PC Game News

Valve today announced the launch of a limited access beta for the previously announced Community Update on Steam.

“The Steam Community Beta is now open to the first 50,000 players who earned the ‘Pillar of the Steam Community’ badge and includes another invite to share. Beta access will increase incrementally until the public launch.

To celebrate the launch of Team Fortress 2’s new game mode, Mann vs. Machine, the Team Fortress 2 Game Hub is now accessible to everyone.

The new Steam Community update includes:

• Game Hubs – Every game on Steam now has a Game Hub, which provides a quick way for users to browse the best of a variety of content as rated by the community at large. Each Game Hub also includes a game-specific discussion area where players can talk about their favorite Steam games.
• Group Updates – Player-created groups have been redesigned so it’s now easier to see what a group is all about and who is participating in it. Groups now also include public and private discussion areas where they can remain in touch with their own communities.
• My Content Updates – The content you’ve created now lives in one central place with new viewing options including an “image wall” layout that showcases your top-rated content. Also new is the ability to mark screenshots, videos, and workshop items as Favorites to save or share with friends.
• Friend Activity – The new feed makes it easy to view, rate, and comment on the content and activities of your friends in a visually-rich and interactive presentation. Players can also broadcast game-specific status updates to start a conversation with their friends, directly in the activity feed.

More details regarding the Steam Community update are available at www.steamcommunity.com/communitycontent.”

A new Kickstarter campaign for Planetary Annihilation, a “next generation” RTS game, has launched and is quickly gaining momentum. The team behind the campaign is Uber Entertainment, an independent studio formed in 2008 and known for Monday Night Combat.

“Planetary Annihilation brings Real-Time Strategy to a new generation of gamers in a way they’ve never been seen before: Total Annihilation-inspired gameplay on a planetary scale.

We all know that the RTS genre has taken a hit. There just aren’t that many quality original RTS games coming out. If you love to play games like Total Annihilation your options are pretty limited. This is where Planetary Annihilation comes in. It is meant to be a truly innovative spin on what RTS games can and should be.”

Valve today announced the launch of Mann vs. Machine, the co-op add-on game for Team Fortress 2.

“MvM lets you and five friends fight a lethal horde of robots on all-new maps, with the opportunity to upgrade abilities and weapons along the way. Band together to survive all of the robot waves in a variety of missions to earn incredible loot and unlock new achievements.
 
To find out more about MvM, please visit https://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/.”

A new Humble Bundle was launched today for “Android” but is also available on PC, Mac and Linux. Games in this round include BIT.TRIP BEAT, Fieldrunners, SpaceChem and Uplink (tablets only) and if you beat the average price Spirits (debuting on Windows).

“Purchasing the bundle gets you instant access to Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android versions of all the games, many of which are making their Android and Linux debut! All the games are DRM-free, and you can redeem them on Steam as well. You can also donate a portion of your purchase to vital non-profits: the Child’s Play Charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.”

Bigpoint today announced that Battlestar Galactica Online and Drakensang Online, two free-to-play MMOs, are available and featured this week on the Amazon Game Store.

“Both of Bigpoint’s hit titles can be easily discovered in the Amazon Game Store. Based on Battlestar Galactica, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Syfy television series, Battlestar Galactica Online is a tactical space combat MMO that combines immersive mission-based gameplay and exploration with high-quality, 3D graphics. Players can choose to fight as a Human or Cylon in a constant struggle to control the universe. In Drakensang Online, the action-packed, hack-n-slash fantasy MMORPG, players can embark upon a mysterious adventure to become a fearless warrior against evil of the Anderworld. The game incorporates challenging quests, an impressive armory of weapons, and over 100 hours of gaming content.

Game Connect is a new technology that integrates Amazon user accounts directly to the free-to-play title of choice, and enables users to securely purchase in-game items and subscriptions through the online retailer. Customers have the option to download a number of free-to-play titles or play directly in their web browser. Amazon has strategically selected Bigpoint among a dozen game developers for the initial release of Game Connect.
 
During the week of August 12-18, Battlestar Galactica Online and Drakensang Online will be featured in the free-to-play games and MMO section of the Amazon Game Store. In the months to come, Bigpoint will introduce new games from their successful suite of online titles to the Amazon platform.”

THQ today announced that Darksiders II has been shipped to North American retailers and is now available.

“In Darksiders II players assume the role of Death, the most feared of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, in an action-adventure game nearly four times the size of its predecessor. Faster gameplay, deep skill trees and a new loot system all build upon the strengths of the original, allowing players a wide variety of character development and customization options.

Darksiders II is available for the suggested prices of U.S. $59.99 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) and U.S. $49.99 (PC). Darksiders II also will be available for Nintendo’s Wii U™ entertainment system later this year.

For more information about Darksiders II, please visit www.Darksiders.com. “

The Bethesda blog has been updated with the announcement of the minimum and recommended system requirements for Dishonored, the anticipated upcoming action adventure game by Arkane Studios.

Minimum Spec:

• OS: Windows Vista / Windows 7
• Processor: 3.0 GHz dual core or better
• Memory: 4 GB system RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 9 GB
• Video Card: DirectX 9 compatible with 512 MB video RAM or better (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / ATI Radeon HD 5850)
• Sound: Windows compatible sound card

Enhanced for:

• 64-bit
• multi-core

Recommended Spec:

• OS: Windows Vista / Windows 7
• Processor: 2.4 GHz quad core or better
• Memory: 4 GB system RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 9 GB
• Video Card: DirectX 9 compatible with 768 MB video RAM or better (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / ATI Radeon HD 5850)
• Sound: Windows compatible sound card

The list of new PC game releases, Blu-ray releases and movies opening the week of August 13th, 2012.

PC games:

• Darksiders II
• Drip Drip
• Iron Brigade
• Legends of Pegasus
• Sleeping Dogs
• Surface: Mystery of Another World Collector’s Edition
• Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
• Tower Wars
• Witches’ Legacy: The Charleston Curse Collector’s Edition

Movies opening this week:

• Compliance (limited)
• ParaNorman
• Robot & Frank (limited)
• Sodmopolis (limited LA/NY)
• Sparkle
• The Awakening (limited)
• The Expendables 2
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green
• Why Stop Now (limited)

Blu-ray releases:

• A Man Apart
• Assassin’s Bullet
• Bigfoot
• Breathless
• Coast Series 7
• Cradle 2 the Grave
• Death Wish II
• Death Wish III
• Death Wish IV
• Demons Series One
• Dexter: The sixth Season
• Fallen
• Fastest
• Father’s Day 4 Disc Limited Ed.
• Glee: The Complete Third Season
• I, Superbiker
• Iron Sky
• Jaws
• Kill List
• Korczak: Kino Classics Remastered Ed.
• La Promesse (Criterion Collection)
• Les Vampires: 2-Disc Kino Classics Ed.
• Marriage Retreat: Special Ed.
• Neon Flesh
• New Jack City
• Romeo Must Die
• Rosetta (Criterion Collection)
• Shaft
• Stallone Collector’s Set
• The Hunger Games
• The Raid: Redemption
• The Royal Tenenbaums (Criterion Collection)
• This Boy Can Fight Aliens
• Titanic 3-D
• Veteran
• Yamada Way of the Samurai

The Shadowrun Online Kickstarter campaign has just 16 hours to go but still needs to raise a little over $55K to hit its $500K goal.

“Says Jan Wagner, co-founder of Cliffhanger Productions: ‘The project has been the subject of some controversy amongst players, but we have tried to address the questions and concerns of the fans. There were some misconceptions based on our initial presentation, but we have made a point of engaging people directly and explaining to them the ambitious concept behind our game. In these last days on Kickstarter we have seen an overwhelmingly positive feedback for our new video and gameplay concepts. We are really unbelievably grateful for the enthusiastic community, which has grown around the campaign. I want to invite everyone who is skeptical to risk a second look at our Kickstarter page and see the rich potential the game has to offer. It is just a click away and it could mean the difference between seeing this project created or not. We call on all Shadowrun fans to helpus make this game happen!’
 
The Kickstarter campaign has raised 75% of its funding goal at the time of writing with a little over 24 hours left to achieve funding! For its final push, the campaign has added numerous incentives for all project backers as well as adding extra rewards to the current tiers.
 
More info on the Shadowrun Online Kickstarter Campaign and all the latest updates can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964352341/shadowrun-online“

Valve today announced that Mann vs. Machine, the upcoming co-op game for Team Fortress 2, will be live on Wednesday.

“Available August 15th, 2012, Mann vs. Machine (MvM) lets you and five friends fight a lethal horde of robots on all-new maps, with the opportunity to upgrade abilities and weapons along the way. Band together to survive all of the robot waves in a variety of missions to earn incredible loot and unlock new achievements.

Leading up to its August 15th release, Valve will be making daily updates to its TF2 website, unveiling MvM content and key features. To find out more about MvM, go to https://www.teamfortress.com/mvm.”

Valve today announced that a major community update for Steam is coming soon. In typical Valve fashion new features will be announced for the next three days. Today’s reveal is the new Game Hub, which will include discussions, news, screenshots and videos for each Steam game.

“This update focuses on highlighting and enabling the best user-created screenshots, videos, and Workshop items for games across Steam while making it easier for the community to discuss their favorite games.

Every game on Steam will have a new Game Hub. The Hubs highlight the most popular user-created screenshots, videos, and Steam Workshop items as rated by the community and combine it with related news, discussions, and comments for the game all in one central location.

“The New Steam Community is all about showing off the best content that gamers have created,” says Emily Kent at Valve. “With over 89 million screenshots, videos, Steam Workshop maps, levels, mods, and items, plus news articles and product updates, the community has created an unbelievable wealth of content around their favorite games.”

Check back each day (August 13-16th) for a preview of a new set of features at www.steamcommunity.com/communitycontent.”

Paradox Interactive announced Europa Universalis IV, the next sequel in the strategy series.

Prepare to join a worldwide community of over half a million players and experience the drama and tension that only the grand stage of history can provide. Following on the success of the critically acclaimed Crusader Kings II, Paradox Development Studio is ready to take you to worlds both old and new – each yours for the taking.

• Make your own decisions: Nation building is completely flexible
• Use your Monarch Power: In this new system, a leader’s traits will direct the ebb and flow of gameplay
• Experience history coming to life: The great personalities of the past are on hand to support you as you make your mark on thousands of historical events
• Turn the world into your playground: Enjoy over 300 years of gameplay in a lush topographical map in full 3D
• Gain control of vital trade routes and make the wealth of the world flow to your coffers in the all-new trade system
• Bring out your negotiating skills in a deeper diplomatic system
• Go online and battle against your friends in an all-new multiplayer game mode that features hot-join, improved chatting, a new matchmaking server, and support for a standalone server
• Create your own history and customize your game: Europa Universalis IV gives you the chance to customize and mod practically anything your heart may desire

Crytek today released a new CryENGINE 3 tech trailer, showcasing some of what the new engine is capable of.

“Now, with DirectX 11 support, real-time rendering has gotten even better, allowing for some of the best visuals ever seen.  With CryENGINE®3, what you see is what you play as the new tools for the engine allow for tessellation in real-time, improved ocean and water rendering, enhanced character technology, and dynamic volumetric light beams and light shaft effects.  These new tools can be appreciated in the beautiful visuals of Crysis 3, from the lush environments and lighting effects, to the detailed characters. “

Paradox Interactive today announced the release of the WOOT DLC pack for Magicka, which is available for free to current owners.

“Magicka: WOOT allows players to join their favorite robed rapscallions as they make their way to a wizarding competition, only held once every few centuries in the land of Midgard. Aspiring sorcery athletes can face each other in the “Olympus Onslaught” PvP maps, trying to out-survive one another in the ever-changing Elemental Roulette arena, or try to stave off trench-foot in the Pool of Undeniable Moisture. Once those grudges are settled, wizards of all nations can band together for the Triathlon of Terror, skating across a strangely fiery patch of ice and dodging bottomless pits. We should probably mention that nobody told the monsters the Triathlon was in progress, so your chances of survival are pretty slim.

Using a slew of quasi-legal new sporting goods and magicks exclusive to challenge and PvP modes, wizards everywhere can compete for the gold, which they really need ever since they forgot how alchemy works. Magicka WOOT includes:

• 4 new PvP maps
•  3 new Challenge maps
• 10 new Sporting Goods items, including dumbbells, water bottles, and the Elevennis Racket
• New “Athletic Techniques” magick, including Performance Enchantment and the crowd-pleasing Wave
• Waves upon waves of nasty creatures who hate teamwork, wizards, and robes
• The satisfaction of not having spent any money

Magicka: Woot has been automatically added to any Magicka owners.”

Bohemia Interactive announced that DayZ, the popular zombie ARMA 2: Combined Operations modification, is being developed as a standalone PC game. Dean Hall, lead developer of the mod, posted this on the dev blog:

“That’s right, this is actually happening – DayZ will be developed as a standalone game, with me as project lead, by Bohemia Interactive. This is the fairy-tale outcome for a mod that many would have said impossible four months ago.

Development and updates of the mod will continue in parallel with the development of the game, so anyone who is playing the mod now will be able to continue to do so. The project will follow the Minecraft development model; fast iterations with the community alpha available for a heavily discounted price.

I realize people will have many, many questions – but we wanted to let everyone know the announcement now. Over the coming weeks, these questions will be answered. The game will have it’s own site, www.dayzgame.com and the mod will continue at it’s present link.”