| ArmA II Review Proving that a game can be both brilliant and awful all at the same time. <br /> <br />By Steve Butts, IGN <br /> <br />There's something about ArmA II and games of its sort that is at once exhilarating and exasperating. On the one hand, you have the undeniable thrill of rummaging through the toybox of the world's military forces, playing with everything from 9mm pistols to VTOL jets on a massive, dynamic battlefield with plenty of players on either side of the conflict. On the other hand, the sheer number of systems and behaviors that must be modeled to make it all work are at best frustratingly complicated and at worst totally unreliable. ArmA II excels in both areas, delivering a battlefield experience that's as thorough and comprehensive as we've ever seen, while crushing the player's enthusiasm with a cumbersome interface and inconsistent scripting system. <br /> <br />With that in mind, it's honestly hard for me to render a solid recommendation for or against this title. Do the profound positives and maddening negatives merely cancel each other out, leaving us with a game that's merely average? A lot depends on what you expect from the game and what types of dynamic encounters you're looking for. <br /> <br />Read on... |
| America's Army 3 Review You're in the Army now, and loving it. <br /> <br />By Jason Ocampo, IGN <br /> <br />It was on July 4, 2002, that the US Army released the original version of America's Army, its free, multiplayer first-person shooter designed to be both a recruiting and public relations tool. While you can't fault the Army for wanting to launch the game on the nation's birthday, in retrospect it might not have been the wisest thing to do. With most of the gamers in America having the day off, demand on the Army's servers was crippling, and there were the inevitable teething issues as well. It took days, if not weeks, for the Army to finally sort things out, but America's Army eventually proved to be a major success. <br /> <br />It's funny how we're back here again, seven years later. The Army has issued a major new revision called America's Army 3, but this time it launched it on June 17. However, again, strong demand and technical issues managed to overwhelm the servers, and it wasn't until a couple of weeks and some patches later that the game is finally in a reliable, playable state. And while there are still certainly lingering bugs that need to be squashed, this new America's Army is a remarkably compelling and authentic team-based game. <br /> <br />Read on... |
| BioShock 2 Promotional Record Hints at Plot A message from Rapture is hidden within the grooves of a vinyl record. <br /> <br />By Samuel Claiborn, IGN <br /> <br />Yesterday we received copies of a 7" vinyl record from "Rapture Records." The labels and sleeve featured the familiar art deco typeface of "BioShock" but contain no information beyond that. Thankfully, certain members of our staff live firmly in the past and we've now listened to and transcribed the contents of the wax disc. As may be expected, clues to the upcoming game are hidden within the grooves. <br /> <br />Side A features a corny, Wagnerian propaganda tune, praising Rapture, the fictional undersea setting of the "BioShock" series. Side B starts out with the same tune, but after the first verse it slows to a halt and a young girl's voice (a Little Sister?) says, "Daddy, where are you daddy? Are you going to come and find me?" After this, the song resumes. <br /> <br />Read on... |
| Judge approves Midway sale to Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat maker cleared to emerge from bankruptcy thanks to $33 million acquisition offer. <br /> <br />By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot <br /> <br />Midway Games is just about ready to turn the final page on its Chapter 11 saga: a Delaware bankruptcy court judge yesterday approved the company's proposed $33 million sale to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The sale should close in short order, as the judge waived a standard 10-day waiting provision in such cases, saying "time is of the essence." <br /> <br />Read more... |
| Empire: Total War & More Steam Patches Source: Blue's News <br /> <br />Three new automatic updates are available when you start Steam. There's a new Steam client update that adds D3D9Ex support for the in-game overlay for "ArmA II" and addresses some bugs. There's also a new "Source SDK Update" that fixes three bugs with the "Hammer" editor. Finally a new "Empire: Total War Update" fixes two bugs in The Creative Assembly's RTS sequel, one that could crash Land Battles when grouping/ungrouping, and one that could make for invisible deployable defenses in the Grand Campaign. |
| Left 4 Dead DLC Announcement Soon Source: Computer and Video Games <br /> <br />Valve's Doug Lombardi has told CVG that we should expect a Left 4 Dead DLC announcement before the end of the summer for both PC and 360. <br /> <br />At a recent press event that took place in London earlier today, Lombardi told us, "We plan to keep supporting Left 4 Dead 1. There will be some announcements coming before summer's out about what's coming there, and then we haven't shown everything that's in Left 4 Dead 2 yet." <br /> <br />Read more... |
| Ironclads: High Sea Gameplay Video Totem Games today has posted on its website the first gameplay video from Ironclads: High Sea, a steam-ship period tactical naval simulator focusing on fleet-scale battles in real time. You can view the thirty-six second "Flash" video HERE. |
| Ubisoft Announces Heroes over Europe Today Ubisoft announced it will be publishing Heroes Over Europe, a flight action combat game designed for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows-based PC. The sequel to Heroes of the Pacific, the World War II flight combat game, Heroes Over Europe builds on the game's impressive legacy with intense dogfights, a highly detailed realistic visual presentation and even more online options. <br /> <br />"We are pleased to be bringing Heroes Over Europe to retailers worldwide,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ubisoft. "The action-packed gameplay and realistic imagery in Heroes Over Europe will help bring some of history's most exciting air battles to life for an experience that gamers will enjoy.” <br /> <br />Click here for press release and screenshots. (Hosted by GamingNexus) |
| ARMA II Australian Release Date Announced 505 Games, in conjunction with All Interactive Entertainment, are proud to announce the that the highly anticipated military simulation exclusive to PC, ARMA II, will be released into the Australian market on Thursday 16 July 2009. |
| Two Battlestations: Pacific DLC Packs - One Available Today Thanks Blue's News <br /> <br />Eidos Interactive announces the release a new pack for Battlestations: Pacific via Windows LIVE and Xbox LIVE today, with another pack planned for release on 23. <br /> <br />Today's new pack is called the "Mustang Pack", which adds six new units, including the P-51 Mustang (the Cadillac of the skies!) and the theoretical Super Yamato Class battleship, as well as 18 pieces of nose art. The new pack will set you back 160 points on the Windows LIVE or Xbox LIVE marketplaces. The other pack is called "The Carrier Battles Map Pack", which is planned for release on July 23 for 800 points. Here is how that's described: <br /> <br />"The Carrier Battles Map Pack gives gamers four new maps, playable across all five multiplayer modes. Take part in a clash of carriers at Midway, do battle at dawn in the mist of the Philippine Islands, experience the fury of Kamikaze attacks in the rocky islands of the Leyte Gulf and take control of your forces amongst the mountain peaks and glacial waters of the icy Aleutian Islands." More information and screenshots from the "Mustang Pack" is available via the official Battlestations: Pacific News Page. <br /> <br />Finally, the release of the promised "Volcano" map pack looks like it is now available. |