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Archived News:
Hearthstone website announces the open beta testing for Hearthstone:
Heroes of Warcraft is live in North America, saying no more character wipes
are planned going forward. Here's word on testing of the card-based strategy
game: The wait is over: The Hearthstone Open Beta Test is now live in
North America! If you haven’t had the chance to partake in all of the crazy
card-slinging action yet, now is the perfect chance to start casting powerful
spells, summon mighty minions and duel your friends in this fast-paced strategy
card game that anyone can dive into right away!
It’s been a crazy past few months for all of us on the Hearthstone team. We
announced Hearthstone at PAX East back in March, began the Closed Beta Test in
August, had a great Hearthstone event at BlizzCon with the Innkeeper’s
Invitational along with our announcements for Android and iPhone support, and
now we’re ready to unleash the awesomeness of Hearthstone to you with Open Beta!
So what does this mean for you? If you didn’t get the chance to participate in
the Hearthstone Closed Beta Test, now is your chance to download the game! Just
click here to download
Hearthstone, or you can use the Play Free Now button at the top of
playhearthstone.com. We have no plans to perform any more wipes of Hearthstone,
so feel free to amass your collection and play against your friends!
What if you don’t play in the North American region? Don’t worry; we plan to go
to Open Beta for all of the other regions within the next few days as well, so
stay tuned for more information!
As open beta is still a beta phase, we will be closely monitoring many aspects
of the game to ensure a positive play experience for everyone. Please be aware
that if smoke starts curling out of our servers due to unexpectedly high demand
to play Hearthstone, we may have to temporarily disable open beta account
activations for a time until we’re ready to take on more players.
Download, play and enjoy
Hearthstone now - We’ll see you in-game!
The Steam
listing for Strike Vector now lists a January 28th release date for
this Unreal engine 3 aerial FPS. Developer Ragequit Corporation also announces
plans to support the game with free content following its release, saying: "Our
intention is to expand the world of Strike Vector on a regular basis with
totally free additional content; by purchasing Strike Vector you will have
unlimited access to all the additional content we will create in the future
including: New maps, a multitude of ship parts as well as game-modes."
The
Steam Community announces 50 more titles have been greenlit for release on
Steam.
Here's the complete list, where word is: "These titles were selected on the
same criteria we have been using in the past: Votes in Greenlight give us a
hugely valuable point of data in gauging community interest along with external
factors such as press reviews, crowd-funding successes, performance on other
similar platforms, and awards and contests to help form a more complete picture
of community interest in each title."
A new "CODnapped trailer
is a mostly live-action clip promoting the Onslaught DLC for Call of
Duty Ghosts coming next week to Xbox LIVE and to the military shooter on
other platforms at some point down the road. The clip stars actor Stephen
Graham, and shows how the CoD series continues to maintain such a large
audience. Continue here to read the full story.
- Bionic Dues on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Dawn of Fantasy: Kingdom Wars on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Electronic Super Joy on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Hitman: Absolution on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Jack Keane 2 - The Fire Within on
Steam. Save 75%.
- La-Mulana on
Steam. Save 90%.
- STORM: Frontline Nation on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Syberia on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Syberia II on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Syder Arcade on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Vector on
Steam. Save 20%.
Capcom announces Resident Evil 4 HD, an updated PC edition of the
survival/horror sequel coming February 28th to Steam and European retailers
for $19.99/€19.99. Here is
a batch of
screenshots showing off the updated graphics this will feature, and here's
word, including system specs: GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The ultimate HD edition of Resident Evil® 4 will be available for
PC digital download on Steam® globally and as a retail version for Windows PC in
Europe. PC gamers will be able to play the groundbreaking survival horror
masterpiece in the highest visual fidelity ever with stunning HD running at a
smooth 60 frames per second for the first time. A complete visual overhaul has
been performed to bring this revered title to the highest graphical quality
ever. Fully optimized for the wide screen, texts have been sharpened and
textures have been upgraded on characters, backgrounds and in-game objects.
Resident Evil 4 will include Steam platform support with Steam
Achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, global leaderboards, and full
game controller support. The new PC version will include everything from the
prior iterations including subtitle support in English, French, Italian, German,
Spanish, and Japanese as well as previously released bonus content such as the
Separate Ways epilogue.
In Resident Evil 4, special agent Leon S. Kennedy is sent on a
mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who has been kidnapped. Finding
his way to a rural village in Europe, he faces new threats that are a departure
from the traditional lumbering zombie enemies of the earlier installments in the
series. Leon battles horrific new creatures infested by a new threat called Las
Plagas and faces off against an aggressive group of enemies including
mind-controlled villagers that are tied to Los Illuminados, the mysterious cult
which is behind the abduction.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Continue here to read the full story.
Bohemia Interactive announces the release of Adapt, the second of three
installments in the single-player campaign for Arma III, their military shooter
sequel. The new content is automatically available through Steam, and word is
the final episode of the campaign is expected in March. Here's
a new trailer, and
here's word: Bohemia Interactive today released the second episode of the
official campaign for Arma 3. In the new episode, titled ‘Adapt’, players take
on the role of Ben Kerry, a soldier trapped on the island of Altis following a
Mediterranean flashpoint. The new campaign episode's release is accompanied by a
brand new trailer.
While the first part of the campaign introduced players to Arma 3's basic
infantry combat and story, episode two opens up the military sandbox further,
challenging players to adopt guerrilla tactics in the face of against a
stronger, better-equipped enemy. The Adapt episode is made available to people
via an automatic update on Steam.
"Episode One helped players get to grips with the basic skills needed to
survive”, said Jay Crowe, Creative Director on Arma 3. “Episode Two introduces a
whole new set of challenges, giving players more freedom and responsibility in
the wide, open terrain of Altis."
The official campaign for Arma 3, named ‘The East Wind’, consists of three
episodes: 'Survive', 'Adapt', 'Win'. The first campaign episode, 'Survive', was
deployed in October 2013, followed by the second 'Adapt' episode today. The
third and final campaign episode, ‘Win’, is scheduled for March
2014.
Continue here to read the full story.
ArenaNet announces today is the launch day for The Origins of Madness, the new
update for Guild Wars 2,
their MMORPG sequel. The
Guild Wars 2 website has
a trailer from last
week showing off the new content, and here's word: NCSOFT® and ArenaNet™,
developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars franchise, has released “Origins of
Madness,” the first Guild Wars 2 living world update of 2014. Beginning today,
players will match wits and take up arms against the schemes of arch-villain
Scarlet Briar, experiencing in-game events that promise massive battles and
shocking revelations.
In
“Origins of Madness” Guild Wars 2 players begin the battles that set the
stage for the war to come with Scarlet. The diabolical genius has done
everything in her power to tear Tyria apart with her mysterious plans and armies
of minions. Now, players will begin to face Scarlet head-on, starting with
massive fights on multiple fronts against two different but equally deadly
threats.
Continue here to read the full story.
A new
Kickstarter looks to scare up at least $400K to develop To The Death,
a side-scrolling, "beat'em-up, shoot'em-up, action game" coming from Scary
Mostro and Section Studios, "an alliance of game industry veterans," including a
couple of former Infinity Ward developers (thanks
Gamasutra). The official website is online
(pointing to the Kickstarter), and here's word: "Coming to Steam on PC, Mac, and
Linux, To The Death fuses the beat'em up and shoot'em up genres into something
new and refreshing, offering a host of fun, innovative gameplay mechanics all at
60 frames per second! You switch between playing as two great warriors who have
killed each other but have a vendetta so deep, it continues after death."
A new trailer from
Retrobooster offers a look at gameplay from Really Slick's&
side-scrolling action game, which is expected to be released one month from
today. Word is: "This is the official trailer for Retrobooster. It's a survival
shooter set at 1980s difficulty. Learn to fly, crush the alien onslaught, replay
for high scores." Continue here to read the full story.
The Castle Doctrine - Why Rampant Sales are Bad for Players. Thanks
GamesIndustry International.
Your fans love your games and eagerly await your next release. They want
to get your game as soon as it comes out, at full price. But they are
foolish to do that, because a sale is right around the corner. Even in
economic terms, the extra utility of playing the game early, at release, is
not big enough to offset the extra cost for most people . It makes more
sense to wait, unless they love you and your work so much that they're
willing to throw economic reason out the window. It's nice to have fans that
love your work that much. And these are the fans that you kick in the teeth
when you put your game on sale.
We have another blizzard in the forecast today, as the winter storms continue to
practically overlap in these parts. I know there is a drought out west, so if
any of you want to drop by and pick up a big pile of fresh snow, I'll leave the
porch light on for you.
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