Video Game Lounge

The fire sale of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player has already begun.  Microsoft has discontinued the HD-DVD player add on for the 360, since HD-DVD is dead.  The player originally sold for $179.99 and as Blu-Ray kept winning the format war, Microsoft dropped it to a lower $129.99.  Microsoft has now decided to sell the remaining units in inventory  for the basement price of $49.99 since the format war is over and HD-DVD got murdered.  It remains to be seen how many units will actually be bought, since there are going to be virtually no more DVD’s produced in HD-DVD format.

Resident Evil Zero was originally released as the GameCube as the fifth entry in the classic zombie franchise.  Now it is being brought to the ever popular world of Wii.  Capcom is releasing this game this summer in Japan, and some have speculated that it might be released internationally later, but some reports have it as being a Japan only release.

Capcom has given the game full Wiimote controls.  It is not known at this time if there is going to be any support for the classic controller like there was for Resident Evil 4 on the Wii.  I personally am a fan of the Resident Evil series and hope that it does get released in the United States, but I don’t believe that is going to happen.  We can however hope.

The developers of the ever poplular Titan Quest video game have decided to close up shop.  Iron Lore Entertainment announced on their website that they will be halting all further video game development.  On their website that stated “It is with great regret that we must announce that as of close of business Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Iron Lore Entertainment has ceased active game development. Several unrelated events occurred which resulted in Iron Lore being unable to secure funding for its next project.”  Iron Lore workded with THQ and stated they were grateful for THQ allowed them to do, and they thanked the fans of their games.  Iron Lore Entertainment is just one more video game maker that has fallen in recent times.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc has rejected an offer made by Electronic Arts Inc to buy Take-Two.  The $26 per share offer was rejected by the developer of the ever popular Grand Theft Auto video game franchise.  Take-Two rejected the off Sunday stating that the offer from Electronic Arts was “highly opportunistic” and implying that EA was attempting to take advantage of the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV.  Take-Two stated that the offer was “absolutely the wrong time”, but offered to enter into a dialogue with EA after the release of GTA IV on April 30th.

If you are a fan of massively multiplayer online (MMO), or a fan of the Stargate SG-1 television series, then you are probably waiting for the release of Stargate Worlds. This game is currently scheduled for a Fall 2008 release and is much anticipated by fans of the Stargate Series. Only time will tell if it will be good enough to pull players from the enormously popular World Of Warcraft.

According to 1up.com the game is using the Unreal Engine 3,

The team has some great ways to show off those graphics too, as the Stargate concept gives them creative license to create virtually any world imaginable. In the video, desert wastelands, a snow-filled valley, and a planet overrun by giant plants are shown in quick succession, and unlike most MMOs, these sudden environment changes actually make sense within the context of the game world. Each new area that a gamer enters via the Stargate can be wholly different from the previous.

In pure gameplay terms, the team refers to Stargate Worlds as “tactical modern combat inside an MMO framework.” Battles will take place in a semitraditional MMORPG mold, but will introduce finding cover, A.I. flanking, and other strategies you might expect more from a Tom Clancy title than a persistent-world role-playing game.

I personally can not wait to see what this game will be like, and hope it will be a great MMO. Make sure you visit the Stargate Worlds website and as soon as possible go out and pre-order your copy. I know I will be.