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Archived News:
Ubisoft now offers the Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack DLC for Assassin's Creed Revelations, which adds six new maps as well as new items and trophies to the stealth/action sequel. This is for sale on UBIShop, where they offer a trailer showing it off. Here's more: "The addition of six multiplayer maps introduces new gameplay opportunities through each map's varied terrain, perches and hideouts. The new collection of Trophies and Achievements will allow players to try their hand at kills and escapes that are as impressive as they are effective."
- All-new multiplayer maps to maneuver through: Jerusalem, Constantinople and Dyers
- Fan-favorite Italian Renaissance maps from Assassin's Creed® Brotherhood to revisit: Firenze (Florence), San Donato and Siena
- All-new Trophies and Achievements to earn
Trade group UKIE will begin publishing a chart of the U.K.'s bestselling PC games sold via digital distribution, reports MCV, saying the first charts will appear next month, the culmination of two years of work. Participants in beta testing the chart include Disney Interactive Studios, Focus Multimedia, Get Games, Green Man Gaming, Mastertronic, NCsoft, Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Here's more on how this will work: "The basic PC chart – which will first arrive in beta form next month – will be made public. But companies which share their data will be able to view more detailed figures on the PC download market. Chart participation is open to UKIE members and video games companies."
Tripwire Interactive and the Rising Storm team offer a new trailer showing off the Iwo Jima level on the upcoming Rising Storm expansion for Red Orchestra 2, their World War II shooter sequel. Here's a description of the clip: "This map features the beaches and tunnels of the heavily defended 'home island' with its iconic landmark, Mt Suribachi. This is the first map-specific material to be seen and hints at some of the goodies and new features coming in Rising Storm." Continue here to read the full story.
Matrix Games now offers a new patch for Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge, updating the World War II strategy game to version 4.3.249. The patch, which paves the way for the imminent Command Ops: Highway to the Reich expansion, is available on this page, where word is: "The update has a small number of fixes, including improved supply and historical adjustments for some scenarios."
- From Dust on Steam. Save 67%.
- Insane 2 on Steam. Save 15%.
- Titan Quest Gold on Steam. Save 75%.
The Darkness II Website has word that the playable demo for 2K Games' shooter sequel is now available on Steam and PlayStation 3 after previously only being available on Xbox LIVE (thanks Gamer's Hell). Here's the deal: Embrace the Darkness and download the demo now! In this specially-constructed demo, experience the gripping and brutal journey of Jackie Estacado, head of a New York crime family and wielder of a ruthless force of chaos and destruction known as The Darkness. Master the power of Quad-Wielding as you slash, grab and throw with your Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons.
The Battlelog forums and reddit each feature threads with posts from a surprising number of users claiming they've been banned from playing Battlefield 3 online due to PunkBuster violations in spite of no wrongdoing. Kotaku points the way to an apparent explanation on a site that sells and supports cheats for the game where posts describe a systematic campaign that's currently underway to get innocent users banned to demonstrate the fallibility of the PunkBuster methodology. A recent post to Battlelog from a moderator says: "PB is having an issue at the moment.. DICE and EA are working with Even balance to find cause and fix it asap!" Thanks The Grifter.
The Bethesda Blog offers a save-the-date for QuakeCon 2012, the free gaming convention centered on the offerings of id Software and Bethesda Softworks: Prepare for Peace, Love, and Rockets!
QuakeCon, North America’s largest BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN party, returns to the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX on August 2-5. Those interesting in attending can reserve special room rates at the hotel by calling 1-800- Hiltons and ask for the QuakeCon 2012 rate ($154 per night).
For the latest updates, keep an eye on QuakeCon.org and our Twitter & Facebook pages for the event.
Indie Royale now offers The Serious Sam Pack as their latest bundle of creatively priced independent games. The way this works is that the bundle's minimum price goes up with each purchase at that modest level, and goes down when more generous souls pay more than the minimum. This "lightning pack" is offered for just 100 hours, with the counter currently at 98+ hours and counting. The bundle includes Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, Serious Sam Double D, Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, and Serious Sam: The First & Second Encounter.
This trailer from Jagged Alliance: Back in Action uses some gameplay to show off the tactical aspects of the upcoming Jagged Alliance 2 remake. Word is: "In today's video, viewers will learn firsthand how the innovative new 'Plan & Go' system works when it comes to managing troops on the battlefield. Along with a new 3D graphics engine, Plan & Go is one of the key new features in Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, and will challenge players to craft the ultimate battlefield strategies as they coordinate actions between mercenaries and mercenary teams, as they fight to free the island of Arulco. Kalypso Media will release Jagged Alliance: Back in Action in the UK on 10th February, 2012 for Windows PC."
A Message From Paul Wedgwood on the Splash Damage Website announces the BRINK developer's plans for 2012, which the company's CEO says is "going to be the most significant year in our history" (thanks VideoGamer.com). Here's a bit: Which brings us back to 2012 being a special year for Splash Damage. We've got several significant announcements to make in the coming weeks and months. We've hired some amazing new talent, strengthening our team in key areas. We'll be revealing new titles - both on platforms we've previously visited (including the PC and the world's leading consoles), as well as exploring spaces completely new to us. Finally, we've got some special things planned to take full advantage of the changes our industry is experiencing. This is a hugely exciting time for everyone here at the studio and we can't wait to tell you about all the cool things we've got in store for you this year.
EA announces their Origin service is expanding further beyond its EA-exclusive origins to add games from 11 more publishers: REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts (EA) Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) announced today that Origin™, EA’s direct-to-consumer gaming platform, will soon feature PC downloadable games from Trion Worlds, Robot Entertainment and nine other game publishers. Starting today, Trion’s MMORPG Rift™ is the first new title added to Origin for purchase and download by PC gamers, with many more titles coming soon.
“Origin is focused on providing choice to consumers and the games they play” Additional titles from publishers CD PROJEKT RED, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, inXile entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning Ltd. and N3V Games will be available on Origin in the coming months.
“Origin is focused on providing choice to consumers and the games they play,” said Craig Rechenmacher, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Origin at EA. “From blockbuster franchises to high-quality independent titles, we’re bringing the industry’s best content to one place. We’re excited to welcome new partners and a diverse new line-up of titles to Origin today.”
More information about individual titles and release dates will be available on www.origin.com.
Microsoft is planning on dropping its MS Points virtual currency by the end of the year, reports Inside Mobile Apps, quoting an anonymous "source with knowledge of the company’s decision." They say this will affect online sales through Windows Phone, the Zune marketplace, and Xbox LIVE. Word is: "By the end of 2012, all transactions will be based on the region set on the purchasing account and real money will be used to purchase all Windows Phone content. The move puts the Windows Phone Marketplace in line with the purchasing practices used in the App Store and the Android Market." Thanks IndustryGamers.
The long battle to add an R18+ rating to the Australian classification system will be introduced next month for this year's first session of the Australian Parliament, reports GameSpot.au. "Our plans are to introduce the R18+ bill in the first session of parliament this year," a spokesperson for the Federal Minister for Home Affairs told them. "If it passes the Lower House, it will then go to the Senate for the same process."
Hearts of Iron: The Card Game now offers 60 new cards for this strategy game based on the World War II series. Word is: "Playing between January 23rd and February 6th, winners of “Head to Head” or tournament matches will receive a free booster pack from this new set."
"These days it’s become hip to pay for indie games. That’s partly down to people charging for it, like with the Humble Indie Bundle, and partly because of Steam doing awesome stuff," says Minecraft creator notch. "I don’t think [Mojang] are indie in the sense of how I used to work any more, because we have a payroll to worry about and we need to do stuff to ensure the company lasts."
It was a good weekend here at the BlueTower. Of course there was rejoicing at the outcome of the NFC championship game, but it was also a perfectly timed snowstorm, as it tapered off around midday on Saturday, which actually inspired some of the local youth to seek shoveling work. We hired an earnest young lad to dig out the walk and MrsBlue's car, paid him twice as much as he was asking, and were pleased to have gotten such a bargain. Sometimes things just work out. I made the mistake of mentioning how happy I was at the storm's timing to a neighbor, forgetting he was a schoolteacher, who felt the opposite way about how it all worked out, since if the storm came on a weekday, he'd have gotten a day off. Oh well.
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