Killswitch Engage Sets New Track List

Killswitch Engage have A tentative track list for their upcoming
new album titled "As Daylight Dies":

01 – "As Daylight Dies"
02 – "This Is Absolution"
03 – "The Arms Of Sorrow"
04 – "Unbroken"
05 – "My Curse"
06 – "For You"
07 – "Still Beats Your Name"
08 – "Eye Of The Storm"
09 – "Break The Silence"
10 – "Desperate Times"
11 – "Reject Yourself"

BF2 Mods Falling By The Wayside

In the past few days, several mods have called it quits for Battlefield 2. They include the promising Rise of Kobol mod based on Battlestar Galactica and the singleplayer/COOP mod, Allied Intent.

 In related news, Electronic Art's Marketing department sensing a downward trend in free, fresh, fun content announced the Modlight program for BF2 on the new official BF2142 website.

"Every few weeks we will be reviewing a different mod and inviting all Battlefield Players to join us in gaming sessions on the "ModLight Community Servers" that will be hosted after each review."

 A quick check of the Official BF2 website shows no mention of this ingenious new marketing ploy, err community support program aimed at bolstering the dieing, err growth challenged Battlefield Community.

Neverwinter Nights 2 Toolset Available Early With Pre-Order

Atari, Inc., one of the world’s most recognized brands and leading third-party video game publisher, today announced that the Company will support a pre-order campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2 with GameStop and Best Buy. In development by Obsidian Entertainment, the highly-anticipated Neverwinter Nights 2 is set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Forgotten Realms universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and will transport players back to the embattled city of Neverwinter. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro. The pre-order offer is available now and will give participating gamers exclusive access to the Neverwinter Nights 2 toolset one month before the game is available. Additionally, the pre-order offer will include The Merchant’s Friend, a special feature enabling players to obtain powerful items crafted especially for each of the 12 classes.

“The Neverwinter Nights 2 toolset is groundbreaking software that provides players with unprecedented ability to create their own universes, quests and storylines” said Stephen Baer, Senior Product Manager, Atari, Inc. “The Neverwinter Nights 2 community has been extremely supportive of the upcoming game and with this pre-order offer we hope to reward those who are particularly excited to experience the next installment of the Neverwinter epic tale.”

“Atari has certainly set the stage for a very exciting Neverwinter Nights 2 launch,” said Hasbro Properties Group Senior Licensing Manager Jerry Chu. “The pre-sell toolset gives the millions of fanatic Neverwinter Nights players a jump start on the next epic tale and the keys to create new storylines with limitless quests and endings. The level of customized mods will be phenomenal.”

The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of gaming. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, have created nearly 4,000 modifications to the original game using the original, award-winning Aurora Toolset. A more robust toolset will be included with the release of Neverwinter Nights 2.

Neverwinter Nights 2 is scheduled for release in October 2006. More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found on the Official Atari NWN 2 site, which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.

Punk Rock Changed our Lives

Press Release

Gainesville, Virginia September 12, 2006

This may not be the most eloquent of press releases, but since when has punk music been about eloquence or press releases for that matter? Even if a press release isn't very Punk, GamersRadio.com is proud to announce the debut of our second radio station on Live365 to compliment our flagship station in the Metal genre.

Broadcasting at 64K MP3Pro Stereo, Gamers Radio GR2: The Punk Phase plays a wide variety of music from punks' 1970's origins to the present. In History Lesson Part II, D. Boon of the Minutemen said "Punk Rock changed our lives" and while listening to GR2 may in fact be life changing, the intent is to expose the listener to the music that we love and that might broadly be labeled "Punk". Our core sound is built around No Use For A Name, Swingin' Utters, Rancid, Social Distortion, and NOFX. From there pretty much anything goes and the listener should expect to hear music ranging from something that might pass for pop, to a song that you might just as likely hear on our Metal Station. The intent is to play music that gets your blood and emotions moving because whether the song is old or new, political or about drinking and f*cking, we want it to mean something.

About Gamers Radio:

Gamers Radio was established in 2001 with the goal of bringing the two things we love together, gaming and music. GamersRadio.com

is a community website covering the PC Game industry, the Music industry and pop culture in general with a focus on the intelligent discussion of these topics.

About GR1:

Gamers Radio GR1 was established in 2004 and quickly rose to the number 1 Metal station on Live365 averaging close to 2000 listeners a day and more than 50,000 Total Listening Hours a month. Gamers Radio GR1 is also featured on Rock.com as their Heavy Metal (Today's Hits) Station. All of the Gamers Radio stations are licensed to BMI, ASCAP, SESAC and Sound Exchange for legal Internet Broadcasting through Live365.

About GR2:

Gamers Radio GR2 is the newest station under the Gamers Radio name playing Punk Rock 24/7.

Contact:

Atomm Nihilo
[email protected]
http://www.GamersRadio.com

The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM Goes Beta!

Nearly 200,000 Players Have Signed-up Worldwide


WESTWOOD, MA – SEPTEMBER 8, 2006
– Turbine and Midway announced today that The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ (LOTRO) has officially entered Beta in North America. Codemasters Online Gaming is pleased to announce the simultaneous launch of Pre-Beta in Europe.

This Beta is by invitation only and over time more and more players will be invited. Fans can continue to register to join the Beta Program by visiting http://www.lotro.com/betasignup for North America and http://www.lotro-europe.com for the European program.

“The response to LOTRO Alpha was overwhelming. Player enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone,” said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “The Alpha was oversubscribed and the Beta Program is on a record-setting pace with nearly 200,000 players already registered. LOTRO is building toward one of the largest beta communities in the industry.”

The first and only massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Online™ allows players to write their own stories in Middle-earth™, the most famous fantasy world of all time.

David Solari, Vice President and General Manager of Codemasters Online Gaming, said “It’s great to reach the Beta for such an exciting game. We look forward to seeing players bring the incredible world of Middle-earth to life and making it their own.”

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar lets players join in an epic adventure – exploring a massive online world while defending the lands of Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron. Players of all levels will explore incredibly detailed realms and join familiar characters in an evolving and persistent re-creation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved world. They will face the dangers Frodo and the Fellowship left behind when they began their epic journey to destroy the One Ring. Gamers can adventure solo or choose from thousands of players online to forge their own fellowships. Players, solo and fellowships alike, will be challenged by hideous monsters and minions of evil as they fight epic battles to defend Middle-earth. LOTRO will deliver on the opportunity to allow players to immerse themselves in the greatest adventure of our time.

LOTRO is co-published by Turbine and Midway in North America and Codemasters Online Gaming in Europe.

Continue reading The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM Goes Beta!

Jade Empire Coming To PC

2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced today that it will be publishing Jade Empire: Special Edition for the PC. Jade Empire is an award-winning role-playing game (RPG) from renowned PC game developer BioWare. Anticipated for January 2007, Jade Empire: Special Edition will feature enhanced graphics and a number of new additions.


“We are thrilled to be partnering with 2K to deliver the immersive story and exciting world of Jade Empire to PC gamers,” said Ray Muzyka, CEO of BioWare.

Jade Empire: Special Edition will be exclusively available for the PC and will feature increased graphic resolutions with new visual effects and fighting styles, as well as new monsters and enemies with enhanced AI. The game will also include customizable, intuitive controls and an all-new art book as part of the Special Edition bonus content.

“BioWare has a large and loyal fan base of PC RPG gamers and we have heard their many requests for a PC version of Jade Empire,” said Greg Zeschuk, president of BioWare. “We are happy to work with 2K on our latest product.”

“With Jade Empire’s extensive list of accolades and BioWare’s industry-wide respect as a developer, 2K is delighted to bring the beloved Jade Empire franchise to the PC,” said Christoph Hartmann, President, 2K.

About Jade Empire:

In the ancient, mysterious world of the Jade Empire, players choose to act as a noble hero or treacherous villain by following the path of the “Open Palm” or the “Closed Fist.” Players face powerful human and supernatural foes, learn exotic and magical martial arts and discover the darkest secrets of the world.

For more information, visit the Jade Empire website.

Battlefield 2 1.4 Patch Released

 EA has released the 1.4 Patch for Battlefield 2.  Info on the patch and some mirrors are below.

1.4 Patch – New content

* New level: Road to Jalalabad (Conquest 16-32-64, Singleplayer, Co-op)
* New Server Option: No Vehicles mode

1.4 Patch – Fix List
Front End:

* Front end – Fix server browser issues with updating info
* Front End – Multiplayer & Co-op – Players on server list can include Bots instead of human players
* Multiplayer Internet Server maps size filter not working
* Fixed an issue in the front end where pressing tab twice in the IP window would cause the cursor to skip to wrong box

Game Server:

* Increased server stability
* All levels – Co-op – Crash after reviving player without a kit- 1st attempt Server – Linux 32 Dedicated – Server crashes when trying to rotate maps in Special Forces Co-op Mode (fixed on SUSE only. Still present in Red Hat and Fedora)
* Adjust the minimum number of players to start the round.The new values for 16, 32 and 64 players are 6, 6 and 8 respectively.
* Re-enable unlocks on unranked servers
* Ranked server forces unlocks i.e. have to have unlocks selected.
* Coop – Local Server – If Server Host is kicked and banned although they do not actually get kicked, no other players may join the server after that point.
* Fixed a dedicated server crash which was occurring when the user held "CTRL" and "SHIFT" while selecting a map
* Fixed a crash which would occur when c4 was placed on a flag pole and the server rotated maps
* Vehicle drop crash related bug (missing icon)
* Co-Op bot console commands do not function on local servers.

Client / Gameplay:

* Red/Blue nametag bug –Fix to the issue where players would show up with the wrong color name tag
* Introduced a delay from proning to standing to help reduce exploiting
* Adjusted C4 to make throwing more difficult
* Fixed the issue where a red distance marker appears on the ground
* Fixed the issue that caused players arms to become invisible after switching weapons when using throwable items
* Made adjustments to reduce the damage taken by vehicles when driving
* Adjusted the tire material on the muscle car to reduce the issue with this vehicle taking too much damage.
* Commander options no longer available whilst dead.
* Fixed the issue with a spawn point showing up as selected when a player has spawned in during preview round
* Fixed the issue that would cause infantry players to be revived with no kit.
* Fixed several rare graphics crashes.
* Fixed issue with players crashing while clicking "Join Game" in the front end
* Car-Drop: Made adjustments to the car drop feature to prevent players from exploiting into buildings.
* Discovered and repaired an issue tied to projectiles which would sometimes allow tanks to fire two shells, support to fire multiple rounds, and other issues (all maps).
* Fixed bug where after 2 rounds on the same map, the top player stars are awarded to the wrong people in the menu
* Transport Helicopters – Increased the armor of all transport helicopters

 

FilePlanet – Full

BF2S – Full

GamersHell – Full 

 

FilePlanet-Incremental 

BF2S – Incremental 

GamersHell – Incremental 

 

BF2CC 1.4 Download  

 

iGames and CEVO Lock and Load for $5K Counter-Strike 1.6 Open

(Ed: I am still amazed at how strong this game is going.)

Third Event in 6-Month, 40K eSports Series, Which Began in June and Runs Through November

WHAT:

Leading game center organization iGames and premier eSports online community CEVO today announced the details of $5K CS 1.6 Open, the third event in their 6-month series of national eSports tournaments, which began in June and run through November, with over $40,000 in the balance.

Continue reading iGames and CEVO Lock and Load for $5K Counter-Strike 1.6 Open

Bigfoot Networks Begins Shipping Killer Gaming NIC

(Ed: From the would you pay $279 to take 7ms off of your ping department?) 

KillerTM NIC, the First Network Card Designed Exclusively for Hardcore Online Gamers, Reduces Ping and Increases FPS


AUSTIN, Texas – Aug. 31, 2006
– Bigfoot Networks, Inc., a research and development company, today announced it has begun shipping its flagship gaming product, the KillerTM Network Interface Card (NIC). The Killer NIC is the first network card specifically designed to improve performance for online gamers who demand less Ping (latency) and more Frames Per Second. Next week, Killer will launch exclusively at www.Newegg.com for $279.99. Gamers may pre-order the Killer now at www.killernic.com.

The Killer improves gaming performance through its patent-pending Hardware Network Stack that bypasses the host operating system’s networking stack completely. Online gaming enthusiasts will gain a significant competitive advantage through the Killer NIC’s ability to reduce and control Ping times while increasing Frames Per Second (FPS).

The Killer NIC has shown impressive performance improvements on CounterStrike, F.E.A.R., and World of Warcraft. For example, results have shown an average of 7 milliseconds (ms) of Ping improvement in CounterStrike: Source, and an FPS improvement of approximately 8 percent. World of Warcraft shows an average of 10 ms of Ping improvement and 7 percent improvements in FPS. For more performance details, please see the performance specs on KillerNIC.com: http://www.killernic.com/KillerNic/KillerStats.aspx

Continue reading Bigfoot Networks Begins Shipping Killer Gaming NIC

Pledge of Allegiance Tour

Friday, October 5, 2001. The Pledge of Allegiance Tour – Myriad Convention Center -Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Pledge of Allegiance Tour features Rammstein and System of a Down with Slipknot in the headliner spot. I read that Mudvayne was going to be on this tour, but they did not appear in Oklahoma City. As with most mutliband shows, different cities pick up different newer and lesser know acts to play with them. This is usually an attempt of the headliners record label to get exposure for their up and coming bands.
{mospagebreak title=No One}  
Oklahoma City was no exception as we started the night with “No One”. They said they are from Chicago and their new album is only three weeks old. Erthdawg and I came into this performance a little after it started. (Who ever shows up early for a concert anyway?) My initial reaction was good. They remind me of Linkin Park without all of the rap. These guys came to rock and they did exactly that! I did not know any of their songs, but I enjoyed their show. They put out a straight ahead rock and roll show. They let the music speak for itself. When they were done playing, they told everyone to come by and pick up a copy of their album. They also let everyone know that they would sign every cd that was purchased. This was a great move and I was glad to see a new band that was not afraid of meeting the fans.
{mospagebreak title=Rammstein}
Rammstein came on next. They have an incredible stage presence. The lights went down and the band began to play. The lead sing walked out after the band had the crowd on their feet. His entire back and arms were engulfed in flames. He sang the whole first song this way. This was an incredible feat, but Rammstein is one of those bands that you learn to appreciate even more once you see them play live. They put on a great stage performance with extremely interesting pyrotechnics and a very powerful sound. Most of the songs were in German, but it did not matter. The power in their music overcame the lack of understanding the words.
{mospagebreak title=System of a Down}
Next up was System of a Down. I must confess that when I saw this show, I did not know a whole lot about this band. I knew one song, Spiders. I was hoping to hear that song, but I would be disappointed. In between acts, they had a huge screen with videos from all of the bands that would be on the show during The Pledge of Allegiance Tour. One of the videos they played was Chop Suey. Erthdawg knew the song and video from MTV-X. Before the night was over, I would hear it twice, once on the video and once live. It is a very catchy song and should be a big hit for them. The rest of the music was very foreign to me. I tried to get into it, but I find you must listen to this band a few times to appreciate their music. They had a great sound, with an extremely visual show. They used looped images on the huge screen behind them to blend the music with imagery. They did an incredible job of timing the imagery with the music and the crowd really seemed to enjoy their performance. Based on the noticeable number of people that left after they played, I have a feeling that System of a Down brought more people to the show than the headliners. Then again, it was late by this time and most of the audience looked to be under sixteen.
{mospagebreak title=Slipknot}
The forth and final band of the night was the headliners, Slipknot. I should preface this review by stating that Erthdawg and I saw them at Ozzfest in Dallas. It was 106 and we were miserable, but watching Slipknot tear it up made us forget how uncomfortable we were, if only for a while. This time, it would not be the same. I love Slipknot, especially live. They are a very powerful band that takes a live performance beyond anything I have ever seen from other bands. They are extremely visual and extremely musical. The combination usually makes for an incredible show that leaves you wanting even more. Tonight would not be one of those nights. It was obvious from the beginning that something was not right with the sound check. Rammstein and System of a Down were incredibly loud and clean sounding. Slipknot sounded like they left half of their speakers in the semi. It was almost too quiet for a band of this magnitude. Corey’s voice, usually very apparent, even over a deafening band, was muffled and weak. During the first few songs, it seemed as if they were still trying to get all of the sound straightened out. At one point, it looked as if Corey pointed at the ceiling and his vocals became loud enough to hear them over the rest of the band. This helped, but they were still not as loud as one would expect in an indoor show, especially from a band like Slipknot. Once I got past the lack of sound, I was able to start enjoying the band I came to see. By the middle of the performance, they had put on a great show, winning the crowd over and whipping them into a frenzied mosh pit, the likes I have never seen at a show in Oklahoma City. At one point, they had the entire arena on their knees on the ground, while Corey was holding a video camera pointed at the crowd. Some people were reluctant to get on the ground, but he kept on them until everyone was down. In unison, he had the entire arena jump into the air. He captured the whole thing on video. Who knows, someday OKC may be in a Slipknot video. By the end of the show, it was apparent that the difference between Slipknot, System of a Down and Rammstein was the fact that this is The Peoples band. They connect with the audience in a way that is almost scary. It is the same feeling I had on the second row at An Justice For All. Back then, Metallica connected. The audience felt it, just as they did when Slipknot played. The encore was great. They did National Anthem and just ripped it up.
{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}
Overall, it was one of the better concerts I have been too. I really like the idea of having multiple bands on an arena tour. It makes you feel like the cash your slapping down for a ticket is better spent. No One is an up and coming band that I believe is worth checking out. It was nice to have a band with what I call The New Sound (Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, etc), but without the Rap. Rammstein is a powerful band and definitely worth seeing. Although, I do not think they will achieve the level of success in the United States that they could until they release a popular English song. System of a Down is a strange band. They play heavy metal, but bring cultural differences outside of Rock and the United States. I do not agree with some of their beliefs and ideas, but musically, I think they are on the verge of exploding onto the mainstream. Slipknot will definitely need a better sound system if they are going to continue headlining shows. This was the only complaint I had about their show. Even with some of the sound problems, it was still a kick ass show and I will see them again. I think they are a band worth watching. They say success will not change them and I hope they are right. It is hard when you have nine people in the band to keep doing what you are doing with the energy they maintain. Nonetheless, check them out the next time they are in your town. It is one of the most interesting shows I have ever seen.

 

Xbox Live Is a Casual Gamers Dream Come True

Like an MVP rushing for 1900 yards, Xbox Live, the first and only unified online games and entertainment network, celebrates record heights surpassing 50 million downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace, doubling the 25 million mark hit just three months ago. Gamers are swarming to Xbox Live at a breakneck pace – logging more than 2 billion hours online – to experience online multiplayer gaming, addictive Xbox Live Arcade titles, the latest game demos, movie trailers, and music videos.


Xbox 360 gamers are flocking to Xbox Live in record numbers following the release of “Madden NFL 07” on August 22nd from Electronic Arts. Within the first week of release, gamers unlocked more than 600,000 achievements and Xbox Live hosted more than 2 million hours of game play. This is equivalent to 228 years of online gaming in the first seven days alone.

“Texas Hold ‘em” set a day one record as the fastest downloaded item ever on the Xbox Live Marketplace, with over 100 downloads per minute in the first 24 hours of the title’s release. For the first time ever, Microsoft offered a free full-version Xbox Live Arcade game to all Xbox Live members during the first 48 hours following launch. The title is the first poker game on Xbox Live Arcade and includes high-definition graphics, persistent bankroll, achievements and online multiplayer.

Top Xbox Live Statistics

  • More than 50 million downloads of gaming and entertainment content from Xbox Live Marketplace to date
  • Over 2 billion hours spent on Xbox Live by gamers across the globe since the launch of the Xbox Live online gaming network in November 2002
  • More than 60 percent of Xbox 360 owners are connected to Xbox Live
  • 1,300,000 text and voice messages are sent via Xbox Live every day. Currently totaling half a billion sent messages between the Xbox Live community per year, this figure is set to explode with the launch of the Xbox Live Vision camera on September 19, 2006 in the U.S.
  • 65 per cent of all connected consoles already downloading and playing Xbox Live Arcade titles
  • Over 8 million downloads of Xbox Live Arcade games following the launch of Xbox 360
  • Over 2 billion Microsoft Points sold to date

Click here for more information about Xbox Live or to become a member.

Awesome Crysis Preview

How does 33 Pictures and 13 Movies of the new upcoming Crysis game grab you? Yea, it is deffinately worth a look.

 

"It goes without saying that Crytek has made a major impact on FPS titles since Far Cry was released over two years ago. While the title had its flaws, such as damn near impossible difficulty toward the end of the game and a save system that could've been much better, it was still a groundbreaking shooter in several ways. Since then, the team has been hard at work on their next title, Crysis, which made its debut at this year's E3 to a great deal of fanfare. Now, a few months later on their home turf, Crytek unveiled a multiplayer demo of their highly anticipated shooter on the showroom floor at Leipzig. Much to the hatred of roughly fifty-plus German youths, we went hands-on with a build specially created for the Games Convention and talked to a few members of the Crytek team."

 

Read More…