PC Gamer US Podcast #268: Yo Mamaly
While Logan, Chris and the interns are trapped in the salt mines, Evan, Dan and Josh lead PC Gamer’s faithful through the week that was. Topics include Portal 2 and Valve’s ARG, Mass Effect 3 details, Bulletstorm music, the newest Humble Indie Bundle, a WoW player achieving a ridiculous feat, your listener questions and more!
Consoles are holding PC games back, say DICE
Battlefield developer DICE have said that they believe consoles are holding back the development of PC games. In an interview on GeForce.com, executive producer on Battlefield 3 Patrick Bach said: “Most games are actually still based on the same core idea that the consoles are your focus, the superior platform or something. I don’t know why. That was the truth 5 years ago, but the world has moved on.” Read on for more details.
Humble Frozenbyte Bundle is huge success
As reported on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, The third Humble Indie Bundle set – featuring only titles developed by Frozenbyte – has been a huge success, selling over 100,000 units in 48 hours.
The sale has generated $500,000, with purchasers paying as little/much as they’d like for the bundle, which consists of Trine, Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds Survivor, Jack Claw, and Splot. Frozenbyte say: “This is all thanks to the very supportive communities around the world and also all the media outlets. So on behalf of Frozenbyte, Humble Bundle, Child’s Play and EFF I would like to express our sincerest gratitude”
You can still grab the Frozenbyte Bundle and name your own price here.
Black Prophecy dev writes to players
A member of Gamigo – the developers behind free-to-play space-faring MMO Black Prophecy – has written to the game’s community, telling of current progress and the company’s hopes for its future. Read on for the full details.
Battlestar Galactica Online scores a million pilots
Battlestar Galactica Online developers Bigpoint have announced that in just six weeks of being live, the browser-based MMO has gathered one million registered players.
The announcement comes as Bigpoint release their latest patch, which allows you to command Battlestars and Basestars, as well as other new ships.
If you’d like to sign up for the Colonial fleet, or cause mass human genocide as a flying toaster, join BSG Online at the game’s official site.
And in other PC gaming news…
Our Friday has been dominated by conspiracy theories as we tried to figure out what would happen when Valve’s countdown reached zero. Our interest gradually turned into potato obsession as the day progressed, initiating a form of spud mania that culminated in me running through the streets of Bath with a bag of potatoes in hand.
But what else has been happening in the world of PC gaming? There’s only one way to find out. You know what to do.
Portal 2 review scores 94 and an Editor’s Choice award in PC Gamer
We’ve played and reviewed Portal 2 and awarded it 94 and an Editor’s Choice award. The review appears in the latest issue of PC Gamer US, and the June issue of PC Gamer UK, on-sale May 11.
Why did it get that score and the prestigious award? We described it as “hilariously well-written and acted”, “full of thrilling showcase moments” and “some of the most social gaming you’ll have.” We basically think it’s outstanding.
Check the site when Portal 2 is released for our full review, catch up on the Potato Sack ARG, or read our most recent preview for more. You can subscribe to PC Gamer US here and PC Gamer UK here.
How to add a potato to your Steam profile
In the interest of helping Portal 2 release early, we’re advising all our readers–Dan, are you sure this is how it works? This seems weird. Well, okay–we’re advising you all to add a potato to your Steam profile through this process. Doing so adds to the “challenge status” potato count, which probably-definitely has something to do with unlocking Portal 2.
- Go to the NELIPOT Steam community.
- Join it.
League of Legends comic roundup: Godlike!
I can’t help it—I love me some League of Legends, and it seems that I am not alone. Part of what makes Riot Games’ MOBA so great is the variety of its characters, and how iconic they are—so iconic, in fact, that they’ve inspired heaps of fan art, most of which is (surprisingly) grade-A quality. Usually quickly lost on the LoL message boards among pages of complaints about Magma Chamber and other trolololing, I recently found two websites dedicated to collecting great LoL fan art. It was kind of like exploring a Pharaoh’s tomb, albeit one filled with Teemo comics instead of preserved organs. I’ve put together some samples of the best artists and cartoonists out there, with links to archives of their LoL-inspired work.
World of Tanks Winners
The winners for our Worlds of Tanks giveaway have been picked. The developers surprised us by giving us 79 bonus codes, on top of the 21 we already had. So we’re giving away 100 universal codes that work on both US and EU servers to 100 people selected from the original contest post. Look inside for the full list of winners.
Play Potato Sack games, get Portal 2 early
The Portal 2 countdown we mentioned earlier has come to a dramatic conclusion.
According to the new site, gamers can “Help release Portal 2 early” by playing the 13 indie games in The Potato Sack bundle. You can also buy the collection of indies bundled with Portal 2.
So what are you waiting for? We’re off to play Killing Floor. Yeah!
Thanks to leswordfish for pointing out this handy Portal 2 release date calculator thing. Is it accurate? Guess we’ll find out soon.
The 100 Game Giveaway, Final Day! (US only)
The Great Eagle of Free spreads its wings for one final, triumphant flight today as PC Gamer sees off its 100 Game Giveaway with 20 codes for the League of Legends Collector’s Pack!
What we’re looking at here is a massive asteroid of loot followed by a long gaseous tail of awesome for what remains our favorite free-to-play game. You’ll get:
- 20 additional playable Champions
- 4 powerful Summoner Runes
- A sinister and adorable Goth Annie skin, exclusive to the Digital Collector’s Edition
- Plus, $10 of Riot Points for use in the store for whatever your legendary heart desires
Click Read More to find out how to enter in today’s giveaway. For more info on League of Legends, be sure to visit the League of Legends homepage and, if you’re having a good time with the game, show your support by liking the game on Facebook.
EU Facebook Giveaway: win one of ten Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike keys
The First Strike map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops adds four new multiplayer maps, and a new zombie mode arena. The new maps include one set in an ice rink, another on the rooftops of Kowloon, and the zombie map adds new enemies, like gibbering gaggles of zombie Russian cosmonaut monkeys.
Never killed a zombie Russian cosmonaut monkey before? You’re missing out. Luckily, we’ve got ten Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike keys to give away. If you live in Europe, you can enter the competition by answering the question on the PC Gamer Facebook page.
Tripwire Interactive make cry for help on Facebook. GLaDOS may be involved
The mysterious Valve countdown is killing us. Rich is “getting wiggly” and shaking like a frightened rabbit. Tom Senior is writing a mere 400 words per minute instead of his usual 500. Tim has left the office.
But what’s this? As pointed out by Zolo (my favourite commentator of the day so far) Tripwire Interactive have posted a mysterious message on their Facebook page: “Her escape draws near… The central chamber is unlocking…. HELP US!”
What does this mean for the countdown? No-one knows. Apart from Valve, obviously. Not long to go though eh?
Shogun 2 soundtrack released, getting DirectX 11 patch next month
The Creative Assembly have posted on the Total War forums with an update on the progress of a new patch that will bring DirectX 11 support to Shogun 2. After the patch, those with DirectX 11 capable graphics cards can take advantage of hardware tessellation and enhanced shadowing. The patch will also add anti-aliasing support.
Patch 2 won’t just include graphical updates. The Creative Assembly say “we’ve been completely blown away by the success of multiplayer. That’s a really big priority as well. You can expect a raft of multiplayer fixes and modifications in Patch 2, and beyond.” The next patch is due to hit in the first week of May. In other news, the Total War: Shogun 2 soundtrack was released earlier this week, and is available now on iTunes.
