The Weekly Byte for 9/13/2010

New Releases

Tuesday, 9/14 -

• Painkiller Pandemonium – $19.99 – Collection of all the Painkiller games
• Patrician IV – $39.99 – Medievil  Strategy game

News Bytes

Beenox continues it’s trend of awesome PC ports! Known for handling many past PC ports, Beenox has spread it’s wings and made their own, so far well-reviewed game, Spider-Man : Shattered Dimensions.  A game which did not see a PC release, how ironic?  Well, take heart, true believers, Spidey has been confirmed to be swinging onto PC’s everywhere, later this year!  No dates were given, but the information comes directly from an Activision source, so stay tuned for more details as we expose this web of intrigue!

Breaking news, EA has grown a heart, and ears?! In a stunning revelation, EA’s Need For Speed World will now be completely free.  Yes, no catches, no strings, players can go well beyond the original level 10 cap, previously hitting the E-brake on free players.  In their press release, the game’s developers have said that they have been listening closely to the community feedback, in-game and on the forums, and have decided this will be the best option, for the game.  Oh, but you already paid $20 to unlock the full game?  Fear not, speed racer, EA will be granting you some pretty sweet rides, for rent in the game, so check your inbox for those codes, they should be going out shortly!

King Graham finds a Silver Lining. For those King’s Quest fans out there, Phoenix Online has announced that Episode 2 of it’s fan driven continuation of the PC classic, will be up for download, for free, this Saturday, September 18th.  For those not familiar, the firs Episode became available in July, and has been well received.  Phoenix is a group of completely independent fans of the King;s Quest franchise, who were unhappy with the last game in the series, and wanted to faithfully continue the lore and storyline of the game, with episodic content.  If you’ve ever played a King’s Quest game, you owe it to yourself to check out The Silver Lining!

Steam taking a page from Microsoft?! Relax, Steam fans, this, actually, isn’t a bad thing.  Steam has announced that they will be doing a Steam Wallet system online, now, similar to what XBOX LIVE does with Microsoft points.  Steam members will be able to add money to their Steam Wallet, in increments of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 dollars.  This will not replace the existing option for instant purchases, but will supplement as a way to keep credit, in your account, should you be saving for a release, or have some extra money you want to save as Steam credit.  Personally, I think it’s a great idea, especially for parents who’s kids game on Steam, they have money they want to spend, but nothing to spend it on?  Drop it into the Steam Wallet and they can use it later!  Same goes for an anticipated game release, or someone anxiously awaiting one of the lauded Steam sales.  Now if only Microsoft would take a step back and add instant purchases to XBL…….

Ubisoft serves up a well-concealed wrist knife to the throat of PC players. Well, PC gamers may already be frustrated with Ubisoft, not only because, it seems, all their new releases have hit the $60 price point, but also because of the, well known and invasive, always on DRM scheme, employed by all new releases.  Well, we can add another trending dagger to angry PC gamer’s hands – the fact that none of Ubisoft’s AAA titles has released alongside their console counterparts.  Splinter : Call Conviction saw a delayed release, as did Assassin’s Creed II, and now Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will follow suit.  Console assassins get their bloody hands on the game on October 4th, but the PC iteration has been pushed back to next year’s first quarter.  Am I the only one that thinks this is a knife to the heart of any excitement for the game’s PC version?

Geared Up

Speaking of game delays, Ubisoft should take a page from Arrowhead Studios, on delay announcements.  I know this isn’t a typical entry, for my Geared Up section, but I wanted to shake things up, and I was impressed enough, by this trailer, that I thought it would make a great feature here.  In a mailing we received from Magicka publisher, Paradox, they have announced both a website for the game, and a delay, humorously presented  in a game trailer.  Even if you are not interested in playing Magicka, an action-adventure RPG, I would still highly recommend viewing the trailer, here, just for the humorous approach that Arrowhead Studios has taken.  It must have taken some time to throw the trailer together, and it’s impossible to be mad at the delay after watching the trailer.  For those that are interested in the game, the official website can be found at www.magickagame.com, and you can expect to see the game early next year (they are pulling a Blizzard – when it’s done).

The Weekly Byte for 4/26/2010

Release List

• Splinter Cell : Convictions – 4/27,  retailing for $59.99
• Serious Sam HD : The Second Encounter – 4/28, Available on Steam for $19.99
• Bioshock 2 and Just Cause 2 DLC releasing this Thursday, 4/29

News Bytes

• Continuing, in the vein of Ubisoft, it would seem that the new DRM scheme for Ubisoft’s releases has been hacked by the SKiDROW team.  If you’ve managed to not hear about Ubisoft’s new technique, their PC releases, starting with Silent Hunter V and including Assassin’s Creed II and Splinter Cell : Convictions, forces players to be logged in to a Ubisoft online account and maintain a continuous online connection throughout gameplay, even single player.  The crack seems to allow users to completely avoid any type of online check, forced by the DRM, and allow access to the game, regardless of their Ubisoft account status.  The hack was created for Assassin’s Creed II, but one could assume that it could be tweaked to break other releases, like the upcoming Splinter Cell game, in a similar fashion.  It will be interesting to see what news breaks when Convictions hits store shelves on Tuesday.  Keep in mind, Ubisoft has gone on record to say that IF their DRM is hacked AND it allows players to access the full game experience, they would think about patching the new DRM scheme out.  I hate to be rooting for the hackers, but I personally will not pay $60 for a game that forces me to be online for single player play.  Stay tuned next week for any updates!
• One last dip in the Ubisoft well, it would seem the team behind RUSE has bluffed gamers into reaching for a mirage, as the game will not emerge from it’s fog of war until September of this year.  RUSE is a new take on the RTS genre that employs a bluffing system, where gamers can lure their competitors out in the open with dummy units and sweep in for the kill with their full forces.  The good news is that the dev team is blaming feedback from the beta for the delay, leading us to believe they will be taking gamer’s voices and coding those suggestions into the release.  Or will they?  Tsk, Tsk, Ubisoft, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…..
• Richard Morgan, famed sci-fi author, and creator of the upcoming Crysis 2 story, has released statements about his work with Crytek.  Morgan describes something called the ‘Big Mac Effect’; simply put it’s his opinion of pop culture feeding us exactly the same thing because it sold well previously.  He goes on to say that he would like to avoid this repetition in Crysis 2 by “using fresh ingredients, forcing gamers to eat healthy”.  Unfortunately, he did not expand further on exactly what we could expect this to be visualized as in gameplay features and story mechanics for the Holiday 2010 release.  Sounds great on paper, but without facts and videos, we will just have to wait and see how and if this will impact the game positively.
• Southpeak and Techland have announced their entry into the arcade racer market, titled nail’d.  Due out Q4 2010, the game boasts many single and multiplayer features among various tracks and obstacle courses drawing comparisons to MX vs ATV titles.  It will be interesting to see more on this game, and see how it intends to stand out from the crowd of arcade racers due out this year, such as Boost and Split Second.
• Sscreenshots and video of the Steam UI for Mac are showcased on the website, MacStories.  Not much news for PC users, but fantastic news for Mac gamers—even more fantastic news is that the UI looks and feels exactly like the new Steam UI just released this week, and seems to have all the functionality of it’s PC counterpart.  Just one question remains–How do I play Counter-Strike with only one mouse button?
• Speaking of Steam’s new UI, have you taken the new Steam for a spin yet?  No choice for you now, the optional beta is over and the new UI has rolled out today–Monday, 4/26.  I, personally, love it with the exception of the games list;do not like the library tab at all.  It has made it a lot harder to tell what’s already installed.

Deals

The Direct2Drive Spring Sale continues this week, as we start winding down, with only one more week to go.  Some interesting deals are posted below, more are available at Direct2Drive, and they are good until noontime next Monday, when Week 4 commences.

• Dawn of War II, Avatar Special Edition and The Saboteur — $14.95, each
• Bioshock, Torchlight, the Civilization IV Complete Edition and Tom Clancy’s HAWX — $9.95, each
• X-Com Collection of all 6 games —$4.95.
• Brothers In Arms Collection of all three games for $19.95.

Also, Steam is selling their Rockstar Collection for $42.49, which is a steal if you don’t have those titles.  Basically, every GTA title, including the Episodes From Liberty City pack, along with Bully, both Max Payne games and and a couple others are included.  It would seem the only Rockstar PC title missing from this pack is Manhunt 2(which is not really a big loss).  Again, it’s a great deal if you don’t have many of these games.  The Episodes from Liberty City Pack retails for $29.99 by itself, so for under $15 bucks more, you get GTA IV along with every other GTA game, and a host of other Rockstar titles—and the added bonus of not having to keep tabs on your discs or CD keys!

Geared Up

If you are a fan of the podcast, you may or may not know me as the one with the ‘potty humor’ from one of our outtakes, which makes this entry all the more fitting!  Upon scouring the internets for the most interesting PC case mods, I found a shining porcelain gem, and now bring it to you.  Full details and pictures can be found here, but I’ve posted a couple below.  This comes from way back in 2001, at QuakeCon designed by Envader, creator of many cool concept cases.  With a biohazard sign on the lid and glowing green LED’s inside the Toilet, the Toilet PC was crafted from a child’s training potty.  I have to admit, it’s pretty creative, down to the flusher that doubles as a power switch.  There are too many obvious jokes, you may insert your own here whilst you bask in Envader’s porcelain glory!

inFamous

Since it’s launch, the Playstation 3 has struggled to penetrate the market the way that both the Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 have. While any number of reasons can be pointed to for the less than stellar sales figures that the PS3 has experienced, Sony’s first party titles have in no way factored into the formula. Names like Uncharted, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, and Motor Storm – all first party games – have wowed owners, and non-PS3 owners alike. Well, you can add one more name to that list… inFAMOUS.

Sucker Punch, the studio that brought you the Sly Cooper series on the Playstation 2, has created a brand new I.P. from the ground up. SP’s inFAMOUS is a super hero story centered around an everyday bike messenger who goes by the name of Cole. With the lack of back story or comic book tie-in, Sucker Punch has successfully created a story that is accessible to any gamer interested in jumping into the shoes of a super.

Players are introduced to the story of inFAMOUS through beautifully rendered comic book story windows. The narrative begins when a package that Cole is delivering explodes leaving Empire City – the game’s world – a mess, and Cole in a coma. Cole awakes from the coma to find the city devastated, and discovers that he has an electrical power which he can use to wreak havoc on the game’s inhabitants, or help reclaim the the world in which he lives.

Empire City is a living, breathing open world not much unlike GTA’s Liberty City.  As Cole you are given free reign to run about the world interacting with NPC’s, scaling massive buildings, and completing missions. At first glace the game’s parkour-like approach to maneuvering throughout EC, may draw Crackdown comparisons, however a little hands on time will show the gamer that the control scheme is somewhat of a mixture of Crackdown, Mirror’s Edge, and Assassin’s Creed. When Cole leaps to, or from a building he will automatically stick to the next mountable piece of environment if you are in fact close enough to said object.

Combat is handled in a few different manners – you can perform hand to hand combat, which for it’s part works really well, or you can use one of your electrically charged super powers. The standard electrical attack functions much like a gun does in a shooter with the weapon making way to the Cole’s arm, and bolts taking the place of bullets. The on screen reticule works wonderfully, and makes taking out enemies a breeze.

Probably the most compelling aspect of inFAMOUS is the choices that you are given throughout the game. You can approach each of the game’s scenarios from a multitude of angles, but one way or another you have to chose whether to play as good, or evil. Depending on the path that you take, the game will unfold differently – Cole will have access to either good or evil powers, the cities inhabitants will fear, or learn to trust you, and ultimately the game’s story will be effected.

Through the development powers of Sucker Punch, Sony has published yet another game that gives those without a PS3 a reason to purchase one. inFAMOUS is one of the most fascinating, and fun to play titles to come out, not only this year, but possibly this console life cycle. If you’re still on the Playstation 3 purchasing fence… here’s one more reason to jump on board.