Valve say Portal 2 will be “much larger but not harder,” Steam pre-orders now available
Portal 2 is now available to pre-order from Steam with 10% off the full price. The pre-purchase comes with a free copy of Portal that can be gifted to a friend if you already own it. Valve have also updated the product description to explain that while Portal 2 will be much larger, it won’t be any harder than the original.
Rift open beta kicks off today
The slick inter-dimensional MMO Rift is about to throw open its gates anyone wants to give the game a go. A six day beta is about to launch. Read on for details of how to get in, and to see a spectacular new trailer showing one of the game’s dynamic portal attacks in action.
10 incredible Minecraft creations
Minecraft is a genuine sensation. With four million users and over a million and a half sales to date, it’s made its creator, Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, a very wealthy man indeed. But most impressive of all are the creations themselves: stupefying feats of digital engineering created from simple low-res cubes. Below are ten creations that I think define Minecraft’s magic. Its creators’ motivations vary, but each one is impressive in its own special way. Behold their works, ye mighty, and despair.
Dragon Age web series to star Felicia Day
The creator of comedy web series The Guild, Felicia Day, has announced that she will be starring in a six-part web series set in the Dragon Age universe. Day wrote the series, and will be playing the central role as an elf tasked with fighting back against the Darkspawn menace.
Full details on Maokai, new LoL champion
Riot revealed the official ability list and backstory for League of Legend’s next champion, tree-wizard Moakai, who’s slated to be released soon. Avid readers of our fine website won’t find too many surprises–it’s almost identical to the list that we announced last week in our massive preview of Maokai and Jarvan VI, which was based on our exclusive hands-on with the champion in December.
Give the games industry your ten commandments
In the March issue of PC Gamer UK, out today, I set out our ten commandments for game developers to live by: banning the things we hate in games, enforcing the things we need to have fun. Banned: long, text-driven tutorials. Enforced: PC-specific interface and controls. Now that it’s been printed in a magazine, it is legally binding and all developers must comply.
If you could force all game designers to obey ten simple rules, what would they be? We’re looking for rules that would truly make games better, and preferably ones that are viable. “Thou shalt make your game free” might be nice at first, but we’d lose some great developers before long. Let us know in the comments, and grab the mag to see why we chose ours.
And in other PC gaming news…
It’s Valentine’s Day! Regardless of whether your gaming time is going to be limited, or bolstered, by the reddest of all the festivals, we hope you have a warm and loving evening.
Be sure to read our Saturday Crapshoot for some Valentine’s-themed words and let us know the most romantic game you’ve ever played in the comments. I’ve done a quick office poll and was overwhelmed by suggestions:
Tim went for ICO, which annoys me because it’s a damn good choice, Tom F. suggests Morrowind, and Amie has gone for The Sims. Graham loves robots enough to suggest Supreme Commander 2, oddly, but then changed his mind to Digital: A Love Story. Tony suggested Half Life 2: Episode 2, and Craig has gone for Thief 3. I’ll go for Animal Crossing.
But enough sloppy nonsense. Click more for today’s bonus links…
The Minecraft Experiment, day 30: Needlepoint
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. I eventually managed to get to hell and back on one life, and now I’m trying to find my way back home. The diary starts here, and this is the latest entry.
I’ve just found the largest and thickest forest I’ve ever seen, and I’m desperately resisting the urge to set fire to it.
Dirt 3 trailer features rally drivers and developer Q&A
The latest Dirt 3 trailer has professional rally drivers testing the game’s upgraded physics systems. There’s a fair bit of in-game footage sprinkled between shots of enthusiastic drivers being thrown about on racing platforms. We get to see new cars and locations, and hear the developers answer questions from fans.
Mirror’s Edge 2 canned. EA “are not in the business of charity”
EA have seen a prototype of Mirror’s Edge 2 and decided to can the project, moving the small team of DICE developers who were working on the sequel to other projects.
Steam controls up to 70% of the PC download market and is “tremendously profitable”
Valve CEO Gabe Newell has been speaking out about Steam’s success, saying that, per employee, Valve is more profitable than Google and Apple. Estimates say that Steam controls between 50% and 70% of the PC download market and is “tremendously profitable.”
Guild Wars 2 beta events to run later this year. “We want players to be absolutely blown away”
ArenaNet have updated their Guild Wars 2 FAQ, mentioning that they will be running closed alpha and beta events later this year. The success of the closed testing events will decide when a public beta will go live, and will be used to nail down a release date for the game.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 server problems getting patched. Sunglasses stuck to racer’s faces
Test Drive Unlimited 2′s launch has suffered something of a false start. Some players can’t log into the servers. Others can’t remove sunglasses from their faces. We’re not sure which is more upsetting. We guess it depends on the brand of shades and the weather at the time.
Read on for details and the developer’s estimate for a potential fix.
Portal 2 trailer reveals Valentine’s day dangers, pre-orders available
A new Portal 2 trailer has arrived, providing a healthy dose of Valentine’s day advice outlining the hidden dangers that can lurk in traditional gifts like flowers and giant industrial diamonds. The trailer also reveals that Portal is available to pre-order now from retailers, though not through Steam.
Diablo 3 release date planned for 2011
Vice President of Blizzard, Rob Pardo, has said the company’s goal is to get Diablo 3 out by the end of 2011, but that Blizzard are happy to delay the game to “get it right.”
