The folks at Microprose and Zombie Studios have released a new video dev diary on their soon to be released Special Forces: Team X. The game is due out on February 6, 2013 for the Xbox LIVE Arcade and Windows PC platforms.
Video
Author - Jerry Paxton
CHICAGO, IL – February 4, 2013 – What if you could completely customize every detail of your character and have those attributes impact the entire way the game responds to your character? That is exactly what Phosphor Games Studio hopes to offer gamers with Project Awakened, their genre-defying PC video game debuting today as a new Kickstarter campaign.
Originally conceived at Midway Games as an ambitious next gen game called “Hero,” Project Awakened and its core gameplay tenets were saved by a group of its most talented developers who then started Phosphor Games Studio, the critically acclaimed video game developer who has received back-to-back Mobile Game of the Year nominations from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for Horn (2012) and The Dark Meadow (2011).
Developed using the state-of-the-art Unreal Engine 4, Project Awakened — for the first time in a modern triple A action title — gives each player the opportunity to wholly define their dream video game character and put them into immersive action-packed environments which then respond to each person’s personal gameplay style and character creation.
Perhaps the most exceptional thing about Project Awakened is the potential to craft gameplay experiences and challenges that never existed before:
- Create a Batman-like hero with a giant samurai sword and incredible strength and power for combat;
- Imagine a non-violent femme fatale with amazing speed, agility and no weapons who can race around enemies;
- Or a character that absorbs and reflects enemy abilities and bullets.
The possibilities are endless and allow each player to generate one-of-a-kind gameplay experience unlike anything before.
“Project Awakened is without a doubt the game we’ve always dreamed of making as developers and playing as gamers,” said Chip Sineni, Phosphor Games Studio Director. “We realize how challenging this game is to make, but we have the ability and technology with the Unreal Engine 4 to deliver it. Project Awakened is a game that virtually every publisher loved, but was afraid to make, so we are taking our idea to core gamers through Kickstarter and asking the community to become our publisher.”
The Kickstarter campaign kicks off today and runs through March 6, with Phosphor Games looking to raise a minimum of $500,000 from backers. Although the game has been in development for a few years, the money generated from the Kickstarter campaign will allow Phosphor Games to have a dedicated team help finish the title, as well as add a number of exciting features to the game.
To learn more about the various ways and options to support Project Awakened via its Kickstarter campaign, and to become a backer for Phosphor Games’ Project Awakened, visit their Kickstarter Page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/
Screenshots
Miami, FL – February 4th, 2013, 9:00 A.M. EST— ORIGIN PC announced today its exclusive in-game technical support client, the ORIGIN Nexus. Powered by Xfire , the world’s premier online destination for millions of gamers, the ORIGIN Nexus client allows customers to contact ORIGIN PC’s award-winning support team, in or out of gameplay, for any technical support related questions.
ORIGIN Nexus also features the ability to chat with friends within the Xfire community, screen record gameplay, conveniently launch PC game favorites and much more. The ORIGIN Nexus client is an optional install, at no cost, to all current and new ORIGIN PC customers.
ORIGIN PC raised the bar for gamers when it first announced their standard Lifetime 24/7 U.S.-based support, and now extends that legacy by offering free in-game technical chat support with the new ORIGIN Nexus client.
ORIGIN Nexus Features
- In-Game Technical Chat Support*
- In-Game Instant Messaging With Friends
- In-Game Internet Browsing
- Take Screenshots and Videos of Your Gameplay
- Live Broadcast Your Gameplay
“ORIGIN PC’s focus has always been to provide the best PC experience to our customers and we are proud to continue our legacy of providing the best support in the PC industry,” said Kevin Wasielewski, CEO and co-founder, ORIGIN PC. “Thanks to the great client from the Xfire team, ORIGIN Nexus makes it even more convenient for our customers to contact us without ever having to leave their game, and we’re really excited to be the first and only company to offer this new level of support in our industry.”
*During normal office business hours from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. EST“This partnership is a no-brainer,” said Paul Kim, CEO, Xfire. “Origin is quickly becoming one of the premiere providers of high performance gaming systems, and establishing this relationship exemplifies our commitment to working with partners that provide hard core gamers with the best hardware, tools and content in the industry.”
For more detailed information, screenshots, and a tutorial video regarding ORIGIN Nexus visit:http://www.originpc.com/nexus
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
Paramount and Bad Robot have released the official Super Bowl trailer for their upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness, which is scheduled for release on May 17th, 2013.
Trailer
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 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.
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/
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.
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
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.”
