Vampire: TM - Bloodlines Q&A; 05:12 pm
- Apache
- games: action / roleplaying
(0 comments)
Gamebanshee interviewed Leonard Boyarsky, Joint CEO/Producer/Art Director at Troika Games about its Source engined action/RPG - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Here's a bite:
GB: When Troika was first approached from Activision, was there any discussion of Nihilistic's Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption playing a part in the storyline for Bloodlines? Did the original RPG have any influence on development decisions in Bloodlines whatsoever?
Leonard: When we first spoke with Activision about this project, there was actually never any thought of incorporating anything from the first game's storyline into Bloodlines. We were all much more focused on creating an entirely new story and giving the player the opportunity to create their character instead of being given one. I think Redemption was great for what it was, but we were setting out to make a totally different style of game than it had been.
Vault Happenings 04:56 pm
- Apache
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Today from the RPG Vault:
Battlefield: Vietnam WWII Mod Impressions 01:54 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
(7 comments)
GameSpot have kicked out some impressions on the Battlefield: Vietnam WWII MOD, after taking it for a spin. Check it: EA touts that these levels aren't just ports of the original maps. They are, instead, enhanced versions that take advantage of Battlefield Vietnam's feature set. From our experience with the mod, the level designs themselves haven't changed that much, but the levels are packed with a lot more detail, and they're much prettier in general. There's a lushness to the tropical islands that wasn't there before (courtesy of Battlefield Vietnam's ability to render lots of trees and tall grasses). Now when you're running along some open ground, it doesn't feel like you're standing there exposed in the wide open, because there's usually plenty of foliage to hide in. This makes it easier for infantry to survive, since they can try to fade into the background. Of course, this also brings up the concern that the sniper infestation problem could get worse, as snipers blend into the tall grasses to be all but invisible. Thankfully, the thick jungle grasses fade out in the distance, so you'll hopefully still be able to see snipers out there.
The Matrix Online Q&A; 01:42 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: mmog
(0 comments)
GameSpot have slapped up an interview on The Matrix Online, going over Monolith's upcoming MMORPG. Here's a cut on the gameplay: GameSpot: From what we understand so far, combat consists of three major parts: hand-to-hand combat, weapon-based combat, and the use of special programs. First, let's discuss hand-to-hand battles. What can you tell us about the way hand-to-hand combat will work? Will beginner characters have only a limited selection of punches and kicks, and then gradually start using stronger techniques? The Matrix Online features animations that spotlight a number of different real-world martial arts. How do they come into play?
William Westwater: The Matrix Online blends role-playing, the Matrix, and cool martial arts animation. Watching the fight, you might think that the game is about twitch reactions and button combos, but really the fighting is less frantic and more tactical than that. You don't throw individual punches so much as tell your character to use tactical styles or to attempt special moves.
The tactic styles--power, speed, grab, and block--each have certain advantages and disadvantages. For example, speed does the most raw damage, but speed attacks become less effective against hardened opponents. Power, on the other hand, does less base damage, but the damage is constant, regardless of your opponent's toughness. If you are fighting a hacker--who generally has trained in coding and virus manipulation, not in improved toughness--your speed moves are perfect. Against a high-level soldier, you'd do better with power.
Imperator Website Launched 01:40 pm
- Apache
- games: mmog
(0 comments)
Mythic today launched its official website for Imperator. "Sci-fi and MMO fans are eagerly anticipating more information about 'Imperator,' and we're thrilled to offer them an online source for frequent updates and exclusive assets," said Mark Jacobs, president and CEO of Mythic Entertainment. "The site is a way for the development team to communicate with fans, and for the fans to see and participate in the evolution of this next-generation game." Here's the poop: Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of the massively-multiplayer online role-playing game, "Dark Age of Camelot," today unveiled the new website for their upcoming Sci-fi themed next-generation MMORPG, "Imperator(TM)." Currently in development, "Imperator" is set in an alternate future in which the Roman Empire never fell, and presents a thrilling world for online gamers, filled with advanced technology and interplanetary warfare. The new online destination for "Imperator," www.imperatoronline.com, features concept art, developer diaries and will continuously reveal information and assets until the game ships in Winter 2005.
Brothers in Arms Q&A; 01:36 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
(0 comments)
Computer&VideoGames; have posted an interview with Randy Pitchford of Gearbox on their WWII first-person shooter, Brothers in Arms. Check it: You really seem to have given the characters in the game very strong personalities and identities. So what happens if they're killed during a mission - doesn't that affect the story?
Pitchford: Well, we all dream about a game where we're part of a squad, and we're one of the guys, and that's exactly the type of game we wanted to create.
We want it to be meaningful when a guy dies so of course, soldiers in your squad can be killed. But at the same time we don't want that to screw up the story later on because some of the main guys have been lost. So how do we do it?
Tribes: Vengeance Open Beta Update 12:57 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
(1 comment)
TriblWar have news that on their forums one of the senior designers of Tribes: Vengeance at Irrational Games posted a list of all the fixes in the next beta and also word that the next beta will be the open one, which means it should be released somewhat soon. Here's a cut on some changes: Among the changes is a grappler change that is controversial. The grappler can no longer grab flags from the field. The reasoning is that this ability, as it's currently implemented, is instant, seemingly magical, and therefore confusing and frustrating for a large number of players. The only really good defense against it is to also carry a grappler. Personally I could've lived with this until we found a way to make it more obvious and easier to cope with, but we're running short on time and Ed made the final call to remove it. I support this decision. We reserve the right to add a proper flag-grappling implementation in a future patch, but until then, if you loved this aspect of the game, I encourage you to try Ball where it's still possible and where you spawn with a grappler by default.
City of Heroes Q&A; 12:52 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: mmog
(0 comments)
GameSpy whipped up an interview with NCSoft, talking about the direction the popular MMORPG, City of Heroes. Here's a clip: GameSpy: You're calling expansion packs (which are free) "issues."
Sullivan: Yeah, that's the whole comic book thing. Issue #1 opened up levels 40-50, added some supervillain sets, and tailoring (making changes to your costume). Everything we add is just a continuing expansion to the game. Issue #2 adds capes, if you're level 20 or higher.
The Matrix Online Q&A; 12:47 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: mmog
(0 comments)
The Matrix Online Vault have slapped up an interview with Jason Hall going over Monolith's MMORPG The Matrix Online and Warner Brothers relationship with the studio. Here's a whiff: Q: Currently Monolith is also producing a title for Vivendi. Will Monolith continue to develop future games for companies other than Warner Bros.?
WBIE is not a publisher. Monolith will continue produce games for other publishers. And WBIE will conitnue to work with other publishers and developers. The licenses will be granted to the developers and publishers that will be the best fit for the property.
Void War Q&A; 12:45 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: space shooter
(0 comments)
Boomtown have scored an interview on the space shooter Void War. Here's a cut: Boomtown: It seems you've given a lot of thought to the concept of space war and how to make it fun. Which elements have you emphasised and how have you made sure your game will succeed in that respect where others have failed?
Jay Barson: A lot of it came from gripe sessions with my buddies after playing each new multiplayer space combat game - we kept complaining about the same old things. I just got tired of waiting for someone else to make a game that fixed those problems.
The design for Void War came from a very simple focus - flying and shooting. Not unlike a WWII-era flight simulator. That's what I felt was fun. Anything that detracted from that got stripped out of the design, and we tried to fill the game with things that enhanced that focus.
BF Vietnam WWII Mod Released 12:37 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
(2 comments)
As promised Electronic Arts have released the World War II MOD for Battlefield: Vietnam. It is 285MB for the client and 19MB for the server files. Mirrors: 3DGamers, Boomtown, ActionTrip, ComputerGames, FileRush (Bit Torrent) and Worthplaying.
Magic & Memories: 30 Years of D&D; Day 5 02:40 am
- Apache
- games: role-playing
(0 comments)
Gamespy concludes its Magic & Memories: 30 Years of D&D; week long coverage with The History of D&D; part 5, The History of D&D; Video Games part 5, A Conversation with Dave Arneson, Planescape: Torment enters the Hall of Fame, plus a Dungeons & Dragons Gallery from the third edition. Lasty, is an interview with Feargus "FU" Urquhart about Neverwinter Nights 2 done by our pal Tal:
GameSpy: How is the work broken up between Obsidian and Bioware?
Urquhart: Much like how we've worked together on Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, Bioware has provided the latest version of its technology, in this case the Aurora engine which was used to create Neverwinter Nights, and assistance in using it. From there, we are going to be doing all of the design, art, and engine improvements, while Bioware is going to be looking over our milestones and offering insights.
Scrapland Preview 02:22 am
- Apache
- games: action
(0 comments)
The lads from the Adrenaline Vault previewed Scrapland, American McGee's wacky looking shooter hybrid. Here's what they thought of it after checking out a recent beta build: With its impressive graphics, engaging storyline, and Messiah-style body hopping, Scrapland shows a lot of promise while still leaving some room for improvement. As it stands now, changing into another robot is an entertaining distraction, but it still needs to be more crucially intergrated into the gameplay - something we're hopeful will happen by the time Scrapland ships at the end of the year. The program's flight mode gives this title a healthy boost, but it doesn't quite provide the same sense of freedom of getting out anywhere and walking around like in the Grand Theft Auto series. On a positive note, the robotic theme is a healthy departure from the trend of realistic human violence in gaming, though the use of strong language might still keep the ESRB rating artificially high. Minor issues aside, Scrapland is exactly what we've come to expect from American McGee: fast paced, quirky fun.
Half-Life 2 Preview & Movie 02:16 am
- Apache
- games: action
(10 comments)
Nothing really new here (it's one of those oh-so informative 'all we know' articles) but the chaps at Gamesdomain posted a preview of Half-Life 2 which also includes a 164 meg Bink video of both E3 presentations in case you want to see them together.
Close to Combat - First to Fight Video 02:12 am
- Apache
- games: action / strategy
(0 comments)
Destineer has released the first video footage of Close Combat - First to Fight which you can download from FileRush (Bit Torrent), 3D Gamers or Gamespot, who has it in a number of different versions for the bandwidth impaired.
NWN 2 Interview 02:01 am
- Apache
- games: role-playing
(0 comments)
Thanks to Maximus for sending word that 1Up interviewed Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart about Neverwinter Nights 2 which they are developing for BioWare: 1UP: What goals do you have in mind for the project to help it go beyond just another expansion pack?
Urquhart: Several things. First, we're not going to use any of the art from the first game; there will be a totally new graphics engine. There are a lot of other features that I can't talk about right now, partly because we're still working on them, but we really want to make sure this is a different product. One of the things with making a Neverwinter product is that you can't lose the main focus. We have to remember this this a game that's going to be modded, and we don't want to screw that up. But our biggest focus right now is on the single-player campaign. I mean, the original campaign wasn't bad; some people criticized it, but I wouldn't say it was necessarily bad. But I finished both expansion packs to the first Neverwinter and not even I have finished the original game. So that's one of our goals: take what we've learned from Fallout and Planescape: Torment, and really make a great single-player game.
We've been thinking about a lot of older RPGs, and we have this feeling that something has been lost with recent RPGs.
BF: Vietnam WW2 Mod Q&A; 01:53 am
- Apache
- games: action
(6 comments)
EA interviewed itself about the free World War II mod it is releasing for Battlefield: Vietnam later today. Here's a shot of it:
Q: What do you think the BFV engine brings to the classic BF1942 maps you're including?
A: Well, the rendering engine allowed us to create some beautiful new vehicle, weapon, and soldier textures, making the battlefield really come alive. But the biggest impact here has got to be the overgrowth system. The grass and trees make for a much more immersive experience, but they also have a big impact on the gameplay. There's a lot more cover for infantry, making it really dangerous for armoured vehicles to go off-roading. You never know when a landmine is hiding in the bush! The trees not only give extra cover during infantry fire fights, but they give the ground pounders a little more protection against aircraft fire. In BFV, you have essentially 8 different kits to choose from, compared to only 5 in BF1942. We have created an interesting mix of kits that should really expand on the core BF1942 balance without stretching it too much. For instance, we've added the mortar to a kit, which really opens up a ton of new strategies on the Pacific maps. And of course, adding armed passengers to vehicles like the jeeps, landing craft, and PT boat rafts makes these vehicles much more fun to use. The radios blasting out the BF1942 themes we've all come to love is a really fun addition!
They have a bunch of neato comparison shots of the old BF: 1942 vs BF: Vietnam engine as well.
Warhammer 40K Interview 01:48 am
- Apache
- games: real-time strategy
(0 comments)
On the grill at HomeLan today is an interview with Relic about its upcoming real time strategy game - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War:
HomeLAN - What other unique gameplay elements will Dawn of War have?
Jay Wilson - One of the main focuses of the project has been to really enhance the kind of tactical gameplay that players can expect to see from an RTS game. RTS's have a reputation for being 'strategy-light' due to their fact-paced action and simplistic gameplay elements, and while we have no desire to lose the pacing of an RTS, we have added several features to make combat decisions more interesting.
We have a system for cover that allows players to strengthen their units by placing them in optimal terrain. We have a morale system that causes player's squads to lose combat effectiveness when under too much fire or being hit by particularly demoralizing weapons like sniper rifles and flamethrowers.
We've also implemented an entirely new resource system that removes the concept of weak gatherer units and relies on the player to capture strategic locations with their infantry in order to amass resources to combat their enemies.
Madden 2005 Sales are Huge 01:24 am
- Apache
- games: sports
(8 comments)
Word from IGN is that Madden 2005 has sold well over a million copies in its first week:
Electronic Arts gave itself a big (and justified) pat on the back today in announcing that Madden NFL 2005 has already sold more than 1.35 million copies at retail stores in its first week. That number makes this the biggest first week in the history of the Madden franchise.
Additionally, according to internal numbers, EA's NCAA Football 2005 ranked as the number one PlayStation 2 title for the month of July.
"Once again, EA Sports has delivered the best football experiences in the market," said EA Vice President of Marketing Todd Sitrin. "Both our Madden NFL 2005 and NCAA Football 2005 games have posted extremely high review scores and the strongest launch sales in the history of their franchises."
Okay, so ESPN's little game didn't cut into their sales much after all (grin).
IGN Morsels 01:18 am
- Apache
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:00 am
- Apache
- hardware: general news
(0 comments)
Game Reviews 12:47 am
- Apache
- games: general news
(0 comments)
In Other News... 12:03 am
- Apache
- in-house: in other news...
(34 comments)
Ah well, no Half-Life 2 pre-load on Steam yet after all. I don't think there is any sinister delay behind it; they just didn't have the bandwidth to host that and the Counter-Strike: Source files at the same time. I'm still skeptical about their ability to deliver a complete multi-gig game online, but once the initial rush is over it shouldn't be too bad for people with a fat pipe. I'd imagine it would be popular overseas as well (no need to wait for shipping, etc). In about 10 years when everyone is broadband, it will be interesting to see if there are even any software stores left; if this works for Valve, companies can just go direct to the consumer. We shall see... Today's question is How confident are you in Steam? Would you ever buy a game online and download it like that?
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