S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Clear Sky will be stores in 5th September

GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announce a new release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. The international release date of the game has been set to the 5th September of 2008

The story of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky brings the players one year prior to the events of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 2011.

A group of stalkers has for the first time reached the very heart of the Zone – Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. An immense blowout of anomalous energy changes the Zone. There are no more reliable and relatively safe roads. The entire levels vanish in the outbursts of anomalies. Stalkers and even expeditions die or end up sealed on the lost territories. New areas, which remained unknown since the time of the Zone emergence, appear on the Zone map. The Zone continues to shake with blowouts. The Zone is unstable. The anomalous activity is at its maximum.

Changes of the Zone map known to stalkers shake the fragile balance of forces in the Zone. Among the groupings, there flare up hostilities for the new territories, artifact fields and spheres of influence. There are no more old enemies or friends – now everyone is for himself. The Factions War has started between the groupings.

The protagonist is a mercenary who appeared at the edge of the opposition between stalker factions, Strelok and even the Zone itself. The main character will have to play the key role in the events, which led to creation of the Zone up to the point from which the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game begins.

What’s waiting for stalkers in the opened depths of the Zone? Which new challenges bear in the new territories? Why blowouts continue shaking the Zone? Why did the Zone change? How to remove its instability? Which faction will take the upper hand in the clan opposition? Why did Strelok end up in the death truck? What happened to Strelok prior to that? Was there any other choice to make? These and many other questions will get answered in the official prequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky.

Game features:

* Atmosphere of the Exclusion Zone
* Research of new depths of the Zone – Red Forest, Limansk, Pripyat Undergrounds and more.
* A-Life-driven War of the Factions
* Possibility to play and lead any faction to victory
* Advanced A-Life system
* Varied behaviour of NPC stalkers in the A-Life world
* Advanced spectacular storyline scenes
* Improved AI of computer-controlled characters
* Skirting around dynamic obstacles by NPCs
* Use of grenades by NPCs
* Fast Travel
* Improved concept of detectors, artifacts and anomalies
* New system of upgrades for weapons and armor
* Weapons and armor repair
* Reworked HUD and PDA
* New version of the game engine - X-Ray 1.5.
* DirectX 10 renderer
* Improved DirectX 9 renderer - parallax bump, soft particles, depth of field, motion blur, eye adaptation effect.
* Cutting-edge and detailed game graphics (normal map)
* Inverse kinematics
* New animation engine

ATI Catalyst 8.8 released

AMD had delivered same-day Linux support when launching the Radeon HD 4800 series this summer. This was a first for AMD when launching a major product revision that there was same-day support considering for the R500 and R600 (and earlier) generations it had taken months for any level of support on Linux. This was great to see and the Radeon HD 4850/4870 performance was terrific thanks to their new OpenGL driver introduced last September. Today AMD has announced another Catalyst driver release for Linux and this is arguably the most significant driver update since last October's release when AIGLX support was added. Catalyst 8.8 delivers CrossFire support on Linux, OverDrive overclocking support, adaptive anti-aliasing support, and other improvements.
quote : phoronix.com

PC Gaming Industry Improve $10.7 Billion

The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) today unveiled the key findings from its first “Horizons” Report, an exclusive research study of the PC gaming industry worldwide. Speaking at the Games Convention Developer’s Conference in Leipzig, PCGA president Randy Stude announced that PC gaming was a $10.7 billion industry during the year of 2007, with retail sales accounting for just 30 percent of total revenues. According to the report, growth was largely driven by online revenues from Asia, the world’s largest market, which is approaching half of total worldwide sales.

Online PC gaming revenue led the way in 2007 with $4.8 billion, nearly double the worldwide retail sales numbers for PC games. Digital distribution sales approached $2 billion, while advertising revenues from websites, portals, and in-game ads accounted for $800 million. Both are expected to grow substantially as major developers and publishers begin to adopt formal strategies to take advantage of new online opportunities.
“Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported,” said Stude. “Today’s consumers shop where they live - online.”

According to DFC Intelligence, there is even more room for growth as the broadband market matures.

“By pioneering new business models, the PC has quietly remained the single leading platform for games, not only in terms of consumer usage, but revenue generation,” said David Cole, an analyst with DFC Intelligence. “The most fascinating thing about PC gaming is its ability to attract such a diverse audience, both demographically and geographically. The real key has been the rapid growth in penetration of broadband-connected PCs in all markets around the world. Broadband-connected PCs are the key driver of growth for PC gaming. DFC Intelligence estimated that by the end of 2007 less than one-third of households in the top 20 markets for games had a high-speed Internet connection. That clearly indicates that there is still plenty of growth to come. The initiatives of the PCGA will be a key enabler of growth as they will help the industry identify key trends and opportunities in this rapidly emerging market.”

Updated bi-annually, the full Horizons Report is available to all PCGA members. It encompasses sales from every region around the world, and from every part of the PC gaming industry compiled by the PCGA from internal resources through a third party. This includes retail, online gaming, digital distribution, and online advertising. Those interested in joining can find membership details and additional information about the PCGA and its role as the voice of the PC gaming industry at www.pcgamingalliance.org.

Anyone interested in the state of the PC gaming industry will also be able to see Randy Stude present the key findings of the Horizons report during NVISION 08 in San Jose, Calif. on August 25 in the San Jose Hilton adjacent to the convention center at 3:30 p.m. in San Carlos rooms 1 & 2. More NVISION details can be found at www.nvision2008.com.

About the PCGA
The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to drive worldwide growth of PC gaming. With high-profile members such as Microsoft, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and Dell, the PCGA provides an open forum where companies can cooperate to develop and promote solutions that drive the PC gaming industry forward. The PCGA encourages the exchange of information and views to promote PC gaming, and shares promotional activity designed to grow the PC gaming industry.

Quatation : pcgamingalliance.org/

Star Wars : The Force Unleashed Demo will release this month

Entirely new chapter in the Star Wars Saga gets a demo this August.
LucasArts has announced that a playable demo of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be released on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. In development for PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, PS2, DS, and Wii, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be available on September 16, 2008 in the United States, September 17 in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19 in Europe.

Quatation : gamersHell