Bits And Bobs: Monday News Roundup
(Updated throughout the day.) NHL Eastside Hockey Manager available via digital distribution, Joint Ops patched, WarCraft III patch and new map download, Far Cry patch due today.
Sports Interactive's NHL Eastside Hockey Manager, released last Friday on PC, is now available to download and buy thanks to Softwrap's digital distribution system, which keeps the whole game under digital 'wraps' until you've paid your fee. All you have to do is head to either Sega's or Sports Interactive's website and you can download the file, pay for and play the game without ever having to set foot outside your front door. Which is good news for anybody still waiting for a regional release (hello America!) and indeed for those of you who played the freeware original and fancy sticking with the downloading tradition.
NovaLogic's million-and-one-player shooter Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising has been patched again - this time to version 1.1.1.5. Hang on, isn't that the same version number? Apparently it is. But the patch is nevertheless slightly different - it's 2.2MB bigger, for a start. And for an end, in fact, given that we don't know what else it fixes that it didn't fix before. Hey ho. For those who missed it, the original file dealt with co-op ejection, system crashes and weapons detaching from vehicles. Which is probably a very real issue in a typhoon, we would've thought. You can download the patch here.
From one extreme weather hazard to another; Blizzard has released update patches for WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne, along with a new freely downloadable multiplayer map from the 'Lordaeron Summer' range. Linda Barker very probably recommends the Rolling Hills map, and indeed the patches, which address various balancing issues outlined in far more detail (or indeed in any detail at all) in the readme file. Everything you need can be found here.
CryTek is preparing to release the 1.2 patch for Far Cry we mentioned the other week today, according to reports. The patch implements various gameplay tweaks and bug fixes by all accounts, and enables Shader Model 3.0 for Nvidia graphics cards - something that the hardware sites are getting quite excited about as it opens the door to new benchmarks. Expect to see the patch pop up sometime soon, and we recommend keeping an eye on the official website if you're desperate for news.