Crysis 3 screenshots break out the flamethrower
Man, it’s tough being Prophet. Today I fought an alien with a flamethrower built into his face. He was trying to kill a tree. It’s weird, ever since we built a giant dome over New York and accelerated the plant growth the alien population have gotten really serious about gardening. I took a picture of myself using the remote nano cam and waited for them to pass. You’re my only friend now, nano cam.
Star Wars: The Old Republic free trial starts tomorrow
If you’re looking for something new to play this weekend, why not waggle a lightsaber in Star Wars: The Old Republic? A four day free trial kicks off tomorrow for those who haven’t sampled one of the other free trial events that Bioware have been running recently.
As with those previous free weekend events, you won’t need to feed your credit card details to Bioware’s hungry Treasury Rancor (Bankor?) to get in, and you’ll be able to get to level 15 and participate in PvP and flashpoints. Full details on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.
Default is for suckers: How to unlock full skill tree customization in Diablo 3
Diablo 3 has a secret. It won’t tell you, but you don’t actually have to select one skill from each of the categories (Primary, Defensive, etc.) that it forces on you. You can pick any seven skills in your entire arsenal for your active set, but that capability is disabled by default. We show you how to enable it in 10 seconds flat.
Modern Warfare 3 content pack 2 to add new MP maps, spec ops missions, Face Off mode
The first content collection for Modern Warfare 3 has just recently landed on PC, adding new multiplayer maps and a couple of spec ops missions. The second pack will do the same, but also introduce a new 1 vs 1/2 vs 2 mode called Face Off. According to the trailer above, the first two Face Off maps will be released for free to give everyone a taste of how it plays. Two more will then be added in the full content pack later. All of the dates refer to the Xbox version, however. The last DLC pack took more than a month to reach the PC. Expect similar delays again for content pack 2.
Eve Online: Inferno release date is May 22
Eve Online’s next big update is due to arrive on May 22. “SET THE UNIVERSE ON FIRE!” screams the opening splash on the Inferno site. Graphical updates will add new rocket effects to add a little bit of extra fire to Eve’s glorious space battles. The new war declaration system will provide kill reports from each battle and let warring corporations create surrender clauses to better resolve conflicts. There’s mention of a Mercenary Marketplace, overhauled Faction Warfare, updates to the UI and character creator, and tons more. A trailer’s incoming, so we’ll get to see a lot of these tweaks in action shortly.
Tomb Raider delayed until 2013
Oh dear, Lara’s gotten a bit lost. A post on the Tomb Raider forums spotted by CVG says that the game’s been delayed until the start of 2013. It was initially due to come out in Autumn. “We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve,” writes Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher.
The Tomb Raider reboot will have Lara fighting for survival on a mysterious island. If anything, the delay will give the wildlife a few months of respite before she charges in and starts wanging arrows everywhere. Find out more about Lara’s new adventure in our Tomb Raider preview and get a closer look in these Tomb Raider screenshots.
Diablo 3 build guide: Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor and Wizard [UPDATED]
Building the best character in Diablo 3, whether you picked Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk or Witch Doctor, can be tough. There are a dizzying number of options, but here are a few of our personal favorites, with full skill builds, playstyle explanations and stat recommendations for each.
Diablo 3 Collector’s Edition unboxing video: PC Gamer defeat the Lord of Packaging
This morning Owen and I cracked open the Diablo 3 Collector’s Edition that’ll soon be winging its way to fans in advance of the game’s release on Tuesday. This super special version of Diablo includes the soundtrack, making-of DVD and an art book as well as exclusive in-game bonus items and Battle.net goodies.
There’s also a USB Soulstone – not the most secure Soulstone that Owen has ever felt, apparently – that contains a full version of Diablo 2 plus the Lord of Destruction expansion. In the video I mistakenly say that it includes the first Diablo game as well, but this isn’t the case. Check out the full unboxing below.
Max Payne 3 “will not use Games for Windows Live” say Rockstar
Yesterday we mentioned that Rockstar are revamping their Social Club social networking network thing. It’ll let us log in, set up personal profiles and form multiplayer crews that will carry over from Max Payne 3 to GTA V. The appearance of the Games for Windows logo on one of the screenshots had us wondering whether Max Payne 3 would end up using GfWL. Good news! It won’t.
Guild Wars 2 stress test opens next Monday for pre-purchase players
Arenanet will be holding a snap seven hour stress test session for Guild Wars 2 next Monday May 14 from “11 AM to 6:00 PM PDT (-7 GMT).” That’s according to a new post on the Guild Wars 2 Facebook page, spotted by Massively. The test will be open to everyone who have pre-purchased Guild Wars 2. If you took part in the last beta test, you’ll be able to roll right back into Tyria with the characters created in the last beta session.
Bioshock Infinite delayed until February 2013, no showing at E3 or Gamescom
A message from Ken Levine on the Bioshock Infinite site brings word that the game’s been delayed until February 26 next year. Hopefully they’re not actually trying to make it infinite, or else we’ll be getting a few posts like this on the Bioshock Infinite site over the course of the next few millenia as the sun gradually sputters out and entropy claims the universe.
“BioShock Infinite is a very big game,” writes Ken Levine. “We’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter.” The delay will give the team extra time to polish the sunny sky-city of Colombia to a gleaming, golden sheen.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Collection 1 DLC arrives on PC, finally
Aha, the first Modern Warfare 3 DLC pack has landed on Steam! “Well WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS, THEN?” says every Modern Warfare 3 PC fan in the world with a glance at the watch and a tap-tap-tap of a foot. It’s been a bit of a wait, but the four maps and two spec-ops missions within can now be yours for £10/$15.
Dota 2 is bigger than Counter-Strike: Source and Skyrim and it’s not even out yet
Dota 2 is doing rather too well for a game that hasn’t been released. According to Steam stats, it’s the second most played game on Steam right now, ahead of Counter-Strike: Source, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim and lots of other games that have actually been released. Dota 2 is currently in an ever-expanding beta that’s been running since late last year.
Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative hands-on
As Valve themselves once said, making games is hard. Over the course of a weekend with the Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC, I’ve established my own version of that rule: making games is harder when you’re an idiot.
I recorded my first baby steps with the new test chamber editor, and in doing so have created a permanent record of my failures as a human being. Marvel as I crush myself with a lift! Yell at your monitor as I fail to consider an array of incredibly trivial solutions to my own puzzle!
By way of compensation, I spent another couple of hours working on my test chamber and eventually hammered it into something resembling an actual level. You’ll be able to download the final result – the PCG Reflection Challenge – from the Portal 2 Workshop when the DLC launches later today. ‘Reflection’ means two things, in this context. One: what you do with a laser. Two: that I need to have a bit of a think about my life.
