Weekly Digest - 10/08/2009
By Steven Perdikis - Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:45am
Each week, we collate the most popular stories that we published over the past seven days, plus a lineup of the most downloaded files added in the same timeframe. That way, in case you missed something, you can catch up in one helpful little spot, every Monday morning.
Last week, everyone wanted to know about the new Left 4 Dead downloadable content, which is due for release in September. Also of note, in what was a fairly slow news week was the top selling titles on Steam.
With no confirmed release date, Blizzard's upcoming RTS, Starcraft II made headlines again, with news last week suggesting that the game will find its way to or computers in the first half of the year. Finally, the ever popular Serious Sam made news again, with some new screenshots of the HD remake proving to be very popular.
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Last week, everyone wanted to know about the new Left 4 Dead downloadable content, which is due for release in September. Also of note, in what was a fairly slow news week was the top selling titles on Steam.
With no confirmed release date, Blizzard's upcoming RTS, Starcraft II made headlines again, with news last week suggesting that the game will find its way to or computers in the first half of the year. Finally, the ever popular Serious Sam made news again, with some new screenshots of the HD remake proving to be very popular.
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Left 4 Dead lurches on with September DLC I think it's kind of amusingly ironic that a group of vocal fans hailed the announcement of a sequel to Left 4 Dead as the premature death of that title; come on, it's a game about the living dead! The only thing capable of killing it is decapitation, or possible explosions. No, Left 4 Dead is if not alive, then certainly undead and kicking, and Valve have confirmed the fact by providing some details on an upcoming DLC pack, Crash Course |
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Steam Top Seller List - Week ending 2nd August What have the gaming public been buying this week via digital distribution platform Steam? ... Some strategy, it seems this week, with a bunch of people snapping up Dawn of War II thanks to the game being half price over the weekend. The rest of the world still seems to be jumping up and down in an excited manner about the yet-to-be released Aion - The Tower of Eternity, while the rest of the world seems to be content with buying more and more copies of Left 4 Dead and Counter Strike: Source. If you want to what else sold the most last week, you'll just have to check out the Steam Top Sellers for the week ending August 2nd! |
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Starcraft II should arrive in the first half of 2010, says Blizzard The Internet can on some days be a great thing, while on other days, it can bring bad news. Today, those of you who are sitting on the edges of your seats ready to spring off to the shops with money in hand, hopeful that you'll return home with a pre-order receipt and a solid release date for Starcraft II will be saddened to know that the game is now not expected to release until some point in the first of half of 2010. Blizzard have noted that the reason for the delay is related to the new Battle.Net - which, according to Blizzard will "take longer than expected" to implement. |
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Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD gets some new screenshots In June, it was announced that Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD would be released at some point this year. Since that time, Croteam have been working quite hard on the remastered version of the game, today deciding to release a bunch of new screenshots to show off what they've produced so far. The HD remake of the game is powered by the Serious Engine 3, and promises to be a faithful reproduction of the original game, first released in 2001. |
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'Splosion Man (Xbox 360 Review) They all say not to judge a book by its cover, and with good reason. I'm sure everybody has, at one time or another, been sucked in by a prettily-presented bit of artwork only to realise the story within the pages is complete tripe. Sometimes though, you just hear a name - just the name - and you know it's going to be something pretty special. Take, for instance, 'Splosion Man. By my calculations, there's no way that's going to suck. ...but I'm no reviewer, so the last word must go to Matt Keller, to find out if first impressions are deceiving, or if this is, in fact, awesome. |
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Batman: Arkham Asylum PC demo has arrived On Thursday, it was announced that the PC demo of Batman: Arkham Asylum was due to launch the next day. Friday ended ten hours ago, with no demo in sight. That has now changed, with the 2.04GB PC demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum finally having been released. The PC version of the game features NVIDIA PhysX technology, which promises to provide an "even deeper level of engagement". The PhysX technology allows corridors in the game to be filled with volumetric fog, and cobwebs which are damaged as Batman passes through them. Other enhancements that the PC version sees is improved particle systems and more detailed visuals. In order for players to enjoy the PC demo (with the above mentioned features) they will need a NVIDIA GPU that supports PhysX. (Anything better than a 88xx card will do). In addition to the actual demo a behind the scenes video has been released, talking about the game's animation - which you can watch while you wait for the demo to download! |
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The Conduit (Wii Review) When we were at GDC earlier this year, we caught up with Matt from High Voltage Studios, and he told us all about The Conduit, even taking a bit of time to show off the customisation options in the upcoming release. Fast-forward to now, and the game's been out in Australia for a couple of weeks - time to see if the big promises they made actually pay off. The Conduit is another of these more 'grown-up' games for Wii - boasting a fully-detailed FPS with some pretty indepth multiplayer - a risky endeavour. We sent our own Matt in to see how it all shaped up, in our latest review. |
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Warcraft 3 gets patched to 1.24a Blizzard have released an update for Warcraft III. The update comes in a variety of flavours, with an incremental and full patch available for both the vanilla Warcraft III (Reign of Chaos) - and its expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. The patch makes a few fixes to the game's editor, which stomps on a bunch of unsavoury types that would use exploits online, while also making a few changes to the game's editor that fixes "unsafe" type casting that could result in player-generated maps being buggy. If you've got the normal version of Warcraft III - without the expansion pack, and have no patches installed, or (a version earlier than 1.23a) you can download the Full patch to make sure you've got the latest version of the game. If you've got 1.23a installed, you can download the much smaller incremental patch. |
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World of Warcraft gets Call of the Crusade content update The folk over at Blizzard have released the latest update to World of Warcraft, Call of the Crusade, which brings the game to version 3.2. The update makes a whole lot of changes to the game, while at the same time introducing a whole bunch of new features. We've got the patch in a number of languages tucked away safely in the file library, along with a brief list of the new features that are introduced by the Call of the Crusade update, which brings the game to version 3.2.0. If a feature list is too dull for you, Blizzard have also released a trailer that shows off some of the new stuff that you can expect to see in the update. |
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Command & Conquer 4 - learn more about the game in director's cut trailer For those of you who are excited about the upcoming Command & Conquer 4 - today may provide a little bit of a treat for you - with a director's cut version of the previously released finding its way into the file library. The director's cut version of the trailer explains some of the game's plot, and where EA plan to go with the final instalment in the real-time strategy series. |
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Halo 3: ODST drops in with documentary trailer I know how upsetting the thought of playing a Halo game as anyone other than Master Chief is, but Bungie want us to stop snuffling into our rather damp hankies, man up, and step into the shoes of specialist Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in the upcoming prequel, Halo 3: ODST. If you can stop howling your bereavement for a few moments, you might want to check out this short documentary narrated by Sergeant Eddie Buck, introducing the ODST team sent to investigate the Covenant's attack on New Mambosa and giving a preview of their fancy-pants weaponry and tactics. |
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Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Xbox 360 Review) Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It's been a long time coming back, but it's finally here, taking over the downloadable console networks in a flurry of punches and over-the-top action. Whether or not you know anything about the history of the game doesn't matter here, it's just a bit of mindless fun that sees some of the world's greatest match-ups. Matt Keller sat down in front of the Xbox 360 to see how the port shapes up, and whether the past 10 years of rose-tinted glasses had affected his recollection of the arcade fighting dream. |
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Batman: Arkham Asylum demo to arrive Firday, 7th of August Eidos have announced that a demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum is due for release on the PC, PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360 this Friday, giving ordinary gamers their first chance to enter the shoes of the caped crusader as he begins to explore Arkham Asylum. The demo will be available via the PlayStation Network and the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for those on the consoles, while details regarding the distribution of the PC demo will be announced closer to the actual release of the demo. |
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Friday Roundup! (7/08/2009) While it is Friday, it certainly doesn't feel like it is the end of the week here, with my personal weekend likely to be full of catching up on University work and burying my head in research. For those of you who don't have such commitments, you can point your fingers and laugh at me for choosing to begin a Masters degree, or you can explore a collection of demos and full clients that have been added to the file library in the past week. This week, we have for you demos from All Aspect Warfare, Angel of Attack, East India Company, Hearts of Iron III, Jutland, Nation Red, Order of War, Restaurant Empire 2 ... and we have for you full games from Gates of Andaron, Mortal Online, Orbiter, World of Kung Fu. Enjoy! |
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The Warp Pipe - 02/08/09 Video game-to-movie adaptations have always been pretty terrible, outside of one or two which make the cut as mindless popcorn flicks. Everybody knows it, so there’s no need to dwell on that fact. We know what makes these movies bad – departure from the source material, low production values and horrible talent both on and off the screen. In spite of this, many games, regardless of their suitability, are being optioned for film production. This week, The Warp Pipe will look at a couple of video game film projects that are currently in the pipeline. |
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