New Demos and Patches

Warner Bros. has announced the release of the PC version of the "Armored Front" map pack, which includes the Conductor Map, Decoy Map, and four new unique heads.

"The "Armored Front" map pack consists of two maps, Conductor and Decoy, as well as four unique character heads to swap out.

• Conductor Map: Push out of a train yard into the vast and open-ended junction station built around a turntable. EPAs will battle their way through the ground floor, as infantry can choose to either support from below or scale the heights of the station and engage in long-range combat.
• Decoy Map: This full-scale training ground for Replica soldiers is a true test of skill! Once a controlled arena for combat exercises, now it is under a full-blown assault for control between Replica and ATC. Players must watch out for ambushes and avoid getting duped by the pop-up target dummies.
• Character Heads: Four unique heads for use in customizing characters.

“Armored Front” is the second of three robust DLC packs for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin; the "Toy Soldiers” map pack launched in April and the third pack is slated for summer 2009. “Armored Front” launched on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®Network for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system on May 21, 2009.

In F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin a routine assignment to locate the president of Armacham Technology Corporation in connection with an unfolding hostage crisis turns into a desperate battle for survival after an explosion decimates the city and unleashes Alma Wade, the terrifying supernatural menace at the centre of Armacham’s highly classified Project Origin. As Alma’s power swells out of control, special forces Sgt. Michael Becket and his squad must battle through an apocalyptic landscape of shattered buildings and buckled streets in search of clues for how to destroy her. The more Becket learns about Armacham’s secret experiments and reckless agenda, the more he begins to suspect that he’s somehow linked to the crisis and may be the only one capable of averting total disaster."

The ~900MB map pack is available to download through digital distribution websites and the following mirrors for the retail version: FileFront, FileShack, or Worthplaying.

An "Overlord II" demo has been released, giving players a chance to try out the upcoming action adventure game by Triumph Studios.

"In the Overlord II demo, players step into the big spiky boots of a new Overlord whose sights are firmly set on becoming the king of chaos, the bringer of evil and the master of Minions. As the demo opens the Overlord, aided and abetted by a team of brown fighter Minions, emerges from his underground lair into the ice caves only to discover a Yeti frozen in a block of ice. The Minions can, in their inimitably violent way, ‘defrost’ him and then give chase as he knuckles out into the snowy wastes of the Hunting Grounds, near the town of Nordberg.

Then it’s time to put the Minions to work, harvesting valuable life-force from the indigenous fauna. Minions will happily lock onto anything in the vicinity – including fluffy seal pups (‘Well,’ argue the Minions, ‘the smelly furballs are eating all the lovely fishies’). There are also Nordburgian Hunters and hippy, peace-loving elves to contend with but, as ever, the Minions aren’t fussy who they attack for their master.

To speed their progress, Minions can befriend a pack of wolves and ride them through the snowy landscape like a Minion Cavalry. The wolf-mounted Minion is an altogether tougher force, more deadly and more agile – wolves have their own attack moves and will knock enemies off their feet through sheer force, biting and goring opponents into submission."

The 972MB demo can be downloaded from The Official Site, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, or Worthplaying.

CD Projekt RED has announced that version 1.5 of "The Witcher" will soon be released, which includes 5 new fan-made adventures and also removes the DRM for the DVD version.

"The Witcher: Enhanced Edition 1.5 is the newest version of the game, including all bonus content from The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and five additional fan-made adventures. Most importantly, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition 1.5 is completely DRM-free! Playing The Witcher will be even more fun without any form of annoying copy protection. Moreover, the 1.5 version of The Witcher will remove the disc check, allowing you to play the game without the DVD in the drive.

All available versions of the game will be upgraded to 1.5, including the forthcoming The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut for North American gamers.

As usual the patch containing the additional content will be available to download for free from our website for all registered The Witcher and The Witcher: Enhanced Edition owners!

More detailed information will be released on our website https://www.thewitcher.com."

1C Company has released a new patch for "Men of War", updating the RTS game by Best Way and Digital Mindsoft with two new multiplayer maps and several fixes.

This patch contains multiple performance enhancements and fixes as well as the addition of some new maps.

• Added DesertWalk map.
• Added Rustle of Sands map.
• Added T-60, T29 tanks.

Fixed multiplayer maps:

• bazerville
• borovaya
• farmstead
• forest
• hunting

Fixed single-player maps:

• Baptism by Fire
• Moscow Is Behind Us
• Chasing Shadows
• Scorching Sands
• Desert Stronghold

Turning Point New additions:

• Kanawa mine
• Dead River
• Dunverde

For a complete changelist check the read-me in Start>Programs>Aspyr>MenofWar>Patch 1.11.3.0 Readme after applying the patch.

The 98.26MB retail patch can be downloaded from Aspyr, FileShack, or Strategy Informer. Digital distribution patches can be found on Aspyr’s site.

Paradox has release a patch for "Elven Legacy", bringing the recent turn-based strategy game by Ino-co to version 1.0.9.2.

"The new patch for the English versions of Elven Legacy addresses a variety of issues and once the patch has been downloaded and installed, the player will notice the updates of the patch that includes:"

Elven Legacy Patch 1.0.9.2 updates:

• Russian voice-overs in the tutorial are changed to English
• The localization of Chosen Fencers unit has been corrected
• The amount of Video Memory is now detected correctly on Windows Vista 32 bit and 64 bit
• The issues with the Advanced Tutorial mission has been corrected
• Final movie sequence is now correct
• Fixed image quality issues when FSAA (full-screen anti-aliasing) is on in Windows video driver options
• Opening Mission map (“M” keyboard shortcut) is now working

The 6.1MB patch can be downloaded from the official site, Atomic Gamer, Gamer’s Hell, or Worthplaying.

ACE Team has announced that a demo for "Zeno Clash", the newly released first-person action game, is now available to download on Steam.

"The demo is available through Steam and will be distributed soon through other channels. The demo features a portion of the single-player campaign and the first tower level from the Challenge mode. Demo players will be able to post scores if they complete the first tower challenge."

Paradox has released an "Elven Legacy" demo, giving players a chance to try out the recently released turn-based strategy game by Ino-co.

"Elven Legacy sends players on an epic quest aimed to restore the former glory of the Elven race. With a thrilling non-linear storyline and tools that allow players to create their own missions and share them in multiplayer mode, Elven Legacy will provide hours of exciting game play for strategy fans.

Elven Legacy is available from retailers everywhere, along with the leading digital download outlets for a suggested retail price of $29.99."

The 700.5MB demo can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer, or Wothplaying.

CDV released a new patch for "Sacred 2: Fallen Angle", bringing the role-playing game by Ascaron to version 2.4.

"The new patch updates the retail version of Sacred 2 to version 2.40 and adds a slew of new features, including nVidia® PhysXTM support, new mini-bosses and a new achievement system.

The patch, along with a detailed “readme” file, is available at https://update.sacred2.com/, and includes the following content updates and fixes –

• nVidia PhysX technology implemented for two combat arts of each respective hero
  • Direct impact on immediate environment
  • Updated particle effects
  • Variable wind speeds
• Pause functionality for single player mode
• Direct control of minions
• New achievement system (available in logbook)
• Inventory screen changes:
  • Equipped items now have a new layout which is individual for each character
• Three new mini bosses
  • All mini bosses now have their own quests"

MIrrors:

The full 817MB US patch can be downloaded from AtomicGamer or FileShack.

The 200MB v2.34 > v2.4 US patch is mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileShack, or Gamer’s Hell.

A new patch for "The Settlers: Rise of an Empire" has been released, bringing the real-time strategy game by Blue Byte to version 1.7.

Version 1.7

• This v1.7 patch removes the DVD copy protection on the retail edition.

The 161.4MB patch can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer, or Worthplaying.

A "Codename Panzers: Cold War" multiplayer demo has been released, giving players a chance to try out the multiplayer portion of the upcoming strategy game by Stormregion.

"With support for online and LAN play, the multiplayer demo showcases the Domination mode and features the Islands of Hope map in which the players are charged with seizing control of a nuclear weapon. Players will have access to the full range of units available in the multiplayer game, and will be able to capture several Points of Interest including a radar station, HQ and radio station, each of which affords special strategic and tactical advantages.

The multiplayer element of the full game features 20 varied maps and three gameplay modes: Domination, Co-op and Deathmatch.

Codename Panzers: Cold War represents the pinnacle of Cold War era conventional warfare including real world post-war heavy armor battles between heavy tanks like the American M103 and the Russian Troyanov. The signature Codename Panzers ‘Point of Interest’ system takes the gameplay beyond build-and-rush, while special urban warfare tactics and dynamic weather create even more gameplay depth and realism.

Codename Panzers: Cold War is scheduled to ship March 10th in North America and March 13th in Europe. For more information and to download the single player and multiplayer demos please visit the official website at www.codenamepanzerscoldwar.com."

The 522MB demo is also mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, GameUpdates, or Worthplaying.

A new patch for "Team Fortress 2" has been released, fixing some minor things.

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Gameplay changes

• Added a duck timer that prevents duck spamming while running around on-ground
• In-air, players are only allowed to duck once before they touch ground again
• Fixed several bounding box issues with jumping, falling, and rocket jump air-walking. Bounding box should be much more accurate there now
• Increased backstab check so that Spies can side-stab again
• When disguising, Spies now always start showing the primary weapon in their disguise, and can then switch it with the last-disguise key

TF2 Fixes

• Fixed flamethrower loophole that resulted in the flame effect being stuck on while the flamethrower wasn’t really firing
• Fixed exploit that allowed players to circumvent the force-fire timeout on the pipebomb launcher
• Fixed a bug that caused Natasha’s slow on hit effect to be inverted from 75% to 25%
• Restored sawmill_logs.mdl file, fixing some user maps that used it
• Fixed some localization issues with Scout achievement strings
• Removed the "Final" phrasing in the map loading screen

Engine fixes

• Fixed a server crash on startup under Linux
• Fixed a buffer overflow issue related to network string tables
• Gamestats uploading is now done asynchronously. This fixes the client timeout issues on map changes

CP_Junction

• Fixed an exploit where engineers could build a teleporter exit in an invalid area
• Fixed a few bad overlay assignments and other minor issues

Midway and Epic Games have released the promised Titan Pack for "Unreal Tournament 3", adding new maps, gameplay modes, units, characters, and more. In addition, a patch was released, bringing the game to version 2.0.

"This massive free download includes:

New Maps – 11 new multiplayer maps for Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (CTF), Vehicle CTF and Warfare modes, plus eight maps from the first UT3 bonus pack and Xbox 360 version of the game.

New Gameplay – Two new gameplay modes make their debut in the Titan Pack: Greed, a "tug of war" styled kill points fight, and Betrayal, a cutthroat style of combat where alliances can turn on a dime.

New Units – The X-Ray Field deployable can be used to waste enemies, while the Link Station can be deployed to keep your vehicles in fighting shape. The new Stealthbender vehicle renders itself invisible for surprise attacks, and comes with a Link Station, X-Ray Field, Spidermine traps and a powerful EMP mine. The Eradicator and Stinger are deployable turret units allowing players to rain death on their enemies and protect their bases during combat.

Titan Mutator – This mutator turns you into the dreaded Titan, a 15-foot tall destructive juggernaut possessing all effects from game power-ups at once. Morph into the thundering Behemoth, a 10-meter tall demon of devastation, to deal a temporary yet deadly blow to enemies.

New Characters – Nova and Kana are two new merchants of death joining the multiplayer mayhem."

The 309.4MB patch can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, GameUpdates, StrategyInformer, or Worthplaying.

The 916MB Titan Pack can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, GameUpdates, StrategyInformer, or Worthplaying.

Ubisoft has released a "H.A.W.X." demo, giving players a chance to try out the upcoming flight combat simulation game by Ubisoft Bucharest.

"Tom Clancy’s HAWX delivers an intense and authentic aerial combat experience by fully leveraging the benefits of the next-generation platforms. The story begins in the year 2012. As the era of the nation-state draws quickly to a close, the rules of warfare evolve even more rapidly. More and more nations become increasingly dependent on private military companies (PMCs), elite mercenaries with a lax view of the law. The Reykjavik Accords further legitimize their existence by authorizing their right to serve in every aspect of military operations. While the benefits of such PMCs are apparent, growing concerns surrounding giving them too much power begin to mount."

The 1.24GB demo can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, or Worthplaying.

As promised, Valve released the "Team Fortress 2" Scout update and to celebrate, they’ve halved the price to $9.99 until Friday.

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

New features

• Added The Force-A-Nature, The Sandman, and Bonk!
• Added 35 new Scout achievements
• Added crit boosted on/off sound effects
• Added new sounds for upgraded teleporters
• Added new sound for a fully charged medic dying
• Add bonus points section to scores
  • Scouts earn a bonus point for killing Medics who are actively healing a target
• Added several new speech concepts, mostly hooked up to new Scout lines
• Added new "Remember last weapon between lives" option to the Multiplayer Advanced dialog
• Spies can now control which weapon the enemy team sees them holding. Hitting the "last disguise" key while disguised updates the disguise to show the Spy’s currently held weapon
• Added several new Arena mode announcer speech events.
• Added "First Blood" to Arena mode
• Removed 2x item respawn times in arena
• Changed backstab handling to fix facestabs
• Spies disguised as enemy team can now see player IDs for enemies

New maps

• Added community maps: cp_egypt, arena_watchtower, and cp_junction
• Updated cp_fastlane with Arttu’s new version

Mapmaker requests

• Added new input for forward speed modifier to FuncTrainTrain
• Added TeleportToPathTrack input to func_tracktrain

Bugfixes

• Fixed a bug where players would sometimes gib from non-gib damage kills
• Fixed stat screen showing an entry for a class called "map."
• Fixed item model panels not using team skins
• Fixed obscure bug where spectators were able to carry the flag

Valve announced that a new update for "Team Fortress 2" will be released next week, focusing on the Scout class. Details will be unveiled on the Team Fortress website day by day until next Tuesday, when the patch is released. And no, we will not be posting the details each day so you’ll have to keep track yourself if you want to see the full list of updates.

"The releases are headline by the Scout Update and will be made available Tuesday, February 24. Between now and then, folks can learn more about what’s coming by checking www.tf2.com/scoutupdate each day."