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Archived News:
Blizzard announces the release of the Whispers of the Old Gods
expansion for Hearthstone, adding 134 cards to the strategy game, and
offering players free card packs for a limited time following the launch. This
comes along with word that the game has surpassed 50 million players: On
the heels of Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™ surpassing 50 million registered
players,† Whispers of the Old Gods™, the third expansion for Blizzard
Entertainment’s award-winning online strategy card game, is now live. Starting
today, players around the world are invited to collect and do battle with 134
new twisted, tentacle-packed cards—including the legendary Old Gods themselves:
C’Thun, N’Zoth, Yogg-Saron, and Y’Shaarj.
This spine-tingling expansion turns everything players know about Hearthstone
inside out. Familiar allies have been corrupted, new monstrosities have
appeared, and the Old Gods of Azeroth have resurfaced—spreading their sinister
influence and game-changing powers throughout the tavern.
“Whispers of the Old Gods adds an exciting new set of creepy, corrupted cards to
Hearthstone,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.
“We can’t wait to see how creative players are with the ancient evil of the Old
Gods in their hands.”
C’Thun is especially eager to lend its awesome power to denizens of the
tavern—players will receive this legendary Old God and two Beckoner of Evil
cards when they open their first Whispers of the Old Gods card pack. Also, in
celebration of the launch, everyone who logs in to Hearthstone will receive
three Whispers of the Old Gods card packs free (for a limited time).
The promised free update is now available for Rocket League that adds a
basketball-inspired Hoops Mode to the automotive sports game. This is
accompanied by a premium pack with the logos of all 30 NBA teams for your
licensed branding pleasure. The
Rocket League website has all the details on the new version 1.17 patch that
adds the new mode, and
this video offers a look at hoops mode. Here's the deal: Rocket
League fans can now download the highly-anticipated basketball-inspired Hoops
mode today for FREE! In addition, an officially-licensed "NBA Flag Pack,"
containing the logos of all 30 NBA teams represented as in-game flags, is
available for sale as premium DLC.
The new Hoops mode update is FREE on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer
entertainment system, and Windows PC via Steam and includes a NBA logo flag for
all players.
Rocket League Hoops comes with a FREE new arena called "Dunk House," where the
net itself can be used as a ramp for the ball, and Aerials and wall-play is the
key to victory.
Rocket League Hardwood, the NBA Flag Pack, is now available for $1.99 USD (or
regional equivalent) and gives players immediate access to all 30 team flags.
Continue here to read the full story.
Sierra announces the release of Once Upon a Climb, the third chapter in the
Odd Gentlemen's King’s Quest revival for Windows and consoles. This is
included with King’s Quest: The Complete Collection or a King’s Quest Season
Pass, and the Windows edition is also available
on Steam. Here's
a launch trailer, and
here's word on the new chapter: Perfect for springtime, King’s Quest –
Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb adds a romantic comedy twist to the adventure,
turning a spotlight to Queen Valanice, the future wife of King Graham and a
classic character from the series’ origins. As Graham continues to recount some
of the most daring stories from his life to his granddaughter, Gwendolyn,
players will get to experience the true legend behind Graham’s first encounter
with Valanice and how he rescued her from the wicked witch Hagatha.
Developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the new King’s Quest takes players on a
five-chapter journey back through all the untold puzzles, challenges and
triumphs of Graham’s long reign with the same memorable spirit of wit and wonder
that first launched one of adventure gaming’s greatest franchises over 30 years
ago.
Continue here to read the full story.
Ubisoft announces Trial by Fire, a standalone expansion for Might &
Magic Heroes VII coming on June 2nd with a bunch of new content for the
strategy sequel.
This post has images, and there are more details in this announcement: Today,
Ubisoft® announced “Trial by Fire”, an add-on for the turn-based strategy game
Might & Magic® Heroes® VII. In “Trial by Fire”, players will get to lead the new
Fortress faction on a path to define the destiny of the Dwarves. “Trial by Fire”
will be available digitally for PC on June 2nd and will also be made available
as a standalone.
The two original campaigns take place five years after the events of Might &
Magic Heroes VII. When Ivan, the recently crowned Emperor, receives word that
Dwarven warbands are once again threatening his territory, he is ready to go to
war to protect his people. But he also knows a new global conflict could bring
the end of the Empire. Hoping to prevent such a tragic escalation, Vilma, leader
of the Sudgerd Dwarves, comes to Ivan's court as an ambassador. Her tale will
shed light on some of the darkest chapters of the Dwarves' history - and reveal
the key to saving both of their people.
The “Trial by Fire” add-on will allow players to embody legendary Dwarven heroes
in a unique mountain environment. New content includes a full lineup of iconic
creatures such as Fire Giants, Valkyrie and Red Dragons. Players will also enjoy
extra content, such as six additional skirmish maps and dozens of new artifacts,
abilities and achievements.
A new patch is now available for
Ashes of the Singularity, updating
Stardock's recently released real-time strategy game to version 1.1. This adds a
new unit, campaign challenge levels, new AI Skirmish Mode difficulty levels, and
a brand new global ability. The post also includes word on what to expect from
their next major content update: "Our next big free update is going to include a
deluxe version of the campaign with additional missions, in-game voice narration
and more background on the post-singularity universe that humanity is fighting
in," says Stardock president Brad Wardell. "We have been both pleased and
surprised to see so much interest in that part of the game. It is an area that
we are eager to flesh out further."
Origin Games
now offers a free trial version of Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2,
allowing the chance to play the action sequel for 10 hours for free. Word is:
"Spring into action with the silliest shooter known to man (and plant). Download
and play the 10-hour trial for a limited time only. Love it? Your progress
carries over if you decide to buy."
Grey Box announces closed beta testing for Dreadnought will begin on
April 29th, and they are offering presales of two founder's packs of the
multiplayer aerial armada action game that will include access to the beta. A
Dreadnought Founder's Pack
Trailer offers a look at the action, and the
Dreadnought website
has more media and all the details. Here's the deal: Beyond guaranteed access to closed beta, the $9.99 Hunter Pack delivers one
uniquely designed and preconfigured Medium Dreadnought Hero Ship - the
Morningstar - as well as 500 Grey Box Points (GP), which can be used to buy ship
emblems, decals and much more. It also provides seven days of Elite Status,
granting more experience and Fleet Points (FP) per match, when the game launches
later this year. Finally, the package includes an exclusive Hunter Pack ship
decal, emblem and coating, plus two Fleet Recruitment Packs, which let owners
give two friends guaranteed access to closed beta, the Morningstar Hero Ship,
250 GP and a Fleet Recruitment Pack ship decal and emblem.
The Mercenary Pack ups the ante with five Hero Ships - the aforementioned
Morningstar (Medium Dreadnought), Outis (Medium Corvette), Silesia (Light
Artillery Cruiser), Huscarl (Heavy Destroyer) and Kali (Heavy Tactical Cruiser)
- as well as 3,000 GP and 30 days of Elite Status at official game launch. It
also grants four Fleet Recruitment Packs and an exclusive Mercenary Pack ship
decal, emblem and coating, all for $39.99.
Set in a futuristic era of all-out galactic warfare, Dreadnought turns
strategic, team-based warfare into one heart-pounding, grippingly gorgeous
action experience. Each of the game’s varied vessels is designed to fill a
unique, class-based role - from front-line assault and scouting to long-range
damage and tactical support - and can be customized with specialized weapons,
abilities, cosmetic enhancements and more. Dreadnought will launch as a
free-to-play title on PC with competitive online multiplayer modes.
Continue here to read the full story.
Telltale Games now offers What We Deserve, the third and final episode in The
Walking Dead: Michonne, their zombified adventure series.
This trailer offers a
look at the finale, and
this video offers an interview about the game with series creator Robert
Kirkman. Here's word: Leading publisher of digital entertainment Telltale
Games and Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, announced today that 'What We
Deserve,' the final of three episodes in The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale
Miniseries, is now available for download.
Episode 3 - 'What We Deserve' is available now on PC/Mac from the Telltale
Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, the
PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, and the Xbox Games
Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from
Microsoft. The episode is also available today for compatible iOS devices via
the App Store, and for Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon App
Store.
The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries stars the iconic,
blade-wielding character from Robert Kirkman's best-selling comic books,
portrayed in-game by award-winning actress Samira Wiley (Orange is the New
Black).
Haunted by her past and coping with unimaginable loss and regret, the story
explores Michonne across a three episode miniseries event. Players will dive
into the mind of Michonne to discover what took her away from Rick, Carl, and
the rest of her trusted group... and what brought her back.
In an all-new interview, series creator Robert Kirkman spoke on the depth and
complexity of Michonne and what makes her a long-lasting fan favorite in such an
immensely celebrated series, as well as reveals the first details of the third
season of The Walking Dead series from Telltale.
Continue here to read the full story.
The Hitman
website announces the release of Sapienza, episode two of the new
Hitman game, adding a new region shown in
this trailer. This is
accompanied by a new patch for the game, as noted in this excerpt: Alongside
Sapienza comes a sizeable game update that adds a host of improvements to the
game for all players. Significantly improved loading times, new options for the
HUD and Challenges, menu tweaks and updates – plus a whole lot more. Take a look
at the full release notes for all the details.
Anyone who owns the Full Experience will already be able to see Sapienza listed
as a new destination in-game. If you own the Intro Pack, you’ll need to purchase
Episode Two separately or buy the Upgrade Pack to also get all future episodes.
Our dedicated 'Buy' page lists all the options and regional prices.
Continue here to read the full story.
"America Has Fallen" is the title of
this trailer from
Homefront: The Revolution, which is the opening cinematic from the upcoming
insurgency shooter sequel. Deep Silver also offers
another new trailer
called "APEX and the Technology of Control" with more of the game's back story.
Here's word on the scene this sets: A reimagined alternate history dating
back to ashes of the Korean War documents the fall of one global superpower and
the rise of another, driven by the ruthless APEX Corporation in a world with
chilling parallels to our own.
"The core premise of Homefront - an occupation on American soil - remains
unchanged," said Hasit Zala, Game Director at Dambuster Studios. "But we have
created a brand new fiction that offers a very different interpretation of how
we got there."
Continue here to read the full story.
The
Paragon website announces Epic's will hold a free beta this weekend for
Paragon, beginning on Thursday. They are inviting the first 500K beta
registrants, and plan a second free weekend from May 5-8 for everyone who
registers for the MOBA before the end of this month. Here's word on the plans, though there's
no confirmation this covers both PC and PS4: We're beginning our series
of Free Beta Weekends this week. This will let the folks who have signed up and
been waiting to play get their first crack at Paragon. The first two weekends
are about stress testing, with more to come.
The first stress test will run from Thursday, April 28 through Sunday, May 1.
For this test, we're inviting the first 500,000 Beta registrants who signed up,
so be sure to check your inbox.
The second free weekend, which will run from May 5 through May 8, will
include all players who have signed up for the Beta by May 1.
These test are designed to see how our servers hold up when hundreds of
thousands of players conquer the battlefields of Agora at the same time.
If you're already playing Paragon in Early Access, we want you to play as well,
so we're offering Double XP for everyone during both weekends. (As
a veteran of Early Access, we're hoping you help us guide new players.) For
those wondering, yes, your Boosts can stack with Double XP weekends.
We have more free Beta weekends on the horizon and we're updating the game with
new Heroes and features all the time, including our newest flame-wielding
Hero duo Iggy & Scorch.
The response and excitement from the community has been amazing, and we are
grateful for all the feedback. We think this is another step in making Paragon a
great competitive experience.
We hope to see everyone on the battlefield.
AMD Support now offers new version 16.4.2 Crimson Edition non-WHQL drivers
for AMD graphics cards (thanks Mashiki). These include updated or new crossfire
profiles available for Elite Dangerous and Need for Speed. They also introduce
AMD Xconnect technology, supporting Thunderbolt 3 eGFX enclosures configured
with Radeon R9 Fury, Nano or 300 Series GPUs. Here's more
Resolved Issues:
- The Division™ may experience flickering in AMD
Crossfire™ technology mode.
- DOTA2™ toggling between borderless fullscreen and
exclusive fullscreen can sometimes cause flickering or corruption when in
AMD Crossfire™ technology mode.
- Some DirectX® 9 applications cannot disable AMD
Crossfire™ technology mode through Radeon Settings.
- GPU clocks on some products may remain in high
states after recovering from an application crash.
- A small subset of AMD Radeon™ R9 380 users may be
experiencing slower than expected fan speeds.
- Power efficiency toggle in Radeon Settings is
showing up for some unsupported products.
- The check for software updates feature in Radeon
Settings may not find the latest available update.
- Some games may fail to show up in Radeon Settings
gaming tab.
- The Radeon Settings option may sometimes disappear
as a shortcut from the right-click context menu on desktop after a software
upgrade.
- Steam®VR Performance Test may experience
flickering in AMD Crossfire™ technology mode.
- Stuttering or corruption observed while playing
Fallout 4™ on some graphics products in AMD Crossfire™ technology mode.
- Corruption in Hitman™ when using AMD Crossfire™
technology mode.
- Stuttering or freezing in some loading scenes
while playing Hitman™ using AMD Crossfire™ technology mode.
- Negative scaling seen on Hitman™ when using AMD
Crossfire™ technology mode.
Known issues:
- A few game titles may fail to launch or crash if
the AMD Gaming Evolved overlay is enabled. A temporary workaround is to
disable the AMD Gaming Evolved "In Game Overlay".
- HDMI™ Scaling options may not be available in
Radeon Settings on some system configurations or some applications may
ignore the HDMI™ Scaling options setting.
- The option to enable/disable AMD Crossfire™
technology logo may be missing on some system configurations from the
Gaming, Global Options tab in Radeon Settings.
- The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt inventory and character
pages may exhibit flickering in AMD Crossfire™ technology mode.
- Radeon Settings game manager does not display
icons for Origin Games.
- AMD Radeon Pro Duo users may experience a system
crash or hang after resuming from sleep or hibernate.
Evoland developer Shiro Games announces Northgard, a Viking-themed
strategy game steeped in Norse mythology coming to Windows, though it doesn't
yet carry a release date. A preliminary
Northgard website is live for the game, offering an overview along with a
first batch of screenshots. More details are promised "later," and in the
meantime, here's what they have to say about all this: Northgard is a
strategy game deeply ingrained with Norse mythology in which brave explorers
have discovered a new world filled with mystery and danger, where players are
tasked to help them survive and thrive in a hostile land. They will face
mystical creatures like dire wolves and undead warriors roaming the land, giants
that they can befriend or defeat, and winters so harsh even the boldest Vikings
will shiver!
To conquer the new world and become its master, the explorers have different
strategies to lead their clan to greatness: explore, trade, or defeat your
enemies in battle.
XSEED Games announces the release of Corpse Party in the west, offering
the chance to voluntarily attend a dead party. Hide the kids, this is apparently
unrated. Here's word: XSEED Games, the independent-minded console
publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., today announced that the much-lauded
cult classic horror adventure, Corpse Party, is now available worldwide for
Windows PC on Steam, GOG.com, and the Humble Store by Humble Bundle with
exclusive content and features. Originally developed as an independent title by
Team GrisGris, and previously released by XSEED Games for the PSP, Corpse Party
is a chilling visual novel-style experience that takes players on a terrifying
journey where each step could be their last.
Localized directly from the original independent Windows PC version known as
Corpse Party: BloodCovered, which has never been released outside of Japan, this
Windows PC release of Corpse Party features all of the original Windows art and
voice-acting, as well as a bevy of new features exclusive to this version. Among
other inclusions, such as multiple endings and scenes that differ from the PSP
and upcoming Nintendo 3DS releases, this version boasts four bonus chapters on
top of the game’s five main story chapters. One of these is a PC-exclusive
retelling of the “Tooth” story from Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, recreated
with added content in classic Corpse Party adventure style. Players seeking to
complete every ending will find that this version also contains a speedy
fast-forward function for seamless replayability.
Developed by Team GrisGris and published by XSEED Games, Corpse Party is now
available on Steam,
GOG.com, and the Humble Store by Humble Bundle for $14.99. The Windows PC
version of Corpse Party is not rated by the ESRB.
Iceberg Interactive announces plans to publish Stars In Shadow, a new 4X
space strategy game they expect to release in Q3 of this year. The
Stars in Shadow website has details on
the game, images showing off the game's hand-drawn art style, and signups to
beta test. This video
shows off some beta gameplay, and here's the announcement: Iceberg
strikes gold again! The Dutch publisher, well known for its love of scifi games
and especially 4X strategy titles, announces that it has agreed a worldwide
publishing agreement with Canadian development studio Ashdar Games for their
unique 4x strategy game Stars in Shadow (PC). The game is currently in the later
stages of development and is expected to release on Steam and other digital
platforms during Q3-2016.
Stars in Shadow is a turn-based 4X space strategy game with a distinctive
artistic style. The player competes with alien factions to explore and settle
nearby star systems, develop colonies, build fleets to defend against rivals,
negotiate with them and conquer them, when necessary. The game is won by
unifying the galaxy, either through diplomacy or by force.
Continue here to read the full story.
Publisher Iceberg Interactive announce closed beta testing of Dawn of Andromeda,
saying those interesting in helping developer Grey Wolf Entertainment polish
their upcoming 4X space strategy game.
This page is where to sign up, and
this post has details: We are happy to share with you that Dawn of
Andromeda has entered the beta stage of development, and we are now recruiting
testers!
If you are interested in helping us to get the most out the game, finding bugs,
making suggestions, then you may be the person we are looking for.
The closed beta program will enable a fixed-sized and fully controllable testing
environment, where feedback is manageable and easy to digest for the relatively
small indie team. The beta program will consist of several different
phases/waves, introducing a fixed number of new players to the beta program at
different development points.
Before signing up, you will need to sign our Non-Disclosure Agreement and create
a profile on our beta forums. Once this is done, and if you are selected, we
will send you a Steam beta key and you can start testing. This beta key will
give you full Steam access to the current beta build. NB - the beta key will be
revoked when the beta ends.
Because beta testing slots are limited, signing up does not automatically mean
you will be selected. But don’t worry, you application will remain valid. As the
beta test continues, we will expand it with more testers and you might be
selected yet.
A Battle.net
post from J. Allen Brack offers Blizzard's official response to the negative
reaction to the news of the
closure of the Nostalrius private "vanilla WoW" server, explaining the
company's position on the situation. He explains the legal move was required to
protect their intellectual property, and claims it was beyond the limitations of
our legal system to do anything but shut them down: "And while we’ve looked into
the possibility – there is not a clear legal path to protect Blizzard’s IP and
grant an operating license to a pirate server." Responding to player's desire
for such a service, he explains if they "explored options for developing classic
servers and none could be executed without great difficulty." This seems to
ignore the possibility of somehow acquiring the project they shut down, though
he doesn't completely rule this out, saying: "One other note - we’ve recently
been in contact with some of the folks who operated Nostalrius. They obviously
care deeply about the game, and we look forward to more conversations with them
in the coming weeks."
- Azio MGK 1 RGB Mechanical Keyboard on
Modders-Inc.
- be quiet! Pure Power 9 600W Power Supply on
PC Perspective.
- Corsair H80i v2 High Perf Liquid CPU Cooler on
HARDOCP.
- Corsair K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE Gaming Keyboard on
Technic3D (German).
- Corsair M65 Pro RGB FPS Optical Gaming Mouse on
TweakTown.
- Creative SoundBlaster X Pro-Gaming H5 Headset on
eTeknix.
- GIGABYTE X99P-SLI (Intel X99) Motherboard on
TweakTown.
- Riotoro CR1280 Prism Full Tower Case on
Neoseeker.
- WD Red 8TB Helium-Filled WD80EFZX NAS HDD on
TweakTown.
Two more days before my internet changeover, and it couldn't happen sooner
enough. I probably don't suffer more than a couple of minutes of downtime per
day at this point, but this is divided into something like 12 different 10
second outages, which is enough to make one crazy after a while.
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