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Archived News:
The
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor website reveals that a new free update is
now available for the Tolkien-themed action game, offering a new skin and a new
game mode.
This page has full details on the version 16636.37 update, and here's a
summary: The free Power of Defiance bundle includes the following
upgrades:
- Play as Lithariel, daughter of Lady Marwen,
Queen of Nurn
- Test of Defiance Challenge Mode – Players
face the ultimate test to their warrior prowess as they defeat Sauron’s
Warchiefs without cheating death or relying on the power of the Wraith.
- Epic Rune - Defiant to the End: Players
gain an additional Last Chance to return to the fray in combat.
A
Steam Community Announcement has word that the Black Seas Colony DLC
is now available for
Total War: ROME II, offering the 12th free update for the historical
strategy sequel. For those looking for a little more culture, this is
accompanied by the paid
Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack, and both releases are complemented by a new
patch. Here's word: Marking the 12th piece of additional free content
released for Total War™: ROME II since launch, players will find their game
updated via Steam today with the new, free playable faction of Massilia. A
wealthy trading-state of Greek colonists situated on the north-western coast of
the Mediterranean, Massilia has embraced Gallic culture and military techniques
to form a unique and fascinating independent faction.
Also available for purchase today, the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack brings
three further hybrid factions to ROME II’s Grand Campaign, custom battles and
multiplayer. Cimmeria, Colchis and Pergamom all claim Greek heritage but their
settlement away from their homelands has wrought subtle changes to their
culture. Each faction enjoys unique traits, strengths and hybrid unit rosters
that reflect their culturally diverse civic and military aspects.
Additionally, the latest patch will drop at the same time, consisting of further
balancing changes to unit strengths based on community feedback.
Steam News announces the
release of the promised
free MMO update for Goat
Simulator. Here is the totally serious feature list: Goat Simulator
has just been updated with the Goat MMO Simulator free expansion!
- Five different classes: Warrior, Rouge, Magician,
Hunter and Microwave
- Complete dozens of quests, level up a hundred
times and play five different classes that’s a ton of content you do the
math, we all went to high-school well I didn’t I was too busy huffing paint
behind the cafeteria
- Level cap is 101, 1 level higher than
you-know-what
- Prolly not tons of content tho, but don’t hate be
cool
- Stay a while and listen to Dumblebore the Grey in
Twistram
- Faction warfare between goats and sheep
- MMO simulation so good you’ll think it’s real
- There are even elves and dwarves like in that
movie
Battle Fleet 2 is now available
on Steam for Windows and
OS X, with the World War II naval strategy sequel carrying a 15% launch discount
to celebrate the release. Word is: "Battle Fleet 2 is a true naval combat sim
set in the WW2 era. Players manually control the weapon loadout of their ships,
selecting which guns to bring, setting what the angle and power of their shots
are, and determining how the ships move and turn. Additionally carriers bring
planes, bombing runs, and interception into battles taking place around island
chains, which can help provide cover, blocking line of sight, or forcing enemies
to run aground. All of this comes together in a fast paced battle in scenarios,
campaign mode, or online against other players."
The announcement of the game's release includes word that they are working
on an Atlantic campaign, which is the subject of a fundraiser
on
Indiegogo.
Ubisoft announces plans to bring multiplayer support to Trials Fusion on all
platforms early next year, offering some PC gamers the chance to check this out
right now with the launch of the beta, saying those selected to participate will
also receive a couple of keys to invite friends along for the ride. Word is they
will be giving some keys to applicants who don't already own the game, as well
as those who do: Are you ready to ride?
Good, because the time has come to blow the doors off of the Trials Fusion PC MP
Beta. Some lucky players who purchased Trials Fusion on PC will get keys that
grant access to the Multiplayer PC Beta. They’ll be taking on strangers,
friends, and maybe even their foes (I’m looking at you BlueBadger) as they help
us beat the heck out of our servers and work the bugs out.
You don’t like playing with strangers?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Each player who recieves keys won’t just get
ONE key; they’ll get enough to bring a couple of friends along for the ride.
Why PC only?
Focusing on the PC platform allows us to react to any issues that arise much
quicker. We have an awesome team of developers who have worked insanely hard on
this beta, but this IS a beta, so things can go wrong. The team is standing by
to start stomping on any bugs that start showing up.
You didn’t buy Trials Fusion, but you want to check out MP before you make up
your mind?
That’s a very specific question, but it was the only way I could segue into
mentioning that we will also be giving out beta keys on
TrialsLive, and through our
social
channels
Please note: if you have opted out of communications from Ubisoft, we will not
go around that to email you a key.
What the heck are you waiting for? Get suited up, punch in your key, and let’s
kick the tires and light some fires! The Trials Fusion PC MP Beta is live
now.
Steam News announces
a free weekend and sale are underway for
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare: Play
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time. You can also pickup
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
at 75% off the regular price!*
If you already have Steam installed, click here
to install or play Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. If you don't have Steam, you can
download it here.
Besiege castles and raid villages in Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is a
first-person slasher with a focus on multi-player. Featuring competitive online
combat that seeks to capture the experience of truly being on a medieval
battlefield. Inspired from the intensity and epicness of swordfighting movies
such as 300, Gladiator and Braveheart, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare aims to bring
that experience to the hands of a gamer.
*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
Telltale Games now offers this brief trailer
to tease their upcoming episodic Game of Thrones adventure game. This is
accompanied by word that some of the actors from the HBO series are voicing
their characters in the game: Based on the award-winning HBO television
drama series, Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series tells the story of House
Forrester. Caught up in the events of The War of the Five Kings, they are placed
in a precarious position where members of the household must do everything they
can to prevent the house from meeting its doom.
Today we can announce that some cast members of the series will reprise their
roles in the game. While players will control five members of House Forrester in
their story, the series will have them interacting with fan favorite characters
throughout the season, including Tyrion Lannister performed by Peter Dinklage,
Cersei Lannister performed by Lena Heady, Margaery Tyrell performed by Natalie
Dormer, and Ramsay Snow performed by Iwan Rheon. Additional cast members will
appear in later episodes.
The game series is based on the world, characters and events seen in HBO's TV
show, which in turn is based on George R. R. Martin's books (A Song of Ice and
Fire).The events in the game series begin towards the end of Season Three of the
series, and end right before the beginning of Season Five. Players will visit
familiar locations such as King's Landing and The Wall, as well as unfamiliar
locations such as Ironrath, the home of House Forrester.
Continue here to read the full story.
Early access to Fractured Space
on Steam is now
available, allowing the chance to sample Edge Case's Unreal Engine 4 space game
that's due for full release next year. Here's word on the release and the two
different levels of participation they are offering: Edge Case Games, a
new British games studio formed from the team behind Strike Suit Zero, has now
launched its online space battle game Fractured Space on Steam Early Access.
Fractured Space puts players at the helm of gigantic capital ships in epic
online, team-based space battles, and promises to be a bold new vision in
tactical space combat.
Players can purchase either the Forerunner or Forerunner Fleet packs, priced at
$9.99 USD / €9.99 Euro / £6.99 GBP and $19.99 / € 18.99 Euro / £14.99 GBP
respectively. The Forerunner Fleet pack provides four game keys so players can
share with friends and form their own tactical space combat team. Further
Founders Packs, with a range of perks, including exclusive ships, crew, boosters
and ranks, will be introduced in the future.
“Our open development journey for Fractured Space started with our first
playable build and it’s exciting to welcome new players into the game as we
launch on Steam Early Access,” said James Brooksby, CEO of Edge Case Games.
“Every player can participate in exciting tactical space battles while also
getting a chance to become new contributors to Fractured Space’s ongoing
development.”
Giant Bomb reports on new Steam Early Access guidelines Valve is presenting
developers to help properly align expectations for pre-release games. They say
they've confirmed the validity of these with "several developers," and most of
these offer ways to accurately describe early access games, while other
guidelines look to ensure this is the proper program for them to be using in the
first place. Giant Bomb does note, however, that these are guidelines, rather
than rules. Here's an interesting warning about not counting on early access to
finance project completion: There is no guarantee that your game will
sell as many units as you anticipate. If you are counting on selling a specific
number of units to survive and complete your game, then you need to think
carefully about what it would mean for you or your team if you don't sell that
many units. Are you willing to continue developing the game without any sales?
Are you willing to seek other forms of investment?
The
Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #50 outlines a refund policy for backers of
Elite: Dangerous, following
firestorm
that resulted from the announcement in their
previous newsletter that there will be no offline mode in the upcoming space
combat game. The newsletter has a Q&A with David Braben about this, as he
explains that there will still be a single-player mode, that this doesn't make
Elite: Dangerous an MMOG, and that they have regrets over not revealing they were "struggling
with this aspect" sooner than they did. Since the community reaction includes
demands for refunds, he explains how these are handled: Will you give
people refunds?
We have started responding to requests where there is a clear outcome:
- Those who have pre-ordered an Elite: Dangerous
release version from our online store and have therefore not yet played the
game are eligible for a refund.
- Those who have already been playing the game
online in the Alpha and/or Beta phases, regardless of whether they backed
the project via Kickstarter or purchased access to Alpha and/or Beta through
our online store, are not eligible for a refund.
We want to make sure we treat each person's situation with the thoroughness
it deserves, and have contacted each of them to ask that they bear with us over
the next few working days if their circumstances do not fit either criteria
above as we look into individual requests.
Activision boasts that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the biggest
"entertainment launch" of 2014, saying the military shooter sequel topped
"all movie, music and book launches this year." They do not offer actual sales
figures for the new game, instead pointing out that counting this launch, the
entire series has topped the $10 billion mark in worldwide sales. "Since
Activision created the Call of Duty franchise in 2003, franchise revenues have
exceeded $10 billion in sales worldwide, far exceeding box office receipts for
such household movie franchises as Hunger Games, Transformers, Iron Man and
Avengers, combined," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. "Advanced
Warfare is the biggest entertainment launch of 2014 in terms of revenue,
surpassing all movie, music and book launches this year." Though specific
numbers are not included, the outline their criteria for this "biggest launch"
crown, which someday may be a coveted honor: Biggest entertainment launch
of the year is based on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare retail and digital
sell-through, and reported movie, music, and book gross sales, each for the
first week following initial launch, according to publicly-available data,
retail customer sell-through information, and internal Activision estimates.
Sales increase of Advanced Warfare versus last year is based on sell-through in
week after initial launch.
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms
is now available, offering the new action/RPG sequel from developer Games
Farm and publisher bitComposer. A retail version is available in some
territories, and the digitally distributed version is currently 20% off
on Steam. "We are
delighted to finally be able to deliver Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, the official
successor to Kult: Heretic Kingdoms," says Peter Nagy, CEO of Games Farm. "It
has been a thrilling journey from the Early Access launch to the official
release. We've been working closely with the constantly growing community for
months. Their feedback was very important to us and ultimately helped us to turn
Shadows into a fantastic action role-playing experience." Here's
a release trailer, and
more on the game: Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the next chapter in the
Heretic Kingdoms saga and takes place 20 years after the events of Kult: Heretic
Kingdoms. It’s an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline
and enchanting graphics. In this isometric action RPG, the player takes on the
role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then
brings them back into the mortal realm as his puppets. It's up to him to either
thwart a major threat and save the world, or to plunge it into complete
disaster…
Continue here to read the full story.
The Particulars
website offers the release of Particulars, an award-winning (Freeplay’s 2013
Narrative and Audio Awards as well as iFest’s 2013 Sydney Showcase Award)
physics-based puzzler for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Here's a
launch trailer, and
here's more on the game: Particulars is a physics-based puzzle game that
allows the player to explore this unseeable world. They must guide a quark
through the hypnotic interplay of particles, utilising the various forces and
interactions to achieve specific goals. Each success will unlock more subatomic
marvels, and more fragments of Alison’s story.
What is she running from? Who are the relentless figures that pursue her? And
what secrets might she uncover in the subatomic realm?
A new video from
Hearts of Iron IV puns "tanks for the inspiration" by offering a look at the
military technology being simulated in Hearts if Iron IV, the upcoming World War
II strategy sequel. This includes equipment both real and virtual, as word is:
"The video features a visit to the “Arsenalen” museum of military vehicles in
Sweden, where Hearts of Iron IV’s Project Lead, Dan Lind, invites eager
commanders to join him on a tour of how different tanks were used to turn the
tide of war – and how different nations pursued tactics of quality vs.
quantity." Continue here to read the full story.
LW Games announces the launch of a
Steam
Greenlight campaign for Centauri Sector, a top-down space combat game. They
celebrate this with the
release of an alpha demo. Word on this is: "The current version contains
only a solar system from the Centauri Sector, but its enough to play for hours.
Upcoming builds will bring new systems, equipment, missions and even ground
combat." Here's an alpha 1
trailer along with more details: Finally! After four months of
development, we are getting somewhere. So far, i am pleased with the results and
i am eagerly awaiting feedback from players. Upcoming builds will bring more
polish to the Tabula Rasa system along with new content additions, like
missions, equipment and improved campaign logic plus bug fixing.
Alpha 2 will bring a larger system to the game, where as the player you will be
thrown into a big war between factions and the fights will rage for Planets
Ownership and supplies. Alpha 2 will feature Ground Battles as
well.
Continue here to read the full story.
Today is the annual
Great American Smokeout, so for all of you smokers out there, here's hoping
you take the opportunity to get off your butts. Today is also Thursday, so for
participants in our football pool, it's time to get your
picks
in.
R.I.P.: Mike
Nichols, Graduate director, dies at 83
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