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Neverwinter: Strongholds Coming this Summer

2015/05/22
boothby
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – May 21, 2015 – Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced Neverwinter: Strongholds – the seventh expansion for the action MMORPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons’ Forgotten Realms universe from Wizards of the Coast – is coming to PC in summer 2015. In the newest expansion, players join their guild to claim an abandoned keep from the wild and build it back into its former glory on the largest map in Neverwinter.

The announcement trailer for Neverwinter: Strongholds can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz-Arn3GfQE

Reminiscent of early Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, Neverwinter: Strongholds empowers guilds to reclaim a keep and its surrounding wilderness areas from monsters. As the lands are cleared, guilds will build defenses both in and around their strongholds using structures like archer towers to fend off attackers, while building siege structures to increase their ability to wage war against enemy guilds. Once the keep has been secured, guilds will work to solidify their foothold along the ranges of the Sword Coast.

“Over the course of the past two years, Neverwinter has been a way for players to experience Dungeons & Dragons themed storylines including Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil,” said Rob Overmeyer, executive producer for Neverwinter. “Strongholds gives our Neverwinter players the ability to create their own stories of banding together with their guild to forge the tales of their rescuing of lands overrun with Orcs and defending their turf from invading players.”

Assets for Neverwinter: Strongholds can be found here: https://perfectworld.box.com/s/ktsb5forargzi5fdu1gvh8aaigz8qv1u

Neverwinter is a free-to-play action MMORPG that features fast-paced combat and epic dungeons. Players explore the vast city of Neverwinter and its surrounding countryside, learning the vivid history of the iconic city in the Forgotten Realms and battling its many enemies. Neverwinter is currently available on PC and digitally for Xbox One, available free-to-play with Gold* from the Xbox Games Store.

*On Xbox, Xbox Live Gold membership (sold separately) required.

For more information about Neverwinter, and to play now for free, visit http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/neverwinter

Razer Announces Firefly Chroma Mouse Mat

2015/05/21
boothby
Geek News, News, Peripherals News

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, a leader in connected devices and software for gamers, today announced the release of the Razer Firefly, the first hard gaming mouse mat with Razer’s Chroma lighting feature. The Chroma feature adds 16.8 million color options and numerous customizable lighting effects to the mouse mat, including reactive, wave and spectrum cycling.

Razer Firefly has lighting along its left, right and bottom borders and can sync up with other Chroma enabled Razer devices for virtually limitless color combinations.

Engineered with all the trusted Razer gaming-grade performance features, the Razer Firefly has a micro-textured finish for the balance between control and speed. The optimized reflective surface ensures mouse movements translate to precise cursor movements and rapid in-game responsiveness.

“The Razer Firefly opens up a new category for the Chroma family,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “We’ve designed the Razer Firefly with the best components for a gaming mouse mat, along with the new, fully-customizable Chroma lighting. No one said you can’t win with style.”

The Razer Firefly joins other Chroma-enabled Razer devices, including the award-winning Razer DeathAdder Chroma and Razer Naga Epic Chroma gaming mice, the Razer BlackWidow Chroma gaming keyboard and Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma headset. All Chroma products feature the option of 16.8 million customizable colors and a range of effects enabled through Razer’s Synapse software. Synapse allows the devices to sync lighting colors and patterns between Chroma devices with the click of a button.

Razer Firefly will also be included in the Chroma SDK, with which game developers can integrate advanced lighting effects into their games for a more immersive experience.

Product Features:

  • Micro-textured finish for balanced gameplay
  • Optimized surface coating for highly responsive tracking
  • Chroma customizable lighting
  • Non-slip rubber base
  • Razer Synapse enabled (for Chroma customizable lighting)
  • Gold-plated, USB connector (to power the Chroma customizable lighting)
  • Seven-foot, lightweight, braided fiber cable
  • Approximate size: 355 mm / 13.98-in. (Length) x 255 mm / 10.04-in. (Width) x 4 mm / 0.16-in. (Height)
  • Approximate weight: 380 g / 0.84 lbs

System Requirements:

  • PC or Mac with a free USB port
  • Windows® 8 / Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP (32-bit) / Mac OS X (v10.8-10.10)
  • Internet connection
  • 100MB of hard disk space
  • Razer Synapse registration (requiring a valid e-mail), software download, license acceptance, and internet connection needed to activate full features of product and for software updates. After activation, full features are available in optional offline mode.

Price: US: $59.99/EUR: 74.99€

Availability: Razer Store – Pre-Order

Worldwide – June 2015

Blade & Soul Coming to North America and Europe this Winter

2015/05/20
boothby
Geek News, News

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ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (May 20, 2015) – NCSOFT® has announced that Blade & Soul® will launch in North America and Europe this winter. Blade & Soul is a game unlike any other, set in an Asian, mythological world where fast-paced combat collides with the visual beauty of a Far-East martial arts massively-multiplayer online universe. Since its initial launch in Asia in mid-2012, Blade & Soul has attracted tens of millions of players across South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan, while emerging as one of the top MMORPGs in the world.

“Blade & Soul is one of the most anticipated online games by Western consumers,” commented John Burns, senior vice president of publishing at NCSOFT West. “This is a tremendous opportunity to bring one of the most successful and fun online games in Asia to our Western audience this winter and we can’t wait to deliver this extraordinary and distinct gaming experience to millions of new players across North America and Europe.”

Blade & Soul delivers an engaging story and vibrant world for players to explore. In the game, players must fight to avenge the death of their fallen master in a classic Wuxia storyline. Wuxia, which literally means “martial hero”, is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. As players explore the world in Blade & Soul, they will see a fusion of Asian cultures that delivers stunning landscapes and vistas.

Blade & Soul defies typical MMO conventions, delivering action-based combat with ability combos and a flexible party role system that does not require dedicated healers. It gives players unprecedented movement abilities around the world as their characters leap over mountains and fly through the air.

The first major Blade & Soul livestream will take place on Thursday, May 21 at 10AM PDT / 17:00 UTC at www.twitch.tv/bladeandsoul. In addition, fans can receive exclusive and on-going information on all things Blade & Soul by signing up for the game’s newsletter at http://bladeandsoul.com. Player feedback will help shape the game as it evolves, so fans are encouraged to follow and interact with Blade & Soul via social media and other communication channels, including:
Twitter: @bladeandsoul

Facebook: facebook.com/bladeandsoul

Selected fans who sign up on the site will be given access to the closed beta that is planned for fall of 2015 in North America and Europe. At launch, the Western version of Blade & Soul will be fully localized into English, German and French (including voice-over). Additional information about the business model will be revealed this summer.

DC Universe Online Halls of Power Part II Launch Trailer

2015/05/19
boothby
Geek News, News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

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SAN DIEGO – May 19, 2015 – Daybreak Game Company LLC today announced that the next Episode in the DC Universe™ Online (DCUO) saga, Halls of Power Part II, is now available for the PC, PlayStation®4 system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. In DCUO’s 14th Episode, players tackle new Missions, Operations and Raids as they travel to New Genesis and its capital, the Celestial City, where Apokoliptian forces are wreaking havoc.

JENS’ TAKE: “We packed a ton of content into Halls of Power Part II, introducing all kinds of new characters and really deepening the story. Episode 14 also marks the beginning of change and we’re really excited about our new direction. We want to make content more meaningful to the players and give them more choices, more often. So, we made improvements to the Loot System, adding the ability to choose Rewards, and we’ve simplified Marks of Victory. And, starting later this year we will be releasing content on a monthly basis instead of quarterly.”– Jens Andersen, DC Universe Online Senior Creative Director

STORYLINE: Darkseid is relentless in his efforts to gather ancient artifacts of the Old Gods and has turned his legions on the Celestial City, home of Orion and the New Gods of New Genesis. Meanwhile, on Apokolips, Granny Goodness is abducting Earth’s greatest heroes and villains to see how well they stand up against the cruelty of Apokoliptian machinations.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • New Gods Orion, Lightray, Steppenwolf, Granny Goodness and the Female Furies Lashina, Stompa and Mad Harriet make their first appearance in DCUO.
  • New single and multiplayer adventures in Halls of Power Part II include:
  • Daily Solo Missions on New Genesis where players are tasked with destroying or repairing Apokoliptian cannons and fighting Dreggs, Bugs and Parademons
  • Two Duos – “Necropolis: Resource Recovery,” featuring Mister Miracle and Mantis, and “League Hall: Malfunction,” where players battle Orion or Mad Harriet
  • Four-Player Operation – “Fatal Exams” – where players must escape Granny Goodness’ orphanage on Apokolips
  • Eight-Player Operation – “New Genesis Now” – in which players must fight to reach a special teleporter to either stop Steppenwolf or defeat Lightray
  • Eight-Player Raid – “Happiness Home” – requires players to help Oracle or Calculator save Superman or Black Adam from Granny Goodness
  • Episode 14 also includes new player rewards such as New Gods-inspired Base Items, Feats and Collections, and new high level gear inspired by Mister Miracle and Big Barda (Heroes), and Kalibak and Steppenwolf (Villains).

Trailer

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Launch Trailer

2015/05/18
boothby
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

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May 18, 2015 — Garnering over 200 prestigious awards before launch, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CD PROJEKT RED’s most ambitious endeavour up to date. Set within a truly open world, the game puts you in the role of a wandering bounty hunter and monster slayer, Geralt of Rivia. In The Witcher, you take on the greatest contract of your life — tracking down the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.

The game is scheduled to launch May 19th, 2015, on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC, and PlayStation®4. Visit www.thewitcher.com for more information.

Trailer

The Bard’s Tale IV Kickstarter Coming June 2

2015/05/18
boothby
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

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Newport Beach, CA – May 18, 2015 – inXile Entertainment is proud to return to Kickstarter for their next big cRPG project, The Bard’s Tale IV, launching Monday June 2nd at 6 AM PST/13:00 UTC. Return to Skara Brae for a true dungeon-crawling sequel to the original The Bard’s Tale trilogy that helped define the cRPG genre!

On the 30th anniversary of the original Bard’s Tale, what better time than now to go on an adventure worthy of song? The Bard’s Tale IV will feature challenging maze-like dungeons with devious puzzles and riddles to explore in the first-person dungeon crawler style of the original trilogy. inXile has the full rights to use everything from the original trilogy, so the game will be rich with callbacks and old favorites such as teleporter zones and magic mouths.

Utilizing the Unreal 4 engine, The Bard’s Tale IV will also represent a graphical leap forward in the genre, immersing you in a highly detailed and lush world you’ll want to map to is farthest reaches. inXile plans to use photogrammetry to create in-game 3D objects from photos of architecture, taken right in Scotland.

With the Bard leading the way, the game has a strong focus on music and sound design. Inspired by and involving Gaelic musicians, the soundtrack and lyrics of The Bard’s Tale IV take cues from Scottish culture, which will be used to enrich the existing setting from the original games.

Of courses, you’ll need to contend with all matter of hostile beasts, monsters and brigands as you explore the world. The Bard’s Tale IV will feature a dynamic phase based combat system, utilizing the complex decision making opportunities of traditional phase based combat,  but with a constantly evolving enemy strategy and a pacing that keeps you on your toes.

Check The Bard’s Tale IV website to follow along as we count down to the Kickstarter launch, or sign up to receive news and info directly from inXile!

The Bard’s Tale IV Website: http://bardstale.inxile-entertainment.com/
The Bard’s Tale IV Sneak Peek: https://cdn.inxile-entertainment.com/bardstale/img/press/SneakPeek.jpg

Train Simulator 2015: Epic Journeys Edition Announced

2015/05/15
boothby
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

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CHATHAM, Kent – May 15, 2015 ­– Dovetail Games, the multi award-winning developer and publisher of a range of simulation games, today announced that it will launch a new edition of the market-leading train simulation, Train Simulator 2015: Epic Journeys Edition, featuring a brand-new route: the legendary Soldier Summit route based in the USA.

Train Simulator 2015: Epic Journeys Edition captures the excitement of some of the world’s most breathtaking rail journeys in incredible detail. The game opens in the Train Simulator Academy, the perfect training ground to learn about a variety of trains, locations and scenarios, in preparation for your adventure. Featuring three real-life routes from the USA, Germany and the UK, the game will guide players through some of the most spectacular scenery around the world. For those with their own vision of the perfect rail journey, a suite of powerful and easy-to-use creator tools will give players the opportunity to build customized routes, which can also be shared with other players.

Train Simulator 2015: Epic Journeys Edition features:

  • Three stunning real-world routes:
    • US: Soldier Summit: Provo to Helper, including the D&RGW SD40T-2, Amtrak F40PH and D&RGW GP9
    • Germany: The Rhine Railway: Mannheim to Karlsruhe, including DB BR 406 ICE 3M, DB BR 189, DB BR 425 and DB BR 294
    • UK: London-Faversham high speed, including Southeastern Class 395 and Class 375
  • Nine exquisitely accurate locomotives with realistic sounds, controls and physics, including DB BR 406 ICE 3M, D&RGW SD40T-2 and Southeastern Class 395
  • Quick Drive menu system: drive what you like, where you like
  • Multiple controller options – use the Xbox 360 controller, keyboard or mouse
  • Powerful in-game editing tools to create your own routes
  • In-game access direct to the Engine Driver community site

Train Simulator 2015: Epic Journeys Edition will be available to purchase on Steam by the end of May 2015.

To read a series of articles about the brand-new Soldier Summit route, please visit:

Soldier Summit Legendary Route

Soldier Summit Rules of the Rockies

Soldier Summit The Tunnel Motors

Soldier Summit Operations

For further information, please visit www.engine-driver.com/ or follow us at Dovetail Games Twitter and Dovetail Games Facebook.

LEGO Jurassic World Dinosaurs Trailer and Release Date

2015/05/14
boothby
Geek News, News, Nintendo Wii U News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 4 News, PS Vita News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News, Xbox One News

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Warner Bros. Interactive has released a new trailer for its upcoming LEGO Jurassic World video game. Also, the company revealed that the game will come out in North America June 12, 2015, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Windows PC.

Trailer