PC Game News

Time for some real news. 2K Game released a new developer diary video for "Mafia II", providing insight on the game's characters and cinematic-style storytelling.

"Like the original Mafia title, Mafia 2 immerses players in the mob underworld of a fictitious late 1940's-early 1950's scenario. Players will easily become engaged in the game's cinematic Hollywood movie experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city. By fusing high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia 2 looks to be the industry's most compelling Mafia title to date."

I'm not sure if it's worth trying to post any real news today, since almost everything on the internet is a potential joke. We posted the Civ V extreme diplomacy mode and Paradox's pre-order number fib and here is a round up of some additional gems that are gaming related. Post a comment with any others that we're missing.

• Diablo III X-Treme Gamer Blanket and Body Pillow
• ThinkGeek's iCade for the iPad (actually kind of cool)
• TimeGate Studios Proclaims Section 7: Into Arm’s Way Destined
• Battle.net Matchmaking
• World of Warcraft Equipment Potency Equivalence Number
• Halo Movie Series – Trailer Debut on IGN (Bollywood Style)
• Razor Venom
• Halo: Reach
• ECCO: WATER WARS 2! First Porpoise Shooter
• Paragon Studios Announced City of Sidekicks
• Blizzard Announces Blackthorne 2: Thorne Harder

Another fine April Fools story for the day – Paradox Interactive announced that "Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West" has racked up over 2.4 billion pre-order copies.

"In a brief statement made after an intense round of Lead and Gold from the game's beta testing, Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester said, "There are so many inflated sales numbers in the gaming industry today that it feels especially good to present some actual numbers for once. This game is so incredibly awesome that the sales numbers don’t shock us at all. One beautiful thing about being a privately held company is that we really don’t need to provide proof, but everyone can just take our word for it. With console pre-order numbers are coming early next week which we expect will triple the sales numbers.”

For more life changing information, please visit www.paradoxplaza.com and www.leadandgold.com."

2K Games today announced a new game mode that will be included in the upcoming "Civilization V" sequel called Extreme Diplomacy, which allows two world leaders to enter a death match fight if normal diplomacy fails.

Two world leaders enter; one world leader leaves. The victor will obtain complete control of the challenger’s world empire.

 An Uber Edition of Sid Meier’s Civilization V will include an optional eight-button joystick to bring the classic fighting arcade game feel to these Extreme Diplomacy battles. Additionally, each world leader will have unique special attacks and finishing moves, including:

• George Washington’s Uncle Slam Attack
• Oda Nobunaga’s Tsunami Train Attack
• Otto von Bismarck’s Hurricane Helmet Spike Attack
• Ramesses II’s Phalanx of the Leopard Army
• Montezuma’s Revenge of the Aztec Army
• Napoleon’s Complex Military Strike

In addition to the introduction of hexagon tiles allowing for deeper strategy, more realistic gameplay and stunning organic landscapes for players to explore as they expand their empire, Extreme Diplomacy gives Sid Meier’s Civilization V players yet another way to take over empires and conquer the world.

For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization V for Windows PC, or on how to school fools in a bitter mano-a-mano duel to the death, please visit www.civilization.com.

Soldak Entertainment today announced that "Din's Curse" is now available to purchase from the official site.

"Din's Curse is a single player and co-op multiplayer action RPG with 141 class combinations, infinite number of dynamically generated towns, real consequences, and a dynamic, evolving world.

Din's Curse can be purchased at:
https://www.soldak.com/Dins-Curse/Buy.html"

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of March 29, 2010.

PC Games:

• Mount & Blade: Warband

Movies Opening This Week:

• Clash of the Titans
• Don McKay (limited LA/NY)
• The Last Song
• Warlords (limited LA/NY)
• Why Did I Get Married Too?

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• 3 Idiots
• Afghan Star
• Alice in Wonderland – 2 Disc Special Ed.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [Blu-Ray]
• An Education
• An Education [Blu-Ray]
• Backyardigans: Escape From the Tower
• British Invasion – Box Set
• Collateral [Blu-Ray]
• Deadliest Catch: Season Five
• I Sell the Dead
• Imax: Under the Sea [Blu-Ray]
• Letters from Fountainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa
• Lord Peter Wimsey Collection: Set 1
• MysteryQuest: The Complete Season One
• Salt of the Earth
• Separation Sea Devils
• Sherlock Holmes
• Sports Night: Season One
• Steven Seagal Lawman: The Complete Season One
• The Abbott & Costello Show – Complete Series Collector's Ed.
• The Baader Meinhof Complex [Blu-Ray]
• The Crucifier of Blood
• The Killer [Blu-Ray]
• The Protester [Blu-Ray]
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Season One
• Weapons of Self Destruction
• WWII Movies: The Collector’s Series
• Yes Men Fix the World
   

Paradox Interactive today announced that "Mount & Blade: Warband has been shipped to North American retailers and is also available on all major digital distribution portals.

"The sequel to the original Mount & Blade introduces grueling 64 player multiplayer battles in the action-RPG that truly sets the standard for equestrian combat. With a host of new features and improvements, including a new campaign, highly-detailed open environments, and the ability to find love amongst violence, the ultimate battle for the throne of Calradia starts today.

Mount & Blade: Warband Game Features:

• Multiplayer battles with up to 64 players. Multiplayer modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Conquest, Battle, and Siege.
• Graphical overhaul: State-of-the-art rendering technologies combine with a more informative interface, allowing new and advanced players alike to enjoy an unprecedented level of immersion.
• Seek adventure alone, or recruit and train an army fit for a king. You and your companions will gain experience and skills while your soldiers evolve into a deadly fighting force.
• New campaign allows you to become the ruler of a faction and convince lords to become your vassals.
• New ability to marry a lady of the realm for romance or cold political gain. Try to win a lady’s heart through poetry or bravery.

For more information visit: www.mountandbladewarband.com and join the Mount & Blade community on Facebook. "

Electronic Arts announced that the "Battlefield: Bad Company 2" VIP Map Pack 2 has been released for both the PC and consoles.

"The map pack is available with the VIP code which is included in every new copy of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Players that do not have a code can purchase one via the in-game store, PC players will get the content as a game update. VIP status is also available to those on consoles without a VIP code through Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network.

To access the map pack content on console with your VIP status, go into the in-game store of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and select the VIP Map Pack 2. The maps will get added to your available map list so you can get straight into the servers and play. PC players will automatically have these maps added to the map rotation by the server providers.

New Modes:

• Arica Harbor Conquest Mode: Take to the streets and put your infantry skills to the test! Capture strategic town positions as Arica Harbor is enhanced with Conquest Mode.
• Laguna Presa Rush Mode: Capture and secure M-COM stations in Laguna Presa’s Rush Mode and discover all-new areas of the maps to take on the enemy.

Capcom today released a new video of "Lost Planet 2," which features 4 players trying out the co-op mode.

"Lost Planet 2 picks up 10 years since the events of the original adventure and the landscape has evolved dramatically. With the success of terraforming activities, the planet’s ice has begun to melt, giving way to lush tropical jungles and other new environments. The story has advanced beyond Wayne Holden as players will now follow the exploits of their own customized snow pirates on their quest to seize control of E.D.N III. Players will move their heroes through different stories creating a truly unique and interactive experience. With this concept, gamers will have the opportunity to engage in the story in a more dynamic way as plot threads evolve from various perspectives.

The strongest features from the first game will return in Lost Planet 2 making fans feel right at home. In addition to the anchor actions that made the gameplay in Lost Planet a true 3-D experience, Lost Planet 2 allows gamers to gain tactical advantage with a wide variety of new actions. The game will also contain a new addition to the enormous Akrids which were a fan-favourite in the first Lost Planet."

There was a countdown timer on the BioWare website that has now ended, revealing the "BioWare Bazaar," which will be a series of auctions where players can bid on BioWare swag. Participants must complete challenges to earn tokens for the auctions. The "contest" is only open to people within the US but apparently not residents of Florida and New York.

"The BioWare Bazaar is a week long series of online auctions featuring over 400 prizes, ranging from custom painted PC's to BioWare apparel and more!

To bid on these auctions, fans will have to collect tokens through various challenges. On April 6th on 9AM PST the first BioWare Bazaar auction will begin, with new prizes being auctioned every 15 minutes until 4PM PST on Saturday.

Tell your friends! Start collecting tokens! And get ready to win some amazing prizes."
 

EA today announced that "Battlefield 1943" has sold over 1 million units on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and will be headed to the PC soon.

"Originally released in July 2009, Battlefield 1943 has won over 4 game critic awards and is the most popular download-only multiplayer action game. The game brings DICE’s first-class WWII action to gamers where 24 players can compete across four classic WWII Battlefield maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea. These maps are inspired by the award winning Battlefield 1942™ game, and have been redesigned and reengineered from the ground up using the DICE Frostbite™ engine allowing players to wreak havoc and destruction via land, sea or air.

Battlefield 1943 is now available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1200 MS Points or on PlayStation®Network for $15. The game will soon also be available for PC.

For more information on Battlefield 1943 please visit www.battlefield1943.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OfficialBF1943."

Released Tuesday for the unbeatable price of FREE comes the Firewalker Pack. The Firewalker Pack includes five missions that take place in the new Hammerhead tank. Did I mention that it was free?

The Hammerhead is a type of hovertank that fires homing missiles.  It is essentially BioWare’s next generation Mako vehicle, which for those who don’t recall, was a horribly implemented exploration vehicle found in the original Mass Effect. Unlike the Mako, the Hammerhead is a much more precisely controlled vehicle, far faster than the Mako, capable of tight turns and due to the inclusion of hoverjets, capable of hovering off the ground for a few seconds at a time.

The missions included range from a tutorial mission, a platforming intensive fire world mission, an ice world speed mission and a couple of combat intensive missions. On a couple of the missions you will actually exit the vehicle briefly, however these were short portions and involved no combat. These missions are fairly short, the entire set taking perhaps one hour to complete in a single play through. I found it to be a solid introduction to the vehicle, leaving the door open perhaps for some future content. I did find one upgrade that you will need to research aboard the Normandy, which will raise your upgrades in one category past the current total of 5.

I found the Hamerhead to be the equivalent of a tin can in combat, easily being blown to bits in close encounters with the Geth raiders. This prompted me to start shooting all of the enemies from such a far distance that they were incapable of fighting back. This led to a certain amount of cheese-fighting and made the content slightly easy to complete. Still as a free introduction to the Hammerhead and an always appreciated addition to the content of the Mass Effect 2, the Firewalker pack comes highly recommended. Now we need to wait and see how the $7 DLC pack being released in April pans out. Expect a post regarding this new content once it has been released.

Paradox Interactive today announced that "Majesty 2: Kingmaker," the first expansion for Majesty 2, has been released through all major digital distribution portals.

"Containing a brand new single-player campaign consisting of eight missions, players will go up against Lord Blackviper and his army of evil goblins. In addition, Majesty 2: Kingmaker also contains brand new creatures to go up against and the ‘Kingmaker editor’, a mission creator toolset which enables players to create their own missions and battles."

Robert Culp, the voice behind Dr. Wallace Breen in Half-Life 2: Episode One among several other roles, died at age 79 after falling near his home in Hollywood. Culp is best known for his staring role in the 1960s TV series "I Spy" alongside Bill Cosby. Culp's character in Half-Life 2 was known as "the administrator" of the Black Mesa Research Facility and was seen talking on the large screens in-game.

In other news, Toronto science-fiction writer Peter Watts, who is the author of Crysis 2, was convicted of obstructing and resisting a U.S. Border Protection officer in Michigan. He faces up to 2 years in prison and will be sentenced on April 26. After the incident took place, a little over a year ago, he wrote about it on his blog and the case became somewhat of a controversy after Boing Boing picked it up and the story went viral.

Blizzard Entertainment today announced "BlizzCon 2010," which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23, 2010.

"BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes.

“BlizzCon offers us a great opportunity to meet with our players and share our enthusiasm for gaming with one of the most passionate communities in the world,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to providing another great show filled with entertainment, competition, and the latest information about Blizzard Entertainment games.”

In addition to serving as a gathering place for Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer attendees a chance to enjoy:

• Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games
• Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers
• Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
• Community contests with great prizes
• Commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard Entertainment’s game universes
• More exciting activities and attractions to be announced

The previous BlizzCon was held in Anaheim in August 2009. Tickets to the event sold out in minutes, and some of the highlights included the announcement of World of Warcraft®: Cataclysm™, the unveiling of a new playable class in Diablo® III, the first public hands-on with the single-player campaign of StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™, and a closing concert featuring rock legend Ozzy Osbourne.

Further details about BlizzCon 2010, including ticket availability and pricing, will be announced on the official BlizzCon website, www.blizzcon.com, as the event draws closer."