Archived News:
Left 4 Dead Blog has a "worlds collide" post (presumably written by independent George) highlighting a bunch of mash-ups in celebration of the pending release of The Passing DLC where Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 will collide. They also announce that the release of The Passing will come to pass next week, as they say: "Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing is coming out next week and we will be updating the blog next week with more news on the release."
Steam News announces a 75% off sale on Madballs in Babo:Invasion and a free play weekend for the indie action game: "Play Madballs in Babo:Invasion for free this weekend and experience true multiplayer mayhem madness. Then when you are ready to buy save 75% this weekend only. To play for free install steam first, then download the game here."
Closed beta 2 is now underway for Erebus - Travia Reborn, a free online action/RPG from Outspark. As an enticement, they are giving away an iPod and an iPad to a couple of testers. Here's word on the game: "Erebus: Travia Reborn is Outspark’s new free-to-play MMO Action/RPG, which is being described on Outspark’s forums as 'Free-ablo.' With a dark, sweeping storyline and non-stop action, Erebus is a reimagining of the hit classic MMORPG Travia, with new features designed and created specifically for North American and European audiences. Some of the exciting new additions include updated graphics, new skills, large scale PvP, a new story, new maps and much more. The game has also been optimized to run on gaming rigs and netbooks alike, so your readers can play at home or on the go."
Steam News announces the availability of a new automatic patch for the Steam edition of Zombie Driver, the undead driving game. They jump right past yesterday's version 1.12 patch by offering version 1.13, which improves game stability on some system configurations and adds support for non-English characters in Twitter messages.
A post on Steam News informs us a new patch for Mount & Blade: Warband is now automatically available. Again, this leapfrogs today's version 1.110 patch by offering a later version 1.111, which is also available in manual form on the TaleWorlds Website. The patch notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
A new update for Global Agenda is now available on Steam, updating the multiplayer shooter from Hi-Rez Studios. The update explains that this adds a new Alliance vs Alliance Zone called Rook, saying this opens on Monday, April 16 in place of the Warlord Zone. There is obviously some confusion, as today is April 16, and is not a Monday, but presumably it will all work out as intended.
Another new patch is now available for Supreme Commander 2, Gas Powered Games' real-time strategy sequel. In contrast with the pair of major updates released this week, this update is minor, as Steam News explains it fixes an issue where air transports failed to drop units in campaigns. Also on Steam is a new version 1.3 of Sol Survivor.
Direct2Drive Spring Sale Week One: "Direct2Drive will be giving gamers $15 in store credit when they spend $75 or more on any titles site-wide during the Spring Sale."
- Madballs in Babo:Invasion on Steam. Save 75%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
Continue here to read the full story.
TaleWorlds now offers a new version 1.110 client for Mount & Blade: Warband, their action/RPG sequel, which also serves as a trial version of the game. Also now available is their Module System, which contains the files necessary to create new Warband modules. Downloads of the client update patch are mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, The Patches Scrolls, WorthPlaying. The full client/demo is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and WorthPlaying. The new dedicated server is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and WorthPlaying. Finally, the version 1.105 Module System is mirrored on AtomicGamer.
Patches for M.U.D. TV is now available to update to version 1.07 the English and German versions of this game based on running your own television station. There's an English patch available on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. The full German patch is available on The Patches Scrolls and WorthPlaying, and there's also a smaller incremental German patch to update the previous version 1.06 on The Patches Scrolls and WorthPlaying.
A patch for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City is now available, updating the newly released PC edition of the open-world expansion to version 1.1.1.0. The new version is said to offer improved memory management and a fix for a "RESC 10" error that occurred under specific hardware configurations. The download is available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying.
NCsoft and ArenaNet announce Guild Wars Beyond, an epic in-game event to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Guild Wars that also lays the groundwork for the upcoming release of Guild Wars 2, their online action/RPG sequel. Guild Wars Beyond is described as "an ongoing campaign that expands upon the Guild Wars storyline by focusing on key characters and events that are destined to make history leading up to Guild Wars 2." The first such event will be the War in Kryta, which "sweeps players up in a savage struggle between the oppressive White Mantle zealots and the Shining Blade rebels for the fate of Kryta." Word is: "Guild Wars Beyond allows players to experience the War in Kryta from the very beginning to its fateful finale through an intriguing viral campaign, a website that enhances the storyline, and with gripping new in-game content. They’ll join the battle for Kryta by participating in exciting quests, taking part in decisive battles, and by purchasing the new White Mantle and Shining Blade costumes for their character. Guild Wars players will literally take part in history, as the War in Kryta has a profound effect on the world of Guild Wars 2."
A new update on the Star Wars: The Old Republic Website offers another history lesson based on the Star Wars universe to lead up to the launch of the upcoming Star Wars MMORPG in a new timeline holorecord narrated by Master Gnost-Dural (actor Lance Henriksen) called Peace for the Republic? This looks at a period of peace in the galaxy, as word is: "The centuries immediately preceding the Great War were thought to be one of the most peaceful eras in Republic history. As he dives deeper into the galaxy’s history, Master Gnost-Dural discovers new evidence that suggests the dark influence of the Sith Empire was seeping into the Republic even then. Gnost-Dural’s latest report isolates one historical incident which suggests there was a Sith Lord pulling strings within the ranks of the Jedi decades before the war even began."
CompuExpert announces that the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures will be released in North America as part of a new retail bundle along with the full version of Funcom's barbaric MMORPG. Word is: "In addition to the expansion pack, the retail box also includes the award-winning full version of 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures', complete with the numerous updates that have been added to the game since launch, such as new gameplay features, entirely new lands to explore and more. Thanks to these updates, online gaming website MMORPG.com awarded 'Age of Conan' with the 'Most Improved MMO of 2009' award earlier this year. Also included is the tamed puma, an exclusive in-game pet that is not available through any other channels. Retail customers will also receive an exclusive starter package containing several in-game items that will help them on their adventures through Hyboria."
VG247 quotes Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Max Béland saying Ubisoft's PC DRM, which requires a constant internet connection, is "vital" to their business. He said: "We consider that protecting our PC games is vital to our business, and will allow us to continue investing in the development of creative and innovative games on the PC platform." This is excerpted from a full interview with Béland, which is accompanied by the first 20 minutes of Splinter Cell: Conviction in video.
A post on the Team Fortress 2 Blog has Valve's take on the new Sam & Max items added to Team Fortress 2 by yesterday's patch for the teamplay shooter. They conclude by offering the Beavis and Butt-head joke we carefully avoided about the new Sam & Max episode: "So there's the loot, folks. Get over to Steam and take a look at The Penal Zone. (And to answer your question, no. We asked. It doesn't mean what we thought it meant.)"
PC Powerplay - 5 Steps To A Typical Gamer Reaction.
The most interesting aspect of all this is that we allow ourselves to believe the unbelievable so easily. I mean, we all secretly know that any franchise reboot will absolutely NOT be a carbon copy of the original but with better production values.
Instead, we allow ourselves to hope for the extremely improbable, and when our most deep-seated beliefs are proven right, we stop judging (it's still really pre-judging) games for what they are or could be. Instead, we call them out for not being what we desperately, and impossibly, WANT them to be.
IGN - Are Franchises Killing Gaming? Thanks Joker961.
Entering a development cycle that promotes endless sequels can provide great financial reward (Activision, we're looking at you) –but it can also cause the decay of the brands involved (Tony Hawk, oh how the mighty birdman fell to Earth!) – and it also discourages original game design and risk-taking. Those two points alone are causing a slow rot in the games industry, paralleling the film industry's increasing focus on big-tent pictures.
I dropped by the bank and the post office yesterday to complete the filing of our income taxes, and experienced no lines or waits at either stop, which seemed odd. I also found someone's lost checkbook at the bank, and had to remind someone at the post office he was forgetting his wallet, so even without the crowds, the tax-day pressure was obviously getting to some people.
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