Archived News:
Steam News announces a free weekend is now underway for Nation Red in conjunction with a sale on the indie action game: Kick off the weekend by playing Nation Red for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time.
Additionally, pickup Nation Red this weekend only at 75% off the regular price! Sale ends Monday, January 16th at 10AM Pacific Time.
If you already have Steam installed you can click here to install or play. If you don't have Steam, you can download it here.
The Academy Of Interactive Arts & Sciences now announces the nominees for their 15th Interactive Achievement Awards. The awards will be handed out at a ceremony hosted by Jay Mohr on February 9th in Las Vegas during the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit. Word is: "This year’s IAAs will be streamed live on GameSpot.com in its entirety at 7:30pm PT / 10:30pm ET." Here are the Game of the Year nominees:
- Batman: Arkham City
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
- Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog
BioWare announces next Tuesday will see the launch of Rise of the Rakghouls, a new content update for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here's what this will add to the month-old MMORPG: "Rise of the Rakghouls features a new Flashpoint and a new Operation as well as a number of changes made throughout the entire game, including level 50 bracketing for PvP WarZones, the addition of anti-aliasing and changes to Open World PvP on Ilum." Looking ahead, they say they will continue to support the game with such updates "throughout the year on a regular cadence," and the update that follows this is due in March with new Flashpoints, Operations, WarZones, and game systems. Here's word on the new content in next week's patch:
- Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege is a completely new and unique group combat experience located on Kaon, a planet in the Tion Hegemony, a strategically important sector of the galaxy that has remained neutral, groups of up to four Republic or Imperial players must race to Kaon to eliminate the Rakghouls outbreak, securing the allegiance of the Tion Hegemony for their respective sides. This Flashpoint will be available for level 50 characters only and will feature Normal and Heroic modes.
- Operation: Karagga’s Palace, is a continuation of the game’s second launch Operation. In the Operation, teams of 8 or 16 players will face off against Karagga and the Hutt Cartel after the Hutts abandon their famous neutrality and breach agreements with both the Republic and Empire. Concerned by the threat of another combatant in the war for galactic control, both factions send teams of their most powerful heroes to confront Karagga and determine his intentions. This Operation will feature Normal, Heroic and Nightmare difficulty modes.
Kalypso Media announces a February 14, 2012 North American release date for Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, narrowing the previously announced February release window of the tactical RPG remake to Valentine's day. Here's a description of the game along with a new trailer: Jagged Alliance: Back in Action puts players in control of a private military corporation that has been hired to depose an evil dictator, who has taken over the tropical island of Arulco. Sector-by-sector, inch-by-inch, the player’s squads of mercenaries will recapture the island using their wits, willpower, tactical skills, and of course – plenty of guns.
Continue here to read the full story.
The Capcom Blog announces the 2012 update is coming to the PC edition of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition: For all of you who have been waiting patiently for your PC version of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition to receive the 2012 update, we have some news for you. Our development team has been cracking the whip on this project, and are aiming to have the 2012 update ready for you all by the end of February. We will have additional updates in these upcoming weeks. so keep an eye on this space for more info.
This trailer outlines what's new in a new version 1.1 patch that's now live in Minecraft (thanks Computer and Video Games). Word is: "This video highlights the new languages, sheep gaining wool, apples falling from trees and more."
The RIFT Subscription Information Page outlines new pricing for Trion's fantasy-themed MMORPG, as an annual subscription is now $99.00 ($8.25/month) after previously costing $119.88 ($9.99/month). In addition, any multi-month subscription purchased during the month of January will come with a free bonus month.
Frozenbyte now offers the soundtrack for Trine 2 via digital distribution. The Trine 2 Soundtrack Special Edition is available for purchase on AriTunes and iTunes. "Finally!" said composer Ari Pulkkinen. "I'm very proud of the music for Trine and Trine 2; the beautiful and heartwarming fantasy world of Trine really inspired me to compose these lively soundtracks, and I'm really glad they can now reach a wider audience as separate albums. For this special moment I also wanted to create orchestrated versions of the Trine 2 Main Theme and the Trailer Theme, and they sound absolutely fantastic!" On a related note, Steam has patch notes on a new version 1.11 patch that's now live for the platformer sequel.
- Dead Space Pack on Steam. Save 75%.
- PT Boats Gold on Steam. Save 66%.
- Stella version 3.5 is the latest version of this multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator. Thanks Ant via Zophar's Domain…
Link of the Day: Moonrise Kingdom Movie Trailer. Thanks nin.
CD Projekt announces it is now the official distributor for Codemasters in Poland. On a slightly related note, Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a statement from CD Projekt RED saying they are ceasing the recently revealed process of directly contacting file-sharers they suspect of pirating The Witcher 2, in spite of their confidence in the infallibility of such accusations. While continuing to decry piracy, this open letter from CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwinski says they have heard gamer's concerns, and that these direct contacts will cease immediately: An Open Letter to the Gaming Community from CD Projekt RED
In early December, an article was published about a law firm acting on behalf of CD Projekt RED, contacting individuals who had downloaded The Witcher 2 illegally and seeking financial compensation for copyright infringement. The news about our decision to combat piracy directly, instead of with DRM, spread quickly and with it came a number of concerns from the community. Repeatedly, gamers just like you have said that our methods might wrongly accuse people who have never violated our copyright and expressed serious concern about our actions.
Being part of a community is a give-and-take process. We only succeed because you have faith in us, and we have worked hard over the years to build up that trust. We were sorry to see that many gamers felt that our actions didn’t respect the faith that they have put into CD Projekt RED. Our fans always have been and remain our greatest concern, and we pride ourselves on the fact that you all know that we listen to you and take your opinions to heart. While we are confident that no one who legally owns one of our games has been required to compensate us for copyright infringement, we value our fans, our supporters, and our community too highly to take the chance that we might ever falsely accuse even one individual.
So we’ve decided that we will immediately cease identifying and contacting pirates.
Continue here to read the full story.
The Darkness II Website announces a release schedule for a playable demo for The Darkness II, which will hit Xbox LIVE for Gold subscribers next week and other platforms the week after that. For Windows PC users, the date to keep in mind is Tuesday, January 24th, which is when the demo for the first-person shooter sequel will have its worldwide release on Steam.
Eurogamer reports on some revealing tweets from U.K. retailer GAME, though these have since been deleted in a futile effort to get a couple of horses back in the barn. Before this fit of discretion, they managed to reveal previously unannounced plans for new installments in the Medal of Honor not the first hint on that) and Need for Speed franchises: "Had mentions of a new Medal of Honour [sic] and Need for Speed 13! EA have an exciting year ahead."
Applications are now being accepted for closed beta testing of TERA, the upcoming MMO action/RPG. North American players can sign up on this website and European players can apply here. The North American page says that separate invites are required for each of their planned beta sessions, which is apparently also the case in Europe, but they add this twist for Euro testing: "Players who register by 13th January at 11:30 CET will be entered into a draw to win one of the first 1,000 closed beta passes, giving them access to the hugely anticipated MMO over the entire duration of testing. Those who aren’t lucky will still be in with a chance to jump into the world of TERA as more invites follow shortly after."
505 Games announces gameplay modes and features for Top Gun Hard Lock, saying a wealth of these have "never before seen in a Top Gun-licensed title." Here are some new screenshots, and here's a bit, including word on how the game will transport you to you know where: The single-player story campaign offers 15 challenging missions set across diverse backdrops. Set in the Top Gun universe but brought up to date with a modern day setting, the story makes as many twists and turns as the jets themselves, as a new wave of elite Naval aviators - fresh out of the Top Gun Academy - protect the skies. In addition to the lengthy single-player campaign, Top Gun Hard Lock also features Danger Zone mode. This mode pits a single player against wave after wave of enemy forces, including ground targets, bombers, fighters, enemy aces and more. Exceptional flying is rewarded with medals, trophies, achievements and unlockable content.
Alexandre Amancio has parted ways with Ubisoft Montreal, where he served as creative director on Assassin's Creed Revelations, the stealth/action sequel, reports GameInformer. Word is he is joining a marketing company. "Video games and advertising have many common elements. In both industries, we are always looking for new ways to engage the consumer to the brand," said Amancio. "In addition, like advertising, the video game industry must now take into account and supply a very important social dimension in its development and strategies. The game is no longer just a game, it's a community, relations between players, and the brand." Thanks Develop.
Matrix Games announces the release of a new patch for Empires in Arms to update the Napoleonic strategy game to version 1.08.07. The patch is available on this page, where word is: "The update includes many bug fixes, several improvements to the PBEM system, and a few other enhancements."
"Just pirate it. If you still like it when you can afford it in the future, buy it then. Also don't forget to feel bad. ;)" -- Mojang's Notch tweets in response to a question about getting a free Minecraft account. Thanks Destructoid via Gameranx.
Bitmob.com - Firaxis needs to realize that X-Com is brilliant because it's "broken".
This lack of explanatory text extends to every aspect of the game, and as a result, X-Com bestows a sense of ownership onto your accomplishments and failures alike that many other experiences lack. Coupled with the omnipresent pressure of your computer adversary, you become more emotionally involved the longer you play; you could lose anything you've built with one bad call. Yet if you do nothing, you'll eventually fail all the same.
- Bit of Alright. New indie gaming conference in London on February 3rd.
I feel pretty recovered from my bit of oral surgery yesterday, which turned out to be a three-fer, as in addition to my extraction and sinus lift I also got the implant that necessitated the sinus lift. It hurt a good deal yesterday, but it's much better now, so presumably the dramatic part of this episode is over.
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