Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade: 11/1/09

2009/11/07

Manhunt 2 is now Available on Direct2Drive for PC

I feel happy every time I see a previously console-orientated and exclusive title come to the good old PC. Now it looks like the game, Manhunt 2, another controversial Rockstar title, has been released on the PC. The game is available on Direct2Drive, in addition to the original Manhunt, and was made available yesterday.

Manhunt 2 at D2D

Manhunt at D2D

Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has a Problem Shutting his Mouth, it Seems

Randy Pitchford has brought up some arguments recently about Valve owning Steam being a bad idea, especially for small indie developers, not once, but twice. And Pitchford has also said that Gabe Newells’s refusal to develop on the PS3 is foolish.

Not to mention, earlier on in the year, he called out both Infinity Ward and Bungie, and told them to do something different, instead of Call of Duty and Halo, respectively, all the time.

All could be considered valid arguments, although I personally think that sticking up for the PC like Gabe does is admirable, but I still think to myself, damn, talk about biting the hand that feeds. Gearbox only got into the game industry, and is only where it is, because of Valve and Half-Life. If it hadn’t been for Opposing Force, and all the subsequent expansions it was involved in because Valve threw them a bone, Borderlands might not have even been released the other day.

I mean, I think that this is nothing new. Randy has had a big mouth, and an inflated ego since day one. Proof of this? In Opposing Force at the end of the game, when you fight that ugly beast, there’s a message played backwards, which says: “To win the game, you must kill me, Randy Pitchford”. Of course, this line was taken from Doom II, copying another attention seeker looking for the limelight, John Romero.

Speaking of Borderlands , I should go and get it sometime soon, to see if it's worth all of Randy's cockiness lately. It looks good, and I hear it plays well too. It definitely draws some inspiration f-Life. You can tell by the red damage indicators when the player is shot. I've seen that in trailers.

And by the way, Aliens: Colonial Marines had better be good.

And Duke Begins?...

John Romero Comments on Passing of Don Punchatz

For those of you who need to catch up, Don Punchatz, AKA, the guy who made the Doom box art, passed away last month. ‘The Romero’ recently tweeted on twitter about Punchatz:

“Don Punchatz (R.I.P.) did DOOM's box art and it was awesome. He wasn't offered a royalty as was mis-reported recently.”

The original article over at spectrumfantasticart.com that some sites, including AAA, sourced and quoted from, claimed that Don was offered either a flat fee (which was lower than his normal going rate) or a percentage of the game's profits. Don took the flat fee, although according to Romero, there wasn’t a choice.

Well, you can’t ask Don about it now, but I guess we’ll be hearing something from his son, Gregor, sooner or later.

Yes! I’ve Finally got Blood Running Nicely!

No, I haven’t slit my wrists, and I’m not bleeding all over the carpet. I’m talking about the game, Blood.

I started playing it last year about this time, but the framerate was horrible, and the sound was rubbish. But a return visit to the famous Build XP page and forums at Deathmask, and a bit of the old RTFS method has allowed me to get the thing running almost perfectly. I had all ready downloaded all the programs and files like NOLFB, CLI2NOP, and VDMSound etc, long ago, but just a bit of messing around with the soundcard settings and a bit of black magic, and things work all of a sudden.

The framerate is a lot faster, and the sound and MIDI music nearly flawless, although there’s that squeaking that happens while running it in DOSbox every now and again. I haven't tried running it through Windows or the command prompt yet.

Before that, I was running the game through the command prompt, and getting some horrible slow-paced gameplay, and practically no sound.

I guess soon I’ll have to update my Classis Games Resurrected: Blood article, seeing as I couldn’t get the sound working back then.

2009/11/06

Dragon Age: 30 Seconds to Mars

Flickr - nicogenin - 66ème Festival de Venise (Mostra) - Jared Leto (10)

I saw the Dragon Age: Origins trailer recently - the one with 30 Seconds to Mars and Jared Leto wailing in the background. It’s their new single, "This Is War" off of the album of the same name (which only comes out in December) and like some other people have commented, I don’t know why their famous.

I’m not much of a fan of Leto’s voice. He doesn’t sing as much as scream. I think it’s because he’s also a film star, and the girls love him, and some say he looks like a young Ozzy Osbourne, and Tera Patrick, the pornstar, also once commented that he has a big... you know what.

I like watching that part in Fight Club (which actually celebrated its tenth anniversary last month- great film!) where Edward Norton beats the living hell out of that blonde guy, Angelface, permanently rearranging his features. Afterwards when he's talking to Tyler, he says, “I wanted to destroy something beautiful.” One of the most memorable scenes in that film.

Ubisoft has Good and Bad News, and Assassin’s Creed II

So, it seems as though Assassin’s Creed II’s pre-orders are up 80% over the original, and from what I’ve seen, it seems justified.

Hell, on Amazon, you can pre-order Assassin’s Creed II for the PC and get $2.00 off. That’s right.

Assassin’s Creed: Lineage was recently the most viewed video on YouTube when it was released, and drove a lot of traffic and likely more interest in the series.

On the bad side of things though, because most of the year passed, and no Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft says that their sales fell by 52%.

Dark Mod Fan Mission Competition, New FM out, Update

The Dark Mod beta was released last month, and since then a contest has now started this month, called the The Dark Mod Grand Christmas FM Contest. See here or here for all the rules and regulations if you're interested in following it or participating.

More on the Dark Mod, there's a new FM out all ready, called "Patently Dangerous".

Also on the main site, is a post regarding mainly positive feedback on the mod, and mention of an update for the mod which will arrive by the end of the year, which should coincide with the end of the contest if all goes well.

2009/11/05

Classic Metal Tracks That Should Have Been on the Assassin’s Creed Soundtrack

Guy Fawkes Night

Speaking of soundtracks, and of the Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack in particular, I was just thinking of something for a post, which has been in the back of my mind since last year while I was playing Assassin’s Creed.

If they had to have metal tracks in the soundtrack for the original Assassin’s Creed, which ones would they use? I came up with three so far, that all have a kind of middle-eastern Assassin type of feel to them, which I would listen to while playing the game:

Metallica- "Wherever I May Roam"

This track, the intro in particular, is played with an electric sitar, and sounds quite appropriate, almost reminding me of Sabu from the old ECW, if not the game.

Megadeth- "Holy Wars…The Punishment Due"

So the theme of the song actually had more to do with the IRA years ago, so I’ve read, but the name of the song and parts of it just remind me of the crusades, like in the game, with the battle between the Franks, or Crusaders, and the Muslims.

Motörhead - "Assassin"

The title of the tracks pretty much says it all, I think, but it’s all that there is some drums and stuff going on half-way through the track that get the kind of feel I’m thinking of.

I might add some more later on when I come across a track that I feel fits the criteria I'm looking, or listening for.

Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack out This Month, Before the Game

This month, before the game is even released, the soundtrack for Assassin’s Creed II , composed by none other than Jesper Kyd, will be out. Jesper did the original Assassin’s Creed OST, and is no doubt also famous for doing the OSTs for the Hitman series of games, among others.

The album is available on Amazon. I've included links to the individual MP3s as well.

Here is the track list for the game:

Disc 1/2
--------
01. Heart 3:58
02. Venice Rooftops 3:17
03. Ezio's Family 3:57
04. Florence Tarantella 1:51
05. Home In Florence 4:29
06. Approaching Target 1 3:35
07. Approaching Target 2 6:06
08. Venice Fight 2:01
09. Florence Escape 2:49
10. Tour Of Venice 3:15
11. Flight Over Venice 1 5:09
12. Back In Venice 1:32
13. Dreams Of Venice 4:23
14. Home Of The Brotherhood 3:26
15. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 1 2:11
16. Venice Combat Low 1:44
17. Venice Escape 3:26
-------------------------------------------
57:09

Disc 2/2
--------
01. Darkness Falls In Florence 4:05
02. Sanctuary 4:05
03. The Madam 1:04
04. Approaching The Target 3 5:52
05. Flight Over Venice 2 5:18
06. Ezio In Florence 2:18
07. Venice Industry 3:09
08. Stealth 2:22
09. Venice Combat 2:03
10. Notorious 1:14
11. Night Mission In Venice 2:11
12. Chariot Chase 3:20
13. The Plague 3:30
14. Wetlands Combat 2:48
15. Wetlands Escape 2:36
16. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 2 2:47
17. Hideout 2:40
18. The Animus 2.0 4:14
-------------------------------------------
55:36

The Verge is Dissing Assassin’s Creed Again

I don’t mean to sound like this, like some sort of disgusting fanboy, but just wait a minute while I get this off my chest.

I liked Assassin’s Creed a lot, and Assassin’s Creed II is one of my most anticipated titles for this year (well, it was, until the PC version was delayed until 2010). So, it irks me a little when I have to listen to some people run it in to the ground all the time.

On The Verge, Pippa called Splinter Cell: Conviction “Assassin’s Creed: Modern Warfare”. OK, so that might be more of a dig at Splinter Cell: Conviction, but still. Then I had to listen to Muhammed “Mo” Nagdee, one of those deplorable sports fanatics, who only appears on the show when FIFA 10 or some racing game bonanza is on the card, run his mouth off with some other guy about how Assassin’s Creed didn’t “do it for him”, and other nonsense.

Then the other day “Pipsqueak” Tshabalala was doing a little intro on the latest Assassin’s Creed II trailer (the one with the prostitutes), and coughed and muttered under her breath, “Prince of Persia rip-off”.

Strike three.

Tshabalala is trying too hard to be cynical and whatnot these days. I think the whole tattoos and bad girl image is fake, myself, and she’s usually uttering some nonsensical rubbish on The Verge and PlayR. I wish they’d get someone else. She’s starting to get on my nerves. When the show goes off air, she’s pulling faces and making funny noises. She’s clearly insane or immature, or both.

And not to mention her hairstyle. She looks as though she cuts her own hair...blindfolded.

2009/11/04

Did you Know that November is Valve/Half-Life Month?

Yes. It looks that way. It's just something I've noticed over time. If you look at the dates like this, you'll see what I mean:

November 1, 1999: Half-Life: Opposing Force
November 1, 2000: Richochet
November 3, 1962: Gabe Newell
November 8, 2000: Counter-Strike (Retail)
November 14, 2001: Half-Life (PS2 release)
November 14, 2001: Half-Life Decay (PS2)
November 15, 2005: Half-Life 2 (Xbox)
November 16, 2004: Half-Life 2
November 17, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2 (TBR)
November 18, 2008: Left 4 Dead
November 19, 1998: Half-Life
November 20, 2000: Gunman Chronicles
November 22, 2007: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (PS3)
November 22, 2007: Team Fortress 2 (PS3)

So, it looks like a number of major titles, including both Half-Life and Half-Life 2, among other titles were released in this month in years past. Recently I posted about the tenth anniversary of Half-Life: Opposing Force, and also Gabe Newell's birthday. I guess the next one I'll post about is the upcoming 5th anniversary of Half-Life 2, and perhaps the 11th anniversary of Half-Life. I can't believe how many years have gone by.

You could argue that they are all bunched together because it's right there near Christmas, or perhaps it's because Gabe's birthday is in the month, or there could be some other conspiracy theory as to why this is, but still. Interesting...

Operation Black Mesa Update

I forgot to mention the other day, when I was talking about the ten year anniversary of Half-Life: Opposing Force, that there is a new update on the Operation Black Mesa site. It was posted especially for the tenth anniversary, and it's a media release with quite a few screenshots, concept art, and other stuff.

RIP Don Ivan Punchatz, AKA "the guy who Made the Doom Box Art"

Okay, so I may not have heard much about this guy, even though he's a apparently a big name in the art world. But I do know all about the Doom box art. It's one of my favourite, and it's in fact number 2 on GameSpy's list of top ten best box arts.

Well, the man who created the Doom cover and the logo, Don Ivan Punchatz, passed away last month in Arlington, Texas, on the 22nd of October. He was 73.

Interestingly enough, one of the comments on Big Download (and I found this information on both wikipedia and the Doom wiki) pointed out that his son, Gregor Punchatz, made miniature models of some of the enemies in Doom and Doom II, using steel armatures and foam latex, including the Arch-Vile, Mancubus, Revenant and Spider Mastermind. No Hell Knight- he's one of my favourite. id Software hired him for the job after his father recommended him.

"So how was I to know this thing called Doom would make a jillion smackers?" -Don Ivan Punchatz

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spectrumfantasticart

Stalker: Call of Pripyat- English Translation

So, from what I understand, this is what's going on:

Call of Pripyat is all ready available in Russia, as well as numerous other countries in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region, as the game will soon be released in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (this month). The rest of the world will have to wait until Q1 2010...or do they?

I was reading something on ttlg.com, and then later on filefront, that pointed out there are at least two different projects (one on Steam as well) up to translate the Russian version of the game into English. So, if you've been able to get a hold of the Russian version because you didn't want to wait, then you can stand a chance of actually understanding what the hell is going on.

2009/11/03

3DR Hints at New Duke Announcement Soon

So, it was spotted by a guy on the duke4,net forums, that Scott Miller, on his Facebook page had this message posted recently: "Something big and unexpected will soon be announced."

To follow this up, George Broussard left a comment on Shacknews, in response to a fan wishing for a new Duke Nukem game:

"this looks more interesting than the full game. i wish they would have gone back to the roots for duke nukem again. another manhattan project.. man that game would have done better if it came out out much later as an XBLA title"

GB: "You may get your wishes."

I've noticed that comments made by people posting on that forum thread as well as on the news piece are quite cynical. This is likely nothing new on the internet, but I just sense a change in tone. In the last couple of posts, Yatta's been all like, "Nobody gives a stuff about 3DR","3DR doesn't care about us," and 3DR's screwed us enough."

I guess it's probably true though. The kids who waited for DNF have all grown up.

The announcement has been confirmed by Scott Miller as being Duke related, but nobody really knows whether it's about DNF or the Duke Trilogy, or some other Duke Nukem game.

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duke4.net

Video Game Deals: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

Over at Amazon, there's a pretty good deal on F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin for the console versions (Xbox 360 and PS3). You can get the game for nearly half the price for both systems. They're now the same price as the PC version, which dropped in price, but only a little.

If you need any convincing as to whether it's worth picking up the game or not, you can always check out the review I wrote for it at the beginning of the year.

Fear 2: Project Origin (PS3) - $19.99 - Save $16.00
Fear 2: Project Origin (360) - $19.99 - Save $14.50
Fear 2: Project Origin (PC) - $19.99 - Save $4.00

It’s Your Birthday: Gabe Newell

Gabe Logan Newell was born today, the 3rd of November, in 1962. He turns 47 today.

Gabe Newell is the co-founder, along with Mike Harrington, and managing director of Valve Corporation (founded in 1996), the company responsible for many great game series, like Half-Life.

Interesting facts about Gabe:

He dropped out of Harvard University.
He worked for Microsoft for thirteen years.
Gabe and Mike funded the development of Half-Life out of their own pockets with money they earned at Microsoft.
He is married to Lisa Newell and has two sons.
Gabe hates the PS3.
Gabe likes the PC.
Gabe’s Wikipedia article is semi-protected because of vandalism.
There is a video game character with the same name as his: Gabriel "Gabe" Logan from Syphon Filter.
Gabe describes himself as the producer on the first three releases of Microsoft Windows.
People often make fun of his weight.
Gabe can't fold his arms.
Gabe was briefly in second place in a Victoria’s Secret competition this year, before his entry was disqualified.
There’s a fake Gabe on Twitter posing as Gabe Newell. The real Gabe doesn’t have a Twitter account, yet. Kotaku fell for this hoax.
Valve and Gabe Newell came under fire after announcing that Left 4 Dead 2 was under development at would be released this year. Even a boycott group was started, which has since been “disbanded” by the founders, who were flown to Valve HQ to see the game in action.
Recently, Gabe and Erik Johnson flew to Australia to see someone’s Left 4 Dead campaign, after the guy raised $ 3000 for his flight, although Gabe actually paid the amount himself, in the end.
Gabe said he might consider a Half-Life movie if there is ever a script worth directing. Quentin Tarantino was once rumoured to be interested in making a Half-Life movie after claiming that even though he disliked video games as a whole, he liked Half-Life 2.
Gabe wouldn’t ever consider Uwe Boll to direct a Half-Life movie (thank Christ).
Gabe plays PC games two hours a day.
Gabe owns a BMW 745i.
Gabe’s current PC: Unspecified Core i7 (overclocked), ATI Radeon HD 4800, 42" Panasonic Elite 1080p monitor, Razer mouse, MS ergonomic keyboard.
Gabe has very eclectic tastes when it comes to music.
Gabe collects knives as a hobby. I assume he means like combat knives and such, and not those little plastic knives you get at some take-away restaurants.
Gabe has expressed interest in having fans fund video game development.
Gabe is no stranger to hiring people who work on mods, especially for Valve games. He claims that half of Valve is made up of (former) mod-makers.

2009/11/02

There Won't be an Assassin's Creed 2 Demo

I was just reading that there won't be an Assassin's Creed 2 demo. I wasn't really expecting one, since there wasn't one for the original either. I don't know if it's really one of those games that you can have a demo for, although I could be wrong. John Callaham of Big Download was right though when he said: "It seems more and more high profile games are doing away with demo releases, at least before the game is released."

I think about Wolfenstein, and how the demo was released about two months after the full version came out.

Peter Molyneux is of the opinion that demos ruin the experience of a game. But I think on more than one occasion, it has stopped me from buying a real bomb of a game, by sampling it first.

'Allo 'Allo: What's Going on Here?

All Souls Day

Well, for the past while I've been watching the classic series of 'Allo 'Allo on BBC entertainment. They finally had the good sense to stop showing Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder in rotation, and bring this one back. I haven't seen a lot of the episodes for years. I mean, yes, so those I mentioned are classics- I don't really agree with Only Fools and Horses being number 1 on Britain's Best Sitcom list, but still, they are boring after seeing them over and over for years now.

It's good to see something old but new for a change, if you know what I mean. It truly is good stuff!

I find the word play when it comes to René and Lieutenant Gruber concerning Gruber's sexuality to be amusing.

2009/11/01

Apocalypse Then- Half-Life: Opposing Force

All Saints Day

On this day in gaming, Half-Life: Opposing Force was released on the PC, in 1999. This marks the tenth anniversary of the first expansion for Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software, with some help from outsourcing of talent, and published by Sierra Studios.

I played it numerous times years ago. I first played the demo that was available on a NAG CD in 2000, although I later bought Blue Shift, which included "OpFor". I personally sent a letter to NAG, requesting them to review the game in late 1999, and the review was published in early 2000.

Opposing Force is a FPS title that sees you play in the same universe as the original game, except that you are a soldier, Corporal Adrian Shephard, like the ones sent to contain the events at Black Mesa Research Facility, and to eliminate the alien invasion. But soon the marines are overcome by numerous foes, even ones unexpected, like another alien race, Race X, as well as black ops.

Like Half-Life was revolutionary for the FPS genre, Opposing Force was considered an above average expansion by many. It introduced new weapons, enemies, and NPCs, including Senior Drill Instructor Dwight T. Barnes, a character meant to be modeled after R. Lee Ermey's Gunny from Full Metal Jacket. Of course the mysterious G-Man makes an appearance in the game too.

In Opposing Force there was one notable difference, playing as a marine, and that was that unlike Half-Life, you didn't have to kill the scientists, or the security force. In Opposing Force you can save them, and more often that not, they will aid you in parts of the game. Kind of like a "we're in the same boat" kind of situation.

Opposing Force was also available with Blue Shift, the second expansion, along with the High Definition Pack, which enhanced the look of the game's characters and weaponry, with the MP5 submachine gun notably changing into the M4 assault rifle.

At the end of the game, a similar situation with the G-Man unfolds, and the player is detained. Up until now, there have been no real confirmations that Adrian Shepard will ever be seen or be playable in a Half-Life title again, althought rumours still persist.

A fan-made mod is in development, Operation Black Mesa, with the aim of recreating Opposing Force in the Source engine, much like Black Mesa Source.

Just on a personal note: There was a sound when using the barnacle as a grappling hook to stick onto things, which made me "excited".

Video Games Coming Out in November 2009 - 11/01 - 11/07: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition

My Data’s Gone! Wait a Minute…no, it's Not.

Something odd happened to me the other day. A couple of months ago I bought airtime from MTN which I converted in to data to use online. That data has to last for 2 months (60 days). It used to be 30, until people complained a lot. They complained because they may have bought a large data bundle, only to find that they hadn’t spent some (or most) of it, and then at the end of the period that the data is valid for, it’s gone. Just like that.

This isn't the first time I've had trouble with MTN, by the way.

Anyhow, I still had a sizeable chunk of my data left, and I badly wanted to use it up before it expired. I got an e-mail a day or two before telling me that soon my data would expire. So, it was late, and after some blogging and such, I wanted to use the data I had left to download something. I won’t tell you what it was (it wasn’t what you think it is). I dialed the number on my cellphone to check my balance to see how much I had left, and I was shocked when it read 0 bytes data. I was kind of sad, frustrated, and angry all at once.

How dare they take my bloody data!

Anyway, I still had some airtime left, so I thought, I’ll use what’s left. So I started my download, and all the while I was seething because of what had transpired earlier. MTN had told me that my data would expire on the 1st of November, and it was after midnight when I tried to download this file. I was expecting the download to stop any time because I didn’t have much airtime- but it kept going. I was confused, as I checked my balance again and again. It wasn’t using the airtime, so what was it using? It still read 0 bytes data, while a day before it was above 50 MB. I figured that even though it said I had nothing left, there was still indeed data being used. Maybe it hadn’t been cleared, or it was a grace period or something.

I don’t know how much longer it would have lasted seeing as it said the 1st of November was the day, but I managed to get my download finished, and got what I wanted. That was such a close call. In the end all my airtime was used up too. So it was 0 R Airtime, 0 bytes data, 0 smss. It’s time to top up again, I think.