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Halo Custom Edition (CE) Released

Halo Custom Edition, a special (and unsupported) version of Halo: Combat Evolved has been released. It comes with new multiplayer features and improvements, and support for custom content. The download weighs in at 170MB and can be downloaded from many sources, HERE is one of them. Here’s some more info from an interview held by Gamespy:

First of all, it’s not so much an update to the old software as a release of new software, which is free to Halo PC customers.

There are two parts to the new software. One part is a new executable and set of data called “Halo Custom Edition” (haloCE.exe) which will reside in its own separate directory. This new executable includes lots of new features, improvements, and capabilities. It’s essentially a collection of many of the things the Gearbox Halo team has developed since the title launched.

Things included in the new executable are “Fast Shaders” (improves performance up to 60% on pixel shader hardware), improved network code (reduces the incidence of player “warping”), and lots of new features that provide options for players to improve their multiplayer games. Perhaps, most importantly, however, the new executable allows end users to play a potentially endless volume of new content created with the Halo Editing Kit.

The other part is the Halo Editing Kit (HEK). The HEK is an exciting package of tools, source material and tutorials that will allow modification makers to bring their own visions to life within the Halo engine.

The Matrix Online: Beta Registration

The Matrix Online website is letting you sign up for beta testing of the game, if you live in the U.S. or Canada. Beta test applicants will be selected later this month. To sign up, go HERE.

Beta Patch for Unreal Tournament 2004

Epic is working on their first patch for the recently released Unreal Tournament 2004. The patch will feature a ton of tweaks, bug fixes, multiplayer & performance enhancements. No specific release date has been given, but there is a beta patch available for people who feel experimental. For a list of changes, check out the list HERE. Thanks to Worthplaying for the info.

DOOM 3 Xbox Pics

Nearly a year after it released the first handful of Xbox Doom 3 screenshots, Activision has unveiled several new screens from the sequel to the genre-founding shooter. The screens are being bundled with the Doom Collector’s Edition, which is currently sold out at the id Software store. Thanks to Gamespot for the info.

Click for a larger view

Half-Life 2 Final Cover Art?

Sierra Entertainment, has revealed what is apparently the final box cover for the game on their information page. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case or not. Here’s the shot of it.

Click for a slightly larger view

Matrix Online to use AIM

America Online and Warner Interactive announced today that AOL’s instant messenger service would be integrated into Warner’s upcoming massively multiplayer Matrix game. Thanks Voodoo Extreme. Here’s the scoop:

America Online, Inc., the world’s leading interactive services company, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the popular AOL Instant Messenger service will be seamlessly integrated into The Matrix Online. This marks the first time that players in a massively multi-player online game can link an existing AIM identity to a new in-game character, creating seamless real-time communication with other Matrix players as well as other AIM buddies – whether inside or outside of The Matrix Online.

The integration of AOL Instant Messenger into The Matrix Online will enable players to see the online presence of fellow gamers and communicate with them at any time. Players who are jacked into The Matrix Online will be able to send instant messages to their friends in real time, regardless of whether or not they are playing. This will enable players in the game to chat real-time with their online friends who are not currently playing the game to ask them for gameplay tips and tricks or alert them to jack in and join a mission.

With 195 million registered users, AOL Instant Messenger adds a whole new dimension to online game play. As long as a consumer has an AOL, AIM, ICQ or Apple iChat account, he or she can receive a message from The Matrix Online players in real time from any location. Whether receiving a message via the Internet or their PDA or cell phones, players will be able to remain “in character” without revealing their AOL or AIM screen name.

Demand brings UT2004 DVD to North America

Looks like we will be getting more copies of UT2004 on DVD minus the extras in the Special Edition. Here’s a clip from the full story:

In response to the overwhelming success of “Unreal® Tournament 2004 – Special Edition,” which featured the game on DVD, Atari and Epic Games will launch a special two-disc “DVD Edition” of “Unreal Tournament 2004″ on April 13. The two-DVD set will include the entire game on disc one, while disc two will include several hours of Video Training Modules (VTMs) from 3DBuzz.com that teach fans and amateur mod makers how to use the Unreal Editor to create custom game content.

“The success of `Unreal Tournament 2004 – Special Edition’ was beyond even our wildest expectations, with gamers grabbing up the DVD version in droves for easier installation and the hours upon hours of training videos by 3DBuzz.com,” said Peter Wyse, Executive Producer at Atari. “Fans have been clamoring for the game on DVD and by offering another version, we’re able to deliver all of the benefits of DVD to fans who have been waiting to get it.”

“Unreal Tournament 2004″ CD edition is currently available worldwide. “Unreal Tournament 2004″ two-disc DVD Edition will be available April 13. The new DVD Edition will not include the limited edition tin box and Logitech Internet Chat Headset that were included in the Special Edition. For more information on “Unreal Tournament 2004″ or to download the free demo, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.unrealtournament.com.

Tribes and Tribes 2 for Free

Vivendi Universal Games announced today that it will be distributing the videogames Starsiege®: Tribes® and Tribes 2 for free on a special-edition DVD-ROM bundled with the newsstand edition of the June issue of Computer Gaming World magazine and online via FilePlanet.com. The giveaway is meant to celebrate the fourth-quarter release of Tribes: Vengeance, the next installment in the venerable Tribes franchise of PC action games.

The special versions of these games will be available in the June issue of Computer Gaming World, which will hit newsstands starting May 4, 2004, and will be simultaneously accessible for online download through FilePlanet.com.

Released in 1998, Starsiege: Tribes was the first major online-only first-person action game. The combination of team-based gameplay, expansive outdoor terrains, multiple play modes, customizable characters, and controllable vehicles created a game that was an instant hit among fans and press alike. Its sequel, Tribes 2, was released in 2001 and further refined the genre, winning numerous industry awards. Together, both games have sold nearly a million copies worldwide.