Get in on the MicroVolts beta just by signing up
If you create a PC Gamer account, we love you. Our way of showing you this is to get you free access to closed betas from time to time, and we’re about to do just that for playful online shooter MicroVolts. It’s like a third-person Team Fortress 2, but you’re tiny, so whole maps play out in bedrooms and backyards. You need to be signed up to receive our newsletter, which is ticked by default when you create an account. If you’re not already a member of our community, just take a sec to sign up – we’ll be sending these keys out at 5pm BST (12 noon EDT).
First Football Manager 2011 details revealed
Sports Interactive yesterday announced 2011′s version of their life-altering, habit-forming Football Manager series. The game’s first screenshots are below, and I spoke to developer Sports Interactive’s Studio Director Miles Jacobson – look out for the interview later on the site – who explained a few of the game’s key features. Obviously, you’ll be managing footballers under your charge, but there’s a greater focus this year on reactivity: negotiations with players and agents are done quickfire over a virtual table, doing away with previous years’ oddly slow back and forth on contract discussion.
PC Gamer US podcast 235 – Hot Dish Insurgents
This episode’s busting its seams with people eager to talk about all the latest video game news (and a few things that aren’t video game-related at all). The author of LOVE, Eskil Steenberg joins us this week to offer developer insight on the news and explain why he’s still using a decade-old mouse. Logan tells us all about his trip to the Bioshock Infinite announcement in New York, including why his skepticism turned to optimism with a single video of gameplay. The whole gang, including guests Andy Salisbury from the official World of Warcraft magazine and ex-PCG EIC Gary Whitta, tackle RUSE’s lack of DRM, League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth latest additions, Fallout New Vegas’ star-studded voice casting list, and our big scoop on the next big TF2 update.
Bioshock Infinite info, screens and trailer
It’s not Rapture, it’s Columbia. It’s not underwater, it’s tied to Zeppelins and floating around the world, thousands of feet in the air. It’s not a secret, delapidated cool kid’s club, it’s a spectacle of American achievement with the same agenda as the moon landings. And you’re not a Nameless Nelly, you’re ex-private detective Booker DeWitt. Watch the first Bioshock Infinite trailer (it’s not an infinite trailer, it’s about two minutes long) and prepare to go “oooooh.”
Fourth Borderlands DLC: Ninja robots confirmed
Looks like, as usual, some guy on a forum was right. The fourth Borderlands DLC is all about a Ninja Claptrap leading a robot revolution. It’s called, helpfully, “Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution.”
RUSE will not use Ubisoft DRM
RUSE will not use Ubisoft’s standard DRM, the RUSE team have confirmed. Instead, it’ll use Steamworks and will be playable offline in the normal Steam fashion.
Brink video: Developer Diary – The Last Stand
Splash Damage have released their first video developer diary for Brink. “Developer Diary” is a pretty boring name for a minutes-long micro-documentary with lots of shooting and game footage. We’ve embedded it below:
Next TF2 update adds trading, new game mode
Last week I got to talk to the king of war-themed hat simulator Team Fortress 2, Robin Walker, about the team’s future plans for the game. They’ve now released an update for each of the game’s nine player classes, but that doesn’t mean they’re done. In fact, the next update will likely be out next month (Valve time), and it’s going to add item trading, a brand new game mode, and around twenty new weapons and hats. Here’s the intel.
Fallout: New Vegas voice cast revealed
Bethesda have just sent us a list of folks doing voice work for Fallout: New Vegas. Just as exciting, they’ve included descriptions of which post-apocolyptic unfortunates those actors are playing. Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is still picking up a pay cheque to say “War never changes,” of course, but Michael Dorn (Worf from The Next Generation) is back too. He was the voice of Marcus in Fallout 2. Check out the full cast list below.
Where in the world is PC Gamer?
A PC Gamer reader was recently spotted in Tunisia. By his girlfriend, that is. This is Laurence Kettle reading his Christmas 09 issue in Tunisia, and his holiday snap got us thinking. Do you go to interesting, sexy places and take your PC Gamer UK or US with you? Well, whip it out, man! Then send us a picture.
Fabulous giveaway: win a copy of ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead
ArmA 2 is many things. It’s a passable flight sim. It’s an often shockingly-realistic shooter. It’s a robust map and scenario editor. It’s a realiable way to shoot down Santa Claus with an anti-aircraft gun. It’s an authentic depiction of battle goats.
We (well, I) like ArmA 2. And its stand-alone, desert-set expansion is the best way to play it. We’ve got three copies to give away. Want one? Comment on this post with a mention of your favorite weapon, vehicle, or other equipment in Operation Arrowhead (here’s a list) by Friday, August 13–we’ll private message the winners through their PC Gamer account.
Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer
Sexy gadgets time! This new CoD:BlOps trailer showcases one or two of the fancy toys you get to play with in multiplayer. Remote camera! A knife that shoots the blade part out! A remote controlled car that explodes!
Machinarium devs offer “amnesty” for pirates
Amanita Design are offering Machinarium for 75% less than usual, in a sale that’s aimed specifically (but not exclusively) at those who pirated the game.
Mafia 2 demo on Steam
I’ve just had a fool around behind the bike sheds with the Mafia 2 demo. It’s definitely worth ten minutes of your time, and maybe another ten, and another.
Guard plays Plants vs Zombies, inmates escape
Five prisoners escaped a police precinct in Cagayan de Oro in the Phillipines by stealing the duty officer’s keys. That’s not PC gaming news! But they only managed to steal the keys because the guard was engrossed in PopCap’s casual garden-defense game Plants vs Zombies, likely installed on an office computer. We feel your pain, sir or madam.
