The number four comes after three, right? Normally, yes. In the world of video games, however, it's not necessarily the case. Developers have taken on the "because I said so" school of thought in naming games, and id Software is among the best pupils of the philosophy. More in the full article.

At id Software's QuakeCon, John Carmack stole the show with a rather perplexing announcement: the iconic programmer predicted that the Xbox 360 version of their upcoming shooter Rage will look worse than the PC, PlayStation 3 and Mac versions. Find out why in the full article up next.

QuakeCon is back this 2008! Spurred by the success of last year's conference, QuakeCon will again host a string of events in Dallas, Texas. Who knows what announcement id Software will bring us this time? And most importantly, when will this event take place? Get more details of QuakeCon 2008 over the full article.

Ever since the game's unveiling at QuakeCon 2007, RAGE (PC, possibly multi-platform) has definitely become a technological feat worthy of its namesake. And although some roughed out details are now getting smoothed out, we've learned very little from the game's story or settings, or what id hopes to accomplish with the game.

id Software's Creative Director, Tim Willits, sat down with GameTrailers TV to expound on these particular issues, clarifying some gameplay separation between the gun-toting and gas-pedalling. It appears that the FPS-racing mix is a blend of modes integrated into one single mode, but the shooting mode seems separate from the desert racing. Willits gave the focus as 60% for FPS and 40% for racing, but since the game is still in development, a lot could change.

The pioneers of first-person shooters will be tying their games back down to the essentials: all-around fun, good versus evil plots, and arcade-action ease. And although this game has been fully confirmed for the PC (thus tying the Mac into the mix), the title was hinted to go "multi-platform" (hence the mention of it in the video) - minus the specifics.

QuakeCon is proving to be one hell of a ride so far and one of the highlights of this big bash is the unveiling of the new Enemy Territory: Quake Wars trailer. When you want to talk about making an impression, you don't look any further than this clip. Have a look:

Not a lot of games have the honor of following a franchise that defines a genre, but this one has the distinction of walking up to two sets of golden footsteps. For one, it's a follow up to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but it's also set in the same universe as Quake II and Quake 4. A bit confusing? You'll have to wait to see everything come together.

These colliding worlds will take place on the PC and rivalling platforms Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360. Similar to Quake III Arena, it focuses on multiplayer gameplay. Bots can be added to enrich the fun with huge maps, aircraft and vehicles.

A lot of heat is on id Software's latest title after the revelation at QuakeCon 2007, and we know what eye-candy lovers and high-end machines are on about. We're not sure how much of a racer-FPS mix Rage will be, but the engine behind it is 100% beef. We can't help but be amazed as John Carmack gave everyone a skinny on what Tech 5 has to offer.

It's almost undeniable that Rage looks insane, and we can give Tech 5 credit for that. In this video, Carmack demonstrates the engine's rendering capabilities. What we get is an environment made up of 80GB worth of uncompressed textures. Through some smart coding and Carmack's genius, the game should fit a single Blu-ray or 2 DVDs.

Developing for multiple platforms always posed technical challenges, but id may have found the groundbreaking solution. As shown in the videos, Rage is running on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Mac. According to Carmack, the Tech 5 engine takes away most problems multi-platform games encounter during development.

There are more reasons why Tech 5 may give Unreal Engine 3 a run for the money, so here's Carmack presenting id's new baby.

Part 2 after the jump!

There seems to be confusion with regards to publishing rights on id Software's upcoming Rage (PC, Mac OS X, PS3, Xbox 360). id Software's mainstay publisher is Activision, and many have assumed that they (Activision) will be the ones to release the game, especially its console versions.

It turns out though that the publishing rights still haven't been determined. Shacknews was able to get a hold of Tom Hollensend of id during the QuakeCon. He clarified that no deals have been signed yet between id and Activision. Now, despite this, a non-existent deal doesn't directly and automatically mean that Activision won't publish it. There still is the chance.

We're just hoping that they settle things already so that, finally, we get to even more footage of the game as it goes through development.

During the QuakeCon 2007, id Software has finally confirmed the release date for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Well, for the PC version, at least. Via press line, we learn that Europe will be getting the title earlier on September 28 of this year, while North America gets it a few days later on October 2.

No news yet on the release dates for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, as they're currently still being developed by Activision and Nerve Software respectively (the PC version is being done by Splash Damage).

What we do have, however, are screens for the game. This batch hails from Shacknews and, though there's just four of them, they pack quite a walloping punch in the graphics department. And mind you, these screens are HIIIYYUUUGE (given that you click on the thumbs, of course).

  

All the rage is on id Software's new title, Rage, but what is it exactly? Hardcore version of Mario Kart, or traditional sci-fi FPS with a slight mix of racing action? Well, pressure from killing all those people can pile up so a change in pace is always a good idea. Whatever's in store, we can say that id's Tech 5 engine made the game look hot.

QuakeCon 2007 had lots of goodies for attendees, and one of the crowd favorites would have to be Rage's trailer that raised eyebrows, stimulated intrigue, and made action fans hunger for more. We do see some racing and first-person shooting, but we're sure there's more than meets the eye.

Word has it that Rage will go multi-platform, and we'll keep you posted when any confirmations drop the press wire. Just put on your seat belt for now, here's the trailer:

Imagine Unreal Tournament populated with single or multi-manned vehicles, each contraption upgradeable with spoils of battle earned with every battle, race, or both. Twisted Metal meets Unreal Tournament 3? Perhaps. But reports coming in from the on-going QuakeCon 2007 were sure that id Software's John Carmack identified the game as Rage - a new (possibly multi-platform) game demonstrating id's new Tech 5 engine.

 

Now details are currently very scarce, as the presentation by Carmack was all about Tech 5, but a visual demonstration pitting what appeared to be similar to Unreal Tournament 2004's Scorpion assault buggy against other similar multi-manned vehicles played into many a speculative imagination - including the fact that it (just might) be available to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gamers, aside from Mac and PC gamers worldwide.

More information seems to be on the way as the prominent PC LAN fest continues toward August 5 - the anticipation culminating somewhere in-between when Carmack finally renders his keynote. But all that has been preempted with a short description regarding the "content" demonstrated with Tech 5. Rage was painted as a half running and shooting, half driving and destruction racing game, every aspect apparently focused on arcade action, team-play, and closed-track racing circuits.

According to IGN, the visuals were notably impressive. The demonstration touted the engine's graphical capabilities together with completely diverse detail emphasized, as the looped video coursed through the game's racing arena. More on this as the news whacks us back to Timbuktu. Keep your eyes glued to this space, folks!