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Intel to Release 64-bit Processors In 2005 07:33 pm
- Jeff Tom
- hardware: intel
(3 comments)
Following yesterday's news that Microsoft is close to a final release candidate on a 64-bit version of Windows, Intel have changed their mind on 64-bit processors after AMD have been putting on the heat. Check it:A standard 32-bit microprocessor like the Pentium 4 on the market now can only access data out of 4GB of memory. A 64-bit chip can manage far more memory, which means access to more data at the same time; the additional data in turn leads to realistic graphics and better video.
In reality, it'll be years before many consumers buy computers with more than 4GB of memory. Right now, most PCs come with 512MB of memory. PC makers generally double the amount of memory in their systems every 18 months, meaning that 4GB machines won't be mainstream for about another four years.
Area 51 Preview 07:28 pm
- Jeff Tom
- consoles: general news
(0 comments)
IGN also tonight have slapped up a preview of the console first-person shooter, Area 51, for both the PS2 and XBox. Here's a cut on the story: From what we can tell (which is decidedly little), there's a crippled scientist in Area 51 with a wacky plan to break a pact that was once made for the "greater good." He's been involved with Area 51 since some aliens missed the galactic turnpike and crashed back in '47. For the last 60 years the facility has served as a base of operations to research these beings and then turn them into biological weapons. Sounds like a fine plan to us! (Funding came from proposition 24 on the ballot.) Something obviously goes wrong, mutant aliens escape, and blood gets spilt.
Battlefield 2 Preview 07:25 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
(0 comments)
PC.IGN have scored a preview of Digital Illusions' and Electronic Arts' Battlefield 2. Here's a snippet on the new gameplay: But as I said earlier, the biggest addition to gameplay are the new features that create a much better team based environment with chain of command. At the bottom level are the average soldiers picking from the seven kits available. Special Forces, sniper, assault, support, engineer, medic, and anti-tank all are important parts of a team now and seem to have been balanced in a better fashion. For one thing, the thankless jobs of tireless medics and greasy engineers will no longer be thankless. These players will now receive points just like the grunts for healing people and repairing vehicles. Jobs like these are going to be especially important because ammo boxes and medicine cabinets have been removed. Medics carry health packs while support carries ammo and can hand them out anywhere on the field to those that need it.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A; 07:18 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: role-playing
(2 comments)
Gamebanshee conjured up an interview with Bethesda Softworks about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:
GB: How long has Oblivion been in development and what section of the game is currently being focused on the most?
Gavin: We've been hard at work on the game since just after we got Morrowind out of the door. No rest for the weary here! We started out by churning out huge documents filled with crazy ideas about how to make the greatest RPG ever, and then we chained our programmers to their desks until they made our ideas a reality.
Right now, we're in full churn mode, with more features, quests, and locations coming available on a daily basis. We're starting to move beyond simply playing the game for bug testing purposes, and playing just for the experience of the game. It's an exciting period of development.
Unreal Championship 2 Diary 07:14 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: xbox
(0 comments)
Epic's Mike Capps is over at TeamXbox giving a new developer's diary for Unreal Championship 2:
This week's topic is the bots of Unreal Championship 2. I've asked Jim Brown, our intrepid Lead Level Designer, to take a few minutes to talk about the process and his experiences with bots. While the programmers do the initial lifting, the level designers are the ones who become...intimate...with the bots as they get them to properly rush the flag, or find the invisibility powerup, or triple wall-jump to that UDamage. Plus, the programmers are too busy to be writing right now.
More games need bot support.
More Dragonshard Previews 07:11 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: real-time strategy
(0 comments)
Some more D&D; Dragonshard previews coming your way, this time from Gamespot and Gamespy:
Dragonshard might just be the first D&D-licensed; strategy game (not counting 1987's War of the Lance) to get the formula right. Creating a D&D; game of this type without focusing on the RTS-genre's inherent RPG-style elements would be straight-up squandering. Liquid, the game's developer, seems very much hip to this fact, and what was shown at Atari's press event this week is testament to this. We've already covered the game extensively, so I'll save you the yarn. Let's jump straight to what's new.
SWAT 4 MP Impressions 07:08 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action / strategy
(0 comments)
Gamespot shot out some impressions of the SWAT 4 multiplayer beta:
SWAT 4 follows the same concept as its predecessors. Like the Rainbow Six series, the game revolves around modern-day close-quarters battles, except that SWAT works with local law enforcment instead of performing a military role. The game will contain a series of missions that can be played either solo or cooperatively with friends, as well as in a variety of multiplayer scenarios and game modes.
Thanks Christopher.
Humpday WPG 07:04 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Happy humping, humpsters:
D.C. Console Modders Arrested 04:57 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- consoles: general news
(7 comments)
Slashdot is reporting that DC police raided three video game stores arresting people who were selling modded and preloaded Xboxes:
Pandora's Cube, Wright said, sold $500 "Super Xbox" consoles, modified versions of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox video game console, that had been modified to hold larger hard drives and play pirated games.
The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores.
"They were burning games onto the hard drive and equipping the hard drive with copying software so that the average consumer could just go ahead and copy the software themselves," she said.
Read the rest here.
Art of War Impressions 04:52 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
(0 comments)
Gamespot greased up some updated impressions of Atari's Art of War - Direct Action:
Real-time strategy titles weren't always games with intriguing premises that pitted huge, colorful armies against each other on highly distinctive battlefields. There was a time when they all boiled down to little more than collecting resources, building a base, raising an army, and then using that army to pummel your opponent into oblivion. Fortunately, recent strategy games have broken with tradition and still ended up being excellent, and in the future we can look forward to even more promising strategy games that will continue to buck the trend, like the upcoming PC game Act of War: Direct Action from developer Eugen Systems and publisher Atari. Act of War will take place in a near-future conflict that involves top-secret military operations, powerful political factions affecting world events from the shadows, and at least one noted "technothriller" author.
Here's another from Gamespy.
Stronghold 2 Q&A; 04:47 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: real-time strategy
(0 comments)
The sterling lads from the Adrenaline Vault interviewed Firefly's Simon Bradbury regarding Stronghold 2:
Stronghold 2 will be the first in the series to use full 3D. Tell us a little about the technical challenges you ran into while making an RTS with a complete 3D engine.
Getting the 3D engine right (from scratch) has obviously taken a lot of mastering. We needed something that worked well not only as an RTS engine, but also for a builder style game. Oh yeah, and it had to look great too! We have already had over two years of development on it and while it's not yet done, we are quietly confident that we have the right engine for the job.
Riddick (PC) Hits Stores 02:22 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
(5 comments)
VUG informed us that Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - The Developer's Cut for the PC is now on stores shelves. "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox was a tremendous success for VU Games and showed the potential for games that creatively leverage superior talent," said Philip W. O'Neil, President, North America, Vivendi Universal Games. "Now PC gamers will have the opportunity to walk in Riddick's shoes and experience this phenomenal story." Another attractive selling point is the low suggested retail price of $29.95.
80 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Screens 02:18 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
(2 comments)
Thanks to Oblivion-Lost for letting us know that French gaming site Gamekult posted some 80 new screen shots of GSC's Stalker along with a hands-on preview of the game.
The Punisher Demo 02:11 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
(3 comments)
THQ has released a playable demo for its ultra-violent comic book inspired game, The Punisher. Pick it up from:
Far Cry Instincts Q&A; 01:53 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- consoles: general news
(0 comments)
Boomtown has a interview with Far Cry Instincts
producer Roxane Gosselin which also includes a bunch of new screen shots of this Far Cry console port. The Q&A; was "internally produced" and deals with traps.
Vault Features 01:49 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Today from around the Vault:
Mercenaries Website Launched 01:45 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action / strategy
(0 comments)
LucasArts unveiled the new official website for Mercenaries, its upcoming cross-platform military action/strategy game set in Korea. Give that a look here.
Auto Assault Q&A; 02:31 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: mmog
(5 comments)
MMOG Hell slipped up an interview with Netdevil about its forthcoming massively multiplayer autodueler, Auto Assault:
First thing I saw was that you will be using the Havok 2 Physics Engine. That has been shown off in a video, as well, but, even though we saw it, does it really work? Will players be able to see realistic physics while blasting through a wall with 20 players on screen or is there some restriction to it?
Scott Brown: It absolutely works! Blowing things up and smashing through things is a big part of the Auto Assault experience. Being physical also means that no two explosions are the same. There is nothing like hitting a pedestrian and watching the rag doll smack up against a wall and slide off.
Empire Earth II Interview 02:27 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: real-time strategy
(0 comments)
GameHelper helped itself to an interview with Mad Doc Software regarding Empire Earth II:
What is the setting and background story for the game, and how does this fit in with the previous game?
Currently, we're fully immersed in Empire Earth 2, creating 15 epochs, spanning 10,000 BC - 2230 AD, 14 different civilizations, and a greater number and variety of buildings and units than any other game on the market.
We're doing everything in our power to make this the best historical RTS ever!
I really think Empire Earth 2 does a great job of capitalizing on the strengths of Empire Earth, while clearly making its mark as the next step in the evolution of the franchise - and the RTS genre. For instance, we really wanted to keep the core RTS gameplay and epic scope that made Empire Earth great. At the same time - we were clearly focused on moving the franchise - and the genre - forward. I think we've done that quite well here.
Darkwatch Preview 01:47 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: general news
(2 comments)
Worthplaying checked out Sammy's cowboy-zombie action title, Darkwatch:
Speaking of looks, this is one pretty game. This is the Playstation 2, yet game play yields a consistent frame rate, and some of the smoothest graphics ever seen on the system. Even on a high-resolution medium such as S-Video, jagged surfaces are nonexistent, and colors and textures are distinct. This bodes quite well for the atmosphere, and I'd actually found myself scared a few times when the game would throw monsters at me that looked like something out of Resident Evil or Ghostbusters--and were just as much trouble to kill. The action's already non-stop and never runs out of enemies to toss at you from angles you'd never even dreamed of, but when you're staring into the bloody fangs of your would-be demise, trying to tactically search for weak points isn't exactly the first action that springs to mind.
Children of the Nile Wrap Report 01:25 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: simulation
(0 comments)
The RPG Vault posted a new wrap report, this time covering Tilted Mill's recently released city building sim - Children of the Nile. Give that a look here.
NWN Beta Patch 1.65 Take Two 01:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: role-playing
(0 comments)
BioWare released the second build of the 1.65 beta patch for Neverwinter Nights, it's popular D&D; themed role playing game which quite a few people play online. Interested parties can grab that here. In related news, Gamebanshee posted a walkthrough for Kingmaker, one of the premium modules BioWare sells online. Thanks Maxiumus.
Top 20 Best Selling UK Games 12:58 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(6 comments)
Here are the top 20 best selling games in the UK across all platforms (i.e. - if a game is on multiple systems, it goes into the same pool) ending the week of Dec. 4th:
1) Need for Speed Underground 2 - EA
2) Grand Theft Auto San Andreas - Take Two
3) FIFA 2005 - EA Sports
4) The Incredibles - THQ
5) Call of Duty: Finest Hour - Activision
6) Pro Evolution Soccer 4 - Konami
7) GoldenEye: Rogue Agent - EA
8) Halo 2 - Microsoft
9) WWE Smackdown vs Raw - THQ
10) The Getaway: Black Monday - Sony
11) The Urbz: Sims the City - EA
12) Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Ubisoft
13) Sega Superstars - Sega
14) Killzone - Sony
15) Tony Hawk's Underground 2 - Activision
16) The Sims 2 - EA
17) Half-Life 2 - VUGames
18) Lord of the Rings: The Third Age - EA
19) Shark Tale - Activision
20) Football Manager 2005 - Sega UK
HomeLan Bits 12:56 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
A couple articles from HLF:
IGN Morsels 12:50 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
From around IGN:
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:20 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: general news
(0 comments)
Game Reviews 12:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
In Other News... 12:04 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- in-house: in other news...
(45 comments)
I picked up Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth yesterday at Target for $40 bones; not bad considering all of those $55+ games we've been seeing as of late. Yes, it even includes a manual (cough)! So far, I like it a lot. It's not a 'great' game, but it's very good if you like traditional RTS gameplay. From what I've seen, the single player campaign is split between fellowship mode, which allows you to control the characters from the books/movies and go on LoTR inspired missions, then there's your RTS mode where you build bases, kill stuff and all that jazz. The game jumps from fellowship mode, to RTS mode around every other map which spices things up a bit. I wouldn't call Battle for Middle Earth overly complex, but it is pretty difficult. There are usually some tricks to each level, which you eventually learn after 3-4 retries. :) Anyways, I'm very glad I picked it up. And yes, the graphics are fantastic in case you were wondering.
Today's question is: Aside from gaming news pages, what are some of your favorite web destinations?
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