THIS WEEK'S RELEASES: JANUARY 22NDTH - JANUARY 28TH

The drought of new releases continues, but at least there's one bright spot on this week's list. That bright spot is none other than Sid Meier's Pirates! for the PSP. Beyond that, there's really nothing much else worth talking about, so I'll just leave it at that.

I'd also like to take a moment to apologize for the lack of updates over the weekend. I've been working on the changes I was talking about in the last state of the site update. Unfortunately, it's not going as smoothly as I'd like right now, so it's taking far more hours to make changes than I'd expect. The only good news I have to report is that it would appear that we will be able to go with different color schemes when the new format starts sometime in the coming weeks.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand - Here's everything you can probably expect to see on store shelves this week;

• Close Quarters Conflict - PC - 1/23/2007
  
• Fossil League Dino Tournament - DS - 1/23/2007
  
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - DS - 1/23/2007
  
• Sid Meier's Pirates! - PSP - 1/23/2007
  
• The Shield - PC - 1/23/2007
  
• Underground Pool - DS - 1/23/2007
  
• Europa Universalis III - PC - 1/24/2007
  
• InuYasha Secret of the Divine Jewel - DS - 1/24/2007
  
• Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean - PSP - 1/24/2007
  
• The Poppit Show - PC - 1/24/2007
  
• Hexic Deluxe - PC - 1/25/2007

Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.

MAME32 .111.4 RELEASED

Following in the footsteps of the command line version, MAME32 v.111.4, the Windows GUI port of MAME v.111 is also now available.

Check out the official MAME32 page here for more details and the download links.

MAME V.111U4 RELEASED

The latest "update" version of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, version 1.11u4, is now available for download. Once again, the update is focusing on some serious background changes and the dev team has advised that unless you're looking to take some risks - or test the latest build - you should probably steer clear of the update for now. If you are interested in testing the build, head on over to MAME Testers to find out how to get started.

The updated emulator files can be found at the official MAME page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what's new in this update.

STATE OF THE SITE: WE'RE MOVIN ON UP!

If you use our regular www.nylatenite.com web address, you may have noticed that something has changed... the popups and ads that once infected this site are now gone. Yes, we've changed hosts and moved to a new web provider.

What does this mean to you? Well, for starters, you won't get bothered with thousands of popups anymore. I always hated that part of free-hosting plans and with the site's viewership increasing, I felt it was finally time to get rid of them.

We're also planning on making some changes to the way the site itself works, though those changes won't go into effect right away. Most of the changes will involve making the site more user friendly on both the back-end side as well as the pages you see. The reason behind this is that over time, the site has become a bit of a monster itself, often causing half of the time I spend on it to be lost just dealing with update related issues. I'd much rather spend that time giving you more news or playing games.

There are some things some of our viewers need to be made aware of...

1. If you visit the site from the www.nylatenite.com address, nothing changes for you. Keep your browser pointed here and we'll be with you daily.
2. If you visit the older format (the black and blue color scheme) version of the site at https://members.tripod.com/nylatenite/gamersparadise.htm, you will need to change your bookmark. The new link for the old color scheme is www.nylatenite.com/gamersparadise.htm
3. While we're looking for a way around it, there's a good chance that when the final changes to the site go active in the next few weeks, that old color scheme pages will cease to be updated. Again, I know some of you prefer the dark color scheme, but we may have to pick just one and the lighter, more modern scheme is by far the favorite.
4. The old web address of https://members.tripod.com/nylatenite/gamersparadise.htm will remain standing, but will no longer be updated with gaming news. The reason we're keeping this page up is because there are a lot of places that still link to the site for the "Build your own arcade cabinet" walkthrough, and while I know the sites I've personally submitted the address to over the years, I've found that many visitors have come from places that I never knew linked back to the site. Eventually the old tripod page will be changed to reflect the cabinet building aspect alone.

Once again, please set your bookmarks to http://www.nylatenite.com (for the modern version) or http://www.nylatenite.com/gamersparadise.htm (for the older version) - and enjoy the lack of popups.

While we're talking about advertisements, at this time we do not plan on soliciting advertising to defray our hosting costs. We're still building an audience, so we're not getting killed with expenses. besides that, the site is not a commercial venture at this time, so we cannot sell advertising space. You may see some ads for some of our friends websites or for products that we really like being posted as tests of the viability of someday accepting advertising. Those ads will not be popups.

Finally, for those wondering, I was fighting the urge to print the lyrics to the theme song from "The Jeffersons" the entire time I was writing this post... and in the end, I lost that battle...

"Well we’re movin' on up, to the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin' on up to the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
Beans don’t burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin’ just to get up that hill.
Now we’re up in the big leagues
Gettin’ our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it’s you and me baby
There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

Well we’re movin' on up, to the East Side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin' on up to the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie." - The Jeffersons theme song

XBOX 360 BATTLESTATIONS: MIDWAY DEMO NOW AVAILABLE

An multiplayer demo of Eidos Interactive's Battlestations: Midway for the Xbox 360 is now available for download to Xbox Live Gold members in all regions other than Japan. The demo weighs in at 446.43mb and can be obtained via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Here's the dashboard write up on this one;

"Download and play the Battlestations: Midway multiplayer demo and be one of the first to experience a new style of online warfare. Featuring massive Xbox Live battles with over 100 fully controllable warships, aircraft and submarines, each player can take full command of a fleet of units and fight cooperatively with their team-mates in the greatest sea battles of WWII. Prepare for war on a totally new scale!" - Battlestations: Midway demo text

No ETA was given as to when Xbox Live Silver members can expect to see this content.

XBOX 360 CALL OF DUTY 3 "VALOR" MAP PACK BROKEN

Just a quick note here - apparently the "Valor" map pack for Call of Duty 3 that was released yesterday has some serious bugs in it. At present, the maps simply don't work at all and while both Treyarch and Microsoft are working on correcting the issue, there's currently no ETA for the repairs.

Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb has directed his readers to this post on the Xbox.com forums where Treyarch will be updating their progress in getting the problem fixed. Here's the latest update as of this posting;

"Well folks... it has been a crazy and hectic day, and we are continuing to work towards a solution through the night.  We've made some progress through cooperation with Microsoft.  We had hoped to resolve the technical issues with the map pack by the end of the day today, but it looks like that will not happen.

We do know that the package posted to Marketplace this morning is not valid and will not work with the game, so deleting the old file through the system blade of the dashboard will at least put users a step ahead when the new package goes live.

I realize that this is disappointing news - I assure you that we are doing everything that we can to resolve this as soon as possible.  Please hang with us as we work through this, and stay tuned for further updates." - Axisof3vil - Treyarch

Remember what I said yesterday about one of the serious issues being a lack of testing and a "We can just patch it later" attitude? Well, I rest my case.

For more information, check out the following links;

• Call of Duty 3 Valor Map Pack - Major Nelson
• Valor Map Pack Updates - Xbox.com Forums
• CoD3 Map Pack Broken - Kotaku
• COD3 Map Pack deployed, KIA - Gamespot

XBOX 360 OWNERS - MAJOR NELSON WANTS YOU

Yes, he wants you - he wants you bad... but only for your mind. In Microsoft's continuing efforts to keep Xbox Live at the top of the online service food chain, Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb has put out a call to Xbox 360 owners to write in with suggestions on how the company can improve Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the Xbox 360 itself.

While we can debate whether or not Microsoft actually plans on listening to any of the feedback it gets or if they're just trying to drum up some positive PR, there's no question that this move is going to generate a lot of responses - if there's one thing gamers are, it's opinionated. Personally, I'd like to see the following added to the roster;

• Sell a larger hard drive - at a normal cost - Sorry guys, but not only is the Xbox 360 standard hard drive entirely too small, but charging $99.99 for a 20gb hard drive is insane.
• Sell Microsoft points in smaller lots - Because when you want to buy a 400 point Live Arcade game, but only have 380 Microsoft points remaining in your account, being forced to buy 500 more points is not customer friendly.
• Sell an Xbox 360 Live Arcade stick - preferable one that would feature 2 joysticks where at least the main stick was also 4/8 way switchable. (Like the Ultimarc Mag-Stick Plus) - Because playing a lot of the Xbox Live Arcade games with the standard controller is a chore.
• Allow RedOctane to make the Guitar Hero II X-Plorer guitar wireless - This should be self explanatory.
• Add requirements for game packaging - I'm sorry, but every year the instructions to Madden become smaller and smaller. Madden '07's instructions were actually just controller diagrams... and then EA had the nerve to sell online "guides" on how to play the game. Look, the game had virtually no instructions, no tutorial and then EA wanted money to teach people how to play the game. Situations like that are just an all-around black-eye to Xbox Live, the 360, Microsoft and most importantly your customers.
• Fully test Dashboard updates before they're released - This isn't the PC industry guys, every piece of hardware you have out there is fundamentally the same. There's no reason an update should ever brick a system.
• Release complete games - and force third parties to do so as well - This is another huge issue with the next-gen consoles - the constant patching. The reason console gamers play consoles is specifically to avoid the headaches of constant patches, bugs and the like - but developers are starting to get a little lazy. Perhaps some forced quality assurance testing? I cannot honestly believe that Madden '07 was properly tested if something as large as the fatigue bug could get through the process.
• Arrange/Sort items in the Live Marketplace better - While I haven't checked in awhile, there were quite a few games that had entirely too many related items for sale or download, making finding what you were looking for a bit tedious. Why not separate those items into subfolders? I remember at one point, you would have to scroll through tons of Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and Football gamer pictures just to see what else was available.
• Improve the ease with which Windows Media Player Connect can interface with the 360 - Neither I, my friends or the people at both 1-800-4MYXBOX or the general Microsoft Windows support line could ever figure out how to get it working on my system.

So that's my wish list, and I plan on tacking it onto the current thread over at the Major's blog. If you want to make your opinion heard, head over to the post at this link to put your 25 cents worth into the coin box.

XBOX LIVE ARCADE WEDNESDAYS: HEAVY WEAPON: ATOMIC TANK

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means... No wiseass, it's not Prince Spaghetti Day, it's time for a new Xbox Live Arcade title to hit the Marketplace. This week, Microsoft brings us PopCap's Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank, and I'll be the first one to admit that I don't know much about the game beyond the fact that it's been explained by many as being "like Metal Slug".

While I absolutely love the Metal Slug series, I'm always wary whenever people say something is "like" something else, because that usually means two things;

1. It's probably a cheap knock-off of whatever it's supposed to be mimicking - and therefore nowhere near as good.
2. There are enough fundamental differences that separate it from being the title it's apparently based on - probably enough to kill whatever concept makes the inspiration for it so special.

As with all Live Arcade games, this one will have a free demo available, so be sure to try before you buy. Here are the details as per Xbox.com;

Title: Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank
Developer: PopCap Games
Publisher: PopCap Games
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 1/17/07
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1-4
Xbox Live: Yes
HDTV Support: 720p
Full Game: 800 points ($10)
ESRB Rating: E10 (Everyone 10+)
Demo?: Yes

From the Xbox.com product description;

"Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank unleashes adrenaline-soaked side-scrolling shoot-'em-up arcade action. With a blast of retro eighties videogame chic, Heavy Weapon brings classic shooter action and explosive power to Xbox Live® Arcade.

Fight through 19 story-based missions to upgrade six different weapon banks, or jump into instant action with the blazing Survival mode. Grab your friends and storm across enemy lines in co-operative multiplayer modes! Are you ready for the furious fun of Heavy Weapon?

• Game modes: Prepare for three action-packed game modes: Mission, Survival, and the brand new Boss Rush mode!
• Mission: Play your way through 19 exciting missions, invading countries and beating challenging bosses along the way.
• Survival: How long can you last against ever-increasing waves of enemies?
• Boss Rush: Exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade, challenge all the bosses of Heavy Weapon in succession!
• Multiplayer mayhem: Jump in to intense multiplayer action with up to four players, exclusively in Xbox Live Arcade!
• Weapons variety: Use six upgradeable secret weapons on 19 missions with nukes, mega-lasers, and more.
• Online features: Enjoy voice chat with your friends while battling together. Online leaderboards let you track your mission results.
• Amazing visuals: The enhanced sound effects and original score draw you into the game. Prepare for expanded mayhem with full high-definition widescreen support."- Xbox.com

As for last week's release of Ms. Pac-Man, as I predicted, the 360's d-pad is the main detriment to the title and those 4 way control issues that virtually ruined Pac-Man are back in force. You have been warned. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING - is as frustrating as coming close to breaking a friend's high score but failing because you turned the wrong way thanks to poor controls. (Can you tell this happened to me a few times already?)

LAZY DAY TRAILERS: GOD OF WAR II PREVIEW

With tonight's midnight release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, it should come as no surprise that instead of a ton of news, you're getting a video. I lost interest with WoW awhile back, and I'm really interested to see if the expansion is going to renew my love of the game. I'm not leaving you in bad hands today though, as I've got a video from IGN's interview with Cory Barlog, director of God of War II, to tide you over while I get reacquainted with Azeroth.

Barlog touches a bit on the story and enhancements behind Kratos' second adventure while showing off some footage of the much anticipated title. Let's take a look;

While we're on the subject of God of War II and Cory Barlog, a recent post by Barlog in his blog (as pointed out by Kikizo Games) indicates that Sony may be getting ready to send out NTSC demo discs of the game. While his comments indicate he collected a list of people to send the demo out to some time ago, it wouldn't surprise me if Sony sent the same demo out to PlayStation Underground members as they did with the first game. As such, you may want to make sure your PlayStation Underground account sees some activity to ensure they know you're still around. (I've found that the more often you update your Underground account, the more often you get stuff from Sony)

God of War II will be released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 on March 13th, 2007 in North America and has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Here are some links for your surfing enjoyment;

• God of War II - Official website
• God of War II Hands-on - IGN
• IGN Interview with Cory Barlog - YouTube
• No God of War II Demo for Europe - Kikizo Games
• GOW2...Grandma Approved - Don't play games with me (Cory Barlog's blog)
• Wouldn't you like to know what this link is - I'm not telling, but it's funny.

Still no video support in the archives, so use the YouTube link above.

THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 2 MILLION POINT GIVEAWAY ENDS TODAY

Well gang, this is it - the last day of The Discovery Channel's 2 million point giveaway. If you're still looking to play, tonight's game is going to take a little more effort on your part. You'll need to watch the premiere episode of Future Weapons and then head over to the Future Weapons website after 10:01pm EST. Once there in addition to just giving your name and contact information, you'll need to answer a few questions about the episode you just watched. Here are some more specifics as per the Future Weapons website;

"To enter online, visit www.readyaimfuture.com after 10:01 P.M. Eastern Time (“ET”) on 1/15/07 (“Promotion Entry Period 2”) and follow all online entry instructions to complete and submit the online entry. Online entrants will be prompted to answer a question pertaining to the content of the Future Weapons premiere on Discovery Channel 1/15/07 9:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) to qualify for prize.  Online entrants subject to all notices posted online including but not limited to privacy policy." - Future Weapons contest rules

Good luck to all who have entered!