Sneak peek of three unreleased League of Legends skins
Psssst. Hey! You, at the keyboard. You like League of Legends skins, don’tcha? Yeah you do. What, this patch didn’t have enough? No worries, friend: I’ve got some secret skins right here. Take a peek at what lies in your future. I know what lies in mine: Easter Bunny Teemo. Whaddya say? Interested? [/end creepy alleyway salesman dialogue]
The 100 Game Giveaway: Day 2 (US Only)
The 100 Game Giveaway is back! Today we’re showering strategy fans with 10 codes for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and 10 codes for Total War: Shogun 2. And all you have to do is “like” PC Gamer (in the highly unlikely event that you haven’t already), and then comment on our Facebook post. Anybody who comments is automatically entered to win. One comment per gamer please – but you’re welcome to come back tomorrow for yet another 20 free games! Click Read More to see the extra details, and a list of yesterday’s winners!
And in other PC gaming news
It’s been a busy day in Valve land. The new Portal 2 trailer just came out, the potato pack ARG has been getting weirder and weirder, and part 2 of the Portal 2 comic has also been released. Elsewhere, it’s been a good day for charity with the launch of the Humble Frozenbyte Bundle and the fund-raising success of No Time to Explain.
If expansion packs are more your thing, there’s word of a new map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Magicka Vietnam just came out on Steam, too. But what else has been going on in the world of PC gaming? And what’s the best possible way you can kill someone in Deus Ex? You’ll find the answer to both questions in your daily dose of PC gaming news below.
Magicka: Vietnam now available on Steam
Paradox has unleashed its lighthearted parody DLC upon the world. Magicka’s element-conjuring wizards are, for some reason that really doesn’t matter, now battling enemies in Vietnam with assault rifles and napalm. It’s incredibly preposterous, and therefore awesome. You can grab the insanity on Steam for $5.
Who’s tried it, and what do you think? Is it so crazy that it works, or too soon? View the launch trailer after the jump.
The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle is go
The latest humble bundle lets you pay what you want for a fantastic bundle of Frozenbyte games, including gorgeous co-op platformer, Trine, top down shooters Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds: Survivors and two brand new games, Splot and Jack Claw. Jack Claw is an unfinished prototype, but it looks great, and you’ll get access to the full source code as well. You play as a man called Jack who has a giant claw that can throw cars. Splot isn’t out yet, but if you buy it in the bundle you’ll get a copy as soon as it’s released.
All of the proceeds from your payment are split between the developers, Child’s Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. As with all of the humble bundles so far, you can customise what proportions of your payments go to each organisation. You’ll get the games DRM free, too. The bundle is set to run from now until April 26.
Valve releases Portal 2 Long Fall Boots video
Portal 2 must be getting close: Valve has released another video, this one showcasing some impressive acrobatics from normally unseen player character Chell and calling for investment in Aperture Science’s Long Fall Boots, which negate all fall damage. Check it out after the jump.
The Valve Potato ARG so far: pole climbing, codes and Aperture Science art
Ever since April 1, an army of curious Valve fans have been ploughing through the remarkable potato fools day ARG. Emails from Gabe Newell and some hidden messages in the recent Portal 2 turrets trailer provided some of the clues, but for the most part, the heart of the mystery has been the huge interlaced conspiracy built by the thirteen indie developers who made the potato sack sale games.
Hidden messages, ciphers, glyphs and encoded images are just a few of the elements in this bizarre tale. The fact that one man climbed a twelve foot pole to retrieve one of the clues demonstrates the level of dedication among the ARG’s players. So far the game has turned up some wonderful Portal 2 art, but while the trail has gone quiet, there may still be some surprises in store. Here’s a brief overview of some of the weirdest goings on in Valve’s new ARG.
EU Facebook giveaway: Win one of ten Monkey Island collector’s edition boxed sets
We’ve got ten copies of the Tales of Monkey Island collector’s edition to give away on Facebook. Each box contains a cloth map, a drinks coaster, a tarot card, a badge and a metal Monkey Island coin. Oh, and a DVD packed with all five episodes of the Tales of Monkey Island, of course. As Owen discovered, you can even tie the cloth map to a staff writer and make a piratey hat, if you really want to get into the spirit of things.
You have to live in Europe to win this one. To enter, simply head over to our Facebook page and answer the competition question.
No Time to Explain needs your money and map making skills
No Time to Explain is a new kickstarter project started by two indie developers. It’s a game about saving your future self as he’s dragged off to goodness knows where by giant crabs, pterodactyl planes, flying sharks, and more. Thanks in large part to the trailer above, the project has already received enormous attention on Reddit. With 44 days to go. more than $4000 dollars has been raised. The team are more than halfway towards hitting their target already.
Aside from the trailer, part of the success of No Time to Explain’s fund-raising effort is down to their interesting donation rewards system. Pledging $5 or more will get you a copy of the game at launch, but pledging more than $25 will get you access to the level editor and the beta, with a chance that the levels you make will end up in the final game. Of all the donation options, this has raised the most money so far. Getting people to donate for the opportunity to add levels to your game? That’s both devious and inspired. Indie devs take note.
Update: No Time to Explain has now reached its funding goal of $7000. That was insanely fast.
Mythos now in open beta
Mythos is due to go into open beta at some point today.
Frogster’s hack and slash MMO won’t be officially released until April 28, but anyone who wants to sample the game just needs to sign up. The level cap has been increased to 50 and the snowy region of Umbral Peaks has been unlocked. According to Frogster, there’s still plenty of tuning to be done before the final release.
Mythos will eventually be available as a free download or a boxed copy that’ll retail for £9.99. The latter will come with exclusive items and pets, and will let you play two days early.
Are you having fun with Mythos? Let us know in the comments.
Batman: Arkham City will be open from the start with no load times. Boss battles return
Rocksteady marketing game manager Dax Ginn has been telling CVG more about the open world nature of Batman: Arkham City. From the very start of the game, players will have the freedom to explore every outdoor area. The city streets will be full of sidequests, and you’ll be able to fly around knocking out crims without having to worry about any loading times. Ginn also talks about how Rocksteady plan to improve on the maligned boss fights of the first game.
Theatre of War 3: Korea demo gives you one hour of war
If you fancy getting into an extremely detailed war sim today, RPS have spotted a new demo for Theatre of War 3. The trial gives you sixty minutes of unrestricted access to the game’s singleplayer and multiplayer modes and even the mission editor. The Theatre of War games have always been challenging and detailed war sims, with a heavy emphasis on spotting, micromanagement, and carefully maintaining your heavy armour against every mathematically modelled shell. The game’s out now, and you can find out more on the official Theatre of War 3: Korea site. You’ll find the launch trailer below.
Part 2 of the Portal 2 comic is out now
Part two of the new Portal 2 comic has gone live over on IGN. The story bridges the gap between the two games, and explains how Chell survives long enough to star in the second game. There’s a much darker edge to the comic than you might be familiar with from playing Portal, and Glados is more psychotic than ever. You should definitely read it, because as Glados says “science rhymes with compliance.” You’ll find part one here, and part two is up now here.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation map pack confirmed
A recently leaked flyer all but confirmed the existence of the next Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, but now it’s official. The next pack will be called Escalation, and will feature four new multiplayer maps and a new zombie level. The pack is due to arrive on the Xbox 360 on May 3 which means, if it follows the same pattern as the previous map pack, First Strike, we should expect to see it on PC in June. Read on for a short summary of the maps, including one set in a Russian zoo.
15 multiplayer browser games to play right now
The internet is a scary place. It’s a place full of information, far too much for any one person to absorb even a fraction. It’s a place that caters to every desire, however depraved and esoteric. It’s a place full of other people. Isn’t that terrifying?
And, more than that, you’re expected to interact with these people. Have discussions, comment on articles you’ve all read, and troll one another. It’s enough to make that hermetic ideal of cave living, where you only have to worry about which end of the skunk to eat first, look most appealing. But it’s ok, I’m here to help.
Games are perhaps the best way to survive contact with other humans. They let you vent your frustrations, or work together without having to, y’know, have a proper conversation about it. You’re hidden and safe behind the anonymity of the internet, and the rules of the game. It’s a controlled environment, and so you’re probably going to be ok.
And so, allow me to aid you to submerge yourself in the unwashed masses, a toe at first, before the rest of your leg, and then all to follow. Below is a list of games aimed at interaction over the internet, all from within the safety of your browser. Some are short-fire bursts of multiplayer gaming, others aiming for something much more long form and arduous, but oh-so more rewarding because of it.
