Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, is pleased to announce that development of World in Conflict(TM) is complete and the game has "Gone Gold." The upcoming action-strategy PC game was created by Massive Entertainment, a Sierra Entertainment internal studio, and will be available for personal computer at North American retail outlets on September 18 in both Standard and Collector's Edition versions for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and $59.99 respectively.

"Sierra Entertainment would like to congratulate Massive Entertainment for creating one of the premiere PC games of 2007, one that pushes the strategy genre to the next-generation, blurring the lines between strategy, action and first-person-shooter," said Martin Tremblay, president of worldwide studios, Sierra Entertainment. "World in Conflict delivers on the promise of modern PC gaming, providing amazing graphics featuring DX10 effects, groundbreaking multiplayer for individuals and clans, and fresh single player gameplay that will keep strategy fans engaged while also bringing a much broader group of gamers to the genre."

World in Conflict asks the terrifying question, what if the Cold War didn't end? The award-winning game represents the next-generation of strategy titles, pitting Cold War-era superpowers against one another with completely destructible 3D battlefields and blistering visuals using DX10 technology. World in Conflict features an innovative gameplay mechanism that removes traditional resource-gathering and base-building in favor of non-stop combat, tactical decisions and FPS-like intense action. The game also features a deep single-player campaign that showcases Hollywood-quality storytelling of the Cold War gone hot.

Age of Conan Delayed to 2008 08:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (5 comments)
It looks like Warhammer Online is going to get some competition in the massively multiplayer market come March 2008, as Age of Conan has been officially been delayed. Here's more from FunCom:

As you saw from the press release, we've decided to delay the game until March 25, 2008. As you all understand, this is obviously one of the hardest decisions we could've made as a company, but this is done to ensure that you all the get the best possible experience when the game is done next March.

While we have seen that the overall reactions to our game has in general been extremely favorable, we as a company can only go for the best possible experience for our users. We are a MMO company, and we know that the only thing which matters when building a long-term community is the quality of the game. When our beta testers have come back to us with concerns in a couple of different areas, we have therefore been listening. The feedback has especially been on the entry barriers to the game, and how people are learning and coping with the combat system in the first few hours of gameplay. While most are having a fantastic time with it once they learn it, we also see that it is new and different to a lot of people, and that it takes longer to get into than what we have anticipated. This means that we need to ease the barrier, and make the first few hours of gameplay more accessible.

After careful consideration we have therefore decided that this must be improved for the overall good of the game. We are now putting considerable extra efforts into improving the game, despite the fact that a whole world is raving about the qualities of what we have shown them. It was not an easy decision to make, but we felt it was necessary, both for you and ourselves.

We would also like to point out that the pushback does not affect the beta. General beta is currently ongoing, it will still go on in the weeks and months to come (and escalate) and invitations will continue to go out. As a part of this, rest assured that Funcom will continue to listen to our beta testers, who are an invaluable source of honest feedback, and that we together will create a special game.

A lot of you have shown an incredible amount of patience with us through the production process and we appreciate it tremendously. These next few months will give us time to deliver to you what you want as bad as us; a great MMO game.

Thanks,

The Funcom Team

Crysis: The Musical 08:27 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
Wondering if the carpet is going to match the drapes?

Los Angeles, CA - August 10th, 2007 - Film, television and video game composer Inon Zur has created the original musical score for Crysis the next-generation PC first-person shooter developed by Crytek and published by Electronic Arts.

Renowned for composing emotionally dynamic orchestral music, Zur was commissioned by Crytek to produce a modern cinematic score that heightens the impact of the dramatic storyline, realistic environments and highly-evolved gameplay.

"Inon's ability to describe a complex situation through music is uncanny," said Crytek Audio Director Joseph Zajonc. "He grasps human interaction and internal conflict and delivers musical support for these scenarios with sensitivity and assuredness in his compositions. Inon's sense of orchestration and the sound palette he has developed for this title are integral to the feel and identity of Crysis."

The score was recorded with the acclaimed Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra in Seattle. Zur's compositions feature sweeping themes, immersive setup pieces, intense action music, and "otherworldly" musical soundscapes performed by the orchestra to invoke the alien influences in the game.

Joseph Zajonc adds, "Inon has such an enthusiasm for composing, it's a joy to work with him. He really wants to provide exactly the right material for a given game moment, often coming up with an approach that surprises."

Zur's diverse repertoire of projects includes Hollywood film trailers, network television productions, CGI movies, blockbuster video games and symphony concerts. Most recently Zur composed the music for CBS' "Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side" TV webisode series directed by Claudio Faeh (Hollow Man 2, Starship Troopers 3).

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer 08:25 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer Interview - Part 1
Obsidian's story-driven expansion that will include genasi, half-drow, wild elves, a strategy mode and plenty more - Includes an exclusive screenshot and an exclusive model composite

In Other News... 08:12 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (15 comments)
Just three more days to go until the Death Star becomes fully operational...

Today's TGIF question:

What did you play this week?

P.S. There's not much in the way of new hardware or game reviews floating around today, so we'll just get a fresh start posting the round-ups on Monday.

NVIDIA today reports increased revenue for its second fiscal quarter of 2008. The company claims this is a quarter-over-quarter 36 percent increase for a record $935.3 million in revenue, up from $687.5 million. Net income for the second fiscal quarter was $172.7 million, computed by the generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. The company claims a non-GAAP net income of $198.1 million.

"NVIDIA delivered an outstanding quarter, with record revenue, record gross margin, and record net income. These results reflect the growing importance of the GPU as well as great execution across the company," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA.

PR Weasels and the Gaming Press 09:47 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (8 comments)
Slashdot points to an alarming story at Gamasutra that sheds some light on some rather disturbing and shady interactivity between public relations agents and the press.

Judging by activity in online forums and letters to the editor scribbled in red crayon, it's not uncommon for readers of game magazines and websites to believe that nefarious dealings and company loyalty (bias) often come into play when determining how a game will score in a review. While no one we spoke to said that they had witnessed or participated in seriously underhanded behavior to win good scores for their games, most publicists believed that their efforts had some affect on the outcome of reviews.

"I think PR can influence scores, definitely," says Zuniga. "At least by a half point (in a 0-10 scale)." It sounds like small change, but for Zuniga during his tenure at Rockstar, every half-point counted. The company, he says, put heavy pressure on their PR department to deliver stellar scores. "At Rockstar there was a fear factor," says Zuniga. "Our bosses tried to intimidate us into doing everything we could—it was total mental warfare. The big guys knew in their hearts that we couldn't change a journalist's mind, but they still pushed hard for us to try, just in case we could."

Epic Counter-Sues Silicon Knights 08:52 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (26 comments)
Epic is now counter-suing Silicon Knights for being too lazy and stupid (allegedly) to make a game with the Unreal Engine 3. Thanks Beyond Unreal. Here are a few choice cuts from various media outlets.

Next-Gen.biz - Potentially damaging to Silicon Knights' claims is the licensing agreement for UE3, which states, according the filing, that Epic's warranties "do not include any warranty that the functions performed by the Unreal Engine … will meet [Silicon Knights'] requirements, nor that the operation of the Unreal Engine … will be bug free or error free in all circumstances, nor that any defects of the Unreal Engine … can or will be corrected."

Epic stated that Silicon Knights' "infringement has at all times been willfull." The firm added that Silicon Knights "failed to devote its best efforts to develop a game using Unreal Engine 3." Epic said Silicon Knights created a "culture of isolation" that severed ties between UE3 developer support and Silicon Knights.

Epic is demanding compensation of damages, legal fees, an injunction, destruction of applicable infringing computer code and games, compensatory damages (the breach of contract counterclaim carries a demand alone of at least $650,000) and "proceeds and profits resulting therefrom created by Silicon Knights in violation of Epic's Intellectual Property Rights."

GameSpot - "It also noted in the months prior to the countersuit that Silicon Knights accessed "virtually all" of the Unreal Engine 3 documentation that Epic makes available to partners online, "consistent with an effort to archive documentation for use outside the scope of the license agreement."

Bio Bits 08:33 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
Dig into more BioNews at The Cult of the Rapture.

• New BioShock Podcast - PLASMIDS!
• BioShock launch trailer on Spike TV this weekend - August 12, at 9pm/8c
• BioShock Went Gold - I'd hope so considering the Aug 21st release date

Tabula Rasa Beta Servers Are Up 03:50 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (10 comments)
In case you snagged a beta key from FilePlanet the other day, the Tabula Rasa test servers are now live. Go forth and Rel Por some aliens or something.

Have fun!

Halo 3 Pre-orders Gone Wild 12:22 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (47 comments)
What's more fun than drunken barely legal teens flashing their privates for your viewing pleasure? How about pre-ordering Halo 3 while driving a Pontiac, watching cable tv, eating a burger and doing the Dew?

As the countdown continues for the entertainment event of the year -- the launch of "Halo 3" -- the video game continues to set records and establish new precedents for an entertainment launch. Today, Microsoft Corp. announced that preorders in North America for the exclusive Xbox 360 title have exceeded the 1 million milestone. In addition, Microsoft unveiled the first exciting details of upcoming promotions from leading consumer brands, including Mountain Dew, 7-Eleven, Pontiac, Comcast and Burger King Corp.

In a strategy utilized in other big entertainment launches, retailers around the world have begun taking preorders, enabling consumers to order one of the three versions of "Halo 3": Standard Edition, Limited Edition and the ultra-collectible Legendary Edition. In fact, demand has been so strong for the Legendary Edition of the game that it is expected to be sold out by the time the game launches on Sept. 25. Retailers have also noted that the presales for "Halo 3" are the fastest in video game history.

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:09 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (1 comment)

Boards

• ASUS Blitz Extreme - [H]
• ASUS P5K3 Deluxe WiFi-AP Motherboard - Virtual-Hideout

  Cases
  

• Zalman Z-Machine GT1000 Case - 3DGameMan

  Cooling
  

• Noctua Case Fan - NinjaLane
• Thermaltake TMG ND5 VGA Cooler - OCC

  Power Supply
  

• NZXT Precision Power 1000 Watt Power Supply - Future Looks
• Silverstone ST85F Strider 850W - TechPowerUp
• Ultra Products X3 1000W Modular Power Supply - PCApex

  Storage
  

• Western Digital SE16 750GB - Anandtech

  Video
  

• ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT, 2600 Pro and 2600 XT - Legit Reviews
• Sapphire HD 2400XT - Hardware Logic

RPG Vault Goodness 12:06 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Twelve Sky Interview - Part 1
Based on the players' search for a dozen artifacts, developer Gigassoft's massively multiplayer martial arts endeavor

MixMaster Online Wallpaper #8
Or latest offering from SeedC Pacific's pet-oriented persistent state world features the unarmed Fighter character, Jin - An exclusive desktop in two sizes

Jonric's Blog
Yes, there's a Barbie MMOG, and it has four million accounts

Game Reviews 12:05 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword - Game Informer - 9.5/10
• Lost Planet Extreme Condition - Bjorn3D - 6.5/10

  360
  

• Madden 08 - GameDaily - 9/10

  Wii
  

• Alien Syndrome - 1Up - 6.9/10

  PS3
  

• Blast Factor Multiplayer Pack - PS3.IGN - 6.5/10

In Other News... 12:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (30 comments)
I gotta say, that Stranglehold demo really kicked ass. You could argue about the enemies having bad AI, but have you ever seen a John Woo movie? Asian movie gangsters are all graduates of the Stormtrooper school of marksmanship. I might even get the 360 version so I can play the full game sooner (gasp).

Anyhoo, sorry for the slow news. We're busy polishing up the new website design. You haven't lived until you've manually inserted game objects into 34,000 old news stories. YEAH BABY! We're almost done...