- Prime Gaming's free games for September have arrived - 1 September 2020
It's a brand new month, which means another helping of free games from Prime Gaming. That's the new branding for Twitch Prime, in case you didn't get the email, and it's included with subscriptions to Amazon Prime. That means that if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you're getting free games every month, and all you have to do is link your Amazon and Twitch accounts to claim them on the Prime Gaming loot page . Headlining this month's slate of freebies is Outcast - Second Contact . It's a modern remake of the classic 1999 open world game that blends RPG exploration with sci-fi action. While it's got some of that ancient-feeling '90s humour baked in, exploring the alien world of Aldephia is still a great time, and Outcast - Second Contact has an 85% 'very positive' user review score on Steam. Autonauts, from Curve Digital, is also free this month. It's an adorable spin on the automatio…
- THQ Nordic held a Q&A with 8chan, a website de-listed from Google for hosting suspected child porn - 26 February 2019
“We’re doing an 8chan AMA and we have no idea why,” announced THQ Nordic on their Twitter account earlier this evening. If you’re not aware, 8chan is an imageboard website which has been de-listed from Google search results for hosting “suspected child abuse content,” and which is associated with Swatting and Gamergate. THQ Nordic’s marketing director has since apologised and claimed ignorance, but both are hard to believe. (more…)
- THQ Nordic is at it again, acquires IP rights to classic sci-fi action-adventure Outcast - 10 January 2019
THQ Nordic has started the new year in much the same way as it finished the last one, and has announced that it's acquired the IP rights to yet another classic franchise - this time those of much-loved sci-fi action-adventure Outcast. Outcast (not to be confused with Red Barrels' horror series Outlast, but watch me go and mistype that at least once here) originally released in 1999. It featured an ambitious proto-open-world structure, and told the tale of the absurdly named Cutter Slade - a former US Navy Seal who finds himself on an alien planet known as Adelpha. A tastefully modernised remake, known as Outcast: Second Contact, was released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2017. THQ Nordic hasn't offered any indication of what it intends to do with the Outcast IP just yet - who knows if this might eventually lead to an Outcast 2 - but it does note that the deal "has been finalized with the…
- Cutter paid: THQ Nordic buy Outcast rights - 10 January 2019
In their continuing mission to own memories of PC gaming 1992-2006, publishers THQ Nordic are now buying the intellectual property rights to Outcast . Released in 1999 by Belgian studio Appeal then remade in 2017 as Outcast – Second Contact, Outcast is an open-world explore-o-shooter about a soldier who travels to a parallel universe to save our world then gets waylaid running errands for aliens and riding a spaceostrich. THQ Nordic don’t reveal any firm plans for Outcast, but I imagine they’re planning a huge line of merchandise daubed with video gaming’s greatest protagonist name: Cutter Slade. (more…)
- Classic sci-fi remake Outcast - Second Contact is free to download on the Humble Store - 22 November 2018
Here's a bit of a treat for those with a hankering for some nostalgia-tweaking space exploration; Outcast - Second Contact is currently free to download on the Humble Store. Outcast - Second Contact, for those unfamiliar, was released last year, and is developer Appeal's tastefully modernised remake of its 1999 cult classic sci-fi action-adventure Outcast. Both tell the tale of the preposterously named Cutter Slade, a US Navy Seal sent through a black hole to retrieve a probe from an alien world. Once on Adelpha, as the alien planet is known, curious players are free to explore as their whims dictate, thanks to Outcast's proto-open-world structure. I'll be honest, even though I owned the game when it originally released, my memory of the experience is a little vague - aside from recalling not really knowing where I was going or what I was doing and spending an awful lot of time meanderi…
- Outcast: Second Contact is free to download for a few days - 22 November 2018
The Humble Store is in the midst of its big Fall Sale, and as it sometimes does it's got a free game up for grabs for the next couple of days. This time around it's Outcast: Second Contact , which is yours for the taking until 10 am Pacific on November 24. Released in 2017, Outcast: Second Contact is a remake of the 1999 Infogrames action-adventure about a US Navy SEAL named Cutter Slade (yes, seriously) who escorts a group of scientists to an alien world to help shut down a black hole that's threatening the Earth. Things very quickly go off the rails, as they do, and Cutter ends up in the midst of a civilizational struggle that also somehow involves time travel.  It's weird, yes, but also very good: It won numerous awards when it was new, including Computer Gaming World's "Adventure of the Year", and the remake earned an 82/100 review from us last year. &#…
- Snag a copy of Outcast: Second Contact free on Humble today - 22 November 2018
Who needs sales when people keep giving away neat stuff for free? Coincidentally reviewed by Alyse Stanley here exactly one year ago, Outcast: Second Contact is an exceptionally faithful remake of Appeal’s Stargate-inspired open world action-adventure Outcast, first launched in 1999. Some argue that the remake is authentic to a fault, but I reckon that whatever flaws that may imply, this is still the best way to experience an important piece of games history. Grab the game, DRM free and yours to keep here on Humble (open for the next 48 hours), and check out the trailer below. (more…)
- Snag a copy of Outcast: Second Contact free on Humble today - 22 November 2018
Who needs sales when people keep giving away neat stuff for free? Coincidentally reviewed by Alyse Stanley here exactly one year ago, Outcast: Second Contact is an exceptionally faithful remake of Appeal’s Stargate-inspired open world action-adventure Outcast, first launched in 1999. Some argue that the remake is authentic to a fault, but I reckon that whatever flaws that may imply, this is still the best way to experience an important piece of games history. Grab the game, DRM free and yours to keep here on Humble (open for the next 48 hours), and check out the trailer below. Update: Humble’s page says that the downloads will be disappearing on November 29th, so make sure to download it and stash it away before it vanishes into the ether. (more…)
- Outcast - Second Contact - Patch 2 released! - 6 December 2017
Outcast - Second Contact has been updated! This second patch brings fixes to NPC pathfinding and general performance improvements. You can find the full list of changes below: Critical Fixes: Fixed multiple crashes while shooting or travelling through Daokas. Fixed several memory leaks possibly impacting stability and performance. Fixed various pathfinding issues and stuck characters. Gameplay Fixes: Fixed an issue where Naarn would be missing (also fixed in existing saved games). Fixed an issue where Illot would refuse to talk after being healed and where Shamaaz became stuck trying to heal Illot (also fixed in existing saved games). Fixed an issue where Sadar would not propose to go back to Oru’s Island as intended. Fixed a pathfinding issue which would cause Zoran to become stuck. Fixed an issue where Zine would not go to the crusher. Fixed an issue where Zidar’s friend would not tal…
- Outcast - Second Contact - Patch 2 released! - 6 December 2017
Outcast - Second Contact has been updated! This second patch brings fixes to NPC pathfinding and general performance improvements. You can find the full list of changes below: Critical Fixes: Fixed multiple crashes while shooting or travelling through Daokas. Fixed several memory leaks possibly impacting stability and performance. Fixed various pathfinding issues and stuck characters. Gameplay Fixes: Fixed an issue where Naarn would be missing (also fixed in existing saved games). Fixed an issue where Illot would refuse to talk after being healed and where Shamaaz became stuck trying to heal Illot (also fixed in existing saved games). Fixed an issue where Sadar would not propose to go back to Oru’s Island as intended. Fixed a pathfinding issue which would cause Zoran to become stuck. Fixed an issue where Zine would not go to the crusher. Fixed an issue where Zidar’s friend would not tal…
- Outcast - Second Contact - Patch 1 released - 22 November 2017
Outcast - Second Contact has been updated. The first patch brings performance enhancements, crash fixes, additional options, improvements to jumping and more. You can find the full list of changes below: Controls have been enhanced and inertia of movement lowered. Constraints on jumping have been relaxed in some areas to avoid the occurrence of "invisible walls". The responsiveness of jumps has been improved. Slight adjustments to jumping behaviour when in air. The triggering of dodge rolls has been adjusted in order to prevent interference with sprinting. The contents of ammo boxes have been rebalanced. A rare bug that could occur when purchasing the Magwa in Shamazaar has been fixed. Fixed a bug that caused some characters (for example Zokrim) to get stuck in bodies of water, and sometimes blocking progression. A display issue that caused Naarn to not properly display in some instance…
- Outcast - Second Contact - Patch 1 released - 22 November 2017
Outcast - Second Contact has been updated. The first patch brings performance enhancements, crash fixes, additional options, improvements to jumping and more. You can find the full list of changes below: Controls have been enhanced and inertia of movement lowered. Constraints on jumping have been relaxed in some areas to avoid the occurrence of "invisible walls". The responsiveness of jumps has been improved. Slight adjustments to jumping behaviour when in air. The triggering of dodge rolls has been adjusted in order to prevent interference with sprinting. The contents of ammo boxes have been rebalanced. A rare bug that could occur when purchasing the Magwa in Shamazaar has been fixed. Fixed a bug that caused some characters (for example Zokrim) to get stuck in bodies of water, and sometimes blocking progression. A display issue that caused Naarn to not properly display in some instance…
- Outcast - Second Contact review - 16 November 2017
Initially turned off by its stock 1990s action game protagonist and fuzzy voxels, I came to appreciate Outcast rather late in life. At the time of its original release I craved titles that would put my fancy new GeForce 256 to good use, for which I was spoilt for choice: a new Dungeon Keeper was atop the PC hit parade, which, together with Hidden & Dangerous, System Shock 2 and Unreal Tournament, effortlessly outshined Outcast's dull palette. It wasn't until a full 15 years later that I gave Outcast the attention it had long deserved. This was at the time of the v1.1 release, an understated - and still worthwhile - remaster that, in facilitating an outpouring of affectionate reader reviews across GOG and Steam, stirred in me old curiosities and a dormant sense of guilt at having dismissed the original game so easily. And so, after years of wilful ignorance (and fresh from having complet…
- Outcast - Second Contact released! - 14 November 2017
We're happy to announce that Outcast is now available! Until the 29th November you can benefit from a 15% early bird discount if you buy the game via Steam. In addition if you already own Outcast 1.1 via Steam you can benefit from an additional 30% discount if you buy the game via Steam before 14th December (This discount is set to activate today at 8am PDT / 6pm CET) To celebrate the release, we also have the brand new lauch trailer for you, to get you in the mood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUXWebLW7f4 We hope you're going to enjoy the return to Adelpha as much as us! We will be here for all your feedback and please don't hesitate to let us know if you're having any issues playing the game! May the Yods be silent!
- Outcast - Second Contact released! - 14 November 2017
We're happy to announce that Outcast is now available! Until the 29th November you can benefit from a 15% early bird discount if you buy the game via Steam. In addition if you already own Outcast 1.1 via Steam you can benefit from an additional 30% discount if you buy the game via Steam before 14th December (This discount is set to activate today at 8am PDT / 6pm CET) To celebrate the release, we also have the brand new lauch trailer for you, to get you in the mood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUXWebLW7f4 We hope you're going to enjoy the return to Adelpha as much as us! We will be here for all your feedback and please don't hesitate to let us know if you're having any issues playing the game! May the Yods be silent!
- Outcast - Second Contact is coming in November, so here's a new trailer - 26 October 2017
Outcast – Second Contact hit a bump in the road earlier this year when its scheduled release date of March 30 was pushed into the fall. A date wasn't set then, but it is now: November 14 is the big day, a nice bit of news that comes to us alongside a new 'Hero Trailer' showcasing the unfortunate adventures of down-on-his-luck good guy Cutter Slade.  Outcast – Second Contact is a remake of the 1999 original, which was a decent hit when it was new and has acquired something of a cult following since. In it, special forces guy Cutter is sent along with three scientists to an alien world called Adelpha to recover a damaged probe and close the black hole that connects that world to our own. Alas, he becomes separated from his charges, and ends up embroiled in a tale of time travel and civil strife. It's all a bit weird, to be honest.  Pricing hasn&…
