Author - Jerry Paxton

Ecol Tactics Online Reveals Closed Beta Date

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Sunnyvale, Calif. (February 22, 2013)- Leading online game publisher GamesCampus (www.GamesCampus.com), today announced the official closed beta launch date for its first browser title, the tactical MMORPG, Ecol Tactics Online.  The turn-based browser strategy game, inspired by time-honored tactical role playing games, will enter closed beta on March 7th.  A select group of players can start getting their hands on the highly-anticipated keys beginning February 28th.  Players can sign up now for an account at http://EcolTactics.GamesCampus.com

“We are excited to get to the stage where our growing community can finally play the game-they have been waiting to find out when they could finally jump in and test it out,” said Elliott Coward, Project Lead for Ecol Tactics Online.  “Ecol Tactics takes the browser-based MMO to a whole new level with a breadth and depth players aren’t use to seeing in easy to jump into browser games. We’re confident our players will be very happy with the experience when they login March 7th.”

Selected players will get to experience a full tactical MMORPG event right in their browser without any downloads.  With a deep storyline and customization not usually found in most browser games, players will control their characters as they see fit; there’s no set class to get locked into.  Stuck on a quest?  No problem: just switch to a different class and try again, with absolutely no penalties. No more staring at spreadsheets or watching a stamina cool-down renew; it’s all about playing the game at your pace.

Players can find out where to scoop up a closed beta key on the official Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ecoltacticsus or Twitter at @EcolTactics, along with daily hints and tips, with plenty of screen shots, videos and more.

Armored Core: Verdict Day Announced for North America

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SAN JOSE, Calif., (February 22, 2013) – Leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that it will be bringing ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY to PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft to the Americas during Summer 2013. The world has been thrown into chaos. Important natural resources needed for the survival of competing factions are scavenged and fought across the world with deadly Armored Core mechs. A strong trigger finger, innovative customization and strategic teamwork will be all that stand between survival and complete annihilation.

Renowned Japanese game developer FromSoftware returns to its hardcore mech action franchise with ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY. Command a squadron of advanced Armored Core mechs in a dystopian future ravaged by war and stripped of natural resources. Players will form squads of up to 20 members and enlist into one of the various in-game factions to wrestle control of territories away from other players in the game’s persistent multiplayer mode. New gameplay features will be implemented into ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY to ensure that players who choose to play alone will be able to recruit a squad of A.I. controlled mechs and enjoy the robust feature sets of co-op and multiplayer modes, while new matchmaking system ensures that players will always find battles at a moment’s notice.

Operator Mode returns to ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY with new upgrades, allowing players to tactically command a full squad of Armored Core mechs from a tactical top-down point-of-view. Operators will be able to set rally points, mark targets and receive real-time in-cockpit views from other players and computer-controlled squad mates to achieve real-time strategic command of the battlefield.

ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY will allow fans of ARMORED CORE V to carry over their save data to experience brand new content with their customized Armored Core from the previous title. Players will be able to further customize their Armored Core mechs with hundreds of parts ranging from guns, armor pieces, shields and boosters. The new robust customization options will help players synchronize their mech loadouts with teammates to deliver maximum destruction on the battlefield.

“The ARMORED CORE series has continually found itself a deep and dedicated fanbase,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY expands the level of immersion with more advanced customization fine tuning and streamlined multiplayer modes.”

For more information regarding ARMORED CORE: VERDICT DAY please visit; http://www.armoredcoregame.com, http://www.namcobandaigames.com and http://www.facebook.com/namco.

Star Wars Pinball Boba Fett Table Trailer

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Zen Studios and Lucasarts have released a new trailer showing off the Boba Fett table for the upcoming Star Wars Pinball. The game is due out next week on the Apple App Store, Google Play, XBLA, PSN, Mac App Store platforms.

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The Flys, Queensrÿche, and Staind Coming to Rock Band

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Cambridge, Mass. – February 22nd, 2013 – Harmonix today announced that singles from The Flys, Queensrÿche, and Staind are headed to the Rock Band™ Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 1,400 artists and more than 4,000* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. More than 100 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch on Nov. 20, 2007.

Tracks downloaded from the Rock Band Music Store are compatible with the award-winning full-band Rock Band 3 experience, as well as the controller-based rhythm-action title, Rock Band Blitz, available now on PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade!

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii™

Four singles are hitting the Rock Band Music Store on February 26th, starting with “Got You (Where I Want You),” The Flys’ first single from their second studio album, 1998’s Holiday Man. Queensrÿche’s epic “Silent Lucidity” – a Grammy-nominated track from the band’s 1990 album, Empire – will also be available. Finally, two tracks from rockers Staind will be available: “It’s Been Awhile,” the lead single from 2001’s Break the Cycle, and “So Far Away,” from 2003’s 14 Shades of Grey!

Available on Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation®3 system (February 26th, 2013):

  • The Flys – “Got You (Where I Want You) X
  • Queensrÿche – “Silent Lucidity” O
  • Staind – “It’s Been Awhile”
  • Staind – “So Far Away” O

(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation®3 system February 27th)

Price:

  • $1.99 USD, £1.19 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points ™, 200 Wii Points™) per song
  • $0.99 USD (80 Microsoft Points™, 100 Wii Points™), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade

Tracks marked with “O” feature support for keyboards; the track marked with “X” will offer Pro Guitar track.

** Dates and pricing for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

*Available on-disc, via download and disc export. Internet connection and export key purchase required. Wii™ Shop Channel has more than 1,500 song tracks available for purchase on the Rock Band platform on-disc, via song import, and download. Not applicable to Nintendo DS™.

Obutto R3volution Gaming Cockpit Review

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Obutto has long been known for their “oZone” gaming cockpit (here is our review). Being the hardcore sim geek that I am, when I learned that they had released a follow-up to the oZone, I had to check it out. That follow-up is on the market as the “R3volution” gaming cockpit. Featuring a similar carbon steel frame, wicked design sensibility, and high functionality, the R3volution is truly a worthy successor to the oZone. It is clear that the company put some serious work in taking their gaming cockpit design to the next level. Read on to find out why this wicked home gaming cockpit is the one to get. Read More

EA Los Angeles and EA Montreal Layoffs

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Looks like we have more bad news for lots of people working in the video game industry today as, according to an article at Polygon, Electronic Arts has begun laying off an unspecified number of staff at EA Los Angeles and EA Montreal. The news of these layoffs is timed with a statement by EA president of labels, Frank Gibeau. The statement is very carefully-worded to make what is essentially laying off a bunch of people sound like a great part of their “console transition” with yesterday’s PlayStation 4 announcement. Gibeau does mention that those laid off will be given severance packages – so, hopefully that will help them get to their next career destination. We wish all those affected the best of luck.

EA responded to requests for comment with this statement:

“Today EA internally announced some adjustments to select development teams to align staff and skills against priority growth areas, including new technologies and mobile. Many employees are being retrained for new positions; however a small number will be released. These are great, talented people and we wish them well. EA is growing globally, and we expect our headcount to increase this year.

EA Montreal is a key development studio where our long-term plan is to sharpen our teams’ focus on console and mobile games.”

VEABuddy Smartwatch Announced with Video

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Marseille, France – February 21st 2013 – Smartphones are becoming more and more powerful but also tending to increase in size. It can be an inconvenience to regularly check the constant flow of notifications received. The Bluetooth watch VEABuddy displays all the most important notifications of the connected smartphone without the user needing to take out the smartphone and look at it. The watch is compatible with all smartphones, tablets, and operating systems on the market as only Bluetooth technology is required to connect the two accessories.

The VEABuddy Watch presents a 2” wide color touchscreen with ultra high contrast to provide perfect reading conditions even in full sun. All the internal components have been thoroughly selected to be integrated in a unique design specially created by Caiman Design. The watch is ultra thin at only 8 mm thick. It doesn’t require a special charger as the bracelet of the watch incorporates a male USB connector for flexible charging.

All the most important notifications can be displayed on the watch: calls, emails, SMS and MMS messages, Tweets, Facebook notifications and navigation updates. It can handle incoming calls (accept or reject) or outbound calls (initiate) and can control the music player. In fact, as long as the user does not need the big screen of the smartphone, it can remain in a pocket and key interactions occur via the VEABuddy. As this information is presented directly to the user’s wrist, they’ll never miss an important notice again. VEA Digital submitted the project to crowdfounding and is anticipating a warm welcome.

http://www.indiegogo.com/veabuddy

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Blizzard to Release New Heart of the Swarm Trailer on Twitch

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Blizzard is planning to release a new trailer for their upcoming StarCraft II: Heard of the Swarm, during a  live, online event at Twitch. Checkout the info below for the aire date and time.

Official Release

Vengeance is coming! With StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm arriving in just a few short weeks, Blizzard Entertainment is looking forward to unveiling a new trailer — entitled “Vengeance” — during a special live online event on Tuesday, February 26 at 12 p.m. Pacific on Twitch. Here’s what you’ll see:

  • Discussion of Heart of the Swarm and the making of “Vengeance” with Blizzard developers
  • The world premiere of the “Vengeance” trailer for Heart of the Swarm
  • An exclusive Heart of the Swarm eSports showmatch casted by commentators John “TotalBiscuit” Bain and Shaun “dApollo” Clark.

Viewers can participate in the discussion segment by sending questions via Twitter using the hashtag #Vengeance. Tune in next week Tuesday at noon at www.twitch.tv/starcraft.

KontrolFreek Giving Away PS4

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ATLANTA – Feb. 21 – Gamers around the world heard the Sony® PlayStation 4 announcement yesterday. Today, KontrolFreek, creators of the popular FPS Freek®, Speed Freek™ and other performance gaming gear, announced it is giving gamers a chance to win one of four Sony PlayStation 4 pre-orders.

In celebration of Sony’s next-generation gaming console, KontrolFreek is inviting gamers to “Score” a PS4. Popular YouTube gaming commentators and personalities, TmarTnAli-A,OpticMidnight and HipHopGamer will join KontrolFreek as promotional partners for the PS4 Score sweepstakes.

To enter, contestants only need to “Like” KontrolFreek on Facebook. Contestants can gain additional entries by recruiting their friends. The PS4 Score sweepstakes runs from Feb. 21 through March 5, 2013.  

“We are excited about Sony’s announcement and the opportunity to give our community of gaming enthusiasts a chance to win the new PS4,” said Ashish Mistry, CEO of KontrolFreek.

Enter PS4 Score Sweepstakes at http://sdqk.me/bYSDR9Rn.