PC Game News

Twelve years in development and the butt of many jokes, "Duke Nukem Forever" tops Wired Magazine’s Vaporware list for 2008. Other gaming-related items that made this year’s list also include "Hero’s Journey", "StarCraft II", and Sony PlayStation Home.

On Duke Nukem:

"After some twelve (12!) years in development, we had given up all hope of ever seeing Duke Nukem Forever hit the shelves. We even held a high-level meeting in the Wired newsroom where we agreed to end the agony and, some vague promises to the press about a 2008 release notwithstanding, leave Duke off the Vaporware list this year. Even the best jokes get old eventually.

Says reader Dennis Murphy: "My nominations for DNF got printed in 2001 & 2002. Here we are, 7 years later, and it’s still on the list. How about one more chance? If we don’t see it by 2010, I promise I’ll stop submitting! (Well, at least till my grandkids are born …)"

But then, in May, Jace Hall of Crackle.com scored an on-camera interview with the Dukefathers, George Broussard and Scott Miller of 3-D Realms. At the end of their sit-down, the DNF developers even let him demo an actual, working version of the game.

The resulting hand-held footage of the first-person shooter was all the proof we needed — the game is still inching towards reality. So congrats, Duke. You’re the King of Vaporware once again."

See the entire list at Wired.

The list of new PC game releases, DVD releases, and movies opening the week of December 29th 2008.

PC Games:

• Rise of the Argonauts

Movies Opening This Week:

• Defiance

DVD Releases:

• An American Carol
• Beethoven’s Big Break
• Beethoven’s Dog-Gone Best Movie Pack
• Black Lagoon: Complete Series Box Set 
• Days of Thunder [Blu-ray]
• Eagle Eye [Blu-ray]
• Ghost [Blu-ray]
• Ghost Town
• Greek: Chapter Two
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II – 20th Anniversary Edition
• Internet Dating
• Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season
• Last Holiday [Blu-ray]
• Nip/Tuck – Season 5, Part 1
• Resident Evil: Degeneration [Blu-ray]
• Surfer, Dude
• The Duchess
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 1
• Towelhead
• Wedding Crashers [Blu-ray]

So, I guess you all know that I love Prince of Persia. It’s got visuals that trigger primal gawkery, ridiculous strings of platforming, a great combat system and a heartfelt story to give it all some wonderful context. With sequels often being derided by practically everyone (BUT MAFIA II LOOKS SO AWESOME!@@!!), this latest sequel feels nothing like a sequel. It feels new, while keeping the same gameplay foundations that I have come to know and love about the series. Ubisoft simply started over.

Companies love sequels. They love the brand recognition, they love the assurance that their sequel will sell well. Money is awesome. And they often get a lot of flak for pumping out a new entry every few years. It’s usually not because a sequel is an inherently bad thing. I mean, we all wanted Half-Life 2. I’m pretty sure we all wanted Dreamfall. And I know we all want Mafia II. It’s that sequels can feel unneccessary and forced. Just look at Fallout 3. You can send me all the hate mail you want. I will read them. Probably.

So, Ubisoft avoided this by simply keeping the franchise name and tossed everything they set up and developed with their trilogy into the bin. Prince of Persia isn’t a spin-off. It’s a total reboot and that’s the kind of sequel anyone can love. It’s familiar, but oh so different. Just like how Batman Begins revitalized the franchise and made Batman relevant again.

So, WAYS TO MAKE A SEQUEL THAT WON’T RECIEVE THE "RETREAD IS RETARDED" VERBAL CARPET BOMBING:

1. Just start over. Like what Ubisoft did. Or what Square-Enix does with every Final Fantasy, but since only Final Fantasy 3/6 is the only Final Fantasy worth playing, their games don’t really strengthen my point. Again, send the hate mail. I might read them. 
2. Wait two infinities before releasing a sequel. Nostalgia will gnaw at us and taunt us, telling us that we will have no new memories of Mafia, because a sequel will never materialize. And then Mafia II appears out of the woodwork after 6 years. Seriously, I can’t believe Mafia II is a real game that was really announced. Finally.
3. They should feel meaningful and relevant. Episode Three is relevant. The F.E.A.R. expansions were kind of pointless. Exhuming the Fallout franchise is unneccessary.

Cliffs, if you really want them: Sequels can be cool.

Valve has announced that every game on Steam is discounted from 10-75% in a holiday sale that will last through January 2nd.

"The Steam Holiday sale is on now. Through January 2, 2009, every game on Steam is available at 10% to 75% off the regular price. Select publisher catalogs such as Ubisoft, THQ, and 2K Games are 25% off. Award-winning titles such as Bioshock and Portal are available for 75% off the regular price. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com/holidaysale"

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the 2404 staff. We will be posting an end of the year wrap-up article, with several of our opinions on the state of PC gaming in 2008 within the next week or so. In addition, we are also having a staff vote to pick the top games of the year. We may also have a public game of the year vote but it’s not for sure yet.

There probably won’t be any news updates for the rest of the day today, but we will begin posting again tomorrow if there is any news. There probably won’t be because everyone is on vacation but if there is we’ll be ready.

Breaking news: A lot of people play WoW, Blizzard’s unstoppable money-making, time-killing and social-impairing machine of a game. Blizzard announced that they have a ton of new players playing now, which is probably due to the Lich King selling a bajillion copies every other minute.

"Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft^®, its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now played by more than 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This new high was reached following the November 13 release of the game’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King^TM.

Within its first 24 hours of availability, Wrath of the Lich King sold more than 2.8 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. In addition to winning a number of editor’s choice awards from major gaming publications, the expansion has now gone on to sell more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. Both sales records were previously held by World of Warcraft’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade^®.*

"We’re pleased to welcome the new and returning players who have helped World of Warcraft reach these new milestones, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support that the game’s global community has continued to show," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment^®. "We look forward to providing all of them with an excellent entertainment experience for a long time to come."

"Not only is Wrath of the Lich King still doing well, the base World of Warcraft game and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest^® are performing better than last year," said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. "That type of traction is very impressive for a game that is going into its fifth holiday season and speaks to the enthusiastic player base Blizzard Entertainment products have."

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found atwww.blizzard.com/jobs. More information about the latest World of Warcraft expansion is available at the official Wrath of the Lich King website:www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath."

Telltale has released the first in-game screenshots for their upcoming new adventure series "Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures", which is based on the Aardman Animation series.

"This new series of interactive Wallace & Gromit stories will be launching in 2009, with players assuming the roles of both the quirky inventor and his faithful canine companion. We’ll have a lot more details coming in 2009 – including the release timeframe and platform announcements – but first wanted to give you a few new tidbits to tide you over through the holidays!"

       

Dagger Games Studio has announced "Hazen", an upcoming episodic action role-playing game.

"We are pleased to announce our next game – Hazen is an episodic Action/RPG The first episode is named "The Dark Whispers" and will bring some freshness in the world of Hack’n Slash Games. Every single episode will be a "Stand alone" game with enough game-play and high re-play value. Stay tuned in next weeks for more information around "The Dark Whispers" and the news inside the world of Hazen. You can also review some of the first screenshots from the game or official Hazen web site at : https://hazen.daggergames.com/"

       

That big new BioWare RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, hasn’t really been spurring my interest. It looks like another one of those big, epic and colossal RPGs that BioWare seems drawn to with a black-and-white morality chart that does nothing in making you think about your decisions. Personal opinion aside, the game does look pretty good, graphically. This comes out on March, which is pleasant, because this is a game could easily get lost in the holiday shuffle.

Paradox Interactive has announced that "Global Crisis", the expansion to "Supreme Ruler 2020" has been released. The expansion requires the original game and is being released exclusively through GamersGate and Direct2Drive.

"David Thompson, Lead Designer and Co-Founder of BattleGoat Studios, said, “We wanted to make sure that there would be plenty of additional content to increase the enjoyment and replayability of the original game. Although the new campaign and scenarios are the main emphasis of the expansion pack, it’s really the many subtle improvements such as flags on unit HUDs and allowing players to rename Battle Groups, that I think our players will appreciate the most.”

Global Crisis includes many new features:

• 20 new scenarios which more than double the number of scenarios that originally shipped with the game
• Additional new multiplayer scenarios
• New campaign/sandbox map along with a new storyline leading players towards World War III
• New scenario features including scripted and random events
• Improved unit control and grouping
• Expanded tech tree
• New units and unit meshes
• Additional game lobby options
• Graphic improvements
• AI enhancements
• More tutorials and in-game tips
• User interface improvements"

Adventure Productions has announced "Audere Semper", an upcoming third-person point-and-click adventure title set in Rome.

"It is a bright October day. And Rome, the eternal city, wakes up. The bars and stores open for business, the tourists gather at the museums and the sounds of traffic blankets the streets. For Elisa, this seems like another typical day. First, she attends her university journalism class, grabs a quick chat with friends, and then races off for her work at a small local newspaper, the Eco di Roma. Unfortunately, her time there is split between boring odd jobs and reprimands from her boss. None of this suits the ambitious young intern, who yearns for a real assignment and the chance for "the story" that will make her name as a reporter. But this October day will be anything but typical for Elisa. Her adventure begins with what she thinks is nothing more than a way to pass time at the newspaper. A mysterious coded message turns up and Elisa decides to try her skills at deciphering its meaning. What she uncovers is just the first piece of a deeper intrigue. As she follows its trail, Elisa will have to choose between the scoop of a lifetime and her own ethics. And she will find herself trapped in a series of tangled events deep in the heart of Rome. For this ancient city, known for its culture and art, also has a history of dark secrets and esoteric movements.

To survive these challenges, instinct and skills will not be enough. Elisa will have to learn to face her fears, belonging to a past that was perhaps better left alone…"

Electronic Arts has released details, screenshots, and a trailer for the create-a-sim feature in the upcoming latest installment in the simulation series.

"The all-new Create-A-Sim allows you to completely customize your Sims’ appearances making every Sim unique. The feature is easy-to-use and more powerful than ever, letting you fine-tune every aspect of your Sims’ face, customize their hair color, select the exact shade of their skin tone and determine much more to make lifelike Sims. It’s never been easier to make Sims that are thin, full-figured or muscular and everything in between! In true The Sims fashion, you can customize everything. Additionally, Create – a – Style allows for infinite possibilities to design the interior and exterior of your Sims surroundings, clothes and more."

 

Valve has announced that "Spore", "Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack", "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning", "Mass Effect, "Need for Speed Undercover" and "EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009" are now available to purchase on Steam.

"In the coming weeks, Mirror’s Edge(tm), Command & Conquer(tm) Red Alert(tm) 3, and Dead Space(tm), will be added to the catalog of EA’s titles available via Steam.

"EA is one of the industry’s largest publishers," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "The EA titles coming to Steam this holiday include some this year’s top PC titles."

"We are pleased to extend our holiday titles to gamers worldwide via Steam — a revolutionary technology that is one of the game industry’s most successful digital distribution services," said John Pleasants, President, Global Publishing & Chief Operating Officer.

For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com"

VSTEP has released a new trailer for "Ship Simulator 2010 Extremes", the next upcoming installment in the ship simulator series.

"The teaser gives a short but exciting sneak peek of things to come in the next game. Starting with an underwater scene with whales it takes us to some new extreme environments and heavy weather while showing off the new visuals and ocean system. VSTEP will disclose more information regarding the game and its new features as release is nearing.

Ship Simulator 2010 Extremes in now slated for release in summer 2009."

Ubisoft has released a new patch for "Far Cry 2", bringing the game to version 1.02 and finally adding support for widescreens and multiple monitors.

If you had problems applying the 1st patch (1.01), please apply this cumulative patch.

STEAM users: Please wait until the patch is available through Steam.

The 52MB patch can be downloaded from AtomicGamer, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer, or Worthplaying.

General changes

• Added triple-header support to the game.
• A widescreen option has been added and can be enabled only in single player mode.

Multiplayer changes

• Fixed the direct join by IP functionality.
• Added the minimum number of players in the host options.
• Added the player’s death count in the scoreboard.
• The host can now set the respawn time in Advanced options, for player matches only.
• The host can now set the starting rank of all players in the match, in Advanced options, for player matches only.
• The VIP is shown on the scoreboard, for your team only.
• The scoreboard is now displayed by the highest XP points to the lowest.
• The ping system has been improved to display a more accurate result.
• It is now possible to conduct a multiplayer match search from the map leader board.
• Fixed certain characters that weren’t allowed during profile creation (- . _ ,)
• It is now possible to add a clan name to the player¡¦s name through the use_clan_tag console command.
• Players can now filter the server list using different parameters (ping, PunkBuster, game mode, dedicated, server name, number of players, ranked/unranked).
• The IEDs are now destructible by shooting on them or throwing a grenade close to them.
• In ranked matches, players can now play more than one match on the same host.
• Added quickmatch to the map download screen. It will matchmake on the selected map.
• The distance from a wounded teammate is now displayed.
• The host can now select a VIP before starting the match.
• It is now possible to use the use_clan_tag command.
• Fixed a bug with clan tag and multiple clients
• Multiplayer: Minimum players numbers default setting is now 4
• Fixed some unrepresentative text in the scoreboard.
• Added text to display distance when teamate is down
• Fix a freeze issue in match list if the player press ESC after trying to enter in a match with a password.