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id Software library gets Steamed
The rumors are true: id Software titles are coming to Steam. According to a press release from Valve, starting today you will be able to download titles from the Quake, Doom, HeXen, Woflenstein and (huzzah!) Commander Keen series. More than 20 titles will be available; additionally, many of the franchises will be available as packages with a 10% discount for purchasing en masse. We've printed the full list after the break.
Rumor: id to go with Steam [update 1]
Update: This news has been confirmed.The latest murmurings from this weekend's QuakeCon suggest that id Software will be announcing a deal with Valve to distribute titles via Steam. Quakecon is currently going strong and lasts until August 5. Should such a deal surface, it'd be interesting to see game engine competitors working together for distribution. However, since Half-Life was developed using a modified version of id's Quake engine, it's as if the Circle of Life is coming together.Other rumors from QuakeCon include a return to the Commander Keen franchise as a flagpole for their id Tech 5 engine ... okay, we just made that up, but we can dream, right?
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix crawls closer
An astute reader tipped us off to an advertisement, rotating its way around IGN this morning proclaiming that Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix was available for download. Skeptical, we fired up the clapped-out old banger and checked Xbox Live Arcade to little fanfare. It was time to get Capcom on the horn.Unsurprisingly, the banner was merely IGN's advertising department jumping the gun and the ad was quickly removed upon mention. Capcom did, however, confirm that Super Puzzle Fighter will still be seeing a coordinated launch this month (the first of its kind, they add) across Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Steam. Keep your eyes peeled for a more concrete date, but rest assured ... it's soon.[Thanks, Seth!]
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix's long title and new modes on display
If you managed to read that headline out loud without passing out, congratulations. Your reward is a first look at the two new styles of play being introduced in the HD remix of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.With gameplay resembling the legendary Panel De Pon series (better known in the States as Tetris Attack and Puzzle League), Z-Mode has the blocks rising from the depths as opposed to falling from the sky. Players are then armed with a 2x2 cursor in which to rotate the gems to create their combos. The new Y-Mode fashions itself after the simplistic favorite Puyo Puyo (see: Kirby's Avalanche and Mean Bean Machine), where it only asks that you position gems of similar color next to one another.Should you not want to deal with these newfangled rules, we've included a matching trailer after the break, showing off the classic gem dropping, side-abusing gameplay of X-Mode. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is set to appear on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Steam this Fall.
Upcoming PC game download service to give away lifetime subscription
3D virtual gaming community A World of My Own (AWOMO), set to launch later this year, has announced a partnership with Game.co.uk to give away a free lifetime subscription to one lucky beta tester. The site, which bills itself as "the iTunes for games", promises to deliver streaming PC games through the service's 3D virtual world. Sign up as a tester and when AWOMO launches one lucky name will be drawn to receive the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque Golden Ticket, good for free games as long as the recipient lives. Or until the robot armies crush us all.
Orange Box peels away to show actual cover
If you happened to catch the original look for Valve's The Orange Box (which includes Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2), you'll know it was just a generic Word font on an orange background -- what we have now is much better. TeamXbox says this is the final box featuring Gordon Freeman (who apparently has time to put good product in his hair and keep the goatee trim), the symbol for Portal and Heavy Weapons Guy with Sacha.In case you missed it, the Black Box is no more, so PC gamers will get The Orange Box at $49.99 instead of the PS3 and Xbox 360 console price of $59.99. The individual components will be offered through Steam as well for PC owners to pick and choose. For console owners, there is a lot of stuff packed into The Orange Box, especially if you've missed out on the saga of Half-Life 2. We're going to also take this opportunity to guess that Episode 3 will be a PSN and XBM download. Unless Valve decides to come out with The Orangier Box, which will have six games and an updated version of the original Half-Life ... it could happen.
Indie horror adventure Vigil: Blood Bitterness now on Steam
Just released on Steam: gothic sci-fi horror title from French developer Freegamer, Vigil: Blood Bitterness. The "gruesome, episodic 3D adventure game" has a unique visual style that makes heavy use of solid colors, especially black and white, to craft a haunting atmosphere to match its chilling plot. You plunge into the psyche of a dark character to uncover ancient secrets about an "uncanny Evil that annihilates all in its path". Vigil follows a traditional point and click adventure style with dozens of locations to explore and puzzles to solve. The first episode of Vigil is available on Steam for $9.95, but if you grab it by July 6 you'll get an additional 20% off. It's also available as a standalone download from Garage Games where you can also try the free demo.
Steam gets friendly with new community features
Valve Software has announced a major update to Steam, their online gaming platform, which will include a handful of community-focused features intended to expand Steam's offerings beyond simple digital distribution. This will be the largest update to the Steam platform in over three years.The update, which is due sometime in July, will allow users to build Steam profiles, create and join groups, build pages, and participate in voice chat sessions. The update will also allow players to interact with Steam games in new ways, such as checking play histories, and scheduling future multiplayer matches. According to the press release, these features will be available for all Steam-distributed titles, and many will be accessible from both the Steam application and Valve's website.These changes will put Steam into more direct competition with services like Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, which offers digitally-distributed content on top of a rich community system, and GameTap, which has recently begun to offer free content and is coming to the Mac platform shortly.
Geometry Wars XP debuts on Steam
Those hoping to engage in wanton shape genocide without a console's involvement can now look towards Valve's online game distribution service, Steam, now hosting a Windows XP version of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Developed by Bizarre Creations and considered by many to be the Xbox 360's first must-have game, Geometry Wars is being offered at an introductory price of $2.50, half that of its 2005 "supposed to be free" launch price. The game will be shifted to $3.95 starting June 22. If Steam isn't your thing either, perhaps this holiday season's Geometry Wars: Galaxies on the Wii and DS will be enough to enlist you in the fight against circles and diamonds. Failing that, we'll have to conclude that you're one of them -- a total square.
Sam & Max episodes now available on Steam
What did the folks at Telltale Games do today? We'll tell you! They turned a Valve and streamed their sparkling Sam & Max episodic series out of a GameTap and straight into a kettle. Then they, uh, boiled it. Because Sam & Max Season 1 is now available for purchase on Steam, you see. Also, we're terrible at this. Let's try again.Telltale Games and Valve have announced that the first episodic series to become available on Steam (yes, there was a joke there) is Sam & Max Season 1, with single episodes priced at $8.95 each. There's a 10% discount to be had during this first week of release, and those who balk at bit purchases can buy in bulk -- bundles of the first three (or last three) episodes go for $19.95 each. If you manage to miraculously avoid adventure's detective duo on Steam, GameTap and Telltale's website, you'll still have to deal with August's retail release from JoWood and The Adventure Company. You'll have nowhere to run, you lagomorph loather.
Capcom gets Steam power
First Lady Croft, now Dante. Looks like publishers are starting to get on board the Steam locomotive of digital distribution. Capcom announced that they will begin offering titles through Steam, they are the first Japanese company to join the service. The initial offerings will be the PC versions of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Onimusha 3, Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Future Capcom PC releases will also be made available through Steam.We'll be happy as long as we can use our Xbox 360 controllers with these games on PC. A couple years and 13 million customers later, Steam is starting to show some teeth. The digital distribution service already offers a significant number of games for those who don't need retail boxes. Looks like companies are starting to catch on and see digital distribution and Steam as an ally in growing the market, because as much as people love their retail boxes, it's easier and cheaper to go the Steam route ... well, for the publisher at least.[Via Press Release]
Lady Croft runs out of steam in Europe
While we joke that everyone and their mother was invited to purchase and play Lara Croft's big Tomb Raider: Anniversary, it seems an invitation got lost in the mail. The European version of Valve's Steam service no longer has the game available. According to GI.biz, neither Valve nor Eidos is explaining why. Apparently after the final stage of purchase the service says, "Sorry, but Tomb Raider: Anniversary (ROW) is not available for purchase in this country. Your purchase has been canceled."Too bad European Steam users. On a happy note, you can still purchase the game practically everywhere else in the outside world and even at TombRaider.com ... or Eidos' official site. For North Americans, feel free to join Lara at retail, Steam, GameTap and we're sure Eidos will be offering the game by carrier pigeon soon too.
Tomb Raider and Anniversary comparison video
Next week sees the release of Tomb Raider: Anniversary, where Lady Croft goes to the salon and fixes her roots. The video above shows the transformation of the original Tomb Raider into Anniversary. Tomb Raider: Legend (now playable for free on GameTap) reawakened the joy for many in Tomb Raider and reinvigorated the franchise. We're hoping that Anniversary is a fitting tribute to the original but, and this was part of the design behind Anniversary, puts some modern concepts into the gameplay for gamers who are just joining the series post Legend. We're definitely looking forward to E3 and seeing how far along the Tomb Raider: Legend sequel is. Although not half as painful of a cliffhanger as Halo 2, the ending to Legend (which came about 8 hours too early) was excellent and we were ready to put down the cash for the sequel right there. If Anniversary continues the solid gameplay trend of the new Lara Croft, the future looks bright again for the series.
Free Half-Life 2 games via Steam for ATI Radeon owners
In a brilliantly concocted promotion, Valve announced today that owners of ATI Radeon graphics cards can score a handful of free games via Steam. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch are among the freebies, and the promotion includes discounts on other games as well. In addition, Steam will be included in all ATI Catalyst Software and Driver packages through early 2008. Anyone who buys the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT will also receive Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, which is almost more gaming goodness than the human mind can comprehend.For ATI owners, the glorious details can be found on Steam's official website. The nVIDIA Owners Anti-Steam Support (and Crying) Group will begin its weekly meetings this Saturday.[Via GameDaily]
Croft's Anniversary gains Steam
Lara's throwing her big Anniversary bash and it looks like every conceivable outlet who can sell or run the game is invited to the party. We've got typical retail, GameTap and now Steam is in there too. Everyone into the pool on June 5 for Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Just make sure you take a buddy, because you might drown from all the people crowded in there. We can't help but wonder if this is the nature of things to come. This is the first explicit moment of a trifecta release. Retail, digital distribution (Steam) and subscription service distribution (GameTap). That's just for PC. The PS2 and PSP editions come in their standard box at retail format. We still find it strange that the game still hasn't been announced for the Xbox 360. If it gets announced for XBLA, that's it, we'll have officially entered a new era of game distribution. [Via Press Release]
Valve not charging for downloadable content
Despite the rise of micro-transactions and pay-per-download content in the PC and console worlds, Valve recently announce it has no intention of charging for downloadables in games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2. Designer Robin Walker explains their logic that gives Valve a big gold star in our book: "You buy the product, you get the content ... We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers." Micro-transactions were innocent at first, but when we had to pay for horse armor in Oblivion and tutorials in Madden, the line had to be drawn. Kudos to Valve for a step in the "don't make the customers angry" (i.e. "right") direction.
Half-Life 2 Black Box gone, only Orange Box remains
The PC's Black Box bundle of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, which was to include HL2:Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 had a head crab dropped on it today and is no more. The $49.99 Orange Box is the only thing that will be offered to PC gamers and it will include the original Half-Life 2 and HL2: Episode 1, along with everything else that was to be in the Black Box. Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will be charged $10 more than that for the same thing as PC gamers, swallowing the standard "next-gen" price of $59.99.Valve's Doug Lombardi says it's not so bad, "Those who purchase the PC version of The Orange Box will get three separate Steam product codes: One for the three new games, one for HL2, and one for Episode One. This way a PC Orange Box owner can give away their Half-Life 2 or Episode One unused Steam product codes if they don't need a copy of those games. We are excited to deliver the highest value of new gaming content ever offered in one box."Now that's some slick spin. PC Half-Life gamers have to spend $10 on top of the deceased Black Box price ($39.99) to buy this thing they probably don't need... so they can give it away. We're sorry, what? Can people just take Half-Life 2 and HL2: Episode 1 out of the box if they don't need it and take $10 off the top? If you're a believer in digital distribution, none of this will affect you because everything will be downloadable through Steam, which if you already own Half-Life 2, you've already got. It's just such a strange thing to remove the choice for retail shoppers and leave them the more expensive package.See also: Team Fortress 2 gets cheeky
Team Fortress 2 gets cheeky
One part The Incredibles, one part Sony's crazy European bathtub ad, the new Team Fortress 2 trailer gets cheeky with "The Heavy." Although we are looking forward to continuing the Half-Life 2 story with the Black and Orange Box this fall, it feels like Portal and Team Fortress 2 is starting to grab our attention a lot more. Although, all that Half-Life 2 goodness in the Orange Box for those who've never played should be hard to resist. The comic-style first-person shooter of Team Fortress 2 might help grab some XBL players who aren't into the ultra-serious, super-hardcore, lifestyle that Halo 3 online will be. Team Fortress 2 could very well shape up to be the "other" multiplayer shooter for the Xbox 360 and some great multiplayer action for PS3 owners.[Via Xbox360Fanboy]
LG announces steam dishwashers, dryers
It's been quite a while since LG introduced its first SteamWasher, but the company has finally decided to extend its newfound love of old school technology to some other household appliances, introducing its first steam dishwasher and steam dryer, as well as a new washer/dryer combo. Like the original SteamWasher (pictured at right), the new appliances boast a built-in steam generator to back up the traditional washing and drying processes, which promises to not only do the job better, but save on energy as well. Also like the SteamWasher, these latest appliances don't exactly come cheap, with the steam dishwasher (available in stainless steel only) running you $1,599, and the new washer and dryer units (also stainless steel) set to demand a hefty $3,499 apiece -- all should be available in the third quarter of this year. A separate SteamDryer will also apparently be available for those that already thrown down the cash for a SteamWasher, with it a comparative bargain at $1,149 to $1,399 in your choice of white or wild cherry finishes. All the laundry units are also compatible with LG's Remote Monitoring System, which'll let you check up on your clothes from anywhere in your house, although you'll have to drop an extra hundred bucks for that pleasure. Read - LG Steam DishwasherRead - LG Steam Laundry System
Half-Life 2: Episode Two nearing completion, new concept art inside
As part of their weekly updates, Valve recently spilled the beans on the status of Half-Life 2: Episode Two: "we're working hard on putting the final parts together." The early part of the development was spent carefully working on concept art of key areas in the game, ensuring everyone on the team could share a vision of what the final product would look like. A few examples are in the gallery below.While yearly releases doesn't feel very episodic to us (especially compared to the monthly Sam & Max series installments), it's half the time we waited between Half-Life 2 (2004) and Episode One (2006). Does Valve need to get its act together and deliver at a faster pace, or does a game like Half-Life 2 need time for perfection?%Gallery-2992%
