Left 4 Dead 1/2 DLC 'The Sacrifice' Coming Next Week

Pinning down an exact release date for us this afternoon, Valve Software has announced that their upcoming Left 4 Dead 1/2 DLC, The Sacrifice, will be available for download on October 5th. This free add-on is a prequel to The Passing, allowing you to play as the original L4D survivors as they make their way south. The new campaign will feature a "Sacrificial Gameplay" finale, where you get to decide who gives up their life to save the rest of the group. As an added bonus, the DLC will also include the No Mercy campaign for L4D2 owners. Here's the official word:

September 27, 2010 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the new add-on for its co-operative zombie thrillers -- "The Sacrifice," in development for both Left 4 Dead (L4D) and Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) -- is due for release on October 5, 2010.

"The Sacrifice" is the prequel to "The Passing," and takes place from the L4D Survivors' perspective as they make their way South. In addition to advancing the 219fstory, "The Sacrifice" introduces a new style finale featuring "Sacrificial Gameplay" where players get to decide who will give their life so the others may live.

The Sacrifice DLC for L4D1 is a seperate download than The Sacrifice for L4D2.

In The Sacrifice for Left 4 Dead 1 gamers receive the complete Sacrifice campaign with maps playable in Campaign, Versus, and Survival.

In The Sacrifice for Left 4 Dead 2 owners receive "The Sacrifice" campaign playable with the Left 4 Dead Survivors. In addition, those with Left 4 Dead 2 receive L4D's "No Mercy" campaign. Both campaigns are playable in Campaign, Versus, Survival, and Scavenge modes and both will feature the Left 4 Dead 2 Special Infected, items, and weapons. Yes, Zoey with a chainsaw!

Targeted for release on October 5th, "The Sacrifice" will be available for download on Xbox Live for 560 Microsoft Points and free to all PC gamers.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

We'll be sure to remind you when it goes live!

Two Worlds II Slips To January 2011

According to a post on Facebook tonight, SouthPeak Games and Reality Pump's upcoming Fantasy-RPG, Two Worlds II, has been delayed to allow for some "heavyweight Quality Assurance". Previously scheduled for release this October, the game is now expected to hit stores in North America in January 2011. An update on the UK, Australia and New Zealand release will be announced "in the near future."

StarCraft II patch v1.2 to introduce "e-Sport" features

After the release of StarCraft II's version1.1 patch, Blizzard has gone straight to work on the next major version update. Version 1.2 is aimed at competitive players but it'll also bring in the usual improvements.

Major "e-Sport" features will be introduced that'll let players show how they did in past seasons and improve chat. Along with bug fixes, balance changes, and tweaks, the SCII editor will get some significant improvements.

Regarding balance issues, Blizzard will be adjusting the three races for 2v2 and larger games. The challenge here will be having these changes not affect the flow of 1v1 matches as things are running smoothly there. StarCraft II lead producer Chris Sigaty also had some interesting words about the Zerg coming off as underpowered:

“That’s not actually the case,” says Chris. “We have fewer Zerg players overall. I avoid playing Zerg as much as possible because I find them to be just more complex in general. Zerg, or rather larvae management is harder for me to deal with, so I don’t enjoy playing them as much.”

Expect 1.2 to be released by the end of 2010.

Source:PC Gamer

Section:PC Games

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Amnesia: The Dark Descent 1.01 patch released

The first patch for horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent has been released, fixing the major issue those with X1000 series video cards had -- not being able to play.

Besides that, there's a load of minor bug fixes and changes, one of which improves load times.

Grab it at the source or via the digital distributor you purchased from.

Update: developer Frictional Games says the mod tools have also been updated to reflect the changes, and on a related note, they've seen greater interest than anticipated. Check out the modding forum to see what's kicking.

Source:Frictional Games Support

Section:PC Games

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Kings and Castles Video Blog #33

Keeping things rollin' this weekend, Gas Powered Games has released a new video blog for their upcoming Strategy title, Kings and Castles. In this latest episode, Chris Taylor and his team discuss tech trees, level design, the pathfinding system and more. Pretty interesting stuff! Check it out:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

Kings and Castles' release date is still TBA.

Fallout: New Vegas Video Dev Diary #2

Giving us a peek behind the scenes today, Obsidian Entertainment has released a new video developer diary for their upcoming post-apocalyptic RPG, Fallout: New Vegas. Running just over three minutes long, this video focuses on the game's weapons and sound design. Pretty interesting stuff! Check it out:

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

GamersHellFileFrontFileShackWorthPlaying

Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled for release in North America on October 19th and Europe on October 22nd.

Modern day Prince of Persia was canned

Prince of Persia series fans will be interested to know Ubisoft was at one point working on an installment set in contemporary times. According to former Ubisoft art director Jonathan Jacques-Bellette, the project had begun shortly after the excellent 2008 game, but was canceled.

"That one had already started at that point... Prince of Persia Zero," he said, referring to the 2008 reboot. "But they wanted really something completely out of the left field. And back then I was known as one of the ones... 'oh this guy can get some pretty cool, weird ideas'.

"So I had this little team, and [our PoP] was actually in the contemporary world. Think a bit Day After Tomorrow, but replace the snow with sand and everything. It was really wicked. But it got cancelled, and then we did all the Far Crys."

Whether this was a choice to switch gears in favor of other projects and/or a move to set the Prince and Assassin's Creed series' in distinctly different long-term directions, we can only speculate.

Jacques-Bellette also revealed there was an Assassin's Creed title in the works for PS2 and Xbox.

Source:ComputerAndVideoGames.com

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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'Inception' video game under consideration

The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan scored another hit with his metaphysical action film Inception, and video game fans may see their own version of it before too long.

Nolan recently stated at a press conference they're "looking at [...] developing a videogame based on the world of the film, which has all kinds of ideas that you can't fit into a feature film."

It certainly lends itself well to the medium with its twisted physics and suspenseful, mind-bending premise and plot -- let's just hope it fares better than those Matrix video games.

The project, should it see fruition, would be released in two years or more.

Inception has grossed $753 million worldwide.

Source:Variety

Sections:Console Games, PC Games

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Civilization V Patch v1.0.0.17 Released

Keeping things rollin' tonight, Firaxis Games has released a new patch (v1.0.0.17) for their hit turn-based Strategy title, Civilization V. This latest update features a handful of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks. Here's the skinny:

Special character fix for Windows usernames: Users with non-english characters in their windows username would experience a game crash. This has been fixed, and a forthcoming fix will address an issue related to this where game victories are not recorded in the Hall of Fame.Default resolution fix for DX9: Some users who have non-standard or below the minimum specification resolutions crashed before starting. Now, the system will change to Windowed mode and start so it does not crash.AI city weighting: AI will not quite as freely offer up their cities when asking for peace.Gold per turn glitch: When agreeing to a deal for anything above 5 gold per turn in exchange for something else (like a luxury), the deal would always only pay 5 gold per turn, regardless of the amount proposed. This has been corrected.

Just launch the game's auto-updater to start downloading.

Grim Dawn Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy this afternoon, Crate Entertainment has released four new screenshots from their upcoming Action-RPG. Grim Dawn. These latest screenies show off the game's day/night cycles and combat system. Check 'em out:

 

 

 

 

Grim Dawn's release date is still TBA.

Mafia II sets new Guiness record for 'most swearing in a video game'

When playing games based on gang life, you expect violence, sex, and expletives. So which gang-related game tops them all? Mafia II, by the folks at 2K.

Guiness named the retro gangster game "most swearing in a video game," beating out the former placeholder, House of the Dead: Overkill. Currently, Guiness has counted over 200 instances of the F-bomb dropped in-game, and that number just keeps going up as they keep counting.

'M for Mature' indeed...

Source:Joystiq

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

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Microsoft to invest in more franchises to start PC gaming revolution

Microsoft has conceded the long overdue return of glory to Windows-based PC gaming many times in the past, to the point where the disenchanted have to come to expect little from the pep talks.

Manning the PC gaming fort is Dave Luehman, Microsoft Games Studios general manager, who addresses the situation once more. Speaking to MCV UK, Luehman explains that Microsoft remains committed to leading the way for a PC gaming renewal, though he knows they have much to prove. To do this, Microsoft is looking to invest in even more properties which could be unique to the PC platform:

"We are putting some real investment and big IPs behind the Windows platform. We’ve spoken of the first three, Fable III, Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight. However we are not going to stop there."

Investment is always a key step in getting projects up and running, so it could be reassuring that at least the first party studios are keen in giving Games for Windows Live a shot in the arm. The next step is to inspire other publishers to flock to an official Windows-based PC platform brand, and that will involve further research into what sort of business models Microsoft could adapt or evolve.

The naysaying levelled against Microsoft has not been entirely unwarranted; most of the franchises which Luehman touts as the new banner under which the PC faithful shall gather were in fact the very same ones that the publisher previously curbeddevelopment for, as part of restructuring.

Source:MCV UK

Section:PC Games

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Star Wars: The Old Republic 'Designing the Light Side' Trailer

Kicking things off today, BioWare has released a new trailer for their highly anticipated MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Clocking in at five and a half minutes long, this video focuses on the Jedi classes and how they were designed. Very cool stuff! Check it out:

The above 20f1stream is courtesy of YouTube. Mirrors are also available at FilePlanet and WorthPlaying.com.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is scheduled for release in Spring 2011.

BioShock Infinite Gameplay Trailer

Grabbing our attention tonight, Irrational Games has released a lengthy gameplay trailer for their highly anticipated first person shooter, BioShock Infinite. Running just under ten (!) minutes long, this video walks us through an early portion of the game. Really impressive stuff! Check it out:

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

FileShackActionTripWorthPlaying

BioShock Infinite is scheduled for release in 2012.

Former Realtime Worlds dev: studio complacency ruined APB

APB'sutter dissolution is now complete, but the story has yet to conclude for developer RealTime Worlds. The one-two punch of tepid reviews and lackluster software sales proved too much for APB, but a former technical lead at RTW believes the issues started much earlier, which they should've addressed much sooner, before it was way too late.

In frank blog postings which shed light on the underlying problems at RTW, "just another ex-game developer" Luke Halliwell conceded that RTW's complacency played a large part in ultimately bringing down APB. The studio was still basking in the warm glow it earned over the success of its first project, Crackdown, and the $100 million investment it managed to score for its future projects like APB. This complacency was further compounded by the ability of RTW founder Dave Jones to convince staff that things really were going to be all right.

"The complacency showed through in so many ways. We were complacent about game design, papering over APB's obvious shortcomings and telling ourselves it would somehow come together at the last minute before release (an argument that was strengthened by the experience of seeing Crackdown do just that).

"We were complacent about business planning, deciding to spend all our investment getting APB to launch, assuming that we would sell zillions of copies and over-spending on server hardware.

"I'm pretty sure it was a big part of us raising $100m. It also obviously contributed to our complacency. If anything ever reached crisis point, Dave was always, always able to convince people that everything would be ok. I think at times this prevented us from actually taking problems as seriously as we should have."

Restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, which has assumed administration of the studio following APB's uninspiring performance at retail, confirms that pretty much the rest of the remaining fifty employees at RTW's Dundee studio were let go following APB's server shutdown. Apparently they couldn't find a buyer willing to rescue the financially beleaguered studio. Develop reports that just seven temporary workers are still on hand for APB's cleanup, and things are unclear still for RTW's satellite offices in the US.

In the meantime, Begbies Traynor explains that it should be possible for APB customers to seek refunds for their now defunct software purchase, though they will want to check with the retailer they originally purchased the title from to see they have further details. That's just for the price of admission alone, though it appears that players will be able to get reimbursement for any actual game time they purchased as part of a subscription by speaking to APB admin.

Just because no one is currently in the market for RTW itself doesn't mean APB is still not up for grabs. The BBC writes that Epic Games at some point had taken a shine to the project, not least because it leverages Epic's Unreal Engine; they even cite Epic VP Mark Rein as someone who "absolutely loves APB". The writeup couldn't confirm anything on Epic's part, other than the fact that the developer is simply too busy with other projects at the moment to say anything either way about APB.

Source:Luke Halliwell's Weblog

Alternate Source:Develop

Section:PC Games

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Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD updates detailed in first dev diary

Following last week's news of five Oddworld games on the horizon, today we get the first look at the Stranger's Wrath HD update from developer Just Add Water (JAW), due out in April on PSN.

While we have you here, the Oddbox is still scheduled for PC in 2010 -- Oddworld Inhabitants is taking care of it, so there's no issues with time or resources.

The studio seems to be pulling out all the stops. For one, they're massively increasing the polygon counts and making characters like our friend above look much sharper than what technology of yonder could afford. Here you see he already looks much improved at 6,000 polys, but the final version will see him at about 20,000. Besides that they're improving rendering, upping the resolution from 640x480 to 720p, upping audio quality from 11khz to 22khz, implementing trophies and achievements (360 version is still not confirmed, though), and updating the UI.

The development diaries to come will focus on each of those elements; this time JAW tells the tale of the development origins, explaining they received assistance from the original engine team at Perforce. This has allowed them to construct a "solid build system based on the original." What this likely means for you is a version faithful to the original with minimal -- if any -- problems.

Source:Just Add Water (Developments) Ltd.

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

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Arcania: Gothic 4 SecuROM DRM features one-time activation, auto-update, pre-load

Sony is stepping up with its PC game protection scheme SecuROM, offering some neat features alongside the DRM functionality in the upcoming RPG Arcania: Gothic 4.

The game requires a one-time online activation and can be installed on up to three PCs at any one time. After activation, neither a connection nor the disc are required for play. Besides that, you can expect added features akin to services like Impulse and Steamworks -- in this case, auto updating and pre-loading, so you can install the game ahead of the launch date and begin playing right away when it's triggered.

All in all, pretty reasonable stuff, and it's good to see Sony improving its "service" instead of just doing the bare minimum, so to speak.

Arcania launches October 12 on PC (console versions to come later), with a demo releasing late this month.

Source:Blue's News

Section:PC Games

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Mother obsessed with game neglects children, starves pets

A 33-year old mother has received a suspended jail sentence after neglecting her children and pets due to obsessively playing Small Worlds for hours at a time. On top of her sentence, she is barred from using a computer.

When police went to investigate the family's home, they discovered the mother's three children (aged 9, 10, and 13) were forced to eat foods that didn't require cooking for over six months. Aside from the house being laid with rubbish everywhere, the pet dogs had died and were left to decompose in the dining room for two months; the woman tried to block the officers from seeing the bodies until she relented on her own.

It might have been possible the woman was using Small Worlds as an outlet since her husband died from a heart attack some years ago. Since August 2009, she had been playing to the point where she only got two hours of sleep each night.

Source:Huffington Post

Alternate Source:Telegraph.co.uk

Section:PC Games

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moreRelated news storiesJoe Barbaro gets his revenge in Mafia II's 'Joe's Adventures' DLCSeptember 16, '10

Steam Weekend Deal: 50% Off Monkey Island SE Bundle

Attention bargain shoppers! Valve has announced that the Monkey Island: Special Edition Bundle is currently on sale through Steam for just $7.49 USD (a 50% savings). Included in the bundle is The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge. This deal runs from now until Sunday, September 19th. So if for some reason you don't already own these classics, here's your chance to get them dirt-cheap! :D

Medal of Honor Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy tonight, Electronic Arts has cooked up four new screenshots from their upcoming military shooter, Medal of Honor. Word is these latest screens are from the singleplayer portion of the game. Check 'em out:

 

 

 

 

Medal of Honor is scheduled for release in North America on October 12th and Europe on October 15th.

Fallout: New Vegas Video Dev Diary #1

Giving us a peek behind the scenes today, Obsidian Entertainment has released a new video developer diary for their upcoming post-apocalyptic RPG, Fallout: New Vegas. Running two and a half minutes long, this video touches on the game's storyline and how they introduce you to the world. Pretty interesting stuff! Check itout:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Hit-up any of the following websites for a mirror:

FileFrontFileShackFilePlanetActionTripWorthPlaying

Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled for release in North America on October 19th and Europe on October 22nd.

Joe Barbaro gets his revenge in Mafia II's 'Joe's Adventures' DLC

The next Mafia II DLC will once again put the spotlight on a different character, just like 'Jimmy's Vendetta'. For 'Joe's Adventure', players take control of Vito Scaletta's longtime wise-cracking friend Joe Barbaro.

With Vito being sent to jail, Joe sets out on his own to figure out how Vito ended up in prison and discover what's really going on with the Clemente family. Joe will be visiting new locations such as a train station, cathouse, boat yard, and new buildings within the city of Empire Bay.

Like Vito, Joe will get his own assortment of clothing to be a snappy dresser himself and listen to some new tunes from the 40's and 50's. You'll also want to be on the lookout for new collectible to grab.

Expect 'Joe's Adventures' to arrive later in 2010.

Image Gallery

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

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'Privates' banned from XBLA for "inherently sexual nature"

In a bid to keep its console free of pervosexuals, Microsoft has prevented the release of platform game Privates on Xbox LIVE Arcade due to its "inherently sexual nature." It's not a big evil scheme, however -- developer Zombie Cow's Dan Marshall says they've been "amazing" and then some.

“They’ve been really supportive and helpful throughout, but ultimately have advised that the game wouldn’t pass the Indie Games Peer Review process, purely due to its inherently sexual nature. As a result, if you want to play as a tiny little man blasting away inside someone’s innards, the only place to do it is privatesgame.com."

“It’s a shame, but it’s something we’d always pretty much assumed would happen.”

Regarding the free PC version, Marshall adds they've been working hard at it since launch. Besides the last patch we mentioned, it sounds like there's been at least one more as he states all of the crashes and other issues have been fixed up.

If you're not familiar with Privates, it's described as "a platform shooter in which you lead a teeny-tiny gang of condom-hatted marines as they delve into peoples’ vaginas and bottoms and blast away at all manner of oozy, shouty monsters. It’s rude, funny, bitingly satirical and technically pretty accurate if you don’t count the tiny people or the germs with teeth."

Sections:Microsoft Consoles, Console Games, PC Games

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Vietnam Trailer

Creating a little buzz this afternoon, DICE has released a new teaser trailer for their highly anticipated Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Vietnam expansion. Running exactly a minute and a half long, this cinematic video helps set the mood with a short speech and some classic tunes. Check it out:

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

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Vietnam is scheduled for release in Winter 2010.

Final Fantasy XIV Cinematic Trailer

Moving right along, the fine folks over at Square Enix have released a new teaser trailer for their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Final Fantasy XIV. Clocking in at just under eight minutes long, this cinematic video is jam-packed with sea creatures, giant air ships and dragons. Pretty cool stuff! Enjoy:

The above stream is courtesy of GameTrailers. Mirrors are also available at GamersHell and Strategy Informer.

Final Fantasy XIV is scheduled for release on September 30th.

Something Awful goons localize Japanese indie game on their own

Something Awful's goons are notorious for their trolling around the internet but two goons took it upon themselves to build up some gaming cred after failing to get employed in the industry. They show it by localizing Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, a game about a shopkeep who must pay a loan by selling off items she finds in dungeons.

Andrew Dice and Robin-Light Williams founded Carpe Fulgur, whose name stands for "seize the lightning" in Latin. It refers to the fact that nothing can be done without risk, especially foolish ones; in this case, Dice and Williams were translating Recettear on a very tiny budget and hiring a friend of Dice to handle some interface art.

Carpe Fulgur is intent on localizing Japanese games as best as possible (while taking some amusing liberties) for the rest of the world to enjoy. Recettear was an interesting choice for the company's first project since it's one of the few Japanese indie titles that doesn't have any pornographic content.

Impulse, GamersGate, and Steam are selling Recettear for a solid $20. A demo is available to try out from the company's website but just know you're in for a challenge.

Source:The Something Awful Forums

Alternate Source:Carpe Fulgur

Section:PC Games

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Civilization V is socially responsible

It's been awhile since this was posted on the official website, but it seems no other gaming sites picked it up, so we're here today to give you more good reasons to pick up Civilization V, all centered around social responsibility.

Publisher 2K explains because of the game's theme and also strong following, they want to and can afford to consider other factors besides profits when releasing it.

For starters, $250,000 will be donated to four education-based charities, as decided by the customer upon installation. Says quite a bit about their expected profits, no?

Then there's the box, made of recycled paper and 30% post-consumer waste and UV and soy-based inks versus the standard solvent ones. The box itself -- called the Bio Box (would be a good fit for BioShock Infinite)-- is recyclable. Of course, if you purchase digitally, you're already doing tons of good.

While that's all swell, what benefits the gamer as well as the environment is the manual: it's digital this time around (apart from the included quick-start manual), which may be disappointing to some fans, but wait just a minute! 2K is taking advantage of the medium, making it interactive so clicking on page numbers will take you straight to them and hovering over thumbnails will make them bigger. But best of all, they're going to be updating it as time goes on and patches are released. A screencap of it is above, and you can check out a full sample here. And then there's the in-game encyclopedia which includes text search.

Civilization V launches in one week.

Source:Civilization V

Section:PC Games

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War40k: Space Marine & Red Faction: Armageddon Delayed

Kicking things off today, THQ has announced that both Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Red Faction: Armageddon have been delayed a few months to allow for some extra polish and to launch in a better window. Word is that War 40k: Space Marine has been pushed from "early 2011" to the Summer 2011 and Red Faction: Armageddon is slipping from March to May 2011. THQ's Brian Farrell offered the following comments on the delays:

THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell said, "THQ's creative organization is delivering a strong pipeline of core game franchises scheduled for release over the next several years, positioning THQ for significant net sales, earnings and cash flow growth. We continue to execute on our plan to deliver great games, market them aggressively and release them in the most advantageous windows."

You can find the full PR right here.

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Small Plants vs Zombies Update

Keeping us on our toes this weekend, the fine folks over at PopCap Games have released small patch for their hit tower defense title, Plants vs Zombies. This latest update addresses a handful of Steam/Cloud support issues. You can find the full patch notes right here or just relaunch your Steam client to start downloading. Braaains! :D

Medal of Honor: from beta to final changes detailed

The Medal of Honor beta has been going since June -- after those three months of playtesting and feedback from gamers, multiplayer developer DICE has decided on the changes to be implemented into the final game.

As you'd expect, there's a long list of tweaks and improvements in multiple areas like performance and graphics, and then a load of balance changes pertaining to the weapons.

The big items are better hit detection and major text, menu and HUD overhauls (hopefully ones specifically for the PC version -- a complaint we voiced in our preview); the smaller changes then, coupled with the bigger ones, should add up to a significantly more polished experience.

Below is the changelog with the weapon notes excluded for length -- for those, head to the source.

Improved and fixed hit detection code
- Improved soldier hit box
- Decreased interpolation time

Various Fixes
- Toggle crouch is functional
- Added weapon pickup feature
- Spawn points tweaked
- Spawn system features added to fix exploits
- Level collisions fixed
- Level exploits fixed
- Level and environment specific shaders for characters and weapons
- Improved lightning and effects on all levels
- Tweaked combat areas to prevent base raping
- Unlock tree expanded with F2000, G3A4 and P90 PDW forh both teams
- Tactical Support Actions score tweaked
- Increased zoom in speed for sniper rifles
- Fixed the delay after firing a bolt action sniper rifle
- Improved ragdolls
- Character visibility tweaked
- 3P muzzle flashes size decreased on all weapons
- Getting hit effects tweaked
- Crashes fixed when using Scoreboard, support actions and connectivity issues
- M3A3 tank engine improved
- M3A3 armor increased
- M3A3 damage increased
- C4 disappear faster after the played died
- C4 can be exploded by hand grenades or rockets but not by bullets
- UAV mesh visible for both teams
- UAV health tweaked

Improved control input mapping
- Major text overhauls
- Major graphical overhauls in the menu and HUD
- Tweaked point system HUD effects
- Tweaked support action HUD effects
- In-game HUD polished
- Kill messages fixed
- Options and screen align fixed
- Added the option to “quit” before spawning
- Total team score fix
- Revamped loading screens
- Clip is now named Magazine
- HP ammo becomes Open-tip ammunition
- Knifes hit detection fixed
- Mouse input suppressing removed
- Mouse aiming is consistent over the board with all weapons
- Knife animations tweaked
- Updated sounds
- Overall improved animations
- Rifleman kit balance
- Weapon damage increased over the board
- M16 and M4 difference increased as long versus close combat rifles

Source:Medal of Honor

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

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Oblivion total conversion mod "Nehrim" released in English

A few months ago we wrote aboutNehrim, an Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion total conversion mod intended to fill the void left by the original game's lack of RPG goodness. Today the English version is at last released, so you can finally see if it's worth the fuss. Note English is provided through subtitles -- voice-overs are still in German.

This is also a newer version of the game over the German release, which the team says should be a mostly bug-free experience.

Unfortunately due to unrelated technical issues we're unable to give you impressions, screenshots, etc., but the installer is only 1.6GB, so it won't take long for you to give it a shot yourself.

Head to the source to try out the promising-looking RPG, and be sure to check out the ReadMe for proper installation.

Image Gallery

Source:Nehrim

Alternate Source:ModDB

Section:PC Games

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moreRelated news stories"Disastrous" Elemental launch provokes layoffs at StardockSeptember 04, '10

Kings and Castles Video Blog #31

Hitting the web today is a new video blog for Gas Powered Games' upcoming Strategy title, Kings and Castles. In this latest episode, Chris Taylor and his team talk briefly about the toolset, tech trees, item drops, animations and death effects. Pretty interesting stuff! Check it out:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

Kings and Castles' release date is still TBA.

Steam Weekend Deal: 75% Off Blood Bowl - Dark Elves Edition

Saving us a few bucks this weekend, Valve has announced that Cyanide Studios' hit Strategy-Sports title, Blood Bowl: Dark Elves Edition, is currently on sale through Steam for just $10.00 USD (a 75% savings). The deal runs from now until Sunday, September 12th. If you're a fan of the popular Games Workshop board game, you might want to give this one a shot. ;)

Lost Planet 2 bombed by leaving ice world behind, says Capcom

Last we looked, Lost Planet 2 had sold 1.5 million copies across both consoles -- not amazing, but not exactly terrible, either.

Capcom's head of R&D Keiji Inafune has indicated the reason for the less than stellar sales is the move away from the original game's unique ice-covered world.

"I put towards the original concept for Lost Planet and based on that success I left the team to get on by themselves. It was not received very well. What I learned from that experience was we really have to be clear on the concept, the foundation of the game, then we can build upon that."

"It's easy to say because we've already got Lost Planet 2 out, but if I were to define the concept for Lost Planet 2 - the shooting game based on the extreme icy conditions. That was quite rare in the genre, so rather than going at the variety of the environment settings and so on, I feel that there were a lot more things we could've done in that extreme icy condition."

Presumably, the first title profited better than its sequel, though respectfully, we're sure some would disagree with Inafune's assessment, including ourselves, if only in part. Nevertheless, it would be exciting to see a return to the ice-ridden planet, or a new one altogether, what with much-improved graphics since we last saw it and all.

Source:Official Xbox 360 Magazine

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

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"Disastrous" Elemental launch provokes layoffs at Stardock

It's with a heavy heart we regret to inform you Stardock has laid off a number of staff following the "disastrous launch" of its strategy RPG Elemental: War of Magic. The description comes way of an anonymous, supposedly now former employee, who also noted the layoffs included developers, designers, and salespeople on the Elemental team. Company CEO Brad Wardell confirmed the rumor in the game's official forums, noting none of the core team is affected.

"Elemental's revenue was anticipated to provide the revenue both for our main games team's next project as well as a second team," he explains. "Unfortunately, that is unlikely to happen so we've had to start laying people off."

"No one is being fired. None of these people did anything wrong. Stardock is a small company and each person here is truly amongst the best and brightest. So you can imagine how much it sucks for all of us to lay off anyone. We haven't had to lay anyone off since our migration from the OS/2 market in 1998. It would be great if we can bring as many of these people [as possible] back over time if the studio can afford it."

We found the game quite favorable, but a recent forum poll by Stardock has indicated customer dissastisfaction is at about 50%. The studio has since said poor decisions, oversight, and insufficient QA on a new engine led to a subpar launch, though whatever your opinion, matters have certainly improved since, especially with today's 1.07 performance patch.

We hope to examine the full story in detail in an interview with Stardock in the coming months.

Source:shacknews

Alternate Source:Elemental forums

Section:PC Games

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ArcaniA: Gothic 4 Demo This Month

Giving us a quick heads-up tonight, DreamCatcher Games and JoWooD Entertainment have announced that they'll be releasing a ArcaniA: Gothic 4 demo on September 24th. According to the press release, the demo will include a handful of tutorial quests on Feshyr Island. We'll be sure to let you know when it goes live. So stay tuned!

Lionheart: King 20d0 s’ Crusade Gets October Launch Date

Pinning down an exact release date for us this afternoon, Paradox Interactive and Neocore Games have announced that their upcoming Strategy title, Lionheart: Kings’ Crusade, will be hitting all major digital distribution outlets on October 8th. Here's the official word:

NEW YORK – September 10, 2010 – Paradox Interactive and Neocore Games today confirmed an October 8, 2010 release date for Lionheart: Kings’ Crusade. This real time strategy game will pit players between the years of 1189-1192, calling upon warriors to enter the heart of the battle in one of the most vicious wars of all time. Players will take on this challenge as either Richard the Lionheart, a man determined to take back the holy land, or as Saladin, a ruler who must prepare for an inevitable invasion.

Lionheart: Kings’ Crusade invites players to rewrite history through controlling and upgrading leaders and their armies, guiding various historical factions through political events, collecting relics, and unlocking new content in a feature-rich campaign set to take on the strategy genre by force.

Lionhe216fart: Kings' Crusade will be available on all leading digital distribution platforms and in retail stores. For more information about the game, join us on Facebook, visit www.lionheartthegame.com/ or www.paradoxplaza.com and follow @PDXInteractive and @Lionheartgame

Let the countdown begin!

The First Templar PC closed beta sign-ups begin

If you're keen on getting an early look at Haemimont Games' action RPG The First Templar, closed beta sign-ups have just begun for the PC version.

If you're new to the game, it's a solo or co-op venture featuring combat set in 13th century Europe -- yes, there are similarities to Assassin's Creed.

Piqued your interest? Head to the source to apply. We'll likely have our own look at it before long.

Source:Haemimont Games

Section:PC Games

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Stranger's Wrath HD first in Oddworld Quintilogy

When we checked in back in July, Oddworld Inhabitants had partnered with admirer and developer Just Add Water to bring back the Oddworld franchise. Today we learn six games are planned, the first of which is an HD version of series offshoot Stranger's Wrath. The others we're guessing are updates on the remaining three titles, and then two new titles.

The plan, though it doesn't appear confirmed as of yet, is to publish it on the PlayStation Network, partly to make up for the scrapped Stranger's and Munch's Oddysee PS2 plans, and partly because Stranger's is one of the highest rated games in the series and packs the most advanced technology. Last year, PC was announced, so it appears this version has taken a backseat. An Xbox version, they say, would be "trickier." We hear the transfer to PS3 has been mostly smooth sailing.

No new content will be added to this new version, though a few changes will be made (to be detailed later), and it's not currently known whether or not the pre-rendered videos will be upscaled or re-rendered in high definition (the developer wouldn't comment) -- likely the former given the potential high download size.

Stranger's Wrath HD is tenatively scheduled for April 2011.

Source:Joystiq

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

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Dragon Age 2 Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy this afternoon, BioWare has cooked up two new screenshots from their highly anticipated Fantasy-RPG, Dragon Age 2. These latest screenies show off the female version of Hawke and a Qunari. Check 'em out:

 

 

Dragon Age 2 is scheduled for release in March 2011.