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Archived News:
A post on
the Elder Scrolls Online website from last week explains that they've seen a
spike in the use of "fraudulently obtained" digital game keys for
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel
Unlimited, and are deactivating all game accounts created with "such
stolen keys" beginning today (thanks
HARDOCP). They have a very lengthy list of places to obtain legitimate keys,
and say that they are contacting those whose accounts are being closed with
instructions on how to go straight, albeit with an additional purchase. They
also explain the issue with the keys being revoked: The companies selling
stolen keys make a practice of using stolen credit cards, or misappropriating
credit card information from their own customers to buy codes from legitimate
retailers. Often these companies have the lowest price available anywhere for
the digital item they are selling. Customers who purchase from these vendors are
at increased risk for identity theft.
Extreme discounting below the published prices on our website may be a clue that
the digital key purchased for the game may have been fraudulently
obtained.
The
Evolve website has details on a new Arena Mode for Evolve that was
added by a new patch today for the asymmetric shooter.
This trailer offers a
look at this "domed deathmatch," and here's word on what it adds: The
short version: The Monster and the Hunter squad all get dropped into a dome. No
escape, no excuses – this ain’t over until someone goes down!
- The new Arena Mode places five fixed domes on each of the 14 maps in
Evolve. For those not up on your math, that’s 70 locked-down venues, ready
for brawling.
- At the start, you select a map, then you’re in for a best-of-three
series of hardcore firefights. The Monster and Hunters are locked in that
dome until one side is eliminated. After that match, you immediately jump to
another dome on the same map for round two – that continues until there’s a
victor.
All the Hunters and Monster begin each match with one perk.
- Monsters start at Stage 2 with 50 percent armor, but can feed on
wildlife in battle to regain armor and even evolve to Stage 3. (Though the
size of the mobile arena makes this a tough task.)
- The dome isn’t coming down. So, for all you Trappers out there, your job
got a little easier.
- There is no dropship timer. Once a Hunter dies in battle, they have to
sit it out until the next fight.
- Players can’t change their character or perk selection between rounds,
but Monster players can change their abilities.
Obviously, if you’re looking to get competitive with Evolve, something like
an Arena Mode is going to be awesome to play – or watch. That’s just a taste of
things to come.
Continue here to read the full story.
Paradox Interactive announces that Magicka 2 is now available for Windows and
PlayStation 4, offering a new installment in this co-op action/adventure series.
You can pick up a copy from the
Paradox Store, and if you're still on the fence, here's
a release trailer and
the announcement: Magicka 2 brings players back to the world’s most
irreverent co-op action adventure series, providing all-new game features
alongside the original’s iconic spellcasting system, humor, and always-on
friendly-fire. Guided by Vlad, up to four Wizards at once can challenge a series
of new levels in a co-op campaign, or take on challenge levels for score,
prestige, and game-altering ‘artifacts’ that alter Magicka 2 in strange and
wonderful ways. The world is invited to put on their robes and wizard hats,
invite their friends, and learn to spell all over again.
Continue here to read the full story.
Magnetic: Cage Closed is now available
on Steam for Windows
computers with Guru Games' new first-person puzzler offered as either a Standard
or a Collector's Edition. A
new launch trailer
shows off the game and its magnet gun mechanics, and here's a refresher on what
it's all about: Players step into the prison fatigues of jailed con XE
47623, serving time for crimes unknown, who comes into possession of the
prototype Magnet Gun under the ever-watchful eye of a sadistic warden. Whether
it’s all just a game or a real opportunity for redemption remains to be seen.
Along the way the player will master the magnetic properties of the
one-of-a-kind weapon to manipulate objects and environments, solve increasingly
tricky puzzles, and bust out of the sombre steel hell.
Critics have lauded the game as “ingenious” and “rewarding”, but why let them
have all the fun? With each playthrough players will walk a unique
puzzle-platform path through the game’s branching storyline, navigating not only
the vast number of inventive conundrums, but also moral decisions with
potentially grave consequences.
There is always a way out.
Continue here to read the full story.
Activision offers details on Supremacy, the next DLC pack for Call of Duty:
Advanced Warfare, saying this will come to the Xbox editions of the military
shooter sequel on June 2nd, with the Windows and PlayStation editions to follow.
This will bring four new multiplayer maps to the game along with the next
installment in the Exo Zombies saga, which adds Bruce Campbell to the
star-studded cast. This
trailer shows off Supremacy gameplay, and here's a chunk of the
announcement: "Set against iconic landmarks, Supremacy takes players
across the world in some of our most exciting maps to date. New and exciting
vertical routes give players unique ways to dominate the battle through both the
exo movement set and the new Exo Grapple ability. We are also thrilled to
reimagine one of the most popular Call of Duty maps ever, Modern Warfare® 2's
Highrise, with exo and grapple gameplay for fans to enjoy," said Michael Condrey,
Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games.
"This is not only the four new multiplayer maps, but the continuation of the
popular Exo Zombies saga. We're huge fans of Bruce Campbell, and to be able to
add him to the already great roster of performers in Exo Zombies takes this to a
new level," said Glen Schofield, Co-Founder and Studio head, Sledgehammer
Games.
Continue here to read the full story.
Convoy Games announces that Convoy is now available without DRM on
GOG.com, saying the DRM-free
version will also show up soon on the
Humble Store,
though for now they are still only offering a
Steam key. They also
announce they are following up on one of the game's Kickstarter stretch goals
with the release of the Linux edition. Finally, they outline the improvements to
the Mad-Max and FTL-inspired roguelike in the latest patch, inspired by
audience feedback:
- Based upon player feedback, we've changed nearly
all insta-death scenarios, and tuned overall difficulty of the game. It
should provide a much more enjoyable experience, especially for new players!
- Added 10 more scenarios!
- Added 5 unique units that can be found throughout
the game!
- Added a new achievement and unlock!
- Added several graphics options!
- Fixed a lot of bugs!
Sports Mogul announces the release of
Baseball Mogul
Diamond, a new version of Baseball Mogul updated with rosters and stats
for the 2015 season. In addition to the updated players, the new version
includes some new features and enhancements:
- Compensatory Draft Picks (for teams that lose
players to Free Agency)
- Improved Player Aging, including mid-career
position changes
- Improved Manager AI (especially pitcher usage and
defensive replacements)
- Improved General Manager AI (roster management and
player contracts)
- Improved Trade AI (Artificial Intelligence)
- Trades improve teams at specific positions, not
just overall talent
- Much greater News Story and Scouting Report
variety.
- Improved historical and fictional season
schedules.
- Faster simulation engine
- More minor league and lefty-righty stats for
active and historical players
- Improved output for Head-To-Head Records
- More realistic player fatigue and injuries.
- Improved simulation accuracy and stability
- e.g. stolen base numbers no longer decline
over time
- Many bug fixes to prevent slowdowns and hangs
- Problems fixed with Baseball Mogul
Encyclopedia output
- Fixed errors found in some historical All-Time
Leader lists
Double Fine productions announces they have acquired the rights to Iron
Brigade, which will now be distributed under the Double Fine label (thanks
Orogogus). They also announce they have fixed the game's matchmaking to use
Steam rather than Games for Windows LIVE: Double Fine Productions,
developer and publisher of the successfully-crowdfunded games Broken Age and
Massive Chalice, is adding another game to its list of self-published titles.
Iron Brigade on PC will now be published under the Double Fine label. The
developer has also regained ownership of the intellectual property.
Double Fine is releasing an update to the Steam version of the game. In addition
to bug fixes and improvements, the original matchmaking system has been removed
and replaced with matchmaking via Steam.
“The great thing about this change is that now there are no obstacles to us
creating the best possible experience for players,” said the game’s creator,
Brad Muir. “We have fixed all known issues as well as provided a great
matchmaking experience for multiplayer. Vlad and his Monovision Menace are on
the move again! In the best possible way!”
Originally released in 2011, Iron Brigade was popular among players for its
unique combination of tower defense and mech shooter gameplay. IGN called Iron
Brigade, “the best downloadable game [they’ve] played all year.” Going on to say
“Its skillful blend of witty writing, fun shooting, and tactical tower defense
makes for hours of replayable gameplay.”
The update was released today for PC via Steam. To celebrate, the game is
currently available for 80% off.
There are currently no plans to rename the game, “Trenched.”
-
Dragon of Legends - Square Enix Collective campaign. "Dragon of Legends
is an action based MMORPG for PC, Mac, and Mobile platforms heavily
influenced by the mythic cycle of Gaelic Ireland and Norse mythology, where
the lights of faeries border the realms of darkness."
- Serafina's Crown -- Steam Greenlight. "Serafina's Crown is a
fantastical, dramatic visual novel with branching storylines, a stat-based
strategy game, and dating-sim elements."
Link of the Day:
Possum
Closet Clutter. Thanks nin.
With the rousing success of the new Mad Max movie in theaters, WBIE offers
a timely new trailer
showing off Mad Max Savage Road, Avalanche Studios' upcoming action game
based on the film franchise. Here's word on the cinematic clip: "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Avalanche Studios today unveiled
the Mad Max™ Savage Road Trailer, showing Max who is left for dead as his
cherished Interceptor is stolen by the merciless Wasteland tyrant, Scrotus and
his warboys. Max must rebuild a powerful new war machine to escape the deadly
Wasteland and can only do that with the aid of his quirky sidekick and expert
mechanic, Chumbucket." Continue here to read the full story.
This tweet from
2K adds an ominous touch to the image from
a prior tweet
teasing a project called Advent according to the included hashtags. That
original tweet says "Luxury for the privileged few is outdated. This is the
future of urban living," and points the way to an
ADVENT website promising a utopian
future, along with glitches to imply this may not play out as planned. Thanks
GameInformer.
Capcom Unity announces plans for an enhanced version of Resident Evil 0,
saying an updated edition of the survival/horror prequel is coming to Windows
and consoles next year. A
video message from the producers introduces the project in Japanese, though
there are English subtitles. Here's word: It's hard to mention the
Resident Evil REmake without also discussing Resident Evil 0, a similarly
harrowing adventure that takes place just before the momentous Mansion Incident.
Both titles sported great visuals, classic survival horror tension and a huge
community backing - two modern classics, for sure!
Given all those prior accolades and the game's enduring quality, we're proud to
confirm RE0 will receive a modern update similar to this year's enhanced REmake
and release early next year on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC!,
The dev team - including Koji Oda, RE Zero's original director - is hard at work
on RE Zero, but took some time away from their screens to record this personal
message. You might say RE producer Hirabayashi-san is "passing the torch," but
instead of a torch it's a... well just watch the video :P
Continue here to read the full story.
A new patch for The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is now available, updating CD
Projekt RED's RPG sequel to version 1.04 (thanks Lord Tea). Here is the list of
changes from The Witcher website:
The patch 1.04 for PC is available for download now. Please find the list
of changes below:
- Rebinding of all keys is now available after
switching on the ‘Unlock Bindings’ option in the Options\Key Bindings
submenu.
- Corrects an issue in the dialogue system that
might have caused dialogue looping in certain scenes.
- Fixes an issue with incorrect behavior of Wild
Hunt warriors after they were affected by the Axii Sign.
- Corrects a bug that caused spontaneous combustion
of gas clouds.
- 1280 x 720 resolution is now properly displayed as
a valid resolution option.
- Fixes boat stuttering in cutscenes.
- Texture rendering quality for the high and ultra
presets has been improved.
- Further improvements made in NVIDIA Hairworks
performance.
- A few additional gwent cards are now available in
the Prologue area.
- Fixes an issue where users with usernames
incorporating non-Latin characters were unable to import saves from The
Witcher 2.
- Includes a series of overall stability and
performance improvements.
- Fixes issues related to alt + tabbing and
minimizing the game window.
- Updates the game icon.
- Enlarges the loot pop-up window in the UI.
- Fixes an issue where, in certain circumstances,
the comparison window could extend beyond the game borders in the UI.
- Upgrading items included in gear sets no longer
destroys rune sockets on said items.
- Introduces small tweaks in the UI for gwent.
- Corrects some missing translations in localized
versions.
After taking a day off for the U.S. holiday, GfK Chart-Track is back with their
reports on game sales in the U.K. for last week. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
debuts at number one on the
full-price PC games chart, knocking The Sims 4 into the number two
spot. The Witcher III also bewitches the
all platforms top 40 from the top spot, while Farming Simulator 15
plows its way to number two. Here's how
they summarize the
activity: Bandai Namco replace one No1 with another as ‘The Witcher III:
Wild Hunt’ replaces ‘Project Cars’ at the top of the All Formats chart.
In terms of sales it smashes the week 1 sell through of ‘Battlefield Hardline’
by 53% to become the biggest debut week for a title in 2015 so far. It matches
the debut position of ‘The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings’, but ‘Witcher III’
also delivers an increase of 608% on the week 1 sales of its 2012 predecessor.
Available across three formats, PS4 is the clear winner taking a 63% share.
At No2 and technically a re-entry having already been available on PC, ‘Farming
Simulator 15’ adds four new formats to its roster propelling it into second
spot. Developer Giants Software adds PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions for the
first time. Having passed 5 million sales in the UK a few weeks ago ‘Grand Theft
Auto V’ (+23%) shows no sign of slowing down and holds No3 for a second week. A
strong boost in sales for ‘FIFA 15’ (+49%) sees it climb two places to No4 above
last week’s No1 ‘Project Cars’ (-56%) which slips to No5 in its third week.
‘Wolfenstein: The Old Blood’ (-34%) is down four places to No6 following its No2
debut last week. Retailer bundles deliver a massive increase to ‘Bloodborne’
(+286%), leaping 22 places to just outside the Top 10 at No11.
OM Entertainment announces the release of CHARIOT WARS, an arcade racing game
with a couple of twists: That it utilizes horse-drawn chariots, and that there
is a single-player story mode involving a murder mystery along with
single-player and multiplayer races. This opportunity to get in touch with your
inner Ben Hur is available for Windows
on Steam. A
launch
trailer shows off the game, and here's word: In 128AD, Emperor
Hadrian announces a chariot race spanning the entire empire from Rome to
Helvetia. The night before the first race, one of the charioteers from Judea is
found murdered in his quarters. An unknown woman’s body is also found on the
floor.
The head of the emperor’s Praetorian guard, Quintus Octavian, suspects Rome’s
constantly feuding noble families of masterminding the murders. Emperor Hadrian
asks Quintus Octavian to take the position of the murdered Judean charioteer and
represent Judea in the upcoming chariot race. As Quintus continues his
investigation, he is drawn inexorably into the murky world of Roman politics.
Features
- Single player arcade racing including Championship
and Time Trial modes
- Exciting story told via a digital graphic novel
- Levels set in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Helvetia and
Gaul during day and night levels
- Eight different chariot models
- Male and female charioteer avatars
- Multiple horse types to unlock and upgrade
- Real-time 8 player multiplayer
- Lobby, achievements and global leaderboard
Continue here to read the full story.
Yesterday's "unofficial" start to summer followed a recent trend around here of
the weather following the calendar pretty closely. Saturday and Sunday were both
pretty cool all day, and it's been mild all spring, but yesterday was quite hot,
right on schedule. This is by no means a problem, as I usually joke that spring
and autumn are fairly nonexistent in this area, but after a late start we've had
a pretty good run of mild spring weather this year.
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