Amr's Video Game Links Blog

Monday, September 26, 2005

Some nice Half-Life 2 mods.

I tried a bunch of cool things for half-life 2 this weekend and want to share with you.

1) The Matrix map for Half-Life 2

http://www.fileplanet.com/156655/150000/fileinfo/Counter-Strike:-Source---The-Matrix-Map

This is an awesome map, it is based on some of the most favorite sets from the Matrix (part 1), for example, the lobby scene, the roof, the office, etc. The environments are super interactive, e.g. as you fight in the lobby part of the map, the concrete on the columns will break down just as in the movie:

2) HL2 Dodge-Ball:

http://www.fileplanet.com/156729/150000/fileinfo/Half-Life-2---DM_Torrent

It looks very simple at beginning, but as you start to experience the available maps (by connecting to the dodge ball server), you appreciate the ingenuity of the guy who made this mod and associated environments.

3) Gary's Mod 8.3b:

http://www.fileplanet.com/149087/140000/fileinfo/Half-Life-2---Garry's-Mod-8.3b

He added a ton of new things, like now you can enable AI on the models. For example, I was able to put 50 civilians in the middle of the map, then released 10 antilion guards to eat them :)

4) Antlion Deuce:

http://www.fileplanet.com/155440/150000/fileinfo/Half-Life-2---Antlion-Deuce-[Single-Player]

This is more like a mini-level for HL2. You are stranded with a group of combines in a fortress and a ton of antilions will come to attack you, your mission is to defend the fortress. You have many combines under your command, your success will depend on positioning them properly to maximize survival chances.

5) Last but not least, the Aftermath trailer:

http://www.fileplanet.com/156003/150000/fileinfo/Half-Life-2:-Aftermath-Trailer

This is the new expansion pack for HL2 that will come out later this year.


You should also try Dystopia mod, which is kind of PlanetSide.

-- amr

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Plague epidemic terrorizes WoW servers - Joystiq - www.joystiq.com

Plague epidemic terrorizes WoW servers - Joystiq - www.joystiq.com

Monday, September 19, 2005

Wells Fargo launches game inside 'Second Life' | CNET News.com

Wells Fargo launches game inside 'Second Life' | CNET News.com

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Xbox 360 to hit shelves before Thanksgiving | CNET News.com

Xbox 360 to hit shelves before Thanksgiving | CNET News.com

Some nice demo links: FEAR, AoE3, Dystopia, Waste Land

FEAR:
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The graphics are very impressive, it brought my super-duper machine to its knees, almost rivals HL2. It also has some very nice bullet-time effects and Matrix like explosions (you know, where the geometry of the world bends with the explosion). You can download it from yahoo videogames:

http://videogames.yahoo.com/predownload?eid=387468

AoE3:
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Also the Age-of-Empires 3 demo is out, its very much like RoN (Rise of Nations) but a significantly beefed up graphics engine. They claim they are the first to do Havoc rag-doll physics in a Strategy game. I did not like fact that you can not zoom-into action as much as you can in Warhammer40K, but still the details are impressive.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/predownload?eid=394718

(Btw, videogame folks, when I searched for Age of Empires 3 I did not get a hit, you need to add an alias from III to 3, or add an also-try suggestion).

Dystopia:
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If you got Half-Life 2, then you gotta try the Dystopia expansion pack:

http://videogames.yahoo.com/predownload?eid=395481

it turns HL2 into a game very similar to planetside, so there is different types of armors you can wear, and pick extra special powerups, etc.

C&C Generals ZH Waste Land Conflict:
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Finally, for the Strategy Fans, I recommend this clever expansion pack, it adds three new armies, Pakistan, India and Thai.

http://fp3.fileplanet.com/147790/140000/fileinfo/C&C---Generals-ZO:-2015-Waste-Land-Conflict-B-1.5C

-- amr

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Blizzard Entertainment - Press Release

Blizzard Entertainment - Press Release: "RVINE, California - August 29, 2005 - Blizzard Entertainment�, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft�, its subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has reached more than one million paying customers in North America. This brings the total population for Blizzard's critically acclaimed game, the largest MMORPG in the world, to more than four million paying customers. "

Friday, September 02, 2005

Blizzard wins lawsuit on video game hacking | CNET News.com

[print version] Blizzard wins lawsuit on video game hacking | CNET News.com