This week's topic is mostly on game related stuff; A few interesting articles have been posted lately. Gamepro's done one on Gaming Myths, where they've tryed to disagree with 14 of them, it's good, though i dont agree with them on the PC-FPS thing- i'm definately pc-biased. Gamasutra have done an article on games that have changed the way we think about multiplayer. Theres also a cool study thats been done suggesting that surgeons who play videogames are more skilled. In other news, HL2 episode 2 has been delayed again, now to 3rd quarter this year.
Ofcourse what gaming post would be complete without more news about the Wii, this time with old people in retirement homes playing it. Also, someones started working on a mod to use the Wii-mote with normal PCs, in a mod for HL2.
Last but not least is this weeks youtube links people sent me- Punchy and Robot Chicken: Grand Theft Mario. The second is a lot funnier than the first for me, but depends on your humor ;)
For those of you who haven't heard that a sequel to this is coming out, you are slow. For everyone else, I found some more reason for you to be excited about it =D C&C3 is set to feature an all-star cast for all its live action cut-scenes, the original actor for Kane is back ofcourse, but to fill all the other roles in the game, there are actors who have stared in Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Starship Troopers, Wedding Crashers, Top Gun and theres even a former Miss Universe winner in it. You can read up on the details here.
I for one am a huge fan of the series and can't wait til they release it.
For the Battlefield fans out there, you should check out the new demo for 2142. Its available for download from most gaming sites, such as Internode (for australian fans).
Anyway, the game is pretty cool, it has changed quite a bit from BF2. In the new TitanMode for example, there is a lot more emphasis on teamwork for you to win. Also, most of the vehicle weapons are specific now, so you can't really use the same gunport to kill infantry as to destroy other vehicles. And the classes have now been combined down to 4, so for example the Aussault/SpecOps/Medic classes are now just Assault and the Engineer/Anti-Tank is now just Engineer. I like the futuristic take (especially the Drop Pods) the game has taken though, but don't take my word for it just download it and have a look yourself.
I've decided to put up news posts more often and do it the way we did when we first started the site, with updates about everything, not just flash and site news.
Today I want to mention Defcon, it came out a week or two ago and I have to say its pretty fun. If you've seen that 1983 classic movie WarGames then you'll know what this game is about. Basically its a simulation of thermonuclear war; a strategy game, not turn based but not quite real time either. Its pretty fun, and the game's tagline "Everybody Dies" is pretty accurate. Go download the demo and have a look yourself =)
This week's gaming links. I'd say this is a lot of good stuff, but that'd be an under-statement... so i had to put this up b4 the ussual flash update. PS3, PSP and Xbox2 good-ness included with the ussual games were waitng for.
Midway has acquired the Unreal [Tournament] series from the grasp of Atari. They have gained the rights to the next 3 Unreal Titles, including Unreal Championship 2 and games for next-gen consoles (ie. PS3 and Xbox Next]. Article.
Meanwhile, Valve has announced that Half-Life 2 will be passed on to publisher Vivendi within days and then the game will hit retail during mid-to-late september.
Theres also a new SW-KOTOR2 trailer, it says 'Coming Winter 2004' which suggests that the release date might have been brought forward from May to February -- Good News.
Valve has recently said that they have about 16days of bug testing left, which means the game should be up for release next month (finaly.). Meanwhile, Crytek has partnered up with EA for a new franchise, no more details on that. Finally, Activision has announced a bunch of sequals set for fiscal 2006 (april 2005 to march 2006). These include Quake (4?), Call of Duty 2 and True Crime 2. As well as a new shrek game and others. Oh, and theres more info on GTA5: San Andreas as well.
well.. as ussual.. when theres a movie, theres a good chance theres a game. Catwoman, the game, will be released pretty soon, by developer Argonaught and publisher EA. Info | Screens | Trailer
And now for release dates.... dungeon seige 2 has been delayed till spring 2005 (US, so autumn here). Halo 2 has been pushed two days more to the 11th of november in Europe (dunno if thats gonna affect us here aswell) and finally, Activision has *finally* confirmed the Doom3 Release date to be the 3rd of August, it is to be released in stores worldwide on the week starting august the 2nd.
Ok, the worlds first Doom3 deathmatch tournament will be held at next months QuakeCon, nVidia is also giving away up to $150,000 of cash and prizes. Theres also the ussual Quake 3 arena, 1-1 and 4-4 tournaments. Official Site
Epic is planning its first Unreal Engine 3 based title to hit the shelves in the 2006 (ages away i know). Furthermore its first title based on the new dropping engine (see earlier post), will be unrelated to the unreal franchise, and will have a strong single-player focus. They have plans for an Unreal Tournament and an Unreal 3 game both based on the new engine too, but that will come later.
Another speculation of the date for Doom 3, has been set down by EB Games and GameStop, for the 3rd of August this year. Thats a US date ofcourse, but as usual, i dont think it has been 'officialy' confirmed.
The voice cast for HL2 has been announced, the link for that is here.
Theres also news that Final Fantasy: Advent Children, the film sequal FF8, will possibly show exlusively on the PSP for a month or two before being released on dvd. but as the psp is still a while out, this is probably inaccurate. however it is confirmed that it will defiantely show on the psp at some point.
Sorry for another long gaming update, just had stuff to say, im thinking of maby moving gaming to a different page so that only the flash stuff is on the front.
Anyway, on with the news, Halo 2, has finally got a release date secured, the 9th of November (this year). They've also got new screenshots on it.
Meanwhile, developer Pivotal, has added another game to its Conflict series, Conflict: Vietnam. Screenshots and Info.
Theres a new KOTOR2 (Knights of the Old Republic 2: the Sith Lords) trailer, its a walkthrough narrated demo one, but it pretty much sums up stuff in the game, so check it out (www.swkotor.com}. The game is due for Feb, 2005 (PC/Xbox).
If you havn't already seen it, theres the Metal Gear Solid 3 trailer out somewhere too, its pretty good, the end bit is pretty funny. link is here.
Theres also some Prince of Persia 2 stuff -- Info & Screens
and finally, a piece of info thats quite old (start o month) but i forgot to post in the last 2 gaming updates.... publisher Eidos has fired 20 to 25 of its staff, it is said they were people involved or hired specificaly to work with Dues Ex: Invisible War, and Theif: Deadly Shadows.... so now that its finished, they were no longer needed.
"CRIPS AND BLOODS
San Andreas is set in the early 1990s, complete with those infamous period radio stations. You play through the game as Carl Johnson (CJ), a street kid who's recently returned to his home of Los Santos to find in-fighting in his family and his gang, the Orange Grove Families. CJ is soon dragged back into the gangsta lifestyle when a couple of bad cops get on his tail and everything goes tits-up."
In gaming.... btw, i meant to post this last week but i forgot to neways... on with the update.
Theif 3 has been scheduled for release in the Uk and Europe for June 11 (XBOX AND PC). Screenshots available here.
Meanwhile theres some more details of GTA: San Andreas which is due for october this year. InfoScreenshots
And finally theres some more info on HL2 as wel. which we've all been waiting way way too long to play. Having info about it while the release date doesn't get any closer is getting annoying, but it'll get here eventually i spose. link be here.
man! take a look at these ***** mad screens of the new Unreal 3 Engine. another step closer to photo realism i tell ya. The trailer is more like a documentary on the engine really, cos it was taken at the E3 conference i think. Its 165mb too.
If you wanted know what Nintendo's new DS (dual screen) looks like, feels like and what it will offer, you can check it out now. Boasting WiFi wireless capabilitires, voice recognition, touch screen and as mentioned before, 2 screens. Also from Nintendo, roumers of a major Pokemon announcement and Mario 128. Metroid Prime 2, Wind walker 2 and Paper Mario 2 have already been confirmed. DS Details: Article.Screenshots
Meanwhile, Sony has been showing off its PSP, which is due in Japan at the end of the year and everywhere else sometime next year. It looks similar to the models that have been floating around the net for a few months now, and like the DS, it also boosts WiFi wireless capabilities. You'll also be able to watch movies. Details: Article.Screenshot.
And now for third competitor in the hand-held console market, Nokia, has re-worked its N-Gage. It's going to get a lot more titles under its arm, including Driv3r, Civillisation, SSX out of Bounds and FiFa 2005. and... like the others, it continues to offer wireless access. Details.
First up, Lucasarts has announced that they will be unveiling a sequel to Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) at this years E3. It is titled KOTOR2: The Sith Lords and the release date is set for February 2005. Also, Starwars Battlefront and Starwars Commando are now available from their websites.
Next... adding to the E3 line up for next week is Valve and ATi who will be showing 2 sneak peaks into Half-Life 2, the highly anticipated sequel to HL1 which is due to be released the end of this year.
Also adding to the E3 line up, is a new game, Worms: Forts Under Seige. It is another 3D one for PC like the other one by activision, Worms 3D. Its set for release 4th Quarter this year.
Finally, THQ will be accquiring Relic, the developer best known for its Homeworld games.
btw, E3 is next week, so expect some more gaming news from that.
Leisure Suit Larry is making a comeback with a new title in the series by develpoer High Voltage Software. It is titled Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and the basic story goes on something like this; "The basic story finds Larry, a sixth-year college senior, lonely and depressed in his dorm room at Walnut Log Community College. Larry isn't much of a ladies' man; he's the big loser on campus. He'd like to follow in his uncle's footsteps [his uncle being the original Leisure Suit Larry star, Larry Laffer], so he resolves to become a contestant on a reality dating show that is taping an episode. The show won't let him audition until he proves that he can score with chicks, so he sets out on a quest to seduce the girls on campus."
There is also a new title in the Sims series, called the Urbz: Sims in the City. - Its due for the end of the year.
Microsoft have released demos (well video's) from their XNA development platform -- The technology that will empower future Xbox2, and Windows games. XNA is supposed to take away developers having to spend so much time on cross platform development and focus more on whats important, well at least for windows and xbox anyway. These stunning videos, which i recommend you take a look at are available at Microsoft's official XNA website., I daresay Xenomorph (3rd vid) looks the best. More on the Xbox, they have also said the black and white buttons on the controller are likely to be either relocated or removed from the Xbox 2 controller. This is in response to surveys which claim that these buttons are used the least by far.
Valve have also released plans on a Half Life 3 title, and in it they are considering making Gordon Freeman's female side kick a playable character.
Meanwhile, Id software have said the next game they will be releasing will have a really short development time and re-use models from Doom3. They said they will be looking into their portfolio, and something along the lines of a possible Quake 2 Remix. They also mentioned Doom3 is really close to shipping now.
Lastly, Sony have released footage of the PSP's first game title, Death Jr, at the GDC (Game Developers Conferrence)
Turbine Entertainment has announced that they will be releasing a new Dungeons & Dragons game -- This time its an MMPORG. Turbine Entertainment also was responsible for the Asheron's Call MMPORG series, and are also currently working on Middle-Earth online (yes, another MMPORG). Dungeons & Dragons is due out in late 2005, so you've still got a while to wait.
Also, E3 is getting more items to be explored or unveiled, with Valve annoucing a HL2 sneak peak, and hopefully some lucky people will be able to play for the first time. Ubisoft will also be unveiling a squel to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Originally my sources had said that GTA5 was called Sin City. Rockstar annouced it today, that it was called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. They also said that the release date was October the 19th for US and October the 22nd for the European version. When it will hit us in Australia is unknown.
Also, Microsoft has said today that the Xbox will infact not come with an internal hard-drive, and instead use flash disks (a bit like memory cards for the playstations).
For those of you who were asking what the release date for Doom3 is, it isnt set yet! Id Software have ussually kept to something along the lines of 'its done when its done', so you'll just have to wait and see.
Finally, Crytek has confirmed that they are releasing a version of FarCry for the Xbox. It is said that it will be different in content to the game as well as its graphics, they didnt say much about it though.
EA has recently said they will be closing down Maxis, the creators of the 'Sims' series. That doesnt mean they will be letting go of the 'Sims', just that it will be no longer by Maxis, and be just by EA. Full story at Reuters
Anyone remember that old game played on snez, dos, or from a mega drive? Well EA has got plans to revive it, and add another title to its series. Details are suposed to be unveiled at E3, but other than that there isnt much more on it.
You guys know far cry? the game which i forgot to post here about a couple o weeks ago? Well, someone is making it into a $25 million dollar horror-flick.
The playable demo for Unreal Tournament 2004 has been released, allowing you to check out the upcoming next game in the multiplayer shooter series from Epic Games, Digital Extremes and Atari. The Unreal Tournament 2004 official demo includes five playable game modes, and offers fans their first taste of Unreal Tournament 2004's two new game modes: the introduction of the hyper-charged Onslaught mode and the return of the fan-favorite Assault mode, which last appeared in the original Unreal Tournament. The demo also features established gametypes like Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Bombing Run. The 209MB demo is mirrored on FileFront, 3DGamers, AVault, FileShack (registration required), NVIDIA's nZone, WP, FileRush, FilePlanet, NGI.it, target='_blank'>GameSpot, AbsoluteGamers, BoomTown, IGN, LoadedInc, UT2003Files, GameTab, Tiscali Games.
Thanks to madda in the forums for the description.
Lucus Arts has just released plans for a new game, Star Wars Battlefront:
Star Wars BattlefrontTM gives you the chance to play as a soldier in intense multiplayer battles with up to 32 people. Choose your allegiance and pick a soldier from one of four different armies. Fight on ten legendary planets and use a variety of weapons and vehicles, including X-wings, snowspeeders and AT-ST’s. Keep your wits about you and victory may be within your reach. Experience the chaos of battle as you fight the greatest wars in the Star Wars universe.
Check out the product site for screenshots and game information!
Meanwhile, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, has been voted the game of the year from GameSpy, RPG Vault and 1up.com
The 5th game in the Grand Theft Auto series has had its release date set for the 5th of November this year. That is for the PS2 gamers, the PC date hasnt been set yet.
