Screenshots

So there's been a flurry of activity on the StarCraft II side this week, some of it true and some of it . . . well, just wishful thinking. But Blizzard does have another game in the works. Even though the title won't be released until 2011 at the earliest, the official Diablo III web site has posted up 10 new screenshots to remind us that , yes, they are still working on their action-RPG sequel.

We have added all 10 new visuals to our own Diablo III gallery. They all appear to be from the desert-dungeon area that was first shown during BlizzCon last August. We suspect new screenshots will all we will be getting from Blizzard on the game until the next BlizzCon.

If you have been waiting to check out the PC version of BioShock 2, you may be wondering if the sequel to 2007's acclaimed first person shooter will be just a straight port or will it have some specific PC features. Thankfully the game's community site The Cult of Rapture has you covered with a Q&A and even a podcast about that very subject.

The podcast has info from 2K Australia's producer Jake Drobowiecki who talks about their work on the PC port. That includes changing the UI and HUD in the game to work with a mouse and keyboard (in fact, they made the decision not to support controllers at all in the PC version). They also talk about supporting Nvidia's 3D Vision technology, having some visual extras for the DirectX 10 users (it also supports DirectX 9) and more. The feature also has some PC specific screenshots from the game.

In related news, Best Buy is planning to hold midnight openings on February 9 for the launch of BioShock 2. If you want to grab your copy in the middle of the night you can do so at these locations.

Gallery: BioShock 2 PC Screenshots

Electronic Arts first announced their plans for Dead Space 2 a few weeks ago but this week we finally got some officially released screenshots from the upcoming sci-fi survival horror sequel. The shots show the game's main character Isaac Clarke in his new suit going up against what look like some children who have had way too much Count Chocula to eat.

As revealed in this Computer and Video Games interview, Isaac will be fighting off creatures like this in what's called the Sprawl, a massive city in space. Oh, and besides the new weapons and abilities he will have, Isaac will actually talk in the sequel. The big question is what kind of voice will he have? We are picturing Paul Reubens.

Welcome back to Mac Monday, where we take a look at interesting titles available for the Macintosh platform. We took a month off to have a look at the state of the industry as it relates to Apple, and it must be said that things are as they've always been -- popular PC games arrive late, if at all, and Apple itself seems to just want to focus on the iPhone.

However, the indie games sector remains healthier than ever, and it's with pleasure that we use Mac Mondays to focus on games that might otherwise slip mainstream notice. Read on for the latest picks!

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 was a sad date indeed. In San Francisco's Varnish Gallery, journalists and developers alike gathered to mourn the passing of Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™, in what might have been the first ever wake for a video game character. Big Download was there, and our impressions follow.

Ah, those odd Canadians and their weird sense of timing. The folks at BioWare decided, while their neighbors down south were eating turkey and watching football, to launch their total revamp of the Mass Effect 2 web site. The official site for their upcoming sci-fi RPG is certainly less Flash animation-heavy and has a cleaned up interface.

To celebrate the site has posted up some new media from the game including some screenshots like the one above that we have added to our Mass Effect 2 gallery. The game itself is now just a couple of months away; it's due for release on January 26 via publisher Electronic Arts.

It's been a few months since there's been a lot of new content uploaded to Blizzard's StarCraft II web site. That changed today as the site added an additional 17 new screenshots for the upcoming sci-fi RTS blockbuster (we have reproduced them and put them in our ever growing StarCraft II gallery). The shots are a mix of gameplay visuals with some in-game engine cinematics like the shot you see above.

In addition to the new visuals, there are also some articles on the process of making 1v1 multiplayer maps for the game as well as how Blizzard's development team will be creating the single player story/campaign. There's even a new StarCraft II-based short story to check out that focuses on the new Zerg Changling unit. And no, there's still no word on the beta test . . . sorry.

Developer Gas Powered Games and publisher Square Enix have been fairly quiet of late about the status of Supreme Commander 2. The sequel to 2007's terrific sci-fi RTS game was announced several months ago but aside from a couple of previous and a almost unnoticed playable level at PAX 2009 there hasn't been much said lately on the progress of the game.

Today Square Enix announced that Supreme Commander 2 is now locked for a spring 2010 release and also provided a huge batch of screenshots that show off some of of the sequel's massive battles and a few gigantic units. Our question: While we are looking forward to the game, will Supreme Commander 2's release date put it in direct conflict with StarCraft 2?

It's been a long time since the development team at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has posted anything progress reports about their long-in-development MMO Stargate Worlds. However late last week they updated their site with not only a news post but brand new screenshots that show the Unreal Engne 3-based game.

The new screenshots focus on the various amor sets that you can use to equip characters in the game. However, that nugget will apparently have to be it for at least a little while longer. The news post claims that the dev team is working on "additional exciting news we will be revealing very soon."

[Via Massively]

Welcome to Mac Monday, where we highlight some games for your Macintosh that you might want to try ... or try to avoid. This time around, we're looking at Big Fish Games' Drawn: The Painted Tower, and New Star Games' New Star Soccer 2010. Two completely different games, and both intriguing for different reasons. Find out more after the jump!

Last week we were given a look at how Cryptic Studios' highly-anticipated spacefaring MMO Star Trek Online was coming along, and let me be the first to say that my fears have been dispelled. STO looks amazing, and from what I saw of it will feature enough interesting gameplay to keep both fans of the franchise and those new to it -- as Jean-Luc Picard might say -- engaged.

Well, you knew some kind of pun was coming, didn't you? Please forgive me. I'm a little giddy with the fact that Big Download has been blessed with three exclusive screenshots from the game -- thanks Atari! Check 'em out below, remember to click on them to see them in full-res, and read all about what we saw after the jump!

It's time once again for Mac Monday, where we take a look at a couple of games new out for the Mac (and sometimes the PC too). This time around we're checking out Anawiki Games's Spooky Runes, and Sandlot Games's Boonka. One of these games has an atmospheric vibe, and the other is vibrant and goofy. Guess which one and find out after the jump!

Welcome once again to Mac Monday, where we preview the latest Mac game releases. This time around, we look at Trapped: The Abduction by Gogii Games, and Harvest: Massive Encounter by Oxeye Game Studio. And once again we find ourselves in a situation where one of these games isn't so great and the other is surprisingly compelling. Find out which after the jump!

Developer Unknown Worlds has been working for some time on Natural Selection 2, their upcoming sci-fi shooter with RTS elements. For those not familiar with the game the first version (Natural Selection 1) began as a Half-Life 1 mod (it celebrates the seventh anniversary of its release on Halloween). Natural Selection 2 turned into a stand alone commercial game using the Source engine developed by Valve for Half-Life 2. Over a year ago the company announced it ditching the Source engine and creating their own in-house graphics engine for their game. After showing off some concept art, character art renders and animation movies over the past several months, today the developer has finally released the first two in-game screenshots from Natural Selection 2.

Big Download decided to chat with Unknown Worlds' founder Charlie Cleveland again for the occasion as he describes what the screenshots show off as well as other aspects of the game including world that they plan to release the game's level editor in November to folks who pre-order the game.

Welcome to another edition of Mac Monday, where we shine a light on Mac games that might otherwise not get the notice they may deserve. This time around we're looking at Christian Teister's Grappling Hook and Dingo Games' The Three Musketeers. Read about 'em after the jump!