A new version of Fraps has been released (2.5.1). Fraps is video capture software that allows you to record in-game footage (both video and audio) under Windows.

Changelog

2.5.1 - 29th Dec 2004
- Fixed crash with Windows Movie Maker
- Additional optimizations for better video playback on low-end systems

2.5.0 - 10th Dec 2004
- Added 40 fps, 50 fps, and 60 fps video capture options
- Added HDTV 1280x720 widescreen resolution support
- Additional lossless compression generates smaller video files
- Improved capture performance on native PCI-Express systems
- Improved load balancing on Hyperthreading and dual core CPUs
- Increased maximum full size video capture resolution to 1152x864
- Added white overlay flash when screen capture performed
- Added option to automatically repeat screen capture every x seconds
- Added View Benchmarks, View Movies, and View Screenshots options to systray
- Detailed benchmark statistics can now be individually selected

Download from the official Fraps website (683k)

Discussion >>

New Nvidia Forceware drivers have been leaked (Nvidia's last beta being 67.02)

You wanted them and we have them for you. After the disappointment that was 71.21 hopefully you will find these much better. I don't know though, but I should have these drivers myself before midnight. So let me know how these drivers go! The 71.22 had all kinds of problems with Counter-strike: Source (as well as other applications) so I didn't even bother to post them - lets hope these will do the trick as I am pretty sure that they will be the last release of the year.

The drivers are obviously beta, so use them at your own risk - not to scare you off or anything like that, as these should be a nice release really.

Download them from OSNN (22.8 Mb)

Discussion >>

We have all heard the talk of in-game advertisements coming (well actually they are already here, just not in-your-face) But thanks to EA we may not have to wait as long as once expected to see a pair of Nike or Adidas in the latest installement of our favourite games.

We all know the evils of advertising are slowing snaking their way onto video and computer games. And is it little wonder that leading the charge is none other than Electronic Arts. Sure, Activision penned the deal with Nielsen to develop a standard to measure the impact of in-game ad exposure, but EA is already waist deep in, in-game ad sales. You couldn’t help but notice that in Need for Speed Underground 2, where the most noticeable thing about the game was the product placement. The Montley Fool counted a half-dozen Burger Kings and Best Buys as they drove through the virtual city.

Full story over at Kotaku

Discussion >>

Valve have posted a simple message on their official forums that Day of Defeat: Source will be released as a standalone Steam purchase - purchasing HL2 will not be required to play, though DoD:Source will also be included in the Silver or Gold HL2 packs.

There is no mention of the retail version in the post:

You will be able to purchase DoD:Source through Steam without purchasing a new copy of HL2. Release date and pricing have not been set yet.

Original thread

More on Filefront.com

Thanks to Greg for the link
Discussion >>

Oblivion-Lost.com has 16 new multi-player videos of the game available now:

To cap our post-Christmas/pre-New Year present, you can download an exclusive package by us containing 16 short videos which show some multi-player action from the ”Intel-Samsung Fair”. Highlights are two all-new features, namely “leaning” and “sprinting”. The package is 81 MB in size, the videos altogether 6:13 minutes long and requires WinRar for extraction.

Download the video pack here

Link via GamersHell

More info:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Official website
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year from GSC GameWorld
S.T.A.L.K.E.R release delayed until May 2005 (posted 2 Nov)
Discussion >>

A playable demo is now available for Silent Hill 4: The Room.
The 4th of installment in this first-person/third-person/horror/survival series was released in September.

Henry Townshend finds himself trapped in his apartment that has been cursed by a deeply rooted evil. Only by exploring mysterious portals leading to disturbing alternate worlds will Henry begin to uncover the truth. However, in true Silent Hill fashion, mysterious new characters, horrendous creatures, and the undead will use any means necessary to impede his progress. Silent Hill 4: The Room features a terrifying experience that fans and newcomers will never forget.

Download the demo on 3dgamers ( 498 MB)

More info:
Official site for Silent Hill 4
Discussion >>

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the IGNIQ team, to wish all our members a Merry Christmas and everything they would wish for themselves in 2005.
Discussion >>

After careful consideration of the best offerings from 2004 and input from IGNIQ members, IGNIQ's first "Game of the Year" award goes to Valve's Half Life 2.

This is not based on their content delivery or anything to do with Steam and all of the problems and heartache it seems to pour out.

IGNIQ's "Game of the Year" award is decided on the constant requirement for all great games - pure entertainment value.

All genres are included in our consideration, but it boils down in the end to what game was (in our opinion) the single most fun game you could buy for your hard-earned money over the year.

Half Life 2 has surpassed all games in contention: Far Cry, Doom 3, Warhammer 40,000, Prince of Persia 2 - Warrior Within; and has came out as the single most entertaining and enjoyable game that's been released in 2004.

Watch out for our collective review of Half-Life 2 in the near future.

Half Life 2's Official website
Download the demo from ATI (769.2 Mb)
Discussion >>

Gamespot have chosen World of Warcraft as their top game of 2004, from a list that included Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Rome: Total War and GTA: San Andreas:

World of Warcraft somehow manages to appeal to us despite our different personal interests and different backgrounds as game players. It's the sort of game that appeals to those of us who love to spend our weekends hunkered down, playing games nonstop for hours on end, as well as to those of us who want to take a break from a busy week with a quick, casual playing session.

Read on

The annual awards section on Gamespot also includes a Readers Choice award, which you can vote in here (winners announced in January).

More info:
Happy Holidays from the World of Warcraft Team!
Gamespot: Best and Worst of 2004
Gamespot Awards: Dubious Honours
Slashdot | World of Warcraft Gamespot GOTY 2004
Discussion >>

In another move by Valve to protect their software, Erik Johnson (of Valve) has announced that 30,000 more Steam accounts have been disabled apparently as many more people are trying to illegally play the game through Steam.

Today Valve disabled more than 30,000 Steam accounts which had been used to try to illegally gain access to Valve games without a valid purchase.

Valve takes such activities seriously and reserves the right to disable Steam accounts engaging in piracy, cheating, illegal activities, or any other activity in violation of the Steam Subscriber Agreement. The accounts that are disabled today will not be reactivated.

Read the steampowered thread here
Steam Ban For HL2 Pirates

Discussion >>

Planet Doom points to the January issue of Game Informer, that will carry new details about Resurrection of Evil:

Here are some bits of info grabbed from it but be warned there may be a spoiler or two:

-RoE takes place two years after the events in DOOM 3
-You play as a different marine this time around
-Sent to assist Dr. Elizabeth McNeal in investigating a strange beacon on the planet
-Betruger sends three demonic hunters after you when you discover a weapon known as the "Artifact"
-When you defeat each hunter, their abilities are transferred into the Artifact
-The abilities resemble, berseker, slow-mo and invulnerability and are all "stackable"
-Roughly one half to two thirds as long as DOOM 3
-Having the story revolve around two characters may bode well for co-op

Planet Doom post

Link via GamersHell.com

More info:
Game Informer magazine
DOOM Movie Details (12 Dec)
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Announced (25 Oct)
Discussion >>

An playable PC demo is available now for Ford Racing 3, which was released on 29 Oct:

Ford is without doubt one of the biggest brands in the world, with one of the most famous product ranges ever.

Ford Racing 3 takes this amazing range of vehicles, from the Model T Ford through to the latest concepts, and pits them against a huge variety of courses, cars and challenges.

The demo includes two laps of a quick race track in a random car.

Download on GamersHell.com (35.36MB)

More info:
Ford Racing 3 official site
Empire Interactive (Developer/publisher)
Discussion >>

5 new screens have been released for Chaos Theory, which will be hitting the store shelves for PS2, XBox and PC in March 2005.

Getting ready to rest and relax over the holidays? Not Sam Fisher – he's embarking on a new mission to salvage world peace in the face of his most nefarious foes ever. Gamers worldwide will get to experience Sam's latest series of objectives – along with groundbreaking co-op and versus multiplayer modes – in March 2005.

Check out the screens here
Official Website here

At long last the much anticipated patch has been released for Bloodlines. The games release sprang a wealth of good reviews and in general was well received by critics, but general bugs kept it from attaining higher merit.

Seamlessly combining role playing with intense first-person action combat, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines allows players to become a dangerous creature of the night as they assume the role of a recently embraced fledgling vampire in the service of the city's dark prince.

Download the patch from 3dgamers (15.2 Mb)
Official Website

Discussion >>

The fantasy MMORPG hits 100,000 registered players after just 8 weeks:

Planetwide Games (http://www.PlanetwideGames.com) announces that its game “Risk Your Life” – the 1st Fantasy Player vs. Player (PVP) MMORPG has just passed the 100,000 North American registered player milestone. Risk Your Life is the one of the hottest MMORPG’s to be released in the video game industry in a very long time, with over 1.2 million players worldwide.

Read the press release

RYL is expected for release in the first quarter of 2005.

Check here for trailers and to download the RYL open beta.

More info:
PlanetWide Games
RYL Sanctuary - Fan site
IGNIQ Review: Risk Your Life Beta (4 out of 5)
Risk Your Life Info List
Discussion >>

Gamespy has announced the 2004 PC Game Of The Year, and unsurprising it is Valve's Half Life 2.

PC Game of the Year
Half-Life 2

PC Top 10 Games of the Year
1. Half-Life 2
2. World of Warcraft
3. Unreal Tournament 2004
4. The Sims 2
5. Rome: Total War
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
8. City of Heroes
9. Far Cry
10. Sid Meier's Pirates!

Check out the full artical over at gamespot
Download the new demo for Half Life 2 from ATI (769.2 Mb)

Discussion >>

Radical Ent. games developers are currently working on a PS2 title featuring "The Hulk", with an expected release date within the 3rd quarter of 2005.

No details have been released on the game's plot, but we do know that it is being written by Hulk and Spider-Man comic book scribe Paul Jenkins. It is unclear at this time whether this title is a direct sequel to The Hulk, which was also developed by Radical and published by VU.

Full story over at gamespot

Discussion >>

Valve, in partnership with ATI, have released the official demo for Half-Life 2.

Steam is required to install:

[...] the demo takes players through some of the early levels of the game and later transports them to the area of the game known as Ravenholm.

Download on ATI.com

More info:
H A L F - L I F E 2 .com
IGNIQ Questions for Doug Lombardi
Half-Life 2 Poll - How do you rate it?
Discussion >>

Electronic Arts have released the first official trailer (featuring a digitized Marlon Brando) for the game based on the classic Francis Ford Coppola movie.

The game is expected for release in Autumn 2005.

Download the trailer here

More info:
Electronic Arts to offer Godfather
Discussion >>

Congratulations to the winners of our Risk Your Life CD Giveaway; everyone who entered has been sent a notification email whether they won or not.

Keep an eye on the front page in the new year for more giveaways and competitions.
Discussion >>

A demo of this real time strategy sequel is now available for free download over on Gamespot:

... the 89MB demo lets gamers try out a battle as either the Axis or Allies in the Ardennes offensive. Molotov-like diplomacy and crafty economic maneuvering are just as important as blazing blitzkriegs in the title's cerebral gameplay. The full version of Hearts of Iron 2 is scheduled for release on January 4 in the US and sometime in February in Europe.

Download here (89MB | free reg. req.)

More info:
Official site for Hearts of Iron
Paradox Entertainment developers
Discussion >>

The developers of the multiplayer online game Anarchy Online, Funcom, have decided to try new business models for it, and are now offering the game for free.

Any new accounts for Anarchy Online created before 15 Jan 2005 will have full, free access to the game until 2006, though this doesn't apply to expansion packs for the game:

"We feel very confident in the unique features and heralded qualities of our game, and are now openly inviting everyone playing MMO’s to find out what Anarchy Online is all about, completely free of commitment" said Ole Schreiner, Project Director for Anarchy Online. "Not only can we boast of a fantastic game which has been expanding for years, we are also constantly adding exciting new content, progressively making the ultimate sci-fi MMORPG even better."

More from the press release

Download and play Anarchy Online here

More info:
Anarchy Online tries free model
Anarchy Online
Funcom.com
Discussion >>

A patch has been released for the expansion to Call of Duty, United Offensive bringing the game up to version 1.51.

Download the patch from 3dgamers (116 Mb)
Official Website here

Discussion >>

Valve have released de_prodigy through their latest Steam update, the map will be downloaded when you start Steam.

Some early screens of the map are posted here.
Read the full list of changes on the Valve news site.
Discussion >>

File planet have announved more Half Life 2 Deathmatch maps available for download: DM_Gasworks and DM_Docks.

FilePlanet has searched the internet for the highest quality Half-Life 2 Deathmatch maps for your enjoyment! From the industrial toxic gas facility of DM_Gasworks to the quiet lapping shore side of DM_Docks, we are sure you'll be impressed at what designers have done in such a short time!

Thanks hlfallout for the link

Screenshots here here and here
Download the maps here (16.7 Mb)

Discussion >>

Blizzard Entertainment have come out strongly against players who try to sell in-game property from World of Warcraft for real money:

Not only do we believe that it is illegal, but it also has the potential to damage the game economy and overall experience for the many thousands of others who play World of Warcraft for fun. In order to promote a fun and fair environment for all our customers, we are actively investigating those individuals who engage in this inappropriate activity and reserve the right to take legal action against these individuals to protect World of Warcraft for all those who "play by the rules." If you are found to be selling in-game property (such as coins, items, or characters), for real money, you will lose your characters and accounts, and Blizzard Entertainment reserves its right to pursue legal action against you as well.

Read on on the official site

More info:
World of Warcraft Trailers
Blizzard.com
Blizzard Fan Art Competition (closes 20 Dec)
Discussion >>

Valve released an update through Steam recently that aimed at speeding up the load times and level-transitions in Half-Life 2 along with some updates for Steam and the Source SDK:

Steam

* Source MODs will now automatically appear in the games list
* Improved startup process for Steam
* Fixed crash when creating a backup that would span multiple DVDs
* Fixed a bug that would unnecessarily validate Steam caches after a cache corruption
* Fixed Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes and Codename Gordon failing to backup correctly
* Fixed a bug where the message "the game files will be deleted and re-acquired" would repeat
* Fixed offline mode failing after not connecting to Steam for more than a month


Half-Life 2

* Optimization to the Steam filesystem to reduce game launch and level transition time


Source SDK

* Simplified debug-launch process for MOD developers. MOD developers no longer need to place a config file in their directory
* Added a registry key for MOD developers to use to locate a user's Steam installation located at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Steam\SourceModInstallPath

Discussion >>

Warner Bros. have pushed back the release of the Matrix Online MMOG from January to Spring 2005.
From the press release:

The Matrix Online, a massively multi-player online game co-published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and SEGA of America, will now ship in Spring 2005. Previously slated for a January 2005 launch, the game will expand its beta program while the overall game experience is being enhanced.

"We are committed to quality games and making this the best possible experience for players," said Jason Hall, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Since this is our first MMOG, we are taking measured steps to ensure it will be polished and are investing additional resources into our community oriented initiatives."

Gamespot has more info:

How will WBIE use the extra time? Not only will the Monolith development team continue to work on the game (the beta remains ongoing, Hall confirmed), but also, according to Hall, "we're going to invest further in The Matrix Online community and provide more events."

Specifically, Hall said that Warner Bros. Interactive had entered into an agreement with DC Comics to produce a "fanzine" that will base its content on the activities of the Matrix Online gamer. The fanzine will "completely focus on The Matrix Online, and more importantly, the users," Hall said. More specific information on the exact form the fanzine will take will be disseminated through the game's Web site and to players in the beta. The addition of DC Comics as a partner in bringing the Matrix world to life is a first for the two parties, serving to take some of the sting away from the delay news, Hall suggested.

Read on

More info:
Official The Matrix Online website
View the trailer
IGN.com The Matrix Online Preview
Discussion >>

4.12 Catalyst drivers have just been made avaliable over at ATI

The latest release of CATALYST™ introduces OVERDRIVE™ version 3.0 for the RADEON™ X850 XT. This version of OVERDRIVE™ will allow users to manually set the graphic and memory clocks, while still protecting the user from causing damage to their graphic card. OVERDRIVE™ version 3.0 also provides an optional automated search for maximum clock speeds. This feature is supported under both the Windows XP and 2000 operating systems.

Thanks tcmagazine for the link

ATI Catalyst 4.12 WHQL official XP download here (22.7 Mb)
More driver info here

Discussion >>

An impressive new 4-minute trailer was recently posted on the official site for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

The completely CG generated movie based on the all-time classic game is scheduled for Japanese release this month with a U.S. release in 2005, according to fan site AdventChildren.net:

The movie will run for somewhere between 70 and 80 minutes and will be released on DVD and UMD [for the Sony PSP]. It will feature a total of 20 characters, including the popular Cloud and Sephiroth, and is being developed by Square-Enix in conjunction with Visual Works.

It is expected to be released in Japan at the end of 2004, with a US release to follow shortly after [first quarter of 2005]. No word on a European or Australian release has been made as yet.

Read more

The official website carries the new trailer (trailer 003 in the trailers section) in Japanese and a Bit Torrent file is also available here that includes the trailer with fan-provided English subtitles.

Thanks to forevergeek for the link.

More info:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Preview (25 Oct.)
Final Fantasy VII Spin-off Planned (16 Sept.)
Discussion >>

I stumbled across these pics over on hlfallout forums.They were posted by hlflallout member Sixsixone who created them over at insurgencymod.net

These are the best Half Life 2 pics i've ever seen (funniest anyway)

Check them out here
Read the post by Sixsixone
Visit insurgencymod here

1up.com's excellent 50 Most Important Games Ever Made feature is still running, with a new article every Friday.

The latest addition (Ultima Online) brings it up to number 45, and fresh articles since we linked it back in August include Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy 7, Half-Life and The Macintosh gets a special mention.

The list so far:

• Spacewar (1962: PDP-1)
• Pong (1972: Arcade/Console)
• Space Invaders (1978: Arcade)
• Adventure (1979: Atari 2600)
• Battlezone (1980: Arcade)
• Pitfall! (1982: Atari 2600)
• Zork (1977-79: DEC PDP-10)
• Game & Watch (1980-88)
• Star Wars (1983: Arcade)
• Pac-Man (1980: Arcade)
• Donkey Kong (1981: Arcade)
• Rogue (1980: VAX/BSD UNIX)
• E.T. (1982: Atari 2600)
• Dragon's Lair (1983: Arcade)
• King's Quest (1983: PC)
• One-on-One (1983: C64)
• Super Mario Bros. (1985: Arcade/NES)
• Gauntlet (1985: Arcade)
• M.U.L.E. (1983: C64)
• Dragon Warrior (1986: NES)
• Ultima IV (1985: Apple II/PC)
• The Macintosh (1984)
• Tetris (1986: PC/NES/GameBoy)
• Prince of Persia (1989: PC)
• FaceBall 2000 (1990: GameBoy)
• Doom (1993: PC)
• John Madden NFL Football (1990: Genesis)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (1991: Genesis)
• Super Mario Kart (1992: Super NES)
• Populous (1989: Amiga/PC)
• Herzog Zwei (1991: Genesis)
• Street Fighter II (1991: Arcade)
• Myst (1993: Mac/PC)
• Mortal Kombat (1992: Arcade/SNES/Genesis)
• Virtua Fighter (1993: Arcade/32X)
• Super Mario 64 (1996: Nintendo 64)
• Tomb Raider (1996: PS/Saturn/PC/Mac)
• Final Fantasy VII (1997: PS/PC)
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (1999: PS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998: N64)
• Metal Gear Solid (1998: PS)
• Half-Life (1998: PC)
• Gran Turismo (1998: PS)
• Parappa the Rapper (1997: PS)
• Ultima Online (1997: PC)

Check it out here

Discussion >>

Bethesda Softworks producer Gavin Carter gave a detailed interview to Gamebanshee.com about Oblivion.

In it he covers how long the game has been in development (since just after the release of Morrowind), the possibility of a multiplayer aspect, the areas currently being focused on by the devs, as well as new adversaries and A.I.:

The Oblivion bestiary is quite large and varied. You’ll see the return of old Elder Scrolls favorites, plus the addition of more than a few new critters to smash or sneak by, whatever your preference. One of our new favorite guys we’ve nicknamed “Codename: Billy.” He’s a really awesome variation on a popular creature from past Elder Scrolls games.

The combat AI has been rewritten from the ground up to take advantage of all the new options our improved combat system offers. Enemies will use their weapons effectively, block, dodge, and react to things like you getting blocked. If the fight is going poorly for them, they also have the ability to yield to you, depending on their attitude towards you and their confidence in winning the fight. You can choose to accept their yield, ending combat, or continue to the bitter end.

Read on

Link via Game Gossip

More info:
Official website
Todd Howard (Elder Scrolls executive producer) letter to the fans
Oblivion - Screenshots (22 Oct.)
Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Being Developed (22 Sept.)
Discussion >>

From Reuters:

Pandora's Cube, [Chunnie Wright, anti-piracy counsel to the ESA] said, sold $500 "Super Xbox" consoles, modified versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox video game console, that had been modified to hold larger hard drives and play pirated games.

The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores.

"They were burning games onto the hard drive and equipping the hard drive with copying software so that the average consumer could just go ahead and copy the software themselves," she said.

Read on

More info:
Boingboing: Feds raid DC gaming stores for modded Xbox consoles
Slashdot: Arrests Made Near D.C. Over Modded Game Consoles
Joystiq: Feds raid Xbox retailer
Engadget: Microsoft brings down the Federal hammer on modded Xbox consoles
Discussion >>

Shacknews.com report that the Command & Conquer newsletter mentions a new Red Alert project:

Having said that, we have a MAJOR announcement to make and we are making it exclusively to our long time C&C fans. This announcement is not going out to the press and it won't appear on the EA website or anywhere else online. We are very proud to announce that the team that brought you Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Command & Conquer" Yuri's Revenge, and Command & Conquer: Generals has officially started work on our next project set in the Red Alert universe!

Link

Discussion >>

News of a new Counter Strike map converted to Source has been released by Valve's Jess Cliffe who has shared two new screens of the de_prodigy in a post he made over at the steampowered forums.

CS: Source De_Prodigy Screens

Check out the post by Jess here

Thanks hlfallout for the link

Related:
Valve Surprise Revealed
Half Life 2 Deathmatch Map-Pack Download

Discussion >>

Merscom, the publishers of Space Interceptor, have a free competition running through December; the grand prize of which is a chance to have your likeness included in Space Interceptor 2:

Your name and likeness, along with a spaceship emblazoned with your name, will be featured in the sequel to SI! PLUS, you will win a one (1) year free subscription to Starlog Magazine PLUS an autographed copy of SI.

The competition is a part of MersCON, a virtual convention launched to celebrate Space Interceptor's recent release, that allows fans to also interact with and ask questions of the developers and publishers.

Register for the competition here

More info:
Space Interceptor demo (117.3 MB)
MersCON press release
Discussion >>

In a competition on the Speed Demos Archive, David 'marshmallow' Gibbons managed to complete Half-Life 2 in 2 hours 57 minutes and 35 seconds.

Download the video here, and read his time saving tips here.

Via metafilter

More info:
Video: Original Half-Life in 45 minutes
Speed Demos Game List
More Speed Runs on archive.org
Discussion >>

Hl2files have made available a new map-pack for Half Life 2 Deathmatch:

HL2Files.com has done it again with the release of Half-Life 2 Mappack Volume #2!

This HL2Files.com mappack contains yet another 50 Half-Life 2 Deathmatch custom maps!
This mappack was compiled to save you from downloading each and every map seperately.
Please note that some maps are still in their alpha or beta stage and are work-in-progress.

The included maps are:

alpha6, apc_bunker, boot_camp, boot_camp_tundra_cool, buildingblocks_b3, deadclan, dissipated_beta1, dm_abandoned, dm_airboat_swamp_b1, dm_arena_duel, dm_bounce_b1, dm_buggy_kn, dm_bunker_valley, dm_burn01, dm_cabinfever, dm_chaintech, dm_chamber, dm_city, dm_closed, dm_concretebunker, dm_creighter, dm_dodgeball-b1, dm_exit, dm_ffm7beta16, dm_frag_dodgeball_v1, dm_freeman, dm_garage, dm_ghtemple_a09, dm_hanger18, dm_kasasu, dm_killbox_final, dm_quad, dm_racetrack, dm_sawblade, dm_urban_siege, dm_waterhazard, dodgeballmkx2, evn_physics_b2, Greentownforest, hl2dm_arena_1a, hl2dm_tower_1a, lws_train1, neighbour-war, phys_ozone, piff, robotwars, robotwars_v3, skyhigh, storage_hq, zombiesv2

Also included are various graphs [.ain], .vmf's, materials, models, scripts and some sounds for some maps.

Simply extract the entire HL2_Mappack_Volume2 folder to:

"Steam / SteamApps / You @ Email . com / half-life 2 deathmatch / hl2mp /"

Download the map-pack here
Half Life 2 Console Commands List
Bullet-time mod for Half Life 2

Discussion >>

Games developers Volition have released a fully playable demo for next years "The Punisher", a third person shooter in which you play a man out to avenge the death of his family.

Frank Castle's life changed the day his family was murdered. A part of his soul died, too. What was left dedicated the rest of his life to revenge upon the criminal scum of the world. He was reborn as... The Punisher!

Is he a hero? An obsessive madman? His methods are harsh and brutal, striking fear into the darkest hearts of the criminal underworld as he delivers vigilante justice to every thug he can lay his hands on.

The Punisher walks through a world we all know, a world darkened by war, crime, cruelty, and injustice. He has no superpowers - only his fierce intelligence, years of combat experience, and an iron determination to avenge the wronged. Where justice ends, Punishment begins!

Download the demo from 3dgamers (211 Mb)
Official The Punisher Website

Discussion >>

Updates have been released for the Source SDK (software development kit), Half Life 2 Deathmatch and the Source engine itself. Details as follows:

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
* Players now play grenade throw animation and RPG fire animation
* Items and weapons punted from their original spawn position now return after x time has passed (sv_hl2mp_weapon_respawn_time, sv_hl2mp_item_respawn_time)
* Improved player crouch animations


Source SDK
* Included support for making HL2DM maps
* Included sample source HL2DM map: dm_lockdown.vmf
* Added xwad, vtf2tga, and glview tools
* Fixed problems running vrad on certain machines
* Fixed bugs adding game configurations with long paths
* Improved detection of bad game paths


Source Engine
* Fixed server plugins not loading under Steam
* Fixed rcon kick failing
* Fixed UDP logging functions not working properly with quoted strings

Leave Steam open and it will update itself automatically. :)

Discussion >>

kotaku points to an article on Forbes about a new record set by Halo 2 - 28 million hours (over 3,000 years) put into playing the game on XBox Live by players since its release on 9 Nov.
Read it here

More info:
Halo 2 links
Halo 2 review by dek
Discussion >>

More details about the upcoming DOOM movie reveal sequences will be shot in the first-person perspective of the game, but the action won't be set on Mars, and the monsters will have nothing to do with hell:

The story follows eight marines, teleported into a command centre of a secret base on a remote planet. There, they learn that something strange is happening and soon monsters start to appear. The monsters aren't from hell, but rather people mutated by some nasty super-virus although the monsters look very similar to those in the game.

One character is a technician called "Pinky" who has a cybernetic wheelchair thanks to a bad teleporting accident. Pinky later mutates into something remotely resembling a creature from Doom 3. Producers claim that the film will be more of a horror than an action shooter.

Read more on Darkhorizons.com

Via kotaku

More info:
Doom Movie Scriptwriter Chat - (8 Oct)
New Director for Official DOOM Movie - (10 Sept)
IMDb.com page for Doom
Discussion >>

A first patch has been released for Medal of Honour: Pacific Assualt.

Update for Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, fixes/changes the following things:

- Mouse and Input Lag (single and multiplayer)
- Dedicated Server CPU Utilization (multiplayer)
- 999 Ping Bug (multiplayer)
- Spawn Code Server Hitching (multiplayer)
- Miscellaneous Single Player Bug Fixes

Download the patch from fileshack (63.5 Mb)
Try out the single player demo here (534 Mb)
Or the multi-player demo(324 Mb)
Official site

Discussion >>

Sven Co-op, a modding community for all that is Half Life (and now Source) have announced plans for a simple co-op mod for Half Life 2.

First of all, I should mention that we'll be focusing on the basics for the first release: Establishing smooth, fun cooperative gameplay, and allowing level designers to start working on co-op maps. Features such as new monsters and weapons will be coming, but mostly in subsequent releases. Trying for too much at once would only delay things in the long run... and anyway, this way you'll have something to play while waiting for multi-user vehicles/etc.

More info over at svenco-op

Half Life 2 console commands
Bullet-time mod for Half Life 2
Half Life 2 wallpaper here :)

Discussion >>

Blizzard Entertainment have acknowledged server problems that affected performance when World of Warcraft was officially launched on 23 Nov, and have extended the free trial period:

# Accounts created on November 23 will receive a 4-day extension
# Accounts created on November 24 will receive a 3-day extension
# Accounts created on November 25 will receive a 2-day extension
# Accounts created on November 26 will receive a 1-day extension

Read more on the official site

More info:
Sign up for World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft Shatters Records
Gamespot's:WoW Review (9.5 Superb)
WOW Intro Movie
Discussion >>

Check out this cool video of Far Cry prologue The Project, by Crytek viewed running on an ATI X850 XT PE.
Link (free reg. req.)
Discussion >>

New mission from Kuma's reality war series reenacts events that happened in Iraq just three weeks ago.

Kuma Reality Games today announced the release of a new mission for its subscription-based service, the PC war simulator Kuma\War. The latest scenario re-creates the action that occurred just last month in Iraq, the largest military action in the country since Saddam's fall. Titled Fallujah: Operation al-Fajr.

More info over on gamespot
Official website
Download free trial here

Discussion >>

ATI have released an upgrade to their X800 line of graphics cards. Following the predictable trend of graphics board makers as they release new architecture, a more efficient model is usually brought out a few months down the line to squeeze some more juice out of the core. Nvidia are expected to follow suite with their 6800 line of gpus but no word as of yet.

Extreme Tech have put up a review of the X850 pitting it against the latest benchmarking utilities.

Despite being a disappointingly modest improvement over the X800 XT PE, ATI's new card secures their place as king of the graphics hill. Naturally, we expect this position to be challenged sooner rather than later with nVidia's GeForce 6800 "kicker" product, probably called the GeForce 6900 or 6950 or something similar.

Check out the review here
ATI's official launch demo here

Discussion >>

Eidos, publishers and developers of entertainment software have announced a mobile phone version of the critically acclaimed Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Originally released on PC and Xbox in summer 2004, the mobile version has been developed by IOMO for Java and BREW-enabled handsets. The game will be released in two parts, starting with Episode I in January 2005, with Episode II following soon afterwards. Thief: Deadly Shadows will be available to download through network operators worldwide

Thief: Deadly Shadows Website
Download playable pc demo (1 mission) here (427 Mb)

Discussion >>

With a one-word post and a concept art pic, Valve have revealed their surprise - Half-Life 2 Death Match.
Added:
Half-Life 2 Death Match is now available through a Steam update; the SDK has also been released and an official HL2 Death Match map contest has been announced by Valve. Check here for details

More info:
SteamPowered.com forums: Coming Soon...
Halflife2.net: A preview of things to come
Valve Update HL2, Surprise on the Way (25 Nov)
Discussion >>

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