Mass Effect 3 gets multiplayer

Alright, so I was the only video games news writer that hadn't heard about the rumours.

Australian PC magazine PC Powerplay has confirmed the existence of the threequel's multiplayer, according to CVG.

This should make some interesting ripples in the Bioware pond. Bioware haven't previously been one for much multiplayer, but perhaps the upoming Old Republic has shown them just how fun it can be.

Personally, it won't sway me very much. I haven't played a Mass Effect game since ME1, and I refuse to play ME2 (despite having owned it since launch) without my saved game from the other game, which was tragically lost in a reformat.

I still miss it.

So unless I go mad and play through Mass Effect again, it's unlikely that I'll be playing ME3's multiplayer. I will be watching over my friend's shoulder though, and I look forward to seeing how it pans out.

But wow, imagine what Dragon Age multiplayer would be like.

Credit: CVG.

Notch decides to provoke Bethesda even more.

If taking the name 'Scrolls' wasn't enough, now Notch wants Bethesda's schtick for Skyrim too.

We've known that Notch has wanted them in since he started Minecraft, and now it seems like he finally has his wish. Notch has released images of dragons in Minecraft on his Twitter page after being pestered by fans. One assumes that he didn't need that much persuading to do so.

This is amazing. The Endermen were disappointing, and I've heard similar things about the NPCs in 1.9. This could be the amazing thing that takes me back to Minecraft.

Credit: PCGamer.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 gets a new trailer and is pretty awesome.

I haven't exactly been all over Modern Warfare 3, despite enjoying the last few games. In fact, I've been firmly on the Battlefield 3 side of things. If anything can change that, it's Modern Warfare 3's crazynuts storyline rather than the multiplayer.

See, it seems that the focus has been purely on the setting and the multiplayer recently, and I can't be doing with that. I enjoyed MW2's multiplayer - I do so love it when a guy dominating me gets a helicopter so he can do it HARDER - but the multiplayer wasn't what was gonna draw me into MW3. This storyline trailer could well change how long I wait until I get Modern Warfare 3.

Keep your peepers peeled.

Credit: PCGamer.

Steve Jobs is dead

This may not be a strictly computing news blog, but I felt this warranted a certain something. Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, has died aged 56.

I've never been a massive Apple fan - truth be told, I hated the damned things. But I could always see that what Jobs was doing was something extraordinary. I've had my iPod for years now, and have never needed another music player. His brilliance behind that device, and the many others that he created was unparalleled and without compare to any other contemporary phone manufacturer.

I really hope he's buried in a turtleneck. It just wouldn't seem right otherwise.

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011).

Sony lower the price of the PS3; release awesome video to apologise for the price before.

I want to go to this pub. That is all.
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Oh, and the PS3 is now a bit cheaper than it was before.

But seriously, watch that video. It's the best thing you'll do all this week, unless your job is blowjob tester in the Playboy mansion or something.

Credit: Destructoid.

Assassin's Creed Revelations has an epic trailer, with lots of killing.

How weird, it's like Assassin's Creed is a violent series or something.

So this gave us confirmation of stuff we kind of already knew; Ezio is on Altair's trail in order to do... something in the fight against the Templars.

I do love the AC series' storyline; the whole thing with (spoilerz!) aliens and gods is really compelling and I love the gameplay just as much. I don't really want any more Ezio, but I think I'll just have to suck it up until the end of this one and Assassin's Creed III. I'm sure that one'll be the one that has Desmond in the current times, which I seriously can't wait for.

Credit: PCGamer.

Batman Arkham City 'pretty good actually'.

In news that should surprise absolutely no-one, the new Batman game is very good indeed. CVG reports that some German site has given the game 92%, which on a traditional percentage scale is very high praise indeed.

I'm really not sure why this is news. CVG phrased it in a way that made it seem surprising. I thought it was pretty much a given that Arkham City would be amazing. Maybe it's just me.

Credit: CVG.

Orcs Must Die! demo out on Steam.

The Orcs Must Die! demo is out of Steam now, and it's a real blast.

Everything I'd hoped this game would be, it is. Granted, my expectations were fairly low, but it's passed them and really delighted me. If you're even considering getting this game, try the demo. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Pick it up on Steam, and pre-order for £11.99. Or if you're like me, wait until it goes on sale.

Notch tried to compromise with Bethesda.

Boo, evil Bethesda!

Notch has come out with the methods that he employed to stop Bethesda from suing him and his new game, Scrolls. Hell, Notch even tried to give them the trademark, but Bethesda seem to be adamant on suing. In my favourite part of this story, Notch challenged Bethesda to a game of Quake for the trademark, but was presumably turned down. Cowards!

I really don’t think it’s clever of Bethesda to be trying to sue Notch like this. He’s the creator of one of the most loved games on the PC right now, and subsequently one of the most loved PC personalities on the planet. Bethesda really shouldn’t be rocking the boat like this. Silly Bethesda.

Credit: CVG.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Survival gameplay video

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I'm sat here watching a mate play MW2 on a 360, whilst watching MW3 footage on YouTube. Xhibit would be proud.

It pretty much looks like you'd expect it to; it's Modern Warfare - so far, so much the same. It is a nice sounding mode, to be honest but I still won't be buying the game just for it. Not on launch anyway.

Credit: PCGamer.

Study shows that 51% of gamers are against 3D consoles.

Does any more need to be said. 3D is quite horrible and it needs to stop being pushed onto us.

So 47% said they'd buy it and 2% have said that they'd need to try it first. But given the commercial failure of the 3DS until it dropped to decent price, how does anyone expect gamers to buy what will undoubtably be an incredibly expensive console?

I'm really not a fan of 3D; it's a useless gimmick and really needs to die. Please stop.

Oh, and do that with zombies too please.

Credit: Destructoid.

Assassin's Creed Revelations delayed on the PC

In a move that let an awful lot of PC gamers exhale in relief and loosened the corporate vice around their testicles, Ubisoft have told the world that Assassin's Creed Revelations has been delayed until December on the PC.

The purveyor of ultimate filth-DRM has literally said nothing more, so it's just likely a technical thing.

I've found that to be one hell of a relief though. Although November is my birthday, it's also the birth of a lot of other games that I really rather want. Battlefield 3, Arkham City, Skyrim... the list is still far too large, but now at least I can request this for Christmas and not have to bankrupt myself totally.

And no, I can't buy it after launch. What are you, mad?

Credit: CVG.

PC gaming on the up.

Woo!

It's news that we've all been wanting for a while. If by 'all', you mean 'PC gamers'. And by 'PC gamers', you mean 'the pretentious ones who care'. But who else counts really?

So apparently PC gaming figures are climbing back up above consoles again. Since people have started taking digital purchases into account alongside retail (duhh), the numbers has risen again. PC gamers abandoned traditional game stores a long time ago, so it's nice to see the numbers reflect that.

Here's a colourful image that explains it all, courtesy of Ignite.

The one at the bottom seems a little confusing. Surely they could have picked a better month than July 2010? Seems like it was a little PC biased in that example.

But hey, good news for all. Hopefully developers will soon admit that the PC isn't as dead as they'd hoped.

Woops, did I say 'hoped'?

Credit: Destructoid and ExtremeTech.

Deus Ex DLC now available on Steam for those who didn't pre-order.

So for those people who weren't willing to pay the extra buck for their Deus Ex: Human Revolution game, the stuff that the rest of us got for free is now available to be bought on Steam.

Frankly, apart from the extra 10,000 credits and the automatic unlocking device, the stuff was pretty boring. The extra mission wasn't great, and I blew through it in about ten minutes, and I never used the weapons I got anyway. So far, so meh. I'm a fan of sneaking anyway, and I thought the shotgun might be a little bit unsubtle for my needs.

Still, the AUD is almost worth the price alone - there's a point in the game that I'm not even sure I could have done without one - so pick it up if you have the cash. If not, it's not gonna keep you up at night, so keep trying to get your achievements in peace.

Explodey stuff - £1.99.
Tactical stuff - £1.19
Both - £2.49

Credit: PCGamer.

Pre-order Modern Warfare 3 and get a copy of a game that you probably already own.

If you pre-order Modern Warfare 3 from Steam now, you'll get a free copy of Call of Duty 4. It's usually a great idea to bundle prequels with the next release in the series, but in this case I can't help but feel that it's a little unneeded. Chance are, if you're a Modern Warfare 3 fan, you have been since it went 'modern' with Call of Duty 4. Of course, you can always gift it, or exchange it for TF2 items, but it still feels like a somewhat senseless promotion.

Still, it's always nice to get free stuff with something you're probably going to be buy anyway, as long as that free stuff doesn't impact on the game and give you an unfair advantage.

Seems like no-one told GAME that, and they're offering double XP to anyone who pre-order the game from either GAME or Gamestation in a desperate bid to keep gaming stores alive.

GAME, who basically own the UK retail market for games, is probably aiming this more towards console gamers than PC gamers, who worship at the unholy altar of Steam and anger the one true god of GAME, but it still reeks of desperation in a constantly more and more unfriendly market.

Credit: PCGamer and CVG.

Team Fortress 2 patch changes - more fashion!

Think TF2's been through enough changes recently? Valve don't!

Loading up the TF2 Beta today will show you the range of changes in-line for TF2 in the next patch.

The documented changes are:

• Synced with all changes and fixes from the official release
• Added support for multiple Misc slot items being equipped at the same time
• Added support for character loadout presets

And the ones not being revealed yet are:

• Updated the Foster’s Facade and Noh Mercy to use the misc slot.
• The class select screen now displays currently equipped loadout.
• The Reserve Shooter can now be equipped by the Pyro and Soldier.
• The Tomislav now reduces the wearer’s health by 50.
• Metal consumption while using the Widowmaker was reduced to 30 from 60.
• The cloak delay when using the Enforcer was increased to 1 second from 0.5 seconds.
• The Claidheamh Mòr charge extension is increased to 1 second up from 0.5 seconds.
• The Grenade Launcher and Stickybomb Launcher now use the in-game slot notation on the loadout screen.

So, multiple misc slots allows you to wear EVEN MORE cosmetic items, furthering the uniqueness of your character. Also implemented are character preset loadouts - giving you a helping hand if you're not sure what to equip. How nice!

Interesting that Valve either haven't noticed, or don't care that Dead Ringer Spies still have no downside when it comes to The Enforcer. Obviously they think we have enough problems at the moment. The added downside to The Tomislav is interesting too - I can see the community going against that change, but they obviously thought it was over-powered. I never thought the silent-spinning would be such a big problem, to be honest.

Mostly positive changes though; looking forwards to this hitting the real servers.

Credit: PCGamer and Steam.

The Old Republic goes all EVE-y.

Bioware have released more information about their upcoming science fiction-opera MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. People have been able to sign up their guilds for some time now, in readiness for the launch. PC Gamer have already started setting up their US and EU guilds, and you can join today.

Today's news is that the guilds will have the ability to set up other guilds as allies or enemies, lending a EVE-like air to the game, even ahead of launch. I was considering cancelling my pre-order, but with the emergence of inter-factional wars, I'm rather more excited than I was before. I can't wait for my first inter-guild war to erupt. It lends an atmosphere to PvP that other games just can't scratch.

Go Imperials!

Credit: PCGamer.

My Craft of MineWorld.

In news that'll make Minecraft fans shudder, Minecraft and World of Warcraft have been combined to make... Mine of Worldcraft! Whilst not the snappiest title, it has a certain something about it.

But hey, it's all for good humour, and the video certainly takes the piss out of traditional MMOs, listing class roles as either 'watching enemy red bars go down, 'watching friendly green bars go up' or 'can stand in front of enemies while being told how incompetent he is and then blaming it on the Healer'.

No word on whether this is actually around for people to play, or just a video. With enough publicity, it may well become real.

Credit: Tom's Hardware.

Avengers tie-in game looked amazing

Iron Man. Thor. Captain America. The Hulk.

They are... The Avengers!

And now, this movie tie-in game has been cancelled. From the footage above, this could have been amazing. First-person might not be the best viewpoint for melee combat, but for pre-alpha footage, this looked smooth and intuitive. And hell, it was co-op! Truly co-operative superhero games are quite rare things, and good ones are even rarer. With the Avengers license, and the chance to relive the events of the Skrull invasion, this could have been amazing.

So let us bow our heads in respect for what could have been. Farewell, sweet prince.

No CoD 'Prestige' edition.

For those of you who like to buy over-priced special editions of games - like me, in that case - you'll be disappointed to learn that the next Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 3, will not have a 'Prestige' special edition.

Previous games had a 'Prestige' edition of the game, often for silly-large amounts of money. There's no indication of why there's no Prestige, but presumably it doesn't sell as well - as you'd expect for something so expensive - and seeing as the Hardened edition comes with a a year's subscription to the new Call of Duty Elite service.

The much maligned Elite service - touted as a social network for Call of Duty - will be charged on a monthly basis, much like current MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. Gamers haven't exactly been happy about this service, thinking that subscribers will get an advantage over non-subscribers, but really, isn't that all in the spirit of Call of Duty anyway? The better people get advantages over those who aren't as good? Perhaps that's being bitchy.

Still, I'll probably end up buying it anyway. I doubt I'll sign up for the Elite service though, not with the amount that I play.

Credit: The Escapist.