Meta BD

This Week In PC Games: August 30-September 5

Posted Aug 30th 2010 8:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Adventure, Meta BD

This week, leading up to both PAX Prime and the Labor Day weekend, represents a bit of a lull in new PC game releases. However starting next week we should have lots of new titles coming out every week until sometime in late November-early December as the traditional fall/holiday flood of games begins. In the meantime we get two adventure games, both of which were made by former team members from LucasArts.

Sam and Max: The City That Dares Not Sleep: The fifth and final chapter of the third season (also known as The Devil's Playhouse) of adventure games from developer Telltale Games is due to be released via download later today. Will there be lots of wackiness? We sure hope so.

Gallery: Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Screenshots

Continue reading This Week In PC Games: August 30-September 5

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The Best of Big Download: August 23-29

Posted Aug 29th 2010 9:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

It's been a relatively slow news week compared to the past couple of weeks but the next seven days should see some interesting PC game related news coming just before and during PAX Prime. In the meantime let's check out what the last week gave us, shall we?
Exclusive Features

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days review: We give our final verdict for Io Interactive's sequel to its third person action game
Razor2: Hidden Skies review: It's our verdict for the recent indie arcade shooter.
Freeware Friday: Our popular column returns with a look at the game Goblin Camp.
Contest: There's still plenty of time to enter our latest giveaway where we will award three $200 Best Buy gift cards

Downloads

R.U.S.E. demo: Check out this single player demo for Ubisoft's upcoming RTS game.
Metro 2033 demo: Several months after the full game was released you can now try out a free taste of the first person shooter.
ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead 1.54 patch: It's the latest update to the military shooter that also adds content from the British Armed Forces DLC
Portal 2 trailers: Check out new gameplay trailers from Valve's upcoming puzzle shooter for the Ariel Faith Plate, Repulsion Gel and co-op teaser features.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: August 23-29

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The Best of Big Download: August 16-22

Posted Aug 22nd 2010 11:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Last week, Gamescom hit and a ton of new PC exclusive game announcements came with it. We were so busy we couldn't do our usual weekly game features; they will return next week. In the meantime let's check out just some of the many news stories and downloads we posted last week:
Contests

There's still time to enter our latest giveaway where we are giving out five signed copies of the novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers.

Downloads

Lost Planet 2 PC Benchmark: This download will check to see if you can run the upcoming PC port of Capcom's sci-fi action game.
StarCraft II 1.03 Patch: Download the latest update to Blizzard's hit RTS game in PC and Mac versions
Microsoft Flight Teaser Trailer: It's a CGI teaser for Microsoft's upcoming return to the flight sim genre.
Star Wars The Old Republic Space Combat Trailer: Check out how BioWare's upcoming MMO will handle space ship warfare.
Might and Magic Heroes 6 Trailer: It's the first look at the latest game in the turn-based strategy series.
Age of Heroes Online Trailer: We see the first gameplay from Robot Entertainment's upcoming free-to-play RTS game.
Dawn of War II Retribution Trailer: It's the first look at Relic's upcoming second expansion for the RTS series
Diablo II Crafting and Caravan Trailer: Blizzard gives us a new gameplay trailer for its long awaited action-RPG sequel
Warhammer 40,000 Dark Millennium Online Trailer: The first playable race is revealed in this latest trailer for THQ's upcoming MMO

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: August 16-22

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The Best of Big Download: August 9-15

Posted Aug 15th 2010 11:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

The last week, particularly the last few days, has been full of new PC game release dates and announcements. What will next week, which also happens to be Gamescom week, bring us? We will be following what's revealed next week. In the meantime, check out what the last seven days brought us.
Exclusive features

StarCraft II: We conclude our strategy guide to Blizzard's game with entries on the Protoss and Zerg factions along with some of the game's achievements.
Blood Bowl Legendary Edition Interview: We chat with members of Cyanide Studio about their upcoming update to 2009's fantasy-themed sports game.

Downloads

Global Agenda Free Trial Client: Try out this recent first person shooter MMO for free
Mafia 2 demo: It's a playable slice of the upcoming open world crime action game from 2K Games.
Victoria 2 demo: Check out this portion of the recent historical strategy game from Paradox Interactive.
The Scourge Project Demo: This is a free look at the recent third person shooter that uses Unreal Engine 3
BioShock Infinite trailer: This is the first CGI trailer for Irrational Games' upcoming shooter title.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution gameplay trailer: Check out this first look at actual game play from Eidos Montreal's action-RPG

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: August 9-15

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The Best of Big Download: August 2-8

Posted Aug 8th 2010 11:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

This week we had a number of game announcements but in the next couple of weeks you can expect a boatload of news to come down the pike thanks to QuakeCon 2010, Gamescom and more. While you are bracing yourself, check out this "slow" past week of news:
Exclusive features

StarCraft II: Check out our final verdict on Blizzard's long awaited RTS game in our full review. Plus you can read our first two parts of our strategy guide for the game, beginning with the basics and then our look at the Terran faction.

Downloads

Borderlands 1.31 patch: Get the latest update to Gearbox's hit FPS-RPG hybrid
Trine 1.08 patch: It's the latest version for Frozenbyte's platform-puzzle game
Fable 3 Intro CGI Trailer: Check out the pre-rendered intro for Lionhead's upcoming RPG
Create Announcement trailer: It's the first footage of EA's upcoming sandbox platformer
Dirt 3 Teaser Trailer: Codemasters' upcoming and next off-road racing game gets the CGI trailer treatment

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: August 2-8

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The Best Of Big Download: July 26-August 1

Posted Aug 1st 2010 11:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

So last week was a pretty dull week in terms of PC gaming news ... oh, who are we kidding? It was HUGE. StarCraft II finally came to our hard drives this week and, well, its been our number one news story for the whole week. As we await some official sales figures from Blizzard on the sci-fi RTS sequel let's look at the past seven days at our site:
Exclusive features

StarCraft II: While we are still working on our own review of the game we posted a retrospective on StarCraft's storyline, a look back at StarCraft the game, a timeline of real-world events between StarCraft I and II, a top 10 list of excuse to stay home to play StarCraft II, an unboxing of the game's Collector's Edition, and an interview with StarCraft: Heaven's Devils author William C Dietz. And we still have one contest running where one of you could win a Collector's Edition of StarCraft II.

Continue reading The Best Of Big Download: July 26-August 1

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Big Download main site downtime update

Posted Jul 28th 2010 7:30PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Today some of you might have gone to the main Big Download site and not have been able to reach the site or download any files from us. We are very much aware of this issue and we apologize for those of you who have not been able to resolve the main site or download files today.

We are currently working to fix the issues and will have things returned to normal at Big Download shortly. We also will be adding more data capacity to the main site as well. We thank you in advance for your patience as we work to resolve the situation.

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This Week in PC Games: July 26-August 1

Posted Jul 26th 2010 8:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD, Starcraft II

This week the PC game community gets its biggest PC exclusive game release since perhaps World of Warcraft's launch way back in November 2004. Believe it or not there are also other PC games due out this week including the free public launch of the racing MMO game Need For Speed World which launched for paying customers last week.

StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty: Blizzard's ground breaking 1998 sci-fi RTS game finally gets a sequel as the Terrans, Protoss and Zerg factions fight it out again. Expect a long single player campaign focusing on the Terrans along with multiplayer via Battle.net and an impressive mission editor.

Gallery: StarCraft 2 Screenshots

Continue reading This Week in PC Games: July 26-August 1

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The Best of Big Download: July 19-25

Posted Jul 25th 2010 10:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

We are just one more day away from StarCraft II's launch. it also means you can expect to see a ton of StarCraft related features and contests planned for Big Download starting on Monday. In the meantime check out what we have been writing about for the past seven days.
Exclusive features

Team Fortress 2 Engineer Achievements: Check out part five, part six and part seven of our series looking at the new achievements for the Engineer class in TF2.
Freeware Friday: Our look at free PC games checks out the new Valve top down shooter Alien Swarm.

Downloads

ArmA 2 Operation Arrrowhead demo: Try out a portion of the recent shooter expansion pack.
Making History 2 demo: Download this playable slice of the recent strategy game.
Razor2: Hidden Skies demo: It's a small part of the recent arcade shooter title.
Dragon Age Origins 1.04 patch: Update your copy of BioWare's RPG to the latest version
Singularity 1.01 patch: This patch for the recent first person shooter solves a texture streaming issue.
Darkspore teaser trailer: It's the first glimpse of the new Maxis action-RPG based on Spore.
StarCraft 2 Ghosts of the Past trailer: Check out some cool cut scenes from Blizzard's upcoming RTS game.
Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning teaser trailer: It's the first glimpse of Big Huge Games' fantasy RPG.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: July 19-25

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This Week In PC Games: July 19-25

Posted Jul 19th 2010 8:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Once again the summer doldrums continue to hit the PC game release calendar. A new driving themed MMO game gets its official launch this week. Also a surprise free game is due for its release later today from one of the biggest PC game developers.

Need For Speed World: Electronic Arts makes its second attempt to make a driving themed MMO game world (remember Motor City Online?) with this title. Players can race online using an array of super fast licenced sports cars. While the game is free to play up to a point, players will have to pay for a $19.99 starter pack to be able to race through all of the game's tracks and levels. Buying the starter pack gets you in the game starting on July 20. Everybody else gets to play on July 27.

Gallery: Need For Speed World Screenshots

Continue reading This Week In PC Games: July 19-25

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The Best of Big Download: July 12-18

Posted Jul 18th 2010 11:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

For some reason, the San Diego Comic Con has become a hotbed of game announcements and events. We will be keeping an eye out on the announcements planned for the show (38 Studios' first title, the Spore action-RPG) next week. In the meantime here's what Big Download has been reporting on for the past seven days.
Exclusive features

Guide to Team Fortress 2 Engineer Achievements: The long awaited Engineer update for Team Fortress 2 is here and we are going over all the new Steam achievements that have been added to the class. Check out part one, part two, part three and part four now.
Reviews: Check out our final verdicts for Tropico 3: Absolute Power and Dragon Age Origins Leliana's Song.
Interviews: We chat with the makers behind the upcoming games Grim Dawn and Natural Selection 2.
Contest: You still have time to enter to win one of five digital download copies of Elemental: War of Magic.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: July 12-18

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Joystiq launches new (and free) iPhone/iPod Touch app

Posted Jul 18th 2010 9:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Last month, our sister site Joystiq launched a total revamp of its site design. However that's not all that our mothership has been working on. This weekend Joystiq also launched its first app for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch (it also works on the iPad but it's not designed specifically for that device). The app is free to download right now from Apple's app store and has tons of features to check out.

That includes not just easy access to all of Joystiq's news stories (some of which use Big Download as its source) but also access to screenshot galleries, videos and Joystiq and Xbox 360 Fancast podcasts. You can even comment or send a news tip to Joystiq directly from the app. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch its a must download.

This Week In PC Games: July 12-18

Posted Jul 12th 2010 8:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: RPG, Strategy, Meta BD

After having a bunch of downloadable games released last week, this coming week is pretty barren for PC gamers with just one retail release and no announced plans for downloadable games. If any other downloadable games are announced and released this week we will update you via a regular news post.

Disciples III: Renaissance: Developer Akella releases this latest game in its fantasy themed turn based strategy-RPG series via publisher Kalypso Media. The title has three playable races to choose from (The Empire, the Legions of the Damned and the Elven Alliance) along with a customizable hero system and more.

Gallery: Disciples III Screenshots

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The Best of Big Download: July 5-11

Posted Jul 11th 2010 9:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Summer is in full swing and that means the PC game releases are few and far between. How many of you are just waiting patiently until StarCraft II comes out on July 27? In the meantime there are still some stuff to write about in the PC game world.
Exclusive Features

The Best PC Games of 2010 (So Far); We take a mid-year inventory of the best PC games released so far in 2010
Rock of Ages Interview: We chat with ACE Team's co-founder about this upcoming and unusual strategy game.
The Asskickers Interview: We chat with AGO Team's co-founder about its upcoming retro 2D brawler title
Reviews: We give our final verdict for All Points Bulletin and Singularity.
Boot Disk: Our retro game feature checks out Team Fortress Classic.
Freeware Friday: Our free game feature this week checks out the arcade action game RobotzDX.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: July 5-11

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The Best of Big Download: June 28-July 4

Posted Jul 4th 2010 9:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Meta BD

Wow. We are halfway through 2010 already. Time flies when there's lots to write about in PC gaming. This week we though would be fairly slow but instead it turned out to be pretty busy. Let's take a look at the past seven days at Big Download, shall we? Actually, we shall.

Exclusive features

Interviews: We chat with the people behind The Silver Lining, MDK2 HD, Joystick Labs, and League of Legends.
Blur review: We give our final verdict for the PC port of the recent Bizarre Creations racing game.
Beta Contest: Enter to get a beta code for the upcoming free-to-play MMO World of Tanks.

Downloads

Puzzle Agent Demo: Try out a slice of Telltale Games' latest game.
Portal 2 E3 Demo Videos: Download all seven videos in HD showing off Valve's recent E3 2010 demo of the puzzle shooter.
Bulletstorm Gameplay Walkthrough Video: Check out this long walkthrough of the upcoming Epic Games- People Can Fly shooter.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: June 28-July 4