When the artist previously known as Fingers McMeer – and my former PC Format paymaster from the good old days – first mooted some contributions to RPS on the matter of hardware, I was struck by a single, sobering thought. For the love of science, please don’t make me talk about overclocking. Here we are, then, talking about overclocking.

And you know what? It’s OK. Because what we’re going to tackle is real-world and worthwhile overclocking. Not the futile, fanboyish sort. In fact, when it comes to CPUs, it’s the sort of overclocking you really ought to be doing if you’re not already. Here’s why.> (more…)

ArenaNet has permanently banned 3000 players for exploiting a weapon-reselling bug. Seems a bit harsh for just messing with virtual economics? ArenaNet say it’s a statement of intent. Speaking on reddit, lead producer Chris Whiteside said: “We take our community and the integrity of the game very seriously, and want to be clear that intentionally exploiting the game is unacceptable… The players we banned were certainly intentionally and repeatedly exploiting a bug in the game. We intended to send a very clear message that exploiting the game in this way will not be tolerated, and we believe this message now has been well understood.” UPDATE: These bans can now be appealed via the game’s support process.

Blimey. And these are some bold moves from the company: ArenaNet have even stopped selling the game directly from their site until they have things sorted for existing players. This does not stop you from buying it via other outlets, however. (more…)

Torchlight II will be out on 20th September of this very year and that’s pretty much all there is to say. Does anyone remember when it seemed like there’d be a collision between Diablo III and the indie charmer? For a moment back before summer failed to begin, I imagined a pileup of ARPGs, all rushing down the internet pipes, erupting in an +4 burning damage fireball and fusing into a mangled mess of stats and potions. It’s strange to think that Torchlight II won’t be something to look forward to for very much longer but hopefully actually being able to play it will make up for that. And there’s always Grim Dawn to take its place in the future-time anticispace. I’m hoping for some jolly multiplayer shenanigans from this one.

There are two versions of Garry’s Mod: the standard version that’s been in the same shape for a while now, and the beta. The beta, aka GMod 13, is a relatively recent arrival, built to allow Garry to overhaul the whole game without breaking the one everyone’s playing. It uncouples the development from the main fork, and that serves two purposes. Firstly, it gives Garry the opportunity to make big changes without constantly dealing with complaints that the game is broken, and secondly, it gives everyone a look at what’s being done to prepare for when the release arrives. The base game will be better, but other things will break.

I asked Garry to walk me through the most important future updates. > (more…)

The DS doesn’t seem like a particularly fitting home for first-person horror and that has nothing to do with the fact that Nintendo is the name on that particular domicile’s lease. Controls, screen size and unsuitability for public play all seem as though they might make a handheld an unnatural home for unnatural happenings. Dementium II’s decent combat and ‘orrible noises did draw a smattering of applause from some corners though, and the story of madness and murder is considered an improvement over the original. Welcome and surprising news of a port reaches us this morning, and perhaps the mighty PCs and Macs of the world will provide better living quarters for the institutionalised terror. Trailer below.

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So let’s have a look at this, Internet. I am a nerd for development process, so watching the time-lapsed video (below) of Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber building part of a Rise Of The Triad level is an early-morning delight. The remake, which was announced at QuakeCon, is due by the end of the year. You can have a read of Nathan’s interview with said CEO just here. It’s quite entertaining.

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It seems I’m going to have to live until 2299 to get to be a Transformer. Right now I’m limited to shouting “KEE KOO KAA KER CHAAA!” and waving my arms around, and while it looks bloody amazing, it’s not quite the same. That’s when Strike Suit Zero says we’ll have colonised space, but also gone and made the silly mistake of having a war. And now it’s up to me, apparently, to save Earth. Again?!

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No, no, it’s not what it sounds like. Edmund McMillen hasn’t suddenly decided to beat the record for fastest “HD” remake treatment ever. This remake, to hear McMillen tell it, is very, very necessary. In short, have you ever noticed how Binding of Isaac occasionally chugs even on machines powered by blazing tech and unholy sacrifices to Shan’thulex, bloodlord of the night (and a small chain of mom ‘n’ pop PC hardware stores)? Well, that’s because it runs on Flash, and McMillen thinks it’s high-time that changed. That, however, is only the beginning of this remake.

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Steam Greenlight – the new system by which Valve will allow Steam users to vote for which indie games they want to see available on the service – has just gone live.

It’s launched with around 40 games available to choose from, including familiar names like Incredipede, The Intruder and Project Giana. There’s a bunch of info about each game, along with screenshots and videos, with the option to vote for those you’re interested in playing.

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I fully endorse the idea of advertising videogames with other videogames – especially when it’s done cleverly, ala Borderlands 2′s recent 2D demake. I mean, it’s sort of the logical conclusion to these things, right? Who wants to look at screenshots or watch a trailer when they can clomp through a world on their own three WASD fingers? And hey, Dishonored‘s looking incredible. Really, is there a more natural fit? That brings us to Dishonored: Revenge At Hand, which is… a game about watching trailers. Huh. And so, in this version of Dishonored’s honor, I have decided to revive my “Oops, I broke Dishonored” series.

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