Owner: That PC Blog URL:http://www.thatpcblog.com/ Join Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:30:11 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Daily PC gaming news, media and updates. Site statistics:Click here
A First Listen to the Crysis Soundtrack 2007-09-29 04:24:36
Screenshots are all the rage these days, so it’s not too often we have the chance to check out some music clips from an upcoming game. Luckily for us, EA Games let slip a couple sound clips from their upcoming game Crysis
. At only 15 seconds each, you’re probably not going to want to put them on your iPod, though they are certainly long enough for us to know Crysis‘ soundtrack is going to be great.
Crysis‘ composer is none other than Inon Zur, the artist responsible for world famous scores such as the anime series Escaflowne, Fallout Tactics, and the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War expansion packs. The score was recorded live with Seattle’s Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra and is expected to play out like a modern cinematic score, featuring some far-out musical themes to help describe the alien menace forming the backbone of the game’s story.
EA Games has already announced that an official soundtrack CD will be packaged with the special edition version of Read more:First
, Listen
, Soundtrack
Orange is Gold 2007-09-28 00:07:44 Reports have been coming in from all over, confirming Valve’s next release, The Orange
Box, has gone gold. According to various sources, physical copies of The Orange Box are now under production, and the game is on track to meet its October 8th release date. Considering the sheer magnitude of this collection, we’re willing to overlook the fact that the compilation was originally scheduled for release last year.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months and don’t know what all the fuss is about, then brace yourself; purchasing The Orange Box nets you a copy of Half-Life 2 as well as Episode One, in addition to three new releases: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and the space-time bending FPP (First Person Puzzler), Portal. The compilation will hit shelves with a MSRP of $49.95, only one third of what it would cost to buy all the titles individually. As an added bonus, gamers who pre-order The Orange Box now through Steam or at a local Game Stop wi
Assassin’s Creed Limited Edition Loot 2007-09-27 00:07:50 Gamers planning on picking up the limited edition of Assassin
’s Creed
when it hits shelves on the 13th of November can look forward to an 8 page comic illustrated by Mike Krahulik, according to a recent post at Penny Arcade. Gabe writes: “[i]t’s a little prequel story that provides some background info on the main character.”
Only the cover page has been revealed thus far, depicting a determined looking Altair in Krahulik’s characteristic art style. As for the other items of interest in the limited edition, we’ll have to wait and see.
The game itself is shaping up to be one of the bigger titles of the season, boasting fancy swordplay with a variety of edged weapons, a digital population that responds realistically to Altair’s actions, and some impressive-looking visuals.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to reserve my copy of the limited edition as soon as possible. Read more:Edition
Activision Announces More Rock 2007-10-03 21:47:19 Activision, one of the world’s oldest video game production companies, today announced 17 more tracks that will ship with Guitar Hero III on October 29th. Without further ado, here is the list in its entirety:
· Same Old Song and Dance (by Aerosmith)
· Helicopter (by Bloc Party)
· Stricken (by Disturbed)
· Monsters (by Matchbook Romance)
· Before I Forget (by Slipknot)
· Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth)
· When You Were Young (by The Killers)
· Devil Went Down to Georgia (as made famous by Charlie Daniels Band)
· Sunshine of Your Love (as made famous by Cream)
· Holiday in Cambodia (as made famous by Dead Kennedys)
· Cliffs of Dover (as made famous by Eric Johnson)
· Hit Me with Your Best Shot (as made famous by Pat Benetar)
· Black Magic Woman (as made famous by Santana)
· Story of My Life (as made famous by Social Distortion)
· Pride and Joy (as made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn)
· The Seeker (as made famous by The Who)
· Black Sunshine (as made famous by White Zombie Read more:Activision
Sony Premiers First OLED TV 2007-10-03 00:20:08 The modeling world may still be debating whether thin is sexy, but when it comes to computers and technology, sexy is thin. Meet Sony
’s fancy new piece of eye candy, the XEL-1 OLED TV. The screen is only 11″ across diagonally, but it’s also only 3mm thick; an impressive achievement that is impossible with today’s relatively bulky LCDs (who would have thought we’d be calling LCDs bulky!). The XEL-1 has an unimpressive 960 x 540 pixel resolution, though it will scale down any inputs up to 1080p. It also sports RJ-45 and USB ports, in addition to HDMI and standard cable inputs.
Don’t break out your checkbook just yet though. The XEL-1 is currently only available in Japan, and the built in digital tuner is only able to decode Japanese TV signals. Besides, at ¥200,000 (roughly $1,730 US), it just might be better to hold out until the technology has matured and dropped a little in price.
The real potential however, is what this means for the future of PC Read more:First
Crysis MP Beta Open… For Now. 2007-10-02 00:51:51 Get ‘em while they’re hot, kids! FilePlanet has opened up their Crysis
beta key distribution to anyone with a FilePlanet, Gamespy, or IGN account, rather than just FilePlanet subscribers. We expect keys are limited, and they’re probably go fast, so now is the time to get yours.
There are a couple of catches though; before you can get a key, you’ll need to agree to an NDA. Essentially what that means is even though I can play the beta, I’m not allowed to tell you anything about it, unfortunately. Another downside is the nearly 1.5 GB download. There’s no torrent up as of yet, meaning gamers will have to survive with whatever bandwidth FilePlanet can provide.
Still, a chance to get a look at what Crysis will look like is pretty exciting. I’m just hoping the download doesn’t freeze again.
A Baker’s Dozen of Devil May Cry 4 2007-10-01 00:52:30 While the fourth title in the series may turn it’s back to the Dante we know and love, it looks like Nero is not lacking to much in the ass-kickery department. News has been consistently slow to come on this new Devil
May Cry title; I interpret that as meaning there is still a big chunk of work needing to be done, so I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for new news. Judging by the screenshots though, it looks like gamers are in for more of the same marionette killing action, and that’s a good thing. The game will be available for PS3, X-Box 360, and PC of course, sometime in 2008.
Until then…
(more…) Read more:Baker
, Dozen
New in Stores the Week of Oct. 1, 2007 2007-09-30 03:12:53
As far as quantity goes for releases this week, PC gamers don’t have much to brag about. As always though, quality is what puts a smile on my face.
Up for sale on the 1st of October is an intriguing looking RPG from developer Rebelmind, called The Chosen - Well of Souls. Don’t expect this Diablo 2 inspired demon-killing RPG to win any awards for outstanding gameplay, but at a MSRP of $19.99, it’s not a huge investment either.
The release that most people are going to be following, however, is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, which rumbles into stores on October 2nd. Promoted as a Battlefield killer, Quake Wars combines the well established class-based multiplayer system with the Doom 3 engine, and adds in a sprinkling of RPG elements, to brew one solid multiplayer experience. If you’re not fortunate enough to own an X-Box 360 and therefore can’t participate in any Halo 3 action this week, consider Quake Wars a most enjoyable alternative. At the very least, be
Seagate Spins Up Hybrid Hard Drives 2007-10-09 01:16:17 We’ve been hearing of these mythical chimeras of hard drives for years now - partially solid state, part traditional platter, all ferocious performance - but it looks as though Seagate
is finally ready to serve up to the masses a laptop sized hard disk that makes real the impressive concept.
For those not up to speed, a hybrid HDD combines two non-volatile storage devices into one package, flash and magnetic recording, and claims to offer the best of both worlds. Flash storage, the kind that can often be found around the necks of the less fashion-privileged of technoids, is highly prized for the speed with which data can be retrieved from it, and for the minuscule amount of energy it requires to operate. However, the data density of flash storage (think bits per square inch), despite recent advances in the technology, lags far behind traditional magnetic storage.
Hybrid
drives, like their automobile 2nd cousins, combine the traditional electromechanical systems we know with new e Read more:Spins
This Week in Games: October 8, 2007 2007-10-08 04:14:25
It’s a confusing week for releases, though we have to wonder if such a thing is ever straightforward. There is some solid game material hitting shelves this week, and we’ve got a full breakdown for you.
First up is a turn-based strategy game set in the time of the American Civil War, and aptly titled American Civil War. Players become the head of either the Union or Confederate forces and lead them through battle on land or on sea through several key conflicts of the war, or through an all-encompassing campaign. With a group of historical experts having played a role in the development of the game, it threatens to almost be educational.
(more…) Read more:October
, Games
New SOE MMO Makes Waves 2007-10-07 00:18:12
If you’ve been following the MMO scene for a while, you might have already heard of SOE’s next venture into the genre with its Pirates of the Burning Sea. Developed by Flying Lab Software, Pirates puts players into the britches of a New World sailor around the year 1720. Players choose one of four nations to play as, either the English, French, Spanish, or Pirate nation, then start sailing the seas of the New World trading, privateering, or just plain pirating.
The game features a good variety of things to do, from ship to ship combat, to swashbuckling duels, to object crafting and resource gathering. As a matter of fact, crafting plays a very important role in this game since the entire economy is player driven; all ships, weapons, and clothing is player made. Craftable items such as ships aren’t restricted to their blueprints either. There are options in game for customization, meaning a player’s ship truly feels like his own.
I’m not sure what to make Read more:Waves
Bungie Jumps Ship 2007-10-05 23:28:35 In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft and Bungie both confirmed rumors that had been floating around for the past week, speculating that Bungie was seeking to become an independent game company once again. Since Monday, hints that Bungie, the creative mastermind behind the Halo series, was seeking to return to their old independent ways had been surfacing on the net. Without any evidence to back up those rumors though, the speculation was mostly dismissed.
Press releases issued today by both Microsoft and Bungie profess the two will continue their partnership with the Halo franchise, and expect to strengthen ties with future releases of new IP. Unfortunately, no details were provided on what this new IP might be. In Harold Ryan’s words: “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through
CoD 4 Scores Harry Gregson-Williams 2007-10-05 01:12:46 Harry
Gregson-Williams
is no stranger to writing music. Responsible for cinematic scores seen in movies such as Shrek (and its sequels), Phone Booth, Team America: World Police, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Gregson-Williams recently had the opportunity to add Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat to his relatively small list of video game scores. Grant Collier of Infinity Ward recently said of the composer: “[he] was the perfect choice to craft an immersive and rich soundtrack that matches the heightened atmosphere and tension of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.”
It’s a bit of an obvious statement. Harry Gregson-Williams would probably be an ideal choice for most video games, after his practically legendary work scoring the music for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. For Call of Duty 4, Gregson-Williams worked with Stephen Barton (don’t worry, I’ve never heard of him either), who wrote the majority of the in-game music. Th
Recommend Site To A Friend
