Archived News:
Steam News announces the
release of Against the
Qlock, a new DLC pack for
Q.U.B.E., adding new
challenges to the first-person puzzle game. Here's word: "This all-new time
trial package pits the player against the clock in a bid to get the highest
score and beat their friends. Combining precision, logic and quick reactions the
player must speed through each of the ten levels using a variety of pick-ups to
their advantage."
Though Spicy Horse Games' stated
ambitions to hold a Kickstarter for a new Alice game are still uncertain to
be fulfilled, the developer feels negotiations with EA for the IP are going well
enough to give the project the title Alice: Otherlands, and to hold a
cosplay contest to find someone to portray Alice for the game's Kickstarter
pitch video. Details on how to enter can be found
on their
Facebook page, where they note this involves being Shanghaied, so the winner
must be prepared to travel.
Here's a new trailer
for Call of Juarez Gunslinger telling "The Story of Silas Greave," a
stylized look at the main character from Techland's upcoming western shooter
sequel. The clip includes lots of gameplay, as well as some cinematics,
including a slow-motion shot showing a bullet travelling towards its target with
its cartridge case still attached. We also have some
new
screenshots from the game. Continue here to read the full story.
Link of the Day:
Minecraft
Game of Thrones Opening. Or at least it uses the opening music. Thanks
Ant.
Gearbox tweets that May 14th is the release date for Krieg the Psycho, the
promised new playable character for Borderlands 2, Gearbox's first-person
shooter sequel. This
previously released trailer offers a look at this new psycho bandit vault
hunter. Thanks nin. Continue here to read the full story.
Amazon.de and
GamesOnly each currently show German-language listings for a PC edition of
Grand Theft Auto V, even though a version of the action sequel has not
yet been announced for the platform. The previous installments in the series
(except for the mobile variants) have all come to PCs, but until it's official,
GTA5 for Windows is still just a rumor. Interestingly, the GamesOnly stresses
they are selling what our translation calls the "guaranteed uncensored" and
"100% Pre uncut version." Thanks
Computer and Video Games via
Gematsu.
EA announces "a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and
publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines." The
announcement has comments from EA Labels President Frank Gibeau, as does a new
blog update on the topic on
EA
News, neither of which disclose the financial terms of the agreement. Here's
what the announcement says about the deal: "Here's what this covers: "Under the
agreement, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming
audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres,
while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile,
social, tablet and online game categories." Here's Frank Gibeau's outline of
their general plans: The EA Studios that will develop these games are
some of the most innovative and popular creative teams in the world, and include
DICE and Visceral, in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing
for the Star Wars franchise. These imaginative teams will make games that may
borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories.
Powering it all will be the Frostbite 3 development engine – guaranteeing
incredible graphic fidelity, environments and characters.
Precursor Games announces the launch of
the
promised crowdfunding campaign for Shadow of the Eternals, an episodic
action/adventure game using the CryENGINE from the creators of Eternal
Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. The
Shadow of the Eternals website
is home to the fundraising, which looks to raise $1.5 million so they can
release the first episode for PC and WiiU in Q3 of next year, and they have a
couple of videos to get the campaign rolling. Here's more: Hamilton,
Ontario – May 6th 2013 – Precursor Games today unveils its debut project Shadow
of the Eternals. Developed by the creators of the critically acclaimed Eternal
Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, Shadow of the Eternals is an episodic
action/adventure game that is likely to gain the attention of gamers everywhere.
Featuring an ensemble cast, Shadow of the Eternals will span over 2500 years of
human history. Players will question their own perception of reality as they
progress through this mind-altering psychological horror. The Pilot Episode is
slated for release Q3 2014 on the Nintendo Wii U and PC.
The emerging studio is taking crowdfunding to the next level by giving the
community the ability to contribute content to the game. Precursor Games has
also revealed a campaign video and rewards tier system to go with their 1.5
million dollar goal, including pre-orders and exclusive merchandise.
“Precursor Games intends to leave no stone unturned in order to create an
unparalleled experience for gamers”, said Paul Caporicci, CEO of Precursor
Games. “We have a talented team, incredible technology with CryENGINE and a new
business model where we directly integrate the fan base into the development
process, allowing for new possibilities and game direction. We are very excited
to see where this new direction leads.”
EA offers more details on The Sims 4, the
just-announced new installment in the wee
people simulation. They note that
The Sims 4 Website is online with newsletter signups for the game, as well
as details. Those details, unfortunately, are in Simlish, so we have to rely on
what they sent along for more on this, which stress this being a "single-player
offline experience," doubtless to distance this project from the furor
over the online-only nature of SimCity: Sul Sul! Maxis and Electronic Arts
today announced that The Sims™ 4 is currently in development at The Sims Studio
for release on PC and Mac in 2014. The Sims 4 celebrates the heart and soul of
the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most
expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline
experience. The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new
and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their
creativity with friends and fans.
The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of
fans around the world. Their continued devotion to the franchise ignites the
fire of creativity of the team at The Sims Studio, driving them to continually
improve and innovate on one of the world’s most popular simulation games that
has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.
As a thank you for the support of the more than 30 million fans that share and
discuss stories about The Sims across global social networks, a special VIP
briefing was held this morning where several of the world’s top fans were
amongst the first to hear the news about The Sims 4. This select group was the
first in the world to hear from the creative team for The Sims 4, and they will
receive special access to the development team as the game progresses.
The Bethesda Softworks Twitter feed
is all atwitter with teases of a new project that
they say
"is not related to anything @BGS_Devs
is working on." They have posted
this image
and this image
on Twitter and this one
on GameSpot to tease what they are talking about, saying this drama will
continue to unfold on GameSpot. Thanks
GameInformer."
Maxis announces
The Sims 4, saying a new installment in the lifestyle simulation is on the
way for Windows and OS X next year. Details are scant at the moment, but they
promise more later today. Here's word: Today we are revealing to our top
fans the fact that The Sims™ 4 is coming to PC and Mac in 2014.
The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of
fans around the world. Their continued devotion to the franchise ignites the
fire of creativity of the team at The Sims Studio, driving them to continually
improve and innovate on one of the world’s most successful simulation game that
has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.
More information will be revealed later today here on The Beat, so stay tuned.
Share your excitement for the game on Twitter with the hashtag
#TheSims4.
WB Games and Turbine send word that May 13th is when to expect update 11 to go
live in The Lord of the Rings Online, their Tolkien-inspired MMORPG.
This article discusses how home foreclosures will work in the new game,
though there's no word on whether they are introducing any other features to
fulfill your banking fantasies. Here's more on what the update will bring: "The
epic story continues as you are called to the remote region of Wildermore! This
Eastern Rohan area has been hard hit by an unnatural and deadly winter. A Stone
Giant named Núrzum, under the control of Saruman, is rumored as the source of
this icy tragedy. Throughout Wildermore, villages have suffered ravage and
townsfolk have become refugees. Follow in the chilly footsteps of evil as you
attempt to restore this once thriving region."
The
Australian
Classification Board lists an "M" rating for a multiplatform game called
Pacific Rim, suggesting game tie-in is planned for director Guillermo del
Toro's upcoming action movie. The movie's title suggests anything from a surfing
flick to a porno, but the film centers around giant mechs fighting off an alien
invasion, which will presumably be the theme of the game. The only clues in the
description suggest violence and online play will be included: "Fantasy
violence; Gaming experience may change online." Thanks
VG247.
The Minority
website offers a teaser (from almost a week ago) for Silent Enemy,
the next game from the developers of Papo & Yo. For the moment they offer
this teaser trailer,
and this description: "We’ve decided to put a short video together to give you a
peek at what we are currently working on. Our next game, Silent Enemy, aims to
help us understand the phenomenon of bullying while enjoying a gripping
adventure set in a place never featured in video games: Quebec’s Great North.
Silent Enemy will also mark a second first for us, as it will be our first (but
not the last) video game experience featuring an Aboriginal character!" The
trailer touches on the game's bullying theme, which is further explored in an
article on
Rock, Paper, Shotgun, where they speak with Minority's Vander Caballero, who
also confirms for them that this project is coming to Windows PCs, in spite of
previous indications that it would be exclusive to mobiles and OUYA.
The Kickstarter
for Chasm shows this project from Discord Games has surpassed its $150K
funding goal with several days remaining in the campaign. The game carries this
concise description: "Chasm is a 2D Fantasy ARPG Platformer featuring
procedurally generated Metroid-like dungeons and authentic pixel art." There is
a version 1.05 playable demo so the game can be sampled on Windows, OS X, or
Linux, and here's a
trailer with a look at gameplay. Thanks
Kotaku.
Gamasutra: Ramin Shokrizade's Blog - "Free" is Getting Very Expensive.
So what is this $642 value I am getting? It seems clear that what I am
getting here is a tremendous amount of game advantage. I can get cards that
would otherwise not be available to players who did not spend this much, and
presumably I can win battles that I would otherwise not deserve to.
Likewise, other players will be able to spend money to win battles against
me that they otherwise should not have been able to win. For me this
severely reduces the value of this content. I might even go as far as to say
this content now has a negative value for me since I would feel so corrupt
in using it. The knowledge that others will be using such content against
me, even if I am “playing for free” means that I am just there to be fed to
the players that outspend me. So here I am going to rate this a “poor
value”.
When the Knicks started losing playoff games to the Celtics after going up 3-0
in their series, I was able to take some comfort from history: No NBA team has
ever overcome such a deficit to win a seven game playoff, and sure enough, the
Celts were not able to complete their run, which certainly showed a lot of
championship heart. Now I have to start rooting against history after they lost
game one in their series against the Pacers, as the Knicks have never won a
playoff series after losing the home opener. And the last time they lost game
one at home was also against the Pacers back in 1995. At least the Pacers don't still
have Reggie Miller, though I'm pretty sure the Knick killer would still be able
to put up 20 points per game against the Knickerbockers at age 47, so
thankfully he's decided to take it easy these days.
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