Archive - 2014

Total War: ROME II – Emperor Edition Announced

2014/08/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

TWRII_EE_Campaign_MarcAntony_1409136779 copy

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – August 29, 2014 – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe, Ltd. today announced Total War™: ROME II – Emperor Edition, the definitive edition of the best-selling game in the Total War™ series from Creative Assembly.

Emperor Edition collects together all free content to date, which includes wide-ranging revisions, additions to game features and adds a brand new Campaign Pack expansion, ‘Imperator Augustus’.
Most importantly, existing ROME II players will receive all of the above content via automatic update on the day of launch, upgrading them to Emperor Edition at no cost.

The new ‘Imperator Augustus’ Campaign Pack adds hundreds of hours of sandbox gameplay across a new campaign map reflecting the geopolitical boundaries of the Second Triumvirate War. Players will determine the outcome of a vast civil war, which saw Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus vying to become the very first Emperor of Rome.

Alongside all feature updates from launch (including Twitch.tv integration, touch controls, new factions, new units and now the Mac version), Emperor Edition also features an improved politics system, overhauled building chains, rebalanced battles, and improved visuals in both campaign and battle.

Mike Simpson, Creative Director of the Total War team, said: “ROME II was far and away our most ambitious game. We see more people playing, and playing for longer, than any other game in the Total War series. However, we take our players’ feedback very seriously. Through the multitude of improvements and free content updates we’ve brought to ROME II since its launch, we’ve worked hard to try and meet their expectations. We want Emperor Edition to be remembered as one of our finest games.”

The design of Emperor Edition was led by Jack Lusted, Development Lead of CA’s New Content Team. “With the Imperator Augustus Campaign Pack, we wanted to recreate the vast civil war which erupted after Julius Caesar’s murder,” said Lusted. “You can tackle the campaign as various Roman and non-Roman factions, including Armenia for the first time. Our aim was to represent the titanic power struggle that led to Octavian becoming the first Emperor of Rome. It’s a pretty epic campaign, and it’s great that we can offer this to existing ROME II players for free as a thanks for their support”.

For more information about Emperor Edition and the’ Imperator Augustus’ Campaign Pack, please tune in to the latest episode of community show Rally Point which aired today: http://youtu.be/aukvxuZ1VcM

Screenshots

Costume Quest 2 Steam Pre-Order Info and PAX Trailer

2014/08/29
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Halloween, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

CostumeQuest2_Logo

August 29, 2014 — Midnight City and Double Fine have cooked up two killer deals for Costume Quest fans on Steam. Starting this weekend, good boys and girls can pre-order in two ways. The first at $14.99 features Costume Quest 2 and four classic costumes, or for $19.99 get the exclusive costumes plus the original Costume Quest game & Grubbins on Ice DLC. That’s a crazy good deal!

PAX Prime 2014 Trailer

The four classic costumes making a return from the original include Robot, Unicorn, Eyeball and Pumpkin – each featuring their signature moves! Mow through Kronys with the Robot’s ‘Missile Barage’ or bring back KO’d friends with the Unicorn’s ‘My Pretty Panacea.’ Pumpkin can devastate groups with an ‘All Hallows Eve’ wind attack, while the Eyeball unleashes tears of fury via the ‘EYE-agra Falls’ ability.

Check the details below and creep over to our new splash site at www.costumequest2.com for the latest news and watch the new trailer to get a first look at Costume Quest 2 gameplay.

$14.99* Bundle

  • Costume Quest 2 (PC/Mac/Linux)
  • Exclusive Costumes from original: Robot, Unicorn, Eyeball & Pumpkin

$19.99* Costume Quest 1 & 2 Bundle

  • Costume Quest
  • Grubbins on Ice DLC
  • Costume Quest 2 (PC/Mac/Linux)
  • Exclusive Costumes from original: Robot, Unicorn, Eyeball & Pumpkin

We’re up in Seattle, WA at PAX Prime 2014 this weekend offering the first Costume Quest 2 hands-on, so if you’re at the show stop by the Midnight City Booth (#6808) or the Double Fine Booth (#117) and check it out! You could win a sweet Midnight City Shirt or a Limited Edition Costume Quest Tote!

Costume Quest 2 is rated E10+ and is expected to launch on Steam and consoles this October.

For more information on Midnight City or any of our games, please visit our website: www.midnight-city.com

Twitter: @Midnight_City https://twitter.com/Midnight_City
Casey Lynch Twitter: @Lynchtacular https://twitter.com/lynchtacular
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midnightcitygames
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MidnightCityEnt

Crimes and Punishments Interrogation Trailer

2014/08/29
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

crimes-and-punishments

August 29, 2014 — Not content with merely examining crime scenes, Sherlock Holmes in Crimes & Punishments – your new investigation game for PS4®, PS3®, Xbox One®, Xbox 360® and PC from Frogwares coming on September 30th – showcases a unique set of skills aimed at cataloguing facts about a person by their appearance, which may raise doubts about their claims and stories.

Re-evaluating clues gained from interrogations, physical evidence, observations and crime-scenes will unlock further paths of deduction, and lead to more clues and dialogue options. During interrogation scenes, you’ll be able to interject, and support your argument by selecting the piece of evidence that supports your case. Successfully doing so will leave the suspect astounded, and they’ll soon crumble in the face of Holmes’ skills, and your wits, eventually revealing more information about the case.

Across six unique cases, you’ll meet up to five suspects per investigation, all of whom could logically be connected to the crime, enough to have committed it. Each suspect can be convicted, and in some cases suspects can be convicted together, so it’s imperative that detectives develop an understanding of the characters and their backgrounds to supplement information gained from examining crime scenes, in order to build the clearest picture from which to deduce the most likely culprit.

Crimes and Punishments is coming to the PS4®, PS3®, Xbox One®, Xbox 360®, and PC, on September 30th.

Star Conflict Invasion Mode Launch Date

2014/08/29
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

StarConflict_Invasion

August 29, 2014 — Stock up now for the ‘Invasion’ launch event during the limited-time sale, starting today in the Star Conflict game shop!

The anticipated release of Star Conflict, including free access to the new ‘Invasion Mode’, is officially set for September 4, 2014. In celebration of the launch, Star Gem, Inc and Gaijin Entertainment have announced a special sale running from now until launch day to help players stock up on supplies for the ‘Invasion’ pre-launch event, currently underway for closed beta testers.

Starting today, players with closed beta access have a week to defend their home bases against scores of aliens to win prizes. With increased award-earning opportunities by getting in early and the special pre-launch sale, now is the best time to join the ranks of defenders. Players new to the fray can access the Invasion Mode Closed Beta by earning in-game achievements “Detachment of Prometheus” and “The Voyage of the Galaxy”.

After September 4, 2014, Star Conflict opens for all gamers – Invasion Mode is unlockable – and the ‘Invasion’ event continues for one more week, allowing all players to join the battle and defend their home bases against the alien onslaught.

Currently in Closed Beta, Invasion Mode features an underlying story in which an alien race that disappeared into another dimension of space and time has now returned to invade and conquer. Players must team up in parties of four to explore the new ‘Open Space’ area and combine forces as they take on new quests and engage in PvP and PvE battles. These new activities provide new loot, which players can use to construct unique armament options and protection for their spaceships.

Star Conflict is currently in Open Beta and puts players at the helm of an intergalactic spaceship to fight in the star fleet’s massive battles!

Find out more about Star Conflict here http://gaijin.ru/en/games/starconflict/.

Six Flags Great Adventure Announces New Coaster and Bigger Fright Fest in 2015

2014/08/28
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Halloween, News

fright-fest-1

JACKSON, NJ — August 28, 2014 — Six Flags Great Adventure, the world’s largest theme park, plans for more roller coaster thrills and Halloween scares in 2015. The 510-acre theme park, which was recently voted America’s second best theme park by USA TODAY readers, debuts the park’s thirteenth roller coaster — Looping Dragon, and expands its notoriously scary Fright Fest Halloween festival.

Looping Dragon Roars into Six Flags

In 2015, Six Flags Great Adventure introduces its thirteenth roller coaster, Looping Dragon. Twenty-four riders sitting in “face-off” seats rocket forward and backward pendulum style until the train gains enough momentum to complete a full revolution seven stories in the air. The coaster then kicks into high gear, completing full revolutions until it stops momentarily with riders suspended upside down, and then reverses direction for even more thrills.

Looping Dragon joins the park’s Golden Kingdom section, which is home to the world’s tallest and fastest drop ride, Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, and the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka.

“Looping Dragon is a great addition to our diverse roller coaster collection because it delivers speed and thrills that appeal to both our younger and more experienced thrill-seekers alike,” said Park President John Fitzgerald. The park’s roller coaster collection includes three of the world’s top roller coasters — Kingda Ka, El Toro and Nitro — plus unique coaster experiences that allow Guests to fly head first, stand and ride floorless.Looping Dragon will have a 48-inch height requirement. The ride is expected to debut in the late spring of 2015.

Fright Fest Terrorizes with Two New Indoor Mazes

The Northeast’s largest Halloween party will become even larger in 2015 with the addition of two new indoor haunt mazes and two additional operating days.

Circus Psycho, the park’s creepy clown section, introduces Big Top Terror, a 3-D, black light experience. Guests don 3-D glasses and wind their way through dark, disorienting halls, not knowing what is real or simply an illusion. “Big Top Terror will be a coulrophobiac’s worst nightmare,” said Tony Mandile, Fright Fest’s special effects expert.

Across the park in Movietown, guests can experience the terror and anxiety of death row in Condemned. Once they enter the dismal halls of this maximum security prison, they must fight to make it out alive.

Fright Fest runs weekends plus Columbus Day September 18 through November 1, 2015.

New Outdoor Grill and Upgraded Cabana Cove at Hurricane Harbor

Guests can enjoy the delicious smell and taste of freshly-grilled food when Six Flags Hurricane Harbor debuts its new, outdoor grill. This open-air kitchen will feature giant turkey legs, hot dogs, hamburgers and Mexican-style steak. The park will also introduce an upgraded Cabana Cove, with new, luxury cabanas surrounded by a lush, tropical landscape.

For more information about upcoming 2015 Six Flags rides and attractions, including a video highlighting the new rides and attractions, visit www.sixflags.com/2015news.

2015 Season Passes at Lowest Price of the Year

Six Flags is also announcing the start of 2015 Season Pass sales with a limited time offer thru Labor Day weekend featuring the lowest prices of the year on 2015 Passes. August 28 through November 2, guests will receive a free upgrade to a Gold Season Pass with each two-pack Pass purchased. Gold Season Passes include admission to both Six Flags Great Adventure and Hurricane Harbor, and any other Six Flags theme park, as well as free parking and special admission offers for friends. Great discounts are available for renewing Season Pass holders. 2015 Season Passes provide unlimited visits any operating day for the rest of 2014 (including park admission to Fright Fest®) and all of 2015.

About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest regional theme park company with $1.1 billion in revenue and 18 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. For 53 years, Six Flags has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks and unique attractions including up-close animal encounters, Fright Fest® and Holiday in the Park®. For more information, visit www.sixflags.com.

Defense Grid 2 Demo at Pax and New Screenshots

2014/08/28
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

DefenseGrid2_Release 2014-08-01 14-42-05-74

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Aug. 27, 2014 – 505 Games and Hidden Path Entertainment today announced that the full version of Defense Grid 2, the sequel to the 2008 tower defense critical hit, will be shown for the first time during PAX Prime,August 29 – September 1, in Seattle. Attendees eager to lay out their strategies before the game’s September 23 launch can visit the 505 Games booth (#6011) to get a hands-on look on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Pre-orders of Defense Grid 2 on Steam continue to gain momentum, with the likelihood of a new reward tier opening up this week. In Tier 2 of the campaign, consumers can receive ten percent off of the launch price, immediate access to the beta (currently only for Windows users), a copy of Defense Grid: The Awakening and its Containment expansion*, a digital copy of the original Defense Grid art book and a 50% off coupon for Hidden Path’s new social sandbox game Windborne (currently in Early Access).

For more information on Defense Grid 2 please visit  http://www.hiddenpath.com/games/defense-grid-2/

New PAX Screenshots

BenQ to Unveil Next-Gen RevolutionEyes Gaming Monitors at PAX

2014/08/28
Jerry Paxton
News, Tech News

BenQ_XL2420G

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Aug. 27, 2014 — BenQ America Corp., a globally renowned LED and gaming monitor expert, today announced that the company will showcase the latest addition to its highly acclaimed XL Series of RevolutionEyes™ professional gaming monitors at PAX Prime in Seattle. Shipping just in time for the competition, the new XL2430T debuts as BenQ’s next evolution in first-person shooter (FPS) purpose-built gaming monitors with new and enhanced features such as Motion Blur Reduction 2.0 and Black eQualizer 2.0 to boost gaming performance. In addition, the highly anticipated XL2420G will be on display featuring NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology to eliminate performance issues related to image tearing, stuttering, and latency — providing gamers with the ultimate in smooth, fast-action play to conQuer any gaming situation.

As a tournament gaming monitor sponsor, PAX Prime participants will battle it out using BenQ’s RL and XL Series of professional displays. The company will have the best and brightest of its gaming monitors on display and for sale at the event, with special at-show pricing for attendees. Along with raffles and giveaways taking place at BenQ’s booth in Annex level 3 in the PC area, the company will be engaging gamers and show goers via a number of social media contests. The now sold-out PAX Prime 2014 gaming event attracts more than 70,000 attendees and is being held at the Washington State Convention Center from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. The annual convention brings together vendors, pros, developers, and enthusiasts from all over the world to experience the latest in video game technology.

“We connected with the gaming community at PAX East, and PAX Prime offers an even greater opportunity to engage with players and innovators that drive the industry,” said Bob Wudeck, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at BenQ America Corp. “PAX Prime is an ideal venue to debut our latest RevolutionEyes professional gaming monitors, which feature a slew of new gaming modes and long-awaited G-Sync technology. All of our gaming monitors are engineered exclusively to enhance game play, giving users the best possible experience at home or in competition.”

At PAX Prime, BenQ will unveil the new XL2430T 24-inch widescreen full HD display. Already a 2014 reddot award winner, the XL2430T combines BenQ’s world-renowned gaming-focused solutions in addition to new and improved enhancements. The XL2430T offers 100 percent precise control inside and out, featuring BenQ’s Motion Blur Reduction 2.0 technology to ensure an ultra-smooth, blur-free and lag-free gaming experience. With the newly improved Black eQualizer 2.0, the XL2430T is able to detect the input source and automatically adjust the amount of brightness in the game within the range selected by the user. As a result, players can identify targets effortlessly and react quickly to any in-game situation without taking time out for manual adjustments. Additionally, the XL2430T boasts new features on top of BenQ’s signature Game Mode Loader, Display Mode, and Smart Scaling. These include an Auto Game Mode that detects the genre of the game being played and either switches the display setting to the corresponding game mode automatically or makes new game mode recommendations for download. A new Game Mode to Go also allows gamers to save game modes onto a USB flash drive for easy and simple transport. Game modes can even be shared via cloud storage or social media platforms for group sharing, collaboration, and ultimate domination.

BenQ will also showcase the highly anticipated XL2420G G-Sync gaming monitor, which promises virtually lag-free gaming and releases later in the year. The 24-inch widescreen full HD display features expanded connectivity and the same award-winning G-Sync technology recognized by Reviewed.com with CES Editors’ Choice when the monitor was shown for the first time. While most monitors only have a single Display Port, the XL2420G offers dual HDMI®, DVI, as well as Display Port. In addition, the monitor’s new G-Sync Mode enables smooth, low-latency gaming that creates more lifelike on-screen action to augment the gaming experience. By synchronizing the display’s refresh rate to the graphic card’s GPU, G-Sync technology eliminates screen tearing for better graphic integrity, minimizes stutter for smoother gaming, and reduces input lag. The results are scenes that display instantly, sharper object resolutions, and smoother overall game play.

Featuring BenQ’s exclusive RevolutionEyes technology for exceptional monitor performance, both monitors house a new direct LED-backlight system with ZeroFlicker™ technology to eliminate flickering at all brightness levels, letting gamers protect their eyes during extended periods of use. With Motion Blur Reduction 2.0 the blurring effects and associated eye fatigue are dramatically reduced, while BenQ’s unique Low Blue Light modes enable the monitors to successfully manage the exposure of emitted blue spectrum light, resulting in more comfortable viewing. The displays’ gaming refresh rate optimization management (GROM) systems give gamers the freedom to custom-build their personal gaming experiences according to viewing preferences such as refresh rates (100/120/144Hz), resolutions, and screen sizes. With blazing-fast 1-ms GTG response times, the XL Series monitors offer the ultimate in fast-action play with striking visual clarity and seamless motion fluidity for hours of full-on gaming.

The XL2430T is now shipping at an MSRP of $449. The XL2420G releases in Q4 2014 at an MSRP of $649. For the full lineup of BenQ’s gaming monitors, visit gaming.benq.com. For more information about PAX Prime, visit http://prime.paxsite.com/.

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