October 2002
| Thursday, October 31, 2002 |
Battle Realms: Winter Of The Wolf Goes Gold
 Posted
by
William 'Phoebus' Mull
at 7:31 PM |
Category: General |
Ubi Soft Entertainment announced that Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf, developed by Thousand Oaks, CA based Liquid Entertainment, has gone gold. The add-on for Battle Realms features extra missions, weapons, characters, and an all-new epic storyline that takes place seven years prior to the events in the original Battle Realms.Winter of the Wolf is the prequel to the critically-acclaimed, Battle Realms. The story recounts the history of the proud Wolf Clan and their rise from slavery under the tyrannical Lotus Clan. The Wolf Clan has suffered for decades in the brutal depths of the shale mines. Now, heroic Wolf Leader, Grayback must unite the fragmented Wolves leading them in their struggle for freedom, and saving their land from a fierce, magical winter. Players will journey through dark mines and snowbound forests in 12 all-new missions. Winter of the Wolf also includes the following features:
- Eight all-new characters and four new Zen Masters exclusive to Winter of the Wolf
- Classic Wolf Clan weapons gain extra functionality as puzzle-solving elements - useful for breaking chains, smashing stone blockades, or burning away explosive gas
- A new winter setting offers new opportunities to enrich the "living world" - including slowed rice growth, steamy breath and footprints left in snow
- Improved multiplayer interface for easy matchmaking - up to 8 players over Internet or LAN
- Robust 3D engine, unique, "Living Resource System" and detailed combat model from the original game Winter of the Wolf is co-published by Ubi Soft Entertainment and Crave Entertainment for the PC and is scheduled to release November 5.
| Wednesday, October 30, 2002 |
AGB Games Gets A New Name
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 2:09 PM |
Category: General |
The talented team formerly known as AGB Games has announced that they have a new name. Due to some trademark issues with Nintendo, the team is now known as Pocketeers Inc. In addition, Nintendo has made Pocketeers Inc. an officeal Game Boy Advance developer. With at least four games in development, Pocketeers Inc. is definitely a company to keep your eye on.
| Tuesday, October 29, 2002 |
Jedi On The Mac
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 5:31 PM |
Category: General |
Aspyr Media Inc. is now shipping the Mac version of Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. The game was developed by Lucasarts Entertainment Co. LLC and Raven Software. The first-person shooter runs on the Quake III engine and pits gamers as Kyle Katarn a former Knight who returns to the power of the force to avenge a friends death. Jedi Knight II carries an MSRP of $44.99.
| Thursday, October 24, 2002 |
The Two Towers Heads To More Systems
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 1:32 PM |
Category: General |
Playstation2 fans were just given the gift of The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers based off of the upcoming movie in The Lord Of The Rings saga. Well, if you are a Gamecube, XBox, or even a Game Boy Advance gamer, you too can enjoy The Two Towers. Electronic Arts has announced that the game will get released to all the systems in the near future.
The game will include voice acting from real actors from the movies, 5 hours of original music score, never before seen footage from the movie, and even interviews with the actors. Check out IGN for more information.
Tomb Raider Delayed
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 1:22 PM |
Category: General |
Eidos has announced that the upcoming Lara Croft adventure Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness has moved from its previous November 2002 release to February 2003. But fear not Lara Croft fans, the game is in it's final stages of testing. This means the extra time will give the developers more time to tweak the game. Eidos has also stated that this will not affect their full year financial performance.
| Tuesday, October 22, 2002 |
Ubi Soft Launches Official Web site for Rocky
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 3:23 PM |
Category: General |
Developed by UK-based Rage Software, Rocky the videogame is the closest fans can get to the real thing. Rocky lets players take on the role of the 'Italian Stallion' and must fight against the most infamous opponents in movie history - Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago and Tommy Gunn.
Rocky features 30 individual fighters pulled straight from the movies, plus special hidden characters including Rocky's trainer 'Mickey.' Players can utilize more than 250 fight moves ranging from attacking hooks, jabs and uppercuts through to defensive blocks, ducks and weaves as they attempt to become the undisputed boxing champion of the world.
The new Web site includes a full history of the Rocky movie anthology, all the very latest game information including special fighter biographies, exclusive artwork, screensavers, wallpapers and audio downloads. Rocky is the most exciting and explosively charged boxing game on any console this Holiday, and http://rocky.ubi.com is the most comprehensive destination for all gamers' Rocky needs
Worms Blast
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 3:18 PM |
Category: General |
Ubi Soft have announced that Worms Blast for Nintendo GameCube and PC has been shipped out to US stores. Worms Blast is
rated "E" for everyone and has an MSRP of $39.99 for GameCube and $19.99 for PC. Here are some of the features: - Wacky Weaponry: Unleash a firing frenzy using Shotguns, Bazookas, Mines, Laser Beams, and Sea Monsters
- Bombastic Power-Ups: Collect power-ups like Double Damage, Sailor's Delight, and Fish Food
- Torrential Weather: Brave the high seas against Rain, Wind, Solar Eclipses, and even Cosmic Showers
- 8 Multiplayer Gameplay Modes:
- Survival: You've got one boat and one chance for survival on the raging waters.
- Star Collection: Battle your adversary to scoop up the most falling stars.
- TideTrial: The water level steadily rises beneath you and your opponent who will be the last Worm blasting?
- Death Match: Armed with 3 boats, you must sink your opponent 3 times to win.
- Don't Drop 'Em: With only one boat, blast away the land before it gets too close.
- 3 Unlockable Modes: Play through puzzle mode and unlock even more game modes Recruit your Worm from a crazy corps of cartoon grunts with serious delusions of grandeur. Worms Blast puts your mettle, reflexes, and blasting skills to the ultimate test.
XBox Slides Ahead Of The Gamecube In September
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 3:53 AM |
Category: General |
IGN has an article showing graphs of last months console sales in the United States. While it's no surprise Sony's Playstation 2 dominated the sales charts with almost half a million units sold, the XBox comes in at second place. Selling 175,000 units last month, the XBox slides ahead of the Gamecube which sold 168,000.
While it seems like a close race, it is odd that the Xbox sold more. Nintendo had three first-party games on the top ten best selling games for September and there were absolutely no XBox games on the list at all. I guess most of those games sold were by people who already own and love their Gamecubes, and who could blame them? Check out the article at IGN to see a graph of the sales charts.
Carmack On The Moon?
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 1:48 AM |
Category: General |
Ferrago.Co.UK have a piece on John Carmack's race into space. There is a $10 million space program award that will go to the first team that can build and launch a three-person spacecraft to an altitude of 62.5 miles twice in a fourteen-day period. There are 21 teams involved and Mr carmack has predicted victory within two years. Read the rest at Ferrago.Co.UK
Related Links: Armadillo Aerospace
| Tuesday, October 15, 2002 |
XBox Repackaged For Holidays
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 11:09 AM |
Category: General |
Remember when you used to buy a brand new gaming console and you got a game or two packed in? Now you can have that same feeling again by picking up an XBox according to an IGN article. Starting today, you can now pick up an XBox at its regular $199 price tag with the smaller Controller S and two exclusive Sega games, Sega GT 2002 and Jet Set Future Radio. This bundle pack is sure to spark more interest in the console this holiday season."Millions of people have Xbox atop their holiday wish lists," said John O'Rourke, director of Xbox sales and marketing Microsoft. "With this powerful holiday offer, the launch of the Xbox Live online game service and more than 200 games to choose from this holiday season, there's never been a better time to buy Xbox." This bundle pack also appears to be a changing of the guard for the controllers as the smaller Controller S will be the new standard to be packed in with an XBox. The bulky controller style will still be available seperately for those of us who prefer it.
UT2003 Patch Information
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 3:36 PM |
Category: General |
Unreality has posted a list of the planned changes in the upcoming UT2003 patch. Their list is compiled from information posted by Steve Polge on the UT2003 listserv.This list details several fixes, ranging everywhere from better OpenGL and Direct3D driver support, to networking, to better bot AI.
Developers from Epic, of course, say this in regards to the release date for the patch, "When it's done."
Malice Gets Delayed
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 3:25 PM |
Category: General |
IGN is reporting that Malice, the Sierra platformer about a girl with a huge hammer has been delayed until the first quarter 2003. The game's main character is being voiced by Gwen Stefani and is currently in development for the PS2 and XBox.
007: Nightfire Preview
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 3:14 PM |
Category: General |
IGN has previewed the upcoming title, 007: Nightfire, being developed by Gearbox Software.Naturally there's a wide array of weapons, from the trusty PPK (with an optional silencer) to the massive PDW90 to a four-chambered, shoulder fired rocket launcher. Things like laser trip mines and smoke grenades force you to get a little more sophisticated with your strategies but, in Bond as in life, more is always better. Additionally, the official site for the game has launched at EA.com. The website has also announced a Single Player demo to be released alter this month.
Yoshis Island for GBA Review
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 3:04 PM |
Category: General |
Gamer's Hell has reviewed the Game Boy Advance title, Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island. Many of you may remember the game from the Super Nintendo (or Super Famicom), in which you play Yoshi, trying to bring baby Mario to safety, so that he may grow up and become the Italian plumber we all know and love.The thing that I noticed is the great use of hardware this game. The characters and backgrounds make great use of the Mode-7 GBA effects, rotating, scaling, and transparent enemies are abound everywhere! Phenomenal animation on yoshi, Mario, and the enemies. I’d put it up near the top of the heap for one of the best-looking GBA games! Gamer's Hell gave it an 8.8 rating and even gave it it's Silver Hell Award. Read the rest of the review here.
3DO Hangs In A Bit Longer
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 7:54 AM |
Category: General |
Apparently 3DO hasn't been doing so great lately. IGN is reporting that company head Trip Hawkins has loaned $3 million dollars of his money to help the company out with their short term cash requirement. The loan should back the company until the end of the first quarter of 2003. They hope that new realeases Army Men®: Turf Wars", Cubix": Robots For Everyone: Showdown, and Army Men®: Air Combat" "The Elite Missions." will return more profit to the company. It also looks like the company will not be meeting analyst expectations for second and third quarters for the fiscal 2003 year. Expected to bring in $19 million, they are now expected to bring in $11-12 million."The big picture remains the same," said Hawkins. "Calendar 2002 is all about cash management and product development for calendar 2003. We have now made it 75% of the way through this transition calendar year towards a strong recovery that begins next quarter. The new loan enables the Company to meet its short-term cash needs. And now that Nasdaq has given us a clean bill of health, I believe that our long-term access to capital is greatly improved. Meanwhile, indications are for a very strong hardware market this holiday season that will significantly improve software opportunities in calendar 2003 and beyond." Hopefully Trip is right and 3DO can hang in there. They've been around forever. In fact, I was thinking about picking up an old 3DO system cheap. Can't go wrong with classic gaming!
Prepare To Be Abducted
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 7:35 AM |
Category: General |
Contraband Entertainment has announced that they are working on a new game for PC and XBox called Abducted. While a publisher has yet to be announced, the game seems to be moving along with some outstanding screenshots. In this cinematic horror game, you are abducted and awake on a derelict alien ship. As you try to figure out what's going on you realize you are hunted by something. This is a game to look out for in the future.
More Female Testers Needed For Tomb Raider
Posted
by
Christian 'Fraust' Wilson
at 7:17 AM |
Category: General |
The Eidos published classic Tomb Raider has long been a favorite among gamers on the PC and the Playstation platforms. In this new BBC article, Tomb Raider creators Core Design express their interest in more female game testers.Company spokesman Gary Reading says he would love more women with computer skills to test the popular game.
"We really don't know why women are not coming forward, but there is a special type of logic to testing the game and women would be very strong at it," he said.
Mr Reading said: "Men and women's brains work differently and we want every different angle covered.
"A women's mind would bring a different angle to the game." Sounds like a good idea by Core Design to ask the female gaming community to give their input on the Tomb Raider series. It's a game that should definitely be enjoyed by everyone, men and women alike.
| Thursday, October 10, 2002 |
PlanetSide Q & A
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:58 PM |
Category: General |
HomeLAN has posted an exclusive Q & A session with programmer Scott Martin, part of the development team working on the Massive Multiplayer Online FPS, PlanetSide. Scott talks about his role on the PlanetSide team, and some of the development challenges that have arised. The biggest challenge is the sheer enormity of it. Unlike most of the games I've worked on, which were largely single-player experiences, PlanetSide has to cater to thousands of people across multiple continents interacting with each other in real time. That means we have to put a lot of energy into optimizing code, keeping the server extremely stable, and thwarting hackers. Check out the rest of the article here, and if you don't know what PlanetSide is yet, be sure to check out the official PlanetSide website at Sony's Station.com. I can testify that at least one member of the Mindless Games staff is eagerly awaiting this game. :)
Unreal Tournament 2003 Patch Underway
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:44 PM |
Category: General |
Not even a month it seems, and already the developers for UT2003 have been prowling the messageboards, asking fans what they want to see in a patch. The developers are discussing things like a better Server Browser or enhancements, additional model export plugins (this time for GMax users), a new Unreal-TV style feature, and a few others.
They are also modifying their stats system, and you can offer your constructive feedback on that directly to the developers by emailing them here with your suggestions for the Stats system.
Dual Hearts Review at Adrenaline Vault
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:38 PM |
Category: General |
Adrenaline Vault has reviewed Atlus's new Playstation 2 action-RPG, Dual Hearts. They make a lot of comparisons to Zelda, but overall, it seems that the AVault guys felt it was really a platform game.Dual Hearts breaks off from Zelda in that the action stages require a platformer's mindset to appreciate. While the real world is strictly a place for exploration, the dreams are autonomous action stages. There's plenty of weapon-based fighting and puzzle solving, but there are also acres of floating platforms of every shape and size. As each stage loads up, it tells you about the items you can find. Sure enough, the usual fetch quest law of platforming applies, and if you don't mop up 100 percent of the items the first time through, you can return later to complete it for extra bonuses. Overall, they seemed to enjoy the game, giving it a 4 out of 5 star rating Overall.
Warcraft III Patch Released
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:32 PM |
Category: General |
Blizzard Entertainment has finally released the long awaited 1.03 patch for Warcraft III. The patch includes several fixes as well as some balance changes, and some changes to the editor and map handling mechanism that allow map-developers to customize their creations even better. A full list of the changes can be found here, and the patch itself can be downloaded from here.
Neverwinter Chat
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:20 PM |
Category: General |
Some members of the BioWare team that brought us Neverwinter Nights are gathering for a chat session tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern. The chat will be available in #neverwinter on IGN Chat or through IRC at chat1.ign.com:6667
Shrek Hassles Nintendo Fans
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:16 PM |
Category: General |
Shrek: Hassle at the Castle has been shipped for Game Boy Advance.The third-person perspective action-adventure allows players to assume the role of Shrek, Donkey or Princess Fiona. Based on the motion picture, Shrek attempts to regain his swamp, which has been overrun by a horde of fairytale characters. Twenty stages of play are included in the game, which also supports mulitplay for up to four gamers when using the GBA’s Link cable. The title is rated E (everyone) by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $19.99 US.
Ubi Soft Extends Partnership
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:13 PM |
Category: General |
Ubi Soft has extended their agreement terms with Cyan Worlds, developer of the Myst series, to ensure their control of the license to the Myst legacy.
The deal extends their agreement through 2008 and also ensures that Rand Miller, Myst co-creator and one of the Cyan Worlds founders, will continue to contribute to Myst’s development.
Devastation Screenshots
Posted
by
Ron 'DraX' DeFreitas
at 12:09 PM |
Category: General |
We've recieved word that the site for the upcoming Unreal engine game, Devastation, has been updated with a bunch of new screenshots. The overall quality of the maps is starting to look really good, doing well at capturing the idea of a run-down society in a war-torn future world.
The site also includes a new forum for those looking forward to the game to dicusss what they think of the progress.
| Saturday, October 5, 2002 |
Sammy Hits This Xbox
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 3:39 AM |
Category: General |
Serious sam will hit the Xbox courtesy of Gothic Games which is a division of Take 2 Interactive. The Doom clone first-person shooter will feature 36 levels and over 100 types of enemies. The mutiplayer aspect of Serious Sam will consist of a four player split screen co-operative mode. This is on top of the option for up to four XBoxes and 16 players to play Deathmatch using the system’s link cable.
The title has been rated “M” (Mature). Croteam is handling development.
Two Golden Towers
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 3:26 AM |
Category: General |
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for the PlayStation 2 has gone gold. The game from Electronic Arts was expected to ship the first week of November, the title’s release date has been moved up and it will now ship on Monday, October 21.
The game enables you to take control of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. The other members of the fellowship take an active during gameplay though. EA has posted a new Trailer which shows some in-game combat footage.
The Game Boy Advance version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will be available on November 12.
[source] Game Daily
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 2:24 AM |
Category: General |
Activision have announced that in elebration of the launch of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 are inviting skateboarding and gaming fans to the "Tony Hawk's Ultimate Challenge" Backyard BBQ where they can fuel up on free food and demo the new Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 video game at select Boom Boom HuckJam Arena Tour 2002 stops across the United States.
Beginning on October 9, Activision will offer consumers the "ultimate challenge" to see if they have what it takes to turn pro by testing their skills with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.
Activision will donate $5 to the Tony Hawk Foundation for every player who tests out the game at the Backyard BBQ in the two hours preceding the high-flying action of the Boom Boom HuckJam extravaganza. The funding will be used to assist the foundation's efforts to finance and promote public skateboarding parks in low-income areas nationwide.
10/9 Portland, OR - Rose Garden
10/10 Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
10/12 San Jose, CA - Compaq Center
10/13 Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
10/17 Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Arena
10/19 Dallas, TX - Reunion Arena
10/20 San Antonio, TX - Alamodome
10/24 San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
10/26 Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
10/30 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
11/2 Chicago, IL - United Center
11/7 East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Arena
11/9 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
11/11 Philadelphia, PA - First Union Center So now you know where to go.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 will be available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and the PlayStation game console.
Commandos II
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 2:11 AM |
Category: General |
Elited.net has a review of Eidos Commandos 2: Men of Courage for the PS2. This is the follow up to the first in the series, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. Here is a little of what they had to say: Commandos 2 is impossible to just rush in and start punching buttons on your controller. I strongly advise everyone to play the tutorials first, and then the two training missions. The style you play these, and the other missions, in is totally your decision. The game was made for the player to either play it with stealth or action. This is somewhat like Hitman 2's style where you can sneak up behind people and knock them out, then take their clothes and weapons, and finally hide the body before being discovered. Or, play daredevil and run in all guns blazing. Unfortunately, the latter ends up in death much sooner. Theres a snip now read the rest of the Review at Elited.net.
SOF II In The NY Times
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 1:58 AM |
Category: General |
The New York Times has posted up a review on Soldier of Fortune II. To get more on this vists our sister site Raven-Games.
Unreal Tournament 2003 Reviewed
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 1:23 AM |
Category: General |
Unreal Tournament 2003 has been reviewed over at Gamespy.com. This gives you the all the information on one of the most eagerly awaited releases. Here is a portion to peruse: It's been three years, and UT2003 shows all the bells and whistles we'd expect from a next-gen 3D game: It's graphically stunning. Smooth as silk. The maps and models have incredible detail. The already-impressive Unreal editing tools have also undergone three years of refinement, meaning this superb engine is in the hands of the gaming community. But underneath all of that polish, at its heart this is the same basic game we've been playing for years -- you'll either love it or hate it for that very reason. Get this Review in full at Gamespy.com.
Technical Bits
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 1:10 AM |
Category: Hardware |
Techware Labs have reviewed the Lite-On LTR-48246S 48x24x48 CD-RW. Here is some of the blurbThe LTR-48246S drive really shows a strong advantage over the 12x CLV mode. It ranges from being one and a half to two and a half minutes faster than the 12x rewriter in all of the tests, and makes rewriting quite a bit more realistic for those who are spoiled by extremely fast writing. Read the rest of the review HERE.
Kingdom Hearts Review
Posted
by
Jason 'FACE.UK' Sloan
at 12:56 AM |
Category: General |
Console Gold has got a review of Kingdom Hearts for the PS2. The game is a combination of the Final Fantsy world and the world of Disney. haracters from FF VII, VIII and X make an appearance here, but at the heart of it all is the Disney characters.Here is the story he story is that the Final Fantasy worlds and the Disney worlds are actually in the same universe. Mickey Mouse is the king of the universe, but each planet does not know that there are other planets in the universe with people living on it. A group called the Heartless have come in and started destroying worlds in the universe. Mickey decides to go and get down to the bottom of why all the stars are disappearing. Donald goes into the throne room and finds that Mickey is missing, but a note is left talking about a “key” that will open everything. Donald gets Goofy and they go off to find the “key”. To read the rest of this review get yourself over to Console Gold.
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