Hardware News
Frontline Kursk Interview
October 31, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, the FiringSquad has scored an interview with N-Game Studios' Gleb Sokolov regarding their upcoming Strategy title, Frontline Kursk. They chat about the game's missions, multiplayer and more! Here's some juice:
FiringSquad: What will the single player missions be like?
Gleb Sokolov: In Frontline: Kursk the diversified types of missions will be represented. For example, saving the general together with the army headquarters, a mission that will be highly affected by its environment, urban battles, strategic retreats and counterattacks. Tank battles are obviously included, particularly the famous battle under Prohorovka, and the battle for Belgorod. In addition, the most persistent players can expect a surprise two additional secret missions which are anything but standard.
The Guild 2 Demo Released
October 31, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Dishing out a little download lovin' this evening, 4HEAD Studios' has released a 600mb demo from their RPG/Strategy title, The Guild 2. Featuring a tutorial and one map, you can grab this puppy from one of the following mirrors: So what are you waiting for? Get downloading! ;)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Review
October 31, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping things rollin', GameSpot has thrown together a review on Raven Software's recently released superhero Action title, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Scoring a very solid 8.3/10, you comic book fans might wanna give this one a look. Anyways, here's some lovin':
Though you have little control over how your heroes' basic stats (like health and energy) increase, with each new level you're given skill points that you can put toward special powers. Each hero has eight or more special powers in an arsenal, though many of them are inaccessible until you reach certain experience plateaus. You can also use cold, hard cash that you pick up by beating enemies and smashing crates to purchase points, though they start off pricey and become exponentially more so as you progress. Each hero also has three alternate costumes that you can unlock, which not only can drastically affect the hero's appearance, but also come with a unique set of bonuses that you can pay to increase. Defeating significant villains and finding special treasure chests will usually net you a piece of performance-enhancing equipment. Usually any hero can use any gear you happen upon, though it never shows up on their person, and there are also lots of rare pieces of gear that only specific heroes can use.
City of Villains Q&A
October 31, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
After hitting the one year anniversary of City of Villains' release, MMORPG.com has sat down with Cryptic Studios' Matt Miller for a quick Q&A about the game's past, present and future. Here's a little something to nibble on:
Q: How do you plan to further integrate City of Heroes with City of Villains (co-op play, social areas like Pocket D, etc.)?
A: We have plans for a co-operative zone where both sides band together under a common flag to combat a mutual threat. While Villains and Heroes obviously do not get along with each other, there are times when the enemy of my enemy becomes a friend, no matter who they are.
Guild Wars: Nightfall First Impressions
October 31, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting the week started, GameSpy has shot-up some first impressions on ArenaNet's latest Guild Wars expansion pack, Nightfall. Here's a bit on the two new character professions:
The two new character professions that Nightfall introduces mesh very nicely with the game's fantastical North African setting. The Dervish is an upfront melee fighter, though most of the profession's abilities are able to damage multiple enemies at once. There also seems to be something of a synergy between the profession's self-buffs, and some of its offensive capabilities -- some attacks become more potent the more "enchantments" are on you, for instance, while others will immediately refresh if you consume an enchantment when you execute it. By all accounts, our early experience with the Dervish has been quite satisfying. We haven't had much first-hand experience with the other new class, the Paragon, though we've been fortunate enough to group with a couple, and benefit from their impressive powers. From what we've seen, it seems like much more a support class; they sit back and lob javelins at enemies, while casting powerful buffs on its allies. Think of it as a mix between the Amazon and the Paladin from Diablo 2. Due to their multitude of support abilities, they're sure to be welcome in most groups.
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Review
October 30, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
After posting some first impressions, GameSpy has slapped up a full blown review on Arkane Studios' recently released Action-RPG, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. Here's a bit on customizing your skills:
True choice comes into play when you decide what sort of fighter Sareth will become. As you fulfill objectives in the game's linear missions, you'll acquire skill points that you can use to advance in a series of ability trees. You can choose to specialize in melee combat, archery, or various types of magic. There are also auxiliary abilities that you can select, including passive ones that increase your health and mana reserves, or active ones that, for example, allow you to pick locks. Regardless of which way you choose to go in the end, you'll have points left over to dabble in other areas.
Read on!WoW: The Burning Crusade Preview
October 29, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Worthplaying.com kills the silence by firing-up a preview on Blizzard Entertainment's much anticipated World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. So what can we expect in terms of new areas? Read on:
As for the new areas, theyre as interesting as they are plentiful. Ghostwood, the 10 to 20th level area for the Blood Elves that sits above the Eastern Plaguelands is haunting. Roughly analogous to Tirisfal Glades, there is a sense of past tragedy to this area that hints at a deep mourning, as if the land itself were still weeping for past glories. Plus, it has Deatholme, and thats just beyond cool. A dead city of the dead? I sprout claws just thinking of it. Then theres Outland. I could easily do another thousand words on this place. Its huge, its frightening, its beautiful and its ugly in equal measure. I recommend you surf the screenshots, because no description of mine will do justice.
I can't wait to try out duel wielding with my shammy. ;)Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Review
October 28, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, GameSpot has chimed in with their take on Arkane Studios' recently released Action-RPG, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Here's a bit on obtaining new skills and spells:
You learn spells and other skills by spending skill points, which are earned by completing objectives. Skill points can be spent in three different categories, and some skills branch off of other skills, so you'll have to increase your endurance before you can increase your attack power. There aren't very many choices for character customization here, but you can try to specialize in magic, stealth, strength, or some combination of the three. Considering that most of the spells in the game aren't all that useful (heal is easily your best bet for most-used spell) and that stealth is never a requirement, spending points to make your physical attacks stronger, while also spending points to increase your mana reserves for frequent healing, feels like the best way to go. The game tosses so many health and mana-restoring items at you that you probably don't have to go all out in that direction, either.
Another Jade Empire Preview
October 28, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpy is the latest website to kick up a preview on the upcoming PC port of BioWare's hit Action-RPG, Jade Empire. Here's a nugget on the visual upgrades we can expect:
Basd on what we've seen, not much is being done to the core game. Instead, the PC version will have the sorts of requisite tweaks and improvements that one would expect from this kind of port. The beta version that we looked at earlier this week looked far better than what we remember from the Xbox version. The game supports resolutions up to 1600 x 1200, and more than 300 in-game textures have been completely redrawn. Jade Empire was always a nice looking game, but the improved visuals here look pretty impressive.
Click here to keep reading!Microsoft Flight Simulator X Q&A
October 28, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with the folks over at the FiringSquad, they have also slapped up an interview with Microsoft Games' Mike Gilbert regarding their recently released sim, Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Here's a bit on their decision to add missions to the game:
FiringSquad: For the first time there are actual missions in Flight Simulator X. Why was this decision made and what sort of missions does the game have? Mike Gilbert: Mission-based gameplay represents a key new component to the Flight Simulator experience. It evolved from our fans desire for structured, reality-based scenarios to help build and test their skills. Between the new infrastructure and the detailed development behind all fifty missions, this new feature to Flight Simulator received a significant degree of attention. Missions will provide players with a specific purpose and span a variety of areas of interest, difficulty levels and geographies allowing aviators to build their skill levels while engaging in stimulating gameplay. Players will have a chance to pilot a helicopter rescuing workers from an exploding oil rig in the North Sea, spot whales on a scenic flight in Hawaii, and compete against the clock in all-out aerobatic air-racing in Austria.
DirectX 10 and Gaming Article
October 28, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Break out the reading glasses, because the FiringSquad has fired-up a lengthy article taking a look at DirectX 10 and it's impact on gaming. Included is a brief interview with Epic Games' Tim Sweeney on the subject. Here's some lovin':
FiringSquad: Is there anything in DirectX 10 that you couldnt do in DirectX 9.0?
Tim Sweeney: Realistically, DirectX 10 doesn't introduce fundamentally new capabilities, but brings many new features that will enable developers to optimize games more thoroughly and thus deliver incrementally better visuals and better frame rates.
If you look at the long-term graphics roadmap, there have only been a few points where we've gained fundamentally new capabilities. The most visible was the move from DirectX 6, 7 and 8, which in practice were fixed-function, 8-bit rendering APIs, to DirectX 9 with programmable shaders and support for high-precision arithmetic. Most of the in-between steps have brought welcome but incremental improvements, and DirectX 10 falls into that category.
From here on, there is really only one major step remaining in the evolution of graphics hardware, and that's the eventual unification of CPU and GPU architectures into uniform hardware capable of supporting both efficiently. After that, the next 20 years of evolution in computing will just bring additional performance.
The Sim 2: Pets Review
October 28, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting the ball rolling, PC.IGN has kicked up a review on Maxis' latest The Sims 2 expansion pack, Pets. So how does the new content fare? Read on to find out! Snip:
Luckily, Electronic Arts did itself somewhat proudly as always, and managed to integrate pets into the world without being too redundant. Pets serve a non-vital role in your Sims' lives, but they can augment many facets to ease your stress. There is the aforementioned social aspect especially, where a single Sim can have a pet and be extremely well off, using the pet as an emergency boost to the social meter (arguably the hardest one to raise). Your Sims always have enough problems; one fewer is always appreciated.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic First Look
October 27, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping the content coming, GameSpy has thrown together some first impressions on Arkane Studios' just-released Action title, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Here's a snippet on the game's combat system:
The game's designers have very cannily exploited the Source Engine to provide you with a multitude of wicked ways to dispatch your enemies. Melee combat is brutal and visceral, and when it's at its best, it's immensely gratifying. When you land your blows, they feel solid and full of impact. Combat is at its most interesting, however, when you're enouraged to indulge in the interplay between physical, magical, and environmental attacks. In one example, you can set a barrel on fire, hurl it into a group of unsuspecting guards via telekinesis, and watch the mania ensue. There are plenty of elements in the environments that you can use in combat, and in many cases, exploiting them is the best way to surmount unfavorable odds. Nitty-gritty melee combat, while explosive and satisfying, sometimes feels frustratingly fast and loose, and the enemy AI is a bit catatonic at times. Don't be surprised to put an arrow between a guard's eyes only to have his neighbor stare at his corpse for 30 seconds before responding.
Sid Meier's Railroads! Demo Released
October 27, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Warming up our modems, Firaxis Games have released a 270mb demo from their recently released train simulation, Sid Meier's Railroads!. Featuring a tutorial and one map, you can grab this bad boy from one of the following mirrors: Time to build an empire!
Jade Empire Q&A
October 27, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Feeling chatty tonight, the FiringSquad has also fired-up an interview with BioWare's Diarmid Clarke regarding the upcoming PC port of their hit RPG, Jade Empire. So what new goodies can us PC guys expect? Read on to find out:
FiringSquad: What sort of new single player missions, if any, have been added to the PC version?
Diarmid Clarke: Jade PC remains absolutely faithful to the original story our writers wanted to make, so we didnt want to add arbitrary new content which would not fit with the writing vision. But we did focus on adding 3 main layers of development: 1) Providing the PC player with the technical improvements that they expect and demand, such as improved resolution and great keyboard and mouse control, 2) New content such as cool fighting styles and monsters, and 3) Really enhancing the combat and balancing to improve the gameplay experience.
Guild Wars: Nightfall Interview
October 27, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has sat down with ArenaNet's Gaile Gray for a quick Q&A regarding their latest Guild Wars expansion, Nightfall. Topics range from the game's development cycle to the new Hero system. Here's some lovin':
FiringSquad: This is the third major game in the series and there is only a six month difference in the release date between this title and Factions. How hard is it to create that amount of content in what seems to be a short amount of time?
Gaile Gray: Let's just say it's been a really, really busy six months since Factions was released! Of course, the truth is that some of our team members were working on Nightfall before Factions was finalized. We have key team members who work on both titles under development, and then there are others who are assigned to one specific project or another. This assures continuity within the development process and assures that the games and stories meld together seamlessly. This system has allowed us to produce a Triple-A title in less than a year but admittedly it's still quite a challenge to do that.
Rainbow Six Vegas Preview
October 27, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting things started, PC.IGN has whipped up a preview on Ubisoft's upcoming tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Vegas. Here's a nugget on the different weaponry at your disposal:
There are a number of submachine guns, assault rifles, pistols and other firearms available to Team Rainbow from the very beginning. Obviously, weapons like the Soviet-mad AK-47 are not. If you pick up a weapon in battle, it will be available in weapons crates and Rainbow helicopters throughout the rest of the game, even if you drop the AK seconds after you pick it up. This inventory will carry over to the multiplayer game as well, so grab the Desert Eagle as soon as you can.
Click here for more!Hellgate: London Q&A
October 26, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, the Strategy Informer has fired-off some questions at Flagship Studios' Bill Roper regarding their upcoming Action-RPG, Hellgate: London. They look at the game's engine, multiplayer and more! Here's a taste:
Strategy Informer: What can you tell us about the graphical and physics features?
Bill Roper: Were really spanning the globe in terms of graphic support, from Vista and DX 10 all the way down to creating a full set of low-poly assets and tuning our engine for lower-end graphics card support. For physics weve been working extremely closely with Havok for a couple of years now to integrate their fantastic engine into our game. Its very cool to see physics working as they should in our game, but also have the ability to tweak things into the unreal if it is more fun and makes for better gameplay.
The one thing that I am most looking forward to is having people be able to play the game in the near future. Screen shots never capture how great a game flows. Getting your hands on it is so much better.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Review
October 26, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The folks over at PC.IGN have also whipped up a review on Raven Software's Action-RPG, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Here's a snippet on the unlockable costumes you can find in the game:
Almost every character comes with three alternate costumes, unlocked only when you play as that character. The alternate costumes are absolutely fantastic. Some characters have little history with eccentric alternative wear, such as the Thing, who basically is a big orange rock dude in pants no matter what time period you look toward. So unlocking different pant lengths isn't going to give you much of a thrill. Then there are those who change costumes with every season. Spidey has a walk-in closet full of potential outfits, but gets three of the better classic wear: Symbiote Suit, Scarlet Spider and the new Iron Spider costume.
Click here to keep reading!F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point Review
October 26, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Giving us a little evening reading material, PC.IGN has thrown together a review on TimeGate Studios' just-released F.E.A.R. expansion pack, Extraction Point. Scoring a 7.6 out of 10, this one sounds pretty solid. Here's a nugget on the spiffy new weapons:
Extraction Point's new weapons add some entertaining variety to the already crowded arsenal, but little depth. The minigun shreds anything at close range while the laser can slice up baddies at close or long. Any standard replicant foes go down in seconds against these armaments, making them fun to shoot but not really expanding Extraction Point's gameplay. The turret mines, on the other hand, are a welcome addition. These things can be planted on the ground to function as automatic guns. In some of Extraction Point's fight sequences, these come in extremely handy. If they don't kill an opponent with their bullets, they'll at least distract them so you can unload your own deadly projectiles.
3D Realms Interview
October 26, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has scored an interview with 3D Realms' Scott Miller regarding their plans to help several third party developers create and publish their titles, digital distribution and more! Here's a little something to sink your teeth into:
FiringSquad: Finally how will all of this third party activity affect 3D Realm's internal team and the development of Duke Nukem Forever?
Scott Miller: It shouldn't have much of an effect at all, because DNF is fully internal, and these new projects will be full external. With the 3D Realms office, it is generally only me who works with external teams (and soon a Creative Director who will help me), so the impact upon our internal project is very, very small. The only time there's an impact is when an external project is near release, and a handful of people within 3DR play through the game and few times and provide bug finds and play-testing comments. That impact is about one 30 man-days total, equal to the whole company spending one full day on the game.
Sid Meier's Railroads! Review
October 26, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpy kicks things off with a short review on Firaxis Games' recently released train simulation, Sid Meier's Railroads!. Here's a snippet on the game's user-friendly UI:
This low learning curve is easily Railroads!' greatest strength. The entire game seems to be built around user friendliness, starting with the game's user interface. The UI is built around eight easily identifiable buttons that open up simple screens that easily communicate a remarkable amount of information about the health of the player's empire. The biggest problem in the interface is the lack of an "undo" button. Its absence is a mystery and a bit of an annoyance considering how much effort went into the rest of the UI. Sections of track can be deleted and a portion of the construction price reimbursed, but that's not really a substitute.
Supreme Commander Preview
October 25, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
After getting a hands-on look at Supreme Commander, the peeps over at EuroGamer have slapped up some first impressions on Gas Powered Games' upcoming Strategy title. So how are things looking? Read on to find out:
But this is something that Taylor readily acknowledges: "The interesting thing about Supreme Commander is that the smaller maps make it play more traditional - land-based, early rush, race for resources." Here's the clincher, however: "As the maps progressively get larger and larger, those strategies stop working - you can't build a tank rush because you're not even on the same island. If you build a bunch of aircraft, by the time they fly across the map they're halfway out of fuel and they'll have to deal with air defences. Now you've got things like spyplanes, your big strategic nukes, your naval component. If you don't have a fuel model set up, naval elements are useless because you're moving everything you need using the air. With a fuel model that gives your aircraft a limited range, you need a forward airbase. Naval gives you the ability to clear land and it creates another angle of exposure that can be very devastating."
El Matador Patch
October 25, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with some download lovin', Plastic Reality has released a 40mb patch for their third person action title, El Matador. Including a load of bug fixes, performance improvements and widescreen support, you can get your grubby little paws on this sucker at one of the following mirrors: Now get downloading!
WoW: The Burning Crusade Release Date Set
October 25, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The fine folks over at Blizzard Entertainment have announced a release date for their much anticipated World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. Set to hit stores January 2007, they will use this extra time to polish things up while beta testing. Anyways, here's a clipping from the press release:
IRVINE, Calif. -- Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that the release date for World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade, the highly anticipated expansion for World of Warcraft, will be in January 2007. By adding a few extra weeks to the development cycle beyond its original target date, Blizzard will be able to extend the closed beta test and further refine the new content that will ship with the game.
We appreciate the enthusiasm surrounding World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and were excited about putting the finishing touches on all of the new content, said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. We feel confident that the extra time spent polishing the game will result in the high-quality experience that our players expect and deserve.
Battlefield 2142 Review
October 25, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad is the latest website to fire-up a review on Digital Illusions' hit multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's a snippet on the game's eyecandy and the ammount of maps out-of-the-box:
Graphically Battlefield 2 was a huge step up from the first two games in the series. For Battlefield 2142, however, the core graphical features of Battlefield 2 have been retained. Yes, you get to see a few new effects like force fields or EMP blasts but for the most part the visual look of Battlefield 2 is basically the same as Battlefield 2142. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, mind you; BF 2s graphics were state of the art for a multiplayer oriented game 18 months ago but they are a bit less impressive looking now (especially when we have games like Crysis on the horizon). We were a bit perturbed to find out that DICE and EA elected to only have 10 maps in the full version of BF 2142. While the maps themselves are well designed with a wide variety of layouts and locations, thats the lowest amount of levels for any Battlefield game out of the box. While we are certain that EA and DICE will release some kind of booster packs for the new game down the road we think that for $50 a few more levels would be more appropriate.
Sid Meier's Railroads! Interview
October 25, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Starting the evening off, GameSpy has slapped up an interview with a bunch of the guys behind Firaxis Games' recently released train sim, Sid Meier's Railroads!. Here's a little something on the game's economic model:
GameSpy: With that in mind, let's talk about the economic model. How do you make sure it's deep enough to keep players engaged, but not frustrating for people to learn? Lewis: One of my favorite tweaks to keep players coming back is the ability for players to bid on and own industries in the world. Owning an industry means that for every delivery (by any player!) of a good to a city, the player gets a cut of the profits. Like cities, industries will grow to provide you with bigger profits. Industries are best purchased early when they're cheapest and you have time to grow them, but they're also a significant financial risk. It takes a while for industries to make back the money you spent on them, so knowing which industries to get, when, and how many is a significant choice. Also, spending over $100,000 on an industry means you have less money to build rails early in the game, so it's a tough, fun decision.
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos Dev Diary
October 24, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has posted a new developer diary written by Namco Bandai Games America's Thomas Vu regarding the army customization in their upcoming Strategy title, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos. Here's a little something to nibble on:
Army customization was one of the first areas of the game that was designed, and the development team wanted players to have complete control over what units could compose their army. Army creation is based on a point system, where every unit has a point value allowing players to "buy" any available unit if funds are available. The development team created many different types of units, along with a wide range of unit abilities that were unique to both the army type and to each unit. For example, a player might want to create an empire army that was focused on range attackers. This army might consist of bright and jade wizard heroes who are empowered by magical attacks, along with huntsmen, handgunners, and mounted pistoliers. To complete it, a player might throw in some great cannons and a helblaster volley gun for some sieging capabilities. Another empire player may instead want to focus on a close-combat, brute-force army and would take some warrior priests and an elector count for hero units, with added flagellants, great swords, and mounted knights. A siege tower and battering ram would support the close-combat siege capabilities of this type of army.
Supreme Commander Hands-On
October 24, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with the guys over at PC.IGN, they have also fired-up a preview on Gas Powered Games' upcoming Strategy title, Supreme Commander, after getting some hands-on time with this bad boy. Here's a nugget on building your base:
Positioning buildings properly is a deceptively complicated process. Since you can later on build energy shields to protect vital base structures, it pays off to plan building placement accordingly so it can fit under the energy umbrella. Another consideration is the adjacency bonus buildings benefit from if placed directly next to each other. The bonus applies to multiple structure types, enabling more efficient unit production and resource gathering. There is an extra damage penalty when an adjacent building explodes, but the risk seemed well worth it for the benefits.
El Matador Review
October 24, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting on the review bus, PC.IGN has taken a look at Plastic Reality's recently released Action title, El Matador. Scoring an average 5.3/10, you will probably want to read up a little on this one before buying. Anyways, here's a bit on the combat and bullet time feature:
Dispatching enemy targets is a mundanely simple task. Simply wait for them to come out of their crouching stance, sometimes taking cover behind walls or support beams, and then shoot them in the face. What makes the game even easier is not so much an exploit but a facet of bullet time that should have been modified. There is the option to either turn bullet time on completely, or use it for a brief period while diving. In Max Payne 2 you could jump into a room using bullet time, and whilst moving with forward momentum, you could rotate your body to get a complete 360 degree view of the room you were diving into. This hasn't been modified for El Matador, making the standard engagement of bad guys much too easy.
Vanguard Interview
October 24, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The folks over at TenTonHammer.com have scored an interview with Sigil Games Online's Brad McQuaid regarding their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Written in article format, they cover the game's endgame content, the fanbase and more! Here's some juice:
How do you decide which content will go into a live update and whats worthy of an expansion pack? I asked.
Its all planned out, he said. We have it all mapped out for the next 7 or so years. In the game preview andTaking aim group interview session earlier McQuaid had said, My dream one day is to create the never-ending MMO. People talk about a game where it could take you years to see everything. How about if theres no flippin way you could see everything? He explained that when he plays the Vanguard beta himself, the scope of the game still surprises him. Im going to be experiencing things at the character level where I go, Oh, cool! We put this in? Thats awesome! And so...I want to create the never-ending MMO. I think it could be Vanguard.
WoW: Burning Crusade Preview
October 24, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting things off the ground, EuroGamer has thrown together some impressions on Blizzard Entertainment's much anticipated World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. Here's a snippet on the new jewel crafting profession:
There's a new profession on offer: jewel crafting. While perhaps not the most exciting pursuit at first glance, it's going to offer lots of potential. Items will now come with jewel slots, into which crafted jewels can be inserted to receive a specific boost. Clearly this will be an excellent money-making opportunity for those with the skill, and it will make item augmentation that more interesting.
Supreme Commander Interview
October 23, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping the weekend kickin', GameSpot has fired-up an interview with Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor regarding their upcoming Strategy title, Supreme Commander. They chat about the game's factions, system reqs and more! Here's a taste:
GS: We've covered the histories and units of the three factions in the game, but could you describe to us just how they're different from one another? How do they play in comparison to one another? Are they essentially the same, but with different appearances?
CT: We struggled between two extremes early on when designing the units. On the one hand we wanted each faction to be unique, but we also wanted to balance them. We finally decided that early on in the game, where each side is using the lower tech levels, we made it so that each faction had access to similar units, and if not in form, close enough in function so that we could balance them. However, as the game progresses, and as the player increases in tech levels, the three factions start to separate more and more on a functional level so that by the highest tech level, what we call experimental, no two units are alike.
Battlefield 2142 Review
October 22, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The guys over at PC.IGN have chimed in with their take on Digital Illusions' recently released multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Scoring an 8.4/10, they really seemed to dig it. Anyways, here's a snippet on the new gameplay mode:
With a number of revisions and additions, Titan mode is the largest. Titan is played across one of five 48 player maps. Instead of control points, missile silos are scattered around the environment. Every so often, they'll fire a missile. It's up to each team to uplink and capture the silos by standing near to them and hold them long enough to fire a missile at the enemy Titan ship. Enough missile hits and the Titan shield will drop. At this point, infantry takes the lead by assaulting the huge flying base. The issue is simply getting there. Players can either fly transport and attack vehicles over to the enemy Titan or launch from a mobile personnel carrier. These transport vehicles can shoot pods high up into the air at which point the soldier inside can steer enough for the pod to land on the Titan deck and assault the craft.
New F.E.A.R. Patch
October 21, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, Sierra has released a new patch for their first person shooter, F.E.A.R.. With a description of "Fixes several issues.", details are limited. But you can still get your hands on this puppy at one of the following mirrors: Rock on! ;)
Sid Meier's Railroads! Review
October 21, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with GameSpot, they have also fired-up a review on Firaxis Games' just-released train sim, Sid Meier's Railroads!. Walking with a 8.1/10, this may be one to check out! Anyways, here's a little something to chew on:
The fictional scenarios are of course unconfined by history, so they're a bit more off-beat. There's a wide-open plains area where your routes are fast and cheap to construct; a giant lake where everything is separated by vast stretches of water, which makes it difficult to build efficiently; and a giant red cyclone-shaped continent modeled after the Firaxis company logo. As in the historical scenarios, you're given various objectives to complete within a time period and you can either fulfill those objectives or ignore them and just focus on building a massive shipping empire. Both the historical and the fictional scenarios offer a variety of challenges that make each one interesting, if not entirely unique. You can also choose to randomize the location of cities and resources to ensure that you never play the same scenario twice.
NeverWinter Nights 2 Dev Diary
October 21, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has slapped up a new developer diary written by Obsidian Entertainment's Tony Evans regarding the mod tools for their upcoming Action-RPG, NeverWinter Nights 2. An interesting read for all you moddies out there. Anyways, here's a snippet on "tinting":
9. Tinting - The toolset comes with many, many placeable objects, creatures, exterior terrain textures, and interior tilesets. But if you want even more variety, you can use tinting to create different-colored variations of almost everything. You can tint creatures, placeables, exterior terrain, and even tilesets to create dramatically different looks for your areas. Not happy with the look of your umber hulk? Tint him orange and turn him into an amber hulk.
ParaWorld Patch
October 21, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with a little download lovin', Sunflowers has released a new patch (v1.01) for their pre-historic inspired Strategy title, ParaWorld. Including a bunch of gameplay tweaks and bug fixes, you can hit one of the following mirrors for a list of what's new or to just start downloading!
Battlefield 2142 Review
October 21, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
After some late-nights of gaming, the folks over at Computer and Video Games.com have shot-up their impressions of Digital Illusions' recently released multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. So does this bad boy live up to all the hype? Read on the find out:
Mechs, walkers, great stomping metal bastards, whatever you want to call them: driving one is empowering, like riding a giant mechanical T-Rex. The disturbing sight of an Engineer running between your legs to launch something, anything, at your crotch (yes, that's actually your weak spot), or to stick bombs to your precious legs is something that no other vehicle in the series has provided. Long-range combat with tanks is another danger, and particular attention needs to be paid to the skies, as a well-aimed missile attack from above will put an end to your 20ft adventures. Your secondary weapon, however, is a payload of anti-aircraft EMP missiles, so justice flies in two directions where walkers are concerned.
Battlefield 2142 Interview
October 20, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has sat down with Digital Illusions' Marcus Nilsson for a quick Q&A about their recently released multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. They chat about the game's beta testing, player promotions and more! Here's a taste:
FiringSquad: The persistent leveling up of your player character in Battlefield 2142 is a huge step up from the same feature in Battlefield 2. How hard will it be for new players to the game to fight against players with lots of promotions?
Marcus Nilsson: You can choose to take your character on different routes down the unlocks tree. Someone may choose to be a jack of all trades, whereas someone might want to be the worlds ultimate sniper or infantry person. So players strengths are determined by the path they choose, but thats always grounded by the rock/paper/scissors methodology. Theres always someone, or something that can exploit those weaknesses.
Also, we are introducing a new feature to help more inexperienced players get into the game, and that is matching them against other players with not too high ranks. A new server option will allow admins to limit access to the server for soldier who are under rank 10. We will have a relatively large percentage of the servers set up like this in the early days after release. We want to make sure the beginners get their fair shake as newcomers to the series by not having to contend with the expertise of the more experienced players.
Rainbow Six Vegas Hands-On
October 20, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Also over at PC.IGN tonight is a preview on the multiplayer portion of Ubisoft's upcoming tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Vegas. They basically have a handful of writers telling us all about their individual hands-on experiences with the game. Anyways, here's a blub:
Gone is the persistent online mode that proved unsuccessful in R6: Lockdown. Elements of that mode remain, however, in the form of armor and weapon customization. You can select from various pieces of armor for all parts of your body, even though hit location doesn't actually affect gameplay. You won't lose the use of an arm, for example, but if your arm is not well-guarded, it will lead to a quick death. The customization includes the ability to map your face onto your character with the vision camera and creating custom-colored camo. Yes, the IGN Pink Liberators can finally become a reality!
Click here for more!GTR 2 Review
October 20, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping things rollin', PC.IGN has thrown together some impressions on SimBin's racing title, GTR 2. Scoring an impressive 9.2/10, they really seemed to have some fun with this one. Here's a nugget on the game's visuals:
Graphically, the game has been given a major facelift and come off about twice as good as last year's. The cars are incredibly detailed, to the point that, unless closely inspected, a screenshot could be mistaken for a photograph. The track and curbs are richly detailed with high-resolution textures that show convincing real-life wear and tear. As usual, it is mainly the distant trackside objects that reveal some of the chinks in the armor and remind you that this is still a game. But where the action is, the track and its immediate vicinity, the graphics are incredibly realistic. This comes at a price, of course. On anything less than a top-of-the-line PC, you will need to dial back some of this eye candy to keep the frame rate high enough for responsive racing.
Vanguard Class Preview
October 20, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has slapped up an article that looks at the different character classes in Sigil Games Online's upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Here's a bit on the Blood Mage's heal and buff abilities:
Blood mages can heal individual characters, as well as whole groups, which makes the blood mage a natural party healer. An example of the blood mage's healing abilities is scarring pact, where the blood mage can help a teammate stay alive by magically linking with that character and absorbing some of the damage the teammate incurs. This means that the teammate only receives 70 percent of the original damage, while the blood mage incurs 150 percent of the remaining damage. Another example is blood gift, where you can use your blood to heal a teammate instantly. However, this comes at the price of your own health.
Battle for Middle-earth II: Rise of the Witch-king Q&A
October 20, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Kicking things off, GameSpy has fired-off some questions at Electronic Arts' Amir Rahimi regarding their upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II expansion pack, The Rise of the Witch-king. Here's a snippet on the game's enemies and new units:
GameSpy: Which good races will the player be fighting? And what sorts of new units will they have to play with.
Rahimi: The single-player campaign pits the player against Arnor and the Elves. Arnor will use several heroes that were the ancestors of Aragorn to fight against the Witch-king. The elves get to use the new Noldor Warriors: a unit of elves that are so elite that even though they are in a battalion they have special powers and can heal themselves like heroes when not in battle. The Elves also use a brand new horse archer.
Postal 3 Announced
October 19, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Let the chaos begin! The FiringSquad has posted word from Running With Scissors' Vince Desi that a third installment in their first person shooter franchise, Postal, is in the works and will be sporting Valve Software's Source engine. Other details are limited, but you can read all about it right here. So what are you waiting for?! ;)
Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs Review
October 19, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with the guys over at PC.IGN, they have also fired-up a review on Ensemble Studios' recently released Age of Empires III expansion pack, The WarChiefs. Scoring a solid 8.2/10, this one sounds like a keeper! Anyways, here's a chunk on the new factions:
The Iroquois make use of a wide range of European style units, making them a nice choice for players who still want a bit of familiarity. The Sioux are like the Hun in Age of Kings, a cavalry-focused civilization with little need for complicated infrastructure. This gives them a mobility that's hard to counter. The Aztecs are almost exactly the opposite. Rather than relying on quick mounted strikes, they focus exclusively on infantry. It takes a while to get going with them, but once you get a feel for the different unit types, they're just as effective as any of the other civilizations.
Tap your mouse here to keep reading!Guild Wars: Nightfall Hands-On
October 19, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with some evening reading, PC.IGN has taken a hands-on look at ArenaNet's upcoming Guild Wars expansion, Nightfall. Here's a bit on new armor buffs and saveable skill setups:
In an effort to increase the game's user-friendliness, Arenanet is including the ability to save your skill loadouts. This way you can store a number of hotkey configurations for easy access later on, instead of having to completely switch everything in and out when you want to change things up. An equipment builder for PvP will allow further customization, and those settings can be saved for later use as well. What kind of benefits powerful items bestow on players can now be fiddled around with to a greater degree. Item inscription allows for highly customizable damage effects on weapons and armor. From random mobs will drop something called armor insignias which can be applied to items for even more bonuses. Arenanet also mentioned they were decoupling stats from armor's visual appearance, which they believe should please hardcore fans.
Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Dev Diary
October 19, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has tossed up a new developer diary written by Petroglyph's Frank Klepacki regarding the audio in their upcoming Star Wars: Empire at War expansion pack, Forces of Corruption. Here's a nugget on the new weapon sounds:
Weapons for the Zann Consortium provided a new challenge as well. Their weapons are modified from traditional Star Wars lasers so that they sound at least a little different, without straying too much from the original signature sounds. But the most distinct weapon sound comes with Underworld hero Silri, a Force-using Nightsister. She has a lightsaber whip, and it was a blast creating a new twist on the lightsaber sound for it. Because it flails around quickly and snaps into place when it cracks, I used faster swinging sounds that I ran through a vocoder effect, and used a bit of a higher pitch then conventional lightsabers to emphasize speed. The cracks from it were a combination of the original lightsaber clashing sounds and real whip cracks that were also run though a slight vocoder. It is definitely distinct enough from a regular lightsaber, so you will know when it's Silri who's attacking. She also has the fierce ability to summon Rancors out of the ground, which was a nice rumbling creepy sound to come up with.
Battlefield 2142 First Impressions
October 19, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The peeps over at GameSpy kick things off with some first impressions on Digital Illusions' just-released multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's a snippet on the new Titan gameplay mode:
While it's decent enough, the initial catch with Titan mode is that it's not quite as intuitive as basic capture-and-hold. Even if you latch on to the idea that it's just Conquest with a second phase at the end, there's the matter of actually getting on to the other team's Titan, which requires a semi-decent pilot or finding an APC with rocket pods to eject you onto the Titan. It's possible to destroy the Titan without invading it, but there's a lot about the second phase that won't be obvious to new players, such as which part of the Titan you can land on, how to navigate its hallways, or what weapons you should bring so you don't end up out of ammo after destroying a single terminal.
Phantasy Star Universe Impressions
October 18, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, ShackNews has kicked up some impressions on the PC version of SEGA's upcoming Action title, Phantasy Star Universe, after getting some hands-on time with the beta. Here's a snippet on the game's combat system:
The combat in PSU is entirely real-time. I'm a fan of that system, but many PS diehards may not be. The point of combat in PSU is to be fast and furious, and that's what Sonic Team was able to accomplish. The purpose of the missions I was able to taste test were rather straightforward: kill stuff. After the smoke clears and the dust settles, you can go after item drops (use pre-defined settings to decide who gets the loot, or use the first-come-first-serve system) and then you move forward.
Battlefield 2142 Patch
October 18, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The fine folks over at Digital Illusions have slapped up the first patch for their just-released multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Weighing in at 17megs, this sucker fixes a client side crashing issue while playing the new Titan Mode. Anyways, hit one of the following mirrors to start downloading!
Lord of the Rings Online Interview
October 18, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpy has slapped up an interview with Turbine regarding their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Lord of the Rings Online. Written in article format, they cover the game's design, classes and more! Here's an interesting bit on the game's PvP:
Then there's the so-called "monster play." "PvP is important in an MMO, so we had to have it, but it presented us with a real problem," Kerr said. Tolkien's world is pretty starkly divided between Good and Evil with some races (like Orcs and Goblins) considered evil to the bone while others (Men, Elves, Hobbits and Dwarves) are inherently good though they can be corrupted. As a result, real out-and-out battles between the forces of good are pretty rare and really don't fit within the story or atmosphere. The team solved this conundrum by including "monster play," a subsidiary gameplay system where players build up "destiny points" to temporarily take over one of Sauron's minions, skulk around on evil quests and fight against other players in the giant set-piece battles that are a hallmark of the series.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Preview
October 18, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping the content flowing, PC.IGN has fired-up a short preview on three of the characters in Raven Software's upcoming Action-RPG, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Here's a nugget on Storm and her abilties:
The X-Men's resident Goddess graces Ultimate Alliance with her dominating weather-based powers. Like Thor, Storm can command lightning to strike enemies with incredible force. But unlike Thor, Storm looks damn hot doing it.
You won't want to use Storm in a hand-to-hand brawl. Though she can handle herself fine in close combat, she's better served staying behind the frontlines and attacking from afar. While Raven Soft could have taken the easy way out and recycled a bunch of Storm's powers from X-Men Legends, they instead gave some new wrinkles to her abilities. She maintains the Chained Lightning attack that made her deadly in XML 2, but this interactive power forces you to button-tap to increase the power of the lightning strike.
WoW: The Burning Crusade Preview
October 18, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
ComputerAndVideoGames.com has thrown up their own impressions on Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. Here's a bit on the Blood Elf's starting area:
Much of the new area the Blood Elf race starts in is a vibrant world of green-green grass and flamboyant architecture like the cross between Arabian Nights structures and an old black & white sci-fi film's vision of the future, with tall spires and floating platforms. Chuck out the monsters wandering around the land and it'd be a splendid spot for a picnic, really.
Guild Wars: Nightfall Impressions
October 17, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Boomtown brings the evening to an end by firing-up some impressions on ArenaNet's upcoming Guild Wars expansion pack, Nightfall. Here's a nugget on the game's new Heroes henchment:
The action still works, however, as does the new idea of having "Heroes" join your team. Essentially, these are beefed-up henchmen that you can issue general commands to, but you can also assume direct control of them, have them rise in levels and equip items for them. No more dying during tough missions because of underpowered henchmen. You may also join forces with a friend and his/her team of heroes, enabling you to take on all of the missions in the game with a fair chance of seeing them through. And if PvP is your thing, and you cannot find enouch good players for your team, just bring your heroes into the arenas. This alone does seem to merit the price tag for the game. There's tons of new content in there as well - like the chapters before it, Nightfall is massive.
Read on!Battlefield 2142 Preview
October 17, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Also over at the FiringSquad tonight is a preview on Digital Illusions' much anticipated multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's a snippet on the game's new Titan gameplay mode and AI:
While the Battlefield series has emphasized multiplayer online play over single player play, it takes even more precedence in Battlefield 2142. Thats because of the new online Titan mode that been added to the new game. While Conquest mode is still a part of the game its only support for five of the 10 maps in the full game. Conquest is also the only mode that supports the games offline bots. That means only five maps are available for single player play. Titan mode is multiplayer only, so you cant get any offline training for it out of the box. You have to play it online from the start. Of course, some enterprising mod author is sure to work on a third party mod for Titan mode at some point. We played Conquest mode against the bots and, well, they pretty much act like they have for the previous games in the series; that is to say, they run around like headless chickens somewhat in the direction of the objective. The game also allows players to fight against AI bots in Conquest co-op mode.
EQ2: Echoes of Faydwer Interview
October 17, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping things rollin', the FiringSquad has shot-up an interview with Sony Online's Scott Hartsman regarding their upcoming Everquest II expansion pack, Echoes of Faydwer. They chat about the new race, development status and more! Here's a taste:
FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the new playable race in the expansion?
Scott Hartsman: The Fae are an interesting breed. Theyre an enchanted race, very close to the goddess Tunare. Theyve been helping the Elves rebuild their ancestral tree city of Kelethin, The two races now share the same space, with Fae Acorn-homes nestled high in the treetops alongside the wooden construction of the Elves. In terms of gameplay, the Fae have wings that can be customized both in shape and color, and dont so much walk as they do float above the ground. Its rumored that the wings of a Fae allow them to flit safely to the ground in places that the walking races might fall to their death. Its further rumored that this is the real reason that those assisting in the rebuilding of Kelethin havent seen fit to include safety railings even after all this time. They simply wouldnt understand the reason for them.
Command & Conquer 3 Dev Diary
October 17, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has posted a new developer diary written by Electronic Arts' Mike Verdu regarding the interface in their upcoming Strategy title, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Here's a little something to nibble on:
So how does our new UI work? At its core, it consists of a traditional C&C side bar interface with the contextual information and object-level control of the Generals UI. This allows players to easily control all production structures from anywhere on the map without the use of control groups, select and control any structure individually, purchase unit-level upgrades, and use tactical unit abilities. Players have an unprecedented level of control over their forces, allowing high-level strategic management and tactical-level micromanagement that's par with any modern RTS game. Additionally, and possibly most importantly, we have found this UI to be both familiar and intuitive to players, regardless of what RTS games they've played in the past.
Sid Meier's Railroads! Preview
October 17, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting things started, the folks over at ShackNews have thrown together a preview on Firaxis Games' upcoming train sim, Sid Meier's Railroads!. Here's a bit on laying down tracks:
The next item of business was learning to lay track. Simplification is the name of the game here; you simply choose to lay a single track, then click near a starting point. (there has to be track in a location you choose to place new track.) From there, you can move the mouse to a city, farm, oil mine, wherever, and click to place the new string of track. Don't fret if your track needs to stretch over water or through high ground: the game takes care of these details quite nicely by building whatever other structures it deems necessary. In the tutorial map, my first track had to run underground, so the game took care of constructing a tunnel for me. In a map I tried later on, a bridge was built over a river so I could connect two cities that were amply spaced apart. Features such as this one demonstrate that the game wants you to focus on building your ultimate railroad, not on superfluous details that are better left to the AI.
Click here to keep reading!Portal Interview
October 16, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Computer and Video Games.com has slapped up an interview with Valve Software's Kim Swift and Doug Lombardi regarding their upcoming puzzle title, Portal. They cover the game's background, design and more! Here's a taste:
What can you tell us about art direction, the lab environment and the female computer voice speaking?
Kim Swift: We had a very abstract game concept and we wanted an abstract environment to go with it. We initially tried to fit our gameplay into more of a Half-Life 2 space with a lot of clutter and a lot of objects everywhere, but we found that it detracted from the gameplay. People would get confused and weren't sure what to do - they wanted to play with this object as opposed to the object we wanted them to play with. And so we stripped it down to bare bones. We wanted them to focus on the gameplay objects that we have in each chamber, and it came that having this sci-fi, abstract test chamber arena was perfect for our game.
More WoW: Burning Crusade Impressions
October 15, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
With the World of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade beta in full gear, PC.IGN, GameSpot and GameSpy have all thrown up new hands-on impressions of Blizzard's upcoming expansion. Here's a bit from PC.IGN's on the new races:
The Blood Elves and Dranei have decidedly different fictional backgrounds. The Blood Elves first appeared in Warcraft III when the Scourge rampaged across Azeroth and destroyed the Elven homelands including the city of Silvermoon. The few surviving elves banded together and made a stand against the undead controlled by the fallen Death Knight Arthas and have managed to carve a little spot on the continent of Lordaeron away from the Scourge for their very own. They're retaken the Sunspire and much of Silvermoon City. As part of the early adventuring as a Blood Elf, players will help their kin continue the quest to clense the rest of the city from undead and their own Wretched brethren.
WoW: The Burning Crusade Hands-On
October 14, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, Voodoo Extreme has kicked up some hands-on impressions of Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. Here's a nugget on the new Hellfire Peninsula area:
As for Hellfire Peninsula itself, well, the zone is massive--easily the biggest zone in World of Warcraft. The zone itself has several quest hubs; two flight paths; two Alliance towns; a Hellfire Citadel in the center with its three five-man-instance wings and one ten-man Raid instance; three world PVP towers to take over; and the usual filler content. Visually, the zone is impressive, even though you may get sick of the red desert look after a while; however, the Dark Portal and the Path of Glory running between Hellfire Citadel and the Dark Portal makes this zone visually impressive.
Man, I can't wait to play this one! ;)Scarface Review
October 14, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has chimed in with their take on Radical Entertainment's just-released movie-based Action title, Scarface: The World Is Yours. Scoring an average 6/10, they seemed to have some issues with the game. Anyways, here's some juice:
Rewriting the ending to a movie just so you can justify a sequel is a tough pill to swallow, especially when you're dealing with an ending as memorable as the one in Scarface. It's likely that some fans of the film will never be able to get over that hump and will despise the game for existing in the first place. But if you can deal with that concept--you'll take control of Montana shortly after the "say hello to my little friend" line and orchestrate his getaway yourself--you'll find a foul-mouthed and bloody adventure that does next to nothing with the characters. In the film, you saw Tony Montana grow from a simple refugee to the king of the coke world. In the game, the shock of losing his empire causes Tony to clean up his act and get off the yayo so he can start dealing again. Then you basically kill everyone who wronged you, all while talking about the need to have balls. The whole experience feels flat and often self-conscious. It's like the makers of the game watched the movie, picked out a few common words that Tony Montana would say (cock-a-roach, balls, f***, chico, and coño), and then set about writing dialogue that uses those words as often as possible.
First Battalion Review
October 14, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The folks over at PC.IGN keep things rollin' by slapping up a review on DreamCatcher Interactive's Action title, First Battalion. Here's a nugget on the game's tanks and combat:
Almost all of the cool ballistics issues you might expect to find in a more sophisticated tank game are absent here. There's only one generic type of shell and it serves for blowing up tanks, buildings, and infantry. The shells aren't affected by gravity, so you'll hit whatever you're aiming at, regardless of elevation or distance. Armor facing seems to be a non-issue, so you and the other tanks will take the same amount of damage no matter where you're hit. Two or three hits are usually sufficient to take out any of the enemy tanks in the game. Your own tank can withstand a number of shots before you'll even need to start worrying.
Star Trek: Tactical Assault Preview
October 14, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with a little evening reading, the FiringSquad has fired-up a short preview on Bethesda Softworks' upcoming tactical action title, Star Trek: Tactical Assault. Here's a little something to nibble on:
We didn't get too far in the Federation single player campaign in Tactical Assault but it's clear that the storyline (co-scripted by original Trek writer DC Fontana) will remain true to the spirit of the sci-fi franchise. Once the 15 mission Federation campaign is over with, players will have access to the separate Klingon campaign as well. In terms of the game's space combat, Tactical Assault remains true to Trek's style which is steady and methodical (bringing down the shields) rather than just blasting away. One interesting feature in the game is that while you switch ships during your campaign, your crew actually remains loyal to you and sticks around for the length of the campaign. As you progress you actually can promote your crew which also affects how different ship systems improve in the game. For example, you might decided to promote your engineer in order to quicken repairing your ship (because, as Scotty knows, those engines just canna take any more....oh, sorry abou that..again).
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade Review
October 14, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpy gets things started by throwing together a review on Relic Entertainment's recently released Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War expansion pack, Dark Crusade. Here's a snippet on the new races:
Dark Crusade brings quite a few new things to Dawn of War, chief among them two new races, the Necron and the Tau. The Necron are remorseless, robotic killing machines designed to exterminate all life from the universe. The Tau is a multi-species coalition that offers new races the opportunity to join their police-state society or die. The Tau are basically a "shooter's army." They're all about hitting enemies at range with insanely powerful guns and moving long before enemies have a chance to hit back.
Gothic III Euro Patch Released
October 13, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping your modem warm, Piranha Bytes has released a patch for the European version of their much anticipated RPG, Gothic III. Weighing in at 60megs, this puppy fixes various bugs. Anyways, hit one of the following mirrors for the goods:
Sid Meier's Railroads! Interview
October 13, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has slapped up an interview with Dan Magaha, Lead Producer behind Firaxis Games' upcoming train sim, Sid Meier's Railroads!. They chat about how the game came to be, multiplayer features and more! Here's a taste:
FiringSquad: What sort of challenges will the player have to face in building their railroad empire?
Dan Magaha: Corporate warfare for one! Every player in the game has some of their own stock when the game starts. You can freely buy and sell shares of your own stock or that of your opponent. When all of the stock for a given player is owned, there is a buyout price that is determined from the current stock price and how many shares you own of that company. If you pay that amount, you have completed a hostile takeover and you will now control all of that players assets. The AI will attempt to buy you out as well but that is currently the default option and can be turned off as players wish.
Joint Task Force Review
October 13, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
PC.IGN has whipped up a review on Most Wanted Entertainment's recently released Strategy title, Joint Task Force. Scoring a 5.7/10, you may want to read up on this one a little bit first. Anyways, here's a nugget on how the game handles resources:
Joint Task Force distances itself from the standard RTS model by eliminating resource harvesting and base building. Instead, players complete objectives to collect cash rewards. Those rewards can then be used to purchase vehicles, supplies, or more men. Purchased soldiers are brought in via helicopter. The same goes for HMMWV trucks and supply crates. Bigger machinery like tanks and artillery pieces can only be brought in with a cargo plane, which requires you to first secure an airfield. Instead of back-and-forth warring between bases, JTF's single player portion tasks players with eliminating a set amount of enemies spread across the map. Occasionally your foe will reinforce themselves at key points in the mission, but you'll never be battling against an ever-replenishing enemy.
Vanguard Preview
October 13, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with previews, the folks over at GameSpy have taken a look at Sigil Games Online's upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Here's a bit on the size of the gameworld:
As I spoke to various members of the Vanguard team throughout the day, they confirmed that many of the perceptions swirling around the game are in fact true. First, Vanguard's landscape will be huge. Our day began with a video presentation presented by McQuaid himself designed to show off the enormity of the world. It highlighted some of the Asian-themed archipelago of Kojan. Kojan is an island chain and the home of the elves in Vanguard's fictional universe. "Island chain" doesn't just mean land surrounded by water, though; it also means dozens of magical islands floating in the sky. "Each square of the player's onscreen map represents 2.5 miles of virtual terrain," McQuaid said as he flew an enormous dragon through a coniferous forest into what looked like a Shinto temple surrounding a sacred pool. Calling up the map, he pulled back to a view of the entire world, revealed a vast space consisting of thousands of 2.5-mile squares.
F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point Hands-On
October 13, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot gets the ball rolling by firing-up a hands-on preview of TimeGate Studios' upcoming F.E.A.R. expansion pack, Extraction Point. Here's a snippet on the game's AI:
The excellent artificial intelligence that made the replica soldiers some of the best opponents ever to grace a first-person shooter is back, and they seem better than ever. Or maybe we're a bit rusty, because these guys handed it to us on several occasions. What makes the AI so good is that it's never content to just stand there and shoot at you. Soldiers are constantly on the move, trying to figure out how to hit you from the flank or the rear. The environment in some of the larger firefights really accommodates this, as the AI is smart enough to know which path to use to maneuver around you. If you're shooting at one guy and then suddenly shift your fire to another that suddenly appears, the guy you were originally shooting at will most likely displace to a better position while you're not looking.
Pacific Storm Review
October 12, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Bringing the evening to and end, PC.IGN has thrown together a review on Lesta Studio's recently released Strategy title, Pacific Storm. Here's a bit on the game's resources:
One of the most appealing aspects of the game is its ability to recreate the general rhythm and flavor of the War without necessarily sticking too closely to historical events. The Japanese won't always attack at Pearl Harbor, for instance, and there won't always be a showdown at Midway or Leyte Gulf. Some games may see a massive all-out battle in the waters around Bouganville or may see the Japanese attempt to shift the focus of the war from the south to the north. Each new decision takes the game off into entirely new directions.
Click here to keep reading!Sid Meier's Railroads! Goes Gold
October 12, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The fine folks over at Firaxis Games have announced that their upcoming train sim, Sid Meier's Railroads!, has gone gold and will be hitting stores in North America on October 17th and in Europe on the 27th. Here's some lovin' from the press release:
New York, NY October 11, 2006 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Firaxis Games, the Company's world-renowned development studio, today announced that Sid Meier's Railroads! for PC has gone to gold master and will be available at stores in North America on October 17 and in Europe on October 27. Sid Meier's Railroads! marks the return of one of the most beloved strategy titles of all time and a concept that launched a whole genre and inspired a new generation of strategy games.
Company of Heroes Review
October 12, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Moving right along, the Armchair Empire has fired-up their take on Relic Entertainment's hit Strategy title, Company of Heroes. Walking away with a perfect 10/10 score, this game continues to get rave reviews. Anyways, here's a little something to nibble on:
A testament to the depth of this game and to the quality of the illusion it creates is the fact that, when playing skirmish and multiplayer, I routinely watch replays afterward, not just to gloat or brood, but to catch crucial details Ive missed. In a recent game, I sent a lone squad of Rangers to a remote corner of the map to cap a resource point and promptly forgot about them. I became distracted (as happens in COH) by numerous other skirmishes, and by the time I returned the Ranger squad was reduced to two men, cowering behind a fence. I assumed theyd been ambushed or zeroed by artillery and ordered them, with annoyance, to retreat. When I viewed the replay though, I saw something amazing, this lone group of rangers singlehandledly holding off a column of Axis armor who, if theyd broken through, would have strolled right through my flank to my vulnerable base. And I felt a number of things, appreciation for the bravery and the sacrifice of this one unit, regret and maybe even shame that Id forgotten about them, amazement that something so important had been invisible to me. And I felt all these things while playing a video game.
Punkbuster Interview
October 12, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has scored an interview with Even Balance's Tony Ray regarding their Punkbuster anti-cheating software. They cover some of the popular cheats, expanding to the MMOG market and more! Here's a taste:
FiringSquad: What are the current most popular cheats and hacks that you have seen crop up in games and how do you combat it?
Tony Ray: Cheats that give the cheater information about enemy players that non-cheating players normally do not have continue to be the most popular type of cheat. This includes wallhacks, tag hacks, so-called chams, etc. Always knowing where enemies are or having enemies highlighted to always stand out against any background is a huge advantage that warps the gameplay greatly to the cheaters advantage. Most of these cheats hack the operating system to insert cheat code via dll injection or by detouring low level Windows API calls. We have continued to improve PB over the past months to be able to detect new insertion methods as they surface. And our new code detects the actual methods used by advanced hacks so that we can catch private hacks as well as public hacks. We do still catch a surprising number of new cheats using very old detection methods, but our newer advanced methods are handy when the old methods are avoided by the more skilled hack authors.
NeverWinter Nights 2 Dev Diary
October 12, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting things started, GameSpot has slapped up a developer diary written by Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer regarding some of the cool new features in their upcoming Action-RPG, NeverWinter Nights 2. Here's a bit on prestige class outfits:
I was skeptical about this when programmer Anthony Davis brought up the idea, but it turned out great. I even took levels in Neverwinter Nine just so I could wear my sweet Neverwinter Nine tunic whilst patrolling my lands. I saved my eldritch knight chain shirt for "field work." Only people with levels in the appropriate prestige class can wear prestige-class outfits. Except for people with a lot of ranks in the "use magic device" ability. They are dirty, dirty cheaters.
Battlefield 2142 Interview; Part 2
October 11, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
And finally tonight, Computer Games Online have shot-up the second part of their interview with Digital Illusions' Marcus Nilsson regarding their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's a nugget on the squad system changes:
Have any changes been made to the squad system? Can players still spawn on their leader or do they spawn at a beacon?
We have made a huge commitment in regard to making the squad play more interesting in 2142. The previously mentioned Networked battlefield only works if you are in a squad. As a squad member you can either spawn on your squad leader or on his or your members beacon (hopefully its well placed). A squad will also collectively acquire points toward field upgrades which can be used as a demonstration of the next level of possible unlocks. It will give the players the chance to identify which one they will select the next time they rank up, as well the obvious advantage is using it in the current session.
ParaWorld Demo Released
October 11, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with a little download lovin', the folks over at SEK have released a 1.2gig singleplayer demo from their Strategy title, ParaWorld. Featuring a tutorial and one mission, you can get your grubby little paws on this sucker at one of the following mirrors: Game oooooon! /Garth
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade Review
October 11, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Also over at PC.IGN tonight is a review on Relic Entertainment's just-released Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War expansion pack, Dark Crusade. Scoring a 8.7/10, they seemed pretty impressed with the new content. Anyways, here's a nugget on the new single-player campaign:
Dark Crusade's most striking addition is undoubtedly the new single-player campaign. The fiction brings seven factions to the world of Kronus to slug it out in a cataclysmic melee for control of the planet. Rather than following character driven story as the original game and Winter Assault expansion did, Dark Crusade's fiction is presented as a history lesson. The "lessons" are voiced from the vantage point of whatever faction the player is using to conquer the world. The future history of the fiction was a terrific idea. Hopefully they'll expand on that idea in future iterations of the franchise.
Guild Wars: Nightfall Creatures
October 11, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
PC.IGN keeps the content flowing in by firing up an article that looks at the different creatures in ArenaNet's upcoming Guild Wars expansion, Nightfall. Here's a snippet on the Heket:
Heket are a nuisance to anyone traveling across Elona. These amphibious creatures thrive near lakes and rivers, but roaming packs can be found in the more distant, desolate, and arid areas of the nation. No matter where they prowl, heket spawn at an alarming rate. From birth, they compete with each other for food, slaughtering smaller and weaker siblings. Once they're strong enough to leave their breeding grounds, they form packs and roam further from home, using those same vicious instincts to prey on unwary travelers. Any adventurer who crosses the path of a pack of heket should be ready to defend their supplies, their food, and their very life. If they aren't stopped, then larger, more vicious heket may be bold enough to attack humans near the gates of outposts and settlements. Human adventurers accept the fact that they must keep the population of heket to a minimum, if only for the sake of survival.
Battlefield 2142 Preview
October 11, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
ShackNews gets things rollin' by firing up a preview on Digital Illusions' upcoming multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's the scoop on the new Titan gameplay mode:
The most significant addition in Battlefield 2124 is the Titan mode, in which each team has a large flying warship, called a Titan, that hovers above their base. A team can only win by destroying the Titan's energy shield, then boarding it, reaching the reactor core and blowing it up. However, everything leading up to these final objectives is quite similar to the traditional Conquest mode. You still have to capture various points on the map, but instead of flags they are silos that launch missiles at regular intervals. The missile is fired at one of the Titans depending on who controls the silo at the time of launch. At the top of the screen are indicators for the two Titan's energy shields, essentially representing how much dominance each team has over the silos on the battlefield so far.
Battlefield 2142 Interview
October 10, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Computer Games Online has tossed up an interview with Digital Illusions' Marcus Nilsson, chatting-it-up about their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Topics range from server browsing changes to some of the new unlockable goodies. Here's a blurb:
How will some of the new player abilities such as cloaking and sentry guns change game play? What other futuristic toys will soldiers have at their disposal?
The toys in 2142 will do nothing but enhance the experience gamers have gotten used to in the BF series. The unlock system is an expansion of the rock/paper/scissors methodology which makes things more interesting as its a completely strategic decision regarding how you equip your soldier, and your squad. A quick tip: The sentry gun is a must have for any squad defending their Titan. Just remember it can be disabled by an EMP grenade.
Sid Meiers Railroads! Hands-On
October 10, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has fired-up some impressions on Firaxis Games' upcoming train sim, Sid Meiers Railroads!, after getting some hands-on time with this bad boy. Here's a bit on some of the competition you'll face in the game:
Though you can choose to play unopposed in what is essentially a sandbox mode, you can also face off against stiff competition. The game lets you select how many opponents you'll face on each map, and you can tweak their difficulty level from fairly docile to cutthroat. If you've got rivals, you'll be in a race to expand and establish the biggest and most profitable railroad, and that means racing to link up cities and industries first. Competition also extends to the stock market. Each railroad, including yours, has publicly traded stock. At the beginning of the scenario, you'll usually own 50 percent of your railroad, with the other 50 percent on the open market. However, to generate cash quickly to start up operations or when you're in a cash crunch, you may sell your shares (in 10 percent increments). That opens the door for your rivals, and they may begin snatching up your stock, forcing you to buy up stock, as well. And the fewer shares there are on the open market, the more expensive the remaining shares become. On the flip side, you can also try to buy out your rivals. Purchase 100 percent of the voting stock, and you can liquidate the rival railroad or merge it with your operations.p>
WoW: Burning Crusade Hunter Class Talents
October 10, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Blizzard Entertainment has updated the official Wold of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade website with a look at the new Hunter class talent tree and skills. Just remember that the new tree could see some changes before the expansion's release. Anyways, click here for the goods!
Company of Heroes Review
October 10, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Better late then never, right? The folks over at Bit-tech have thrown up their take on Relic Entertainment's hit Strategy title, Company of Heroes. Here's a snippet on the sniper unit:
The sniper is quite simply awesome. The only unit in the game that acts solo, the sniper moves slow but is able to kill units with one shot. What I really like about this unit is the way he reminds me of great movies like Saving Private Ryan. If there is a big building, like a church with a blown out spire, stick the sniper in there and he'll climb up to the top and take aim. This tactic is one that the computer employs quite regularly against you, devastating an entire group of your soldiers in moments if you're not on top of things.
Gears Of War Interview
October 10, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting the week started, the FiringSquad has sat down with Epic Games' Cliff "Cliffyb" Bleszinski for a brief Q&A regarding their upcoming Action title, Gears Of War. They cover the game's storyline, working with the third person perspective and more! Here's a taste:
FiringSquad: This game will have a much stronger single player storyline than previous Epic Games releases. How hard was it to create a storyline that really grabs player's attention?
Cliff Bleszinski: Coming up with a good abstract is tricky enough but the true work comes in the details. Im confident that our squad interactions play extremely well in regards to dialogue and narrative. You really feel like youre going through this rollercoaster ride with these fellas and by the end you feel like one of them. Thats not an easy thing to accomplish. Game designers need to care just as much about the writing in their products as they do the pretty muzzle flashes and controls.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Preview
October 9, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The peeps over at WorthPlaying.com have taken a quick look at Raven Software's upcoming Action-RPG, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Here's a snippet on the differenct character costumes:
On the other hand, every character now has three unlockable costumes, each of which has its own special benefits. Each outfit gives three stat bumps when you have it equipped, such as bonuses to defense or health, and you can level those stats up as you go. You unlock these new outfits in a variety of ways; Ive seen two appear simply over the course of ordinary gameplay, and apparently others will be a little harder to find. Some of the costumes are just unreal, too. Ghost Rider has an outfit that turns him into the ultra-obscure Western superhero Phantom Rider, Cap has a World War II costume, and Iron Man has his classic red-and-gold armor as well as a War Machine skin.
Dungeons & Dragons Online Interview
October 8, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping this slow news day kickin', TenTonHammer has fired-up an interview with Turbine regarding the upcoming patch for their massively multiplayer online RPG, Dungeons & Dragons Online. Here's something to chew on:
With the conversation flowing about concerns DDO players have and the way warforged rogues have previously had to give up the Rogue's Action Boost Enhancement to get resistances, I asked the gang to comment on whether or not traps in the Level 11 and Level 12 dungeons of Demons Sands would require an optimized rogue build. David assured me that would not be the case:
David: "Even a multi-classed rogue at Level 12 will have decent success on normal. I mean, he might still fail on a roll of 3 or 4, but he can certainly be successful most of the time. As players get into the Elite level dungeons, then they will have a harder time. Elite is closer to requiring a min/max strategy.
You know I'm actually excited about a multi-class build a friend of mine used. It combines a fighter with a paladin and rogue."
Scarface Review
October 7, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
PC.IGN has also thrown together a review on Radical Entertainment's about-to-be-released Third Person Action title, Scarface: The World is Yours. Here's a snippet on the game's voice acting:
The absolute best thing that ties the game to the movie however is how well the character of Tony Montana is represented. Though Al Pacino wasn't able to provide the extremely large amount of spoken dialog (although he did help choose the actor), the voice work for Tony Montana is absolutely superb. From his accent to inflections to the slight but noticeable way he accentuates curse words with ease mid-sentence, his voice work is dead-on. Tony's animations are basically perfect as well, capturing his wild shoulder jerks, free use of hand gestures and constant look of discomfort. The rest of the game's cast is also very good, featuring a list of celebrity talent that is way too long to even begin to list, but Tony is clearly the highlight here. Absolutely fantastic work on this front.
Jade Empire Q&A
October 7, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Moving right along, PC.IGN has caught up with BioWare's Kevin Martins and Diarmid Clarke for a short Q&A regarding the upcoming PC port of their hit Action-RPG, Jade Empire. So what kind of new content can we expect? Read on:
IGN: OK. What exactly is going to be new about the game? When we checked in with you guys at E3 there was some talk about new levels, enemies, and fighting styles.
Diarmid Clarke: We've basically added in three levels of new things for the PC version of Jade. The first level is the PC-centricness of the game. The things you expect and demand as a PC player like the higher graphics resolution. This also includes the redesigned keyboard and mouse controls that have been completely designed to work for the PC and be great rather than a side option. So it's not something that should really be played with a controller, it's actually designed for the keyboard and mouse.
The second level of things we put in is extra content. There are new monsters to fight including some new big demons. There are some new fighting styles for players to find as well. We've added a world map into the game. There are also some new weapon upgrades. A new difficulty level is also available. This is the super hard level. So quite a few new things for people who have played the game previously to discover.
The third level of changes we made were gameplay improvements. We've been able to change the AI around so that fights will be a lot more dynamic. You're really going to have to use the tactics of Jade in your fighting styles a lot more in this as the original Jade was pushing you to do.
Battlefield 2142 Demo Released
October 7, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Hitting us with a little download lovin', Digital Illusions has released a demo from their multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. Weighing in at a hefty 1.08gigs, this puppy sports the Sidi Power Plant map and two gameplay modes. Hit one of the following mirrors for the goods: This should fill up your weekend! ;)
Gothic 3 Interview
October 7, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The FiringSquad has fired-off some questions at Aspyr Media's Blaine Christine regarding their upcoming RPG, Gothic 3. They chat it up about the game's storyline, weapons and more! Here's a little something to nibble on:
FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the game's storyline and how it relates to previous games in the series?
Blaine Christine: The developers did a great job of creating a very exciting new scenario for Gothic 3 while maintaining ties to the previous games in the series. All of the old favorite characters will be there again: Diego, Milten, Lester, and Xardas, among others. As always, the challenge with creating a sequel is making a game that welcomes new players, but does not alienate members of your audience that are fans from previous games. Both of the previous games took place on the island of Khorinis, so the biggest change in the story is the fact that for the first time the player is shown the mainland of Myrtana. As you arrive on the mainland with some friends from the past, you discover that the humans have been overrun by large bands of Orcs and your first decision will be what part you will take in the ongoing conflict. This decision will dramatically affect your gameplay experience and ultimately determine the outcome of the game!
Caesar IV Review
October 7, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot has whipped up a review on Tilted Mill Entertainment's city-building title, Caesar IV. Walking away with a solid score of 7.7/10, this one may be worth checking out! Here's a bit on the different classes of citizens:
Caesar IV captures the class system of the Roman Empire ably. At the bottom are the plebs, who toil in the fields and factories and have only basic needs, such as food and clothing. Next up are the equites, or the middle class, who live in fancier structures and serve as the teachers, tax collectors, and doctors of the Empire. As such, they get paid more and have basic and luxury wants, such as furniture and wine. Finally, there are the nobles that live on huge estates. The nobles don't work for a living, and they require basic, luxury, and exotic goods to stay happy, but at least you can tax them to generate a fair chunk of your revenue. Any functional city needs to have a mix of all three classes, which makes striking the balance challenging. You need nobles because they're the only ones who can really be taxed, but to get nobles, you need to build a vast infrastructure to support them. For instance, you must trade to get exotic goods that the nobles require, and that means creating an export economy to generate something you can trade.
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos Interview
October 6, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Finally tonight, GamersInfo.net has thrown up an interview with Chris Wren, the Project Leader behind Black Hole Games' upcoming Strategy title, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos. They chat about the game's races, art direction and more! Here's a taste:
Gamersinfo.net: Youve built in to the game an army creation system tied in to the game. Will it work only with the multiplayer or will this be an option in the single player mode?
Chris Wren:: In single player you will first choose to play as either Empire or Chaos. We will then start you off with a small group headed by your armys champion. As you proceed through the single player campaign, you will be continually upgrading and customizing your army. By the end of the campaign you will have a very specialized army that you have crafted, and this army can be saved off and used in your multiplayer games. For the purposes of the story, some of the customization options are not available in single player, for example you cannot paint or customize the look of each unit in single player, nor can you customize your banners. The reason for this is that the army that you lead plays a specific role in the story we are telling, they are from a specific clan or district and thus wear the colors and banners of that region. In multiplayer you can do pretty much whatever you want with customization, you can make your army look however you want, and banner customization is completely at your discretion.
Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Demo
October 6, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The peeps over at Petroglyph Games have released a 605mb singleplayer demo from their Star Wars: Empire at War expansion pack, Forces of Corruption. Letting you try out the tutorial and one mission, you can grab this sucker from the following mirrors: uNF!
City of Heroes Interview
October 6, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Boomtown has caught up with Cryptic Studios' Matt Miller to find out more about the upcoming Issue 8 patch for their hit massively multiplayer online RPG, City of Heroes. Here's a nugget on the revamped Faultline zone:
The Faultline zone will be remade. What are you bringing into the zone and why was Faultline the first CoH zone to be remade?
Faultline was really the least populated zone in the game. It was a pain to get around in because it came at a time when very few characters have travel powers, and the zone had a lot of holes and rubble that made it a bear to travel. Players generally only did the missions they needed to and then avoided the zone. Our thought was to first raise the level of the zone so more players would have travel powers (and subsequently bring it in line with the level that the majority of CoH characters seem to be at), as well as give it its own missions and storylines.
More Alan Wake Impressions
October 6, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
EuroGamer have chimed in with their take on Remedy Entertainment's upcoming Psychological Action Thriller, Alan Wake, after watching a demo at X06. Here's a bit on the game's impressive landscape:
Picking up the thread at the very start of the game, Remedy wastes no time is demonstrating its incredible environmental technology. Capable of rendering vastly detailed cinematic landscapes with no pop-up or slowdown, it's clear that the undulating, forested terrain of Bright Falls is easily the most ambitious looking openworld environment seen in a videogame. Panning around this breathtaking scenery, we're told it measures an incredible 10x10km - and then promptly zoomed in at superspeed to a view of Alan stood on the side of a hill. Good start.
Battlefield 2142 Preview
October 6, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot starts the evening off with a preveiw on the singleplayer portion (vs bots) of Digital Illusions' upcoming first person shooter, Battlefield 2142. Here's a snippet on squad combat:
The AI in previous Battlefield games has been everywhere from brain-dead to merely decent, and judging from our teammates' behavior in Battlefield 2142, it looks like the AI is a bit sharper than before, though you won't mistake them for real human beings. The AI does seem to work better in a squad, since squadmates have a tendency to stick together and support one another. This is especially true if you're capturing an outpost. Your squad will come and help cover you while the enemy flag slowly comes down the flagpole and your team's flag goes up it. If you're wounded, teammates are usually good about taking out the med kit and healing you, and if you're "killed," they're also good about getting the old defibrillator paddles out and shocking you back to life, which is helpful.
AoE III: The WarChiefs Demo Released
October 5, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Feeding your need for something new to play, Ensemble Studios has released a demo from their Age of Empires III expansion pack, The WarChiefs. Including two singleplayer missions, you can grab this 512mb bad boy from one of the following mirrors: Now get downloading! :)
WoW: The Burning Crusade Collector's Edition
October 5, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Blizzard Entertainment has announced a special collector's edition for their upcoming World of WarCraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. This puppy features a behind-the-scenes DVD, an artbook, an in-game pet and more! You can find out all the details by tapping your mouse right here!
NeverWinter Nights 2 Dev Diary
October 5, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Sticking with GameSpot, they have also slapped up a developer diary written by Obsidian Entertainment's Chris Avellone regarding their upcoming Action-RPG, NeverWinter Nights 2. This one focus' on the players decisions in the game and how it effects the storyline. Here's a blurb:
It's very easy to label a game as "epic," but what we tried to do was make sure we nailed down exactly what constitutes an epic storyline and then implement it. We wanted to keep the stakes high and the enemies powerful, as well as give you a key role, not just from an adventuring perspective, but also as a general, commander, and even a ruler of your own military stronghold. We give you a choice of being a politician, criminal, or advisor, as well, but that's up to you to choose. Whatever occurs, you will find yourself engaged in several battles over the course of the game--sometimes commanding large groups of troops on the battlefield, and at other times, diplomatically fighting for your reputation in a courtroom where it seems all the evidence is piled against you.
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Hands-on
October 5, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
GameSpot keeps the ball rollin' with a hands-on preview of Arkane Studios' upcoming Action title, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. Here's a snippet on some of the bad guys you'll be smacking around:
The opponents that you'll battle are all human soldiers armed with sword and shield, as well as bow and arrow. This will serve as good practice with the sword-fighting mechanic in the game, as you can get in plenty of one-and-one, or even two- and three-on-one duels. It's important to think tactically and to not just jam the mouse button to attack, as the soldiers' armor makes that tactic worthless. Instead, you'll have to parry attacks, wait for an opening, and then execute a power attack by holding down the left mouse button and moving the mouse in a certain direction. Moving the mouse up, for example, prepares a vicious downward stroke. The longer you can stay in the fight, the better the strike, as your adrenaline meter will slowly fill up. Once it's topped off, you can execute a killing blow that can instantly decapitate or dismember a foe.
Medieval II: Total War Preview
October 5, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
PC.IGN has posted an article taking a look at the Turks in Creative Assembly's upcoming Strategy title, Medieval II: Total War. Here's a little some something to chew on:
The Turks may very much be relative newcomers to both Anatolia and the Holy Lands, but the impact that they have had upon these realms since they migrated from the steppes east of the Caspian has been profound enough to shake the pillars of the oldest and mightiest neighbouring dynasties. Having seized control of the Abbasid Caliphate from the Buyids, and utterly crushed the Byzantines at Manzikert, the Turks have restored unity to the eastern Islamic region - making them arguably the greatest power Arabia or Persia has seen for centuries.
Another Forces of Corruption Preview
October 4, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
And bringing the evening to an end, the FiringSquad has thrown their hat into the ring with a preveiw on Petroglyph Studios' upcoming Star Wars: Empire at War expansion pack, Forces of Corruption. Here's some juice on the new playable faction:
The big twist in Forces of Corruption is the new playable faction thats been added to the mix, and any fan of the Star Wars universe could maybe figure out what that faction might be. Underneath the epic battle between the Empire and the Rebels is the organized crime aspect of the universe. Unfortunately Jabba the Hutt is not the leader of this new faction (although Jabba does have a role to play in the game; we wont spoil it here), but rather Tyber Zann who leads the not so modestly named Zann Consortium.
Zann and his new group have a number of new adventures and missions to deal with in Forces of Corruptions single player campaign, which takes place just after the destruction of the first Death Star in Episode IV: A New Hope. Zann and his forces encounter both the Empire and the Rebels in the game.
NeverWinter Nights 2 Villains
October 4, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The guys over at PC.IGN have tossed up an article taking a look at some of the villains in Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming Action-RPG, NeverWinter Nights 2. Here's a snippet on the Lorne character:
Lorne is a Frenzied Berserker, which is the D&D equivalent of the Tasmanian Devil. If he gets set off (say, his dinner is cold), he unleashes a whirlwind of limbs, weapons, and completely unintelligible cuss words - a "frenzy" - until everyone around him (enemies, friends, people shouting, "Can't we talk about this?" etc.) is dead, or until he gets very, very tired. His powerful ability Deathless Frenzy ensures that he cannot be killed while in one of his tirades, not even with kindness. And that prospect is scary enough for anyone to lose hair over. Even Lorne himself.
Click here for more on these evil baddies!Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Dev Diary
October 4, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Also over at GameSpy tonight is a new developer diary that has Splash Damage's Paul 'Locki' Wedgwood talking about the use of storyline in their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Here's a little nugget:
Firstly, by setting the game in the Quake universe and charting the Strogg invasion of Earth (as a prequel to the Quake series of single-player games), we'd have another great multiplayer environment to build the game in (as with World War II for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory). This new futuristic setting provided a great backdrop to paint the Strogg against, inspiring lots of interesting new objectives, especially relating to how Earth's Global Defense Force was eventually able to retaliate against Stroggos in Quake 2 with their discovery of Strogg 'Slipgate' technology. Richard Jolly (our Art Director) will talk in a future Developer Diary about artistic concept development with id Software for the look of the Strogg, the GDF and Earth's environment.
Joint Task Force Review
October 4, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping the content rolling in, GameSpy has thrown together some impressions on Most Wanted Entertainment's Strategy title, Joint Task Force. Scoring a 2 1/2 stars out of 5, this one sounds pretty solid. Anyways, here's the basic rundown on the game:
The year is 2008. Bad things are happening in the world as several formerly separate terrorist organizations team up into a group called the Matar. In order to fight them, the UN and the G8 nations create the Joint Task Force, a multinational peacekeeping force designated with undertaking humanitarian and rescue operations as well as fighting the Matar wherever they're found. What keeps this from being a bad episode of G.I Joe is the general quality of the game's fiction and storyline. Unlike Joe's nemesis Cobra, the Matar are a genuinely frightening terrorist force, complete with wanton disregard for civilian casualties and the rules of war, and a lust for weapons of mass destruction. The story of their conflict with the JTF is also played out across a fascinating multi-mission campaign that crisscrosses the real world's current hotspots, including Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, Colombia and Afghanistan. The fact that Joint Task Force doesn't shrink from the moral and political complexity of the violence in these regions is one of the biggest points in its favor.
Team Fortress 2 Preview
October 4, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
After watching a demo of the game, Computer and Video Games.com has thrown up a preview on Valve Software's much anticipated multiplayer shooter, Team Fortress 2. Here's a little something to nibble on:
At this point in my presentation the screen in Valve's boardroom flickers into life, and the new rendition of iconic TF map 2Fort appears before me. "We chose to do a kind of '60s sci-fi theme, and the reason for that was the exaggerated environments, the unrealistic weaponry and the notion of having one team just across the bridge from the other team." I nod. There are, after all, few international conflicts that revolve around two hangers that sit 100m away from each other. "Another reason we chose it was that thing of James Bond and the volcano with the secret lair underneath," continues Brown as we share a knowing You Only Live Twice 'Little Nellie' moment. "So it's seemingly simple, unassuming and non-threatening, but underneath it's hiding its intent, and so that again fits into this role of why team A is right across from team B."
Battlefield 2142 Q&A
October 3, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Feeling chatty tonight, Computer and Video Games.com has also fired-up a short interview with Digital Illusions' Marcus Nilsson regarding their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Battlefield 2142. They cover everything from the game's engine to AI. Here's a snippet:
1942 favoured vehicles whilst BF2 was very infantry-friendly. What about 2142?
Marcus Nilsson: We need to keep the importance of the vehicles in there because that is what makes the series unique. Infantry in BF2 proved to be a very good experience. There were infantry-only maps and we're capitalising on that again. We're making it even more immersive. When a Battle Walker walks by the ground trembles - it's stuff like that that drives the enjoyment of playing as an infantry character. But we're focusing as much on the vehicles. A Battle Walker will own infantry unless you're very smart, in a squad and working together to take it out. In 2142 we're merging 1942 and BF2, but were also having levels that are designed to be for infantry, as well as ones designed around for heavy vehicle use. We have different aims for different levels - the mix is much more varied.
Sid Meier's Railroads! Interview
October 3, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Computer and Video Games.com has kicked up an interview with Firaxis Games' Sid Meier regarding his upcoming "Railroads!" sim. They chat about empire-building, branding and more! Here's an interesting bit on the multiplayer modes:
CVG: The multiplayer and online modes sound like they could really be fun. Could you tell us about some of the more interesting gameplay scenarios that crop up?
Meier: The multiplayer mode is the most competitive mode of playing. You have the relaxed table-top mode where you can take your time or there's the single-player where you're building your railroad and there's some competition but it's not close, direct competition, and then in multiplayer is where you will be competing in a fairly confined space. There's not a lot of room on the map so it's a race to get to the key locations first to run your railroad efficiently to make money so you can buy shares in the other companies.
One of the most exciting parts is buying out one of your competitors. You can buy your own stock and protect yourself or buy the stock of competitors and try and take them over. You can bid for patents to improve the efficiency of your railroad - you have to outbid other players to secure these options. The scenarios are of a reasonable length as most players will only be able to hang together for a certain amount of time so they're designed to be playable in an hour or two. It's the same game but tweaked in certain areas to take advantage of the multiplayer aspect to create more competitive gameplay.
EA Acquires Digital Illusions
October 3, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
It's finally official! The folks over at Electronic Arts have announced the acquisition of Battlefield-developer, Digital Illusions. Here's a nugget from the press release:
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2006--Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced the acquisition of Digital Illusions CE (DICE), acclaimed development team and creators of the Battlefield game franchise. Located in Stockholm, Sweden, DICE becomes a fully integrated EA studio dedicated to growing the Battlefield franchise and developing new products for the PC, next generation consoles and other new platforms. The acquisition is effective immediately.
"EA is thrilled to officially welcome this team of incredibly talented people and a globally recognized game franchise," said Paul Lee, President of EA's Worldwide Studios. "The DICE studio has strong opportunity for growth as we build the Battlefield franchise and other new products. We're confident that our creative approach and business leadership principles are well matched to share future success."
Scarface Preview
October 3, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Keeping the content flowing in, the FiringSquad has also thrown together a preview on Radical Entertainment's upcoming movie-based Action title, Scarface. Here's a little something on the gameplay:
After those first two intro missions, the game really begins as Tony begins to rebuild his crime empire with small drug deals at first. Scarfaces massive open game world of Miami is broken up into several sections, each of which has to be claimed by Tonys empire. In our demo we started by gaining reputation by simple missions like driving a van filled with drugs to drop off points in various locations. This increased our rep and money and allowed us to go to more missions. One of the interesting things about the game is the variability on how the missions might turn out. In a feature thats similar to something that you might see in a golf video game, Tony has to convince drug dealers and others about his deals via a meter that you have to control. If you hit the sweet spot you can get the best money for drugs, the best interest rate for your money in the bank and get the heat off you if the cops show up to question you. If you successfully use the meter to intimidate others, it actually fills up your Balls Meter. Having that kind of variable gameplay makes Scarface a different experience every time.
F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point Q&A
October 3, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Getting the week started, the FiringSquad has sat down with Vivendi Games' Tim Hall for a quick Q&A regarding their upcoming F.E.A.R. expansion pack, Extraction Point. So what kind of new weapons will we get to kick some butt with? Read on:
FiringSquad: What sort of new weapons can we expect to see in Extraction Point?
Tim Hall: We have 3 new weapons. The minigun is my personal favorite as when you start tearing up a room that and everything is flying around, including the bodies, its quite spectacular. We also have one other gun and a new mine but thats all Ill say about them.
Marvel Universe Online Interview
October 2, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
Here's some lovin' for all you comic book fans out there! Kotaku has tossed up an interview with some of the guys behind Cryptic Studios' upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Marvel Universe Online. They chat about how the game came to be, the setting and more! Here's a taste:
And, while Marvel hasn't made any specific announcements about where gameplay might take place, there's always the possibility it won't in big cities.
"The Marvel Universe isn't just super heroes running around in big cities," he said. "We have Thor and Asgard, we have Atlantis and we have the Midnight Suns and the other dark slices of Marvel."
Crysis Preview
October 1, 2006 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky
The guys over at GameSpot have fired-up a short preview on the environments in Crytek Studios' upcoming first person shooter, Crysis. Here's a little something to nibble on:
When you first arrive on the island, you'll discover a tropical paradise not unlike that seen in Far Cry. Giant palms sway in the wind, the sun burns brightly in the sky, and the jungle can be used for concealment from the North Korean soldiers who patrol the island. The first chapter of the game will require you to participate in what could best be described as guerilla warfare. You'll recon the island, choosing to ambush or bypass North Korean forces. This part of the game should feel quite a bit like Far Cry, Crytek's first game. Far Cry also had you crawling around a jungle while ambushing (and being ambushed) by foes, and one of the cool features about that game was that you could choose how you navigated through the gigantic levels. You could blitz your way across and engage enemies in a running firefight, or you could take the long way around and remain invisible.
Man, it sure looks pretty!Recent posts
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- EA Acquires Digital Illusions
- Scarface Preview
- F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point Q&A
- Marvel Universe Online Interview
- Crysis Preview
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