All PC News

Lord of the Rings Online Book 14 Update Goes Live Tomorrow (Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar)

Jul 24, 2008

Codemasters and Turbine have announced that the eagerly awaited update will go live tomorrow.

Fallout Comic Strips by Penny Arcade (Fallout 3)

Jul 23, 2008

GamingShogun reports on a message received from Pete Hines stating that the first of many official Fallout 3 comic strips, created by the guys at Penny Arcade, has been posted online for your viewing pleasure...

Space siege demo comig in four days (Space Siege)

Jul 23, 2008

Nvidia owned site nzone announces that demo of Space siege, new game by Chris Taylor (maker of Dungeon siege and Supreme commander), will be available in 4 days 1 hour.

Aliens Game Being Written By Battlestar Galactica Team (Aliens: Colonial Marines)

Jul 23, 2008

"This is no joke," said Gearbox president Randy Pitchford, and I had to agree. The more we hear about Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, 360, PS3), the more exciting it sounds for fans of the original films.

Gearbox seems dedicated to staying faithful to the source material, and smartly expanding on it with a solid creative team. Four player co-op doesn't hurt, either.

During the interview, Pitchford explained the lengths that his company went to in order to make their game feel like an authentic piece of the Aliens franchise.

Randy Pitchford: One thing that's cool is some of the people we've been able to work with to help us [on Aliens]. The guys that write the Battlestar Galactica series, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, they wrote our script. They're amazing guys. They gave us a lot, too. We could make a whole season of TV with the stuff they gave us. [laughs] We profited from the writer's strike, let's just put it that way. We talked with a lot of people, but those guys are so good.

Toys R Us midnight Star Wars: Clone Wars event, life-size action figure giveaway (Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy)

Jul 23, 2008

From the article:

"As if fans really need another reason to get psyched about the upcoming animated Star Wars: Clone Wars film, Toys R Us is having an in-store midnight sales event featuring Clone Wars products and also giving away four five-feet tall Clone Wars action figures."

Toys R Us is also offering free shipping on select items including many LucasArts videogames including Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Thrillville and Lego: Indiana Jones. Several videogames include a buy-one-get-one-half-price offer. Also:

"To help promote the event, Toys R Us is also giving away four life-size (as in five feet tall) action figures. Depending on the week, you could win a large-scale Anakin, Captain Rex, Obi-Wan or Ahsoka figure. You can enter once per day via the "Galactic Star Wars Sweepstakes" web site."

San Diego Comic-Con: The Complete World of Warcraft Panel (World of Warcraft)

Jul 23, 2008

A variety of Blizzard Entertainment products will be showcased at the San Diego Comic Con this Friday, July 25th. Among the companies that will participate in these World of Warcraft Panel are: Upper Deck Entertainment, Tokyopop, Pocket Star Books, DC Comics Wildstorm, and DC Unlimited. Blizzard Entertainment VP of Creative Design Chris Metzen will be there as well. Many prizes will be given away to attendees, including an exclusive variant cover of a World of Warcraft comic book.

Namco steps in to rescue Hellgate (Hellgate: London)

Jul 23, 2008

According to a post on the official Hellgate forums, Namco has stepped in to save the Flagship game being washed away in the wake of the developer's demise.

PC Gamer October Edition Scores Diablo III Exclusive (Diablo III)

Jul 23, 2008

PCG podcast #139 (entitled Bugged) has revealed that Diablo III is the next cover story of PC Gamer magazine at newsstands. Apparently there will be new art revealed in this magazine, a Q&A with the Lead Art Director, and possibly an interview with Mike Morhaime (Blizzard president). It's mentioned after 7:00 of the podcast, and they also talk about the online petition.

Fallout Coming to GameTap This Thursday (Fallout)

Jul 23, 2008

Ripten's Demi Adejuyigbe writes:

"As demonstrated during Microsoft's Press Conference at E3, Bethesda is nearing completion on the third iteration in the Fallout series, due out October 7th. Of course, with the changes that have been made to the series in Bethesda's hands, Interplay is giving gamers a reality check by releasing the first game in the Fallout series on GameTap - for free."

PSU: Bioshock PS3 features better anti-aliasing (BioShock)

Jul 23, 2008

PSU Writes:

According to Bioshock senior producer Melissa Miller, the PS3 version of Bioshock will only meet the same visual quality of that seen in Xbox 360 version.

"We're looking to match the quality of the original version," Miller commented. "We want to make sure that the water is just as great, and I think you can see from the demonstration, that it looks no different from the 360 version."

However one of our contributing editors, Dave Wales, got some hands-on time with the title at this year's E3, and he assured me otherwise.

"One of the very first things you'll notice within BioShock [PS3] is that all anti-aliasing issues are now gone. There were absolutely no edging issues or jaggedness to any portions of what was displayed on screen," said Wales. "I almost felt like I was staring at a redesigned title."

Spore Box Art Finalized (Spore)

Jul 23, 2008

Ripten writes: "Spore box art announced … uhhhh what can I say … it's very colorful, very boxy, and very artsy! Will Wright kicks ass, and I am pretty sure that Spore will too."

Sony: 'DC Universe Online' Is An MMO For The Console Crowd Too (DC Universe Online)

Jul 22, 2008

Mutiplayer's Tracey John reports:

"When I briefly spoke with John Blakely, VP of development for Sony Online Entertainment – Austin, at E3 last week, he promised that "DC Universe Online" has something for everybody.

For anyone who's a fan of DC Comics, they can, of course, expect nods to various aspects of the DC Universe. "The DC fan is going to be like 'I want to see Superman, I want to see Batman.' There's Bizarro, Big Belly Burger and those kind of things," Blakely said, without revealing too many details before a playable version of the game hits Comic Con later this week."

WoW Death Knight Talent Builds Look Awesome ... Maybe A Bit Overpowered? (World of Warcraft)

Jul 22, 2008

With the NDA lifted from the WoW beta, lots of cool things are starting to surface for those of us not lucky enough to get a beta invite yet. One user posted three different videos of the Death Knight talent builds, and how they look in action.

The class looks pretty fun to play, and in its current form, some are even suggesting it might be a bit overpowered.

TrackMania 2.11.13 Patch Released (TrackMania United )

Jul 22, 2008

Avid Gamer writes:

"TrackMania Forever doesn't seem to be losing its appeal anytime soon. Thankfully the developers feel the same way. They've sent out a small patch (3.99megs) to address some minor bug fixes, bringing the game up to version 2.11.13.

There are two variations, one for the paid 'TrackMania United Forever' and the other, the free TrackMania Nations Forever. Make sure you pick up the correct patch and the previous update."

Pro Cycling Manager Demo is Out (Pro Cycling Manager - Tour de France 2008)

Jul 22, 2008

GamingShogun is reporting that the demo for Pro Cycling Manager has been released today and has a download link for your enjoyment. The demo runs 760 MB and features a 157.4 km track for you to cut your teeth on.

Bioware: Mass Effect Trilogy Exclusive to 360 - Mass Effect 2 in '09? (XboxOZ360) (Mass Effect)

Jul 22, 2008

In the just released September issue of Australian 360, comes the commitment of Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka "to bring the Mass Effect trilogy exclusively to the Xbox 360."

Speaking exclusively to Australian 360 at EA's European Showcase, Muzyka also stated "we said we were committed to supporting Mass Effect as a franchise and have the trilogy on the Xbox 360, and that's still our goal", before adding to the question of the trilogy staying exclusive with what appears to be a subtle jibe at Sony, saying "we're always very ambitious in our goals and the most important thing is quality, so we're never going to compromise that."

Not only will the trilogy stay exclusive to the 360, but it will be released entirely on the 360 platform. And for our gaming colleagues who enjoy their PS3's and Wii's there's still hope that they may yet get to experience the wonderful world of Mass Effect, albeit not within the Commander Shepard based trilogy.

But beyond all the console positioning and future IP speculation are some juicy details for the current trilogy that should get fans excited for what appears to be a 2009 release for Mass Effect 2...

2K Games not improving BioShock visuals for PS3 version (BioShock)

Jul 22, 2008

Some bad news for PS3 owners hoping for some improvements in the graphics department for upcoming shooter BioShock. Publisher 2K Games has confirmed to VideoGamer.com that it's concentrating on matching, not bettering the visuals seen in the Xbox 360 version.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Centrino2 Support Announced (Sacred 2: Fallen Angel)

Jul 22, 2008

To be released this October: Ascaron today announced the Centrino2 support for Sacred 2: Fallen Angel meaning that notebooks incorporating this chipset will be able to run the game smoothly. Two thousand years before the original adventure, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel treads the path of light and shadow through a seamless three-dimensional land of ancient legend. Featuring 6 diverse characters, extensive skill progression, a range of gameplay styles, and parallel campaigns of heroic duality in both single and multi-player modes, the game brings the fantasy world to life. The game will ship this October for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

E3 2008: Mercenaries 2 Lets You Blow Up In-Game Ads For Fun, Profit (Mercenaries 2: World in Flames)

Jul 21, 2008

Sean Hollister from GameCyte writes: Over three years in the making, and with just a single month before its commercial debut on August 31st, we thought we'd heard everything there was to hear about Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. The game's huge. It has online co-op. You can blow $#!^ up. But while exploring Pandemic Studios' next-gen playground of destruction at E3 2008, we noticed something new: lots and lots of billboards, with the word "Massive" embedded in placeholder text near the bottom of each.

WoW Coming To Latin America: July 25th (World of Warcraft)

Jul 21, 2008

"We're looking forward to welcoming new players to World of Warcraft with the release of the Latin American Spanish version next week," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. "In addition, we're pleased to now be able to offer our existing Spanish-speaking community a fully localized version of the game with dedicated realms and support.