Huxley posts

Every year we are surprised by the number of games that manage to be released. But there are always PC game titles that are announced and then pretty much disappear from view. These are the games that Big Download puts the label "Vaporware" On. Unlike other such web sites, we consider vaporware to be any PC game that was announced, lots of time with much hype, only to go into a cave with little to no info revealed about the game at all.

That's why you won't see games like Diablo III or even Duke Nukem Forever on this list. Yes, they are taking a long time to be completed but at least the development teams behind them have shown the game off in playable form in the past year and it looks like they may actually be released. But that's not the case with most of the games on our new 2010 PC game vaporware list. While they may all finally come out of their shell, we have no idea when that will be at this point.

So which games made our top 10 list this year? Check after the jump to find out for yourself. Just be careful: It's dark in there.

Huxley, the sci-fi first person shooter MMO that was first announced over five years ago, is getting back together with its original developer Webzen. Big Download received an email today from Huxley's now former publisher NHN USA that it "has agreed to transfer future international publishing plans of Huxley: The Dystopia back to its developer, Webzen."

The statement added, "Both NHN USA and Webzen are internal divisions of NHN Corporation, and Webzen is currently revamping their international publishing platform. As part of this new global program, Webzen intends to self-publish Huxley. Our team at NHN USA fully support this decision after serious internal discussions between both divisions."

Announced in February 2005 as a retail game, the title has been delayed numerous times. In mid-2008 NHN USA announced that it would publish Huxley as a free-to-play game on its ijji.com web portal. The game actually went into closed beta testing in the summer of 2009 but since that test was completed NHN USA has only said that it was "working with the development team in Korea to iron out the kinks" in the game. There is still no word on when Huxley will actually be released.

It's a game that was first announced way back in 2005 but has still not officially launched. We are talking about Huxley, the sci-fi MMO first person shooter from Korean-based Webzen that was first planned to be a commercial retail game. Two years ago, it was announced that Huxley was being turned into a free-to-play online game to be published in the US by NHN USA and their ijji.com game portal.

Since that announcement the game's official launch has been pushed back even more but last summer the US version finally started its closed beta test. The closed beta ended last August but since then there's been no word at all on when Huxley's open beta might begin, much less when the game will finally and officially launch.

We contacted ijji.com's PR rep to get an update. They responded with this statement: "As you know, Huxley: The Dystopia went into CBT a few months back. ijji is listening to the fan feedback generated from CBT and taking it very seriously. Accordingly, they are in the process of taking a critical look at Huxley: The Dystopia and working with the development team in Korea to iron out the kinks."

The statement gave no indication at all on when we can expect Huxley to see the light of day so it looks like we will still have to wait a while longer before this title will finally be completed.

The free-to-play business model for PC games has been huge in Asia for a long time but it's just been in the last few years that the trend has exploded into the US market. This week one of the biggest such web sites, ijji.com, announced that they have signed up 9 million registered players.

The site, run by NHN USA, boasts a number of free-to-play titles including the fantasy MMMO Lunia and the shooter Soldier Front. The portal has a number of upcoming games that are currently in beta testing. Those titles include the long-in-development sci-fi FPS MMO Huxley and the free-to-play modern day shooter Alliance of Valiant Arms.

Last week we listed a number of games that are currently scheduled to ship to stores sometime between now and the end of 2009. Nearly all of the games mentioned are supposed to head to retail stores. However we failed to mention a number of games that will be sold only via digital download.

Today we look at 10 games currently scheduled for release before the end of the year that will be primarily launched via download sites like Steam, Direct2Drive, and other outlets. They include some long awaited casual game sequels, a couple of sci-fi MMOs and some expansion packs to previously released games. As usual the release dates are based on the info at hand; they can and possibly will change.

Click on the image above to continue reading Other PC games due out in Fall 2009

It's been a long, long time in coming but now folks (in the US and Canada anyway) can now finally play a version of the years-in-the-making sci-fi FPS MMO Huxley. Fileplanet is allowing anyone with free access to their service to download and play the "closed" beta for the game from NHN USA.

According to NHN, the "closed" beta is scheduled to run from now until Aug. 12. In addition to downloading the beta from Fileplanet you will still need to sign in over at the Huxley closed beta web page at ijji.com in order to play in the beta test. The final game is expected to officially open its doors to the US public sometime this fall.

[Via Massively]

This video shows the opening cinematic for the upcoming free-to-play online shooter, Huxley. The sci-fi themed game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where human "sapiens" use high-technology to battle against mutants. The game is currently in beta in Korea and is expected to make its way to North America in the fall.

Download HD Huxley Opening Cinematic (172 MB)

As the days get closer to the launch of E3 2009 in early June, Big Download has been compiling wish lists of games that we would like to see during the revamped and larger trade show. We start out with a long list of first person shooter games. Some of the games on this list are indeed confirmed as being at E3 this year. Other games on this list are titles we think will be there. There are ever a few that we are just hoping might make an appearance at the show.

With that in mind let's head over to our list. Next time we will give our E3 2009 wish list over to the action game genre

Click on the image to continue reading Countdown to E3 2009: The FPS Games We Want To See

It's been a long time coming but finally US residents can now sign up to beta test Huxley, the long-in-development sci-fi FPS MMO from developer Webzen. Sign-ups will last until May 20 and announcements on who will be picked will be made on May 27. The actual closed beta will last from June 3-14.

Meanwhile the game's official web site has added some new content while you wait for your beta test number to be picked. New screenshots and videos have been added to the site along with features like character descriptions, backstory info and a new forum for folks to chat about Huxley. So far there's no word on the game's released date.

How long have we been waiting for Huxley? A long, long, long time it seems. The sci-fi MMO shooter from developer Webzen was one of the first games that announced it would be using Unreal Engine 3. Today there have been tons of UE3 shooters but still no signs of Huxley.

This week we finally got some new screenshots from Huxley which has switched from a retail game to a free-to-play MMO. The shots still show off some impressive looking Unreal Engine 3 graphics and the game has kept its basis premise of players fighting in a persistent world with character customization and improvements. Huxley is now scheduled for release in the US via the ijji.com web site sometime in 2009.