Displaying stories with the tag "Games: PC". Subscribe to this URL for an RSS feed of this tag. Want more news? Click here for the Shacknews frontpage.Since then, its quests have been markedly improved. The enormous experience punishment for death is mostly gone. Solo play is more viable. Zones have been revamped, and character classes refined. All expansions include the previous content, so catching up to the crowd isn't a problem. Sony's done a decent job of salvaging its user base in this respect.
Considering this, I went into the newest expansion beta with open eyes.
The Ruins of Kunark was the first expansion to the original EverQuest. Seven years later, The Rise of Kunark marks the fourth expansion to EverQuest 2, the sequel to Sony's groundbreaking MMO. This updated version essentially adds the same features that Ruins did: the lizard-populated continent of Kunark, an increase in level cap, a new playable race, and "epic" quests.
In fact, the continent of Kunark in this new expansion is essentially a total reconstruction of the original land mass, right down to some of the same dungeons and zones. Players of the original game will... Read more
Unsurprisingly set on a terraformed Mars, Blue Mars seems highly focused on the community and customization aspects of MMOs, with avatar creation mentioned prominently in all the game's press releases. It will be demonstrated at this week's E for All Expo in Los Angeles.
Heading up Avatar Reality are Kazuyuki Hashimoto, CG supervisor on Square's Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC) and more recently technology VP for new platforms at Electronic Arts, and Li-han Chen, formerly of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within production company Square Pictures and more recently project manager on Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II.
Interestingly, Avatar Reality's advisory board is made up of three figures crucial to the early success of Nintendo: Henk Rogers (listed on the company's site as "mastermind"), who notoriously secured the original rights to Tetris after befriending designer Alexey Pajitnov and went on to found The Tetris Company; Minoru Arakawa, the first president of Nintendo of America, who helped establish the initially floundering branch; and Tetris creator Pajitnov himself, who went on to co-found The Tetris Company with Rogers.
Blue Moon is planned to enter a beta phase in late 2008.
"The moral of the story is, indie game developers are guys who let you be a zombie," Wideload CEO Alex Seropian said at the Independent Games Conference keynote today in reference to Wideload's commendable work on Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse (PC, Xbox). "So if you want to kill the zombies, you're probably a publisher. If you want to be a zombie, you're one of us. That's what I think an independent developer is."
Cyclomite requires players to drive the titular vehicle--represented by a multicolored ring--through a meteor storm, catching runaway space rocks to save the universe. The game will feature both cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Cyclomite will be previewed at the Independent Games Conference, so expect Shacknews' own Chris Faylor to report more on the title.
Flush with cash from an agreement with IAC, GarageGames' revealed its plans to make web-based gaming site InstantAction.com last month. The site will be a community of sorts with 3D online-only games when it launches in January of next year, and aims to push web-based gaming toward a less casual gaming audience.
The online-focused RTS/shooter mashup will support up to 18 players online, and allows gamers to switch between traditional group RTS control and single character action on the fly. Gangs are seemingly segregated based on race, as examples of the "9 different gang types" included Irish, Russian, Japanese, Latino, and Italian.
Offline, gameplay is limited to multiplayer matches with bots, as there will be no single player campaign, according to the game's FAQ. Strategy First also included several screenshots to go with the announcement.
Acceleration is the first expansion to last year's Flight Simulator X, and will arrive just over a year after the original sim's release on October 23. Fittingly, the game retails alongside Project Aces' Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, the latest in the long-running Namco Bandai series of jet-sim titles, which also went gold today.
It'll be a good week for the flight sim fans when the expansion retails for $29.99 later this month.
The compilation will be available for PC for $49.99 some time this month. The package comprises 13 titles in total, listed below with their original release dates.
If you didn't see it the first time, EA has also released the full version of Command & Conquer Gold for free, available on FileShack as two discs. The next installment in the Command & Conquer series, the expansion Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath, debuts this spring. A recent EA Job listing indicated a second Command & Conquer-themed FPS may be in development, though there has been no official word.
One of the very few available options for fans of the ship simulation genre, Ship Simulator 2008 includes new vehicles like jet-skis and hovercrafts, and adds locations like Southampton, Marseille, and San Francisco Bay. Virtual captains sailing in the game's San Francisco Bay area can imagine traveling past Shacknews editor-in-chief Chris Remo's coastal condominium as they partake in multiplayer and open sea missions.
The title features advanced weather effects, visible hull damage, dynamic waves, and even icebergs for Titanic-replicating wrecks. Dual-screen support gives players a navigational chart on their second monitor to make their computer room a virtual bridge. No price or exact date was announced for the title, but FileShack has a downloadable demo of Ship Simulator 2008 for your privateering pleasure.
Owned by Turner Broadcasting System, GameTap and its collection of digitally distributed PC games have, thus far, only been available to those within the United States and Canada. Its offerings include nearly a thousand different games, spanning original titles such as Telltale Games' Sam & Max series and American McGee's upcoming Grimm, along with classic PC series like Ultima and Wing Commander and more modern releases from such companies as Codemasters and Eidos. The service also provides a number of old console games via emulation, ranging from Atari 2600 to Saturn and Dreamcast titles.
No further details were provided in regards to the international edition. In the US, a monthly subscription starts at $9.99, with price breaks provided for those that pre-pay in larger increments. A free ad-support edition of GameTap, containing a small selection of its offerings and supported by advertising, was rolled out earlier this year.Currently, the InstantAction website consists of only a form to submit an email address to be kept updated with news regarding the service. The company plans to launch a test program before the official launch early next year.
Shacknews has learned that though GarageGames is spearheading the effort and developing a browser-based gaming platorm, several other notable developers have signed on as well. The studio plans to elaborate... Read more
Known as the "Siege of C-J6," Red Alliance leaders were ready for the worst. This wasn't the first time the Russians had been to the brink, but with a coalition of close to 10,000 players knocking on their front door--a coalition spearheaded by future GoonSwarm enemies Lotka Volterra--it was looking like it might be their last. "Nobody thought we would win," says UAxDeath. "I had only hope."
Announced in July, and now integrated into every Steam client, The Steam Community's array of social and networking options provides users with a wide array of community-oriented options. These include the ability to sport a custom avatar, stalk friends from game to game, form groups, engage in group and private chat, schedule group events, and track a number of different statistics, such as a breakdown of play time and the assignment of a Steam Rating.
For example, after accidentally leaving Peggle Extreme running for 9.6 hours last night, my SteamID page lists my rating as "3.1 - Shooting Blanks."
Shacker freshyk has set up this chatty thread for those interested in joining the Shacknews group.
The move is the result of a partnership with TransGaming, a Canadian company specializing in platform redevelopment. EVE Online was already playable on Linux through Cedega, a Windows shell for Linux users. Now the game will be totally converted using TransGaming's tasty Cider engine.
"By integrating TransGaming's excellent technology, we are able to keep our laser-focus on evolving EVE Online, while simultaneously expanding the EVE universe to even more players," quipped CCP chief technical officer Halldor Fannar.
The company has always utilized free trials of the game to reach more players. In the growing MMO market, EVE has been one of the few titles to show consistent, if modest growth.
CCP communications director Valerie Massey put it this way in a recent Shacknews interview: "The population of Iceland is 300,000. We have about 200,000 EVE players. So our goal is to get [beyond that]."
Developed and published by Aspyr, both editions are said to "match their console counterparts with explosive new content and features," right down to the tracklist and online multiplayer.
"Working with such a wildly successful franchise and helping to strengthen an already powerful brand has us feeling like rock stars ourselves, only without the fame, money or musical talent," jested Aspyr executive VP said Ted Staloch. "Aspyr's expertise in developing and publishing for these platforms means that we will deliver a game that wails just as hard as it does on consoles but feels natural on this audience's chosen platform."
"Providing the option for our fans to play Guitar Hero at their desk or on a laptop on the go is incredibly exciting, and we're thrilled to now offer the ... Read more
Valerie Massey: One of the things I thought was interesting is our company's chef is actually the mother of our CEO. Our CEO and EVE's creator have been friends since they were little boys. One day she came in and I was like, did people think they had lost their minds? Here's two guys in Iceland saying "yea, we're gonna make this game."
She didn't understand what it was, she said she thought it was something just the two of them could do in the garage or in the basement. So they're "no, we have to hire this person and that person" but they told her, "it'll never be more than 20 people."
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