"I'm just not sure its going to appeal to our core demographic," says the VP of sales. "And can't we get some vehicles into this story to help out with the toy sales?" offers up the VP of marketing. "Who on Earth is going to believe that these little people could save the world? And three books is just too many, we need to consolidate this story into one," says the president. Can you imagine this conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien before he kicked off one of the greatest literary achievements of all time? One wonders if this isn't the conversation that would take place today in the land of focus groups, market demographics, and the need for a "corporate worldwide approval" from each department before ideas are green lit to start.

For more Fargo-themed fun see yesterday's piracy post.

Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich Update 03:01 am - Andrew Burnes - games: role-playing (0 comments)
The sweet-talking Meredith Levine of Irrational Games updates us on the progress of Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich Update this weekend:

Last night I got my first look at a near-alpha of Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich. The game has a ton of new features, characters, and technical improvements over the first game. Better AI, the introduction of dynamic lighting, textures and real character shadows bring an entirely new look to the game. Ken has been talking about these enhancements happening for a long time, but to see them in action is another thing all together. The team's true love of comic books comes through in every aspect of the game, from the dialog, to the sound, to the last primary-colored texture map.

More can be found here.

Mortal Kombat Goes Under The EA Influence 02:57 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: general news (0 comments)
Maybe Midway hired someone over at EA - I don't know - but what I do know is that Mortal Kombat titles will now be released yearly:

In a statement, Midway president David F. Zucker said a new game in the franchise would arrive each year. "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is also our first step toward delivering something that Mortal Kombat fans have been calling for: a new game set in the Mortal Kombat universe every year," he said. "We are planning our Mortal Kombat release schedule with the expectation that we will deliver a new Mortal Kombat title annually."

Can't say I enjoyed the new one, especially as I couldn't play the puzzle mode thanks to my colour blindness - cheers for the dodgy genes Mum!

Leisure Suit Larry Re-Uncensored 02:52 am - Andrew Burnes - games: adventure (0 comments)
Grammar prevails with that headline, but it gets the point across; PC.IGN reveals that VUGames will be releasing the uncensored version of Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, as was released in Europe, via select North American retailers come Tuesday:

While the differences between the M rated version and Adult Only version are apparently non-existent in terms of actual gameplay content, those that waited hoping to see some more skin, like our randy Executive Editor Steve Butts, won't be dissappointed. Plenty of bare bods will grace the monitor of any PC with Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude - Uncut and Uncensored on it. All told there will be more nudity, uncut sex scenes, and some crazier end sequences allowing you to see your favorite college coed's going at it with schlumpy little Larry all you like.

If you've got the PC version you can apparently change 'uncensored' to '1,' in your user.ini, instead of buying it again, if you were really entertaining the idea.

In Other News... 02:15 am - Andrew Burnes - in-house: in other news... (4 comments)
Man oh man, I don't like writing these things... It's like Saturday, and here I am trying to think of something 'interesting' that will hopefully incite you to chat. Hardest. Job. Ever.

As Rob constantly asks what we're playing, I'll throw out my list for once:

-Counter-Strike: Source - Used to play CS way back before the 1.0 beta release (~v6 was my fave), and I've decided to get back into it thanks to the purdy graphics, physics, and what not. After playing till around 3am, I seem to be sucking less, and getting back my old skills (no shit, I was in a top team on Clanbase). Could do without those horrid pauses when the walls get blown apart on Chateau though.

-Call of Duty: United Offensive - World War 2 multiplayer perfection. Cracking off a snap shot with a Kar98 to headshot a tank MG guy, smoking the space between, running up behind the tank, popping a det pack onto it, and then watching the resultant bang is a sweet way to waste time. It just feels so right.

-Tribes: Vengeance - After waxing lyrical about the single-player, I've been hitting up the multiplayer occasionally. It's pretty good, but the clan players who head onto pubs, take over a team, and then decimate everyone is sometimes grating.

-Nexus: The Jupiter Incident - The graphics in that space strategy game keep getting better, and even the multiplayer is solid. Unfortunately my XP SP2 non-firewalled box is refusing to play ball when attempting to set up a multiplayer server; if anyone has any suggestions on how to remedy this situation, please tell!

-Rome: Total War - I'm still playing this evil evil game, although I've nearly conquered the world map, so maybe my addiction will be soon squashed.

And now we get to that point where I'm meant to provide a question... The other week I did a "stupid" one, with that being lambasted by some killjoys, so I guess I've got to do a 'proper' one, with it preferably not being about Half-Life 2. Hmm. Will you be buying Half-Life 2 upon release, and if so, boxed or via Steam? Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - hot or what?

RUMOR #4: To be playable, the single-player portion of the retail version of Half-Life 2 will require buyers to be connected to the Internet.

Source: The Quarter To Three Forums, soapbox for the discerning gamer.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: What started off as a complaint on the Valve forums about having to set up a Steam account to register Half-Life 2 sparked a flurry of speculation that to play Half-Life 2, you would need to be connected to the Web constantly. Although it elicited some biting observations ("Funny these complaints are posted by people WITH NET CONNECTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", said one poster) it is, thankfully, not the case. "For security/anti-piracy, each copy must be authenticated via Steam during installation," Valve's Doug Lombardi told GameSpot. "After this one-time (per install) authentication is complete, an Internet connection is not required for single player and LAN games."

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident Preview 07:39 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: space strategy (0 comments)
Gamespot greased up some impressions of Nexus: The Jupiter Incident:

The battles that we've played so far all have a very strong cinematic feel to them. Nexus is powered by developer Mithis' Black Sun graphics engine, which uses the latest DirectX 9 graphical features, making it probably one of the best-looking space games to date. (The game will also support DirectX 8 graphical features if you lack a DirectX 9-compliant graphics card.) The amount of detail is impressive: You can see individual thrusters fire as huge capital ships and nimble fighters twist around in space, and the lighting and shadowing effects are excellent. The camera is very easy to control, and you can zoom in to inspect the large amount of detail on your ships or zoom out to see the grand scale of the battle. The game features a detailed star map as well as planetary movement based on real physics.

Counter-Strike: Source Update 05:52 pm - Andrew Burnes - games: action (5 comments)
Another night, another Counter-Strike: Source exploit fix:

COUNTER-STRIKE: SOURCE CHANGES / ADDITIONS:
• Fixed various name changing exploit crashes

Restart Steam for the update to install, as always.

SmartJoy FRAG Review 05:10 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: general news (2 comments)
Gear.IGN reviewed the SmartJoy FRAG, a device which lets you use a keyboard and mouse for Xbox and PS2 games (yes, including Halo 2):

The SmartJoy FRAG is somewhat of a hard unit to review and give an overall score to. On the one hand, it's built well and has some smart and easy configuration features. On the other hand, how well it works control-wise is almost entirely dependent upon the game you're playing.

The way we figure it is that if you own more than one first-person shooter on either PS2 or Xbox, you'd do yourself well by picking one up. It works great with some of the best software on either system, especially Halo (and presumably its sequel) on Xbox. And you gamers out there looking forward to Killzone should pick up the PS2 version as it'll do you well in your killing of zones.

Unreal Championship 2 Preview 04:21 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: xbox (1 comment)
The blokes at Computer & Video Games tossed off a preview of Unreal Championship 2:

"It's only a sequel in name," admitted Epic President Mike Capps as he began his opening presentation and it was soon easy to see why. First-person shooter? No longer strictly true, as Unreal Champ 2 has certainly evolved, with a new and rather deadly emphasis on hand-to-hand and melee combat. It now plays more like a diabolical marriage of FPS and beat-'em-up and is set to shake traditional Unreal fans' expectations to the core. Controversial? Sacrilegious? Heretical? Quite possibly, but the proof is always in the pudding and fingers twitching, we were eager to test its mettle in the ultimate proving ground, the white heat of combat.

Gearbox's COGS Initiative 03:47 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (0 comments)
Gearbox announced a new program to help promote up and coming game developers:

Gearbox Software is proud to announce a new contractor initiative: the C.O.G.S. program (Contractors Of Gearbox Software). Through the COGS program, Gearbox will be looking for future game developers from the student and mod communities who have proven talent, skills and a passion for game creation and development, but not necessarily professional development experience.

Return to Mysterious Island Demo 12:58 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: adventure (0 comments)
The Adventure Company has released a demo for Return to Mysterious Island which comes in at 213 megs. Pick it up from:

• 3D Gamers
• Gamershell
• WorthPlaying

Vault Features 12:54 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: role-playing (0 comments)
Today from Ye Ole Vault:

• Vendetta Online Team Q&A;
• The Witcher Peek
• World of Warcraft Screenshots

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Developer Diary 11:08 am - Andrew Burnes - games: role-playing (3 comments)
Continuing the graphically enriched Elder Scrolls fun is a developer diary on the official site:

Well, we started the project soon after Morrowind, and our team was split into two groups -- one working on technology for Oblivion, and one working on expansion packs. The Oblivion group was mostly comprised of programmers and the expansion team mostly artists and designers. But we were still one big Elder Scrolls team. We were also fortunate to add a lot of new talent during this time as our profile as a strong developer grew. After the expansions were done (Tribunal and Bloodmoon) the entire staff was full steam ahead on Oblivion.

In the comments section of this post you'll also find a new press release regarding the game.

Adware Firm Buys Game Developer 11:00 am - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (18 comments)
'Game Journalism' reports that 180solutions, an adware firm, has purchased Full Armor Studios, developer of downloadable games. A new online gaming portal, Zango Games has been formed out of the purchase, with 180's spyware now being integrated into the software in such a manner that removal makes the games unplayable:

180solutions says it offers online content and software publishers "more effective means of monetizing their assets." But the bundling of adware and spyware with games and web sites is a growing problem for game enthusiasts. The adware may help pay the bills for the site or developer, but critics and security professionals say it comes at a cost to users, especially teen and pre-teen gamers who may not understand what is being installed and what it will do. Zango users, for example, need to read the entire FAQ to learn that "removing Zango may cripple software applications you enjoy and use everyday."

Thanks /.

The Bard Strikes Back 10:34 am - Andrew Burnes - games: role-playing (11 comments)
inXile Entertainment sent over a humorous press release to pimp The Bard's Tale, their comedic role-playing game:

Interactive entertainment developer and publisher inXile entertainment today announced that it is considering some form of leak of The Bard's Tale, its eagerly anticipated action-role playing game (RPG), as a strategic plan to follow a growing trend among Triple A games.

"The Bard's Tale is a highly original game in the same category as a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 so we feel some sort of leak that sounds similar to what they have experienced may be the next logical step in our launch plans," said Brian Fargo, founder and CEO of inXile entertainment. "Of course we would immediately condemn the leak and make every effort to stop it if we proceed with it."

"In The Bard's Tale, our main character, The Bard, is an opportunist always interested in getting goods at a discounted rate so we feel he would applaud some sort of leak," said Matt Findley, president of inXile entertainment.

It's unclear how the leak will be handled, if implemented. Pirated or unauthorized playable game code would not actually be made available over the internet or otherwise but the full version of the game could be attained by game enthusiasts at major retail outlets as early as October 26th 2004.

For those wishing to help track down any potential thieves of The Bard's Tale, inXile is proactively offering the following advice: If anyone finds information on websites with links to unauthorized downloads, information, scans or videos, please contact us at [email protected].

Release the handbags!

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Preview 09:14 am - Andrew Burnes - games: role-playing (17 comments)
GameSpy has today posted up a gargantuan - and first - online preview of Bethesda Softworks' incredibly tasty looking role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:

The team is also focused on creating a world that's interesting enough that the player would want to take sides. The game's factions are much more polarized this time around and they include options as diverse as the Fighters' and Mages' Guild who are generally good, the Thieves Guild, which is generally bad, and the Dark Brotherhood, which is really evil. The Nine Divines lets the player become a monk, while the Arena Guild obviously focuses on gladiatorial combat. All of these factions have their own stories and intrigues and contain enough stuff to do that by themselves they'd probably fill a whole separate game. Putting them together ensures that no matter how much time the player spends in the game, there will always be some choices passing by that they'll want to come back and try later.

Care not for words? Then check out the screenshot gallery.

Everquest 2 Beta At FilePlanet 09:10 am - Andrew Burnes - games: mmog (14 comments)
Later today FilePlanet will begin an Everquest 2 beta key giveaway for its subscribers; here are the details:

FilePlanet and SOE have teamed up to present our loyal FilePlanet Subscribers with 4,500 keys for the EverQuest II beta! Starting this afternoon and then over the weekend we will be releasing 1,500 keys per day on a first come, first served basis. Stay tuned throughout the day to get your chance at a key and join the ranks of Norrath in your own magical journey.

Be sure to keep hitting up the FilePlanet home page if you're interested, as these are sure to go quick.

Civilization IV Development Confirmed 08:15 am - Andrew Burnes - games: turned based strategy (4 comments)
Probably the least shocking news of the day; Firaxis has confirmed to Computer & Video Games that development of Civilization IV is indeed under way, with more details being released at the start of 2005.

B.C. Canned 04:56 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: xbox (15 comments)
The Intrepid and Lionhead caveman game, B.C., has today been canned after many years of work. Here's the word from Lionhead:

In announcing the decision to suspend work on BC, Peter Molyneux Managing Director of Lionhead Studios said "The decision to suspend work on any games project is always a very difficult one, particularly when it is a title with the potential of BC. We hope to revive the project at a later date and will endeavour to assign as many of the team as possible to other Lionhead projects."

Here's hoping that this sees the light of day at some point.

Scrapland Preview 04:25 am - Andrew Burnes - games: action (0 comments)
Worthplaying is the latest site to have a look at this quirky title that was developed with the help of American McGee:

D-Tritus is a pretty smart 'bot, but would he be prepared for his first real investigation: the first-ever murder of a robot on Chimera? You see, in this world, whenever a robot kicks the bucket, his personal data still exists in something known as the Great Database, and can be easily restored for a bit of cash. This murder is much different in that the code has actually been erased, somehow, from the Great Database. Of course D-Tritrus isn't ready for a case so important, but there are a few tricks up his sleeve that'll help him get by.

He has the ability to hack into about a dozen other robots and overwrite their programming, granting him an opportunity to basically snatch their bodies and take over. D-Tritus can become a banker, a cop, or even the mayor, to name just a few.

And on The Adrenaline Vault there is another interview with American.

Dungeon Siege 2 Q&A; 04:08 am - Andrew Burnes - games: role-playing (0 comments)
Edge Gaming spoke with Sarah Boulian, lead lever designer of Dungeon Siege 2:

Edge Gaming: From what we have been shown so far the new terrain graphics are beautiful in Dungeon Siege II. The Legends of Aranna expansion also hinted at some of the awesome graphics which the Dungeon Siege engine is capable of generating. Will we see even more detail in Dungeon Siege II and has the game engine undergone any significant changes from the first release?

Sarah Boulian: We are of course taking advantage of recent Shader technology, and you''ll see the kinds of particle, heat, smoke and so on effects typical of recent games (provided you have a video card that supports that technology, of course it's hardware-accelerated). Dungeon Siege II's content will have its own distinct, detailed, beautiful style, and we think, looking back at DS1, you'll be astonished at how far we've come, even compared with the benchmark qualities of our original game.

MoH: Pacific Assault Preview 12:21 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (0 comments)
Also up at Gamespy are some new impressions of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault which has some concerns about the game's performance:

The graphical splendor may come at a price, however, leading to our biggest concern with the game. When we play tested Pacific Assault at EA's offices a few months ago, the controls felt a little sluggish, often the sign of a new, unoptimized engine that's pushing a PC to its limits. Our in-house playtesting was done on the same machine we used to review DOOM3, but the game still felt a little non-responsive, which made aiming and shooting a little harder than necessary. Lowering the resolution down to 800x600 helped a little, but it still felt nowhere near as tight as games like UT 2004, Call of Duty or DOOM3. Of course, the game's still not finished, so we're hoping this will be fixed in the weeks leading up to the game's launch. Outside of that, the only real weak spot we saw was the enemy AI -- they don't seem bright by any stretch, but if the game is filled with epic scenes like the opening ones at Pearl Harbor, it may be a moot point.

Half-Life 2 Q&A; 12:19 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (22 comments)
Gamespy fired off a quick Q&A; with Valve's Doug Lombardi asking about a few Half-life 2 related subjects including:

Q. Are there any plans for a standalone Half-Life 2 multiplayer part, deathmatch, co-op, somewhere down the line?

Doug Lombardi: Nope.

LotR: The Third Age Preview 12:16 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: role playing strategy (0 comments)
The chaps at Gamesdomain took a look at Lord of the Rings: The Third Age:

Spanning the whole epic high-fantasy trilogy, The Third Age fuses classic RPG elements with the runaway-Balrog success of recent Lord of the Rings mania. You won't play as the primary characters, but the course of the overall fight matches that portrayed in the films. It also offers encounters with principal players such as Gandalf, Aragorn, and Legolas (who occasionally show up as party members... or as enemies!).

HomeLan Bits 12:13 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
A couple items from HLF today:

• MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf Preview (Xbox)
• Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed Impressions (PC)

IGN Morsels 12:09 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
From around the IGN empire:

• Ace Combat 5 Playtest - PS2
• Auto Assault Preview - PC
• Epilogue: Star Wars Battlefront - Xbox
• F-Zero Climax Playtest - GBA
• The Third Age: Forces of Evil - PS2

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:08 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: general news (0 comments)

Reviews

• Alpine KCA-420i iPod Adapter - The Tech Zone
• ATI HDTV Wonder - Viper Lair
• Corsair Twin2X DDR2 5400C4 ProSeries - NinjaLane
• Crucial Ballistix and Kingston HyperX PC3200 Low-Latency Memory - CoolTechZone
• Edimax Wireless 802.11g Network - Bjorn3D
• EPoX EP-8KDA3+ nForce3 - OC Inside
• Kingston DataTraveler II - Mikhailtech
• Mushkin LIIV2 Dual Channel 1GB CL2 PC3200 - GideonTech
• MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum - HardOCP
• Samsung 172x LCD Display - XYZ
• X-Micro Combo Bluetooth Print Adapter - TechTastica

  Other Stuff
  

• Buyer's Guide - Mid-Range, October 2004 - Anandtech
• Graphics comparison chart updated - The Tech Report
• Longhorn SideBar 4.0 Released - TC Mag

Game Reviews 12:06 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (2 comments)
The first review of The Bard's Tale looks pretty average (or slightly above):

PC

• Law & Order: Justice Is Served - Gamespot - 7.2/10
• Toca Race Driver 2 - PC.IGN - 8.2/10
• Tribes: Vengeance - Game Revolution - B+

  Xbox
  

• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude - Game Revolution - D-
• The Bard's Tale - Xbox.IGN - 8.2/10
• Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors - GamePro - 3/5

  PS2
  

• Katamari Damacy - Gaming Age - B+
• NBA Live 2005 - Game Over - 80%
• Phantom Brave - Eurogamer - 9/10
• Shadow Hearts: Covenant - Game Revolution - B
• THUG 2 - Game Revolution - B+

  GBA
  

• THUG 2 - Gameboy.IGN - 6.5/10
• TRON 2.0 Killer App - GamePro - 4/5

In Other News... 12:02 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (37 comments)
TGIF!

Today's question is What games are you currently playing?