Gaming News
- Wednesday 3/31/2004 by
CLIMaX
- Syberia II
Ships Micröids has shipped the sequel to the popular adventure
game Syberia. This time around Kate Walker, the saavy New York
attorney main character, is back in Europe again, but the graphics
are better and the story is more engaging. It's a point-and-click
game but Kate rocks and you won't mind. Syberia II has ESRB rating
of "T" and you can still download the demo, in five languages, from
the developer's
site. Check out GameBoomers Q & A with lead dev Benoit Sokal
here. And, don't miss WorthPlaying's excellent preview
here.
-
WoW Impressions by GameSpy Staff Editors at GameSpy don't edit
anything - they play games all day while junior writers do the real
work. Recently, they fired up the World of Warcraft beta now being
tested by hundreds of selected players worldwide. Check out their
pious impressions and some new screenshots.
-
Kuma\War' Puts Players in the Frontlines Kuma\War, by Kuma
Reality Games, is a simulation but the line between game and reality
is pretty thin. Real-world news of a military events will be
delivered to players to create a re-enactment of the conflict.
"Prior to embarking on each mission, players are given intelligence
gathered from around the world, in the form of a video news show,
technical specifications for the weapons used, a chronology of the
battle, and even a satellite photo of the battlefield. Expert
military analysis is also provided to the player, to give a
strategic and tactical perspective of the historical event. Sources
for the intelligence include the Associated Press, declassified
Department of Defense documents and a decorated team of military
advisors." Can you find the Weapons of Mass Destruction? If you
can afford the monthly subscription, why not. Read Kuma's full press
release via BusinessWire
here. Check out the Kuma\War website
here.
-
Equal Access to Games for Deaf Persons Petetion Sign this
petition now, it makes so much sense. 50 Million or more deaf
persons don't have equal access to video games.
Subtitling/captioning is declining in video games and it seems like
the only reason why is insensitivity on the part of game developers
to the needs of this large group of of people, all potential gamers,
all potential sources of income . The Captions and Subtitles in
videogames and PC games petition is a modest start for getting the
message to game devs.
Get
involved.
- DeafGamers.com is a
solid games review website that looks at games from the perspective
of hearing-impaired and deaf gamers. DeafGamers has reviewed a
load of games from every major platform and is quite a resource
for that alone. Bookmark it.
FarCry Patch v1.1
- Monday 3/29/2004 by
CaliGirl
Patch version 1.1 has been released for FarCry. This patch was
released to fix a small number of bugs and to add functionality to the
game. In FarCry, you play as
Jack Carver, running your own boat charter business in beautiful
Micronesia. With a past best left behind you, you'll be focusing on
your present assignment: escorting an ambitious journalist named
Valerie Cortez to the island of Cabatu. It seems like a piece of cake,
but you'll soon learn: paradise can be hell.
Painkiller Goes Gold
- Monday 3/29/2004 by
CaliGirl
DreamCatcher announced that Painkiller has gone gold,
and should be on shelves April 12th. In the game you take on the role
of Daniel Garner, a victim of a fatal car accident who finds himself
trapped in a dark and unwelcoming world somewhere between Heaven and
Hell. The key to salvation is to fight through more than 50 species of
Hell’s wildest incarnations in an attempt to stop an imminent Unholy
War. Further informationa about the game can be found at the
official Painkiller site.
In the News
- Friday 3/26/2004 by
CLIMaX
-
"Catfight Girl" Sues Over X-Rated Video Games Kitana Baker, the
raven-haired model in the "Catfight Girls" TV ads for Miller Lite
beer has sued a Los Angeles company she says ruined her reputation
by depicting her as a wrestler in "offensive" video games. Story by
Reuters at Yahoo News.
-
EA Funds Master's Degree in Video Games The University of
Southern California will offer a three-year master's degree in video
game design with $8 Million dollars (USD) donated by Electronic
Arts. The program, with strong ties to the Hollywood entertainment
community, is hot. Scott Fisher, Chairman of USC's Interactive Media
division, said the games program will emphasize storytelling and
writing rather than graphics and software innovations. Story at
siliconvalley.com
-
IM's and Classic Text Gaming "Playing a command-line text
adventure and reading a chat window are really similar," says Matt
Haughey, editor of the popular blog
MetaFilter. "Plus the way
stuff like Zork works, works well in AIM: You send a command, you
get a response. AIM works that way
naturally, so it's a good fit." Gamers waiting in line, waiting for
a train, or just killing time anywhere are using AOL's Instant
Messenger and their Smartphones to play old classic text-based games
like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Story at Wired.com.
-
Aerosmith's Joe Perry Plays in Video Game Aerosmith guitarist
Joe Perry plays in a new video game featuring himself as a genie.
Genie Joe and the Axeman is a free online game that's getting major
traffic and it deserves the attention. Perry voices the genie
character and wrote orginal music for the game. But he also provides
over 40 guitar rifs that serve as sound effects which are all pretty
classy. Rock on, Joe. Story at Yahoo News. Game site at
StarMountainStudios.
-
New Dukes of Hazzard for PS2 and Xbox Ubisoft will produce The
Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee. So far it looks like
just another version of the game in the Dukes franchise which have
all been mildly humorous racing games based on the TV show from the
early 80's. Ubisoft press release and more Duke details at IGN.
UT Cheaters & Help
- Tuesday 3/23/2004 by
CaliGirl
There's been some information in from an Epic
programmer in the
Atari Discussion stating informatoin on cheaters and thieves of CD
keys:
In addition to an improved version of the cheat-stopping
measures found in UT2003, UT2004 utilizes a targeted tracking and
response system at the master server level that allows us to focus
on those people really causing problems. Yesterday we identified and
permanently banned a UT2004 player, "Zellius", for cheating.
We have had reports of people trying to gain access to other paying
customers' CD keys. Please use common sense. Don't send anyone
screenshots or dumps of the registry entries showing your key. Don't
download "hacks" because they may contain a CD key stealer, or
worse.
No one from Epic, Digital Extremes, or Atari will ever approach you
and ask for your CD key. You will only be asked for your unique ID
in the Game tab of your settings menu.
CD key theft is a crime against a UT2004 customer. We will hand over
any evidence of key theft to Atari's legal department for immediate
action.
In case some of you didn't know UT2k4 is 39.99 retail and inside
the box comes a $10.00 rebate. This game is well worth the bux in my
opinion! In addition, if you need assistance for Unreal Tournament
2004 the
Atari
Support page is available.
Call of Duty Patch v1.3
- Tuesday 3/23/2004 by
CaliGirl
Activision has released
patch version 1.3 for Call of Duty. Changes include; two new
multiplayer maps called Bocage and Neuville, EAX3 support, gametype
fixes, a handful of weapon and player tweaks, and nearly two dozen
multiplayer corrections. The Win32 client patch is accompanied by
incremental and full Linux server updates.
Gas Powered Games' RTS!
- Tuesday 3/23/2004 by
CaliGirl
Gas Powered Games has partnered with Electronic Arts to
create a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game for the PC. There are no
details about this game as of yet but we do know that it was a slated
release date of 2006. The game will once again push the creative
limits of Chris Taylor and team. [Press
Release]
March Focus Released
- Friday 3/19/2004 by
CaliGirl
The focus of the month for March has been released.
This month we talk to Madnad from Excessive Overkill UT 2k3 mod,
PeriodMan from Team Ground Zero and Brenda EM. [March
Focus]
Can we talk? Lifeline says
"Yes" - Tuesday 3/16/2004 by
CLIMaX
Lifeline,
Konami new action game for PS2, is really something to talk about. In
fact, it's something to talk to. Instead of a joystick and keyboard
you use voice-recognition middleware to talk the main character Rio
through the action; she uses her vocabulary of 5,000 words to decide
what to actually do. The game takes place on a space station crawling
with aliens creatures that, of course, want to devour Rio. They also
want you. You play as another survivor of the alien invasion trapped
inside the ship's security room. You must guide Rio around the ship
watching her via a monitor. For gamers who have difficulty handling
joysticks and keyboards Lifeline sounds like a winner. For anyone who
is looking for the "next level" of game immersion, same deal. Check
out
Wired News for an excellent description of Komani's Lifeline.
Visit Komani's Lifeline site
here.
UT2k4 In Stores
- Monday 3/15/2004 by
CaliGirl
Unreal Tournament 2004 is expected to be in stores
worldwide today - March 15th. Get out there and get the game. If you
dont have money to buy it, lets take a moment now and cry together.
Further details about the game can be found at
UnrealTournament.com.
In addition, if you are creating a dedicated server, there's also
information and download on the official site.
March's Forecast
- Thursday 3/11/2004 by
CaliGirl
The
Forecast for
March is finally complete! There's a lot of games that could be
released this month depending of course if the publisher doesn't push
things back. As for games, many are anticipating Unreal Tournament, so
that is among almost 50 games listed. Movies that stood out to me
were; Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger), Dogville (Nicole Kidman), The
LadyKillers (Tom Hanks) and Taking Lives (Angelina Jolie).
Crimson Sea 2 Goes Gold
- Thursday 3/11/2004 by
CaliGirl
KOEI announced that Crimson Sea 2 has gone gold. The
action adventure game will ship on March 30, 2004. Taking place two
years after the events of the original game, Crimson Sea 2 sees the
galaxy of Theophilus in a state of near-collapse. Still reeling from a
massive surprise attack by the alien Menace, IAG Commander Live-D
organizes a rag-tag team of mercenaries and survivors. Sho will
discover that he is not alone, and will have the help of another-
Feanay, a lovely female Vipa with her own unique Neo-Psionic attacks.
During the game, players can switch between Sho and Feanay, choosing
the best character for each mission. [Press
Release] [Box
Cover]
Demo Fever
- Thursday 3/11/2004 by
CaliGirl
For some reason, a lot of demos were released today!
Check 'em out.
Athena Sword Ships
- Wednesday 3/10/2004 by
CaliGirl
Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3:
Athena Sword has shipped for PC. In Athena Sword you 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.
Game features include:
- Five new multiplayer levels
- Seven additional real-world weapons
- All new eight mission campaign in locations like Italy, Croatia,
Greece
- Three new multiplayer game modes: Adversarial Terror Hunt,
Adversarial Scattered Hunt and Capture the Enemy
- Three bonus classic missions from the original Rainbow Six and
Rogue Spear, updated with the latest graphics and technology
Rocket Arena 1.75 Released
- Wednesday 3/10/2004 by
CLIMaX
Rocket
Arena 3 1.75 is now available for
download. This
version includes a number of new features including updated versions
of 4maps. Here's the full list:
- Topshots accuracy ranking
- New cvars & console commands
- Support for custom team names
- New scoreboard
- Updated maps 17-20 |
- HTTP server for dedicated servers
- Database player stats tracking
- Team auto-balancing
- Auto-record demos and ss
- Bug fixes |
Note: Client and server files are now combined. There is no
separate server installation.
Pariah Revealed
- Tuesday 3/9/2004 by
CaliGirl
Groove Games and Digital Extremes has announced their
partnership on a new first-person action game based on an original
intellectual property created and owned by Digital Extremes. Best
known for creating the multi-million unit selling Unreal franchise,
Digital Extremes has set the standard for fine-tuned gameplay and
technologically impressive graphics in the first-person action genre.
With such award-winning hits as Unreal Tournament and Unreal
Championship, Digital Extremes is looking beyond the Unreal universe
and is working to raise the bar again. The new game, ominously named
Pariah™, has been quietly in production for the past two years and is
currently planned for the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and
the personal computer.
Pariahgame.com website isn't online yet. You can find some details
& screenshots at
Groove
Games!
Far Cry Goes Gold
- Tuesday 3/9/2004 by
CaliGirl
Ubisoft announced that its tactical tropical shooter,
Far Cry has gone gold. Far Cry is scheduled to release on March 23. In
anticipation for the Far Cry launch, Ubisoft has commissioned two more
action-packed single-player demos to release in March. The Far Cry
Research demo is currently available online and appears as the
featured demo on PC Gamer's April issue demo disc, which hits
newsstands on March 16. The third and final demo, entitled "Boat," is
a Windows XP demo that will release worldwide on March 15. Far Cry
boasts the critically-acclaimed, proprietary CryENGINE, and its huge
game environments, deadly A.I., and the longest view-distance ever
witnessed in a first-person shooter are destined to become benchmarks
in the genre. [Press Release]
Enlight & McGee Partnership
- Saturday 3/6/2004 by
CaliGirl
Enlight Software announced a partnership with American
McGee, the founder of the independent game design and consulting firm
TMIEC. McGee has signed on to be Enlight's creative director. Over the
last year, Enlight has signed a number of unique and talented
developers including Infinite Interactive, Egosoft and Haemimont
Games. Critics praised Egosoft's X2: The Threat as a game that
redefined the space-trading genre. Haemimont Games' historical RTS
epic Nemesis of the Roman Empire and Infinite Interactive's Warlords
Battlecry 3 are due out soon. [Press
Release]
QuakeWomen Focus!
- Thursday 3/4/2004 by
CaliGirl
Quakewomen
has released their very first
QuakeWomen Focus on Kitten, the founder of Kitten's Litter. KL is
a long running and active OSP CTF Clan. BiTTeR_IvY get's up close and
personal with Kitten as they talk about the creation of KL,
competition, being hardcore, and female community!
Unreal Tournament 2004 Gold!
- Thursday 3/4/2004 by
CaliGirl
Atari
and Epic Games announced that development is complete on Unreal
Tournament 2004. The game is expected to be available at retail stores
worldwide on March 15. In the game, players suit up as the
ultimate techno-gladiator of the future, taking their fates into their
own hands as they battle up to 32 other players in action-packed, frag-filled
arenas. Unreal Tournament 2004 contains new maps for all established
game modes, including Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch,
Bombing Run and Double Domination, aswell as all new arenas for the
new styles of play. In addition, Unreal Tournament 2004 contains all
of the maps, mutators and game types -- such as Mutant, Last Man
Standing and Invasion -- from Unreal Tournament 2003 and the free
downloadable bonus packs for that game. [Press
Release]
OMF Demo Soon
- Wednesday 3/3/2004 by
CaliGirl
Diversion announced the upcoming demo for
One Must Fall: Battlegrounds is
currently in testing and near release. This multiplayer and single
player demo will let you have a taste of giant robot combat with three
fighters, three arenas (including the sport’s themed “Laserball”), and
two of the single player tournaments. The demo is expected to be
released this weekend.
Got Rail? 3 Coming
- Tuesday 3/2/2004 by
CaliGirl
According to QuakeWomen.com, Got Rail? 3 is on the way!
The 3rd Season of GotRail is starting March 28th with signups starting
March 7th. There will be GTV servers for match coverage and grand
prize for the winners of the iCTF and iFT tournaments: yearlong
ownership of a Quake3 server in the location of the teams' choice! Two
of the 8 servers will be public for everyone to use while the other 6
will remain private. The password for the private servers will not be
posted and will change weekly. [Further
Details]
Painkiller Dev Chat on IRC
Today - Tuesday 3/2/2004 by
CLIMaX
irc.EnterTheGame.com
will host a Developer Chat with the makers of
PainKiller, a hot new FPS
from People Can Fly and DreamCatcher. Share your thoughts and ideas
and ask questions, or just hear the good word directly from the game
devs. There will be some unspecified give-aways after the chat, and an
NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra card that you can win. The IRC chat event
kicks off at 9:00 PM EST Tues evening in the U.S. (02:00 GMT Weds
morning) in #PainKiller.
See http://www.enterthegame.com
for more information.
