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Archived News:
Blizzard announces
details on the virtual tickets that will allow anyone who wishes to attend
November's BlizzCon 2014 to do so from the comfort of their own home. These are
on sale
on Battle.net for $39.99, but those only interested in watching streams of
the eSports competitions can do so for free. The Virtual Ticket will offer
access to two streams, including all panel discussions, as well as early access
to an online sale of items from the event. As usual, an assortment of in-game
items will also be included. Here's the deal in a nutshell: The Virtual
Ticket gives you a front-row seat at BlizzCon 2014—taking place November 7 and 8
in Anaheim, CA—from the comfort of your own couch, live and in high definition
(720p). You’ll get comprehensive coverage of both days of the show, including
panels, contests, closing ceremony, interviews, and more, as well as some cool
commemorative in-game goodies.
Capcom Unity reminds us that tomorrow is the official release date for Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition,
the Windows edition of the zombie action game, noting that there's still
a little time to get a 10% discount by preordering. They also offer
a new PC launch trailer,
saying: "Anyway, if you need a little more enticement, check out the following
trailer, which really gets right at the essence of Dead Rising. You'll see what
I mean." Continue here to read the full story.
Steam News announces
that the Nemesis DLC
for Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available for purchase for all owners of
the Windows edition of the shooter sequel. Word is: "Call of Duty®: Ghosts
owners can now enhance their experience with the exciting new Nemesis DLC, which
includes 4 new multiplayer maps and Exodus, the conclusion to the Extinction
4-part episodic saga."
On The Level Game Studios now offers Boo Bunny Plague
on Steam, an indie
action/adventure for Windows and OS X that's on sale for 25% off for the next
week. This is like a game version of the movie Harvey, only in this case the
six-foot tall bunny is robot set on vengeance, rather than a figment of
someone's imagination. Word is: "In Boo Bunny Plague, players follow a
six-foot-tall robotic toy bunny named Bunny who goes berserk when a disgruntled
factory worker uploads a virus from a TI-82 calculator. What ensues is a
hilarious adventure with tons of '80s and '90s references, as well as musical
interludes that push the story forward." Here's a
release trailer
showing off the game.
Urban Games has a fever for more train bell, so they are now offering Train
Fever on Steam, a new
railroading simulation for Windows, OS X, and Linux. There are details and
a launch trailer on
the Train Fever website, and here's
word on the game: Implementing lessons learned from the genre’s rich
history, Urban Games have developed a state-of-the-art railway-simulation
inspired by the likes of 1994’s Transport Tycoon. Using an in-house engine built
specifically for the game, the team poured their affection and knowledge of the
genre into Train Fever, combined with a desire to add the kinds of features they
always wanted to see themselves, to create a train sim to be reckoned with.
Train Fever delivers an advanced railroad business simulation set against a
backdrop of sophisticated randomly generated 3D environments and lovingly
crafted models. Players can step back to the golden years of the industrial
revolution with steam trains dating from the 1840’s, or fast forward to the
powerful locomotives and sprawling cities of the modern day. Establish a
transport company, build infrastructure, buy rolling stock, manage the lines and
watch the world evolve dynamically as the steel-wheeled empire flourishes.
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam now offers early
access to The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, KING Art's adventure game sequel
for Windows, Linux, and OS X. They celebrate the news with a
gameplay presentation
trailer featuring developer commentary that runs 11 minutes. Here's the
deal: At a price point of EUR 29.99/USD 29.99/GBP 24.99, the full game
including all future updates can be purchased. The entire first chapter is ready
to play and awaits players to delve into the world of Aventásia. Collect the
first clues about the despicable epidemic that is slowly but surely infesting
the land. Why despicable you ask? This epidemic is pink, fluffy, and threatens
to shake the foundations of fantasy worlds as one cherishes it. Who wants
gentle, inoffensive trolls without any social disorder, anyway.
Thanks to its projection mapping technology, the world of The Book of Unwritten
Tales 2 looks enchanting in any colour, but pink is far far away from being the
new black. Fortunately, there’s a wonderful reunion for our heroes from the
first part, Wilbur, Nate, Princess Ivo and the Critter, who are ready to take it
up with this shimmering menace.
Continue here to read the full story.
bitComposer Games announces a November 13th release date for the "first book" of
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, their action/RPG. This news comes as they release a
new major patch through
Steam for the early access version of the game which adds a new playable
character and implements the game's crafting system. Here's word: The
update brings a new playable character to the world of Shadows: Heretic
Kingdoms: Evia, the Daughter of Fire. Evia is the last of the three primary main
characters. She is the princess of a long-extinct kingdom and an extraordinarily
mighty mage with the power to control the elements, which she uses as a weapon
to destroy her enemies.
The crafting system is also now available, allowing players to craft their own
weapons and armour, brew potions and create powerful rings. Additionally, due to
feedback received during the early access phase, the developers have opened up
the skill system, giving players more freedom when selecting their
skills.
Focus Home Interactive offers
a new trailer from
Styx: Master of Shadows called "Assassin's Green" (see what they did there?).
Here's word on the trailer, which they say is the first of several they will
issue between now and when the game is released next month: Styx: Master of Shadows, the infiltration game from Cyanide Studios, has a
unique verticality that is ample throughout the gallows, alleys, courtyards and
winding halls within the Tower of Akenash. Coming October for PS4®, Xbox One®
and PC, scale and prowl through the expansive and mysterious home of the World
Tree, either subverting the guards, or quietly and invisibly disposing of them.
Today's video is the first of a series of gameplay trailers we will be
releasing over the coming weeks until the release of the game. It illustrates
some of the Goblin's skills, as he uses his stealth, weaponry, bold moves and
smart use of the environment to get rid of the tower's denizens.
Continue here to read the full story.
Epic Games announces a new
program to provide unlimited access to their Unreal Engine 4 for academic
use. Here's the deal: Epic Games is committed to supporting students and
schools, and helping companies that license Unreal Engine 4 find and hire
qualified developers.
So, starting now, Unreal Engine 4 is free to use for colleges and universities.
The engine can be installed and used on all school owned computers, and personal
copies can be provided free of charge to all students enrolled in accredited
video game development, computer science, art, architecture, simulation, and
visualization programs.
In addition, schools and their students will receive regular updates as if
subscribed, but without having to pay the $19 monthly fee. Launch of commercial
products is still subject to the 5% royalty. For complete details, please see
the FAQ.
Player Attack has word on a creative approach to copy protection in The
Sims 4, saying illegal copies of the game will feature blurry pixelated
visuals, much like the censorship for the game's nude scenes and some of the
Japanese films in your private collection. This has invoked the always
entertaining spectacle of users flocking to the forums looking for technical
support for their pirated copies of the game.
Those still hoping to compete in the first Diablo III season
just took an arrow to the knee (oops, wrong RPG), as
Blizzard
announces they are hotfixing out the bounties that allowed some players to
race up the seasonal leaderboard. In spite of extensive beta testing, it
apparently came as a surprise that some bounties were providing more experience
than they wanted, so they've broken out the nerf hammer mid-season, giving up on
keeping a level playing field, saying: "While we won't be removing any Conquest
credit or ranking from players who chose to use this particular technique, we
will be making changes to these bounties for future Seasons." Here's word on the
changes: One of our ongoing goals for Diablo III (and Seasons in
particular) is to promote diversity in play styles and encourage a variety of
experience whenever possible. In line with this goal, and as a direct result of
your feedback from Season 1, we're in the process of implementing a series of
hotfixes that will temporarily disable the following events as eligible
bounties:
- The Matriarch's Bones
- The Jar of Souls
- The Miser's Will
- A Miner's Gold
This change will apply to both Seasonal and non-Seasonal games. Additionally,
please note that these hotfixes will only remove the above events from the
active bounty pool, not the game itself. The events can still spawn in-game and
will provide rewards as normal.
We don't have an ETA at this time for when these events will be re-added to the
bounty pool, but are working to have them available for Season 2.
Full Control announces a release date for Jagged Alliance Flashback,
saying their tactical remake will launch on October 21st, celebrating the news
with today's release of a new "Tactical Overload" update for the
Steam early access edition
of the game and a
new video
diary for Tactical Overload. Here's a list of what today's update adds:
- Melee Combat
- Stealth & Hearing System
- Quickslots
- Interrupts & View Cones
- UI Overhaul
- New Mercenaries & new Sectors
The Steam page for
Ryse: Son of Rome now reveals an October 10th release date for the Windows
edition of Crytek's action game, offering a free copy of the game's soundtrack
for those who pre-purchase it (thanks
VG247). This also reveals the following system specifications: Minimum:
OS: Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (64bit)
Processor: Intel Dual-Core 2.8 GHz/ AMD Dual-Core 3.2 GHz or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 1 GB video RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 26 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible Sound Card with latest drivers
Recommended:
OS: Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (64bit)
Processor: Intel Quad-Core or AMD Octo-Core
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 4 GB video RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 26 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible Sound Card with latest drivers
Kalypso Media announces the Linux and OS X editions of Tropico 5 will be
released on September 19th through Steam and the Mac App Store, noting that this
comes at no additional cost to those who buy (or have bought) this through
Steam. Here's word: In just a few weeks, Mac/Linux players can also visit
the island paradise of Tropico, where the people don’t even have to think for
themselves and the burden of voting is kindly relieved by the government. Get
yourself a job in Tropico’s booming llama industry, admire quaint historical
landmarks such as the Cold War era military base and relax on the beach with
Tropico’s own take on the Manhattan – which contains absolutely no alcohol. The
Mac/Linux version of Tropico 5 includes cross-platform multiplayer via SteamPlay,
Full Controller and Big Picture Mode support. Plus, if you’ve already bought
Tropico 5 for PC, then you can download the Mac/Linux edition for absolutely
free via Steam cross-buy!
Kotaku Australia has a follow-up on the recent
report that Valve is being taken to court in Australia over the lack of a
refund policy for Steam purchases (thanks Darth Guybrush). They have a list
from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission of demands the watchdog
group has to make this right, as well as a statement from Valve saying they are
trying to work this out, quoting Doug Lombardi as saying "We are making every
effort to cooperate with the Australian officials on this matter." They also
provide some background on this, saying the legal action was prompted by a few
cases where consumers were unable to secure refunds for games that turned out to
be unplayable. Here is the list of what the ACCC wants of Valve if they prevail
in this case:
The ACCC is asking that Valve:
- Provide an email address that specifically deals
with refunds as per Australian Consumer law.
- Provide a 1800 number to help consumers address
any refund issues.
- Provide a PO Box address for consumers to deal
with refunds.
- Appoint representatives (the ACCC refer to this
person as a contact officer) to reply to consumers regarding refunds.
If the ACCC is successful, Valve will have to implement these changes within
30 days of the court order.
The ACCC is asking that, through these new avenues, each consumer be addressed
and dealt with in accordance to their statutory rights as per Australian
Consumer Law.
Interestingly, the ACCC wants Valve to appoint an independent auditor to review
its consumer redress policy within 180 days of any potential court order. This
person cannot be an employee or have any interests in Valve. This person cannot
have been involved in the creator of the consumer redress policy. This
independent auditor will then have to send a report to the ACCC informing them
of how many consumers attempted to get a refund and how many were successful or
unsuccessful and the reasons why.
A new Sochi Hot Lap
trailer for F1 2014 offers another timely look at the upcoming Formula One
game, based on next month's Russian Grand Prix. Here's the deal: "The hot lap
shows 20 year-old Russian driver Daniil Kvyat in his Toro Rosso STR9 taking on
his home track, the Sochi Autodrom." Continue here to read the full story.
To follow up on the Amazon affiliate dealie, this seems to be working properly
based on every effort to check up on this. If you click through on
a link to Amazon containing our affiliate code, Amazon will pay us a
commission at no additional cost to you. This works with a cookie, so we should
get credit if you follow that link, even if our affiliate code does not appear
in the URL. Thanks to all of you who have helped
test this, and for all of you who have been using our affiliate links, the
support is appreciated. I will work on adding a more visible/accessible link
going forward.
Another follow-up is that the NFL begins tonight (yay!), so there's still time
to get in on the ground floor of our hastily assembled debut competition to
pick games using the point spread (password "bn2") as well as our
now-traditional
straight Pick'em group (password "bn"). Best of luck to all who are
participating.
R.I.P.? Nope:
Betty White is not dead.
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