Speaking to Todd Howard (Executive producer of Oblivion, Morrowind and Fallout) with regard to Bethesda's plans for 2007 and beyond, he told us; "We started work (on Fallout 3) in late 2004 with a few people. We only had about 10 people on it until Oblivion wrapped, but most of our staff is on it now." Is it wishful thinking that Fallout 3 will eventually be released on Microsoft's next-gen machine? With the game itself utilising the same Gamebryo engine as Oblivion, perhaps not. And promised to be as huge and open-ended as their multi-award winning 2006 effort, demand for Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 would be huge.

"We have pretty long preproduction phases on our stuff," continues Howard "doing concepts, design, building prototypes, and such. We should be ready soon to show it off, but we'll see."

Gearbox Aliens Game Not AvP3 12:24 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (9 comments)
In case you were curious (we had a few emails about this), the upcoming Aliens game from Gearbox is not going to be Aliens vs Predator 3.

Gearbox Software's FPS Alien title will retain the atmospheric look and feel of the original films while leveraging next-generation technology to create an entirely new interactive Alien experience.

RPG Vault Goodness 12:17 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (3 comments)

Shining Force EXA Interview - Part 1
From developer Neverland and publisher Sega, the latest PS2 title in this popular, long-running action RPG series - Includes four exclusive screenshots and two exclusive concept images

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Media #5
As Sigil's online world draws closer to release, we serve up some more striking images showcasing its visuals - Five exclusive 1680x1050 screenshots

In Other News... 12:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (30 comments)
It looks like I'm going to be taking the plunge to upgrade the PC sooner rather than later. A little birdy informed me that a beta for a game I'm (and a few other people, I'm sure *cough*) looking forward to is going to be starting up soon. I'm thinkin: Core 2 E6700, Geforce 8800 GTX and 2 gigs o ram. As long as its under 2 grand I'm golden. Gonna wait until Vista is out at least to take the big plunge.

Today's question:

Do you think the people behind the "Hold your Wee for a Wii" contest should face criminal charges?

EA is providing some exclusive features for the console version, and Xbox 360 players will also get several exclusive multiplayer modes, including Siege, Capture the Flag, Capture and Hold, and King of the Hill. Siege will be fun for players who like to make intricate bases—a wall of energy will be put up between opposing players for the first five minutes of gameplay, giving players the opportunity to fully concentrate on their respective base buildups. The game also supports use of the Xbox Live Vision camera in the multiplayer lobbies.

PC Gaming Sales Rock 2006 06:10 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (11 comments)
Sales for PC games rose sharply in 2006:

Retail PC sales for the year added up to $970 million, according to the NPD Group, less than two percent more than the $953 million it reported for 2005. However, the growth still has not made up ground the US retail PC market lost after posting $1.1 billion in revenues for 2004. It should be noted that all these figures are accounting only for boxed, retail sales of PC game software, and do not take into account money generated through subscription fees, micropayments, or digital distribution of games.

"It's refreshing to see an increase in retail sales of PC games after having experienced a few years of declines," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement. "With revenues from digital downloads and subscriptions on the rise as well, the PC games segment of the industry remains healthy."

Halo 3 Weekly Update 05:38 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (0 comments)
In this installment of the Bungie weekly update, they tackle: That's what's going into Campaign now, graphics, and AI behavior. Here's the poop on what the latest build of the game is like:

I also noticed that pretty much every level is not only in the build, and for want of a better word, populated, but that the levels actually flow together pretty well. It's playable enough now, from end to end, that we've started testing properly for difficulty and length. Performance is all over the place of course, from build to build. There's seldom any visible reason why the build is suddenly really framey, or conversely, buttery smooth. It's best to ask a grown-up before picking which version to play - although we do make alternate builds for alternating reasons - one might be to test frame rate, one some specific lighting function, another shader effects. An engineer is often the best person to explain which build is going to be "fun."

Mass Effect Interview 05:29 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (0 comments)
360.IGN scored a rather nice interview with BioWare's Casey Hudson, the project manager for its upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive RPG, Mass Effect. Here's a pop about the combat:

IGN: Let's talk about combat for a little bit. I saw in a couple of the videos that it seems like a lot of the fights, if you know what you're doing, you can finish them off in a few seconds. We're wondering if that is going to be about the normal length for a battle or are we going to see some epic fights?

Casey Hudson: What we're seeing in the footage that's out there right now is that it's taken directly from demos where we've got the character set up so that you can't die and we don't have all of our cover objects in there. What you'll see in the final version of the game when everything's balanced is that, quite often, battles will take quite a bit longer than what you're seeing there and they're going to be a lot more tactical, requiring you to use more cover and position your squad and coordinate the abilities of your squad in some really cool ways.

I love gooooooold 11:52 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: General News (8 comments)

• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Goes Gold

  Sony Online Entertainment and Sigil Games Online announced today that the "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" open beta will close on January 23 at 11:59 p.m. PST. In anticipation of the January 30th launch of the fantasy-themed MMORPG, the servers will be shut down, and all beta character profiles will be transferred to a test server. The test server will open after launch with timing to be determined. For those who have pre-ordered "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes", early access will be granted to the live servers before the official release date. More information regarding the early access will be released shortly.

  Players can now pre-order "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" digitally and at retail. Additionally, gamers that pre-order retail versions will receive an exclusive endurance buff scroll that will allow their character to sprint for longer periods of time (one per account).

• Criminals on High Alert as "Crackdown" Goes Gold

  Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the highly-anticipated action title "Crackdown" has gone gold. From developer Realtime Worlds and the mind of acclaimed creator, Dave Jones, "Crackdown" is poised to raid retail throughout the UK on 23rd February.

  Boasting an immersive - and highly explosive - three-dimensional world in which players can rain down justice from rooftop to road, "Crackdown" offers gamer the opportunity to take down the gangs of Pacific City in a massive, single-player campaign or with a friend over the title's cooperative mode via Xbox Live.

  "The excitement for 'Crackdown' is evident through the significant number of pre-orders and affirms the continued Xbox 360 momentum in 2007." stated Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President Global Marketing in the Interactive Entertainment Business Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft Corp.

  Those gamers anxious to get an early glimpse at the title will be able to enjoy the "Crackdown" demo available through Xbox Live Marketplace this month. And, as previously announced, "Crackdown" fans will be offered a special bonus with the purchase of each specially-marked copy - access to the coveted "Halo 3" Multiplayer Beta program.

  From Realtime Worlds, "Crackdown" pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first ever truly 3-D playground. Gamers will level up their Agent's strength, agility, firearms, explosives and driving skills while scaling the fully vertical world of "Crackdown." This 15 bbfc rated game incorporates revolutionary co-op gameplay throughout the entire freeform campaign. Creating a volatile cocktail of judicial oppression, players will clean up the streets of a truly interactive world when "Crackdown" hits store shelves at a suggested retail price of £44.99. [Available February 20th in the U.S.]

• Gears of War Juggernaut Continues With More Than 3 Million Units Sold

  "Gears of War" has gone triple platinum, reaching the 3 million-units-sold milestone in just 10 weeks on store shelves, ending 2006 as the top-selling game among all platforms during the month of December.

  Expanding upon its reign as the fastest-selling title of 2006 and the fastest-selling original exclusive Xbox game of all time, "Gears of War" has captivated gamers across the globe with its action-packed single-player campaign, thrilling online modes and recently released multiplayer maps, Raven Down and Old Bones. Since the downloadable content's release via Xbox Live Marketplace less than two weeks ago, the new maps have garnered an astounding 750,000 downloads. There have been more than 1.5 million total downloads of all "Gears of War" content currently available via Marketplace, including the maps, themes and video walkthrough, by gamers who can't get enough of Delta Squad and the Locust Horde.

  "Like blockbuster titles from Microsoft's 'Halo' franchise and the 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Zelda' franchises, 'Gears of War' is tracking to be one of the best-selling video games of all time and has established itself as the most successful new IP of the next generation," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft Corp.

  "Gears of War" continues to wow consumers and critics alike, garnering more than 20 nominations for game of the year. The game is a truly global phenomenon: prestigious Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recently gave "Gears of War" the coveted Platinum award; "Gears of War" joins "Blue Dragon" as the second Microsoft Game Studios title in the past two months to receive this high honor.

  Not just a gaming sensation, the acclaimed "Gears of War: Mad World" cinematic trailer was featured in Advertising Age's Book of Tens as one of the top creative concepts of 2006. With more than 2.4 million views of the trailer online, the campaign has inspired not only tremendous sales, but also a number of hilarious parody videos currently circulating around the Internet.

Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike Screenshots 08:46 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: Action (15 comments)
Check out a booster pack trailer here.

The battle for survival wages on! Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike* is currently in development for the PC. The booster pack is being developed at EA Digital Illusions (DICE) studio in Stockholm, Sweden and is slated for release in March 2007.

Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike drops gamers deep into a desperate conflict for control of Earth's last scraps of inhabitable land following the onset of a cataclysmic new ice age. The Pan-Asian Coalition (PAC) has secretly moved into mainland Europe, using abandoned urban areas to establish new strongholds in a last-ditch push for superiority. The European Union must quickly mobilize north to dislodge PAC forces from a series of urban strongholds and regain the upper hand.

Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike features three new maps, including the infamous WWII battle scene at the Bridge at Remagen, an Alpine Titan docking harbour in Port Bavaria and a claustrophobic showdown in the Liberation of Leipzig. The booster pack also features new vehicles including the EU's heavily armed IFV Goliath and the PAC's hovering light IFV Hachimoto in addition to new unlocks, new badges and ribbons, new gameplay and more.

"Our number one goal with Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike was to give fans more of the close-quarters combat, increased persistence and new toys they've been asking for," said Kristoffer Bergqvist, the booster pack's producer. "We've also added gameplay enhancements including two brand new vehicle types in an asymmetrical set-up. Furthermore, we're introducing the Titan game mode available into an urban setting and will debut the intensified Conquest Assault Lines game mode."

A Story of Love, Mystery and Jack Thompson 02:22 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (30 comments)
A 20-year old man who happens to like games went missing so his parents called in Jack Thompson:

Desperate for information about their son, Jacob's parents enlisted the help of Thompson, a longtime nemesis of the video game industry. Although it is unclear what efforts Thompson may have undertaken, late Wednesday afternoon, the attorney e-mailed GP with the following caustic update:

We found the Pribyl boy. He is in Illinois holed up with crazed gamers. We found him because of my going public and good police work. Tell your sycophantic, panting audience that.

With a little legwork, SOE established that the beta account had indeed been loaned to Jacob. SOE was finally able to track down a phone number where the missing man was said to be visiting a female friend he met through online play. GP's small part in this was to reverse-check the phone number. We came up with an address in a southern Illinois town. This was new information to the Pribyls.

Ziff Davis Fate Decided Today 01:58 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)
The fate of Ziff Davis is going to be decided today, according to the NY Post, as bidding for the publisher comes to a close. Thanks [H]:

For the current bust-up, the company is being split into the gaming group, which includes video gaming magazines and Web sites, and the enterprise division, which includes PC Magazine - once the biggest magazine tracked by the Publishers Information Bureau in terms of ad pages.

Bidders still looking at parts of the company include Apprise Media and Viacom's MTV publishing unit. Quadrangle is said to have dropped out.

Age of Conan Update 01:43 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (0 comments)
This Friday's Age of Conan weekly update takes a look at the Scion, a support class (kinda like a shaman) from the realm of Stygia. Some of their powers include: healing, buffs, damage-over-time spells and at level 80, the ability to shapechange into a giant snake. Neato.

Newsflash: Kids like Videogames 01:33 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (4 comments)
Shocking, I know! Kids dig videogames:

There's so much focus on the elusive 18-34 male demographic in the video game industry that some companies may be overlooking another important segment of the population: kids. According to Kids & Digital Content, a new study from The NPD Group that examines how children interact with electronic devices and how they acquire digital content, kids are actually playing video games as early as age 2. These increasingly tech savvy children are also downloading content to cell phones, using computers and listening to portable digital music players.

NPD said it used an online survey sent to a "nationally representative" sample of mothers with children ages 2 to 14 in their households. The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority (93 percent) of kids play games on a computer, cell phone, video game console or portable or digital music player. This was way ahead of the second highest activity reported, listening to music, which garnered 52 percent.

SupCom Single Player Preview 01:20 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (3 comments)
PC.IGN has what I assume to be gold code for Gas Powered Games' Supreme Commander, where they explore the Aeon and Cybran campaigns. Included, are a bunch of new screenshots and videos.

If there's anything we're really concerned about with this game, it's the unit pathfinding. It's not that units get lost, but in groups of several hundred they have some surprisingly inefficient routes for getting where they're going. This is especially true of naval units, which for some reason require a notably large berth to move. Confused units can be successfully maneuvered by selecting pieces of the whole and moving them individually, but it'd be nice to see the large masses of units move around as an intelligent, cohesive whole. Regardless, this game's been fun so far, though more so in the Skirmish mode than any of the Campaigns.

Bioware Episodes? 01:17 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)
It looks like Bioware is looking at the episodic gaming scene with some serious interest:

"...we have big plans afoot at BioWare for post-release and episodic content for upcoming cool BioWare games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Jade Empire: Special Edition and other upcoming BioWare titles, both on console and PC", BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka divulged in an interview with CVG which we'll be publishing shortly.

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• abit AW9D-MAX Mainboard - Xbit Labs
• Gigabyte 965P-DS3P rev 2.0 - TechSpot

  Cases
  

• NZXT Adamas Premium Crafted Chassis - Overclockers Club

  Cooling
  

• Vantec Iceberq 6 VGA Cooler - Big Bruin

  CPU
  

• AMD Quad FX Megatasking - Hexus

  Mice
  

• Ideazon Reaper Gaming Mouse - XS Reviews

  Memory
  

• Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8000 - Neoseeker
• OCZ FlexXLC Edition DDR-2 PC-9200 Memory - Tweaktown
• Patriot PC2-6400 2GB Dual Channel Memory Kit - Viper Lair

  Power Supply
  

• HuntKey HK500-13BP 500W Power Supply - MadShrimps

  Video
  

• HIS X1950Pro 256MB AGP - 3DGameMan
• XFX 8800 GTX XXX - Bjorn3D

Assorted Downloads 12:56 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

• Caesar IV retail/download patches v1.2
• Diver: Deep Water Adventures demo
• Faces of War retail patch v1.04.1a
• Steel Fury alpha demo
• Tribal Trouble demo v1.6
• UFO: Afterlight demo

RPG Vault Goodness 12:49 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Hellgate: London Peek #9
Bill Roper takes us under the hood to look at Flagship's technology, and behind the scenes to learn about the team - Includes two exclusive 1680x1050 screenshots

The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean Media #3
A new septet of visuals showing assorted situations from the impending Nihon Falcom and Microvision PSP release - Seven exclusive screenshots

Game Reviews 12:32 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• Gothic III - GamePyre - 65%
• Flight Sim X: VFR Photographic Scenery - Generation X - Boomtown - 8/10
• Rayman Raving Rabbids - GameSpot - 7.3/10
• World of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade - Hooked Gamers - 9/10

  360
  

• Heavy Weapon - 360.IGN - 7.3/10

  DS
  

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All - 1Up - 6/10
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All - Worthplaying - 8/10

In Other News... 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (47 comments)
I picked up a Zune yesterday to fill my mobile music needs. It's about the size and width of a deck of cards, which makes it a little smaller than I expected. As far as I can tell, the video/movies section of the Zune service isn't available yet, which kind of sucks. The music selection isn't too bad though, although there are some obvious omissions such as Tool that aren't currently available to download, or even purchase.

To start out, I grabbed all of the Deftones albums, a bunch of nin, some Iced Earth, a little American Head Charge, a sampling of Iron Maiden and a pinch of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Most of the music is free to download as part of the Zune membership (you get a 2 week free trial) but there's a lot of crap you need to pay to download (like most of the Chili Peppers stuff). 30 gigs holds a lot of music.

As far as the hardware itself goes, I like it quite a bit. It sounds great and the screen is really sweet. The Zune online stuff could use some improvement though. I would not have minded a more windows like interface (like having the option to view just the details, rather than the images, etc) and its a bit chuggy. I think Vista's interface is better with it though. We shall see in a few weeks. Hopefully they will have the movie section up by then also.

Today's TGIF question:

What games are you currently playing?