PC Game News

Dennanton Games and Devlolver Digital announced yesterday that Hotline Miami has been released.

“Gamers will step into the neon-soaked underground of 1980s Miami as bizarre messages on your answering machine seem to be urging you to commit terrible acts of violence against a nameless group of armed thugs. Overflowing with raw brutality and skull crushing close combat, Hotline Miami demands sharp reactions and a creative approach to navigate a gauntlet of 20 multiscreen missions. Wield 35 different weapons, collect 25 game-altering masks, and unveil a dark, surreal storyline that will force you to question your role in this murderous spree.

Available now through a variety of digital download retailers for $9.99, Hotline Miami combines breakneck action with stylized visuals and a driving soundtrack layered on an intense narrative that delivers one of the year’s most compelling indie games.”

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) today announced a new free service for rating all digital distribution games.

“ESRB’s new “Digital Rating Service” utilizes a brief but detailed online questionnaire to assess not only a product’s content and age-appropriateness, but also interactive elements, including the sharing of personal information or physical location and exposure to unfiltered user-generated content. This newly streamlined service will first be put into use for downloadable games available from a number of computer and video game platforms including Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation® Network, PlayStation® Vita, PlayStationâ„¢ Certified devices, Nintendo® eShop, Wii Shop Channelâ„¢ and Windows 8, with other digital content aggregators, online game networks, streaming and download services to follow.

The streamlined rating process makes obtaining an ESRB rating fast and easy by assigning a rating immediately. By simplifying the process and eliminating the cost to developers, the ESRB expects to broaden adoption of its ratings among game providers of all types. The resulting ubiquity of ESRB ratings will ease a parent’s job by presenting a single ratings standard across the many platforms on which their children access games. Increased adoption of ESRB ratings also means that developers will no longer be subject to differing and oftentimes conflicting rating systems and standards for their digitally delivered games. ESRB’s Digital Rating Service complements the CTIA Mobile Application Rating System with ESRB, a program launched last year through which ESRB assigns ratings to mobile apps using a similar process.”

Electronic Arts announced yesterday that Medal of Honor Warfighter has been shipped and is now available in North American retail stores. The game releases on Friday in Europe.

“Written by actual U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas, Medal of Honor Warfighter features a dotted line to real world events and provides players a view into globally recognized threats and situations letting them experience the action as it might have unfolded. From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold in Basilan, Philippines to assaulting Al-Shabaab’s “Pirate Town” on the Somali Coast, the single player campaign allows players to step behind the iron sights of Tier 1 Operators as they hunt down a terrorist mastermind and the global threat of the distribution of a deadly explosive chemical called PETN.

Medal of Honor Warfighter is available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the PC. The Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition* includes the Medal of Honor Warfighter Zero Dark Thirty Map Pack in North America and Medal of Honor Warfighter The Hunt Map Pack in Europe at no extra charge. The pack will be available for sale for $9.99 in conjunction with the theatrical debut of Zero Dark Thirty when the film releases the week of December 17.”

Kalypso today announced the release of Tropico 4: Pirate Heaven DLC.

“In the newly released “Pirate Heaven” DLC for Tropico 4, players can now ignore those pesky international blockades, importing goods via the new Smuggler’s Hut building, and boost their naval power courtesy of the new “Sailor” character trait. As part of the new DLC, your minions will now be able to resort to piracy as a way of making quick money, though all that ship hijacking, ransoming, pillaging and plundering is sure to attract international attention (and ire), so you’ll need to build up your defences to protect Tropico from invasion! Last but never least; players can dress up their female avatars with the new “Pirate Queen” outfit, giving just a bit more flair to your in-game persona.

The Pirate Heaven DLC is available now through various digital portals and the Kalypso Launcher for $4.99 USD and requires the original Tropico 4 for Windows PC.”

The list of new PC game releases, Blu-ray releases and movies opening the week of October 22nd. 2012.

PC games:

• A Game of Dwarves
• Elemental: Fallen Enchantress
• FIFA Manager 13
• Hotline Miami
• Medal of Honor Warfighter
• Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device

Movies opening this week:

• Chasing Mavericks
• Cloud Atlas
• Fun Size
• Pusher (limited)
• Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
• The Loneliest Planet (limited)
• The Zen of Bennett (limited)

Blu-ray releases:

• 247 Degrees Fahrenheit
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• Admiral
• Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Early Cases
• American Pie Box Set
• Apocalypse: Hitler
• Beaver Falls Series 1
• Blade Runner – 30th Anniversary Ed.
• Bride of Frankenstein
• Casino Royale
• Christmas Angel
• Cocktail
• Core
• Crooked Arrows
• Dracula
• Fear & Desire
• Frankenstein
• Hot Potato
• I, Robot
• Invisible Man
• Lost Girl: Season One
• Magic Mike
• Maison Close: Season One
• Mummy
• Phantom of the Opera
• Puppet Master X: Axis Rising
• Quantum of Solace
• Rald Dahl’s BFG Big Friendly Giant
• Sailor of the King
• Secret of the Wings
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season Four
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Take This Waltz
• The Ambassador
• The Penalty: Kino Classics Special Ed.
• Twenty8k
• Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection
• Universal Monsters Coffin Box Collection
• Where the Yellowstone Goes
• Wrong Turn 5

A new gameplay video for Darkfall: Unholy Wars was released today, giving viewers a look at the upcoming PvP MMORPG.

“Darkfall: Unholy Wars is a fast-paced, PvP MMORPG with full loot. Players are called to form clans and battle for dominance across the seamless and open fantasy world of Agon. Recruit and train new warriors, conquer fortresses and clan cities, engage in epic land and naval battles with thousands of concurrent players and build powerful empires.”

A new trailer for Sleeping Dogs: Nightmare in North Point was released today, giving viewers a quick look at the DLC pack that will be released for Halloween.

“In life, Big Scar Wu was one of Hong Kong’s most ruthless triad gangsters. Feared as much by those who stood against him as those who stood by him in the Sun On Yee, it was decided by the Grand Dragon that he must be stopped. Looking to send a message, they had him stabbed 42 times before feeding his bleeding corpse to the grinder at the Smiley Cat cat food plant… his final resting place, in the food bowls of the city’s pet cats. It is said that if the wronged receive anything less than a proper burial, their spirit will almost certainly come back as a Hungry Ghost, damned to starve in the afterlife, feeding only on their hatred. You turn him into cat food and that’s pretty much guaranteed.

Now, Hell has a sense of humour, and when Big Scar Wu arrived in the underworld and word spread of his demise, they renamed him Smiley Cat, much to his chagrin, with the name fuelling his bitterness with every utterance and driving his thirst for revenge. Rising from Hell and vowing to exact his revenge, Smiley Cat has raised an army of Jiang Shi, vowing to destroy the Sun On Yee and to create Hong Kong’s most fearsome criminal empire.”

Sony Online Entertainment announced at its annual SOE Live fan event that PlanetSide 2 will launch in North America and Europe on November 20th.

“A free-to-play title with optional content available for purchase in the marketplace, PlanetSide 2 offers an unprecedented gaming experience where players battle in massive environments alongside and against thousands of players engaging in intense air and ground combat that spans the planet of Auraxis. Players will soon be able to pledge their allegiance and enlist in one of three unique Empires – Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty – in the fight for global domination.

For more information about PlanetSide 2 or to sign up for Beta access, visit:https://www.PlanetSide2.com.”

Born Ready Games today announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for its Strike Suite Zero game. Supporters of the campaign will gain early access to the upcoming beta version of the game.

“Strike Suit Zero is a PC game that offers fast and frantic space-combat, putting you in the middle of massive fleet battles where the fate of Earth relies on your dogfighting skills. You’ll take to the cockpit of a powerful transforming craft known as the Strike Suit, where – at the tap of a button – your craft will transform from a traditional fighter, to a hulking suit of space armour.

Strike Suit Zero will remind you of the heyday of 90’s space combat, whilst simultaneously introducing exciting new mechanics to make it relevant for today’s audience. To ensure that the game brings space combat back with a bang, we’ve brought in the best names in mecha and sci-fi to really put a stamp on the genre.

As part of the Kickstarter campaign, Born Ready is offering exclusive PC beta access to early backers, who will help shape the final few months of development. The closed beta, which is a great opportunity to experience the Strike Suit Zero universe first hand, will run later this year.”

GOG.com today announced the addition of Mac games to its online storefront, including The Witcher 2 among several other titles. In addition, Interplay games are on sale where customers can pay what they want.

“Users of Apple computers will receive the same simple service, ultra-fast downloads, great customer support, and, most importantly, best games in history. A total of 50 games is available right now, more than half of which are exclusively available from GOG.com. 8 games, such as Beneath a Steel Sky, Tyrian 2000, Ultima 4, and Warsow, are available for free, simply for signing up. Additionally, GOG.com is taking six of the best titles that they’re offering on both PC & Mac and putting them on sale in a Special Promo this weekend where gamers can pick up SimCity 2000, Little Big Adventure, Crusader: No Remorse, Postal: Classic and Uncut, Theme Hospital, and The Witcher Enhanced Edition, all available half off the full price, and all of the Mac games that GOG.com currently sells contain both the PC & Mac version of the game in one purchase.

The incredible new deal from Interplay is a limited-time offer to Pay What You Want for Interplay Games in GOG.com’s catalog. For the first time ever, a big-name publisher who’s been in the business for decades is offering its catalog at a pay-what-you-want price point, and for the next 14 days, gamers worldwide will have a chance to buy Interplay games available on GOG.com for as much (or as little) as they want to pay.”

CD Projekt RED today announced that the official title for its upcoming RPG will be Cyberpunk 2077 and that it will be set in the world created by Mike Pondsmith.

“The cyberpunk atmosphere, well known from William Gibson’s novels, the “Blade Runner” movie and the famous pen-and-paper game, “Cyberpunk 2020”, will surround the player. The creators promise that “Cyberpunk 2077” will be true to the essence of the cyberpunk genre.  Players will be thrown into the dark future of the year 2077 and into a world where advanced technologies have become both the salvation and the curse of humanity. A multi-thread, nonlinear story designed for mature players (a CD Projekt RED trademark) will take place in the sprawling metropolis of Night City and its surroundings. Players will have a chance to visit places well known from “Cyberpunk 2020”, including a combat zone completely taken over by gangs, the legendary Afterlife joint and the nostalgic Forlorn Hope.

Freedom of action and diversity in gameplay will be delivered thanks to the sandbox nature of the game and mechanics inspired by the “Cyberpunk 2020” pen-and-paper system, fine tuned to meet the requirements of a modern RPG. Gameplay will pump adrenaline through players’ veins and be consistent with the celebrated Cyberpunk spirit – rebellion, style, edge, uncertainty.  And of course, a cyberpunk reality cannot be deprived of murderous steel – guns, rifles, implants, dozens of gadgets and other varied pieces of equipment needed to survive on the streets of Night City. The developers are focused on making the technology of 2077 credible and exciting.”

Valve today announced that Steam Greenlight has been updated with new Software and Concept categories.

“Software in Steam Greenlight will work just like games, where we are looking to the community to provide data on what they would like to see made available via Steam.

Additionally, developers of games or software that are early in their development or creative process can now post their early work to start building a community and getting feedback from prospective customers. Concepts can be posted for free, but the voting on these items serves only to give the developer data and feedback and does not lead toward getting the game distributed on Steam.

To submit your Software or Concept, click the “Submit your item” button at the top of the main Steam Greenlight page.

Other changes made in this update:

• The updated front page of Steam Greenlight now highlights recent submissions and Friends’ favorites as well as recent news
• Developers can now add additional contributors to their items in Greenlight for the purpose of moderating and responding to community feedback
• A new widget-creator has been added under the “About” section to help promote your Steam Greenlight entry
• The FAQ has been updated to add some new questions and include information about Steam business in general
• Steam Greenlight logos are now available for download, also listed under the “About” section”

The Bethesda Blog has the announcement of the release of Doom 3 BFG.

“BFG Edition includes the original versions DOOM and DOOM II, as well as  re-mastered versions of DOOM 3 and its Resurrection of Evil add-on pack. And for the first time ever, play eight never-before-seen DOOM 3 levels in ‘The Lost Mission’.

Later today, PS3 players will be able to download the game directly on PSN. And if you already own DOOM 3 on Steam, between now and November 13th you can save $10 on your purchase.”

Paradox Interactive today announced the release of Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome, a new expansion in the strategy/RPG series.

“Intrigue and spices intoxicate the air as Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome, the scorching new expansion for the critically-acclaimed strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II is released today. Introducing an emperor’s hoard of new features, Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studios gives The Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Church the royal treatment in this latest expansion pack.

Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome expansion is now available on all major digital download portals for 4,99 USD.”

Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile DLC has been released and is now available for $8.99, which includes a $1 reduction for launch week. In addition, all Serious Sam games are 75% off starting today for Steam’s Midweek Madness.

“Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile follows the legendary hero to the mysterious Temple of Isis on the island of Philae where a monstrous temple guardian lies in wait. Set in the midst of the events in Serious Sam 3: BFE, Sam and his team will battle through three new campaign missions against the unrelenting hordes of Mental’s forces.
 
FEATURES

• 3 new massive missions set against a mysterious island, treacherous canyons, and ancient temples
• Battle against the powerful Aludran Reptiloid for the first time in Serious Sam 3 and face-off against an all-new gargantuan final boss
• More laser rifle? More sniper rifle? A new battle axe? You got it!”