Monthly Archives: September 2015

SWTOR: Knights of the Fallen Empire Quick Hands-On Preview

By Tyler Wood (zelus_craft)

 

SWTOR KOTFE Valkorion

San Francisco, CA – Another day of the endless California drought trudges onward, but thankfully, EA and Bioware kindly offered cool harbor within the W Hotel to show off some of the upcoming expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Knights of the Fallen Empire.

 

Fans of SWTOR will be delighted to know that Knights of the Fallen Empire is part of Bioware’s much touted return to story telling form. Feedback from the previous expansion, Shadow of Revan, was heard loud and clear: More personal story development. Well fans, you’ll get what you want: Knights of the Fallen Empire will feature nine highly focused personal story chapters on release and then, starting in January, additional monthly chapters will be released. For SWTOR subscribers this expansion is free, and everyone will be able to jump into it with a new or existing level 60 character.

 

SWTOR KOTFE Fleet

“Speaking frankly, those are some bad odds.”

 

My hands-on time with Knights of the Fallen Empire began at the usual place: A character creation screen. I created a female Sith with the full intention of being as snarky as possible throughout the dialogue trees, and then watched the opening ‘Sacrifice’ cinematic (if you haven’t seen it already, it’s quite good). Shortly thereafter I was deciding who to help, making snide remarks at all parties, re-learning skills, and fighting small squads of boarding parties. If you start the expansion with a new character – like I did – there is a pseudo tutorial that grants you three to five of your skills after a set number of enemy encounters. This will probably be a great refresher for players who haven’t touched the game in a while. The quick and dicey choices I made while running around a burning mess of a ship felt like they had an immediate effect on which in-game cutscenes were played next. Only one dialogue tree in first chapter stood out as particularly important– but hey, it’s chapter one.

 

SWTOR KOTFE Outlander Marr

More story also means standing and talking.

 

Chapter one of the new expansion felt very, very similar the rest of SWTOR but with more memorable chit chats and a slight visual bump in quality. If you enjoy the existing combat-running-combat-cutscene rotation found in the rest of the game and are curious what the disappearance of the Sith Emperor signifies then you’ll probably enjoy how Knights of the Fallen Empire plays. Though brief, the first chapter of the expansion is an interesting entry point to more Star Wars Expanded Universe material.

 

SWTOR KOTFE Vaylin

Melisandre, what are you doing in this franchise?

 

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire will be releasing this October 27th as a digital download and expansion to the Star Wars: The Old Republic base game. If you like SWTOR, get it.

 

Grand Ages: Medieval

Grand Ages: Medieval is a 3D strategy game developed by Gaming Minds Studios that is available for purchase on Steam for PC and Linux and can be purchased separately for the PS4. In Grand Ages: Medieval you will be able to rise from a humble mayor to the leader of a powerful empire. By producing and trading a whopping 20 different types of goods, waging strategic battles, defending your trade routes, and meeting your peoples’ demands you will be able to conquer the world as you know it. Wits and strategic foresight are just the beginning of what you’ll need to be successful in both the Campaign and Multiplayer matches that consist of up to 8 players.

Features:

Natural Disasters: Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, violent storms and much more add an unpredictability to matches.

Massive World: Over 20 million square kilometers of land are ripe for the taking, from Scandinavia and North Africa; to Portugal, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Technological Advancements: 50 major technological advancements like the longbow and low warp loom can be researched and help you achieve greatness!

Pirate Crusaders

Pirate Crusaders is a turn-based MMORPG by Crimson Games. Packed with fast paced pvp and pve action and tons of fun events, Pirate Crusaders lets players experience the pirate life online.

Features:

PvE Gameplay: Battle through rich dungeons filled with dangerous enemies and precious loot. Build different boats to sail across the seven seas.

PvP Gameplay: Compete against other pirates for territorial control. Participate in real-time guild wars.

Social Gameplay: Cooperate and compete with players and guild mates for loot and pirate titles.

Seven Knights Announced for Global Launch in 2015

Netmarble Games today announced that its hit RPG, Seven Knights, will launch globally for iOS and Android devices later this year. To celebrate the upcoming release, the company has launched a new Seven Knights website in four languages, including English, Traditional Chinese, Thai and Korean.

seven knights announcement

Seven Knights, which debuted in Korea last year and has consistently held a top five spot on the Google Play Store – reaching #1 in September 2014 and remaining in the top three for 48 consecutive weeks, currently ranks second in revenue in Korea on the Google Play Store. The game continues to amass legions of fans with more than seven million downloads and an active, growing global community. The visually striking mobile RPG has struck a chord with male and female players of all ages through its distinctive combination of intuitive commands, intense strategy and exciting adventure. With simple controls and lively turn-based combat, Seven Knights invites players to collect and upgrade hundreds of heroes, blaze through battles with a customized team and explore a number of dynamic game modes for variety and challenge.

“Following the highly successful launch of Seven Knights in Korea, where the game has attracted millions of passionate players, we are pleased to introduce the game to the world through its new global website,” said Seungwon Lee, President of Overseas at Netmarble Games. “As a global gaming company, Netmarble Games will continue to introduce and support high quality games like Seven Knights that combine the fun immersion of a true RPG with the accessibility of a casual mobile title.”

With over 230 characters in Seven Knights shown in high quality animations and dynamic skill effects, and each of the game’s uniquely designed heroes has his or her own distinct skills and scintillating backstory. The turn-based battles combine various skill effects and counter skills with tactical battle formations and the ability to customize team rosters for different enemies. Game modes include the single player Celestial Tower mode, a Battle Arena for fighting other players and Castle Rush mode where player guilds can fight for supremacy.

Learn more about the game at their new global website.

Activision Announces Call of Duty World League

Activision Announces Call of Duty World League news header

With the upcoming release of Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, the sequel to the best-selling series in Call of Duty® history, eSports is poised to expand to new audiences, while introducing new ways for fans of all skill levels to join the eSports movement. Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Call of Duty announced today the creation of the Call of Duty® World League, a worldwide eSports league by Activision in support of the #1 console eSports franchise, Call of Duty.  The new league marks an unprecedented commitment by Call of Duty and its dedicated eSports team to directly support the growing community of eSports fans. The program will provide a deeper level of engagement with the elite circuit of professional gamers, while also encouraging casual fans and aspiring competitors of Call of Duty to enjoy the thrill of competition across different skill levels.

“Call of Duty has always been about community, camaraderie and competition, which drives incredible engagement with the game all year long.  eSports allows us to deliver these moments to our fans whether they are playing the game themselves or cheering on those who are,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc.  “Three years ago, we held the first Call of Duty Championship to showcase the dedication and skill of Call of Duty players around the world. Since then, eSports has become a global phenomenon with more than 120 million people watching online competitive gaming each year and Call of Duty continues to lead as the top console eSports franchise in the world.”

Call of Duty World League
The Call of Duty World League will be comprised of two Divisions – The Pro Division and The Challenge Division – each of which will feed into the grand finale of the competitive Call of Duty season and the biggest event in console eSports, the Call of Duty Championship. Professional Call of Duty teams in North America, Europe and Australia & New Zealand will battle throughout the year in regional competition during The Pro Division regular season to earn their ticket to the Call of Duty Championship and will compete for the largest seasonal cash prizes in Call of Duty to date.  The Call of Duty World League Pro Division kicks off competition in January 2016 in North America, Europe and Australia & New Zealand.

The Challenge Division will provide a path for amateur and other aspiring pro players to compete with each other and enhance their competitive skills as well.  The winning teams in The Challenge Division will also earn a spot in the Call of Duty Championship by competing in a series of official LAN events.

“Treyarch’s passion for competitive gaming precedes Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a heritage that inspired us to introduce dedicated eSports features into the franchise and one that compelled us to push the boundaries of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s offerings beyond anything we’ve delivered before,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head. “While our global fan base of players range from casual to professional, they all share a desire to compete – some at the highest levels. With Call of Duty: Black Ops III, we are introducing a series of new features, like Arena mode that not only accommodate that diversity of play styles, but also let players see how they stack up against one another. Treyarch is giving the community of Call of Duty players new ways to compete and enjoy the thrill of competition.”

Call of Duty Championship
For the first time in its history, the Call of Duty Championship will move from spring to autumn, taking place in autumn 2016 to give players an extended amount of time to hone their competitive skills in Call of Duty: Black Ops III through competing in the Call of Duty World League regular season.

With the Pro and Challenge Divisions of the Call of Duty World League there is an unmatched level of series and tournament combined prizing available. There’s more than $3 million on the line between series payouts, LAN events and the Call of Duty Championship, making it the biggest total prize pool for Call of Duty eSports and more than triple the previous prizing.

Activision has formed a team dedicated to launching and coordinating the Call of Duty World League, which will start with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops III.  Further details including broadcast, personnel and partnerships will be released at a later date.  For more information on the Call of Duty World League, announcements about the Call of Duty Championship 2016 and other Call of Duty eSports news go to https://www.callofduty.com/esports .  Fans can also follow @eSportsCOD on Twitter.

Pirate Crusaders Diamond Pack Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Crimson Games to welcome players to Pirate Crusaders with a Diamond Pack Giveaway including 170 diamonds inside!

Take to the high seas in the heart of the golden era of exploration! Choose your side between East Aldrich and West Douglas, them build your ultimate ship to take part in 5v5 and 40v40 combat! With an extensive storyline quest system, and the ability to customize the abilities and stats of your boat through the materials you build it with, Pirate Crusaders offers some of the freshest gameplay in the browser space in 2015.

 

 

To Redeem your Key:

  • Visit Pirate Crusaders’ website to sign up for an account and get into game.
  • Once you’re established, click the event menu option.
  • The bottom option is “Activate Code.” Click it and enter your code.
  • Enjoy your booty!

Ankama announces Abraca

Ankama announces Abraca news header

Ankama presents its new transmedia IP Abraca, which will be available as a video game, an animated TV series, a web series and a turbo media spin-off.

All media will feature creatures from fairy tales but, while the series will be set in the real world, the game will take place in the realm of Imagi, where princes and princesses team up to fight the other royal duos in a fierce competition.

The TV series, commissioned by France Televisions, will be a slapstick comedy of 26 episodes of 26 minutes. Two kids with opposite characters, a rational geek and an impulsive knight girl, will team up to help fairy tale creatures to solve their many problems. The series will first air in France mid-2017. The web series, turbo media spin-off (an enriched digital comic book), comic books and novels will all improve the experience by offering parallel stories to the TV series.

The video game will be a party game available on PC and consoles. Easy to learn but hard to master, Abraca is a competitive game in which players can form a team of 3 against one prince or play a princess in a ready-to-rumble arena. Packed with references to the fairy tales of our childhood, the game revisits these stories with humor, mixing in elements of fighting games and platformers. Its release is scheduled for 2016.