Natural Selection 2 closed beta launches today, new trailer
Fans of the original Natural Selection Half Life mod have been waiting a long time for the sequel, but Natural Selection 2 is edging closer and closer to release with the launch of today’s closed beta and a new trailer showing a new alien class, the teleporting Fade monster.
Rift looking for closed beta testers
The interdimensional fantasy MMO, Rift, is looking for testers to sign up for a closed beta. The game takes place in the fantasy world called Telara, a land threatened by rifts in the fabric of space that allow evil creatures to invade from other planes of existence. Players who are spoiling for a fight can even create these rifts intentionally, to fight off the invading hordes for sweet loot. Fancy signing up? Details follow.
New Lord of the Rings Online expansion announced, will be set in Isengard
The next Lord of the Rings Online expansion will be called Rise to Isengard, and will have players battling Saruman’s forces in Dunland in an effort to reach the legendary Tower of Orchanc. As well as the new lands, quests and skills, there will be a level cap hike and some updates to the Monster Play system. Read on for more details and a teaser trailer.
Portal 2 experiences “shortest delay in Valve’s proud history of delays”
Stop the presses; a Valve game has slipped. The game was due to come out in February 2011, but the game has now been delayed by a couple of months. The new release dates are April 20th in the US and April 22nd in Europe. The comical press release announcing the delay can be found below.
PC Gamer US Podcast 248 – The path to failure
The PC Gamer band of brothers lock arms and rush headlong into the fray, discussing every bit of PC gaming news that crossed our radar this week on the latest episode of the PC Gamer podcast. Everything from Bioware teasing their next game to how successful Black Ops’ latest patch is at eliminating the game’s technical issues for our editors to what really happened at Activision-owned Bizarre Creations and Budcat Creations this week. Oh yeah, and Windows Live Marketplace launched–but should you care?
Guild Wars’ latest update with love [giveaway]
Guild Wars 2 is getting closer and closer to launch, and ArenaNet’s been updating Guild Wars with all sorts of great content to kick-start players’ transitions into the sequel. These content updates, packaged under the banner of “Guild Wars Beyond”, are meant to bridge the gab between the two games’ story and characters. The latest addition, Heart of the North, will be hitting live servers later this month and lets you help you bring two lovers together…with your sword.
Contest: See how you can win in-game Guild Wars items after the interview!
The Witcher 2 is coming to Good Old Games next year
CD Projekt, the company behind both Good Old Games and The Witcher 2, recently announced that the Witcher 2 would be coming out on may 17th next year. Later today, they are expected to announce that they’ll be selling the fantasy RPG sequel through their Good Old Games service, and it’ll be DRM free.
New Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer and screens
A spectacular new trailer has just landed for Deus Ex 3 showing in-game footage from a mission from the game. It shows Jensen at his most stealthy and destructive, hacking security bots, and taking out guards with a selection of weapons, from retractable wristblades to a laser rifle that can shoot through walls. This is one trailer you won’t want to miss. It’s embedded below with five new screens.
Forum Dramatis: The World of Warcraft Authenticator Caper
It was a normal day in the PC Gamer office: Craig was reading forum threads that he could recreate for his stage show: “Craig Pearson’s Dramatic Forum Recreations, Vol II”.
“Oh my god, guys! Come see this!”, he shouted. As everyone gathered around he handsomely and dramatically relayed the tale of World of Warcraft forum user, Preliatus. The quotes are directly taken from the thread: “Help. I swallowed my authenticator.”, and to protect his anonymity, Preliatus is portrayed by Daytime Emmy runner-up, Mr Tom Francis.
18 essential Dragon Age mods
Brace yourself, and venture forth to a horrifying alternate reality. Imagine a world so like our own, less observant visitors might never know the difference at all. Here, in this awful den of deception lurks an unimaginable truth–Dragon Age DLC is, at best, mediocre! Ah, you’re starting to catch on. This isn’t an alternate reality at all. We never left our world, silly. Mwahahaha! Hush now, don’t cry. We’ll suffer not this treacherous DLC. We’ll protest, we’ll riot, we’ll download mods! Butterfly sword be damned!
Alien Breed 3: Descent is out; demo also available
Alien Breed 3: Descent is out, concluding Team 17′s modern re-imagining of the classic Alien Breed series. The final part of the trilogy has grizzled chief engineer Theodore Conrad battling the alien menace on an icy, infested planet, working to get his ship operational. There’s a demo available, too, so you can try out the new weapons and survivor mode levels. The launch trailer and link to the demo is embedded below.
Final Fantasy XIV free trial extended again
Square Enix have announced that they will extend the free trial that comes with the game for another month, so that players can see the benefits of the November 25th patch without having to put down a subscription fee. This is the second time the free trial has been extended as the developers go to work trying to fix the many problems the game has experienced since launch. For those who want to know what will be contained in the upcoming updates, here’s the comprehensive list of changes planned for the upcoming updates. You can read the extended trial period announcement over at the Final Fantasy XIV site. We recently interviewed Square Enix about the state of the game, and their plans to get it in shape.
Free DLC to bring nuclear war to RUSE
Ubisoft have announced that RUSE players will receive a free update next month. It’ll be called the Manhattan Project Pack, and will include new maps and game modes, along with the introduction of the ‘Long Tom’ nuclear cannon. Full details below.
Fable 3 is still coming to PC
Lionhead Studios spoke out today to reassure PC gamers that the fantasy RPG sequel is still on the way. Lionhead had been silent about the PC version for several months, leading to fears that the game had been cancelled, but earlier today the studio spoke out on Twitter, saying: “Fable 3 PC Version is still in development here at Lionhead so PC GAMERS don’t panic. We’ll announce details when we’re ready to do so.” There’s still no news on a possible release date, but hopefully it’ll be soon. The game was released on consoles three weeks ago.
Mad scientist sim Create gets a demo
EA’s Create is a colourful puzzle game for mad scientists. The player has to invent and build a nutty contraption to solve the the challenges presented in each level. The wildest solutions involving the most explosions will earn more points. The editing tools let you hammer together girders, wheels and engines to create whirling mechanical automatons designed to do anything from transporting a load of balls across a landscape, to propelling a toy car through a flaming hoop. The game’s out tomorrow, but there’s a demo available to play now. Read on for details, and a video.
