avalanche-software posts

Valve's suite of Steamworks developer tools continues to gain acceptance from major PC game makers. The latest game revealed to be using the tools is the PC port of Just Cause 2, the upcoming open world action game sequel from developer Avalanche Studios and publisher Square Enix. The reveal came from the Twitter page of the game's community manager Mike Oldman

That likely means that Just Cause 2 for the PC will have support for automatic updates via Steam as well as leaderboards and Steam achievements. It also means that the game will likely not be made available for download on other PC game services like Direct2Drive, GamersGate and Impulse who have decided not to offer Steamworks-supported games on their clients. Other recent Steamworks games like Napoleon: Total War, Aliens Vs Predator, Supreme Commander 2, and most notably Modern Warfare 2 are not for sale from those outlets.

In a separate news release, the publisher announced that the PC version would support Nvidia's 3D Vision glasses and monitors for 3D effects. It will also support special Nvidia CUDA developed visual effects including more realistic looking water effects.

[Via Shacknews]

It's likely to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest box office hits of 2010. We are talking about Toy Story 3, of course, as Pixar returns to the animation franchise that launched its highly successful career. Naturally there's also a game based on the film in the works and this week publisher Disney Interactive announced that the title will be released on June 15 for the PC and other platforms.

The Toy Story 3 game will be the first Pixar movie based title that will be directly developed by Disney Interactive via their in-house dev team at Avalanche Software (THQ developed and published nearly all of the previous games based on earlier Pixar movies). This game will have both a standard story mode as well as a open world-style "Toy Box" mode that's designed to let players "dive into Andy's toy box with creativity driving their own stories and adventures." That actually sounds promising.

Disney Interactive continues to expand their game publishing business with both original games and titles based on classic Disney properties. The latest announcement is a bit of both with word that the company will release Bolt, a new title based on an upcoming Disney Animation feature film.

To be developed by Avalanche Software for the PC and other platforms, Bolt is the story of the title character, a dog who in the movie is an actor playing a super hero role on a TV show. In the movie he finds himself shipped accidentally from Hollywood to New York City and has to make it back home but realizes he's a real dog and not a super hero.. The game version will allow players to take on Bolt's super hero alter ego as he travels around the world to fight crime with his owner Penny. The game will be released alongside the movie this November.