Minecraft Pokémon mod, a blocky peek at you
Another day, another amazing Minecraft mod. This one finally does when Nintendidn’t and turns Pokémon into the free-roaming, critter subjugating adventure players of the series have been waiting to see for years, admittedly without the ‘battles’ part as yet. For now, you can convert your spare stone into a Pokedex and set of Pokeballs, capture and name some creatures, and wander around dreaming of the day you’ll be able to respond to a Creeper with a confident cry of “Charizard, I choose you!”
You can download the mod from the Minecraft forums.
PC Gamer UK, October issue: Guild Wars 2
This month, get ready for Guild Wars 2 and the other MMO titans preparing to hit the scene in the next few months – The Secret World, Wildstar and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Inside, we speak to the developers and go hands on to see which are the most likely to destroy your free time. The latest issue should be landing on subscribers’ doormats very soon. Inside, you’ll find sorcery! Free Games! Diablo 3! Laptops! Deus Ex! Garbage Truck Simulator 2011!
And more? Of course! That’s not even close to being everything this month…
Space Marine disappears from UK Steam store, demo out now
Space Marine has vanished from the Steam store in the UK, which is going to make it harder for Brits to get hold of the new demo that’s just been released. RPS helpfully provide a workaround link for UK Steam users eager to brain some Orks.
It’s unclear why Space Marine has vanished, but it reminds us of Brink’s recent disappearance. That game didn’t turn up until weeks after launch. Hopefully Space Marine won’t suffer the same fate.
If the demo isn’t enough to tide you over until Space Marine’s release on September 6 in the US (September 9 in Europe), then check out the video interview with Space Marine’s lead voice actor above. He offers various arguments supporting his decision to voice a Space Marine, though we all know the real reason. His name is MARK STRONG.
What’s Razer’s big announcement?
Razer has launched an online viral marketing campaign recently, ahead of a big announcement on Friday. It must be big – it’s been backed up by a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal (Global Edition).
The campaign is based around the concept that “PC gaming is not dead”. Something we could have told them for considerably less than they spent on the agency which designed the website to go along with it.
And in other PC gaming news…
Today in the PC Gamer offices Tim finally snapped after years of strategy games and attempted to annex NGamer with a remote controlled tank. Sadly before we could crush them under the heel of our glorious PC gaming empire the NGamer staff retaliated with an assault of green and red shells. We’re now in a war of attrition, but don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll all be over by Christmas.
Check within for news from the front.
Bioware: Origin won’t hurt The Old Republic
…whether or not you actually want to buy it from EA’s new Steam rival or not. At retail, players will have a choice of stores to choose from, but online, The Old Republic will be available exclusively on Origin. At Gamescom we caught up with Bioware creative officer Dr. Greg Zeschuk, and asked him whether The Old Republic’s Origin exclusive status would have a negative effect on the game.
“Once you get into the digital space it’s pretty easy to get stuff,” says Dr. Greg. ” I don’t think packaging it on Origin is going to hurt it in any way – we’ll have such reach and demand that I think it’ll be fine. Our experience of working with Origin is that it’s actually pretty slick and works well. I wouldn’t say it’s totally a commodity to sell digitally but you know that’s an element of it, to create that digital download experience.”
Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer has Alien Queen, frantic door welding, screaming
A new Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer has hatched over on Evil Avatar, giving us a first proper look at the xenomorphs in action. There’s even some shooting, a fair bit of panicked shouting and the ominous, omnipresent sound of the motion tracker. Aliens: Colonial Marines is due out in Spring next year, which means there’s still time to get hold of an assault rifle, a grenade launcher, a flamethrower, a motion tracker and several rolls of the strongest masking tape you can find.
Metro: Last Light trailer shows 12 minutes of rail gunning
If you missed last year’s chance to board the train to the dark horrible future of Metro 2033, your second chance is nearly here. The original was a surprisingly beautiful outing for your graphics card, considering that it was entirely set in desolate sewer tunnels. This new version is hardly cheerier. In this hot clip from Machinima, prepare for underground menace, Nazi subway stations, and giant mutant monsters down below, all struggling to stop you reaching Mornington Crescent. Or save the world. One of the two.
DOTA vs Dota 2: Valve and Blizzard go to war
Never mind the fuss over Scrolls/The Elder Scrolls – if you want trademark confusion, look to DOTA.
To recap. There’s the original DOTA, aka Defense of the Ancients, a Warcraft III map. There’s Valve’s Dota 2, which doesn’t actually stand for anything, acting as a direct commercial sequel. Next year, we can expect Blizzard’s official take, with a Starcraft map combining heroes from all of its units. And then there’s League of Legends, the same game at heart, whose creators want everyone to use the term MOBA – Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Sound fair? Perhaps, except that even if you ignore that about 99% of online action games could qualify as that, the likes of Funcom’s Bloodline Champions apparently don’t, at least not in the eyes of the players… because they’re not DOTA.
That pain in your head is a migraine no amount of Neurofen will shift.
Battlefield 3 weapons revealed: portable anti-air launchers, night vision scopes, claymore mines
Last week at Gamescom, DICE revealed a ton of information about Battlefield 3′s armoury, including a list of the weapons they have added so far. MP1st have been trawling through the numerous odd bits of info DICE have been unveiling during the course of last week’s show in Cologne, and have turned up some interesting facts.
For example, sniper shots to the body will never kill instantly, follow up fire be necessary to finish off enemies wounded in the torso. Distant victims will now stand more of a chance against long range rifles, thanks to directional scope glint that can reveal a sniper’s position. Scope glint will be caused by sniper rifles and assault rifles that have high power scopes fitted.
You can see what scope glint looks like from the targeted player’s perspective precisely one minute and 30 seconds into the spectacular Caspian Border map trailer shown at Gamescom last week. Read on for more details on night vision scopes, weapon mods and bullet drop, as well as a list of every weapon that’s been confirmed for Battlefield 3 so far.
League of Legends dev on how pro “celebrities” inspire new players: “there has to be a way for people to shine”
Were you excited about the prospect of League of Legends’ upcoming $5 million season? Did you try watching some matches online, or other e-sports, like the recent Dota 2 invitational or Starcraft matches? Did the insanely high quality of play scare you off for life? Don’t worry. You’re not alone, and you won’t be expected to be anything like that good if you give the game a try. Not immediately, anyway.
We caught up with champion designer on League of Legends, Ryan Scott at Gamescom to ask him how many players operate at the top level, and howthe very best players inspire new heroes to improve.
“What we’ve seen about e-sports is that there’s a couple of factors; there has to be a way for people to shine – there has to be a way for people to be almost celebrities or be well known in the community,” he says. “People like to follow celebrities in their favourite sports, e-sports or any other type of game, right?”
Weighted Question Cubes: A Portal 2 Proposal
As spotted over on RPS, Gary Hudston is a more romantic geek than you. That’s all that really needs to be said about this, one of the most adorable, heart-touching Portal 2 maps ever created. Imagine yourself in his shoes, as the lady of your life plays through it. Will she say yes? Will she give up on the laser puzzle? Or is the way to a woman’s heart really through a magic blue portal?
The answer: Not necessarily. An orange one will probably do just as well.
F1 2011 trailer recaps the season so far, shows safety car
The latest F1 2011 trailer recaps the Formula One season so far with in-engine recreations of its most dramatic moments. We also get to glimpse the safety car, an optional new feature for the 2011 edition of Codemaster’s fastest franchise. F1 2011 is just one month away. Will it have enough to lap last year’s game? Check out our F1 2010 review to see what Codemasters are building on.
Jurassic Park release date announced
Telltale games have told IGN that their take on Jurassic Park is angling for a November 15. It suffered an initial delay, because Telltale can’t see release dates if they don’t move.
In case you missed it, the trailer above covers Telltale’s approach to the films, and pitches the game as more of a survival adventure instead of a dinosaur shooter. Also: Tyrannosaurus Rex! Read our Jurassic Park hands on for more details.
