Monthly Archives: April 2015

Killing Floor 2 Steam Early Access Date and Pricing Announced

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Tripwire Interactive today announced that its highly anticipated co-op sci-fi horror FPS game, KILLING FLOOR 2, will be available for PC via Steam Early Access starting on April 21, 2015 for $29.99 (US), ₤19.99 (UK) and €26.99 (EU). KILLING FLOOR 2 is the sequel to the highly successful 2009 PC title, KILLING FLOOR, which has sold over 3 million units since its release.

During the Early Access period on Steam players will be able to dive into a fully functional, highly polished subset of KILLING FLOOR 2 content, including:

•       3 non-linear levels
•       4 perk classes
•       27 weapons
•       11 Zeds
•       7 playable characters, including a female character
•       1 boss character (not the Patriarch)
•       Mod SDK supporting custom level creation

Tripwire is known for listening to and engaging with their fans and it will be no different with KILLING FLOOR 2. During the Steam Early Access period the team is excited to garner real-time feedback from its loyal community and brand new players, in order to continue to hone and refine the gameplay experience to provide the best possible experience for the full official launch.

Players are encouraged to visit the Official Tripwire Interactive Killing Floor 2 Forums and leave their Early Access feedback – http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/forumdisplay.php?f=182

Age of Wulin Chapter 5: Heaven’s Ascent Expansion coming in April

Age of Wulin Chapter 5

WEBZEN, a global developer and publisher of free-to-play games, announces that the martial arts MMORPG, Age of Wulin will release its fourth expansion on April 28th 2015.

Hard on the heels of “Chapter 4: Betrayal & Forgiveness”, the Age of Wulin team is currently working on a new expansion titled “Chapter 5: Heaven’s Ascent”. Chapter 5 is hyped to deliver many great features and challenges for the Wulin community, with the Ladder to Heavens Arena tournament and the new Class-06 equipment, to name a few.

As of April, players will test their strength with the Ladder to Heavens Arena, a PvP competition pitting participants selected randomly and with matching level across the server. The contest takes place daily, and is structured in a way that allows players of all levels to enjoy the combat and find benefit in the rewards, which include Ancient Manuals, skill books and materials.

A new stage of the Age of Wulin Record is added with the expansion, titled “Before the Final Battle”, which contains several events to complete in order to reap the desirable new Class-06 gear. Once completed, players will be able to upgrade their equipment with crafting, challenging the tougher-than-ever Yanmen Pass, competing on the Battlefield, or from the Sects and Factions. Different sets will be available, each with their own specificities and style.

Many improvements for the game’s existing features will be also deployed with “Chapter 5: Heaven’s Ascent”.

Closed Beta Available Now for Hounds: The Last Hope

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Netmarble, Korea’s largest PC and Mobile developer and digital entertainment company and Netmarble EMEA are thrilled to open its doors to Closed Beta registered users in the new online multiplayer shooter, Hounds: The Last Hope.

Players experiencing Hounds: The Last Hope in Closed Beta can expect a wealth of content to get their hands on; playing from either one of four classes from Assault, Tech, Specialist and Support. Each class has their own set of weapons and can individually utilise one of eight different armaments.

Integrated in Hounds: The Last Hope are new generation graphics, a fluent story and missions alongside rich in-game content. Available in Closed Beta will be both PvE and PvP maps, which are designed with huge attention to detail, leaving players to either battle along the post-apocalyptic world alone in PvE mode or enter combat accompanied by six different teammates in PvP mode.

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“Already immensely popular in Asia, Hounds: The Last Hope is our first game in Europe and we’re delighted to now make Closed Beta available for players to get right into action in the European market,” said Ozan Aydemir, Global Marketing Director, Netmarble EMEA. “At Netmarble, we like to treat our community as well as possible, and as a thank you for those playing the game and providing their useful feedback, we’ll be providing users with gifts for up to five days that they play in Closed Beta.”

Closed Beta will also include 100% English, German and Turkish text and dubbing in-game.

Players who enter the Closed Beta for five days will also receive gifts for each day that they login. The gifts are as follows:

Day 1 Login
3500 Gold
Room Leader Coupon (10)
Penicillin
Combat Backpack Bullet A
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box

Day 2 Login
3500 Gold
Room Leader Coupon (10)
Penicillin
Combat Backpack Grenade A
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box

Day 3 Login
3500 Gold
Room Leader Coupon (10)
Penicillin
Combat Backpack Money D
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box

Day 4 Login
3500 Gold
Room Leader Coupon (10)
Exotoxin
Pouch EXP
Combat Backpack Money BN313
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box

Day 5 Login
5000 Gold
Room Leader Coupon (20)
Pouch EXP
Combat Backpack Money BN313
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box
Closed Beta Weapon Luck Box

To download the client, visit the official site at http://www.houndsonline.com/en/ and install the game to be ready to encounter intensive combat.

Shallow Space: Insurgency Demo (Indiegogo)

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

Boldly Going Where Few Have Gone Before

The RTS scene is not currently awash with stellar titles; the big one being Starcraft, but it only operates on a 2D plane.  Shallow Space takes the road less traveled and reminds me of Homeworld, the first 3D RTS game. In a few ways they are similar, but Shallow Space is definitely its own game.  The demo is pretty simple, you have a series of floatilla and wings of Spaceships, and the goal is to protect the space station they are from against an endless wave of opposing ships.  While it may not seem like there is too much going on, the game is going to offer a great deal of strategy and thought to succeed! As they say on their indiegogo, you are a battleship commander, a “small cog in a very big wheel.”

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

This is a way to play RTS games that is not tried often enough, despite there being quite a few space strategy games. It is going to be more than a simple RTS though; Special Circumstances is combining many RPG elements with the constant decision making/action of a space RTS. With tons of customization, lots of interesting story elements, combined with an X and Y axis to maneuver upon,  there’s going to be a lot to learn for players who pick this up, no matter what experience you have in the RTS genre’, Shallow Space: Insurgency is going to be offering a unique and fun experience, I can feel it.

 

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

Space Explosions May Not Be Scientifically Possible. . .

. . . But they sure are awesome.  In Shallow Space: Insurgency, instead of simply having ships that are off by themselves where you left-click-drag to highlight what you want and order them around, the battleships and starships are organized into easy to use wings and flotillas, with a very clever UI. It takes a little getting used to since hovering over an icon at this moment does not tell you what it does, but the tutorial video included in the demo certainly does help a great deal. On the left side of the screen there’s a series of letters, A-G, and each will have a small series of blue icons under it. The letters are your flotillas, the wings are listed beneath. The icon next to the ships and health bars is an action icon, which lets you send them to do particular things. Heavy battleships can deploy small wings of ships to do battle, and lots of other fun abilities are coming.

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

There are so many more customization options on the way. From talent trees, ship customization down to turret placements and hull design, there is a lot of work going into this indie title. It will not be so cookie cutter as other RTS before it where you have X ship which can do A ability. Instead you have X ship which can be customized to do Y, Z, A, B, and/or C. In some ways it reminds me of what EVE could have been, with not only unit construction, but the ability to construct your own Space Stations. I can only hope they can be equipped with gigantic, terrifying death lasers to obliterate entire flotillas at once. That’s my kind of space battle.  But customization in games like this is certainly exciting, and I’m looking forward to more than just this demo.

 

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

A Long Long Time Away

Though I do not know the story quite yet, I do know it will involve several factions, and they are vying for control of a planetary setting. To progress in battle you have to mine resources and acquire blueprints, which makes sense as it is still at heart an RTS, but I do wonder how much time it will take to customize and set up your ships, from hull to turret placements; can you do this in multiplayer matches? Or do you have to set this up well in advance? I feel like customizing during battle could be a very negative force, as someone who does not have to worry about this is just going to bombard your forces with vigor and aggression. Now, I do imagine it won’t be as strenuous during story/bonus missions, but against other players? It does not sound like it will work out if the player is indecisive/constantly trying to play the counter game versus whatever the opposition is bringing.

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

I do have to say that the controls take a great deal of getting used to. There is an ability to slow down/stop/speed up time which makes me wonder how it will effect player vs. player encounters, if that’s even going to be an option. Since you have to move on the X and Y axis, you have the WASD to move the camera up/down/left/right, Q/E to move it up and down, and your middle mouse button to remove the UI and rotate the screen as you choose. The Z key zooms in, so you can see better details of what is going on in the game. Normally you are zoomed out which makes the ships a little smaller and less impressive.  The actual controls of using abilities and moving ships can be kind of frustrating too. I had a bit of a hard time when I instinctively went to left-click to highlight groups; I found the ships weren’t always responsive that way. I suppose the UI is there for a reason, as sometimes these extra buttons would get my ships flying where I wanted and killing what I please.

 

Shallow Space: Insurgency Indiegogo

Use The Schwartz

Intial Impression:  Interesting concept, excited for the release.

The difficulty in the demo is not strenuous, since it is an infinitely spawning series of waves who have clearly labeled drop zones. Once you get used to them on the first wave or so, it becomes pretty easy to anticipate and demolish them. It doesn’t do a lot of justice to the game, but there are tons of videos on Youtube with more advanced gameplay. I was definitely hoping to get my hands on the customization options and explore some of the bigger ships, as well as officer talent trees. Shallow Space: Insurgency may not be the next Homeworld or Starcraft, but it’s definitely on the ball, and it should be interesting to see what they’ve got cooking for future updates.

Help make sure this becomes a reality! Support them on Indiegogo!

Lineage II: Release Date for Infinite Odyssey Expansion Announced

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NCSOFT®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, today announced an April 22, 2015 release date for Infinite Odyssey, the next content expansion for Lineage II, one of the longest-running MMOs in history and flagship title for NCSOFT.

 

The story continues with Leona Blackbird and the Blackbird Army walking into an ambush by Embryo forces. Across the continent, strike teams attack the Blackbird Army division, slaughtering them or taking them prisoner. Enraged and determined, Leona sets out to visit the battlefields where the Blackbird Army battled Embryo in order to discover their whereabouts. She surveys scenes of intense fighting, finding no helpful clues until she discovers a soldier who barely escaped. Traumatized, he tells Leona what little he can. Based on the intel she’s gathered, Leona and her team depart for the location of the Embryo stronghold.

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Infinite Odyssey launches as part of Lineage II’s 11th Anniversary, and demonstrates NCSOFT’s strong commitment to creating new content for its most venerated franchise. Key content includes:

 

·         Level Cap Removed – For more than 10 years players have worked towards reaching level cap, where characters would be most powerful. Now players will be able to achieve level 100 and beyond, taking PvP to a whole new dimension.

·         New Skills – With the level cap removal comes new skills for players to learn and master, making them even more powerful than before. As a result of a recent contest, select skills will be named by members of the Lineage community.

·         New Zones – Two new zones, Atelia Fortress and the Garden of Spirits, will become available to players who meet the level requirements. These new zones are designed to test heroes to their utmost, and will prove to be a challenge for even the most seasoned veterans.

·         The New Raid Boss – Kelbim, the ruler of the Atelia Fortress, will be one of the greatest challenges the heroes of Aden have ever faced. Armed with a sword forged from the Seal of Calamity and powerful dark iron wings, he is ready to battle anyone who dares to challenge him.

 

Visit www.lineage2.com for more details on the expansion and the results of the Name that Skill contest.

NGames Announces New Game Pixel Hero

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NGames is happy to announce a new game that will be added to their gaming lineup. Pixel Hero will have its first CBT during the first week of May! Join the adventures with our cute chibi characters. Characters in this game not only differ in skills but also in skill configurations. Now let us consider possible strategies in Pixel Hero.

Battle Skills
In Pixel Hero, you can form a colossal team of up to 25 heroes instead of just a 4-member team common in most games. When it comes to RPGs, skills are indispensable to success. There are many types of skills that can boost ATK and CRIT, passive skills that can boost Initiative and DEF while absorbing HP, and skills that can disable dodging. To defeat opponents, form reasonable combinations with various kinds of skills.

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Initiative Points allow you to battle first
In battle, both sides attack each other in turn. Skills are triggered starting from the front row to the back row. The chance to trigger skills in the back row will be lesser, especially for CRIT and HP recovery skills. So it’s important to make relevant strategies based on the opponent’s layout.

Since a hero’s position has an effect on triggering skills, players can arrange heroes in the front row based on skills!

Forge Legendary Heroes
The Hero Development system is as simple as profound. Heroes automatically upgrade as they kill monsters. However, each hero can not only be upgraded, but also be awakened. Equip heroes with exclusive artifacts which affect 4 stats Initiative, DEF, DOD and Monarch.

In addition to the awakening feature, players can also craft peerless gear! Pixel Hero is a fun game with simple operations, but sophisticated strategies.