Big robots are a staple science fiction, ranging from the mecha of Gundam to the more realistic Battletech series. Naturally, the PC have seen their fair share of mech games, mostly from the Battletech property (Mechwarrior 2, anyone?). In this same vein, a freeware mech combat game called Young's Modulus has been released to continue the robot-killing legacy. Featuring simple (but not bad) graphics, an interesting interface, and a more detail-oriented focus than most robot combat games, it's worth a try for any mecha combat fans. Plus, it even has a conquest mode, which is a nice change from most mech games.

A note to those who want to play it: To unlock the demo, input any 6-digit code. You can't use the numpad to insert the numbers.

[Via IndieGames]

A couple months back, the Discovery Channel spent an entire hour of its 5 part documentary "Rise of the Video Game" analyzing the relationship between the United States military and the video games industry. It's been a long and profitable tradition, with military simulations making up a big chunk of video game sales, and with recruitment games like America's Army proving to be very effective for the military.

Australian military officials must have been inspired by that example, because their online recruitment initiative DefenceJobs has launched a website full of military-themed Flash games. The games are designed to pitch a 12-month, post-secondary-school stint in the army as a viable choice to teens. So, far, over 300,000 users have signed up at the site.

The games aren't nearly as complex as America's Army, but they're still fun, and there are several of them. Some of them even have multi-player options. The blending of military and gaming culture is a complex subject, and a lot can be said both in criticism and acceptance of the trend, so mull over that if you like. Or, if you're more the shooting type than the thinking type, just play the damn games.

[Via Joystiq]

So little has changed in recent months -- The Sims 2 and World of Warcraft still completely dominate PC game sales. Sure, now and then something usurps them for a short time, but they always come back. The top 10 PC games in the NPD sales report released this past week:

1. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Expansion Pack
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. World Of Warcraft
6. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
7. Sins Of A Solar Empire
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
9. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition
10. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

That makes four years that The Sims 2 and World of Warcraft have been fairly consistently pwning the industry. The only other PC exclusive on the list is Ironclad/Stardock's runaway 4X RTS hit Sins of a Solar Empire. The others -- Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 -- are multi-platform titles. WoW's position is no surprise, given the NPD's research with regards to online game revenues. The Sims 2's domination of the charts, however, speaks to a vast, silent market of gamers to whom hardcore games like Rainbow Six don't appeal.

Much like Mass Effect, Spore has come back after the outrage over the SecuROM copy protection and announced that they are utilizing it a little differently than default. No, they aren't requiring you to authenticate every 13 seconds or submit DNA tests to a mysterious database.

Like Mass Effect, Spore will only (re)authenticate when you go online or install the game. It also makes it so you can play without the disc, as well as install it on multiple computers. Best of all, you'll be able to play offline without any issues! As Spore is destined to be one of the biggest PC games of the year, this sudden shift in copy protection is much appreciated.

In its most recent issue, The Official Xbox Magazine revived a rumor that 2K Boston (Ken Levine's team, known for its work on BioShock) is working on a game that will reboot the X-Com franchise. Since OXM exclusively covers the Xbox 360, there was no word about a PC version. Nevetheless, X-Com is a PC franchise and since BioShock saw a PC release, we're hoping that we can safely assume the new X-Com will come our way too.

BioShock 2 is under development at the new 2K office in Marin, and that means Levine and friends are working on something unannounced. 2K bought the rights to X-Com last year.

If you're not up on your history, the X-Com games were highly acclaimed and popular tactical combat titles developed by legendary strategy developer MicroProse. MicroProse was originally founded by Sid Meier and also produced Pirates!, Civilization, and Master of Orion.

[Via Kotaku]

One of the greatest things about the PC gaming industry is that anyone can develop pretty much any kind of game they want, unlike console titles which need to have at least some kind of license from the console maker. Such a game is Bus Driver, the latest driving simulation from developer SCS Software. Today word came out from publisher Meridian4 that the US version of the game has gone gold and will be released via digital download in May. Pricing was not announced.

So you might be asking yourself at this point, "So all I do is just drive a bus around?". And we would answer back, "Of course not." You have to not just drive the bus but keep to a schedule, obey all the traffic rules and even make sure your passengers are safe and sound. You have the option of driving a yellow bus full of school kids, a bus with sightseeing tourists and for fans of the movie version of The Fugitive you can even transport a bus full of prisoners. Watch out for trains.

Evochron Renegades, an indie elite-like, has released a new version. The game is very similar to X3: Reunion or Freelancer in terms of being a realistic freeform space sim. There's many new features, but here are the most notable:

• A new multiplayer system allowing for improved router support and performance.
  
• Option to save in different profile slots in-game (multiple save points).
  
• Custom music option now supports event/threat level triggered music. In other words, you can add all your own music for actions you might do in the game.
  
• Server software updated for new multiplayer functionality.
  
• A new clan battlefield system.

For a full list of changes, as well as the download link for the demo (trust me, it's well worth it!), visit the official site. You can purchase the full version for $25 as well, which gives you a registration key for the demo to unlock it to the full version.

[Via Blue's News]

The next version of Mount & Blade, the excellent cavalry/siege simulation, has finally been released! Hitting version 0.950, the game has improved in almost every respect. Featuring nicer graphics and animations, much improved dialogue, new quests, and further refinement of the already-implemented gameplay systems, it's shaping up to be an awesome little indie gem.

If this sort of thing interests you, you can check out the new features and download the new version on the official Mount & Blade forums. Also, if you so wish, remember that you can support the developers by buying the game for $25. If you buy right now, you'll save $15, as version 1.00 will be released by Paradox for the price tag of $40 as soon as it is finished.

[Via TIGSource]

The new World War 2 strategy game from Strategic Studies Group has been announced. If you are a huge fan of WW2 strategy/tactics games with lots of depth and little scope, this new game is for you! Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets (not donuts, although that would be awesome) brings to life the German and Russian offensives near Kharkov in 1942.

In real history, the Germans launched a counter-offensive after the Russian offensive and managed to push them all the way to Kharkov, paving the way for the Stalingrad offensive that took so many lives. As always with intensely realistic historical strategy simulations, you'll be able to influence history through your actions. There's no currently announced release date.

[Via Blue's News]

The folks at Australia based Auran may have suffered a major setback with the launch last October of their fantasy MMO Fury but the team apparently is still working on their other game franchise, the railroad simulator Trainz. Now comes word that publisher Paradox Interactive will be releasing Trainz - The Complete Collection to US stores on June 10 and in Europe on June 13.

This new collection contains pretty much every game released in the Trainz series since the franchise began several years ago, including Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 and 2006 along with four extra Trainz routes, the Trainz Paintshed and the Trainz Ultimate Collection. Basically this new collection will allow you to create the train of your dreams with not only a large collection of pretty much any train and route you can think of but also mod tools that will allow folks to make your own routes as well. We have to say it but, "All aboard."

While there have been rumors about the amazingly beautiful Gran Turismo heading towards the PC, there's still other realistic racing games on the platform. Notably, GTR evolution has been announced for PC, heading towards the hands of racing fans come early July.

Featuring 19 tracks with 40 different layouts, as well as quite a few licensed cars, it's no slouch in the content department. If you're a fan of the GTR series, or realistic racing in general, take a look at it come early July.

[Via IGN]

The rumors of Electronic Arts releasing a stand alone creator creator for Will Wright's latest sim-style game Spore have now gotten an official press release. The official news is somewhat different than what was revealed earlier so now we have all the final details.

The Spore Creature Creator will allow players to create any kind of creature they want and import that creation into the final full Spore game when it is released to stores on September 7. A free version, which will have about 25 percent of the game's available creature parts, will be released via download on June 17 and will also be made available in the upcoming Sim City game collection The SimCity Box on June 23. The retail version of the Spore Creature Creator will be released in stores on June 17; it will be priced at $9.99 and will have all of the game's creature making parts. Get ready to make your dream alien.

Everyone knows those heroes are a greedy bunch. Always roaming the wilderness for a spare bit of XP or Gold. The original Majesty captured this view and turned you into the person to exploit their eager longing for enough gold pieces for some grog. However, it's been a long time since Majesty was released, and the IP has long switched hands.

Thankfully, it switched hands to the excellent developer Paradox, who have announced today a sequel to the original named, unsurprisingly, Majesty 2. According to them, the game is set to retain the original's sense of charm and dark humour while updating the gameplay for the new millennium. Color me interested. I love exploiting those heroes so I can sit around and do nothing all day in my fortress!

[Via IGN]

If this is one thing we absolutely love, it's impressive physics. Sure, graphical prowess is all well and good -- but we love us some real-time realistic object reactions here at BigDownload. Usually, game physics are all about blowing stuff up real-good-like, but with Alone in the Dark there's a new form of destruction to gorge ourselves on: fire.

The game's fire simulation is simply amazing. Every object has its own flammability and burns at different levels, but those flames can also set other objects on fire dynamically without any scripting required. Not only do things catch fire properly, but they start, burst and ember out as they should as well. You could pick up a chair, find a hot enough flame and them proceed to smash stuff with your newly acquired flaming chair -- at least until it broke apart, the remaining pieces reduced to hot, glowing embers.

We're not sure if this is millions-of-games-sold material here, but it certainly looks like a lot of fun.

Monthly-pay-based service GameTap today added three games to its already vast library -- Dracula Twins, Alien Shooter Vengeance, and Dark Matter. Yeah, those don't make us fall out of our chairs from the force of the excitement, either. Well, they could be fun; you never know, right? Correct us if we're missing out!

But here's what's really cool: Egosoft's X2: The Threat has been made available to all users -- even non-subscribers. That means you can play X2 for free. If you don't know it, it's a pretty decent game, so long as you're attracted to the genre (3D space trading ala Wing Commander: Privateer or Freelancer). It's a bit daunting at first but give it a try if it's your sort of thing. Alternatively, you can buy it on Steam for a measly ten bucks.

For the uninitiated: GameTap charges a monthly fee to provide members with unlimited access to an enormous library of classic (and on some occassions, new-ish) PC and console games. It updates its library on Thursdays, hence "GameTap Thursday." Sometimes, as you may have gathered, certain games are available to non-paying members.