"Killing Floor", the first-person horror survival game by Tripwire has been released on Steam.
"Killing Floor is a Co-op Survival Horror FPS set in the devastated cities and countryside of England after a series of cloning experiments for the military goes horribly wrong. You and your friends are members of the military dropped into these locations with a simple mission: Survive long enough to cleanse the area of the failed experiments!"
Frogster has announced that the user base for "Runes of Magic" in the US and Europe has reached 1 million users.
"In less than one year after announcing the game, the Berlin based publisher has been able to reach a further important milestone in the marketing of its multi-award-winning MMORPG.
“We at Frogster have been looking for a real hit title for two years and are happy to have found one this last year with Runes of Magic.” Summed up Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH. “We are convinced that with the up-coming offering of additional language versions we will achieve further strong growth in Europe.” Weidenhaupt continued. The Berlin based publisher plans to release at least two further localised versions this year. In addition to this, the already announced Korean version is to appear in association with Frogster Asia, as well as a Russian version in a cooperative partnership with Game Factory Interactive.
Runes of Magic was commercially released on 19 March 2009. All interested fantasy fans can continue to download the online role playing game for free at www.runesofmagic.com and can plunge into the game world after a short registration process."
GOA and True Games Interactive have announced that "Warrior Epic", the action role-playing game by possibility space, will launch next Tuesday, the 19th.
"Developed by Austin based studio Possibility Space, Warrior Epic is set in an original fantasy universe extensively populated by every conceivable friend and foe, waiting for the first players to immerse themselves in a spellbinding world of swords and sorcery. In the game, players will assume command of a Warrior Hall from which they manage their charactersý adventures. They can recruit from a wide array of Warrior Classes, each with its own style of play. The Classes and the Hall itself can be upgraded visually as well as functionally. Players adventure together in multiplayer campaigns, adventure mode, solo quests.
"Players who took part in the rigorous beta testing process have experienced a taste of what the game has in store," said Ghislaine Le Rhun Gautier, CEO of GOA. "We couldn’t be more delighted with the positive feedback the game’s receiving, so launch expectations are high all round."
May 19th is a big day for GOA and True Games and especially for Warrior Epic fans,ý said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. ýOur wonderful Warrior Epic community has weathered the testing process with us and next week they will be rewarded when the game officially goes live and they can experience all-new features, events, amazing cash shop items and more."
For more information visit the gameýs website www.warriorepic.goa.com."
Paradox Interactive has released the first developer diary video for "East India Company", the upcoming strategy game by Nitro Games.
"This first entry is part of an ongoing series to be released bi-weekly on GameSpot during the time leading up to the games launch. In the video developer diaries, lead designer Kim Soares of Nitro Games will give viewers a glimpse of East India Companys extensive features and share insights from the development process.
The first episode of the East India Company developer dairy is an overview of the game. In the entry, Soares explains how players will use battles and trade management to rule nations from Europe to the Far East. He also reveals the three primary view points available in the game: strategic level, which provides an overview of the world map, port level, which displays the seaport for a particular destination and tactical level, which shows a sea level view of naval battles.
Explaining Nitro Games motivation behind creating the video developer diary, Soares said,
“The East India Company community is growing rapidly and the thing we hear the most is show us in-game material. These videos were created as a response to that request, giving players a good overview of the different aspects of East India Company by showing them how things work in the game.”
East India Company scheduled for release in Q3 2009 and will be published worldwide by Paradox Interactive. The PC title will be available for digital download on leading digital distribution platforms. "
Tripwire sent out a reminder stating that "Killing Floor", the company’s survival co-op game, launches tomorrow. To save some money on the game, the pre-sale 25% discount it still in place on Steam.
"Here is a reminder for everyone who hasn’t taken up the offer of the 25% discount on the pre-sales Killing Floor: the pre-sale discount on the new co-op survival-horror shooter ends tomorrow, when the game launches on Steam. Killing Floor is now sitting firmly as the Number 1 in the Steam Top Seller’s list, so grab it while it is hot – www.steampowered.com.
And, in case you have been waiting for some gameplay footage before buying, that footage is available over at Voodoo Extreme – ve3d.ign.com. Andy Burnes recorded a full 40 minutes while playing with some of the Tripwire developers and his videos are now ready to view, so go and take a look."
The countdown to the awaited sniper update for "Team Fortress 2" has begun. Additionally, another free weekend is on the way.
"Valve, creators of award-winning games and leading technologies, today announced the Sniper Update for Team Fortress 2 will be made available in the coming days via Steam.
Like prior TF2 Class updates, the Sniper will deliver new Achievements, maps and unlockable weapons free of charge to all owners of Team Fortress 2 for the PC.
A web site detailing the update is now online, and will be updated each day until the release is made public for automatic update.
For more information, please visit www.tf2.com/sniperupdate"
NCSoft and Paragon have announced "City of Heroes Going Rouge", an upcoming expansion in the "City of Heroes" series that will be the first major addition since "City of Villains".
"In the Going Rogue expansion, hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game’s main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties.
City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and decisions made by the player, will move a hero’s or villain’s moral compass, which could eventually change the hero’s or villain’s alignment. Going Rogue will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this alignment shift in the game’s lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.
“City of Heroes has brought a fresh new perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue,” said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios. “For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges.”
NCsoft will share more details on Going Rogue in the coming months. The game is currently in development by NCsoft’s Paragon Studios, the City of Heroes development team that most recently launched the ground-breaking Mission Architect system. The launch of Mission Architect sets a significant milestone for City of Heroes as the first MMO to allow players to create user-generated content. City of Heroes has and continues to set new standards among its MMO peers and player community with its engaging and approachable comic book-inspired universe theme and consistent delivery of concepts that break the standard MMO mold.
For more information about City of Heroes, go to https://www.cityofheroes.com."
The list of new PC game releases, DVD and Blu-Ray releases, and movies opening the week of May 11th, 2009.
PC Games:
Movies Opening This Week:
DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:
ACE Team has announced the release of the first DLC pack for "Zeno Clash", which is a model pack for Garry’s Mod.
"The pack includes 70 models with characters and creatures from the game to be used with Garry’s Mod. This is a great addition to the existing library of assets and we really hope the fans will enjoy the content and start developing their own Zeno Clash inspired videos, screens or machinima.
ACE Team will continue to support Zeno Clash with free DLC and updates. Stay tuned for future updates."
Activision has released a new teaser trailer for the highly anticipated "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", giving viewers just a sneak peak.
Eidos has announced "Thief 4", an upcoming new sequel in the action/stealth series that is in development at Eidos Montreal.
"Eidos-Montreal is excited to unveil its previously secret second title in development at the studio, Thief™ 4, the next instalment in the legendary series.
The original Thief game, Thief: The Dark Project redefined first person gaming and established an entirely new genre of stealth based game play. The critically and commercially acclaimed Thief series has won numerous awards and accolades including GameSpy Hall of Fame, GameSpot Greatest Games of All Time and The Academy of Interactive Arts And Sciences Outstanding Achievement in Character and Story Development.
Eidos-Montréal, which is also currently producing the much anticipated Deus Ex™ 3, has recruited the very best core team for the development of Thief 4. The team is comprised of industry veterans who have worked on an incredible collection of AAA titles and who each bring personal expertise in their respective fields.
“We’re in the early development stages for Thief 4, but this is an incredibly ambitious and exciting project for Eidos,” said Stéphane D’Astous, General Manager at Eidos-Montréal. “While it’s too early for us to offer any specific game details, right now we are focused on recruiting the very best talent to join the core team at the studio and help us make what we believe will be one of the most exciting games on the market.”
Development is under way and the team is looking to recruit the very best talent as production ramps up. If you are a world-class developer looking to join the talented Thief 4 team, visit www.eidosmontreal.com to submit your résumé or www.thief4.com to join the community discussion."
Valve has announced that Steam Achievements have been added to the recently released casual game "Plants vs. Zombies" by PopCap.
"PopCap Games adds 12 Steam Achievements to the smash hit Plants vs. Zombies game via an automatic update today. The new Achievements include challenges such as "Home Lawn Security," "Immortal," and "Ask Me About Mustache Mode."
For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com."
2K Games and Digital Extremes have announced new multiplayer information for "BioShock 2", the upcoming prequel in the series.
"Multiplayer in BioShock 2 provides a rich prequel experience that expands the origins of the BioShock fiction. Set during the fall of Rapture, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a premier provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city of Rapture that was first explored in the original BioShock. Players will need to use all the elements of the BioShock toolset to survive as the full depth of the BioShock experience is refined and transformed into a unique multiplayer experience that can only be found in Rapture.
“The fans asked for a multiplayer experience and we answered,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “With Digital Extremes delivering a multiplayer experience for BioShock 2 that features all of the things that make BioShock unique, we’re holding ourselves to a high standard so that we can deliver the depth and variety that fans of the BioShock universe demand.”
Key features:
The GFWL issue with "Fallout 3 Broken Steel", the most recent DLC from Bethesda, has been fixed and the game is now available again through Live.
"To access the DLC (Games for Windows and Xbox 360), make sure you have the Fallout 3’s latest title update, version 1.5. When connecting to LIVE, you’ll be prompted for the update. Alternatively, PC players can download it from our site.
Unlike the previous DLCs, The Pitt and Operation: Anchorage, Broken Steel’s questline requires the player to have completed the main quest before venturing on. If you haven’t reached the game’s end, you’ll still notice the game’s new achievements, level cap, perks, enemies, weapons, etc.
We thank you guys for being patient, and we hope you enjoy Broken Steel. To discuss the latest DLC, head to our official game forums."
Codemasters has released a new trailer and screenshots for "Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising", the upcoming realistic FPS sequel.
"The island of Skira is a stunningly detailed and beautifully recreated oil-rich island. Fictionally located off the eastern coast of Russia just north of Japan, its rich geological terrain will provide a challenging tactical environment that includes valleys, mountains, coastlines, beaches, villages, industrial complexes and a huge extinct volcano.
Its natural resources and location powers a strong story that opens as an airborne division of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) lands to claim the island as the sovereign possession of the People’s Republic. The patrolling amphibious assault ship, USS Iwo Jima, responds by sending a battalion of US Marines and the island becomes a flashpoint where the combined combat assets of two military super powers face off in an epic engagement.
“Skira makes for an immense and, with the latest visual pass, a magnificent battlefield; we’re exceptionally proud of the build so far,” said Sion Lenton, Executive Producer, Codemasters. “Creating this vast island, populated by unscripted AI military forces, is no trivial matter and so, to get this absolutely right, we’re now investing additional development time. We’ll be working right through the summer to deliver all formats this autumn and create the best possible experience that people will want to enjoy again and again.”
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is the complete antitheses of the on-rails, run-and gun action shooter. Players are empowered with the freedom to handle military crisis situations on their own initiative, deploying the weaponry, vehicles and equipment of a contemporary fighting force. Objectives are set, it’s then up to the player to decide how they are achieved are in exhilarating, unscripted missions. Armed with cutting-edge military hardware, players will need to balance brute force with intelligent use of tactics.
No game will ever play out the same way twice thanks to advanced and reactive AI that uses real world military strategies. In battle, the brutal effects of modern weapon systems are brought alive with huge explosions and persistent building damage as players fight a unique path through this unmistakable, unrivalled battlefield."
