pc posts

Portal 2's release was by far the biggest story for PC gaming last week but there were other interesting news bits throughout the week. As we always do let's look back at the past seven days:
Exclusive features

• Hoard review - We review the recent PC port of the downloadable action game where you control an evil dragon.

Downloads

• Two Worlds II Castle Defense Demos - Download the PC and Mac demos of the upcoming spin-off from the Two Worlds RPG series.
• Rage Dead City Video - The newest video for id's next first person shooter is an extended gameplay look at a portion of the game.
• Duke Nukem Forever Come Get Some Video - Hide the kids from this very mature look at the long awaited shooter game.

PC gaming got a lot of attention in the last week thanks in part to the ongoing Valve ARG for Portal 2 involving 13 indie PC games. Let's look back at the last seven days in the genre:

Exclusive features

• Elements of War Interview - we chat with Lesta Studio about their unusual RTS game.
• AI War expansion packs reviews - we give our verdict on the expansion packs for the indie space strategy game.

Downloads

• Theater of War 3 Korea demo - Try out a portion of the recent Korea War-themed RTSgame
• Anomaly Warzone Earth demo - It's a free slice of the recent sci-fi strategy game
• The Next Big Thing demo - The upcoming adventure game gets a free demo

The end of the month of March hit us and so did a ton of April Fool's jokes on Friday. But PC gaming managed to survive. Let's look back at the last seven days.
Exclusive features

• Reviews: We give our verdicts to Crysis 2, Mass Effect 2 Arrival and Fate of the World.
• Choplifter HD interview: We have the first ever interview about the upcoming remake of the classic arcade game.

Downloads

• Pebble of Time - Check out this free game that's an April Fool's joke and also a promo for Rock of Ages.
• Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City trailer: It's the first teaser for the next game in the zombie themed series.
• Guild Wars 2 Commando trailer: Download this cool April Fool's joke from ArenaNet.

It was a big week for PC gamers with Crysis 2 and other titles finally making their debuts. Let's look back at the past seven days on the Big Download site:

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We give our final verdicts for Homefront and Rift.
• War Inc Battle Zone interview: We chat with the COO of Online Warmongers about its upcoming free-to-play shooter.

Downloads

• Starpoint Gemini Demo: Check out this slice of the recently released space-based RPG game.
• Dead Meets Lead Challenge Demo: It's a free portion of the upcoming "zombies meets pirates" action game.
• Crysis Day 1 Patch: We have the first PC update to Crytek's first person shooter.
• StarCraft II 1.3 Patch: Get the latest update to Blizzard's hit RTS game.
• Portal 2 Panels Trailer: It's another glimpse at Valve's upcoming puzzle shooter sequel.

This short trailer serves as a friendly reminder that a little game called Grand Theft Auto IV will be shipping for the PC soon. So, while you're putting together your shopping list for this fall and winter's hottest PC games, don't forget to jot this one down too.

Download HD Grand Theft Auto IV PC Trailer (24 MB)
Check out all Grand Theft Auto IV Downloads

Perhaps as a response to some of the comments made about the PC version of FIFA 09's graphics compared to the console version, EA Sports released this video. In it, the developers talk about the features that make the PC version unique to the platform and recount their favorite FIFA memories.

Download the HD FIFA 2009 PC Features Video (48 MB)
Download the FIFA 2009 Demo (1 GB)

We've heard it many times, from many people; PC gaming is dead, or will be dead. Or at least, it's in disarray. In 2007, the PC accounted for only 14% of game sales. Piracy is rampant. Victims wander the forums proclaiming the PC gaming apocalypse. All hope is lost! Well, that's all bollocks. PC gaming is transforming, not dying.

At least, so says THQ exec Jack Sorenson. On one hand, he said that "thinking about the PC as a disc-based platform may in fact be old." On the other hand, he described everything from MMOs to digital download (Steam, anyone?) to casual games as huge successes. "All of those business models just don't go through retail, so when you look at retail figures on a comparison, it looks radically worse than in fact it may be," he said. "Maybe the PC is just transforming to really being the other end of the Internet."

He also said that if you look online-based Asian market -- "where there's not a single boxed product being sold" -- the picture looks rosier. He even suggested that "on a global basis [the PC] may have seen the biggest growth of all platforms, but we're so western-centric that we just don't think of it that way." So there you have it. Lament the industry's changes if you don't like them, but at least it's not dying.

So how much hard drive space do you think an entire galaxy would take? If your guess was five or six gigabytes, then you probably want to double that. We're sure that when the system requirements for Mass Effect were released today, millions of little mechanical arms cried out in terror before suddenly being silenced. Sitting at 12gigs minimum, this game is like the big fat guy who sits on people at prisons.