Batman: Arkham Asylum GDC Trailer

Grabbing out attention this afternoon, the guys over at Rocksteady Studios have released a new gameplay trailer for their highly anticipated Action-Adventure title, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Running just over two and a half minutes long, the video takes an in-depth look at "predator gameplay" and the different ways you can take down enemies. Very cool stuff! Check it out:

Thank 20af s to GameTrailers for the above stream. Prefer a manual download? We have you covered:

GamersHellFileShackActionTripWorthPlaying

Batman: Arkham Asylum is scheduled for release in Summer 2009.

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Debut Trailer

Kicking things off today, the fine folks over at EA DICE have released a debut trailer for their upcoming military shooter, Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Running just over a minute long, the video features a stylized look at the rock/paper/scissors of warfare. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Hit-up any of the following websites for a mirror:

GamersHellFileShackWorthPlaying

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is scheduled for release this Winter.

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Top 10 reasons you must have Prototype

Radical Entertainment apparently aren't the coy type. Take for instance, their new trailer which flat out tells you why must have their upcoming video game Prototype.

And if there's one thing we've learned in our collected experience as video game journalists, it's that a whole lot of you love things in a top list format. Well, Radical ran with it for this one, bringing you 10 reasons, but we can whittle it down to two: guns and explosions.

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PC Braid Slips To April

Giving us a quick heads-up tonight, Number None has announced that the upcoming PC edition of Braid will be delayed 10 days due to some last-minute issues with various versions of Windows. Originally scheduled for release on March 31st, the game is now expected to hit digital distribution outlets on April 10th. Hope you didn't mark your calendars in pen! ;)

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Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box v1.100 Patch

Moving right along, the fine folks over at Criterion Games have released a new patch (v1.100) for their hit open-world racing title, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box. Weighing in at 110MB, this mandatory update adds Legendary Cars, Toy Vehicles and Boost Specials to Junkyards and the Burnout Store. You can grab the update through EA's Download Manager or hit-up any of the following websites for a mirror:

Official MirrorFileShackWorthPlaying

Grab it while it's hot! :D

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Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust goes on sale

The long-running Leisure Suit Larry produced yet one more adventure game today, with Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust.

In addition to the PC version, Larry is making a first-time appearance on consoles (Xbox 360 now, PS3 version coming later.) In this one, you control Larry, in an sandbox-style adventure game where the primary goal is to save the day while having sex with as many ladies as possible. There are mini-games in this game (for those of you who like gaming while you game) and the focus is on comedy, as you try to save a movie studio, or something.

This game is a follow-up to the 2004's Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, which was a college-life focused collection of mini-games that got mostly thrashed by the critics, but had a certain sort of immature charm to it.

Prior to Magna Cum Laude, there were 6 games from 1987 to 1996, all classic adventure quest games from Sierra On-Line. The original creator and series writer, self-taught programmer Al Lowe, was the man to love or hate for those 6 games, while he would like everyone to know that he has absolutely nothing to do with this game and Cum Laude.

In the first six games, you played Leisure Suit Larry. In the new games, you play the nephew of Larry. It's sort of interesting: the old Larry used to be a hopeless loser who had hardly any skills attracting women, while the new Larry is a popular, more attractive person with money and power. Also, the new Larry doesn't actually wear leisure suits anymore, but for whatever reason, that doesn't stop people from calling him "leisure suit Larry." Perhaps this will be explained in a sequel.

Box Office Bust features voice acting talents Carmen Electra and Tom Arnold, amongst other experienced actors.

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Prototype 'Top 10' Trailer

Hitting the web today is brand new gameplay trailer for Radical Entertainment's upcoming open-world Action title, Prototype. Running just over three and a half minutes long, the video gives us the "Top 10 Reasons You Must Have Prototype". Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirror's are also available at the FileShack and WorthPlaying.com.

Prototype is scheduled for release in June 2009.

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Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust Ships

Hot off the presses, Codemasters and Team17 have announced that their highly anticipated Adventure title, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, has begun shipping shipping to stores today. Unfamiliar with the game? No worries! Here's a brief description courtesy of the official press release:

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust sees players take control of the misguided Larry Lovage as he spends his vacation working at his uncle’s film studio. Excited at the hope of picking out his perfect lady from Tinsletown’s most endowed, Larry soon uncovers a plot from a rival studio that threatens his uncle’s late 20e5 st movie success; now it’s up to Larry to save the day (as long as he can concentrate on the right assets for long enough).

Developed by Team17 and laden with illustrious voice talent from Hollywood’s glamorous glitterati, players will meet and interact with outrageous characters like Ginger Vitus (Carmen Electra: Starsky & Hutch) and Hugh Jassdick (Tom Arnold: True Lies, ER, Roseanne) as they tackle exploration, platforming, racing, puzzle-solving and seduction challenges to get the girls and save the studio.

So if you happen to be wandering around your local comp-shop today, you may want to keep an eye out for it! ;)

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Stardock's new DRM detailed -- a new industry standard?

Scratch that, Impulse Reactor isn't the new DRM method Stardock mentioned months ago, one they said would make both gamers and publishers happy, but it is part of it.

The new method is lovingly called "Goo", an acronym for "Game Object Obfuscation". Stardock describes it as a tool which allows the developer to put their game executable into a container which houses the original .exe as well as Impulse Reactor, their virtual platform, resulting in a single encrypted file. Running the game for the first time prompts the user to enter their e-mail address and serial number, associating the game to that person, as opposed to their hardware as most systems do. This in turn means gamers can run their titles on any computer without hassle. After initial validation, the game never needs to connect to the Internet again.

While this method still shafts users who don't have Internet access, or impermanent access, it's about the next best thing to a DRM-free methodology like GOG uses.

Here's Stardock's list of advantages to this new implementation:

1. There is no third-party client required. This means a developer can use this as a universal solution since it is not tied to any particular digital distributor.

2. It paves the way to letting users validate their game on any digital distribution service that supports that game. One common concern of gamers is if the company they purchased a game from exits the market, their game library may disappear too. Games that use Goo would be able to be validated anywhere.

3. It opens the door to gamers being able to resell their games because users can voluntarily disable their game access and transfer their license ownership to another user.

Note that #3 effectively makes Impulse the first digital distribution service (to our knowledge) to allow reselling of games. Very cool!

“One of our primary goals for Impulse Reactor is to create a solution that will appeal to game developers while adhering to the Gamers Bill of Rights,” said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. “Publishers want to be able to sell their games in as many channels as possible but don’t want to have to implement a half-dozen ‘copy protection’ schemes. Game Object Obfuscation lets the developer have a single game build that can be distributed everywhere while letting gamers potentially be able to re-download their game later from any digital service. Plus, it finally makes possible a way for gamers and publishers to transfer game licenses to players in a secure and reliable fashion.”

Goo will arrive April 7 as part of Impulse's "Phase 3" release. At this time Stardock expects to announce multiple major publishers signing to their platform, complete with delicious games.

This new implementation could very well replace the likes of SecuROM as a common industry DRM method -- how would you feel about a PC gaming industry protected by Goo?

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Blueberry Garden takes grand prize at GDC's Indie Games Festival

You've already heard about the winners at this year's Game Developers Conference, but what about the Independent Games Festival?

Sponsored by GDC, the 11th Annual Indie Games Festival (IGF) took place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco this year and presents its own roster of winners.

Erik Svedang's Blueberry Garden, an exploration game, was graced with the $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game at the 2009 Independent Games Festival Awards. This isn't a small feat by any means, considering some of IGF's previous winners: Braid, Audiosurf, Castle Crashers, and World of Goo.

“Yet again, we’ve been blown away by the quality and diversity of entries in this year’s Independent Games Festival”, said Simon Carless, IGF chairman. “Every year, indie games seem to get more and more vital, and we’re pleased to be able to help honor the very best.”

Some other entries walked away with $2,500 in cash, as well as sponsor-related prizes. Here are the award categories and their respective winners:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Blueberry Garden, by Erik Svedang

Innovation (Nuovo) Award
Between, by Jason Rohrer

Excellence in Visual Art
Machinarium, by Amanita Design

Excellence in Audio
BrainPipe, by Digital Eel

Technical Excellence
Cortex Command, by Data Realms

Excellence in Design
Musaic Box, by KranX Productions

Best Student Game
Tag: The Power of Paint, by DigiPen Institute of Technology

Audience Award
Cortex Command, by Data Realms

D2D Vision Award
Osmos, by Hemisphere Games

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Steam 24-Hour Sale: 50% Off Far Cry 2

Continuing their week-long Ubisoft promotion, Valve Software has announced that Far Cry 2 is now on sale through Steam for just $14.99 (a 50% savings). The deal runs for the next 24 hours, with yet another Ubisoft title going on sale tomorrow. Wondering if the game's any good before you cough up the dough? Then be sure to check out our in-depth review!

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Flock! Demo Released

Keeping our modems nice and toasty today, Capcom and Proper Games have released a new demo for their upcoming Puzzle title, Flock!. Weighing in at 80MB, the demo features a handful of levels from the full retail product. You can grab this bad boy from any of the following mirrors:

YouGamers (courtesy of GamersHell)FileShackWorthPlaying

Dig the demo? Then keep an eye out for the full game when it hits stores on April 7th.

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The Sims 3: DRM-lite?

Update: Rod Humble, executive producer for the Sims division at EA, wrote today on the Sims 3 website disc-based copy protection will be implemented for the game as well as a serial code, with no online authentication required, contradicting the statement below. It appears the DRM will be changed to something rather reasonable after all, though it's possible SecuROM will be the method used for copy protection. In either case, removal of online authentication is a big step in a positive direction. We thank you, EA.

Last weekThe Sims 3 associate producer MC Chun told us Electronic Arts (EA) has changed its Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme for the upcoming sure-to-be blockbuster, suggesting the new implementation would be minimal:

"So because of [The Sims 2 and Spore high piracy rates] we had a strong DRM thing. And then we got such good and such vocal user feedback, so now we're getting the final pieces together. It's not going to be the crazy, manage-18-accounts or count-the-number-of-times-you've-installed thing. But it is going to have copy-protection."

"I used to know [what DRM we are going to use], and then we changed it. EA subsequently told us there will be a press release about this in the near future. The engineers have been amazing, because to change the DRM strategy this late is something that's asking a lot of an engineering crew who have already put a lot into it. But they were willing to be flexible, because as gamers themselves they were like, "yeah, it's a pain in the ass"."

Apparently, the publisher has different ideas, though, as according to a fan on the Sims 2 forums, pre-purchasing the game on the EA Store greets the user with this message:

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE REQUIRED FOR PLAY. TO ACCESS ONLINE SERVICES, YOU NEED AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND MUST REGISTER ONLINE WITH THE ENCLOSED SINGLE USE SERIAL CODE. REGISTRATION IS NOT TRANSFERABLE. EA ONLINE TERMS & CONDITIONS CAN BE FOUND AT www.ea.com. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER ONLINE. EA MAY TERMINATE ONLINE SERVICES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com. THIS GAME USES SECUROM ANTI-PIRACY TECHNOLOGY BY SONY DADC. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SECUROM, VISIT www.securom.com.

The fan states that "the in-game advertising disclaimer and data collecting software is gone", with other users claiming SecuROM is responsible for the latter, though we don't know if there's any real validity to that.

A message to EA asking whether or not the scheme would be changed by the release date did not receive a response as of the time of publishing.

Note to EA and Maxis: much (perhaps most) of the "vocal user feedback" concerned SecuROM. Keep it out. Thanks.

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Square Enix's Eidos acquisition official

As we foretold (cue stormclouds), the official passing of Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos would be announced late this month, and it has.

Reports say SQEX's 32 pence per share offer was okay by Eidos, with an 85% approval rating on the latter company's part, and the requisite Extraordinary General Meeting's motion going through.

Joystiq figures the first order of business following the actual changes late next month will be "Final Fantasy X3: Lara's Shadow, in which Yuna, Rikku, and Lara work together to solve a mystery surrounding a sunken ship. Also, they try to find Tidus again." There is no official word word on this, however.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Due Out Nov. 10th, 2009!

Ending the night with a bang, Activision and Infinity Ward took to the stage at this year's GDC Awards to debut a short teaser trailer for their next project: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The trailer doesn't offer any actual gameplay details, but it does give us a target release date of November 10th, 2009. Enjoy:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the stream. A mirror is also available at the game's official website, along with some weird "Analyze" tools. Might wanna check that one out as well! ;)

Update: Note that it doesn't actually say "Call of Duty" anywhere on the website or in the trailer. It just says "Modern Warfare 2". Did they drop CoD from the title? We can only speculate...

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Stardock Reveals "Goo" DRM Plans

Grabbing our attention today, Stardock has announced that their popular digital distribution platform, Impulse, will soon feature some new tech called Game Object Obfuscation (or "Goo" for short), which is said to address many issues both publishers and gamers have with current DRM systems. According to Stardock, Goo will allow publishers to tie their games to a user's email/account instead of their hardware with a single online activation, giving you the option to install the game on as many PC's as you like without having to mess around with DRM revoke tools and all that silly stuff. The new tech doesn't require a third-party client and can be used by any digital distribution service that supports that game. Even more interesting, Goo al 219b lows you to disable your game license and transfer it to another user, essentially opening the door to reselling your digitally downloaded games. Pretty wild stuff, eh?

Here's a little snippet from the press release:

"One of our primary goals for Impulse Reactor is to create a solution that will appeal to game developers while adhering to the Gamers Bill of Rights," said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. "Publishers want to be able to sell their games in as many channels as possible but don't want to have to implement a half-dozen 'copy protection' schemes. Game Object Obfuscation lets the developer have a single game build that can be distributed everywhere while letting gamers potentially be able to re-download their game later from any digital service. Plus, it finally makes possible a way for gamers and publishers to transfer game licenses to players in a secure and reliable fashion."

Goo is expected to debut in the next version of Impulse on April 7th.

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The Sims 3 looks to have SecuROM after all

Last weekThe Sims 3 associate producer MC Chun told us Electronic Arts (EA) has changed its Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme for the upcoming sure-to-be blockbuster, suggesting the new implementation would be minimal:

"So because of [The Sims 2 and Spore high piracy rates] we had a strong DRM thing. And then we got such good and such vocal user feedback, so now we're getting the final pieces together. It's not going to be the crazy, manage-18-accounts or count-the-number-of-times-you've-installed thing. But it is going to have copy-protection."

"I used to know [what DRM we are going to use], and then we changed it. EA subsequently told us there will be a press release about this in the near future. The engineers have been amazing, because to change the DRM strategy this late is something that's asking a lot of an engineering crew who have already put a lot into it. But they were willing to be flexible, because as gamers themselves they were like, "yeah, it's a pain in the ass"."

Apparently, the publisher has different ideas, though, as according to a fan on the Sims 2 forums, pre-purchasing the game on the EA Store greets the user with this message:

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE REQUIRED FOR PLAY. TO ACCESS ONLINE SERVICES, YOU NEED AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND MUST REGISTER ONLINE WITH THE ENCLOSED SINGLE USE SERIAL CODE. REGISTRATION IS NOT TRANSFERABLE. EA ONLINE TERMS & CONDITIONS CAN BE FOUND AT www.ea.com. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER ONLINE. EA MAY TERMINATE ONLINE SERVICES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com. THIS GAME USES SECUROM ANTI-PIRACY TECHNOLOGY BY SONY DADC. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SECUROM, VISIT www.securom.com.

The fan states that "the in-game advertising disclaimer and data collecting software is gone", with other users claiming SecuROM is responsible for the latter, though we don't know if there's any real validity to that.

A message to EA asking whether or not the scheme would be changed by the release date did not receive a response as of the time of publishing.

Note to EA and Maxis: much (perhaps most) of the "vocal user feedback" concerned SecuROM. Keep it out. Thanks.

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Fallout 3 crowned Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards

We've seen the list of nominees for video games worth awarding at year's GDC, as judged by game developers themselves. Now the votes are tallied, and in the end one game emerged from the dust to claim the grand prize of Game of the Year: Fallout 3. Bethesda's sci-fi RPG also walked away with another honor for best writing in a video game. Meanwhile, Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet snapped up a few awards of its own including best game design, technology, innovation, and debut. Fellow developers were indeed sold on the concept and potential of the PS3 puzzle platformer, powered by user generated content.

9th Annual Game Developers Choice Award Winners

Best Game Design
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Visual Art
Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Technology
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Writing
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Audio
Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores)

Best Debut Game
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Innovation
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Handheld
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (Ready at Dawn)

Best Downloadable Game
World Of Goo (2D Boy)

Game of the Year
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Games aren't the only thing being awarded by developers; the developers themselves deserve accolode from their peers as well. The individuals honored this year include composer Tommy Tallarico, Rock Band franchise fathers Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, and Metal Gear series visionary Hideo Kojima.

Ambassador Award
Tommy Tallarico (Video Games Live)

Pioneer Award
Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy (Harmonix)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Hideo Kojima (Kojima Productions)

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Lord of the Rings Online Spring Festival Goes Live

Breaking out the party hats tonight, Turbine has announced that the Spring Festival for Lord of the Rings Online has officially gone live and will run until April 7th. This in-game event spruces up the game world with some special decorations, festive costumes and new quests lines. To help get us in the mood, Turbine has sent over five screenshots. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

Want to learn more about the Spring Festival? Then be sure to check out the latest developer diary!

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Shots

Getting the ball rollin' today, Electronic Arts has sent over five tiny screenshots from their upcoming movie-inspired Adventure title, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. These latest shots feature a handful of different characters and some wand-waggling. Check 'em out:

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled for release in Summer 2009.

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Shoot gamers for money in new game-for-cash venture geePlay

A new game-for-cash operation has opened up. It's called geePlay.com and it is based in Slovakia.

Basically you open up an account on the site, deposit some money, and start training in the one game they offer, Teeworlds. Once you feel that your skills are passing 'noob' status, you can play the online game in deathmatch and team deathmatch modes against other geeplayers, and if you kill them before they kill you, you win real-life moola.

The Teeworlds game is an open-source, platform side-scrolling shooting game, that has been around for a few years now. It is common FPS-style weapons, like shotguns and rockets. I haven't personally played the game, but it doesn't look like an incredible amount of skill can be used playing it -- the game looks pretty simple.

geePlay.com isn't the first website of its kind to open, offering money-games for online gamers. The most notable cash-game site, tournament.com, closed its doors a while back, and has been "temporary offline" since November of 2007. geePlay currently has a small user-base, but they are relatively new -- it'll be interesting to see if game-for-cash sites ever catch on in a big way.

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Crytek shows off CryEngine 3 in new video

Crytek -- probably best known for the FPS Crysis -- have been trying their best to up-sell their proprietary graphics engine, CryEngine 3.

But when your engine looks this good, it doesn't really need a whole lot of selling. It sort of just sells itself.

Anyways we have a new video for you to appraise the CryEngine 3 in action for yourself.

The engine is being positioned as a all-in-one package for game developers, pretty much. With CryEngine 3 you can make any game for any next-gen platform --if you can afford the licensing fees, of course. It looks like Crytek also spent a good amount of time developing their sandbox editing program: tweaking its ease of use, increasing the amount of things you can do with it. The release of CryEngine 3 to the public might lead to some incredible mods.

The texture quality of that funky, alien sculpture is particularly attractive; while the destructible urban (UT3-like) environments look promising as well.

Judging from the footage in the game, it appears possible that for the next game in the Crysis series (if they were to release one), Crytek might be moving things to an urban setting. The alien flying saucers look a little bit different than the style of technology used by the aliens in Crysis. Perhaps it's a new, more dangerous alien race. It is possible that they just made random stuff up to show off the new engine in action -- but for earlier CryEngines, Crytek showed off the engines using art assets from upcoming games.

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Wanted: Weapons of Fate Demo Released

Keeping our modems nice and toasty today, GRIN has released a new singleplayer demo for their latest movie-inspired Action title, Wanted: Weapons of Fate. No word on what this demo includes exactly, but if you're still interested in checking it out, you can grab the 843MB installer from any of the following websites:

YouGamers (courtesy of GamersHell)FilePlanetFileShackWorthPlaying

So what are you waiting for? Get downloadin'!

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Steam 24-Hour Sale: 50% Off Prince of Persia

Keeping us on our toes today, Valve Software has announced that Ubisoft's hit third person Action-Adventure title, Prince of Persia, is now on sale through Steam for just $24.99 (a 50% savings). The deal runs for the next 24 hours, with yet another Ubisoft title going on sale tomorrow. Wondering if the game's worth your hard earned money? Then be sure to check out our in-depth review!

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GDC 2009: Stardock's Brad Wardell talks about serving 'core' gamers

At GDC 2009, Stardock's Brad Wardell gave a talk, and there was no shortage of people that were paying attention.

Stardock published Ironclad's Sins of A Solar Empire last year -- a hybrid 4X / RTS strategy game set in a classic mold of the deep, PC strategy game that went on to sell very well in stores, and online. The game's resounding commercial and creative success has undoubtedly caught the eyes of many people in game buisness; many of whom have to battle ambition in game design, with making enough money to stay profitable.

Brad Wardell spent much of the talk addressing the issue of the "core gamer." Although there has been a great deal of capitalization of the casual game market in 2008, Bard Wardell reaffirmed that there is still success to be found in games aimed at the more traditional and hardcore of the PC gaming audience.

In Brad's eyes, he sees much of the core gamer audience made up of people over 25, overwhelmingly male, tech savvy, and perhaps more willingly to purchase games that interest them, instead of pirating. Core gamers are also seen to appreciate modding ability, a strong, engaging single-player campaign, and involving themselves with other fans of the game, in places such as forums.

In the age of $20 million blockbuster games that are seen as failures if they break even, Stardock's approach seems like a refreshing throwback to the earlier days in game development: a smaller budget to make a game well-focused on a particular audience that will enjoy the title. While Ironclad Games would like to make Sins accessible, it seems the higher priority was creating a game with the necessary strategic depth required to engage gamers.

While Sins of A Solar Empire did not do blockbuster numbers like some AAA titles, when you consider their relatively lower development costs, on the business side of things, the game came out well ahead.

Dissatisfied PC 'core gamers' -- perhaps tired of seeing the same sort of game remade over and over, half-baked console ports, or the general simplification of the favorite genres -- might be encouraged by Sins commerical success, as it bodes well for more titles coming out in 2009 and 2010 that have enough depth to make them excited about gaming again.

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GDC 2009: new features for Games for Windows LIVE detailed

Well, looks like our staff writer Kevin Spiess called it back when -- Games for Windows LIVE is soon to be a full-fledged PC gaming Digital Rights Management (DRM) tool packaged with a bunch of other useful stuff, we guess. Detailed at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco today, the new features planned are as follows:

• Anti-piracy Solution: Zero-day piracy protection and server-side authentication help prevent game piracy before street date, and protect publishers and consumers by requiring authentication for online play

• In-game Marketplace: New Marketplace APIs let developers create unique in-game store fronts and experiences surrounding the sale of additional content, providing developers and publishers with new revenue streams, and consumers with a seamless gaming experience

• Roaming: PC gamers can now save their personal settings back to their Games for Windows – LIVE account in the cloud, providing access to their settings on any compatible and connected Windows PC

The service's general manager Ron Pessener called this a "tipping point in [Games for Windows LIVE's] evolution", while Dave Luehmann, general manager of Window games for Microsoft Game Studios (this is getting really confusing) noted they have several projects underway which will incorporate the service, and are building new developer relationships at the conference.

In the meantime Steam's DRM is getting more customer friendly while 2D Boy is saying to heck with all of it.

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New Steam feature “makes DRM obsolete”, says Valve

New Steam feature "makes DRM obsolete", says Valve

Here's part two of three in what I'm unofficially dubbing "Digital Rights Management (DRM) day": Valve, in a press released headlined "Steamworks makes DRM obsolete", claim today to have made a "customer friendly approach to anti-piracy" with a new update to their digital distribution client Steam. Our interest is piqued.

The new feature is called Custom Executable Generation (CEG) technology, and "complements the already existing anti-piracy solution offered in Steamworks". How it works is it makes unique copies of games for each user, allowing them to access their stuff on multiple machines without install limits and without having to install root kits (malware designed to hide its comprising of the user's system) on their PC. Note this seems to be in keeping with Valve president Gabe Newell's e-mail to a Steam user we caught wind of in December, where he said the following:

"Most DRM strategies are just dumb. The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I'll be able to play my game and maybe I won't).

We really really discourage other developers and publishes from using the broken DRM offerings, and in general there is a groundswell to abandon those approaches."

And here's what he has to say now:

"Delivering this extension of services on Steamworks first anniversary, demonstrates our commitment to continually develop the platform to better serve the community working with these tools. As we roll out these features, we continue to look for new ways make PC games easier to create and better for customers to experience."

It's really rare to see a man in a position like Newell say something genuinely good for the customer and then actually act on it, so if this works, then here's a pat on the back to you, sir.

Now, the new approach brings up several interesting questions:

1) Are they alluding to SecuROM in talking about rootkits? As far as we know (and correct us if you know differently), nothing on Steam has been sold with extra DRM aside from SecuROM and the various implementations that can come with that. SecuROM, as some may know, has been suspected to be a rootkit, though publishers have repeatedly denied this.

2) Does this mean all or most of that "extra DRM" will be eliminated from Steam games, particularly SecuROM? Even the most avid Steam fans would surely be happy about that!

We've contacted the publisher about these matters, and will update you accordingly assuming we hear back.

Aside from CEG, Valve is cool enough with this update to offer a complete suite of publishing and development tools to developers and publishers worldwide, free, within Steamworks. On the user end, in-game downloadable content (DLC) is here, as is the lobby system we saw in Left 4 Dead.

On another happy note, Steam has hit 20 million users, up from 15 last year. Congratulations, guys!

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Wanted: Weapons of Fate Launch Trailer

Keeping us entertained today, GRIN has released a brand new teaser trailer for their upcoming movie-inspired Action title, Wanted: Weapons of Fate. The minute and a half-long video gives us a small taste of the game's storyline via cinematic cutscenes and some action-packed gameplay. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at the following websites:

GamersHellFileFrontFileShackWorthPlaying

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is scheduled for release on March 24th.

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Need for Speed: SHIFT Dated for September

Pinning down an exact release date for us today, Electronic Arts has announced that their highly anticipated racing title, Need for Speed: SHIFT, will begin shipping to stores across Europe on September 17th and North America on September 22th. Here's a little snippet from the press release:

“With Need for Speed SHIFT, we set out to create a racing game that pushes the genre and delivers something never before seen in a Need for Speed title,” said Patrick Soderlund, Senior Vice President at EA Games Europe. “By focusing on the driver’s experience through the first-person view, we are able to cap 2077 ture the high-speed intensity and gripping emotions of racing.”

Let the countdown begin! ;)

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MMO game bank certified as real, legitimate bank in Sweden

The in-game bank found in the popular MMO Entropia Universe has been certified and insured as a standard, 'real-life' bank in Sweden.

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, after reviewing the bank's operations, made the call last week. With this formal certification, all in-game deposits will be guaranteed up to $60,000 USD, and the Entropia bank will be able to offer gamers interest on account balances, loans, and other common banking services.

Certifying a MMO game bank as an actual, legitimate bank is almost of heard of the world of online gaming -- but it can be expected to become more commonplace as the amount of virtual currency shuffling through these games expands. Entropia Universe is a good first candidate for gaining an official, real-world bank, as the game has a vibrant game economy, and uses a virtual currency that can be bought (and sold) directly into real-world currency. In 2008, Entropia Universe broke a record for having the most expensive virtual items sold, for real-world cash.

Entropia Universe has also been seen as a leading force in the world of virtual currencies, and were selected two years ago to help setup a virtual currency banking network in China.

The Entropia in-game bank will be called the Mind Bank, and will launch within the year.

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Dante's Inferno, Army of Two, Mass Effect coming to theaters

This book to movie/game (or game to book/movie) thing is sure doing well. Aside from rumblings about a Gears of War flick, BioShock, and others, a few new ones have cropped up: Dante's Inferno, Army of Two, and nerd favourite Mass Effect (we're part of that camp, don't worry).

Dan Harris (X2, Superman Returns) of Universal Pictures is set to write the screenplay for Dante's Inferno, based on the upcoming game from EA Redwood Shores, in turn based on the 14th century poem The Divine Comedy, which sees Dante Aligheri journeying to Hollywood to enact vengeance on...I mean, travelling through Hell; Universal acquired the film last fall in a four-studio bidding war before the game was even given a title.

Interestingly, EA will be directly involved, with their VP Patrick O'Brien and creator Jonathan Knight onboard for its development; Strike Entertainment's Marc Abraham and Eric Newman are also named.

As for the other EA properties being adapted for the silver screen, Army of Two will be live-action, with Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) set as scriptwriter and Scott Stuber as producer, The Simswill be from Fox and producer John Davis, with Mass Effect being produced by Avi Arad (behind every other comic book and video game adapation since the early 90s).

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PCGA reports PC gaming worth $11bn in 2008

The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) has released its State of the PC Gaming Industry in 2008 report, written by DFC Intelligence, and the results are startling. That is to say, the PC gaming industry made about $11 billion worldwide last year, a number certainly comparable with console software sales, also at $11 billion (we deduce this is for North America only especially as UK software sales were $2.8bn).

Three of the biggest trends listed off for last year are the growth of digital distribution, growth of free games with a microtransaction model, and the increased presence of game cards at major retailers such as 7-Eleven.

“The biggest story in PC games is the expansion beyond retail,” said Randy Stude, president of PCGA. “PC games have successfully pioneered online subscription and distribution models that have resulted in a global boom that shows no signs of slowing. Despite the advances of the likes of Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network, the online platform that remains the most accessible and robust worldwide is the PC.”

Revenue shifts are highlighted also, including, of course, MMOs, being the leading products for revenue and profits. Asian MMOs made over $100 million last year, while World of Warcraft made $1 billion, with Wrath of the Lich King outselling its predecessor. Age of Conan and Warhammer Online did respectably well, selling over 1 million units at retail.

Here are the complete highlights of the report:

The PC is the largest single platform for games with annual worldwide revenue of about $11 billion. This is more thanany of the console and portable systems from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.In emerging markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe the PC has become the de facto platform of choice for gamesas console systems have not had major penetration in most countries.Even in North America and Western Europe the PC is the leading single platform for games with over $6 billion incombined revenue from those markets.Broadband penetration has been a key driver of growth and revenue growth for PC games, and is directly tied togrowth in broadband penetration.The three biggest trends in 2008 were 1) the growth of online digital distribution via services like Valve’s Steam; 2)the growth of free games with a virtual item purchase model and 3) the growing presence of game cards at major retailers like 7-Eleven. Top PC games regularly generate over $50 million at retail revenue but can generate substantially more in subscription and/or add-on revenue. Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are the leading products for both revenue and profi ts. Several AsianMMOGs are generating over $100 million in annual revenue after 5+ years on the market. World of Warcraft is generating over $1 billion in annual revenue. The Lich King expansion to World of Warcraft outsold its predecessor. In 2008, two major new subscription MMOGs (Warhammer Online and Age of Conan) sold over 1 million units atretail. Digital distribution, free-to-play models and retail game cards are well-established in Asia, but just starting to emergein North America and Europe.Leading emerging markets for PC games include Russia/Eastern Europe, India, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Thesemarkets generally have very low (often less than 5%) broadband penetration, but are expected to grow substantially as the infrastructure improves.Low-cost PCs often have trouble playing high-end games, but they are helping drive growth in the mass market andemerging markets that can not yet afford high-end systems. These PCs are helping drive the casual game market.The trend in Western markets is toward portability and connectivity, with laptops outselling desktops, In addition, themajor growth segment in laptops is under-$500 netbooks that are better suited for online casual games. Casual games have developed into an entire sub-segment led by large industry portals such as Electronic Arts’Pogo, Yahoo, MSN, Big Fish, Real Networks and others. These top portals can now generate well over $100 millionin annual revenue from casual PC games.


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Steam Weekend Deal: 75% Off Oddworld Games

Catching our eye tonight, Valve Software has announced that Oddworld Inhabitants' popular action-adventure titles, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, are currently on sale through Steam for $2.50 each or you can buy both in a bundle for just $3.75 (a 75% savings). This deal runs from now until Sunday, March 22nd. So if you're looking for some inexpensive fun this weekend, you may want to check these out!

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Killing Floor Announced

Creating a little buzz tonight, Tripwire Interactive has announced that they are currently working on "Killing Floor", a survival-horror co-op shooter based on the popular UT 2004 mod. Due out on Steam in the "near future", the game takes place in and around London, where a mad scientist's "specimens" have broken loose and are wrecking havoc in the area. Gameplay wise, we can expect both on and offline modes with up to 6 player co-op, a persistent perks system, 9 different monster types, over 12 weapons, customizable scenarios and full Steamworks support. You can check out the full press release right here or just head over to the official website to start chatting with other fans. ;)

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Crysis Wars Patch v1.4 Released

Hitting the web today is a new patch (v1.4) for Crysis Wars, aka the multiplayer portion of Crytek's eye-popping first person shooter Crysis Warhead. Weighing in at a hefty 434MB, this update features a laundry list of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, improved DirectX 9 support and a new modding interface. You can check out the full changelog right here or just hit any of the following mirrors to start downloading:

YouGamers (courtesy of GamersHell)FilePlanetFileShackWorthPlaying

Grab it while it's hot! :D

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Far Cry 2 Fortunes Pack DLC Released

Available through Steam today is a brand new DLC update for Ubisoft's hit open-world shooter, Far Cry 2. Dubbed the "Fortunes Pack", the DLC will run you $4.99US and features three new weapons, two vehicles, and five multiplayer maps. The weapons and vehicles can be used in both Single and Multiplayer modes. You can learn more about the DLC right here. Cheers!

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Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Trailer #2

Getting our adrenaline pumping this afternoon, Treyarch has released a brand new teaser trailer for their upcoming Call of Duty: World at War map pack. Clocking in at just under two minutes long, the video features some intense in-game action set in each of the new maps (Nightfire, Station, Knee Deep and Verrückt). Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at the following websites:

GamersHellFileFrontFileShack

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the map pack are out now. A PC release is expected "soon".

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Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Goes Gold

Spreading the good news today, Atari and Starbreeze Studios have announced that their upcoming first person shooter/stealth title, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, has officially gone gold and will begin shipping to stores across North America on April 7th and everywhere else on April 24th. Here's the official word:

NEW YORK, NY – March 20, 2009 – Atari, one of the world’s most recognized video game publishers, today announced that development is complete on the latest gripping installment from the Riddick franchise, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.

Developed by the acclaimed team at Starbreeze Studios in conjunction with Tigon Studios and Universal Pictures 213f , The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena features a brand new 11 hour chapter in the Riddick saga with six intense online multiplayer game modes including the unique and thrilling Pitch Black mode. In addition to the full Assault on Dark Athena campaign, the disc includes a stunning HD remastering of celebrated title The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.

The game is scheduled for launch on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft ($59.99), PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system ($59.99) and Windows PC ($49.99) on April 7 in North America and April 24 worldwide.

In The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena the player takes the role of Riddick, as played by Vin Diesel, using stealth and action to overcome the merciless crew of the predatory Merc-ship Dark Athena which awaits its prey in the dark reaches of space. Cheating death through a series of spectacular battles and events, Riddick will fight for his life amid a storm of malevolence and horror. The Chronicles of Riddick series of games takes the player deeper into the universe of Universal Pictures' films The Chronicles of Riddick and cult classic Pitch Black, which first introduced Vin Diesel as enigmatic anti-hero Riddick.

Starbreeze Studios has created an exciting and original multiplayer component in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. The game features six multiplayer modes, including the original and inventive Pitch Black mode and intense Butcher Bay Riot. Unlike traditional MP modes, Pitch Black features a nerve-wracking stealth hunt through the darkness. A six player mode on all maps, five players take the role of Mercenaries trying to hunt down and kill Riddick across levels swathed in darkness, with only weapon-mounted flashlights to see by. Butcher Bay Riot presents a fast paced three team mode, in which 12 players split into teams of Guards, Prisoners and Mercenaries fight over a power cell.

Playable demos of The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena for both Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3 are currently available for download. Featuring the Athena Main Decks level, the demo showcases the evocative art style and breadth of the gameplay contained in the game, including brutal melee combat, nerve-rattling stealth, and high-powered gunplay. Among other gameplay elements, the demo also lets players try one of the game’s unique features, controlling a Drone, while classic Riddick cut-scenes bring the harsh Riddick universe into sharp focus.

Featuring a tense and brutal new adventure, a high-definition re-work of the classic Escape from Butcher Bay campaign and exhilarating multiplayer gameplay, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena launches worldwide in April 2009.

For more information visit the game’s official website at


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China's campaign against video game addiction proves effective

Back in 2007, China developed a program to combat online game addiction, focusing specifically on minors. Looks like their efforts have paid off, too, as a study conducted in 2008 revealed.

The number of online gamers under the age of 18 in China decreased by 15 percent, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the China Youth Social Service Center. That's a 7 percent decline from 2007, during which 183 million were considered "addicted."

This is all thanks to preventative measures taken by the Chinese government. Their 2007 anti-addiction campaign required all game operators in China to participate by discouraging minors from spending more than three hours online each day. Since this campaign came into play, online gamers have been required to register using their real names and I.D. card numbers so their true age can be determined. This monitoring system targets minors by canceling half their earned "credits" if they remain logged in for more than three hours a day; stay online for five hours, and the minor loses all of his or her credits.

Government administrators are still trying to implement an effective way of authenticating real names in online games.

The survey previously mentioned also showed that 60 percent of "youngsters" are satisfied with this system. Why am I not surprised?

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Official Wolfenstein Website Launches

Keeping things interesting today, Activision has launched an official website for Raven Software's highly anticipated first person shooter, Wolfenstein. The new site features a slew of background info on the game, new screenshots, concept art, videos, an official message board and much, much more! So be sure to check it out. :D

Also, a new Wolfenstein trailer is expected to premiere on GameTrailers TV this Friday. We'll let you know when it hits the web!

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Godfather II Launch Day Patch To Add New MP Mode

Grabbing our attention tonight, Electronic Arts has announced plans to release a launch-day patch for The Godfather II that adds a new multiplayer mode called "Don Control". This new mode brings the singleplayer campaign's "Think Like a Don" strategic gameplay online, with full 16-player support and in-game currency up for grabs. Here's a brief description courtesy of the press release:

Don Control introduces an additional layer of gameplay on top of the four multiplayer modes and six maps already available in the game and invites players to compete to see who is the ultimate Don of D 20af ons. Players can now challenge one another in 16-player battles for their in-game currency from the single-player game. As a Don online, players can recruit others to join their family by giving them a cut of the profits. But if a player loses as Don, the in-game currency they wagered will be removed in their single-player campaign and their empire can come crumbling down.

The Godfather II is scheduled for release in North America on April 7th and in Europe on April 10th. The patch should be ready-to-go when you open your copy. ;)

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Former Ensemble developer starts Windstorm Studios

Many have been wondering what would become of Ensemble Studios' workforce once the company closed its doors. Well, former Ensemble developer Dusty Monk is wasting no time jumping back in the game.

Monk started Windstorm Studios after leaving Ensemble, and he's excited about the uncertain future. The new game studio's official website reflects an eager sentiment:

"Windstorm Studios is an independent game studio whose mission is to bring a new era to online gaming! Are you tired of online games filled with depressing predictions of post apocalyptic destruction? Are you weary of walking through grey streets beneath grey skies and killing grey zombies? Have you had your fill of dank cellars and dark caves? Well so have we!"

"And we’re ready to build a brighter world! A better online game - a game with the promise of of a hopeful future -- cities of glass and steel, and most importantly, flying cars!"

Sources suggest Windstorm is already working on some mystery project, but that's about all we know right now.

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Mega Man remade with an extra dimension

Mega Man's been around in 2D, and he's been around in 3D. Now he's going to take a turn at being in a game somewhere in between.

Graphic designer Peter Sjostrand applied some of his talents to making a demo of what is sort of a quasi-3D version of a 8-bit MegaMan game.

The game is not finished. The man behind it is an animator; so the Internets blog-peoples are guessing it just animated footage, instead of from a working game prototype.

Check it out:

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Champions Online Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy today, Cryptic Studios have released seven new screenshots from their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Champions Online. These latest shots highlight Millennium City, some action in Canada and a stronghold entrance. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

Champions Online is scheduled for release in Spring 2009.

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New Warhammer Online Careers Unlocked!

Spreading the good news today, Mythic Entertainment has announced that the highly anticipated Choppa and Slayer careers are now available for everyone to play in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Both classes focus on DPS with new rage system that that makes them more and more deadly as the battle carries on. Hit the above links for full descriptions of each career or just launch the game's auto-updater to start downloading the patch!

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Stardock news: one million Impulse users, major client update, and new DRM model

Stardock Corporation, the dudes who own digital distribution service (DDS) Impulse have announced they've reached just about one million users since launching last summer. As such, they'd like to celebrate and promote this achievement by awarding the millionth customer a top of the line gaming rig worth over $4,000.

According to Impulse, achieving one million users is about as simple as creating a customer-friendly experience, aggressively pricing their items (rarrgh, $29.99!), and supporting local currency conversion.

"We're very pleased with how quickly Impulse is growing," said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. "The digital distribution market is still in its infancy, ensuring that publishers and consumers both have choices this early on ensures that this market will continue to be dynamic and competitive."

Stardock will be at the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) next week, talking with publishers and preparing to unveil Impulse Reactor, a "library that allows publishers to provide effective protection for their software, in-game chat, 'friends' lists and micro-expansion purchasing". By the sounds of it, this is the "non-intrusive" Digital Rights Management (DRM) model they said they were going to develop last year. Unlike other methods, Reactor doesn't require publishers to change any code in their software or include any third-party client with their game, allowing them to have a single executable file sold at retail or via a DDS that is "vendor neutral". It will be releasing next month.

Wardell continued, "A big part of our upcoming focus with Impulse is to work with publishers to ensure that they don't lock themselves and their customers into a particular vendor. That means providing technical alternatives to publishers they can count on and the best possible user experience for our users."

The final bit of news is the upcoming third major update to Impulse called "Impulse Anywhere" -- this will further lessen the DRM attached to the service, allowing customers to download their games on one computer and install it on their home computer; many tweaks and changes are in store, as well.

"By Impulse's first birthday, we expect Impulse to be the 2nd largest digital distributor of PC games and to have nearly all of the major PC game publishers on board," said Wardell.

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Stardock news: one million users, new DRM model, and major client update

Stardock Corporation, the dudes who own digital distribution service (DDS) Impulse have announced they've reached just about one million users since launching last summer. As such, they'd like to celebrate and promote this achievement by awarding the millionth customer a top of the line gaming rig worth over $4,000.

According to Impulse, achieving one million users is about as simple as creating a customer-friendly experience, aggressively pricing their items (rarrgh, $29.99!), and supporting local currency conversion.

"We're very pleased with how quickly Impulse is growing," said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. "The digital distribution market is still in its infancy, ensuring that publishers and consumers both have choices this early on ensures that this market will continue to be dynamic and competitive."

Stardock will be at the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) next week, talking with publishers and preparing to unveil Impulse Reactor, a "library that allows publishers to provide effective protection for their software, in-game chat, 'friends' lists and micro-expansion purchasing". By the sounds of it, this is the "non-intrusive" Digital Rights Management (DRM) model they said they were going to develop last year. Unlike other methods, Reactor doesn't require publishers to change any code in their software or include any third-party client with their game, allowing them to have a single executable file sold at retail or via a DDS that is "vendor neutral". It will be releasing next month.

Wardell continued, "A big part of our upcoming focus with Impulse is to work with publishers to ensure that they don't lock themselves and their customers into a particular vendor. That means providing technical alternatives to publishers they can count on and the best possible user experience for our users."

The final bit of news is the upcoming third major update to Impulse, which will further lessen the DRM on the service with "Impulse Anywhere", which will allow customers to download their games on one computer and install it on their home computer; many tweaks and changes are in store, as well.

"By Impulse's first birthday, we expect Impulse to be the 2nd largest digital distributor of PC games and to have nearly all of the major PC game publishers on board," said Wardell.

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New Free Realms Shots

Wrapping things up tonight, Sony Online Entertainment has cooked up a fresh batch of screenshots from their upcoming free-to-play MMORPG, Free Realms. These latest shots shot off the game's art style, environments and various jobs you can master. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An open beta test for Free Realms is currently underway. Head over to the official website to sign-up!

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Mass Effect 2 Hitting PC & 360 in Early 2010

Hot off the presses, BioWare and Electronic Arts have officially announced the development of Mass Effect 2, a sequel to their critically acclaimed 2007 RPG. While we already knew a sequel was in the works (see last month's teaser trailer), the press release does confirm that the game will be release on PC and Xbox 360 in "Early 2010". Feeding the hype, BioWare's Ray Muzyka offers the following comments:

"We're going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified com 218b bat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA. "Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action."

Those are some lofty goals. Don't let us down BioWare! :D

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NPD & D2D: PC game sales, week of 3/1

NPD has weighed in again this week with the top 10 PC game sales at retail in the United States, while IGN's Direct2Drive (D2D) service shows us its own list.

Empire: Total War is dominating the top spots at both retail and D2D, which should be making Creative Assembly very happy; meanwhile Warhammher Online: Age of Reckoning jumped into the #3 slot at retail due to a drop in price, with Red Alert 3 in a similar situation at #8. Relic's Dawn of War II (DoW II) dropped from #1 down to #5; aside from that there's your standard Warcraft's and Sims...

On the digital side, DoW II dropped to #3, Drakensang is at an impressive #5, Visual Concepts' MLB 2K9 finds a cozy spot at #6, Rome is at #7, followed by the Final Fantasy XI collection, Defend Grid and Grand Theft Auto IV. Quite an odd list, especially compared to retail, but variety is the spice of life, we've heard.

NPD's Top Ten (3/1 - 3/7)

Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $48 World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39 Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning / EA Mythic / $16 The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20 Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic / $48 The Sims Carnival: Bumper Blast / Electronic Arts / $2 Empire: Total War - Special Forces Edition / Creative Assembly / $69 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Premier Edition / EA LA / $14 World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $38 World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $18

Direct2Drive's Top Ten (3/2 - 3/10)

Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly Empire: Total War - Special Forces Edition / Creative Assembly Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic Empire: Total War (Pre-Order with Free Game) / Creative Assembly Drakensang: The Dark Eye / Radon Labs MLB 2K9 / Visual Concepts Rome: Total War Gold Edition / Creative Assembly Final Fantasy XI Vana'diel Collection 2008 / Square Enix Defense Grid: The Awakening / Hidden Path Grand Theft Auto IV / Rockstar North


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Dev studio behind Stargate Worlds in financial trouble

This time it wasn't Lord Anubis that is causing troubles for Stargate Worlds. Instead, it's lack of cash. (And we aren't talking space-bucks. Nope, just ole plain-Jane U.S currency.)

While it could only be a petty squabble or small misunderstanding, it seems that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, developer of in-progress Stargate Worlds, is being sued by data center business called IO Capital Princess, for an unpaid bill.

This isn't the first time Cheyenne Mountain has been in the red either. Late last year, a widely circulated story stated that they were unable to pay all of their employees, and another news story stated that were actively searching for new investors. 

Stargate Worlds is Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's first game. MMORPG development is notoriously difficult and expensive so it could prove challenging for Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment to deliver. However, they do have one big thing going for them, for sure: there are about five zillion Stargate fans who might be interested in playing a Stargate MMORPG.

Hopefully the company will be able to see through project to the end. And hopefully they'll be able to launch it, without too many bugs, or shortages of content -- a situation which has been the bane of many a MMORPG.

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Mass Effect 2 confirmed for early 2010

Everybody knew Mass Effect 2 was in the works, but up until now it did not have any official announcement.

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, founder of BioWare, and EA big-wig.“Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action,” he went on, in a cliche-driven press release. 

The game is set for "early 2010" for both PC and Xbox 360 -- giving a glimmer of hope that perhaps the PC version will come out closer to the Xbox 360's version's release -- unlike last time.

Bioware employees have previously stated that Mass Effect was always envisioned as a trilogy, and that saved player-characters from the first game would be able to be used in the sequel.

If you somehow missed hearing about it last year, Mass Effect is a science fiction RPG set in a future struggle where human beings are battling nasty robots and long-dead aliens.

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Wallace & Gromit Demo Released

As promised, the guys over at Telltale Games have released a short singleplayer demo for Episode 1 of their upcoming Adventure series, Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures. Weighing in at 138MB, the demo features a mix of scenes from the first episode, allowing you to play as both Wallace and Gromit. The demo is currently available exclusively through FilePlanet and Yahoo. More mir 20e1 rors are expected tomorrow.

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Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Video Dev Diary #2

Also available for download today is a new video developer diary for Starbreeze Studios' upcoming Action-Stealth title, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Running just under four minutes long, the video touches on the game's visual style, lighting effects and the voice acting cast. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Prefer a manual download? Then look no further:

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The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is scheduled for release in North America on April 7th and Europe on April 24th.

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Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Trailer

Keeping us entertained today, Treyarch has released a new teaser trailer for their upcoming Call of Duty: World at War map pack. Running just under a minute long, the video gives us a sneak peek at the new Zombie Asylum level and the Perks-a-Cola machines. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Hit-up any of the following websites for a mirror:

GamersHellFileShackWorthPlaying

The map pack is scheduled for release on Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 19th. A PC release date is expected "soon".

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Red Orchestra Update Released & Steam Weekend Deal

Keeping us on our toes tonight, Tripwire Interactive has announced that they've released major update for their hit World War 2-based first person shooter, Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, which adds a new map called "Fallen Heroes" and 44 Steam Achievements. To grab the update, just relaunch your Steam client.

For those of you who don't already own Red Orchestra, the game is currently on sale through Steam for $4.99 (a 66% savings). The deal runs from now until March 15th. So if you've been waiting for the price to drop a tad before picking it up, now's the time to jump in! ;)

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Operation Flashpoint 2 Demo Planned

Spreading the good news tonight, Codemasters Community Manager Ian 'Helios' Webster has confirmed via the official Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising message boards that they are planning to release a demo sometime prior to the full game's launch this Summer. No word on an exact date or what the demo will include, but we'll be sure to keep you posted!

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World in Conflict: Soviet Assault Ships

Spreading the good news today, UbiSoft and Massive Entertainment have announced that their highly anticipated World in Conflict: Soviet Assault expansion is now available for purchase at retail stores and participating digital distribution outlets. What can you expect from the expansion? Here's a brief description courtesy of the press release:

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault presents a chillingly authentic Cold War scenario where the Berlin Wall never fell. Created by Cold War authority and best-selling author Larry Bond, the story begins in 1989 as the Sov 2133 iets, fearing certain collapse, boldly advance into Europe. NATO responds in force only to be met on a second front - a full-fledged invasion of the American homeland.

Players take on the role of field commander, leading the era's most powerful military machines in the campaign to retake America's cities and suburbs. The RTS gameplay features completely destructible 3D battlefields, aggressive team-based multiplayer action and a focus on fast, hard-hitting battles.

To help whet our appetite, the devs have released a launch trailer. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. The video is also available for download at GamersHell. Stay tuned for more mirrors!

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Peacekeeper - The Browser Benchmark

Futuremark is well known for it's PC benchmarking tools - 3DMark, PCMark and the rest. As some of you may already have noticed from the appearance of the related new forum section, Futuremark has launched a new benchmark, Peacekeeper. Peacekeeper is designed to test the performance of web browsers in ma 2052 ny common tasks and to answer a simple question - "Which browser runs best on my PC?"

As competing browsers have rapidly covered all the basic functionality and compatibility issues are fading away as websites move towards code written to actual web standards, browser performance becomes an interesting subject. Do you know which browser is actually the fastest one today? The answer may surprise some of you.

The official words from Futuremark press release:

Peacekeeper is a new online benchmark from Futuremark that realistically simulates the load placed on the browser by common JavaScript functions as used by popular, modern websites. For users who prioritize speed and performance, Peacekeeper helps answer the question of which browser is best for them.

Jukka Mäkinen, Head of PC Products and Services at Futuremark, said, "People have more choice now in how they experience the internet than ever before. But they may not realize that performance between browsers can vary dramatically, especially on lower-end PCs. With Peacekeeper, it’s simple to compare different browsers and see which one offers the best performance on your PC."

You can give Peacekeeper a spin at http://www.futuremark.com/peacekeeper/

Note that while the toplists are limited to Windows users due to the system scan component being Windows-based, the benchmark itself works fine also on Mac OS X, Linux and just about any other operating system that can run a modern web browser.

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Fallout 3: The Pitt Screenshots

Fresh out of the oven, Bethesda Softworks has sent over three new screenshots from their upcoming Fallout 3: The Pitt DLC. These latest shots feature an arena, a Pitt slave and the AutoAxe in action. Pretty hot stuff! Check 'em out:

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The Pitt is scheduled for release on March 24th.

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Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios working on Roman Republic era MMORPG

Talking with Destructoid the other day, Vin Diesel made the first strong confirmation of a new game in the works, Barca B.C. 

For those of you that weren't aware, Vin Diesel founded the game company Tigon Studios, which, amongst other games, have made games featuring Vin Diesel such as the recent two Chronicles of Riddick games, and The Wheelman.

This new game -- that has been in development for 2 or 3 years already, apparently -- is going to be a MMO with RPG qualities, set around 200 B.C, in the Punic Wars. (Shotgun blast history lesson: the Punic Wars were a series a battles in the Mediterranean against the dominating empire of day, the Carthaginian State, against the upstart Roman Republic. Hannibal Barca was a fearsome, legendary talented Carthaginian general, raised from birth to kill Romans.)

"The reason why it’s my dream game is because it is an MMO ...  where you create an avatar that lives in the reality of Hannibal Barca, the Punic Wars and life 200 B.C," Vin Diesel said to Destructoid. "You would have avatars that you would invest [in] -- it would be an RPG game -- and creating that ancient world as your backdrop. Creating an ancient world that is your 'Azeroth.' That is probably my dream scenario," Diesel went on to say.

From the interview, it seems that Diesel has a sincere interest and affinity for the world of the ancient West. In that period before the Roman Empire began, when the whole 'civilization' ball really started to roll, warfare was entering a new conceptual stage of tactics, and massive, well-equipped armies where deciding the entire course of history in the West.

It appears that Barca B.C has at least a few years of development before it will see the light of day. But it is a project the Diesel is personally motivated to see through to the end: "We all know those games take a lot of work to create, a lot of funds. We are just in the first two or three years of putting it together. It could probably take another four years before we see that game...When we talk about dream case scenarios, man, I would love to play as a Carthaginian soldier 200 years before Christ. Sailing around the Mediterranean, that’d be pretty damn cool. If you could add some historical elements to it, the better."

With the hordes of  YAMFRIES( Yet Another MMORPG Featuring Rangers, Imps, Elves or Sorcerers) games on the market, the popularity of God of War, and Perpetual Entertainment's cancellation of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, a change of setting to a non-fantasy world in Earth's interesting past just might be a breath of fresh air in an otherwise crowded market. 

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Split/Second Announced

Hot off the presses, Disney Interactive and Black Rock Studios have officially announced the development of a new Action-Racing game called Split/Second. Due out in early 2010, the game takes place on a reality TV show where you'll be derailing opponents, tactically altering the track with explosive events and creating entirely new routes as you race to the finish line. Here's a little snippet from the press release:

"Split/Second elevates action racing to a new level by enabling players to strategically take out their opponents by dynamically altering the course in real time," said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. "Split/Second further showcases Black Rock Studio’s ability to innovate and deliver a compelling experience that has wide appeal beyond the traditional racing genre."

"We’re creating huge memorable moments on par with the biggest blockbuster action films," said Nick Baynes, game director, Black Rock Studio. "Action racing has capture 20a4 d the imagination of video game fans worldwide and we’re going to redefine that experience with Split/Second."

To help whet our appetite, the devs have released a short teaser trailer. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at the following websites:

GamersHellFileFrontFileShackWorthPlaying

Well...that's a different concept. lol

New Champions Online Screenies

Keeping busy today, the fine folks over at Cryptic Studios have released four new screenshots from their other massively multiplayer online RPG, Champions Online. These latest shots feature some epic superhero/villain battles in a colorful underwater environment. Enjoy:

 

 

 

Champions Online is scheduled for release in Spring 2009.

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New York drops digital download tax

Perhaps you recall a news story we published on January 29, which mentioned North Carolina hopping on board with New York for a state sales tax affecting Internet downloads (and possibly downloadable content, aka DLC, for video games), in an effort to close a now reported as $14 billion state budget deficit.

Good news for some, anyhow: the state of New York has decided to curb the proposal, not just on Internet downloads, but also "clothing over $100 and non-diet sodas", and much more in a list of almost 140 tax hikes.

Governor David Paterson announced the change yesterday, saying at an Albany news conference joined by state senate and assembly leaders, "We're coming up with money from the federal stimulus money for what we're taking off the table today," later adding, "[New Yorkers] see it as inconvenient and frustrating."

Paterson figures going back on the proposal will encourage citizens to spend, as it seems, in line with the stimulus plan's intention.

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Left 4 Dead Update

Keeping things interesting tonight, Valve Software has released a new patch for their hit online zombie-shooter, Left 4 Dead. This latest update features a bunch of bug fixes and some significant gameplay tweaks like allowing Tanks to hit multiple Survivors in one swing, letting Smokers grab victims through common infected, and making Boomers that explode in mid-air rain Bile down on Survivors directly below them. You can check out the full changelog right here or just relaunch Steam to start downloading. Can't wait to try it out! :D

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Star Trek Online Screenshots

Kicking things off today, Cryptic Studios has cooked up a fresh batch of screenshots from their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Star Trek Online. These latest shots feature some Klingons, exploding planets, and a couple different ships. Check 'em out:

 

 

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Star Trek Online's release date is still TBD.

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EVE Online: Apocrypha expansion available for download

If you haven't picked up EVE Online in awhile since Quantum Rise was released in November, today's Apocrypha expansion -- the tenth for the game -- may give you good reason to head back into it.

Its developer CCP says the new content is "sure to satisfy pilots of all types with the mysterious appearance of unstable wormholes that lead to dangerous and rewarding, hereto unexplored regions of space, a new level of technology that allows for a staggering echelon of ship production and a re-imagined introduction for rookie starship pilots to a life in EVE's challenging universe."

Plus, if you've missed holding a box with the EVE Online logo and artwork emblazoned on the front and sniffing the manual (a little creepy, but hey, we don't judge you), a return to retail is abound; the hard copy should be out now in the United States and Canada, and tomorrow for everyone else. That version includes the nine previous expansions, 60 days of free game time, an exclusive shuttle and an in-game standing certificate.

"Incredible rewards and certain death await explorers brave enough to fly into the unstable wormholes that have opened across EVE Online's universe," says Torfi Frans Olafsson, Senior Producer for EVE Online. "While EVE is certainly darker and more dangerous, it has also become accessible with our revamped new player experience, improved UI and renovated graphics and effects. Beginning your chosen path in EVE has never been easier."

Subscribers can grab the download here; below are the highlights, with the full list at the official website.

• The sudden appearance of unstable wormholes in space, making the universe 41% larger and much more dangerous. On the other side, a first acquaintance awaits to a formidable NPC group that guards the key to the next level of technology. This unknown, uncharted space allows for a true sense of exploration for those brave enough to grab hold of the dynamic new scanning mechanics.
• Strategic Cruisers come with the introduction of ancient technology into production. These modular ships allow for an extravagant level of customization and versatility.
• The first Epic Mission Arc joins an enhanced new player experience to guide fledgling pilots toward the opportunities space has to offer. This massive branching set consists of dozens of missions that are guaranteed to forge any soft-shelled rookie into a battle-hardened veteran.
• Massive sensory improvements for every player: an upgraded sound engine, brand-new animations for almost every effect in game and beautiful original assets in wormhole space.
• A newly designed skill queue allows EVE's unique character progression system to truly shine and Neural Remapping provides an opportunity for players to refocus their development as they so choose.
• We are releasing our Premium Graphics client for Mac users and introducing Premium Lite as our new lower-end graphics suite for a more beautiful experience all around.
• Full Russian language support.


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EVE Online: Apocrypha Going Live

The Sleepers are Awakening...

Probably the biggest EVE Online expansion to date is going live today. Servers went down for the update to EVE Online: Apocrypha at 03:00 GMT and are expected to reopen at 16:00 GMT 22f5 . First part of the massive free expansion (~1.4GB) is already available for download through the automatic patcher, with a subsequent smaller patch scheduled to be released when the servers reopen.

During the downtime, EVE's in-game news organization SCOPE is providing a feed of breaking news from the EVE universe. The backstory behind the new expansion is unfolding as we speak - so far there are reports of "massive casualties due to apparent natural phenomena" with a "large rescue operation underway". Based on the major new features of the expansion, this is expected to be somehow tied to the appearance of unstable wormholes throughout the EVE universe.

CCP has always had a rich set of lore to go with EVE, but this kind of unfolding storyline to "pass the time" during the downtime is a nice touch. It remains to be seen how exactly this story links to the EVE Online: Apocrypha Launch Trailer that was published earlier.

Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser in station (Gallente)

 

Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser (Minmatar)

 

Read on for the summary of the patch notes for the EVE Online: Apocrypha expansion.

Summary of Patch Notes for Apocrypha

(Complete and very long notes are available here)

Fixes, Changes and Improvements

CRITICAL

Our Classic client has been retired to make way for Premium Lite, bringing higher quality graphics to users with lower end PCs. With Apocrypha we discontinue support for ShaderModel 1, making ShaderModel 2 the minimum requirement (GeForce FX (5 series) or ATi R300 series cards or compatible) and discontinue the "Classic client" version of EVE, replacing it with "Premium Lite." CCP Zulupark provides full details in his blog, The results are in; EVE and ShaderModel support.A brand new Ramsan 500 has been added to our database server which allows us to have much faster storage. This means that we will see a number of improvements in the future that will shorten daily downtimes, result in faster expansion deployments, and reduce database lag. How MOZO is that!? CCP Mindstar provides much more in depth techno talk in his blog, Apocrypharrrrrdware!

World Shaping

Appearing randomly throughout New Eden, gateways to the unknown will open up access to thousands of new solar systems, new Tech 3 technology, new resources and deadly new enemies, The Sleepers, who have awakened to defend their space with deadly force. With new scanning mechanics you will eventually find these new areas of space which are rich in resources but are heavily guarded. CCP Whisper explains more in his blog, Building a new bridge to the stars.Wormholes will bring a whole new level of adventure and exploration for every pilot who dares to probe out an entrance to the unknown. CCP Abathur, in his blog, The darkness at the end of the tunnel , tells us about the laws of Wormhole space, the use of starbases, mass effects and Tactical Environments.

Ships

Custom build your next ship! New technology found in Wormhole Space allows players to research, manufacture and fly the next generation of cruisers. Thousands of combinations are possible due to the modular subsystem design Tech 3 brings to ship creation. Flying a Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser is also easier skill-wise than that of Tech 2 ships. Each ship you create can be used to provide more firepower, better defences and many more variations. CCP Nozh tells us more in his blog, Strategic Cruisers: a new breed.

Skills

Players can now schedule automatic training of multiple skills. The new interface offers filters, a graphical display of the total queue and the ability to pause or resume the queue at any point in its progress. The skill training system allows you to queue skills that will start training over a 24-hour period. You can enter in up to 50 skills in a queue, as long as they all start training within 24 hours. CCP Eris Discordia tells us why More Queue Queue is the way of the future.Character attribute distribution can now be rearranged in order to diversify or specialize skill training. This means that you can now reallocate attribute points once per year. CCP Flatboy tells us how neural remapping works in his blog, A Virgin Mind.

Character Creation and New Player Experience

Rebuilt from the ground up, the new player tutorial reveals the many career paths a player can embark on while arming them with the knowledge and gear necessary to start carving their niche in New Eden. The character creation windows are now simpler and easier to follow, attributes can now be re-arranged once per year and new player missions have been revamped to educate players on industry, business and military occupations. CCP Fear provides more details in his blog, Your Revamped Rookie - Part 1.

NPCs

The Sleepers lay in waiting beyond the wormholes, guarding resources and technologies considered to be of significant power and value back in known space. They will not give up their treasures easily as they are masters of teamwork and manoeuvring. Expect an enemy that works as a team, identifies your weaknesses and protects its own. Full details of the new NPC’s can be found in the blog by CCP Ytterbium, When evolution leaps forward.New AI will be applied to current Officers and the Sleeper NPC’s which allow them to prioritize and change targets at will. This makes PvE combat feel more like PvP. NPC’s will now repair each other, change targets based on offensive capabilities, logistics or ECM threat. CCP Incognito provides much more detail in his blog, How the AI pew pews the player.Pirate factions have switched to tougher ships in low security space to prey upon unsuspecting Capsuleers. Low security space will now see battleships appear in the asteroid fields.

Agents & Missions

Spanning multiple regions of space, new epic mission arcs will take players o 217e n a journey through all four empires beginning with character creation. As the story progresses and the rewards grow more enticing, pilots will be faced with the decision of which side to fight for in the final battle. CCP Molock tells us more in his blog, Should you choose to accept it.

Science and Industry

Pillage wrecks of ancient Sleeper ships and salvage relics of ancient technology! New Experimental Laboratories allow you to reverse engineer Sleeper relics to build the blueprints for manufacturing Tech 3 components. CCP Chronotis explains how this is all possible in his blog, How do I build a Strategic Cruiser?

Sound Improvements

An assault on all the senses! Improvements have been made to offer a crisper, richer sound experience, such as unique sounds for NPCs. We’ve set the stage for some amazing future improvements. CCP Real X gives us the low down in his blog, EVE Music - Getting inside Real X.

Graphics General

As part of our ongoing effort to bring cutting edge graphics to EVE’s players, almost every effect in game has been redone, from pulse lasers to gate warping and from shield hardeners to energy drain. In addition, almost everything within wormhole space is new, including the wormholes themselves and gorgeous new nebulas, which are a taste of things to come.Asteroid fields have been revamped and glorious new asteroids will appear in New Eden. From the huge Veldspar boulders down to the fine crystals of Crokite, the new stunning visuals are a joy to behold. CCP VanishingPoint tells us more in his blog, Miners Rejoice.

User Interface

There is no shortage of customization in EVE, from overview settings to ship fittings. Now players can export their favourite settings, catalogue them for easy reference and share them amongst corp mates. CCP Fendahl gives us a look at the new fitting screen in his blog New Fitting Screen in Apocrypha.

Mac

Graphics take a leap forward for Mac Users! The beauty of Trinity engine graphics shines through in the Apocrypha release of the Mac client.

Localized Clients

EVE Online now boasts complete language support in game, a new knowledge base, and expanded customer support team for our new localized Russian client. CCP Caedmon talks about the Russian and Japanese clients in his blog, Machine Translation's Bad, M'kay?

Miscellaneous

The notepad has had some key functionality added. Pressing "Home" goes to the beginning of the current line while "ctrl+Home" goes to the beginning of the first line. Pressing "End" goes to the end of the current line while "ctrl+End" goes to the end of the last line. "Page up" now scrolls up and "Page down" scrolls down.


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C&C: Red Alert 3 Patch v1.08 Released

Wrapping things up tonight, the fine folks over at Electronic Arts have released a new patch (v1.08) for their hit Strategy title, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Weighing in at 184MB, this update features a huge list of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, UI enhancements and adds support for predefined teams in 2v2 automatches. You can check out the full changelog right here or just head over to the official website for a list of mirrors. Cheers! :D

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Open beta for BattleForge, RTS-collectible card game hybrid begins

BattleForge, an interesting PC game that is a hybrid between a IRL collectible card game, and a classic RTS, has entered an open beta period today.

The game has about 200 game cards, that represent different structures and monsters and spells. Players can bring into play one card at a time, as they try to take down their opponents online.

EA Phenomic made this game up. It is an interesting business model: the game is free, but EA makes money from selling booster packs of game cards to players. The booster packs will probably copy the Magic: The Gathering standard by being mostly 'common' cards, with one or two 'rares' to empower players' decks.

"BattleForge features single-player scenarios and cooperative scenarios for 2 to 12 players, as well as Player vs. Player (PvP) ranked and unranked duels. With co-op play, guilds, chat rooms, and a robust marketplace featuring direct trade, an auction hall, and in-game mail, BattleForge is the first RTS to combine the social and community aspects of an MMO with an exciting RTS. Let the battles begin!"  said the press release.

The game itself, judging from the video below, looks like a simple and straightforward RTS, without much base building involved. Also judging from the video, it looks like it might be a bit too simple and straight-forward, but perhaps things get more interesting after players have had a chance to tweak their game-card decks. 

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Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Video Dev Diary

Giving us a peek behind the scenes today, Starbreeze Studios has released a brand new video developer diary for their upcoming first person shooter/stealth title, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Clocking in at just under four minutes long, the video discusses the Riddick universe, the characters, and how the new Dark Athena content came to be. Pretty interesting stuff! Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. The video is also available for download at GamersHell and WorthPlaying.com.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is scheduled for release in North America on April 7th and Europe on April 24th.

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Dated
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EVE Online: Apocrypha Launch Trailer

CCP has published the official launch trailer for the tenth EVE expansion, titled EVE Online: Apocrypha. Together with the expansion CCP will also launch a boxed version of the game on March 10th with Atari acting as a distributor.

Launch Trailer - 720p HD version available here

In addition to new weapon and module effects and other graphical upgrades, Apocrypha also adds countless new and uncharted solar systems accessible through wormholes all around the known space. These new systems will contain lot of interesting resources but is guarded by "Sleepers" - a new breed of NPC enemies with completely reworked AI. Terrible tales of mayhem and destruction has filtered from the EVE test servers, indicating that even veterans of EVE will find some worthy enemies to shoot at. For new players, Apocrypha presents a revamped character creation system that eases the early EVE "learning cliff" considerably.

With Apocrypha, EVE system requirements will also be updated, with the minimum requirements raising to a Shader Model 2.0-capable video card. You can check out the new EVE system requirements here.

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New Zealand censor warns parents of allowing kids access to age-restricted games

If a recent Microsoft-commissioned study is representative enough of the demographic, parents in North America and Europe more often than not might be turning their backs to whenever kids play games outside of their recommended age range. New Zealand won't be putting up with any of that, if the country's chief government censor Bill Hastings has his way with it. In an interview with local wire The Dominion Post, Hastings explained that parents caught knowingly allowing children under 18 years of age access to age-restricted games can actually be punished by New Zealand law with up to three months in jail or a fine of up to $10,000 NZD:

"There would certainly be some shock value to prosecuting a parent who gives their under-18 child access to a restricted game. It would send out a message that the enforcement agency means business.

"The fear of getting caught shouldn't be the motivating factor for you obeying the laws. It should be the pleasure in being able to sleep at night knowing that you have done the right thing by your kids. That should be the motivating factor."

Now entrenched gamers always saying that parents should be responsible for what their children has access to, but we'd imagine some wrangling over whether or not a parent "knowingly" allowed their child to play that 18+ game. Are laws promising jailtime or fines the best way to ensure safer gaming? Meanwhile, how will this affect the kids in turn?

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Dragonica Cinematic Trailer

Keeping us entertained this weekend, Barunson Interactive has released a brand new teaser trailer for their upcoming side-scrolling MMO, Dragonica. Running just over two and a half minutes long, this cinematic trailer features four upstart adventurers and the daring escape of a giant dragon. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are available at the following websites:

YouGamers (courtesy of GamersHell)FileFrontWorthPlaying

Dragonica is scheduled for release in 2009.

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Aion: The Tower of Eternity Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy today, NCsoft has sent over eight new screenshots from their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Aion: The Tower of Eternity. These latest shots show off the game's diverse environments and detailed monsters. Check 'em out:

2035  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aion: The Tower of Eternity is scheduled for release in Fall 2009.

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Minor Team Fortress 2 Update

Stomping out a few bugs tonight, the fine folks over at Valve Software have released a small patch for their hit multiplayer shooter, Team Fortress 2. According to the Steam news release, this update addresses some issues with air ducking. Here's the official changelog:

You can now duck twice in the air. Scout double jumps reset the in-air jump countsIncreased the jump velocity to account for the tuned bounding box sizes. Jump height should now match the prior-to-last-update heightsAdded "tf_clamp_airducks" convar, set to 1 by default Setting it to 0 will remove all constraints on ducking while in the air. Useful for servers running RJ challenge maps

To start downloading, just relaunch your Steam client.

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Red Orchestra Getting Steam Achievements & New Map

Spreading the good news tonight, Tripwire Interactive has announced that they'll be adding Steam Achievements and a new map to Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 sometime next week. The new map, titled "Fallen Heroes", is apparently a level that was cut from the game's initial release back in 2006, but has since been resurrected by a popular community mapper named Kevin “Dr. Guppy” Butt. It's described as "a brutal combined arms battle set on the iconic 'Red Square' in downtown Stalingrad." You can find some screenshots of the new map and a list of Steam achievements right here!

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ArmA 2 Russian Armed Forces Trailer

Kicking things off today, the guys over at Bohemia Interactive have released a new teaser trailer for their upcoming military shooter, ArmA 2. Running just over two minutes long, the video gives us a quick introduction to the Russian Armed Forces and some of the vehicles at their disposal. Pretty hot stuff! Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at the following websites:

GamersHellFileFrontWorthPlaying

ArmA 2 is scheduled for release sometime in 2009.

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Fallout 3: The Pitt DLC Dated

Pinning down an exact release date for us today, the fine folks over at Bethesda Softworks have announced that their upcoming Fallout 3: The Pitt DLC will be released on March 24th for 800 MS Points. To help whet our appetite, they've also sent over three tasty new screenshots. Enjoy:

 

 

More awesome Fallout 3 content? Yes please! :D

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Doom plus Diablo equals Doom: Fall of Mars

The first Doom and the first Diablo are two of the most influential and popular games in all of PC gaming. Each game practically single-handedly launched entire genres: the FPS, and the ARPG. Sure, Doom and Diablo weren't the first FPS and the first ARPG -- but because both games were so well made, they established formative ideas in game mechanics that are still very much a large part of gaming today.

Andrew, an indie game-maker, felt that merging these two classic games had potential. So he started working on the PC game Doom: Fall of Mars.

The two games actually fit together quite well, into a sort of retro-styled hybrid. Doom: Fall of Mars takes the setting of Doom and puts it into the gameplay of Diablo. The game is an ARPG with guns instead of medieval and magical weapons, with sounds and images from Doom, and the isometric perspective, and random loot system, of Diablo. 

The project is only in the earlier stages. Right now, there is a sort of tech demo of the game at If Software, but it is only enough to leave you wanting the full release of the game. 

But the full release is coming!

I emailed the maker of the game and tossed some questions his way:

Where did you find the inspiration for Doom: Fall of Mars?  Where you inspired by any other Doom-themed games, like Doom:Rogue Like?

Well there are the obvious Doom and Diablo influences, which are personally my two favorite games, and that is how this got started. As for Doom: Rouge Like I had never actually played it until someone compared it to Doom:FoM. Honestly, I'm surprised this wasn't done before.

How's the project coming along?

Great. There was a pause in development for a few month in the winter, but that is all over. If there was one thing I could tell everyone who is playing the game or has played the game it would be "It's much better now!". And I'm always dumbfounded at all the praise it gets because honestly it's just a proof of concept demo. The game now has developed so much since then, with things such as random levels, that I can't wait to get it out there.

You are just a one man team right? Would you be open to anyone helping you out with the game?

Yes, I am just one man. I have had many offers from people with as little experience as me, and more, sometimes less, but honestly I'm comfortable doing this on my own. That's not to say that I am completely against any help, but it would have to be a very tempting offer. As for future projects however, I would love to start a team.

While it's still early on, something tells me the final release of Doom: Fall of Mars is going to be a blast. If you played the first, classic games in the Doom and Diablo series, you'll probably like the combination of them both.

Above is a short gameplay video of the game in action. Sorry for the odd resolution -- for whatever reason FRAPS didn't like recording at 800x600 so we had to switch to 1024x768.

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Activision plans five more 'Hero' games for 2009

We've already heard about Activision's upcoming multiplatformGuitar Hero Greatest Hits, due this summer, and DJ Hero, leaked by CEO Bobby Kotick.

Looks like Activision isn't ready to quit there, though, if these new rumors ring true.  The publisher is supposedly planning to churn out five new Hero games this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and 2, and Nintendo Wii.

More specifically, names like Hard Rock Van Halen, Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, and Band Hero have been tossed around.  They're also planning to release at least one more DS Guitar Hero in 2009, following Guitar Hero: Modern Hits.  Meanwhile, Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero appear to be destined for the same platforms, so it's unclear at this time why there would be two separate titles that imply similar play.

Despite this information coming from allegedly reputable sources, Activision won't comment on what they perceive to be rumors.  Only one thing is for certain; Activision is not going to let this money-making franchise die quietly beneath competitor Harmonix's feet.

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EA on Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, DRM and success

Electronic Arts may be stubborn on its contentious use Digital Rights Management (DRM), but sometimes that stubborness makes for positivity. For instance, sales for their published titles Dead Space and Mirror's Edge haven't been great (or so we may have thought), but that isn't going to stop them from continuing to push innovation and quality. Patrick Söderlund, the senior vice president of EA Games Europe attests:

"I think if you analyze games like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge for their lifetime performance, I bet you'll find them to be seen as successful.

They're both new IPs; it's hard to break new ground with new IPs, especially in that Q3 window, when you have games like Gears of War 2, Call of Duty 5, and a bunch of other really strong products with a 2, or 3, or 4, or 5 on it. So, I think that we could have done a better job as far as ship timing on, probably, both of those.

I think that in the case of Dead Space, I think that we executed well on our quarter targets; probably better than we could have hoped for. I love the game; I think it's an awesome game, so kudos to the team for putting it together.

I think on Mirror's Edge we did a lot of things that we set ourselves up to do: it's an extremely innovative product, both in terms of art direction, to in-game music, to the movement and everything. Is it perfect? No. Are there things in there that we will address for future versions? Absolutely. Was it a good first attempt? Yes! That's kind of how I summarize it."

Söderlund concludes: "I think that as long as you learn from your previous product, and you learn from what worked and what didn't work, you're ultimately going to be okay."

This is wonderful to hear, as Electronic Arts have been on this kick for awhile and those are really good things -- consistency, longevity. His stance on DRM, however -- one that seems to be shared throughout the company -- puts a damper on an otherwise encouraging conversation:

"I think people are completely overreacting... I think that we could have done a better job explaining why we're doing it, and making sure that people understand that unless we do something like this, we won't be able to build games for you on PC."

Where does this idea come from? If that's true then why is Dawn of War II (DoW II) the #1 PC game at retail and digital outlets in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia with no DRM (aside from Steam's for that version, which, well, isn't too bad as far as DRM goes)?  Please, EA, if you have an answer for that, we'll gladly publish it.

Folks may recall DoW II's developer Relic and their stance on the stuff iterated by DoW II lead designer Johnny Ebbert a couple months ago; we'll republish it here for good measure:

"We really want to give our players a top-notch online experience and we want to reward our players for playing our game. We want to give out steady doses of free downloadable content because we believe in rewarding people who buy the game and the reason we don’t like DRM solutions is because they punish the innocent and they have to jump through all these hoops. We don’t want to do that so we’re going with the approach that Valve pioneered to just reward the people who actually bought the game with cool stuff. Free downloadable, regularly accessible stuff that enhances the game and then that’s an incentive for the people who didn’t buy the game to buy it. So we’ve got a really bold, robust strategy for that and we’re going to be revealing more details in about a month, but I think players are going to like it. And everybody wins you know? The people who paid for the game don’t have to go through any fuss and they’re constantly getting new stuff, which keeps the game fresh."

Five words: number one PC gameworldwide!

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Unreal Tournament 3 Patch & Titan Pack Released

Kicking things off today, Epic Games has released a major patch (v2.0) and the highly anticipated Titan Pack DLC for their hit first person shooter, Unreal Tournament 3. Combined, the two updates feature a massive list of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, significant AI improvements, client-side demo recording support, Steam achievements, a visual and menu flow overhaul, 16 new maps, 3 bonus pack 1 maps, a Titan mutator, two new game modes (Greed and Betrayal), new vehicles, power-ups, characters and a whole lot more! You can check out the full changelog right here or just hit any of the following mirrors to start downloading:

GamersHell - Patch / Titan PackFileShack - Patch / Titan PackFilePlanetFileFrontWorthPlaying

Don't own UT3? No problem! You can try out the full game for free through Steam this weekend. They're also holding a 40% off sale. So don't miss it! :D

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BioShock 2 Teaser Site Launched

Creating a little buzz today, Take-Two has launched a small teaser site for their highly anticipated first person shooter, BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams. The site, titled "There's Something in the Sea", features a map with an X on it dated 2/20/67, a newspaper clipping about a kidnapped girl, a photo of a Big Daddy doll, and a note speculating on the crime written by someone named J.Lynch. Check it out right here!

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Bell to buy out The Source outlets

Folks may recall January's news of U.S. electronics retailer Circuit City shutting down, with us left wondering what would happen to its Canadian subsidiary The Source.

The news in this week tells us wireless, digital TV, internet and home phone provider Bell will be capitalizing on the losses, buying the chain out and "enhancing [its] growth"; it will continue to operate as an electronics shop on top of carrying all of Bell's services.

The deal is expected to be finalized by Q3 of this year; no price has been disclosed as of yet.

"(The) acquisition supports Bell's strategic imperatives to accelerate wireless and leverage momentum in services like Bell TV, Bell Internet and Bell Home Phone," said George Cope, president and CEO of Bell and BCE.

Bell shares closed down 2.54 per cent Monday at $24.20.

The Source previously ran under the monkier of Radio Shack until it was bought by Circuit City in 2005.

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Korea's Kal-Online MMORPG attempts to break into English-speaking market

Korea is the land of MMORPG's: they have more online games than you can shake a bowl of kimchi at.

One of the many, many Korean MMORPG's is called Kal-Online, and they are trying to setup a presence in the English-speaking world. They sent out a press release today, which had a certain, untranslatable charm to it:

"Introduction Kal-Online, brings a new genre of Oriental Fantasy to the players. Kal-Online has oriental sentiment and culture in a fantasy world. Most current games based on western fantasy,SF,etc. But Kal-Online can make the players to have a new experience," it started off. The game also has "Individual and Various Characters" and "KAL Online is graphically representing oriental background, such as, massive mountains and traditional building reminds players of oriental epic story."

Sounds good? I wonder how the English translation is in the actual game, if this press release is any indiciation. (Not that I'm blaming anyone; English isn't easy for non-natives.)

Anyways: Kal-Online is appears to be a fairly standard YAMFRIES ( Yet Another MMORPG Featuring Rangers, Imps, Elves or Sorcerers) game, made by Korean outfit Inixsoft.

The game is free to play; however there is a store with items available for real-world cash.

Kal-Online has four different primary classes from taken right out of 'classic' "oriental fantasy": the knight, mage, archer, and thief. After level 50 is reached, players can pick a sub-class. You can also turn yourself into a monster, apparently. The game has PvP, big bosses, towns, emotes, and all that standard other YAMFRIES stuff that you might expect. 

Here are the hardware requirements:

Minimum Requirement
CPU : Pentium 3 500 Mhz
RAM : 256 MB
Graphic Card : RAM 32MB
OS : WIN98, ME, 2000, XP, VISTA

Recommended Requirement
CPU : INTEL Pentium 4 1.6 Ghz
RAM : 512 MB
Graphic Card : RAM 64MB
OS : WIN98, ME, 2000, XP, VISTA

You can check it out Kal-Online over here.

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Amazon Video Games Trade-In launched

One of the disadvantages online game retailers have traditionally burdened is the lack of trading. This is a good thing for companies like Amazon in a sense (customers get what they get and that's that), but people like trading their games, and overall this works out better for everyone. 

So with that we announce the spanking new "Amazon Video Games Trade-In", which by no coincidence has caused game retail giant GameStop's shares to take a swift drop.

As it goes, you send in your used games for credit on the website, not to mention an additional 10% bonus for items in their online video game store.

GameStop shares had risen 35% over the last three months, struck promptly by a 15% drop this morning following Amazon's announcement, falling $4.04 to $23.26, with the latter company's numbers off 31 cents at $64.50.

The news follows the unveiling of their Game Downloads shop and banding with the Open Internet Coalition. Seriously guys, stop being so cool.

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Call of Duty: World at War Patch v1.3 Released

Stomping out a few bugs today, the guys over at Treyarch have released a new patch (v1.3) for their World War 2-based first person shooter, Call of Duty: World at War. Weighing in at 60MB, this update enables /record and /demo in multiplayer, makes server log file improvements, addresses some sound issues, and tweaks auto-balance in select game modes. You can check out the full changelog right here or just hit any of the following mirrors to start downloading:

GamersHellFilePlanetFileShackWorthPlaying

Grab it while it's hot!

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Codename: Panzers - Cold War Multiplayer Demo

Keeping our modems nice and toasty tonight, Atari has released a new multiplayer demo for their upcoming Strategy title, Codename: Panzers - Cold War. No word on what this demo includes exactly, but if you're still interested in checking it out, you can grab the 522MB installer from FilePlanet. We'll tag on a few more mirrors once they start popping up. So stay tuned! ;)

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Digital distribution will rule this year or next

GamersGate CEO Theodore Bergquist had a few bombs to drop in his interview with GamesIndustry.biz today. Turns out the respected PC game download service saw 100 pecent growth last year, and expects up to 200 pecent this year (having just signed EA to their catalogue, that should help out). And they're not even the most popular!

"When I talk to all the publishers - both small, and really, really, big - digital distribution is on everyone's lips," he said. "Obviously some publishers are really ready to take these steps, while others aren't. Some still see digital distribution as something awkward, and they don't really know what to do with it, while some are really professional and they have it as a main strategy."

Capcom's Christian Svensson, vice president of strategic planning used almost those exact words in an interview today, in fact:

"Digital distribution on PC ties directly into our strategy. Capcom is trying to lead in digital distribution, and I would go as far as to say that in the console space we are already the leading software publisher. We’ve had the highest revenue-generating Xbox Live title, we’ve had the highest revenue-generating Wii title, we’re definitely in the top three or four on the PlayStation network. To that end, on the PC side, I’ve spent the past year building up a digital distribution channel that has about twenty different partners. We’re ready on the console side, and we were the first Japanese publisher to do anything on Steam."

"We will probably do as much digital selling as retail in the current climate," he added.

Sounds like Capcom and GamersGate would make a great fit. They're listed on the service as a publisher, actually, though none of their titles are available. Perhaps this is a recent addition, and Capcom is planning on making the jump soon.

Moving on, digital distribution is a perpetual shift; many executives are still old-fashioned and so are wary of digital distribution, but executives being executives, they can't say no to more money; once they're convinced (or know they have no choice really), pretty well all publishers will be on board, at which point the industry is set for a "key change". More, it's going down soon: "Whether it'll happen this year or next, I'm not sure," says Bergquist, "but I think it's that kind of time frame we're talking about."

More on that "can't say no" thing: he thinks "digital distribution is absolutely the biggest threat [retailers] can ever have."

"Look at the music industry, look at 2006 when iTunes went from not being in the top six of sellers - in the same year in December it was top three, and the following year number one."

This is not to say retail will die, although it seems that way if they sell only games (if you haven't noticed, many game, music and movie stores have started selling each other's stuff these past few years):

"I think they'll get better on the hardware side, selling hardware together with games," he said. "But if it's games only, then no way - I can't see [them surviving]. I've been in e-commerce since 1996 and I haven't seen a goods business model better than this. It's so pure online in its nature - I can't really see how a traditional retailer can survive, unless they decide to go online themselves."

Interesting to note is big retailers like EB Games/GameStop don't seem to be putting up much of a fight; are some retailers giving in to a console-only model?

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Capcom and the PC snuggle

Capcom and the PC snuggle

Not all publishers and developers these days are so kind to the PC; consoles are typically easier to develop for and are much less prone to piracy, so it makes sense many have abandoned the ol' thing.

But the interesting fact to note is this leaves a wide open space, which is where companies like Capcom have come in. They may not necessarily be the first company you think of when the topic of backing the PC comes around, but they could soon be one of them. As mentioned before, games like Devil May Cry 4 and now Street Fighter IV have really put them in a good space reputation-wise (especially in light of certain mistakes in the past), and that's just the start of it:

"People might remember Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4, and Onimusha - these were projects that were outsourced, and run by our licensing team, rather than internal R&D," revealed Christian Svensson, vice president of strategic planning at Capcom in an interview. "They were thrown over the wall to a developer, and the ports were quick and dirty, and even internally were not viewed favourably. As part of the licensing deal Ubisoft had the rights to distribute. Shortly thereafter the US side of our business decided to bring that back into the consumer software side and grow it. At the same time there were two things happening in Japan: number one was the development of the MT framework, the technology which would allow us to port over work we’d done on PS3 and 360 to the PC. The second thing was a broad online initiative towards Japan, Korea, and China, headed up out of the Tokyo office. The first title that has shipped is Monster Hunter Frontier, which is now one of the most successful MMOs in Japan.

So that’s how we got to where we are with bringing titles to internal development on PC."

In the interview, Svennson goes on to cite titles like Lost Planet Colonies, Dark Void, Dead Rising 2, etc., noting there's "more too, but we’ve not announced that yet".

The shift on their part, he says, was sparked by "taking a global view", and gaining a broader understanding of the PC, something required if you want to develop for it and sell on it well, he implies.

And if the most skeptical of you think Capcom are just blowing smoke, well, they've joined the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA, an organization Svennson describes as aiming "to improve the PC gaming ecosystem"), a topic which of course leads to discussion of piracy. On that front, we learn they're sticking to their guns and continuing to keep things fair:

"If we can improve issues with DRM and create an anti-piracy policy that is friendly to consumers, that will remove barriers to sales, and improve the ecosystem. Being completely mercenary: all this will improve our bottom line. The more successful we are on a platform, the bigger the risks we can take, and the better content we can produce there.

[Piracy] is a big issue on PC, and it’s probably not going to go away. The PCGA is putting some of the best minds in the industry to work on that, and I hope it’ll be able to make some useful recommendations. We would like to improve the situation, because it would improve our bottom line. But we do really need to examine the situation carefully, and perhaps even look at whether some elements of piracy can be harnessed for good. As a distribution network it is useful, and perhaps that can help us distributed software trials and so on. There are aspects of piracy that, if they can be turned around, can become positive."

Looks like someone has been paying attention to Valve!

Capcom have certainly come a long way, but they "know it’ll take a few years of development and investment before we’re where we want to be." But suffice it to say, there's lots to look forward to from the company for PC gamers.

More from the interview can be found in today's Digital distribution will rule this year or next article, where Svennson dishes on why retail isn't so important for them anymore.

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BioWare Launches Montreal Studio

Taking a look at the business side of things today, BioWare has confirmed to GameDaily that they'll be launching a new studio within EA's Montreal offices that will help support the development of Mass Effect 2. According to the article, the new studio will be made up of 30 people, half brought in from the existing Edmonton-based studio and the other half being new hires. Those of you interested in applying for a job can head over to BioWare's careers page.

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Elven Legacy Screenshots

Finally tonight, Paradox Interactive has sent over five new screenshots from their upcoming turn-based Strategy title, Elven Legacy. These latest shots feature an up-close look at some of the units at your disposal and the special powers they possess. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

Elven Legacy is scheduled for release this April.

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Battlestations: Pacific Video Dev Diary #3

Keeping things rollin' tonight, the guys over at Eidos Interactive have released a new video developer diary for their upcoming Action-Strategy title, Battlestations: Pacific. Running just over three minutes long, the video gives us a quick look at the new multiplayer modes and how they play. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. The video is also available for download at WorthPlaying.com. Stay tuned for more mirrors!

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H.A.W.X. Demo Released

Kicking things off today, the guys over at Ubisoft have released a new singleplayer demo for their upcoming air combat title, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.. Weighing in at 1.24GB, the demo includes two missions from the full game. You can grab this bad boy from any of the following mirrors:

GamersHellFilePlanetFileShackActionTripWorthPlaying

The PC edition of H.A.W.X. is scheduled for release on March 12th.

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2008 Mod of the Year winners announced

All the blood, sweat, tears and sweet, sweet pain are over: the winners for the 2008 Mod of the Year Awards have been announced, as put off by Mod DB (and disturbingly sponsored by the U.S. Airforce, among other entities like GOG.com, GarageGames, and NuclearFallout). The show is currently in its seventh year.

"The momentum that has built up behind Modding and the Mod of the Year Awards is amazing. The quality of nominations for our annual event continues to rise and the total number of community votes that were cast for this year's winners increased by 35,000 votes as compared with last year," said Scott Reismanis, Founder, Mod DB, the event organizer. "We're proud to be hosting an event that recognizes the great works of such gifted talents and spotlights an art form that is positively influencing the video games industry."

Last year was a big one for mods indeed (and 2009 looks to be even bigger), with over 150 high-profile releases, but the votes are in to help you sort through the muck. Here's the list of categories with their respective winners (note that mods which scored higher in previous shows were excluded):

EDITORS CHOICE

* Most Innovative Multiplayer (Celestial Impact)
* Best Original Art Direction (Delta Sector)
* Best Upcoming Mod (Curse)
* Best Upcoming Indie Game (Zeno Clash)
* Best Indie Game (Mount & Blade)
* Best Singleplayer Mod (The Ball)
* Best Multiplayer Mod (Project Reality)

PLAYERS CHOICE

* Best Upcoming Mod (Dead before Dawn)
* Indie Game of the Year (Mount & Blade)

The final and biggest category is "Mod of the Year", as chosen by the players. Care to find out?

                          2008 Mod of the Year Awards Event PC Best Released Mod video - Mod DB

It's an especially big win for Project Reality as they took second place for this award the past two years. Congratulations to all the winners!

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Blood Bowl is scheduled for release in Q2 2009.

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Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. The video is also available for download at the FileShack and WorthPlaying.com.

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