Tech Olive

It’s always nice to see a game developer support their games after release. The developer of Zeno Clash has announced that they are currently working on a demo for those gamers that are not convinced of the gameplay, but also, and more interestingly, they are releasing an SDK (Software Development Kit) and DLC in the near future. Although the DLC is only planned to be an expansion for the challenge mode, it’s not too far from the possibility of expanded gameplay through DLC.

This is quite possibly amazingly late for us to be reporting this, but you have until tomorrow, which is plenty of time.

In case you haven’t purchased The Orange Box, Steam is running another one of their amazing sales this weekend. The Orange Box is 66% off all weekend, thus making the price $9.99. If you don’t know, The Orange Box includes Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2 along with Team Fortress 2 and last but certainly not least, Portal. So, there you have it. If you do not own the best game ever made (Portal, of course), than you have absolutely no reason not buy it right now. You even get four other games with it!

Microsoft has just officially announced the release date of the Windows 7 Release Candidate on their Windows Blog. The RC will be available on April 30 for MSDN and TechNet subscribers, while the public will be able to snag the RC starting May 5, two days earlier than expected.

Nvidia’s technical marketing director, Tom Petersen, had a go at Intel after seeing some Intel marketing that claimed a Core i7 920 CPU would boost gaming performance by 80 percent, compared to other CPUs.

Petersen says Intel’s claim is based on the 3DMark Vantage’s CPU score alone, and that it makes no sense whatsoever. He says the benchmark “doesn’t actually measure anything about game performance,” and says Intel is being a “little disingenuous.”

He then compared a Core i7 based PC with a GTS 250 to a Hummer vehicle. “It has got to be big, and it’s got to be expensive and of course it’s infused with Hafnium, which is kind of a dig at Intel.”

Any Core i7 users that beg to differ?

We hope you enjoyed the clever, yet cheesy pun in the title because according to Microsoft’s Parters website, an RC of Windows 7 could very well be on its way the first week of May (do you get it now?). May 7 is Windows 7 Virtual Partner Readiness Day, which could very well mean the next giant leap for Windows 7 is coming then. We’ll see.

Earlier this month, we told you guys about Will Wright leaving EA to work for his own company, Stupid Fun Club. It seems that he is still working with EA on the future of his masterpiece, Spore. While not on staff with EA, Wright has entered into a consulting agreement with EA.

“I’m spending a certain amount of time every month actually working with the Spore team on future versions of Spore and expansions. So I will [still] be involved with EA on developing the Spore franchise as well.” said Wright.

I find it a little strange that he announces that he is leaving EA, but then realizes that he would no longer have control over Spore. So he signs a consulting agreement with EA? I can understand his want to run his own company, but this is a bit of a step back.

Intel recently cut prices on their Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad lines. They also introduced two new quad core CPUs dubbed the Core 2 Quad Q8400S and Q8400. They plan to sell for $245 and $183, respectively. Below is a list of the CPU price cuts.

• Core 2 Quad Q9300: Was $266, Now $213
• Core 2 Quad Q9550S: Was $369, Now $320
• Core 2 Quad Q9400S: Was $320, Now $277
• Core 2 Quad Q8200S: Was $245, Now $213
• Core 2 Duo SP9400: Was $316, Now $284
• Core 2 Duo SU9400: Was $289, Now $262

Today, AMD launched two new processors for there AM3 socket. The Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and 945 both support AM2+ and AM3. Clocked at 3.2GHz, the 955 will replace the AM2-based 940 as AMD’s new fastest Phenom.

Both the 955 and the 3.0GHz 945 will be priced below $250.

Battlefield 1943 has finally been priced and we have been given a more specific release date. 1943 will be hitting Xbox Live and PSN this June while the PC version will release in September. Priced at $15, Battlefield 1943 is still to be sold only as a downloadable game.

“We want to offer gamers the most accessible online shooter experience and the best value found in any premium download title with Battlefield 1943,” -  BF1943′s producer; Gordon Van Dyke.

It took Braid about 2 hours to convince me it wasn’t just pretty, but also pretty awesome. Essentially Braid is an indie side-scroller that adds only one button to the obvious WASD and jump: the ability to rewind your actions. It seems simple enough at first as you make your way through the levels collecting puzzle pieces, avoiding obstacles, and seeking the damsel. Simple, yet compelling thanks to some great all-around art direction that gets the melancholic and reflective themes of the game across beautifully. However, the complexity of the game compounds as the player progresses, and the ability to move in either direction through time makes consequences, narrative, and the game’s inherently linear quality complicated and thought provoking. Part side-scroller, part action-arcade, part puzzle game, Braid is an amalgam of genres, and a little bit of something new.

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