Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade: 5/31/09

2009/06/06

Apocalypse Then: Tetris

Today is the 25th anniversary of Tetris. It was released in Russia on June 6th, 1984. It was originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov.

There are currently over 50 variants of the game, both official and unofficial.

Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100th issue had Tetris in first place as "Greatest Game of All Time". In 2007, Tetris came in second place in IGN's "100 Greatest Video Games of All Time".

Weekly Videogame Trailers and Screenshots Collection: June 2009- Week 1

Aliens vs Predator: Pics 1 - Pics 2- Pics 3
Assassin's Creed 2: Pics 1
Fallout 3 Point Outlook: Pics 1- Pics 2
Brink: Pics 1
BioShock 2: Pics 1
Mafia 2: Pics 1- Pics 2
Borderlands: Pics 1
Modern Warfare 2: Pics 1
Mass Effect 2: Pics 1

Apocalypse Then: D-Day

Today is the 65th anniversary of D-Day, or Operation Overlord or Operation Neptune, which took place in World War II on the date of June 6, 1944. It was the biggest amphibious assault in history, and had the Allies, which included the Americans, British, and Canadian forces, storm the beaches of Normandy on that morning and invade France and neutralize the occupying German forces.

Omaha beach, where US troops landed, is considered to be the most heavily defended and horrific of all five beaches- the others being Utah (US), Gold and Sword (UK) and Juno (Canada). The landing at Omaha beach, and D-Day in general has been documented and recreated in many different types of media, such as books, films, and video games. The most notable film is likely Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, which won numerous awards, and has been voted as one of the most memorable films of all time by many. Other films or series that have something to with D-Day or the invasion of Normandy include Band of Brothers.

The most notable series of video games would be Medal of Honor, particularly Allied Assault, which let the player take part in the landing at Omaha beach as a US Army 2nd Ranger Lieutenant and OSS operative, namely Mike Powell. This game is considered a close relative of Saving Private Ryan seeing as Steven Spielberg and Capt. Dale Dye had input on both projects; Spielberg is listed as the creator of the series, and also plays Medal of Honor games among others.

Other games that have had something to do with D-Day include Call of Duty and Brothers in Arms. The first game in each series lets the player fill the boots of a US paratrooper dropping into Normandy before the beach landings.

2009/06/05

Games Now Available for Preorder- Feature: Fallout 3: Game of The Year Edition

Now Available for Preorder:

10-30-2009- Fallout 3: Game of The Year Edition

For PC- $59.99
For Xbox 360- $59.99
For PS3- $49.99

Fallout 3 Game of The Year Edition consists of Fallout 3 and all five DLC packs, namely Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mothership Zeta.

For more, check out this post.

Games Now Available for Preorder- Feature: BioShock and Elder Scrolls Oblivion GotY Bundle

Now Available for Preorder: 07-07-2009 - BioShock and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion GotY Bundle

For PC - $29.99

For Xbox 360 - $39.99

Product Description

Game bundle - Get two of the most challenging, exciting and addictive games.

BioShock lets you do the impossible as you explore a mysterious underwater city. When your plane crashes, you discover Rapture - an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces and hunted down by genetically modified "splicers" and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. As little girls loot the dead, and biologically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn. Now you're trapped, caught in the middle of a genetic war that will challenge both your capacity to survive and your moral allegiance to your own humanity. Make meaningful and mature decisions that culminate in the grand question - do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture to save yourself - or risk all to become their saviour?

The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (GotY) for Windows is a compilation of this classic RPG game. Oblivion GotY will include the original version of the award-winning RPG Oblivion along with the official expansion, The Elder Scrolls IV - Shivering Isles, and the downloadable content, Knights of the Nine. This new product allows players who have never played the 2006 Game of the Year to experience Oblivion for the first time with additional content. In addition, gamers can continue their existing games of Oblivion and experience the new quests and areas offered by the expansion and downloadable content. Oblivion features a powerful combination of free-form gameplay, unprecedented graphics, cutting edge AI, Character voices by acting legends Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Terrance Stamp, and Lynda Carter, and an award-winning soundtrack. Gamers can choose to unravel Oblivion's epic narrative at their own pace or explore the vast world in search of their own unique challenges. With more than 30 hours.

- Ama zon

2009/06/04

Apocalypse Then: Another Perfect Day

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (holiday)

On this day in 1983, the Motörhead album, Another Perfect Day, was released.

Track listing

Original album

1. "Back at the Funny Farm" – 4:14
2. "Shine" – 3:11
3. "Dancing on Your Grave" – 4:29
4. "Rock it" – 3:55
5. "One Track Mind" – 5:55
6. "Another Perfect Day" – 5:29
7. "Marching off to War" – 4:11
8. "I Got Mine" – 5:24
9. "Tales of Glory" – 2:56
10. "Die You Bastard" – 4:25

Bonus Tracks

11. "Turn You Round Again" – 3:57
12. "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" [Live] – 6:31
13. "(Don't Need) Religion" [Live] – 2:54

You can pick up this album here.

2009/06/03

Assassin's Creed 2 Arriving in November

Assassin's Creed 2 (or Assassin's Creed II) now has a release date. It's November 17 this year, just in time for Christmas. This tidbit was about the only thing revealed at E3 concerning Assassin's Creed 2.

Preorder Assassin's Creed 2:

PC- Xbox 360- PS3

Source:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58937

Apocalypse Then: The Chronicles of Riddick (Film)

Director: David Twohy
Producer: Vin Diesel
Writer: David Twohy
Starring: Vin Diesel, Dame Judi Dench, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release dates: June 3, 2004
Running time:
Theatrical Cut:
119 min.
Director's Cut:
135 min.

On this day, in 2004, the film The Chronicles of Riddick was released. This was the second Riddick film, and had a considerably larger budget than Pitch Black, its predecessor.

Even though The Chronicles of Riddick didn’t perform very well at the box office, it still turned a profit, and succeeded in spawning an entire franchise, including books, animation, and video games, including the acclaimed The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.

There are at least two new The Chronicles of Riddick movies planned, as David Twohy, the director and writer, is working on the scripts, with the first title to start production in 2010. Supposed themes for these movies include The Underverse, and Furya- Riddick’s home planet.

You can pick up this movie here.

2009/06/02

What's that Sound: Valley of the Dead- Awaiting the Turmoil

At the moment I'm busy playing The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, the remastered version that came with The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.

At the end of Dark Athena, during the credits, there was a song that was so awesome, I had to wait to see who actually played it. It turns out it's the Riddick Remix of a song called "Awaiting the Turmoil" by Valley of the Dead, a death metal band from Sweden.

Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/valleyofthedeadswe
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GGXZ18?ie=UTF8&tag=apocalypso-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B001GGXZ18

Take-Two Experiencing Financial Difficulties

Take-Two, which has been in the news a lot lately, has reported heavy losses in its second fiscal quarter of 2009.

Net revenue was reported at $ 229.7 million, down from $ 539.8 million in the same period last year. Net loss was reported at $ 10.1 million, compared to a gain of $ 98.2 million in the second quarter of 2008.

It looks as though they might be even more determined to win the lawsuit against 3D Realms to try and get back some money now. Who knows- with all the companies going down in the recession, perhaps they won't last that long...

Sources:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/take-two-reports-heavy-losses-in-q2

Alien Prequel is Coming, and Predators too

Producer Tony Scott, Ridley Scott's brother, has confirmed that a new Alien film, to be directed by Carl Rinsch of Scott Free Productions, is in the works. It will serve as a prequel to Alien, the first film, released in 1979.

Response to this has been a little mixed. AvP and especially AvP 2 weren't great films, and others don't hold out much hope of this latest incarnation to be any better. Some argue that the series should be left alone, and yet others want to see how the events before the first film unfolded. Among some questions that need answering is the "Who are the Space Jockeys?" one.

There are still the three Aliens games that are in development too, Aliens vs. Predator (3), Aliens: Colonial Marines, and the as of yet untitled Alien RPG by Obsidian. At least two of these are scheduled for release next year.

The film has been speculated to arrive in 2011, with filming beginning at the end of this year.

Oh, and there was also confirmation of another Predator film, called Predators, this year, which will come out next year, and will be co-directed by Robert Rodriguez.

I like both the Predator and the Alien series of films and games, but I just do feel a little bit let down by the latest attempts to try and resurrect or "reboot" both the series. Perhaps you just can't...

Sources and Resources:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92071-Alien-Prequel-Confirmed
http://www.collider.com/2009/05/29/exclusive-tony-scott-confirms-carl-rinsch-is-directing-alien-and-its-a-prequel/
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/16328
http://io9.com/5273063/alien-prequel-confirmed
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/16093
http://joblo.com/predators-gets-writer
http://www.moviehole.net/200918751-rodriguez-talks-predators
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=54797

2009/06/01

Apocalypse Then: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

Developers: Starbreeze Studios, Tigon Studios
Publishers: Vivendi Games
Engine: Starbreeze Engine (Proprietary)
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox
Release dates: June 1, 2004 (Xbox); December 3, 2004 (PC)
Genres: First person, action-adventure, stealth

On this day in gaming, in 2004, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was released on Xbox. It came to the PC a few months later. It is the first Riddick video game, and acts as a prequel to the events of the first Riddick film, Pitch Black, and is regarded as one of the best movie-inspired games of all time.

The likeness and voice of Richard B. Riddick is provided by Vin Diesel. Other well known actors lend their voice talent to the game to- like Ron Perlman and Xzibit.

A sequel to the game came out in 2009, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which included an enhanced remake of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. This was actually the main goal of the project and Assault on Dark Athena was practically just an afterthought, although a good game as well.

You can pick up The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay here if you want to play a classic. Otherwise you can also try The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.

Games Coming Out in June 2009- Week 1

The Sims 3 - PC
The Sims 3 Collector's Edition - PC
FUEL - Xbox 360 - PS3
Red Faction: Guerrilla - Xbox 360 - PS3

June 2009- What's up Ahead in Gaming: E3

I can't believe it's all ready the middle of the year- well nearly. I always thought that June 15th is the middle. Only six months until Christmas...

We will start to see what should be out by Christmas or next year, tomorrow at E3. It's a two day event which started back in 1995, and the people in the know say that it will be going back to its roots, as the E3 events of 2007& 2008 were flops.

I won't be there because I live far, far away from L.A., but I will likely get to see a lot of the stuff that happened- just later on, through videos and magazines. Oh well.

The games that I feel excited about appearing at E3, and hope to play in the future, include:

BioShock 2
Borderlands
Mafia II
Modern Warfare 2
Prototype
Singularity
Wolfenstein
Bionic Commando
Dead Rising 2
Dark Void
Street Fighter IV
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Crysis 2
Mass Effect 2
The Sims 3
Painkiller: Resurrection
Aliens vs. Predator
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Assassin's Creed II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Entertainment_Expo_2009
http://www.e3expo.com/
http://e3.gamespot.com/

2009/05/31

New All-Time Low Prices for PC Games

Tomb Raider: Underworld - $19.98 - Save $8.01
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - $29.99 - Save $7.00

Apocalypse Then: Strife

Developer: Rogue Entertainment
Publisher: Velocity
Engine: id Tech 1 (Doom)
Platform: MS-DOS
Release date: May 31, 1996
Genres: First-person shooter, Role-playing

On this day in gaming, in 1996, Strife was released.

It was a FPS/ RPG hybrid that used the id Tech 1 (Doom) engine, and included RPG elements, character development, NPCs that the player could interact with, and multiple endings. Unlike other FPS games, you can backtrack to previous parts of the game.

The source code for the game was lost, but due to some reverse engineering attempts, nowadays the game can be played with ZDoom and SvStrife.

Pick up Strife here if you're interested in playing a classic.

Article Update: Duke Nukem 3D- Polymer and Plus

My Duke Nukem 3D hub over at HubPages has been updated with information on the Polymer Project and Duke Plus, a mod for EDuke32, the source port for DN 3D.