Author - Jerry Paxton

New EVE Online Developer Blog Post Talks Future

2012/02/23
Jerry Paxton
News

EVE Online’s Senior Producer Jon Lander released a broad-reaching blog post today about EVE Online: Crucible’s path towards the next major EVE expansion — EVE Online: Inferno.

From the EVE Online Dev Blog Post

EVE’s developers are really getting into their stride for our upcoming releases. I recently emerged from many demos where the teams have been showing off their progress from their second sprint (short development cycle). I have to say that even at this early stage I think we have some great features, content and improvements for you coming up over the next 4-5 months. We are hoping to have a number of small releases as we go through February, March and April culminating in our major, war-themed release coming just before the summer, EVE Online: Inferno

Vessel Score by Jon Hopkins

2012/02/22
Jerry Paxton
News

SEATTLE – Feb. 22, 2012 – Independent developer Strange Loop Games, in collaboration with indiePub, today announced that their upcoming liquid physics puzzle game, Vessel, features a full-length soundtrack created by electronic music prodigy Jon Hopkins.

Boasting both Ivor Novello Award and Mercury Music Prize nominations for his score to the sci-fi hit “Monsters” and his album with King Creosote, “Diamond,” Hopkins is an internationally renowned artist who has worked with other top artists like Brian Eno, Coldplay and Imogen Heap.

Vessel combines 10 tracks from Hopkins’ albums “Opalescent,” “Contact Note” and “Insides,” with an adaptive music engine that breaks down the tracks into their respective elements, remixing them dynamically to match player’s progress through the game.

“We have been working with these tracks since we began developing Vessel, so the game has grown around the music, creating a cohesive experience for the player,” said John Krajewski, co-founder and project lead at Strange Loop Games.

“Vessel uses the music to provide subtle cues for players working through the game’s puzzles,” said Leonard Paul, audio director at Strange Loop Games. “From puzzle triggers to boss battles, we developed a custom system specifically for Vessel that utilizes Jon’s music in creative ways.”

Strange Loop Games will release its groundbreaking liquid physics puzzle game Vessel on PC March 1, through digital distribution platforms including Steam and StrangeLoopGames.com. A finalist in both the 13th Annual Independent Game Festival and the 2010 Indie Game Challenge, Vessel allows players to solve puzzles by bringing to life physically-simulated liquid (water, lava, glowing goo, chemicals and more) and animating it into living machines called Fluros.

The liquid creatures of Vessel demonstrate physics capabilities not seen in other video games. Each Fluro possesses a body composed entirely of physically simulated fluid that provides them with unique abilities including melting, reforming, mixing with other types of fluid, and re-growing lost limbs. By choosing how and where to bring liquid to life, players can solve puzzles and progress in this fantastic, mechanical world.

Vessel will be available on Windows PC March 1 for $14.99 via Steam and StrangeLoopGames.com. Vessel will also be released on Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation®Network at a later date. For more information, please visit: http://www.strangeloopgames.com

For a behind-the-scenes look at how the music integrated into Vessel, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOyjMPPvaY4

War2 Glory Announces New Server, Touts Player Count

2012/02/22
Jerry Paxton
News

Berlin, GERMANY – February 22, 2012— Just A Game, rapidly expanding worldwide publisher of interactive multiplayer games for browser and mobile devices, today announced the launch of their next server for WAR2 Glory, a browser game set in the World War II conflict.  WAR2 Glory is a strategic game that allows you to build your own town and defend it. The game can be played for free at www.War2Glory.co.uk

Current WAR2 Glory servers are so full they’re burning up!  Rising from the ashes is “Phoenix”, the newest server for players to leap into the action.  Named after the Phoenix Breakwaters used in World War II to follow up several naval landings including the Normandy landings; breakwaters were also used to save Ouwerkerk, Netherlands in 1953. The Phoenix Breakwaters are still used to this day in Britain.

The new Phoenix server also allows players both new and veteran to jump into the fray, allowing the formation of new alliances, shaking up the leaderboards and creating a furious, fun-filled battlefield.  Starting today, players will be racing to see who dominates in this new environment.  With over one million players, the push for a new server came not from Just A Game, but from the community itself, where players of all levels of competitiveness wanted to stretch themselves into a new space.

“Phoenix is a great new addition to the WAR2Glory experience, most importantly because it was something the community demanded through its constant growth,” said Kris Litson, senior game manager.  “A new server is not only a great benefit to current players but is a great way to offer new players a level playing ground to join in on the fun.

Just A Game isn’t done yet.  Soon WAR2 Glory players will find the option to construct all-new ocean fortresses named “Strongholds” and from there, launch the most violent and cunning attacks yet on other alliances!  Soldiers should prepare themselves for the most intense Alliance combat to date. When Strongholds launches, players will be able to utilize new and unique items and officer equipment to out-gun, out-last and out-manoeuvre all who would oppose them. Strongholds are best held as a group.  Alliances – a group of players who band together for protection and dominance – must work closer together than ever before to ensure victory whilst defending and crushing defeat for their opponents when attacking.  Donate resources, units, items and the most powerful officers, because true cohesion is the key to victory and each Alliance is only as strong as its weakest member.

Daytona Intl Speedway Added to Auto Club Revolution

2012/02/22
Jerry Paxton
News

February 22, 2012 – The world of motorsports goes Daytona crazy this week as ‘The Great American Race’ hits Florida. Auto Club Revolution joins the excitement as the world famous Daytona International Speedway race tack is added to the game’s licensed track roster.

Auto Club Revolution is a free-to-play online racing game and car community built in collaboration with the motor industry. Featuring officially licensed cars from over 50 of the world’s leading motor manufacturers, it delivers a console quality racing experience to the free-to-play market while providing a social platform for owning, customizing and enjoying cars online.  The game features a wide range of custom and licensed race tracks including Silverstone, Circuit de Spa Francorchamps and from today, Daytona International Speedway.

“We’re heavily committed to bringing the best possible game content including cars, upgrade parts and race tracks to Auto Club Revolution”, said executive producer Doug Wolff. “When we see the ‘most requested track’ lists from our testers then Daytona – the American dream – is right up there alongside Silverstone and Spa”.

Hosting the first DAYTONA 500â in 1959, Daytona quickly entered the heart of every American motorsports fan and is now one of the most prestigious race tracks in the world hosting races from a wide range of motorsports including NASCAR, ARCA, AMA, Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross.  The most famous event to be hosted at the 2.5 mile (4km) circuit is the world famous Daytona 500 NASCAR® Sprint Cup™ series season opener which takes place on February 26, 2012.

Joie Chitwood III, President of Daytona International Speedway said, “We pride ourselves on being the ‘World Center of Racing’.  So it’s very exciting for us to be on the cutting edge of online racing with Eutechnyx and Auto Club Revolution.  Motorsports fans around the globe will enjoy running all of the incredible cars in Auto Club Revolution along the world famous high banks of Daytona.”

The game’s lead designer, Matthew Clarke said, “Daytona is a great addition to Auto Club Revolution. It’s perfect for newcomers looking to get to grips with the racing experience but also an excellent track for the experienced racers looking to ‘sort the men from the boys’ with pack racing gameplay. When those huge, banked corners are looming on the horizon and flying towards you at 200+ mph, and the slightest nudge could send you crashing into the walls; it’s hard not to get excited by that intense feeling.”

Auto Club Revolution is currently in its Closed Beta test phase, with new invitations going out regularly and a number of key giveaways continuing with selected partner websites.  Applications to join the closed beta are on going at www.autoclubrevolution.com

Screenshot Gallery

Demo Released for Victoria II Along with Contest

2012/02/22
Jerry Paxton
News

NEW YORK – February 2, 2012 – Recently released expansion for Victoria II has just received a demo. The demo for the game that focuses on the American Civil War era allows players to:

* Play from 1836 to 1860
* Play as Prussia with the chance to form Germany through warfare or diplomacy
* Play as Japan to westernize your country while fighting back reactionary forces.

The devs have cooked up something for those already playing the game as well. Join the After Action Report contest on the forums http://bit.ly/yFstfL. Winners stand to pick up a big chunk of the Paradox catalogue.

About Victoria II: A House Divided
From the development team behind Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, Victoria II: A House Divided introduces a new starting point in 1861 allowing players to experience the US Civil War from the start, from the era of absolute monarchies, encompassing expansion and colonization, culminating in the emergence of the US as a global superpower at the dawn of the 20th century.

Buy Victoria II: A House Divided here:
http://www.victoria2.com/game-info/buy-the-game

Borderlands 2 Gets Release Date, Pre-Order Bonuses

2012/02/22
Jerry Paxton
News

New York, NY, February 22, 2012 – 2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that Borderlands™ 2, the sequel to the multi-million unit selling breakout hit, Borderlands™, will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PC in North America on September 18, 2012 and internationally on September 21, 2012. Currently in development by Gearbox Software, Borderlands 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed four-player cooperative shooter-looter that combined intense first-person mayhem with role-playing gameplay. In addition, fans who pre-order the title from participating retailers will receive access to the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club, including rewarding in-game items and bonuses.

Living up to the mantra “bigger, better and more badass,” Borderlands 2 features all-new characters; skills; imaginative, diverse new environments with unique missions and enemies; and more exciting and fun weapons, equipment and loot than ever before. All of these features come together in a story that takes players to the world of Pandora to take down the notorious Handsome Jack and his corrupt Hyperion Corporation as a solo campaign or with up to four cooperative players.

“The addictive gameplay and shooting and looting mayhem of the first Borderlands is back and better than ever in Borderlands 2, taking the franchise to an entirely new level,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “With more guns, more enemies, more missions, an engaging story and all-new characters, Borderlands 2 promises to bring a new era to gaming this fall.”

Borderlands 2 will allow friends to play together locally via split-screen, as well as online with drop-in-drop-out capabilities. With seamless cooperative gameplay and action, Borderlands 2 is extremely accessible for gamers and their friends to play alone or together in a variety of configurations.

“Borderlands 2 is a passion project, through and through,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “The result is a sequel that has improved every successful aspect of Borderlands while innovating with an all-new experience.”

Gamers who pre-order Borderlands 2 from participating retailers will gain access to the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club, allowing them to download the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key and the Vault Hunter’s Relic. The Gearbox Gun Pack is a collection of unique guns to help players begin their journey on Pandora. The Golden Key is an in-game item used to unlock a rare item in the mysterious Golden Sanctuary Loot Chest found in Borderlands 2. The Vault Hunter’s Relic is an in-game item that boosts players’ gear-hunting fortune while playing solo or teaming up with friends. To pre-order Borderlands 2 please visit www.borderlands2.com/preorder.

Borderlands 2 is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more information on Borderlands 2 please visit www.borderlands2.com.

New Details About Mechwarrior Tactics

2012/02/21
Jerry Paxton
News

After signing up with the game’s official, yet cryptic, website we have received some new info about the upcoming Mechwarrior Tactics. This just in from Infinite Games Publishing:

It’s the year 3025. Hostile enemy lances are closing in all around you. As Commander of an elite mercenary company, it’s up to you to ensure swift victory and make your enemies pay dearly. Your Mech Bay hosts a vast array of custom Mechs, each configured for a specific combat role. Choose wisely which Mechs to take into battle: your future as the leader of your lances depends on it.

MechWarrior Tactics™ is a brand-new MechWarrior game set in the BattleTech® universe and includes everything you love about MechWarrior. MechWarrior Tactics is the latest evolution of turn-based strategy and blends tactical gameplay, deep collectability, and unique online features, and is set against visually stunning environments for the supreme MechWarrior battle experience. Players earn, collect, and purchase combat and aesthetic resources to outfit each Mech and prepare for the next online battle.

Game features:

• Collect, Customize, Command:

  • Earn Experience and new resources as you advance your level through gameplay
  • Upgrade and customize your Mechs in your Mech Bay
  • Make the most of each Mech’s unique configuration for total battlefield domination

• Customizable Mechs – seamless store integration means never having to leave the game to purchase and equip new resources for your next mission
• Asynchronous Combat: Multiple concurrent battles with players from around the world
• Competitive ranked games and global leaderboards lets the world know you’re in charge. Play for a chance to win larger, more meaningful reward payouts
• Watch and share your completed battle using a unique cinematic replay feature

MechWarrior Tactics will be available in 2012. More information about MechWarrior Tactics can be found at www.mwtactics.com.

The Secret World Gets Release Date

2012/02/21
Jerry Paxton
News

Durham, USA – February 21st, 2012 –Independent developer and publisher of online games, Funcom, today announced that the highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game ‘The Secret World’ will launch on June 19th, 2012. Originally slated for an April launch, Funcom has decided to invest more development time into the title in order to apply even more polish before launch.

Feedback from hands-on press events and beta testing has proven very positive, and Funcom intends to spend the additional development time focusing on polish and tweaking to maximize the potential of the game. The beta feedback so far is showing very positive reactions to core game features such as the role-playing systems, combat, missions, dungeons, story and immersion. Among the beta testers surveyed, almost 9 out of 10 say they will play the game at launch.

More than 750,000 gamers are now registered as beta testers, which is significantly higher than Funcom’s previous MMO ‘Age of Conan’ had at the same point in development. Funcom expects the number of beta registrations to grow significantly in the coming months, as the company ramps up its major PR and marketing initiatives towards launch.

“Allowing for even more time to polish the game really shows just how much faith Funcom as a company has in ‘The Secret World’ and how committed we are to making it the best it can be,” says Creative Director and Senior Producer Ragnar Tørnquist. “The additional time will also allow us to carry out even more quality beta testing, and soon we will also be announcing several public beta events where hundreds of thousands of gamers will get to test the game prior to launch.”

‘The Secret World’ is consistently mentioned as one of the most anticipated MMO’s in development. Mainstream publications such as Forbes and The Guardian have both listed‘The Secret World’ as a game to watch out for in 2012, and the game has also been singled out as one of the most anticipated games of 2012 by gaming sites such as G4TV, VideoGamer, and RockPaperShotgun. Leading technology website VentureBeat highlighted ‘The Secret World’ as one of the top new game brands of 2012, and over at MMORPG.com the game was given the ‘Rising Star’ in the site’s Reader’s Choice Awards.

Following the first hands-on press event last year, ‘The Secret World’ was heralded as “one of the most distinctive MMO’s of the last 10 years” (Videogamer) and MMORPG.com went on to predict that “The Secret World is going to take the world by storm and set new standards in excellence in gameplay.” This month, Funcom is doing another extensive round of hands-on sessions with select press, showcasing all new content and mechanics. New press previews are expected to hit later this week following the hands-on events held throughout February where journalists from over 50 outlets worldwide attended.

’The Secret World’ is published by Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA).  Those looking to join the ongoing beta test can sign up via the official site atwww.thesecretworld.com.