(Click to Enlarge!)

Warhammer Online Screenshots 03:19 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (9 comments)
Six new screenshots of Mythic's Warhammer Online. The first three look to be from a Battleground. The other three are from the Planet Yellow.

(Click to Enlarge!)

Cool C&C; 3: Tiberium Wars Kane Desktop 03:06 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (5 comments)
Predator fired over a cool new desktop image for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars:

(Click to Enlarge!)

Arkane Working on New Game 02:55 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (1 comment)
Thanks to dju for sending word that Arkane Studios (Dark Messiah, Arx fatalis) is working on a new game called The Crossing. You can learn a bit more about it by listening to the latest 1Up show.

Dreamfall: the Longest Journey demo 02:52 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Adventure (2 comments)
Better late than never, right? FunCom has released a supersized 3.5 gig demo of Dreamfall: the Longest Journey.

Snag it from: 3D Gamers, Gamershell.

Command & Conquer 3 Interview 02:46 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (1 comment)
The blokes at Eurogamer interviewed EA's Mike Verdu about Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars:

Eurogamer: Where does C&C; 3 sit alongside other RTS games, now that the genre has moved on so much since the original games were released? A lot of other RTS games these days have some sort of shtick, from the enormous scale of Supreme Commander, to the focus on supply lines in Company of Heroes. What's C&C; 3's shtick?

Mike Verdu: There are two things that I think are very interesting. The first is that I don't think anybody else is connecting players with a story as deeply as we do. We've got more than 35 single-player missions all tied together with a story fabric that's not just in the live action and the cut-scenes. They're still cool, but the story lives everywhere - it's in the mission objectives, it's in facts you collect about the world as you go, it's in conversations you overhear on the battlefield. It's really everywhere, and to have a story that has richness and depth and complexity and characters that change as they learn about the story and themselves, and conflicts that resolve... I mean it operates on different levels, it has themes that resonate throughout the campaigns. I just think that for a story experience you're not going to be able to beat C&C; 3.

And then there's the multiplayer things that we're doing with spectator modes and tournaments and the reputation system and match broadcasts and all this other cool stuff. We're creating what I think is a competitive RTS. And that's also something that I think will set C&C; 3 apart - the amount of support that's in there for the community to link up.

Dark Sector Preview 02:44 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
GameSpy shot up a nice little preview of Digital Extremes' Dark Sector:

Visually, Dark Sector is an impressive experience so far. Because the environments are rather drab (it is a post-Soviet state, after all), it has allowed the development team to focus more on character models and cool visual effects. For example, within the demo, Hayden is poisoned by a substance that causes mutated people to become violently ill. When he is exposed to its vapors, the screen blurs, and visuals become exceptionally trippy and distorted. At points, it even reverts to grainy black and white footage. It's a nice touch that couldn't have been rendered with such detail on a PS2 or Xbox game. Otherwise, it's an inarguable point that Dark Sector is a fine-looking game, although the frame rate still needs some optimization. We have few doubts, though, that since the game isn't coming out until fall 2007, the team at Digital Extremes has plenty of time to optimize that.

Warhammer Online Interview 02:38 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (0 comments)
PC.IGN.UK has an interview with Mythic's Steve Perkins about Warhammer Online. Here's a taste:

How has Warhammer Online's Realm vs. Realm gameplay been improved from Dark Age of Camelot?

Steve Perkins: Realm vs. Realm (RvR) has come a long way since it was first introduced in Dark Age of Camelot. We've had over five years of experience with the system, and we've learned both its strengths and its weaknesses. The RvR gameplay being implemented in WAR is truly a next generation implementation of the original system.

For starters, RvR is no longer an endgame experience, available only to those of sufficient level. In WAR, you'll be able to experience RvR within a few short hours of beginning the game. Once you have the basics of game play down, and outfitted your character with a choice weapon or two, you'll be able to engage enemy combatants to your hearts desire.

To make it easier to get into a battle quickly, RvR is no longer relegated to completely separate zones in the game world. In Camelot, you had to venture out to the Frontiers to engage in combat against others. In WAR, RvR areas known as Skirmish Zones are integrated into every map in the game. Just by entering these well marked zones, you'll be flagged for RvR and able to engage players in opposing armies.

In the Skirmish Zones, players will be able to participate in three types of RvR combat, each offering a unique player experience. Skirmishes are the random battles that take place when two opponents (or groups of opponents) run into each other. Battlefields are specific locations in the Skirmish Zone where players are fighting for control of landmark, such as a shrine, gun placement or resource. Gaining control of these landmarks usually bestows some benefit upon your army. These battles are a pure free-for-all where you could find yourself single-handedly facing twenty opponents, or find yourself in an evenly matched fight. Finally, Scenarios are instanced battles against two groups of equal strength. These battles are balanced according to a point system and will augment groups with NPC combatants (the Dogs of War) if they are needed to equalize the fighting forces. The use of NPC's also means no more queues waiting for a side to fill its ranks. Scenarios offer different game play, ranging from Deathmatch to Capture the Flag to Assault.

In the higher level zones, an army's performance in Skirmish, Battlefield, and Scenario combat will be used to determine control of the map. Tally up the most RvR victories and you can take control of your enemy's zones, eventually pushing the enemy back to the gates of their city. This is the RvR Campaign that culminates in the sacking, looting, and pillaging of the enemy capital city.

In addition to these advancements to the RvR system, Warhammer Online allows players to level their character entirely through RvR play. They can earn experience, gain access to items (some that are only available through RvR) and gather valuable coin. Players may not experience all that WAR has to offer if they bypass the PvE content, but they will find endless hours of PvP joy in the game's Realm vs. Realm system.

New Crysis Screenshots 02:34 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (7 comments)
Both InCrysis and Crysis Online are sporting some brand-spankin-new screenshots of Crysis.

Word is that they're pretty amazing! :)

In Other News... 02:33 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (17 comments)
What's up, players?

Today's question:

What games are playing this holiday break?

It was a busy and windy week here at Valve. As most of the community knows by now, last week a major windstorm hit the greater Seattle area. Power outages are fairly common in the area, but the magnitude of this storm knocked out our datacenter, resulting in about 20 hours Steam interruption. This was very frustrating for everyone here and we know it was frustrating for you as well. We learned a lot and are taking steps to make sure that when the next storm like this hits our area 15-20 years from now *fingers crossed*, people will still be playing games on Steam while we are buying flashlight batteries.

GameSpot's Game of the Year Awards 04:22 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (3 comments)
GameSpot greased up its 2006 Game of the Year Awards handing out its picks for best and worst games of the year. The feature is a bit wonky to navigate through, but Gears of War took the top honors. Company of Heroes was named best PC game.

Blizzard Bans 105,000 Players 04:18 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (27 comments)
To put you in that holiday spirit, Blizzard has banned 105,000 accounts in World of WarCraft:

In our continued efforts to combat cheating in World of Warcraft, more than 105,000 accounts were closed and over 12 million gold was removed from the game economies in Europe, Korea, and the US in the month of November. The closed accounts were associated with activities that violate World of Warcraft's Terms of Use, such as using third-party programs that allow cheating, and farming gold and items. These types of activities can severely impact the economy of a realm and the overall game enjoyment for all players.

We will continue to aggressively monitor all World of Warcraft realms in order to protect the service and its players from the harmful effects of cheating. Please note that selling World of Warcraft content, such as gold, items, and characters, can result in a permanent ban of the involved accounts from World of Warcraft.

Halo 3 Weekly Update 04:14 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (2 comments)
In this Bungie weekly update, the guys provide a little feedback to the Halo 3 ViDoc "Et Tu, Brute?" Trailer:

You'll have to take our word for it. There's no spin, or damage control and we're absolutely unapologetic. Halo 3 is in development and when we're ready to show you polished graphics, we'll do that in our own good time. But we're still going to continue to bring you peeks behind the curtain.

The other main concern voiced was about who you will and won't fight against in Halo 3. We wanted to debut the Brutes, because they are going to be a ferociously important adversary in Halo 3, and more importantly, their behavior, their abilities and their differing roles are going to make them easily the equal of Elites, in terms of how they operate on the battlefield. So we're paving the way. But they aren't going to be fighting you alone. We won't give too much away, but believe us, the Brutes and Brute packs will have plenty of allies.

As far as gameplay is concerned, you can make up your own mind early next year, when we give you the chance to play the Multiplayer beta. It won't contain all of the cool new features from the game, but it will be a nice taste of what to expect. There will be more news about that in the very near future. Anyway, we've enjoyed spending another year with you guys - so enjoy the break and share the season's warmth with your friends and family. Peace (and goodwill)!

C&C; 3: Kane Edition Announced 04:07 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (2 comments)
EA today announced a cool new twist to Command & Conquer 3, the Kane Edition:

Electronic Arts Inc., today announced Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars: Kane Edition - a special, numbered collector's edition for the PC that will ship in March 2007 simultaneously with Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. Filled with an enormous amount of exclusive content, C&C; 3: Kane Edition will be the definitive collectible for any Command & Conquer or Real-time Strategy (RTS) game fan.

C&C; 3: Kane Edition will include an exclusive bonus DVD featuring a behind the scenes documentary, deleted scenes and a blooper reel from the live action video shoots, a series of gameplay strategy videos from the game designers themselves, and more. C&C; 3: Kane Edition will also feature exclusive in-game content including five new multiplayer maps and three unique unit skins—one for each of the three factions in the game. Fans will also enjoy five exclusive wallpapers.

"The Command & Conquer fans are among the most dedicated in the world. It's very exciting to be able to create a special bonus edition of C&C; 3 with our fans in mind," said Mike Verdu, Vice President and Executive Producer at EALA. "The exclusive maps, strategy tutorials, special unit skins and 'making of' video provide hours of enjoyment to anyone who loves Command & Conquer. The 'blooper reel' is just flat out funny. I can't wait for Command & Conquer fans to get their hands on this game."

Command & Conquer, the groundbreaking series that put the RTS genre on the map, is returning in full force with C&C; 3. This highly-anticipated next chapter takes the popular series back to its roots in the Tiberium Universe and features the fast, fluid gameplay that Command & Conquer is known for and an epic tale that will redefine storytelling in RTS games.

It is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium—a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth—is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The Global Defense Initiative, a high-tech alliance of the world's most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of The Brotherhood of Nod has other plans for Earth. Kane's secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. All-out war rages over Tiberium and the fate of the planet rests in the balance.

The epic story of C&C; 3, set in the Tiberium Universe, is seamlessly tied together with live action, high-definition video sequences featuring top Hollywood talent including Tricia Helfer, Josh Holloway, Michael Ironside, Billy Dee Williams, Grace Park, and more.

Currently in development at EA's Los Angeles studio, C&C; 3 and C&C; 3: Kane Edition will ship worldwide in March 2007 for Windows PC. C&C; 3 has a suggested retail price (MSRP) of $49.99 and C&C; 3: Kane Edition will be available at select retailers with a MSRP of $59.99. C&C; 3 will also be available in 2007 for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system.

Crysis Interview 02:36 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (9 comments)
Crysis Online cooked up an interview with Crytek Lead Designer Jack Mamais who talks about a wide range of issues from the SDK, to multiplayer, to the different classes in the game and oh-so much more. Here's a taste:

How powerful are the weapons in Crysis?

We are still right in the middle of the final balancing for the weapons so this is a difficult answer to get precise at this point. Suffice to say we are going for 'Hollywood Realism". That is, our damage system would look like it came right out of a movie like HEAT. We want our guns to feel big and powerful but we want the player to have fun with enemies. Headshots will be very hard with anything but a sniper rifle but they are possible if the player is really good.

Grenades will explode in a radius (which is Hollywood) and damage rather than kill all in vicinity. A direct hit with a grenade will probably waste the unlucky person (unless they are in full armor mode in the nanosuit). The rocket launcher will primarily be effective against vehicles and less so against humans (unless you hit them in the exact right spot). Rockets are very effective against the components of vehicles but take longer to destroy the entire hull (unlike BF, for instance).

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:34 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• MSI P965 Platinum - [H]

  Cases
  

• NZXT Zero Case - Thinkcomputers.org

  Cooling
  

• Noctua NH-U9 and NH-U12 heatpipe coolers - Guru3D
• Silverstone Tundra TD01 Watercooling Kit - XS Reviews

  CPU
  

• AMD's 65nm L2 cache looks to be slower - Tech Report
• AMD confirms provisions for larger cache at 65nm - Tech Report

  Keyboards
  

• Logitech diNovo Edge - TechAge

  Memory
  

• Crucial's High-Performance RAM - Ballistix PC2-8000 EPP - Tweaktown

  Storage
  

• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - Tweaktown

  Video
  

• Foxconn GeForce 7950GT OC - Gamingnexus
• HIS' Radeon X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo - HotHardware

RPG Vault Goodness - Hellgate London 01:17 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Hellgate: London Peek #6 Bill Roper offers information on items and magic, the demon fighters' key tools of the trade in Flagship's game - Includes three exclusive 1680x1050 screenshots

Heavy Duty Media #4 In a new series of battle scenes from Primal's project, we see the player's convoy ambushed as it crosses a bridge - Five exclusive screenshots

Game Reviews 01:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (3 comments)

PC

• El Matador - Worthplaying - 6/10
• FIFA Manager 07 - GameSpot - 7.3/10
• Left Behind: Eternal Forces - X-Play - 2/5

  360
  

• Assault Heroes - Eurogamer - 7/10
• Blue Dragon - GameBrink - 88%
• Call of Duty 3 - Strategy Informer - 8.3/10
• Novadrone - GameSpot - 5.6/10
• Rainbow Six Vegas - Gamehelper - 9/10

  Wii
  

• Excite Truck - Worthplaying - 8/10
• GT Pro Series - Eurogamer - 2/10
• Wii Sports - Boomtown - 8/10

  Gamecube
  

• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Play.tm - 94%

In Other News... 12:55 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (12 comments)
Winter officially kicks off today, which makes sense as Christmas is on Monday. News might be a little slow for the next week or so, but we'll be around providing daily updates. Next week we have the Best of 2006 awards, and the week after our big 2007 PC preview. The GOTY poll closes Sunday at Midnight, so make sure to exercise your right to vote if you haven't already.

Today's question:

Best multiplayer game of 2006?