Personal Computer Games

Steam Weekend Deal - Fallout 3 50 off

Ryan F. — 2009-07-02T14:37:47-07:00

Looking for a great deal this weekend? Well Steam's got you covered. This week, Steam is offering Fallout 3, the multi awarded action role-playing game from Bethesda, at 50 off its original price.

The game, which usually costs US 49.99, will be available this week for only US 24.99. So for those PC gamers who haven't tried the game, now is your chance to grab one.

Battlefield 1943 coming PSN and XBL next week

Ryan F. — 2009-07-02T10:30:29-07:00

Electronic Arts have announced that the critically acclaimed first-person shooter multiplayer game Battlefield 1943 will be available on July 8 on Xbox Live marketplace for 1200 MS points and on July 9 on the Playstation Network for US 15.00.

The game that has been redesigned by the folks at DICE will introduce two new modes that can be played along the classic Battlefield tropical WWII maps Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea. The PC version of the game will be released in September.

Battlefield 1943 will have no public beta

StarCraft lessons - from an "authentic" Korean

Glenn M. — 2009-07-01T23:48:18-07:00

There can be no doubt that some of the best gamers in the world are from South Korea. The WCG is a witness to what the Korean gaming force can do. Even outside the WCG, whether it's StarCraft, Warcraft, Counter-strike, and even Tekken, there's bound to be a Korean or two among the best. So now comes this Craiglist posting, where you get to learn StarCraft from a real Korean, and no not a fake one.

The would-be StarCraft instructor is ByunTae from South Korea. "I have been playing Starcraft since 1998 and I was born and raised in Korea. I'm 100 full blooded Korean, meaning I have been gifted with unparallel talent to master any video game, particularly, Starcraft: Brood War," he said. He says he coached pros like Im Jae Dong, Ma Jae Yoon, and Park Myung Soo. "Boxer and I were great friends until he started using my dropships to gain his fame."

So why is he asking to be your StarCraft coach instead of playing out there with the pros? "I did not compete in pro gaming because they KTF did not agree with my seven figure contract demand," he said, to which I had to roll my eyes a bit.

His lessons will include...:

Micro management (unit management)
Macro management (unit production and economy)
Map specific strategies
Basic and Advanced strategies and build orders for all three races.
In-game bugs to be used to your advantage such as unit stack, stop lurkers, etc.
Counter strategies and perfect attack timings.
Learn Korean lango, like "chobo" "gosu" "ww" etc
Basic Korean to communicate with Koreans on battle.net
Unit details, their size and their pros/cons against other units
His signature cannon rush along with his signature cheese rush

...and you will end up with:

Faster APM (actions per minute) - average professional gamers range from 250-550. Average player is about 100.
Better Win/Loss Ratio
Chance to become a professional gamer in Korea - Celebrity status, especially for foreigners, like Guillaume Patry (Grrr...) and Bertrand Grospellier (Elky)
Bragging rights, that you're as good as a Korean in Starcraft
You will be called a hacker because you're so good.
Korean girls will be intrigued that you're such a good Starcraft player.

He also notes that:

My lessons are offered to only non-Koreans or American born Koreans because they lack the blessing from the Gaming God, Norazi. Sun Tzu once said, "Defiler becomes useless at the presences of a vessel." You will be come the vessel against the defilers that treats you like a non-Korean, laughing at your pitiful StarCraft skills...however, you will demolish them with the new profound skills.

For basic training, it's US 25 an hour for 6-8 hours.. For advanced, it's US 35/hour for 8-10 hours. He also offers race specific training for StarCraft in case you're interested. You can catch the entire post at Craiglist via the source link below.

While I have to agree that Koreans seem to be naturally gifted with gaming talent, this guy makes it sound like everyone else is a bunch of noobs. I have nothing but respect for the skill of the Korean pros, like Jang Jae Ho a.k.a. Spirit Moon, but this guy sounds bogus to me.

How about Tetris lessons?

Pay for Tetris lessons - 90 minutes for US 30, drunk for US 40

Modder pays tribute to Michael Jackson via Left 4 Dead

Glenn M. — 2009-07-01T22:18:03-07:00

Since the death of Michael Jackson last week, the internet has come alive with tributes for the late King of Pop. One of them is this mod of Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360), where the game music is replaced by some of Jacko's most popular songs. And when it comes to the Left 4 Dead, it doesn't get any cooler than Thriller.

"...the King of Pop lives on in the most comprehensive, thrill-inducing, funk-inspiring MJ-related L4D music pack available on the internet... for rocking away the zombie apocolypse," said our Left 4 Dead modder. Beat It, Billie Jean, Bad, Scream, and my personal favorite, Smooth Criminal, are also available. The Thriller menu mod which replaces the L4D menu screen with the Thriller video can be downloaded as well. Where? Hit the source link below.

R.I.P. MJ:

Remembering the icon: Michael jackson loved Mortal Kombat

Green light back on: Jack Thompson Debate to go on at SGC09

Mabie A. — 2009-07-01T21:19:23-07:00

The July 4th SGC09 debate between anti-gamer, former Miami lawyer Jack Thompson and gamer/ attorney Mark Methenitis is all set and raring to go, despite the hump on the road yesterday morning, nearly resulting into Thompson's cancellation from the event. Reportedly, Thompson had several complaints to event host Screw Attack outlined below:

he objected to a one- or two-line introduction ("I have never been introduced with 1 or 2 sentences. Nobody can be introduced in that fashion...")
he objected to a user-created parody video posted (and since removed) on the Screw Attack site; Thompson may have believed the video, "Questions Not to Ask Jack Thompson" at SGC," was official Screw Attack content

But that's not all, so it seems. GamePolitics was unwittingly made witness to the preparations chaos that the committee is going through because of the back and forth of demands from Mr. Thompson. Recounts GP:

As recently as this morning, however, Thompson demanded that a post by a Screw Attack user be removed. While it was not taken down, the author, who was also behind the parody video that Thompson found offensive, e-mailed the disbarred attorney a lengthy apology; that seemed to satisfy Thompson.

Next, Thompson e-mailed Skistimas a "proposed text" to be used as his introduction at the debate. The 12-sentence intro mentioned his 2008 lifetime disbarment very briefly, referring to it as "illegal" and blaming the loss of his law license on "lawyers for Take-Two, the makers of the Grand Theft Auto games."

GP asked Skistimas whether the introduction would actually be used at SGC09. Skistimas told us, "I have yet to review his intro but Jack and I will work together to find an intro that fits both his needs and the time format of the debate at SGC."

A conference call between Thompson and the Screw Attack team planned for noon today was canceled when the parties decided in late morning that the debate was back on and Thompson was satisified.

This debate should be entertaining, at the very least.

More Jack Thompson News:

Megan Fox talks Transformers

Glenn M. — 2009-07-01T20:45:57-07:00

We've already heard Shia LaBeouf talk Transformers, and he ended up dissing the Wii. But what about his co-star and leading lady, Megan Fox? She too has a few words to share about their latest project and you can catch them in this video.

People can go on and on about her acting. Uhh..whoever said she was known for acting? Besides, you gotta give her points for not overhyping the movie more than it already has been. People came to see the Transformers, not some Oscar-winning acting, and she makes sense of that somewhat.

The video game, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is out in stores now for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS, PS2, and PC.

More on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen:

Bruckheimer remains positive: video game-movie adaptations may still work, tasked to lure women to gaming

Mabie A. — 2009-07-01T18:29:20-07:00

Despite the lackluster appeal of movie adaptations of video games, super Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer remains positive that one day, they just might get it right. And it won't suck the living daylights out of us anymore.

Asked why the adaptations haven't been working thus far, he answered:

I couldn't tell you that. They just haven't quite captured the imagination of the audience yet, but they will. I think it will definitely happen, whether we do it or other people do it.

What I could tell, though, is that there is a lot of high expectations yet again for his adaptation of Prince of Persia. Come to think of it, we ourselves continue to hope that one day these adaptations will work. No matter how much these films fail in the box office, we still wait for the next adaptation anyway.

Anyhow, Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks is also hopeful that Bruckheimer can work his magic and take MTV "out of its comfort zone of rhythmic gaming like The Beatles: Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) and attract more females," following their deal back in 2007.

Story-driven.

Said Toffler:

I see more of a connection to women coming to gaming as being a spark for Jerry Bruckheimer's style of storytelling coming to gaming. Gaming is really starting to explode with women, particularly story-driven games like The Sims. I think Jerry has managed to bring both men and women into his storytelling from Pirates of the Carribean to National Treasure. He does a great blend of action in storytelling and moving narrative forward.

Not too lofty considering how data does support the statement that women are more inclined to gaming now than before. Although I would have to ask: The Sims is story-driven?

China's gold farming is 'not about gold farming' after all

Mabie A. — 2009-07-01T17:50:48-07:00

Gold farmers in China may not be out of business after all as it turns out. In the wake of the news that the government of China has now officially banned the gathering of in-game virtual money comes the clarification that there is no such desire on the part of the government to curb this activity.

According to ICTs for Development,

This is a government restriction on the use of the quasi-Paypal-like currencies (mainly QQ coins) that are used extensively in China to pay for virtual game stuff. As announced they can now only be used to pay for virtual stuff, and you can t buy real things with them as game companies were allowing to happen, nor can you gamble.

This therefore is not about what gold farming clients do: use real money to buy these virtual currencies; it s the mirror image. And it s not about the major trade in gold farming such as World of Warcraft, which relates to other types of virtual currency. And it s not about buying/selling in-game items. And it s not about the power-levelling of avatars. Bottom line: it s not about gold farming.

Whichever it is, I'd have to agree with ICTs when they said that no matter the policy, it will always boil down to the implementation.

For more of analysis on the policy, hit the link below.

Great things come in threes: Blizzard files "Cataclysm" trademark

Mabie A. — 2009-07-01T17:05:48-07:00

Superannuation is reporting that Blizzard filed three trademark registrations for the title "Cataclysm". What is it? Nobody knows for sure yet, but the trademark did indicate that it covers "computer games, paper-based products (comic books, trading cards, coloring books), and online games." Sounds like they're getting ready to build a merchandising empire with this one.

Kotaku further elaborates on this report, saying that the first listing, described as an "Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line computer games; providing computer games that may be accessed via a global computer network; and providing on-line information in the field of computer gaming entertainment" is being speculated upon as the true name of Battle.Net 2.0, which should be revealed later on.

The second among the trio of listings divulges more info about what could be a specific game, although it should leave some more room for the Battle.Net 2.0 theory:

Computer game software and related instruction manuals and guides sold together as a unit; downloadable computer game software; interactive multimedia computer game program; mousepads

Last but not the least, the merchandise:

Comic books, computer game strategy guides, trading cards, coloring books, adhesive stickers, rub-on transfers, notebooks, stationery-type portfolios, posters, greeting cards, calendars, instructional leaflets in the field of computer games, computer game instruction manuals, catalogs in the field of computer games, advertisement boards of paper or cardboard, photographs, art prints

That's a whole lot of merch right there. With three trademarks filed, they might as well have put up a poster saying they're gonna milk this cow for all its worth when it comes out. Any guesses as to what this could be?

Other happenings from Blizzard:

Wolfenstein PC system requirements revealed

Karl B. — 2009-07-01T13:18:00-07:00

Heads up, PC gamers. id Software's Peter Sokal has lifted the veil off of the PC requirements for Raven Software's Wolfenstein revamp. The good news is even those with older rigs can run the game. Here are the specs:

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:

CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.2 GHz or AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3400 processor
RAM: 1GB RAM
Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA(R) Geforce(R) 6800 GT or ATI Radeon(TM) X800
Sound Card: 100 DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
HDD Space: 8GB (Plus an additional 800MB for Windows swap file)
Media: 100 Microsoft Windows compatible DVD-ROM drive
Internet: Broadband connection and service required for multiplayer

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP or Windows Vista(R) (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported)
Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c (included & required for Windows XP & Vista)

Wolfenstein is slated to hit PCs in the US on August 4. The game will also be available on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Call of Duty: World at War getting double XP weekend too, PS3 Weekend Warrior competition kicks of Friday

Karl B. — 2009-07-01T12:33:51-07:00

Treyarch is also getting in on 4th of July celebrations in the US with a double XP weekend event for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii versions of Call of Duty: World at War. This isn't restricted to the US too; it's worldwide. The event will kick off on July 3 at 10 AM PST and will run until July 6, 10 AM PST.

On the same day as the double XP event starts, there will also be a playlist update to incorporate the Map Pack 2 maps into the main Core and Hardcore rotations. The Map Pack playlist will still be open for those who want to play only on the Map Pack 2 maps, though.

PS3 gamers will also get to compete with other games in the PS3 Weekend Warrior (no relation to our own WWs) Competition over the weekend. The schedule's below. You can check out a list of prizes here.

Friday, July 3 at 12:00pm - 06:00pm PST
Saturday, July 4 at 12:00pm - 06:00pm PST
Sunday, July 5 at 12:00pm - 06:00pm PST

Video: Tech demo for David Perry's Gaikai game streaming service

Karl B. — 2009-07-01T10:34:46-07:00

We may not have seen it at E3, but it looks like David Perry is finally ready to show off his game streaming service, Gaikai, to the public. In a new video posted on his own website, Perry demonstrates how Gaikai handles, running games like Spore, World of Warcraft, and an emulated Mario Kart 64 on a standard computer with a home cable connection.

Those who want to give the Gaikai service a go can sign up for the closed beta test at www.gaikai.com. You can also find more info on the tech demo and the service itself at the source link.

E3 2009: Dave Perry's GaiKai game streaming service gets a no-go for demo

Fuel launches today, brings out screens and launch trailer

Mabie A. — 2009-06-30T22:47:36-07:00

We've got more assets right here for you to check out, in time for the release of the PC version of Asobo Studio and Codemasters' FUEL. We have both screenshots and a launch trailer, for you to better see the diverse locations that up to 16 players at a time can fully explore.

Take note, this game also offers you an astounding 5,560 square miles playground, all fully explorable and open to race. You'll be armed with 70 vehicles in total, including bikes, buggies, quads, cars, roadsters, trucks, even a hovercraft and more.

FUEL is also available on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Half-Blood Prince video game out in stores

Glenn M. — 2009-06-30T22:00:14-07:00

Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts will soon be out in cinemas, but here we have the accompanying video game, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, coming out before the movie, so fans can get sneak peeks through the game.

As serious as the plot gets in the sixth book, Half-Blood Prince will still have time for teenage antics, potions, and of course, Quidditch. Yes, there will be Quidditch gameplay and potion-brewing sessions with Horace Slughorn. Gotta stay in the Slug Club, yes? More importantly, there are wizard duels as well, where you and a friend can go head-to-head and see who would make a better DA member.

So until the movie's out, the game will have to do for now. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is available now for Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, PS2, Wii, DS, and PC.

More on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

Online petition for LAN in StarCraft II goes live

Mabie A. — 2009-06-30T20:43:28-07:00

The fans are not pleased with Blizzard's decision to not have LAN multiplayer in StarCraft II. And as with any other dissatisfied fans, they went online and created a petition to convince Blizzard to do otherwise.

The politely-titled petition, "LAN in StarCraft 2 Please," said:

The new Battle.net sounds absolutely awesome from the sneak peeks you have given us, and people will most likely be using it exclusively, even if they only play single player. However, there is no harm in allowing LAN play as well, and it does bring further depth and life to what will probably become the top RTS of the next decade.

As of this writing, there is already a whopping 8,279 signatures. If you want to join in on the club, then just click on the source link below to help the cause.

Blizzard: No LAN multiplayer in StarCraft II to prevent piracy

2K Sports confirms the NBA 2K10 10th anniversary edition

Glenn M. — 2009-06-30T20:02:45-07:00

If you've got money to burn and you just love these special editions, then here's another one to add to your collection - it's the NBA 2K10 10th anniversary edition, confirming the previous report and packing goodies for those who want to pay for them. For package details, you can refer to the prior link.

As reported, the 10th anniversary edition will be priced at US 99.99, but there's still no date and which retailers will they be available from. We'll let you know when we know.

NBA 2K10 will be out this fall on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, and PC.

Capcom to have simultaneous launch for Dark Void consoles and PC

Mabie A. — 2009-06-30T17:19:53-07:00

Capcom is looking to have a simultaneous launch for the consoles and PC versions of Dark Void (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC), this much they confirmed to VG247. Apart from that, they also divulged some pertinent details about their other projects set to come out this year.

For one, the Airtight Games project is said to be slated for a 2009 release for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. No specific date's been set yet, but given that we only have some five months left for '09, we're expecting to hear some more concrete details on this soon.

Also, Capcom's busy at work promoting their stronghold on the PC platform, developing PC versions for Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 and Bionic Commando. Looks like a pretty good line-up for the PC.

Blizzard: No LAN multiplayer in StarCraft II to prevent piracy

Karl B. — 2009-06-30T11:17:00-07:00

Planning a LAN party to celebrate the launch of StarCraft II (whenever that is)? You can still do that, but you'll all have to be connected to Battle.Net first.

Blizzard has confirmed that the upcoming RTS game will not support LAN play to further build up Battle.Net as the multiplayer solution for their games. That, and to combat piracy. Here's their official statement:

We don t currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games. While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy.

Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we re encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We re looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future.

New Left 4 Dead update released

Ryan F. — 2009-06-30T09:27:29-07:00

Valve has released a new update for their co-op survival shooter game Left 4 Dead. The latest update, now available via Steam, fixes some issues from the earlier release and restores the ability to vote for a new campaign in Versus mode.

Changelog:

Removed the "Are you ready to play Versus?" confirmation
Fixed a crash when using mouse wheel or keyboard to select Campaign chapters
Fixed sv_steamgroup_exclusive servers advertising for public lobbies
Restored the ability to vote for a new campaign in Versus mode

Left 4 Dead update coming next week, authoring tools included

id Software expanding, putting together new team for next project

Karl B. — 2009-06-30T09:12:52-07:00

Now that id Software has been acquired by ZeniMax, the veteran game studio is using some of the extra cash by putting together a new development team.

id currently has two teams -- one working on Rage (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) and another on Doom 4. The third team, which was mentioned by Bethesda PR and marketing VP Pete Hines to TechRadar, will be handling duties on the studio's next project.

"They'd like to start building up a full third team and, as a result of this deal, they'll be able to do that more quickly than they could have previously with the additional resources they have to work with now."

Maybe it's for the mobile team? John Carmack seems totally hellbent on putting out iPhone games these days. Hopefully we'll hear more from id in the days leading up to QuakeCon.