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Archived News:
We missed this the other day: IGN has first details on Blacklight: Retribution, an upcoming free to play sequel to Blacklight: Tango Down, the downloadable shooter from Zombie Studios. The graphics will feature DirectX 11 support through the Unreal Engine 3 and gameplay will include extensive weapon customization and armored mechs, among other things. The game's E3 teaser trailer is now available, and here's a bit: Blacklight: Retribution is set in the same sci-fi universe as the original, with the many of the core mechanics of Tango Down, but it builds them into something that borders on MMO territory without making the leap. Players get experience and a currency for scoring kills and during usual gameplay actions. As players level up, they can spend points on a skill tree reminiscent of the sort of thing you'd see in an RPG. The currency can be spent to buy new weapons, armor and weapon customizations.
Codemasters confirms the planned June 7 North American release for Operation Flashpoint: Red River, while also outlining plans for the first DLC for the military shooter sequel. Here's word: Codemasters has today also detailed the first downloadable content for Operation Flashpoint: Red River. The Valley of Death Pack features eight new Fireteam Engagements playable in single-player or in four player online co-op and will be available at the end of June from Xbox Marketplace (560 MSP), Games For Windows Marketplace (560 MSP) and PLAYSTATION NETWORK ($6.99). Two new Combat Sweep missions, two new CSAR missions, two new Last Stand missions and two new Rolling Thunder missions are set across stunning new locales. Players will fight through the warehouses and factories of a former Soviet Manufacturing town and carry out operations in a riverside mud-brick village set beneath foreboding hilltop ruins.
A title update with launch across all formats prior to the release of the Valley of Death Pack. Details about the forthcoming update and date of release will be made at www.facebook.com/flashpointredriver and www.twitter.com/flashpointgame.
BF3 goes to E3 on the Battlefield Blog has word from DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson on plans to show off Battlefield 3 at E3. They also discuss their Battlelog "web destination," and in a pretty straightforward dig at the just-announced premium Call of Duty Elite service, they make a point of noting this will not cost anything: Of course there are things we will not be showing at E3, including the game’s extensive co-op campaign, the introduction of Team Death Match mode and the Battlefield 3 Battlelog web destination – featuring powerful social tools, feeds and detailed player stats. Battlelog also lets you manage your friends lists, squad up, create platoons, use voice chat and follow your friends’ progress in real-time, and more. Battlelog will be available for the monthly fee of (drum roll)... zero dollars. We look forward to providing more information on these features in the near future!
This interview on GhostRecon.net talks with Theo Sanders of Ubisoft about Ghost Recon Online, the recently announced upcoming online installment in the tactical shooter series. Topics include the types of maps they will offer, anti-cheat support, cover mechanics, the choice of third-person perspective, number of players per game, game types, clan tools, and more.
A new Advanced Classes Page on the Star Wars: The Old Republic Website offers everything you need to know about advanced classes in BioWare's upcoming Star Wars MMORPG. The site also now offers a Lost Suns comic preview with a look at the five-issue miniseries that "ties directly into the storyline of Star Wars: The Old Republic with events beginning at the same time as the start of the game."
Games
- Fable III Downloadable Content on Steam.
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Chaos Rising on Impulse.
Patches
- A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda on Steam.
- Left 4 Dead 2 on Steam.
- Team Fortress 2 on Steam.
All DLC on Direct2Drive. Save 15% with code "EXTRAS" at checkout.
- Age of Wonders Series on GOG.com. Save 50%.
- Age of Wonders on GOG.com. Save 50%.
- Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic on GOG.com. Save 50%.
- Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne on GOG.com. Save 50%.
- ProtoGalaxy on Steam. Save 66%.
- Trash on Impulse. Save 75%.
- War Plan Pacific on GamersFront. Save 15%.
Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.
EA announces The Sims 3: Pets, an upcoming expansion for the Windows and OS X editions of The Sims 3 that will also be released as a standalone game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo DS. While pets are not new to the lifestyle simulation franchise, The Sims 3: Pets will allow players to step into the paws of their furry companions, and experience the simulated world through their eyes. Word is: "The Sims 3 Pets enables anyone to play as they want, whether it’s the builder who creates the ultimate pet sanctuary, the achiever who solves all the mysteries in town, the experimenter who has a lone Sim and a house full of cats, or the storyteller who expresses himself through the adventures of his Sims and their pets." Here are the first three screenshots.
Kalypso Media USA announces Dungeons - The Dark Lord, the sequel to Dungeons, the bad-guy strategy game in the vein of Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius. The sequel will include an all-new campaign as well as multiplayer support, which includes the ability to play as some of the game's bosses. Dungeons - The Dark Lord is in development at RealmForge Studios, but does not yet carry a release date. Here's the list of new features:
- Three multiplayer modes for up to four players: Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Survival
- Entirely new, fully scripted and voiced single-player campaign
- New dungeon setting (ice crystal cave) with new graphics, unique prestige gimmicks and a new boss monster
- Playable bosses in multiplayer modes (Minos, Zombie King, Calypso and Dungeon Lord)
- Various dungeon graphics sets and inventories are now available
- New set of skills specifically for multiplayer modes
The BioWare Social Network now offers a new patch for Dragon Age II, updating the action/RPG sequel to version 1.03. The patch is a 23 MB download, which is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and The Patches Scrolls. Word is: "Some fixes are retroactive, but not all. Players with plot-breaking bugs may need to revert to an earlier save, particularly a save prior to visiting the affected area during the current year in the game." The patch notes are startlingly long, and they follow, though it should be noted that the section on quests includes a spoiler warning. Continue here to read the full story.
The Witcher Website now offers the promised patch for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, updating CD Projekt RED's action/RPG sequel to version 1.2. This page offers a manual patch, and this is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and The Patches Scrolls, but word is: "It should automatically download from the game's launcher, however you need to make sure that your game is patched to version 1.1 before applying it. Steam version needs to be updated through the Steam patching system." As outlined in the patch notes, the new version has the previously released DLC and bug fixes, and it also adds the new "Barbers and Coiffeuses" DLC. Here's what to expect from that: Some traders also provide barbershop services. For a small fee, Geralt can get them to change his hairstyle. Search notice boards for information about barbers and coiffeuses offering services of this nature in a given location. In Flotsam, in Chapter 1 of the game, these services are available from the antique book dealer Einar Gausel. In Chapter 2, look either for Sambor in Henselt’s Camp or for Felicia Cori in Vergen. This apprentice sorceress also provides hairstyling services in Loc Muinne, in Chapter 3 of the game.
Paramount Digital Entertainment announces Star Trek, a co-op action/adventure from Digital Extremes based on J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot movie. The game is due in summer 2012 for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, and the announcement includes this screenshot showing Kirk and Spock, as word is "the game casts players as Kirk and Spock for the first time ever." We'll learn more next week as the game is shown off at E3, and in the meantime here's word: The game, which continues the adventure that director and producer J.J. Abrams envisioned with Star Trek (2009), boasts a stand alone story filled with action-packed combat as Kirk and Spock must work together to stop a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy.
“Star Trek challenges the boundaries of co-op gameplay with a galactic adventure that gamers and fans have never experienced,” said Tom Lesinski, President of Paramount Digital Entertainment. “Working closely with the Star Trek filmmaking team throughout development, the game is sure to deliver AAA production values, a wide variety of gameplay and all the action you would expect from the hit franchise. This will be the definitive Star Trek gaming experience.”
EA announces the launch of Origin, a new online marketplace that includes its own desktop client, like an EA-specific Steam. Word is: By visiting Origin.com today, users can set up an Origin profile, download the Origin beta application, and begin browsing titles available now or pre-order upcoming games. In addition, exclusive game content and trailers for upcoming EA titles will also be available on Origin, including Mass Effect™ 3, FIFA 12, SSX™, Madden NFL 12, Need for Speed™ The Run, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Sims™ 3 and Battlefield 3.
“Origin is a game service with two fundamental features,” said David DeMartini, senior vice president of Global Online at EA. “It’s a download service for the very best content from EA and its partners. It also offers a social function which, over time, will connect a player’s profile with friends lists and a cross-platform feed that shows what your friends are playing and where.”
2K Games announces XCOM, is due on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on March 6, 2012 in North America and the upcoming first-person action game based on the classic sci-fi strategy series is due internationally on March 9th. Here's word: "Featuring a bold new origin story told from a first-person perspective, XCOM pits Special Agent William Carter and his veteran team against the threat of human extinction. But every enemy is an opportunity – players will strike surgically against the alien menace, capture their technology, and by the science of desperation – turn the invaders’ weapons against them. Armed with these lethal new tools of war, players will command their squad on XCOM’s front lines: Main Street, USA." We also have the E3 trailer from the game, which is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Several readers who are members of the "first access club" have let us know that the demo for Duke Nukem Forever is now available on Steam for those who have preordered Gearbox's first-person shooter sequel or who own the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition. Apparently the Xbox LIVE version of the demo is also now available.
The DEVELOP 100 is online, offering their assessment of the top developers in the world, "based on Metacritic data, charting success based on critical reception of console, PC and smartphone games released around the world." Noteworthy omissions include BioWare, id Software, Valve Software, and Epic Games. Here's the top 10:
- Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Japan)
- 2D Boy (USA)
- ZeptoLab (Russia)
- SCE Santa Monica (USA)
- Blizzard Entertainment (USA)
- Media Vision (Japan)
- 1337 Game Design (Sweden)
- Bungie Software (USA)
- Rockstar Leeds (UK)
- TheCodingMonkeys (Germany)
My situation with one of the monitors in my dual-monitor setup has deteriorated to the point where it's making me crazy. The expensive, yet out-of-warranty, monitor has taken to flickering a majority of the time, and I was finally forced to act, as it's making my work very difficult. I would gladly get a twin of my other monitor, a large but inexpensive Hanns that's been great, but it seems to be no longer in production. I found a similar model and ordered it from Newegg, and I think this is just in time, as the new monitor will match the old one's 1920x1200 resolution, but it seems like a vast majority of flat-panels are now 1920x1080, even when they are as large as these (27.5"). It would be nice if the new monitor arrives before E3 hits full swing, since this is really slowing me down, but I think I probably ordered it too late.
R.I.P.: Dr. Jack Kevorkian, "suicide machine" inventor, jazz musician and painter, has died. Thanks Ant.
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