• Preview - Ground Control
  Time: 10:23 AM EST/15:23 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Incite Games has taken a long hard (insert Billy Wilson comment here) look at Massive Entertainment's upcoming 3D RTS, Gound Control. This game is said to utilize the best elements from games like Myth II and Force 21.

Take the battlefields from Bungie's Myth II, the no-resource-management concepts from Microprose's MechCommander, and the platoon-sized forces from Red Storm's Force 21, combine them with a little science fiction, and you may well find yourself with Ground Control.

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• Preview - Alone in the Dark 4
  Time: 10:23 AM EST/15:23 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Alone in the Dark was a really cool game when it was released years ago. It helped pave the way for classics like Resident Evil. Now it French developer, Darkworks, is set on bringing us yet another chapter in the Alone in the Dark series. This brings it up to a total of 4 games in the series. Gamelinks has a preview up of the game.

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• Review - Shadow Watch
  Time: 10:23 AM EST/15:23 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamesdomain fired off a full review of Red Storm Entertainment's upcoming turn based strategy game, Shadow Watch. So if you liked X-Com and/or Jagged Alliance I guess you might want to take a look at this one as well.

The fact that the operatives can gain skills and abilities during the Campaign is also a big plus. It makes SW more of a "Strategy/Adventure" hybrid, maybe with a little "RPG" thrown in for good measure. There is nothing nicer than seeing Rafael develop the ability to blow open doors like Bear does! And developing Archer into the "total package" as a team leader really makes a big difference in team survivability. Overall, I thought that the addition of these many and varied abilities enhanced the gameplay nicely as after each mission there are decisions for you to make, which make me feel like I'm actually in control of something.

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• Preview - Thief 2: The Metal Age
  Time: 01:30 PM EST/18:30 GMT News Source: Netgames Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamelinks has taken a good look at Looking Glass Studios' upcoming sequel to Thief: The Dark Project. Entitled Thief 2: The Metal Age, the game sets you in the shoes of the lone thief who sets out to steal various items and relics. Here's preview of the preview.

Gameplay makes the game." This saying couldn't be more true when in reference to Looking Glass Studios original Thief: The Dark Project game, a sleeper hit but an instant success. Cluttered with painful 8-bit graphics and a very tough learning curve, it's game play saved Thief: The Dark Project from garnering such unflattering awards as "Coaster" of the year game award. Instead the game's developers gambled with the focus on the game, and decided that an element never really used as a primary game play element, Stealth would be what made the game different. The gamble paid off, big time! Garnering a huge hardcore following, Thief: The Dark Project took gamers through a dark world of thievery and first person adventure in which playing a thief named Garrett enticed gamers on many different level never delved into by first person game makers before. At the end of the first game, Looking Glass Studios announced in the credits a sequel, called "The Metal Age", and so gave away that a second Thief game was already in the works. So here we are on the verge of a March release of what is expected to be a highly successful sequel and another cash-cow for both developer Looking Glass and publisher Eidos Interactive, with a look at Thief 2: The Metal Age.

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• Edios loses money - Lara burned out?
  Time: 01:30 PM EST/18:30 GMT News Source: Gamerush Posted By: Per Kristensen

BBC News is reporting that the London-based gaming company, Eidos is has taken a big fall in profits. In fact in the nine months up until the end of '99, Eidos suffered loses of £11million, compared to a profit of £36.2million the year before. I guess that's what happens when you re-use the same concept to many times, instead of coming up with a new idea.

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• New Frogger 2 screenies
  Time: 01:30 PM EST/18:30 GMT News Source: Avault Posted By: Per Kristensen

The Adrenaline Vault scored a bunch of new screenshots from Hasbro's upcoming Frogger 2 game. With the first Frogger selling over 3 million copies, Frogger 2 is already destined to be a best-seller. The game is set for release around September this year, and will include a new female friend for Frogger, a level set in space and much more.

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• Screenshots - Gunman
  Time: 03:19 EST/20:19 GMT News Source: GA Source Posted By: Per Kristensen

GA Source got the exclusive on some screenshot from a new upcoming Half-Life mod called Gunmen. They also got AVI files, showing some characters.

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• Preview - Imperial Galactica
  Time: 11:33 EST/16:33 GMT News Source: Gamespot Posted By: Per Kristensen

Once again the goodfellas (I mean that in a non gangster sort of way) over at Gamespot has pulled yet another fine looking preview out of their hat. This time it's GT Interactive's upcoming space-strategi game, Imperium Galactica II: Alliances. Here's a peak.

Imperium Galactica II impresses almost immediately - even in the early form we tested. The interface is slick and intuitive, from the main menu to the in-game prompts and windows. MOO2 veterans will have little difficulty diving right into gameplay, despite the fact that Imperium Galactica II uses a real-time engine. No need to fear, though: This is real time in the Star Wars: Rebellion sense (except it works), with a varying time setting that you can pause or speed up to your heart's content. In fact, the real-time engine works quite well in Imperium Galactica II.

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• Preview - Rune
  Time: 11:33 EST/16:33 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Another preview for you today. This one is from the blokes at Gamelinks. The have a preview up of Human Head Studios' forthcoming epic 3D action game, Rune.

Rune will center around melee combat with weapons such as swords, axes, knives, clubs and even unconvential melee weapons such as rocks, bones, and chopped off body parts, all encapsulated around your quest to find the secret of the Dark Vikings bent on wiping out your family and fellow Vikings. To allow for further interactivity with the environment, you'll be able to pick up the weapons of those you've vanquished.

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• Evolva - Hands-on preview
  Time: 04:48 EST/21:48 GMT News Source: Eurogamer Posted By: Per Kristensen

Eurogamer has posted an extensive hands-on preview of Computer Artsworks' upcoming game, Evolva. Some of you GeForce owners may have tried the demo, that shipped with some GeForce cards. Here's a snippet.

Objectives are fairly varied, ranging from a basic reconnaissance
mission to recover alien genetic material to more complex missions where you
have to locate explosives and use them to destroy an alien structure, or
defending indigenous life forms against hostile aliens."

   "And although the solution to most of your problems is generally fairly
obvious, the frantic fast paced action and the constant mutating of your
genohunters into newer and more deadly forms helps keep things interesting.

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• Activision to co-produce new Star Trek comic book
  Time: 04:48 EST/21:48 GMT News Source: Gamespot Posted By: Per Kristensen

Apperently Activision is to turn the tables on the industry by co-producing a new upcoming coming book from publisher DC Comics. The new comic book is to be based on Activision's upcoming Star Trek computer game, Voyager: Elite Force. Usually it's the other way around where a game is based on a comic. The plot of the comic is said to be identical to that of the game, featuring Captain Janeway and the good crew of the USS Voyager. However the comic book should be in stores before the game, which could prove be quite a spoiler for the game plot.

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• Screenshots - Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
  Time: 04:48 EST/21:48 GMT News Source: Active Gaming Posted By: Per Kristensen

Michael Webster from Activision was nice enough to send me a couple of screenshots from their upcoming 3D shooter based on the Star Trek universe, Voyager: Elite Force. In this game you join the crew of Federation starship USS Voyager, which is lost in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager: Elite Force uses id Software's Quake 3 engine which has been modified to fit the needs. The game is being developed by Raven Software. I don't know if all of these shots have been seen before but I thought I would post them anyway.

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• Preview - Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord
  Time: 10:05 EST/15:05 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamesdomain has popped up a preview of Big Time Software's upcoming simultaneous turn-based WWII 3D wargame, Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord. In this game you are able to view the battle field from a number of different 3D views.

The battlefield is displayed in 3D, with camera positions ranging from ground level (zoom 1) to eye in the sky (zoom 7 or 8). The camera can be freely scrolled and panned to offer a view from almost anywhere. Each minute of action can be rewound, replayed, paused and viewed from any angle. This makes watching the resolution of each turn exceptionally tense (as you have no chance to intervene to give new orders) and at the same time renders the game system ideal for play by email (pbem). If you want to watch an event from another angle, you can do so, to your heart's content. Scrolling the camera can now be done much faster than in the demo, with the number pad keys giving accelerated movement. To traverse a map quickly, you can also jump out to a higher zoom level.

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• Screenshots - Devil Inside
  Time: 10:05 EST/15:05 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

AGN3D has added a new game to their screenshots section. Devil Inside is the name of the game, which is currently under development by Gamesquad. Here are some of the features.

• A game of action/adventure created by the author of the Alone in the Dark series, Hubert Chardeau.
• Set in the strange world of American "real life" TV, starring the two main characters, Dave and his female double, Deva.
• More than 50 different enemies, each one more macabre and vicious that the next.
• 7 different weapons, 8 psychic powers and many detailed and atmospheric levels.
• An exceptional production in terms of camera action and hyper-realistic animations of the characters.

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Unreal Tournament: 1941 interview & shots
Time: 10:05 EST/15:05 GMT News Source: GA Source Posted By: Per Kristensen

Ever heard of 2 little movies called "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Thin Red Line"? Well apparently the developers over at Reactor did, and decided to make a game in the same atmosphere as the 2 WWII movies. GA Source got a hold of a couple of screenshots from the upcoming game. If you'd like to know more about UT: 1941, than also check out the interview they did with Lead Designer, Tuomo Korva.

What new features have you added in terms of gameplay?

I think the best new feature in 1941 is the possibility to have a very large number of soldiers on the battlefield. Needless to say, we had to come up with some special tricks to accomplish this in Unreal. I don't think there's any other games in development that simulate platoon/company scale battles in real forest terrain, so 1941 will be quite unique.

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• Razer-CPL Qualifier coverage
  Time: 04:33 EST/21:31 GMT News Source: Eurogamer Posted By: Per Kristensen

Eurogamer is covering the Razer-CPL Qualifier event, which is taking place in London.

The Razer-CPL tournament in Dallas this April will be the biggest Quake 3 tourney so far, with 512 players taking part and $100,000 in prizes up for grabs! You have to be pretty dedicated to fly out to Dallas from Europe though, and that's where the local qualifiers come in.

The UK qualifier is taking place at our old haunt in the heart of London, The Playing Fields. And thanks to sponsors GamePlay the winner will get flown out to Dallas, a free room at the hotel, an automatic place in the last 64 at the Razer-CPL event, and £500 spending money to paint the town red .. well, a nice shade of pastel pink maybe.

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• Overdrive announced
  Time: 04:33 EST/21:31 GMT News Source: GA Source Posted By: Per Kristensen

GA Source has the scoop on a newly announced upcoming game from developer No Fate. Overdrive is the title of this game which started out as a mod for Quake 3, but then moved on to become a stand-alone game. Snip this.

Overdrive promises to take high-speed, criminal-driving action to a whole new level. Although only a few months into development no fate has revealed to us that their upcoming title will be very action oriented and violent. "Overdrive is a racer involving car bombing and completing drive by's for the mob," Kamil Mansuri, Lead Design for no fate told us. "Its similar in theme to Grand Theft Auto, but with more focus on killing individual people, and it will be multiplayer only," he explained.

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• Daikatana interview
  Time: 04:33 EST/21:31 GMT News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen

Rob Waters from Warcentral had the opportunity to interview kelly Hoemer, the producer of Daikatana over at Ion Storm. Here's the lo-down on when the game is gonna be out.

[RW] Finally, when can we expect Daikatana to be on retail store shelves?
[Kelly Hoerner] Sometime in late February is what everyone here thinks.

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• Battle of Britain screenies
  Time: 04:33 EST/21:31 GMT News Source: GA Source Posted By: Per Kristensen

Also at GA Source today is a couple of new screenshots from Empire Interactive's upcoming WW2 fighter-sim, Battle of Britain.

Features:

• Simulations of Luftwaffe’s 1000 aircraft raids
• Cloud that you can hide in and behind
• Fly the Spitfire, Hurricane, Bf109, Bf110, Ju87 Stuka divebomber - Act as gunner in Junkers 88, Heinkel 111, Dornier 17 Other aircraft: Defiant, Blenheim bomber, Air-Sea rescue float aircraft
• Interactive virtual cockpits
• Range of flight models: arcade to full realism
• Real-time fully interactive dynamic campaigns that can be played from both sides.
• Play as a Controller or a Pilot
• Multiplayer death match, team play and quickmission mode playable over the Internet, LAN and direct connect.

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• Interview - Blade Unsheated
  Time: 04:33 EST/21:31 GMT News Source: Eurogamer Posted By: Per Kristensen

John over at Eurogamer sends word that they got a new interview up with Wavier Carrillo of Rebel Act. The subject is Rebel Act's upcoming (and sweet loking) game, Blade.

"It's a portal 3D engine with real time physics and real-time shadows", Xavier explained. "It's very powerful, and allows a lot of interactivity with the environment. Everything has been done to reinforce the feeling of reality."

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• Review - Who wants to be a millionaire
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: Gamespot Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Gamespot has reviewed "Who wants to be a millionaire". This is a somewhat different type of game, than we are used to these days. It is the game version of the TV trivia gameshow starring Regis Philbin. Don't know the show? Well, neither do I, but apparently it's very popular. Here's a snippet from the review:

  Most hard-core gamers probably gnash their teeth at the thought of Regis Philbin and his simple-minded trivia game outselling every other supposedly respectable game on the market. The TV game show that has every executive from other networks feverishly reshuffling his prime-time grid is also burning up the computer entertainment charts. With more than a million copies sold and no end in sight, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is the people's choice, whether fraggers like it or not.

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---

News Headlines For Thursday 17th February 2000

Internet News

• Thief 2 screenshots
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Incite Games has posted some new screenshots from Eidos' upcoming Thief 2: The Metal Age, which is set for release in late March. If you don't know what Thief 2 is about, then Incite Games also has a preview up for your viewing pleasure.

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• No D3D or Glide for MDK2
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: Bioware Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Avault got word from Bioware that they will not be supporting neither Direct3D or Glide in their upcoming MDK2. Instead they will be using OpenGL as their main API. This should not be a problem, since every major graphicscard has a working OpenGL driver to go along with it.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

   
• Caliber mod for Quake 3
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: GameoverDK Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Caliber is the name of a new in-the-works mod(ification) for Quake 3: Arena. Although not much info has released yet, it is clear that the creators of the mod, Mort and Goose, knows what they are doing. By looking at the character section one can't help but notice, how much the first character (Mourn) looks like Neo from the movie The Matrix. The model is very detailed.

  For now we're keeping quiet about the majority of the features in Caliber, for the simple reason of we're not quite sure whether we'll be able to pull of some of the ideas we have. I don't want to list a bunch of crazy features and then end up not being able to deliver, disappointing alot of people and making idiots of ourselves.
  
  Basically, we're making this mod for ourselves, the game that WE want to play. If others want to play Caliber as well, great, we will consider that a bonus. If not, oh well, we're having fun making it and we'll have a blast playing it at our local LAN sessions.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

---

News Headlines For Wednesday 16th February 2000

Internet News

• Preview - Duke Nuke'm Forever
  Time: 12:58 EST/17:58 GMT News Source: Unreality Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Gamelinks has posted a preview of 3DRealms' long-awaited 1st person shooter, Duke Nuke'm Forever(/whenever?). Although there's really nothing new in the preview, it is still a good read.

  For what is arguably the most anticipated game in PC gaming history, the seas have been for the most part quiet. Quite enough that little more is known now about the game then it was when the game was first announced. Along the way there have been a number of significant changes. Some of these have been met with open arms by fans of the long running game franchise, while other changes have been met with fierce resistance. Nevertheless, 3DRealms has been, amongst the vast ocean of screenshots and videos that often times drown out the anticipation of an in-production game, very guarded about the game they are claiming won't be released until it's the best first person shooter ever, Duke Nukem Forever.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

   
• Action UT in the works
  Time: 12:55 EST/17:55 GMT News Source: AUT Posted By: Per Kristensen

  I noticed over at Unreality, that the good old Action Quake/Half-Life mod is underway in a brand new version for Unreal Tournament. I tried the Half-Life version once and that kicked but.

  Action Unreal Tournament is a modification of Unreal Tournament that adds realistic weapons, better damage simulation, new gameplay, and bags of action-movie style.
  
  Ever watched a John Woo flick and said 'I wish I could do that' as a guy dived down the stairs, akimbo pistols blazing?
  
  Now you can.
  
  For those with a history of action games, AUT is the followup to the successful Action Quake2 and Action Half-Life; we hope to continue the tradition of fun gameplay, innovative features and consistent quality.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

   
• 50th Diablo 2 screenshot
  Time: 12:50 EST/17:50 GMT News Source: Webdog Posted By: Per Kristensen

  The Labyrinth has posted the 50th screenshot in the Diablo 2 screenshot of the week series. I never cared much for Diablo, but I must say that Diablo 2 is looking VERY sweet.

  It features the Paladin using his Holy Freeze skill on a pack of ravage skeleton, while at the same time working on the Greater Mummy. The shot takes place in Act II, judging by the underground desert artwork of Lut Gholein.

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• Preview - Soulbringer
  Time: 12:45 EST/17:45 GMT News Source: Daily Radar Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Once again, the good folks over at The Daily Radar has whipped up another fine looking preview. This time they take a look at a new upcoming RPG from Gremlin/Interplay called Soulbringer. The game seems to have the usual stuff like demos, spells and what have you.

  It was a dark, stormy night. Everyone was out of the cold, except for a weary traveler and the man who brought him there -- the ferryman (who you callin' a fairyman?) Map in hand, he ventures to find his long-lost uncle. With many obstacles along the way, including brigands, undead enemies and leery locals, it seems that the odds are against him. Long ago, Harbinger -- a warlock -- battled six powerful demons called the Revenants. He alone defeated them -- or so everyone thought. The new hero's mighty task is to finish the job.

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---

News Headlines For Friday 18th February 2000

Internet News

• Review - Who wants to be a millionaire
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: Gamespot Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Gamespot has reviewed "Who wants to be a millionaire". This is a somewhat different type of game, than we are used to these days. It is the game version of the TV trivia gameshow starring Regis Philbin. Don't know the show? Well, neither do I, but apparently it's very popular. Here's a snippet from the review:

  Most hard-core gamers probably gnash their teeth at the thought of Regis Philbin and his simple-minded trivia game outselling every other supposedly respectable game on the market. The TV game show that has every executive from other networks feverishly reshuffling his prime-time grid is also burning up the computer entertainment charts. With more than a million copies sold and no end in sight, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is the people's choice, whether fraggers like it or not.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

---

News Headlines For Thursday 17th February 2000

Internet News

• Thief 2 screenshots
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Incite Games has posted some new screenshots from Eidos' upcoming Thief 2: The Metal Age, which is set for release in late March. If you don't know what Thief 2 is about, then Incite Games also has a preview up for your viewing pleasure.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

   
• No D3D or Glide for MDK2
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: Bioware Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Avault got word from Bioware that they will not be supporting neither Direct3D or Glide in their upcoming MDK2. Instead they will be using OpenGL as their main API. This should not be a problem, since every major graphicscard has a working OpenGL driver to go along with it.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

   
• Caliber mod for Quake 3
  Time: 11:08 EST/16:08 GMT News Source: GameoverDK Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Caliber is the name of a new in-the-works mod(ification) for Quake 3: Arena. Although not much info has released yet, it is clear that the creators of the mod, Mort and Goose, knows what they are doing. By looking at the character section one can't help but notice, how much the first character (Mourn) looks like Neo from the movie The Matrix. The model is very detailed.

  For now we're keeping quiet about the majority of the features in Caliber, for the simple reason of we're not quite sure whether we'll be able to pull of some of the ideas we have. I don't want to list a bunch of crazy features and then end up not being able to deliver, disappointing alot of people and making idiots of ourselves.
  
  Basically, we're making this mod for ourselves, the game that WE want to play. If others want to play Caliber as well, great, we will consider that a bonus. If not, oh well, we're having fun making it and we'll have a blast playing it at our local LAN sessions.

  [Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

---

News Headlines For Wednesday 16th February 2000

Internet News

• Preview - Duke Nuke'm Forever
  Time: 12:58 EST/17:58 GMT News Source: Unreality Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamelinks has posted a preview of 3DRealms' long-awaited 1st person shooter, Duke Nuke'm Forever(/whenever?). Although there's really nothing new in the preview, it is still a good read.

For what is arguably the most anticipated game in PC gaming history, the seas have been for the most part quiet. Quite enough that little more is known now about the game then it was when the game was first announced. Along the way there have been a number of significant changes. Some of these have been met with open arms by fans of the long running game franchise, while other changes have been met with fierce resistance. Nevertheless, 3DRealms has been, amongst the vast ocean of screenshots and videos that often times drown out the anticipation of an in-production game, very guarded about the game they are claiming won't be released until it's the best first person shooter ever, Duke Nukem Forever.

[Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

• Action UT in the works
  Time: 12:58 EST/17:58 GMT News Source: Unreality Posted By: Per Kristensen

I noticed over at Unreality, that the good old Action Quake/Half-Life mod is underway in a brand new version for Unreal Tournament. I tried the Half-Life version once and that kicked but.

Action Unreal Tournament is a modification of Unreal Tournament that adds realistic weapons, better damage simulation, new gameplay, and bags of action-movie style.

Ever watched a John Woo flick and said 'I wish I could do that' as a guy dived down the stairs, akimbo pistols blazing?

Now you can.

For those with a history of action games, AUT is the followup to the successful Action Quake2 and Action Half-Life; we hope to continue the tradition of fun gameplay, innovative features and consistent quality.

[Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

• 50th Diablo 2 screenshot
  Time: 12:58 EST/17:58 GMT News Source: Webdog Posted By: Per Kristensen

The Labyrinth has posted the 50th screenshot in the Diablo 2 screenshot of the week series. I never cared much for Diablo, but I must say that Diablo 2 is looking VERY sweet.

It features the Paladin using his Holy Freeze skill on a pack of ravage skeleton, while at the same time working on the Greater Mummy. The shot takes place in Act II, judging by the underground desert artwork of Lut Gholein.

[Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

• Preview - Soulbringer
  Time: 12:58 EST/17:58 GMT News Source: Daily Radar Posted By: Per Kristensen

Once again, the good folks over at The Daily Radar has whipped up another fine looking preview. This time they take a look at a new upcoming RPG from Gremlin/Interplay called Soulbringer. The game seems to have the usual stuff like demos, spells and what have you.

It was a dark, stormy night. Everyone was out of the cold, except for a weary traveler and the man who brought him there -- the ferryman (who you callin' a fairyman?) Map in hand, he ventures to find his long-lost uncle. With many obstacles along the way, including brigands, undead enemies and leery locals, it seems that the odds are against him. Long ago, Harbinger -- a warlock -- battled six powerful demons called the Revenants. He alone defeated them -- or so everyone thought. The new hero's mighty task is to finish the job.

[Submit News]  [Return To Headlines]

---

News Headlines For Tuesday 15th February 2000

Internet News

• Review - Airport Inc.
  Time: 2:06 EST/19:06 GMT News Source: Gamerush Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamerush has done up a review of Take 2 Interactive's Airport Inc. In this "Sims"-type game the objective is to successfully run an airport (you would have never guessed right?). Although this game is hitting the streets at the same as The Sims from Maxis, it does have a unique advantage over most other sim-games. It has fully real-time 3D graphics. Gamerush liked the game a lot, and gave it a 93% score.

The introduction to game is pretty simple looking, nothing to flashy at all, until you realise the whole game is in 3D! Yep, you heard me right a sim game in full 3D! sim games always sell well, you just have to look at the success of games like Sim City 3000 which was the top grossing game of last year in the US. One thing that's lacking in sim games these days is the level of interactivity you have with your creation. All that is about to change thanks to the Airport Inc developer, Krisalis, who have come up with something that little bit special.

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• Interview - Christian "Xian" Antkow of id Software
  Time: 2:06 EST/19:06 GMT News Source: GameoverDK Posted By: Per Kristensen

The Mean Arena got in touch with main man Christian "Xian" Antkow, level designer at id Software. Antkow was one of the level designers on Quake 3: Arena.

Kiltron: How did you first become involved with id Software?

Xian: Wolfenstein 3D =) I was hooked. I remember logging into a some BBS (who's name escapes me) on the eve of DOOM shareware being released, and playing it deathmatch with a bunch of gamers at the office. It was a wonderous experience seeing DOOM for the first time. I was a pretty big id-fanboy and through the years, I had gotten to know Barrett Alexander and American McGee when Quake I was released, and was offered a job as a network admin about half-way through Quake II's development. I did levels in my spare time and I guess the owners liked my work enough to put me on levels full time.

It's a dream job.

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• Half-Life 1.0.1.6 released
  Time: 2:06 EST/19:06 GMT News Source: Blues News Posted By: Per Kristensen

Valve has released an update to their ever so popular 3D game, Half-Life. This new version 1.0.1.6 includes 2 new maps for Team Fortress Classic as well as server improvements and more. Get it from Blues News.

• Version 1.0.0.5 to 1.0.1.6 patch (26.2 MB)

• Version 1.0.0.9 to 1.0.1.6 patch (7.2 MB)

• Version 1.0.1.3 to 1.0.1.6 patch (6.1 MB)

• Version 1.0.1.5 to 1.0.1.6 patch (6.1 MB)

• Linux dedicated server upgrade (7.3 MB)

• Win32 dedicated server upgrade (7.9 MB)

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• MDK2 shots & info
  Time: 2:06 EST/19:06 GMT News Source: GA Source Posted By: Per Kristensen

GA Source scored some new screenshots from BioWares upcoming 3rd person action-game, MDK2. In addition to the 12 new shots, they also had a chance to chat a bit with the President and Joint CEO of BioWare, Greg Zeschuk. Wet your mouth on this.

Although Shiny's MDK received critical acclaim from the press as a truly unique title to the action genre, it didn't sell that well. Why do you think that was?

MDK is somewhat of an enigma. As you mention, it was a big critical success - the press loved it, and it sold reasonably well but maybe not as much as people expected it to. I don't actually know the exact sales numbers so I can't really say if it was an overall financial success.

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News Headlines For Monday 14th February 2000

Internet News

• Shogun: Total War feature
  Time: 03:20 EST/20:20 GMT News Source: Gamespot Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamespot have done a feature article on Shogun: Total War, which is being developed by The Creative Assembly. I recently tried out the demo version and must say the it is looking very nice. You can grab the demo here. And here is a bit of the feature. 

Troop morale, honour and tiredness will affect the way they fight as will the wisdom of your command decisions. The cheapest troop unit - the yari ashigaru - are basically peasant farmers with spears. They are useful as fodder, but even if they gain battle honour points they'll always be the first to high-tail it in a difficult situation. Elite heavy cavalry will not buckle so easily. However, if you stupidly send a unit charging uphill against a wall of pike-wielding samurai they'll think better of it and exit stage-left, leaving you in the lurch. And it serves you right for being a crap commander. Use archers to soften up the enemy, use spearmen to protect the archers and lead headlong assaults and use cavalry to outflank or chase down retreating units and you're on safe ground.

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• Preview - Flying Heroes
  Time: 03:20 EST/20:20 GMT News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen

Gamerscentral have posted a preview look at Pterodon/Illusion Softworks upcoming game, Flying Heroes. The game is said to support all kinds of cool 3D effects and also multiplayer modes. Check it.

Next from the Czech republic...
Pterodon is a relatively small team of game developers working on an exciting and fun game called Flying Heroes. They cooperate together with Illusion Softworks to get the job done and I.S. is the company responsible for creating the successful Hidden & Dangerous.

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News Headlines For Sunday 13th February 2000

Internet News

• NFS: Porsche Unleashed movies & shots
  Time: 05:05 EST/10:05 GMT News Source: IGN PC Posted By: Per Kristensen

If you are a fan of Electronic Arts' Need for Speed series, you will want to scope this one out. IGN PC put up a page full of NFS lovin'. They got no less than 32 screenshots and 4 Quicktime movies. I must say that the graphics are looking very nice.

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• Update on the UT bonus pack
  Time: 05:05 EST/10:05 GMT News Source: AGN3D Posted By: Per Kristensen

Cliff Bleszinski of Epic posted a note in the GT UT forum, saying a bit about how things are going with the upcoming bonus pack for Unreal Tournament. The bonus pack will contain not only new maps, but also new models and relics. (On a side note, while you are waiting for the bonus pack,  I suggest checking out the Infiltration mod  for UT which is very sweet.) Here is what Cliff had to say.

The only bugs that remain now are the ones that are related to testing between UT versions. For instance, a person with the bonus pack connecting to a version 400 server having issues, or a person without the bonus pack running version 400 connecting to a 405 server that's running the pack.
This would have gone a lot quicker if we just had maps and did not have new models and the cool Relics. It'll be worth it, though!

Cliff

And a bit of info on the pack's distribution by game magazine CD's:

Yes, it will be on coverdisks.

But it's only 15 megs. If you're on a 56K, just set it up to download before you go to bed and use GETRIGHT!

Cliff

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• DARK SECTOR info & art
  Time: 05:05 EST/10:05 GMT News Source: Adrenaline Vault Posted By: Per Kristensen

Digital Extremes has announced their next title, hot in the trails of Unreal Tournament. DARK SECTOR is the name of the game and Digital Extremes also released some concept art shots to go along with the announcement. Here a bit snippet of the description.

The game is set in the trail of world devastation, when survivors are scattered throughout the solar system in a vast web of outposts and space stations. Anarchy reigns as violent factions wage war over limited resources. As the story goes, remnants of world government have sanctioned bounty hunting in a desperate attempt to control the growing chaos. Players carve out their destiny in a violent struggle for fortune and fame. One can begin a career as a bounty hunter, pursuing a target from Mars to the moons of Jupiter, and then face off in an ice mine on Europa. Or one can choose a more evil path hunting law-abiding citizens as an assassin.

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News Headlines For Friday 11th February 2000

Internet News

• First look - Mike Tyson boxing
  Time: 15:30 EST/20:30 GMT News Source: Ga Sports Posted By: Per Kristensen

I noticed over at GA-Sports that they got a First look at Codemasters upcoming boxing game, Mike Tyson Boxing. This game is sporting a unique physics based engine and much more. I wonder if there will be a special "ear-move".

• unique physics based fight engine, allowing much greater freedom of movement around the ring than in other games

• unique viewpoint and scoring system that help to bring out the ring tactics and accurately mimic the physical effects of boxing

• 12 different punches per boxer that can combine via a free-form combination attack system that allows players to find their own combination attacks rather than having sequences of predetermined button presses

• 16 international boxers each with their own unique personality and fighting style in VS and showcase modes (initially 8 with 8 locked + 3 secret hidden characters)

• 90 boxers in three weights (24 controllable and 66 opponents) in Career mode

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News Date: Thursday 10th February 2000 Today's Top Gaming Headlines: Internet News

• Nox multiplayer demo released
  Time: 01:55P PST/18:55 GMT News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  Westwood has released a demo version of their long awaited RPG, Nox. The demo even features multiplayer support. If you don't know what Nox is all about, then check out IGN's preview. You can grab the demo from 3Dfiles. Here's a bit of the description.
  
  You are the 20th century savior of Nox - summoned to the land in a cosmic accident. Being from Earth, you are the only living being on Nox that may touch a magic Orb in the possession of the wicked-evil queen of the undead - Hecubah. You must find this Orb and harness its power in order to construct the staff of oblivion and defeat Hecubah.
  
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• Zombie Studios sold
  Time: 01:55P PST/18:55 GMT News Source: Gamecenter Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  Zombie Studios, who is well known for creating Spec Ops and Spec Ops 2: Green Berets, has been sold to Advanced Interactive for an undisclosed amount. The reason for the takeover however is not directly game related, but has to do with a new technology that Zombie has been working on called HQ.com, which is a system for connecting military personnel with their families.
  
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Quake 2 wedding to be held online
Time: 01:55P PST/18:55 GMT News Source: Quake3DK Posted By: Per Kristensen

Just when you thought you had seen it all, along comes this peace of news. Apparently two Quake 2 players from South Africa have decided to get married while being online on a Quake 2 server. The two players, BadBoyBubba and db_High (there's a fine couple eh?), will be tying the knot of love on the Battleground server on Monday the 14th (which is also Valentine's Day), at 7.00PM (South African time). In real life the ceremony will take place in an internet café in Kempton Park. If you would like to take part in the online ceremony, you need to download a PAK file for Quake 2. And no...as far as I know John Carmack will not be performing the ceremony.
One wonders if there will be a deathmatch contest to see who gets the wedding bouquet.

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News Date: Wednesday 9th February 2000 Today's Top Gaming Headlines: Internet News

• New DVD players with gaming capabilities
  Time: 3:55P PST/21:55 GMT News Source: DVD Town Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  Toshiba, Motorola, Samsung and Raite Optoelectronics have announced a new technology called NUON that will allow you to play games on upcoming DVD movie players.
  
  As a gaming platform, NUON’s performance seems fairly competitive with the current generation of consoles. Legendary Atari designer Jeff Minter has designed a NUON version of the arcade classic Tempest that is fast, furious, and visually stunning, but does not necessarily appear to be out of reach for current PlayStation technology.
         Additional games that have been announced include Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective and Dracula Unleashed — two early full-motion video games that appeared on the PC market in the early 1990s as multimedia became a household word; Myst, the biggest-selling CD-ROM game of all time; Merlin Karting, a Mario Kart-esque racing game; and an interactive version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  
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• Quake 3 models that didn't make final
  Time: 3:55P PST/21:55 GMT News Source: The Oxygen Tank Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  Something Awful have put up a page with pictures and descriptions of some Quake 3: Arena models, that didn't make the final version of the game. Amongst the models is a very bigbreasted women with a machinegun in one hand, and an explosive dildo in the other. This is all meant as a joke (at least I sure hope so, but one never knows), and is actually quite funny.
  
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• Interview - John Carmack
  Time: 12:00P PST/19:00 GMT News Source: Firingsquad Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  Thresh's Firingsquad have whipped up a nice long (16 pages) interview with one of the biggest and most well known guys in the gaming biz, John Carmack. They talk about his money, inspiration, Linux, the next id game and more. Here is a snippet:

  FS: You have a good deal of money now - how does that affect you?

  John: I have sufficient money that I don't need to work anymore; I really don't have to. That's a nice freedom, the freedom from anyone having the ability to have any leverage over you, as long as you've got the money to take care of yourself and you aren't wrapped up in having more and more money. There are a lot of people even though they have a lot of money, they can still be manipulated by the carrot of having more money.

  In my position I have basically everything I want. I've got enough money to take care of myself and family so nobody, not any company, can have a significant leverage on me.
  
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• Preview - Hitman: Codename 47
  Time: 12:00P PST/19:00 GMT News Source: Daily Radar Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  The good folks over at Daily Radar have done up a preview of IO/Eidos Interactive's upcoming 3D action game, Hitman: Codename 47. In this game you take on the role of a hitman who makes a living out of killing. But the game is not just about killing as many people as possible. Actually the goal is to kill the target without any unnecessary killing. A simple sniping job is often better than a "messy" direct-on assault. Great, finally a game that actually encourages camping. Here are some of the features you can expect from the Hitman 3D engine:

• Large (1 Meg) textures

• Dynamic, realtime shadows

• Dual texture layers

• Real time lights via Gouraud shading

• Real time volumetric lights

• 100% dynamic worlds

• Geometry deformations

• Cluster collision

• Real time mirrors with recursion depth and lightning.

• Silhouette objects

• 32-bit Color

• Open GL and Glide support to 1280x1024 resolution

• Full 3D audio support

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• Interview - Brandon "Greenmarine" Reinhart
  Time: 12:00P PST/19:00 GMT News Source: UTworld Posted By: Per Kristensen
  
  The German Unreal Tournament fan-site UTworld, got an interesting interview up with Epic programmer Brandon "Greenmarine" Reinhart. They get the lo-down on stuff like the upcoming UT bonus pack, the next tech patch, Valve's Power Play and more. They even got him admitting that he sometimes plays Quake III deathmatch. Here is the bit where they talk about Epic and Playstation 2:
  
  UTworld: What are your plans for the future? Will there be an Unreal Tournament 2? Or what about the next Unreal engine games? Are you looking forward to one special game?
  
  BR: Epic's immediate future is Playstation 2. We are working extremely long hours to get a strong demonstration of our Playstation 2 technology prepared for GCDC. As
  far as Unreal Tournament 2...I think that there probably would be a sequel at some point, but I don't know when.
  The next Unreal engine games? From us or from licensees? I'm really REALLY looking forward to Duke Nukem Forever. Duke Nukem is one of my all-time favorite game characters. I'm also really looking forward to Deus Ex. I saw it up close at the last E3 and it looked very very fun.
  Epic's next game is up in the air. We've got a lot of ideas on the table ranging from sequels to UT to entirely new games. We aren't sure where we want to go...a lot of it depends on our chosen Playstation 2 strategy. Whatever the game will be, it'll be cool.
  
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News Date: Tuesday 8th February 2000 Today's Top Gaming Headlines: Internet News

• VE review - The Sims
  Time: 04:33P PST/07:20P EST News Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Per Kristensen

  VoodooExtreme's Rich Kyanka have reviewed one of the hottest new games on the market, The Sims. Although this game has gotten some very good reviews around the net, Kyanka was not impressed. Here is a bit from the review:

  The graphics, which are all fully three dimensional (unlike many previous sims), are some of the best in the genre. Many of the character animations are fluid and well done, effectively conveying whatever actions they're supposed to be performing. The art design has a distinct retro feel to it, much like X-Com: Apocalypse did (only you didn't get to choose what wallpaper you wanted to tile your bedroom with in X-Com). You'll definitely dig the art direction in this game if you're a fan of the "Atomic Age", when children routinely ducked and covered to protect themselves from Japanese U-boats that were transporting Tang and Necco Wafers to Beatniks who were protesting the Dewey Decimal system and liking Ike. Or something like that, I'm not a real history buff. The game is bright and colorful, employing a large amount of different textures and pastels to give it the a nostalgic 1960's feel.

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• Picassio may offer face-mapping
  Time: 04:20P PST/07:20P EST News Source: FGN Online Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Promethean Designs Russel Ritchie recently talked to FGN about their upcoming game, Picassio. An interesting bit was that Promethean may decide to offer face-mapping, wich will allow a user to "map" his/her own face onto the game character.

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• Preview - Divinity: Sword of Lies
  Time: 04:20P PST/07:20P EST News Source: 3DNews Posted By: Per Kristensen

  3DGaming have posted a preview of a Larian Studios upcoming RPG, Divinity: Sword of Lies. Although I am not big on RPG's, I must say that the graphics in Divinity are looking very sweet. Here is a taste of the preview:

  As with Baldur's Gate, you can pause the game at any time during combat, but if you prefer the pace and action of something like Diablo, no one's holding a gun to your head to force you to press the pause button. At least I sure hope not, because you might really want to refrain from putting the game on pause, but then you also want to not die, so you can see the conflict of interest there. Another innovative feature in the game will be the way spells and skills are handled. Much like an RTS game (which may or may not have a sword), you research skills and spells. If you're interested in various thieving skills, you have to pay for them with experience points to research and be able to use them. You also have to research spells to use them, and the more powerful you become with a spell, then you can gain ability in the use of the spell, perhaps even changing it's appearance when used. There's also speculation about a spell that turns undead skeletons into undead Elvis impersonators, but you didn't hear it from us -- because we aren't talking out loud.

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• New Star Trek RPG underway
  Time: 04:20P PST/07:20P EST News Source: IGN Sci-Fi Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Activision has recently announced that they are planning a new RPG based on the Star Trek universe. Although not much is yet known about the game, it is being developed by Verant Interactive who is well known for their RPG Everquest. Verant is also a part of Sony Online Entertainment, which means that we may also see it on Sony's upcoming Playstation 2. The Star Trek RPG is set to be even bigger than Everquest, and Activision is hopping for 400.000 to 500.000 subscribers to the online RPG. But don't hold your breath just yet. The game is not expected until 2001.

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Read more of the past months news in our News Archive for December and January  News.

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