Microsoft Research Uses Kinect To Translate Between Spoken and Sign Languages

November 1st, 2013, 01:40 Posted By: wraggster

"Microsoft Research is now using the Kinect to bridge the gap between folks who don't speak the same language, whether they can hear or not. The Kinect Sign Language Translator is a research prototype that can translate sign language into spoken language and vice versa. The best part? It does it all in real time."

http://science.slashdot.org/story/13...sign-languages

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

PC now the UK's fastest growing games platform

November 1st, 2013, 01:47 Posted By: wraggster

Next-gen consoles finally have a competitor to be fearful of – the PC.
UK trade body UKIE has revealed to MCV the latest data from its digital charts project, which shows that the market share for PC games (boxed and digital) has risen five per cent for the first half of 2013, closing the gap on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The full report, which you can read right here, shows that PC games accounted for 22 per cent of all software sold during the first half of the year. PS3, in comparison, accounted for 25 per cent.
These statistics do not factor in sales of smartphone and tablet games, where localised data remains out of reach. For now.
The UK download chart for Q2 2013 hasalso been released, which reveals that SimCity was the No.1 game of the three month period, followed by BioShock Infinite in second place. EA was the No.1 publisher in terms of combined boxed and download sales, followed by 2K Games and SEga.
Simulation games are by far the most popular genre on PC during Q2, accounting for 23 per cent of all PC game sold.
Read more on the UK PC market right here.

http://www.mcvuk.com/index.php/news/...atform/0123518

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Today’s Halloween Deal at IndieGameStand: The Grave Digger

November 1st, 2013, 20:48 Posted By: wraggster

Halloween is here and we have a aptly themed game for today’s deal. Grabthe Grave Digger for Windows and Linux for whatever price you want. Pay $1 to get a key on Desura. Beat the average for a bunch of goodies, including the game’s soundtrack, design document, concept art, and wallpapers.
Take control of shovel-master ***us the grave robber extraordinaire in this third person stealth action-adventure. It’s a curious blend of whimsical English comedy and grim Dickensian horror made by a two-man team dedicated to fun, addictive gameplay.
Check it out at IndieGameStand!

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

RAPPELZ Epic VIII Part 3 Coming Soon to Europe and United States

November 1st, 2013, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster

WEBZEN, announces an upcoming update for RAPPELZ. Epic VIII Part 3 will bring new taming options, daily quests and 4 revamped dungeons. RAPPELZ Epic VIII Part 3 will be released in the near future in Europe and United States.
The new expansion will raise the pet taming feature to a completely new level. Expanding upon the ideas that were introduced in RAPPELZ Epic VIII Part 2, players will now have the chance to tame in-game bosses in the upcoming update and turn them into powerful allies. With this new taming system, game heroes will be able to acquire a pet that is relevant to their class and there will be more than 30 bosses that users will be able to tame.
In addition to the new boss taming system, the upcoming RAPPELZ Epic VIII Part 3 expansion will introduce exclusive daily quests. With 25 new daily quests in total, each quest will be rewarded with special coins that can be used to obtain powerful items. Daily quests will be rewarded with extra experience points so new players will get a chance to level up faster and still be rewarded with the coins.
Moving further, four instances that were added with the previous Epic will be reviewed and renewed. New level options will allow players to choose the difficulty that matches their skill level, by selecting one of 4 different versions, and each one will provide different rewards. Thanks to that, the dungeons will become more accessible for everyone regardless of their in-game experience.
Last but not least, the player’s inventory will be completely revamped and will become more user-friendly and intuitive.
While waiting for new information about the upcoming expansion all users across the globe can participate in our annual Halloween event and get precious rewards. In addition to this, all RAPPELZ fans in United States can take a part in the 7thRAPPELZ Anniversary and enjoy several different events organized specially for this occasion.
RAPPELZ is a free, global MMORPG where over 6 million players adventure and battle in a dark and devastated fantasy world. RAPPELZ combines a striking fantasy art style with deep character customisation, tactical pet taming & training and extensive player-versus-player and player-versus-environment gameplay. RAPPELZ is available in North America on gPotato.com and in Europe in German, French, Polish, Turkish and Italian languages on the gPotato.eu portal. For further information, visit the officialRAPPELZ websites at http://rappelz.gpotato.com andhttp://rappelz.gpotato.eu

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Remember the Dead with Kerbal Space Program

November 1st, 2013, 22:38 Posted By: wraggster

Squad, the developers behind the popular space agency sim game, Kerbal Space Program, want players to remember their lost Kerbalnauts this Day of the Dead. The team released a new animated trailer celebrating the popular Mexican holiday that combines both Aztec and Christian traditions.

Watch the trailer here: http://goo.gl/BxB35x.

KSP is still in development and is available through an early access program on the website and on Steam. Fans of the game can join the KSP community on Facebook or follow on Twitter for regular updates to the game. Interested in seeting what's possible in KSP - join the game's official Twitch channel, KSP-TV, or check out its YouTube page for links to some of the community's best videos.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Life Is Feudal Kicks Off Crowdfunding Campaign To Secure 2014 BETA Release

November 1st, 2013, 22:47 Posted By: wraggster

Beginning today, independent games developer ‘BitBox’ kicks off a crowdfunding campaign, and encourages gamers worldwide to pledge their support to their hardcore PC MMORPG, ‘Life Is Feudal’. Currently in development for the PC, this innovative and groundbreaking game challenges players to thrive and survive in a vast and immersive medieval fictional world.

Aimed at MMORPG players seeking the ultimate gaming experience, ‘Life Is Feudal’ is scheduled to be available as a playable ALPHA by the end of 2013, while a BETA release including more content and additional features is scheduled for a 2014 release, pending the outcome of the ongoing crowdfunding campaign. Watch the awesome campaign video here featuring a very special guest appearance:

A recently released gameplay trailer offers an exclusive first-look at the games impressive feature list that includes a huge seamless open world, impressive terraforming and flexible free building. For the duration of the crowdfunding campaign, backers will be regularly updated on the games progress, and will receive in-depth information about its vast number of cool features such as the unique use of mini-games, its no target combat system, physics based melee and ranged combat system, in addition to the realistic player damage system, and highly unique formation bonus system.

‘Life Is Feudal’ Indiegogo Campaign:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/li...udal/x/2217139

Combining the very best of Free-To-Play and Buy-To-Play adventuring, ‘Life Is Feudal’ impresses with its surreal amount of content and really cool features including full loot, skill-cap & stat-cap systems, a complex food & cooking system, weapon combos & special effects, double health and stamina bars, an innovative battle system and a classic siege system!

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Award-winning game epigenesis now available on steam

November 1st, 2013, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster

Dead Shark Triplepunch today announced its award-winning First-Person Arena Sports game Epigenesis is now in open for Early Access on Steam for $9.99 here:http://store.steampowered.com/app/244590/.

Epigenesis is a multiplayer game for up to ten players in which two teams—armed with force-based, non-lethal weaponry and gravity boots—play a ball game over rooftops. When players score a goal, they gain access to seeds that sprout plants with special abilities that grant players buffs and help them capture the arena from their opponents. The game is set for a Q1 2014 release and is being developed for PC with Unreal Engine 3 by a ten-man strong indie team.

“Epigenesis is a love letter to Quake and Unreal Tournament’s Bombing Run. It’s a combination of the games that we miss from the time when we grew up, and we want to bring that same experience to new players but with a modern twist,” said Michael Levall, project lead for Dead Shark Triplepunch. “Whether you’re an old Quake player who misses the twitchy shooter, or if you’re someone who thinks you know the meaning of the word ‘hectic,’ Epigenesishas something for you.”

Dead Shark Triplepunch will host a community tournament for Epigenesisthrough their Twitch channel Friday, Nov. 15 until Monday, Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PDT. For more information, please visit:www.deadsharktriplepunch.com.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Facebook Unity SDK comes out of beta

November 2nd, 2013, 00:37 Posted By: wraggster

Cross-platform tool helps increase number of daily users for Shadowgun: Deadzone by 75%
Facebook's Unity SDK is now officially out of beta, it has announced.
The cross-platform tool was launched in August during Unite 2013, and is designed to help bring more hardcore and midcourse titles to the social network.
The latest version of the SDK provides unified function and return call values across all supported platforms, as well as increased compatibility for apps using multiple plugins.
Improved support for deep linking has also been integrated, which takes people directly from social stories referencing a certain game to a customised destination in that title.
The new update also aims to make it more simple for users to share in-game screenshots. To date, players have on average shared over 65,000 pictures a day and two million images a month.
Through using the Unity SDK, Facebook claimed that developer Madfinger had increased the number of daily users for its Shadowgun: Deadzone game by more than 75 per cent during the first couple of weeks. Nival's strategy title Kings Bounty: Legions was also said to have doubled the conversion rate of Facebook users who install the Unity plugin and then play the game.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/f...f-beta/0185441

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Surface Pro 2 Gets Significant Battery Boost

November 3rd, 2013, 00:14 Posted By: wraggster

"The original Surface Pro didn't have quite a good battery life and that's why Microsoft tried to fix this with the Surface Pro. After the Surface Pro 2 has hit general availability, Microsoft has silently pushed out a firmware update which, according to some new battery benchmarks run by Anandtech, made significant improvements to the battery life of the Surface Pro 2. After the new web browsing battery life test it was discovered that the Surface Pro 2 now manages better battery life than the ARM Surface 2, which is pretty impressive. With the firmware update, Microsoft was targeting over 8 hours, and AnadTech's benchmarks show Microsoft has succeeded, registering a 25% increase in battery life over the no-firmware version. The unpatched Surface Pro 2 lasted for 6.68 hours while with the firmware update installed, its battery life increased to 8.33 hours. The video playback test involved playing a movie until the battery died, and here, albeit smaller, improvements with the battery life have also been noticed: 7.73 hours compared to 6.65 hours

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...-battery-boost

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

OpenBSD 5.4 Released

November 3rd, 2013, 00:22 Posted By: wraggster

The release of OpenBSD 5.4 has been announced. New and notable advancements include new or extended platforms like octeon and beagle, moving VAX to ELF format, improved hardware support including Kernel Mode Setting (KMS), overhauled inteldrm(4), experimental support for fuse(4), reworked checksum handling for network protocols, OpenSMTPD 5.3.3, OpenSSH 6.3, over 7,800 ports, and many other improvements and additions.

http://bsd.slashdot.org/story/13/11/...sd-54-released

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Skype explains why third-party apps and accessories will die in December

November 3rd, 2013, 00:28 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Windows 8.1's web use doubles shortly after launch

November 3rd, 2013, 00:31 Posted By: wraggster

Web traffic doesn't directly translate to market share, but it's handy for tracking the adoption of brand new operating systems -- take Windows 8.1, for example. Net Applications notes that Microsoft's new OS nearly doubled in web share upon its official launch in October, climbing to 1.7 percent. Clearly, a lot of web surfers had been waiting to upgrade. As you might imagine, though, the software took share from its predecessor as customers either replaced PCs or downloaded the free update. Windows 8 declined for the first time ever, falling half a point to 7.5 percent; the two 8.x revisions gained 0.4 points when put together, but Windows as a whole dipped slightly to 90.7 percent.
Redmond wasn't the only one releasing a new platform, of course. Apple's OS X Mavericks accounted for more than 0.8 percent of web traffic last month, or enough to put it past Tiger and Leopard almost overnight. While the overall Mac platform only grew by a tiny amount to hit 7.7 percent of web use, we doubt that the crew at 1 Infinite Loop is complaining. It's not clear how the dueling Apple and Microsoft upgrades will compare in the long run, but you can check the historical trends both after the break and at the source link.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/02/n...-october-2013/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Halloween is over, but the horror has just begun

November 4th, 2013, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

Dementium II HD 's special blend of horror balances action, exploration, story telling and puzzle solving to bring about a classic gameplay experience fans of the genre enjoy. Our latest trailer focuses in on some of the intense action you will face when the twisted creatures of Dementium rear their ugly heads.

In this video you will see our tormented hero William Redmoor face off against Chest Maws, a Gorgamesh, the Wendigo Witch, The Gnaw and other hellish abominations using a number of the weapons found throughout the game. Beginning with just a shank, players will have to find new tools of survival such as the Sledgehammer, make-shift Flame Thrower, Assault Rifle and Dynamite.

Fans are able to Pre-Order Dementium II HD right now on Steam and receive a 35% discount off the launch price of $14.99. The PC version will launch on December 17, 2013 with the Mac version of the game expected early January 2014 along with some demented DLC.

The latest behind the scenes videos and game trailers can be found on YouTube on the official Digital Tribe Games Channel:http://www.youtube.com/digitaltribegames

Check out the Dementium II HD Facebook page for the latest news, screens and updates: https://www.facebook.com/DementiumII

Pre-Order on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/217100/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Valve to bring ragnarok online to steam

November 4th, 2013, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

WarpPortal announced Wednesday that they are partnering with Valve to bring the classic MMORPG title, Ragnarok Online, to their leading online platform for PC games, Steam.Ragnarok Online, was made available via Steam October 30^th , More Details:www.playragnarok.com

RAGNAROK ONLINE is a free to play action/fantasy MMORPG, where players explore a world in which the myth of ages has come to life! With hundreds of quests and mini games, 400+ unique and dangerous monsters, over 50 classes to choose from and hundreds of maps and dungeons to explore, players will test their mettle as they battle on the world of Rune-Midgard to rid the Demonic plague that has descended after 1000 years of peace and prosperity.

“The combination of great players and platform together with the unique Action MMO that is Ragnarok Online should be a match made in Valhalla.” says Jason Koerperich Ragnarok Producer.

Play Ragnarok using Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/215100/

Play without Steam: https://www.warpportal.com/landing/ragnarok/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Use your words as weapons in the spiritual successor to "Puzzle Quest", APEXICON

November 4th, 2013, 01:46 Posted By: wraggster

Touting itself as the "spiritual successor" to Puzzle Quest, Actos Games, LLC. has crafted an experience that will allow you to use your entire vocabulary to take foes down. This PC/Mac/Linux puzzle game will satisfy those word puzzle fans who have been missing something deep and engaging, giving the Puzzle RPG genre a shot in the arm with HD graphics, simple yet robust combat, and customization all over the place.

The game itself has been in development for over six months now. Jonathan Meyer, Founder and CEO of Actos Games, has decided this is the time to show the general public, as well as excite them for a future filled of fun with words. The biggest feature of the game is the choice between one of four classes: the hard-working weapon-creating Wordsmith, enigmatic and slightly weird Idiomancer, thieving-yet-copying Plagiarist, and the future robot-cyborg,Verbinator. Each class comes with over a dozen of skills to mix-and-match, as well as hundreds of offensive and defensive items will be available to collect and change your strategy.

That's not all in the game, however. Promising to be a huge part of the game, a whole town can be built in your name, allowing you to collect NPCs who you meet along the story, gather items and quests from them, and enrich your experience by befriending them. Doing so might allow some NPCs to join you as offensive items, and it just gets wackier from there!

To check out the concept and check out the wonderful art by Soleeda Chea, head on over to APEXICON - Fantasy Puzzle Combat's Kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...t/posts/649630

VIDEOS:
- Kickstarter Trailer

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Microsoft Admits Windows 8.1 Update May Bork Your Mouse, Promises a Fix

November 4th, 2013, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft has several valid reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 8.1, which is free if you already own Windows 8. However, there's a known issue that might give some gamers pause before clicking through in the Windows Store. There have been complaints of mouse problems after applying the Windows 8.1 update, most of which have been related to lag in video games, though Microsoft confirmed there are other potential quirks. Acknowledging the problem, Microsoft says it's also actively investigating the issues and working on a patch."

http://it.slashdot.org/story/13/11/0...promises-a-fix

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Intel Open-Sources Broadwell GPU Driver & Indicates Major Silicon Changes

November 4th, 2013, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster

Intel shipped open-source Broadwell graphics driver support for Linux this weekend. While building upon the existing Intel Linux GPU driver, the kernel driver changes are significant in size for Broadwell. Code comments from Intel indicate that these processors shipping in 2014 will have "some of the biggest changes we've seen on the execution and memory management side of the GPU" and "dwarf any other silicon iteration during my tenure, and certainly can compete with the likes of the gen3->gen4 changes." Come next year, Intel may now be able to better take on AMD and NVIDIA discrete graphics solutions."

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/1...ilicon-changes

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 - release in November '13

November 4th, 2013, 18:46 Posted By: wraggster

Have you ever wondered what’s it like to own a mechanic workshop?

Now you can check that out! Car Mechanic Simulator gives you an unique chance to see what’s going on behind the scenes of a car workshop.

Deal with customers, order and repair car parts to mount them in various car models. A must have for all car maniacs.

- unlimited, random orders make every gameplay different
- hundreds of car parts to be ordered, repaired and mounted
- variety of things to do: car repairs (engine, exhaust and suspension etc) chip tuning, interims, diagnostic path and more
- career mode and free play for almost endless game experience
- 3 different workshops each varying in size and equipment

Gameplay :

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

First Raid Dungeon Hits Dragon’s Prophet!

November 4th, 2013, 18:49 Posted By: wraggster

Dragon riders, unite! In just a few days, the world of Dragon’s Prophet will be enriched with the addition of the new zone, Alentia, as well as the chance for players to advance the caliber of their characters with an increased level cap of 90. High in Auratia’s northern continent, surging rivers of lava and gigantic rock formations shape the impressive landscape of the region. Players will also find one of the highlights of the patch here: Dragonheart Temple. This instance is the game’s first raid dungeon, designed to be tackled by groups of up to ten players.

The story of Alentia will lead curious and daring adventures to the sacred Dragonheart Temple under the pretence of neutralising conflict there and to prevent the mighty devouring dragon Kronos from being reawakened. However, players will soon find that there’s more to this quest than meets the eye and that a rising force of evil threatens to plunge all of Auratia into chaos.

The first four bosses in this dungeon are legendary dragons, each with unique traits and combat skills. They are, in order of appearance:
1^st Boss: Sammos the Resplendent
This dragon is able to manipulate crystals for both offense and defense.

2^nd Boss: Vita the Stalwart Shield
A dragon with a nearly impenetrable rocky shield for unparalleled protection.

3^rd Boss: Izamu the Relentless Tide
Darting under the lava like a fish, Izamu erupts to the surface for sudden attacks.

4^th Boss: Fadero the Heavenly Storm
This dragon throws phantom attacks by harnessing the power of thunder elementals.

And, of course, the very best has been saved for last. The game’s publisher, Infernum, will not reveal the name of the final boss or his battle tactics until the day of the patch. One thing is certain: He is far more powerful than the four previous dragons and will deliver a fight to be remembered.

For more information on the raid dungeon or to download the client, visit ourofficial website.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

FPS Creator Reloaded - The Ultimate Game Creator BETA Released!

November 4th, 2013, 18:50 Posted By: wraggster

The Game Creators have released the first ever BETA version of FPS Creator Reloaded, a revolutionary new game creator for the PC.

Early adopters of the engine are downloading and exploring the exciting features offered by this innovative game creator.

"This is the first significant step towards developing our vision of the ultimate game creator. FPS Creator Reloaded is set to raise the bar and provide the easiest, most flexible and visually stunning way to create and sell your own games. In the coming months and with help from our enthusiastic community we are pioneering an exciting technology." commented Lee Bamber, CEO & lead developer at The Game Creators.

FPS Creator Reloaded is designed to be very easy to use and creating a game environment with the Terrain editor is a whole lot of fun. With one click users can be running around their world in seconds. Their games come alive when they start to add 3D game objects like weapons, ammo, foliage and buildings. With drag and drop controls high quality games come alive before your eyes.

The graphics engine in FPS Creator Reloaded creates amazing visuals with features such as high res texturing, reflections, cascade shadow mapping and self shadowing techniques. Before you know it you've got the making of your own cool shooter that stands up against the big games of today.

"In recent weeks hundreds of users have been pledging and backing the product all eager to be the first to try it out. We're very excited to hear their feedback and there were some amazing game levels on the day we launched." said Rick Vanner, Development Director at The Game Creators.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Daedalic release new screenshots for 1954: Alcatraz

November 4th, 2013, 18:52 Posted By: wraggster

Daedalic Entertainment today release new screenshots from the upcoming noir point & click adventure 1954: Alcatraz for PC and Mac releasing early 2014.

Set in the vice-ridden Golden Gate City of the fifties, 1954 Alcatraz tells the story of Joe, a man serving a long stretch in the notorious prison for armed assault. Eager to escape ‘The Rock’ and claim the hidden spoils from the heist, he soon realises his only chance to breakout is with the help of his wife Christine.

Facing death threats from the couple’s partner in crime Mickey if she doesn’t come up with the missing loot, Christine has problems of her own. But where is the cash? Only Joe knows; yet every crook, scam artist and chancer from North Beach is now looking for it. The race is on!

Players will have to make tough moral and action choices that will directly influence the course of the story, resulting in surprising twists and different endings.

New screenshots for the game can be viewed and downloaded from here:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pgo7sfa49md6hme/sz7iFH-Tty

1954: Alcatraz will release in early 2014 on PC and Mac.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

KTBG : Kill The Bad Guy

November 4th, 2013, 18:55 Posted By: wraggster

Kill The Bad Guy »: Exkee announces is new independent game with an original trailer

Want to remove all the Bad Guys from the surface of the Earth? You will soon be able to do it in the next game from Exkee Studio!

Since 10 years Exkee develops both games for famous publishers and smallindependent productions (I -Fluid, ColorZ , Voodoo Dice...).

Our brand new original indie game is definitely more mature and will allow players to build devilish traps in order to eliminate one by one every Bad Guy hidden all around the world.

"Kill The Bad Guy" is a game defined as a puzzle game where the physics of the elements plays an important role in the constantly renewed experience of the player.

Who are the Bad Guys? They are a class of men who you can’t suspect the origins. Former mafiosos, war criminals and other lawless killers, they are remaining incognito among the population.

This population, which they have so long despised, now allows them to escape justice by hiding within it. But you are there, you are watching them, and soon you will do justice.

Having an original gameplay and an original Art Direction, Exkee needs anoriginal trailer! Here is a short ‘live’ video that announces our new project:

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Battle Worlds: Kronos available NOW on PC, Mac, Linux

November 4th, 2013, 23:18 Posted By: wraggster

As of now, the Kickstarter-backed strategy game Battle Worlds: Kronos by german developer King Art Games is available through Steam, GOG and the game's dedicated website. Plattforms are PC, Mac and Linux. Kickstarter backers have already received their product key via e-mail.

The game is released as promised, on time and without cumbersome copy-protection (DRM). It features about 30 hours of solo gameplay and free cross-platform multiplayer. Also, buyers will get the DLC 'Trains' for free when it's published early next year.

'This is it. We have done our best to help the once-great genre of turn-based strategy make a comeback. We publish Battle Worlds as a modern take on a classic genre and a bow to our great forerunners like Battle Isle or Advance Wars. If you, like us, believe that turn-based strategy should be strong again, please support us by buying the game!' said Jan Theysen, CEO of King Art Games.

Download the game here:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/237470/

http://www.gog.com/game/battle_worlds_kronos

http://battle-worlds.com/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Free Content Update for Company of Heroes 2 Launching Next Week

November 4th, 2013, 23:19 Posted By: wraggster

Critically acclaimed RTS game Company of Heroes™ 2 will undergo a free update called ‘Turning Point,’ on November 12, 2013. This update will include a host of free content, including items created by and for the game’s passionate community.

‘Turning Point’ includes:
· World Builder

This highly requested community feature enables players to design and share their own epic multiplayer maps for Company of Heroes 2

· Two New Multiplayer Maps

The game’s multiplayer roster is being bolstered with two additional multiplayer maps, the industrial ‘Rails and Metal’ and the urban ‘Lazur Factory’
· Four New Multiplayer Commanders
Four new Commanders, two per faction, are being introduced into the game’s multiplayer and skirmish modes. One Commander from each faction was designed by members of the Company of Heroes 2 community during a visit to Relic this summer and will be available via registration atwww.companyofheroes.com

“ We are excited to provide such a large content update to Company of Heroes 2 players,” said Greg Wilson, Executive Producer at Relic Entertainment. “We are particularly proud to offer our community the much sought-after World Builder and are hoping to provide Steam Workshop integration and other mod features in the near future.”

Further information on the ‘Turning Point’ update will be detailed on the relaunched www.companyofheroes.com website throughout this week. The company also announced that a sneak peek at the new maps will be demoed live on Relic Entertainment’s Twitch TV channel tomorrow, November 5, 2013, followed by a preview of the community requested World Builder on November 6.

For more information, please visit www.companyofheroes.com

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

First Expansion for Europa Universalis IV Offers a New World to Conquer

November 4th, 2013, 23:19 Posted By: wraggster

Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games that never settles down, today revealed details on the first expansion to Europa Universalis IV, the award-winning empire building game developed by Paradox Development Studio for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Are you ready to explore a brave new world? The new expansion, Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise, allows you to send your ships off to the west to discover a new world, unlike any you’ve seen before. For the first time ever in a Paradox Development Studio game, players are given the chance to discover a completely randomized American continent, where no playthrough will ever be the same.

Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise makes it possible for you to play as a Native American nation and master the federation mechanics, as well as unique national ideas, buildings and events. You may also take command of a Colonial Nation, declare colonial war, or even strive for liberty from your motherland.
Read the first developer diary for the expansion here:forum.paradoxplaza.com

The changes to exploration will be explored in a live stream on November 7, featuring Europa Universalis IV Project Lead Thomas Johansson and Studio Manager Johan Andersson. To see Conquest of Paradise firsthand, join the stream at 8 p.m. CET / 11 a.m. PST on Paradox Interactive’s Twitch.tv channel at www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive.

Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise will release on all major digital-download portals on December 11th, 2013.

Europa Universalis IV is the critically acclaimed strategy game that allows players to tell their own stories, determining the course of international events as they see fit. Whether they’re growing a sprawling nation across the sea to the shores of a new world, or trying to survive an invasion by overseas explorers, Europa Universalis IV offers enough options to satisfy colonialists and imperialists alike.
Europa Universalis IV Patch 1.3 released last week, read the patchnotes here:http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?731814-1.3-Patch-Released

Strategy fans and ambitious conquerors can purchase Europa Universalis IVnow at www.europauniversalis4.com.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Lego minifigures online beta registration now open!

November 4th, 2013, 23:22 Posted By: wraggster

Funcom is excited to announce the launch of the official registration website for the 'LEGO® Minifigures Online'Closed Beta test. Fans of all ages can now register for a chance to participate in the Closed Beta and receive access to the game before its release in order to help developers fine-tune the gaming experience.

Visit http://www.playminifigures.com to register for the Beta!

The Closed Beta will be an ongoing process leading up to launch next year, and over time Funcom will invite a growing number of testers to participate as more content and more gameplay features are introduced to for players to test. Funcom will also hold an Open Beta test with an extended number of participants prior to launch, and anyone registering for the Closed Beta will also be eligible for access to the Open Beta.

"We are heading into very exciting times," says Executive Producer for 'LEGO Minifigures Online' at Funcom, Lawrence Poe. "Closed Beta is first and foremost an incredibly important tool which allows us to receive valuable feedback from our audience, feedback that we can use to improve the experience and make it the best possible game before we launch it to the masses. The whole team is looking forward to opening the door and letting players come in and experience some of the great stories, content and gameplay that we are creating."

In ' LEGO Minifigures Online' you once again get to visit Pirate World, Space World, Medieval World and many others, as you play together with thousands of other players while collecting minifigures and developing their unique and powerful abilities. Smash, build and collect - thousands of exciting adventures are just a brick away in 'LEGO Minifigures Online'!

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal’ Marks Third Installment Of Popular Futuristic Strategy

November 4th, 2013, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster

‘Knuckle Cracker’ is proud to announce the worldwide release of ‘Arc Eternal’ - the third and most ambitious installment in the ‘Creeper World’ franchise for the PC and Mac.

For billions of years empires rose to greatness, but each has fallen to the Creeper until none remained. Hope seems lost and only the bravest of players stand a chance in this futuristic strategy game of massive proportions!

In ‘Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal’ players engage in a compelling story across countless missions fighting back a fluid enemy that literally flows over the dynamic terrain. Players employ terraforming tools, advanced weapons, orbital drops, and other devices as they engage on variable size and shape maps. Featuring a full map editor with support for advanced scripting, players are armed with the tools to create an infinite variety of user generated content. Maps can be shared on-line, and the varied gameplay is suitable to players of all experience levels.

With its innovative storyline, real-time gameplay, immersive strategy, and endless worlds and content to explore, ‘Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal’ is one of the most advanced and comprehensive strategy games available on the market!

‘Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal’ Features:

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Oxide's Nitrous Engine to Support AMD's Mantle

November 5th, 2013, 10:47 Posted By: wraggster

Oxide Games announced today that its recently revealed 3D engine, Nitrous, supports AMD’s Mantle technology. Nitrous, designed specifically for the hardware now common in PCs as well as the Sony PlayStation® 4™ and Microsoft’s Xbox® One™, is capable of simulating and rendering large-scale, complex scenes thanks to its 64-bit architecture and fully concurrent multi-core processing. Those visuals are even better on Mantle-enabled hardware like AMD’s Radeon™ R9, R7, and HD 7000 Series graphics cards.

“Mantle solves a problem PC developers have struggled with for years,” said Oxide co-founder Tim Kipp. “We’re closer to the graphics hardware than ever before, which lets us see dramatic increases in performance on Mantle-enabled systems. At the same time, the low cost of including Mantle support doesn’t prevent us from developing Nitrous for all modern graphics hardware, which makes it attractive to us as businesspeople.”

What makes Nitrous unique is its Simultaneous Work and Rendering Model (SWARM). Specifically, the engine renders calls automatically from whatever CPU core is most available. This allows for a vastly larger number of high-fidelity 3D objects to be rendered to the screen at the same time.

“We’re proud to be working with talented developers like Oxide. They were one of the many developers that have asked for what Mantle provides, and we're happy to make their wishes come true.” said Ritche Corpus, Director of ISV Gaming and Alliances at AMD. “Our goal with Mantle is to give engine creators and game designers the tools they need to push the envelope of PC gaming, and Nitrous does exactly that.”

For more information about Mantle, please visit http://bit.ly/1ePJr0e.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent's Curse: Episode One to release December 4th

November 5th, 2013, 10:48 Posted By: wraggster

Revolution Software has today confirmed that Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent’s Curse will release worldwide for PC on December 4^th. In addition, the developer has revealed that this Broken Sword adventure will, unlike any before, run over two thrilling episodes, concluding in January 2014.

The game set crowdfunding records for a UK-developed game back in September 2012, when it raised $850,000 from 15,000 backers on Kickstarter. Those that pledged to receive a PC, Mac or Linux copy of the game will get each episode as it become available.

The first episode will debut on PC / Mac / Linux through Steam, GOG.com, and Revolution’s own website store on December 4^th, with a PlayStation Vita version to follow later in the month. The concluding episode of the game will be published on PC in January 2014. iOS and Android versions will follow shortly after each PC episode.

“Whilst this is very much a classic BrokenSword game in terms of production values and sense of adventure, we’re really breaking new ground with The Serpent’s Curse,” says Charles Cecil, Founder & CEO, Revolution Software. “The success of our Kickstarter appeal has allowed us to be hugely ambitious – each episode is a full sized game in its own right. So we will be publishing two action-packed adventures in close succession. The response to those that have seen the game so far has been hugely positive – some suggesting that this is the best Broken Sword yet.”

When a mysterious painting is stolen during an armed raid on a Paris gallery, George Stobbart and Nico Collard are thrown, seemingly by chance, into the investigation together. From Paris to London and beyond, the trail becomes a race against time as dark forces from Europe's turbulent past are woken from their slumber. Broken Sword characters old and new are encountered - but who can George and Nico trust? The journey they are on reveals a conspiracy as old as the written word, whose ancient heresies will cause innocent blood to spill once more...

A classic point and click that feels utterly contemporary, Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent’s Curse has re-united key members from the Broken Sword team, with layout artists from studios such as Disney, Aardman, and Universal who have created sumptuous, classically drawn backgrounds. The rich, lavish HD art, evolves the art-style so loved in the previous Broken Sword games.

Episode 1 will be released on December 4^th for PC, priced £9.99 per episode / £14.99 if both episodes are bought together. Price and release dates for other formats to be confirmed.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

ASUS 3-in-1 PC gets UK price, release date and list of retailers

November 5th, 2013, 10:57 Posted By: wraggster

The "world's first" 3-in-1 laptop, desktop and tablet computer - the ASUS Transformer Book Trio - will arrive in the UK this month priced at £899.99.
The 11.6-inch PC, which combines a detachable Android tablet with a keyboard dock that can also be used as a self-contained Windows 8 desktop, will launch on November 11th. It will be available online from Amazon, Ebuyer and John Lewis.
Users can switch between Windows 8 and Android at the press of a button. It's powered by a 4th generation Intel CoreTM processor and the Android tablet has its own Intel AtomTM dual-core processor and 16GB of solid-state storage.
It has wide 178-degree viewing angles, 10-point capacitive multi-touch, a backlit keyboard and multi-touch touchpad ensures, stereo speakers, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 in the PC Station, plus 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 in the tablet display.
The Transformer Book Trio has up to 13 hours battery life in Android mode and five hours in Windows 8 mode.
Here's the full specs:
PC Station:
11.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS with capacitive 10-point multi-touch
PC Station: 4GB DDR3 (1600MHz) with RAM 500GB HDD
Tablet: 2GB LP DDR2 RAM (1066GHz) with 16GB onboard storage
Rear 5MP with auto-focus and 1080p Full HD video recording Front 720p HD camera
Windows 8 Android 4.2
Intel Core i5 4200U Intel Atom Z2560
Intel HD Graphics 4400
PC Station: 802.11ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 4.0, 2 x USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Micro-HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm headphone/mic
Tablet: 802.11n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 3.0, Micro-USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone/mic, microSD card slot
Stereo speakers with ASUS SonicMaster technology, digital mic Stereo speakers with ASUS SonicMaster technology, digital mic
Accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope, e-compass
PC Station: 33Wh lithium polymer
Tablet: 19Wh lithium polymer
PC Station: 304.9 x 193.8 x 13.4mm, 1kg
Tablet: 304.9 x 193.8 x 9.7mm, 700g
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...cs-list/032342

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Football Manager 2014 tops PC game chart

November 5th, 2013, 10:58 Posted By: wraggster

Football Manager 2014 has shot straight to the top of the boxed PC game chart in the UK after launching on October 31st.
The football management simulation title from publisher Sega and developer Sports Interactive also reached number six in the All Formats chart, which includes console games.
Game sales tracker GfK Chart-Track said the title saw "strong sales", although sales were down seven per cent on Football Manager 2013 which debuted at number four when it launched last year.
Meanwhile, last week's other new boxed PC game release, Battlefield 4 from EA, reached number two in the PC chart, and number two in the All Formats chart.
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag topped the All Formats chart.
Here's the full boxed PC game chart for the week ending November 2nd:
1. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014 (SEGA)
2. BATTLEFIELD 4 (EA)
3. THE SIMS 3: INTO THE FUTURE (EA)
4. THE SIMS 3 (EA)
5. ROME: TOTAL WAR II (SEGA)
6. ROCKSMITH 2014 EDITION (UBISOFT)
7. THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE (EA)
8. THE SIMS 3: UNIVERSITY LIFE (EA)
9. THE SIMS 3: SEASONS (EA)
10. THE SIMS 3: SUPERNATURAL (EA)

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...e-chart/032341

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Linux 3.12 Released, Linus Proposes Bug Fix-Only 4.0

November 5th, 2013, 11:05 Posted By: wraggster

Linus Torvalds announced the Linux 3.12 kernel release with a large number of improvements through many subsystems including new EXT4 file-system features, AMD Berlin APU support, a major CPUfreq governor improvement yielding impressive performance boosts for certain hardware/workloads, new drivers, and continued bug-fixing. Linus also took the opportunity to share possible plans for Linux 4.0. He's thinking of tagging Linux 4.0 following the Linux 3.19 release in about one year and is also considering the idea of Linux 4.0 being a release cycle with nothing but bug-fixes. Does Linux really need an entire two-month release cycle with nothing but bug-fixing? It's still to be decided by the kernel developers.

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/1...ug-fix-only-40

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Microsoft Admits Windows 8.1 Update May Bork Your Mouse, Promises a Fix

November 5th, 2013, 11:06 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft has several valid reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 8.1, which is free if you already own Windows 8. However, there's a known issue that might give some gamers pause before clicking through in the Windows Store. There have been complaints of mouse problems after applying the Windows 8.1 update, most of which have been related to lag in video games, though Microsoft confirmed there are other potential quirks. Acknowledging the problem, Microsoft says it's also actively investigating the issues and working on a patch.

http://it.slashdot.org/story/13/11/0...promises-a-fix

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Nvidia GTX 780Ti and Radeon R9 290 benchmarked, priced

November 5th, 2013, 11:08 Posted By: wraggster

The two latest competitors into what has turned out to be a very ‘heated’ battle in the PC graphics card market have at last been detailed.
Firstly, Nvidia’s long-awaited GTX 780Ti has been specced by VideoCardz which shows that the card is not only a Titan-killer, but also the better of the Radeon R9 290X at standard resolutions – although AMD’s card retakes the lead when playing at 4K.
However, at $699 the 780Ti has not only the $550 R9 290X but also the new $400 R9 290.
AMD’s 290 looks to offer tremendous performance for the price, bettering nearly every card on the market – and even the 290X at some games at the very highest resolutions.
There’s a price to pay for the performance, however – AMD’s new card runs even hotter and, perhaps more worryingly, louder than the 290X, apparently hitting 95 degrees within minutes and operating at what AnandTech describes as “unreasonable” loudness.
Still, now the dust has settled, at just $400 the R9 290 looks like the likeliest contender to win the high-end GPU war, with ultra-monied enthusiasts perhaps opting instead for the 780Ti.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/nvidi...priced/0123740

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steam Machine prototype unveiled

November 5th, 2013, 11:10 Posted By: wraggster

Valve has revealed the prototype design of its upcoming Steam Machine hardware.
In an article by the Seattle Times showing off images of the official prototype, Valve designer Greg Coomer reiterated the company's intent to take over the living room with its new hardware -- adding that the PC space's transition to the television set should have taken place years ago.
"We think the PC space ought to have been doing this for quite some time," Coomer said.
"Really, every year you could watch one PC OEM or another say, ‘We are going to build the entertainment PC for the living room’ and build something that lives under the TV.
“They would often do pretty well at cooling or industrial design, but that was only a fraction of the problems they need to solve for customers to have a good entertainment experience in the living room.”
The prototype will be sent out to 300 beta testers before the end of the year.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/steam...veiled/0123718

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

No killer app for SteamOS, says Valve

November 5th, 2013, 14:02 Posted By: wraggster

Studio says it will not be making SteamOS exclusive games.
Valve’s designer Greg Coomer confirmed in an interview with IGN that the developer would not be making an “exclusive killer app for SteamOS”.
Coomer went on to state that such a practice would be against Valve’s philosophy and the studio has no intention to “artificially drive consumers” onto a Steambox.
“You won’t see an exclusive killer app for SteamOS from us. We’re not going to be doing that kind of thing,” said Coomer.
However, he did admit that smaller studios may produce games exclusive to the platform if they lack the resources to make a multi-platform release.
Coomer went on to offer his vision of how the SteamOS platform will integrate with the industry five years from now.
“We believe that, in maybe five years from now, folks will find it a quite antiquated notion that you should assume that when you change devices or platforms, that you lose all of your other games and friends. We’re hoping to unify, to get Steam to be as platform and context agnostic as possible. You shouldn’t have to shed that every generation, or even slightly shed it.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/no-ki...-valve/0123742

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

First helium-filled 6TB hard drive launched, just not for you

November 5th, 2013, 14:52 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Venture Tales focuses on real world change

November 5th, 2013, 23:28 Posted By: wraggster

Christian Ibarra is ending a crowdfunding campaign for his upcoming educational business simulation game, Venture Tales. The game allows players to set up their own business, training the player in practical skills that could be used in real life situations within a entrepreneurial environment, giving easy access to information that otherwise would be harder to obtain. If you want to learn how business work or how set up your own successful business while playing a video game you can go to Indiegogo where you can contribute to help finish this ambitious project.

Inspired by games like Democracy 3, Simcity and Game Dev Tycoon, “Venture Tales” aims to entertain and inform players about the real world of business in a fun way. It will be released DRM-free for PC, Mac and Linux.

In order to deliver a desired service or product, players will be able to assign tasks to their employees, choose what machines or objects they should use, to satisfy the needs of the population of the in game world. The simulation will react to the player’s choices and will change according to other variables that imitate how the real world works, including government laws, world events, the economy, other in game businesses, and more.

Features:

• Players will organize their life in the game world, their stress levels, activities, and effectiveness of the business with the help of an in-game schedule and calendar.
• Contact different kinds of people, consultants, services, distributors, each with their own specialty and skills; negotiate and make deals with them to work together.
• Create and manage all the inner workings of your business from the inside out using an innovative visual representation that shows all the processes and activities in your business at the same time.
• Use the world map to analyze various types of data that shows information of the context of where you live and how your businesses influences society.
• Manage different variables of your business, times of processes, quality of production or service, client satisfaction, finances, legal matters and more.
• Player will be able to face almost endless possibilities due to the number of variables interacting in the world of the game.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Velocity Ultra to PC via Steam

November 5th, 2013, 23:29 Posted By: wraggster

Velocity Ultra, one of the most successful PlayStation scrolling shooters ever, is being brought to the PC this year. Gamers will be able to pick the game up via Steam for the first time this Christmas. The game, originally designed and developed by FuturLab, was released in May and remains one of the top ten most critically acclaimed PlayStation Vita games ever released.

In Velocity Ultra, players take control of the world’s first quantum teleport craft, using a range of teleport controls to outsmart enemies, solve action puzzles and rescue survivors from their deep space hideaways. Velocity Ultra combines the fluid action and speed of traditional vertical shooters with a teleportation mechanic that adds a unique puzzle element to the genre.

The PC version of the game is being developed by Curve Studios, a developer known for converting PC indie titles over to PlayStation formats, having worked on the PlayStation versions of Lone Survivor, Proteus and Thomas Was Alone this year.

"Bringing Velocity Ultra to the PC is a project we're really proud to be involved with," said Curve Studios managing director, Jason Perkins. "Vertical shooters are a genre that has traditionally been under-served on the PC - despite a huge demand for interesting, unique shooters on the platform - and Velocity is one of the best ever made."

Curve are working very closely with FuturLab to ensure the PC version maintains the pitch-perfect controls and sharp art style of the PlayStation original. Perkins said: "We're not new to PC development, having released Stealth Bastard Deluxe to critical acclaim last year. We're paying special attention to the little details that make a PC version great, including fully customisable controls and excellent HD graphics running at a smooth 60 FPS."

James Marsden, Managing Director of FuturLab said: "We were honestly blown away by the reception of Velocity Ultra when we released it this year, and it's really exciting for us to be releasing the game on the PC, which is a first for our studio!”

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Mirage coming to Steam on 11/11

November 5th, 2013, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster

Rain Blod Chronicles: Mirage will launch worldwide on Steam November 11th, 2013. Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is a side scrolling action title that mixes classic slash-em-up gameplay in a stylized Chinese setting for the PC.

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage will launch on Steam with over 100 Steam enabled Achievements.

Two assassins have one night to eliminate an elusive crime syndicate and get their revenge. Utilizing their different styles of combat Soul and Shang must battle their way through a mysterious landscape in order to defeat the illusive Master Mirage and take control of his Clan of Shadowless Assassins.

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage immerses gamers in a side-scrolling, highly cinematic revenge story. With the ability to string together endless combos of mayhem and destruction and an array of blood-spilling weapons at your disposal, Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage reinvigorates the arcade 2D platformer\fighter and takes it to an another level.

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage has been developed by S-Game and published by Origo Games, pitting you against tremendous odds as one of two assassins on a mission to end the reign of a sinister organization. For more on what’s in store in Mirage, here is a quote from Adam McClard, CEO of Origo Games: “The development team has crafted an extraordinary, painted world that feels truly cinematic in style. Origo Games is delighted to be releasing Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage on Steam and bring this thrilling title to gamers everywhere.”

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage Story Summary
Told as a “Wuxia” story, which literally means "martial hero", Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage captures the essence of a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists.

Shrouded in secrecy, an organization of assassins wreak havoc on the local populace. Two assassins Soul and Shang, find a window of opportunity to strike while all their enemies can be found in one place. Their mission is simple: take down all their enemies or die in the attempt. They will face many challenges and discover lost secrets as they embark on a perilous journey against terrible odds.
Take control of Soul and Shang and wield two separate martial arts styles to defeat their foes.

Soul is an orphan born with the temperament of a master. His skills are self-taught and so lack refinement, but his potential is undeniable. He favors Dark Wound, a short bladed weapon given to him by his adoptive father, rumored to be one of the Night Masters.

Shang Zuo is a calm, unflappable fighter of average skill, but who possesses a centered view of all things powerful enough to influence physical objects. This “Sword Temper” skill allows him to destroy objects without moving a muscle and to knock arrows out of the sky with but a single thought. Together they will face the unknown and harness new skills as they face down a terrible conspiracy.

Key Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage Features
· 2 against the world– Tag team in and out as either protagonist at any time.
or play together for local multiplayer experience
· Gear up – Discover new weapons, abilities, and unique items to bloody your foes.
· 8 distinct levels – Fight your way through an army of minions and face a true challenge by encountering a unique Boss at every Stage.
· Learn the truth – Secrets abound and the full story of Mirage may be discovered by a collection of books, letters, and drawings strewn about the martial world. Players may unravel the full tale by discovering these items and rewards.
· Over 100 Achievements to earn and discover

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage will be available on Steam starting November 11th, 2013 for $14.95. For more information, please visit www.mirage-game.com/.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Alien Rage now available with 33% discount

November 5th, 2013, 23:31 Posted By: wraggster

CI Games is offering Steam users a fantastic 33% discount on their recently released challenging sci-fi shooter Alien Rage. From today, for one week only players can purchase the game at the value for money price of £10.04 (usual price £14.99).

Those who are yet to enter the video contest challenge set by CI Games and ROCCAT can get involved now using the Steam discount. Those who take part in the challenge are in with the chance of winning pro-gaming accessories and a brand new gaming PC.

To enter the Facebook Contest click here:http://www.alienragegame.com/contest

• Upload a video to YouTube of the highest scoring play through of the second level of Alien Rage on the Challenging (first) difficulty setting.
• Include the phrase “Alien Rage Against Your Machine” in the description, then link that video in the Video Contest App posted on the official fan page on Facebook.
• Begin the video at the loading screen for level two and continue all the way through to the
• The competition will run until November 13 at 06:59 AM GMT

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Valve won't develop exclusive games for SteamOS, Steam Machines

November 5th, 2013, 23:48 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Call of Duty: Ghosts $45 today at Newegg's eBay store [Update: PC version $48]

November 5th, 2013, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Assassin's Creed 4 sets sales for PC starting November 19

November 6th, 2013, 22:50 Posted By: wraggster

Ubisoft has just announced that Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will be available to purrrrrrrchase on November 19. Ignoring that we just rolled our r's like a cat instead of a pirate, the game will be available for Windows in three different verrrrrrrsions. We can't stop!

Standard edition will be available at retail and through digital distribution networks. The Deluxe Edition includes the game, plus "new locations to discover and explore, additional customization items and a new adventure starring Aveline as the main character."

There's also the Uplay Deluxe Edition, available through the Ubi store, which includes all the contents from the Deluxe Edition, plus the "Pride of the West Indies" pack. Players who pre-order the game through the Uplay front will also receieve 25 percent off the game's season pass.

And that be all the information there arrrrrrrrrrre. Nailed it, finally!

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/06/as...g-november-19/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Ragnarok Online comes to Steam as F2P game

November 6th, 2013, 22:56 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Microsoft warns of new hacker attacks

November 6th, 2013, 23:07 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft has said it is aware of targeted attacks and is investigating a vulnerability that could let hackers gain user rights to affected computers.
The firm says hackers could exploit a vulnerability in its operating system by requesting users to preview or open a specially crafted email or web content.
The issue affects Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Office 2003 - 2010, and Microsoft Lync.
Microsoft is advising customers to apply workarounds while the firm addresses the issue.
Visit Microsoft’s Security Response Center for more information on workarounds.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...attacks/032375

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Nvidia already had GTX 780 Ti lined up to counter AMD 290X - rumour

November 6th, 2013, 23:22 Posted By: wraggster

Nvidia had already prepared the high-end GTX 780 Ti graphics card to counter AMD's line of R9 graphics cards, PCR has learnt.
Sources say that Nvidia was just waiting for AMD to announce its cards before it revealed the 780 Ti.
"To come out with a card so quickly after the R9 cards were announced is impossible," a senior source told PCR. "So Nvidia knew about AMD's plans for the 290 in advance - they were just waiting for the right time to announce it.
"I doubt AMD have anything else planned at this stage, I think they can only drop prices."
Nvidia is also said to be announcing the specifications for its new high-end GeForce GTX 780 Ti graphics card this week, and it will "definitely outperform" its rival AMD Radeon R9 290X.
According to Videocardz.com, the 780Ti will be faster than the 290X (and the Nvidia Titan), which the official specs should confirm that this week.
Nvidia has already announced its GeForce GTX 780 Ti will be available for sale starting November 7th for $699, and says the card is the best its ever built.
"It's a phenomenal card, and will definitely outperform AMD's 290X," our source added.
An Nvidia spokesperson told PCR that Nvidia doesn't comment on rumour or speculation.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-rumour/032376

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Microsoft: We should have been building something like Steam

November 7th, 2013, 00:21 Posted By: wraggster

While Steam and other digital platforms have allowed for a surge in PC gaming in recent years, Microsoft has done little to advance the PC gaming market. The company has come under fire for not giving PC gaming much attention while its focus has been on the Xbox business, and Microsoft would be the first to tell you that it probably should have done more with Windows gaming.
In a new interview, Microsoft Studios vice president Phil Spencer admitted toGamesBeat that Microsoft has been focused on Xbox a bit too much while Valve has built up the PC market with Steam.
"Valve is right down the street from us. They've done a great job of keeping the PC ecosystem strong at a time where I don't mind saying that we could have been more focused on what was going on in PC gaming," he acknowledged. "We were probably too focused purely on console. With Steam, [Valve has] done an amazing job of building this thing that, in a lot of ways, we should have been building as well at Microsoft."
With the SteamOS, Steam Machines and Steam Controller, it's clear that Valve is evolving into more of a platform company, and that's not easy at all, Spencer noted. "This is where I think they're going to have to do quite a bit of work. There is a difference between being a game developer, running a store, and being a platform company," he said. "That's an evolutionary jump. They made the jump from building Half-Life to having a set of franchises to running Steam. They did a good job learning through that. Now they're taking the next job to becoming a platform company - in some sense a hardware company, but in the truest sense more of an OS company. That's not an easy transition."
Spencer and Microsoft are obviously going to remain committed to Windows, and the goal is to ultimately make sure players are gaming in one ecosystem. "We're focused on making Windows and Xbox and Windows Phone the best connected ecosystem we can," he said.
With the rise of mobile and tablets, a surge in PC, and other devices hitting the market, there's no shortage of platforms to play games on, but consoles remain hugely important, Spencer believes. In fact, in a separate interview with Polygon, Spencer commented that he sees it as Microsoft's job to ensure consoles remain relevant.
"It's a continued push to make the consoles as relevant as any other device that you own," he said. "We've seen a proliferation of millions of devices and people playing games across all of those devices. Gameplay is no longer segregated to my console or my PC. That's the opportunity for us. To take all these people that are learning to play games in all these different places and make sure the game console shows up as an extremely relevant device for those people, but also maintaining the core that we've had for years in the gaming space on the console, and making sure that they come along."
The challenge for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo is not only to maintain the console audience they've enjoyed for years, but to expand it. Spencer believes this will be critical for the Xbox business. "If you stay in the space this industry has defined in the last generation, you're not moving forward. It's critical that we move forward. It's critical that we expand the number of customers that care about the devices we build. That's the business we're in," he said.
To that end, Microsoft thinks Kinect could make a difference, and perhaps that's why every Xbox One is bundled with one, despite the fact that it's driving up the price of the hardware - because Microsoft believes in that vision of controller-free gameplay. "Something like Kinect really opens up possibilities, even if I'm not native to a controller," Spencer said. "Touch gameplay on these other devices is easy. It's intuitive for a lot of people. For some people, game controllers like a console controller is not that intuitive. So how can we use Kinect to open up even more opportunity?"

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ing-like-steam

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Quake Live goes standalone this year

November 8th, 2013, 20:51 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Online RPG Insomnia seeks to build 'dieselpunk' universe

November 8th, 2013, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster

Studio Mono needs your help in bringing its new online roleplaying game to the masses, to the tune of $70,000.

Dubbed "Insomnia," the game is described as "a co-operative online role-playing game with tactical elements and unique game mechanics in a sophisticated universe designed with a dark retro-futuristic dieselpunk style." Players will be presented with non-linear story options, many of which ask them to join forces with other players. That said, the Insomnia Kickstarter claims the game is more akin to traditional roleplaying games than their online counterparts.

"Players will be free to choose if they want to tackle the single player quest lines alone, or in co-op with two or three friends taking on the online PvP content, such as faction wars or global quest lines where more than 60 players could be taking part at any one moment," reads the game's description.

With 48 days remaining in the Insomnia fundraising effort, the game has accumulated $1,181 of its $70,000 goal. If your interest in this project has been piqued, you can find full information on Insomnia at its Kickstarter page. Assuming the game is able to raise the necessary funds, Insomnia will hit the PC, Mac and Linux platforms at some as yet undetermined point in the future.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/07/on...punk-universe/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steam weekend deals: Devolver, Total War and Blood Dragon

November 8th, 2013, 20:53 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Diablo 3 levels up to 14 million copies sold

November 8th, 2013, 21:03 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Nvidia: "Our GTX 780 Ti is faster than AMD's 290X in every single metric"

November 8th, 2013, 21:15 Posted By: wraggster

The high-end Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti graphics card has now launched in the UK and Nvidia says it's faster than its closest competitor: the AMD Radeon R9 290X.
An Nvidia spokesperson says the Ti is “faster in every single metric” compared to the 290X, with “the best frame-rates in all of the top games”.
The Ti claims to be as much as 50 per cent faster than the 290X, with a 20 to 30 per cent speed bump over the 290X on average, with “class-leading” levels of noise and heat and overall gaming experience.
The full GTX 780 Ti specifications are revealed in the picture at the bottom of this article, including memory speed, base clock, boost clock and more.
Nvidia also talked up its ShadowPlay 1080p game capture service, and said the computer performance drop while using the programme is around one or two per cent, compared to other game capture services which it says reduce performance by around 15 to 20 per cent.
The TDi is priced at £559, and includes three PC games: Assassin’s Creed 4, Batman: Arkham Origins and Splinter Cell Blacklist.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti GPU is available now from add-in card suppliers including ASUS, EVGA, Gainward, KFA2, Gigabyte, Inno3D, MSI, Palit, PNY, Point Of View and Zotac.
Nvidia announced the 780 Ti last month, in response to AMD's new R7 and R9 cards which were revealed in September.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-s-290x/032394

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

World of Warcraft subscriptions continue to drop

November 8th, 2013, 21:18 Posted By: wraggster

World of Warcraft subscriptions are continuing to drop, as the MMO approaches its tenth birthday.
Publisher Activision Blizzard revealed that the number of active players was now at 7.6 million, having dropped by 100,000 in the last quarter.
The game had previously fallen by a more considerable 600,000 users during Q2 2013.
Both numbers are far below the game’s peak popularity – hitting 12 million subscribers in 2010 – but despite the drops it still retains the title of the world’s most popular subscription-based MMORPG.
The game, which will next year celebrate its tenth birthday, is also set for a new expansion – Warlords of Draenor – which may bolster player numbers.
In comparison, the executive producer of MMO EVE Online recently told PCR that despite reaching its tenth anniversary in May, the game’s player count has only continued to grow.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...to-drop/032388

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Creative Assembly confirms Total War: Rome II SteamOS release

November 8th, 2013, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster

A SteamOS version of Total War: Rome II will launch early next year, developer The Creative Assembly has announced.
The studio’s brand manager Rob Bartholomew revealed the news on Steam’s community site, adding that the game will support the recently revealed Steam Controller as soon as it can.
"We've always wanted the Total War franchise to be enjoyed by living room gamers, but the limitations of traditional hardware made our style of game play impossible," said Bartholomew.
"Last month, when Valve invited us to test out the new Steam Controller and unveiled their plans for SteamOS — we were impressed. We believe it will provide us with the control fidelity and platform we need to make a living room experience for Rome 2 that could be a more compelling experience than playing with keyboard and mouse."
Valve previously promised announcements regarding SteamOS support for multiple AAA titles, during its wave of reveals back in September.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/creat...elease/0123957

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Panasonic's 20-inch 4K 'tablet' comes to the US in January for $6,000

November 9th, 2013, 00:31 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Dell's Venue 11 Pro tablet now available in the US, starts at $500 with Bay Trail ins

November 9th, 2013, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Warlords of Draenor revealed as next World of Warcraft expansion

November 9th, 2013, 00:39 Posted By: wraggster

Blizzard's Chris Metzen took the stage at Blizzcon 2013 and recounted the many years of Warcraft, delving deep into its lore and teasing the return of long-forgotten villains to the realm of Azeroth.


"We have been thinking a lot about Warcraft, what makes it distinct, what makes it tick... about the early days," he said at Blizzcon on Friday. "Many of you were with us during the events of Orcs and Humans, Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal," he said. "The events of those came predicated what's happening in the modern era of WoW".


"There's a huge amount of players that never lived those events, met those characters or had those adventures. As we're thinking about where to go... man a lot of that makes the wheel turn. Some of the baddest dudes ever in the Warcraft franchise almost had their way and conquered the entirety of the Eastern Kingdoms. If they had history would have taken a turn".

"What if those dark days could come again, what if those vicious villains could threaten our homes again. The conflict coming will be the Alliance's finest hour."

"Horde, you've had to live with the consequences of Thrall's disappointments, with Garosh's reign of terror, but in the face of all that you have a chance at a new start, to redefine yourselves in this brave new world. But as is often true, to forge a brighter future, sometimes you must confront the ghosts of the past."

A trailer shown during Blizzcon also revealed players will be able to build and upgrade garrisons, character models have been given a visual makeover, the level cap has been raised to 100, and players can boost to 90 and play immediately.

"After the events of Seige of Orgrimmar, Garosh is taken away in chains. Suffice to say he will be put on trail, but before the verdict can come down he escapes. Garosh has a new friend with a unque ability to bend time. Garosh goes back, he hates the hord now with its coalition of trolls. He hates the Horde and everything Thrall stood for," explained Metzen.

"He's gone back, but it alters time. Garosh's intent is to redeem the Orcish ideal. He wants the Orcs to be proud again, and not encumbered by all these races. The critical part of his mission is to stop the moment the Orcs drink the blood of Mannorth. They will not be cursed. He will convince them there's conquering to be done and build an Iron Horde. He will empower them with some of the technology he loves. He's going to build a portal and lead his horde through it."


Draenor is described as a brand new continent. It's the homeworld of the orc before it was shattered into Outand. Players must venture to this area from 35-years in the past and defeat the Iron Horde.

A trademark for Warlords of Draenor was filed on November 5. Blizzard has also registered a trademark for The Dark Below, though it has not yet been confirmed what this pertains to.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...aft-expansion/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Newegg slashes prices on nearly all Rockstar games

November 9th, 2013, 00:46 Posted By: wraggster

Need a copy of Max Payne 2 or LA Noire on the cheap? Newegg's got you covered.

A visit to the online tech retailer reveals the ongoing "Rockstar Catalog Sale," a promotion that reduces the price on almost everything Rockstar Games has created by up to 76 percent. As a result of this sale, you can now purchaseManhunt for $3, Bully: Scholarship Edition for $5.10 or Grand Theft Auto 4 for $6.

Before you get too excited, there are caveats to keep in mind here. First, these are all PC games (with occasional Mac compatibility), and these sale prices only apply to direct downloads. Second, there's no word on when this sale might end. Scouring Newegg's site offers nothing, and our attempts to contact the retailer went unanswered. If you want to take advantage of these prices, we'd suggest you do so soon.

The biggest caveat however, is that this sale only applies to "almost everything" Rockstar has ever created. The first two Grand Theft Auto games are missing, as are the first and third Midnight Club entries. Grand Theft Auto 5 also fails to appear, but that's to be expected given that no PC version of GTA 5 yet exists.

http://www.newegg.com/Digital-Games/...ore/ID-2126840

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Dave Perry interview - part 1

November 9th, 2013, 20:47 Posted By: wraggster

This week, we have something very special lined up for you. We were fortunate enough to be able to conduct an interview with none other than Dave Perry.
He launched and edited over 30 videogame magazines, helped launch two videogame TV shows, founded his own successful publishing company and became the best known journalist celebrity of his time. We caught up with the Dave Perry to reminisce about all these achievements and how it all lead to one of his very first passions.
Since it's quite an extensive interview, be sure to check back next week for part two.

http://www.outofprintarchive.com/art...w-initial.html

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Wintermute is coming, brace for testing

November 9th, 2013, 20:56 Posted By: wraggster

The Wintermute engine has been in the works in ScummVM for a little over a year now, and it has gotten more and more mature, to the point that we feel it is getting close to being ready for release.
Since the amount of games involved is rather huge, we'd love to get some help with a round of testing before we check off on the engine being ready for our next release. Thus, we have semi-arbitrarily selected a set of Wintermute-games that would benefit from some testing, and hope that some of our wonderful users are willing to take them for a spin.
If you are interested, head on over to our WME Testing thread.

http://www.scummvm.org/news/20131105/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Ninth Anniversary of Firefox 1.0 Release

November 9th, 2013, 23:45 Posted By: wraggster

Nine years ago today, Firefox 1.0 was released. Mozilla writes"Mozilla created Firefox to be an amazingly fun, safe, and fast Web browser that embodies the values of our mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity online. In the nine years since we first launched Firefox, we have moved and shaped the Web into the most valuable public resource of our time."The first release of the little project to write a lighter alternative to Seamonkey is a bit over a year older.

http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/11...fox-10-release

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steam In-Home Streaming beta opens this year

November 11th, 2013, 20:15 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Classic Warcraft games, or 'something like that,' could be coming to modern PCs

November 11th, 2013, 20:24 Posted By: wraggster

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darknessmay be coming to modern machines, thanks to a small team at Blizzard. Polygon reports that during the World of Warcraft question-and-answer panel at this year'sBlizzCon, Production Director J. Allen Brack said that replaying the original trilogy was something he'd "love" to do.

"We actually have a guy on our team - actually several guys on our team - who are actually working on a side project to do something like that in some form or fashion," Brack told a fan who asked if Blizzard had considered making the original trilogy compatible with modern computers. What form or fashion this will take isn't clear, however.

It's also not clear if this "side project" will ever manifest as something available for the everyday gamer. Blizzard has a lot on their plate with a new card game, an upcoming Diablo 3 expansion and even a movie adaptation of the Warcraft franchise. So, they're kinda busy. Just a little bit.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/10/cl...ould-be-comin/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Less than 1% of boxed Call of Duty: Ghosts sales were on PC

November 12th, 2013, 00:17 Posted By: wraggster

Call of Duty: Ghosts' week-one boxed PC sales in the UK equated to less than one per cent of its overall boxed sales across all formats.
Ghosts, which reached number one in the All Formats Top 40, had sales split 62 per cent on Xbox 360, 34 per cent on PS3, three per cent on PS4 and the rest on PC and Wii U.
It may have been the third biggest video game launch of the year (behind GTA V and FIFA 14), but it couldn't knock Football Manager 2014 off the top of the UK boxed PC game chart.
Ghosts debuted at number two in the PC game chart during the week ending November 9th, while Square Enix new entry Batman: Arkham Asylum reached fourth place.
Meanwhile, in the budget PC games chart, Civilization V entered at number two, behind The Sims 3: Movie Stuff.
However, the below chart does not take digital sales into account.
PC Top Ten Entertainment - Full Price
1. Football Manager 2014 (Sega)
2. Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
3. Battlefield 4 (EA)
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Square Enix)
5. The Sims 3: Into the Future (EA)
6. The Sims 3 (EA)
7. The Sims 3: Island Paradise (EA)
8. Rome: Total War II (Sega)
9. The Sims 3: Seasons (EA)
10. The Sims 3: University Life (EA)

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...e-on-pc/032414

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

IE Zero-Day Exploit Disappears On Reboot

November 12th, 2013, 00:20 Posted By: wraggster

Criminals are taking advantage of unpatched holes in Internet Explorer to launch 'diskless' attacks on PCs visiting malicious sites. Security company FireEye uncovered the zero-day flaw on at least one breached U.S. site, describing the exploit as a 'classic drive-by download attack'. But FireEye also noted the malware doesn't write to disk and disappears on reboot — provided it hasn't already taken over your PC — making it trickier to detect, though easier to purge. '[This is] a technique not typically used by advanced persistent threat (APT) actors,' the company said. 'This technique will further complicate network defenders' ability to triage compromised systems, using traditional forensics methods.'"
http://it.slashdot.org/story/13/11/1...ears-on-reboot

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Google Chrome now lets you see which tab that unwanted music is coming from

November 12th, 2013, 01:53 Posted By: wraggster

Sometimes you just want to look up a restaurant menu at work without your coworkers knowing you're slacking off. ('Sup,Marc?) Thanks to a new Google Chrome feature, if you click on a site that auto-plays music or maybe a video ad, you can at least silence it quickly. If you download the Chrome 32 beta release, you'll see indicators on tabs that are playing audio. Likewise, it also lets you know which tabs are using your webcam, or streaming to your TV overChromecast. Additionally, the Safe Browsing features now automatically blocks malware files, instead of advising you to merely proceed with caution. Finally, the Windows 8 Chrome app has gotten a makeover so that the Metro Modern version looks more similar to the experience you'd get on a Chromebook. Curious? The download page is the third site we link to in our sources list below.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/11/g...fy-noisy-tabs/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Blizzard denies possible gamepad support for Diablo 3 PC

November 12th, 2013, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster

Those hoping the surprisingly intuitive controls of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 incarnations of Diablo 3 might make their way to the PC are out of luck. According to Blizzard, the games are just too different to make that work properly.

"The rhythm on PC is tactactactactactac - you're clicking the mouse, you're telling your character where to go," said senior level designer Matthew Berger. "On console, the rhythm is very different. It flows more, because you're constantly repositioning your character with the thumbstick; you're really never stationary on console, whereas on PC you're a lot more stationary ... When you're playing on the PC, you're not really looking at your character as much, you're kind of focusing on the cursor. Whereas on console it's the exact opposite, you're drawn in."

That constant motion is the crux of the problem here. The camera in console versions of Diablo 3 is a bit more zoomed-in than its PC counterparts, and when combined with the thumbstick evade, players are presented with a game that is similar, but plays out much more frenetically than its computer counterparts. Bringing that same freedom of movement to the PC game would break its balance.

"[I]f I let you use the controller on the PC, then I have to let you use the user interface that goes with it," Berger told Eurogamer, "and if I give you the roll and I haven't throttled the number of enemies attacking you because the mouse-and-keyboard players can handle all those enemies, but with a controller you have too many guys ... The games have really been structured to take advantage of their environment and their ecosystem, so in the same way it would not be a good fit to put a mouse and keyboard on the console."

"It wouldn't work," Berger added.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/12/bl...r-diablo-3-pc/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Valve says no to third-party Steam Controllers

November 13th, 2013, 00:06 Posted By: wraggster

Dual-touchpad input device won't be trusted to third-parties, says Valve's Greg Coomer

Valve won't let third parties design and sell their own Steam controllers like it's encouraging them to do with Steam machines, the company has revealed.

In an interview with IGN, Valve's Greg Coomer said his company will supply Steam Controllers to third-parties that want to make their own Steam Machines.

“The controller is going to be a Valve product,” said Coomer.

“We’re going to manufacture it. We’re going to supply all the people who are making third party Steam Machines with controllers.”

While Valve will probably have to allow third-party controllers to work on SteamOS if it doesn't want to spend millions of dollars and even more man-hours trying to defy one of the fundamental laws of Linux, the point here is branding.

A company with a reputation like Valve's can't afford to hand control of what is arguably the most delicate aspect of its push for the living-room PC.

“It’s really because we want the controllers to exist. We want them to have the attributes that we think are important, that allow people to play all the games on Steam, and we didn’t think that it was really going to be possible to outsource the design for manufacturing and the finishing of the controller in a way that would allow third parties to take from us an idea or a reference design and bring it to market soon enough,” explained Coomer.

“We just think that, for now, at least, we have to do that ourselves. So we’re going to be doing high volume production of the controller for ourselves.”

This doesn't mean that Valve wants to go into the manufacturing business – an area they've been warned is a very different enterprise than software development.

“It’s not really because we’re super anxious to get in the hardware business and we think it’s the best way to turn 90 degrees and start racing toward success in hardware and making money in that way,” said Coomer, who admits that the company is going to be at a disadvantage when it comes to cost.

“We think we are disadvantaged when it comes to cost,” he said.

“We’re making a lot of decisions that are not actually optimized for cost. We’re not going to lose money when we go make the controller. We have enough confidence around that, that we’ve thought through the manufacturing. But we’re also not looking at it the same way that typical hardware manufacturers would look at it.”

Coomer says that a few design decisions - like going with touchpads rather than trackballs - have actually lowered the cost, and he's confident that Valve has what it takes to make the complex business of supply chain management work.

“We’ve got a pretty clear picture of what it’s going to take to bring this to market,” he said.

“We’re very confident that we’re within the ballpark we need to be in so that this isn’t going to turn out to be a non-starter in terms of cost. It’s just not our primary focus.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/v...ollers/0185835

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

AMD Confirms Kaveri APU Is a 512-GPU Core Integrated Processor

November 13th, 2013, 00:08 Posted By: wraggster

At APU13 today, AMD announced a full suite of new products and development tools as part of its push to improve HSA development. One of the most significant announcements to come out the sessions today-- albeit in a tacit, indirect fashion, is that Kaveri is going to pack a full 512 GPU cores. There's not much new to see on the CPU side of things — like Richland/Trinity, Steamroller is a pair of CPU modules with two cores per module. AMD also isn't talking about clock speeds yet, but the estimated 862 GFLOPS that the company is claiming for Kaveri points to GPU clock speeds between 700 — 800MHz. With 512 cores, Kaveri picks up a 33% boost over its predecessors, but memory bandwidth will be essential for the GPU to reach peak performance. For performance, AMD showed Kaveri up against the Intel 4770K running a low-end GeForce GT 630. In the intro scene to BF4's single-player campaign (1920x1080, Medium Details), the AMD Kaveri system (with no discrete GPU) consistently pushed frame rates in the 28-40 FPS range. The Intel system, in contrast, couldn't manage 15 FPS. Performance on that system was solidly in the 12-14 FPS range — meaning AMD is pulling 2x the frame rate, if not more."

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/11...ated-processor

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Linux Kernel Running In JavaScript Emulator With Graphics and Network Support

November 13th, 2013, 00:09 Posted By: wraggster

It seems that there have been a rash of JavaScript virtual machines running Linux lately (or maybe I just travel in really weird circles). However until now none of them had network support, so they weren't too terribly useful. Sebastian Macke'sjor1k project uses asm.js to produce a very fast emulation of the OpenCores OpenRISC processor (or1k) along with a HTML5 canvas framebuffer for graphics support. Recently Ben Burns contributed an emulated OpenCores ethmac ethernet adapter to the project. This sends ethernet frames to a gateway server via websocket where they are switched and/or piped into TAP virtual ethernet adapter. With this you can build whatever kind of network appliance you'd like for the myriad of fast, sandboxed VMs running in your users' browsers. For the live demo all VMs connect to a single private LAN (subnet 10.5.0.0/16). The websocket gateway also NATs traffic from that LAN out to the open Internet."

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/1...etwork-support

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Bubsy 3D tribute is this week's best weird 15 minutes

November 14th, 2013, 00:09 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Point-and-click cult classic The Shivah gets remastered Kosher Edition

November 14th, 2013, 00:26 Posted By: wraggster

Independent adventure game developer Wadjet Eyes Games (Blackwell series developer and Gemini Rue publisher) is releasing an enhanced version of the 2006 cult-classic that put it on the map, The Shivah, for PC on 21st November.A serious man.

Shivah: Kosher Edition - which curiously drops the "The" from the title - follows the story of Russell Stone, a down-on-his-luck rabbi struggling to keep his poor synagogue open during trying times. After receiving a mysterious sum of money from a dead congregation member, Stone is compelled to investigate where this money came from and whether it's morally just to spend it.This remastered version features enhanced graphics and music, fully-voiced dialogue, three different endings, and "Talmudic combat" as you engage in some fierce rabbi rumbles.Pre-orders for Shivah: Kosher Edition are currently available at 20 per cent off, bringing the price to $3.99 rather than the $4.99 it'll go for upon release.Additionally, there's a demo available. Or you can simply get a feel for the higher production values by watching the trailer below.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...kosher-edition

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

LGC: 10.1m people illegally downloaded Football Manager 2013

November 14th, 2013, 00:38 Posted By: wraggster

Football Manager boss Miles Jacobson has revealed the true extent of video game piracy on PC.
10.1m people have illegally downloaded Football Manager 2013, he said on stage at London Games Conference 2013.
The game was cracked on May 12th this year, but the crack featured a flaw called Home, which allowed Jacobson and his team to track the IP address of everybody who illegally downloaded the game.
Out of those 10.1m people, most came from China, which accounted for 3.2m of the illegal downloads. Turkey was in second place with 1.05m followed by Portugal with 781,785 games.
Italy was also a hotbed for PC piracy, with 547,000 in the country (plus one in the Vatican).
Jacobson said that he does not believe that one pirated game equals one lost sale "That would be ridiculous to think," he said. But based on the drop in activations, he estimated piracy cost them 176,000 lost sales. He added that 1.74 per cent of illegal downloaders would potentially purchase the game had no crack been available, which would have meant $3.7m in revenue. Revenue he would have spent hiring new members to the team.
He told the audience that sales dropped off heavily once the game was cracked.
He said 18 per cent of people who downloaded illegally played the games five times or more, so that's around 1.8m gamers regularly playing a game they did not pay for.
He admitted that there was little that can be done about this piracy "crackers are going to crack and people will download". But hopes this data will help publishers and developers understand the true state of illegal downloading in the world.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/lgc-1...r-2013/0124256

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

SimCity: Cities of Tomorrow expansion released

November 14th, 2013, 00:53 Posted By: wraggster

The first expansion to SimCity – Cities of Tomorrow – has been released, allowing players to build futuristic cityscapes by choosing between “Green and Greed”.
The add-on focuses on future tech, such as sky-scraping ‘MegaTowers’, which can become self-sustaining habitats for Sim habitants, and new transportation methods, which will be powered by either harnessing sustainable eco-friendly green energy or by exploiting natural resources for profit.
“MegaTowers, futurization, and the battle between Green and Greed – these are the main foundations that drive an all-new experience in Cities of Tomorrow,” said Patrick Buechner, general manager of developer Maxis Emeryville.
“This expansion pack completely transforms how you play as you tackle the problems of tomorrow using plausible future technologies. But that technology comes as a price – the clean utopian world of The Academy requires a wealthy workforce that demands a higher style of living. OmegaCo, while extremely profitable, will take its toll on your Sims as the factories devour your natural resources and spit them back out in the form of harmful pollution. There is a new level of challenge waiting for you as the world pushes you back harder than ever before. The city of the future awaits; how it takes shape is up to you.”
Cities of Tomorrow, which is available for PC and Mac, can be downloaded now through EA’s digital distribution service Origin, and has also landed on retail shelves in North America.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...eleased/032428

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

AMD Continues To Pressure NVIDIA With Lower Cost Radeon R9 270 and BF4 Bundle

November 14th, 2013, 01:22 Posted By: wraggster

The seemingly never-ending onslaught of new graphics cards as of late continues today with the official release of the AMD Radeon R9 270. This mainstream graphics card actually leverages the same GPU that powered last-year's Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition. AMD, however, has tweaked the clocks and through software and board level revisions updated the card to allow for more flexible use of its display outputs (using Eyefinity no longer requires the use of a DisplayPort). Versus the 1GHz (GPU) and 4.8Gbps (memory) of the Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition, the Radeon R9 270 offers slightly lower compute performance (2.37 TFLOPS vs. 2.56 TFLOPS), but much more memory bandwidth--179.2GB/s vs. 153.6GB/s to be exact. AMD and its add in board partners are launching the Radeon R9 270 today, with prices starting at $179. The Radeon R9 270's starting price is somewhat aggressive and once again puts pressure on NVIDIA. GeForce GTX 660 cards, which typically performed lower than the Radeon R9 270 are priced right around the $190 mark. Along with this card, AMD is also announcing an update to its game bundle, and beginning November 13 Radeon R9 270 – R9 290X cards will include a free copy of Battlefield 4. NVIDIA, on the other hand, is offering Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Assassins Creed – Black Flag, plus $50 off a SHIELD portable gaming device with GTX 660 and 760 cards.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...and-bf4-bundle

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Warner Bros. Humble Bundle adds Mortal Kombat, FEAR, more

November 14th, 2013, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Asus to launch new Chromebooks in 2014

November 16th, 2013, 00:37 Posted By: wraggster

The CEO of Asus has said that new Chromebooks will arrive in 2014, as the PC maker looks to expand beyond Windows devices.
Speaking to investors, Jerry Shen said that Google’s ChromeOS was to be a greater focus for the company, in order to extend its reach outside of Microsoft’s Windows operating system.
Shen went on to state that two new Asus Chromebook models would launch in 2014 – an 11.6-inch model and a 13.3-inch iteration, costing $199 and $249 respectively.
Few details were given about the Chromebooks beyond the initial announcement, but Shen also revealed Asus’ plans to enter the wearable tech market, with a reveal set for the Computex event in June 2014.
The executive added that new Asus smartphones would be revealed at CES in January, but, as with the Chromebooks, stayed coy about any further details.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...in-2014/032460

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Candy Crush Saga amasses half a billion downloads

November 16th, 2013, 00:51 Posted By: wraggster

Game has garnered 14.5 million Twitter mentions during lifespan, claims King
Candy Crush Saga today celebrates its first anniversary with an impressive milestone.
The sickly sweet title debuted last February on Facebook and launched on mobile devices shortly after. Despite its short life span, the title has already been downloaded to over 500m devices.
Developer King didn’t reveal how many active players Candy Crush Saga maintains but did release a mixture of other eye-opening stats surrounding the title.
King estimates over 150 billion games of Candy Crush Saga have been played to date.
Social networking sites are clogged with mutterings of the game as 1 in 23 Facebook users are a fan of Candy Crush Saga, while the title has amassed 14.5m tweets during its lifespan ­â€“ enough to fill 4,500 novels.
The game is most popular amongst UK commuters as 61 per cent of players admitted to playing Candy Crush Saga while on their way to work.
To celebrate the milestone, King has also promised a string of updates and content for players throughout the coming months.
“The past year has been one of the most exciting times for King since Candy Crush Saga launched on mobile,” said Tommy Palm, Games Guru at King.
“The incredible milestone of more than half a billion downloads of the game, as well as the continued enthusiasm from our community, really delights the entire King team. Fans can look forward to even more exciting new Candy Crush Saga content over the coming months, including an exciting new twist to the game.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/c...nloads/0186048

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Linux 3.13 Kernel To Bring Major Feature Improvements

November 16th, 2013, 10:38 Posted By: wraggster

There's many improvements due in the Linux 3.13 kernel that just entered development. On the matter of new hardware support, there's open-source driver support for Intel Broadwell and AMD Radeon R9 290 'Hawaii' graphics. NFTables will eventually replace IPTables; the multi-queue block layer is supposed to make disk access much faster on Linux; HDMI audio has improved; Stereo/3D HDMI support is found for Intel hardware; file-system improvements are on the way, along with support for limiting the power consumption of individual PC components.

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/1...e-improvements

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Google Makes Latest Chrome Build Open PDFs By Default

November 16th, 2013, 10:40 Posted By: wraggster

Google is changing the way its browser handles PDF files, starting with the Chrome Canary channel. Citing security concerns, the company wants Chrome to open PDF files by default, bypassing any third-party programs such as Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader.

http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/11...dfs-by-default

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Mutant Mudds Deluxe jumps into Steam's foreground on December 5

November 16th, 2013, 20:15 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Endless Space adds free 'Search for Auriga' DLC

November 16th, 2013, 20:20 Posted By: wraggster

Endless Space isn't quite endless, but it is still a very large strategy game that just grew a bit bigger thanks to the addition of the free Search for Auriga DLC pack.

As we reported when the DLC was announced, Search for Auriga adds new heroes, a new planet type, a special wonder and a number of AI and balance improvements to Endless Space. Full details on the DLC's additions and changes can be found on developer Amplitude Studios' website.

Before you rush over to Steam to download the DLC - the addition will be automatically downloaded and installed the next time you start Endless Space - keep in mind that it requires you own both Endless Space and the game's Disharmony expansion. Both items can be found on Steam.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/15/ps...or-auriga-dlc/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Myst creators reach $1.2 million funding goal for Obduction

November 16th, 2013, 20:24 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steve Ballmer says he couldn't change Microsoft fast enough

November 16th, 2013, 23:46 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Microsoft's 3D printing app for Windows 8.1 eases you into object creation

November 16th, 2013, 23:48 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Acer unveils $200 Haswell-based Chromebook for the extra-thrifty

November 16th, 2013, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Dell's XPS 11 convertible and refreshed XPS 13 now available starting at $1,000

November 16th, 2013, 23:54 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Indie Royale Sigma Bundle has seven games and a question mark

November 18th, 2013, 01:18 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Actual Sunlight, a game about depression, goes 3D with open beta

November 18th, 2013, 01:19 Posted By: wraggster

Having a good day? Turn that smile upside-down in a hurry with Actual Sunlight, a game about love and depression, which is now available in an open beta, 3D form for Windows, Mac and Linux. The game, which was originally built in 2D using RPG Maker VX ACE, is a potentially disturbing tale that follows the life of would-be writer Evan Winter as he tries to navigate life.

A warning on the game's download page reads, "[Actual Sunlight] deals with extremely mature themes, including depression and thoughts of suicide. Similar to other forms of art that tackle these issues, Actual Sunlight can be an extremely powerful emotional experience – before downloading it, please first consider what your reaction to a book, film or piece of music in a similar vein might be."

Seriously, and we can't stress this enough, the game is dark. If you should download the game and expect to have an intense reaction, feel free to take note of the numbers and information located at the International Suicide Prevention Wiki.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/17/ac...ith-open-beta/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Dota 2 will get The Stanley Parable's narrator as DLC

November 18th, 2013, 21:46 Posted By: wraggster

The Stanley Parable creator David Wreden tweeted, "Sitting down with [co-developer William Pugh] to begin writing the Stanley Parable Dota 2 announcer pack." This can only be a good thing as The Stanley Parable's narrator (Kevan Brighting) was the star of the show in Galactic Cafe's fourth-wall breaking adventure. Of course, his role will be less vital in something like Dota 2 that isn't entirely predicated on narration, but I'm sure he'll still be a welcome presence with The Stanley Parable's writing team on board.This is not the first time Dota 2 has had characters from other games take over as the announcer. Last year Bastion's narrator Rucks (Logan Cunningham) was added to to the game as paid DLC and this autumn Portal's lovable antagonist GLaDOS (Ellen McLain) followed suit.The Stanley Parable was something of a sleeper hit with 100K copies being shifted in its first three days on the market. I know liked it, and our Chris Donlan spent upwards of 900 words explaining why dug it too in his The Stanley Parable review.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...arrator-as-dlc

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

DDR4 RAM could arrive for PC by the end of the year

November 18th, 2013, 23:52 Posted By: wraggster

Memory maker Crucial has said that DDR4 RAM will be available for the first time by the end of the year.
The new tech offers several advances over the now standard DDR3 seen in the vast majority of modern PCs. It runs at 2133MHz, which is far in excess of DDR3’s 1000MHz. It also offers 300 per cent the density, meaning sizes will start at 4GB and single slots sticks will be able to support up to 16GB.
It also uses 20 per cent less power than DDR3.
On the downside, those hoping to buy DDR4 face the prospect of kitting out their PC with a brand new motherboard. And don’t expect it to be cheap. As a result, it’s unlikely to become the standard in new PCs until a year or more after launch.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ddr4-...e-year/0124452

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steam top ten sellers chart: November 10-16

November 18th, 2013, 23:57 Posted By: wraggster

Valve has revealed Steam's top selling titles from the past week, with Egosoft's X Rebirth launching its way to the top spot.
The space sim beat out XCOM: Enemy Within (second) and last week's winner Call of Duty: Ghosts (third) to grab the best seat at the table.
Assassin's Creed IV continues to grace the list with its presence finishing fourth, while chart regular Total War: Rome II threatened to actually fall off this week – ultimately nabbing the tenth and final spot.
Football Manager 2014 slipped from second to sixth, but that's only because everyone and their mother are likely pirating it. Here's last week's top ten in full:

1. X Rebirth
2. XCOM: Enemy Within
3. Call of Duty: Ghosts
4. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
5. Payday 2
6. Football Manager 2014
7. Kerbal Space Program
8. State of Decay
9. Bioshock Infinite Season Pass
10. Total War: Rome II

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Football Manager’s Miles Jacobson on what to do when you find ten million illegal pla

November 18th, 2013, 23:58 Posted By: wraggster

At the London Games Conference last week, Sports Interactive’s Miles Jacobson revealed that over 10.1m people had illegally downloaded Football Manager 2012. A ‘flaw’ in the code for a cracked version of Football Manager 2013 had allowed the studio to track the IP addresses of anyone playing the game. We caught up with Miles to dig deeper into the numbers.“Obviously it doesn’t make us feel good, because we’d like to get paid for the work we do.” he says. “But it’s the reality of the world we live in, so it’s not something I’m going to lose any sleep over. However, we base the number of people we have on the team on the amount we’re selling. If we did get that extra revenue, we would grow the team, which would make the game better for everyone.”Indeed, being uncracked for an unusually-long six months (the previous year’s FM was only uncracked for two weeks) has allowed SI to make six new hires. This is due to the boost in FM’s sales from remaining uncracked for so long and due to Sega’s internal policy of linking budgets to previous years’ results.Football Manager has always had copy protection systems – readers may remember the FM 2009 debacle, which locked legitimate users out and which Miles calls “the worst 72 hours of my life.” – but this policy of preventing and tracking illegal downloads seems to be a part of a definite strategy, with a separate Sega tech team.Ten million people who definitely don’t pirate it for the graphics.

Though Jacobson repeatedly referred to the tracking code as a ‘flaw’, he does admit to me it was an intended piece of tech. “The flaw was in the crack was that they didn’t strip that out. I don’t want to go too deep into what the flaw was, because I don’t want to crack it too wide open. What they did is for them to comment on. All we know is that in the same way that any user playing through Steam gives it unique information unless they’ve opted out, the cracked version gave us the same information.”Movie companies chase down the IPs of illegal downloaders and sometimes prosecute. And Sports Interactive has the IPs of people in many countries where any similar prosecution would be likely to succeed. Would they do it? “It’s something that some people involved in the project have considered doing – but it’s not something I would consider. It’s more important to educate people and stop it happening in the first place. But taking legal action against 10.1 million? Oh, come on.”Of course, only 1.8 million of the illegal downloaders have played the game five times or more. “We release every year a half-season demo before the game is released. So, one, people can make their own mind up whether they want to buy the game or not, aside from the reviews which are quite wide-ranging. Two, no-one has excuse for pirating our game, because we let them try it for free. Half a season is a lot of playtime.”

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...legal-players/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Battlefield 4 PC servers hit by DDOS, while crashes plague PS4 version

November 19th, 2013, 00:11 Posted By: wraggster

This past weekend was a rough one for Battlefield 4, with DDoS attacks hitting the PC game and myriad crashes infesting the newly-launched PS4 version.

Over the past few days, it has been nigh-impossible to connect to servers in the PC iteration of Battlefield 4 thanks to an unnamed group attacking EA's Origin servers. Initially the publisher posted a statement to the main page of Battlelog stating that attacks were occurring and that the company was working to mitigate them, but as Kotaku reports, this message has since been removed. Despite this, one of the game's community representatives offers the following in the game's forums: "[W]e are being targeted by a DDOS, but working on fixing it asap. Im sorry somebody is ruining your and my day. Rest assured we are doing our best to mitigate the situation though."

The PlayStation 4 game saw even worse issues, with players reporting crashes, a total inability to connect to Battlefield 4's "Conquest" game type and periodically deleted save games. EA's immediate response involved adding a new server and issuing a sizable patch, but as I can personally attest, the crashes and deleted save files continue to be an issue for some players.

On Sunday, the publisher posted a message to its Help site pinning the blame on the PS4's recent 1.50 firmware update. Specifically, it claimed that "this update ... results in stability issues while playing games on the system," and that all games are affected, not just Battlefield 4. This message has since been retracted, and in its place you'll now find a simple, "The message on EA's Help site was posted in error."

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/18/ba...es-plague-ps4/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Hacker cracks indie's PayPal account, orders PS4s with crowdfunded cash

November 20th, 2013, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

OPINION: Is the industry in denial over the 'death' of XP?

November 20th, 2013, 00:25 Posted By: wraggster

Nick Donaldson, Director of Avnet Embedded, offers his take on the ramifications of the end of support for Windows XP.
When we're talking about something as significant as “end of life” – the withdrawal of support that heralds the demise of a particular technology - businesses have a duty to move to an alternative, and vendors have an obligation to provide that alternative. Ever was it thus, right?
But with the imminent demise of XP, this model has, arguably, dissolved. And thousands of businesses and commentators are now in denial over this successful operating system's impending swansong - with potentially disastrous results.
The exiting of XP is not a necessary and logical transition from an obsolete operating system to a better one. As one consultancy firm put it, Windows XP “isn't broken.”
Is it this disconnect that is somehow encouraging businesses to effectively ignore the issue? A recent industry survey suggests that 40 per cent of them have "yet to even start migrating off XP", and 20 per cent of them are not planning to do so at all.
So, in an attempt to rouse these businesses from the comfort zone, let's take just one (terrifying) example to clarify what an appalling false economy their current approach could prove to be.
Huge numbers of payment devices currently run on XP. POS tills, chip and PIN terminals, parking payment machines, motorway tolls, ATMs, and more. From April 2014, XP support for all these devices will cease, overnight. The resulting lack of updates and patches, and the loss of compliance with the payment industry's strict PCI security requirements, will put at risk everybodywho is in any way involved with the creation and use of those millions of payment devices. This includes, of course, the hapless consumer!
Security experts have already predicted a rash of cybercriminal activity. Gregg Keizer reported, “Hackers could find themselves in the catbird seat on April 8, 2014... those who have zero-day exploits for XP will bank them until that day and then sell them to crooks or loose them themselves...”
Any machine or device running the XP operating system will rapidly become increasingly vulnerable once support is withdrawn – but payment devices, given their lucrative function, will make the juiciest targets.
This is where wholesale confusion reigns. Many seem to think that help will still be readily available for security and PCI compliance. In fact, according to law firm Pinsent Masons, businesses will still be able to engage with Microsoft or a licensed sourcing provider. But the implication is clear – these services do not come for free.
So is moving to Windows 7 or 8 an option? Not in any easy sense. The withdrawal of XP is no ordinary migration exercise - nowhere is this clearer than in the lack of seamlessness between XP and Windows 7 and 8. Firstly, 7 and 8 do not support all of the devices that XP supports. Secondly, and rather more seriously, 7 and 8 will not necessarily be PCI-compliant on those particular devices even if they are supported.
Most damaging of all, however, is the lack of understanding around the options for using embedded software instead of standard XP. Many businesses still think, for example, that embedded software requires a hardware refresh. Not so. Embedded offerings also include XP-based operating systems, such as POSReady 2009 and WES 2009, which can be delivered via a software services model.
Embedded licensing also allows for a longer lifespan of devices, with some embedded products being available or supported for up to 15 years (thus avoiding exactly the kind of disruptive support withdrawal situation that businesses are having to deal with in the current scenario!)
The benefits of embedded aren’t just limited to prolonging support life, however; there is also much greater licence discounting, locked-down functionality and full customisation support, enabling easy integration into a business environment. And there is no shortage of choice for XP users – the embedded variants of XP are abundant.
I hold my hands up. This industry (and this company) could have done a much better job of demystifying the embedded software value proposition. The level of misunderstanding in the marketplace proves it.
But at the same time, businesses have to accept responsibility for sleepwalking themselves (and their users) into huge financial risk, rather than addressing a technical issue that temporarily requires some out-of-the-box thinking.
Yes, the demise of XP is disruptive. Yes, XP has been effectively killed off by Microsoft in an act of unnecessary and premature euthanasia. Yes, this means that it doesn't fit the mould of technology change that businesses are used to coping with.
But in the final analysis, we have only six months to go before a lot of businesses start haemorrhaging their customers' money to hackers. And still the minor leap to an XP-like alternative seems to be a bridge too far for many of the businesses whose products and services handle your and my money on a daily basis.
Denial? More like suicide.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...h-of-xp/032499

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Command & Conquer to continue under a new studi

November 20th, 2013, 00:27 Posted By: wraggster

Support notice claims publisher is due to resume production of latest C&C

Command & Conquer’s latest iteration may yet be released, if product information from its support page is correct.

Simply titled Command & Conquer, the game was in development at EA’s internal Victory Games, until the studio was closed last month.

Now, Blue’s News has come across a support page on EA’s website apologising to customers who had expected the game as part of a product bonus and explaining that production will in fact resume on the title shortly.

The site reads: “For those of you who bought The C&C Ultimate Collection, your early access to the beta will be honoured once production of this title resumes under a new studio. We would like to thank you for your time and interest in Command & Conquer, and we look forward to sharing the news with you when production resumes on this title in the future.”

Despite closing the studio, EA held on to the Command & Conquer property, which it has revived twice in recent years. For its last effort to renew interested in the series, it had planned to release the game as a free-to-play online game.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/c...studio/0186160

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

2-D MMOG Glitch Released Completely Into the Public Domain

November 20th, 2013, 00:30 Posted By: wraggster

Glitch, a collaborative, web-based, massively multiplayer game developed by Tiny Speck, Inc. (tinyspeck.com) has beenreleased under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License. I'm not at all familiar with this game, but it is rare that both source code and all game assets are released into the public domain, which makes this announcement noteworthy. An excerpt from the announcement: 'The entire library of art assets from the game has been made freely available, dedicated to the public domain. Code from the game client is included to help developers work with the assets. All of it can be downloaded and used by anyone, for any purpose. (But: use it for good.)'"

http://games.slashdot.org/story/13/1...-public-domain

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

AMD To Launch a Windows 8.1 Gaming Tablet

November 20th, 2013, 00:31 Posted By: wraggster

Chip maker AMD has announced that it's won 2 CES Innovation Awards for a gaming tablet the company plans to show off at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The device is called "Project Discovery" and will come with AMD's Mullinschip that is a 64-bit, x86-based chip, perfectly suitable for Windows 8.1. The low-power Mullins APU (accelerated processing unit) is AMD's answer to Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm, aimed at fanless tablets, ultrathin notebooks, and 2-in-1 devices. The 28nm processor is expected to consume as little as 2 watts of energy while in use. The obtained images show that the upcoming AMD tablet is quite similar to Razer Edge.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...-gaming-tablet

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Chrome OS 32 beta makes it easier to find the right window

November 20th, 2013, 00:47 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Up to 40% Off Select DIY PC Components

November 20th, 2013, 01:10 Posted By: wraggster


Gold Box Deal of the Day: Up to 40% Off Select DIY PC Components

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Up to 80% off Select Software Titles Including Dragon, Corel, Autodesk!

November 20th, 2013, 01:12 Posted By: wraggster


Bonus Gold Box: Up to 80% off Select Software Titles Including Dragon, Corel, Autodesk!
Check it out: Amazon Bonus Gold Box Deal of the Day

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...kiangagenew-20

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Spacebase DF-9 recoups $400K investment in two weeks

November 20th, 2013, 20:45 Posted By: wraggster

Double Fine's upcoming sci-fi building sim, Spacebase DF-9, has recouped its $400K investment in a fortnight.Where's George Clooney when you need him?

This milestone was reported by the Indie Fund, the collective of indie developers responsible for backing such projects as The Swapper and Monaco. The Indie Fund noted that it usually only invests $50 - $150K in a project - and indeed it only invested $75K in this case - but the Humble Bundle, Hemisphere Games, make all, AppAbove Games, Adam Saltsman, The Behemoth, Morgan Webb, and Rob Reid put in a the remaining $325K.The collective noted in its announcement that 85 per cent of Spacebase's revenue came from Steam Early Access sales, while the remaining 15 per cent came from direct sales on the game's official site. Either way, it's been priced at £18.99 / $25 (or £22.99 / $30 with the soundtrack)."This is an important milestone for us because the success of this experiment opens the door for us to support more projects of this magnitude in the future," said the Indie Fund. "To be clear, this won't affect the number of smaller projects we fund. Our bottleneck has always been finding promising projects to invest in, not lack of funds.""It also provides an encouraging data point about bringing together larger groups of people to support larger projects, and we are mulling over what this might mean for the future of Indie Fund," the collective added.This bodes well for Double Fine testing the waters of Steam Early Access, where it will debut a still-in-progress version of Broken Age in January.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...t-in-two-weeks

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls closed beta beginning by end of year

November 20th, 2013, 21:41 Posted By: wraggster

Closed beta testing for Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls will begin by the end of the year, Blizzard announced Tuesday.
Diablo 3's first expansion pack is currently in a 'Friends and Family Beta,' limited to close acquaintances of Blizzard staff. However, the developer said members of the press and 3,000 of its most active players will also be invited to join before the closed beta begins.
Battle.net users who want to participate in the closed beta must indicate their interest by opting in under their Beta Profile Settings.
Blizzard said invitations will be extremely limited, but those admitted will be able to experience the in-progress version Reaper of Souls in its entirety, minus the final battle.
Reaper of Souls adds a new class called the Crusader and another act to the game's campaign in which players battle against Death itself. A patch to remove Diablo 3's derided auction house and rework its loot system will release independently of the expansion in March.
Both the original game and its expansion will be included in Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...y-end-of-year/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Steam to sell Black Mesa

November 20th, 2013, 21:50 Posted By: wraggster

The fan-made Half-Life remake Black Mesa will be coming to Steam with a price tag in the near future.
An statement released on the Black Mesa website confirms that the rebuilt shooter could soon be available on Steam for "a relatively low price".
The announcement coincides with the 15-year anniversary of Half-Life, which was originally released on November 19, 1998.
Black Mesa was originally planned to be a free title.
"We never developed Black Mesa with money in mind," read a statement from the game's developer.
"Our team is made up of average, hard-working people, and no one joined the team to make money. For us, Black Mesa is purely a labour of love. We believe this philosophy has significantly contributed to the overall quality and feel of the game.
"Our decision to sell Black Mesa rests on two key points. One is we believe we can make the game even better by having full access to the Source engine. This lets us tackle and fix limitations instead of working around them. The second is because, frankly, our team could really use the financial help.
"Soon you'll see Black Mesa available on Steam for a relatively low price. But we aren't dropping all support for the free version. In fact shortly after the Steam release there will be a completely new free version of the game. We also plan to open source our maps and some game assets to the modding community!
"Purchasing the Steam version of Black Mesa is more about supporting the team and our efforts than anything else. However, the Steam version will include features that the free version simply can not have. We will be paying careful attention to feedback, and you'll have a very real say in how the final game turns out."
On many occasions during the nine-year development of Black Mesa, the project was suspected to have broken down, but fears were eased in 2012 when the first ten hours of gameplay were released for free.
Black Mesa was among the first ten games to be selected for publishing on Steam after garnering enough votes on Valve's Steam Greenlight system.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ll-black-mesa/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

The Battles of King Arthur PC game boasts 'largest ever map' in strategy genre

November 21st, 2013, 00:13 Posted By: wraggster

Who needs a date when you can take part in historical battles?
Simulation PC game publisher Excalibur has announced its latest title and first turn-based strategy game, The Battles of King Arthur, will launch in the UK on Valentine's Day on February 14th, 2014.
And it says the title "features a game map larger than any other in the turn-based strategy game arena".
The £24.99 game is developed in-house at Excalibur and will be available as a boxed retail release for PC and Mac as well as a Steam download.
The Battles of King Arthur promises to "bring a fusion of real-time and turn-based strategy to a desktop war gaming". Players take command of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as Arthur aims to grow his kingdom.
"It has been hand-crafted for maximum enjoyment and features choke points and terrain perfectly blending strategy battlefields with strategic opportunities on one map," said Excalibur in a statement.
"Players will fight battles on landscapes that suit themselves using the type of army that plays to their own strengths. Placing archers in the forest and luring your enemy close will afford you a sneak advantage whereas you’ll develop a cavalry if you see your army’s strengths in fighting on the open ground."

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...y-genre/032518

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Minecraft enables one-click Twitch broadcasting on PC, Mac

November 21st, 2013, 23:28 Posted By: wraggster

Sharing footage of your finest blocky creations just became much easier with the addition of simple, one-click Twitch streaming to the PC and Mac incarnations of Minecraft.

Though this agreement was outlined at the recent MineCon event, it wasn't until today that things changed within Minecraft. Now, after a quick visit to enable streaming in your account settings, you can stream gameplay footage at a moment's notice simply by pressing the F6 key. If any of that sounds too complicated, don't worry: the video above serves as a walkthrough ofMinecraft's new streaming features.

The only caveat here is that Twitch support is currently only available toMinecraft players under Windows and OS X. We have contacted Twitch to ask if the game's Linux version might also see streaming options in the future and are currently awaiting a response.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/21/mi...ing-on-pc-mac/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

StarTech portable router lets users create their own WiFi hotspot

November 22nd, 2013, 00:00 Posted By: wraggster

Manufacturer StarTech.com has launched the Wireless-N Travel Router which lets users create a WiFi hotspot from a wired network connection.
This creates multiple WiFi connections to get tablets and smartphones online simultaneously while the user is on the move. This means the user doesn't have to pay individual access fees for each device.
The device can be powered from an iPad wall charger or any computer USB port using the included USB extension cable. This means a device can be charged while the router is in use.
The R150WN1X1T Wireless-N Travel Router has an MSRP of £54.99 (excluding VAT) in the UK.

“This compact travel router is an essential travel companion for anyone who travels frequently and requires wireless network access” said Carey Cline, Senior Product Manager for StarTech.com’s wireless networking product line.
“Many hotels offer WiFi access for a fee and often lock in-room access to a single device. Also, depending on how many users are accessing the network, paid access can be slow and unsecure. With this compact router, users can create a secured wireless connection they can use with multiple devices, saving expense while remaining fully mobile”.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=U...2F+Charge+Port

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

SteamWorld Dig is heading to PC and Mac in HD

November 22nd, 2013, 01:06 Posted By: wraggster

The formerly 3DS eShop-exclusive adventure SteamWorld Dig is heading to PC and Mac via Steam on 5th December, Swedish developer Image & Form has announced.
Unlike the 3DS original, this will be an enhanced version with HD graphics. "SteamWorld Dig now plays at 60 frames per second in full HD," noted lead designer Olle Håkansson. "We have added many nifty features such as achievements, bloom filters and cloud saves, but put our main focus into making the experience feel custom-tailored for the desktop... and it looks and feels marvelous."Image & Form CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson was adamant that even though SteamWorld Dig is spreading out from the eShop, a sequel will one day launch on 3DS. "Nintendo has treated us like royalty, and the Nintendo community is fantastic. We would be very foolish to turn our backs on them," he said. "As with SteamWorld Dig, our next SteamWorld game will appear on the 3DS day one."Regarding this mysterious sequel, Sigurgeirsson told Rock, Paper, Shotgun, "The next game in the SteamWorld series will NOT be a direct sequel to SteamWorld Dig - it will not be a SWD2, we'll save that one for a while. The gameplay of the next game will be similar... and, at the same time, quite different."SteamWorld Dig's Steam release will go for £6.99 / €8.99 / $9.99, and the developer noted that there will likely be a launch sale for it.EG-contributor Chris Schilling called the game "one of the best 3DS downloads to date," in his SteamWorld Dig review from August.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-and-mac-in-hd

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

id's Rage free to play on Steam this weekend

November 23rd, 2013, 00:04 Posted By: wraggster

id shooter Rage is free to play on Steam until Sunday, November 24 at 1pm PT / 9pm GMT.
The post-apocalyptic title is also available to purchase for £3.24 / $4.99, which represents a 75 per cent discount on its usual price of £12.99 / $19.99.
Released in October 2011, Rage is set in the near future following the impact of an asteroid on Earth.
In CVG's Rage review, our reviewer said: "While story and structure may never have been what id games were about, expertly refined gameplay mechanics are what the fans have craved and Rage has that, along with tonnes of variety."
Speaking earlier this year, id Software co-founder Tim Willits suggested that the Rage franchise still has a future within the company.
"I'm proud of what we did, I'm proud of the universe that we built, the franchise is not dead," Willits replied. "We're not doing anything immediately with it, but when I designed the universe, I designed it in such a way that it would be easy to step back into.
"I'm still proud that we did something that was different, it wasn't like the games that we've done in the past."
The last Rage-related content released was The Scorchers, a single-player DLC package launched in December 2012.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-this-weekend/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

3DS eShop hit SteamWorld Dig coming to PC next month

November 23rd, 2013, 20:03 Posted By: wraggster

Image & Form's 'Mr. Driller-meets-Spelunky' Nintendo 3DS platformerSteamWorld Dig is on its way to Windows and Mac next month, Rock Paper Shotgun reports.

SteamWorld Dig emerged as a surprise favorite when it hit the 3DS eShop in August, earning a slate of positive review scores for its excavation-based approach to platforming. Throughout the game, players dig underground in search of valuable minerals and ability-boosting upgrades, which give access to deeper, more dangerous caverns.

SteamWorld Dig will hit Steam on December 5.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/22/3d...pc-next-month/

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Russian space dog Laika's 'The Sun at Night' launches Feb. 4

November 23rd, 2013, 20:04 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Intel's 128MB L4 Cache May Be Coming To Broadwell and Other Future CPUs

November 23rd, 2013, 20:20 Posted By: wraggster

When Intel debuted Haswell this year, it launched its first mobile processor with a massive 128MB L4 cache. Dubbed "Crystal Well," this on-package (not on-die) pool of memory wasn't just a graphics frame buffer, but a giant pool of RAM for the entire core to utilize. The performance impact from doing so is significant, though the Haswell processors that utilize the L4 cache don't appear to account for very much of Intel's total CPU volume. Right now, the L4 cache pool is only available on mobile parts, but that could change next year. Apparently Broadwell-K will change that. The 14nm desktop chips aren't due until the tail end of next year but we should see a desktop refresh in the spring with a second-generation Haswell part. Still, it's a sign that Intel intends to integrate the large L4 as standard on a wider range of parts. Using EDRAM instead of SRAM allows Intel's architecture to dedicate just one transistor per cell instead of the 6T configurations commonly used for L1 or L2 cache. That means the memory isn't quite as fast but it saves an enormous amount of die space. At 1.6GHz, L4 latencies are 50-60ns which is significantly higher than the L3 but just half the speed of main memory.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...er-future-cpus

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Typing of the Dead: Overkill gets classy with Shakespeare DLC pack

November 25th, 2013, 23:21 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

EA gives FIFA Manager the boot

November 25th, 2013, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Assassin's Creed IV tops Steam chart, Football Manager still No.1 boxed game

November 25th, 2013, 23:38 Posted By: wraggster

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was the top-selling PC game on download service Steam last week, and reached second place in the UK boxed PC chart.
The action title from Ubisoft was beaten by Sega's Football Manager 2014 in the boxed chart for the week ending November 23rd. Football Manger has now topped this chart for the fourth consecutive week since releasing in late October.
Black Flag sold more digial copies than Call of Duty: Ghosts and XCOM: Enemy Within on Steam, which reached number two and number three on the download store respectively.
Elsewhere in the gaming world, Xbox One sold twice as many week-one units in the UK than the Xbox 360 did during its first week back in late 2005, while FIFA 14 returned to the top of the All Formats chart.
Here are the top-selling PC games for the week ending November 23rd:
Top Ten Full Price PC Entertainment (boxed UK sales)
Source: Ukie Games Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track
1. Football Manager 2014
2. Battlefield 4
3. X Rebirth
4. Call of Duty: Ghosts
5. The Sims 3: Into the Future
6. The Sims 3
7. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
8. The Sims 3: Island Paradise
9. Rome: Total War II
10. Xcom: Enemy Within
Top Ten Steam download chart
1. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
2. Call of Duty: Ghosts
3. XCOM: Enemy Within
4. Payday 2
5. X Rebirth
6. ArmA II: Complete Collection
7. Football Manager 2014
8. ArmA II: Combined Operations
9. State of Decay
10. Rage

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...ed-game/032565