iGames centers across the country are hosting launch parties as well as a two week showcase for the upcoming Warhammer Battle March. Battle March is the expansion to the RTS Warhammer Mark of Chaos.
26 iGames centers from around the country will host a launch party on September 6th and over one hundred centers will host a two week showcase of the game.
For more information, hit the official iGames website.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky is now officially gold and set for a September 5th release date on the PC platform. The game, a prequel to the previous game, shows us what happened leading up to the previous game’s events. Players will, this time, take on the role of a s.t.a.l.k.e.r.
Official Release:
GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announce that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky has gone gold. The international release date of the game has been set to September 5th of 2008.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a ‘what-if’ scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Dan Marshall and Ben Ward are the masterminds behind Zombie Cow Studios, and their first project is a point-and-click adventure game aptly titled ‘Ben There, Dan That’.
You control the characters of Dan and Ben as they attempt to repair their TV aerial. As you can probably imagine, things don’t go as planned and it is not long after that they find themselves fighting aliens, zombies, and a whole lot more in an adventure that transcends multiple universes, all in an effort to not miss a re-run of Magnum P.I.
In adventure games of old, right-clicking would normally change the tool icon that was being controlled by your mouse movements. In BTDT so it is the same. You can choose from an eye (to look at something, duh), a grabbing hand, a talking chat bubble, a walking footprint, and Dan’s head. 
Well, it is not really Dan’s head per se, but a virtual representation of the virtual representation of Dan’s head.This last tool is the most unique, as this is how you get Dan to do ‘stuff’ and is vital in overcoming your journey’s challenges. For example, if you need to throw a switch on one side of the room while doing something else on the other side, you could have Dan throw said switch while Ben works elsewhere. This tag-team aspect of the game is a very clever gameplay element, and the banter between the two characters is very witty.
In fact, I would probably call this the ‘Shaun of the Dead’ of adventure games. I don’t mean that purely based on the fact that the game is set in London either. The game is full of homages to older classic games such as Full Throttle, Sam and Max, and Day of the Tentacle. While it is full of these homages, it does not homage just for the sake of homaging (is that even a word). 
Ben and Dan also makes a clever commentary on the current state of adventure games (See right). It is rare that an independent developer can make such an inspired, witty, and entertaining game such as Ben there, Dan That. It goes to show, just as the classic adventures that came before it did, that you do not need fancy 3d graphics to entertain, and that message is a welcome site in the age of the multi-million dollar video game. Zombie Cow Studios, we salute you! Did we mention the game is free to download?
Microsoft’s Flight Simulator series has a history of trouble with modeling supersonic flight. Often times, aircraft would just become uncontrollable and wobble to an extent that would crack the spine of any normal human being. With FS9 and FSX, however, this has been largely remedied. This now paves the way for some great jet fighters to be played in the sim. However, Microsoft never seems to add a supersonic fighter to their stock aircraft stable, so it is up to third-party developers to create some for us. Developers like X1 Software.
X1 Software’s Eurofighter 2000 for FSX and FS9 adds the titular aircraft (actually a few variations) to the two most recent versions of Microsoft’s Flight Simulators. We played it out on Microsoft’s latest offering, Flight Simulator X. After installing the add-on, we read through the instructions. There are optimum realism slider settings to achieve the proper flight modeling, so be sure to follow the instructions carefully. Also a good read through is the cockpit guide, but more on that later.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the world’s most aesthetically striking aircraft, with a canard design featuring foreplanes, flaperons, and leading-edge slats along the wings. All of which, and more, are included with this add-on. From the outside, the EF2000 looks incredible and just like its real-world counterpart. There is a two-seater training variant of the aircraft as well as single-seater to play with, so have fun. Especially since with the two-seater you can have someone else be in the opposing seat via LAN or IP.
From the virtual cockpit, we are treated to a very realistically placed array of displays, sliders, knobs, etc – most of which are completely functional. You are even able to fire off your wing-mounted missiles for a cool effect (they don’t really blow anything up though). X1 has even modeled a working radar system into the plane which is a treat to use. When the ATC asks you if you see a plane off your nose at some range, you can very confidently say ‘yes’, even if it is BVR thanks to that baby.
Take a look at this comparison image of the in-game and real-life cockpits of the Eurofighter:
We got the base model Eurofighter on the runway at Nellis AFB, just Northeast of Las Vegas, NV. The foreplans on the bird actually swivel when the brake is engaged just like on the actual aircraft (for a second we thought it was a modeling error before it clicked in our heads). Engaging flaps was smooth and, in fact, every animated surface on the airframe moves very fluidly and realistically. Getting clearance to take off, we moved the throttle slowly to max power and let off the brake. I can only imagine what happened to our virtual pilot that moment but I assume he needed to change his huggies after that takeoff. The amount of acceleration is incredible and you reach your T.O. roll speed almost too quickly. I am unsure how this compares to the real aircraft, but its in-game acceleration is the only thing I was skeptical about while flying around with regards to the flight model.
Racing to a cruising altitude of ten thousand feet AGL (above ground level), the Eurofighter still reacted swiftly and with great agility. I was able to get the aircraft to roughly 1,300 knots (about mach 2) which fits with the Wikipedia spec of the plane’s max speed with afterburner. Super-cruising (supersonic flight without using reheat) is possible and almost feels unreal as it is something you normally do not see in flight simulator aircraft. When making our rounds across the Nevada skies, I noticed that the plane likes to continue rolling quite a bit. I would have to apply opposite stick pressure in order to stop the roll. 
This inertial effect was quite cool and, even though I do not know how the real aircraft handles, it ‘felt’ realistic.
Landing in the Eurofighter is actually much easier than I thought, as the cockpit heads-up display gives important info like altitude, speed, and a neat little flight path vector indicator. Also, the foreplane braking is all I needed to stop myself once touching down, unlike many aircraft where I have to slam on the parking brake too. Just in case you run out of runway (Nellis has a very large runway), X1 Software has modeled the drogue chute on the Eurofighter as well, which should help slow you down quite a bit.
Also in this add-on are some new missions to fly with your Eurofighter as well as some new European air bases to fly in and out of. The liveries of Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Austria are represented with a few squadrons to select from each nation.
Overall, X1 Software’s Eurofighter add-on gets a big GamingShogun seal of approval (if we had one that is) for its high-grade realism and quality. Available now at various online retailers for roughly $38 dollars, the Eurofighter 2000 is a no-brainer if you are looking for a supersonic fighter in FSX or FS9.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Blockbuster has announced plans to eventually roll out ten thousand DVD rental kiosks to combat the threat for the dreaded Redbox, who’s kiosks number six thousand strong around the country.
Blockbuster plans to get major studio backing by ‘as early as fourth quarter’. As of now the DVDs they are licensed to carry are from independent studios only.
The Too Human demo will be available on Xbox LIVE starting 6 pm (GMT) on July 14th and feature the retail game’s first level. Too Human will be released on August 19th and retail for $59.99. The 2008 E3 trailer for the game has also been unveiled. This will be the game’s third showing at an E3 expo.
Official Release:
You are now one step closer to becoming a god amongst men. As the powerful cybernetic god Baldur, players will battle their way through ancient machine armies in a quest to save all mankind. Begin fulfilling your destiny with the demo of “Too Human,” the third-person epic action game from renowned Canadian developer Silicon Knights and Microsoft Game Studios. Gamers can also whet their appetites by watching an all-new trailer, available now on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
“Too Human” breaks the genre barrier by combining elements of both the action and RPG genres. Play as Baldur, the cybernetic Norse god, who refuses to turn over humanity to the machines, and experience this new style of gameplay in the demo exclusively available on Xbox LIVE* before the game hits retailers. The demo features part of the first level of the game and will be available beginning Monday, July 14, at 2 a.m. PDT (6 pm GMT)
Tonight on the much-maligned G4 Network, gamers can see some in-game footage from the upcoming MMO, Stargate Worlds. The footage will be aired during a segment on X-Play. Official details below. We have an interview all set up with FireSky to check out Stargate Worlds at Comic Con on July 26th, so stay tuned for our thoughts as well!
Official Release:
The G4 Network’s X-Play recently visited FireSky’s offices in Mesa, AZ, and walked away with an exclusive first look at game play from Stargate Worlds.
WHO: Studio Head Dan Elggren, Creative Director Chris Klug and Art Director Howard Lyon talked to the X-Play team about production of the game and the upcoming beta.
WHAT: Elggren took a character through several environments of a pre-alpha build and played through an assault on a drug lord stronghold on the alien planet Lucia.
WHERE: G4 Network’s X-Play
WHEN: Scheduled for 8 p.m. PST, July 2, 2008
Blizzard is offering internet users the opportunity to stream the Worldwide Invitational live! The Blizzard Worldwide Invitational takes place on June 28th and 29th in Paris, France. Over the course of the two day event, there will be a slew of casual and professional gaming tournaments as well as sneak peaks at Starcraft II and the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft.
You can find the streaming page here.
In a recent Eurogamer interview, Bethsoft’s VP of Marketing, Pete Hines, said that there would be no Fallout 3 demo on the grounds that it would not ‘capture the fun’.
Hines said there was ‘no way’ to slice a portion of the world off and have it stand on its own…’When you build it as one thing, there’s no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we’re just not going to do,’ said Hines…’And it doesn’t really capture the fun of a game like an Elder Scrolls or a Fallout, where you can go where you want and do what you want. So no demo, sorry.’
Personally, I understand Bethsoft banking on word of mouth advertising and the franchise’s reputation to sell copies, but anytime a developer denies a demo I raise an eyebrow and can’t help but think this is an attempt by Bethsoft to avoid alienating those gamers who are not fond of first-person shooters.
