Left4Dead4Linux now 50 times faster

There's an update to Valve's Linux blog today with some performance figures for Left4Dead 2, which will be the first game released with Steam for Linux when it arrives hopefully later this year.

today with some performance figures for Left4Dead 2, which will be the first game released with Steam for Linux when it arrives hopefully later this year. Apparently work is coming along on the project in leaps and bounds, with the Linux version of the game actually running faster than under Windows.

According to the post, when they first ported L4D2 over, it was running at 6fps. Now that they've spent some time refining the code and improving the OpenGL paths, the latest build flies at 315fps on a GeForce GTX 680 system. By comparison, using the default Direct3D setup under Windows the same system scores just 270.6fps, while using OpenGL under Windows it benchmarks at 303.4fps.*

That's a fifty fold performance increase, as a result of both modifying the game to work with the Linux kernel and OpenGL and tweaking the graphics driver itself. According to the blog, Valve has been working with Intel, AMD and NVIDIA to fine tune drivers, which as suggested will have huge ramifications for other Linux devs.

The team do note, however, that it's the proprietary NVIDIA and AMD drivers they've been looking at, which might disappoint open source purists. Personally I think this is an incredible start, and am happy to see them getting things right on the generally more first party binaries, with the hope that opening up source code will follow later (as has generally happened with Android).

It's a point with which Free Software Foundation head Richard Stallman almost agreedin a recent post which was one of the most badly misquoted on the internet of the last week.

The post is very encouraging for future development, too. “That the Linux version runs faster than the Windows version (270.6) seems a little counter-intuitive,” the author writes, “Given the greater amount of time we have spent on the Windows version. However, it does speak to the underlying efficiency of the kernel and OpenGL.”

*These figures are all from Valve's internal tests and haven't been independently verified to check that all settings are the same and so on - we just have to take Valve's word for it. As a signal to other developers who are thinking of following their lead, though, it's pretty strong.

**Zombie Penguins pic from Profile Kiss.

Street Fighter 5 introduces the V-Gauge

I keep accidentally punching my opponent in the face.

I keep accidentally punching my opponent in the face. That's not such a bad thing, given that this is Street Fighter V, where every hit counts toward that gratifying KO. But my muscle memory keeps clinging to mechanics from Ultra Street Fighter IV, seemingly unaware of what my brain's desperately trying to tell my fingers: SFV is its own beast. If I'm going to win consistently, I need to ditch those old habits and embrace a new set of deceptively complex mechanics.

That's not to say that this Street Fighter goes off the rails. Matches still revolve around one-on-one brawls between absurdly muscular characters; in this particular case, it's my stitched-together soldier Nash (who English speakers probably know by his first name, Charlie) versus the series’ stalwart frontman Ryu. While the sweeping ink aesthetic from USFIV is mostly gone, the entirely redone character models look extra crispy in Unreal Engine 4. M. Bison's Psycho-powered attacks radiate plumes of purple energy with each hit, while the spikes on Chun-Li's bracelets shine with a reflective gloss.

But once you dive into the nitty-gritty systems that decide the flow of battle, it's apparent that SFV is more than a graphical overhaul. The damage-absorbing Focus Attacks and comeback-enabling Ultra moves that define SFIV are gone. Now, skilled play hinges on your understanding of the V-Gauge, a segmented red bar that rests atop the familiar blue super meter. You accumulate it over the course of a round—primarily through character-specific V-Skills—in the hopes to attaining your V-Trigger, a souped-up move or mode that gives you a distinct edge. If you're getting rushed down, you can also spend a chunk of your V-Gauge to activate a V-Reversal while blocking, which instantly creates some space between you and the opponent with a quick counterattack.

If this was Mortal Kombat, Ryu's bisected halves would peel apart moments later.

It's Nash's V-Skill that keeps tripping me up. Each character's V-Skill offers a unique form of utility, and you can unleash it any time with a quick tap of medium punch and medium kick (which was previously the Focus Attack input). Learning how they function is just as important as any special move; for instance, Ryu's V-Skill gives him the exclusive ability to parry attacks, while Chun-Li's is a short leap that's great for mix-ups. Nash gets Bullet Clear, a quick swipe that can absorb an incoming projectile to build up his V-Gauge when timed correctly. It also doubles as a haymaker punch if the opponent is close enough—which, in my case, results in a lot of inadvertent aggression as I absentmindedly keep trying to use the Focus Attack that's no longer in the game.

Aggression is a driving force in SFV's overall design. Former-pro-turned-Capcom-guru Peter "ComboFiend" Rosas explains that each round's rapid clip and constant action mean that the retooled mechanics are working just as intended. "We want the pace of the game to be very exciting, to have people be constantly engaged. You know how in the old Street Fighters, you would win really fast or lose really fast? It's kinda the same feel here," says Rosas. "Fewer attacks are safe. You can't Focus Attack Dash Cancel out of stuff; you don't have backdash invincibility. All those things that helped Street Fighter IV be very [defense-oriented] are gone."

That feeling when you're about to be kicked in the face dozens of times over the next few seconds.

The design of the V-Gauge inherently encourages you to seize the initiative, because it empties out between each round. If you don't use it, you lose it, so you'll need to keep a vigilant eye for the moment when you can activate your V-Trigger. "I think when players who transition from SFIV first play [SFV], they might try to think 'Oh, it's a comeback mechanic' and wait to use it," says Rosas. "Don't wait. Just use it and play your character to their max potential at all times."

Without being afforded the dozens of hours it'll take to scratch the surface of SFV's balancing, it seems like my boy Nash might've gotten the short end of the V-Trigger stick. Ryu's Denjin Renki V-Trigger lets him charge up his fireballs with crackling lightning, giving them guard-breaking properties in the process. M. Bison can activate Psycho Power to turn his dash into a phasing teleport and give his special moves additional hits. Nash, meanwhile, expends his V-Gauge by doing a zippy Sonic Move teleport in any of three directions. It's balanced by the fact that it takes less time to go online, since Nash has a shorter meter, but it feels fleeting compared to the competition's splashy, long-lasting V-Trigger modes. That said, I did manage to set up an instantaneous air-to-air grab by dashing skyward, a satisfying moment I won't soon forget.

SFV feels just as invigorating and vibrant as you'd expect from the series, but it remains to be seen how the existing playerbase will adapt to the V-Gauge. For me, the constant rush to access your V-Trigger is undoubtedly exciting, though it doesn't yet feel as groundbreaking as Alpha's ISMs, Street Fighter III's parries, or SFIV's Focus Attacks. But Rosas reminds me that the groundwork is still what matters most. "[SFV] maintains the Street Fighter core: footsies, spacing, correctly outguessing your opponent," he says. No matter the mechanics that complement them, "the fundamentals of Street Fighter still remain."

Yogventures developer "as confused as everyone else" about Kickstarter funds

The biggest question currently hanging over the collapse of Yogventures is the fate of the $150,000 in Kickstarter funds that Winterkewl Games founder Kris Vale says went to Yogscast shortly after the Kickstarter concluded.

shortly after the Kickstarter concluded. Vale claims a contract specifying how the money was to be used was never drawn up but the amount is roughly triple what the studio estimated as the cost for physical rewards, and he's "just as confused as everyone else" about what happened to the rest of it.

In an email exchange, Vale made it clear that the Yogventures project was plagued by mismanagement from the very start, resulting from a mix of inexperience, naivete and a misplaced faith in the essential goodness of human nature. That led to the now-infamous loss of a principal artist, and more significantly the $35,000 lump sum he was paid that the studio could not legally recover. Shortly after that, Lewis Brindley of Yogscast demanded—and ultimately received—$150,000 of the Kickstarter funds.

Vale said the money was transferred to Yogscast shortly after the Kickstarter concluded, and that he was of the understanding "that some of that $150,000 would be spent on physical rewards, and some would be for Yogscast to get re-compensated for their efforts at E3 and during the Kickstarter, but the bulk would be used to hire a programmer to work on the actual game."

That didn't happen, however, and according to Vale, Yogscast actually insisted on a new contract not long after the money was transferred. "We were basically told that without a new contract, there would be no new programmer. So we were in a really tight spot at that time, and agreed to the terms of this new contract," he explained. The contract stipulated that neither company had any financial obligation to the other, nor was Yogscast actually required to hire a programmer for the game, despite Vale's "understanding."

"We did at least get them to finally agree in writing that the money for the physical rewards was in their possession so it was their responsibility to create and ship the rewards," he said. "We were unable, however, to get it stipulated that they would hire a programmer." Negotiations with another programmer that had been underway when Yogscast made the new contract demand fell through, Vale added, and with no money remaining to offer anyone else, "We had a new contract but no programmer."

He said Yogscast refused to hire a new programmer because Brindley was unhappy with the progress of the game and Vale's handling of the company. During the time Yogventures was in development, according to Vale, "We were sending regular updates and asking each time, 'When do you think we'll see videos promoting the game?' And each time we were told this feature or that feature is a 'must have,' and we'd go off and work on that feature, always hoping that at some point the business would get off the ground and marketing would begin."

"If we didn't need the Yogscast for marketing, we would have never approached them in the first place," he said. "I was honestly afraid all the time that at any moment Yogscast would just sever our contract, so I didn't have a lot of ammunition to fight back when things weren't going our way."

The question now is, if Yogscast didn't hire a new programmer with the money, what happened to it? Brindley said in a July 19 post on Redditthat he disagreed with a number of Vale's claims but declined to address them in detail, although he did suggest that an official statement may be forthcoming at some point in the future. But beyond that, Yogscast has not responded to any inquiries, and Vale says he has no idea.

"The Yogscast maintain that the remaining funds they received were used to pay for the things they did for marketing of the game. They did pay for the E3 booth, (although we paid for all the decorations and rentals of all the equipment, etc.) and they did spend time and effort making and publishing the Kickstarter videos," he said. "But honestly, we're just as confused as everyone else where the rest of the funds went."

Zaga 33’ added to App Store Along With Mac And Windows Releases

‘Zaga 33’ added to App Store Along With Mac And Windows Releases
From a game made in a week, a Seven-Day Rougelike (7DRL) turns into a real game.

Zaga 33 is available on three OS: Mac, Windows, and iOS. It’s free for both the Windowsand Macversion, available for download off MediaFire. During the game, you can explore caverns and fight off aliens while attempting to destroy the alien Cortext to escape the retched world.

The game features an ending (compared to the 7DRL), five tilesets, new items and enemies, improved graphics, various bug fixes and music! You can grab the iOS version on the App Store, universal for both iPhone and iPad for $0.99.

You can watch the complete playthrough here ( spoiler alert! ):

Mod of the Week: Star Trek Armada 3, for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

If you've been looking for a reason to revisit 2011's SIns of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, might I tempt you with a fresh injection of Star Trek?

If you've been looking for a reason to revisit 2011's SIns of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, might I tempt you with a fresh injection of Star Trek? Galaxy-class Federation starships? Borg Cubes? Klingon Vor'cha? Romulan... whatever it is Romulans drive? The Star Trek Armada III modcompletely transforms Sins into Trek , with custom models, animations, effects, and technology.

The Armada 3 mod has been under space-construction for a couple of years, and recently went into beta. While there's still some tweaking and balancing happening behind the scenes, and plans for expansions in the future, version 1.0 already feels impressively polished. It can actually be a little hard to play sometimes because it's so much fun to just zoom in on ships and structures and admire the detail. When you do start to play, it actually feels less like a mod and more like a real Star Trek game.

The mod lets you play as one of four races. There's the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Borg Collective. Not only does each side have its own UI theme (a nice touch) but they have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Federation can dominate the markets with their economic know-how, but their construction times (presumably due to Federation red-tape) can leave you short a few ships when the space-poop hits the fan. Klingons, meanwhile, have incredibly powerful weapons, but lag a bit behind in infrastructure and economy. The Borg, obviously, are efficient and powerful, but their weakness is... well, they don't actually have one. Watch out for those Borg. They're bad news. Romulans... well, they probably have some attributes, too!

You can also summon some of the heroes from the Star Trek universe. Sisko, Picard, and Janeway can pilot your federation ships in a pinch, if you've unlocked the ability to call on them through your research tree. Klingon heroes include Kurn, whose brother was Worf, and Chancellor Gowron, who was killed by Worf. Wait. Is Star Trek implying that all Klingons know each other, or am I imagining things? I didn't play as the Borg, so I'm not sure who their heroes are, but they're probably some terrifying robot monsters. And, as is probably clear by now, I don't give a single hot toot about the Romulans.

Being able to call in actual Star Trek characters is cool, but it's even cooler to hear their actual voices in the game, provided by sound snippets from the TV shows. I know it sounds cheesy, but it fits in amazingly well. Speaking of sound, the mod has a great soundtrack consisting of remastered tracks from Armada 1 and 2, as well as from Starfleet Command 3. And, the ships, the weapons, and the rest of the game's sound effects go a long way to transforming Sins into an authentic-feeling Trek universe.

The small touches are nice, too. Resources consist of credits, dilithium, and tritanium, which, as Wikipedia tells me, are things you would like to have a lot of in the Star Trek universe. The menus, the UI, even the tiniest of icons and emblems look great. As I said above, it doesn't feel like a mod as much as an actual Star Trek game. Even random pirate ships are modeled after space vessels from the show. It's pretty clear the team behind the mod are fans who really want to get the details right.

I played a few rounds as the Federation, and a couple as the Klingons. In terms of balance, I'll just say that I lost no matter which side I was playing, so at least it's fair (I am pretty terrible at strategy). I definitely recommend it if you have Sins: Rebellion, and if you don't, it's only $40 on Steam. Wait, $40? Still? Well, wishlist it, then, and snap it up in a sale. If you're a strategy fan and Trekkie, this mod is your jam.

Installation : Grab the latest version (and hotfix, where applicable) here. It's self-installing. When it's done, just boot the game up and you'll be ready to make it so.

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Our Verdict
Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most unique and fun strategy games Ive ever played, despite a few flaws with the port.

need to know

What is it? A JRPG strategy game set in an alternate reality World War 2.
Price: $20/£15
Release date: Out Now
Publisher/Developer: Sega
Multiplayer: None
Link: Steam page
ESRB: Teen
Reviewed on: Windows 7, Intel i7-4960x, 32GB RAM, Nvidia GTX Titan.
Play it on: Windows 7, Intel Core2 Duo @ 2.8GHz, 3GB RAM, Nvidia GTX280+, a toaster could probably run this game well.

I hadn’t heard Valkyria Chronicles' familiar violin melody since Sega first released it for PS3 in 2008, but six years later, those strings whisked me back to Gallia and the familiar faces of Squad 7 with an instant hit of nostalgia. With a recent rash of Japanese games being ported to PC in a less-than-ideal manner, however, and a PC Valkyria Chronicles going from rumorto announcedto releasedin less than three weeks, I was nervous it wouldn’t be anything more than a quick port. I'm happy to report that my delight with the PC version didn’t stop at the violins.

Valkyria Chronicles is a turn-based strategy, third-person real-time shooter, alternate-reality World War II JRPG, and miraculously that all comes together beautifully. Confused? It breaks down like this: You command a series of turn-based battles from the perspective of a top-down map, and are given a fixed number of command points per turn. However, when you use command point to select a unit, the camera zooms in to put you in an over the shoulder perspective. (See a GIF of it in action here.) Your movement and weaponry is limited based on that unit’s class—Scout, Shocktrooper, Lancer, Engineer, or Sniper—and enemies will shoot at you if you get too close. When you aim, enemies stop attacking and you are shown a circle cross-hair to line up, representing that unit’s accuracy—but you only get one shot each time you select a unit, so a miss can be devastating to a strategy with no backup plan. When you are out of command points the enemy takes their turn, so positioning is incredibly important.

This unique combat system forced me to learn strategies on a few different levels. The map view makes me feel like a commander, having to constantly think of the big picture, while zooming into a soldier is a completely different, more personal experience. Whenever I make a wrong move and a unit is shot down, I'm always hit by the same reaction: anger over my mistake, then concern that I won't be able to rescue the unit. The possibility of permadeath for all but the story characters means that if a downed character can’t be reached in three turns, they are gone for good. But as the map zooms out, my sympathy fades and I start thinking about how my squad will need to adjust for the loss. Through all this, every victory and defeat feels like my own.

The importance of my personal choices, not just on the battlefield, became even more apparent towards the second half of the 30-40 hour story. The missions ramp up in difficulty and a variety of different weapon choices open up. Each unit, who already differed in both their strengths and personalities, can now be diversified even further to fit niche roles in my squad. Deciding what class to upgrade and which weapons to research means it’s no longer just a game about positioning. Though battles can be played slowly and safely to ease the difficulty, the rewards I got for pushing the limits of my squad were worth it, and my connection and love for the specific characters grew stronger each time they made me proud.

Each battle usually required about nine units, but my squad has 20 to choose from, all of which—except three story characters—I picked from a pool of at least 40. Every unit has their own personality, including fully-voiced dialogue, characters they prefer to work with (with whom they have more unique dialogue), and a full page of back story that is only revealed as they fight. The amount of detail and choice is staggering. I grew very attached to my favorite soldiers, cut people from my squad based purely on their attitude, and am still astounded that a character sitting in my barracks unused has the same level of depth, whether or not I'll see it.

Alternate reality

Though its set in an alternate reality, Valkyria Chronicles doesn’t shy from the real-life horrors of its World War II inspiration, addressing issues that Western WWII games don’t even like to discuss. One mission tasks you with liberating a concentration camp filled with Darcsens, this world’s persecuted people. The story can be over dramatic and heavy-handed at times in a uniquely JRPG sort of way—you can switch to the Japanese voice actors and use subtitles if you are off put by the sometimes flat English voice acting—but I was legitimately invested in not just the lives of the characters, but the story of Gallia, the country I was protecting. It’s melodramatic, but heartbreakingly real at times—depicting war in the style of a documentary rather than a Hollywood blockbuster.

The campaign is presented in a book format—each new chapter being some significant moment of the war—alternating between long cutscenes and dialogue segments, and battles that sometimes take an hour and a half. The cutscenes lose a lot of their charm due to their fixed resolution, making them look downright terrible on my 1440p monitor, however the gameplay and dialogue segments were nearly flawless. Valkyria Chronicles doesn’t have a resolution or framerate cap and has fully customizable controls. The only issue that negatively affected gameplay was the finicky tank controls, which would move unexpectedly whenever I adjusted the camera and made the already hard-to-control tank units even more of an issue. Outside of that, I used mouse and keyboard controls for most of the game, and found them better than the gamepad controls. Durante wrote a fantastic in-depth pieceabout the quality of the Valkyria Chronicles port, but overall Sega made sure the must-have features were included even if it didn’t go the extra mile.

Valkyria Chronicles was an incredibly unique game when it was first released, and six years later I still haven’t found an experience quite like it. Apart from the cutscene resolution, its beautiful watercolor style and challenging gameplay haven’t aged a day. Yet it’s now bundled with all of its DLC for only $20/£15; a fantastic value for strategy fans and PC gamers who didn’t get a chance to play it the first time around. While the port quality might not win any awards, it does the game justice and brings Valkyria Chronicles to a platform where it can shine with other strategy game elite.

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The Verdict

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most unique and fun strategy games Ive ever played, despite a few flaws with the port.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tom is PC Gamer’s Assistant Editor. He enjoys platformers, puzzles and puzzle-platformers. He also enjoys talking about PC games, which he now no longer does alone. Tune in every Tuesday at 1pm Pacific on Twitch.tv/pcgamer to see Tom host The PC Gamer Show.

We recommend By Zergnet

Rage co-op trailer and PC specs emerge from id Software's vault

The power of friendship can move mountains. It can also greatly increase your odds of surviving a brutal attack by the Shrouded clan in Rage. See how id Software's end-of-days FPS will handle the co-op experience this October in its latest gameplay video. Planning to team up on the PC? Bethesda today revealed the system specs required to keep Rage running at a good clip: Minimum: - OS: Win XP SP3,

Go Ghost Hunting with Poltergus

Being the host of a reality television show never looked so good, especially when there’s a talking dog involved.

Being the host of a reality television show never looked so good, especially when there’s a talking dog involved. Oh, and a ghost. Gus, the dog, and Nancy, the television ghost-host with the most, are two good friends who host a paranormal reality television show in the newest game from Rad Sandwich Studios, Poltergus. Poltergus is a funny story of two friends just trying to get their big break on television as ghost hunters in a world where ghosts are important, productive members of society.

Players can control both of the characters as they guide them through a mystery adventure that unfolds in front of (and behind) the television cameras. Between finding clues and one-on-one interviews, Poltergus combines the friendship and horror aspects that Rad Sandwich Studios’ previous games –and— mastered so well.

Rad Sandwich Studios is building Poltergus to combine virtual reality and reality television in innovative and unexpected ways, but players need not worry:  The game will still be fully playable without any virtual reality hardware.

Poltergus is the reality television that some have always wanted to see, but never had a chance to experience. Now, the television is in the players’ hands. It will be released in spring of 2016 for both PC and mobile. Rad Sandwich Studios is planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign sometime this fall.

To keep up with the development of Poltergus , follow Rad Sandwich Studios on Twitter, and be sure to “like” their page on Facebook.

Stardock to announce two new games this year, create investment fund to help new studios

It's a little-known fact that CEOs love writing reports.

writing reports. The whole reason that many companies become publicly traded is so their CEOs can spend their time writing endless reports for shareholders. For Stardock boss Brad Wardell, this poses a problem: as the head of a private company, there's no-one to report to. Rather than forlornly wandering the corridors of Stardock HQ, bothering staff with pie charts, he's instead decided to scratch that report itch by drafting a frank and honest addressto their customers. In it, he talks about the company's performance over the last year, and hints at what they're planning next.

Wardell claims that 2012 was Stardock's biggest year financially, although points out that it's likely because they released more games than in any other year. He reveals that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Ironclad and Stardock's 4X expandalone, enjoyed far more success than either team anticipated. "I suspect there will be more news on this front as we go forward," Wardell teased.

Previewing the company's upcoming plans, Wardell says "I suspect we will have at least , two new game announcements in 2013." He also mentions Soren Johnson's (designer on Civ IV) role at Stardock - saying that he'll be working as a designer on their games over the next few months. "The emphasis on dedicated game design has resulted in greater confidence that new franchises will not have to go through the rocky experience that Elemental: War of Magic went through."

Wardell addresses the sale of Impulse, Stardock's digital distribution platform, to Gamespot, saying, "We suddenly had enough capital to do essentially anything we wanted." Rather than expand the company, Stardock will instead be creating an investment fund, designed to help game developers, found new studios, and enable new software ventures. "Over the next couple of years, some of these new ventures will start to become known. Hopefully, their success will help spawn new opportunities for the next generation software and game developers out there."

The report also included Stardock's 2012 Customer Survey, which provides and interesting statistic on the rapid growth of digital consumption. Of the surveyed customers, 82% said they preferred to buy their software digitally. This is compared to Stardock's 2008 survey response, in which only 42% expressed a digital preference.

For more stats and info, you can read the full report here.

Thanks, Joystiq.

The Future Of Strategy Games: An Interview With Sid Meier

While Sid Meier is not directly designing XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a trip to Firaxis Games wouldn't be complete without a conversation about strategy games with the legendary game designer.

While Sid Meier is not directly designing XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a trip to Firaxis Games wouldn't be complete without a conversation about strategy games with the legendary game designer. Game Informer's Adam Biessener has been a rabid fan of the Civilization series for years, so the conversation floats from the past to the future of Civilization while noting the impact that the fans have had on the series. We also took this opportunity to pick Sid Meier's mind about the state of the strategy genre and how it manages to stay relevant in a shooter-drenched marketplace. Check out the video below and leave your feedback in the comments. Enjoy!

For more information on the new XCOM game from Firaxis, click on the link to enter our content hub below.

Rage: New gameplay clip previews the Gearhead Vault

id isn’t shy about showing its influences here, with the game’s look and feel running the gamut of post-apocalyptic action titles before settling on Fallout 3/New Vegas as notable points of comparison. Also worth mentioning is the Bulletstorm-esque specialty-kill that closes the clip: with the FPS field far broader than it was when id released Quake, Rage looks to incorporate plenty of touches from across the genre. Here’s looking forward to the game’s October release, when players will get a chance to see whether these incorporate into a comprehensive whole. Aug 25, 2011 Topics id Shooter RAGE We recommend By Zergnet Load Comments

Monaco’ Review: Co-op Stealthy Goodness

‘Monaco’ Review: Co-op Stealthy Goodness
Reinvigorating a genre seems like a daunting task.

Reinvigorating a genre seems like a daunting task. This is especially difficult to do when the graphical steps taken are backwards rather than forwards. Yet, through moment after moment in Pocketwatch Games’ masterpiece Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine , there are bits and pieces of evolution and progression made in the stealth genre. Everything feels fresh and new and the nuances of the stealth genre are improved upon enough to make Monaco an exciting and unique experience all its own.

If you had not ascertained the information yet, or know nothing about Monaco , it is a 2-D stealth game that is available for PC from both Monaco’s official websiteand on Steam. It will be available soon for Xbox 360 when the developer works out an apparent bug.

[private_insider]

Monaco approaches stealth with the background of a classic heist movie. A team of crack specialists is assembled and they attempt to pull off the perfect heist. There are eight members on the team and each has a special ability. The “Gentleman” is the master of disguise. The “Cleaner” is the psychopathic muscle. The “Lockpick” is good at making cheeseburgers, or picking locks. Likely the latter. Each character plays better depending on the situation.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC7b6642AWM]

Luckily, Monaco supports more than one player to “case a joint”. Up to four players can take on the many roles Monaco offers and team up for the perfect heist. This means having the “Mole”, who can burrow through walls, becomes infinitely more valuable when he is digging holes for the “Hacker” to get through, who can then knock out the lights through an outlet. Yeah, it is cool. The co-op is a real selling point and it can be played both online and in front of one TV. Local multiplayer in the 21st century? I am on board.

This combines with some brilliant, although simple, game mechanics. The line of sight mechanic is particularly exceptional. Anything your character can see is presented in color and real time, whereas anything out of your character’s line of sight is presented as black and white blueprints. You know where the cameras and money are because you “cased the joint”, but you only know what it looks like when you really see it. Simple, but exceptional should really be the motto of most of Monaco’s features.

Monaco is separated into levels with each having a short back-story. These levels have a goal, such as stealing documents, breaking into a vault, or rescuing another character. Throughout the levels there are a certain number of coins which need to be stolen to “clean out” the location. Eventually, the player will need to start “cleaning out” locations to unlock more levels. This becomes exceptionally difficult as a one man crew when coming to the latter stages of the game. Often it can be so difficult it’s frustrating, but patience is key during these moments. Monaco rewards smart play and often when a mistake is made it is because of the player’s misstep, not the game’s shortcomings.

Other game mechanics are equally well-executed. Enemies are alert and adept. Shooting mechanics have a very Hotline Miami feel to them. The graphics are simplistic, with a neon flare. The soundtrack tumbles between piano lines and horns, with a brass feel to it all that emanates the old 1950’s feel that heist films often hold. All these features combine into a package that reminds us not that less can be made to be just as good as more, but that often less is more.

That is the greatest quality of Monaco. It is so simple to pick up and play, but so nuanced and memorable. If it was not for the spine-crushing difficulty that often accompanies the later stages of the game, it would be the perfect package. With  local and online co-op which requires true teamwork and a slew of quality gameplay elements, Monaco not only revives a tired genre, but is likely a top-runner as game of the year candidate so far in 2013. [/private_insider]

[review pros=”Revival of the stealth genre. Incredible line of sight mechanic. Fantastic soundtrack. Enticing co-op. Simple, but deeply nuanced.” Cons=”Tests your patience near the end.” score=95]

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion expansion announced at GDC

The first stand-alone expansion to Sins of a Solar Empire has just been announced at GDC.

The first stand-alone expansion to Sins of a Solar Empire has just been announced at GDC. Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion will add new ships, visuals, and multiplayer features to the game.

Click more for the details.

A release date has not yet been confirmed. Here's the direct info from Stardock Entertainment and Ironclad Games:

New Factions: Players decide whether to become Loyalists or Rebels, which unlocks a unique tech tree. New Titan-class ships. New Capital Ships. New Corvette-class ships. Loyalist and Rebel versions of some of the existing Sins' frigates and cruisers. Updated lighting and particle effects for enhanced visuals. New Victory Conditions to allow for more variety, differing strategies and shorter game sessions. Additional capital ship ability levels, for greater strategic choice. Impulse: Reactor support for chat, friends, achievements and more.

Do you play Sins of a Solar Empire? Is this the expansion you've been waiting for?

Visit the official sitefor more information on Sins of a Solar Empire.

Dark Souls debug leaks: you can now play as Artorias of the Abyss

The debug version of Dark Souls has found its way online, enabling all sorts of interesting new options: Disable gravity, play as other characters, adjust animation speed, and a whole lot more.

Original webm video above created by NeoGAF poster Havel

has found its way online, enabling all sorts of interesting new options: Disable gravity, play as other characters, adjust animation speed, and a whole lot more. It can also be used for less benevolent purposes, so some caution is obviously warranted, but if you want to get in on the fun, Redditand NeoGAFhave you covered.

The Dark Souls subreddit actually takes a relatively cautious approach to the debug, acknowledging that the majority of the community wants to talk about its capabilities but asking that users not post links to the executable. "It's easy enough to find on Google as it is and it would be good if /r/darksouls could maintain a healthy relationship with Namco Bandai," it wrote.

Over on NeoGAF, however, you can find such links, as well as instructions on how to install and use it. I'd still recommend reading through the thread before digging too deeply into the game's hidden recesses: As one poster noted, playing with the "GameData > Change Character Param" option on your main save will overwrite your character. It also runs entirely on the client side, meaning you can't invade other worlds disguised as an NPC or boss, but it will connect with the Steam beta version of Dark Soul as well as other debugs.

Playing as Artorias is just one of the cool things you can do with the debug build, as it lets you cycle through all the game's models, or clip through the game world and see how it was put together. Or you could play as a freakishly tall mimic. Why not?

Genius madman blasts the unholy crap out of real-life Rage mutant with real-life Rage guns

We're quite big fans of FPS Russia's YouTube channel here at Radar. If you're not familiar with it, the conceit is that a delightfully crazy man identifying himself as Professional Russian (who may or may not actually be Russian) gets his hands on a ludicrous number of ludicrous, real-life guns and tests them out for his and your amusement. It's must-see viewing for anyone who's ever enjoyed an FPS

Cliff Bleszinski To Announce New Game on July 8

Cliff Bleszinski – also known as Cliffy B – the ex-game designer of Epic Games that brought us such titles as Gears of War and the Unreal franchise, had previously announced his coming out of retirement.

franchise, had previously announced his coming out of retirement. Soon after the announcement of his return, he has now announced the creation of his new game development studio, Boss Key Productions. And tomorrow – July 8 – he is set to reveal his next game.

Documents have been filed with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State that show documentation stating Cliff Bleszinski as the CEO, and Arjan Brussee – co-founder of Guerrilla Games – as the COO. Along with this documentation, there are tweets from Bleszinski’s official Twitter account, each providing links to the new Boss Key Productions site, as well as links to its Twitter account, and one for the upcoming title that will be spearheading their launch: Currently codenamed

It was also back in 2012 that, during an interview, Bleszinski first mentioned Project Bluestreak. “My first Transformer was Bluestreak – which was later changed to Silverstreak or something like that – which is the codename of the new IP I’m gestating on slowly,” said Bleszinski. He has also stated before that he wishes to make an FPS that harkens back to the traditional arena style shooters, saying that “it’s in my DNA.”

We still have a few more hoursuntil receiving any further possible news tidbits about this game, which may or may not be Project Bluestreak. But according to a Boss Key Productions Tweet, news will be coming our way at 9 AM PST.

A Dark Souls bet turned so sour it ended up in TV court

Sometimes games bets get serious. Possibly a little too serious when the fiendish Dark Souls is involved and this one ended up on ITV court room show Judge Rinder. Here's Thomas. The reason Thomas looks so awkward is because he foolishly got somewhat inebriated at the Glastonbury music festival and bet his friend Michael and brother David that he would complete Dark Souls in the year before the next

Dark Souls 2 can be beaten in just over 20 minutes

It took me 60 hours to complete Dark Souls 2, so when I heard about this 20 minute Dark Souls 2 speedrun I was very angry.

Dark Souls 2 speedrun I was very angry. How dare they, I thought. It just isn't fair. Never mind though, because this run utilises a series of glitches allowing the player to skip a pretty huge portion of the game. Oh, and did you know rolling while using the binoculars makes you somehow faster? It does. With a combination of these, YouTube user Distortion2gets to Aldia's Keep in less than six minutes.

It's interesting how Distortion2 uses the seams in the world of Drangleic to his advantage, especially since the game's only been out for a matter of weeks. There's always the possibility From Software will patch these fissures up, but hopefully not before he completes his goal of completing the game in under 20 minutes.

If you missed them earlier, we captured a bunch of pretty 4K resolution screenshots from Dark Souls 2. You'll probably want to get Durante's modfirst, which unofficially enhances the game's performance.

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Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Pros Interesting fantasy world to explore Amazing secret areas Mostly reliable partner AI Cons Never takes full advantage of co-op Shallow combat RPG elements aren't rich enough For a game ostensibly about cooperative play, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge never capitalizes on its own premise – two fantasy badasses working together to slaughter hordes of monsters. The

Average Giants Episode 59 – At the Mountains of Madness

IGM Presents… The Average Giants!

IGM Presents… The Average Giants! A weekly webseries where we play indie games while chatting with their developers. Come watch (and “follow”) the show live on our hitbox channelevery Monday night at 9:00pm EDT.

This week, we get to check out a game based on an H.P. Lovecraft novel called At the Mountains of Madness. 5 weeks into development, and the game already looks amazing. Utilizing the Unreal Engine 4, the graphical fidelity has already turned this month-old game into one of the most beautiful that we’ve seen on Average Giants.

Stay tuned for more information on the game!

Original Air Date: April 27, 2015

Twitch beats Dark Souls, thanks to democracy

The gaming prowess of Twitch, at least as an entity composed of hundreds of people typing frantically into a chat window, has been proven today with the defeat of gaming’s notoriously tough touchstone, Dark Souls. It took a dedicated cluster of chatters, each feeding granular commands into a remotely controlled and broadcast version of Dark Souls, a total of 43 days to destroy the final boss. They

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Our Verdict
It's familiar, but Crown of the Ivory King is still another gorgeous five-hour helping of Dark Souls 2.

It's familiar, but Crown of the Ivory King is still another gorgeous five-hour helping of Dark Souls 2. Cherish itits your last.

Beautiful as they were, the mostly dank stone sprawls of Crown of the Sunken King and Crown of the Old Iron King presented familiar territory. For the third and final slice of Dark Souls 2 DLC, From Software takes you somewhere you’ve never been in Dark Souls—a winter wonderland.

Snow! Besides the brief Painted World of Ariamis, there’s never been snow in a Souls game. To get there, once you have the frozen flower in your possession, visit the Shrine of Winter and use the warp. The opening vista is typically grand. ‘Gorgeous view ahead’ messages litter the ground before an arctic version of the Grand Canyon.

The white stuff is a new element at play. It records your footprints. It coats your armour. It limits visibility. Melt through it though and you’ll find conventional mapping underneath. It’s no coincidence the long bridge before an imposing set of doors leading into the DLC proper recalls the start of Demons’ Souls. And inside is a complex of walkways, locked doors and corridors—yet another trap-filled fortress from the same mould as the last two expansions.

Still, there’s plenty of juicy new story to tuck into. Past the entrance you’ll see the kingdom of Eleum Loyce looking not unlike Anor Londo with a few coats of white Dulux. The fiction goes that this was once a thriving metropolis, but it’s long since fallen into ruin. It’s your job to quell the evil and reignite the fire.

As always, there are multiple paths but only one right one. Wander astray and you risk meeting a sudden end at the hands of an invisible monster. The correct route brings you up against a series of icy new enemies, rampart soldiers with crystalline spears and frozen protrusions on their back. One-on-one they’re simple enough, providing you’re a healthy level. I recommend at least level 70.

Down in a courtyard sit stray ice dogs, basically skin swaps of existing enemies that attack the same way. There are also icy takes on everyone’s favourite, the pinwheel, in the form of wintry hedgehogs that do roly polys. Cute, but deadly. Push a little farther and you’ll discover more enigmatic nasties.

Hooded witches dot the place, kneeling passively and in total disinterest of your presence. While I’ll leave others to ponder their backstory, in function they’re a bit like Heide Knights, dormant until disturbed then attacking with aggression. When they gang up with rampart spearmen and golems, their backstabs can pose problems.

The road to the boss feels shorter and more linear than the last two DLC instalments until you factor in the amount of easy-to-miss nooks and crannies hiding goodies. Some are frozen over, prompting various comical orange soapstone comments. On the ground in front of an ice-encased mimic, someone’s written "Poor fool".

You’ll reach the first boss in less than an hour. A deadly creature is revealed with the right item, and it’s fierce, attacking with healthbar-depleting bites and homing crystal soulmasses. Like the rest of the DLC, a co-op buddy or two are highly advised. Though, I don’t understand why bosses always gravitate towards me when I sit at the back of the arena chugging Estus juice. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an actual measure by From Software to punish cowardice.

The highlight of the DLC is delivered by a stunning foray into a cathedral, which I won’t spoil. Both of the last two Crowns seem to treat players to a visually incredible room after the sometimes drab trawl through tight hallways, and Ivory King is no different. It also has a fantastic finale. Throughout the expansion you’ll occasionally stumble across imprisoned Loyce knights. Release them and they’ll aid you in the battle. With several AI buddies fighting a boss’s backup, as well as two co-op companions thrown in the mix, you'll experience some impressive confrontations.

Again, it’s a fight only the truly hardcore will win alone. Do so and you’ll complete your crown collection, but it’s not the end of the DLC. The Frigid Wastes await. They fulfill the promise of promotional screens, a broad, featureless tundra to tackle as unseen horrors stalk through a thick blizzard.

Throughout the expansion you’ll stumble across imprisoned Loyce knights. Release them and they’ll aid you in battle.

Your haul at the end of it all? Disappointing. There are ten armour pieces in all, but few any self-respecting adventurer would actually wear. The symbol of avarice is a chest with a great flopping tongue hanging out, and the old bell helm is, well, a bell— without eyeholes —you wear on your head. The Ivory King set just about excuses the abundance of paltry hats and robes. Shields are equally weak, with just four in total. Weapons save it from being a total washout. There are 15 to find, and with rapiers, staffs, greatswords and bone fists, most characters will find one that suits their build.

And with that, so ends our Dark Souls 2 journey. The Crown trilogy haven’t been the most filling morsels. Unlike Dark Souls’ Artorias of the Abyss, they feel superfluous to the main show, something scooped off the cutting room floor. It’s still Dark Souls, and it’s still brilliant, but the Ivory King is a similar deal to the last two—a solid five-hour chunk of adventuring in another enemy-filled fortress. Like its wintry setting it might leave you a bit, well, cold.

The Verdict

Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Ivory King

It's familiar, but Crown of the Ivory King is still another gorgeous five-hour helping of Dark Souls 2. Cherish itits your last.

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Hunted: The Demon's Forge video - Design your own dungeon and slaughter your friends in The Crucible

Publisher Bethesda's upcoming hack 'em-up Hunted: The Demon's Forge could be a real treat. It looks lush, it's got a nice sort of "Gears of War in loincloths" feel to it, and the two characters play very distinctly from one another. And best of all, once you've head-chopped your way through the main storyline, you can keep satisfying your urge to cleave flesh from bone with The Crucible. It's a dungeon

Defend the Core – It’s a Matter of Concentration

According to the Big Bang theory, the expansion of the universe as we know it resulted in the formation of matter and antimatter.

According to the Big Bang theory, the expansion of the universe as we know it resulted in the formation of matter and antimatter. In Defend the Core , an arcade game by TeamDNA, matter and antimatter become your playthings as you strive to keep the core alive for as long as you can. The team says that Defend the Core was born out of a need to bring a fresh, fast-swiping game into a market saturated with one-tap titles.

Gameplay is characterized by a simple swipe mechanic that players must use to keep matter (colored blue) away from the core. Matter will continuously respawn, putting players’ concentration to the test. In contrast to matter, antimatter is your friend and will keep the core alive for longer. There are black holes to discover, and new, hidden elements players can use to improve their overall score. Defend the Core sports an original soundtrack, unlockable skins, and (much to my delight) the word ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ as an Easter egg.

Defend the Core is available to download today for freefrom the Google Play Store. What do you think about Defend the Core ? Let us know in the comments!

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Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Pros Interesting fantasy world to explore Amazing secret areas Mostly reliable partner AI Cons Never takes full advantage of co-op Shallow combat RPG elements aren't rich enough For a game ostensibly about cooperative play, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge never capitalizes on its own premise – two fantasy badasses working together to slaughter hordes of monsters. The

IGM Forum Finds: Bowbarian is a Fantastical Top-Down Shooter

Games with epic storylines, intensely detailed graphics, and enemies that inspire fear and awe: These are the traits that define a number of top-down shooters and adventure games.

Games with epic storylines, intensely detailed graphics, and enemies that inspire fear and awe: These are the traits that define a number of top-down shooters and adventure games. Inspired by the likes of Diablo and Legend of Zelda , Box Fort Games decided to create a game that took the elements of these older favorites with an added a dash of cartoonish whimsy. Bowbarian is the result, and though the game is not yet finished, its hand-drawn art, straightforward story, and uniquely silly take on weapons and enemies is already earning some fans on Kickstarter.

In a dank cave lies the Lunaria, a crescent-moon-shaped relic with mystical powers. A powerful wizard calling himself The Great Bazzini sneaks into the cave to steal the Lunaria when he is interrupted by Tiny, the massive guardian. With a flick of his (terrified) wrist, Bazzini uses the Lunaria to turn Tiny into a creature more suited to its name; Bazzini then runs away to create minions with this newfound power. To what end is Bazzini working? The world may never know, thanks to Bowbarian, who comes across Tiny while relaxing in the forest one day. Tiny is scared, shaken, and alone, and Bowbarian decides to help make things right. The two set off on their adventure, and the player proceeds with the slay-fest as they make their way to The Great Bazzini.

One of the most notably silly features of the game is Bowbarian’s weapon, which is a very large, intricate bow that just happens to fire swords. With these sword-arrows, players can take out large swaths of enemies in different areas of a map, standing off against minions and bosses alike using a variety of attacks. The similarity to Bowbarian’s inspirational forefathers is clear, and with plenty of hand-drawn scenery and dialogue to keep players engaged, along with a story that contains definite goals, the game promises a satisfying playing experience. To that end, Bowbarian has 25 days to go in their Kickstartercampaign, looking to raise enough funds to finish their game properly.

If you’d like to read more about Bowbarian , or ask Box Fort Games any questions, be sure to swing by the Indie Game Mag Forums, where you can view the original post. You can also follow the team on Twitter, or “like” their page on Facebookto keep up with current news.

Members of our forums can participate in discussions and view new projects, and have the opportunity to share their projects with the indie game community. If you’d like to show off a new game concept, you can do so here– you might even be featured right here on IGM Forum Finds !

The rituals, strategies, honour and etiquette that keep Dark Souls PvP alive

There's a space of dead air in the Undead Parish. The walkway from the Blacksmith's bonfire into the Parish itself never felt entirely right. But I trudged along regardless, attempting to find a summon sign to fight the Belfry Gargoyles. However, what I got was the opposite. A message popped up at the bottom of my screen. "Dark Spirit Karel_88 has invaded". The Dark Souls I knew was gone. The predictability

13 haunting Dark Souls 2 GIFs

Dark Souls 2 looks beautiful by any stretch, especially at 4K resolution as I've demonstrated in my Screenshot Showcase , but there's nothing quite like seeing it in motion.

, but there's nothing quite like seeing it in motion. The oozing lava, the flocking birds, the ash clouds swirling through the air. I got the idea from cinemagraphs—still images that contain moving pieces. Confessedly it's a term I find a bit pretentious, so I'll continue calling them GIFs. Now, anyone can make a video clip. The aim here was to create a series of living photographs. Personally, I think it's the closet you can get to Dark Souls 2 without playing it, which you should, because it's great.

Twitch Plays Dark Souls against Random Input Dark Souls: man vs. machine

We've already told you about Twitch Plays Dark Souls , the shocking social experiment that lets thousands of viewers control the Chosen Undead one input at a time. But now it has some artificial competition: Random Input Dark Souls. It's the same idea, minus all the human involvement: Random Input Dark Souls literally uses a random button-pushing algorith. You might think a bunch of random keystrokes

Soul Sacrifice and more in this week's Japanese news roundup

Show Us Your Rig: Double Damage's Erich Schaefer and Travis Baldree

Show us your rig
This week, we have a Show Us Your Rig double-feature with the guys behind Double Damage Games.

Each week on Show Us Your Rig, we feature the PC game industry's best and brightest as they show us the systems they use to work and play.

This week, we have a Show Us Your Rig double-feature with the guys behind Double Damage Games. Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer are industry veterans who recently broke away from Runic Games—which they founded and is responsible for the Torchlight series—to form Double Damage Games and begin work on a new game, Rebel Galaxy. With a company of only two people, I decided to invite them both to show off what they use to work and play. Plus, their company's name was just too fitting not to double them up. Travis and Erich were kind enough to take some time and tell us about their rigs.

What's in your PC?

Travis Baldree — CEO:

Intel 3.4gHZ i7-4930k 16 GB Ram Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 4GB Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD 1TB Seagate Windows 7 Professional Wacom Intuos Tablet 2 2560x1440 Yamakasi displays

Erich Schaefer — President:

Intel 3.4gHZ i7-4930k Nvidia GeForce GTX 780Ti 64 GB Ram

Travis Baldree
Erich Schaefer
What's the most interesting/unique part of your setup?

Travis: My functional Commodore 64 - right next to my main rig, so if I feel a hankering to play the best version of Pirates! or a little Ultima IV, or some old Gold Box games, I'm set.

Erich: Probably the excess RAM. I'm a photography nut, and I like to think it helps with Lightroom.

Travis Baldree
What's always within arm's reach on your desk?

Travis: My Oculus 2, and a bottle of whiskey (never at the same time.)

Erich: New for me is the Xbox controller. Rebel Galaxy is the first controller-based game I've worked on since Justice League Task Force for the Sega Genesis, in the mid-90s. Yes, I'm really that old.

Erich Schaefer
What are you playing right now?

Travis: Shadow of Mordor, Grimrock 2, Elite: Dangerous, Baldur's Gate 2 on iPad, Wasteland 2.

Erich: Civilization, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft as usual.

Travis Baldree
What's your favorite game and why?

Travis: It changes from year to year, but today-for classics, I'd say Wasteland, and for modern, I'd say I've sunk more hours into Just Cause 2 than any other title. Wasteland was so completely different from any other game at the time, and was so open and packed with options. The humor, the darkness, it's just an amazing game. Just Cause 2 did everything in service of letting me have a good time. It was foremost in their mind for every decision and it shows. Also, those accents!

Erich: The Civilization series, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft dominate my most-time-played list, but the one I still dream about, that has the best memories for me is Ultima Online. I loved the freedom and the lawless community. It's the closest I've come to really role-playing in any game.