Deep Silver announces Escape Dead Island, a new survival/mystery game using the zombie-filled setting of the Dead Island series coming to Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall to depict the events that occur between Dead Island and the upcoming Dead Island 2. They also say those who preorder the game from GameStop will get beta access to Dead Island 2, but they do not seem to offer the PC edition. There's a "paradise meets insanity" trailer to show off the game's art style, and here's word on that and more:

In this single-player experience, fans will take on the role of ambitious Cliff Calo, son of a wealthy media empire mogul with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, as he traverses across the globe to Banoi after hearing about the gruesome events that took place in the original global best-seller, Dead Island. Can Cliff uncover the clandestine origins of the virus and get out before it’s too late?

With an exceptionally striking comic-vignette art style, Escape Dead Island emphasizes a story driven plot which pits players against their own psyche as they try to escape the island and the cryptic, looping horrors that lurk there. Penned by Emmy® award-winning author Anne Toole, Escape Dead Island catapults Dead Island fans onto a lush tropical island infested with brutal zombies where only cunning stealth can help players retain their sanity.

Continue here to read the full story.

Ubisoft announces the general release of new DLC for Watch Dogs, including three new single-player missions along with weapons, perks, and bonuses for the open-world hacktion game. The DLC was released last week for Season Pass owners, and is now offered on all platforms for $6.99. Here's word on what it includes:

The three missions, detailed below, let players further explore Chicago while earning and unlocking bonuses, boosts, perks, weapons and outfits along the way.

• The Palace Single Player Mission: A police raid is planned on the luxury palace of an Internet mogul. His databanks have intimate details on thousands of people including Dedsec and Aiden Pearce. Break inside, wipe his hard drive and escape before the raid begins. Then silence the Internet mogul.
• Signature Shot Single Player Mission: A biometrics weapon has been smuggled into Chicago for a captain of the Black Viceroys gang. The weapon only works with the first person to imprint his palm on the handle. Breach a stronghold, steal the package and be the first to imprint the weapon.
• Breakthrough Single Player Mission: A secret gathering is underway. The Chicago South Club is negotiating power with Corporate CEOs. The Club has hired scramblers to block surveillance devices. Find the scrambler vehicles and take out their technicians. Locate the meeting and eliminate everyone taking part.

New weapons available with this content include the Biometric Rifle and the Auto-6 pistol. The Biometric Rifle is acquired after successfully completing the Signature Shot mission and is unique to Aiden, responding his finger prints alone. It excels at long range, but still has a high rate of fire for when combat gets up close and personal. The Auto-6 is a burst fire pistol that is extremely effective and deals a large amount of damage.

Among the new perks, bonuses and outfit additions are a Dedsec Battery Boost that adds additional phone battery, the South Chicago outfit, a Blume Weapon Boost that permits faster reloading for all weapons and less recoil, a Driving Master boost that offers improved vehicle hit points and an ATM Hack boost that increases the amount of money gained when hacking accounts at ATMs.

A post on the Maniaplanet Forum follows up on recent news of plans to update ManiaPlanet and its hosted games with a roadmap for ShootMania, Nadeo's first-person shooter (thanks Frans). They outline plans to update the game over the course of the year to culminate with an e-sports champion, summarized here:

This operation is three things: a start, a trip and a destination

The start is a first update to arrive within a week. The trip will be about multiple updates of the gameplay & rules, based on your feedbacks and our solutions. The destination is the goal I gave in Hello Planet #4 to have an indisputable FPS champion to welcome the noobs, gamers and competitors from around the world in the horizon of the beginning of 2015.

This start, trip and destination are going to mainly be on three elements: competitions, modes and gameplay

The animation and art direction in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare are on display in this new video from the upcoming installment in Activision's military shooter series. Here's a description of the clip: "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare aims to deliver an immersive player experience. Sledgehammer Games Animation Director Christopher Stone and Art Director Joe Salud describe how performance capture, facial animation, and character skeletons are bringing detail to a photorealistic level." Continue here to read the full story.

The Bethesda Blog has word on how QuakeCon attendees will get an exclusive preview of the new DOOM game:

This an exclusive thing we are doing for attendees as part of our Annual QuakeCon Welcome presentation. We’ll have plenty more to show everyone at a later date, but we didn’t want another QuakeCon to go by without doing something special for the amazing QC community and id supporters that have been with us for more than 20 years.

Don’t miss out! QuakeCon 2014 takes place July 17th – 20th at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. For more information on attending, visit quakecon.org.

• Game Critics Awards E3 2014 Winners. Best of show: Evolve.

• Blood, Guts, 'n Glory - we are -BGnG- by Tejay Beauparlant — Kickstarter.

• Age of Mythology: Extended Edition on Steam. Save 40%.
• Canada Day Sale on Steam.
• The Guild 2: Renaissance on GOG.com. Save 75%.

• QuakeCon Trials II: The Revenge.

• Wasteland 2 on IncGamers.com.

• Top-down shooter Crimsonland gets PS4 release in July.

• The Witcher Battle Arena Announced.
• iFixIt giving away 15K iPhone ‘liberation kits’.

• FTC: T-Mobile made hundreds of millions from unwanted SMS features.
• Google Poaches Employee, Amazon Sues. Thanks HARDOCP.

• Stella: Multi-Platform Atari 2600 VCS Emulator version 4.0. Thanks Ant…
• At Denny's it's Hashteroids, not Asteroids…

Link of the Day: Honest Trailers - Planet of the Apes (2001).

Newly formed indie developer OtherSide Entertainment announces development of Underworld Ascension, a return to the acclaimed Underworld franchise lead by Paul Neurath, who helped bring the Thief, System Shock, and Ultima Underworld franchises to life. Details are scant for now, here's word:

OtherSide Entertainment, a new independent games studio, today announced its formation. Fronted by game pioneer Paul Neurath, OtherSide Entertainment revealed that its first title, Underworld Ascension™, will mark the return of the groundbreaking and long fallow Underworld franchise.

Paul Neurath, Founder and CEO of OtherSide Entertainment, is renowned for his creative direction spanning three decades, notably leading the development of such classic franchises as Thief™, System Shock™ and the acclaimed Ultima™ Underworld.

Underworld Ascension marks both the series and Paul Neurath’s return to his RPG roots, with OtherSide Entertainment aiming to innovate and revitalize the fantasy genre in the same way that its predecessor did in 1992. “With Underworld Ascension,” said Neurath, “we are excited to be bringing back the Underworld franchise, making it more vital than ever before.”

The original Underworlds transformed the traditional dungeon crawl into a truly immersive experience. Players felt as if they were actually walking through the great underworld halls; and encountering a living community of underworld dwellers.

Ultima Underworld inspired a generation, and its influence is still seen today in titles as diverse as Deus Ex™, The Elder Scrolls™, and BioShock™.

OtherSide Entertainment will reveal more details on Underworld Ascension in the months to come. To keep updated, visit our website at www.othersideentertainment.com.

Facebook: /OtherSideEntertainment
Twitter: @OtherSide_games

The new Strain Ultra Drop is now live in WildStar, offering the first content update for Carbine Studios' MMORPG. This page has further details on what this offers, and here's a quick summary: "Players will quickly discover the horrible infection that has corrupted the planet – delivering a plethora of content for Nexus adventurers to uncover! Discovering the secrets behind this virus will not be an easy task, but in doing so, players will unlock the key to understanding the conflict between the enigmatic Drusera and the evil, wicked Entity."

ArenaNet announces the launch of Gates of Maguuma for Guild Wars 2, kicking off season two of the MMORPG's Living World. This trailer offers a look at the new content this brings, and here's word:

The Zephyrites have met with trouble, and there are rumors of a disturbance in the tangled western reaches of Brisban Wildlands. Work together with your friends and Marjory, Kasmeer, Rox, Braham, and Taimi to discover what's going on! Log in on July 1 to experience the start of Living World Season 2 and unlock the story content permanently in your Journal!

Continue here to read the full story.

Schein will be released on July 14th, offering this puzzle platformer, announces Austrian developer Zeppelin Studio. The Schein website offers the previously released playable demo to sample this, and the gameplay trailer from May. This blurb shines more light on what this is about:

Schein is a challenging puzzle platformer that tells the story of a desperate man, who ventures forth into the mystical swamp in search of his missing son. As he gets lost in the darkness, a wisp appears that offers him help, guidance, and its magical power: A light that changes the world. Use this mighty power and your wits to unveil new dimensions, defeat deadly beasts, solve tricky puzzles and uncover hidden paths through the murky swamp.

Focus Home Interactive now offers a Mac OS X edition of Space Run, reminding us we may not have mentioned the Windows release of the indie space strategy game a couple of weeks ago. You can purchase the game through the PASSTECHgames website, where they offer a discovery trailer. Here's a bit on the game:

A Space Runner doesn't just deliver goods from one end of the galaxy to the other - you'll need a large dose of ingenuity, intuition and ability to react if you want to complete the various missions you are offered. But although your main task is to make intergalactic deliveries as fast as possible while keeping your merchandise (and your vessel) intact, countless external elements will come to hamper your progress: asteroid belts, fleets of pursuing pirates and particularly nasty interstellar corsairs. the threats are everywhere!

Load your cargo, charge up your laser cannons, shields and reactors and set out on the missions that have been assigned to you. The construction phase of your vessel will form the core of the gameplay: find the right balance of speed, defense and firepower! The more successful you are, the higher your reputation will soar, and this will be reflected in your bank account. This will enable you to unlock new modules for your ship and additional upgrades to increase your tactical options, either to embark on new and more dangerous missions or to replay a mission to improve your score!

Continue here to read the full story.

• Dick Starr Prototype with Twitch.tv Integration by PoorUglyDwarf — Kickstarter.

• Orcs Must Die! Unchained Interview - Strategy Informer.

• Ultimate General: Gettysburg on Strategy Informer.

• Ouya announces $60-year subscription to unlock its full games library.
• 2K Announces John Cena® as WWE® 2K15 Cover Superstar.
• The GTA Online Independence Day Special – Available Starting Today.
• Sniper Elite III is Now Available on Xbox One and Xbox 360.
• This Week’s Xbox Deals with Gold.

• Android Wear hardware review- Sometimes promising, often frustrating.
• Android Wear software review: Smartwatch software that doesn’t suck.

• 'Community' Revived To Air On Yahoo In Fall With 13 Episodes.
• Watch These 79 Streaming Movies Before Netflix Takes Them Away Tomorrow. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Millions of dynamic DNS users suffer after Microsoft seizes No-IP domains.
• Brazil's Internet-enabled activism kicks all kinds of ass. Thanks Ant.
• Comcast raises your electric bill by turning router into a public hotspot.
• Google Fiber Build Complaints Mount. Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks Ant.

• Barron's Names Intel One of the World's Most Respected Companies. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Windows 9 rumors- Microsoft backing away from the Metro world. Thanks JDreyer.
• Discounts on iPhones, Macs, and more: What's the deal?
• FreeDOS Is 20 Years Old.

• Online Security Is a Total Pain, But That May Soon Change.
• Blame Canada? Microsoft kills off, reinstates security alert mailing list.

• Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse Episode 2 on Adventure Classic Gaming.
• GRID Autosport on Strategy Informer.
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War on Shacknews.com.

• ASRock Q1900M on OverClocked inside.
• ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO (Intel LGA 1150) on techPowerUp.
• ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 on ocaholic.
• Cooltek LP53 Low-Profile CPU Cooler on Nikk Tech.
• Corsair Vengeance K70 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on OC Mod Shop.
• Gigabyte BRIX Pro on Hardware Secrets.
• GIGABYTE Z97X GAMING G1 WIFI-BK Black Edition (Intel Z97) on TweakTown.
• Intel Z97 Motherboard Round Up on Futurelooks.
• Intel Pentium 20th Anniversary Series G3258 Processor on Guru3D.
• MSI Z97M Gaming on ocaholic.
• OCZ RevoDrive 350 480GB PCIe SSD on PC Perspective.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 on MEGATechNews.
• Samsung SSD 850 PRO Solid State Drive Review 850 on AnandTech, Benchmark Reviews, HardwareHeaven, Legion Hardware, Legit Reviews, PC Perspective, The SSD Review, The Tech Report, TechSpot, TweakTown, and Vortez.
• Seasonic Platinum-1200 1200W Power Supply on HARDOCP .
• Wicked Audio Heist Earbuds on ThinkComputers.org.

Thanks Ant.

• Gearbox Software to Anchor New Office Building in Frisco Square. Thanks Neutronbeam. Moving from Plano…
• Dragon Age Inquisition's Dorian Character is "Legitimately Gay," BioWare says…
• Grandmother buys old building in Japan, finds 55 classic arcade cabinets. Thanks Slashdot…
• Good Game - Season 10 Episode 20…

Happy July! Though that's not the most common thing people say around these parts, where July and August are so hot and muggy. But that's what summer is all about, and the whole polar vortex thing has left the weather unusually cool all year so far, so I shouldn't be complaining about. I will have to say that hitting the half-way mark for the year seems very sudden to me, as 2014 still has that new year smell, but that seems to happen to me every year, so I'll just chalk it up to time flying while you're having fun.

Fun Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Project Alnilam. 200 Achievements. Good Morning and Die.
Links:	Things military drone pilots say when they crash their drones. Game over, man! Happy 42nd birthday, Leap Second.
Science:	Why Tesla Motors Is Laughing at Toyota's $70,000 Hydrogen Car.
Media:	Madrid Gamers Recreate the "GTA V" Trailer With Alarming Accuracy. The Truth About Captain America. Dolly Parton Playing ‘Yakety Sax’ Is the Best -- Vulture Real life Fruit Ninja.
The Funnies:	Feed Now Cartoon - Savage Chickens.