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The Best of Big Download: October 26 - November 1
Wow. We had a ton of original features this week and it doesn't look like it will let up anytime soon. Let's take a look at what transpired on Big Download in the past seven days: Exclusive features Reviews: We give our final verdicts to Tropico 3 , Eufloria and Cities XL along with impressions of the Left 4 Dead 2 PC demo Orson Scott Card Interview: The best selling novelist talks about his love of games and reveals a dream game project he would like to make. Natural Selection 2 Interview: We chat with Unknown Worlds about their upcoming and long awaited FPS-RTS game on the occasion of the release of the game's first screenshots. Guide to Team Fortress 2 Scarechievements: Valve released a new Halloween themed update to Team Fortress 2 and we have the skinny on the five new achievements added to the game. How 10 US cities would fare in the zombie apocalypse: Left 4 Dead 2 is set in New Orleans, but what if it was set in other major metropolitan areas? We speculate on what might happen. An Open Letter to Infinity Ward: We give the Modern Warfare 2 developer our feelings on how we think the PC community has been marginalized by their recent actions. The Top 10 PC Game News Stories for October 2009: We look back in the past 31 days for the big stories that affected the PC game industry. Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac game feature this week looks at two titles: Grappling Hook and The Three Musketeers. Playing for Free: Our latest look at a free-to-play online game is with the RPG La Tale. Boot Disk: Our latest retro PC game column takes a look at the FPS title Uprising. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes checks out if games are less challenging now than they were in the past. All You Need to Know: Our latest 411 article on upcoming games gives all the info on EA's WWII action game The Saboteur. Freeware Friday: Our popular weekly look at free PC games checks out the odd platformer We Want YOU!.
The Best of Big Download: October 19 - 25
Windows 7 is now out and about, but what will it mean for PC gaming? That was our main theme this week at Big Download. Let's look at the features, downloads and news items from PC gaming for the past seven days: Exclusive features The launch of Windows 7: On the occasion of Microsoft's launch of its latest OS, we examined if PC gamers should upgrade to Windows 7, gave some advice to Microsoft on how they can help PC gaming with their new OS, and chatted with a number of game developers on their opinons of Windows 7. Lucidity Review: We give our final verdict to LucasArts' recent downloadable puzzle-platformer. Mac Monday: This week's Mac gaming column checks out two games: Bullet Candy Perfect and Avenue Flo. Boot Disk: Our regular look at retro games checks out the classic Dungeon Keeper. Big Ideas: Our look at game themes this week examines why game developers should set more games in modern times. All You Need To Know: Just in time for the game's demo release, we examine all we know at the moment about Left 4 Dead 2. Freeware Friday: Our popular column this week looks at this mix of retro and rogue game in DoomRL Contest: You still have some time to enter our Order of War giveaway contest.
The Best of Big Download: October 12-18
We are just a few days away from the official launch of Windows 7. Will it create the push that gets more console gamers into PC gaming? Only time will tell. While we wait to find out, Big Download takes a look at the previous seven days of news for the already converted:Exclusive Features A Brief History of Windows Gaming: We look back at the various versions of Windows as they related to PC gaming history. Black Ops Games Redux Part 1: In the first installment of this multi-part series, we look back at some former games that were unannounced last year that finally were officially announced. Hands-On with Torchlight: We got to play the upcoming downloadable fantasy action-RPG from Runic Games before its release on October 27 and wrote up our impressions! Big Versus: City of Heroes Vs Champions Online: Our Versus feature returns as we compare the new super hero MMO with the first one. All You Need To Know: This week our game info feature looks at Bioware's upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Origins. Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac column takes a look at two titles this time out: Machinarium and QuantZ. Boot Disk: Our weekly retro game feature looks at the classic Shiny Entertainment-developed title, Earthworm Jim. Playing For Free: Our weekly look at free-to-play online games checks out the space-based title DarkSpace. Freeware Friday: Our always popular free PC games column checks out a game with the unusual title RRRRRPG.
Who wins in the fight between these two superheroes?
No, not those two, we're not touching that question. We're talking about the two Superhero MMOs: old favorite City of Heroes and newcomer Champions Online. Are you wondering how the two compare and which one comes out ahead overall? Big Download wanted to know too, and did us the favor of lining these two up side-by-side to find out.Since character customization is a huge feature in both games, Big Download started there. CO's character creator has the advantage here, in that it's built on the model that CoH used, and can be seen as a new and improved version. Big Download named it the winner here for its superior, more flexible editor.
The Best of Big Download: October 5-11
Another busy week for news, downloads, and exclusive features at the PC game-oriented Big Download. As we always do around this time of the week, we look back at the highlights of the last seven days:Exclusive features Reviews: We give our final verdict for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and also our first impressions of Aion. What PC Gamers Need To Know About Windows 7: Some tips and info on Microsoft's Windows 7 and how it will affect PC gaming. Left 4 Dead Guide: Crashing and Burning: It's our guide to the recent free mini-campaign for Valve's zombie shooter. Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac games checks out Miriel's Enchanted Mystery. Boot Disk: Our look at retro games checks out LucasArts' classic Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. All You Need To Know: We take a look at all the info currently known about the upcoming RPG Alpha Protocol. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes examines how realism really works in games. Playing For Free: Our weekly examination at free-to-play online games checks out Nexon's latest Dungeon Fighter Online. Freeware Friday: Our regular look at free PC games checks out the platformer RunMan: Race Around the World.
The Best of Big Download: September 28-October 4
Once again there was a lot to report on and talk about in the world of PC gaming last week. Big Download has all the highlights for the past seven days:Exclusive features Five PC games console players would love to play: There are still some big PC-exclusive games that console players have never played. We take a look at five of them. The Top 10 PC Game News Stories for September 2009: We look back and give our picks for the news that was the most important for PC gaming in September. Left 4 Dead Crash Course Quick Impressions: We give our first impressions on the new (and free for PC owners) mini-campaign for Valve's zombie shooter. Second Skin Review: We review the recent MMO-themed documentary. Mac Monday: We check out two more games for the Mac: Zuma's Revenge and Creeper World. Boot Disk: Our weekly look at retro games checks out the original Majesty. Big Ideas: Our weekly thoughts on game ideas examines if having-game specific features actually takes you out of the game. All You Need To Know: Our regular look at upcoming games gives you all the info we know about Modern Warfare 2. Playing For Free: Our weekly look at online free-to-play games checks out the browser based MMO Ikariam. Freeware Friday: Our always popular look at free PC games checks out the newly free indie title Strange Adventures in Infinite Space.
The Best of Big Download: September 21-27
We had a very busy week for original features on Big Download in the past seven days. Let's take a look at our output for the past week: Exclusive features Reviews: As the fall season hits, we give our final verdicts to a ton of new PC games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, Majesty 2, Resident Evil 5, Red Faction Guerrilla and Section 8. Alienware's new look and features: We go over the four new desktops and the new laptop from Alienware that was announced this week. Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac gaming column looks at two games this time, BOH and Cuba Letra Boot Disk: Our weekly retro game feature has two entries this week as we look at the Planet Moon Studios action game Giants: Citizen Kabuto and the original Red Faction. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes and ideas examines if playing games is actually good for you. All You Need To Know: Our regular look at upcoming games gives you an idea of what to expect from Borderlands. Playing For Free: Our weekly look at free-to-play online games checks out Nexon's first person shooter Combat Arms. Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games checks out the sandbox-themed game Clonk Endeavour
Patch 3.2.2 Download mirror
Our sister site Big Download has the patch 3.2.2 files up for download on their site now. The patch file will work for game clients patched to version 3.2.0a (the latest patch before 3.2.2). The file is only 40 megs, so it should go quickly for you.This patch mirror is only for the English-US PC version of WoW. We currently do not have the Mac version or other localizations, however we'll update this post when we get them in.Enjoy your patch download!Update: The Mac version of the patch is now available for download.Comments on this post have been disabled. 2n - 1 go left, 2n go right. I don't see enough DoTs! More DoTs now! Are you ready for the return of Onyxia? With the Brood Mother being revitalized as a 10 and 25 person raid, you'll need to be sure you know everything that's coming at you. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2.2 will make sure your set for the patch!
The Best of Big Download: September 14-20
It was an especially busy week for demos at Big Download, but we also had our usual allotment of features and news as well. As we do every Sunday, let's look back at the past week with fondness and delight (or something like that):Exclusive Features: Nvidia 3D Vision Discover: Want a way to experience 3D gaming without spending a lot of money? Nvidia has a solution that works. AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity Review: We give our verdict on this indie action game with a super-long title. Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac games takes a look at two titles: Crystal Cave Classic by Rake In Grass, and Awem Studio's Romance of Rome. Boot Disk: Our regular look at classic games checks out the Shiny Entertainment RTS title Sacrifice. Big Ideas: Our regular column that looks at game themes examines how a good game sequel is made. All You Need To Know: Our new regular feature on one particular (and recent) game gives you the 411 on Section 8. Playing For Free: Our column on online free-to-play games examines the NCsoft mech action title Exteel. Freeware Friday: Our explosive column on free PC games looks at BaboViolent2, the free predecessor to the recent downloadable commercial game Madballs in Babo: Invasion.
The Best of Big Download: September 7-13
Another seven days has gone by and Big Download had yet another busy week of features, news, and downloads. Let's look and see all we did, shall we?Exclusive features PAX 2009: We still have some Penny Arcade Expo 2009 features, including impressions of Borderlands, Elemental, Supreme Commander 2, Global Agenda, All Points Bulletin, Mass Effect 2, and The Secret World. Champions Online review: We give our final verdict to Cryptic Studios' latest super hero MMO. Also we examine what you need to know about the game. Looking back: Prepare for the release of Red Faction Guerrilla with a retrospective of the first two Red Faction games. Also we look back at the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series on the eve of their digital download re-release. Mac Monday: Our Macintosh gaming column this weeks looks at two games: Mad Skills Motocross and Monopoly Build-a-lot Edition. Boot Disk: Our retro games feature looks at the historical strategy title Conquest of the New World. Big Ideas: Our weekly game theme column looks at making games for different age groups. Playing for Free: Our weekly look at free-to-play online games looks at the recently released MMO Runes of Magic. Freeware Friday: Our always popular column on free PC games looks at the action-puzzle game Solar Plexus.
PAX attendance rises by 2k, 60,750 people geek out
After the recent announcement by the folks at Penny Arcade that PAX 2009 sold out the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, today they officially released attendance numbers for this year's Penny Arcade Expo. Speaking with Big Download, PA's Robert Khoo said 60,750 people packed into the convention center -- though he had earlier predicted "roughly 75,000" -- and that the show's organizers are looking into expansion plans for next year to accommodate more showgoers. We'd say with the unveiling of PAX East, some people may very well have stayed home in anticipation of a shorter travel distance early next year over this year's Washington-based soiree. This might help explain the relatively small attendance growth from 2008's 58,500 people to this 2009's numbers. However, Khoo said he's surprised how many people plan on attending both PAX East and next year's PAX, umm, West. We'll see you a year from now, Khoo -- with facts!
The Best of Big Download: August 31-September 6
First QuakeCon, then BlizzCon and now PAX 2009 - It's been a packed month for Big Download. Let's look at the past seven days before things calm down ... a little:Exclusive Features PAX 2009: We've been all over this year's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Check out our primer for the show, a chat with show organizer Mike Fehlauer, pictures from the show floor and pictures of the cosplayers and booth models. Plus hands-on and eyes-on PAX 2009 impressions of games like Star Trek Online, Left 4 Dead 2, James Cameron's Avatar The Game, Serious Sam HD The First Encounter, InstantAction Tribes, Split/Second, Torchlight, Divinity 2 and Deathspank. F.E.A.R 2 Reborn Review: We give our final word on this week's new single player expansion to Monolith's first person shooter. Hearts of Iron 3 Review: We let you know what we think of Paradox's latest historical strategy game. The Top 10 PC Game News Stories for August 2009: We look back at the big PC game news events for last month. Steam's new hardware survey before Windows 7: What does Steam's hardware survey show we have in our rigs before next month's launch of Microsoft's next OS? We have the info. Other PC Games Due In Fall 2009: We look at a lot of upcoming downloadable PC game titles due out in fall 2009. Quick Hit Football: We chat with the head of a PC game developer planning to launch a web browser based pro foootball game with current and former NFL players and coaches. Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac game column looks at two more games: Heileen and Burgertime Deluxe Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes looks at villains in games. Boot Disk: Our weekly retro games column looks at the classic strategy Heroes of Might and Magic 3. All You Need To Know: A new feature at Big Download, we look at what you need to know about the upcoming PC port of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Playing For Free: Our new column on free-to-play online games continues with a look at Battlefield Heroes. Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games checks out the open-source shooter OpenLieroX.
The Best of Big Download: August 24-30
The last full week of August has news and downloads take something of a breather compared to the past few weeks, but there was still plenty to report on in the PC gaming world. As usual we break down the last seven days on our site for you.Exclusive Features Fall 2009 For PC Games: We are on the edge of the biggest part of the year for new PC games. Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of our feature that looks at the entire list of games and also check out our top 10 most anticipated PC games on our list. Reviews: Check our our verdicts on the second chapter of Tales of Monkey Island along with the indie game Osmos. Team Fortress 2 Hats Checklist: Want to know what hats are available in Valve's multiplayer shooter? We got you covered (so to speak). Mac Monday: This week Mac gamers have two games to check out: Big Kahuna Words and Mega Brickbash 3000. Boot Disk: Our retro games column this week looks at a true PC game classic: Outcast. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes takes on the question on how old can you be to get into playing PC games. Playing For Free: It's the debut of a new column that looks at the growing genre of free-to-play online games. This week we look at Quake Live. Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at conventional free games takes a look at a classic title: Starsiege Tribes.
The Best of Big Download: August 17-23
Big Download's trip to BlizzCon 2009 was extra-busy (they pack a lot into two short days) and we have got a bunch of Diablo III and StarCraft II news and hands-on impressions to tell you about. Oh, and there was some other PC news that happened this week too:Exclusive features BlizzCon 2009: We were at Anaheim this weekend to get some hands-on time with Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2. We also got even more info on Diablo 3 and its newly revealed Monk character, learned about the voice cast for StarCraft 2 (with a special appearance by Number Six), learned more about its gameplay features (including some cool dev created mods) and got the first info about Battle.net 2.0 (selling your maps and mods for money . . cool). Oh and we have pictures from the registration line, Day 1 (Felicia Day is so cute) and Day 2 of the event. Oh, and did we mention the folks in costumes? Mac Monday: This week's entry is all about the hidden object title Coyote's Tale: Fire and Water Boot Disk: This week look at retro games is about the 1999 FPS Quake 3 Arena Big Ideas: This week's column on game themes tries to answer the question on if games are actually evolving Freeware Friday: Our look at free games this week checks out the music-rhythm game Stepmania
All about our BlizzCon coverage
BlizzCon is upon us today. WoW.com and the Joystiq network are pulling out the stops unlike any year before. There's a total of 15 staffers on the ground during the convention this year, representing the entire Joystiq Network (WoW.com, Joystiq, Massively, and Big Download). We're going to be brining you non-stop coverage throughout the day. And while there could very well be 20 or so posts on WoW.com alone in the next 24 hours, there's only a few places where you need to look to find it all. WoW.com's BlizzCon Guide – Everything that happens about the World of Warcraft at BlizzCon will be listed there. I'll be updating this everytime we get something new in. The Joystiq Network BlizzCon Page – Coverage of everything that's not posted directly on WoW.com: Diablo III, StarCraft II, and any unannounced games that might just be announced. WoW.com's Twitter – Expect to hear lots from myself, Mike, Alex, and the rest of the team. Let us know your questions about the con and we'll try to find you answers! WoW.com's Side Bar – See that nifty "BlizzCon Live Blog Schedule" on WoW.com? That's when our writers will be blogging live the various panels. When the live blogs are happening they'll be the top post on our site, and when they're done you can access them by links that will appear there. Good times had by all! And don't forget to say hello to anyone wearing a WoW.com shirt. We might just have a surprise for you!
The Best of Big Download: August 10-16
Yes, QuakeCon 2009 was indeed a big deal, but there were other events, news items, and downloads of interest to the PC game community this week:Exclusive features QuakeCon 2009 coverage: We were all over id Software's free LAN event-game convention this week with features like our impressions of the first live Rage gameplay demo, a chat with the Rage team, coverage of John Carmack and Todd Howard's speeches , a chat with Splash Damage's Paul Wedgewood on Brink and more. Oh, did we mention our picture galleries from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 and our always popular BYOC case mod gallery? Back and Forth: Time Travel in PC games: We examine how time travel and temporal powers have been featured in new, older and upcoming PC games. Mac Monday: This week we look at the Mac beta for Warhammer Online. Boot Disk: Our weekly retro game feature looks at the original Command and Conquer: Red Alert. Big Ideas: Our weekly feature of game themes examines the growing trend of acquiring games via digital download. Freeware Friday: Our look at free games for the PC this week examines the arcade action game GearToyGear.
The Best of Big Download: August 3-9
The dog days of August are hitting us hard, but Big Download has been quite busy with lots of features, news and a number of new demos and other downloads. Check out what we have been writing about in the last seven days:Exclusive features 10 Upcoming Mac Games: The Macintosh gamer has a lot to look forward to in the next several months. We take a look at 10 PC games that are slated to be ported to the Mac. Delayed to 2010: The Upcoming PC Game Backlog: A ton of major games are slated to come out in the first half of 2010. We take a look at these delayed titles and speculate if they will be successful. Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta Review: We give our final verdict for the last official DLC for Bethesda Softworks's RPG Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac games looks at two titles: Star Defender 4 and Bionic Heart Boot Disk: Our retro games feature looks at Blue Bytes' classic strategy game The Settlers 2. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes examines how real voices will affect players while playing MMOs. Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games checks out an older title, the RTS game Warzone 2100.
World of Warcraft Patch 3.2 mirrors
If you live in some crazy alternate dimension where we haven't been posting about Patch 3.2 today and you're completely unaware that the patch dropped... hey, it dropped! Hooray!On patch days, there are inevitably hordes of people that can't get the Blizzard downloader working. Good news! One of our sister sites, Big Download, has posted a patch mirror for your convenience. Following that link will bring you to mirrors for both PC and Mac versions of the patch, so go ahead and pick your poison.Keep an eye on the site, because we plan to continue our Patch 3.2 coverage throughout the day.Comments disabled on this post for your safety. WoW's Patch 3.2 ushers in the Crusaders' Coliseum, the Isle of Conquest, flying mounts at 60, and much more. WoW.com has all the patch information your Worgen obsessed mind can handle in WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2!
The Best of Big Download: July 27-August 2
The past seven days were busy ones for new files, including a few new game demos. However that's not all that happened in the past week: Exclusive features The Top 10 PC Game Stories For July 2009: It was a fairly slow month but there were still some interesting news for PC gamers that popped up in the past 31 days FUEL Review: We give our verdict on the Codemasters off-road racing game Mac Monday: Our weekly Macintosh gaming column takes a look at two games: Archibald's Adventures and Blockland Boot Disk: Our retro PC game column takes a look back at the anime-inspired FPS Shogo. Big Ideas: Our weekly game column examines how a player can be a hero in an MMO when everyone else in the game is trying to do the same Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games takes a gander at the odd looking title Within a Deep Forest Contest: There's still a little time to enter our League of Legends beta code contest
The Best of Big Download: July 20-26
The San Diego Comic-Con certainly generated a lot more of PC game related news that we expected. Let's look at the highlights from Big Download for the past seven days:Exclusive features Reviews: We have our final verdicts on Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and Overlord II. Mac Monday: This week's Mac game feature looks at two titles, A Vampyre Story and Pandora's Pests. Boot Disk: Our look at retro games takes a look at the classic RPG Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn Big Ideas: What's your dream game? We give our ideas in our latest game themes column Freeware Friday: Our look at free games is a retro title from 1993 Jetpack.
