Archive - 2014

Futuremark Announces 3DMark Sky Diver Benchmark

2014/05/28
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

3dmark-sky-diver-screenshot-3

HELSINKI, FINLAND – May 28, 2014 – Futuremark today announced 3DMark Sky Diver, a new DirectX 11 benchmark test for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs. 3DMark Sky Diver is the ideal test for benchmarking systems with mainstream DirectX 11 graphics cards, mobile GPUs, or integrated graphics. A preview trailer for the new benchmark shows a wingsuited woman skydiving into a mysterious, uncharted location. The scene is brought to life with tessellation, particles and advanced post-processing effects. Sky Diver will be shown in full at Computex from June 3-7, or find out more on the Futuremark website: http://www.futuremark.com/3dmark

Sky Diver trailer:

Screenshots: http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark#skydiver

Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO said,
“Some people think that 3DMark is only for high-end hardware and extreme overclocking. Yet millions of PC gamers rely on 3DMark to choose systems that best balance performance, efficiency and affordability. 3DMark Sky Diver complements our other tests by providing the ideal benchmark for gaming laptops and mainstream PCs.”

3DMark – The Gamer’s Benchmark for all your hardware

  • 3DMark is the only benchmark that offers a range of tests for different classes of hardware:
  • Fire Strike, for high performance gaming PCs (DirectX 11, feature level 11)
  • Sky Diver, for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs (DirectX 11, feature level 11)
  • Cloud Gate, for notebooks and typical home PCs (DirectX 11 feature level 10)
  • Ice Storm, for tablets and entry level PCs (DirectX 11 feature level 9)
  • With 3DMark, you can benchmark the full performance range of modern DirectX 11 graphics hardware. Where Fire Strike is like a modern game on ultra high settings, Sky Diver is closer to a DirectX 11 game played on normal settings. This makes Sky Diver the best choice for benchmarking entry level to mid-range systems and Fire Strike the perfect benchmark for high performance gaming PCs.

See 3DMark Sky Diver in full at Computex

3DMark Sky Diver will be on display on the ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, Galaxy, Inno3D, and G-Skill booths at Computex, June 3-7.

S.Y. Shian, ASUS Vice President & General Manager of Notebook Business Unit said,
“We are proud to partner with Futuremark to show 3DMark Sky Diver at Computex. Sky Diver helps PC gamers choose systems that offer great performance and great value. We invite everyone to visit our stand to experience 3DMark Sky Diver on a range of new ASUS products.”

Coming soon

Sky Diver will be released as an update for all editions of 3DMark, including the free 3DMark Basic Edition. Further details, including the release date, will be announced at Computex and on Futuremark’s website: http://www.futuremark.com/3dmark

Watch Dogs Sets Ubisoft Sales Record

2014/05/28
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

watch-dogs-ps4-screen-3

PARIS, FRANCE – May 28, 2014 – Today, Ubisoft announced that Watch Dogs sold through more copies in its first 24 hours of availability than any previous title in the company’s history*.

Players were understandably eager to get their hands on Watch Dogs, one of the most anticipated and critically-acclaimed titles of 2014. Reviews praised Watch Dogs’ hacking gameplay, breadth of content, seamless nature and the depth of the open-world experience. Notable reviews included the following:

  • “Original and compelling gameplay, intelligent level design and immersion guaranteed.” ² – Jeuxvideo.com, 18 out of 20
  • “It’s huge, diverse and intricately detailed.” ³ – IGN, 8.4 out of 10
  • “Watch Dogs was so well received at E3 2012 not for its looks, but what it promised: a truly new way to play open-world games in which the concept of agency extends beyond choosing where to go and what to do next. And whether you’re on foot, behind the wheel or in combat, Watch Dogs delivers on that promise.” ¹ – Edge, 8 out of 10
  •  “Impressive.” 4– The Escapist, 9 out of 10

Ubisoft’s co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot weighed in on Watch Dogs’ early success, saying, “Watch Dogs is an amazing achievement and our teams should be proud that the creativity, innovation and long hours they invested in making this game are paying off. It’s great to see so many players enjoying the game, and it shows that Watch Dogs has cracked the code for developing a new blockbuster IP and a thoroughly new-gen experience.”

Watch Dogs is set in Chicago and lets players become Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker seeking justice following a violent family tragedy. Pearce hacks into Chicago’s Central Operating System (ctOS), which controls the city’s infrastructure (security cameras, traffic lights, public transportation and more) as well as key data on the city’s residents. The game uses the all-new Disrupt game engine to deliver stunning visuals and an incredibly immersive world.

For more information about Watch Dogs, please visit the official website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

Bethesda Announces Battlecry

2014/05/28
Jerry Paxton
News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

cossack_rampage

May 28, 2014 (Rockville, MD) — Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced BATTLECRY™, an all-new multiplayer action combat game featuring fast-paced and frenetic 32-player battles under development at BattleCry Studios.

BATTLECRY is the first project for the studio since it was formed in 2012 with one goal: to create fun, high-quality online experiences for a connected world. Led by long-time industry veteran Rich Vogel, the team at BattleCry Studios is comprised of seasoned developers with decades of experience working on critically-acclaimed action and competitive multiplayer franchises. Together they have created BATTLECRY – a fun and accessible free-to-play game that amplifies team-based combat by combining visceral brutality, striking art direction and competitive multiplayer action to create a refreshingly new gameplay experience.

Step into a bold, expressive world envisioned by Viktor Antonov (Half-Life 2, Dishonored) where gun powder has been banned following a cataclysmic world war at the dawn of the 20th century. Traditional warfare is now a relic of the past and all conflicts are settled head-on by elite teams of chosen warriors in sanctioned WarZones. Trained and bred for battle they face off for the glory of their nations.

Choose your faction and progress your warrior through the ranks. Each rank unlocks new abilities and effects allowing deep strategic builds for your warrior on every level. Risk life and limb as the powerful Royal Marines or the fearless Cossacks in imaginative WarZones each designed to combine positioning, spacing and verticality to redefine your core combat experience. Fight with transformative melee and ranged weapons that harness iron and energy and eviscerate your opponents with swords that transform into shields, bows that can punch an arrow straight through an armored skull or electrocute your foes with high powered blades crackling with electro-static energy.

“The BattleCry team is happy to unveil the game that bears our studio’s name,” said Rich Vogel, president and executive producer at BattleCry Studios. “We have been hard at work to create a fresh experience for gamers that brings together multiplayer action with visually stunning combat and are excited to share details about the game and have people play BATTLECRY in Bethesda’s booth at E3.”

The official announcement trailer can be seen today on BATTLECRY’s official site: www.battlecrythegame.com.

The beta for BATTLECRY is set to begin in 2015 for PC. BATTLECRY has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Announcement Trailer

Dragon Age: Inquisition – First Look at: Halamshiral

2014/05/27
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News, Xbox One News

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Bioware has posted up a new blog entry showing off Halamshiral and the Winter Palace which will be featured in their upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. Be sure to check our their posting to get the full rundown on this location.

From the Official Blog Post

Civil war has ravaged the Orlesian countryside for months, but you’d never know it in Halamshiral. The nobles carry on as they always have, seemingly unaffected by the chaos surrounding them. You certainly won’t hear the merchants complain about that, though. Not so long as the sovereigns continue to line their pockets.

So, with opposing forces engaged in battle outside the city walls, why has the Inquisition come to Halamshiral?

Swordsman Closed Beta Test Coming in June

2014/05/27
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

swordsman-1

(Redwood City, CA) May 27, 2014 — Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of widely-acclaimed free-to-play MMORPGs, is pleased to announce that Swordsman is entering closed beta from June 16, 2014 through June 27, 2014. Players who register now will receive access to the closed beta, as well as unlocking exclusive items for use in this highly anticipated free-to-play martial arts and wuxia-inspired MMORPG.

Players can register for the Swordsman closed beta here: www.PlaySwordsman.com

More information on Swordsman can be found here: community.arcgames.com/en/news/swordsman

Swordsman is a free-to-play martial arts and wuxia-inspired MMORPG, set in the rich universe based on the immensely popular wuxia novels of award-winning novelist Louis Cha, who has sold over 100 million books worldwide. As a disciple of one of Swordsman’s ten class-defining martial art schools, players begin their journey to master legendary fighting skills by engaging in fierce action-packed combat with members of rival schools and the powerful Ming government.

Explore the world of Swordsman through our social links:

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

 

The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot Gets Watch Dogs Crossover

2014/05/27
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

MQEL_Screenshot_Watch_Dogs_Logo_1401208839 copy

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – May 27, 2014 – Today, Ubisoft® announced a crossover between The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot and Watch_Dogs™, the highly anticipated open-world hacking game. To celebrate the launch of Watch_Dogs, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot unveiled unique Watch_Dogs content, including new branded weapons, clothing and bandanas for each of the four character classes and a Watch_Dogs Castle theme.

This content is available for a limited time and can be found both in-game, as individual items, and through a special pack that contains all of the exclusive Watch_Dogs content. Starting today and running until July 1st, players will be able to deck out all four characters and their Castle in Watch_Dogs gear.

Players are also invited to test their hacking and looting skills in the newly created level 12 “Watch_Dogs” Castle in the Bling’s Landing region. Beware of traps, because this Chicago-inspired castle is full of them!

To join the looting madness, sign up on the official website:  www.themightyquest.com.

Sacred 3 Trailer and Release Date

2014/05/27
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 3 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News

Sacred 3_14_CBS copy

Larkspur, Calif., May 27, 2014 – Prepare to enter the fantasy realm of Ancaria. Today Deep Silver announced that Sacred 3 will storm into retailers on August 5 for for the Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows® PC and PlayStation®3. and PC. Sacred 3 is the third installment in the Sacred universe where good is pitted against evil in a timeless battle filled with non-stop action and the chance to become the ultimate hero. Featuring incredibly immersive and engaging drop in/drop out seamless co-op gameplay, players must outperform and outshine their teammates in epic battles where victories are shared, but glory can only belong to one. Pre-orders for Sacred 3 are now available with exclusive bonuses for fans in North America.

All fans who pre-order Sacred 3 will be able to jump into Ancaria primed for battle with the playable Malakhim character, who uses mysterious blood magic to combat the armies of Emperor Zane. Additionally, fans that purchase Sacred 3 at GameStop will receive the Underworld Story mission pack, the playable Malakhim character and the exclusive Z4ngr13f Weapon Spirit.

Weapon Spirits are a brand new addition to the Sacred universe in Sacred 3. Players will be able to enhance their weapons with these upgradable and interchangeable weapon augmentations, each with their own unique buffs and debuffs. Certain Weapon Spirits even take the form of previous characters from the Sacred franchise, to help aid players of Sacred 3 in their fight against the hordes of evil.

Sacred 3 features classic arcade Hack ‘n’ Slash action centered around drop in/drop out cooperative multiplayer for both offline (2 players) and online (4 players) play. The game brings back favorite characters such as the Seraphim, Ancarian, Khukuri and the Safiri, and introduces the aforementioned new character, Malakhim. Each character class features its own unique skills and weapons that can be upgraded to match the player’s very own combat style. Master the art of war and fight through enemy hordes and try to outshine fellow companions on the way to become the greatest hero of all.

Victory Is Ours. Glory is Mine.

For more information about Sacred 3, please visit our social channels:
Official Website: www.sacred-world.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sacredworld
YouTube: www.youtube.com/sacredworld
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sacred_world

Trailer

The Evil Within Pushed Back and Pre-Order Incentive Details

2014/05/27
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News, Xbox One News

tew-preorder

Bethesda Softworks and Tango Gameworks have announced that The Evil Within will now be released on October 21, 2014 as the dev team wants a bit more time to polish the game’s survival horror experience. Also announced today was The Evil Within’s pre-order incentive – The Fighting Chance Pack. The Fighting Chance Pack provides players with a handful of additional items that may help them stave off death for a moment longer.

The Fighting Chance Pack includes:

  • Medical Kit – A vital health enhancement to enable Sebastian to fight on.
  • Green Gel – Used to upgrade Sebastian’s attributes.
  • Double Barrel Shotgun and Three Shells – A larger and more formidable shotgun than the regular shotgun, it’s useful for tight situations with multiple encroaching enemies.
  • An Incendiary Agony Bolt – Capable of showering nearby enemies with damaging fire sparks.
  • A Poison Agony Bolt – Will draw enemies towards it and poison them, allowing Sebastian time for a quick escape.