PC

RUSE Pushed Back to September

RUSE, a real time strategy game which focuses on deception, has, once again, been postponed until late September. RUSE revolves around a “ruse system” which allows the player to fool or deceive the opponent. There will be a total of ten or more ruses which are separated into three categories: those that hide information, those that reveal information, and those that allow fake structures or units to be placed in order to deceive the enemy. The game will take place in World War II and will focus on the major theaters of the war. Although the United States will be the only playable faction in the games campaign mode, other factions are present and will be accessible in RUSE’s online mode.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing

Valve’s always good about post-release support for their games. The amount of updates Team Fortress 2 is borderline mythical in its scope and ambition and that’s a game that’s nearing its third birthday. Support for both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 have left most of us wanting, especially when compared to the amount of attention Team Fortress 2 has received. It’s a bit more understandable, considering just what kind of multiplayer experience the Left 4 Dead series is; it’s a co-op/4v4 multiplayer game and any single map needs to work for the vast volume of modes Left 4 Dead 2 contains. The Passing, which will hopefully be the first of many more content updates for Left 4 Dead 2, is a great slice of DLC. It might have taken months for it finally land, but it’s bound to rack up some extra playtime.

Steam Update Soon

For those of you who have already joined the Steam beta, you should already see some of this coming. Valve is releasing a new version of Steam, with an upgraded user interface to smooth out navigation, and some new ways to see information with ease.  Information is simply easier to find in the new version. You can choose between 3 ways to view your game library, and the Store page has some statistics on the right sidebar. When viewing your games you can see how many of your friends play it, how many hours you’ve played the game, and all the update news and editorial news about that game or something relating to it. You can also organize your own game lists, so there’s more user control. In the new Steam, you can see news from sites like Kotaku. If you want a huge list of the specifics, or want to join the beta, go here: http://store.steampowered.com/uiupdate

StarCraft Scandal Rocks South Korea

StarCraft is  one of the most popular past times in South Korea. The e-sport has been rocked by scandal recently as the illegal gambling rackets surrounding it have been exposed.

The gambling allegedly began in 2006 with the professional players themselves becoming involved in 2008. After years of trying to deal with the problem on its own the Korean E-Sports Association has finally alerted police this past week.

BioWare reveals new DLC for Dragon Age: Origins

BioWare have revealed the next DLC chapter in their epic fantasy RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, to attendees at Comic-Con. The new chapter, entitled “Golems of Amgarrak,” will allow the player to explore new areas in the world of Ferelden, in an effort to rescue a lost Dwarven mining party, and, more than likely, encounter Golems.

Bioshock 2

When a game is surrounded by so much hype, there is always the possibility that the high you think you will have ends up falling short. That disappointment is part of the reason why I’m only getting to this article now. It’s not to say that Bioshock 2 is a bad game. It just wasn’t what I was expecting on my return to Rapture.

Bioshock 2 sees a brand new protagonist familiar to the confines of the intended utopia beneath the sea. Simply known as “Subject: Delta”, you play as an early prototype of the famed Big Daddies from the first Bioshock who is “killed” in the final days leading up to Rapture’s fall. Your carcass is left to rot in the middle of the streets of Rapture where you remain undisturbed for 10 years. Somehow, someway, you are brought back to life and are now forced to wander around Rapture searching not only for your lost memories, but also for the original Little Sister you were sworn to protect.

The first thing you will notice is that the graphics are still just as sharp as they were in the first Bioshock. There are moments where you will jump at your own shadow, literally, as the lighting effects cast eerie outlines of your own form against walls and floors. It sometimes takes you a second to remember, that Big Daddy shadow, a figure ingrained into your memory as an enemy, is actually your own, which only adds to the creepy atmosphere of the dilapidated Rapture.