News Archive 2008

News Archive 2008

Braid launch date updated

The developers of Braid, an artistic puzzle game already available for Xbox 360, have posted on their official blog an updated release date.

The game is now scheduled to be released in February or March 2009, three months later than the previous release date.

Spore may be released via Steam

The Spore EULA has mysteriously appeared on Steam, which may be a sign that Electronic Arts seriously considers using digital distribution platforms like Steam to sell their titles.

With the exception of Crysis and Crysis Warhead (which were released through Steam after an agreement was made between Crytek and Valve), Spore would be the first game approved for electronic distribution by the management of Electronic Arts, something that a few months ago would have been unbelievable.

Return to Mysterious Island 2 announced

Microids has announced Return to Mysterious Island 2, a point-and-click adventure game which will continue the action of the game Return to Mysterious Island.

The game will be launched in March 2009 and will be available for PC and iPhone.

Based on Jules Verne books, the adventure game will place players on a mysterious island, close to being destroyed by an ecologic disaster.

Grand Theft Auto 4 available on Steam for pre-order

Valve Software has announced that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto 4 can be pre-ordered through Steam. Players can purchase it for $49.99 and will be rewarded with a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The estimated release date for the game is the 3^rd of December.

Record sales for Fallout 3

According to Bethesda Softworks, their recent post-apocalyptic role playing game Fallout 3 has been sold to over 4.7 million customers, bringing them a revenue of over 300 million dollars.

Left 4 Dead system requirements announced

Valve has issued a new set of system requirements for the PC version of its cooperative zombie shooter Left 4 Dead.

The requirements are with one exception identical with the previous announcement, only the amount of video memory is lowered from 256MB to 128MB.

Here are the complete system requirements:

• OS: Windows XP, Vista, Vista64
• CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
• RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
• Disc drive: DVD-ROM Drive
• Hard drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
• Video: Direct X 9 compatible video card - Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9 compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0 (ATI 9600 or higher, Nvidia 6600 or higher)
• Sound: Direct X9.0c compatible sound card

Secret Service Announced

Activision has announced the launch of a new game, Secret Service. The tactical action game will be launched by the end of this year and will be available on PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.

Players will have the job of protecting the political leaders of the United States of America from extremist groups and terrorists.

Stargate Worlds closed beta test announced

On the 15th of October, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment will launch the closed beta test for their MMO called Stargate Worlds. The official site allows anyone interested to apply for an account.

Stargate Worlds is scheduled to be launched in 2009.

Fallout 3 to be censored globally

After several ban threats from Australian organizations, Bethesda Softworks made several alterations to the post-apocalyptic RPG, Fallout 3.The updated version giving fictional names to all drugs available inside the game has been later approved for sale in Australia.

Pete Hines, the vice-president of Bethesda Studios, has announced that this censored version will be sold globally and that there will not be any other regional versions, in order to prevent rating issues or other content related "misunderstandings".

Release date for Wrath of the Lich King expansion announced

Blizzard Entertainment studios have officially confirmed the release date of the second expansion for World Of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King.

The game will be released on the 13th of November, in a 39.99 Euro standard version and a 69.99 Euro Collector's version.

The Collector's edition will include:

• the Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game
• a Making-of movie
• the official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
• World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legionâ„¢ starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector’s Edition
• a mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend
• An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm

Far Cry 2 release date announced

According to Ubisoft, the first person shooter Far Cry 2 will be available in retail stores starting from the 24th of Octomber.

Along with versions for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox360, there will be a collector's edition, which will be sold in an exclusive wooden box, with a t-shirt, an art book, a map and a "Making Of" DVD.

Mirror's Edge System Requirements announced

During the NVISION 08 event, Electronic Arts has announced the system requirements for the action game Mirror's Edge, currently under development at DICE studios.

The game will run on Windows XP or Windows Vista, will need at least a Pentium 4 at 2.4 Ghz and 1 GB of memory. The recommended video cards should be at least as powerful as a GeForce 6 series card, with 256 MB of memory.

STALKER: Clear Sky is now Gold

According to GSC Game World and its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing, the first person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is now Gold.

However, the game's launch date has been delayed to the 5th of September 2008, from the previous date of 29th of August, 2008.

The Sims 3 launch date announced

At Games Convention 2008, Electronic Arts has revealed the launch date for The Sims 3, the 20th of February, 2009.

Crysis Warhead release date and system requirements announced

Electronic Arts and Crytek studios have announced that the first person shooter Crysis Warhead will be available in European retail stores starting from the 12th of September. In the United States of America, the game will be sold starting from the 16th of September.

Along with the release date, the system requirements were presented:

• Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Windows Vista), Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Windows Vista), AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Windows Vista) or better
• Memory: 1GB (1.5GB on Windows Vista)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or better, with at least 256MB of video memory and DirectX 9.0c/DirectX 10 compatible
• Disk space: 15GB
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Windows Vista

The game will feature sergeant "Psycho" Sikes, the action of the place taking place in parallel with the story of Crysis but presents the events from another perspective.

Grand Theft Auto 4 for PC announced

Rockstar Games studios have officially announced that Grand Theft Auto 4 for PC will be released on the 18th of November in the United States of America and the 21st of November in Europe.

The PC version will include an extended multiplayer mode, unlike the console version of the game.

Divinity 2: Ego Draconis announced

dtp entertainment has officially announced that the Belgian studio Larian is currently working on the new action-RPG called Divinity 2: Ego Draconis.

The game's action will take place in Rivellon. Players take part as dragon hunters, improving their abilities and choosing various specializations, aiming to become a Dragon Lord.

Besides the high number of available guns, the quests will be different compared to previous games in the series, in order to offer various techniques of solving situations.

Tomb Raider: Underworld release date announced

Eidos announced that the action game Tomb Raider: Underworld, developed by Crystal Dynamics, will be available in European retail stores starting with the 21st of November, 2008.

Starcraft 2 delayed

At the Worlwide Invitational Entertainment event in Paris, Rob Pardo, the vicepresident of Blizzard, has mentioned that the single player campaign of the much expected real-time strategy game Starcraft 2 is only 33% complete.

The game producers are confident they'll be able to have something close to complete by the end of this year.

2K Games removes DRM from Bioshock

Elizabeth Tobey, currently the 2K Games Community Manager, has announced on the official forum that the activation restrictions have been removed from the first-person shooter Bioshock.

Previously, players were able to activate the game using a CD key up to only five times.

Patch 1.3 for Crysis cancelled

Crytek has announced through their usual monthly news update that they will no longer offer the 1.3 patch for their first person shooter, Crysis.

At the same time, they will stop development on the Linux version of the dedicated multiplayer server.

Mass Effect is now Gold

Electronic Arts has announced that the PC version of the role playing game Mass Effect is now Gold and will be available in European retail stores on the 6th of June, after being released in US on the 28th of May in US.

The Witcher Enhanced Edition delayed

CD Projekt RED Studios have announced the decision to delay the launch of The Witcher Enhanced Edition in order to fine tune it.

The programmers promise to improve loading times with up to 80%, over 100 new animations for Geralt and non playing characters, a better inventory systems and a complete rewrite of the dialogue system.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames announced

Pandemic Studios have announced the release date for their sandbox action game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. It will be launched in the United States on the 31st of August, 2008.

WorldShift now in Open Beta

Black Sea studios have announced the start of the Open Beta test for the RTS/MMO hybrid Worldshift.

The action of this game takes place in the future, thousands of years after the human population was destroyed by a mysterious object that crashed on Earth, called Shard Zero. The game features randomly generated maps and thousands of objects that replace the classic tech trees.

The Open Beta is being hosted by FilePlanet.

Portal 2 confirmed

According to an interview given to G4TV at Game Developers Conference 2008, the lead designer of Portal, Kimberly Swift, has confirmed that Valve Software is already working on Portal 2.

There were no other details given to the press besides this announcement.

nVIDIA buys AGEIA Technologies

nVidia has announced that they've reached an agreement to purchase AGEIA Technologies. AGEIA is known for their PhysX technology, used in popular games like City of Villains, Gears of War, Auto Assault or Unreal Tournament 3.

There were no financial details released to the press.

THQ buys Big Huge Games

THQ has recently announced the purchase of Big Huge Games, the studio behind popular game titles like Age Of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties and Age Of Empires 3: Rise Of Nations.

Over 100 employees of Big Huge Games will continue to work on a new role playing game for PC, Xbox360 and Playstation 3.