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Archived News:
A new Paragon website is
online, revealing details on Paragon, a new game coming to PCs in 2016 from
Epic Games. They are holding back on most details for now, but they are already
accepting signups from prospective beta testers, and offer the chance to unlock
in-game items. They are also revealing a new character from the game each week,
and kick things off with a new
Twinblast teaser video. Continue here to read the full story.
UbiBlog announces the
release of Anno 2205, celebrating the news with a new
launch trailer. Here's
word on the two editions they offer: "Available at retail and as a digital
download, Anno 2205 comes in two editions, standard and Gold. The latter also
includes access to two expansion packs, which will be released at a later date
and include new technologies and two new regions, Tundra and Orbit. (The
expansions will also be available separately, or as part of the Season Pass for
owners of the standard edition.)." Here's more: As a newly minted
corporate officer, you’ll spend your time in Anno 2205 building high-tech
cities, developing neighborhoods and growing the local industry while keeping
tabs on the needs of your citizens. Before long, you’ll be able to build a space
elevator and colonize the moon, then brave its unique challenges until you can
share resources and technological advancements across your colonies, creating a
sprawling, interconnected empire. You can also quickly switch between your
settlements using Anno 2205’s session mode, letting you manage them all
simultaneously.
Your push to the stars isn’t without conflict, however, and every so often
you’ll be tasked with fending off hostiles in real-time naval battles, pitting
your heavily armed fleet against enemy ships and installations. Along the way,
you’ll also be able to take on optional tasks from business partners and
friendly corporations, all of which give you more materials to upgrade and
expand your settlements.
Continue here to read the full story.
The
Battle Battalions website announces the promised
launch of Battle Battalions, their free-to-play real-time tactical game.
This involves five-versus-five battles with each -player teams each controlling
a battalion. Here's word on why this isn't an RTS for a MOBA: Battle
Battalions allows players to customize and command a role-specific ‘Battalion’
of military might on a fast-paced, team-based battlefield. Each player's
Battalion, composed of lethal high-tech units ranging from stealthy Sniper
infantry to hulking Juggernaut tanks, fills a critical role in the 5v5
multiplayer teams. Battalions earn valuable experience and credit with each
battle, which gives access to powerful enhancements, personal customizations and
perks unique to that specific Battalion.
Petroglyph, whose roots and brand name are heavily associated with the real-time
strategy (RTS) genre, is keen to point out that Battle Battalions is not an RTS
game in the traditional sense; Battle Battalions features no respawns, base
building, in-game economy or resource gathering. It is also not a multiplayer
online battle arena (MOBA) game, as the goals are to hold control points and
destroy enemy Battalions, not opposing bases or structures. The gameplay centers
squarely on tactical control of your chosen Battalion to cooperatively secure
key map points, eliminate rival forces and score more points as a team than your
foe, be it human or AI.
“We’re extremely excited to release a gaming experience that lets players either
jump immediately into fast-paced battlefield combat or spend their time
meticulously perfecting the look and potency of their hard-earned Battalions”,
says Joe Bostic, Co-Founder of Petroglyph and Game Visionary of Battle
Battalions.
“We feel the game breaks new ground in the real-time tactical space. As opposed
to controlling a single Hero unit in combat, this time your entire Battalion is
the hero.”
A new teaser trailer
from Star Wars Battlefront shows off the Battle of Jakku, a scenario
based on the upcoming Episode VII. Word is: "Be among the first players to
experience the Battle of Jakku*, the pivotal moment when the New Republic
confronted key Imperial holdouts on a remote desert planet. Taking place in the
aftermath of the Rebel victory in the Battle of Endor, players will experience
the events that created the massive, battle-scarred landscape of Jakku shown in
Star Wars™: The Force Awakens™." Continue here to read the full story.
Open beta testing is now underway for
World of Fishing for those
angling to try their hand at this MMO based on the outdoor pastime. Here's word:
World of Fishing is a full-fledged MMO featuring character development,
exciting quests and the addicting hunt for rare fish. Starting out with a small
boat and basic equipment, players will be able to work their way up to the point
where they will catch huge fish like tunas and even exotic sharks. Dynamic
real-time battles with over 360 fish species controlled by a realistic AI,
provide an entertaining and challenging gameplay that feels as close to the
“real thing” as possible.
-
BATTLETECH by Harebrained Schemes LLC — Kickstarter. "Final Total
$2,865,422! All Hail Our BATTLETECH Backers!" Thanks nin.
-
Hex Phase -- Steam Greenlight. "Exploding with colors in a visual
extravaganza, a new form of genre, the VFX Puzzle spouts from the depths to
bring you Hex Phase! Match the hexagons to its vibrant center to complete a
phase whilst switching between two or three other phases, or even just a
single phase on Super, Deluxe, and Regular modes respectively."
Activision Blizzard announces the acquisition of King Digital Entertainment, with the
deal's 5.9 billion price tag reflecting how much the Candy Crush
developer has been crushing it. The good news for them is that this brings
Activision Blizzard's monthly total user count to more than a half-billion, and
the deal is expected to boost Activision's adjusted revenue and earnings by
about 30%. The potential bad news is that about a third of the company's revenue
is from Candy Crush Saga, which is by far the most successful of the more than
200 games they've created since 2003. "The combined revenues and profits
solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in
interactive entertainment," states Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. "With a
combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our
potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing
enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before."
Activision Blizzard also announces "better-than-expected" third quarter 2015
financial results showing that World of Warcraft subscriptions, which they call
"relatively stable" ended the quarter at 5.5 million, and in spite of the
dropoff, note WoW "remains the No. 1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world."
Here's more: Selected Business Highlights:
- Activision Publishing had its highest ever third
quarter non-GAAP operating income, driven by strong engagement and digital
revenue, with Q3 monthly active users (MAUs)B up 17% year-over-year, and the
largest Q3 and year-to-date digital revenues in its history. Activision
Publishing continues to have 3 of the top 5 games on next-generation
consoles life-to-date.2
- Activision Publishing's Call of Duty® franchise
year-to-date non-GAAP revenues increased by a double-digit percentage
year-over-year due to strong catalog sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call
of Duty: Black Ops II, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, both for full
game and Supply Drops. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare remains the No. 1 game
on next-generation consoles life-to-date, as it has been since its launch a
year ago.2
- On September 15, 2015, Activision Publishing and
Bungie released The Taken King, the largest update to the Destiny universe
yet, which was enthusiastically received by fans and critics alike. Day-one
downloads broke PlayStation records, day-one engagement saw the highest
number of active players in Destiny's history, daily player engagement is
now well above 3 hours per day and the Destiny community has climbed to over
25 million registered players. Since its launch, Destiny has become the most
watched console game on Twitch.
- On September 20, 2015, Activision Publishing
released Skylanders® SuperChargers, the next installment in the franchise
with all new vehicles, action figures and exclusive Nintendo characters.
Even with increased competition, SuperChargers is one of Skylanders'
highest-rated entries to date and has strong engagement, with more toys per
player than last year.
- Blizzard Entertainment's third quarter MAUsB were
up 50% year-over-year, reflecting strong engagement with the online player
community.
- World of Warcraft® subscriptions remained
relatively stable, ending the quarter at 5.5 million subscribersC. Players
are excited about the upcoming expansion, Legion™, which will feature a new
class, customizable Artifact weapons, class order halls, and much more.
World of Warcraft remains the No. 1 subscription‐based MMORPG in the world.
- On August 24, 2015, Blizzard Entertainment
launched The Grand Tournament™, the second expansion for Hearthstone®:
Heroes of Warcraft™, with over 130 new cards. As a result of this new
content, continued strength on mobile, and continued strength across
geographies, key engagement metrics grew 77% year-over-year and set a new
quarterly revenue record for the franchise.
- Blizzard Entertainment brought new players into
Heroes of the Storm™ with the release of The Eternal Conflict, a series of
content and hero additions based on the Diablo® universe. Blizzard also held
the Heroes of the Storm regional championships as part of its Road to
BlizzCon® esports series, including the Americas Championship in Las Vegas
and the Europe Championship in Prague.
- Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo III continued to
bring in new players in Q3, and in China, the game passed the 2-million-unit
milestone.
- Blizzard Entertainment began closed beta testing
for Overwatch™ on October 27, 2015, with over 7 million players signed-up to
participate, not including China.
Konami is mulling over the future of the Next Metal Gear Solid franchise,
according to a print story on Nikkei noted
on Kotaku. No solid plans are in place, and it's not clear whether this
would involve series creator Hideo Kojima, who is reportedly on vacation, though
rumors have continued to swirl that he will be leaving Konami. The translated
quote that started all this refers to how they would need to spend some serious
yen to make a new MGS game: "When we start development, a large-scale investment
will become necessary." On a related note, a
tweet from George Broussard (thanks
VG247) reflects a rumor that Konami is closing Kojima's L.A. studio:
"BREAKING: Rumor tells me that Konami has shut down the Kojima Productions LA
studio, taking with it approx 35 jobs, just before Xmas," and Kotaku notes
this tweet with a similar report which may have been the source of George's
rumor.
Cliffski's Blog announces development of Democracy 3: Africa, a
standalone expansion Positech describes as "a sort of ‘re-imagining’ of the
original" Democracy 3. This self-confessed "risk" will refine the game
and its expansions, while also drawing attention to the topic of African
politics, which is not generally a topic of discussion, much less video games.
Here's a bit on the plan: Democracy 3 is a pretty popular game, and
actually, while I’m mentioning it, you can get it at
66% off RIGHT NOW on steam.
Anyway…over the years it’s had 3 expansions, (Social Engineering, Extremism and
clones & Drones), and recently we revisited the game to tweak it with some GUI
improvements and new achievements. Because of its popularity, I’m able to ‘take
a risk’ and make a version of the game that at first glance might not make
commercial sense. When I told some friends about it they said, ‘why Africa? who
is interested in African politics?’
And thats kind of the point. In the west, we tend to think of Africa as either
the target of charity fund-raising concerts, or somewhere to go on a safari. We
never think about the African economies, or African industry or exports. Lets
not forget Africa is home to a billion people…
The Elder Scrolls
Online website announces the release of the Orsinium DLC pack for the
Windows and OS X editions of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, saying
this will come later this month to the console editions of Bethesda's MMORPG.
This post from last month has all the details along with
this trailer showing
off what to expect. Here's a bit: The Orsinium DLC game pack, which
boasts over 20 hours of story content and quests, will be accessible at no cost
to those who have an active ESO Plus™ membership. Otherwise, it will cost 3,000
crowns in the ESOTU Crown Store. The base-game patch includes long awaited
features such as gamepad support for PC, subtitles, LFG system improvements, and
more.
Continue here to read the full story.
Excalibur Publishing announces World Ship Simulator, a new installment in
their Windows and OS X transport sim series that will enter early access
on Steam next week.
Though this is being handled by a new development team they are admittedly
refinancing the previous release, so they will offer this as a free upgrade for
all who own European Ship Simulator on Steam. Here's word on the game and what
to expect from the early access version: In a fictitious environment but
with landmarks drawn from around the world and challenges inspired by real-life
ports, this vibrant simulator comes alive with a host of thrilling new dynamics
and challenges drawn from life on-board. This Early Access launch features three
new and three remodelled ships to offer a broad experience of all aspects of
shipping and sailing. Using Unity 5, the new development team has brought
together a number of new features designed to stimulate the die-hard enthusiast.
These include a brand new career mode with complete missions that are
challenging to complete and truly develop the player's experience. The
open-world environment allows for sailing between the three ports that are
available with this Early Access version. Further development will expand the
ability to sail from port to port in a totally free-roam world.
So I was planning on shaving my beard and leaving just a mustache for Movember,
but this plan has not met with universal approval here in the BlueTower. I did a
little poking around on the topic and found that apparently starting the month
with a 'stache is cheating anyway, as one is expected to start
clean shaven and grow one from scratch to help draw attention to men's health. I
guess I'll just do my part by encouraging everyone to check out the homepage of
the Movember foundation for tips on how
to stay healthy and support the cause.
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