ToC Gaming News Blog : All The Latest PC Gaming News

 In an exclusive interview with Gamespot, the developers give new details on what Crytek is working on. He hints that, there is a pending announcement soon to be made which involves the unveiling of a new IP which might be possibly mutiplatform, Crysis demo..
..which will come at the end of this month or early next month.

Highlights
* Crytek are working overtime polishing the game.
* Will run well and look great on single core CPUs + 6800GT.
* Crysis is designed as a trilogy.
* New IP announcement soon; Possibly multi-platform.
* Demo may come at the end of September; Expect an announcement soon.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Crytek, Crysis Demo, Crysis		Buy
posted by Gunny

SCi signed the Highlander license a few years ago, and finally the first results are revealed. Highlander is a third person action adventure set in the Highlander universe – control an Immortal embroiled in a battle against rival Immortals in an adventure spanning over 2000 years.
Highlander, developed by Widescreen, is a third person action adventure set in the Highlander universe – control an Immortal embroiled in a battle against rival Immortals in an adventure spanning over 2000 years.

Explore and battle your way through epic historical locations. (NY, Pompeii, Japan and the Highlands). Featuring familiar characters from the Highlander series, stunning sword combat, epic battles and high adventure in lush, historical locations.

Features :

* 4 distinct environments and 18 missions - Play in NY (near future), Pompeii before the eruption, Highlands in the medieval ages and Japan during the Samurai era - Epic Engine for high quality graphics
* 3 weapons to master - Katana, Claymore and Double Sword
* 9 navigations features - Dagger climbing, Ropes, Dynamic ladders, Swan dive, Freefall, Traverse climbing, Cannonball, Beams, Ziplines
* Quickening techniques - Resurrection, Chi balance (stamina), Weapon Mastery (Fireblade, Wind Fury, Stone Armor), Channelling the Source (charge up for powerful attacks)
* 77 characters - New main character – Owen Macleod, Familiar characters from series/movies (Methos)

Release: 2008

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Highlander, Highlander Game, SCi		Buy
posted by Gunny

Warhound might not have a publisher, but that doesn't mean it isn't one of the most interesting shooters we've seen at Games Convention 2007. How many shooters properly incorporate a Gears of War-style cover system into a first-person perspective, or allow you to set up dual grappling hooks to produce a tightrope, giving players the chance to sit, wait and stealth kill from above? That's what makes Warhound a mercenary-for-hire shooter all it's own, even if it's a little rough around the edges on the tech side.

So far, there's no real story to Warhound. As already mentioned, you play a mercenary trying to work your way from the bottom of the food chain to the top. In order to do that, you need to manage resources, earn new licenses (i.e. perform tasks of accuracy) that unlock additional weapons and gadget options and work through sandbox-style missions that encourage you to approach them with varying strategies.

The sandbox missions aren't exactly typical, either. Before a mission starts, you get your overall objectives and choose what time of day you start the campaign (which then cycles dynamically as you play) and via what mode of transportation. Coming in on helicopter means you're closer to the action from the start, but costs you significantly more than walking (which costs nothing) or driving (cheaper). Balancing these decisions depends on what kind of gamer you are. Arriving in a helicopter might mean less disposable income for guns, so stealth is needed.

Undeniably, one of Gears of Wars' greatest accomplishments is its cover system. The ability to weave in and out of battle at the press of a contextual button has proven especially influential to the genre, but has mostly remained limited to a third-person perspective. Warhound introduces that from a strictly first-person perspective, triggered by context-sensitive on-screen actions that demonstrate different options for cover, depending on which shoulder buttons are pressed. It seems to need some refinement, but the concept is solid and feels much more natural when aligned with a visual interface that represents which cover will occur in that situation, rather than just assuming.

What made us completely giggle out loud, however, was the grappling hook. On its own, nothing special, but Warhound takes the concept a step further by allowing players to weave together two separate grappling hook shots into a walkable tightrope. The game detects that two have been shot with the intention of linking, so once players reel into the first hook, they automatically jump on the tight line and have the (slightly unrealistic) opportunity to silently kill from above. The developers were visibly excited about the multiplayer possibilities and even said they'd played with the idea of allowing players to produce even more hooks for swinging around à la Spider-Man.

Right now, Techland is a little more interested in nailing down a publisher than letting us know when Warhound is going to be finished, but you can't blame them. Hopefully, their exposure at E3 -- we saw a number of publishers coming in to check out both this and Dead Island -- will ensure Warhound gets the proper financial care it needs.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Warhound		Buy
posted by Gunny

We're not saying that Grand Theft Auto IV will suck. In fact, we think it’ll be one of next year’s must have titles. It's just that there's another awesome open-world action title set in New York (the real one) in the works that might make Rockstar take the backseat in 2008. The game's called Prototype, and even in its early stages of development, it looks ready to outshine GTA IV in almost every way. Yes, we're being serious.

1. It's new
And we’re not talking Roman numeral four new, we mean brand new. Sure, GTA IV has a new main character and all the extra bells and whistles we’d expect from the next GTA. But we’ve jacked cars, assassinated lowlifes, and climbed the crime ladder before.
Prototype offers something fresh with its protagonist Alex Mercer, who finds himself wrapped in a web of mysteries. Mercer wakes up with no memories and almost unlimited powers that allow him to shape shift, consume the memories and abilities of victims, and of course, ram a fist through someone’s throat. A dangerous virus infecting the populace of New York that turns people into monstrous mutants, and a government conspiracy to cover it all up spices things up further.

2. You can feel the dark side flowing through every one of Mercer’s moves
The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (or RAGE) will allow - among other things - GTA IV’s Niko to change the way he moves as he travels over different terrain to make movement more realistic.
But before you get all excited over the subtleties of walking over grass instead of asphalt, understand that Niko will never look anywhere near as crazy as the way mad man Mercer flings himself about the streets of New York in Prototype.
Every one of Mercer’s motions is soaked in pure aggression. Whether he’s digging his heels into the pavement as he sprints past traffic or flailing his arms as he catapults himself into the sky, Mercer’s movements indicate real rage, the kind that can’t be captured by a nice sounding acronym for a game engine.

3. Mercer is dressed to kill
Look, we like playing Barbie with our game characters as much as the next guy - and make no mistake, that’s what you’ll be doing every time you doll Niko up with a new set of threads.
But when it comes to altering our avatar’s appearance, we’d prefer something more utilitarian, like a pair of giant claws for shredding flesh, or a thick biological suit of armor that soaks up bullets. These are just a few of the shape shifting powers that Mercer will gain access to throughout Prototype.

4. Mercer makes Marcus Fenix look like Mickey Mouse
We have fond memories of slapping dead pedestrians over the head with a rubber dildo. But while the GTA series has always been known for its violent nature, be prepared for guts and gore like you’ve never seen in Prototype.
“We want to use this next-gen opportunity to create new ways to kick some f*cking ass,” explained lead game designer, Eric Holmes. Expect Mercer to deliver brutal beat downs to his foes that make Gears of War’s curb stomps and chainsaws look tame in comparison.

5. Mercer travels in style
After tearing through the streets of San Andreas with the fuzz hot on your tail, the prospect of hailing a taxi and sitting in the backseat in GTA IV sounds a little anticlimactic.
But you won’t need to bother with catching cabs or jacking cars in Prototype to get around New York. With incredible strength and cat-like agility, Mercer can outrun traffic, scale walls, and leap from buildings without wasting any time.
If we’ve got to choose between waiting through rush hour traffic from the backseat of a cab in GTA IV and using cars as stepping stones as we charge down the street as Alex Mercer, we’ve got to go with Prototype.

6. Consuming people gets the job done
You can’t solve all your problems with guns or fists to the face. Both GTA IV and Prototype will feature problems that require a bit more finesse. But while GTA IV will have you filling out resumes at internet cafes for the game’s more subtle missions, Prototype charges you with consuming people.
When you consume someone, Mercer absorbs that person’s abilities and memories. Consume a high-level officer, and you could wreak havoc on a military controlled checkpoint by issuing phony orders. Consume an important character and their memories may fill in pieces to the puzzle behind Mercer’s mysterious past.
It’s not a pretty sight. After Mercer destroys his victim, he dissolves them into a bloody mess of muscle tissue and veins before sucking the gory goop back into his body.

7. The infected are scarier than mobsters
Mobsters are scary. In GTA IV’s crime-ridden streets, you’re always moments away from getting “whacked,” “snuffed,” or “taken care of.” But if you think you’d stand a chance against Prototype’s frenzied infected with anything less than Mercer’s superhuman powers, then “fuhgetaboutit.”
During a brief demo, we saw Mercer fleeing from a group of infected – who look like a cross between an ape, a boar, and your high school gym teacher. The infected are frightening and much more than any wise guy could hope to handle on his own.

8. New York won’t just have character, it will be a character
GTA IV’s representation of New York looks amazing. But Prototype’s developers aren’t settling for a realistic recreation of the Big Apple. They want Prototype’s New York to be a living breathing character that will evolve over the course of the game.
Expect the territories to change hands between the military and the infected as you use Mercer to play both sides against each other. These conflicts will leave their mark, so expect the character of New York to show severe scars of battle over time.

9. Board helicopters like the T-1000 on crack
You can fly helicopters in both GTA IV and Prototype. Niko will probably need to take his Ovaltine before boarding a chopper in a calm and orderly fashion. But Mercer just doesn’t have the time for that. He only likes to board helicopters that are in the air and firing missiles at him.

10. It’s fantastic and realistic

We can’t wait to play both GTA IV and Prototype. But despite our love for Rockstar’s road raging franchise, we can’t help having more interest in playing Prototype. Can you blame us for wanted to suck bloody bits of marrow and meat into our bodies instead of filling out resumes or wanting to wall run and soar across the skyline instead of catching cabs?
It may seem like our greater interest in Prototype is a simple matter of preference for fantasy over reality, for a superhero over a hero. But it’s the way, Prototype’s plot, which promises to draw on current issues like natural disasters, epidemics, the over extension of government power, abuse of the media, and civil unrest that gives the game both a fantastic and realistic draw.
“It’s really important that we situate [Prototype] in a reality and add this one fantastic element of this real-time shape-shifting power. Not set it on the planet Mars in 2050, but to actually make it real to people,” explained producer, Tim Bennison.
We’ve got a lot more to say about both [GTA IV] and [Prototype], don’t forget to check out the latest screens by giving the Images tab above a click.

Get ready to get airborne! On August 23, parachute into combat with EA’s demo release of Medal of Honor Airborne™ for the PC and Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system. The Xbox 360 demo will be available on Xbox LIVE™* Marketplace and the PC version will be available on the official Medal of Honor™ website.

Demo Mission: Operation Husky

A joint allied operation into the island of Sicily, Operation Husky follows Boyd Travers and the 82^nd Airborne on their first combat jump on July 11, 1943. After securing and sabotaging four anti-aircraft guns, Boyd is sent to rendezvous with a group of Airborne paratroopers at the edge of the village. Here, they run into the German Heer army, who is attempting to recapture the village from the Airborne. Boyd must push to the end of this small hamlet, eliminating Germans along the way, then find a sniper rifle and eliminate the German commander. He’s successful, but not before the commander has successfully called in reinforcements.

Source:  http://www.n4g.com/

A Spectral Tiger from the World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game recently sold on eBay for $2000. If we'd have known that the Spectral Tiger that WoW Insider gave away last month would sell for $2000, we would have said. "Contest be damned! We're going to Vegas baby!" The reason the card is so special is because it also gives you a rare mount inside of WoW once you input a code.
Another reason the card sold for so much is that the card set it comes form, Fires of Outland, won't even be out until August 22nd. Beyond that, it's still apparently a rare card. As WoW Insider points out, $2000 is 11 years of game time -- and yes, that's the way they think about these things. Of course, like all things WoW, people go nuts and spend all this money and time on something to only have to be made completely uncool and pointless by something else a month later. But, you know, you're still World of Warcraft cool for a whole month.

Source: http://www.n4g.com/

Codemasters announced today that multiple award-winning videogame composer Cris Velasco (God of War, God of War II) has scored an original soundtrack exclusively for Clive Barker's Jericho™, the eagerly anticipated squad-based horror FPS.

Gamers can witness the phantasmagoria that lies ahead in the introductory gameplay trailer video by following the link below.

Clive Barker's Jericho will unleash its supernatural assault in late October, just in time for Halloween, for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Games for Windows®.

Click link for video http://www.codemasters.co.uk/

Even more exclusive gameplay proving that the hand is indeed mightier than the sword.

THQ releases four screenshots of their action game Conan. It looks quite fine, and we hope the combat system will be as good. Anyway, the Conan universe seems to be very well transcripted. Kraken and sexy women people !

Source: http://www.gamersyde.com/

Game Trailer posted a new trailer of BioShock for PC and Xbox 360

   posted by Eggchaser

The Bioshock demo starts us off with a slick, yet simple opening cinematic - pretty much a first-person view of you looking at the back of someone's chair. You pull out your wallet, you glance at a photo of your own family waiting for you down at terra firma. Everything's cosy, everything's peaceful on the passenger plane you're on. Nothing unusual.

Then, a curve ball. Your airplane crashes into the sea.

A moment later, we're waterlogged - your character is gasping and coughing as he watches the airplane he's been comfortably sitting in burn in a fiery blaze. Control is given to us at this point, and we can move across the water pretty quickly. It's to note that the graphics, even right at the beginning, pull no punches to astound you - the water looks absolutely beautiful, and the blaze that burns from what's left of the sinking airplane is reflected magnificently off the surface. The airplane itself is sinking, so we swim towards what appears to be a small island.

Gasp, cough, hack, wheeze. Our character's thankful we got out of the water quickly enough. We pull ourselves up onto the island, walk up its stairs, and into an entrance that seems to lead to something else deep underwater. We find a bathysphere, and, being the curious feline about to flirt with death - we activate it with a pull of a lever (done by pressing A, the context-sensitive interact button) and we wait as we're sent deep into the unknown.

10 fathoms. 18 fathoms. Looking out the Bathysphere's porthole, we get a glimpse of Rapture - and it's a gigantic, bustling metropolis flourishing under the sea. Buildings with inviting neon lights stretch out from the ocean floor while a giant whale swims past us, seemingly unperturbed by the encroachment of human civilization upon its habitat.

The graphics wow us more over here - it's really something to see something as massive and as detailed as the exterior of Rapture glowering at you from the Bathysphere. Really awesome.

Just when we're starting to feel comfortable, though, things go downhill the very moment we get to the end of our Bathysphere journey. We witness in real-time a cold-blooded murder of a civilian - the murderer a bloody, mutated creature that was once a man, and with hooks instead of hands. A clever use of lightning and darkness plays here and amplifies the tension, so much that I reflexively looked around for a way to escape. No such luck, we're trapped in a freaking metal ball!

The creature then turns its attention to us, and it tries to get at us. Fortunately, it only manages to give us a scare, and soon gets tired of us. We take a moment to collect ourselves - and change any soiled underwear if need be - and continue on our journey, taking with us a radio that might probably be our only sane companion in this twisted tour of Rapture.

The radio crackles and speaks to us. The bloke on the other end seems to be named Atlas, and from what we could gather he's one of the few people left sane in Rapture. He's pretty much the game's way of giving us tips and mission objectives - the first of which is to get to a location in the city, where he believes his wife and son are trapped. Our character is his last hope on finding them - and as such, he'll be helping us along the way.

That's the first few minutes of the Bioshock demo - and it'd be criminal of me to spoil the entire thing for you, as it really needs to be played. The visuals are breathtaking, and very high-end. Sound and lighting are all used to create one of the most frightening atmospheres ever, and you'll find yourself being all too sensitive from the smallest peep you hear as you trek the halls of Rapture.

The AI here is also ridiculously smart, with your enemies using a number of different tactics every time you try and take them down. They'll flank, use cover, dive out of your range - and most disturbingly, lunge at you in a deadly melee attack, even after you've set them on fire with an Incineration attack. This little quirk of theirs always got me into a panic myself, with me emptying the machine gun I managed to recover into a splicer even though it's already been put down. No, my ammo!

If you've been looking for a demo to play, the Bioshock demo is IT. There's so much to this game than meets the eye, and that's a whole lot. Great visuals, mind-screwing special effects, a dark anti-establishment undertone reminiscent of Fallout, it's all here. The moment you see the game's logo float up into the screen, dripping with the seawater it rose up from - it's going to be one hell of a ride from that point forward, until you're left gasping and shaking from the demo's tension-filled cliffhanger ending.

As for this writer, while I'm certainly glad to get out of Rapture for the time being, I can't help but feel excited for the day when we're not only given a taste of Irrational Games' Bioshock, but we're given full access to the whole smorgasbord. Rapture may not be a very good place to live in right about now, but it sure as hell is fun - the scares and frights included - to visit.

Source: http://xbox360.qj.net/

If you’ve ever wondered just how much damage two pistols and a shotgun can do to a Chinese market stall then you’d need look no further than the video...

Source: http://www.n4g.com

NCsoft sent over a press release announcing Guild Wars Platinum Edition, a package that includes the original game, Guild Wars: Prophecies and the fourth chapter of this game developed by ArenaNet, Guild Wars: Eye of the North. You can read the press release after the jump.

Guild Wars Platinum Edition

"Thursday 9th August/...Join millions of players in one of the most popular games of all time. The adventure begins with the award-winning Guild Wars, the revolutionary online RPG with no subscription fees. The story continues in the stunning Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion. Two great games, one incredible journey
Guild Wars (Prophecies campaign)
“The Year’s Best PC Title” — Play Magazine, 2005
In a world torn by conflict, a champion will rise from the ruins of a once-proud empire to lead the people of Ascalon out of the ashes and fulfill an ancient prophecy. Will that hero be you?
Experience the game that has captivated millions of gamers worldwide. Guild Wars® is an online role-playing game that rewards player skill and innovative game play over hours spent online.
Gameplay Features:
Explore 6 Distinct Regions of Tyria- Complete 25 Missions and over 200 quests leading you from the Ruins of Ascalon through the snowy Shiverpeak Mountains and lush Maguuma Jungle, into the arid Crystal Desert, and then on to the hellish Fire Island chain.
6 Core Professions to Choose and Combine - Choose your primary and secondary professions from Elementalist, Mesmer, Monk, Necromancer, Ranger, and Warrior, providing 30 different character combinations to try.
Over 450 Skills to Unlock and Use- Create your own distinct combination of 8 skills to bring you victory.
International Competition—Play solo or join with friends to ascend as a team and win fame and prizes in global tournaments.
*Requires product purchase and access to Internet. Player is responsible for all applicable Internet fees.
Guild Wars: Eye of the North
Guild Wars: Eye of the North is the first true expansion for the Guild Wars franchise, providing new content designed exclusively for level 20 characters.
Return to the battle-scarred continent of Tyria, home of the original Guild Wars campaign. There you will reunite with old friends, discover new allies, and face off against a race of beings bent on a single mission—destroy everything. Win or lose, your actions will set the stage for Guild Wars 2.
Game play Features:
Enter the Depths - Navigate a sprawling underground complex of caverns spanning an entire continent. Explore 18 multi-level dungeons rife with traps, puzzles, and secret passages guarded by foes more cunning and powerful than any you’ve ever encountered.
You Can Take It with You - Your achievements, trophies, and titles from all three Guild Wars campaigns and from Guild Wars: Eye of the North, will not be forgotten. Your personalized Hall of Monuments will preserve these accomplishments allowing your descendants to reap the benefits of your character's fame in Guild Wars 2.
10 New Heroes- Enlist the aid of Heroes from races old and new, including the fierce Norn, the magical Asura, and even a few surprises.
150 New Skills- Play with skills unlike anything previously seen in Guild Wars, such as the Light of Deldrimor, which can simultaneously detect hidden objects and smite evil foes.
40 New Armor Sets- Acquire a variety of powerful new armor sets and rare stand-alone pieces worthy of the greatest heroes of the land.
Key Features:
No monthly fees - ever!
Compelling story and customizable characters set in a stunning world
Free global competition with real-world prizes
PvP or role-playing - you choose the game play style
No loot stealing, spawn camping, and endless travel"

source [via Gamershell]

posted by Gunny

Focus Home Interactive sends along a Loki demo, offering an opportunity to try out this new action RPG from Cyanide Studio. The single player demo allows you to level up to level 20 as the Norse Warrior, one of four character playable in the game.

Source : http://www.shacknews.com/

posted by Gunny

In adding his two cents to the videogame-violence debate, scientist Christoph Klimmt once said that "not everyone who plays a 'killer' game would be able to stand the stress of a real murder." We'd take it one step further and say that violent games don't even prepare would-be murderers for the stress of a real gun. It's something we found out firsthand when we sent two of our editors - one of whom had never shot a real gun despite being American, and one whose dad kept a "shootin' car" in the yard - down to Los Angeles for a Medal of Honor: Airborne preview event.

The highlight? Being trucked out to a desert firing range in a fleet of black Hummers to test-fire a selection of actual World War II-era firearms. After years of just playing games, we finally found out how it feels to carefully aim and fire a trusty M1 Garand rifle, squeeze off a burst of shells with a Tommy Gun and rip up a target with one of those German MG42s we've always been so fond of commandeering. We came away bruised, burned and deafened, but with a profound respect for what firearms can do.

Of course, after trying the real thing, any gun in a videogame - no matter how carefully patterned after the genuine item - is going to seem lackluster by comparison. But how lackluster? To determine how well Airborne approximates the real thing, we've compiled video evidence of six firearms in action, as well as a few relevant facts and our own personal reactions to the guns. Oh, and before you even ask, the answer is no - pulling off headshots in Counter-Strike will not make you a better real-life marksman. Sorry. But let's begin:

The gun: M1 Garand rifle

The history: Fans of World War II games should be intimately familiar with the Garand by now, seeing as it's been a staple of the genre for years. The semiautomatic rifle was formally adopted by the US military in 1936, but didn't see widespread use in Europe until 1943, when it almost completely supplanted the bolt-action Springfield M1903 as the standard service rifle for American infantry.

How it feels: Heavy and unwieldy. It's hard to imagine trying to run around on a battlefield toting this thing, let alone leaping out of a plane with it. Actually firing it, meanwhile, is like being punched in the shoulder by your asshole older brother as a supersonic hunk of sharp metal pops right the hell through whatever creature you were pointing it at.

Reality vs game: The M1's most striking feature is the way it roughly and repeatedly slams into your shoulder with each painful shot, and there's no way a limp rumble motor is going to replicate that. On the other hand, it feels just as accurate in real life as it has throughout the Medal of Honor series, and Airborne in particular at least does a good job of animating the recoil and accurately replicating the firing speed. And while it's impossible for a game to replicate the ear-splitting thunderclap the real gun makes, the signature metallic springing noise the Garand makes when ejecting its empty clip is at least faithfully reproduced, just as it's been in every Medal of Honor since the first one.

How well is it replicated? About as well as it can be without the sensation of hefting a big lump of wood and metal and then getting into a shoving match with someone twice your size.

Thrilling fight choreographies, gripping characters and realistic worlds create new dimensions in the genre. The title also introduces new benchmarks in content. Experienced script editors link the cinematic story with maximum gaming freedom in a medieval fantasy world.

Features :

If Rockstar's appeal succeeds with the VAC, the game will finally be made legal to purchase, meaning we can decide for ourselves whether or not we're emotionally mature enough to handle the brutality of this controversial game.
The hearing's official date is yet to be announced.

posted by Eggchaser