The Witcher 2 trailer talks magic and bombs
The latest dev diary for The Witcher 2 drops lots of interesting info-nuggets on the upcoming sequel, not least the fact that there will be a hardcore difficulty mode that will make you restart the entire game if Geralt dies. VG247 spotted the video, in which the devs also talk about the balance between the different skill trees, and give us an overview of the bombs Geralt can use to stun his foes, or blow them the hell up.
For a closer look at The Witcher 2, check out the latest batch of screenshots, or read our preview. The game’s due out on May 17.
Mass Effect 3 first screens released
Bioware have released the first shots of Mass Effect 3. There’s only two of them, but they’re enough to make us want to dive straight back into that slick sci-fi world. You’ll find both screens embedded below.
Join the PC Gamer clan in Bloodline Champions!
One of the greatest free-to-play games out there just isn’t getting enough attention. Bloodline Champions boils the MOBA down to its core element, team combat, and strips out the frivolous things, like items, creeps, levels, and mana—it’s just you, your cooldowns, and your teammates, taking on all comers. Despite a bit of a learning curve, we thoroughly enjoyed BLC’s fast-paced, deathmatch-style gameplay. As of this morning, the long awaited Clan functionality has finally been implemented—and the newly-formed Coconut Monkeys Clan (tag: PCG) is accepting any and all.
StarCraft 2′s biggest upsets
In the still-early life of competitive StarCraft 2, we’ve seen hundreds of incredible, memorable matches. Many professional players’ fame or infamy has been earned by toppling the giants who came before them. That shift in attrition, that expert pivot of micro-management or creativity in a single match can surge a single player’s reputation—when an unknown kills a Goliath (no, not that one) he becomes an Internet champion, epitomizing the wonderful parity that’s emerging with competitive SC2. Everyone loves to root for the underdog and watch a good upset—here are StarCraft 2′s top four.
Talking RAGE’s gameplay, PC graphics, and the old Duke-Doom rivalry with id’s Jason Kim
PC Gamer field operative Chris Comiskey recently invaded a top-secret Bethesda compound buried deep beneath the arctic wastes. After accosting and subduing numerous guards with their own boxer shorts, Chris was apprehended just outside of Senior Producer Jason Kim’s office when he tripped over a discarded Snickers bar wrapper. Knowing he was defeated, Chris requested that before being drowned in a giant vat of delicious hot chocolate, he might have the chance to ask Mr. Kim everything he knew about the upcoming id Shooter: RAGE. Mr. Kim agreed, and the below interview was smuggled out via a hidden, chilled carrier pigeon. Chris has not been heard from since.
And in other PC gaming news…
Welcome to a bumper, super special edition of And in other PC gaming news. Today, we’re not just going to give you the cold, hard low-down on the latest happenings in the world of PC gaming, we’re going to give you games. We’ve got free stuff. You need to take it away. Owen’s very sanity is at stake. Read on to find out how to win, and for your daily list of PC gaming news.
Magicka vote to decide free challenge map
Paradox are releasing two new survival challenge maps for Magicka. One will be free, the other will cost $1.99. Players get to decide which map will go free in a poll on the Magicka Facebook page. RPS pointed us towards the video above, which shows off the two maps on offer. Paradox say they’re set to come out on April 26 “without requiring so much as a single potato.”
If you want to stand a better chance of beating the new maps, you might want to take a look at our overview of Magicka’s most spectacular spells.
X Rebirth announced with first trailer and screens
Deep Silver have announced that there will be another game in the X series. X Rebirth promises faster space travel and even more incredible cosmic environments. It’s due out at the end of this year. You’ll find the four first screens of the game below.
Portal 2 potato sack indie devs given “free reign” to design launch ARG
The indie developers involved in the potato sack sale say that they were given “free reign” to design the ARG, as well as “access to any IP we wanted.” Edge have been catching up with the potato sack developers to find out exactly how the enormous ARG came together.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover review
When Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers landed after test-flying the prototype Spitfire for the first time, he was so impressed he told Supermarine’s engineers “Don’t touch anything.” After test-flying this long-awaited follow-up to flight sim legend IL-2, my message to 1C’s engineers would be a little lengthier:
“Don’t touch anything except the painfully primitive campaign, the embarrassingly inept training mode, the clumsy GUI design, the dodgy comms, the bugged AI, the inadequate documentation, and the ill-optimised graphics engine.”
The First Templar trailer ground pounds an ogre
The latest trailer for the First Templar introduces us to main character, Celian d’Arestide, who is definitely not Russell Crowe from Gladiator. He’s The First Templar, and whatever he’s done in the past, he has a chance to mend it now, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – wait, NOT Russell Crowe. The First Templar is a third person hack ‘n slash set in the 13th Century. It’s due out next month, on May 10. Find out more on the official First Templar site. Thanks to Blue’s News for the heads up.
Proun trailer shows amazing abstract race courses
Proun is an abstract indie racing game in which your craft is attached to a long, looping cable. In order to gain speed you have to rotate around the pole, avoiding the abstract objects hurtling towards you. The new video above gives us a quick look at some of the beautiful environments you can race through. The full version is due out this spring, but there’s a beta available now to download and play for free. For more info, check out the Proun development blog. To see the game at full speed, check out an older trailer for the game, embedded below.
EU Facebook Giveaway: Win one of ten copies of Portal 2
We’ve played Portal 2, we reckon it’s pretty great. Would you like to play Portal 2, too? We’ve got ten codes to give away on Facebook right now. If you live in Europe, and fancy a chance of winning a code, simply answer the querstion on the PC Gamer Facebook Page. Good luck!
Update: The winners have been chosen! Congratulations to Franco Baccarini, Michael Price, Josha Munnik, John Briggs, Jonathan Armer, Chris Heaslop, Ross Lloyd, Mykolas Sindeikis, Adrian Lunatitc, Janos Victor Morrisseyh. If you haven’t received a code through Facebook, please drop an email to tom.senior@futurenet.com to claim your prize. Thanks for entering and sorry for the long wait. We’ll be much quicker with future competitions.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation trailer and screens arrive
A new trailer and a bunch of screens have arrived for Call of Duty: Black Ops, showing off the five new maps that will make up the Escalation map pack. Most of the focus is on the four new multiplayer maps. Details of the spooky zombie mode map will be revealed later. You’ll find all of the new screens below.
Trackmania 2 teaser trailer has new look, same insane tracks
The first Trackmania was a free-to-play blast of fresh air in the racing genre. Beneath the straightforward visuals and insane, topsy turvy tracks it was a surprisingly competitive game. Global and local leaderboards provided plenty of reason to keep re-running the tracks, and a the approachable level editor spawned some utterly bonkers creations. Judging from the teaser trailer above, the realistic new look hasn’t compromised the avant garde course design. There’s no release date yet, but the official Trackmania 2 site says it’s coming “very soon!” You’ll find the first screen of TrackMania 2 below.
