Posts by Dragon47

Pro Evolution Soccer 4 sets new

standards for realism and intuitive gameplay, adding a wealth of new ideas to the

established series. Players now have more individuality to their movements and appearance,

with famous players instantly recognisable through their speed, the way they run and even

the way they receive and pass the ball. Likewise, a host of new free kick and set piece

systems have been implemented, while the passing and shooting systems have been enhanced to

allow for more one-touch play, chipped through-balls and first-time

strikes.

Demo Size:78 MB

Official

Site Download Demo

Official Mirror Download Demo

Pics

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Dont know if some1 lookes at it , anyway heres my current

desktop

Chronicle of a Sequel Foretold

Gordon freeman's visit to City

17 has taken six years and a full soap-opera's worth of drama to materialize, so join us as

we investigate the Chronicles of Freeman. A journey following the MIT graduate's decision

to visit City 17 and the twists and turns which plagued and ultimately delayed his

journey.

When Valve unleashed the original Half-Life on an unsuspecting public in

1998, the magnitude of the response and the mesmerizing appeal of the game left everyone

with little doubt that a sequel was planned. In what was soon to become typical Valve

fashion, the developer refused to release any information on the Half-Life 2 project and on

its progress. While details were not available Valve had already been working hard on

getting the H-L sequel project off its feet and had already made a few vital decisions

including the need for an in-house engine rather than a licensed one such as iD's Quake III

engine which would have been a logical step since H-L had used iD's original Quake

technology.

The point to stress is that Gordon Freeman was already packing for City

17 in 1999, even though his final destination or details of his trip were not yet known even

to himself.

An ominous shadow begun to cast itself over the Half-Life 2 development

cycle by as early as 2000 when Valve co-founder and major contributor to the original game,

Mike Harrington decided that one Half-Life was enough and quit Valve. The future of the game

hang in the balance as Gabe Newell had to decide how to deal with his partner's decision

and choose Mr. Freeman's next port of call.

Freeman's Face

Lift

There are really two Freeman tales, the one which is comprised of the

events leading to the March 21, 2003 Half-Life 2 Official announcement and one which is the

well publicized but no less obscure, tale of the run-up to release.

The first tale

and the one which is much more apparent for anyone who has already tried the game, has to do

with the creative process and the choices Valve made regarding the sequel of the most

popular game in the world. We already mentioned the company's desire to create an in-house

game engine, a decision which added a minimum of 2-3 years on the development time scale but

one which had to be made if the game was to meet its developer's demands, both creatively

and financially. While it is convenient and effective to use an in-house engine to achieve

the wonders of physics-driven gameplay and emotionally effective facial animation, the major

contribution of the engine to Valve is the licensing revenue which it should bring. One

game, Vampire : Bloodlines is already paying for the benefits of Valve's source engine,

while the outfitting of the original Half-Life and Counter-Strike with source technology is

a sign of how hard Valve plans to have its engine work for the next few

years.

Valve's initial success with Half-Life was not widely anticipated or expected

so the demands on the developer were not that great when the game was being made. A group of

ex-Microsoft employees got together and tried to create a good game. They managed to focus

on the task in-hand and they came up with the most popular game of its time while the use of

someone else's engine allowed Valve to concentrate on gameplay and other innovations which

really made Half-Life a pioneer.

Half-Life 2 however, was a different story. The

secret was out, every one new what Valve could achieve, rushing-in a sequel, as most

developers do nowadays due to financial and publisher demands was not an option for Gabe

Newell and his crew. Retaining the prestige and quality of the game was as much part of the

H-L 2 process as was continuity with the original game. Whether it is movies or games you

consider, most sequels fall far short of the original, many times turning out to be pure

financial exercises aimed at maximizing profits. Valve knew this and decided that the

company had to receive a face-lift as did the characters involved. Having created a strong

bond with the gaming community, Valve proceeded to examine the reasons for H-L's success in

order to decide how to prioritize aspects of the sequel's development. One aspect of the

original title kept popping-up time and time again, forcing Valve to consider ways of

implementing it into H-L 2. Half-Life had managed to get players to care for the characters

involved; this connection enhanced the gaming experience and increased the replayability of

the game. Valve decided to work hard on making the characters more influential and their

effects on the player more intense. Such a plan required many changes to the way Valve had

operated when working on H-L while it also required changes within the company. It is at

that point, we can speculate, that the company's distant and silent profile may have become

a conscious decision changing the dynamics of Valve's interaction with the media, its

business partners and ultimately its customers. The weapon chosen to implement that

isolation was Gabe Newell's choice to utilize a doctrine, remnant of his Microsoft days no

doubt, of a centralized content distribution channel.

Full Steam

Ahead

It is spring of 2002 and Valve has just announced details of its Steam

technology. It is probably at this point that we can pinpoint Valve's relationship with its

publisher crumbling beyond repair. Newell claims that Steam will revolutionize gaming by

giving the developer full-control of the product and its distribution. He does fail to

mention how exactly the consumer will benefit since he does not talk of a reduction of the

final price of the product but rather of an explosive increase of developer revenue. Mr.

Newell also fails to mention how some communities may be completely excluded by the need to

access the Steam service, as has become the case with many Universities. Much of the

original game's popularity originated from campuses worldwide where students got involved

in a variety of Half-Life set-ups. Some of these communities have now been completely

excluded since many University firewalls will not allow Steam to connect.

Valve

however, still moves ahead with Steam, gradually implementing the service and making it a

requirement for all of its products. It is also at about that time that Valve's second H-L

2 misfortune strikes, when the company decides to pull out of E3 2002, considering that it

did not have enough material to present. It may not sound very important but it is that

particular point in time which may have been responsible for the first delay of the game.

Although not already announced at the time, this setback meant that the public had to wait

another year until Half-Life 2 was made official and Gordon had to remain in limbo for a

while longer.

The conscious decision made by Valve was not to announce the game until

they knew where Mr. Freeman was traveling to, Black Mesa was out, so was a space based

planet-to-planet idea. The idea was that if the destination was agreed upon, packing would

be a relatively simple task.

City 17

The decision to send

Gordon on a trip to City 17 was not just a result of the picturesque settings but rather an

attempt to investigate some sinister events and the realization that physics-driven gameplay

would be much more effective and impressive in a quasi realistic setting.
So when, in

March 21, 2003, Mr. Newell made the announcement he concluded, with confidence We're going

to launch the product at E3 and we're going to ship it on September 30, 2003.

The

elation of fans of the game was short-lived as a couple of months later, at E3 in mid-May

2003, Valve decided against presenting any playable form of the game but used a tech demo

demonstrating the emotion engine and the physics-driven gameplay. Fans, impressed by the

Valve E3 presentation heard the doubts being raised regarding the September 30, 2003 release

but Mr. Newell insisted on confirming that Gordon would be arriving at City 17 on the

announced date.

It was a lot later that we found out that upon returning to Valve HQ

Newell refused to accept the obvious, that the game was falling behind and that Mr.

Freeman's various vehicles were still not working. No buggies, no airboats how exactly was

he supposed to traverse the enormous landscape which Valve had created for him.

We

were rapidly moving towards the most controversial period of Half-Life 2 development and the

one which left its marks deeply etched into all parties involved in the game.
The first

setback was a result of the lack of cooperation between publisher and developer, on July 29,

2003 VU Games informed retailers that the game would not make its announced date and that it

had been pushed back to holiday 2003. When questioned about this by fans Mr. Newell

responded First time I've heard of this. By that time Valve had already been deeply

involved in a series of law suits with its publisher and Newell's reaction may have been as

much a response of confusion by the actions of his partner than a reply to the

question.

In late 2002 Valve sued its publisher VU Games claiming that it illegally

sold Counter-Strike licenses to cybercafes. As is common practice in such cases, VU Games

counter-sued Gabe Newell and Valve COO Scott Lynch and their wives, claiming that Valve was

neglecting Half-Life 2 and was using the game as a hostage in order to get VU Games to pay

millions of dollars. As you might expect VU Games was not very happy about Valve's Steam

and claimed that it undermined its rights to publish and distribute Valve games.

This

development caused Valve to continue packing Mr. Freeman's bags with even more intent and

on August 27, 2003 during the ECTS show in London the entire company insisted on confirming

that the game was still on for a September 30 launch, even though shipping was only a month

away and the game had not reached Gold yet.

It would seem that by that point the need

to prove VU Games wrong became more important then the realization that if the game did ship

at the announced date it would be severely flawed. The biggest twist in the H-L 2 story

however, was about to happen and as a result we may never discover when the game would have

been released.

The Thief, The Code and its Publisher

It took

almost another month before Valve, on September 23, accepted the fact that Mr. Freeman had

more luggage than initially expected and that he would not make the scheduled September 30,

2003 train to City 17. Gabe Newell confirmed the possibility of a holiday 2003 date but this

time he knew better than to commit to that.

Games are often delayed and most

developers are able to save the day by the usual to ensure quality announcement. This case

however, was far beyond that, it was not the delay itself which caused the severe reaction

by fans but the fact that Valve left it so late to come clean and that while VU Games had

confirmed a delay in late July, Valve insisted on telling fans otherwise. Many interpreted

that as lying and felt alienated by Valve, a company with a dirty past. Fans started

mentioning the dreaded Team Fortress 2 1999 fiasco in the same breath as Half-Life

2.

According to Mr. Newell, Valve committed a series of errors from the moment it

realized that the game would not make its release date post E3 2003. He explains the errors

as a paralysis experienced by the company since no one could confirm a new travel date for

Gordon and since Duke Nukem has pretty much ruined the when it's done, option for everyone

in the industry.

When Gabe Newell discovered that his email account had been

compromised it was already too late. A big chunk of the source engine code had already been

removed from Valve servers. On October 4 the Valve source code was released on the net while

3 days later a playable version of the game also appeared. The release of the playable

version of the game was a double-edged sword for Valve. The game made it painfully obvious

that Half-Life 2 was not even close to being ready on September 30, causing Valve severe

embarrassment, even the hacker himself, later found out to be 21-year old Axel G from

Germany, commented on Valve's lack of honesty regarding the progress on H-L 2. The bright

side for Valve, if anyone could call it that was that the game released was no better than a

demo and a restricted one at that.

Now the theft and the media circus which

accompanied it was a vital turning point for Valve's relationship with its fans. Looking

back at the whole business now we can see that a lot would have been achieved had the

developer handled the situation differently. Sadly the timing of the theft was intrinsic to

the course which events followed. Valve decided to stick to its no comment strategy, a

decision which led many fans to believe that the company was attributing the delay of the

game to the source theft. This, in turn, caused a tidal wave of conspiracy theories to

appear all over the Internet, most claiming Valve was somehow involved in the theft, in

order to buy more time. At that point fans begun considering the possibility that H-L 2 may

not even make a 2004 appearance, with many suggesting that the theft, if real, could bring

the entire company down. Stories of code from Havok, H-L 2's 3rd party physics engine,

being part of what was stolen started surfacing accompanied by tales of law suits and other

disasters. Doom was in the air and it became even more apparent when a Half-life 2 rival and

a game involved in a silent race with Valve's sequel, managed to retail in August.

Doom and Gloom 3

Valve continued working on the project as

intently as ever but focus was beginning to falter. We later found out that between February

and March 2004, when the H-L 2 Alpha testing begun, Gabe Newell was involved in

correspondence with the hacker in an attempt to lure him out of hiding.
The team behind

the game however, is still working hard and by July they are certain that the game is almost

done. In August Doom 3 ships, handing Valve another blow as its main rival and a game also

plagued by production difficulties, beats it to the market.

On September 15, 2004

Valve announces that it has shipped Mr. Freeman's luggage to customs for inspection, the

luggage is returned with some minor pointers but at that point Newell realises that VU Games

will not attempt to impede the release of Half-Life 2. The November 16 date is announced and

gamers around the world brace for the game's impact. Realising that the release is near

Valve manages to cause its fans some more distress with two announcements.

The first

one confirms a rumour which had been doing the rounds for quite some time, that there would

be no Half-life 2 multiplayer and the other claims that for anti-piracy reasons, the game

will require online activation, another Microsoft influenced decision we would

guess.

The Chronicles of Freeman were not meant to examine the quality of the game

but rather to highlight the process and underlying actions which led to the game's release.

Mr. Freeman's journey and the quality of his trip to City 17 are a different matter. We can

now confirm that even when faced with the troublesome activation procedure and with some

crashes and even choppy sound, this game deserves all the accolades it has received. It is a

truly elegant attempt to offer something new to the FPS genre while it succeeds where most

games fail to go. Half-Life 2 excels at everything it sets out to do and even the non-linear

highly scripted sequences still leave you with your jaw dragging on the ground. We can only

praise Valve on their end-product and hope that the company can use the considerable

experience it acquired during H-L 2 development in order to provide a better product in the

future.

We look forward to providing a detailed journal of Mr. Freeman's impressions

of City 17 as soon as he sends them

in.

Official Site

[URL=http://www.megagames.com/news/show.cgi?&idtype=pc&database=669&section=screens&]Pics[/U

RL]

OP uses MyIE ,

here is a thread .

Fans at Special Midnight Sales

Event Will Be First in the World to Experience Eagerly Awaited New System Offering Advanced

Interactive Game Play

EB Games will be the first national retailer to officially

launch the highly anticipated new Nintendo DS at midnight on Saturday, November 20th. The

new system has been described by many in the video game industry to be the most innovative

and advanced game platform to launch in more than a decade. The premiere national launch

event will take place at midnight at EB Games new flagship store at Universal CityWalk in

Los Angeles.

Scheduled for release just in time for the holiday shopping season, the

system will try to inject new life to handheld gameplay, a field in which the Japanese

gaming giant has excelled this far. Nintendo plans to ship more than one million units by

the end of the year in North America. Offering accelerated and sophisticated game play

options, Nintendo fans will be able to experience new and classic game titles such as Mario,

Metroid, Madden, The Sims, and Spider-Man for the Nintendo DS system in a whole new

way.

The Nintendo DS features the most advanced cutting-edge portable play options

for fans of any genre. It also boasts dual LCD screens and a touch screen technology that

allows players to interact with game content -- and other players -- like never before. With

the Nintendo DS wireless communication capability and built-in PictoChat software players

can draw, send messages, and experience the most electrifying real-time, multi-player game

play available in the industry.

The Nintendo DS national launch celebration at EB

Games' Universal CityWalk store, considered by diehard gamers to be the interactive hub of

the West Coast, is expected to attract the core of the dedicated game fan community that has

long awaited the release of this landmark system. Pre-order customers and fans, expected to

attend in the hundreds in anticipation of the midnight launch, will be able to enjoy the

spirit of the local video game community and mix with peers and mutual fans. The EB Games

event will feature live DJ music, spun by local artist DJ Rap, prize giveaways, and live

Astrovision game play on the giant screens above the EB Games store.

According to EB

Games, pre-orders for the handheld system have exceeded expectations and you can pre-order

the device now by visiting the EB Games DS Pre-Order Page.

Nintendo DS will have a

large library of titles to offer fans at launch time. The system will be bundled with a

playable demo of the upcoming Metroid Prime Hunters. In addition, a dozen titles will be

initially available spanning every game genre, including Super Mario 64 DS from Nintendo,

Madden NFL 2005, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf and The Urbz : Sims in the City from EA,

Spider-Man 2 from Activision, Ping Pals from THQ, Feel the Magic : XY/XX from SEGA, Rayman

DS and Asphalt Urban GT and Sprung from Ubisoft, and Ridge Racer DS and Mr. DRILLER Drill

Spirits from Namco. By the end of March, the Nintendo DS game library will include 20 to 25

games. More than 125 games remain in development worldwide, from Nintendo as well as every

major third-party developer. To accommodate existing Nintendo fans, Nintendo DS is also

backward compatible with Game Boy Advance games, which has a library of more than 550

games.

The Nintendo DS system will retail for an MSRP of USD 149.99 at EB Games

storefronts across the U.S. Standard add-ons include a built-in microphone port that enables

players to interact more fully with their favorite games and rich stereo sound that delivers

a virtual surround capability to enhance the energy of the system's immersive experience.

System accessories such as an AC adaptor, Stylus set, and wrist strap will also be available

and sold

separately.

Pre-Order

Nintendo DS

Pi

cs

Sony Computer

Entertainment Europe and Namco have announced that the long awaited fighting title, Tekken

5, is scheduled to release in summer 2005 exclusively for the PlayStation 2.

Loved

across the world for its characters, graphics and fast gameplay, Tekken 5 promises to

deliver the next generation of blistered fingers and bleary eyes as it brings players the

ultimate, most visually stunning fighting experience ever seen in a Tekken

game.

Namco is confident that the title continues the quality that Tekken fans have

come to expect: With the completely new fighting engine, customizable characters and

interactive environments, no fighting game fan will want to be without it.

With sales

of over 20 million units worldwide, the Tekken franchise is one of the most successful

fighting games of all time. Tekken 5 brings back the popular cast of characters from the

previous games along with three new characters for a total of 20 default characters to

start, with even more to unlock as you progress in the game. The game allows players to use

fight money to customize their character with various accessories such as hats, glasses and

an assortment of different costumes. Each of the new characters is equipped with a variety

of deadly techniques, and the returning characters have been updated with new moves and

combos. New to Tekken 5 is a bonus action adventure game that unfolds a side story to the

action-packed fighting sequences.

After the completion of The King of Iron Fist

Tournament 4, a fierce battle between father and son unfolded at Mishima Zaibatsu

headquarters. Jin emerges as the victor in this battle and continues to defeat Heihachi, his

grandfather but spares both Kazuya and Heihachi's lives in honour of his mother who loved

peace. Soon after Jin's departure, a swarm of Jacks arrive at Honmaru and begin to attack

Heihachi and Kazuya and in order to escape, Kazuya thrusts Heihachi into the swarm of

Jacks. A great explosion destroys Honmaru, and a man watching from afar reports, Heihachi

Mishima is dead. While many presume the death of Heihachi Mishima will end the reign of

Mishima Zaibatsu, an announcement is made for the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament, with

an unknown replacement to Heihachi leading the organization. The fight begins once

again.

Official Site

Pi

cs

Electronic Arts and the Union of

European Football Associations (UEFA) announced they have signed an agreement for EA to

develop, publish and distribute the first official videogame of UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2004

2005 under the EA SPORTS brand.

Following EA and UEFA's first successful

collaboration around UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal, the officially licensed UEFA Champions League

video game is currently under development at Electronic Arts' Canadian studio, home to some

of the company's most critically-acclaimed and best selling sports games.

UEFA

Champions League will offer followers of the beautiful game the opportunity to guide their

chosen club from qualification anxiety through to big night glory. It will add an element of

the unexpected allowing lower league teams into the glamour world of European football.

Throughout the game, players need to negotiate 50 unique and challenging on- and off-field

missions successfully to take control of their UEFA Champions League destiny.

With

more than 239 official teams, including official English Premiership and Football League,

German Bundesliga, French LFP and Spanish LFP, this is the first official football game to

truly reflect the UEFA Champions League.

Developed by a newly formed team at EA

Canada in Vancouver, B.C., UEFA Champions League 2004 - 2005 is scheduled to ship in early

February of 2005 and will be available for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, the Nintendo

GameCube and

PCs.

Cover Pic

Aspyr Media is set to release the Stubbs The

Zombie: The Soundtrack on March 15, 2005. The songs for Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack

were handpicked and recorded for the game by some of today's most popular rock bands, as

well as some great up-and-coming artists. Being released by Aspyr Media, the soundtrack and

game are a perfect example of how Aspyr merges multimedia platforms into a full

entertainment experience.

The game Stubbs the Zombie is set in a fictional City of

the Future in 1959. To complement this theme, the tracks are new versions of songs made

famous in this era, with the exception of the zombie inspired original track the Living Dead

by California's Phantom Planet. Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack is one of the first game

soundtracks to feature all original recordings, as opposed to the licensed music most games

employ today. The songs are as unique as the game and can be found only on the Stubbs the

Zombie soundtrack.

Being a part of this soundtrack was a no-brainer. We're all huge

video game geeks and even bigger zombie film fans, said Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet.

So, it made sense to contribute a track about joining a legion of undead.

The track

listing is as follows:

Ben Kweller - Lollipop
The Raveonettes - My Boyfriend's

Back
Death Cab for Cutie - Earth Angel
Rogue Wave - Everyday
Cake - Strangers in

the Night
The Walkmen - There Goes My Baby
The Dandy Warhols - All I Have to Do Is

Dream
Oranger - Mr. Sandman
The Flaming Lips - If I Only Had a Brain
Clem Snide -

Tears on My Pillow
Rose Hill Drive - Shakin' All Over
Milton Mapes - Lonesome

Town
Phantom Planet - The Living Dead (original song)

In Stubbs the Zombie,

players take on the role of the rebel himself - Stubbs, a wisecracking zombie who takes on

an ultra-modern city of the future using nothing but his own carcass and the weapons of his

possessed enemies. The game's tongue-in-cheek humor, innovative combat and strong storyline

keep Stubbs the Zombie's gameplay as bizarre and unpredictable as its namesake.

On

his quest, Stubbs lurches his way through visually captivating indoor/outdoor environments

in and around of Punchbowl, PA, a gleaming city built during the Eisenhower administration

to show off the ultra-futuristic technology of the 21st century. Stubbs' brain-eating

adventure brings him through bustling shopping districts and verdant farmlands to battle mad

scientists, rural militiamen and the world's deadliest barbershop quartet. His enemies have

shotguns, tanks, and all manner of futuristic weaponry. All Stubbs has is his own rotting

corpse, a distinct lack of pain or conscience, and the ability to turn foes into zombie

allies.

Official Site

[URL=http://www.megagames.com/news/show.cgi?&idtype=pc&database=668&section=screens&]Pics[/U

RL]

Konami

Digital Entertainment America, shipped Metal Gear Solid 3 : Snake Eater for the PlayStation

2 to retail stores nationwide. The newest installment in the tactical espionage series that

defined the stealth genre takes gamers on an all-new action-packed adventure through the

jungles of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War era. Players will assume the

role of Snake, a US-sent agent, embarking on a dangerous solo mission to uncover and destroy

a newly created weapon of mass destruction. Renowned developer, Hideo Kojima, has combined

unique and intense gameplay with an inspiring soundtrack, a captivating storyline, and

impressive visuals that really push the PS2 to its hardware limits.

Metal Gear Solid

3: Snake Eater is the pinnacle of the MGS series, said Jason Enos, Product Manager for

Konami Digital Entertainment - America. The game contains all the amazing tactical espionage

elements fans have come to expect from an MGS game, plus it incorporates new in-depth

gameplay features such as close quarters combat (CQC), camo index, food capturing and the

cure system, which once again redefines the entire stealth video game genre.

Set in

the 1960s, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is the definitive stealth action experience with

extraordinary depth and new gameplay mechanics. Moving beyond the series' signature radar

control, the game thrusts players into a fully interactive and immersive jungle environment.

Gamers must rely on elements such as the camouflage index to blend into the environments to

sneak past enemies undetected or use the game's unique and in-depth hand-to-hand combat CQC

system to take down their foes. Utilizing the new camouflage index, players can change the

patterns on Snake's clothes as well as his face paint in order to blend into the

surroundings, allowing him to avoid enemy detection or sneak up on his enemies. Players will

be able to acquire different camouflage patterns throughout the game as well as download new

camo designs online.

Adding incredible realism and depth to the game, Metal Gear

Solid 3: Snake Eater incorporates a cure system, where players will be able to heal Snake

when he is injured during battle. Untreated wounds will affect the player's health, and

thus, affect the outcome of their mission. Furthermore, players will need to feed on

animals, flora and fauna to survive in the jungle. Through the food capturing system, Snake

can hunt for food and store the items in his inventory. Taking the realism of the game a

step further, food will rot if gamers hold onto uneaten items for long periods of time.

Players will need to carefully monitor Snake's stamina and health by eating and also

treating injuries in order to properly move through the game.

Unleashing a game on

par with a major film production, Kojima has tapped a pool of Hollywood talent including,

renowned director Kyle Cooper (Seven, Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible) to create an

interactive opening sequence, as well as famed musical composer Harry Gregson-Williams

(Shrek, The Rock, The Replacement Killers and Enemy of the State) to create the blockbuster

musical score for the game.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is available exclusively

for the PlayStation 2 for an SRP of USD 49.99.

Official Site

Rockstar

Games and Interscope Records have announced the details of the 8-CD box set soundtrack to

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the latest installment in the best-selling Grand Theft Auto

franchise. The box set is scheduled for release on December 7th, 2004 in North America and

December 6th, 2004 throughout Europe.

With the game set in the early 1990's, the

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack features one of the most dynamic selections of

music ever assembled. The music spans the entire FM radio dial of the West Coast during this

particularly influential period in American music and culture. The 8-CD box set will feature

over 80 music tracks as well as some of the satirical commercials and witty DJ dialogue

emblematic of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Each disc of the box set will feature a style

of music available in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' many in-game radio stations - from

Willie Nelson to Public Enemy, Rick James to Humble Pie, Soundgarden to James Brown, En

Vogue to Black Uhuru - making this one of the most diverse and powerful collections

available.

The complete track listing for the 8-CD box set is as

follows:

CD1 - Bounce FM

1. Bounce FM Intro
2. Kool & The Gang -

Hollywood Swingin'
3. Rick James - Cold Blooded
4. The Gap Band - You Dropped A Bomb

On Me
5. Cameo - Candy
6. Ronnie Hudson - West Coast Poplock
7. You're On Bounce

FM
8. Zapp - I Can Make You Dance
9. Dazz Band - Let It Whip
10. Roy Ayers -

Running Away
11. Ohio Players - Funky Worm
12. Maze - Twilight
13. That Was Bounce

FM
14. Glory Hole Theme Park: Fun With Strangers
15. Eris Pump Up Shoes

CD2

- Radio Los Santos / Playback FM

1. Playback FM Intro
2. Public Enemy - Rebel

Without A Pause
3. Brand Nubian - Brand Nubian
4. Slick Rick - Children's Story
5.

You're On Playback FM
6. Eric B. & Rakim - I Know You Got Soul
7. Rob Base & DJ EZ

Rock - It Takes Two
8. That Was Playback FM
9. Kid Frost - La Raza
10. The D.O.C. -

It's Funky Enough
11. Da Lench Mob - Guerillas In Tha Mist
12. Compton's Most Wanted

- Hood Took Me Under
13. Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man
14. 2 Pac - I

Don't Give A Fuck
15. Ice Diamonds
16. Commando Pest Eradication

CD3 -

Mastersounds 98.3

1. Mastersounds 98.3 Intro
2. James Brown - The

Payback
3. The Chakachas - Jungle Fever
4. Lyn Collins - Think About It
5. Bobby

Byrd - I Know You Got Soul
6. Charles Wright - Express Yourself
7. Maceo & The Macks -

Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)
8. You're On Mastersounds 98.3
9. Sir Joe

Quarterman & Free Soul - (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind
10. The J.B.'s -

Grunt
11. Harlem Underground Band - Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba
12. James Brown - Funky

President
13. Booker T & The MG's - Green Onions
14. That Was Mastersounds

98.3
15. Cluckin' Bell
16. Zebra Bar: Fun To Try

CD4 - K-ROSE

1.

K-Rose Intro
2. Willie Nelson - Crazy
3. Hank Williams - Hey Good Lookin'
4.

Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn - Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
5. Statler Brothers - Bed

of Roses
6. You're On K-Rose
7. Jerry Reed - Amos Moses
8. Eddie Rabbit - I Love A

Rainy Night
9. Whitey Shafer - All My Ex's Live In Texas
10. Ed Bruce - Mammas Don't

Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
11. Merle Haggard - Always Wanting You
12. Patsy

Cline - Three Cigarettes In The Ashtray
13. That Was K-Rose
14. Logger
15. Starfish

Resort And Casino

CD5 - CSR 103:9

1. CSR 103:9 Intro
2. Guy - Groove

Me
3. Today - I Got The Feeling
4. Bobby Brown - Don't Be Cruel
5. En Vogue - My

Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)
6. Wrecks-N-Effect - New Jack Swing
7. Boyz II Men -

Motownphilly
8. You're On CSR 103:9
9. Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison
10. Samuelle - So

You Like What You See
11. SWV - I'm So Into You
12. Aaron Hall - Don't Be

Afraid
13. Ralph Tresvant - Sensitivity
14. That Was CSR 103:9
15. Renegade

Cologne
16. The Epsilon Program: Covet

CD6 - K-JAH West

1. K-Jah

Intro
2. Max Romeo & The Upsetters - Chase The Devil
3. Barrington Levy - Here I

Come
4. Black Uhuru - Great Train Robbery
5. Blood Sisters - Ring My Bell
6. Toots

& The Maytals - Funky Kingston
7. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets The Rockers

Uptown
8. You're On K-Jah
9. Pliers - Bam Bam
10. Dillinger - Cocaine in My

Brain
11. Black Harmony - Don't Let It go To Your Head
12. Reggie Stepper - Drum Pan

Sound
13. The Maytals - Pressure Drop
14. That Was K-Jah
15. Sooth Cough

Medicine
16. Wrestling On Weazel

CD7 - K-DST

1. K-DST Intro
2.

Heart - Barracuda
3. Kiss - Strutter
4. Boston - Smokin'
5. Grand Funk Railroad -

Some Kind of Wonderful
6. Joe Cocker - Woman To Woman
7. Humble Pie - Get Down To

It
8. You're On K-Dst
9. America- A Horse With No Name
10. The Who - Eminence

Front
11. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
12. Eddie Money - Two Tickets To Paradise
13.

Rod Stewart - Young Turks
14. That Was K-DST
15. Midlife Crisis Center
16. San

Andreas Telephone: New Father

CD8 - Radio X

1. Radio X Intro
2.

Soundgarden - Rusty Cage
3. Helmet - Unsung
4. Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
5.

Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
6. Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name
7.

You're On Radio X
8. Living Colour - Cult Of Personality
9. Danzig - Mother
10.

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
11. Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
12. L7 -

Pretend We're Dead
13. That Was Radio X
14. My Five Uncles
15. Exsorbeo Handheld

Gaming System

Even though

November 16 has come and gone Valve's Half-Life 2 problems have not vanished, with many

owners claiming that they have still not managed to activate their copy of the game.

MegaGames has been flooded by email messages from users facing severe connection problems

when attempting to activate their Half-Life 2 copy using Valve's Steam

service.

Valve has issued a statement claiming that the developer is aware of the

problem and is trying to address it, We've received a number of reports from people

experiencing delays with Half-Life 2 authentication. We are investigating the issue and will

update everyone as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience and hope to have everyone

in the game very soon.
This is one problem that the prominent developer cannot blame VU

Games for, especially since it is reported that copies of Half-Life 2 downloaded over the

Steam service and therefore bought directly from Valve, seem to have been activated

immediately.

From the vast number of messages received through the MegaGames mail

servers the pattern emerging suggests that U.K. owners of Half-Life 2 are facing the most

problems. Some users report that the Steam service seems to be asking them for payment even

though they have purchased a retail copy of the game, other users received error messages

while installing the game while the majority report getting a variety of ...game CD Key not

valid messages.

This new development just adds insult to injury and it is beginning

to look like Valve is trying to test the lengths to which fans of the Half-Life series will

go to in order to get the sequel. It is unlikely however, that new gamers will choose to go

through such a painstaking and elaborate process just to try out Half-Life 2, especially

when a pirated copy of the game is already available on Internet websites and that copy

works.

Pics

The results of the first benchmark tests to hit the web

mark a resounding victory for ATI since the company's products simply outgun equivalent

nVidia boards across the performance range. As you would expect the flagship ATI board, the

X800XT PE performs a remarkable 30 per cent better than nVidia's 6800 Ultra, a difference

which increases to 55 per cent in the Canals level of the game.

The full X800 range

(Pro, XT, XT PE) outperforms nVidia's 6800 Ultra, with the Pro falling behind nVidia's

flagship only in the Town level.

The X700XT also thrashes nVidia's 6600GT, averaging

at over 60 FPS during most of the game. The X600, both XT and Pro also outperforms nVidia's

equivalent offering, the PCI-X 5750 while the X300SE outdid the PCI-X 5300.

AGP

versions of the board show similar performance differences but under these conditions the

6800 Ultra caught-up with the X800Pro, even outperforming it in one test.

The 9600XT

and Pro, cards which together with the 9800 where the boards the game was originally made

for, outperform the FX 5700 by as much as 20 per cent.

While reading through these

figures you have to bear in mind that ATI had full access to the game from Valve and had the

chance to produce effective drivers, it is widely expected that nVidia will, sooner rather

than later, produce a set of drivers which may reduce the differences documented

above.

For the time being however, the Canadian firm has a firm grip on the lead and

ATI owners are the ones wearing the smirk this time round.

Just in case you had any doubts, today is

the day that Half-Life 2 is officially released. Those of you, who bought a copy in stores

early will finally be able to activate it while those who had already downloaded the game

through Steam will now also be able to do the same.

To buy the game online now, visit

the SteamPowered Website.

When first announced, back in March 2003, it seemed that

Half-Life 2 may just be the title to save PC gaming from the clutches of the Big Three

console manufacturers. Now that we have come to the day of its release, we can only wonder

at what might have been. Even though no one will question the quality of Half-Life 2 as a

game, or overall elegance of its design, it is obvious, even to the naked eye, that it has

failed to create a similar level of excitement as Halo 2 and GTA:SA, its two main console

rivals this season, did.

The first reason for this difference is also the obvious

one, both console games had the might of giants, Microsoft and Sony respectively, promoting

them; companies which stood to gain from hardware sales as well as game sales. Even though

Vivendi Universal Games is not of the same caliber as MS or Sony, it is hard to understand

why so little attention and investment was put into H-L 2s release. Hard to understand until

you realize how publisher and developer decided to concentrate on bickering and legal

disputes rather than on the creation of a successful game. When observing the relationship

between VU Games and Valve it also becomes obvious how Half-Life 2, a game which was one of

the most highly anticipated titles ever, is unlikely to expand its audience by a significant

amount.

Is that the whole story though? It seems that game publishers increasingly

prefer releasing and bringing media attention to console titles. We can only assume that

this preference is a result of financial gain, possibly from exclusivity or other deals with

console manufacturers. As a result pressure on game developers to release console versions

of their games before or in place of PC versions has greatly increased and traditional PC

studios have turned to console as is the case with Peter Molyneux's Lionhead and Fable,

made exclusively for the XBox. It would seem that studios that do not accept this particular

turn of events may end up, unintentionally I am sure, on the fringes of the industry. This

of course is an observation on the direction in which the industry as a whole seems to be

heading. Valve's dispute with VU Games is definitely a complicated matter which suggests

that both parties were not paying attention to the development process. Something which

makes sense when considering that H-L 2 had its source code stolen due to security blunders,

had an initial release date which was completely unrealistic had its final release date

unknown until a few day before its release and then had retailers break that date only to

sell a product which could not be activated since only gamers with internet connections will

get to play it.

It is really a shame that Half-Life 2 will not get its chance to

shine and compete with other games on equal terms this holiday

season.

http://www.steampowered.com/?area=product_HL2bronsilvergold

Buy H-L 2 Online

H-L 2 Preview

H-L 2 and The Noise

Throughout

the month that has gone, Half-Life 2 and its creator, Valve have been surrounded by

intrigue, controversy and turmoil. During that month the game's
distribution system,

Steam, experienced severe problems, H-L 2 was delayed beyond its September 30 release date

to an uncertain "holiday" date, the source code, or part of it and a beta version of the

game were stolen and a new release date has failed to surface.

This sequence of

events has led to an unprecedented flood of speculation, rumours and half-truths. With most

of those stories coming from official lips, Vivendi, seem
troubled by Valve's stance of

silence and possibly concerned over the developers plans for Steam.

With the latest

rumours, coming from Valve leaks, claiming the company aims to attempt to achieve a December

2003 date with April 2004, being the fallback option, we thought it was about time we

shifted focus from the noise to the game.

Throughout this mess most have forgotten

what Half-Life 2 really is. As most of you can understand from its title, Half-Life 2 is the

sequel to the most successful game in history. In many ways the way we enjoy gaming today

has been shaped by the revolutions introduced by H-L. Every aspect of gaming, from the way

they look to gameplay and multiplayer aspects, has been, to some degree, influenced by

Half-Life. It was only natural then that everyone who just completed the original game would

begin considering what its sequel would be like. Valve waited a long time before announcing

that sequel and in many ways that was their last successful PR move. They managed to raise

expectations and everyone who had enjoyed the original game was now hanging from Valve

lips.

The loss of that anticipation and the constant speculation are the real damage

caused by the H-L 2 fiasco. Damage which has allowed gamers to forget that at the core of

this story lies a game, one which could, once again, help point to the future of the

industry. Whether upset by the delay or frustrated by the accusations made by the source

code thief and the lack of an official reply, no one can deny that Half-Life 2 is going to

be one hell of a game. We will attempt to rekindle that excitement by offering a

comprehensive insight into the game and a few exclusive Megagames screenshots. Read about

the stunning City 17 by following the link below and to the right.

Story -

City 17

Valve have not offered any info on the game's storyline, according

to them finding out the story is part of the game and players are educated as they move

along. Let's work with the information we have, the player assumes the part of Gordon

Freeman once again and is working for the G-Man, the game will be divided into 12 chapters

which will be comprised of episodes. According to Valve each chapter will take 3-4 hours to

complete, making H-L 2 a satisfying experience.

The setting for the game is an

alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace

dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong

he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people, people he cares about, are counting on

him. The game is unlikely to feature
any Black Mesa settings but news has surfaced of the

creation of a fictional Eastern European type location, City 17.
Having been present at a

Valve presentation of Half-Life 2 at this years ECTS show in London and having witnessed

some in-game footage of City 17, we can say that the H-L 2 city has successfully created a

Prague or Budapest feel about it. The entire game takes place on earth and no excursions to

the Xen homeworld are planned. The timeline of the game is also a secret since Valve claim

that the information about the time between the games is important to gameplay and is

revealed as you progress through H-L 2. Some old friends also make an appearance, including

Black Mesa scientist Eli, his daughter Alyx Vance and security guard Barney. As you travel

through the game you will quickly realise that you are not only fighting aliens but some

City 17 authorities as well.

The story of the game, although important, takes second

place to the technological innovations we have all come to expect of Valve. Follow the link

below and to your right for some Technology

details.

Technology

The original Half-Life was based on the

QUAKE engine licensed from id software, this time round Valve decided they had the time and

means to create their own technology which they call Source. The engine is extremely

flexible and works well on both indoor and outdoor levels. Gabe Newell explains: A lot of

the flexibility in the engine involves making sure you are using the triangle and memory

bandwidth you've got to render what's most important in the scene.

What steals the

show in most video demonstrations for the game so far, is the physics engine. The team at

Valve decided on using Havok for their physics and the result seems to justify their choice.

Ragdoll effects, possible when using Havok, are nothing short of stunning. The physics

include new, localized ragdoll effects (for example, you can get a dead arm if you get shot

in the shoulder) and bone level blending of key-framed animation with physics. Classic

ragdoll effects, on the other hand are blended from key-framed animation sequences for more

realistic secondary motion (for example, in death scenes) for your characters. Other Havok

features are: Effects for multiple character types, which support whatever number of limbs,

tentacles or antennae your imagination demands and Breakable constraints for detachable

limbs, so you can get as gory as you like. A version of Havok has also been used on the

recently released Max Payne 2 - The Fall of Max Payne.

The positive effects of Havok

are most obviously apparent when using the Gravity Gun, also referred to as the manipulator,

with which players will be able to grab items (or dead bodies) move them about or even

propel them towards their enemies. The freedom provided by such a capable physics system is

essential in H-L 2's gameplay since using the physics becomes an important means of

problem-solving in the game. In the ECTS demo you could escape a tight situation by pushing

a barrel off a rooftop and on to your enemies below.

Another striking use of new

technology in Half-Life 2 is the depth of research and effort applied to facial

characteristics of in-game characters. Facial expression has been pushed to the next level

by the consideration of facial musculature when applying expressions to a character. Valve

used data and information provided by experts in the field of facial expressions in order to

make their H-L 2 characters more realistic. Although facial expression may not seem all that

important, consider what Gabe Newell had to say about H-L 2 There are people. You're never

alone in the game, or almost never alone. You have to think about how are they going to

react and what are they going to do. A lot of times, they have goals and you don't, and you

have to make up your mind about what you're going to do around them trying to achieve

something. In order to better immerse the player a certain level of empathy has to be

achieved. Realistic facial expressions are one way to create empathy for game characters but

Valve have further enhanced realism by creating lip-synching for all speech in the

game,
considering the speech in H-L 2 is dynamic that is no small feat. They are using a

phoneme extractor which analyzes and quantifies wav files making automatic lip-synching

possible. Upon detecting a new wav, the engine automatically shapes the mouth to match the

sounds. What adds an almost eerie quality to the game and also contributes towards realism,

is the tracking carried out by the eyes of the characters. A characters eyes will follow you

around as you move about a room and they are not two simple slits but rather,

well-proportioned and realistically created eyes, Gabe Newell commented We probably spent

more time on their eyes (characters) than anything else - for example you have to model them

as ellipsoids rather than spheres to make them look right as they rotate within the eye

socket.

GamePlay

AI

The original Half-Life was

the game that redefined the importance of a responsive and flexible AI system in a game.

Considered a technological breakthrough for its time, H-L's AI contributed greatly to the

game's overwhelming success. It was only natural for everyone to look to Valve for an

exciting new AI system. Following recent events the Half-Life 2 AI has become a

controversial issue. Since Valve are the creators of the game and since they are a company

that has excelled in all its projects so far, we will not entertain the doubts cast by the

source code thief but will focus on official Valve word on the AI.
Gabe Newell is very

proud of the AI, A big push for us was making the AI more context aware. They needed to be a

lot more aware of the player's intentions, they needed to be a lot more aware of the world,

and they needed to understand physics in terms of their path finding, and as a source of

weapons (in other words "I can smash this to get through" or "I can break something so

something else falls on your head). According to Valve then most of the AI in the game does

not go through scripted sequences but reacts to the conditions it finds itself in. In the

demonstration at ECTS a Strider, 40-foot tall alien creatures balancing on 3 very long legs,

could be seen crouching in order to get under an arch, according to Valve this is not

scripted but is a creature reaction to its environment. Gabe Newell had this to say about

the subject: There's a richer experience that's a lot more reactive. There are a lot more

things that are going to be responding to the actions you take, whether it's the physical

simulations of weapon behaviors or tools you're using, whether it's how people are

reacting to what's happening, whether it's how opponents are reacting to how the tactical

situation is changing. More and more of the world responds to what you're doing, which to

us is the underlying key to a great gameplay experience.

TeamWork

As we

mentioned earlier you are, almost, never alone in this game. You have to keep check of your

objectives but also be aware of those of your friends. The fighters
joining you in your

battles will be responsive and independent characters and this will add an exciting factor

to gameplay since you will have to make sure that your decisions are the right ones for the

right moment, avoiding injuring your fellow fighters. The lines between friends and enemies

are not as clearly drawn in H-L 2 as they were in the first game. Doug Lombardy says You

actually ally with the slaves and some of the aliens in this game. They move over to the

friendly side.

Vehicles

Another new feature of the game will be the

introduction of vehicles, the latest trend to hit FPS games. Although Valve have been very

quiet about how widespread their use will be in the game, we had the privilege to witness a

vehicle scene, during which a combine gunship attacked a vehicle that Freeman was on. The

resulting sequence was one of the most exciting imaginable and so effective that you needed

a couple of minutes to compose yourself after it was

done.

Multi-Player

Valve have refused to comment on any multi-player

aspect of the game other than the actual existence of one which they claim will enable over

36 players to join a game. Most of the well known mods will also appear for H-L 2 and a Team

Fortress 2 announcement is expected soon. Valve have commited themselves to releasing a

Half-Life 2 SDK (Software Development Kit) for mod developers prior to the game hitting

store shelves, although under current conditions that may seem not that relevant. The game

will also ship with an upgraded Hammer editor which will allow the editing of maps but has

also been described as a complete development environment for maps, mods, etc.
According

to Valve the physics engine will be enable on servers and clients although this claim has

raised doubts about how exactly a game will be carried out under such CPU intensive

conditions.

Weapons

H-L 2 will feature a variety of weapons, the use of

which will depend on the situation in which GF finds himself. Every weapon will include a

secondary fire option, making gameplay more exciting. We still can't figure out what the

crowbar alt-fire will be though.

The Crowbar - Half-Life is defined by the

illustrious crowbar, GF will have the chance to use one in H-L 2, although judging by the

enemies seen it will not be of much use.

Pistol - A weapon similar to the one

carried by Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movies has been spotted in various gameplay

videos.

Shotgun - GF will have access to a shotgun although details are not

yet available.

Machine Gun - Valve insist this particular weapon is not an

MP5, it does look like an MP7 but we will have to wait for that one.

Ant-Lion

Controller - This weapon is a cane with an elaborate globe at the top. Things you fire

upon using this contraption will be attacked by alien Ant-Lions.

The Gauss Gun

- A revised edition of The Gauss Gun will also appear.

The Gravity Gun

(Manipulator) - This is by far the weapon most widely used in H-L 2 demonstrations since

it puts the physics engine into good use.

Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher -

Considering that Combine Gunships and 40-foot tall aliens will be after you, this weapon

will be a handy addition to your arsenal.

Grenade Launcher - Grenades - There

is some controversy over the existence of a Grenade Launcher, with some claiming the same

weapon is a flare gun. What is certain however, is that you will be able to use some form of

grenade.

These are the weapons which we have determined to exist, Valve are bound to

introduce some surprises and the recent theft may change a few

things.

Distribution

The game will be released in a Standard

Version, including single and multi-player options, a Single-Player Version obviously

without the multi-player option and a Collectors Edition which will include bonus stuff and

will be quite a bit more expensive, estimated at about USD

80.

Steam

Valve have created a few versions of the game, most will be

available through retailers but also using Valve's Steam service. A monthly USD 9.95

subscription will entitle users to all Valve content. Gabe Newell explains we're pretty

sure that the USD 9.95 guys are going to get the better value, as we've been pretty good

over the years at generating a lot of content, the subscription will be for anything we

make. So when TF2 ships, the subscribers get it as part of their subscription.

ATI

Bundle

ATI explain the offer For our customers who purchase a qualifying RADEON

based graphics card that includes the Half-Life 2 offer and activate their STEAM account

before Half-Life 2 is available at retail, Valve and ATI have added the Valve Premier Pack

FREE, which includes the games: Half-Life, Counter Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Deathmatch

Classic, Half-Life: Opposing Force and Ricochet. This is a limited time bonus offer that

expires once Half-Life 2 is available.

Customers can use the Half-Life 2 Activation

Key on their Half-Life 2 coupon to initiate download of the Valve Premier Pack from STEAM,

Valves broadband delivery mechanism, free of charge, or can order a Steam Installer CD for

the Valve Premier Pack from ATI. Use of the Valve Premier Pack requires an Internet

connection and is subject to acceptance of the STEAM Subscriber Agreement. Of course, you

are still entitled to a free copy of Half-Life 2 when it is released.

When the time

comes for Half-Life 2 to hit retail, we all hope that it proves worthy of its heritage, a

lot more than just a game may depend on

it.

Valve

Steam

Pi

cs

Set in the Pacific Theatre

of WWII, Medal of Honor Pacific Assault for the PC represents a unique addition to the

award-winning Medal of Honor franchise. Players step into the boots of Marine Private Tom

Conlin and feel his shock at the destruction of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, his

growing resolve in the fight for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, and his triumph at the

battle for Tarawa Island.

Medal of Honor Pacific Assault covers 25 levels with over

eight new multiplayer maps and includes new locations, new weapons, and new

soldiers.

Players will work alone and with the help of squad members to complete

their missions. As the squad members gain more experience, they will develop their own

personality and fight more efficiently. Periodically, green replacements will arrive, and

these recruits will need battle experience to become as proficient as the veteran members of

the squad.

Multiplayer modes will allow the player to go head-to-head in Free-for-All

or join a team to complete objectives in an all new class oriented, objective based Invader

game type or Team Deathmatch

mode.

Officia

l Site

[URL=http://www.megagames.com/news/show.cgi?&idtype=pc&database=664&section=screens&]Pics[/U

RL]

According to all the

publicity, Microsoft's Halo 2 was supposed to be the ultimate XBox Live title and gamers

were told that in order to make the most of their investment they would have to join XBox

Live. It turns out that Halo 2 was a lot more since the latest news suggest that Microsoft

used the popularity of Halo 2 as a Trojan horse in order to put into effect a clause that

all XBox Live users sign allowing the company to have a peek inside their

consoles.

The process however, started before the game shipped and in the days

immediately preceding the launch a sharp increase was noted in the number of users kicked

out of the online service's servers. The official line from Microsoft is that users who own

a modified XBox may use the changes to cheat during gameplay, something which would have an

adverse effect on whole service. While this is a valid reason, the reason most gamers modify

their consoles for is the ability to play copied or pirated games. It is also likely that

Microsoft wants to send a message to owners of modified consoles that they will not be able

to make full use of their XBox unless they give up on the modifications.

Microsoft

has clearly stated that it has no plans to go after individual users, stressing that it will

pursue those manufacturing pirated games or mass-producing Xbox modifications, even though

the legal community claims that the legality of modifying other people's technology remains

unclear.

Microsoft is working and learning hard from the whole modification

background for its XBox console in order to avoid similar problems when it launches its

next-generation unit, expected in fall 2005. Services which require an online connection to

be made have proved a positive incentive in preventing piracy. Many gamers have suggested

that modifications to consoles may sometimes be considered a desirable aspect of gaming for

the manufacturers since they guarantee popularity. The challenge for those manufacturers

however, is to harness that popularity and get console owners to keep buying games,

something which can best be achieved by the price for new games dropping to a more

reasonable figure.

In order to mark the release of Half-Life 2 ATI, a company that has a special

relationship with the game and its creator, has released version 4.12 beta of its Catalyst

driver suite.

The new release which ATI saved for today, no doubt, is accompanied by

a very limited set of notes; according to ATI this version fixes some PunkBuster issues

while any ATI card owner who just purchased Half-life 2 needs these drivers to improve

overall performance.

Driver Size:22.3

Mb

ATI

Download Catalyst 4.12

Beta

At 12:00 AM PDT (8:00 AM GMT), Valve

Software has unlocked Half-Life 2 through Steam. If you purchased the game, an Internet

connection is required in order to activate the game - the unlocking procces may take a

while (almost half an hour for

some).

Pics

Electronic Arts announced that Need

for Speed Underground 2 has shipped to retail stores nationwide for the PlayStation 2, Xbox,

Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC. The sequel to last years run-away hit which

sold over 8 million copies worldwide, Need for Speed Underground 2 features a massive,

free-roaming game world where players can immerse themselves in the tuner culture as they

race through more than 125 miles of open road.

True to the tuner culture, players can

enhance their rides with an unprecedented 70 billion possible car combinations, including

deep performance tuning, to create the ultimate street racer. Players can cruise through the

streets in style with hundreds of new visual upgrades such as hydraulics, spinner rims, and

scissor doors and hoods. As gamers explore the citys five distinct interconnected

neighborhoods, theyll encounter rival street races that can erupt any time, anywhere, or

put their skills to the test by entering the hottest competitions in town. With new gameplay

modes including StreetX, Downhill Drift and the Underground Racing League, as well as online

play for Xbox Live, the PlayStation 2 console and PC, players will need more than just style

to prevail.

Upon entering the world of the underground, players will instantly be

introduced to Brooke Burke, former-host of E! Entertainment Televisions popular travel

series, Wild On. Burke plays the streetwise organizer of an elite underground circuit as she

guides players to become the top racers on the streets.

On the way to racing glory,

Need for Speed Underground 2 players will be able to hear Snoop Doggs unforgettable remix

of The Doors legendary rock song, Riders On The Storm an exclusive track that can only

be heard in the game. The beats keep pumping as players turn up the music with 27 hit songs

from renowned artists such as Chingy, Mudvayne, Terror Squad, Xzibit and Queens of the Stone

Age.

Developed in Vancouver, B.C. by EA Canada, Need for Speed Underground 2 has an

MSRP of USD 49.99 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube, USD 39.99 for PC and USD

29.99 for Game Boy

Advance.

Official Site

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Nintendo has announced that Metroid

Prime 2 Echoes has shipped to retail across N. America.

Retro Studios, producers of

the wildly popular original Metroid Prime, take Samus Aran on a terrifying

journey.

Galactic Federation Trooper Squad Bravo is missing; their last

transmission-- a distress call from a rogue planet called Aether, located in the Dasha

region.

Enter legendary bounty hunter Samus Aran. Her mission: Locate the Federation

troopers and render assistance. But what begins as a search and rescue mission becomes an

intense, haunting sojourn to save a species from total genocide in a world caught in the

maelstrom between dimensions of light and darkness.

Light Aether is the domain of the

Luminoth, gentle beings with a unique and highly developed civilization. But when a great

cataclysm tore the fabric of space and time, the Ing Horde were unleashed from Dark Aether,

a dimensional echo of Light Aether. Now the Luminoth are under siege. The Ing send armies

into Light Aether, absorb its lands into the clutches of Dark Aether, and possess the

Luminoth's warriors. Only the Luminoth's four gigantic energy generators keep the Light

World from collapsing. If the Ing seize control of the generators, the Light World will be

extinguished forever. Samus embarks on her mission to defeat the Ing and restore peace to

Aether.

But, as Samus will soon learn, an ominous shadow lurks in the darkness, a

shadow which stealthily hunts the hunter...

Features

- New Beam Weapons: The

Dark Beam and the Light Beam wield powerful ordinance to crush the Ing, solve puzzles, and

open doors

- New Suits: As Samus traverses the depths of Light and Dark Aether she

can don powerful new suits to protect her against the planets myriad enemies.

- Screw

Attack: The famous attack from Metroid games of the past makes its triumphant debut on the

Nintendo GameCube

- Power Ups: The space jump and the grapple beam are just some of

the power-ups you'll find

- Multiplayer Metroid: For the first time in the history

of the franchise, up to four players can battle each other as they search for weapons,

grapple across ceilings and turn into Morph Balls to make their

escape.

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