Archived News:
A proper version of the demo for Painkiller: Resurrection is now available, after the accidental release of an older version of the demo last week. The sample of Homegrown Games' installment in the first person shooter series can be found on the JoWooD Entertainment Website and mirrored on AtomicGamer and Worthplaying. The game is also now available for purchase, and Steam is selling a Painkiller Collectors Pack that includes Resurrection as well as Painkiller: Black Edition and Painkiller: Overdose.
Got Game Entertainment announces November 11 as the North American release date for Worldshift, the "cyber-fantasy" real-time strategy game for Windows. Also, a new Worldshift Website is online with a new trailer, and here's a concise description of the game: "'Worldshift' takes you one thousand years into the future and into a colonized solar system and post-apocalyptic Earth where survivors have splintered into three factions. In co-operative player-versus-environment gameplay similar to MMOGs, your daily battles and missions for precious resources as Humans, Tribes, or Alien Cult will require a shift in thinking and a shift in strategy to prevail in this world shift."
The Command & Conquer Forums has a hint from APOC that beta testing for Command & Conquer 4 is near, and may be getting underway in November. The thread was started to ask when winners of the Name the Game and Unit contests would receive their beta keys, and here is how the C&C community manager replied: "Winners will start to get their Beta keys within the first two weeks of November. Simple enough answer for you guys =)." Thanks Ant via Command and Conquer DEN. EA_APOC also tweets: "If you're an RA3 premier edition owner, be on the lookout for a C&C 4 e-mail in November *hint hint*"
The Team Fortress 2 Halloween Special Page outlines what to expect from Valve's multiplayer shooter for Halloween, an event that's now underway. But wait! There's more: An update on the Team Fortress 2 Blog explains how to get your own Ghastly Gibus hat even though they've all been distributed. This Steam News update outlines all the changes with the Halloween update.
A Steam Community Left 4 Dead 2 Group Announcement gives instructions on how to add Explosive Ammo, Incendiary Ammo, Laser Sights, and a Grenade Launcher to the Windows Left 4 Dead 2 demo.
Steam News announces a new automatic update is live for Killing Floor, Tripwire Interactive's co-op shooter. The new version corrects a few errors, including an exploit and broken achievements. The update also optimizes game content to reduce memory usage and improve loading times.
A new patch for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 updates the sporting sequel to version 1.01. Word is the patch: "Adds 3 new features to Online mode: Legends, Community and Competition. Go to Online mode to make sure the new features are available on the menu." The patch can be found on the game's German forum and it is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and The Patches Scrolls.
The Dungeon Party Website announces an update has added new characters to Cyanide Studio's subscription-free MMOG, along with other new content. Word is: "We are pleased to announce that Dungeon Party has been loaded up with many new exciting features! Three new characters join the 4 (anti)heroes already in place, along with more than 10 new dungeons (over 20 total). A new environment, a new game mode and many new game variations, and last but not least the long-awaited Dungeon Editor are also coming into the game!"
Square Enix announces preorders are underway for A Shantotto Ascension, the upcoming add-on for FINAL FANTASY XI, the PC/console MMORPG. The expansion is available for purchase by registered PlayOnline users through the PlayOnline Viewer. Word is: "The third add-on scenario introduced to the FINAL FANTASY XI community in 2009, this new content is priced at $9.99, and gives fans of the series a re-introduction to one of the most beloved characters in FINAL FANTASY XI lore, the overbearing, ever-rhyming Doctor Shantotto. Check out the new trailer on the official site as well as the additional information on the new equipment!"
Ubisoft announces that CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Deadly Intent is now available in stores for all platforms, which includes Windows. Word is: "In CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Deadly Intent, players help solve Las Vegas' most gruesome crimes with the brand new characters and cast from the latest season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The video game features five shocking cases written with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television writers."
Uforia announces the arsenal of weapons that will be featured in Mercenary Wars, their upcoming online military shooter. Accompanied by a couple of screenshots, the announcement outlines 14 different weapons including assault riffles, submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles and machine guns.
A new Battlefield: Bad Company 2 trailer is now available promoting the just-announced limited edition of DICE's military shooter sequel. The trailer is available on FileFront and Gamer's Hell.
The GameRanger matchmaking software is now updated to include support for the Windows edition of Borderlands. This marks the 600th game supported by the Windows edition of GameRanger, which has only been available for a year. Here's word on Borderlands support: "Unlike the built-in service, GameRanger solves router and firewall network problems automatically, making it simple to host online Borderlands games with friends."
Ndoors announces the launch of open beta testing for a German edition of Atlantica Online, the first in a series of translations of their strategic turn-based MMORPG. The Atlantica Online Website has details on how to participate.
A Physics Rebel Shakes Up the Video Game World, Literally is an article about Kor-fx, an "acousto-haptic" device from startup Immerz to be released for PC gamers next year and console gamers sometime after that (thanks Slashdot). Of course it isn't actually a force-feedback bra, but it does involve a pair of transducers draped over the player's chest to create an enhanced sense of immersion by vibrating with the sounds of a game or movie. The article also has some background on the device's inventor, Shahriar Afshar, an Iranian-American physicist-turned-entrepreneur known in science circles for a controversial conclusion that refutes Niels Bohr's interpretation of wave-particle duality. Back to the Kor-fx device, here's a bit from the article explaining how this operates: Because the transducers vibrate in stereo, and because the human tactile system is pretty good at translating vibrations into directional information, it’s actually possible for someone wearing the device to sense which direction gunshots are coming from in a first-person-shooter game like Half Life, and even to feel events occurring “behind” them in the virtual world. Afshar calls this the “seventh sense.” (I’m not just repeating public-relations verbiage here—I’m one of the first journalists who has had a chance to try out the device, which adds an almost frightening level of you-are-there realism to both video games and action movies.)
There's a BioShock 2 video preview on IGN with their impressions of 2K Marin's upcoming shooter sequel. If that just whets your appetite for more BioShock 2 motion pictures, you're in luck, because here's more. Gametrailers has three video interviews: Combat Interview, Multiplayer Mechanics Interview, and Characters And Story Interview. And GameVideos offers a bunch of gameplay clips: Water Effects, Little Sister Encounter, Big Sister Battle, Big Daddy Battle, Fontaine's Center Multiplayer, Tea Gardens Multiplayer, and Neptune's Bounty.
GamesIndustry.biz has word that Jagex cancelled MechScape just prior to the release of this sci-fi MMOG, with Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard saying: "It got near completion and we discovered, oops, it didn't do all of those things that we wanted it to. So we went back to the original design document and said 'let's do it again'." He says their success with RuneScape allowed them to make this admittedly "expensive" decision: "Yes, it's a luxury that we are doing well and we can afford to make the decision. I didn't make the decision lightly because it's effectively cost us tens of millions of pounds. Maybe more." Jagex will be reusing the engine and some assets from the project for an unannounced upcoming project to be released within a "meaningful time frame."
EA Announces a Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition will be released along with the regular edition of DICE's upcoming military shooter sequel. The Limited Edition will have six customizations available from the start that must be unlocked in the standard edition (depicted in these screenshots). They are upfront in saying this will "give players a day one advantage in multiplayer matches," but the weird part is that this does not come at a premium; they say the Limited Edition will be the same price as the regular edition. Check it out: STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced a Limited Edition* release of Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2, the premier first-person shooter of 2010. The Limited Edition game features six special gameplay unlocks that give players a tactical advantage on the battlefield from the minute they fire up the game. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has been recognized by critics worldwide for its uncompromising action gameplay, unprecedented level of destruction, vehicular warfare, squad play and open sandbox environments in a modern warfare game. Available while supplies last, the Limited Edition version of the game will be sold at the same price as the standard version of the game with participating retailers in North America on March 2, 2010 and in Europe on March 5, 2010.
The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition delivers six special customizations early to give players a day one advantage in multiplayer matches. Four vehicle warfare unlocks will immediately enhance the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 best-in-class online vehicle warfare experience, delivering extra firepower, radar, and armor for the vehicles. Additionally, the tracer dart attaches to any enemy vehicle and allows RPG-toting teammates to track, lock on, and destroy their adversary. Seasoned veterans of Battlefield 1943™ will be able to immediately re-acquaint themselves with two classic and highly powerful weapons, the M1A1 submachine gun and the M1911 pistol.
* The Limited Edition will be sold while supplies last.
The World of Warcraft Website outlines a new dungeon system that will be part of the next content patch for Blizzard's MMORPG (thanks Ant). After the update the "looking for group" button will be replaced by a "dungeon" button offering a load of features, all described in detail. Here are the highlights: • Join as a Group or Solo
• Cross-Realm Instances/Grouping
• Instance Teleporting
• Smarter Group Matching
• Daily Random Dungeons
• Repeat Random Dungeons
• Choose Multiple Dungeons
• Vote Kick system
• Lovin’ the PUG Bonuses
• Looking For Raid
• Need Before Greed Updated
• Group Disenchanting
Following their recent countdown, MekTek.net now offers a new version 2.3 of Assault Tech 1: BattleTech, their free MechWarrior 2 remake. The release is accompanied by a beta version of MTX, the software distribution client that will facilitate the upcoming free re-release of MechWarrior 4. Here's word on Assault Tech 1: BattleTech: "Mechwarriors, the wait is over, choose your mech, choose your map, and choose your battle in 'instant action style gameplay, featuring classic BattleTech rules, in this latest standalone installment of MekTek's MechWarrior action-simulator. Since our last AT1 release, 2.3.0 features more Mechs, new weapons, new singleplayer maps and dozens of upgrades to our ICE engine including water, weathering, and vegetation rendering updates. AT1:BT is not only sure to satisfy the Mechwarrior's thirst for battlemech action but is also sure to satisfy any gamer's appetite for mech havoc."
There's a new North American launch trailer for Tropico 3 on GameTrailers, offering a history of Tropico Island through the decades. This doesn't really depict gameplay, it's more like a commercial for a tropical cruise.
A new trailer from Fort Zombie shows off more gameplay from Kerberos Studios' action/RPG that's due for release tomorrow. The clip outlines the game's basic premise, shows off some environments, and loads of zombie shooting, all at a smoother frame rate than the previous trailer. The clip is available on the YouTube.
Futuremark Talk Shattered Horizon on Rock, Paper, Shotgun talks with Antti Summala, lead programmer on Shattered Horizon, the upcoming zero-G shooter from Futuremark Games Studio. Topics include the game's steep system specifications, design challenges they've faced, their realistic depiction of outer space, and future plans.
Ars Technica - Modern Warfare 2: the case for the dedicated server.
The lack of dedicated servers also means Activision Blizzard controls what mods, if any, will be allowed. You can't control what maps are running on the server, and fan-made maps offered for free may be a thing of the past, replaced by for-pay content, if this model catches on. This changes the relationship between the community and the publisher: you used to be able to buy a house and move in, but now you'll have to ask permission to paint the walls of your rental. Which, by the way, is more expensive. To show you just how far Infinity Ward has come since the last Call of Duty in terms of embracing the PC platform, take a look at an interview shot for the first Modern Warfare.
In just a few short years, we've gone from embracing the mod-making and PC gaming community, to treating them like children who can't be trusted with nice things.
So I fired up Torchlight last night for a quick run around to see how it lives up to the Diablo comparisons. The gameplay mechanics are almost identical, and the differences are usually improvements. I ran around and killed stuff, performed some quests, and had lots of fun. Then I looked up and it was 2:00 am, the perfect proof that the game lives up to the comparison.
|
Twitter 
