SWG, the next ‘big system’, story teller player generated chronicles – fail

Wow, massive disappointment here. A couple of weeks ago SOE alluded to an announcement of SWGs next big system at this years Fan Faire. No details were given but they sure whipped the community into a frenzy about it with the forums exploding with rumours and theories.

So yesterday came the announcement and I was ready to blog away when I found out what it was. Sadly it was nothing worth talking about and basically confirms that SWG is on its last legs until SW: The Old Republic launches. (more…)

Filed under: MMO's, SWG, Star Wars Galaxies by Sam
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I had no idea this demo was coming but I am pleasantly surprised to see it available today. Quite a large demo, 2.4GB but looks well worth it.

Download ArmA II from Gamershell.com

Will post my thoughts after I given it a try.

My thoughts on the ArmA II demo

I have to admit, I didn’t spend that long playing this demo – it just isn’t my cup of tea. It is extremely detailed and technical. (more…)

Filed under: ArmA II, Demo, FPS, PC games by Sam
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Last week SOE published their schedule of events for Fan Faire 2009 and for SWG fans there is an event of particular interest on Friday…

Star Wars Galaxies™ – The Next Big System: Panelists – Matt “AdeptStrain” Boudreaux, Michael “Fiasco” Farone. Check out the world premiere of a brand-new system coming to the galaxy this year! Find out what it is, when it launches, and get a first look at this system in action.

The forums went into rumor overload when the above was announced and lots of theories were posted, including;

• a new planet system – Bespin (Cloud City) or Tanaab seem hot favourites
• pod racing – there have been lots of pod racers added to game via the TCG loot cards lately
• vehicle combat – makes sense after it’s successful implementation within the Hoth instance
• new game/combat engine – NGE 2.0? doubtful
• new graphics engine – highly doubtful

(more…)

Filed under: MMO's, PC games, SWG, Star Wars Galaxies by Sam
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Via computerandvideogames.com

Rockstar have released the first shots (not gameplay apparently) of Max Payne 3.

“Developed by Rockstar Vancouver, Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence”

The original Max Payne and its sequel are two of my favourite PC games and much of that is because of the gritty film noir style gameplay/cut-scenes. So I was a little surprised to see the images Rockstar have released look more like Die Hard 5 than the Max Payne we’re all used to. (more…)

Filed under: Max Payne 3, PC games, Screenshots by Sam
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To celebrate the 6th anniversary of Star Wars Galaxies SOE have re-activated all accounts that have not been active for the last 60 days. Great news for all the people that had multiple accounts during the pre-nge days.

Today is also Game Update 11, Empire Day. And as if that wasn’t enough the Trading Card game is getting a new deck called Agents of Deception – a Smuggler themed pack with some nice new loot cards. No doubt there will be a complete meltdown on the Game Play Discussion forum about said loot cards over the next month. Good times. (more…)

Filed under: MMO's, SWG, Star Wars by Sam
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There are three games I’m ridiculously looking forward to playing over the next few months. The first is Fallout 3. The wait for this will be over by Friday here in the UK.

The second in Left4Dead. Again, not long to wait, a demo next week for pre-orders and one shortly after for those who haven’t decided yet.

The third is Mirror’s Edge. Although we might have lost Faith slightly in EA with the PC date slipping (oh dear)  to a currently unknown time, here is a good bit of gameplay of (apparently) the entire first level. Yes we’ve seen a lot of this before, but it’s good to put it all in context. Plus, it’s played by someone who isn’t amazing at the game; this is encouraging to see that we might have to practice to not suck. Could this be a game to snatch away those memorable Tony Hawks addictions? I do hope so. (more…)

Filed under: Featured by Dagon
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Sometimes I don’t want to spend countless hours engrossed in a 7th dimensional world. I just want a quick fix of gaming.

Here are some of my favourite indie games that you should play NOW!

First up, Within a Deep Forest. Although this is slightly more engrossing and not so much a quick fix, it sports a delightful soundtrack and is a veritable bevy of original ideas. You play as a little ball and must puzzle your way through a little land of danger. Over time you obtain new balls that do different things. Some bounce high. Others are as fragile as glass. All serve a purpose, yet you can only play as one at a time, but most puzzles require the use of at least several. If you like Within a Deep Forest, then you’ll really enjoy playing it, haha.

Second down, Dan Ball’s Powder Game. Not so much a game, more a sandbox tool. A literal sandbox. Or even a gunpowder box. A windbox. A fanbox. A waterbox. There’s lots to mess with. I’ve lost days of my life to this little app. And, like everything in life, you play around with it, think you’ve come up with some cool contraption (volcanos are a good starting point) and then go on youtube … and realise you suck and that there are people on this Earth who can do anything a billion times better. (more…)

Filed under: Crap, General, Indie by Dagon
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Unless you’re currently living in exile on Dagobah you probably noticed there was some huge news on Tuesday. A new Star Wars MMO was announced, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

When BioWare and Lucasarts made the announcement on Tuesday, I was sat at my computer ready to make a post here about it. However, there was so much information released about the game on a number of big websites, that it took me most of the evening to read through it all. On top of that, there was a video interview to watch and an official TOR website and forum that I had to register and start posting on!

So I’ve waited for the dust to settle and now know a lot more about the game than I did after the announcement on Tuesday.

(more…)

Filed under: Bioware, Featured, Lucasarts, MMO's, Star Wars by Sam
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My ideas for new online games.

Keep a nose on them below:

CELL

Filed under: Uncategorized by Dagon
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I’m sure you know that Gemma Atkinson, of Hollyoaks and Daily Star fame, is in EA’s highly anticipated Red Alert 3, but did you know that there are a total of SEVEN stunning girls that will feature in the games cut scenes?

I didn’t until today. But the lads at http://www.computerandvideogames.com have confirmed that the following ladies will be acting terribly in those cheesy cut scenes we’re all used to in Command & Conquer games!

1. Gemma Atkinson (Hollyoaks)
   
2. Kelly Hu (Scorpion King)
3. Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale)
4. Jenny McCarthy (Playboy)
5. Autumn Reeser (The OC)
   
6. Gina Carano (American Gladiators)
7. Vanessa Branch (Page 3)

Fantastic!

Filed under: Featured by Sam
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