Author - Jerry Paxton

New Kartuga Trailer Reveals Ship Types

2013/02/01

News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Hamburg, February 1, 2013. As InnoGames’ pirate-action game Kartuga nears closed beta, the first detailed information about the title’s ship types are announced. Players have the choice between light, medium and large layouts – overall there are more than 40 types selectable in the game. InnoGames presents some of them in a brand new video.

Depending on the chosen categories, ship properties differ vastly from each other. Light ships are fast and agile, but have few health points. Large ships are near unsinkable, but very slow and portly. Medium ships offer a balance mix of strengths and weaknesses. Rare and high-level ships give players bonuses for various specifications – for example more powerful attacks. In addition to the many properties, the ship types also differ visually from each other. Because of this, a great optical variety on the oceans of Kartuga is guaranteed.

InnoGames plans to start the closed-beta at the end of February. Players can already preregister at www.kartuga.com.

Kartuga is an Action-MMO with RPG-elements. The 3D pirate game invites players to choose from three ship classes, and develop their unique play style by leveling up and combining various skills and equipment. At the core of the game, developed by Ticking Bomb Games, is cooperative PvP. Players challenge each other in teams of four in intense, fast-paced matches.

With more than 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, Forge of Empires and Grepolis.

Trailer

CD Projekt RED Shows Off REDengine 3

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, Tech News, Windows PC News

CD Projekt RED have released some information touting their new REDengine 3 game engine, which is said to be powering the next in The Witcher series as well as the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. Also, click on the included image to see some of the great detail this new engine is capable of.

February 1, 2013 — The REDengine 3 is the third iteration of CD Projekt RED’s in-house technology. It is created for RPGs set in vast open-worlds with improved tools for spanning truly nonlinear stories that are based on real player choices and consequences.

“If we look at RPGs nowadays we find two approaches, one which emphasizes the story but limits the game world and one that builds a vast open-world but hampers and simplifies the story. With the REDengine 3 we combine the positive aspects of both approaches for the first time, creating an open environment with a complex, multi-thread story. Together with believable characters, a captivating tale and a world where players can roam freely without loading times, we will be able to move gaming to a new level with a realistic feel and full player immersion. When working on our previous titles, I didn’t dream that we would achieve something like this. Thanks to the support of all our fans, now we have the possibility to use REDengine 3 and create something many RPG fans dream of.” – said Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt RED studio.

The REDengine demonstrated its capability to create great adventures for the first time in The Witcher 2 (PC). It was praised for its graphical excellence and exceptional, branching storytelling. The studio developed the technology and with optimization, REDengine 2 (internal name) brought The Witcher 2 to Xbox 360. Now CD Projekt RED aims to set their games in diversified, open-world ecosystems while maintaining a well paced and robust story.

The REDengine 3 tech is tailor-made to create nonlinear and story-driven RPGs with a system that allows to stream and handle fully explorable open-worlds. Cyberpunk 2077, the second project the studio is working on, will have prime examples demonstrating that REDengine 3 is the perfect tool for creating immense universes filled with exciting, nonlinear adventures. The advanced technology of the REDengine 3 makes RPGs comparable to top-shelf shooters, both in terms of game world presentation and the epic proportions of events that the player is drawn into. The engine is a next-gen ready solution that begins to blur the line between pre-rendered CGI movies and real time rendered graphics, bringing us closer to the most life-like world ever created in video games. All the state-of-the-art visuals form a living ecosystem allowing the player to be a part of a vivid environment. The new face and body animation systems implemented in REDengine 3 offer realistic expression of emotions, movie quality scenes and character interactions.

The technology uses high dynamic range rendering with 64-bit precision that ensures superior picture quality with more realistic and precise lighting without losses derived from reduced contrast ratio. A flexible renderer prepared for deferred or forward+ rendering pipelines has a wide array of cinematic post-processing effects, including bokeh depth-of-field, color grading and flares from many lights. A high performance terrain system allows multiple material layers to be efficiently blended and uses tessellation for the best possible detail. The technology also includes seamless blending between animations and physics along with many more features. The engine uses CD Projekt RED’s new version of its proprietary REDkit editor with tools made specifically for RPG game creation. The editor can build complex, branching quests and set them in a free roaming environment with a simplicity not achieved by similar toolsets.

Official Star Trek Into Darkness App Released

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

Mobile News, Movie News, News

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 1, 2013) – “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” first of its kind application, based on J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Paramount Pictures film, is now available to download for free from the App Store and Google Play. Users who have the app will have unprecedented access to all STAR TREK content, as well as the opportunity to participate in missions and win valuable prizes.

Utilizing the latest technologies from Qualcomm Incorporated, such as Qualcomm Labs’ Gimbal™ platform and Qualcomm Vuforia™ augmented reality platform, the app will allow users to delve deeper into the Star Trek universe by interacting directly with materials from the eagerly awaited film to unlock additional content and experiences. The users collect points, see content, and work their way through the Star Trek Academy.

The app was first announced on January 7^th,2013 at the Consumer Electronic Show, during Qualcomm’s Chairman and CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs’ keynote address demonstrating the ability to “harness the power of the smartphone to bridge the digital and physical world, allowing the studio to market the film in the real world and simultaneously bring users into the film’s story and world.”

To download the app, visit www.StarTrekMovie.com/StarTrekApp

Highlights of the “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” app include:

A geofencing function for location-based experiences such as encouraging viewers to go to the movies;
An audio scan function that can be turned on to automatically recognize and reward users for watching “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” content on TV and other media;
An image scan function that enables users to interact with images printed or viewable in the real world;
New “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” content, such as videos, images and wallpapers delivered directly to users’ mobile devices;
Exclusive opportunities and special offers only available to app users.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” is written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof and directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams is producing with Bryan Burk through Bad Robot Productions, along with Lindelof, Kurtzman and Orci. Jeffrey Chernov and Skydance Productions’ David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake are the executive producers.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” opens in theaters everywhere May 17^th, 2013.

3 New Path of Exile Screenshots

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

Here are three new screenshots from Grinding Gear Games upcoming hack-and-slash title, Path of Exile. The game is now in open beta testing and gamers can sign up over at the game’s official website.

Screenshots

BI Renames Main Island in ArmA 3

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

Prague, Czech Republic, Friday 1 February 2013 – Bohemia Interactive has renamed the main island of its upcoming mil-sim game, Arma 3&TRADE;. The new name, ‘Altis’, reflects the distinctive Mediterranean identity of its environment, but distinguishes it from the real-world Greek island of Lemnos, which has served as the main source of inspiration.

The decision follows an incident involving the arrest of two Bohemia Interactive employees, who were spending their holidays on Lemnos. Both were detained for 129 days on suspicion of espionage. They were recently released on bail.

Arma 3’s main island (approx. 350 km²) is inspired by the beautiful environment of the Greek island, Lemnos (approx. 475 km²), artistically re-created based on commercially and publicly available data. It was originally chosen to be the centre-piece of the game after Bohemia Interactive’s CEO, Marek Spanel, visited the island on vacation several years ago and shared his impressions with the Arma 3 development team.

However, in view of recent events, the team no longer feels passionate about using the previous name, ‘Limnos’, and hopes that the new identity, ‘Altis’, will help emphasize the fictional nature of the game. A secondary, significantly smaller island in Arma 3, ‘Stratis’ (approx. 20 km²), will keep its name.

Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, Project Lead on Arma 3, explains:

“As part of the creative process, our virtual environments are often rooted in real-life locations and, during development, they evolve and grow along with our design. The resulting fictional environment is often close to its inspiration, but it’s never exactly the same – nor would we want it to be. For us, ‘Altis’ echoes the Mediterranean heart of our island, but differentiates it from any undesired real-life connotations.”

New Altis Screenshots

Activision Announces The Call of Duty Championship

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Xbox 360 News

Santa Monica, CA – February 1, 2013 – It’s time for gamers the world over to mark their calendars, because the ultimate high-stakes Call of Duty competition is coming this April, forever changing the face of competitive eSports. The Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, featuring a $1 million Call of Duty®: Black Ops II tournament, will take place in Hollywood, CA April 5-7. Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) and their award-winning studio Treyarch, in partnership with Xbox®, Major League Gaming (MLG) and the Electronic Sports League (ESL) will bring together 32 of the world’s most skilled multiplayer teams on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft to compete head-to-head in Call of Duty: Black Ops II in a live-streamed spectacular to be broadcast to the masses.

“More people play Call of Duty multiplayer every day than watch the average regular season game of the NBA. The scale and passion of the Call of Duty fan base is simply humbling, and yet there is no formal way to find out who amongst those millions of players is the best of the best, until now,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Watching the performances of the very best Call of Dutyplayers is already a mass spectator sport on YouTube and Call of Duty® Elite. We are going to bring the best players in the world to Hollywood to compete on the ultimate stage, for the ultimate prize. And we are going to invite our entire worldwide fan base to join in the fun.”

Beginning today, players interested in participating in the tournament can go tohttps://elite.callofduty.com/esports and register for a free Call of Duty Elite account – it takes just a few seconds. Once registered, teams of four can vie for entry into theCall of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox tournament by competing in the February season of League Play in Call of Duty: Black Ops II on Xbox LIVE®, which opens today. Following the close of the February season, the top eight eligible teams will earn coveted spots in the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, including a trip to Hollywood this April to compete for the $1 million tournament purse.

“It’s an absolute honor to have players and fans celebrate the thrill of competition on such a grand stage,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head. “From the very beginning of development for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, we committed to making eSports an integral part of the game, and it’s going to be awesome to watch the best teams in the world battle it out for everyone to see.”

Additionally, teams competing in the recently announced MLG 2013 Pro Circuit featuring Call of Duty: Black Ops II (www.majorleaguegaming.com) will vie for a chance to enter the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox. At the MLG Winter Championship, March 15-17, in Dallas, Texas, the top eight teams will earn trips to Hollywood to play against the best Call of Duty players in the world. Joining them will be eight winning teams from the ESL’s European Finals (http://cod.esl.eu) taking place March 16-17, in the famous ESL Arena live eSports Studios in Cologne, Germany.

Remaining seats in the 32-team tournament will be made available internationally across Asia, Australia, and Brazil, with territory-specific qualification details to be revealed locally as they become available and at https://elite.callofduty.com/esports.

Further details on the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, including full rules and regulations, Call of Duty: Black Ops II maps and modes for the tournament, prizing distribution, travel accommodations and more will be made available at https://elite.callofduty.com/esports.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated “M” (Mature – Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs – content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or onwww.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.

ASTRO Gaming Announces Dead Space 3 Headset Line

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, PlayStation 3 News, Tech News, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News

SAN FRANCISCO – Jan. 31, 2013 – ASTRO Gaming, a division of Skullcandy, Inc. (Nasdaq: SKUL), and creators of premium video gaming equipment for professional gamers, has announced that the studio is supporting the upcoming launch of Electronic Arts’ Dead Space 3™ on February 5, 2013 with six sets of exclusively designed speakers tags for its award-winning ASTRO A30 and A40 Audio Systems. Developed with direct input from both Electronic Arts and Visceral Games, the ASTRO Gaming Dead Space 3 speaker tags will feature artwork taken directly from the game to ensure a stylish, authentic and entirely terrifying representation of the latest entry in the Dead Space saga.

Developed by Visceral Games, Dead Space 3 sends troubled protagonist Isaac Clarke on a journey across space in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind the Necromorphs. After crash-landing on a frozen and desolate planet, Issac will fight not only for his own survival, but for that of all mankind, against an inhospitable planet and the deadly creatures who live there. For the first time in the Dead Space series, players will be able to team up and play together using seamless drop in, drop out co-op functionality. Both solo play with Issac Clarke and co-op play featuring the soldier John Carver provide players with a unique story and distinct gameplay elements.

ASTRO Gaming speaker tags provide customers with an opportunity to truly personalize their listening experience with magnetically interchangeable custom-made art designed specifically for the studio’s award-winning A30 and A40 headsets. ASTRO Gaming headset owners can create their own speaker tags using the ASTRO Customizer or choose from dozens of pre-existing and highly stylish tags, including several eye-catching series by Upper Playground, iam8bit, Penny Arcade and more.

ASTRO Gaming Dead Space 3 speaker tags are available now directly through the company website at www.astrogaming.com/ds3 – three sets for the ASTRO A30 for $19.99 each and three sets for the ASTRO A40 at $24.99 each. Bundles including the ASTRO A30 and A40 Audio Systems and the Dead Space 3 speaker tags are also available for $209.99 and $259.99, respectively.

For more information about ASTRO Gaming or the studio’s customizable speaker tags, please visit www.astrogaming.com.

NASCAR The Game: Inside Line Shows Off Sixth Generation Car DLC

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, PlayStation 3 News, Xbox 360 News

Activision and Eutechnyx have revealed the Sixth Generation Car DLC pack for their NASCAR The Game: Inside Line. The new DLC includes the three new NASCAR “Gen 6” vehicles, which brings the brand new Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry models into the game for the first time. The NASCAR Gen 6 cars will be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later in February and can be purchased using the in-game Ticket currency or as part of the Inside Line Highlights Pack.

Screenshots

New Magrunner Screenshots

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, PlayStation 3 News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News

January 31, 2013 – Developed on Unreal Engine 3 by 3AM (Frogwares), Magrunner is an action/reflection game for PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox LIVE based on the use of physics and magnetism. Magrunner sends us to the near future, where technology will confront the Cthulhu Mythos as imagined by the renowned author of fantasy novels H. P. Lovecraft.

Today, we are pleased to reveal more about Magrunner through 6 screenshots and an exclusive piece of art. The game’s story begins in 2050 and takes place in a big sports competition broadcast through the entire world, intended to promote a new technology based on magnetism.

The 8 participants’ objective is to finish first in a huge race made up of many challenge rooms, each one bigger and more complex than the last. Each of them has a special glove that interacts with the new magnetic technology and enables them to journey through more and more spectacular rooms by charging various objects and elements of the environment with magnetic forces that attract or repel other objects.

However, the competition soon turns into a real nightmare. A power outage and what feels like an earthquake isolates the competitors from the rest of the world. Their only hope is to finish the course and attempt to contact the exterior world. But the challenge rooms that separate them from the finish grow more and more menacing and a long descent into hell awaits them. At the end of the tunnel lies a frightening secret that could threaten all of humanity. Today’s screenshots show all this, from the modern and sleek-looking challenge rooms at the beginning to the darker and more troubling areas that follow.

Screenshots

Heroes of Newerth Details Massive 3.0 Update

2013/02/01

Jerry Paxton

News, Windows PC News

Kalamazoo, MI – January 31, 2013 – S2 Games, developers of the free-to-play Massive Online Battle Arena (MOBA) title Heroes of Newerth, today announced that the all-new 3.0 update is now available to download on PC, Mac and Linux atwww.heroesofnewerth.com. Widely considered the game of choice for connoisseurs of the MOBA genre, Heroes of Newerth is a rich and engaging universe featuring a passionate community that’s now able to contribute to the game with their own custom user-designed bots. With the theme “Newerth Evolved,” the 3.0 update makes HoN more accessible than ever.

New player experience is the key focus with the 3.0 update. Featuring an entirely revamped Walkthrough, first-time players will now be better prepared for battle in the world of Newerth. Players will also have access to the in-game Learnatorium, featuring a brand-new series of videos explaining the basics of gameplay as well as more advanced techniques.

“HoN is almost three years old now and we are continuing to invest and improve the game,” said Marc DeForest, CEO of S2 Games. “We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such a tremendous player base that’s helped to grow the game to where it is today. The 3.0 update is a serious step forward as we look towards a bright future in 2013.”

Whether you’re trying to protect the World Tree or destroy it, the 3.0 update presents the world of Newerth in a stunningly gorgeous way. Many of the game’s heroes have undergone high definition facelifts and the standard 5 versus 5 map, Forests of Caldavar, has received a complete textural overhaul. Experienced players will be glad to know that the map’s layout has not changed in any way but has received a more detailed design with dynamic new aesthetics, buildings and tower designs. The patch also introduces reworked and enhanced UI for a more seamless gameplay experience, including customizable friends list notifications, streamlined options menu, and enhanced in-game chat.

Additionally, players are now able to hone their skills against AI controlled Bots before tackling human opponents. The AI-controlled Bots will offer three levels of difficulty: easy, medium, and hard. As an added bonus, the Bots’ AI code has been open sourced, allowing players to mod them to battle against other user-created Bots.

The new and improved Referral Program encourages players to recruit new friends to the game or invite their friends to return to Newerth. The program will incentivize players with in-game rewards and other tangible prizes, such as a trip to the HoN Tour Grand Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Upon launching the new program, both the referral and referee will have three weeks to earn double rewards. An all-new Report-A-Player system has also been implemented, giving the community the power to clean up and police itself in a match and out, while directly impacting the behavior of negative players.

The world of Newerth is an engaging and competitive realm and the new HoN 3.0 update pushes what’s possible in a MOBA. Heroes of Newerth is available for free at www.heroesofnewerth.com.

For more information on Heroes of Newerth and the 3.0 update, follow along on Twitter (@heroesofnewerth) and Facebook (facebook.com/heroesofnewerth).