Gamernode: Latest PC News

10 games to cause your breakup from GameDaily

GameDaily has published a list of the ten games that are most likely to lead to the end of a relationship.

It's a pretty solid list. The mainstays are there along with the obvious ones you'd expect; World of Warcraft and Everquest 2 to name a couple. There are some bizarre choices though, for instance the inclusion of Rumble Roses XX.

If you ask me, anyone who is still playing Rumble Roses XX obviously has a digital boob fetish that the person they're dating should probably already knows about.

Furthermore, I want to send a message to all the kiddies out there. There's no reason any of these games should cause your breakup. Because if your significant other can't understand your passion then in the words of Thin Lizzy, "Man, if that chick don't wanna know forget her." And likewise for all t...

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Mark Rein: consoles stealing hardcore PC gamers

I'm a devoted PC gamer and I maintain a rather strong commitment to my desktop, which is something I'm sure a few other GN staffers can attest. So, of course, I tend to roll my eyes when people say PC gaming is on its way out, but wasn't that said 10 years ago? While console gaming, especially in the U.S., is insanely popular, PC gaming still has its niche.

The same can't be said for Mark Rein, co-founder and vice president of Epic Games; when speaking with the Guardian Unlimited, he mentions that consoles are stealing hardcore gamers from the PC. While Rein remains devoted to PC gaming and development, he can't help but give the nod to console gaming.

"I'm a real fan of the PC, but yes, consoles are definitely stealing a lot of hardcore gamers from the PC. When Call of Duty 4 came out, I he...

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Wait, Duke Nukem Forever might actually be release...

What's it been now, a decade since this game was started? I don't know about anybody else, but I stopped caring about Duke Nukem around the turn of the century.

3D Realms on the other hand apparently still thinks that there is still interest enough in the character/series to justify the release of this game. A tiny little tidbit has been uttered by one of the folks working on the game that suggests that the game might be getting close to completion. "We're doing a lot of polishing of set pieces, environments, and characters," said art director Tramell Isaac.

The word "polishing" suggests that all the content and game features have already been implemented and are up and running, and that the game is in it's final stages of completion.

Personally, I have long held the belief that sooner or l...

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Mod DB 2007 Player's Choice Mod of the Year result...

Every year, thousands upon thousands of mods are released for PC games and for the last 6 years ModDB have been showcasing the best of the best in an event known as the ModDB Mod of the Year Awards.

The Player's Choice winners of the 2007 awards have just been announced, with the Editor's Choice winners to be announced in the coming weeks. This year, same as last year, there are three categories -- Best Released Mod, Best Unreleased Mod and Best Indie Game.

Best Unreleased Mod:

1. Zombie Panic: Source (Source Engine)2. Jurassic Park (CryEngine 2)3. Barney's Tales (Source Engine)4. Mechwarrior: Living Legends (CryEngine 2)5. Operation Black Mesa (Source Engine)

Best Released Mod:

1. Insurgency (Source Engine)2. Project Reality (BattleField 2)3. Empires (Source Engine)4. Forgotten Hope 2 (Battle...

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Valve unveils Steamworks Publishing Tools

Valve has just announced that Steamworks, a set of publishing and development tools ranging from copy protection to social networking services to server browsing, is now available free of charge to developers and publishers worldwide.

Steamworks is the same set of tools used for games such as Half-Life 2 and The Orange Box, as well as many other titles on Steam.

"Developers and publishers are spending more and more time and money cobbling together all the tools and backend systems needed to build and launch a successful title in today's market," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "Steamworks puts all those tools and systems together in one free package, liberating publishers and developers to concentrate on the game instead of the plumbing."

So what, exactly, will you get in Steamworks?

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Burned over GTA Hot Coffee incident? File a claim ...

Were you burned over the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee incident? Are you demanding compensation after having your eyes soiled and your dignity violated?

Take-Two Interactive launched a website where players can file an online settlement against the Hot Coffee fiasco/Take-Two and you may receive up to $35.

Of course, you have to meet a few requirements to receive the money; you have to own the first edition disc of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, i.e. a copy of the game manufactured before July 20, 2005. Other requirements needed for the money benefit include proof of a store receipt, a credit card statement or disc/purchase details.

People have until May 16, 2008 to file the claim and receive a compensation; you can do that here. It looks like Take-Two provided this compensation ba...

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Ascaron announces Hard to be a God UK release date...

It's not often that one of my favorite works of Russian literature and videogames collide in one entity; that's why I've been looking forward to Akella's upcoming hack-n-slash RPG, Hard to be a God. Based on the novel of the same name written by the Strugatsky brothers, the game tells the story of two planets: Earth and Arkanar. Both planets were buddy-buddy, but after a long war Earth continued to grow and Arkanar stayed relatively stagnant in terms of cultural and scientific evolution.

Skip forward a few hundred years. Earth is curious as to the fate of some former patriots, so they send a secret agent to Arkanar to investigate. Using sci-fi weaponry as well as what you can find on medieval Arknar, it's up to you to figure out why the planet hasn't progressed, and what happened to your fo...

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Faith Fighter: Knee-jerk reactions GO!

Sometimes content is released that has a higher agenda than simply being entertaining. It's commonly known (or is it?) that games are used to educate and advertise, but how often are they used to address pressing issues?

Faith Fighter, no not that Faith Fighter, is a flash game developed by Molleindustria where, according to the website's own description, you "choose your belief and kick the shit out of your enemies." You can choose between God, Jesus, Buddha, Ganesha, Budai, and Muhammad. To no one's surprise, the game features a disclaimer before you play the game that says:

"This game is not intended to be offensive towards any religion in particular. Its aim is to push the gamers to reflect on how the religions and sacred representations are often instrumentally used to fuel or just...

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Customizable loadouts and more coming for TF2

Quite a few changes are coming to Team Fortress 2 in the upcoming weeks. Soon enough, we'll be getting some Pyro and Soldier tweaks, in addition to some Medic enhancements including more achievements. But what's in store for the entire game itself?

Valve first has two new maps that are ready for release; one of which is called cp_badlands, which will introduce a new game mode called Goldrush.

Goldrush will entail the Blu team escorting a mining cart through a series of dustbowl-like map segments with the object of the map is to bring the cart all the way to Red's HQ within the time limit.

One of the biggest gameplay additions to TF2 will be customizable weapon loadouts. By default, the Medic's loadout is the syringe gun, the healing ray gun and a bonesaw but through earning new achievements...

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8800 killer emerges from AMD labs

Just a day before the wraps were set to come off the 3870 X2, a Chinese website has released an epically sized 32 page benchmark report on the new card, and it's looking mighty fine!

Middle Eastern Gamers were nice enough to go through and pick out some of the results. In the tests the 3870 X2 was pitted against an 8800Ultra card and the results are very exciting.

Default 3DMark06 test: - Radeon HD 3870 X2 score: 18,467 - 8800Ultra score: 14,197

3DMark06 test @ 2560 x 1600: - Radeon HD 3870 X2 score: 12,578 - 8800Ultra score: 8,746

In the game benchmarks, the 3870 X2 scored almost 30% more the 8800Ultra in Call of Duty 4 @ 1280 x 1024. In F.E.A.R. the 3870 X2 scored 20% more than the 8800Ultra. The 8800Ultra did beat the 3870 X2 in the Crysis and BioShock benchmarks, but it's likely due to pr...

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Assassins's Creed PC specs insanely high

Not content with Assassin's Creed being just another console port, Ubisoft has pulled out the big guns, giving it minimum specs that will make your PC wince.

While Crysis currently holds the crown of most insanely high required PC specs, Assassin's Creed looks like it just might beat out the German shooter.

The below was found in a new entry in the Ubisoft support knowledge database:

Supported OS: Windows XP / Vista (only) Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended) RAM: 2 GB (3 GB recommended) Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 10.0–compliant video card or DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (512 MB video card recommended) (see supported list)* Sound Car...

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World of Warcraft hits 10 million subscribers

In a press release, Blizzard Entertainment announced that World of Warcraft has hit 10 million worldwide subscribers. The MMORPG now holds more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America and over 5.5 million in Asia.

Blizzard is currently working on the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft titled Wrath of the Lich King. A release date is still unknown, in typical Blizzard style.

Said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, "It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft. We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead."

Last month, Blizzard...

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Age of Conan delayed until May

Age of Conan publisher/developer Funcom has announed that the game's release date has been pushed back once again, and it is now projected for a May 20th launch.

The game was originally due last year, but was delayed until March, which has proven to be not quite enough time for the developers to refine the game to their liking.

Said producer/director Gaute Godager of the delay:

"The companies standing apart in the gaming market today are those with a relentless drive to achieve quality. Even though we regret delaying the launch, I am certain we made the right choice. I hope that our followers and fans will support our decision, and respect our commitment to quality."

Yes, quality is good. I'd avoid Duke Nukem Forever syndrome, though.

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EA working on free, ad-supported Battlefield game

In this press release, EA revealed Battlefield Heroes today, an upcoming free to play, cartoon-styled shooter. The game will be released this summer for PC.

Battlefield series developer EA DICE is handling the game's development and it'll be supported through advertising and micro-transactions. In addition, the game will feature a built-in matchmaking system, so no players will be left behind for the battlefield.

Not much else is known about the game, but the upcoming March 2008 issue of Games for Windows magazine will feature a prominent preview of the game, including a first-hand look at the game's cartoon style. Check out the cover by clicking full story.

Ben Cousins, senior producer at EA DICE, said, "We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics ...

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Penny Arcade Adventures combat footage

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One is one of my favorite videogames to write about. I don't know if it's all in the abnormally lengthy title, of if it's because the game actually looks like it will be an enjoyable adventure/rpg. The game chronicles the adventures of comic duo Tycho Brahe and Gabe through a "robot-filled epic" that takes influence from Lovecraftian horror, among other things.

This video shows off some of the combat mechanics in the game, which resemble the sort of mid-attack button manipulation found in games like Paper Mario or Shadow Hearts. No official release date has been announced yet, but we do know that the game will be coming to ...

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Hellgate Chronicles brings London to Stonehenge

Flagship Studios' Hellgate: London will soon receive its first update since last October's release. Next Monday, January 21st, the first chapter in the Hellgate Chronicles will go live for subscribers, opening up the remains of Stonehenge and surrounding area for exploration and questing.

The ancient site will serve as a hub from which players will embark on new quests, and can be accessed via a portal in Templar Base.

New areas include:

The Caste Caves - Unlock four unique dungeons, one for each caste of enemy - Beast, Necro, Spectral and Demon - to seek and destroy a powerful overlord that resides in each cave. Defeating them and collecting their heads will allow you to continue the adventure...

Moloch's Lair - Only after collecting the heads from the Caste Caves will heroes be all...

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Set phasers to trouble for Star Trek Online

Progress seemed to be coming along nicely for Star Trek Online; despite being still a bit early in the game's development, we got to feast our eyes on a screenshot back in early December.

But all is not well; it began with rumors at the beginning of the week from WarCry stating that Star Trek Online developer P2 Entertainment (formerly known as Perpetual Entertainment) has stopped development on the MMORPG.

Later in the week, it was confirmed that P2 shut down Star Trek Online but are shopping around for a replacement developer. One rumored developer that is interested is MMORPG City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios.

Early indications of a struggling developer came back in October when P2 put an in-development MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, on indefinite hold in order to cover costs...

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C&C FPS Tiberium debut trailer released

So here it is, Tiberium, an upcoming FPS set in the C&C universe a decade after the events in C&C3. But, of course, we don't see anything gameplay worthy in the trailer other than some notes of "first-person", "squad control" and "epic sci-fi", which are push-over words nowadays and some snazzy cinematic action.

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EA announces Sims 2 Free Time expansion pack

In what maybe referred to as "The franchise that will never die," Electronic Arts has announced yet another expansion pack for their highly successful, The Sims, series of games.

This time around they will be offering The Sims 2 Free Time and will offer a new suite of hobbies and activities to gameplay.

This new edition will focus upon developing your Sims in following their interests and hobbies such as playing musical instruments, reading books, flying remote-controlled vehicles, pottery, repairing cars and many more free time activities.

Rod Humble, head of the Sims 2 studio said, "Players of The Sims love to bring stories to life by exploring new and wonderful areas of their Sims' existence. Now with The Sims 2 FreeTime, your Sims can explore a range of interests to discover new fun and ...

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Team Fortress 2 classes being altered

If you were to say that Team Fortress 2 is a perfect multiplayer experience, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone to disagree with you (unless they're one of those disgruntled Halo players we've all met.)

However, Valve would beg to differ. The highly acclaimed highlight of the Orange Box is going to undergo some changes in the near future both big and small. Valve has stated that major changes are forthcoming, but have denied comment on what and when exactly that means.

According to Robin Walker, a Valve software developer, the Pyro will be the first to see changes. He has said that a change will come in the point scoring tally for this class.

Apparently, once the changes take place the Pyro will receive a small amount of points for igniting an enemy on fire even if he doesn't get ...

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