Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade: 10/4/09

2009/10/10

Releases and Deals on Direct2Drive This Past Week: 10/04- 10/10

Releases

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Lucidity

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes

Battlefield 2 Complete Collection

Deals

$5 OFF Battlefield 2 Complete Collection for PC

$10 Off East India Company

Apocalypse Then- Doom II: Hell on Earth

It’s the fifteenth anniversary of Doom II- the sequel to the game credited with kicking off the FPS genre, Doom. Doom II is the best-selling id game ever, and also received the Origins Award. It was also the first game to be rated by the ESRB.

The game was naturally developed by the masters, id Software, and has been released on many platforms, including PC, Linux, Amiga 1200, GBA, Macintosh, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Tapwave Zodiac, and Xbox Live Arcade. Unlike Doom, Doom II was commercially released and sold in stores.

It used the same id Tech 1 engine that its predecessor used, and introduced little new stuff besides the super (or double-barreled) shotgun, as well as some new enemies, like my favourite- the Hell Knight, basically a “smaller”, less powerful version of the Baron of Hell. The new power-up was the Megasphere, which doubled Doomguy’s maximum health and armour. That super shotgun was one of the reasons why I prefer Doom II to Doom sometimes.

And one gameplay change in Doom II was that instead of separate episodes, which basically got rid of all the player’s collected weapons and such, it introduced one continuous campaign which climaxed in a battle with the Icon of Sin at the end, and if you were a little sneaky, you would find that the mastermind was actually John Romero’s severed head on a stick.

Doom 4 is expected by some to be a remake of Doom II, just like Doom 3 was a remake of Doom essentially.

Finally, a Good Jack the Ripper Game on the Way?

If it's one name that has always fascinated me, it's that of Jack the Ripper. I've seen numerous movies and documentaries, as well as having read poems and stories about the legendary serial killer of nineteenth century Whitechapel.

Now it seems as though the same developer who made Dead Space, EA Redwood Shores, now known as Visceral Games, is going to try and make a game about the Ripper.

The only thing that strikes me as a bit odd, and no doubt inconsistent with real life events of the time, is that supposedly the game is going to involve werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural beings, and that Jack the Ripper is going to be defending people from these creatures. I guess they have to turn ol' Jack in to a hero rather than a villain- which is what he really was, no bones about it, but it's funny how some killers almost become liked by people over time. And because Jack's identity was never really unveiled, despite much speculation and suspects over the years, this makes him one of the most talked about killers, even over one hundred and twenty years later.

At any rate, the game is going to be developed once Dante's Inferno comes out, so this might mean next year, or even 2011.

Sources:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/07/eas-visceral-studio-losing-leaders-making-jack-the-ripper-game.html
http://supererogatory.tumblr.com/post/205760452/nothing-to-do-with-that-ace-portishead-song
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77838069
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77838073

2009/10/09

Modern Warfare 2 Infamy Trailer Becomes Infamous

The trailer's name, "Infamy" sounds like more than coincidence. They knew that it would get this response.
Nobody is really surprised. We saw it coming.

The only thing is that I thought that politicians would be attacking the trailer, but it seems as though the religious types have gotten upset as well.

And it's not just because of the words uttered by the narrator, apparently paraphrased from the big book itself, the bible (which some have commented doesn't fit the trailer), but also the destruction of DC was also a little bit annoying to them.

A lot of people have pointed out, and this makes sense, that Fallout 3 took place in a ravaged DC, known as the "Capital Wasteland", or just "the wastes". Although this game too did receive some flack about the content.

“one thing stands out: the gallant mansion reduced to rubble doesn’t belong to some crazed separatist dictator hellbent on all kinds of nefarious acts. Instead, it’s the White House. The scenes of post-apocalyptic scenes of carnage play out not in some fictional town in eastern Europe, but in Washington D.C. itself."

Yeah, that crazed dictator is gone, but now some do refer to Obama as the Anti-Christ.

And besides, I bet that some guys and gals over in the Middle East didn't approve of the stereotypical Muslim terrorists being slaughtered on their own turf in the first Modern Warfare, otherwise known as Call of Duty 4. But then, nobody cares about that. Nobody complained then- at least no religious, conservative Americans did.

Sources:

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/10/05/modern-warfare-trailer-does-washington-burning-go-too-far/
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/10/06/modern-warfare-2-trailer-imagery-questioned

2009/10/08

Amazon Opens New Online Playstation Store

Amazon has now opened an online Playstation Network store, where you can download Playstation and PSP content.

PlayStation Network store
Buy a PS3 120GB, Get a Select PSN Game Free
PS one Classic Games

It’s Your Birthday: Dale Dye

On October 8th, 1944, Dale Dye was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He turns 65 today.
Due to being poor and not being able to afford college fees he enrolled in and later graduated from Missouri Military Academy. After this he served in the United States Marine Corps for twenty years, including two tours (1964–1965 and 1967–1970) as a Marine Correspondent in Vietnam where he fought in 31 major combat operations. Medals he obtained in the war included three purple hearts (awarded to those who sustain injuries), and the bronze star.

For most of his military career he was an NCO (non-commissioned officer) or enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant. During the 70s he was chosen to attend Officer Candidate School and was appointed warrant officer. He later converted his commission and was promoted to captain.

Dale also served in the Beirut Peacekeeping Force during the 80s.

Dale has worked for Soldier of Fortune magazine, trained troops in guerrilla warfare in the countries of El Salvador and Nicaragua, and founded Warriors, Inc. where he not only started helping train actors but also began his Hollywood career. In addition to starring in movies, usually in small roles, he usually serves as the senior or assistant military technical adviser. The list of films he’s appeared in includes Forrest Gump, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven and Earth and Saving Private Ryan. He usually plays officers or at least a Sergeant in these short roles. Most of these movies no doubt benefited from his expertise, and I reckon he’s at least part of the reason they were as successful as they were. Everything he touches turns to gold.

Not only has he been involved in films, but in radio, and the authoring of several books, but what really led me to discover him was his appearances in video games. Dale worked as a consultant, and as the training mission narrator, on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which was essentially a video game adaptation of Saving Private Ryan, since it included scenes familiar from the film, such as the landings on Omaha beach. He’s also served in this position for nearly every other Medal of Honor title, including Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor: Underground, Medal of Honor: Frontline, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, and Medal of Honor: European Assault. It doesn’t look as though he worked on Medal of Honor: Airborne at all, and it still remains to be seen whether he’ll work on the latest Medal of Honor title in development.

Other games he’s appeared in include Brother in Arms: Hell’s Highway where he voiced the character Colonel Robert F. Sink, a role which he also played in the Band of Brothers series.

Interesting tidbits about USMC Ret. Capt. Dale Dye (not to be taken too seriously):

He was considered for the title role in RoboCop.
According to some, Dale Dye is fearless, and perhaps enjoyed Vietnam too much.
Despite being born at the time (1944), and contrary to popular belief, he didn’t actually fight in World War II.
I believe that Dale Dye may have been the inspiration for the character known as Old Snake, or Old Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots. Check out the mustache.
Just like Solid Snake in MGS 4, he seems to have mysteriously rapidly aged over the past few years.
Dale Dye is often compared to R Lee Ermey (Gunny).
Despite working for Soldier of Fortune magazine, Dale Dye is not to be confused with John Mullins.

Sources:

http://www.sproe.com/d/dale-dye.html
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0245653/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Dye
http://www.warriorsinc.com/
http://kfi640.com/pages/CaptainDaleDye.html?feed=128004&article=445012

2009/10/07

Direct2Drive 5 Year Anniversary Sale: Week 5

Well, it's the final week of the Direct2Drive sale where you can pick up a game for $5.

These are the games for sale this week:

Company of Heroes Gold

Supreme Commander Gold

World in Conflict Gold Edition

Battlestations: Pacific

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

Codename: Panzers - Cold War

Hearts Of Iron II Collection

Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30

Delta Force: Land Warrior

Delta Force: Task Force Dagger

D2D Turns 5

There are still other games available from the previous 4 weeks as well.

Today is the Anniversary of the... Barcode

I came across a forum topic on HubPages today while surfing, and I saw that today it the anniversary of the barcode. A barcode image also crops up when you use Google today, sometimes.

Who cares? Well, I dunno, I just thought that without the barcode we wouldn't have one of the most popular anti-heroes of all time:

Hitman's Agent 47.

Even More Hints of a Medal of Honor: Modern Combat

Speaking of Modern Warfare, It's been spotted on a Linkedin profile belonging to Micah Lapping-Carr, that work has all ready been commenced on a new Medal of Honor title- this time set in the present or future, instead of the past.

"Worked on a Medal of Honor modern combat title in various roles, including design and software engineering."

The Linkedin profile no longer exists, as is the usual response in these situations.

There have been other rumour suggesting that the game will take place in Afghanistan, possibly during Operation Anaconda.

Sources:

http://supererogatory.tumblr.com/post/204758255/production-intern-electronic-arts-los-angeles
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/micah-lapping-carr/8/992/b39

2009/10/06

New Modern Warfare 2 Trailer is Going to Make Someone Upset

And by someone, I mean probably Americans, seeing as the new Modern Warfare 2 trailer, called "Infamy", features combat on US soil, including inside the White House. I watched it early this morning.

It's also accompanied by a narrator going on about stuff. He sounds a bit like Christian Slater or someone:

"Cain was the first man ever to strike do ...
And when the lord came to him and said, what have you done?
Cain could not hide his crime
For the voice of his brothers blood, cried out from the very ground...."

"The world has been your battlefield. Everywhere you go the blood of brothers and sons screams out against you. Perhaps you can not yet hear it, because the soil is not your own. But you will... You will."

I think, despite the probable fallout that this will cause, that it will make for an interesting twist for a Call of Duty game, seeing as all of them in the past have taken place elsewhere in the world, in either Europe or Asia somewhere.

More Call of Duty news:

PlayStation 2 | 'Call of Duty' trademarked for films
Modern Warfare 2's 17 maps, Achievements uncovered
Call of Duty 3 on Games of Demand
MS: No Modern Warfare 2 beta

Modern Warfare 2 PC Version Pushed Back Two Weeks

First it was Stalker: Call of Pripyat, then Assassin's Creed 2, now the year's most anticipated title, Modern Warfare 2, has been pushed back from November 10th to November 24th- the PC version has anyway. The console editions (360, PS3) have naturally remained as they are... for now. The US may not be affected by the delay, but the rest of the world will. If they had been affected, then Infinity Ward's clever, original little advertising gimmick wouldn't have worked anymore.

I guess for the PC version they could come up with another clever, original gimmick:

Or is it too late (in more ways than one)? I think it's cool to note that Kiefer Sutherland actually did do some voice work for Call of Duty: World at War. Not sure if he'll make another appearance in the latest in the series. I doubt it.

Sources:

http://electronictheatre.co.uk/index.php/pc/pc-news/3220-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-delayed-on-pc
http://electronictheatre.co.uk/index.php/industry-news/3219-activision-blizzard-updated-release-schedule

2009/10/05

It’s Your Birthday: Clive Barker

Today is famous master of horror, Clive Barker’s birthday. He turns 57 today. He was born on October 5, 1952, in Liverpool, England.

Clive Barker is an English author, director and artist who dabbles in fantasy and horror fiction. Barker is responsible for the Hellraiser series, and the character known as Pinhead, based on his novel, The Hellbound Heart. A number of other films have been based on his novels and short stories, and he himself has written screenplays and gotten involved in other capacities in other projects. He’s involved in many different forms of media or multimedia.

Out of all his novels, I’ve read Imajica, and that was a few years ago. It was truly weird and yet I couldn’t put it down. I would sit there wading through this large novel in to the early hours of the morning, and I was still in high school. I probably didn’t get much sleep, and I had to wake up early to catch the bus to school.

Other than novels, he has also been involved in video games, having been the “creative director” as it were, of Clive Barker’s Undying, and Clive Barker’s Jericho. Undying has to be one of the scariest and creepiest games I’ve played to this day. It was not just frightening, but it made my skin crawl. He voiced the character known as Ambrose. Over the years, and I noticed this in Undying, his voice has become gravelly and coarse, and he claims it is due to polyps in his throat, not cancer.
I remember once going to the library, thinking that Undying was based on a novel, but after a while, I read an old preview/interview of the game where it was stated that the game wasn’t based on any written material by Clive. I even wrote several chapters of a fan-fiction piece that was based on Undying, although I’ve haven’t published it anywhere. I’ve still got it though.

Jericho was a squad based horror game which I must admit wasn’t what I expected, and it was bloody difficult. I never managed to finish that one. There was also a third game called Demonik, which I was looking forward to, but that ended up being cancelled, unfortunately.