The fourth content module for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach has been released free to all subscribers of the MMORPG. Dubbed Stormreach Under Siege, the module features five new dungeons that unveil new threats to the city from dark forces including the Cult of Madness, the Dwarves of Ironroot and a tribe of Troglodytes.
Paradox Interactive and Nival Interactive together announced Frontline: Kursk, first in a new RTS series where “players are taken to the frontline, where the gameplay is going back to its RTS roots.”
In development at Nival Interactive and N-Game Studios, the game is scheduled for release during Q1 2007.
Hoping to see the likes of Mudvayne, Static-X or Paul Oakenfold in the next Need for Speed game? Well, EA just dashed your dreams then. The company revealed the soundtrack listing for Carbon, offering up 30 tracks from three major genres: hip-hop, rock and electronica. These genres also reflect the game’s three distinct car classes: exotics, muscles and tuners. Muscle cars get the rock treatment from Kyuss, Eagles of Death metal and Wolfmother, while Japanese Tuner cars get the electronica groove from Ladytron, Goldfrapp and others. Exotic cars are represented by hip-hop from Pharell, Lady Sovereign and others.
Below is the full listing:
- Dynamite MC - Bounce
- Dynamite MC - After Party
- Eagles Of Death Metal - Don’t Speak (I Came to Make A Bang!)
- Ekstrak feat. Know-1 - Hard Drivers
- Every Move A Picture - Signs Of Life
- Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - Are ‘Friends’ Electric
- Grandmaster Flash And The Furious - Scorpio Five
- Goldfrapp - Ride A White Horse (Serge Santiago Remix)
- Kyuss - Hurricane
- Lady Sovereign - Luv Me Or Hate Me
- Ladytron - Sugar (Jagz Kooner Remix)
- Ladytron - Fighting In Built Up Areas
- melody. - FEEL THE RUSH (Junkie XL Remix)
- Metro Riots - Thee Small Faces
- Part 2 feat. Fallacy - One Of Dem Days (Remix)
- Pharrell feat. Lauren - Skateboard P Presents: Show You How To Hustle
- Priestess - I Am The Night, Colour Me Black
- Roots Manuva - No Love
- Spank Rock - What It Look Like
- Sway - Hype Boys
- The Bronx - Around The Horn
- The Presets - Steamworks
- The Vacation - I’m No Good
- Tiga - Good As Gold
- Tigarah - Girl Fight (Mr. D Hyphy Mix)
- Tomas Andersson - Washing Up (Tiga Remix)
- Valient Thorr - Heatseeker
- Vitalic - My Friend Dario
- Wolfmother - Joker And The Thief
- Yonderboi - People Always Talk About The Weather (Junkie XL Remix)
Looking to increase their footing in Europe, and also offering gamers incentives to buy their console, Microsoft announced that the Premium Xbox 360 bundle in the region will now also include a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3 and an extra wireless controller. The package retails for £300 and is now available.
This bundle wasn’t announced for any other territories.
Yes, yes, I know Tokyo Games Show was last week, but I was extremely busy and am catching up with things, alright? Here’s what Microsoft had to say at the event:
At its press conference at the event, Microsoft revealed new details of its upcoming HD-DVD movie player attachment for the Xbox 360, stating that it will be available in Japan on November 17 for 19,800 yen (approximately $170 US).
As for its second announcement, the company disclosed that they are working on a patch that will allow the Xbox 360 to output movie and game content in 1080p resolution. Although the device itself lacks HDMI support, it will indeed be able to play content in 1080p resolution via component or VGA cables. The HD-DVD drive will support 1080p only through VGA however. As for normal DVD playback, it will still be limited to 480p with component.
The company is highly focused on enriching Xbox Live, and so announced new titles for Live Arcade: Gyruss, Rush n’ Attack, Ms. Pac-Man and New Rally-X. They are also dedicated to broaden their share in the Japanese market, announcing that there are over 100 retail and Xbox Live Arcade games currently in the works for the territory, 70 of which are being developed by the Japanese and 50 of which will be exclusive to Japan. Microsoft is also emphasizing on retail titles as well, with games such as Lost Planet, Trusty Bell, Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon being made to appeal to the Japanese demographic.
It remains to be seen whether they will be successful or not.
In related news, Microsoft’s announcement of 1080p support in its HD-DVD drive met with criticism from SCEA’s PR head Dave Karraker. He issued the following statement:
It’s unfortunate that Microsoft’s external HD-DVD drive will not enhance the experience at all for the gamer. Sony realizes that to truly take gaming into the next generation requires a larger data format for both games and movies. PS3 uses the Blu-ray format for gaming, giving developers 50 GB of high-definition storage on a single disc, while Microsoft’s 9 GB DVD gaming format is an obstacle for storing HD content. Furthermore, Microsoft’s announced HD games patch is really just a compatibility feature–upscaling lower-resolution content does not make it Full HD (1080p), something that PS3 can do out of the box.
The team behind Rag Doll Kung Fu is headed towards the PS3, as per an announcement from Media Molecule. The studio stated that it has signed an exclusive deal with SCEE to create an original game for the PS3; no further details were revealed.
Media Molecule is formed of industry veterans who have worked on titles such as Dungeon Keeper, Theme Park, Black & White, Live for Speed, Fable, as well as the aforementioned game. The studio is rather small (20 plus), but is hoping to deliver a “world class, triple A, next-generation product.”
Detailed information on their project is expected in due time.
Now that the console has been out for some time, Microsoft announced that it will soon be launching a Classics range for the Xbox 360, effectively shaving off half the price.
In North America, gamers can look forward to Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo: Elements of Power and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. These games will be rebranded to the new line on October 15, and will retail for $30.
Europeans can get Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power, Condemned: Criminal Origins and King Kong for a wallet-friendly price of £25 starting October 13.
A second wave of Classics titles are expected to arrive early next year. However, as seen above, titles will vary by region, with different sets of Classics in each region.
Proving that the Star Wars brand is still strong, and that good games really do sell, LucasArts has announced that LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy has sold 1.1 million units worldwide within one week of release. Since its release on September 12, the game has sold over a million copies spanning eight platforms including PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PC, DS and GBA.
“There’s definitely something for everyone in LEGO Star Wars II, and the sales and reviews so far are proving it,” said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. “This is the type of fun, accessible game everyone in the family can enjoy. It appeals to so much more than just the traditional gaming audience.”
Set in a tongue-in-cheek Star Wars galaxy, LEGO Star Wars II allows gamers to build and battle their way through the events of Star Wars: Episodes IV through VI.
As is always the case with Europe when it comes to games, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XII will ship throughout the region early in 2007, making it the last region in the world to get the awesomely-fantastic RPG.
For those not in the know, detailed information on Final Fantasy XII can be found just after the jump.
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Two high-resolution Xbox 360 screenshots from BioShock:
Another TV show makes its move to the computer screen, as Take 2 Games announced that it gotten the exclusive license to develop, publish and distribute PC games based on the phenomenally successful game show Deal Or No Deal. The first game is expected to be in stores this Holiday season for $20.
Not much is currently known on the title, except that it will “capture the energy of the game show” and will feature the likeness and voice of Howie Mandel.
Hoping to grab some of Activision’s market share for skateboarding games, EA has announced SKATE for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Marked for release sometime next year, the game, as the title states, will focus on skating, offering “innovative controls, authentic cameras and a fully reactive skateboarding city.” Professional skaters Danny Way and PJ Ladd have already signed up to be in the title.
“Our game offers a skate mecca for both skaters and gamers in search of the definitive authentic skating video game experience,” said Scott Blackwood, executive producer, EA Black Box. “We’re focused on capturing the actual feeling of skating with the innovative control system, the physics driven animations, the intelligent cameras working together to really deliver the closest thing to being on a board.”
Making an allusion to the legendary Tony Hawk series, EA states that the game will feature an unique control scheme that will “capture the true feel of skating” versus the typical button mashing gameplay of its competitors. It will also feature physics-driven animations which will result in no two tricks being the same.
SKATE is being developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Microsoft has announced that Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, the action-RPG installment in the strategy series, will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 in Q2 2007.
In development at Blueside, and being helmed by series director Henry Lee, the game will feature randomly generated dungeons and landscapes, along with thousands of enemies on-screen. It will also feature a branching storyline, depending on player’s decisions. Circle of Doom will also feature Xbox Live modes, though full details are yet to be revealed.
Set for release next month, JoWood and Deep Silver sends word that the Collector’s Edition of Gothic 3 will include an exclusive soundtrack CD. It will include compositions written by Kai Rosenkranz and performed by the “Bochumer Philharmoniker.”
“The Collector`s Edition is a special way to say “thank you” to all our true fans out there, and it therefore should contain what the fans desire most; in all Gothic-related boards, the fans literally begged for the soundtrack to be included. In a last-minute-attempt we tried to add the soundtrack CDs to the already planned package - and we managed!” explains Johann Ertl, Community manager for JoWooD Productions.
Gothic 3 will be available starting October 13 in regular and Collector’s editions.
Latest in its string of developer partnerships, Sega announced that they have partnered with Deep Fried Entertainment to create games for the PSP. The studio, based in Vancouver, Canada, was launched in June 2005 by five industry veterans who have been key team members on titles such as Need for Speed: Underground 1 and 2, NFL Gameday and Baldur’s Gate.
As usual, detailed information wasn’t released. They also didn’t mention any time period as to when new information can be expected.
Sega previously announced partnerships with developers Silicon Knights, Bizarre Creations, Obsidian Entertainment, Monolith, Planet Moon Studios and Pseudo Interactive. The publisher also recently acquired The Creative Assembly, Secret Level and Sports Interactive.
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