Monthly Archives: November 2015

WildStar Enter the Cryo-Plex Update Now Live

WildStar Enter the Cryo-Plex Update Now Live news header

NCSOFT and Carbine Studios announced today that the latest update to WildStarEnter the Cryo-Plex – is now live. As the first game update to come to WildStar since its free-to-play transition, Enter the Cryo-Plex brings the new Cryo-Plex arena and Arena Season 2.

The Cryo-Plex arena is a frozen tundradome in the extreme southern region of Olyssia where teams will face off in subzero temperatures. Arena Season 2 offers teams the ability to jump into Rated matches against other teams of similar skill and battle their way to the top of the rankings while collecting rare rewards. Teams can improve or lose their rating based on their wins and losses throughout a Season and at the end, the top five teams will receive unique weapons, a mount, pet and title.

To find out more about the Cryo-Plex arena and Arena Season 2, check out this post.

 

Europa Universalis IV: The Cossacks Confirms Release Date

Europa Universalis IV: The Cossacks Confirms Release Date news header

With the holiday season soon in full swing, it’s the perfect time to plan how you’ll be spending those late nights in front of the computer. Why not conquer the world?

On December 1, 2015, you will be able to play The Cossacks, the next expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the best-selling historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. With a host of new features and upgrades as impressive as the legendary steppe warriors themselves, The Cossacks brings even more depth and detail to Paradox’s flagship series.

A new diplomatic system lets you highlight provinces for expansion, pointing out to friend and foe alike where your ambitions lie. Earn the trust of your allies by performing favors for them, and use the promise of enemy territory to entice them to your side.

    Other features include:

  • The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
  • Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
  • Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
  • Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes  a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
  • Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
  • Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
  • Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.

Heroes Tactics: Mythiventures Announces iOS Release Date

Heroes Tactics: Mythiventures Announces iOS Release Date news header

Camex Games, a mobile games developer committed to creating games that are accessible to casual players while providing hardcore gameplay depth, announced today that Heroes Tactics: Mythiventures is coming to iOS devices on November 19. Whether it be setting out on a quest to save the kidnapped princess, challenging other players to PvP combat, adventuring through player customized levels, raiding castles, or creating the most powerful guild, players will have a wealth of different gameplay choices with Heroes Tactics: Mythiventures.

“We have brought a classic RPG with turn based combat to casual players by making the game easy to get into while providing immense depth that will keep hardcore players engaged for a long time,” says Michael Tseng, senior production coordinator for Camex Games. “Heroes Tactics: Mythiventures offers endless gameplay as players build their army of highly unique heroes. From powerful wizards who can obliterate an enemy with one blast to sword wielding knights, the game is filled with heroes who can be strategically brought into combat, with many combinations that can defeat the monsters who seek to destroy you. The only wrong choice, is the one that gets you killed.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops III Makes Over $550 Million During Opening Weekend

Call of Duty: Black Ops III Makes Over $550 Million During Opening Weekend news header

Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), today confirmed that Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is the biggest entertainment launch of the year. In its first three days, the blockbuster title exceeded $550 million in sell-through worldwide, according to Activision estimates. The opening weekend haul is the biggest entertainment launch of 2015, including theatrical box office, music and book launches.

Engagement per player also set a new record for the Call of Duty® franchise. Additionally, fans played more than 75 million hours online in its opening three days.

“Call of Duty’s millions of passionate fans have shown us, yet again, the strength of their commitment to this enduring franchise,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Executive Officer. “Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the biggest entertainment launch this year in any medium, and bigger than any theatrical opening weekend ever.”

“The Call of Duty: Black Ops III launch is bigger than any game, any movie, or any entertainment launch this year. But more importantly, our fans are engaging more deeply with the franchise than ever before. In fact, so far, people are playing Black Ops III for more hours per player than any Call of Duty game on record,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Call of Duty is more than a game, it’s a year round passion for a growing base of millions of fans and it’s only gaining momentum.”

“As we’ve said from the start, PlayStation is the best place to play Call of Duty, and this record-breaking launch shows how true this statement is. Black Ops III is the biggest launch of the year so far, and the PlayStation Nation is ready. We’re proud to call PlayStation the home of Call of Duty and look forward to supporting our community with DLC map pack content first,” said Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher and Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

On PlayStation®4, Black Ops III set a new record as the best-selling digital full game by units sold in its first day of availability in PS4™ history.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops III is off to a great start at GameStop,” said Bob Puzon, senior vice president of merchandising for GameStop. “The game’s story line, new features and intense zombie mode, have helped make it our most successful title launch so far this year.”

During the three-day opening, worldwide sales rose significantly over the previous two years, including setting a new franchise mark, as digital downloads of the game across next generation consoles rose nearly 100% from a year ago.

Black Ops III established new marks in viewership as the No. 1 most streamed and most viewed game of any game launch in 2015, as reported by Twitch.

Biggest entertainment launch of the year is based on Call of Duty: Black Ops III retail and digital sell-through, and reported movie, music and book gross sales, each for the opening three-days following initial launch, according to publicly-available data, retail customer sell-through information and internal Activision estimates. Digital download increase of Black Ops III versus last year is based on sell-through in first three days after initial launch. Engagement is based on internal recording of gameplay hours per player for the first three days after initial launch.

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Introduces First Raid on Nov 17

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Introduces First Raid on Nov 17 news header

ArenaNet™, publisher and developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars® franchise, today announced that Spirit Vale, the first major update for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and the first raid experience ever released for the MMO, is coming on November 17th. Spirit Vale represents the first of three raid wings that will ultimately form the first full raid in Guild Wars 2, introducing a new style of challenging content. Raids in Heart of Thorns will be unlike anything players have experienced before, as 10-player challenges designed to deliver epic encounters and rich rewards for skilled players, and with game play rooted in everything that sets Guild Wars 2 apart from other MMOs.

Starting with Spirit Vale, players will quickly discover that raids in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns are all about the same distinct gameplay mechanics that they have come to appreciate in the core game, with action-oriented combat where success is based on skill and the focus is on real-time strategies. Conquering the challenges in Heart of Thorns raids will require active strategies, not UI-gazing, with weapon and ability changes on the fly, skill combos, dodge rolling, and positioning for attacks being keys for conquering the content. One of the main aspects of gameplay in Guild Wars 2 is the versatility of each profession in the game, including the ability for all professions to heal. This will give raiders a large amount of freedom with party composition without reliance on the conventional tank, healer and damage dealer ‘trinity’ to take on challenges. The game’s player community is also widely recognised as one of the friendliest in MMOs because of its style of gameplay including the way rewards are distributed to all players who participate in an event, and the same will hold true for raids in Heart of Thorns.

With great challenge should come great rewards, and raids in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns will not only deliver epic encounters and massive boss fights, with enduring content that players can replay and refine, but also rich rewards. In addition to earning unique thematic rewards associated with the bosses they defeat, players can earn some of the most sought after rewards in Guild Wars 2 by completing raid encounters, including ascended armor and weapons. Beating raid content will also unlock the journey to attain one of the most sought after rewards in the game – legendary armor.

Players will receive new raid content for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns as major updates free of charge. Shortly after launching the original Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet established a regular cadence for delivering free content updates with Living World seasons, which gave players story-driven releases similar to episodic television, along with major updates to game features and periodic in-game events. Heart of Thorns will follow a similar model, where major post-release content such as raids and eventually additional Living World releases will be available free of charge to those who purchase the expansion.

Like every journey in Guild Wars 2, raids in Heart of Thorns will take advantage of the rich lore and deep universe found in the game, giving the experience an underlying story. The journey for players who enter Spirit Vale once it releases on November 17th is as follows:

  • Allies in Need – A Pact squad has gone missing in northern Maguuma, and you and your allies are their only hope for recovery. But the deadly forest isn’t the only risk to the rescue operation—the area holds dark secrets and strange magic.
  • Enhanced Squad UI – Along with the addition of our first raid wing, you can get organized on a whole new level with the enhanced squad UI. This feature will allow you to organize, command, and lead your ten-player raid or a squad of up to 50 players in World vs. World and Tyria at large.
  • Legendary Rewards – With great risk comes great reward, and conquering raids will start you down the path to gathering the components you’ll need to build legendary armor. You may also find ascended gear, miniatures, and new, unique weapon skins.

For more details on the first raid releasing for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, please visit https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/november-17-2015/ .