Archived News:

Monday, Dec 09, 2024 Quake II Released (1997)

The Talos Principle: Reawakened Announced

Croteam and Devolver Digital announce The Talos Principle: Reawakened, an updated version that leans into any confusion between a remaster and a remake by introducing the concept of a reawakened older title. And older it is, as we're just two days out from the 10th anniversary of its original launch of the puzzle game. The Reawakened edition has a listing on Steam saying its release window is "to be announced." Here's a trailer along with more on this wake-up call:
This definitive edition of the original Talos Principle features vastly improved visuals, quality-of-life improvements, an all-new chapter that delves deeper into the game’s award-winning narrative and more—and it’s coming soon to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Step back into a world of thought-provoking puzzles, philosophical intrigue and breathtaking visuals, immersing yourself in an expanded and remastered journey through the world of the Simulation. The Talos Principle: Reawakened breathes new life into every corner of the game while maintaining the vision that made the original so beloved.
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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Final Season Announced

A new Season 4 Deep Dive has the good news for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League players that the promised offline mode is being added to the live service game. This is the set-up for the news that the live-service is ending, and the upcoming Season 4 Episode 8 for the game will be its last such content update. The game will remain playable both online and off, but this will not help with complaints that gameplay is repetitive. Here's word:
With Deathstroke joining the roster, the Suicide Squad’s crusade against Brainiac is drawing to an end. Season 4 will finish up with Episode 8, which is scheduled to release in January 2025, and that will serve as the last seasonal Episode for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. While Season 4 Episode 8 will mark the final battle against Brainiac, all online features will continue to be available, so you’ll still be able to enjoy co-op with friends, as well as all previous seasonal/episodic content. You’ll also have the option to play the game via the new Offline mode, which allows access to the main story campaign and all post-launch seasonal gameplay content without an internet connection. For more details, visit our Season 4 FAQ.

Among Ashes Released

Among Ashes is now available for Windows and PlayStation, and PC gamers need look no further than Steam for the Windows edition of this first-person survival/horror game from Rat Cliff Games. This is a ghost of Christmas past, as it's set during the holiday season of 2001, featuring an in-game game from that era, beige PCs and all. A look at this scary nostalgia trip is supplied in the Launch Trailer. Here's more:
It’s a stormy, cold winter night in December, and your friend sends you an instant message pointing you towards Night Call, a horror game that he found online. You download it, but as you play, strange things start happening in your apartment. Something is terribly wrong with the game.

Among Ashes features a multilayered narrative, and meta-framing device which cleverly nests a full retro-inspired first-person survival horror game within another horror game. Players will be transported to the turn of the millennium via a range of perfectly implemented presentational touches, narrative surprises, smart gameplay mechanics and classic puzzles.
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Road Maintenance Simulator 2 - Winter Services Released

Steam now features the launch of Road Maintenance Simulator 2 - Winter Services is now available for PC and consoles, and the Windows edition is on Steam, paving the way with a 10% launch discount. Here's a Release Trailer showing off this chance to play around at working for a living from Caipirinha Games and Aerosoft GmbH. This is set in Germany, but there's no word if you'll get to patch potholes on the autobahn. Here's word:
Work as a road maintenance professional in a classic German setting where the mild autumn chills are replaced by freezing temperatures and lots of snow! Clear the streets, repair potholes, and manage traffic to ensure the roads remain safe and functional in all weather conditions.

Explore a comprehensive and realistic world in Road Maintenance Simulator 2, featuring a detailed 3D environment with motorways, federal, and country roads. Dynamic weather and seasonal changes bring life and unpredictability to every task, immersing you in the challenges of road maintenance. After valuable feedback from the first installment, the new Winter Service adds specialized tasks like snow plowing and road de-icing, elevating the complexity and satisfaction of keeping roads safe during harsh conditions.
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Wild Woods Early Access

Early Access to Wild Woods is now underway on Steam, offering a couch co-op action/adventure from Octofox Games and Daedalic Entertainment. The game carries a 10% launch discount, or you can get 20% off on a bundle that includes a Supporter Pack. In this you are part of a group of four combative kittens making its way through a hostile forest in one of the more unusual escort missions you'll go on all day. The Early Access Trailer takes a look, and here's more:
Wild Woods is a couch co-op game full of action, teamwork and woodland critters. One to four players take on the role of brave little cats defending their wooden wagon on its way through a dangerous forest.

Clever cooperation is key as their way is full of obstacles. While daytime is all about collecting resources and improving your trusty wagon, things get risky during the night. When the sun sets, bandit bunnies and badgers rally to attack! The feline friends must defend their wagon while ensuring their beacon fire does not die out.
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Launched

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now officially available for PC and consoles, following a few days of premium Early Access for impatient gamers. The Windows edition of the movie-inspired action/adventure is available on Steam as a Standard or Premium Edition. Bethesda Softworks whipped up an Official Launch Trailer with a look at what to expect. Here's word:
Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle™, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark™ and The Last Crusade™. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them - Indiana Jones™. You’ll become the legendary archaeologist in this cinematic action-adventure game from MachineGames, the award-winning studio behind the recent Wolfenstein series, and executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard.

Live the adventure as Indy in a thrilling story full of exploration, immersive action, and intriguing puzzles. As the brilliant archaeologist – famed for his keen intellect, cunning resourcefulness, and trademark humor – you will travel the world in a race against enemy forces to discover the secrets to one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
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Steam Passes 39M CCUs

The Official Steam Charts reflect a new concurrent user record for Steam, showing Valve's online service peaked at over 39 million users this weekend (thanks DSOGaming). It was just about 10 weeks ago that Steam passed 38M concurrent users, which came just a month after it passed 37M CCUs. In case anyone asks, memorize the new magic number:

39,159,669
PEAK ONLINE

Marvel Rivals Passes 10M Players

This post from the Marvel Rivals team announces the free-to-play first-person shooter hosted over 10 million players in the first three days following its launch:
🎉 In just 72 hours, we’ve reached an incredible milestone of 10 million players worldwide! 🎉

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. 🫶

Let’s ignite the battle together! 💖

EXFIL Early Access Wednesday

Revived publisher MicroProse announces a partnership with Misultin Studios to bring EXFIL to Steam, saying the sandbox first-person shooter will launch into Early Access on Wednesday. This post celebrates the news by welcoming recruits and introducing the game's PvP experience. A new cinematic Publishing Announcement Trailer looks at graphics and glimpses of an extraction mission. Here's word:
EXFIL is a tactical first-person shooter that empowers players with sandbox game modes and the tools to play the way they want. With an active Discord server boasting over 3,000 members, we've established a space where feedback is actively sought and implemented.

As a small team of four core developers, we aim to continue to tap into our community’s creativity and feedback. Our game will enable players to craft new game modes, scenarios, and unique experiences. Whether it's competitive PvP, cooperative challenges, or dynamic PvE missions, we want to give players the freedom to think outside the box and shape their gameplay in ways that push the boundaries of traditional shooters.
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Priest Simulator: Vampire Show and DLC Released

Priest Simulator: Vampire Show is out of Early Access, and this "mockumental" first-person shooter is now officially available on Steam, promising "the absolute weirdest and most messed up simulator in the history of sandbox shooters." The occasion is marked by the release of new Her Ghost DLC for the game. The DLC is 15% off and the game has a 40% launch discount for the next week. Here's the Game Release Trailer, the DLC Release Trailer, and word from developer Asmodev and publisher Ultimate Games on what makes this unusual:
Priest Simulator is an action mockumentary with a completely messed-up story that will introduce you to the fantastic world of modern Poland. Put yourself in the cassock of a vampire priest who wants to get his batoon back and return to Hell. To that end, you must fight shatanistic hordes, beef up, renovate the church, and gather splendor.

Use your divine arsenal of 8 unique weapons. You’ve got two hands. That means two weapons at once! Defend San de Ville from shatanists and Hell’s envoys using a combination of your choosing. Use black metal to craft upgrades and adapt them to your play style.
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LEGO Fortnite Brick Life Announced

Epic Games announces LEGO Fortnite Brick Life, a "social roleplay experience" in LEGO Fortnite, the toy building tie-in with the occasionally building-oriented sprawling gameplay octopus that is Fortnite. Here's a Gameplay Trailer and here's word:
Pack up your bricks and pieces and step into an ever-evolving city, where you can build your own stories by interacting with both the environment and your fellow residents.

Gather your friends (and make new ones!) as you explore vibrant locales, like sunset-drenched beaches and the mysterious Mourndale Academy, alongside 31 other players. Become the ultimate socialite and hang out in restaurants, house parties, and rooftop clubs. Activities in LEGO® Fortnite Brick Life are better together too; host a band practice down the beach, grab a bite to eat with friends, or race through the streets on hoverboards.
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Out of the Blue

Happy 27th(!) birthday to Quake II. This is another chance to thank id for creating it, and another chance to thank all the parties involved in the 2023 update that makes the game easily playable on modern systems, in case you want to play it to celebrate the occasion.

So it appears the often hapless New York Mets have landed Juan Soto, the plumb free agent of this baseball off-season. On the one hand, getting a superstar at the age of 26 (much less taking him from the Yankees) giving up no resources other than cash is a great move for a cash-rich team. But as much as I bemoaned the team's poverty when that was at issue, paying out the richest contract in the history of sports (15 years, $765 million) doesn't feel like a real point of pride. Baseball's lack of any sort of hard salary cap combined with the miserly profit-sharing between the haves and have-nots has led to New York and Los Angeles being able to toss so much more money around than the smaller-market teams that it's uncompetitive. This has always been the case in baseball, but I think it's becoming more of a problem as salaries escalate and these income gaps become even wider. This doesn't seem great for the sport in the long-term, but this is how they've been doing things for about 150 years now, so what do I know?

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