Gamecron PC Gaming Blog

Dungeons & Dragons Online now free

aaron — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:22:51 +0000

Dungeons and Dragons Online is now free which is following in the footsteps of other MMO's that have decided to give the free-to-play model a try. I've read reports that some have been successful. If your looking around for something new, this may be exactly what your looking for. It's based on the D&D 3.5 ruleset. Here's some information from the site:

Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ (or DDO for short) is the only FREE to play premium Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO) of its kind. Set in the vast and dangerous online world of Eberron, gamers discover hidden treasure, pummel monsters, and look to evade traps left behind by an ancient race. By leveraging the most active, most realistic combat system of any online game, DDO players deliver and feel every blow that goes into a baddie’s demise.

http://www.ddo.com/

Sign up for Wolf Team Beta

aaron — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:04:54 +0000

Aeria Games is proud to announce the launch of the official Wolf Team website! Now is your chance to reserve your spot in the upcoming Closed Beta that will begin at the end of June! Wolf Team is a fast paced First Person Shooter (FPS) online game. However, blazing gunfire is just the beginning:

* Fast-paced FPS action for up to 16 players!
* Large assortment of different weapons
* Transform into werewolf for up-close combat
* 15 different maps in a variety of environments
* 7 game modes including Death Match, Destruction, and Conquest
* Best of all it's Free to Play!

About the game:

Wolf Team is a fast paced 3D MMOFPS that features the ability for players to transform between playing as a Human or as a Werewolf. Humans have an assortment of weapons available at their disposal giving them an advantage at a distance. Wolves on the other hand have no ranged attack but are faster and stronger than their human counter parts.

The ability to switch between human and wolf at any time adds a new element of strategy to Wolf Team over other traditional shooter games. Players will never need to worry about running out of ammunition because Wolves have their own distinct advantages such as running on walls and dropping in on other players unexpectedly. In certain modes players can even play as other types of wolves such as ghost wolves that can turn invisible.

Wolf Team has several addictive game modes to choose from ranging from the traditional deathmatch style to Conquest mode that allows players to work in a team to capture as many bases as possible, and Destruction mode where one team tries to blow up the other team's base. The game also features a large selection of weapons players can acquire as they progress through the game.

* Features Fast-paced FPS action for up to 16 players at a time!
* A large assortment of modern weaponry
* Transform into a werewolf for up-close combat
* 15 different maps in a variety of different shapes and sizes
* 7 exciting game modes including Death Match, Destruction, and Conquest

System Shock for free

aaron — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:06:00 +0000

System Shock is an action role-playing game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994,[1] the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a cyberpunk vision of 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless hacker, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent artificial intelligence.

System Shock may have been the first good RPG implementation of a cyberpunk-style world. It was the first to feature a true 3D environment and it has been placed on multiple hall of fame lists. I'm going to be picking this one up just to save and reminisce from time to time. It wasn't a hugely popular game, probably because it was releases as a non-audio version on floppy disk. Yeah, floppy disk. This is really the technology prequel to a lot of the games we play today, but Deus Ex probably more than others.

Get it now at OldGames.sk:
http://www.oldgames.sk/en/game/system-shock/download/847/

Alien Arena 2009

aaron — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:35:36 +0000

Alien Arena 2009 is now out with some great new features. These games seem to be gaining steam and that is good for the free PC gaming world. Freeware looks to be here to stay for a while, so get on over to the site and check it out. Here's what's new:

You've seen the screenshots, the videos, now it is time to face the alien invasion head on, armed to the hilt with disruptors, beamguns, and vaporizors. The amount of improvements to the game engine are staggering. The game comes alive with the full implementation of GLSL per-pixel lighting on all surfaces, OpenAL audio system, and new gameplay features. Optimization was as always, another aspect that we've addressed. No longer does one have to be leary of cranking the settings up, the game plays remarkably faster with the switch to GLSL for per-pixel operations. Alien Arena has transformed into a lean, clean, fragging machine, with stunning visual effects that are usually reserved for commercial titles. This isn't your daddy's Alien Arena - it's not even last year's model, with a host of new and improved maps, sounds and music.

Some of the new features in this release:

* GLSL per-pixel lighting on meshes(now all surfaces).
* OpenAL 1.1
* Ogg-Vorbis support.
* GLSL post process framebuffer effects.
* New scoreboards.
* New HUD.
* Stereo music files.
* Seven new maps.
* Two new player characters.
* Voice taunt system.
* Doppler sound effects.

Alien Arena 2009 is open source, free to play, and sets a new standard in freeware FPS gaming!

Download mirrors are here

Nexuiz 2.5 released

aaron — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:32:28 +0000

Nexuiz 2.5 is a FPS based on the Quake 1 engine, but they have really taken it to another level after years of hard work. I can't believe this game is still improving after many others are long gone. The list of changes is long and the number of people that play this game casually and in tourneys is amazing. Here are the new features:

* Completely redone HUD and user adjustable scoreboard
* Totally rewritten Client/Server communication to cut the bandwidth usage in half
* New gamemode "Race". Try to get from start to end of a level as fast as possible. Available as free-for-all and team variant. Further allows to play with or without a qualification period.
* Added several new weapons (on-hand Grappling Hook, Port-O-Launch, T.A.G. Seeker, Heavy Laser Assault Cannon, Rifle)
* Map editor NetRadiant included
* Improved all effects for eye candy and tweakability
* All maps recompiled with external lightmaps which allow for much crisper shadows
* Added maps desertfactory (DM, TDM, MinstaGib), racetrack (Race) and made aggressor support Key Hunt
* New player sounds, announcer sounds/voices, textures, crosshairs, weapon models, effects and menu skins
* Added support for video capture to OggTheora
* Integrated the Havoc mod into the menu! Havoc servers use quite different physics and weapons, give it a try!
* Fixed a crash with ATI drivers on shutdown or vid_restart
* Fixed several problems with lagging gameplay/crashes/wrong display of effects
* Improved bots (teamworking, bunnyhopping, swimming, better way finding, support for ladders, less CPU usage, faster map loading)
* Better visual display of carried items (Strength, Shield, flags and keys)
* Better parental guidance support with cl_gentle and cl_nogibs
* Lots of tourney-related features (timeout/in, spectator-slots, allready, warmup mode, lockteams, unlockteams, movetoteam_red/blue/..., nospectators, records, cointoss)
* Added some effects customization options like cl_casings, cl_weaponpriority
* Many more map entities allowing for more dynamic maps
* Restructured and improved menu: demos menu and multiple campaigns are back, also added an advanced menu containing ALL settings of the game

They are also looking for help for the next release, so if you are needing to add some game design or coding experience to your resume, contact them.

http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4448

20 Free PC Games

aaron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:08:40 +0000

The general theme of this site is PC Gaming on a budget, but a lot of what I post about is free PC games. Our list of multiplayer games you can get for free was really popular and I have done several articles on other free PC games also. This continues that trend with ExtremeTech's list of 20 PC Games that you can get for free. An informative list and I found a couple that even I wasn't aware of.

20 Free PC Games

Tribes 2 returns

aaron — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:59:23 +0000

Tribes 2 was a very popular multiplayer FPS that I used to love playing along with Unreal Tournament. It featured expansive maps and great CTF play. Apparently, even though Vivendi shut down the Tribes 2 authentication servers, TribesNext is offering a patch that appears to be able to handle the authentication process through their service. Since Tribes 2 is now free, this appears to be good news for bargain gamers everywhere.

TribesNext

Get Area 51 Free

aaron — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:39:30 +0000

Midway has released for free Area 51, allowing you to enjoy the PC version of this sci-fi FPS developed by Inevitable Entertainment. Area 51 features the voice talent of David Duchovny as Specialist Ethan Cole of the Hazardous Materials Division, Powers Boothe as Major Bridges, and recording artist Marilyn Manson as Edgar, the gray alien. As Cole, players,will delve into massive levels within the confines of Area 51, discovering a deadly mutagenic side effect of the virus that controls the minds of those infected, as well as an ancient alien colony buried beneath the facility. With a multitude of human and alien weapons, players must explore chilling conspiracies such as the extraterrestrial crash at Roswell and the faked lunar landing, in order to solve the enigma of Area 51 before the viral mutagen is released and irrevocably mutates all life on Earth.

Get it at Gamer's Hell

Deus Ex now free

aaron — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:44:34 +0000

Deus Ex is now free over at Gametap

Enter a world where the future is always uncertain...a world where the key to survival is held by a chosen few, and where terrorism is fueled by intense desperation. As operative JC Denton, you have a difficult decision to make: do you complete your mission and ensure the safety of the rich and powerful, or do you rebel for the sake of the millions who would be doomed without you?

Link Here

Some other great first-person shooter games that are free are:

Making your Christmas wish list -- Video Cards

aaron — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:32:15 +0000

There are lots of great options if you want to improve your life in 3D nowadays. Prices seem to be dropping in anticipation of the holidays, and I decided to write this so you'd be ready for any deals that might come a long.

nVidia 8600GTS

I normally hate to say a gaming bargain is something that comes with a rebate. I hate rebates myself, and have never gotten one back. From what others have told me though, Newegg is better at this process, and helps you get your money back. Right now, they have a 8600GTS at Newegg.com for $129.99 after rebate. This is a good price for a card that is about 20% faster than a 8600GT which cost around $110. It won't be enough to see Crysis in all of it's glory on full settings, but you get decent graphics at a decent price.

Sapphire Radeon 2900 GT

This is a new card out from ATI that was released without much fanfare. In fact, very few benchmarks exist for this card. From those I have seen, it does better than the 8600GTS, and I've heard it compared to the 8800GT which runs about $220. Right now, this card is at Newegg.com for $169.99. Another good price for this DirectX 10 upgrade.

If your looking to upgrade from that 6600GT or even 7600GT, then these two mid-range cards will probably do you well.