Week of December 17, 2006


Game Patches
December 23, 1:53 PM

Another round of game patches have been released:

  • The Sims 2: Pets

  • Desert Law [German patch]

  • Panzer Elite Action

  • Sprint Cars: Road to Knoxville

  • Silverfall [French patch]

  • For Liberty!

  • Anno 1701 A.D.




  • BioShock Website Goes Live
    December 22, 5:10 PM

    The official worldwide website for BioShock, 2K's highly anticipated and award-winning innovative first person shooter, is now active at http://www.BioShockGame.com.

    Among its many offerings, www.BioShockGame.com is the destination for exclusive screenshots, high-definition videos and trailers, news, information from the developers, and discussion about BioShock. The BioShock global website also provides content in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

    In development at Irrational Games, a wholly owned 2K Studio, BioShock is slated to ship exclusively Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows, the new brand optimized for Windows XP and Windows Vista.




    Resistance: Fall of Man Patch Released
    December 22, 5:01 PM

    Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate, SCEA and Insomniac Games has released the first update to Resistance: Fall of Man. Below are additional details. For more information on the patch notes, visit the Online Play forum on http://www.myresistance.net

    Ranked Games:

  • Map size determined by the number of players in the game
  • All maps available for ranked games
  • Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
  • Time limits added for all game types that were missing them

    General:
  • Added a game option to allow "map voting", which will allow players in a custom game to vote on a new map from the results screen
  • Expanded tactical element of squads. In objective based team games (CTF, Meltdown, Breach), players will be able to select to spawn near their squad as well as all the previously available spawn points. Additionally, squad members will be displayed different on the map/radar so that you will be able to find them easier
  • We've improved the spawning algorithm to prioritize spawn points that are away from enemies and near teammates and squadmates
  • Wins/Losses are now displayed on the character sheet
  • We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer you the chance to customize your character as you see fit, and we don't want people to be at a disadvantage because they didn't pick any one particular skin. Never fear, the skeleton may make a return at some later date, in some form or other.

    Balance
  • Chimeran rage damage multiplier has been reduced.
  • Chimera at max heat will now only lose health until they are at 50% health instead of going all the way down to 1% health.
  • Humans will now spawn with 1 frag grenade as well as the M5A2 Carbine
  • Enemies will now show up on the Human map/radar if they are within radar range of ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM and only in the following circumstances: They are sprinting or in rage mode, they are firing/attacking, they are jumping, or they are within range of node radar (Breach)
  • Most weapon damage values have been tweaked in the interest of balance. In general, weapons have been tweaked to deal slightly less damage.

    Voice Chat
  • Voice chat is now “push-to-talk” by default in team games as well as free-for-all games. The standard button is L3 and it can be remapped. Open mic is active only for squad chat when you choose to join a named squad. In that case you still use the push-to-talk button to broadcast to your entire team. Other places where open mic is active are when observing in a limited lives game and when you are in a party
  • There is now an indicator in the lower right hand corner to let you know when you are transmitting on the microphone




  • Latest Round of Game Reviews
    December 19, 10:05 PM

    As we head ever closer to the holidays, we here at GPM are doing our best to pump out as many reviews as possible. This week we have ten reviews, with Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin being the highlight.

  • WWE! Smackdown vs. RAW 2007 for the Xbox 360

  • Rainbow Six: Vegas for the Xbox 360

  • Call of Duty 3 for the Xbox 360

  • Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS

  • Gothic 3 for the PC

  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the GameCube

  • Eragon for the PlayStation 2

  • Eragon for the Xbox

  • Call of Duty 3 for the PlayStation 3

  • Tony Hawk's Project 8 for the PlayStation 3