Something for the weekend

We have some priceless caveats to keep you entertained over the coming days, care of the wonderful world of gaming

Written by Andy Griffiths, 27 November 2009

This week we've got some cracking selections for your eager eyes, but don't take our word for it, feast on the gaming delights below:

Valve is better than Santa

You know, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving this side of the pond but if Valve keep offering games like Knights of the Old Republic for less than £2 we may reconsider. This is just one of the many offers on Steam this weekend and best of all they'll be updating them every day. Go out there and bag yourself a bargain, we really hope Red Faction: Guerilla gets a look in.

PCGZine Issue 37 For our latest Mass Effect coverage, click here to download PCGZine Issue 37 for free.The dark history of freemium games

60 million users can't be wrong and the runaway success of games which utilise Facebook, Myspace and other social network sites are big news. Even though titles like Farmtown are essentially free to play, users do have the opportunity to pay for added content such as items or action points. So why aren't we talking about 'real' games, well these casual games are fast becoming a big deal. If publishers like EA are willing to sacrifice real developers to accommodate Playfish then substantial profit must be had from games which apparently cost no money to enjoy. In this GamesIndustry.biz article, Rob Fahey looks at the history of this business strategy and some of the teething problems along the way including Zynga's Mark Pincus admitting, during a recorded conference, that his company has spread malware in the past.

Tali is back!

We kind of knew this was coming but one of our favourite Mass Effect characters is set to return in the sequel, the honourable Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Perhaps most of the mystique surrounding this exquisite character is the fact that you can't see her face, but Liz Stroka's voice acting provides an additional layer of resonance and charm. So lets rejoice that she has been confirmed for Mass Effect 2 and we even get to visit the Migrant Fleet! It'll take most of the weekend for you lot to properly dissect this one minute trailer, so we expect to hear what you think first thing Monday morning.

As always you can find all of today's featured links on the right and if you have any comments feel free to pop them in the suggestions box below.

Mass Effect coverage available in PCGZine Issue 37 - click here to download it for free!

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