Archived News:
An update on the Battlefield Blog announces the release of the PS3 editions of the new Onslaught gameplay mode for Battlefield: Bad Company over the course of today and tomorrow. They also provide a mild reassurance for Windows gamers that a PC edition is still under consideration, as they say: "Xbox 360 owners will be able to pick up Onslaught mode in the very near future and we are also still investigating the possibility of Onslaught coming to PC." Update: Apologies for listing the wrong developer at first: The parties responsible have been sacked.
The Just Cause 2 Website announces the release of the Tuk Tuk Boom Boom as free DLC for Avalanche Studios' open world action game, which takes your mundane Tuk Tuk and enhances it with a healthy dose of Boom Boom. Word is the free DLC is available now on Steam, Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and PSN Store. They also announce that all the preorder bonus DLC is now available for everyone else to purchase. The one exception is the Chaos parachute, which they apologetically explain was a "one off."
Steam now offers sales of the Peninsular Campaign for Napoleon: Total War, Creative Assembly's Napoleonic real-time strategy game. Word is: "The Peninsular Campaign Downloadable Content is a new and independent campaign for Napoleon: Total War based on the conflict in the Spanish Peninsula between 1811 and 1814. It was during this era that the Spanish resistance gave their style of fighting its name: Guerrilla, or the 'little war'." They also announce the availability of a new patch for the game, for which the extensive patch notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
The City of Heroes Website has word on plans to release City of Heroes Going Rogue on August 17, offering a Bizarro World take on the superhero MMORPG. Word is: City of Heroes Going Rogue is the second paid expansion in the City of Heroes® franchise. For the first time in any super-powered MMORPG, the moral choices players make will affect their characters' game play experiences. Heroes can fall from grace to become Villains, while Villains can redeem themselves to become Heroes. In addition, players can now access the alternate universe of Praetoria where they can enjoy new missions, zones, costume sets, fight new villain groups, and play with new power sets including Demon Summoning, Dual Pistols, Electric Control and Kinetic Melee.
Steam News notes that it's the tenth anniversary of the release of Deus Ex, ION Storm's highly regarded action/RPG. To celebrate, they are offering a 75% discount on the Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition, Deus Ex: Invisible War or the Deus Ex Collection, which bundles the two games.
Thanks Acleacius, Ant, and Devicer.
Link of the Day: The Devuvuzelator. A free app from Stardock to allow you to filter out the vuvuzela sounds when streaming World Cup games on your PC.
A story on PC Gamer from last week has word that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will be using Steamworks for copy protection and other functions, as Square Enix and IO Interactive are dropping the Games for Windows support used on its predecessor, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Saying the first Kane & Lynch "was nearly impossible to play online due to GFWL's crappiness," they asked IO Interactive's Kim Krogh if they would have similar problems with the sequel, and were told: "No, for that reason. We’re using Steamworks." Earlier this month Bethesda revealed they are using Steamworks on Fallout: New Vegas. Thanks Big Download.
NPD Group announces its latest market research into gaming trends, saying that U.S. consumers spent $10.5 billion on new physical video game software in 2009 and an additional $4.5 to $4.75 billion on used games, rentals, subscriptions, digital full game downloads, downloadable content, and mobile game apps. These figures are actually a bit low, as they do not include social network gaming, with industry analyst Anita Frazier saying: "Consumer spending on social network games like those offered by Facebook would push this estimate even higher."
An update to World of Warcraft brings Blizzard's fantasy-themed MMORPG to version 3.3.5. The new version includes The Ruby Sanctum, a new 10- and 25-player raid dungeon featuring Normal and Heroic difficulties and adds Real ID, a voluntary and optional bit of identity protection, described like this: "Real ID is a completely voluntary and optional level of identity that keeps players connected across all of Battle.net. When you and a friend mutually agree to become Real ID friends, you'll have access to a number of additional features that will enrich your social gaming experience in new and exciting ways." The Current Patch Notes have further details on the new version, here is a preview of The Ruby Sanctum, and this page has more details on Real ID. A manual version of the patch for the US/Aus English client is available on ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, FilePlanet, and The Patches Scrolls.
World War II turn-based grand strategy game Making History II: The War of the World is now available in stores, announces developer Muzzy Lane. The game features single-player play, multiplayer support, and a strong social component, as described in this excerpt: The game is a return to fun communal board games coupled with the latest social networking functionality. The current making-history.com website supports personal user pages, a web-enabled messaging system, friend lists, and more. When the game hosting service launches this summer it will add leaderboards, multiplayer matchmaking, persistent hosted games, and group management support to the site. In addition to the usual head-to-head gameplay, the service will allow MHII players to experience online games played in an asymmetric fashion where players can come by, take a turn, and leave, with no time spent waiting for other players. Games can take days, weeks, or months through customizable turn durations and email notifications.
Transformers: War for Cybertron is now available in US stores offering an action game for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 developed by High Moon Studios to serve as a prequel to the Transformers story. Here's a bit from Activision's announcement describing the game and its multiplayer support, including co-op: Transformers: War for Cybertron takes players to the final moments of the grand civil war that will determine the survival of the entire TRANSFORMERS race. Fans will be able to explore the TRANSFORMERS war-ravaged home planet in full 3D environments for the first time, armed with a diverse arsenal of high-tech weaponry and the ability to convert instantly from robot to vehicle form at any time as they engage in heart-pounding battles on land and in the air in this gripping, third-person action shooter. Complete with several multiplayer modes, Transformers: War for Cybertron allows gamers to play through story missions with their friends in drop in/drop out online co-op, and also create their own TRANSFORMERS character for competitive head-to-head multiplayer modes, choosing among four distinct character classes, personalizing their character’s look and selecting from a huge variety of weapons, skills and abilities. Additionally, the game introduces Escalation, a four-player online co-op mode that allows gamers to fight together as their favorite AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS against increasing waves of enemies utilizing strong teamwork to survive.
Though Kaos Studios' Homefront is not yet released, talk of a sequel already emerged by the end of last year, and now Computer and Video Games reports Homefront: London is apparently the title for the follow-up to this game based on US citizens resisting a North Korean invasion. "What we're telling the story of is civilians fighting for their homes," THQ core games boss Danny Bilson told them. "We've created this massive world of 2027. And it's global. We haven't got there yet but you're going to see Homefront: London later on in the franchise. This is not just a game in the US."
Longbow Games announces they are offering a boxed edition of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH, so the downloadable version no longer has hegemony over this historical strategy title. According to the Longbow Games Website, "The boxed copy isn't going to be available on our site for a while, so you'll have to come to our booth to get it." The news is accompanied by some new screenshots.
Puzzle Dimension is now available on Steam, offering a platformer from Doctor Entertainment with more than 100 puzzles where gravity changes add to the challenge. A Mac version is due on August 25 and mobile versions are in development for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Word is: "Brain exercise in 3D - Train your spatial visualization ability by navigating increasingly complex 3D puzzles. The objective "pick all the sunflowers" sounds simple - but Puzzle Dimension is not your ordinary game world. Here up and down are relative terms as the gravity depends on where you roll the ball."
Blood of the Cybermen, the second episode in the BBC's Doctor Who game, will be released for download in the UK, reports MCV, saying this will follow the broadcast of the season finale of the television series. They say the Mac version will follow at an undisclosed later date. The first episode of the game has been downloaded over a half-million times, and the game will go on sale in other territories in July.
A new patch is now available for The Settlers 7 to update the strategy/management sequel to version 1.06. The patch, which includes four bug fixes, is mirrored on The Patches Scrolls. The Ubisoft forums have the change list, which is reproduced below. Continue here to read the full story.
Today marks the 14th anniversary of the release of the shareware version of QUAKE back in 1996. id's first-person shooter changed the face of computer gaming in many ways, and put this site on the map, and it will always hold a special place in many of our hearts. I'll play a little QUAKE LIVE as the space marine today in honor of the occasion.
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