Monday, December 7, 2009

EA Announces Update 2 For FIFA Manager 10 Is Now Available


EA Has announced that update 2 for FIFA Manager 10 is now available. FIFA Manager 10 will automatically download the update. This is what the update brings:

New Features Offline Mode:

- huge database update (database of 24/11)
- option to either load the latest EA database or the Editor database (e.g. with your own data) at game start
- various new player pictures (focus on Coca Cola Championship)
- new Hall of Fame player pictures of retired players in the UK (only very few, but will become more in the future)
- new live ticker text
- complete historic league results of the Bundesliga since the very first matchday back in 1963
- additional historic league results for France and Italy
- better handling of widgets in resolutions like 1440x900 (move your mouse pointer over a widget to see it completely)
- improved website headlines
- pre-selected half-time talks (save some mouse clicks)
- option to switch off the display of song titles in the main menu

New Features Online Mode:

- new "Away from Keyboard" feature
- if you join a running game, you now get the status of the game, that is, at which point of the week the other users currently are (e.g. the main menu or a matchday). This way you can quickly estimate how long it will take you to actually join the game.
- click on a game in the game list to see its participants
- the market value of the next auctioned player is given on the transfer market overview screen
- team levels and the current matchday are now part of the match screen
- the timeline icons (goals, cards, substitutions), already used in the offline mode, will now also be seen online
- you can add another manager to your friend list directly from the respective manager info screen (available by right clicking on your avatar in the main menu)
- option for the host to set the maximum number of humans players
- date displayed on all menu sub-screens
- manager points on friends list
- manager points comparison happens more often
- option to turn off the profanity filter
- draws with no clubs of human managers are skipped

Fixed Bugs:

- 3d match improvements (better and more varied shots, more realistic number of cards, improved passing, improved goalkeepers, defenders react faster, more realistic handballs, improved 1 on 1 against the goalkeeper, more realistic back passes)
- several small Action Mode improvements
- various tuning efforts (e.g. tactical education, loss of acceleration for older players now slower)
- improved website (e.g. added a second club name to transfer news, manager info if you click on a picture)
- about 140 different other bug fixes in total
- about 40 graphical improvements and screen layout changes (e.g. Player Training Progress)

Some Examples:

- CaC problem in Italy
- "moved" clubs in France
- sometimes too much income when winning an indoor tournament
- "players sometimes end their careers too early" problem
- line-up crash (when saving a player list)
- not displayed goals in highlight mode
- long-term simulation crash
- improved AI training camp selection
- Ups & Downs now work for again for the player manager
- missing tooltips in replay mode
- won European Super Cup now added to the trophy list
- Hall of Fame: User pictures are now displayed correctly
- More realistic personal sponsor contracts for managers with a high manager level
- more modern German first names
- Youth department: Extension crash fixed
- Delegate transfers: Assistant now makes better use of the money
- Tactics/first team: Icons for crossing positions are now correct
- several graphical problems fixed at game start in the 1024x720 screen resolution
- user/additional desktop objects are now saved (no need to position them again after loading the save game)
- special characters are now correctly displayed on Russian OS
- Game start: Removed the cheat to start with more teams than allowed
- Player talks/Promises: Player levels no longer visible in UK version
- Live Ticker: Manager shouts no longer disabled after creating a player manager
- multiple player managers problem
- Pre-match screen: Background for international cup matches no longer dark
- Relegated players screen: Now with the option to add them to the short list or to scout them
- Stadium editor: Slope problem
- player manager can now make substitutions in Live Ticker match
- _PLAYER_CORNER_LEFT issues in Live Ticker fixed
- ONLINE: Matchday - sorting of the live table now works correctly
- ONLINE: Matchday - User receives " 0 actions available" at the beginning of the match
- ONLINE: 8-player crash fixed
- ONLINE: Trophy images missing in the player stats
- ONLINE: Improved referee names

EA Have also released information about possible future changes that Update 3 will bring:

Plans for Update 3:

- option to display the live ticker sentence by sentence
- option to display the live ticker word by word
- finished matches in live ticker now change their colour
- no commentary in Live Ticker conference mode
- massive increase of UK player pictures and of Hall of Fame pictures
- many additional city pictures
- Ups & Downs reworked and now more difficult

Press Release

For the first time, EA SPORTS FIFA MANAGER 10 is equipped with an integrated auto patcher which automatically updates the game to the newest version at the start of the game. After a very successful update 1 which was available already on the release day, update 2 is ready for automatic download as of today. The complete content of the update can be accessed in the developer blog by Lead Designer Gerald Köhler and will include new features for the offline and online mode as well as specific and community-requested bug-fixes including various 3d match improvements.

New Features Offline Mode:

- huge database update (database of 24/11)
- option to either load the latest EA database or the Editor database (e.g. with your own data) at game start
- various new player pictures (focus on Coca Cola Championship)
- new Hall of Fame player pictures of retired players in the UK (only very few, but will become more in the future)
- new live ticker text
- complete historic league results of the Bundesliga since the very first matchday back in 1963
- additional historic league results for France and Italy
- better handling of widgets in resolutions like 1440x900 (move your mouse pointer over a widget to see it completely)
- improved website headlines
- pre-selected half-time talks (save some mouse clicks)
- option to switch off the display of song titles in the main menu

New Features Online Mode:

- new "Away from Keyboard" feature
- if you join a running game, you now get the status of the game, that is, at which point of the week the other users currently are (e.g. the main menu or a matchday). This way you can quickly estimate how long it will take you to actually join the game.
- click on a game in the game list to see its participants
- the market value of the next auctioned player is given on the transfer market overview screen
- team levels and the current matchday are now part of the match screen
- the timeline icons (goals, cards, substitutions), already used in the offline mode, will now also be seen online
- you can add another manager to your friend list directly from the respective manager info screen (available by right clicking on your avatar in the main menu)
- option for the host to set the maximum number of humans players
- date displayed on all menu sub-screens
- manager points on friends list
- manager points comparison happens more often
- option to turn off the profanity filter
- draws with no clubs of human managers are skipped

Fixed Bugs:

- 3d match improvements (better and more varied shots, more realistic number of cards, improved passing, improved goalkeepers, defenders react faster, more realistic handballs, improved 1 on 1 against the goalkeeper, more realistic back passes)
- several small Action Mode improvements
- various tuning efforts (e.g. tactical education, loss of acceleration for older players now slower)
- improved website (e.g. added a second club name to transfer news, manager info if you click on a picture)
- about 140 different other bug fixes in total
- about 40 graphical improvements and screen layout changes (e.g. Player Training Progress)

Some Examples:

- CaC problem in Italy
- "moved" clubs in France
- sometimes too much income when winning an indoor tournament
- "players sometimes end their careers too early" problem
- line-up crash (when saving a player list)
- not displayed goals in highlight mode
- long-term simulation crash
- improved AI training camp selection
- Ups & Downs now work for again for the player manager
- missing tooltips in replay mode
- won European Super Cup now added to the trophy list
- Hall of Fame: User pictures are now displayed correctly
- More realistic personal sponsor contracts for managers with a high manager level
- more modern German first names
- Youth department: Extension crash fixed
- Delegate transfers: Assistant now makes better use of the money
- Tactics/first team: Icons for crossing positions are now correct
- several graphical problems fixed at game start in the 1024x720 screen resolution
- user/additional desktop objects are now saved (no need to position them again after loading the save game)
- special characters are now correctly displayed on Russian OS
- Game start: Removed the cheat to start with more teams than allowed
- Player talks/Promises: Player levels no longer visible in UK version
- Live Ticker: Manager shouts no longer disabled after creating a player manager
- multiple player managers problem
- Pre-match screen: Background for international cup matches no longer dark
- Relegated players screen: Now with the option to add them to the short list or to scout them
- Stadium editor: Slope problem
- player manager can now make substitutions in Live Ticker match
- _PLAYER_CORNER_LEFT issues in Live Ticker fixed
- ONLINE: Matchday - sorting of the live table now works correctly
- ONLINE: Matchday - User receives " 0 actions available" at the beginning of the match
- ONLINE: 8-player crash fixed
- ONLINE: Trophy images missing in the player stats
- ONLINE: Improved referee names

Plans for Update 3:

- option to display the live ticker sentence by sentence
- option to display the live ticker word by word
- finished matches in live ticker now change their colour
- no commentary in Live Ticker conference mode
- massive increase of UK player pictures and of Hall of Fame pictures
- many additional city pictures
- Ups & Downs reworked and now more difficult

From FIFA Manager 10 Blog

EA Has Released Screenshots And A Trailer For The Engineer Class In Mass Effect 2

EA Has released a couple of screenshots and a trailer for the Engineer Class in Mass Effect 2. the trailer shows the Engineer class in action, some of their abilities and features in Mass Effect 2 and details how to use them effectively in battle.







EA Announces Dead Space 2 For PS3, Xbox 360, And PC


EA Has announced Dead Space 2 For Playstation 3, Xbox 360, And PC. Dead Space 2 Will Feature Isaac Clarke Again and this time he will fight against the Necromorphs as the infection spreads throughout space. He has his Plasma Cutter and a new range of weapons to defeat them with.

EA Have said that the story will have plot twists and not everything is as it seems. there will be more Zero G environments and many Necromorphs in the game. No Release date has been provided for the game.

Press Release

Guildford, UK – December 7, 2009 – Visceral Games, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio announced today that the award-winning Dead Space™ franchise will continue to frighten gamers with its stunning sequel, Dead Space 2. Isaac Clarke returns for another heart-pounding adventure, taking the fight to the Necromorphs in this thrilling action-horror experience. New tools to gruesomely slice and dismember the Necromorphs complement Isaac's signature plasma cutter, empowering him as he meets new characters, explores epic zero-G environments, and fights against a relentless Necromorph onslaught. Survival isn't the only thing on Isaac's mind in Dead Space 2 – this time, he calls the shots.

“Like so many gamers worldwide, we love the Dead Space franchise and are very excited to announce a new game in the series,” said Nick Earl, Senior VP and Group General Manager at EA. “Visceral Games is quickly becoming known for delivering high-quality, action-packed games. Dead Space 2 is on target to deliver a jaw-dropping experience gamers won’t soon forget.”

“We’re thrilled to jump back into the series, making the next chapter in Isaac’s journey,” added Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space 2. “The infection continues to spread throughout space and our hero Isaac Clarke is the only person able to contain it. There are still loads of Necromorphs that need killing. In Dead Space 2, not everything is exactly as it seems. Expect plot twists that will surprise you and a huge cast of twisted, disgusting monsters that are sure to scare the daylights out of you.”

Originally launched in 2008, Dead Space quickly became one of EA’s top rated wholly-owned intellectual properties. With close to 100 industry awards and an average critic score of 89*, Dead Space became a hit with horror and videogame fans worldwide. In 2009, EA launched Dead Space Extraction for the Wii™, a prequel to the original Dead Space that expanded the fiction and brought the franchise to a new audience.

Dead Space 2 is being developed for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and on PC. This product has not yet rated by PEGI. Follow us on twitter at: www.twitter.com/isaacclarke. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deadspace. For additional information and news, visit www.deadspacegame.com

*According to Gamerankings.com and Metacritic.com

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO, Visceral Games, and Dead Space are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)

Here is today's Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends news.
Don't forget, you can subscribe to the Audio Re-Cap Podcast on iTunes. if you do, it would be great if you can review and rate the podcast.

A podcast is available on iTunes from:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=328547861

A RSS Feed from Podbean:
http://qtegamers.podbean.com/feed

And on qtegamers.blogspot.com:
http://qtegamers.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio Re-Cap


Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)

  • QTE Blog: Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/166Ti0

  • QTE Blog: Audio Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/166TMw

  • Wii: New Super Mario Bros. Wii has sold over 420,000 units in its first day on sale in Japan http://ow.ly/IUJI

  • PS3: Record of Agarest War is set to come in at around 8-10 GB on the PSN when its released in USA. http://ow.ly/IViK

  • Dead Space Twitter account has uploaded a image that looks like a Ink Blot, but in the background are familiar creatures http://ow.ly/IVju

  • 360: Battlefield Bad Company 2 theme has text information for the PS3. http://ow.ly/IVkb

  • PS3: Madden NFL 10 has been patched. it brings AI improvements and tribute stickers + more http://ow.ly/IW5G

  • PS3: its suggested that the Premium PSN service would be Game Rentals. (Video has more information than text) http://ow.ly/IWcY

  • QTE Blog: EA Has Released New Screenshots For Dragons Lair On The iPhone/iPod Touch http://ow.ly/166Ven

  • QTE Blog: Sega Has Announced That Super Monkey Ball 2 Is Now Out On The iPhone/iPod Touch App Store http://ow.ly/166W4U

  • Atlus have a "Mass-Recruitment" drive for debuggers. http://ow.ly/IYgU

  • DLC for Brutal Legend would be for both Single Player And Multiplayer. there will also be some patches coming. http://ow.ly/IYja

  • QTE Blog: EA Has Released Madden NFL Aracde Gameplay Videos For The Playstation3 And Xbox 360 http://ow.ly/166Wsd

  • PS3: Modern Warfare patch 1.05 does not fix the Javelin glitch. that patch is coming later. it'll have other bug fixes http://ow.ly/J0xj

  • Its suggested a job post from Crystal Dynamics for a Multiplayer Designer is for a Tomb Raider game, co-op/maps + more http://ow.ly/J0zz

  • QTE Blog: Nintendo Has Released A launch Trailer For The Legend Of Zelda Spirit Tracks http://ow.ly/166YdJ

  • PC: its believed that the Left 4 Dead 2 SDK will bring ability to create Custom Character Models, Survivors and Infected http://ow.ly/J0De

  • PS3: PS Nation Podcast, at 13:04, says PSP Mini's on the PS3 is not a rumour...its coming. not sure if it'll be out before Christmas

  • 360: EA has taken down Fight Night 4 Champions Pack 2 DLC off the Market Place due to freezing issues. http://ow.ly/Jewv

  • There will be 11 new game announcements at this years Video Game Awards. so far 10 games have been teased. http://ow.ly/JeBg

  • QTE Blog: Android Game Of The Week – Cosmic Trails http://ow.ly/167ach

  • QTE Blog: What Have You Played This Week? http://ow.ly/Jm5J

  • QTE Blog: QTE Tweets Of The Week http://ow.ly/Jo7L



QTE Tweets Of The Week

The Following are the top 10 most clicked QTE Gamers tweets of the week.

10 QTE Blog: New Zero Punctuation - Assassins Creed II http://ow.ly/HZKh

9 Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/165okh

8 Rebellion will not release a "sanitized" version of aliens VS Predator for Australia. http://ow.ly/IFmT

7 QTE Blog: Konami Announce Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Is Coming Out May 28th In The UK http://ow.ly/166mVt

6 Bioshock 2 now has a Japanese publisher. D3 will be releasing in Japan. http://ow.ly/H9Bk

5 PS3: Sony Japan are pricing the Western Sony games, Uncharted 2, Infamous, And Ratchet & Clank Future 2 at 5,980 yen ($66) http://ow.ly/ups2

4 PS3: Sony has said that they won't suspend people if they use the "Javolin Glitch" in Modern Warfare 2 online. http://ow.ly/IdsG

3 Spike have teased new mystery trailer. it will be revealed at the Video Game Awards. http://ow.ly/HeXJ

2 QTE Blog: EA Has Released Screenshots For Mirror's Edge On The iPhone/iPod Touch http://ow.ly/1664IK

1 QTE Blog: Sony Europe Has Announced A Winter Wonderland Festival Space For Home Is Coming 10th December http://ow.ly/165sDd


Sunday, December 6, 2009

What Have You Played This Week?

Not a lot this week. I wasn't as far into Batman as I thought so that took up some time. I got some Demo's in and enjoyed both of them.

Football Manager 09 – PC – I'm Still With Bayern Munich but i'm also now the Italy National Manager. I've never been their manager before so this should be interesting. Would love to get the new game, but unfortunately I can't afford it, but what is great about the Football Manager games is that you can play them for a long time, even if a new version has come out (typically as the newest Football Manager needs 1 patch for it to get great.)


Bayonetta – Demo - PS3 – I downloaded this big demo not really knowing what to expect. Its not a bad demo, it shows the battle, gameplay, and some of the story, but it throws it at you very quick. You may also need to change some of the options, like camera sensitivity and axis. The gameplay is very hack and slash but its done well. It was very fluid and very easy to pull together combo's and huge attacks. The graphics looked ok. The detail looks a little flat/washed out, but it doesn't detract from the gameplay.

Batman Arkham Asylum – PS3 – I finished this game and enjoyed all of it. The story was interesting with a few good plot twists. There was a predictable ending but it fitted with the story and doesn't feel cheap. I never felt things got repetitive, I had all the equipment and enjoyed trying it all out on the bad guys, coming up with new ways to defeat them. The thing that disappointed me was the end boss battle. It became very traditional and simple which is a shame. The scarecrow parts of the game were a nice way to break things up and offered a nice change of style, especially a interesting re-cap of the start of the game. I highly recommend this game. It is a great Batman game, and a great game in general. I tried the challenge rooms...and I couldn't get a high score on any of them. But I did enjoy trying them, and the Joker rooms were good enough to get the PS3 version alone.


Little Big Planet – Demo – PSP – This demo was great. The graphics on the PSP looked really good and it felt like Little Big Planet. It only had 2 levels which is a shame, but those levels alone show how the game level design has improved since the PS3 version. They were simple levels but, like the PS3 version, you can see key object markers which will make you come back. The load times were also very good. I recommend if you have played or are interested in Little Big Planet, get the demo. Its a small download and will quickly show how good it is.


What have you been playing this week? feel free to add your weeks gaming selection in the comments, or comment on my selection for this week