October 19, 2005

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The much anticipated Civilization IV has just gone gold, and will be hitting store shelves soon.  According to a recent press release, the game is expected to ship to retailers on October 25th.  Civ 4 will be the first of the popular Civilization series to utilize a full 3-D engine.  The graphics changes, along with several new enhancements promise to entertain new Civ gamers, and die-hard fans alike.

September 23, 2005

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Now that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is finally back on the shelves, Rockstar Games has just announced another maneuver to pump some more sales out of the GTA franchise.  Coming in mid to late October, gamers will be able to purchase a special trilogy pack for the Xbox, containing Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.  This trilogy should boost the already astronomical number of total GTA sales well above the 45 million mark.  If you've only had the opportunity to play the three most recent GTA games in passing, the trilogy is certainly worth picking up.  Achieving 100% completion on all three games should take quite a while.

Read on for the full press release.

September 21, 2005

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As the release date for Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood nears, a playable PC demo has been released by Ubisoft.  The demo is available at www.brothersinarmsgame.com, and features a solo map, a skirmish map, and some additional goodies such as historical documents and photos to entice players.  Most of the demo is only playable in single player mode, although the skirmish map can be played co-op, though only through LAN play.

September 14, 2005

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Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a stealth game.  You creep around, hide in the dark, and sneak up and knife people.  And you know what? It's a lot of fun.   The gameplay is much more open ended than I expected.  You can take the obligatory sneaking around, never killing anyone approach, the hybrid "I'll knife people who look at me funny" approach, the "We are now playing Quake; you are all going down in a shower of gunfire" approach, or a combo of all three.  Being a stealth game, you're obviously rewarded for taking the stealth approach.  Knocking out enemies instead of gutting them like fish raises your rating at the end of the level.  Raise too many alarms and the guards bust out the body armor and start to fortify strategic positions.

September 11, 2005

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For a writer who has always wanted to use the term "swashbuckling good time" in a review, 2K Games' Sid Meier's Pirates! allows that dream to come true.  Although this Xbox version of Pirates is really just a remake of a 1987 classic, there is still much to be said about the quality of the game.  For all of those who have lusted after a chance to live the life of a pirate - sailing the high seas for fame and fortune - the chance is here with Sid Meier's Pirates!

August 29, 2005

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Maxis just announced that the next installment in the Sims series, The Sims 2 Nightlife, has gone gold and will ship to retailers on September 15th.  Nightlife, which is to be released under the EA brand, is the second expansion pack to hit shelves since the release of the popular Sims 2 title.  The Sims 2 Nightlife will feature new downtown locations, over 125 new objects, a "pleasure" life aspiration, and a new attraction system.  Gamers will even be able to travel downtown in customized cars.  The Sims franchise has been booming, and the addition of Nightlife should help bolster support with the older demographic of Sims players.

August 24, 2005

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Ubisoft just announced the release of a "making-of" trailer for Myst V: End of Ages.  Myst V is the latest installment in the widely popular Myst series, and is slated to be released for the PC on September 22nd of this year.  Supposedly, the trailer is only available from www.mystworlds.com.  Fans should keep in mind however, that this is simply the trailer for the making-of video.  The full video will only be available on the collector's bonus DVD, so don't be too disappointed when you find that all of the goodies aren't available through the trailer.

Read on for the full press release.

August 22, 2005

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Slashdot recently ran a story informing the public that Quake 3 Arena source code is now available.  The code release was promised earlier during John Carmack's keynote at Quakecon 2005.  Programmers and members of the Quake community are still waiting for official announcements to be released concerning the recently GPL'ed code, however there is plenty of discussion on slashdot about the offering.  The purpose and impact of this source code release has yet to be fully determined.  Although there is certainly the marketing side to the issue, where providing the code helps to bolster support for the upcoming Quake 4, gamers must also consider that Carmack is the eternal geek and perhaps this gift to the gaming/programming community is a manifestation of that geekiness.  Either way, it will be interesting to see what sorts of interesting things will be developed in the coming months.

Quake 3 Arena source code can be downloaded from fileshack.

August 2, 2005

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Vivendi just announced that they will be releasing a demo for the upcoming first-person shooter, F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault and Recon).  The demo will feature one of the single player levels, and will give gamers their first taste of the graphics, game play, and paranormal storyline.  You can check to see if your PC meets the system requirements at www.whatisfear.com.  Downloads of the demo should be available from the same website on Friday.

Be sure to check back for more download mirrors.  Read on for the full press release from Vivendi.

August 1, 2005

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Ryan Miller, Game Design Director for Myst V: End of Ages recently took part in a Q&A session about the "Slate" system for Myst V.  In short, the slate system, an integral part of Myst V's storyline and gameplay, is a method for interacting with the Myst realm through drawing symbols in a handwriting recognition system.  This grammar that is learned and sketched out through the slate system can control anything from the creatures of the world to the rain that will fall from the sky.

Read on to view the full Q&A with Ryan.