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Contest timeI promised a "guess the screenshot contest" in July but it just didn't make the cut. This week, however, you finally get to put your eyeballs to the test with some 75x75-pixel cuts from a variety of different games. We've got 3D and 2D games represented with screens from the obvious to the obscure. Can you guess them all? WARNING: This is for hardcore gamers, I ain't makin' it easy on you! Any side effects such as brain cramps and frustration-induced delusions are suffered at your own risk. Review the pics below, then send me an e-mail with "shot contest" in the subject line. Include only a list of the screenshot numbers and your guess as to which game it was taken from. I will randomly select a winner ONLY from those of you who respond with ALL the correct answers. If no one gets them all right, I will select randomly from those entries with the MOST correct answers. Grand prize is a $25 gift certificate from either EBX Software or Borders Books (winner's choice). The contest ends Friday, August 30 at 5PM PST. Entries received after that time will be disregarded. Good luck!
Hint: Viewing the images at 800x600 resolution offers the best reference. Doom III close upDoom III is a hot topic now that id software has offered the latest and greatest technical and design details to the gaming press. This year's QuakeCon included a presentation that gives us all reason to continue salivating over id's next installment of Doom. Why? Well check out this little tidbit:
Yeah baby! We get to blast at rag dolls! How terrifying is that? Oh man, I cannot wait for this. Bring it on, Raggedy Ann! I say... bring... it... on! (For those of you who have already launched Outlook Express to e-mail me and say "there aren't really any rag dolls, Doofus!", I am joking). But what I'm not joking about is this:
Even if this is so, I wonder how many computer upgrades Doom III will propagate? I remember upgrading just to play Quake back in the day. In fact, all my upgrades have been driven by gaming technology. Ah, it's the life. Check out the full Doom III preview. There was a war before World War 2?
I only bring this up (again) because the official Web site for Aces of the Air went live last week. Aces of the Air is a WW1 combat flight sim that will include scenarios, a career mode, and multiplayer combat. Under development in Poland by Tatanka, this will be the first biplane dog fighter to be released in some time. AoA will feature fully modeled terrain, including 150-meter high cliffs, civilian buildings, and valleys. The graphics, while not the most advanced I've ever seen, do promise to play functionally on a 400Mhz processor. Oi! Check out more at the official Web site. There's a trailer to view if you want to see the game in action. Tribes up in the airI know how you Tribes fans are. You put your noses in the air and look down upon other shooters as the peons, peasants, and underclass of the action-gaming genre. You guys and gals are elitists! But that's OK, it's a hell of a game. Although, if I brought my Quake 3 character over to your tribal playground with a railgun, you'd all be hiding with your tails between your legs. BZZT! BZZT! BZZT! (But I jest... not!) But, what this is really all about is a recent preview (yet again at Gamespot.com) of Tribes Aerial Assault. The mega PC hit is getting a special online and single-player version for Sony's PlayStation 2. While reading over the preview I notice that the game has been altered to suit the PS2 and the console community, but little has changed from the original PC version. So, if you're a console gamer who has had his wishful eyes on Tribes... your chance is coming in October.
Judge dismisses "violent games = violent action" caseA $33 million lawsuit was filed alleging that violent games, pornographic internet content, and even a movie studio caused a 1997 high school shooting. The judge on the case considered game violence too far removed from real-life violent behavior for the suit to be relevant. While these cases continue to go in favor of the defendants, it doesn't seem to stem the tide of cases that are brought up. It has become a vicious cycle. PC vs. the volcanoActually, it should be PC vs. the console. This age-old debate, er, argument--let's call it what it is--has been given another look, but with a new twist. In a column at AdrenalineVault.com, Bob Mandel has taken a level-headed, insightful look at the competitive battle between PC and console popularity. His findings and musings include such thoughts as this:
Bob, in his article, drops the friction-filled battling over which gaming platform is better and simply discusses, in clear and easy language, what the appeal of each platform is. I found it a great read with my coffee and bagel, and I hope you do, too. Bullet news
The Week in Patches
On Shelves (or soon will be)
Gone Gold
Keep Gaming. It'll be the last thing you ever do, before the next thing you do.- CarlDiscuss this edition!
Past Game.Ars action: 08/18/2002 - Release dates; RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 Even more past Game.Ars Action can be found here.
Driving a plane through the streets of Liberty City.
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Let's have a little game of "
So many games have been released in the past couple of years set in World War 2 that you'd think it was the only war ever fought. In fact, you might have been wondering why it had the "2" on the end of it at all. Yes, Virginia, there is a World War 1.
