Author - Jerry Paxton

Stronghold HD Gets November Release

London, UK – 19th October 2012 – Strategy fans and retro gamers rejoice, Firefly Studios has just announced Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD. Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD update the classic castle building games from Firefly Studios with high definition graphics and the ability to view an entire battlefield on a single screen. Due to popular demand, the medieval strategy games have been remastered to support resolutions up to 2560×1600. Also featured is the new HD battlefield view, which allows players to zoom out and play in real-time with the entire map on one screen. Players can advance on the castle gates while flanking the enemy from behind, feign retreat and lead their foes into a deadly trap or just sit back and watch the destruction unfold.

Stronghold HD tasks players with 21 missions and four renegade lords to defeat. Missions range from breaking sieges and capturing enemy castles to raising gold and holding off enemy attacks, with the ultimate goal of reuniting medieval England. Also featured is an economic campaign, with missions revolving around gathering resources and building weapons within a time limit. Stronghold Crusader HD shifts from Europe to the Middle East during the First, Second and Third Crusades. This fan favourite sequel to the original Stronghold introduces fiendish AI opponents, new units, new characters, 4 historical campaigns and over 100 unique skirmish missions. Stronghold Crusader HD comes packaged with content from both the Stronghold Warchest and Stronghold Crusader Extreme, including an increased unit cap of 10,000, new missions and special Tactical Powers.

Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader were released in 2001 and 2002 to critical acclaim and commercial success. Over the years the Stronghold series grown to become one of the most enduring RTS franchises in gaming, with series sales of more than 6 million and a recent successful foray into the free to play MMO genre with Stronghold Kingdoms.

Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD are set for digital release on GOG, Amazon, GetGames and other notable online retailers on 1st November 2012.

More news and information on Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD can be found at www.fireflyworlds.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fireflystudiosand on Twitter @fireflyworlds.

R.A.W. PC Code Giveaway – Expired

We are giving away two PC/Steam codes for Realms of Ancient War, the new hack-n-slash from Focus Home Interactive. That is, two winners – each getting one code for redemption on Steam. This contest will expire on October 26, 2012 @ 11:59PM pacific time. Winners will be randomly-selected upon the giveaway expiration.

Entries are limited to one per person, per method. This means that you have three times the chances to win if you enter via the following methods! So – how do I enter?

Facebook

First, like our Facebook page – Then, post a comment on this thread telling us what your favorite Halloween-time movie or food is and why. We love Halloween here, as you can probably tell by the pumpkin background, and want to talk to others about it!

Twitter

Follow our twitter account then tweet this message and we will count that as one entry:

Checkout @GamingShogun for details on their Realms of Ancient War giveaway — http://bit.ly/Qy1WIL #giveaway #pcgaming

This Site

Simply register an account with us and post a message below this threat telling us what your favorite Halloween-time scary movie is and why.

Star Citizen Moves to Kickstarter Needs Your Help

LOS ANGELES, October 18, 2012 — Last week’s high profile announcement of Chris Roberts’ return to gaming and his highly anticipated PC space sim game, Star Citizen™, caused such a rush of support, the servers at www.robertsspaceindustries.com (the Star Citizen site) that hosted the game’s independently maintained crowd funding program simply collapsed leaving thousands of would-be pledgers and supporters on the outside looking in for days.

Today, the legendary game designer announced a solution to that problem. Roberts and his newly formed company, Cloud Imperium™, launched a Kickstarter campaign, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen, which will provide a stable and scalable crowd funding platform in addition to the custom one hosted on the Star Citizen site to help Roberts reach the company’s stated goal of raising a minimum of two million dollars forStar Citizen.

Despite the problems, which included multiple days without any pledge service on the Roberts Space Industries site, the company still managed to raise one million dollars in one week. “It’s a testament to the will power of our amazing fans,” said Roberts. “At a time when most would have given up, some dedicated fans kept trying to log on and eventually were able to get through and make a pledge. We appreciate all those efforts and now with Kickstarter, we believe we have an answer for everyone.

“It is all about giving our fans the opportunity to choose the platform and payment provider they feel the most comfortable with. We asked whether they wanted Kickstarter as an option and they spoke! Between Kickstarter and the original site, which supports Paypal and major credit cards, I believe we have the tools in place to make everyone feel comfortable in backing this game. I would also like to take a moment to thank the great people at Kickstarter. They were quick to offer help and have been great as we put together a solution.

“Those who pledged via Roberts Space Industries through our very rough first week of operation and those who make a pledge going forward on Kickstarter or on our site will all have their pledges tied directly to their Roberts Space Industries account,” said Roberts.  “Nothing has changed there. We just hope that people will understand the situation we were in and support us and support what we plan on bringing to the table for PC gamers everywhere.”

Roberts spoke directly to his fans about the situation in a You Tube video launched today, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zN5q7sBKmc.

Viking: Battle for Asgard Out Now on PC

SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe, Ltd. today announced that the PC version of Viking: Battle For Asgard™ is available now for Windows PC. Originally developed by The Creative Assembly for Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 in 2008, the PC enhancement was performed by Hardlight Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEGA®.

Hardlight’s first project out of the doors is a fantastic collaboration with The Creative Assembly to bring Viking: Battle for Asgard to PC complete with Steam integration and the addition of Russian and Polish language support.

“Working with the team at CA was an exciting opportunity for Hardlight.  A high quality benchmark had already been set on the Xbox and PS3 versions and the project offered a variety of new challenges for the team working with CA to deliver high-end content on the PC,” said Lee Winder, Project Lead on the brand new PC version of Viking: Battle for Asgard.

Viking: Battle for Asgard is known for its enormous, free-roaming environments and apocalyptic battles between thousands of stalwart Viking troops and murderous demons. The PC version will re-invigorate the game for 2012 with outstanding visuals that take full advantage of modern gaming hardware. Players can scale the resolution, anti-aliasing and other graphical effects according to the power of their PCs for a truly stunning graphical experience.  Viking: Battle For Asgard™ also supports gamepad play, and includes fully-remapped keyboard-and-mouse controls for PC gamers.

The PC version also brings all-new graphical features such as screen space ambient occlusion.  With improved lighting and shadowing, Ragnarok has never looked so good!

Players control Skarin, a young Viking hero, as he masters an evolving repertoire of gory combat skills and mythical powers. As he explores the vast, breath-taking world of Asgard, Skarin learns devastating new attacks, gains new allies and tames mighty dragons to conquer the demonic hordes raised by the scorned death-goddess, Hel. Her aim is to incite Ragnarok, the world-ending battle that will consume Asgard and the very gods themselves.  Only Skarin can rally the Viking clans against her.

Viking: Battle For Asgard™ PC is available now for digital download at this link http://store.steampowered.com/app/211160.

V-MODA Unveils Crossfade M-100 Metal Headphones

Los Angeles – October 17, 2012 – V-MODA, the multi-platinum selling designer of headphones trusted by the pros and elite, announces the highly-anticipated M-100 headphones designed by and for mobile music enthusiasts. V-MODA uniquely crowd-sourced the input of hundreds of audiophiles, journalists, producers and renowned DJs around the globe after news of M-100 first leaked online. Rather than abolishing the information, V-MODA embraced it and openly interacted on forums and social networks which ultimately transformed into a platform of crowdsourced product development.

“This collaboration is one of the most unique design processes I’ve ever been a part of” states Val Kolton, Chief Visionary Officer at V-MODA. “Once the word started to spread on M-100, forum discussions exploded with exceptional feedback vital to the development of the product. Our research and development labs consisted not of corporate marketing and finance departments, but rather the most passionate headphone consumers, musicians and DJs across the globe. M-100 is a progeny of audio enthusiasts worldwide – truly built by the people, for the people,” added Kolton.

To achieve the greatest sound for the greatest amount of people, years of ergonomic research and obsessive quality control over speaker driver variance served as the driving force in the release of M-100. “Speaker drivers must be carefully quality-controlled like grapes at fine vineyards,” added Kolton. “The end result is an exquisitely balanced and unique sound signature characterised by its addictive deep yet clean bass, vibrant mids, and ultra-extended clear and transparent highs.”

The compact M-100 adds unparalleled versatility and functionality to the best-in-class Crossfade series. Dual inputs allow the headphones to act as a virtual on-the-go mixer, and patent-pending V-CORK seals allow the discerning listener to perfectly balance the audio. An optional Boom Pro microphone instantly transforms the M-100 into the ideal headset for gamers, podcasters and broadcast professionals. The optional Coil Pro cable with locking mechanism allows extended freedom with an instrument of choice on stage, at home or in the DJ booth.

Road warriors will revel in novel compact features including the vault-like CLIQFOLD hinge mechanism that uniquely folds the M-100 into V-MODA’s famous exoskeleton carrying case. The M-100 includes two detachable Kevlar-reinforced cables, a remastered SpeakEasy microphone cable and an all-new SharePlay cable allowing multiple users to share music and media without extra adapters. V-MODA continues to allow users to “endorse themselves” by customizing the headphone with its unique custom shield and laser engraving service that allows users to interchange the metal shields with an array of colors, logos and even their own design.
As with all of V-MODA’s Crossfade family, durability and exquisite material selection was paramount in the design of M-100. Its masterful combination of steel and metal materials lives up to the military-level standards of the MIL-STD-810G testing guidelines. Memory foam ear cushions naturally isolate noise and provide supple ergonomic comfort for extended listening sessions. The cushions and SteelFlex headband naturally form to your head and ears to create the perfect natural noise isolation, optimal bass and an immersive 3D soundstage.

M-100 Features
• 50mm Dual-Diaphragm Drivers (patent-pending)
• No batteries or artificial sound processing
• CLIQFOLD folding hinge (patent-pending)
• Dual Inputs with V-CORK seals (patent-pending)
• Exoskeleton case
• Two Kevlar-reinforced cables
• Universal SpeakEasy microphone cable for Apple iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows devices
• SharePlay extended audio cable
• Two year warranty, lifetime 50 percent immortal life program and V-MODA Six-Star Service

MIL-STD-810G and V-MODA Quality
• Survives 70+ drops on concrete
• Virtually indestructible SteelFlex Headband
• Minimal sound variances from unit to unit checked along six parts of the sound curve versus 10-30dB+ of inferior products
• Kevlar-reinforced detachable cables and 45-degree plug strain relief can each bend more than 1 million times, over 100x industry standards
• MIL-STD-810G environmental tests including high and low temperatures, humidity, salt spray and UV exposure

The Crossfade M-100 will be available in time for the holidays for $300 in Matte Black Metal, Shadow or White Silver at Amazon.com and fine purveyors of headphones worldwide. For $310 at V-MODA.com, consumers can now pre-order M-100 and receive an extra set of personalized shields and a set of Faders VIP Tuned Earplugs for a limited time.

OUTLAST First Trailer Released

MONTREAL & MOUNT MASSIVE, COLORADO – October 17,2012 – In the remote mountains of Colorado, horrors wait inside Mount Massive Asylum. A long-abandoned home for the mentally ill, recently re-opened by the “research and charity” branch of the transnational Murkoff Corporation, has been operating in strict secrecy… until now.

Acting on a tip from an inside source, independent journalist Miles Upshur breaks into the facility, and what he discovers walks a terrifying line being science and religion, nature and something else entirely. Once inside, his only hope of escape lies with the terrible truth at the heart of Mount Massive.

Founded in Montreal by industry veterans from some of the biggest game franchises in history, including Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and Uncharted, Red Barrels is an independent game studio focused on creating unforgettable single-player games. Outlast is their first title, a true survival-horror experience which aims to show that the most terrifying monsters of all come from the human mind. Outlast will be coming to PC digital download in 2013.

“There are already a lot of great games out there about terrifying monsters that eat brains; we want Outlast’s to be scary because you’ll know the enemies you face still have them,” said Philippe Morin, co-founder of Red Barrels.

“Our team has a lot of previous experience creating big, blockbuster games,” said co-founder David Chateauneuf. “We’re all really excited to see what kind of fear-based emotional rollercoaster we can build on our own!”

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Murkoff Corporation responded: “Murkoff does not comment on speculation and rumors, especially ones started by conspiracy theorists and urban myth chasers.”

Trailer

Deadlight PC Requirements Released

Tequila Works has released the minimum system specifications for the PC version of their upcoming Deadlight, and they are as follows:

  • OS Version:Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista
  • Processor : 2.0+ Ghz
  • Memory : 2 GB
  • Graphics : Shader model 3.0 support, DirectX version : 9.0c
  • Network : Broadband internet connection
  • Disk Space : 5GB
  • Sound card : DirectX 9 compatible sound card