Big Download Blog

Get Still Alive now with the free Portal Flash Version map pack

Xav de Matos — 2008-07-23T21:30:00 00:00

PC gamers quickly stood up in anger when Microsoft announced that Portal would see an exclusive expansion-esque release on the Xbox Live Marketplace with the upcoming Portal: Still Alive arcade game. That anger subsided when we found out what was in the Arcade title. As we recently reported, Valve's Doug Lombardi confirmed that the Xbox Live Arcade release of Portal: Still Alive would be comprised of the maps found in the Portal: Flash Version Map Pack which has been on the PC since May. Haven't picked up the completely free maps yet? Download them now to add to your collection. For free. Did we mention the price? It's 0MS points, which by our calculations equals to about FREE.

Download the Portal: Flash Version Map Pack now! (it's free!)

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E3 08: Red Faction: Guerrilla trailer breaks through

Xav de Matos — 2008-07-23T21:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Action, Adventure, Trailers

Red Faction: Guerrilla returns Volition Inc. to its dramatic shooter roots (with a political underbelly) after a near 10 year absence. After releasing the critically acclaimed first-person original in 2001, Volition immediately jumped back into the Red Faction series with a 2002 sequel and has left the series on the shelf since. Bringing the series back, albeit in the third-person perspective, Volition hopes to recapture interest in the dusty franchise. From what we've seen the game looks impressive, touting fully destructible environments and a continuing storyline (which takes place 50 years after the events of the original) we're interested to see where Guerrilla can take the series when it releases in 2009.

Download the Red Faction: Guerrilla E3 2008 "Destruction" Trailer now!

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Vivendi UK expects staff cuts

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T20:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Biz

Earlier reports suggested that, due to Activision and Vivendi's merger into industry behemoth Activision Blizzard, some staff redundancies would result in more than a few lost jobs. New reports reveal that staff layoffs are coming, and Vivendi's UK branch will bear the brunt of the burden.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that "the majority of the Vivendi team, which oversees the Sierra games label among other things, will face job losses." Some senior team members will be invited to re-apply for new roles within the company. How generous.

Furthermore, a number of upcoming Sierra titles have been under close scrutiny since the Activision Blizzard merger and may not see eventual release dates. Specific details such as which titles might be permanently vaulted have not been revealed.

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Bionic Commando trailer

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T20:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Action, Multiplayer, Trailers

In addition to the anticipated Bionic Commando: Rearmed remake of the original game, most gamers are aware that the series will receive a series reboot in the form of the simply named Bionic Commando. Capcom gave the game the royal treatment at last week's E3, unveiling an action-packed trailer and promoting both Rearmed and Bionic Commando.

We recently had a chance to spend some quality time with the game, so be sure to check out our impressions while you're downloading the sexy high definition E3 gameplay trailer.

Download the HD Bionic Commando E3 2008 trailer

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Perimeter II trailer

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T19:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Multiplayer, RTS, Trailers

A new trailer for developer 1C Company's Perimeter II: New Earth. Due out later this year, the RTS sequel features several new units and buildings for players to master. The trailer, which we offer as a high definition download, showcases several of these new units and structures that will be placed under your competent command later this year.

Download the HD Perimeter II: New Earth trailer from Big Download

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Dawn of War II trailers

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T19:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Multiplayer, RTS, Trailers, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II

A trio of Dawn of War II trailers graces your Big Download news page today, demonstrating cinematics and gameplay from Relic's upcoming RTS sequel. Though we embedded the cinematic trailer for you last week (courtesy of GameTrailers), Big download now hosts high definition versions of each, so feast your eyes on some Dawn of War II goodness.

Download the HD Dawn of War II cinematic trailer from Big Download

Download the HD Dawn of War II gameplay trailer from Big Download

Download the HD Dawn of War II "Watch for Ambush" trailer from Big Download

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Climb around with Sticky Hands

James Murff — 2008-07-23T18:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Indie, Arcade

We have to admit that if we were more juvenile, the title of this game would garner an unprecedented amount of jokes. But since we are mature, the only thing that intrigues us about Sticky Hands is the gameplay. Controlled entirely with the mouse, you must climb along surfaces by guiding your hands to stick to them.

This isn't all, though, as there are turrets and other baddies that seek to knock you off by attacking the hand that is on the ground. Not to worry. You can deflect bullets and kill enemies with your free hand! This competitor in the Third 3 Hours poppenkast competition certainly has some meat to it, and it's a concept that could definitely see further execution.

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Interview: Microsoft's Kevin Unangst on Games For Windows Live and more

John Callaham — 2008-07-23T18:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Features, Hardware, Interviews

It's been a long time in coming but as we reported on Tuesday, Microsoft has finally decided to give PC gamers (and in an indirect way developers) a break in regards to their Games for Windows Live service. The company announced that it was doing away with the $50 a year fee to use the previously labeled "Gold" features of the service.

Big Download chatted briefly on the phone today with Games for Windows senior global director Kevin Unangst who talked more with us about this new move. He also chatted with us about other topics such as the just announced DirectX11 graphics API, the upcoming Games for Windows Marketplace and whether Microsoft will ever release any more PC games on their own.Unangst was careful not to term this new move to change the pricing for Games for Windows Live as correcting a mistake that might have been made in the launch of the features just over a year ago. Rather he said that Microsoft had received "feedback from developers and gamers" over the past year that suggested that doing away with the charges to use these premium features would be preferable. One of those features is the TruSkill matchmaking ability and Unangst said, "We want everyone to have the best matchmaking on the planet."

Other Games for Windows Live features that are now newly free to used by everyone include voice and text chat and the ability to play against their Xbox 360 counterparts in selected games (currently those games are Shadowrun, Lost Planet Colonies and Universe at War: Earth Assault). Unangst told us that developers at Microsoft's Gamefest game conference this week have expressed more interest in incorporating Games for Windows Live in their titles. At the moment only three future PC titles have been revealed to have Games for Windows Live support; Relic and THQ's Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II, Eidos's Battlestations Pacific and Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3.

Along with the current changes in Games for Windows Live, Unangst also talked to us about two upcoming changes and additions to the service. One is a brand new user interface for Games for Windows Live that will be released this fall. The current version looks much like Microsoft's Xbox 360 interface and is place right in the middle of the gamers' screen. The new version (which you can see an example of at the beginning of the article) is much more compact and rests of top of the PC game screen with things like a player's Gamertag, their friends, messages and other features viable. Unangst told us the interface will be much easier to access for PC gamers who use a mouse and keyboard with drop-down menus rather than the console controller based UI that it currently had. Again, Unangst said the changes were made as a response from feedback from PC gamers and developers.

Also coming this fall is the new Games for Windows Marketplace which will allow for downloadable extra content such as patches, demos and trailers to be made available in-game for Games for Windows Live. Unangst also told us that there will be a stand alone client released for the Marketplace as well. At the moment Unangst told us that the Marketplace will just be for extra content, patches, and other smaller downloads. While he did say that support for downloading full games is in the works it would not be a part of the fall launch of the marketplace.

We also talked about the just announced DirectX11, the next edition of Microsoft's graphics API that is used by practically every PC game. DirectX10 was launched just 18 months ago with the launch of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system and so far only a few games have been released that support the API, largely because DirectX10 can only be use on Vista. So will DirectX11 have a similar launch. Unangst told us that won't be the case as DirectX11 will have both Vista support as well as support for future Windows OSs. Also graphics hardware that runs DirectX10 will also be able to run DirectX11 supported game titles. So far there's no word yet on when DirectX11 will launch.

Finally, we asked Unangst whether Microsoft plans to get more involved in publishing PC games on their own. Currently the only two PC games on Microsoft's schedule are Remedy's long-in-development Alan Wake and Microsoft Railway Simulator. Unangst assured us that the company has other PC games in development but that they are keeping details to themselves for now. Big Download will get more info on Games for Windows Live's changes as they are announced and released and will stay in touch with Microsoft about their future PC gaming plans.

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Pester people in BOB and the Fly

James Murff — 2008-07-23T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Indie, Arcade

Have you ever wanted to annoy someone without them actually getting mad at you? Now's your chance. An entry in the Third 3 Hours poppenkast competition, BOB and the Fly is all about driving a simple man named BOB crazy by buzzing around his head. He will try and squish you with claps, though, so it's not all that easy. The biggest thing we had to get used to was the controls scheme and how you moved places. Make sure you switch directions at the middle of an arc and you'll do fine in the realm of navigation.

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Namco Bandai to save Hellgate: London?

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Biz, Action, MMO, RPG

Since Flagship Studios' staff exodus, the fate of Hellgate: London, the company's debut title, has been uncertain. Some rumors suggest that Hellgate has been re-acquisitioned by Comerica, an American bank who granted Flagship a sizeable loan. The game's forums went offline last week, effectively silencing the game's vocal community.

Now, quite unexpectedly due to the forums supposedly being offline, a recent forum post on the official Hellgate forums suggests that Namco Bandai will be stepping in to ensure that the game's servers are able to breathe without their current life support.

"I know everyone is looking for an announcement, and we'd love to make one," reads the post, which appears to have been made by an official Namco Bandai representative, "but right now, many things are in flux and we don't have all the information yet."

Though brief, the post suggests that an official announcement regarding Namco Bandai's position on Hellgate is forthcoming.

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Play the unfinished in 10800 zombies

James Murff — 2008-07-23T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Action, Indie

It's always a shame when a game with so much promise doesn't end up being completed. 10800 Zombies is an entry in the Third 3 Hours poppenkast competition, and it has a lot of promise. Featuring incredibly simple graphics and gameplay, it shows a lot of promise, especially if something procedural had been put into place. Instead it's just a game that has immensely satisfying deaths and no true ending. There are about 4 levels to play through, each one only taking a minute or two. Here's hoping the developer does something more with it.

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Study broadens classification of core, casual gamers

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Biz, Culture

As far back as gamers can remember, each game has belonged to a specific genre, and gamers who enjoy certain genres are subsequently categorized into types of players. Traditionally, the two categories have been core, or "hardcore," and casual.

According to Big Fish Games, the world's largest distributor of casual games, that sort of categorization is narrow-minded and inaccurate. Big Fish founder and chief strategy officer Paul Thelen has revealed new researching demonstrating that, due to the variety of demographics, game genres, and platforms available in the U.S., 14 distinct gamer categories exist.

The study involved surveying 3,000 individual U.S.-based gamers. Those results were matched against different demo- and psychographics, as well as an assortment of game mechanics. The resulting 14 gamer classifications were spread across 39 different genres, which certainly does call into question the time-honored "core" and "casual" archetypes.

To read more about the study and its results, surf over to the source link.

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E3 08 Impressions: Tomb Raider Underworld

Steven Wong — 2008-07-23T15:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Features, Action, Adventure

It's clear that there's no stopping Lara Croft. After making a successful comeback by in Tom Raider Legend and getting back to its roots in Tomb Raider Anniversary, the series continues to capitalize on its best features (and we're not just talking about the feminine ones) in Tomb Raider Underworld. We got first looks at Lara's latest subterranean adventure at this year's E3, filled with lost cities to explore, plenty of puzzles, and signature acrobatics.

The Tomb Raider Underworld E3 demo starts with Lara swimming through an underground cave wearing a wetsuit instead of her signature tank top and shorts. She's following a lead left behind by her father, and the story will bring into question everything that Lara treasures about herself and her life as a tomb raider. Armed with a spear gun in addition to her usual twin pistols, the tethered spear can be used as both a weapon or for swinging and different puzzle sequences. We were told that Lara will also be carrying a tranquilizer gun now - a long time request of Tomb Raider fans who thought it was funny that Lara would explore these lost worlds and kill rare or endangered animals. Incidentally, the tranquilizer is likely to work on people too, but we're not sure how popular being humane to homicidal humans will be.

Underworld uses a heavily modified version of the Legend engine, so the graphics and animations look superb. Lara becomes progressively dirtier as she climbs along grimy walls. A buildup of dirt grows on her legs, arms and face, which can be washed off with a quick swim. Underworld will also be doing away with load screens, so there will be no interruptions while being immersed in the world.

Gameplay will focus on the series' greatest strengths, namely exploring giant lost cities and figuring out large scale mechanical puzzles. In the demo, the room's exit is blocked by a kraken (a giant squid-like creature), with its tentacles wrapped around critical gears and components needed to get the ancient machinery running. After some skillful running, climbing, acrobatics and shooting, Lara was able to release the kraken's hold of from the gears while removing the locks from a spiked sundial that happened to be dangling precariously over the creature's head. At that point, weak links on the chains holding the sundial in place highlighted in gold, showing that it could be interacted with. A few well placed shots later, and the spiky sundial comes crashing down on the kraken and the door is opened. Lara then uses a rope to wall walk down to lower ground, just one in a list of new moves she'll be capable of in Underworld.

The gold highlighted chain links are one example of a friendlier, more community-oriented Tomb Raider. Lara will be carrying a camera in addition to her usual gear, and Underworld will feature a built-in photo sharing system. So, players can put their photography skills to work by offering tours of lost cities. More practical uses for the system include helping fellow players out with tough puzzles so that no one will become horribly stuck running back and forth, trying to figure out what to do next. The E3 demo did not include any hands-on time, so we don't know if the running and jumping is as forgiving as previous games, but the developer managed to misjudge a few judge and fall to Lara's doom while running the demo, which clues us in. Fortunately, he had invincibility and flying cheats going to correct his mistakes, which players probably won't have access to when the game releases. Tomb Raider Underworld is scheduled to release in November 2008 and will take Lara Croft on an epic, global adventure.

Download the Tomb Raider Underworld "Beneath the Surface" HD Trailer

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Sword of the Stars patched to 1.5.3

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Patches, Strategy

A new update for Lighthouse Interactive's Sword of the Stars: Born of Blood was released today, bringing the game up to version 1.5.3. Notable enhancements, balance tweaks, and new additions include a few vital artificial intelligence optimizations, pre-requisite bug fixes (what would a patch be without a few of these?), and performance optimizations to ensure that the game runs as intended on a wide variety of system configurations.

Download the Sword of the Stars: Born of Blood 1.5.3 patch from Big Download

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Telltale to release Sam and Max Season 2 DVD

John Callaham — 2008-07-23T14:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Adventure

If you haven't downloaded the five-chapter "Season 2" of Telltale Games' Sam and Max episodic adventure series, you can now get all five chapters plus a ton of extra content in a newly announced DVD collection. Telltale has announced that the Sam and Max Season 2 DVD set will be released in August directly from the developer's web site.

In addition to the five games, the DVD collection will have hours of video that can be played on any DVD player or PC with a DVD drive. Those videos include game footage with commentary from the Telltale dev team, the 20-minute holiday video feature "Sam & Max Nearly Save Christmas, promo trailers, outtakes, concept art, desktop wallpapers, and an MP3 soundtrack sampler. The DVD collection costs $34.95 with shipping and handling; people who have already purchased all five downloadable chapters can get the DVD for free with just the shipping and handling costs. Telltale has also released new Sam and Max merchandise at their web site as well.including the full Season 2 soundtrack, a new poster and a "limited edition case file stuffed with "evidence" from each Season Two episode"

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Feature: Here There Be Heroes - Exploring the Champions universe

David Craddock — 2008-07-23T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Features, Interviews, Action, MMO

In 1974, quite a few years before computer role-playing games allowed players to traverse dangerous dungeons with a keyboard, Dungeons & Dragons was born. Co-created by venerable game designer Gary Gygax and released through the Gygax-owned Tactical Studies Rules, Inc., D&D equipped users with pen, paper, and several multi-sided dice. Users were forced to bring their own imagination to the literal table as DMs, or Dungeon Masters, led them through treasure-filled tombs and dragon-infested valleys, transforming mothers' basements and comic book shops into the most fantastic of locales.

Fantasy geeks were able to get more than their fair share of D&D. TSR released several character manuals, sourcebooks, and constantly devised new settings -- and honed familiar ones -- to keep players enthralled with the game. Comic book readers, however, yearned for a different type of fantasy, one that would allow them to leap tall buildings in a single bound and potentially move faster than a locomotive.

In 1981, Champions was born. Substituting capes and cowls for swords and scrolls, Champions was a superhero RPG published by Hero Games. Created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick and Ray Greer, Champions appealed to players like Jack Emmert, the future Chief Creative Officer at Cryptic Studios.

For Emmert, a superhero RPG was a dream come true. "Dorks like me sat around a table and rolled a lot of d6s -- which stands for six-sided dice -- and battled evil on a tabletop with a [Game Master] and the whole nine yards," Emmert reminisced during a recent media event held at Cryptic Studios. Tables were spread across a large conference room in an area Cryptic had designated for publishing operations. With platters of food and bottles of soda to one side, Champions character posters adorning every wall, and journalists clustered around every table discussing games and gaming culture, it was easy to imagine Emmert and other self-professed "dorks" whittling away hours (and days) in rooms like this one, reveling in time spent with fellow crusaders.

"For those of you who remember back [in 1981], that was during the heyday of pencil-and-paper role-playing games," Emmert continued. "D&D hit in the mid-70s and established a medium, a form of entertainment, which had never existed before. It was only a matter of time before someone said, 'Hey, wait a minute - if you can come up with a set of rules for a fantasy-themed RPG, we could do something for superheroes, for the world of comic books.'

"A couple of guys got together and created Champions in 1981. It was an RPG bestseller at that time, blowing through a couple hundred thousand units. RPGs sold incredibly well back then, before computer RPGs had really kicked in."

So enthralled with the medium and particularly Champions that Emmert, lead designer on the successful superhero-themed MMO City of Heroes and its diabolical City of Villains parallel game, led the charge to not only create a Champions MMO, but to buy the entire IP.

"Champions has been published in dozens and dozens of books. I have every one," said Emmert. "In fact, right now there are 29 books in print with more coming out every day. We did not license this. I love Champions, so... we bought it. We own Champions lock, stock and barrel. I did that because I love it, it's a tremendous IP, and it has a great fan base. I knew the people who owned the IP, so I said, 'Look, I wanna buy it.' We worked [a deal] out in under a month, and now we've got it. It's the number one superhero RPG. There have been many versions of superhero-licensed RPGs, such as DC and Marvel - none have outsold or outlasted Champions."

Just as every adventurer needs a dungeon and every wizard a tower, so do heroes need a city to protect. In Champions, that city is Millennium City, a technological marvel that was a byproduct of a tremendous battle across the city of Detroit. In July of '92, Dr. Destroyer, the world's chief antagonist and all-around bad guy, invoked the penultimate comic book cliché and set a asteroid's flight path directly for the city. To cause distraction and perpetuate panic, Destroyer also released a swarm of supervillains to distract the world's governments from the asteroid's impending impact.

Enter the heroes. Ravenwood Academy, a prestigious school outside of Detroit, was temporary home to a group of teen heroes who accidentally stumbled upon Dr. Destroyer's secret lair, which was nestled deep beneath the city. The discovery provoked a tremendous battle which saw 12 superheroes become casualties, but the threat against the mad Doctor had been neutralized -- or so the world thought. Cornered by heroes seething at the loss of their comrades, Dr. Destroyer disappeared in a brilliant flash before uttering, "If I'm to fall by anyone's hands, it will be mine."

Comic book fans can probably picture a full page dedicated to the mad Doctor, his hands bent like claws, his head thrown back, and "HA HA HA!" covering almost every inch of the dark and stormy background.

It seemed that Dr. Destroyer had been defeated, but that didn't help Detroit: the battle had left the city devastated. Intent on wiping the slate clean of rubble and ruin, President George H. W. Bush enacted a Millennium Project that resulted in Detroit being rebuilt as Millennium City, a shining spectacle of technology and wealth.

Despite its shiny new aesthetics, the golden city still had a dark side: supervillains roamed the re-paved streets, eager to prey on overly-optimistic inhabitants who believed Millennium was now a safe place to live. Luckily, one man dedicated his life to ensuring that safety within the marveled metropolis was more a reality than an ideal.

Clad in glistening ivory armor with blue plating and electricity zipping through its crevices, Defender is Batman to Dr. Destroyer's Joker. Like Bruce Wayne, Defender's alter ego, James Harmon IV, is a wealthy and intelligent man who sought to do something monumental with his life. "His grandfather explored deepest, darkest Africa; his father was in WWII - but James Harmon IV hadn't done anything that fantastic," explained Jack Emmert. "When he saw all the destruction in Detroit, he committed his abilities to the Millennium Project cause. Eventually he used his wealth and abilities to form The Champions, the greatest team of superheroes in the world."

Allying himself with other heroes made Millennium City's populace sleep easier at night, but did beg a question: where did all of these heroes come from? Did brave men and women simply decide to wear masks and beat up the world's legions of villains? Like any good heroes, the Champions universe boasts origin stories filled with science, magic, and Nazis, the perfect ingredient to any super heroic formula.

"People theorize that people of myth such as Hercules were just people with power," said Emmert. "There was even a revolutionary hero called the Black Mask, whose title and real name have been passed down from generation to generation. However, it was in the 1940s when superheroes burst onto the scene in great numbers. Certain numbers of the Nazi hierarchy brought together mystics in the hope that they'd tap into magical energies from other realms in order to further the Nazi cause. What they actually did was open up a rift through which magic poured into our earth for the first time in thousands of years. All the sudden people started showing tremendous abilities and powers."

An inundation of intrepidness is just what Millennium City needs. Once believed to be defeated, Dr. Destroyer has reappeared -- but is it the same maniacal man, or has an upstart decided to resurrect a symbol of terror?

"Dr. Destroyer had disappeared, but a new figure appeared just recently calling himself Dr. Destroyer," said Emmert. And in fact the game is about unraveling the mystery of Destroyer's identity. He doesn't claim to be the other or new Dr. Destroyer; he just says he's Dr. Destroyer. He's committed a series of random crimes and attacks across the planet that no one's been able to figure out. We don't know who he is. His powers appear both sorcery- and technology-based; the original Dr. Destroyer was a powered armor guy. Nobody knows what's going on."

Whether old school or new blood, Dr. Destroyer is not alone. Gesturing to a colleague positioned at a computer, the projection screen at the room's front flared into life, showing a hunched, green creature with four arms and curved yellow horns. If She-Hulk mated with Mortal Kombat's Goro, this might be the result.

"This" is Gromn. A loser criminal down on his luck, Sydney Potter decided to volunteer as a test subject for an alleged common cold cure. Already a walking disaster, Sydney's luck grew exponentially worse the moment he walked into the laboratory.

"They accidentally shot him with the wrong serum, a variant of a super soldier [formula] that had been in development," explained Emmert. "He broke out of his restraints and, in crazed mania, crashed into a shelf full of chemicals which all spilled on him. So he's burning and in a rage, races outside in the middle of a thunderstorm and gets struck by lightning. Now singed, Sidney then tumbles outside the gate into a drainage ditch filled with toxic chemicals. Hence, Gromn was born."

Wow.

Our next villain is a bit more normal, if normal means someone not injected with the wrong serum, struck by lightning, and ensconced in toxic ooze. The projection flickered for a moment before unveiling a lanky, long-chinned, grinning young man in a poorly-tailored yellow and brown fox-bat hybrid costume.

"Ah, Foxbat," said a smiling Emmert. "Freddy Foswell was an incredibly wealthy young man whose entire life was spent reading comic books. When his family's fortune dried up, he did the only thing that made sense to him: he became a supervillain. However, Freddy, because his entire way of being cultured and educated was through comic books, he only way he knows how to act is as if he was a supervillain straight out of the comics. He comes up with these crazy plans that actually work. He's a fun, light-hearted villain to contrast against Dr. Destroyer's darker nature."

Light-hearted Foxbat may be, but his weaponry is deadly enough. Foxbat wields a Ping Pong gun capable of firing balls modified as explosives, smoke or even glue.

Evildoers like Foxbat and Gromn are capable of flying solo, but many villains in Champions prefer strength in numbers. "The Champions universe is filled with organizations," said Emmert. "Back in the 1930s, a bunch of English noblemen decided to form a secret society called The Unholy Order of the Serpent. They went throughout the world to collect artifacts of a serpent god who had gone by various names. The god helped guide their fortune because he wanted to return to our plane of reality. Eventually some adventurers foiled The Unholy Order, however the children of the Order's founders all came together and created a new organization in the 1970s called VIPER."

Resembling a smaller version of Transformers but spray-painted green, VIPER willingly follows the serpent god's every command. Believing they are dominating the world to protect it from itself, VIPER launched its first attack on Green Monday, August 22, 1962, targeting banks and government buildings all around the globe.

Not all Champions villains are victims of limited culture, experiments gone awry, or malevolent snake gods. In fact, many villains aren't human at all. Our next slide depicted lithe, humanoid reptilians once capable of altering their physical forms. "The Lemurians are an ancient race of psychic beings," said Emmert. "They waged war searching for immortality against another people called the Imperions. That war doomed their city state, which sank beneath the waters. However, using magic, they were able to survive."

After assuming the shape of humans for doubtlessly sinister purposes, the Lemurians pleaded with their gods, the Bleak Ones, for their original forms. The Bleak Ones granted their request but rescinded their ability to morph. The Lemurians now roam the earth, searching for an ancient technology that will assist their cause of world domination

Organizations such as VIPER and the Lemurians are too widespread and bent on chaos to be handled solely by superheroes. "In the 1970s, the United Nations finally recognized that they needed to form a force to deal with superhuman activities across the planet, something greater than any single nation's ability to respond to such happenings," said Emmert.

"They formed the United Nations Tribunal on International Law: UNTIL. UNTIL in the 70s was especially needed because that's when countless alien invasions ravaged the earth. UNTIL was the first line of defense. They began crossing swords with VIPER, their primary foe to this day. Only after the battle of Detroit did the US government allow UNTIL to operate on US soil. They're now an active part of the Champions universe."

Will Defender, UNTIL, and other Champions such as Ironclad be enough to keep VIPER, Gromn, the Lemurians, Foxbat, and other villains at bay. Nope -- and that's where you come in. Evolved from a pen-and-paper RPG that promoted unique custom characters, Champions Online grants players the ability to create every aspect of their own superhero, from their specific super powers to the color of their laser beams.

What kind of hero will you be? Plan ahead -- Champions Online releases for PC and Xbox 360 in 2009.

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New Frontlines: Fuel of War patch released

John Callaham — 2008-07-23T13:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Patches, FPS

If you are a fan of the February 2008 released first person shooter Frontlines: Fuel of War, then you want to pick up the new 1.1.1 PC patch for the game right here at Big Download. The minor patch for the Kaos Studios developed game is mostly for bug fixes.

If you have yet to try the game for yourself, Kaos recently released a full beta PC demo of the game, containing two maps from the full game. Kaos has announced plans to release new downloadable maps for the game along with a new Conquest mode but so far that new content has yet to be released.

Download the new Frontlines: Fuel of War patch at Big Download right now

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Indiedaze: TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition

James Murff — 2008-07-23T13:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Features, Indie

Welcome to a new regular feature here on Big Download. Since indie competitions are such a large part of the independent community, ignoring them would be very foolish. There's lots of undiscovered talent out there as well as established masters, and indie competitions are the best way to bring them out of the woodwork. They are held everywhere from TIGSource to poppenkast, and always bring together lots of great talent.

Indiedaze takes the best entries from a recently finished indie competition and showcases what we think are the best of the best. Sometimes they coincide with what the original competition's top three were, sometimes they are completely different. In any case, they are always the games we liked most, and worth all the attention you can give them. A recently finished competition is the TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition, having finished up around a month ago. Since such a long time has passed, the games have had a chance to be played and decisions have had a chance to be weighed. So here is our top three and honorable mentions that were just so good that they couldn't be passed up.

First Place
Dyson

A game which manages to merge minimalist styles with compelling and simple gameplay is no small feat. Doing it procedurally is nothing short of incredible. Dyson is easily our favorite from the competition, and with good reason. A map that completely changes every time you play, real-time strategy gameplay that foregoes most concepts of the genre, and a smooth, clean art style all distinguish this title from the various other games that were absolutely incredible.

Playing mining nanomachines, you must seed and colonize all the asteroids in a procedurally generated asteroid belt. The game plays less like it takes place in space and more like it takes place in a petri dish. With swarms of little seeds, trees that grow into multiple branches, and elaborate tunnel networks, the game is hypnotic in it's simplistic complexity. The gameplay is just as minimal, consisting of moving seeds from asteroid to asteroid on a quest to colonize and eliminate all competitors. It's the perfect game to relax for a real-time strategy fan and, indeed, any gamer in general.

Second Place
Rescue: The Beagles

Where we keep finding ourselves coming back to Dyson because of the relaxing nature of its gameplay, we keep coming back to Rescue: The Beagles for the exact opposite reason. With beautiful sprite artwork, elegant and refined gameplay, procedurally-generated environments, and menacing chiptunes, this is a great game to play when looking for some charming, old-school retro platformer action. Our resident indie writer, James Murff, even keeps it on his laptop for playing when on trips.

The game's concept revolves around a plane of beagles being used for animal testing crashing in the wilderness. You, one of two elite animal rights operatives, have been dispatched to rescue the poor animals. While this may seem like an endorsement of PETA, it really isn't. The gameplay is too simple and the setting too surreal to really be considered a political statement. There are zombies and menacing nurses among the evil research staff, for crying out loud. With your combination of parachutes (to save you from long falls), ropes (to climb up walls), medicine (for sick dogs), and owls (to attack researchers), you make your way across each stage, saving as many beagles as possible. It's a great arcade-y platforming action game, and we can't recommend it enough.

Third Place
MMORPG Tycoon

It speaks of the massive amount of quality work that came out of this competition when a title of this quality makes third place on our list. MMORPG Tycoon is an incredibly well-made title, rivaling most retail tycoon game releases. With vector graphics, a combination of both small and large scale gameplay, and an amount of choice concerning your product that could almost be considered crippling, it's a new standard for tycoon games in both the retail and independent world. And it got third in our list.

Don't get us wrong, though. MMORPG Tycoon is a fantastic game with very few flaws. The amount of control over how to zone particular areas, tweak the stats of different enemies and classes, and place different features of the typical MMORPG like towns and respawn points is incredible. The simulation of the players is especially excellent too, taking into account how much they are enjoying the game, what class and level they are, what name they go by, and a million other things. The sound and vector graphics are all exceptional as well. The only sticking points behind this game are the lack of a tutorial (based on how complex the game is) and the interface being rather poor considering the quality of the rest of the game. Thankfully, the developer has decided to continue developing it beyond the competition.

Fun Fact: MMORPG Tycoon's download server went down after being linked on our sister site, Massively. Seems people from every walk of life as well as major companies (including Sony and Microsoft, according to the developer) just had to play it.

Honorable Mentions

Self Destruct - Best Shoot-'Em-Up

In a shoot-'em-up competition, Self Destruct would easily get first place. With 250 procedurally generated waves of enemies, inspired play mechanics that rewards taking risks, retro graphics and sound, and online leaderboards, it's an absolutely wonderful game. The difficulty of the game may be a turn-off for most just starting to try it, but trust us. It's incredible. Just give it some time.

dropTD - Best Use Of Procedural Generation

While the other games combined great artwork, gameplay, and sound into a single package, using procedural generation to enhance it, dropTD took a completely different route. Dropping files, folders, and URLs into the program gave you levels and towers galore. The mix of traditional TD gameplay with this new paradigm was perhaps the most intriguing use of the theme we encountered in the competition. It is thus with pride that we give it an honorable mention.

KrebsWelte - Most Surreal

There's nothing quite like a cactus game to weird you out. From games about eyes attacking humanity to others about vaguely obscene tentacle things attacking you, he's always a master of the surreal and the strange. KrebsWelte is no exception. Part of the Mondo Medicals series, it mixes creepy character design, strange weapons, and intriguing gameplay to form a surreal experience better than any of the others in the competition.

The Adventures of Charles Dumbbell - Best Artwork

In a competition with such a large amount of entries and excellent developers, it's an accomplishment to get best artwork. The Adventures of Charles Dumbbell is that accomplishment. Extremely smooth animation with a decidedly retro feel made this easily the prettiest game of the competition. The gameplay may have been good, but the beautiful art is what caught us and grabbed us.

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E3 08: Saint's Row 2 drives-by with a new trailer

Xav de Matos — 2008-07-23T12:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Downloads, Action, Sandbox, Trailers

Looking for an open world game that has as much flare and humor injected into it as possible? Welcome to Saint's Row. While Grand Theft Auto IV took the serious approach to the sandbox environment, Saint's Row 2 turns the insanity and craziness upside down. From elaborate insurance scams to a ridiculous array of weaponry, The Row is sure to be one crazy place to visit when it lands this October. Looking for more on THQ's latest sandbox adventure? Download the E3 2008 trailer that focuses on the customization within Saint's Row 2, today.

Download the Saint's Row 2 E3 2008 trailer now!

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Bruce Sterling to give keynote at Austin GDC

John Callaham — 2008-07-23T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Culture

The Austin Game Developers Conference is rapidly approaching and the September 15-27 gathering of game creators in Austin, Texas just named one of its keynote speakers, the well known sci-fi novelist Bruce Sterling (who happens to live in Austin). The time and day for his speech have yet to be announced.

Alone with William Gibson and other writers, Sterling was one of the first of the so-called "cyberpunk" writers in the science fiction literary field. He is also the author of non-fiction articles and books including the well known book The Hacker Crackdown which detailed the US government's efforts to go after computer hackers in the 1980s, sometimes with embarrassing results. Sterling's keynote speech for Austin GDC 2008 is titled "Computer Entertainment 35 Years from Today."

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