The Return of Earthworm Jim

Interplay Entertainment is fulfilling its promises of sequels and remakes, and they've teamed up with Douglas TenNapel, the original creator of Earthworm Jim, who will simultaneously serve as the project's creative consultant and help launch an Earthworm Jim animated series and feature film to "expand the well-known brand."
And part of the plan includes a new title in the series currently plated as Earthworm Jim 4.

Earthworm Jim debuted in videogame form in 1994 for the SEGA Genesis. The machinegun-brandishing worm starred in a side-scrolling 2D shoot-'em-up / platformer whose uniquely edgy style and humorous presentation, not to mention winning play mechanics, combined for a standout experience. Subsequent sequels for various platforms followed over the years.

During the late '90s, Interplay suffered a series of financial setbacks which ultimately led in 2004 to the closing of the company. However, in late 2007, after selling the Fallout intellectual property to Bethesda Software, the publisher showed signs of a re-emergence, with executives promising to use the newfound finances to reestablish Interplay as an industry player. It's clear that Tuesday's announcement is the first in a series of steps to draw upon old Interplay licenses as a foundation for the new business.

No further details regarding Earthworm Jim 4 -- target videogame platforms, release date, and so on -- were made available by Interplay's official release today.

The Interplay website now shows a "coming soon" graphic, but does not provide any other information about the company or the games it may have in development. Nor does Tuesday's news release supply contact information of any kind. You can check back here for any updates when they become available.

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Assassin's Creed PC Patch to Remove DX 10.1 Support

Ubisoft has announced that the next patch for the PC version of Assassin's Creed (also available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) will remove Direct X 10.1 support.

The company has chosen to do so in light of many reported glitches. Ubisoft is currently trying to re-implement a glitch free DX10.1 version of the game in the upcoming patch.

No expected release date has been given regarding the launch of the patch but the developers have said that they should have further updates for the community soon. We'll be keeping a close eye on this so keep checking back here for more updates.

Assassin's Creed Game Details

Buy Assassin's Creed
	Published by: Ubisoft Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal Genre: Action Release Date: US: April 8, 2008 Europe: March 2008 Australia: TBA Also Available On: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

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Sins of a Solar Empire patch 1.04

According to Voodoo Extreme, Patch 1.04 for Sins of a Solar Empire is out. The much anticipated update to the popular space strategy game is also a substantial one.

For this build, tons of improvements were added to gameplay and balance as well as artificial intelligence, networking, multiplayer support, user interface and modding. It's also important to note that saved games and replays from version 1.03 will not work with patch 1.04.

Here is the official change log (courtesy of the game's official site):

Gameplay / Balance:
-Market value changes:
-Ratio of buy/sell is now 2:1 instead of 3:1.
-Min price now 200 instead of 80.
-Boom/crashes now last ~twice as long.
-Multiple instances of the Embargo planet debuff from the same player no longer stack.
-Capital ships
-All non-Colony capital ship top speeds increased from 500 to 525.
-All Colony capital ship top speeds increased from 400 to 475.
-Siege Frigates:
-Build costs decreased by ~15%.
-Javelis, Illuminator, Assailant:
-Linear acceleration decreased from 200 to 150.
-Top speed decreased from 800 to 500.
-Range decreased from 130% to 115% of 1.02 ranges.
-Illuminator:
-Hull points increased from 520 to 620.
-Shield points increased from 450 to 550.
-Attack type changed from CAPITALSHIP to ANTIMEDIUM.
-Front bank damage increased from 33.8 to 58.5.
-Side banks damage decreased from 33.8 to 30.3.
-Defense Vessel:
-Reduced cooldown by 45%, damage reduced proportionally to maintain DPS.
-Fleet supply increased from 3 to 4.
-Now properly benefits from Advent laser research topics.
-Attack types
-AntiVeryLight chance to hit bombers decreased from 85% to 75%.
-AntiVeryLight damage vs Light armor decreased from 100% to 75%.
-Carriers
-Slight cost reductions for all carrier cruisers
-Returning Armada and General Fleet Spawning
-No longer possible to spawn ships past fleet point limit.
-Ship slot count updated after each spawn to prevent RA exploit (clicking multiple abilities at same time).
-Increased level 1 RA cooldown by 120 secs and level 2 RA cooldown by 60 secs
-Map Balance of Power fixed to have less Heavies and populated desert worlds.
-Stilakus Subverter's Distortion Field ability will no longer cause it to micro phase jump towards targets travelling to other planets.
-Fix for problem where after playing Sins for 100000 seconds (27.7 hours) damage and various other systems wouldn't update correctly.
-Fix for strike craft squads being able to launch when they should be grounded.
-Phasic Barrier now toggles off more consistently when it's 'autocast off' conditions are satisfied.

AI:
-Fixed minor bug in Unfair AI not behaving quite correctly.
-Fix bug where AI would retreat from his homeworld or last planet.
-AI is less likely to gang up on the leading player in Easy or Normal.
-Autocast logic for hull point restoring abilities no longer consider structures under construction as damaged.
-Fix for ships not auto-attacking after breaking alliances.
-Fix for AI difficulty settings not behaving correctly.
-Misc tweaks.

Networking / Multiplayer:
-Fixed minor bug in ico-join game screen where fleet size display was incorrect.
-Improved in-game chat text entry:
-Escape no longer clears the chat buffer when closing the window.
-Sending whispers is remembered (don't have to retype the whisper when sending again).
-Sending to allies is remembered (don't have to retype /a when sending again).
-Chat string and colors changed.
-Fixed bug where joining a multiplayer game in a slot that was previously held by an AI player would have the AI still be enabled when you started the game.
-When a human player drops and an AI replaces him, the AI now has his happiness set to the required amount for existing alliances so he doesn't drop them all instantly.

UserInterface / HUD:
-Fix map names for Backstab and Balance of power.
-Fixed bug where fleet pip clouds would not show up when loading a saved game.
-Fixed string label for IDS_COHESIONRANGE_FAR_NAME and IDS_COHESIONRANGE_FAR_DESCRIPTION.
-Changed artifacts researched stat to be "artifact discoveries"
-Tweaked some ability descriptions to improve their clarity.
-'Unit under attack' events are now suppressed for trade and refinery ships.

Modding:
-Entity name lookup is now case insensitve.
-New options to enable error messages. This can be turned on by modders in the user.setting file to simplify tracking down errors instead of mysteriously crashing.
-Fix num particles in the user.setting file not actually increasing and added user control over the number of particle simulations since this is another main limiter for those with uber computers who want to push things.

Misc:
-Fix for saved games not respecting custom game options.

Fans are being warned that update 1.04 will not work with previous saved games, so tread lightly. Gamers can sign into the official website and download the update at the via link below. Impulse Beta gamers will be prompted to a different set of instructions. For more information on the space epic, check out IGN review of Sins of a Solar Empire.

[Via Sins of a Solar Empire Forums]

Sins of a Solar Empire Game Details

Buy Sins of a Solar Empire
	Published by: Stardock Developed by: Ironclad Games Genre: Real-Time Strategy Release Date: US: February 4, 2008 MSRP: $39.99

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Extreme PS3 Laptop:Playstation 3 Portable

If you're one among the many Sony PlayStation 3 owners in the world, and you're into high performance gaming laptops then this news update should make you want to wipe your drool off stat: Ben Heck , master of hacking pretty much everything, has just unveiled his latest creation, the Sony PlayStation 3 laptop. Weighing in at around 16 pounds - you could kill a zombie with it - this baby is pure PlayStation from top to bottom, from the hardware to the logo.

For the tech-oriented of us (or just the terminally-curious), here's the specs:

• Original backwards compatible 60GB model
• 17-inch LCD HDTV screen: 720p
• HDMI-DVI connection
• Built-in keyboard, USB ports, stereo speakers, headphone jack
• Size: 17 x 13.75 x 3-inches
• Weight: 16 pounds
  
  
  While we can say that it certainly takes a strong, brave man to take apart a Sony PlayStation 3 and then put it back together again into a laptop built for gaming and something sleeker and definitely more portable, we have to admit that the thing looks absolutely gorgeous and well worth the dismantling.
  
  If you're curious as to how to procure one of these custom gaming laptops, then you'll have to be quick, as it's being auctioned off for charity. But if you are going to go on a bid war for this expensive piece of machinery, just remember that you'll also be doing it for a good cause.

[Via Engadget]

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Mass Effect for PC Delayed

With the alien-sex controversy started by its Xbox 360 version having subsided already, Mass Effect has a good thing going for it nowadays. Electronic Arts and BioWare even tried to appease the PC gaming community with new features for the procrastination they endured. But that may not be enough as Mass Effect is getting delayed for PC again.

Over at the BioWare forums, Community Coordinator Chris Priestly relayed the official statement on the matter:


"I have just confirmed with the development team that we are making a small change to the release date of Mass Effect for the PC. We had previously announced May 6, 2008 for North America. The new release date for North America is May 28, 2008 and June 6, 2008 in Europe."


We understand that patience is always a virtue; Priestly added that the extra weeks will let them do more finishing touches especially with detail and feedback. However, frustration can't be avoided especially when hopes have been raised.

Bioware said a few more weeks of play testing will ensure a more polished experience. Mass Effect was previously released on the Xbox 360 in November 2007, while Bioware and co-developer Demiurge Studios are adding new control schemes, missions, and graphical capabilities to the PC version.

[Via Bioware]

Mass Effect Game Details

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	Published by: Electronic Arts Developed by: BioWare Genre: RPG Number of Players: 1 Release Date: US: May 27, 2008 Europe: TBA 2008 Australia: TBA 2008 MSRP: $49.99 Also Available On: Xbox 360

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Sins of a Solar Empire Expansion

According to Wired, Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock, has confirmed an expansion to the popular space strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire, while he wasn't ready to give out any specifics, he did mention that some much-requested features will be granted.

Those, Wardell continued, would include a "full on campaign" mode as well as new playable factions. Regarding the new patches, Wardell also said that version 1.04 should be coming out soon and that will be closely followed with the release of version 1.1.

In addition, Wardell also revealed that patch 1.1 is looming behind the scenes. Patch 1.1 sets out to revamp networking systems and allows high performance gaming laptops to have a whole new maximum graphics setting.

Sins of a Solar Empire Game Details

Buy Sins of a Solar Empire
	Published by: Stardock Developed by: Ironclad Games Genre: Real-Time Strategy Release Date: US: February 4, 2008 MSRP: $39.99

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Crysis Patch 1.3 Underway

Far greater things are now under way for Crytek's Crysis. Just a few weeks ago we posted about Hotfix Patch 1.21 being released for the pc game. Now, news has it that the devs behind the FPS game are now developing Patch 1.3

The multiplayer development team is setting out to fix bugs, balance game play issues, and add new features. Details so far are sketchy and there is no official release date for the patch, but the company intends to release more info on the patch next Wednesday.

Crysis Game Details

Buy Crysis
	Published by: Electronic Arts Developed by: Crytek Studios / Electronic Arts Genre: First-Person Shooter Number of Players: 1-32 Release Date: US: November 16, 2007 Europe: November 16, 2007 Australia: November 16, 2007 MSRP: $49.99

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