Archived News:

Friday, Apr 21, 2017

Call of Duty: WWII Announced

Activision confirms indications that the Call of Duty series is returning to its World War II roots with the official announcement of Call of Duty: WWII. They are pretty mum on details for now, holding out for a worldwide reveal next week. They plan this as a global livestream on the Call of Duty website on April 26th at 1:00 pm EDT, and this page has a countdown timer ticking off the seconds until then. In the meantime, here's all they are saying:
Call of Duty returns to its World War II roots with Call of Duty: WWII, developed by Sledgehammer Games. More details are incoming during the game’s Worldwide Reveal livestream on Wednesday, April 26 featuring Sledgehammer Games co-studio heads and founders Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield. Fans will be able to tune in to get a first look at Call of Duty: WWII and get intel on the studio’s vision for the game.

EA PLAY Tickets

An EA Play Registration page is now accepting signups for the second annual EA PLAY event, which will run from June 10-12 in Hollywood, CA. Tickets are free, and attendees will get to play upcoming EA games, including Star Wars Battlefront II, the next Need for Speed, Madden 18, FIFA 18, and NBA Live 18. For those unable to attend, EA plans a 90 minute live stream.

Dawn of War III Trailer; Open Beta Begins

Fragments of War trailer from Dawn of War III whets appetites for next week's release with a look at authentic "not actual gameplay footage" from the real-time strategy sequel. In the meantime, the multiplayer open beta is now underway, so those interested in that should sign up on this page if they have not already. Here's word on the new video:
With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III just one week away, Relic Entertainment and SEGA Europe are pleased to release the Fragments of War trailer. On April 27, the planet Acheron will emerge from the warp, bringing with it the mysterious Spear of Khaine – the powerful weapon that sets Dawn of War III in motion, drawing three familiar faces ever closer to their intertwined fates.

Through its haunting narration, the trailer surfaces the defining features of the story’s core heroes – Gabriel Angelos of the Space Marines, Farseer Macha of the Eldar, and Gorgutz ‘Ead’unter of the Orks. But as each shard twists, doubt is cast over whether those features will propel them to power, or see them left bloodied in defeat.

Dawn of War III’s story will unfold across 17 single-player missions, challenging players to command epic heroes, assemble huge armies, and wage war across a range of hostile environments. In Multiplayer, the scale of battle will hit its peak as players unleash towering war machines and screen-shaking super abilities to defeat their foes.
Continue here to read the full story.

Quake Champions Trailer and Interview

The Quake Champions website has a Galena trailer along with details on this "unholy paladin" champion from id Software's upcoming first-person shooter. Also, a post on Plus Forward breaks down this Russian video revealing some details on a Quake Champions duel mode. Finally, with the closed beta getting back underway on Sunday, German site PC Games offers their interview with Tim Willits, which is in English, a relief to those of us who don't speak German (which probably includes Tim). Thanks Mordecai. Continue here to read the full story.

Gone Gold - Expeditions: Viking

A Steam Community Announcement has news that Expeditions: Viking is gold, which relates to the Conquistador free weekend mentioned this morning (thanks Acleacius). The game is due one week from today, and they offer more details in the announcement:
Logic Artists is pleased to confirm that its much-anticipated release of Expeditions: Viking is on schedule for April 27, 2017. The studio announced this morning that the Gold Version milestone has been reached.

To celebrate, Logic Artists is running a Free Weekend on Steam for its first title in the Expeditions Series – Expeditions: Conquistador. April 21st, 10am PDT.

With the game now out in the hands of the media for review access, the path is set and Expeditions: Viking will be available for purchase in stores and online next week.
Logic Artists Producer Ali Emek says, “After two years of development, we are on track toward our studio’s best release so far. Expeditions: Viking is now feature complete and we’ll be spending the last month of development tightening the screws and polishing the release build, improving on our performance capabilities, and (with the assistance of a large community of closed beta testers) squashing the remaining bugs.”

Creative Director Jonas Waever adds, “It’s been a real journey, and with the positive feedback from our recent trip to PAX East and from our closed beta, we’re excited to get Expeditions: Viking into our players’ hands. And to celebrate the coming release of our second game in the Expeditions Series we’re giving players a free weekend with Expeditions: Conquistador to get ready for Viking.”

On Sale

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Expeditions: Conquistador Free Weekend

A free weekend is now underway on Steam for Expeditions: Conquistador (thanks Ant), coinciding with a 75% off sale on the Windows, Linux, and OS X RPG. Here's the description of the game, which recreates the influx of savage Spanish conquistadors:
Conquer the New world: In the 16th Century, Spanish explorers and soldiers reached the shores of America. The search for gold, fame, and adventure drove these travelers into a treacherous wilderness where they faced hunger, disease, and dangerous predators. In their wake, the Aztec Empires lay in ruins.

Re-write the history of the Conquistadors: Forge diplomatic alliances with the natives... or crush the savages and bring civilization to the pagan tribes! Create an expedition of individual characters: Choose your followers wisely from over 30 characters, but be careful - they each have their own traits, opinions and moral standards.

Hunt for unimaginable riches and fight intense battles in the unforgiving jungle. In this turn based strategy RPG, a cunning plan is as vital as thoughtful resource management. Expeditions: Conquistador offers a rich storyline separated into two campaigns, challenging players throughout 25+ hours of gameplay. Strategy veterans as well as newbies will find their turn-based El Dorado!

Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae Next Month

TopWare Interactive announces Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae will launch on May 25th, offering DLC for RPG sequel for Windows, OS X, and Linux. In revealing the date, they admit the scope of this project expanded after they announced it over a year ago:
The RPG Phenomenon, Two Worlds II, makes its triumphant return! The creative teams from TopWare Interactive and Reality Pump Studios are excited to present Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae, launching May 25, 2017! So grab your staff, sharpen your blades, and ready your bow; at long last, it’s time to return to Antaloor!

Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae plunges the Hero into a decades-old mystery and a battle against a hideous, ancient evil known as The Tenebrae. The stakes have never been higher, but our hero won’t face this threat alone. Friends and foes both new and old await you, as you fight to discover the truth behind a powerful secret that will shake the Two Worlds universe to its core.

“When we started development on Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae in early 2016, we underestimated how excited our team would be to get back to Antaloor. It took longer than expected, but we ended up with a 10+ hour adventure that is nearly a full sized release! Due to how large Call of the Tenebrae became, we’ve decided to release our game as an add-on to Two Worlds II, in addition to a standalone version for fans both new and old.” - Alexandra Constandache, CEO TopWare Interactive

Play through 10+ hours of thrilling gameplay and experience Antaloor like never before with a major HD engine update! Packed with new locations, enemies, weapons and achievements, Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae will be released for the PC, Mac, Linux and the Steam OS.

Steep Expansion Next Month

UbiBlog announces the Winterfest expansion for Steep will arrive on May 3rd. This will add new content and challenges to the extreme wintersports game. Here's a trailer, and here's the announcement:
Being able to careen down rocky slopes on skis and snowboards is fun, but soon, Steep’s Alps-wide winter playground will feature something new: the raw childhood thrill of plunging downhill on a sled. On May 3, the Winterfest add-on content brings the Winter Sled sport to Steep’s open world, opening up new ways to explore along with new challenges, outfits, and even bosses.

Centered around its titular sports festival, Winterfest opens up a new adventure through the Alps, giving you the chance to test your skills against larger-than-life foes while participating in 21 new Winterfest challenges. You’ll also be able to trick out your athletes with new customization items, including more than 10 new costumes guaranteed to help you stand out on the slopes. And, of course, you’ll be able to travel freely on the sled, just like you can with skis, snowboards, wingsuits, and paragliders.

Winterfest will be available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC to Season Pass and Gold Edition owners, and can also be purchased separately for $11.99.
Continue here to read the full story.

ELEX Trailer

ELEX is on display in a new prologue trailer from the upcoming science-fiction action/RPG. This is largely concept art accompanied by a narration that that sets the story for the game. The description has a bit on this, explaining that after the Earth is stuck by a comet, and society is reformed by game designers who assign everyone into factions. Or something like that. Here's the official website and here's word:
Developed by Piranha Bytes, creators of the award-winning Gothic and Risen series, ELEX is a handcrafted action role-playing experience set in a post-apocalyptic science-fantasy universe, and puts players into a huge, seamless open world full of original characters, mutated creatures, deep moral choices and powerful action. From swords and axes to bows, crossbows and harpoons, ELEX offers one of the widest selection of weaponry in the history of role-playing. Pick up a shotgun, power up a plasma rifle or unleash a flame thrower – there’s a weapon and combat style for every fighter out there. Then find a companion, choose a faction and influence the world; in ELEX, every choice will forge the future of your game.
Continue here to read the full story.

Morning Crowdfunding Roundup

  • Pixel Worlds -- Steam Greenlight. "Pixel Worlds, a new massively multiplayer social sandbox game made by Finnish mobile studio Kukouri goes to Steam Greenlight. The game was released in App Store and Google Play Store in January 2017 and has got over million downloads on mobile platforms. In Pixel Worlds players can create their own worlds with building blocks and different items that range from traps to clothing items. Players can also build platform levels for others to play, marketplaces for trading the ingame items and whatever their imagination can come up with."

Game Reviews

Hardware Reviews

Out of the Blue

Well, the fits and starts of us fixing up the BlueTower to put it on the market seem to be ready to start again after being mostly fits lately. We have located a new contractor who should be able to start within a few weeks, which is the contractor version of immediately. He comes highly recommended, so we're optimistic things will work out. Of course we were also optimistic about the guy we ended up firing, but I'm trying not to think about that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

R.I.P.: Cuba Gooding Sr. Dead: Report.

Fitful Links: Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play: 99 Balls.
Stories: Elon Musk Is Seriously Starting a “Telepathy” Company.
Fox revives 'The X-Files' ... again.
Science: Watch the European Space Agency's terrifying new film 'Space Debris: A Journey to Earth.'
Images: First Photos from "Game of Thrones" S7.
Media: Sedan Dragged By Truck For Miles Down Freeway. Zero fs taken to a new level.
Crawl through a B-29 Superfortress IN FLIGHT!.
4 Revolutionary Riddles Resolved.
Follow-up: Subway files defamation suit against CBC over reports. Thanks Slashdot.
The Funnies: xkcd: Survivorship Bias.
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