Looks like the cast of the A&E series, Bates Motel, will join executive producers Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) and Kerry Ehrin (“Friday Night Lights”) for a panel discussion about the showa at San Diego’s Comic-Con. The panel will take place on Saturday, July 20 from 10:00a -11:00a. Currently, the room of the panel is listed as “TBD”, but stay-tuned for additional info as it is released.
Los Gatos, CA – June 27, 2013 – Sixense Entertainment, Inc., a pioneer in consumer motion tracking hardware and software, announced today that it will bring a Sixense-branded wireless system to the market.
Sixense will release development kits that will support three wireless motion trackers and will include fully playable controllers compatible with games and applications developed for existing Sixense-powered products, including the Razer Hydra. The dev kits will allow Sixense to work directly with developers to create software for the upcoming consumer version or to develop their own controllers and motion tracking devices.
“We’re excited to finally provide a wireless solution that addresses the needs of both consumers and developers,” said Amir Rubin, co-founder of Sixense. ”The ecosystem around gaming and virtual reality has grown dramatically, making now the perfect time to announce our new consumer product and direct-to-developer dev kits.”
Sixense will provide additional details about the development kits, including price and availability, soon. For more information about Sixense visit www.sixense.com.
Oslo, Norway – June 27th, 2013 – Exactly 12 years ago today, on July 27th 2001, Funcom released what was to become one of the most innovative and longest-running massively multiplayer games in history. ‘Anarchy Online’ immediately captured gamers’ fascination as it launched them into the first-ever science fiction MMO experience, and for twelve years, Funcom has evolved and expanded this rich universe through regular updates as well as major expansions such as ‘Shadowlands’ and ‘Alien Invasion’.
Despite its age, ‘Anarchy Online’ still serves as home to thousands of people around the world, and more than 2.4 million characters have inhabited the alien world of Rubi-ka to date. Among those, 38% have sworn allegiance to the all-powerful Omni-Tek corporation while 38.5% have joined the rebellious clans. 23.5% have chosen to stay neutral in the epic conflict. Among all the breeds that inhabit the world of Rubi-ka, Solitus – the breed most similar to an original human being – is by far the most popular with 35.8% of all players choosing this origin, while the fragile yet highly intelligent Nano is the least popular with only 20.3% share of players. As of today there are more than 15,000 player-made organizations in the ‘Anarchy Online’ universe and almost 60% of all players have joined one of these player collectives.
“’Anarchy Online’ is a game that, 12 years after launch, still stands as a pillar of innovation in the MMO genre,” says Joel Bylos, Creative Director at Funcom. “Going forward, with our current plans for the new engine, the new player experience and Steam integration, we are hoping to ensure at least another 12!”
Innovation has been a keyword for ‘Anarchy Online’ ever since it first launched back in 2001. Not only was it the first massively multiplayer online game to feature instancing – a mechanic that is common in most games in its genre today – it was also the first MMO to feature in-game advertisement, digital download, virtual world radio, in-game concerts, virtual items and the ‘freemium’ business model. Currently, developers at Funcom are hard at work finalizing a new graphics engine for ‘Anarchy Online’, which will make significant improvements to the overall visual quality of the game. The team is also working on a new player experience, making it easier than ever to join and get involved in the ‘Anarchy Online’ universe.
To celebrate the anniversary, Funcom is inviting everyone to join the exciting celebrations in-game. A unique set of events will take place during the celebrations, where the rebel clans will fight for their freedom against the defending Omni-Tek. The Desert Nomads are also back, and in the Newland Desert, ‘The Tinker’ is back and is ready to make large and explosive gifts for her favorite enemy, ‘The Desert Rider’. Join her in her madness and take out the many ‘Desert Nomads’ to find parts of the many gifts she wants to make! To learn more about the celebrations, please visit the official website.
JUNE 27, 2013 — Summit Entertainment will showcase the studio’s highly anticipated film event ENDER’S GAME at Comic-Con 2013, presenting never-before-seen new footage, appearances by cast members and filmmakers, and several massive, interactive fan events. A full slate of activities related to the film to be unveiled at this year’s Comic-Con, including:
Hall H Panel – The studio’s panel on Thursday, July 18th will feature ENDER’S GAME filmmakers and cast, including producer Bob Orci, director Gavin Hood, and cast members Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Abigail Breslin.
Exclusive Fan Experience – Attendees will be able to visit an elaborate, specially constructed ENDER’S GAME exhibit outside of the Hilton Gaslamp, featuring 8 unique rooms representing the most iconic environments of Ender’s world, complete with original film props and set pieces used in the movie. Throughout the experience, attendees will be able to see exclusive film footage on LED screens, interact with new digital content, integrate photos of themselves into the highly anticipated Battle Room, and register to win a home make over.
Convention Floor Booth – Summit Entertainment’s booth located within the Grand Hall will highlight ENDER’S GAME footage. Premium promotional items will be distributed to the 120,000 attendees walking the convention floor, and booth visitors will be given the opportunity to win “fast passes” to the ENDER’S Game Exclusive Fan Experience, granting them entry without having to wait in line.
BURBANK, Calif. – June 27, 2013 – The world of women’s sports was kicked upside down on July 10, 1999. Before a sold-out crowd of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl and an estimated 40 million Americans watching on television, the women’s soccer team reached a cultural and athletic pinnacle with its penalty kick shootout victory over China to win the Women’s World Cup. As part of ESPN Films’ new Nine for IX series, The ’99ers explores the story behind this incredible team. Attendees of the D23 Expo 2013 can catch an exclusive screening of this film featuring a Q&A with the director Erin Leyden and the producer Julie Foudy. The screening/ Q&A will take place at The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Stage 28 at the Anaheim Convention Center on Sunday, August 11 at 2:30 p.m. PT.
The ’99ers is told through the voice of Foudy, a longtime team captain, who gives viewers an inside look at the strong team ethic and rare “do for each other” mentality that propelled them to victory that day and turned the team into a cultural touchstone. With unprecedented access, the film uses candid, behind-the-scenes footage shot by the players themselves during the tournament to present a unique portrait of the women who irrevocably changed the face of women’s athletics. Reuniting key players from the 1999 squad and talking with current U.S. players as well, the film examines how women’s soccer – and women’s sports as a whole – has changed since that epic day at the Rose Bowl.
Tickets for the D23 Expo are $57 for a one-day adult admission and $47 for children 3–12. Tickets for members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club are $50 for a one-day adult admission and $42 for children. Multi-day money-saving tickets are also available for both D23 Members and the general public, and D23 Members can save as much as $84 off the price of admission, based on the purchase of four three-day tickets at the D23 Member rate. For more information on tickets and the ticket pricing structure for members and general admission, visit D23Expo.com.
Photo Attached – Courtesy of ESPN Films.
The folks over at AirSplat have announced their latest round of “Thorsday Deals” – a great way for people to save on Airsoft related products.
Thorsday Deals Link (AirSplat’s Blog)
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Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday 27th June 2013 – Providing a SITREP of development so far, Bohemia Interactive has published a brand new video for Arma 3. The latest Community Guide explores the game’s new features, provides a recap of the Arma 3 Alpha, and looks at some of the most popular community-created content. The video concludes by demonstrating the new faction, vehicles, weapons, scenarios and challenges from the just-released Arma 3 Beta.
Together with Andrew Gluck (better known as Dslyecxi) from ShackTactical, Bohemia Interactive is creating a series of videos to explain some of the basics of Arma 3. The first video presented Arma 3’s core principles, the second video explored infantry combat, while the third Community Guide provided tips on effective multiplayer teamwork. This new SITREP video records a major milestone in Arma 3’s development as the game transitions from Alpha to Beta.
Starting with the successful Arma: Cold War Assault (originally titled Operation Flashpoint*: Cold War Crisis) in 2001, Arma 3 is the latest installment in Bohemia Interactive’s award-winning tactical military shooter series for PC. The Arma 3 Beta, which aims to involve players into the game’s development, features 8 showcase missions (Infantry, Vehicles, SCUBA, Helicopter, Combined Arms, Supports, Night, Commanding), 20 weapons and 18 vehicles, 4 multiplayer scenarios, 4 firing drill challenges, the powerful scenario editor and modding support. The Arma 3 Beta is located on Stratis (20 km²), while the final game will also feature the 270 km² Mediterranean island of Altis,
The Arma 3 Beta (34.99 EUR/29.99 GBP/44.99 USD) and the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD) are available for purchase from Steam and Store.bistudio.com (both include a Steam version of the full retail game upon release). The price of each edition will increase once the full and final game becomes available.
*Operation Flashpoint™ is a registered trademark of Codemasters Software Company.
2K Games has released a new gameplay video for the upcoming third-person tactical shooter, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.
According to this post today, Nvidia has announced that their Shield gaming device will be delayed for one month.
We’re grateful for all the enthusiasm that’s been expressed for SHIELD, our new portable gaming device. And we’re eager to get it into your hands. But we won’t do that until it’s fully up to the exacting standards that NVIDIA’s known for. And some final quality-assurance testing has just turned up a mechanical issue that we’re not happy with. So, while we announced last week that SHIELD will go on sale this Thursday, we’ve taken the hard decision to delay shipping until next month. The issue relates to a third-party mechanical component, and we’re working around the clock with the supplier to get it up to our expectations. We apologize to those who have preordered SHIELDs and to all those who are waiting for them to go on sale. But we want every SHIELD to be just right. We’ll let you know when we have an exact shipping date in July. We think it will be worth the wait.
Eugen Systems and Focus Home Interactive are at it again, bringing gamers a very tactical real-time strategy title in their Wargame: AirLand Battle. The sequel to Wargame: European Escalation, the new game brings some welcome additions and gameplay enhancements, not to mention a slew of modern military platforms with which to wage war. Casual gamers and those folks who thought that the Command and Conquer games were difficult need to take note: Wargame AirLand Battle will, without a doubt, be the most difficult military real-time strategy title you have every played. You will lose. A lot. With that out in the open, let’s talk about the excruciatingly-fun ride that is Wargame: AirLand Battle!
A military wargamer’s dream, Wargame: AirLand Battle puts players in command of about 800 units from 12 countries. Each unit has strengths and weaknesses, which you will have to know in order to make best use of your forces. One of the big additions to Wargame: AirLand Battle is fixed wing aircraft. While helicopters were included in the original game, there were no fixed wing platforms to be found. Now, players can order up F-14 Tomcats, A-10 Warthogs, SU-25 Frogfoots and a lot more. The unit types are all-encompassing, with some designated simply to re-supply your other units, to troops, to vehicles, and more. Eugen Systems has done an excellent job of bringing variety to the game.
One interesting change that made a particular type of unit a lot more useful is with infantry. Infantry seems a lot more capable of defending an area now and, once dug in, can be a real pain to clear out. Also, helicopters feel a bit more ineffective thanks to the inclusion of fixed wing aircraft. However, do not make the mistake of leaving them behind as they are still very capable of taking out enemy units.
The dynamic campaign map
For new players, there is a set of tutorial missions. However, even with these I felt the game became overwhelming very quickly once a skirmish actually began. You need to put in the time to learn the units and the command system in order to succeed.
The terrain is varied and far improved over its predecessor and your units will have to utilize every nook and cranny to their advantage as cover and concealment is as important as ever. This brings us to the graphical part of the review. Wargame: AirLand Battle is beautiful and, to its detriment, can be “too” good looking. I sometimes got distracted by just how detailed and pretty the area of operations is when I should have been focusing on my unit locations.
There is a very cool dynamic campaign mode which promises lots of replayability. However, it is currently a bit limited in scope due to there only being one location for it right now. The idea is very solid, however, and I can’t wait to see what Eugen Systems will do with this mode in the future. The one thing I would have liked to see in this game is a turn-based option. I have always enjoyed a good, turn-based wargame and utilizing the very beautiful world and units of Wargame: AirLand Battle would have been awesome.
Overall, Wargame: AirLand Battle is a very difficult game to get a handle on playing. Once you feel comfortable with the game, however, you will find yourself immersed in one of the most intense and realistic real-time strategy titles ever to grace your computer monitors!
[easyreview title=”Wargame: AirLand Battle Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]
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