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New Max Payne Preview
We received word this morning of a new Max Payne preview available online. It's over at U-games.com, and it's a good one. Spanning five pages, this preview takes a look at the game's current status, some of the announced items, and is generally a good read if you're interested in Max. Here's a bit of what they had to say about the game:
* Usually, when one says the words, "incredible amount of detail" the synonym "slow as a fat guy doing Tae Bo" springs immediately to mind. Amazingly, this does not happen in Max Payne.
* Game Objective: Save your ass. Lots of people want to hurt you. You don't want to be hurt. 'Nuff said.
* After careful investigation, cogitation, consideration and deliberation, I think this game is gonna rock like a meteor shower.
Go check out all of what they have to say now at U-games' Max Payne preview!
Thanks Luke Guttridge.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem Zero Hour Arrives in Stores this Week!
Nintendo 64 owners have their first ever ORIGINAL Duke Nukem game made for their system. Duke Nukem: Zero Hour places the King of Carnage in an original story spanning four times zones on a mission to kill aliens, save babes, and recover pieces of a time machine.
So far, advanced reviews of this game have been outrageously positive, so each day until we run out of them we're going to print a DN:ZH Reviewer's Quote of the Day. Today, we're kicking off with three quotes:
"The gameplay's tuned to near perfection so there's never a dull moment." -- GamePro
"Ahhhhh. After month after month of tedious braindead racing games and 17 million indistinguishable American sports titles, it's as refreshing as a blast of pure oxygen to get a game into the office that someone might actually want to play. DN:ZH is the stopper of video game madness in question...You start playing, you kill things, *you keep playing*. It's this latter part that seems to have confounded a lot of new games to date." -- 64 Magazine
"Zero Hour is easily the best Duke Nukem game yet. The graphics are great, the sampled speech is fantastic, the levels are devious but you don't get lost, and above all the wacked-out humor will leave you clutching your gut in agony. What more could you ask for in a video game!" -- N64 Pro
Okay, you've read how great this game is, the next step is to BUY IT!
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour is now available in stores for the N64 only. Look for the cool live action Duke TV commercial, too. Go to our Duke Nukem: Zero Hour pages pages to read more about this hot game and to see screen shots.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Countdown!
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour is due to be released next week on September 1st. It's going to be shipped to stores starting on August 31st, and the countdown has begun! GT Interactive issued a press release yesterday. Here's part of it:
Gaming's undisputed King of Action, Duke Nukem, counts down to his finest hour, Zero Hour, as GT Interactive Software Corp. (Nasdaq: GTIS) braces for the August 31 launch of its explosive new Nintendo 64 video game, Duke Nukem: Zero Hour. Developed by Eurocom, Zero Hour will debut as the first Duke Nukem game created exclusively for the N64. Zero Hour's comprehensive multi-million dollar marketing campaign is headlined by a hilarious TV spot, and extensive print and online advertising.
"Duke Nukem is an instantly recognizable global property whose appeal continues to grow with the console gamer," said Tony Kee, Director of Marketing for GT Interactive. "Now with the introduction of the first original Duke Nukem 64 game, we've developed a multi-tiered campaign designed to further extend the tremendous reach of the Duke Nukem franchise."
We have the full press release online for you to check out. Check out our Press Releases area on our website.
Also available for purchase will be a special "Duke Nukem character memory card" that you can purchase for your Nintendo 64 that goes along with Zero Hour. Some of the features of the memory card:
*Works like a Standard 123-Page Memory Card
*Works with Any Nintendo 64 Game
*Includes Bonus Game Saves for Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
We have some pictures of the Memory card available for you to check out here. You can click on any of them for a larger image.
   
Captions:
The Memory card in its packaging
A closeup of the card
The backside of the card with the packaging on the side
The card in an N64 controller
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem: Planet of the Babes Interview!
 A few days ago, we told you about the title for the new Sony Playstation game, "Duke Nukem: Planet of the Babes". We promised you that we'd dig around and come up with something for you, and we have!
We have the first interview with the Planet of the Babes development team. The interview was with Phil Gelber, the producer at N-space for Planet of the Babes. While it's fairly early in the process for the game, we managed to get some information out of Phil that you'll enjoy. Some of the subjects he touched on were how they feel about doing a second Duke Nukem game, the title itself, and some of the technical goals for the game.
Check out our interview with Phil today.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Scott Miller Chat
Last night, Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Software held an irc chat, where he talked about 3D Realms, Apogee, Max Payne, Duke Nukem Forever, Prey... you get the idea.
There were many wide ranging subjects in the chat that are sure to be of interest to 3D Realms fans. Here's a bit of what he said:
Q: Why does 3D Realms put their games under a media blackout so often?
A: About our secrecy, It comes down to two basic concerns. First, we want our games to be played before players know all the little interesting details which tend to ruin the experience, much like some movie trailers show far too much of the movie. Second, we prefer not to give our competitors too many ideas.
Q: Will 3D Realms ever send out any screenshots of DNF?
A: We will begin sending out screen shots and more info for both Max and DNF early next year--that's when we really plan to start lifting the cloak off of our two games.
Q: Balls of Steel marked a first for the company where the full version was completed and sold before the release of the shareware version. Was this successful and will you continue this on future games?
A: Most likely in the future, our shareware games will appear only a week or two ahead of the retail availability.
Q: How soon do you see more information about the Duke Nukem movie being released?
A: We've been meeting with the script writer a lot recently and things are rolling very, very nicely. What's taken so long with the Duke movie, in part, is that we've been very picky about the story, and not just doing a quickie, rip off movie that no one will care about.
There is a lot more from Scott on a variety of issues relating to 3D Realms. Make sure to check out the full IRC log today - it's most definitely worth your time to read!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Update to Music to Score By CD
Today is the day that the Duke Nukem: Music to Score by CD is due out in stores. As a small update, the online store Amazon.com has some samples of some more of the music on the CD. If you check out the Music to Score by entry in the Amazon.com store, you can listen to them. You can also order the cd online there, too.
Don't forget, you can download a sample of the Duke Nukem Theme (aka 'Grabbag') that appears on this CD from our downloads page.
If you want more information on the Music to Score by CD, check out our web page for it, where you can read about the content, see a track listing, and order online!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem Release Dates
We got some information passed on to us from GT, the distributor of the Duke Nukem games. We have some release dates for you!
*Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (N64) - Ships on August 31st, should be in some stores on Sep. 1st
*Duke Nukem: Color Gameboy - Ships on September 10th, should be in some stores Sep 11th
*Duke Nukem Forever: "When it's done".
If you're a fan of Duke Nukem and have these game consoles, you should probably check them out. We have some information on both Zero Hour and Color Gameboy on our site if you haven't checked them out yet.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Interview
3D Portal's Dukeworld has a new interview up with Eurocom, the makers of Duke Nukem: Zero Hour for the Nintendo 64. In this interview, Bill & Kevin (producer & designer of the game) speak with Dukeworld about several facets of game development. Here's a few questions from the full interview:
Q: It's been recently announced that the game has gone gold for production, when will we be seeing it in stores most likely?
A: It looks like the game should be ready to ship in late August.
Q: Some gamers may be thinking "I already own Duke Nukem: Time to Kill for the PlayStation, what's so different about Zero Hour?" What key features separate the two games most in your opinion?
A: They are completely different games, not just different platform-specific versions. Zero Hour is more action-based than the exploration style gameplay of Time to Kill. We have all-new enemies (and more of them too), more guns, bigger and better-looking levels, high-resolution textures, faster gameplay, a superior camera system, full 4-player Dukematch, loads of real-time cut scenes, tons of speech, supporting characters to fight alongside you, all-new time zones, and the chance to kick Jack the Ripper's ass.
Q: Zero Hour also supports the new four MB video memory expansion pak for the Nintendo 64, what are some of the technical specifications on the game's graphics with and without the expansion pak?
A: We worked damn hard to get the game running at 30 fps even without the Expansion Pak. We used the Pak to allow a choice of custom hi-res modes, as well as really pump up all the explosions, light-sourcing, lens flares and other effects.
This is a very good interview - not your usual couple of questions that ask the same thing we already know. Make sure to check out the full interview over at Dukeworld today!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Megadeth & Duke Nukem Theme
 As reported upon below, the Duke Nukem: Music to Score By soundtrack is coming out on August 24th. Several bands are on it, not the least of which is Megadeth, who have recorded a cover version of the Duke Nukem theme song for the soundtrack.
Available now is a sound sample from the Megadeth version of the Duke Nukem theme song. Below is a link you can click on to download an mp3 sample.
megaduke.mp3 (802k, MP3 Version, requires any MP3 player program)
This is an FTP links, if you experience trouble downloading it, please visit our FTP Help page.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Game Design: Secrets of the Sages
Shown to your right is the cover of a book entitled "Game Design: Secrets of the Sages". This book, by Marc Saltzman is a book that you should check out if you've ever been interested in making a computer game. It covers such topics as "Getting Started", "Creating your Masterpiece", "Ensuring Your Success", and finally "Getting in the Front Door and staying there". Here's some text from the book itself..
"So, you want to be a game programmer, design or create the next Myst, Final Fantasy, or Quake? Where do you begin? How do you get started, break into the industry, and then become a successful game designer and programmer? This book answers these questions and more. Over 100 industry specialists were interviewed and provided their individual views...
Packed with details on how to turn your joystick skills into a lucrative career from the people who have already done it, this book is the ultimate guide to your dream job."
If you've wanted to know how to do it, this book is a good read. Our own George Broussard is quoted on the book cover promoting this book. George said, "Budding game designers should carry this around in their back pocket. Come get some!" If you're interested in purchasing this book, you can do so by clicking on the book image above (which will take you to Amazon.com's page for the book.
That's not all! The author of this book contacted me and informed me that this book can also be obtained as part of a larger package entitled "The
Game Programming Starter Kit v3.0". This package consists of "The introductory edition of Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, Genesis 3D SDK engine and level editor, a suite of development tools, a developer's guide featuring insights into the industry, and a digital library of three best-selling programming books. As an added bonus, a 470+ page book entitled "Game Design: Secrets of the Sages" is bundled with the Game Programming Starter Kit 3.0."
If you're looking to jump right in, the Starter Kit might be just what you need - it includes the Secrets of the Sages book in the package. Either way, check out the book to bone up on how to break into the industry!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Taking Root in Dallas
Last Friday, there was a pretty cool article published entitled "Taking root in Dallas" in the Houston Chronicle. This article by Tricia Serju-Harris looks at the local gaming industry here in the Dallas area.
Covering many companies here such as Terminal Reality, id Software, Ritual Entertainment, Gathering of Developers, Ion Storm, and many others, not the least of which is us! There's several insights by folks at these various companies in this piece, so make sure to check it out! Our own Scott Miller is quoted several times in the article, here's a bit of what he had to say in it.
*The "Dallas gaming mafia," as the group's been dubbed, have "always been independently owned and therefore we've
always been able to play by our own rules," Scott Miller said.
*"Many of us have released at least one big hit, and, having tasted that success, it's high motivation to taste it again," (Scott Miller on success)
This is a really nice article that focuses on the local gaming scene here. Do yourself a favor and read it today!
Thanks Tricia Serju-Harris.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem: Music to Score By
As some of you may have noticed when buying Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, it talked about a "Duke Nukem soundtrack" entitled "Duke Nukem: Music to Score By". We've had a bunch of questions about this since TTK was released, but we can finally give you some information about it.
The CD is due to be released on August 24th, and is coming out on Red Ink Records. There's several tracks on here that folks will find interesting, here's a complete track listing from the CD.
1. Duke Nukem Theme - Megadeth (previously unreleased)
2. Cinnamon Girl - Type O Negative (previously unreleased in U.S.)
3. What U See Is What U Get - Xzbit
4. Blisters - Coal Chamber (previously unreleased in U.S.)
5. Bitch - Sevendust
6. Song 10 - Zebrahead
7. The Thing I Hate - Stabbing Westward
8. It's Yourz - Wu-Tang Clan
9. Screaming From The Sky - Slayer
10. New World Order - Megadeth (previously unreleased)
11. Stone Crazy - The Beatnuts
12. Land Of The Free Disease - Corrosion Of Conformity (previously unreleased)
The one song that the most people have inquired about is the first one, the Duke Nukem Theme as recorded by Megadeth. This theme was originally slated to be on Megadeth's new album, Risk (due out August 31st), but a check of the track listing there does not show it as being on their album.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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