PC Game News

A new developer diary for "Mafia 2" has been released, which highlights gunfights, car chases, and melee combat.

"Like the original Mafia title, Mafia 2 immerses players in the mob underworld of a fictitious late 1940's-early 1950's scenario. Players will easily become engaged in the game's cinematic Hollywood movie experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city. By fusing high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia 2 looks to be the industry's most compelling Mafia title to date."

Valve today announced that the promised Steam client for Macs has been released. A large list of games is already available to purchase and more will be highlighted every Wednesday.

"Gamers who download Steam between now and May 24th will also receive a free copy of Valve's game of the year award-winning Portal.

"The Mac is a great platform for developers," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "And it's also great that we now have the ability to connect with Mac gamers via Steam. This is the beginning of a groundswell of games coming out for and fully utilizing the openness and power of the Mac."

On subsequent Wednesdays, additional collections of Mac titles will become available, each designed to highlight specific functionalities of Steam on the Mac.

The first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate "Steam Play," which allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam supported platforms. Gamers who have previously purchased games on Steam will find them available in their account on the Mac as they are released.

For more information on Steam, please visit www.steamgames.com."

Frazer Nash Communications today released more information on "The Heavy: The Game", which is in development at Team 6 Games Studio and is scheduled to be released in the 3rd quarter of this year.

"In the game you will play Boots; a freelance money collector whose task is to find, collect and deliver cash and goods whilst driving around the streets of London.  Boots is one of the best money collectors in town; his driving skills match his fists, fast and hard.

At the beginning you are only known by a few, but as the story unfolds you become known to street hustlers, petty criminals, drug dealers, racer boys and leading crime figures – all of whom pay for your skills.

“The Heavy will offer fans a whole exciting storyline that is full of twists and surprises" said Frazer Nash, CEO Frazer Nash Communications.

The Heavy will offer an opened, fast-paced driving action-movie experience, featuring an unfolding storyline that will develop over the next few years to include double crossing and revenge.

For more information visit https://www.theheavygame.com/"

Silverlode Interactive today revealed "Captains of Darktide", an upcoming browser-based fantasy naval MMORPG that will use the free-to-play model. In addition, they are now accepting applications for a closed beta on the official website.

"Unlike previous Pirate games, CoDT takes place in the SAGA fantasy universe, complete with elven longboats, mighty flying fortresses and fantastic mythical beasts.

Beta signups begin today at www.playdarktide.com, where players who register will be  among the first to preview Silverlode's new fantasy world. By joining the Captains of DarkTide Facebook page, gamers will have first access to DarkTide news, exclusive screenshots and development notes, and frequent chances to win priority Beta codes. The CoDT facebook page will also give players waiting for Beta to influence game design by participating in polls and giving feedback on proposed features.

Unlike other pirate titles, Captains of DarkTide is set in a fantasy realm, combining magic and gunpowder, dragons and steamships, elves and orcs… Through questing and crafting, players will acquire fire-belching or lighting-spitting cannons, and can crew up with everything from orc snipers to dwarven bombardiers to dragon-summoning dark elves; and for all you undead fans, yes, even the lich and his minions are included.

Silverlode has not yet released how long Closed Beta will last or how many players will be admitted initially, but they have revealed that the game will be hosted on Amazon EC3 servers to scale quickly as Beta progresses. All players who sign up will be admitted at some point in Beta testing. Initially, only US-based realms will be accessible, but Silverlode has indicated that they will admit EU players to the US servers; EU servers will be launching soon for an EU Closed Beta."

Funcom today announced the launch of "Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer" expansion, which is available at retail stores via a combo package with the original game and is also available online for players who are upgrading.

"Rise of the Godslayer not only introduces countless hours of new adventure through the addition of new lands and dungeons, it also adds all-new gameplay features such as the faction system.

“We are very excited about seeing ‘Age of Conan’ back on the shelves in retail as a renewed and revitalized experience comprised of both the original game and the expansion, exactly two years after the launch of the original game in May 2008,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “We feel very confident about the level of quality offered in this expansion, and the initial reactions from press and players so far only serve to confirm our confidence in the game.”

Go to www.ageofconan.com for more information such as a complete list of features."

The list of new PC game releases, Blu-Ray and DVD releases, and movies opening the week of May 10, 2010.

PC Games:

• Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
• Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection

Movies Opening This Week:

• Just Wright
• Letters to Juliet
• Robin Hood

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• Daria: The Complete Animated Series
• Daybreakers [Blu-Ray]
• Deadliest Warrior: Season One
• Edge of Darkness [Blu-Ray]
• El Mago [Blu-Ray]
• Elysium
• Essential Art House: Kurosawa Collection
• George of the Jungle 1 & 2 set
• Hang 'Em High [Blu-Ray]
• Hell's Kitchen: Season 2
• History of the World Part 1 [Blu-Ray]
• How I Got Lost
• Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo
• Legion [Blu-Ray]
• M [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray]
• Malice in Wonderland
• Marked For Death [Blu-Ray]
• One Deadly Summer
• Raising the Bar: The Complete Second Season
• Robin Hood: Min in Tights [Blu-Ray]
• Rock 'N Roll High School [Blu-Ray]
• Ruthless People/Down Out Beverly & Outrageous set
• Spy Kids 3 Movie Collection
• Sword of Sherwood Forest
• The Edge [Blu-Ray]
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Complete Fifth Season
• The Karate Kid / The Karate Kid, Part II – Box set [Blu-Ray]
• The Karate Kid [Blu-Ray]
• The Karate Kid, Part II [Blu-Ray]
• The Magnificent Seven Collection [Blu-Ray]
• The Man In The Iron Mask [Blu-Ray]
• thirtysomething: The Complete Third Season
• Toy Story 2: Special Ed.
• Toy Story Special Ed.

Valve sent word that a new update for "Counter-Strike: Source" is now in beta, and is available immediately.

"The update includes a host of new features and functionality developed in collaboration with Hidden Path Studios. These include 144 new achievements, a new domination and revenge system, player stats, and more.

This beta will run for a limited time, and once complete, the update will be deployed to all Counter-Strike: Source owners for free via Steam."

Ubisoft today released details for "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood", the upcoming next installment in the series by Ubisoft Montreal.

"Live and breathe as Ezio, a legendary Master Assassin, in his enduring struggle against the powerful Templar Order. He must journey into Italy’s greatest city, Rome, center of power, greed and corruption to strike at the heart of the enemy.

Defeating the corrupt tyrants entrenched there will require not only strength, but leadership, as Ezio commands an entire Brotherhood who will rally to his side. Only by working together can the Assassins defeat their mortal enemies.

And for the first time, introducing a never-before-seen multiplayer layer that allows you to choose from a wide range of unique characters, each with their own signature weapons and assassination techniques, and match your skills against other players from around the world.

It’s time to join the Brotherhood.

Key Features

• MASTER THE POSSIBILITIES – As Ezio, a legendary Master Assassin, experience over 15 hours of single-player gameplay set in the living, breathing, unpredictable city of Rome.
• LEAD A LEGENDARY BROTHERHOOD – Recruit and train promising young Assassins. Deploy them across the city as you see fit, or call upon them to aid you in your quests.
• EXPERIENCE A RICH HISTORICAL TAPESTRY – Collaborate with real historical characters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza.
• WIN THE HEART OF A CITY – Use your hard-won currency to revitalize the crumbling capital city. Rally the citizens to your cause and unlock extra factions and missions.
• DEPLOY SECRET WEAPONS – Swiftly eliminate your enemies using tools such as poison darts, parachutes, double hidden blades, hidden guns, and an advanced flying machine at your disposal.
• MEMORABLE MULTIPLAYER – Choose from multiple authentic character classes, each with their own signature weapons and killing moves. With richly-detailed maps and a wide variety of unique multiplayer modes, you’ll never fight the same way twice."
   

Bohemia Interactive today released two new videos showing off new features in "ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead", the upcoming stand-alone expansion that's scheduled to be released on June 29.

"Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead will introduce a range of new features, from authentically-modelled thermal imaging to an all-new optics system, alongside three new world maps comprising the fictional Central-Asian state of Takistan.

Thermal Imaging and the use of UAV drones feature in the first video, which details one of the single player missions in Operation Arrowhead’s full-size campaign mode. Piloting an AH-64 Apache, the demonstrator safely hides his helicopter within firing range of the targets before switching controls to remotely pilot a Little Bird helicopter UAV while employing the drone’s FLIR vision mode, which uses Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead’s innovative thermal imaging simulation to the fullest. The sheer power of drone-assisted combat is underlined as the player uses the FLIR and the drone’s immensely powerful camera to zoom in on the objective from a safe distance, designate targets and even initiate Hellfire missile launches from the player’s own Apache, all without being detected or even seen by the enemy.

The second video introduces Operation Arrowhead‘s newly-added tutorial missions, which are designed to allow players of all experience levels to train with the various weapons and vehicles featured in the massive standalone expansion. The video’s narration provides invaluable insight and advice while the player is taught how to use handheld weapons, grenade launchers and Javelin portable missiles, along with basic training in the use of sniper rifles. The tutorial plays out on an authentic firing range and ably demonstrates the depth of Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead’s ballistics and weapon optics simulation.

Both videos underline the complexity and quality that defines Bohemia Interactive’s military simulation titles, with Operation Arrowhead being the latest in a decade-long lineage of progressively improving games from the Czech developer.

Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead will be released exclusively for PC on 29th June 2010. For all the latest information please visit www.arma2.com"

Tradewest Games and JoWooD Entertainment today announced "The Guild 2: Renaissance", an upcoming stand-alone expansion scheduled to be released in quarter 2 of this year.

"The Guild 2 – Renaissance begins in the last day of a dark age when clergy and nobility had a stranglehold over all of Europe and the vast wealth of a few noble families was obtained through the blood and sweat of the commoners. Now however, as the 14th Century draws to an end, the first rays of a shining new age appear on the horizon: Common artisans and traders are gaining wealth and influence. More and more common people learn how to read and write, and the gentry loses many of its privileges. This is the onset of the Renaissance, an age of adjustment where ‘common’ people gain valuable individual freedom – and an age where trade, art and artisanry begin to bloom. “The Guild 2 – Renaissance” invites the player into a fascinating age of societal change. Can you keep up with this challenging new age?

This brand-new add-on hugely increases both the size and diversity of the game world – there are innumerable, often unexpected challenges for the player. Nine completely new careers (character classes) allow the player unprecedented freedom in creating the ultimate Guild 2 dynasty: Mercenary, undertaker, mason, entertainer, innkeeper, banker, miller, fruit farm proprietor and more, and the game also includes a wholly re-worked Title system offering a brand-new gameplay element to the player – e.g. in order to reach the next title, you’ll need to either supply your King with lansquenet mercenaries – or serve as an officer in a war yourself.

The vastly improved AI means that enemy dynasties no longer die out easily, and the world of “The Guild 2” was made to look and feel much more alive than previously – wild animals roam the game world, and NPC characters such as dockworkers, drunkards and beggars add to the game’s realistic and detailed atmosphere.

New Features:

• New scenarios – Additional scenarios set in “The Alps” and “The free Republic of the Netherlands” add detail to the world of “The Guild 2“
• Nine new careers – The player can decide between nine additional professions and thus decide which kinds of character to play.
• Maps expanded – The maps are up to four times the size of those in the original “The Guild 2“
• War and Peace – War keeps breaking out in the new game world – you’ll need to plan your tactics accordingly!
• God-Measures – Various tasks, such as purchasing a new title or running for an office (or forcing someone to marry you), can now be performed without having to have the main character present, which will save players lots of time.

With a plethora of new details such as entirely new buildings, a soundtrack especially composed for the add-on, and a completely re-worked judicial proceedings system, “The Guild 2 – Renaissance” offers a breathtaking gaming experience for Guild noobs and veteran Guild players alike."

Valve today announced that the Realism Versus "mutation" game mode will be permanent after conducting a poll.

"Realism Versus combines the rules of Versus and Realism Modes to create a Versus game that requires the best in Survivor teamwork.

With the release of the DLC "The Passing" last month, L4D2 has seen weekly new Mutations released every Friday.  The excitement and response to Realism Versus was so overwhelming a Poll was added for the in-game blog which simply asked: "Should the Mutation be permanent?"

This week's Mutation is "Follow the Liter." The rules of Scavenge have changed. Only one group of cans spawn at a time, so survivors know exactly where to go. There is only one problem; the Infected know exactly where they are going.

The weekly Mutations are available to all owners of Left 4 Dead 2's "The Passing" DLC, available on PC and Xbox 360.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com"
 

Wynch Gate Properties today announced that the source code and artwork for "Ryzom" have been open sourced. The MMORPG is still pay-to-play but players will now have the opportunity to create custom content.

"Developers can now access the source code of the end-user client, content creation tools and server in order to make modifications, enhancements or to create their own virtual worlds. This move marks a milestone in Ryzom's long history and dedication to the free software movement. In order to ensure that Ryzom continues to grow and foster as a free software project, Winch Gate is now releasing Ryzom under the terms of the Free Software Foundation's GNU Affero General Public License (GNU AGPLv3).

Winch Gate is also excited to provide the free software community with high quality professional artistic assets including 3D objects, animation tracks, particle effects and thousands of textures. All of the Ryzom artistic assets will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) to ensure that they and any derivative art will be available to all free software projects. These assets will be hosted in a new online repository in partnership with the Free Software Foundation.

By freeing Ryzom code, Winch Gate is transforming the MMORPG marketplace and is setting a precedent for how gaming software should evolve in freedom. The source code released totals over two (2) million lines of source code and over 20,000 high quality textures and thousands of 3D objects."

2K Games and Valve today announced an agreement that will bring Steamworks to the PC version of "Civlization V". In addition, a Digital Deluxe Edition will be available to purchase on Steam, which will come with a free map pack.

"Sid Meier’s Civilization V players will enjoy the benefits of the Steamworks’ features included in all PC versions such as auto-updating, Steam Achievements, downloadable content, multiplayer matchmaking and more.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will expand players’ conquests with the new Babylonian civilization and their ruler, Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 630 – c. 561 B.C.). As King of Babylon, gamers will be able to expand their empire with advanced Babylonian Bowmen to rightfully earn the title of Nebuchadnezzar the Great. Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will also include an in-depth “Behind the Scenes at Firaxis with Civilization V” video feature, as well as the game’s epic soundtrack.

Gamers who pre-order any version of Sid Meier’s Civilization V from Steam will receive the downloadable bonus content, Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia, for free when the game is available. The map pack will let players experience the traditional Western and Middle Eastern “Cradle of Civilization.” The pack will include the Fertile Crescent with the Nile River valley to the west and extending east down the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the Persian Gulf. Leaders will be able to explore new terrain, cultures and conquests.

For those who can’t wait for the immersive experience of Sid Meier’s Civilization V, 2K Games is proud to offer a Steam-wide sale on all previous Civilization titles for a limited time beginning today.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization V, please visit www.civilization5.com."

Futuremark today announced that the firepower weapon pack for "Shattered Horizon" has been released through Steam.

"Firepower, which is free for all players, adds eight new weapons and three new grenades to the PC exclusive multiplayer first-person shooter. A selection of new images shows the weapons in detail. To celebrate the release, Futuremark Games Studio is offering 25 percent off Shattered Horizon, selling the game for just $14.99 / €14.99 until Wednesday May 12. https://www.shatteredhorizon.com/buynow"

CCP released a new trailer for "EVE Online: Tyrannis", the upcoming 13th expansion that's scheduled to be released on May 18th.

"Tyrannis expands the universe of EVE Online in ways never before imaginable. Within New Eden, pilots will now be able to descend on planets, construct colonies and harvest their hidden treasures. Beyond New Eden lies EVE Gate, a central portal for the EVE community to interact, organize and communicate even when they are not in game. Tyrannis introduces new platforms and new technology, setting the stage for even bigger things to come."