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System Shock 2 on GoG.com

http://theplayvault.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Shodan_SystemShock.jpg

Well, I thought it was an eternal joke, much like Duke Nukem Forever never coming out. Proven wrong yet again, GoG.com has announced through Rock Paper Shotgun and a teaser on their website that System Shock 2 will get a full "digital collector's edition" release. This means a full soundtrack, design docs, an Interview with Ken Levine, among other goodies.

Being one of my Top 5 PC games of all times, I really have to advertise this whole deal. System Shock 2 is a bit like Bioshock, but with much more of a PC slant. This means stats you must level up, an inventory system, and intense exploration of each level. Not only a shooter, but more of a space survival horror game,... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 02/13/2013 at 01:48pm

I have yet to play this game, so this is definitely welcome news.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/13/2013 at 03:18pm

Wow, I will be checking it out when it comes out for sure. Didn't really see this one coming, welcomed news.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/13/2013 at 04:39pm

Thanks for the heads up. Take my money, GoG!

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/13/2013 at 05:14pm

This is indeed good news. I'm excited.

Will_Owens Post Author wrote on 02/14/2013 at 12:58am

This is the best press release they've had ever, I think. They usually botch their huge announcements and they just let this one out quickly and quietly. Works much better than what they've done in the past.

Will_Owens Post Author wrote on 02/14/2013 at 11:52am

Well, it's out now if any of you have a desire to be a cool person.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/14/2013 at 04:41pm

Done! I actually do feel a little more cool now...

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Interview with Game Designer Kevin Wilson

jdodson: The last time we talked you dropped the news you were leaving Fantasy Flight and going freelance. I wonder how things have been going for you since we talked?

Kevin Wilson: Things have been going quite well for me so far. I might have as many as 6 new games out this year, depending on production times and if my 2 unsold games get picked up soon. I've also managed to get my LLC (limited liability company) set up, started a blog, and put together a website for my company. Money's still tight, as I expected while getting started, but I'm beginning to feel reasonably confident that I'm going to be able to make it as a freelancer in the long run.

jdodson: You are... Read All

Brawl Available Right Now in Patch 1.0.7

"For those who wish to test their mettle against fellow Nephalem, your time has come. Players will now be able to battle one another in a new zone designed specifically for this style of combat called "The Scorched Chapel." This zone can be accessed by speaking with Nek the Brawler in any of the four Act hubs, and supports 2 to 4 players in a Free-For-All format."

Been really interested in Brawling coming to Diablo III and as such @panickedthumb and I updated our games and headed in to BRAWL just a bit ago! I came to the fight with the level 56 Witch Doctor and he had a level 60 Monk. His Monk kicked me into the dirt each battle hands down. Still, it was fun to enter... Read All

The Showdown Effect (Beta) - impressions

Arrowhead Game Studios, the guys that brought us Magicka, are giving us an altogether different experience and a chance to replay our favorite '80s cinematic action sequences in The Showdown Effect, published by Paradox Interactive. Up to 8 players involved in Solo and team games can join in a mix of 4 different game modes, each customizable to host preferred rule sets (e.g. swords only). Fight with ranged or melee weapons, and even throw in a little kung-fu action, if you like. Rewards are unlocked with points earned based on performance in a match. Unlockables are mostly cosmetic, comprised of skins for weapons and character attire, with the exception of the weapon... Read All Arrowhead Game Studios, the guys that brought us Magicka, are giving us an altogether different experience and a chance to replay our favorite '80s cinematic action sequences in The Showdown Effect, published by Paradox Interactive. Up to 8 players involved in Solo and team games can join in a mix of 4 different game modes, each customizable to host preferred rule sets (e.g. swords only). Fight with ranged or melee weapons, and even throw in a little kung-fu action, if you like. Rewards are unlocked with points earned based on performance in a match. Unlockables are mostly cosmetic, comprised of skins for weapons and character attire, with the exception of the weapon types, which are pretty standard pistol/shotgun/rpg fare. Simple, and effective. There is also leveled character progression, but no details on what that affords just yet.

The charm of this game comes from the individual character personalities - action heroes from different genres - expressing themselves in exclaimed, cliched one-liners while dusting opponents in all manner of breakneck repertoire. In Showdown Mode, environments are affected at the end of the 5 minute round to reflect the "showdown", a sudden-death phase of kill or be killed, leaving only one standing as the world falls in ruin behind you. For awesome, indeed. The beta includes two levels - a fish market in Neo Tokyo, and a medieval castle - cut from the two main environments, which appear to be the larger Neo Tokyo and Medieval landscapes. Interactive to a degree: glass shatters as you dive through windows, elevators can take you between floors, and weapon pickups are scattered all around, for improvisation. The games description references that "four levels across two different environments" will be available in the full game, so if you are in the beta, and you like what you see, expect twice as much of exactly that. Announced game modes so far include free-for-all (Showdown mode) and team elimination. Dev diary videos seem to indicate testing with a capture-the-flag type game mode, which I would love to see.

When it comes down to what makes or breaks a platformer, its usually the control mechanics. Movement here is fluid and precise; a real sense of tangible footing, and the timing in your responses is trustworthy, barring latency. Maneuverability within The Showdown Effect quickly becomes a natural reflex, freeing you up to focus on turning foes into headless, limbless victims, like extras in a Tarantino film, in the all glory of a John McTiernan film. Targeting these poor souls is a matter of precision as well. The reticle has to be on target, not behind or in front, otherwise it's a no-hit. Takes a little getting used to, but ultimately satisfying. This would also seem to deny any support for gamepads.

One cool little feature is integrated Twitch.tv streaming, to premiere to your hordes of adoring fans just how you get it done. No third party software required.

Really, the only frustration that I've come across in the ten hours I've logged is latency issues, which are unavoidable. Granted, this is still beta, but even at this stage of the process, I don't regret the money I dropped to join in. You can participate by pre-ordering on the Steam page or at the official website:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/204080/
http://theshowdowneffect.com

Prices are $9.99 for the standard edition, $19.99 for deluxe edition, both come with cool extras. According to developers, there is no option yet to upgrade from standard to deluxe, but it sounds like they are trying to work something out. The Showdown Effect is due out March 2013.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/13/2013 at 12:01am

I totally dig how the trailer used the voice of the guy that did lots of action movie trailers in the 80's and 90's.

Is this multi-player only or does it have some sort of Single Player component as well? I like the action movie brawler feel, its really cool. Since I love grisly action films, this feels familiar :D

The Twitch native integration is a totally awesome idea as these kinds of multi-player games will be all over Twitch anyway and taking out the middle man is a nice feature. In fact, I hope to see more of this come out in the future. That or some kind of in game video export or something.

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 02/13/2013 at 05:41am

It will be primarily multiplayer, but the devs said they are playing with ideas that give the sense of a single player experience in specific game modes. Sounds like an interesting challenge.

I never gave Twitch much of a chance until recently. Now I'm surprised more games haven't implemented this as a feature. I'm hooked.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/13/2013 at 03:16pm

Thats a good way to approach it. Even UT3 had a single player of sorts, it was just a story wrapped up in UT3 matches. Still fun.

Twitch is interesting. Right now its hard for me to get over certain channels "Wacky DJ" mentality. I love humor and fun, but sort of left 90's radio shock personalities and with bigger Twitch people they seem to be coming back. Beyond that, its fun to watch people play games I am not thinking about too often.

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Stardew Valley, A Retro Community Farming RPG

When I first saw the video for Stardew Valley I was excited. A retro styled farming game focusing on the local community, RPG elements and featuring *drumroll* 4 player co-op? Yes please. Since Harvest Moon I haven't seen much surface that advances this kind of game unless you count disappointments like Farmville, which I do not.

The folks behind Stardew Valley released a video showcasing more of the 4 player co-op and it looks epic and you should watch it right now:
http://youtu.be/FJggZec6qqo

In a world featuring the next Call of Duty shooter and game sequels that go to 11, its nice to see a game less world cataclysmically epic and something a bit more simple. Don't get... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/12/2013 at 05:46am

Voted "yes" for this a little while ago. I could totally go for some peaceful co-op about now.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/12/2013 at 06:15pm

I agree. Totally want to cut down bushes Zelda style and tend to my farm. Its pretty much what I do in Minecraft for the most part. No huge ambitions to build the Pyramids, just like tending my farm and such.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/13/2013 at 12:36am

You had me at retro community farming RPG.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/13/2013 at 01:10am

Totally :)

The developers agreed to an interview, if you have any questions you want asked put them here and ill ship them over.

Planning on sending the questions tomorrow!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/13/2013 at 06:13pm

This obviously is a take on the whole Harvest Moon series, but that scene in the cave kind of looks a little secret of mana-ish. You should ask what games kind of games they were inspired by and/or hoped to emulate while making this one. :)

Also, the video showed off quite a bit of combat. (Is that an orc at 1:24?) But I noticed the list of skills they mentioned don't seem to relate at all to combat. Will combat be a major part of the game, and if so, how will your character improve their fighting ability?

As far as the co-op goes, can they provide some more details about how that will be handled? Will co-op work over a LAN or will it be internet only? Will the other players just be dropped into your town as visitors or will you all exist within the same town?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/13/2013 at 08:02pm

I haven't researched it at all, but I'm wondering if there are any story elements, or adventure objectives.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/13/2013 at 09:27pm

Ill add that to my list, thanks guys!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/14/2013 at 01:22am

Ok added your stuff to the list, shipping it off later tonight or tomorrow morning.

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Ultima Underworld (No Ultima Underworld tag!)

http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/10/Ultima-Underworld-The-Stygian-Abyss-3.jpg

Well, since I haven't been able to play much for www.backlogkiller.com I thought I would just write something short and sweet about Ultima Underworld here. Ultima Underworld is one of the most original and revolutionary PC titles to come out in the early 90's and really set the stage for many modern titles. First designed as a complete dungeon diving simulation and later combined with the Ultima universe, Ultima Underworld puts you in the role of the Avatar who is now wrongly accused of kidnapping. Forced to prove your innocence, you are thrown into the Stygian Abyss to rescue the duke's daughter.

Beginning with nothing more than the clothes on your back, you are forced... Read All

Skyrim High Resolution Texture Pack Update

"In a continued effort to support our PC fanbase, we’ve released a Steam update to Skyrim’s (free) HD Texture Pack. In addition to high resolution textures in the main game, the update adds improved textures for Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and the newly-released Dragonborn.

Before you download, make sure your PC has the horsepower to support it. Make sure your system requirements exceed Skyrim’s recommended specs before attempting to install, and that your PC has Windows Vista/7, a minimum of 4GB of system RAM, and a DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with at least 1 GB of RAM and the latest drivers."

Its pretty crazy how large game updates are getting. I... Read All

Heart of the Swarm: Ways to Play

Blizzard released a video showing off the new UI for Heart of the Swarm and how you can go about playing the game. Starting with training, to playing with bots the game works to ease you in to getting you in the game.

Very excited to see this drop next month!

RAGE Tool Kit drops today

https://d1ys1uetzexz61.cloudfront.net/bethblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/RageSplashWindow.png

If you have the bandwidth for a whopper of a file, 35 GB, you can download the tools id used to create RAGE and its expansion, The Scorchers. What kind of mods do you hope to see?

http://www.bethblog.com/2013/02/08/rage-tool-kit-available-today-on-steam/

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/08/2013 at 07:57pm

This is totally awesome. I read the PDF they released as part of it, 35 gigs of rad.

So tempted to get this and try my hand at building a crazy level. Hmmmm.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/08/2013 at 08:50pm

Sweet, I've never even played RAGE and I think it would be fun to play around with their tools

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/08/2013 at 09:59pm

All I ever want for game mods is co op, online gameplay. Co op makes shooters great. Otherwise, I think they're mostly merely good.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/08/2013 at 11:30pm

The co-op in Rage is really awesome. Play it often with my friends now. Legends of the Wasteland++. Got almost no attention but its pretty dope fly.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/09/2013 at 07:01am

I didn't even know Rage had co-op. I have it for Xbox, but barely put much time into it. I'd go back for co-op, though!

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/09/2013 at 09:43pm

Yep, split-screen co-op. You have to beat the first level to go on to the next and it has varying difficulty levels. Console and PC versions are good.

da_gaymer wrote on 02/10/2013 at 01:44am

Awesome indeed! Just finished a new playthrough on Ultra Nightmare for the challenge and, of course, the Scorchers missions.
Who didn't like Rage in the first place, will probably not change his mind because of this DLC, but I really, really recommend it to everyone who enjoyed the base game. Fights are intense on Ultra Nightmare, and the new levels come once again with a tight atmosphere. From the lovely welcome by Sarah at the beginning, over a second episode of Mutant Bash TV to the heart of the Scorchers' base where they hide their mysterious construction, this was just great.
Just a bid sad when it was already over, then. However, that doesn't the mean there's a lack of additional content. Also comes with the nailgun as a new weapon (everybody loves nailguns) and two more minigames (made a couple thousand dollars in 15 minutes by playing poker). And there's even a little surprise in Wellspring for you when you finish the last mission. A very good and fair priced piece of DLC.
Hopefully, this tool kit will bring us more like this. I wouldn't expect any more official DLCs, but maybe there are some diligent fans who deliver more action in the Wasteland. :P Might even give it a shot myself I can free up 35GB and find some time.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/10/2013 at 01:59am

Are you guys mostly playing it on PC then?

da_gaymer wrote on 02/10/2013 at 03:16am

Although Rage also works well on consoles, PC all the way. :P

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2013 at 06:24pm

I pre-ordered Rage on the PS3 when I was still primarily playing games on that. Its a GREAT game but a few downsides to playing it on the PS3 saw me migrate to the PC version to beat it. First off saves. Loading and saving take way too long and the game doesn't autosave for you when you enter/exit a room all the time. It only auto-saves when you go to some plot area. No quick save option on console means too much waiting.

The game is a precision shooter to its really hard to be good on the console, or at least I couldn't snipe worth a damn. With a mouse I headshot all the time. Borderlands and Borderlands 2 were better on console in this respect, I imagine they do some automagic aim or something.

The game also looks WAY more pretty on the PC. Its one of the best looking games on a console, but you are missing out if you can't play it on the PC its absolutely beautiful.

In the end, its a great console port with a few flaws that had nothing to do with the overal game perse. It was just a better experience on the PC imo. That said, the console version DOES have legends of the wasteland split-screen which is fun as hell if you have friends over. So buying it on console wasn't a total wash and its not too expensive on the used shelf if you had friends over and wanted some shooter mayhem.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/11/2013 at 05:34pm

It's just couch co op or is it online as well? Split screen....

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/11/2013 at 05:35pm

Console version of Legends of the Wasteland is split-screen couch co-op. PC version is online or LAN.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/11/2013 at 05:36pm

Actually the console version does support online Legends of the Wasteland too now that I think about it.

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Interview with Trevor Longino of GOG.com

GOG.com is a cool digital games store focusing on getting great DRM free games in the hands of gamers for awesome prices. I have been a fan of the site because it really distinguishes itself as a purveyor of classic games and a sort of digital archivist of gaming culture and history. You can totally see that in the way they curate the space behind such amazing works as Baldurs Gate and Simcity 2000. Recently I dropped my friends at GOG.com a line and they were amicable enough to answer some of my questions. The interview goes into rad-territory covering the Indie Games explosion, Linux, Age of Empires 2 and Star Wars. Yeah, apparently the people GOG.com think about... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 02/08/2013 at 06:10pm

I feel like I'm alone in thinking that the Lost finale was pretty good.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/08/2013 at 06:42pm

Still need to watch Lost, its on my Nerd list of shame still. I have some friends really into Lost and they keep asking me to watch it.

:D

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/08/2013 at 08:37pm

I try to not ask too much, as I don't want to drive you away from Lost lol.

I liked the ending of the series too, you're not alone!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/09/2013 at 06:59am

Good interview! Love me some GoG.com!

I tried to get my friends to throw down on the idea of Disney buying Lucasarts/Lucasfilms, and I got nothing but "well, we'll see...". Now with this announcement of Abrams directing, I'm personally thrilled, not because I think he's a god, but I trust that he'll take good care of it. However, I am worried that he won't be able to make it visually distinctive from his Trek movies. The only other people that I would rather have direct, at this time, are either Joss Whedon or Christopher Nolan.

On Lost, I didn't care for the ending, and not in its explanation, but in it's execution. I blame Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for that. That was their baby, and I feel like they just gave up at the end. Probably not the case, but that's how it came across to me.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/11/2013 at 06:51am

@scrypt I think he will be able to make it stand out. Remember that in ep IV - VI it was a pretty dirty world. Star Trek has always been pretty germ free, Star Wars... well until the prequels was a pretty dingy, dirty galaxy. Since JJ is a __HUGE__ Star Wars guy I imagine he won't forget this. I don't imagine we will see much sparkle cam/shaky cam, I think/hope he will make different choices there.

Will_Owens wrote on 02/11/2013 at 03:12pm

That interview is pretty rad. I rate GoG above Steam for me because of their extras and better customer service. I guess the smaller scope helps, though.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 02/11/2013 at 03:30pm

Glad to hear that GoG doesn't focus on their competition as an obstacle to be overcome, but instead focuses on improving their own product. I like GoG because their love for the same games I grew up with (The Tex Murphy Series, the original Unreal, Phantasmagoria) is evident in the packaging: soundtracks, manual scans, additional images bundled right alongside the binary blob of reminiscence.

Also, many of the early DOS titles utilize DOSBox, so it's not difficult to adapt them to running under Linux. The GoG team has already done most of the hard work in configuring EMS, XMS, soundcards and the like. So, the configuration for the game takes a few tweaks and works like a charm.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/11/2013 at 05:05pm

bean, not sure if you're aware of this: http://www.gogonlinux.com/

Not official, but you sign into this app, and it downloads your games and configures them for running under Linux. A meager list of supported games so far, but still interesting.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 02/11/2013 at 11:08pm

@panickedthumb Thanks for the link! I'm going to have to check that out later.

The limited number of games supported is probably because it appears to be a one-man show for the most part. Definitely got my interested piqued.

SignalWarden wrote on 02/11/2013 at 11:12pm

GoG is really fantastic, but I think they have a serious struggle to deal with on the indie front. On the one hand there is the aforementioned Steam. If you look through GoG's indie catalog you'll see the majority of the games have been on Steam for quite some time and gone through many of the renowned "Steam Sales". As an example, I have almost all the games on their list and got them all for pennies on the dollar. Also, you have games that are obtaining exposure through Greenlight (which GabeN says is going to be made less restrictive and more alluring for indie devs very soon) meaning when they release on Steam, whether before or after a GoG release, they will have a built in audience there.

On the other hand you have the obscure indie games that never had a chance to shine on Steam. Those are usually games that got a community start on IndieDB which is directly tied to Desura. As a result most of the people who have been creating and/or catching the buzz from those games, are already in the Desura network, and smaller devs tend to focus more time there than anywhere else, especially since it will be more cost effective for them.

I think what GoG really needs to do here is essentially create a new ecosystem for the general gamer. Those that rely on Steam as a third console option and have never heard of Desura. As such they need to actively assist in the development of games that are stable, polished and away from the fringe. If they can cultivate enough of a library in that area, and find a way to make the purchase of the games through their system more appealing then I think they can carve a permanent place in the market. It will definitely be a challenge though.

SignalWarden wrote on 02/11/2013 at 11:13pm

Also, Lost finale was great as far as I was concerned and JJ can make the next trilogy with sock puppets and it will be better than anything Lucas would develop.

Will_Owens wrote on 02/12/2013 at 03:21am

I think MIasmata is one of those games that made much more of a splash on GoG than Steam. Even though it's been out on Steam for a while, I hadn't heard of it until GoG put it on their front page making it look pretty cool. I think they have a slower release schedule and easier to manage storefront on their side. I'm up to date with literally every game they've hosted while I have no idea probably 80% of the games on Steam even exist. It's a weird thing, but I check GoG's store pages more than Steam because it's just easier for me to get through.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/12/2013 at 03:35am

Another thing to keep in mind with GoG, is that their game offerings are all DRM-free, something not many (if any) other services can claim. I have a large Steam library, and yet I've picked up quite a few games that Steam hasn't included in their library (Syndicate, Icewind Dale, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and many others), or that GoG was first to offer. I have a Desura account, but haven't used it in ages. I prefer Steam's interface, and I didn't want to have to deal with two exclusive game library environments.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/12/2013 at 06:13pm

@scrypt +1. Its also very different from Steam in that GOG.com is a digital locker. You download the .exe files from the web app, which is totally rad. I don't personally mind have different people in the market because really, Steam and GOG.com are very different.

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