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

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.

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Sources: Shacknews – 1up

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

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Teaser Trailer

Those rumours about the fact that Deus Ex 3 is now subtitled “Human Revolution”, after a trademark filing was discovered earlier this year, were correct. Deus Ex 3 is now officially known as Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

And that little hint about a big reveal for the game that was going around recently? It was a trailer which was revealed at the GDC just recently, presented by Eidos Montreal, the developers of the game.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The trailer is two minutes long, and it’s mainly just CG stuff, made with the help of Square Enix, and no real in-game footage is in it. The trailer introduces the character Adam Jensen, or AJ. You remember, JC… right? The screenshots that we saw the other day - the one with the lighter and cigarette - are from this trailer.

It starts of with some scene which involves AJ flying into the sun like Icarus in Greek Mythology. Of course Icarus is a name familiar to people who’ve played Deus Ex. And then we see AJ showing off some of biomechanical augmentations like secondary eyelids which act like sunglasses, and look, wrist blades like X-Men’s Wolverine or possibly out of Assassin’s Creed. Don’t leave home without them.

Still no mention of a release date, but I expect it will be this year sometime, probably in Q3 or Q4. The reason I day this is because more details are promised to be revealed at E3, and that’s only in June. No official confirmation on consoles either, but PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 look to be a safe bet, seeing as the logos for these platforms appear at the end of the trailer.

One thing that has been confirmed though, is that DX:HE will not feature multiplayer, and will be strictly a singleplayer experience, as Deus Ex should be.

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Source: Shacknews

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Teaser Trailer

Just Cause 2 for PC Won’t Support Windows XP

I find it quite funny that although this is all over the internet just lately, it’s actually old news. Square Enix confirmed last year that Just Cause 2 wouldn’t support Windows XP [1], seeing as the game is designed to take advantage of DirectX 10 technology, and we all know XP doesn’t support DirectX 10, only up to DirectX 9. Only Vista and Windows 7 do, in addition to DirectX 11.

"Just Cause 2 is an incredible looking title with one of the most richly detailed landscapes ever seen in a computer game, and to achieve this on the PC, the minimum specification includes a DirectX 10-compatible graphics card and operating system. The DirectX 10 and 10.1 APIs have allowed us to achieve an unparalleled level of visual quality, adding features and routines that simply would not be possible under DirectX 9. As a result, the graphical and performance gains have allowed us to create a game which raises the bar significantly in PC gaming and offers the player one of the most immersive and enjoyable gaming experiences."

And I’ve also noticed how on many forums and websites, those people who support Windows XP and haven’t upgraded to either Vista or Windows 7 are getting ridiculed now, because they won’t be able to play this game.

I for one still use Windows XP, even though I can easily get both Vista and Windows 7, but I haven’t made the switch yet, seeing as I’m waiting until I upgrade this year to do so. And even then I will likely still have a hard drive with Windows XP on it. I’m not really into Just Cause anyhow. I played the demo of the first game, but skipped buying it, and I’ll likely do the same with this one. Plenty of others out there that you can play on XP.

But it just goes to show that this is another step in the demise of the Operating System. Last year Microsoft reached the end of it’s free guaranteed service period for XP. Before that they tried to kill it with Windows Vista and failed. But I think that games are where it’s going to end up dying a slow (or quick) death, seeing as there will be more games like Just Cause 2 that won’t support XP, only Vista and Windows 7 (or just Windows 7), as they move on to newer, better technology, and that will see most of us switching to Windows 7. Not much of a hassle, but there you have it.

There have of course been other titles that have gone with later OSs, but this is just the latest one, and one big game that probably many are looking forward to.

Remember when games would support XP and 2000 with Windows 9X tagging along on the System Requirements? Then Windows 9X went out, then Windows 2000, and it looks the same way for XP now.

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Sources: [1] Eurogamer

Just Cause 2 for PC Won’t Support Windows XP

Deus Ex 3 Could Also be Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Firstly, how cool is that name? It sounds like the name of a punk rock album or something. Which is fitting seeing as it’s in a cyberpunk universe. No? Maybe the name of the next Terminator film? Oops, they’ll have to think up something else now.

It was discovered that Square Enix, who owns Eidos Montreal, filed for a trademark on the name “Deus Ex: Human Revolution”. Actually it was “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” and “Deus Ex Human Revolution”. Just in case…

While some might think it’s another title in the series, it could really be the subtitle for the new Deus Ex, which some say should be out this year, which has up until now been known as Deus Ex 3.

First the trademark was filed in Europe, but it’s apparently been done in North America as well. This all took place last week.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution, AKA Deus Ex 3, is said to be released this year, and rumours suggest it might be heading to consoles as well as the PC. Both the prequels had console versions. This title is what’s referred to as a “threequel”: it’s the third game in the series, but a prequel to the first game as far as story goes.

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Source: Silconera

Deus Ex 3 Could Also be Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Thief Fans Running a Source Petition

Since Square Enix has bought Eidos,  the Thief fans are now pleading with Yoichi Wada to release the source code for the original games in the series, namely Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age, which both use the Dark engine, the same as Thief Gold and System Shock 2.

"To: Mr. Yoichi Wada, Square Enix' President and Representative Director 

Dear Mr. Yoichi Wada!

 We are the Thief-community and are inspired by the fact that your company, Square Enix, has bought Eidos. Your corporate slogan, «It is the mission of the SQUARE ENIX Group to spread happiness across the globe by providing unforgettable experiences», has brought hope to us, who are pained for ten years by the futile, but at the same time ineradicable, dream. Let us share it with You. 
The games Thief: The Dark Project and Thief 2: The Metal Age, which were released in 1998 and 2000, opened for PC players a door to the mysterious and mythical world based on Medieval Europe. The world that is tissued from steam and magic, made by the geniuses of Looking Glass Studios, became so attractive to Thief players that they began to create their own missions by themselves, and these missions enlarge and fill up the original games (now there is more than 800 of them). Not few among them are better in quality than the original games (see, for example, rating at http://www.keepofmetalandgold.com/fmarchive.htm). 

The world of Thief still lives over a decade after its initial release through the efforts of its fans – isn't it proof of the fact that the game is a work of genius? However, time passes by, and the technology, made for the base of Thief: The Dark Project and Thief 2: The Metal Age, can no longer provide enough freedom for the activities of those who want to enlarge and improve the original games. We, as the Thief-community, dream of receiving in our hands the original source code of Thief: The Dark Project and/or Thief 2: The Metal Age in order to make changes and improvements to it. By releasing the source code to us fans, it would give more scope to those who continue to create the world of Thief. 

We are by no means calling on Square Enix to release the games Thief: The Dark Project and Thief 2: The Metal Age as freeware. We are only requesting the original source code for the graphics engine to these games, not anything more. More than ten years has passed since the release of Thief: The Dark Project and more than nine years since the release of Thief 2: The Metal Age. Because of this, we realize that these two titles are likely to be of little technological and/or commercial value for publisher. That's why we charitably ask you, the new owner of the "Thief" brand, to make the Thief-community happy and publish the original graphics source code of the games Thief: The Dark Project and/or Thief 2: The Metal Age, thus confirming Your corporative slogan. 

Publishing the original source code of an old game is a widespread demonstration of good will to players - it is done by known of PC game developers: id Software (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom 1&2, Quake 1-3), Raven Software (Heretic 1&2, Hexen 1&2), 3D Realms (Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior), Volition (Freespace) and others. We cherish hopes that Square Enix will do the same with Thief: The Dark Project and/or Thief 2: The Metal Age as well. 

We understand that it has been nine years since the closing of Looking Glass Studios, and that it is possible that the original source code of Thief: The Dark Project and Thief 2: The Metal Age does not exist integrally and ready for compilation. If this is true, we understand this but then, please, publish everything that is left, and we will try, like archeologists, to rise the great past from the ashes! 

Sincerely, 

The Undersigned"

This has been provided as is, and there are bits and pieces that look as though it wasn't proofread,
but the message is clear. I agree that it's about time that the source code is released and those enthusiastic about it can get to work with giving Thief a bit of a face lift.

If you're interested, and want to know more, and sign the petition (I all ready have), then head on over to http://www.petitiononline.com/ThiefSrc/.

Thief Fans Running a Source Petition

Anomaly: Square Enix Taking Over Eidos

Square Enix has taken over the publisher, Eidos. Eidos is apparently under Eidos plc, a subsidiary of Square Enix.

This means that Square Enix, a Japanese company famous for Final Fantasy, will have control over series like Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Thief. 

Other games from this publisher include Commandos, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, Timesplitters, and Fear Effect.

Anomaly: Square Enix Taking Over Eidos