Archived News:
Las Vegas-based developer Petroglyph has registered a
service mark and a
Trademark for Deadscape, which covers "Video game software; computer
game software and instruction manuals sold therewith; electronic game programs;
downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless
devices." We were tipped to this by a source familiar with the company who also
tells us Petroglyph has suffered another round of layoffs following
cuts last December, and their unconfirmed estimate is that
the company currently only has about 20% of the workforce they had before End of
Nations development was taken in-house
by Trion.
Steam News announces
that Polytron's platformer
FEZ is now available
on Steam: Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When
the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent
out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your
ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives.
Explore a serene and beautiful open-ended world full of secrets, puzzles and
hidden treasures. Unearth the mysteries of the past and discover the truth about
reality and perception. Change your perspective and look at the world in a
different way.
Battlefront.com announces the release of the
Assault on Communism expansion for Strategic Command: Global Conflict,
celebrating International Workers' Day in their own ironic fashion. The add-on
looks at the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, which did not work out as
planned. This includes several campaigns along with all the engine advancements
of the previous Gold expansion, and word is it will be followed soon by an
Assault on Democracy expansion (perhaps they'll release that one on July
4th).
The
Kickstarter for Camelot Unchained reveals that this Dark Age of
Camelot-inspired MMORPG from City State Entertainment has hit its $2 million
funding goal with under 24 hours remaining. As of this writing the project is on
the verge of hitting its first stretch goal.
This trailer introduces
LiveRoutes, a feature in GRID 2 that will switch the tracks in the game's
city environments dynamically in the upcoming racing sequel, offering a test of
racers' reflexes. "LiveRoutes is the new challenge event that we’re most proud
of in GRID 2. It’s as fresh to racing games as Flashback was when we introduced
it as a mechanic in the original GRID," said Clive Moody, Senior Executive
Producer for GRID 2 at Codemasters. "In a LiveRoutes event, you don’t know
what’s coming next and it turns each race into a test of your racecraft, car
handling and reactions on circuits that cannot be learnt. In both career mode
and online, LiveRoutes offers near limitless possibilities in every race and
it’s a great leveler, even for the most experienced racing game players." Here's
word on the video: "The new LiveRoutes video shows how the road changes ahead
dynamically on different playthroughs, creating new routes through GRID 2’s
Paris Street Racing environment. Available in both single-player and in
multiplayer, LiveRoutes events feature millions of potential corner combinations
and offer players extensive replayability." Continue here to read the full story.
Mode 7 Games announces plans to release the iPad edition of Frozen Synapse
on Thursday, May 16th. This will offer cross-platform play with the Windows, OS
X, Linux, and Android editions of the simultaneous turn-based strategy game.
This video shows off
the iOS version and cross-platform play. Continue here to read the full story.
Activision officially announces Call of Duty: Ghosts is in development at
Infinity Ward, saying this will come to Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3
on November 5th, and that preorders are already underway. The completely
expected reveal of the next installment in the military shooter series comes
with the unexpected twist that they call this "a new sub-brand" using "a new
engine." A Ghosts Masked
Warriors teaser trailer offers a first glimpse, and word is the game will
make its official debut during the Xbox: the Next Generation Revealed program on
May 21 at 1:00 pm EDT on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE, or SPIKE TV. Here's the
announcement: Santa Monica, CA - May 1, 2013 - Prepare for the next
generation of Call of Duty®. The franchise that has defined a generation of
gaming is set to raise the bar once again with the all-new Call of Duty®:
Ghosts. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and developed by Infinity Ward, the studio
that created the original Call of Duty and the seminal Call of Duty®: Modern
Warfare® series, Call of Duty: Ghosts ushers in the next generation of the
franchise. The new title delivers a riveting all-new gameplay experience built
on an entirely new story, setting and cast of characters, all powered by a new,
next generation Call of Duty engine that redefines the series for the next
generation.
"Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation,
and they're going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts," said Eric Hirshberg,
CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new
characters, an all-new Call of Duty world, all powered by a next generation Call
of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise. Infinity Ward is
going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world's
greatest fans."
"Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the
safe thing to do. But we're not resting on our laurels," said Mark Rubin,
executive producer of developer Infinity Ward. "We saw the console transition as
the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we're
building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences
for our players. We can't wait to share them with our community."
Continue here to read the full story.
WBIE
and Turbine announce that closed beta testing will begin on May 8th for
Infinite Crisis, their upcoming MOBA based on the world of DC Comics. They
commemorate the news with
new art
(at virtually infinite resolution) "highlighting the Multiverse variants
of Wonder Women, a nod to the character variations found within Infinite
Crisis." They encourage everyone to sign up
on this page
for a chance to take part in the beta, and say they expect a full launch "later
this year" for this "free-to-play PC game featuring a deep roster of DC Comics
characters clashing in fast-paced, player-versus-player battles."
Perhaps inevitably, SEGA and Gearbox Software are named as defendants in a
lawsuit over Aliens: Colonial Marines, the movie-based first-person
shooter that met with a good deal of discontent after its recent release (thanks
durandal).
Polygon reports the suit was filed in the Northern District of California
court by law firm Edelson LLC on behalf of plaintiff Damion Perrine, saying the
game was falsely advertised. SEGA Europe has already
received a
scolding over how the visuals in the game did not live up to what was shown
in prerelease trailers, and now this is being taken to the courts in the U.S.
They offer the following excerpt from the court papers: "Each of the
'actual gameplay' demonstrations purported to show consumers exactly what they
would be buying: a cutting edge video game with very specific features and
qualities," the claim reads. "Unfortunately for their fans, Defendants never
told anyone — consumers, industry critics, reviewers, or reporters — that their
'actual gameplay' demonstration advertising campaign bore little resemblance to
the retail product that would eventually be sold to a large community of
unwitting purchasers."
Petroglyph announces that Battle for Graxia is now out of beta, and their
new MOBA game is live, saying the launch version includes a new replay mode to
play back recorded matches. "Battle for Graxia has been an evolving project and
has now culminated into what we are excited to officially call Launch," said
Steve Tall, Project Lead. "Throughout the development process we've worked with
the community to create a game that adds even more fun for MOBA gamers. We are
eager to see what the community thinks of the latest features." Signups for the
free-to-play game are being conducted on
this
page, and here's word on how you can spend money on this: Multiple
content bundles are also offered that include exclusive Immortals and their
alternate skins, in-game achievement badges, and a variety of unique booster
items to give new characters a head-start in matches. Many of these features are
available to Steam players via the game's Steam page with additional exclusives
for founding players the week of launch.
Eutechnyx announces Auto Club
Revolution is now live, offering a free-to-play racing game with
sponsorships from some major automakers. With the game's beta testing concluded,
they say they will send those who participated a code to unlock an exclusive car
paint scheme. "From the initial closed beta launch right through to our
commercial release we’ve been taking our lead from the game’s beta test players
adding and changing features accordingly, don’t expect this to change now that
we’re in commercial release," says Eutechnyx's Darren Jobling. "Our teams have
long term plans for new content, new features and new initiatives which will
cement Auto Club Revolution’s position at the top of the pile." Word
is: Auto Club Revolution is the online racing game built in collaboration
with the motor industry, featuring the world's most desirable cars to race
online at real race tracks. Compete in single and multiplayer racing events take
on the challenge of a racing leaderboard event or chase down the many in-game
achievements.
Blizzard reminds us that tonight is one of the last chances to get tickets
to BlizzCon 2013, as tonight they will be selling 200 tickets to the BlizzCon
Benefit Dinner, with the proceeds to benefit
Children's Hospital of Orange County. Each $500.00 ticket includes entrance
to a dinner with the opportunity to rub elbows with the folks from Blizzard, a
ticket to the gaming convention (valued at $175.00), a Blizzard goodie bag, and
a signed print of Blizzard artwork.
- The
Rex Rocket Kickstarter seeks funds for this small platformer that
foregoes the 16-bit days for an even more retro 8-bit style…
Happy May Day! It is certainly nice enough around here today to warrant a fine
pagan celebration of the end of winter and the glory of spring. Today is also
International Workers' Day, which is labor day in lots of countries, though not
here in the U.S. where Labor Day was moved in the 19th century to avoid it
seeming like a commemoration of the
Haymarket affair,
which was sort the labor movement's equivalent of the
Kent State shootings.
The weird thing that I never put together before? The Haymarket massacre and the
Kent State shootings, each of which resulted in four civilian deaths, were on
the same date 84 years apart, though it was May 4th, not May 1st. Something to
keep in mind if someone invites you to a protest on Saturday.
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