The real Berlin Wall came down in 1989, but Half-Life 2 owners can check out a virtual recreation thanks to an awesome-looking Berlin Wall map which has been posted on the Garry's Mod site.

An explanation accompanies the download:

The anticipated BerlinWall map has been released. The map offers singleplayer experience from the view of an East German citizen, dreaming of living in the West Germany. The gameplay in the map is non-linear, you can take many paths to west. Also, avoid making mistakes, they can be deadly, and remember to check everywhere for some sort of weapons.

The map works the best in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, but like common Source-based maps, it also works in Garry's Mod. Not offering the best gameplay experience in it, but works great for posing and comics.

GamePolitics reader Michael Jürges tipped us to the map. He writes in an e-mail to GP:

Although I haven't had the opportunity to play the map yet, the mapping seems, judging from the screenshots, pretty accurate (I'm German myself and I've been to this part of Berlin as well). Personally, I think this might be quite a good idea - reenacting historical settings and immerge oneself into this virtual environment can, perhaps, contribute to a better understanding about what the people who had to endure these challenges in order to escape from the East German regime felt like.

GP: This is something I'd love to check out, so I guess it's time to re-install HL2.

Later this month, Copenhagen-based Serious Games Interactive will release Global Conflicts: Latin America.

The game, intended for students 13-19 years old, will be published in seven languages and is designed to teach students about political and human rights struggles in Latin America. From an SGI press release:

Many Latin American countries have dark histories of genocide, widespread corruption; and systematic exploitation of the indigenous population. The game lets you explore how these historical realities still cast long shadows on the everyday life of people in the region today.

In the game, students are challenged to assume the role of investigative reporters:

You arrive in Mexico at the US border with a bag full of journalistic ambitions. Latin America is one of the most turbulent, violent and poverty-stricken places on the planet. Yet it is only when Western interests in the region are threatened that we hear anything about the nations that struggle with paramilitary rule, extreme poverty and exploitation of the population.

 

In a region where politicians and police are feared rather than respected, people try desperately to grab a piece of the land and call it their own. All too often, however, it ends badly. Can you make a difference by writing investigative stories?

Global Conflicts: Latin America will be released for PC and Mac.

While running your character on a long trek through your favorite MMO, have you ever imagined how great it would be to get so much exercise in real life?

The marketing site for Mana Energy Potion has posted a fascinating account of how two WoW players connected treadmills to their PCs and used their own 6mph locomotion to power their avatars:

We decided on a run from the gates of Shadowglen, through Dolanaar, to the sentries of Darnassus. We took level 1-2 elves so there would be a real danger that we'd get attacked along the way...

 

I'd first like to point out that Eli is in quite good shape. I, however, am not... We thought it would be a good representation of the gamut of gamers if we both ran the race. We donned the cheapest heart monitors we could find for kicks...

 

Eli and I stayed pretty even throughout the whole run. But about 3 minutes in, my heart rate reached over 205 BPM, and my max is around 195 BPM. I had to slow down to a walk because I thought I was going to pass out. Running in WoW is no joke... 

Yesterday, GamePolitics reported that an unemployed immigrant mother of two was ordered by a British court to pay £16,086 (roughly $30,000) to Topware Interactive for uploading its pinball game to a file-sharing network.

Things are about to get much worse.

Today's Times Online reports that Topware's case against Isabella Barwinska may only have been the tip of the iceberg. According to the Times, a quintet of U.K. publishers are targeting those who share PC games. Calling the action an "unprecedented assault on illegal downloads," the Times names Topware, Atari, Reality Pump, Techland and Codemasters as the firms involved. The report says the companies plan to notify 25,000 U.K. consumers that they must pay £300 to settle file-sharing accusations. Otherwise, they risk a ruinous court judgment of the type lodged against Barwinska.

From the Times:

It is estimated that as many as six million people in Britain share games illegally over the internet. The aggressive action marks a dramatic change in the approach to copyright on the internet. The British music industry, hit hard by illegal file-sharing, has taken action against just 150 people in ten years...

 

The move has provoked strong criticism within the games industry. A source close to the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association said that most publishers would be reluctant to bring legal actions against their “core market” and would be likely to look for other ways to minimise losses due to piracy.

A lawyer for the five publishers commented:

Our clients were incensed by the level of illegal downloading. In the first 14 days since Topware Interactive released Dream Pinball 3D it sold 800 legitimate copies but was illegally downloaded 12,000 times. Hopefully people will think twice if they risk being taken to court.

Via: Edge Online

You hear it a lot: PC gaming is dead. Or, at least, terminally ill.

However, the PC Gaming Alliance, a trade group formed to boost the PC end of the game business, maintains that the future is bright for those who prefer to game on computers.

Speaking at GCDC in Leipzig, PCGA president Randy Stude (left) cited key findings from the group's first Horizons Report. Among the more noteworthy points:

• PC gaming was a $10.7 billion industry during the year of 2007
• Retail sales accounted for just 30 percent of total revenues
• Growth was largely driven by online revenues from Asia, the world’s largest market, which is approaching half of total worldwide sales.
• Online PC gaming revenue led the way in 2007 with $4.8 billion, nearly double the worldwide retail sales numbers for PC games.
• Digital distribution sales approached $2 billion
• Advertising revenues from websites, portals, and in-game ads accounted for $800 million.

Commenting on the findings, Stude said:

Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported. Today’s consumers shop where they live - online.

David Cole, DFC Intelligence analyst, added:

The real key has been the rapid growth in penetration of broadband-connected PCs in all markets around the world. Broadband-connected PCs are the key driver of growth for PC gaming. DFC Intelligence estimated that by the end of 2007 less than one-third of households in the top 20 markets for games had a high-speed Internet connection. That clearly indicates that there is still plenty of growth to come.

Why should console gamers be the only ones with the opportunity to be corrupted by Grand Theft Auto IV?

According to a just-issued press release, PC gamers will get their own version of the hugely popular - and hugely controversial - game in November. The PC version of GTA IV will be released in North America on November 18th and in Europe on November 21st.

Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser is quoted in the press release:

We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV. The whole team is dedicated to bringing an amazing gaming experience to the PC. The game looks and plays beautifully on PC and we can't wait for people to play it.
 

Yesterday GamePolitics linked Dean Takahashi's VentureBeat piece predicting that PC games would be noticably sparse at next week's E3 in Los Angeles.

Writing for Big Download, John Callaham begs to differ:

The Games for Windows Event this week had... Civilization IV: Colonization, Call of Duty: World at War, Bionic Commando, Ghostbusters and Space Siege... E3 2008 will have those same five games plus a ton more titles. A number of publishers are scheduled to show a lot of PC only games at the show such as Electronic Arts (Crysis Warhead, Spore, Warhammer Online), THQ (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II) Codemasters (Jumpgate Evolution) Sega (Empire: Total War) and Deep Silver (STALKER Clear Sky).

 

UK based Jagex is scheduled to show off for the first time their next generation version of their hugely popular free MMO Runescape at the show. Russian based publisher Akella will only be showing PC games at the event. As far as hardware, Big Download confirmed this week that Toshiba will be showing off a new high powered gaming laptop PC which will be officially launched at the show...

PC gamers should not expect much in the way of news from next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, according to Dean Takahashi on VentureBeat.

Microsoft's Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Windows gaming, told Takahashi:

As it has morphed, E3 has fundamentally become a console show. We didn’t want to just squeeze out some time at a console show... There have been a lot of trend pieces about how PC gaming is dying when that is absolutely not happening. It’s growing exponentially, thanks to online games, and even faster than the rest of the market.

Said Rahul Sood of HP's high-end VoodooPC game computer line:

E3 used to be the mecca of gaming. I’m skipping it because it’s not what it used to be. Now it’s just an event called E3.

As a longtime computer gamer, I was cheered earlier this year to learn of the formation of the PC Gaming Alliance, a group of industry types who have banded together to promote the PC as a game platform.

Last week, Cnet's Crave blog posted a terrific interview with Intel's Randy Stude, president of the PCGA. Among Stude's comments:

You have [a PC gaming] industry that's being beat up in the Western press in terms of... its perceived lack of health, so we in the industry... didn't really like the perception that we were hearing that PC gaming is on a decline. When in fact while certain markets of the PC gaming industry might be in a decline, others are sky-rocketing like never before.

The PCGA chief also downplayed discouraging NPD numbers:

I chuckle when I read through the articles or opinion that say that PC gaming is in a decline and they continue to quote NPD's North American retail sales figures... NPD decided in the first quarter of 2008 to attempt to quantify North American MMO subscription revenues. And lo and behold... they found--under a rock that they hadn't looked at before--a billion dollars...

In fact, Stude says that PC gaming generates a quarter of all video game revenues:

So if you add the billion dollars [NPD] claim to have found in annual subscription revenues on top of the $920 million that they were previously reporting in retail, suddenly the PC game piece of the pie is closer to a quarter of all software revenues generated in North America. That's one platform out of eight that's generating a quarter of all the revenues. There isn't another platform generating that big of a share of the pie. And that is woefully underreported at a billion dollars. That's why we're here.

Stude also mentioned that the PCGA is looking into piracy issues:

We're collecting research on PC game piracy... trying to have some understanding of how big it is, and then hopefully quantify the economic impact... We don't intend to become the police force for PC game piracy. We're not the RIAA, we're not going to become the RIAA. Rather we're a group that's trying to look out for PC gaming, and if there's a problem with it, we're going to make industry recommendations...

Decent games about the political process are few and far between, but Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilizations II) will release The Political Machine 2008, a turn-based election strategy sim for PC, on June 18th.

And, while real politics is an expensive business, the virtual kind is relatively cheap. The Political Machine 2008 retails for a mere $19.95.

Over at GameSpot, Jon Miller, who played as manager of Barack Obama's simulated campaign, has a detailed preview:

In The Political Machine, one turn breaks down to one week. The amount of stamina your candidate has limits the number of actions you can perform for each turn. Early on, the country is one giant mass of undecided voters, and it's your goal as campaign manager to sway them with lofty campaign promises...as well as blatant negative campaigning...

 

Of course, no election is complete without fundraising. Each action in the game, even flying from one state to another, will drain your campaign budget. If you have enough stamina, it helps to hit the fundraiser button, especially in wealthy states loyal to your party. Obama cleaned up in California and New York, routinely bringing in more than $200,000 per fundraiser, but he floundered in South Dakota where he raised only $6,000.

 

And so the campaign season goes... The Political Machine 2008 is not the most complicated strategy game out there, but it's a fun, lighthearted look at American politics.

GP: I enjoyed the last version of the game (2004), and can't wait to get my hands on this one.