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Final Steam Sale of 2011 predicts zombie apocalypse, crime in 2012
The Steam Holiday Sale doesn't stop for anyone or anything -- not the end of a year, an era or the world -- and today, New Year's Eve 2011, is no different. The 13th day of the Steam Holiday Sale offers 75 percent off L.A. Noire, Bit.Trip Runner, the Hitman franchise, Magicka, both BioShocks, Hoard, GRID and the Counter-Strike series, and more titles at various other deduction rates. Check out all the deals before the year and our life as we know it ends.
Growing Up Geek: Richard Lai
Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Senior Associate Editor, Richard Lai, who also happens to be the Editor-in-chief of Engadget Chinese. I've come to the point in life where I stop paying attention to my age, though it's still fun to make people guess it for their reaction -- you'll find out after the break, but here's a hint: I've spent the same number of years in both Hong Kong and the UK, plus a couple of years in Australia. Such a combination has turned me into a Chinese guy who speaks both British English and two Chinese dialects while holding an Australian passport; but I tend to skip all this and say that I'm a spy with many gadgets.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coming to XBLA, PSN and Steam early 2012 [update]
Update: Looks like we didn't have to wait too long at all for confirmation of the project: Valve and Seattle-based developer Hidden Path Entertainment just distributed a press release announcing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, an updated and expanded version of the seminal team-based shooter. Slated for an early 2012 release on XBLA, PSN and Steam, the downloadable title will add "new maps, characters, and weapons," renovated versions of classic maps (what's up, de_dust) and a plethora of new modes, matchmaking options, leaderboards and other modern shooter mainstays. Best of all, it'll be playable later this month at PAX Prime. Check out the full press release after the jump! Original post: A heaping pile of evidence is growing in support of a future installment in the thoroughly-played Counter-Strike universe -- this one subtitled Global Offensive. The most promising tidbit is the Facebook page of anti-cheat gaming community ESEA, which revealed the name of the game, and promised more info later this morning. The post was preceded by an image of ESEA's Craig Levine at the offices of Valve. (You can tell it's legit, because hey, there's a giant valve.) Valve designer Jess Cliffe corroborated the title on the Steam forums, correcting an earlier poster who labeled the game "Global Operation." Also, Electronic Sports League manager Bastian Vieser claimed on Twitter that he "Just spend [sic] all day playing the new Counterstrike Global Offensive" at Valve's HQ. It certainly seems like a real thing -- now there's just the small matter of whether it's a port, expansion or an entirely new game altogether. We've got our freakishly elongated fingers crossed for the latter.
German artist wants you to roll around in de_dust
When the Germans do something, they do it right -- or, at least big. German artist Aram Bartholl has created a slew of projects inspired by gaming and the Internet, but his largest is a 1:1 scale model of the classic Counter Strike map, Dust, that Bartholl wants installed as a large-scale public sculpture. Bartholl plans to make the entire map out of concrete, with parts of it preserved in uncolored and untexturized abstract glory to "represent a petrified moment of cultural game space heritage." Bartholl is currently petitioning for $5500 in government funds to create the first stage of Dust, a 1:100 scale model of the map, and is scheduled to begin public promotion of the full project this fall. The video shows Bartholl's mini-mini-scale model of the map, and while that one may not be big, it is certainly done right.
The Lawbringer: WoW launching in Brazil
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? In the near future, Blizzard will be launching a localized World of Warcraft, complete with language localization and specific servers, in Brazil with a Portugeuse version of its signature virtual world. This localization accompanies a potential Japanese release, with servers for both Japan and Brazil, much as there are already US, EU, Oceanic, and Chinese/Taiwanese servers. The World of Warcraft gaming community and Blizzard especially are excited to welcome these two markets into the fold with their own local servers. We're talking all things Brazil this week on The Lawbringer -- well, not everything Brazilian. I think all of the waxing and juijitsu questions are better left for The WoW Insider Show or perhaps The Queue. No, this week is all about the video game climate in Brazil, why Brazil is a huge up-and-coming market for MMOs, how a Portuguese localized version of WoW benefits a huge number of gamers, and the potentially pitfalls of the anti-video game sentiments in the South American powerhouse market.
Crazy summer Steam sale includes some fantastic Mac games
The PC gaming community has long enjoyed the ridiculously awesome Steam sales Valve loves to break out during holidays and at other fun times of the year. The sales deliver game bundles for crazy cheap prices, even on AAA current titles. Steam's summer sale kicked off a couple of days ago. For the first time, Mac gamers get to join in on the fun thanks to Steam's recent adoption of OS X. While there are hundreds of Mac & PC titles on sale through July 4th, most of the best deals are found on a few select games featured each day. Today's sales have two good selections that Mac gamers may want to check out. For strategy fans Paradox Interactive's deep historical real-time strategy game Europa Universalis III lets the player control a European nation and rewrite history between 1453 and 1820 AD. For adventure gamers, a bundle of all five episodes of the previously mentioned Telltale Games' Tales of Monkey Island is also available at a great price. The clock is ticking -- but thankfully Valve offsets the time for most US timezones so you can get a chance to pick them up in the morning. If those two games don't belong to any of your favorite genres, there are a bunch of other titles included in the full sale. Right now is a great time to pick up any of Valve's growing list of games released for OS X with first-person shooters Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Portal and Half-Life 2. Better yet, grab the Valve Complete Pack for all of them so you're ready to go when Left 4 Dead 2 arrives on OS X.
Counter-Strike Source out for Mac
Just in case you missed it yesterday, Counter-Strike is now available ... wait for it ... for the Mac. Yes, possibly the most premiere PC game of all time is now playable (specifically the Source version) natively on the Mac, thanks to Valve's own Steam distribution service. And it's another Steam Play title, which means that if you own it on the PC (which you probably do if you've ever played FPS games in your life), you can download and play it right now on the Mac as well. You can even play cross-platform, so your buddies on the PC can finally let you into their clan -- assuming you're leet enough. Just in case you don't own it, the game is also on sale right now for under $7. I tweeted on our @TUAW account last night that this might be the last big title in the Source library for the Mac (along with Half-Life and Team Fortress 2), but many of our followers correctly pointed out that we haven't seen Left 4 Dead or its sequel released on our platform yet, so stay tuned for that. A few of you also complained that Day of Defeat hadn't been brought over to the Mac yet, and that's true as well, though I wouldn't quite consider that as "canon" as the other games. But whatever floats your boat -- the more games on our platform, the better.
Valve confirms Mac support for Steam and Source Engine
In today's completely shocking and unexpected bit of news, Valve has announced Mac support for its Steam digital distribution platform and Source -- the engine that powers Half-Life 2, amongst others. In fact, Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release across PC and Mac. "Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge," said Valve's Jason Holtman. "For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play." If that doesn't get you all kinds of giddy, then you may just be dead inside. Steam and Valve's lineup of games (including "including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series") will be available to Mac users this April, but from here on out, simultaneous cross-platform releases should be the norm. "Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, project lead on Portal 2. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac." So, who's got the champagne and noise makers? %Gallery-87236%
Xbox Live service for Xbox 1 games to be discontinued on Apr. 15
[Image: Bungie] Microsoft is pulling the plug on the Xbox Live services that still cater to the original Xbox. As of April 15th, all Xbox 1 games -- including those playable on Xbox 360 or via the Xbox Originals service -- will be severed from the online realm. "I want to start by saying this isn't a decision we made lightly," Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten said at the start of a letter to Xbox Live members, "but after careful consideration, it is clear that this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community." Whitten added that in continuing to "evolve the service," Microsoft requires changes that are "incompatible" with the previous console's games. "We will contact the Xbox LIVE members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your LIVE messages and associated e-mail account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities." According to Major Nelson's most recent list of top Xbox 1 Live titles, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and Counter-Strike players will be hardest hit. Well, sure, Halo 2 is still the most widely played game, but at least those guys will have some consolation when they leave the house and discover that two three more Halo games have come out since 2004. By the way, if you have anything terribly important to say to your clan mates, we suggest you say it now.
Army of Two: The 40th Day multiplayer inspired by Counter-Strike, Killzone 2
While Army of Two's focus has always been cooperative gameplay, EA Montreal's Eric Chartrand is responsible for designing the competitive multiplayer aspects of The 40th Day. In an interview with with That VideoGame Blog, Chartrand notes that one of the big changes for the AoT sequel is to adapt the multiplayer aspect, and make it play differently from the campaign mode. Whereas the story can feature designed bottlenecks (such as doors that require both players to open), multiplayer cannot, simply because humans play differently than AI. "The toolset we use in single-player has to be different from the one we use in multiplayer," Chartrand explains. Interestingly, Chartrand notes two games as his main inspiration for The 40th Day's multiplayer offerings: the decade old Counter-Strike and the recently-released Killzone 2. "What works in Counter-Strike is that you don't get progression," a stark contrast to the level-up gimmick common in most online shooters. "So why it works is because the gameplay in it. The second-to-second, the movement of the character, the shooting, the intensity of the combat is still fresh, even ten years after. So that's why we wanted to craft an experience that is as close to this as possible." Chartrand has even more praise for Guerrilla's FPS. "Killzone 2 has great maps, probably the best maps out there," he admits. However, what inspired Chartrand the most appear to be the game's community features, particularly its stats-laden website. "This link between stats, profile, friends, leaderboard ... all the community aspects, I think the Killzone guys did a very good job and we strive to imitate them."
Dave Jones: All Points Bulletin shelf life 5 to 10 years
The crime-focused title All Points Bulletin is one of the upcoming games we've taken a fairly keen interest in here at Massively. While we're still hoping for more gameplay footage in the video podcasts that APB developer Realtime Worlds has been releasing since E3 2009, but there's been a fair amount of general info revealed about the game in recent interviews. Although APB's design is a departure from some of the game mechanics found in massively multiplayer online games, Realtime Worlds is banking that their urban crime title will have the longevity of a solid MMO. Dave Jones, Creative Director on All Points Bulletin, says they could be looking at five to ten years of life in the game.
Realtime Worlds hopes APB will have up to 10-year lifespan
We've all been curious about how long the Cops & Robbers gameplay presented in Realtime Worlds' APB would be capable of capturing our fleeting, razor-thin attention span. Realtime creative director Dave Jones just ... hey, have you guys seen Brüno yet? It looks pretty funny, but we -- oh, sorry. Dave Jones recently spoke with VideoGamer.com and explained that a five to ten year lifespan is "ultimately the goal" for APB.Jones said the action-heavy MMO would endure for the same reasons Valve's long-lasting FPS Counter-Strike has. He claims it'll include elements that made the shooter so successful, such as frantic, addictive game play, as well as "leagues and stats and achievements." See, here we thought people loved Counter-Strike because it let you spray paint private parts onto battlefield walls. Our mistake.
Can your other favorite games be predicted based on your most played?
GamerDNA regularly likes to data mine their own site and look for possible correlations between games and the gamers that play them. What ends up surfacing is almost always intriguing and thought-provoking.This time GamerDNA has put your second favorite game to the test as they look at what players of online free-to-play games like to play in their spare time in their second round of "Also Played." Does playing Shaiya mean that you'll be more likely to try and enjoy World of Warcraft? Do MapleStory users really enjoy Counter-Strike? Is playing Runescape akin to playing Solitare or Minesweeper?These questions and more are probed inside of Also Played, and trust us, the answers can be pretty surprising. For the full story, check out the article over at GamerDNA, complete with handy charts.
Global Online Games Awards honors multiple MMORPGs
The recently held Global Online Games Awards in Seoul, South Korea, just handed out awards to World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, and EVE Online for excellence in their respective genres. World of Warcraft took the top spot in the roleplaying game category, City of Heroes took the award home for the adventure/action game, and EVE Online found an award in the strategic simulation category.The judges were formed from an international panel of game experts, including Simon Carless from Gamasutra and Game Developer magazine. Each game was rated on scenario/planning (content), graphics, music and sound, included technology, and creativity. Other winning titles included Counter-Strike Source in the first-person shooter category, FIFA '09 in the sports category, and Nexon's KartRider for best racing/casual game.Gamasutra has the whole write-up, so head on over there if you want to check out the full article.
ESL replaced Warcraft 3 with WoW
In its previous two seasons , the Intel Extreme Masters (from the Electronic Sports League) focused on two main eSports disciplines --- Counter-Strike 1.6 and Warcraft 3. Now, however, that's changing. They've announced that World of Warcraft will take over the spot from Warcraft 3, based in part on the success of previous WoW tournaments. While ESL doesn't explicitly say it's an Arena tournament, I think we can safely assume that to be the case. This is just part of the ongoing eSport effort, and I think we'll hear about a lot more tournaments in the coming months. I don't know if Blizzard meant to bump its own game from some rosters, but I suppose there's only so much room at each tournament. There's also $750,000 (US) in prize money for the victors. They've not announced how much will specifically go to World of Warcraft, but it'll definitely make it worth winning. [Via Arena Junkies]
China's forgotten gamers
Frank Yu over at Gamasutra wrote a piece recently that didn't exactly slip through the cracks, but was certainly overshadowed by more pressing concerns that affected online gaming in Asia. Yu's 'China's Forgotten Gamers' -- from his China Angle column -- is a look at the invisible population of gamers in the country that industry demographics simply cannot account for. In North America and Europe, subscriptions, registered downloads and box sales provide an accurate picture of who's playing a given title; China is a different story altogether. Credit cards are nowhere near as prevalent among the Chinese as they are abroad; box sales have largely been a failure due to piracy. Added to the mix is the fact that not everyone can afford to play games legitimately, and so some Chinese gamers find ways to play outside of the system. Although the reported numbers of gamers playing the various titles in China are large, Yu says, "In China, we track game players by subscriber or registration numbers, or by the amount of money they spend giving companies revenue. If they don't register or pay money, they are somewhat invisible to the industry or, from the business viewpoint, irrelevant."
Brazil ban on Counter-Strike, EverQuest goes into effect
A ban on the sale of Counter-Strike and EverQuest in Brazil has gone into effect. According to AFP, the ban was ordered by federal court in October 2007 but is just now being imposed. Said judge Carlos Alberto Simoes, the titles encouraged "the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security." (Just so you're clear: EverQuest is an attack on democracy, but censorship isn't.)Of course, the ban is just on the sale of the two games. Each title is about nine years old, with their latest respective sequels (EverQuest 2 and CS: Source) released in 2004 - not exactly the most timely censorship. By that timeframe, World of Warcraft has about five years left before Brazil drops the banhammer. Let's hope Blizzard can get out Wrath of the Lich King before 2014.[Via CVG; thanks, Vitor]
Turning keyboard turners around
Zg thinks, quite unreasonably, that 99% of players in the game are "keyboard turners"-- people who use the keyboard to turn their characters rather than holding down the right mouse button and moving the camera to turn. It's hardly anywhere near 99%, but given that WoW is a game that attracts casual players (a.k.a. people who aren't experienced videogame players), I wouldn't be surprised if there are more people in Azeroth than in, say, Counter-Strike, who use the keyboard to do most of their navigating.Personally, I'm one of those that come from a CS background, and so I use the mouse for pretty much all movement whenever possible-- I'll often just hold down both mouse buttons if I need to run for a short distance (and anything longer gets the run lock key from me). I also think that circle strafing is pretty much the best game mechanic ever made, but I know that there are those who disagree with me-- back when I worked at Gamestop, one of our employees there just couldn't seem to wrap his head around the fact that he should turn and move at the same time, and as a result just got dominated in our Halo matches.But habits are a powerful thing, and so keyboard turning is probably around to stay. I won't go so far as to say that fast-turning with a mouse is required to be a good player, but certainly that kind of reflex is required to be a really great player. So keyboard turners, pick up that mouse and start looking around-- you'll thank me later.
Today's most interesting shaky cam footage: Left 4 Dead at showdownLAN
Footage from showdownLAN has surfaced on showing off a public playtest of Left 4 Dead, an ambitious zombie-centric -esque team game from Turtle Rock Studios (Counter-Strike) and Valve. Four survivors take on waves of the Infected (think 28 Days Later) and four Super Infected as they make their way to a helicopter landing point.Shown in the clip is footage from four player-controlled survivors. Though the Super Infected can also be player-controlled, we don't have any video of that in action. There is, however, a moment where you can spot The Smoker strangling a survivor with its tongue. The video is grainy and shaky at times, but it's the best we've got on this so-far reclusive game.Left 4 Dead 411 has impressions from people who attended showdownLAN, as well as a gallery of the event. The game is due out this summer for PC and this winter for Xbox 360. Video embedded after the break.
Call of Duty dev down on destructible environments, sandbox gameplay
Sandbox gameplay. Destructible environments. Those are a few of the latest video game buzzwords used to sell ideas, and Grant Collier, studio head of Infinity Ward (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), is not happy with it.In an interview with IGN, Collier sees a problematic trend with using sandbox gameplay and "total destructibility" without first considering if it will make the game fun. "And total destructibility, you can really ruin the gameplay," he said. Collier cites Counter-Strike's über-popular Dust map, where the two choke points serve as the focal point of entertainment, and how that could be compromised with destructible environments. "It's not fun because you can blow up everything," he said, "it's fun because you know where the action's going to be and there's races against time to get to that action." "So I think right now it's a fad, and the fad will pass, we're not going to be bite on in it - we want the game to be fun first, and destructibility comes second," he said. The over-indulgence may be a fad, but the interaction that destructible environments and sandbox gameplay adds is something that isn't (and shouldn't) go away, and we think Collier would agree that said features, if properly implemented, can potentially augment gameplay.
