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10-27-3 The Max Payne 2 Modification Tools have been released. Here's the deal: "Max Payne 2 lets you easily play user-made maps and content modifications, 'mods'. Some mods might modify the original game to give Max new weapons, new skills or a new perspective. Others might introduce a completely new surroundings and characters." The download is mirrored on Gamer's Hell, GameTab, IGN, and Worthplaying. Eidos Interactive sends word of some updates to the Deus Ex Invisible War Website. Along with an affirmation that the game is on track for a December 3 release for both the PC and the Xbox, this is what they have to say: "With this update of the official Deus Ex: Invisible War website we bring you more information about the intriguing world of Deus Ex: Invisible War. New profiles on a handful of the players and the organizations they represent in the Deus Ex world. Fresh data on some of the Bots and transgenic creatures you will encounter in your trip across the dark globe. And new information on some of the biomods and weapons that you will rely upon for your very survival. Learn and remember..." A Railroad Pioneer Demo is now available, providing a chance to check out this railroad building and management simulation from KritzelKratz 3000. The demo is an 87 MB download, available from 3D Gamers, Boomtown (registration required), Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying. A demo for Silent Hill 3 is now available from 4Players.de, a sample of the PC version of Konami's horror game sequel. Early indications were that this is a German demo, which is supported by the filename, but it turns out the whopping 468 MB demo offers multiple language support. The demo is mirrored on Computer Games Online, FileFront, Filerush, Gamer's Hell, GameTab, IGN, and Pixelrage.ro. As is their way, 3D Gamers has posted a (25 MB smaller) 444 MB version of the same demo, the efficiency created by removing the included DirectX 8 installer. A similarly dieted version is available on Worthplaying. 10-26-3 There's a chat log on Star Wars Galaxies Stratics recapping a session with the developers of the Star Wars MMORPG about past present and future events in the game, though, of course, they all actually take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. 10-25-3 A preview on Computer and Video Games reprinted from PC Zone Magazine that features a Q&A with Tim Willits and Todd Hollenshead, along with some multiplayer impressions, calling the game (DOOM 3) "quite magnificent," going on to gush: "No game has managed to create quite such an intense, furiously alive and often disorienting atmosphere before - certainly not with such conviction and fidelity - and the resulting effect is profoundly novel." A new Age of Mythology: The Titans Demo is now available from Microsoft Game Studios, allowing the chance to sample Ensemble Studios' real-time strategy expansion. Here's the description of what you get for a 319 MB download: "In the trial version, you assume the role of the mighty Atlantean god Kronos as you advance through the third age on the random map The Marsh or play the tutorial and first scenario of the brand-new single player campaign. You don’t need to own the original Age of Mythology to play this trial version." A new beta version 1.19 of the Red Orchestra modification for Unreal Tournament 2003 is now available. There may be a bit of a lag before there are many mirrors available for the updated version of this World War II mod. NVIDIA Introduces ForceWare Release 50 Graphics Driver announces the availability of new reference drivers for NVIDIA accelerators, the drivers carrying a new "ForceWare" moniker to replace the Detonator designation. Word is: "The ForceWare release 50 graphics drivers include the NVIDIA unified compiler technology that translates shader programs so that they are optimized for the NVIDIA GPU architecture, substantially improving the performance of next-generation DirectX 9.0 titles such as HalfLife™ 2, XIII, and more. Performance in the DirectX 9.0 application HaloPC™ improves by up to 58% and DirectX 9.0-based Microsoft Flight Simulator™ 9 improves by 33% ." Currently available only for Win2K/XP, downloads can be found on their Driver Page. 10-24-3 DOOM 3 Capped on IGN relates a tidbit about DOOM 3 gleaned at a recent NVIDIA editor's day, where they learned that the game will be capped at a maximum 60 FPS framerate. They quote id's John Carmack on the reason for this.
The debut release of the Ultimate Survival modification is now available, as the developers look for feedback on the paintball-style gameplay it adds to Unreal Tournament 2003. Action Vault's Call of Duty Q&A is their chat with Grant Collier, Zied Rieke and Steve "Funkydooda" Fukuda of Infinity Ward about their upcoming first-person shooter set in the European Theater of World War II. 10-23-3 Ultimate Arena announces the AMD/ZipZoomFly 3 vs. 3 Counter-strike tournament, set to kick off with a qualifying ladder on November 3, offering $5K in cash and another $5K in AMD hardware for the winners. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Demo is available from 3D Downloads, Filerush.com, Fragland.net, Gamer's Hell, GNS Project, and IGN 10-22-3 Buka has released a playable demo for Midnight Nowhere, giving us the chance to sample their upcoming adventure game. The 160 MB demo can be downloaded from the Buka Entertainment Website, or one of these mirrors: 3D Gamers, Gamer's Hell, Loadedinc.com (registration required), and Worthplaying. A demo version Ford Racing 2 is now available, offering a chance to sample the brand-specific racing in this game also known as Ford Racing Evolution. The 82 MB demo can be found on Empire Interactive.com, mirrored on Filerush.com, Gamer's Hell, and Loadedinc.com (registration required). A startlingly smaller 33 MB version that does not include both(!) DirectX installers in the original release is available on 3D Gamers, mirrored on Boomtown (registration required), GameCenter.cz, NWSGaming.Com, Pixelrage.ro, and Worthplaying. 10-21-3 A new version 3.7 of the Qtracker server browsing (among other things) utility is now available. The new release: "Adds support for: Halo, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and Tron 2.0. Adds a filter browser. Adds server response time and game type columns. Adds player support for Elite Force II 1.10. New dynamic cool menus. QtUplink: Added support for Halo and Tron 2.0. Numerous bug fixes and enhancements." A new F/A-18 Operation Iraqi Freedom Demo is now available, providing the chance to sample this jet combat simulator from Graphic Simulations. The demo is a mere 32 MB download, which has been mirrored on 3D Gamers. 10-20-3 The GODZ Website now offers downloads of the first non-alpha release of the UT2003 version of the GODZ modification, saying that the updated version finally surpasses the original UT version of the project. GODZ features "incredible battles amongst genetically engineered, supernatural warriors built by rival planets to compete in a Universal-Wide Tournament." The new release includes a number of fixes, tweaks, and bug fixes. 10-19-3 Atari and Epic games Announce North American Rebate Program, Pricing for Unreal Tournament 2004 has details on the different ways UT2004 can be purchased in North America when the next installment in the multiplayer shooter series is released (currently scheduled for this year's holiday season). In addition to the standard retail package which will include UT2004 as well as UT2003 and its mission packs, there will be a metal-boxed DVD Special Edition ($20 more at $59.99) with Video Training Modules for mod authors, a chat headset, and an Unreal window sticker. The announcement also includes word of a planned $10 rebate for owners of UT2003 that purchase either version of UT2004. 10-18-3 A post on Worthplaying outlines the projected system requirements for Unreal Tournament 2004. A post on the 3D Realms Forums has word from Remedy that the Max Payne 2 mod tools are not included with the shipping version of the game, but will be released separately online, though no exact time frame for this is yet in place. The debut beta release of the Unreal 2003 Films pack is now available, offering: "a map to view all the Martial arts Anims so far. 10-17-3 Doomsday HQ has the release of a new version 1.7.14 of Doomsday, the updated version of the DOOM/Hexen/Heretic source code(s). Among other things, this release offers the program's first-ever support for the four-level Hexen demo. Enemy Down has announced that they have launched new Halo ladders to accompany the ladders they are already running Counter-Strike and day of Defeat ladders. 10-16-3 Some news that finally the Quake 3 mod Navy Seals: Covert Operations version 1.9 by Team Mirage was released. The Radiant Website now offers a new version 1.3.12 of the GtkRadiant level editing program. 10-15-3 Version 0.26 of Quake II Evolved is now available, offering significant changes to id's first-person shooter, where every effect in the game has been replaced, mod support is enhanced, shader support is improved, speed optimizations, and more. The official Deus Ex Invisible War Website (Flash-required) is now online, dedicated to ION Storm's upcoming first-person RPG sequel. The site offers DX info straight from Warren Spector, the final version of the Invisible War Trailer, mostly new screenshots, details on features, intros to key characters, creepy background music, and more. 10-14-3 The first version of the Red Orchestra modification for Unreal Tournament 2003 is now available, debuting this tribute to the bloody combat on the eastern front of World War II. Word from iGames Publishing is that Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi has gone gold. 10-13-3 A new version 3.1 of the Urban Terror modification for Quake III Arena is now available. This first update for version 3 of the mod is a 26 MB download, and requires UT version 3.0 be installed. The Final Fantasy XI Website provides pricing and shipping details for Final Fantasy XI, the 11th installment in the never-quite final RPG series, saying: "FINAL FANTASY XI for Windows, the first online title in the world-renowned series, will begin shipping to North American retailers on October 28. FINAL FANTASY XI for Windows will include the 'Rise of the Zilart' expansion pack and other applications on five CD-ROM discs and carries a suggested retail price of $49.99 (USD)." A new patch for Medieval: Total War is now available, updating Creative Assembly's real-time/turn-based strategy game to version 2.01. The 5.7 MB patch that addresses a few annoyances and bugs in the game can be found on 3D Gamers, FileFront, and Worthplaying. 10-12-3 GamePro.com's DOOM 3 Q&A chats with id Software's Todd Hollenshead and Tim Willits about the upcoming DOOM game. they discuss challenges the project has presented, competing with Half-Life 2, system requirements, and more. The Merciless Creations Website, creepy martial music and all, has confirmation of rumors that their mod will be joining forces with the Forgotten Hope modification for Battlefield 1942. The Deus Ex: Invisible War Q&A on Computer and Video Games interrogates a few of the folks behind development of Deus Ex: Invisible War, ION Storm's upcoming RPG sequel, learning: "We are in the final stages of development and testing. Tuning and balancing the game to make it as fun as possible, we are basically wrapping up the loose ends and putting a fine coat of polish on the game. Invisible War will be available in early December on both Xbox and PC." A new patch is now available for Age of Mythology, updating Ensemble's RTS game to version 1.07. The update is available via the in-game update utility, or it can be downloaded from the Ensemble Studios Website. 10-11-3 A playable demo for R.C. Cars is now available, providing the chance to sample the simulated car simulator. The demo features one level and one car for the cost of a 190 MB (lite) or 260 MB (full) download, available from Project Three Interactive and mirrored on 3D Gamers, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying. Ownt's Postal 2 Q&A chats with Vince Desi of Running with Scissors about Postal 2, the upcoming multiplayer add-on, and the reaction to violent games in general. There's a new step-by-step TRON 2.0 guide on Visual Walkthroughs, true to the site's name, chock full of screenshots. 10-10-3 It's time for the Fall of Max Payne to rise, as Rockstar Games' Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Goes Gold is the press release with word that Remedy Entertainment's third-person shooter is complete, and expected on store shelves in North America on October 15 and in Europe on October 24, with console releases on the PS2 and Xbox slated for December 3. A new collection of three high resolution clips from Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is now available, showing off Remedy's shooter sequel that just went gold. The collection is just shy of 34 MB, available from 3D Gamers, FileShack (registration required), and Worthplaying. 10-9-3 LadyGamers' CAL Rocket Arena 3 Q&As is a series of conversations with the competitors in The Cyberathlete Amateur League for Quake Rocket Arena 3. HomeLAN Fed's Jailbreak: Prisoners Of War Q&A talks with Shannon "ScrotcH" Gadbois about the upcoming "final" Quake III Arena version of the venerable prison break modification. 10-8-3 DOOM 3 on GameAxis. From Activision Activate. Including a couple of quotes as a Q&A. 10-7-3 One time id designer American McGee, now signing off as "Creative Director (of) The Mauretania Import Export Co" sends word that they are holding a Video Game Casting Call for game players from southern California as they conduct open casting for a video game television show. He says: "think 'iron chef' meets 'jackass' meets head-to-head gaming." 10-6-3 The Legacy Website now offers a new version 1.41 of Doom Legacy, updating this enhanced version of id Software's DOOM based on the publicly available source code. Word is: "...we took the time to make it as stable as possible. Sure, some bugs remain, but the most annoying ones reported to us are gone." 10-5-3 A new version 1.9 of the Navy SEALs Covert Operations modification for Quake III Arena is now available (thanks Ant). The new release is available in three distributions, one for Windows, one for Macs, and a third OS-independent version via bittorrent. 10-4-3 The Warcraft III Website now offers a new bonus map for the RTS game called "Typhoon". Word on the 2-on-2/3-on-3 map is: "Coastal fog has enshrouded this archipelago. Be wary as you pass from one island to the next: there is no telling what leviathans lie sleeping in this cold sea." 10-3-3 The Half-Life 2 Interview on GameSpot talks with Valve's Gabe Newell at an ATI event where Half-Life 2 would have been unveiled, had it met its original shipping schedule. 10-2-3 A post to the Halflife2.net Forums by Gabe Newell finally has a comment on the leaked Half-Life 2 source code, brought to the world's attention by Gamer's With Jobs and Slashdot. 10-1-3 The Max Payne 2 Q&A on Shacknews talks with Remedy Entertainment's Petri Järvilehto and Sam Lake about the upcoming shooter sequel featuring the fall of Max Payne and some mushy stuff (a love story). After emphasizing their focus on gameplay, they provide an answer to the question about engine upgrades: "The radiosity lighting has been completely re-written, we got rid of all of the old AI code and took the AI to a new level of sophistication, and the texture resolutions and polycounts have been boosted to lot higher levels. All of the skins are now using DX shaders (so yes, light reflects properly on the eyes) which makes a world of difference on the lighting if you have the hardware that can take advantage of it. Also, we’ve taken the particle systems much further." 9-30-3 A new bonus map for Command & Conquer Generals is now available, offering the chance to play the US versus Canada on a map representing North America. The map is a 200 KB download, which can be found on EA's FTP server (direct link). Here's a link to the map's read me that was not included in the archive. 9-29-3 A dedicated server program has been released to allow a Halo server to be operated without a copy of the game. The download has been mirrored on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Filerush, and Worthplaying. 9-28-3 Conspiracies Gone Gold is the press release announcing this murder mystery game from Greek developer Anima Ppd-Interactive has gone gold, with the game, which will include both CD and DVD formats in one box, "should hit store shelves in just a couple of weeks." 9-27-3 An updated version 5.19 of the Yager Demo is now available, tweaking this sample of the eponymous flying combat game from Yager Development. The updated demo features the same content as before, but now includes mouse support and support for older CPUs. The 204 MB download can be found on THQ Germany (direct link), 3D Gamers, IGN, and Loadedinc (registration required). 9-26-3 The Steam News Page has word that the Steam network is now offering the promised new version of Half-Life Day of Defeat. The update has details on what's new and different, including a pair of new maps and a bunch of bug-fixes for the World War II modification. 9-25-3 ATI introduces RADEON 9800 XT and RADEON 9600 XT, demonstrating industry leadership once again is the press release announcing ATI's latest, including word on the promised Half-Life 2 bundle, even if the game did not make its planned release date, as word is purchasers of these cards will get a copy of Half-Life 2 "when the game ships." ATI and Valve Team up to Showcase the best of 3D Gaming has more on this, including quotes from Valve. 9-24-3 Microsoft sends word that Halo: Combat Evolved for the PC has hit store shelves across the United States. On the heels of this announcement, a patch is available, updating the PC version of Bungie's first-person shooter to version 1.01. The patch is 3.6 MB, available from 3D Gamers, Boomtown, Computer Games Online, Fappin, FileFront, GameCenter.cz, Gameplex, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying. 9-23-3 Max Payne 2 - Six new clips from Remedy's third-person shooter sequel are available from 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, Filerush, FileShack (High and Low res (registration required)), GameCenter.cz, Gamer's Hell, Tiscali Games, and Worthplaying. 9-22-3 A demo for Navy SEALs: Weapons of Mass destruction is now available, a sample of ValuSoft's special forces shooter with the topical title. The demo is playable for 60 minutes, after which time the purchase of a license key will allow further play. The 90 MB demo can be found on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer's Hell and Worthplaying. 9-20-3 A new version 3.9.68 of the MultiEx Commander game resource extraction utility is now available. 9-19-3 3000AD sends news on plans for the demo for Universal Combat, the upcoming space simulation formerly known as Battlecruiser Generations. They provide a hedge on the "first week of October" timetable for the demo provided in the game's press release, saying: "The demo is coming along just fine and will be released this month ahead of the game's Thanksgiving release. All things being equal." It seems pretty logical to deduce that "this month" refers to October rather than September. 9-18-3 A report on Computer and Video Games, showing contempt for other site's speculative posts on the topic, gets confirmation from Valve that the Xbox is the only console system currently targeted for a port of Half-Life 2, quoting Doug Lombardi as saying: "At this point, there are no plans to publish a version [of Half-Life 2] for either of Sony or Nintendo's current systems." They then proceed to speculate on the likelihood of PS3 and GameCube 2 versions of the game, based on Doug's comment that: "Valve is obviously interested in hearing more about their [Sony and Nintendo] next-generation plans and discuss the possibilities of doing something with them." 9-17-3 The Battlefield 1942 Website (thanks Dantastic) has details on the upcoming version 1.50 patch for Battlefield 1942, which will add new features to the World War II shooter, while also addressing a couple of nagging issues like the CD swapping issue. There is also an update on the status of the eagerly awaited Mod Development Toolkit. 9-15-3 The Forgotten Hope Website now offers downloads of beta 0.5B of the Forgotten Hope modification for Battlefield 1942. This project aspires to be "the #1 unofficial expansion pack to Battlefield 1942," and here's a bit on why: "This version contains way too many great new maps, vehicles weapons to list them all in this news posting, but you will be exploring the current 7 all-new maps and several dice modifications for a good while.. at least till we release the next patch featuring 3-5 all new maps, several new land vehicles, a few more planes and many hand weapons that did not make it to this release." 9-13-3 HomeLAN Fed's Hell In The Pacific Mod Q&A chats with the team behind the Hell in the Pacific modification for Battlefield 1942. 9-12-3 HomeLAN Fed's Infiltration Mod Q&A talks with several of the developers of the Infiltration modification for Unreal Tournament. 9-11-3 Gamers Europe Previews Xbox Counter-Strike. 9-10-3 Aspyr Media sends along the announcement that work is underway on a Macintosh version of Command & Conquer Generals. No release date is specified for the port of the RTS game, which is being programmed by i5works. 9-9-3 The Steam News Page has word that the promised update for Half-Life Counter-Strike is now available via the broadband content delivery system. According to the previous update on the subject, the update addresses the shield drop weapon server crash and the shield exploit. Word with this current item is: "This update is primarily for dedicated servers. The update requires a server restart, and will take effect as soon as the admin runs the stand-alone (HLDS) update tool." 9-8-3 The Eve of Destruction Website now offers downloads of a new version 0.21 of the Eve of Destruction modification for Battlefield 1942. The updated version of this Vietnam War-themed modification features some gameplay enhancements along with a ton of bug-fixes. 9-7-3 A new version 1.01 of the Kanonball modification for Half-Life is now available. The update tweaks gameplay and adds a couple of bug fixes via a server-side patch that is not required to update clients. 9-6-3 There's a Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Walkthrough on Gamehelper. 9-5-3 Ultimate Arena has announced the terms of the anti-cheating guarantee they are providing players of their online gaming/gambling dealie. 9-2-3 A new version 1.7 of the venerable Rocket Arena modification for Quake III Arena is now available. The update adds user definable colors for enemies and teammates (more teamplay mods should do this for those of us who are color-blind), a new accuracy award, new admin functions, and three new maps along with bug fixes and other tweaks. There's a mirror of the 119 MB full version on FileFront and the 29 MB update for previous versions on FileFront. The Half-Life 2 Interview on Computer and Video Games catches up with Valve's Doug Lombardi at ECTS to pepper him with a few questions about Half-Life 2. Soul Calibur II and Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition each should now be available in stores. Also, HomeLAN Fed's kill.switch Q&A talks with Namco associate producer Alvin Muolic about their upcoming console action game. |
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