The PC Spotlight 11.20.08: Slowin’ Down

Posted by Chris Vicari on 11.20.2008

With things finally starting to slow down after the fall gaming surge, it's time to panic and add other stuff.

Well, it's been a hell of a few months, but things have finally started to slow down. With most of the big releases already on the shelves, our wallets can finally gain a little weight, until Christmas rolls around of course. Due to the lack of PC news bits rolling around the bowels of the internet and beyond, this week will be a little different than usual. Instead, I'd like to talk about some of the bigger PC releases of the season, as well as dwell upon what made them so revolutionary, different, or just really good. Also, I will discuss a little about my experiences with the hottest release of the year: Left 4 Dead. The PC finally gets a good zombie shooter, aside from Stubbs of course. Don't want to disclose too much, so expect my review of the game on Friday.

Now that all that is settled, let's begin. Onward!

Happy 10th birthday Half-Life!!!



Valve is now offering Half-Life for just 98¢ in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the company's debut title. Launched 10 years ago today, Half-Life was greeted with overwhelming review scores, earned over 50 Game of the Year Awards, and birthed a franchise with over 20 million units sold to date. The special 10-year anniversary price is available via Steam until 12:01 pm PST on November 21. For more information or to purchase Half-Life for 98¢, visit www.steamgames.com NOW!

Sweet deals! Huzzah!

22 Valve games for $99? Good God man!

In yet another example of Valve cutting excellent deals Walmart-style, the newly-released Valve Complete Pack, featuring 22 Valve games for the price of $99, is the best deal I have seen, ever. Let me say that again: 22 games for $99. You don't even need Billy Mays to shout out you to buy this, the pack virtually sells itself. Not only do you get classics such as Half Life, TFC, and Counter-Strike, but you even get the newly released Left 4 Dead too. It's a shame I own most of those games anyway, but it's still worth a buy even if you own half of the games on that list. The leftovers will make perfect gifts in time for the holidays.

Surgeon General's Warning: Playing WoW 24 hours straight is hazardous to your health
Story courtesy of Swedish News service The Local



Not to any surprise of MMO veterans out there, some kid decided to pursue a 20-hour binge of the new World of Warcraft expansion. Like any binge, poor results typically follow, and here it's no different. A Swedish news service called The Local reported the story. Here's most of it and I left out the extra bits:

A 15-year-old boy from western Sweden collapsed and went into convulsions on Sunday afternoon after playing the World of Warcraft computer game for 20 hours straight.

The boy was one of seven friends who had gathered on Saturday at the 15-year-old's home in Laholm for to play the video game, a new version of which was released last week in Sweden.

"They played all day and all night. Maybe they got a few hours of sleep. They ate a little food and breakfast at their computers," the boy's father told the Kvällsposten newspaper.

At around 2:00pm on Sunday, the boy had what appeared to be an epileptic seizure.

"We were terrified and called rescue services," said the father.

At the hospital, doctors said the boy's bodily systems had been thrown off by a combination of sleep deprivation, lack of food, and too long a stretch of concentrated game playing.

While the boy is expected to make a full recovery, his father said he plans on limiting the amount of time his son is allowed to play computer games.

Sadly, the boy was unable to attain his goal of playing 24 hours straight, but there's always next week. How about Saturday? Yes, I am a jerk and think this is hilarious.

Grand Theft Auto = monthly fee? Umm no thanks.

A monthly fee for a GTA game? Are you high? Were you under the influence at the board meeting when presenting this "wonderful" idea to the board? It would appear these days that companies are addicted to charging monthly fees or micro transactions. I guess Take Two didn't learn anything from Flagship as good ol' corporate CEO Strauss Zelnick detailed his new plans for the next GTA at the BMO Capital Markets' conference held last week. Here's the quote:

The Holy Grail is taking a business, already a very large and successful business that's focused on packaged goods...and turning that into a subscription business or a semi subscription business where we have an ongoing relationship with consumers, giving them products that they want. Who's better positioned to do that than the company that has the top franchises?

When he says a large and successful business, I immediately think of GTA and GTA IV's incoming DLC. It's a perfect proving ground for their new idea.

*sigh* Keep it away!

PC gaming market bigger than expected? Can I get a hell yea!?
Article courtesy of IGN.com

Jon Peddie Research, the industry's leading research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced on Tuesday the estimated worldwide PC gaming hardware shipments and regional market share out to 2012, and claimed that the growth is nothing short of amazing.

According to the study, the total market value for PC gaming hardware in 2008 was just over $20 billion, and that will grow to over $34 billion by 2012 - and those systems pull in an additional $6 billion in software and services sales.

Now that hardware numbers are up, it's time to bring software numbers up to speed and combat the pirating. Check out the rest of the article here

Left 4 Dead hinting at a 10th TF2 class? Nah.

If you haven't been playing the game for an insane amount of hours already, there might be a small Easter egg you have yet to catch. You'll find it in the Apartments level of No Mercy, on a small box of Chocobites cereal right in the beginning of the level. On the back of the box, which is what I typically read during breakfast, you'll find the hidden egg.


Oooooh a cereal box which can predict the future!

As you can see by the picture, it's advertising Team Fortress 2 action figures, but at the bottom it clearly says, "Collect All 10." Now, if you're a Team Fortress guru, I'm sure you're wondering where the 10th class comes from, as there are only nine in the game. This is where the speculation comes into play. Some believe, me included, that Valve will finally be selling collectable action figures of TF2 classes, which have been requested for some time, and the 10th class is the level 3 Sentry Gun, or the Heavy unlockable Sandvich.

On the other side of the fence, there are others who believe Valve is actually considering releasing a 10th class. If you're familiar with Team Fortress Classic back in the day, you'll recall there being a 10th Civilian class used in the map Hunted, an escort-type level. It's not too far fetched to believe he might make a return. Back in April, Robin Walker, a software dev at Valve, even said a new class could be coming. If you recall though, Valve specifically stated the Payload play mode is a replacement to the Civilian. Further evidence can be found in the Meet the Sniper video, where the Sniper flicks a Civilian bobblehead and says, "Boom. Headshot," insinuating that Mr. Civie has already been taken care of.

Nobody knows either way, including this writer. I'm looking forward to either outcome though.

Microsoft's Michael Wolf calls the PC platform "the cradle of innovation"
Story courtesy of GameDaily interview

In an interview with GameDaily, Games for Windows Live senior marketing manager Michael Wolf talked about digital distribution on the PC platform. Not only did he call it the "cradle of innovation," but he added, "The PC gaming industry is not in decline; it's evolving and it's definitely evolving to a more online market." Wolf also touched on physical game boxes and explained they will remain to exist:

"I think retailers are starting to get it. Even when we look at what Microsoft has done with digital distribution and how we worked with retailers...it's almost like the same people who said books are going away and magazines are going away because everybody gets stuff online. I think there's still going to be that market where people want to go out and buy hard boxed copies and collector's editions and things like that. Things like that are still going to drive people to retail, and even when it comes to digital distribution Microsoft sells points cards at retail, and the retailers love that. So I don't think it's necessarily cutting out retailers or that we're getting a lot of pushback from them."

I'm glad someone knows what they're talking about.

DirectTV's Championship Gaming Series is no more
Story courtesy of CGS press release

AN IDEA WHOSE TIME CAME TOO EARLY
Today BSkyB, STAR, and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series (CGS) business.

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.

Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and we conceived 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.

Our only regret is that we will lose a team of creative and talented individuals who invested their hearts and souls into Championship Gaming Series. We recognize their achievements and thank them for their hard work and passion.

BSkyB, STAR, and DIRECTV continue to be committed to the video game sector, which is an important part of many of our customers' lives and a great source of entertainment

Sincerely,
The CGS team

Well, that's a shame, a serious blow to professional gaming leagues.

That's it for pertinent news this week

And now, onto my reactions of some of the biggest PC releases of the season.

Far Cry 2



When first hearing about Far Cry 2 when it was initially announced, I was a bit perturbed. When I think of Far Cry, I recall the stunning visuals and gun-play, but then I remember how it was all nearly ruined due to the surprise appearance of Trigens and soldier mutants. It was a hell of a twist, as nobody saw it coming, but the surprise can be equated to you announcing that you're marrying your sister. It's just not something you want to do.

In any case, I think the reason why the sequel was such a success, when compared to the myriad of shooters that came out, was because it was so different than all the rest, especially when compared to its predecessor. I think we got tired of the jungles and tropical islands motif, which was a trend continuing with Crysis, although that was a phenomenal shooter too. Far Cry 2 took us out the typical and tossed us into a politically-charged African climate, a rare setting. Sadly though, the game really didn't focus too much on the setting and there were many squandered opportunities at fleshing out the storyline. Regardless, we were given a semi-unique shooter and it performed quite well.

Despite the game's shortcomings, Far Cry 2 delivered a great FPS experience. Definitely not the best of the season though.

Red Alert 3



Who would have thought that gorgeous women, time travel, Kodiak bears, and Tim Curry, would amount to one of the bigger releases of the fall. Actually, strike that, you really don't have to wonder. Red Alert 3 takes advantage of its ginormous budget and delivers action, comedy, excellent graphics, and great live-action cinematics. So why do I consider RA3 one of the big names of the season?

The game doesn't change the Command & Conquer formula all that much, and being a long time fan of the series, I'm happy with that, but one thing which sets it apart from its predecessors and competition, even though it was practically the only RTS release of the season, is its charm. While both of the previous Red Alerts were funny and didn't take themselves too seriously, you can tell the devs went all out for this installment. Man cannons, sonar dolphins, and big mechs really set the tone.

RA3 is certainly not the greatest strategy game to grace our computers – that title deservingly goes to Total Annihilation, sorry StarCraft., but I believe the game accomplishes what it set out to do: provide one awesome experience. I'm just glad it was nothing like Generals, good God I hated that game. Not sure why it was so popular with the vets.

Fall Out 3



Yet another game I was definitely apprehensive about. Being a veteran of the old Fallouts and most of the games similar to them, I was miffed when people began to call the oncoming sequel "Oblivion with guns." I was exceedingly disappointed with the Morrowind sequel and I really didn't want to experience the pain all over again. The mods were the only thing which saved that game.

After playing it for an hour on a friend's computer, I'm happy to say Fallout 3 is similar to Oblivion, but only playing to the game's strengths. For me, that's why Fallout 3 is one the biggest RPG releases of the fall: because it isn't Oblivion part duex. If you enjoyed previous Fallout installments, you'll find the same dry humor and atmosphere which made the other two so damn good.

Left 4 Dead



I've been waiting years for this game and I hungrily sought after every piece of info that I could find. After finally pre-ordering it, playing the demo for a gazillion hours, and then experiencing the sheer awesomeness of the full version, I'm ecstatic to say that the game is everything I hoped for, and it is the best release of the season and I'll go so far as to say that it's the best game of the year. No bullshit. The only good zombie shooters out before this precious gem that I can come up with are either Half-Life mods, Stubbs the Zombie, or Dead Rising for the 360, and that title wasn't really that good either, while Stubbs was a brisk few hours in length.

I don't want to release too much about what I think, other than that it is sex in video game form. I'll be writing the review for this morsel so expect it to hit the site no later than tomorrow.

Honorable Mentions

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

While definitely not the WoW killer it was touted to be, Warhammer Online enjoyed the fastest growing subscription rate out of any MMO on the market. Delivering action-packed gameplay, public questing, and phenomenal pvp opportunities, Warhammer was definitely a big release. Sadly, Warhammer subscription numbers have been dwindling due to the recently released Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

Call of Duty: World at War

Heading back into WW2, World at War delivers frantic battle sequences and more than enough Nazi killing to satiate just about anybody. Also, the zombie mod is fricken sweet too.

Upcoming big releases, since there are still a few of 'em on the way

Grand Theft Auto IV

We finally get to play the critcally-acclaimed title that the consoles have been enjoying for months. I can't wait to start romping around town and running people over.

Mirror's Edge

The revolutionary title based on Free Running is coming to the PC next month. While the last part of the game, where DICE wants players to experience Battlefield 2 all over again by giving you guns out the wazoo, nearly sullies the whole experience, it's still an awesome game. Even though it's coming in January, it's four days into the month, so don't judge me!

Prince of Persia

Don't know much about the upcoming Prince of Persia game, but I remember reading it would be significantly different from the norm. Either way, I'm a fan of the series so I'm sure I'll be picking this game up as well.



Pre-Purchase Opportunities
Football Manager 2009 - $34.99/$39.99/$49.99/$54.99/$59.99
- Receive a voucher for 10% off at Subside Sports Available on Nov 14
Empire: Total War - $49.99/$54.99 Free copy of Rome: Total War Gold, Available on Feb 3
Tomb Raider: Underworld - $39.99 Free Tomb Raider: Legend Available on Nov 21 or Nov 24

Until next week, I bid you adieu!