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Good Old Games Adds Unreal Series, Keeps Things DRM-Free

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:45:22 -0600

With the phrase now appended to read, "I'd rather get a root canal while playing a DRM'ed game [than date/know/look at you]," the time is right to take a stand against DRM -- and also brush the dust off a few classic games in the process. So, if you haven't already, definitely point your web browser in Good Old Games' direction. Especially now that the totally DRM-free service has added Epic's Unreal series to its ranks.

Already, Unreal Gold and Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition are offering their services in exchange for low, low prices, with Unreal II: The Awakening and Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice Edition arriving "in the coming weeks."

"We know that a lot of gamers have been waiting for new deals," said GOG managing director Adam Oldakowski. "We're sure that the Unreal games will satisfy their lust for alien blood and intense multiplayer action... DRM-free, of course."

GoG also boasts games like Fallout, Gothic, and MDK, for prices ranging from $5.99-$9.99. Now go check it out! Show publishers that you'll be good boys and girls -- even without DRM's far-too-watchful eye looming heavy. If nothing else, it's a much more effective statement than complaining in our comments section (which we still encourage!).

Another One Bites The Dust: Championship Gaming Series Closes Down

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:29:14 -0600

Legitimate sport or not, professional gaming just can't seem to catch on in North America. First, the Cyberathlete Professional League wheezed out its final breath, and now, even after striking deals with BSkyB, STAR, and DirectTV, Championship Gaming Series is sitting next to its beleaguered comrade on a fluffy, DSL-connected cloud in gaming heaven.

The reason for its closure: CGS could talk a big game, but sadly lacked the credits needed to continue.

"While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim," said the CGS team in its farewell message.

"Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and we conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didn’t add up for us at this time."

Good luck to everyone affected by this disappointing turn of events. Our prayers are with you.

MPC readers, what do you think it'll take for pro gaming to finally earn its spot next to apple pie, happy families, and football as something printed all over McDonald's bags and cups? Er, as a crucial piece of American culture, we mean.

NPD: Top 20 Best-Selling PC Games of October

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:24:42 -0600

Fallout 3 -- looks about right. Next up, Spore -- no Nancy Drews here. And then we have... Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy? In third place? We're double face-palming (separately, and with disappointment -- not like Macaulay Culkin), especially considering who crossed the finish line huffing-and-puffing behind Ms. Killjoy.

Just take a look at the full list of NPD Group's top 20 best-selling games of October.

   1. Fallout 3 / Bethesda Softworks / $49 (Average)
   2. Spore / EA Maxis / $49 (Average)
   3. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy / Her Interactive / $18 (Average)
   4. Far Cry 2 / Ubisoft Montreal / $50 (Average)
   5. Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning / EA Mythic / $49 (Average)
   6. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard Entertainment / $38 (Average)
   7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $26 (Average)
   8. Fallout 3 Collectors Ed / Bethesda Softworks / $79 (Average)
   9. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $25 (Average)
10. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 / EA Los Angeles / $48 (Average)
11. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard Entertainment / $20 (Average)
12. Civilization IV: Colonization / Firaxis / $29 (Average)
13. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade / Blizzard Entertainment / $29 (Average)
14. Crysis: Warhead / Crytek / $30 (Average)
15. Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway / Gearbox Software / $49 (Average)
16. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Premier Ed / EA Los Angeles / $65 (Average)
17. Dead Space / EA Redwood Shores / $49 (Average)
18. Spore Creature Creator / Spore Creature Creator / $10 (Average)
19. Civilization IV / Firaxis / $24 (Average)
20. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $25 (Average)

As per usual, this data is retail only, but we're still not too happy with you, Far Cry 2. Really, Ubisoft! At least Red Alert 3 has an excuse.

Guild Pulverizes All Wrath of The Lich King Raid Content in Three Days

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:50:28 -0600

Talk about a hollow victory. You and your epic-clad, raid-running buddies wait more than a year for World of Warcraft's jam-packed new expansion, only to be within /spitting distance of its final raid bosses' lifeless bodies after a mere three days of playtime. Vacation's over, team. Back to real life.

Really, it makes us wonder why Blizzard decided to go with the bowling-ball-in-front-of-a-row-of-dominoes method when structuring its latest time-twister -- a question echoed by the guild that did the deed, TwentyFifthNovember:

"We are proud to declare that all WOTLK PVE raid content has now been cleared. This is both a moment of triumph and a cause for concern. The question in all our minds right now is if we could do this, how soon until the rest of the top guilds in the world clear all the raid content that WOTLK has to offer?"

"Did Blizzard miscalculate in the tuning of these encounters? Or is this Blizzard folding under the weight of a large casual player base that demands to be on equal footing with end-game raiders?"

Of course, this guild probably perforated WoW's new batch of glorified piñatas during the WoTLK beta, so odds are, they already knew the encounters inside-and-out before they even got their mitts on a retail copy of the game. Regardless though, that only means other guilds have the tools to pull off a similar thrashing, so we foresee a fairly large 24/7 raid converging on Blizzard's inbox in the near future.

However, before such "fans" sing "wah, wah, wah" all the way to Blizzard, we'd just like to remind them that other games do exist -- as do other, non-virtual worlds. So, you know, do something wholesome. Oh, and those strange people wandering around your house? That's your family. Enjoy.

Revamped Games For Windows Live Ready to Go Head-to-Head with Steam, Begin PC Console War

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:56:58 -0600

Hate Games For Windows Live because it's unintuitive and similar to Xbox Live in form, function, and ham-fisted unsuitability to the PC platform? Well, you'll be happy to hear that Microsoft had its top code-jockeys give the old girl a tune-up, and according to Shacknews, the prognosis should have Valve chomping its fingernails to the bone.

"The new in-game Games for Windows Live interface is a significant leap forward for Microsoft. It does everything you'd expect--displays your Gamerscore, provides a friends list, and allows for private messages and chat--but is now far more effective. It's a minimalist, PC-centric approach compared to the bloated, console-derived first iteration of the software," said the website in its impressions of the service.

In addition, Games For Windows Live general manager Chris Early confirmed that, on top of delivering DLC, the gussied up GFW will also become a distribution platform for full PC games -- just like soon-to-be competitor Steam.

"Clearly it's on our road map," he said -- describing full games as a "next step."

Anyone have a chance to fondle GFW's menus yet? What do you think? Does it have the potential to blow Steam out of the water? Or is GFW DOA?

Blizzard: Next MMO Cool, Different, and Still A Ways Off

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:16:42 -0600

Wrath of the Lich King may barely be ripe for the picking, but Blizzard's already hard at work on its next attempt at supplanting real life. Blizzard COO Paul Sams recent spoke with VG247 about the second generation of its MMO monarchy, and long-time WoW players will be both happy and relieved to hear that this game certainly isn't WoW 2.0.

“We want to create a great game,” Sams said. “Something that’s cool, and new, and different, and kind of next generation in terms of look and feel and gameplay. That’s a challenging endeavour.”

But as a dab of disappointment for WoW players' flagon of infinite joy, the new Blizzard MMO is still deep in the grimy pits of development, with no release date in sight.

“We’re definitely at the beginning, in the first half of development,” Sams continued.

“When we’re building a new game from the ground up, what happens is that it’s slow going for the first bit, while the team goes round and round and round figuring out how it’s going to look and feel, what the player experience is and what the differentiators are, and then the speed at which we then bring in the content and polish and actually get to the finish line…"

"I think the second half of the process is always substantially faster than the first half of product development,” he added.

Find out why it'll be quite some time before Blizzard gives fans an eyeful of its new MMO after the break.

Richard Garriott Is a Rocket Man, Is Not Working for NCsoft Anymore

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:27:13 -0600

When you were a hopeful, ambitious young whippersnapper, we're sure -- for the 15 minutes after you saw Apollo 13 -- you wanted to risk life, limb, and lunch by becoming an astronaut. Well, so did Ultima creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott, but he still went into game development and... oh wait, now he's abandoning game company NCsoft to live a life among the stars. Or something.

"I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch. I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch...a feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of," Garriott said in his farewell note.

"Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space. Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests."

Good luck, Mr. Garriott. Earth won't be the same without you.

Mirror's Edge Officially Roof-Running onto PC in January, DLC Too

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:42:10 -0600

Slow and steady wins the race against piracy? That's probably the mantra that came of EA and DICE's recent mind-meld, in which the publisher-developer duo decided to keep lithe heroine Faith from tip-toeing across PC rooftops until 2009 -- at least two months after consolites get their fix.

Now, today, after an almost conspicuously lengthy session of nonchalant whistling and faux-confused shoulder-shrugging, EA has announced a release window for its totalitarian twist on the formula Mario laid forth.

"The PC version of Mirror’s Edge will ship in North America in January 2009," said the press release. But that's not all.

"To keep the action coming after launch, DICE is currently developing downloadable content that will be available at the beginning of the year. More details to be announced shortly."

A late release to keep pirates from affecting sales figures? A spot of DLC to make players think twice about dumping Mirror's Edge in GameStop's used games section? Sounds like EA's really playing things safe with this franchise. It's just a damn shame that we all have to suffer for it.

Actually, "damn" isn't quite potent enough to describe the shame stream that currently plagues this situation. Jump past the break to see a more fitting phrase.