February 2005
| Monday, February 28, 2005 |
Conan The Dark Axe In North America In March?
 Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 11:44 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
As far as RPG's go I really like Morrowind and Dungeon Siege and a shot of WarCraft but I also like my RPG's with some good olde Mindless Single Player, hack n' slash action with dangerous opponents, cool weapons, good battle music and blood flaying mayhem. I guess thats why I'm currently replaying Blade Of Darkness with much enjoyment and eagerly awaiting the release of Dungeon Lords. So what am I getting at? Last year I played the demo for Conan: The Dark Axe and waited for it's release but it didn't get released in North America. Sucks Crom's chrome jewels does that which isn't very encouraging.. However, due to curiosity I took a look at the official site conangame.com to see there's not been any updates to the news since 10/05/2004. However I took a look at the fan site conan.ch and viewed thier news. According to them there's no official release date... hell lets do a quote from thier news: Well, it's not actually a release DATE, it's more like an estimated month but that's more than we had before. Tom from TDK confirmed on the Team XBox-forums that the XBox-, PC- and GC-versions of the Conan game will be released in the U.S. in March/April 2005. Let's hope that's true. Yeah so maybe there's still a chance of getting this game and playing it. So what the hell is going on here? You'd think the official site would say something. Actually I had given up hope but I guess time will tell. If there's other North American Conan fans reading this, keep your fingers crossed or pray to Crom or somethin. I'm hoping for the PC version myself.
| Sunday, February 27, 2005 |
Republic Commando Review
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 2:23 PM |
Category: First Person |
Gamespot has a review for Star Wars: Republic Commando and here is a clip:Star Wars Republic Commando, as the title suggests, puts you in the shoes of an elite trooper during the height of the Clone Wars. You don't have a proper name, aside from "Three-Eight," but nonetheless, you're tasked with commanding Delta squad on tough covert ops stretched across three different campaigns. The three other commandos of Delta are also numbered. They are: 07, 40, and 62. Despite the impersonal monikers, each member of your squad has a very unique and likable personality, and this comes across through the entertaining chatter each will dispense over the course of the game Have a read of the 2 page Star Wars: Republic Commando review.
| Saturday, February 26, 2005 |
Dungeon Siege II Screens and Dev Diary
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 3:19 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
I see that worthplaying.com has some new Dungeon Siege II screenshots posted up right here. Also I missed this before but Gamespot posted a Dungeon Siege II Designer Diary with lead designer Kevin Lambert talking about the game.
| Friday, February 25, 2005 |
Latest Dungeon Lords Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:49 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
Gamehelper has a preview set up for Dungeon Lords and here is a clop from the article explaining how the controls are set up:At first glance, Dungeon Lords is a third-person adventure set in a lush, beautiful, yet dark world. The controls handle like many FPS games thus far: view with the mouse, attack with mouse button 1, move forward with the up arrow, strafe with the left and right arrow keys and so on. The mouse wheel allowed me to zoom the camera in and out, but remained transfixed behind the character (you can turn it off by pressing “Y”). Glad to read that the controls aren't a pile of crap like in some RPG's... not to mention any names. By the way this preview is a hands-on of the Beta version. Check out all three pages starting with the first page right here.
| Thursday, February 24, 2005 |
ION Storm Releases Thief: Deadly Shadows Editor
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 6:27 PM |
Category: Stealth |
I just noticed that worthplaying.com mentioned that ION Storm has released the editor for Thief: Deadly Shadows. The editor allows you to create and modify maps, scripts, conversations and also comes with several tutorial maps. The download is 323mb and you can read more and get the download right here. You can also get the editor off of 3D Gamers.
DVHS on a Budget
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 6:25 PM |
Category: Hardware |
Over on ecoustics.com they have an article called DVHS on a Budget and here is a quote that helps explain what the deal is: The high-definition craze is beginning to affect every type of video component, and your old VCR is no exception. DVHS allows you to tape HD material, but it comes at a high price. With a little trickery, you can get all the benefits of DVHS at a fraction of the cost. Check out that DVHS on a Budget article.
| Wednesday, February 23, 2005 |
Day of Defeat: Source Is Set For Spring Release
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 2:02 PM |
Category: First Person |
Valve sent word that Day of Defeat: Source will be available this Spring. The World War II-themed multiplayer action game is approaching beta and will be available via Steam once it's ready.A team-based multiplayer game that cast players in the Axis vs. Allies battles of Western Europe circa 1944, Day of Defeat: Source leverages the power of the Source engine to introduce integrated physics simulation technology, all new audio, updated maps, enhanced effects and more. More information about Day of Defeat: Source will be released in the coming weeks. Keep your eye on the Steam site for the latest info.
| Tuesday, February 22, 2005 |
Vivisector: Beast Inside Artwork
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 1:06 PM |
Category: First Person |
The official site for Vivisector: Beast Inside just launched thier Artworks section of the site with three pieces of art for thier unique 3D Action game. Check it out.
| Monday, February 21, 2005 |
Dungeon Lords Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 2:23 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
Over on Gamers Info they have a preview set up for Dungeon Lords. Here's a clip from thier take on this upcoming Action RPG:Since you can be facing off against anywhere from one to a dozen or more enemies at a time, keeping moving is the key to surviving. Dodging to and fro in combat helps you avoid the enemy's attacks and triggers different melee moves to boot. Stepping forward while attacking produces a thrust attack. Stepping sideways yields a wide slash. Stepping backwards delivers an overhead chop, which is really useful when dealing with flying enemies like bats. Have a check on that Dungeon Lords preview.
| Sunday, February 20, 2005 |
Dungeon Siege 2 Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 1:28 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
RPG Vault has a preview posted up for Dungeon Siege 2 and here is a quote:Dire Wolves are exotic pets imported from another world through magical rifts. Experienced Nature Mages know where these rifts are, and are usually the ones to import these creatures and train them, and Rokhar the Mage has made the Dire Wolf his particular specialty. He can usually be found in the Eirulan Great Hall. In the main they talk about the Dire Wolf in that Dungeon Siege 2 preview.
| Saturday, February 19, 2005 |
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows Announced
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:48 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
Here is something that is certainly interesting. Over at the The Adrenaline Vault they announced that John Romero and Josh Sawyer will be the Lead designers on Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows that will revive the legendary Gauntlet series of RPG's."Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows captures the nostalgia of the legendary franchise, and also delivers the darkest, most intense Gauntlet saga ever," said Matt Booty, senior vice president of product development, Midway. "Blending an intuitive combat system, accessible RPG elements, and new junction skills, Seven Sorrows features the dynamic co-op it's known for, and, for the first time ever, it is online supporting up to four players." The game is scheduled for release on the PS2, Xbox and PC this winter. Read that article right here.
New Elder Scrolls IV Screenshots & Dev Diary
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:46 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
Due to a visit to Shack News I spotted that Bethesda has released three new screenshots from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion which reveals an inside of a cave (includes some cave dweller critter), a deer in the wild and a cool shot of the City of Chorrol. Also on the official site they have a new dev diary with designer Emil Pagliarulo, who worked as a designer on the Thief series at Looking Glass Studios and Ion Storm Austin and is working on the stealth gameplay in Oblivion. Sounds damned cool if you ask me so sneak over to the dev diary and blackjack... I mean have a read.
| Friday, February 18, 2005 |
Video Cables Guide
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:50 PM |
Category: Hardware |
I somehow missed this bit of news that was sent in from ecoustics.com and I just noticed the email now. Anyhow they posted a component video cable guide on thier site.As DVI and HDMI connections become more and more widely used, we are often asked: which is better, DVI (or HDMI) or component video? The answer, as it happens, is not cut-and-dried. You can check that out right here.
| Thursday, February 17, 2005 |
AC/DC To Release Family Jewels DVD
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:34 AM |
Category: Music |
Undercover announced that AC/DC fans will soon be able to own the ultimate AC/DC collection on DVD.The band will release 'Family Jewels', a collection of their videos and early television performances on March 29 in the USA and April 1 in Australia. Overall the 2 disc set will feature 2 ½ hours of footage and features 40 tracks. So if your an AC/DC fan you should go read that AC/DC Documented on DVD article.
Fan Input Requested For Spellforce 2
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:18 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
Apparently there's going to be a Spellforce 2 or at least a very good chance. The official Spellforce site is asking for fans to come over to thier forum and participate in giving them feedback on what Spellforce 2 should be like:Now it`s time to set the first steps into the future of SpellForce: What are your suggestions and ideas for a successor? Which features would you add or remove to make SpellForce 2 the best game ever? Check out the Spellforce site for more info and hit thier new forum section and voice your opinion.
A Couple Game Delays
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:06 AM |
Category: First Person |
I just spotted on Blues News that two games have been delayed. Ubisoft's Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30 has been shifted to March 2005 instead of the previous February 2005 date. Also Empire Interactive has pushed thier Starship Troopers game from July 2005 to September 2005.
| Wednesday, February 16, 2005 |
Dungeon Lords Community Q&A
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 3:58 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
The other day I mentioned that RPG Vault had a preview up for Dungeon Lords. Well now they have a Dungeon Lords Community Q&A session posted and here is a peek:Mark Harwood: Dungeon Lords is somewhere in between. We don't stream the entire world the way Dungeon Siege did, but at the same time, you're not constantly loading every separate area. You will see loading screens now and then when you move into a new area, but hopefully not so often that it'll irritate you. So check out that Dungeon Lords Community Q&A that is three pages of information. Also note the article includes three exclusive screenshots.
| Tuesday, February 15, 2005 |
Boomtown Reviews Scrapland
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 10:50 AM |
Category: Action |
I was poking around over on Boomtown and noticed they have a review posted up for Scrapland. Here is a shot from the article:When introduced to the game, you are given a little back story for the world. Scrapland is a land made of (wait for it) - scrap. It is inhabited purely by robots and on entering, you are scanned and disinfected to ensure no organic beings (especially those horrible human things) gain entry to the city. Have a read from that Scrapland review.
| Monday, February 14, 2005 |
How To Shop For Electronics
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 6:43 PM |
Category: Hardware |
Over on ecoustics.com they have an article that discusses how to shop for electronics.Although it's nice to listen to a specific set of speakers or audio components, chain stores often set up systems to favor the systems at the expense of the listeners. You won't be sitting (or standing) in the exact same area, in the same size room, in your own home theater... Check out Buy from Chain Stores with Skepticism.
Worthplaying's Most Anticipated Games Of 2005 (Part 2)
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 11:35 AM |
Category: General |
Okay then! worthplaying.com has the second part of thier most anticipated games of 2005 posted online for us all to check out. For the full list of games go to this page right here. Glad to see they added The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to that list.
| Sunday, February 13, 2005 |
Worthplaying's Most Anticipated Games Of 2005
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:42 PM |
Category: General |
worthplaying.com has a list posted up for the most anticipated games of 2005 including info and whatnot on each of the games in thier list. They started with titles ranking 11-20, so we'll have to go back tomorrow for the top 10. So if you want to check out these games, then hit this page right here. Myself, I'm keeping my eye on thier 11th pick F.E.A.R. which is lookin' promising.
| Saturday, February 12, 2005 |
Dungeon Lords Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 10:01 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
RPG Vault has a preview posted up for Dungeon Lords. Here is a shot of what they had to say about this upcoming RPG:There are four classes. The Fighter gains learning bonuses with respect to melee weapons and armor, while the Rogue has an advantage with ranged arms and thieving skills. The Mage is most proficient with the arcane and nether schools of magic, while the Adept prefers the Celestial and Rune forms. For the complete two page preview, head on over to this page.
| Friday, February 11, 2005 |
Ion Storm Closes Doors
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 1:19 PM |
Category: Developer |
GameDaily Biz announced that Eidos says it's now game over for Ion Storm.As part of its plan to consolidate North American development, Britain-based Eidos today announced the closure of Austin,Texas-based Ion Storm, the studio once headed by Warren Spector and Harvey Smith and best known for the Deus Ex franchise. The company, however, also plans to beef up its remaining North American studio, Crystal Dynamics.
You can read the full deal right here.
| Thursday, February 10, 2005 |
Star Wars: Republic Commando Gone Gold!
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:04 PM |
Category: Gone Gold |
Gamespot announced that Star Wars: Republic Commando has Gone Gold!! The game is due to be in stores on March 1.LucasArts has sent the gold manufacturing master of Star Wars Republic Commando to the factory. The blend of science fiction and stealthy action is now on track for its scheduled March 1 deployment date for the Xbox and PC. Here's that article and here's the official site.
| Wednesday, February 9, 2005 |
Stan Lee Talks Character Creation
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 11:40 PM |
Category: Comic Books |
GameDaily Biz has a chat with Stan Lee after his 2005 D.I.C.E. Summit presentation on creating characters.He told the crowd what he believes makes a great superhero. "You've got to come up with one that people care about and want to read about," he said. "When you create heroes, characters, etc you must make the character interesting. You have to know his personality and hang-ups, problems and worries and details about his personal life. Otherwise he's just one-dimensional. The more background, the better." Have a read from that article that was spotted by Phoebus.
Dragonshard Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 5:46 PM |
Category: Strategy |
Games Domain has a preview posted for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons, RTS game Dragonshard.Set in the world of Eberron (home to many a Forgotten Realms miniatures campaign), Dragonshard will offer three playable factions: the magic-oriented Dark Elf/underground creature alliance, a technology-oriented human/elf/dwarf collective, and an all-new lizard folk race. Check out that Dragonshard preview.
| Tuesday, February 8, 2005 |
How to Judge Loudspeaker Sound and Accuracy
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 11:51 AM |
Category: Hardware |
Over on ecoustics.com they have a new article posted that discusses how to judge loudspeaker sound and accuracy.If we are being true to the goal of seeking higher fidelity, then an ideal loudspeaker should have no "sound" at all. In other words, it should be completely transparent, an open door to the musical performance. An accurate speaker's role is to replicate--precisely--the sounds of musical instruments or voices exactly as they were present in the original source recording. The speaker shouldn't add any sound of its own--it shouldn't make strings and violins sound screechy or edgy, nor should it artificially add bass emphasis to male singers' voices so they sound too bassy or "fat" (a common fault of many speakers). Check out that article right here.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Review
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 11:04 AM |
Category: Role Playing |
Prophecy has a review for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and here is a quote from the article:Graphics are besides the point - Bloodlines is about being a vampire. It's a roleplaying game after all. Based on an established and successful system, it takes a few hours to get used to if all you've been doing the past decade is playing D&D-rules RPG's. It's simple yet deep, it works, and is a refreshing change to the usual. Never mind cool. Vampires get to do all kinds of neat things, like go Neo on opponents' asses Matrix style, shapeshift into various meaty critters, and shoot and bludgeon things with tire irons, shotguns and even (my favourite) a rather evil gardening implement. Or just make people explode. I went with the latter. Check out that review.
Half-Life 2 EULA Illegal?
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:52 PM |
Category: General |
I just spotted on Blues News about the Half-Life 2 EULA (End Users Licence Agreement) possibly being illegal.The last issue is the most interesting and relates to a number of other cases that have come up over the last couple of years. According to US and UK law, under the principle known in the US as 'First Sale', a consumer buying a game takes absolute title to it; that is, they own it. ...
But, arguably, you can't transfer the CD Key without paying the $10 Steam charge, because otherwise it's still registered to you at Valve, meaning you haven't truly transferred ownership to the buyer. Here is an article on Hard Tecs 4U that talks about the vague info on the game package and the main article discussing all the illegalness is on The Inquirer.
Is Sentinel: Descendants in Time Worthplaying?
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:32 AM |
Category: Adventure |
worthplaying.com has a review for Sentinel: Descendants in Time, an adventure game by Detalion that is set in some futuristic tomb. Here is a snippage:There are a lot of puzzles where you need to do something with an elevator in this, now that I think about it. If you don't like elevators, this is a game to avoid. Also, there are audio puzzles and mazes. Big warning flags to the hard-of-hearing and the easily irritated. To be fair, though, it's not much of a maze. Read the full review right here.
Duke Nukem Forever Questions Answered?
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:08 AM |
Category: First Person |
I was poking around over on Boomtown and noticed they have some tidbits on Duke Nukem Forever. Basically the evil dead chainsaw isn't going to be in the game, the shrink and freeze rays are going to be in and there's no release date and no confirmation as to Duke's possible appearance at E3. Read that little jobby right here.
| Saturday, February 5, 2005 |
Polk 5.1 Speaker Contest On Ecoustics
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:27 PM |
Category: Hardware |
ecoustics.com is having a contest (available to people in the U.S. only) that will give away a Polk Audio RM6700 Home Theater Speaker System worth $899 smackeroos. You can enter contest here. If you do enter, then good luck to ya.
Bethesda & Take2 Interactive Plus Todd Howard Interview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 9:25 AM |
Category: Developer |
Here's a double dose of Bethesda news. First up Take2 Interactive announced a Co-publishing agreement for both the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.We are thrilled to be working as co-publisher with Bethesda Softworks to help maximize sales of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion," said Christoph Hartmann, Senior Vice President of Publishing for 2K Games. You can read more here. Nextly the site Duck And Cover has an interview with Todd Howard of Bethesda Softworks about Fallout 3.Yes, of course we've heard many of the old-school fans regarding the view and combat resolution. What's viable today? Certainly turn-based combat limits your audience to a small number, but I do find that audiences will come if your game is good enough and the presentation is superb. Ultimately we'll do what we think will be the most fun. Check out that interview.
Zak McClendon Talks About Project Snowblind's Gadgets
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:50 AM |
Category: First Person |
Games Domain has a preview up for Project Snowblind and they talk to Crystal Dynamics designer Zak McClendon about the game gadgets and they also show off some new screenshots. Here is the linkage for that preview.
Star Wars Republic Commando Preview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:31 PM |
Category: First Person |
On February 1st a demo was released for Star Wars: Republic Commando and now Prophecy has a Preview based on playing the demo.Interacting with your squad is incredibly intuitive. Static objects that can be interacted with by your squad, such as sniping points, walls, doors, bacta stations and turrets will be highlighted by your Head's Up Display (HUD) when you look at them. If you press your use key while the object is in the center of your HUD, you issue a command to your squadmates. If it's a bacta station, they'll heal up, if it's a door, they'll breach it with it explosives. I played the demo as well and thought it was pretty fun. It was short but it does give you a good taste of the game. Anybody interested should check out that Star Wars Republic Commando Preview. If you want the demo check the news from February 1.
New Dungeon Lords Screenies
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:18 PM |
Category: Role Playing |
worthplaying.com has revealed some new screenshots for Dungeon Lords, a Fantasy RPG with FPS-style controls. Check out this dungeonlordsgame site for more info as the official site doesn't want to load for me.
Half-Life 2 Cleans Up On Achievement Awards
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:02 PM |
Category: General |
Phoebus spotted over on interactive.org that they posted up the results for the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and Half-Life 2 raked in 1/4 of the total awards which won in such categories as Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Game Of The Year. Check on this page for the full listing of winners.
Batlle Out Of Hell Review
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 2:28 PM |
Category: First Person |
Over on AllOutGames they reviewed the Battle Out Of Hell mission pack thats for Painkiller. Here is a snip from the review:BOH is not just an expansion, did I say that already? They don’t just tack on some levels and toss in some maps that were originally created by the gaming community. They create a whole new plot, new characters, new weapons, grand new environments, and they completely retooled the engine. The engine is upgraded to Havok 2 and the results are nothing short of astounding. Go read that Battle Out Of Hell Review.
| Thursday, February 3, 2005 |
Star Wars: Republic Commando Interview
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 1:45 PM |
Category: First Person |
Filefront has an interview with Chris Williams, the Producer for Star Wars Republic Commando. Here is a snip from the article:We looked closely at Special Forces Squads in the real world and even went so far as to have a special forces trainer come in and show our animators how to move and what their squad tactics are. We also looked at gritty war movies about WWII and Vietnam for inspiration. We blended these real world references into the Star Wars fiction and are providing gamers with something very new and unique – a special force squad experience in the Star Wars universe. You can find the full 2 page article right here.
| Wednesday, February 2, 2005 |
NCsoft Battles Lineage II Cheaters
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 8:16 PM |
Category: Massively Multiplayer |
According to GameDaily NCsoft gets tough on the people who like to abuse Lineage II with cheating. NCsoft has recently upped its efforts to dissuade cheaters and "bots" (characters controlled by programs allowing them to function without human interaction) in Lineage II by integrating the anti-hacking software nProtect GameGuard into the client last week. When a player logs on to Lineage II, GameGuard verifies that no illegal scripts intended to modify the game are running, and verifies the data stream to the Lineage II servers. Offending accounts will not be able to get the client to run. Check out that article that was spotted by Phoebus.
| Tuesday, February 1, 2005 |
Star Wars: Republic Commando Demo
Posted
by
Darren 'Doom Dude' Finch
at 2:28 PM |
Category: First Person |
According to Blues News there's a demo out for Star Wars: Republic Commando and they say it was released off one of them game mags that have the CD's with gaming junk on em. Anyheap the demo is 421mb, has one single player mission and you can downgrab it off of 3D Gamers, Filefront, JASA, Worthplaying and Fileshack.
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