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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky ships August 29
PC gamers will be frolicking through the radioactive wastelands of Chernobyl once more with the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, now set for August 29th. The post-apocalyptic prequel promises "an alternative look" into the events of 2007's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, pitting players against radioactive decay and mutated creatures with one too many of something. Probably teeth. Also, it's apparently "set in 2011 and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center." Exciting!Developer GSC Game World aims to ship the shooter simultaneously worldwide "according to the agreed plan." If said plan falls through, there's always the consolation of the game's day and date release on Steam.
New Team Fortress 2 PC content due mid-April
A fresh batch of content for the PC version of Team Fortress 2 is set to arrive during the week of April 20th, according to Shacknews. The update will add a new map,"Goldrush," to Valve's multiplayer shooter, along with unlockable weapons and a strong desire to succumb to the cartoonish mayhem all over again just when you thought you shook the addiction and got your life back on track which was becoming increasingly dominated by thoughts of playing the game which in fact you are considering right now at the expense of your ability to avoid run-on sentences somebody please please help us.Ahem.Goldrush will be the first map to support "Payload," a new game which tasks teams with pushing a mine cart (loaded with explosives, natch) into the opposition's base. In a stunning nod to real life, the cart will go faster when it has more players pushing it through the inevitable barrage of gunfire. Just so you know, most of that will likely be aimed at the Medic, the first class expected to benefit from the addition of unlockable weapons.
Valve, Nunchuck release Ninja Reflex over Steam
Valve and Nunchuck Games have tiptoed around caltrops and poison rice balls in order to release Sanzaru Games' "ninja party game" Ninja Reflex over Steam. The game, recently released for both the Wii and DS, leverages Valve's Steamworks tool set, adding some 50 new achievements not found in the previous versions. Even better, the companies hint at an in-game "basket" of Easter Eggs lifted from the Half-Life and Portal universe. Whatever that means, we want it. Beyond the added achievements, the appropriately dubbed "Steamworks Edition" also carries an attractive asking price of just $9.95 $8.95, making the alternative $39.99 Wii and $29.99 DS versions seem laughable by comparison. The game is up on Steam now, and is next on our list of things to get -- right after we finish eating this rice ball.
Cinemassively: Interactive Science Lab
The days of science lab fires are over. The STEAM, or Science and Technology Enrichment for Appalachian Middle-schoolers, project lets middle school students experiment with science through Second Life. Teen Gridders that are part of the Ohio STEAM sim will be able to put on a HUD, or Heads Up Display, and receive everything they need to complete their lab work.While some educational programs, such as Global Kids and Eye4You Alliance, are open to the TG public, others, like the Appalachian K-12 program, are closed to only their students. I really enjoy seeing videos of the progress that these communities make. If you enjoyed the Interactive Science Lab video, check out the rest of their videos, or their project website!
Epic blows up digital distribution with Steam
Valve's Steam digital distribution service keeps chugging along and picked up the rights to dish out Epic's Unreal franchise. The Unreal Deal Pack is $54 and will net gamers Unreal Gold, Unreal II: The Awakening, and the Unreal Tournament games, including the recently released Unreal Tournament III. The games are also available to purchase separately and are 10% off until March 24.Steam continues to add more publishers looking for online outlets with Rockstar, Atari and Sega joining in recent months.
Atari uses Steam for digital distribution
Valve announced today that Atari, which is currently enjoying the makeover of the year, is offering many of its PC titles through the company's Steam digital distribution service. Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and Indigo Prophecy are currently available and a full list of titles can be found after the break.Although not currently available, Valve states that The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion, NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer, will be available soon.
Revolutionary: A Musical Revolution
Every (other) Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities. The rhythm gaming genre, while relatively young, is already on the verge of becoming stale. Hitting buttons in time with a visual cue only remains as fresh as the accompanying song. But there's a new game that's set to turn the genre on its ear and destroy your preconceived notions of what a rhythm game can be. Today we'll be giving Audiosurf the GlovePIE treatment.
TurpsterVision: Don't tell Adam but I've been fooling around with EVE
Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalise it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)It's Tuesday! Hooray! If you like having intellectual discussions about current political events and their impact on the everyday life of the brave men and women serving abroad fighting for our freedom then I am afraid you have come to the wrong place. I don't have a clue about the wars going on here on planet Earth. What I do know about however, is a MMO universe so vast and EPIC that I makes the petty struggles of this world seem insignificant. That is right folks; today we are flying and fighting for our very lives in the turbulent universe of EVE Online!Join us after the break if you think you are truly hardcore enough to play in a universe where you can Alt-Tab while you are meant to be working.
The Game Boy of the Industrial Revolution
Many a history buff know full well the contributions the lowly steam engine has made to not only the development of our native country, the U.S.A., but also that of the world. And now, finally, one of the driving forces behind the Industrial Revolution is now being used for something far more important: powering Game Boys. Actually, we're not sure why someone would make a steam-powered Game Boy, but hey, our hat is off to them because we could never do such a thing ourselves. We have a hard enough time figuring out which way the AA batteries go in.[Via Go Nintendo]
Individual Orange Box games hit retail April 9
Perhaps you've been burnt by digital distribution in the past, and now refuse to even touch the likes of Steam. Perhaps you found one or more of the games in Valve's critically acclaimed Orange Box to be lacking in a peel. Perhaps you'd like us to stop with the excruciating puns you jerks and report the news already geez.So, have at it: Valve has confirmed to Joystiq that the individually boxed Orange Box PC games are due to hit physical shelves on April 9th. The separate SKUs, which will be available worldwide, consist of first-person puzzler Portal, caricatured multiplayer romp Team Fortress 2, and a crowbar double-whammy in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two. Valve has yet to officially announce pricing details, but retailers currently list Portal at $19.99 and the other two packages at $29.99 each. Expect more details soon.
Audiosurf becomes Steam's top seller for February
Indie title Audiosurf had a very good February, indeed. After getting released on Valve's Steam distribution system, and winning the Independent Games Festival Award for best audio, the procedurally-generated music racing game has just been announced as the top-selling title on Steam for the month of February.Though no sales numbers have been given, a press release from Valve reveals the results of February's Steam sales, with Audiosurf beating out titles like Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Counter-Strike. Not bad for a one-man, indie operation. If you have yet to experience Audiosurf's transcendental gameplay, it's only $9.95 USD; go get it already. A video of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in Audiosurf after the break.
EVE Online on Steam now
Originally slated for a February 2008 release, EVE Online's debut on Valve's Steam service only barely squeaked in late on the 29th of February. Nevertheless, EVE Online: Trinity is available on Steam right now now, currently priced at US$14.95 (including the first month). There's also a 21 day free trial available for those of you wanting to get a feel for CCP's popular space-based MMO - and it won't make your system unbootable. You'll need to have six gigabytes of hard-drive space available for steam to install it, so now's as good a time as any to tidy up the old hard-drive.
Valve considering video, music content through Steam
In an attempt to further blur the already-pretty-darn-blurry line between "software distribution system" and "digital hub," Valve is considering adding music and video content to their Steam distribution platform. Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi spoke with Tom's Games at GDC last week, and mentioned that the idea of expanded content is currently being bounced around the office.Specifically, Lombardi states that Valve has already begun reaching out to companies involved with those forms of digital media, and expects some small degree of non-game content on Steam before the year's end. Other forms of digital entertainment would place Steam in more direct competition with the diverse offerings of Xbox Live, but may also put the humble platform up against big-boy services like iTunes and Rhapsody. Whether that type of intense competition will be productive for the platform remains to be seen.[Via 1UP]
Overheard@GDC: Ken Levine on Steamworks
Throughout his discussion of BioShock's story on Wednesday, Ken Levine referenced the folks at Valve and the top notch work they had done on games like Half-Life 2. Before the talk started we overheard him talking about the Steamworks announcement, and when we joined a large discussion of attendees after the event ended we asked the man himself what he thought.What do you think of the Steamworks announcement?"I think the great thing about Valve is they understand you don't have to make every penny off of everybody every second to make the big dollar. Google has a similar approach. You don't feel like you're being constantly fleeced - Valve has a very sophisticated model, they're very smart guys, and I think it's really exciting. It's great for developers. It's great for Valve, it's great for everybody else, and it's great for people making games. How much do you think Steam helped BioShock?"I think one of the great things about Valve is that they are developers. I've worked with some big companies, and as developers they're professional, they're on the ball, I can't think of a single mistake that they made. They're taking it very seriously."
Major Team Fortress 2 update adds Badlands tomorrow
The romantic Lotharios at Valve have a certain something special planned for you on Valentine's Day, tomorrow. No, not cake you silly goose, this is way more romantic. They want to take you on a trip, to an exotic map called "Badlands." But it won't be just you; they've invited 9 of your friends (pictured above) so you can all spend a wonderful V-Day together, in Team Fortress 2, fragging the night away. Tomorrow's update isn't simply a new map though. They're also updating the Dustbowl, Granary, and CTF Well maps with various tweaks as well as improvements to the Source Engine and SourceTV, all in what they're saying is the "largest update" since the game's launch last Fall. It's still unknown if the updates (and new map!) will make their way to the console versions, so we've asked Valve to weigh in on it. Give them some time to get back to us, and we'll let you know what they say, deal?
IGF finalist Audiosurf available for pre-purchase on Steam
Independent Games Festival award finalist, Audiosurf, is now available for pre-purchase on Valve's Steam service. Constantly trying to shake off the "rhythm", "racing" and "puzzle" genre labels we attempt to stick on it, Audiosurf generates three-dimensional tracks out of your music collection, enabling you to "surf" through your favorite tunes while collecting colored blocks. Audiosurf will launch on February 15th at the price of $9.95 (pre-purchasing saves you 10%), and will include the soundtrack to Valve's The Orange Box. You haven't experienced "Still Alive" quite like this yet, have you?
Steam hits 15 million users
Valve announced today that its Steam digital distribution system has exceeded 15 million users, a feat that is most definitely worthy of cake.In addition, an official press release states that Valve has seen 158% sales growth over the last holiday season, putting the company in a pretty good place coming into 2008. Steam's rapid growth is likely due in part to the critical success of Portal, as well as the ever-expanding offerings available through the download service.With last year's debut of the Steam Community features, and the zombie survival FPS Left 4 Dead coming later this year, we can only anticipate that Steam will continue to grow in popularity. Kudos to Valve folks for all their hard work. Now, can we have a Mac version yet?
Valve: More Portal coming 'for sure'
Though we'd be GlaDOS can be to have another slice of Portal's topsy-turvy displacement gameplay, we'd almost certainly be unsatisfied with a quick 'n dirty content boost to our 2007 game of the year. Thankfully, Valve's Doug Lombardi has told Eurogamer that the developer isn't looking to simply throw a handful of new puzzles at us. "There'll be more Portal, for sure," he said. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."Also being worked out at Valve headquarters are the continuing adventures of crowbar-wielding physicist, Gordon Freeman, who's due to appear in Half-Life 2: Episode Three. "With Episode Three we want to live up to the promise of where we are taking things to; there's a lot of work being done to make sure we deliver on that promise." If you're dying to learn more about where said things are being taken to, you're going to have wait a bit, "probably months not weeks." And don't even get us started on how long you might have to wait for the actual game.At least you'll have some upcoming Team Fortress 2 content to keep you busy which, as per Valve's desire for all its additional content, will be free.
Valve shares SteamWorks toolset with PC development world
In a bold move to further establish Steam as the de facto PC gaming service, Valve has unveiled SteamWorks, a "complete suite of publishing tools" they're releasing to the PC development community at large for free ... as in no money. What exactly comprises said suite? Real-time stats on everything from sales (seeya NPD!) to gameplay (charts are fun); encryption tied to product activation (piracy-b-gone); territory control "to help curb gray market"; auto updating to keep your games up-to-date; voice chat for the eloquent discussion of gameplay elements while playing online; matchmaking support, ala Counter-Strike and TF2; "social networking services" like achievements, avatars, etc.; and fancy development tools for things like QA and play testing. Sure sounds like a lot, right? Devs can pick and choose at will, without giving the fine folks at Valve dollar one so, instead of reinventing the wheel, they can get down to the busy work of making fun games. Those games can be released on Steam (obviously) or even through competing digital distribution and retail channels. Jason Holtman, Valve business director – and winner of the most altruistic businessman of '08 award – told Next-Gen, "By not charging for this, it's just another way to get more people onto Steam and to enjoy all the games. Our motivations here are pretty clear." And with that, Valve has made their second big push to become the de facto PC gaming service, the Xbox Live for PC games if you will. It's your move now, Games for Windows.Read – Valve Unveils SteamWorksRead – Interview: Valve Unveils Steamworks [Next-Gen]
Team Fortress 2 updated for PC, 'Well' map goes CTF
Valve Software has updated Team Fortress 2, introducing a new (sort of) official map for the game, a capture the flag variant of Well (currently available as a control point game mode). The update also provides fixes for SourceTV demo recording and various Gravel Pit exploits, among other patchwork.The updated is currently for PC users only via Steam; we've sent Valve an email asking when it expects the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of TF2 to receive the update. We're still awaiting the upcoming Badlands map remake and the unlockable weapons coming first to the medic class. [Via Primotech]
