PC Game News

Introversion has announced that the "Multiwinia" servers have been turned on.

"After what seems like a very long summer of long days and late nights, and during moments when the human cost seemed a little too high, the Introversion dev team can now sit back, breathe a sigh of relief and crack open the champagne.

Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest is Introversion’s fourth stand-alone title. With a choice of six action-packed multiplayer game modes, and 40 unique maps set in one of the most beautiful, retro-arcade inspired game environs ever created, Multiwinia promises to be the ultimate homage to the halcyon days of gaming. Challenge your opponent to a game of stick-man slaughter, and watch digital-war unfold, as your Multiwinian army struggles to complete a chosen task faster and better than your rival’s. It’s fast, it’s furious, and only the flattest will survive!

Multiwinia is available to buy from the Introversion store for £15, $24.90 or €19.95. Multiwinia is also available from Steam and will soon be released into retail worldwide. "

Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts have announced that "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning" has launched in North America, Europe, and Oceania.

"With the game’s servers now officially live, all players are invited to enter WAR’s grim fantasy world, swear allegiance to the armies of Order or Destruction, and experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm™ combat.

“The Day of Reckoning is finally at hand and I am pleased to invite players to take their first steps into the Warhammer Fantasy universe,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “The stage is set and the combatants are ready – it’s time to go to WAR!”

WAR offers a number of subscription options for eager recruits:

• Monthly Subscription: $14.99 USD
• 3-Month Subscription: $41.97 ($13.99 per month) USD
• 6-Month Subscription: $77.94 ($12.99 per month) USD

Players entering the Age of Reckoning can look forward to invading enemy lands, assaulting imposing fortresses, and sacking sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. They will wield devastating magic and deadly weapons, battle monstrous creatures, and join their brothers-in-arms in epic Public Quests™. Players can climb the Bastion Stair, carry their Guild Banner into battle, and unlock the infinite secrets of the Tome of Knowledge as they travel the world. The wait is over – the Age of Reckoning has begun and war is everywhere!

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is now in stores everywhere at an MSRP of $49.99. Available for PC, WAR is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. Prepaid Game Time™ cards are also available at most game retailers. For more information, visit https://www.warhammeronline.com/."

Empire Interactive has announced that "Ford Racing Off Road" has been shipped to North American retail stores.

"Players will find themselves on tough terrain, racing a convoy of Ford and Land Rover off-road vehicles across 24 detailed tracks sure to push vehicles and players to the extreme. Rated “T” for Teen, Ford Racing Off Road retails for $19.99.

“The introduction of the well-known Land Rover brand paired with the move of the franchise from urban streets and familiar tracks to an off-road environment will take racing fans to an all-new level of excitement,” said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, Empire Interactive. “Players will be put to the test to see if they have what it takes to race through the rugged terrain and environments packed into Ford Racing Off Road.”

Ford Racing Off Road has a plethora of new and exclusive features that test players’ high-speed driving skills. The fastest Ford racing title to date challenges players to find hidden routes to gain an advantage and beat out opponents as they power slide rugged 4x4s through three off-road environments – desert, water, and ice. Racers can power-up on their way to victory with repair pods, time extensions, artifacts, and cash as they speed through 12 race modes – Standard Race, Elimination, Time Attack, Overtake, Slalom, Checkpoint, Checkpoint Sprint, Seconds Out, Gold Rush, Gauntlet, Low Damage Race, and Expedition."

An update to "RedLynx Trials 2: Second Edition" has been released, which is automatically applied when the game is restarted.

"Specific additions include:

RedLynx Trials 2 Second Edition Updates:

Perplexing, hilarious, and absolutely fearless voice-overs from truly bone-breaking Trials 2 riders: Brandon DiCamillo, Art Webb and Rake Yohn!  These guys are famous not only from Jackass, Viva La Bam, movies and other shows, but they’re also the founders of Gamecasa.net, a new network for expanding gaming culture to wider audiences. Better than anyone, they know what it takes to go over the limit, get hurt – and get right back up and try again!

• Multi-language support: English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, and Swedish.
• Alongside the new languages, in-game chat is taken further:  There are now team chats, separate chat channels for your own language and improved private messaging.
• Even further improved graphics in the higher-end graphics modes, as well as a completely new graphics mode optimized for low-end machines and laptops that still provides gamers with smooth high-quality graphics and features such as dynamic and ambient lighting with baked ambient occlusion maps. The game is now fully compatible with ultra portable 7-9" mini laptops (Asus Eee, Acer Aspire One, HP Mini Note, MSI Wind, etc.).
• Certified to work in triplescreen-mode up to 5040×1050 resolution with Matrox TripleHead2Go

In addition, we have released 14 new downloadable tracks – for free! The game has now over 60 tracks to play. Better fasten that helmet, you’re going to need it!"

Funcom’s latest MMO, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, has been out for awhile, but fan response has been a bit sketchy as of late, but here’s some good news: Craig Morrison is taking over directorial duties for Age of Conan. For many, Mr. Morrison is the man who made Anarchy Online, another Funcom MMO, a vastly improved game once he took over. Expecting him to do the same to Age of Conan isn’t much of a stretch, really.

"Funcom announce that Craig Morrison has been appointed as the new Producer and Game Director for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Craig Morrison has served as the Producer and Game Director on Anarchy Online for several years, as well as working as the Funcom Community Manager prior to that. Funcom believes he is the perfect candidate to take Age of Conan to the next level. Mr. Morrison will replace former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager.

Prior to starting at Funcom in 2004, Craig Morrison worked as an Operations Executive at the Telegraph group, the respected UK newspaper, taking care of operational aspects related to IT and Customer Service. Due to his passion for MMO games he simultaneously worked as an Associate Editor at IGN’s Vault Network, managing dedicated websites for several MMO games. He has extensive experience in managing various sized teams and complex projects across large media based environments. He has also played, written about, managed, produced and directed MMO games for over a decade by now. With his passion and unique skill-set he brings proven MMO experience to his new position, and during his years as Producer on Anarchy Online he has shown a unique ability to tailor development according to the needs and requirements of the players.

“Taking on the position as Producer and Game Director on Age of Conan is a great challenge but also one I welcome. I have a clear conviction I can lead the further development in a good way, evolving Age of Conan into something even better. My main priority now is therefore to listen to, and act on, player concerns, while ensuring we add additional great content to the game,” said Craig Morrison. “At heart I will always be a gamer, and the coming changes and additions to Conan will always be done with the gamers in mind. Together I am certain we will shape an amazing future for Age of Conan.”

Former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager has chosen to resign from Funcom after working on Age of Conan since the initial conception, and he leaves the company after 16 years. Godager was one of the original founders of Funcom, and leaves a large legacy, having contributed to making Funcom the largest MMO company in Europe. “I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”

For more information about Age of Conan, or to sign up for the community, please visit www.ageofconan.com"

While the latest Call of Duty takes a step back in terms of setting, it pushes the series forward considerably with its 4-player co-op mode. The latest Call of Duty: World at War trailer takes a look at the tweaked experience system how you could lose it all with one fatal wound to the jugular. A beta is expected to appear around October and the game will ship on November 23rd.

Paradox Interactive has released a new gameplay video for "Mount & Blade," giving viewers more of a look at the newly released medieval combat role-playing game.

"The new trailer transports players back in time to give them an inside look at the adventure that awaits them in the medieval land of Calradia. In the game, players can explore hundreds of towns and castles, design custom war banners, recruit townspeople and experienced warriors to join their ranks, and conquer enemies in thrilling sieges and action-packed tournaments."

Valve sent word that the newly released "Crysis Warhead" is now available to purchase on Steam.

"Crysis Warhead is now available for purchase via Steam and to play for gamers in North America. In addition, the original Crysis is now available for purchase and play by gamers the world over. Outside of North America, Crysis Warhead will become available for play tomorrow (Thursday) via Steam."

"In Crysis Warhead, players will don the Nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known as ‘Psycho’, one of the most memorable characters from Crysis. More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience Psycho’s parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho’s Nanosuit is just as capable and he’s equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customizable weapons and new vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any situation. Aside from this new, exciting single player campaign, Crysis Warhead will also feature new multiplayer content"

Atari has announced that "The Witcher: Enhanced Edition" has been shipped to North American retail stores.

"The successor to The Witcher, which was billed by many as the BEST RPG of 2007 and won numerous awards and accolades, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, developed by CD Projekt RED, is rated M for Mature and is available for the suggested retail price of $39.99.

"We have really listened to what the fans wanted and have their best interests at heart. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition has given us the opportunity to put their feedback into action as well as offer something totally new with exclusive content," said Adam Kicinski, CEO of CD Projekt RED. "The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is truly an experience you won’t want to miss, packed with gameplay improvements and additional physical value. We believe that it is definitely the ideal game for fans of PC role-playing."

Technical enhancements include faster loading times with improved combat responsiveness and precision. The enhanced version will feature two new adventures in the world of The Witcher offering hours of new content, as well as more than 200 new animation sequences, greater NPC (non-playable character) variety, an easier-to-use inventory and much more. Moreover, following feedback from fans, the English script has been re-worked, while extensive amounts of the voice-over has been re-recorded for the English and German versions — all to deliver an even more immersive and involving story experience. All of the enhancements will be available as a free download to existing game owners via the game’s official website, www.thewitcher.com.

The deluxe package will also include:

• Multilanguage The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, a reworking of the best PC RPG of 2007
• DVD bonus disc including the D’jinni Adventure Editor and two brand new adventures created by CD Projekt RED:
  • the D’jinni Adventure Editor: allows players to create or modify their own adventures in the world of The Witcher
  • "The Price of Neutrality": the adventure tells the story of Geralt coming back to Kaer Morhen and finding a mysterious camp near the stronghold (featuring 3 new quests)
  • "Side Effects": the first ever release of this new adventure which focuses on Geralt’s close friend, Dandelion, and his troubles in Vizima  Hidden List  City (featuring 5 new quests)
• Remastered "Making Of" DVD with never-before-seen bonus material
•  The Witcher Official Soundtrack CD
• CD of original music inspired by The Witcher
• Instruction manual available on disc and a physical game guide
• Short story by Andrzej Sapkowski featuring new monster artwork
• A map for exploration throughout The Witcher’s world.

Based on the universe created by best-selling Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher puts players in the role of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who exists on the fringes of a complex society in a fantasy universe. Taken as a child, mutated, and trained in the arcane ways of the witchers, Geralt is a reluctant hero, who nonetheless finds himself all too frequently in the heat of battles that are not his own. In this world there is no right or wrong, only decisions and consequences. The Witcher has already garnered worldwide success, having sold over 800,000 copies, and has received more than 90 awards and distinctions, including the prestigious "Best PC RPG of 2007" from IGN.com, Gamespy.com, PC Gamer and more (for the full list of awards, please visit https://www.thewitcher.com/community/pl/awards/).

For more information about The Witcher visit www.thewitcher.com and for more details about Atari’s entire product line up visit www.atari.com."

The Fall season’s starting off with menace. Spore came out just last week. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky are landing US shores tomorrow. And in September 23rd, we have Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. Gearbox has two new trailers today. The first one offers a very broad and general overview of the tweaks and changes to applied to Hell’s Highway, including a look at the sickingly satisfying gore model. The second trailer shows off even more gore, but also emphasizes the brutality of war.

Electronic Arts and Crytek have announced that "Crysis Warhead" has been shipped to North American and European retailers and is scheduled to be released on this Thursday, September 18th.

"Containing a new single player campaign featuring Crytek’s trademark open-ended gameplay and stunning visuals along with Crysis Wars®, the exciting new multiplayer suite for the Crysis universe, Crysis Warhead is a tremendous value at only $29.99 and does not require the original Crysis to play.

“The launch of Crysis Warhead marks a significant milestone for the entire Crytek family,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek. “The team at Crytek Hungary has delivered a dynamic and intense single player experience more than worthy of the Crysis franchise, while the multiplayer team in Frankfurt has revisited and extended multiplayer in the Crysis universe with Crysis Wars. They are both great representations of our studio’s core values of technical excellence, craftsmanship and quality.”

“Crytek is a world-class partner and quickly becoming one of the most formidable independent developers in the industry,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Partners. “Crysis was one of the best games of last year and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Crysis Warhead, a game that actually improves upon Crysis’ core experience, to the largest possible audience on a global stage.”

Crysis Warhead takes place alongside the events of last year’s critical hit, with players experiencing the explosive battles against waves of challenging enemies on the other side of the island through the eyes and nanosuit of the bold and aggressive Sergeant “Psycho” Sykes. Crysis Wars features 21 maps and three diverse multiplayer modes, including InstantAction, frenetic deathmatch enhanced by the power of the nanosuit, PowerStruggle, a hardcore team-based mode and introducing TeamInstantAction, a mix of fast-paced action in a team-based environment. Both are built on Crytek’s award-winning CryENGINE 2, optimized now to deliver the high-fidelity graphics Crytek is known for with an improvement in performance across a wide range of PCs.

Crysis Warhead has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and ‘16+’ by PEGI. For more information about the game, please visit www.crysiswarhead.com or www.mycrysis.com."

The list of interesting and entertaining stories around the web, along with the submitted hardware reviews from the past two weeks (I was too busy for the the hardware reviews last week).

• Ars puts Spore DRM to the test—with a surprising result
• The Pop Vs Soda Vs Coke Map
  
• IMDb adds full-length streaming movies
• Sci-Fi-Inspired Concept Ships Show Future of Travel
• Study Finds Video Games Are Not Bad for Kids
• Spore’s Piracy Problem
   

Submitted Hardware Reviews:

GPU

• ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ Zone Edition Video Card at BmR
• ZOTAC GeForce 9500 GT ZONE Edition Graphics Card at TweakTown
• Geforce GTX 280 & Radeon HD 4870 X2 AA Scaling with XP & Vista at Madshrimps
• Sapphire 4870 X2 Review at Hi-Tech Reviews
• ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ ZONE Edition Graphics Card at TweakTown
• ATI HD Radeon 4850 vs NVIDIA Geforce 9800 GTX at Madshrimps
• Overclocking the NVIDIA GeForce Video Card at Benchmark Reviews
• Twintech 9600 GT Overclocked With Phase-Change Cooling at Madshrimps
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 in Crossfire at TweakTown
• Geforce 9500 GT SLI vs Geforce 9600 GT Performance Comparison at Madshrimps
• Sapphire Toxic HD4850 Review at High Tech Review

MOBO

• ASUS EPU 6 vs. MSI DrMOS vs. GIGABYTE DES Advanced at TweakTown

Networking

• TRENDnet TEW-624UB 300Mbps Wireless N USB 2.0 Adapter at TweakTown

Storage

• Mega Fifteen-way USB 2.0 Flash Drive Roundup at TweakTown
• SuperTalent 8GB USB Flash Drive Review at Rbmods

RAM

• Chaintech APOGEE GT DDR2-1150 4GB Memory Kit at TweakTown
• Kingston HyperX XMP-1800 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit at TweakTown

Peripherals

• WolfKing Timber Wolf Gaming Keyboard at Benchmark Reviews
• NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse at TweakTown
• OCZ Dominatrix Gaming Mouse at TweakTown
• SilverStone Raven SST-RVM01B Gaming Mouse at Benchmark Reviews

Cooling

• Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Heatsink Review at High Tech Reviews
• Zalman CNPS9300 AT CPU Heatsink Review at High Tech Reviews
• Thermaltake Ramorb Review at Rbmods
• Xigmatek Red Scorpion S1283 H.D.T. CPU Cooler at TweakTown
• Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme Review at HTR

PSU

• Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W PSU Review at Rbmods

Enclosures

• Nexus Clodius Case Review at Rbmods
• Hiper Osiris Mid-Tower Enclosure at TweakTown

Other

• Samsung F400 Bang & Olufsen Music Phone at TweakTown

The list of new PC Game releases, DVD releases, and movies opening the week of September 16th, 2008.

PC Games:

• Crysis: Warhead
• Mount & Blade
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
• The Witcher Enhanced Edition
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Movies Opening This Week:

• Appaloosa (limited 9/17)
• Blindness (limited)
• Ghost TOwn
• Hounddog (limited)
• Igor
• Lakeview Terrace
• My Best Friend’s Girl
• The Duchess (limited)    
   

DVD Releases:

• 101 Dalmatians
• 88 Minutes
• Another Cinderella Story
• Bill Burr: Why Do I Do This?
• Blood Simple
• Chuck – The Complete First Season
• Constantine’s Sword
• Criminal Minds: The Complete Third Season
• Cybill: The Collector’s Edition Volume 1
• Dancing with the Stars: Latin Cardio Dance
• Death Note 
• Denise Austin: Best Belly Fat-Blasters
• Duckman – Seasons One & Two
• Glenn Beck Unelectable
• Goosebumps: One Day at Horrorland
• Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains
• Made of Honor
• Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
• Private Practice: The Complete First Season
• Puccini – La Boheme
• Puccini – Manon Lescaut 
• Pushing Daisies – The Complete First Season
• Risky Business [Blu-ray]
• Sixteen Candles
• Snow Angels
• South of Nowhere- Season 1
• South of Nowhere- Season 2
• Speed and Angels [Blu-ray] 
• Speed Racer
• Star Trek: Alternate Realities
• Stranger On Horseback
• The Best of Rocko’s Modern Life- Volume 1 
• The Best of Rocko’s Modern Life- Volume 2 
• The Breakfast Club
• The Hulk [Blu-ray]
• The Mist [Blu-ray]
• The Rape of Europa
• Torchwood – The Complete Second Season
• Tortured
• Weird Science
• Will & Grace: Season Eight
• WWE: Summerslam 2008
• Young@Heart

Paradox Interactive has announced that "Mount & Blade" has been shipped to North American retail stores and is now available. The game will be released in Europe this Friday, September 19th.

"Mount & Blade is a single-player, third or first-person action/role-playing game set in the medieval war-torn land of Calradia. The game features groundbreaking horseback combat, intuitive swordplay, and a free-form environment in which players can roam freely to explore new cities, conquer foreign armies and earn a reputation as the realm’s most courageous warrior.

"The launch of Mount & Blade is almost a bittersweet milestone for us," said Armagan Yavuz, Lead Developer, TaleWorlds Entertainment.  "While we’re sad to see our work of passion come to a close, we’re thrilled with the end product, and we know that Mount & Blade will redefine the standards of independent game development."

Mount & Blade is available for purchase in stores and for digital download at GamersGate, the leading digital distribution platform creating easily accessible gaming experiences for gamers worldwide.  For more information, visit www.paradoxplaza.com/Mount&Blade."

Mythic Entertainment has announced that "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning" will ship to retailers tomorrow and will launch this Thursday, September 18th.

"Based on the popular tabletop game from Games Workshop, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is an epic fantasy MMORPG featuring innovative Realm vs. Realm™ game play that pits the armies of Order and Destruction against one another on the battlefield to determine the fate of nations. Hundreds of thousands of players have already joined the battle in the open beta, and soon the time will be at hand for players the world over to pledge their allegiance to the armies of WAR.

“This is truly a historic day for both EA and Mythic as we prepare to send more copies of WAR to retailers than any other newly launched MMORPG in North America and Europe. Over the course of our beta, over a million gamers throughout the world sent a clear signal to us – they want WAR, and we are more than happy to oblige them,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “In three days the real battle begins – we have declared September 18^th the ‘Day of Reckoning,’ and WAR will soon be upon us!”

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and is available for PC at an MSRP of $49.99. WAR will be the first MMORPG to open its servers simultaneously in North America, Europe, and Oceania when it goes live on September 18^th, 2008. For more information, visit https://www.warhammeronline.com/"