Kerbal Space Program: First Contract introduces "greatly expanded" Career Mode
Kerbal Space Program, one of the best space games on PC, just took one giant leap towards “scope completion” - the point where its launch pad is large and stable enough for developers Squad to build high on top of it. 0.22’s Career Mode has been filled out with funding and reputation systems, and players can now take on contracts at the Mission Control facility.
Digital colours don't run: The Elder Scrolls Online Update 3 will be a “guild extravaganza”
“Update 3 is almost here,” say Zenimax, “and is sure to impress your guild!”
Time was, impressing your guild simply meant barrelling through a series of quests in your off-time from being the Grey Fox. Now, though, the Elder Scrolls is a massively multiplayer affair. From Update 3 onwards, that means flying the colours of your group at all times - whether through armour dyes or bibs emblazoned with their emblem.
Ban rush: how Blizzard tackle cheats in StarCraft II
Blizzard aren’t really interested in catching StarCraft II cheats - not really. Ultimately, they’d rather deter them, stop them from even trying - so that nobody has to have their match ruined before the banhammer comes down.
Consider this post, then, the Blizzard equivalent of a ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ sticker - and learn something about the anti-cheat measures in one of the best PC strategy games in the process.
Guild Wars 2 sales doubled in two months since Chinese release
Those looking for gaps in the shiny carapace of one of the best MMORPGs on PC poked at its missing subscription. Could box sales sustain those bi-weekly updates and the huge team behind them for years to come?
The short answer: yes, so long as there are more countries for ArenaNet to conquer. Guild Wars 2 has 3.8 million players in China, just two months after its launch.
Sigourney Weaver was "very touched" by Alien: Isolation's premise
Sigourney Weaver might star in Alien: Isolation’s pre-order DLC, which makes hyper-tense levels of two classic scenes from Alien. But for the main, terrifying bulk of the game she is the mother Amanda Ripley is hoping to hunt down before she’s hunted to bits first.
As it turns out, she liked Creative Assembly's idea just as much as Sega did. Isolation marks the first time Weaver has played Ripley in a videogame.
EA's Frank Gibeau pinpoints mobile Dungeon Keeper's problem: "We innovated too much"
EA’s Frank Gibeau left his role at the head of the publisher’s PC and console-focused Labels division last year to become president of EA Mobile. Maybe the Dungeon Keeper license fell off a shelf and into his coat pocket, because it turned up a few months later, looking washed-out and smelling slightly damp, on iOS and Android.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson has already acknowledged that nu-Dungeon Keeper struggled to “stay true” to its namesake - but clearly failed to pass on the mea culpa memo to Gibeau. Instead, Frank thinks EA and Mythic “might have innovated too much”.
Deep Silver would like you to decide what goes in Dead Island 2's collector's edition, please
Care to fly the Zombie Flag of California from your car window? No? Maybe you’d rather wear a beer hat controlled using a dismembered arm? Or perhaps endure a radio alarm clock that groans you awake?
Deep Silver have come up with a whole page-worth of tat like this for Dead Island 2’s collector’s edition. Which particular tat ends up in the box is up to you.
Mercifully, there’s no Zombie Bait option.
Alien: Isolation pre-order trailer alludes to a Ripley-roaring good time
Oh, this is nice. We haven’t had pretend VHS visual artifacts in trailers since Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. But here’s a trailer for Alien: Isolation, replete with the late-‘70s version of the 21st Century Fox searchlight intro.
They might have stopped there, after the splash screens. But there’s even a couple of seconds of footage from Alien: Isolation’s Weaver-voiced pre-order DLC in there.
If you're interested in starting Dota 2, you should watch the International 4's newcomer's broadcast
The International is the biggest eSports event in history; boasting a whopping $10 million plus dollar prize pool. Sixteen teams are all smashing their digital avatars together for the biggest slice of the pie, in Valve’s most played game: Dota 2. It’s one of those MOBAs you see - five on five battles of attrition that can last an hour or more. The intimidating numbers don’t stop there either. It has over a 100 heroes to pick from, representing over 400 unique abilities and you’re gonna have to memorise each and every one if you want to be good.
It’s all a mad jumble of knowledge and numbers; only thousands of hours of play can begin to make sense of it all.
But don’t worry. Because there’s a phenomenally easy way to get in: the International 4’s brilliant newcomer’s broadcast. It’s lovely.
Nosgoth Founders packs will be revamped and cheaper from July 22nd
Nosgoth is a bit divisive around these parts. In my Nosgoth hands-on, I was surprised by how much fun I was having, and I continue to play it. Steve, on the other hand, is not a fan at all. In his Nosgoth preview, he called it a “disembodied multiplayer game”.
You can decide which of us is right by getting early access to the closed beta with a purchase of one of the founders packs, which are currently 25 percent off. What’s the sale for? It’s bidding farewell to these founders, as they’re being revamped come July 22nd.
Riot declares war on League of Legends skin resellers
A number of naughty sites and skin resellers have gained the ire of Riot. The League of Legends developer has declared war on these illegitimate resellers after it noticed an increase in fraud.
As of today, Riot will start to deactivate all previously issues codes for champion skins, and the studio is working with payment companies, recommending that they no longer process payments from these sites.
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