Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Hinterland available on Steam for $20http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/30/hinterland-available-on-steam-for-20/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/30/hinterland-available-on-steam-for-20/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/30/hinterland-available-on-steam-for-20/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Tilted Mill's new title Hinterland is available now on Valve's Steam service for $20. Although we've yet to have any hands-on time with the game, from videos it appears to be a mix of Diablo-style combat and town building. What it really looks like is a mature version of My Life as a King, where players actually get to do the combat parts. Some of us gamers of higher chronology may recall a similar premise in ActRaiser.

The self-published Hinterland is a new route that Tilted Mill (SimCity Societies, Caesar IV) is undertaking: making a budget-friendly strategy RPG that delivers fun even when the player only has one or two hours to play. One of the game's designers, Jeff Fiske, agrees with the characterization of Hinterland as "a casual game for core gamers."

Gallery: Hinterland

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]]>hinterlandsteamtilted-millAlexander Sliwinski2008-09-30T14:40:00+00:00Valve hosting Source engine mods beginning next weekhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/valve-hosting-source-engine-mods-beginning-next-week/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/valve-hosting-source-engine-mods-beginning-next-week/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/valve-hosting-source-engine-mods-beginning-next-week/#commentsFiled under: ,


In their most recent weekly news update, Valve announced that starting next week, Steam will begin hosting certain user-created mods of Source engine titles such as Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2. Owners of any Source title will be able to download these mods for free -- what's more, Valve has promised automatic updates and stat tracking for the mods they add to the download service.

The first five mods to be highlighted by Steam are Age of Chivalry, a medieval HL2 mod (pictured above); Synergy, another mod for HL2 which adds a co-op mode to the campaign; D.I.P.R.I.P., a multiplayer vehicular combat game; Zombie Panic, a spiritual precursor to Left 4 Dead; and Insurgency, a "total conversion" mod that takes players out of City 17, and places them on a modern battlefield. Sadly, our Source-based Burgertime mod didn't make the cut. Hopefully Valve will get wise and pick it up with the next batch.

[Via Big Download]

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]]>half-life-2modsourcesteamvalveGriffin McElroy2008-09-28T18:30:00+00:00Steam's 50% off weekend on Rockstar titles, many games only $5http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/steams-50-off-weekend-on-rockstar-titles-many-games-only-5/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/steams-50-off-weekend-on-rockstar-titles-many-games-only-5/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/steams-50-off-weekend-on-rockstar-titles-many-games-only-5/#commentsFiled under:


Valve's Steam service has a seriously sweet 50% off sale this weekend on its Rockstar games catalog. Both Max Payne titles are only $5 apiece ($7.49 for the set). Also, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City are $5, while San Andreas is only $10.

Steam is also offering its whole Rockstar collection (10 games in all) for $30. Not every game in there is a classic (lookin' at you, Manhunt), but the price is certainly right for all the hours worth of gameplay in the package.

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]]>grand-theft-autogtamax-paynesalesteamvalveAlexander Sliwinski2008-09-26T20:00:00+00:00Crysis Warhead, Crysis available on Steamhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/crysis-warhead-crysis-available-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/crysis-warhead-crysis-available-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/crysis-warhead-crysis-available-on-steam/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Crysis and Crysis Warhead are now both available on Valve's Steam digital distribution service for $40 and $30, respectively. Warhead will be available tomorrow outside North America.

Of course, Crysis is now the stuff of PC legend for being "that game," which will take your two-year-old PC and teach it the meaning of pain. Crysis Warhead is its "less demanding" little brother who just wants to play. Remember, you can always try the Crysis Demo to see how your PC will cope.

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]]>crysiscrysis-warheadeasteamvalveAlexander Sliwinski2008-09-17T17:30:00+00:00Inquirer: Google to buy Valve, Valve denies [update]http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/inquirer-google-to-buy-valve/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/inquirer-google-to-buy-valve/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/inquirer-google-to-buy-valve/#commentsFiled under: ,


There's nothing in the way of official confirmation at the moment, but tech website The Inquirer reports that "well-placed sources" are telling it that Google will be purchasing Valve "any second now." As the site points out, Google is likely less motivated by Valve's game development than its nigh-ubiquitous content distribution platform, Steam.

We, again, have no idea if this is on the money, but there have been a couple of indicators that lend a sort of credence. You may remember early last month when Valve said it was happy to talk about acquisitions, and just a little over a week ago Forbes' Chris Morris posited that Google could be going into game publishing.

We'll keep you posted.

Update: Valve tells MTV that the story is a "complete fabrication."

[Thanks, Stephen]

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]]>breakingnewsgooglesteamvalveJustin McElroy2008-09-17T08:15:00+00:00Good Old Games offering early beta accesshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/good-old-games-offering-early-beta-access/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/good-old-games-offering-early-beta-access/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/good-old-games-offering-early-beta-access/#commentsFiled under: ,


If you love classic games but feel the need to own things in order to bring some sense of stability to your life, GOG.com (that's Good Old Games) could be a good alternative to GameTap for you. The company recently announced that you'll be able to find out for yourself if you sign up for the beta before Sept. 8, at which point the gates will be opened to the masses, or at least the masses that signed up.

We love GOG.com's approach, with $5.99 and $9.99 DRM-free releases that you can download as many times as you want and don't need an internet connection to play, but we wish the selection was a bit better. But who knows? With a beefier roster GOG could be a real Steam contender.

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]]>digital-distributiondrmgoggood-old-gamessteamJustin McElroy2008-09-05T11:20:00+00:00Team Fortress 2: Meet The Sandvichhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/team-fortress-2-meet-the-sandwich/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/team-fortress-2-meet-the-sandwich/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/team-fortress-2-meet-the-sandwich/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Meet Team Fortress 2's "Edible Device" and shotgun replacement, the Sandvich.

Valve really missed a good opportunity for a bad pun here by not calling it "Meat the Sandvich," but hey, it's still pretty damned funny. What's next in the series of loony videos? Meet the Bullet? Seriously though, we'd watch them all. Heck, just throw a TF2 cartoon on the air as part of Adult Swim and we'd be glued to our sets.

[Thanks Giroro, Alistair and Vandell]

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]]>SandwichShotgunSteamTeam-Fortress-2TF2ValveKevin Kelly2008-08-20T01:00:00+00:00Bionic Commando Rearmed not on Steam tomorrowhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/bionic-commando-rearmed-not-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/bionic-commando-rearmed-not-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/bionic-commando-rearmed-not-on-steam/#commentsFiled under: ,


Capcom's Christian Svensson informs on the company's site that Bionic Commando Rearmed won't be available tomorrow on Steam. Apparently, Capcom and Valve could not come to agreeable terms at "the last minute," meaning the game will have to be purchased through other outlets.

BCR will be available tomorrow on Direct2Drive at 8AM Pacific and on other sites later in the day. Considering Steam has become many people's trusted go-to PC digital distribution source, it appears the group getting hurt most by Capcom and Valve's standoff is the consumer. It's worth pointing out that the game is available now and $5 cheaper on consoles ... just saying.

[Thanks, AtomicPlayboy]

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]]>bionic-commando-rearmedsteamAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-14T18:00:00+00:00Team Fortress 2 bulks up with whopping Heavy update August 19http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/team-fortress-2-bulks-up-with-whopping-heavy-update-august-19/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/team-fortress-2-bulks-up-with-whopping-heavy-update-august-19/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/team-fortress-2-bulks-up-with-whopping-heavy-update-august-19/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The perpetually patched Team Fortress 2 is about to get its "largest update ever" (dare we say heaviest?) next week on August 19. In the lead-up, Valve is releasing new information and screenshots about the patch each day, as well as a "special installment to the 'Meet the Team' series of video shorts," according to the press release. The community map cp_steel was revealed on the first day.

Besides new weapons and achievements for the Heavy class, the next update will include new multiplayer maps and a "brand new gameplay mode," possibly related to the new type of environment we heard about earlier this month. As with the other updates, Valve is offering a free Team Fortress 2 weekend starting August 22 at 2pm ET.

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]]>dlcsteamteam-fortress-2tf2Ross Miller2008-08-13T04:00:00+00:00Penny Arcade Adventures only $10 this weekend on Steamhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/penny-arcade-adventures-only-10-this-weekend-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/penny-arcade-adventures-only-10-this-weekend-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/penny-arcade-adventures-only-10-this-weekend-on-steam/#commentsFiled under: ,

Have you been sitting on the edge of the rain-slick precipice of darkness? Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One is half-off on Steam this weekend. That's right, an Alexander Hamilton (US $10) for verbose RPG romping. Deal ends today, so act fast!

[Thanks, Matt J]

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]]>penny-arcadepenny-arcade-adventuressteamRoss Miller2008-07-13T16:30:00+00:00Tilted Mill turns with Steam powerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/tilted-mill-turns-with-steam-power/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/tilted-mill-turns-with-steam-power/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/tilted-mill-turns-with-steam-power/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Valve's Steam service is generating the power for Tilted Mill's digital distribution of its enhanced 2004 title, Children of the Nile. The game places players in the role of a Pharaoh tasked with building an ancient Egyptian society SimCity-style and is available for $20.

Although Tilted Mill did say previous owners of CotN would be able to get this updated version for free, that upgrade is not available just yet. We spoke with the company's president, Chris Beatrice, who tells us the download should be available on their site and several others "in the next couple of days, hopefully today." He also tells us Tilted Mill is currently working on several other projects and at least one of them will be announced this Friday. Beatrice believes that game should be available this fall and we'll be sure to post what it is as soon as we get word from the company.

[Via BigDownload]

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]]>children-of-the-nilesteamtilted-millAlexander Sliwinski2008-07-09T19:59:00+00:00Steam hacker caught in 'high tech' raidhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/steam-hacker-caught-in-high-tech-raid/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/steam-hacker-caught-in-high-tech-raid/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/steam-hacker-caught-in-high-tech-raid/#commentsFiled under: ,

Back in April, a website used by Valve to manage its Steam-related Cyber Cafe business was hacked. As we reported then, the hacker, known as "MaddoxX," claimed to have gained access to a variety of sensitive data, including credit card numbers. Well, the jig is finally up.

A special Dutch police unit, "Team High Tech Crime" (certainly somehow related to G.I. Joe), nabbed the culprit in the town of Maastricht on June 24. Dutch authorities report that he hacked an Activision server prior to the Valve job, obtaining a pre-release version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. He is also charged with stealing nearly 50,000 credit card numbers from a UK-based ticket sales service, using some of them to buy electronics and play online poker.

In lieu of a prison sentence, we suggest that "MaddoxX" be assigned to a work release program at Aperture Science.

[Via ITExaminer]

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]]>breachcredit cardsCreditCardshacksteamvalveRandy Nelson2008-07-01T05:00:00+00:00Reminder: TF2 Pyro update now available, free to play this weekendhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/reminder-tf2-pyro-update-now-available-free-to-play-this-weeke/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/reminder-tf2-pyro-update-now-available-free-to-play-this-weeke/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/reminder-tf2-pyro-update-now-available-free-to-play-this-weeke/#commentsFiled under: , ,

A new update Team Fortress 2 is now available via Steam and includes major updates to the Pyro class. The basic flamethrower has alternate fire compression blast, the hadouken taunt now kills people and, most importantly, three new weapons have been added, to be unlocked by conquering the 35 new Pyro achievements.

The update also adds two community maps (cp_fastlane and ctf_turbine). Don't forget, Team Fortress 2 is free to play all weekend starting tomorrow. You can pre-load the game now.

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]]>steamteam-fortressteam-fortress-2tf2valveRoss Miller2008-06-19T21:00:00+00:00See TF2's Pyro's new weapons, achievementshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/see-tf2s-pyros-new-weapons-achievements/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/see-tf2s-pyros-new-weapons-achievements/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/see-tf2s-pyros-new-weapons-achievements/#commentsFiled under: ,


The big overhaul of Team Fortress 2's Pyro class won't arrive until tomorrow, but Valve is pulling the veil off of the changes today, including three new weapons and 35 new achievements for the firestarter.

At the top there, you see the Flare Gun, which replaces the Pyro's shotgun and lets you light up enemies at long range. In the middle? It's the Axtinguisher, the melee weapon that always makes a critical hit on flaming enemies. Finally, there's the Back Burner, which is guaranteed to crit if it hits a foe from behind.

If we still haven't cured your pyromania (we've been waiting all post to say that) check out all the details right here.

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]]>pyrosteamteam-fortress-2valveJustin McElroy2008-06-18T12:45:00+00:00Bodysurf: Where the Wii Balance Board meets Audiosurfhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/bodysurf-where-the-wii-balance-board-meets-audiosurf/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/bodysurf-where-the-wii-balance-board-meets-audiosurf/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/bodysurf-where-the-wii-balance-board-meets-audiosurf/#commentsFiled under: , ,

We've made no secret of our love for rhythm action game Audiosurf. But if there's one thing we've made more blatantly obvious it's our distaste for exercise. So you can understand if we have mixed feelings about Bodysurf, a hack developed by Evan Jones that allows you to play the game using the Wii Balance Board.

If you're curious how you deploy your power ups, Jones has you covered, allowing you to shake the Wiimote to use them. We're sure you're also asking if a game can still be fun if it asks something more than fingertip energy from you, but for that we, sadly, have no answer.

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]]>audiosurfsteamJustin McElroy2008-06-17T10:30:00+00:00Team Fortress 2 Pyro update coming Thursdayhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/team-fortress-2-pyro-update-coming-thursday/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/team-fortress-2-pyro-update-coming-thursday/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/17/team-fortress-2-pyro-update-coming-thursday/#commentsFiled under: ,


We didn't think it possible to get more satisfaction out of setting people and property ablaze, but the eternal optimists at Valve are attempting to improve on the experience with an update to Team Fortress 2's Pyro class, which the company has announced will arrive on Thursday. Expect the Axtinguisher (which sounds like something Strong Bad came up with) as well as two other weapons and 35 new achievements for the Fortress firebug.

What's more, all Steam users will be able to try out the new enhancements with a free Team Fortress 2 weekend beginning this Friday. (Note to new players: TF2 is not always a hellish world of flame, populated only by masked men spraying fire in every direction. That will pass, we promise.)

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]]>patchespyrosteamteam-fortress-2updatesJustin McElroy2008-06-17T08:10:00+00:00Valve puts saves and player identity online with Steamcloudhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/valve-puts-saves-and-player-identity-online-with-steamcloud/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/valve-puts-saves-and-player-identity-online-with-steamcloud/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/valve-puts-saves-and-player-identity-online-with-steamcloud/#commentsFiled under: ,


Valve announced its new Steamcloud service last night which will store Steam player data online, allowing gamers to access their save games, keyboard configurations, and any games they've purchased through Steam from anywhere in the universe. RPS attended the mini-press conference at Valve where Gabe Newell and company introduced Steamcloud and wanted to talk a little about all the negative press the PC games market has been getting.

Valve strongly believes that PC at retail is not doomed and explains that when the company holds free weekends for games on Steam, it results in stronger sales at retail; Newell jokes that retail must have some kind of magic. The company says that future innovations for Steam (beyond Steamcloud) include driver auto-updating and the continued expansion of the game catalog.

[Via Big Download]

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]]>BreakingNewsgabe-newellsteamsteamcloudsteamworksvalveAlexander Sliwinski2008-05-30T10:24:00+00:00Everyday Shooter makes PC debut on Steamhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/08/everyday-shooter-makes-pc-debut-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/08/everyday-shooter-makes-pc-debut-on-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/08/everyday-shooter-makes-pc-debut-on-steam/#commentsFiled under:


For the PS3-deficient amongst you, you've got a second chance to play ... nay, experience Jonathan Mak's procedurally generated musical shooter, Everyday Shooter. If you've got a Windows PC, Valve's Steam client, and an unused $10 bill, you could show up to this rock party a measly seven months late. Let's see if it can prove to be as popular as Steam's other indie audio title, Audiosurf.

Gallery: Everyday Shooter

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]]>Everyday-ShooterJonathan-MakSteamChristopher Grant2008-05-08T17:58:00+00:00Audiosurf gets a free, audioscrobblin' updatehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/audiosurf-gets-a-free-audioscrobblin-update/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/audiosurf-gets-a-free-audioscrobblin-update/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/audiosurf-gets-a-free-audioscrobblin-update/#commentsFiled under: , ,


If you haven't taken a procedurally-generated spin on your copy of runaway indie hit Audiosurf for a while, you may want to fire it up: The game has gotten a batch of new features, referred to collectively as the "FM Update." You'll now be able to run the game as a music visualizer, make scoreboard comments and create your own mods. All the features (which we've listed after the jump) will automatically download the next time you load the game on Steam.

Perhaps most notably, last.fm audioscrobbling has been enabled in the new patch. We here at Joystiq would like to remind everyone that though audioscrobbling seems fun and a good way to really get to know people, it should only be performed by adults and only with protection.

Audioscrobblin' -- It's Worth The Wait.(R)

New features:
--last.fm audioscrobbling
--Comments tab on every song's scoreboard
--Customized player news on the song loading screen (when friends last played, songs you're champion of, etc...)
--Command interface for 3rd party mod apps (extensions)
--New hover vehicle for Eraser Elite
--Added Vegas ability: generate a random powerup every 60 seconds
--You can play freeride as a music visualizer on your desktop while other applications are running, and it will automatically advance to the next song in your current folder or current m3u playlist
--Improved Strategy Guide look
--Eraser Elite now has 8 rows of tiles (like Pusher Elite)
--Score browser now refreshes popular songs when you first open it
--Added blending to top and bottom black frame in gameplay
--Add a graphic to display your chain reaction multiplier at the bottom of the screen
--Longer-lasting fireworks on enhanced detail
--Maximum song length extended to 60 minutes
--Made additional texture mods possible (tiles, tileflyups, cliff)
--If you put a traffic.png file in the textures folder it will be used for traffic instead of blocks
--Going back in song browser remembers mousewheel scroll position
--Sound effect theme is saved between play sessions
--Checkbox added to stop being shown character videos
--Added OK button to the loading/news page. Gives you more time to read the news on the loading page if you want it
--No longer automatically goes fullscreen when maximizing
--X360 controller can now pause/resume play with the Start button

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]]>audiosurfsteamJustin McElroy2008-05-06T08:30:00+00:00Valve: MS, Yahoo, others turned down chance to build Steamhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/valve-ms-yahoo-others-turned-down-chance-to-build-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/valve-ms-yahoo-others-turned-down-chance-to-build-steam/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/valve-ms-yahoo-others-turned-down-chance-to-build-steam/#commentsFiled under:

Now that Steam is running 300 games and 15 million subscribers strong, Valve's grand experiment in digital distribution seems like a no-brainer. Some of the titans of the computer industry apparently didn't see it that way, though, when given a chance to get in on the ground floor years ago.

"We went around to Yahoo, Microsoft...and anybody who seemed like a likely candidate to build something like Steam," Valve marketing veep Doug Lombardi told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview. "We went around to everybody and asked 'Are you guys doing anything like this?' And everyone was like 'That's a million miles in the future ... We can't help you." Valve, of course, proceeded to single-handedly bring the future to the present (which is now nearly five years in the past) and the rest is history.

Readers without a vested interest in Microsoft and/or Yahoo should check out the full interview, where Lombardi talks about piracy, independence, and the future of PC gaming. Anyone involved with those two companies would probably be better off visiting this handy site first.

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]]>degitial-distributionmicrosoftregretssteamvalveyahooKyle Orland2008-04-30T11:30:00+00:00