STOCKHOLM – Mar. 31, 2017 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher that built this city on con and sole, today announced that Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition will launch worldwide on April 21, 2017. Newly optimized for play on a controller by Tantalus Media, the Xbox One Edition brings the creative management game to consoles along with Cities: Skylines – After Dark, the game’s nightlife-focused expansion. Xbox One players will finally have the opportunity to experience the award-winning management game next month when it becomes available for purchase via disc or download, with pre-orders available starting today. Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition will retail for $39.99 / £34,99 / €39.99.
Cities: Skylines is a best-selling management game, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, and coming very soon to Xbox One and Windows 10 with all its deep gameplay and unique charm along for the ride. The Xbox One Edition and Windows 10 Edition include the award-winning base game, bundled together with the popular After Dark expansion, allowing players to plan and design for their cities’ nightlife and tourist attractions.
March 30, 2017 – Today we are excited to reveal the first ever trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, which is set to premiere the first of five episodes on April 18th for $4.99USD or equivalent on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One®, Windows PC, and Mac, as well as available to download on the App Store® and Google Play™. The series will also be available as a special ‘Season Pass Disc’ on May 2nd at retailers across North America for an MSRP of $29.99 USD, and on May 5th at retailers elsewhere across the globe. The special ‘Season Pass Disc’ will include Episode One: Tangled Up in Blue, and will grant access to download the subsequent four episodes via online updates as they are released in the coming months of 2017. Additional platforms for release are yet to be announced.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.
From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.
The series will feature a star-studded cast of voice talent, including Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series) as Star-Lord, Emily O’Brien (The Young and the Restless, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor) as Gamora, Nolan North (the Uncharted series, Pretty Little Liars) as Rocket, Brandon Paul Eells (Watch Dogs) as Drax, and Adam Harrington (The Wolf Among Us, League of Legends) as Groot.
For more information on Telltale Games, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow Telltale Games on Twitter @TelltaleGames.
Santa Monica, CA – March 30, 2017 – Bungie and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), announced Destiny 2, the sequel to the internationally acclaimed Destiny, a first-person action game that takes the player on an epic journey to defend humanity from annihilation. The official Destiny 2 reveal trailer, “Rally the Troops,” debuted a character-driven glimpse at Destiny 2’s story today. Additionally, the first hands-on gameplay reveal livestream will be broadcast around the world on May 18. The broadcast will showcase a variety of fun, action-oriented activities within Destiny 2, and will highlight the brand-new, epic adventure waiting for players. With a fresh start for all players right from the opening cinematic, Destiny 2 will expand across the globe with a worldwide release on September 8. Destiny 2 will be available on PlayStation®4 systems with additional, timed exclusive* content, Xbox One(PlayStation®Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, respectively, required for significant features), and for the first time in Destiny’s history, a new platform to enjoy this universe will be offered. Destiny 2 is coming to PC!
“Destiny was the biggest launch of a new console video game franchise ever. Along with our incredibly talented partners at Bungie, we are focusing on making Destiny 2 even better, with state of the art first person action, an awesome new story, great characters, and thoughtful innovations that make the game more accessible to all different kinds of players,” said Activision CEO, Eric Hirshberg. “We’re also bringing Destiny 2 to the PC platform for the first time. Destiny 2 will make an already great game franchise better than ever.”
Bungie CEO, Pete Parsons, said, “The past three years have been incredibly inspiring and rewarding for Bungie. To know that millions of players around the world have forged lastingDestiny memories and even made it their hobby is truly humbling and we can’t wait to continue the journey.” He added, “We are looking forward to sharing a fresh, inviting story, and with the upcoming Destiny 2 Beta slated for this summer, we are eager to get feedback from millions of players around the world who will get a glimpse of the new adventures that will unfold for all of us. Together, with our partners at Activision, we are thrilled to getDestiny 2 in the hands of players in September.”
In Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lay in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy and his elite army, the Red Legion. Every player creates their own character called a “Guardian,” humanity’s chosen protectors. As a Guardian in Destiny 2, players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home. The official Destiny 2 reveal trailer, “Rally the Troops,” shows two of the Vanguard, leaders of the Guardians, inspiring the people of the last city in an impassioned (and occasionally sarcastic) call to arms. In Destiny 2 players will answer this call, embarking on a fresh story filled with new destinations around our solar system to explore, and an expansive amount of activities to discover. There is something for almost every type of gamer in Destiny 2, including gameplay for solo, cooperative and competitive players set within a vast, evolving and exciting universe.
Destiny 2 is currently Rating Pending (RP) by the ESRB and will be available at a suggested retail price of $59.99. The product line-up will also feature the Destiny 2 – Game + Expansion Pass Bundle at $89.99 SRP, the Destiny 2 – Digital Deluxe Edition featuring premium digital contentat $99.99 SRP, the Limited Edition at $99.99 SRP, and the Collector’s Edition, featuring a fully-wearable Destiny 2 – Frontier Bag, Expansion Pass, premium digital content and a Cabal-themed Collector’s Box for $249.99 SRP.
For more game information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com and follow the official Destinysocial channels on Facebook and @DestinyTheGame on Instagram and Twitter. The community can interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net, Facebook, @Bungie on Twitter, and www.Twitch.tv/Bungie on Twitch.
March 30, 2017 – Pick up some doughnuts and hit the streets of ’80s Brooklyn for a non-linear adventure of police drama, retro aesthetics, and humor to make your mother blush. Beat Cop is available today on PC (Win/Mac/Linux).
Travel back to 1986 as former detective Jack Kelly. Framed for murder, demoted to the lowest ranks, and forgotten by old pals, this is your last chance to uncover the truth behind this terrible mess. Just don’t forget about writing tickets. You’re a beat cop, after all.
PARIS – March 29, 2017 – Independent developer Cubical Drift has released its most significant content update yet to the open world adventure Stellar Overload, bringing to the game a completely new planet for players to explore. It also adds more dynamic tools to Stellar Overload’s extensive crafting system while giving players the freedom to share their maps, dungeons, buildings, vehicles and other inventive creations with the community for the first time.
Novo Ares is Stellar Overload’s latest world, a Grand Canyon-like environment where players will discover a planet divided between the scorching heights and temperate depths of its rugged terrain. A new melee weapon – the hook sword – makes venturing around this landscape easier thanks to its functionality as a hookshot, letting explorers get to hard-to-reach locations in a flash. A new dungeon is also now available on the game’s first world, Merx.
For builders at heart, Stellar Overload has added new systems to allow for even more imagination in construction. The introduction of electricity, including cables, switches, lasers and engines, lets players control mechanisms within buildings, including elevators and monorail trains. New materials and textures also offer improved customization choices.
Mixing adventure and building gameplay mechanics with RPG and FPS action and a sci-fi story, Stellar Overload gives players a universe of teeming horizons made of bricks to explore with jetpacks, block-throwers and other gadgets alone or in cooperative multiplayer.
Stellar Overload is available for Windows PC, Mac and Linux as a Steam Early Access title for $19.99. For the latest updates as the game develops, visit www.stellar-overload.com, and follow Cubical Drift on Facebook and @StellarOverload on Twitter.
OSLO, Norway – March 29, 2017 – Funcom is excited to announce that their acclaimed story-driven game The Secret World will be relaunched this spring as Secret World Legends, a shared-world action RPG with completely revamped combat, a newly designed progression system, and updated visuals. The game’s full collection of missions and mysteries will be free to play, with over 100 hours of mature storytelling and surprises. Players can sign up for Secret World Legends’ beta at www.SecretWorldLegends.com
“Over the course of five years, The Secret World has created a truly memorable RPG universe that stands out to this day for the uniqueness of its dark setting and tone, the depth of its quest design, and the high quality of its voice acting throughout,” said Rui Casais, CEO of Funcom. “Secret World Legends uses that foundation to mark a new era for the game, offering a fresh start for newcomers and long-time fans alike, delivering a captivating journey that can be enjoyed entirely on your own or with friends.”
Secret World Legends plunges players into a shadowy war against the supernatural in an adventure that crosses our world with the realms of ancient myth and legend. As players traverse the globe unraveling complex investigations into the unknown, they’ll need to uncover clues and use their own wits as much as their characters’ abilities. A highly extensive and customizable arsenal of firearms, weapons, gear and otherworldly powers will give players the strength to battle the forces of darkness as they dig deeper into these vast and mysterious lands. Players can go at it alone and enjoy the over 100 hours of story at their own pace, or team up with others as they explore the world and unravel its mysteries.
“One of our biggest goals in relaunching the game has been to reimagine the core gameplay experience in a way befitting a modern-day action RPG,” said Scott Junior, Executive Producer. “Secret World Legends features combat that feels more natural, deep systems that are more intuitive, better structuring of the early game for new players, and improved mission flow to strengthen the pace of progression for players.”
For more information on Secret World Legends, including a detailed breakdown of the game’s features, visit www.SecretWorldLegends.com
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 28, 2017) – Wreck-It Ralph is escaping out of his arcade and into the expansive universe of the internet next year when “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2” hits the big screen. Dave Hollis, head of distribution for The Walt Disney Studios, revealed the much-anticipated sequel’s title and told CinemaCon attendees that Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer would be returning to the roster.
Also returning are the team behind the original “Wreck-It Ralph,” who won an Oscar® last month for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ billion-dollar-box-office-blockbuster “Zootopia.” Directors Rich Moore (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “The Simpsons”) and Phil Johnston (writer, “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia,” “Cedar Rapids”), and producer Clark Spencer (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Bolt”) are hard at work on the movie. “To take these characters we love and have them enter the enormous world of the internet has given us so much to explore,” said Moore. “Our production team has been hard at work designing a world that takes something we all think we know – the internet – but shows it in a whole new, imaginative way.”
Added Johnston, “We’re so excited to be working with Ralph, Vanellope von Schweetz, Fix-It Felix and Sergeant Calhoun again, and we have new characters we look forward to unveiling. At the center of this film, as in the first one, is the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope, two once-outcasts, who in each other, found true friendship.”
When “Wreck-It Ralph” opened on Nov. 2, 2012, it turned in the highest opening weekend ever for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film at the time of release. Nominated for an Oscar® and Golden Globe® for best animated feature, “Wreck-It Ralph” won the PGA Award for outstanding producer of an animated theatrical motion picture as well as five Annie Awards, including best animated feature, director, cast and screenplay. The film was named best animated feature by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, earned outstanding achievement in casting for an animated feature by the Casting Society of America, and won the Kids’ Choice Award for favorite animated movie.
“Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2” hits U.S. theaters on March 9, 2018.
Bungie has revealed that the Destiny 2 official trailer will debut on March 30th at 10AM PT. In the meantime, here is a cool little teaser vid they put out!
WARSAW, Poland (March 28, 2017) — Every soldier needs a safe place to rest, recuperate and gear up for his or her next mission. Today, CI Games invites you into the welcoming environs of the Jon North’s Safe House in Sniper Ghost Warrior 3.
As one may predict by the name, the Safe House is a safe place where our lead protagonist can sleep to a designated hour, craft and purchase items, choose equipment loadouts and begin missions. There are different safe houses to be discovered in the northern part of the Republic of Georgia, many of which contain loot or new weapons to equip. After they’re discovered, players can fast travel back to these locations as long as they aren’t in a designated mission area.
Listed below are some key things players can access in the Safe House:
The Weapon Cache is a place where the player can change his or her loadouts. Primary weapons, secondary weapons, side-arms, gadgets, weapon skins and armors can be purchased and equipped here.
At the Workbench, the player is able to craft regular and special bullets, gadgets and medkits using resources found in the world. There are five kinds of resources, each used in different proportions to craft different equipment such as special bullets, gadgets, and to modify weapons and attachments.
The currency in Sniper Ghost warrior 3 is called ‘Trading Goods’. Players can purchase almost everything available in the game for it – starting with grenades and medkits, and ending with weapons. The Trading Goods can be acquired by various actions during gameplay: completing main story missions, completing side operations, finding collectibles, assassinating most wanted targets, helping civilians or just simply by being found in the world.
Special Bullets:
Luring Bullet: Can be used to lure enemies into desired spots while not raising an alarm. Players can easily dispose of enemies that can be seen by others. Simply lure them out of sight and take them out. It can also lure enemies out from behind obstacles and into view.
Tagging Bullet: Extracts a pulse that locates enemies through obstacles. It allows players to tag enemies in places where flying the drone would be too risky or would take too much time.
Armor Piercing: Can be used to take out targets hiding in cover, so thin walls, fences, and even metal will no longer stop shots. It’s very effective against armored vehicles.
EMP: Emits an electromagnetic pulse that disables vehicles and electronic devices within a small radius. A well-placed shot can ensure enemy reinforcements won’t arrive on the location, disable CCTV cameras, or can lure enemies by frying a power generator.
Explosive Bullet: If you no longer care about stealth, then this is your bullet of choice for one-shot, one-kill sniping.
DARPA: Experimental homing bullets that allow players to ignore wind and gravity, making these severe-condition shots much easier to execute.
Gadgets and combat gear are a large set of tools available through crafting or purchase that will help players execute their planned approach. These gadgets differ in their intended use, ranging from offensive frag grenades to defensive warning devices, but it’s ultimately up to players to choose how they’d want to use them.
The C4 charge, typically an offensive item, can be planted as a diversion to make enemies leave their posts and investigate what’s happening while the player sneaks past them.
The throwing knife can be used to silently take out enemies without expending valuable suppressor durability, but can also be a last-resort attack in case of a spent magazine.
By choosing gadgets that best suit their style, players can greatly expand the variety of available tactics.
The player can modify weapons with currently unlocked attachments. New attachments, weapons and gadgets can be unlocked by completing missions, but can also be found distributed on outposts or out in the world. New attachments can be unlocked by accomplishing open-world activities such as saving civilians. Once unlocked, attachments can be purchased from the shop along with ammo, gadgets, med-kits and armor using the in-game currency.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 tells the story of brotherhood, faith and betrayal in the most complete sniper experience ever. Take the role of an American sniper named Jonathan North, who is dropped into enemy territory in northern Georgia, nearby Russian borders. Explore large open-world maps with dynamic weather and a day and night cycle that actually impacts play and decisions. Customize weapon equipment, accessories, vehicles and a drone, and utilize the three pillars of gameplay to your liking: Sniper, Ghost and Warrior.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 launches on the PlayStation®4 system, Xbox One and Windows PC on April 25, 2017.
To learn more about CI Games and Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, visit:
More and more theme parks are beginning to integrate virtual reality into their attractions these days. The most recent of the bunch is Knott’s Berry Farm, which teamed up with VRstudios to create a VR arcade experience called VR Showdown in Ghost Town. Recently, I was able to check the VR game out at a preview event, and I have some thoughts which I wanted to bring to you, dear readers. I arrived at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park at about 6:15 PM. I greeted the PR folks, got my appointment time to play the game, and then went into the park for some grub. It was rainy, and the way the light reflected off the wet ground made for some very cool photographs.
At my designated appointment time, I moseyed over to the Boardwalk Arcade, which is located beneath the park’s Voyage to the Iron Reef attraction. They recently rennovated the arcade to have a number of modern arcade enjoyments as well as make use of their own card to magnetically store credits on. You load your card up at stations in the arcade then swipe them in the machines instead of depositing quarters like in the days of old.
The VR Showdown in Ghost Town is located in an offshoot room of the arcade, and is set up like a secret office of Dr Welles. For you Knott’s historians out there, you might recognize that name from the venerable Kingdom of the Dinosaurs attraction which used to reside where the Iron Reef is today. It seems that all of Dr Welles’ offices were not converted, and his secrets are still being shared with us today. Once you swipe your arcade card through the swiper (each person pays $6 dollars to go into the VR experience), you will be escorted in pairs of two into rooms where an assistant of Dr Welles will brief you on safety and the use of the VR gear.
VRstudios is using a proprietary system which handles large scale room tracking, on a bigger scale than the HTC Vive. The play space of the VR Showdown in Ghost Town is 20 feet by 17 feet in dimension and each room is lined with infrared sensors to track the position of the gear. The VR goggles (for lack of a better term) are mildly comfortable, but you will not be able to adjust the interpupillary distance of the two lenses and my head, being a bit larger than most, was squeezed a bit. If you have a large head, please ask the attendant about adjustments. Once the headset is donned, they hand you your gun and then put the headphones on your noggin. The gun is an articulated prop, with several tracking pylons on its edges. The gun prop feels right in the hand and the trigger squeeze, while a bit stiff, will hopefully lighten up after a while.
There is a general VR lobby where you can get used to the visuals, shooting, etc until the attendant activates the game. You can turn your head and see the head and gun of your partner, which helps to avoid colliding with them throughout the game. Unfortunately, this is where things get a bit shaky, literally. Unfortunately, the resolution of the VR headset is a bit low and the refresh rate is set to 60 Hz. This causes some slight visual “stuttering” and actually caused me to get a bit off-balance during a couple twists and ducks I had to perform. The nice thing about the VR game is it is truly meant for players to move around the space and duck behind cover when needed. Also adding to the disorientation effect is that the headset’s field of view is somewhat limited in comparison to a Rift or Vive unite. That might be okay if the refresh rate were increased to 90 Hz, but I digress. Adding to this effect was the fact that I LOVED the system’s wireless capabilities. Their VR headset units have NO WIRES connecting you to anything else. You are truly “free to roam about the cabin” as it were, and so I did.
That being said, the times in which you can stand in one place and shoot straight ahead in the game are outstanding as the image is relatively static (save for bad guys and the like). During these moments, the refresh rate issue did not bother me. This also allowed me to make full use of the 1:1 aiming/shooting provided by VRstudios’ array of tracking sensors.
Overall, the VR Showdown in Ghost Town is a fun arcade experience, but I would not recommend playing if you have ever gotten motion sickness or dizziness from a VR game in the past. Even if you have only had minor dizziness, I guarantee you that the VR Showdown in Ghost Town will bring it out of you like nothing else. That being said, I can’t think of another theme park or arcade that has anything like this attraction right now. It truly is revolutionary, and I hope this is just the start of things to come.
