PC Game News

Ubisoft today announced "Assassin's Creed Revelations", the fourth installment in the series by Ubisoft Montreal.

"Developed and led by Ubisoft Montreal with the support and expertise of Ubisoft studios Annecy, Massive Entertainment, Quebec, Singapore and Bucharest, Assassin’s Creed Revelations presents the most immersive experience available in the series to date and the culmination of Ezio’s adventure. The game is set to release on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC this November.

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and 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. The latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga also includes revolutionary gameplay, allowing players to manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future.

For more information on Assassin’s Creed, visit: www.assassinscreed.com"

Two more "Get Smart" trailers for "Brink" have been released, this time highlighting the HUD and different player classes.

HUD:

"In our latest Get SMART video, learn how to effectively use Brink’s heads-up video to your advantage."

Classes:

"In Brink, you can play as one of four different class types: Soldier, Engineer, Operative, and Medic. In our latest Get SMART video, you'll learn more their roles, including the special skills and abilities they contribute. Watch it and you'll be sure to jump to the head of the class."

NIval today announced it has opened an office in Los Angeles.

"Nival's fourth global office will focus on bringing the company's upcoming cross-platform, social strategy games to U.S. players. Founded by Russian gaming prodigy Sergey Orlovskiy, best known for developing numerous successful titles including Allods Online, Heroes of Might & Magic V, Silent Storm and Blitzkrieg, the company is renowned as a developer of high-quality strategy games. The company's focus is to develop online games for an international audience.

"The United States is well known for innovation and our aspiration is to have a similar reputation for originality with gamers," said Orlovskiy, founder and president of Nival. "We anticipate continued growth in the online space and believe we can carve out our own unique position by tying social and strategy elements together in a new genre of gaming." 

The new office will initially focus on managing operations for North America and contribute to growth opportunities in both Central and South America. Nival is expected to launch its first North American game in 2011 with an additional game available for beta testing later this year. The games will be free to play with revenue driven through in-game item sales via microtransactions. Nival plans to offer games across multiple platforms, including PC and Mac, as well as Android and iOS mobile operating systems with extensive social network tie-ins. 

For more information about Nival, please visit the new corporate site: www.nival.com."

Trion Worlds today announced that "Rift: The Spoils of War", the second content update for the recently released MMORPG, will be released next Tuesday, May 10.

"In advance of Rift 1.2, Trion is kicking things off today with the Spoils of War prelude. Earth and Fire rifts are opening unexpectedly all across Telara, spilling forth mysterious fragments of golden dragon eggs along with the usual monstrosities. Daily quests in Meridian and Sanctum offer special rewards to those Ascended who attempt to solve this planar conundrum.

Full list of Rift 1.2 Features:

• Facebook Integration – Post updates, screenshots, or Achievements from Telara directly to your Facebook profile!
• Looking for Group– Automatically form groups for dungeons, rifts, and group quests.  Complete random expert dungeons for additional bonuses, both for the daily player and the weekend warrior!
• Wardrobe – Players can configure up to five outfit slots to choose between – look however you want, and break out those costume items.
• New Ascended Powers – Omen Sight (Guardian) and Quantum Sight (Defiant) reveal openings to Slivers and even more in the future.
• Additional Role – By popular demand, players can purchase a 5th role for even more class flexibility.
• Many UI Improvements –Auction House, Crafting, and Artifacts all receive useful new refinements.

 New Content in Rift 1.2:

• Gilded Prophecy Sliver – Rift extends its support of 10-player raids to this new type of instance! Fight against Golden Maw cultists from another reality to prevent them from gaining relics of vast power.
• New Dynamic Content – Two new raid rifts, one new expert group rift, rifts specifically designed around rewarding crafters, and easier access to expert group rifts.
• New Zone Events:
  • Planar Chill – Control strategic locations in Iron Pine Peak against planar onslaught
  • Scourge of the Sands – Defend precious resources as they are moved to critical locations in Shimmersand Desert, then launch a counter attack
  • An Eye for an Eye– Guardians and Defiants summon their respective champions in order to defeat the Colossi in this end-game brawl."

Eidos today released the recommended and minimum requirements for "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" along with three new PC screenshots.

"With the original Deus Ex developed for the PC platform, the franchise has a strong PC lineage. Deus Ex: Human Revolution continues the franchise’s dedication to the PC, by maximizing its capability on this platform and creating an immersive, true PC gameplay experience."

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Recommended PC Specs:

• OS: Windows 7
• PROCESSOR: AMD Phenom II X4 or Intel Core 2 Quad or better
• RAM: 2 GB
• GRAPHICS: AMD Radeon HD 5850
• REQUIRED DISC SPACE: 8.5 GB

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Minimum PC Specs:

• OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 with DirectX 9.0c
• PROCESSOR: 2 GHz dual core
• RAM: 1 GB RAM (Windows XP) / 2 GB (Windows Vista and Windows 7)
• GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce 8000 series or ATI Radeon HD 2000 series or better
• REQUIRED DISC SPACE: 8.5 GB
   

Paradox Interactive today announced the release of "Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword", the new stand-alone installment in the series by TaleWorlds and Sich Studios. In addition, a demo for the game has been released.

"With Fire and Sword, the third stand-alone title in the acclaimed Mount & Blade series, gives players the freedom to decide who both their allies and enemies are as they create their own world inspired by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1884 cult classic novel "With Fire and Sword." Players will plan tactical takeovers, scheme which castles to siege, and battle rival armies with traditional weapons found in previous Mount & Blade titles, as well as newly introduced firearms such as muskets and pistols. With plenty of new quests for players to partake in and a deep, immersive campaign mode, Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword continues the tradition of giving players an open-world experience like no other.

Features:

• Enhanced siege mechanics: storm the castle, blow up the walls, bribe an officer or poison the well/food to get past the defenses!
• New army and castle/town upgrade system
• The addition of firearms and explosives¨
• 15 new multiplayer maps and a new multiplayer mode, Captain Team Deathmatch in which players will command a squad of soldiers
• A setting based off the cult novel “With Fire and Sword” (1884) by Nobel- prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz
• Multiple endings for high replay-ability

The game is a stand-alone game created by the independent developers Sich Studios together with Taleworlds Entertainment based on the Mount&Blade: Warband engine.

Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword is now available on all leading digital download platforms for $14.99, with a retail release following shortly. The retail box price will vary on different markets depending on retail box content. "

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of May 2, 2011.

PC Games:

• Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword
• Sction 8: Prejudice

Movies Opening This Week:

• Hobo with a Shotgun (limited)
• Jumping the Broom
• Last Night (limited)
• The Beaver (limited)
• Thor
• Something Borrowed

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• A Somewhat Gentle Man
• According to Jim: The Complete Third Season
• All the Right Moves [Blu-Ray]
• Being Human: Season Three [Blu-Ray]
• Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Power Struggle
• Bloomington
• Boy Meets World: The Complete Fifth Season
• Bullet in the Head [Blu-Ray]
• City on Fire [Blu-Ray]
• Curious George Plays Ball!
• Dirty Jobs Collection 7
• Drop Dead Dive: The Complete Second Season
• Elmo's Travel Songs and Games
• Fat Girl [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• From Dusk Till Dawn [Blu-Ray]
• From Prada to Nada [Blu-Ray]
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later [Blu-Ray]
• Hearty Response [Blu-Ray]
• Houdini & Those Daring Young Men and Their Jaunty Jalopies [Blu-Ray]
• Identity
• Kung Fu Dunk [Blu-Ray]
• La Soga
• Master [Blu-Ray]
• Melrose Place: Sixth Season V.1
• Murdoch Mysteries: Season 3 [Blu-Ray]
• My Own Love Song [Blu-Ray]
• Party Animals
• Penn & Teller Bullshit: Eighth Season
• Shaolin [Blu-Ray]
• Smiles of a Summer Night [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• Soy Tu Duena
• Student Bodies and Jekyll & Hyde Together Again [Blu-Ray]
• Sync or Swim
• Taps [Blu-Ray]
• The Crow: City of Angels [Blu-Ray]
• The Dilemma [Blu-Ray]
• The Encounter
• The Green Hornet [Blu-Ray]
• The Man Who Could Cheat Death [Blu-Ray]
• The PJ's: Season One
• The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town [Blu-Ray]
• The Yards [Blu-Ray]
• UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch
• Upstairs and Downstairs
• Waiting for Forever [Blu-Ray]
• What Dreams May Come [Blu-Ray]
• X-2: X-Men United [Blu-Ray]
• X-3: X-Men: The Last Stand [Blu-Ray]
• X-Men [Blu-Ray]
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine [Blu-Ray]

gamingo today announced the release of a new patch for "Black Prophecy", which adds 10 new missions and includes other minor fixes and improvements.

The highlights of this patch are the ten new missions in open sectors, available to players on different levels. A number of other smaller improvements have also been made:

• Performance in all sectors has been improved.
• Bugs in the ship status display have been fixed.
• Damage distribution has been changed slightly. Damage is now distributed evenly to all active ship parts. This is done proportionally to the part's durability percentage in relation to the entire ship. The part that gets hit directly (unless it's the cockpit) will receive slightly more damage than the other parts.
• Repair kit durability is now distributed evenly to all active ship parts. This is done proportionally to the part's durability percentage in relation to the entire ship.
• The amount of points repaired by higher level repair kits has been increased.

The complete patch log can be read here.

Players can look forward to new content each month in the future.  More information about the game can be found on its official website.

gamingo today announced the launch of "Dragon God Resurrection" for "King of Kings 3", the first large expansion for the MMORPG by Lager.

"The soul of the expansion lies in the search for "Souls of Original Sin". These are seven rare artifacts which are looted from boss monsters known as "Sinful Souls". One of these artifacts will pave the path to the best weapons in the game and unlock the gates to special instances. But having one can also turn the hunter into the hunted.
The reason for this: Name and position are broadcast via server message in every realm. Others can attack the player and if the battle is lost, the artifact is as well.

Even more fun is added in the higher levels by the new specialization level, which boosts the number of character classes available to choose from to 27. Characters can also undergo a transformation that will give them additional powers and a new appearance including dragon wings and glowing eyes.

The most important new features and content in "Dragon God Resurrection" at a glance are:

• Character level cap raised to Level 140
• New classes: The second level of specialization will be unlocked, increasing the number of classes to 27.
• 22 new areas
• Dragon transformation: To receive special powers, players will need to complete an individual quest series and craft a dragon crystal.
• Raising and taming dragons: Players can tame dragons so that they can be used as mounts. Dragon Knights can even raise their own dragons, nurturing a baby dragon into a fully-grown flying menace.
• Expanded crafting for equipment up to Level 140
• Soul of Original Sin: Seven Sinful Souls (boss monsters) inhabit the world. Those who manage to kill them will receive a powerful artefact, which can be used to create a valuable weapon.

Additional information can be found on the official website https://kingofkings3.gamigo.com/, where a free account to play King of Kings 3 can also be created."

Valve today officially announced DLC for "Portal 2" that's currently in development and scheduled to be released this summer. However, not many details were released along with the announcement.

"Portal 2 DLC #1 will offer new test chambers for players, leaderboards, challenge mode for single and multiplayer modes, and more.

Targeted for release this summer, Portal 2 DLC #1 will be offered free of charge for the PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PS3.

A hilariously mind-bending adventure that challenges you to use wits over weaponry in a funhouse of diabolical science, Portal 2 features expansive single and cooperative multiplayer game modes.
           
For more information, please visit www.thinkwithportals.com"

An "Allods Online" launch trailer has been released, giving viewers more of a look at the upcoming MMORPG that is set to launch on May 11.

"Allods Online will feature classic fantasy MMORPG gameplay that fans of the genre's most successful titles can enjoy. It features extensive questing, intense player-versus-player combat, grand exploration, in-depth character development and plenty of social interaction. In the Astral, players will have the chance to put their wits and brawn to the test in larger-than-life Astral battles, the game's giant fights between competing 'Astral ships' manned by multiple players. Adventurers from all over the world will have to choose between six races and eight character classes before choosing their allegiance between the two warring factions: the League and the Empire."

Paradox Interactive today released the developer's choice soundtrack for free, which features 30 tracks from "Mount & Blade Warband" and the upcoming "Mount & Blade: Fire & Sword".

"From the exciting to the soulful, the soundtracks feature the energizing compositions of Jesse Hopkins on Mount & Blade: Warband and his relaxing, peaceful sounds of the East on With Fire & Sword.

The With Fire & Sword soundtrack was the combined effort of Hopkins and Pyotr Salnikov, with Salnikov composing many of the game's more upbeat and soulful tracks such as "Eastern Soul" and "Fighting Bandits".  The Moscow State Historical & Ethnographic Theater is responsible for adding authentic village music to the score."

The soundtrack can be downloaded exclusively from Big Download.

Fast Company interviewed three Valve employees on "Portal 2" in which Doug Lombardi revealed that DLC will soon be announced.

"Doug: We will be announcing some DLC for it, so folks can keep a look out for more content coming this summer. We'll be putting more details out about that in a week or so. We'll support that with more videos or more comics."

You can read the entire article at Fast Company (contains spoilers), which also includes commentary from lead writer Erik Wolpaw and engineer Jeep Parnett.

For more information on Portal 2 visit: https://www.thinkwithportals.com/

Two gameplay overview trailers for "Brink" have been released, giving viewers an overview on the basics and objectives in the upcoming FPS by Splash Damage.

Basics

"We're pleased to release the first video in Brink's 'Get SMART series'. With only two weeks to go until Brink hits shelves, we thought we'd offer up some helpful advice on how to get to grips with the innovative new shooter."

Objectives

"We continue our SMART Series with a video showcasing the variety of objectives you'll tackle while playing Brink. Learn more about the Objective Wheel, Command Posts, class-specific requirements for objectives, and much more. "

Electronic Arts and Maxis announced yesterday that "Darkspore" has been shipped and is now available at North American retailers and via digital distribution platforms.

"Darkspore is an online* action RPG in which players battle co-operatively across alien worlds against a deadly foe, as well as test their skills in multiplayer matches against players around the globe.

Unlike any other action RPG, Darkspore enables players to collect an arsenal of living weapons – genetic heroes with different combat abilities – and upgrade them with tens of thousands of collectible body parts and armor. With three distinct classes, five different genetic hero types, and an almost limitless number of customization options based on loot collected throughout the campaign, players can create any number of awesome Heroes with which to do battle. Utilizing technology from the award-winning Spore Creature Editor, players can modify heroes and their respective stats, in order to improve skill sets as well as changing the overall look of the three-Hero squad.

Join forces with up to three friends to play co-operatively through the campaign, or challenge other online players in 1v1 or 2v2 player vs. player modes. Developed by Maxis, Darkspore is now available for Windows PC. "