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Fully clickable version here - http://play.game.net/newsletters/18thAugust.htm
GAME.NET News
To start off this Newsletter I'd like to welcome to all new Subscribers who are taking advantage of the Free Trial, hopefully this Newsletter will be of some use to you by highlighting the service news, the weekly events you can take part in and all the files you can download from our super-fast (and well stocked) FTP server.
If you are a free trial user, or even a Subscriber who hasn't played in any Weekly Events so far, then we are introducing a special event just for you. Every Wednesday night from 8pm onwards we will be running a Subscriber-Only event for Enemy Territory, the free-to-use game based on Return to Castle Wolfenstein. You can download Enemy Territory from our FTP here, at almost 260 MB it is a self contained game which you can then try out on our Preview Server located @ 213.221.178.76:28960. Remember that as a Subscriber you should log in first to the GAME.NET system before joining the server, this will ensure that you do not get kicked and can enjoy endless hours of air-striking, dynamting, flame-throwing and shooting the c**p out of up to 19 other players.
We've also appointed three new GAME Masters for Enemy Territory - Raa, Deady and Pakman - and should you have any problems / queries you can find them in #game.rtcw on the GAME chat service (QuakeNet IRC) or post in the ET forum. The Weekly event will be held on different, Subscriber Only servers, meaning that you will be safe from any unruly element who like to team-kill to oblivion or spam chat commands until your ears bleed, details of the servers to join will be given in #game.rtcw from around 8pm onwards every Wednesday evening. Some of the GAME.NET staff will be on hand to help you with any problems you might have connecting to the servers in question, I look forward to seeing you on the night.
Another free game we are supporting is the recently released standalone demo for BattleField 1942 expansion pack "Secrets Weapons". You can download the sizeable demo here and then join our Preview server @ 213.221.178.78:14567 or, alternatively, use the GAME.NET Browser located here.
Some exclusive GAME content to inform you of this week as we start the build-up to the release of FPS game Judge Dredd - Dredd v Death. Every week until the September release we will be uploading a new section of a comic strip which you will find linked from this page, along with tons of other goodies relating to the game such as movies, screensavers and audio trailers. If you are a 2000AD comic nut then this is like manna from heaven, its already hospitalised one of our GAME reporters who has been reduced to a drooling pile of goo.
Ever wanted to write about games for a living, as opposed to doing proper work? Well now is your chance as GAME is hiring. GAME Group PLC, the leading European games retailer, is recruiting for a staff writer, based at its Head Office, to work on the shop and multiplayer sites. The successful applicant will be an integral part of the existing GAME Digital team, writing product features, interviews, previews and reviews as well as ensuring that the products on site have the latest assets be that patches, screensavers, movies, etc...
In addition they will be expected to get involved with site updates such as merchandising, refreshing the charts etc., as well as be willing to get on the phone and pitch GAME Digital enthusiastically to industry PR individuals, with an aim to bringing in exclusive content, PR support and preview / review code. For more information e-mail CJ Ravey.
Server updates this week are as follows, downloads where appropriate can be found in the Patches section below:
RavenShield to v1.4
Quake 3 mod UrbanTerror to v3.0
Jedi Knight 2 mod Jedi Academy to v1.4
BattleField 1942 mod DesertCombat to v.039k
BattleField 1942 official Battle over Britain map updated to new version
What's On
Monday 18th August 2003
Elite Force II @ 19:00
Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic @ 21:00
Tuesday 19th August 2003
Battlefield 1942 @ 20:30
Quake 3 Arena: Urban Terror @ 20:30
Wednesday 20th August 2003
New Event >> Medal of Honor @ 19:00 << New Event
New Event >> Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 20:00 << New Event
Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat @ 21:00
Thursday 21st August 2003
New Event >> Medal of Honor: SpearHead @ 19:00 << New Event
Half-Life: Day of Defeat @ 20:30
Quake 3 Arena: Capture The Flag @ 21:00
Half Life: Team Fortress Classic (TFC) @ 21:00
Friday 22nd August 2003
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 13:00
Files and Patches
Trailers
There have been a couple of games getting a deluge of trailers this week in an effort to ramp up the public knowledge of their forthcoming release, this as opposed to the gradual release of in-game footage which the people behind Half-Life 2 have chosen to follow, the latest 100 MB+ movie for that game this week featuring an assault on a Barricade and available for your drooling pleasure here. At the other end of the scale XIII's latest 4 MB movie (get it here), featuring one of the key figures in the game it has the usual David "X-Files" Duchovny voice-over, the movie doing a good job in building up the anticipation I have for the game's release.
Back to the larger sized trailers with Gangland, this RTS / RPG / SIM puts you in the role of a potential mob boss with the aim being to build up a vast empire of illegal activities. At 96 MB the trailer (get it here) is a tad big but worth the download in my opinion, the game looking graphically quite impressive as a cross between GTA: Vice City and the old-skool game Syndicate. Whilst being pretty the 46 MB trailer for Game Tycoon doesn't exactly do a great deal to show off the game, whether or not this will make much of a difference on how the game sales remains to be seen but on the basis of this trailer I cannot say I'm that impressed.
Many trailers for sequels were released this past week with the 14 MB movie for Joint Operations amongst them, this being a sort of unofficial sequel to popular FPS game Black Hawk Down and promising to redefine the multiplayer genre. Personally I think that the trailer looks a bit too much like BHD which, whilst not being a totally awful thing, is a bit worrying given how fiddly the multiplayer section of that game is from both a server operator and player point of view. We'll find out in a couple of months whether or not the game lives up to the hype, in the mean time you could satisfy your need for blood with Warrior Kings: Battles, an expansive sequel to the original RTS game. The game has already been released but if you have yet to buy it then you can have a sneak peak by grabbing a 27 MB trailer here, in my view it looks pretty decent although I'm not personally a fan of the genre.
Some games prefer to make it clearer that they are sequels by including the useful tool of a number, one such title being The Sims 2 which has seen a second trailer be released with plenty of in-game footage. At 14 MB it probably wouldn't hurt your bandwidth to take a look (get it here) although it has to be said if you haven't got into the original game (or its multitude of expansion packs) then there probably isn't going to be a huge amount in the movie to get you that keen on the sequel, due out next year. I found the new 28 MB trailer for Commandos 3 more interesting (get it here), the game featuring the now required "Normandy landing" scenario, along with multiplayer options which could add a much needed dimension to the series. On a more light-hearted note a second trailer has been released for Worms 3D, at 21 MB it is comprised solely of in-game footage and shows off just a few of the many weapons on offer in what is likely to be one of the years most entertaining games.
A further two sequels have been treated to a flood of publicity this week, here's a brief summary of what is available for the games in question with nearly all the trailers consisting of in-game footage.
Tribes Vengeance
Sands of Dawn (20 MB)
The Stand (7.3 MB)
Triebs (6 MB)
Command & Conquer Generals - Zero Hour Expansion Pack
Hi-Res Game Trailer (106 MB)
General Alexander Movie & Taunts (12 MB)
General Granger Movie & Taunts (12 MB)
General Townes Movie & Taunts (14 MB)
Playable Demos
A few demos for less well known games have appeared this week, the first to mention being for Viking-themed Adventure / Strategy game Northland, a sequel of sorts to Cultures 2. The 80 MB demo (get it here) features a couple of missions from the game, along with some handy tutorials, and is the perfect chance to get a feel for it before the full game is released this coming Friday. If you prefer your gaming a bit slower you can grab the 60 MB demo for Majestic Chess here, whilst this week's free game comes in the shape of Hack simulator DarkSigns, a text based game which allows you to emulate Johnny Lee Miller and bed Angelina Jolie, or alternatively to "Hack the Planet", and at just 20 MB (get it here) it has to be worth a look.
Game Patches
Two notable games to receive patches this week are both ones which we currently support here on GAME.NET, the first being the popular FPS game RavenShield. Whilst the developers have to be praised for their continued work on the game it is perhaps a tad worrying that this is something like the fourth patch since its release, available in either v1.31 to v1.4 or v1.0 to v1.4 flavours the update is already on our servers so I would suggesting grabbing the patch as soon as possible, you can read a list of what has changed in the game here.
If you prefer your gaming to take place in the air rather than running around on the ground then you might own a copy of the massively popular (if slightly unpronounceable) flight-sim IL2 Sturmovik, along with its Forgotten Battles expansion pack, both of which we support here at GAME.NET. A patch for the expansion pack has been released in the past couple of days and, at 40 MB, you can grab it here, Version 1.1b seeing a number of changes and fixes with a full list on the official site.
Mods
Although Quake 3 is arguably nearing retirement age in gaming terms there remains a great deal of interest in my favourite FPS game and new releases of mods help to keep people coming back. One such mod is UrbanTerror, effectively Counter-Strike for Quake 3 this mod received a significant overhaul last week with the release of v3.0, at 322 MB you can appreciate that this is a pretty serious mod and a few bugs have crept in with the new release, a further patch expected shortly. If you do fancy giving it a go then you can download it by clicking the version number, all our servers which support the mod have been updated already.
Another significant mod, in both size and popularity terms, is DesertCombat, the popular BattleField 1942 add-on has also received a face-lift with a minor (haha) 122 MB patch taking it to v0.39k, although you will still need to have installed the 300+ MB v0.38d first before you install the new version. Needless to say all our servers have been updated, this is also true for the new version of the official BattleField 1942 map "Battle over Britain" which you can download here.
Special Offers
I mentioned our exclusive Judge Dredd - Dredd v Death comic earlier and it is worth pointing out that we've also got some significant reductions on the price of the game, an FPS game with a great storyline and the usual multiplayer options could well be worth a look and you can pre-order your copy here.
Two Filmish things to mention include the upcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVD, due out this Friday if you pre-order from us in the next couple of days you will receive a free "Making of the Movie" book worth £12.99. Also worth a mention is the tie-in to current Box Office #1 Pirates of the Caribbean, the RPG / Action game is available to purchase now and gives you the chance to emulate Johnny "I'm camper than Graham Norton" Depp's character Jack Sparrow, the game also featuring narration from the lubbly Keira Knightley.
Regards,
Dave "BigFoot" Angus
GAME.NET Community Liaison
If you need any help or have any questions, we have a page set up to help you.
Please don't reply to this e-mail - we have all the support you need ready for you elsewhere.
http://www.game.net/
http://www.game.uk.com/
To Unsubscribe from this Community Newsletter simply go to this page, Logon and click the Unsubscribe button.
GAME.NET News
To start off this Newsletter I'd like to welcome to all new Subscribers who are taking advantage of the Free Trial, hopefully this Newsletter will be of some use to you by highlighting the service news, the weekly events you can take part in and all the files you can download from our super-fast (and well stocked) FTP server.
If you are a free trial user, or even a Subscriber who hasn't played in any Weekly Events so far, then we are introducing a special event just for you. Every Wednesday night from 8pm onwards we will be running a Subscriber-Only event for Enemy Territory, the free-to-use game based on Return to Castle Wolfenstein. You can download Enemy Territory from our FTP here, at almost 260 MB it is a self contained game which you can then try out on our Preview Server located @ 213.221.178.76:28960. Remember that as a Subscriber you should log in first to the GAME.NET system before joining the server, this will ensure that you do not get kicked and can enjoy endless hours of air-striking, dynamting, flame-throwing and shooting the c**p out of up to 19 other players.
We've also appointed three new GAME Masters for Enemy Territory - Raa, Deady and Pakman - and should you have any problems / queries you can find them in #game.rtcw on the GAME chat service (QuakeNet IRC) or post in the ET forum. The Weekly event will be held on different, Subscriber Only servers, meaning that you will be safe from any unruly element who like to team-kill to oblivion or spam chat commands until your ears bleed, details of the servers to join will be given in #game.rtcw from around 8pm onwards every Wednesday evening. Some of the GAME.NET staff will be on hand to help you with any problems you might have connecting to the servers in question, I look forward to seeing you on the night.
Another free game we are supporting is the recently released standalone demo for BattleField 1942 expansion pack "Secrets Weapons". You can download the sizeable demo here and then join our Preview server @ 213.221.178.78:14567 or, alternatively, use the GAME.NET Browser located here.
Some exclusive GAME content to inform you of this week as we start the build-up to the release of FPS game Judge Dredd - Dredd v Death. Every week until the September release we will be uploading a new section of a comic strip which you will find linked from this page, along with tons of other goodies relating to the game such as movies, screensavers and audio trailers. If you are a 2000AD comic nut then this is like manna from heaven, its already hospitalised one of our GAME reporters who has been reduced to a drooling pile of goo.
Ever wanted to write about games for a living, as opposed to doing proper work? Well now is your chance as GAME is hiring. GAME Group PLC, the leading European games retailer, is recruiting for a staff writer, based at its Head Office, to work on the shop and multiplayer sites. The successful applicant will be an integral part of the existing GAME Digital team, writing product features, interviews, previews and reviews as well as ensuring that the products on site have the latest assets be that patches, screensavers, movies, etc...
In addition they will be expected to get involved with site updates such as merchandising, refreshing the charts etc., as well as be willing to get on the phone and pitch GAME Digital enthusiastically to industry PR individuals, with an aim to bringing in exclusive content, PR support and preview / review code. For more information e-mail CJ Ravey.
Server updates this week are as follows, downloads where appropriate can be found in the Patches section below:
RavenShield to v1.4
Quake 3 mod UrbanTerror to v3.0
Jedi Knight 2 mod Jedi Academy to v1.4
BattleField 1942 mod DesertCombat to v.039k
BattleField 1942 official Battle over Britain map updated to new version
What's On
Monday 18th August 2003
Elite Force II @ 19:00
Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic @ 21:00
Tuesday 19th August 2003
Battlefield 1942 @ 20:30
Quake 3 Arena: Urban Terror @ 20:30
Wednesday 20th August 2003
New Event >> Medal of Honor @ 19:00 << New Event
New Event >> Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 20:00 << New Event
Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat @ 21:00
Thursday 21st August 2003
New Event >> Medal of Honor: SpearHead @ 19:00 << New Event
Half-Life: Day of Defeat @ 20:30
Quake 3 Arena: Capture The Flag @ 21:00
Half Life: Team Fortress Classic (TFC) @ 21:00
Friday 22nd August 2003
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 13:00
Files and Patches
Trailers
There have been a couple of games getting a deluge of trailers this week in an effort to ramp up the public knowledge of their forthcoming release, this as opposed to the gradual release of in-game footage which the people behind Half-Life 2 have chosen to follow, the latest 100 MB+ movie for that game this week featuring an assault on a Barricade and available for your drooling pleasure here. At the other end of the scale XIII's latest 4 MB movie (get it here), featuring one of the key figures in the game it has the usual David "X-Files" Duchovny voice-over, the movie doing a good job in building up the anticipation I have for the game's release.
Back to the larger sized trailers with Gangland, this RTS / RPG / SIM puts you in the role of a potential mob boss with the aim being to build up a vast empire of illegal activities. At 96 MB the trailer (get it here) is a tad big but worth the download in my opinion, the game looking graphically quite impressive as a cross between GTA: Vice City and the old-skool game Syndicate. Whilst being pretty the 46 MB trailer for Game Tycoon doesn't exactly do a great deal to show off the game, whether or not this will make much of a difference on how the game sales remains to be seen but on the basis of this trailer I cannot say I'm that impressed.
Many trailers for sequels were released this past week with the 14 MB movie for Joint Operations amongst them, this being a sort of unofficial sequel to popular FPS game Black Hawk Down and promising to redefine the multiplayer genre. Personally I think that the trailer looks a bit too much like BHD which, whilst not being a totally awful thing, is a bit worrying given how fiddly the multiplayer section of that game is from both a server operator and player point of view. We'll find out in a couple of months whether or not the game lives up to the hype, in the mean time you could satisfy your need for blood with Warrior Kings: Battles, an expansive sequel to the original RTS game. The game has already been released but if you have yet to buy it then you can have a sneak peak by grabbing a 27 MB trailer here, in my view it looks pretty decent although I'm not personally a fan of the genre.
Some games prefer to make it clearer that they are sequels by including the useful tool of a number, one such title being The Sims 2 which has seen a second trailer be released with plenty of in-game footage. At 14 MB it probably wouldn't hurt your bandwidth to take a look (get it here) although it has to be said if you haven't got into the original game (or its multitude of expansion packs) then there probably isn't going to be a huge amount in the movie to get you that keen on the sequel, due out next year. I found the new 28 MB trailer for Commandos 3 more interesting (get it here), the game featuring the now required "Normandy landing" scenario, along with multiplayer options which could add a much needed dimension to the series. On a more light-hearted note a second trailer has been released for Worms 3D, at 21 MB it is comprised solely of in-game footage and shows off just a few of the many weapons on offer in what is likely to be one of the years most entertaining games.
A further two sequels have been treated to a flood of publicity this week, here's a brief summary of what is available for the games in question with nearly all the trailers consisting of in-game footage.
Tribes Vengeance
Sands of Dawn (20 MB)
The Stand (7.3 MB)
Triebs (6 MB)
Command & Conquer Generals - Zero Hour Expansion Pack
Hi-Res Game Trailer (106 MB)
General Alexander Movie & Taunts (12 MB)
General Granger Movie & Taunts (12 MB)
General Townes Movie & Taunts (14 MB)
Playable Demos
A few demos for less well known games have appeared this week, the first to mention being for Viking-themed Adventure / Strategy game Northland, a sequel of sorts to Cultures 2. The 80 MB demo (get it here) features a couple of missions from the game, along with some handy tutorials, and is the perfect chance to get a feel for it before the full game is released this coming Friday. If you prefer your gaming a bit slower you can grab the 60 MB demo for Majestic Chess here, whilst this week's free game comes in the shape of Hack simulator DarkSigns, a text based game which allows you to emulate Johnny Lee Miller and bed Angelina Jolie, or alternatively to "Hack the Planet", and at just 20 MB (get it here) it has to be worth a look.
Game Patches
Two notable games to receive patches this week are both ones which we currently support here on GAME.NET, the first being the popular FPS game RavenShield. Whilst the developers have to be praised for their continued work on the game it is perhaps a tad worrying that this is something like the fourth patch since its release, available in either v1.31 to v1.4 or v1.0 to v1.4 flavours the update is already on our servers so I would suggesting grabbing the patch as soon as possible, you can read a list of what has changed in the game here.
If you prefer your gaming to take place in the air rather than running around on the ground then you might own a copy of the massively popular (if slightly unpronounceable) flight-sim IL2 Sturmovik, along with its Forgotten Battles expansion pack, both of which we support here at GAME.NET. A patch for the expansion pack has been released in the past couple of days and, at 40 MB, you can grab it here, Version 1.1b seeing a number of changes and fixes with a full list on the official site.
Mods
Although Quake 3 is arguably nearing retirement age in gaming terms there remains a great deal of interest in my favourite FPS game and new releases of mods help to keep people coming back. One such mod is UrbanTerror, effectively Counter-Strike for Quake 3 this mod received a significant overhaul last week with the release of v3.0, at 322 MB you can appreciate that this is a pretty serious mod and a few bugs have crept in with the new release, a further patch expected shortly. If you do fancy giving it a go then you can download it by clicking the version number, all our servers which support the mod have been updated already.
Another significant mod, in both size and popularity terms, is DesertCombat, the popular BattleField 1942 add-on has also received a face-lift with a minor (haha) 122 MB patch taking it to v0.39k, although you will still need to have installed the 300+ MB v0.38d first before you install the new version. Needless to say all our servers have been updated, this is also true for the new version of the official BattleField 1942 map "Battle over Britain" which you can download here.
Special Offers
I mentioned our exclusive Judge Dredd - Dredd v Death comic earlier and it is worth pointing out that we've also got some significant reductions on the price of the game, an FPS game with a great storyline and the usual multiplayer options could well be worth a look and you can pre-order your copy here.
Two Filmish things to mention include the upcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVD, due out this Friday if you pre-order from us in the next couple of days you will receive a free "Making of the Movie" book worth £12.99. Also worth a mention is the tie-in to current Box Office #1 Pirates of the Caribbean, the RPG / Action game is available to purchase now and gives you the chance to emulate Johnny "I'm camper than Graham Norton" Depp's character Jack Sparrow, the game also featuring narration from the lubbly Keira Knightley.
Regards,
Dave "BigFoot" Angus
GAME.NET Community Liaison
If you need any help or have any questions, we have a page set up to help you.
Please don't reply to this e-mail - we have all the support you need ready for you elsewhere.
http://www.game.net/
http://www.game.uk.com/
To Unsubscribe from this Community Newsletter simply go to this page, Logon and click the Unsubscribe button.