Settled Lands Made Virgin Once More Wed, 12 July 2006
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| source: Gamer's Hell | thanks: The little smurf-like guys
The Settlers 2: The Next Generation Demo
 How's the serenity?
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Settlers 2, Blue-Byte are releasing a remake of the classic medieval city management game. Due for release in third quarter of this year, Settlers 2: The Next Generation includes a plethora of refinements to bring the game up to the level of modern standards, including multiplayer functions, improved graphics and a streamlined UI.
We've made numerous enhancements and improvements compared with the original version of 1996 to transport the world of the Settlers into the 21st century and bring the game up to the state of the art. The following list contains some of the most important changes we've made to the "Settlers II 10th Anniversary" so that you'll have even more fun playing The Settlers:
• 3D Graphics
The game graphics have been updated using the latest technology. All of the in-game elements in "Settlers II 10th Anniversary" – environments, buildings, settlers, trees, mountains, etc. – were created and integrated using an all-new game engine. You have three nations to choose from – Romans, Nubians and Chinese – and each nation has its own special buildings. In addition, everything is zoomable and viewable from any camera position.
• Improved User Interface
In this version of the game, we've integrated a number of helpful functions which improve the game comfort appreciably. One example of this is the visible screen, which can now be moved directly with the mouse, allowing far more comfortable navigation through the game. In addition, many game elements (for example settlers, buildings, menus, symbols in the Building Selection Menu) have context-sensitive help in the form of dialog boxes containing important information and tips which appear when you hover the mouse over the respective element
• Multiplayer (Disabled in this version)
The classic version of "The Settlers II" already supported two players, but only on the same PC with a second mouse and in split-screen mode. Here too, we've integrated current technology into the game, and The Settlers II 10th Anniversary" has a Multiplayer mode which supports up to six players on different computers. Depending on their equipment, opponents can play against each other either via LAN or Internet.
- GamersHell.com
For those interested in seeing for themselves what changes a decade's worth of refinement can bring to this classic, Ubisoft have released a single-player English language demo. Weighing in at 229MB, the demo includes both a set of tutorials and a demo map on which you can play as the Roman civilisation for one hour. The multiplayer modes have been disabled for the demo.
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EVE TV Goes Live Wed, 19 July 2006
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| source:
EVE Online | thanks:
Douglas Adams
EVE Online starts broadcasting live
 Space is big... , the remarkably popular space MMORPG which puts all of its players on a single server, has recently launched yet another new service. EVE TV covers in-game events via live streaming, with commentary and analysis from PVP experts, and interviews with developers and GMs.
A schedule of upcoming events details when to tune in, and also lists various mirrors across the world.
EVE Online remains one of the most consistently active MMOs, showing great resilience in the face of a market fast approaching saturation point (if it hasn't already arrived). When first released it was praised as one of the most beautiful games of all time (PC PowerPlay gave it a score of 89% and named it a "Game of High Distinction") and nothing has changed in that regard. With a massive player-driven economy, and every player in a single instance, the EVE community is unparalleled in its breadth, depth and robustness.
And just in case a dedicated TV stream isn't enough to fill your craving for EVE, there's also a sleek print magazine and the recently announced collectible card game.
All we need now is EVE-Online: The Flamethrower.
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Lara and 47 Reap Profits for SCi Tue, 18 July 2006
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| source: GamesIndustry.biz | thanks: company buyouts?
British publisher surpasses market expectations
 Picking off the competition
SCi Entertainment Group has released a trading update that reveals a very strong year for the publisher.
Since acquiring Eidos in 2005, SCi has gone from strenth to strength and taken its intellectual property with it. According to the trading update, Tomb Raider Legend sold 2.9 million copies in the three months following its release in April, with Nintendo DS, GBA and Gamecube versions still to come. Meanwhile, Hitman Blood Money sold 1.5 million copies in five weeks since its May release. The sales of both exceeded SCi's expectations. The publisher also congratulates itself on LEGO Star Wars, which has sold over 3.5 million copies to date.
All those sales have resulted in an expected trading profit of 25 million pounds (around AU$61 million) for the last financial year, and a cash piggy bank of 30 million pounds (AU$73 million), double the market expectation.
SCi isn't resting on its laurels either, with nineteen new products due for release in 2007, including the 10th anniversary edition of Tomb Raider, Reservoir Dogs ( or not) and Just Cause. When compared to just nine new releases in 2006, the future for SCi/Eidos is looking much brighter than it was a year ago.
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Fortresses Are Forever Tue, 18 July 2006
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| source: Fortress Forever | thanks: to TF clones
Team Fortress goes to the Source
 Jump around!
Team Fortress clones are a dime a dozen, undoubtedly a testament to the popularity of the fast, furious and - most importantly - fun gameplay delivered by the class-based mod. As a youth, I wasted countless hours playing Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life, back in an era when you either played Team Fortress Classic or Counter Strike - you HAD to pick a side. Before the word "noob" was bandied about by complete and utter tossers. Back when "Steam" was the vapour phase of water, not a content delivery system. Ah, the memories.
Fans craving some old school Team Fortress Classic action before the release of Team Fortress 2 should look no further than Fortress Forever. Long-time Fortress Forever observers will be aware that the mod has been shaping up as an incredibly faithful Team Fortress Classic tribute, and if their latest news post is any indication, we may be playing the mod sometime next month. Well... maybe.
Lastly, today we finished our third coordinated playtest in three weeks. What does this all mean, you might ask? It means we're on track to have a working Fortress Forever beta version ready during the first week of August (yes, August 2006). From that point on, all FF changes will be tweaks based on playtesting, bug fixes, minor model-related updates, additional maps, etc. More news to come on that later!
- Fortress Forever website
Watch out noobs, I'll be the first in line for some Fortress Forever pwnage! Oh wait... did I just call someone a "noob"?
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The Zidane Headbutt Game Tue, 18 July 2006
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| source: Addicting Games | thanks: bored programmers
Live out your World Cup dreams
 It's what the game's all about
You can always rely on the internet. Immediately after Zinedine Zidane's career ended in red, talented coders and graphics artists the world over started work on parodies. The Zidane Headbutt Game is one result. The aim is to get as many red cards as possible by repeatedly headbutting that smack-talking Materazzi character before the time runs out. More red cards are awarded for direct headshots.
Okay, so it's kinda crappy, but it's another example of this amazing thing we call the interweb. I'm sure there's a PhD student frantically working the Zidane parody phenomenon into their comm tech thesis right now.
The Sydney Morning Herald MashUp Blog has a nice collection of send-ups made by anonymous talents, including a NES version and a better flash game where the goal is to headbutt Materazzi as far as possible. Hopefully there will be a version that lets us play as Ronaldo, in which we have to take a dive at just the right moment. It will be the most realistic soccer simulation ever.
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