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Prince of Persia: Enemies of Time Part 1
Eight new villains revealed, including the Griffon, Crow Master, and Executioner. Plus, exclusive trailer.

Jump to Lightspeed
To celebrate the release, we take a look at the ships of the Blacksun.

- Lord British Q&A;
- Gamespy does Guildwars
- IGN Morsels
- Game Reviews
- Hardware & Tech Nuggets
- In Other News...
- Don't Say You Like Nintendo Games; They'll Sue You
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Delayed
- Humpday WPG
- Guild Wars Profile
 
Hottopics_top
- John Kerry In Kuma War (287)
- Half-Life 2 GOLD (125)
- Half-Life 2 = Best Game Evah? (42)
- Microsoft Investigates Halo 2 Leak (42)
- System Shock 3? (39)
- Halo 2 Gone Gold (37)
- The Matrix Online Beta Download (31)
- John Kerry In Kuma War Now Available (28)
- PC Gamer US Half-Life 2 Score (28)
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Leaked? (27)

Thursday , October 28, 2004
Lord British Q&A; 12:40 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: mmog
HomeLan chats it up with Lord British about his new massively multiplayer role playing game, Tabula Rasa:
HomeLAN - There are already a lot of MMORPGs out there and more are in the works. Are you confident that the game will be able to both stand out from the crowd as well as find an audience?

Richard Garriott - I think it will stand out for sure. Our game plays and feels very different from a "traditional" MMP. Finding an audience was a little tricky at first (as it is with many projects at startup), but we made the design refinements we needed to and are now very confident and excited about launching Tabula Rasa to our audience.

Gamespy does Guildwars 12:37 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: mmog (0 comments)
Gamespy has some Guild Wars coverage which includes interviews with the developers, a preview of the beta, plus information on how to play the various classes. Here's a snip from the preview portion of the special:

In the overcrowded massively multiplayer gaming space, Guild Wars stands alone. The financial model sets it apart: no monthly fees! But that's not all. The gameplay is unique. It's like Diablo meets Magic: The Gathering, with a dash of StarCraft or TeamFortress thrown in. The innovative design should be no surprise given the lineage of the crew building the game. ArenaNet's founders were responsible for creating Blizzard's Battle.net and the design of StarCraft... So there's a lot to be excited about.

IGN Morsels 12:20 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
From around IGN:

Game Reviews 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:05 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: general news (0 comments)

In Other News... 12:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (5 comments)
How bout dem Redsocks?

Today's question is: What are some games you can think of that recieved low overall (70% or under) review scores but you still really loved? On the flip side, what are some games that recieved high scores (90% or above) that you despised?
 
 

Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Don't Say You Like Nintendo Games; They'll Sue You 05:23 pm - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (21 comments)
Nintendo has issued a Cease & Desist letter to the SuicideGirls website, "a part alternative community and part pin-up showcase of more than 420 fantastic tattooed and pierced bad girls, from Finland to Colombia." A member of said site stated on their profile page that Metroid and Zelda titles were among their favourites.

You can read the "IP Infringement" letter here, and for the love of God, don't visit the site at work as it's not work safe. Thanks /.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Delayed 04:32 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (20 comments)
In THQ's fiscal 2005 2nd quarter results the publisher announced that the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was pushed back to May 2005:

The company said that it plans to release three new original titles in the fiscal 2006 first quarter. Pandemic Studios' "Destroy All Humans!(TM)" and "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl" from GSC Game World are now scheduled to ship in April and May of 2005, respectively. In addition, the company plans to release "Juiced" in the fiscal 2006 first quarter.

Humpday WPG 04:30 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
Happy Humping:

Guild Wars Profile 03:56 pm - Jeff Tom - games: mmog (1 comment)
GameSpot have slapped up another profile of one of the classes in the MMORPG Guild Wars, this time looking at the Warrior class. Here's a clip:

The warrior is, hands down, the toughest character class in the game. It's the profession that offers the most health and resistance to physical damage, and it's the profession that offers its members the luxury of being able to don the heaviest of armor to further prevent sustaining physical damage. Warriors can specialize in three different classes of weapons--axes, swords, and hammers--and each area of specialization allows the warrior to deal damage in a different way. In addition, the profession also has access to "shouts," which are special group-focused abilities that temporarily give bonuses to both warriors and their companions in battle. Warriors may seem like straightforward characters that run up and start beating on enemies, but they also have advanced proficiencies, like knockdown abilities and combination skills, which are keyed off of specific attacks.

Pariah Trailer This Friday 03:47 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (2 comments)
Digital Extremes sends word that it will be releasing the first video trailer for Pariah this Friday which was sliced together by Hollywood film editors Mojo. "What makes a Mojo trailer unique is that we are able to convey the emotional experience of playing a game through our own distinctive method of storytelling and gameplay capture," adds Michael Kahane, Co-Owner with Jeff Lamont of Mojo LLC. "To communicate the scope and breadth of the Pariah universe, Mojo is creating four epic theatrical quality trailers that will immerse the viewer into the game well before they have a controller in hand."

Digital Extremes are of course the company behind such hits has Unreal and Unreal Tournament.

Guild Wars Updated Preview 03:38 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: mmog (0 comments)
Guild Wars OG slapped up some updated impressions of Arena.net's upcoming MMORPG. The public beta preview begins on Friday. You can grab the client at the official website.

Battlefield 2 Q&A; 03:36 pm - Jeff Tom - games: action (4 comments)
Electronic Arts have slapped up an interview on Battlefield 2 with Executive Producer Scott Evans. Here's a clip:

Could you explain how the new missile targeting system works on jets and helicopters and does it have something to do with laser targeting?

Scott Evans: Battlefield 2 has both heat seeking missiles and laser designation devices. The Special Forces kit gets the laser designator in Battlefield 2, which allows this soldier to "paint" an enemy target with a laser beam. Once this is done, a pilot can fire laser guided missiles into the target. It's very much a teamwork activity. Many vehicles in Battlefield 2 fire heat seeking missiles which are basically fire and forget - they home in on a heat source. Pilots can defeat these missiles by dropping flares, which create a heat signature that can spoof missiles into missing... until they run out of flares. :)

Atari Upcoming Line-Up 02:11 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
Atari sent over its list of upcoming game releases:

    PC
    RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 - Nov. 2, 2004
    Axis & Allies - Nov 2, 2004
    Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone - Nov. 2004
    Sid Meier's Pirates! - Nov. 22, 2004
    Dragonshard - March 2005
    Act of War: Direct Action - March 2005
    Boiling Point - Spring 2005
    Dungeons & Dragons Online - Nov. 2005
    Neverwinter Nights 2 - Spring 2006

    Xbox
    Godzilla: Save The Earth - Nov. 9, 2004
    Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone - Nov. 2004
    Atari Anthology - Nov. 16, 2004
    Sid Meier's Pirates! - Spring 2005

    PS2
    Godzilla: Save The Earth - Nov. 2, 2004
    Duel Masters - Nov. 2, 2004
    Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 - Nov. 16, 2004
    Atari Anthology - Nov. 16, 2004
    Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure - Summer 2005

    GameCube
    Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 - Winter 2004

ATI Takes Lead in Graphics Market 12:51 pm - Jeff Tom - hardware: ati (18 comments)
ATI have issued a press release with news that they have taken over marketshare for both desktop and notebook discrete markets. Here's a whiff:

"Our business is firing on all cylinders," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President for ATI's PC Business Unit. "Not only are we strong in all aspects of our PC discrete business, but we're about to launch a powerful contender into the desktop integrated market, a market we've essentially been absent from up until this point. In addition, ATI is leading the graphics charge in cell phones, ahead of the curve in DTV and we're looking forward to delivering technologies for future Xbox and Nintendo products. The success is testament to the skills and dedication of the ATI employees, who have worked long and hard to put the company into this leadership position."

Jump to Lightspeed Ships 12:47 pm - Jeff Tom - games: mmog (1 comment)
PC.IGN has word that Jump to Lightspeed ships today, the expansion to the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. Lightspeed adds to SWG 15 vehicles, 10 new sectors to explore, and more than 100 new missions.

The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age Goes Gold 12:20 pm - Andrew Burnes - consoles: general news (2 comments)
EA's turn-based Lord of the Rings role-playing game, The Third Age, has gone gold and is scheduled to ship on November 2nd for the Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance:

Playing as all-new characters from Middle Earth, travel in the wake of the Fellowship in a unique structure that allows players to explore their own path while periodically intersecting the major events of New Line Cinema's film trilogy. Traverse through both familiar and seldom-glimpsed locations as you fight to save or destroy Middle-earth in an epic adventure. Encounter the demonic Balrog in the Mines of Moria, defend the fallen city of Osgiliath, or try to destroy Helm's Deep. These choices and many more will confront you as you align yourself with the people of Middle-earth or undertake missions on behalf of Sauron.

MechAssault 2 Preview 11:23 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: xbox (1 comment)
TeamXbox is the latest site to hit up a preview of Microsoft's MechAssault 2 that focuses on 'Conquest,' their grand Xbox Live multiplayer mode:

In Conquest mode, you still take part in all of the killer multiplayer game types, but this time each battle is just a small blip in the overall intergalactic war that is transpiring online. Think of Conquest mode as a never-ending war that will determine control of the inner sphere of the galaxy. But who is waging this war? This is where MechAssualt 2's House system comes into play.

Brothers In Arms Q&A; 11:20 am - Andrew Burnes - games: action (0 comments)
Computer & Video Games today features an interview with Gearbox's military and historical director Colonel John Antal and Stephen Palmer, who talk about Brothers In Arms, the World War II strategic shooter due out in the first quarter of next year:

How is the death of squad members handled?

Colonel Antal: That's a very good question. We're telling a compelling story, and as you go through this you're going to want to have your squad members with you. We're going to have some of your members killed, but obviously we can't have a story that follows if we never know who is going to be there. At the end of each sequence, if you win, you move on with all your people. Now, you'll lose some people - you might win with just one guy - but they'll come back and be incapacitated.

The Colonel's chicken tastes good!

Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict Preview 11:18 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: xbox (0 comments)
Eurogamer hit up a preview of Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, Epic's Xbox shooter-with-fighting:

"It started out as a simple idea to change the Impact Hammer (the basic hand to hand weapon in UC1) to something unique for each character type in the game, so Skarjj could have Skarjj blades and so on," says Mike Capps, lead designer on UC2. "It [hand to hand] was fun until someone else came along with a Rocket Launcher and blew you both up, so the idea of melee combat that could compete with ranged weapons came from there." In fact that idea has come so far that it almost blots out the shooter underneath...

Halo 2 Q&A; 09:17 am - Jeff Tom - consoles: xbox (0 comments)
Howstuffworks have slapped up an interview with Bungie, going over the story for their upcoming XBox shooter, Halo 2. Thanks HomeLAN. Here's a clip:

HSW: Was the "Halo" story fully realized and segmented into different games, or did you take the story as far as "Halo 1" and when it came time for a sequel, build the story from the ground up?

Pete Parsons: The "Halo" universe has an overarching story that is well thought out and was well thought out before "Halo 2." We have roughly 600 years worth of "Halo" fiction, and we know what happens inside of that universe at any given time. The ["Halo 2"] story itself only existed as notes and was really fleshed out. We know ultimately, at least in the "Halo" universe, where humanity came from, where it's going to, at what point in time it comes in contact with The Covenant [the villains in "Halo"] and what happens well beyond that.

The Bard's Tale Ships 09:17 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: general news (5 comments)
inXile's comedic role-playing title, The Bard's Tale, is now shipping to stores across North America:

"Official PlayStation Magazine gave The Bard's Tale 4.5 out of 5 because of 'the content, the script and the wit' and we think gamers are waiting for an intelligently funny game," said Brian Fargo, CEO and founder of inXile entertainment. "I'm 100% confident that in the medieval/top down/action RPG/musical/comedy genre we will achieve #1 status. And if you are going to buy a game on October 27th ... it will probably be GTA: San Andreas BUT if you are going to buy two ... The Bard's Tale is the obvious 2nd choice."

Decidedly mixed reviews for this one, across the board.

Rise of Nations Gold Edition Ships 09:14 am - Andrew Burnes - games: real-time strategy (0 comments)
Also shipping out of the Microsoft camp today is a package containing Rise of Nations and the subsequent expansion pack, Thrones & Patriots:

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the Rise of Nations� Gold Edition has been spotted on store shelves in North America for an estimated retail price of $29.95 (U.S.). This compilation contains the award-winning real-time strategy game (RTS) Rise of Nations, as well as the critically acclaimed Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots expansion pack.

Together, these two titles have sold over 1 million copies worldwide. Combining the epic scope of traditional turn-based strategy games with the fast-paced action of RTS games, Rise of Nations Gold Edition enables players to explore 6,000 years of history as they amass powerful armies, build prosperous economies and perform acts of diplomacy. The Gold Edition will also ship to international markets in November 2004.

OutRun2 Ships 09:11 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: xbox (0 comments)
Microsoft today announces that OutRun2 has shipped to stores across North America, and will be purchasable for $39.99:

OutRun2 is the sequel to the famous game that made its first appearance in arcades across the world 17 years ago. With gameplay reminiscent of the steadfast driving game, remixes of the original soundtracks and exclusive Xbox Live&153;- head to head gameplay, OutRun2 stays true to its predecessor while kicking it up a notch. Developed by AM2/SEGA�, OutRun2 puts gamers into the Italian leather driver's seat of eight different Ferraris, from the traditional Testerossa to the highly coveted Ferrari Enzo.

I loved the original but alas, in a post-Burnout 3 world, the demo of 2 did nothing for me.

Brothers In Arms 2 Revealed 07:30 am - Andrew Burnes - games: action (3 comments)
Before the quarter 1 2005 release of Brothers In Arms, Gearbox's World War 2 strategic action title, their in-house military advisor has revealed to Computer & Video Games that a sequel is already in the works:

"We're working on the sequel," Colonel John Antal, the military adviser brought onboard by Gearbox for Brothers in Arms, told us earlier, before adding that the current plan is to recreate the entire World War II campaign as experienced by the 3rd platoon Fox Company, 502d PIR, the unit that's the subject of the squad-based FPS.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Making Of 01:51 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: gamecube (5 comments)
Head on over to 1UP to check out an extensive article detailing the making of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which is due to be released on November 15th:

Another twist for Echoes is that the game introduces a multiplayer mode for the first time in Metroid's history. But like the rest of the game, this mode has a Metroid-inspired twist. "We were very focused on making sure that this wasn't deathmatch," says Kelbaugh. "It was absolutely critical to us that you knew you were playing Metroid when you were in that multiplayer experience. So we brought over everything we could from the first player experience and made sure that this wasn't just Samus blowing up stuff."

PSP To Launch December 12th In Japan 01:28 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: psp (14 comments)
Sony has announced this morning that their Playstation Portable will be released December 12th in Japan for 20,790 yen, $194.629:

With PSP, the world of PlayStation, people's most favorite platform, is further enhanced. A 4.3 inch wide 16:9 high resolution LCD screen, the largest in a handheld gaming device, creates a personal environment in which to enjoy games, music and video anytime, anywhere, with a dynamism that has never been possible before.

To accompany the launch of the PSP system, a total of 21 game titles from SCE and third party software developers and publishers will be released by the end of this year. In addition to these titles, over 100 exciting new titles are currently in development. Innovative titles using the unique features of PSP, as well as PSP versions of hit titles that have been the drivers of the PlayStation platform will continuously be introduced.

I'm really getting a feeling of 'rushed to market' here, especially as they haven't mentioned a North American or European release timeframe. Check the comments section of this article for the full press release, as well as a list of the Japanese launch titles.

BioWare NWN Store Q&A; 12:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: role-playing (3 comments)
HomeLan chats with a few of the cats at BioWare about its new site to order official Neverwinter Nights modules from:

HomeLAN - If this effort is successful, does BioWare have plans to have this kind of program for future PC games that they are developing?

Greg Zeschuk - We are definitely planning on expanding the role of digitally distributed content in the games that we create. At the current time we're focusing on the creation of great content to support Neverwinter Nights, but we do plan to add more types of content, from smaller modules to full expansions, and even full product releases. Additionally, we're interested in talking with other computer game developers who want to reach a very targeted, receptive market of fans at the BioWare Community, so if developers or publishers have a great, high-quality story-based game they'd like to distribute to an audience of over 2 million avid fans we encourage them to contact us. Our belief is that the opportunities for selling digital copies of games directly to fans are very broad, so there plenty of ways for developers beyond BioWare to benefit from the system we're establishing.

WorthPlaying Goods 12:24 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
It's the email was late to arrive WPG:

Game Reviews 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
Men of Valor (PC) gets fragged by VC.IGN:

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:10 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: general news (0 comments)

In Other News... 12:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (42 comments)
Men of Valor (PC) should be hitting stores today; I still want to check that out despite the so-so Xbox reviews. I'm also looking forward to Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, so just color me crazy I guess! Those two titles should tide me over until Halo 2 is released, then it's Half-Life 2 until my eyeballs pop out! Today's question is:

What games will be occupying your time before Half-Life 2's release?

 
 

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