A new article on ExtremeTech pits antivirus software against some of the most demanding PC games around. AVG Free, BitDefender (GameDefender edition), Kaspersky and Norton (Gaming Edition) each face off against Crysis, Company of Heroes, Far Cry 2, Supreme Commander and World in Conflict.

ExtremeTech compared the performance of each game on a control system with and without each of the antivirus programs running. Between performance and price points you can get a fairly good idea of which of these software options are best for your gaming PC. Check out the final results from Gaming Performance Versus Antivirus Software on ExtremeTech.

Sega’s third Space Siege developer diary deals with the classic trade off off high tech enhancements for humanity. For each cyber upgrade you have installed on you character, say an eye for enhanced vision or a cybernetic limb, you lose a little piece of your soul.

Cyber Psychosis is by no means a new idea. It wasn’t even new when I was playing the original Cyberpunk P&P RPG. It only makes sense that the less you have in common with ordinary humans the less you can relate to them. Daniel Achterman, Lead Game Designer for Space Siege, describes how the concept is worked into game mechanics.

you can find the first two Space Siege dev diaries on FileFront.

Along with the new demo that was just released, Gas Powered Games has also unveiled this new video with creator, Chris Taylor, discussing their newest title, Space Siege. As you can imagine, the developers basically started with the core gameplay of their previous hit, Dungeon Siege, and then reworked it into a sci-fi setting. The game is mostly about action, but they did include many RPG elements and a special cybernetics system. Basically, the game’s story and difficulty will change depending on how much you choose to enhance your character with cybernetics. If you want to know more about the game, you should definitely check out the demo for it here.

Gas Powered Games has unveiled the first official trailer for their upcoming RTS/RPG hybrid, Demigod. The game will have you taking control of one giant unit (a “demigod”) who can then create other units for various tasks. The game will also feature some RPG elements as your main unit’s abilities can be upgraded, not to mention all the visuals look amazing. Considering this is being developed by the same studio behind Supreme Commander and being published by the same company behind Sins of a Solar Empire, this is definitely a game for RTS fans to keep an eye on.

Gas Powered Games’ boss Chris Taylor recently clarified his comments on Dungeon Siege 3 with CVG. Although he has said they would apply what they learned from Space Siege to Dungeon Siege, there aren’t any plans in place for a new title.

Taylor told CVG, “When asked if we were considering taking lessons learned from Space Siege back into the Dungeon Siege series, the answer was, yes.”

“We have not made any official announcements, or have any official plans, but we are kicking ideas around, and that’s no secret,” he said.

I love the Dungeon Siege series but I think its time has actually passed. I’d like to see them enhance it rather than crank out another carbon copy game based on Diablo.

via CVG

Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games spoke with Eurogamer Germany recently about a third Dungeon Siege game. Taylor made some interesting statements during the interview, one of which was that the developers were focusing on the single-player aspect of the game and he also talked about Space Siege which is also currently in the works.

“There will be some things that are very much like Dungeon Siege 1 and 2, but some things will be simplified. I am done with multi-character parties; I really think that it’s all going to be about a single hero. It’s too much to manage.”

Dungeon Siege was a classic style RPG for the PC (like all Gas Powered Games) which became a very popular title despite some complaints which were fixed with the sequel. Hopefully this one will be even better.

You can view the full interview on Eurogamer Germany by clicking through the link below, and thanks to the Google web translator, it is in English.

Via: Eurogamer Germany

Thanks to Ubidays, the news today has been overly saturated with media assets like screens and trailers and while we are a bit sorry for that, at least you get to see what the games are going to look like.

So in another effort to cram even more media down your throat, I present to you the new trailer for Space Siege. Just released today SEGA and Gas Powered Games sent this our way this morning, and if you are looking for a third-person action RPG game set in space – this may just be your cup of tea.

Space Siege takes place in the confines of the Armstrong, one of the few remaining colonization ships carrying the last bastions of human civilization after a devastating attack on Earth from an unknown alien race. Players will take the role of Seth Walker, a robotics specialist suddenly thrust into a struggle to save humanity from extermination. As the adventure progresses Seth is offered opportunities to sacrifice pieces of his humanity for cybernetic upgrades that will assist him in his mission to preserve the human race. But what price will he pay to save his own humanity? Only the player can decide Seth’s ultimate fate.

Incorporating cybernetic augmentations into its storyline, Space Siege explores the dilemmas faced while keeping one’s humanity in the face of adversity. Cybernetic augmentations can be performed on every part of Seth’s body. On the extreme end, players will be able to outfit Seth with cybernetic upgrades that will leave little or none of his original humanity intact. But this choice comes with the risk of alienating Seth from the people he’s trying to save. Players can also insist on preserving Seth’s humanity by not using upgrades, instead forging ahead clearing the Armstrong of its alien invaders with natural human ingenuity and strength. Such a decision will increase the difficulty of completing his mission of uncovering and eliminating the alien menace that’s bent on destroying the human race.

Space Siege features a storyline based upon the decisions the player makes throughout the course of the game. Based upon the cybernetic modifications the player chooses to make on Seth’s body, NPC’s will react and interact with the player differently and, ultimately, different story resolutions will be reached. Space Siege will feature a separate immersive co-op multiplayer mode allowing up to four players to create and experience a completely unique mission structure.

To get more Space Siege goodies and info, check out the official website here. You can expect to see it sitting on retail shelves come August 19th.

Gas Powered Games has announced that the release date for its upcoming Demigod video game has been delayed. Although the company had previously slated the game for a 2008 release, it changed projection to accomidate a “fully supported” beta this summer.

The good news is that Stardock is producing the game and plans to digitally distribute it sans on-disc copy protection.

“Forging our new partnership with Stardock is a big deal for all of us at GPG, and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” said Chris Taylor, founder and CEO of Gas Powered Games.

“Not only do we have a proven retail publisher, but we get to partner with a pioneer in the digital distribution space… A company that totally understands what kind of experience our customer wants and the quality game they demand. The whole proposition is truly refreshing.”

I’m all for waiting on a good game that has most of the bugs worked out, instead of putting up with a rushed released that still needs a lot of work.

Gaming Today has been following the developing details of Demigod as so far the game looks very promising. You can get more information on this real-time strategy with RPG leanings here. Also, check out the latest screenshots on FileFront.

via Eurogamer

As the release of the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 approaches, gamers are left wondering whether it’s worth all the trouble of a huge download and an anti-hack update when hotfixes can be manually downloaded from the Windows site. ExtremeTech has done some testing and found answers that might surprise you.

There is a marked difference in the efficiency of the SP1 media fixes as compared to the hotfixes. File operations tests show hardly any difference between the two. Company of Heroes and World in Conflict performance tests show a a performance gap between the hotfix and SP1. Supreme Commander and Crysis performance tests are more unclear and even surprising.
Get the full details and make an informed decision on whether to upgrade on ExtremeTech.

Chris Taylor from Gas Powered Games has reportedly stated that the team-based strategy PC title Demigod will probably end up on consoles after its initial release. When asked about the possibility of it being only a PC exclusive Taylor stated:

“That is actually up in the air. You could easily see that on the console. That’s got a very high likelihood of going to console.”

Taylor also reiterated SEGA’s comments on the possibility of Space Siege coming to consoles versions, and all but refused to rule out the idea. Rumors of this have been circulating the Internet for almost a month now, and William informed us of said rumors earlier this month. Although Taylor stated that: “There’s been no official word. No definite there… Anything can happen of course, in the future”, the hemhawing around of developers in the past have proven to be admissions of truth, because usually if it is only a rumor without substantial proof, they are usually quick to kill it.

Chris Taylor also stated that while Gas Powered Games has some other projects currently in development, he was keeping his lip zipped until E3 2008 where at least one project will be revealed. Could this be the next Supreme Commander expansion? Possibly, because they do have something in the works, but refuse to discuss it.

So what all of the “yes”, “maybe” and “no comment” statements mean is that Demigod and Space Siege will more than likely grace consoles next year and we can expect a Supreme Commander “expansion”, “new title”, or “who knows what” in the future as well. Don’t you just love it when developers give vague answers? All it does is lead to more internet rumors which do nothing but annoy the masses.

Thanks: Videogaming247