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.

Read More...

Summary only...

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

Read More...

Summary only...

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

Buy Mass Effect
	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

Read More...

Summary only...

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

Read More...

Summary only...

Crysis Hotfix Patch 1.21

If you've been eagerly waiting for the release of the Hotfix Patch 1.21 that Crytek promised for Crysis, then wait no more your reward has finally arrived. The wait you guys have been enduring is surely worth it.

As Community Manager Cry-Alex said in the forums, the Hotfix has been official approved and is now ready to be acquired by those who want it bad. The Patch is approximately 37 MB. It will be fixing the recognized security holes in the game code which unfortunately causes client and server crashes when playing online.

But before you download and install the Hotfix, Cry-Alex advised that Patch 1.2 must be installed already for everything to work perfectly. Other than this, everything is pretty much smooth sailing.

There is also the Crysis Mod SDK v1.2 that's up for realese. As you guys know, this version is the second release and includes the much anticipated game source code of the pc game.

What's great about this is that the source code let you guys customize the game by implementing your very own functionalities and features to the game itself, which you can definitely share with the rest of the gaming community.We'll keep you guys posted for more news and updates on the game. You can check them both out if you visit the source link below.

[Via Crymod]

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

Read More...

Summary only...

Unreal Tournament 3 patch 1.2

It's patch time over on the Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 3 forums, and they've got a smorgasboard of changes lined up for the pc game. Changes include gameplay, interface, AI and map changes, fixes and updates. New Linux dedicated server files are available as well, as is a webadmin package.

Here's part of the changelog so you get an idea of what your are downloading:


Gameplay:

• Increased UTGame MaxPlayersAllowed to 64
• Fixed leviathan turret instant refire exploit
• Fixed errant lock on warnings when no longer in vehicle
• Fixed the Scavenger exploit
• Fixed shaped charge node exploit
• Implemented viewobjective spectating system for Warfare

User Interface:

• Clicking on the settings tab goes to directly to the full settings menu
• Fixed leviathan deploy icon positioning
• Joystick key bindings in UI display properly
• Added support for commandline log in login=xxx password=xxx. This also allows Gamespy comrade and other external applications to be used to launch network clients
• Improved language support for French, Spanish, Italian, and German
• Fixed favorites Tab Page server details not updating

Networking:

• Added support for autodownloading packages while in gameplay or while travelling
• Fixed dedicated server memory leaks
• ConnectionTimeout and InitialConnectTimeOut now both 60.0. Addresses both clients failing connection because they take too long to load a level, and initial connections staying open too long
• Fixed HTTP download compression
• Fixed client crash if the user disconnects while downloading a file during a seamless travel
• Fixed bots not replicating their view pitch, so their animation looks better in net games.
  Strip OwningPlayerName= from the URL, as this is determined elsewhere and was breaking dedicated internet servers launched from the UI

Mod support:

• Added ScriptedTexture, a type of render to texture that gives Canvas access to script/C++ for rendering custom overlays
• Added a version of DrawTile() to Canvas that takes a Texture instead of Texture2D so render to texture stuff like ScriptedTextures can more easily be used
• Weapons now take roll from player viewrotation
• Added a ModFamilies array to UTCustomChar_Data to allow mod authors to add families to the list
• Fixed Change Node Status Kismet action not working on fully constructed powernodes
• Added Timestamp function to UObject, returns a string in the format YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS

Folks who want to download the patch can follow the source link below for mirror links to the patch. It's 234.33 MB though, so you're going to have to wait a while for the download to finish.

[Via Epic Games UT3 Forums]

Unreal Tournament III Game Details

Buy Unreal Tournament III
	Published by: Midway Games Developed by: Epic Games Genre: First-Person Shooter Release Date: US: November 19, 2007 Europe: November 30, 2007 Australia: November 30, 2007 MSRP: $49.99 Also Available On:PS3, Xbox 360

Read More...

Summary only...

Downloading Games Online

Are you looking for a site where you can start downloading games online? Look no more I have the perfect solution for you, Direct2Drive.

What you get when you go to Direct 2 Drive is the largest selection of downloadable PC games and digital entertainment for the gamer lifestyle. You have the convenience of downloading your games in an instant which means you don’t have to drive to the store and the best part you're downloading the exact retail versions of the hottest new PC game titles and there's no waiting for major releases if you’re outside the U.S . If you're into older games they have a huge catalog of classics you won’t find anywhere else. They also offer game strategy guides from PRIMA and BRADYGAMES, downloadable PDF editions of Play Magazine’s Girls of Gaming and when you download your game you get the .pdf copy of the game manual included.

The only thing you have to do is enter the CD key and then an activation key which is a one time thing, it's not like some download sites where you have to connect to their service and stay connected to play any game you purchased through them.

The only complaint I may have against Direct 2 Drive is the fact that the DRM they use is STARFORCE. STARFORCE is the most invasive DRM with bad reputation amongst gamers. If you're not sure about Starforce you can email them and ask for a list of games that use it. With the exception of that minor detail Direct2Drive has become one of my game havens, it's convenient, nice download manager,and they carry a good selection of games. So if you're in the mood check it out here

Read More...

Summary only...