STAR LORDS MORPHS INTO LORDS OF THE BLACK SUN, HITS BETA MILESTONE ON STEAM

Arkavi Studios Unveils Sizzling New Beta Gameplay Trailer

Haarlem, The Netherlands– April 22, 2014 – Indie developer Arkavi Studios has issued a one-two punch announcement today by revealing it’s changed its name from Star Lords to Lords of the Black Sun, while simultaneously reaching the all-important Beta stage of development on Steam. The Beta features highly improved AI that utilizes the ship design component, making for more powerful ships and tougher battles, and offers streamlined gameplay and interface functionality, better lighting, and more.

The brand new gameplay trailer emphasizes what sets apart Lords of the Black Sun from other entries in the 4X realm.

Important Beta Updates:

• Improved AI: Now the AI fully uses the ship design component and its latest additions, designing more powerful ships and better managing its military forces making it a significantly tougher opponent.
• Major bug fixes and fixed some crashes and stability issues. Bug and crash fixes include the corrupted save files bug and the Trade Routes menu crash.
• Multiplayer is now being tested internally. While it’s not available in this first Beta release, it will be included soon.
• Added revamped Light and Medium Draakian ships models.

For a full list of changes please visit the official Steam community hub HERE: steamcommunity.com/app/246940

“We at Arkavi Studios are very happy to see Lords of the Black Sun reach this new stage of development,” says Mike Domingues from Arkavi Studios. “We’ve been working hard and the community has been incredibly useful since we went into Early Access, and for that we want to thank everyone involved. However, we still have a long road ahead of us and we hope to continue having the community by our side, helping us make the great space strategy title everyone wants and expects.”

In Lords of the Black Sun, players take command of one race to join the struggle for supremacy in the galaxy. As the leader of an empire, gamers are tasked with exploring the stars, colonizing new worlds, managing their empire and conquering whoever dares to oppose them. Within a framework of turn-based strategy and turn-based combat, Lords of the Black Sun endeavors to differentiate itself by providing players with the ability to beat their opponents by using generals, diplomacy, intelligence, trading, or plotting the downfall of enemies by financing wars against them or aiming to cause anarchy.

Lords of the Black Sun has now entered Beta and is available on the Steam Early Access program at $24.99 at store.steampowered.com/app/246940/

Key Features

• Eight major races each with their own ship designs, technologies, unique traits and unique abilities, meaning playing with each race is a different challenge and offers new ways to approach the game.
• Big, living universe: In addition to the major powers, independent races and pirate clans also claim the galaxy as their residence; their existence can be an annoyance, or a blessing if gamers take advantage of them.
• Deep economic and political layer: War isn’t the only way to weaken players’ rivals. Diplomacy, intelligence and trade can be one of many powerful tools that, if used properly, can be very effective as well.
• Tactical turn-based combat.
• Create and customize ship designs.
• Generals: These unique and powerful units evolve as they battle and if used well can be the difference between defeat and victory.
• Randomly generated universe, tech tree and units: gamers will never play the same game twice.
• Empire shattering: Unrest might lead rebels to start a civil war, which in turn might lead to the creation of a new, independent empire that might grow to rival one’s own.
• Plotting: Secretly finance a war against one’s rivals in order to weaken them or prepare a surprise joint war along with allies in a bid to destroy that frighteningly fast growing empire.
• Human-like AI that doesn’t cheat and plays by the same rules as human players, while presenting a constant challenge; conversely, play with one’s friends in Hotseat mode.

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ABOUT ARKAVI STUDIOS

Arkavi Studios is an independent game development company founded in 2013 in Leiria, Portugal. We are really passionate about what we do, putting our heart and soul into every game we make, and making the games we would like to play.

ABOUT ICEBERG INTERACTIVE

Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. While keeping its roots in the European retail games market, Iceberg has rapidly increased its focus towards the global digital games market, by building strong direct relationships with dozens of Game Portals. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. With a distinct focus on the strategy, action, simulation and adventure game genres, the company has garnered attention with acclaimed releases including Killing Floor, Wings of Prey, APB Reloaded and Endless Space among its 70+ game arsenal – with more promising games in the pipeline.

Play it cool! 

In Celebration of the Games For Change Festival, Global Gaming Initiative Expands Sidekick Cycle and Adds New Charitable Partner 

iOS Update Doubles Sidekick Cycle’s Content, Android and Kindle Versions Now Available 

Minneapolis, MN – April 22, 2014 – The Games for Change Festival kicks off this week in New York City as a component of the legendary Tribeca Film Festival. In celebration, Global Gaming Initiative today released a major update to its debut title, Sidekick Cycle, the exhilarating downhill cycling mobile game that shares half of its proceeds to give bikes to children in need around the world. The game’s content has been nearly doubled and every aspect of the game has been refined and optimized based on months of player feedback. The game is also now available for Android on the Google Play store as well as on Amazon for Kindle, expanding the community of players that can make a difference in children’s lives.

Sidekick Cycle’s latest heart-pumping content pedals players through the slopes of North America for 36 new levels of bike-busting action. The update also features:

• Two additional Sidekicks with special powers for conquering wild terrain.
• Three female cyclists joining the roster.
• Four more deluxe bikes to ride, including the new hover-bike!
• A mountain of new obstacles and challenges to overcome on the way down, including zip lines, loops, rolling boulders and more.
• Full Facebook leaderboard integration, letting riders compare high scores against their friends on every level.

To mark this new frontier, Global Gaming Initiative has added a new charitable partner – Minneapolis-based Free Bikes 4 Kidz. Fifty percent of all money spent through in-app purchases in Sidekick Cycle will help this important charity, which gives away thousands of bikes every year to needy communities in the United States and developing world. This week, Global Gaming Initiative will fulfill this mission and give away 45 bikes to deserving kids in the greater New York area.

Global Gaming Initiative will be debuting the new version of Sidekick Cycle at the Games for Change Arcade at the Tribeca Family Festival between 10 AM and 6 PM on April 26 (located on Jay St. between Greenwich St. and Hudson St. in Manhattan).

For more on Sidekick Cycle and Global Gaming Initiative, visit www.SidekickCycle.com, and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GlobalGamingInitiative) and Twitter (@GGinitiative). To learn more about Free Bikes 4 Kidz, check out www.FB4K.com. More info about Games for Change can be found at www.gamesforchange.org

THEATRHYTHM SEQUEL PUTS FINAL FANTASY MUSIC CENTRE STAGE 

Over 200 Tracks, Over 60 Characters, New Game Modes and Adorable Art Direction.

Take a look!

http://youtu.be/D1NHrAv0LFM

LONDON (22 April 2014) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL™, a rhythm action game combining classic FINAL FANTASY music with RPG elements, will be released later this year, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS™ system.

THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL is the sequel to THEATRHYTHM™ FINAL FANTASY®, released on the Nintendo 3DS in July 2012, and includes three times as many songs and twice as many playable characters as its predecessor. In addition to the new features mentioned below, the sequel also boasts two new game modes: Quest Medley where you alternate playing FMS (Field Music Sequence) and BMS (Battle Music Sequence) games – and the exciting Versus BMS mode, where players can challenge and compete against friends and other players. The game also includes a number of customisation and progression elements that the FINAL FANTASY series is renowned for.

Featuring more than 200 songs and 60 playable characters from across the entire FINAL FANTASY series – including FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children®, FINAL FANTASY TACTICS® and recently released titles like LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY XIII and FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn®, THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL lets players relive their favourite moments from across the epic series, as they tap their way through key FINAL FANTASY events, environments and battle sequences.

“Music is an integral part of the FINAL FANTASY experience that serves as a complement to the gameplay,” said Ichiro Hazama, producer. “As with the previous title, we envisioned a game where the music takes centre stage and the RPG gameplay enhances that experience.  Our fans are definitely in for a treat as they’ll be able to re-experience their favourite songs across the entire FINAL FANTASY catalogue.”

Key features include:

• Versus Battle Mode – Players can now compete head-to-head with friends and other users
• Quest Medley Mode – Songs from the vast FINAL FANTASY music catalogue are used as backgrounds to unique quests; players can choose their own routes through various short, medium and long adventures. Players can also share these quests with friends.
• New Characters – The game features over 60 characters from across the series, including Barret (FINAL FANTASY VII) and Yuna (FINAL FANTASY X-2). Characters from spin-offs like Benjamin (FINAL FANTASY MYSTIC QUEST), Ramza (FINAL FANTASY TACTICS) and Zack (CRISIS CORE® -FINAL FANTASY VII-) also make their debut in this game.
• Collecta Crystarium – Clearing songs and winning battles allow players to obtain CollectaCards that boost their character stats.

Official Trailer:

http://square-enix-press.com/download/5092/2e296f5488e41d7c6b05e5d3eda284be02e30f3d

Accompanying Screenshots:

http://square-enix-press.com/download/5049/42556f8d1569c7cdbce18206fec0106c3ffaefd6

YouTube Link:

http://youtu.be/D1NHrAv0LFM

Related Links

Official website: www.theatrhythm.com
Official Facebook® Page:  www.facebook.com/theatrhythm

About FINAL FANTASY

Since the release of FINAL FANTASY in 1987, this unique RPG series continues to showcase the spectacular visuals, highly imaginative worlds and rich stories leading the industry and earning the highest accolades from users around the world. Titles of the series have so far achieved a cumulative shipment of over 100 million units worldwide.

About Square Enix Ltd.　　　　　　

Square Enix Ltd., a part of the Square Enix Europe business unit, develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix Group. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide, DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 62 million units worldwide and TOMB RAIDER® which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found at http://www.square-enix.com/eu/en/.

©2014 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. Developed by indieszero Co., Ltd.

ADVENT CHILDREN, A REALM REBORN, CRISIS CORE,FINAL FANTASY, FINAL FANTASYTACTICS, MYSTIC QUEST, THEATRHYTHM, THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL, the THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL logo, DRAGON QUEST, EIDOS, SPACE INVADERS, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, TAITO, and TOMB RAIDER are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix Group. Nintendo trademarks and copyrights are properties of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

MINDBLOCKS STUDIO BRINGS THE GRAND ADVENTURE OF BLOCK STORY TO STEAM

Journey into a 3D Voxel Fantasy World Filled with Magical Monsters and Craft a Story of High Adventure

Dallas, Texas – April 22, 2014 – Mindblocks Studio LLC, the development studio behind Block Story, a crafting-building-exploration game for iOS and Android platforms, announced today that Block Story will be coming soon for PC.  The 3D sandbox, RPG adventure will be available on Steam Early Access on April 25.

Block Story combines popular 3D voxel, sandbox exploration gameplay with exciting and addictive role playing elements.  Complete a variety of quests to survive and become the greatest warrior in the realm by conquering ten diverse biomes. Build strongholds, encounter a wide variety of creatures, battle boss monsters, and mine valuable resources to upgrade weaponry, access better equipment and create artifacts to summon monsters.  Launched in 2012 for Android and iOS devices, Block Story has garnered over 4.5 million downloads and now, the story continues on the PC complete with cross-platform play between PC and mobile devices.

Block Story will be available for $9.99 on Steam.  For more information on Block Story, go to www.blockstory.net, and “like” it on Facebook.

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About MINDBLOCKS STUDIO LLC
Mindblocks Studio LLC is an independent video game development studio located in Dallas, Texas, specializing in 3D voxel role playing mobile and PC games.  Co-founders of the studio are Paul Pacheo and Andreii Vetoshko.