StarCraft 2 Dated?

Future Shop’s website is reporting a release date for StarCraft 2…

Read this and more at our new site at http://csource.ca.

Tune Raider: ‘Underworld’ soundtrack available for free download

Nothing says “yuletide cheer” like a bombastic action score, such as the one written by Colin O’Malley for Tomb Raider: Underworld. Good news: said soundtrack is being offered as a free download from the website Tomb Raider Chronicles (and actually has been for a while, but “better late thannever“). There are actually several downloads to choose from: bundles of tracks associated with each of the game’s locales, or one big “deluxe edition” (198MB) containing all 71 tracks in 320kbps MP3 format. (Lady Croft demands nothing but the highest bitrates.)

Suit up: New TR Underworld costumes available

Eidos has given Underworld fans another free costume pack, perfect for playing dress-up with Lara Croft. The 62MB download gives Lara a blue and a red wetsuit to add to her walk-in closet. A previous free costume pack bestowed Lady Croft with her treasured original (Anniversary) outfit and her Legend ensemble. As much as we love putting Lara in new clothes, pretending she’s the Barbie doll dad wouldn’t let us have as a kid, don’t think we’ve forgotten about those Underworld level packs. Pretty clothes might distract us, but the “Beneath the Ashes” mission was originally planned to be out by now.

Wired hails Duke Nukem Forever as 2008’s vaporware king, baby

Wired, embracing the redundancy of doing so, has named Duke Nukem Forever as the top piece of vaporware in 2008. As others have made it abundantly clear in the past, much has happened since Nukem’s latest adventure was first announced back in 1997. Wired was going to leave the perennial favorite off the list this year because “even the best jokes get old eventually,” but obviously thought the DNF horse, with a DNR order, still had enough life left in it for one more jab. Keeping the dream alive that DNF may be coming to the end of a very, very (x12) long development cycle was its appearance on the Jace Hall show earlier this year. However, that was followed up by more teaser images. Keep hope alive, Duke faithful. Keep hope alive.

Acclaim is still around?

So maybe I’m the only one who hasn’t heard of Acclaim in YEARS! I haven’t seen these guys around for a long while and figured that they were eaten up buy EA or some other company, or finally folded. But NO! they’re still around and making games. Free online games to be exact. Maybe I’m just oblivious or maybe I’ve stumbled upon something little known. I’ll update this post when I’ve played a few of the games they have to tell you what their like.

800 Microsoft Points cards hit retail

Another option is now available at retail for shoppers in the U.S. looking to purchase cards loaded with Microsoft Points. In addition to the 1600 Point variety available for $19.99, Microsoft has released a 800 Point card for the easier to swallow price of $9.99. It’s convenient, plus gift cards remain a bastion of hope for the last minute holiday shopper. And for those who fancy video games on your lists, why not fill their stockings with digital money instead. It works just like regular money, but it’s, er … fun.

EA games roll onto Steam

EA has accepted the warm embrace of Steam and will begin using the digital distribution service. Following reports that Spore was crawling out of the primordial ooze to Steam, Valve announced today that several of the latest EA titles are available now, with many more coming over the next couple weeks. 

Available now:

• Spore
• Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Mass Effect
• Need for Speed Undercover
• EA Sports’ FIFA Manager 2009

Coming Soon:

• Mirror’s Edge
• Red Alert 3
• Dead Space

Big Download contacted EA to find out if older PC games would become available, but the publisher wouldn’t comment. Also, in case you’re wondering, EA games on Steam apparently don’t install or use third-party DRM set-ups. According to Valve ”the only DRM it uses is Steam itself.”

Blizzard releases Starcraft 2 Battle Report

Blizzard has released the first of what is to be a series of StarCraft 2 battle reports, narrated videos of a match from the alpha version of the game. Here, we see associate game balance designers Matt Cooper and David Kim playing a 1-on-1 as Protoss and Terran, respectively, with commentary provided by lead designer Dustin Browder and e-Sports team member Robert Simpson. The announcers are comically enthusiastic at times, especially when a particularly mobile Protoss probe manages to run circles around a marine. If that sounds like something you’d rather not hear or f you’re trying to watch this at work, a transcript is available below the video so that you can follow along. The official Joystiq Crystal Ball™ is telling us that when SC2 is released (even it doesn’t know when), the forums will light up with cries of unfair Marauder rushes.

Grand Theft Auto IV PC patch needs a patch

Continuing in a tradition set forth by Bully, Rockstar’s latest Grand Theft Auto IV PC patch may itself be in need of a patch. According to BigDownload, the update has created issues for some gamers’ controllers, both Xbox 360 Windows controller and keyboard/mouse combination. For those already experiencing some major issues, it’s probably worth downloading now. For everyone else, we suggest waiting until the next patch arrives. Maybe.

Rumor: EA cancels development on Need for Speed series

The latest episode of Electric Playground brought with it a shocking (yet somewhat believable) report, they claimed to have learned from an unspecified source that Electronic Arts is canceling the development of new titles in the Need for Speed series. When they asked for a comment from EA, a spokesperson responded with a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the report. We tend to handle rumors without named sources with a bit more trepidation than others, but the cancellation of EA’s 14-year-old racing franchise isn’t completely outside the realm of possibilities. After all, the gaming industry juggernaut has sailed through fairer economic waters, and the latest installment in the supposedly canceled series, Need for Speed: Undercover,currently holds a Metacritic rating of 65, which also happens to be the exact number of people who purchased the game. We’ll let you know when we hear more.