Team Fortress 2 Heavy guide
Team Fortress 2 is now free, so everyone with a Steam account owns it. If you haven’t played before, it can be an intimidating, hat-riddled game. Previously we gave you a handle on the basics, items and classes, now we’re going in depth on each class.
Today the spotlight in on the Heavy, the giant Russian bear of a man with a great big gun, a great big grin and some of the best lines in the game.
And in other PC gaming news…
Today in the PC Gamer offices we learnt that Rich McCormick believes his Demoman doesn’t merely sever the heads of his enemies, but eats them as well, thus gaining their rich, tasty courage. Blimey. Plus he keeps eyeing Owen’s noggin whilst drooling hungrily.
Check within for less heads and more news.
Hold on to your wallets! The Steam Summer Camp Sale has begun
‘Tis the season! On the first day of a planned 10-day sale, Steam has cut deep into the prices of a ton of PC games. Today’s highlight is the recently released The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $33.50, but if you’ve already got that, how about Dawn of War II: Retribution for $15, or Operation Flashpoint: Red River for $30? EA’s Medal of Honor has hit that magic $10 price point where it might be worth grabbing just to see if it’s as “meh” as you’d heard, and if you somehow don’t already own Oblivion Game of the Year edition, it’s less than $7. Valve’s games are all 33% off for the entirety of the sale, so if you held off getting Portal 2 until now, or want to get a buddy in on the co-op for cheap, you can do so for $33.50.
What’re you picking up first? Let us know in the comments.
Edit: And yes, you can also win prizes by earning in-game achievements. Today’s roster is Beat.Trip.Beat, DoW2: Retribution, Lead and Gold, AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Toki Tori, and Swords and Soldiers HD.
DC Universe Online gets in-game cash shop, fans…rejoice?
Just this morning, SOE pushed a new patch to live servers that adds an in-game cash shop to it’s struggling superhero MMO, DC Universe Online. The shop uses the same Station Cash currency that all of SOE’s MMOs use, but only two items currenty sit on the store’s shelf: consumables to repair your gear or grant extra runs on the Vault, the smash-boxes-to-get-random-loot minigame that players can otherwise only play once every 24 hours. The prices aren’t outrageous at $1 for each, with bundles of each at 20% off.
Fancy an external graphics card?
Tired of jemmying the side of your case off every time you want to upgrade your graphics card? Sony’s latest invention could be what you’ve been waiting for. The new Sony Vaio X is a hyper-expensive-but-paper-thin laptop, and comes with a Mac-like Light Peak port for attaching hard drives, monitors and… a graphics card.
Minecraft 1.7 update is out now, you can no longer punch the wool off sheep, pistons added
Earlier on we got a charming trailer for the Minecraft 1.7 update. Now, the update is out! As well as the expected pistons, the update means that we’ll no longer be able to punch the wool off sheep. New shears are now the only way to get hold of wool, and they can also be used to pick up leaf blocks. You’ll find the brief patch notes below, as they appear on Notch’s blog.
Rage trailer shows goes behind the scenes at id Software
The latest developer diary for Rage takes a behind the scenes look at id studios as they work on the finishing touches to Rage. Id stalwarts John Carmack and Tim Willets discuss the merits of running a shooter at 60 frames per second, and talk about the megatexture technology, which allows artists to customise every inch of the game world, resulting in less repetitive environments.
You can get a closer look at those environments in the latest Rage screenshots, and find out why Rage will run better on PC. The game’s out in the US on October 4 and in Europe on October 7.
Team Fortress 2 players receive Refreshing Summer Coolers, speculation begins
Team Fortress 2 servers have been overflowing with new players since the game went free to play recently. In the midst of all the chaos players have started receiving Refreshing Summer Coolers as random item drops. Unlike normal Mann Co. Supply Crates, these coolers can’t be opened with a crate key. Their contents will remain a mystery until shortly before the crate expires at 11 PM July 11, when a mysterious summer something will happen, but what?
What could lie inside the Refreshing Summer Cooler, a refreshing summer beverage, perhaps? Could we see more buff potions similar to Scout Bonk drink? July 11 is a Monday. Will Valve throw another TF2 weekend event just before the coolers expire? It seems likely. Will special items be needed to unlock the coolers, and will they cost money? If so, how much? There are almost too many questions. What do you think will happen? You’ll find the official description for the new item below.
Age of Conan’s free-to-play overhaul hits live servers tomorrow [Giveaway]
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen, and will be contacted shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered! Even if you didn’t win a Premium Membership, you can still get the full experience of this “sexy, savage, and brutal world.”
Only a month after its announcement, Age of Conan’s free-to-play incarnation, dubbed Age of Conan Unchained, is to be released tomorrow, and we’ve got the exclusive look at the official launch trailer to celebrate it. We’re excited: we previously discussed the details of how the business model works, and now it’s time to try it out for ourselves.
First up, I think I’ll pick out a new companion to accompany me on my journeys from the store. Funcom gave us the exclusive scoop on new “tempress” pets being added to the game’s cash shop that’ll replace your silly non-sexy pet that currently follows you around with a seductive lady of the night. There are several different varieties, and while interaction is limited, Funcom stressed that this was a change they could only do because they’re now free of any rating restrictions in the new free-to-play mode. Of course, the usual lineup of weapons, armor, potions, and all that jazz will also be available in the cash shop.
Read on to learn more about the new content and characters as we talk with Executive Producer Craig Morrison to hear what he’s doing on launch day and get his tips for those jumping into AoC for the first time. We’re also giving away 11 60-day Premium Membership subscriptions—details inside.
Minecraft 1.7 update trailer shows pistons in action
Mojang have released a new trailer for the Minecraft 1.7 update, featuring some of the many uses for the new pistons. That’s all that needs to be said, really. It’s best if you just watch and enjoy. The update will go live later today.
Arma 3 trailer shows awesome vistas, underwater footage and tank physics
This video demonstration for German mag, GameStar, spied by RPS, gives us our first look at Arma 3 in motion. Bohemia designer Ivan Buchta takes us through some of the improved physics, grenade effects, vehicle interiors and underwater sections that will feature in Arma 3, though the astonishing vistas threaten to steal the show.
Those impressive draw distances will require a hefty machine to render. Bohemia released the game’s system specifications when they announced Arma 3 at E3. you can find full details in our Arma 3 announcement post, and get closer to those landscapes in the E3 Arma 3 screenshots.
Call of Duty XP 2011 will have MW3 multiplayer, MW2 paintball arena and Burger Town
Call of Duty XP is a huge two day live event in LA celebrating all things Call of Duty. This is really happening. There’s proof on the official Call of Duty XP site, spotted by Joystiq.
The event will take place on September 2-3 in a “secure 12-acre compound” in Los Angeles. Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer will be shown for the first time at the show, and Activision are planning to unveil the full feature set for their Call of Duty Elite service. There will also be a $1 million CoD tournament to test the best players.
Blacklight Retribution shows off its free-to-play DX11 effects
Like those shiny DirectX 11 effects from Crysis 2′s ultra update, but don’t like spending money? Blacklight Retribution promises to make use of your fancy GPU’s features in a free-to-play shooter. The above trailer shows off some pretty slick looking environments and lighting for you to get blood all over when the game launches early next year.
If you’ve got the August issue of PCG US, open to pages 38 and 39 to see our preview of Blacklight’s arsenal of more than 200 guns.
Community Guide: League of Legends’ Tristana
For the past week, the PC Gamer community focused their attention on playing League of Legends’ Tristana. We found camaraderie in the PC Gamer chatroom in LoL, with over fifty players at any given time meeting together and arranging teams for epic clashes. The only rule: someone on each team had to play Tristana. Readers and writers laid their best skills on the field of battle, and walked away with bitter shame or glorious honor. The conflicts ended in everything from narrow victories to complete crushings, but GG, they were fun!
And in other PC gaming news…
World of Warcraft patch 4.2 has landed! It brings with it free play up till level 20 and a whole host of changes, including the ability to re-order your characters, which has made Josh happy. It’s all been too much for poor Tim though, and he seems to have relapsed. He’s not even using a keyboard any more, he just attaches a USB port to his wrist and pipes the game directly into his veins.
Check inside for less addictive news.
