global-agenda posts

As promised earlier this month, developer Hi-Rez Studios has taken its sci-fi first person shooter MMO Global Agenda into the free-to-play game genre. The game also gets a slight name change; it's now called Global Agenda: Free Agent. All of the game's content and all 50 character levels can now be played for free. Additional features such as "in-game mail, auction house, priority access to servers" and more can be purchased with a one time fee of $19.99.

The game also has added some new content in its switch to the free-to-play model including a new Dome Defense Raid for players of level 40 and above and a new gameplay mode, Acquisition, that has pilotable robots.

Global Agenda was first released just over a year ago but today the sci-fi first person shooter MMO is switching its business model yet again. Later this month developer Hi-Rez Studios will release an update that will allow anyone free access to all of the game's character classes and content up to level 50.

Under the new business model, players who purchase the "Elite Status" level for the game at $19.99 will be able to access additional features as well as faster rates of "earning character levels, gear, and currency" in the game. Global Agenda was originally planned as a game with a monthly subscription fee when it was first launched but that business model was never put into service.

One year ago, developer Hi-Rez Studios released Global Agenda its sci-fi themed action shooter MMO. While the game was supposed to have premium subscription content as well as content that was free to play online, Hi-Rez dumped its plans for the premium option and allowed people to access all of the game's content for just the price of the game itself.

For the next two days the price of the game has been cut drastically. From now until 1 pm Eastern time on Thursday you can download and purchase Global Agenda via Steam for just $7.50, a 75 percent price cut from its normal $29.99 price. You can get more info on Global Agenda via a new feature and interview with Hi-Rez Studios head Todd Harris over at our sister site Massively. The interview reveals that Hi-Rez is now working on another unannounced game in addition to Global Agenda updates and Tribes Universe, the revival of the sci-fi shooter series that was first announced last fall.

Download Global Agenda Trial Client (6.6 GB)

Another busy day with another early and exclusive game related announcement. We could get used to this:

• Blizzard has decided to hold off on releasing the public 1.2 patch for StarCraft 2 until sometime next week.
• Players of Global Agenda can refer friends to buy the game at 50 percent off for a limited time.
• Lenovo has a prototype laptop case mod that turns a laptop into an arcade fighting machine. Neat.
• Steam has automatic patch updates available for Winter Voices and Arcadia.
• Check out a seven page preview of Dark Horse's next Mass Effect comic book mini-series.
• Plants Vs Zombies in real life. We would love this on our front lawn.

The Steam holiday sale for its PC and Mac game library continues today with a new batch of titles that will have its priced cut down until 1 pm Eastern time on Wednesday. Have a great savings day.

King's Bounty Platinum Edition - $8.74
Doom Complete Pack - $8.74
Dirt 2 - $4.99
Crysis games - Save 75 percent of all games in series
Rush - $1.69
Global Agenda - $7.49
ArmA II Operation Arrowhead - $19.99 or $15.99 if you own ArmA II
Section 8 -$7.49
Mount and Blade/Mount and Blade Warband - $19.99
Lost Horizon - $.9.99
Sim City 4 - $4.99
IL -2 Sturmovik 1946 - $4.99

The holiday season is in full swing now. Lots of gift buying, lots of decorating and lots of TV specials. Oh, and lots of lame Christmas puns.

• Quake Live got a new patch update that includes the return of its old in-game ad provider IGA Worldwide.
• Steam added the new games RUSH and Blue Toad Murder Files to its library with 10 percent off each game for the next week.
• Steam also has a big new Global Agenda update that adds four new maps and other new features and improvements.
• New patch updates for Super Meat Boy, Counter-Strike Source Beta and Left 4 Dead are also available on Steam.
• Who is really waiting to play World of Warcraft Cataclysm? This guy.
• There's also a new Minecraft update available.

Black Friday is now in full throttle here in the US but there are still some interesting PC gaming-related online sales that are going on today. Let's take a look at some of them right now.

• The Games For Windows web site is selling Dark Void this weekend for $14.99, a 50 percent drop from its normal price.
• The online BioWare store is letting folks take off 20 percent of their total order if the online store order goes above $45 until November 30.
• Ubisoft's online store has Bloody Good Time on sale for a mere $2.50 for today only.
• GoG.com has all of the Age of Wonders games on sale this weekend for 50 percent off.
• Global Agenda is priced at 50 percent off at the game's official web site this weekend along with 25 percent off the game's booster packs.
• Bohemia Interactive is selling all of its ArmA and ArmA II games on its web site for 50 percent off this weekend.

So who is dressing up this weekend and what will you be dressing up as on Halloween? We can't decide on "Tired PC gamer" or "Tired PC game blog news writer." It's so hard.

• People who still have the PC port of Blur can get double the experience points this weekend in multiplayer.
• New Steam bug updates are now available for Counter-Strike Source, Global Agenda and Left 4 Dead 2.
• Steam has added Winter Voices Prologue: Avalanche to its line-up of games.
• Also, Steam has added the DLC Rhythm Zone:Deep Ocean Visualizer to its library.
• Check out the high-rez artwork for Team Fortress 2's Scream Fortress event.

Earlier this week developer Hi-Rez Studios revealed that it had acquired the rights to the Tribes game franchise with plans to make a first person shooter MMO called Tribes Universe. Today it launched a web site that will allow folks to sign up to be picked to participate in the upcoming alpha test for the game.

Alpha testing for the new game is expected to begin in early 2011. The press release also confirms that the acquisition of the Tribes IP also includes the previous games in the game's Starsiege universe. As you can see above the logo for Tribes Universe has also been revealed.

Things got busy late this night with lots of announcements and sales from Valve. There should be even more Halloween-themed game announcements in the next couple of days.

• New Steam updates have been released for Global Agenda, Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2.
• You can get a 50 percent discount for Making History II: The War of the World for 50 percent until October 31 if you put in the code MH2BOO at checkout.
• Check out this pitch from Irrational Games for a never developed game called Monster Island. It was supposed to be primarily for consoles but it would have made for a great PC game as well. Too bad.