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February 2001
Wednesday, 28. February 2001 |
Three more reviews - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 16:08 |  |
 | Another three full reviews have popped up today, all are very detailed and make for good reading:
FullOn3D - a whopping great review, goes into great depth and very balanced. 8\10
PC.IGN - again, detailed and well balanced. 8.8
GameRush - moans about control a bit, but doesn't let it cloud his judgement :-) 80% |
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Tuesday, 27. February 2001 |
OpenGL Renderer - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 17:04 | | |
| Rebel Act have released the (alpha) OpenGL raster for Severance\BoD, you can grab it from our downloads page.
Please note that this is unsupported, but may be of some use if you're having trouble with D3D. Rebel Act promise to release another version soon, with many of the minor problems ironed out. Be sure to read the readme before using it.
If you're interested in my own personal findings with the renderer, check out this thread on the official forums (this is only some musings after a brief play around, so don't assume this is a controlled trial of the renderer!). I'd also like to encourage anyone else who tries it to post your results and opinions on the same thread. |
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Monday, 26. February 2001 |
Official forums are back! - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 13:36 | | |
| Anyone who noticed that the offical Rebel Act forums have been been on the blink since yesterday will be pleased to know that they are now working again.
If you haven't visited before why not check them out. There are topic areas for general Severance\BoD discussion, editing, support, spoilers (help if you're stuck!), Arena and more, and you'll most likely make some friends while you're at it :-) |
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Sunday, 25. February 2001 |
Review at GameOver - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 22:29 | | |
| US site GameOver have reviewed Blade of Darkness, and though they only give it 73% overall it's a pretty positive review and an interesting read (oh, except for a misinformed and very misleading description of multiplayer!). |
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Friday, 23. February 2001 |
French Review - posted by Warlock @ 13:18 | | |
| French gaming site JeuxVideo has a review of Severance up on their site, giving it a very respectable score of 17/20. |
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Eurogamer Review - posted by Warlock @ 12:39 | | |
| There is a new review up on Eurogamer. It's a well done review and probably your best bet if you're still wondering if Severance is the right game for you. Here's a snippet:
What makes Severance really shine though is that each of these characters follows an entirely different path through the game, so while the dwarf starts the game battling his way through a string of mines and fortresses that have been over-run by orcs, the knight begins in a prison cell having been captured by a traitor and must escape from a castle before continuing his quest. Effectively you are getting four games in one, with different missions, maps, special attacks and tactics for each of the characters. |
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Blade Special! - posted by Warlock @ 10:54 | | |
| Spanish gaming and community site area66 has a big ass coverage of Blade with tons of info, screens, interviews and...stuff. The whole lot is packed in a wonderful design and presentation, so be sure to check it out!
If your Spanish is a bit rusty, be sure to stick a babelfish in it. |
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Thursday, 22. February 2001 |
New Poll - posted by Warlock @ 12:58 | | |
| Time for a new poll! Now that the game is out we're asking all of you, who got the game already, which of the four characters did you end up playing? Please don't vote unless you have actually played the game. |
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Wednesday, 21. February 2001 |
Stomped Interview - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 18:19 | | |
| Stomped have posted a Q&A with Juan Diaz-Bustamante, covering lots of topics including AI, weapons, multiplayer, the game engine and more. Here's an interesting quote about Codemasters approach to marketing the game: Stomped: Blade of Darkness is being promoted as a very bloody and gory game. How do you feel about violence in gaming in general and in your game in particular?
Diaz-Bustamante: I must say that I don't feel very comfortable with that approach. Blade of Darkness is not a violent game. I mean, we are not looking for gratuitous violence. Blade of Darkness is a realistic game, an epic adventure game. It means that you have close combat with swords and so on, and if you want to make it realistic, you need blood and mutilations....
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2 new reviews - posted by Warlock @ 15:51 | | |
| There's a brief review up on DailyRadar UK where lack of strafing and too low paced action is turned into a big issue and takes up half the text, but otherwise it seems positive (not quite sure what they thought really...).
German gamingsite GameSurf, on the other hand, are very positive in their review, scoring 9/10 and awarded "GameSurf TopTitel".
Stick a BabelFish in your ear if needed! |
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Tuesday, 20. February 2001 |
Blade of Darkness in stores already - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 23:27 | | |
| We've heard that Blade of Darkness has already started appearing in some stores in North America, and other people are being told by their local game retailers that it will be on the shelves tomorrow :-) |
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Review @ Gamesdomain - posted by Warlock @ 9:16 | | |
| Gamesdomain has their review of Severance up along with some new screenshots (thanks eXteR). Here's something you ought to know (if you havn't played the demo): More interestingly, there's a stamina bar that decreases with each attack. Using a weapon that is too heavy for your character will cause it to deplete rapidly and leave you standing breathless and vulnerable. This forces players into a more thoughtful fighting style than, say, Oni - the button-bashers will soon find themselves lying on the floor, probably with something less than a full complement of limbs. |
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Sunday, 18. February 2001 |
Gamespy: 20 Questions With Juan - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 21:01 | | |
| The latest installment in Gamespy's series of interviews with developers is 20 Questions with Juan Díaz -Bustamante, talking briefly about the development scene in Europe, life before Rebel Act and the game itself. |
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SOTD - posted by Warlock @ 20:25 | | |
| In this screenshot (although it's not as clear as in actual gameplay) you can see two shadows generated by standing in front of two lightsources. Pretty cool, eh? |
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SOTD - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 0:47 | | |
| A bit late today, sorry. Check out the newest shot on the screenshots page. Keep the requests coming in for screenshots - tonights shows off the rippling effect in the water (and it looks even better when it's moving, believe me :-) |
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Saturday, 17. February 2001 |
Avault First Impressions - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 20:33 | | |
| Avault have jotted down their first impressions of Blade of Darkness, and very positive they are too. The article is also accompanied by a few choice screenshots. Here's a snatch: When battling others, one of the guilty pleasures lies in the opportunity for dismemberment. Frequently, I was able to severe the limbs of my adversaries and behead them as well. In fact, you can continue to mutilate an enemy's body after the victim is dead which could, in the spirit of wry humor, serve as a lesson to those who were particularly frustrating to defeat. |
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Friday, 16. February 2001 |
Juan on possible bans - posted by Warlock @ 17:30 | | |
| FGN Online has talked with Juan about the issue of Blade of Darkness being banned in Sweden and now also in Spain.
"I've just received a report from Codemasters, and it seems that the larger chains of Sweden are refusing to stock the game due to its mature rating," Juan told us. "We really don't like it, as we never intended to create a violent videogame."
Seems like there might be some more ground to our original report (story) than suggested by the Codemasters representatives in Scandinavia (story). Read FGN's full interview here. |
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Review at Gamesweb - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 16:03 | | |
| German site Gamesweb have reviewed Severance: Blade of Darkness, giving it a massive (and well deserved) 91%. The three page review is accompanied by some nice new screenshots too. If your German is as bad as mine, here's a link to babel fish. |
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SOTD - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 12:43 | | |
| Another day, another beautiful screenshot from the full version of Severance: Blade of Darkness. Check it out on the screenshots page...
Which character do you want to see tomorrow? Why not email us or use the comments feature below. |
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IGN Countdown: Day 3 - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 11:52 | | |
| Day 3 of PC.IGN's Severance\BoD countdown discusses the diverse and beautiful environments found in the game: Perhaps one of the most talked about aspects of the action/adventure title Blade of Darkness is the incredible amount of time that was spent on blending textures, architecture and lighting to create incredible mood and believable environments where gamers can adventure. |
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Screenshot of the day - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 0:30 | | |
| As promised we've posted another new screenshot, click the thumbnail on the right hand column on this page. |
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Thursday, 15. February 2001 |
Severance in Sweden: Update - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 16:34 | | |
| We've now heard from Codemasters in Scandinavia, who say that there is no problem with retailers refusing to give shelf space to Severance due to it's 18 certificate, and that they are planning a "massive launch in Sweden".
We sure hope they're right, and that everyone can look forward to seeing the game on store shelves near them on or soon after the 23rd. |
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Severance Boycotted in Sweden? - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 11:57 | | |
| This morning we received information from an anonymous source that Swedish retailers have decided not to stock Severance: Blade of Darkness on their shelves. Now, it seemed pretty unlikely that Swedish game retailers would all join together in a national boycott of the game, but nevertheless we couldn't dismiss the possibility. Codemasters have denied that there is any sort of organized boycott in Scandinavia, but have disclosed that there are indeed "problems with some of the major retailers, who consider the game to be too violent", and admitted that the 18 certificate is causing them problems in certain countries. This is in spite of the fact that Severance has received rave reviews in the Scandinavian media.
Nevertheless this certainly doesn't equate to a ban, so if gamers find they can't even buy it from smaller independant retailers, they will certainly be able to order it from overseas. If you're in Sweden why don't you give your local game store a call and ask them about it? Even try to pre-order it, and put some pressure on them :-)
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Wednesday, 14. February 2001 |
Return of the Screenshot of the Week! - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 15:14 | | |
| ...only it will be a little more regular than that. We decided that in order to keep your appetites for Severance\BoD goodness well and truly satisfied it was about time we posted some brand new screenshots (well, everyone else is doing it). So, until next Friday (release day!) we'll be posting a new screenshot every day from the full version of Severance:Blade of darkness. You will find today's shot has already appeared over to your right, beautifully presented for your delectation with a garnish of freshly diced orc (click the thumbnail and it's the first shot on the page). |
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More Screenshots - posted by Warlock @ 10:14 | | |
| Eurogamer has posted another batch of new screenshots, taken from their review copy. Pretty cool ones too I might add! |
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Countdown at IGN.PC! - posted by Warlock @ 10:04 | | |
| IGN.PC has started the countdown for Blade of Darkness to be released. This means they'll be posting another feature every day until the release date next week! The first installment (which was posted the 13th) gived you a closer look at the available characters. Expect a new feature later tonight!
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Tuesday, 13. February 2001 |
Multiplayer Shots - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 18:40 | | |
| Stomped have been sent three screenshots from Severance\BoD Arena mode. Can anyone honestly tell me they aren't dying to use this sword?! |
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IRC - posted by Warlock @ 18:02 | | |
| We've set up a new IRC channel on EF-NET, which I hope we can all start using.
Here's the info you need:
Net: EF-NET
Channel: #severance (type: /j #severance)
Bot: @TamCanDie
I will try to set up a web-based client from Blade Universe in the near future.
You can find more info on IRC here:
http://www.irchelp.org/
If the channel is left unused for too long, the bot will probably be taken away, so now you know where to hang out while waiting for the game to be released (and after)! |
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Screenshots - posted by Warlock @ 17:43 | | |
| Area66 have posted a new image of the day (look in the upper right cornor on their newspage), something they will continue doing until the game is released. So far they have posted 5 images.
Telefragged (and several other sites) has posted 3 shots taken from the multiplayer in Severance. |
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PlayNow Interview - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 11:48 | | |
| Australian site PlayNow have conducted a short interview with Juan: PN: Severance: Blade of Darkness combines action, adventure and RPG elements. Was that an easy goal to achieve?
JD-B: It was not easy, but from the very first moment we wanted to create a kind of "complete genre", a game that were able to feature many elements from different genres. Something we wanted from the beginning was realism, the player really thinking he or she was in the middle of a huge adventure. Check out the full interview here. |
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Monday, 12. February 2001 |
GameSpot Goodies - posted by Warlock @ 23:56 | | |
| GameSpot UK have posted some new great concept art along with a video clip (which I've seen before somewhere) of in-game footage, available in three sizes. |
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Review @ Krawall - posted by Warlock @ 15:57 | | |
| Krawall has a review up of Severance (yes, of course it's in German) along with some pretty screenshots. The review is overall very positive although it seems like the reviewer wanted more of the story and RPG elements. Verdict: 88% |
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Review @ 4Players - posted by Warlock @ 8:59 | | |
| Another German review has popped up at 4Players. I'm not too steady in German, but I do understand: "Ein neuer Stern glänzt am Actionhimmel!" Final verdict is 92%! |
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Sunday, 11. February 2001 |
Severance: First Impressions - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 11:04 | | |
| I know the 23rd can't come to soon, so I hope this will help pass the time a bit. We've posted a short article based on first impressions of the full game, along with a dozen screenshots (which aren't great, sorry, I was too busy playing the game to worry about that, plus I forgot to turn FSAA on :-)
Anyway, please check it out and feel free to make comments. |
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Multiplayer in US demo - posted by Warlock @ 0:26 | | |
| Masklin2 just announced an updated version of his neat hack/mod, which enables multiplayer in the US version of the demo. For more information, read this post over at the official forums. It's good fun while we wait for the game to be released February 23rd, but beware, this mod will disable normal play in the demo. |
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Saturday, 10. February 2001 |
Demo Review - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 18:01 | | |
| I can't tell for sure if this is old or new, but Blues have just posted it today so I guess we're in good company...Head 2 Head have put up a very positive review of the Blade of Darkness demo with a couple of screenshots. Thanks Bourrie.
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Friday, 9. February 2001 |
Review @ .tv - posted by Warlock @ 0:34 | | |
| There's a review of Severance on the tv-show "Game Over" on ".tv", where it is described as a "surprisingly deep and well-crafted game that will have you playing again and again". Severance scored 90% in this review, which is also available online with a video clip of some in-game action. |
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Thursday, 8. February 2001 |
Review @ Glidenweb - posted by Warlock @ 23:51 | | |
| Severance, Du bist der König! That's what German gaming site Glidenweb thinks of Severance in their review of the retail version. The review is in German so I'm not going to quote anything, but it recieved a 91% score! Along with the review are some new screenshots and a nice concept artwork I hadn't seen before :-) |
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Wednesday, 7. February 2001 |
Interview - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 21:57 | | |
| Computer and Video Games have posted a short interview with Juan Diaz-Bustamante discussing Severance, it's sequel and the online RPG game being developed at Rebel Act. Here's a snippet: What can you tell us about the sequel you're already preparing?
JDB: "It will offer many new features, as well as others that we didn't have time to include in the Severance, including a multiplayer game."
Why was the decision made to hold off on console versions until the second game? What do you think you can get out of Xbox and PlayStation 2 that you couldn't accomplish on a PC?
JDB: "We are basically a PC developer. But we have to be realistic as a company and Severance: Blade of Darkness will be our last PC-only game."
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Tuesday, 6. February 2001 |
Winamp Skin - posted by Warlock @ 21:48 | | |
| DJChava has created a new Winamp skin for all us Blade fanatics to use. The skin comes in English and Spanish versions, both which can be found in the downloads. |
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More Screenshots - posted by Warlock @ 20:48 | | |
| Eurogamer has added ten screenshots to their Severance gallery. One of these shots shows off a pretty cool looking monster (troll?) that I just can't wait to tear appart! |
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New Severance Movies - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 17:40 | | |
| You thought it was all confirmed, but not until now! Read this thread on the Rebel Act forums for Juan's announcement today that all of the masters have been approved (meaning every different language edition), and the release date is definitely Feb 23rd, so Severance is well and truly gold now :-)
To mark the occasion Codemasters have released two little movies of in-game footage in three different formats, varying sizes and two age ratings (one movie is censored, the other is for over 18's only). The quality isn't great, but there are some excellent sequences including some beautiful slow motion combat and more snippets of multiplayer mode. Definitely worth the small download(s). |
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Monday, 5. February 2001 |
New Screenshots - posted by Warlock @ 9:39 | | |
| Gamerush has posted 10 new screenshots taken from the early parts in the game and the four available characters. |
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Sunday, 4. February 2001 |
Vote Now! - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 20:40 | | |
| OK, in an embarrassing case of posting-news-whilst-in-a-hurry, it seems that I failed to notice that the full list of entrants was already up (even though I only got the news about the article this morning). So just to clear things up, all the shortlisted games for the most anticipated RPG of 2001 are now up, and the voting booth is open. So what're you waiting for? Register your vote :o)
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Vote for Blade of Darkness - posted by Dr.Haggard @ 11:33 | | |
| RPG Planet have begun the Most Anticipated RPG of 2001 battle, consisting of a shortlist of 14 games fighting it out for the title of the ultimate RPG of 2001. We will be able to vote for our favourite tomorrow, but the first 8 games have gone up today and Blade of Darkness is one of them, so head over and take a look (and don't forget to go back tomorrow and vote!). |
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Friday, 2. February 2001 |
Release Date - posted by Warlock @ 19:04 | | |
| Eurogamer has recieved their review copy of Severance (Now where the hell is our copy damnit!) and along with it Codemasters affirm the release date of 23. February. Expect the reviews popping up within the next two weeks... |
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