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Archived News:
Iceberg
Interactive announces Endless Legend, a 4X strategy game planned for
release next year in the works at Endless Space developer Amplitude
Studios. "Creating a fantasy 4X game was a dream for all of us at Amplitude. The
success of Endless Space and the support of our community have allowed to make
this dream come true," says Mathieu Girard, CEO of Amplitude Studios. "With
respect towards great games released before us, we intend to set a new benchmark
in creating a rich, immersive, thrilling, and accessible 4X strategy game in a
new fantasy setting." More details should be forthcoming, and in the meantime,
here are the
first screenshots.
Konami announces a February 28th release date for Castlevania: Lords of
Shadow 2 in the U.K. The headline on the press release mentions dates for
U.S. and Europe as well, but does not provide them (presumably around the same
time). Dispensing with what it doesn't say, here's a bit of what it
does: Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. has used the annual gamescom event
to announce that its heralded Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will be released
for PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and Windows PC in the UK on February 28th.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is the sequel to 2010’s hugely acclaimed
resurrection of the vampiric series, and builds on its critically acclaimed
predecessor in every way. Following extensive consultation with Castlevania’s
enviable fan base, the sequel expands upon the acclaimed epic with a new
storyline, villains and visuals. It also boasts a wealth of key additions that
will provide a more open world and immersive experience, as players assume the
role of Dracula, who has been resurrected in the present day and charged with
defeating a powerful threat as old as time itself…
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 picks up where the first game shockingly
concluded, with Dracula in modern times weakend and yearning for release from
his immortal bonds. Zobek his old ally makes him an offer in return for his help
against Satan who is returning to the world to bring about the apocalypse and
settle an old score for his defeat all those years ago.
The world of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 breaks new ground for the series,
offering for the first time a truly open play area, which can be freely
explored. Despite its modern setting, the game’s city shows a Gothic legacy that
harks back to Dracula’s past, and is inhabited by a varied menagerie of Satan’s
hordes. Players can freely wander the city, returning to previously explored
areas as they accrue new abilities, while an all-new fully moveable camera
allows users to pan around as they explore, highlighting the wonderful art
direction the series is famous for.
Eugen Systems announces the OS X and Linux editions of Wargame AirLand Battle
are now available for early access for preorder customers and for owners of
the Windows edition of their real-time strategy game. They celebrate this by
offering a 50% discount on
Steam. Here's word: "Steam players may now download the Linux and Mac early
access beta versions of Wargame AirLand Battle on Steam, giving them immediate
access to both solo and multiplayer. The multiplayer mode being PC/Mac/Linux
cross-platform compatible, they will even be able to face or team with the
numerous players already playing the PC version. Moreover, the Early Access Beta
will automatically transform into the full version when the game officially
releases on Mac and Linux next week."
Strategy First offers a
new trailer from
Timelines: Assault on America, 4 Flash Interactive's upcoming real-time strategy
game based on an alternate reality where Adolph Hitler is assassinated in 1942
leading to Germany and Japan attempting a two-front invasion of the United
States. The clip runs over five minutes and is mostly gameplay footage. Word is:
"Using mine layers, destroying transport trains, and protecting the transports.
Localization text not final." The clip concludes saying the game is due in
September. Continue here to read the full story.
Firaxis announces XCOM: Enemy Within, an expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown
coming to the strategy remake for Windows, OS X, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on
November 12 (11/12/13) in North America and November 15 in Europe (15/11/13
doesn't have the same ring). This will require the original game to play, but
will also be accompanied by the simultaneous release of the XCOM: Enemy
Within – Commander Edition, a standalone version that includes XCOM: Enemy
Unknown along with all its DLC for the full experience. The news comes with
this announcement
trailer, a brief cinematic of a disrupted transmission from
Mr. Smoketoomuch.
Here's word on what to expect: NEW YORK - Aug. 21, 2013: 2K and Firaxis
Games announced today that XCOM®: Enemy Within, the expanded experience of the
Game of the Year* award-winning strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown, will be
available in North America on November 12, 2013 and internationally on November
15, 2013 for Windows PC, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft,
PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Mac® (distributed by Feral
Interactive).
XCOM: Enemy Within, the expanded experience of the award-winning strategy title
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, will be available in North America on November 12, 2013 and
internationally on November 15, 2013 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Mac.
XCOM: Enemy Within takes the incredible experience from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and
adds an array of new abilities, upgrades, and weapons to combat new enemy
threats. The expansion also provides players with all-new maps, tactical and
strategic gameplay, and multiplayer content. There is no better way to
experience XCOM than with the massive amount of new content added in XCOM: Enemy
Within. Fans will experience an additional three to four playthroughs on average
before encountering all of the new material included in XCOM: Enemy Within,
providing nearly limitless replayability.
Continue here to read the full story.
Blizzard announces Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, saying the first
expansion for Diablo III will raise the game's level cap to 70, add new
randomized and end-game content, and more, though there's no word that it will
remove the Auction House that
admittedly harmed
the game. This trailer
is the opening cinematic, with a link in the
description back to the
Reaper of Souls teaser page discovered last week,
showing the action/RPG expansion will focus on destroying the
soul stone that keeps causing so much trouble in a conflict against Death (and
not the sexy Thanos' girlfriend version). There's also
this gameplay teaser clip
which introduces the new Crusader class, new environments, new monsters, and
more. Here's part of the announcement: : In addition to taking the story
of Diablo III from the legendary city of Westmarch to the unhallowed halls of
the Pandemonium Fortress in Act V and introducing the incorruptible Crusader
class, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls increases the game’s level cap to 70. Players
continuing on with their existing Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard,
and Monk characters will benefit from an array of fearsome new spells and
abilities as they advance in level.
The expansion also accentuates the key features of the Diablo franchise, with a
greater emphasis on randomized environments to explore; epic new quests;
horrific new monsters to defeat; and substantial updates to the loot experience,
enabling players to further customize their characters with new and improved
multilevel Legendary items, new Blacksmith and Jeweler item-crafting options,
and more.
Diablo III’s Paragon progression system is also being majorly upgraded for the
expansion, adding even more end-game character advancement and replayability.
Two new game modes—Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials—are being added as well,
providing fun and rewarding challenges for players to tackle when they’re not
busy saving the world.
Malthael, the fallen Archangel of
Wisdom, returns as the Angel of Death in Diablo III's first expansion set:
Reaper of Souls. Having seized the Black Soulstone and slain most of the guards
protecting it, it now falls to players to track down Malthael and stop him
before he unleashes irreversible havoc on the world. Fortunately, a new hero is
ready to join the cause and bring Malthael to justice—the Crusader, a fierce
melee warrior whose command of the battlefield is matched only by his unwavering
conviction and uncompromising dedication to the Light.
Continue here to read the full story.
CCP Games announces Operation Valkyrie is in effect, announcing EVE: Valkyrie, a
multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter using the EVE Universe, the setting of
EVE Online, their hardcore MMORPG. This is to launch next year, and in the
meantime, the EVE: Valkyrie website is
online, offering a a trailer introducing the project. Here's the announcement: Cologne,
Germany – August 21, 2013 – CCP Games, the leading independent developer of
massively multiplayer online games, today announced it has begun development of
EVE: Valkyrie, a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter set in the EVE
Universe. The game uses virtual reality to give players the sense of being a
real pilot in an EVE Online spaceship and will be released in 2014.
EVE: Valkyrie is the evolution of “EVE-VR,” the amazing virtual reality tech
demo that debuted at EVE Fanfest 2013 and went on to win numerous awards at E3
2013 — including “Game of E3 2013” by PC Gamer and “Most Innovative” by IGN. The
game will be developed at the company’s Newcastle studio.
“From the moment this year’s Fanfest attendees first got their hands on EVE-VR,
the question has been, ‘When can I have this?’,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson,
CEO of CCP. “What started as a passion project by a small, incredibly talented
group of CCP developers became one of the most highly anticipated games of the
year — before we even announced it. We have big plans for EVE: Valkyrie and I
can’t wait to share more details later this year.”
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam now offers a
playable demo for Rayman Legends, the upcoming continuation of this
platformer series. This is unmentioned on
the Steam demos page,
and there's no word on what content the demo provides. Thanks
DSoGaming.
The Elder
Scrolls Online tweets about a
an interview with Matt Firor saying The Elder Scrolls Online will be
using the subscription model that's almost completely out of style for current
MMORPGs. Here's word: Choosing the right business model is part of that.
We are going with the subscription model for ESO.
We're building a game with the freedom to play - alone or with your friends - as
much as you want. A game with meaningful and consistent content - one packed
with hundreds of hours of gameplay that can be experienced right away and one
that will be supported with premium customer support. Charging a flat monthly
(or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to
make, and the one that fans want to play. Going with any other model meant that
we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make.
The Elder Scrolls Online offers unlimited play for the first 30 days with the
purchase of the game. The choice is yours to play as much as you want; hundreds
of hours of content, PvP, etc - is all there for you to experience with the base
purchase of the game. If you want to continue playing for hundreds of hours more
after that first month you'll pay a flat fee for continued, unlimited access to
the game.
We'll talk about further discounts, etc. later, but for now, we are very happy
to finally announce our model. It's very simple - you pay once per month after
the first 30 days and the entire game is available to you.
Though it's unmentioned on the Reef
Entertainment website, there's a report on
Dark Horizons saying Reef has picked up the license to make video games
based on the first two Terminator movies, specifying that they have the
exclusive console game rights for The Terminator, and the rights to make console
and PC games based on Terminator 2: Judgment Day. They have a quote from a Reef
spokesperson: "Here at Reef we are huge fans of 1984 & 1991 Sci-Fi action
master-pieces. It’s an incredible opportunity and an equally huge responsibility
to create a game that does great justice to the motion-pictures. We are studying
all aspects and influences of the Terminator universe defined in Terminator and
Terminator 2: Judgment Day. We have started on our journey and are drawing on
all the diverse materials available to produce a high quality, authentic and
exciting Terminator video game." Reef Entertainment is also still working on
making a Rambo game, which
is expected later
this year.
Back in June Assassin's
Creed IV: Black Flag director Ashraf Ismail gave indications that the next
installment in the Assassin's Creed series would be released for Windows some
time after the release of the console editions of the stealth/action series. Now
games.on.net has a follow-up from Ubisoft saying they are still working on
making this the first game where the PC edition is released simultaneously with
the console editions. "The PC version hasn’t been delayed," says Ubisoft's
statement. "We’re all still working towards an October 31 release date for all
formats."
A new trailer for
Shadow Warrior offers gameplay and cinematics from the upcoming Shadow
Warrior remake, recalling the tongue-in-cheek nature of the original, titling
the clip "You've got Wang." Continue here to read the full story.
Well, the second third of the summer is concluded, and was far milder in these
parts than the first third of the season. I was just contemplating that
yesterday, realizing had the summer started mild and then gotten hot, we
probably would have suffered through once again without tumbling for an air
conditioner. Purism aside, I think I am happier it worked out the way it did.
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