« Igniq.com Gaming News - Bookmark this site Advertisements  Via our send us news page comes word of a massively multiplayer online browser game (MMOBG) called Pardus, which is free to play with no downloads necessary, all you need is a web browser:Located in a technologically well evolved but war-torn universe you play an adventurer who travels around in his spaceship and tries to make money and obtain power - as do many others.  Slashdot links to a deathmatch first-person shooter called Nexuiz that has just been released under a GNU General Public License (GPL). The game was developed on an advanced version of the Quake 1 gaming engine, and the screenshots look pretty good: It is a 3d deathmatch game made entirely over the internet. The purpose of the game is to bring deathmatch back to the basics, with perfect weapon balancing and fast paced action, keeping itself away from the current trend of realistic shooters. It uses HFX textures by Evil Lair, and currently has 17 maps to frag in. With an advanced UI, the user can select between 15 different player models to use, with an average of two skins for each, and can connect to our master server to play people from all over the world. 200mb of hard drive space High Quality - Realtime lights and shadows on, bloom on, high detailed maps, 1024x768 or higher res - A 1.5-gigahertz Intel Pentium 4 chip or AMD Athlon 1500 - 9600ati or 5700fx - 256 mb of ram Low Quality - no realtime lights, no bloom - 800mhz - Geforce Video card min - 256 mb of ram Discussion >> Idlethumbs.net has come across a curious article on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcast News, in which it reports on America's new "social scourge", video game addiction. It paints the grimmest picture of gaming possible, even referring to the PS3 and Xbox 360 as "new generation weapons": A neglected baby cries alone. Crazed by lack of sleep, a young boy threatens suicide. A marriage crumbles over a lone obsession.  Earlier, Apple posted a downloadable countdown widget for Mac user who are anticipating the release of the Xbox 360. The release date is of course only an estimation based around the Mountain Dew Every 10 Min Giveaway. If the date changes, Apple will release a version 2 of the widget to coincide with the new release.Major Nelson is reporting on a Windows version of the countdown widgtet reportedly compiled by someone in Visual Basic. You can get more details of the windows widget here. Related: MS: £400 Xbox 360 Just Speculation J Allard: Xbox 360 in the neighbourhood of $300 Xbox 360 over 600 dollars? Xbox 360 Accessories Images Say hello to Grandpa's Xbox Discussion >> A new restaurant is planned by Nolan K. Bushnell, creator of the Pong video game and Chuck E. Cheese chain of restaurants, which will attempt to mix gaming with eating out. Diners at the restaurant will be presented with touch-screen monitors at every table and barstool, allowing them to play seventy different types of video and trivia games as they eat: Video games today "are about social isolation," Mr. Bushnell said. "There needs to be a place that brings a little more balance and brings people together." Discussion >>  Extreme Tech has a nice summary of the features expected in ATI's upcoming multi-GPU technology, Crossfire. They discuss the technology in both the hardware and software aspects of the setup.This brings up another interesting point. ATI claims greater flexibility for the CrossFire solution. In other words, you don't need to buy a pair of identical cards for CrossFire motherboards, unlike Nvidia's SLI technology. So if you already have a PCI Express X800 XL, then you can get either an X850 CrossFire Edition board or X800 CrossFire edition board. However, if the boards aren't identical in performance, the faster board will be throttled back dynamically in order to maintain synchronization. ATI's Crossfire gunning to oust Nvidia's SLI Discussion >>  As the release Call of Duty 2 is upon us, it is interesting to look back at the recent history of Infinity Ward, since release of the original COD in 2003. The game since then has received numerous Game of the Year awards, praised by critics and cherished by fans as one of the most realistic and engrossing WW2 shooters to hit the PC in years.Gamespy has a very interesting writeup in which they summarize COD's success, its expansions and the anticipation that is building for the long awaited sequel, that will be using an entirely revamped graphics engine. So what do you do for an encore? For Infinity Ward, it was back to WWII, but not just for a rehash of the original game. After getting a first look at the game a few weeks ago, the company offered a sneak peek at two more very different levels in the chaos surrounding this year's E3. From the looks of things, it appears Call of Duty 2 may not only live up to its predecessor, but potentially eclipse it. Call of Duty 3 Planned CallofDuty.com Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Preview Call of Duty 2 - Lead Designer Q&A Discussion >>  New legislation passed in the State of Illinois stipulates that clerks who knowingly sell adult video games to minors could be fined $1,000. The bill was proposed last year by Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich after hearing about the video game "JFK Reloaded," which puts the player in the role of President Kennedy's assassin.In today's world, parents face unprecedented challenges in monitoring and protecting their children from harmful influences. This bill will make their job easier, said Blagojevich, praising the new bill.The legislation leaves it to stores to determine which games are too violent or sexually explicit for minors, and retailers have argued it turns them into violence and sensitivity police. U.S Game Bans Come Closer to Reality The Educational Aspect of Computer Games Discussion >>  U.K Resistance.co.uk shines a spotlight on Play.com's half-hearted Xbox 360 pre-ordering campaign; first it was the posting up of a ridiculous price and a release date that Microsoft itself dismissed as speculation, but now they've taken to creating their own designs for the game boxes, which consist of a random screenshot from the game with an Xbox 360 logo pasted onto it:We'd just like to say a quick and extremely sarcastic "Well done!" to whoever made these pretend game boxes for play.com's ludicrous Xbox 360 pre-ordering campaign. It's almost like seeing the actual shop shelves come November. Related: MS: £400 Xbox 360 Just Speculation J Allard: Xbox 360 in the neighbourhood of $300 Discussion >>  The pack-shot and two new Game-watermarked screenshots of Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360 have cropped up on Rare-Extreme.com:Oh my face its two PDZ single player screens! via Computerandvideogames.com Related: Official Xbox.com site for Perfect Dark Zero Discussion >>  Some reports have been coming out that Sony wishes to offer a cheaper non-value pack of their Playstation Portable. The initial price for the launch was 250 USD which did not see the PSP sell out within days of its launch. However, the new price is a lot more digestible and all it means is you have to do without a case (boo-hoo) and the Spider-Man 2 movie on UMD (that's a downside?)At $199, consumers could see a stand-alone PSP unit for sale, similar to the one offered in Japan at launch. The stand alone PSP includes only the hardware, battery pack, and charger, leaving out cases, headphones, and memory. PSP's UMD on the offensive Make Your Own PSP Docking Station Tons of Movies Coming to PSP PSP Hacks and Mods List PSPMag Discussion >>  The sheer amount of detail Bethesda are pouring into Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is impressive, as explained in a new first impressions on Shacknews:For starters, over 9,000 objects are being created for use in the game. There are 400 books to read. Every character will have spoken dialogue, amounting to over 50 hours of speech. All the characters will be lip synced with the dialogue. The world is comprised of sixteen square miles of land to explore, half of which is dynamically generated forests which are populated with various forms of wild and plant life. Related: Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Screenshot gallery Official Oblivion Trailer The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion E3 Interview/Screens (17 May) Discussion >>  Early reports coming in suggest that Tomb Raider: Legend may be making its way to the Xbox 360. Lara Croft's new adventure was showcased behind closed doors at E3 and boasted a higher polygon count than her previous titles. The latest edition of ECG magazine suggest, TRL may very well debut on Microsoft's Xbox 360 having been moved from the 'heavily rumoured' category by EGM to 'in the works'. Lara Croft (hereafter referred to in this article as Still Game) is now under the care of acclaimed Soul Reaver developers Crystal Dynamics and bared all at this year's E3 Expo in Los Angeles, albeit behind closed doors. Still Game showcased a higher polygon count, sported new moves and endorsed Eidos' claims of restoring the original properties of Lara Croft as ardent Tomb Raider - procurer of all things ancient - much to the delight of fans of the series. Tomb Raider: Legend Trailer Official website Discussion >>  4 new screens of Quake 4 have surfaced and are making the rounds today. Gamershell have them posted up on their site. Ok, it's not exactly much to go on but at least Quake 4 has been steadily dropping little fixes to keep us occupied until the release, unlike some games that spring to mind.Check out the 4 new screenshots Related: Quake IV scheduled for Christmas launch? Raven Software id Software Will Quake 4 Run On Your Machine? A Look Into The Design Of Quake IV Quake 4: Storyline Details Emerge Quake IV multiplayer for QuakeCon in August Discussion >> Brandon Erickson started playing Star Wars Arcade at 8 AM on May 16th and didn't stop until 2.10 PM on the 18th, raising $800 for the Portland Schools Foundation. Using a single quarter, he broke the previous 1984 record of 49 and 1/2 hours for the game, though he ran into problems 35 hours in when the controls started to malfunction: 35 hours after he started playing, however, the machine's controls started malfunctioning, forcing Erickson to quickly adaptor his playing style or kiss his record goodbye. Despite his fear of imminent doom, Erickson managed to survive for another 20 hours.  Square Enix have updated the teaser website for the Final Fantasy VII spin-off Dirge of Cerberus, which is described as a gun-action RPG and centers around the Vincent Valentine character.The new look website is now completely made in Flash and includes the information that another character from the original Final Fantasy VII, Cait Sith, will make an appearance in the game. Dirge of Cerberus is due for release on the fourteenth of November for the Playstation 2. Dirge of Cerberus | Final Fantasy VII Related: Gamespot E3 Preview: Dirge of Cerberus Dirge of Cerberus screenshots Discussion >>  Having been announced Gold, details of the Battlefield 2 demo have made their way to an EA Australia messageboard. The post claims that the demo will be available in little over a week and will feature One map, 16-player single player, 16 and 32-player multiplayer with a time limit per round.Although final dates for the Battlefield 2 demo have not been locked down we understand we will be allowed to make it available in little over a week. Battlefield 2 Gold, on course for June 21st release Battlefield 2 Q&A with EA's Ben Smith Rumour: Battlefield 2 Demo in mid-June Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Announced For PSP Battlefield 2: Preview Battlefield: Modern Combat Details Emerge Battlefield 2 engine demonstration Official website Discussion >> More often than not, media coverage of computer games has been biased, blaming many educational shortcomings of children on the negative influences of gaming. So I was somewhat surprised when I hit upon The Guardian's article Playtime in the classroom that deals with the beneficial effects of computer gaming. In the UK, media attention has focused more on Johnson's observations that modern computer games require concentration, forward planning, lateral thinking and sustained problem solving - and, as such, offer a "cognitive workout" that can benefit overall mental development. [...] "Civilisation is a good example; it teaches about material and geographical contingency in the progression of history. Nintendo's Animal Crossing is another - my five-year-old learned almost everything he ever needs to know about long-term debt by figuring out how to pay off his home mortgage in the game." This didn't make parental supervision redundant, of course, but over time games might evolve into yet another tool teachers could use in classes.Related info: Guardian Unlimited Discussion >>  Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi has once again put the boot into Microsoft as the next-generation console war rumbles to life.In an article in the Friday edition of Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun, Kutaragi stated "Microsoft is trailing behind us and is not a threat", before going on to dismiss a brief period last Christmas when the Xbox sold more units than the Playstation 2 by saying "beating us for a short moment is like accidentally winning a point from a karate master and Microsoft is still not a black belt". He then went on to compare the Microsoft's achievements in the console arena to their operating systems: "Just like with their operating systems, they might come out with something good around the third generation of their release". Microsoft's Robbie Bach was also interviewed for the article, and shot back that the Xbox 360 would lead the market of next-gen consoles, saying that some features of the PS3 such as the ability to use seven controllers and connect to two high-def TV's would be difficult to imagine owners having any use for. Partial translation of Asahi Shinbun article on Gamespot Related: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo attack one another Next-gen bigwigs trade blows Sony Boss Slams Microsoft Xbox 360 = Xbox 1.5? Kutaragi trashtalkin’! (25 May) Discussion >>  After the Xbox 360 appeared on Play.com with a very specific launch date of 29 November and a huge pre-order price of £399 sterling (€529, $725), Eurogamer contacted Microsoft itself for the official word, who dismissed Play's information as speculation:The stories currently running on some retail sites regarding Xbox 360 launch price, launch timings and launch line up are pure speculation," said a representative. "We have not yet announced any specific launch details. J Allard: Xbox 360 in the neighbourhood of $300 Xbox 360 over 600 dollars? Xbox 360 Accessories Images Say hello to Grandpa's Xbox Discussion >>  The official website for Jaws Unleashed has been launched by Majesco. The Xbox, PC and PS2 game based on the classic Spielberg movie is expected for release in August, and the website gives us a screenshot gallery, news, the list of features and a pre-order option. The storyline takes place in the same location (Amity Island) as the Jaws movie and players take the role of the shark, striking terror into the community as marine biologist Michael Brody, son of Martin from the original movies, gives chase: Amity Island is growing, making corporate connections with prestigious companies like Environplus to improve the Island’s economy. Unfortunately the increased population around the Island and recent industrial activity has also attracted YOU--one of Earth’s most fearsome creatures--a Great White Shark. When the Environplus CEO’s son falls prey to your deadly attacks, the CEO hires renowned shark hunter Cruz Ruddock to track and kill you. Meanwhile, Marine Biologist Michael Brody tries to capture you for research. Can Ruddock and Brody stop you from causing havoc and killing more people before the 4th of July celebration? Related: Majesco Entertainment: Jaws Unleashed Gamespot: Jaws Unleashed E3 2005 Hand-on Discussion >>  A game launched by the U.N has reached an impressive one million players in six weeks, according to a press release sent out by the organisation.Food Force is an educational game aimed at kids, the object of which is to try to race against time to feed thousands of people on a fictitious island alongside a team of emergency workers: They pilot helicopters while looking out for hungry people, negotiate with armed rebels blocking a food convoy, and use food aid to help rebuild communities. Along the way, they learn about the real world where over 800 million people are plagued by hunger each day. Related: Download Food Force for the PC and Mac BBC: UN video game makes hunger point Water Cooler Games: "Finally! An educational game that rocks!" Discussion >>  Medal of Honour: European Assault has already been announced Gold and is shipping to coincide with D-Day, June 6th. If you still cannot wait and need something to tide you over until then, gamespy has an interesting write up in which they examine all the different weapons expected to be in European Assault. From the Sten Submachine Gun to the Model 12 Trenchgun, weapons are examined and also tactical gameplay and how you can snatch the enemies weapons if you come across an unguarded corpse.Like any good first-person shooter, Medal of Honor European Assault has guns. Lots of them. As you run through the game, you'll get weapons from your fellow OSS squadmates, find them scattered on the ground, and even pry them from the cold, dead hands of your enemies. There are a variety of weapon types, too, including pistols, machine guns, grenades, and even a few kinds of rocket launchers. Medal of Honor: European Assault turns Golden Discussion >>  As Capcom yesterday celebrated their 50th anniversary party, held in Yokohama prefecture, Capcom officially made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records. Namco's ultra classic coin-op Pac-Man has been listed as the "most successful coin operated game" in history.There is no question that Pac-Man was a revolution in computer gaming. It not only showed what could be done with very little processing power to the world, but it also brought computer technology to the attention of many young people Selling 293,822 units of the arcade machine during the seven-year period from 1980 to 1987, when the arcade game was still being manufactured by Namco. David Hawksett, science and technology editor at Guinness World Records, Namco's 50th to present the official Guinness plaque to Namco founder Masaya Nakamura and the man who created the little Yellow hero, Toru Iwatani.I'm extremely honored," commented Nakamura. "I'm used to being called the 'Father of Pac-Man,' and he's like a son to me. He's smart, he's courageous, and he's tough enough that there's an M&A term called 'Pac-Man Defense' named after him. I hope that Namco will continue growing strong like Pac-Man for its next 50 years. Pac Man's 25th Birthday, And We Salute Him Discussion >>  More next-gen console speculation. Latest rumour making the rounds is that an in-built harddrive for the PS3 is not a given, after Sony's chief technology officer Masayuki Chatani made unfavorable remarks over a HDD's inclusion in the initial launch package expected in spring 2006.Chatana is reported to have told Famitsu that nothing had been finalized on this front and that gamers, as far as he was concerned expected the option of upgrading the storage capacity of the Playstation 3 HDD. Does this suggest that some form of disk drive might be omitted from the basic system? Possibly. It is believed that a laptop size HDD may be made available as a detachable extra for the PS3, and that it will hook up to a port on the base of the new unit. Even more Ps3 images, plus video Sony CEO Slams "XBox 1.5" Microsoft talks up Xbox, says fuss about PlayStation 3 is 'a moment in time' Q&A with Sony's Kaz Hirai on the PS3, online gaming and the competition PS3 May Launch Outside Japan First? Under $500 Pricetag on PlayStation 3? Technical demos illustrate PlayStation 3's power Discussion >>  Worth1000.com recently held a photoshop contest in which contestants had to merge modern technology with vintage machinery. From transistor radio hybrid Ipods through to pulse dial faced mobile phones, every avenue of the creative mind was explored. The winner of the competition was "Grandpa's Xbox" (featured above). As the song goes ' everything old is new again 'An advanced photoshop contest was held on www.worth1000.com recently where the requirements for entrants was to create a composite image which merges images of modern day technology with vintage machinery. From transistor radio hybrid Ipods through to pulse dial faced mobile phones, the entries pushed the envelope in every sense. The winner was the Grandpa XBOX come retro radio which was seemlessly composited and totally believable. The artists described as photoshopping mad scientist, the work described as modern art masterpieces. Pimp my Xbox, 24crt Gold style Discussion >>  Twisted Monkey caught up with Capcom's Joe Willis to discuss the development of Final Fight. The revamped version of the classic arcade brawler titled Final Fight: Streetwise and is being developed for the PS2 and Xbox.Fans of the arcade Final Fight (that's me) will be happy to know that some of the original characters are being kept. Hopefully they will bring Haggar, Cody and Guy back for a reunion. TM] What are some things that players will see in the new Metro City that will remind them of the original Final Fights? Capcom announce Classics Collection Discussion >>  5 new screenshots of Far Cry Instincts have been added over at gamespot. The Long-delayed console version of Crytek's next-gen PC shooter is set for an Autumn release. Check out the new screens here Related: Ubisoft Release Far Cry Instincts Movie Far Cry Goes 64-Bit, Will You? USE YOUR INSTINCTS: NEW FAR CRY SCREENS Far Cry 64 Bit benchmarks and 32 bit comparison Discussion >>  More and more entertainment companies seem to be recognizing the potential of producing movies for Sony's Playstation Portable. Two more companies have signed up to produce UMD titles, Eagle Rock and Geneon announced that U.S. PSP owners can look forward to a selection of music and anime titles.Eagle Rock Entertainment are expected to release a range of music videos for Sony's portable, including Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Nirvana's Nevermind, Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, Marilyn Manson's Guns, God and Government and Metallica's self-titled album. On the flip side of that coin, rap fans can also look forward to Busta Rhymes' Everything Remains Raw, Boozed, Broozed and Broken Boned from the Black Label Society, Snoop Dogg's Puff Puff Pass Tour and the Up in Smoke Tour, featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Eminem. Eagle Rock is also offering one-minute MPEG-4 song clips, from artists including Alice Cooper, The Cure and Dio, on its website. Make Your Own PSP Docking Station Tons of Movies Coming to PSP PSP Hacks and Mods List PSPMag Discussion >> As was expected sooner rather than later, EA announced via the Battlefield 2 website that the long awaited Battlefield 2 has gone Gold and will begin shipping in PC format under the EA GAMES brand starting Tuesday, June 21, 2005. In the game, developed by Digital Illusions CE (DICE) players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, China, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition.Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of any of the game's 30+ vehicles. Players can also hone their skills against improved enemy intelligence in the new single-player campaign before competing online with up to 64 players in some of the most intense battles on the PC. Battlefield 2 Q&A with EA's Ben Smith Rumour: Battlefield 2 Demo in mid-June Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Announced For PSP Battlefield 2: Preview Battlefield: Modern Combat Details Emerge Battlefield 2 engine demonstration Official website Discussion >>  What can a publisher possibly do to pique the community's interest if a game's release date is still shrouded in mystery and development seems to be dragging on indefinitely? Publisher THQ has now taken a slightly different approach in this regard by publishing fictitious diary entries from a team of scientists reporting about their experiences in the radioactively contaminated zone of Chernobyl. Here's a zone story excerpt from a guy called Simeon Graphor:On May 2nd 1986, a decision was made to evacuate the inhabitants of a 30 km area within Chernobyl APP zone and of a number of built-up areas within it. Subsequently, until the end of 1986, 116 thousand people were evacuated from 188 settlements (including the town of Prypyat). Related info: THQ S.T.A.L.K.E.R. website Stalker dx9 trailer - The toughest enemy (16 May) 17 New S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Movies (21 April) Discussion >>  Botros News has some images of the Xbox 360 accessories, including the memory unit, the Wifi 802.11a/b/g adapter and the play n charge controller kit. Botros also reveals the information on what exactly you get in the package bundle: With the console you get one wireless controller (without the play n charge kit). You also will get the HD Component cables and power cable in the box. No word on a demo disc or what kind of manuals will be included, but the big news is the HD Component cables in the box. At launch, the only other cables that will be available are S-video and VGA cables, no DVI scheduled. Related: Xbox 360 Pre-orders £400 on Play.com Pittsburgh girl gets sneak peak at Xbox 360 invoice What TV will I need for my Xbox 360? Discussion >>  We've collected a list of links to Xbox 360 information and resources as we've come across them on the Web: Official sites/ resources
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