This competition is closed, thanks to everyone who entered.
MtS_Alien has kindly donated a RYL voucher to give away in a competition; the voucher will give three six months of playtime when the game is fully released and becomes subscription-based.

Send the answers to these simple questions in an email, with "RYL Voucher Contest" in the subject line for a chance to win!

· What is the name of the demon race in Risk Your Life?
· Who are the publishers/developers of the North American Risk Your Life?

Don't miss Alien's exclusive review of the RYL closed beta here & TheBlacksmith's first impressions post here.

Discussion >>

This patch apparently addresses an unspecified multiplayer exploit, but further
details are not available.

Download it from 3dgamers (8.9 Mb)
Far Cry Review by Dave Dalley

Discussion >>

In Doom: The Boardgame, demonic invaders have broken through from another dimension into the Union Aerospace Corporation’s Mars base. Marines have been deployed to the base to protect UAC personnel and destroy the invaders. Up to three players will take the roles of heavily armed and highly trained marines, while one player will control the legion of demonic invaders.In the game, the marine players explore the claustrophobic rooms and corridors of the Mars base, attacking monsters, picking up new weapons and equipment, and working together to complete specific mission objectives.

FantasyFlightGames.com

Via Slashdot

Discussion >>

Lots more information has been released about the massive multiplayer Star Trek game in the form of a lengthy F.A.Q.:

When is the Beta date?
2006

Will there be a monthly fee?
Yes, it will be competitive with other products of our genre.

What are the races available?
At launch we plan on allowing players to be Human, Vulcan or Klingon. These races were chosen for their relationship with Starfleet, the fact that their racial differences are significant (and therefore give real reasons to select one over another), and their popularity with the fans. We plan for expansions and updates to eventually expand these race choices.

Will I be on the Enterprise? Can I be a famous character from the TV show?
You may encounter the Enterprise and characters from the Star Trek series, but you will be your own hero discovering your own story.

Read on

Link via MMHELL.com

More info:
Official website
IGNIQ: Star Trek Online Game Planned (7 Sept 2004)
Discussion >>

There is another alternative to downloading drivers from Nvidia or ATI. A guy calling himself " Angel "Omegadrive" Trinidad" claims to have produced better image quality and framerates from both Nvidia and ATI drivers for the Radeon and equivalent cards.

I know a few of our members use these drivers and swear by them. I am pretty sceptical at downloading software for hardware that is not from the official makers of the hardware, but i may just try these out as Nvidia have not been exactly regular in recent times as far as improvements in drivers are concerned. Their last official release was November last year.

If anyone has anything to say about them (good or bad) please do let us know.

The purpose of the Omega Drivers is to provide gamers with an alternate set of drivers, ones that have more options and features than the original sets. The drivers contain optimizations, extra features (like OC capabilities), more resolutions and internal tweaks that can give them the edge in a gaming environment over the normal drivers, which are often tailored for synthetic benchmarks. All Omega driver sets are tested (unless noted) by myself in my own PC or in an alternate PC (in the case of the Nvidia drivers) to ensure maximum compatibility and reliability.

Check out the drivers yourself over at omagedrivers

Discussion >>

TheBlacksmith alerted us to a widespread problem users were having with their Steam accounts:

I can't log in, period. It says can't connect to the steam service when I try to log in with the account I've been using for months.

The Steampowered.com forums were swamped with complaints from gamers, but Valve have posted an announcement that the problem should be solved now:

Yes as is pretty clear from what you've read or from the fact you couldn't get Steam started, something was not quite right today. Some accounts were able to log in right, and some could not.

Please be assured that if you had problems, it was only temporary and your accounts have not been lost or damaged or otherwise compromised.
Link

More info:
Slashdot | Steam Users Steamed
Discussion >>

According to Vivendi Universal, nearly 1.7 million copies of Half Life 2 (the successor to Valve's 1998 first person shooter, Half Life) have been sold in less than two months, pitting Half Life 2 to be one of the biggest success stories of 2005.

I guess this means success for Valve, and what would seem, a goal achieved in implementing their controversial Steam software and "Authentication" process that has dogged (and continues to dog) its customers.

Locked out of HL2,.. GG Steam!
Does Valve Really Care About Its Customers ?

Discussion >>

Nintendo have announced a European launch date of 11 March for the Nintendo DS:

Nintendo said that the DS will launch in Europe the 11th of March at the price of £99 for UK gamers, and 149 €uros for the rest of Europe. Nintendo also announced that the price of DS's games will be £19 - £29

Gamer-Network.co.uk

More info:
Official website for Nintendo DS
BBC News: Nintendo handheld given Euro date
Discussion >>

We got our hands on a slot for the closed beta of the new version of Risk Your Life, over a week ago.

IGNIQ members TheBlacksmith, Dave and MtS_Alien have been busy playing all week, getting a feel for the game and writing down their thoughts.
We have an in-depth review courtesy of MtS_Alien posted up here.

TheBlacksmith also critiqued the game and gave his first impressions here.
Dave is putting the finishing touches to his review and it will be posted over the next couple of days.

Thanks to Planetwide Games for letting us into the beta for our review.Discussion >>

Take 2 announced today they've acquired "certain rights" to the Civilization franchise, as well as entering a multi-title partnership with Firaxis Games.

The press release mentions the fourth installment of Civilization is due for release late this year, and has some more details about the game:

The fourth game in the PC strategy series that has sold over five million copies, Sid Meier's Civilization IV is a bold step forward for the franchise, with spectacular new 3D graphics and all-new single and multiplayer content. Civilization IV will also set a new standard for user-modification, allowing gamers to create their own add-ons using the standard Python and XML scripting languages.
Press release

More info:
Take 2 Interactive
Firaxis Games
Civilization Fanatics - dedicated fansite
Steve Ogden blog - Firaxis lead artist
Discussion >>

We linked to Penny Arcade's revocation of their Game of the Year Award for World of Warcraft a few days ago. They had sent off a "terse" set of questions to be answered by Blizzard, who have since replied with some straight answers:

Copies of the game were being purchased at a much faster rate than anticipated, so we had to abandon our slower-paced plan and go into rapid deployment to accommodate these additional customers. This meant we also had to advance our timetable for additional server purchases.

With such a rapid growth of the network, we started to see several bottlenecks in the infrastructure that exposed themselves very quickly when the expanded hardware immediately took on massive load. These bottlenecks were solvable, but they required additional upgrades to the backend systems to accommodate the load—which, again, we hadn’t planned to see, even with the extreme estimates, until later in the year.
Read on

Discussion >>

Just when you thought you had the one greatest graphics card to rule them all, ATI, in keeping up with it's rival Nvidia will be unveiling its new R520 graphics processors this May.

We already said that the R520 taped out and our sources confirm that the chip is in good shape, but then again it's still the first working silicon that it got out of the fab. It takes at least six weeks to get the next revision of silicon. This means that ATI is still on track and will possibly make one more revision before it goes to final production.

You can check out a really cool, real-time rendering demo from ATI, showcasing their current X850 card and the latest demo from the people that brought you Far Cry. You will need one kick ass card to be able to play it. Atleast a 9800 Pro or higher i would suggest. :) Check it out here

Full R520 article here

Discussion >>

The BBC have an article speculating on what the next generation of games consoles will be like, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all have new products lined up for release in the next 18 months.

While no details of the PlayStation 3, XBox 2 and Nintendo's "Revolution" have been finalised, developers have begun work on games for them anyway:

Although the details may not be nailed down, Mr Armes said EA was beginning to get a sense of the capabilities of the new machines.

"The rumours are that PlayStation 3 will have a little more under the hood [than Xbox 2]," he said.

[...]

"PS3 will provide graphics indistinguishable from movies," said Mr Florin [EA Europe].

He said the distribution method for games would also change radically in the next round of consoles.

"A gamer could buy a starter disc for 10 euros. When he goes home he goes online and he could buy AI and levels as you go.
Read on

Link via Slashdot
Discussion >>

404 Gaming have posted up more details about their upcoming Hip-Hop based multiplayer online game. Recently recruited for the project was D.J. Pooh, the writer for GTA: San Andreas.

According to 404 the game will include "many features that currently do not exist, our first title will allow subscribers to become integral parts of not just the storyline, but the actual game itself, taking the otherwise stale MMO community and hurtling it forward beyond all competitors."

Listed as collaborating artists & staff for the game are some very impressive names, including Public Enemy's Chuck D & Flavor Flav, Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys and D.M.C. of Run D.M.C. among others.

Read more on the official site

Previous post:
Hip-Hop MMOG In The Works, GTA Writer Recruited
Discussion >>

A demo has been released for Darwinia, an unusual looking real time strategy:

Nearly three years after taking the underground gaming scene by storm with Uplink, Introversion Software is poised to release its follow-up title, Darwinia. Combining fast paced action with strategic battle planning, the game features a novel and intuitive control mechanism, a graphical style ripped from 80's retro classics, and a story concerning a tribe of video game sprites trapped in a modern 3d game world.

Download the demo here

Via waxy.org

More info:
Introversion Software
Uplink "High tech computer crime and industrial espionage on the Internet of 2010"
Discussion >>

Digital Daily have posted an in-depth review of Nvidia's mid-range graphics card option, which comes to us in the form of the 6600 GT. Reviews range from the Gigabyte, Gainward, XFX, Leadtek and Asus version of the Nvidia GPU. Tests examine how the cards (which are in pci flavour) favour in synthetic benchmarks, gaming applications and over-clocking capabilites.

So for those people thinking of upgrading their current graphics card and replacing them with the new Nvidia gpu, it might be worth taking a look at how the mid-range cards fair out.

6600GT takes a lead over the competitor solution Х700PRO (around 220$ +/- depending on the manufacturer and the sales place) as we have found out through all the synthetic benchmarks that we ran. However, synthetic benchmarking is far not all, many have lost interest to 3DMark and don't take the results as the truth in the last resort. Therefore, gaming applications proved to be the most indicative in terms of real performance comparisons.

Check out the full review over at Digital Daily
NVIDIA's SLI Shortchanges Gamers?
SLI Velocity Raptor Gaming PC Wins Kick Ass Product Award
SLI Technology
Gainward makes dual SLI water cooled 6800 Ultras

Discussion >>

The problems besetting World of Warcraft has cost them an influential award - the PennyArcade.com 2004 Game of The Year Award. This comes at the same time as news that Blizzard are now limiting the amount of new copies of World of Warcraft being sold due to server problems.

The sheer success of the title (more than 600,000 sales in the weeks after release, with over 200,000 concurrent players) appears to have been ill-prepared for, and the game servers have been regularly suffering problems:

Every week, there is some new calamity that necessitates some huge response on their part, servers are coming down, but if you think that the servers coming back up again will represent an improvement in the basic functionality of the game you're mistaken. They took them down most of the day Thursday (and again for "emergency service" on Sunday), and when they came back up it should have been something supernatural but it was actually utterly imperceptible. It should have been like when the Genesis device hit and a lifeless rock became a fucking paradise. That didn't happen. So, if I say, as I'm about to, that their emergency service amounts to parlor tricks, what evidence can they give to the contrary? Because near as I can tell they've been doing "emergency service" since release, only they used to credit people's accounts for it.

PennyArcade.com

More info:
Wired: Dealing with Great Expectations
Blizzard denies shelf pull, software slowed. (20 Jan)
No More Players for World of Warcraft - For Now (19 Jan)
World of Warcraft "oversold", pulled from shelves. (13 Jan)
A Blizzard of Unhappy Customers
A Comic Strip Takes Video Games Seriously (Almost) (N.Y Times on Penny Arcade)
Discussion >>

Slightly in-credible story - according to a news segment on a Chinese Central Television broadcast, the Chinese military is using bootlegged copies of Counter-Strike to train their soldiers.

Boingboing, via kotaku
Discussion >>

A woman in Japan was arrested for logging into her boyfriends Lineage account and deleting his weapons and other items he had collected:

Police reported the woman, of Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, to the Fukushima District Public Prosecutors Office accusing her of violating a law banning illegal access. She has apparently admitted to the allegations against her.

"I did it as revenge for breaking up with me," police quoted her as saying.

The man, who is in his 20s, did not suffer financially because of the woman's actions, but she deleted items such as weapons and clothes that he had spent time collecting in the game.

Read on

Via Techdirt.com
Discussion >>

kotaku links to the official Take2 Games page for GTA: San Andreas, the PC & XBox versions are due for June.

Also check the recent IGNIQ review of the Playstation 2 version.
Discussion >>

Garry's Half Life 2 mod was created to enable players of Valve's Half Life 2 to mess around with the physics engine side of the game. Garry developed the mod for such funny endeavours as:

position ragdolls so they look like they've had a baby?
fire a load of melons at a wall?
attach balloons to stuff?
spawn items from a menu?
homebrew a car crash?
play with depth of field blur?
make little jet cars?
make little motorized cars?
conserve fuel?
string a combine soldier up and fire dead babies at him?

Features

* Ragdoll Poser (First for a mod ever?)
* Spawn almost any item from Half-Life 2 using a menu
* Hacked in Depth of Field
* Rope objects and people together
* Weld objects and people together
* Add motorized wheels and control their speed
* Draw on the walls with the paint gun
* Balloon gun - they all float down here!
* Add gas cannisters and switch them on and off
* Place a camera and watch it on your HUD
* Shoot 100's of props out of your RPG
* Attach manhacks and scanners to objects and corpses

Version 6 of this popular mod is in the works, though Garry is remaining quite about its new features.

Download the current version 5 (2.8 Mb) here
Garry's mod - Half Life 2 Pics
Visit Garry's website here

Discussion >>

I stumbled across an interesting article over at (H)ard|OCP that reviews the good and the bad sides to handing over a big wad of cash for an Nvidia SLI setup in your pc. They make light of the fact that SLI currently requires NVIDIA to write driver profiles for each game to support SLI and that not many games support this in the current day.

The bottom line is NVIDIA is going to have to kick it up several notches on the driver side if they want SLI to impact the marketplace. The optimal solution is to make it so SLI is completely transparent to games so they don’t have to create a profile for each game allowing SLI to “just work.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case, as NVIDIA has to test each game and determine if AFR or SFR works best and then make a driver profile. So, if that is what they have to do, then NVIDIA really needs to step it up. A whole lot.

Check out the full article over at (H)ard|OCP
SLI Velocity Raptor Gaming PC Wins Kick Ass Product Award
SLI Technology
Gainward makes dual SLI water cooled 6800 Ultras

Discussion >>

Nvidia have made available new beta Forceware drivers over at nzone in the form of 67.66 (the last build being 67.03 )

Release Highlights:

* Updated SLI support for all GeForce 6800 GPUs
* Enables PureVideo technology on GeForce 6 Series GPUs.*

Try out the new betas if you like here (13.3 Mb)

Discussion >>

ATI have released new Catalyst drivers for its Radeon line of graphics cards, named Catalyst 5.1. You can view the release notes here and read the list of bug-related fixes here.

CATALYST Windows XP 5.1 - Driver Download - High Speed Cable
Low Speed Dial-Up Download

Discussion >>

As was previously expected, Counter Strike: Source has been updated to include bots and a bomb defusal map; de_tides. Simply restart Steam and it will automatically update itself.

* Added Counter-Strike bots. For a more detailed description, click here
* Added new bomb defusal map de_tides
* Updated version of de_cbble to allow bots to navigate ladders
* Updated version of cs_office. Fixes minor issue with projector
* Updated version of de_dust2 to allow 40 players
* Optimization to the way that dynamic props are checked. On higher end CPUs, this can result in more than a 5% total frame rate increase
* Fixed bug where players would get twice the normal money at the start of a round
* Weapon models are now checked at startup to make sure they are within limits for size
* Fixed a bug that would allow a player to throw two flashbangs at once
* Added “motdfile” cvar, which sets the filename for the message of the day on the server
* Fixed logic that will automatically kick players for killing hostage or being idle for a long time

Steam Announcment

Discussion >>

Nvidia have made available Forceware beta drivers 67.03 over at nzone. The previous release being 67.02.

Release Highlights:

The issues that some users have reported seeing when using the GeForce 6600 GT AGP are due to a driver bug which causes 3D corruption when this GPU is used with certain motherboards, most notably SIS motherboards. The fix is included in this release.

Enables PureVideo technology on GeForce 6 Series GPUs.

Remeber (of course) that these are beta drivers and come with no support from Nvidia. Only use them if you are experiencing problems with your current drivers (or if you're like me and just want to see if there is any performance gains) :)

Download them here (13.3 Mb)

Discussion >>

After hearing before the release of Half Life 2 that 1] There would be no multi-player aspect and 2] You would require an internet connection, i was very much dissapointed. I thought however that Valve ((after having more than enough time to test Steam)) would be able to carry off this authentication with as little annoyance as possible, i really believed this however, after hearing from most of the people i know who have purchased the game, about 40 % of them do not have an internet connection and were forced to lug their pcs to a friends' house in a vain attempt to play the game they have been waiting all these years for, only to find that the authentication either would not work or it took them 12 or so hours to complete it while running up an internet bill in the process. I still know many people who bought the game on the day it was released and still have not played it!

As far as i can see, Valve must have been fully aware this would happen and chose to ignore it or treat it as another step in the never-ending Steam beta testing, completely disregarding the people who buy their games and the people who put them were they are, the people who made them a success! This absolute negligence of customer care and satisfaction is quite simply appalling in my opinion. I have been fortunate enough to play what i consider to be the best game ever made, only because i have broadband and a good pc. I really feel for all the people left behind in Valve's so called "Anti-Piracy" world. Despite people voicing their concerns, Valve have opted to ignore the pleas of it's loyal customers and simply moved on with business as usual. Whatever bit of respect i had for the company is leaping out many windows at an alarming rate and i don't believe i am alone.

I would like to know what other peoples' feelings are on the matter. Have you bought Half Life 2 and still not played it, please let us know of your experience...

Discussion >>

According to Planet Half Life, Doug Lombardi has announced that the official Counter-Strike Bot will be released for Counter-Strike: Source on Monday (January 17th).

The Bot features enhanced abilities and will be available for all owners of Counter-Strike: Source. Also included in Monday's release is an updated version de_tides, rebuilt by Turtlerock Studios.

Visit Steampowered for latest news and check out their forums.
CS: Source mods posted by IGNIQ member Dek
Are you addicted to Counter Strike ?

UPDATE: Confirmed by Valve

Discussion >>

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas review by Richie, up now!

Check it out here.

Discussion >>

"This special version of Softimage|XSI allows you to create custom content for Half-Life 2 (characters, level props, etc). Detailed info can be found at the Softimage website. Be sure to grab the add-on as well."

Download here

Discussion >>

"A large map set in an abandoned motel-like building. This map should be good for 12-18 players and includes gameplay inside and around the "motel". The main hall on the ground floor is usually the center of the action with its multiple entry/exit points, and vertical gameplay with the attic above. The map also includes a basement/laundry area accessible from the main floor or through a sewer pipe from the small parking lot outside. Have fun!"

DM_Motel

"Eight - ten player HL2DM map, DM_Industry."

DM_Industry

"Objective based Half-Life 2 deathmatch map. Click additional information for objective details."

Heart Of Revolters

"Final release of the DM_Depot level for Half-Life 2 Deathmatch."

DM_Depot_RC1
Discussion >>

ARUSH Publishing, in conjunction with Groove Games, today announced that the North American version of the multi-platform video game release, "Playboy: The Mansion," has been sent off for manufacturing.

Developed by Cyberlore Studios for Playboy, "Playboy: The Mansion" invites players to virtually step into Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner’s slippers and run the famous Playboy empire. Available for the Ps2, Xbox and PC, the game is rated M for Mature by the ESRB, and is scheduled to ship to stores on January 25, 2005.

Gamers are now one step closer to virtually walking through the doors of the Playboy Mansion, and experiencing a world of photo shoots, celebrity-filled parties, and midnight rendezvous in the grotto,” said Jim Perkins, president of ARUSH Publishing. “Beyond the sexy fun that players expect from the Playboy brand, 'Playboy: The Mansion' is filled with simulation depth, and we are extremely pleased with the final product.

Playboy: The Mansion Website
Developers Cyberlore
Groovegames Publishers

Discussion >>

Ever wanted to make your very own customized Half Life 2 spraylogos ? SprayR 1.0 is a tool that allows you to do just that. RC 6 (release candidate) has just been made available for download which adds new features from the last build and also includes bug fixes.

Download from one of many mirrors and create your own :)
Full changelog here

Discussion >>

A surprising game to be made into a mobile version, Sorrent Inc. in partnership with Atari yesterday announced the launch of Baldur's Gate for mobile.

Even more surprising, Gamespot, PC Mag and IGN have all given it a good review.

From the press release:

The mobile version of BALDUR'S GATE is a completely new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventure, written specifically for the platform. The seven-level game challenges players with treacherous dungeons and powerful monsters, while engaging them with compelling interactions with the non-player characters they'll discover throughout the Forgotten Realms.

"With the mobile launch of BALDUR'S GATE, Sorrent's production team has once again created a top-rated title specifically for mobile phones that is extremely faithful to the franchise on which it is based," said Wim Stocks, EVP of sales and marketing, Atari. "We're thrilled to offer fans a way to play this favorite title wherever they are."

Sorrent.com: Baldur's Gate | Instructions to download Sorrent games to your phone.

Discussion >>

Gamespot have a preview of the XBox version of DOOM 3 from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

While not a full review, their overall verdict is that the game looks as impressive on the XBox as it was on the PC:

[...] this console take on Doom 3 definitely appears to stand up to the PC original, though obviously in a somewhat lower resolution than the PC version is capable of.

Portions of Doom 3 have been retooled for the Xbox, though Microsoft described these changes as very subtle. One example we were given is that the game's opening sequence--a long walk through a calm outer space base--has been shortened down to about two minutes or so, which should get players into the gunning action much quicker. The game's control also has a few good tricks up its sleeve. The left trigger is used as a run button, you'll have a dedicated flashlight button, and you'll be able to use the D pad to quickly select one of four weapons. This quick-select feature can be reconfigured as you proceed through the game, so you'll always be able to ensure that your four best weapons are readily available.

Read on

Discussion >>

GamersHell.com posts that Russian retailer Gameshop.ro has the expansion pack available for pre-order, with a release date of 11 March, meanwhile EB Games have it listed for release on 3 March.

Link

More info:
DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil screenshots
DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil Details
IGNIQ forum dedicated to DOOM 3
Discussion >>

Engadget posts that the XBox 2 may include a price-hike, bucking the usual trend for new versions of existing electronics products:

[...] Microsoft, which may bump the price of the Xbox 2 above the current $299 ceiling for console launches. One analyst speculates that a version with accessories might go for as much as $400.

Read more

Discussion >>

A post over on kotaku reveals a Hip-Hop based multi player online game is in development.

The game doesn't have a name yet, but it's being developed by 404 Gaming, and they've signed up D.J Pooh, the writer for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and the movie Friday to be its Senior Executive Writer.

It'll be interesting to see what this will be like.

More on kotaku and the 404 Gaming site
Discussion >>

Half-Life 2, Source Engine and Source Dedicated Server updates are available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Source Engine

* Improved the performance of writing out save games. This will reduce the pause when you pass over an autosave trigger in Half-Life 2, or when you press the quicksave button
* Improved the performance of writing out the thumbnail image for save games. This will also reduce the pause when passing over an autosave trigger or pressing the quicksave button
* Increased cache memory usage for machines that have greater than 512MB of physical memory. This will reduce hitching due to cache thrashing.
* Optimized the sound cache manager, which will reduce hitching as a result of sound cache thrashing
* Minor optimization to the world renderer and world collision
* Minor optimization to the way that asynchronous sound files are loaded
* Optimized the way that sounds were loaded that are trigged by acting sequences
* Optimization to reduced the number of times model sequences are iterated on per frame
* Fixed rcon packet bug that was accepting negative packet lengths
* Fixed rcon server failing on server restart


Half-Life 2

* Weapon script files are preloaded at startup, instead of when they are accessed. This will reduce some hitches while playing Half-Life 2


Linux Server

* Added "-pidfile" command line argument to output a pid file on startup


Condition Zero

* Fixed "Your server is out of date Please update and restart" error

Discussion >>

5 new screenshots of Doom 3 - Ressurection Of Evil have been posted, showing off the games lighting, shadows and general all around creepy look and feel that players of Doom 3 are all too familiar with. The expansion for the next-generation fps by ID is not due out until the end of the year.

Check out the screens here
DOOM 3 Xbox Collectors Edition & Release Date Rumour
Doom 3 SDK 2 Final
Doom 3 Mods list
Download Doom 3 demo

Our second collective game review is now available; IGNIQ members gave Half-Life 2 our highest rating, 5 stars or "Exceptionally Good. Best of its genre."

Thanks to everyone who posted opinions to make up the review.

Half-Life 2 by IGNIQ forum members
Discussion >>

Fans of the popular Half Life mod "Natural Selection" will be pleased to hear that the game has been confirmed to be in the works for a Source engine conversion.

So the next project is likely going to be NS on the Source engine. We don't know for sure if we're doing this, as we haven't had time to evaluate how much work it will be, but everyone on the team is excited to do it, so I think it will happen. We don't know yet if it is going to be a straight port over to Source, or if we're going to redo a lot of the artwork/animations, or if we're going to change a lot of the fundamental gameplay (flamethrowers, physics, etc.). We need to look into it more, see how many months it's going to take (the bad part) and then make a decision. As soon as we know, we'll let you guys know. NS on Source will be done primarily by the current NS team. I'll be doing the game design and overall direction, but the NS team will be doing all the actual work.

Check out the post over at unknown worlds by the game's developers

Discussion >>

An interesting new feature of Risk Your Life has been announced by Planetwide Games at this years Consumer Electronics Show - streaming music content and the ability to buy .mp3 tracks through the game itself:

The Company has a patent pending process, which enables the digital download of music and content into real time online video game play for added entertainment value and purchase. Planetwide Games will feature this innovative technology with a line-up of popular musical artists, supermodels, and celebrities.

More on the press release

Also announced is the first single from the official RYL Soundtrack, "Caught in the Rapture", by WON-G, featuring Gizelle and Paris Hilton - the music video is available here.

RYL is currently in public beta, but is due for official release next month.

More info:
PlanetWide Games
RYL.net
RYL Hits 100,000 Registered Users (21 Dec)
Discussion >>

Fresh off the heals of Half Life 2, i read an interesting article from Eurogamer recently brought to my attention by IGNIQ member Poddy, which takes a look at Swedish gaming magazine Gamereactor. Gamereacter has reported that Valve CEO Gabe Newell himself recently admitted that Half Life 3 was in the planning stages during a press briefing at the developer's Seattle headquarters.

Word from the Swedes is that Half-Life 2 NPC Alyx (the bird in the shots) could be a playable character this time, and that we'll learn more about the aliens we're shooting. Hope so. Obviously though with Half-Life 2 still a few months away from its current summer 2004 release target, we wouldn't expect to hear anything else about Half-Life 3 for a good few years. After all, how long did it take to hear anything about HL2?

Read on

Thanks Poddy for the link

No official statement from id yet, but Spong.com claims publisher Activision have revealed the release date for the XBox version, as well as details of the collectors edition:

A release date of March 1st has been given to both GameStop and EBGames for the US. Right now, no European date has been offered, though a release within two weeks of the US version is thought likely.

More interesting is the Collectors’ Edition, which will include full versions of Ultimate Doom and Doom II, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a ‘storyboard’, and artwork galleries.

Read on

Discussion >>

We've folded links posted to our linkblog into the RSS feed for the news page, so subscribers now get the latest news as it's posted, along with a handy digest of interesting links we've stumbled upon.

Subscribe to the feed:
Discussion >>

More Pics from peoples' endeavours with Garry's mod have been posted over at hlfallout I have sifted through them and gathered together the more clever and funniest (in my opinion)

Check them out here :)
Funny HL2 Character pictures
Half Life 3 Screenshot ?
More potential DoD: Source Screenshots Here

Their verdict: Better luck next time, Bungie.

Half-Life 2 - 6,168
Halo 2 - 1,956
total votes: 8,124

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Discussion >>

Bethesda Softworks have posted three new screenshots of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, along with one new concept art pic.

Via shacknews.com
Discussion >>

Via Boingboing, the Dallas Observer has a lengthy profile of the world champion Halo player, Matt "Zyos" Leto:

Even the best Halo players in the world say Leto's drive far exceeds their own. He has no girlfriend. Halo is his focus. Even tonight, one hour before he meets Check Six executives, even as he practices Halo with his teammates spaced across the country--all of them connected to one another by plugging in their game systems, their Xboxes, to an Internet cable--even on this self-described "fun" night of game play, Leto's elbows are on his knees; he's shouting at his teammates; he has no time for idle chitchat with the visitor who's stopped by. There are still competitors to best.

Read on

More info:
World Cyber Games 2004 Grand Results (Halo)
Zyos' World Cyber Games profile
Discussion >>

Wired have published their annual list of highly anticipated products that were never delivered.

The list includes the Pentium 4 @ 4 GHZ, Gran Turismo 4, Valve's Team Fortress 2, Windows Longhorn, with a special Lifetime Achievement Award going to Duke Nukem Forever.
On the subject of Longhorn:

Steven "Harley" Davidson said, "If Microsoft keeps on pushing back the dates for Longhorn and removing features from it, they might as well just promise to bundle Duke Nukem Forever with the OS."

Read more

Via Slashdot
Discussion >>

Ensemble Studios have issued a press release announcing Age of Empires III, planned for release in the second half of this year:

The new game picks up where Age of Empires II: Age of Kings left off, placing gamers in the position of a European power determined to explore, colonize and conquer the New World. This time period features stunning scenes, from towering European cathedrals to courageous tribes of Native Americans, and spectacular combat with Industrial Age units like rifled infantry, cavalry and tall ships bristling with cannons.

Read the full release

More info:
Official Age of Empires III website
Age of Empires III teaser screenshots
ArsTechnica.com : Age of Empires III announced
Discussion >>

A new website for fans of Half Life 2 has just sprang up in the form of City Seventeen. The site admin "Sloanbone" is hosting a new beta hl2 deathmatch map of his known as "dissipated".

There is a new version coming out soon.. It has more spawn points and stuff. I also added some things to the map to make it actually worth considering a release..

Download the map here (2.21 Mb)
City Seventeen Website

Discussion >>

A new version of Nvidia Bios Editor has just been released allowing users to tweak their Nvidia GeForce Bios.

Changes in this Version

* Fixed bug no voltage selection after extending
* Fixed FX5900 OEM speeds
* Corrected Quadro FX3400 & FX4000 detection
* Fixed 6600 speeds

This new version is build on the new logic that was explained on the previous version and fixes some of the issues that were discovered...

More info and download over at mvktech

Discussion >>

Wired have an interesting article that peeks into the elaborate system of underground operators that release bootleg games and movies to the Internet:

Anathema is a so-called topsite, one of 30 or so underground, highly secretive servers where nearly all of the unlicensed music, movies, and videogames available on the Internet originate. Outside of a pirate elite and the Feds who track them, few know that topsites exist. Even fewer can log in.

Within minutes of appearing on Anathema, Half-Life 2 spread. One file became 30 files became 3,000 files became 300,000 files as Valve stood helplessly by watching its big Christmas blockbuster turn into a lump of coal. The damage was irreversible - the horse was out of the barn, the county, and the state.

Read on

Discussion >>

id software's lead programmer John Carmack has launched a new weblog, available here.
In his first post he talks about the delay in the release of Quake 3 source, graphics and why his .plan file hasn't been updated in a while:

There were two main factors involved in my not doing updates for a long time, a good chunk of my time and interest was sucked into Armadillo Aerospace, and the fact that the work I had been doing at Id for the last half of Doom 3 development was basically pretty damn boring.

The Armadillo work has been very rewarding from a learning-lots-of-new-stuff perspective, and I'm still committed to the vehicle development, even post X-Prize, but the work at Id is back to a high level of interest now that we are working on a new game with new technology. I keep running across topics that are interesting to talk about, and the Armadillo updates have been a pretty good way for me to organize my thoughts, so I'm going to give it a more general try here. .plan files were appropriate ten years ago, and sort of retro-cute several years ago, but I'll be sensible and use the web.

Read on | Text mirrored

More info:
Wikipedia on John Carmack
Slashdot interview
Time Digital 50 - John Carmack
Discussion >>

ID have released the second version on their SDK (software development kit) for Doom 3, giving modders the chance to expand on the technology behind one of the most (if not THE most) frightening games ever conceived.

Download the SDK here (11.7 Mb)

If you have played Doom 3 through and through and think there is nothing else left to do.....don't shelve it just yet! Why not try out some of the wonderful mods the community has developed. Check out IGNIQ's Doom 3 modlist for a start, it is the definitive accumulation of Doom 3 mods.

Not played Doom 3 yet ? Download the demo from one of these locations (472.3 Mb)

Discussion >>

IGNIQ members have been posting their sightings of Half-Life 2's G-Man in the forum, along with screenshots.

There are 13 confirmed locations so far, but more may yet be found; if you've noticed any not featured on this list, post a screenshot in the thread.

*Note - contains spoilers if you haven't completed the game.
Discussion >>

Spong.com points to this Inquirer article:

A SLIDE from a non disclosure agreement (NDA) presentation seen by the INQ points towards Microsoft launching three versions of the Xbox 2, one of which is a fully functioning PC.

[...]

The standard Xbox Next will not include a hard drive, which will allow Microsoft to cut costs on this basic unit. Xbox Next HD, as you might imagine, does include a hard drive and will offer increased functionality based on this. Xbox Next PC is, according to the presentation, an entry-level PC that runs Windows and all standard PC software. It also includes CD Burner, Wireless keyboard, mouse and controller and will work best connected to a high-definition TV or PC monitor.

Read on

Spong think the rumour is likely untrue:

The plan outlined above talks of splitting the Xbox user-base into two distinct sections – those who have access to hard drive storage and those who don’t. This would necessitate a multi-layered development process for all games for the new system, seeing increased development costs in the next generation that current estimates already place at 50% more expensive than current platform development.

Discussion >>

The open source MMORPG Planeshift began a public beta test recently and is now available for free download:

The objective of the PlaneShift Team is to create a virtual fantasy world in which a player can start as a peasant in search of fame and become a hero. We will focus our efforts in the reproduction of a real world with politics, economy, many non-player-characters controlled by the server that will bring to life our world even without players connected!

We want to give FREE access to everyone, without the need to either purchase the game or pay a monthly fee. Servers and bandwidth will be donated by sponsors.

Our virtual world is persistent, and this means you can connect to it at every hour of day or night and you will always find players and npcs wandering our realms. You will be able to disconnect and reconnect again, the server saves the actual status of your character including his possessions.

More about the game

Download the game client here (220 MB)

More info:
Slashdot | Planeshift Enters Open Testing
Discussion >>

A free trial offer is now available for The Saga of Ryzom, a MMOG from Paris-based developer Nevrax:

Three generations ago, the proud civilizations of Atys perished in the Great Swarming, when hordes of Kitins swept from the Prime Roots and wrought war and genocide. Now it is time to reclaim your heritage. Join forces with thousands of others, master the arts of sorcery, war, and tradecraft, and re-forge the destiny of your people. The secrets of the past have been lost, but "The Saga of Ryzom" has just begun.

Called "a serious contender in the fantasy-MMOG market," by GameSpy and "the prescription against staid and tired MMORPGs" by Computer Gaming World, and deemed 2004's "Best MMO of E3" by WarCry Network, "The Saga of Ryzom" launched smoothly into five markets (North America and Europe) in September of this year.

Nevrax have made two trial options available: the Express Access Free Trial requires no credit card and lets players try out the game quickly, while the Deluxe Access Free Trial includes access to chat, forums and extras from Nevrax.

Both options are available here.

More info:
The Saga of Ryzom official website
Nevrax official website
NeL - The open-source platform Ryzom is built on
Discussion >>

Neoseeker have posted a review of Nvidia's latest mid-range grahics card. This comes in the form of the BFG GeForce 6600GT OC AGP, which sports 128 Mb of the latest DDR3 memory with support for Microsoft's Shader Model 3.0.

The 6600GT is a great upgrade for anyone using last year's midrange card. It will give a very healthy boost to those who are on a 5700, 5900 or a 9600XT and it will still be a nice (albeit smaller) speed boost over the 9800 Pro / XT for the most part.

Thanks mvktech for the link

Check out the review over at neoseeker

Discussion >>

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