Mod News: Excuses, Excuses
Where were you all last week? I turned up and no one was here, honest! What's that? No, I'm not crossing my fingers behind my back, and you definitely didn't see him heading off on holiday. What nonsense. Anyway, to make up for it, here's an extra-long edition of Mod News to cover the past two weeks. This time: Crash Bandicoot, a Warcraft III art mod, a surprising number of trailers and a bizarre remake of Deus Ex...
NEWS
The Crash Bandicoot Return mod for Crysis has been picking up a lot of attention lately. GiantBomb have a big ol' interview with both the mod's developer and a couple of those on the original Crash Bandicoot development team. It's worth a read, especially to see the Crash devs' thoughts on things: "I think [the developer] may have a serious game career ahead of him," says Jason Rubin - but he later adds: "If you have the skill to make someone else's game then you should make your own. Because you can never be sure about obtaining the rights to the original." Let's hope Naughty Dog (with whom Rubin no longer has any association) let this one run through to completion.
There's also a video, so that's cool.
The Prototype in Action! - Mod DB
Meanwhile, if you're downloading the Amnesia 1.2 update through Desura, you get a couple of mods thrown in with it automatically. They are The Curse of Brewer Manor and Cannibalism, and you can check out the details from this ModDB page. I'm really looking forward to what people continue to do with Frictional's surprisingly powerful engine.
More trailer times, with Call of Pripyat mod Return to the Shadows getting the video treatment. This is the promising total conversion for the latest Stalker game, telling an all new story in both new and familiar locations. Have a watch:
There's also a Crysis Wars mod, Wreckage, whose developers have been kind enough to give a bit of insight into the development process this week. Specifically, here's a look at the level scripting and cinematic work. There are also a couple of lovely new screenshots beyond that link - it's properly professional-quality stuff, making me even more excited about this one.
Slightly more... shall we say "rustic" screenshots here, with the latest batch from Deus Ex Revision. Which, as you may remember, is a mod remaking Deus Ex in the - uh - Deus Ex engine. It adds new locations and tidies up old ones, basically, changing a few mechanical elements along the way. The screenshots are on ModDB. Here's one of JC Denton standing a little too uncomfortably far away from the guy he's speaking to.
Right, so. Do you remember Arcadia - Rise and Fall? The Warcraft III: Frozen Throne mod that's about as artsy as it gets. Describes itself as "a utopian adventure in a scale of epic poetry" and all that jazz? Well, there's a new chapter coming out, and the team is after some beta testers. Have a read of the details if you're interested in helping out.
RELEASES
No major new releases, it would seem. But great heck, look at all these updates there have been in the last pair of weeks!
UPDATES
Men of War mod Stargate: Galaxies has reached its latest version, which adds high definition human models, a new mission, and a working multiplayer mode. The new mission added is the start of a storyline that's going to be introduced across future updates, which is a nice idea. Plenty of bug-fixes too, it would seem. Here's where you'll grab it.
There's also Duke Nukem Eternity, which has reached version... 1.3D? Well, yes, thanks to a new high-res pack that drops in some surprisingly not-shabby character models and the like. You can see the details at ModDB, from where you can also download the update.
And Company of Heroes mod Cross of Iron has reached version 1.20, bringing with it expanded doctrines for all the game's factions, as well as some new units. Once again, all the details are on ModDB.
Or how about Half-Life 2 mod Eternal Silence, which has a new update as well? And it's the biggest yet, say the team. There are new tutorials, new maps and a revamped soundtrack, as well as a whole bunch of minor tweaks. It's going to "mark a new age for Eternal Silence," says Spindoctor, one of the project leads. So that's nice. Here's a trailer.
Finally, how about a Battlefield 1942 mod? Eve of Destruction reaches version 2.31 just in time for its eighth anniversary. There are eight new maps, as well as new aircraft, soldier models and bug fixes to be enjoyed, and you can find the whole darn thing over at the same place as everything else.
'Til next week...