Just wanted to give a quick shout out and let everyone know that we are working on the next patch. The crash issues are still on the top of our list and we are working closely with several members of the community in trying to reproduce these porblems in our labs so we can get them fixed. We also have some fixes going into the editor for the next patch as well.

I don't have a date for anyone at this time but I will post that information as well as some preliminary patch notes as I get them.

The post also links to a transcript of an online chat that occurred the other night.

Halo 3 Weekly Update 10:37 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (1 comment)
The latest rather random weekly Halo 3 update is now online:

The audio in the game (Halo 3) right now seems remarkably polished, although I'm reliably informed it's all placeholder. Certainly the music is lifted wholesale from the Halo 2 soundtrack and chosen to closely match "mood" with the new Campaign levels. The sound effects are another matter - right now, FOR DEVELOPMENT PLACEHOLDER REASONS ONLY (some of you know why and for whom I bolded that part) we have all the AI character dialog from Halo 2 running - so that Marines say the same things they did in the last game,

But the lead characters are voiced by "actors" from the studio, who do TEMPORARY PLACEHOLDER voices for some of the cinematic characters. I even got to do the Chief. So for a brief moment in time, the Chief sounds exactly like a flatulent wasp relaxing inside a rusty tin can. With a Scottish accent.

Lars continues to fine tune one of the new multiplayer gametypes and while the gametype itself is extraordinarily fun - I guarantee this will be one of the most played modes on Xbox Live in 2007 - the scoring system is difficult to balance. Right now Lars is trying to make it fun and rewarding for all the participants and yet implementing a scoring system that doesn't reward griefers and quitters. It's a tricky balance.

Quake 4 MP To Be Souped Up 10:30 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: Action (6 comments)
The id Software website carries word of a forthcoming patch for Quake 4 that id hopes will reignite interest in the (rather dull) multiplayer component:

With the upcoming release of the QUAKE 4 1.3 Point Release we're making great strides in tuning and tweaking the QUAKE 4 multiplayer gaming experience based on feedback from the people playing it the most.

We're implementing a number of community requested features and actual gameplay changes to QUAKE 4 gameplay which will provide a faster, smoother, and more highly competitive experience that we hope particularly appeals to those playing QUAKE 4 regularly and/or competitively, but also makes the game even more fun for new players. You can expect increased mobility and control, improved performance with ambient lighting options, and weapon alterations that advance playability and challenge competitive players.

We've noticed several LAN and competitive events considering what games to use for their future events, and we would encourage players and organizers to give 1.3 a try - we think you'll like it. We feel these competition friendly changes, coupled with an all-new gametype, a new weapon, and several professionally made maps will extend the life of QUAKE 4 for all players. We're currently in a small, private beta test of the point release and hope to have it out publicly sometime before QuakeCon.

In Other News... 09:46 am - Andrew Burnes - In-House: In Other News... (9 comments)
Hi2u folks! The Company of Heroes beta test consumes my available gaming time at the moment due to its pure awesomeness. Can't say a whole lot about the game because of the NDA, but I can say it's Relic's best RTS to date and will hopefully blow you away if you're a fan of the genre despite it being "yet another title set in WW2." If you want more info about the game I suggest you check out Planet Company of Heroes.

Also testing Dark Messiah of Might & Magic at the mo. Good, solid, entertaining class-based multiplayer mode that should appeal to a lot of people, though once again I can't say too much thanks to a pesky NDA. The single-player campaign looks awesome (check out a trailer here), and coupled with the great multiplayer mode I hope it'll be highly lauded, bought, and then brought back for a sequel.

In the world of stuff that you can actually buy I shelved Titan Quest because Iron Lore still cannot work out how to make their own damn game not crash, though they are supposedly looking into it (see above). I'm unsure if the blame for this debacle lies at the door of THQ (i.e. pushing the game out because of some financial deadline), or if Iron Lore had all the time in the world but just couldn't get a grip on their code issues and handed it off to THQ for duplication to save their own bacon, but either way it's freakin' annoying being unable to properly play a game you quite enjoy when it isn't crashing to the desktop.

Was sad to see Quake War delayed as it'll mean I'll probably end up checking out Battlefield 2142 despite me swearing blind that I wouldn't... Saw on the EA Newsletter yesterday that long-term players of BF2 will get some kind of bonus or treat if they buy 2142 too, though it didn't go into specifics:

Battlefield 2: Veterans Program

DICE is pleased to announce that we will be rewarding our loyal BF2 community by giving them exclusive benefits for enlisting with Battlefield 2142 when it comes out this October.

Full details will be available in the coming weeks about this program, so stay tuned to battlefield.ea.com for more information.

Aiee, that's me done, time to drink German beer!

What's your favourite beer? Say Beck's Gold/Lemon and I will ban you.

Prey mixes traditional linear run-and-gun action, with classic 3D Realms-style humor and a limited amount of interactivity with the environment. The big buzzword everyone uses when talking about Prey is "portal." Portals are gateways that allow you to instantly teleport from one part of the map to another. As you might imagine, when used creatively, this adds a lot of interesting opportunities for level design. Thankfully, Human Head took advantage of them well. Gravity also plays a key role in the game, as there are triggers you can shoot that will literally flip rooms around on different sides. Wall walking is yet another innovation, as there are pathways that permit movement on the walls and ceilings. Puzzles also play an important role in Prey, as the game isn't just some mindless shooter.

Team Fortress 2 Image 05:05 pm - Andrew Burnes - Games: Action (39 comments)
Can you believe it? First Team Fortress 2 is re-announced, and then they announce that it is some wacky cell-shaded 60's spy-spoof thing - like WTF, is the sky falling?

Anyway, here's the very first image of the game showing the usual suspects, but in an unusual manner:

Update: Just noticed this press release on the Steam site:

Valve, developer of the blockbuster series Half-Life and Counter-Strike, unveiled Team Fortress 2 and Portal, two new games to be included in its next release, Half-Life 2: Episode Two. In addition, the studio announced its plans to deliver these products, plus enhanced versions of Half-Life 2 and Episode One, in one tremendous package for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"By evolving our development process to an episodic approach, we're able to reduce risk from things such as schedule and funding and invest more in new types of gameplay," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "This allows us to produce innovative titles such as Portal and Team Fortress 2 and deliver them in a timely fashion to customers along with Episode Two."

Episode Two advances the 16-million unit selling franchise, as Valve's trilogy of episodic single player releases continues the award-winning story of Half-Life 2. Armed with new weaponry and vehicles, Dr. Gordon Freeman must race through a countryside riddled with an increasingly fierce Combine threat.

Team Fortress 2, an all-new version of the title that spawned team based multiplayer action games, features the most advanced graphics of any Source-based game released to date. Players choose from a range of unique character classes such as medic, spy, sniper, or engineer and must work together to complete a variety of tactical objectives.

Portal is a new type of single player game that changes how players approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in a given environment in a manner similar to how the Gravity Gun changed our approach to how an object may be leveraged in any given situation.

Team Fortress 2 and Portal will be included with all retail and Steam versions of Episode Two for the PC. In addition, these products plus Half-Life 2 and Episode One will be available in one tremendous offering for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. New videos from Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 will be released next week.

Gears of War Dated? 04:53 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (6 comments)
It looks like someone at Microsoft might have fat fingered the submit button, as TeamXbox is reporting that a 10/2 (October 2nd) release date was published on the official Xbox.com website.

A Microsoft spokesperson, when asked about the date listing on Xbox.com, reiterated that "there's no official date set yet," but having a specific date appear on the game publisher's official page -- and having that date match a major retailer's listed release date -- makes it hard to believe that isn't when the game is slated to ship. If indeed that's the case, it's quite possible we're on the verge of Microsoft's official announcement and someone at Xbox.com jumped the gun by posting it early.

Warhammer Online Screenshots 03:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (7 comments)
Another dozen (okay, almost) new screenshots of Warhammer Online, which is actually starting to look like a next-gen MMORPG (not that they looked bad before, but now they look much nicer):

(Click to Enlarge!)

Big Ass Guild Wars Update 02:51 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action / Roleplaying (5 comments)
Thanks to Guild Wars Slovenija for sending word that Arena.net released a big-ass update for Guild Wars. "ArenaNet has streamed a rather large streaming update that contains the new material vault, tons of upgrades and skill balance changes." Bonus.

Intel Core Duo Reviews 02:22 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: Intel (31 comments)
(Bumped & updated to today, so we'd have a hardware round-up):

• Intel Core 2 Duo 'Conroe' - Trusted Reviews
• Intel Core 2 Duo & Core 2 Extreme Performance - Legion Hardware
• Intel's Core 2 Duo and Extreme processors - Tech Report
• Core 2 Duo E6700 and Core 2 Extreme X6800 - Hardware Secrets
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 & Core 2 Extreme X6800 - HotHardware
• Intel Core 2 Duo/Extreme Processor - Hexus
• Intel "Conroe" Core 2 Duo X6800 & E6700 - GD Hardware
• Core 2 Duo E6700 - Neoseeker
• Intel Core 2 Duo - Madbox PC
• Intel Core 2 Duo is here - Tweaktown
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - Bytesector
• Intel Unleashes Conroe: X6800 and E6700 - Legit Reviews
• Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 & Core 2 Duo E6700 - SharkyExtreme
• Intel's Core 2 Extreme/Duo Processors - Firing Squad
• Game Over? Core 2 Duo Knocks Out Athlon 64 - Toms Hardware Guide

In case you're too lazy to read for yourself, here's how [H] sums it up:

When it comes to playing games, the only persons that need to be even a little concerned with upgrading their CPU to a Core 2 processor, might be those with high-end SLI, CrossFire, or GeForce GX2 video cards and we have yet to even prove that due to testing limitations we ran into. Then and only then, you might see an Intel Core 2 processor deliver a performance advantage.

Intel's Core 2 Extreme X6800 didn't lose a single benchmark in our comparison; not a single one. In many cases, the $183 Core 2 Duo E6300 actually outperformed Intel's previous champ: the Pentium Extreme Edition 965. In one day, Intel has made its entire Pentium D lineup of processors obsolete. Intel's Core 2 processors offer the sort of next-generation micro-architecture performance leap that we honestly haven't seen from Intel since the introduction of the P6.

Game Reviews 02:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• Night Watch - PC.IGN - 6/10
• Prey - Computer Games.ro - 89%
• Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War - Armchair Empire - 6/10
• Sin Episodes: Emergence - Armchair Empire - 7/10
• Soldier Elite - Strategy Informer - 4.2/10

  360
  

• Chromehounds - Boomtown - 8/10
• Chromehounds - Gamespot - 7.9/10
• GRAW Chapter 2 - GamingNext - 92%

  Xbox
  

• Hitman: Blood Money - Armchair Empire - 6.5/10

In Other News... 01:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (29 comments)
Finished Prey yesterday. First 1/3rd of the game (mostly the demo stuff) kicked ass. Middle 2/3 was almost as boring as Quake IV, and the final third was even better than the first part. Very, very cool puzzles, although some of the level objectives were a bit vague. At times I was just wandering around looking for whatever it was I had to do. Grandfather should've been more like Obi-Wan Kenobi pointing stuff out. It took me around 8-hours to finish all be told. Anyhow... review will be up later.

So... Team Fortress 2.... Cell shaded, 60's style Austin Powers game. /barf

Today's TGIF question:

What games did you play the most this week?

Bonus question: Do you approve of a cell-shaded, tongue-in-cheek Team Fortress 2?