PC Gaming Roundup - February 9, 2009

So far the biggest news this morning is Capcom's announcement of Dead Rising 2. Hopefully a few meatier tidbits will rear their heads later on today...

ARMA II Website Updated
505 Games reports that the official website for ARMA II was updated with more "declassified" information. Visitors can check out a video featuring a short news report that "reveals the tense and fearful atmosphere in Chernogorsk city after a terrorist attack shatters the sleepy, idyllic atmosphere of Chernarus´ countryside." ARMA II will be available across Europe in 2009.

Dead Rising 2 Confirmed
Capcom said that Dead Rising 2 is definitely in the works, scheduled to hit the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Acording to the company, the sequel will take place in the gambling paradise of Fortune City, and will include new in-game objects that can be used as deadly weapons "to stave off the zombie assault." The game takes place several years after the first installment, as the zombie virus was NOT contained, but rather spread throughout the United States. Capcom signed on Canadian developer Blue Castle Games to crate the new zombie sequel, however a number members from the original Dead Rising team will be working alongside the developer throughout the development process.

Gobliiins 4 Released Next Month
Kalypso Media announced that the fourth installment of its wacky adventure game series Gobliiins will hit retail shelves on March 27. In this chapter, the king's pet has suddenly run away. The investigators are hired on to find the missing orycterope, and to prove that the beast is happier living without its master. During the quest, the investigators must solve riddles while defending themselves from dangerous monsters.

New Dungeons for Last Chaos
Aeria Games released two new dungeons for Last Chaos in preparation for the upcoming content expansion planned for the next few months. Called Quanian and Golem, these two new dungeons offer all new monster A.I., new armor and weapons for players, and new items including "Phoenix Tickets", which allow players to transform into a Phoenix character to do battle with the forces of evil. Additionally, the company said that the upcoming expansion packs will include even more armor, weapons and items, and introduce unique gameplay elements such as a PvP team's dungeon, a new level cap and a hefty amount of intriguing new skills and abilities for existing players.

Commander in Chief Next month in UK
Eversim said that the PC game Commander in Chief will hit UK retail shelves on March 12. The game is a comprehensive geo-political simulation game for PCs where players face the same complex issues confronting leaders like President Obama on a day to day basis. Just as in real life, players can test their ability to deal with these issues domestically or on the world stage, responding to actions taken by fellow global leaders.

D.I.C.E. Sells Out
The Academy of Interactive Arts&Sciences (AIAS) said that all available attendee slots for the 2009 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit has officially sold out. The event will be held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, February 17-20, 2009, and will feature a line-up of "industry leaders, visionaries, and decision makers that are shaping the future of interactive entertainment." The Academy said that it has opened a waitlist that will be cleared before the beginning of the summit on February 17th.

GoldenEye: Source Beta 3 Released
Team GoldenEye: Source announced that it has released the third beta for the Goldeneye-inspired mod. According to the team, the development process began with the switch over to the new Source Orange Box Engine, forcing them to complete start the code from scratch. The group also said that two official Goldeneye: Source servers are now live, provided for free by ImpulseGaming.net. To download the client, head here.

Far Cry 2 Multiplayer Gets Hardcore
This forum post states that a new "hardcore" multiplayer setting will be available in the next round of updates for all three platforms. The post states that, because of the new hardcore mode, a new damage model will be applied with increased damage for all weapons. The developers also rebalanced all weapons in both normal and hardcore mode, and enemy names will disappear after the spawning invincibility period is over. There's also an option to tweak spawning time and a new multiplayer search option.

As always, more to come....