Slashdot Mirror

Thanks to Shacknews for their open letter regarding Activision's Call Of Duty demo for PC, which will apparently be initially exclusive (with some file-based protection?) to GameSpy's FilePlanet subscribers. The letter announces that "...the following websites will not be carrying the Call of Duty playable demo, even after its exclusivity is over", and includes notable signatories such as Blue's News and Shacknews themselves. The appeal continues: "The above-listed websites hope to show Activision that the enthusiast industry is strongly opposed to the idea of exclusive demo releases. Feedback from our users shows that gamers hate to be forced through a single point of congestion if they want a demo right away... Deals like this hurt the industry much more than they could possibly enhance a single relationship." Update: 08/29 06:25 GMT by S : Activision have bowed to pressure, and will make the demo available everywhere, non-exclusively, from Friday night.

Thanks to IGN PS2 for their second Playstation 2 rumor round-up, including plenty of questionable whisperings (GTA4 is referenced as possibly being called 'Sin City', though this was a notable April Fool's gag), but at least one official confirmation, from Lucasarts, following some online confusion, that "There are no plans for to develop Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the PS2. We are concentrating fully on the development of the PC version of the game." The rest of the rumor-mongering has at least one intriguing tip, the claim that LucasArts are developing "a third-person perspective action-adventure game [which] enables players to take on the role of Darth Vader."

Cirrus writes "Gamers had a bit of a disappointment when they found out that Doom III would not be available this year as previously hoped. Well, now it appears that Half-Life 2 will not be shipping until December. As a Half-Life fan, I can say that I would rather have to wait a couple months than sacrifice the quality just for an earlier release date." Update: 07/30 18:17 GMT by CN : There's an update over at Shacknews that says that Valve is still on schedule, so maybe I (and several other sites) totally jumped the gun on this one. Here's hoping.

Cirrus writes "Gamers had a bit of a disappointment when they found out that Doom III would not be available this year as previously hoped. Well, now it appears that Half-Life 2 will not be shipping until December. As a Half-Life fan, I can say that I would rather have to wait a couple months than sacrifice the quality just for an earlier release date." Update: 07/30 18:17 GMT by CN : There's an update over at Shacknews that says that Valve is still on schedule, so maybe I (and several other sites) totally jumped the gun on this one. Here's hoping.

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to a Gamers.com report with the first solid details about Rockstar North's PS2 'survival horror' title, Manhunt. This allegedly disturbing and voyeuristic, long in development game is from the developers of Grand Theft Auto, and has been kept about as secret as it's possible to. But according to this new information in a UK magazine, it's "a wholly realistic survival horror game, in which the player assumes the role of an inmate on death row whose lethal injection is faked, and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a violent urban warfare game arranged for the amusement of its wealthy creator. Your goal is to escape the city... populated by roving armed gangs." Are Rockstar keeping this quiet to get the game onto shelves unbanned, or is the stealth marketing just a publicity ploy?

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to the McDonalds USA homepage, which features information about their available-from-today Happy Meal giveaway, featuring a choice of 6 simple, Sega-themed Game and Watch-ish handheld games. These include the Sonic Action Game, Tails Sky Patrol, and there's even a playable online demo for the AiAi's Banana Catch handheld, starring the lovable Super Monkey Ball simian. In the absence of any new hardware from Sega, these plastic imitations will have to suffice - they're available until July 24th in the U.S.

Thanks to several readers for pointing to a Yahoo/Reuters report discussing the continued delays to Lara Croft: The Angel Of Darkness, the latest in Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider series. As the article mentions, "Already delayed twice, 'Lara Croft: The Angel of Darkness' is slotted for a release on June 20th. But that's looking less likely.. the game has to be in stores by June 30th in order for the company to recognize sales [estimated to be 1.5 to 2.5 million units] for its current financial year." With rumors of a delay into July for another long-awaited title, Republic: The Revolution, Eidos definitely has cause for financial concern. But of course, gamers will probably forgive and forget if both of these titles turn out well, even after so many delays.

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to a Comics2Film article mentioning that there are hidden unlock codes for the Hulk videogame stashed away in the Ang Lee-directed Hulk movie that opens this weekend. Apparently, "You may see a license plate in the movie and that will be a code to open up areas in the game." The unlockable goodies include the gray Hulk often seen in the comics, but of course, the people over at GameFAQs have found the code already - don't look if you want to play along at home.

Thanks to Shacknews for passing on the bizarre news that Valve's currently-beta Counter-Strike 1.6 release has an official knife license (PDF doc). An excerpt from the press release reads: "The new Counter-Strike knife is based on Mick Strider's award winning bowie. It is an integral design that started as a 1/2" thick slab of 6AL4V titanium. The edge is press-fit Stellite.. ..the handle is fossilized mastodon ivory." There's also a link to a an in-game screenshot of the knife, looking both sharp and shiny. We're looking forward to seeing how Valve can top this licensing masterpiece... suggestions?

Thanks to Shacknews for passing on the bizarre news that Valve's currently-beta Counter-Strike 1.6 release has an official knife license (PDF doc). An excerpt from the press release reads: "The new Counter-Strike knife is based on Mick Strider's award winning bowie. It is an integral design that started as a 1/2" thick slab of 6AL4V titanium. The edge is press-fit Stellite.. ..the handle is fossilized mastodon ivory." There's also a link to a an in-game screenshot of the knife, looking both sharp and shiny. We're looking forward to seeing how Valve can top this licensing masterpiece... suggestions?

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to a new Gamespot hands-on preview of Buffy The Vampire Slayer:Chaos Bleeds, and another hands-on preview at IGN. This Eurocom-developed follow-up to last year's The Collective-developed (and distinctly under-rated) Buffy The Vampire Slayer title for Xbox will, this time round, be available for Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox. IGN seems to think a lot of the title ("..even if you don't give a hoot about the Buffy universe, rarely does such a capable, well-rounded game come round that also retains a firmly established TV series at its core.") and Gamespot, though more reserved, also thinks it looks promising. And, of course, Buffy fans worldwide are salivating now they know Sid the dummy is a playable character.

Thanks to several people for pointing out that the official Halo PC FAQ at Bungie.net has been updated. This relatively new FAQ includes info on a playable demo ("shortly after the game is released") and Mac version ("..in the capable hands of our friends at MacSoft and Westlake Interactive.. scheduled for a near simultaneous release with the PC version"), as well as previously-released info such as PC multiplayer-exclusive Fuel Rod Guns and Rocket Launcher Warthogs. In related news, Shacknews put out an interview with Gearbox president Randy Pitchford a couple of days back, offering a bunch of extra information on the PC debut of this originally-for-PC title.

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to a report on Gamerifts.com tracking the results of the investigation into the Shadowbane MMORPG hacking. According to a post on the official Ubisoft forums reprinted there, "..all of the members from the Guild Invictus were banned from Shadowbane for using teleport exploits, many of which culminated during the events of May 27th and 28th. As all members where banned, all money has been removed from their buildings and their Tree of Life, and the city will be left to die." There's no news on whether criminal charges may be filed, as threatened when the original exploit took place.

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to the IGN Pocket hands-on preview of Boktai, Hideo 'Metal Gear' Kojima's new Gameboy Advance action title, due out from Konami later this year. It uses a special light sensor in the cartridge, so you can harness sunlight to power up your character - and as the preview says, ".. this sensor can only detect sunlight...it won't recognize any artificial light." Overall, we get a much better idea of how the game works - too much sunlight, "and your gun will begin to overheat as you use it", but not enough, and "you can utilize [in-game] power areas that store excess sunlight" to keep playing. Intriguingly, there's also some serious Metal Gear leanings (enemies use line of sight, you can sneak past them, you can tap on a wall to distract them.)

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to the Computer and Video Games site, which has an interview with Eiji Aonuma, the project director of Zelda:The Wind Waker for Gamecube. Among the subjects discussed are a Wind Waker sequel, of which Aonuma says: "..as I did between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, I will use the same engine and the same graphics of Wind Waker for its sequel. However, I do plan on powering everything up a bit." He suggests the sequel should be playable for E3 2004, and also discusses other subjects, including the choice of cel-shading and puzzle design for the original Wind Waker.

Thanks to the double-team of PlanetGameCube and Shacknews for pointing out that the Gameboy Advance 'Afterburner' backlight creators, Triton Labs, have announced the Stealth Link GBA multiplayer adaptor. It'll allow you to play multiplayer Gameboy Advance games against your friends completely wireless, without those pesky link cables, and is due in retail stories in Q3 2003. More excellent innovation here from the people who made the GBA usable again, before Nintendo put in backlighting as standard with the Gameboy Advance SP.

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to a CNET News report discussing the declining amount of titles being planned or released for the Nintendo Gamecube. It quotes an Activision spokesman as saying "I think it's good for the industry as a whole if you have three strong players, but that's not the direction it's going." Is the Gamecube third-party software support on its way out?

Thanks to Shacknews for pointing to the brand-new Microsoft E3 press release that accompanies their press conference this evening. Highlights include the announcement of three Rare titles exclusively for Xbox, including Grabbed By The Ghoulies (!) and Conker:Live And Uncut, confirmation of Halo 2, Counterstrike, Project Gotham Racing 2, and a new Crimson Skies game for Xbox, plus the full info on the Xbox Live expansions, including XSN Sports and Music Mixer.

captainstupid writes "The first Half-Life 2 previews are hitting the Web, and Shacknews seems to have the first post-NDA preview." There's also a preview at IGN.com, and another at Gamespy, plus yet another at Gamespot, giving us a whole cornucopia of different looks at what may be the most keenly awaited PC game of the year.

Anonymous Howard writes "According to Shacknews, Rockstar has announced Grand Theft Auto: Sin City, a new GTA game that incorporates Frank Miller's Sin City universe. Sounds awesome to me."

Anonymous Howard writes "Shacknews' jason bergman has written an article that looks at some of the biggest failures in console gaming. It's a great read, and spotlights stuff like the Halcyon, a $2500 (!) laserdisc system with only two games and Nintendo's Virtual Boy, a stereoptic system that had red-on-black simulated 3D graphics."

rosewood writes "Shacknews' Jason Bergman, aka loonyboi has his 'Holiday Buying Guide 2002' up and ready to read. PC, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, and Gameboy Advance and over 70 games are covered! You can also look up how other games have rated each game at Shackreviews." Not every game is touched on in-depth, but it's a great resource to narrow down the choices for that special gamer in your life.

rosewood writes "Shacknews' Jason Bergman, aka loonyboi has his 'Holiday Buying Guide 2002' up and ready to read. PC, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, and Gameboy Advance and over 70 games are covered! You can also look up how other games have rated each game at Shackreviews." Not every game is touched on in-depth, but it's a great resource to narrow down the choices for that special gamer in your life.

rosewood writes "Shacknews' Jason Bergman, aka loonyboi has his 'Holiday Buying Guide 2002' up and ready to read. PC, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, and Gameboy Advance and over 70 games are covered! You can also look up how other games have rated each game at Shackreviews." Not every game is touched on in-depth, but it's a great resource to narrow down the choices for that special gamer in your life.

0x00 writes "Shacknews seems to be the first to report that Warcraft III has gone gold. The press release is here. Blizzard have announced that the game will be available July 3rd around the world - just in time for my mid-year University break (great timing!)." Update: 06/13 15:16 GMT by M : Please consider the fact that Blizzard is suing people who write software to interoperate with theirs when deciding whether you want to purchase this game.

0x00 writes "Shacknews seems to be the first to report that Warcraft III has gone gold. The press release is here. Blizzard have announced that the game will be available July 3rd around the world - just in time for my mid-year University break (great timing!)." Update: 06/13 15:16 GMT by M : Please consider the fact that Blizzard is suing people who write software to interoperate with theirs when deciding whether you want to purchase this game.

0x00 writes "Shacknews seems to be the first to report that Warcraft III has gone gold. The press release is here. Blizzard have announced that the game will be available July 3rd around the world - just in time for my mid-year University break (great timing!)." Update: 06/13 15:16 GMT by M : Please consider the fact that Blizzard is suing people who write software to interoperate with theirs when deciding whether you want to purchase this game.

mr_sheel writes "According to a Gamespy interview with John Carmack, Carmack says what he thinks about the video cards with Doom3: ATI Radeon 8500 is a better card, with a nicer fragment path, while NVidia still consistently runs faster due to better drivers. And of course, the GeForce SDR cards will not be "fast enough to play the game properly unless you run at 320x240 or so." And in a ShackNews interview with Carmack, he says that Doom 3 at E3 was only running at medium quality... wow."

Jacek Fedorynski writes "The end is near. First, id Software's site is updated for the first time since the Quake II times and now they officially announce Doom III!" If you recall, there were some screenshots released last year, but I don't think there's been much since then - these are probably out of date.

Greg Brown writes: "Valve just officially announced Steam, its new content delivery system that works automatically over the internet. While this has been in the works for a while, including a semi-public testing period, it has slowly been refined to the point that it is faster and more convenient than other methods. Valve is also planning on licensing it to other developers to use to distribute their games online. Looks like the game-publishing heavyweights (EA and Sierra) may be outdated. More info from Gamespy and ShackNews."

Masem (and many others) writes: "The source code for Quake 2 is now available until the GPL license. The .plan file for John Carmack has the details." The Id Software site is of course slammed with demand for the code. Hopefully other mirrors will be available.

An Anonymous Webmaster asks: "I'm the webmaster of one of the largest websites on the UGO Network. This past month UGO gave notice to all affiliates that they say all guarantees are gone and will only make payments up to February's ad traffic at half rate. Yes they are currently 2 months behind on payments. (This includes HardOCP, ShackNews, BluesNews, VoodoExtreme, Telefragged, OldManMurray, my website and many others. UGO handed out contracts last week saying we must forfeit all our rights to previously owed money and rights to sue them to get those last 2 checks. Yes that's right, if we don't sign a paper saying we wont sue them they will withhold 2 months of payments they already owe and have available to them. Does anyone have any realistic advice for all these webmasters? A lawsuit just doesnt seem like it would really net any cash." Now this just doesn't sound fair at all. It's a shame that these big site networks aren't able to pay their sites what's owed, but is such extortion really the answer? I'm sure many webmasters may have found themselves in this position before. What did you do to resolve this kind of problem?

green pizza writes "Yesterday at Macworld Tokyo, Steve Jobs and John Carmack demoed the new nVidia GeForce 3 (73 GIGAFLOPS of power)... on a G4... running DOOM 3. Please excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. You can get more details from MacNN." [michael adds: VoodooExtreme has screenshots of Doom 3 running on the new GeForce card; Shugashack has more. Looks like Doom 3 will be another game where the color palette is "shades of black". Sigh.]