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XBLM discounts PopCap games this week, Borderlands and Red Dead next
If Mad Riders and the two Sega Vintage Collections coming to XBLA this week don't fill absolutely all of your time, you can occupy every spare second with discounted PopCap games. From today through June 4, PopCap games on XBLA are half off, including Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle, Zumba, Bejeweled 3, and more.Next week, Borderlands DLC will be half off, as will the Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare Collection and, why not, Sega Bass Fishing. We know there must be someone who has time to play games next week, but we don't want to hear about it.
Borderlands 2 fixes voice chat, framerate issues from first game
The folks over at Gearbox Software have been busy with a lot more than designing fancy collector's editions, according to Borderlands 2 producer Matt Charles. Answering fan-submitted twitter questions on the PlayStation Blog, Charles addressed several technical problems suffered by Borderlands – by and large, the news is positive. Voice chat issues that plagued the first game, for instance, are currently being worked on and the system "will be working for everyone when the game launches." Charles also said that while it's "too early for me to give any final numbers," Borderland 2's framerate will "see an improvement over the first game."He also mentioned the upgraded user interfaces we've talked about before, and that players will now automatically pick up ammo and currency dropped by felled villains: "There's a lot more useful data for gear comparison and also more descriptive text on the item cards as well. Having said that, the best way to know what a gun does is to use it."
Co-opinion: Slaughtering Skags in Borderlands 2
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } David Hinkle: So, Borderlands 2. How fitting I would play as the slender female and you the hulking giant mohawk guy, eh? Jessica Conditt: To be fair, Salvador is supposed to be a tiny, muscled man, not the hulking behemoth that I felt like while playing him. Double shotguns will do that to a man. Agreed. And even though you were carrying every single gun in the universe, we ran into a few bottlenecks. I certainly tried to play Maya as a tank, but I don't think that was a very good idea. Skags, man. Skags. And that new, juicy element. Slag, right? We took more damage when they flung it on us, which was an annoying experience. But the phaselock health dump was a saving grace there. You kept me alive on quite a few occasions with that. Slag, man. Slag.%Gallery-152249%
Claptrap wants to whisper sweet Borderlands 2 PC specs to you, baby
Borderlands 2 features a PC-specific UI, FOV slider, remappable keybindings for keyboard and mouse, complete Steamworks support, and more. That's all gathered from Claptrap's love letter to future players. Turns out Claptrap has a broader range of emotion than many people we've met in our very popular lives, showing humor, determination, lust, compassion and now -- possibly our favorite -- romance. We're a sucker for roses, candles, compliments and software upgrades.Gearbox has decided to reveal its innermost PC features in this gushy love letter from Claptrap, detailing the things that many players were upset to find missing in the PC version of the first Borderlands, as listed below:
Borderlands to add Steam Cloud saving, play data collection on Sept. 9
Gearbox's eyes are affixed on Borderlands 2, but it's still building onto the series' debut. Studio head Randy Pitchford just announced at the company's PAX Prime panel that Borderlands' Steam version will add "BTest," an update that will allow Gearbox to gather play data (weapon use, player tactics, etc.) to be fed into Borderlands 2. Perhaps more exciting for players, the B Test update will also bring support for Steam Cloud saving.
Borderlands is 75% off on Steam this weekend
Gearbox's shoot and loot RPG, Borderlands, is 75 percent off on Steam this weekend. That means you can grab the original game for $4.99, or the "Game of the Year" edition for $7.49. Each of the game's four DLC packs are discounted to $2.49, with the four-pack bundle costing $7.49. Want to buy Borderlands and go questing with a few friends? A four pack of the GOTY edition is only $22.49. That's cheaper than a night at the movies. Heck, that might be cheaper than popcorn at the movies now. If you pace yourself, you'll be finished with all that Borderlands content by the time Borderlands 2 rolls around sometime after March next year.
Weekend Sale Roundup: Origin and Direct2Drive
For a lot of people, Friday means pay-day, which means a weekend full of extravagant spending: a little boutique shopping, perhaps a night at da club, etc. If you're like us though, and the majority of your pay checks are followed by staying in rather than going out, fear not. Huge weekend sales mean you can still feel like a big spender without having to blow an entire check, all from the comfort of your own home. Origin's $5 PC offerings are back, along with a slew of fairly-recent console titles like Dead Space 2 and Portal 2 for 40 percent off. Both sales run until August 9, and every console game purchased comes with a complimentary PC copy of Need for Speed Shift. Direct2Drive, not to be left out of the fun, has both Bulletstorm and Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition marked down to $11.95 a piece. No sale expiration date is listed for either title, which could mean that both are ending right this very second, the thought of which instills a primal fear directly into the shopping cortex of your brain.
PSA: Steam Summer Camp Sale ends today
It's time to strip down your bunks, throw your macaroni necklaces in a suitcase and get back to town -- it's the final day of the Steam Summer Camp Sale. Today Steam is featuring some of the sale's biggest titles (which means you probably already have them), including franchise deals on Fallout, Battlefield, Borderlands, Just Cause and Assassin's Creed. One game you may not have bought yet, Terraria, is also 50 percent off today. If there's a better way of forming one last Summer Camp memory than a 2D, Minecraft-inspired sidescrolling goldmine of fun, we can't think of it.
Borderlands joins OnLive's flat-rate PlayPack service
OnLive is aiming to make its flat-rate, "all-you-can-play" PlayPack plan more attractive -- this time down the barrel of a cel-shaded rifle. The cloud gaming company announced today that Gearbox's Borderlands is joining the $10 per month selection of titles on tap for unlimited play. The hybrid FPS slash RPG joins a library of about 50 games available to plan subscribers, including the likes of Just Cause 2 and Tomb Raider: Underworld. Along with news of Borderlands joining their ranks, OnLive revealed that PlayPack games -- some of which are not offered for sale -- can all be demoed for free as of today. Just recently, the company extended its program offering free MicroConsole hardware to anyone who pre-orders Duke Nukem Forever -- another 2K Games title -- via its game streaming service.
2K Games DLC marked down for Xbox Live Deal of the Week
If you're of the opinion that the respective, already-pretty-massive worlds of BioShock 2, Borderlands and Mafia 2 could use a little expanding, you can do so on the cheap this week. Xbox Live Marketplace has discounted select DLC for the three titles as its current Deal of the Week.
Gearbox helps man propose via Claptrap
You can add one more feature to the list of Borderlands' Claptrap's various robotic abilities. Along with "dancin' ... dancin'!", getting angry about overlooked awards and taking over the world, you can now list "proposing marriage." That's what the wacky automatron did for one Gearbox Software fan named Ben, who reportedly found love with girlfriend Tora by playing co-op through the loot-littered FPS. Ben contracted Gearbox to let them know how much he loved their game and the girl, and it responded by making a video for him featuring Claptrap (eventually) popping the question, which you can watch right after the break. And yes, though Ben's video of the magic moment is quite loud, she did say yes. Congrats to the happy couple, and if you're wondering where the cars live to go for a honeymoon drive, we hear Scooter can help getchu one.
Make a run for the Borderlands with Steam sale
If, for some reason, you've been thinking about Borderlands, but you don't have every bit of the game right now, you're in luck. Today, Steam is offering crazy discounts on Borderlands and its DLC. The "Game of the Year" edition is just $7.50. If you don't want all those extras, you can pick up the original version for five bucks. Plus, each DLC pack is $2.49 right now, or $7.49 for all four. Basically, if you have the PC hardware to run it, there's no excuse not to own Borderlands right now. Except, maybe, "I don't want to play Borderlands." That excuse still holds up.
The many hats of Demiurge Studios
Shoot Many Robots is Boston-based Demiurge Studios' first original game, and my hands-on with it at GDC was the first time that anyone at the developer ever gave a press demo. Studio head Albert Reed was, unsurprisingly, excited to delve into the studio's origins. "We got our start doing mods for Unreal Tournament. It was me and two other college buddies doing mods in the frickin' computer cluster at Carnegie Mellon. I'm not kidding!" Reed told me before showing off Shoot Many Robots last week. "Then one thing lead to another and those companies that were licensing Unreal Engine started hiring us," Reed added humbly. It turns out that the folks hiring Demiurge were developers like Gearbox Software, Irrational Games, BioWare, and Harmonix. "We did some work on the first level -- the lighthouse and that sort of descent into Rapture," Reed told me, casually explaining that his studio clandestinely assisted with one of gaming's most iconic openings: the beginning of BioShock.
Tons of 2K Games and Rockstar DLC on sale through Xbox Live
Are any of your many, many 2K Games or Rockstar titles for Xbox 360 in need of a little expansion? Maybe you'd like to have an Undead Nightmare on the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned? Perhaps a visit to Minerva's Den to settle Jimmy's Vendetta? Itching to sing The Ballad of Gay Tony in ... um, the Underdome? These analogies are escaping us, but our bloodhound-esque nose for value is not: All the aforementioned DLC, as well as quite a few other BioShock 2, Mafia 2, Borderlands and Red Dead Redemption expansions are on sale through Xbox Live until January 31. There are also a few avatar items discounted, not to mention a few full classic games such as Sid Meier's Pirates and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. You're not likely to see a fire sale of this scope on the platform any time soon -- check after the jump for the full list of encheapened items.
Steam discounts all Borderlands content, Fallout: New Vegas and more
Today's Steam deals should appeal to a fairly large group of you: people who wanna shoot stuff on the cheap. A variety of shooters are on discount today, including the Ghost Recon games, Borderlands (and all of its DLC) and Saints Row 2. Hit the break for the full list.
PSN Tuesday: Mega holiday edition overflowing with goodies
We honestly don't even know where to begin with this week's PSN update -- it's like staring down the business end of a five-foot Philly cheesesteak. There are demos for Dead Space 2, Mass Effect 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2. Not interested in demos? Well, there's RISK: Factions and Echochrome 2 for PS3 and Valkyria Chronicles 2 for super cheap on PSP. It really is an amazing update for the holidays. Check out the full PSN update after the break. (Philly cheesesteak not available, sold separately.) Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
UA engineers develop 'invisible,' fiber optic border monitoring system
As if the nation's overexcited and misguided border vigilantes didn't have enough ways to trigger alarms and bedevil the U.S. Border Patrol (whose job is hard enough as it is), University of Arizona researchers have developed Helios, a monitoring system that uses an acoustic sensor to detect movement via fiber optic cables buried beneath the US-Mexico border. The system is evidently able to distinguish between vehicles, animals, and humans -- and it can even differentiate between different types of human activity, including walking, running, and digging. But that ain't all! UA is looking to spin the technology out into the private sector, working with a company called Fotech to automate the system, further refine the database of signals, and maybe even integrate this into a comprehensive border security system complete with mobile surveillance vehicles and an animatronic Jan Brewer that is, according to a guy we overheard at the bar, "only slightly more human than the actual Arizona governor."
Borderlands Game of the Year edition for Mac gets a release date
2K Games Feral Interactive (the company publishing this title for the Mac) has announced that the Game of the Year edition of the great "Diablo shooter" game Borderlands is on its way. It'll be out on December 3rd, and like other versions of the special edition, the game will include all of the title's downloadable content packs, including The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution. All that gaming for just US$49.95, running natively on our favorite platform -- pretty sweet. I was a huge fan of Borderlands when it came out last year -- you'll probably need to enjoy the FPS genre to really get into it, but the best part of the game is the guns: killing enemies makes them drop guns, randomly created with all sorts of wacky attributes, from poison fire machine guns to exploding shell shotguns. When you add in a fun quest system and four different classes to play with, it's a really great game with almost unlimited replayability. One note: you'll need an Intel Mac to run the game, of course, and you won't be able to use any Macs with ATI X1xxx series, NVIDIA 7xxx series and Intel GMA series video cards. But if you've got a recent Mac and room for a new FPS to play, keep an eye out for Borderlands early next month.
Borderlands: GOTY on Mac Dec. 3
Borderlands' game of the year edition is heading to Mac on December 3. Like previous editions of the compilation, it will include the four DLC packs (The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution) and cost $49.95 in the States, £34.95 in the UK and €39.95 in mainland Europe. This Borderlands announcement comes shortly after 2K Games also revealed that Civilization 5 would make its way to the Mac on November 23. Those interested in the system specs required to observe a Claptrap in its native habitat should head on past the break.
PSA: Borderlands title update 1.41 is now live on PS3 and PC; Xbox 360 patch MIA [Update: now live on Xbox 360]
We guess "a few weeks" means "next week" in Gearbox-speak. The level-raising update for Borderlands is now live. PS3 and PC users haven't complained of issues -- we've yet to see it go live on Xbox 360. [Update: It's now live on Xbox 360!] Outside of eight new levels of XP to accrue, players will also find all enemies and bosses now scale to level, and some bugs in the ClapTrap DLC have been squashed.
