downloads are awesome. … The margins are much better and we don’t have any rules in terms of first party approvals. From our perspective, it's an extremely healthy platform. … It's totally conceivable it will become our biggest platform."
Matrix Games announces the release of a new patch for Harpoon - Commander's Edition, bringing the naval strategy game to version 2009.050 by offering many of the improvements coming in Harpoon - Ultimate Edition. Word is: "The update polishes the Commander’s Edition to play more like the Ultimate Edition with AI improvements, additional features for the scenario editor, database updates, and many other changes and bug fixes. This will be the final planned update for the separate Commander’s Edition, which will continue as part of the Ultimate Edition package." The download is available on this page.
The Operation Flashpoint: Red River interview on Games On Net chats with Adam Parsons of Codemasters, discussing the military shooter sequel with its executive producer. Topics include the new game's relationship to its predecessor, new features, the game map, creating a more accessible interface, perks, realism, weapons, co-op, the removal of competitive deathmatch, challenges, the fictional setting, and more.
A new trailer from LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game shows off content in the upcoming action game based on The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Disney also announces the game will set sail for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and 3DS on May 10, 2011, just days before the release of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger's Tides, the latest movie in the series. Here's the embedded version. Continue here to read the full story.
This new video developer diary from Ultima Online features producer Calvin Crowner, associate producer Bonnie Armstrong, and lead engineer Erik Brinkman discussing plans for the coming year in the MMORPG. Word is they "talk about a range of topics that they will be bringing to gamers including a new client art set, a new player adventure and the continued implementation of exciting new quests for user to sink their teeth into." The embedded version follows. Continue here to read the full story.
MCV - What to do with 'media bullshit'.
And let's not be mistaken – this sleeplessness story is a stupid as they come. Games aren't making kids sleepy. Parents' inability to enforce discipline with their kids is. Gaming's just the scapegoat. As it always is.
But at the same time we have to acknowledge that The Sun, The Daily Mail and many other media outlets (and I won't completely absolve MCV from responsibility here) sometimes write things because they know other people will react to it, write about it and link to it.
Den of Geek - Why videogames haven't grown up yet: sex. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
It's often said that, compared to television and film, the videogame medium is in its infancy, a mere pup compared to the elder statesmen of visual entertainment. The immaturity of videogames can be forgiven because, in essence, they're at that difficult teenage stage, obsessed with bodily fluids and naked flesh. But is that fair, or is it a get-out-of-jail card that's played a little too often by an industry that doesn't want to accept its limitations?
I have a lifelong aversion to eating fish, fueled in part by being forced to eat really nasty bluefish by my grandparents when I was a kid. Over the weekend MrsBlue convinced me to indulge her and she bought some tilapia. By far the most appealing recipe she found for it was a blackened dealie, but she didn't want to do it that way because it involved frying it, so now I was not only going to be eating the fish, I was also the cook. The blackened tilapia turned out to be very palatable, the flesh was mild and the spicy blackened crust was well suited to my tastes. After this favorable experience I looked up tilapia on Wikipedia, and found that the fish it noted for its mildness, but while it tends to be very low in mercury and the farmed varieties are both sustainable and fairly environmentally friendly, it's not actually a very healthy food. While the farm-raised variety is low in saturated fat, it is very fatty (low in omega-3 and high in omega-6), and the wiki notes: "According to research published in July 2008, farm raised tilapia may be worse for the heart than eating bacon or a hamburger." Oh well, at least this makes me willing to try other fish in the future that are hopefully healthier.
Today is Ash Wednesday. I may watch an Evil Dead movie or two in celebration.
R.I.P.: Alice In Chains bassist found dead.
|
Twitter 
