May 3, 2014
Daily Deal - Return to Castle Wolfenstein, 75% Off
Wolfenstein 3D - Valve
Today's Deal: Save 75% on Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein 3D!*

Try out a Wolfenstein game while getting ready to play the upcoming Wolfenstein: The New Order, which is available for pre-purchase now on Steam.

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
Apr 18, 2014
Brutal Doom update v20 to add ragdoll physics, more brutality
DOOM + DOOM II
Brutal-Doom

I didn t think it was possible for Doom to get any better, but mods make everything better. The absurdly violent Brutal Doom mod is doing a great job of keeping Doom just as shocking and visceral of an experience as it was when it first came out 20 years ago, and the newest version will add ragdoll physics because when I shotgun an Imp, I wanna see it tumble.
The Brutal Doom mod, which you may have seen us squee about before, adds new effects, animations, way too much blood, and other things that heighten the experience. v20, as you can see in the video above, makes each shotgun blast even more satisfying by knocking the enemy back an unreasonable distance. To me it looks like the right amount of ridiculous, but creator Sergeant_Mark_IV said he s going to tone it down a notch.
I have been playing a lot of Killing Floor lately and noticed how small zeds are sent rolling on the floor when killed by shotguns at close range, I love this effect, then I thought about making something similar on Brutal Doom, he said. Of course it will not send almost every enemy flying away like in the video. I will reduce the minimum range from 300 to 200 units. I mean, the shotgun will only send flying enemies that are VERY close to the player, and shooting on the legs or heads still causes amputations.
When it comes out, v20 should also make the mod run smoother, make blood splatters and ejected magazine last longer, and other nifty things. It seems like Facebook is the best place to keep up with it, and you can download it for free from Moddb.
Mar 21, 2014
Doom: The Mercenaries mod drags Resident Evil to hell
DOOM + DOOM II
doom


Capcom took the original PC port of Resident Evil 4 and turned it into the much improved Ultimate HD Edition. Now, a modder has taken the Mercenaries mode from the same game and turned it into a kind of Un-Ultimate SD Edition. Doom: The Mercenaries is a Doom (and ZDoom) mod that marries Resi 4's arcade arena mode with the early-'90s demonic shooter.



While some will no doubt balk at the thought of QTE's in Id's seminal FPS, it's a pretty impressive, er, 'overhaul'. The game's been given a new third person view, new animations and a completely new interface, all to support the Mercenaries game type.

You can download the now fully released Doom: The Mercenaries from the ZDoom forum. To play it, you'll need both ZDoom (or GZDoom), and either doom.wad or doom2.wad. If, for some reason, you don't have either, Steam can help.
Feb 19, 2014
Wolfenstein: The New Order release date announced, pre-orders come with DOOM beta access
DOOM + DOOM II
Wolfenstein


Bethesda have started firing out FPS news like bullets from the personal arsenal of B.J. Blazkowicz. One lodges into the head of our trusty robotic dog, announcing that Wolfenstein: The New Order has a release date. Another is drowned out by an Inception-like caterwaul, revealing Wolfenstein: The New Order's new trailer. The third arrived alongside the improbable buckshot of dual-wielded shotguns. It told us that pre-orders of Wolfenstein: The New Order would secure access to an upcoming beta for the next DOOM.



To tackle the Wolfenstein news first, The New Order will be arriving in the US on May 20th, and in Europe on May 23rd. It looks like a thoroughly silly game, but one with some big, chunky weapons to unload.

As for DOOM, it's a bit of a surprise to see. Between rumours of an indefinite delay, and Bethesda's reveal that id Software had started over with the game last April, it was unclear whether the project would ever see the lights of Hell. That said, there's a QuakeCon on the way, and it'd be something of a downer if the studio had nothing to show.

Not that there are many firm details on the beta, or the game it's for. On Bethesda's FAQ page for the pre-order bonus, they essentially find seven different ways to tell people they're not answering questions.
Feb 5, 2014
Total Recall: A Chat With Stephan Martiniere
RAGE - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Duncan Harris)

This is the latest in the series of articles about the art technology of games, in collaboration with the particularly handsome Dead End Thrills.>

With the galaxy’s biggest sci-fi movies using ever more effects houses and artists, it can be hard to pinpoint today’s Ralph McQuarries and Ron Cobbs. They’re out there, though, often known more by work than name. At the top of the pile is Stephan Martiniere, one of those illustrators and art directors whose work is so envied by just about any sci-fi project going that’s he levelled up to ‘Visionary’. Put simply, people want the stuff in his head on their books, in their movies, at their theme parks, and, as luck would have it, in their games.

Examples? In movies, Martiniere’s applied his signature style (eye-popping ‘Golden Age’ snapshots of civilisations in overdrive) to the worlds of I, Robot, Tron: Legacy, Star Wars Episodes II and III, Star Trek, The Fifth Element, the Total Recall remake, 300: Rise Of An Empire, Guardians Of The Galaxy and The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. *and breathe…* … [visit site to read more]

Dec 10, 2013
Toast To The Monsters: 20 Years Of Doom
DOOM + DOOM II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (RPS)

20 years since the course of videogaming was set forever. 20 years since id created what may very well still be the most notorious game in history. 20 years since deathmatch became a thing. 20 years of guns, 20 years of keycards, 20 years of happy hell. 20 years of Doom, not the first first-person shooter but surely the foremost breeding stock of the genre. Happy birthday, old stick.

If only you could talk to the monsters on their birthday – now that would be something. Instead, Team RPS will have to reminisce about the big, brash first-person shooter that changed everything. (more…)

Nov 23, 2013
Hoorage! – RAGE Free To Play All Weekend
Steam Community Items - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Nathan Grayson)

John Carmack has officially packed his bags and taken a rocket car over to Oculus Rift, now his sole employer until he decides he wants to become the world’s foremost expert on Hyperloops or something. So what better way to celebrate/commiserate than by playing maybe the last game he’ll ever see to completion? Answer: there is no better way. If you are doing anything else, John Carmack will probably never be your friend or spend upwards of five hours giving you breathless life advice. Fortunately, RAGE is free on Steam this weekend. Details below.

(more…)

Nov 21, 2013
Free Weekend - RAGE, 75% Off
RAGE - Valve
Play RAGE for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time. You can also pickup RAGE at 75% off the regular price!*

RAGE is a groundbreaking first-person shooter set in the not-too-distant future after an asteroid impacts Earth, leaving a ravaged world behind. You emerge into this vast wasteland to discover humanity working to rebuild itself against such forces as bandit gangs, mutants, and the Authority – an oppressive government regime that has a special interest in you in particular. Featuring intense first-person shooter action, breakneck vehicle combat, an expansive world to explore and jaw-dropping graphics powered by id’s revolutionary id Tech® 5 technology, RAGE promises an experience like no other.
Fearing a planet-wide extinction from a massive asteroid headed towards Earth, world leaders are faced with the inexorable task of ensuring human survival. Left with few alternatives, life-sustaining pods filled with select people are buried deep beneath the earth’s surface. You are one of the chosen members of these modern day arks and abruptly enter the RAGE universe after surfacing alone. Leaving you to your own devices to stay alive in a world filled with those who prefer you dead, RAGE combines powerful storytelling with heart-pounding action.

If you already have Steam installed, click here to install or play RAGE. If you don't have Steam, you can download it here.

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
Nov 1, 2013
Brutal Doom gets a v19 release, mod’s maker says it’s “the final version for a while”
DOOM + DOOM II
Brutal Doom


Absurdly violent mod Brutal Doom is a perfect lesson in the pleasure of bloody violence. And yet, even with it taking its obnoxious philosophy way past any natural conclusion, it's neither childish or embarrassing - unlike, say, that Ninja Gaiden Z trailer. This most gore-filled version of Doom's Id Tech 1 years has now reached its 19th version, bringing new fixes, animations and improved effects.



Okay, so maybe it is a bit childish. That's kind of the point, though.

After 10 months in development, version 19 is now available to download. Of its completion, creator Sergeant_Mark_IV writes, "V19 is not the final version of Brutal Doom. It's just the final version for a while. I need to take a long break of it, work on other projects, and return to it somewhere in late 2014/early 2015."

If it isn't enough to run through a blood slick version of the original DOOMs, you can also get a beta version of a Brutal Doom expansion for Doom 2, titled Beyond Hell and Earth.

You can download and see the changelist for Brutal Doom V19 over at ModDB.
Oct 9, 2013
The Dark Mod gets standalone release; Thief inspired FPS now playable without Doom 3
DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil
The Dark Mod


The Dark Mod is an excellent Thief-inspired stealth FPS mod from 2009, and so, to an extent, it seems almost inconceivable that any fans of the series won't yet have played it. Of course, that's slightly mitigated by the fact that it was a Thief-inspired stealth FPS mod for Doom 3. It's entirely conceivable that any fans of the series wouldn't have bought that. Running? Gunning? Far too rambunctious. For those shadow-clinging sneaks, there's good news, as version 2.0 of The Dark Mod has been released, turning it into a standalone game.

"We have spent a tremendous amount of time and energy replacing all the sounds, textures, particle effects, and models that we had been using," explain mod creators Broken Glass Studios. "Hopefully this will open up a whole new audience of people who didn’t want to have to purchase a different game in order to try The Dark Mod."

Alongside going standalone, this mod update brings improved audio, graphics and AI behaviour. Many of the missions have also been updated, in response to the game no longer using Doom 3's assets. "Going standalone has been a mammoth undertaking. There were literally hundreds of assets that needed to be replaced, and around seventy maps that had to be checked to see whether any of those replacements broke anything."

For a fuller explanation of The Dark Mod, check out this introductory video:



You can download The Dark Mod for free from the mod/game's website.
...