Gaming News Archives

Disciples was by far one of the best fantasy themed turn-based strategy games I've ever played. Its classic HoMM-style gameplay mechanics were quite engaging and I enjoyed the dark fantasy setting. Strategy First and Akella have been working on a long-awaited third installment entitled, Disciples III: Renaissance, which is finally supposed to bring the series to 3D. Hopefully, the game will hit stores in Q1 2008. You'll find new screenshots below:

click to view full gallery

Read more about the game here.

Haven't played The Witcher yet? If you have any doubts about the game, you might as well try out the demo first. Weighing 1.97 GB, the demo "begins with the first part of the prologue in which the seeds of the epic story are sown and the white haired witcher Geralt learns the fundamentals of combat."

If you're still in two minds, our review might help you make a decision.

Did I mention there's sex in the game?

The industry's hottest heroine might return sooner than you think. With recent reports of Eidos trademarking the brand Tomb Raider: Underworld, comes further indication of a brand new game starring the lovely Lara Croft. The latest edition of gaming mag Play confirms the existence of a new Tomb Raider (thanks Shack), but the title of game still remains uncovered; apparently, the title "Underworld" wasn't mentioned in the coverage. What it does reveal is that the new TR game takes place after the events of Crystal Tomb Raider: Legend. Visual improvements were mentioned too - footprints in the mud that slowly wash away and mo-cap animation (amazing!).

Shite! Nothing about bosom size...

Yeah, so we all know EA delayed Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, saying that the upcoming MMORPG is scheduled for a Q2 2008 release (as opposed to its earlier Q1 2008 launch window). The publisher is now spreading the word that the Warhammer Online beta has surpassed 500,000 registrants in the US and Europe.

Here's a snip from the official press release:

"It's fantastic that over half a million players want to help us with the development of WAR," said Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager of EA Mythic. "Their feedback will help us take WAR to the next level as we focus on refining game play, adding polish, and most importantly, making sure the game is extremely fun. We can't wait to let them all into the living, breathing Warhammer universe that we're creating."

Wow, that's really something! Did I say WoW? Sorry.

Los Angeles Times is running a story about a hijacked shipment of 1,000 Rock Band bundles for the X360. The group of Rock Band snatchers remains at large. Each Rock Band bundle costs $170, which means they pinched over $170,000 worth of merchandise. Here's a segment from the story:

After picking up his load at a distribution facility near the Port of Long Beach on Saturday night, truck driver Nirmal Singh noticed two men in a black truck pull up beside his red 18-wheeler as he drove along the Pomona Freeway near the City of Industry. They began gesturing for him to stop and inspect his truck.

When Singh did, the men greeted him with handguns and ordered him into the back of his cab. They blindfolded him, then drove the truck around for an hour.

Once they parked, Singh sat with his eyes covered for half an hour while the thieves cleaned out his truck. They then drove to Riverside and left Singh with strict orders to not get out of his truck for at least 15 minutes while they made their escape.

Singh, a contract driver for A&N Truck Lines in Fresno, was unharmed. He told police the two thieves appeared to be Latino men between the ages of 25 and 30.

I also rather enjoyed reading a statement from an EA rep: "We're glad no one got hurt," said Bryce Baer, a spokesman for Electronic Arts Inc., the game's Redwood City, Calif.-based publisher. "We hope these guys end up forming a rock band in jail."

Yeah. I'm sure they'll do that.

Source.

Console sales for the month of November are just in (via NPD Group).

Believe it or not, last month's sales indicate that the video game industry generated $2.63 billion, marking a 52% year-over-year increase compared to last November. (Understandable, given the quality of this year's holiday releases. - 2Lions)

Anyway, here are the top-selling consoles titles in November, and the number of units sold:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, Infinity Ward, Activision) - 1.57 million
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.12 million
3. Assassin's Creed (X360, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) - 980,000
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (PS2, Budcat, Activision) - 967,000
5. Wii Play with remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 564,000
6. Mass Effect (X360, BioWare, Microsoft) - 473,000
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3, Infinity Ward, Activision) - 444,000
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (Wii, Vicarious Visions, Activision) - 426,000
9. Halo 3 (X360, Bungie, Microsoft) - 387,000
10. Assassin's Creed (PS3, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) - 377,000

While Nintendo and Activision celebrate the success of Mario and CoD, it appears that Ass. Creed is doing very well too, which certainly makes Ubisoft happy.

PS3 owners eager to play Rock Band with a Guitar Hero III controller have found themselves victims of a disagreement between MTV/Harmonix and Activision. MTV/Harmonix claim the Guitar Hero III publisher is blocking the release of a patch which makes the Guitar Hero III controller compatible with Rock Band. Activision, on the other hand, now argues that it's the other way around and that MTV/Harmonix are blocking the launch of the patch.

"The recent announcement by MTV Games/Viacom's Harmonix division that Activision is blocking Sony from releasing a patch and their plea to enable Rock Band software to work with Guitar Hero hardware paints a very misleading picture," according to an official statement from Activision.

The statement continues:

"We have been and remain open to discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom about the use of our technology in Rock Band. Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision." (The underlining message? Activision wants their cut. - 2Lions)

To cut a long story short, while Activision bickers with Harmonix and MTV, frustrated PS3 owners (all ten of them) continue to suffer the consequences.

Meanwhile, SCE can't do much about the whole matter either: "At SCEA, we of course want this resolved and to ensure the best possible gaming experience," the company said in a statement. "We encourage MTV, Harmonix and Activision to discuss this among themselves so there can be an amicable resolution in the best interest of the consumer."

Words to live by, motherfuckers:

"But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake."

Also, I've spent the last two hours of my last two days at work reading through Old Man Murray's old reviews. Legendary.