Author - Jerry Paxton

Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World Announced

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New York, NY – March 15, 2013 – 2K and Firaxis Games announced today that Sid Meier’s Civilization® V: Brave New World, the second expansion pack for the award-winning Civilization V, is currently in development and will be released this summer for Windows-based PC and brought to the Mac® by Aspyr Media. Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World brings a massive amount of new gameplay to the Civilization V experience, providing gamers with even more rewarding ways to achieve world domination.

Civilization VBrave New World continues the strong tradition of ambitious expansion packs that fans have come to expect from the Civilization franchise,” said Sarah Anderson, senior vice president of marketing for 2K. “Brave New World is destined to continue the strong Civilization lineage that already includes massive expansions such as Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword and Civilization V: Gods & Kings.”

Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World provides new depth and replayability through the introduction of international trade and a focus on culture and diplomacy. The player’s influence around the world will be impacted by creating a number of Great Works across a variety of crafts, choosing an ideology for their civilization, and proposing global resolutions in the new World Congress. As players move through the ages of history, they will make critical decisions that influence relationships with all civilizations in the game world.

“After adding a number of great new features to Civilization V with the Gods & Kings expansion, the team continued to search for ways to create even more exciting gameplay through new systems and features,” said Sid Meier, director of creative development for Firaxis Games. “We’re happy to bring our fans another ambitious expansion that will provide hours and hours of new Civilization experiences.

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Key features include:

–         New Civilizations, Units and Buildings: The expansion features nine new civilizations, each with unique traits, units, buildings and all-new leaders, including Casimir III of Poland.

–         New Culture Victory: Spread your culture across the globe, dominating all other cultures. Create masterpieces with Great Artists, Writers, and Musicians that are placed in key buildings across your empire, like Museums, Opera Houses and even the Great Library. Use Archaeologists to investigate sites of ancient battles and city ruins for priceless cultural artifacts. Become the first civilization with a majority influence in all other civilizations to achieve a Culture Victory, becoming the envy of the world.

–         World Congress: The importance of diplomacy is intensified and city-state alliances are more important than ever. Change the diplomatic landscape through a new World Congress that votes on critical issues like implementing trade sanctions against rogue nations, limiting resource usage, designating host cities for the World Games and the use of nuclear weapons. Game-changing resolutions, vote trading, intrigue, and a new lead into the Diplomatic Victory ensures that the end of the game will be more dynamic than ever before.

–         International Trade Routes: Build your cities into hubs of international trade by land and sea, creating great wealth and prosperity for your people, while also spreading religion, cultural influence, and science. The number of trade routes increases through the advancement of economics and technologies, the creation of wonders and the unique abilities of your civilization. Will you connect to a closer city for a lower payoff and a safer route, choose a longer route with more risk for the bigger payoff, or perhaps point your trade route inward, sending vitally important food and production to the far corners of your own empire?

–         New Wonders: Eight new Wonders are introduced, including the Parthenon, Broadway, the Uffizi, and more.

–         New Game Scenarios: Two new scenarios let gamers fight the “War Between the States” and embark on the epic Scramble for Africa. Fight the American Civil War from either the Union or Confederate side, as you focus on the critical action in the Eastern theatre of operations between the capital cities of Richmond and Washington. In “Scramble for Africa”, the great colonial powers of the world are racing to explore the Dark Continent and extend their reach into its interior. Search for great natural wonders in the heart of Africa, as you explore a dynamically-generated continent each time you play.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World is not yet rated by the ESRB and will be available for Windows-based PC and Mac this summer. For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World, please visitwww.civilization.com or become a fan on Facebook.

2K is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

GRID 2 Introducing World Series Racing Trailer

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Los Angeles, Calif. – March 14, 2013 – Today Codemasters® released “World Series Racing Part 1: An American Dream,” the first in a new series of trailers for GRID 2™ now showing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-pLHG-xJI4. The video is narrated by Patrick Callahan, the entrepreneur and founder of World Series Racing, the fictional cross-discipline motor racing championship that runs throughout GRID 2, who introduces his vision for the series and its beginnings in the USA.

In the video, Patrick Callahan outlines his plans for a new motorsports series and introduces players to two key racing clubs he needs to recruit as in-game footage showcases some of GRID 2’s American locations, including Street Racing in Chicago, Track Racing at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road Racing at the dramatic California Coast. It is Callahan’s intention to bring the best drivers from different disciplines and styles from all over the world together to compete in one unified league and find the ultimate driving superstar. But to set up a new motorsports series, and get the rewards he craves, he needs a star. And that’s where the player comes in…

As Patrick Callahan’s raw talent, GRID 2 players will travel the world, recruiting race clubs and their drivers to compete in new and traditional racing events, crossing in and out of their established disciplines. Callaghan figures if he can get the best, the crowds will come. And then he’ll bring the eyes of the world onto his new series.

GRID 2’s world will reflect the progress players make in the game. Perform on the track and gamers will grow their fanbase, earning fame – GRID 2’s XP – allowing them access to new events, sponsors, cars and increasing their profile. To immerse players further in this new world of competitive motorsport, Codemasters has collaborated with ESPN to create exclusive in-game ESPN SportsCenter live-action video sequences that chart the rise of World Series Racing as it grows from a grass-roots curiosity to a headline-grabbing championship in the global sports market.

GRID 2, the long-awaited sequel to the BAFTA-award winning, critically acclaimed GRID™, will race into retail on May 28 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows® PC and is available for pre-order now.

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Arma 3 Alpha Lite Available Now

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Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday 14th March 2013 — While the Arma 3™ Alpha leads Steam’s Top Sellers chart since launch, Bohemia Interactive today also made a free invite-only variant available. The Arma 3 Alpha Lite is a limited version of the Arma 3 Alpha – providing people with the opportunity to try out the singleplayer showcase missions, a selection of weapons and vehicles, and the scenario editor. Unlike the regular Arma 3 Alpha, the Arma 3 Alpha Lite does not feature a multiplayer component or modding support, and does not include access to the Arma 3 Beta and complete game later on. To participate in the Alpha Lite, people need to be invited by those who have purchased the regular Arma 3 Alpha. The Arma 3 Alpha Lite will be discontinued on June 18th, 2013.

Upgrading to the complete Arma 3 Alpha can be done by purchasing the Arma 3 Alpha (24.99 EUR/19.99 GBP/32.99 USD) or Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (39.99 EUR/34.99 GBP/49.99 USD) on Steam. Extras in the Digital Deluxe Edition include a digital soundtrack*, digital maps*, digital tactical guide*, and a Steam Gift of Arma: Cold War Assault (formerly known as Operation Flashpoint™: Cold War Crisis). Both versions provide access to the Arma 3 Beta plus a digital version of the complete game upon release. The price of each edition will increase once the Arma 3 Beta and final game become available.

Those who would like to sponsor development further also have the option to purchase theArma 3 Supporter Edition (69.99 EUR/59.99 GBP/91.99 USD) from Store.bistudio.com. Besides the additional Arma development support, this edition ships with all the extras from the digital deluxe edition, plus Supporter-exclusive rewards like a Steam Gift of Arma X, all future Arma 3 DLCs and a special forums medal. The full overview of editions, and their conditions, can be found on the official Arma 3 website.

For more information on Arma 3 and the Arma 3 Alpha, be sure to visit the official website atwww.arma3.com

*Available upon release of the full and final game.
Operation Flashpoint™ is a trademark of Codemasters.

Spec Ops: The Line Dev Licenses Unreal Engine 4

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CARY, N.C. and BERLIN (March 14, 2013) – Epic Games, Inc. has licensed Unreal Engine 4 to YAGER, making the “Spec Ops: The Line” creator the first independent studio in Europe to license the technology. Under the agreement, the Berlin-based developer will utilize Epic’s groundbreaking tools to craft a major next-generation title to be unveiled in the coming months.

“Unreal Engine 4 is, hands down, the best toolset for creating next-generation, AAA games,” said Timo Ullmann, managing director at YAGER. “Unreal Engine 3 enabled our great team to tap its full potential for the development for our award-winning game ‘Spec Ops: The Line’ and beyond. YAGER is thrilled to be utilizing Epic’s latest technology for our foremost project as the new workflow is incredible, and Blueprint visual scripting gives us more control over building our games than ever before.”

“With ‘Spec Ops: The Line,’ the team at YAGER demonstrated their ability to create intelligent, cinematic games with exceptional visuals, and we’re excited to watch their latest vision spring to life,” said Mike Gamble, European territory manager for Epic Games. “Unreal Engine 4 scales to teams of all sizes, and YAGER’s new project will show what talented developers can do with leading-edge tools that unleash their creative power and productivity.”

MOGA Provides the Ultimate Zombie Safe House for Gamers at PAX East

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Woodinville, WA. – March 14, 2013 – If a zombie infestation begins on the East Coast, MOGA will be ready with a zombie safe house on the show floor of PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts on March 22 – 24. MOGA will be on-hand at this year’s PAX East (booth #648) to give consumers their first-ever hands-on experience of the new console-style MOGA Pro Controller for Android devices. At PAX East, MOGA is partnering with developer MADFINGER and their hit MOGA Enhanced zombie game, Dead Trigger, to provide attendees at the show an experience they’ll never forget. Zombies will be roaming the exhibit hall, infecting unsuspecting gamers and giving them a chance to win a MOGA Pocket controller in the process.

“The perfect place to unveil MOGA Pro is at PAX, and a great game to show off MOGA Pro’s capabilities is Dead Trigger,” said JJ Richards, MOGA Divisional Vice President. “We believe gamers are going to have a lot of fun at the MOGA booth during PAX East. Not only will they get their first opportunity to try out the upcoming MOGA Pro, but attendees at this year’s show will also have a chance to win great prizes at our MOGA zombie safe-house.”

MOGA Pro will be available at key retailers and mobile carriers later this spring for an estimated retail price of $49.99. Gamers will be able to pre-order MOGA Pro online beginning March 22 atMOGAanywhere.comWalmart.com, and BestBuy.com.

Features of the MOGA Pro include full-sized console-style grips, clickable dual analog sticks, four action buttons, a classic directional pad, two shoulder buttons, two shoulder triggers, rechargeable batteries, USB charging cord and a tablet stand. Additionally, MOGA Pro comes with the full support of the MOGA Mobile Gaming System, including wireless Bluetooth syncing with Android phones and tablets, the MOGA Arm that secures phones up to 3.2 inches wide and the MOGA Pivot App.