Napalm Riot

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Straight from UmbraSoftware.com:

Umbra Software Ltd., developers of highly-acclaimed Umbra occlusion culling technology, announced today that ArenaNet, Inc. licensed Umbra´s visibility optimization technology to be used in ArenaNet’s award winning Guild Wars® franchise.

“Rather than spend resources developing a new occlusion system to meet the demands of our next game we decided to license technology from the experts,” said Jim Scott, ArenaNet’s lead graphics programmer. “This . . . Read more

Straight from g4tv.com:

Linden Labs recently announced pricing and policy changes regarding the Openspace feature in its Second Life virtual world. Starting January 1, 2009, the upfront fee is being raised from $250 to $375, while the monthly maintenance fee is being raised from $75 to $125. As expected, numerous Second Life denizens are pissed off (a medical term) about the increase. GigaOM has reported that players are holding virtual protests over the new fees. Some players are holding pro . . . Read more

Straight from PlayNC.com:

NCsoft®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today announced a partnership with TransGaming, Inc. (TSX-V: TNG) to bring their award-winning City of Heroes® franchise to the Apple® Macintosh®. The game has been enabled for the Mac by TransGaming, a leading developer of portability technologies for the electronic entertainment industry. City of Heroes for Mac will be available for public beta testing with the . . . Read more

Hellgate: London, Namco Bandai's troubled MMO, will be closing its doors on January 31, 2009.

Until that time, the firm will offer "server support free of charge to all fans and players of the game."

This closure follows a string of setbacks for the MMO including a harsh reception from fans and critics alike, and the collapse of developer Flagship Studios earlier this year.

Since that time the MMO has been operated by publisher Namco Bandai, though apparently the firm sees no reason to . . . Read more

This is a great brief write-up and first look video of this new online/MMO'ish game called Love, all developed by one guy.

Watch the video. Very interesting.

Read more: http://www.rockpapershotg…om/2008/10/15/love-video/

The excitement of the new baby has taken all the attention away from the firstborn, but not to worry: LucasArts says Star Wars Galaxies will continue to be fully supported.

Star Wars: The Old Republic, the upcoming MMOG set in the Knights of the Old Republic era of the Star Wars universe, is one of the most anticipated games in recent memory, leveraging both the Star Wars name and the reputation of developer BioWare for creating top-notch, epic RPGs. All but lost in the hullabaloo of the game . . . Read more

Nexon America Inc. announced that Combat Arms, its new online multiplayer first-person shooter game, surpassed one million registered users since its open beta launch in July. Combat Arms was commercially launched on October 1 with the addition of the highly anticipated "Black Market," the in-game item shop that allows users to spend real money to further customize their characters.

To commemorate this milestone, Nexon will unveil two patches including a new map and game mode that will offer . . . Read more

American McGee has been a busy man lately, what with his episodic game Grimm Volume 1 being fully released and Grimm Volume 2 looming on the horizon, but apparently there is no rest for wicked. According to his blog, McGee is also pitching a new concept for an MMO racing game.

BaiJiu Racer is being described by McGee as an "MMO-lite racing game concept with China as the core theme." The game has been in preproduction with his development company, Spicy Horse, for the past three months. McGee . . . Read more

Tim Cain has Fallout 3 pre-ordered. The designer of Interplay's 1997 RPG masterwork Fallout is looking forward to the release of Bethesda's big budget open world sequel just like the rest of us.

But being involved so intimately with the birth of the Fallout franchise, he's hard-pressed not to analyze Fallout 3's development with a discerning eye.

(Source: http://www.edge-online.co…tim-cain-thinks-fallout-3)

As of Monday, PS3 owners have had the chance to enter the Land of Opportunity with the opportunity to net some sweet trophies for their cabinet.
The rumours have been flying around for some time about the update, and the 1.03 update, featuring Trophy support, was finally released to PS3 owners on 27th of October. The update has been widely-received as a welcome addition to the comparatively small amount of games currently supporting the feature. However, the feature requires a new game to be s . . . Read more

Sorry about the Japanese website, but hey, at least you get some looks at the total wispy-haired androgyny of a game that MIGHT be out in our lifetimes!

http://www.famitsu.com/ga…1219286_1407.html?ref=rss

Hailed as one of the greatest games of all time, Chrono Trigger has shipped more than 2.5 million copies worldwide since its original release in 1995. In 2001, it was rereleased alongside Final Fantasy IV in a Final Fantasy Chronicles bundle that eventually made it onto Sony's Greatest Hits list. Now it heads for Nintendo's handheld, where it retains the same look it had back in '95 and keeps the full-motion videos that were added in the PlayStation version. This time around, you can play the ga . . . Read more

Hellgate: London's last day will be January 31, 2009, says Namco Bandai, writing the closing chapter on near-defunct Flagship Studios' embattled MMO.

Namco Bandai, who co-published the game through an agreement with EA Partners, had sustained responsibility for Hellgate's operation since Flagship Studios "for all intents and purposes" closed down in July, and now confirms the closing date to consumer site GameSpot.

Veterans of Flagship Studios, including chief visionary officer Dave Brevik . . . Read more

For those of you too lazy to use Google.

http://www.swtor.com/

Be careful, it's heavy.

Star Wars: The Old Republic. Set 300 years after KotOR 2, LucasArts brought on BioWare as the 'natural choice' to handle such a massive undertaking.

News on this is still coming in -- the press conference is still going on, so expect massive amounts of updates on this announcement in the next few days.

Until then, here's what we've got so far:

First Details via videogaming247[/ur . . . Read more

Copies of the delayed PlayStation 3 title LittleBigPlanet are being offered for sale on auction site eBay for as much as USD 249.

The title was recalled last week, but not before some copies of the game had been shipped to retailers and sold on to customers.

Enterprising sellers are advertising the game as a "rare, recalled version" of the highly-anticipated title, and detailing the reason for the delay as a selling point. As one seller puts it, "this will be a collector's item because you . . . Read more

Sony Europe has announced that LittleBigPlanet is to be released no later than the week beginning November 3 in Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

The company will be keen to ensure it's out sooner rather than later – Microsoft's Gears of War 2 goes on sale that same week, on Friday November 7.

Titles are usually released in the UK on a Friday to ensure all retailers offer the game on the same date.

It was announced last week that LittleBigPlanet would be delayed due to the soundt . . . Read more

We take a look at Mirror's Edge, due in stores Novemeber 12th from Dice, the acclaimed producers of the Battlefield series. Aaron Krause, marketing director for Mirror's Edge, takes us on a look at a first-person shooter -- without the shooter. He also lays down a challenge...

To see more, check out the X-Play video, courtesy of G4tv.com: http://www.g4tv.com/xplay…_Access_Mirrors_Edge.html

For those of you who are never satisfied, here's a plethora of cheat codes for you for the new Star Wars: the Force Unleashed game.

Unlock all Force Powers (at maximum power): KATARN
Unlock Stormtrooper Armor: TK421WHITE
Unlock mirrored levels: MINDTRICK
Unlock all lightsaber crystals: HURRIKANE (yes, with a K)
Unlock Bail Organa costume: VICEROY

These are courtesy of G4's Xplay. To view the video demonstrating these codes, check out G4tv.com: http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/cheats/31899/Ch . . . Read more

5000 demo keys were recently distrubited for the groundbreaking rts some of us might be looking foward too. I was lucky enough to recieve one of these keys and in response I've written a first impressions review.


Review: It's the end: a first look.

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