Homefront To Be A Steamworks Title

Kaos Studios with Digital Extremes(the guys porting it to the PC) have announced on their community blog that Homefront will be a Steamworks title. You’ll need Steam to run it and it will also have some PC specific features. They’ve done more work on vehicle controls to give players more options on how they want to control vehicles. From a more simmy Ace setting to a more easier rookie setting. Homefront will also have dedicated servers, clan support and easy VOIP controls. Read the entire PC specific additions to the game here. Homefront is set to be in stores on March II.

Source: VE3D

Bulletstorm In A Tea Cup - ’DRMsode’

Earlier today(yesterday for me), Destructoid caused a bit of a stir when they posted a news write up that pointed out that EA’s EULA on Bulletstorm implied that an always on internet connection was necessary. A People Can Fly developer, Adrian Chmielarz, later tweeted ‘F**king Internets... No, Bulletstorm PC does not require any constant connection, only for install and for online play (duh!)’, confirming that this whole always on DRM was false and merely a mistake on EA’s part(he later tweeted that ‘the internets’ had a right to complain). So what was this hullabaloo all about? Absolutely nothing! It would have been better if Destructoid asked Epic for clarification on this matter. Bulletstorm will still use Games For Windows LIVE and require an online connection for installation and online play.

Two Worlds II Dev Diary 2 - Menus The Enemy of Gamers

Topware Interactive’s Two Worlds II is a third person hack and slash action RPG that uses a new radial menu that will make is easy for the player to continue playing the game instead of looking at menus. As if that was a problem for PC games(it isn’t), they decided to ‘solve’ this design problem with on the fly spell selection. It’s garnered some positive impressions with the European press last year when it was released over there. Two Worlds II will be released on February 10th for the PC, XBOX360 and PS3. Video below…

Opposing Force 2 Mod Demo Released

The mod team that is developing a sequel to Gearbox’s Half Life expansion, Opposing Force, has released a small demo of the project. The demo is a sand box level of the game set in a stadium. This level wont be in the final release but is more of a tech debug where you can spawn different items and enemies and play around with them. The mod will feature both single player(also promising a coop mode that will allow you and a friend to play the entire campaign cooperatively) and multiplayer and will introduce a lot of new content from new enemy types to new weapons. Check out the mod page here with more details of the project. You can download the demo here. You’ll need Half Life 2: Episode 2 to run this.

Planescape Torment Retrospective - Video Game Conventions Weaved Into Plotline

Awakening with no memory of who or even what you are is not an entirely new premise in fiction. But Planescape Torment brought to PC games what no other game did. It brought an absolutely immersive story that was far flung from reality. Black Isles Studio did this is with witty dialogue, creative ways in which they weave the storyline around gameplay, and a protagonist you define based on his actions, who he becomes.

Valve, “PC Market Thriving”

In an interview with CVG, Valve’s Chet Faliszek to a question about the concern that the PC market is in trouble, said “It's thriving. Look at Minecraft, one dude up in Sweden sold a million copies of his game. You can do that because of how open the platform is. If you make a game that can run on people's systems they're going to play it.” Chet goes on to say that the fact that it’s easy to plug in a controller with a PC these days, even genres that particularly play better on the console isn’t an issue on the PC. I think this is true but due to the open nature of the platform, it also means it’s not always easy across the board. Will PC Gaming eventually be easy to get into like console games? I don't know. The interview also discusses Portal 2 and the console version of it. Chet went on to state that the PS3 version with Steamworks will be the best console version as they can update it way more often. Read the entire interview here.

Source: CVG

Patrician IV Rise of A Dynasty Expansion Announced

Kalypso Media announced that Patrician IV will be receiving an expansion pack titled Rise of A Dynasty that will be adding new scenarios, cities and coop multiplayer. Expected to be released on April 1st, the new expansion allows up to 4 player coop that jointly control the Hanseatic League(it’s a naval trading game). The expansion will also introduce new cities that you can only trade with a land route. Full feature list after the jump…

Pocket Change - Goodbye January 2011 Deals

Sales post updated. Total War games now being offered on GamersGate. Europa Universalis III and Heir to The Throne still extremely cheap on Steam due to release of the latest expansion, Divine Wind.  Check out these hot deals I found below...

Gettysburg: Armoured Warfare Videos - Back To The Future Gone Wrong

New video from the recently concluded Paradox Convention. Gametrailers has posted two new videos. One, an off camera recording of the gameplay(currently in pre alpha stage of development). Two, a video interview of Radioactive Software President, Danny Green. Gettysburg: Armoured Warfare is a Free to Play FPS/RTS hybrid with a plot as bewildering as the growing deficit of the Malaysian governments budget. Someone goes back in time to the American Civil War and brings in the technology to build tanks and modern weapons. Why use a musket when you’ve got a machine gun. Blimey. Videos below…

UPDATE Crysis 2 Multiplayer Trailer - Coming To The PC After All

UPDATE: Bigdownload found out that Crytek tweeted confirmation that a multiplayer demo will be made available for The PC pre launch. Cryteks twitter said this "Crytek & EA are glad to confirm that we'll be releasing a pre-launch Crysis 2 multiplayer demo on PC! Stay tuned for details." So I guess we'll be getting a demo on the PC after all. Sorry bigdownload, you did jump the gun on this one(they posted a news article saying there would be NO DEMO FOR THE PC).

Xbox360 owners are getting a treat. An exclusive Crysis 2 multiplayer demo will be available to them on January 25th. Yes, a multiplayer demo only for them, not for any other platform(that’s what the term exclusive means). To be fair, this doesn’t confirm that there wont be any demo for the PC. There might be a single player demo later on. Or maybe this exclusive demo is an early exclusive for them. Either way, I’ll write an update if there is more info on a PC demo. Oh and new Crysis 2 multiplayer trailer below…

Darkspore Hero Editor Producer Diary - Get Your Editing On

The Diablo/coop action game genre becoming increasingly popular with developers. Lots of such games released and under development, from Ghostbusters, Lara Croft, Diablo itself and Darkspore. When I first heard of Darkspore, I was quite sceptical of what they could achieve here. It's such an odd mix to have the Spore universe mixed with a Diablo style hardcore action game. But if the trailers and videos are any indication, they’ve managed to nail it. EA has released a new video showcasing the customising/editing elements of Darkspore. Like all of Maxis games, it will inherit a very powerful customisation tool. Darkspore will be out on March 29th. Video below…

Crusader Kings II Video Interview - Medieval Backstabery

Paradox Interactive has released a video interview of lead designer of Crusader Kings II, Henrik “Doomdark” Fåhraeus. Lead your royal family, gain your subjects loyalty and scheme against others. I like Crusader Kings because it does something new for a medieval strategy game. Instead of making the wars the central focus of the game, Crusader Kings makes it more about the politics of the royalties in the middle ages. As the project lead explains, you’ll have to contend with things like succession wars, rivalries and even assassination attempts. Crusader Kings II will be out on Q1 2012. Check out the video interview below. It gives more information about the basics of the game(and what’s new)…

Rage Release Date Finalised - Coming September

Id Softwares long time in development tech demo/super awesome post apocalyptic shooter Rage has been given a date. An actual date! Rage will be out on September 13th for North America and September 16 for Europe(and the rest of the world, I presume). There’s a new website for Rage with a bunch of new screenshots. Go over there and check them out. I’m quite sure they aren’t going to delay it again. Pretty sure about it…..maybe….

Source: VE3D

Paradox Interactive Convention Announcements

UPDATE 2: I've added new videos for Salem, Pirates of The Black Cove, Sword of The Stars 2, Crusader Kings 2 and the Hears Of Iron Card Game. All off camera on the Paradox Convention floor but very rare footage. Check them out. Thanks to GuileMikeSFU over at youtube. Subscribe to his channel please.


UPDATE: New trailers and videos added for Dreamlords Resurrection and Defenders of Ardania

Paradox held their press convention at New York today. They made some interesting announcements. First, CEO Fred Wester says that their digital sales make up 70% of their total sales. Not exactly surprising and I never imagined Paradox titles to be strong retail titles, at least not in North America. The second biggest and most important announcement is the flurry of games they’ve announced that are free to play. Using their recently released Paradox Connect system, these new free to play games will allow you to connect to their servers and have a persistent user experience in games that support it. I’ve listed the new games announced below(and some new trailers) and I’ll be updating this post if any new info pops up…

Total War: Shogun 2 Battle Trailer - Tiny Men Fight To Their Deaths

More men with pointy stick and horses clash with each other in a new Total War: Shogun 2 trailer posted by IGN. It’s starts off showing some old footage, but trust me, there is new footage a bit later on. Creative Assembly, you know exactly what to show to excite the fan base dontcha? Seeing a melee blob fills me with delight(I never would have imagined saying that I the past). Trailer after the jump…

Dead Space 2 DLC Not Coming Out For The PC

Recently, a bunch of thing weren’t being made for the PC. Well, most of them were demos that were available to consoles(incidentally they are all being published by EA, hmmmm). EA are jumping on the bandwagon, this time by not bringing the now critically acclaimed Dead Space 2 DLC ‘Severed hands’ . They are calling it a single player mini expansion. You wont be playing this on the PC. Let’s see, Bulletstorm published by EA, no PC demo. Crysis 2 published by EA, XBOX360 exclusive multiplayer demo. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit published by EA, no DLC for PC version. I’m seeing a pattern here.

Source: Bigdownload

Operation: Flashpoint Red River Dev Diary Part 1 - This Not Afghanistan

Codemasters Operation Flashpoint: Red River is the sequel to Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. A completely new stand alone game. Most of the people I know bought Dragon Rising during the Steam sales, and they weren’t that positive of the game. I myself decided to skip it because I knew what I was getting. A much more arcadish version of an ArmA 2 clone. Codemasters did have a very pretty engine, if only they built a solid game. They hope to make up for it with Red River, due out later this year. Watch the dev diary below and see what they have to say… Impressed? Indifferent? Voice off in the comments.

Sword of The Stars II Video Interview

Gametrailers have put up a video interview with Swords of the Stars II producer, Chris Stewart(this was during the Paradox Convention). The video is interspersed with pretty scenes from the new Mars 2 engine powering the game. Sword of The Star II looks to be a lot bigger in scale and scope. Bigger ships and a bigger galaxy. Releasing Q3 2011, fans of 4X games have a lot to look forward to. Video interview below…

Zynga Orders Cease And Desist On Blingville Not For The Worst Facebook Game Name Ever

Zynga is suing them for using the words ‘ville’ in the title. According to Zynga it is a ‘clear’ case of trademark infringement. Blingville believes it is fair use to use the term ‘ville’. I tend to agree. There was a similar case in Malaysia a few years back when McDonald sued McCurry(an Indian restaurant) for trademark infringement. The court threw out the case. I wonder if this is what an article I read about Zynga meant. Zynga using intimidation and threats to get to the position they are in right now. Oh well, good luck Zynga. In case you missed it, here’s what I thought about Frontierville.

Source: VG247

Magicka Release Trailer - Wizard Mayhem Or Is It Gremlins?

Magicka, the funny tongue in cheek action adventure game by Arrowhead Games has been released on Steam(a demo is also available but no multiplayer in the demo). It’s a lot of fun, if you can get it running properly. It seems there are a lot of people having trouble running it without any issues. The most critical one is the connection issues many people are reporting. Luckily the developers have released a patch(they are also promising continued support of course) just now(a full 500MB) that they say should rectify the online connection issues. So I saw my friends list and click to join on a friend who was currently playing the game and I get a fading menu that fades out to blackness. Hitting the escape key brings up a completely white menu. Oh boy…note to self, don’t join from steam chat. Haven’t tried connecting with someone else yet from the in game lobby. Will try it out tomorrow. Check out this release trailer for now…

Bulletstorm The Demo That Is Not Coming To The PC Trailer

You can download the Bulletstorm demo right now! Only on Xbox live and PSN. As I have stated in one of my daily notes, Cliffy B didn’t understand why PC Gamers are up in arms about the fact that there isn’t a demo for the PC. Yeah we know, Epic doesn’t get it. They tack on GFWlive with Bulletstorm and overlook a demo for the PC. Great strategy. Hell as a cultured gamer, I’m tired of shooting guys in the face in every f**king Epic game, and staring at characters that shout expletives about your mom with metal/rock music in the background. Thank you Epic. I would rather have games that were about a long days at the beach, or bird watching. Yeah bird watching….get on that Epic. If you want to see masculine looking guys(and a pretty lady) cussing and shooting guys in the face(or other unmentionables) click on read more…

Age of Empires Online To Be Free To Play But With Premium Packs For Sale

In a phone interview with Bigdownload, A Microsoft spokesperson revealed that Age of Empires Online will be completely free to play with hundreds of mission and content available for everyone. The game will instead sell Premium Packs that will give players access to the entire tech tree, increased inventory space and access to more powerful gear for your units. There will also be smaller booster packs that will give players new missions and ‘additional game features’. Similar to the traditional Free2Play MMO model of selling booster packs and vanity items. Robot Entertainment(former Ensemble Studio staff) are developing AoE online to be similar to Age of Empire 3 with each player having their own home city and a lot more emphasis on playing missions with friends. Two civilizations confirmed for now, the Greeks and the Egyptians. It’s currently in closed beta, and will be available later this year. Oh and it requires GamesForWindowsLive client. 

Read the full interview over at Bigdownload

The Elder Scroll V Skyrim Combat Detailed - Dual Wield However You Like

Game Informer has posted up some info on Skyrims combat. According to the preview, Bethesda will be reworking the combat system to make wielding weapons or magic on both hands possible. You can have a spell on one hand and a sword in the other which should make for a more fluid combat. Using the Havoc Behaviour animation tech, they’ve made it important to think tactically when you would have to block and attack(instead of just wailing away with your sword). You’ll now stagger(camera shake for added effect) as you take a hit and wont be able to hit back immediately. They seem to be taking some inspiration for combat from other games. The melee weapon and ranged weapon combat reminds me of the tactical/surgical strikes of combat in Mount & Blade. And Todd Howard openly states the wielding magic in a hand was heavily inspired by Bioshocks plasmids.

Read the full preview over at Game Informer

King Arthur: The Druids Expansion Review - Dragoneering

The Total War series has had very little competition over the years. The last contender was the awful Imperial Glory, which despite having some interesting ideas of the campaign game, failed miserably with real time battles. Enter Neocore and King Arthur: The Role Playing War Game. King Arthur was more than just a Total War clone, it had a mythological Arthurian setting with some unique concepts thrown in. A good attempt by a relatively unknown Hungarian company.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Under Pressure From Group - Some People Call Them Pressure Groups

Some people are pissed off with Activision. Heard that one yet? Specifically those that bought the PC and PS3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Apparently a pressure group in the UK called Gamer’s Voice, are calling out Activision for treating PC and PS3 owners as testers for an unfinished product. And I quote “ We do not accept however allowing entire sections of the PS3 and PC gaming community appearing to be used as game testers for an extended period after a game's release, yet being asked to pay for the privilege. This is not a tenable way to treat consumers of video games.”. Destructoids Jim Sterling agrees as he rightfully puts it “PC/PS3 users are expected to pay up to $60 for something that, frankly, wasn't f*cking good enough”. It seems a lot of the problems stem from the netcode of the game for these platforms. Has anyone experience wonkyness with Blops?

Source : Destructoid

Atom Zombie Smasher Demo Out Now

I like Blendo Games games. They are wacky and have an odd sense of humour. Atom Zombie Smasher is the third game by Blendo Games which is technically a tower defence game that has you evacuating survivors in cities from zombi…erm I mean zed, whatever those are. The demo is available now and you can get it here. It’s quite good, like all his previous games.

Direct 2 Drive Introduces PC Game Rentals

Direct 2 Drive introduced digital game rentals today on their store. For USD$5.00 you can rent select titles for 5 hours. They are starting off with 3 games, Silent Hill Homecoming, Divinity 2, and Grid(Grid is the only game available to Malaysians, the rest are region restricted). Sounds a bit pricey. I would have much preferred a full day access to a game rather than rushing through 5 hours. You can of course purchase the full game if you decide to(the USD5 will be added to the final purchase). While the pricing and time limit doesn’t make this sound like a deal, this is a first for the industry. I have no idea if this will pick up elsewhere and what it entails to digital distribution. Either way, we are finally seeing more interesting ways of consuming games digitally(the movie industry has moved in this direction for quite a while).

Source: Bigdownload

Rift PvP Trailer - The Player Is The Most Dangerous Game

Trion Worlds details the PvP elements in their upcoming MMORPG, Rift. I wrote a preview of the beta(when it was called Rift: Planes of Telara) and found the dynamic rift events to be very impressive. It looks like Rift is also putting a lot of effort into fleshing out PvP to be fun for the competitive players. I got in the next batch of beta, so maybe I’ll write an updated impression of it. If things have changed. Trailer after the jump…

Magicka Release Date Set In Stone - It’s Really Close

The light hearted action RPG game, Magicka will be released online on January 25th. That’s like in 4 days! It will be available at retail February 15th. Magicka is an action RPG which doesn’t take itself too seriously and features 4 player coop. Looks like a lot of fun. There are no classes, but you define your role by picking your skills and magic. It will also be available on XBOX live arcade. Magicka will be sold at USD$9.99. Check out the latest video interview below…

Beyond Black Mesa Indie Short Film Released

You might remember the old teaser trailer for a Half Life short film. The wait is over, Beyond Black Mesa is complete. It’s not based on any of the half life games(other than being set in the Half Life world) as the film makers wanted to tell their own creative story. You can watch it at the film makers official site. Or just click read more and view the embedded youtube player below…

Pocket Change - Happy Weekend! Discounts of The Week!

Sales post updated. This weeks got some pretty good stuff on Green Man Gaming. Also King Arthur, the strategy game from Neocore is on a discount due to the release of the Druids expansion. Europa Universalis III and Hear to The Throne extremely cheap on Steam due to release of the latest expansion, Divine Wind.  Check out these hot deals I found below...

Duke Nukem Forever Release Date Confirmed!

Duke Nukem Forever has finally got a solid release date. Duke will be out on May 3rd 2011. It’s real, and it’s not a dream. Will it be worth the wait? Probably not, but I’m glad the creators of the game will finally get to say they didn’t screw it all up. Also a reveal trailer has been released. Yeah reveal, of Duke for the first time…oh wait. Trailer below…

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II Retribution Gameplay Videos From THQ 2011 Event

Gametrailers has a slew of videos of Dawn of War II Retribution that is from a camera recording. Which means it’s not direct feed. Either way, this is the most I’ve seen of the game and the presenter demos quite a bit of the game. If you’ve been uncertain on what Retribution brings to the table, then watch these videos. I’ve not included the cutscene videos to avoid spoilers. Those are best left viewing when you play the game. Videos below…

Bytejacker The Game Out Now - Zombie Butt Kickin’

Hell, it’s about time! It’s been a while, but it’s finally here.The Bytejacker video game has gone live. For those that have no idea what Bytejacker is, it’s an indie game internet show on Revision 3. The fan made(Raymond Teo and his development studio secretbase) flash game, titled Bitejacker, features the shows host Anthony Carboni and former show camera guy Jon Riveara. You play as either of them and try to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Anomaly Warzone Earth Debut Trailer - Gameplay Videos Included For Clarity

Just what the heck is a reverse tower defence? It’s not some sort of wrestling move that’s for sure. Anomaly Warzone Earth by II bit Studios(Polish outfit made up of former CD Projekt people) is described as a ‘reverse tower defence’. Instead of building towers and defending against waves, you are the wave. You help your squad move through the city past the defences by placing down your commander abilities like smoke screen and heal. It does look very pretty and something about the graphics remind me of Command & Conquer quite a bit. They’ve released a new debut cinematic trailer. I’ve also included a 2 parter gameplay walkthrough which makes things clearer just what this game is about. Anomaly is also being developed for the iOS platforms. Check out the videos below…

Crusader Kings II Teaser Trailer - Raise Your Family With Good Values

Paradox Interactive’s Crusader Kings II is not due out this year(slated for 2011) but they’ve released a short teaser trailer that shows some in game footage of the game(note: it’s very early in development). Watch as they scroll through gorgeous 3D maps and view a multitude of information screens. Well okay, a trailer is never going to sell a Paradox game so let me give you a brief description of what Crusader Kings II is. It’s a medieval grand strategy game where you control a dynasty. From heirs, your lineage, the royal marriages with other nations and your lieges. Crusader Kings has always been about all the characters of the royal family throughout Europe and managing them(similar to what they did with EU: Rome). A sort of mix between RPG and grand strategy games. Teaser trailer after the jump…

Dead Space 2 Through The Eyes Of The Necromorph Trailer - No Zombies Here

EA’s Visceral Games goes through the different types of Necromorphs you can play as in the Dead Space 2 multiplayer mode. In what can only be described as the Left 4 Dead Versus mode for Dead Space 2, the Necromorphs are weaker but have special abilities like the Necro vision, the ability to see survivors erm…I mean Engineers through walls and other solid objects. Trailer below…

UPDATE Win A Chance To Go To London And Watch A Chelsea Match By Playing FIFA Online 2

UPDATE: Site has been updated and the rules are up. You'll need to play FIFA Online 2, get a Chelsea coin and then play the Open Sesame lucky draw on the site. Read how to play here. Here's the list of prizes you can win(which also includes the trip to London). Apart from the VIP pass to Stamford Bridge you can win Jerseys, Adidas bags and in game items.

EA announced today that Asian gamers who play FIFA Online 2 will have a chance to win a trip to London to watch the Chelsea vs Wigan match. Winners will also be given access to the Chelsea first team training session and a tour of Stamford Bridge. The competition will run from January to February across Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Since the competition is being called ‘Go Blue II’ my guess is that they will be picking 11 winners. Call it a hunch. According to the press release, players that play FIFA Online 2 will be able to ‘compete by collecting Chelsea coins and redeeming them for a chance to win prizes’. Sounds like there will be other prizes on offer. Stay tuned. Details and competition rules will be published soon on the FIFA Online 2 official site. I’ll update this post when more information is available.

The Witcher 2 Developer Diary 3 - Bad Ass’ism’

CD Projekt’s third developer diary video is out and they detail the characters they are creating in The Witcher 2. The developers talk about a bad ass elf, a ruthless politician and an evil mage. Plus the scale of the story has been blown up to encompass much bigger things. The video is in Polish with English subtitles. Video diary after the jump…

Commander: Conquest of The Americas Review - Colonising The New World & Making A Profit

Commander: Conquest of The Americas is the second entry for Nitro Games, the development studio responsible for the trading game, East India Company. Commander is an evolution of the gameplay from East India Company and introduces mechanics that I felt were sorely lacking in EIC, namely colonisation and building up your colony/town.

F.E.A.R 3 Divergent Coop Trailer - Mind Control Dudes!

F.E.A.R 3 developers Day 1 Studios explain the ‘divergent’ coop aspect of the upcoming sequel. Divergent meaning the two players have completely different set of skills/abilities. Using Fettel to take control of an AI looks cool. Hmmm but I must admit, the video looks a little janky. The levels look a little uninspired. F.E.A.R 3 is not due to be out till May 2010, so it probably still has unfinished bits. Coop trailer below…

King Arthur: The Druids Expansion Release Trailer - Man With Long White Beard Spotted

The druids is the newest expansion to the long named King Arthur: The Role Playing War Game from Neocore Games. It adds a completely new sandbox campaign with new units, heroes and improved diplomacy options. They are claiming it’s 30+ hours of gameplay. I’ll have a write up about it(might take sometime). It’s priced at USD$9.95 and you’ll need the base game as usual. Release Trailer below…

Civilization V Game Diary 3 - No Military Units

I currently seem to be stuck on backwater continent as I got a message stating that there were two unknown civilizations that entered the classical era. No one on my continent was in the classical age. Oh and just a couple turns in, at turn 57, I entered the classical era. This means I am technologically ahead of Elizabeth and Montezuma but I’m paying a price for it.

Dawn of Fantasy Debut Trailer - World Conquering MMORTS

Even before we’ve had one proper MMORTS, there are a couple of them under development. Can MMO concepts mix with an RTS? Well Reverie World Studios are giving it their own take of it with Dawn of Fantasy. It’s official site list an impressive list of features including realistic economic system, realistic weather and a fully 3D dynamic world map. It’s not all multiplayer though and will have two single player modes. It comes out on June 3rd. Debut Trailer below…

UPDATE Just New Games - Something Afoot At Good Old Games

UPDATE: I was wrong. It is indeed Police Quest and a Zork collection added to their catalogue. Fun times! Thanks gog for being...erm goggy.

Those wacky Gog.com guys are at it again. This time with this. The news on their site says that they will be putting up clues over the weekend. If you click on the link that they tell you not to click, you are taken to an ASCII page of gog.com with the police line. Hmmm I wonder what this is. Perhaps a major feature being added to the site. John Walker over at RPS guesses that it’s Police Quest. I’m not so sure. Why create an ASCII art of your site if the announcement is for a game? Keep an eye out on the site.

Portal 2 PC PS3 Cross Platform Play Confirmed

I don’t write a lot on console versions of games but this is too awesome not to write about. Destructoid posted a breaking news that PS3 owners can play with PC owners of Portal 2. On top of that, PS3 owners will get a FREE COPY of the PC version on Steam! Now that’s just madness. How come PC owners don’t get a PS3 free copy? I know I know, Sony wouldn’t be so pleased about that. Valve, coolest game development studio on the planet?

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Set In A Nordic Inspired Region

Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V Skyrim will be set in a Nordic inspired region according to a newly posted Gameinformer feature. The climate of the world and the look of the terrain will reflect this and it’ll often snow in Skyrim. Bethesda are dubbing the new engine the creation engine. They also went into detail on how they’ve improved upon the Radiant AI and you wont find AI just milling about in places. They’ll now do tasks they are set out to do like chopping wood, working in farms, or the mill. Also being used is Havoc Behavious technology that will allow for a more realistic animation transition for example, from an AI that is running to doing something else. You’ll also see AI working on something continuing to work on it while talking to you, occasionally glancing at you. The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim is set for a 11.11.11 release. Read the full Gameinformer preview here.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Retribution Multiplayer Beta Beginning Soon

THQ has announced that a multiplayer beta for Warhammer40K: Dawn of War Retribution, will go live on the 31st of January and end on 24th February. The beta will be open to anyone who has pre ordered Retribution on Steam on February 1st while it will then be opened to anyone who owns any Dawn of War game on Steam on February 8th. Retribution is the second standalone expansion to Relics Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 and will see 6 playable races in the single player campaign and some new multiplayer modes as well as the return of base building(to a certain degree). It’s also a Steamworks game and will not be using GFWlive(hallelujah!).

Minecraft Getting Some Love

Eskil Steenberg, creator of Love, a unique dynamic world MMO has confirmed that he’ll be helping Notch on making Minecraft prettier. According to an interview over at Eurogamer, he’s been asked to help Notch with some OpenGl graphics extensions. It’s good to see indies collaborating with each other. Hopefully this leads to more awesome things for Minecraft. As of date, Minecraft has sold 1 million copies and its popularity is still strong and doesn’t seem to be waning.

Total War: Shogun 2 Gamespot Video Demo

Kieron Gillen from Creative Assembly gives you the lowdown on Total War: Shogun 2 on Gamespot. More importantly there are pretty videos of the game. And it looks oh so pretty. I would have hoped for an actual demo of the game instead of a compilation of different recorded gameplay footage. Total War: Shogun 2 will be released on March 15th. Thanks to NapoleonTotalWarFG for uploading this on Youtube. Video below…