PC Game News

Paradox Interactive today announced it is now taking registrations for a closed beta test of Crusader Kings II.

"Crusader Kings II is created by the development team behind the Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron and Victoria series. In Crusader Kings II you must rule with an iron fist and win the hearts of your subjects through fear, or lead a nation through respect and loyalty—the choice is yours. Keep your alliances close, your blades sharp and your wits about you at all times – for you will need them. Sacking an army takes strength. Ruling an entire nation takes a true leader.
Do you have what it takes to become a Crusader King?

Sign up for the Crusader Kings II Closed Beta now at: https://beta.paradoxplaza.com/"

GamersFirst today announced that Fallen Earth will transition to a Free2Play game starting Wednesday, October 12th.

"Along with the change in business model comes a brand new World Event system, expanding the game’s sandbox offerings with dynamically generated events that can happen anywhere in the game world.
 
For the first time since the launch of this fan-favorite MMO, Fallen Earth players can now choose how much to invest in their chosen pastime. As is true for all of GamersFirst’s Free2Play games, there are no level caps or content limits for free players, making the same rich sandbox gameplay available to everyone.
 
Players with active subscriptions prior to the October 12 Free2Play transition will automatically convert to the top-tier Commander Premium Subscription, and qualify for all of the Fallen Earth Veteran reward packages, including monthly gifts, wardrobe slots, and a permanent discount on the Commander Premium subscription."

More info at www.fallenearth.com.

Reto-Moto, a company formed from some of the former IO Interactive (Hitman) members after the Eidos purchase, today announced Heroes & Generals, an upcoming WWII FPS and strategy combination game. In addition, the company announced it is now taking alpha registrations for the game.

"Imagine a game where your actions can help turn the tide of a persistent online war being fought by thousands of other real players, either in the role of a hardened soldier engaged in blistering first-person shooter combat, or as a strategic officer managing the grand scheme of the campaign on a tactical war map. Heroes & Generals will deliver this combined one-two punch in a thrilling multiplayer online battle across authentic WW II settings.

As H&G enters a vital playable testing phase, we encourage all gamers to enlist for an Alpha-key now at our www.heroesandgenerals.com community site."

A new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released today, giving viewers more background on the single-player portion of the upcoming sequel by Infinity Ward.

"The all-new single player trailer for Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3. In the world's darkest hour, are you willing to do what is necessary? Prepare yourself for a cinematic thrill-ride as only Call of Duty can deliver."

A new Prototype 2 video was released today, outlining combat changes and enhancements in the upcoming sequel by Radical Entertainment.

"Prototype 2 continues the shape-shifting, open-world action franchise, this time focusing on Sgt. James Heller and his mission to destroy Prototype's original anti-hero, Alex Mercer."

Anyone who played Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad after launch knows there were plenty of bugs with the game. The company today released a "State of the Game" update, in which they revealed sales for the game have surpassed the lifetime revenue of the original game. They also admitted that the game had a "rough launch" and have promised to continue working on fixes. The part of the announcement that players won't like, but are expecting, is that there will be a stat reset now that all the major stat and ranking bugs have been fixed. To help alleviate dissatisfaction, all players will earn double experience for the next few weeks.

"To put it bluntly, the game had a rough launch. We've been working diligently since launch to get these issues sorted and have made great progress fixing issues with matchmaking, VOIP, and stability as well as improving performance. The final major area that we've been working on is stats, player progression and ranking.

We have now fixed all of the major issues with the stats system and released an update yesterday to address these issues. Due to the problems with stats and players either earning stats and achievements that they didn't actually earn or earning stats at many times the intended rate, we are going to have to do a global reset of all stats for the game. This means all achievements, stats and player progression will be rolled back as if all players were new. This was not an easy decision for us to make, but one we felt we needed to do to preserve the integrity of the stats and ranking system, and to provide all of the players the best experience with the game over the long term. Knowing that there are people that have been playing the game for a few weeks now and will lose the stats for that time we are going to provide a special bonus to all players. For the next few weeks all players will earn double experience in Red Orchestra 2. "

Read the full State of the Game on the Tripwire forums.

7sixty today announced that Stronghold 3, the latest installment in the strategy series by Firefly Studios, has gone gold and is scheduled to be released on October 25th.

"Stronghold 3 is the true sequel to the much-loved original, which sees the return of the franchise’s most notorious enemy: The Wolf. After seemingly falling to his demise following defeat by The Boy, he has cheated death and is back for revenge, along with some of his old supporters and new, more dangerous, allies.

“Firstly we want to thank fans for waiting patiently for Stronghold 3, it’s been a long time coming but we wanted to make sure we created something really special,” said Simon Bradbury, lead designer, Firefly Studios. “This is the ‘ultimate Stronghold’, featuring the best bits from previous titles and some fantastic new elements – like night time sieges and a cutting edge graphics engine.”

“We’re delighted to be releasing Stronghold 3 at retail and in a range of digital stores this October,” said Jeff Hutchinson, VP interactive entertainment, 7sixty. “This is 7sixty’s first release and we’re extremely excited and proud that Firefly has done such a great job making a game which appeals to Stronghold fans old and new. Plus, don’t forget, there’s still time to pre-order from Steam to ensure you get the original Stronghold for free, along with the exclusive Tower of London single-player stage.”

For more information on Stronghold 3 go to https://www.stronghold3.com"

1C Company today announced King's Bounty: Warriors of the North, the next game in the adventure series.

"A new hero, young Olaf, the son of the Northling King, dedicates his life to the fight against the undead infesting the Northern Lands of Endoria. He will face epic battles, valor and love. Accompanied by gorgeous Valkyries who will assist Olaf on the battlefield, he will liberate the icy wastelands of the North, dwarven dungeons and Darion, the heart of the Endoria, from the reign of necromancy.

King's Bounty: Warriors of the North features:

• New plot, telling the story of the fight between the Good and the Evil, betrayal and love
• New companions – 5 Valkyries, assisting Olaf on the field of battle.
• New locations
• New units
• New skills
• New awards and achievements
• New school of magic – Rune Magic

The King's Bounty series are adventure games with tactical turn-based battles and RPG elements unfolding in a rich fantasy world. The hero, and their army of companions, travel across a huge continent visiting dozens of different locations all connected to each other. Communicating with NPCs, collecting resources and recruiting an army the player will control their character in real-time mode.  However all battles take place in classic turn-based mode with a strong emphasis on tactical elements.

King's Bounty: Warriors of the North release is scheduled for Spring 2012."

Croteam today announced the availability of a Serious Sam: Double D demo, giving players a chance to try out the indie side-scrolling shooter. The demo is available to download  through Steam, Get Games, Impulse and Direct2Drive.

"Serious Sam: Double D is full throttle action filled to the brim with trademark Serious Sam awesome and the ridiculous creativity of developer Mommy’s Best Games:

• 80, 640 Gunstacker combinations
• 18 jaw-clenching campaign levels
• 3 brutally awesome time periods
• 25 bizarrely monstrous creatures
• 70 secrets hidden across the game
• ginormous boss encounters
• 12 gut-punching challenge levels
• 30 Steam achievements
• Occasional bewbs"

For more info visit: https://www.mommysbestgames.com/serioussamdoubled.html

1C Company today announced that the second multiplayer DLC for Men of War: Assault Squad, MP Supply Pack Bravo, is now available exclusively through Steam.

"MP Supply Pack Bravo features 5 new competitive multiplayer maps for various numbers of players. Each map has its own unique setting and battle landscape. New multiplayer maps can be played in the Assault Zones, Combat and Day of Victory game modes.

Men of War’s newest DLC can be purchased immediately from Steam."

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of October 3rd, 2011.

PC Games:

• Disciples III: Resurrection
  
• NBA 2K12
  
• RAGE
  

Movies opening this week:

• Blackthorn (limited)
• Dirty Girl (limited)
• Real Steel
• The Human Centipede II (limited)
• The Ides of March
• The Way (limited)

DVD and Blu-Ray releases:

• According to Jim: The Complete Fifth Season
• Almost Famous [Blu-Ray]
• Amer [Blu-Ray]
• Beauty and the Beast [Blu-Ray]
• Being John Malkovich [Blu-Ray]
• Bored to Death: The Complete Second Season [Blu-Ray]
• Boy Meets World: The Complete Seventh and Final Season
• Buck
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [Blu-Ray]
• Cinema Paradiso [Blu-Ray]
• Crazy on the Outside [Blu-Ray]
• Dead Alive [Blu-Ray]
• Deck the Halls [Blu-Ray]
• Deep Gold [Blu-Ray]
• Detective Montalbano: Episodes 19 & 20
• Disneynature: African Cats [Blu-Ray]
• Fast Five [Blu-Ray]
• Fresh Fields: Set 2
• Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series
• Friday the 13th: THe Ultimate Collection
• Harakiri [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• In Treatment: The Complete Third Season
• Jackie Brown [Blu-Ray]
• Jig
• Johnny English [Blu-Ray]
• Julia's Eyes [Blu-Ray]
• Ken Burns: Prohibition [Blu-Ray]
• La Reina del Sur: Volumen 1 & 2
• Lie To Me: Season Three
• Life is Beautiful [Blu-Ray]
• Living Will
• Moby Dick [Blu-Ray]
• Munich
• Peanuts Holiday Collection [Blu-Ray]
• Pee-wee's Big Adventure [Blu-Ray]
• Perry Mason: Season Six, Vol. 1
• Planet Earth: Limited Edition [Blu-Ray]
• Platoon [Blu-Ray]
• Pulp Fiction [Blu-Ray]
• Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• Sarah Palin: The Undefeated
• Scream 4 [Blu-Ray]
• Snow Beast
• Space Jam [Blu-Ray]
• Submarine [Blu-Ray]
• The Bionic Woman: Season 3
• The Cider House Rules [Blu-Ray]
• The Hollies: Look Through Any Window 1963-1975
• The honeymooners: Lost Episodes 1951-1957
• The League: Season Two
• The Lion King [Blu-Ray]
• The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season [Blu-Ray]
• Tomorrow When the War Began [Blu-Ray]
• Weird Al Yankovic Live – The Apocalypse Tour [Blu-Ray]

Valve today announced the release of the free Peer Review DLC update for Portal 2.

"In "Peer Review", you and a friend continue the story of loyal bots P-Body and Atlas as you puzzle your way through a mysterious new co-op test track and once again match wits with GLaDOS. The free DLC also features a single player and co-op Challenge Mode, and leaderboards to compare Challenge Mode scores with friends and the Portal community.

To celebrate the release of the free DLC, Portal 2 is now on sale for 50% off on Steam through Thursday at 4pm PT. For more information on Portal 2, visit https://thinkwithportals.com/."

Paradox Interactive today announced an expansion for Victoria II titled A House Divided, which focuses on the American Civil War.

"From the development team behind Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, Victoria II: A House Divided introduces a new starting point in 1861 allowing players to experience the US Civil War from the start, from the era of absolute monarchies, encompassing expansion and colonization, culminating in the emergence of the US as a global superpower at the dawn of the 20th century.

A brand new developer diary uncovers more of the development process of the upcoming expansion and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/5uh2jvv

Victoria II: A House Divided is scheduled for release in Q1 2012 and will be published worldwide by Paradox Interactive with a suggested retail price of $19.99/€19.99/£14.99."

Fatshark today released a new trailer for Hamilton's Great Aventure, highlighting the newly released Retro Fever DLC pack.

"This map pack contains new levels that bring back the irrepressible charm, and also that daunting touch of hardcore difficulty, that could only be found in the 80’s. They are inspired by famous levels found in legendary NES titles and carry names such as It’s a me, Hamilton! and Dungeon #9.

Accompanying the levels are brand new and shiny achievements to ensure that your bragging rights are properly boosted as well."

A new trailer for Syndicate was released today, giving viewers a look at the upcoming FPS reinvention of the 90s series in development at Starbreeze. 

"Fans of the Syndicate franchise will recognize many weapons and environments in the game, but in a whole new way. Syndicate's blend of fast-paced, futuristic, action shooter settings and story, combined with innovative chip breach gameplay, instantly immerses players in a unique digital world. The game also provides a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic, which adds another layer of depth to the overall experience.

An exclusive track by Skrillex, featured on the trailer above, can be downloaded for free by fans of Syndicate on Facebook at facebook.com/syndicate"