Tag Archives: pc games

E3 2011: The Novatech Introduction, Coverage and Special Promotions

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo – or E3 as it is more commonly known – falls next week at the Los Angeles Convention Center between Tuesday 7th and Thursday 9th. E3 has long been recognised as the ultimate expo in the industry of video games and is the preferred event for developers to reveal upcoming titles and game related hardware.

After nearly 70,000 people turned up to the event in 2007, E3 was made invite only and now it is restricted to industry types and a few lucky individuals alone. Gaming enthusiasts need not worry however; we will be keeping non-attendees informed of the biggest announcements made during the expo via numerous blog posts over the next week.

We also invite you to take advantage of a number of special promotions we will be running in celebration of the event – check back to the blog regularly for more details!

Who is exhibiting at E3 2011?

The list of games developers showcasing at E3 this year is endless but includes Square Enix, THQ, Ubisoft, Atari, Activision, Capcom…and this really is just a handful! Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo also have their own conferences within the expo, in which the biggest news for the gaming industry is expected to be revealed.

So what announcements can we expect?

Microsoft have been very quite regarding the contents of their symposium but it is thought that plans to inject new life into the popular (but relatively title-lacking) motion sensitive Kinect system as well as some developments related to the heaving Xbox Live service will be announced.

Nintendo meanwhile is highly rumoured to be showcasing their new console for 2012 (currently known only as ‘Project Cafe’) which is meant to be “significantly more powerful” than the current Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles. Let’s hope touch screen and motion novelties have been ignored in favour of game play with longevity, to welcome back the ‘serious’ gamer sect into the Nintendo fold!

We are very interested to see what Sony has up their sleeve for the next year in light of criticisms regarding the recent hackings of the Playstation Network! Sony already showed their NGP – the next in the series of their portable consoles – to a number of journalists last fall but E3 should mark its official unveiling. Also a catchier name for the console too (hopefully).

What about the games?

We reckon the long awaited, no-longer-a-vapourware title Duke Nukem Forever will continue to be plugged during E3 for it is finally sees its release the day after the expo ends but there is a plethora of other titles – both currently in development and rumoured for future release – that we would like more details regarding…

  • Diablo III (PC)
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PC, 360, PS3) 
  • Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Street Fighter X Tekken (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Metro: Last Light (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Thief 4 (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Rage (PC, 360, PS3, iOS)
  • Mass Effect 3 (PC, 360, PS3)
  • Disney Universe (PC, 360, PS3, iOS)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
  • Halo HD (360)
  • The next title in the Half-Life series…though this looks unlikely since Valve are not attending this year’s expo.

Be sure to check back to the Novatech blog regularly over the next week to be kept informed of everything E3!

 

 

Your Fortnightly PC Game Releases: June Part One

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In a new series, we look at the PC titles being released in the next fortnight, so you have a better idea of what to build you gaming machine for.

Summer is usually a dull season for games releases on any platform: the theory is, we’re all supposed to be out enjoying the sun, as opposed to looking rather pasty white in front of the warming glow of our LCD screens. Nonetheless, June is actually looking reasonably healthy for PC releases. Here’s the first fortnight’s worth of major titles:

June 3rd – Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (Official Site)

Developed by inXile and published by Bethesda, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is a third person action game with a fantasy setting, which sounds all rather standard. But the hook in is the co-op action, where you and a friend hack and slash your way through dungeons full of enemies as a scantily clad Valkyrie and a dude in a loincloth. Expect a kind of three-dimensional Golden Axe. Though hopefully not as bad as the actual three-dimensional Golden Axe.

No system specifications out there for this one, but don’t expect anything taxing for your rig.

June 10th – Duke Nukem Forever (Official Site)

No, you read that right. The true sequel to Duke Nukem 3D (Four, Forever… geddit?) is finally being released, after taking a record-busting 5156 days. For the uninitiated, Duke is a tongue-in-cheek ultra-macho First Person Shooter with lots of violence and gyrating Vegas girls. Though hopefully not at the same time.

Hardware upgrading fans may remember the original game being the killer app that got them to add a go-faster stripe to their original machine. Well, unless you’ve been born since the game was released, which is entirely fathomable. Duke Nukem Forever is rather less cutting edge, with even the recommended spec at a modest 2.4GHz Dual Core processor, 2GB of memory and a GeForce 8800 GTS / Radeon HD 3850.

June 10th – Red Faction: Armageddon (Official Site)

Keeping things suitably action-focused, Red Faction: Armageddon is another sequel to a trailblazer that seems to be chasing bandwagons rather than steering them. The early Red Faction titles were lauded for their revolutionary environmental destruction, whereas Armageddon (and direct predecessor Guerilla) has become a somewhat nondescript third person shooter.

Developer Volition, Inc are loyal to the PC and always put on a good show, so let’s hope that the switch from Guerilla’s open world game to something more linear means that we’ll see a tighter experience (as opposed to a lazy one). Minimum specs aren’t especially taxing: Dual Core processor @ 2.0 Ghz, 2Gb of Ram and a GeForce 8800 or 9800 series / Radeon HD 3000 series card.

Next time: Alice: Madness Returns, Dungeon Siege III and F.E.A.R. 3