Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol will be out on October 6th. It is official.
Tired of RPG's with the typical collection of dragons, elves and dwarves? Or the slightly less common collection of aliens, space ships and pulse rifles? Then you might be interested in Alpha Protocol, which gives a RPG gaming spin to the spy thriller.
Another dev diary for the game went up today. Surprisingly, it looks like the graphics have been raised a small notch since the last time we see saw some Alpha Protocol footage. Guess the crew at Obsidian is putting the pedal to the medal in this final stage of polishing the game in anticipation of release.
Is it just me, or does Lead Artist Aaron Meyers bear a passing resemblance to Robert Downey Jr. ?
As an added bonus for you possible Neo-fans of the game, some previously unseen cam gameplay footage from E3 was submitted by a user to GameTrailers today. Here it is.
And last but not least, the box art was also shown today for the first time (as pictured below and left). Have to say, don't find it particularly eye-catching myself. What about this fan-made box art instead (below, right)?
The new Batman game, Arkham Asylum, is set to touch down not to long from now. It is coming August 25th, for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC simultaneously.
Eidos has put together a new video. This one features the game director, and some of the writing team. Though the video doesn't really show anything much you haven't seen before, if you are a fan of the game, any new Batman: Arkham Asylum video is good video.
Some of the best deals in PC gaming often come via Valve's Steam weekend deals.
50% off is the par for the course, for the Steam deals. And this weekend it is Bethesda's blockbuster Fallout 3, for $24.99 USD. Not that bad!
If you are interested at all in the game and been waiting for a good time to get it, now is your chance. I suppose if you had the will-power to hold out for the eventual Game of the Year edition, with all the lovely DLC included in the box, than that might be a package waiting even longer for. But $24.99 for Fallout 3 ! You have to love it.
How many more PC games would sell every year if the normal price for a game was $30, instead of almost twice that?
If you haven't caught it, Microsoft recently put out an advertisement for the latest edition of Internet Explorer, featuring none other than Superman actor Dean Cain, and directed by comedian and writer Bobcat Goldthwait. The ad, one in a series of similar productions, is now notorious for its 'graphic content'.
Following complaints, Microsoft has pulled it, stating, "while much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it. We make a point of listening to our customers."
Below is the advertisement in question.
Our feeling: it's hilarious. And as a note to Microsoft: while it's good you listen to your customers, what about the ones that find this being pulled absurd? Just a thought, of course -- let us know yours.
Apple issued a temperature warning for their 3G and 3GS iPhones this week. Perhaps the summer heat was killing a few of the fancy phones in North America.
"Operate iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F). Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly.
Store iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between -20º and 45º C (-4º to 113º F). Don’t leave the device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range," said Apple's website.
If you are bringing your iPhone to the beach, or over similiar summery stuff, like beaches, it should not be that hard for you to exceed 32ºC -- especially in the hotter climates. So watch out! If you exceed this operating themperature, the horrible following problems may befall your so called 'smartphone':
The device stops charging
Display dims
Weak cellular signal
Temperature warning screen appears with the message "iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it" (see image below)
This somewhat limited operating temperature range might really be a problem this summer for owners in hot places.
It was announced to the public yesterday advertisements would be coming to the Xbox LIVE, something which sparked a lot of debate and controversy amongst gamers and journalists alike -- comments like "on Live it makes no sense if we have to pay a yearly fee and ON TOP of that have to deal with ads", and "They better have those ads for Silver accounts only" made up the general consensus of opinion on GameGrep.
Certainly valid points, especially when Wii and PS3 owners get most of the same services for free, and without ads -- sure, some argue it's an inferior experience, nevertheless, Microsoft's decision does raise an eyebrow or two.
The bright side, in any case, is the ads won't be obstructive, at least not much so -- Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson reports:
I’ve seen quite a bit of discussion today about how we’re bringing Silverlight ads to LIVE in the future. I need to let you know that you don’t need to worry about a huge influx of ads across the dashboard. One of our core principles is to enhance, not interfere with the gaming experience, and we work directly with our partners to only deliver experiences that are relevant to the LIVE community. Silverlight will help make those ads a more organic part of the dashboard, like we’ve done with some of the NXE slots in the past. No one on the team wants to turn the dashboard into something that looks like like Shibuya Crossing. That’s just not good for anyone.
So at the least they're somewhat reasonable.
PC World's Matt Peckham responds:
"[Nelson] seems like the nicest guy in the world, but "enhance" is one of those words that drives me crazy. As far as I'm concerned, anything that's designed to entice me to buy more stuff while I'm reading a book, listening to a music CD, watching a DVD, or yes, even playing a video game, is interfering with my [...] experience. The question is, how much interference is too much interference?"
The advertisements will be using Microsoft's Silverlight technology, which is designed for animation, vector graphics, and audio playback -- though it's not precisely clear at this point what the content will consist of, Microsoft held a demonstration at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 recently which used the latest Harry Potter film as an example of how advertisers could use their tools to increase profit, with the Xbox 360 as one component.
Since the "Xbox Experience" is already heavy on movies, seeing minorly intrusive and relevant content like this, particularly with the options of buying tickets, say, seems like a sensible enough idea to us, provided the animation and audio are left out of the picture. But as Peckham says, there are lines which can be crossed; respect should be in the highest order:
"Gamers buy game systems to play games, not be advertisement receptacles. In a smarter, more imaginative world, companies like Microsoft wouldn't need to gild the lily to lure advertisers and bolster revenue."
Battlefield fans don't have long to wait for the multiplayer-based 1943: DICE writes today the game will be released July 8 on Xbox LIVE Marketplace (1200 MS Points, or $15), and July 9 on the PlayStation Network -- no word is given on the PC version, strangely, though the date was originally pegged for summer along with its console counterparts.
The game will be based around aerial dogfights, trench combat and sea warfare, and is set to reinvent the classic maps from 1942 -- Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea are inspired by their predecessor and will feature a striking lack of cover.
The Coral Sea map will only be unlocked once the 43 million community kill incentive is released -- probably a little easier than it sounds given the 24-player support.
“Battlefield 1943 is going to change consumer expectations of what a downloadable game can be. By offering Frostbite’s next generation destruction technology with a full Vehicle Warfare FPS multiplayer experience at a mere 560MB, Battlefield 1943 sets a new standard,” said Gordon Van Dyke, Producer on Battlefield 1943. “Our goal is to blow people away with a fully accessible, retail-calibre game for veteran Battlefield fans and shooter fans alike to enjoy for only £9.99.”
Wake Island has already been video featured -- today we bring you Guadalcanal.
Cooler Master has announced the start of it 2009 Global Modding Contestwhich begins today, July 1 and runs through September 30th. Once all entries are in voting begins with winners to be announced October 15th.
Competition will include three categories:
Full Tower
Mid Tower
Unique
There will will be a total of of four winners from each category based on the number of votes received. The top three modders with the most number of votes will receive grand prizes with three runner up prizes to be awarded in each category. The prize packages are being sponsored by AMD, Crucial, CyberPowerPC, Intel Extreme Board Division, Final Fantasy XI, CM Storm, Choiix, MSI, Zotac and Kingston so there should be some awesome goodies handed out to the best modders.
To find out more information about the competition including rules and how to register, head on over to the official contest site.
NZXT has released a new system fan controller that features a color touch screen controller and is compatible with any fan that uses voltage control. Fitting in a single 5.25 inch drive bay, the Sentry 2 boasts fast response time on the touch screen interface which displays pertinent information such as fan speeds and system temperatures in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.
The Sentry 2 can control up to 5 fans and supports 10W per channel and allows the user to manually control each fan individually or can be set up to automatically control the fans based on specific temperatures. The display can be switched off and the setting are stored internally during times when your PC is powered off. NZXT expects the Sentry to be available this month at a MSRP of $29.99 US.
In January of last year, Mushkin announced its first graphics card, the Geforce 8800 GT XP. Now it looks like Mushkin is about to release a few more.
The manufacturer has announced several Nvidia based cards that they plan to produce, ranging from GTX 260 to GTX 285 and GTX 295, all of which should be announced soon.
All of their cards so far have been based on Nvidia's primary design. Branded "UltimateX," the recently announced lineup includes a few overclocked models, and Mushkin is apparently preparing to do a few ATI based cards as well.
These cards are also shipped in nice wooden boxes, a high contrast to the cheaper cardboard containers typically seen. Precise details about the cards are still unknown, but we are quite sure that more information will come up soon.
Looking forward to Wolfenstein? This HD remake of a brutal classic will be arriving August 4 on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
For PC gamers, the minimum specs were recently posted on the official Wolfenstein forums, along with software requirements, by community manager "Sokal." Nothing for recommended system specs yet.
Software Requirements
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP or Windows Vista(R) (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported)
Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c (included & required for Windows XP & Vista)
Inspired by the classic film, bringin' back the memories
505 Games, in collaboration with Paramount Digital Entertainment, will be overseeing and publishing a Grease video game on Nintendo DS and Wii.
This is a massive trip down memory lane for a lot of people, no doubt, and especially well-timed given the rise in casual gaming. More than ever, we see gamers from more unusual demographics. Looks like a possible buy for more casual gamers, or anyone looking for a family-friendly experience.
“We are really excited about working with Paramount Digital Entertainment to turn this world famous film into a video game for the very first time. Working with such a well known and much loved brand is a great opportunity and we believe the collaboration further strengthens 505 Games’ entertainment portfolio,” commented Ian Howe, Managing Director at 505 Games.
In the game, players will be allowed to sing and dance alongside Danny, Sandy, The Pink Ladies, and T-Birds, using the DS's touch screen or the Wii's motion controls and mic.
“Paramount Digital Entertainment is pleased to be working with 505 Games to develop Grease,” said John Kavanagh, Senior VP of Video Games for Paramount Digital Entertainment. “Grease is the ideal opportunity to reach a broad gaming audience who love to sing, dance and have fun with a party-style game.”
China will never run out of MMOs to play, and now Warrior Epic is hopping the Great Firewall for some action.
International publisher True Games Interactive announced today that they've signed a deal with top Asian publisher, Gamania Digital Entertainment, giving Gamania exclusive publishing, distribution and operating rights over Possibility Space's Warrior Epic in China.
"Gamania is one of the premier publishers of online content in Asia and it is an honor to have them as a partner for Warrior Epic," Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games. "While it is common for Eastern-developed online games to come West, it is rare that a Western-developed game would be published in the East, but that is how confident we are that Warrior Epic has an appeal that spans gamers worldwide."
Based in Taipei, Taiwan, Gamania also publishes other notable MMOs in Asian territories, including Lineage Online, MapleStory, Mabinogi and more.
"We are thrilled to be working with True Games to bring Warrior Epic to the Asian community of gamers," said William Chen, Chief Operating Officer of Gamania. "We have brought some of the most successful MMO titles to market here in Asia and Warrior Epic will make a great addition to our portfolio of games."
If you'd like to try the game out for yourself, feel free to click around the official website.
Claim EA did not seek permission to use their names and likenesses
Identity theft! Well, not exactly, but some football players are pretty annoyed at Electronic Arts for using their likenesses, names or image in the NCAA Football games.
Now Ryn Hart and Troy Taylor are suing EA for invading their privacy. Or something. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Keith McKenna of Montclair, who states that the two men "never" gave EA permission to include them in the games.
"EA (Electronic Arts), the NCAA and CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company) have reviewed the complaint, and do not believe that the claims have merit," said Rob Semsey for EA SPORTS. "EA, the NCAA and CLC regularly conduct reviews of EA's NCAA-branded games, and we do not believe that any violations of student-athlete rights or NCAA bylaws have occurred."
Ryan Hart quarterbacked the Scarlet Knights from 2002 to 2005, and Troy Taylor played football during his college years before moving up to the New York Jets between 1990 to 1991.
PC gamers from all over the place where distraught to hear yesterday that Blizzard has no intention of making LAN play available in their upcoming Korea-shattering RTS StarCraft II.
Speaking with Joystiq, Blizzard PR employee Bob Colayco gave this rationale:
"We don't currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games. While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy.
Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we're encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We're looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future."
Currently, it seems most of PC gaming public seems unimpressed by this response. Judging from comments on a few gaming sites, many StarCraft fans would prefer not having achievements and stat-tracking if they could play a LAN mode, and just as many seem to think that pirates will find some way to enjoy multiplayer games regardless of Blizzard's plans.
No doubt this controversy will be around for some time. Eventually, when the game does hit the shelves, will the disappointments be quickly forgotten?
HTML5 support, Private Browsing mode, improved performance, and tons more
Mozilla has this morning released the major 3.5 update to its popular browser Firefox. With it comes HTML5 elements, including support for the open Ogg Theora and Vorbis video and audio formats, Private Browsing mode, better web app performance courtesy of the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine (twice as fast as Firefox 3, and ten times Firefox 2), Location Aware Browsing (an optional feature that lets websites know where you're coming from so content can be tailored accordingly), and of course, lots of under the hood improvements, fixes, and the like.
Simply click the 'Help' tab in Firefox and 'Check for Updates' to grab the new version, of if you're particularly careful, use the Tweakguides method. If you're new to Firefox and keen to try, download it here.
There are known issues, naturally -- check the release notes linked below if you're curious.
Enjoy.
What’s New in Firefox 3.5
Firefox 3.5 is based on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform, which has been under development for the past year. Firefox 3.5 offers many changes over the previous version, supporting new web technologies, improving performance and ease of use. Some of the notable features are:
Available in more than 70 languages.
Support for the HTML5 <video> and <audio> elements including native support for Ogg Theora encoded video and Vorbis encoded audio.
Improved tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode.
Better web application performance using the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.
The ability to share your location with websites using Location Aware Browsing.
Support for native JSON, and web worker threads.
Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.
Support for new web technologies such as: downloadable fonts, CSS media queries, new transformations and properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 local storage and offline application storage, <canvas> text, ICC profiles, and SVG transforms.
Funtasticus has a great new post up showing some of the worst cases of unhealty computer use; amused and inspired, we rounded up our own collection of images -- a humourous break from all the serious 'merger this and court case that' news, if you will.
So, if you can't remember the last time you've seen daylight, or what the word "daylight" means anymore, this one's for you (and us).
Lastly, your computer obsession has probably gone too far if "It's All About the Pentiums" is still your favourite Weird Al song:
Controversial torrent site sold for 7.8 million USD
Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has announced today that they have acquired the infamous Bittorrent website The Pirate Bay and peer-to-peer software technology company Peerialism AB, according to the company's press release. The company intends to launch new business models that will provide compensation for content providers and copyright owners with the acquisition of the two companies. Said Global Gaming Factory CEO Hans Pandeya:
"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site. The Pirate Bay is a site that is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary. Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers need faster downloads and better quality."
Global Gaming Factory (GGF) has acquired the domain name for The Pirate Bay, and its related websites The purchase amount totals 60 million Swedish Krona (MSEK), which is approximately 7.8 million USD. Half of the total was paid in the form of cash, while the other half was issued in the form of new shares in the publicly-traded GGF, which amounts to a maximum of three percent of the total outstanding shares in the company. In the event that this three percent is less than the intended 30 MSEK value, the difference will be paid in cash.
The Pirate Bay is no stranger to the news, with its former-owners having announced video service The Video Bay and its involvement with the issue of free speech in Iran. This surprising news comes as the site's founders are currently appealing their case after the presiding judge's conflict of interest was uncovered. A blog post by the founders on The Pirate Bay's website assures users that the site will remain the same, lest GGF lose the website's top-100 activity. They also confirm that the sale profits will go into a foundation that will promote freedom of speech, freedom of information, and "openess of the nets" projects.
Additionally, GGF had acquired software technology company Peerialism AB, which specializes in data distribution and distributed storage via peer-to-peer technology. With the company's acquisition, GGF now gains access to Peerialism's technology, and can implement it in The Pirate bay. The acquisition price is a total of 100 MSEK, with it broken up similar to The Pirate Bay's deal, with half paid in cash, half paid in the form of shares in GGF. Additionally, GGF committed 25 MSEK in investments in Peerialism. Said Peerialism CEO Johan Ljungberg:
“Peerialism has developed a new data distribution technology which now can be introduced on the best known file - sharing site, The Pirate Bay. Since the technology is compatible with the existing it will quickly allow for new values to be created for all key stakeholders and facilitate new business opportunities."
GGF expects that the two acquisition will be complete this August, following the company's General Meeting and decisions by its board of directors. GGF will also need to secure the financing for this acquisition. Provided that the funding is obtained and that the company's board of directors can use these new assets in a "legal and appropriate way", ownership and responsibility for the assets will be transferred to GGF. Concering both acquisitions, Pandeya had this to say:
“As a result of the acquisitions of The Pirate Bay and Peerialism, GGF will have a strategic position in the international digital distribution market. File sharing traffic is estimated to account for more than half of today's global Internet traffic. The Pirate Bay has a global brand and holds a key position with over 20 million visitors and over one billion page views per month."
Selection for the MSI Master Overclocking Arena North American qualifiers begin today and MSI is inviting overclockers from USA, Mexico and Canada to sign up and participate in this online tournament to determine the best overclocking team from their respective countries.
Phase I competition is open to everyone and the qualifiers will run from June 29th to July 19th. All you need to do to take part is submit your highest overclocking score online. The top 10 winners will be selected for the Phase II which runs July 25th to August 2nd. The top two overclockers from that round get to choose a guest to accompany them to the MOA 2009 Grand Final in Beijing. So head on over to the MOA 2009 site and check out the rules and submit your best overclocking score.
IDE hard drive interface for embedded applications
Super Talent announced today it has begun shipping a new line of flash disk modules intended primarily for embedded applications. The new disk on module (DOM) units use a standard IDE hard drive interface with either a 40- or 44-pin configuration and are offered with either horizontal or vertical connectors. The NAND flash used in the DOMs make them ideal for applications such as areas exposed to high levels of dust, shock, vibration or extreme temperatures that would render traditional hard drives useless.
The line includes single-level cell models that offer sequential read speeds up to 80 MB/sec and sequential write speeds up to 60 MB/sec and multi-level cell models that achieve up to 40 MB/sec write speeds. The units include wear leveling, ECC and bad bit management as standard features for improved reliability. Both the MLC and SLC models are offered in 8, 16 and 32GB capacities.
It seems like these would also make an ideal way to embed a Linux OS on a small form factor board for that carputer or NAS appliance you've been thinking about building. Super Talent is currently shipping units but didn't disclose pricing.
802.11n draft with enhanced bandwidth management capabilities
Today ASUS announced the release of the RT-N16 wireless-N Gigabit router that emphasizes what ASUS calls the three "S's" - speed, simplicity and security. In addition to the wireless-N capabilities, the RT-N16 offers four Gigabit Ethernet ports and two USB ports for connecting printers and external storage devices.
The RT-N16 conforms to the latest 802.11n draft specs with a theoretical maximum throughput of 300Mbps and also is backward compatible with 802.11 b/g devices. The unit's powerful CPU and 128MB of memory help ensure it can handle multiple simultaneous networking tasks with no lag.
Management of the router is accomplished through the EZ UI graphical user interface that incorporates a host of different connectivity features under a single interface. Bandwidth management is handled using the EZQoS function where you can easily allocate bandwidth according to individual user needs. To support network usage of a shared printer, the EZ All-In-One Printer function allows multiple users to simultaneously access a printer and use its print and scan functions. The AiDisk feature allows users to easily set up file-sharing via the web in minutes.
The unit also offers security features through the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) interface that allows users to set up secure Wi-Fi Networks within minutes and lock down the network to prevent potential intrusion by unauthorized outsiders. In addition to NAT and stateful packet inspection features, users can choose from different encryption protocols including WEP, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, WPA-Enterprise, WPA2-Enterprise and RADIUS.
ASUS did not disclose availablity or pricing information.
PowerColor will bundle BumpTop 3D desktop beginning in July
BumpTop 3D is an intuitive and visual approach to organizing your computer desktop that combines the look and feel of a real desktop with the power of your computer to add advanced search and sort capabilities. It also provides the ability to use the three-dimensional aspect of the application to spatially organize files and photos and share them with different contacts. Check out a video of it in action as well as our mini-review here.
Under a new agreement, PowerColor will begin bundling the software with its PCS HD4850 graphics card starting this July. The PCS version of the HD4850 includes an advanced cooling solution from Arctic Cooling for a balance low-noise and low operating temperatures.
PowerColor expects to expand the program to include its entire lineup of videocards in the near future.
Mass Effect is considered one of the greatest sci-fi games to have graced the industry in recent years, but fans still have their fair share of complaints.
Many considered the difficulty settings a major "problem" with Mass Effect, and the official forums are filled with players asking BioWare if they would consider unlocking "Insanity" mode right from the start in Mass Effect 2.
While BioWare has made no clear confirmations, lead system designer Christina Norman has promised us the difficulty in Mass Effect 2 is getting a major boost. While there is the possibility for Insanity mode to be available from the start, the con is having it toned down in favor of another locked difficulty setting; the purpose of having a locked difficulty mode is, of course, to reward the hardcore players who made it through the game once before.
Most exciting of all may be the new A.I., which Norman states will be more advanced on harder settings, not just "tougher."
First we're trying to add additional dimensions to our difficulty system. I can't go into the details right now, but there is more integration with our AI system for example. We want enemies on harder difficulties to feel smarter, deadlier, not just "tougher". We want insanity to feel like a smart experience, where you don't die because a rocket hits you and you're one-shot killed. You die because you face an overwhelming, deadly, force. You play extremely well, but not well enough, and on a subsequent try you're able to be victorious because you play better.
Once we have the difficulty levels nailed down, we'll evaluate and see whether or not it's reasonable to let insanity difficulty be unlocked at the start. I'm totally open to doing that unless it means we have to make it "easier". Ultimately if I have to choose between those options, I will choose a harder insanity difficulty, because I believe that's what's important to our players.
Overall insanity in ME2 will be harder than ME1. That's a heads up for everyone! Beating insanity on ME2 is going to be a real "achievement", a badge of honor, get ready.
Norman clarifies later that BioWare is looking at all the options for difficulty locking, but nothing definite has been decided upon yet. She does assure gamers that even seasoned Mass Effect players will find Mass Effect 2 combat challenging, given how much has changed.
Certain things are much easier in ME2 (not dumbed down easy, better designed easy), but there are new challenges as well.
In general there just won't be any dumbing down in ME2, that's not the way we go. We're going for easy to play because it's better designed, not dumbed down.
Mass Effect 2 has been confirmed for an early 2010 release on Xbox 360 and PC. You can still check out our in-depth preview from this year's E3 show.
New screenshots also released, with lots of Moogles
In spring, Square Enix announced they would be releasing a set of three separate expansions for Final Fantasy XI, beginning with "The Crystalline Prophecy" add-on in April.
Now it's the end of June, and they've revealed more details for the second expansion, "A Moogle Kupo d'Etat - Evil in Small Doses." Pre-sale for this chapter will begin on July 5, confirmed in Europe and other PAL regions, despite the Australian government's campaign against online games.
Final Fantasy XI subscribers can expect the expansion toward the end of July, when it will be launched simultaneously worldwide for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 (North America and Japan only), and PC. As we've mentioned in March, the download will cost €9.99 or £7.99 (almost $13.0), via the PlayOnline Viewer.
The next expansion by Masato Kato will be "A Shantotto Ascension - The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born."
There many conflicting rumours over the state of Obsidian Entertainment's role-playing game take on Aliens. Was it dead? Was it merely wounded with a gunshot and soon going to jump out and shock everyone from behind a pile of crates? The game was declared postponed, then declared in stasis, and now declared, for sure, that it is dead (or is it)?
"Unfortunately, it is true that we are no longer working on the game, and we wanted to finally announce that officially to everyone who has been following its development," said "The Guildmaster," an Obsidian employee, in the Obsidian forums.
Probably most people who have been into gaming for awhile realize that if a project is postponed for any length of time, it has just about as much chance to get back into production as G.W. Bush has at getting re-elected for a third term. However due to some ambiguous reports that surfaced a few weeks ago, hardcore fans of the game were still holding out hopes that the game would be resurrected.
But this is not the case and no, there will be no Aliens RPG from Obsidian.
Besides, Obsidian is hard at work putting the final touches on their single-player spy RPG Alpha Protocol. Then they are going to be diving into the stand-alone Fallout: New Vegas. So there's no time for aliens.
Blizzard game-designer Rob Pardo put an end to some speculation this week when talking to website IncGamers. According to Parod, there will be no LAN mode for Starcraft II.
LAN gaming was a cornerstone to the popularity (and continued popularity) of the world-famous RTS game. However, it isn't the '90s anymore, and Blizzard feels that BattleNet 2.0 should be sufficient for all of their fans' multiplayer needs.
The original Starcraft had a "spawning" feature, which allowed many players to play a LAN game, with "spawned" installations of only one copy of the game, with one serial code. This helped launch the popularity of the game's competitive RTS matches. It'll be interesting to see if this will limit the game's exposure to North American audiences at all -- of course, in South Korea, Starcraft II is going to be a guaranteed blockbuster, but PC classic-style RTS games, like Starcraft and Command & Conquer and their ilk, have arguably been waning in popularity on these shores in recent years.
Blizzard's VP of game design reveals some interesting details
Vice president of game design Rob Pardo revealed recently that StarCraft II's development process was hindered early on by Blizzard's great money-making machine, World of Warcraft.
StarCraft II development actually began in 2003, though we didn't hear a peep about the game until 2007. Not that he's bitter about it or anything.
"One of the reasons that StarCraft II had some delays very early on in development is because a fair amount of the design team went onto World of Warcraft for a year to really help finish that game off," said Pardo.
"They had a lot of really great experience to bring, with their knowledge of how they approached the map editor problems, how they dealt with balancing - which we could then leverage into class balancing."
Lead producer Chris Sigaty stated that a lot of artists and other team members got called off to work on WoW.
"That's a question we get asked," Sigatay said. "Wow, you made this decision in 2003 and now it's 2009, what's going on? It's just been that what we've been trying to do as a company is bigger than any one project."
Pardo explained that since StarCraft II took focus again, the team has been busy testing the new engine and doing a lot of balance work.
"We build the multiplayer side first," he stated. "It was a brand new engine and brand new technology, so it did take us a couple of years before we had something that was reasonably playable. I would say late 2005 or early 2006 is when we had something that was probably legitimately playable."
Interestingly enough, StarCraft II is the first game in Blizzard's recent history that hasn't required any backtracking for the development team. In fact, they haven't had to go back to the drawing board once throughout the entire process.
"This may be the first game in our recent few games that we haven't done that major reboot with," Pardo gushed. "It's been a long project for sure, but if you look at say World of Warcraft, or Warcraft III - or even the original StarCraft - there was a halfway point where we took a dramatic left turn and took a different direction. We haven't done that with Starcraft II. That said, it's certainly taken a long time to get to where it's at, for a variety of reasons."
While multiplayer was addressed first, the single-player aspect wasn't picked up on until development was halfway through. Incidentally, single-player was a greater struggle for the team.
"If anything, the single-player has taken a lot more iteration because we are going into such a new direction with how to approach that," he said, suggesting that there's still a lot more work to do in that field before StarCraft II is anywhere near completion.
"There are a lot of things in our approach to singleplayer that we've meandered around, trying different things until we got to something that we really felt happy with."
'The Video Bay': like YouTube, without out all those silly copyright restrictions
Though facing jail and $3.8 million in fines, The Pirate Bay founders have decided to go ahead with their upcoming video service The Video Bay (TVB), which seems to hold the ambition of matching YouTube in content, and with no restrictions on copyrighted material.
The site is currently in "extreme beta" stage -- not much is up at the moment, but if you care to take a peek, it's there for you. Firefox users can check out some samples as of tomorrow morning when version 3.5 launches; beta users can do so now, as can users of the latest Opera preview, Chrome, or Safari.
It's stated TVB will use the new HTML5 features, specifically <video> and <audio> tags, and the open ogg/theora audio and video formats.
The head of Sweden's Pirate Party, Rickard Falkvinge, said this is another step in a "prolonged legal battle with the record industry."
"It's obvious that, given enough time, The Pirate Bay will win this war which will go on as long as the record industry has yet another penny to file a lawsuit. I think they are taking an important part in that battle, fighting for freedom of expression and culture against monopolistic companies."
PlayStation 3 owners who regularly catch shows and movies on TV delivery service Hulu have probably noticed recently they can no longer do so on their console: joint owners NBC, Fox, Disney and "a venture capital company you've never heard of" have blocked access to it. The change comes not long after Hulu was restricted to viewing at its own website or via the desktop player only, and with its ongoing battle against Boxee, a service which allows Internet TV to be displayed on a regular TV with minimal hassle.
The service's Terms of Use were updated on June 26, however no mention is made of the PlayStation 3.
The Escapist writes: "It seems like a very strange move, and I can't think of any good reason for it. Besides trying to beat piracy - which I would assume is part of Hulu's mission - by restricting how and where people can use a product simply doesn't work, just ask EA."
47 total Achievements, mostly for solving puzzles and kicking ass
Looking forward to Batman: Arkham Asylum? Well, the complete Achievement list has been revealed, and we're thinking it's pretty much the same for Trophies.
We've got 47 Achievements for the usual total of 1000 Gamer Points (G), with 15 being Secret Achievements. Based on this list, we know there will be three available difficulties and plenty of The Riddler's puzzles. Not surprisingly, most of the Achievements / Trophies are earned by performing martial feats or solving puzzles.
Based on trailers and our hands-on demo with senior producer Ames Kirshen at E3 this year, one of the game's greatest selling points may be that FreeFlow technique. We'll be seeing numerous celebrities from the Batman comics, so keep a sharp eye out.
• Big Bang (50 G) Complete story mode on Easy difficulty
• Bigger Bang (50 G) Complete story mode on Normal difficulty
• Biggest Bang (50 G) Complete story mode on Hard difficulty
• Party Pooper (10 G) Time to break up this party
• Freeflow Combo 20 (10 G) Complete a combo of 20 moves (any play mode)
• Freeflow Combo 40 (10 G) Complete a combo of 40 moves (any play mode)
• Night Glider (5 G) Glide continuously for over 100m
• Rope-A-Dope-A-Dope (10 G) String up one henchman and drop him to surprise a second (any play mode)
• Mano-A-Mano (10 G) Take on a beast in hand to hand combat
• Catch! (5 G) Catch a Batarang (any play mode)
• Freeflow Combo 5 (5 G) Complete a combo of 5 moves (any play mode)
• Freeflow Combo 10 (5 G) Complete a combo of 10 moves (any play mode)
• Freeflow Perfection (10 G) Perform a perfect combo including all of Batman's combat moves (any play mode)
• Freakshow Rodeo (10 G) Ride a beast and unleash its power
A growing disconnect with the community, and why this year's E3 show left a bad taste in our mouths
In the good ol' days, we loved Nintendo, and try very hard to keep on loving them. Still, Nintendo fans watch as gaming media withdraw their support for the industry giant, one news article at a time. Is this movement within the gaming community completely unfounded?
Sales numbers will, of course, show that Nintendo is still very much alive. And no one can deny the fact that they revolutionized casual gaming in just a few short years, also laying down a lot of groundwork for the other two "Big Three" in terms of motion control. However, the company and their lineup have been topics for debate in the gaming community for some time, and since the Wii became a huge success, we've been back-and-forth arguments over whether Nintendo still cares about core gamers.
Personally, I won't formulate an opinion in the matter, but this year's E3 press conference did not make Nintendo any more likeable to those not indoctrinated. Most of the event stands as irrefutable evidence for Nintendo's gradual and continuous departure from core gaming, despite duplicitous claims that they still support "hardcore" games, citing titles like the formerly exclusive Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, MadWorld, The Conduit, and the budding No More Heroes franchise.
And yet the bulk of their presentation this year spoke louder than any PR claims. There's no doubt that Wii Sports Resort and (facepalm) James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion will make Nintendo loads more money (sadly), but the audience was terribly underwhelmed by the overall show. More worthwhile titles like the new Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the mysterious Metroid Other M did get the right side of the auditorium going briefly, and that same crowd cheered for the Golden Sun DS announcement. I'll admit these games show great promise, regardless of my usual disinterest in Nintendo's first-party games.
Wait, what about The Conduit, Dead Space Extraction, and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles? Fils-Aime barely touched those games, breezing straight through while offering trailers that showed us nothing new. He admits knowing how core gamers feel, empathizing with their disappointment, and then builds expectation by reminding the audience that Nintendo has not abandoned them. The way those games were then presented doesn't exactly support his sincerity though.
That was a far cry from the excitement we saw during Microsoft's and Sony's respective conferences. Xbox 360 VP John Shappert let their lineup do the talking, and Sony CEO's Jack Tretton and Kaz Hirai were infinitely more charismatic during their presentations than Reggie Fils-Aime, Cammie Dunaway and Bill Trinen could have hoped to be with their horrendously scripted industry-speak. Oh, the other execs no doubt rehearsed their lines for hours on end (or even had a teleprompter somewhere), but they pulled it off in spades. These speakers knew exactly how to connect with their audience and draw out a favorable response! The dynamic at Nintendo's show, on the other hand, was embarassingly flat.
The entire Nintendo media briefing also felt like one massive personal insult to many of us. The games are one thing, but their unexplained decision to have the execs projected onstage rather than appear in person felt like a backhand to our faces. We kept fidgeting in our seats, wondering if perhaps Miyamoto would suddenly bust on stage and make everything better. Never happened. Some suggested a separate, more private briefing for the elite was going on in another wing of the Nokia theatre.
And to think, we got up at sunrise to see that. Thanks, Nintendo, for having the earliest flippin' media briefing and deciding we aren't worth your time.
Like his colleagues, Iwata also failed to show up in person. Though this decision may have been a precaution, in case anyone in the first ten rows felt like chucking their laptop at the guy's head after he announced the Wii Vitality Sensor. You really didn't need a sensor to see the audience flatlining in our seats that morning.
Incidentally, I finally took my first gen Wii out of its box again and hooked it up beside my Xbox 360, where it eagerly awaits being put to good use. Hopefully sometime soon. There are definitely some new Wii games to look forward to, like Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which were not even mentioned during the briefing, like so many other missed opportunities.
To be clear, we aren't completely dismissing Nintendo hardware. At least I'm not; wouldn't know about my two co-workers who were present with me. Media and community disillusionment this year comes from further realization that Nintendo has found greener pastures in a different market.
Admittedly, I felt sympathetic toward these people, except Cammie because I was too busy imagining myself performing a flying kick to her face from my chair. As far I know, they could be genuinely excited for their products, and if that's the case, the response they got from their audience this year must've felt absolutely deflating. Then I remembered these guys bleed money, and I didn't feel quite so guilty for not giving a crap about Mario since the early '90s.
The Phenom II X4 965 is coming soon, with an extra 200MHz
3.4GHz will be the stock clock of the new X4 965, making it the fastest quad-core on the market, along with the Xeon X5492 from Intel, which is a 150W part, though. The 965 will keep the 125W TDP, as is mentioned on ASRock's website. It will feature the same cache as the 955 and it will be a Black Edition.
We saw here that the Phenom II X4 955 often beat the Core i7 920 in gaming due to its higher frequency. With an extra 200MHz, the 965 will probably be able to compete with the Core i7 940's performance in many cases, which currently sells for $587.17 on NCIXUS.com. However, AMD will most probably launch it at a very competing price, which will force Intel to cut prices on its Core 2 and maybe Core i7 line.
This time, I would not be surprised if the Phenom II X4 965 had a bit more overclocking potential than the 940 and 955. It would be somewhat disappointing if on air it also maxed out at around 3.8GHz, which would be only a 400MHz increase. This is what we will see if Neoseeker gets his hands on one!
The good folks at Relic Entertainment have released a new 'battle report' video, for Dawn of War 2.
This one shows the dreaded Orks versus the Emperor-loving Space Marines.
Relic Entertainment has been hard at work on the 'There is only war' update, which is due to strike in July. The update will feature a reworking of game balance, and introduce 8 new maps and a map editor, for all your space-fight good-times. The South Korea-Star Craft style of the video shows some of the new features in action, over the course of a two player match.
Mutual respect between Bethesda and id Software helped usher one of the most surprising gaming industry acquisitions yet
The Zenimax/Bethesda buyout of legendary development house id Software rocked the gaming world earlier this week, and the industry was eager to pick the minds behind this latest merger. In an interview with Gamasutra, id Software's John Carmack explained that his studio was first approached by Zenimax over a year ago. Carmack admitted he had not even heard of Zenimax at the time, and it was largely their ownership of esteemed developer Bethesda Softworks which roused him to take further notice. Doing the math, both he and id Software would begin to see the merits of joining hands with Zenimax and Bethesda. Nevertheless, their internal announcement of the merger would take employees from both Bethesda and id Software by surprise.
"It's nice when somebody comes to you and offers a big dollar figure for your company or something, but if you plan on continuing to work there, you have to balance things that you enjoy about your job with other things that might happen later post-acquisition: How much is your work going to matter in the future? Are you going to like the people you work with? Are your ideas going to be shot down? Are the directions that you think are important for growth, and the technology you've developed going to be supported?
"You don't immediately know the answers to these things. But Zenimax turned out to be almost uniquely interesting for us."
Carmack explained that while Zenimax didn't enjoy "massive bulk" that far more likely suitors like Electronic Arts and Activision possess, the company still offered a degree of security and distribution muscle. But most important of all was having Bethesda under their wing, and the developer's handling of the Fallout franchise with Fallout 3 for multiple gaming platforms:
"...one of the most compelling things was that all of the rollout success of Fallout 3 was happening as we were talking to them. We looked at this and thought, if they can take this old niche IP like Fallout and turn it into this huge, successful phenomenon, then I think they are incredibly capable of taking Doom 4 and changing the world with it."
That said, it doesn't hurt that Bethesda's interests do not necessarily overlap id Software's in what they do. This helped ease concerns over the increasing reality of publishers creating a conflict of interest between its own internal studios when support must be evaluated. At the same time, the two studios become complementary, allowing both to diversify their talent. id Software's own projects will remain on track, though Carmack expresses optimism in the potential sharing of technologies between id and Bethesda. That said, he's not expecting a large-scale collaboration between the two studios on major projects in the immediate future.
Pop music legend Michael Jackson caused a bit of an international Internet furor yesterday when he had a heart attack and perished.
Millions of fans and interested folk flocked to their favorite websites to find information, and express their remorse over, Michael Jackson's heart failure. The news resulted in an onslaught of web searches for "michael jackson" struck from all corners of the globe.
Google, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, Twitter and especially gossip site TMZ, which broke the news initially, went down briefly in a burst of cyber-flames as their websites were hit by a massive burst of traffic.
The traffic on Twitter rivaled the peak of the communication the day after the illegitimate Iran election. The BBC thought it was under a DDoS attack at first, as many hordes of Internet-goers searched the site for news on beloved MJ.
Even mighty Google News, for roughly a half an hour, returned error pages as their service was overloaded with folks searching for the most recent updates on Michael Jackson's status.
To some extent, the entire Internet slowed fractionally as millions queried the Internet to see if Michael Jackson was in fact, dead.
Today, we finally see TECMO and KOEI officially merged across the Pond, forming TECMO KOEI Europe or TKE.
News of their merger first came up late last year, and the two companies originally planned for the process to be completed some time this spring; in April, the two companies did indeed form TECMO KOEI HOLDINGS. Now it's summer, and we're hearing about their holy union in Europe as well.
The first game to be released under TKE will be Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, which we've already heard some interesting news for earlier today. Something about the violence being toned down.
"Featuring new characters, game play, and developed by the award-winning Team NINJA, NINJA GAIDEN Σ 2 is the perfect vehicle with which to launch the new company," commented Will Curley, VP of Sales and Marketing.
"This is a momentous occasion for both KOEI and TECMO. With some great quality titles coming from both sides, such as UNDEAD KNIGHTS and QUANTUM THEORY from TECMO, and Warriors: Legends of Troy and TRINITY: Souls of Zill O’ll from KOEI, TKE will quickly become one of the major players in the video games industry."
A couple days ago, we offered a deeply comprehensive rundown of new content in the Age of Conan "Tarantia Commons" update.
The update introduced a new version (1.05) and revamped various gameplay elements, hopefully for the better. Additionally, subscribers got a new explorable region suited for high level players, called the "Tarantia Commons."
Today, Funcom releases a developer walkthrough for the new area, including some revealing commentary about the backstory. Players will actually be able to choose which side to aid when they venture into the Tarantia Commons, play atop the area's rooftops for a completely different experience, and more.
Scythe is up to their old tricks again, and is working on a cooler for NVIDIA GTX 260 video cards -- and presumably, it'll fit other similar NVIDIA designs, such as the GTX 280. Tech-site Fudzilla managed to scare up some pictures.
It'll be called the "Setsugen VGA cooler" it seems, and will not be coming out for a few months yet. The thing is pretty massive for VGA cooler -- it is definitely not HTPC bound. It weighs 390 grams without the 120mm Scythe Slip Stream fan that can be attached to its side (which comes bundled with the cooler).
Featuring four 6mm heat pipes, undoubtedly it will over a step up over the stock,default GTX 260 cooler. Small heatsinks your card's NVIO chip, and voltage regulator, are also included.
Will the Setsugen be worth the money, when so many GTX 260's already come with non-standard, custom coolers? Only testing will tell -- maybe we will get one in for review when they hit the store shelves.
One thing is for sure though, your video card will look pretty mean in your chassis with this big cooler on it.
"I don't think [EA] really understands what the original game was", says creator
Looks like we've been misled: though Starbreeze, developer of the new Syndicate title -- codenamed Project RedLime -- previously stated, "We're already deep in development on [the game] and the team at EA is giving us the time we need to perfect our vision. We're excited to bring a new perspective and gameplay innovation to this beloved fiction," the series' creator Sean Cooper informs us today things in fact aren't going so well after all:
"[EA] been saying [it will come out] for the last fifteen years. Looking at EA's track record of announcing titles, saying they're going to revive it ... they don't tend to do it, because I don't think they really understand what the original game was."
We're sad to announce hopeful fans will probably all but give up at this point, too -- Cooper says every prototype he's seen so far has been "misguided", none capturing the spirit of the original.
“They've tried to be too quirky," he remarks. "They've tried to do things that aren't what the essence of the game was. One of [the prototypes] ... it was something about using different senses. Something was leaving a scent and the agents were following it. I remember seeing them demo it in a conference room and thinking 'What are they trying to achieve? What are they doing?'"
"The essence of the game was killing people - and that was it. Big guns. Strong dudes. Terminators essentially. If I have to kill everyone, I will. That to me was the essence of the gameplay."
One lovely half-hour of gameplay available for download
TRINE is fabulous, and if you don't believe us, try out the demo developer Frozenbyte has put out today, available from GamesPlanet, or your demo source of choice (no plans for a PlayStation Network demo, the publisher tells us, where the game is also due).
(A note to ATI users: if you encounter any problems during installation or gameplay relating to PhysX, exit and install the 8.06.12 drivers, updating manually later, if you wish.)
The game, if you're not familiar, should be a welcome adventure to, well, adventure fans, as well as those who dig RPGs, puzzle games, platformers, and/or anything in the realm of fantasy. Our preview is here.
The demo brings you the tutorial menu as well as the game's first level; it's timed of course -- you should be able to get 30 to 40 minutes of playtime per session.
Those interested can also pre-order the game from GamesPlanet for £24.99 (about $40 USD). With that comes four wallpapers and three songs from the soundtrack, composed by Ari Pulkkinen. A Steam pre-order is currently available for $30, which comes with a free copy of Frozenbyte's previous title Shadowgrounds. The game will be on Impulse and possibly other digital sources in the coming days. Alternately, it will be available at retail in North America, "hopefully" by the end of July, courtesy of South Peak Interactive. Potential purchasers should note this version will have some copy protection, though no details are known at this time.
Richard Iggo, VP of Marketing at SouthPeak says, "Trine had an amazing E3 and we can't wait to get it into the hands of PC gamers."
TRINE launches July 3 on PC at GamesPlanet, July 10 everywhere else, and early-mid July on PSN, though no date is certain there. Also note an XBLA version is in the works.
Do you remember when the Wii first came out and all the lawsuits that followed? All because owners would not properly follow instructions! Well, gaming accessories manufacturer CTA Digital has produced a new controller for the Wii, and it may prove even more hazardous than the original Wii Remote. Yes, they have created a Wii Bowling Ball.
Sounds like trouble. Their official website quotes the following, regarding proper product handling:
"This Wii peripheral is the first of its kind to be fashioned after an authentic bowling ball, turning your wii-mote into the optimum performance-enhancing accessory! To operate simply ...plug the three holes with your fingers, as you would a bowling ball. Lastly, make sure to wear the wrist strap securely around your wrist, this will prevent the ball from accidentally flying out of your hand...Even though holding and bowling the ball is so like-like[sic] to the actual sport, never, ever release the ball!!"
CTA Digital also stated they are not responsible for any damages caused by the bowling ball. If this item actually takes off, you can bet we'll hear about more broken TVs and bruised bodies / egos in the coming months.
Corsair expanded its lineup of Performance Series solid state drives by filling in the niches below its existing P256 SSD with the release of the P128 (128GB) and P64 (64GB) drives. The Corsair P128 has the same performance as its larger sibling with read speeds of 220MB/sec and write speeds of 200MB/sec. The P64 is not quite as fast in the write department with read speeds 220MB/sec and write speeds of up to 120MB/sec.
Both drives are built using multi-level cell NAND flash technology and come equipped with a Samsung controller, 128MB of cache and NCQ support. Corsair claims the use of the more sophisticated Samsung controller allow the drives to eliminate the stutter problem found in cheaper drives.
The P128 is available now and a check of Corsair's retail partners showed it can be had for $339-$355US. The P128 has a MTBF of 100+ years and comes with a two-year warranty. The P64 is expected to become available in early July.
Bohemia Interactive Studios has put a ArmA II demo up for grabs. Get it while it's hot.
If you haven't heard of the PC military FPS, you might be missing out -- if you like your war-games realistic. The game puts you in the boots of a solider, and strives to re-create the chaos and sudden death situations of actual warfare. You will not be bursting into a room with a machine gun, taking five shotgun blasts to the chests and then using medkits to recharge your health instantly in this game.
Currently ArmA II is sitting pretty on Metacritic with a score of 79, with some critics scoring the game much higher, saying it is a title that should not be missed if you would "enjoy the most varied opportunities for combat in a very realistic representation of a war scenario, vehicles, weapons and characters" (said website Meritstation). "ArmA 2 represents the absolute freedom facing a modern battle, and where each of our choices will bring consequences."
Here's the word on what the demo does and doesn't have: "The fictional post-Soviet state of Chernarus provides the location for all the action in ArmA II and gamers will have the opportunity to explore its highland area in the demo version, along with the small Chernarussian island of Utes. More specifically, the ‘boot camp’ missions are all available which act as tutorials for the game’s many disciplines including helicopter flight, unit command and base construction. In addition, the full single player mission ‘Trial By Fire’ from the main campaign and the multiplayer map ‘Mini Warfare’, allowing ArmA fans the chance to trial three multiplayer modes, are included in the demo. A selection of over 20 vehicles, over 25 weapons and various soldier and civilian models will be included, although these represent only a fraction of those available in the retail version."
Below are the system requirements.
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows XP / Vista
Dual-Core CPU
512 MB Ram
Graphics card with 256 MB-VRam and Shader Model 3.0 support
Recommended System Requirements
Windows XP / Vista
Quad-Core CPU
1 GB Ram
Graphics card with 512 MB-VRam and Shader Model 3.0 support
And hey, if downloading a demo is too much of a commitment for you, you can play the new ArmA IIflash game instead.
New maps and Specialists class, with sexy new art and screenshots
Nexon America announces details for "Operation: Power Surge," the latest update for their popular MMO FPS Combat Online.
This update is named after the latest map, "Power Surge," an industrial pumping station available in four different game modes: Elimination, One Man Army, Capture the Flag, and Spy Hunt. Players will also be seeing a new mercenary, the Specialist, a brutally efficient class raised since birth to be the best at his work.
Story goes, two Specialists named "Scorpion" and "Viper" establish a unique group, its ranks filled with others like them. Of course, Scorpion and Viper are the best of the best; Scorpion is known for his ability to survive the harshest conditions and impossible situations, while Viper has made a reputation for herself with quick and fatal attacks, striking and killing before the enemy can even react.
Specialists can use four special items:
Claymore: A defensive, anti-personnel land mine utilizing a wireless detonator, the Claymore projects tiny steel fragments in a fan-shaped pattern, devastating enemies with its terrific explosive power.
Satellite Scanner: A military grade, portable scanner reveals the locations of hidden enemies. Scanned data is transmitted to teammates via satellite, giving fellow soldiers an edge over the enemy!
Medkit: A military syringe developed by NEMEXIS that is injected directly into the bloodstream. The Medkit restores a set amount of HP. Because of its portability, it can come in handy in the middle of combat situations when it is impossible to call on a medic. The Medkit can only be used for recovering one's own HP.
M32: A 40mm semi-automatic, six-barreled weapon with a revolving magazine, this rapid-fire grenade launcher gives increased firepower to foot soldiers.
With DYNASTY WARRIORS: Strikeforce, we saw a new spin on familiar characters, even after their DW6 makeover. Additionally, fans of the series could finally experience a Dynasty Warriors title with expanded multiplayer, using the PSP's ad-hoc mode.
Now players will be happy to know that the new add-on missions are available on PlayStation Network, free to download. KOEI is pretty great when it comes to DLC pricing -- as in no pricing.
KOEI will continue releases a new Quest Pack each month, and this month's pack includes all previously released DLC plus five new missions.
Yellow Turban Fortress X - Return to the Yellow Turbans' fortress to finish the fight! (Difficulty: 4)
Submerged Castle - Face the mighty Lu Bu and gain rare materials! (Difficulty: 4)
Battle of Bo Wan Po X - Return to Bo Wan Po to finish the fight! (Difficulty: 5)
Chi Bi vs Zhou Yu - Return to Chi Bi to finish the fight against Zhou Yu! (Difficulty: 7)
Publisher accused of false advertising and unfair business practices for MMO operations
Japanese RPG giant Square Enix has been hit with a federal class action suit, filed in San Francisco. The suit contends that the publisher had "deceived" customers of their MMORPG Final Fantasy XI over "hidden" fees and penalties.
As a result, Square Enix had allegedly engaged in false advertising and unfair business practices by keeping customers in the dark over the full costs resulting from penalties for things like late payments, including interest, restrictions, and still more fees.
Some examples of grievances listed in the filing:
Licensing of the online game software disguised as a sale;
Monthly fees ("fees") to play the online games;
Penalties for late payment of the fees;
Interest charges for late payment of the fees;
Charges while the online game account is suspended;
Termination of the right to use the online game for late payment of the fees;
User restrictions and conditions related to the online games;
Termination of game data for late payment of the fees.
The class action lawsuit is seeking damages amounting to over $5 million USD on behalf of 100,000 plaintiffs.
Could World of Warcraft, and others, be banned down under?
The game-hating government of Australia is still at it, it seems. Not content with limiting access to any offline game rated more spicy than 15+, the mostly conservative parliament still has it sights on banning many online games.
Which onlines games? Well, the ones that aren't subject to rating because online experiences are subject to change -- which is most of them. World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, even technically FIFA '09 could be banned. Only online games that could be guaranteed 'okay' for a person 15 years of age or younger would not have to worry about be censored. Even 'games' that aren't really so much games, like Second Life, would be subject to banishment.
You are probably familair with that little ERSB warning message that comes up when you play pretty much any console online game, saying that the company can not be responsible for changes of ratings due to online content. That means the game is considered unclassified, rating-wise, for online play, which means that it Australia could ban a lot of games for a lot of people.
As the average age for gamers is 30 in Australia, according to a study done by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, it seems that this harshly misguided endeavor could at least somewhat be stemming from the faulty impression of the Australian parliament that video games are mostly played by people under 18.
The man to thank for this effort in banning most online games is Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
It seems odd that on television you can see murder and breasts, yet WoW might be banned when at worst you might see a virtual tea-bagging or some elves in their underwear dancing a jig. But it doesn't seem like logic had much to do with the formulation of this plan to put a handful of censors in charge of determining what the entire population should or should not be doing with their 15+ recreation time.
Since MMO giant World of Warcraft began making bundles on the global MMO demographic, many other developers have tried to retrace Blizzard's steps and imitated various aspects of the game, hoping to win some players over. Of course, now we see them taking another route for a more old school feel, reminiscent of the Diablo era.
At least that's how things look right now. The latest example is True Games Interactive's Mytheon, developed by Petroglyph, the people behind Star Wars: Empire at War and Universeat War.
The website has been redone with various updates since the game was first announced, and True Games released the first official Mytheon trailer with screenshots today.
"Mytheon is truly the first of its kind and we are excited to give people a sneak peek at this captivating ancient world," said Peter Cesario, Director of New Business and Product Development. "The lore of ancient Greece is indeed unique to this variety of online gaming, and it is one of the many mythologies players will explore in game.This trailer gives fans a chance to see just a bit of what they can expect from Mytheon as it progresses."
Like many other up and coming titles, Mytheon will be combining various genre elements, creating an MMO strategy action game based on Greek mythology. Various notables from Greek myth have been worked into the game, including the ever popular Poseidon. True Games also boasts Mytheon's dynamic 3D renderings and gorgeous settings like Hades.
Today's new trailer offers a glimpse at all this as well as gameplay elements like "power stones," used to summon minions or perform other spells.
"We're pleased to finally take the lid off Mytheon and show everyone the incredible, fully realized 3D world that we've created for the game," said Chuck Kroegel, CEO and General Manager of Petroglyph Games. "The trailer demonstrates the immense maps players can look forward to, along with the unique gameplay mechanic of casting Power Stones to summon and use incredibly detailed creatures, structures and spells. We look forward to releasing additional information on Mytheon in the coming months."
While the game was originally announced to launch in Fall 2009, that date has been pushed back to early 2010.
Though Electronic Arts (EA) had spoken of in-game advertising in The Sims 3 prior to its release, for the last few weeks since its launch gamers haven't noticed anything, leading to speculation the plan had been canned. Turns out this is not exactly the case, it may have just been a matter of finding the appropriate investors. The company announces today then a multimilliion-dollar marketing agreement with the Dr. Pepper people, which includes product placement deals for the drink within its games, starting with The Sims 3. The campaign is launching early 2010.
As far as in-game advertising goes, it appears this is done about as tactfully as it can be: the content is 'opt-in', going the way of cereal and snack packs and all those wonderful things, that is, if you pick up certain Dr. Pepper products in-store, these will come with codes for exclusive downloadable content (DLC) to be had from The Sims 3 community site. So in short, anyone that feels the need to drink a real-life branded drink in a virtual world can do so, while the rest of us continue about our virtual day as usual.
"The Sims team is particularly excited about this offering because the Dr Pepper team shares our passion for introducing its brand to our player community in ways that will add to the players' experience," said Steve Seabolt, Vice President of Global Brand Development for The Sims. "This will include exclusive downloadable content available via our TheSims3.com community site. We have huge confidence that this 'opt-in value add' will have our players thinking very kindly of the Dr Pepper brand."
"We're proud to partner with an innovative marketing company like Dr Pepper that has such a rich heritage," said Elizabeth Harz, Senior Vice president of Global Media Sales for Electronic Arts. "EA is always looking for new ways to reach its fans, and by aligning with Dr Pepper, we're able to offer consumers premium content that enhances the gaming experience."
"The first-of-its-kind partnership with EA will give Dr Pepper fans an unrivaled experience by adding exclusive value to their games such as new levels and items," said Tony Jacobs, Vice President of Marketing for Dr Pepper. "EA is the only media company that could reach our target audience with the breadth and depth of titles for gamers on any gaming platform."
Other facets of the campaign, such as "co-branded retail initiatives" will roll out afterward; we'll have the appropriate announcements for you when the time comes.
Several new installments in the Overlord series launched earlier this week in North America, and their European releases are due tomorrow. As such, publisher Codemasters would like you to watch some new trailers and check out some new screenshots for the games, and hopefully get excited enough to purchase at least one. That's how this stuff works, we're told.
For a bit of background: the series is a bit of an oddball, particularly these latest additions, if you haven't already caught on from previous developer diaries. Take a lot of third-person ARPG, some light RTS elements, mix it with the absurd and terribly entertaining humour of The Bard's Tale and the oddity of Oddworld, and that's a good idea of the mix, here. Of course, of course, yes, the game has its own flavour, and we encourage you to check out the demo if you're at all interested -- just be nice to the seals.
First up we have the big one: Overlord II. Out on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC -- for those that value great graphics along with great gameplay, this is the one to get. More, this sequel to Raising Hell was made by the original developers Triumph Studios, and features writing by Rihanna Pratchet, who has written in the video game world previously, penning the story for Mirror's Edge. In today is the fifth developer diary, this one focusing on the game's humour:
Second is Overlord Dark Legend, a separate title developed for the Wii by Climax Studios, known for their work on Diablo (PSX), the PC Viva Pinata port, and the upcoming Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. A launch trailer for your pleasure:
Last but not necessarily least is the aptly titled Overlord Minions, also made by Climax. This one seems specifically aimed toward children, but hey, a good game is a good game, and Minions looks decent at worst.
All three games release in Europe tomorrow, June 26.
It's a big week for Windows 7 -- shortly before revealing its absurdly nice pricing schemes and pre-order steals, Microsoft lifted the curtain on the packaging for the new operating system. If you have packaging and/or environment fetishes like we do, this is a particularly enjoyable moment.
As with the OS itself, they listened to what customers wanted, using this to determine how the boxes and casing would look, and what they came back with was essentially this: clean and simple. As you can see below, each edition's colour makes it easy to differentiate which edition is which, even without reading the box.
As an added bonus, customers can purchase Windows 7 without worrying about any great environmental impact: the case (pictured at top) is light and recyclable, the packaging itself has a 37% weight reduction, and its econometrics score is up 50% over Vista.
Introducing the new 'Demigod Online', improved AI, tweaks, and tons more
Not long after the version 1.01 Demigod release, Stardock and Gas Powered Games are comin' at ya again with their first major update today: 1.1.
"Demigod version 1.1 features a host of improvements, a lot of which was based on player feedback," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "The new online system allows us the ability to update more efficiently and really concentrate on improving the multiplayer experience. The demo, which will be released in the coming weeks, is based on the changes in version 1.1 and dispels any lingering impression that the multiplayer experience isn't fixed."
Below are the highlights of the new release.
Custom Games make full use of new Demigod Online system developed by Stardock:
Players who have opened their ports get directly connected.
Players who don't have opened ports will get connected via a NAT server
Players who still can't connect will have their games hosted by Stardock servers based in Asia, Europe, or North America depending on player location.
Teams can concede a game to end it early once it becomes apparent who is going to win
Launch of the second Epoch online. Existing statistics archived and rankings based on new games
Improved chat window handling
When players sell a minion idol, minions connected to that idol are destroyed
Improved computer AI
Removed "spammy" achievement alerts
Improved visuals on certain NVIDIA cards at lower quality settings
Heart of Life more expensive, now an artifact, longer cooldown
Hex Scroll is more powerful
Reward for completing a game is now 40 favor points
Reduced experience and gold reward from killing piling priests and angels
Angel unit AI improved
Many small tweaks and fixes to engine and multiplayer
As you'd expect, they aren't stopping there, already planning a roadmap for version 1.2, which will include Robust Replay support, native modding support, and clan support. Other items are in the discussion stages, particularly more Demigods.
Stardock hopes this is the first of many updates, and we do too. As always, grab this one through the Impulse client.
Microsoft unveiled pricing details for Windows 7 today, which is expected to be available in stores on Oct. 22. Microsoft also announced a program that starts Friday under which consumers can pre-order the operating system for the next two weeks at discounts of more than 50%.
The full version of Windows 7 Home Premium is priced at $199, with an upgrade from Vista or XP costing $119. The full version of Windows 7 Professional is $299, with upgrades going for $199. Windows 7 Ultimate is priced at $319, with the upgrade version at $219. Note that the upgrade version is good for both Vista and XP installations.
Microsoft also provided more details around a previously disclosed upgrade program: consumers who purchase a Vista-based PC as of Friday will be eligible to upgrade the system to Windows 7 at no or little cost when it becomes available.
HRD is capable of 160,000 IOPS according to developer
For many years now the main storage scheme used for personal computers have been mechanical hard disc drive. In the past few years, the solid-state drive has come to market with faster performance and lower capacity and at a much higher price tag.
DataSlide has unveiled a first of its kind medium that may one day replace both HDDs and SSDs. This new medium is referred to as an HRD or Hard Rectangular Disc. DataSlide says that their technology is protected by a patent and can achieve 160,000 IOPS and 500MB/sec performance levels while consuming fewer than 4 watts of power.
The concept for the HRD was taken from the IBM Millipede concept and then reworked with common technologies. DataSlide has no idea on when or how long it might take before the HRD comes to market.
This weekend marks the culmination of the Storm the Front Online Tournament with the crowning of the champions from the first season. CM Storm, makers of the Storm line of gaming products, is already kicking off Season 2 with online registration beginning next week.
Starting June 29th, 2009, players can go to the Storm the Front site and register for season 2 and get ready to square off against COD4 teams from around the world. More than 100 five-person teams will compete in a double-elimination tournament with matches scheduled to begin July 20, 2009 through July 26 with subsequent matches continuing weekly based on the number of teams that register. The season lasts for one quarter with the final champions to be determined in October.
GameSports.de is helping facilitate the tournament and will be streaming the competition live. When all the dust settles the top three teams will walk away with cash prizes, gaming hardware and more. If you think your team has what it takes you can head over to the event web site and sign up.
Ubisoft has announced today that it will be further expanding digital distribution of its PC games in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) regions by teaming up with Metaboli.
Those crazy people behind Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, and the Raving Rabbids games became the first independent developers to "build commercial relationships" with Metaboli back in 2001, using its subscription services.
As of this month, gamers can find more Ubisoft games via UK game portal Gamesplanet now, while gamers in the States can still look to GameTap.
“We are very pleased to pursue our partnership with Metaboli. This fruitful collaboration will offer users the opportunity to purchase digitally a large range of our most successful games,” states Ubisoft's Stéphanie Perotti, chief operating officer EMEA.
A group of seven buds -- most with past or present Microsoft affiliations -- have applied for a patent on "temperature stablized storage containers." The seven buds notably include Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's former CTO, and Big Bill himself, William H. Gates III.
What did these intelligent folks come up with? Well get this: it's like a beer keg... that keeps your beer cold! Yes, this is pure brilliance. One of those great ideas that seems so obvious you are surprised it hasn't been invented yet. (Sure -- you could put your keg of beer in a tub of ice, but what a hassle. This is the 21st century after all, we should be more reasonable.)
The temperature stablized storage containers could be used for beverages besides beer, but hey, if you had a keg of fruit juice, you could just put some ice in your drink. No this invention certainly was intended for storing "a beverage such as beer, for example, at a temperature appropriate for serving depending upon the type of beer." Or even "may be used to store wine at an optimal storage temperature range, generally 50 to 55 degrees."
Well it doesn't seem all that unlikely that this super-keg idea will ever see production, who knows, perhaps it will become a retirement side-project for Bill in his twilight years.
A German court made a ruling against German-owned website RapidShare.
The case was instigated by the music copyright enforcement group Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte in Germany -- also known by the much handier acroynm, GEMA. The group claimed that 5,000 music files under their protection, so to speak, were at times turning up on RapidShare's servers. While RapidShare always removed files that groups claimed were copyright material, the judge decided that this was not enough, and ordered to company to be more proactive in finding copyright files.
Now the onus is on RapidShare to search file names, making sure 5,000 tracks in GEMA's copyright domain are not being served up on the site.
A massive amount of files flows through RapidShare everyday. According to some web metrics, it is the 16th most visited website on the entire planet. If you have never been there before, it offers free file hosting for public downloading.
"We do not consider the court’s decision to be a breakthrough. As other proceedings in similar disputes with GEMA have shown, there is considerable disparity amongst the individual courts in some cases," the CEO of RapidShare was quoted as saying.
Two subsidiaries to be rolled up into one, led by BioWare's founders
What fun filled roll-ups are they gonna roll out with next? The merger madness this week extends to internal subsidiaries, as Electronic Arts will be bundling up its BioWare and Mythic teams into one sleeker package commandeered by BioWare's finest. Longtime BioWare leads Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will continue to oversee this new entity in its capacity as "RPG/MMO studio group". The Herald announcement certainly makes it clear that BioWare's studios will remain largely unchanged.
Things are little different over on Mythic's side. Mythic's General Manager Mark Jacobs, who put a face behind the development of Warhammer Online as well as crusader against online cheaters, is leaving EA altogether following the restructuring of the Mythic and BioWare units. Jacobs will be replaced by fellow Mythic staffer Rob Denton, who previously served as the subsidiary's COO. Warhammer Online continues to operate, indeed the desert lands of Nehekhara are now open for Realms previously locked out of the Rise of the Tomb Kings live event.
An indie game that could double as a screen saver turned up recently on the Internet.
The game is called Polynomial, and it was made by a Russian guy named Dmytry Lavrov. The concept of Polynomial isn't that special -- you basically fly around in space ship, first person perspective, shooting stuff up. What is exceptional is the execution of this simple concept.
Mr. Lavrov used randomization and fractal generation to generate the landscape space-scape for the game. Each cool looking fields of light you fly around in represents some variety of math equation.
You can get in dogfights with nasty alien shapes, just fly around, or use the included editor to make up your own space-arenas.
A demo version of the game is available for PC, Macs and Linux OS'es. The demo version if fully featured -- it only lacks the ability to save. You can get it here.
No "next-gen" graphics for FIFA 10, lack of demand cited
As with the NHL series and FIFA 09 before it, Electronic Arts (EA) isn't giving PC gamers much love with the forthcoming FIFA 10: the game will not feature the same high quality graphics found on its current generation console cousins, but rather the previous.
On the FIFA Soccer Blog, they note: "It’s down to the fact that not everyone has a high-end PC, but in time it will get closer. Currently only 10% of consumers have machines capable of running the next-gen engine." It's important to take into account this figure was based on worldwide data, with no local differences accounted for.
To EA's credit, they are looking to step up the gameplay for this version of the title, listing many improvements in the same post mentioned above, pertaining to the collision system, animations, orientation, and player switching. Still, the graphics thing feels like a cheap move, especially considering they've put out many "next generation" titles on the PC this year and last. But if hardware really is the case, why not make it scalable like many other companies are doing?
Early access for 'Rise of the Tomb Kings' winning Realm
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning's "Call to Arms" live expansion has been officially completed today with the ceremonious opening of the doors to 'The Land of the Dead' dungeon zone, at least for Europeans.
Here you can explore the treacherous deserts of Nehekhara, enjoy a new RvR-gated zone with dozens of new Public Quests, instanced lairs, battle new monsters, and plunder a huge new dungeon, if you care to seek out the Casket of Souls or other wealth.
Early access is granted to the Realm which had the best performance in last week's 'Rise of the Tomb Kings' live event: you folks can reap the new content 24 hours in advance.
“As the Call to Arms live expansion neared its end, we were excited to watch the heroic conflict between the Armies of Order and Destruction play out in the ‘Rise of the Tomb Kings’ live event,” said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer for Mythic Entertainment. “The Armies may have won that battle, but the war continues to rage. The real struggle for control over the ‘The Land of the Dead’ has only begun. Players on both sides are in for the fight of their lives as they attempt to unlock the secrets of the Tomb Kings for the glory of their Realm.”
ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, has today acquired id Software, developers of such classic franchises as Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and new property Rage. Before you get too worried: the deal was initiated by id.
Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, commented on the transaction: “This was a unique opportunity to team with a smart, sophisticated publisher like Bethesda Softworks where the interests of the studio and the publisher will be fully aligned in the development and marketing of our titles. In addition, we will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans.”
id will continue to operate under its renowned founder John Carmack, and ZeniMax states "no changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games"; all the main guys from the team have signed long-term contracts, meaning they will continue with their current development roles.
Robert Altman, the founder, Chairman & CEO of ZeniMax Media stated, “We, along with many others, consider id Software to be among the finest game studios in the world, with extraordinary design, artistic and technical capabilities. They have demonstrated, repeatedly, that rare ability to create franchise properties that are critical and commercial successes. Our intention is to make sure id Software will continue to do what they do best – make AAA games. Our role will be to provide publisher support through Bethesda Softworks and give id Software the resources it needs to grow and expand.”
“This puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward,” said John Carmack, who will continue to serve in his current role as Technical Director. “We will now be able to grow and extend all of our franchises under one roof, leveraging our capabilities across multiple teams while enabling forward looking research to be done in the service of all of them. We will be bigger and stronger, as we recruit the best talent to help us build the landmark games of the future. As trite as it may be for me to say that I am extremely pleased and excited about this deal, I am."
Both men spoke more frankly in an interview about the deal, with Carmack citing current publisher conflicts -- Rage is funded by Electronic Arts, and previously longtime partner Activision -- as one of the main reasons they're happy to be switching:
"We're really getting kind of tired competing with our own publishers in terms of how our titles will be featured. And we've really gotten more IPs than we've been able to take advantage of. And working with other companies hasn't been working out as spectacularly as it could. So the idea of actually becoming a publisher and merging Bethesda and ZeniMax on there [is ideal.] It would be hard to imagine a more complementary relationship. They are triple A, top-of-the-line in what they do in the RPGs. And they have no overlap with all the things we do in the FPSes."
He later added: "We can build the pipeline and have a regular pipeline of releases."
Altman said the acquisition is a "win for fans of id."
Intel will "again be the subject of some good-humored laughs with Conan O'Brien", having signed on as a sponsor of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
The corporation underwrote O'Brien's visit to the San Francisco Bay area a couple of years ago, so the new move extends their partnership with NBC. Intel states it "leverages O'Brien's unique ability to humorously convey to his viewers Intel's unique personality, cutting-edge technology and futuristic innovations."
According to the press release, their "Sponsors of Tomorrow" campaign will be "woven organically on-air and online through NBC Universal." An idea of what's going down can be had at the new dedicated NBC webpage, which features Conan taking a trip to Intel HQ, also found below (not the best thumbnail shot, but hey).
"Intel is paving a path to the future, and creating new ways to connect to people in meaningful ways," said CJ Bruno, group president, Intel Americas. "While we are passionate about technology with a serious impact on society, there is also a funny, quirky side to Intel people – and we want to share that side of our personality too." Sponsors of Tomorrow isn't about one particular Intel product or processor, it's about the Intel brand overall. Among other things, the campaign illustrates the ability to turn science fiction into science fact and outlines our investment in science education outside our walls."
"We had a great experience working with Intel a few years ago when we took the 'Late Night' show to San Francisco,” added Jeff Ross, executive producer of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien." "Now that we have moved to California, Intel has given us a great opportunity to have some more fun with them. They have been a great partner."
Fans of Tale of Tales' The Path, and even their previous title The Graveyard will want to keep an eye on their just-announced new project, tentatively titled "Fatale."
The new work will be much smaller in scale -- "but not in ambition" -- and is inspired by 19th century "femme fatale" paintings, a femme fatale being a woman who lures men to their death --this onewill take on the inverse premise of The Path, then, it seems.
"We wanted to do something with that theme in realtime 3D," remark designers Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. "And also with the idea of a painting as a frozen moment in time."
Fatale's story is based on the legend of Salomé, particularly Oscar Wilde's 1891 interpretation of it in play form. As the legend goes, 2000 years ago this woman (Salomé) demanded the head of John the Baptist as a reward for dancing for her stepfather, King Herod (must've been some fine dancing); Wilde's take on it focuses on a young woman in love with the prophet; in Tale of Tales' interpretation, you explore the aforementioned scene and experience the story as it unfolds through the emotions and thoughts of the characters.
"We're interested in the idea of a love story that ends in death," muse Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn, "but we also want to include other elements of the tale. The fact, for instance, that Salomé may have been just an insecure girl who was manipulated by her mother, Queen Herodias -who then ends up becoming the real "femme fatale". We're also very sensitive to the political tension that underlies the tale: a Middle Eastern country -Judea- occupied by Westerners -Romans- at a time of religious unrest -the birth of Christianity. And this girl, Salomé, just has the head chopped off of one of the most important figures of the time. On a whim, apparently, or for unrequited love, changing the course of history."
Previous team members will be onboard for the project, so some familiar elements are to be expected (even welcomed); they are: Laura Raines Smith on character animation, Gerry De Mol on dance music, and musicians Jarboe and Kris Force on soundscaping and voice acting. Quite interestingly, the characters themselves will be created by an "extremely talented and very well known game artist", whose identity they are keeping secret for the time being.
Tale of Tales have previously worked on The Godlove Museum, described as "a series of interactive websites based on the first five books of the Old Testament."
Fatale will be released October 5, the 78th anniversary of the first public performance of Salomé in English -- the play has been banned from the British stage for nearly half a century due its depiction of biblical figures.
Version 1.05 brings new storyline, enemies, rewards, and heaps of improvements
Funcom's Age of Conan is still going strong, certainly enough so they can still bring the community gargantuan updates like today's, anyway. The fifth installment, titled 'Gangs of Tarantia' takes us into the world of the Tarantia Commons district, bringing with it a new storyline, more enemies, rewards, and an intimidatingly long list of fixes and improvements.
“The team has poured a lot of dedication and hard work into making this update a reality,” says Funcom game director Craig Morrison. “Not only are we adding a massive new area to the game where level seventy players can find hours of more entertainment, we have also made significant changes to core systems in the game that will hopefully make the game experience more fun and a lot more rewarding!”
One of the fundamental changes which has been made to gameplay include item statistic alterations, which affect equipment value and looting. Another highlight pertains to guild cities, which now see increased settlement life with guards and merchants walking the streets. Fans of the PvP mini-games, meanwhile, will be happy: these now add to your experience levels. Lastly, those that've always wanted to carry around a pet snake while slaying orcs and such are in luck: you can now purchase these, along with dogs and cats and other such animals if you wish.
Below is your update summary, which also contains links to full lists of the changes. Enjoy.
New Content - Tarantia Commons released!
Tarantia Commons can now be visited by high level players seeking new quests and encounters! The urban underbelly of King Conan’s capital city is rife with social unrest, unscrupulous characters, poverty and villainy…a perfect place for discovering new adventures!
Complete with new quests, new instanced encounters, great new boss fights and dynamic social events Tarantia Commons awaits those brave enough to try and make a name for themselves on its unforgiving streets!
The changes to the RPG system are now live! Items will now have much easier to understand statistics and relative power levels. Among the highlights of the system changes are the new armor protection system, improved abilities (Strength, Dexterity etc all mean more to your character now), new easier to understand combat ratings and pets now gain power from their masters items. In addition there are changes for every class to feat trees, abilities, spells and combos.
Furthermore due to the changes in the system everyone’s feat respect cost has been reset to allow for greater experimentation with the new feats (and it has been capped at 10g for the future as well!)
New Gem crafting system
This update brings with it a completely overhauled gem crafting system. Offering great new options for players and more dynamic customization possibilities you can find all the details on the changes here.
New City-life Features
Guild cities now offer even more rewards. With new rewards for certain tiers of buildings including new social NPCs that will inhabit your cities, new travel NPCs, new vendors with new social pets and a unique new Path of Comrades option that allows you to transport back to your guild city from anywhere in the world. More details about these changes can be found here.
Hundreds of other updates, tweaks and changes
There are literally hundreds of other improvements in this update, with highlights including PVP XP rewards for winning mini-games, new rez pad locations in popular zones, new crates of potions to allow you to purchase in bulk, mounts are now abilities so they don’t take up space in your inventory and a whole host of other fixes and adjustments.
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