Busy Gamer News

Microsoft officially launched its new dashboard, which it's calling Xbox Live Now. Your Xbox will track your online friends from the main screen and let you chat without launching a game. There's also news about tournaments, downloads and new games. The update is automatic if you're an Xbox Live subscriber and you turn on your Internet-connected Xbox without a game in the tray...

With charter Xbox Live members hitting the end of their subscriptions in November, Microsoft released renewal pricing: $49/year or $5.99/month. In addition, you can buy a new headset for $29.99. If you're a newcomer, starter kits with a year's subscription and headset are now bundled with MechAssault for $69.99...

We've seen game soundtracks bundled with games, but now there's a videogame released with an album. That's right, hard rock group P.O.D.'s next music CD, Payable on Death, includes a second disc for PlayStation 2. Gamers can enjoy a new level of Amplitude, the game that turns music into hypnotic action, with the P.O.D. song "Space." The bonus disc also contains a 50-minute documentary video. Due Nov. 4 for $19.98, there will only be a million copies with the PS2 disc...

The Xbox has proved notoriously difficult to hack so game cheat peripheral makers are providing tools for copying saved games to unlock levels and extras. The previously released Action Replay is now joined by Gameshark GameSaves for Xbox, priced at $24.99. The system includes a USB cable that connects an Xbox memory card to a PC. Of course, this only works for games that allow saved game copying and have saves small enough to put on a card. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game saves are 1600 blocks, so they won't fit. Guess you'll have to beat that one the old-fashioned way...

Tired of trying to jam a GameShark for Gameboy Advance into your GameBoy Advance SP? Now you can get the GameShark Advance SP, designed specifically to fit the GBA SP and boasting new pre-loaded codes including some for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and the new Pokemons. Retail is $29.99. Just be sure to visit www.gameshark.com and download the patch for the PC software before downloading any new codes...

Wow! Reports that someone leaked the source code for the highly anticipated Half-Life 2 for PC are apparently true. Valve founder Gabe Newell acknowledged publicly that an exploit in the company's network permitted a hacker to install keystroke recorders and then locate and copy the source code. "Well, this sucks," Newell said in his post. Valve is asking for assistance from fair-minded fans of the shooter series to track down the infiltrator. Send tips to helpvalve@valvesoftware.com...

If you just can't wait for a new gaming portable and the N-Gage isn't what you crave, Tapwave Zodiac is here. The system, based on the popular Palm OS, boasts a star lineup including quintessential shooter Doom II, 007-style racing in Spyhunter, RPG action with Neverwinter Nights and even Tony Hawk skateboarding. The Zodiac will even play music files and manage your calendar. What's the catch? Pricing starts at $299, while a GameBoy Advance will run you only $69...

Sony's forthcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP) is looking like it will give Nintendo's GameBoy some real competition. Due next year with PS1-caliber graphics, PSP will be the first handheld with analog control for finer directional movement in games. Also expect the familiar geometrical PlayStation buttons...

Details on Doom III have leaked out. Apparently the game is a remake of the original Doom, albeit with somewhat improved graphics and enemy AI. Just don't expect a revolution in gaming or storytelling...

N-Gage launched. Nokia's new phone/GameBoy wannabe is now available. Try not to get too excited...

The theft of the source code for Half-Life 2 has yielded fallout: a delay of the game until April 2004 so Valve developers can rewrite significant portions of the game. The biggest concern isn't so much theft of the game itself (only a portion of the game code was taken), but the opportunity that open source provides to hackers who can develop cheats for multiplayer games. No date was given for the Xbox version...

In the match-made-in-heaven department: Peter Gabriel has signed on to provide a song for the next game in the Myst series, a little ditty called Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Anyone who's heard Gabriel's music for Birdy and The Last Temptation of Christ can imagine the kind of rhythmic atmosphere he'll whip up. The game is due in November for PC...

The new Dungeon Siege expansion pack, Legends of Aranna, takes the popular action RPG and makes it a bit less linear. It also includes new monsters and spells and even a new pack animal - a kangaroo-meets-rhino-type called the tragg - that fights back. Gas Powered Games farmed out the development to Mad Doc Software (Star Trek Armada II) so it could focus all of its energies on a full-blown sequel, Dungeon Siege 2, due in 2004. Legends of Aranna is due in November for PC...

What, already?! Halo for PC has been patched to improve multiplayer support and fix rendering glitches on a few video cards and a crashing problem during chats. There are also downloads available for setting up dedicated servers for multiplayer games. Oh, and there's wallpaper too. Get the files at http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/downloads.asp...

What would you pay to play a Final Fantasy game in a massively multiplayer online world? Square Enix figures $12.95 per month after a free 30-day trial period. Final Fantasy XI, due on PCs Oct. 28 and the PS2 in early 2004, will cost $49.95 for the game and an expansion pack. In an interesting twist, PC and PS2 games co-exist on the same servers. This has led to interesting conversations among beta testers, with PS2 players advising PC gamers to press the square button...

Ever wanted to shoot hoops with classic Halloween archetypes? Acclaim is offering Xbox owners with NBA JAM and Xbox Live a downloadable witch, mummy and pumpkin-headed fiend called Nightmare to use against the existing teams in the game. What, no grim reaper...

Programs, rejoice! Not only can you now play in the 3D universe of Tron 2.0, you'll soon be able to enjoy mods using the game's engine thanks to the release of a level editor. Level designers can create new single- and multi-player maps as well as skins, weapons and voice packs. Look for the level editor now and downloadable mods in November at http://www.tron20.net. While you're there, get the v1.030 patch. This includes dedicated server support for hosted games, the option to skip the lightcycle matches without penalty and other improvements...

News has been scarce on the massively multiplayer world of Star Wars Galaxies since its release, but LucasArts revealed it has launched a new player-neutral dungeon called The Warren. New quests will soon be available from a hub area called Nym's Fortress, named after the character in the Nintendo 64 Starfighter game. Future additions due by year's end include playable dark Jedi and mountable creatures such as dewbacks. Actual vehicles are expected early in 2004. LucasArts still has made no firm decision on whether the game will be ported to consoles, as originally planned...

If you missed out on the tactical shooter Hidden & Dangerous, now you can play it for free. To promote the release of its sequel, imaginatively titled Hidden & Dangerous 2, Gathering has released a free download of the full game with the Devil's Bridge expansion and level editor. Get the game (all 264MB) at http://www.fileshack.com/file.x?fid=3825...

In one of the better pre-order promotions, Gamestop is offering the complete PC game Sam & Max Hit the Road when you buy LucasArts' new Armed and Dangerous for PC or Xbox. Naturally the bonus disc also includes a preview of the Sam & Max sequel due in 2004...

Starting in December, the new Pac-Man vs. will be free with a $20 Player's Choice release of Pac-Man World 2 and some full-priced titles including R: Racing Evolution and I-Ninja. The new Pac-Man game requires both a GameCube and GameBoy Advance. Up to three players control the ghosts on the GameCube while another player maneuvers the Pac-Man on a connected GBA...

If you have Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder and Xbox Live, go download the new Beach Invasion mission. There's also a Refinery map and mission available and two more downloads due by the end of the year...

Microsoft released a demo of Halo for PC. The 134MB package includes a single-player level (The Silent Cartographer) and a multiplayer map (the ever popular Blood Gulch) complete with new vehicles including a Banshee and Rocket Warthog. Even if you've played Halo on the Xbox, you have NOT played Blood Gulch with a Banshee. Now you can, and the first taste is free. Get it at http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/downloads.asp...

In an effort to boost flagging sales of Outlaw Volleyball, Simon & Schuster Interactive is offering a $5 promo version called Red Hot at Blockbuster video stores. The game offers four of the female characters -- Natasha, Chica, Donna and Harvest -- and a new setting: hell. Yep, you get to play with scantily-clad demon ladies. Now that's marketing. Alas, there's only one tutorial level and no Xbox Live support to get you hooked on the gameplay...

The tale of Robert Crais suing Activision over similarities between his books and the game True Crime begs the question: If Activision didn't do it, why the hell not?

No, I'm not advocating plagiarism in the gaming industry. I'm merely suggesting that if the game does bear a certain, er, homage to Crais, why not actually hire the writer to develop dialogue and story elements? Videogames are big business, and they have a few bucks to devote to their marquee titles.

Sure, "real" authors don't understand that cut scenes need to be short and convey multiple goals such as story progression, character and hints/foreshadowing in very few words. They can learn, though, and most screenwriters already have these skills. And many game developers still haven't mastered them. See Blood Omen 2 for an example of cut scenes that go on for freakin' ever! Oh, and you can't skip them...

There are exceptions. Fantasy/sci-fi author Eric Nylund works at Microsoft on many games, including the upcoming Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. But that's an anomaly, even there. My point is that the writing in videogames is still mostly amateur hour. Many companies (including the big M) employ temporaries and treat writing as scut work, and it shows. Or worse: Game designers and developers, skilled at play mechanics and code but not much else, write it themselves.

There's a mistaken belief that writing is easy probably because anyone can put words down on paper or type them into a Web page or Word document. But it takes a professional writer -- an artist in his or her own right -- to assemble compelling character and story arcs in neat, succint packages and select the best words that develop characters and engage players.

Games that have become successful franchises often have the best stories and cinema-quality dialogue. Look at Jak & Daxter, Halo, heck, even Grand Theft Auto. If you're producing Max Payne and you're going for a dark noir comic book flair, why not employ the skilled pen of graphic novelist Alan Moore? Sure, Max Payne 2 will make a few bucks based on its name and style of gameplay, but invest some dollars where it matters and who knows what kind of hit you'll have?

-=Gamewatcher

That icon of '70s excess is back. Sierra is developing Leisure Suit Larry 8: Magna Cum Laude with a modern flair (an early teaser suggests a Grand Theft Auto influence) but without original creator and game designer Al Lowe. The series originated in 1987 with Larry's soft-core antics in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. Lowe created Larry under a work-for-hire contract but says he'd be glad to work on the new game (due in 2004) if Sierra came calling....

Massively multiplayer Myst? Yes! The forthcoming Uru: Ages Beyond Myst offers the option to go online and explore the realms of Rand Miller with a party of friends. And for the first time you create your own character's countenance. Pricing for Uru Live hasn't been announced but you will need a broadband connection. Don't worry, there's still a single-player game if you prefer to go it alone...

More Doom 3 details emerge. New polygon-level collision detection means that characters are no longer represented as rectangles, so bullets can whir past your ear or buzz between your legs narrowly missing your family jewels. The result is multiplayer battles with lower frag counts. On the downside, id Software currently plans to cap deathmatches at four players and not include any capture-the-flag mode...

The first of several Midtown Madness 3 content downloads is available on Xbox Live. Car Pack #1 includes a 1940s-style luxury car, a muscle car, a sports coupe and a shopping cart with a motor. Guess which will be getting the most play! Microsoft promises new tracks are forthcoming with Checkpoint and Blitz races for both Washington and Paris. Guess this means no new cities...

Despite claims of a runaway launch for the N-Gage, the price of the phone/game player has unofficially dropped to $199.99 at some online merchants including Gamestop and Electronics Boutique. Nokia is claiming 400,000 sales worldwide while admitting that the product is doing better in Japan and Europe. The $100 price cut may only be temporary...

If price is no object, BOXX Technologies has launched new workstations suitable for game development and high-end gaming. Not as sexy or sleek as Alienware's line, these GameBOXX systems are clearly designed for those who believe beauty is defined by what's inside. Find them at http://www.boxxtech.com/...

Casual gamers, rejoice! Zone.com has relaunched with a modular look and new features including improved chat and the opportunity to earn game ratings and trophies without registering. If that's not enough, there are some new games including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and a Beyonc� OutSmart...

There's a new virtual world called There. Despite the name (can't you imagine the marketing folks' brainstorm session?), There offers a Sims-meets-EverQuest experience where you can explore ruins and castles, design and create items such as clothes and hoverboards, compete in ranked and casual games or simply chat via text, voice or, ahem, body language. The online world at there.com took five years to build and proved popular with women during beta. Cost is $49.95 per month with a free 14-day trial...

Want to squeeze all of the juice out of your gaming PC? The new NVIDIA System Utility can overclock compatible nForce motherboards for zippier performance on Windows-based machines. Of course, you'll have to accept a license agreement that states the software might hose your computer. Download it at http://www.nvidia.com/object/sysutility_1.0.html. Be sure to get the manual...

If you're one of those folks who bought an ATI RADEON graphics card expecting a free copy of Half-Life 2 by year's end, you might be a bit peeved by the delay. Don't worry, ATI feels your pain and is offering the Valve Premier Pack with the original Half-Life plus Counter Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Deathmatch Classic, Opposing Force and Ricochet. Simply create a Steam account before the release of HL2 (whenever that is). Oh, and you'll still get HL2 when it's released. Details at http://www.ati.com/gitg/promotions/hl2offer/...

Halo fans will not be surprised that Red vs. Blue won three Machinima Film Festival awards including Best Picture and Writing. The series of 19 episodes (and counting) takes place in the Halo deathmatch arena of Blood Gulch. The, er, filmmakers write and record foul-mouthed and funny scripts and then collect shots from the game to stitch together the visuals. If you've missed out, catch up at http://www.redvsblue.com/...

If you skipped over Blinx: The Time Sweeper, now it's both cheaper and easier to beat. That's right, the new $20 Platinum Hits version features a few newly balanced levels and less expensive apparel items at the in-game shop...

The aging Diablo II has new life, thanks to the v1.10 patch. The update provides more challenging ladder games with new characters that start fresh at the start of a season. You'll also find improvements to block cheaters and add new game items. Get the patch by connecting to Battle.net from within Diablo II...

Assuming it ships, True Crime will feature rapper Snoop Dogg as a playable character. Once unlocked, Snoop will, well, snoop -- patrolling the streets in his own set of wheels and solving random crimes...

Zoo Tycoon fanatics can download a free Endangered Species Pack featuring Komodo dragons, orangutans, Mexican wolves, whale sharks and more. The pack also includes 40 new items and three new scenarios. Get it at http://www.zootycoon.com/...

News of a BloodRayne videogame sequel follows on the heels of an announced BloodRayne movie. The game is due October 2004, with the film arriving sometime in 2005. No word yet on who will play the luscious vampire assassin on the silver screen...

Grand Theft Auto 5 will ship in about a year on PS2 but that's all Rockstar Games will say. Rumors place the action in a Las Vegas-like locale, which would seem to be an obvious next step for the series. Perhaps too obvious...