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MMOs on Big Download's most anticipated games list
In addition to offering game-related downloads, our sister site Big Download covers PC news in general -- not just MMOs. But when it put together a list of the most anticipated games of the coming season, two MMOs figured prominently: Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.In addition to simply listing the games, Big Download rates each release's chance of success. Of WotLK it says "near-perfect ... as close to a slam dunk as you're likely to get." On the other hand, it's a bit more skeptical about Warhammer Online. The article says that WAR's chances of success are "in question" because new MMOs in general usually have a rough time of it.Check out the feature for more details, and to see what the other games on the list are if you're into more than just MMOs.
Big Download breaks down this fall's top PC games
Don't believe the hype: PC gaming, while not the juggernaut of year's past, is doing just fine, thank you. One need look no further than Big Download's roundup of the fall's biggest PC releases. Of course, the list is full of the big AAA releases one would expect – that would be your Wrath of the Lich Kings, your Warhammer Onlines, your Spores, your – but just as interesting is the huge amount of multiplatform games hitting the platform. Silent Hill Homecoming, Saints Row 2, Dead Space, Prince of Persia. In other words, there's something for everyone. So hop in and see what PC gamers have in store this year. Gallery: Most Anticipated Fall 2008 PC Games
Wrath is one of BigD's most anticipated games
Our sister site Big Download, purveyor of all things PC games, have released their list of the most anticipated PC titles for the rest of the year, and as you might imagine, Wrath of the Lich King is posted in there, nestled in among other sure-to-be-giants like Spore and Left 4 Dead. The game that's expected to be WoW's big MMO competition this fall, Warhammer Online, is in there as well, so for those of you who are PC gamers, the Fall and Winter future looks particularly bright (even if it does seem a little slow lately).Of course, we have no idea how WoW's second expansion will fare on retail shelves this Fall, but all of the ingredients are there -- WoW is experiencing a resurgence lately (thanks in part to Blizzard's Recuit-a-friend promotion), and the news out of the beta has been nothing but encouraging for most everybody. Burning Crusade was gigantic, and that was back when 8 million were playing the game. All indications are that Blizzard stands to rake in the cash when their expansion goes on sale later this year.
The Best of Big Download: August 18-24
Games Convention generated a ton of new HD trailers for upcoming PC games and we have them ready to download, along with a ton of original content and news stories. Indeed, there were a lot of new PC games announcements this week (more than at E3). Take a look at all of them on our site:Exclusive Features Reviews: Check out our reviews of the PC version of Bionic Commando Rearmed and the latest chapter of American McGee's Grimm. Hands-on previews: Check out our hands-on impressions of Aion, Battleforge and Battlefield Heroes BigVersus: Our latest game comparison column takes a look at the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Bionic Commando Rearmed. Big Iron: Our latest PC hardware column takes a look at power . . . power supplies for your rig that is. Big Ideas: Our latest column on themes in gaming takes a look at the so called "new games journalism." Alt-Tab: Our newest column takes a look at RTS gameplay conventions and how Relic could change them with Dawn of War II. Freeware Friday: Our latest look at free PC games is the classic Nethack. BigCast: It's our regular podcast with team members chatting about all things PC gaming.
The Best of Big Download: August 11-17
We have had a busy week at the PC centric Big Download site. As we approach two big gaming events (next week's Games Convention and Labor Day weekend's Penny Arcade Expo) we should have even more to write about in the coming days. In the meantime let's look back at the week that was:Exclusive Features Reviews: We review a number of games this week including Space Siege, the latest American McGee's Grimm episode and the first chapter of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. Big Ideas: Our latest look at game themes takes a look at gender roles in games. Freeware Friday: This week our free game is the strategy title Battle for Wesnoth. BigCast: It's our seventh edition of the Big Download podcast. Downloads Unreal Tournament 3 patch: Grab the 1.3 patch for Epic Games' latest shooter title. Strong Bad Episode 1 demo: Check out the free portion of Telltale Games' latest episodic title Romance of the Three Kingdoms Xi demo: Try out a portion of Koei's PC port of their strategy game Star Trek Online trailer: Check out the first gameplay trailer from Cryptic Studios' MMO Empire: Total War trailer: Check out some naval battle action from the upcoming historical RTS game. Aion trailer: Check out this trailer for NCsoft's upcoming MMO News EA to publish new Epic Games/People Can Fly title Team Fortress 2 Heavy update due next week Spore has gone gold Carrier Command: Gaea announced New Sword of the Stars expansion announced Codemasters unveils plans for Overlord II Bionic Commando PC gets extra content after all
The Best of Big Download: July 27-August 10, 2008
Wow. Our coverage of E3 was pretty extensive but that doesn't mean we have been lazy since then . . . far from it in fact. Check out our extensive original features (including our QuakeCon 2008 coverage), new downloads and important news items from the past couple of weeks:Exclusive Features QuakeCon 2008 coverage: Big Download went to Dallas for the annual free gathering of gamers sponsored by id Software. Check out our round-up of all our extensive coverage of the event, which includes new info on Rage, Wolfenstein, a QuakeCon picture gallery and a case mod gallery. GOG.com Interview: We chat with Tom Ohle on their upcoming digital download gaming site that will offer classic PC games that will be DRM free and sold on the cheap. Hinterland Interview: Tilted Mill's Chris Beatrice chats with us about their first original downloadable game. ECA Interview: We talk with Hal Halpin, the president of the Entertainment Consumers Association. PAX 2008 Interview: Robert Khoo gives us the 411 on their plans for the 2008 edition of the Penny Arcade Expo. Champions Online Preview: We go hands-on with Cryptic's upcoming super hero MMO. Oosah Impressions: We look at a new web site that makes uploading screenshots for games easy. TOJam 2008: We look at the winners of the recent indie games competition. Big Ideas: Our latest look at gaming themes takes at look at indivdual identity in games. 5 Reasons to love Fallout 3: Our latest gallery feature takes a look at the reasons we want to play the upcoming RPG. Freeware Friday: We take a look at the recent free racing game Trackmania Nations Forever. BigCast: We have Episode 5 and Episode 6 of our regular podcast ready for a listen.
Big Download's Monster Island impressions
Monster Island is a place in Champions Online where all the monsters of the world are stored, if you couldn't have guessed that by the name. Obviousness aside, it's the perfect MMO zone for all sorts of over-the-top mayhem and Big Download got to check it out for themselves. It sounds like "The Big D" -- as we like to call them -- were pretty impressed by what Cryptic Studios had to show off. Of course, we're not surprised as we've been long convinced that Champions Online is going to be a very cool experience for superhero fans and MMO players in general.If you haven't checked up on the game in a while, we've got some recent screenshots you may be interested in checking out in our gallery. While sadly there aren't any giant monsters (we did consider photoshopping ourselves into the shots while making scary faces) there are plenty of actions shots to check out.%Gallery-17946%
Big Download taps into Champions Online
We give em' two big thumbs-up, and we hope you don't think super-hero and villain MMOs are overplayed. One very cool thing about Champions Online is that Hero Games will develop a tabletop version in tandem with the MMOG. The pen and paper ruleset will borrow heavily from the design-direction in Champions Online. You won't make any throw-away character sheets. Whatever character you play in the MMOG will be available to create and play in the pen and paper arena. But enough about the roll hacks. That's long ways down the road, and our sister site Big Download is slowing it down for those looking to catch up. Their Champions Online feature, is a retrospect that details how it all came about: In it they delve into the mastermind and find out why Jack Emmert and Cryptic Studios decided to develop the comic property. Emmert's candidness might surprise you. The feature also details the bios and back stories behind some of the caped and masked crusaders from the Champions Online Universe.
Vote in Big Download's Spore creature contest
The Big Download folks need your help in choosing the best design out of the Top 10 contestant in their Spore Creature Creator contest. Check out the zoological diversity below and then vote on the Big Download site for the best one. The grand prize winner gets a Wacom Intuos3 6x11 drawing tablet and there's great prizes for second and third place as well. Voting closes July 14, so rally the troops and make sure the best freak of nature wins. Gallery: Spore Creature Creator Contest Top 10
WoW Insider Show Episode 45: Turpster every four minutes
Last Saturday, as always, we sat down and spent about an hour discussing the latest and greatest in the World of Warcraft, and the results are now online for your listening enjoyment. Turpster and I were both on, as well as John "BigBearButt" Patricelli, and Kyle Horner, a blogger on our sister sites Massively and Big Download. Turpster talked with us about WWI, what he thought of the big event in Paris, what it was like to play a Death Knight, and why he thought it was even better than last year's BlizzCon (including why this year's BlizzCon might be even better). Kyle spoke with us about being a player who's just now getting back into WoW, and what he's excited for in the next expansion. We talked a little bit about TCG cards, and whether it's fair for Upper Deck to give away the TCG loot. Mages didn't get a lot of news during WWI, so we chatted about what they might get before Wrath of the Lich King. We talked about the timing of the beta, and what the plan is for the rest of the Wrath release. Definitely a fun show (and it features the only time I've ever gotten really angry at Turpster, though it turned out to be no big deal, and he's probably not fired from the show. Probably.). Give it a listen over on the WoW Radio page, and if you have a question comment, or insight about something we said, don't hesitate to email the show itself -- theshow@wow.com is the address.Thanks for listening as always, we'll see you next week.
The Best of Big Download; June 29-July 5, 2008
This may have been a holiday week but we were extremely busy anyway with tons of original content and features along with some great new downloads. Here's a look at the highlights.Exclusive Features Hands-On Space Siege: We get to play with a late build of the sci-fi action-RPG from Gas Powered Games and Sega Hands-On Bionic Commando: We swing to new heights with this preview of the third person action game revival from GRIN and Capcom Hands-On Civilization IV Colonization: We check out this (sort of) remake of Sid Meier's classic strategy game from Firaxis and 2K Games Hands-On American McGee's Grimm: We play through the first portions of this episodic action game that's coming from Gametap. Preview: Call of Duty World at War: We check out a live demo of the upcoming WWII shooter from Treyarch and Activision. Interview: Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People: We chat with members of Telltale Games to find out more about their upcoming episodic adventure game. Alone in the Dark: We compare the PC version of the Atari survival horror game to its Xbox 360 counterpart in our latest Big Versus article and go more in-depth with the game as well. Guide to TF2 Pyro Achievements Part 6: We have the final part of our series of articles looking at the new achievements for the Pyro class in Team Fortress 2. Big Ideas: Our new weekly column on gaming's major themes takes a look at story in games. Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games talks about the scrolling shooter rRootage Big Iron: Our hardware column takes a look at the new 4800 series of Radeon graphics chips from AMD/ATI Mac Monday: Our regular look at Mac gaming takes a look at the Mac exclusive arcade game Neon Tango BigCast: Members of Big Download chat about the week of PC games in our latest podcast.
WoW Insider Show goes live tomorrow
Our weekly podcast is back on the air tomorrow afternoon, and Turpster should be back at home in England, ready to tell us all about the rest of his WWI trip. I'll be on, along with John "BBB" Patricelli, and we'll also welcome Kyle Horner from our sister sites Massively and Big Download -- he's just recently gotten back into WoW, so we'll chat with him about what's changed since he left and why he's coming back. We'll also read your email (since we missed it last week, we'll have a lot to go through, I'm sure) as well as other tidbits from WWI, what's up with the Wrath world event, and when all of these beta registrations might actually start meaning something.So join us, won't you? Just tune in to WoW Radio live tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 Eastern, and you'll be able to hear the show live on the virtual airwaves. And you can join us in IRC if you'd like as well -- either chat on the site, or send your IRC client of choice to irc.mmoirc.com and the #wowradio channel. And if you'd rather email the show, you can do that, too -- theshow@wow.com is the address for all your complaints, queries, and general Turpster praise.We'll see you tomorrow afternoon as always.
Activision-Blizzard merger may be complete on July 9th
WoW Insider sister site Big Download is reporting that the Activision-Blizzard merger is getting closer and closer to reality. They recently won another victory in court today, as a Delaware court struck down an attempt by the Wayne County Employees' Retirement System to gain a preliminary injunction against the deal. We're now coming up fast the July 8th Activision shareholders' meeting, where they will vote to approve the merger. Activision has already said that they expect the merger to be official on or about July 9th, according to Big Download. This, of course, squeaks in just under the wire for the E3 expo. Activision-Blizzard has already said they don't plan to participate, but that they will hold a press conference on or near the dates of the expo. It seems likely now that they will be officially announcing the completion of their merger. Of course, we here at WoW Insider are hoping the merger isn't the only thing they reveal. A WoTLK cinematic and official release date or another L70ETC song on Guitar Hero would be nice, I'd say.
The Best of Big Download; June 22-28, 2008
Wow. We have had tons of news, downloads and new content for Big Download this week . . .and that's just for Diablo III. Let's take a look at the highlights for the past week.Exclusive Features Games for Windows Press Conference: We attend Microsoft's press event where they give their views on the future of PC gaming. Guide to TF2 Pyro Achievements: Want a details look at all of the new achievements you can get while playing the Pyro in Team Fortress 2. Then check out the first five parts of our series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part 5. Shattered Suns Interview: We have an extensive interview with Chas. Cooper of Clear Crown Studios about their upcoming space based RTS game. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford: We chat with the head of the extremely busy game developer on Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway and their other projects. Alone In the Dark Interview: We chat with Atari US producer Todd Slepian about their just released survival horror game. Hands-On: Deer Hunter Tournament: We get hands-on with the newest entry in the hunting sim series from Atari. In-Depth: Armaggedon Empires: We take a detailed ook at this acclaimed indie strategy game. In-Depth: The Political Machine: We offer a look at the just released political strategy game from Stardock Big Ideas: Why do we play video games?: Our editorial takes a look at why we need playtime with games anyway. BigCast 001: Our debut podcast has three of our team members chatting about, what else, PC gaming Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games has a look at Freeciv, a free tribute to the great Civilization games. Spore Creature Creator contest: You still have time to participate in our contest; make the best creatures and win some cool prizes
The Best Of Big Download: June 15-21, 2008
It's yet another huge week here at the Big Download news site. For a "game" that's not really a game, Maxis' Spore Creature Creator generated more buzz than most true PC game titles. But that's not all we had. Take a look at the highlights from the past week.Exclusives Spore Creature Creator: Not only did we chat briefly with Spore's executive producer Lucy Bradshaw, we launched a Spore Creature Creator contest that will give the winners some cool prizes. Interview: Brad Wardell of Stardock: We chat with the CEO of Stardock about The Political Machine 2008, Sins of a Solar Empire, their new Impulse game delivery system and lots more. Interview: Randy Stude of The PC Gaming Alliance: We quiz the president of the non-profit organization on their plans to promote and improve PC gaming. Freeware Friday: Our latest free game spotlight goes to the sci-fi action strategy game Battleships Forever.
The Best Of Big Download: June 8-14, 2008
Did you have a good week? We had a terrific one at Big Download but with the release of Spore Creature Creator next week it promises to be an even busier time for our site. In the meantime here are the highlights from the past weekExclusive Features Interview: Vic Davis of Armaggedon Empires: We chat with the creator of the acclaimed indie turn based strategy PC game. MODverlous Monday: This week we examine two custom mad maps for Blizzard's classic RTS game Starcraft. Casually Speaking: We take a look at the "death" of the video arcade. Freeware Friday: This week's free featured game is the nearly graphics-free RTS/RPG title Dwarf Fortress Big Iron: Our regular hardware column takes you through some video card basics
Age of Conan's quest for fresh duds
When your character isn't sporting a shawl stitched together from the hides of his enemies, he probably laments that he hasn't a thing to wear to the local tavern. And it's always embarrassing when you show up wearing the same loincloth-and-bracers outfit that someone else does. What's the fashion-forward barbarian to do?Enter French clothing company Inno-Wear, who create duds based on game properties such as Trackmania Nations and Devil May Cry 4. Their latest rights acquisition is, naturally, Age of Conan. It's not known at this time whether that means you'll get to wear the same things your character wears, or simply street gear branded with various AoC logos. We could make a case either way, and both would probably find a home at your nearest Hot Topic.[Via Big Download]
The Best Of Big Download: June 1-7, 2008
It was an extremely busy week at Big Download in the past week; we got invited to two big press events, we talked about the DRM in Mass Effect and . . . well, just read this post and see for yourself.Exclusive Features 1C Company press event: The Russian based developer-publisher held a press event in the Russian Consulate in San Francisco and we have a ton of coverage: 1C Company announces Theater of War 2 and other new titles at press event; Hands-On: Cryostasis, Hands-On: Hummer 4x4, Hands-On: Necrovision, Hands-On: Men of War; Hands-On: Death Track: Resurrection; Hands-On: Captain Blood (Xbox 360); GRID Launch coverage: Codemasters' latest racing game hit stores this week and we have extensive coverage: In-Depth: GRID; Big Versus: GRID; Codemasters' GRID launch event. Sound Off: DRM Mass Hysteria: Is the DRM system in the PC version of Mass Effect good or bad? How about a little bit of both? MODvelous Monday: We look at the classic They Hunger total conversions for the original Half-Life Casually Speaking: Do casual games offer the amount of depth that other games have? Freeware Friday: We look at the great free title Torus Trooper this week
Stone Age 2 knuckle-drags to closed beta
We talked about Aeria Games' Stone Age 2 before, with its interesting pet system, access to pet information via cell phone, and possibility of viewing in-game events through fixed video cameras, and now it's time to see if any of those things made the cut. SA2 has hit closed beta, and our sister site Big Download is hosting the client!To get into the beta, point your browser to the game site to register, then hie thee to the host page to get the client. C'mon, who wouldn't love a cute, cuddly-wuddly li'l dino following them around? Well, except people made of meat, which we all are ... hmm. Note to self: first train dino to become a vegetarian.
Big Versus pits all three GRID versions against each other
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Big_Versus_GRID'; After all that hubbub over GameTrailers' GRID comparison, are you ready for yet another side-by-side? Our friends at Big Download have a new Big Versus for the racer, with the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions all pitted against one another. If you're the kind of person who drools when screenshots are cut in half and then re-spliced with similar shots from different platforms, there's no time to waste!
