SEGA and Gearbox Software have released a new trailer from their upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines featuring the multiplayer “Escape Mode”. Enjoy!
Author - Jerry Paxton
2K Games has released a new trailer titled Borderlands 2: An Introduction by Sir Hammerlock – enjoy!
Video
Funcom Creative Director and Senior Producer Ragnar Tørnquist has relased their “State of the Game” letter for August on the health of their new MMO, The Secret World. Enjoy!
STATE OF THE GAME, AUGUST 2012
Hi all,
As most of you probably know, The Secret World team has been through a turbulent couple of weeks. We’ve had to let some people go, and we’re in the process of reshuffling and reorganising ourselves around the remaining staff. This is never fun, but it’s the way of things: we need to scale down from a full development team to a more cost-efficient live team.
So what does this mean for The Secret World? How will a smaller team affect the delivery of upcoming content? And most importantly, does TSW have a future?
That last one is an easy one: of course it does! The Secret World has a bright future ahead of it and the team remains dedicated to delivering monthly content updates.
Okay, look, we all know there are a lot of alternatives out there — from warring guilds to kung-fu-fighting pandas — but I can safely say that no other game offers what The Secret World offers. Freedom from classes and levels; a modern-day setting with real world locations; a critically acclaimed storyline and an atmosphere second to none; fully voiced characters that you can empathise with and believe in; a deep and unique character progression system, with boundless opportunities for experimentation and character development.
The list goes on and on. I think it’s fair to say that TSW is an original and ground-breaking game, and our players agree. Our ratings remain incredibly high — in fact, with an 8.4 Metacritic user score, we’re amongst the highest rated MMOs of the past decade — and our community is vocal, positive and growing.
And that’s why we’re not about to change. We’re not going to play it safe. We won’t be introducing classes or levels, elves or dwarves, and regardless of the competition, we won’t back down from our original vision. We’re going to keep doing what we’re good at. We’ll continue to push the boundaries, and we’ll keep reinventing the wheel (quite literally). Five years ago, we set out to revolutionise the genre, and the revolution has just begun.
Fact is, this is more than bullet-points on the back of a box: The Secret World is actually unique and different, and even if our players go off to dabble in a bit of high fantasy, we’ll still be here when they come back, doing what we’ve been doing since launch, offering a deeper and more complex experience, a game that’s truly original, mature and challenging. A game for gamers.
On the development side, we have two main goals right now: To continue to service our existing players with new content, features and gameplay — along with tweaks and fixes to existing content, of course — and to build our player base by reaching out to new players who haven’t yet had the opportunity to take the game for a spin and get hooked.
How do we plan on doing this? First off, we’re going to stick with our monthly release schedule. Like we’ve said before, we feel it’s important to give our paying customers new content and features every single month. Our second issue — Digging Deeper — has unfortunately been delayed by two weeks, due to the restructuring of the team, but issue #3 (title to be announced, but there are cats and it ties in with our Halloween event) will be released on time.
Secondly, we’ll be polishing, fixing and streamlining the game based on feedback from our community, in order to make The Secret World even more inviting to new players. We won’t mess with the core game, but we will continue to improve the experience — visually and mechanically — and this will certainly benefit players both new and old.
So what’s ahead in upcoming issues? There’s a ten-person raid in New York scheduled for October, and it’s not like any raid you’ve ever played before. We have a bunch of auxiliary weapons on the way, and more character customisation improvements. We have a huge and exciting new feature pencilled in for Christmas, which ties into the achievement system and gives a lot more meaning to the usual ‘Kill 1,000 Vampires’ goals. (After all, who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to have some vampiric abilities to play around with?) We’re creating intermediary decks with brand new clothing rewards; we have a ton of new missions and storylines in development; and we have a huge new adventure zone scheduled for next spring, bringing players back to Tokyo’s Ground Zero, to face brand new threats, meet new characters, play new missions and explore an intriguing urban environment unlike anything you’ve ever seen in an MMO.
And that’s only some of the cool content we have in the pipeline. The Secret World is far from done: in fact, we’re just getting started. (Actually, we’re pretty far along, but you know what I mean.)
This game will continue to grow and evolve in the months and years ahead, and I hope to see you all along for the ride!
Ragnar
P.S. Oh, and please tell your friends and family about our trial! All you have to do is go to our official website and register to enjoy three whole days of The Secret World, free of charge.
Ridgewood, NJ, August 30, 2012 – Kalypso Media Digital today announced a digital distribution deal for Anna, the first person horror adventure title from developers Dreampainters. Anna will be available to purchase on PC and Mac through Kalypso’s digital distribution partners on September 21 for $9.99.
Anna is a first-person horror adventure that explores the darkest depths of the human psyche. Set in an abandoned sawmill nestled high in the mountains, Anna challenges you to uncover horrific clues and use them to solve puzzles related to your character’s dark past. As you play, Anna will change locations and unveil new secrets. The way you play will not only determine the mental health of your main character, but will also lead to one of three possible endings.
Features:
- A haunting tale of psychological terror
- Three possible endings, each determined by the player’s actions in the storyline
- Physics-based environmental puzzles
- A faithful 3D recreation of the Italian countryside and a sinister sawmill that await your exploration
- Atmospheric soundtrack
- Brain-twisting puzzles to solve and horrific clues to uncover
The digital version of Anna will also include the following bonus material:
- Photos of the real-world sawmill location
- Complete soundtrack
- Main character’s notebook in English and Italian
Screenshots
Electronic Arts has released the first SEAL Team 6 combat training series video focusing on the sniper. Enjoy!
Trailer
August 30, 2012 — Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the launch of Steam Greenlight, a new platform feature that enlists the community’s help in selecting some of the next games to be released on Steam.
Announced earlier this summer, Steam Greenlight allows developers and publishers to post information and media about their game in an effort to convince the Community that the game should be released on Steam. Greenlight piggybacks on Steam Workshop’s flexible system that organizes content and lets customers rate and leave feedback.
“We’ve been working on this feature for the last few months with the input from a group of indie partners, and the response has been extremely positive,” said Valve’s Anna Sweet. “With the additional help of beta testers, we are able to launch with a solid line-up of titles for the community to start viewing and rating. And, as we’ve done with all Steam features, we intend to continually grow and modify Greenlight as more and more developers and community members have a chance to get involved.”
As well as serving as a clearing house for game submissions, Greenlight provides an incredible level of added exposure for new games and an opportunity to connect directly with potential customers and fans.
For more information, please visit www.steampowered.com/greenlight
ORLANDO, Fla. (August 30, 2012) – Each step brings an eerie feeling that something horrifying is tracing your every move with lifeless eyes. You frantically search for a place to hide as a growling, flesh-hungry mob gains ground. Turning a corner, you breathe a sigh of relief… Until you look ahead. Screams pierce the night as you’re overcome. You never had a chance. There is no escape.
Beginning September 21, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights returns for 25 nights as the nation’s best and most intense Halloween event. This year, once guests step inside Halloween Horror Nights, they will not be able to escape the horror that awaits them, including terrifying haunted houses featuring some of the biggest names in pop culture – like AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and Silent Hill. And, with a completely reinvented street experience, scarecators will seek them out no matter where they turn.
This year, guests will fight for survival from the flesh-eating walkers of AMC’s “The Walking Dead;” run to avoid the demonic beings from the universe of popular video game and motion picture franchise Silent Hill; try to escape Penn & Teller’s nuclear ooze-covered Las Vegas wasteland; and come face-to-face with the twisted concepts pulled straight from legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper’s most popular songs
Even more haunted house horror is in store, as well. What were once just ghastly rumors about an old, abandoned house have come to life as actual bone-chilling apparitions in Dead End; the still, stone protectors of an ancient European cathedral have awakened to fight intruders off at any cost in Gothic; and Universal’s legacy of horror continues as the classic monsters of fear appear in blinding black and white in House of Horrors.
To watch a video featuring this year’s all-new haunted houses, click here.
And, a completely reinvented street experience will unleash scareactors in an all-new, terrifying way. Roaming legions of menacing beasts, vampires, prisoners, warriors and more will inhabit every corner of the park. They will find you and invade your personal space like never before. There will be no boundaries. The rules of the past will no longer apply.
For a detailed listing of each of the attractions featured at this year’s event, see below.
Halloween Horror Nights runs September 21-22, September 27-30, October 4-7, 11-14, 17-21, 24-28 and 31. Tickets and vacation packages are on sale now and can be purchased at Halloweenhorrornights.com/
For details on special vacation and ticket offers, please see below. Due to the event’s popularity, tickets for weekend nights are expected to sell out and should be purchased well in advance.
Guests can get updates and exclusive details on Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights on the event’s official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/
New York, NY – August 30, 2012 – 2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that Borderlands®2 will offer four brand new add-on content campaigns following the release of Borderlands 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. These four add-on content campaigns will each feature several hours of gameplay and introduce new adventures, allies, enemies and environments. They will retail individually for $9.99 (PlayStation®Network) / 800 MS Points (Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network) / $9.99 (PC). The Borderlands 2 Season Pass will grant access to all four of these add-on content campaigns as they become commercially available. The Borderlands 2 Season Pass will be available for purchase when Borderlands 2 is available on September 18, 2012.
The Borderlands 2 Season Pass includes $39.96 of add-on content and will be available for $29.99 (PlayStation®Network) / 2400 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE) / $29.99 (PC). Once purchased, the Borderlands 2 Season Pass enables gamers to download all of the announced add-on content campaigns for free as they become available on the PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE and PC. All four add-on content campaigns are scheduled to be available by June 2013.
Gamers who pre-order Borderlands 2 from participating retailers will gain access to the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club, allowing them to download the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key, the Vault Hunter’s Relic and an all-new fifth character class, the Mechromancer. The Gearbox Gun Pack is a collection of unique guns to help players begin their journey on Pandora. The Golden Key is used to unlock a rare in-game item in the mysterious Golden Loot Chest found in the town of Sanctuary. The Vault Hunter’s Relic is an in-game item that boosts players’ gear-hunting fortune while playing solo or teaming up with friends. The Mechromancer character class will be available following the launch of Borderlands 2 once development of the character is complete. For those who do not pre-order Borderlands 2, the Mechromancer will be available for purchase at a later date. The Mechromancer character class and other preorder items are not included in the Borderlands 2 Season Pass. To pre-order Borderlands 2 please visitwww.borderlands2.com/preorder.
Borderlands 2 will be available in North America on September 18, 2012, and internationally on September 21, 2012. Borderlands 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on Borderlands 2 please visit http://www.borderlands2.com.
* Xbox LIVE, PlayStation®Network or Steam account and Internet connection required. Copy of Borderlands 2 required for play.
2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – August 29, 2012 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced today that for the first time ever in a professional league simulation sports video game, EA SPORTS NHL 13 has added female athletes as playable characters. Former Team USA superstar Angela Ruggiero will join former Team Canada great Hayley Wickenheiser, both four-time Olympic Ice Hockey medalists, as playable legends in NHL 13. NHL Hall of Famers Doug Gilmour, Jari Kurri, and NHL legend Dominik Hasek will also be added to the roster of legends which includes the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The NHL 13 demo is available for download now via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Promising the biggest year on year innovation to the franchise on this console generation, NHL 13 will be available on September 11, 2012 in North America and September 14, 2012 in Europe.
The addition of women’s hockey legends as playable characters within the EA SPORTS NHL franchise is the continuation of a commitment that the development team made to create greater representation for women’s hockey beginning with NHL 12.
“With the release of NHL 12 we added generic female characters in our Be a Pro mode based on a request from a 14-yr old female fan who emailed our staff because she felt underrepresented as a hockey videogame fan,” said Dean Richards, General Manager, NHL, EA SPORTS. “This year we are very excited to continue our effort of creating a more representative experience for female hockey fans by adding two of the greatest female athletes to ever play the game in Wickenheiser and Ruggiero to NHL 13.”
“The EA SPORTS NHL franchise took a big step last year by including female characters to create a more inclusive experience for female hockey fans,” said Hayley Wickenheiser. “I’m excited to be a part of NHL 13 and hope that the addition of women’s hockey legends will encourage greater participation in hockey from young women everywhere.”
Legends Integration in NHL 13
Legends in NHL 13 will be integrated across several modes:
- · Be A Legend – gamers will experience the glory of playing their entire Be A Pro career as a legend as they attempt to shatter the most impressive records in hockey, achieve legendary milestones and complete legends tasks.
- · Legends teams – Play as the legends team, Team Ruggiero or Team Wickenheiser, which are comprised of legends and current NHL greats in head-to-head play – within Play Now, Online and Battle for the Cup modes. Players on Team Ruggiero and Team Wickenheiser were selected by each athlete, respectively.
- · Hockey Ultimate Team & Be a GM – Gamers will have the ability to add legends to any team roster in Be a GM mode, or collect ultra-rare legends cards and use them within their Hockey Ultimate Team experience.
Headlined by all–new True Performance Skating, and supported by an innovative new A.I. system dubbed EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q., NHL 13 will deliver a revamped gameplay experience that accurately captures the speed, creativity and strategy of NHL hockey. In addition, NHL 13 will also deliver new experiences that connect hockey fans to their friends and the real world of hockey with the all-new GM Connected and NHL Moments Live modes.
San Diego – August 29, 2012 – Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (“Mad Catz”) (NYSE MKT: MCZ) announced today the TRITTON 720+ 7.1 Surround Headset, the upgrade to the Company’s TRITTON AX 720 Headset. Compatible with both the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system from Sony®, the TRITTON 720+ 7.1 Surround Headset is expected to ship in September 2012.
The 720+ features a number of key enhancements designed to offer superior performance and sustained comfort. All new Neodymium drivers have increased in size from 40mm to 50mm resulting in improved bass response and audio clarity. Featuring the latest Dolby Headphone technology, the720+ delivers rich 7.1 Surround Sound, ideal for pinpointing in-game enemy movements or for enjoying movie blockbusters. In addition, the 720+features Selectable Voice Monitoring (SVM), allowing users to choose to hear their own voice through the headset. Sporting a lightweight and flexible design, the 720+ has been designed for extended playing sessions and comes replete in an eye-catching gloss white finish.
“Following our recent announcement of the Pro+, we are pleased to continue upgrading our range of TRITTON headsets with the announcement of the720+. We expect the 720+ to be a key product in our range as we continue to grow our portfolio and market share within the headset sector.” said Darren Richardson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. “We believe the enhanced features and upgraded design of the 720+ further demonstrate our commitment to offering market leading product which appeal to the passionate gamer.”
Additional information and purchase options are available at: www.trittonaudio.com/720plus