Bits And Bobs: Monday News Roundup

Digital Illusions has patched Battlefield Vietnam (probably using superglue - woof!) to version 1.01, a change that fixes a few basic GUI issues with the server browser, reduces lag to a certain extent and tweaks the prediction code so it's less jerky, and makes numerous other minor changes (including several concerning the poor old M60, which probably mouthed off out of turn and had its rate of fire restricted as punishment). More details are available in the readme file, or you can just go ahead and download the patch anyway. Server admin types (hi there! Love your work!) can find links to the standalone 1.01 server distribution here.

It's often hard to make a decent judgement about any game before you slap down the Yankee dollar and take it home, but it's even harder when it comes to MMORPGs - games you're not only expected to pay up front to play, but often have to continue paying for every month for as long as your interest holds up. Fortunately, there is an answer. And that answer is to ignore them until the publisher gives up trying to coerce you with advertising and runs a 14-day free trial. See Mum? Apathy does work. The latest MMORPG to cost you nothing for 14 days, then, is LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (divided between paying people and freeloading scum), which is available to FilePlanet subscribers for up to 14 days of free play until the end of July. Assuming you're a sub, you don't even need to whack in a credit card number unless you want to keep going. Highly free then, although you do have to pay GameSpy in order to get at it. Aha. Flaw in the plan there. [Idiot -Mother]

Fans of GBA Video, Majesco's "a bit like VHS except on a GBA cart and quite expensive" standard for distributing popular young person's entertainment to the masses, will be pleased to hear that FUNimation Productions' Dragon Ball GT will be appearing on GBA Video in both the USA and Canada. We're not quite sure which episodes or when or anything like that, but we thought we'd mention it because "FUNimation Productions" is the most ridiculous company name we've ever heard, perhaps even on a par with "Vertelligence, Inc.". Or, er, Eurogamer. Moving on.