Borderlands 2 release date set for September, trailer fuses joy and pain into new emotion
I’m not sure if humanity has yet invented a unit capable of measuring the kind of manic, gun-loving hysteria exploding out of every frame of the new Borderlands 2 trailer on RPS. It’s possible that language alone can’t contain this amount of concentrated wub wub in one place, which explains the appearance of words like “bazilliondier” and expressions like “get read to joy puke your face off.”
Between the beats there’s mention of a September 18 release date. That’s for the US, the Borderlands 2 site says that it’ll be released internationally on September 21. If the concentrated, brilliant mind-bludgeoning above has rewired your brain into a state in which you must buy Borderlands 2 now or explode, there are various pre-order options advertised on the Borderlands 2 site. A refined, expanded version of the first game would do very nicely indeed.
PC Gamer » PC Gamer | The global authority on PC games
Tom Senior
Tribes: Ascend entering open beta on Friday, adding Arena Deathmatch and new maps
Good news, everyone! Starting this Friday, February 24 at 12 p.m. EST, Tribes: Ascend will leave closed beta and open its free-to-play doors to the greater public. The game won’t launch officially until later this year, but with F2P games, the difference between an open beta and a “launch” is debatable. Perhaps the beta comes with an asterisk acknowledging that bugs happen, things get nerfed, and there’s still polishing to do, but Ascend is already pretty shiny. It started strong, and developer Hi-Rez has made substantial improvements during the closed beta, which CEO Todd Harris says “exceeded expectations” with over 300,000 players.
Ascend currently features five maps, nine customizable classes, and three modes: Rabbit, a free-for-all mode which awards points to the flag carrier; Team Deathmatch, which awards double points to kills scored by the flag-holding team; and traditional Capture the Flag.
Temple Ruins, a firey new CTF map, will be introduced before the open beta update.
Before the game opens to all on Friday, a major update will add a new mode called Arena Deathmatch, which will include two maps specifically designed for it; a new CTF map, Temple Ruins; a new Team Deathmatch map, Inferno; two new Soldier class unlocks; as well as several interface changes, balance tweaks, and bug fixes. Existing players will retain all progress and unlocks, and Hi-Rez doesn’t plan for any character wipes.
If you’re not in the closed beta, the upcoming public release will cost you nothing but time to check out. Purchasing gold gives you immediate access to additional classes and weapons, but those can also be acquired with experience earned in-game, and upgrades like larger clips and reduced reload times can only be earned with XP, so lacking funds won’t put you at a serious disadvantage. (Those with the cash can speed things up by purchasing XP boosters, but even so, the game’s balanced well enough that upgrades or no upgrades, you’ll never be a helpless weakling.)
Being the camping jerk I am, my current go-to class is the pesky, sniping Sentinel. For me, nothing beats picking a skiing flag carrier out of the air, but the game accommodates a ton of play styles. Gavin, for example, takes a bulkier approach, as seen in the Juggernaut class video we put together a while back:
For more on Hi-Rez’s approach to the series, check out our interview with Executive Producer Todd Harris, which was recorded prior to November’s closed beta launch, and scroll down for more screenshots of the new additions. Oh, and check back later this week for a very relevant giveaway!
Lava Arena, an upcoming map for the new Arena Deathmatch gametype.
Air Arena, another Arena Deathmatch map.
Soldiers can look forward to two new class items: the Utility Pack and Proximity Grenade.
PC Gamer » PC Gamer | The global authority on PC games
Tyler Wilde
New Metal Gear Solid coming to PC
It was just a normal day on the internet when suddenly, without warning, an exclamation mark appeared above my head and a loud alert noise played out of nowhere. Resisting a sudden urge to walk very slowly around the room looking for intruders, I headed straight here to post news that a new Metal Gear Solid game is in the works, and it’ll be coming to PC.
A Konami GDC job ad, spotted by Joystiq, mentions that Kojima Productions are looking for “project engineers for the latest Metal Gear Solid targeted for high-end consoles and PC.” The ad is also looking for engineers capable of developing “network gameplay functionality for online games,” which obviously implies a multiplayer component. Beyond that, there are few details, but if it’s anything like every other MGS game, it will be quite wonderfully mad.
PC Gamer » PC Gamer | The global authority on PC games
Tom Senior