Fallout 2 is fun.

"Nanaginip ako ng isang puting Krismas...
kagaya ng mga alam ko dati..."
Matthew Arcilla

 

"I See It Now... Where in the World is Barbie Sandiego?"  And her sidekick, Skipper. Mattel announced last Monday that it has intentions to purchase The Learning Company (which owns industry vets Broderbund) to the tune of a cool four billion dollars.   Mattel CEO Jill Barad made a statement to the press:  "Play patterns are changing to embrace technology... Technology is redefining marketing and distribution."    This will make Mattel the second largest consumer software (right next to Microsoft). Mattel's product lineup will now include mainstream hits (and future mainstream titles) such as Myst and the Carmen series along with its existing toy lineup.  GameSpot News extracted some bits from a research analyst, namely Seema Williams for comment:   "This is where their growth opportunities are... [Mattel is] a behemoth desperately looking for growth."     The recent moves of Hasbro and Mattel have been deemed a little shocking by business bigwigs all over... and the huge costs that the companies are spending give cause for slight alarm.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla     Ultima Online: A Meg a Month  No, we're not talking about expanding save files (although I know quite a few games guilty of it), rather, Origin's announcement of 100,000 registered users playing in the fields of cyberBritannia in Ultima Online.  This kind of stuff makes the accounting boys go nuts up in EA (Origin's parent company) as these figures easily add up to a cool million dollars a month being raked in by the game. They're obviously pleased as plans to set up more servers in Europe and Asia to reduce lag-slag.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  Rage of Mages Rage  Nival is following up RTS/RPG hybrid hit Rage of Mages through two newly announced installments, namely Rage of Mages II and Rage of Mages 3D.   No real specifics have been given yet on what kind of improvements or new features will be included in the new games, but several sources have it that beta testing for Rage of Mages II began last November. More details on these games as JANews! gets them.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla

 

Now, I will tell you a shocking tale, one that will send shivers up your spine, and make you say... "That can't be true... it's impossible... That's a lie!"... You'll move from shock to bitterness, resentment, and finally anger... But then this tale may only be a rumor... so sit around boils and ghouls, and I shall tell you:

Microprose's Falcon 4.0 has been released.

What? You're not shocked? What's that I hear, "what's Falcon 4.0"?

Figures. Oh well.

"Gazoosa, my snoofusdoofus!. Drink Rocket Fuel, it's krazappy!"
Matthew Arcilla

 

Monolith: Stuck in the College Years  Seems that Monolith Productions is obsessed with "geekfun". First they release a horror tribute first person shooter called Blood (along with its oft-lambasted mag ad.), then the Gauntlet ripoff Get Medieval, the anime worship shooter Shogo:MAD and the realtime fantasy strategy/RPG Rage of Mages, all decent games in their own right.  After the announcement to publish Valkyrie Studio's animesque Septerra Core, Monolith has acquired publishing rights to Topware Interactive's Gorky 17, a horror RPG from Poland which has now been renamed as Odium or "hate coupled with disgust".  So says the press release:  In your role as Sullivan, you have tracked down a Russian, covert-operative training facility. An exact replica of a typical U.S. city, down to the smallest detail, this "secret city" had been assumed abandoned since the end of the cold war. Nonetheless, your team has recently received disturbing reports of a grisly nature. Your mission? Peel back the layers of mystery and reveal the hideous truth in Odium.   More details on the game as JANews! gets them.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla    We Can Go The Distance  Bioware's Ray Muyzka has announced to Desslock of Desslock fame that they are now close to completely golding Baldur's Gate... about two days or so. In fact, CD's 2-5 have already gone gold, and a final build has yet to be completed before manufacturing can start.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla

 

Also, I am currently messing around with Dune 2000, which quite frankly, sucks. Now, I'm a really big fan of Dune II (I'm not old, in case you're thinking...), but this one just bites, I'll post a review of it around somewhere sometime.

In the meantime, I'll get back to a real game, namely, Fallout 2. I hope they get the final patch and the game converter out soon... These bugs are getting a mite bit annoying.

"Here Lies Tex Venture. Sierra Did It."
Matthew Arcilla

 

Get Philanthropic!  Well, pedophilic actually, but not in that dirty old weirdo way. The GameStats News Network is running a drive to collect hardware and software for the Ronald McDonald House of Stanford.   The House is a home for ill children and seeks to collect recreational and educational computer doodads for the kids. This drive is called Games of Encouragement. Go make your donation and you'll make some kids happy. Find out more at:  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  Business Suits Convene On Games  Business suits, game conference... gee, like oil and water. Miller Freeman Inc., the same organization which has already laid out the foundation for the Indie Games Expo for the next Game Developers' Conference, has announced a two-day conference for businessmen involved in electronic entertainment.  Dubbed GameXecutive, the conference will take place at the San Jose Convention Center, within the same allotted time slot as the Game Developers' Conference, albeit a mite earlier, that is, between March 15-16, 1999.  Keynote speakers will be Ron Chaimowitz of GT Interacitve and Doug Lowenstein, IDSA chairman.  The speaker lineup for GameXecutive has already been announced and is as follows:  Robert Fagin (CIBC Oppenheimer) on Entertainment Software Companies Peter Glaskowsky (MicroDesign Resources) on 3D Graphics Technologies Kevin Hause (IDC Research) on Online, Sub-$1000 Consumer Appliances Ed Roth (NPD) on Sell Through Figures on Consoles, PCs, Software and Hardware Anya Sacharow (Jupiter Communications) on Selling, Distributing and Marketing Online Games ---c/o Matthew Arcilla    Adventuring Queen! Magazine Luminary! Meaningful Dialogue!  Sierra has officially announced that they will be holding internet radio chats with game designer Roberta Williams and veteran gaming journalist Johnny Wilson.   The first session will be a two-hour long event will take place on the 11th of December between 6-8pm, Pacific Standard Time. Johnny Wilson will serve as the guest host and listeners will be able to chat with Roberta live by calling in and asking questions. Callers are responsible for charges incurred, of course.   Here's the official buzz from the Talkspot site:  (Talkspot's) RadioActive Presents King's Quest: Mask of Eternity     Tonight, join Computer Gaming World editor Johnny Wilson and King's Quest creator Roberta Williams for the inside scoop on the latest revolution in computer gaming, King's Quest: Mask of Eternity.   Johnny and Roberta will take a look from the beginning of computer gaming through the newest King's Quest masterpiece. Be sure to find out the behind the scenes dirt on:   The evolution of gaming graphics and animation from Mystery House, the first computer game to include graphics, to the latest King's Quest, the first fully 3-D adventure game.   How Roberta does what she does. What was she thinking when she created all those games and characters? Did she have any idea of the King's Quest franchise could be so successful?                        How King's Quest advanced the art of story telling in a computer game.   What other avid gamers think.   Trivia contests and prizes. WIN a signed copy of King's Quest: Mask of Eternity.   This series will be your chance to directly talk to and chat with Johnny and Roberta! For more information visit Talkspot. More details on the later chats as JANews! gets them.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla

 

No one cares about this site anyway. I don't get mail, I don't get newsbits, (with the exception of press releases, which are few and far in between) hell I don't see why I bother with this site anymore.

Oh and just to remind everyone, these news articles are written according to Philippine Time, which is 16 hours ahead of California, I think. So although I'm reporting that LOLIII will be debuting December 8 right now, this does not happen until tomorrow, which will be December 9 for me.
 
"C'mon, we'll be late for the poisoning.",
Matthew Arcilla

 

"Why Don't You Make Like a Tree and SCRAMM?!"   Ahahahah! I kill me! Ooohoohooohoo! Ahwahahahwahwa!!!! (ROTFL) Nyuk, nyuk... sigh... <wiping tears>... I'm so sorry. That wasn't funny, not funny at all.    Nick Saveliev and Will Garroutte of Adventure Central and The SCRAMM Project, have announced that their first game is in the works, entitled Askalaron: Egarthen's Revenge... zoicks, what a name. Try saying that three times fast.    Askalaron will mark the first use of the SCRAMM engine, which for the uninformed, is basically a synthesis of LucasArt's adventure game development techniques with the SCUMM.   ---c/o Matthew Arcilla   Lands of Lore Public Debut   No little daddy's girl photo slide shows here, just pure gaming senselessness. Westwood Studios announced that Lands of Lore III (third in the inconsistent Lands of Lore series) will be having its first public exposure at the Neutral Ground Gaming Club in New York's Manhattan area. The event will take place on the evening of December 8th (EST) tomorrow.    Lands of Lore III is the follow-up to the immensely disappointing Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny, but hopes to retain that star-studded quality of the first title, Throne of Chaos (otherwise we'd mob Westwood). The game features a voxel based 3D engine and multiple fantasy planes to travel through.   For the sake of non-Yorkers, Neutral Ground is located at 122 West 26th Street in the Big Apple.   ---c/o Matthew Arcilla    Roll Call: GDC Speakers...   The Game Developers' Conference (formerly known as the Computer Game Developers' Conference) has announced their speaker lineup for the 13th Annual Game Developers' Conference.    The bigwigs to show are: Brian Hook of id software, Louis Castle of Westwood Studios, Brian Fargo of Interplay Entertainment, Andy Gavinof Naughty Dog, Phil Harrison of Sony Computer Entertainment America, and Bernie Stolar of Sega of America.   The event will be taking place between March 15-19, 1999 at the San Jose Convention Center.   ---c/o Matthew Arcilla   Big Brother is Everywhere!   The National Institute on Media and the Family has just released their annual report card on the computer gaming industry. Their opinions are interesting and I suggest you check them out. View the report card here.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  It's Done, Done, Done!   At long last, Sierra has announced that the much-awaited Quest for Glory V: Dragonfire has gone gold. The game should be in stores within a week from now.  Dragonfire is the fifth in the award-winning Quest for Glory series by husband and wife design team of Lori and Corey Cole. The game sports 16-bit color 3D graphics and an adventure/RPG hybrid of gameplay style.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla

 

Gee, I'll bet Craig's pretty pissed. Oh wait, he isn't. In fact, he hasn't said anything about this page or reminded me about it despite the looong abandon status. Oh well, I doubt anyone on JA, if anyone at all, cares about this page.

Anyway, despite the page's long hiatus, I won't try to update with the news that passed me by, and just continue reporting what's happening now. Oh, and five more days till Dragonfire!

I want to be John Romero's bitch,
Matthew Arcilla

 

"Yer First Trial Be Thievery, then there's Swordplay and The Quest."  The what? Ahhh... you probably didn't get it anyway. Looking Glass Studios, the creators of System Shock, announced that Thief: The Dark Project has finally been completed, and will be in stores by next week.  Paul Neurath of Looking Glass Studios said to Gamespot News:  "We believe that gamers will be looking for something fresh this holiday season, and the stealth-based gameplay of Thief: The Dark Project offers exciting new challenges in the  first-person action/adventure genre."  "Now that Thief is shipping, gamers can experience for themselves the thrills and suspense of playing a master thief. Of course, we would encourage players to buy the game, not steal it."  Thief: The Dark Project is the latest first person adventure/action title to be developed by Looking Glass Studios, which established itself as king of this genre in the early 90's with Ultima Underworld and System Shock. Looking Glass is also currently developing System Shock 2.  Thief features stealth-based and puzzle solving gameplay more natural to a master of artifice than a gung-ho marine. Let's hope it's a winner, otherwise uh... it would uh... suck. And that would be ...uh... uncool.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  I Wish I May I Wish I Might   GDReview News just reported that a survey by insurance group Prudential, revealed that PCs are topping children's Christmas lists this year. They also report that Playstations and N64s follow behind.   Looks like parents will be spending one extra zero on Junior's gaming rig. Wish I could too. Maybe if I believe in Santa again...  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  The Game Music Grammy update  Chance Thomas' push for a Game Music category under The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' Grammy Awards has resulted to a scheduled summit with industry bigwigs to discuss this.   The summit is being held specifically for the purpose of discussing the institution of game music awards for the interactive entertainment industry. The summit, is called "Working Group on Game Music Awards and Membership," will be held December 4 in San Francisco. More details as we get them.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  Monolith Goes Anime  Septerra Core, Valkyrie Studios' anime-style RPG, has finally found a publishing deal with Monolith Productions (Shogo:MAD, Rage of Mages).   Septerra Core is set in a futuresque fantasy world of floating continents and features the usual RPG standards of multiple party members, plus some unusual touches such as fate cards and semi-realtime combat.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla  ELSPA Join Forces With ECTS  The European Leisure Software Publisher's Association (ELSPA) has just signed a deal that makes them sponsors of the European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) until 2003, despite the fact that most companies have expressed disappointment in this year's show.  GDReview News also got word out from ELSPA's Roger Bennett, that he is considering regional shows.   "If there's some sort of a roadshow or a series of regionalised events which would be sufficiently mportant I think it would be a good thing. We're very definitely going to pursue it as a project subject to the level of interest from the industry as a whole" ---c/o Matthew Arcilla   Tickle Me Orc?  Looks like Blizzard's little merchandising endeavor hit the biggie. The previously announced Blizzard action figures (featuring StarCraft's Hydralisk, Marine, Zealot and Warcraft's Footman and Grunt) had its entire 300,000 unit run sold out into retail.  This may signal Blizzard's push-through to manufacture more toys for the rest of the StarCraft and WarCraft characters. Personally, I'd rather get me a figure of Diablo, the Dark Lord himself.  ---c/o Matthew Arcilla