Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade: 6/28/09

2009/07/04

Inon Zur's Birthday Today

July 4- Independence Day

Inon Zur was born today, in 1965, in Israel. He is a music composer for movies, television, and video games.

Discography

Prince of Persia (2008)
Fallout 3 (2008)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm (2008)
Crysis (2007)
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (Panzer Elite campaign) (2007)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (2006)
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (2005)
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault (2005)
Champions: Return to Arms (2005)
Men of Valor (2004)
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder (2004)
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2004)
Combat Task Force: 121 (2004)
Crusader Kings (2004)
Syberia II (2004)
Champions of Norrath (2004)
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs (2003)
Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003)
Lineage II (2003)
Run Like Hell (2002)
War and Peace (2002)
Icewind Dale II (2002)
Star Trek: Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates (2001)
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
Au Pair II (2001)
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
Star Trek: Starfleet Command II: Empires at War (2000)
Final Descent (2000)
Escaflowne (2000)
Escaflowne: The Movie (2000)
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000)
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000)
Power Rangers in 3D: Triple Force (2000)
Star Trek: Klingon Academy (2000)
Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999)
Au Pair (1999) (TV)
Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999)
Star Trek: New Worlds (1999)
Rusty: A Dog's Tale (1998)
Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998)
Ramadhan in Indonesia (1998)
Ke lanh nan (1998)
Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)
Beetleborgs Metallix (1997)
Big Bad Beetleborgs (1996)
Yellow Lotus (1995)
Valley of the Dolls (1994)
Sources:

http://www.inonzur.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inon_Zur

2009/07/03

Apocalypse Then- Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Directed by: James Cameron
Produced by: James Cameron, Stephanie Austin, B.J. Rack, Gale Anne Hurd, Mario Kassar
Written by: James Cameron, William Wisher Jr.
Narrated by: Linda Hamilton
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Distributed by: Tri-Star Pictures
Release date: July 3, 1991

On this day, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released. It's the sequel to Terminator, and the last of the series to be directed by James Cameron. It received 4 Academy awards as well as others, and had been listed as one
of best sci-fi films of all time.

Not to mention it's also one of my favourites.

Several special editions are available, including that of this year, the SkyNet Edition, which was released around about the time that T4 came out.

2009/07/01

Amazon Deals for Games, Entertainment and Hardware

Save 50% on Anime Movies & TV
Save on the Cables Unlimited USB-WIRELESS Dongle Set- Save $60.00 (60%)

Get Better Sound with the Altec Lansing FX2020 Expressionist Classic speakers for PC and MP3 players- Save $25.00 (31%)
Sweet Savings on Creative Webcams
Instant Savings on Canon Laser Printers

Blame WoW for Delayed Games Like StarCraft II

StarCraft II's development started back in 2003. There was a playable version of StarCraft II as far back as 2005. It's 2009 now, and some say that the game might only make it next year.

What took so long? What delayed the game so much?

World of WarCraft- part of Blizzard's other best-selling franchise.

And it may not be an isolated case. Back in 2008 in an interview with Jace Hall, 3D Realms' George Broussard jokingly said that DNF was delayed because of playing World of WarCraft. Oh well, if that's true, at least they paid for it in the end.

Sony Online Entertainment will shut down The Matrix Online for good this month- maybe Blizz should do that with WoW, or at least prevent developers working on an important project that should have been out years ago from playing it.

Blizzard claims that team members were designated to "work" on WoW, and StarCraft II consequently took a back seat, basically.

Source:

News: WOW held up StarCraft II for a year

Apocalypse Then: Duke Nukem

Canada Day (CA)

Developer: Apogee Software
Publishers: Apogee Software
Platforms: PC Compatible/DOS
Release date: July 1, 1991 (PC)
Genres: side-scrolling platform game

Today is the 18th birthday of Duke Nukem!

On this day in gaming, in 1991, Duke Nukem was released. It was the first game in the series, and as you can see, a few details that we associate with Duke Nukem were not present in this game- like the the red shirt, among other things. Even the name was different, as it was changed from Duke Nukem to Duke Nukum, and then back again in Duke Nukem II, the sequel.

After that there was Duke Nukem 3D, the most popular game in the series. It featured numerous expansions, and add-ons.

After this, there was a spate of console games featuring Duke Nukem, like Total Meltdown, Time to Kill, Zero Hour, Land of the Babes,

Duke Nukem Manhattan Project was a spin-off title storywise, but paid homage to Duke Nukem with the side-scroller style, but with 3D elements and a better camera.

Duke Nukem Forever, the most controversial title in the series, was in development for ages until 2009, and now we have no idea what is to become of it. DNF was supposed to, at one stage anyway, feature the return of Dr. Proton, the enemy of Duke Nukem in the original.

There are more games coming like Duke Nukem Trilogy, as well as others scheduled to appear on the iPhone.

2009/06/30

Apocalypse Then- Kingpin: Life of Crime

Developers: Xatrix Entertainment
Publishers: Interplay Entertainment
Engine: id Tech 2 (Quake 2)
Platforms: Linux, Microsoft Windows
Release date: June 30, 1999
Genres: First-person shooter

On this day in gaming, in 1999, Kingpin was released. On the same day, Xatrix Entertainment, the developers, closed, and many of the team formed Gray Matter Interactive, working on games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Eventually after Call of Duty 2, they merged with Treyarch.

Kingpin was a controversial game released at an even more controversial and eventful time, just two months and a few days after the Columbine massacre perpetrated by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Numerous retailers pulled the game off of their shelves, or refused to stock it.

Cypress Hill, a hip-hop group, featured heavily in the game. Three of their tracks off of IV-"16 Men Till There's No Men Left", "Checkmate", and "Lightning Strikes", were included in the soundtrack, and there were instrumental versions of these as well. They also did some of the voiceovers in the game. Some of the spoken lines, especially by Kingpin himself, were copied from the film Pulp Fiction.

A sequel, supposedly titled Kingpin 2, was in development at Interplay years ago, but the company shut down soon after. Now that Interplay has come back in the last two years, there's still not much mentioned of the game. There is a petition which people have signed in order to have it developed.

You can pick up Kingpin if you want to play a classic.

2009/06/29

Apocalypse Then: Diablo II

Developer: Blizzard North
Publishers: Blizzard Entertainment, Sierra Entertainment, HanbitSoft
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X
Release date: June 29, 2000
Genres: Action role-playing game (hack and slash)

On this day in gaming, in 2000, Diablo II was released. It is the sequel to the original, Diablo, and was one of the most popular games of 2000- achieving numerous Game of the Year awards.

An expansion pack, Lord of Destruction, was released in 2001.

A sequel, Diablo III, is in development currently, and has come under a lot of fire due it's art direction, with many claiming it has departed from the series signature dark, brooding, evil style, and gone for a brighter, more colourful approach.

You can pick up Diablo II if you want to play a classic. Otherwise you can also try Diablo II Collector's Edition, or Hellraiser, an unofficial expansion pack for Diablo II.

For more, check here.

Another Identity Crisis: Modern Warfare 2

Word has been going around lately that about half of all people surveyed don't know what Modern Warfare 2 is.

They don't know that it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but with the Call of Duty bit dropped off, seeing as Modern Warfare is practically splitting from the COD franchise, which is set in the past, usually WW II.

Modern Warfare 2 is the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and will continue the storyline of that game.

It's going to be released on 11-10-09, or 10 November 2009, on PC, Xbox 360, PS3

Well, that's that confusion cleared up, hopefully.

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Video Games Coming Out in June: 06/28- 07/04

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood: PC - Xbox 360 - PS3
FUEL: PC
Trine: PC (Steam) - Free Demo
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: PC - PS2 - PS3 - XBox 360 - Wii - NDS - PSP
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: PC - PS2 - PS3 - XBox 360 - Wii - NDS
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger: PS3 - Xbox 360
Infernal: Hell's Vengeance: Xbox 360
Roogoo Twisted Towers: Wii - NDS
Mega Man Star Force 3 Black Ace: NDS
Mega Man Star Force 3 Red Joker: NDS
Treasure World: NDS
Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament: PSP

Source:

shacknews

2009/06/28

Apogee Software Wishes id Software Well

In case you didn't know, there's a lot of history, a friendship if you will, between Apogee and id Software. They were competing video game companies during the 90s, and Apogee even published a few of id's games.

True, Apogee Software.LLC may not be the same Apogee, the parent company of 3D Realms, but as far as most of you care- Apogee is Apogee.

Anyway, Apogee Software, on Twitter, had this to say about the recent ZeniMax- id deal:

"Congrats to id software for signing with who is probably the largest and best privately held developer/publisher in the industry."

Definitely a lot better than John Romero's initial reaction, which has brought him a fair bit of heat.

And it's not one sided either, since id commented on 3D Realms' situation in May as well:

“For me it was personally sad. I know a lot of people at the studio (id) were really surprised and saddened for sure. We had originally moved to Dallas because Apogee, who morphed into 3D Realms, was our original publisher. So id might not even be in Dallas and a lot of us wouldn’t even be working in the games industry if it wasn’t for Apogee and 3D Realms.

“So I know for me personally I thought it was a joke when I heard the other day. So definitely, extremely saddened and surprising that those guys aren’t there and we may never see the game we were all looking forward to.”- Steve Nix

Now to see if 3D Realms says anything about id...

Sources:

http://twitter.com/ApogeeSoftware
http://twitter.com/ApogeeSoftware/statuses/2346176626

Apocalypse Then- Greatest Hits: Back to the Start

Artist: Megadeth
Label: Capitol Records
Release date: June 28, 2005
Genres: speed/thrash metal

On this day, in 2005, Greatest Hits: Back to the Start was released. It is one of a few Megadeth compilation albums- the second one to be exact.

There are 17 songs and they are off of each album released except for The System Has Failed and United Abominations. Many of the songs are the same as those on Capitol Punishment, another compilation album released in 2000, except these songs are the remastered versions.

The album consists of songs recorded between 1984 and 2000.

Track Listing

Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
In My Darkest Hour
Peace Sells
Sweating Bullets
Angry Again
A Tout Le Monde
Trust
Kill The King
Symphony Of Destruction
Mechanix
Train Of Consequences
Wake Up Dead
Hangar 18
Dread And The Fugitive Mind
Skin O' My Teeth
She-Wolf
Prince Of Darkness

Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (1985): 1
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986): 2
So Far, So Good... So What! (1988): 1
Rust In Peace (1990): 2
Countdown to Extinction (1992): 3
Youthanasia (1994): 2
Hidden Treasures (1995): 1
Cryptic Writings (1997): 2
Risk (1999): 1
Capitol Punishment (2000): 1
The World Needs a Hero (2001): 1
The System Has Failed (2004): 0
United Abominations (2007): 0
Endgame (2009): 0

You can pick up Greatest Hits: Back to the Start if you want to listen to some classic songs. Otherwise you can also try Anthology: Set the World Afire, another more recent compilation.

Windows 7 Available for Preorder

As of June 26 2009, Amazon, among other outlets is allowing consumers to preorder Windows 7.

This deal will last through July 11, or while stocks last. Windows 7 Home, Premium and Professional editions will be made available for 50% off or more during this period. I've learned from a pricing guide that this means $50 for Windows 7 Home Premium (instead of $120) and $100 (instead of $200) for Windows 7 Professional.

There isn't a deal for Windows 7 Ultimate, and it's going for about $220.

Windows 7 is being claimed by many to be the proper successor to Windows XP, which I'm still running, with Service Pack 3. I'm one of the many people who didn't go for Windows Vista.

Microsoft is looking at an October 22 release for Windows 7.

To learn about more of the features available with Windows 7, go here, to the Windows 7 Resource Center.

Click here to go straight to the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade page.

Click here to go straight to the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade page.