Author - Jerry Paxton

Firefly Announces Stronghold in Space

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

London, UK – 1st April, 2012 – Firefly Studios, creators of the Stronghold series and free-to-play MMORTS Stronghold Kingdoms, are proud to announce the world’s first medieval game world set in space.

‘Moon 1’ will launch on 1st April to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle, in response to planet Earth becoming overrun with new Kingdoms players.

“After one of our daily, caffeine-infused power meeting here at Firefly we decided that it’s time for something fresh, something out of this world” said Nick Tannahill, Marketing Officer at Firefly Studios. “We asked ourselves – Where have all medieval games been too scared to go? That’s when it hit me. It’s space, it has always been space!”

New gameplay elements will include attacks that can drift off into space, rocket-powered Scouts and all-new Moon Wolves, specially trained for zero-g combat. Earthlings hoping to migrate spacewards will be able to do so via means of a giant trebuchet.

Firefly hopes Moon 1 won’t be the final frontier in 2012. Enjoy your star wars.

More information on Stronghold Kingdoms and Firefly Studios can be found at www.strongholdkingdoms.com and www.fireflyworlds.com. Kingdoms can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StrongholdKingdoms and on Twitter @shkingdoms. Alternatively you can follow @AskTheWolf to be insulted by a psychotic medieval warlord.

Paradox Unveils Meta-MetaCritic to Rate Reviewers

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

NEW YORK — April 1, 2012 — Paradox Interactive today launched an all-new platform to objectively quantify the art of games journalism. The new site, MetaMetaCritic (http://www.meta-metacritic.net ), provides publishers, developers, and readers alike with a quick and easy way to understand the world’s overall opinion of popular game journalists, with each writer receiving an aggregated score based on reader reviews of the reviewers. This new system will provide game-enthusiast enthusiasts with a better overall concept of these writers, and allow them to make easy read/browse/troll decisions before spending their hard-earned unique pageviews.

“MetaMetaCritic will provide a more accurate, balanced system for reviewer reviews,” said Lars Larsson at Paradox Interactive. “In a landscape with so many diverse scales for rating games journalists, it’s hard to get an idea who the best writers really are. We all have different criteria for what makes a good review. How do we measure value and re-read value? And some of us try to base our ratings on abstract concepts like tone, voice, or whether an article was ‘finished’ or not. I’ve seen a lot of reviews get criticized lately for releasing day-one counterpoints – and don’t get me started on the ending of the Mass Effect 3 review.” Larsson continued.

Select media groups have already cited MetaMetaCritic scores as providing a good guideline for journalists’ bonus pay. The site is live now at http://www.meta-metacritic.net

SteelSeries Announces 8-bit Peripherals

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

CHICAGO, March 30, 2012 – Kicking off the weekend, SteelSeries, the leading brand in all things related to being awesome and superior, today announced an entirely new line of products specifically designed for gamers living in an 8-BIT world. Inspired by retro-styled games such as Minecraft or FortressCraft, this revitalized family of SteelSeries ErgoRetro® peripherals has been ergonomically improved for the ultimate PC gaming comfort, control and overall domination.

“We are ecstatic to introduce these new peripheral designs and share with our community, the entirely new approach to ergonomics and design we are taking when it comes to our products, said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom.  We are re-evaluating the importance of high-performance, superior functionality, and comfort for what we believe is the regression of the peripherals industry. Instead of being the first to introduce the mechanical keyboard to gamers or bringing the worlds most customizable mouse to market, we are shifting it back to designs inspired by the first-type of gaming, pixelated 8-Bit style.”

SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Family of Peripherals

The classic and most recognized SteelSeries peripherals including the SteelSeries Sensei Mouse, SteelSeries 6Gv2 Keyboard and SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset have all been re-designed to fit an ultra-new, ergonomically sound design.

SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Mouse

Taking out the relevant functionality to dominate your game, the SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Mouse has been ergonomically re-altered for extreme hand-sized users, increasing hand-cramp reaction times, and added weight technology for a block-like, retro feel. Features also include a new TrackBlock sensor, modeled after the track-ballwith an added 8-Bit flair.

SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Headset

Headsets are simple, make them look cool and the rest will follow. The new SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Headset embodies an oversized, block-like design for sort-of-superior sound and an incredibly limited amount of comfort. Weighing in at 8.6 lbs., users will never forgetwhat they’re wearing.

SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Keyboard

Modeled after the first mechanical gaming keyboard that was introduced in 2007 by SteelSeries, the new SteelSeries ErgoRetro® Keyboard supports the same tank-like, indestructible design, butwith new 8-Bit style improvements. The severe, pixel-block design and oversized keys takeaway the fast response time of its user and focuses the attention more on the way it looks than the way it works.

The SteelSeries 8-Bit ErgoRetro® peripherals will be available soon; pricing is still to be determined. Be sure to check out theSteelSeries Facebook page for giveaways of these new products throughout the weekend at http://facebook.com/steelseries.

About SteelSeries

SteelSeries is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals. For the past two thousand years, SteelSeries has been on the forefront of competitive gaming gear thanks to continued innovation and product development in cooperation with leading nerds, 8-Bit enthusiasts, and professional pranksters. SteelSeries also supports the growth of competitive gaming tournaments and unrealistic product announcements related to the nonsensical April Fools holiday. And we love MarketingHiiipe™. For more information, please visit http://steelseries.com.

Image Gallery

inXile Collaborating with Obsidian on Wasteland 2

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

Newport Beach, CA – March 30, 2012 – inXile entertainment confirmed today that they have reached an agreement with award-winning RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment to collaborate on the game design and writing for their Wasteland 2 project if the funding level reaches $2,100,000. Obsidian’s Chief Creative Officer Chris Avellone will be working directly with the design team at inXile to help bring the world of Wasteland together. Avellone stated, “Wasteland is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and when Brian asked if I wanted to work on the sequel, I jumped at the chance. While I’ve worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, getting the chance to work on the spiritual predecessor to the Fallout franchise is a honor.” Brian Fargo added, “I have a history with the guys at Obsidian that dates back to the days of Interplay’s Black Isle studios. Together we created some of the greatest RPG’s of all time, from Fallout 1 & 2 to titles like Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment. It is great that we now have a chance to reunite on a project like Wasteland 2.”

In addition to Chris Avellone’s help, Obsidian will be lending the experience they have in the development of RPG games and tools to inXile. Fargo believes this collaboration will allow him to focus more energy on the game, “Obsidian has an incredible library of story, dialog and design tools that they have used to create hits like Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and of course, Fallout: New Vegas. Regardless of the tech we use to develop the game, experience with these tools will help us efficiently design the game without wasting time and resources on the tools needed for development.”

Wasteland still has 17 days remaining until the Kickstarter funding ends. At this time the project has around 33,000 backers and has raised more than $1,650,000. In addition to the PC version, inXile has officially announced Mac OS X and Linux versions of Wasteland 2.

InXile is also announcing a solution for everyone who wants to back the project, but who live in a country where backing it on Kickstarter is just not possible. Fargo reports, “We want to let everyone know that we are now accepting PayPal pledges directly though the Wasteland web portal. Some of our biggest fans come from Germany and Eastern Europe, yet they have been unable to support us through the Kickstarter/Amazon pay system. We now have an alternative PayPal site set up for such gamers at http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com.”

Details can be found on the Kickstarter site at:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2
or at:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com

Razer Announces Left-Handed Naga

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

Carlsbad, Calif. – March 30th, 2012 – Razer™, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, is receiving an overwhelming response from its devoted community, and has decided to move forward with plans to release a left-handed version of its award-winning Naga MMO gaming mouse.

Razer CEO and Chief Gamer Min-Liang Tan promised left-handed users that the company would make a left-handed Naga if his post on Facebook reached 10,000 “Likes” before April 21. The community responded by hitting that lofty total in less than one week on March 29, more than three weeks before the deadline.

“That Facebook post generated more buzz than we could’ve ever imagined, which proves that there have been a number of gamers that have had their needs ignored for some time,” said Tan. “We pride ourselves on being gamers ourselves, and we all know that there is no substitute for gaming with your dominant hand.”

Razer became the first company to offer a left-handed gaming mouse two years ago, when the company announced its DeathAdder Left-Hand Edition. Proving that it’s still serious about serving the need of its legions of left-handed users, Razer’s latest Naga is only the second professional-grade gaming mouse designed specifically for left-handed users – and Razer makes both of them.

The community is a huge part of Razer, and that’s why we have a dedicated team of community specialists that monitor and interact with fans all over the world. Razer encourages any and all of its fans to connect with the company via Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/razer) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/cultofrazer), and share their ideas on what could be the next big announcement. We’re always listening.

17 MMO-optimized buttons
Program up to thousands of different in-game commands.

Maximum Comfort for Long Gaming Sessions
Game for days with the Razer Naga’s ergonomic design, optimized for easy access to every button.

Custom Interface AddOns for MMO Games
Organize your skills and eliminate visual clutter with the Razer Naga’s in-game custom interface AddOns (available for World of WarcraftTM and Warhammer Online: Age of ReckoningTM, and more).

Product Features:

  • 5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G Laser Sensor
  • 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
  • 200 inches per second max tracking speed
  • Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ mouse feet
  • 17 MMO-optimized buttons (including 12 button thumb grid)
  • Optional MMO-specific software AddOns
  • Unlimited character profiles with AddOns
  • Approximate Size : 116 mm / 4.57” (Length) x 70 mm / 2.76” (Width) x 46 mm / 1.81” (Height)
  • Approximate Weight: 134 g / 0.30 lbs

About the Razer Group:
Razer™ is the world leader in high performance gaming hardware. Founded in 1998, with its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, the company has offices in nine cities around the globe.  Used by the most demanding professional gamers who compete in global tournaments, Razer provides gamers with the unfair advantage of cutting-edge technology and award-winning design. We live by our motto: For Gamers. By Gamers.™

Crusader Kings II DLC Announced

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

NEW YORK, March 30th, 2011 – The past is littered with the names of fallen monarchs, mad kings and usurped rulers. Ignominy is their legacy. Now is the time to create history’s greatest ruler in your own image as Paradox Interactive have today announced a brand new DLC for their hit strategy game Crusader Kings II allowing you to create and customize the most loved or most feared king or queen the world has ever known!

Who do you want to be today in Crusader Kings II? It is the question that every player faces; still finding that perfect character to play is always the challenge. You may have found the perfect place but well the man who has it just isn’t quite right. A stat is a little too low, that trait is a little annoying, he could really do with an heir, the less said about the nose the better, and why does he have such a stupid name?
With the new Crusader Kings II: Ruler Designer DLC all these are in your hands. Customize your character your way. Tweak and change any aspect of the character or even create an all new character and dynasty to play with. Create your portrait, change the name and dynasty and even customize your coat of arms. Change traits and stats at will and decide the size of the immediate family. The game that lets you choose your goals will now let you choose your character.

Crusader Kings II: Ruler Designer DLC will be released on the 17th of April to a suggested retail price of 4,99 USD.

The strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II is available via all major distribution platforms and selected retails outlets with a suggested retail price of $39.99.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium MMO No More

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.–(THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced that it has refocused Warhammer® 40,000®: Dark Millennium™ from a Massively Multiplayer Online game to an immersive single player and online multiplayer experience with robust digital content, and engaging community features. Further product details, platforms and release timing will be announced at a later date.

“As previously announced, we have been actively looking for a business partner for the game as an MMO. However, based on changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO, we believe the right direction for us is to shift the title from an MMO to a premium experience with single and multiplayer gameplay, robust digital content and community features,” said Brian Farrell, President and CEO of THQ Inc. “Because we believe strongly in the high-quality and vast creative work that is in production, this is the right decision for both our portfolio and for gamers devoted to this powerful property.”

“We are genuinely excited about the new direction that THQ is taking with Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium, and we are sure that this will be a great addition to the ever growing stable of authentic and engaging Warhammer 40,000 video games,” said Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing for Games Workshop.

As a result of this change, team sizes at two THQ internal studios will be reduced by 79 full-time employees at Vigil Games in Austin, Texas, and 39 employees at Relic Entertainment in Vancouver, B.C.

Vigil Games will continue to focus on both this game and the critically-acclaimed new title, Darksiders® II, scheduled for release this summer. Relic Entertainment continues to focus its development expertise on THQ’s franchises including Company of Heroes® and Warhammer® 40,000®: Dawn of War®.

World of Warplanes to Include Dragons

2012/04/01
Jerry Paxton
News

30th March, 2012 — Wargaming.net, the award-winning online game developer and publisher, is proud to announce the next faction to join the current set of nations in the highly-anticipated flight combat action MMO World of Warplanes: dragons! The all-new line of majestic creatures will set the sky on fire when the game enters its beta stage later this year.

The initial tech tree will include 12 dragons and will eventually expand to more than 60 creatures. Each mystical animal will have its own peculiarities and strategic employment. Players can upgrade several key characteristics including fire intensity level, color, number of claws, horns, wingspan and skin thickness.

The addition of these fire-breathing beasts will add more diversity to the gameplay since a dragons’ behavior requires a different approach in terms of controls and tactics.

“Adding dragons into World of Warplanes has been one of the most challenging aspects of game development so far,” said Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. “Dragons are so different from planes; they are much more edgy and self-willed, but if you put in just a little more effort, they will serve you well. I’m happy we’ve finally announced them!”

Screenshots

Auto Club Revolution Now in Open Beta

2012/03/30
Jerry Paxton
News

March 29, 2012 – Auto Club Revolution today announced its Open Beta phase following the successful completion of the Closed Beta Test program. Players can now join the game without invitation at www.autoclubrevolution.com

Auto Club Revolution is a free-to-play online racing game and car community built in collaboration with the motor industry. Featuring officially licensed cars from over 40 of the world’s leading motor manufacturers, it delivers a ‘best in class’ racing experience to the free-to-play market while providing a social platform for owning, customizing and enjoying cars online.

From today, Auto Club Revolution will feature both free and premium content providing players with a range of options for car ownership.

Players can unlock free cars at regular intervals through the game’s progression as well as enjoying free access to performance upgrades, tracks, and the game’s many customization tools.  They can also optionally purchase items for the new cash currency E-Bucks which, alongside ‘Credits’ earned by racing and completing challenges, completes the dual currency system.

“We have benefited from the best beta test community a game could ever hope for,” said Team Lead, Doug Wolff. “These are some of the most dedicated players I’ve ever encountered and the amazing feedback that we’ve received has been critical to us reaching the stage where we can open the game to all players.”

Since the launch of the Closed Beta, the game’s dedicated testing community has racked-up millions of miles driving officially licensed cars on a variety of race tracks.

CEO, Brian Jobling explains, “The team has worked incredibly hard to get to the Open Beta phase and we’re very excited to welcome everyone into the game. The fundamental philosophy of Auto Club Revolution is our commitment to producing a premium quality game, built around large quantities of stunning licensed content and deployed in a game world that delivers a ‘best-in-class’ game play experience.”

Auto Club Revolution has already licensed content from over 40 car and over 150 upgrade parts manufacturers plus a raft of licensed race tracks, such as Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone and Infineon Raceway plus the game’s range of custom race tracks.

From today, players can register for free today and collect their free starter car at www.autoclubrevolution.com. Auto Club Revolution is designed, developed and published by Eutechnyx. For more information about Auto Club Revolution see Twitter: @autoclubrev and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AutoClubRev

 

About Auto Club Revolution

Auto Club Revolution is a free-to-play online racing game and car community built in collaboration with the motor industry. Featuring officially licensed cars from over 50 of the world’s leading motor manufacturers, it delivers a console quality racing experience to the free-to-play market while providing a social platform for owning, customizing and enjoying cars online.  The game’s front end is web-based, creating a powerful and flexible social platform for communities of car enthusiasts and racing fans to interact with each other and their favorite motoring brands. The racing experience itself is delivered via a downloaded application (client), built on the world class Eutechnyx-owned racing engine. This combination of web and app. empowers the player to manage their game, garage and network of friends on the web from anywhere, while the downloadable element provides the premium quality race experience that separates Auto Club Revolution from all other games in the sector.

About Eutechnyx

Eutechnyx is the world’s leading independent racing game developer. With a history spanning over 24 years, the studio has won numerous awards for its million-plus selling titles and garnered exceptional acclaim in the business sector. As well as its headquarters in the Gateshead (UK), the company has studios in Hong Kong, Chengdu (China) and Charlotte (USA) and a publishing office in London (UK).

For more information, please visit press.eutechnyx.com. Auto Club Revolution and Eutechnyx are registered trademarks of Eutechnyx Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deadly 30 Announced

2012/03/30
Jerry Paxton
News
2 Comments

Montreal, Quebec, Canada – March 29, 2012 – They may walk, but you’ll need to run to survive the unquenchable zombie lust for living flesh in Meridian4’s (@Meridian4) new Deadly 30.  Pure Indie, this classic side-scrolling shooter was developed by the two-man team of Iggy Zuk and Gonzossm, and was discovered by Meridian4’s partner, Headup Games. Deadly 30 will be unleashing the starving walkers tomorrow via digital download.

“Deadly 30 is an ode to the classic side-scrolling genre, and adds in a perfect blend of tower defense and even a little RPG to compliment the non-stop shooting action,” said Steve Milburn, Marketing Director of Meridian4.  “Given the recent mainstream appeal of all things zombie, we felt it was the perfect time to release this challenging and addictive game.”

In Deadly 30, players must survive 30 days and nights in a zombie-infested world where they can recruit companions, upgrade weaponry, and fortify their position to fight waves of hungry zombies.  During the day, players can gather resources, enhance their base defenses, and explore their surroundings for useful items in order to prepare for fighting relentless waves of zombie night attacks.  Three different playable characters, A.I. controlled Team Combat and upgradeable weaponry and defenses help keep players alive as they attempt to eradicate the zombie hordes.

Deadly 30 will be available via digital download on GameStop PC Downloads, Amazon, and Direct2Drive for $4.99 with more channels to follow.  For more information, please visit www.meridian4.com, and follow them on Twitter @Meridian4.

About Meridian4

Established 2004 in Montreal, Canada, Meridian4 is an interactive entertainment publisher for today’s popular video game platforms.  Supported by a wide network of international developers, the company’s growing catalog of games is distributed both digitally and through retail.  A strong management team of seasoned industry professionals has strategically grown the company by solidifying and expanding its distribution channel; identifying and securing appealing content, and increasing its consumer awareness via innovative marketing and social media programs.

More information can be found online at www.meridian4.com, or follow Meridian4 on Twitter @Meridian4.

About Headup Games

Headup Games GmbH & Co. KG is an independent games publisher located near Cologne in Germany. Together with its partners, Headup Games focuses on the contentment of their customers and the best gameplay experience delivered at the fairest price-quality ratio. Since its foundation, the company published over 30 SKU’s, including many projects from young, ambitious indie-developers, where much potential and creativity had been seen. The portfolio features high-quality games such as Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, Terraria, Limbo, Archon: Classic, The Tiny Bang Story, Trapped Dead and Grotesque Tactics.

Furthermore, Headup Games offers to internationally growing companies the possibility to enter the German or European market with an experienced partner on location. Fair and transparent relationships to our developing partners are the basis of our company’s mission statement.

More information can be found at www.headupgames.com