PC

Splinter Cell: Conviction Back to the Drawing Board

CVG.com has put out a story that talks about Ubisoft going “back to the drawing board” with the latest Sam Fisher game, Splinter Cell: Conviction.  There is no real reason given as to why, but CVG is speculating that it has to do with the look and development of some of Ubisoft’s other projects, like Assassins Creed.

Currently two years into development, and delayed once already, it seems that the Ubisoft execs are pushing for gameplay and graphics that match up with their current gem, Assassins Creed.  Ubisoft Montreal is the current design team tasked with bringing this game to fruition.

The plot of the game hopefully will still involve Sam Fisher on the run, a rogue agent of the United States, and link into the whole End War convergance that has been building through all the Tom Clancy games.

New Red Alert 3 Trailer

The guys at EALA have released a new hi-def trailer for their upcoming game, Red Alert 3.

Battlefield Heroes Looking for Beta Signups

Today, ActionTrip gave the heads up on Electronic Arts accepting applications for the Battlefield Heroes beta.  Battlefield Heroes is a new concept for EA, which includes lowering the specs needed to play as well as making the game free.  Right now, the beta signups are being handled here, but there is only generic information available once you get in.

Age of Conan Loses DX10 Support for Launch

Funcom has announced that they are delaying DirectX10 support for their upcoming MMORPG, Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures.  The explaination from Funcom is that they want to deliver something, “worthy of Microsoft’s great vision for the future of PC gaming”.

All this is fine and dandy, except that Funcom has had DirectX10 on the board for some time.  I saw the tech demos they were running at CES in 2007, that were showing off all of the nifty features that DirectX10 could do for their world.  Again, they had DX10 videos running at E3 in 2007, which made most believe that it was coming.  Now, one day before launch, Funcom decides to let everyone know that it won’t include the very support that it has been touting as a revolutionary feature at launch.  Yes, Funcom is going to include it at some point, but if the game isn’t successful, or does not make the money that Funcom expects, the inclusion of DirectX10 in the future just becomes another pipe dream.

This also stikes another blow at the widespread adoption of Vista among gamers, as DirectX10 is one of the key talking points of Microsof’s new OS.  If a game that has been working with it for two years cannot get it to work the way they want, what does that tell gamers about Vista and DirectX10?

via videogamer.com

AMD Starts New PC Game Labeling Initiative

AMD has announced a new game labeling system that they feel will allow gamers to know if a game will fit the PC that they have bought.  Right now, there are only two tiers available, and of course, it looks to only have AMD parts for certification, so don’t expect to see them put any Intel or Nvidia parts under this labeling system.

Part of this new process most likely is due to the recent issues with AMD and the lack of a clear Quad Core strategy.  The Phenom chips were late to the party, and with the cost to performance issues, AMD has taken a back seat to Intel with the major game PC vendors like Voodoo, Alienware or Falcon Northwest.  This branding strategy hopes to improve that image as well as give AMD a way to show off the fact that they can be a complete point to point system for most gamers, due to making both graphic cards as well as processors and motherboard chipsets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lego Indiana Jones Demo Impressions

With a new movie on the way, the Indiana Jones franchise was ripe for a new game from LucasArts.  What was not expected was that they would take the hugely successful Lego Star Wars apporach to create Lego Indiana Jones.

So far, the demo is playing quite well, and runs rather stable on the Vista test rig that I am using.  I did have one crash when switching from keyboard and mouse controls to a Logitech gamepad, but beyond that the demo has been quite stable.

Read the rest of this entry »

Beyond Good And Evil Sequel May Happen

Anyone that has taken the time to play through Michel Ancel’s Beyond Good and Evil, understands that a lot was left unfinished at the end of the game.  Originally planned as a trilogy, the first game had to go up against another Ubisoft property, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and got railroaded at the register.

After looking at the sales data for the game, Ubisoft decided to put the game to sleep and forget about the other two games, regardless of fan outcry, or critical praise.

Now five years after its release, word from Ancel is that he has been working on the second part of the game for a while now, and that he is hopeful that Ubisoft will green light the project soon.  The story is suppose to follow the continuity of the first game, and should have most of the gameplay mechanics of the first game, with some refinement.

No word from Ubisoft on this, but it would be great timing, considering the game recently came to Steam for a mere pittance of a price ($8.99).  All I can say is that I hope all this comes to fruition, because it is one of the best games I have ever played, with a well though out story and compelling characters.  Ubisoft, make it happen already.

via 1up.com

Left 4 Dead Will Have No Demo Before Launch

While not unusual for Valve on the PC, it is strange for a game to be lacking a pre-release demo on the 360.  But Valve has come out and stated that they will not have a demo before the launch of the new co-op zombie fest, Left 4 Dead.

When asked about the lack of a launch demo, Doug Lombardi of Valve had this to say, “We’ve always taken the risk that there will be big enough demand at launch and then we can create more demand post-launch with the demo.”

He also was asked about whether there would be 99 achievements in Left 4 Dead, but they said that Microsoft allowed them to have extra achievements in the Orange Box, due to five games being in the box.  Thanks to reader, Ryan King for sending in the link to the full interview at UK OXM

Ikea Brings Self Assembled Furniture to The Sims 2

EA has signed Ikea on to bring their trendy, self assembled furniture to The Sims 2 this summer.  According to Electronic Arts, they have been requested on many occasions to include furniture from the Ikea catalog, so they felt that this step was only natural for them.  “Players of The Sims have asked for IKEA by name, and if you look at the living spaces they design, it reflects the style of IKEA,” said Steve Seabolt, Vice President Global Brand Development for The Sims.

There is no mention of what items will be in the game, but it looks like it could include the entire catalog of items that are sold at Ikea.

I do have to wonder if this means that there will be new animations for your Sims as they assemble the furniture with their included allen wrenches.

Look for the new add-on pack in the US on June 23rd, 2008 and in Europe on June 27th, 2008.  The cost will be $19.99 USD and $14.99 EUR.  Follow the jump for some of the in game screenshots.

Read the rest of this entry »

Strong Bad Cool Game For Attractive People Screens, Video

Emily from Telltale Games was nice enough to send over a few new stills from the upcoming game, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People.  They also sent over a great video of what looks to be gameplay from the Wiiware version of the game.

The game starts off with Strong Bad doing his normal gig, walking around the house, answering emails and looking for any chance to beat his rivals.  Strong Bad’s scheme for this episode has him trying to win “The Race to the End of the Race”, but chaos ensues and things do not work out as Strong Bad planned.  Hit the jump for more of the pictures and the movie, along with the press release.

Read the rest of this entry »