EA announced today that the collector's edition of MegalomaniacsThe Sims 3 is available for $70 at all your standard video game purveyors. It appears the items packaged with the game, which releases next February, haven't changed much since they were originally announced at Leipzig two months ago.
The collectors edition includes: the game, Plumbob (the crystal thing over Sims' heads) USB Drive and stickers, in-game European-styled sports car and a "tips and hints" guide. We're still amazed it doesn't come with a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince or Plato's Republic.
Time for 0.2 percent of you to form an "online PR cabal" again? Perhaps. Ubisoft forum manager "bukowski113" has posted details about the Far Cry 2 DRM, which happens to be the same SecuROM technology tied to Spore and other EA PC (and sometimes Mac) titles. According to bukowski113:
Purchasers have up to 5 activations on 3 separate PCs
Uninstalling Far Cry 2"refunds" an activation; this process is known as "revoke" (as long as you properly uninstall the game, you'll be able to re-install it an unlimited number of times on the 3 machines)
A computer can be upgraded an unlimited number of times (using "revoke")
Ubisoft is willing to provide additional activations, if necessary
"Ubisoft is committed to the long-term support of our games: you'll always be able to play Far Cry 2"
Welcome to "the future of DRM," people. Get comfy.
Potential storm in a teacup news now, with EA CEO John Riccitiello recently commenting on Spore's "particularly aggressive" digital rights management at a Media & Money conference. Though expressing a dislike for the anti-piracy system, Riccitiello explained that better protection against those with a propensity for pilferage had yet to manifest. He further added that the widely reported outcry against Spore's DRM originated from a deafening minority.
"We chose a particularly aggressive form of DRM, which 99.8 percent of consumers would never notice, but that two-tenths of one percent got incredibly focused and formed an online PR cabal," he said. "We can eliminate piracy by essentially blocking the online service from the pirate." Riccitiello called it "the future of DRM," one we hope will be more adept at distinguishing between the consumers and the criminals.
In an interview with Kikizo, Valve's Doug Lombardi says we won't have to wait long for ... our first glimpse of Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Quizzed on whether the dev would have something to show in 2008, Lombardi plainly said, "We may at the very end of the year." So, yay – a (possible) Half-Life Holiday.
As for when the game will actually ship – er, not so soon. "The next time you play as Gordon will be longer than the distance between HL2 to Ep1, and Ep1 to Ep2," Lombardi confirmed. We're guessing he didn't mean all of that time distance combined. Still, given that Episode One hit in June of '06 and we didn't see Episode Two until October '07, we're likely looking at an 18+ month wait for Episode Three. That would put its release ... around May or June 2009. Or, in comparative terms, sometime around the debut of the next new Lost episode.
With its developer already inking comic bookdeals and counting the dollars, euros, yen, and copper farthings it expects to rake in from a projected three million copies worldwide, Mirror's Edge staying a one-off affair may have seemed unlikely ... and is now so totally not one. In an interview with AusGamers, DICE senior producer, Owen O'Brien, reveals that the game – launching next month – will be the first in a planned trilogy.
O'Brien commented: "The story we're telling at the moment is kind of a trilogy, a three-story arc," adding that, "certainly for these first couple games, it's all about Faith." Faith being the protagonist of the first (and now, it seems, second) Mirror's Edge – or, you might also say, what EA has in the franchise. O'Brien also mentioned that the second game in the freshly-minted series may pack a level editor, saying: "It's something we're probably going to look at for the sequel."
He also said that, "We want to make the level editor as easy to use and intuitive as the game is. And that's going to take us quite a lot of time." In other words: the first dose of rooftop running action – complete with its recently revealed time trial mode – will have to keep us happy for a good while.
While we're awaiting the recently-completed, more competitively-priced Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 2, the official site has given us a way to bide our time. Introducing The Official PAA Papercraft™, which includes regulars Tycho, Gabe, Anne-Claire and Fruit ... erm, Lover.
Also available are Episode 2 foes Hat Spider, Asylum Patient and Dr. "I see you've been staring at my balls" Wolfington (his balls are not currently available as papercraft). Fun fact: In a display of irony, should you find yourself surrounded by papercraft Fruit Lovers, the use of fruit juice will actually harm them.
Shortly after our earlier post on the release of World of Warcraft patch 3.0.2 "Echoes of Doom" went up, we started receiving tips that the patch notes we linked to were inaccurate. Turns out they are ... because, as our friends at WoW Insider report, Blizzard yanked a number of major class changes prior to its release.
In the run-up to next month's Wrath of the Lich King launch, Blizzard is evidently making changes to the game's balance on what seems to be a second-by-second basis, with the developer stating that patch 3.0.2 was balanced at level 80 with all of the intended changes but ... not so much at 70. Rather than make things messier, it went with what worked.
Blizzard says that all players should get the (for now) shelved changes by the time WotLK launches on Nov. 13. It also expects there to be numerous hot fixes at that point, asking its fans to hold strong during this (hopefully brief) period of hectic pre-launch scuttering about.
We hope at least a few of you are old enough to remember Defense of the Ancients, the very best mod for Warcraft 3, which allowed you to pit two forces of champions from the series against each other. Now some of the team from the mod have revealed their next project: League of Legends: Clash of Fates, a session-based action-strategy game that will have some of the persistent elements of an MMO. You can see the first trailer released by newly-formed Riot Games above.
There's not a whole lot of info on the game available at the moment, but you can be one of the first to get a closer look by signing up for next year's beta right here.
After finishing Tabula Rasa, Richard Garriott decided to take a break from reaping the adoration of the game's dozens of fans to be (literally) shot into space. Video of his flight was released yesterday, and you can watch it just after the jump.
Just after liftoff (at about 2:15 into the video) Lord British holds a message up to the cockpit camera written in Logos, the language of Tabula Rasa. We'd love to make fun of him for doing something so incredibly nerdy, but we're ashamed to admit we actually think it's kind of cool. Sorry.
When we weren't taking photos, sitting in Starcraft 2 panels, or watching the closing ceremonies at BlizzCon, all of our available free time was devoted to Diablo 3. It was the first thing we played within minutes of the grand opening, and the game they had to pry us away from when the doors closed. Yes, it's just that good. Plus, we still have two character classes that haven't been revealed yet, so who knows what else this has in store for us.
We were happy just to be able to return to the world of Diablo after seven years since the Lord of Destruction expansion set was on store shelves, and it was worth the wait. Find out everything we could during our exhaustive hands-on after the break, and be sure to check out the galleries below that show off in-game screens and concept art. Plus we're sticking that gameplay footage in again, because it's the only way we can enjoy Diablo until there's a beta, or some sort of miracle occurs.
Gallery: BlizzCon 2008: Diablo III In-Depth Hands On
Today, Blizzard will be releasing World of Warcraft patch 3.0.2, also known as "Echoes of Doom," the first major update since March's "Fury of the Sunwell" patch. "Echoes" marks the introduction of the Achievements System, sure to push the game into an even higher echelon of addiction. Expect also new locations, arenas, spells, talents, abilities, a barbershop, an in-game calendar and a new profession, Inscription.
Our MMO-obsessed (or "MMObsessed") friends at WoW Insider have the full patch notes and an archive of extensive coverage. The "Echoes of Doom"patch should be returning your calls around 2:00PM PT (or 5:00PM ET). In case you missed it (and then, of course, we must ask how?), check out Joystiq and WoW Insider's coverage of this past weekend's BlizzCon.
Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.
Warhammer Online's party hits 750,000 players It seems like the forces of Order and Destruction have been busy recruiting, because Gamasutra is reporting that Warhammer Online is now partying hard at 750,000 subscribers strong.
Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.
Mines of Moria gets a November 18th release date Mines of Moria, the first expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, has been given a release date of November 18th for both the NA and EU today. That means we're only about a month away from ten new levels, two new classes, legendary weapons, angry Balrogs and the under-mountain Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dum.
Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online goes beyond questing The folks at SOE Austin are looking to change the playing field fairly substantially with their superhero MMO title. In fact, in a number of ways they're looking to re-examine a lot of the basic elements we think of as part and parcel with the MMO package. One great example is the concept of questing.
EA's Pogo division has opened a new studio in Austin, Texas, to work on the company's Hasbro licensed properties. In an interview with GameDaily, the company announced its first title will be based on visual acuity board game, Pictureka!, which the studio expects to be spotted in November for $20 on PC.
Pogo Austin's Studio Director Sean Clark says he "can imagine" the company's stable of Hasbro games (Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit) coming to XBLA, PSN and WiiWare, but no announcement has been made. It's actually quite surprising that Pogo hasn't made such popular franchises available for download on consoles yet.
As you long-time readers know, Joystiq loves the zombie-battling action fromThe Last Standand The Last Stand 2. Now, developer Con-Artists has moved on to a new project, Warfare 1917, and though it lacks a horde of brain-hungry degenerates, its take on World War I is no less addictive.
You'll lead either the British or German forces as you try to overcome the steadily approaching opposition. It's both a battle for land and morale as you can win by either moving to the far right of the board or just beating up on your foes until they can't take it any more.
You'll decide which unit types you want to send out when, as well as the best time for them to move from trench to trench. Also at your disposal is a wide array of different big weapons like mortars and artillery, which you can rarely deploy without making sure your forces are far, far away from the target area.
We haven't completeld Warfare 1917, so we can't quite put it on the level with Last Stand yet. But if the early bits we've played are any indication, you might want to free up a couple of hours before deciding to give Warfare a try.
The last time Talisman really popped up on radar was last year when it was stated the game would be out by April of 2008. Svensson notes on the Capcom site that it was no longer cost effective to continue with the project after a "misfire" at the start and the rights have reverted back to Games Workshop.
Wanna be this dude for Halloween? Yeah you do!
An in-depth hands-on with Diablo 3
Joystiq hands-on: Call of Duty: World at War
Echoes of Doom patch is out today, WoW Insider has everything you need to know!
We're live at the Tokyo Game Show 2008, yatta!
Listen to the Joystiq podcast (because your ears can't read)
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