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A Call of Duty Elite tweet that raised concerns the delayed PC version of Call of Duty Elite may not be coming at all turns out to have been erroneous. The tweet seemed pretty unequivocal about this, saying: ""We are working towards a universal Elite experience but we cannot guarantee if or when a version will be available for the PC." Shacknews, however, has a correction from Activision, who told them this was a mistake. "The goal has always been to provide a PC offering for Elite," a representative told them. "The timing for that free offering is still being determined, so stay tuned for news on that."
The Word of Notch has word on this weekend's MineCon festivities, as well as a bit on Minecraft, including an apology for forgetting about mod support:
The last few weeks have been incredibly stressful and emotional in many ways, and I feel so relieved to finally have a finished version of Minecraft to release to the world on Friday. But that doesn�t mean we�ll stop working on Minecraft! We�ll keep adding to the game just as we have so far, and we have many exciting plans for the next year.. some of these will be announced fairly soon.
One thing that kind of fell between chairs is the mod support.. Sorry about that, I take full responsibility for letting that get forgotten about. But when it comes to the new launcher, it got folded into a new exciting project I won�t talk about yet.
Telltale Games announces the North American release of Jurassic Park: The Game for Windows, OS X, consoles, and iPad, and the movie-inspired game "will be available soon in Europe and in other territories for PlayStation Network and as a retail product on Xbox 360 and PC." Word is: Jurassic Park: The Game is a cinematic adventure that takes players back to Isla Nublar - the site of Jurassic Park - during the events of the first movie. It allows them to experience Jurassic Park as they never have before in an interactive format. In addition to locations and creatures familiar to fans of the movie, the game offers new areas to explore and new prehistoric beasts to survive in a game that combines fast-paced action, exploration and puzzle-solving.
Croatian indie developer 2x2 Games announces the release of Unity of Command, their World War II strategy game. The Unity of Command Website has links to grab the game via digital distribution, and the following explanation of what it's about: Unity of Command is an innovative and refreshing operational-level wargame that covers the entire 1942/43 Stalingrad Campaign on the Eastern Front. Playable from both the Axis and Soviet perspective, it strives to recreate the strategy, the forces involved and the general tension of that crucial period in World War II.
Experience the highly fluid, enormously large battles of maneuver in a turn-based strategy setting. Take command in this mobile, back-and-forth sort of war where logistics and poor weather are often the decider, and defeat and victory are sometimes just a mile, or a day, apart.
The Rocket Jump Podcast speaks with Justin Korthof of Robot Entertainment, who tells them not to expect any more DLC for Orcs Must Die!, as apparently Artifacts of Power and Lost Adventures were the only packs they planned for their action/strategy hybrid. Rather, Justin explains, they are working on two new projects, though what these are is not being revealed just yet. Thanks nin via Joystiq.
The Bethesda Blog has word a Brink update nears to add some competition-oriented features to Splash Damage's shooter. They offer a load of details and this overview: "We�re close to releasing a comprehensive update for Brink, bringing full clan support, ladders and tournaments to all versions of the game. This update is currently in the final stages of testing and will be pushed out to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC version of Brink as soon as that is complete."
The DC Universe Online Website announces the release of "The Deadly Double Cross," saying this update 6 for the superhero MMORPG is the third and final chapter of the Fortress of Solitude raid series. Here's what this offers:
- Intense new Eight-Man Group Combat Raid � The Fortress of Solitude: Sunstone Matrix: Fight with Superman and Lex Luthorin their mission to take down General Zod and win back control of the Fortress of Solitude.
- New Gear & Weapons: Players can battle for new weapons and armor, including powerful new Kryptonian Military weapons and the final pieces of the Avatar style set.
The Paradox Interactive Beta signup page is now accepting applications from those interested in participating in closed beta testing of King Arthur II: The Role-playing Wargame. Word is: Opening today, King Arthur�s Court will begin accepting applications for a limited number of spaces until midday on Friday, November 22nd.
If your might is great and you are selected for a place in the Closed Beta, you will receive a confirmation e-mail on Monday, November 28th. Stand at the ready, for your chivalry may be called into action, along with your fellow knights.
November 22nd is a Tuesday, so it's not exactly clear what the true deadline is. We've inquired, but in the meantime if you're interested you should probably just apply ASAP.
The Mummy Online is now in closed beta testing, offering the chance to get in touch with your inner Brendan Fraser if you are granted entrance. If you are interested, The Mummy Online Website is accepting applications. "We�re excited to get The Mummy Online into the hands of the fans," said Arash Amini, Producer, Bigpoint. "As is the case with our entire portfolio of games, which can be improved and optimized on the fly, community feedback will be critical to this project�s success."
G4tv.com now offers a Mass Effect 3 multiplayer video preview, as they speak with BioWare Studio General Manager Aaryn Flynn for details on how this will work. On a related note, Eurogamer has word the leakes story documents from the upcoming action/RPG sequel do not represent the game's story in its final form and are out of context. Here are quotes from BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka: "You edit it continually. It's a living process to build a game and it's also a living experience to play through it. You're seeing the graphics, you're seeing the choices, you're seeing the characters. Words alone on a page, they're not delivered in voice over, they're not delivered in the interface, they're not delivered as your character, with your choices up to that point imbuing them with meaning and purpose and identity, the emotion part of it.
A lot of the art now in video games is developed in an interesting way where subtle expressions and facial animation, a tilt of the head, the way the camera is positioned, the lighting in a room, they can set the tone and the mood, the sound effects, the layer of audio that's put over the top of a scene, that stuff is really important."
Reuters reports on findings published today in the Translational Psychiatry journal saying MRI scans show structural differences in the brains of frequent gamers, suggesting a similarity to those of addicts, though they are not clear if gaming causes the differences, or vice versa. Here's a bit: "These findings demonstrate that the ventral striatum plays a significant role in excessive video-game playing and contributes to our understanding of behavioral addiction," Simone Kuehn of Belgium's Ghent University and Juergen Gallinat of Germany's Charite University Medicine wrote in their study
Video-gaming has become hugely popular in recent years, particularly among teenagers. The average weekly usage in this experiment was around 12 hours a week.
There is an ongoing debate among doctors and researchers about whether excessive video-gaming should be recognized as an addiction and seen as a form of mental disorder.
While the German researchers found keen gamers had structural differences in their brains compared to those who played less frequently, they were not able to say whether this was a cause of eagerness to play video-games or a change that had come about as a result of their habit.
Henrietta Bowden-Jones of the neuroscience division at Imperial College London said the findings were highly relevant to clinicians because they "further close the gap" between video-gaming and other addictions, giving specialists a better understanding of possible long-term treatment options.
"The exciting next step will be to determine, as with other addictions, whether volumetric differences are a cause or effect of excessive human behavior," she said in an emailed comment about the study.
Gamasutra has word that Vivendi has sold 35 million of its shares in Activision Blizzard to raise $427 million in capital. This reduces their stake in the company to 60 percent. Word is: The sale was made as part of Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy's attempt to maintain the company's credit rating while making recent purchases, according to sources speaking with Bloomberg."
Link of the Day: Military Reunions with Man's Best Friend. Thanks Ant. These always get me.
Afterfall Universe features a playable demo for Afterfall: Insanity, the Unreal Engine 3 shooter from Polish developer Nicolas Games. The site also narrows the game's previously announced November release date to November 25th. The demo is mirrored on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, and Gamer's Hell, and here's word: For the first time you will have the opportunity to experience the world of post-nuclear universe and together with the main character, Albert Tokaj, go through extensive and varied parts of the second and ninth levels.
In the first part of the demo Albert Tokaj faces with mad creatures from the lowest parts of the dark and claustrophobic shelter. Another part of the game takes place in the sewers and in the post-apocalyptic deserted and burned town, which is just a memory of the world before the war. In the final version of the game Tokay�s enemies will be not only humans and mutants, but also his own delusions and fears. Demo is a perfect opportunity to find out how the long-awaited action-horror looks like.
For those who enjoy the demo, there is still the opportunity to preorder the full game for one dollar, some or all of which will go to charity.
AMD now offers new version 11.11 Catalyst reference drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards. There are new drivers for 32 bit Windows Vista/Windows 7, 32 bit Windows XP, and 64 bit Windows Vista/Windows 7. They offer a link to Release Notes, but these don't seem to be available yet. Thanks g00f.
A playable demo is now available for Ignite, the recently released arcade racing game. The demo is available through Steam or for download on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, Gamer's Hell, and GamesDot.org. Word is: "Players can feel the heat of the nitro and get to know the asphalt with 3 cars, spanning 4 different circuits with single and multiplayer action."
The Achron Website now offers a playable demo for Achron, Hazardous Games' RTS game that carries the following unusual description: "Achron is the first and only game to feature single-player and multiplayer free-form time travel. It is the world's first meta-time strategy game, a real-time strategy game where players and units can jump to and play at different times simultaneously and independently." Thanks Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Ubisoft announces that Assassin's Creed Revelations is now sneaking into North American stores for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, offering the latest installment in the stealth/action assassination series. Update: Apologies for the brain-fart, of course the Windows edition of the game is delayed until December 2nd. Continue here to read the full story.
THQ and Volition announce the release of Saints Row: The Third for Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, offering the new installment in this over-the-top, open-world action series: Saints Row�: The Third� gives you control of the Saints at the height of their power, and you live the life to show for it. Now Steelport is ripe for the taking, and it�s up to you to make the city your own. Mold the skyline based on your choices, outfit your crew in classy gangster gear or furry costumes, and make life-or-death decisions that will change Steelport, and the Saints, forever. This is now your city. These are now your rules. Strap it on.
�There�s no way to describe Saints Row: The Third other than pure, over-the-top fun,� said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. �In a sea of games that are doing the same thing over again, it�s incredibly refreshing to take Saints Row in a completely new direction, and incredibly satisfying to see the reaction from fans so far. Today, we all embrace the crazy.�
Though not noted on the Earthrise Website, a report on Massively says subscriptions fees are being dropped in Masthead Studios' post-apocalyptic MMORPG. "We decided to let all our players unlimited gaming experience until we all are satisfied with the experience in our game. At the moment Earthrise features one of the best visuals, content, and gameplay of all sci-fi MMOs on the market," explains Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov. "However, it is missing polish and has annoyances that spoil the fun in the game. We are learning from our experience and that is why we will remove monthly charges until we bring the game to a quality state that is satisfactory to us and our players."
Open beta testing of Star Supremacy begins today, offering access to this free-to-play browser-based, science fiction MMORTS. Word is the game is gearing up for a full free-to-play model, and in the meantime will drop fees as of December 1st.
According to the guesstimate on VGChartz, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has sold over 3.4 million copies in 48 hours, a figure which does not include digital sales. They say: "59% of units were sold on the X360 (over 2 million copies) and 27% on the PS3, with 14% on PC." Thanks Lens of Truth via Reddit.
This (not particularly recent) thread on the techPowerUp! Forums offers an application and instructions on how to systems with 3GB of RAM or more to use more memory for Large Address Aware applications. Thanks GamesDot.org, where they note its applicability to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Gareth Edmondson is parting ways with Ubisoft Reflections, the racing game developer he cofounded with his brother Martin in 1984, reports Develop. There are no details at the moment, as Ubisoft simply told them the former studio manager "has made the choice to leave the studio." Until a permanent replacement is found, former general manager Giselle Stewart and production director Darren Yeomans will head the studio.
truepcgaming - Porn and Literature- Examining Game Stories with Puce Moose.
John Carmack infamously stated that �Story in a game is like story in a porn movie. It�s expected to be there, but it�s not that important.�
John Carmack be damned. Quality videogame storytelling exists, and it�s not secondary to the action. The narrative weaknesses of Carmack�s own RAGE game may have stirred me into writing this piece up, but I�ve been feeling an urge lately to expose one of the most powerful counterexamples to Carmack�s arguments. Here�s an author who has no professional connection to the game or writing industries, yet has managed to elegantly merge the two mediums together over and over again for three years. He does it as a hobby, for free, as a member of the Fallout modding community. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of PC gaming�s best-kept secrets: Puce Moose.
Thanks Alamar for this answer to my Sandy Bridge question yesterday.
Players Reject N.B.A.�s Offer and Opt to Disband Union. The basketball season in more serious jeopardy than ever. What a sorry state of affairs.
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