February 2004 Archives

February Focus! - Sunday 2/29/2004 by CaliGirl
The Focus of the Month for February has been released. -beta caught up with five RA3 girls from the BWG clan, while CLIMaX talked to GParagonX from BloodClaw Inc., a Planeshift Guild.

Game Wallpapers - Sunday 2/29/2004 by CaliGirl
For those of you who would like to dress up your desktop, Gamewallpapers.com has quite a few hot game titles posted. Unreal Tournament 2004, SOCOM 2, SpellForce and Chaos Legion are among them. Come on! It's leap year day, you gotta change something about your geekstyle.

Female Gamer Tidbits - Thursday 2/26/2004 by CaliGirl
LadyHunt has some resources and clan additions. Thanks to -beta for helping with the coed clans!

• Clans Section updated with Bitches with Game, War for Territory, Clan Bac, Clan 6th Floor , Clan JURY, Creeping Death, Fems of Duty Squad, Flatline Crew, Catz.net, Gamers by Addition, Girls Intuition, Time2kill, Keepers of the Gate, K!NG, X-Ladies and Lords of Quake.
• Resource Section updated Girls Gone Bad, Temerarious.net and CSGirls.org.

In addition, the following are the latest happenings in the female gamer community:

• FCLeague.net is a new league dedicated to Counter-strike.
• GirlzClan recently welcomed a new member, Tinkerbell.
• CSGirl.org is a new gaming site dedicated to the game. Its been added to the Ladyhunt Resources Section for future references.
• Chicksrule Clan has recently been updated with a new design. The all female South African clan also mentioned that their LAN this weekend is booked.

 

IGDA Nominees - Thursday 2/26/2004 by CaliGirl
The International Game Developers Association announced the nominees for Game Developers Choice Awards. The awards include eight categories including Game of the Year, Rookie Studio of the Year and Excellence in Visual Arts at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that will take place in the San Jose, California on Wednesday - March 24, 2004. Game of the year nominees happen to be some of our favorites: Beyond Good and Evil, Call of Duty, Prince of Persia and more. Jade from Beyond Good and Evil has also been nominated as an Original Game Character of the Year! [View Nominees]
 

UT2004 Guidance - Thursday 2/26/2004 by CaliGirl
PlanetUnreal finally got off their butts to help you UT2k4 Demo players. They have released two nifty guides, one for weapons, the other for vehicles. Each guide has a little blurb with tips for each vehicle and weapon. Very helpful guides indeed! In addition, BeyondUnreal has posted news about OzForces releasing an Episode 1: Onslaught (16.91 MB .avi) training video.

Savage Demo - Wednesday 2/25/2004 by CaliGirl
Savage: Battle for Newerth Demo (234 MB) version 2.0 has been released. Combining real time strategy and first person action, Savage delivers the next level in multiplayer gaming. Instead of sending mindless computer drones into battle, imagine organizing real human players on a crusade to conquer your adversary. Choose to be a commander, and you will play an in-depth RTS game, researching technologies, mining resources, and issuing orders to your units. Choose to be a warrior, and you will play an intense game of first person combat, wielding your weapon of choice to strike down the enemy.
 

In the News - Wednesday 2/25/2004 by CLIMaX
 

• Girl Gamers Strike at the Boys Alfred Hermida at BBC News online interviewed members of the Danish Counter-Strike clan DoMe, an articulate group of women who recently competed in the Cyber-X Games in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Students Learning From Video Games Jennifer Radcliff of DailyNews.com in Los Angeles, CA wrote an article about a pilot program running in Califonia schools that has 8,500 elementary students playing specially designed video games to learn math. (I lerned how to spele playin Quake.)
• GameBike: Frag the Inches Away Gamebike is a PlayStation controller that mounts onto your bike's handlebars making them the controller. Load SOCOM Navy Seals or a NASCAR sim and your off to the races. Developed by two orthopedic surgeons, the GameBike may just be what the doctor ordered for chubby gamers. Story by Joel Strauch at PCWorld.com.
• Movie Stars Want More Control Celebrities aren't just adding their voices to video games anymore. Now video games let you actually play as the charcters they played on the big screen. Tom Loftus at MSNBC wrote a thorough survey on recent trends in Hollywood's new love affair with games.
• We Don't Need No Stinkin' Joysticks A new wave of alternative game controller devices is breaking. Dance Dance Revolution's foot platform seems almost conventional compared to recent games that listen to your voice, watch your movement and even monitor your pulse. Story by Matt Slagle at Yahoo Finance.

 

Ground Control II Beta Testers - Tuesday 2/24/2004 by CLIMaX
Real-time strategy players have until Thursday February 26 to send an email indicating their wish to become a beta tester for Ground Control II: Operation Exodus, a new sci-fi strategy title being developed by Massive Entertainment. Release of the game is expected in Summer of 2004. Only 50 beta testers will be selected.Testers must have a decent PC (PIII 700+ and a 32MB 3D video card) and preferably a broadband connection. To apply send your full name and email address used for the account to pcgamer@futurenet.co.uk. Include the subject "Ground Control 2 Beta" in your email. Ground Control II: Operation Exodus takes place approximately 300 years after the events of the original game: The Northern Star Alliance (NSA) is at war with the Terran Empire and it's looking pretty grim for the NSA. The Empire is invading the last NSA-controlled planet Morningstar Prime and Captain Jacob Angelus of the NSA becomes the central figure in the battle. His only hope of winning lies in an ancient legend.

Women Love Power Glove - Monday 2/23/2004 by CaliGirl
For years, men have used numerous things to attract women... huge muscles, digital watches, fast cars, and pretty much anything coated in chocolate. Smooth Operator has an editorial about this nifty Power Glove by Nintendo.

Painkiller Demo Tips - Monday 2/23/2004 by CaliGirl
Dircen has a few demo tips for Painkiller (thx Blue), one of the most hyped spooky FPS games out there at the moment. The tips include level 1 and 2 secrets, cart tipping, and barrel jumping. There are also some movie demonstrations with barrel jumping, body surfing and level 2 secret jump.

Athena Sword Goes Gold - Friday 2/20/2004 by CaliGirl
Ubisoft has announced Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword has gone gold. Athena Sword is scheduled to ship on March 9, 2004. Command the world's most elite, multinational force of counter-terrorist operatives in their latest mission. Track the desperate remnants of the international terror network from Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield into the exotic regions of the Mediterranean and prevent their mad agenda of international anarchy and devastation.

Features include:

All new eight mission campaign in locations from Italy and Croatia to Greece. Five new multiplayer levels: Chemical Factory, Ferry Boat, University, Italian Alleys and Jungle. Three new multiplayer game modes: Adversarial Terror Hunt, Adversarial Scattered Hunt and Capture the Enemy. Seven additional real-world weapons, for a total of 64, with sound effects from the team that worked on the blockbuster movie, The Matrix. Three bonus classic missions from the original Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear, updated with the latest graphics and technology.

 

In the News - Thursday 2/19/2004 by CLIMaX
 

• Violent Games Breed Violence: Study According to a new series of studies, violent video games lead kids to perform poorly in school, argue with teachers, condone aggression and get into physical fights with their friends. Melt down your copy of GTA: Vice City and read the latest harrowing news at GlobeAndMail.com.
• Game Studies Spawn New Class of Academics Game studies or "ludology'' as it is known from the Latin for "game'', has researchers making computer games the subject of serious academic pursuit alongside literature, music and art. Ph.D. programs, research centers and online journals can be found in major universities all over the world. Story at KansasCity.com. Registration required.
• Innovative Arcade Games The future of game arcades is uncertain. But some new ideas premiered recently at an industry convention in South Korea and they looked promising. Arcade game makers have a tough battle ahead, especially in South Korea, the "PC gaming capitol of the world". Offering a unique gaming experience not possible at home is the goal. Story at KoreaHerald.co.kr.
• ESRB Rating System Inaccurate: Study Researcher Kimberly Thompson says "The absence of a content descriptor did not mean the absence of content that might concern parents," on video games marked "T" for teens under the ESRB rating system. Research indicates that almost 50% of video games rated "T" contain profanity or sexual themes not noted on the game box. Reuters story at Yahoo Finance.
• WildTangent Releases WebDriver 4.0 WildTangent, an online game publisher that claims to have more than 53 million users of its ubiquitous WebDriver, has announced the availability of WebDriver 4.0, the next-generation streaming online game platform based on console gaming technology. Press release at Yahoo Fiance. Play online games by downloading Webdriver 4.0 available at WildTangent.com.

 

Painkiller Demo - Tuesday 2/17/2004 by CLIMaX
A single-player, PC demo of Painkiller is available. It seems like everyone and his sister has been waiting for this FPS from People Can Fly's since it first started getting press coverage. The demo is 228 MB, and mirrors around the globes were screaming Monday when the demo first became available. The Painkiller Story goes like this: You play as Daniel Garner, a nice guy just killed in a horrific car accident. Now, you're trapped in a spirit world between heavan and hell. You struggle to figure out why you've been denied entry to heavan as you attempt to stop an imminent unholy war. Hordes of demon soldier await you in the shadows of this eery, godless place. Here's what JayP, a diehard Quake 3 player, had to say about his first taste of Painkiller: "Its atmoshpere makes me think of Doom/Quake1, but with suped up gfx so its automatically well beyond sexy." Enough said. Download this gore-filled tactical shooter, and don't forget your Bible - you can prop your monitor up on it for a better view. Painkiller Demo Download: Blueyonder Games |3DGamers | FileRush

UFO: Alien Invasion Demo - Sunday 2/15/2004 by CLIMaX
UFO: Alien Invasion will be a free turn-based strategy game built using id Software's Quake II engine. A demo version is available now: with music (29 MB), and without music (16 MB). Music can be downloaded as individual tracks in MP3 and OGG format, too. The UFOAI Team describes their community project like this: "UFO: ALIEN INVASION is a strategy game featuring tactical combat against hostile alien forces which are about to infiltrate earth at this very moment. You are in command of a small special unit which has been founded to face the alien strike force. To be successful on the long run, you will also have to have a research team study the aliens and their technologies in order to learn as much as possible about their technology, their goals and the aliens themselves." Download UFO: Alien Invasion demo

Gaming News - Saturday 2/14/2004 by CLIMaX
 

• Quakewomen.com Launched Quakewomen.com is a community dedicated to the Quake Series and aimed at women gamers. Men are more than welcome to join and contribute to the site. Under the administration of BiTTeR_IvY, a well-known N. American fragger with experience in making gaming projects take off, and a staff member of LadyGamers.com, Quakewomen.com is ambitious and a welcome new landmark on the Quake horizon.
   
• Simslice: The Sims Video Game It's a game within a game, a mod for Electronis Arts' The Sims. Maker Simslice calls it Slice City, and it allows your Sims to create mini-cities full of mini-people Hey, where'd they get that idea?
   
• 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards Finalists have been announounced. Games include Command & Conquer: Generals, Call of Duty, and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. The list of 36 finalists can be viewed at nteractive.org. The Awards will be given in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4th, 2004. These peer-based awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding products, talented individuals and development teams that contributed to the advancement of the $30 billion per year worldwide entertainment software industry.
   
• Everest Mountain Climbing Game Screens Activision Value will publish this game, here's the skinny: Climb 7 of the worlds toughest mountains, lead a team of up to 9 climbers, each with special skills and abilities. Equip your climbers with rope, food, oxygen, and high tech climbing tools. Avoid blinding fog, freezing rain, fierce snow storms and life-threatening falling hazards as you climb your way to the summits. And, game music will come from x-sucia frontman David Schmidt. The release date is unknow at this time. Check out six screen shots now at Zono.com.
• Jesper Kyd Scores Hitman 3 The Composer/Producer is following up his work on the award-winning soundtracks for IO Interactive's Hitman series and Freedom Fighters with a new original score for Hitman 3 totalling 90 minutes of music. Details at Music4Games.net. Also check out HitmanContracts.com's dark and edgy website for game details.

 

Gaming News - Wednesday 2/11/2004 by CLIMaX
 

• Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo It's out today, all 209 MBs of it. Epic's follow up to the super popular UT2003 is available for Windows. Mac and Linux versions of the beta demo should be available later today. Here's a list of official and fan site mirrors.
   
• Girls Gone Bad is a new all-female gaming community run by ang3lbaby. With support from GirlzClan, ATFederation and a long list of notorius gal gamers, [GgB] is off to a great start. So far, CS, DOD, and RTCW are the main games being supported, with lots of potential for more. Cool site so hit it now.
   
• Painkiller Interview - Adrian Chmielarz 4players.de interviewed Painkiller Project Manager Adrian Chmielarz. The highly anticipated game being developed by People Can Fly is due for released in March 2004. No worries, the German website published the interview in English so klick hier. Additional info about Painkiller plus media downloads available at PC Gameworld.
   
• Game Makers and the Fed The eRulemaking project seeks to dramatically increase public comment and participation in the process of crafting and drafting legislation, including rules and laws specific to video games and censorship. 180 U.S. Federal agancies will erect a web portal that video game makers may play a key role in helping to develop. Story by Daniel Terdiman at Wired.com.
   
• GamersGlue wants to become the virtual social gathering place for gamers of all genres. The free service describes itself as "dedicated to providing a social network that gives our members the ability to find other gamers, make friends and organize teams and events." Download the beta at GamersGlue.com.

Site Maintenance - Tuesday 2/10/2004 by CaliGirl
Please remain calm until we can figure out what happened to our news engine. Thanks so much for your patience.