This Week In PC Gaming: Free And Nude
Ass.Errors, football beta testing and more...
The bare-faced cheek of it!
By Greg McNevin
Nudity Behind Halo 2 Delay
You may have heard that Halo 2’s PC release has slipped another two weeks, what you may not have heard, however, is that one of the reasons for the slippage is that it inadvertently includes a picture of someone’s arse lurking in the game’s customisation tools.
It appears someone thought it would be funny to help modders visualise an “.ASS Error” that appears in the map editor.
“It has come to our attention that an unfortunate, obscure content error which includes partial nudity was included in our initial production of Halo 2 for Windows Vista,” said Microsoft in a press release.
Whether it was a Bungie or Microsoft employee doing the honours in the photo, the error has naturally spawned all sorts of humour revolving around the culprit getting “canned”, not to mention putting a new spin on the term cracked software.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has issued a statement saying that while it is unlikely that the error is accessible to the vast majority of users its rules state that Microsoft will have to change the game’s packaging to reflect the cheeky humour.
Microsoft will be sending out warning stickers to augment Halo 2’s packaging, as well as making a patch available on the official Halo 2 website to delete the offending image. Those that connect to the Games for Windows Live online network will also have their copies patched automatically.
MMO Gaming for Free?
NCSoft, the developer of MMOs such as City of Heroes, Lineage II and GuildWars, has announced an all new free MMO called Dungeon Runners.
That’s right, free. Or at least, mostly… Players can download the game from the company’s PlayNC online service and dive right in as a Fighter, Mage, or Ranger without having to whip out the credit card.
Of course, if you want log-in queue priority, extra storage for items and access to the most powerful weapons, items and armour you will have to part with US$4.99 per month (£2.50). Paying members also receive a gold and item “bank” where in-game goodies can be hoarded, which is somewhat of a necessity in dungeon exploration games.
Overall not a bad deal for those wanting to give MMO gaming a whirl before handing over credit card details or making a deal with the WoW devil.
MMO Football!
In more MMO news, those of us who aren’t keen on high fantasy or science fiction themes will be happy to know a dark horse has emerged with an interesting title for idle mice. The brand new UK publisher CyberSports has announced Football SuperStars, an online football MMO it is currently developing with Monumental Games.
The company says that players will be able to duke it out online with teams of three, five, seven and 11, but that’s not all - players will be expected to guide their avatars off the field as well as on it. This means creating teams, joining clubs, and generally live the life of a football superstar and all it entails.
“You control one player, rather than an entire team and develop your player’s career from your first days at a football academy all the way towards stardom as a member of the first team of a successful premier club,” reads the official website. “Along the way you must train, develop your talent, learn new skills, tricks, abilities and use these new found abilities on and off the pitch to further your football career.”
Brilliant! CyberSports is on the hunt for beta testers with a view to begin testing at the “back end of 2007”. The game is currently set for release in the second quarter of 2008.
Nudity Behind Halo 2 Delay
You may have heard that Halo 2’s PC release has slipped another two weeks, what you may not have heard, however, is that one of the reasons for the slippage is that it inadvertently includes a picture of someone’s arse lurking in the game’s customisation tools.
It appears someone thought it would be funny to help modders visualise an “.ASS Error” that appears in the map editor.
“It has come to our attention that an unfortunate, obscure content error which includes partial nudity was included in our initial production of Halo 2 for Windows Vista,” said Microsoft in a press release.
Whether it was a Bungie or Microsoft employee doing the honours in the photo, the error has naturally spawned all sorts of humour revolving around the culprit getting “canned”, not to mention putting a new spin on the term cracked software.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has issued a statement saying that while it is unlikely that the error is accessible to the vast majority of users its rules state that Microsoft will have to change the game’s packaging to reflect the cheeky humour.
Microsoft will be sending out warning stickers to augment Halo 2’s packaging, as well as making a patch available on the official Halo 2 website to delete the offending image. Those that connect to the Games for Windows Live online network will also have their copies patched automatically.
MMO Gaming for Free?
NCSoft, the developer of MMOs such as City of Heroes, Lineage II and GuildWars, has announced an all new free MMO called Dungeon Runners.
That’s right, free. Or at least, mostly… Players can download the game from the company’s PlayNC online service and dive right in as a Fighter, Mage, or Ranger without having to whip out the credit card.
Of course, if you want log-in queue priority, extra storage for items and access to the most powerful weapons, items and armour you will have to part with US$4.99 per month (£2.50). Paying members also receive a gold and item “bank” where in-game goodies can be hoarded, which is somewhat of a necessity in dungeon exploration games.
Overall not a bad deal for those wanting to give MMO gaming a whirl before handing over credit card details or making a deal with the WoW devil.
MMO Football!
In more MMO news, those of us who aren’t keen on high fantasy or science fiction themes will be happy to know a dark horse has emerged with an interesting title for idle mice. The brand new UK publisher CyberSports has announced Football SuperStars, an online football MMO it is currently developing with Monumental Games.
The company says that players will be able to duke it out online with teams of three, five, seven and 11, but that’s not all - players will be expected to guide their avatars off the field as well as on it. This means creating teams, joining clubs, and generally live the life of a football superstar and all it entails.
“You control one player, rather than an entire team and develop your player’s career from your first days at a football academy all the way towards stardom as a member of the first team of a successful premier club,” reads the official website. “Along the way you must train, develop your talent, learn new skills, tricks, abilities and use these new found abilities on and off the pitch to further your football career.”
Brilliant! CyberSports is on the hunt for beta testers with a view to begin testing at the “back end of 2007”. The game is currently set for release in the second quarter of 2008.
Games:
Halo 2
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Comments
Claudia 5 Nov 2007 01:47
1/2
There is a difference in nudism or naturalism and pornography. Nudism believes in the freedom from the restrictions of clothing, Porn is for sexual gratification. And you may need to check [snip] out there.
[5 Nov 2007, 08:44: Message edited by 'tyrion']
While it's always nice to hear about alternative lifestyles, please keep you adverts for dating sites to yourselves, unless you want to pay for them of course.
[5 Nov 2007, 08:44: Message edited by 'tyrion']
While it's always nice to hear about alternative lifestyles, please keep you adverts for dating sites to yourselves, unless you want to pay for them of course.
Claudia 7 Nov 2007 04:31
2/2
The world is full of surprises and the secret naturist, who tends to explore country side and other areas not usually explored by 'normal' people and who also present an attractive target by being naked, tend to attract all manner of interesting creatures, many of which are intend on biting, stinging, eating and generally making life a misery for any unfortunate who passes by.Naturist look like you and I and come from all walks of life. You will find it to be a relaxing lifestyle that is free of the daily stress we all experience. Naturist groups like [snip] are looking for people who are open minded and want to enjoy the company of others of a like mind.
[7 Nov 2007, 08:41: Message edited by 'tyrion']
We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time, but you need to pay for advertising your dating site!
[7 Nov 2007, 08:41: Message edited by 'tyrion']
We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time, but you need to pay for advertising your dating site!