1701-ad posts

Rumor: Aspyr layoffs reported

by John Callaham Dec 18th 2008 @ 7:00PM

The bad news of game publisher layoffs may be continuing today as Kotaku is reporting via unnamed sources that Austin-based Aspyr has let go of over 12 part-time employees as well some unspecified regular full time team members. The article also states that more layoffs at the company may be in the works. When reached an Aspyr spokesperson would not comment on the rumors.

Aspyr has been in business for quite some time and is best known for porting a number of PC games to run natively on Mac platforms. They have also published a number of PC games including ports of Turok and Guitar Hero III as well as the US release of 1701 AD.

Filed under: Biz, Mac

The Big Round-up: Monday, June 2

by Dan O'Halloran Jun 2nd 2008 @ 12:30PM

	Final Battlefield 2142 patch adds new levels and more Battlefield 2142 didn't quite get the critical acclaim nor the sales of some of the other games in the multiplayer shooter series but the sci-fi themed game from developer Digital Illusions and publisher Electronic Arts kept its support for the game for a long time. Now with the development team moving onto new projects, the final patch for the game has been released and can be grabbed right here at Big Download.
	Call of Duty 4 bonus maps finally coming to PC June 5th Two months ago, PS3 and 360 gamers were offered a map pack for Call of Duty 4 called the Variety Map Pack. For reasons escaping human understanding, said pack was not available on the PC -- the platform on which Call of Duty originally made a name for itself.
	Plans for Frontlines: Fuel of War downloadable maps revealed THQ developer Kaos Studios released their first title, the near-future first person shooter, Frontlines: Fuel of War, last February. While the developer has released a number of patches to the game since then, Kaos is in the middle of preparing their first major update (1.1.0) that will add new features such as Punkbuster anti-cheating support, a new version of the game's server browser and more.
	More info than you needed about Red Alert 3's Soviet bulldog unit Electronic Arts updated the official Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 website with a robust profile of the bullfrog, a Soviet anti-air unit. The page features a brief clip of the unit in action, as well. This unit was also featured prominently in the developer walkthrough video we reported on yesterday.
	Dracula: Origin demo aims to scare you One of the most famous fictional characters ever created gets interpreted in a new adventure game. Dracula: Origin tries to give its own interpretation of the beginnings of the most well known vampire of all based, of course, on Bram Stoker's original novel. The game, developed by Frogware, has already been released by The Adventure Company but you can now download a taste of the game right here at Big Download.

Continue reading The Big Round-up: Monday, June 2

Filed under: Downloads, Demos, Meta BD, Modern Warfare 2, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

1701 AD gets a new edition in the US with extra content

by John Callaham Jun 1st 2008 @ 2:00PM

Way back in October 2006, publisher Aspyr Media shipped 1701 AD to stores in the US. The historical empire building strategy game from German developer Related Designs (where it is known as Anno 1701) got a lot of critical praise at the time. Now Aspyr has officially announced plans to release a new edition of the game to stores this summer that will add some new content.

Via a press release found on Blue's News, Aspyr will release 1701 AD Gold Edition, which will have the full version of the previously released game along with The Sunken Empire, an expansion pack for the game that will make its US debut in this collection. The expansion adds a new single player campaign along with new AI profiles, buildings and a new natural disaster. The new collection will also contain a world editor that will allow folks to make new single and multiplayer maps for the game

Filed under: Expansions, Strategy