Week of August 27, 2006

DreamCatcher Games today announced that it is accepting applications for the Public Beta Test of its highly anticipated futuristic 3D RTS game, Genesis Rising: The Universal Crusade. The application process will begin on Thursday, August 31st at 12:00pm EST and will close on Friday, September 8th at 12:00pm EST.

Testers will be selected based on a variety of criteria which will also include their system specifications. Minimum system requirements to participate in the Beta Test are as follows:

OS: Windows® 98/2000/ME/XP

CPU: 1.5 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD® Athlon™

RAM: 512 MB

Disk Space: 2 GB

Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® 4 Ti 4200, ATI® Radeon® 9500 (or Better)

Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c Compatible

DirectX®: 9.0c or Higher

CD/DVD-ROM: 8x or Higher

Internet: 56 Kbps or Faster Internet Connection (High Speed Is Strongly Recommended)

Local Network: TCP/IP Compliant LAN

Other: Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers

Space fans can complete a Beta Test application at: http://www.genesisrisinggame.com/betatest

Set in a mysterious future universe where organic machines are built using genetic engineering, players in Genesis Rising: The Universal Crusade will take on the role of Captain Iconah, a battle-hardened fleet commander and a brilliant genetic designer. 3000 years after what humans believe was the arrival of “the savior”, there is only one part of the Universe that remains unconquered – it is the galaxy where the Universal Heart, an enigmatic entity that spawned all life and matter into the universe, is hidden. At least, that's what the humans believe…

Shack News has a speculative article where they quote "sources" saying that the Duke Nukem Forever project is essentially doomed.

Shacknews has learned from numerous reputable sources close to the game's development that, since approximately the end of 2005, 3D Realms has had something of an employee exodus. Apparently, up to ten major team members have left the company, with multiple departures having occurred as recently as within the past few days.

Developers confirmed to have left 3D Realms since last December include Scott Alden, Will Bate, Brian Cozzens, Kyle Davis, Andy Hanson, Keith Schuler, and Charlie Wiederhold. Some of the former employees headed up crucial game systems such as physics, animation, and rendering. Notably, Schuler is a sixteen year veteran of Apogee and 3D Realms. Our sources indicate that while the game's team has reached a size of about 24-28 developers, recently it has been closer to 18, meaning these current departures may actually comprise a majority of the team. Several sources have indicated that further information regarding these matters is expected next week.

However, a recent post over on the 3D Realms forums says otherwise:

There's honestly nothing to be concerned about. People leave. People come. There's staff on the project you don't know about. You know some, you don't know most. There's truly nothing to worry about. I know from your end it would seem bad, and if I wasn't still working here and knew more, I'd probably feel the same way.

I'm not worried about my paycheck.

It's internal business - all employee departures and comings have always been that way. This is nothing new. People have left before, IT IS THE NATURE OF THIS BUSINESS. It's the way it goes.

I'm sure people will spin my remarks by saying "He's the company guy, he's gonna say that stuff", but I was out to dinner with George and some other guys tonight, and listening to them, I'm not worried in the least.

You shouldn't be either.

As usual, we truly may never really know what's going on over there. Stay tuned for more breaking news.

KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that SAMURAI WARRIORS®2 has reached gold status and is ready for production. The Tactical Action game is scheduled to ship to North American retailers on September 19, 2006 for the Xbox 360(tm) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Consumers can still preorder the title at gamestop.com, ebgames.com, amazon.com and toysrus.com.

Atlus sends word that their website for Rule of Rose is now live, featuring info on the storyline, characters, a developer interview, a movie, and more. Here's the link, and a bit about the game:

Set in 1930’s England, the game tells the story of Jennifer, a girl who wanders into a world ruled by misguided children. Again and again, she is subjected to cruel treatment by her innocent-looking captors. How did she end up in this fairytale-like world with no adults to maintain order? It’s up to you to unravel the mystery. This is an adventure game in which the truth must be revealed by solving puzzles and connecting the clues.

Rule of Rose was developed in Japan by Punchline and Shirogumi and published in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., Rule of Rose will ship to North American retailers on September 12, 2006. Rule of Rose is rated M by the ESRB for Blood, Intense Violence and Suggestive Themes and is exclusively available for PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that Xenosaga® EPISODE III: Also sprach Zarathustra, the final chapter in its epic RPG series, for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system has shipped, hitting retailers nationwide today. Fans of the series will rejoice as Shion and the crew are back in this final and exciting chapter of the Xenosaga® trilogy as they uncover the future of mankind in a journey to unveil the Gnosis phenomenon and save the galaxy.

"We are thrilled to have Xenosaga III ship to retailers today as this final chapter reveals and answers everything the fans have been dying to know since the release of the first game. Xenosaga III takes ‘epic’ to a whole new level with its grand-scale and engrossing storyline and the speedy, action-packed battle system,” Yoshi Niki, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.’s Product Group Director said.

The story of Xenosaga III starts a year after Xenosaga II ended. Shion has resigned from Vector Industries after learning that the company is deeply connected to the Gnosis phenomenon. She instead joins forces with Scientia, an underground organization working to unveil Vector’s secrets. Uncover the truth and save mankind in the exciting finale of the Xenosaga series as it launches onto store shelves today.

Xenosaga III's final engrossing chapter boasts more than three hours of movies, an updated battle system and an improved customization feature with more in-depth character specialization and diversification. This must-have RPG will also include an easily accessible database feature, the “Xeno Bible” and a mini-game with more than 50 levels that will challenge both you and your friends.

2K Games sent out ten new images of The Darkness, a first-person horror action game from Starbreeze. The game is due out in 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Buckle up and prepare to unleash automotive anarchy in the ultimate burner’s paradise. Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that Burnout™ 5 is in development for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360™ video game system from Microsoft®.

Burnout 5 gives players license to wreak havoc in Paradise City, the ultimate seamless racing battleground, with a massive infrastructure of traffic-heavy roads to abuse. Gone is the need to jump in and out of menus and aimlessly search for fun like many open world games; in Burnout 5, every inch of the world is built to deliver heart-stopping Burnout-style gameplay. Every intersection is a potential crash junction and every alleyway is an opportunity to rack up moving violations.

Of course, rules are made to be broken, and when gamers enter Paradise City, they’re assigned a Drivers License that quickly begins to amass a record of player’s most aggressive, reckless and destructive exploits behind the wheel. But it’s not the law that’s eyeing player’s progress … when gamers push things too hard they’ll be squaring off against the city’s most infamous burners, and these legends aren’t interested in who crosses the finish line first.

“Burnout 5 is a complete reinvention of the series, built from the ground up for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,” said Alex Ward, director of game design at Criterion Games. “To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game, from top to bottom.”

Burnout 5 also delivers the next level of speed and destruction, with brand new next-generation technology allowing gamers to literally rip their cars in half, in the most explosive pile-ups in the series’ history.

Burnout 5 will ship in 2007 under the EA™ brand and was developed by Criterion Games in Guildford, UK.

Game developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (CME), and Epic Games today announced a license agreement in which CME will use Epic’s Unreal® Engine 3 technology for the development of the upcoming, highly anticipated Stargate Worlds and future multi-platform games.

Based on the popular science fiction television series “Stargate: SG-1” and “Stargate Atlantis,” Stargate Worlds is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) which is scheduled to launch in late 2007.

Prison Server, an online RPG game from Spain, has announced they are ready to release the english version of the game

We are pleased to announce the pre-launch website of PrisonServer: The Online Prison. An online, persistent and multiplayer RPG game made in Spain that is about to open its localized English PrisonServers. The game is already running since 2003 in Spanish language, receiving updates and patches since then, while building a groovy Spanish community.

The URL is http://www.prisonserver.co.uk (where you can find a little bitmore about the game).

Our main entrance is http://www.prisonserver.com (from there you select your language, and you can see our full, Spanish site in action). Please note that the Spanish and English server are completely set apart systems,game accounts, etc. We'll allow English only on prisonserver.co.uk.

We invite you to watch the game in action on video or screenshots, then apply for a free account and pre-download the game client to be ready to start once we launch the International, English Servers!

Get ready for amazing social fun on a different, Spanish game, now available for all players worldwide in English.