At 14:33 pacific standard time Valve released an update for it’s most popular puzzle game; Portal. The company’s description of the update was only this:

Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations

What this translates to is that there are now 26 radios spread throughout each level of the game, the new achievement involves finding each one and activating them.

SPOILER ALERT (sort of): Each radio will play an Easter egg audio file when activated. So far files that have been found by the community include messages inmorse code, hexadecimal, and images encoded into audio files.

Details about the update are still being discovered by the community, a comprehensive collection of the findings will be posted when it looks like everything has been found. Until then, you can monitor the community’s progress on the Steam forums.

Update Discovery Thread

Morse Code Thread

Decoded Images Thread

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seen in this trailer:

• Mechs
• Swords
• Snipers
• Lightning
• Magic
• Chainsaw bayonet
• Witches
• Flamethrower

What does the Dawn of War II cutting room floor actually HAVE on it?  Velociraptors with machine guns for teeth?  A magic spell that causes scorpions to burst out of the victim’s chest cavity, then explode, spewing acid for further damage?  An entire horde of kamikaze penguins with packs of C4 strapped to their chests?!

Click here to view the embedded video.

General rule of futuristic combat zone:  If a dude is cloaking in and out of the way of your bullets on his way towards you, the odds are so heavily in his favor, you might as well put your machine pistol in your mouth.  When have you EVER seen somebody catch onto the cloaking pattern, put two and two together, and blow away the stealth/sword guy who appears halfway through the trailer?

Never.  Because nobody does math in the heat of battle, because math is stupid.

But fist bump for the point blank range flamethrower kill.  Fist bump retracted for protagonist dude’s voice acting.  He sounds too much like the mayor of a New England Puritan village, circa 1690.

]]> http://www.gamingogre.com/news/literally-anything-and-literally-everything-reflections-on-warhammer-40k-dow-ii-trailer/feed/ 0 http://www.gamingogre.com/news/surprisingly-menacing-cg-midget-dominates-launch-trailer-for-napoleon-total-war/ http://www.gamingogre.com/news/surprisingly-menacing-cg-midget-dominates-launch-trailer-for-napoleon-total-war/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:54:20 +0000 Justin http://www.gamingogre.com/?p=287 The next entry in the Total War series is here, and when you first see Napoleon emerge from the fog of war, you think, “Oh, Jesus.  Here comes some half-assed narration from another one of history’s greatest villains turned into a CG puppet.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

And then he starts talking and his French accent doesn’t eat you alive, and he’s actually… actually a little intimidating. Kudos, Sega Europe.  My compliments to the chef.  Nice comeback for a guy who’s career ended with this totally honorable portrayal:

I wish “How You Like Me Now?” by The Heavy had been playing in the background of that trailer.

“What do they say now?!”

Tetris was pretty much my reason for failing midterms, but now that I’m a grown adult, “Because if I quit NOW, the GAME wins!” is not considered a valid excuse for not getting my work done.

So with Nowcom launching Fort Fire, a free-to-play online game they’re describing as “Go meets Tetris,” I’d say any further productivity on my end should be seen as a bonus.  Good luck, employers.

From a gameplay standpoint, we’re looking at a very simple idea:  You’ve got a cannon.  You’ve got land.  Use on to defend the other.  Should you require further clarification on this matter, Fort Fore is probably not the title for you.

Nowcom would like to stress that the critical part of Fort Fire is rebuilding what you’ve lost.  There is a time limit in between rounds (three turns make up a round) in which you can do so, and it is apparently the key to crushing your enemies into dust.  For those of you who found Tetris too hard because there was no way to turn the bricks off, Fort Fire is customizable to your weaknesses, allowing games to be selected based on how long a time you are given to rebuild between turns, or the number of rounds themselves.  There’s also a “Disaster” mode, in which everyone’s cannon explodes at random throughout the match.

Cast aside your midterms and your data input starting now.

Gear up your anime MMORPG juices; XPEC Entertainment has re-opened Canaan Online for business… deadly, pet-training, Sacred Gate-pining business.

There are gifts for every player, sure:  Minor adjustments to the interface, a retooled character naming process, chat features with customizable filters.  Got to throwing something at the masses.

But the real benefits are to be reaped by those level 15 Canaan enthusiasts and higher, people who’ve really given the title their all.  Check your in game mail for a beta pet and take part in some of the contests like designing new wallpaper art or a beginner’s guide to the game itself.

Which means some Canaan Online intern took his to-do list and turned it into an online competition so he could catch the Shutter’s Island matinee.

Screenshots!  Slurp ‘um up.  Happy Wednesday.

Yesterday Valve launched a public opt-in beta of the “brand new steam”. New functions include a larger friends list, a news/update feed for each game in your library, improved achievement tracking, “library wrangling” (several new ways to organize your game library), and an improved download tracking UI.

Steam’s interface has also undergone some visual changes, resulting in a user experience that is less akin to an olive drab version of Excel 2003.

A number of performance enhancements have been made as well; the browser is now much faster thanks to a switch from IE to the distinctly Microsoft free WebKit.

Alas, the new steam is still an imperfect beta, there have been reports that some people have had their friends list wiped clean, although this is most likely a temporary inconvenience.

For more information and instructions on how to get in on the beta click here.

Amy get s a new Skill Tree, Jin gets a fourth job, and a new dungeon makes itself available:  Victor’s Fortress.  Ntreev USA just wants you to be happy.

If you’re a Grand Chase fan, clap your hands.  If you’re not, now’s your chance to jump on the train, thanks to that professionally inserted link I just fed you.  Apparently, these latest updates are what you wanted, so if you’re complaining, stop it.  Okay?  Just stop it.

“These new additions are what fans are waiting for and we are happy to give them something exciting like the skill tree and new skill attacks,” says Ntreev USA’s CEO Chris Lee.

This makes it Amy’s month, and until March 9, special items will be available in the shop for Amy.  Be on the lookout for free Amy crap as well.  I mean, why not?

Jin’s Rama Mission can only be taken up by 40th levelers.  Enjoy four new basic attacks and three burning modes.  Speaking of Jin, he’s pretty pissed to find out Victor’s at the head of the Black Knights Soldiers standing in the way of the Grand Chase in the new dungeon.  You should probably leave him alone with his thoughts.

No?  You’re going to utilize his unbridled rage for a vicious slaughter?  Fine.  Do whatever you want.

Bluehole Studio (Is that some kind of innuendo?  I can’t decide if it is or not.  Either way, I want it to be), after setting up operating systems in Korea (NHN Hangame), the U.S., and Japan (NHN Japan, coming in 2010), is giving its $24 million investment title, TERA, a teaser trailer.

But it’s actually more like a music video with quick flashes of mid-development images of a PC game flashing before your eyes.  If that’s not your cup of tea, cram it in your blue hole.

Yeah, that’s not going to work.  Had to try it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well, the trailer’s got people capable of wingless flight within the first 10 seconds, subterranean ninjas within the first 20, and an ass-load of exploding corpses within the first 40.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good luck, Thailand.

Its not enough that there’s demonic beasts out there, just begging for a blade to the skull.  Now Silkroad Online is going to have opposing players coming from all directions; their lit with the fires of greed and fueled by the filthiest of traitorous intentions.

Prepare to lose faith in your fellow man.  Independent developer Joymax is anxious to see you turn on each other.

Legend V: Heroes of Alexandria is Silkroad Online‘s foray into further expansion, giving you a higher level cap at 110, a pair of fresh environments they’re calling a “sinister tomb” and a “dangerous temple,” (way to raid the thesaurus, Joymax), and, as if I need to say it, new weapons and armor.

Access is limited, so get your under-100-level ass back to the killing fields and spill some blood for once.  Otherwise, you ain’t getting into Alexandria, the Desert of Storms, or Joymax’s pride and joy, the Tomb of the Pharaoh.

Pick your difficulty (out of three options) and prepare to… be denied entry again, this time if you’re under level 105. They really, really don’t want you to play this expansion.  There’s eleventh grade items to be had (with terror-ridden labels like the Reaper Ghost Sword and the Angel Breaker), but your visitation rights, just like dad’s, are limited to twice a day.  Actually, dad would kill for that kind of visitation.  Mom’s lawyer is such a dick.

And there is always PvP combat in the Tomb of the Pharaoh.  So watch your ass; there’s going to be a real person on the other end of that sword next time.