Thief: Deadly Shadows - Steam Midweek Madness $5.00

Steam is selling Thief: Deadly Shadows for 75% off this week.
It is only $5.00.

It is one of my favorite first-person games ever... I highly recommend it if you haven't played it.
Get it quick; the offer ends on Thursday at 4:00pm Pacific.

Release Date for TrackMania 2 Announced

We finally learn when TrackMania 2 will be released. According to the official website, we can look forward to having an enjoyable September this year. I think I will celebrate this news by firing up Trackmania United now!

Source: http://ubi.com/US/Games/Info.aspx?pId=9791

More TrackMania 2 Canyon Screenshots

TrackMania 2 Canyon Screenshots at ManiaPlanet forums

Tunnel with a chicane ... yummy!

A screenshot of the edtior is available at the link above too.  Enjoy!



New TrackMania 2 Screenshots in EDGE Magazine Article

EDGE Magazine article about ManiaPlanet

More awesomeness in the screenshots shown in the EDGE article above.  I was a little disappointed in the section at the top of page 2 where Florent (head of NADEO) jokes about the US community and why there aren't a lot of players here.

I've never seen a lack of USA players online ... and the worldwide community has supported USA players well enough.  I think the real reason there is a lack of American players is because of the lack of advertising.

I was hoping for a huge article about it in the June PC Gamer, but was sadly disappointed when I borrowed Dragonflye's fresh new copy yesterday and didn't even see a mention or a screenshot of TrackMania 2 Canyon in it.

I certainly hope Ubisoft will be making a debut at E3 and that the gaming media in the USA will start covering TrackMania on a big scale.  I think the potential for a huge fanbase in the states is more than possible.

Here's to hopin'...

GG

TrackMania United Forever: Star Edition for $10 on Steam Today Only!

Ubisoft week on Steam

Today only, Steam is offering TrackMania United Forever: Star Edition for $10.00 (75% off) ... TODAY ONLY!
If you don't already own it, or have friends that still need to get it, send them to Steam now.

Pass it on...

TrackMania 2 Canyon/ManiaPlanet - Closed Beta slated for July 2011

TrackMania² Canyon

See the official Ubisoft press release.

Ubisoft announced on 26 April 2011 that TrackMania² Canyon and ManiaPlanet will be available as a closed beta beginning in July!

I can't quote, but I've been talking with NADEO some, trying to determine if TrackMania² will be integrated with the dreaded Ubisoft "Online Services Platform" (OSP).  It doesn't sound like it will; but don't quote me.

Now, it's starting to sound like ManiaPlanet is going to be an always connected thing... as it's basically the social nucleus of the Mania games (TrackMania, and soon to be ShootMania and QuestMania); but I don't know if that means we won't be able to play TrackMania on a computer without an internet connection.  Hopefully that's not the case.  NADEO is a freakin' awesome company, and I'm quite confident if they have their way, they'll allow offline play like the past TrackMania games have done.

I'm not sure how they'll choose the lucky people to participate in the closed beta; but I sure hope we have a chance to be a part of the closed beta!

Sidenote: I will confirm with NADEO whether this is called "TrackMania 2" or "TrackMania Squared"  I keep seeing it listed both ways; but it would be nice to know for sure...  :)

Official TrackMania 2: Canyon Trailer

Kudos to Bomajoe for catching this before I did... :)



See it in HD

Sooooo can't wait for this!

TrackMania 2 Canyon trailer from Gamers Assembly 2011

Here it is... a long awaited video for TrackMania 2 with some SWEET gameplay in it. *DROOL*



See it in 720p

Valve, the Portal 2 ARG and Useless Criticisms

Ars Technica put out a great article that totally nails it
(Thanks Bomajoe for the link)

Many people have complained about Valve's mechanism for bringing about some serious hype (as if there wasn't an abundant supply already) for their highly-anticipated (understatement) game Portal 2.

It was win-win for everyone, even if the game wasn't released as early as everyone originally hoped.  We still got it early; and those that earned all the potatoes got an extra bonus (Valve complete pack.)  Granted, most of those hard-core gamers probably already owned the Valve complete pack, but at least they can gift to their other gamer friends that don't already have.

Valve's ARGs are expansive, creative, original and bizarre.  This one was done in 2 parts (one for the announcement of the game and one to build up to the release) and both were fantastic, and now that we're playing through the real game... the tie-ins are incredible and make the game itself all the more enjoyable.

So stop the hatin' and admire the beauty of such an elaborate thing pulled off well by a reputable company that really does seem to care about not only its customers, but its partners and independent game developers.  It was a win for everyone and really fun to see how much the Portal community worked together.  I, for one, hope to see more of this kind of thing in the future.

Thanks Ars, for hitting the nail on the head with your article about this.

Valve for the win.

Portal 2 - Early Release Project - IMPORTANT NOTE!

Hey all,
If you're playing in the Portal 2 Early Release Project (playing the Potato Sack games), and you're trying to earn potatoes to boost CPU performance... you MUST have the "Steam Community In-Game" setting enabled.

I'd been trying for an hour to get the 100% on AAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaaaAA!!!! and I'd reached 120-130% on a few attempts, but never saw the password screen appear.  Turns out it was because I had the In-Game Community setting disabled...

Here's how to enable it if you don't already have it that way:
Steam >> Settings >> IN-GAME tab
Check the "Enable Steam Community In-Game" checkbox.

Enable this or no potatoes for you!!!

Keep up the good work!  AAAAaaaaaAAAAAAaaAAA!!!  looks like it's up next for recalculating the launch date.