Kalypso Media has posted up a new gameplay trailer for their upcoming Airline Tycoon 2, which is due out this fall.
Author - Jerry Paxton
Ars Technica reported early this morning that PR agency The Redner Group (who was in charge of DNF PR) posted up a rather threatening tweet on their official Twitter account in response to some of the reviews that Duke Nukem Forever has been receiving (our review is coming out tomorrow, just FYI, as the PC build was not able to be played early). This tweet has since been deleted from their Twitter account.
In response, 2K Games has apparently stopped doing business with the PR agency, as per this official tweet from the game publisher/developer:
2K Games does not endorse or condone the comments made by @TheRednerGroup and confirm they no longer represent our products.
Jim Redner, head of The Redner Group, has since apologized for the tweet made earlier, by way of another tweet:
I have to apologize to the community. I acted out of pure emotion. I will be sending each of you a private apology.
and…
Again, I want everyone to know that I was acting on my own. 2K had nothing to do with this. I am so very sorry for what I said.
I am editorializing this at the moment, but I have had the pleasure of communicating with Jim, in covering various games his company has handled PR for, over the last couple years now. I have never found him to be unprofessional in any way and I have always felt him to handle games with the passion of someone who might as well have created the darn things. He gets behind the products he represents 100%. So, I can understand the reason behind his purely emotional outburst on Twitter. It is difficult seeing something that you believe in getting roasted over the coals and I have to agree with him that many reviews out there seem like they are pouring on the hate just for comedy’s sake or purely for the sake of getting additional article reads. Then again, most of these reviews have been of the Xbox 360 version of the game – so, my experience with the PC version could be completely different. The game is not the Gone With the Wind of video games, but it is not “barely playable” as some reviews state (again, at least the PC version).
Does this excuse the threatening nature of the Tweet? No. But, it does make for a fascinating look at the inter-relationships between game publishers, PR agencies, and media outlets – especially for many average gamers out there who may not realize just how inter-connected the three entities really are.
The folks at iBuyPower have released a video showing off a time lapse build of one of their Erebus liquid-cooled gaming rigs. The rig sports up to ten 120mm fans and up to four GPUs – it was designed for over-clockers and enthusiasts.
One of my personal gems of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo was Bohemia Interactive’s upcoming Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. The game is a re-imagining of the classic Amiga game where players take on the role of the commander of a battlecruiser complete with aircraft, landing craft, and an arsenal of offensive missiles and defensive turrets. The goal: Destroy the OTHER battlecruiser sailing the seas by way of force and controlling various islands to grant bonuses and provide industrial support.
The game features some very pretty visuals and commanding from the ship’s CIC, you can see crew members working in the background at their respective jobs. The CIC view allows you to handle ship navigation and craft operations as well as dedicated occupied islands to their role (defense, production, research, etc). In this mode you also have a great external view of the ship to show off what exactly is happening to her.
The game also allows commanders to jump to control one of the ships air or landing craft, making it an action title like Battlezone in terms of overall feel. Furthermore, the commander can actually go island-side and the game presents this in the style of a first-person shooter. This varied gameplay helped break up experience and keep things changing and interesting – although, it should be noted that you don’t have to play any of the additional modes you do not wish to. It is entirely possible to play the entire game while commanding from the CIC.
As you capture islands across the archipelago you are fighting around, you can assign them different functions. These functions can be defensive, in which case the island becomes a turret platform. You can also assign them to do things like research. In Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, you will be able to outfit your carrier and craft with new weapons and equipment as you like, so long as you have researched the tech. You can also assign islands to produce replacement craft should your shipboard stores dwindle – just be careful you don’t stretch your supply line too thin as these craft will have to travel from the island to your carrier.
Overall, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission reminds me a lot of a classic naval war games like Harpoon mixed with a game like Total Air War. It has a great mix of sim and action that should please fans of both genres. It accomplishes all this while also being very true to the original title and should be a lot of fun to play when it releases in early 2012.
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Trailer
While at this year’s E3 expo, I was fortunate enough to take an appointment to checkout Certain Affinity’s upcoming XBLA hack and slash title, Crimson Alliance. Crimson Alliance allows up to four players to fight hordes of evil creatures across various fantasy environments. Players choose from three character classes: Mercenary, Assassin, and Wizard – each with their own special attacks and abilities. Additional character classes are a possibility after launch.
In the level I was able to play with the developers, I chose the warrior-like Mercenary class while the developer played as a Wizard. We began moving throughout the beautifully-detailed environments, smashing just about everything we saw for gold and loot. The creatures look equally well-detailed, especially for an XBLA title, and getting the hang of controlling my character took just a couple minutes.
On the same console, each player shares the same screen, so you don’t miss out on any screen real estate by splitting it up. The combat is quick and intense, with simple controls for jump and attack. As you kill enemy units, you will eventually be able to pull off a mega-attack which, depending on your class, has various effects. For example, the warrior goes into this whirlwind attack slicing through enemies in 360 degrees. The levels were made up of various monsters – some ranged, some magical, and some melee based. There were also mini-boss and boss battles to be had to change things up and keep it interesting.
While parallels are bound to be drawn between Crimson Alliance and the Diablo series, they are not really comparable. Crimson Alliance is meant for quick game sessions of pick-up and play with players ranging from childhood to adult. The Diablo series is far more mature.
Overall, my playtime with Crimson Alliance was enjoyable and easy to figure out. Look for this title to come out a little later this Summer.
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While one of our intrepid reporters attended Jagex’s Transformers MMO party last week at E3, the company today has released some official art assets for the upcoming game, which is due out next year. The company also announced that it would be partnering with Hasbro for the game and also that the game’s story would fall in the “Prime” timeline along with the book Exodus, the War for Cybertron games and the Prime cartoon.
Teaser Trailer
Screenshots / Art
Hacker group LulzSec has announced it has attacked EVE Online’s Tranquility server, Minecraft’s multiplayer services, Riot Game’s League of Legends servers, and the Escapist Magazine’s website. The four distributed denial-of-service attacks appear to have been successful, as EVE Online is still down. You can read CCP Games’ official statement on the attack after the break!
Perhaps they are upset that DUST 514 is a PlayStation 3 exclusive?
Via: Joystiq
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Activision has released its official launch trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which is out now on the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 platforms.
The US Army has released version 3.1 of their tactical, online shooter, America’s Army. The new update brings with it two additional maps as well as a number of game enhancements such as Steam leaderboards as well as the ES2 upgrade (check the official notes below). The game is free to play and download from the official America’s Army website and on Steam.
Official Update Notes
Every Soldier a Sensor Gameplay
“Every Soldier a Sensor” or ES2 teaches that with all the advanced technology used by the U.S. Army, every Soldier is the best possible sensor on the battlefield. By observation, Soldiers are able to detect suspicious or important changes in their surroundings, however small. When this information is reported back to leaders, it allows them to construct a clearer picture of the battlefield making it safer for fellow Soldiers and civilians alike.
The ES2 gameplay in AA3 brings awareness of the importance of every Soldier being observant on every mission. During AA3 gameplay, players will be rewarded for observing and reporting back things that they may come across during the mission that are suspicious or out-of-place. The player must determine what the object is, and report it if necessary. Many objects are false alarms and provide no benefit. Others are possible Intel such as NME documents or equipment and will grant the player a round bonus. Some gear or inventory items provide an immediate benefit such as ammo, explosives or IFAKS. To learn more about ES2, players will experience ES2 training as part of the MOUT training exercise.
New Maps
Shantytown is a rainy, close-quarters battle map which includes mission types for VIP and Activated objectives (where players interact with items to fulfill the mission). In this map, refugees fleeing oppression from the Czervenian government have established a makeshift slum settlement in the RDO city of Mozeizli. The refugees have lately moved into better living quarters established by U.S. and coalition forces and the “Shantytown” has since been abandoned. But, NME operatives are believed to have infiltrated and set up links to enemy espionage networks in the deserted area. In Shantytown, players will need to take advantage of the in-game communication and work together as a team relying heavily on concealment and speed as they navigate this maze of plywood shacks, containers and corrugated sheet metal.
Stronghold is a large map that takes place on the cobblestone streets of the occupied RDO city of Ranaliv where numerous alleys, terraces, balconies, and lofty spires provide a multitude of challenges and opportunities for teams to work together to accomplish the mission. Most of the population of this old city has fled, leaving the town and historical sites open to fortification by enemy forces. An imposing 14th century stone fortress, clock tower and fortress turrets will be favorite overwatch positions so players must be prepared to defend against NME marksmen. Players will also make good use of cover inside structures in the commercial and residential districts, advancing as a team from building to building as they race to complete the mission objectives.
Additional Features
- New Achievement Coins – New achievement coins are awarded to the player for ES2 gameplay achievements were added into the game. A few of these achievements include Clean Sweep (awarded when a team reports all the ES2 objects in a single round), What’s That (awarded when a Soldier reports his/her first ES2 object) and What’s Yours is Mine (awarded when a Soldier lets teammates take all of the items in an ES2 object they have reported). Players will also be able to earn Soldier Sensor coins in bronze, silver, gold and platinum, depending on the number of ES2 objects they report.
- New Blue Force Tracker (BFT) Features – The BFT which provides forces with location information has been enhanced. Players may now change the zoom of the BFT or alter the transparency of the extended map using the mouse wheel. A spectator extended map has also been added.
- Steam Leaderboards – Steam leaderboard and stats updates will now be available when running the game through Steam
- Admin Control Panel – An Admin Control Panel has been added to allow server providers to manage servers in-game. If the user has the appropriate server access, it will appear in the main menu.
- Performance – Updates also include a number of gameplay weapons and map performance improvements.
About America’s Army
America’s Army is the only action game that delivers an authentic and entertaining Army experience by reflecting the training, technology, skills, and career advancement of a United States Army Soldier. The game has become an online phenomenon, ranking among the most popular PC action games played online. America’s Army games are rated T for Teen and can be downloaded free from Steam (www.americasarmy.com/steam) and from partners listed on the website (www.americasarmy.com). The Army launched America’s Army in July of 2002 and the most recent version, AA3 launched in June 2009. In keeping with the dynamic nature of Soldiering, the America’s Army game will continue to expand and allow players to explore the Army of today, tomorrow and the future. America’s Army is produced by the Army Game Studio, part of the AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama. Managed by Program Director Frank Blackwell, the Army Game Studio houses the development and management staff for the America’s Army online PC game as well as numerous Military and Government applications.
Trion Worlds has released a new screenshot gallery from their MMORPG, Rift, in honor of last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo – enjoy!
