Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the new World of Warcraft novel, World of Warcraft: Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, is out now via retail and online book sellers. The novel follows Thrall, the former War Chief of the Horde, as he struggles with the ongoing repercussions of the Cataclysm.
Kalypso Media has released a ton of new screenshots from their upcoming dictatorship-sim, Tropico 4, which is coming to Windows PCs and the Xbox 360 platform.
Bethesda Softworks has revealed the official schedule of events/timeline for their upcoming QuakeCon 2011 gaming expo and tournament series. The expo kicks off on August 4th with a keynote address by id Software co-founder, John Carmack.
Welcome and Annual Keynote with John Carmack
Thursday, August 4th at 2:00pm
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Presentation
Friday, August 5th at 1:00pm
Todd Howard, Bethesda Game Studios
20 Years of id Software
Friday, August 5th at 2:30pm
John Carmack, id Software
Tim Willits, id Software
Todd Hollenshead, id Software
Kevin Cloud, id Software
Ultimate Origins: The Games That Influence Us
Friday, August 5th at 4:00pm
Raphael Colantonio, Arkane
Harvey Smith, Arkane
Matt Hooper, id Software
Marcus Smith, Insomniac
Prey 2 Presentation
Friday, August 5th at 5:30pm
Chris Rhinehart, Human Head
Community Managers: Un-moderated!
Saturday, August 6th at 1:00pm
Abbie Heppe, Respawn
Adam Pyle, id Software
Matt Grandstaff, Bethesda Softworks
Nick Breckon, Bethesda Softworks
Ryan Schneider, Insomniac
First-person Perspectives
Saturday, August 6th at 2:30pm
Mackey McClandish, Respawn
Drew Murray, Insomniac
Tim Willits, id Software
Julien Roby, Arkane
PC Perspective Hardware Workshop
Saturday, August 6th at 3:30pm
In addition to the lineup of presentations and panels, attendees will also have the opportunity to check out various exhibitors on the show floor, including BAWLS Guarana, the U.S Air Force, Cooler Master, CPU Magazine, Dell Computer, Diamond Multimedia, FSP GROUP USA CORP, Glitch Gaming Apparel, Grow Up Japan Co., Ltd., Gunnar Optiks, Hi-Rez Studios, IN WIN Development, Intel Americas, Inc., Plantronics and Psyko Audio Labs, Inc.
QuakeCon 2011 will take place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX. The event remains FREE to general admission and BYOC attendees thanks to the support of id and Bethesda Softworks, as well as the QuakeCon volunteer staff and the 2011 event sponsors and exhibitors. Doors to the QuakeCon BYOC will open on Thursday, August 4th at 9 am and will remain open through 12 pm on Sunday, August 7th.
QuakeCon Exhibit Hall Hours are:
Thursday, August 4, 2011 10 am – 6 pm
Friday, August 5 2011 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday, August 6, 2011 10 am – 6 pm
Turbine has released some new screenshots from their upcoming expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online. Rise of Isengard is due out on September 27th and will add three new lands to explore as well as a number of additional features.
In a funny, Harry Potter-esque trailer released yesterday, Electronic Arts welcomes a new playable character type to their free-to-play Battlefield Heroes: The Wizards.
From the cool contest at Tape it or Die comes the fan favorite winning weapon idea: The Electric Crusher. A combination hammer and battery pack, the electric crusher is said to be great in dispatching hordes of the undead.
SEGA andWayForward have announced Aliens: Infestation, which is scheduled to be released on the Nintendo DS platform come September of this year. The game allows players to recruit and play as 19 different Colonial Marines in a side-scrolling, action-filled environment.
“In contrast to our other Aliens title in the works at the moment, Aliens: Infestation delivers a game that focuses more on exploration of the expanded universe,” comments Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing, SEGA West. “WayForward really put all their passion into making Aliens: Infestation the definitive Aliens experience that you can fit in your pocket.”
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Snowblind Studios have released the official “Fellowship” trailer for their upcoming actioner, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The game is scheduled to launch later this year on the Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms.
2K Games has revealed the official release date for their upcoming shooter, The Darkness II. The game is scheduled to be released on February 10, 2012 on the Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms. Additionally, the company revealed its official plans for this week’s San Diego Comic-Con event:
Additionally, 2K Games announced their presence at San Diego Comic-Con and will co-host a special panel featuring The Darkness II™ entitled “Spreading The Darkness: From Comic Book to Video Games and Entertainment,” in celebration of the 15th Anniversary of The Darkness. The discussion around The Darkness II will feature top talent from Top Cow Productions, including CEO and co-creator of The Darkness, Marc Silvestri, and President and COO of Top Cow, Matt Hawkins; developers from Digital Extremes; and in-game voice of the Darkness, Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Peeping Tom). The panel will take place on Thursday, July 21, 2011, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. PDT in Room 9 within the San Diego Comic-Con convention center.
2K Games will also have eight playable demo kiosks of The Darkness II in the Top Cow booth (#2629) on the San Diego Comic-Con show floor for fans to descend into the gritty and visceral mind of Jackie Estacado.
Eutechnyx has revealed that the closed beta for their upcoming racer, Auto Club Revolution, will begin on July 25, 2011. Players can sign-up to be part of this closed beta phase over at the game’s official website.
Testers will have the opportunity to experience firsthand a version of Auto Club Revolution delivered specifically for Closed Beta. Executive Producer, Doug Wolff said, “We’ve produced a specific game set-up for this test phase in order to help us properly scale test features, assess content and see how the Auto Club Revolution platform is shaped and used in a live environment.”He continues, “For example, we’ve shortened the player level-up system and made the higher tiers (of cars) easier to reach so that we can properly test progression in a real world environment. We’ll reset all of these elements when we move to ‘no invitation needed’ Open Beta at the next phase. This is a genuine live test so we’ve built an easy-to-use bug report and feature request ticketing system in order to provide real time feedback to our test players.”
