Author - Jerry Paxton

Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods Announced

2013/02/04
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

crusaderkingsii_the_old_gods_image_7

NEW YORK — February 4, 2013 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games and a proponent of all religions, and Paradox Development Studio, today announced a new expansion to the world of Crusader Kings II, the critically acclaimed RPG strategy title. The forthcoming expansion, titled Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods, will add a number of widely requested features to the game, including the ability to play as a Pagan or Zoroastrian ruler, expanding empires through war, pillaging, and ruthless brutality. Players will also be able to begin their in-game reign as far back as the year 867 AD, making The Old Gods officially the Paradox title that spans the longest period in history.

In the year 867 the Old Gods were still mighty. In England, the Raven Banner flew as the Great Heathen Army pillaged its way across the land, deposing kings and establishing the Danelaw. In the East, Rurik founded the state of Russia, and in the forests and steppes of central Europe, pagan tribes were on the move…

Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods lets players step into the boots of a pagan chieftain, approaching the brutal backstabbing world of Crusader Kings through invasion, adventure, and holy war.

Features:

  • Religious Turmoil: Restore the Old Gods to prominence through sacrifice and divination, or force the pagans to convert through new missionary missions
  • Earlier start: 200 years of more gameplay with the special 867 AD bookmark
  • Rebels With a Cause: Rebels are no longer faceless rabble, but led by defined characters with specific agendas
  • Adventurers: Watch as landless younger sons and charismatic warriors raise armies
  • Pillage and Prosper: Loot provinces and burn cities to the ground – lest your warlike people grow angry during extended peacetime!
  • Heathens: Convert them or play as them and survive, reforming your faith to stand the test of time
  • Prepared Invasions: Declare your intent to invade a rich target, and watch adventurers and opportunists flock to your banner.
  • Unholy UI: A new pagan interface is available alongside all-new events, decisions, and units

New Kartuga Trailer Reveals Ship Types

2013/02/01
Jerry Paxton
News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Kartuga_Area_Empire

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

REDengine_3

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

star-trek-app_devices

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 7th, 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 17th, 2013.

3 New Path of Exile Screenshots

2013/02/01
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

PathOfExile_Act3_2

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

arma3_altis_screenshot1

Prague, Czech Republic, Friday 1 February 2013 – Bohemia Interactive has renamed the main island of its upcoming mil-sim game, Arma 3™. 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

CALL OF DUTY® CHAMPIONSHIP

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

a40as_pdp_visor

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

Gen6_MichaelMcDowell

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