Paradox Interactive today announced the release of Victoria II: A House Divided, the first expansion to the American Civil war based strategy game.
“From the development team behind Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, Victoria II: A House Divided introduces a new starting point in 1861 allowing players to experience the US Civil War from the start, from the era of absolute monarchies, encompassing expansion and colonization, culminating in the emergence of the US as a global superpower at the dawn of the 20th century.”
The Bethesda blog today announced the release of patch version 1.4 for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is now available on Steam. In addition, another new post details the soon to be released Creation Kit and mod Workshop (related video below).
“In addition to bug and quest fixes, 1.4 adds launcher support for the Skyrim Workshop. Currently we’re putting the final touches on the Creation Kit and Skyrim Workshop and will let everyone know as soon as they’re up.”
The full release notes on version 1.4 can be found on the Bethesda blog.
A new Humble Bundle has been released featuring Anomaly, Warzone Earth, Osmos and EDGE in addition to a new Humble Bundle Android application.
“Pay whatever you want to get four excellent games for Android mobile devices, as well as any Windows, Mac, and Linux computers you have: Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Osmos, and EDGE. Customers who pay more than the average will also receive World of Goo, an indie classic and an Android delight!
All these games would normally cost around $60, but we’re letting you set the price! This collection of games is DRM-free and redeemable on Steam. Don’t forget, you can donate a portion of your purchase to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Child’s Play Charity.”
GalaNetworks Europe and Gala-Net today released details on Volume 5: Game of Gods, the latest expansion to Allods Online, which is scheduled to be released on February 15th for North American and EU English servers.
“The brand new Bard archetype is a good support class that helps their party by performing powerful songs. These songs provide buffs and large augmentations to party stats such as increasing health and defence, boosting mana and energy regeneration and adding bonuses to damage.
Bards can also negate or cancel harmful battle effects on party members and can even control the battlefield by causing enemies to weaken, flee in fear or fall asleep for a period of time. In combat, Bards are capable of 1-on-1 confrontations, but perform better by juggling effects on a group of foes while their party companions finish off the enemies one-by-one. The Bard archetype will be playable by four races, creating four all new classes: the Elf Minstrel, the Orc Balladeer, the Xadaganian Agitator and the Kanian Skald, bringing the total number of playable classes in Allods Online to 34. Â The PvP Battlegrounds is an all new PvP mode which allows players to engage in 12 vs 12 PvP combat up to 20 times a day, in a dedicated zone, from level 23 upwards. Players from either team can capture resources while battling each other for exclusive rewards. Battlegrounds will award special in-game currency with which players can obtain chests that reward the player with level-appropriate gear, symbols of experience or even legendary gear exclusive to the Battlegrounds, as well as Draconic Relics that can be equipped at higher character levels. This in-game currency is exchanged with a specific NPC in order to get the rewards. Players will be rewarded for their successful team work, as well as individual performance. Â Dead City is the new raid area for high level characters. Players will have to raid through this visually stunning area and figure out the strategies to defeat the 13 new end-game bosses in 10 individual encounters. Fights include mounted combat on dragons for the first time in Allods Online history. Players are rewarded with the best up-to-date equipment for their characters that have stunning, all-new designs exclusive to the Dead City raid. There are three sub-tiers in the raid zone, each with their own individual design and look. Â More detailed information on the upcoming Game of Gods expansion can be found on the official North Amercian and European Allods Online websites.”
The MechWarrior Online site has been updated with a new developer diary post that covers role warfare in the upcoming new game based on the classic series.
“Role Warfare is a term used for applying in-game mechanics and features, which assist a player in optimizing the game for their style of gameplay.
There are 4 basic types of gameplay roles in any team based game. These are the common roles found in military conflicts between two or more forces, and are similar to a chess game in terms of how they play out on the battlefield. The four roles are:
Scouting – Gathering information as a reconnaissance/stealth unit that gets relayed back to the rest of the friendly force.
Defense – The defender holds the ground gained by the offensive forces and protects those in need.
Assault – The assault role is for the tactical forward units whose primary role is to seek and destroy.
Command – The command role is split into two different levels, lance and company. Lance command falls to those in charge of up to 3 other players and assist in coordinated attacks on key targets. The company commander utilizes the 2 other lance commanders and all information being relayed back to him to make global calls on the battlefield.”
Valve today announced that the Steam mobile application for iOS and Android devices is now available to all gamers.
“Launched last week in a closed beta, the Steam app allows gamers to chat with Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, view screenshots and user-generated content for their favorite games, read the latest gaming news, stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales, and more.
Want to check it out? Simply download the Steam app (free of charge) and log in to your Steam account via the mobile app.
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC and Mac games with over 40 million accounts around the world and over 1,800 titles offered.
Thom Terrazas, EverQuest Producer at Sony Online Entertainment, today announced that the original EverQuest will be going free-to-play in early March.
“We’re excited to be expanding the EverQuest experience by making the game more accessible to every type of player so that you can choose to play the game in a way that suits you best. Anyone who wishes to start, return or continue to play one of the “Best Games of All-Time” can simply download and play EverQuest on their terms – think of it as Free to Play, Your Way. Recurring subscriptions, non-recurring subscriptions, Silver or Free memberships, item unlockers, and more. The game will now be setup to be flexible so that *you* can decide how much to pay, based on how much fun you’re having.”
Paradox Interactive and NeoCore Games today announced that King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame has been shipped and is now available.
“King Arthur II – The Role-playing Wargame features a new and dark fantasy setting. No longer a valiant ruler, King Arthur has become the Maimed King, trying to mend a land that lies almost beyond repair in this stunning new plot.
More heroic, large-scale battles with bigger armies are now at the player’s disposal, with both strategic brilliance and bravery required to defeat the powerful foes that players will encounter on their quest to restore Britannia.
EA today released a new trailer for Mass Effect 3, which highlight’s the new multiplayer component in the upcoming final installment in the RPG series by BioWare.
“Mass Effect 3 plunges you into an all-out galactic war to take Earth back from a nearly unstoppable foe – and how you fight that war is entirely up to you.”
A new trailer for Dead Island: Ryder White has been released, giving viewers some more background on the upcoming DLC pack that’s scheduled to be released on February 1st.
“The DLC stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the game’s happenings. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island.”
Valve today announced the release of a Steam mobile application for Android and iOS devices, giving users a chance to chat, browse community groups and profiles, view screenshots, read news and stay up-to-date on sales. The app is currently in closed beta status and more users will be added as the service ramps up. There is no mention of Steam mobile supporting mobile games and apps at this time but one has to wonder as it seems like a logical step.
The Steam app comes from many direct requests from our customers,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale – these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam to make it richer and more accessible for everyone.”
Paradox today announced the release of a demo for King Arthur II: The Role-playing Wargame, giving players a chance to try out the upcoming role-playing strategy sequel by NeoCore Games.
“This demo for the anticipated sequel to Neocore Games’ critically acclaimed King Arthur series gives players a taste of what’s to come, allowing champions of Britannia to play through the title’s tutorial and first mission. With an expected gameplay session of about 60 minutes, King Arthur fans will be able to manage their army and territories, and lead their battalion into battle.
Help set Britannia free when King Arthur II – The Role-playing Wargame releases on January 27th, 2012 (PC, $39.99).
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced The Lord of the Rings: Riders of Rohan, an upcoming expansion where players join forces to ride into the Plains of Rohan. The expansion is scheduled to be released next autumn.
Introducing Mounted Combat – Ride into Combat atop your loyal War-steed as you defend the people of Rohan from the forces of Isengard and Mordor. Customize your War-steed’s armor and level its skills over time to aid you in mounted defense of King Theoden’s lands. Mount your steed and gather your fellows to fight against Warbands, contingents of roving warg riders that have been scouted all over the Plains of Rohan! It falls to you to head off and defeat this new threat before they over take the land.
Advance to level 85 – Continue your legend in the next chapter of The Lord of the Rings Online. Experience new adventures in the epic story, and gain new skills and deeds as you face new challenges on your journey to 85!”
Vehicle Mayhem was released for Battlefield Heroes today, which adds two new outfits and new weapons.
“It’s time to kick start your engines and blow stuff up, because Vehicle Mayhem is HERE!
That’s right, today you get to go grease monkey as heroes from the deserted wastelands join in on the fight in their ever growing battle for supplies, territory… and just because they plain love blowing things to kingdom come.
New Outfits
Step into the shoes of Road Ranger, a proud Royal peacekeeper always hot on the heels of the crafty National rebels seeking to gain ground in their territorial battle. Or grab your blowtorch and wrench and wreak havoc on any who stand in your way as the National mercenary Track Hunter
New Weapons
Their expertise not only makes them worthy warriors in the on-going battle between Nationals and Royals but their never ending love for blowing up everything they see (particularly enemy vehicles) has allowed them to create some terrifying, destructive, never before seen weapons which they will be trading with their faction buddies.
First up are Bernhardt’s Blowlamp & Faust’s Panzercutter but they have new weapons for each class in in transit as we speak and they will be hitting the battlefield VERY soon… apparently they lost a wheel and Track Hunter won’t let anyone near his wrench.”
