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Lol I remember that article. I read the report and it's pretty narrow in its view and just gives more "ammunition" to the people that blame violent video games for the failings. Their resources and energy could have been put into better use of studying the failings of parenting and the effects of bias media.
To the BBC's credit, they had some of the RPS crew defending the industry. It's even better when you know the context that most of RPS thought that the new COD level was offensive for being dumb and out of context and not for killing civilians.
FarCry 3 is in the works. Let's hope they remember to include some actual entertainment in this version...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...ry-3-Confirmed
My thoughts exactly. I skimmed through the report myself and some of the games they nit-picked were rather silly imo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good
John Walker made this comment at RPS: Our Rentaquote Future: Games As Warcrimes
Quote:
Addressing some of the points that have been made, especially Teejay’s:
The problem with the report – a report that is thorough and detailed, and clearly written with fine intentions and respectable hopes – is not that those conducting it are foolish, or that they have conducted themselves improperly, lazily, with bias, etc etc. It’s that the core ideas behind the report are, in my opinion, very flawed.
I think it’s absurd to suggest that games – and games alone – should adhere to IHRL when depicting war. Games are under no obligation to reflect real life, and indeed should have the opportunity to violate any real-world laws they choose.
I think it’s even further absurd to begin such a report with the statement that games are uniquely in need of such intervention because they are interactive. It is *because* they are interactive that I believe the purpose behind the report is flawed. If anything it is the passivity of books, films, television (especially documentaries) and so on that underlines their authority in their depiction of reality. Your relationship with such media is one-way, fed to you, and if presented as authoratitive and “realistic”, then carries implications of accuracy. In a game you are often given choice. I can choose to shoot the injured, I can choose to turn my gun on civilians should the game let me (and so very few do).
My comments are born of this report’s peculiar (and I would contend inaccurate) assumptions that gaming is in any way more at risk of mis-educating people about IHR. If such ideas are valid at all, they might want to also begin with the novels of Tom Clancy, or as many have observed, the output of various TV shows, alongside gaming. Hence my statement that games are treated so very strangely.
I don’t think it is gaming’s place to educate. I believe it is education’s place to educate. Then when someone encounters a situation in a game that does not follow IHRL, the player can identify that themselves. Reports like this, while extremely well intentioned, very dangerously divert the responsibility for who should be educating, and where people should be receiving it.
I'd be happy if they just killed the respawning checkpoint guards. I had a lot of fun despite that, up until the second half when I realized I'd have to do it all over again and stopped.Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
It would probably benefit from a STALKER-style system of wandering parties of one faction or another, possibly allowing you to try and pretend to be a civilian or join one of the factions temporarily to get past them.
Steam comes pre-installed on newer Alienware computers now!
Now be serious...who is really surprised that this happened?
Well, my notebook came with Windows and Norton preinstalled, at least with Steam the client is free so it doesn't contribute anything to the price(the same would go for Norton I think as it was a 30 day test version).Quote:
Originally Posted by Krusader
Dragon Age expansion is coming in March. Looks like additional content to be played after the main storyline is completed.
New Wii game announced....
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
to be released 2010.
also announced...
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/105/1058479p1.html
yay to this http://ps3.ign.com/articles/106/1061376p1.html
Sword of the Stars II has been announced. No real info yet, just paragraph in a Paradox announcement post and a change to the SOTS forum title on their boards.
Quote:
Much to the delight of fans of the Sword of the Stars franchise, Paradox announced Sword of the Stars II, the full stand-alone follow-up to the popular space strategy titles. Sword of the Stars II will feature the six races from the original game, as well as its expansions, marking a major step forward in the series’ approach to 4X gameplay. Setting a new standard for the genre, as well as revealing dark secrets of the original series, Sword of the Stars II is sure to please fans of the genre when it is released next year
That blurb makes it sounds like it's just SotS Complete or something with all the expansions bundled together. I assume it's not but...
Anyway, excellent news and thanks for the heads up, Froggy.
I'm slowly beginning to hate Paradox, so many announcements yet no CK2.
Fascinating; I'll have to keep my eyes on this one.Quote:
Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
I've enjoyed SOTS overall, but I find it tends to focus overly much on combat and on little else. I applaud that Kerberos's design was to reduce planetary micromanagement, but the game still feels like too much of a one-trick pony at times. Hopefully the sequel will be a bit more fleshed out.
Apparently, UbiSoft wants to go out of business. RPS is reporting that all future UbiSoft PC games will require an constant online connection to play, no offline mode possible. Saved games will be stored on their servers.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010...ays-be-online/
UbiSoft FAQ on the service.
So they will spend lots of money to maintain servers (which are guaranteed to crash on big releases), alienate and frustrate purchasers of their games, and not stop piracy at all. Sounds like a winning business plan. :2thumbsup:
This sounds like they are going to trigger another pirate spike like spore.
:jawdrop:Quote:
Originally Posted by drone
I liked this comment:
CRQuote:
What the *fudge* is wrong with gamespy and that retarded Gerald Villoria comment: “I think the DRM benefits of this approach and the ancillary bonuses (remote game saves, unlimited installations, no CD authentication) will end up outweighing the annoyance of having to log-in before playing” ?
You know, we ALREADY had all these “ancillary bonuses” even before this whole DRM bull*poo* was invented. It’s like amputating the legs of a perfectly healthy person only to put him into a wheelchair and then selling this as “ancillary bonus”. Whatever that guy means by that term.
Turns out Ubisoft is dumb.
Poor guys. I liked their game.
Penny Arcade might have something to say about this... (link to older comic)
Hmmm...Quote:
Originally Posted by drone
There's no part of that I don't love. :wall:Quote:
What will happen if I lose my Internet connection when I play the game?
If you lose your Internet connection the game will pause while it tries to reconnect. If the Internet connection is unable to resume, the server will have stored your last saved game and you will be able to continue from where you left off once your internet connection is restored.
Yeah, looking forward to that as well...Quote:
Originally Posted by Xiahou
XBox Live support for XBox v1 games is being discontinued on April 15, 2010 (tax day in the US!). That is all.
http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/arch.../05/gh789.aspx
oops, DP
An update: PC Gamer got preview copies of Assassin's Creed 2 and Settlers VII with this DRM fail included. They ran some tests, unplugging cables and such.Quote:
Originally Posted by drone
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...35290&site=pcg
:no:Quote:
Originally Posted by PCG
:wall: They're turning assassins creed 2's pc launch into another spore fiasco.
Edit: oh wait I've allready said that, never mind then.
Civilization V announced!
Civilization V
RPS blurb on Civilization V
It's on a hex grid! A HEX GRID! WOO! :2thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Krusader
Supreme Commander 2 demo on Steam.
From what players are saying it seems to be a stripped down/consolified version of SupCom1.
Terribad.
I just can't understand how they tried to make an updated version of Total Annihilation and failed in the first place. And then they make it even worse with the second game. That's beyond my mind.
If you crave some updated TA, Spring just had a bugfix release, I think.
The second one is worse?
:cry:
I thought the addition of the tech tree would make it nice...
It's a dumbed down SupCom, which was already a dumbed down TA. And it still lacks any flavor or ambient. Feels even more blank and boring than SupCom1.
Thats it, Im getting my TA CD's.
*installs*
Heh, tried the demo and the commander you play looks like some muppet in a plastic box, actually all the other commanders do, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meneldil
But yeah, it felt like they wanted to make it more like C&C.
Heh, that is kind of sad actually. I can't even point out what they made wrong with SupCom1, but it just didn't work out for me. It felt nothing like TA, and the zoom thingy forced me to play with the whole map on my screen, meaning that I'd send squares to attack triangles and so on. It was too slow, too long, lacked a good soundtrack.
Seems like there's something fishy going on at Infinity Ward, or its just a big hoax:
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/70...aked-Out-.html
http://kotaku.com/5483348/report-str...esident-ousted
Smells like a publicity stunt. Either that or Activision decided to play their own game of Real Life MW2 Spec Ops.Quote:
Originally Posted by Krusader
Anybody following the Portal update stuff?
Either Valve has some really bored programmers, or we may be getting a sequel.
Stardock announces the release of........ Total Annihilation? :inquisitive:
$9.99 for the game + the Core Contingency Expansion. Tempting....
Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption will be released in May instead of April. :furious3:
Quote:
Will avoid packed April release schedule with May launch
Red Dead Redemption has slipped again, but this time Take-Two claims that the decision to push back the release date has more to do with avoiding the packed April releases than the need for additional time to polish and tweak the title.
According our sources, while the spin might suggest that the decision to push the release back from April 27th to new date of May 18th was to avoid the releases of other April titles, the whispers we hear claim that the time will be put to good use polishing the title prior to release. May is also a very crowded month, with at least three major titles set for launch that month.
Depending on whom you ask Red Dead Redemption has had a rocky development cycle, with some sources claiming that the development was in trouble and that is why the decision was made to push the release back the first time.
With the announcement of the move to May 18th, this is the third time that the release date has been moved. Originally, the title was scheduled to launch late last year, only to have Take-Two claim that they were pushing it to next year so that they would not have to compete with the slew of titles trying to make an end- of-the-year launch date.
Only time will tell if this strategy works for Take-Two, but as the title is being billed as the next generation of sandbox games, it will have a lot of hype to live up to. From the pictures and trailers that we have seen from the game, it does look like it could be an excellent western-themed game, but we will now have to wait till May to find out for sure.
Source: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17927/1/
I have been following it roughly since the beginning and after figuring out several clues, Valve has already announced Portal 2. One major new feature (According to the BBS images) of Portal 2 will be a cooperation mode. It shall be certain to add a lot of complexity to maps.Quote:
Originally Posted by drone
But the clue game isn't over yet, and now with Portal 2 out of the way, it's only very obvious that these final clues will the revelation of Half Life 2: Episode 3.
Not much for news, but old school technology in your living room is the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF_dnGVbXkM
Not exactly news, but still noteworthy...
Reviewer gives Assassin's Creed 2 near-perfect score, says don't buy it.
Seriously... a 9/10, and yet he still tells people to not buy the game. Methinks the review scores are a tad screwed up.Quote:
It’s brilliant. Don’t buy it. The copy protection of Assassin’s Creed II requires you to be connected to publisher Ubisoft’s servers every moment you play. Any interruption to that connection kicks you out and erases all the progress you’ve made since the last checkpoint. We cannot wholly recommend a game that imposes such stringent and potentially problematic restrictions on paying customers without good reason.
I heard they had serious problems this weekend with the DRM servers. If you bought the PC version expecting any differently, I can't say I'm feeling sorry for you. :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae
And Silent Hunter 5, with the same DRM as ACII, was cracked in 24 hours. Money and karma well spent, Ubisoft! :applause:
I simply can't understand why people would buy any game with such kind of DRM. The instalation limit puts onto Bioshock and Bioshock 2 was already bad enough for me, but this? Wow. I hope this will bring Ubisoft to a long and painful death. And I don't feel sorry for the people who bought the game either.
Monkey Island 2: Special Edition has been confirmed. Headed to PC, xbox live arcade and playstation network. Official website.
Love these games. :balloon:
I still advocate the Lucasarts adventure titles as some of the best games ever made, and it's great that they're remaking them for new generations tp enjoy as much as I did. They're truly a forgotten gem among the more modern offerings of the PS3 or 360.Quote:
Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
I remember playing MI2 when I was about nine or ten and constantly getting stuck; only completed the darn thing a few years ago. I don't see MI3 getting a remake, but I'd love to see other Lucasarts titles getting the special treatment; I would seriously give my right arm for an update to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. <3
More DLC fun, this time coming from 2K:
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63853
I feel bad for having bought Bioshock2 and for having enjoyed their games. Last time it happened.
A trailer is out for The Witcher 2.
Nintendo 3DS announced: http://au.ds.ign.com/articles/107/1079233p1.html
Quote:
US, March 23, 2010 - Nintendo has announced the 3DS, a new hand-held system set for release before March 2011 in Japan. This new system will be fully unveiled at this year's E3 show in June.
While details are a bit slim as of now, the announcement stated the console would incorporate 3D technology without the need for players to wear special glasses. The 3DS will also be backwards compatible with all DS and DSi software.
And here it is, want https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5QS...layer_embedded
Good Old Games has signed Atari!
I believe the operative word in this scenario is "Hurrah!"Quote:
We're revealing another big publisher joining our DRM-free outlet. First games to be released throughout April.
GOG.com continues to build its unmatched catalogue of classic PC games with the announcement of the deal with the famous worldwide publisher - Atari. The hit games will be added to the GOG.com catalogue throughout April and will include such glorious gems of yesteryear as Outcast, Master of Orion and Master of Magic. Today, during CD Projekt Spring Conference where the agreement with Atari was announced, Marcin Iwinski, Co-Founder of CD Projekt and GOG.com, said "This deal is really just the first step in what we expect will be a long and fruitful relationship. Atari has a tremendous number of cult classics within their grasp, and we hope to sign these in a near future!".
Ironic, since GOG is owned by CD Projekt, who made The Witcher... which was published by Atari.Quote:
Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
Atari has some of the older D&D games in its catalog, including NWN, NWN2, and ToEE, A non-buggy version of ToEE would be nice...
Yep, I saw that as well. Sounds like we're going to see the first two MOO games plus MOM released in the not-too-distant future. ~:cheers:Quote:
Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
Good Old Games have added the legendary Betrayal at Krondor to their catalogue.
Going to be interesting to play this sometime. The not-really-a-sequel, Betrayal in Antara, was the first RPG I played; most people say it was terrible in comparison to Krondor but I remember having a great time with it back in ye day.
Wow, the old game...I watched a speedrun of it, but I havent really played anything that old to compare it to.Quote:
Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
Just click the video, new Metroid footage and it's looking *clears throat* AWESOME
http://www.gamert.nl/video/metroid_other_m.html
Paradox Announces Hearts of Iron 3: Semper Fi
NEW YORK – April 6th, 2010 – Paradox Interactive unveiled Hearts of Iron 3: Semper Fi, a downloadable expansion to its World War II grand strategy game. Semper Fi gives players more control over their country’s warfare and politics, while pleasing history buffs with a variety of new features and events. Hearts of Iron 3: Semper Fi is scheduled for release during Q2 2010.
“Our vision for Semper Fi is to transport the player into World War II in a way that previous installments have not been able to do,” said Henrik Fåhraeus, Associate Producer at Paradox Interactive. “For instance, negotiating and working with the allies was a huge part of WW2 and players are now able to experience that first hand. Also, our historical buffs have long been screaming for more historical accuracy in our games, and while the game still won’t follow history to the letter, these historical events will create a stronger experience by giving you historical references and feedback alongside gameplay.”
Semper Fi Features include:
* Player-determined hidden victory conditions that will keep opponents guessing
* Greater cooperation with allies, allowing players to request troops, convince their allies to attack a specific target and more
* Hundreds of new events added to immerse players in their own version of World War II, comparing the unfolding, alternate timeline to real history
* Vastly improved AI that will defend its territories valiantly, marshal large naval taskforces and launch multi-stage invasions
http://www.europa-universalis.com/fo...0#post10979170
Isn't it amazing what you can find on the X-Box Live Marketplace?
I wonder if we'll be seeing this on CNN anytime soon? xD
http://au.ds.ign.com/articles/108/1082670p1.htmlQuote:
From Diamond & Pearl to... Black & White! The names for the upcoming generation five Pokemon titles were revealed in Japan earlier today. The next major Pokemon titles will be named Pokemon Black and Pokemon White.
Modern Warfare 3 in development http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/108/1082949p1.html
So Activision files a countersuit, claiming the IW guys tried to cut a deal with EA behind their backs. Nothing too surprising or earth shattering but when asked for verification, EA spokesman Jeff Brown had this little gem:Quote:
Originally Posted by Krusader
:laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Brown
Looks like the legal battle heating up will cause Modern Warfare 3 to be delayed:
Link
Quote:
It will take a long time for the full picture of Activision and Infinity Ward’s dispute to be painted, but a more immediate effect is one that gamers most certainly will notice – potential delays to Modern Warfare 3.
As part of Activision’s counter-lawsuit aimed at former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vincent Zampella, the publisher has alleged that the problems have delayed development of the anticipated war shooter.
Aside from the vast legal costs Activision is already facing, any disruption to the biannual release of Modern Warfare titles will inevitably dent the firm’s revenue projections and, as a result, share price.
It could also cost the wider industry, as the release of Modern Warfare 2 late last year gave Q4 a record-breaking boost. Without it, year-on-year sales comparisons would have been even gloomier for the world’s games retailers.
A number of other allegations from the lawsuit have also been published by MCV’s sister site Develop, including:
"openly discussing their intention to leave IW with IW employees;
"arranging meetings with IW employees to discuss the willingness of such employees to leave IW and join West and Zampella at a spin off studio;
"threatening to harm the IP developed by IW and owned by Activision if their demands to be allowed to leave Activision were not met;
"engaging in a campaign to portray Activision and its management in a negative light to IW employees in an effort to solicit those employees;
"refusing to abide by Activision procedures and protocols;
"attempting to block IW employees from receiving equity grands, bonuses and financial compensation and incentives;
"asking Activision to allow them to keep for themselves millions of dollars of discretionary compensation that Activision intended to offer to the broader IW team;
"secretly meeting Activision's main competitor; and delaying pre-production of MW3 and attempting to use that delay as leverage in their negotiations with Activision".
Penny Arcade has one view on the lawsuit.
Personally, I can't help but think what message it sends out that the developers of the world's best-selling game shortly afterwards crumbles.
If you bought a game from Gamestation on April 1st, odds are the company now owns your soul:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...to-GameStationQuote:
It's common knowledge that nobody ever actually reads the various end user license agreements, terms and conditions and other legalistic walls of text that gamers are commonly assaulted with. It takes too long, they're way too complicated and they all say the same thing: Do this, don't do that, no warranties explicit or implied, etc. Nobody cares about them anyway, so what's the point?
But on April 1, U.K. retailer GameStation decided to make a point: It inserted an "Immortal Soul Clause" into the T&C of its online game sales, then sat back to watch what would happen.
"By placing an order via this web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul," the terms and conditions read. "Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamesation.co.uk or one of its duly authorized minions. We reserve the right to serve such notice in 6 (six) foot high letters of fire, however we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act."
True to form, according to the company, 88 percent of customers didn't read the T&C and thus legally forfeited their souls. How could it tell? Because the 12 percent who did notice the clause also saw the opt-out option, which included a voucher for £5 - roughly $7.75 - off the price of their purchase. More than 7500 customers missed out on the offer and are now beholden to GameStation for all eternity.
Ladies and gentlemen of the gaming public, I hereby announce that Survival Horror is dead.
Silent Hill will be a FPS.
Quote:
According to Gamasutra, Vatra Games is developing a mysterious FPS in their new Czech studio founded by the ex members of Illusion Softworks. This new FPS is a new Silent Hill for Konami.
There's a lot of this "lets turn icons of other genres into FPSes" going around these days.
Oh :daisy:, I'm never going to see you again. :tongue2:Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
Excellent!Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
Master of Magic is now available on GOG for $5.99. I may end up having to get this one!
That game looks old as the hills. You wouldn't know perhaps of other old games that are available and playable on today's operating systems? I've done searches but come up empty. When I was young a was a big fan of the Sierra text based games. It would be great if I could play again some of those old games I enjoyed as a youth.
edit: like 'Samurai Game' which at one time I found in the org download sections. Back around 1989 it was a sid meyer game called Sword of the Samurai. Loved that game and spent hours on it. I downloaded it and tried to run it, but it would always lock-up during the intro. :(
It is. :2thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by A Nerd
Still have the CD and manual/spell book. I think I managed to get the original running on XP, it looked terrible though (640x480 limited). I don't think I ever played the 1.31 version, I'd be curious to see what tweaks and balance changes they added.
Older games have so much character. I still have the box and contents of Sword of the Samurai. I kept it for sentimental reasons. Complete with 2 5.25 and 2 3.5 floppy diskettes. I used to run in on an IBM or NEC 486. Ah, those were the days. I tried to install in in DOS mode of Windows 98 once, but to no avail.
And it's Vista compatible without needing DOSBox? This makes me happy. This makes me VERY happy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
They wrap the games up in some kind of program that makes them compatible if necessary, like a built-in emulator or so, it's part of their core services AFAIK.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae
I know. I've been with GoG from the beginning. I'm just happy that I don't have to use DOSBox anymore to play it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Husar
Meh, the game plays in DOSBox. At least it's in my account ready to download again anytime in the future.
That figures I wouldn't check this thread for over a week... :shifty:Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
MoO2 was my favorite game for.... well, a while, let's put it that way. Glad I'll finally be able to play it again.