Wargaming announces the introduction of the new game mode in World of Tanks — Historical Battle. The vehicles that participate in the Historical Battle mode correspond to their historical setups. Teams are assembled on nation-based principle and reflect the forces that fought in the real battle.
Drakensang Online is now available for Apple users.
Jamie Reyes wandered into a fight between warring super-human gangs and, desperate to escape, stumbled across the object which they were fighting over: a strange blue scarab. The scarab bonded to Jamie and instantly covered his body with battle armor. Protected, he fled to safety.
Turbine has released an early look of Infinite Crisis‘ Blue Beetle, with new character art, information, and a Champion Profile video. On Wednesday, April 30, players can use his assassin and marksman skills to injure enemies from afar and sprint for the kill, when Blue Beetle goes live in-game.
Jamie Reyes wandered into a fight between warring super-human gangs and, desperate to escape, stumbled across the object which they were fighting over: a strange blue scarab. The scarab bonded to Jamie and instantly covered his body with battle armor. Protected, he fled to safety.
After his escape, Jamie was horrified to discover that while the armor wasn’t permanent, his bond to the scarab was. Worse, he discovered the scarab could “speak” in his mind. It revealed to Jamie that it was called Khaji-da and it was a living tool of conquest created by the Reach, an alien empire bent on conquest. Designed to control its host’s mind, Khaji-da intended for Jamie to be a tool of the Reach, paving the way for their invasion. However, the scarab was damaged, much to Jamie’s luck, and he retained free will. Now he struggles as Blue Beetle, misunderstood teenager and hero.
Age of Wushu today introduced a swords-wielding class, the Rootless Clan in its upcoming expansion Tempest of Strife. This mysterious yet heinous class is an expert of both melee and ranged attacks and revels in sending a deathblow to their foes with rapid swordswings. Just as the Chinese saying goes, “There is no impregnable defense, only swiftness can define invincibility.”
A cabal of scheming eunuchs, the villainous Rootless Clan amassed their vast wealth and networks while serving as high-ranking officials of the Imperial Dynasty. Reviled and feared, they demand all their followers to be castrated. These mass murderers revel in sowing seeds of discord among their enemies.
For more info, visit http://www.ageofwushu.com/news/view/333
OnRPG has partnered with Carbine Studios to net our viewers 4 days of WildStar access this upcoming weekend from April 18th at 7am PDT to April 21st at 11:59pm PDT! This test is for the North American servers.
Fans who play the WildStar beta can earn free items for launch! For each day players log into the game between now and launch (during pre-order weekends as well as Open Beta), accounts will receive 3 Boom Boxes at launch. These boxes can be used once per day to receive a random assortment of possible goodies, including XP buffs, unique runes, weapons, housing items, unique costumes, mounts, and more! More info here.
To Redeem Your Key:
Paradox Interactive, the fearsome digital warriors of Northern Europe, have today unleashed War of The Vikings, their all-new skill-based multiplayer combat game, on to digital retail portals across the world in three variants.
Developed by Fatshark, War of The Vikings is the next generation of close-quarter combat games as players design and customize a personalized warrior and take them in to glorious battle online with other warriors from all over the world. Choose from the Standard Edition ($24.99), the Blood Eagle Edition ($34.99) or the mythic Valhalla Edition ($174.99) that includes the lifetime Viking pass where all future content released for the game is automatically unlocked, a digital art book, digital strategy guide, deluxe soundtrack, and the brand new ‘Berserker King’ digital novel.
Five new maps are now also available across all three variants:
For more info, visit www.warofthevikings.com/
Appirits, the Japanese game developer and publisher has marked the 1-month milestone of releasing their browser-based game Shikihime Garden on April 15th with the announcement of unlocking the latest Shikihime card – Kabukirihime, a series of events and a special promotion for players who purchase in-game points.
For the occasion, Appirits has made the final member of Extremely Rare Shikihime – Kabukirihime available for Gold Summon which requires Gold Ticket or Power (purchased with cash). Kabukirihime is a card of Archer class, that means her Agility is very high and will bring much advantage in battles because she will strike first most of the time. Appirits also doubled her summon rate in 1 week to give players higher chance to obtain this new Shikihime card. Details of her stats can be found at http://bit.ly/kabukirihime-release
In addition to the new extremely rare card, a remarkable event for Shikihime Garden this week is a promotion of 1.2xPower for all players who purchase Power, a special currency for some in-game premium features such as summoning powerful Shikihime cards. Moreover, when players use Gold Summon function, they will have chance to get a new item called Gold Ticket Fragment which can be collected to a certain amount for exchanging Gold Tickets. Appirits also does not forget players who cannot afford to spend Power in the game by giving 1 FREE Gold Ticket to all players entering Shikihime Garden from April 15 to April 22.
The last notable thing about the latest update of Shikihime Garden is the Best Garden Contest which all players can join to get valuable in-game rewards such as Gold Tickets, Extremely Rare Shikihime Patterns. The rule is quite simple; players only need to take their best screenshot of their Shikihime garden and submit it to the contest’s page at http://bit.ly/best-garden-contest
For more info, visit http://skgen.aprts-games.com
ArenaNet has just released the “April 2014 Feature Pack,” the first-ever Guild Wars 2® update dedicated exclusively to adding and enhancing game features. The “Feature Pack” represents ArenaNet’s move towards releasing content updates that are focused on features and game systems. Going forward, these packs will be separate from the studio’s living world releases, which have primarily been the vehicle for introducing new storylines and story-driven game play. Just as with living world, feature packs and all new content added to Guild Wars 2 are available to players free of charge and without a subscription fee.
One of the biggest updates in ArenaNet’s highly anticipated inaugural “Feature Pack” is the introduction of a megaserver system. The system makes it easy for people to find game maps populated with friends, guild members and similar players. Other major new features in the pack include a new wardrobe system, dozens of new traits, and upgrades to PvP. The new content touches on game play, quality of life and social play, meaning what’s being implemented today promises to enhance the experience of every player in Guild Wars 2.
Highlights of the update include:
For more information, visit www.guildwars2.com
By W.B. Wemyss (Tagspeech)
Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rob Overmeyer, a dev working on the Neverwinter team; for those unfamiliar, Neverwinter is the latest multiplayer installment of the famous Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Enthusiasts will know that setting as the one called home by famous characters like Wulfgar and the Drow, Drizzt. Most people will find these names weird and foreign, and that’s fine too. Neverwinter is a straightforward enough game to make the lore relatively irrelevant to the player.
The upcoming content expands on that lore by introducing the much-loved Icewind Dale region of the Forgotten Realms, the very same reason that hosted Drizzt and the other heroes of R.A. Salvatore’s famous FR fantasy novels. The frozen north is prime adventuring territory, and apparently this content expansion plays off of that story by taking place one-hundred years later, after an evil wizard’s tower was destroyed, and chunks of that primal stone and metal flew across the region to create a new kind of material called “black ice.” The powerful properties of the ice are coveted by many factions, and signing a mercenary contract with one of them is the primary focus of the expansion content. This contract settles your PVP faction in the new area, but can also be revoked and swapped to the other side as well for a more fluid experience.
Mechanically speaking, Neverwinter has always been a bit of an odd duck. It shares some qualities with the action-packed Guild Wars, and some qualities with more traditional MMORPGs. The landscapes and cities have been rather controlled and claustrophobic compared to other games with more open worlds. What attracts and keeps people with this game is generally the user-created quests and unique character customization. It is, of course, at the end of the day, a gear treadmill like every other game in its genre. So what makes Neverwinter stand out among the horde of fantasy MMOs?
As of now, not terribly much beyond the Forgotten Realms setting, and it having a team of dedicated, old school MMORPG devs and gamers behind it that are extremely passionate about the source material. That alone is great, but it leaves the game in the state of niche appeal. What has been expanding the game’s audience is PVP. Interesting PVP, at that, and the upcoming Icewind Dale expansion aims to address some primary gripes with the game, and greatly expand the PVP and PVE/PVP options in a more open-world setting.
The intended content for Icewind Dale is going to be a large, open region the players can explore in the form of the frozen north. This is unprecedented for the game, and it contains a number of dynamic encounters that take place in the overworld. These are similar to the rifts in Rift, or the quest system in Guild Wars 2. Players show up where help is needed, and work together for as long as they like to complete the encounters. At the end, they part ways or stick together. It’s a fairly modern take on the old questing paradigm in MMORPGs, and it’s good to see Neverwinter picking up the ball and running with it.
This philosophy extends to the region’s PVP, as well. Something Neverwinter has stated a desire to bring back is guild vs guild PVP and a greater sense of epic, open world PVP combined in PVE elements. To this end they’ve added a huge section in the Icewind Dale region where players are automatically flagged once they enter. This also happens to be the part of the area with the most black ice to mine and scavenge. Black ice isn’t just integral to the story of the expansion – it allows players to forge a whole new range of powerful gear, more powerful than anything else currently available. Of course, players are free to scavenge for the stuff out in the wilderness where no flagging is mandatory, but those who take risks will receive greater rewards.
In addition to all of this, a PVP campaign has been added alongside the game’s main storyline for players that want serious progress (and storytelling) told through the lens of the PVP experience. On top of that, the game is adding a streamlined matchmaking system, leaderboards, and better options for socializing with those you PVP with. It’s not all contentious and heated. Sometimes, people like to get to know each other and work together after beating the blood out of each other. What seems to set the Neverwinter development process apart from some of its competition is its focus on facilitating social interaction and friend-making, as well as its admirable devotion to story and storytelling.
The release date for the new content is “soon, possibly in spring.” The devs are actually excited and optimistic about the state of the game, and especially so for the upcoming Icewind Dale content. The game is doing well, despite being a bit of a dark horse in the genre. If you’re looking for a new experience in the same old fantasy MMORPG genre, Neverwinter just might be the breath of fresh air you need.
Tagspeech is the alias of author W.B. Wemyss, who was responsible for the bizarre cyberpunk fever dream called Children of Athena.