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GDC 2009: Hands-On with America’s Army 3

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: Features, First Person Shooters, PC,

Americas Army 3

Anyone familiar with military gaming (or anyone as cheap as I am) already knows about America’s Army, the PC developed by the United States military as an outreach program for the young’uns. It’s paid for by the guv’mint and completely free of charge to anybody who wants to play it (as any good PR campaign would be), and the folks behind the game let me get some hands-on time with the newest incarnation, America’s Army 3, at in San Francisco. Hit the jump for some of the things you can expect from the world’s most realistic military shooter.

 

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Five Awesome Games You Can Play on the Cheap

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: Culture, Editorial, Hot Deals, PC, Xbox 360,

Money

Now that we’re over the holiday hump (i.e. every game imaginable being released at the same time, oh god, why do you do this to me), a lot of sites and publications have been putting together lists of games to look forward to in the new year. Me? Nuh-uh. I don’t have the cash for that. Fallout and Dead Space alone have depleted my gaming funds for a while (not to mention a certain 360 dying enough times for me to wish ill on its relatives), and if you’re like me, you want a cheap alternative until your funds recover. Hell, even if you don’t need it, you can’t pass up a quality gaming experience on the cheap, but being a penny-pinching bastard like myself tends to help heal those imaginary wounds. So, I’ve decided to put together a list of a few old-but-still-awesome games that you can get for slightly less than the cost of a night with your mom, though they’ll probably last far longer.

You may want to note that some of these games are older and may stutter and wobble and spurt blood if you’re running more than Windows XP, so you may want to check your compatibility before you plunk down the green to have them downloaded to your inferior operating system, muahaha. Hit the jump for the rundown.

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Half Life 2: Episode Two Stage Demo Video

At the Games Conference in Leipzig, developer Valve walked the audience through the latest chapter of Half Life 2, due to arrive on Steam and as part of The Orange Box this fall.  This video shows off Episode Two’s soft lighting effect, “cinematic physics,” and new enemies.  Interestingly, the updated physics and lighting systems will make an appearance in the console versions of Episode One as well, so if you are first experiencing Episode One on your PS3 or Xbox 360 through The Orange Box, you get to bask in the more up-to-date technology. 

And since I don’t see people dancing in the streets on a daily basis, I figure there must be some confusion out there about what this mysterious Orange Box really is.  It’s quite simple, really.  The Orange Box is the gaming deal of the millennium.  On October 10th of this year, gamers will be able to buy one box which contains Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, the multiplayer-based Team Fortress 2, and the puzzle game Portal…all for the price of one game.  It’s scheduled to hit the PS3. Xbox 360, and PC, not to mention the global economy, all on the same day,

Read More | Valve

id Games Now Available On Steam; Super Pack Is A Super Deal

Steam id Super Pack

It’s great enough to see the rumors come true of id’s games getting up on Steam – after all, id is the company that was behind Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein and Commander Keen(!), among others. Many of these classic games (from Doom and Wolfenstein on up to Doom 3 and Quake III)  are now available for purchase on Steam. Or, if you’re into super-awesome-sweet deals, you can buy the id Super Pack and get all of the id games on Steam for $62.95 (for a limited time, then the price will bump up to $69.95). That includes a ton of content, to say the least, which would otherwise cost $213.90 to pick it all up on Steam individually.

The list of id content on Steam and in the Super Deal includes:

  • Commander Keen
  • DOOM 3
  • DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil
  • DOOM II
  • Final DOOM
  • Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
  • HeXen
  • HeXen II
  • HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
  • Master Levels for Doom II
  • QUAKE
  • QUAKE II
  • QUAKE II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
  • QUAKE II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
  • Quake III Arena
  • QUAKE III: Team Arena
  • QUAKE Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
  • QUAKE Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
  • Return to Castle Wolfenstein
  • Spear of Destiny
  • Ultimate DOOM
  • Wolfenstein 3D

Half-Life 2: Black Box Gets The Axe

Gordon Freeman Half-LifeBlack Box, the PC-only package which included Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal has been canned by Valve. The reasoning behind this was not revealed, but it’s likely a move to help promote Steam.

“The Black Box has been cancelled,” said Doug Lombardi, Valve’s director of marketing. “We’re going to have one package, The Orange Box, available on the PC (US$49.99) as well as the 360 and PS3 (US$ 59.99). In addition to the three new products—Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life: Episode Two—The Orange Box will also contain the full version of Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One. 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.”

It sounds like a fair bargain to me – that’s a lot of content for $50 (or $60 if you’re on consoles). Those who wish to save money will be able to download all of the new content directly from Steam – a route which many gamers are likely to take, meaning Steam will see a nice boost in traffic. With more and more games looking to Steam as a viable means of distribution, this increase in download numbers will likely help to coax some naysayers into jumping on the bandwagon.

Read More | IGN UK

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