All Articles: PC

BioWare releases update for Star Wars: The Old Republic and rewards fans for their support

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

BioWare today announced the release of “Game Update 1.2: Legacy,” which is a massive update for Star Wars: The Old Republic that will deliver new content and the next evolution of the Legacy System alongside community requested enhancements like custom user interfaces and guild banks.

The new Legacy System will give players the ability to join all of their characters in a family tree that gives each a “bond.” This bond will grant bonus abilities and new character customization options to each character in the tree. They can also unlock new races for new characters, and convenience items for ships including a Galactic Trade Network terminal.

There will also be new high-level content for both experienced and novice players, including a Flashpoint on Ord Mantell called Lost Island, an Operation in a new zone on Denova called Explosive Conflict, and Warzone: Novare Coast.

But that’s not all! To reward current players for their support, BioWare will be offering some in-game rewards, including a Tauntaun Ram pet for anyone with an active account created before or on April 21, 30 days of free game time for players who reach level 50 by April 12, and up to seven days of free game play for former players with inactive accounts starting April 13.

For more information on the update, head over to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic website for patch notes and a more in-depth discussion of the update with the SWTOR developers.

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Sleeping Dogs escapes from the developer’s doghouse on August 14

Posted on April 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sleeping Dogs has taken a long and winding road to store shelves, but it looks like it’s almost over.

Canceled by Activision last year, the development team at United Front Games wouldn’t lie down on the job and eventually the game was adopted by Square Enix. Today, after some additional development time and a strong showing at PAX East 2012, the team’s new publisher is ready to announce that Sleeping Dogs will take a bite out of store shelves on August 14.

In addition to a release date, Square Enix has announced a trio of pre-order bonuses for their Hong Kong-set true crime saga:

Best Buy: Georges St. Pierre Pack

  • Georges St. Pierre’s Signature “Flying Punch”
  • Exclusive Georges St. Pierre Outfit (T-Shirts, Headband, and Shorts)
    Unlocks the “Flying Punch” and Increases Grappling and Throwing Damage

GameStop: Police Protection Pack

  • Exclusive “High Speed” Mission
  • Exclusive HK Police SWAT Outfit
  • Exclusive Assault Rifle
  • Exclusive SWAT Police Vehicle

Amazon: Martial Arts Pack

  • “Shaolin Showdown” Mission
  • Shaolin Warrior Outfit (with Increased Striking Damage)
  • Bonus Triad XP Points
  • Wing Chun Decoration for Safehouse (with Temporary Combat Buff)

If you plan to pre-order the PC version from Steam, don’t worry, Square Enix plans to offer a package of “exclusive content” for those who prefer to download their games as well.

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Steam Box confirmed? Valve hiring engineers to work on new “platform hardware”

Posted on April 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

A few weeks back, there were rumblings that Valve was in the process of creating a PC/console hybrid that the media affectionately dubbed the “Steam Box.” Valve co-founder Gabe Newell brushed the rumors aside, telling The PA Report, “It’s definitely not the first thought that crosses our mind; we’d rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do that.” But in the same interview, he also told PA Reporter Ben Kuchera, “[I]f we have to sell hardware we will.”

However, with the latest addition to the company’s Job Listings page, “have to” may shifted to “want to.” It seems that Valve is looking for an Electronics Engineer who will…

Work with the hardware team to conceive, design, evaluate, and produce new types of input, output, and platform hardware

Sure sounds like a “Steam Box” to me.

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Crysis 3 to be unveiled on April 16

Posted on April 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

Developers at Crytek have made mention of their plan for a “Crysis trilogy” on more than one occasion. So hearing that the header image of Crysis 3 above was leaked by EA’s Origin store isn’t exactly a shocker.

What is surprising is that EA confirmed the rumor by telling Game Informer: “The best kept secret in shooters just can’t be contained. Stay tuned for more information on April 16.”

So check back Monday when we’ll learn more about Crysis 3.

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Ridge Racer Unbounded out in Europe next week; US date still TBA

Posted on March 23, 2012 by John Scalzo

Ridge Racer Unbounded was pushed back to “later in 2012” by Namco Bandai earlier this month, but it looks like our friends across the Atlantic will get it much sooner than that.

Check out the speeding supercars, wicked wrecks, and neat create-a-course features in the launch trailer above and gaze on the European release date for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 title: March 30, 2012.

Hopefully, a US release isn’t far behind.

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BioWare “considering” a new ending for Mass Effect 3

Posted on March 19, 2012 by John Scalzo

It just goes to show you, some companies actually take the phrase “the customer is always right” to heart. Even though it was never considered the foundation of good business and is even less applicable in this case.

In a post on their Facebook page, the team at BioWare has revealed that they are still “collecting and considering” all fan feedback regarding the ending. The developer has also made made no decisions on whether or not they’re going to change the ending or offer a “good” ending to fans dissatisfied with the ending as is:

We would like to clarify that we are actively and seriously taking all player feedback into consideration and have ruled nothing out. At this time we are still collecting and considering your feedback and have not made a decision regarding requests to change the ending.

Many Mass Effect 3 will no doubt greet this news with cheers of joy. And they’re likely the very same people who complain about all the unnecessary changes George Lucas has made to the Star Wars trilogy over the years.

Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

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Final Street Fighter X Tekken fighters announced; PC version dated

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Nicole Kline

The final four characters in Street Fighter X Tekken have been announced: Street Fighter’s M. Bison and Akuma and Tekken’s Jin and Ogre. This brings the total character count up to 38.

Capcom also announced today that the PC version will be released on May 11, though no details were given on the PlayStation Vita version. The game will be available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 6.

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Blizzard confirms Diablo III is coming to consoles

Posted on January 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Blizzard hasn’t been shy about telling the world they were working on a “controller test” for Diablo III. However, they have also been quick to point out that a console version of the game wasn’t being officially announced as its release wasn’t a certainty.

But as of today, it is.

Blizzard Community Manager Micah Whiple was asked to confirm or deny the existence of the console version of Diablo III by another Twitter user and, with a simple “Yup,” confirmed that the game is no longer PC exclusive:

TaNGoIX:
@Bashiok can you confirm or deny Diablo 3 coming to consoles? Thanks.

Bashiok:
@TaNGoIX Yup. Josh Mosqueira is lead designer for the Diablo console project.

Obviously, it is much too early to speculate about a date for Diablo III’s debut on consoles (or even which consoles it’ll appear on, for that matter). But confirmation that it’s a real game and not just a test is a good first step.

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