July 2007

Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic Casts Spell On Xbox 360

July 3, 2007

Features / Interviews / by Jason Dobson Make a comment! / Tweet it!

It was probably only a matter of time, but Ubisoft has announced that the earlier released PC title Dark Messiah of Might and Magic will come to the Xbox 360 in early 2008 as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements.

The new game will be driven by Valve’s popular Source middleware, and will improve and expand upon the original PC title across twelve chapters of single and multiplayer gameplay. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements is being developed by Ubisoft’s Annecy studio (Splinter Cell series), supported by Valve and Arkane Studios.

While few specific details have been announced, Ubisoft has revealed that among the new features to be introduced in the game are new multiplayer maps that have been created exclusively for the Xbox 360, while all of the other PC version’s features have been retooled to take advantage of Xbox Live, including support for up to 10 players. The game will also include three previously unreleased secret levels with new objectives, gameplay, and rewards.

Of course, this is only part of the story, so Ubisoft offered up the words of the game’s producer, Daniel Palix, to give more clarification. Palix’s other credits include work as the producer of the online mode on Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow for the Xbox, as well as on Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Splinter Cell Double Agent, both for the PS2 and Xbox.

What are the biggest changes you are bringing to the game for the Xbox 360?

For the Xbox 360 version, we are providing a variety of new content, as well as improving on the existing levels. On the solo part, new scenes have been added, thus providing an additional hour of game experience. These will be A

On The Dotted Line At The Pac-Man World Championship

July 3, 2007

Features / Opinion / by Roger Helgeson Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Pac-Man, a name with which nearly everyone is familiar. While video gaming hasn’t yet taken over the entire household as the hobby of choice, somehow the mere mention of Pac-Man will almost without fail conjure images of the iconic yellow circle happily (or unhappily – who could tell?) chomping dots while evading and eating ghosts in a variety of mazes.

Just about every member of every living generation at least knows of Pac-Man; since its release in 1980, the game has appeared in pizza parlors, arcades, and eventually on consoles the world over.

Even those who have never played a video game, or those who are old enough to have missed this newly-emerging cultural phenomenon, have at least some scant knowledge of Pac-Man. As the most-played game in video game history, no other game comes close to such recognition – not even the oft-cited Pong – though many developers and publishers still aspire to it.

As with all such things, an entire subculture devoted to Pac-Man arose from its early-80s debut. What is astounding is that this movement still exists to this day, and possibly even stronger than ever before. At the first ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship, I had a chance to meet some of the old, and some of the new, faces that have defined and shaped the Pac-Man championship circuit for so long, and will continue to do so in the future.

For instance, gaming professional Billy Mitchell was on hand, now with his lovely wife and children, as one of the ten finalists in this competition. Mr. Mitchell was the first person to ever officially achieve a perfect score in Pac-Man, which meant playing through all 256 original levels without losing a single life, without missing a single fruit, and eating every single ghost four times per level, an impressive feat to consider.

It is no surprise that he would have made it far in this competition, as mastering Pac-Man is something that, like riding a bike, apparently stays with someone with a little ongoing practice. Indeed, the community of Pac-Man experts here seemed to be fairly reminiscent of an all-star locker room, throwing each other jibes and jests while offering constructive tips as they all surrounded the classic Pac-Man arcade cabinet in the lobby.

It was interesting to watch how new, younger Pac-Man fans took up residence in the main area, its perimeter surrounded with comfortable lounge chairs, widescreen LCD TVs, and Xbox 360s, on which the newly-revealed Pac-Man: Championship Edition for Xbox Live Arcade was playing, while the original Pac-Man masters gathered at one age-old Pac-Man machine, competing with each other in true arcade A

Edge: Ocarina Of Time Is The Best. Game. Ever

July 3, 2007

News / by Jason Dobson Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Future Publishing’s noted UK game magazine Edge has revealed its picks for the top 100 best video games of all time, lifting up N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the king of kings. The game was one of two Zelda titles in the top ten, with A Link to the Past ranking sixth on the chart.

Based on “thousands of votes” from the magazine’s readership, with input from industry professionals and Edge writers, nominating “hundreds of games, spanning across the last three decades,” the top ten games of all time, according to Edge, breaks down as follows:

1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)
2) Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, PlayStation 2)
3) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
4) Half-Life 2 (PC)
5) Super Mario World (Super Nintendo)
6) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super Nintendo)
7) Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
8) Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)
9) Tetris (Various)
10) Super Metroid (Super Nintendo)

The full rundown will be featured in a 260-page collector’s book entitled ‘Edge Presents: The 100 Best Videogames’, which will go on sale tomorrow. For those of you in the states, I’m sure you’ll be able to track down a copy at your local Barnes & Noble in a few weeks.

So, reactions? Is Ocarina of Time deserving of such praise?

Missile Command For XBLA Sees ID4 Release

July 3, 2007

News / by Jason Dobson Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Microsoft has announced that it will be celebrating this Wednesday’s July 4 holiday with the release of Stainless Games’ Missile Command, a remake of Atari’s arcade classic, which could be yours for the low price of just 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

The game is the latest of six Atari classics making their way to the service, following April’s release of Centipede and Millipede. Other Atari classics announced for future releases include Battlezone, Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe, Tempest and Warlords.

The new version of Missile Command will include among its many upgrades new HD visuals, surround sound, and support for local and Xbox Live multiplayer for up to two players.

Missile batteries at the ready, soldier!

Giveaway: Halo 2 PC

July 2, 2007

News / by Chris Rasco Make a comment! / Tweet it!

With copies of games piling up, it’s high time that we clear some of these out and get free games into the hands of our readers. With that being the case, this is the first of many planned giveaways coming your way.

UPDATE: Halo 2 PC requires Windows Vista, so keep that in mind.

Here are the official rules:

1. You must live in the US or Canada. Shipping overseas sucks. Sorry guys.

2. You must be 18 or older. This is just a formality thing that keeps us from legal issues with sending stuff to minors.

With that out of the way, how do you enter? Just make a post in the comments section for this thread. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll hit the randomizer button and pick the lucky winner.

So get to it!

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