Busy Gamer News

In Xbox Live download news, UbiSoft officially fixed the Optimatch bug in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Microsoft released three new courses for Amped 2: Sky, Pioneer and Slopestyle 2003. Login, download and enjoy...

Wondering what Jak III has in store? The developers at Naughty Dog say they've learned from their (minor) mistakes on Jak II and have plans to streamline the expansive Haven City experience. There'll also be a vast desert section to explore and conduct battles in gun-mounted ATVs, a la Mad Max. And Jak will struggle with the dark and light sides of his evolving personality. Don't give in to the Dark Eco, Jak...

With 500+ vehicles, you'll be hard-pressed to find a favorite car missing from Gran Turismo 4, due in the fall. And with 50 tracks, ultra-realistic physics and online heats for up to six racers, true blue GT fans will gnaw off their own shifting hands before missing this title. But before you start chewing too hard, know that there's still no car damage; instead, an artificial penalty system slows you down if you try to get ahead by bouncing off the opposition. One more droolworthy note: GT4 supports 900 degrees of rotation when coupled with Logitech's forthcoming Driving Force Pro racing wheel...

To mark 10 years for its premier RPG series, Bethesda Softworks has released the first game, Elder Scrolls: Arena, as a free download at Elderscrolls.com. Tolkien fans will be thrilled to know that a group of modders are working on a Middle-Earth total conversion for the latest Elder Scrolls title, Morrowind. They're tight on details, but the game is set prior to the Fellowship and won't include elements that disrupt the Lord of the Rings timeline. So don't expect to find the One Ring lying around. So far, all you can get from Memod.co.uk are some audio samples...

The adventures of Samus Aran are coming to the big screen and the director who's bringing it to you is: John Woo. The adaptation of Metroid will focus on the early days of the shapely space hero and her battles with Mother Brain. Hopefully, this movie won't be just another "Paycheck" for the director of Face/Off and such classics as The Killer, Hard-Boiled and Bullet in the Head. Tired of watching his visual style endless copied in the videogame world, the former Hong Kong action director is also developing several game titles through his Tiger Hill studio, including one for Sega. Expect more details at E3...

If you've been waiting for Rockstar's gruesome Manhunt on the Xbox or PC (due in May), there's good news and bad. There won't be new levels or content changes, but the game will load faster, have a higher frame rate and display new graphical details such as gang member tats, more dramatic lighting and improved corpse animations. There's also surround sound, so noises originate from their position onscreen. Plugging in an Xbox headset lets you to hear the Director and attract enemies with your voice, just like on the PS2...

Microsoft may have canned its entire XSN sports lineup for the next year, but it's not letting all of those lovely brands sit idle. Popular mobile phone game developer JAMDAT is porting Amped 2, RalliSport Challenge 2 and Top Spin to the Microsoft Smartphone and a number of other game-enabled wireless devices. The latest rumors suggest that Microsoft isn't abandoning its flailing XSN lineup but rather retooling it for Xbox 2 while ceding the ground to EA -- rumored to finally be onboard with Xbox Live support -- in the short term...

Game soundtracks are rarely released and almost never for free. So it's a rare treat that Ion Storm has posted the score for Deus Ex: Invisible War on dxinvisiblewar.com. Click on Downloads and then Soundtrack. Alas, each MP3 is zipped separately, so it will take you awhile to get all of the tracks...

Epic released two new Onslaught maps for Unreal Tournament 2004 as part of a campaign for gaming on Windows XP. As such, the files only install on a Windows XP PC. Fortunately, some clever hackers have repackaged them so they'll install on any PC. Skip the marketing and get Ascendancy and Aridoom from www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=17066. Likewise, if you missed the recent TRON 2.0 patch because it was Windows XP only, update your game at 3dgamers.com/news/more/1072636657/...

The N-Gage QD is due June 29 for $179. Without all of the design flaws of the original and the addition of improved navigation and controls, Nokia's gaming phone might actually prove to be a decent system for casual gamers and gadget freaks...

Reports confirm earlier rumors about Xbox Live 3.0. The service update, expected to launch on or near the release of Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow in August, will support clans, voice and text messaging attached to Friend requests, invites via PC instant messaging, create-your-own tournaments and online storage so you can remote access and share personal content. Details are still fuzzy, but at least some of these features will need to be enabled in new games...

If you get a "failed to initialize" error or the CD just spins when installing Painkiller, there's a patch that fixes this silly CD glitch. Get it from Fileshack.com/file.x?fid=4869...

The new Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots expansion, due April 28, adds six new nationalities (Americans, Lakota, Iroquois, Persians, Indians and Dutch) and your choice of governments (despotism, capitalism, monarchy, socialism, democracy and republic), each with its own gameplay benefits. Play through the Cold War, New World, Napoleon and Alexander the Great campaigns. Hm, a Cold War without communism?...

Most game sequels up the ante with revolutionary new features. Not so with Hitman: Contracts. The third game in the stealth kill series simply offers more of the same.  Hitman's emphasis is on blending in through disguise and trying multiple approaches to reach your goal --this time with more weapon choices (gear and pick-ups), story (you play out flashbacks from Agent 47's dark past) and atmosphere (rain and the occasional S&M party)...

A 24-hour lull in Xbox Live service today (from 6:01 a.m. Pacific time) is apparently part of the backend upgrade to Xbox Live 3.0. Just don't expect to see much change beyond voice messaging for several months, when games written to take advantage of the new features are released. Also absent is the MSN instant messaging feature. Let's just hope they finally fix the friends list problems, which never seemed to go away...

If you want to be part of the Ninja Gaiden online tournament in May, you might want to work on beating the game first. You'll need that minimum level of success to get the key to join the Xbox Live event and unlock new game content on the Ninja Gaiden disc. Don't even think about cheating; you'll need those mad skillz to have a chance against your fellow ninjas. Registration begins May 3 at Xbox.com/MasterNinjaTournament and the tourney starts May 12...

If Star Wars Galaxies seems a bit too ground based for your taste, the Jump to Lightspeed expansion pack, due this fall, will take the massively multiplayer quests to outer space. Your existing character can pilot X-wings, Y-wings, TIE fighters and other starfighters including a Millennium Falcon clone. Plus, there will be new playable species, professions and more. Want to be a starship pilot? Get busy earning higher ranks and faction points now...

Bowing to complaints that some HDTVs won't handle 480i and 480p on the same input, Microsoft quietly patched the Xbox dashboard to 480p. After updating the dashboard via Xbox Live, go into Video Settings, ensure 480p is on (and you're using an Advanced A/V pack) and then click both thumbsticks in while holding both triggers. Repeat to switch back to 480i. If you don't know what any of this means, leave it alone...

It's confirmed. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will have a multiplayer mode. No details yet except that you'll have access to Samus' grapple and morph ball modes, which is enough to get many fans salivating. One can only hope there will be network and online play (at least via Warp Pipe), but for now expect at least 4-player split-screen...

In an interesting twist, the Xbox version of Doom III will outshine the PC release in the online multiplayer department, adding all-new two-player cooperative play. Apparently, the company porting the title, Vicarious Visions, went a little overboard and starting innovating on top of id Software's core code. Naturally, Halo 2 can't be beat on its home turf; Bungie's baby will also offer cooperative play via Xbox Live...

It turns out Knights of the Old Republic: the Sith Lords (aka KOTOR 2) has been in development since before the original shipped. But, with the Bioware team making Jade Empire for Microsoft, the Star Wars sequel is in the hands of Obsidian Entertainment. Set five years after KOTOR, the RPG builds on the original's engine and includes more advanced Jedi classes, new Force powers and a light/dark side point system that affects your companions. You won't have to wait too long for downloadable content (so, why not include it in the game?) but there's still no multiplayer or bonus missions...

Ditching both the '70s influence and series creator Al Lowe, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude follows the exploits of the original Larry's college-age nephew and namesake. Encounters with potential conquests involve a mini-game where the player navigates a sperm through a maze of possible outcomes. Each interaction inspires a different line of dialogue or gesture, some helpful and others counter to your goal. If you're successful, more mini-games simulate dates. As expected, the game owes more to Grand Theft Auto and recent cinematic masterworks like Road Trip than previous Larry outings...

Joining the previously released Rainbox Six 3 bonus multiplayer maps are two new ones, downloadable on Xbox Live. Parkade is a multi-level parking garage featuring a long twisting ramp and cars for cover. Then there's the German Train Yard, complete with train cars and nearby fire escapes leading to rooftops for sniping. Alas, no sign of the PS2 bonus mission...

Not quick enough for the EverQuest II beta? Looking for something with fewer tunics and more guns? Get the Soldner: Secret Wars beta multiplayer demo, featuring Conquest, Hostage Rescue and Team Deathmatch modes on two sample maps. If you downloaded a previous demo, this version fixes some bugs and balances the odds. Get it at Fileshack.com/file.x?fid=4827...

Registration for the EverQuest II beta starts at 10 a.m. Pacific time Monday, May 3 at Everquest2.com. Veterans of EverQuest Legends will get picked first -- but if you feel lucky, give it a go. The beta itself begins in June and the game is due out sometime in 2004...