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Payday: The Heist 'Wolfpack' DLC coming next week in US, available now in EU
It may not be a zombie-filled hospital, but Payday: The Heist's "Wolfpack" DLC does include new weapons, missions, and what appears to be some kind of fog-spewing basement or stairwell. You also get two new heists, a new crew member called "The Technician," a raised level cap and a few extra weapons when the DLC launches in North America, on August 7 for $9.99. If you're more into robbing French banks than American ones, the content pack has already been released in Europe for £6.49/€7.99.%Gallery-161546%
Payday's bank robbers take over Left 4 Dead's Mercy Hospital
Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The bank robbing bad guys from Payday are getting crossed with Left 4 Dead's zombie-filled Mercy Hospital – apparently prior to the events of L4D – in an upcoming mission pack. See for yourself above.
Payday dev collaborating with Valve on Left 4 Dead 'co-operative initiative'
Payday: The Heist studio Overkill Software and Valve Software are working on ... something together. What that something is remains to be seen, as Overkill game director Ulf Andersson only described the collaboration as a "co-operative initiative" between the two companies. We do know that it'll involve both Overkill's Payday: The Heist and Valve's Left 4 Dead – two team-focused four-player co-operative romps (enough hyphens for you?)."We are working on a very cool blend of Payday and Left 4 Dead," Andersson wrote on his company's official site. "I am sure it is so exciting that it will have some players check into the hospital before we are done." Oh, hospital, you say? We see what you're doing there, you crazy Swedes you!Andersson apparently couldn't help himself, and added one more zombie-themed quip. "Keep an eye out for more on this infectious and developing story." We know at least one guy we won't be letting into the safe house.
Starbreeze's 'P13' headed to XBLA, PSN, and PC
Compared to other Swedish game development powerhouses – DICE, Avalanche, Massive – Syndicate developer Starbreeze keeps a lower profile. Having only released two projects in the last five years, Starbreeze isn't offering many consistent reminders that it still exists. Company president and CEO Mikael Nermark is aiming to change that, and his first two major projects are two games you probably haven't heard of: P13 and Cold Mercury."We're trying to build four independent core teams," Nermark told me in a phone interview earlier today. Beyond the existing teams at Starbreeze, the newly acquired Overkill Software wil serve as one of those four teams. So, four "core teams," four projects. We know Overkill is working on a sequel to last year's Payday: The Heist, and we know that two other teams are working on P13 and Cold Mercury (respectively), but that fourth team is a mystery.Nermark wouldn't budge on new details about Cold Mercury, but he told me that P13 is currently "in the middle of production" and "it's going really well." The game is heading to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC. Starbreeze brought in an outside force to take creative lead on the project: Swedish director Josef Fares."He's one of the most or maybe the most famous movie directors in Sweden of all time. He's never done a game before, but he's an avid gamer and he loves games. So he actually left the movie industry and this guy is like having one of the top guys – this is the top guy in Sweden making movies. So he's actually working for us full-time," Nermark said. "To Swedes, this is like having a guy like Christopher Nolan working on the game on a daily basis."
Payday: The Heist sells 400,000 copies
Payday: The Heist developer Overkill Software picked up quite the haul from its bank robbery simulator, with over 400,000 sales since the game's launch last October. The PC and PSN title made £1.42 million ($2.3 million) in revenue and £388,000 ($625,000k) in "net profit" for the studio.It was announced today that Syndicate developer Starbreeze is attempting to purchase Overkill. Work has already begun on planning expansions and a sequel for further Paydays. For giggles, we've contacted Overkill to find out how many copies of the game were stolen.
Starbreeze attempting acquisition of Payday: The Heist studio
Starbreeze, the Swedish studio that brought the world the surprise hit Chronicles of Riddick and the recent reboot of Syndicate, is attempting an acquisition of Payday: The Heist studio Overkill Software. Pending approval by Starbreeze's shareholders, the move will see Overkill's IP (including Payday) and staff become part of Starbreeze's stable.Beyond the acquisition of IP and staff, Overkill is set to establish a new Starbreeze office based out of Stockholm, Sweden. "Starbreeze has graphical emphasis, and Overkill has total focus on innovative gameplay. Together we form a unique constellation of creative forces," Overkill creative director Ulf Andersson said of the acquisition in a press release.Overkill Software was formed in the ashes of former third-party mega studio Grin Software back in 2009, after it collapsed following several commercially unsuccessful projects. Brothers Bo and Ulf Andersson started Overkill, and it's unclear how their roles will change (if at all) in the new setup. The acquisition – if approved by Starbreeze's shareholders – is set to go into effect in mid-June.
Payday: The Heist scores October 18 launch
The PSN launch of Payday: The Heist will bring the heat and set it off on October 18 in North America. A European date for PSN has yet to be confirmed. The high-stakes robbery simulator features six co-op heist situations, with the Slaughter House scenario featured in the clip above. According to Steam, the PC version is still due in "October." Remember: if you purchased all the titles in the PSN Play promotion, a Payday voucher should be your payoff. %Gallery-136436%
Payday: The Heist media gets away with it
What do you get when you combine the Gorton's Fisherman and Killer Clowns from Outer Space? You get our nightmares (obviously) but now you also get this new media for Payday: The Heist. We guess it's been a rough year for the fishing industry.
MSI reveals mad Sandy Bridge motherboard with eight PCIe slots, eight USB 3.0 ports, and three BIOS chips
Straighten up and salute the Big Bang Marshal, MSI's attempt at redefining the term "overkill." This XL-ATX board packs a total of eight PCI Express lanes (though it only has the bandwidth to simultaneously feed four x16s or eight x8s -- relevant if you're crazy enough to think about using more than four GPUs), three separate BIOS chips, extra 8-pin and 6-pin 12V power intakes, and a thoroughly excessive set of power regulation components. The less extremely minded among you will appreciate having a full array of eight USB 3.0 ports on the back, though we can't get over the measly four DIMM slots on offer. Word is that features might change before the Marshal goes to market in the first quarter of next year, so let's hope more room for your RAM sticks is among the tweaks between now and then.
Encrypted Text: Everything but Vanish
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we talk about what's up next for the Rogue class. Hopefully, nothing!While I don't have any official numbers, I think it's easy to say that Rogues are the class that sees the most complaints from others. Crying about Death Knights has been en vogue recently, but we've still got years of threads calling for the complete and utter downfall of every assassin. While all of this negative press has resulted in a few nerfs that nobody was happy with, it seems that Blizzard has chosen to rise above the noise and ensure our slot at the top of both the DPS meters and PvP representation charts.We went through a spell as the least-played class of WotLK: a level that Rogues had never even approached previously. We were largely middle-of-the-pack in PvE and PvP, with HAT exploits and Glyphed Vigor + Overkill + Mutilate combos barely sustaining us. However, Blizzard heard our cries for a resurrection, and we were reborn in patch 3.1. With the newly minted PPM Poison mechanics adding gobs of nature damage to every spec, and the redesigned Combat tree breathing life into the raiding scene, we're sitting pretty as the #1 DPS class in both Ulduar and the arena. The question that's on my mind now: "What next?"
Encrypted Text: Rogue tips for raiding Ulduar, part 3
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we talk about a few of the general raiding tips every Rogue should know.As a break in the boss-by-boss breakdown of Ulduar fights, I wanted to go over a few general raiding tips for Rogues. Some of them may be very old ideas that you've been using since level 60, while a few others are new tricks that we've learned in WotLK. Hopefully you'll be able to glean a few good bits of information to take with you the next time you zone into any raid. There's nothing more important than properly preparing for a new fight, but knowing the general tactics for any encounter will make understanding new fights much easier.First, however, I would like to comment on the new Overkill. Its new form is a significant buff when looking at total energy generated, and also for PvE Mutilate Rogues. However, it is a nerf to our 6-second burst window during a Cheap Shot -> Kidney Shot combo. I feel this will end up being a net buff for Rogues, as relying solely on the first 6 seconds of a fight in PvP has become far to gimmicky for us to rely on.
World of Warcraft Patch 3.1.3 Initial Patch Notes
After the break you'll find the patch notes for Patch 3.1.3. This patch will not be appearing on the PTR, and will instead be making its way directly to the live realms. There is no date set for the live realms release at this time.These notes are only the initial notes and subject to change. You have been warned.Some highlights: Druid Tier 8 Balance Set: The 4-piece bonus no longer has its effect consumed by Starfire casts in progress when it triggers. The chance for the effect to be triggered has been reduced down to 8%, as it was originally inflated to compensate. Hunter's Mark: The ranged attack power bonus from this ability has been increased from 300 to 500. Improved Barkskin: This talent now also grants 80/160% additional armor while in Travel Form or not shapeshifted. Overkill: Talent redesigned. Now increases energy regeneration by 30% while stealthed, and for 20 seconds after breaking stealth. A friendly reminder: the new Druid forms artwork will not be present in this patch. This is not a major content patch.The full notes after the break!
MadWorld, HotD: Overkill now $30 on Amazon
Sega's MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill are currently being sold at $20 off at Amazon. It doesn't appear to be a flat-out price drop for the two games, which have sold ... well, that's up for interpretation. We've also noticed that MadWorld is currently $30 in-store at GameStop.Remember: Purchasing these titles will get more M-rated games on Wii and further research into splicing wings on pigs.Source - Amazon-MadWorld Price Drop [GoNintendo]Source - MadWorld, Overkill $30 on Amazon [CAG]
Video: 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295s packed into one system, "overkill" exemplified
Ha, and you thought paying hundreds of dollars for a NIC was insane. For one reason or another (likely "another"), AtlasFolder has loaded in 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards into a single server rig, and while only 17 were installed at the time of this video (he's waiting for a few nuts and bolts before installing the others), we're already amazed. Call us crazy, but something such is this definitely isn't what NVIDIA had in mind when it revived SLI. Per usual, the vid's past the break.[Thanks, P]Update: Turns out this is a GPU Folding Farm at Stanford. Impressive.
House of the Dead: Overkill has most swearing ever
Well, f**k yeah! Though it may not be the sales record we were hoping for, the absolutely G** ***n awesome House of the Dead: Overkill has made it to the top of a list. It's just been honored by Guinness World Records as having the most profanity of any game ever. 189 "f**ks". Count 'em.Here's hoping some of you mother f*****g sons of b*****s actually get out there and buy the G** ***n game for f**k's sake. So p****ing help us, if that r***er isn't on the j**ing sales chart, we're going to take a giant n***b all over you faces. El S****, if you will.
Wii Fanboy Interview: Headstrong talks House of the Dead: Overkill
House of the Dead: Overkill launches pretty much everywhere next month, and looks set to be a mini-upheaval for Sega's venerable lightgun series.While shooting zombies in the face still plays a major role, Brit developer Headstrong Games has introduced a '70s horror theme, time manipulation, new enemies, and a ton of extra content. We lined up Lead Designer Alastair Halsby in our shotgun reticles, and fired several rounds of questions his way. Join us after the break for a discussion on grindhouse, censorship, and the "ballistic ballet of zombie destruction." Heads up!%Gallery-29952%
The Queue: Overkill and delicious tears
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.The image I used for yesterday's The Queue raised some eyebrows, with a lot of people wondering what it was or where it was from. It's just one of a series of paintings throughout Dalaran of the various player races. There are some hanging in the inns, some in the shops, et cetera. My plan was to cycle through them all over the next week or so, and random selection gave me the incredibusty human female first. It might be interesting to note that I'm pretty sure that painting is a nod to Tifa Lockhart of Final Fantasy 7. It could also just be a regular ol' human female wearing the level 1 Warrior starting gear. Who knows?Today you get the Female Blood Elf, and now let's get the Q&A started.Plaguenog said... Any chance they'll let me use Badges of Justice to buy new badges? Or possibly a reduction in prices for lvl 7o badge gear? I'm basically looking for any reason NOT to use as many of my lvl 70 badges for gems to Auction off.
Sega bringing the big guns to New York Comic Con
Click for more screens. Do you live in the New York area? Want to play The Conduit, MadWorld, and The House of the Dead: Overkill before they release? Well, you might want to head to the New York Comic Con, because Sega is bringing them to the show next year.The New York Comic Con takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Aside from the AAA titles, Sega also promises "zombie surprises," whatever that is. Disgusting, zombified limbs as souvenirs? We can only hope so.%Gallery-25003%[Via Joystiq]
US gets Overkill collector's edition with less cool extras?
Remember that awesome European collector's edition for House of the Dead: Overkill? Well, those of us in the US are getting a similarly sweet bonus package should we wish to part with the extra dough, however our comic doesn't come in the traditional form. Instead, it's a digital download, according to Amazon. In poking around the net, though, we found that Gamestop is offering the comic, but in actual paper form. We're all kinds of confused now!We all know North America will be getting the collector's edition. However, we're not certain on whether it'll be a paper comic or a download. If it's different for each retailer, we're sad to say that Gamestop is in the lead for our pre-order dollar right now. We'd rather have an actual comic we can hold in our hands than one we're forced to read on a computer screen. We're just old school like that.%Gallery-29952%[Thanks, Buffalo_AAA!]
North America also getting House of the Dead: Overkill bonus
Click for full cover. The House of the Dead: Overkill collector's edition bundle is one of the best preorder items we've seen in a while, so it was understandably upsetting when Sega initially revealed the package as a Europe-only bonus. You can pack that pitchfork away for another day, however, because Sega has confirmed it will be spreading the love to North America. Preorder Overkill at GameStop, GameCrazy, or Amazon, and you'll have the option to bag all of this. Yum.%Gallery-29952%
