Archived News:
The ARMA 2 Official Website announces that the Operation Arrowhead standalone expansion for ARMA 2, Bohemia Interactive Studios' military shooter sequel is now available in stores, as well as through Steam. Word is: "Players will enlist into various roles within the US Army - basic infantryman through to special operatives; combat pilots to heavy armor - supported by cutting-edge military equipment, such as thermal imaging, remotely-controlled UAVs and the very latest weapons and vehicles." The Bohemia Interactive Forums also have word on the availability of a launch-day patch to update Operation Arrowhead to version 1.52, along with a dedicated server for the game. The patch is mirrored on The Patches Scrolls.
PC Gamer highlights the coverage from the upcoming print issue of PC Gamer UK (on-sale Thursday), where they preview the Torchlight MMORPG in the works at Runic Games. They quote Runic president Travis Baldree saying "our vision is to have an MMO that plays as close to single player as we can get it." He also says the game will include microtransactions, but that he will not be taking advantage of this himself: "I will never, ever buy a microtransaction item," he tells them. "I’m that kind of player. And the game has to be enjoyable for me, too. We don’t want our monetisation stuff to offer ways to skip the game because the game is boring."
Kalypso Media and Akella announce Disciples III: Renaissance is gold, and this turn-based tactical RPG is due for release on July 13 for Windows PCs. Word is: "Disciples III: Renaissance is the next title in the award-winning Disciples series and represents a huge leap forward in the evolution of the turn-based RPG/strategy genre. Building on the successes of the first two games, Disciples III: Renaissance introduces a host of new features as well as the compelling gameplay that made the previous titles so popular." More info is to be had at World of DISCIPLES.
Steam News announces a new patch is now automatically available for Killing Floor, Tripwire Interactive's co-op zombie shooter (which happens to be on sale for 50% off). The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Another new automatic update is now available for Garry's Mod, announces Steam. A bunch of bug fixes are included, which are listed here. Continue here to read the full story.
Steam's Perils of Summer Sale, Day 6 is now underway. In addition to all the games on sale for the duration of the event, today's one-day specials are: Commandos Collection (save 75%), Team Fortress 2 (save 66%), Osmos (save 75%), Numen: Contest of Heroes (save 75%), X-COM: Complete Pack (save 75%), ARMA II (save 50%), Grand Theft Auto IV (save 75%), and Street Fighter IV (save 75%).
Here are three trailers from the upcoming reboot of the Medal of Honor series that brings the first-person shooter franchise into the modern day. The Medal of Honor E3 single-player trailer shows the solo gameplay E3 attendees got to see, and there are two video interviews with a Tier 1 operative who is consulting on the game's development, one clip describing the "wolfpack mentality" of special operatives, and the other discussing the type of missions they conduct. All three clips are embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Link of the Day: Cat Lassie. Thanks Ant.
Update 5 is now live in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, Turbine's free-to-play MMORPG, adding a brand new adventure pack called Phiarlan Carnival along with dozens of new items and payment methods available in the DDO Store. Word is: "This latest update also officially introduces a completely revamped Guild System with many new features for the guilds of Stormreach including fully customizable Airships which will serve as floating guild halls." The Release Notes outline all the changes.
Closed beta testing of Miner Wars is now underway, preparing for this year's planned launch of Keen Software House's single-player and MMO space combat game featuring destructible environments. Access to the test is explained in this forum post, where they say all medal winners are eligible to participate, and outline how medals can be won, as they are rewarding those who contribute to the game, either with ideas, or by spreading the word.
EA announces that to celebrate the recent one-year anniversary of Battlefield Heroes, they are offering a bonus for players of their free-to-play online third-person shooter. They offer a code (49TP-ZJB7-NVTR-P8AE) to give players free access to $5.00 USD worth of in-game items, consisting of a two day XP boost, a two 2 day VP boost, and 25 bandages. The free birthday code will work until tomorrow, and word is: "Additional offers may be available at www.battlefieldheroes.com."
BlizzCon announces a charity dinner to benefit the CHOC Children's Foundation, offering the chance to meet and chat with the folks from Blizzard Entertainment. They will hold an online drawing next month to select those eligible to buy up to two tickets for the event, which will each cost a $500.00 USD donation. In addition to being able to hobnob with the developers, attendees will also receive a signed print featuring Blizzard Entertainment artwork, and one BlizzCon 2010 ticket, a $150.00 USD value.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games announce the launch of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, offering the LEGO twist on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The game is now available in North America for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and PSP, and here's word: "Playing as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley™ and Hermione Granger™, as well as more than 170 other favorite characters, fans will have the opportunity to attend lessons, cast spells, mix potions, fly on broomsticks and complete tasks to earn rewards. In LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 1-4, players will have the freedom to play alone or in two-player co-op as they explore iconic settings from the wizarding world including Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest and the village of Hogsmeade, as they relive the adventures like never before with the fun and creative customization that is unique to LEGO videogames."
The Diablo III Website celebrates the 10th anniversary of the release of Diablo II back in 2000. They offer a brief recap of the game, accompanied by the lilt of its soundtrack, and offer thanks, saying: "We’d like to express our gratitude to the community for your support over the years -- thanks to your enthusiasm, Diablo II is still going strong."
EA and Realtime Worlds announce the launch of All Points Bulletin, saying the open-world online action game also known as APB is now available in North America, and is set to go on sale in Europe on July 1 and in the UK on July 2. Purchases include 50 hours of game time, and they offer subscription fees based on hourly usage or for unlimited play for a block of time. Here's a bit on the game itself: "APB, recently nominated for Best PC Game by 1Up.com at E3 2010, takes the universal theme of Criminals and Enforcers and brings it to a persistent, open-world, online multiplayer setting in the modern, crime-ridden fictional city of San Paro. Some players achieve notoriety by feeding on the city, its people and its businesses…the Criminals. Some live by a higher code and instead feed on the criminals and their organizations…the Enforcers."
A new video developer diary from Blacklight: Tango Down goes behind the scenes at Zombie to learn about weapon customization from the developers of the upcoming near-future military shooter. They discuss various functional and visual aspects of their system that actually allows each weapon to be unique, to the point where players will be able to identify each others' weapons when they find them. The embedded trailer follows. Continue here to read the full story.
The second and third installments in Valve's Portal 2 seven-part direct-feed trailer series from E3 2010 are now available. In Part 2 we are introduced to a new game mechanic of the "Excursion Funnels," which offer an alternate way to transport yourself and objects through the game world in the platformer sequel. Part 3 offers a brief introduction to "Faith Plates," which another alternate form of transport that looks convenient if you do not have a catapult handy. The embedded versions of both trailers follow. Continue here to read the full story.
THQ is planning on going underground again with Metro 2034, an upcoming sequel to Metro 2033, their post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, reports Computer and Video Games, saying the game will include 3D support. "We're showing Metro 2033 in 3D right now, which Nvidia is showing as one of their key demo products," THQ's core games VP, Danny Bilson tells them. "We're going to be doing a 3D version of that on Metro 2034 - the sequel. And there will be some engineering costs there, but that's in our lowest cost centre in the world. Those games are unbelievably reasonable, they're built in Kiev." Thanks joao.
Activision Publishing announces that Singularity is now available in North American stores for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, offering Raven's sci-fi first-person shooter where time is one of the weapons. Here's word on the game: Thrust onto the mysterious Russian island base of Katorga-12, filled with Cold War secrets that threaten time itself, players must fight their way through an ever-shifting environment, haunted by time-ravaged creatures and mysteries. Armed with an arsenal of high-powered weapons and the Time Manipulation Device, players must contend with sudden time waves that hurl them back and forth between 1955 and the present day. In addition to a story-driven narrative, SINGULARITY offers players a unique multi-player experience, where Russian Special Forces with individual powers take on a team of creatures from another time including the powerful Radion, the gravity-defying Phase Tick and the time-altering Zek.
PC Gamer analyzes some Windows 8 presentation slides discovered by Engadget that seem to support recent indications that Microsoft is gearing up to recommit to PC gaming. The slides show plans for an integrated game marketplace, though most of what's depicted shows a casual bent. Thanks joao.
Matrix Games and Slitherine Strategies announce Close Combat – Last Stand Arnhem, a new installment in the World War II strategy series developed by Strategy 3 Tactics and Black Hand Studios for release next month. Word is: "Close Combat – Last Stand Arnhem is a highly enhanced new release of Close Combat, using the latest Close Combat engine with many additional improvements. Its design is based on the critically acclaimed Close Combat – A Bridge Too Far, originally developed by Atomic Games, as well as the more recent Close Combat: The Longest Day. This is the most ambitious and most improved of the new Close Combat releases, but along with all the enhancements it retains the same addicting tactical action found in the original titles!" A feature list and some screenshots can be found on the game's official product section, there's a preview of the game on The Wargamer, and a video trailer on the YouTube.
Following yesterday's news to expect the PC Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in the wee hours of tomorrow, the Battlefield Blog has an excerpt from the patch notes, and now says to expect the release of the new client at 5:00 am EDT (11:00 am GMT+2) tomorrow, rather than a couple of hours before as they tweeted.
NVIDIA unveils 3D Vision Surround, a competitor to ATI's Eyefinity multi-monitor dealie offering a combination of multi-monitor support and 3d stereoscopic technology. The system supports three monitors in 3D using a multi-GPU setup and NVIDIA says they have software to automatically convert over 425 games to stereoscopic 3D without the need for special game patches. The system requires Windows 7 and an SLI motherboard (unless you are using a GTX 295 GPU), the full System Requirements are here. There are preview write-ups of how this all comes together on AnandTech, ExtremeTech, [H]ard-OCP, Hardware Canucks, PC Perspective, and Tom's Hardware.
Related to the above news, NVIDIA now offers new beta version 258.69 drivers for Windows 7/Vista and 64-bit Windows 7/Vista. The new drivers add support for NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround under Windows 7, support for Blu-ray 3D with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, performance improvements for GeForce GTX 400 Series GPUs in several PC games, and more.
A post on the Kerberos Website from about a month ago reveals the release of a patch to update the Sword of the Stars: Argos Navy Yard expansion to version 1.80 (this is not required for the Sword of the Stars Complete Collection, as was originally stated here, thanks Wolfox for straightening that out). The patch is mirrored on AtomicGamer and The Patches Scrolls, and the patch notes follow (renumbered, as the original skips a couple of digits. Continue here to read the full story.
I risked abusing my reflux yesterday by making some Buffalo Wings for MrsBlue and myself, and I am still marveling at how easy they are to whip up. Yesterday I probably could have made it that much simpler by setting the wings under a magnifying glass to cook, but I decided to go old-school and grill them (actually real old-school would be to deep fry them, but the grill does fine).
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