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March 2005 Archives

 Halo 2 Alert - Thursday 3/31/2005 by GeekWoman
Halo fans spotted a listing on the EB website and found out that an expansion pack for Halo 2 is coming out at the end of May [Hear About Halo]

UT2004 Ultimate Mappack - Sunday 3/27/2005 by CaliGirl
UCMP has released the mappack to the public. It includes 13 maps, 2 custom content packages for mappers, and a new weapon. There's also a mirror over at UnrealPlayground.

Girls Got (Video) Game - Sunday 3/27/2005 by GeekWoman
You know you have come a long way ladies when there is mention of your pastime on an 'ABC News Original Report'. For some reason lady gamers are all in the news this Spring. Where ever you look on the news stand. I wonder if the results from surveys have made a difference this year. So here it is check it out. Girls Got (Video) Game
 

It's old news that women have come a long way in just about every pursuit — from the workplace to the athletic field to the government. Now, women are making their presence felt in one of the last bastions of male dominance — the video arcade.
Until recently, the video-game industry was seen as strictly a boys' club. But that's all changing. Video games have ballooned into a multi-billion dollar pastime for females of all ages.

Bunny Catcher - Sunday 3/27/2005 by GeekWoman
Buffy the Vampire Slayer : Chaos Bleeds is an older title that was languishing on my wish list for a very long time until recently. This time when I was at the local give-me-cash-for-old-disks place and I picked up a copy of Buffy : Chaos Bleeds for PS 2... [Bunny Catcher]

Soul Calibur III Announced - Saturday 3/26/2005 by GeekWoman
Namco has officially announced Soul Calibur III for PlayStation 2. The latest installment of this celebrated weapons-based fighting franchise, is scheduled for release exclusively on... [More]

Tactica Online - Friday 3/25/2005 by GeekWoman
An independent development studio based in Sydney, Australia called Imaginary Numbers announced today that they are in development of Tactica Online. The game is expected to be available worldwide in Fall 2005. [Tactica Online] is a fast-moving turn-based strategy RPG focusing on tactical squad combat. The story line has secret societies and the struggle, the conspiracy and intrigue, between magic and science in da Vinci's world. [For More]

Ultima Woman - Thursday 3/24/2005 by GeekWoman
In a recent interview game developer Sheri Graner Ray talks about her role a a pioneer in the geekdom of gaming. She attended her first Game Developers Conference in 1992 and was one of just a handful of women at the event. She tells how attitudes of men about women gamers is slowly changing from what it was. In 1993, the year after her first GDC, she held a GDC women's roundtable that became the seed for her volunteer organization, Girls in Games. She got her start as an avid "Dungeons and Dragons" player. She was hired by Origin Systems to work on the "Ultima" series. While working on an unreleased game called Arthurian Legends, she began her crusade to crack open the game world, for women. She founded Sirenia Consulting to provide her insights to other companies, her book on " Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market " was released in 2003. She is currently content lead for Sony Online Entertainment's "Star Wars Galaxies." She continues to speak out in support of women's presence in the game world. [Read More]

Empire Earth II Emerge - Wednesday 3/23/2005 by GeekWoman
The April release date to Empire Earth II is coming, and Derek dela Fuente spoke with "Ian Davis a.k.a. The Mad Doctor, CEO and Founder of Mad Doc Software and Creative Director on Mad Doc’s Empire Earth® II, happy to be checking in with you."
Empire Earth II has been in development a long time. In the interview Ian Davis mentions that core RTS gameplay and epic scope are what he felt is important. He talks about implementing an advanced AI, enhanced the environments realism with weather, and seasons and created a brand new engine. He says that they set out to create the best historical RTS ever.
They promote it as

"An RTS game of worldwide conquest on an epic scale – Empire Earth II takes players through the ages as they create and forge a grand empire - progressing through more than 10,000 years of history... 15 epochs, spanning 10,000 BC – 2230 AD, 14 different civilizations, and a greater number and variety of buildings and units than any other game on the market. Empire Earth II showcases the complete evolution of military technologies and gives players a chance to experience the many faces of warfare through the ages, from man’s past to the future. "

[Read Interview]

Overdose Screen Shots - Monday 3/21/2005 by GeekWoman
Coming this summer 2005 for Xbox, Playstation 2, And PC It will be fun in the sun - indoors. Crash cars, steal hats, shoot bad guys with style, jump bikes, fight in the street, shoot more bad guys, hot-wire tractors, eat Burritos, catch planes. This is a 3rd person cinematic adventure. In environments like stylized Mexican neighborhoods and jungle hide-outs to the swanky Californian coast Overdose it has an over-the-top, adrenalin-fuelled, free-style action, with a strong whiff of tequila. [Screens]

::Tilt:: - Monday 3/21/2005 by GeekWoman
There is some speculation about the application of the workings of the Apple Motion Sensor (AMS), which is a feature of the PowerBook line of computers. You can use an AMS-equipped PowerBook as an orientation-driven mouse or keyboard. Existing applications, including games could become "tilt-sensitive" one day soon. If an application of interest all ready receives mouse or keyboard input, it can adapt. Games are created independently of specific models of keyboards, joysticks, or mice. In most cases a transparent approach would allow the AMS to be used without many modifications to software. So input "signals" are the motion sensor's orientation data. A software mouse or joystick would then be available as yet another input device. Perhaps the most interesting and entertaining demonstration of AMS2HID's capabilities would be its use for playing a variety of existing games. [For more]

Red Ninja Previews - Sunday 3/20/2005 by GeekWoman
Due out before the end of this month is Red Ninja. A young woman named Kurenai vows to take vengeance on the Black Lizard Clan after losing her father, and nearly her own life, at their hands. It's a third person action game that blends a variety of game-play features including action, adventure, stealth, seduction and fighting. Her unusual weapon is a deadly wire Tetsugen (steel wire). [Preview]The cool official website. [Red Ninja]

Community Cluster - Sunday 3/20/2005 by CaliGirl
Latest community news, plus a comic strip worth checking out!

UBISOFT UNLEASHES COLD FEAR™ - Sunday 3/20/2005 by GeekWoman
This week Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that Cold Fear™ has shipped for the Xbox® system from Microsoft and for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Developed by Darkworks Studio, Cold Fear is a thrilling action-horror game.. [Full Story]

A Look at Area 51 - Saturday 3/19/2005 by GeekWoman
Midway Games has announced the official [Area 51] is now live. FPS fans and conspiracy theorists alike can now access an extensive amount...[A Look at Area 51]

Still Life Demo - Saturday 3/19/2005 by GeekWoman
A demo is available for Still Life, a 3D horror/adventure game that puts players in the shoes of F.B.I. agent Victoria McPherson...[Still Life]

Mindlink 2005 - Saturday 3/19/2005 by GeekWoman
Mindlink 2005: Underground Looks like an ultimate geek game. You can put this on your desktop and have the vicarious thrill of white collar crime...[Mindlink 2005]

Cossacks II News - Friday 3/18/2005 by CaliGirl
CDV has announced the newest improvement to the gameplay of Cossacks II - Napoleonic Wars - the Battle for Europe Mode. For further details, check out the official site.

Tomb Time - Thursday 3/17/2005 by GeekWoman
Eidos Interactive has confirmed that new games in the Tomb Raider series will be released on both Sony's PSP handheld and Microsoft's successor to the Xbox...[Tomb Raider 7]

Rising Kingdoms Announced - Wednesday 3/16/2005 by CaliGirl
Haemimont Games has announced another publishing deal with Black Bean for the incoming Rising Kingdoms for PC. Rising Kingdoms is a real-time strategy set in a fantasy world, which focuses on empire development and dynamic tactical battles. Set in the beautiful fantasy world of Equiada, home to magical creatures, mighty leaders, and powerful wizards, Rising Kingdoms, offers players the unique combination of both strategy and adventure modes [Further Details]

Advertising Anarchy - Wednesday 3/16/2005 by GeekWoman
Perhaps when you sign up for a free game demo or a free trial time increment on a MMORPG then you would see in-game advertising billboards. Recently Funcom signed an exclusive agreement with Massive Incorporated, creator of a video game advertising network... [Advertising Anarchy]

Best UT2k4 Maps - Monday 3/14/2005 by CaliGirl
Mapraider has posted the Best UT2k4 Maps of 2004. Each of these incredible maps is featured in their Mapraider 2005 Calendar.  The majority voted for:

- DM-1on1-Nagem by Neoduck
- DM-Altena by sAr
- DM-CBP2-Achilles by Soma
- DM-CBP2-Reconstruct by Angel Mapper
- DM-CPB2-KillBillyBarn by Teddabod
- DM-Goose2k4 by Soma
- DM-Waisten by Soma
- ONS-Dinora by Hourences
- ONS-NMP2-PanaleshSE by Nutter
- ONS-Rapanui by ]scarface[
- ONS-SPAC-Countertop by WinkyBoy

Female Luster - Monday 3/14/2005 by CaliGirl
Jessica Kiddle from Scotsman.com has written an interesting article called "Games for Girls", that gives a more in-depth look at the female gamer, and their game style. One item she mentions is how a paper article entitled, "Chicks and Joysticks", explored the relationship between women and their games consoles, showing that 27.2 per cent of British gamers are females who spend on average 7.2 hours a week playing. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"You have casual gamers who pick a game up every so often for half an hour. Then there are cool gamers who play for a few hours a week and who follow what is happening in the industry. Then there are hard-core gamers who get the latest game and play it solidly until they have finished it. You get women who fall into all these categories, from those who play online Scrabble for a bit to those who get incredibly sucked into shooting and blowing things up."

Other Female related articles include:

Darkwatch to Debut - Sunday 3/13/2005 by GeekWoman
I had heard about a Vampire Western game and thought "OK game developers are running out of ideas finally." I never expected such an ominous and eerie production. Darkwatch is actually a 1st person shooter... [Darkwatch]

Cryptic Cleared - Sunday 3/13/2005 by GeekWoman
Marvel sued NCsoft and Cryptic Studios in November of last year, claiming that the City of Heroes online computer game allows players to imitate comic book characters owned by Marvel. [More Here]

"Ladies Start Your Engines!" - Sunday 3/13/2005 by GeekWoman
Two very different auto racing simulations get on track this month...[Gran Turismo 4] and [Midnight Club 3]

Unreal Recognition - Sunday 3/13/2005 by GeekWoman
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, got listed on Microsoft’s "Top 25 Xbox Live Games Worldwide" list. Read [More Here]

Dead or Alive Competition Today - Sunday 3/13/2005 by CaliGirl
Tecmo® and Xbox™ Live announced today that Tecmo’s infamous creator of the Dead or Alive® series, Tomonobu Itagaki, will once again take the reigns of the DOAU Mystery Gamer for this Sunday’s Mystery Gamer Session of “The Dead or Alive Ultimate Mystery Gamer Competition”. The upcoming online fighting session, which will be held this Sunday, March 13, 2005 from 10a.m. to 11a.m. PST through Xbox Live, will be the second time that Itagaki has stepped up to the plate as the honored DOAU Mystery Gamer. Further details can be found at the WarCry Network.

Next Big Thing? - Thursday 3/10/2005 by GeekWoman
Rumors have been circulating madly online about the next gen gaming consoles. From what I gather, things are slowly going where no one has gone before. As the media giants contest for chips, physics and formatting. I attempt to interpret the technobabble, and reveal what we can really expect in my article [Next Big Thing?]

News Highlights - Thursday 3/10/2005 by CaliGirl
Here are a couple of game news highlights!

Downloads:

Gone Gold:

  • Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30(PC/PS2) is a true story War II game that will be available March 17.
  • The Matrix Online is a MMO that should be on shelves March 22, 2005. Want to delve into the secrets of The Matrix Online before the game hits store shelves? Check out a Sneak Preview event on Saturday, March 12 at 12:00 p.m. PST and ending at 9:00 p.m. PST on Tuesday, March 15.

Too Much Information! - Wednesday 3/9/2005 by GeekWoman
Do you play games to get away from it all? Do you like the escapism it offers you as a way to relax? Those days may be gone. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier today it was announced...[Read More]

Bargain Bin - Primal Passion - Monday 3/7/2005 by GeekWoman
My Sunday trip out shopping for games on the cheap took me to KMart where I usually never find anything. This time I picked up a gem called Primal ...
[Primal Passion]

Haunting Grounds Glimpse - Sunday 3/6/2005 by GeekWoman
Haunting Ground is a recently released and overlooked survival horror game that appeals to me. You begin the game as Fiona, an 18 year old girl. The story line is somewhat derivative of Silent Hill. Check out my article entitled [Move Over Cujo]

Sunday Brunch - Sunday 3/6/2005 by GeekWoman
Three stories of mayhem and madnes that are guaranteed to wake you up!

GTA Xbox & PC Announced - Sunday 3/6/2005 by GeekWoman
Rockstar has scheduled the Xbox and PC versions of the mighty Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to hit stores on...[Go There]

Games Released by GMX - Saturday 3/5/2005 by CaliGirl
GMX Media have announced a handful of PC titles that have been released. If you’re into exploring new worlds, fighting realistic military battles, embarking on mysterious adventures or taking to the skies in some of the greatest flying machines know to man – then read on!

Legion Arena Preview Screens - Friday 3/4/2005 by CaliGirl
Slitherine Software has released 10 new screenshots for Legion Arena on the eve of their departure for GDC. Slitherine's rp/strategy game is a finalist at this year's Independent Games Festival, which is part of GDC and the team are hoping to build on last year's success with Spartan. These screens show some of the new effects that have gone into Legion Arena over the last few weeks including, night battles, lights, realistic water and more.

Female Gamer Luster - Friday 3/4/2005 by CaliGirl

Recruiting Ads

  • MERC Clan are looking for fem gamers who play Desert Combat.
  • -={AA}=- clan is looking for female gamers who play Medal of Honor Spearhead and Call of Duty United Offensive.

True Combat- Elite News - Friday 3/4/2005 by CaliGirl
Team Terminator and Groove6 Studios has announced that the True Combat: Elite, the Total Conversion of Enemy Territory, will release a patch on Wednesday (March 9) of next week. We also received a few screenshots worth showing off as well. [View Details]

High School Hell - Thursday 3/3/2005 by GeekWoman
I don't know if it is a coincidence or if the developers are using the news this week about "zombie boy" to exploit their new game. Earlier today a demo was made available of the soon to be released in the US title - Obscure. [More]

Jade Empire Re-scheduled for Release - Thursday 3/3/2005 by GeekWoman
Jade Empire is currently scheduled for Release April 16, 2005 This is an action role-playing game you are a martial arts expert who combats against evil. The territory is allegorically based on...[More]

Myst IV Patch Released Today - Thursday 3/3/2005 by GeekWoman
This MAC/PC Patch Myst IV upgrades the game from v1.02 to v1.03. Changes include new subtitles, memory leak fixes, and driver compatibility issues. [Go Here]

Act of War Goes Gold - Wednesday 3/2/2005 by CaliGirl
Atari has announced that Act of War: Direct Action has gone gold. Act of War is a techno thriller strategy game that is being developed by Eugen Systems. It features frighteningly plausible tale of suspense, international intrigue and geopolitical military conflict. [Further Details]

Domination Announced - Wednesday 3/2/2005 by CaliGirl
DreamCatcher has announced Domination, a sci-fi land, sea and air warfare strategy game. The game inherits all of the remarkable features of the original game and deepens the Massive Assault player experience through increased gameplay options and new strategic challenges. [More]

Just the Facts Man - Tuesday 3/1/2005 by GeekWoman
Nick Yee has surveyed over 35,000 MMORPG players from most of the popular US MMORPGs over the span of 5 years. "Female players are on average older than male players ... and also spend more hours in the game than male players..." [Full Story]

PsychoToxic Gone Gold - Tuesday 3/1/2005 by CaliGirl
Whiptail Interactive announced that PsychoToxic has gone gold, and should be in stores during the middle of March. The futuristic first person shooter by Nuclearvision casts players in the role of Angie Prophet, Earths last line of defense from total destruction. [Further Details]

AngelMapper Interview - Tuesday 3/1/2005 by CaliGirl
According to UnrealPlayground, PlanetUnreal has conducted an interview with Rachel "AngelMapper" Cordone, an UnrealEngine mapper and professional level designer. Here's an excerpt:

PlanetUnreal: ...Ever plan on giving us CTF addicts a UT2004 remake of - or sequel to - Catherine's Dream? ;)

AngelMapper: Nothing planned. I actually gave someone else permission to make a sequel, but I haven't heard from him for months. I'm not too big on sequels though. I have a ton of other crazy ideas I want to make, so doing sequels wouldn't be that fun for me. It'd just be doing the same thing over again.

Just in case any of you didnt know, LG interviewed Ms. AngelMapper back in September 2003 in our Focus of the Month feature. She also has been working on a sassy UT2k4 mod called Tamearia. Check out the alpha!

 

 

 

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