Battlefield: Bad Company 2 'VIP Map Pack 2' Released

As promised, EA DICE has released a new VIP Map Pack for their hit military shooter, Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Available for FREE through the game's auto-updater, this latest DLC allows you to play Arica Harbor in Conquest mode and Laguna Presa in Rush mode. Here's a more detailed description of the levels:

Arica Harbor Conquest mode - US Command launches a break through action directly at the Russian base. Collateral damage is of no consequence. Capture and secure tactical positions in Conquest Mode across the vast Arica Harbor map.

Laguna Presa Rush mode - The valley and surrounding mountains possess a strategic value in the battle for South America, and an infantry assault supported by light armor vehicles is likely by both armies as20ad US forces defend the nearby Dam.

So what are you waiting for? Get downloading! :D

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Splinter Cell: Conviction Teaser Trailer

Keeping us on our toes tonight, Ubisoft has released a new teaser trailer for their highly anticipated Action-Stealth title, Splinter Cell: Conviction. Clocking in at just under two minutes long, this video features a mix of cinematic cutscenes and in-game action set to some Johnny Cash. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at

FileShackStrategyInformerActionTripWorthPlaying

The PC edition of Splinter Cell: Conviction is scheduled for release in North America on April 27th and Europe on April 30th.

Splinter Cell: Conviction PC Delayed 2 WeeksKristen Stewart Wants ‘Eclipse’ Trailer To Show ‘Battle Stuff’

Settlers 7 DRM locks multiple countries out of game

Ubisoft's strategy game The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom is having a rough time in certain parts of the world. According to the company and also a ton of customers in certain countries ("especially" Australia), playing the game is impossible.

As many know, The Settlers 7 is part of Ubi's new DRM scheme which requires a constant Internet connection for play. The problem some gamers have been having is they can't connect in the first place due to network location and technicalities. Additionally, those who are getting in have reported various crashes and freezes which appear to be network-related.

Ubisoft offers up some potential solutions (check the source if you're affected), but for the most part at least, users are still having trouble. At least one user had his problem fixed by contacting support, so you may want to give that a shot.

The Settlers 7 launched Thursday in Australia; it is now Tuesday with no end-all fix in sight. If this keeps up, we expect Ubisoft will have to do more damage control as they did for the Assassin's Creed II / Silent Hunter 5 debacle, giving out free content (whole games in some cases).

Source:ubi.com Forums

Alternate Source:Games On Net

Section:PC Games

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[Update] BioWare community rages over countdown reveal

Update: BioWare head honchos Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk updated the forums earlier today with an announcement, explaining that they understand the community's frustration. According to Muzyka, the region restrictions are a result of unexpected legal complications that would have affected how the contest would be carried out:

We recognize that BioWare has a global community, and the Bazaar this week was originally intended to be an international event to reflect our truly global fanbase. Unfortunately, we encountered some last-minute legal complica tions around how contests can be structured in different parts of the world that prevented us from including all territories in this first event, even though that was our original goal. And for that, we sincerely apologize – our goal with this sort of celebration is to show all our fans worldwide how much we appreciate your support!

That being said, there appears to be more BioWare community events on the way, some of which will expand into other territories. This means some future contests will follow a different structure.

Despite fan rage and a bumpy start, the current Bazaar contest is actually doing quite well, and BioWare's co-founders are rather pleased with the results:

The reception from those fans who have been able to take part in this first event has been incredible – thank you for participating! - and we’re looking forward to future events where we can enable fans from additional territories to also join in the fun.

Thank you all for your continued and ongoing support and participation in the BioWare Community – we really appreciate all your support over the past 15 years, and the future will be even brighter!

Happy ending!

Since mid-March, a mysterious countdown greeted visitors on the Mass Effect 2 website, and speculation left fans drooling. Would it be a major Mass Effect or Dragon Age update? Perhaps official Mass Effect 3 or even Knights of the Old Republic III announcements?

As it turns out, none of the above. The countdown ended earlier today, and BioWare unveiled their BioWare Bazaar, a community-driven auction in April.

Actually, you don't have to spend money -- only time. Essentially, you earn tokens through participation; sign up for the BioWare Social Network, follow and respond to Twitter posts, register your BioWare games, and advertise their titles to your friends. That is the gist of it, so don't be confused by the somewhat lengthy and confusing official rules.

Participation earns you tokens, and said tokens can be redeemed on April 6, when the auction itself begins. Prizes range from travel mugs to special edition gaming PCs carrying a $2,000 street value.

So the whole thing is free, and the auction prizes are pretty great. Yet the community has been flipping out for hours (in thread after thread) since the Bazaar launched. Right now, you're thinking, "What's the problem?"

For starters, there's the whole issue of hype. The countdown went on for some time, letting imaginations run wild. Over-hype is an issue with video games, so the principle applies here. Based on forum posts, it sounds as though the community feels let down.

Then there's the issue of where you live. The contest is restricted to the US, excluding New York and Florida. If you dwell in these two states, Canada, Europe, or anywhere else, then you're just out of luck. This may, however, have something to do with the contest sponsors (Dell, AMD, Gunnar, Kingston, Western Digital) and their aversion to differing tax laws.

Regardless, we wish participants the best of luck. The rest of you can continue spamming the Social Network until it crashes. Again.

Source:BioWare Social Network

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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Mount & Blade: Warband Ships

Hot off the presses, Paradox Interactive and TaleWorlds have announced that their Action-RPG, Mount & Blade: Warband, is now available for purchase through all major digital distribution outlets and has also begun shipping to retails stores across North America. To celebrate the game's launch, the developers have released a short teaser trailer. Enjoy:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

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Lost Planet 2 '4-Player Co-op City' Trailer

Also available for download this afternoon is a brand new gameplay trailer for Capcom's highly anticipated Third Person Shooter, Lost Planet 2. In this latest video, four gamers are invited to Capcom's London headquarters to play through some co-op. Pretty hot stuff! Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Hit-up the FileShack for a mirror!

Lost Planet 2 is scheduled for release on PC this Fall.

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BioWare community rages over Mass Effect 2 countdown reveal

Since mid-March, a mysterious countdown greeted visitors on the Mass Effect 2 website, and speculation left fans drooling. Would it be a major Mass Effect or Dragon Age update? Perhaps official Mass Effect 3 or even Knights of the Old Republic III announcements?

As it turns out, none of the above. The countdown ended earlier today, and BioWare unveiled their BioWare Bazaar, a community-driven auction in April.

Actually, you don't have to spend money -- only time. Essentially, you earn tokens through participation; sign up for the BioWare Social Network, follow and respond to Twitter posts, register your BioWare games, and advertise their titles to your friends. That is the gist of it, so don't be confused by the somewhat lengthy and confusing official rules.

Participation earns you tokens, and said tokens can be redeemed on April 6, when the auction itself begins. Prizes range from travel mugs to special edition gaming PCs carrying a $2,000 street value.

So the whole thing is free, and the auction prizes are pretty great. Yet the community has been flipping out for hours (in thread after thread) since the Bazaar launched. Right now, you're thinking, "What's the problem?"

For starters, there's the whole issue of hype. The countdown went on for some time, letting imaginations run wild. Over-hype is an issue with video games, so the principle applies here. Based on forum posts, it sounds as though the community feels let down.

Then there's the issue of where you live. The contest is restricted to the US, excluding New York and Florida. If you dwell in these two states, Canada, Europe, or anywhere else, then you're just out of luck. This may, however, have something to do with the contest sponsors (Dell, AMD, Gunnar, Kingston, Western Digital) and their aversion to differing tax laws.

Regardless, we wish participants the best of luck. The rest of you can continue spamming the Social Network until it crashes. Again.

Source:BioWare Social Network

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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moreRelated news storiesMass Effect 3 "Project Wombat" now in developmentMarch 26, '10Mass Effect 2 "Kasumi" DLC priced at $7March 22, '10Mass Effect 2 character DLC is Kasumi GotoMarch 15, '10Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening's Architect exposedMarch 12, '10[Update] Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening comes packaged with mystery dateMarch 11, '10Dragon Age could go MMOMarch 11, '10Arc Projector heavy weapon added to Mass Effect 2 arsenalMarch 09, '10Mass Effect 2 "Firewalker" pack set for MarchFebruary 26, '10

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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier 'Ultranationalist Coup' Trailer

Catching out eye this afternoon, Ubisoft has released a brand new teaser trailer for their highly anticipated tactical shooter, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Running just over two minutes long, this live-action trailer features an assault on Russian ultranationalists that have violently seized power. Pretty hot stuff! Check it out:

2205

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at the FileShack and Strategy Informer.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is scheduled for release in Fall 2010.

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Lost Planet 2 Confirmed For PC; Coming Fall 2010

Sure to please fans, Capcom has confirmed that their highly anticipated Third Person Shooter, Lost Planet 2, will be coming to the PC this Fall. If that sounds like too long of a wait and you happen to own console, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of the game are will be launching on Tuesday, May 11th. Better late then never I guess! :x

Thanks for the tip Josh.

BioShock 2 Sinclair Solutions DLC announced, more to come‘New Moon’ Star Nikki Reed On Who Should Direct ‘Breaking Dawn’

L4D2 "The Passing" DLC delayed with new "Spring" release

Well, who didn't see this coming? The upcoming "The Passing" DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 has been delayed to a new "Spring" release period. Chalk up another for Valve Time.

A video broadcast to UK Xbox LIVE subscribers brings in the news while also confirming a price point of 560 Microsoft Points to download "The Passing."

New details for "The Passing" include players able to wield the new golf club melee weapon, encounter a new Witch Bride dressed in wedding gown garb, try new game modes (which was previously confirmed as just a single mode prior, not more than one), and meet three of the Left 4 Dead survivors.

No, you did not misread that: one of the original survivors will not be around for "The Passing" and all signs are pointing to Bill. Rumor has it at the Steam forums is that Bill's VA, Jim French, hasn't been available since the original L4D was released. Only time will tell as to who the fallen survivor really is but ready to pull off a 21-gun salute just in case.

Source:Left 4 Dead Blog

Sections:Microsoft Consoles, Console Games, PC Games

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‘New Moon’ Star Nikki Reed On Who Should Direct ‘Breaking Dawn’MLB 2K10 PC patch confirmed

Hearts of Iron 3 1.4 patch released

An absolutely huge update for Paradox Interactive's historic strategy game Hearts of Iron 3 has just been released, covering AI, balancing, interface, modding, performance, and more. In short, everything, and to such extent it seems comparable to a complete overhaul, if it isn't already.

The patch notes are far too long to post here, but we do have a documentary video of sorts from the developer overviewing the changes and the decisions behind them.

See the full list of changes at the source, where you can also grab the update, if not through the game updater or your digital distributor.

Source:Paradox Interactive Forums

Section:PC Games

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Supreme Commander 2 Patch v1.4 Released

Wrapping things up tonight, Gas Powered Games have released a new patch (v1.4) for their hit Strategy title, Supreme Commander 2. In addition to a beefy list of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, this late update includes a LightFX video option for Alienware setups. You can check out the full changelog right here or just relaunch your Steam client to start downloading. Cheers!

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Patrician IV Announced

Hot off the presses, Kalypso Media and Gaming Minds Studios have officially announced the development of Patrician IV, a sequel to their popular economic and trading Strategy series. Due out in Fall 2010, the game will feature an epic singleplayer campaign, along with a whole new art style, a redesigned trading system and more! Here's a little snippet on the storyline:

In Patrician IV , the player takes on the role of a young merchant in the area of the Baltic and North Sea during the late Middle Age, the zenith of the Hanseatic League and its naval trading empire.

Starting from meagre beginnings as a small stall trader, players must use every skill at their disposal to rise through the merchant ranks and become the most powerful merchant in Europe. The authentic supply and demand-based trading system allows players to grow their business and head out to the high seas to form trading routes with other Hanseatic cities negotiating better prices for the buying and selling of goods.

To celebrate th2266e announcement, the developers have released a short teaser trailer. Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at GamersHell, the FileShack and ActionTrip.

Corey Haim: A Timeline Of The Late Actor’s CareerTest Drive Unlimited 2 Announced

Weekend Impulse Deals

Giving us a reason to dust off our wallets this weekend, Stardock's Impulse digital distribution service is offering discounts on several titles that may be of interest to you. Here's the scoop:

The Witcher - $9.99 (reg $19.99)X-Com Complete Bundle - $9.99 (reg $14.99)Divine Divinity - $2.48 (reg $4.95)Hacker Evolution: Untold Expansion - $12.48 (reg $24.95)

How can you say no to The Witcher for $10? :D

Weekend Impulse Deals‘Shutter Island’ Scares Up Another Box-Office Win

Napoleon: Total War's Imperial Guard Pack DLC released free

Some pretty cool new content is now available for Napoleon: Total War players. Titled the "Imperial Guard Pack", this free batch of DLC brings six new units to the French and British armies, allowing you to play out an alternative version of the famous Battle of Waterloo as the British forces.

To grab the new goods, simply log in to Steam and download when prompted.

Image Gallery

Source:Press release

Section:PC Games

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The Secret World 'Dark Days' Trailer

Moving right along, Funcom has released a brand new teaser trailer for their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, The Secret World. Clocking in at a minute and a half long, this video offers us some storyline details via a mix of cinematic cutscenes and in-game action. Check it out:

This video is currently exclusive to GameTrailers.com. I'll tag on some mirrors when they start popping up. ;)

The Secret World's release date is still TBA.

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UbiSoft Compensates For Assassin's Creed II Server Issues

Ubisoft has just put out a mailing to all owners of Assassin's Creed II on the PC who had run into issues during the early days as the DRM servers were being DDOSed into oblivion. Ubi's "We're sorry" peace offering? A free copy of an older UbiSoft title!

Following the recent temporary game server outages which may have caused disruption to some Assassin's Creed 2 players on PC only, we would like to reward your patience if you have experienced any problems by offerring you a full downloadable game from the list provided below, completely free of charge.

Owners of Assassin's Creed II on the PC can choose a free copy of Tom Clancy's HAWX, Heroes Over Europe, Tom Clancy's Endwar or Prince of Persia. Just pick one, use a supplied promotional code from the emai2068l and download a freebie.

Pretty nice gesture and a lot more than I personally expected after hearing that UbiSoft would be somehow compensating those who had to endure the teething troubles with the new system. Granted, except for the exceptionally pretty Prince of Persia re-imaging, none of the games offered are that great, but a free full game is still a free full game. I guess I'll end up owning HAWX after all as I already have Prince of Persia around.

Update: The free game offer is being mailed to the owners of the Deluxe Edition while Standard Edition owners are getting a free upgrade to the Deluxe Edition (effectively, three additional tomb maps). The list of available free games also appears to vary depending on region.

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Penny Arcade Adventures dropped, no Episode 3 planned

If you've been waiting for the third episode in Penny Arcade Adventures, it's not coming. With PAX 2010, the Penny Arcade duo and Hothead team announced the sad news today. Why? The series simply wasn't doing too well, and Hothead Games had other projects to focus on.

You may have heard this morning that Mike and Jerry announced that there won’t be a third installment of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. Sadly, I can confirm that this news is true. We had a lot of fun working on the Penny Arcade game. I mean, how often in your career do you get a chance to make something that involves robots, uhh, fornicating with fruit? And working so closely with Mike and Jerry, two guys that are at once creative and crazy, was uniquely enjoyable.

We’ve been looking long and hard at a way to get Episode Three done but have come to realize that it just doesn’t make sense for us as a company to complete the next installment. Primary among the reasons for this were the focus we felt we needed to put into DeathSpank and Swarm. With our recently announced EA partnership on DeathSpank we’re more excited than ever about sharing our work with you all.

The first episode of Precipice of Darkness did relatively well, with the XBLA version stealing 45 percent of all sales; PSN occupies 15-20 percent of the entire figure, Greenhouse occupies 25 percent, and Steam came in lowest at 10-15 percent. Then there's Episode Two, which only had one-third the sales of One. Ouch.

It really is such a shame. The team had previously gone the RPG-adventure route because the Penny Arcade community specifically requested some sort of RPG. So what went wrong? Hothead's Vlad Ceraldi has theories, pinning the game's progressively poor performance mostly on poor marketing (They're developers, not PR!) and the general challenge of selling episodic content. The Penny Arcade Adventures didn't capture the attention of a broader audience due to poor exposure, and revenue was slow due to episodic distrubution.

"Realistically, episodic is a... challenge," Ceraldi notes. He also mentions TellTale's success with Monkey Island, explaining that "most of their sales have come from pre-sales of the whole season." Needless to say, DeathSpank is not taking the episodic route.

Source:Hothead Games

Alternate Source:Gamasutra

Sections:Microsoft Consoles, Console Games, PC Games, Sony Consoles

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0 thumbs!Chaotic

since Jul 2008 | 21 hours 50 mins agoDeathSpank has an awesome title.

Anyways, I've only heard of the Precipice of Darkness games a few times. Frankly, I know almost nothing about them.

So yeah, I agree with them on the poor marketing/exposure.

0 thumbs!Dragoshi1

since May 2007 | 17 hours 14 mins agoI tried it, but I found it boring, the writing bad, and it was unfunny to the maximum.Add your comment:

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Test Drive Unlimited 2 announced for consoles, PCBen Stiller Wants ‘Zoolander 2′ To Include Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell

Infinity Ward loves Bad Company 2, doesn't mind marketing jabs

EA and DICE made a genuine effort poking fun at Modern Warfare 2, from quick jabs to low blows, casual statements to marketing assertions. They did, after all, claim Bad Company 2 would "redefine modern warfare."

Really though, with all that dramaMW2 carries, who can resist? And no one is more aware of this than Infinity Ward. Creative strategist Robert Bowling has said that he and the rest of IW love BC2, including the MW2 jokes:

"They have their style of marketing and we have ours. I love Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I play it, and a lot of guys here play it - and I bet a lot of their guys play our game. Each to their own."

Bowling also points out though that MW2 is still at the top Xbox LIVE activity charts, with BC2 coming in at number three. Guess IW is having the last laugh right now, but both have yet to outlast Bungie and Halo 3.

Source:Eurogamer

Sections:Microsoft Consoles, Console Games, PC Games, Sony Consoles

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moreRelated news storiesMW2 Stimulus Package DLC gets teaser and new screensMarch 25, '10

Infinity Ward Drama‘Alice In Wonderland’ Stars Talk Nerves, Newcomers And Big Heads

Mount & Blade: Warband 'Singleplayer' Trailer

Also available for download this afternoon is a new gameplay trailer for Taleworlds' upcoming Action-RPG, Mount & Blade: Warband. Clocking in at just under two minutes long, this video gives us a sneak peek at the game's epic singleplayer campaign. Check it out:

The above stream is court206besy of YouTube. Mirrors are also available at GamersHell and the FileShack.

Mount & Blade: Warband is scheduled for release on March 30th.

Kristen Stewart Wants ‘Eclipse’ Trailer To Show ‘Battle Stuff’Pure Futbol Announced

APB Video Dev Diary #18

Kicking things off today, Realtime Worlds have released a new video developer diary for their upcoming Action-MMO, APB: All Points Bulletin. Clocking in at just under four minutes long, this video focuses on the game's location-based Voip system. Pretty cool stuff! Check it out:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

APB's release date is still TBA.

Thanks for the tip VE!

‘Alice In Wonderland’ Shrinks Box-Office Competition For Third WeekKings And Castles Video Dev Diary #6

Blur multiplayer rank increased, new screenshots

We assume you're all having fun with the Blur multiplayer beta on Xbox LIVE.

Activision announced today that as a "thank you" to participants, they'll be implementing a few changes to the MP beta this Thursday. The update will unlock additional content and raise the current rank cap from 10 to 15.

Additional Cars Unlocked:- Corvette ZR1 (Class B)- Koenigsegg CCX-R (Class A)
Additional Mods Unlocked:- Iron Fist (Increases damage of a Power-up hit)- Last Gasp (Player fires a Barge when Wrecked)
Additional Challenges Unlocked:- Demolition Challenge Pack (16 new challenges)While the number of screenshots are somewhat meager, they offer an early look of the new content. Check 'em out before you click away.Image Gallery

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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moreRelated news storiesVindictus trailer shows off a little story, lots of gameplayMarch 25, '10Nintendo announces DS successor: the Nintendo 3DSMarch 23, '10Mass Effect 2 "Kasumi" DLC priced at $7March 22, '10

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Mass Effect 2 Firewalker & Costume Pack DLC Released

As promised, the fine folks over at BioWare have rolled out some new DLC for their hit Sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect 2. First up is The Firewalker Pack, which includes five new missions and a "Hammerhead" heavy assault vehicle. You can grab this bad boy for FREE through the Cerberus Network.

The second DLC, dubbed the Alternate Appearance Pack, featrues new outfits for Garrus, Subject Zero and Thane. Unlike the Firewalker pack, this DLC will cost you 160 BioWare Points. You can purchase it through the in-game menu. ;)

Mass Effect 2 ‘Firewalker’ DLC Dated, Costume Pack RevealedRobert Pattinson, Emilie De Ravin Discuss ‘Remember Me’ Love Scenes

Breach Announced

Grabbing out attention this afternoon, Atomic Games have officially announced the development of Breach, a new multiplayer title based on elite CIA Special Activities Division officers. No other details are revealed, but they do play up the "classified information" angle in the press release:

Raleigh, North Carolina - February 19, 2010 - Atomic Games, a pioneer in covert action simulations and military action games, today announced the development of Breach™, a multiplayer title for consoles and personal computers.

The game features so you've managed to decode this section to reveal the classified information. Come on! Did you really think it was going to be that easy? Yes, we do work for military and intelligence organizations. Yes, we are creating a game that will blow your mind. Yes, some of it was actually redacted. Yes, many of us have security clearances. So what that all means is I can't tell you anything more than is in this release until it's okay. Until then, we are high-speed, low-drag and ready to work. Molon Labe!

More information will be released as it becomes declassified by Atomic.

And yes, these are the guys behind the controversial Six Days in Fallujah. :x

Test Drive Unlimited 2 Announced‘Hurt Locker’ Marred By Oscar Ban, Lawsuit Days Before Awards

Diablo II 1.13 patch released

Ten years after release, Blizzard has released a new and very substantial patch for Diablo II.

Version 1.13 fixes a ton of bugs of course, greatly improves balancing, and also introduces some delicious features like respecializing and improved resolution support (widescreen users have reason to rejoice). Lastly (and this is very cool), they've even added a brand new quest.

Note the ladder has been reset and "all previous ladder characters are now normal non-ladder characters." If you want to get in on the new ladder, make a new character and make sure the "Ladder Character" option is ticked. For more info, head here.

See the release notes below (the class-related balancing stuff is at the source), and grab the patch via Battle.net or via Blizzard Support (link below).

A new Mystery has been revealed!

- Adventurers of Sanctuary are hereby warned once again, that a new challenge
awaits you. Within Diablo's Bosses, spanning across the world from the
ancient Monastery Catacombs to the Throne of Destruction, is where you'll
find what you seek...

Major Bugs

- Fixed an item dupe bug.
- Video improvements for Intel Mac machines with OS 10.5 or greater.
- Fixed an issue where some players could kill other players while in town
("TPPK").
- Fixed an issue where some players could disconnect other players when
they had too many active states.
- Fixed two issues where players could stack auras in an unintended way.

Minor Bugs

- Uber Mephisto now checks for both Uber Baal and Uber Diablo to be killed
before spawning summoned minions (Before he would only check for Uber Baal).
- The game will no longer stop and then restart the game music after the
window loses and then regains focus.
- Fixed an issue where the game window would minimize when running in
windowed mode when it lost focus.
- Fixed an issue where the game window wouldn't center properly when it
was created.
- Fangskin should now properly drop loot in Hell difficulty.
- Fixed an issue where auras were not re-applied to your mercenary after
it was resurrected.
- Fixed an issue where if you had two items which provided auras to
a mercenary and you unequipped one, the aura from the remaining
item never became active.
- Fixed an issue where the Paladin class runeword 'Principle' wasn't
having all of its stats applied properly.
- Fixed an issue where the Paladin's Charge ability would become locked
out if Holy Shield faded while charging.
- Fixed an issue where the Barbarian's Leap ability could become locked
out if they were hit when they started to leap.

Specific changes/improvements

- Respecialization is now possible! Completing the 'Den of Evil' quest
will now additionally reward 1 free respec which can be saved. Players
who have already completed this quest should receive 1 free respec in
Hell difficulty.
- Increased the drop rate of high runes.
- Support for blit scaling in windowed mode. The game can now be
maximized to the largest 4:3 resolution supported (hooray widescreen users).
- Some rare drop items now have an orange color. i.e. Runes and items
required for Uber Tristam.
- Modified the gold bank limit to be a flat cap not bound by level.
- Removed the requirements to create a hardcore character.
- Greatly reduced the explosion damage dealt by Fire Enchanted monsters.
- Uber Mephisto and Uber Baal's summoned minions no longer give experience.
- Removed Oblivion Knight's Iron Maiden curse.
- Hellfire Torch Firestorm proc rate has been reduced to 5%.
- Users can now toggle the display of text over the Health and Mana
globes by clicking on the bottom area of each orb.
- When creating a single player game, each difficulty button is now bound
to a unique key: Normal 'R', Nightmare 'N', and Hell 'H'.
- The 'Enter Chat' Button in the battle.net waiting room is now
bound to the 'Enter' key.
- Added the windows system buttons to the game window (MIN, MAX, CLOSE).
- Added new command line parameter '-nofixaspect' which allows users to
not fix the aspect ratio to 4:3 when maximizing in windowed mode.
This lets the game 'stretch' to fill your monitor.
- Added support for '-sndbkg' command line switch. This enables sound
in background.
- Added the following aliases for pre-existing command line options,
'-nosound', '-window', and '-windowed'.

Source:Battle.net - English Forums

Alternate Source:Blizzard Support

Section:PC Games

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Kristen Stewart Talks ‘Runaways’ On ‘Tonight Show’The Settlers 7 1.01 patch released

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Debut Trailer

Getting our adrenaline pumping this afternoon, CD Projekt RED has released a debut trailer for their highly anticipated RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Running just over two minutes long, this video offers us some storyline tidbits via a mix of cinematic cutscenes and in-game action. Very hot stuff! Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above steam. Stay tuned for some mirrors!

The Witcher 2 is scheduled for release in Q1 2011.

Kristen Stewart Wants ‘Eclipse’ Trailer To Show ‘Battle Stuff’Kings And Castles Video Dev Diary #3

Kings And Castles Video Dev Diary #6

Keeping things interesting this weekend, Gas Powered Games have released a new video developer diary for their upcoming RTS, Kings And Castles. Clocking in at two and half minutes long, this video talks briefly about the game's concept art and animations. Check it out:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

Kings and Castles' release date is still TBA.

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Rocksteady shows interest in standalone Bane game

We already know Arkham Asylum is getting a sequel, but what about a spin-off just for the villains?

Arkham director Sefton Hill isn't at all against the idea, and he seems particularly smitten with Bane. Why? Because the big lug isn't as famous or popular. Apparently not everyone is aware the guy broke Batman's spine.

Either way, Hill is fully aware that such a game wouldn't necessarily do as well as AA, but the idea is tempting to him as a developer:

"I think one of the things about working on Batman is that you really get to see how good all the villains are. I really think there's scope to take some of those villains, even some of the not-so-famous ones like Bane, who has a phenomenal backstory, and really work on turning that into something original and fresh.

"That's kinda of something [that would be] less popular, but something that could be really interesting and exciting. That could be crazy."

It should be noted that all this Bane-game talk is just Hill's own musings. For now, the AA sequel has everyone's attention, and he's promising to create another amazing game without borrowing too much from the original.

After all, it's not his job to make DLC:

"For us as a developer... we're not a mission pack developer. We always want to surprise, we want to come up with something new. That's the challenge for us now, you know? It's something that drives us.

"When I get up in the morning, when I go to bed at night, I want to be excited by the drive of creating new and original experiences. So for the sequel, for everything that we do, we want to make something new."

The sequel currently has no official title, so "Arkham Asylum 2" is just a tentative name for convenience purposes. Hard to say if it'll even take place in Arkham.

Source:VideoGamer.com

Alternate Source:GameGrep

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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The Settlers 7 1.01 patch released

A major update has been released for The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, Blue Byte's strategy game. This patch covers save game issues, online profile storage, some problematic gameplay areas, and also implements Facebook and Twitter functions, to name a few items.

See below for the release notes, and grab the ~400MB patch at your source of choice below.

Changes in Version 1.01

Improvements
- Facebook and Twitter features implemented
- Increased multiplayer stability
- Fixed various balancing issues
- Fixes localization issues

Bug Fixes
- Fixed various problems with the savegame option
- Fixed problems with online profile storage
- Fixed crashes related to street upgrade
- Fixed crashes in map forge
- Fixed a lot of minor bugs

Additional
If you are behind a proxy and would like to use the Facebook features, add the following entries under [System] in your options.ini (find it here: C:Documents and SettingsYourNameMy DocumentsSettlers7Options.ini):

[System]
WebProxyHost = xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
WebProxyPort = xxxx
WebProxyUsername = someName (optional)
WebProxyPassword = somePassword (optional)

Source:Ubisoft

Alternate Source:The Patches Scrolls

Section:PC Games

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Splinter Cell: Conviction PC Delayed 2 Weeks

Sure to upset fans, an Ubisoft representative has confirmed to Big Download that the PC edition of their upcoming Action-Stealth title, Splinter Cell: Conviction, has been delayed by two weeks for unspecified reasons. Previously scheduled for release on April 13th, the game is now expected to hit stores on April 27th in North America (April 30th in Europe). Between this, the whole DRM issue and the lack of a PC demo, Ubisoft is giving us a lot of reasons to be cheesed off lately. :(

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Mass Effect 2 'Firewalker' DLC Dated, Costume Pack Revealed

Pinning down an exact release date for us this afternoon, BioWare has announced that the upcoming Firewalker Pack for Mass Effect 2 will be available through the Cerberus Network on March 23rd. This FREE DLC includes five new missions and a "Hammerhead" heavy assault vehicle. You can learn more about it right here.

The studio has also revealed that they'll be releasing an Alternate Appearance Pack on March 23rd, featuring new outfits for Garrus, Subject Zero, and Thane. Unlike the Firewalker Pack, this DLC will run you 160 BioWare Points. Here's a pic of the new c20c8ostumes:

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 522175 PC patch released

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 didn't see the smoothest launch on PC -- many gamers have reported a range of hinderances. DICE has been quick to improve, though -- a patch has just been released fixing most or all of the big issues, including the crashes to desktop in multiplayer.

The release notes are below; grab the patch through the EA Download Manager now, or through your file host of choice, where it should be available soon. The Steam version should be available now or shortly.

Single Player -

Fixed: Graphical issues on some systems on SP_03 (at start and when displaying background mountains at “Up river”)
Fixed: Character voice issue during cut scenes in SP_03b (only affected Spanish)
Fixed: Hang when killed using TOW Launchers in SP_05
Fixed: Graphical issue on some systems on SP_05 (displaying background mountains)
Fixed: Voice volume in cut scenes on SP_06
Fixed: Unexpected dialog at start of SP_08 (only affected Italian)
Fixed: Random crash in SP_09 cut scenes

Multi Player -

Fixed: Server Browser - Joining a password protected server results in a connection timeout
Fixed: Server Browser auto updating server list when reopened causing a timeout issue
Fixed: Password issue during Friend invites
Fixed: Password text field issue on joining a password protected server
Fixed: “Flickering” ship on Arica Harbor
Fixed: Clan tags that use numbers in them displaying a “0” on the Select Spawn Point screen
Fixed: Display issue on long server names
Fixed: Mortar Strike icon not updating (Beta issue)
Fixed: No “Exit Game” menu option appearing at the end of some rounds.
Fixed: Flickering user rank icon (appeared as an animated gif) when user reaches rank 10.
Fixed: Flickering trees and “Red Box” on Laguna Presa
Fixed: User is logged out when failing to create a new soldier
Fixed: Zeus stationary weapon not appearing in stats
Fixed: Zu23 not appearing in stats
Fixed: BMD3 AA not appearing in stats
Fixed: Friend request displaying incorrect Veteran stats
Fixed: End of Round screen displayed incorrect “UAV_Station” – now displays correct localized text.
Fixed: K/D ratio displays in the Front End
Fixed: K/D ratio displays correctly when “comparing”
Change: Server browser now defaults to list via Ping first
Change: News Ticker font support for Spanish, Polish, Russian and Japanese
Change: New message for server full (reported as “I get no message when I try and join a server, it does nothing”)
Change: New message displayed for attempting to join a password protected server without providing a password (reported as “I get no message when I try and join a server, it does nothing”)
Change: Displays version number on Front End Legal Screen
Change: Display of weapon icon during loading screen
Change: All clan tags will automatically be preceeded by [ and closed off with ] to prevent impersonating other players.

STEAM

Change: The STEAM version of Battlefield Bad Company 2 will no longer have SecuROM on the exe file. Instead it will use Valves own DRM instead.

Source:Electronic Arts UK Community

Section:PC Games

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Mass Effect 2 "Kasumi" DLC priced at $7

Species: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 25

Assassins, mercenaries, angst-magnets, and psychopaths. You would think that Cerberus may have tried recruiting a master thief by now, just to even out the existing cast of murderers.

Enter Kasumi Goto, an faceless celebrity with more enemies than everyone aboard the Normandy combined. Like everyone else, however, she's got lots of enemies and the usual mysterious background -- enemies Shepard probably needs to deal with once she joins up. What, you thought Cerberus might bring in someone wholesome on the mission?

Nothing is free, of course, and Kasumi will require a favor in return for her services: help her break into another criminal's vault. Something valuable is likely being retrieved, if the DLC's title, "Stolen Memories," is any indication.

If you're on a replay file, consider picking her up next month. BioWare and EA are asking 560 Microsoft/BioWare Points ($7) for 360 and PC versions. In the meantime, the freeFirewalker DLC will be out tomorrow.

Long-time BioWare fans can snicker at Kasumi's surname and picture her as a floating metal ball.

Sections:Microsoft Consoles, Console Games, PC Games

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Steam Weekend Deal: 33% Off Aliens vs. Predator

Attention bargain shoppers! Valve has announced that Rebellion's recently-released first person shooter, Aliens vs. Predator is currently on sale through Steam for just $33.49 USD (a 33% savings). The deal runs from now until Monday, March 22nd. So if you're looking for something new to play this weekend, you might want to check this one out. :)

Wondering if your PC can handle it? Then be sure to give our Game-O-Meter a spin!

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New Lead & Gold Screenshots

Fresh out of the oven, Fatshark has cooked up nine new screenshots from their upcoming Western-themed shooter, Lead & Gold - Gangs of the Wild West. These latest screenies feature some intense shootouts and leveling-up. Check 'em out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lead & Gold is scheduled for release on April 8th.

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