Archived News:

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Keystone Announced

Digital Extremes announces Keystone, an upcoming free-to-play multiplayer shooter that looks for a new take on the concept with a deck-building strategy component. If you're interested, you can sign up for closed alpha testing on the Keystone website, where they are accepting alias reservations. They explain that this is being handled by a separate team from WARFRAME, and say the first testing will get underway this week:
With the look and feel of the 1970's retro-pulp era, Keystone will take players on a journey through a multi-verse that begins on the starting square of an intriguing, mystical board game. Players will wield unique decks of cards throughout the match that offer handy benefits, amazing powers, and fearsome weapons. With timing and resourcefulness, personally customized decks give players the upper hand in battle both individually and when strategically coupled with teammates' decks. To find out more and to participate alongside the developers in building the concept of Keystone, sign up for the Closed Alpha today.

First-wave players will be notified this week on Thursday, May 25 to download and prepare for the first Closed Alpha session beginning Friday and ending Monday, May 26-29.

"The long-running success of Warframe has enabled us to build up a second internal team to create a wholly different but equally satisfying game concept that we're really excited about," said Sheldon Carter, studio head at Digital Extremes. "Keystone originates from our roots in the FPS world and mixing genres like we have done with Warframe. We believe there's room to expand the confines of what defines a good FPS and hope our community will see the potential and get on board for the ride."

Mirage: Arcane Warfare Released

Steam now offers Mirage: Arcane Warfare, a new multiplayer FPS featuring melee combat from Torn Banner Studios, developer of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. This cinematic trailer features an animated introduction to the game's lore, and the launch trailer takes a look at actual gameplay. Here's word on the game, including how both it and its predecessor are on sale:
Torn Banner Studios, creators of the popular first-person medieval melee slasher Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, are excited to announce that Mirage: Arcane Warfare is available at 10:00 AM PDT on Steam for Windows PC. The skill-based multiplayer FPS captures the true destructive power of magic and melee combat with the tight control of a first-person shooter.

Taking the ultraviolence and complex melee combat of Chivalry to the next level, Torn Banner provides Mirage’s mystical warriors an arsenal of magic and swords to annihilate their adversaries. The long-awaited release of the online multiplayer action game transports players to an Arabian-inspired fantastical world, where a full-scale war has erupted over the destiny of Bashrahn and the powerful magic of the Jinn.

To celebrate the launch and welcome fans to the mystical realm of Mirage: Arcane Warfare, Torn Banner is offering players a 10% discount for both editions of Mirage and has released new images and two exciting new trailers for the game.
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Portal Knights Released

The Portal Knights website announces this sandbox action/RPG is out of early access and now officially available for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The Windows edition is available on Steam, where they offer this post on all that's new in version 1.0. This trailer accompanies the release, and the announcement has loads of details:
Portal Knights, the cooperative action-RPG developed by Keen Games and published by 505 Games, launches today in North America on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One after refining the gameplay experience in Steam’s Early Access program over the last year. In Early Access, Keen Games gathered critical feedback from the community to iterate and improve Portal Knights for its official release, helping them create an imaginative 3D sandbox world with a focus on tactical action combat and RPG levelling. The developer added new content for players, ranging from larger islands to additional timed events, on a near-monthly basis for more than a year. 505 Games and Keen Games remain committed to listening to community feedback after the game releases and plan to add more content and new features on a regular basis.

“We want to thank everyone who participated in our Early Access phase; you were instrumental in bringing the world of Portal Knights from concept to completion,” said Antony Christoulakis, Keen Games. “Steam’s Early Access program helped us create a polished, immersive game by connecting us with our fans so we could gather their valuable feedback before bringing the game to console. We are very happy with the results, and welcome PS4 and Xbox One players to join the adventure with our official launch!”

In Portal Knights, players will begin their journey as a Warrior, Mage or Ranger, then level-up their character and craft powerful gear and resources to defeat formidable monsters and epic bosses in real-time combat. Featuring four-person cooperative online multiplayer and two-player local split-screen action, Portal Knights allows players to work with friends or family to build structures, explore dungeons and overcome challenging perils together. Knights can travel between randomly generated 3D sandbox worlds on daring journeys, build a home to show off hard-earned treasures from explorations, and master tactical action combat and powerful talents on their quest to restore peace to the world.

Portal Knights is available for purchase now on Steam for PC, PS4 and Xbox One for $29.99 at physical retail and $19.99 digitally.
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Starpoint Gemini Warlords Released

Starpoint Gemini Warlords has officially launched after about one year of early access for the Windows sci-fi action/strategy game. This is available at retail and via digital distribution from GOG.com and Steam as either a Standard or Digital Deluxe edition. On a related note, there's still one day to get a free copy of Starpoint Gemini 2. The launch trailer offers a look at what to expect, and the announcement has more details:
With Starpoint Gemini Warlords, Little Green Men Games introduces 4X Strategy elements to the Starpoint Gemini franchise. “4X Strategy was the last frontier left to explore.” says Mario Mihokovic, CEO of Little Green Men Games. “Starpoint Gemini and Starpoint Gemini 2 already blurred the lines between Space Sim and RPG and with Warlords we went one step further and added 4X Strategy elements to complement the mix. We’ve implemented a lot of features requested by the Starpoint Gemini 2 community into Warlords and we went above and beyond to deliver a diverse and daring game for the existing community, and for newcomers to the Starpoint Gemini franchise alike.”

Starpoint Gemini Warlords is a unique blend of space sim, RPG and 4X strategy games and incorporates the best features of each genre. Command your starship, send your war fleets into enemy territory, level up, gain skills, engage in branching dialogues, lead your heroic companions into battle, build up your stronghold, trade, mine, salvage and remind your enemies of why they fear you. Strategy from the front lines!
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TrackMania2 Lagoon Released

UbiBlog announces the release of TrackMania2 Lagoon for Windows, the latest expansion for Nadeo's driving game (thanks Frans). The TrackMania series has always featured wild stunts, so it says something that they highlight just how "crazy" things get in the new release. They also say the new mode is part of the demo of the game available through ManiaPlanet. Here's a launch trailer with a look, and here's an explanation:
If you like your driving with a side-order of crazy, Nadeo’s Trackmania2 Lagoon is now available for Windows PC on Uplay, Steam and Maniaplanet.

Lagoon arrives as the fourth part of the Trackmania2 collection (after Valley, Canyon and Stadium), and sees players racing around a stunning tropical island. Lagoon’s tracks will take you from slippery off-road sand and surf, up into the sky across precarious wood and steel roller coasters, and flailing into nothingness as you catch sweet air off preposterous jumps.

The 65 tracks in Lagoon’s connected single player campaign are split across 5 difficulty levels, and are designed to reflect the tropical island’s arcade stylings – with all the stomach-churning leaps, loops, twists and flips you can handle.

You’ll also find 5 multiplayer game modes, including a new official team based mode called Chase. Chase requires players to work together in a chaotic, stoppy startey form of relay: the last of a team’s players to pass through one checkpoint has to be the first through the next – so tactics are about more than pure speed.

As ever, Trackmania² has a heavy focus on content creation and sharing – with built-in editors allowing players to do everything from painting their cars to building their own tracks. The recent upgrade to ManiaPlanet version 4 allows creators to go even further, adding improved scripting, a mesh modeller for the creation of 3D objects in-game, an editor to link user-created tracks into a complete solo campaign, and a title maker to add the personal touch to your creations.

ManiaPlanet 4 also cranks things up behind the scenes, with improved CPU and GPU performance, faster loading times and more.

Fancy giving it a go? Good news! Trackmania2 now has a demo on ManiaPlanet, enabling unlimited free access to multiplayer channels in all the game’s environments (including Lagoon) – and letting you get a feel for things before you push the button for the full version.
Continue here to read the full story.

Steel Division: Normandy 44 Launches

Publisher Paradox and developer Eugen Systems now offer Steel Division: Normandy 44, a real-time strategy game set during World War II. You can get a look at this in the release trailer and pick up a copy on the Paradox Interactive Store. Here's the pitch:
Paradox Interactive, a publisher known for shooting from the hip, today released Steel Division: Normandy 44, a tactical real-time strategy (RTS) game from Eugen Systems, for Windows PCs. Steel Division: Normandy 44, made by the creators of Wargame and R.U.S.E, welcomes players to the world of 1944 World War II-era warfare with detailed and historically accurate weapons, tanks and troops. Players must use their tactical know-how to outmaneuver and outgun the enemy in big multiplayer battles, or go it alone in a hardcore single-player campaign.

Lead legendary divisions from six different countries, such as the American 101st Airborne, the German Armored 21st Panzer, or the 3rd Canadian Division, all based on their actions and capabilities during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Take command of over 400 units armed to the teeth with historically accurate weaponry. Maneuver your troops and push the front line against the enemy in multiplayer battles that feature ranked matches of up to 10-vs-10. Coordinate your selections of infantry, tanks and aircraft to create the ultimate military force and counter the enemy’s units.

Your war chest of features include:

  • Real-world Tactics: Battles accurately reflect the movement of real-world armies with different units that unlock over time. A dynamic front line illustrates the ebb and flow of the conflict as you strategically corner your opponent's infantry to gain the advantage and force a retreat, or fall back to regroup.
  • Deep Strategy: Players have control over everything from battlegroups to troop positioning and maneuvering -- winning battles will call for more than just brute force, requiring real cunning and strategy. Each lost unit presents a growing tactical advantage for your opponent, and players will need to fight to gain -- and keep -- the upper hand.
  • Real-world Setting: Seamlessly control a tactical aerial view to monitor your armies down to a single unit using the latest version of Eugen’s IRISZOOM engine. With 400 different real-world vehicles and units designed with careful detail, Steel Division boasts textbook-ready historical accuracy including maps based on actual aerial reconnaissance photos of Normandy in 1944.

Geneshift Early Access

Early access to Geneshift is now available on Steam, offering the chance to experience this genre-crossing action game. This features top-down GTA2-style driving in a variety of offbeat vehicles and MOBA elements. It also has a compelling development history: "Starting as a GTA2/Diablo mashup, Geneshift eventually evolved into an action extravaganza with enough mutant skills to give Professor Xavier a headache. The turning point came in 2014 when the game was Greenlit on Steam. Solo developer Ben Johnson of Nik Nak Studios decided to quit his day job and go full-time. However, Australia was expensive – so he packed his bags and moved somewhere cheaper: Peru. There, he worked with limited savings until the game was completed; now, after eight years of development, Geneshift has finally reached Steam Early Access." Here's a trailer and here are some details:
Geneshift puts you behind the wheel of a number of crazy vehicles – letting you detonate car bombs and fire out windows for drive-by shootings. Play as a mutant and unlock more than 30 tactical skills such as teleportation, invisibility, and fireballs. Stop a zombie outbreak in the single-player and co-op campaigns – earning cash to level up your character – or face other players in bloody PvP combat. Hop online and play competitively in Conquest, Checkpoint Racing, and Capture the Flag – or compete in leaderboards by speedrunning the campaign as fast as possible.

Feeling more creative than destructive? Make your own sandbox in the built-in level editor: If other people play your level, you’ll unlock special cosmetic items!
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Evening Crowdfunding Roundup

  • Bobby Prince Medical Fund. "It is May 18th, and Bobby is doing well. In the last surgery, they were unable to remove the part of the colon that they wanted to due to a large amount of scar tissue. They did an ileostomy in order for everything to heal. In his most recent colo​noscopy, the surgeon said that everything looked good, but he won't know for sure until the results of biopsies are returned. Please continue with your support, both spiritually and financially, as the bills seem never-ending. God Bless." Thanks Doomworld via Ant.
  • Deep Sixed - A Space Survival Adventure by Little Red Dog Games — Kickstarter. "Deep Sixed is a space survival game where players are given a defective spaceship and a large nebula to map with plenty of mysteries to reveal. As you explore, things will go wrong on your expeditions and you will be expected to make command decisions. You can conduct a distracting and extensive repair, or implement a temporary make-do solution so you can focus on what’s happening outside. You can attack nebula creatures head-on, or study their habits and hope to avoid their attention. Perfect journeys are impossible, and players will find themselves building upon and applying a core set of basic engineering skills to address competing priorities."

On Sale

Evening Previews

Overwatch One Year Anniversary Event

The Overwatch website announces the one-year anniversary event for Blizzard's multiplayer shooter is now underway. They have details on the new Arena maps and loot this brings showing off all the emotes and skins. Here's the intro:
CELEBRATE OVERWATCH’S ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

We’re humbled and honored to commemorate one year of playing Overwatch with you! What better way to mark the occasion than with new maps and lots of new loot?
We’re adding three new Arena maps to the Arcade, and unleashing more than 100 Anniversary rewards, including our largest-ever release of new Legendary skins! You’ll earn Anniversary Loot Boxes as you play, plus pick up a free box when you log in between May 23 and June 12, 2017. Anniversary Loot Boxes are also available for purchase—but they’ll be locked away after the event ends.

Come celebrate with us!

2K Financial Results - GTA5 Passes 80M Sales

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Strong Results for Fiscal Year 2017, showing increases in net revenue and net income. Word is: "Net revenue grew 52% to $571.6 million, as compared to $377.2 million in last year’s fiscal fourth quarter. The largest contributors to net revenue in fiscal fourth quarter 2017 were Mafia III, Grand Theft Auto V® and Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA® 2K17, WWE® 2K17, and Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI." MCV notes that a side announcement reveals that Grand Theft Auto V has now sold more than 80 million copies. Here are the highlights listed for 2K:

  • Launched WWE 2K17 for the PC, and released the title’s supporting Future Stars Pack and Hall of Fame Showcase downloadable add-on content. Developed collaboratively by Yuke's and Visual Concepts, WWE 2K17 has sold-in approximately 3 million units to date.
  • Announced that NBA 2K will feature Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal on the cover of the NBA 2K18 Legend Edition. This special edition will place a spotlight on “The Big Aristotle” with special Shaq-themed memorabilia and content, extending his legacy as the most dominant center in NBA history. NBA 2K18 will be available for PlayStation®4 system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC platforms on September 19, 2017.
  • Released the Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack and the Persia & Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Developed by Firaxis Games, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI received stellar reviews and is the fastest-selling release in the history of the series, with sell-in of nearly 2 million units to date. The title will be supported with additional free and paid downloadable add-on content.
  • Released the Faster Baby! downloadable add-on pack for Mafia III. Developed by Hangar 13, Mafia III will also be supported with the Stones Unturned and Sign of the Times add-on packs that are planned for release during summer 2017.
  • Released WWE SuperCard - Season 3 Update #3 for iOS and Android devices. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, Update #3 is a free update to WWE SuperCard, the popular WWE collectible card-battling game, which has now been downloaded more than 14 million times.

Battlefield 1 Recruits Female Soldiers

A tweet from Battlefield teases In the Name of the Tsar, the upcoming Russian expansion for Battlefield 1 (thanks Rock, Paper, Shotgun). The clip shows Sinead O'Connor in full battle dress, and in another tweet they confirm this expansion will be adding female soldiers to the mix: "The Women’s Battalion of Death is represented by the Russian Scout class." As previously noted, they will unveil more details about the add-on at EA Play 2017 next month.

IO Interactive Layoffs

IO Interactive tweets that they've laid off some staff (thanks Eurogamer). Under two weeks ago Square Enix announced plans to sell the Hitman developer, so this belt-tightening had some warning. Here's the text of the statement, which is presented as an image:
Today at IOI, we had to make some changes to our studio, which will allow us to be better equipped for our future adventures.

We're sad that great talent and good friends will be leaving the studio. We are doing everything possible to look after everyone affected.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Game Reviews

Hardware Reviews

etc.

Out of the Blue

Such sad news about the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert. This kind of stuff is above my pay grade, but I'll just say these are disturbing times, and one can only hope that we can figure out the right balance between safety and freedom in the face of such horrors.

Sad Links: Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play: Left Behind.
Stories: Manchester Arena attack- ISIS claims concert blast.
Justice League director Zack Snyder steps down due to family tragedy - Joss Whedon to take over.
Universal’s Dark Universe risks being yet another extended universe franchise.
Science: New data is in on mystery star's recent weirdness.
A drink a day tied to higher breast cancer risk, report says.
Media: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Final Performance.
Watch out for the oil on the track. A new sport is born.
Virtual BFFs.
Follow-up: Flat-Earther's "Experiment" Goes Viral, Just Not In The Way He'd Hoped.
Botulism Confirmed in California Nacho Cheese Outbreak. So people really do eat that melted plastic.
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