PC Gaming Roundup - February 10, 2009

A few titles shipped today, including Monolith's F.E.A.R. 2 and X-Blades from SouthPeak.

X-Blades Ships
SouthPeak Interactive shipped its anime-inspired "foray into the hack-n-slash arena," X-Blades for both the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. Players take the role of treasure hunter Ayumi as she battles through waves of enemies in her search for a powerful and ancient relic. " Armed with her trusty pistol blades, Ayumi relies on her acrobatic skills and lightning quick fighting style to cut a swath through the hordes of evil keeping her from her goal. If she becomes overwhelmed, Ayumi can add devastating and upgradeable magic attacks to her combos to defeat her enemies."

Spore Spreads the Love
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and Spore wants to help you spread the love with a few Spore-themed postcards designed by you, or from more than 30 million creations. By clicking this link, creative artists can feel inspired by watching a Valentine's-themed Sporecast. To make a unique card, gamers simply create a new beast as usual in the Creature Creator, go into "test drive" mode, pose that puppy  and snap a picture. Click ‘Picture Viewer’ to see your pictures and choose an image to send it as a postcard. You will be prompted to add an e-mail address of the recipient and a short message. Meh.

Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 Soon
Activision said that it plans to release the first map pack for Call of Duty: World at War next month. The pack will take players to the streets of Berlin in "Nightfire," deep into deadly jungles to attack fortified Japanese positions in “Knee Deep” and through a bombed out underground subway system in “Station.” A fourth map - “Verrückt” (Zombie Asylum) - expands on four-player co-op Nazi Zombie bonus mode, and includes more weapons, new Perks-a-Cola machines, electroshock defenses and endless, attacking  legions of undead.

SmallWorlds Heads to Facebook
There's a new SmallWorlds application on Facebook, enabling players to embed the game into their profiles and interact within the virtual world from within the Facebook platform. Players can create an avatar, decorate their own room, play games, go on missions, watch videos, and listening to music. “Our goal is to combine the creativity and freedom of virtual worlds with the interactivity and deep sense of community within social networks,” said Co-founder Mitch Olson. “With SmallWorlds, we’ve created a place where audiences have the ability to express themselves and meet friends as well as enjoy entertaining content like casual games and online video.”

Necrovision Demo Now Available
1C Company reports that a playable demo of its old-school FPS Necrovision is now available to download. Set during the First World War, player battle through German lines, dispatching the Kaiser's soldiers. Eventually players find themselves in an underground war where demons battle the undead, using special Vampiric version of familiar weapons. The demo weighs in around 973MB (in RAR form, that is) and can be downloaded here. Welcome to Hell, soldier.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Ships
Monolith's new supernatural first-person shooter game F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is now heading to retail shelves, slated for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows. The single-player portion offers a "gripping" experience while the multiplayer aspect supports up to 16 players online. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a blend of advanced visceral combat mixed with seamless game pacing set inside a sinister and paranormal universe that begins shortly before the ending of F.E.A.R."

Get Your Love Loot
According to Sony Online Entertainment, EverQuest II’s annual Erollisi Day runs from Feb. 10 through Feb. 17, 2009. The event gives players across Norrath the chance to acquire “love loot” – such as love notes or candies – that can then be used in holiday tradeskill recipes or exchanged for Erollisi coins. New quests for this year’s event will give players a chance to earn the trust of the Sisters of Erollisi and learn more about the mystery of Erollisi's absence.