Shattered Horizon Patched to v1.0.2.3

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-20 18:27:57 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

Futuremark Games Studio sends news that a new patch rolled out last night on Steam for Shattered Horizon. Though Steam announced the availability of new guest passes for the zero-G first-person shooter, they are mum about the patch, so here are the patch notes, outlining new control options, game changes, and bug fixes.

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BioShock 2 Special Edition Announced

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-20 17:56:36 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

2K Games announces plans for the BioShock 2 Special Edition for Games for Windows LIVE, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, a limited release that will be restricted to a single production run. The Windows edition will carry an MSRP of $89.99 and the console versions are ten dollars more. Here's word on the contents:

The BioShock 2 Special Edition celebrates the game’s unique music and art with contents inspired by the time period and the fantastic undersea world of Rapture.

Vinyl 180g LP with BioShock orchestral score
Audio CD with BioShock 2 orchestral score
Three vintage Rapture advertisement posters (rolled)
BioShock 2 Art Book, 164 pages and hardcover
BioShock 2 game

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Pripyat Benchmark Tool Released

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-18 19:01:48 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: ShackNews

A 421 MB benchmark tool for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (PC) is now available, offering insight into how your system will cope with the post-apocalyptic trappings of GSC Game World's DirectX 11-enabled shooter-RPG.

The benchmark cycles through four stages--day, night, rain, and bright sun--with an online leaderboard allowing users to upload and compare their performance scores.

Picking up after the original "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl" and prequel "Clear Sky", Call of Pripyat is now available in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) will hit both North America and the rest of Europe in Q1 2010.

LINKS:

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Call of Duty Film Plans?

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-18 18:23:03 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

The New York Post has some quotes from actor Kevin McKidd where the star of HBO's Rome series says he may be reprising his Rome role in a movie, and there are discussions of him playing his Captain "Soap" MacTavish role from Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the big screen, as there are discussions of a movie based on the "Call of Duty" series.

"They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood they probably couldn't get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me. I had no idea it would be so huge, and now there are talks of a feature film," he revealed to PopWrap. Then came the kicker, when asked if he would be bringing Soap to life in the movie, he said, "if the script is good, and Gerard isn't available [laughs], then absolutely."

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Operation Flashpoint®: Dragon Rising Multiplayer PC Demo

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-18 17:35:19 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Experience the most immersive tactical shooter of the year as Codemasters® launched the Operation Flashpoint®: Dragon Rising PC demo today. Information on how to download the demo and play the first full mission, ‘Dragon Rising’, are available at www.flashpointgame.com in the ‘Public Affairs’ section, or visit one of the links listed below. The critically acclaimed Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is in stores now for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and PC. 84.31 MB - 1.42 GB

MULTI-LANGUAGE DEMO LINKS:

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Modern Warfare 2 Sets All-Time Entertainment Industry Record

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-18 17:15:54 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Biggest Entertainment Launch in History Continues to Break Records

Activision Blizzard, Inc. announced today that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues to shatter theatrical box office and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell through in dollars. The biggest entertainment launch in history set a new worldwide estimated five-day sell-through record of approximately $550 million, according to internal Activision estimates.

Modern Warfare 2's launch beat all previous first-and five-day entertainment industry box office, book and video game sell-through records:

The largest reported five-day opening worldwide box office gross figures, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million)
The largest reported five-day opening domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($203.8 million)
The largest reported five-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (6 million units, $500 million)
The largest reported opening first-day domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($66.4 million)
The largest reported first-day book sales in dollars, held by Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ($220 million)
The largest reported first-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (3.6 million units, $310 million)

PRESS RELEASE

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Valve Details Left 4 Dead 2 PC Unlock Times

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 18:37:13 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: ShackNews

Hoping to ease the confusion about tonight's release of Left 4 Dead 2, Valve has updated the Left 4 Dead blog with a handy-dandy listing of worldwide Steam unlock times.

While those seeking the Xbox 360 edition will have to hit up a retailer--some are opening at local midnight for the occasion--those that have pre-ordered and pre-loaded the PC version via Steam will be able to play at:

Monday, November 16th, 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 10:00 PM Mountain Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 11:00 PM Central Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 12:00 AM (midnight) Eastern Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 5:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 8:00 AM Moscow Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 2:00 PM Japan Standard Time

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Borderlands Original Soundtrack Released

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 18:26:13 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Sumthing Else Music Works, through its licensing relationship with Gearbox Software, LLC, proudly presents the Borderlands Original Soundtrack featuring the original musical score from the highly acclaimed video game Borderlands. Developed by Gearbox Software, Borderlands delivers this year’s most explosive and entertaining role-playing shooter (RPS) by combining the most addictive gaming elements found in action-packed first-person shooters with the deep character development of role-playing games (RPG). The album includes music from the game composed by Jesper Kyd, Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Raison Varner as well as bonus music tracks by these artists and Tim Larkin. The Borderlands Original Soundtrack is released on December 8th to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works, and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes®.

PRESS RELEASE

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Patched

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 18:14:34 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Steam News announced over the weekend that updates to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have been released. The news of the new version of Infinity Ward's military shooter sequel mentions one change: "Improved IWNet matchmaking." The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted.

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New MW2 PC Petition Now Online

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 18:00:56 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

As noted in the Infinity Ward Forums, a second Modern Warfare 2 PC Petition is now online. The first MW2 PC petition was dismissed by many since the military shooter sequel was not available to judge, so this new post-release petition is armed with confirmed facts about the release. The petition calls once again for dedicated servers as well as support for expected features like an in-game console, a "/record" feature, lean, auto-balancing, multiple profiles, better graphics and FOV control, actual ping readouts in ms (not graphs), and a tournament game type (like Promod). They say: "It is requested that all signatories only sign once (and as themselves) so that this petition accurately represents the views/concerns/feedback of the PC Community." There are well over 200,000 signatures on the Dedicated Servers petition that was ignored, so this effort has an uphill battle.

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Modern Warfare Spin-off on the Way?

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 17:54:03 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Voice actor hints at possible standalone title for character ‘Ghost’

By Ben Parfitt @ MCV

Considering the unparalleled success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Activision Blizzard would rightly be seen to be quite mad if they weren’t planning to take advantage – so talk of a possible series spin-off, whilst purely speculative, is also highly believable.

Craig Fairbrass, the man who provides the voice for the game’s mysterious masked soldier Ghost, told That VideoGame Blog at the UK launch event for Modern Warfare 2:

“I did in the last game a voice for a character called Gaz and in this game I’m now voicing a guy called Ghost, who now just got a spin-off comic of his own and they’re talking about another little game to go with it so, I’m quite excited about it. It’s grown and grown and grown.”

It’s a fair bet to presume that Modern Warfare 3 will be out in 2011, with 2010 bringing another Call of Duty installment from World at War developer Treyarch. Could a Ghost spin-off join it in Q4 2010?

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Russian Airport Massacre Prompts Modern Warfare 2 Ban

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 17:46:03 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

By Aharon Etengoff @ TG Daily

The Russian government has reportedly imposed a de-facto ban on sales of CoD: Modern Warfare 2. According to Hellforge, "every copy" of the console version has been recalled due to a controversial scene in which the protagonist participates in a deadly Moscow airport terrorist attack.

The ban has prompted Infinity Ward to release an official patch for the PC and Steam versions of Modern Warfare 2 that "entirely removes" the mission from the game. The censored console version is currently pending approval from the Russian government and could be released sometime over the next month.

Predictably, the above-mentioned airport massacre has yet to negatively impact game sales in the US and UK.

Read more...

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Shattered Horizon – "Moonrise" Content Pack Announced

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 17:39:02 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Free content pack will double the number of levels in the game

Futuremark® Games Studio today revealed plans for the first content pack for Shattered Horizon™, their PC exclusive multiplayer first-person shooter. The "Moonrise" pack, which will be free to all players, will include four new levels effectively doubling the number of levels in the game.

The Moonrise content pack includes four new levels set around the shattered Moon, taking the fight deeper into space and showing a new side to the conflict.

Although a release date for the Moonrise pack has not been announced, players who pre-ordered Shattered Horizon will be invited to start play-testing the new levels this week.

"Selected players will help us test the new Moonrise levels from a very early stage," said Antti Summala, lead designer. "Level design for zero gravity combat is a big challenge and we are looking forward to having real players help us create new experiences that cannot be found in other FPS games."

For more information about Shattered Horizon, please visit the official Shattered Horizon Website.

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Uforia Launches Closed Beta 3 For First Person Shooter Mercenary Wars

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-16 17:22:10 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Third Closed Beta Test Will Feature All-New Content Including New Maps, Weapons, New Black Market System And An All-New Anti-Hack System

Uforia, a new online game publisher specializing in massively multiplayer online games, today announced its third closed beta test for it's highly-anticipated online modern warfare first person shooter Mercenary Wars. The Closed Beta test starts November 16th at 5 PM PST and runs through November 19th 5 PM PST. The third beta test will give new players a look at all the new content including new maps, weapons, new cash shop and an anti-hack system. Players may obtain a beta key from www.shacknews.com, www.mmosite.com and www.onrpg.com. For more information, players can visit http://uforia.mercenarywars.com.

PRESS RELEASE

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Dino D-Day: Dinosaurs And Nazi's, Living Together, Mass Hysteria

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-13 19:07:09 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Kotaku

You've fought Nazis, and you've fought Dinosaurs, but have you fought Nazi dinosaurs? You can now, with Dino D-Day, a new Half-Life 2 mod from Digital Ranch Interactive.

Digital Ranch Interactive is releasing a full Dino D-Day game onto Steam in 2010, but you can get an early taste of the twisted World War II dinosaur action right now, courtesy of a Half-Life 2 mod preview of sorts. You step into the shoes of Sgt. Jack Hardgrave, a renowned paleontologist who thought he had left work behind, until Hitler raises dinosaurs to pit against the Allies in 1942. suddenly he's perhaps the most important weapon the Allies have against this new foe.

It sounds completely ridiculous, to be sure, but at the same time completely awesome. We're conflicted. Head over to the mod page to catch a glimpse of the trailer, featuring two really bad tastes that taste horrible together.

Learn more about the Dino D-Day at the games Official Website.

DEMO LINKS: 438.50 MB

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Interview: Gearbox Talks DLC, Borderlands Level Cap

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-13 18:00:14 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

By Jeff Cork @ GameInformer

We talked with Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford about Borderlands and more in an interview set to appear in the January issue of Game Informer Magazine. Yesterday, we told you about what’s going on with Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines games, which the company is developing for Sega. Today, we give you the scoop on Borderlands’ upcoming DLC, straight from the man himself, where he even hints about next-generation hardware.

Read on...

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Trailer

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-13 16:57:33 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Direct-Feed Walkthrough on G4tv.com has a look at DICE's upcoming military shooter sequel narrated by producer Gordon Van Dyke. The clip concentrates on what can be expected from the upcoming multiplayer beta test, showing the PS3 version. Note: Your Ol' friend Donster recommends taking the time to watch all or at least some of this trailer, which runs for 13 and a half minutes, even if it is from a console version of the game.

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Preview: Five Ways Left 4 Dead 2 Has Improved

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-12 18:40:53 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

A quick rundown of how Valve has made the sequel better than the original.

By Charles Onyett, IGN

You may have noticed that the release date for Left 4 Dead 2 is only days away. Valve's original co-operative shooter was a big hit last November for Xbox 360 and PC platforms and thousands of people are still logging on to play every day. So why should you care about the sequel?

Read on...

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Shattered Horizon Review

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-12 18:38:02 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Zero-gravity combat and some interesting twists make Shattered Horizon a unique, if somewhat limited, multiplayer shooter.

By Brett Todd, GameSpot

As you might expect from a company best known for benchmarking programs aimed at hardcore PC gamers, Futuremark's Shattered Horizons is rather demanding. This Steam-distributed multiplayer-only shooter requires a top-of-the-line CPU and video-card combo, along with either Windows 7 or Vista as an operating system because the game has been built around DirectX 10 without support for Windows XP. But you can't complain (too much). This is one of those games that makes it almost worthwhile to shell out the big moola needed to build a killer gaming rig. New twists on old standards juice up conventional multiplayer shooting action by moving the battleground to the zero-gravity vacuum of space, and an emphasis on team tactics gives the game a unique feel. A handful of maps and no single-player option make this something of an ambitious tech demo, but the price is just $20, which may just make you forget about the limitations while you're playing as a killer astronaut.

Read on...

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Modern Warfare 2 Sells 4.7M in 24 Hours

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-12 18:29:12 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

Activision reports that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 million units in 24 hours in the US and UK, grossing over $310 million on the release day for Infinity Ward's military shooter sequel. MCV quotes Mike Griffith, CEO of Activision Publishing, on the topic:

"The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers. Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment."

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Section 8 v1.1 PC Patch Released

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-12 18:09:33 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

SouthPeak and TimeGate Studios' Section 8 received an update today to address player feedback from the first month of play. Based on responses from players, TimeGate has improved everything from the automatch system to how the tank controls work. Section 8's massive multiplayer battles are now even more intense and more rewarding than before. Read the Changelog here. The update is available now via Games for Windows LIVE.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Storms Into Retail Stores

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-10 17:49:41 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Infinity Ward's Highly-Anticipated Game Now Available Worldwide

It's time to gear up for all-out, high-speed action and epic combat, as Activision Publishing, Inc. announced today that the most anticipated game of the year, developer Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now available at retail stores everywhere. Following a record-setting number of North American midnight openings, Modern Warfare 2 has begun to unleash a new threat upon the world, putting gamers on the front lines of an epic, global battle that has advanced onto American soil, proving that no one is safe from an impending invasion.

"From day one the goal was to bring our fans around the world the most riveting and authentic experience we've ever created in Modern Warfare 2," said Vince Zampella, CEO of Infinity Ward. "Every design from the smallest detail was crafted to place gamers in the center of their own epic, action movie -- with the suspense, excitement and adrenaline as if they were starring themselves."

"By all indicators, we anticipate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we've taken for the game is the highest for any title we've ever sold in our 6,200 store network," said Tony Bartel, executive vice president, merchandising and marketing, GameStop Corp.

PRESS RELEASE

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Call of Duty Endowment Created to Help Veterans Combat Unemployment

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-10 17:49:25 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Endowment Will Direct Resources to Organizations Helping Soldiers Transition to Civilian Careers - Initial Donation to the Paralyzed Veterans of America will Fund Operations at New Facility in Boston, MA

Recent trends show that America’s veterans face a new adversary – unemployment. According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 500,000 unemployed veterans between the ages of 18 and 64 currently live in the United States. And amid the greatest economic uncertainty since the 1930s, today’s veterans by some accounts endure a jobless rate that is nearly twice the national average.

To help combat these alarming trends, Activision Blizzard, Inc., a worldwide online, PC and console video game publisher and publisher of the best-selling Call of Duty® video game franchise, has established the Call of Duty Endowment (CODE). This nonprofit public benefit corporation will focus its resources on assisting organizations that provide job placement and training to veterans, as well as engaging the media and public forums to raise awareness about the issue.

Moving forward, CODE will have an active online presence through its website at www.callofdutyendowment.org. This website will house statistics about the issue, resources for veterans and employers, recent news items, and videos about the challenges veterans face. CODE also will award several more grants in the upcoming weeks and months and sponsor several events to bring greater awareness of the issue to a variety of audiences.

PRESS RELEASE

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Modern Warfare 2 Purchased Through Steam Won't Unlock Until Thursday Night

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-10 17:48:42 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

Source: Blue's News

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now available in stores. Interestingly, the version purchased through Steam will not unlock until Thursday night, presumably some sort of concession to retail.

Also, there's a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 video interview on GameVideos talking about the game with Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling and there are a bunch of videos on GameTrailers: Hornet's Nest Gameplay Part I, Hornet's Nest Gameplay Part II, Favela Gameplay Part I, Favela Gameplay Part II, Wolverines Gameplay, No Russian Gameplay HD, Third-Person Multiplayer Gameplay, Multiplayer Killstreak, Spec Ops AC-130 Gameplay, and Spec Ops Defend Gameplay.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

Posted by Donster on: 2009-11-10 17:47:56 in category: First-Person Shooter News [ Print ]

It's set to be one of the biggest selling games of all time. Is it one of the greatest?

By Mark Bozon, IGN

Over the years the Call of Duty series has set the bar for immersive, action-packed, cinematic FPS gaming, and no matter what camp you're from there's no denying the franchise's influence on the industry. When Infinity Ward moved from the classic World War II setting and blazed new ground with Modern Warfare we saw the first obvious split within the world of Call of Duty. The series dropped its historic focus, created a new cast of characters, and began treading on new ground by taking the first-person shooter genre to new locales, and pushing the boundaries of what military games are willing to show. With Modern Warfare 2, the sheer amount of hype has been practically inescapable, with preorders alone setting it up as one of the biggest selling games of all time, the addition of even more multiplayer modes and features, and the game's new Special Operations mode has set Infinity Ward's lastest up as the game to beat this year.

The real question: has it been worth the wait, and can Modern Warfare 2 live up to the precedent set by over half a decade of Call of Duty tradition?

Read The Review Here