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Archived News:
The Battlefield Blog announces that Battlefield Premium subscribers will get
first crack at the Dragon's Teeth DLC for Battlefield 4 on July 15th, saying the
pack will be released for the unwashed masses two weeks after that on July 29th.
Here's the plan: Get ready to take the battle to Asian Pacific’s dense,
urban landscape with Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth, the fourth expansion pack to
Battlefield 4. Coming July 15th to Battlefield 4 Premium members, Dragon’s Teeth
drops players into four all-new maps that introduce unique environments and
gameplay ranging from the bustling alleyways of Pearl Market to the floating
restaurant in the middle of a lake in Sunken Dragon.
Dragon’s Teeth sees five new weapons making their Battlefield debut in addition
to a new unlockable gadget, the Ballistic shield. Dragon’s Teeth also introduces
a new game mode, Chain Link, a twist on the fan-favorite Conquest mode that sees
squads battle to link capture points in order to achieve victory. Fans will also
get ten new assignments with unique unlocks and a new Battle pickup in the
R.A.W.R., a remote controlled ground vehicle armed to the teeth.
"BioShock for a penny, plus more games in the Humble 2K Bundle" announces
Humble Mumble in introducing the
Humble 2K Bundle, which offers BioShock; The Bureau: XCOM
Declassified; and The Darkness II for whatever price you choose,
though a one dollar minimum is required to receive Steam keys. Customers can
add BioShock 2; Mafia II; and Spec Ops: The Line for
beating the average price paid, and paying a minimum of $20.00 will also add
XCOM: Enemy Unknown and BioShock Infinite to the package. They claim
that the full price for all these games would be $209.00, noting that buying the
bundle helps charity as well as your wallet.
The
ETX RACING website has details on a new patch that's now live in NASCAR '14,
adding the new Chase for the Sprint Cup format, among other changes to the
racing simulation. The forums indicate the patch is not without its problems,
and a post on
the ETX NASCAR Facebook page has word on how to deal with some problems, and
word that others are still being investigated. Here's an outline of the changes
in the new patch:
- New qualifying and Chase format rules announced by
NASCAR in early 2014
- Additional drivers to complete a full field of 43
Sprint Cup drivers
- Various gameplay refinements around pitting,
decals and paint, and the online private lobby
- Difficulty setting adjustments designed to bring
AI closer to the selected level
- Adjustments to Darlington and Kansas race lengths
Battle.net has details on the first expansion for Hearthstone and
pricing details on the card-based strategy add-on (thanks
GameInformer). Here's a bit: Players who begin their adventures in
Naxxramas during the launch event will gain free access to the first wing: the
Arachnid Quarter. The launch event will last roughly a month or so, meaning
you’ll have plenty of time to get your foot in the door—we’ll have more details
to share about that later on. The web-choked corridors of the Arachnid Quarter
are home to the bosses Anub’Rekhan, Grand Widow Faerlina, and Maexxna. Defeating
these bosses will add new cards to your collection and give you a taste of the
dangers that await you deeper inside Naxxramas.
After the Arachnid Quarter, the next four wings can be purchased for 700 gold
per wing or $6.99 USD per wing. Players can earn the in-game gold needed to
unlock the next wing of Naxxramas by completing various quests or emerging
victorious from the Arena, or they can choose to unlock the next available
Naxxramas wing using real money.
If you’re looking to swing open multiple gates at once, Curse of Naxxramas
bundle packages are also available. Spiders are just so good at making things
into neat little bundles. . . .
The Fortnite
website has a new developer's blog and
gameplay trailer
from Fortnite, Epic Games' upcoming Minecraft-inspired construction game. Word
is: "Have you been wondering what it's like for the everyday life of a Fortnite
Hero? The new 'Defend the Fort' gameplay provides a glimpse into a day in the
life of exploring the world, looting all the things, building impenetrable forts
and slaying monsters with your friends." Continue here to read the full story.
Xbox Live's Major Nelson announces that
Project Spark will leave
beta on October 7th, at which point this game development application will
be officially released for Windows 8.1 and Xbox LIVE. They explain what this
will consist of: "The 'Project Spark Starter Pack' is loaded with great content,
including starter packs filled with sounds, effects, animations, and props, plus
advanced creator features, offline content, and experience boosts which allow
players to unlock new content that much faster." Here's how PS is
described: Where players create and creators play.
Project Spark is a powerful, yet simple way to build and play your own worlds,
stories, and games.
Experience the ultimate interactive playground, delivered as a free digital
download with many options for enhancing your creative experience. It’s a place
where you can walk in the world’s collective imagination and start playing. See
how a creator did what they did, and, when you’re ready, become a creator
yourself. Share all of your creations with a dynamic community, and play what
the community makes. Project Spark brings creation to life and presents endless
opportunities for play.
The Project Spark Beta is a preview of the final game. Create the kinds of games
you’ve always dreamed of, play games created by a global community, and shape
the future of Project Spark.
Here's a new gameplay
trailer from Abyss Odyssey, the upcoming action platformer from Chilean
developer ACE Team. The game is due in one week, so they warn that's how long
there is to preorder the game
on Steam and secure a
33% discount. Word is the clip shows off: "Everything from the local and online
multiplayer co-op to capturing enemy souls and fighting as them." Continue here to read the full story.
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 on
Steam. Save 66%.
- The Wolf Among Us on
Steam. Save 50%.
A tweet
from Cliff Bleszinski follows up on
his tease last week
with the announcement of a free-to-play sci-fi shooter for PCs codenamed Blue
Streak, also confirming the nameski of his new company is
Boss Key. The former Epic designer follows
saying
"there won't be a fake CG trailer showing 'Gameplay' because that's not how
@bosskey does it," to expect answers
tomorrow
to questions about the various choices he made here ("F2P, PC, Nexon, Not a
MOBA, etc..."), and
his
reaction to the reaction to the news. In the meantime, you can sign up to
stay informed about this through the Boss Key
Productions website.
Gearbox Software announces Battleborn, calling their next game a
"hero shooter," due to a focus on characters in this first-person shooter
coming next year to Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. They
offer a Battleborn reveal
trailer with a sentimentally violent cinematic, and say there are further details
in the new issue of
GameInformer magazine (online now, in print next month) and to expect a month of revelations on the
Game Informer Battleborn
hub. Here's word: We’re calling Battleborn a “hero shooter” in that
it’s a first-person shooter focused on characters above all else. No
first-person shooter has ever had this much character variety, and we’re excited
for you to see the first batch of heroes today.
Battleborn involves our heroes – called the battleborn, conveniently enough –
teaming up to fight the Varelsi, an unstoppable menace trying to destroy the
last star in a dying universe. You can play with up to four friends in our
five-player cooperative campaign, or try out one of several different
competitive multiplayer match types in games of up to 10 players.
Continue here to read the full story.
EA announces
Frontier's Edge will be the second of three planned DLC packs for
Titanfall, Respawn's mech shooter, noting that all three packs are part of
the
Season Pass. They don't yet say when this will be released. Here's word for
now: Today, we would like to announce Frontier’s Edge, the second DLC pack
for Titanfall. Pushing the battle to the furthest reaches of the universe,
Titanfall Frontier’s Edge introduces three exciting new maps including the
isolated mining outpost of Dig Site, the exclusive beach resort of Haven and the
mining hub on the side of a mountain known as Export.
Red 5 Studios announces a July 29th launch date for Firefall, their upcoming
open-world MMO shooter that's been in open beta testing
for exactly one year. The company has
reorganized and
changed CEOs during that span, but
now they say things are on track for an official release: Firefall
features campaign missions and exciting quests as well as dynamic events that
appear throughout the world, offering players new experiences throughout as they
embark on their adventure. As players explore the vast open-world from New Eden
to Devil’s Tusk, they will encounter unique dynamic events, such as
melding-fueled tornadoes, crystite meteor showers and Chosen incursions, which
will bring new and exciting challenges to their Firefall experience. In addition
to all of the PVE content, Firefall also features a large open-world PVP
continent, where players can test their shooting skills and tactical abilities
against other players to control outposts and resources in this hostile
environment.
Firefall will be available completely free-to-play, with opportunities for
cosmetic and convenience upgrades. Special Firefall Launch Packs are also
available for purchase, which will include items ranging from the exclusive
multiplayer vehicle to a digital soundtrack and a concept art-book. For more
information about the digital content packs and early access, visit
www.firefall.com.
“The update we are releasing for launch will be the largest update we have ever
had,” said Macauley. “It will quadruple the amount of world space in Firefall
and add roughly 15-times the amount of content we have had previously in Beta.”
With the release of Firefall, the company has also announced a new website, with
full game details, community updates, and more at
www.firefall.com.
The King's Bounty website offers
the first trailer
from King's Bounty: Dark Side along with the announcement of an August
14th release date for the next installment in the fantasy-themed RPG series.
This will entail a choice between the standard edition or a Premium Edition
which includes bonus DLC adding a "Clot of Darkness" amulet that provides bonus
to money and experience, two additional locations, over a dozen additional
quests, and a new unit. There are more details on
the 1C Company
website, and here's word: Time has come to join the Dark Journey to
the other side of Teana and visit a mysterious part of the world never before
seen by royal bounty hunters.
For the first time in King’s Bounty series, players will be able to choose their
hero’s race as well as class. Become a fearless Orcs warrior, lead and heal your
troops as a Demoness, or use dark magic as a fearsome Vampire.
Continue here to read the full story.
A new
Kickstarter update for Areal reveals that Alexey Sytyanov has joined
on as producer of this upcoming survival shooter, with his background workin on
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Survarium bolstering West Games'
disputed claim of this being a
"spiritual successor" to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series (thanks
Eurogamer). They offer an excerpt from a recent interview with Alexy that
touches on all the controversy: Unfortunately, mass culture right now is
such that it's easier to put down everyone who wants to make something instead
of supporting or making something themselves. Back when we were developing
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. originally, we had the same exact situation as right now. People
said that we were doing everything wrong, that we weren't experienced and that
we could never make a good video game -- even respected video game developers
told us these types of things. What happened was that we pushed through that and
made an awesome cult hit video game series with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Versus Evil announces that Early Access to Habitat: A Thousand Generations in
Orbit is now available
on Steam, offering the chance to check out the in-progress version of this
sandbox strategy game. They explain: "Habitat: A Thousand Generations in Orbit’s
Early Access build for PC, Mac and Linux is now available through Steam, Amazon,
Humble Store, GameFly, Gamer's Gate, GreenMan Gaming and Nuuvem priced at
$14.99, £10.99 and €14.99. An additional value ‘buddy-code’ bundle, where gamers
have the option of buying one code for themselves and one for their friend at a
reduced rate, is also available for $19.99, £14.99 and €19.99." Here's
an Early Access
launch trailer and here's word: In the early access build, gamers will
be able to explore a procedurally-generated orbital playing field and manage
their engineers to build, rearrange and repair livable habitats created from the
space junk they raid from a dozen or so space junkyards. They will also be able
to test out and master physics-driven flight simulation using rocket physics,
boosters and steerable thrusters to get around as well as experiment with
lasers, grappling hooks and particle accelerators to turn their creations into
deadly kinetic orbital weapons. Finally, they’ll be able to practice destroying
and salvaging enemy space stations, taking on defense turrets and nanomachine
hunters in a bid to survive!
The Early Access version of Habitat is not feature complete and represents just
a portion of what the final game will offer, both in terms of complete feature
set and polish.
In Habitat: A Thousand Generations in Orbit players assume the role of
‘Commander’ and lead a team of engineers to gather a variety of debris found in
a procedurally–generated orbital playing field with a dozen space junkyards to
raid and create livable habitats that can support human life Habitat’s sandbox
environment provides a diverse and creative range of possibilities as players
combine different elements of debris, explore space and mine the resources found
there. A fully expandable tech tree can be researched to develop more elaborate
space stations.
The
Archlord 2 website announces that open beta testing of Archlord 2 is
underway, offering the chance to check out Webzen's sequel to Codemasters'
free-to-play PvP MMORPG. Here's a
producer's statement on
the open beta, and
instructions on using the launcher and picking a server. Here's an
open beta trailer and
word is: "Players can select between two different factions, with one race each.
For the Open Beta, character progression will be capped at Level 41, and a good
amount of new and updated content will be made accessible, including massive
battleground events every evening, each day with different maps and
objectives." Continue here to read the full story.
This
document ( Adobe Acrobat format) reveals a preliminary agreement to acquire developer
Warframe developer Digital Extremes by Chinese online game publisher
Perfect World and Sumpo Food Holdings, a company known more for selling chickens
than games. We'd expected a more official announcement by now, but this is not
yet confirmed by Perfect World or
Digital Extremes (though they basically confirm this by saying
they can't legally comment), and it's not clear what regulations this may
have to hurdle to be consummated. In the meantime,
GameSpot has word on
a Change.org petition
organized by the
/r/Warframe subreddit to protest the move.
A
Community Manager post to the Battle.net forums clarifies Blizzard's nuanced
approach to multiboxing in Diablo III. There's nothing to prevent players
from having multiple free Battle.net accounts, they (unsurprisingly) do not
object to paying for multiple copies of the game, and there are no rules against
playing more than one character at once, but third-party software to allow
the control of multiple characters at once is at issue, and using it could be enough to
trigger a permanent ban: For Diablo III, multiboxing walks the strange
line of being something we technically allow, but don’t officially support.
For clarity, players are allowed to have multiple Battle.net accounts, and each
of them can have a Diablo III: Reaper of Souls license (one per account). There
is no limit to the number of Battle.net accounts a single user can have, so long
as no more than three of them have Battle.net Balance*. There is also no
restriction to how many of these accounts can be online at once, but the methods
to do so may not be supported. We do not support third-party software, and
third-party software that automates gameplay is not allowed. Accounts found to
be using third-party software that automates gameplay risk being closed,
possibly permanently.
In other words, you can have multiple accounts, and you can be online with all
of them at one time. We don’t support multiboxing in Diablo III, however, and
some software used to facilitate multiboxing may violate our policies, so do so
at your own risk.
* Please note that this clarification is not reflected within the EULA and TOU
at this time. We will be updating both documents in the near future to correct
this.
A new Entanglement
trailer from Guild Wars 2 offers a preview of the second episode of the
second season of ArenaNet's MMORPG, which is slated to go live one week from
today. Here's a little tease: "There are secrets hidden within the newly
revealed area of Dry Top, just waiting to be discovered. Continue your
adventures in the Maguuma Wastes and take a stand alongside your fellow heroes
against an ancient, growing threat." Continue here to read the full story.
My Monday night routine is co-op gaming with a few mutant friends. Over the past
couple of years we have taken down Diablo and Handsome Jack together, among
other victories, but aside from a couple of Team Fortress 2 matches, nothing
that really put our teamwork to the test. The last couple of weeks we have been
playing PAYDAY 2, which is placing far more emphasis on our collaborative
skills. This has also demonstrated these skills need some work, but we've been
having a lot of fun, even if we are a little bumbling for now.
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