PC Game News

The "Battlefield Heroes" website has been updated and visitors are now able to sign up for the upcoming beta.

"Starting today you can register your interest in taking part in the next phase of the Battlefield Heroes Beta.

If you already received a beta key for the earlier Beta phase, you are automatically signed up for this new phase. So you don’t need to sign up again."

Battlefront.com and 1C Company today announced the release of the "Theatre of War Mission Pack".

"This add-on to the award winning Theatre of War WW II tactical combat game offers two new full campaigns with a dozen innovative maps, including a number of multiplayer maps.

Fight for the Liberation of Belorussia in June 1944 as Russian forces began to push the Germans back to their own borders, or join French Army units as they try to avoid encirclement in the opening stages of World War II in France. As an additional bonus the Mission Pack also includes the full Uber Patch which contains, besides a number of important bug fixes and exciting new features (such as a random battle generator), a third major full campaign – The Battle for Moscow.

The TOW Mission Pack is on sale immediately for only $25, for both download&play as well as mail delivery. A special Bundle of the base game + the mission pack is available as well for only $45. The Mission Pack and Bundle are available only from www.battlefront.com/store and are not sold in stores. The base game Theatre of War is now available at a reduced price of only $35!"

IGS announced that "Commander in Chief", a geo-political simulation game that puts players in the shoes of President Obama, has been shipped and is now available in stores.

"Just like the President, players immediately face the same problems and challenges as in the real world – the economy, controlling the military, national security and terrorism, natural disasters, alternative energy sources, and many others – all with the persistent threat of a terrorist attack on a major U.S. city.

A game trailer can be seen at www.commander-in-chief.net. The game can be played alone, or, with an Internet connection up to 16 friends.

Commander in Chief is played on a detailed 3D world map on a screen similar to cable news programs – multiple windows, scrolling tickers, and on-screen video inserts. To make the geo-political simulation as close to “real world” as possible, each of the 192 countries in Commander in Chief has current data on 400 key factors provided by 50 international organizations including the United Nations, G7, NATO, NAFTA, OPEC, and many other respected sources.

The game has generated national television coverage, print coverage including The New York Times, and has been featured on political Internet sites. Media interest outside the U.S. has been extensive, reaching major publications in Europe, Australia, Singapore, and throughout Asia.

Think you can do better than President Obama on issues such as unemployment, the environment, social security, or foreign relations? Here’s your chance! Commander in Chief will be available at retail stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com starting on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

Commander in Chief was developed by Eversim, published by IGS (Interactive Gaming Software based in Maryland), and distributed in North America by Atari Distribution.

For more information, visit www.commander-in-chief.net."

The list of new PC game releases, DVD releases, and movies opening the week of January 19th, 2009.

PC Games:

• Commander In Chief

Movies Opening This Week:

• Donkey Punch (limited LA/NY)
• Inkheart
• Killshot
• Outlander (limited)    
• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

DVD Releases:

• 13 Going on 30 [Blu-ray]
• Biography: Barack Obama: Inaugural Edition DVD
• Center Stage: Turn It Up
• Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger
• City of Ember
• Criss Angel Mindfreak: The Complete Season Four
• Domino [Blu-ray]
• Emergency!: Season Five
• Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960’s
• Henry Poole Is Here
• Igor
• Jonathan Creek: Season Three
• King Kong [Blu-ray]
• Max Payne [Blu-ray]
• MI-5, Vol. 6
• One Piece: Season One, Third Voyage (Buy DVD)  
• Paranormal State: The Complete Season Two
• Poison Ivy 4: The Secret Society
• President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey
• Repo! The Genetic Opera
• Saw V [Blu-ray]
• Spain… On The Road Again
• The Express
• The Pink Panther [Blu-ray]
• The Rockford Files: Season Six
• Waking the Dead: The Complete Season Three

The U.S. Army today announced "America’s Army", a new sequel in the first-person war simulation series, which will be released this year.

"Using the state-of-the-art Unreal Engine 3, America’s Army game developers brought the most popular trademark gameplay features from the previous versions to AA3. Highlights include authentic weapons and technologies, realistic training and exciting gameplay missions. AA3 provides players new insights into the Army and Soldiering while making the game easier to play, easier to install and easier to download.

"In AA3 we’ve taken all of the best features in AA2, incorporated feedback from the AA community and added the latest technology to develop a high-tech game that can be customized by the player to create a much more detailed interactive experience," said Michael Bode, executive producer of the America’s Army game. "One of our key design philosophies is to make the game easily accessible to a new player, while at the same time keeping a deeper layer of complexity for the more advanced players to discover and take advantage of."

AA3 highlights different aspects of the Army from Army Values and the Warrior Ethos to Army career opportunities and lifestyles both on and off duty. Through their in-game characters, AA3 players will be able to experience the way Soldiers train, live, and advance in the Army. AA3 players will also experience different types of technologies and equipment used by the Army’s high-tech Soldier. Players are bound by Rules of Engagement (ROE) and gain experience as they navigate challenges in team-based, multiplayer, force on force operations. In the game, as in the Army, accomplishing missions requires teamwork and adherence to the seven Army Core Values. In the game, a player’s actions and demonstrated Army values will have consequences that are integral to success in gameplay and will affect a player’s career progression."

GOG.com announced an agreement with FireFly Studios to release "Stronghold" and "Stronghold: Crusader" on the classic games digital distribution website. "Stronghold" is now available and "Stronghold: Crusader" will soon be added.

"Stronghold and Stronghold: Crusader are perfect blends of city building and real-time strategy set in the days of knights and other knighty things. The games challenge players with building the ultimate medieval fortress to use as a base for conquest and expansion. Full of historical characters, both games are undeniable classics for any fan of military history and strategy games. As with all GOG.com titles, both games are DRM-free, compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista and loaded with great bonus materials like soundtracks, wallpapers and even additional characters.

"Stronghold is another series that was well-received by critics and gamers, and it will certainly feel right at home in the Good Old Games catalogue," said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com. "With the addition of FireFly Studios’ games we’re offering more mature, beautiful and absorbing games that not only bring hours of fun but can also teach us a little bit about our history."

"Firefly is delighted to be working with Good Old Games; we love the idea of rehabilitating an older generation of games and look forward to playing many of them ourselves! Stronghold is a perfect fit and I hear the sound of many a portcullis lowering already!" said Simon Bradbury, founder of Firefly Studios."

THQ today announced that "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II" has gone gold and is scheduled to be in retail stores on February 19th.

"Set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 science fiction universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II delivers visceral combat, stunning visuals, and destructible environments throughout a non-linear single-player experience as well as a fully cooperative multiplayer campaign via Microsoft’s free Games for Windows® – LIVE service.

“Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will build on the critical acclaim and commercial success of the Dawn of War franchise, letting players experience RTS gaming like never before,” said Kevin Kraff, vice president of global brand management, THQ. “Combining non-linear gameplay, cooperative multiplayer, cinematic visuals, and destructible battlefields brings a new, innovative dynamic to the genre.”

“Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II stays true to the fast-paced, brutal heart of the Dawn of War series, while introducing branching single-player storylines and unique unit customization,” said Tarrnie Williams, general manager, Relic Entertainment. “The deep, tactical gameplay lets players develop and lead personalized elite units who gain experience and grow stronger with every ferocious battle.”

Developed exclusively for Windows PC and powered by an enhanced version of Relic’s proprietary Essence Engine™ 2.0, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is scheduled to be on store shelves at retail outlets nationwide on February 19, 2009."

Electronic Arts and Red Eagle games have announced an agreement in which EA will publish "The Wheel of Time", the upcoming fantasy role-playing game.

"Red Eagle Games will develop and publish a line of stand-alone games on all major videogame platforms, including consoles, personal computers, handheld systems and wireless devices. The games will be distributed by EA. In addition, Red Eagle will launch and operate a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that encompasses the themes, characters and world of The Wheel of Time, which will be distributed at retail by EA.

“The Wheel of Time is a blockbuster global brand and our relationship with EA Partners will ensure that Red Eagle Games’ products are made available to consumers around the world through familiar retail channels,” said Rick Selvage, Chairman and President of Red Eagle Games.

“EA Partners is excited to team up with Red Eagle as their global distribution partner for games based on The Wheel of Time series,” said David DeMartini, senior vice president and general manager of EA Partners. “The Wheel of Time series has a massive worldwide following and we’re excited to help give Red Eagle Games’ interactive products a blockbuster launch on the global stage.”

The rich details of Jordan’s meticulously crafted series have captivated readers since 1990, when The Eye of the World, the first book in the series, was published. Eleven additional books, including one prequel, have since been added to the series and have consistently appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List with the last four of his novels in the series debuting at No. 1. Jordan passed away in 2007 at the age of 58, but a final book, A Memory of Light, will be finished by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson using notes and a partial draft left with Jordan’s wife and editor, Harriet Rigney, and is expected to be published in fall 2009 by Tor Books.

Jordan’s wildly popular books have been translated into 24 languages, and have sold about 44 million copies worldwide. In addition, the series has a vast global on-line community of tens of thousands of dedicated fan Web sites."

THQ released new screenshots and a trailer for "Mafia 2", the upcoming third-person action sequel by Illusion Softworks.

"From the developers of the award-winning Mafia comes Mafia II, a beautifully crafted look into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mob. Expanding upon the original hit that captivated more than 2 million gamers around the world, 2K Czech takes players deeper into the Mafia with a mature and exciting experience that will immerse players like never before.

Powered by 2K Czech’s next-generation engine built specifically for Mafia II, players will experience the true evolution of the Mob game that defined a genre. Gunfights, hand-to-hand combat and vehicular exploration feature new depth and dimension that allow players to experience the world of Mafia II in a way that will keep them coming back for more."

 

1C Company announced the launch of the "Men of War" website, the upcoming real-time strategy game that’s scheduled to be released in Q2 of this year.

"The site – www.menofwargame.com – contains a wealth of information about the title, which is being released under the 1C Company label exclusively on PC in 2009.

Men of War takes place across the globe during the height of World War II and features four different armies – Russia, America, Germany and the Allies – each with their own unique units, vehicles and missions. From the Russian missions starring two student comrades innocent to the horrors of war, players are soon catapulted into massive battles with dozens of units under their command.

In addition to the in-depth single player experience, Men of War also unleashes a range of multiplayer maps based on the main missions along with the action-packed "capture the flag" and "high-value cargo" modes. The online multiplayer is playable by up to 16 commanders at once.

The new website gives more details about the four factions, including tactics about the best units to use, videos of the vehicles in action and comprehensive developer updates that detail how Best Way achieved the fantastic levels of realism and historical accuracy in the game."

Valve announced the release of a new update for "Left 4 Dead", which includes fixes, tweaks, and new features. This update will be applied automatically via Steam for PC players.

Changelist:

General

• Fixed Survivors being able to climb surfaces marked for versus infected only.
• Fixed a class of SurvivorBot bugs dealing with rescuing downed players.
• Players can no longer grab ladders while flying through the air after a Tank punch.
• Shooting near a car with an alarm that has already fired the alarm will no longer make chirping noises.
• Improved loading time.
• Fixed mini-gun physics exploit.
• Fixed propane tanks (and other physics objects) causing players to fall through elevators.
• Fixed rare achievement bug issues.
• Fixed several map exploits.
• Fixed various match making issues.
• Fixed NAT traversal issues.

Versus Changes

• Added HUD elements to show status of other infected players.
• Changed color of infected player name in chat to red.
• Fixed exploit where players could spawn infected bots
• Fixed instance where a Survivor changing to the infected team would be attacked by infected bots.
• Normalized special infected melee damage.
• Made the following client commands cheat protected: "Kill" and "explode".
• Fixed exploit where infected players could run away and teleport back to gain health.
• Players can only change teams once per map.
• Players can’t change teams while other players are still loading.
• Tank spawns at the same % through the map for both teams in versus mode.
• Made the Tank and Witch spawn directly on the escape route.
• Increased chance of getting the Tank or Witch.
• Fixed team swap issue.

Hunter

• Easier to pounce a Survivor who is meleeing.
• Increased Minimum damage a Hunter pounce does.

Smoker

• Fixed Smoker tongue tolerance.
• Smoker now has to be killed or the tongue destroyed for the tongue to break.
• Survivor’s cannot bash someone off the tongue until the Survivor being pulled is paralyzed or hanging
• Tongue attacks that fail to paralyze or hang a Survivor will use the shorter ability delay timer.
• Fixed cases where the ability timer was not using the correct time.
• Fixed case where you could point at a Survivor but not register a tongue hit
• Fixed Smoker tongue not targeting and landing properly through PZ ghosts.
• Smoker tongue does damage every second while dragging paralyzed Survivors.

Tank

• Bashable objects now appear with a red glow.
• Tanks hitting a car with an alarm disables the alarm permanently.
• Tank frustration timer is only reset by hitting Survivors with rocks or fists.
• Reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks.

Witch

• Witch spawns at the same % through the map for both teams.
• Avoids spawning within a certain % of the tank.
• Fixed an exploit where the Witch could be woken up and tricked into attacking Survivors.

Monumental Games today announced "Hunter’s World", an upcoming MMO hunting game.

"Players take the role of hunters visiting a massive and varied wild hunting reserve, where they can compete and collaborate with real players in a persistent world. Hunters will be able to roam freely, interact with each other, and hunt everything from varmints to big game.

“Hunter’s World will be the first ever Massively Multiplayer Online Hunting game,” said Rob Watson, Lead Designer on the new title. “The IP for the game is Monumental’s own, and we’re already some way down the development path. We’re really excited about the experience we’re creating: it’s much richer and more compelling than anything that has come before in this genre – something that’s largely down to its MMO foundation.”

Hunter’s World will accurately simulate the hunting experience, and create an environment where people who share a passion for hunting can exchange their experiences and recreate their favourite hunts. The community website also goes live this week at www.huntersworldonline.com."

The list of new PC game releases, DVD releases, and movies opening the week of January 12th, 2008.

PC Games:

• Mirror’s Edge
• The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Movies Opening This Week:

• Chandni Chowk to China (limited)
• Defiance
• Hotel for Dogs
• My Bloody Valentine 3-D
• Notorios
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop

DVD Releases:

• A Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine
• Appaloosa
• Ben 10 Alien Force: Season One, Vol. 2
• Brideshead Revisited
• Bustin’ Down the Door
• Contract Killers
• Dora the Explorer – Dora and The Three Little Pigs
• Family That Preys 
• Fireman Sam Saves the Day!
• Four Weddings and a Funeral 
• House of Payne, Vol. 3
• Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
• John Lennon – In Performance
• Lovejoy – Season 4
• Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business Of America
• Man vs Wild: Season 2
• Matlock – Season Two
• Mirrors
• My Best Friend’s Girl
• My Bloody Valentine
• Paul McCartney – In Performance
• Reba – Seasons 1-5
• Saxondale – Complete Seasons 1 & 2
• Stargate – The Ark of Truth [Blu-ray]
• Superhero Movie [Blu-ray]
• Swing Vote
• Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• The Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes
• The Henry James Collection
• The Order of Myths
• Toots
• Tyler Perry’s Marriage Counselor
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Walker, Texas Ranger – The Complete Sixth Season
• Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling

Electronic Arts has announced that "Mirror’s Edge" has been shipped to retail stores and is now available. The game will ship worldwide on Friday.

"Players who purchase the PC version of the game will also receive a free copy of the Mirror’s Edge remix album. The album features the popular title track “Still Alive” performed by Swedish rock/pop star Lisa Miskovsky and remixes by some of today’s hottest artists including Benny Benassi, Paul van Dyk and Armand Van Helden.

DICE also confirmed today that downloadable content (DLC) for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and the PC will be available January 29th. This special DLC pack will challenge players to achieve the fastest times possible on nine races across seven all-new and totally redesigned Time Trial maps. The DLC pack will be available for $10 USD or 800 Microsoft points.

Mirror’s Edge is a unique first-person action adventure where players are introduced to Faith, a ‘runner’ in a world where communication channels are highly monitored and the movement of information is closely watched. When Faith’s sister gets framed for murder, Faith finds herself on the edge of the city, on the wrong side of the law. The PC version of the game uses the NVIDIA® PhysX™ physics engine to bring the world of Mirror’s Edge to life with real-world visual effects of wind, weapons impact, and free-motion movements.

Gamers can download the free demo available now at the PlayStation®Store and Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace. The demo features a tutorial of the game, a segment of the single-player story mode and sections of the addictive Time Trial mode.

Featured on the front cover of over 40 gaming magazines in 2008, Mirror’s Edge also won numerous critic awards including the Game Critics Award for “Best Original Game” and the IGN award for “Best Action Game” at E3. Mirror’s Edge was developed at EA Digital Illusions CE AB (DICE) in Stockholm, Sweden. The game is rated “T” by the ESRB and “16+” by PEGI. For more information on EA DICE or Mirror’s Edge, please visit www.ea.com, www.dice.se or www.mirrorsedge.com."

Pandemic and EA have announced that "The Lord of the Rings: Conquest" has been shipped to North American retailers and is now available. The game will be released this Friday in Europe.

"In a partnership with New Line Cinema and The Saul Zaentz Company, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest builds on “The Lord of the Rings” universe of J.R.R. Tolkien as depicted by the Academy Award®-winning films and thrusts players in to key moments of the story and on the frontlines of the epic battles.

“‘The Lord of the Rings’ experience is something our team has been passionate about delivering and we believe players will discover a Middle-earth experience like no other,” says Andrew Goldman, Pandemic Studios co-founder and general manager. “Starting today ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fans can choose to save The Shire or set to destroy it. Providing that level of control and freedom is something we are proud to offer.”

Created by the same team behind the best-selling Star Wars Battlefront™ and Star Wars Battlefront™ II titles, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest opens the fantasy world of Middle-earth giving players the choice to join the powers of good or the forces of evil, in the eternal struggle to control the One Ring.

“The Lord of the Rings: Conquest expands on the celebrated game play found in the Star Wars Battlefront series, on every level,” says Josh Resnick, co-founder and general manager at Pandemic Studios. “We developed a game that is fun, strategic and pushes the boundaries of the renowned lore.”

Players can choose to control their favorite heroes and villains including Aragorn, Gandalf, the Witch-king, the Balrog and even the Dark Lord Sauron. Players can also engage surrounding characters in the world such as wargs and oliphaunts, control catapults and balistas, and even play as giant creatures such as cave trolls and Ents. As well, fans can play through the campaign modes cooperatively via online or split-screen and relive their favorite battles competitively via four-player split-screen or online with up to 16 players.

For more information on The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, please visit: https://www.pandemicstudios.com/conquest."