Dead Island Launch Trailer - Work With Your Crew... Crush Some Zombies

It feels like we saw the much talked about teaser CG trailer for Dead Island only a few months back(If i recall correctly, that trailer was out in February). And here we are, with the imminent release of the game, we at least now know how the game will play. It might not live up to the lofty emotional zenith of the games debut trailer but it still looks like it'll do coop first person shooter/brawler well. Are you getting Dead Island?(It's a USD$49.99 game) Dead Island releases on September 9th. Watch the launch trailer below...

From Dust First Play - This Isn't Populous

So I've been dabbling a little with this game. Despite the horrible DRM, and the terrible console controls, it's still a pretty good game. But USD$15?... I really don't know. You'll have to check it out for yourself. Watch the first play videos below...

More Hawken Prettiness - Desert Gameplay Trailer

If you've missed the previous story teaser trailer Adhesive released, you can view it here. Here's another video they've uploaded(thanks RPS) which is a recording of gameplay from a desert like level. Also there was a landmark challenge that required fans to take pictures with the I love Hawken printouts around famous landmarks and Petronas Twin Towers is in there! Bravo to whoever that did that. Video below...

The Binding of Isaac Trailer - It’s Disturbing… But Surprisingly Pleasing In A Way

Team Meat has released a trailer for the upcoming Binding of Isaac. It’s… well… Oh just watch the damn trailer. It’s not exactly cute… a little disturbing… did a voice in the background say kill everyone? Hmmm… I swear I heard that… Okay so Isaac isn’t exactly in the best mental state. But I’m hoping that It’ll be a heck of a game. The game will be out September. It’s a rogue like action game. Thanks again Yung, for pointing this out to me. Trailer below…

Batman Arkham City Still To Use Games For Windows Live

Warner today confirmed that the upcoming sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City will still be using Game For Windows Live as DRM. The much hated Microsoft’s answer to Steam has been notorious for being too inconvenient to PC gamers by forcing logins that last forever and just for being plain unintuitive. I would have thought with Games For Windows being relegated to XBOX live marketplace, the GFW live experiment might have been dead… I was wrong. Batman: Arkham City releases on October 18th for the PC, PS3 and XBOX 360.

Source: VG247

Dragon Age III Story Takes Epic To A Whole New Level

Bioware hinted that the story for Dragon Age III will center on the premise of saving the world from itself. Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, Executive Producer Mike Darrah, Art Director Matt Goldman, and writer David Gaider discussed the future of Dragon Age at a PAX panel. It was confirmed that in Dragon Age III, the world is embroiled in the war between Templars and Mages(well...it was obvious in the end of Dragon Age 2 that it would lead up to this). So in Dragon Age III, it will be about travelling around the world and making allies and bringing peace. There were hints that DA3 will introduce an all new protagonist with the possibility of meeting Hawke and the original game Grey Wardens. They also went on to talk a little about combat which they are tweaking for the upcoming DLC for DA2, Legacy, to make positioning more important... to find the right balance for DA3. Please make combat matter Bioware. RPGSite has written an extensive breakdown of the panel which you can read here.

Source: RPG Site

Counter Strike: Global Offensive Screenshots - Ancient Ruins & Dusty Corridors

Valve has released a bunch of new screenshots for the next iteration of Counter Strike. You might recognise some of the screens originating from a certain map. One is a map on an ancient ruin, the other a boxy and dusty battle to the death. Screens below...

Paradox Announces Warlock: Master of The Arcane

Paradox announced today a new turn based strategy game that is set for Q2 2012 release. Warlock: Master of The Arcane, set in the world of Ardania... That's the same setting as the Majesty games. It sounds like it will be a classic fantasy turn based strategy game with the player taking on the role of a great mage, building an empire and army to become....Warlock....Master of The Arcane!

Hawken Story Teaser Trailer - Something About The Future & A Lack Of Resources

Those guys over at Adhesive Games have released a new teaser trailer for Hawken, the Unreal Engine 3 powered mech combat game(also did I ever mention it looks visually stunning). This new teaser teases(sorry... couldn't come up with a better word) the story behind the game. Hawken will be a downloadable title, but no news on which digital distribution or price point yet. Story teaser trailer below...

Limbo Review - A Clever Puzzle Platformer

No press any button to start, no main menu, just a screen with what seems to be a boy sleeping on the ground. That's how Playdead's critically indie game, Limbo begins. It doesn't put gamey conventions like a menu screen or even scrolling text of a back story in your face. Instead, Limbo implores you to explore and take in the haunting and eerie world they've created.

This Week's Gaming - No Deus Ex For Me This Week

Without the big release this week, I'm stuck with my back log of games. The Software Boutique wont be getting stock of the game until after Hari Raya(something to do about transportation firms not working during the holiday week). I decided to go retail for Deus Ex simply because I don't want to wait downloading the entire game. Now I have to wait regardless...sigh...my luck

Star Wars The Old Republic Eternity Vault Trailer - What Evil Lies Within The Eternity Vault?

Bioware is back with a play through of Star Wars The Old Republic. This time they show a multi party raid on Planet Belsavis. Some sort of evil force has escape that threatens the galaxy and you go to Belsavis to investigate. Someone or something called the Infernal One. Watch the video below...

Valve's Gabe Newell Says Steam Needs More Time & Expertise To Look Into Game Trading

If there ever was an argument about one of the things that Steam DOESN'T have, a lot of people would probably point out that Steam does not allow people to trade owned games for new ones(or from others). This makes it different from owning a physical disc(which at the moment is also getting more difficult to trade your PC version of discs since many of them require some sort of online account). Gabe Newell told Eurogamer "We need to hire an economist, because we keep bumping up into these issues,” he said. “You’re starting to look at weird issues like currency and inflation and productivity and asset values and liquidity of asset categories. We just wish we were smarter about this stuff. We’re reading frantically. We’re brushing up, and all we’re doing is convincing ourselves that we’re more stupid. Half the time people are saying, oh, well, illiquid assets inherently have a penalty, so this argues for trade-ability, that we’re essentially becoming a Russian currency model in the 1970s. Everybody races off to try to read papers on the implications of that"

Pocket Change - Summer Is Nearly Over

Final week of the summer sale on GamersGate, there's a few good deals over there. Steam has Borderlands and Counter Strike series on a massive sale in case... 1) you missed Gearbox's first person take on the Diablo lootfest formula 2) you have been living under a rock and have not played one of the most played games to ever exist. Deals of the week below...

Heroes of Newerth 2.0 Garena Impression - A Rage Inducing Game

Hey gamers, Heroes of Newerth 2.0 recently went through some changes. With a new picking interface that's similar to League of Legends, as well as new heroes and a new announcer. Regardless of the fact that HoN for SEA being two patches behind compared to the international client, Garena's HoN 2.0 still feels as addictive as ever. Have fun watching this quick impressions video below on what it's like in the game after the recent patch...

Razer Reveals New Gaming Laptop - The Razer Blade

Razer who has been teasing us for the entire week with the whole PC Gaming Is Not Dead teaser site has unveiled its secrets. It's a brand new gaming laptop. They are calling it the first true gaming laptop, using their unique user interface, which I must assume was something they worked for the Razer Switchblade. The Razer Blade has a Core i7-2640M 2.8Ghz processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM, and an NVIDIA GT555M graphics cards which has a dedicated 2GB GDDR5 RAM. Sounds...pricey. You can check out the tech specs here. Razer is working in partnership with Hewlett Packard on this one and obviously no price point given for this laptop yet. Check out the preview video and press release below...

Torchlight II To Be Priced At USD$20

Runic Games today announced that Torchlight II, the sequel to one of the best value for money, Torchlight will be priced at USD$20. Sadly, no solid release date for this yet. Torchlight II was supposed to be out on July, but has been delayed to... when its done. The fact that they have announced the price point augurs well for the game though. Release shouldn't be long now. Torchlight II will support LAN and online coop up to 4 players(there are four new classes in Torchlight II). It's also way...way more bigger with a huge over world with a tonne of different quest areas. Oh yeah... best of all... you can play single player offline. LOL that's a dig on Diablo III.

Source: Joystiq

Counter Strike: Global Offensive Debut Trailer - Bringing Counter Strike Into The New Millennium

Valve revealed the debut trailer for Counter Strike: Global Offensive on GTTV. Gabe Newell was on the show to talk a little about the game. They're really making an effort to make the game playable on the console. Of course they will have to use a controller but the PS3 will be able to support keyboard and mouse... although I wouldn't know why would you want to plug those and turn your PS3 to essentially a computer. Yes... there is cross platform play. In addition to the debut trailer, you can watch the episode with Gabe here. I've also included an IGN video preview of the game below. Feast your eyes on the videos below...

XCOM E3 2010 Gameplay Demo - Looking Better But Still A Shooter

2K has released a narrated gameplay demo of XCOM, which was the demo given during E3(now, all of us can see what the press saw behind closed doors). XCOM has had quite a design makeover the first time it was shown at E3(last year). While the latest trailer for the game makes it look more like a typical first person shooter, this demo shows a bit more of the tactical elements of the game... it even has time units ala Fallout 3'ish. But make no mistake it's still a shooter at its core. Watch the gameplay walkthrough below...

Rage Gearhead Vault Trailer - Guy With Gas Tank Explodes

The release date for age edges closer day by day. Rage will be available for the PC, PS3 and XBOX360 on October 4th. This new trailer shows some new type of enemies that are armoured and a post apocalyptic version of Rocket Man. Trailer below...

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingard Beta Gameplay Footage

Red Orchestra 2 has been delayed to September 13th. Here's some gameplay footage of a beta version that shows off what to expect of the game(thanks VE3D). There might be some bugs since this is an unfinished version of the game. Gameplay footage below...

Serious Sam 3: BFE Trailer - Features Quotes & Screaming Kamikaze Thingies

Croteam has released a new trailer of their upcoming Serious Sam game, Serious Sam 3: BFE. The trailer shows a bunch of enemies being blown to smithereens with all manner of weapons. Just a reminder, there's a Serious Sam Steam sale going on with all the previous games discounted 66% each. If you pre order Serious Sam 3, you get an 85% discount on these games. Serious Sam 3 releases on October 19th. Trailer below...

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Demo Impression Video

It's rare to find a good third person action game on the PC these days. Usually, what you get are silly half assed attempts at bringing console games to the PC. Other times, they are so bad, it's like watching middle aged men, bare ass naked... killing everything on sight through a Chinese city. Relic's Space Marine demo isn't any of that, in fact, it's probably the best console porting/third person action shooter/hack and slash this year. Watch the video below and tell me if it's worth reviewing people!

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection Confirmed For The PC

This isn't the latest Mortal Kombat game that was released on the consoles, but a collection(hence collection in the title) of MK1 to 3 which were arcade games from the days of yore(1 and 2 had PC versions, I'm not too sure about UMK3). Confirmed in a tweet, Mortal Kombat will get a Steam release(not confirmed if it will be available elsewhere online) and will have added online multiplayer. They say it's going to be released on August 31st so if you've been dying for some bloody old school fighting game on your PC, you wont have long to wait. Thanks to Yung for pointing this news out.

Battlefield 3 Team Death Match Mode Limited to 24 Players On The PC

Not a major news but DICE announced that team death match will allow a maximum of 24 players on the PC. The main game modes like Conquest and Rush will support 64 players though. Death Match isn't a huge feature in Battlefield but I'm sure some people would have loved it. No reason was given to this player limit. If I had to guess, it has to do about balance. Team death match was a mode I avoided as much as I could. I suppose this was a mode that was popular with the competitive crowd.

Source: BF3Blog

Portal 2 Short Film - There Is No Escape

Portal 2: No Escape is an independent live action short film that has been 1 and a half years in the making. Directed by Danny Trachtenberg from The Totally Rad Show. Check out the film below... It's pretty awesome and well made.

Aliens: Colonial Marines Action Trailer - First Real Glimpse Of The Game

Gamespot has an exclusive trailer for the game up on the site. The trailer shows stuff that you'd expect from an Aliens game... the tension and suspense...the killings... the bullets... but in the end...the killings. Watch the trailer below...

Metro Last Light 13 Minute Gameplay Demo - Watch It In Its Full Glory

Remember the E3 demo that THQ posted in a three part series? Yeah...I tell ya the lighting...top notch. They now released the full demo in a single 13 minute video. It's got some bits in between that wasn't shown in the previous video. Feast your eyes on this...

Ubisoft Says They Will Be Removing From Dust DRM

Ubisoft has stated on the official forums that they will be releasing a patch for From Dust to remove the always online DRM that they said wasn't going to be included with the game. Glad they decided to do this... now can you please add graphics and control customisation to your game? The patch is slated to be out in two weeks time. So yeah... you'll just have to wait.

Source: VG247

Sword of The Stars II Opening Cinematic - Vengeful Giant Squids

Paradox has released the opening cinematic to the upcoming 4X strategy game, Sword of The Stars II. Take note...giant squids... don't ever cross them. The Lords of Winter are back... and they aren't happy. The opining cinematic is done in engine, and yeah, a strategy game that looks pretty. The game is due to be out on 20th September. Watch the trailer below...

Blizzard's StarCraft II DoTA Mod Rebooted & Chopped To Bits - Okay I'm Exaggerating The Last Bit

Blizzard designer Jonny Ebbert(if you remember him, he is formerly from Relic, worked on Dawn of War II) stated that the DOTA mod that was showcased at last years BlizzCon using the editing tool of StarCraft has been 'flattened'. He said to Eurogamer that "What we showed at the original BlizzCon, we've completely flattened it since then and completely rebooted it because we just thought, there's more we can question on this". What he means is that it's probably being streamlined to meet Blizzard's quality bar or modern day RTS standards and make it more accessible to newcomers. It also means it's probably not going to make it this year. It looks likely that the DOTA mod will launch together with StarCraft 2 Heart of The Swarm which is assumed to be out sometime next year(2012). I'm not going to make a more accurate estimation... simply because... It's Blizzard.

Source: Eurogamer

What's Razer Up To? PC Gaming Is Not Dead

Something is up with Razer, the PC gaming peripheral brand. They are teasing the PC gaming audience with a viral video that hints that there is going to be a reveal this coming Friday. The website PC Gaming Is Not Dead makes a call to arms to PC gamers and to reject shoddy console ports(tell me about this one). Hard to imagine how a new peripheral can change the fact that bad console ports will exist as long as publishers are half hearted towards the PC as a serious gaming platform. Razer has the Switchblade announced but as a prototype device for mobile PC gaming... I doubt that's it. Will be keeping an eye out on Friday for the reveal.

This Week's Gaming - What Has Pirates, Zombies & Space Have In Common?

Indie game week as I await one of my most anticipated games this year(there's quite a few of those), Deus Ex Human Revolution. So I'm going to be playing SPAZ and From Dust. No idea what those are? see below...

End of Nation GamesCom 2011 Trailer & Presentation

Since it's announcement that End of Nations will be free to play, I think this has certainly gone up a few ladders in the anticipated games list. I mean surely competition is pretty rough these days and an online MMO RTS that requires a sub is always going to be a tough act. New trailer for the game and a 20 minute presentation of the game by German site allvatar.com. Watch the videos below...

Star Wars The Old Republic Huttball Gameplay Trailer

Bioware released yet another one of those developer commentary video of what's called the Huttball. It's a sort of sport that is organised by the Hutts and can be used to gain influence, fame and fortune. It's an interesting twist to the usual PvP content. Watch the video below...

Pocket Change - The Witcher 2 40% off?! MADNESS

Steam is having a Warhammer weekend, with all the Warhammer games 50% off. I recommend Chaos Rising for the single player and Retribution for the multiplayer. If you don't mind playing an older game, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War Dark Crusade is highly regarded as one of the best in the series. Also The Witcher 2 gets a 40% discount... for a new game?... Ridiculous... get it if you've been thinking about buying the game. Discounts below...

Dragon Age 3 To Find The Right Balance Between Origins & DA2 Gameplay Style

If you were one of the people who bought Dragon Age 2 after enjoying Dragon Age: Origins a lot and found it disappointing, Bioware is promising it's going to learn from fan reaction and improve make sure Dragon Age 3 caters to you. Ray Muzyka told PC Gamer "The team is going to have some things that are going to surprise both sets of fans, both core fans and new fans with a marriage of the best from both games. One of the core values of Bioware is that we take feedback really seriously, and we know that the core fans who were expecting more Dragon Age Origins – we have to respond to that – we’re not willing to ignore that, we’re going to take that head on. We also have an obligation to our new fans, the ones who were surprised and delighted with some new approaches and accessibility in terms of action and combat.". He went on to say that it is important for Bioware to learn from feedback and respond to that by 'marrying' them(the feedback) into their games. I thought DA2 was good(not great). Had a pretty interesting story but I hated the combat system. You can read my review for Dragon Age 2 here. So... do you think Bioware can bring back the spirit of Dragon Age Origins and Baldur's Gate back into this franchise?

Source: PC Gamer

Assassin's Creed Revelations GamesCom Demo Walkthrough

Ubisoft did a single player demo of the game which shows some of the stuff you can outfit Ezio with. You can watch a multiplayer demo here. This demo show the use of grenades and other gadgets. Check out the video below...

From Dust Apparently Has Ubisoft's Always On DRM Despite Pre Release Claims That It Wont

Ubisoft screwed up big time here. Reports are surfacing that Ubisoft's god game lite/puzzle game From Dust which released on Steam yesterday has Ubisoft's dreaded always on DRM. You'll need to play the game connected to the internet(despite it being a single player game). Ubisoft claimed that From Dust would require a one time online activation prior to release... and the product page for From Dust confirmed this. But customers have been reporting that the game boots them out when there is no internet connection. The problem doesn't stop there though. Customers are also complaining that the game is a bad port with anti aliasing not working despite being there in the options. Steam has starting offering refunds for customers who aren't happy with the game. I just bought the game yesterday and haven't finished downloading it. I'll be checking it out today... but if you have a low tolerance for a bad console port, you might want to hold on to your money until they have 'finished' porting the game proper for the PC.

Crusader Kings II GamesCom 2011 Trailer - William vs Harold

As you can probably guess by now, I love Paradox games. So it is understandable that I'm quite excited about Crusader Kings II. Paradox has released another trailer for the game(that is due to be out early 2012). I've always thought trailer for Paradox games have been so so(you got to understand... the sheer scope and breadth of their games don't translate well to a trailer...it takes time for cool things to happen)., but this one is pretty decent since it tells a story about a king and a pretender. History is at play here. Perhaps they could do better with voice narration.  Watch the trailer below...

WildStar Announced - An MMORPG With A New Theme

Carbine Studios together with NCSoft announced WildStar, a new MMORPG that aims to 'reinvent' the genre. It's a sci fi MMO that has some pretty interesting classes such as the explorer, settler and scientist. You'll be rewarded for doing what you class does best(ie explorers for exploring, settlers for building life etc). It has a cartoony animated style. You can register for the beta here. There's A LOT of MMOS. I wonder if there is space for so many of them considering most MMO players don't play too many of them(most stick to one or two). Everyone is aiming at attracting WoW players who are tired of same old WoW.  Is the MMO market getting too saturated? No release date for WildStar yet.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim To Use Steamworks

Bethesda announced on twitter that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be using Steamworks. This would mean that all version no mater where you buy it from will require Steam. My Steam folder is getting increasing big... need to do some spring cleaning of my hard disk and tranfer Steam to a newer, bigger hard disk. Skyrim releases on November 11th.

Anno 2070 GamesCom 2011 Trailer - Exploit Resources Under Water

Been a while since I've heard about this one. Ubisoft showed a new trailer of the game at GamesCom 2011. This trailer reveals that there will be underwater cities in the future. Blimey... as someone who can't swim... that makes me....nervous. Anno 2070 is releasing Q4 2011. Watch the trailer below...

DOTA 2 The International Tournament Replays Up - Malaysian Team In Lower Bracket

Today is quarter finals day and MUFC(Malaysia) is in the loser bracket versus nevo. All the best to them. You can watch the replays from the official site or you can get them on youtube. Not all replays uploaded yet(the Malaysian teams ones aren't up yet), but they will be up soon(hopefully).

Assassin's Creed Revelations GamesCom 2011 Trailer - Ezio/Altair

Ubisoft released this rather awesome trailer for Assassin's Creed Revelations. It's revealing in the sense that it flips between Ezio and Altair. Super cool trailer. In case you were hiding in a remote location that no news could get to you, Ubisoft revealed a while back *SPOILERS* that while you mainly play as Ezio, you get the opportunity to play as Altair but the twist is that... Okay I'm not going to spoil this(but if you read previews of the game, you probably already know this... but whatever). Check out the rather slick trailer below...

War of Roses Announced - From The Developers Of Lead & Gold

Paradox revealed the top secret project they have been working with Fatshark(Lead & Gold) on. War of Roses is a team based multiplayer focused medieval combat game. Think Mount & Blade but built around a fun multiplayer back bone. What's unique about this medieval combat game is that it is 'CODified' ie it has unlocks and avatar progression. I like games like this... but we'll have to wait and see some actual gameplay footage. Watch the announcement trailer below...

CryEngine 3 SDK Now Available For Free

For non commercial use that is. Crytek has done the wise thing and released the SDK(that's Software Development Kit) for CryEngine 3(the engine that powers Crysis 2) for free. Certainly Epic and Valve has seen the benefit of releasing free dev tools which modders can use to make games which in turn can become successful games on their own. Fancy yourself a game designer? You can get a hold of the CryEngine 3 SDK here. Currently it is not available just yet... but very soon.

DOTA 2 The International Tournament Live Stream Is Live

But at this moment of this posting... it's temporarily down. Not sure when it'll be back up again, hopefully soon. The first game is IG vs Ehome(happening right now). You can watch the live stream here and get a taste of DOTA 2.

Mass Effect 3 GamesCom 2011 Squad Leader Trailer

Shepard kicks butt in this trailer... but your universe saving squad ain't invincible. You'll have to be tactical in your approach(at least that's the intention). Mass Effect 3 releases on March 9th 2012. View the squad leader trailer below...

King Arthur II GamesCom 2011 Trailer - Features Dragons

If you liked NeoCore's take on the Total War style strategy game, you must be hotly anticipating the sequel to King Arthur. They've released a new trailer for GamesCom 2011. It features dragons and other flying beasties. I hope they improve on the game balance and the overall enjoyment of the campaign rather than just do a face lift/add new units sequel(which they haven't talked much about gameplay improvements yet... hopefully we'll get more details from GamesCom).You can view it below...