Gaming news

Well, a few hours before it all goes live, Valve have said that they won't be releasing Portal to LAN centres on the Steam for Cafes program until ...... Boxing Day.

http://www.theaubergineroom.com/stuffed_by_valve_again

I know a lot of people have been asking for Portal and have been eager to play it, and I'm afraid I have to say sorry. You'll be playing it by yourself at home until after Christmas.

Sorry everyone.

Sadly an 18 rating means we can't offer Bioshock for play in the centre. However, that's no reason to miss out on the Bioshock love. The Cult of Rapture have announced that they're making the (very excellent) soundtrack available - as a free download!

Head on over to http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/home.html - it's a zipped 23mb file.

Cheers,
TOM

This is pretty big, and a long time coming. Blizzard have announced that they are finally accepting Paypal for WoW subscription payments.

This means you no longer need a credit card - you can use your normal debit card (like Switch) to pay through Paypal.

I know a number of players who'll be thrilled that they're not reliant on their parents credit cards to continue playing each month :-)

Don't forget we also sell 60 day timecards in the centre, if you want to continue playing using good old fashioned cash.

Professional Gaming in the UK is starting to edge more and more into the mainstream. The BBC are currently carrying a story on their website about the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) final which is being held in Paris.

The Beeb article also touches on the increased amount of female gamers playing at a professional level, and the big money prizes which are starting to creep up to the levels we see in the USA and Asia.

All good stuff, and bodes well for the future. You can find the BBC article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6272546.stm

Cheers,
TOM

We all knew it, but now it's official. A three year study at Brunel University into online role playing games has found that it improves the imagination and exposes players to new ideas and ways of thinking.

If you've been following the news and posts on our site, you'll know we're sponsoring Infused Gaming, who are fielding teams to compete in Call of Duty 2, Counter Strike:Source, and Quake 4 at I30 at Newbury Racecourse this weekend.

Infused Gaming will be setting up a webcam with live video streaming, covering the event from their vantage point right in the thick of the action.

You can access it at http://igradio.0wned.co.uk:80;stream.nsv

Lego have announced today at the GDC that they're teaming up with NetDevil (the guys being Jumpgate, and more recently Auto Assault) to produce a Lego MMO.

Anything with Lego in it is golden, and as we've seen from Lego Star Wars, you can get some hugely enjoyable and entertaining games.

You can register an interest and (hopefully) be involved in any Beta testing at http://www.lego.com/mmog/home.asp?entry=Press

Many of you have never sampled the retro delights of Darwinia - a foolish decision! This incredibly addictive and tricky RTS game features many great innovations, as well as excellent retro graphics.

If you haven't played it in the centre, you should, because tiny studio Introversion have announced that they are working on a multiplayer version - and you're going to need all your skills to master that.

Expect a formal announcement at next week Games Developers Conference, but at the moment we can expect to see the new title surface in early 2008.

Save them!

From today ASDA have dropped the price of the PS/2 instore to only £50. Head on over to your nearest store and grab a bargain!