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Epic Games' Mark Rein has announced in the Infogrames boards that Unreal Tournament 2003 has gone gold for the PC. This means the final version of the game has been burned, and it's now being duplicated in production. While the CD will contain only the PC and Linux versions, Mac gamers should also be happy, as this announcement means more of Epic's resources should now be free to work on the Mac OS X port.

Of other interest to Mac gamers is the inclusion of Maya: Personal Learning Edition with the title. While a stripped down version of the full, powerful 3D application, Maya: PLE includes a plugin for making Unreal 2003 models. As many know, this version of Maya is also available for OS X, so this means it's very likely Mac gamers will be able to more directly contribute to the game's expansions and modifications. Rein also notes they have many future plans for the game, include free bonus packs of material.

In a seperate post, Epic's Steve Polge explains they have already taken fan feedback into consideration for some gameplay tweaks as well:

For the most part, we are very happy with the current weapon balance. We have made the following small changes since the demo:

- flak alt-fire shell has higher initial velocity, so it travels a little further.
- link projectiles are smaller.
- shock projectile travels slightly faster.

I've also fixed and tweaked the bot AI:

- Bots less accurate at high skills, and have slightly slower reaction time
- fixed bot use of minigun
- Bombing Run AI was somewhat broken in the demo. Its substantially improved now.
- bots group together less in Team DM.
- various other tweaks.

Steve Polge: Unreal Tournament 2003 Gameplay Changes

Mark Rein: Unreal Tournament 2003 has gone gold!

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Aspyr Media has sent IMG five new screenshots from the upcoming action-thriller, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. Aspyr's Chris Silman explains the new shots:

This week we are showing off Mission #5 - Gold Mountain. In this mission, the UN forces are abandoning the city, and evacuating people via helicopter. The Russian invasion has reached the city, and one of the advance elements shot down one of the rescue helicopters. Your mission is to secure a nearby
bank, then check out the crash site, retrieve any survivors, and then make your way to the evacuation point for extraction.

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Battlefront.com today announced the release of Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin (CMBB), a realistic 3D WWII ground combat simulation of warfare on the Eastern Front, from 1941 to 1945. CMBB is available for purchase through the Battlefront.com online store. Battlefront also announced that their distribution partner CDV Software Entertainment AG has also released the PC version into most European countries.

Here's a bit more info on Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin:

Starting with the German invasion of Russia in 1941 through the 1945 storming of Berlin, the player is able to fight with historically accurate forces and equipment of 7 nations from the Black Sea in the South to the Arctic Circle in the north.

Experience combat in a full 3D battlefield as tracers arc overhead and exploding shells shake the earth! Feel the tremendous power of the feared Russian Katyusha rocket barrage! Order a tank hunter team to assault a heavy KV-1 with Panzerfausts and magnetic mines in the ruins of a shattered city! A modern hybrid turn-based/realtime system combines with 3D lines of sight, misidentification of targets, location by sound, advanced armor penetration systems, morale and leadership, fire and smoke, wind and weather to bring you unprecedented realism from the people who revolutionized the wargaming genre!

Battlefront.com (add to watch list)

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MGF: CMBB Demo

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Pangea Software has posted a few dozen screenshots of their upcoming action-adventure game, Bugdom 2. Having recently gone Alpha, Bugdom 2 will be released in November. Pangea's Brian Greenstone recently sent us this note with the announcement that Bugdom 2 had gone Alpha:

Bugdom 2, has gone Alpha! All of the levels are done and everything is working, so we'll be spending the next month completing the audio and replacing some temporary art with the real thing. We're on schedule to ship before November 1st.

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Bugdom 2 Screenshots

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Monkey Byte Development today announced the release of their newest web-based game, Squish!. The game is playable over at Play.IGN.com website, a new online play portion of the IGN.com website. MonkeyByte is also developing more exclusive games that will be presented on Play.IGN.com over the coming months.

Here's a brief description of Squish!:

Hidden behind an innocent smile and tasty color lies a mixture of pure evil and a little food coloring. Reproducing at an alarming rate, these monsters waste no time in overwhelming their victims. Fortunately they are unstable in numbers so they can be neutralized. However if they sense danger, they will reproduce more quickly and eventually take over... it's just a matter of time.

Squish is a simple game of foresight and finger speed. Colored drops of toxic waste will fall from the spawning bar located at the top of the play area. These drops will begin to accumulate at the bottom and continue to grow in numbers unless you Squish! them.

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Play.IGN.com

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Yesterday, at the 2002 Tokyo Game Show, Blizzard Entertainment, responsible for such hits as the Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo series, announced their newest game, currently under development, Starcraft: Ghost. A 3D shooter similar to stealth games like Metal Gear Solid, the bombshell was also dropped that the title would not be coming to Mac or PC. Here's a description:

In StarCraft: Ghost, players take the role of Nova, a lethal Ghost operative skillfully trained in the arts of espionage and tactical combat. Twenty years of ruthless physical conditioning and techno-psychological instruction have made Nova a being of terrifying potential. With the help of a determined group of allies, players follow a series of story-driven missions, engaging in a deadly mix of planetary battles and dangerous solo operations. To complete their mission objectives, players must execute intelligent tactical decisions while mastering an advanced arsenal of sophisticated weaponry.

You can find more information regarding the announcement in the official press release. While it will surely be a disappointment to Mac and PC gamers that the game is console-only, Blizzard tradition of excellence will still make this one to watch. It seems their current plans are to make it available on all next-gen consoles as opposed to just an exclusive deal with one.

Blizzard Entertainment Announces StarCraft: Ghost

StarCraft: Ghost

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Brad Custer, IMG's resident desktop guru, has performed his weekly duty to provide the Mac gaming community with high quality desktops, at a price they can't refuse (free!).

His featured work this week features the "new" (to Mac, at least) classic adventure game, The Feeble Files, brought to you by e.p.i.c. interactive and MacPlay. Here's a snippit of Custer's description:

The Feeble Files is a game I couldn't wait to make a desktop for. With the help of the gang at e.p.i.c. interactive and their generous supply of art for their titles I was able to create one finally. This week's offering was a blast to create. I entitled it "Illegal Alien" and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. :)

Custer's Desktops

IMG Review: The Feeble Files

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The Links Golf Community, a site dedicated to hosting both games and tournaments involving the popular Links series of golf games, has recently announced the winners of its most recent tournament, the LGC CE Inaugural. Played at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara course, it included both pro and champ level divisions.

Here's a clip detailing the scores of the winners:

Champ level player Jimmy, down by 8 strokes after the first two rounds to LarryC, began to find his stroke in round 3 cutting his deficit to 5 strokes. In round 4, with windy, moderate, slow conditions and difficult pin positions LarryC found himself in unfamiliar territory as Jimmy slipped by to win his first LGC Tournament by 2 strokes.

On the Pro side, first time LGC Tournament participant Count Zero shot a 71 in the first round and then fired off rounds of 64, 69 and 73 to win by 4 over Clos2001.

In the meantime, the LGC extends an invitation to all Mac-using Links players to join their community, which offers players from 10 different countries, a Hotline Server Club House, and Ladder matches among its benefits.

Links Golf Community

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Michael Hughes of 13th Floor Gaming recently sent IMG some new screenshots from their upcoming first-person shooter, Reprisal. According to Hughes, a team of industry veterans with experience ranging from Bungie to EA to Sega is heading up the development of the game.

Here's a snippet from the Reprisal storyline:

Humans have few advantages to the other two races in the game. They can use both CAT and Alien weapons (controlling mechanical weapons with their hands and absorbing genetic modifications into their bodies) as well as their own race-specific tools. They are able to move through any terrain with few adaptations and maneuver through small spaces. Most important, humans have the Shadow Suit, an outfit that turns them invisible when they stand still. The tools and adaptability make the humans the most dangerous race in the game.

As the game begins, the humans have realized their station (Joshua 20) is under attack and are mobilizing the CATs to defend themselves. The Aliens have tried to take control of the CATs, and made them go berserk. The humans must now escape the station while they still can, but warring factions within the survivors make this difficult.

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13th Floor Gaming

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