World destruction comes in small shrink-wrapped packages...

2010/03/20

Apocalypse Then and Now: Stalker

CoP_Cover This past week I was given a few games for my birthday which is coming up soon. Among them, Stalker: Call of Pripyat, as well as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Aliens vs Predator.

Right now, like I tweeted the other night, I installed Stalker right off the bat and started playing it. The other two I’ll likely save for another day.

I’ll say this: I’m starting to think that Call of Pripyat is the best game in the series – since Shadow of Chernobyl anyway. I good return to form after Clear Sky, not that that game was that bad anyway. But I’m thinking that CoP might actually be better than the first game. I’m thinking of getting a review up and running for the game. It’s been a while since I’ve done one.

Another thing I noticed today is that it’s the third anniversary of the original Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. It was reportedly the 20th of March, 2007, that the game came out.


Share/Save/Bookmark

Gears of War 3 in 2011? Maybe not…

fenix There’s been a lot of excitement over a rumour that started off with Edge, that suggests that a new Gears of War, no doubt Gears of War 3, is in development, and will be released on April 8, 2011.

And an announcement regarding this is said to be dropping on April 8, 2010 – this year.

However, VG247 happened to contact Epic - Mark Rein in fact - for confirmation on this, and got this response:

“You’re kidding, right?”

I guess so. It was just a rumour after all…

----

Source: VG247


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/19

Kane& Lynch 2: Dog Days Release Date Confirmed, new Trailer

kl2b Recently, Square Enix revealed a release date for IO Interactive’s Kane& Lynch: Dog Days. In North America, it’s set for an August 24 release, and August 27 in Europe.

The game will be available simultaneously for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, can has singleplayer and multiplayer.

Also, a new trailer was released for the game just yesterday.

AAA: This new game is being developed by the guys behind the acclaimed Hitman series, and not Eidos, who screwed up the first game in a major way – not just with the development, but also with some scandal involving reviews and such.

The new art direction, which hopes to make the game look more like something off of YouTube, should be interesting to say the least. It’s about time that a game tried to capitalise on popular culture in this fashion, since we know how big social media is. It’ll likely make the game look crappy – but that’s the point. For once, the emphasis definitely won’t be on how amazingly gorgeous the graphics are. Not that it looks that bad, anyway.

----

Sources: Shacknews – 1up


Share/Save/Bookmark

TrailerBlazer: Medal of Honor Extended Trailer

We’ve seen a few screenshots for this game recently, under development at EALA, as far as the singleplayer goes, and the multiplayer is being worked on by DICE, the Battlefield guys, who just churned out Bad Company 2, which has been labelled as being a better game than Modern Warfare 2.

The new “extended” trailer for Medal of Honor just came out, and shows a lot of desert warfare, with the most memorable bit at the end when a hostage is strapped with explosives at the naughty baddies try to set a trap for the undercover dudes who I’ve seen a lot of in the screenshots.


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/18

Medal of Honor to Have a Demo, More Details

Medal of Honor (2) Just like some Medal of Honor games before it, the latest Medal of Honor, and the first one not set in World War II, will receive a demo somewhere down the line, available this year, but not specified whether it will be pre or post release.

Medal of Honor is scheduled to come out Q3 2010, for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

And as revealed before, the game will not only have you playing troops on the ground, but also in other positions, more like Call of Duty, and involve the entire army, and not just the small group of soldiers we’re used to.

Executive Producer Greg Goodrich to GameTrailers:

“This is the first Medal of Honor game not set in World War II. We are set in modern times with the fight that is currently taking place in Afghanistan.

We had a story we wanted to tell, and it was about what the soldiers are going through right now and the Tier 1 Operators we were introduced to – they brought a different flavor and have really come into their own in this fight.

So, we never sat down and said ‘Hey we want to be in Afghanistan, we want to be modern’, it was just a story we wanted to tell and these guys are pretty interesting. It’s compelling, and we also tell the story of the other side. The Sledgehammer, the big-military side and while you play lots of it as a Tier 1 Operator, you’re gonna have the opportunity to play as a US Army Ranger, as an attack helicopter pilot.”

----

Source: VG247


Share/Save/Bookmark

New Medal of Honor Screens [Screenshots]

EA released a bunch of new screenshots the other day. These above are just the previews. The full size ones are over on their website, medalofhonor.com.

As for my usual analysis, the pictures show off the usual bunch of undercover Tier One operatives [we should come up with some names for them], and the desert environments again. I hope this game has a change of scenery, and this is only the first mission or something, otherwise it’s probably going to get a little stale.

The screens, which feature night missions, remind me a little bit of the first mission from Allied Assault, “Lighting the Torch”.

----

Source: medalofhonor.com


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/17

7 Top Irish Characters from Video Games [St. Patrick’s Day]

St. Patrick's Day

7topirisha

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, as we all know. I thought about what I could do as a special post or editorial for today, and I thought, why not try and find as many games as possible that take place in Ireland, or contain Irish characters.

As far as I can tell, the list is short, seeing as most games take place in America as we all know, or centre around American characters. Call of Duty games might have had the odd soldier whose name was O’Doyle (typically Irish), who would end up getting slaughtered and replaced by more cannon fodder.

What I’m after is characters who are central to the game and its plot. I managed to find about 7, which is fitting, seeing as they talk about the luck of the Irish and all that, and 7 is a lucky number.

Why did I decide to do this? Well, other than a lack of notable Irish characters in games, I am part Irish myself, from my dad’s side. I looked up on the internet not only to try and find some Irish characters in video games, but also to see if anyone else had tackled this before. It turns out that last year, That Aussie Game Site tried their hand at it, and managed to get five Irish characters which they claim are the “only 5”, of which this article shares three. The others are all mine, I tell ya.

The following are in no particular order, except chronological (by date of appearance).

I present “7 Top-o’-tha-mornin’-to-ya Irish Characters from Video Games”

Nina Williams from Tekken (1994 - )

NW You’ll never guess who I originally had in this place before I decided at the last minute to add Nina here instead. John McClane. That’s right – Die Hard man. But he’s Irish-American though, and there are plenty of those around. Nina was actually born and raised in Ireland, even though I never really knew about it. But it’s true – it’s right there on Wikipedia. She’s one of the only recognised fictional Irish female characters in games. So how could we be sexist and not include her; this blonde sex bomb?

Nina was born and raised in Ireland along with her younger sister, Anna, who later became Nina’s arch nemesis. Nina was trained in martial arts from an early age, and was destined to become a cold blooded assassin who just happened to be able to kill with her good looks and fashion sense too.

the rivalry between the two sisters began, and not just through fighting, but due to the fact that both craved the attention of their father, Richard Williams. Some call it a love/hate relationship. Both later blamed each other over the death of their beloved father, when he was, in reality, murdered by someone else when the girls were still very young.

Not much information was ever given on Heather Williams, the girls’ mother.

AW Despite being born in the early 1960’s, and way into MILF territory age wise, Nina managed to stay youthful looking because of her participation in cryonic experiments, as did her sister, who either couldn’t be without her in life, even though they hated each other, or wouldn't stand for Nina keeping her youth, an Anna losing it. After nearly twenty years in cryonic sleep, Nina suffered Amnesia when she was awoken. And to top it off, she even had a child through In vitro fertilization during cryosleep, and was later sent to kill her son, whom she didn’t actually know was her son. Complicated.

Anyway, she later got most if not all of her memory back. I’m starting to think of that film The Long Kiss Goodnight, now.

Personality wise, Nina might be attractive, to say the least, and has been featured on many hottest girls of games lists, but inside she’s a machine; and a mess. Can you blame her though? Unlike most girls, she was trained early on to be a killer, and has been through a lot of emotional torment. It’s left her desensitized, cold, and without humour for the most part.

Even though she was born in Ireland, in later Tekken games, her voice sounds American in accent. Could be poor character development, or intentional, seeing as perhaps she lost her Irish-ness during her lifetime. Shame.

Aside from starring in ever one the games in the Tekken series, Nina was also the protagonist in her own spin-off title, called Death by Degrees. She was about the only good thing in it, apparently.

Also an interesting thing to note is that South African model and singer, Candice Hillebrand is set to play the role of Nina in a film adaptation of Tekken. No doubt the movie will suck, but still.

The Green Beret (Jack O’Hara) from Commandos (1998 - )

CGB The Green Beret was known by another name in the Commandos series: killing machine. Oh, and there’s that terribly ironic nickname of “Tiny”, but call him that if you’re not his friend or part of the team, and he’ll likely bust you up nicely.

They claimed that alone, this Dublin-born one man army could take out an entire enemy regiment. Big, strong, specially trained, and armed to the teeth, as well as using tools and employing several tactics such as burying himself in the ground, and springing out on an unsuspecting Nazi, Jack O’Hara was the all-rounder, general use, indispensable soldier that was used in almost every mission.

And when he ran out of bullets, or lost his trusty knife, he could just use what brought him to the dance – and put him in prison, sentenced to forced labour: his fists. Jack was a boxing champion in the army during the 30’s, before the war, and knows how to use his hands as weapons, knocking out or potentially killing people who dare cross this ill-tempered, rebellious, imposing brute. He landed up in prison because he punched a superior officer. His sentence was later suspended when he agreed to join the Commandos, and despite his problems with authority, he ironically became their leader. He was later promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Patrick Galloway from Clive Barker's Undying (2001)

PG

If there was one game that likely few people remember or haven’t even played, that was very Irish indeed, it was Clive Barker’s Undying. The game took place in parts of Ireland, and it was easy to tell, by looking at the rolling green hills that surrounded the Covenant Estate. Although the Covenant family was English, the protagonist in the story, Patrick Galloway, was Irish, and had fought in the Great War under the command of Jeremiah, and travelled the Orient after being exiled from his homeland by Count Otto Keisinger, who supposedly killed a young girl and framed Patrick for the murder..

He was eventually called back to Ireland in the 1920’s by letter from Jeremiah, asking him to help with his paranormal investigative abilities, and solve a mystery that had been plaguing his family for decades, since he and his siblings were very young.

Patrick, in addition to using weapons, can use magical spells due to his arcane knowledge. He can use his revolver and powers at the same time, seeing as even though he is predominantly left handed, he has remarkable ambidexterity. This is all long before BioShock 2 came along.

He can also summon the power of the Gel'zibar stone around his neck, which is responsible for the scar he has over his eye, and the burns he received during the war. He can also use his ability to scrye, which lets him see visions from the past. He at one point even goes back in time to retrieve the Scythe of the Celt in order to go after all of Jeremiah’s siblings and execute them.

Along Patrick’s travels in the game, he eventually comes across another Irishman named Sedgewick, the lighthouse keeper, who’d lost his son, Conor, who was killed by Ambrose, of the Covenant siblings (and voiced by Clive Barker). There were several Irish characters in the game, mainly the help, or servants, in and around the estate and its grounds.

Patrick is probably the nicest, most down-to-earth, and good-hearted man in this bunch of stereotypical bastards. And he’s even named Patrick, just like St. Patrick. Saintly Patrick. Some similarities there, perhaps.

Atlas from BioShock (2007)

BA Okay, I know, if you’ve played through BioShock, you know who this guy really is, but for most of the game, you were ordered around by Atlas (named after Atlas Shrugged, the inspiration for the game), a forty year old, politically ambitious family man, who opposed the maniacal Andrew Ryan, the man behind Rapture.

And you did exactly as he said, as he uttered the words “Would You Kindly” in his faux Irish accent. Atlas says his motives for helping Jack, the player, are to find his wife, Moira, and his child Patrick, and escape rapture.

You never actually meet Atlas in person, and he only communicates with you from a distance.

In the end though, about two thirds through the game, you find out that Atlas ended up being none other than smuggler, mobster, and conman Frank Fontaine. He’d been posing as this character after faking his death after supposedly being killed by the Rapture security force.

So, Atlas isn’t really Irish at all. But for most of the game he appears that way, and let’s be honest: did anyone really see it coming, when he revealed who he really was? Yeah, go ahead and lie, you… liar. But I had to feature Atlas here, because he’s one of the most memorable characters from not just BioShock, but any game in recent memory.

Colin Moriarty from Fallout 3 (2008)

CMF3 Colin is probably the first character in Fallout 3 that really shows you how bad some people in the world outside the vault really are.

He is the local saloon owner in Megaton, the town nearest Vault 101. He inherited the saloon from his Father, who came to the wasteland from Ireland, and took Colin with him. He was killed when Colin was in his late teens. At the time the game takes place, he’s about fifty, evidenced by his full head of grey hair and scraggly beard, which makes him look a little older, actually.

In less than five minutes of speaking to him, he’s popped that little bubble you were living in before escaping out to the wasteland, and also spilled the beans on your father’s supposed whereabouts, after he asked you for some money, that is. Of course that early in the game, you might not have the money, and so you’re tasked with hunting down one of his former prostitutes, Silver, who worked at the saloon along with Nova, and Colin’s slave bartender, Gob the Ghoul.

It’s possible that Colin isn’t the only Irishman in Fallout 3. There are at least two others who might be of Irish descent although there’s no evidence besides the names. There’s Moira in Megaton, whose name and red hair might make one think she’s Irish. And there’s Reilly of Reilly’s Rangers. But these are suspected people of Irish origin, whereas it’s confirmed that Colin is in fact from that part of the world.

Of course, Liam Neeson, the  actor who voiced the part of the player’s father, James, is an Irish actor.

Frank Bilders from Far Cry 2 (2008)

FBFC2

Okay so Frank may not really be that central to the plot of Far Cry 2, seeing as you can play as any character really, although they do have different stats and such, which is to be expected when you can choose from a line-up of different people to play as.

Needless to say, I played as Frank in Far Cry 2.

Speaking of a line-up, Frank has been in and out of trouble with the law his entire life it seems. He grew up in war-torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, and pretty much went the same way as his father, who went to prison for being involved in a bombing.

Frank ended up being recruited by militants, and acted as a courier when he was in late teens. He then went onto extortion from there, and became well known and wanted by the police. He was arrested by 22, and sentenced for five years because of involvement with the IRA. He was sent to The Maze, a prison in Northern Ireland, and was said to have killed four other inmates before being brutally beaten and “knee-capped” when he was ambushed in the prison machine shop. It was after this that he spent time in the prison hospital, and was later released.

He left Northern Ireland, and then in his late twenties went all over the world, presumably as a mercenary for hire as well as delving in other illegal endeavours, in parts of Europe and Asia. It was this point that he was no longer just fluent in English and Irish Gaelic, but also learned to speak the big two languages of the world: French and Spanish.

After the events of 9/11, he decided to give retirement a go, and left to go and live in South Africa (where I am!).

No doubt Frank isn’t the prettiest guy in the world, probably has been in a bunch of bar brawls, likes to wink, and wears green tops = Irish.

Sean Devlin from The Saboteur (2009)

Sean More recently, we had another Irish character in The Saboteur, yet another title set in World War II, and his name was Sean Devlin.

Sean started off as a mechanic and later on got into race car driving. He comes across another racer named Kurt Dierker, a German fella, and also a Nazi, who caused Sean to lose the race in the German Grand Prix when he shot out one of the tires on his car.

Later on, he decides to help the French Resistance and oust the Nazis from Paris, but for his own reasons: his French friend, Jules, was killed by Kurt, after both he and Sean were captured and tortured after they tried to sabotage Kurt’s car – an act of revenge for making Sean lose the race.

Sean moves on to Paris after the invasion of France, and feels remorse for his friend Jules’ death. Sean wants revenge again.

Sean, based on the war hero William Grover-Williams, embodies the old Irish stereotype to a T (or whiskey in his case). Sean is a brawling, drinking, smoking, cussing, womanizing rebel, looking to take on the Nazis all on his very own. The only thing he seems to be lacking is red hair.

And I realized the likely reason they decided to make Sean Irish in the game, was because one of the creative sorts on the team who made the game was Irish. Could just be coincidence though.

Other Irish Characters that might exist [Best of the rest]:

These characters below were ones that haven’t been included in the list, otherwise it would’ve gone over 7 characters. And I wanted to stick with that number for the purpose of the article. Some of these games mentioned below I haven’t played, and these characters I haven’t even seen. So I didn’t think I could bring myself to write in depth on them.

It’s possible that the below characters might be featured in a follow up article, “7 More Top Irish Characters from Video Games”. Maybe next year? Funny, once you get to researching, there are more fictional Irish characters out there than you think. Only a few of them are truly Irish though, and not Irish-American, or anything.

Fox McCloud from Star Fox and Super Smash Bros Brawl

Some people argue that this character might either be Irish or Scottish, apparently. Never played either of the games, though.

Sergeant John Forge from Halo Wars

This character was confirmed by one of the developers as probably being Irish, although not much thought was put into it while developing the character.

Packie, or Patrick, McReary and family from GTA IV

Irish-American gang member.

Henry from No More Heroes

Never played it, never seen him.

Vince McMahon from WWE games

I guess this could count, although he’s more of an Irish-American. Vinnie not only is the chairman of the board of the WWE, but he’s also appeared in some games based on the wrestling brands, either as a wrestler or a commentator, some of which I’ve played. I guess this would also mean that Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon, who’ve also featured in some of the games.

Other characters who have either appeared in some wrestling games or will in the future could include Dave Finlay, Seamus, Balls Mahoney, and Hornswoggle. Quite a few in the WWE. I wonder why…

Pretty much everyone from Folklore

Read that this game is apparently like an Irish Fable or something. Wouldn’t know since I haven’t even played it before.

More dudes who have games, but mainly Irish-American:

Alex Murphy [RoboCop]

Joe Quimby [The Simpsons]

Leon S. Kennedy [Resident Evil]

Marty McFly [Back to the Future]

John Connor [Terminator]

John Clark [Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six]

John McClane [Die Hard Trilogy]


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/16

The Sims 3: Ambitions Expansion Details, and Trailer

The Sims 3: Ambitions

I know I’m a bit late with this, but I was just busy working on one big editorial, or AAA original lately. I’ll give you a hint at what it’s about: St. Patrick.

Now, EA are going to bring out their second expansion for The Sims 3 this year, called Ambitions.

Players have long been dissatisfied about getting their Sims out of bed, had them shower, visit the bathroom, brush their teeth, and just make it down to the kitchen to have a breakfast on the run, before they had to dash outside and catch the car to work [or take their own car, in the Sims 3).

Ambitions will let you control your Sims at work too, and provides you with more career options, like firefighter, investigator, architect, ghost hunter, stylist, doctor, a tattoo artist, sculptor, or inventor.

Some say this has been done in The Sims 2 with Open for Business, but the scope of the idea will be taken much further in The Sims 3, to the point where you will be presented with challenges and such like you would at the Sim’s home. There was an interview on Gamespot recently where Grant Rodiek elaborated on the subject:

“The focus of Open for Business was creating and managing a retail establishment. The Sims 3 Ambitions is more about your sim's personal venture. Each career presents a unique experience.”

Scott Evans also had this to say about Ambitions, recently:

"The variety of careers to choose from is unmatched and we've never given players the opportunity to follow their Sims to work and affect their actions on the job."

Tired of riding bicycles around the neighbourhood while in your business suit and getting laughed at? Then another great thing that this expansion will provide is motorbikes!

The expansion pack, The Sims 3: Ambitions, should be out in June, a year after the release of the original Sims 3, and will be available on PC, Mac, iPhone and iPod touch.

By the way, if you’ve watched the trailer above, the song playing is called Saviour, by Rise Against.

----

Sources: Gamespot


Share/Save/Bookmark

Hex in the City: Issue #3 [Video Game Comics]

HITC3

This is the third issue of “Hex in the City”, a comic that I made years ago with characters on backgrounds pieced together from textures, inspired by Thief.

Once again with have a guard that could well be Benny or Sinclair or someone [who cares? It’s a guard.], and Garrett.

This is for all intents and purposes, the last issue of this comic so far, seeing as I haven’t made any new ones since 2007. Maybe one day. Until then I might do one on another game.


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/15

One of the Best Episodes of The Verge Yet

CoP_Cover image4 As I’m sitting here right now. I’m watching The Verge, a local show broadcast live every night at 9:30 PM on DSTV [Channel 123 – Vuzu].

It might just be one of the best episodes I’ve seen in a while. Usually they have a copy of a new game to give away on some episodes, and they’re usually for consoles like PS3 and Xbox 360. But this time, and maybe the first time ever, there’s a give away for the PC, and it’s Stalker: Call of Pripyat, that latest in the series.

To win the game, you have to send in either an SMS or a message from the Vuzu website with the title of the first game, which is Shadow of Chernobyl, in a sentence. That’s all I’m saying. Oh, and you have to have “PC” after the message for it to count.

Those are the two versions of cover art available for the game. One is the European one I think, and the other is the North American one.

On a related note, Pippa Tshabalala, the host, revealed that her maiden name before she got married was… Stalker. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. She says it is. By the way, she’s dyed her hair blonde.

There are also trailers of Brink, Medal of Honor, and Fallout: New Vegas.


Share/Save/Bookmark

Video Game Deals on Amazon: Guitar Hero 5

It’s that time again. I didn’t do this post over the weekend, but now it’s here, with the next one to follow probably a few days from now. As usual, I’m put deals on here where the games are about $7 off, which equals about R50.

The deal of the day is Guitar Hero 5, with nearly half-off for all consoles. Other deals which look good include Picross 3D for the DS, and NBA Live 09 for PSP.

Best deals:

Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software - $28.99 - Save $21.00 [Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii]

Picross 3D - $19.99 - Save $20.00 [DS]
NBA Live 09 - $19.99 - Save $15.50 [PSP]
Project Runway - $29.98 - Save $10.01 [Wii]
Rabbids Go Home - $17.99 - Save $10.00 [Wii]
Iron Roses - $9.99 - Save $10.00 [PC]
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper - $29.99 - Save $10.00 [Xbox 360]

PC

Iron Roses - $9.99 - Save $10.00
Space Trader - $10.78 - Save $9.71
Atlantis Evolution - $20.88 - Save $8.00

Xbox 360

Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software - $28.99 - Save $21.00
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper - $29.99 - Save $10.00

PS2

Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software - $28.99 - Save $21.00

NBA 2K10 - $19.99 - Save $10.00

PS3

Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software - $28.99 - Save $21.00

PSP

NBA Live 09 - $19.99 - Save $15.50

Nintendo DS

Picross 3D - $19.99 - Save $20.00
ZUBO - $10.00 - Save $9.49
Ben 10 Alien Force Vilgax Attacks - $18.96 - Save $9.03
Press Your Luck - $15.96 - Save $12.00
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery - $19.96 - Save $7.33

Nintendo Wii

Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software - $28.99 - Save $21.00
Project Runway - $29.98 - Save $10.01
Don King Boxing - $12.99 - Save $12.00
Dance Sensation! - $19.99 - Save $10.00


Share/Save/Bookmark

Where are the Stars: Ranger

What about me? What about Ranger?

o.quake Ranger is the protagonist from Quake.

Ranger is another creation of the id stable, and originally appeared in Quake, the hit game from 1996, which introduced the gaming world to true 3D. His task was to explore military bases and travel to distant dimensions, and find magical runes which would open up the doorway to the ultimate enemy, Shrub-Niggurath.

“Imagine a big ugly plant-looking thing.” He claims.

He also starred in two mission packs for Quake, titled Scourge of Armagon and Dissolution of Eternity.

Ranger was shocked when he learned that there would not be a sequel to the game in terms of continuity.

“Quake II my @ss! They took the name and put it to a completely different series of games! Heck, Quake II even got a sequel!”

Ranger hates Bitterman, the guy from Quake II, with a passion.

“He stole my job! He took over the “Quake” series in Quake II, and that should have been ME! I tell you, every time Bitterman got fragged in Quake III… it was me. I owned you, b1tch!”

Ranger made an appearance in Quake III Arena along with all the “other id puppets”.

“What happened to single-player games?”

quake-runningFor the first time, in Quake III Arena, he met Wrack, a fellow slipgate explorer.

“Where the hell was he when I needed him? I was there all alone the whole time, and you mean to tell me that there were others?! Not that I was glad to see him anyway- he was an arrogant old man who kept going on about the good old days. He’s such a faker though, because I was the one who did all the work.”

Ranger now spends his days trapped in one of the gothic medieval dimensions that he was tasked with exploring, bitter and alone, besides the other vicious creatures that inhabit the place with him.


Share/Save/Bookmark

Bungie Re-Trademarks Marathon

Bungie_Marathon_poster225p Long before Halo, there was Marathon. In fact it was a trilogy of games made by Bungie, the same people. They were released in the mid 90’s, mainly for the Mac, but were largely ignored by the PC audience, who were too busy playing Doom and Doom II. In fact only the second game, Marathon 2 was ever released on the platform.

Anyhow, it was picked up by Superannuation the other day that Bungie has re-trademarked the name Marathon.

Now comes speculation time. I doubt it’s going to be a re-release seeing as the Marathon games were released as freeware years ago. It could be some sort of re-boot, seeing as another cherished game from the 90’s, Rise of the Triad, recently got an iPhone version of the game.

There might be plans to remake one of those games, seeing as Doom was sort of remade in Doom 3, and Doom 4 might well be a remake of Doom II: Hell on Earth. But that’s just a rumour.

I somehow doubt that Bungie or anyone else would ever consider making a sequel in the series, seeing as the Halo games are really spiritual successors to the Marathon series. So, if they wanted to make another Marathon, they could just make another Halo, which is what they’re doing with Halo: Reach.

But I could be wrong.

Some rumours say it’s because one of the games might appear on Xbox Live Arcade. The 2nd game, Marathon 2: Durandal, was released on XBLA nearly three years back.

Then again, it could be nothing…

----

Source: Superannuation


Share/Save/Bookmark

2010/03/14

Video Games Coming out This Week [03-14 – 03-20, 2010]: Metro 2033, C&C 4, GoW III

On this day: 14 March, 2010 - Pi Day           

             Metro2033Cc4tt 

              GodofWarIII DAOA

AAA’s Targets of the Week: Metro 2033, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

With the games coming out this week, it’s no wonder Assassin’s Creed II got the hell out of the way, and came out last week. It would have had Metro 2033, C&C 4, and God of War III to contend with.

No doubt I can’t wait to get a hold of Metro 2033, which comes out on the 16th for PC and Xbox 360. It’s a post apocalyptic type game set in Moscow, Russia, based on the book of the same name, where the game’s characters spend most of their lives underground in the Metro tunnels. In the tunnels as well as above ground, there are horrors beyond belief, like your mutants and such, to combat.

It’s basically like Stalker in a way, but without the RPG elements, and not as open ended either. The experts say it plays more like a Call of Duty title. It will however feature multiple endings just like Stalker.

And then there’s Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, a PC exclusive. This is reportedly the final game in the Tiberian Saga of RTS titles, and from what I’ve read it’s not like any Command& Conquer you’ve played before.

Other big releases include the PS3 exclusive, God of War III, which has all ready been said by some who’ve played it to be a strong candidate for game of the year. And there’s Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening for multiple consoles, and expansion pack for Dragon Age: Origins.

To be honest, nothing excites me more than the aforementioned Metro 2033. I’m a big fan of the Stalker games and Fallout 3, and this sort of game appeals to me. It’s an original IP, unlike most of the other titles coming out this week, so it’s something new and fresh.

Links as usual go to game detail pages at Amazon, Steam, Direct2Drive, etc., where you can pick up the game of your choice or just browse.

Remember you can check out my aStore as well, where I’ve added the major releases under “2010 Games”.

PC

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight [Amazon - Retail] [Direct2Drive - Digital]
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening [Amazon - Retail] [Direct2Drive - Digital]

Dragon Age: Origins + Awakening Bundle [Direct2Drive - Digital]
Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Metro 2033 [Amazon - Retail] [Steam - Digital]
Mount & Blade: Warband
Pet Forest
Sol Survivor [Steam - Digital]

Xbox 360

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening
Metro 2033
Perfect Dark [XBLA]
Resonance of Fate
Supreme Commander 2

PS3

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening       
God of War III
God of War III Ultimate Edition
Resonance of Fate
Wakeboarding HD [PSN]

Nintendo DS

101 MiniGolf World
Hidden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace
Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Infinite Space
Pokemon HeartGold Version

Limited Edition Pokemon HeartGold Version with Figurine 
Pokemon SoulSilver Version

Limited Edition Pokemon SoulSilver Version with Figurine   
Sonny With a Chance
Spectral Force Genesis
T.A.C. Heroes: Big Red One

Nintendo Wii

Family Gameshow
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Hall of Fame: Ultimate Hoops Challenge
Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Rage of the Gladiator [WiiWare]
Sam & Max 2: Beyond Time and Space
Triple Shot Sports [WiiWare]

----

Sources: Gamespot - Shacknews


Share/Save/Bookmark

Mod Watch: Dark Mod Version 1.01 Released

On this day: March 14, 2010 - Steak and BJ day; March 14, 2004 - Battlefield Vietnam

inventor Yes, so that it isn’t he most original title there: Mod Watch. It’s all ready been used before by others. I just couldn’t think of anything better.

But what is better is that version 1.01 of The Dark Mod, a mod or total conversion for Doom 3 based on the original Thief games, has been released. This is the first update for the game since it came out last year in October.

“At long last, the TDM 1.01 update is ready for download! This is a BIG update, that adds dozens of new assets for mappers (including 6 new AI types, new models, and new ambient tracks), as well as fixing numerous bugs. New features for players, like a crouch indicator and combat difficulty levels, have also been added. We've also responded to the many player requests to reduce the volume of the player footsteps.”

You can grab the new versions of TDM and Dark Radiant, the editor, by visiting The Dark Mod’s official website.

I still haven’t managed to play this mod. NAG magazine won’t download it and put it on the Cover DVD because it’s too big. We’ll have to wait for NAG to upgrade to two DVDs, which they might or might not do this year.

----

Source: thedarkmod.com


Share/Save/Bookmark

What does AAA stand for?

It's not an abbreviation of anything. It just means the best of the best... 

"Well, now you know the truth: Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade!"

English French German Spain Italian Dutch

Russian Portuguese Japanese Korean Arabic Chinese Simplified
by : BTF

Label Cloud