G-News

I don’t know how one can unveil a teaser trailer after showing off most of the gameplay mechanics for a title already, but that’s just what Atari is doing anyway. This new Alone in the Dark trailer doesn’t reveal much about the upcoming game except that it will more than likely make you jump in your seat numerous times. I have to hand it to the folks over at Eden Studios: they’ve certainly got the whole creepy “what on Earth is going on?” feel. Let’s just hope the gameplay is up to snuff as well.

—Related Articles at Gaming Today:Creepy Trailer for New Alone in the DarkCreepy Atmosphere Unveiled in 'Alone in the Dark' TrailerThe Plastic Dark Knight in New LEGO Batman Teaser TrailerNew Teaser Trailer for Stargate WorldsThe "Real" Duke Nukem Forever Teaser Trailer

Here’s a bit of an odd update for World of Warcraft: it seems that Blizzard has tweaked the experience needed for players to reach Level 71 by 50 more - thus making sure that you’ll be even more motivated to grind away at the game to reach that beyond-the-ceiling level. From 814,700 XP to 1,256,000 XP - that’s certainly a lot of points.

Now, as we all know, as of this writing, the highest level you can work up to is still level 70, and only the arrival of the Wrath of the Lich King update will raise it - thus, grinding away for experience points even when you’re already at the ceiling is pretty much pointless, as the game won’t give you that “ding” the often-tedious grind punctuates with. What makes this news important, then?

What makes this particular bit of news important is that it gives players a sense of what sort of work is in store for all of us come the Wrath of the Lich King update. It would make sense, after all - if we compare leveling-up in Burning Crusade and in the original build of World of Warcraft, they’re is pretty much the same as what we’re seeing now. And it’s not that much of an extra grind, now that we look at it - after all, with the ability of becoming a Death Knight that much closer, it’s not hard to find motivation, right?

It’s quite uncommon for an FPS game to have an absolutely awesome single player mode, and Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, SonyPS3, MicrosoftXbox 360) definitely delivered in that oft-ignored part of an FPS title package. Now, we catch wind that while the developers don’t quite have plans for downloadable content for the single-player campaign, it’s pretty much in their reach to dole out some.

This comes directly from one of Infinity Ward’s programmers, namely Jon Shiring. His statement, verbatim: “I wouldn’t rule it out but we don’t have any plans for that right now.”

The reason for this, Jon Shiring explains, is that developers tend to release new multiplayer content instead of single player content when it comes to FPS titles. It makes sense, given the competitive nature of the genre. But - and it’s a resounding but - when it comes to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Shiring stated that the upcoming DLC was in direct response to community requests, and not just because of the inherent multiplayer aspect of the game.

This means, then, that if players want to get more out of the Single Player Campaign, then all we have to do is to demand it. It’s not all that hard, and the devs DO listen (as proven by the incoming DLC), so let’s hope for it, shall we?

As for the upcoming DLC, here are a few details: the Xbox 360 version will be getting its joy come April 4, while the PS3 version a full 21 days after (that’s April 25). No news yet about the PC version, but it’s a safe bet that it will be pretty unique from the console versions. Here’s hoping so, in any case. Updates as we get them!

Buy: [ Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) ]
Buy: [ Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC) ]
Buy: [ Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) ]

Over at the World of Warcraft forums, gamer Volpes voiced concerns about an ongoing exploit in the capital city of the Dwarves, Ironforge. Dueling is not allowed inside cities but apparently, people can get away with it in Ironforge.

Volpes elaborates that you can get past the lifting ban by dueling behind the pillar to the right of the bank. From this location, the game sees your position as Dun Morogh and not as Ironforge. Hence, the dueling exploit.

Considered by some as a possible anti-Alliance move, Volpes is calling on Blizzard to just either lift the dueling ban or fix the problem. However, community manager Hortus has relayed that no change will be made: “As fixing this would require rebuilding the Ironforge terrain, something that could potentially cause new worse issues, we will not be changing it.”

Since it’s impossible to please everybody, Blizzard seems to be going with the lesser evil here. It remains to be seen how Alliance gamers will be responding in the long-term, considering that Ironforge is one of its major cities.

Gith of Skywell complained in the Bug section of World of Warcraft’s official forums that the Blood Elf’s last two hours in Magisters’ Terrace were a complete waste. Apparently, the level 70 paladin died at the hands of Kael’thas Sunstrider, but at approximately the same time the corrupted Kirin Tor mage exhaled his last breath.

Gith swiftly returned to the spot where Sunstrider had fallen, but to his dismay, the corpse wasn’t there to loot. Several other raiders had given their own accounts of similar results, and it appeared that patch 2.4 brought in another serious flaw - at least for the Magisters’ Terrace (MST is it?) instance.

But Blizzard’s gnomish quality assurance, Hortus, quickly hosed down they fire brewing within the thread and claimed that there was nothing wrong in the system - it’s supposed to happen. Moreover, World of Warcraft has upheld that particular mechanic for looting rights, and Hortus said:

You need to be in the instance and within 100 yards of the NPC when it dies to get credit for the quest drop. It’s been this way for quest items on bosses for a long time in order to prevent people exploiting quest drops.

In the future I would suggest not releasing your spirit while the quest NPC is still alive, and then not looting the corpse until everyone has returned. The body will not decay for 1 hour if it still has not been looted.

So that’s 100 yards distance from target during killing blow, and no one-hour looting window. Time to readjust team dynamics, folks: make sure that everyone is present near the quest boss at the final percentages of its life - and if you die, don’t release your spirit until the final blow has been dealt. When the boss goes down, those who’re still alive should wait for those who died to release and rush their way back to the body.

That way, everyone gets a share of the quest drops. Savvy?

Nintendo has announced that the May 13 launch of the Wii Want More service for the Wii Shop will give players the opportunity to grab new downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Four new characters and two new stages will be available for free for one month after the Wii Want More launch. If for some reason you don’t take advantage of this sweet deal, you’ll still be able to grab the goods for 10 USD.

The will be DLC available for 27 games total at launch including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Mario Kart. The new service is also offering third party developers the opportunity to offer DLC. All of you Rock Band fans out there that were disappointed by the announcement that there are no plans for DLC for the Wii version should make it your business to tell Harmonix how you feel about it.

via Nintendo Pressroom

—Related Articles at Gaming Today:E3 2007: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Gets Release DateFamitsu Gives Perfect Score to Smash Bros. BrawlNew Smash Bros. Trailer Showing Sonic in ActionHow To: Play Smash Bros. Brawl With Just Your WiimoteSuper Smash Bros. Brawl a Corrupting Influence

European World of Warcraft players, rejoice! Telia Sonera and Cogent Communications have finally signed a new contract, ending the dispute that led to a lot of WoW players in Europe being unable to log in to the game.

Despite the new contract, however, both companies still insist that the issue was due to the other failing to comply with certain contractual requirements. However hey, that’s a moot point right now to those who only want to get their game on, right?

That’s at least until the dispute escalates again, anyway, and we certainly hope it doesn’t come to that point. Keep checking back here for more updates.

It’s great to hear from Silicon Knights’ Too Human on more or less a regular basis now, aside from just news on their bout with Epic Games. In this new video, we find out more about the game’s roots in Norse mythology, RPG elements, and more on gameplay.

The video is narrated by SK’s President, Denis Dyack, as well as their Director of Design, Henry Sterchi. Also in the video is a mini-documentary called the “The Goblin Man of Norway,” which Dyack says is one of the inspirations for Too Human’s storyline.

The video is also available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. You can check out the documentary on the 4:10 mark on the timer. Here’s the video, enjoy!

With the banning of Manhunt 2still fresh in the minds of some gamers, many are worried about how British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will rate Rockstar North’s Grand Theft Auto 4 for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Well, worry no more because the game has been rated and should be making its April 29 release date in the region.

Grand Theft Auto 4 was given an “18″ certificate by the BBFC. While it hasn’t been confirmed, some have surmised that the recently published Byron Review played a part (considering the BBFC responded to it positively) in the quick rating of the video game.

Regardless of the reason, gamers based in Europe can sleep well knowing that the game will be heading their way with one less potential problem.

Buy: [GTA IV (PS3)]
Buy: [GTA IV (Xbox 360)]

Microsoft is dead serious about trying to turn the Xbox 360 into a digital distribution wonder machine. So serious in fact that they’ve signed a deal with a production company to produce original shows exclusively for their system. The Safran Company is owned by Peter Safran (producer of “Meet the Spartans”) and represents clients such as actor and writer Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), filmmakers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (“Epic Movie”), and Sean “P. Diddy Puff Daddy” Combs. Yes, that’s truly a dream team of filmmakers they’ve got behind them. On the plus side, Safran has said that the first round of productions will all be scripted (i.e. no reality shows) and will most likely be very genre-focused. The shows should run under ten minutes may be offered elsewhere after a timed run on the Xbox 360. Microsoft has said this is expected to be the first of many similar deals. The first round of videos should start hitting the Xbox Live Marketplace this fall.

If the videos are offered for free, they might have a shot. If they charge anything for them though, the service is probably dead in the water. With the incredible number of videos on the internet, why would anyone want to pay money for a 10-minute short? I think I guess what’s going to happen either way though: most people will download one video to check it out, watch it, not like it, and never touch the service again.

Via New York Times

—Related Articles at Gaming Today:Family Guy Coming To Xbox Live (Update)Classic Anime Shows Hitting Xbox Live MarketplaceXbox 1 Games Coming to Xbox Live MarketplaceNew Grand Theft Auto IV trailer on Xbox LIVEVote in the First Xbox Live Arcade Awards