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Miami police arrests Modern Warfare 2 pirate

It seems that Activision can’t get enough PR for the release of Modern Warfare 2, as the game is now in the spotlight after 18 year old Christian Del Amo was arrested by Miami Police for trying to sell pirated versions of the game.

This comes after Activision had hired an online investigation firm to look into suspicious posts on Craigslist advertising Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundles for sale. With the age of high-speed internet, where anyone can download the pirated version, why would you even try and sell the pirated version on a burned disc? That kind of “business” seems so 1999.

Cliffy B: Borderlands is the Diablo of FPS

Cliff Beszinski, better known as Cliffy B, showed his love for Borderlands by tweeting “Borderlands, I adore you. You’re Diablo for a generation raised on first person shooters. I want a Claptrap.” He’s quite right, Borderlands might just be the Diablo of FPS games, considering that you’ll be spending a lot of time looting and managing your inventory. For more on the game, read our Borderlands review.

Id Software’s Rage unlikely to use dedicated servers

Hot off the heels on the whole Modern Warfare 2 PC dedicated server debacle, Id Software, long time PC developers and enthusiasts, have revealed that it’s unlikely that Rage, their new IP slated for 2010 release, will support dedicated servers on the PC, and this comes from Id head honcho himself, John Carmack, who revealed the news in an interview with Variety. We’ll see if this news is met with the same controversy and revolt as Modern Warfare 2 was.

Warhammer Online free trial loses limit, capped at level 10

Mythic Entertainment has changed the way the demo works for their MMO RPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Instead of limiting players to a 10 day trial, the limit is now gone, where players can play as long as they want, except for one thing: the level limit is set at Level 10.

This is a good idea in theory, as it gives plenty of time for players to explore the world instead of just going XP hunting. We’ll see if it pays off with increased subscriber count.

Nvidia posts $107m profit in Q3

Despite falling behind in both sales and technology to arch rival AMD, Nvidia managed to turn a solid $107 million profit in Q3, on revenues of $903.2 million, mostly fueled by the mobile and laptop sector. Compared to last year, that’s an increase of 16%, and from the previous year by 18%. The company said that it expects revenues in Q4 to be up 2% from previous year.

The company is set to release their brand new graphics card and technology later this year, called Fermi.

Early copies of Modern Warfare 2 out in Europe

It appears that some European gamers have already received their copy of Modern Warfare 2, a few days ahead of the official launch, as retailers LoveFilm and The Hut have already shipped them, in in hopes that they wouldn’t get delayed in the postal systems.

They haven’t, in fact they’re early. UK retailer HMV (among others, including GAME) said that they won’t send the game out early, meaning those who pre-ordered will get theirs possible a day later than the release. Modern Warfare 2 will be released world wide on November 10.

Star Trek Online shipping on February 2

Star Trek Online has finally received a release date: February 2, 2010. The Star Trek based MMO is currently in closed beta to subscribers of Champions Online, and will receive an open beta in the upcoming months. The game allows you to join either the Federation or the Klingons as the commander of your own starship, go on missions and engage in combat with other ships.

Left 4 Dead 2 gets pre-ordered 4x as much as original

It seems that Valve’s soon to be released Left 4 Dead 2 is gearing up for a successful launch as the developers have recently announced some interesting statistics.

In a statement to CVG, Chet Faliszek said that Left 4 Dead 2 was pre-ordered 4 times as many as the original game. He comments further:

“As we get closer to launch we see the reaction to the demo, people’s excitement, the boycott itself and how it’s changed… I think people are just excited now.”

Yes, people are certainly excited, especially with the recent launch of the demo and the game’s quickly approaching November 17th release date.

Modern Warfare 2 delayed on Steam?

If you’re looking to pick up Modern Warfare 2 via Steam on November 10th, you may want to consider altenative options. The game’s Steam listing was updated with a release date of November 13th, 2009 as you can see above.

While there is a chance that this could be an error, there is also a chance that this may be true so you’ll have to be careful which method you use to purchsae the game if you want to get it on release.

As for the rest of us, we’ll still be able to get Modern Warfare 2 on November 10th.

PC version of Modern Warfare 2 to support only 18 players

Well, this seems like the final nail in the coffin for PC gamers who are looking to get some decent multiplayer action on Modern Warfare 2: it seems that the PC version, already stripped of dedicated servers, will have the same multiplayer player count as the console counterparts: 18 players, or 9 vs. 9, developer Infinity Ward revealed.

Clearly another disappointment for the PC crowd, as 64 players have been the standard for most games, from Counter-Strike to Battlefield (even Modern Warfare 1 supported at least 32 players). It’s pretty much conclusive that Modern Warfare 2 PC version will simply be a port of the console editions, and as ports from consoles to PCs go, they’re always inferior.

Unreal 3 Development Kit launches

Epic Games has launched a free edition of their massively popular Unreal Engine 3, called Unreal Development Kit. The kit includes access to the Unreal Engine 3, the Unreal Editor, which comes with a whole suite of development tools, and the ability to distribute games on their own, for free, with no additional software required.

Obviously, it’s only intended for games that are free, similarly to mods, since the “real” Unreal Engine 3 costs upwards of $900,000 for a commercial license.

You can find the Unreal Development Kit at www.udk.com, and where you can already download games build with the new kit.

Modern Warfare 2 launch trailer

That time is nearing, the time when Modern Warfare 2 hits the stores and millions of gamers snag a copy, stagger home and play the most anticipated game of the year. That’s on November 10, in 5 days. But until then, Activision released the launch trailer which you can indulge yourself in.

Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition announced

EA has announced the Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition (you knew it was coming, right?). The fancy edition contains everything you expect, an art book, a making-of DVD and issue 1 of the Mass Effect comic book, all neatly packed in a tin box. The Collector’s Edition will retail for $70 on the Xbox 360 and $60 on the PC.

Serious Sam HD gone gold

Serious Sam HD developer Developer Digital announced via Twitter that Croteam’s Serious Sam high def re-incarnation has gone gold — however, as fate would have it, that particular tweet has since been removed. Another tweet reveals that you’ll be able to pre-order the digital copy of the game next week. We’ll see if that one sticks on Twitter or not.

Machinarium review

Developer Amanita Design have previously distinguished themselves with artful point-and-click adventures with Samorost and Samorost 2. This time, the point-and-click adventure continues, in another Flash-based game called Samorost, which is easily the most artistically pleasing game of this holiday lineup.

You play as a little robot who has been evicted from his city, and finds himself on the junkyard, and it’s now your job to find his way home, by guiding him through the puzzle adventure. The game is dominated by its art style, which takes Steampunk to a whole new level. The meticulously hand painted levels and backdrops are just gorgeous, and will instantly draw you in (coupled with an amazing soundtrack). The gameplay on the other hand, consisting of a lot of pointing and clicking, meaning the action is very slow. If you’re into fast paced FPS games, you’ll feel the drag, as you have to carefully check everything, solve the puzzles and move on, where one screen can take hours to complete if you’re not paying attention.

Sometimes this kind of gameplay tends to get tedious, and even with the beauty of a game like Machinarium, it still might not appeal to everyone, as you spend five minutes hovering your mouse over every object, hoping to get a reaction. At times, this will frustrate the hell out of you — and rightfully so — but the end result, the pay off is very rewarding in return. There is one hint per level, but usually it’s vague, although there is a small 2D shooter game you can play in order to get a full walkthrough, but the mini-game is far too long and almost just as frustrating, which will encourage you to stay away from it, and instead try and solve the puzzle yourself.

Machinarium, while not going head to head against blockbusters like Modern Warfare 2, showcases just what kind of game can be created with some love and a great sense of style by the creators. The soundtrack is equally stunning, a mix of ambient and electronic music that suits the game perfectly. It’s a point-and-click gamer’s dream, and is definitely worth the $20, even if $10 would have been more suitable for a game of this length and features. For everyone else, it’s a good idea to check out the demo, which gives you a sample level.

The Good:
Absolutely gorgeous
Very original
Wonderful soundtrack
Oozes of style
Cutest protagonist ever

The Bad:
A bit overpriced
Can be frustrating

Overall score: 9/10