GAME.NET Weekly Newsletter 3rd October 2003

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Fully clickable version here - http://play.game.net/newsletters/3rdOctober.htm


GAME.NET News
Important service news to start off this week with changes to our Clan Server pricing structure, our new clan server product is coming soon so in advance of that we've made it even cheaper for you to rent your own place here at GAME.NET with our Type D server (supporting masses of players for a variety of games) now reduced to £80 per month, our medium player limit Type C server down to just £60. We've also lopped a fiver off the cost of making your server public for everyone to join, down to just £10, so if you feel like you want to move on from Bookables to owning your own server then our Clan Servers now represent even better value for money.

This week has also seen two major new games supported on the GAME.NET service with the first to mention being Breakthrough, the latest add-on for the staggeringly popular Medal of Honor. This expansion pack takes you to Northern Africa and Southern Europe and for online play includes new maps and new game modes, one of which is Liberation where players become POW's who need to be rescued by their team members. Support for this game on our services extends to a Preview server located @ 213.221.178.76:29961 (remember to login before joining it), two bookable servers which you can book by clicking here, the game also being added to our Clan Servers with 10 players supported on the Type C option, 20 players supported on our Type D's.

The second new game this week is Jedi Academy, we've been a bit slow on this one but now you can find a Preview server that is currently running the Siege game-mode @ 213.221.178.80:29070, FOUR Bookable servers located here with a dedicated forum for you to talk to other JKA players over, along with suggesting changes or additions for the various servers we run. On our Clan Servers the game is supported with 20 players on the Type C and a massive 32 on our Type D, giving you the chance to create some major carnage on the various new gametypes offered.

More new content on our Hardware site TechNation this week, their main feature being a review of the sexy looking Wave Master TAC-T01 case which you can read here.

A bit of a sheepish apology is due this week, a mass power outage on Tuesday night saw most of our gaming servers go down, along with our Web and IRC servers. The problem was corrected on Wednesday morning and was pretty much out of our hands but if you did lose any Booking time on Tuesday night then feel free to use our Support form to submit details (along with booking reference numbers) and I'll credit you back your lost time so you can book the servers more next week to make up for this. Apologies again for the disruption to your service.

This week's server updates are as follows, those you need to download are linked in the Files & Patches section below:

Unreal Tournament 2003 TWM Mutator updated to v1.01
Tactical Ops TOST updated to v4.1.5.0

What's On
Sunday 5th October 2003
Operation Flashpoint @ 17:00
Counter-Strike @ 20:00
Monday 6th October 2003
Elite Force II @ 19:00
Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic @ 21:00

Tuesday 7th October 2003
Battlefield 1942 @ 20:30
Vietcong @ 21:00

Wednesday 8th October 2003
Medal of Honor @ 19:00
Natural Selection @ 19:00
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 20:00
Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat @ 21:00

Thursday 9th October 2003
Half-Life: Day of Defeat @ 20:30
Half Life: Team Fortress Classic (TFC) @ 21:00

Friday 10th October 2003
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory @ 13:00

Files and Patches
Trailers
With games being released at different times across the world it is interesting when a trailer comes out for a game already available here in the UK, giving you the chance to see how a game you might already own and have opinions on is being pitched to a new market. This is the case with the latest 120 MB trailer for Chrome, hyping up the action element of the game which I personally found to be a bit too slow, although still not a bad jaunt into the FPS genre. We'll have to wait a few months before we can pass judgement over another FPS game called Far Cry, this modern-day action adventure sees you stranded on a desert island with mercenaries hunting you down, the AI one of the big selling points of the game and something you can take a look at in this 10 MB trailer.

The next two trailers to mention both would claim to exist in the real world, although they do cover very different aspects of gaming. The first is for Max Payne 2, after the first batch of gameplay movies last week we get another five to drool over in this 82 MB file, various features of the game showcased with the most interesting being the interaction with the environment which looks to be significantly improved since the original. A nice contrast with the uber-violence of Max Payne 2 is the pedestrian simulation of Trainz Railway Simulator 2004, a small trailer has been released showcasing a few of the elements of the game, nothing to wet your pants over but it might be the kind of game that appeals to those of you who remember the Transport Tycoon series.

With the holiday period approaching it is fair to say that most publishers are lining up their big cash cow sequels in an attempt to bleed us poor gamers dry, whilst we may not care in the case of a quality game like Max Payne 2 (make sure you pre-order this one!) there have been more than a few eyebrows raised over the upcoming Unreal Tournament 2004 release, to be fair though the 16 MB final trailer is actually fairly busy and quite promising, almost converting me from a sceptic to being mildly interested. I'm afraid I cannot say the same of this trailer for Civilization 3: Conquests, with it being our first look at the new game it is pretty disappointing for what looks like a game for the hardcore fans only.

One of the more impressive trailers this week is for Return of the King, the third of the Lords of The Rings action games, with it being a nice mix of the theatrical and in-game footage it gives me hope that the game might be some good fun and you can see for yourself by grabbing the 32 MB file here. Also looking pretty sweet is a Benchmark trailer for Final Fantasy XI, the 53 MB download (get it here) allowing you to test out our PC with regards to the full game to get an idea of how it will run, also featuring some in-game scenes which you can take in and drool over.

Playable Demos
A nice selection of demos for you this week, starting off with this 123 MB demo for the much-hyped flight simulator Lock On: Modern Air Combat. We've been seeing a steady stream of trailers for this game in the last few months and finally you can get a look at it yourself, two missions included in this game along with two different planes (the A-10A and MiG-29A for those of you who know your weapons of war). By contrast with the "modern" era we have a demo for the World War I flight-sim game Wings of Honour, you can download the 80 MB file by clicking here with it giving you the chance to pilot a Sopwith Camel in a single battle.

I mentioned last week that we could expect to see a couple more Lords of EverQuest demos and the second of the trio has been released, with just about a month to go until the full game hits it might be an idea for you to grab one of these and at 422 MB there is plenty to get your teeth into in the Elddar Alliance demo released this week, including the option to play online. At the other end of the spectrum we have a small demo for "buy online" shoot 'em up game Hellhog, featuring three levels from the full arcade-style game you can grab it here.

Two similar games to end this section with as both try to mix Air combat with the traditional 3D action-adventure. The first to mention is for Yager, a heavily story-driven affair this 202 MB demo is an updated version of a previous one, featuring three levels of the game and updated to the latest version of it. Also available for your playing pleasure is a demo for Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter, this unusually named game put you in the role of a wronged man trying to find out who framed him, sort of like Privateer 2 with an FPS element, you can have a look at it yourself by clicking here to download the 121 MB demo.

Game Patches
Just a couple of patches to mention this week, the first being for a game that hasn't even been released yet over here in the UK. I'm talking about Halo, the legendary XBox shooter coming to the PC next Friday amid mixed reviews, although there is no doubting that it will look like a million dollars if you have a PC capable of running it at anywhere near full detail levels. The patch takes the game from v1.0 to v1.01 and comes in at a tiny 4 MB, fixing some relatively minor issues in the process.

If any of you are still persevering with Bouncy Bosom's (a.k.a. Lara Croft) latest adventure "Angel of Darkness" then you might be happy to hear that a new patch has been released for the much maligned game, the 7 MB file taking it to v52.

Some free content also worth pointing out to you lovely Subbies is the first official map pack for Chaser, the futuristic FPS game from JoWooD that was released a couple of month ago but has struggled to really establish itself due to some issues surrounding the release and the glut of FPS games that we have seen coming out this year. If you are into this game, or perhaps just own a copy and fancy giving it another try, you can download the 51 MB map pack by clicking here, the maps mainly for multiplayer DM and CTF action.

Mods
Not much mod news to come my way this past week, although there has been a trailer released for the upcoming v3 of the popular Half-Life mod SvenCoop. You can download the 35 MB trailer by clicking here, it shows off a couple of the new features for this novel mod but pay attention or you might miss them.


Special Offers
Some hardware offers for you this week, starting off with the funky new limited-edition Silver PS2 which we have on offer with various different games and extras. To take a look click here, whilst the other good news is that the traditional Black PS2 has seen a price cut to just £139.99, a selection of bundles also available for that model and you can see if any of them tempt you by clicking here.



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.

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