Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

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Monday news, part two:

Court rules Gabe Newell must appear in person to testify in Steam anti-trust lawsuit
https://www.pcgamer.com/court-rules-gabe-newell-must-appear-in-person-to-testify-in-steam-anti-trust-lawsuit/
Valve boss Gabe Newell is headed to court. A court order filed on November 16 (via Gamesindustry.biz) says Newell is required to testify in person in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit between Wolfire Games and Valve so the plaintiffs in the case can "adequately assess" his credibility.

Assassin's Creed players started having their games interrupted by full-screen pop-up ads, but Ubisoft says it was a 'technical error' and quickly patched it
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-players-started-having-their-games-interrupted-by-full-screen-pop-up-ads-but-ubisoft-says-it-was-a-technical-error-and-quickly-patched-it/
First reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, console players of older Assassin's Creed games like Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla encountered Black Friday ad pop-ups for the latest entry, Assassin's Creed Mirage, while trying to access in-game menus. Ubisoft has since stated that the ads appeared due to a "technical error" and removed them.

Forget the Dark Urge: if you want to feel like a monster in Baldur's Gate 3, it has over an hour of different gut wrenching breakup conversations
https://www.pcgamer.com/forget-the-dark-urge-if-you-want-to-feel-like-a-monster-in-baldurs-gate-3-it-has-over-an-hour-of-different-gut-wrenching-breakup-conversations/
"I thought I knew every type of hurt there was. I didn't know anything, did I?" Jesus, Karlach, I'm sorry, I didn't even get this dialogue in my game and I still feel bad. Baldur's Gate 3 is a big game with tons of world state variations and a veritable smörgåsbord of romanceable companions⁠—it makes sense that there's a lot of different breakup scenes.

Chief producer of the Yakuza series wasn't worried about going turn-based back in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, saying, 'we are confident that we can make an enjoyable game, even if it is in a genre we have never made before'
https://www.pcgamer.com/chief-producer-of-the-yakuza-series-wasnt-worried-about-going-turn-based-back-in-yakuza-like-a-dragon-saying-we-are-confident-that-we-can-make-an-enjoyable-game-even-if-it-is-in-a-genre-we-have-never-made-before/
The Yakuza/Like a Dragon games are an annualized series, a new entry appearing every year since 2014, and sometimes two per year—as was the case in 2023, when Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio released both Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. With so many games coming out, making sure they feel at least a little different, with changing protagonists, locations, and time periods, is essential. Changing the combat system was one of the most surprising shifts.

A decade after launching as a free game on Xbox One, Killer Instinct is going free-to-play on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-decade-after-launching-as-a-free-game-on-xbox-one-killer-instinct-is-going-free-to-play-on-pc/
There are two things I know about Killer Instinct. In the original '90s fighting game, Orchid had a finisher where she flashed her chest at the opponent, giving them a fatal heart attack, and in the 2013 reboot, Rash from Battletoads was OP.
Killer Instinct was a bigger deal on Xbox than it was on PC, the reboot a well-received Xbox One launch title with seasonal updates including the one adding a frog who was too powerful. Killer Instinct arrived on PC more sedately a few years later, on the Windows Store in 2016 and Steam in 2017, this time with a price tag. To our surprise, instead of being shut down the PC version actually migrated to new servers this year. And now, developer Iron Galaxy has announced as part of its 10th anniversary that Killer Instinct is getting a new patch and will become free-to-play on PC.

No, Cult of the Lamb's next free expansion won't be 'the sex update'
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-cult-of-the-lambs-next-free-expansion-wont-be-the-sex-update/
Earlier this year, spooky-cute roguelite Cult of the Lamb got a free expansion called Relics of the Old Faith adding more to do after defeating the final boss, a heavy attack for each weapon type, relics to collect, extra challenge modes, shielded enemies, and more. Developers Massive Monster said it wasn't the end, however, with another update still to come.
Now the studio has announced the update's name and release window. It's called Sins of the Flesh, and, as the official Twitter account tweeted, "Coming very early next year, this update is packed with new features, stories, and more!"

Pony-inspired fighting game Them's Fightin' Herds abandons its unfinished story mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/pony-inspired-fighting-game-thems-fightin-herds-abandons-its-unfinished-story-mode/
In 2013, Hasbro sent a cease-and-desist letter to the creators of a My Little Pony fangame called Fighting is Magic (it began as a fanart project called "Marevel vs. Clopcom"). While the creators, Mane6, accepted the cease and desist, they kept the basic idea and mechanics and used them to create an original game called Them's Fightin' Herds. Lauren Faust, producer of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV show, agreed to create a new cast of hoofed mammal fighters for the game and came up with the basics of a setting and story as well. Following an Indiegogo campaign that raised $586,346, Them's Fightin' Herds was released on Steam in early access.
Though Them's Fightin' Herds left early access in 2020, its story mode remains incomplete, with only the first chapter playable. In the latest blog post, which details two DLC characters being released as part of its season pass, there's a section on what comes next. "After the Season 1 Pass is complete," it says, "we will be ceasing active development on TFH. We will still be able to release small patches to address game-breaking bugs, but no new content will be produced. Unfortunately, that includes Story Mode."

You can buy this forgotten '90s shooter from its original website, which is a perfectly preserved time capsule of PC gaming's golden age
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-buy-this-forgotten-90s-shooter-from-its-original-website-which-is-a-perfectly-preserved-time-capsule-of-pc-gamings-golden-age/
Bad Toys 3D is described by publisher Tibo Software as "a 3D first-person shooter with funny graphics and sounds." Originally released in 1995, it's a simplistic Wolfenstein 3D knockoff that sees you exploring flat mazes of Windows screensaver-like brick walls, blasting purple pom-pom monsters with pistols and shotguns. "THE FACTORY FOR TOYS HAS BEEN BOUGHT BY THE COMPANY DELTA MILITARY SYSTEMS RECENTLY," reads the game's blurb. "NOW IT IS OUT OF CONTROL. WHAT IS GOING ON?"
I don't know whether Bad Toys 3D is any good, although even the publishers don't seem wholly convinced by it, saying "You won't find DOOM here". What makes it fascinating for PC gamers, though, is the context in which you can buy it today. As pointed out on X by MS-DOS gaming enthusiast Anatoly Shashkin. You won't find Bad Toys 3D on Steam, GoG, or any digital distribution service, but you can buy it direct from Tibo's own website, an experience which offers a perfectly preserved time-capsule of nineties' PC gaming.

No part three! Yay!