This Week In PC Gaming is an easy way to catch up with all of the news that you might have missed this week, organized in such a way that you can get a brief overview on all of the stories and from there jump to the ones you're interested in (links are above). And if you are so inclined you can also find out what happened the previous week by going here.
I expected this week to be rather light on news given that the Christmas period was overloaded with various announcements but as it turns out quite a few big things did indeed happen so here's an overview of everything interesting that went down this week in PC gaming:
Due to debt acquired over the years MLG is unfortunately going out of business and the majority of its assets are being sold to Activision Blizzard. What this means for the future of MLG at this point is unknown as neither party has issued an official statement just yet.
One thing is for sure though, whatever missteps MLG did in the recent times it will be remembered for providing some of the best tournaments around during the early rise of esports.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2016 Starts Today (Jan 3)
If this is your first time hearing about AGDQ it is a week long event where speed-runners from all over the world gather to raise money for charity by completely breaking games and being really fast while doing so. Seeing your favorite games broken and beaten within 20 minutes while also supporting charity, what's not to like about it?
You can find further information and the full schedule at the link above.
Valve has issued a statement about the Christmas Steam problems
During Christmas "this" year the Steam servers suffered a DDOS attack that overloaded them causing problems such as users being "logged in" to wrong accounts. The issue was purely cosmetic, in other words no one could actually change any of the information, but sensitive user data did get leaked.
There is no easy way to summarize their response so I'd recommend you head to the link and give it a thorough read.
Steam Winter Sale ARG rumors have been confirmed
Despite it seeming like a bunch of people grasping at straws the Steam community managed to actually uncover some details about the suspected Steam ARG (alternate reality game) in the form of a hidden password screen that appears if you type in SEARCH in to the search bar on the Steam website (doesn't work on the client).
Even more discoveries have been found since then so if you're interested in a hunt for secrets I'd suggest you head over to the link and from there jump to the various groups pouring over all of these clues in hopes of uncovering Half Life 3.
As you might imagine having good motion controls is going to be imperative if the new VR tech is going to be as immersive as we all want it to be. The Oculus team knows this full well because they have decided to delay the release of the Touch for a couple of months in order to polish it as much as possible.
The Oculus Rift's release schedule is however unchanged and the preorders will begin soon.
Final Fantasy IX is coming to PC "soon"
Square Enix have recently announced on their website that Final Fantasy IX will be coming to PC and mobile platforms "soon" though they haven't clarified when soon actually is.
They also released a teaser trailer along with the announcement and let me just say that I am immensely grateful its not a graphical "upgrade" like Final Fantasy VI.
Final Fantasy XV is officially coming in 2016
After being in development hell for almost a decade Final Fantasy XV has been officially announced as a 2016 release by the game's director. You can find the full announcement above.
As for the PC version, no official confirmation has been given but in multiple interviews the teams have expressed interest in porting the game to PC as soon as they're done with the console versions and with pretty much every other Final Fantasy making their way to PC I don't think there's much of a reason to doubt them.
Heroes of Might and Magic III community expansion Horn of the Abyss received a big update
Horn of the Abyss is an unofficial expansion to Heroes of Might and Magic III and features a whole new race The Cove, gameplay and graphical improvements, new maps and map objects as well as a whole new campaign for you to explore.
And with this new update it now contains even more missions, maps, map items, balance changes and more. If you're in to turn based strategy games, and especially the HOMAM series, I'd suggest you give it a look.
Just Cause 3 multiplayer mod is already in the making
Just Cause 2 Multiplayer Mod was an incredible piece of work that took the modding team years to get to a functioning state but once it was there it turned out to be really, really fun in that special Just Cause 2 sort of a way.
However, it would appear that Just Cause 3 is much easier to work with because the modding team has already released a trailer showcasing Just Cause 3 multiplayer and I have to say it looks really polished so far.
Brutal Doom: Hell On Earth update brings with it a 32 map long campaign
Brutal Doom, besides what you might gleam from the name alone, is an extremely comprehensive Doom mod expanding on everything from enemy AI to the weapons you use and even the graphics themselves.
And this recent update just made it even better by adding a massive campaign, a new melee system, plenty of new sprites and graphical improvements, better performance and much more. If you enjoy oldschool FPS I'd suggest you reinstall your Doom 2 and give it a try.
The rather excellent turn based RPG "The Quest" is now on Steam
The Quest is an oldschool open world RPG in the vein of Daggerfall that features some rather lovely hand-drawn graphics, a turn based combat system and a grid-based world to explore.
It is a well done game whose only issue was that it was an iOS exclusive, something that has recently been remedied so if you enjoyed Legend of Grimrock or RPGs of old I'd suggest you give this one a try as well.
Personal Recommendation: Try Lords of the Fallen
Lords of the Fallen is a nicely made and well polished action RPG that quite successfully copies most of the elements that make the Souls games great. The combat has a good sense of weight behind it and with plenty of weapons to chose from and enemies to fight its a rather enjoyable experience.
While Lords of the Fallen might not be as polished as Dark Souls it is a lot more accessible for new players so if you wanted an entry game for the genre here it is. But don't consider me calling it a slightly clunkier Dark Souls as a big negative because very, very few games can match the polish and thought that go in to any given Souls game so by even comparing Lords of the Fallen to it is high praise.
I certainly enjoyed my time with it and I hope you will as well.
And that is this week done. If you're interested in further information on any of the stories follow the links above and I will see you soon with more news and reviews.