Telltale Games has taken the covers off The Walking Dead: Season Two and this time, you can play as Clementine from the first game. As with previous Telltale adventures, Season Two will be released as five episodes over the course of a few months, with the first episode scheduled to launch later this year. If you have a saved game from Season One, decisions you made during the course of the game will influence events in this game.
Assuming the role of an orphaned young girl left to her own devices in the undead apocalypse, this is a season that will challenge your expectations of how to find safety and survive in a world where no one can be trusted.
Remember when you [REDACTED] the guy in the [REDACTED] in Season One? Or the time [REDACTED] had to [REDACTED] the [REDACTED]? Good times!
Remember how the botched messaging and double-speak from Microsoft regarding the Xbox One after the unveiling and the disasterous E3 showing caused a lot of confusion? Microsoft worked hard to counteract all of that with clear updates via Xbox Wire detailing the policy changes known collectively as the “Xbox 180.” Unfortunately, it appears the Xbox PR machine is stumbling again with a chain of new errors.
After the jump, let’s rubberneck at the slow-motion wreck!Continue reading →
Halo: Spartan Assault, the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 touch-enabled game, is coming to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One in December. The console version of Spartan Assault will come with the free Operation Hydra DLC that was released for the game in August. The Halo Waypoint announcement regarding the twin-stick shooter also revealed that the game will come with a new online co-op mode as well as new weapons and abilities.
Spartan Assault was developed by Vanguard Games and produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries. The game is set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4 and depicts early Spartan Ops missions against the alien Covenant. It’s unknown at this time if the console version will include the microtransactions that allowed players to purchase Spartan upgrades for real money, but I’m willing to bet that Microsoft won’t say no to more money coming their way.
Unlike previous attempts to catalog and distribute so-called “abandonware” titles, Internet Archive’s collection allows people to run the software in their browser through an emulator. No more hunting for obscure procedures and compatibility files to get old software running! Jason Scott, the Internet Archive Software Curator, explained why this was an important feature of the project.
Turning computer history into a one-click experience bridges the gap between understanding these older programs and making them available in a universal fashion. Acquisition, for a library, is not enough – accessibility is where knowledge and lives change for the better.
Games aren’t the only kind of software offered to the curious. Historically significant productivity programs like WordStar are also included in the collection. Hey, kids! This is what we old-timers used before the Googles and the Apples.
Microsoft’s Major Nelson announced that Kinect Sports Rivals Preseason will be available for free to early adopters of the Xbox One console. It’s an “early access” version of the Kinect Sports Rivals game from Rare that was originally supposed to launch with the console, but has been delayed until 2014. The Preseason version of the game will allow players to wiggle, jump, and bounce around their living rooms to earn points, unlock special cosmetic items for the full game, and get early bragging rights on multiplayer challenges.
In keeping with the Halloween week scares, Major Nelson added this frightening bit of news.
“Enjoy an all-new track by rising musical group Youngblood Hawke. They recorded ‘Collide’ just for ‘Kinect Sports Rivals.'”
Scary! Kinect Sports Rivals Preseason will be available from November 22nd until March 2014.
It’s the week of Halloween! You know what that means. There’s plenty of cheesy content being added to games to get you in the trick-or-treating mood. Here’s the rundown on all the pumpkin flavored goodness.
Redigit has added a Pumpkin Moon event, themed tiles and walls, special pets, costumes, and other treats to the PC version of Terraria. The goodies will be in the game until November 10th at which time the update will revert to the normal content.
Champions Online is bringing back its Bloodmoon event. Takofanes the Undying will spawn every two hours in the game to wreak havoc in Millenium City. Players can collect special Halloween-themed rewards by teaming up to defeat him, or just trick-or-treat around town. It’s like an undead pinata party!
Guild Wars 2 is currently running its Blood and Madness Living World update that will last until the end of the month. The Mad King and his son are invading the world again and it’s up to the players to collect candy corn, navigate a labyrinth, and battle against the Lunatic Inquisition. On October 28th, the Tower of Nightmares event begins, offering more spooktacular sights!
Hallow’s End is World of Warcraft’s annual Halloween event. It features an Headless Horseman, special treats, spooky quests, and a way to trade candy for rare items. Raid group needs healer! Boo!
Marvel Heroes, Tom’s current fave, has Halloween-themed costumes for sale for a limited time. So far, Brood is available for Wolverine, and Franken-Castle is being offered for The Punisher.
EverQuest II is hosting the Nights of the Dead. Ghost-hunting, candy treats, an haunted mansion, and creepy new mobs will be in the game until November 11th for players to experience.
Battlefield 4 has a story according to EA and DICE. As seen in the trailer above, it’s something about gender integration in combat units, naval craft safety, and canine assault. Remember the story in Battlefield 3? I do. It was about yelling. Also, there was that time I was shooting at some guys next to a capture point while a jet got into a fight with a helicopter overhead. The jet flew too low and smashed into a tank. I respawned a few times. Finally, I unlocked a sight for my rifle at the end.
The Google Quantum A.I. Lab Team, a deep-thought group that explores quantum computing, has made a mind-bending mod for Minecraft. qCraft adds blocks that exhibit quantum entanglement, superposition, and observer dependency. Huh? What? I’ll be honest, the video above explains nothing for me, but the Google Quantum A.I. Lab folks say they worked with MinecraftEdu and Caltech’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter to make a fun, engaging way to teach quantum physics concepts to kids.
We built the Quantum A.I. Lab to explore the potential of quantum computing, and figure out what questions we should be asking. One question is clear: Where will future quantum computer scientists come from?
Our best guess: Minecraft.
Looking back on some of the incredible Minecraft creations I’ve seen over the years, I think these Google people may be on to something. You can download the mod at the qCraft site.
Nvidia debuted two new PC gaming technologies today that could make gamers swoon. GeForce ShadowPlay is a free game capture application that records up to 4GBs of footage on Windows 7 and an “unlimited” amount on Windows 8 in manual mode, or the last ten minutes of gameplay in Shadow Mode when you press a hotkey.
ShadowPlay leverages the H.264 hardware encoder found on GeForce GTX 600 and 700 Series graphics cards to record 1920×1080, 60 frames per second. All DirectX 9 and newer games are supported. In comparison to software solutions that hammer the CPU, ShadowPlay’s hardware solution has an approximate 5-10% performance impact when using the max-quality 50 mbps recording mode, and by saving to automatically-encoded and compressed H.264 .mp4 files, ShadowPlay avoids the disk-thrashing, humongous, multi-gigabyte files associated with other gameplay recording applications.
The other new technology announced today was Nvidia G-SYNC, which is a separate hardware module that can be used in monitors to reportedly make stuttering and screen-tearing disappear. Epic’s Tim Sweeney seemed to like it.
“It’s the biggest leap forward in gaming monitors since we went from standard definition to high-def.”
The separate module will be available for gamers to purchase and install in their existing monitors later this year, but Nvidia hopes to have OEM pre-installed units in monitors by next year.
I don’t know if Sony will win the Console Warz with this detail, but it’s cool to see the branding used on the tiniest component of the PlayStation 4. German tech site, Computer Bild, found these screws during their analysis of a PS4 devkit. Adorable! I guess you could argue that any Phillips-head screw in the Xbox One matches their brand as well.
Tropico 4 has a new Apocalypse DLC for PC and Xbox 360 today. Along with a Nuclear Shelter building that provides faction bonuses, and a snazzy Hazmat suit for your leader, the Apocalypse DLC adds a “How I Learned to Love the Bomb” mission.
The Cold War has turned hot and nuclear conflict is inevitable. Prepare the island nation of Tropico for the coming apocalypse and carefully choose which resources and factions to save from certain eradication.
El Presidente demands all nubile women join him in the shelter to wait for the mushroom clouds to clear! They will be humbly grateful for the opportunity to repopulate the Earth!
Microsoft is extending the Games with Gold program indefinitely. The program allows Xbox Live Gold members to download and keep two games a month for free. According to Microsoft’s Xbox Wire post, the free games offer has proven popular enough to keep around for the foreseeable future.
“At E3 2013, we launched Games with Gold as a limited-time program to thank our Xbox Live Gold members. Within that short period of time, we’ve seen an overwhelming response, with more than 120 million hours played with Games with Gold titles. Today, as a part of the “Week of Xbox Live,” we’re excited to announce that we are making Games with Gold an ongoing benefit for Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox 360.”
Previous games given away in Games with Gold have included Rainbow Six: Vegas, Crackdown, Assassin’s Creed II, and Fable 3. The current game offered to Gold subscribers is Halo 3. Unlike Sony’s similar Instant Game Program for PlayStation Plus members, Games with Gold allows gamers to keep any game they’ve downloaded if their subscription lapses. Microsoft has not said if Games with Gold will continue with the Xbox One.
Warner Bros. Games has patched Batman: Akham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City to remove Games for Windows Live and Securom from the PC versions of the games. Keys purchased through retail sources can be activated through Steam. Just like when BioShock 2 was updated to remove GFWL, everyone with a valid key will get the GOTY editions of these games with all the DLC!
Dear Batman Arkham Fans – Microsoft has begun the process of closing down Windows Live services over the next year. To make sure there is no interrupted service, we will be moving the game to Steam for verification and update services for both the Base and GOTY versions of Batman Arkham Asylum and Batman Arkham City.
Both games are currently on sale through Steam to celebrate.
Squad has added a “career mode” to Kerbal Space Program. The 0.22 update features a Research & Development Facility that tasks players with research missions. Experiments can be conducted which unlocks more advanced spacecraft components on a tech tree. Build rockets, fling them into orbit, and make your little green guys gather data. For science! Your kerbonauts finally have a purpose when they land on the Mun. If you don’t care for the career restrictions, sandbox mode is still available from the start of the game.
Kerbal Space Program is $23.00 on Steam Early Access or direct from the developer’s website.
Console players of Payday 2 can now purchase the “exclusive” pre-order bonus DLC for $4.99. The Lootbag DLC includes a red dot sight for rifles and shotguns, some in-game cash, a “unique” skull mask, and two cosmetic patterns. The old marketing image, (viewable here) clearly states that it was supposed to be only for pre-orders.
“These items will not be available to purchase after launch.”
There’s no word yet on whether or not PC players on Steam will be able to purchase this pre-order DLC. It’s as if there’s no honor among thieves.
