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Black Cat Game's recently released UT2k4 mod, Alien Swarm, has been reviewed at Mod'n'mod and has been given a very favorable score of 9.4.

Alien Swarm has an excellent presentation. It has the best GUI I have seen (talking about professional quality design here), it provides players with lots of info and a tutorial, and it gets the atmosphere of the theme right, while its overhead view sets it appart from the rest of the modding world (especially when using a FPS engine). And it is co-op. So there is no excuse for you not to download Alien Swarm, unless you don't like good, fun games. That's all for now I guess, and as always...we uploaded some 38 screenshots for you!

I imagine the creators of Alien Swarm are feeling pretty proud right now. :)

Congratulations to Black Cat Games! Their UT2k4 mod Alien Swarm has been released today, and high praise abounds. Their website is offline at the moment, no doubt to being hammered with traffic, but the official forums have a thread with download mirrors.

Alien Swarm is a top-down squad-based multiplayer sci-fi shooter, developed by the taffers who brought us Thievery and are bringing is Nightblade.

As of this posting, the official demo for Thief: Deadly Shadows is available online.

Beware: It is very large (450M) and the Eidos-hosted file can be difficult to connect to... and it's a fairly slow transfer, from what I've noticed. Ideally, people will start BitTorrents and mirrors and such to increase availability.

For now, the official download can be had from Eidos, and we are collecting and updating alternate download locations as we become aware of them in our Discussion Forums

Developer Ion Storm seems to be "in transition"

According to TTLG sources the Austin-based studio has just seen the layoff of 20-25 people. Warren Spector has also left the company, and the rumour is that the studio's name will change.

[Edit by Dan] - I would not consider this news 'confirmed' by Shacknews or anywhere else you see it - it is simply different appearances of the same rumor as it spreads through the web. Also, 25 people leaving a company after a game is complete, especially a company of 80 employees, is not alarming news; in fact it is perfectly normal. Warren's leaving of ISA and the possible name change, however, will be two things we shall be keeping a close eye on.

Well, looks like non-NorthAmericans aren't SOL until June after all.
The demo for Thief: Deadly Shadows is -- barring horrific disaster -- going to be made available sometime on the 28th of May. Depending on what time I post this -- ah, okay... That would be today, then. Technically.

RedLegg over at Eidos says it will likely be up sometime before lunchtime in California (PST), will consist of the training level and the first mission, and will weigh approximately 450M.

When it is available, we will provide linkage info. Hopefully mirrors will abound... otherwise we'll just have to kill time at Planet WaitingLine or something.

If anyone is able or willing, start thinking about BitTorrent and other sharing solutions now.

Official Demo. 450M. Training Level & First Mission. May 28th.

I have finally finished my Xbox impressions of Thief: Deadly Shadows, which I got a chance to thoroughly play during my visit to Ion Storm a couple of weeks ago.

A couple of notes -- I did not cover all aspects of the game, as Dan had already wonderfully covered in his preview, so I mainly talk about Xbox-only topics and I lightly dive into the gameplay impressions and my overall thoughts of the game.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the article!

I've finished my complete hands on preview of Thief: Deadly Shadows. Even if you've been keeping up with all of my forum posts, there will still be things inside you have not yet read anywhere. Now, to quote myself...

Be clear about this from the start; unless you’re playing in expert, you’re not seeing the full extent of the new AI. Guards notice and will investigate many things; opened doors, doused lights, missing loot, pushed around furniture, and missing comrades. The sensitivity and reactions of the guards seemed to vary from area to area. For instance, the guards didn’t care when I threw around a half dozen crates in the cellar. However, when one of them found a chair in a formal dining hall pushed over, they began to search for trouble. There were many tense moments when I thought I was safe, only to have a guard grow angry when they noticed that a bit of loot I had just stolen was now gone, and they began to search for a thief. Also, a particularly delicious and satisfying moment occurred the first time a guard noticed that his comrade was absent from his post, due to my intervention.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone at ION Storm for their hospitality. And I hope everyone finds the article informative and interesting!

Hey guys. :) Just wanted to share some PR we're sending around for Alien Swarm.

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From Black Cat Games, the creators of Thievery UT and the upcoming Nightblade, comes Alien Swarm, their newest total conversion for Unreal Tournament 2004.

Alien Swarm is a top down, tactical shooter for 1-8 players. Choose from eight marines, with different specialties - medical, technical or weapons specialists. Fight off the Swarm to increase your skills and earn medals of valor for superior performance. Control multiple marines, or just one. Play by yourself or cooperatively with your friends. Play single missions, or the full campaign.

Alien Swarm is scheduled to be shown for three consecutive days at the NVidia showcase at E3 this year.

Check out Alien Swarm at http://www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/ . Check out the latest screenshots, and the newest trailer, now available for download (DiVX required; the trailer can be downloaded with bittorrent or via direct download).

Tired of FPS? Try something different. Try Alien Swarm. Coming Summer 2004.

- Kris "Hanse" Sutton


"I just got done playing your mod with the crew here and wow, what a thrill. That has to be the best co-op experience I've ever played." - Joe Wilcox, Epic Games

The talented folks at Black Cat Games, makers of Thievery and Nightblade, have released a trailer for their third project in development, a top-down co-op action game called Alien Swarm. Looks very pro to me, in a seriously old school way.

VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES AND IRRATIONAL GAMES TEAM-UP TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME IN THE UPCOMING SWAT(TM) 4

VUG Enlists Award Winning Irrational Games to Develop Latest SWAT Title LOS ANGELES, CA (April 28, 2004) -- Vivendi Universal Games sets its sights on the latest edition of the popular SWAT franchise with the announcement of SWAT 4. Developed by Irrational Games, SWAT 4 allows players to take control of a squad of up to five police officers tasked with performing dangerous operations such as high-risk arrests, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism. As the unit's commander, players must follow authentic police tactics as they breach and clear a concrete jungle filled with armed felons and innocent bystanders alike. SWAT 4 is expected to ship in Q1 of 2005 and has not yet been rated by the ESRB. "We are working collaboratively with Irrational Games on SWAT 4 to develop one of the best games in its genre," says Michael Pole, EVP, Worldwide Studios, Vivendi Universal Games. "SWAT 4 delivers a tactical first-person squad-based shooter experience that is a worthy successor to this hit franchise." Featuring graphics courtesy of the Vengeance engine powered by Unreal, SWAT 4 delivers 16 authentic environments set in stunningly rendered locations representing a wide variety of operational environments. Realistic ballistics and Havoc defined object physics will further heighten the experience for the player by providing an added layer of atmospheric authenticity. As a S.W.A.T. officer, players will have access to authentic assault gear including tactical mainstays such as the Colt M-4 carbine, the Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun and Surefire tactical lights. However, as with their real-world counterparts officers in SWAT 4 have to hit hard and fast in order to take down the bad guys and keep the innocent out of harms way. SWAT 4 will also ship with three competitive multiplayer modes as well as a cooperative campaign mode.

About Irrational Games Irrational Games is the award winning developer of System Shock 2. Irrational Games has studios in Boston, MA and Canberra, Australia comprised of dedicated designers, programmers, artists and business facilitators. Irrational team members have worked on some of the premier titles of the industry, including Thief: The Dark Project, Ultima Underworld and System Shock. Founded in 1997, Irrational Games is dedicated to bringing deep RPG and strategy games to both the PC and next-generation console markets. In the words of co-founder Ken Levine, "While continuing to deliver outstanding, content-rich PC titles, Irrational is now also poised to bring their unique sensibility to the world of console development."

About Vivendi Universal Games Headquartered in Los Angeles, VU Games is a global developer, publisher and distributor of interactive products for all major platforms including PCs, video game consoles and the Internet. VU Games development studios and publishing labels include Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, Massive Entertainment and Sierra Entertainment. Additionally, VU Games co-publishes and/or distributes titles for a number of strategic partners, including Interplay, inXile entertainment, Majesco and Mythic Entertainment.