The PC Centric Extravaganza 7.29.08
Posted by Chris Evans on 07.29.2008
Games for Windows Live dominates this issues of The PC Centric Extravaganza.
The PC Centric Extravaganza 29th July 2008
Welcome to another edition of the PC Centric Extravaganza, surely one of the best places on the net to keep up with all the latest PC gaming news! In just a few hours I will finally be going to see The Dark Knight, so apologies if this is a bit rushed and some of the news pieces lack their usual level of extra analysis. Lets crack on then.
Games for Windows Lives Goes Free
According to this recent 1up report Games for Windows Live Gold is now totally and utterly free. That means that for all those games that have utilised the Games for Windows Live in the past (The Club, Shadowgrounds anyone?) and future Games for Windows Live games (Dawn of War II) will incorporate the full Games for Windows Live Gold service for free.
So multiplayer achievements, matchmaking, Games for Windows voice chat and even cross-platform gaming are now all free! There are also plans for a Games for Windows Marketplace which will match the Xbox version with demos and downloadable content amongst the other crap available.
Really isn't this all a bit too little too late? The way I see it Microsoft have realised that the Games for Windows Live Gold service was terribly unpopular and confusing. It left many people thinking they had to pay for a Gold account to play the game or to play multiplayer, it was just horrendous. So now they back track on themselves and make it free in the aim to get a stronger grip on the PC market.
In an interview with Shacknews the Games for Windows global director Kevin Unangst reveals that they are also changing the Games for Windows interface.
Shack: Can you elaborate on how the interfaces are being changed to be more PC-friendly?
Kevin Unangst: Let me give you a couple examples on the in-game experience: things like control key shortcuts, and accelerators, those kinds of things. Having the windows drop down from the top rather than pop out of the middle as they did on the console, that's one example. We aren't showing the Marketplace design yet, but it will be different than the 360 for good reason, because we're designing it for different audiences. Users should expect to see a Marketplace that is optimized specifically for the PC or the Xbox.
Did it really take them so long to decide to optimise the Games for Windows Live service for the PC? This just smacks of Microsoft realising their earlier mistakes way too late and deciding to try and change things for the better.
The Marketplace can be seen as an extension of what is currently present on the 360 or, what is more likely, an attempt to cut in on the success that distribution methods such as Steam and Impulse are having.
My problem really is that Microsoft have promised so often that they are keen to look after and nourish the PC as a gaming platform and yet most of their initial attempts at doing such have been horribly wrong. I view this news decidedly skeptically, though I must admit that this is a good sign if developers will start to use the elements of Games for Windows Live Gold and we get to see more, better games come out and make use of their new options.
Lets wait and see how this goes over the next few months, right now I am on the glass half-empty side of things.
Update Just before putting this live I noticed a story somewhere on Kotaku reporting that certain aspects of the Silver Xbox Live Account are changing or incorporating Gold features for free. Could the change to the Windows system be the start of a total overhaul of the Live deal?
GTA IV on PC The Latest
That has arrived via a forumite on halflife2.net and is the latest piece of the puzzle regarding a GTA IV PC release. That is a cover of what seems to be the latest copy of the Malaysian version of PC Gamer and claims that GTA IV is "soon on PC."
European retailer City Disc is still listing a PC version of GTA IV for a 30th October release.
As of right now neither Take Two nor Rockstar have responded to enquiries about the magazine cover, and it is unclear whether the magazine has just compiled rumours of a PC release of GTA IV or has confirmed information on it.
Update Again not got the time to elaborate of this but Kotaku was reporting than a ESRB ratings screen was showing GTA IV as coming on the PC, but was quickly taken down.
Left 4 Dead Box Art
Undoubtedly that is some great box art for Left 4 Dead. This is a game which seems finally to be nearing release with Valve confirming that people can start placing pre-orders at retail. Valve also reveal that more media will be coming later this week ahead of the November release.
Hell yeah.
Quake Live Trailer
Quake Live, wow, that looks fun. That looks like the kind of shooter we have been missing for quite a while now, pure blooded Death Match. I know the latest Unreal may be the newest Death Match game on the block, but anything that harks back to the qualities of Quake III doesn't really have a chance.
Though really it is Battlefield Heroes which is the rival of Quake Live. Those two are the upcoming big hitters in the world of free to play online shooters available for the masses. It will certainly be interesting to see which comes out on top.
Aisle
You pick up a packet of the penne and watch it trail through the air, bouncing awkwardly off the brunette. Caught unawares, she drops the jar she is holding which shatters on the floor, leaving a puddle of grainy red. She stares, red-faced, in disbelief. You hear the soft crunch of leather boots behind you and turn to face a middle-aged security guard. You feint to the left then run to the right, out of the exit and to your car. As you pull away with a badly clutched roar, you shout out of the window "She had it coming--bitch!"
That is just one of the great endings to Aisle (by way of Rock, Paper, Shotgun) an amazing piece of Interactive Fiction. Using commands such as 'Laugh' and 'Cry' (there are over 100 different actions all told) you will get a different ending to the story.
What is most interesting about Aisle is the way that you can learn more and more about the backstory using different commands and getting different endings. You will gradually find a myriad of different story lines that have been worked into Aisle, they really are great.
You can get it from here if you have a .z5 interpretor otherwise you can play the in-browser version here.
Wrapping Up
That is all for this week I am afraid, see you all next week.
