Things And Stuff: Thursday News Roundup
(Updated throughout the day.) Area 51 delayed until early 2005, Battlefield Vietnam patched extensively.
Midway has delayed Area 51 until the first half of 2005 in order that the game doesn't get lost in the inevitable deluge of Christmas releases this year. The game had previously been due out in Q4 of 2004, but according to the publisher's latest financial report, it isn't any more. Midway's David Zucker said, "we believe it is a prudent strategic move from a competitive positioning standpoint," going on to say, "Area 51 is a superb game, and we believe it will receive much more attention in a launch period with comparatively less crowding, such as the first half of 2005." A cover-up?
Battlefield Vietnam has been patched to version 1.1.14, fixing a large number of issues in terms of bugs and balance, and introducing a new map called Defence of Con Thien, which is set in the demilitarised zone between the north and south. The map also includes three new vehicles - a new scout helicopter for the Marines, an attack helicopter for the NVA and stationary M60 gun emplacements. Wait a second. Stationary gun emplacements? Not much of a vehicle, is it? Anyway, all you naughty soldier types can download the whopping 130MB update over here.