Crysis; Very High 16xAA.. my machine 42FPS?
by vipeness on September 16th, 2008
Well, I was just as surprised as everyone else. I was called a LIAR, demand demand demand left and right and I provided video, and screenshots. Well, I’ve kept it off the frontpage of thegamershow.com, but I’m now going to post it.
I’ve created a quick page on thegamershow.com that shows off the video that I made to prove that the regular Crysis game, with all the patches applied runs on my machine pretty damn good… average 42 fps. The page as a video and screenshots included
check it out yourself…
http://www.thegamershow.com/crysis.html
Crysis Warhead does not have DRM (Install Limits)
by vipeness on September 15th, 2008
Well, overlooking the manual with 3 buddies; it seems that Crysis Warhead does not have DRM. Yep; in the manual, it does not have anywhere about Install Limits. Now, it could have securom still; but judging from the manual… no drm on INSTALL limits are mentioned.
The only thing that the manual states:
" The CD key is only required when starting an online game using the Crysis Wars disc. Both Crysis Warhead and Crysis Wars require separate installs using their respective discs. "
I hope that inserting the disk into the drive when the game comes out that it is completely 100% DRM free.
If so… Thank You EA! Looks like you have a customer back.
Star Trek Online Game play Trailer!
by vipeness on August 10th, 2008
Here it is, in youtube fashion. If you don’t want to watch the entire 45 min introduction into the Star Trek Online premiere, you can just watch the video below. Man, I am really excited about the release of this game, and I have high hopes that they pull this MMO off perfectly for the Star Trek Universe. Please take note that this is 100% in game. The HD version just looks wicked. Click the video below to begin watching.
Star Trek Online Las Vegas Webcast
by vipeness on August 10th, 2008
Holy Star Trek Fan Boy Release! Today, in Las Vegas, NV, at the Hilton Hotel and Casino, the largest Star Trek Convention unveiled brand new and never before need gameplay trailer for Star Trek Online…. just click it already and stop reading.
Star Trek Online Las Vegas Webcast from Cryptic Studios on Vimeo.
Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest PREVIEW
by vipeness on July 13th, 2008
Multiwinia - Survival of the Flattest Preview just arrived and I have been going through the packaging which was great from Introversion Software to send to us and will share those images of the cd case and the lovely Multiwinia toy. We are currently going through Multiwinia and will give a full blow preview and will be sharing the experience on thegamershow.com shortly.
Check out the cool cd case and Multiwinia Toy! 
To check out the official website for Multiwinia, click the link below…
Official Screenshots Below:
Multiwinia is scheduled to appear on the PC platform in 2008. Stay Tuned.
My Spore Creatures!
by vipeness on June 21st, 2008
Check out this cool widget for users’s websites to show off their creations using the Spore Creature Creator. Just hover over the creature to see it’s details.
Bob My Spore Creature Creation
by vipeness on June 14th, 2008
Hey Guys… I took at stab today at the creature creation from the upcoming game, SPORE, and came out with a cute little blue dancer. Check him out below and let me know what you think. Yeah… He’s got kids too.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this demo and it works and runs perfect on my machine. As you can see from the video, you can move the camera around while you are recording and also have the feature of uploading to youtube from within the demo but I wanted to add music to it. Well, enjoy it!
If you want to try to make your own creature; you can do so here Spore Creature Creator Demo
Offical Demo Out now on Spore.com
Age of Conan - Combat Tutorial
by vipeness on June 12th, 2008
‘Warcraft’ Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing ‘Warcraft’
by vipeness on June 10th, 2008
‘Warcraft’ Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing ‘Warcraft’
Reminder: Gamestop’s Game Days sale
by misty on June 2nd, 2008
Quick reminder today is the start of Gamestop’s Game Day sale many titles are being significantly reduced including accessories. The best part is you are looking at some, but not all, titles and accessories on sale for up to 50% off which makes the sale worth checking out you never know if something you want is included in the sale. Also check out Gamestop’s website for a list of games for all systems.
Age Of Conan Girls Get Accidental Boob Job
by misty on June 2nd, 2008
From kotaku.com as a result of the latest patch for Age Of Conan the female characters bust area have been altered. AOC forum user Gust even went as far as to provide photo evidence, seen above. No need to worry though folks, as Funcom promises things will soon be back to abnormal.
Funcom can confirm that some of the female models in the game have had the size of their breasts changed. This is due to an unintended change in data that was introduced in an earlier patch, data which controls the so-called morph values associated with character models and the size of their respective body parts. We are working on a fix for this and your breasts should be back to normal soon.
COD4 : PC Map Pack "Soon"
by AJ on May 26th, 2008
As most of you will know, the "Variety Map Pack" for Call of Duty 4 was released on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime ago now, with gamers paying for the privilege of playing on these new maps.
But what about PC Gamers you ask, well, we have some good news for you.
We can tell you that the PC will get the same map pack that both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have recieved, but the added bonus is that it will be free.
Yes thats right, 100% Free!
It is expected around the time of the next Patch which will bring the game to version 1.6
Activision’s Cabela’s Legendary Adventures to Bring Hunting’s Greatest Tales to Life
by vipeness on May 15th, 2008
Activision’s Cabela’s Legendary Adventures to Bring Hunting’s Greatest Tales to Life
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 14, 2008: Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today the upcoming release of Cabela’s Legendary Adventures for PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and WiiTM. The latest title in the best-selling Cabela’s franchise will allow players to relive the greatest hunting stories ever told. The game will hit shelves in Fall 2008.
"In Cabela’s Legendary Adventures the missions are based on encounters with some of the most famous animals ever hunted in the wild," said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. "Focusing on these amazing once-in-a-lifetime stories has really allowed us to capture the essence of what hunting is all about - a quest for a legendary experience."
Players will hunt in different eras in search of trophies such as white-tailed deer, Yukon moose, Alaskan brown bear and Roosevelt elk in over ten of North America’s top hunting locations, including Kodiak Island, the Yukon and the Rocky Mountains. Each location in Cabela’s Legendary Adventures is a visually stunning open outdoor environment that encourages exploration and tactical variation. Shooting mechanics have been developed to reflect modern as well as historical hunting technology, so players relive the hunts complete with detail from specific time periods.
Under Cabela’s guidance, the firearms, tactics and gear in Cabela’s Legendary Adventures are as true to real life as a game will allow. The title will also include a large variety of additional hunts featuring over 30 species of other big game, small game, waterfowl, upland birds and turkey.
Cabela’s Legendary Adventures is scheduled for release in Fall 2008. For more information visit www.activision.com.
Petroglyph Studios: Upcoming MMOG Interview with Studio Co-Founder
by vipeness on May 11th, 2008
Over at the tentonhammer.com website, they have posted some news the Petroglyth Studios will be creating a MMO based Free to Play game. Check out some of tid bits below…
Ten Ton Hammer: To start, the announcement that Petroglyph Studios is making a MMO is fairly big news, especially since that game has a very good chance of being in the real time strategy genre. Is it safe to assume that you’re making is an MMORTS, or is it too soon to tell?
Joe Bostic: While the game we’re making does cater to thousands of simultaneous players, it is not a typical MMO. Our focus is on the action of gameplay, sharing challenges with friends, and working together to achieve a combined goal. We like staying away from the MMO moniker because it is very strongly associated with World of Warcraft, and dozens of other games like it. The game we’re focused on with True Games Interactive is a real-time, action-based game that will stand apart from the large crowd of similar titles all competing for the same players.
Ten Ton Hammer: Why did you opt to make a micro-transaction based game rather than follow the subscription based model?
Joe: For many people, a forced subscription equates to not even giving the game a chance, whether because they don’t have the means to pay a monthly fee, or they have a personal dislike for such a thing. It also means that you have to decide whether you’re going to play the game enough to warrant that fee every month. With a free-to-play micro-transaction system, you pay only what you want to pay, which is much friendlier to a lot of people out there.
To read more, head over to the TenTonHammer.com article now..
Blizzard Opens Digital Download Store
by misty on May 6th, 2008
Heres some good news for fans of Blizzard according to shacknews.com Warcraft and StarCraft developer Blizzard has begun offering direct downloads of select PC titles via a new portion of its online store. Although this is a working progress the beginning releases will catch plenty of peoples attention. At present, the store’s digital download section only contains three listings: the StarCraft Anthology, Warcraft III, and the WarCraft III Frozen Throne expansion.
Also to sweeten the deal owners of certain Blizzard efforts can now register their CD keys on the site to add the titles to their Blizzard Account and download them for free at any time, though Diablo II-related downloads are not yet ready.
A new beta lottery program is also available, allowing registered users to be automatically entered into a drawing for beta access. However, no public betas are known to be underway.
At present, the company is known to be working on StarCraft II as well as a title only referred to as "an unannounced Next-Gen MMO," which some speculate to be a new Diablo game.
A list of PC titles that can be registered and downloaded from the Blizzard Store follows, as well as a description of the beta lottery.
- Diablo II*
- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction*
- Diablo II Battlechest*
- StarCraft
- StarCraft Battlechest
- StarCraft Anthology
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Expansion Pack
*digital download coming soon
iRacing.com Enters Beta Test Phase: Web-based Racing Simulation Service Expected to Launch in June
by vipeness on May 5th, 2008
BEDFORD, MA (5 May 2008) — iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations co-principals John Henry and David Kaemmer today announced the transition from alpha to beta testing of the company’s new motorsport simulation and integrated internet racing service. The announcement marks the culmination of nearly four years of development work.
"For people who have been with us from the start, including the development team, testers and the racing enthusiasts anticipating our launch, it has been a long road," said Henry. "But the start of beta testing is an enormous milestone for us. Most importantly, for all those who have been so patient, it’s a sign that we’re nearly there. While we still have a lot of work to complete, we anticipate that beta will be measured in weeks rather than months."
Henry said that formal alpha testing of the service — which integrates new simulation software, web-based infrastructure and a professionally run sanctioning body — began a little more than a year ago, but testing of the concept began even before the company was formally incorporated in fall of 2004. "A core group of us had already started working on various aspects of the service, and in August of 2004 we recruited about 30 veteran simracers to help us test out our ideas and preliminary work. Given the complexity of this undertaking, it’s a testament to the quality of the people involved that we’ve made it to beta in less than four years."
Read more
About iRacing.com
iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, headquartered in Bedford, MA, was founded in September of 2004 by David Kaemmer, co-founder of Papyrus Racing Games, and John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. iRacing.com’s mission is to create the world’s most authentic, most sophisticated, most accurate PC-based racing simulations and advance a new branch of motorsport — known as internet racing — through globally sanctioned, real-time, online competition.
Crytek: No more PC exclusive titles due to piracy
by obsoletepower on May 2nd, 2008
Piracy hit new highs with the release of the PC shooter Crysis, Frankfurt, Germany-based developer Crytek told Next-Gen on Wednesday.
November’s Crysis sold 1 million copies worldwide as of February this year, but Crytek is nevertheless struck by how many illegitimate copies are circulating.
Crytek engine business manager Harald Seeley said that he could not reveal specific internal figures pertaining to piracy of Crysis, but he added, "I can say the level of piracy was the highest of any I’ve experienced on a project."
This week, Crytek president Cevat Yerli said that piracy was so bad on the PC-exclusive Crysis, that the studio would no longer be making PC-exclusive titles.
“I believe that’s the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy… PC gamers that pirate games inherently destroy the platform. Similar games on consoles sell factors of 4-5 more," he said in an interview with PC Play. "It was a big lesson for us and I believe we won’t have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore.”
The question is how to curb piracy. Certain initiatives are happening in the PC games industry that are aimed at combating the piracy issue, but neither Crytek nor the recently-formed multi-company PC Gaming Alliance are talking specifics.
When asked how PC developers are going to solve to piracy issue, or if digital distribution is the answer, Seeley said he couldn’t answer the question "due to various NDAs."
"…There are multiple possible solutions to the problem but I can’t discuss any of them at this time, or even guess when or if these solutions will become public."
PCGA president and Intel gaming director Randy Stude said in an e-mail regarding piracy of Crysis and piracy in general, "The PCGA is not yet prepared to make an official comment on PC game piracy. Over the next several months we will be determining our position on this important topic."
Source: Next-Gen.biz
Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend
by obsoletepower on May 1st, 2008
From May 2 - 4 play the FULL GAME for free!
1. Install Steam > 2. Create an account > 3. Play TF2 for free
Stand near the cart, it moves forward.
Move it past all the capture points to win.
Gold Rush is an entirely new level featuring a new gameplay style called Payload. The level is split into three separate areas with intermediate capture zones inside of each major chapter. The teams are split between offense (Blu) and defense (Red) similar to Dustbowl. The goal for the Blu team is to push the bomb payload through the level until it reaches the next capture point, eventually destroying all three of Red’s major bases. Blu pushes the cart through the level by standing near it, with the cart moving faster when more people are close by. If no one has pushed the cart forward after 30 seconds, the cart will begin to move backward until it is pushed forward again.
Gold Rush is a map that specifically focuses on pacing so that the player feels like they are part of an overall campaign by the team. Each member of the team needs to focus on both the overall goal of either stopping or advancing the payload and also deal with local threats. As the payload moves through the map both teams need to be able to adjust their strategy depending on what approach the other is taking. Gold Rush has been designed taking all nine classes and their abilities in Team Fortress 2 into account, which means there is a spot for everyone and their favorite class to be useful.
For long-time Team Fortress fans it should evoke feelings of both Dustbowl, in terms of layout and team goals, and Hunted, as it has a central objective that forces the battlefield to move through the map dynamically.
When you’ve acquired a new item, you’ll get a message like this one. You can then go to the loadout screens to equip your new stuff.
This update will also mark the beginning of the most significant change we’ll be making to Team Fortress 2 over the next year. Beginning first with the medic, players will be able to earn three unique items by earning some or all of the new Medic achievements coming in this update. These three unique items will allow players to have new choices as to how they play the class, as well as have a new impact and benefit to the team they play on. After this initial release we’ll be quickly adding unique items for the remaining eight classes.
For players that earn one third of the 36 new medic achievements, they will be given a new syringe gun, called “The Blutsauger”. This new weapon no longer has the ability to score critical hits against an opponent, instead it will draw health from enemies each time a syringe hits — making it especially useful as a weapon to retreat away from the fight while staying alive. Once a medic has earned two thirds of the achievements, they will be granted “The Kritzkrieg” This new medigun uses its Ubercharge not for invulnerability, but to give its recipient 100% chance to fire critical ordinance. Medics and the player they are charging need to be careful though, because as much fun as it is to fire critical rockets as fast as you can, the other team will see what you’re up to and try to put a quick stop to your plan.
For the determined medic that has earned all 36 of the new achievements, they will find themselves the proud owner of “The Ubersaw” which will take damage dealt through melee attacks and convert it directly to Ubercharge. Four hits with this new weapon will fully charge whatever medigun the Medic has equipped.
Source: Steampowered.com
GTA IV expected to sell 9 million copies at launch
by obsoletepower on April 28th, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s no Burger King tie-in or special flavor of Mountain Dew. No commercial directed by Peter Jackson, or even an action figure.
The run-up to "Grand Theft Auto IV" has been considerably less ballyhooed than last year’s over-the-top "Halo 3" debut. Yet when "GTA IV" parks on store shelves on April 29, the latest entry in the controversial video game franchise could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history — and one that many people may not even know about.
Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games’ open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year’s record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios’ first-person shooter "Halo 3" — and without a similar marketing bonanza.
With the launch of "GTA IV" on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is seemingly steering in one direction: the downlow.
"Rockstar wants to control the message all the time," says Sam Kennedy, editorial director for the gaming site 1UP.com. "They want this to be seen and perceived exactly the way they want. That’s why — outside of the official trailers they released — people haven’t seen a lot of gameplay footage in advance of ‘GTA IV’ shipping. They want to build that hype."
Take-Two and Rockstar declined to comment for this story, but following a 90-minute demonstration of the game in January, "GTA IV" writer and Rockstar vice president Dan Houser told The Associated Press that the infamous game developer, who’s also responsible for the "Manhunt" and "Bully" games, was being overly protective for one very important reason.
"We want people to be really excited and not know everything by the time they play the game," said Houser. "Of course, we want them to understand what they’re buying, but we want there to be surprises along the way."
The desire for intel about "GTA IV" has been mounting since the game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006 and again in August when Take-Two revealed "GTA IV" would be delayed until 2008. Other than four popular online trailers and some embargoed press previews, there hasn’t been much information.
The silent treatment is a savvy business move, according to Steve Fowler, vice president of strategy for the Ayzenberg Group, a company that specializes in interactive entertainment advertising and marketing. Fowler worked as a product manager on the original "Halo."
"’Halo 3′ took the approach of going after a less core consumer, but they had an ulterior motive," says Fowler. "Microsoft was using ‘Halo 3,’ their biggest property, to try and sell more Xbox 360s. Take-Two and Rockstar are free of that constriction because ‘GTA IV’ is on both platforms, so they’re only motivated to be true to what their game is and sell copies of their game."
Thus far, Rockstar’s advertising campaign has consisted of several outdoor elements — billboards, bus wraps, building murals, phony wanted posters — spread across North America and Europe as well as a few viral videos featuring satirical commercials for fictitious "GTA" businesses posted online. GameStop and Microsoft have also aired their own TV commercials featuring the game.
The less-is-more approach might also have something to do with the controversial series’ M-rated content. "GTA IV" anti-hero Niko Bellic, an imigrant-turned-gangster from Eastern Europe, isn’t exactly one of the Mario Brothers. As Bellic, players can hijack cars, earn cash for criminal activities, flee from police, drive drunk, kill innocent bystanders and patronize strip clubs.
"If you look at their marketing, that’s not a selling point at all," says Fowler. "They’ve gone with this comic book look and feel. It’s not about graphic violence. It’s not about profanity. It’s more about the feeling, expression and the emotional attachment to the characters and the world."
The drama extends beyond Liberty City, the game’s fictional locale, and into the real world. Video game publisher Take-Two, which owns Rockstar, has been subject to a hostile takeover bid from Electronic Arts since February. Take-Two has been holding out, refusing to enter formal talks with EA or any other suitor until April 30, the day after "GTA IV" goes on sale.
Huge first-day "GTA IV" sales could certainly boost the value of Take-Two’s shares. The lack of a "Halo 3"-sized advertising campaign isn’t expected to affect sales, according to video game analysts. Unlike the Xbox 360-exclusive "Halo 3," the ninth "GTA" game is being simultaneously released for Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles, a first for the 10-year-old gaming franchise.
"The addressable market at launch is about 24 million consoles," says Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "So how many will sell in the first week or month or few months? Nine million. That’s the number. That’s about a 35 percent attach rate. By year’s end, it’ll be somewhere between 11 and 13 million because more consoles will be sold before the holidays."
By comparison, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End," which had the highest grossing film debut in 2007, fleeced $404 million in its first six days around the world. However, a movie ticket is significantly less than the $59.99 price tag for "GTA IV." And software sales are usually less concerned with opening week figures, according to Pachter.
"Opening week doesn’t have any bearing on lifetime sales," says Pachter. "With box office, three to five times opening weekend sales is what movies usually do. Games can slip under the radar and be slow and steady sellers like ‘Wii Fit’ will be or highly anticipated like ‘GTA IV’ and literally sell half of their lifetime units in the first week."
Such sales would beat the record held by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the previous "GTA" console game that sold over 9 million copies when it was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. To meet the demand, retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy are opening their doors at midnight for special "GTA IV" launch events.
"I would expect April to be a monster sales month for the video game industry, one that is likely to break all sorts of previous records," says Anita Frazier, video game analyst for NPD Group. "We release our April sales data on May 15, and I get goosebumps thinking of the numbers we’ll see on that day."
Team Fortress 2 Goldrush
by obsoletepower on April 27th, 2008
New Map. New Gameplay. New Medic Achievements & Milestones
Goldrush is an entirely new level featuring a new gameplay style called Payload.
The level is split into three separate areas with capture zones inside of each major chapter. The teams are split between offense (blu) and defense (red) similar to dustbowl.
The goal for the blu team is to push the bomb payload throught the level until it reaches the next capture point, eventually destroying all three of the red teams major bases. Blu pushes the level by standing near it, and the cart will move faster the more people standing near it, which is a concept familiar to anyone who plays team based multiplayer games. If no one has pushed the cart forward after 30 seconds, the cart will begin to move backward until it is pushed forward again. This makes for some very concentrated and hectic exchanges indeed.
Goldrush is a map specifically focused on pacing, so the player feels like they are part of an overall team focus instead of being a lone wolf. Each member of the team naturally has to focus on both the overall goal of either advancing or stopping the payload, but also on the local threats, like that heavy backed up by a medic. Goldrush has been designed taking all nine classes into account, which means there is truly a place for everyone and their favorite class to be useful.
New Unique Item System
This update will also mark the beginning of the most significant change Vavle will be making to TF2 over the next year, beginning first with the Medic class. Players will be able to earn three unique items by earning some or all of the new medic achievements coming in this update. These new items will give the player new choices to how the play the medic class itself, as well as have a new impact and benefit to the rest of the team. I am sure many are curious, and Valve states that after this initial release they will quickly be adding unique items for the remaining eight classes.
Players earning one-third of the new medic achievements will be given a new syringe gun called “The Blutauger.” This new weapon will no longer be able to score critical hits against an opponent, instead it will draw health from enemies each time a syringe hits. It is especially helpful when used as a weapon to retreat away from the fight while staying alive.
Players earning two-thirds of the achievement will be granted “The Critzcrieg.” This new medigun uses it’s ubercharge not for invulnerability, but to give it’s recipient 100% chance to fire critical ordinance. Medics and the player they are charging need to be careful however because as much fun as it is to fire critical rockets as fast as you can, the other team will see what you are up to and try to put and quick stop to your plan.
The determined players who earn all 36 of the achievements will find themselves the proud owner of “The Ubersaw,” which takes damage done in melee attacks and converts it directly to Ubercharge. Four hits with this new weapon will fully charge whatever Medigun the Medic has equipped.
When you acquire a new item, you will get a screen indicating which new item you have received. You can then go to the loadout screen to equip your new stuff.
The update will be released this Tuesday, April 29th.
So load up Steam on Tuesday, and make sure to get this free update for the PC version of TF 2.
When asked about the console versions, Valve was unable to give us a solid release date, but said they did plan on releasing this update as soon as they possibly could.