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Archived News:
There's a follow-up to our question about whether From Dust will use Ubisoft's DRM that requires a constant internet connection on VG247, where a Ubi rep has told them: "From Dust will not require a permanent online connection to play in single-player mode." In contrast, there's also a post on PC Gamer where a Ubisoft representative deemed the always on DRM a "success," saying they've seen "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."
Spiderweb Software announces Avernum: Escape From The Pit, the next installment in their Avernum series of old-school role-playing games for Windows, OS X, and, as of this installment, iPad. The OS X edition is expected first, and should be out by the end of this year, with the Windows and iPad editions to follow at the beginning of next year. They also note that the OS X and Windows editions "will be available at a considerable discount for anyone who has purchased Exile: Escape From the Pit or Avernum from us in any form (including on compilation CDs)." There are screenshots and details on the game's official website, and here's a feature list:
- Epic fantasy adventure in an enormous underworld.
- Huge outdoors and eighty towns and dungeons.
- Three separate game-winning quests. Seek safety, escape or revenge. Do just one of them or all three!
- Unique races and settings make Avernum different from any adventure out there.
- Dozens of side quests and hundreds of magical artifacts.
- Rich game system with over 50 spells and battle disciplines and a multitude of beneficial character traits to choose from.
A new World of Tropico Website is online as home to the Tropico series of dictator simulations. The site has media and other information about the franchise, and offers a specific release date for Tropico 4, narrowing the previously announced August release window to August 30.
Dino D-Day is currently on sale on Steam for half-off, as Steam kicks off a Free Weekend for this unusual game where Jurassic Park meets Band of Brothers. In a timely move, the game was just updated with new maps, new classes, and a playable T-Rex.
A new trailer from Deus Ex: Human Revolution notes the "four pillars" of gameplay in Eidos-Montreal's upcoming action/RPG prequel are combat, social, hacking, and stealth, and proceeds to offer insights into the stealth component of the game. In the clip, the developers explain the challenge of creating gameplay that will be equally fun whether the player chooses combat or stealth, talks of stealthy elements they feel will make for compelling gameplay, the organic natural feel of this mode, possible advantages to be gained by not running around with guns-a-blazing, the availability of stealth-oriented augmentations, and more. The clip includes several bits of gameplay footage showing Jensen being all silent but deadly. The clip is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
This clip shows off multiplayer action from DRIVER San Francisco, the upcoming continuation of the automotive action series. The trailer includes a few minutes of multiplayer play, and the oddly condescending voiceover explains the game's multiplayer modes, special features, and how players can share their accomplishments on the game's website. Here's the embedded clip. Continue here to read the full story.
Version 0.96.2 of Dune Legacy is now available, updating this fan-created homage to Dune II, the seminal real-time strategy game. The new version includes a number of bugfixes and changes, most notably the addition of multiplayer support over either LAN or the internet. Thanks Ant.
Games
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation Content Pack on Steam.
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 -Sengoku Jidai- Unit Pack DLC on Steam.
Patches
- AMD Catalyst 11.7 Windows Update on Steam.
- Dino D-Day on Steam.
- Team Fortress 2 on Steam.
- Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
- Nuclear Dawn on Steam. Save 10% on pre-purchases.
- Osmos on Direct2Drive.
- Osmos (Mac) on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
- Runaway, A Road Adventure on Steam. Save 66%.
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines on Steam. Save 75%.
Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.
GameStop announces they are launching a new service to allow customers to make in-store purchases of digitally distributed games, which will begin with the upcoming release of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Eidos' action/RPG prequel. On the surface, there is obviously something odd about how this sounds, but they point out this give customers the ability to use forms of payment not usually applicable to digital distribution, including cash, GameStop trade-in credits, and gift cards. They say they've been successful selling DLC through their stores, and see this as an extension of that. They also offer some additional motivation to pre-purchase the digital Windows edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution through them by offering the following bonuses:
- A digital version of Deus Ex(TM): Game of the Year Edition and Deus Ex: Invisible War(TM)
- The Explosive Mission DLC Pack for in-game use in Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Double points for GameStop(R) PowerUp Rewards(TM) members
- As an added bonus, PowerUp Rewards(TM) members who pre-order and purchase Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be entered to win a decked out living room in the Augment Your Living Room Sweepstakes. Visit www.poweruprewards.com/PUR/Index/Augment for complete details on the Augment Your Living Room Sweepstakes.
Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson offers a list of LIVE Activity for week of July 18th, which includes the top 20 titles on Games for Windows LIVE based on UUs. As usual, Grand Theft Auto IV remains king of this particular hill. The complete list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
Activision Publishing announces the release of the Windows and PlayStation 3 editions of the Annihilation DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops, adding four new multiplayer maps and new zombie content to the military shooter sequel. "Annihilation delivers four of the best Black Ops multiplayer maps, and a mind blowing new Zombies experience with Shangri La," said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. "With Annihilation, fans are really going to have a lot of fun continuing to play Black Ops online for a long time to come." Here's a reminder of the contents of the DLC:
- "Hangar 18," buried deep within the military black site Area 51, where gamers will battle through experimental weapons labs, the SR-71 test hangar and a mysterious autopsy room.
- "Drive-In," where players engage in close-quarters combat through a 1960s drive-in theater, complete with snack shack and a classic arcade.
- "Silo," a massive multilevel battleground tucked within a super-secret Soviet era nuclear missile site.
- "Hazard," perched on the verdant Cuban cliffside, where gamers traverse a coastal golf course fit for a dictator. This is the only set of links where the hazards shoot back.
- "Shangri-La," the all-new Zombies experience, which transports players to a mythical paradise overrun with the undead. Face off against new species of zombies and navigate a treacherous labyrinth of underground caverns, all set within a lost jungle shrine.
The Bethesda Blog now points to the fifth installment in their behind-the-scenes series for RAGE, id's upcoming first-person shooter (though the clip embedded there is the previous clip). The new trailer uses gameplay footage and developer commentary to introduce the various enemies players will encounter in the game's post-apocalyptic environment.
Battle.net announces that the online contests Blizzard is running in association with BlizzCon 2011, their upcoming gaming convention. The three competitions are their BlizzCon 2011 Fan Art Contest, a BlizzCon 2011 Movie Contest, and the BlizzCon 2011 Original Song Contest. The deadline for each of these is August 29.
The entire Alganon Comic Book from DC Comics is now available for free online, supplying some additional back-story for this free-to-play MMORPG and laying the groundwork for its upcoming expansion. Word is: “Alganon – Fall of the Ourobani”, tells the story of Bana’serit, a young leader of the Ourobani. Under assault from rival factions, Bana’serit seeks out a mythical weapon in a desperate attempt to secure the safety of her people. This limited edition comic reveals the series of events that lead into the upcoming Alganon expansion pack, Rise of the Ourobani.
A new patch is now available for Trainz Simulator 2012. This second patch for Auran's transportation sim brings it to build 48247 with a huge number of bug-fixes. The download can be found on The Patches Scrolls, where they also offer the extensive patch notes.
NVIDIA now offers new beta version 280.19 reference drivers for their GeForce graphics cards, the first release from their new 280 family of drivers. There are drivers for Windows Vista/Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit, and Windows XP 64-bit. Thanks Charles.
The Oil Rush Website offers a new "find submarine" trailer from Oil Rush, showing off more of this upcoming Naval real-time strategy/tower defense game. The clip provides a walkthrough of a mission from the single-player campaign described like so: "Find and destroy a stealthy submarine that hides in the flooded jungles of Vietnam."
- Battlefield 3 on GameSpy. "Exclusive secrets of the Alpha Trial."
- Driver: San Francisco on GameSpy.
It's been a while since I've shared a "Blue is a magnet for bad drivers" story, but just because I don't shuttle MrsBlue to the train every day anymore, this does not mean such incidents have completely stopped. Yesterday a truck merged in front of me on a local road because a bus was stopped in the right lane. A second later the truck behind him attempted to follow suit, in spite of being to my immediate right. I honked and he hit the brakes and sheepishly waved as I passed to acknowledge he was at fault. The funny thing is that 15 minutes later as I was stopped at a light on the way back from my errand a couple of pedestrians called to me saying they saw what had happened and congratulated me for avoiding being crushed. This reminded me that a couple of weeks ago I was stopped for a traffic tie-up on the highway and looked up to see a car approaching in the rear-view at an incredible rate of speed, which was now so close I could see that the driver was not looking at the road, and had still not seen the traffic. She then looked up, slammed on the brakes, and even began swerving to find the other lane because she clearly didn't think she was going to stop in time. Thankfully, her car managed to stop just in time, and as I watched in horrified fascination, the driver picked her cell phone out of her lap, and before hanging up said something, presumably along the lines of: "maybe I should get off the phone because I almost just killed somebody." Whew!
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