Can’t get enough Portal? You’re not alone. An independent student developer has created and releasedPortal: Prelude on the PC. As long as you have Portal and Steam installed, you’re good to go.
Portal: Prelude, as its name states it, is an unofficial prequel to the game Portal. Its story revolves around the pre-GlaDOS epoch, even before she was plugged in. At this time, test subjects were monitored by real Aperture Science employees whose work was tedious, lengthy and repetitive. This is why they decided to build a great artificial intelligence that could both replace them in these difficult tasks, but also take responsibility for many other tasks within the complex and compete with Black Mesa’s superiority. All employees of the Aperture Science complex are now eagerly awaiting GlaDOS. Maybe even a little too eagerly, as the upcoming events will tell…
Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll be downloading later today on my Windows laptop to give it a whirl. If you have Portal already on your PC, get Prelude. It’s free, so there’s no reason to not get it.
Check out an interview with some of the developers at Criterion for Burnout Paradise. The new free updates with bikes is coming and it should provide 10 hours of extra content. Shibby!
Do you want to get a free Wii? Who doesn’t, really? Comcast wants to help out and is giving away Nintendo’s cash-cow to anyone who signs up for their Triple Play.
Supplies are limited and you have to sign a 2 year commitment. There’s some hefty cancellation fees as well, ranging from $32 a month. Ouch. You better plan to keeping the service.
For all the juicy details, check out the full press release after the jump.
Free is always good, and in this case, it should have been free from the start. Microsoft announced it would dropping the price of Games for Windows LIVE from $50 a year to $0. Good call. Asking PC gamers to pony up money for online play when they don’t have to anywhere else is a bad idea.
To go along with the price drop, Microsoft announced that this Fall, they’ll be releasing a Marketplace for PC games that utilize Games for Windows LIVE. Pretty good idea. I have a feeling more games will take advantage of LIVE on PC since it’s free now. Could make for a strong opponent to Steam. PC gaming is making a strong comeback, people. Are you ready?
Some free stuff content is coming to Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. That’s right, I said the magic word: FREE. Ubisoft will be releasing the Fan Pack containing three new maps, further ranks to obtain past Elite, some gameplay balancing tweaks, and a new tactical-based gameplay mode called High Stakes.
If you aren’t playing R6: Vegas 2 online, you’re definitely missing out. It’s one of the best online shooters out there, right along with CoD4, Bad Company, and Halo 3. It definitely sticks out from the crowd with it’s unique gameplay modes, especially my favorite: Terrorist Hunt.
The Fan Pack is scheduled to hit the Xbox 360 and PS3 in late July, so stay tuned as we get a firm release date from Ubisoft. Should be a good summer for gaming.
Are you playing Army of Two? I think most people have moved on to bigger and better things, but some of you still might be co-oping your way to greatness. According to Unscripted 360, EA Montreal will be bringing a pair of campaign maps our way for the cool price of nothing.
Free maps is always a plus and I think will be received well. It might even pull gamers back from GTA4 or Call of Duty for some more gold coated guns. You know you want that bling.
The first Halo 3 map pack, the Heroic Map Pack if you’re keeping score, will be free for everyone starting this coming Tuesday. Everyone has been anxiously awaiting these maps to become free.
With the Legendary Map Pack coming April 15th, Bungie is clearing the way for the new premium DLC to become available. The Heroic Map Pack will become a required item to get into matchmaking shortly after they’re free, so you’ll have to download this if you want to keep playing online.
The Legendary Map Pack might be the first set of maps that I’ll buy in a long time. Sidewinder was one of my favorite maps in the original Halo game, so I’m going to have to play it.
Just in time to start your St. Patty’s celebration early, the Dropkick Murphy’s track pack is now available for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
In case you forgot, the pack includes “Famous for Nothing”, “Flannigan’s Ball”, ” Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya”. All solid tracks from a great band. And hey, it’s free. You can’t ask for a better price.
I’m going to guess these will be available on the PlayStation Network later today with the weekly update.
Dropkick Murphys are one of my favorite bands. Maybe it’s because I’m 75% Irish, my favorite holiday is St. Patty’s Day, and I’m a huge Notre Dame fan. Hell, I like them so much I used “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” as the entrance music for my wedding party.
You, too, will be able to enjoy Dropkick Murphys for free in a short while for Guitar Hero 3. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Activision will be dropping a three song track pack on everyone for no cost.
Straight from the band’s sixth album, The Meanest of Times, the Dropkick Murphys pack will include master recordings of “Famous for Nothing,” “(F)lannigan’s Ball” and “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya.”
I’m all over this like a fat kid on a cupcake. No word on the exact dates of availability and how long they’ll be available for free. We’ll keep you posted.
Hot off the heals of Sony’s PhyreEngine announcement, Insomniac is providing a free library of development tools, labeled Nocturnal Initiative.
“The Nocturnal initiative is designed to encourage greater communication and information sharing among the development community because it will ultimately enable us all to create better games at a lower development cost,” said Mike Acton, engine director, Insomniac Games. “And, in the end, it’s all about making great games.”
Essentially, Insomniac is giving other developers access to their source code in an effect to expedite and reduce the cost of game development, mainly on the PS3. This can only be good for gamers out there, as this new sharing of information at no cost will ultimately mean better games in your living room. Kudos to the industry players stepping up here!
We're like Spaceballs... we're making Loot Ninja everything. Coming soon we'll have hats, shirts, hoodies, possibly banana hammocks if one Editor has his way...
Check out the shirt prototypes here and the hats here
