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April 1st, 2009, 11:01 Posted By: wraggster
The first few months of the life of Sports Interactive's MMO title Football Manager Live is "going to plan" according to studio director Miles Jacobson.
The game has now grown to encompass over 23 game worlds of 1000 users each, progress which Jacobson is happy with.
"It's going alright. The SEGA ops team is being very proactive in launching new worlds when existing ones are full," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "So it's kind of going to plan - obviously if it was going perfectly we'd have 1 billion subscribers playing," he joked, "and eventually 6 billion, but realistically with the economy the way it is we're doing pretty well...
"We're certainly doing well enough for SEGA to keep pushing us with more content, and certainly the flexibility of the business model is there. When we initially launched the subscriber periods were 3-, 6- and 12-month subscriptions having to pay upfront. We've looked at that, at the comments coming back from people who said they're interested but maybe haven't subscribed, and we've now added another business model which is more like a mobile phone contract - the longer you agree to subscribe for, the cheaper it is, and you pay per month."
He also explained that the company wasn't worried at this point about churn, usually the bane of an MMO's financial existence.
"Well, churn so far has been very low, but then when subscriptions started in January they were a minimum of three months - and when the retail version came out at the end of January it was four months. So we'll probably have much better stats on churn rate at the end of April and May.
"Certainly at the moment it's not something we're concerned about - people seem to be enjoying the game. We know where we expect churn levels to be and they seem to be lower than that at the moment."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-going-to-plan
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April 1st, 2009, 11:05 Posted By: wraggster
EA has released a de-authorisation tool for its controversial SecuROM digital rights management system.
SecuROM-protected games only allow installation on up to five PCs. Although this is not being changed, the new tool allows users to de-authorise particular machines on the list, thus freeing up "slots" for new installations on other computers.
In fact, de-authorisation needs to be done with game-specific tools, but EA has also made a de-authorisation management tool available. This will show all EA PC games released after May 2008 that are installed on a users machine, and tell the user how many computer authorisations are available for each.
De-authorisation doesn't uninstall the game, so it can be re-activated later if a free slot is available.
Affected games include Spore, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect, Burnout Paradise, Dead Space and Red Alert 3.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...uthorisation_2
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April 2nd, 2009, 08:44 Posted By: wraggster
Massive news hit IGN Australia this morning with the leak of what appears to be the design documentation for the next Grand Theft Auto instalment. According to photos provided by a reliable source, these images show 'Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City' – set in a fictionalised Sydney, Australia in the 1970s. What's more, the developer appears to be 'Rockstar Bondi' – formerly Team Bondi, makers of the mysterious and oft-delayed L.A. Noir.
This image has not been altered. Click for a larger version.
IGN has come into the possession of two photos, allegedly taken at the Team Bondi studios last week, showing the cover - the 14th edition of the 'Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City' design document – and a page outlining the overview, key points and gameplay hooks. The email claims that these were taken on an old Nokia handset and had to be "done in a hurry".
This image has not been altered. Click for a larger version.
We've done our best to transcribe what we can make out, and we've indicated points where the text was too grainy to be sure:
Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City expands and improves on (ed: not sure) the benchmark Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar North, bringing Rockstar Bondi (formerly Team Bondi) into the spotlight (ed: not sure).
Set during the 1970s(?), the story follows Harbour City resident and low-level thug, Tresle(?) 'Thumb' Conroy (ed: not sure), from his accidental invitation(?) into the high rollers' gambling circuit(?) (ed: not sure) through to dominance of the city's underworld, financial district and celebrity system(?). The tone pays reference to famous Australian con-films(?) 'Chopper' and 'Dirty Deeds'.
The game's mission-based structure will remain in place, with a greater emphasis on side-missions, environmental interactivity and destructibility. Harbour City will run on an enhanced version of the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine supported by the continued licensing of the Euphoria animation engine.
Missions will take players across the iconic Coathanger (Sydney Harbour Bridge) and Harbour City Amphitheatre (Sydney Opera House), into the sleazy (Seedy? Sassy?)(ed: not sure) Knight's Crown (Kings Cross) and Greenleaf (Redfern) districts, into the surrounding beach communities of (Sheldon? Shevon? Slebbon?) (ed: not sure) (Bondi) and through the tangle of city streets and inner-city residential suburbs.
While Harbour City takes cues from Sydney's urban landscape, a portion of the Australian outback will also feature (ed: whaaaa? Seriously?).
Tantalisingly, the Motifs section points out some of the game's potential themes:
High rollers (ed: not sure), gambling, beach lifestyle, c--(?) (ed: not sure), information (immigration?), drug-running, military ---(?) (ed: not sure), Australiana, celebrities, street racing, nautical activities, committees(?)(ed: not sure)
Finally, the release date is listed as October 2010, which sounds about right to us in terms of timing. The logo looks vaguely retro, which also fits a possibly 1970s setting. The 'Gameplay Hooks' section lists a branching story arc, what we think says 'Enhanced Euphoria animation' and environmental destruction, as well as online stock trading and, tantalisingly, co-op mission structure.
A close-up of the Harbour City skyline.
There are a few other curiosities on offer here. There's a single image of what looks Sydney – Centrepoint Tower appears to be visible. It's not clear whether this is a screenshot, target render, a photograph or conceptual art. We've blown it up for your dissection.
The Rockstar Bondi logo?
Team Bondi has been mysteriously quiet lately, leading some to suspect that their previously announced project, L.A. Noir had been cancelled. However, it appears that Rockstar was impressed with the studio's work – to the point where they've effectively handed them the keys to the GTA castle. Incorporating Team Bondi makes a lot of sense, as does a rebrand to fit under the Rockstar banner. There also appears to be a new Rockstar logo in the bottom-right corner of the page, in green and gold – very Australian.
At this stage, these photos are all we have to go on. We're currently seeking comment from Rockstar's local PR arm to confirm or deny the authenticity of these images and we'll update this article accordingly.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/968/968383p1.html
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April 2nd, 2009, 08:53 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft has just announced the release of Windows Server 2008 Foundation. Codenamed Lima once upon a time, this release is being billed as a low cost alternative to Windows Small Business Server. Squarely aimed at the OEM set (Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and various Chinese software pirating syndicates have already have expressed interest), this licensing scheme limits the server to fifteen users (even as a member server on a Windows domain), doesn't include hypervisor, and does away with the need for Client Access Licenses (CALs). With today's announcement, Foundation is available in 40 countries in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/01/m...n-server-2008/
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April 2nd, 2009, 10:28 Posted By: wraggster
It's been a busy day for the folks at Blizzard, who have released major announcements for several different games. The next Diablo III class has arrived: the Archivist. Despite their frail appearance and hunched, labored movement, they are quite deft at launching Quest Bolts at nearby foes, or conjuring a whirling Lore-nado of spinning books. Loud monsters can be silenced with a devastating Shush attack. Blizzard also put Starcraft II's latest unit on display, the Terra-Tron, which is a giant, robot uber-weapon assembled from the buildings in your base. Finally, for World of Warcraft they announced two features that have been requested by players for years: a battle of dances, where you can show off your avatar's hippest moves, and the ability to 'p1mp' your mounts. (Not sure exactly what that means, since I don't speak elvish, but there's a Nightsaber with a cannon — holy crap!)
http://games.slashdot.org/games/09/04/01/2215205.shtml
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April 2nd, 2009, 10:31 Posted By: wraggster
OK, it's been a bit longer than three days. But with Easter around the corner, it's somewhat apt, because just as everyone was done saying goodybe to FileFront, it's now back from the dead.
The popular PC file download service was closed late last month after its owners, Ziff Davis Media (who were trying to offload the site), failed to find a buyer. Yet no sooner did the site close than, with its value crashing through the floor, it seems somebody stepped in to save it. A message on FileFront's website reads:
FileFront has been acquired by the original founders of the site and will NOT be suspended as previously announced. This is NOT an April Fool's Joke.
Several more paragraphs of that make it rather clear that, yes, this is not a joke. As of writing, all "previously suspended" services are up and running, and the new/old owners "look forward to improving FileFront and serving the gaming community for years to come."
http://kotaku.com/5194923/and-on-the...ront-was-risen
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April 2nd, 2009, 10:35 Posted By: wraggster
It's the biggest StarCraft II announcement since the game itself -- and would make Michael Bay proud. Blizzard today unveiled the largest unit to date in its RTS franchise: the Terran Terra-Tron. This hulking bipedal war machine is actually built from the combined pieces of an entire Terran base. The base "transforms," if you will.
As if its sheer mass and weapons load-out weren't enough to intimidate Zerg and Protoss adversaries, the thing speaks. Phrases such as, "Hell, it's transformin' time" and "Terra-Tron, terrorize!" should turn any rush into a retreat. Blizzard has videos of the Terra-Tron doing big things on the game's official site -- but hurry, it might be gone come April 2.
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/01/ap...n-meets-the-e/
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April 2nd, 2009, 19:05 Posted By: wraggster
News via aep
A new version of OpenTTD has been released. Quote: "OpenTTD is a clone of the Microprose game "Transport Tycoon Deluxe", a popular game originally written by Chris Sawyer. It attempts to mimic the original game as closely as possible while extending it with new features. OpenTTD is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2.0. For more information, see the file 'COPYING' included with every release and source download of the game."
http://www.openttd.org/
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April 2nd, 2009, 22:02 Posted By: Shrygue
via IGN
Amidst all the April Fool's Day stories about Crocodeagles (Qualcomm), rogue AI that loves Pandas (Google), and more going on Wednesday, it was easy to look at PopCap's Web page and assume that the newly-revealed Plants vs. Zombies game was part of the April 1 fun. PopCap carried what many around the office considered to be a joke even further by including a hilarious music video for the game, as well as an optional Japanese version of the song! But it turns out that it's all real, and it's apparently the next big game from the maker of such insidiously addictive fare as Peggle, Bejeweled, and Bookworm.
PopCap isn't saying much beyond the initial reveal and that the game is coming out on May 5. But we did manage to ask PopCap spokesperson Garth Chouteau some questions, and he was kind enough to reply in a typically fun PopCap kind of way.
More info with Q&A at IGN
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April 3rd, 2009, 13:46 Posted By: wraggster
Empire: Total War has held onto the top of the US PC software sales chart for the week ended March 21, according to data provided by NPD.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and The Sims 2 Double Deluxe both also held onto their positions in second and third place respectively.
THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II claimed fourth place, with the World of Warcraft: Battle Chest taking number five and World of Warcraft itself coming in at six.
The Sims 2 Apartment Life took seventh place, while Spore came in at eight. Civilization IV re-entered the top ten at number nine, pushing Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst down a place to ten.
Full US PC sales chart follows:
01. Empire: Total War (Sega of America)
02. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard)
03. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe (EA)
04.Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II (THQ)
05. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest (Blizzard)
06. World of Warcraft (Blizzard)
07. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack (EA)
08. Spore (EA)
09. Civilization IV (Take 2)
10. Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst (Activision)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...to-us-top-spot
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April 3rd, 2009, 13:57 Posted By: wraggster
The developers over at Jolt Online Gaming have released Legends of Zork to the general public. It's a free, browser-based, adventure game based on the world of Zork. You play as a Traveling Salesman, recently laid off from FrobozzCo. You start off in a clearing, where a white house has a boarded up door. From there, you can do what you like. Explore the world, fight other salesmen in PVP, or try out your Darkvision Goggles in the dark — just try not to get eaten by a grue."
It's free in that you're given 30 Action Points each day, which are consumed by moving about and fighting. Their business model is that if you want more Action Points, you can purchase more.
http://games.slashdot.org/games/09/04/03/043201.shtml
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April 3rd, 2009, 13:59 Posted By: wraggster
Was at the pub the other night, and got into a fight over subscription-based MMO growth. Some bloke said the market wasn't growing, I said it was. Researchers Screen Digest have proven me the winner.
Having conducted a study on the finances of the (*breath*) subscription-based massively multiplayer online gaming market (which excludes games reliant upon microtransactions instead of a flat monthly fee), Screen Digest have found that the market grew by 22% in 2008 over 2007's figures.
That means $1.4 billion was spent on MMOs in 2008, 58% of that going on World of Warfare subscriptions alone. No wonder Blizzard can, in a time when other studios are sacking workers, go out and commission a giant false idol.
http://kotaku.com/5196358/mmo-games-grew-by-22-in-2008
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April 3rd, 2009, 14:05 Posted By: wraggster
Frogster continues to throw all the gameplay they can possibly find into Runes of Magic, introducing a suspiciously kart-like horse racing mini-game, complete with mystery power-ups.
The Wind-Runner Race is an 8-person horse race that players sign up for in the city of Varanas in the game world. Once the race card is full the race begins, with players avoiding magical traps on their way towards the finish line. Just like many popular kart racing titles, players can help themselves and hinder their foes by picking up any of 8 different horse powers, represented on the field by question mark icons. Boost your speed, slow down an opponent, or trap them in a web...all's fair when in game currency is on the line. You can see a brief video of a race in action at the game's official site.
It just amazes me how much stuff Frogster is tossing into Runes of Magic. I eagerly await the announcement of an in-game FPS archery mini-game in the near future.
http://kotaku.com/5195526/runes-of-m...els-mario-kart
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April 3rd, 2009, 14:28 Posted By: wraggster
Funcom is proud to announce that 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' is now available as a free trial. Funcom, Fileplanet and Ausgamers have teamed up to provide gamers everywhere with the opportunity to download and play `Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' for free for a period of seven to fourteen days. This is the chance to experience the brutal, savage and sexy world of Conan where you can live, fight and explore in the world of Hyboria together with thousands of people from across the globe.
"The time has finally come for us to open the flood gates," says Morten Larssen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom. "There is a world of gamers out there who have never played `Age of Conan' and we want them to experience what hundreds of thousands of gamers have before them. The game has matured tremendously since launch, and we feel confident that this is the time to launch a trial. `Age of Conan' is simply bigger and better than it ever was, and we want both new and previous players alike to experience that!"
All you have to do to start playing `Age of Conan' today is visit the www.ageofconan.com/trial website, download the game and off you go. Funcom has also teamed up with Fileplanet and Ausgamers, and depending on which source you download from you will receive between seven to fourteen days free play time and a host of special rewards. Various websites across the world will also be doing exclusive give-aways where gamers can receive a special key that will unlock rare virtual items in addition to the free trial play time.
Since launching last year, the development team has made significant updates to the game. Too many to list at once, here are a few highlights of what has been done in the past few months:
NEW CONTENT! Experience countless hours of more content and adventure through new areas such as the expansive Ymir's Pass and the massive Xibaluku dungeon. Embark on new quests, face new challenges and experience entirely revamped dungeons and gameplay!
ENHANCED PVP! The world of Conan is now more brutal than ever before. Increase your player vs. player level and reap the exclusive rewards as you slaughter enemy players, but be ready to face the violent consequences should you engage in criminal activities!
BETTER SIEGES! The entire siege warfare experience has been improved, making sieges more fun and easier to get into. Warfare between guilds is now even more dramatic with specific resources that must be fought over in order to build and maintain battlekeeps!
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE! Major updates have been made to technical stability and performance, allowing for a much smoother gameplay experience across a wider range of computer systems - even with higher levels of graphical detail enabled!
... AND MORE! Many more improvements and additions have been made to Age of Conan since launch. More voice overs, more travel options, a new friend interface, new GUI options, easier access to PvP mini-games, better tradeskills and much, much more!
Launching in May last year `Age of Conan' quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world. In North America, the most prominent online gaming market in the west, `Age of Conan' became the third best-selling PC title of the year only beaten by `Spore' and `World of Warcraft'. In the weeks after launch `Age of Conan' simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. `Age of Conan' is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish, and is being prepared for launch in Korea as well.
With a constant stream of new updates and improvements, Funcom continues to push the game forward and the development team is now working on a new expansion as well as a series of free updates that will take the game to even greater heights in the months ahead.
For more information on the trial campaign, please visit www.ageofconan.com/trial
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April 3rd, 2009, 15:00 Posted By: wraggster
When 2K Games released the first trailer for its upcoming BioShock sequel, Rapture fans were held rapt by the brief teaser, which showed a young girl standing by the ocean at sunset among a tight group of stylized sandcastle skyscrapers. The scene faded slowly into a barnacle-covered Bioshock 2 logo, and the phrase "Sea of Dreams" floated up from the bottom of the screen.
It's was a pretty short leap to the assumption that "Sea of Dreams" was the subtitle of the sequel, but 2K corrected the record on March 19th, saying the game is officially called Bioshock 2, which no subtitle. So why the confusion? Was Sea of Dreams dropped as a subtitle, or was it just an evocative phrase meant to get gamers going early on?
"We name most of our trailers at 2K and the name of the teaser trailer we released last October for BioShock 2 is called 'Sea of Dreams,' 2K spokesman Charlie Sinhaseni told IGN. "There was talk about adding that as an official subtitle, but we decided to simply keep it BioShock 2. We're sorry for the confusion, but we're glad people are so interested."
So there you have it. BioShock 2 has no subtitle. But if you'd like to turn your experience in Rapture into a sea of dreams when the game releases later this year, we're pretty sure 2K won't be able to stop you.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/969/969140p1.html
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April 3rd, 2009, 15:03 Posted By: wraggster
Starbreeze, the Swedish development studio that made the upcoming Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, recently spoke to Eurogamer about the next game based on Robert Ludlum's Bourne series.
Electronic Arts announced in February that it picked up the rights to the Bourne franchise, and the publisher chose Starbreeze to develop a game based on the spy series. Last year's Bourne release was developed by High Moon Studios and published by Vivendi, now part of Activision Blizzard.
Although details on Starbreeze's Bourne effort remain thin, the company has confirmed that there will be multiplayer and that the studio is going all-out with its motion capture and voice capture tech.
"It is the same team that's going to create the Bourne game that did Riddick as well as The Darkness," lead designer Jerk Gustafsson told Eurogamer. "We've already begun work. There are some personnel in a development cycle that are free a little bit earlier than others and those guys have been working on the Bourne project.
There's still no release date for Bourne, and Starbreeze and EA haven't announced platforms just yet.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/969/969124p1.html
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April 3rd, 2009, 15:06 Posted By: wraggster
Uforia announced today that it has made some major updates to its Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins game. The first major change is that the PVP Battles occur every hour of every day. The addition of nearly twice as many battles allow players who previously were not available to participate in them to compete for experience points and in-game gold. The battles take place in multiple locations throughout the game and players are alerted to their whereabouts via a pop-up alert notification box.
For more information about the Hourly PVP Battles, please visit the information page at:
http://threekingdoms.uforia.com/Anno...t.aspx?seq=184
The other major addition to the game is the increase in number of premium items for the Chests of Fortune. This item is a container that when purchased gives the player a chance of receiving an item which in turn can boost a character's stats or enhance character appearance or restore a player's HP. Players can purchase Chests of Fortune in the Item Mall.
Download and play the game for free at http://threekingdoms.uforia.com/
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April 3rd, 2009, 15:08 Posted By: wraggster
Developer Curve has announced a downloadable game called Explodemon, headed for WiiWare, PC, and PlayStation Network this year. Described as a mix of classic platformers like Mario and Mega Man with a modern Halo or Half-Life 2 twist (!), Explodemon will be presented in 2.5D. Curve is apparently a big fan of Super Nintendo-era Japanese platformers. Explodemon himself looks like a super-deformed Iron Man.
The developer previously delivered Buzz! Master Quiz and Buzz! Brain Bender to the PSP. Screenshots of Explodemon have definitely caught our attention and we'll be keeping an eye on this one.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/969/969245p1.html
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April 6th, 2009, 21:17 Posted By: wraggster
cdv Software Entertainment USA and Ascaron Entertainment today announced a new patch for the retail version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for PC. The new patch updates the retail version of Sacred 2 to version 2.40 and adds a slew of new features, including nVidia PhysX support, new mini-bosses and a new achievement system.
The patch, along with a detailed "readme" file, is available at http://update.sacred2.com/, and includes the following content updates and fixes -
nVidia PhysX technology implemented for two combat arts of each respective hero
Direct impact on immediate environment
Updated particle effects
Variable wind speeds
Pause functionality for single player mode
Direct control of minions
New achievement system (available in logbook)
Inventory screen changes:
Equipped items now have a new layout which is individual for each character
Three new mini bosses
All mini bosses now have their own quests.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a hack-and-slash action-RPG with a rich story that takes place in a gigantic seamless world. This world contains massive dungeons, treacherous opponents and hundreds of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, which adapt in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge gamers in heroic single- and multiplayer battles.
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April 6th, 2009, 22:04 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Crytek is offering another free trial week for Crysis Wars starting this Thursday, 9th April.
Full details on how to join the online multiplayer mayhem will be posted today on the official Crysis site. Incidentally, those with keys from previous trials will be able to reuse them.
The Crysis Wars trial grants full, time-limited access to LAN play, online play and the map editor.
Crysis Wars arrived last year as the beefed-up multiplayer part of standalone expansion Crysis Warhead. Both, we thought, were brilliant.
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April 7th, 2009, 11:12 Posted By: wraggster
CCP, developers of the sci-fi MMOG EVE Online, continue to impress with their open attitude towards players. In a thread on the EVE forums, an EVE Online player named Dire Lauthris describes difficulties he was having while making a fan movie that would illustrate a portion of EVE Online's background story. To make it 'historically correct,' he contacted CCP, the developers, to check on some facts. Instead of threatening to sue him for infringing on their intellectual property, they ended up inviting him to their offices to set him up with better movie-making software than the one he was using. Also, they had an employee record the narrator voice for his movie. The movie is now finished and available online. Massively is running a related article about storytelling in EVE.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/06/0432231
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April 7th, 2009, 11:13 Posted By: wraggster
A new version of Nexuiz, a GPL-licensed, first-person shooter, has been released. There are over 3,000 changes in Nexuiz 2.5, including new maps, new game-modes, enhanced graphics, new audio, and other major changes. Phoronix has posted a preview of this Nexuiz 2.5 release, with screenshots showing the impressive graphics and how it has raised the bar for open-source gaming. Details about the Nexuiz project are available at SourceForge
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/05/0324237
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April 7th, 2009, 11:27 Posted By: wraggster
Konami (via the LA Times) has announced a game based on the 2004 battle for the Iraqi town of Fallujah. Called Six Days in Fallujah, this game is based on recollections, video, and photos from U.S. Marines who returned from the war and enlisted Atomic Games to tell their story.
The LA Times reports that the game will release some time next year and will be a third-person tactical shooter where players take on the role of U.S. soldiers. It reportedly looks like Medal of Honor or Call of Duty, though the goal is to provide players insight into the historical situation while presenting the horrors of war. Documentary-style video interviews interspersed through the game will tell the real-life stories of the soldiers who experienced the war first-hand.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/970/970305p1.html
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April 7th, 2009, 11:37 Posted By: wraggster
I've heard of exploding computers before, but not like this: The charred body of an Indian software engineer was found sitting in front of a computer he'd been working on after a loud blast.
His body was found sitting in front of the "completely damaged" and burnt computer by his roommate, who had rushed out of the shower after he heard a blast. He fainted at the sight.
The investigating officers said, "It sounds quite unbelievable. We have not heard of such a case before. But the scene of the accident seems to suggest that the youth was killed in an accident as his body was in the sitting position in front of the burnt computer."
God, that's so horrible.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5200464/man-bur...y-exploding-pc
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April 7th, 2009, 12:08 Posted By: wraggster
Newly released:
The Leisure Suit Larry® Box Office Bust video game gives gamers an all-access pass to the glitz, glamour and gorgeous women of Tinseltown. In this third-person adventure game, Larry takes a summer job working on his uncle Larry’s movie lot doing odd jobs and trying to uncover a mole from another studio who threatens to air the studio’s dirty laundry in the tabloids.
Leisure Suit Larry Box Office Bust is a rollicking, innuendo-laden lampoon of Hollywood that features open world sand box game play that includes exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving to complete missions. Additionally, the game will feature an all-new Directors Game that allows the player to create their very own “Larry Feature.â€
http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-2tde.html
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April 7th, 2009, 19:33 Posted By: wraggster
New from Chinavision
20000 mAH portable solar charger and battery for recharging your laptop PC or mobile phone anywhere. Either plug this laptop and cell phone accessory into your car or a wall plug to quickly recharge the battery, or go all green and convert solar energy to electrical energy. This is a multi use item that lets you recharge anything from 5V products such as your ipod or mobile phone, to almost any 16V ~ 22V laptop, and with the incredible amount of included adapters, you will never have to worry about which product you plug in. Simply select the current for your product, attach the correct adapter, and watch it charge.
This is a perfect device for anyone in the wild, at home, or just about anywhere you can think of, and comes with Chinavasion's one year warranty and super low wholesale savings.
At a Glance...
Battery with solar energy recharge for today's most popular cell phones and laptops.
This portable power source can be recharged quickly via AC adapter or via the sun when you plan your recharging schedule ahead.
China Manufacturer Specifications
Capacity: 20000 mAH (74W/h)
Output
- USB: 5V/ 500mA
- Voltage Port: Selectable 16V, 18V, 22V (all 3000mA max)
Input: 18V/ 2000mA max
Solar Panel Type: Polycrystalline
Charging Time
- AC: approx 3 hrs
- Solar: approx 8~10 hrs
Working Temperature: -5 ~ +60 deg C
Dimension: 205mm x 282mm x 18mm (L x W x D)
Manufacturer Ref.: DOSSS8Z2YDF1
Other Features:
Circuit Protection
- Overcharge
- Discharge
- Short Circuit
- Heat
Included Wall AC Adapter + Car Cigarette Power Adapter
Included 11 Laptop Adapters to work with most laptops
- ASUS, HP, Samsung, ACer/T1, Dell, IBM, NEC, Toshiba, Sony
Included 13 Mobile Phone Adapter to work with most mobile phones
- Motorola, LG, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Erickson, Apple
Ultrasonic Mosquito Speaker: Emits high pitched frequency sound to repel mosquitoes
Accessories:
Manual
Mobile Phone Adapters
Laptop Adapters
AC Power Adapter
Car Cigarette Power Adapter
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April 8th, 2009, 11:21 Posted By: wraggster
We've already covered the plethora of Windows 7 versions, starting with the gimpy Starter edition and then running all the way up to Ultimate (which, we can now confirm, will not include a bag of chips). Microsoft's grand scheme is for users to start with what they need and pay to unlock additional functionality, upgrading their way to the top rung of the the Windows 7 ladder. But, it's now coming to light that the company will also allow downgrades -- not to simpler versions of Win 7, but to earlier operating systems like Vista and even XP. Yes, OEM manufacturers can still keep shipping XP Pro by "downgrading" Windows 7 machines through the end of April, 2010, and while HP is the only one advertising this, you can be sure they won't be alone. Interestingly these machines will still come with free Windows 7 upgrades, hopefully enticing users to give it a shot, but if they don't like it they are allowed to go back to XP on their own. Details for user-driven downgrades are a bit light at the moment, though, so don't be surprised if it requires a little fdisk action.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/m...llowing-downg/
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April 8th, 2009, 11:25 Posted By: wraggster
Blizzard's mega-MMO World of Warcraft has seen its latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King - which was released in November last year - climb back to the top of the US PC sales chart as the release spike for Empire: Total War fell away.
That's according to the latest data from NPD covering the week ending March 28, which also revealed that the average sales price for the title was USD 33 compared to Empire's USD 46.
The Sims 2: Double Deluxe continued its seemingly endless run in the chart in third, the first of two Sims 2 titles, while the World of Warcraft Battle Chest took fourth place.
The two most expensive games in the top ten, at USD 47 on average apiece, were next - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II was followed by Spore.
Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst took seventh, with the original World of Warcraft game still selling in eighth, while The Sims 2: Apartment Life and Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway rounded out the top ten list.
Activision Blizzard therefore took four of the slots, with EA grabbing three and Sega, THQ and Ubisoft bagging one each.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2. Empire: Total War
3. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe
4. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
6. Spore
7. Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst
8. World of Warcraft
9. The Sims 2: Apartment Life
10. Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-pc-chart-lead
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April 8th, 2009, 11:33 Posted By: wraggster
Konami's survival horror take on one of the most infamous clashes during the Iraq war in 2004, Six Days in Fallujah, has drawn in calls for its ban by British military veterans, family members of soldiers and anti-war groups.
"Considering the enormous loss of life in the Iraq War, glorifying it in a videogame demonstrates very poor judgement and bad taste," Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was killed by a mob in Iraq while serving as a Red Cap, told the Daily Mail. "It is particularly crass when you consider what actually happened in Fallujah."
"These horrific events should be confined to the annuls of history, not trivialised and rendered for thrill-seekers to play out, over and over again, for ever more. Even worse, it could end up in the hands of a fanatical young Muslim and incite him to consider some form of retaliation or retribution. He could use it to get worked up and want to really finish the game.
"I will be calling for this game to be banned, if not worldwide then certainly in the UK," he said.
Tim Collins OBE, a former colonel famed for an eve-of-battle speech in 2003, agreed.
"It's much too soon to start making videogames about a war that's still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history," he said. "It's particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game."
Best-selling author and former SAS soldier Andy McNab, however, defended Six Days in Fallujah. War, he said, has been peddled as entertainment by the media for years.
Furthermore, he argued that the UK does not understand the Fallujah conflict in the same way as the Americans - a nation that lost "more soldiers [in Fallujah] than the whole of the British Army has in Iraq and Afghanistan combined".
"Culturally it is totally different in the US," McNab told TechRadar. "In America it is not as if this is 'shock horror' - everybody has been watching it on the news for the last seven years. The hypocrisy is in the fact that when the media wants a 'shock horror' story they will focus on something like this.
"In America a 90-year-old and a 12-year-old will know what happened at Fallujah. It's on the TV, there are books about it. The game is a natural extension to that; it is folklore. The only difference being that it is presented in a different medium.
"If the game stands up and offers Americans those soldiers' stories, then, why not?" he said.
Plus, added McNab, America's Army has been simulating real-life events for years, and really this is no different to "killing Nazis or drug dealers" in other games; games that he has seen soldiers playing on laptops while on tour in Basra. "Culturally they are more up for it," he concluded.
In direct contrast to his approach, however, was the Stop the War Coalition peace group, who said glorifying the Fallujah "massacre" is "sick".
"The massacre carried out by American and British forces in Fallujah in 2004 is amongst the worst of the war crimes carried out in an illegal and immoral war," spokesperson Tansy E Hoskins told TechRadar.
"It is estimated that up to 1,000 civilians died in the bombardment and house-to-house raids carried out by invading troops. So many people were killed in Fallujah that the town's football stadium had to be turned into a cemetery to cope with all the dead bodies.
"There is nothing to celebrate in the death of people resisting an unjust and bloody occupation. To make a game out of a war crime and to capitalise on the death and injury of thousands is sick.
"There will never be a time when it is appropriate for people to play at committing atrocities," added Tansy. "The massacre in Fallujah should be remembered with shame and horror not glamorised and glossed over for entertainment."
Vice president Anthony Crouts told the Wall Street Journal that Konami was "not trying to make a social commentary".
"We're not pro-war," he added. "We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience... At the end of the day, it's just a game."
Six Days in Fallujah is in development at Atomic Games and will be released next year in the US. There are no platforms mentioned yet, but PC, 360 and PS3 look likely. UK plans are yet to be announced.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-under-fire_8
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April 8th, 2009, 13:16 Posted By: wraggster
Massively is running a story that looks into the status of the sci-fi MMO genre, and why such games have had a tendency to struggle over the years. Quoting:
"Fantasy alone carries with it assumptions based in our own history, a romanticized version of the middle ages where knights were good guys and smart people with beards could cast spells. Preconceived notions in sci-fi are far less cast in our collective memory. While stories that predict the future are surely as ancient as the myths describing the past, sci-fi itself didn't really ingrain itself into our culture until the 1800s, with H.G. Wells' stories and other writers at the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. ... Compounding the lack of specificity in setting is the tendency of sci-fi games to overwhelm players with skills and rule sets they initially don't understand and eventually don't need."
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/08/0515256
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April 8th, 2009, 13:18 Posted By: wraggster
Got Game Entertainment LLC today announced that "Hinterland: Orc Lords" (PC), the fast paced RPG combat and strategic base building game, will be available for download purchase (via Hinterland-Game.com) and in retail stores across North America the first week of May 2009. "Hinterland: Orc Lords" is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB for Alcohol Reference/Fantasy Violence/Mild Blood and will retail for $19.99.
Loot. Level. Build.
In "Hinterland: Orc Lords", the king has charged you with taming a wild territory of his realm by building a prosperous town and conquering all enemy sites in the region. You must bring a diverse cast of followers to your settlement, and then carefully select members of your village to join you on expeditions of exploration and conquest in the surrounding lands. There, you will encounter the characters and creatures of myth and folklore, and find much needed resources to expand your village, from iron to make weapons to a mystic tome to entice a great mage to join you. Should your forays meet with success, fame, fortune and prosperity await. But you must take care, for even the loss of a lowly farmer can spell disaster at harvest time.
"Hinterland: Orc Lords" Features:
Party-based RPG Action - Variety of characters, weapons, and strategies. Will you lead the charge with a two-handed strike or stand behind the armored herder with your bow?
Town Building - Choose who will settle in your town. Arm them for defense, or give them tools for production.
Character Development - Command an Orc tribe as Lord or Shaman, or lead a Human village as Human, Dwarf, Elf, or even Undead Warrior. Develop lowly farmers into great warriors. Customize your character to help in adventure or improve village life.
Random Fantasy World - New locations with different resources, items, enemies, and challenges for maximum replay. Orc war camps, dark elf raiding parties, goblin infested mines, ruined undead cities, and more.
Customizable Gameplay - From hardcore game to a world without raiders, you decide the type of game you play.
For more information, visit the game's official website at Hinterland-Game.com.
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April 8th, 2009, 13:19 Posted By: wraggster
Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox L&M), today announced Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian for Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Developed by Amaze Entertainment and Pipeworks, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian will launch in advance of Twentieth Century Fox's highly-anticipated theatrical release of the same name debuting in theaters May 22nd. Featuring the voice and likeness of the film's star, Ben Stiller, the video game recreates the excitement and humor from the feature film as players adventure through Smithsonian exhibits that come alive at night.
"The original Night at the Museum movie was a true blockbuster in every sense of the word, having earned more than $250 million domestically and almost $600 million worldwide," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. "The movie sequel has tremendous potential and at long last fans of the franchise can enjoy the museum magic at home in a videogame that extends the big screen experience."
"The Night at the Museum franchise lends itself perfectly to the type of gaming experience that Majesco is creating. It's an action-packed adventure that is sure to amaze and entertain people of all ages," said Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President Licensing and Merchandising for Fox L&M.
In Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, players assume the role of Ben Stiller's character, Larry Daley, former night guard of New York's Museum of Natural History. Larry must rescue Jedediah and his other friends from Akhmenrah's brother who captured them while stealing a powerful Magic Tablet that can raise the Army of Horus to take over the world. Daley is well aware of the havoc that history's most notorious figures can wreak when the sun goes down and the museum exhibits come alive. He races to DC to help his friends in the Smithsonian. Using Larry's trusty key chain and flashlight, players must solve puzzles and adventure through 14 levels including the Federal Archives, the National Air and Space Museum and the Lincoln Memorial. Gamers can travel in style on the back of a T-Rex skeleton, within the Lunar Lander and in the cockpit of Amelia Earhart's Pitcairn Autogyro. Along the way, players must find pieces of the Magic Tablet and collect other items to unlock mini-games, new areas and bonus content from the Smithsonian including trivia questions, in-game audio tours and factoids.
About Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Get ready for a story so epic it could only unfold in the corridors of the world's largest museum- the Smithsonian Institution. Museum guard-turned entrepreneur Larry Daley discovers that his favorite exhibits, and some of his best friends, from New York's Natural History Museum are being shipped off to the archives at the Smithsonian. Larry gets a distress call from the miniature cowboy, Jedediah, reporting that Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah and a trio of heinous henchmen - namely Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone - are plotting to take over the museum, then the world. Speeding to the nation's capitol, Larry is clearly in over his head. But with some impressive new pals, including the irrepressible Amelia Earhart, along with familiar friends Teddy Roosevelt and Octavius, Larry will stop at nothing to restore the Smithsonian before dawn.
Specific to the DS:
Nintendo DS owners can also experience the spirit and humor of the movie in an entertaining side-scrolling adventure. Players use the Touch Screen to manage magic tablet pieces that change Larry's abilities in real-time. Cling to walls, super jump, fly, shrink, charge and stomp your way through the Smithsonian while using Larry's flashlight and key chain to navigate exhibits.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian will launch on Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and PC on May 5th. The feature length film releases nationwide on May 22nd. For additional information about Majesco's exciting line of products, please visit: www.majescoentertainment.com.
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April 9th, 2009, 12:54 Posted By: wraggster
China's online games market will exceed USD 5.5 billion by 2012, according to Pearl Research, which estimated that the market grew more than 63 per cent to USD 2.8 billion in 2008.
The study, entitled "Games Market in China", reported that six online game operators, including Tencent, Changyou, The9, Netease, Shanda and Giant each brought in more than USD 200 million in revenue last year.
"Trends to track in 2009 include the growth of social networking sites in China, with over 55 million users, and their cross-pollination with games," commented Allison Luong, MD of Pearl Research.
"One overall concern is the lack of diversification with many game operators relying on a single title for the bulk of revenues. In addition, a glut of content with more than 200 games on the market, makes releasing a breakout hit increasingly difficult."
China's most popular online games were named, with Netease's Fantasy Westward Journey leading the pack at 1.8 million peak concurrent users, followed by Giant's Zhengtu Online at 1.5 million.
Tencent's Dungeon and Fighter hit 1.2 million concurrent users, while Blizzard's World of Warcraft, operated in the region by The9, came in at 1 million users.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...SD5-5b-by-2012
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April 9th, 2009, 13:11 Posted By: wraggster
On April 6th, Wizards of the Coast took all of their PDF products offline, including those sold at third-party websites like RPGNow.com. From the RPGNow front page: 'Wizards of the Coast has instructed us to suspend all sales and downloads of Wizards of the Coast titles. Unfortunately, this includes offering download access to previously purchased Wizards of the Coast titles.' Wizards of the Coast also posted a press release to their website that states they are suing eight file sharers for 'copyright infringement,' and WotC_Trevor posted a short explanation about the cessation of PDF sales to the EN World Forums.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/08/1324213
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April 9th, 2009, 13:17 Posted By: wraggster
A jury has ordered Microsoft to pay $388M to security software firm Uniloc, who alleged back in 2003 that Microsoft infringed on the firm's patents with activation schemes in, among other things, Windows.
One way to look at this—the hasty, vindictive, techno-populist way—is to see this whole thing as some kind of cosmic rebalancing, in which Microsoft is finally paying a huge, literal price for years of subjecting us to broken product activation runarounds in virtually every major piece of software they've released in the last eight years. Their 30 days is up, their trial period (ha!) over, etc etc etc.
Another way: A gigantic company, who has produced loads of useful products despite succumbing to the temptations of overbearing antipiracy measures, has been forced to shovel an ungodly sum of money to a company that only produces overbearing antipiracy measures. So, hurray.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5204941/microso...ntipiracy-tech
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April 9th, 2009, 21:57 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Speaking to Nick Ryan for Eurogamer's Gold Trading Exposed feature series, a Blizzard spokesperson has explained the company's firm opposition to real money trading (RMT).
"Many people don't realise that the companies selling services for World of Warcraft often target the players they've sold their services to," said the spokesperson.
"Once these companies have access to an account, they will often turn around and sell the equipment and gold on the account or the actual account itself – if not immediately, then at some point down the line. In effect, players actually end up purchasing gold, items, or entire accounts stolen from other players."
Blizzard also argued that the negative effect of the gold trade could be seen in the drain on its own customer service and development resources which could otherwise be concentrated directly on the game.
"Beyond the direct impact that these companies can have on individual players, their actions end up affecting everyone who plays World of Warcraft in that the time and effort we have to put into assistance, education and our various countermeasures ends up taking time away from our normal development and customer service efforts," the spokesperson said.
Elsewhere in this week's final instalment of Gold Trading Exposed, it's revealed that RuneScape developer Jagex lost a considerable proportion of its membership when it chose to ban all accounts involved in gold selling.
"They lost 10 per cent of their membership, and still haven't recovered in terms of numbers since they did it two years ago," an anonymous ex-Jagex source told Ryan.
"Even though they have almost stopped gold selling in RuneScape, it has cost them two million active accounts; i.e. there were four million players, there are now two million players, of which less than one million actually subscribe," he said.
Ryan finds that companies like Jagex, CCP and Sony Online Entertainment are now seeking alternative ways to thwart gold selling - rather than the straightforward banning approach of Blizzard and Warhammer Online's Mythic.
Jagex has rebalanced RuneScape's economy and trading system, CCP has introduced an exchange of game time for currency in EVE Online, and SOE has tried authorised real money auction houses on some EverQuest II servers.
Previous chapters of Gold Trading Exposed have dealt with the players and the sellers themselves, as well as offering an overview of the trade.
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April 10th, 2009, 22:44 Posted By: wraggster
Mezmer Games today announced that the arcade RTS game Stalin vs. Martians will be released worldwide through all major digital games retailers on April 20, 2009. Stalin vs. Martians is a blazingly fast real-time strategy game developed by an alliance of three independent studios: Black Wing Foundation, Dreamlore and N-Game.
The announcement and earlier video from Stalin vs. Martians has triggered a huge interest in the game, with well over 100,00 views of the video on YouTube.
Tom S?derlund, Executive Producer at Mezmer Games, explains, "One contributing factor to the success could be the high level of historical accuracy, that is completely missing from the game."
For more information, please visit: http://www.mezmergames.com/group/stalinvsmartians
Watch the latest trailer, "Smooth Moves with Stalin vs. Martians" here:
About Mezmer Games
Mezmer Games is a new independent games label, focusing on great games from small game studios. As box retail is becoming increasingly expensive, sluggish, and non-eco-friendly, we help indie developers reach a large audience through download distribution. We work exclusively with digital distribution and alternative channels. With the Mezmer Marketing Machine, we give the indie titles the attention they warrant through clever marketing and PR. Mezmer Games is a wholly owned business unit of Paradox Interactive. Read more: http://www.mezmergames.com/
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April 10th, 2009, 22:46 Posted By: wraggster
Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com), Tri Synergy (www.trisynergy.com), and GFI (www.gfi.su) are thrilled to announce that Matrix Games will be bringing the World War II real time strategy game Officers to its digital download store & that Tri Synergy will be handling Officers retail distribution!
David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said "Officers does a great job of bringing gamers exciting World War II action on an epic scale. There's nothing quite as visually spectacular as watching dozens of tanks and infantry units clash on a destructible battlefield in all-out combat!"
Defeat the Axis Menace!
Officers puts you in command of the Allied force in the largest conflict of our time. Take control of the US and British armies in order to strike back and defeat the Axis menace on the Western front of Europe. With over 1500 units on maps up to 10 square miles, Officers is the first WWII real time strategy game to let you fight on a truly massive scale. Historical battles like Operation Overlord, Millennium, and Cobra will put your tactical skills to the test using combined forces from infantry and engineers to tanks, artillery and bombers.
Blazing speed and blunt force will only secure victory if you extend your supply lines and capture enemy weaponry and warehouses. Take the high ground and use terrain to your advantage with fully realistic physics and ballistics – only sound tactical maneuver will keep your men alive!
Features include:
Lead the Allied forces across gigantic battlegrounds up to 10 square miles
Control over 50 authentic infantry, armor, artillery and aircraft units
Experience the most massive battles of World War II with up to 1500 units at once
Use real tactics with terrain and combined forces with authentic vehicle and infantry characteristics
Destroy nearly anything, anywhere with advanced physics and a fully interactive environment
Keep your supply lines guarded and capture enemy resources and weapons
Officers will also be available via Tri Synergy at software retailers nationwide. Get more information on Officers from its product page at Matrix Games or Tri Synergy's product page.
ESRB Rating: EVERYONE +10 with MILD VIOLENCE.
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April 10th, 2009, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Crytek GmbH announced the start of a free trial period for Crysis Wars*, the multiplayer game for Crysis Warhead, the award-winning first-person shooter originally released last Fall. Starting today, gamers can play all of Crysis Wars** online for free including each of the game's three action-packed multiplayer modes and all 23 maps. The free trial period runs until Friday, April 17, 2009.
This trial is designed to give players a sample of the signature action and visuals that only the Crysis series delivered. For those players that want more than just a sample, EA and Crytek will release Crysis Maximum Edition, a compilation of all three Crysis games in one box (Crysis, Crysis Warhead and Crysis Wars). Available beginning May 5th for the MSRP of $39.99, Crysis Maximum Edition is the ultimate Crysis experience.
"When Crysis Wars was released seven months ago, one of our biggest goals was to be able to deliver continued support to our growing multiplayer community," said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek. "We think we have delivered on that promise, not only by releasing new content, fixes and our powerful MOD SDK, but also by continuing to offer these types of free trials."
Crysis Wars supports matches for up to 32 players and contains three distinct gameplay modes; InstantAction, frenetic deathmatch enhanced by the power of the nanosuit, PowerStruggle, a hardcore team-based mode and TeamInstantAction, a mix of fast-paced action in a team-based environment.
Also available now is Crytek's powerful MOD SDK editor tool, which allows gamers to tap their inner game designer to make maps and mods for Crysis Wars both multi-and-single player. All player-generated maps for multiplayer will be accessible to the entire community during this free trial period.
Crysis, Crysis Warhead and Crysis Wars are all rated 'M' for Mature by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI. For more information about everything Crysis, please visit www.mycrysis.com.
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April 10th, 2009, 22:50 Posted By: wraggster
Frogster America, Inc. today announced that just three weeks after the launch of Runes of Magic, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles, the company is already expanding the game world with a new zone. The previously announced high-level zone, Ravenfell is now open and available for adventurers to explore.
The newly launched update adds new features including challenges for level 45-50 players in a Caribbean setting, bringing Runes of Magic's total quest-count up to more than 1,600 quests. Additionally the 'Ruins of the Ice Dwarf Kingdom' dungeon will challenge mid-level players, sending them to the forgotten fortress of the Ice Dwarves. Offering something of a change from levelling and collecting equipment, the 'Wind-Runner Races' are already live as the second mini-game in the fantasy world of Taborea. Level 35 and above heroes can look forward to new elite skills which will further expand their dual class abilities.
However, there are features for new players as well. A completely redesigned tutorial eases the path for budding heroes as they enter the game world. The update also optimizes the localization of area, item and quest text.
The new features seamlessly join up with the content that was implemented for launch, such as the high-level instance, 'Kalin Shrine.' There is also a new dungeon, 'Treasure Trove' which is set to appear in the near future. You can find out more about the current content as well as comprehensive patch notes, on the official Runes of Magic forum at:http://forum.us.runesofmagic.com/showthread.php?t=11510
About Runes of Magic
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1,000 quests in an exciting and dangerous fantasy world. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class, choose to create a character from 30 character class combinations. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts including war horses.
A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the ability to decorate their own virtual homes with individual furnishings. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss monsters, Runes of Magic has something for everyone. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker, has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards and put more than three years of development into the game. The studio will continue to provide new challenges for players every four to five months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website at: www.runesofmagic.com.
Runes of Magic features:
Free-to-play: no monthly fees, free download
Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
Enthralling background story
More than 1,600 quests and quest series
No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
Individually developable skills and spells
Armor sets with special bonuses
Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
Ranking system with player-ranking lists
Multitude of unique mounts
Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
Reputation system
Customizable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
In-game auction houses for trading items
Teleport-Runes for instant travel
Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
Regular updates with new content
Guild castles in special zones
Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
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April 10th, 2009, 23:14 Posted By: wraggster
Phoronix is running a news story about the XreaL project, which its lead developer claims is the most advanced open-source game engine. XreaL is based upon the vintage Quake 3 engine, but it has been rewritten over the course of many months such that it no longer resembles the original id Software engine. The XreaL engine has its renderer written entirely in GLSL with compliance toward the OpenGL ES 2.0 specification in mind, but it supports the new OpenGL 3.0/3.1 specification and is able to take advantage of its new features. XreaL has also added an HDR pipeline to its engine and on modern hardware is actually GPU — not CPU — bottlenecked. XreaL can also load game content from Unreal Tournament 3. This engine, which is described to be as powerful as what can be found in Doom 3 or Call of Duty 4, is written entirely with free software. The XreaL project has created plug-ins for Maya to broaden their game development capabilities.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/10/0541217
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April 11th, 2009, 21:31 Posted By: wraggster
While controversies have mounted in the wake of Konami's Six Days in Fallujah reveal, a group of Iraq war veterans told G4TV they have "no problem" with the game.
"I believe that this could be a good thing for both combat veterans and for the war in general," triple-tour vet., Sgt. Casey J. McGeorge said. The group points out that a realistic game set in the current Iraq conflict may help civilians understand the situation. Army Sgt. Kevin Smith notes that an Iraq-based video game could "hopefully bolster support" for troops and encourage more empathy for veterans by showing civilians "what the war is really like [for soldiers]."
Peace groups, veterans and families called for Six Days to be banned following its announcement, but Marine Corps. Gunnery Sergeant John Mundy reminds everyone that those who are against the development of such a game "can spend their money elsewhere."
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/10/so...h-controversy/
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April 13th, 2009, 22:18 Posted By: wraggster
Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it has acquired the worldwide publishing rights for Droplitz, an addictive puzzler that's all about strategically twisting and connecting mismatched dials to save precious droplitz. Just making a single junction is child's play; can you master the art of the combo or will you let your pipes runneth over? Be warned: losing too many droplitz can be hazardous to your ability to win and be awesome. With four different play modes, a variety of board sizes, and infinite replayability, Droplitz promises to drain all your time away.
Droplitz drops in late spring for Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation Network, Windows PC, and iPhone.
About Droplitz
In a world where spouts at the top of a screen leak drops of liquid, one player will have to spin a series of round dials studded with different types of path formations in order to link those top droppers to the collectors at the bottom of the screen. Four unique play modes. Unlimited replayability. When drops start dripping, dials must spin. Coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360, PlayStation Network, Windows PC, and iPhone near you. No droplitz were harmed in the making of this game.
Key Features*
Infinitely accessible, instantly addictive -- Turn dials, open paths, and don't let the droplitz go to waste! Casual and hardcore gamers alike will be mesmerized as they rotate and connect puzzle pieces to let the droplitz flow and earn high scores!
Four unique game modes -- Distinct layers of complexity keep the challenge fresh with Classic, Zendurance, Power Up, and Infection modes! Learn how to deal with sluggish, infected dials; strategically use bombs to clear sections of the game board; speed up the action or just aim for the highest score in a limited amount of time.
Endless replayability -- The timeless satisfaction of making combos, clearing boards, and earning top scores will keep you coming back for more. Ever increasing speeds and larger boards ensure that there will always be a challenge ahead!
Compete for high scores -- Online leaderboards and 12 trophies/achievements mean that when you're the best, everyone will know it. Score-based gameplay makes every game a competition to get to the top of the charts!
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April 13th, 2009, 22:22 Posted By: wraggster
If you missed the indie hit Braid last year when it was released on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, it was made available just recently through Steam, Impulse, GamersGate, and Greenhouse digital distribution services.
So what is Braid? It may look like a platformer, but it's more of a puzzle game than anything else. Through each of the game's stages players will have to acclimate to changing mechanics involving the manipulation of time to conquer challenges, all the while following along with a story and, if you're particularly intrepid, uncovering secrets.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/971/971953p1.html
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April 13th, 2009, 22:24 Posted By: wraggster
EYA Interactive Co. Ltd. (EYA Interactive), one of the world's premier multimedia entertainment service providers, announced today that Titan Online, its free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), will enter into the Grand open beta on April 28. Players can get a taste for this martial arts fantasy by logging in at http://titan.eyagames.com.
An epic title based on traditional Asian culture, Titan Online is a fusion MMORPG that boasts a unique combination of martial arts and robots that takes place in a spectacular fantasy world. Titan Online is based upon the Korean best-selling novel, "Mo Siang." Set in ancient China, players will experience historic Chinese locales, meet influential figures from various dynasties, experience mysterious aspects of various ancient Asian cultures, all while trying to save the martial arts world by engaging in intense real-time battles.
This milestone will contain lots of new game content, including special field items and armor packages, never-before-seen in the world of Titan Online. There will be 11 new special event weapons available for give-away at various online game sites, as well as support of larger resolutions. All participants will have the opportunity to start from the beginning to maintain balance and fairness. However, there are no plans to wipe the accounts from this Grand Open Beta moving forward.
Developed in-house by EYA Interactive, Titan Online offers a very real picture of ancient China with 75 maps of historical sites, including Dun Hwang, Chang An, Kai Feng, Beijing, Shu Zhou, Shao Lin Temple, Chin Shi Huang mausoleum, Hang Zhou, Tai Shan, The Great Wall, and Hwang Her. In order to create the most true-to-life experience, the EYA development team spent time in China researching the ancient and historical cities so they could accurately reproduce them in the game.
The upcoming Grand open beta, which will begin on April 28, 2009, will allow users to tap into a world that has already birthed a veritable civilization of fans in Asia. It will offer players an opportunity to discover enthralling characters in a beautiful 3D, cell-shaded world filled with unique characters. The Grand open beta will continue until the commercial launch and is not limited to a specific number of participants. Interested players can learn more at http://titan.eyagames.com.
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April 13th, 2009, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster
Eurogamer has an article which takes a look at how various game companies deal with gold spammers in their games. Some, like Mythic, take a hard stance, literally telling farmers and sellers to "go to hell." Others engage in an arms race to block such behavior, sometimes to the detriment of normal users. "In fact, a former Jagex source tells me that when Jagex banned all IPs connected to gold selling, 'they lost 10 per cent of their membership, and still haven't recovered in terms of numbers since they did it two years ago. Even though they have almost stopped gold selling in RuneScape, it has cost them two million active accounts; i.e. there were four million players, there are now two million players, of which less than one million actually subscribe.'" Still more companies are experimenting with real money trading (RMT) to at least establish some control and security over the situation.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/13/0158236
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April 14th, 2009, 22:21 Posted By: Shrygue
via Games Industry
The Sims 2 Double Deluxe has taken the lead in the US PC software sales chart for the week ended April 4, according to data provided by NPD.
EA's expansion pack hit an average sale price of USD 16, while Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King took second place with an average price of USD 38.
Empire: Total War and Spore were the most expensive titles at USD 50 each and came in at third and ninth place respectively.
The Sims 2 Apartment Life came in fourth, ahead of World of Warcraft: Battle Chest at five and World of Warcraft at six.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II was the next most expensive title, costing on average USD 49 and taking seventh place. The Sims 2 Pets came in eighth, while The Sims University closed the chart at ten.
The full US PC software sales chart follows:
01. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
02. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
03. Empire: Total War
04. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
05. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
06. World of Warcraft
07. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II
08. The Sims 2 Pets
09. Spore
10. The Sims 2 University
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April 14th, 2009, 22:35 Posted By: wraggster
Paradox Interactive today announced that it has reached a publishing agreement with Kerberos Productions to continue publishing the Sword of the Stars series to a worldwide audience of 4X Strategy Gaming Fans.
Sword of the Stars was originally released in August 2006 followed by two expansion packs; Born of Blood, released in June 2007, and A Murder of Crows, released October 2008.
Sword of the Stars was hailed as a major milestone in 4X Space Strategy games upon release, praised for its unique combination of turn based strategy and real-time space combat.
"We're thrilled to be a part of Sword of the Stars series," says Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. "We look forward to continue bringing this game to market and further developing the IP with Kerberos for many years to come."
"We here at Kerberos are excited to land the Sword of the Stars dreadnought with the fine crew at Paradox. Their excellent record of support combined with their love of games makes them the perfect home for the SotS franchise" said Martin Cirulis, President of Kerberos Productions.
The Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection, including the original game and the two expansions, will be released on April 17, 2009 on digital download portals GamersGate, Steam, Direct2Drive, Impulse, and Gametap.
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April 14th, 2009, 22:37 Posted By: wraggster
NCsoft, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) today is proud to announce the official unveiling of Paragon Studios. Based in Mountain View, CA, Paragon Studios, formerly known as NCsoft NorCal, will continue its ongoing commitment to further develop and innovate the critically acclaimed City of Heroes franchise and other MMO games. As the studios' inaugural release, Paragon Studios and NCsoft today also announced City of Heroes: Architect Edition, its first "hybrid" retail pack for both PC and Macintosh that includes all content updates, including the recently released Issue 14: Architect. The Architect Edition, available in North America, will allow users – for the first time ever in MMO history – to fully customize and share missions, characters, and story arcs, giving players an unparalleled level of flexibility to craft and share unique experiences.
"The renaming of our studio to Paragon Studios represents our devotion to the present and future of the City of Heroes series," said Brian Clayton, general manager of Paragon Studios and executive producer for the City of Heroes franchise. "As pioneers in the comic book-inspired MMO genre, together with our esteemed veteran development team, it is our mission to continually strive for innovation, solidify the strength of our brand, and continue providing high quality experiences for City of Heroes and any future projects that come from Paragon Studios."
As the leader in critically acclaimed and highly successful MMO games, NCsoft, together with the accomplished development team of City of Heroes, formed the Northern California-based studio in Fall 2007 to focus on improving and furthering the series. Since then, the studio has greatly expanded the game's content and offerings, including its support of the game from an initial staff of 20, to a staff of over 50 people.
The recently launched City of Heroes Mission Architect system offers a truly customizable gaming experience unlike any other in any MMO. Players can create their own original missions using thousands of existing assets from the game, and personalize their stories by building unique characters and enemy groups using City of Heroes' highly regarded Character Creator system. The innovative system offers flexibility in dynamic story telling by allowing players to write custom dialogue for their missions, and publish up to three story arcs per account. Each user-created story containing up to five missions and up to twenty-five individual objectives will be searchable via drop-down lists and key word search in the Mission Architect system.
The Mission Architect system allows players to share and search the content they upload, and play and rate each other's story arcs as well. The highest rated and most played missions will be prominently displayed as "Hall of Fame" missions, earning the creators in-game rewards for creating excellent content. Additionally, the best of these submitted story arcs will be hand chosen by the City of Heroes development team and deemed as "Developer's Choice" missions. Receiving either of these prestigious designations will reward the author with an additional slot to create even more quality custom stories.
"Investments in building upon truly unique experiences are critical for the ever-expanding MMO audience," said Matt Miller, lead designer of Paragon Studios. "Since the City of Heroes development team joined NCsoft in 2007, we have been able to unleash new concepts and push the boundaries for our users. Our development model strives to consistently challenge our development teams in new ways of thinking, and has already proven successful, most notably featured in the Mission Architect system in Issue 14: Architect."
City of Heroes: Architect Edition is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about Paragon Studios, please go to: http://www.paragon-studios.net. For more information about City of Heroes: Architect Edition go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
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April 14th, 2009, 22:40 Posted By: wraggster
Stardock (www.stardock.com) announced today that its much anticipated PC real-time action strategy game, Demigod is now available for purchase at most retail outlets in North America as well as available worldwide digitally via Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com) at the same price ($39.95) no matter where the person is located.
Developed by renowned gaming studio Gas Powered Games, Demigod lets players take control of an immensely powerful being whose goal is to defeat his brethren in a series of epic arenas in order to ascend into the pantheon of the gods. During the course of each battle, players gain experience, purchase equipment, learn magical spells, capture key resources and upgrade their Citadel while working to lay waste the opposing faction.
Demigod battles take place in spectacular environments that are visually stunning and yet still run well on relatively older hardware thanks to a new technology developed by Gas Powered Games that optimizes the way rendering is executed on most video cards.
"Demigod in many ways captures the combined spirit of two hit Gas Powered Games titles – Supreme Commander and Dungeon Siege," said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. "In Demigod, the player controls a massively powerful unit who in some ways is like the commander in Supreme Commander except here, like in Dungeon Siege, the character can purchase equipment, buy items, and go up in level as he gains experience to access more powerful skills."
In single player, Demigod provides both a skirmish mode for individual battles as well as a tournament in which players choose a Demigod and compete against other Demigods controlled by the computer to gain the most favor points with the gods in order to ascend.
In multiplayer, players can compete in online skirmishes in which matches players together based on their skill and experience or participate in the Pantheon, a persistent online tournament in which players choose a faction and earn favor points to through victory in the arena. Wins, losses, experience and much more is available.
Demigod is also the first PC title to make full use of Stardock's new development platform, Impulse Reactor which provides Demigod with its in-game community features (friends, chat, tournaments, matchmaking, and more).
Like all Stardock games, the retail version of the game contains no DRM or copy protection. It includes Impulse to allow users to update to the latest version or even re-download the entire game. Players can install the game on multiple computers via Impulse without a hassle.
For further details about Demigod, please visit www.demigodthegame.com.
For more information about Stardock please visit www.stardock.com.
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April 14th, 2009, 22:42 Posted By: Shrygue
via Kotaku
New dungeons, dual talent specializations, user interface improvements, and much more arrive today with The Secrets of Ulduar, patch 3.1 for World of Warcraft.
Though it snags top billing, the massive dungeon of Ulduar is just the tip of the iceberg in patch 3.1. The patch sees the implementation of a relatively expensive but extremely convenient dual specialization system, allowing players to change their role on the fly. Fury warriors become protection warriors; frost mages become fire mages; and overpowered warlocks become even more overpowered warlocks with the click of a button.
The Argent Tournament in Sindragosa's Fall challenges players to triumph in various tests of skill in order to win the favor of the Argent Crusade. An improved quest tracking system is finally put in place. Ground mounts can swim!
Game patch info at the World of Warcraft website
Trailer at Kotaku
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April 14th, 2009, 22:42 Posted By: wraggster
Joymax, an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the launch of "Magic Pop," Silkroad Online's new system. Adventurous, risk-taking players simply have to purchase a Magic Pop card from the Item Mall, choose the item they'd like to play for, and take a chance if they want to win big!
Players who get a winning red coupon may receive Grade-S Devil's Spirits, Grade-B Devil's Spirits, popular character outfits, 9th and 10th-grade Seal of Sun Weapons, or one of many other powerful items. Players with losing green coupons won't get one of the grand prizes, but consolation prizes include additional tickets, Gold Time or Skill Gold Time Day Passes, 8th-grade Seal of Star Weapons, and more!
To find out more about Magic Pop, visit the official website at www.joymax.com/silkroad.
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April 14th, 2009, 23:10 Posted By: wraggster
It may only be a footnote in the long history of Windows XP, but Microsoft has confirmed today that, as planned, the venerable OS has finally and officially transitioned from the Mainstream Support phase to the Extended Support phase. This, of course, follows a number of extensions to the Mainstream Support phase (which normally only lasts five years), although most users likely won't notice much of a difference as XP moves into this new, more wistful period of life, as they'll still be getting regular security updates and occasional hotfixes (depending on their support plan) all the way until April 8th, 2014 -- or who knows how much longer if the demand is there.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/w...support-phase/
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April 15th, 2009, 22:21 Posted By: Shrygue
via IGN
If you've been waiting for a demo for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II so you can check out Relic's latest RTS game, then you're in luck. THQ and Relic today released a single-player demo that lets you take the dreaded Space Marines into action against their tenacious alien foes. You can grab grab the demo at FilePlanet. For more information about the game, check out our review.
For those that have the game, Relic has announced that patch 1.2.1 has recently be released, and it adds numerous improvements as well as a new multiplayer map.
Download the demo at Fileplanet
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April 15th, 2009, 22:29 Posted By: Shrygue
via Kotaku
I'm not happy with the direction DICE took with the Mirror's Edge downloadable content. I want more rooftops, not weird floating islands. Thankfully, users can now make their own new levels.
If you own a copy of both Unreal Tournament III and Mirror's Edge, all you need to do is perform a quick folder copy and, presto, you've got yourself a Mirror's Edge level editor.
With the real game marred by too many indoor levels (even though it was, in hindsight, probably my favourite game of 2008), here's hoping fans and modders can provide us with some extended rooftop sequences. More jumping, more running, less getting lost inside office buildings.
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April 15th, 2009, 23:28 Posted By: wraggster
Eidos Montreal has teased its next project on its official site, and the font delivering the message has led to speculation that the unannounced game could be Thief 4.
Eidos Montreal is currently at work on Deus Ex 3, the latest instalment in the espionage tinged first person series that's been shrouded in an appropriate level of mystery, with few details having made it beyond the studio walls.
A post on the developer's official site says the studio's next project will be revealed soon, employing a font familiar to fans of the Thief series. Scant details indeed, but enough to stir forums into a speculating frenzy.
The Thief games are held in high regard, with the last instalment, Deadly Shadows, receiving an 8.8 upon review back in 2004.
No official word has come from Eidos on what the Montreal studios' next game is – but expect more concrete details soon.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/972/972975p1.html
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April 15th, 2009, 23:36 Posted By: wraggster
Icehole Games is happy to announce the completion of their new game, "World Basketball Manager 2009", which is the latest addition in their successful series of WBM games.
World Basketball Manager (WBM) is a basketball strategy game. It uses the same game-play principles as most soccer management games do and covers all basketball action around the world with 89 national and international tournaments, 852 teams, 10.000 basketball players and 1.000 managers.
WBM has been around since 2003 with a new edition every year and has managed to earn a place in the market as one of the most highly acclaimed games of its genre. The accurate representation of the basketball world forces the players to make the same decisions and face the same problems as their real life counterparts. It deals not only with the sport aspect of the game, but also with financial, managerial, administrative, training, psychological and PR situations that arise in the everyday life of a basketball manager.
Undoubtedly the biggest success of WBM is the real time match engine that produces realistic results and accurate match statistics, using a genetic algorithm for the A. I.
Another huge plus of the game is the big network of researchers that help in data and tournament updates.
All of the above helped WBM establish itself in the minds and hearts of basketball and sports sims enthusiasts over the past few years, with an already impressive and ever growing community supporting the game.
WBM 2009 is here to expand the series with impressive new features and improvements that include:
Better control in your career and club economics using the ability to make demands to the Administration.
Improved match algorithm.
Improved interface.
Short keys make navigation easier.
New code makes daily update 27% faster.
Financial bonus for managers that "build" teams.
Cohesion bonus for teams with many native players.
Improved transfers algorithms so that clubs buy more players under contract and less free agents. This will help you sell more players.
Ability to arrange friendly matches.
Better fouls balance.
Ability to cancel timeouts.
22 new tournaments raise the total number to 89.
All major tournament formats have been updated.
Available in 10 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Greek, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and Turkish.
The most detailed data research so far.
Windows Vista 64 support.
Updated Data Editor.
Ability to change skins.
Ability to select news breaks in daily update.
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April 15th, 2009, 23:38 Posted By: wraggster
Wolverine has been under a decent amount of fire over the last few weeks due to the leak of an unfinished version of his upcoming movie. The version of the film that was leaked may have given people the wrong idea of what to expect, but fortunately, a final version of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine is only a few weeks away, and along with that, a video game tie-in. Whether or not the game is as good as people are hoping is anyone's guess at this point, but one way or another, the proof is in the metaphorical pudding.
Fortunately, Activision has given IGN an exclusive 3D image to help whet the appetites of audiences, giving folks an extra look at Logan doing what he does best -- jumping into action, claws first, all captured in a single moment.
While we're aware that many folks are a bit apprehensive of movie tie-in games (and with good reason), there's something about Wolvie's upcoming game that has us keeping an eye on it. This mutant has been and will always be the feral man made of adamantium, always up for a fight, making us fond of the grizzled, old Canuck. Scroll on down to see Wolverine in action.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/973/973150p1.html
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April 16th, 2009, 20:05 Posted By: wraggster
News via aep
"StepMania is capable of playing many game types. Currently, it supports games similar to Dance Dance Revolution, Pump It Up, EZ 2 Dancer, and Para Para Paradise. In the future, it will support games similar to BeatMania, Guitar Freaks, DrumMania, and more.
The games played by StepMania are rhythm games. Notes scroll up from the bottom of the screen, and the player must hit the corresponding button on the controller in time to the. All games can be played using the keyboard, but the real fun comes when using specially designed controllers, like a dance pad or hand sensors." Quoted from the homepage.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ease_id=466102
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April 17th, 2009, 00:20 Posted By: Shrygue
via Gizmodo US
Last February a Turkish Airways jet crashed in Amsterdam killing nine people and injuring 121 others. Passenger Sefer Baris and his MacBook Air survived the crash—but both were a little worse for wear.
Sefer's friend Bullent tells Macenstein:
He was sitting on the chair in the front [of the airplane]. Seat number seven. (3-4 chairs from the business class). He has his MacBook Air with him, he was watching a movie. When the plane began to land, he closed his MacBook Air, and put it in the skin. A couple of minutes [later] there was the crash."
Apparently Sefer broke his neck the accident—and his MacBook was bent all to hell. Miraculously, several operations have given Sefer the ability to walk, and sturdy unibody construction prevented his new MacBook Air from completely biting the dust. Despite their injuries, both "booted up" and are expected to recover.
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April 17th, 2009, 01:31 Posted By: wraggster
Here's a tip folks: don't get in car wrecks. If you someday find such a situation unavoidable, however, here's another: keep that laptop of yours in the trunk, or at least in a case tucked down behind the driver's seat. Mounties in British Columbia are reporting that a Canadian woman who perished in a car accident last month was actually killed by the laptop within her vehicle. As the story goes, the 25 year old's vehicle was struck by a tow truck, flinging her laptop into the rear of her head. A coroner pegged the cause of death as a "blunt force trauma," and investigators believe that the whole thing was survivable had the machine not been in the back seat. Not surprisingly, officials are using the incident to encourage others to secure their belongings whilst traveling.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/16/c...ing-car-wreck/
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April 17th, 2009, 16:38 Posted By: wraggster
Empire: Total War has topped the US PC sales chart for March, pushing out World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, according to data provided by NPD.
Blizzard's expansion slipped one place to number two, with The Sims 2 Double Deluxe taking third place.
Sci-Fi strategy title Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II settled in at fourth place, while World of Warcraft Battle Chest, and World of Warcraft came fifth and sixth respectively.
The Sims 2 Apartment Life came in at number seven, followed by another EA Maxis title, Spore, at eight.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade took ninth place, while Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst brought up the rear at ten.
Full US PC sales chart for March follow:
01. Empire: Total War
02. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
03. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
04. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II
05. World of Warcraft Battle Chest
06. World of Warcraft
07. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
08. Spore
09. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
10. Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst
11. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
12. StarCraft Battle Chest
13. Fallout 3
14. Civilization IV
15. Empire: Total War - Special Forces Edition
16. The Sims 2 Pets
17. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
18. The Sims 2 University
19. Call of Duty: World at War
20. Diablo Battle Chest
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ch-us-pc-sales
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April 17th, 2009, 16:41 Posted By: wraggster
Real-time strategy title Demigod has been crippled by over 100,000 pirates flooding the online game and overwhelming the support network, according to Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, who complained of "near MMO user connections".
According to Wardell, 120,000 connections have taken place for Demigod, with only 18,000 coming from legitimate users who actually purchased the game. This "sheer number of people" has caused "horrific results" that the company was unprepared for.
"Sadly, most of the 120,000 connections are not customers but via warez," he wrote in his blog. "About 18,000 are legitimate… We spent a lot of time today trying to isolate out the warez users from the legitimate users."
Users found themselves unable to logon to the online service or the Demigod forums, and even running the game became a challenge as online checks for updated versions would result in a blank screen - Wardell described this as the "stuff of nightmares".
Wardell concluded: "As annoying as this issue is, it's not something that's going to be an ongoing issue, it's something that is likely to be taken care of in the next day or two. So this time next week, players will be happily playing."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...00-000-pirates
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April 17th, 2009, 16:55 Posted By: wraggster
Blizzard have released the second of their Starcraft II "Battle Reports", which feature developers giving a play-by-play as two players duke it out in the upcoming strategy title.
This episode shows the Zerg facing off against the Terrans, and...well, it's over 20 minutes of real Starcraft II gameplay footage. Get comfortable.
http://kotaku.com/5216000/over-20-mi...meplay-footage
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April 17th, 2009, 17:07 Posted By: wraggster
North American publishers and distributors of interactive entertainment media, together announced today that SubaGames.com's free military FPS Cross Fire has now officially gone live and is available to download for free at: http://crossfire.subagames.com.
The Cross Fire Official Launch is marked by a substantial update to the game which includes, three new game modes (including the long-awaited "Free For All" deathmatch and the knives-only battle-arena), playable female characters, and ranked clan matches on a dedicated server. In addition, the official launch will introduce loads of new in-game weapons, items, and accessories. Cross Fire officially went live at 1:00 AM on Thursday April 16th, 2009. The launch is also supported by an in-game event that allows players to earn extra experience for a limited time in order to level-up faster.
"Since Cross Fire went into open beta earlier this year we have built a dedicated community of players," said Garvin Yeung, Chief Executive Office of Wicked Interactive. "We have worked hard on all the new content included in the official launch version of Cross Fire," added Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX, "We know Cross Fire veterans and new players alike will be able to find something new they can enjoy."
Cross Fire is an online military first-person shooter for the PC, developed by SmileGate and Neowiz, and co-published by G4BOX and Wicked Interactive. Players assume the role of either a Black List or Global Risk mercenary, and then join an online team that must work together to complete objective-based scenarios. Cross Fire's flagship feature is its "Ghost Mode", which puts one team in possession of top-secret cloaking technology, rendering them invisible to the opposing team. This team of "ghosts" is armed only with knives, and must stealthily track and hunt the enemy team. This mode is exclusive to Cross Fire and no other mode exists quite like it in any other first-person shooter.
Cross Fire is free-to-download-and-play. Visit the Cross Fire homepage at: http://crossfire.subagames.com
Now part of the Subagames library of free MMOs. http://www.subagames.com
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April 17th, 2009, 22:29 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Square Enix is making a bid for the Western PC wargaming market this year with a Second World War strategy title called Order of War.
The game promises huge scale as it examines the war in Europe in 1944 on both western and eastern fronts. In the single-player campaigns, you'll fight as the Americans pushing the Germans back in the west, and as the Germans repelling the Russian Red Army in the east. There will also be multiplayer Deathmatch and Skirmish modes.
Order of War is developed by Wargaming.net, the London and Belarus-based developer that made Galactic Assault and the Massive Assault series.
Although the press release doesn't make the exact nature of the gameplay in Order of War clear, Wargaming.net has a history of turn-based global domination games, and there's the promise that players will command an entire 1000-unit army at once in cinematic and historically accurate battles.
This suggests that Square Enix is making a bid for the serious, historical wargaming of Total War, rather than attempting to enter the overcrowded real-time strategy market.
Order of War will also mark Square Enix's first release of a Western-developed game outside of Japan when it's published simultaneously across multiple territories in the autumn of 2009.
Check out the trailer on EGTV and head to the Order of War website for strident military music and much more.
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April 19th, 2009, 00:20 Posted By: wraggster
It's not as good as gold, but according to Microsoft's Partner Program website, Windows 7's release candidate is due out to the masses on May 5, a bit earlier than the BBC report had previously noted. MSDN and TechNet subscribers can apparently download the new build now, although Ars Technica is reporting it may not be up just yet. There's always the chance that this date was posted in error or will be pushed back, so in the meantime, perhaps marking your calendar with pencil or erasable pen isn't such a bad idea.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/18/w...ut-now-for-ms/
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April 19th, 2009, 00:35 Posted By: wraggster
Demigod is an RTS/RPG hybrid developed by Gas Powered Games and published by Stardock, a company notable for their progressive and lenient stance on DRM. The game was set to be released on April 14th, and shipped without any form of copy protection. Unfortunately, retailer Gamestop broke the street date and released it earlier in the week. A day after pointing this out, Gas Powered Games posted some numbers about the players hitting their servers. Roughly 18,000 connections were made from legitimately purchased copies; over 100,000 were made from pirated copies. Meanwhile, the servers, which were not yet ready for that level of traffic, buckled under the strain, resulting in poor experiences for people trying to participate in multiplayer. While some reviews were positive, others criticized the game for the connectivity issues. After another day, they were able to stabilize the servers to the point they'd planned on for the original launch.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/18/0255254
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April 19th, 2009, 00:36 Posted By: wraggster
"Ubisoft has announced the shutdown of Shadowbane, the first major, fantasy role-playing MMO with true PVP (full asset destruction possible). The shutdown will take place in about two weeks, at the start of May. No official reason has been given by Ubisoft, but running an MMO for free for the past three years, with no significant improvement in market growth during that period, could play a part in the decision. There's been no response from Ubisoft yet on calls to open source the code. "
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/18/1332203
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April 19th, 2009, 00:38 Posted By: wraggster
With the Level 105 release, Outspark continues to deliver on its promise to provide gamers with engaging social online entertainment. Players of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to join the millions already experiencing thrilling adventures inside the world of Fiesta and begin their own quest to reach Level 105.
Additional Level 105 Fiesta Features Include:
New weapons and more powerful skills
Fierce new foes including Black Bears, Caiman, Fire Taitan, Living Stone, Living Statues and many more
Fiesta is a free multiplayer online RPG set in the colorful land of Isya. Inside the game's vibrant and immersive environments players can socialize, make friends and experience endless adventures. With hundreds of quests, player-versus-player content, item crafting and much more, Fiesta is a full-featured MMORPG that creates infinite hours of entertainment. Fiesta also features an in-game store, which offers hundreds of premium items for sale including new outfits, character mounts, pets and other items designed to make each experience unique.
For more information about the free Level 105 Fiesta expansion, please visit http://events.outspark.com/2009/fiesta/level-105/. To sign up for a free Outspark account or learn more about Outspark please visit www.outspark.com.
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April 19th, 2009, 00:41 Posted By: wraggster
NDOORS Interactive today announced updates for its increasingly popular MMORPG, Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu. Adding to the real-world politics and economics game play, the new updates will bring additional land, weapons, items, and formulas for food or medicine to the Luminary world.
The Lost World, a new hunting ground, will feature prehistoric, dinosaur-like monsters that will be fiercely awaiting combatants. Players will be challenged to fight their way up to the third and highest level in order to enjoy the rewards of exploring the new hunting grounds in the Lost World. Defeating the main boss will earn Luminary players coveted "good drops."
Along with the new lands, six new weapons such as the Guardian's Sword, Ancient Spear, and Sonic Bow will be unveiled for level 110 players. These weapons offer increased attack power to aid players in their quests. In addition, for a limited time, players will be able to acquire a beautiful (and helpful) sea princess pet as a new Raccoon Box item through the use of Gold, Silver and Bronze Keys.
Rounding out the updates, players are now eligible to receive more experience points when crafting food items or medicine, giving them the opportunity to boost their skill levels. With the capability to boost skill levels, players of Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu have more opportunity than ever before to become a top artisan in these two classes.
Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu, a free-to-play MMORPG, incorporates real-world politics and economics with captivating gameplay. Players are citizens of the Luminary world who not only battle monsters, but engage in the production of new goods, trade commodities, stocks, real estate, and even hire NPC's. Additionally, a player can become the pinnacle of success, the "GoonZu," by being elected by his gaming peers.
For more information on Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu, please visit www.playluminary.com.
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April 19th, 2009, 00:43 Posted By: wraggster
Paradox Interactive today announced the release of Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection, the 4X strategy title by Kerberos Productions.
Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection includes the original release of Sword of the Stars and its two expansion packs, Born of Blood and Murder of Crows. Featuring a unique combination of turn-based strategy and real-time space combat, Sword of the Stars is known for is back-to-basics approach with streamlined gameplay that allows players to focus less on micromanagement and more on conquering the galaxy. The expansions build on the gameplay of the original, adding new races, game mechanics and additions to the diplomatic and economic features.
To learn more about Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection, visit the official website: http://www.swordofthestars.com/.
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April 19th, 2009, 00:45 Posted By: wraggster
The latest entry in the huge amount of downloadable content for Criterion Games' Burnout Paradise, entitled the Cops and Robbers pack, is now set for an April 30th release. The update will cost you a little bit of cash, but fans of the old cop chases from past Burnout games will likely be eager to fork over the money.
We'll have more info on the DLC as it becomes available.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/974/974033p1.html
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April 20th, 2009, 22:22 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Developer Microids has released a demo for PC adventure game Still Life 2.
The 1GB file is available from GamersHell and samples the dual-heroine storyline split between FBI agent Victoria McPherson and kidnapped journalist Paloma Hernandez.
The full version of Still Life 2 is already available in German, and can be downloaded from a special, Metaboli-powered retail site. We're trying to find out when the English version will be released.
The first Still Life launched for PC back in 2005, but had rather a lot of errors and a bit of a half-baked story, resulting in half-baked marks: 5/10. Our Still Life review can tell you more.
Download the demo at Gamershell
Full version available to buy and download at Gamesplanet
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April 20th, 2009, 22:50 Posted By: Shrygue
via Kotaku
Codemasters has released new screenshots and concept art featuring the true stars of NetDevil's Jumpgate Evolution - the ships.
When you spend the majority of your time looking at the rear end of a space ship, you're going to want an attractive rear end to look at. Looking through these screenshots and concept art of the ships in Jumpgate Evolution, it seems that NetDevil has included attractive backsides in all shapes and sizes for players to stare at for hours on end. They're not quite up to female wood elf levels of goodness, but then female wood elves don't have rocket boosters.
Screenshots at Kotaku
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April 20th, 2009, 23:57 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Atari has announced that Neverwinter Nights 2 adventure pack Mysteries of Westgate will launch on Wednesday, 29th April.
The pack will cost 10 dollars or pounds or Euros, and be available to download from the Atari Store.
Mysteries of Westgate is made by Ossian Studios - not to be confused with NW2 developer Obsidian Studios - which was noticed after creating Neverwinter Nights module Darkness over Daggerford.
This adventure pack has around 15 hours more D&D content to uncover, based on the underground Night Masks organisation and a plot to overthrow the city of Westgate. Complimenting the new story will be professionally voiced characters, a brand new musical score and plenty of new gameplay content.
Once upon a time we had been prepared for Mysteries of Westgate launch in late 2007. We're not sure what the hold-up has been, but there's plenty more information to be found over on the official Mysteries of Westgate website.
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April 21st, 2009, 19:27 Posted By: wraggster
Ever since we saw the glowing review AMD's ATI Radeon RV740 prototype received, we've been looking forward to the day that the company would make one of these 40nm wonders available. It looks like that day might be close at hand -- according to these purloined slides, a little something called the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is due to make the scene next month in the $99 price point. This handsome lad sports GDDR5 memory, DirectX 10.1 support, a 750 MHz clock speed, a memory clock of 800 MHz using a 128-bit memory bus, a frame buffer size of 512 MB, and much, much more. Curious? Of course you are.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/20/a...hd-4770-outed/
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April 21st, 2009, 19:34 Posted By: wraggster
Ubisoft is to close down MMORPG Shadowbane on May 1 after six years.
The title was originally created by Wolfpack Studios, which Ubisoft acquired in 2004 before closing two year's later.
"We come to you now with regret and sadness, but also happiness and pride. Regret and sadness that it has finally come to this, and as of May 1, 2009 the Shadowbane servers will be powered down once and for all," wrote a spokesperson on the official website.
"Yet happiness that it lasted so very long, and pride to be able to stand before such a passionate community to thank you for your undying support and unwavering loyalty to Shadowbane."
The game was originally subscription based, but moved to a free-to-play model after the acquisition.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...shadowbane-mmo
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April 21st, 2009, 20:22 Posted By: wraggster
FAIRFAX, Va. – Mythic Entertainment™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced the start of 'Beyond the Sands' - the next major event in the Call to Arms live expansion for Warhammer? Online: Age of Reckoning? (WAR). From April 20 to April 27, the armies of WAR will clash over the wreckage of mysterious airships that fell from the sky and puzzle over the appearance of strange artifacts from far-off lands. Those looking for answers will need to cast their gaze south to the Land of the Dead, where the Tomb Kings reign supreme.
This week, adventurers from the forces of Order and Destruction will be tasked with recovering the artifacts of the Nehekharan Kings and subduing their vengeful Liche Priests. Those who successfully complete the epic tasks at hand will be rewarded with exotic treasure and glory, including the unique event titles of 'Grave Robber' and 'The Eternal,' Tomb Kings trophies, and – for the truly dedicated – Aviator Goggles, a helm item with special properties.
"The next big event in the Call to Arms live expansion has arrived, and we couldn't be more excited," said Mark Jacobs, vice president and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. "'Beyond the Sands' introduces the ancient and eternal Tomb Kings to WAR, a game already packed with amazing content. This live event is just a small taste of the Tomb Kings-themed, undead mayhem still to come!"
Based on the popular tabletop war game from Games Workshop, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning features revolutionary Realm vs. Realmâ„¢ conflict that will provide players with an engaging battleground for years to come. Available now for PC, WAR is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about the game and to download the free 10-day trial, visit www.warhammeronline.com.
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April 21st, 2009, 20:26 Posted By: wraggster
Dragonica is the brand new arcade-style 3D side-scrolling MMORPG that is roaring into life across Europe during the Closed Beta Test (CBT) during mid-May 2009. It will be published in Europe as a free to play MMORPG in English, French and German at the www.gpotato.eu gaming portal.
With tens of thousands of players already pre-registered and growing by the day, there is growing anticipation for Dragonica's combo-based combat that is ready to take netbooks, notebooks and desktops across Europe by storm. In play tests conducted in Ireland during March and April, players have applauded the precise combat which is a vast change from clicky mouse-based combat which dominates MMORPG's. Dragonica has also lots of potential for competitive gaming with a strong competitive component in the multiplayer modes.
During the ten day Closed Beta test, the Dragonica team will be on hand to welcome players into the world and run a whole schedule of in-game events to keep players entertained. There will be lots of in-game prizes up for grabs, and the players will have the opportunity to ensure that their character names are kept for the Open Beta, following a few weeks after the Closed Beta in June.
Registration for the Closed Beta lottery, as well as information about partner sites running beta key competitions can be found at the official European Dragonica website at http://dragonica.gpotato.eu
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April 21st, 2009, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster
Mezmer Games today announced that the arcade-RTS game Stalin vs. Martians has been postponed due to the long march across the Siberian tundra. Stalin vs. Martians will be released later this month and will be available on all digital distribution platforms.
In the meantime, you can prepare yourself for the heroic battle by viewing the epic Stalin vs. Martians trailer featuring a techno-dancing Stalin and downloading free songs from the acclaimed Stalin vs. Martians soundtrack at http://www.stalinvsmartians.com/en/av.html.
The Stalin vs. Martians pre-order is still open on major online retailers such as GamersGate and Direct2Drive at a 20% discount from the retail price of $19.99 / €17.99.
"A dictator is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to," said Tom Söderlund, Executive Producer at Mezmer Games.
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April 21st, 2009, 20:30 Posted By: wraggster
The secret's out! Launched today, SuperSecret.com is a brand new online social game for kids who are ready for more than Club Penguin and Webkinz but too young for World of Warcraft or MySpace. SuperSecret.com transports tweens into a secret world designed just for them, where characters "age up" from 10 to 18 as they make friends, play games, and explore new places with other players. Each birthday unlocks new hangouts and privileges such as pets, dorm rooms, bank accounts and secret parts of the world.
"As a parent of three tween kids, I noticed them playing more and more online, but there was nothing that really fit their needs," said Ted Barnett, co-founder and CEO of SuperSecret. "SuperSecret.com is designed from the ground up to be a fun and age-appropriate environment that taps into the one thing all kids want to do – grow up! At the same time, we focused on creating a safe environment where tweens can use their imaginations, test their skills, and learn the basics of online social interactions."
SuperSecret.com is designed for 9 to 13 year-old kids and offers 20 customizable character looks – all human! – and dozens of lush and realistic interactive environments like The Quad, The Midway and Crescent Beach.
Players can access as many as 40 Flash-based mini games with new games becoming available as their characters grow up. In-game money, called "spenders", can be used to buy cute pets, hip clothes, new hair, tasty treats, new furniture, and gifts and sneak attacks for friends. But be warned – players will need to save up to get the best stuff and, like real life, the resale value of a misguided impulse purchase is a far cry from the original sticker price.
Did we say social? SuperSecret.com makes it really easy to connect with old and new friends. Every player has access to an in-game cell phone that shows the status and location for every friend, so you can leave messages and meet up at any time. Players can also swap tips and "cheats", send gifts and sneak attacks to friends, and interact with non-player characters who dole out hints and quests. Players can report and block anyone who is bothering them, and all conversations are filtered and monitored.
SuperSecret.com is full of the things that tweens love because they have been involved in the game's development from the beginning. Tweens themselves have determined what features to include and pinpointed ways to make the game better. More than 100 kids were involved in product design and development, and over 500 participated in a private beta release. In late January, SuperSecret.com offered the public a "sneak peek" that attracted more than 250,000 players.
To start playing, tweens can go directly to SuperSecret.com and "age up" to their fifteenth birthday. New birthdays will be made available over the coming months. SuperSecret will also make the game available to more than 40 million gamers each month through distribution partnerships with SPIL GAMES, Wild Tangent and others.
Kids can play SuperSecret.com for free as long as they want, although their character won't age up beyond 12. Paid members can age to 13 and beyond, and enjoy access to ever more areas and features of the site. Introductory pricing is $4.95 per month or $19.95 for 6 months.
"The 'sneak peek' of SuperSecret.com was a tremendous success with hundreds of thousands of kids testing out the game," said Tony Espinoza, founder and president of SuperSecret. "Now, we are very pleased to announce the top-tier partnership deals that will expose SuperSecret.com to 40 million potential players across the country and around the globe."
About SuperSecret
SuperSecret, Inc. is a San Francisco-based start-up that is delivering the next generation of online social gaming for kids. The company's flagship offering, SuperSecret.com, engages tweens with a breakthrough social game where kids "age up" from 10 to 18 as they make friends, play games, and explore new places with other players. SuperSecret.com was developed hand-in-hand with tweens, so it is full of the things they love. At the same time, it is a safe environment where tweens can use their imaginations, test their skills, and learn the basics of online social interactions. For more information, please visit www.supersecret.com.
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April 21st, 2009, 20:33 Posted By: wraggster
New York – Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships is coming to retail stores nationwide May 12, 2009. The action-packed pirate adventure role playing game (RPG) for PC features dozens of quests and infinite challenges, where players can sail the high seas as a swashbuckling dread pirate or assume the role of a dashing naval captain.
"This sequel to the popular Age of Pirates franchise reinvents itself with a larger playing field and exciting new content from a new combat system and trading options to numerous quests and character classes," said Rogier Smit, executive vice president of Playlogic. "The game's free-roaming options expand the storyline and challenge players with endless hours of adventure."
Players courageous enough to delve into the dangerous world of Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships will discover treasure and adventure as they choose to go it alone and become the most feared pirate on the seven seas, or prove their loyalty and take the coin of one of four different navies; French, English, Spanish or Dutch. As players navigate their own route through the seas of the Caribbean they can explore strange new countries and undiscovered civilizations, plunder merchant ships and even raid fortified ports and cities – interacting with nearly every character and/or building along the way.
Game features include:
* Ship-to-ship combat and toe-to-toe clashes
* 3 diverse characters and 3 classes: Merchant, Corsair and Adventurer
* 4 main campaigns
* 40+ quests and 40+ quest generators allowing for an infinite amount of quests
* New combat system for faster fights
* 3 weapon classes: light, medium and heavy
* Advanced trading system
* Real-life historical characters such as Jamaican governors Colonel Thomas Lynch and Thomas Modyford
Almost everything can be adjusted to players' wishes, making customization and resource management a key element to gameplay. Let this serve as a warning; in Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships the dead do not sleep easy, and both myth and reality frequently intertwine.
For more information about Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships, please visit www.ageofpiratesthegame.com.
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April 22nd, 2009, 19:59 Posted By: wraggster
San Jose-based online game publisher, Gamescampus.com (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced today that is has launched a new PvP test server for its popular MMORPG, Asda Story. In celebration of the PvP test server launch, GamesCampus is also hosting the first-ever Asda Story PvP tournaments starting April 21. Asda Story is available to download at http://asdastory.gamescampus.com/.
Along with the opening of the server, the first PvP Tournament will take place from April 21 to April 22. Players on the PvP server will get to use free skill resets, upgrade items, and potion items from the item mall as well as 10K Gold!
"Asda Story players have really been looking forward to the unveiling of the player versus player gameplay and we are very excited to finally let them test it out," said Jiwoo Park, Producer of Asda Story at GamesCampus.com. "The feedback we receive from this test will help us to implement PvP features that suit the needs of the Asda Story
community."
The tournament for players Level 39 and below (1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2) will take place on April 21, with the tournament for Level 40 and above players (1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2) taking place on April 22.
Following this test of the PvP server, a full PvP combat system will launch in May of this year.
Based on a colorful, bright and cheerful world, Asda Story is a free to play exciting fantasy-style anime 3D MMORPG game that features a unique 'Soul Mate System.' The unique party system offers two players the ability to align to become 'soul mates' and allows them to wear unique costumes and use special skills. Another key feature of the game is the 'Real Costume System,' which gives players some of the
most extensive personalization and design options ever seen in an MMORPG.
For more information about Gamescampus.com or Asda Story, please visit www.gamescampus.com .
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:12 Posted By: wraggster
G4BOX Inc. and Wicked Interactive Ltd. announced an exclusive agreement with IGA Worldwide to support in-game advertising within their hit game, Cross Fire, a free multiplayer first-person shooter available at:
http://crossfire.subagames.com.
"The Cross Fire beta launch has proven to be a tremendous success. The scale of the community building around the game has been astonishing and is still growing rapidly," said Howard He, CEO of G4BOX Inc. "We are delighted to partner with G4BOX on Cross Fire. Its success has allowed us to partner with in-game advertising pioneer, IGA Worldwide, to pursue opportunities in this exciting and ground-breaking advertising environment," added Garvin Yeung, CEO of Wicked Interactive Ltd.
Cross Fire is a free-to-play, multiplayer first-person shooter available on the PC platform. It allows up to 16-players to battle online simultaneously, completing objective-based missions and scenarios across a range of realistic locations and arenas. Cross Fire also offers an array of features, such as: four modes of gameplay including the exclusive "Ghost Match" mode, a persistent stat-tracking and ranking system, in-game friend lists, an integrated clan system, customizable characters, realistic military weaponry and much more.
Through its integration of IGA Worldwide's proprietary Radial 4.0 advertising SDK, Cross Fire now offers brands and agencies the opportunity to dynamically display, update and geo-target their advertisements to a highly engaged, tech-savvy audience within the elusive 18-34 male demographic.
Ed Bartlett, Vice President Europe for IGA Worldwide, said "Having pioneered ad-supported free-to-play premium games over the last three years, we are very excited to extend this model to Cross Fire, which has all of the necessary features for another huge success story in this category. IGA prides itself on a qualitative approach to ad inventory, and alongside contextual in-game billboards, users can also expect a sponsored tournament and leaderboards as well as subsidised branded content including new levels and arenas."
IGA's network has generated in excess of 25 billion full impressions, delivering over 60 million hours of content to nearly 40 million users in total, with an average view duration of 9 seconds of exposure per ad.
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:17 Posted By: wraggster
It's alive! Online gaming and anime fans can now access and participate in the first phase of Atlus Online's portal, a daily destination for community-focused gaming and interactive entertainment. The portal will be dedicated to user-driven, high-quality content, with an emphasis on online games and anime, and is intended to be a hub for members to share their passions, meet new friends, and experience numerous forms of unique digital media. Staying true to Atlus Online's commitment, users are encouraged to contribute to the portal's growth and development.
"Atlus Online is excited to roll out the first phase of the portal and to invite fans from all over the world to take part in its continued evolution," says Tyler Kim, Head of the Online Division, Atlus U.S.A., Inc . "We designed this unique portal so that our community members could be the driving force behind what direction it takes. From user-generated artwork and opinion forums to mini-games and contests, all continually evolving, the Atlus Online portal is a truly dynamic, engaging, and organic site."
Kicking off the first of several major updates, today's Atlus Online portal launch opens up access to a number of initial offerings and activities, with more content to be added regularly. In addition to creating game accounts and jumping into highly interactive forums and polls, members can build full profiles to give a personal context to their online contributions. One unique feature available to portal members is the Oekaki Wall, which provides a collaborative forum for creating artwork. One person may initiate a design, while another can add shading, and so on, for limitless iterations from a single member's work. A variety of flash-based mini-games and features have already been slated to appear, following the summer launch of Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent, a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
In the coming months, Atlus Online will unveil additional phases of its portal, continuing to advance the offerings available. Gamers and anime fans looking for more information about Atlus Online's portal can visit http://www.atlusonline.com.
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:22 Posted By: wraggster
In honor of Earth Day 2009, green-themed, eco-friendly children's MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game Emerald Island invites kids to make a difference in the Earth's ecology. For every new "eco-hero" that subscribes to the game, developer Fluid Entertainment, in partnership with Trees for the Future, will plant 10 trees in the real world, so players can see their in-game eco-activities make a difference on planet Earth. In conjunction with this initiative, Emerald Island's in-game Earth Day celebrations include new quests and activities that offer young activists the opportunity for fun and adventure, while doing good.
Kids enter Emerald Island and create their own unique zany animal avatar. They soon learn from the island's inhabitants that the Pirats, a band of polluting, pillaging rodents, have set their sights on Emerald Island as the next land to plunder. Kids are tasked with the challenge to 'Help Save Emerald Island' from the Pirats, with the goal of protecting and saving this pristine virtual world in need. By thwarting the Pirat's efforts, kids become eco-heroes in the game, and in turn, gain insight into the Earth's environmental challenges, while learning conservation tips that they can incorporate into their every day lives.
This Earth Day and beyond, the wacky inhabitants of Emerald Island provide players with useful green tips, such as urging players to use both sides of the paper to save trees. These real world 'green tips' inform gamers about how planting, conserving and recycling can all increase the quality of the environment – in Emerald Island, as well as on planet Earth. Other Earth Day festivities include a series of green adventures that introduce children to the island's endangered species, and help them gain an understanding of how they themselves can help. From encouraging habitat restoration and preservation for endangered tigers and the mountain gorilla, to replanting a forest that has been destroyed by the Pirats, these in-game quests are designed to give kids the opportunity to learn about and participate in the solutions of the environmental challenges facing Emerald Island – and the Earth—in a fun, always changing environment.
In a series of more than 40 plant related quests activities, Fluid Entertainment continues their partnership with Trees for the Future (www.treesftf.org), an organization dedicated to sustainable agroforestry and to helping communities around the world plant trees. For Earth Day, Emerald Island introduces new quests in partnership with this organization that will increase knowledge and appreciation of a vast variety of plant species and trees. Translating children's in-game environmentalism into real-world impact, Fluid Entertainment will donate 10 trees to Trees for the Future, for every new subscription.
Emerald Island is ESRB rated "E" for Everyone. For more information, please visit www.emeraldisland.com.
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:34 Posted By: wraggster
Demigod had a regrettable launch. Too many pirates, server infrastructure couldn't cope. But after a week we're sure Stardock would rather forget, things are looking up!
A status report on Stardock's site lets us know that while for an unfortunate few the online-only game is effectively broken, for "most people" things are "working pretty decently". Which isn't a clean bill of health, we know, but it's also good enough for people to at least dip their toes into the game's cold, icy depths.
While it's easy (especially if you actually bought the game) to get angry at Stardock for such a sloppy launch, try and remember that a big reason it was so sloppy in the first place is because the company shipped the game without DRM. Which really is something that should be applauded.
http://kotaku.com/5222190/it-may-be-...ay-demigod-now
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:36 Posted By: wraggster
Merscom and National Geographic Games announced today~s release of Plan It Green, a building sim that integrates green technology in a fast paced casual game.
As the Mayor of Greenville, players have the opportunity to create a green city in Plan It Green. As mayor of your hometown, you have vowed to bring about a new green future by changing the ways of the past. You are working with close supporters to restore Greenville to its former glory and beauty. Watch as Greenville transforms before your eyes as you build eco-homes, apply green upgrades and bring new clean jobs and industry to your hometown! Plan It Green is the first game that leverages the resources of National Geographic, an organization that was green when green wasn~t cool
The first green casual game, Plan It Green features:
~ Transform Greenville from an eyesore, into a beautiful green city!
~ First casual game that leverages the knowledge and resources of National Geographic, an organization that was green when green wasn~t cool.
~ Hours of gameplay in both campaign and free play mode!
~ Improve 8 neighborhoods across 45 levels!
~ Upgrade your hometown with parks, eco-homes and environmental upgrades
~ Build eco-friendly houses, stores and businesses
~ Pick the latest eco-upgrades
~This is the right product for the times. Not only is it a fantastic game, but it integrates a theme we all hear hundreds of times a week,~ said Kirk Owen, Merscom~s CEO. ~By working with National Geographic, we were able to go beyond pop green ideas and make a game that truly conveys the possibilities of the future.~
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April 22nd, 2009, 20:41 Posted By: wraggster
Paradox Interactive has today released a playable demo of Elven Legacy, the Fantasy Strategy Wargame for the PC developed by Russian studio 1C: Ino-CO.
The demo allows players to play the tutorial along with one mission from the Campaign mode and can be downloaded here.
Elven Legacy sends players on an epic quest aimed to restore the former glory of the Elven race. With a thrilling storyline with multiple endings and tools that allow players to create their own missions and share them in multiplayer mode, Elven Legacy will provide hours of exciting game play for strategy fans.
Elven Legacy is available from retailers everywhere, along with all good digital download outlets for a suggested retail price of €29.99.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/975/975266p1.html
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April 22nd, 2009, 23:06 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Will Wright has explained that he will continue to work on Spore despite having left EA earlier this month.
He'll take up a consultant role and meet with the Spore team regularly to guide his creation and franchise into the future.
"I don't think it was widely reported, but alongside this whole thing I also entered into a consulting agreement with EA," Wright told GameDaily. "I'm spending a certain amount of time every month actually working with the Spore team on future versions of Spore and expansions. So I will be involved with EA on developing the Spore franchise as well.
Wright believes fans will have as much input on where Spore goes as the developers themselves, but he also wants to push the game and in other directions, too.
"We're now at a maximum learning where the fans are going to be steering the franchise as much as we will - they have their hands on the steering wheel too," he said. "We're listening to criticisms of parts of the game, we're looking at parts that were unexpected successes and we're going to go in other directions with Spore."
"Part of it is stuff we wish we had done, but it's more what we see the fans wanting us to do. We're going to probably add more depth to different areas of the game - and we're certainly already doing that with the Galactic Adventures expansion pack - and we're also taking output from the tools in different directions, so you can take your creatures you made in the creature creator and bring them into different experiences."
Spore: Galactic Adventures is due out on 26th June, according to retailers. EA also has three other Spore games in development: Spore Creature Keeper for PC, Spore Hero for Wii and Spore Hero Arena for DS.
Will Wright left EA to run Stupid Fun Club, a think-tank studio that concentrates on dreaming up new IP not just for games, but for a whole host of entertainment opportunities as well. EA will be the exclusive gaming partner.
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April 24th, 2009, 21:16 Posted By: Shrygue
via Games Industry
NCsoft and ArenaNet's MMO series Guild Wars has sold over six million units, the publisher has announced.
The franchise originally launched in 2005, and will celebrate four years of play on April 28.
"We are humbled by how gamers have responded to Guild Wars over the past four years, and we are proud that the game and its community have helped to continually shape, define, and expand the genre," commented ArenaNet studio head Mike O’Brien.
"Our subscription-free business model has proven to be a big hit with gamers, bringing an enormous and diverse online community to the game."
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April 25th, 2009, 22:24 Posted By: wraggster
We've seen plenty of speculation on this date, but thanks to a quick email from Microsoft reps -- and a handy post on the Windows Blog -- we now have confirmation. According to the cats and kittens in Redmond, the Windows 7 RC will be officially available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on April 30th, and will be made publicly available on May 5th. End transmission... and bust out the champagne.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/24/o...lable-may-5th/
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April 25th, 2009, 22:25 Posted By: wraggster
Color us intrigued. The gang at SuperSite for Windows have revealed what they know about a pretty awesome Windows 7 feature: XP Mode, a virtualized copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3. It'll reportedly be a free download for Professional and Ultimate Edition users, a shame it won't be coming to all versions. Unlike many other Virtual PC options, the environment won't require a separate workspace so you can run the individual apps as you would alongside those native to 7 -- in the example pictured, that's Word 2003 in XP mode next to Word 2007. It all sounds vaguely similar to the XP compatibility mode found in Vista, but if we're understanding this right, XPM should make legacy compatibility much less of a hassle. We haven't heard any reports of it being found in the leaked Release Candidate build, so if you're antsy to get a glimpse now, hit up the read link for a gallery.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/24/v...onal-and-ulti/
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April 25th, 2009, 22:32 Posted By: wraggster
Winter Wolves ( http://www.winterwolves.com ) releases "Spirited Heart", a fantasy life simulation game with RPG elements.
Create a virtual alter ego picking from an apparently normal human, a cute elf, or a wicked demoness. Each character has different starting attributes and a unique personality that will greatly influence the gameplay.
Once the game starts, you'll be able to run your life in a virtual fantasy world. Choose a job from one of the 20 different ones available. Raise your skills to be able to do better. Take time to relax by going on vacation in several different locations. Ultimately, find the romance that's right for you.
In the game there are 6 potential partners for your character - 2 from each of the three races. From time to time you'll randomly encounter them, and your dialogue options will influence your relationship. Each partner will have his own personality and will react differently depending on which race you're playing, offering over 100 different dialogue combinations!
Can you win their hearts and maybe, one day, marry one of them?
Play with your character for 10 in-game years in which you have to do your best! The full game has 20 normal endings plus 6 special marriage endings, providing hours of gameplay and lots of replayability.
The game is priced at $19.95 and is available for Pc, Mac and Linux platforms.
A free trial is available at: http://www.winterwolves.com/spiritedheart.htm
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April 25th, 2009, 22:33 Posted By: wraggster
GRiN AB, Scandinavia's most sought-after developers of console and PC games, and Streamline Studios, the leading development studio for high-quality digital content creation, today announced that they have completed their joint development of the art environment for the upcoming game, Terminator Salvation, for Warner Bros. and Halcyon. The game is the first title that GRiN and Streamline Studios have collaborated on since the two companies announced a formal partnership last August. The dedicated Streamline Studios team will move on to another co-production project with GRiN as the companies extend their working relationship.
"Terminator Salvation is coming together very well and we're confident we're delivering a game that redefines the Terminator franchise," said Bo Andersson, founder and CEO of GRiN AB. "We couldn't have made this game as immersive or hit the quality level with any other partner than Streamline Studios. Terminator is our first major collaboration with Streamline Studios and they really put their hearts into this production, which is why we absolutely recommend them to anyone looking to create high-end content today. What's left is for GRiN is to polish the last levels, gameplay and submit the game and then, the END begins."
"Co-production of whole art pipelines is the future, and working with GRiN on Terminator Salvation was our next step to evolve as a company," said Alexander L. Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of Streamline Studios, B.V. "After seeing our work in some of the biggest titles of all time, we see a changing landscape for game and asset production and we know our alignment with GRiN is a testament to the quality both of our companies deliver. The partnership has given everyone involved a lot of flexibility and the best of all resources to deliver a Terminator game that is truly going to be huge."
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April 25th, 2009, 22:34 Posted By: wraggster
One incredibly addictive gameplay experience has merged with another, as PopCap has released a Peggle add-on for Blizzard's World of Warcraft today, according to a post on the WoW Insider. This isn't PopCap's first WoW add-on; it previously released Bejeweled on World of Warcraft.
The Peggle add-on, which can be downloaded from PopCap, features a quick play mode with 12 stages based on WoW locations. There's also a duel mode that lets you play against another player, and a battle mode with custom leaderboards. You can also use Peggle to "roll" for loot by typing in /peggleloot. The player with the best shot wins.
Best of all, the add-on is completely free. Well, aside from the countless hours of lost productivity that you encounter upon playing Peggle.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/975/975935p1.html
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April 25th, 2009, 22:39 Posted By: wraggster
A hack that's "unfixable" is a pretty bold claim, but that's just what researchers Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar have announced at the now-happening Hack in the Box security conference, and they seem ready to back it up. Apparently, they've devised a means to gain control of a Windows 7 computer during the boot up process though the use of a tiny 3KB program dubbed VBootkit 2.0 (a follow-up to a similar Vista hack), which loads itself into the system memory and bypasses the hard drive altogether, making it extremely difficult to detect. Once loaded, an ill-intentioned individual could potentially change passwords, access protected files, or do just about anything else and then leave without a trace. The one fairly big drawback to the hack, however, and upside for most users, is that it can't be performed remotely, so it'll likely only be a significant concern for businesses or other folks using computers in public places -- unless, of course, Microsoft finds a way to fix the "unfixable."
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/23/n...-be-unfixable/
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April 25th, 2009, 22:40 Posted By: wraggster
Just when you though you'd had your fill of insanely detailed benchmarks of processors you may or may not have ever heard of, AMD's new Phenom II X4 955 and 945 hit the scene to get those overclockers all in a tizzy. The top of the line is the 955 "Black Edition" at 3.2GHz, while the 945 plays with a petty 3GHz. And the verdict? They're clearly AMD's fastest so far, but that might not be fast enough. AMD offers great value, but only really matches Intel's Core 2 offerings on performance -- Core i7 is still out in front. There is the fact that Phenom II offers a nice upgrade path for certain people who already do the AMD thing and are looking to upgrade, along with "enthusiasts" who are "enthused" by easy-access overclocking, but overall it looks like AMD is still playing catch-up with Intel.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/23/a...o-high-heaven/
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April 25th, 2009, 22:41 Posted By: wraggster
Revealing FUEL's unique GPS system, which calculates routes through the game's diverse 5,000 square mile world on the fly, Codemasters has released the new 'GPS' gameplay video, now available to view and download from the game's all-new online destination at www.fuel-game.com.
With a succession of flowing arrows, that guide gamers from checkpoint to chequered flag, FUEL's elegant solution calculates routes dynamically and constantly updates according to vehicle position, in conjunction with a mini-map which pinpoints each racer's location.
However, in FUEL the suggested route is not always the quickest. As players master their vehicles they can take on riskier – and potentially more rewarding – shortcuts, veering off the suggested line. The GPS system can also be turned off for the ultimate man and machine versus Mother Nature challenge.
Gamers can view the video and find out more about FUEL by navigating their way to the newly launched, www.fuel-game.com. On the site, each of the game's 19 regions can be explored across an interactive map that enables players to zoom in and out of the largest racing environment ever. Information on the multi-class vehicle roster, extensive online options and different events can all be accessed. Visitors can also download the latest screens and videos and register to have the latest FUEL news and updates sent directly to their in-boxes.
Coming this May, FUEL is the ultimate racing sandbox where players can race and explore a stunning world, mapped from satellite data of the United States, in a range of on and off-road, two and four wheeled vehicles. Set in an alternate present where the accelerated effects of global warming have driven people from their homes, the huge, abandoned areas become a playground for a new breed of extreme racers.
A full day/night cycle and dynamic weather effects including snowstorms, thunderstorms, blizzards, rainstorms and tornados brings this world alive. Players take on hundreds of race events in a wide range of customised vehicles, including quads, bikes, roadsters, trucks, dragsters and more, that all share rewarding and exhilarating arcade handling.
With extensive multiplayer options including 16 player multi-class racing, online free-ride and a powerful yet intuitive race editor to share races with friends, FUEL is set to revolutionize open world multi-terrain racing when it launches on Tuesday, May 26th for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games For Windows.
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April 25th, 2009, 22:45 Posted By: wraggster
NCsoft and ArenaNet's MMO series Guild Wars has sold over six million units, the publisher has announced.
The franchise originally launched in 2005, and will celebrate four years of play on April 28.
"We are humbled by how gamers have responded to Guild Wars over the past four years, and we are proud that the game and its community have helped to continually shape, define, and expand the genre," commented ArenaNet studio head Mike O’Brien.
"Our subscription-free business model has proven to be a big hit with gamers, bringing an enormous and diverse online community to the game."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-million-units
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April 25th, 2009, 22:47 Posted By: wraggster
Frogster America, Inc. today announced that it has again expanded Runes of Magic, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles, with a new public encounter feature that introduces dynamic combat where players can fight it out with increasingly powerful waves of computer controlled attackers. Public encounters have now been activated on the live servers, giving players new ways to play the rapidly growing free-to-play online game.
Public encounters are made up of three phases and take place around the Sergarth Outpost, which has long been afflicted by Cyclops and their minions. Their leader is battlewolf Axis and it's he who personally commands the attacks. The supreme goal of all players in this area is to defend the outpost against three waves of attackers and to hunt down the leader of the pack. The Attack on the Sergarth Outpost marks the first time this new feature appears in Runes of Magic, with additional scenarios currently in development.
Players have to defend against opponents who grow more powerful over two phases, until in the third phase the commander steps onto the battlefield. The allied garrison troops all cry out at the sight of Axis. Only by standing together and by uniting will the heroes be able to overcome the fearsome leader and his troops. He enters the battlefield for exactly ten minutes. If he's defeated within this time period, the leader will leave behind him some very valuable rewards as he leaves this public encounter. If the players fail, he will also leave, but without leaving anything. Following a half-hour pause for rest, the first phase resets. With this type of scenario, the interesting part that every player can jump in to the scenario anytime and take part in the encounter.
"We envision introducing the top villain, the Demon Lord, or one of his vassals in a public encounter in a new zone," commented developer Tony Tang while discussing the implementation of the new feature.
About Runes of Magic
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1,600 quests in an exciting and dangerous fantasy world. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class, choose to create a character from 30 character class combinations. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts including war horses.
A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the ability to decorate their own virtual homes with individual furnishings. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss monsters, Runes of Magic has something for everyone. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker, has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards and put more than three years of development into the game. The studio will continue to provide new challenges for players every four to five months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website at: www.runesofmagic.com.
Runes of Magic features:
• Free-to-play: no monthly fees, free download
• Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
• Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
• Enthralling background story
• More than 1,600 quests and quest series
• No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
• Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
• Individually developable skills and spells
• Armor sets with special bonuses
• Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
• Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
• Ranking system with player-ranking lists
• Multitude of unique mounts
• Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
• Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
• Reputation system
• Customizable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
• Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
• In-game auction houses for trading items
• Teleport-Runes for instant travel
• Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
• Regular updates with new content
• Guild castles in special zones
• Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
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April 25th, 2009, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster
It's really happening. The first online twitch-action massively multi-player online first-person shooter (MMOFPS), Huxley: The Dystopia, is highlighting the approach of its highly-anticipated launch with the release of a teaser Web site for the game. NHN USA, a subsidiary of NHN (KOSDAQ:035420), the largest Korean Internet company, has just opened up a portion of ijji.com to showcase Huxley: The Dystopia providing tidbits from the game and eventually serve as a home to the triple-A title. Included on the site is a trailer-style video, a clock counting down to a second phase of the site. When the time in the countdown expires, the background of the site will animate, marking the unveiling of more content and information on the game.
"We are just as excited as our community that Huxley: The Dystopia is nearing its long-awaited launch in North America," said Philip Yun, CEO, NHN USA, Inc. "We've put great effort into providing a game that uniquely merges the best from the FPS and MMO game genres, and we are eager to share the experience on ijji.com for millions of fans to enjoy."
Huxley: The Dystopia is a powerful combination of massively multi-player online (MMO) game character development elements and the twitch-based fast-action gameplay of an Unreal Engine 3-based first person shooter (FPS). Players are thrust into a dynamic world of crisp graphics and realistic environments, where they align themselves with one of two races, Sapiens or Alternatives, in the battle to harness dwindling resources in a war-torn land. Game play is endlessly peppered with attacks from and against the Hybrid, a mysterious third group born of the two races.
The Huxley eager can check out the teaser Web site at http://huxley.ijji.com.
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April 25th, 2009, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster
Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and 2by3 Games (www.2by3games.com) are pleased to announce the release of another update for their critically acclaimed American Civil War strategy game, Gary Grigsby's War Between the States. The update includes almost a dozen bug fixes and nine rule changes/added features.
Gary Grigsby's War Between the States was recently elected Wargame of the Year by Gamer's Hall and Flash of Steel and has received many favorable reviews and accolades from game reviewers around the world.
The v1.040 update includes a number of important changes to gameplay, such as an accumulating time factor that influences leader initiative, lower initial amphibious transport capacity, reduced Confederate ironclad production and adjustments to supply costs for depots and forts, among others. It is strongly recommended that players read through and print out the Rules Addendum (added to the Documentation folder by this update) to see all the important changes with references to the relevant manual sections. The in-game tutorials have been updated to reflect the rule changes, but the video tutorials do not include any of the rules changes that have been included in the patches made since the initial game release in June 2008.
David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said "It's no surprise to us why Gary Grigsby's War Between the States has won so many awards. In fact, some of us feel that this is arguably the best game design in Gary Grigsby's hall of fame career, and it just keeps getting better. This new update adds more reasons, if any more were needed, for any American Civil War fan to pick up this game right away."
Taking gamers back to the start of the American Civil War, Gary Grigsby's War Between the States allows players to experience the trials and tribulations of the role of commander-in-chief for either side. Historically accurate, detailed and finely balanced for realistic gameplay, War Between the States is also easy to play and does not take months to finish.
Promote and cultivate talented young colonels or brigadiers to build Corps and Army commanders that will help you fight and manage the war effort from battles to training of recruits with the utmost efficiency and success. An innovative multi-faceted rank promotion system allows leaders to gain in abilities and power based on their successes, while also simulating the historical progression of leaders during the war. Each decision you make must be weighed carefully, as promoting and demoting leaders, entering neutral states, raising troops and many other actions cost you the political capital that will determine your ability to achieve victory.
This update is comprehensive and will bring any previous version of War Between the States to version 1.040. Get more information on War Between the States from its official product page.
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April 25th, 2009, 23:06 Posted By: wraggster
Battlefront.com and 1C Company are thrilled to announce thatTheatre of War 2 - Africa 1943 is available immediately for download and/or mail delivery, exclusively from www.battlefront.com! This next-generation WW2 RTS title costs $45 and is available worldwide both as digital download and physical copy (DVD with manual)! A free demo is available for download as well!
Theatre of War 2, covers the events of 1943 during the operations in Tunisia. Players have the option to lead the German Afrika Korps of Rommel in their last full-scale attack or be at the head of the opposing English and American armies, led by Montgomery and Eisenhower, during 15 missions in three campaigns.
The game presents more than 40 types of different vehicles, new types of units, improved graphics and sound, a new advanced visual system taking into account the observation angle or smoke screens, combat inside buildings and hand-to-hand fighting, a brand new interface, improved soldier AI (e.g.soldiers independently search for cover) and an improved infantry damage system. Special attention is being devoted to multiplayer and user created missions.
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April 25th, 2009, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster
Turbine, Inc. announced today a special promotion featuring limited-time pricing offers to celebrate the second anniversary of The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢ (LOTRO), the award-winning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. The LOTRO Anniversary celebration will run from April 24, 2009 to June 30, 2009.
"It's been another incredible year for LOTRO and Turbine," said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢. "Being named both 2008 MMO of the Year and Best Expansion of 2008, coupled with the overwhelmingly positive response to the game from fans, has firmly cemented LOTRO as one of the world's premier online entertainment experiences. Our anniversary is a chance for us to celebrate with our past and present players and enjoy everything that is special about Middle-earth and thank them for their wonderful support with some special subscription options."
The Lord of the Rings Online Second Anniversary Celebration includes:
? Anniversary Pricing Plans: From April 24th through June 30th, Turbine is offering special anniversary pricing plans. Players can choose any multi-month plan (90 days or longer) and lock in a monthly price of $9.99 for as long as they maintain the new subscription plan.*
? In-Game Celebration:
o During the anniversary celebration, monsters throughout Middle-earth will drop rare items when defeated. Players can exchange these rare items for a special gift box that will reward them with a variety of in-game items to aid them in their adventures in Middle-earth.
o Turbine is also giving players who have active subscriptions as of June 30th a special in-game gift—the Writ of Passage, which provides 20% discounts at stable masters throughout Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings Online is the ultimate interactive adventure. Join Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, and many other characters to save Middle-earth in the war against the Dark Lord Sauron! This award-winning MMORPG recently expanded with the launch of the critically acclaimed Mines of Moria, where players can adventure into one of the largest and most dangerous online underground environments ever created while extending the challenge to new heights with two new classes, ten additional levels, and hundreds of new quests including a face-off with the Watcher, the Balrog and more! The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢: Mines of Moriaâ„¢ is available for purchase across North America and Europe. For more information or to download a free trial, please visit www.lotro.com.
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April 25th, 2009, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster
Mezmer Games today confirmed the official release date for the upcoming arcade-RTS game Stalin vs Martians, in which you fight as the Soviet Union's Red Army to defeat the Alien invasion of 1942. The battle begins on April 29, 2009. The game is a joint development of BWF, Dreamlore Studios and N-Game Studios.
Stalin vs. Martians, as the name suggests, is a game both masterfully trashy and absolutely over-the-top. Fun and accessible, it takes a simple arcade-like approach to the genre of real-time strategy. The player controls the Red Army, as it defends Earth from the Martian Invasion of 1942, a highly classified military operation which even today remains a closely guarded state secret. Stalin himself conducts the mission briefings and later even becomes a playable unit.
"The game is ready for deployment," said Tom S?derlund, Executive Producer at Mezmer Games. "Fans of historically inaccurate World War II games everywhere will rejoice."
Stalin vs Martians will be available on all leading digital distribution portals including GamersGate, Direct2Drive, Steam and Impulse.
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April 25th, 2009, 23:20 Posted By: wraggster
Austin game developer Challenge Online Games, Inc. (Challenge Games) today unleashes a swarm of aliens into Planetstorm, the online trading card game science fiction saga, with the games first expansion set, Invasion. With the introduction of 13 alien races, the epic battle between man and machine now has company.
The aliens are actually the puppet masters behind this war that has been waged for several generations, but the man versus machine struggle has begun to bore them. The alien faction is becoming divided, their fleet dilapidated. However, Invasions aliens specialize in blending organic and metal technology, and excel at psychological warfare, mind control and healing, giving them an advantage over their human and machine subjects.
What the Kollective and Machines consider the war, the aliens consider the experiment, says Matt Deegler, Game Lead for Planetstorm. The introduction of this new alien faction not only develops the Planetstorm story with an interesting twist, but Invasion will add a depth to gameplay not previously seen before in the game.
Planetstorm Invasion includes:
- New playable alien faction with brand new abilities.
- New equipment and tactics.
- 186 new cards.
- 30 new missions.
- New achievements.
- New tournament competitions.
Planetstorm was released just two months ago, and has already seen more than one million battles take place in its science fiction universe. Combining the best of strategy games with a massively multiplayer online trading card game, Planetstorm plays directly within your Internet browser, or through Planetstorms integration with Facebook Connect. Players receive free card packs upon registration, as well as free packs for in-game achievement. Visit www.Planetstorm.com to register today, get free stuff and join the Invasion!
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April 25th, 2009, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster
Champions Online, the upcoming superhero MMORPG from Atari and Cryptic Studios, will launch on July 14, according to a post on the official site. The game will be available in Europe and North America on that date. This is the latest superhero game from Cryptic, the developer of City of Heroes and City of Villains. Champions Online itself is based on the Champions pen-and-paper RPG.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/976/976359p1.html
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April 26th, 2009, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster
NVIDIA's been dabbling in the CPU space behind closed doors for years now, but with Intel finally making a serious push into the GPU realm, it's about time the firm got serious with bringing the goods. BSN has it that the company's next-generation GT300 will be fundamentally different than the GT200 -- in fact, it's being hailed as the "first truly new architecture since SIMD (Single-Instruction Multiple Data) units first appeared in graphical processors." Beyond this, the technobabble runs deep, but the long and short of it is this: NVIDIA could be right on the cusp of delivering a single chip that can handle tasks that were typically separated for the CPU and GPU, and we needn't tell you just how much your life could change should it become a reality. Now, if only NVIDIA would come clean and lift away some of this fog surrounding it (and the rumored GTX 380), that'd be just swell.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/26/n...e-been-waitin/
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April 27th, 2009, 17:04 Posted By: wraggster
At a recent press event, Bethesda's VP of Marketing and Public Relations Pete Hines told attendees not to hold their breath in regards to a new game in the Elder Scrolls franchise. The team led by Todd Howard that is responsible for the Elder Scrolls games -- including Morrowind and Oblivion – as well as Fallout 3 will remain quiet for now. As Hines plainly stated, "The next big project announcement is not coming anytime soon."
Those hoping to revisit Tamriel in the interim can look forward to two books currently in the works, to be published by Del Ray books. The first, penned by Greg Keyes, is titled "The Infernal City" and picks up the story at the end of the events from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is due out this fall.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/976/976662p1.html
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April 27th, 2009, 17:22 Posted By: wraggster
Blizzard has put a website form live allowing attendees of last year's BlizzCon event to register the beta keys they received.
There's no official confirmation of what game the beta keys are for. However, it's a dead cert to be StarCraft II, since Blizzard mentioned a beta test for its RTS sequel was imminent back in February.
StarCraft II has been split into a trilogy of compatible but standalone releases, in the style of NCsoft's online RPG Guild Wars. The first part of the StarCraft II Trilogy - Terrans: Wings of Liberty - is expected to launch towards the end of this year (though Blizzard hasn't made the date official yet).
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/bl...being-accepted
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April 27th, 2009, 21:20 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Mezmer Games has announced its latest PC offering, Stalin vs. Martians, will be released on Wednesday 29th April.
Billed as a "not-so-epic RTS game", Stalin vs. Martians sees you playing as the Red Army. The game is set in 1942 during an Alien invasio, and it's your job to see the intruders off. Mission briefings are delivered by funny old mass murderer Stalin himself, and he even becomes a playable unit later in the game.
"The game is ready for deployment," said Tom Söderlund, Executive Producer at Mezmer Games. "Fans of historically inaccurate World War II games everywhere will rejoice."
Stalin vs. Martians will be available via all manner of digital distribution portals including GamersGate, Direct2Drive and Impulse. According to Steam it'll carry an RRP of GBP 16.99, but you can pre-order via the Steam Store for GBP 13.59.
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April 27th, 2009, 22:14 Posted By: wraggster
Aspyr and Hidden Path are announcing on Monday that Defense Grid: The Awakening is coming to retail later this year. Defense Grid was released late last year through digital distribution and garnered critical acclaim (including an 8.0 from IGN). Under this new agreement, Aspyr will have worldwide retail publishing and distribution for the game.
Defense Grid features 20 story levels and numerous challenge modes. It's an advanced version of the popular tower defense genre that is found online, with the goal of defending an area from waves of oncoming enemies. The game has plenty of options, with 10 tower types, many of which can be upgraded, and a slew of opponents that escalate in difficulty.
The game is scheduled to come out this summer.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/976/976764p1.html
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April 27th, 2009, 22:16 Posted By: wraggster
The official website and community hub for DC Comics' Batman: Arkham Asylum - the forthcoming action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos, Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in North America has officially launched! You can visit the page here.
Over the coming months BatmanArkhamAsylum.com will be the main resource for all the latest news and information on the game; including the new screenshots, videos and announcements, along with features and insider content such as developer blogs, interviews, podcasts and more.
The site will also serve as the primary hub for the Batman: Arkham Asylum Community, housing the official game forums - where you can speak directly to the team working on the game, enter competitions, and stay up-to-date with all community news and activity.
Based on the core Batman license, Batman: Arkham Asylum takes the DARK KNIGHT on his greatest challenge yet when he becomes trapped with all of his most dangerous villains inside the insane asylum of GOTHAM CITY - ARKHAM ASYLUM! With amazing graphics and a moody, immersive setting, Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum – Gotham City's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies, and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains, who have taken over the asylum.
Be sure to check the game's new website regularly for updates. You won't want to miss out!
For more information, please visit: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
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April 28th, 2009, 00:43 Posted By: wraggster
Trion World Network, Inc. (Trion), the publisher and developer of server-based dynamic online games and connected entertainment, is expanding its portfolio with an innovative project, developed by the award winning, independent game development studio, Petroglyph. The companies are creating a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy (MMORTS) game, set to define a new genre and standard for online games. Petroglyph is utilizing Trion's advanced server architecture, designed to enable massive scalability, dynamic content evolution and cross platform development, to create an epic gaming experience. The game represents the first 3rd-party development on the Trion Platform, and will be published by Trion worldwide.
"Trion is thrilled to partner with such decorated and extremely talented game vets as the Petroglyph team," said Lars Buttler, co-founder and CEO, Trion. "We are very excited about bringing the world's first truly high-end MMORTS to market and we can't wait to share with gamers the innovative and fun game design Petroglyph is creating on the Trion platform."
Trion and Petroglyph's collaboration will breathe new life into the RTS genre. Renowned for developing high quality and innovative RTS games that appeal on a global level, Petroglyph is responsible for many critically acclaimed RTS titles including the Star Wars®: Empire At War™ series, collectively selling several million copies. During their time at Westwood Studios, founding members of the Petroglyph team also helped create Dune 2, widely regarded as one of the most influential real-time strategy games, and played significant leadership roles on seminal RTS franchises like Command and Conquer and Red Alert. Trion's expansive team of game industry veterans, coupled with their cutting edge server architecture, will ensure a true evolution of the RTS genre by adding the MMO paradigm to it.
"Petroglyph is extremely excited to be working with a visionary publisher like Trion World Network," said Michael Legg, president and co-founder of Petroglyph. "Combining Trion's platform and industry expertise with our GLYPH game technology and our development pedigree will allow us to unleash a groundbreaking MMORTS gaming experience to the world."
With two internal development studios in Redwood City and San Diego, CA, and a technology studio in Austin, TX, Trion is creating server-based games that will fundamentally change how dynamic entertainment is made, distributed and consumed. Trion team members have worked on, developed and shipped more than 100 original games.
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April 28th, 2009, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster
Santa Clara, Calif. - Aeria Games is pleased to announce that they will be launching the latest addition to their portal, Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu at the end of April 2009.
Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu is a mixture of community, capitalism, and politics all rolled into this truly unique Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). Unlike a traditional MMO, there are no set classes to choose from when players create their characters. Instead there are numerous skills that a player can specialize in as they progress through the game, giving them a highly customized and unique character.
Unlike many other MMORPGs, in Luminary players have power and influence over each town's economy. Players are encouraged to develop a craft in order to supply the town's demands for various goods, including weapons, armors, foods, medications, ironware, and tools. Furthermore, Luminary offers real-time trading of stocks, real estate and other commodities.
If a player has a more political aspiration they can work towards gaining power, possibly even gaining the position of "GoonZu" the leader of world of Luminary. The "GoonZu" is elected into power by their peers and have the responsibility of regulating the in game world. Whether it be setting taxes, creating laws or electing new officials the GoonZu is responsible for ensuring the world is running smoothly and efficiently.
Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu promises to offer an enjoyable and unique gaming experience to go along with the reputation of high quality service and support of Aeria Games. The much anticipated new game will join the ranks of successful free-to-play MMOs at Aeria, including Shaiya, Last Chaos, Dream of Mirror Online, Hello Kitty Online and Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online.
Players are encouraged to find out more and sign up for closed beta at the Luminary website: http://luminary.aeriagames.com/
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April 28th, 2009, 20:31 Posted By: wraggster
Armed with an array of the most powerful cars ever designed, players compete for the Kraze Championship which includes racing modes such as Off Road, Rally, F1 and Street Race. Kraze challenges the player's concentration, car handling and racing skills on a variety of environments from narrow city lanes, perilous mountain cliffs to the shimmering sands of a mirage-strewn desert.
The salient features of Kraze include:
• 13 different vehicles with varying speed and handling
• 8 different locations around the world
• Off-Road, Rally, F1 & Street Race modes
• Championship, Quick Race & Time Trial
• Individual profiles and vehicle customisation
• Slow motion action replays and recording of races
Kraze on the PC will be available to buy this summer.
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April 28th, 2009, 20:33 Posted By: wraggster
Silas is an innovative kart racing/shooter hybrid for the PC. Prepare to enter the world of Silas, and become one of 12 different characters looking to compete in a high stakes tournament. Gear up to race in 12 diverse environments, and wage war in 8 different arenas. Choose from 18 different weapons to wreak havoc, each with 2 unique firing functions. Weapons are either projectile or turret based and use a new targeting system to make it all possible. Enjoy an original soundtrack with 22 songs and hundreds of sound effects and voiceovers.
Single player modes contain such classics as Grandprix, V.S, Mission, and Time Trial, where you can compare your scores with the world. The online component allows battle and racing for 2-12 players, contains a fully featured lobby system, and allows stats tracking. Experience 7 distinct multiplayer modes, such as Deathmatch, CTF, Battle, Survival, and Capture the Pipes. Silas is being created by a single independent developer (William Sworin) and has been in development for a period of 5 years.
The philosophy behind the creation was always to make a fun, solid, and balanced game, and to revolutionize the kart genre which hasn't changed much within the last decade. It is being built to take advantage of the PC, in terms of both gameplay and graphics, but also supports alternate methods of control. Silas is scheduled for release on the PC for August of 2009. It supports a wide range of systems.
Please visit http://www.kartsilas.com for all updates concerning a final release date, news, media, and future distribution channels.
http://www.kartsilas.com - Silas Website
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April 28th, 2009, 20:37 Posted By: wraggster
If you've got a PC and fancy yourself as the next Lewis Hamilton then you could be just the person to join the Beta test for iOpener's new live play technology; "iOpener Enabled". The revolutionary software will give petrol heads everywhere the opportunity to be among the first to race – in real-time – against professional drivers!
iOpener is looking for 5,000 of the world's best race gamers to put it's technology through rigorous testing beginning at the end of May 2009 prior to public launch later this year. To register for your chance to be selected for virtual pole position visit www.real-timeracing.org
Andy Lürling CEO of iOpener Media said, "We know that gamers and race enthusiasts have been waiting to be able to race against professional drivers in real time. It's actually a very complicated thing to do but we've cracked it. Now we're ready to put the technology in the hands of some of the best race gamers to see what they can do with it."
iOpener Media's patented technology works via an 'Orange Box' placed inside a racing car which then feeds the telemetry and GPS data to gamers via internet with out lag. Gamers will be able to join games and test their driving skills in 1-on-1 and 1-to-many during a live race.
About iOpener Media GmbH
Award winning iOpener Media is a young and dynamic company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. In 2007 iOpener successfully participated in the European Space Agency Business incubation initiative. Backed by seasoned venture capitalist the company is currently active in the video games and motorsports industries with aims to expand into other genres e.g. flight simulators and educational games. www.iopenermedia.com
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April 28th, 2009, 20:46 Posted By: Shrygue
via Games Industry
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has retaken the top of the US PC software sales chart, at an average price of USD 38, according to data provided by the NPD group.
The Sims 2 Double Deluxe came in second place, while Gas Powered Game's DemiGod, held back by rampant piracy, debuted at third place with an average sale price of USD 39.
Meanwhile, Company of Heroes: Tales Of Valor also debuted in fourth place, costing on average USD 29, and Empire: Total War dropped down the chart to fifth.
Valve's Left 4 Dead was boosted by the recent addition of free new game modes and maps and reappeared in the chart at number six, with an average price of USD 29.
World of Warcraft: Battle Chest took seventh place, World of Warcraft took eighth, while The Sims 2 Apartment Life came in ninth and Spore closed off the chart at ten.
The full US PC software sales chart for the week ended April 18 follows:
01. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
02. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
03. DemiGod
04. Company of Heroes: Tales Of Valor
05. Empire: Total War
06. Left 4 Dead
07. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
08. World of Warcraft
09. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
10. Spore
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April 28th, 2009, 21:31 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Atari and Namco Bandai are bringing Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima to Europe on 29th May. The game will work on PCs and laptops and on both DVDs and mini-DVDs.
The idea is to spread Brain Training to commuters without a DS, which is where the series found fame.
The formula remains unchanged, and consists of 36 quick-play mini-games that test three areas of the brain: frontal, parietal and temporal. Challenges are spread across arithmetic, memory and puzzles, and require either point-and-click input or simple keystrokes.
Dr Kawashima - a well-respected Japanese neuroscientist - oversaw development of the game. He is reported to have refused a salary of around EUR 15 million from Nintendo for his work on Brain Training, claiming an amount of that kind needs to be truly deserved. He later settled for a modest EUR 70,000 a year.
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April 28th, 2009, 22:45 Posted By: wraggster
The official RACE On website has been revealed featuring artwork, game info and the first video material from SimBin's upcoming PC racing simulation.
The video showcases in-game action from the FIA WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) series on the beautiful backdrop of the Okayama circuit in Japan. It is the first of several exiting videos that will present the RACE On content, tracks as well as cars, allowing you a glimpse of the high speed action awaiting you as RACE On hits the virtual tarmac.
The website also contains detailed information about game content and should provide fans a welcome reference point for RACE ON.
Hyper detailed cockpits, car models and scenery sets the stage for this installment in the award winning RACE series, and once again SimBin pushes the limits on realistic physics and realistic racing simulation. With several WTCC and STCC top drivers involved in the development, this is as close to the real thing you can get without a racing license.
For in-game video artwork please visit:
www.race-game.org/raceon/index.htm
RACE On is scheduled for release in Q3 2009.
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April 28th, 2009, 22:46 Posted By: wraggster
Challenge Online Games, Inc. (Challenge Games), developer of the massively multi-player online fantasy game Duels, announces today the 2009 World Duels Championship (WDC). Beginning May 12, 2009 at 12:00pm CDT/8pm GMT fans the world over will begin competing in a week-long tournament ladder, with the festivities culminating on May 24, 2009 when one Duelist will be crowned World Duels Champion and receive his or her share of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.
The Championship is open to all Duels players. The event begins as a ladder due to the large number of participants. At the end of the ladder, the 256 players who have the highest ladder rating will be placed in the WDC Semi-Final Tournament. These top 256 duelists will then compete for the two exclusive spots in the WDC finals where, on May 24 one will emerge victorious as the 2009 World Duels Champion. Prizes will be awarded to players placing 1st through 128th so there are opportunities for lots of players to take home some loot. The Championship will also have plenty going on for the casual player and online spectators the WDC Gift Shop has special in-game items only available during the WDC, as well as quests for the adventurous sort.
To participate in the World Duels Championships, Duels players can compete from anywhere in the world, and they have the opportunity to win their share of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, says Christian Primozich, Executive Producer of Duels. The WDC has become one of the most anticipated Duels in-game events and we think new and veteran players will be thrilled with the surprises we have in store this year.
With half a million players worldwide, Duels is an online strategic fantasy RPG where players build powerful characters based on physical attributes, battle experience, special abilities and collectible items, and may upgrade their characters using in-game currency. Unlike many online RPGs which require hours of grinding play to achieve player power and status, Duels is designed to provide compelling in-depth PVP, head-to-head game play in 10 to 30 minute increments, attracting both hardcore and casual gamers for quick-fix gaming.
Complete details regarding the tournament rules are available at www.duels.com. Register to play Duels today and receive free items packs at www.duels.com.
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April 28th, 2009, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster
AMD (NYSE:AMD) today launched the ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics processor, a groundbreaking product that harnesses the state-of-the-art 40 nanometer manufacturing process for the desktop PC market, delivering best-in-class performance and energy efficiency at anticipated launch prices as low as $991. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics card is the newest addition to the award-winning ATI RadeonTM HD 4000 series.
* The new card features third-generation hardware support for the latest DirectX 10.1 games like Battleforge, HAWX, S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky and Stormrise, delivering higher game performance and improved visual quality when compared to DirectX 10.
* The ATI Radeon HD 4770 continues the AMD tradition of bringing industry-leading technology to market that drives a superior user experience. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 makes use of the latest GDDR5 memory technology, providing incredibly high data rates for fast game performance.
* Gamers looking to get the most value out of their graphics hardware investment can scale their performance using ATI CrossFireX technology, allowing a second ATI Radeon HD 4770 card to be added for a near-linear increase in performance.2
* The ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics card allows users to enjoy HD digital content3 with incredible visual fidelity. The new card helps enhance the definition and clarity of lower resolution media, and through the second generation AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0) technology, users can be assured of smooth video playback, crisp images, and vibrant colors on all HD content including Blu-ray discs.4 With support for HDMI, picture-in-picture (PiP) and the latest HD audio technologies like 7.1 surround sound, the new graphics card enables an impressive cinema-quality home entertainment experience.
* Celebrating the company's 40th Anniversary, AMD continues its heritage of focusing on the design and development of new products and platforms that deliver compelling user experiences at an exceptional value. By combining new AMD Athlonâ„¢ X2 7850 processors, AMD 7-Series chipsets and ATI Radeonâ„¢ HD 4770 series graphics cards, AMD enables a PC platform that can bring HD video to life while delivering massive performance headroom and video processing acceleration.3
"Consumer pressure in this economic downturn is shifting demand to lower prices and the price band around $100 has the highest demand and highest volume," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD.5 "AMD has responded with the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4770, targeting this market with cutting-edge technologies like 40 nm processors, support for DirectX 10.1 gaming and GDDR5 memory. This strategy stands in stark contrast to the old 'trickle down' technology approach some still use to address this important segment."
"As a leading source of cutting-edge game development tools, Emergent has a passion for delivering realistic, visually stunning game play as well as improved performance," said Doug Kubel, vice president, Product Development, Emergent. "By supporting DirectX 10.1 in the Gamebryo LightSpeed development system, we are able to deliver improvements in both image quality and frame rates. DirectX 10.1 graphics hardware like the ATI Radeon HD 4770 makes it possible to fully unlock the experience delivered by the combined power of DirectX 10.1 and Gamebryo LightSpeed."
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April 28th, 2009, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster
With the release of AMD's latest budget graphics card, the Radeon HD 4770, the GPU giant is bringing a lot of technology to the table. The card sports the world's first 40nm GPU (beating out CPUs to a new process technology for the first time), GDDR5 memory, and 640 stream processors, all for under $100. What is even more interesting is that as PC gaming has evolved it appears that a $99 graphics card is all you really need to play the latest PC titles — as long as you are comfortable with a resolution of 1920x1200 or below. Since so few PC gamers have screens larger than that, could the world of high-end PC graphics simply go away?
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?.../04/28/1823234
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April 28th, 2009, 22:55 Posted By: wraggster
Eurogamer is running a feature about what they call "frontier" MMOs, games that are on the fringe of a market flooded with attempts to replicate the success of Everquest and World of Warcraft. Many publishers already have more MMO projects than they know what to do with, and often leave the more unusual and unique games out in the cold, preferring to stick with familiar IP or a tried-and-true approach. "Like any gold-rush, the MMO market also attracts a different kind of adventurer: the fearless, inexperienced, determined and solitary dreamer, making a go of it on nothing but their own resources and pluck. The online distribution and direct revenue streams — be they subscriptions or micro-transactions — make it theoretically possible to make a mint in MMOs without any help from the gaming establishment at all." They take a brief look at several such games currently in development, including Earthrise, Gatheryn, and Global Agenda.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../04/28/0948213
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April 29th, 2009, 00:32 Posted By: wraggster
The ScummVM Team have released a new version of scummvm, heres the details:
It was not that long since our previous release, and now here is a new bugfix release hot off the press!
The list of fixed bugs is quite long, and you could read all of it in the release notes, but here is a summary for those of you who are too lazy to follow the links and eager to play the games better.
SAGA: Inherit the Earth is completable again; AGOS, Groovie, Sword2: fixed many sound-related issues; Parallaction: fixed a bug in one of the puzzles; squashed a number of bugs in the GUI. Also iPhone, Symbian, WinCE ports are much improved and NDS and PS2 ports are back again since 0.11.0.
ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed!
Some of the adventures ScummVM supports include Adventure Soft's Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2; Revolution's Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1 and Broken Sword 2; Flight of the Amazon Queen; Wyrmkeep's Inherit the Earth; Coktel Vision's Gobliiins; Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia and games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) system such as Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max and more. You can find a thorough list with details on which games are supported and how well on the compatibility page. ScummVM is continually improving, so check back often.
Release Name: 0.13.1
Notes:
0.13.1 (2009-04-27)
AGOS:
- Fixed crash after OmniTV video is played in The Feeble Files
- Fixed crashes when exploring Jack the Ripper scene in the PC version of
the Waxworks
- Fixed palette glitches in the AtariST version of Elvira 2
- Fixed noise that can occur when sound effects are played, when exploring
Pyramid scene in the Waxworks
Gob:
- Fixed a crash in the Italian version of Woodruff
Groovie:
- Fixed some issues with music in The 7th Guest
Parallaction:
- Fixed the sarcophagus puzzle in Nippon Safes
SAGA:
- Fixed a crash in Inherit the Earth
- Fixed glitches in the save/load dialog.
Sword2:
- Fixed random sound corruption when using the original sound files.
Game launcher:
- Fixed a case where memory could be corrupted
- Fixed the small cursor in the modern theme
- Fixed a bug in the theme engine, which could cause crashes
- Made the file browser bigger in 1x mode
iPhone port:
- Fixed backspace handling on the iPhone soft keyboard
DS port:
- Added support for the Global Main Menu feature
PS2 port:
- Switched to the new GUI and theme code
- All possible devices are supported to store, play and save games
(CD, HD, USB, MC and remote)
- Optimized cache/read-ahead for every media
- Added support for the Return to Launcher feature
Symbian port:
- Added Bluetooth mouse support
- Added support for the Return to Launcher feature
WinCE port:
- Fixed an issue which could cause random crashes with VGA devices
Download Here and Give Feedback Via Comments
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April 29th, 2009, 20:46 Posted By: wraggster
icrosoft tickled our meta-OS fancies last week by talking up the virtualized version of Windows XP included with Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate Edition. However, the company has now revealed that ponying up for one of the top tiers of the OS will not be the only requirement. 2GB of RAM will be needed, which isn't such a big deal, but more troubling is the requirement of a CPU that sports chip-level virtualization support. Both AMD and Intel have been quick to add features to support enterprises turning to virtualized hosting environments, but rather annoyingly neither of those companies make it particularly easy to tell which of their chips provide such support. On the AMD side it looks like the tech was introduced with the Athlon 64 and has continued in most newer chips, while Intel's waters are a little muddier, with all Core i7 processors being suitably endowed, but only some of its Pentium, Core 2, and Atom chips made the grade. How to know if you're included? We'd expect an upgrade advisor from Microsoft to hit the internets any time now.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/29/w...-requirements/
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April 30th, 2009, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster
rominent games publisher looks to online future as 'disks are not working'
Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, has said the firm needs to find new business models for its PC games, claiming physical disks are no longer viable.
In an interview with Edge, the games industry veteran said: "We've got to find the right business model for us going forward. We really want to keep sports an important part of the portfolio that's available to PC gamers, but the business model right now, shipping a physical disc for the PC, simply isn't working for us."
Moore went on to allude that a download based distribution service for PC games was in the pipeline, much like Steam.
He also said that licensing issues are a problem in the creation of sports games, since partners – presumably meaning organisations like the FA – are reluctant to approve anything that involves things like players disputes or arrests, reducing the realism of titles.
http://www.pcretailmag.com/news/3153...andon-PC-disks
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April 30th, 2009, 20:30 Posted By: wraggster
Valve offers users the chance to download and try popular multiplayer zombie FPS for one day only
Playable demos have become an established marketing vehicle in recent years, but Valve is taking it one step further tomorrow by allowing anyone to download and play its hugely popular Left 4 Dead for free.
Kotaku reports that from midnight tonight anyone with a PC and a Steam account will be able log in and download the game in its entirety until last thing Friday night. The download normally costs £26.99.
Once the trial is over, however, free versions of the software will be locked and gamers will have to buy the full version to carry on.
Anyone interested in downloading the game will be able to pre-load right now, reducing the chunk of the free 24 hours spent downloading the title.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34142/Left...ee-this-Friday
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April 30th, 2009, 20:31 Posted By: wraggster
Publisher EA has outlined its online vision for the third iteration of The Sims ahead of its global release on PC, Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch on June 2nd.
Right from the off users are going to be able to download a second town for use in the game and will also be able to access The Sims 3 Store – a virtual storefront for buying in-game items.
$10 worth of virtual credit is included with the game itself. After that additional bundles of SimPoints will be available to buy via PayPal or credit card.
In addition, all game uploading, downloading and updating will be handled by the new Game Launcher software.
“With such a vibrant and active community as The Sims has, we wanted to build even further on the already immense offline experience, by offering players additional functionality, content and tools available online through the game,†The Sims 3’s executive producer Ben Bell stated.
“One example of the many online tools we’ve added to the game is the Create a Movie tool. Within the game, players can easily set up the camera angle they want, capture in-game footage, play director and producer and then post their movies online to show off to the world.â€
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/285...for-The-Sims-3
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April 30th, 2009, 21:47 Posted By: Shrygue
via Engadget
As you may or may not know, Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 has been officially handed out to MSDN and TechNet subscribers today, and there are plans to unleash the heavily-hyped OS to the waiting public at large come May 5th. We had a chance to sit down with reps from Microsoft to discuss the new iteration of Windows (and the company's current frame of mind) more in-depth, and we've taken the new build for a bit of a spin around the block. Read on for an exploration into a few of the more delicious Windows 7 tidbits, as well as a full complement of our (potentially) enlightening observations.
Full article at Engadget
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