And in other PC gaming news…
Man, we love PCs. We sit in front of them all day to look up PC gaming news. At lunchtime we play games to gain more insight, then at the end of the day we go home and get online as soon as possible without starving/getting into trouble. We’re a bit obsessed.
But you already know all this right? That’s why you visit. Click more for today’s potpourri of PC gaming linkage.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim UI inspired by Apple
Bethesda have revealed that Apple’s iTunes interface has been a significant influence on the menu systems in Skyrim. Read on for details.
Age of Conan getting extra solo quests
Age of Conan is set to grow with a series of new solo-questlines designed to add extra instances for players who prefer to adventure alone. New dungeons and solo boss encounters are set to be added to the exotic realm of Khitai added by last year’s Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Read on for details.
Win incredibly classy Art of Eve book by posting amusing thoughts
We love hardback books at PC Gamer. Especially when they’re packed with gorgeous concept art. We love reinforced sleeves too. And dust jackets. This has the triple-whammy.
That’s why our copies of “The Art of Eve” caused such a fuss when they arrived this morning. I literally had to ask: “Can I give those away on the site Tim?” The Editor looked sad as he handed it over, but agreed it was a good idea.
Voting now open for the IGF Audience Award
Here’s your chance to vote for your favourite indie game of the past year in the Independent Games Festival Audience Awards. The 30-game shortlist has been whittled down from 391 entries, and includes games like Amnesia, Minecraft, Cave Story and more. Read on for the full shortlist and instructions on how to vote.
Battlestar Galactica Online open beta kicks off on Feb 8
An open beta for the upcoming, free-to-play Battlestar Galactica MMO is set to kick off on February 8. If you fancy some browser-based Cylon bashing, read on for details of how to apply for the beta, and a video of the game in action.
Blizzard strike back at World of Warcraft gold farmers
Blizzard are using Paypal to take on gold farmers, using the money transfer service to deliver warnings to suspected offenders. Gold farmers could find their Paypal accounts suspended as a result.
QuakeCon 2011 dates announced
This year QuakeCon is headed back to Texas. The annual event celebrating all things id will be taking place on August 4-7 at the The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. The event will host a huge bring-your-own-computer LAN party. There will also be competitions, panel discussions and Bethesda will be there to show off advanced previews of their upcoming games, which will most likely include a glimpse of he Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Lovely. For more information, check out the official QuakeCon site.
Homefront PC-exclusive features and system specs detailed. Now available to pre-order on Steam
Kaos Studios have announced a wealth of PC-only features for their upcoming FPS, Homefront, along with system specs and pre-order information.
Click more for the details.
January’s best free PC games
January is usually a slow month for the games industry. The festive rush has finished, and few publishers want to take a risk on unleashing their big game when there’s no opportunity for someone to buy it as a present. Fortunately, those making games for no financial reimbursement – or, at least, games whose money-making prowess doesn’t equate to the need to shift a full-priced boxed product – don’t have this to worry about. Maybe that’s why January has seen some of the best free games to grace the PC in ages. Read on for our picks…
Treyarch working on Call of Duty: Black Ops theatre mode problem
Ever since the last patch, many players have reported problems with the theatre mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Users logging in now are currently unable to see any videos made before the patch. Treyarch have responded to say that they are looking into the problem now.
Crap Shoot: The Last Express
Richard Cobbett boards the Orient Express as it heads for straight for murder, action, suspense, and hopefully as far away from that snotty little Belgian detective as possible.
Please, get your wallet. Get your purse. Prepare to search behind the back of your sofa. This week, I’m not simply going to talk about an obscure game – I’m going to do everything I can to sell it to you. As of this week, The Last Express costs $5.99 from GOG. If you’ve never played it before, you should buy it. Six dollars. Less than four quid. If you went to a pub, you’d pay that much for a pint of cheap booze, bartender spit and little bits of unidentifiable grit. If you spend it here, you’ll get to play one of the most unique adventure games ever made, and see that in the right hands, absolutely anything – even walking up and down a train corridor for several hours – can be a captivating, unforgettable experience.
And in other PC gaming news…
The end of the week doesn’t mean the end of the PC news stream. While we’re clearing up the office ready for the weekend, that torrent of news is still trying to leak through. Of course, that’s why this little post is here. Reliably, we’ll always be here at the end of the day to catch those headlines that were almost left behind, and present them to you.
So, get your fix of today’s videos, late headlines and amusing geek factoids below.
The Minecraft Experiment, day 25: D: D: D: D:
When I first started playing Minecraft a few months ago, I played with a rule: if I die, I have to delete the entire world. Now I’m trying to get to hell and back. The diary starts here, and we’re up to the 25th.
I’m trying to follow my compass home, but I seem to have surfaced from a spelunking trip in the dead of night, on the most monster-infested coastline I’ve ever seen in the game.
AI War: Light of the Spire expansion is out now
A colossal new expansion has been released for AI War adding a new faction, 180 new ships, story-based victory conditions and a new ‘defender’ game type that concentrates AI War’s huge, brainy space battles into frantic scraps that last minutes instead of hours. Read on for details and a trailer for the expansion.
