Author - Jerry Paxton

Sniper Content Update for Arma 3

2013/06/05
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

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Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday 6th June 2013 — Right before heading out to Los Angeles for the E3 Expo, Bohemia Interactive released a content update for the Arma 3 Alpha. The ‘Sniper Package’ includes two powerful sniper rifles and supplementary ghillie suits.

The first rifle, the Gepard GM6 Lynx, is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle using 12.7×108 mm ammo. Its purpose is to stop or disable targets such as light armored vehicles, armored rifle troops, light shelters and helicopters from 600–800 m range.

The second weapon, the M320R Long Range Rifle, is a .408 caliber sniper rifle, valued for its accuracy up to 2000 meters.

Furthermore, besides new camouflage clothing (ghillie suits), the Sniper Package also features sniper optics (long range scopes) and a rangefinder (special binoculars). All content will be added automatically via a Steam update (0.60), which also includes the ‘stance indicator’ and several other game improvements and fixes. The full details are listed in the changelog.

To participate in the Arma 3 Alpha, people can choose from the Arma 3 Alpha (24.99 EUR/19.99 GBP/32.99 USD) or Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (39.99 EUR/34.99 GBP/49.99 USD) on Steam or Store.bistudio.com (both include Beta-access and the final game). The price of each edition will increase once the Arma 3 Beta and final game become available. The complete overview of editions can be found on the official Arma 3 website.

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Europa Universalis IV Release Date Announced

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

NEW YORK — June 5, 2013 — If your dreams of leading a global empire have lain dormant for too long, the time to take action is finally here!  Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today announced that the empire-building game Europa Universalis IVwill be released worldwide on August 13th, 2013. Europa Universalis IV is the latest installment in the award-winning series with more than  a million copies sold worldwide and will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux at launch.

Strategy fans can now take the first step to fulfill their quest for global domination by pre-ordering Europa Universalis IV from digital distribution channels everywhere for $39.99, with a Digital Extreme Edition available for $44.99.
To pre-order Europa Universalis IV and read the full details on the pre-order and bonuses, please visit:  http://www.europauniversalis4.com/buy
Following on the success of the critically acclaimed strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II, Paradox Development Studio is ready to take you to worlds both old and new – each yours for the taking. Join the active  community of over half a million members and experience the drama and tension that only the grand stage of history can provide in Europa Universalis IV.
Europa Universalis IV gives you control of a nation to guide it through the years and create a dominant global empire in the age of exploration, providing unprecedented freedom through the use of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy to let you rule your nation however you see fit. Strategists will face ruthless AI in an extensive single-player campaign, or be able to backstab friends and foes in 32-player online matches.

Virtuix Omni Kickstarter Launched

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
News, Tech News

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HOUSTON, TX – Virtuix has launched a Kickstarter campaign today, June 4th for the Omni, the first virtual reality interface for moving freely and naturally in your favorite game. The full set of incentives, accessories, and configurations are now available on Kickstarter at:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1944625487/omni-move-naturally-in-your-favorite-game

A revolution in virtual reality is underway—consumers can now explore virtual worlds with the natural use of their hands and eyes thanks to affordable devices such as the Razer Hydra and Oculus Rift. The Omni evolves virtual reality one step further, allowing anyone to stand up and traverse virtual worlds with the natural use of their own feet. Moving naturally in virtual reality creates an unprecedented sense of immersion.

The Omni will free gamers from passive, seated gameplay, unleashing the full potential of virtual reality gaming with the Oculus Rift and future head mounted displays.

“Gaming on a keyboard, mouse or gamepad while seated pales in comparison to the intense experience and fun that comes from actually walking, running, and jumping in games.” said Jan Goetgeluk, CEO of Virtuix. “Bringing this innovation to Kickstarter will accelerate the integration of natural motion into emerging virtual reality applications such as gaming, fitness, and simulation.”

The Kickstarter community has been instrumental in funding the current wave of exciting new virtual reality technologies, making Kickstarter the ideal place to launch the Omni. Kickstarter funding will be used to prepare for final production and get Omnis built and into the hands of as many gamers, researchers, enthusiasts, and developers as possible.

Virtuix will be hosting a Virtual Reality Suite and demonstrating the Omni June 11th-13th at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel during E3 2013. Press may register for the Virtual Reality Suite by emailing jan.goetgeluk@virtuix.comdirectly.

WikiPad to be Released on June 11

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
Mobile News, News, Tech News

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LOS ANGELES, CA – June 4, 2013 — Wikipad, Inc. today announced its 7” Wikipad tablet will be available on June 11, 2013 at a retail price of $249 in the US, with an UK and global launch planned for this summer. Thanks to its award wining and patented interchangeable game controller, Wikipad redefines the mobile tablet experience bringing together the console quality experience with the functionality and portability of a premium tablet.

“The launch of the Wikipad 7 tablet signals a transformative turning point in the direction of the mobile gaming industry. Wikipad’s tablet combines the latest range of features found in a premium Android tablet together with the unrivaled console video game experience only available with a gamepad,” said Matthew Joynes, Chairman of Wikipad Inc.

“There is no other mobile device on the market that possesses Wikipad’s unique functionality and versatility and all available with full warranty and customer support at an entry level price point,” said Fraser Townley, President of Sales at Wikipad Inc.

The Wikipad is the only tablet to possess both the unique combination of a console quality gaming experience with the functionality and portability of a tablet thanks to its award-winning and patented detachable dual-analog controller. Wikipad offers a multi capacitive 7 inch touch screen, 16 GB memory with an additional micro SD slot to support a further 32 GB of storage, together with micro USB, GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope. The tablets ultra-light and thin chassis is powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core mobile processor that’s optimized for cloud gaming with a 12 core Nvidia GPU. With an aspect ratio of 16:10, a 2-mega-pixel front facing camera the Wikipad tablet offers true widescreen HD display and HDMI out.

Consumers will have instant access to entertainment and videogame content of over 700,000 apps from Google Play from Google Mobile Services, PlayStation®Mobile games from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., and TegraZone – NVIDIA’s free app that showcases the best games optimized for the Tegra processor. When the gamepad controller is detached, Wikipad’s sleek design and full Android 4.1 Jelly Bean functionality make it a powerfully versatile tablet for surfing the web, emailing, enjoying all the latest films, books, magazines and music, conversing via Skype or experiencing the latest apps at home or on the go.

“PlayStation®Mobile is a global initiative to bring the PlayStation®-like game experiences to a wide-reaching community of tablet and smartphone gamers. We’re excited to bring PlayStation Mobile to the Wikipad tablet which provides a portable gaming experience that is fun and compelling,” said Ronald Schaffner, Director Business Development, and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

“Wikipad’s dual-analog gamepad controller transforms our mobile games such as the multiplayer Shadowgun: DeadZone and the action FPS Dead Trigger into entertaining AAA console-like experiences,” Tomas Slapota, Vice President, MADFINGER Games

We are excited to be a launch partner for the innovative Wikipad gaming tablet that provides a brand new platform for our cloud-based, interactive streaming product, Big Fish Instant Games,” said Jina Heverley, vice president and general manager of PC, Mac and Cloud for Big Fish. “Using the cloud-optimized Wikipad platform, casual game players will be delighted when they turn on their tablet to find more than 250 casual games from Big Fish available on their new device. The Wikipad is the perfect platform to introduce Big Fish games to a new, vibrant gaming audience.”

For a full list of retailers, product specs, a comprehensive support page, technical forums, retailers and video games that take full advantage of the Wikipad’s dual-analog stick controller, please visit: http://www.wikipad.com/

PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Stronghold Crusader II to be Unveiled at E3

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
E3, News, Windows PC News

London, UK – 4th June 2013 – Strategy fans and castle builders rejoice, Firefly Studios has just announced the next entry in their legendary Stronghold series will be revealed at E3 2013. Set to march across the Atlantic next week Stronghold Crusader 2 will be shown to press at E3, with the first screenshots and game trailer released to the public shortly after.

Seeking to build upon the trademark gameplay of the original Stronghold Crusader, Firefly will be showing press the game’s new visuals, sleek new battle interface, new units and AI characters. Stronghold Crusader 2 promises the original game’s epic fast-paced skirmish gameplay with all-new maps, unit classes, traps and unique castle designs not seen before in the Stronghold series.

“The Stronghold series has been a huge success. Since the launch of the first game more than 6 million Stronghold games have been sold and it’s all thanks to the fans, many of whom have been with us from the very start,” said Nick Tannahill, Marketing Manager at Firefly Studios. “We can’t wait to show people what we’ve been working on and will do just that with our E3 reveal. I’m happy to announce that we will also be launching the full Crusader 2 website on June 11th, which will feature the game’s first trailer, artwork and more”.

Currently scheduled for release in Q4 2013, Stronghold Crusader 2 will be self-published by Firefly Studios. Later this year the team plans to seek additional funds through game-focused crowd sourcing service Gambitious, with funding going towards polish, a closed backer-only beta and additional game content.

More news and information on Stronghold Crusader 2 can be found at StrongholdCrusader2.com and fans can help fund the latest crusade at Gambitious.com. Follow @SHCrusader2 for updates on the crowd funding campaign and updates on the development of Stronghold Crusader 2.

Fantasia: Music Evolved Announced

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Xbox 360 News, Xbox One News

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BURBANK, Calif. — (June 4, 2013) – Disney Interactive today announced that “Fantasia: Music Evolved,” a breakthrough musical motion video game inspired by Disney’s classic animated film “Fantasia,” will be available for Xbox One®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Kinect™ for Xbox 360® in 2014.  Developed by Harmonix Music Systems, the world’s leading music and motion game developer, “Fantasia: Music Evolved” transports players to a breathtaking world where music and magic combine to transform extraordinary interactive landscapes in entirely new and creative ways!

In this game, players enter the magical realms of Fantasia, selected by the legendary sorcerer Yen Sid to hone their musical and magical prowess as his new apprentice. “Fantasia: Music Evolved” takes players on an interactive and immersive motion-controlled journey through worlds of music and magic, unleashing their creativity along the way.

Using Kinect motion control technology and natural, controller-free gameplay, players will control the music flow from some of the industry’s biggest acts, including electronic DJ and producer AVICII, chart-topper Bruno Mars, and rock royalty Queen. “Fantasia: Music Evolved” gives players creative power to change the mix of their favorite songs in real-time, choosing between the original recording and new remixed versions, or adding new layers of music via magical manipulators that allow them to change music in exciting and surprising new ways!

“Fantasia: Music Evolved” will feature tracks from over 25 leading artists, each featuring two unique remixes in addition to the original recording. The current announced artists and songs that will appear in the “Fantasia: Music Evolved” video game include:

  •  AVICII – “Levels”
  • Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
  • Fun. – “Some Nights”
  • Kimbra – “Settle Down”
  • Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Attendees of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will have an opportunity to experience hands-on with “Fantasia: Music Evolved” at Disney Interactive’s booth located at #1001 in South Hall.

“Fantasia: Music Evolved” is currently not rated by the ESRB.

Official Trailer

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Forge of Empires Content Update

2013/06/04
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

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Hamburg, June 4, 2013. InnoGames just released a content update for its popular strategy browser game Forge of Empires. The update contains two new bonus areas in the game’s latest age, the Industrial Era.  The new bonus areas are the toughest yet in Forge of Empires, being very hard to defeat by everyone but the most adept strategists. Conquering these areas will not only provide valuable loot, but also some unique goodies as a reward.

The bonus areas see players fighting against two main villains: the infamous bandit El Hacha Gonzalez, up to stir unrest with his band of outlaws, and Comte Barthelemy Philipeaux, a French general who turns out to be a bit mentally unstable. Adding to the challenge is the introduction of a new unit type. Brave Warriors and Mounted Braves feature the unique skill “Last Stand”. This allows them to become stronger and more resilient the more units of their army have been defeated.

Forge of Empires is a browser-based strategy game, where players, tasked with leading their own city to prosperity can research new technologies, build impressive historical buildings and enlarge their sphere of influence through military campaigns and skillful dealing. The game has just been awarded the title of “Best Browser Game 2013” at the German Computer Game Award (Deutscher Computerspielpreis).

With about 100 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. The Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Tribal Wars, The Westand Grepolis.