Valve to end the reign of the CZ75-Auto in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pistol update
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, an experiment has gone awry. Valve introduced the fully-automatic CZ75-Auto in February as an inexpensive alternative to the ubiquitous P250 pistol. But now the spider has swallowed the fly whole, and the CZ75a is everywhere.
“Our goal was to increase variety in pistol selection, but the CZ is starting to have the opposite effect,” wrote Valve. “So in next week’s update, you can expect us to make some pistol changes.”
Obsidian break down Pillars of Eternity's frontline: the warrior and the barbarian
Obsidian’s plan for their frontline classes sounds a lot like their goal for Pillars of Eternity as a whole: they want to capture the spirit of their ‘90s Infinity Engine predecessors, but introduce some new and far-reaching elements for players to tinker with.
Yesterday they introduced two of Eternity’s primary tanks: the warrior and the barbarian. In Baldur’s Gate, these were the least complex - and arguably least interesting - classes to play with. But project director Josh Sawyer reckons their particulars are unusual enough for us to get tactically wrapped up in.
Riot find a venue for the League of Legends 2014 World Final: Seoul's World Cup Stadium
Where better to host League of Legends’ biggest event than South Korea, where eSports long ago reached its natural position at the heart of pop culture? Riot Games have booked out the Sangam Stadium for the occasion - a “world-class sports arena” which once hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Thomas Was Alone updated with free prequel DLC about hope and jetpacks
It has been such a very long time since I played Thomas Was Alone. But I do remember that it was good.
Besides successfully pairing the lessons of graphic design with 2D platforming, creator Mike Bithell also told a sharp, open-hearted story about friendship via the escapades of regular quadrilaterals.
The whole thing was delivered like a cozy audiobook by British funnyman (and voice of Assassin’s Creed’s Grumpy Shaun) Danny Wallace, and I’m delighted to see it prequeled in new DLC Benjamin’s Flight.
AFK on a giant turtle: why WoW's only neutral level 90 player spent 4164 hours on a single island
Three days ago, World of Warcraft’s decade-long Alliance-Horde war gained its first level 90 conscientious objector.
A Pandaren shaman named Doubleagent the Insane hit the level cap surrounded by a gaggle of players eager to share in his celebration. He’d become the only WoW player to reach the top without picking a faction - instead preferring to keep to his starter island and the dual disciplines of mining and herbalism.
“Now, I can say that I have a 90 in all three factions,” he told PCGamesN.
It took him 4164 hours. So who is the man behind the panda? If we were to prick him, would he not lose HP?
CephalopodLC: Octodad being updated with new scenarios in the coming weeks
Stretch out your tentacles, or whatever limbs you own, because Octodad: Dadliest Catch is getting a series of short DLC missions this summer, and they’re free.
Young Horses say that they’ll be one-off scenarios, due out within weeks.
A Golden Wake: gangsters, greed and... real estate
Grundislav Games has teamed up with Wadjet Eye to release A Golden Wake, a point and click adventure about a fella whose greed gets the better of him. It starts in the Roaring ‘20s, Miami, so expect jazz, snappy dressing, nice beaches and… real estate intrigue.
Protagonist Alfie Banks is trying to get rich quick by getting into real estate development, but with the mob and the impending Great Depression just ahead of him.
Always-online DRM and service shutdowns endanger the PC's back catalog
When Tim Edwards asked me to do a round-up of PC’s best racing games, I was I was only too happy to oblige. I’m the motorhead around the PCGN virtual office, and the assignment sounded like a blast. One of my favorite genres, and a chance to revisit its greatest recent hits? The only problem was going to be keeping the list to just ten or fifteen items!
Or so I thought. Two days later, my list was a shambles. Somehow, in the last few years, most of my favorite racing games were rendered obsolete. Not by operating system compatibility or changing graphics standards. No, what had killed my racing game collection was Games For Windows, SecuROM, and server shutdowns.
This is how we lose games.
World of Warcraft's human male MKII
The big redesign of World of Warcraft’s old character models has finally hit the humans, or at least the male of the species. Now he looks, if not human, at least more expressive and detailed. Less like a sex doll and more like a shaved gorilla.
He still looks a little silly, but I remain a fan of the comical proportions and general dopiness, and Blizzard has tried to keep that. The fidelity is vastly improved though.
500 Years In The Making: Chess 2 Coming To PC
By Alice O'Connor on June 26th, 2014 at 8:00 pm.
Chess is a pretty good game, I hear, but I’m not really into retro gaming. After literally centuries (not to mention countless mods and patches) someone has finally made a proper sequel, so I might give it a crack. While the original Chess only had one faction, Chess 2: The Sequel adds another five armies with different rules, along with duels and a new victory condition.
It’s still kind of retro though, not upgrading the graphics at all. The story’s pretty much that same old war tale, though now it does now include ghosts, tigers, and elephants. A bit Far Cry 3-ish, then.
Behold The Clockface: Timespinner
By Adam Smith on June 26th, 2014 at 4:00 pm.
Timespinner’s graphics, time-hopping storyline and general ambience remind me of Chrono Trigger, which is one of the few JRPGs I’ve ever found the patience to complete. Lunar Ray Games’ project is no JRPG though. Currently on Kickstarter (I have a macro for that phrase), it’s a “2D Metroidvania Platformer for PC, Mac OS X, and Linux”, which provides me with the perfect opportunity to introduce the irritating term ChronoVania. The ‘V’ must be capitalised.
It’s a delightful looking game, using the time travel device to introduce a variety of environments filled with robotic enemies that pursue lead character Lunais through history. The team, led by Bodie Lee (formerly of Bungie), are seeking $50,000 and have already raised over $10,000 after a day of crowdfunding.
Control Dwarf Fortress With Isometric Graphics And Mouse
By Graham Smith on June 26th, 2014 at 2:00 pm.
Dwarf Fortress is not as hard to play as you think it is, but there’s no denying that its ASCII graphics lack modern clarity. Chances are that if you’ve played the game any time in the last two years, you did so not using a vanilla install, but by partnering the complicated fantasy simulation with third-party tools like DwarfTherapist or Stonesense.
As of earlier this week, Stonesense just became a lot more powerful. It previously let you visualise your world with isometric sprite graphics in a separate piece of software, but now that angled art can be integrated directly in the game itself. Best of all, it can be used not just as a visualiser but as an interface to control part of the game.
TerraTech: Build A Tank, Kill Other Tanks
By Ben Barrett on June 26th, 2014 at 9:00 am.
TerraTech is near the top of the list of games that I saw at Rezzed 2014, thought were amazing and then failed utterly to tell anyone about. It’s an even split between resource gatherer and combat game, where you’re an intrepid colonist working for a mega-corporation on a new world. Beyond that it laughingly discards any notions of reality. Putting a vehicle together is simple Lego stuff, clicking parts together until you have something vaguely stable. It can be done at any time with the tap of a button and manages to dodge any fiddliness you might expect. The game’s up on Kickstarter now, there’s a demo and you can check out some more hot facts below.
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