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Archived News:
Grinding Gear Games announces Path of
Exile is now officially live after seven years of development and nine
months of open beta testing, saying the free-to-play action/RPG is also now
playable through Steam.
The PoE website
has details on the launch and what's new in version 1.0. Looking forward, they
already have a
lengthy post about plans for upcoming balance changes, and express this
commitment to adding new content: Our core development team scaled up
from 20 developers to 33 during the Open Beta and we're planning to continue to
grow it so that we can keep up a fast pace of Path of Exile content development.
We're planning on releasing updates every two weeks, which will include content
such as new skills, support gems, Unique items, microtransactions, league modes,
balance changes and bug fixes. Our long term plans revolve around expansions
each four months that add substantial content or headline features (such as new
trade systems) that are timed with the rotation of our four-month challenge
leagues.
Call of Duty website now offers system specifications for Call of Duty:
Ghosts, revealing the PC edition has a surprisingly steep 6MB RAM minimum
requirement (thanks
DSOGaming). Here are the specs: Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit
CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHZ / AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 2.4 GHZ or
better
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 40 GB
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 450 / ATI® Radeon™ HD 5870 or better
Sound: DirectX compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® 11
Internet: Broadband Internet connection for Steam and Online
Multiplayer.
Steam News announces
they are now offering Early Access to
Space Engineers, the
new action/strategy game from Miner Wars 2081 developer Keen Software House.
Here's the pitch: Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering,
construction and maintenance of space works. Players build space ships and space
stations of various sizes and utilization (civil and military), pilot ships and
perform asteroid mining.
Space Engineers utilizes a realistic volumetric-based physics engine: all
objects can be assembled, disassembled, damaged and destroyed.
Joystiq has a progress report on the standalone version of DayZ after
The Escapist spotted a
Steam Database entry for Early Access to Bohemia Interactive's upcoming
zombie game based on the Arma II mod of the same name. Hall essentially confirms
plans to offer early access, and says development is moving along:
"Amazing how quickly the internet picks up on things isn't it?" said Hall. "All
I can say is that progress has been very good, we're a mix of nervous and
excited. And as I'd stated on my twitter when I announced my break from social
media/updates, we are on the final lap. Part of the final process involves the
actual administration of the release, which is actually surprisingly complex and
time-consuming."
505 Games announces that How to Survive is now available for Windows and Xbox
360, saying the survival game is 30% off
on Steam for the
remainder of the month. Here's the accompanying description: You're
shipwrecked on an isolated island, a desperate castaway in a total freakshow
world. How will you survive?
Collect the pages of a Survival Guide and figure it out, of course! Find food,
water, and shelter before you perish. Uh oh, is it getting dark? Figure out how
to get through the night! While you’re at it, gather up some of this awesome
stuff and piece together over 100 handmade weapons and tools—from shotguns to
Molotov cocktails. Now you can defend yourself and your friends like a boss!
A note on Steam News from
yesterday announces that
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is now available to fill your comic brick needs.
The game is on sale for a week at 10% off, and here's what you get if you decide
you're a true believer: "LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes features an original story
crossing the entire Marvel Universe. Players take control of Iron Man,
Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Wolverine and many more Marvel characters
as they unite to stop Loki and a host of other Marvel villains from assembling a
super-weapon capable of destroying the world. Players will chase down Cosmic
Bricks as they travel across LEGO Manhattan and visit key locations from the
Marvel Universe, such as Stark Tower, Asteroid M, a Hydra base and the
X-Mansion." for those who need more convincing, a
playable demo was released last
week. Thanks Orogogus.
Here's a new "Personal
Mission" launch trailer from Batman: Arkham Origins, celebrating the
imminent release of the stealth/action prequel. Here's word: "With just two days
left before the much-anticipated release of the Batman’s intense new adventure,
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the Batman™: Arkham Origins
- 'Personal Mission' Launch Trailer. The launch trailer sets the tone for
visceral combat, an expansive Gotham City and action-packed story players can
expect to see as they suit up as the young hero known as Batman to take on Black
Mask and eight deadly assassins. Batman: Arkham Origins will be available on
PlayStation®3 system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from
Microsoft beginning Friday, Oct. 25, with the Wii U™ system and Windows PC
(boxed) available from Friday Nov. 8." Continue here to read the full story.
- Gone Home on
Steam. Save 50%.
- Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Spelunky on GOG.com.
Save 50%.
Gamasutra has a follow-up to the
complaints about the ending of Dark Matter that resulted in the tactical
adventure being relabeled an episode accompanied by promises that the
game's episode's unsatisfying
ending would be addressed in a future update. It turns out a different studio is
handling those duties, as sources tell them that most of the employees of
original Dark Matter developer Interwave Studios lost their jobs over the
summer, and the apparent intent was to use sales of what they are now calling
Dark Matter Episode 1 to hire them back to further support the game. Gamasutra
cites two separate sources, but their story is not yet officially confirmed.
They also note that the game has been pulled from Steam and GOG.com due to
customer complaints.
The
Roberts Space Industries website offers a new
Hornet Patch which adds the Hornet Ghost, Hornet Tracker, and Super Hornet
spacecraft to the Star Citizen Hangar Module . This is accompanied by
this trailer with some pretty amazing
visuals. They
also announce that Star Citizen crowd-funding has now passed the $24 million
mark, as this return to Wing Commander-style gameplay continues to rake in
donations at a record pace. The new stretch goal this unlocked is a public
transportation system, and they outline what happens if (when?) their fundraiser
hits the $26 million mark: Enhanced Capital Ship Systems – In addition to
the command and control systems we’ve already outlined, we’re going to expand
capital ship functions! Lead a damage control team to fight fires and repair key
systems during battle, control internal bulkheads to slow boarders and man a
number of consoles, like navigation and engineering, that will make commanding a
capital ship feel even more immersive.
Continue here to read the full story.
Volition announces the release of Enter the Dominatrix, the new DLC
for Saints Row IV, their open-world action sequel. The will celebrate the
news with a livestream on Twitch
at 2:00 pm EDT today. This DLC, which was once planned as a Saints Row III
expansion, represents the first half of the Saints Row IV season pass, and they
say this will conclude later this year with the release of a second DLC pack
called How the Saints Saved Christmas. Here's word from
Steam News: "Steelport
has been taken over by the Dominatrix and only the Saints can stop her from
trapping everyone in a virtual prison! Includes behind-the-scenes commentary and
the return of some fan-favorite characters."
Owners of the Windows edition of Batman: Arkham Origins who register for
a free WBID (Warner Bros. ID)
on this page
will receive a free
DC One Million batsuit to help fill out their wardrobe in the stealth/action
prequel (thanks
Shacknews). They say the WBID program "will entitle you to loads of free
bonus content, exclusive offers, and WB Loyalty Programs." Here are the features
they list:
- In-Game bonuses--- Downloadable skins, extra
consumables, and more
- Be among the first to know when sales and events
are taking place
- Unlock great interactive content on WB Films and
TV shows via BD Live
- Connection to the WB Shop
- Even more coming soon
Ubisoft announces that Rocksmith 2014 Edition is now available for Windows and
consoles, continuing this musical game series that can teach real guitar skills.
Here's word: Exclusively in Rocksmith 2014 Edition is the revolutionary
Session Mode, a new technology developed in San Francisco that allows up to two
users to play guitar alongside a virtual band that follows their every lead in
real-time. Players choose the style of music and from over 70 instruments they’d
like to play with, and on-screen prompts help the player learn how to improvise
and jam live with a band.
Core to the Rocksmith learning experience is the new Instant Riff Repeater which
lets players choose the difficulty, speed and section of each track they play,
helping them focus on the particular sections that they struggle with the most.
Players are now in full control of their learning pace and can master every part
of the songs they want to learn.
Jerry Cantrell, lead guitarist and vocalist of Alice In Chains says, “I wish I
had Rocksmith when I was learning guitar.” Jim Rosenberg, President of Epiphone
Guitars states, “Rocksmith is the most fun and effective way to improve your
guitar skills.”
Rocksmith 2014 Edition includes over 50 songs, including hits by Aerosmith, Foo
Fighters, Green Day, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Muse, Nirvana, Pantera, Queen,
Radiohead, Rise Against, Slayer, System Of A Down, The Rolling Stones, The Who,
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Weezer, and many more. For the full list of
tracks, please visit www.Rocksmith.com
Players who already own the previous version of Rocksmith (released in 2011)
will be able to further enjoy their rock experience in Rocksmith 2014 Edition by
importing 52 songs from the original Rocksmith for $9.99. Each song from the
first version has been revamped to support all of the new features.
Additionally, previous DLC purchased for Rocksmith will be compatible with
Rocksmith 2014 Edition at no extra cost.
Seaven Studio announces Ethan - Meteor
Hunter is now available, offering a puzzle/platformer for Windows and
PlayStation 3. They offer a
launch trailer to show off the game, which they still hope to get onto
Steam via a
Greenlight campaign. Here's a description: "Ethan: Meteor Hunter mixes
puzzles and platformers core action mechanics with an innovative mechanic:
telekinesia. Ethan can pause time and move objects around in order to solve
puzzles and get though levels with dynamic use of physics giving multiple
gameplay and solving possibilities." Continue here to read the full story.
Indie Russian developer Bitbox announces Life is Feudal, a "hardcore"
sandbox MMORPG they plan to bring to Windows PCs in 2015. They say they've been
working on this for three years now, which explains why the
game's official website has a half-dozen
scattered entries dating back to 2011 and offers
this trailer showing
rudimentary alpha footage from the end of last year. Moscow, Russia,
October 22nd 2013: Independent games developer ‘Bitbox’ is proud to announce the
development of their incredibly ambitious and highly addictive launch-title -
‘Life Is Feudal’ - a vast and immersive sandbox MMORPG set in a realistic
medieval fictional world! Scheduled for worldwide release on PC in 2015, this
incredibly large MMORPG is nearing its initial playable stages after 3 years of
hard work by the developer. ‘Life Is Feudal’ improves on the genre by bringing
gameplay back to its basics, while improving the experience by adding unique new
features and contents to its massive 450 square kilometer persistent seamless
world!
Ever wanted to go back in time and thrive and survive in medieval times? How
would you survive? How would you fend for yourself? Where would you live, and
how would you defend against players and predators from the wild? Could you
build a peaceful community to live in, and would you even if you could?
Because ‘Life Is Feudal’ is an open persistent virtual world, players can roam
around freely without restrictions. Its terraforming abilities allow you to
shape the terrain organized in a unique grid-pattern. This means that players
can not only raise, lower and flatten terrain, but also dig tunnels and
underground caverns. Buildings can be predefined or modular, and can freely be
constructed and placed anywhere within reasonable limitations. Predefined
buildings are ready for placement and available through a menu, while modular
buildings offer greater control as elements such as walls must be placed prior
to construction.
Continue here to read the full story.
I rebounded a bit this week on
my NFL picks, tabbing
11 winners. With erratic outcomes it's hard to argue with that, and I even
finally managed to beat Chris and Phil, who are better at this than I would have
expected. Someone with a computer program to pick the winners sent me its output
to help, and I actually changed one of the two picks that his program picked
differently, which is how I got the Steelers right. The machine also thought the
Giants would lose, but I stuck with that one based on my gut (I deny it was my
heart) and was paid off for my loyalty/gullibility. Watch out... the comeback
begins.
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