PC Game News

Talawa Games and Teotl Studios today announced a new puzzle adventure game titled Unmechanical.

“Unmechanical is an award-winning 2.5D side-scroller which combines tricky puzzle solving, alluring exploration, and an engrossing atmosphere. The game had humble beginnings as a student project and since then both game and team has grown. “Unmechanical has been about taking on something for real and working our fingers to the bone to get it done. It’s our hopes and ambitions combined into this very personal, unique, and awesome adventure that’s crafted with lots of love.”Said Marko Permanto, project lead for the Unmechanical team.

Unmechanical begins with a twist of fate as you’re spirited away by a network of coiled pipes into a mysterious underworld. You find yourself in a strange environment that pulsates from mechanic and organic machinery alike, and your journey to freedom begins. Flying freely through the odd and fantastic surroundings, a powerful tractor beam lets you pick up objects and interact with the world.

Your quest for freedom requires you to solve a great variety of puzzling challenges, and while it’s easy to pick up and play, later challenges may prove very difficult indeed. On your adventure you might also begin to understand what it all means–The underworld may be more than it seems, the fateful descent more than just chance, and you might not be entirely alone after all…
For more information about the game, visit Unmechanical at https://unmechanical.net/“

CD Projekt RED today announced that over 4 million copies of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings have been sold.

“The Witcher games tell the intriguing story of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer from Andrzej Sapkowski’s bestselling fantasy novels. As Geralt, the players will resolve a conspiracy that can shake the entire Northern Kingdoms and will set upon a quest to regain the protagonist’s lost memory. Both games are praised by critics and fans for their gameplay features and high technical.

On the 23rd of August, Japanese Xbox 360 gamers will be able to play “The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition”, and later this year the game will be also available for Mac computers.”

New World Interactive today announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to develop a sequel to the total conversion Half-Life 2 modification based on current global conflicts.

“We’ve been working on Insurgency 2 for some time now and it’s coming along quite nicely. I like to think of the gameplay as a mix between Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear and Day of Defeat, which are two of our all time personal favorites.

A lot of people are asking how the game compares to the original Insurgency… Well, the code is based on Beta 1, so if you’re familiar with how the game felt back then you shouldn’t have a hard time getting into Insurgency 2.

Our situation is unique because we’re not coming to you with an idea and some concept art. We’re coming to you after almost a year of self-sustained development. We’ve already taken our game quite far along – figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We know what we have to do to make this game as great as it can be.

More information: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/newworldinteractive/insurgency-2“

Everyone can now try out the new Source Filmmaker as Valve today announced that it has moved into open beta.

“The SFM is a storytelling tool Valve developed inside the Source Engine to create all its animated short films, including those in the “Meet the Team” series of Team Fortress 2 shorts. The SFM condenses the production pipeline of an animation studio down onto a single gaming PC. To help the community get started, the SFM includes all assets from Team Fortress 2 along with assets from two of the “Meet the Team” short films.

To see the newest and top-rated work being done by the community in the SFM, please visit www.steamcommunity.com/sfm.

For more information and to download the SFM, please visit www.sourcefilmmaker.com“

The list of new PC game releases, Blu-ray releases, and movies opening the week of July 9th, 2012.

PC games:

• Babel Rising
• Embraer Phenom 100
• Exorcist – Double Pack
• M4 Tank Brigade

Movies opening this week:

• Alps (limited)
• Ballplayer: Poletero (limited)
• Easy Money (limited)
• Ice Age: Continental Drift
• Red Lights (limited)
• The Imposter (limited)
• Trishna (limited LA/NYC)
• Union Square (limited)

Blu-ray releases:

• Altered States
• American Reunion
• Being Flynn
• Bitch Slap
• Blade II
• Brainstorm
• Chariots of Fire
• Cherry Bomb
• Coma
• Dark Nemesis
• Fightville
• Flowers of War
• Frequency
• Margaret
• Mercenary for Justice
• Outland
• Senna
• Spawn
• Sucker Punch
• The Astronaut’s Wife
• The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season
• The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season
• The Saphead: Ultimate Ed.
• The Smurfs
• Twins of Evil
• Untamed America

Activision and Terminal Reality today announced The Walking Dead, a first-person action game that will be based directly on the TV series.

“Terminal Reality’s The Walking Dead video game takes the undead and brings them out of the TV show and into console gaming systems in a new, terrifying way.  The iconic walkers will relentlessly hunt down players like their television counterparts, using a combination of sight, sound and smell.  As Daryl, players will need to tread carefully throughout each new area they explore.  Once discovered, it doesn’t take much to attract an unstoppable horde of undead walkers, so every threat needs to be assessed, and every situation analyzed.  Players will have to choose between whether to stay and fight while risking a gruesome death or using stealth to avoid the undead.  No place is truly safe for Daryl as he makes his way through the Georgia countryside in this new, post-apocalyptic world.

“Activision and Terminal Reality are working to deliver a powerful combination of a deep, engrossing story with intense action,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president.  “Daryl is such a unique and complex character and we’re excited to offer fans the opportunity to experience this new video game.”

Resources are scarce and scattered in The Walking Dead video game, and gamers will have to not only ration supplies, but carefully consider their food, medical needs, ammunition, and other goods as survival in the game is based upon wit and intellect more so than simple, sheer skill.  In order to endure this constant state of danger, players will have to do all they can to silence the noises they make and avoid detection.  Throughout his journey, Daryl will encounter a slew of other characters that can help or hurt him in a variety of ways, and whether or not they accompany him is completely up to player choice and represents just some of the major decisions that will constantly be made while fighting to survive.

The Walking Dead video game is scheduled for release in 2013 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC, and is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB.  For more information, visit www.TheWalkingDeadBegins.com“

Valve today announced Steam Greenlight, which is a new platform feature that allows the community to help developers and publishers decide what titles to bring to Steam.

“Steam Greenlight will allow developers and publishers to post information and media about their game in an effort to convince the Community that their game should be released on Steam. Greenlight piggybacks on Steam Workshop’s flexible system that organizes content and lets customers rate and leave feedback.

As well as serving as a clearing house for game submissions, Greenlight will provide an incredible level of added exposure for new games and an opportunity to connect directly with potential customers and fans.

“Making the call to publish or not publish a title isn’t fun,” said Anna Sweet, at Valve. “Many times opinions vary and our internal jury is hung on a decision. But with the introduction of the Steam Workshop we realized an opportunity to enlist the community’s help as we review certain titles and, hopefully, increase the volume and quality of creative submissions.”

Steam Greenlight will be released August 30.

For more information, please visit www.steampowered.com/greenlight“

The Steam Summer Sale usually begins at the end of June, which has some people wondering if there will be one at all this summer. Well, fret not because Mike Blaszczak, software engineer at Valve, has responded to a thread in the Steam forums confirming that there will be a Steam sale this summer. No other details are available at the moment.

“We are planning a sale sometime this summer. Hope that helps! “

Funcom and EA Partners today announced the worldwide launch of The Secret World.

“The Secret World is the first MMO set in a real, modern-day world where every conspiracy theory, fable and urban legend is true. The power to rule the world is fought over by three secret societies – the Illuminati, Templars and Dragon – that pull the strings of governments, corporations and CEOs. In the game, players will travel the globe – from New York and London, to Egypt and Transylvania – as they fight the evil that has infiltrated myths and folklore for centuries; including Dracula, werewolves and even the Bogeyman himself.

Included with the purchase of every copy of The Secret World is 30 days of access to the game, which players can continue to play through subscribing at $14.99 USD per month.

For more information about The Secret World, please go to www.thesecretworld.com.”

We reported yesterday on the possibility of Linux gamers being banned for playing Diablo III via Wine. Blizzard has since responded and it appears that the bans are very isolated. While they don’t state it outright, the ban claims were likely coming from a couple of cheaters. The thread on the forums has expanded to 45 pages at this point but it’s really not worth reading as the trolls have truly come out with post after post of petty bickering. We don’t like posting rumors for this exact reason, but did climb on the bandwagon yesterday.

“We’ve extensively tested for false positive situations, including replicating system setups for those who have posted claiming they were banned unfairly. We’ve not found any situations that could produce a false positive, have found that the circumstances for which they were banned were clear and accurate, and we are extremely confident in our findings.

Playing the game on Linux, although not officially supported, will not get you banned – cheating will.”

The list of new PC game releases, Blu-ray releases, and movies opening the week of July 2nd 2012.

PC games:

• Endless Space
• Natural Threat – Ominous Shores
• Snark Busters – Triple Pack
• The Secret World
• Vampire Saga: Break Out – Bonus Edition 3 Pack

Movies opening this week:

• China Heavyweight (limited)
• Collaborator (limited)
• Crazy Eyes (limited)
• Katy Perry: Part of Me
• Savages
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (limited)
• The Magic of Belle Isle (limited)
• The Pact (limited)

 Blu-ray releases:

• Barbarella
• Born on the Fourth of July
• Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot!
• George Gently: Series 4
• God Bless America
• Home on the Range
• Mac & Devin Go to High School
• Midsomer Murders: Set 20
• Most Dangerous Game/Grow The Headhunter
• Phenomenon
• Rise & Shine
• Step UP
• The Devil’s Needle and Other Tales of Vice and Redemption
• The Entity
• The Horse Whisperer
• The Hunter
• Tough Enough
• Treasure Planet: 10th Anniversary Ed.
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Wind Blast

Sega today announced Rome II: Total War, an upcoming new sequel in the strategy series by The Creative Assembly.

“Encompassing one of the best-known periods in world history, Total War: Rome II will combine the most expansive turn-based campaign and the largest, most cinematic real-time battles yet seen in any game.

Total War: Rome II will sink players into the dangerous political machinations of Rome’s senate, while asking them to struggle with family dilemmas and question the loyalty of ‘friends’ and allies. Leading the greatest army ever seen into battle will be just one challenge players will face at the head of the world’s first superpower.

Will they help forge an empire? Restore the Republic? Or grasp the reins of power for themselves, and assume the hated title of tyrant? Who will they conquer? Who will they betray? Who will they sacrifice?

How far will they go for Rome?

Total War: Rome II is due for release in 2013. For more information, and to view the Rome II announcement trailer, visit www.totalwar.com/romeII.”

Linux Diablo III players running the game with Wine are apparently being banned according to several posts in the Battle.net forums. Wine allows Linux, Mac, FreeBSD and Solaris users to run Windows applications without Windows and has been available since 1993. While Wine is not technically supported, going by the game’s system requirements, and the number of people using this method is likely quite small, it seems a bit counterintuitive to deny them outright. It’s especially frustrating to users in the forums because other Blizzard games, such as StarCraft II and and World of Warcraft, have reportedly worked fine in the past.

The Company of Heroes YouTube channel has been updated with the first official trailer for Company of Heroes 2, which is titled Forgotten Sacrifice. In addition, two screenshots were released.

“Relic Entertainment takes you to the forgotten theatre of World War II in the debut trailer for the award winning Company of Heroes 2.”

 

NCsoft and ArenaNet today announced that the highly anticipated Guild Wars 2 will launch in both North America and Europe on August 28th.

“Building on sales of more than 7 million units of the original game, Guild Wars 2 redefines massively multiplayer online roleplaying games with visceral, action-orientated combat; a gorgeous, living world full of constantly evolving dynamic events; customisable personal storylines that are unique to each player; intense Player vs. Player combat between small teams or massive armies; and most importantly, a shared online world where players work together as allies instead of as rivals — all with no monthly subscription fee.

As they prepare for launch, ArenaNet will focus on polishing Guild Wars 2 to ensure the highest quality experience on launch day, which includes hosting a final Beta Weekend Event 20-22 July 2012.

For more information about the Beta Weekend Event and how to pre-purchase Guild Wars 2, visit www.guildwars2.com. “