PC Game News

Atlus today released a new gameplay trailer for "Trine 2" titled "Alluring Adventure", giving viewers a brief look at the upcoming action adventure sequel by Frozenbyte. In addition, the company announced that the release date has been moved to late summer of this year.

"The "Alluring Adventure" Gameplay Trailer will give fans a glimpse of the gorgeous environment and clever physics-based gameplay they can expect when they play as the powerful knight, the swift rogue and the crafty wizard. Boasting sumptuous visuals, a masterful musical score, more puzzles, and the introduction of online support, Trine 2 is the perfect mix of old-school platforming action, original physics-based level design, and cooperative multiplayer fun!

For more information, please visit https://www.trine2.com."

Paradox Interactive and Nitro Games today announced that closed beta sign-ups for "Pirates of Black Cove" have begun.

"Prepare for the 16th century, the golden era of pirates! This is your chance to conquer the Caribbean, because Pirates of Black Cove challenge you to roam the open world with your pirate crew. Notoriety and pirate fame bring you closer to your goal to be the King of All Pirates."

Registration closes on March 31. To sign up now use the following link: https://beta.paradoxplaza.com/

There are several efforts within the gaming community that are raising money for the earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. Here are some that we are aware of:

Direct2Drive

For every game purchased at D2D through March 21st, D2D will donate $1 to the American Red Cross. Additionally, many of D2D's game publisher partners are on board to match donations, including Paradox, 2k Games, Atari and many, many more. The full list of participants can be found here: https://www.direct2drive.com/staticpage.aspx?topic=relief

EVE Online

Beginning March 14, 2011 and ending March 31, 2011 at 23:59 UTC, CCP will be accepting PLEX donations for PLEX for Good: Japan. Each donation will be converted into cash currency and donated to the Red Cross. We are truly honored to help catalyze this global player effort. More information about the program can be found in this dev blog: https://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=876

Global Agenda

Hi-Rez Studios has pledged to donate 100% of this weekend’s website game sales to Red Cross’ Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami relief effort. This promotion and donation opportunity is available to gamers world-wide at www.globalagendagame.com/japanrelief.

PopCap

PopCap will discount all of its iPhone and iPad games this weekend, beginning at 12:01AM PT tonight, donating all revenues from the 48-hour sale to the Red Cross in support of earthquake relief efforts in Japan. The company's iPhone games will be reduced to $1 each, while its two iPad apps, notably Plants vs. Zombies HD, will be offered for $2 apiece.

Paradox Interactive

Paradox will match Direct2Drive’s $1 per game donation, meaning $2 for every game sold will be given to victims of the Japanese catastrophe via the Red Cross.

Eurogamer has a new interview posted with Eric Barker, studio manger at Volition, who states that despite the risks of piracy a custom version of a game should always be developed for the PC and not just ported.

Here are some quotes from the article:

"Some people say PC is dying. Some people say PC is the future," he said. "PC is the most variable, because it depends on what you've got under the hood.

"For us, the key thing was making sure the PC version was done in-house."

"Let's make a game that's worth stealing, and then we'll worry about making sure they don't."

Read the full interview at Eurogamer.

Volition is currently working on "Red Faction: Armageddon" and decided to bring PC development of the game in-house after quality issues with their two previous titles.

Wargaming.net today announced that "World of Tanks", the free-to-play MMO strategy game, will be released on April 12, 2011 in North America and Europe.

"With this announcement, the company reports World of Tanks to be gradually entering the release phase after nine successive months of closed and open beta testing that let the game recruit an impressive number of players building up a strong and responsive community that helped the development team enhance and polish the game by providing valuable feedback and reporting issues.
 
World of Tanks is one of the most recognizable vehicle-based MMO games where players fight action-packed battles driving historically accurate WWII-era armored machines. The game’s stunning graphics, destructible environments, a wide variety of military hardware with a vast choice of upgrade options along with captivating and well-balanced gameplay make it a must-try for almost every gamer.

Join the open beta at:

• https://game.worldoftanks.com/registration/ (North America)
• https://game.worldoftanks.eu/registration/ (Europe)"

Valve today released a new spot for "Portal 2" that will air on TV networks. According to MVC, Valve decided to make the ad itself, stating that they were tired of copycat campaigns and skipped the proposals by creative agencies.

“No one knows the product better than the folks who made it,” Valve’s marketing VP Doug Lombardi told MCV.

"With the Portal 2 ad, we playtested it and were able to make changes during production. With an agency, those types of tests are too often left to a post-mortem – at which point, the value of those realizations is pretty close to worthless."

Portal 2 is scheduled to be released on April 18. For more information visit: https://www.thinkwithportals.com/

Another new trailer for "Battlefield 3" was released today titled "Good Effect on Target", showing viewers what it's like to come under sniper fire in the upcoming sequel by DICE.

"Battlefield 3 allows you to feel the full impact of battle like never before. Powered by Frostbite 2, the next generation of DICE's cutting-edge gaming engine, Battlefield 3 delivers spectacular visuals, earth-shattering destruction and real as hell combat gameplay providing a dramatic immersive First Person Shooter experience."

Wargaming.net today announced that registration for "Clan Wars" has opened for "World of Tanks".

"Clan Wars concept revolves around the Global Map divided into a number of provinces each providing a particular revenue stream, with hundreds of clans fighting for gaining control over them. Comprehensive diplomatic and economic systems will provide a wide array of options to wage war for global domination not only on tank battlefields but at bargaining tables as well.

World of Tanks players can form and register their clans at:

• https://game.worldoftanks.com/clans/  (for North American server)
• https://game.worldoftanks.eu/clans/  (for European server) 

For more information on World of Tanks, visit https://www.worldoftanks.com/."

A new trailer for "Brink" has been released, highlighting the different classes in the upcoming first-person shooter by Splash Damage.

"Brink is an immersive shooter that blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer gameplay into one seamless experience, allowing you to develop your character across all modes of play. You decide the role you want to assume in the world of Brink as you fight to save yourself and mankind's last refuge for humanity. Brink offers a compelling mix of dynamic battlefields, extensive customization options, and an innovative control system that will keep you coming back for more."

Streum On Studio today announced that "E.Y.E.", the upcoming RPG inspired by Blade Runner, among other things, has been delayed without a new date given. However, the game's soundtrack has been released for those who are eagerly waiting.

"We were ready to release E.Y.E at the end of February, but our final tests showed us some weakness in the polishing. We preferred to re-work these few points to offer you a game as perfect as possible instead of hastening ourselves to release it. A new release date is going to be announced very soon.

We hope the people who are waiting for our game will be ready to forgive us. In order to thank you for your patience and to help you waiting, we offer you the complete E.Y.E OST by our composer Olivier "_Max_" Zuccaro."

THQ today announced that "Homefront", the FPS by Kaos Studios, has been shipped to retail stores worldwide.

"Depicting the so-called US Resistance’s futile efforts to deny the liberating Korean People’s Army their glorious destiny, Homefront will prove to be an effective educatory tool for all citizens in possession of an Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system, or Windows PC.

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI), who have a long and illustrious history of keeping pampered capitalists entertained with original gaming experiences, are reporting that Homefront has topped pre-order charts across the globe, and will be honored accordingly by the Greater Korean Republic.

To celebrate the release of Homefront, THQ has issued a documentary that reveals the Greater Korean Republic’s glorious ascendancy, invasion and occupation of the USA, aided in part by the successful development of a nuclear EMP device. You can watch this piece entitled ‘Future History – Uncut’ at the official Homefront YouTube channel, YouTube.com/Homefrontgame.

For more righteous Homefront propaganda, disable the censorship options on your web browser and visit Homefront-Game.com"

The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of March 14, 2011.

PC Games:

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Homefront
• Shogun 2: Total War

Movies Opening This Week:

• Bill Cunningham New York (limited NYC)
• Cracks (limited NYC)
• Limitless
• Paul
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• The Music Never Stopped (limited)
• Win Win (limited)
• Winter in Wartime (limited LA/NYC)

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• A Shine of Rainbows
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy [Blu-Ray]
• Au Revior Les Enfants [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• Babylon 5: The Movie Collection – set
• Battle for the Warriors [Blu-Ray]
• Battle of Los Angeles
• Best Food Ever
• BMX Bandits
• Candlelight in Algeria
• Charles Bronson TV Collection – set
• Coach: The Fourth Season
• Gamera vs. Zigra/ Gamera: The Super Monster – double feature
• Hemingway's Garden of Eden
• Hereafter [Blu-Ray]
• Legends of the Silver Screen: The Biographies Collection – set
• Rugrats Trilogy Movie Collection – set
• Sharktopus [Blu-Ray]
• Snoopy Come Home and A Boy Named Charlie Brown – double feature
• The Best of Spaghetti Westerns – set
• The Fighter
• The Fighter [Blu-Ray]
• The Snoop Sisters: The Complete Series
• The Switch [Blu-Ray]
• The Virginian: Third Complete Season
• The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest [Blu-Ray]
• Thunder in the City
• Waste Land
• Who Do You Think You Are?: Season One
• Yi Yi [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]

Paradox Interactive today released a new gameplay trailer and developer interview video on "Pride of Nations", the upcoming turn-based strategy game by AGEOD.

"The latest developer interview video offers insight from the producer Philippe Thibaut, as he gives aspiring world rulers a glimpse of what Pride of Nations will include on launch day. Be prepared to take on the masses as one of 8 superpowers vying for the most prestige in an attempt to become the ultimate world power."

The developer interview can be found on Youtube and the gameplay trailer is embedded below:

THQ today released a launch trailer for "Homefront", the FPS by Kaos Studios that's scheduled to be released tomorrow. Note, the video displays a release date of March 18 because it's a European video; the release date for North America is March 15.

"Set in the year 2027, Homefront is an immersive first person shooter that delivers a gut-wrenching cinematic experience. Written by John Milius (Red Dawn, Apocalypse Now), parts of the American homeland are occupied by a savage far-east alliance driven by a nuclear-armed North Korean Army."

Bethesda Softworks today announced "Prey 2", in development at Human Head Studios with a release planned for 2012. The first game details will be revealed in the May issue of PSM3.

"Prey 2 is being developed by Human Head Studios, the studio that created Prey, the original, award-winning game. Prey 2 is being built on the cutting edge id tech engine from id Software."

“We are thrilled to be working with Bethesda on Prey 2,” said Chris Rhinehart, project lead. Prey 2 will provide gamers the opportunity to explore a new facet of the Prey universe, one that offers fast-paced action in an open, alien world. We’re excited to show gamers the title we have been working on and hope they will be as excited by this title as we are.”