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Archived News:
Fury Beta Signups
are now underway, as closed testing for Auran's upcoming action/RPG will
commence on July 6: BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 29, 2007 – What is War
without Fury? The Age of Fury is drawing ever closer and players wishing to
unleash their competitive spirit can sign-up now at the Auran Closed Beta
registration page [http://www.unleashthefury.com/beta/signup.php].
The first phase of Closed Beta testing is scheduled to commence at 3pm PST
Friday July 6th. Invitations for players who have already registered will start
being sent out in the coming days, so keep checking your inbox to see if you
have made the cut. We’re expecting thousands of new players so make sure you
keep your calendar clear for next weekend.
Gone are the days of level grinding and countless hours spent wandering the
barren terrain of your typical “MMO.” Fury is a fast-paced, online, player
versus player game that blends the speed and excitement of a First Person
Shooter with familiar MMORPG combat and character advancement. From the minute
you log in, Fury keeps the action flowing at breakneck speeds, never letting up
and pushing you to your limits. This Closed Beta version includes 3 game types,
a new Tutorial, new vendor areas, new gameplay balance and a host of bug fixes
and tweaks.
This is your chance to get an edge on the competition. The Dev Team is already
hard at work adding the finishing touches to the Open Beta version, where
players can look forward to significant performance and graphics improvements,
loads of new content and major updates to the game economy. So what are you
waiting for? Fury is a game of skill, not brute force, twitch or time played –
the only way you’ll succeed is by mastering the game itself. Here’s your chance
to become a master before anyone else. Are you up to the challenge?
The CDV Software Entertainment
Website now offers downloads of a new patch for Pacific Storm, updating the
action/strategy game to version 1.5. Word is: "cdv Software Entertainment USA,
in cooperation with Buka Entertainment, released a new patch for Pacific Storm,
their WWII hybrid strategy/action title for PC today. The new patch brings the
retail game to version 1.5, and offers multiple fixes, gameplay tweaks and
broader operating system compatibility. For more details regarding the contents
of the patch, be sure to view the readme.pdf included with the patch file."
- The Lord of the Rings Online
The
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Q&A part two on Computer and
Video Games talks further with Jeffrey Steefel about the LotR MMORPG,
including console plans: "I've got this thing called Lord of the Rings that
my subscription, depending on how much money I pay, entitles me access to in
different ways. Each device, each way of interacting, has a different
strength and weakness. So I can manage my inventory on a cell phone very
easily, I can do crafting on a cell phone. Doing a raid on a console? That's
cool. Doing more social things, chatting, maybe that's better on a PC. Think
of it that way - I built this game, now I'm going to translate it and put it
on this thing, put it on that thing. It's a broader vision, it's harder,
more risky, but that's where we headed. Whether or not Turbine is the
company that's going to take us there, we'll see."
- Saga
Producer
Jason Faller talks about the persistent-world RTS, Saga on GameZone
discusses Wahoo Studios' MMORTS game: "We did a lot of thinking on how best
to handle the online/offline issue. For the most part, you don’t lose all
that much if you leave your empire management in a sorry state while you’re
offline. But on the other hand, you’re certainly not making nearly as much
as you could be. It’s more a case of the diligent empire micro-managers
being well rewarded, than penalizing those who leave their kingdoms in
states of disarray. However, if you have recently riled up a lot of enemies,
or if your guild is in the middle of a bitter war, there can be quite a
number of raids/espionage actions taken against you while away, up to a
certain limit. In those situations, being online more often is probably
wisest. Players often leave their accounts for a week or more, and typically
are quite happy when they return; although things may have ground to a halt
due to governmental neglect, they’ve often amassed a tidy sum in taxes and
resources which are ready to be spent in the market!"
GameDaily has
a report based on
a new study commissioned by IBM that suggests skills developed in online
games may be useful in the world of business, where intuiting the workings of
the economy (and presumably a willingness to grind) can be of great value. This
has resulted in the creation of a program called Attent to allow the exploration
of a virtual economy and see how this transforms the world of business. Here's a
bit from GameDaily's summary of the 30+ page Adobe Acrobat report: The study
suggests that there are "significant parallels" between the skill sets of MMO
players and those of effective leaders in the distributed, global workforce. For
example, IBM and Seriosity state that "today's gamers are learning
collaboration, self-organization, risk taking, openness, influence, and how to
earn incentives linked to performance and be flexible in the way they
communicate."
"What we've found is that success as a business leader may depend on skills as a
gamer," commented Jim Spohrer, Director of Services Research, IBM Research
Center in Almaden, CA. "Smart organizations are recognizing valued employees who
play online games and apply their skills and experiences as virtual leaders to
their 'real world' jobs."
Games-Masters.com announces the execution of their plan ( story)
to remove subscription fees from CABAL
Online: Games-Masters.com today announced the re-launch of CABAL
Online.
Replacing the standard monthly subscription service with the new Free-to-Play
model, the new service offers a new item shop and premium services for players
wishing to take the game to the next level.
CABAL Online now offers even more value for money than ever before. Players are
able to enter the world of Nevareth for absolutely FREE, yes, that's right, no
charge!, taking advantage of the unique chance to join a battle of epic
proportions. Based in Nevareth, a world depleted by war and the mythical natural
forces, CABAL Online offers users a fast-paced and action packed experience, now
for the first time with no costs attached.
By simply downloading the client and registering on the CABAL website, players
can join the battle within minutes and are soon transported to a parallel world,
full of danger, excitement and opportunity.
With the removal of a monthly fee, a brand new item shop has been implemented to
the game, providing items for sale, ranging from hi-tech flying boards to
in-game potions. Games-Masters.com state that this service will offer
convenience without ruining the economy of the game.
Players will also be able to upgrade their free account, giving them access to
unique features such as a GPS map system, higher levels of experience points and
dedicated server access. These benefits are, however, not at the cost of the
free players, with brand new servers operational to handle the surge of new
players. Already over 45,000 new adventurers have begun their journey in
Nevareth since Open BETA began and this number continues to rise.
With thousands of other players to interact with, CABAL Online offers a truly
fantastic experience for both old and new players.
The lands of Nevareth wait!
Meridian announces Vigil – Blood Bitterness, their recent adventure game, is now
being offered for sale via Steam. Word is: Montreal, Canada. June 29,
2007. - Software publisher, Meridian4 and developer Freegamer are thrilled to
announce that their stylized adventure; Vigil – Blood Bitterness is now
available on Steam, Valve’s online platform for digital content distribution and
management.
“Some of the most original, unique and exciting games and gameplay today are
coming from independent developer like Freegamer. Vigil embodies the spirit of
independent gaming with its unique look and feel, “said Steven Milburn, Director
of Marketing at Meridian4. “Any gamer looking for a game experience like no
other should look no further than Vigil – Blood Bitterness.”
Vigil – Blood Bitterness is available today for purchase on Steam for $9.95.
Save 20% when you buy before July 6. For more information about Vigil go to
www.meridian4.com or visit
www.steampowered.com.
The Fallen Earth Q&A on The MMO Gamer
stretches out with Lee Hammock, lead game designer on this post-apocalyptic
MMORPG: "Fallen Earth is a massively multiplayer online game with a role-playing
game style structure and character advancement but a first person shooter style
combat system. We think this combination will give players a new, more active
style of play than other MMOs while also utilizing character development that
keeps them working for that next level. We’ve worked hard to fill our massive
world (over 7,000 square kilometers) with things to do, with the first sector of
play having over fifteen hundred missions and twenty thousand lines of dialogue.
Add to that rag doll physics, vehicles, a huge crafting system, VoIP, and
massive character customization, and I think we’ve got a game with longevity."
The fourth of July, A.K.A. Independence Day, falls on a Wednesday this year,
so its hard to pin down whether this weekend or next will serve as a holiday
weekend. I'm guessing it will be a little of both, and that stateside gaming
news may be slow over the next week as a result, but we'll just have to see.
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