PC Game News

GOG.com today announced plans for the holiday season, stating that sales will begin for the digital distribution portal on December 8th.

"GOG.com will start their holiday sales and get in the holiday spirit by putting together an incredible package deal on the Witcher franchise of games on GOG.com. From 8 December 2011 at 12:00 GMT until 10 December 2011 at 11:58 GMT, visitors to GOG.com will be able to pick up The Witcher 2 for just $23.99 and they will get The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for free! This is the best price that GOG.com will have on the Witcher franchise for the whole season, so be sure to pick them up then if you’ve been looking for a chance to play these classic games.

Then, because the holidays are about giving, GOG.com will be giving away hundreds of game codes for a variety of PC classic titles on both Saturday (the 10th of December) and Sunday (the 11th) through social media channels and on their website.

Finally, they continue in the giving spirit and, starting on the 12th of December at 12:00 GMT, GOG.com will be having a 48 hour giveaway of Empire Earth: Gold Edition where anyone can add it to their account for free! Furthermore, GOG.com starts their holiday sales on the 12th, and will be having their “50% Off Holiday Celebration” of virtually every game in the catalog from then until the 2nd of January 2012. Classic games from some of the greatest publishers and developers in the industry, like Interplay, EA, Ubisoft, Atari, Activision, Sierra, and others are all on sale on GOG.com.

During the first two weeks of the sale, GOG.com will also be having special contests and giveaways in order to spread the holiday spirit, so be sure to check out GOG.com for your chance to get free games to play during your holiday break."

The Bethesda blog has been updated with news of the Creation Kit,  which will be available in January. The creation kit will be made up of free development tools and will also include a Steam Workshop, which will be a resource that will allow mod developers to upload their creations and anyone can browse, download and rate the mods. 

"Beginning in January, PC players will be able to download for free the same development tools we used at Bethesda Game Studios to create Skyrim. In tandem with the Creation Kit’s release, we will roll out a new Wiki and videos to help you get started. It also features something we think you’re going to love…

We’re excited to share news that we’ve been working closely with Valve to integrate Steam Workshop into the Creation Kit. Using the Workshop, you’ll have free user content with the push of a button. The Creation Kit will bundle your mod and upload it to the Workshop, where everyone can browse, rate, and flag mods for download. You’ll be able to do this from any web device, including your smartphone. Like a live Netflix queue, when you fire up Skyrim, mods you flagged will be automatically downloaded and installed. Everyone here is really excited about the opportunities and possibilities this opens up for our entire community.

Prefer to use existing modding sites? Not a problem. You’ll still be able to upload/share/access Skyrim mods on fan-created mod sites."
 

Valve today announced The Daily Wishlist Giveaway, in which 10 people will win the top 10 games on their wishlist. This contest begins today and runs through the holiday season.

"The Giveaway begins December 1st and will continue into the holiday season. To enter, you must have a Steam account and a Wishlist with at least 10 games.  Each day you will need to visit the gamepage of the featured daily deal, starting with Terraria at 75% off.
Good luck!

For more information, please visit steampowered.com"
 

Sega today announced the release of the third and fourth downloadable content packs for Shogun 2: Total War. The first pack unlocks the Hattori clan and the second is the Blood Pack.

"The powerful and secretive Hattori clan, masters of the shadowy arts of assassination and bribery, are now available to unlock in your Total War: SHOGUN 2 campaign. Featuring the most powerful battlefield ninja available, an extra historical battle scenario, extra armor and an XP injection for your Avatar, the Hattori Clan can be played in single and multiplayer campaigns and in online battles. This DLC pack was originally included in the SHOGUN 2 Limited Edition.

Also available now is the Total War: SHOGUN 2 ‘Blood Pack’. In true Seven Samurai style, this mature content adds decapitations, limb removals, blood-spatter effects on weapons and battlefields and much more. With this DLC, your forces can now tear chunks out of the enemy with rifle or cannon fire, but be wary of getting too close to the action or you may find yourself getting sprayed! Please note this content has a higher age rating than Total War: SHOGUN 2 and can only be purchased by those age 18 and up.

For more information about the game, please visit www.totalwar.com."

Paradox Interactive and Arrowhead Studios today announced that Magicka: The Stars are Left has been released and is available on online stores. In addition, the Magicka: Holiday Spirit and Magicka: Horror Props DLC packs are now live.

"Entitled Magicka: The Stars are Left, Paradox and Arrowhead have lovingly crafted a Lovecraftian horror-mystery campaign that will send players into the chilling depths of insanity. The expansion is available now on popular digital distribution platforms for $5.99, not including the cost of your mortal soul.

Magicka: The Stars are Left comes hot on the heels of an overhauled game engine for the overall title. Thus ensuring that players’ descent into madness is the result of unholy terrors from beyond time and space, and not because you had to start the entire level over because you died. And let’s face it, there will be lots of death, most of which will be caused by your own actions. "

Ubisoft today announced that Assassin's Creed Revelations has shipped for the PC and is now available.

"Developed and led by Ubisoft Montreal with the support and expertise of Ubisoft's Annecy, Massive Entertainment, Quebec, Singapore and Bucharest studios, Assassin's Creed Revelations presents the most immersive experience available in the series to date, and the culmination of Ezio's adventure.

In Assassin's Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary assassin Altair on a journey of revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

In addition to Ezio's award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world.

For more information on Assassin's Creed Revelations, please visit: assassinscreed.com"

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of November 28th, 2011.

PC Games:

• APB: Reloaded
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Magicka: Horror Props DLC
• Magicka: Holiday Spirit DLC

Movies Opening This Week:

• Autoreiji (limited)
• Kinyarwanda (limited)
• Shame
• Sleeping Beauty

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• 30 Minutes or Less [Blu-Ray]
• 30 Rock: Season 5
• 5 Days of War [Blu-Ray]
• Aazaan
• Absent Father
• Afterlife
• Another Earth [Blu-Ray]
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Collection 6 Pt. 1
• Art of Getting By [Blu-Ray]
• Becoming Chaz
• Brothel
• Cave of Forgotten Dreams
• Cave of Forgotten Dreams [Blu-Ray]
• Children of the Corn 4 Film Series [Blu-Ray]
• Chillerama
• Clark Gable
• Clarkson Powered Up [Blu-Ray]
• Cruzzando
• Dinosaur Train: T.rex Tales
• Downton Abbey Series 1 & 2 [Blu-Ray]
• Eclipse Series 30: Sabu! [Criterion Collection]
• Five Minarets in New York [Blu-Ray]
• Flying Guillotine
• Followed Home
• Friends with Benefits [Blu-Ray]
• From Dusk Till Dawn 4 Film Collection [Blu-Ray]
• Future Coming From the Past
• Gilles Deleuze from A to Z
• Helen
• Horror Express [Blu-Ray]
• Hot in Cleveland: Season Two
• Idiot Abroad: Series 1 & 2 [Blu-Ray]
• Injury Slight
• Jackie Chan 4 Film Collection [Blu-Ray]
• Kidnapped
• Look: Season 1
• Loups=Garous [Blu-Ray]
• Mentor
• Midnight Lady
• Mission: Impossible – The '88 TV Season
• Mod
• Nature: Radioactive Wolves [Blu-Ray]
• Nova: Iceman Murder Mystery
• Now & Later [Blu-Ray]
• One Day [Blu-Ray]
• One Night in Space [Blu-Ray]
• Our Idiot Brother [Blu-Ray]
• Picture Perfect HD Arkansas [Blu-Ray]
• Picture Perfect HD Chicago [Blu-Ray]
• Pittsburgh: Looking Back
• Planet Dinosaur [Blu-Ray]
• Seven Days in Utopia
• Smallville: The Complete Tenth Season [Blu-Ray]
• Snowmen
• Sons of Perdition
• Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line [Blu-Ray]
• Strike Back 1 & 2 [Blu-Ray]
• The Dead outside
• The Future
• The Six Million Dollar Man: Season 1
• The Smurfs / The Smurfs: Christmas Carol [Blu-Ray]
• The Wave
• Three Worlds of Jacques Costeau [Blu-Ray]
• Top Gear Double Bill Hammond & May Specials [Blu-Ray]
• Torchwood Miracle Day [Blu-Ray]
• Tucker & Dale vs. Evil [Blu-Ray]
• Vampires
• Wes Craven 4 Film Series [Blu-Ray]

Infectious Designer released a Half-Life: Origins live action short that simulates the original Half-Life intro. Any fan of the Half-Life series should be able to appreciate it. Infectious Designer is the creator of the Beyond Black Mesa film that was released in January of this year.

EA today released a new gameplay video highlighting Gulf of Oman gameplay, the classic map that will be included in the upcoming Back to Karkand expansion for Battlefield 3.

"The countdown to our first Battlefield 3 expansion pack Back to Karkand continues. This week, we have new gameplay footage from our reimagining of all-time classic map Gulf of Oman. Plus, more info on the new vehicles you will be able to take control of come December.

Check out this gameplay trailer from our reimagined version of Gulf of Oman. Like in previous Back to Karkand trailers, you can see some of the new vehicles in action here. The three combat vehicles that we are bringing back from Battlefield 2 in Back to Karkand are the STOVL fighter jet, desert buggy, and one of the APC’s."

Reto-Moto, the new company formed by former IO Interactive employees, today announced that Jesper Kyd will be composing the score for Heroes & Generals. Kyd is known in the gaming world for his work on the Hitman soundtracks.

"Following the critically-acclaimed launch of Assassin’s Creed Revelations® featuring his powerful soundtrack, BAFTA-winning composer Jesper Kyd has announced a partnership with Reto-Moto to provide key music for Heroes & Generals, the studio’s highly-anticipated combined online FPS and Strategy game. Playing to the themes of a realistic World War II setting, Jesper Kyd crafts a rich musical tapestry to reflect the ongoing battle for European domination in the online war being waged in Heroes & Generals. Working with longtime collaborators and countrymen at Reto-Moto, Jesper Kyd lends his musical expertise to the team of proven veterans.

All gamers are encouraged to help evolve and influence H&G’s development by signing up for an alpha-key at the www.heroesandgenerals.com community site."

Valve today announced an Autumn Sale that runs from now through Sunday.

"From now through Sunday, get ready to "fall" into great savings with our huge, annual Steam Autumn Sale. Because even though it may be cooling off outside, these Steam deals are really heating up! And as always, we promise that the team responsible for negotiating the spectacular Steam sale discounts is not the same team responsible for writing the slightly disappointing Steam sale slogans"

Today's Daily Deals include:

• Portal 2
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Mass Effect franchise
• Duke Nukem Forever
• Test Drive Unlimited 2
• Risen
• Renegade Ops
• Sam & Max franchise
• Men of War franchise
• Oddworld franchise
• Orcs Must Die!
• all Dejobaan titles including the just released AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome

Serious Same 3: BFE has been released.

"Serious Sam 3: BFE is a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Serving as a prequel to the original indie sensation, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam 3 takes place during the Earth’s final struggle against Mental’s invading legions of beasts and mercenaries. Set against the collapsing temples of an ancient civilization and the crumbling cities of 22nd century Egypt, Serious Sam 3 is an exhilarating fusion of classic twitch shooters and modern gameplay features."

The launch trailer:

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and moves opening during Turkey week of 2011.

PC Games:

• Batman: Arkham City
  
• Cities in Motion Collection
  
• Dead Island: Bloodbath Arena DLC
  
• Hearts of Iron III Collection
  
• Heavy Fire: Afghanistan
  
• Magicka Collection
  
• Magicka: The Stars Are Left DLC
  

Movies Opening This Week:

• A Dangrous Method
• Arthur Christmas
• Hugo
• My Week with Marilyn
• The Artist
• The Muppets

DVD and Blu-Ray releases:

• 12 Angry Men [Criterion Collection]
• A Madea Christmas: The Play
• Amazing Race: Season 3
• Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Special Ed. [Blu-Ray]
• Becoming Santa
• Carjacked [Blu-Ray]
• Conan the Barbarian [Blu-Ray]
• Darkroom
• Dirty Pictures
• Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Season [Blu-Ray]
• Duchess Of Malfi
• ESPN Films Collection: Vol. 1
• Green Guys
• Helldriver [Blu-Ray]
• Hollywood Goes to War
• Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special [Blu-Ray]
• Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
• JFK: The Lost Bullet
• L-Word: Complete Series
• Law & Order UK: Season Two
• Love Begins
• Making the Boys
• Mob Wives: Season 1
• Naked Massacre
• Nature: My Life as a Turkey [Blu-Ray]
• Nova: Fabric of the Cosmos [Blu-Ray]
• Para Volver a Amor
• Perry Mason: Season Six, Vol. 2
• Prep and Landing
• Project X
• Residents – Talking Light: Bimbo's
• Rushmore [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• Sarah's Key [Blu-Ray]
• Scream 4 [Blu-Ray]
• Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World [Blu-Ray]
• Super 8 [Blu-Ray]
• Tekken: Blood Vengeance
• The Adventures of Tintin: Season One
• The Birth of a Nation – Special Ed. [Blu-Ray]
• The David Susskind Show "Open End" interview with Jerry Lewis
• The Devi's Double [Blu-Ray]
• The Green
• The Office: Special Ed.
• The Rainbow Tribe
• These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America [Blu-Ray]
• Three Amigos [Blu-Ray]
• Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman Season 2
• Way Down East [Blu-Ray]
• Wild Life [Blu-Ray]
• Women War & Peace

Finnish blogger Jesse created a blog post on Tumblr that's attracting quite a bit of attention. Apparently, he managed to venture outside of Skyrim and eventually arrived at Red Mountain in Vvardenfell, which is part of Morrowind. As Jesse traveled further away from Skyrim the textures slowly degraded. Could this mean DLC, official updates, is it in place for modders to take advantage of or is it just there to keep the world of Skyrim realistic?

"The game doesn’t allow you to go any further. I find it strange, that there’s an area like this leading from Skyrim to Morrowind. Nowhere in the lore was this stone wall mentioned. And why would it be an open arch like that? Why not closed? Why is there a space at all between these mountains if we can’t go any further? As you can see there are still trees and foliage beyond this wall, but you aren’t able to access it without console commands.

So, I went into No-clip like the BAMF I am and travelled down this path."

You can read more on Jesse's Tumble blog.

Sony Online Entertainment today released a new trailer of the revamped Freeport in EverQuest II, which will be included in the upcoming Update 62.

"Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) invites fans to journey through EverQuest II's Game Update 62 with Game Designers Jonathan Caraker and Nathan McCall, Art Director Tim Heydelaar and Lead Character Artist Dave Brown. From ruins and chaos to a city of intimidation and evil, EQ II fans get a glimpse of the revamped city of Freeport in this new video.

About Freeport:
After enduring an aftermath of violence and disorder, the citizens of Freeport are inspired to action as Overlord Lucan D'Lere returns to eliminate those who betrayed him, consolidate his hold on the city, and restore Freeport to its rightful place as the center of power in Norrath. Transformed into one single zone with a convenient central commerce hub by the docks, Freeport features new quests at different levels that allow all players to assist the city and learn more about its story."