London, UK– 18th March 2014 – Firefly Studios has just announced that their popular MMORTS Stronghold Kingdoms has attracted more than three million players since launch. For more than two years Kingdoms has ranked in the top 10 most popular free-to-play games on Steam and in the top 50 games overall by current player count:
With more than 3000 games available on Steam, the enduring popularity of Stronghold Kingdoms is a remarkable achievement for the independent developer. Supporting Firefly Studios’ transition to digital self-publishing, the free-to-play model of Stronghold Kingdoms has allowed the company to stay healthy and keep growing. With the help of Steam Kingdoms has become one of the most actively played games on the platform, with more daily concurrent users than other MMOs with the backing of heavyweight IPs such as Marvel Heroes and Star Trek Online.
Stronghold Kingdoms has also thrived thanks to its passionate players, all of whom have input on the game’s monthly content updates. This worldwide audience hails from over 100 different countries, with more than 200,000 monthly active users sharing 22 game worlds. They have played a pivotal role in the continued growth of the game, with hundreds of thousands of players signing up to play Stronghold Kingdoms as a direct result of friend invites.
Stronghold Kingdoms allows players to enjoy classic Stronghold gameplay in a highly interactive and competitive MMORTS environment. Set across a number of different medieval countries, players build their thriving empires on game worlds that feature actual villages, towns and cities. Last month Firefly added a ‘Europe’ world, where more than 30,000 players are currently forming alliances and fighting for control of 33 countries in one huge game world.
About Stronghold Kingdoms
Stronghold Kingdoms is the medieval online castle game. Join hundreds of thousands of players in a rich world of Lords, Ladies, Bumpkins and Barons as you build your village, research new technology and strive to be the greatest in the land. Construct mighty castles to defend your lands against insolent intruders, develop your economy and trade your way to victory, lead your fellow noblemen to war and control of the Kingdom. Build, besiege, pillage, farm, explore, research, vote, trade and banquet your way to the throne! For more information please visit www.strongholdkingdoms.com or follow @SHKingdoms on Twitter.
About Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is an independent PC game developer specialising in real-time strategy and MMO titles. Formed in 1999 by Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette, the company has brought to market a number of high profile and commercially successful strategy games, including the Stronghold series with lifetime sales of over six million. Firefly has offices in the UK and US. For more information please visit their website at www.fireflyworlds.com or follow @fireflyworlds on Twitter.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 5.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
Braveland is a turn-based game inspired by old-school strategies. You start as a humble warrior’s son whose village was cruelly raided by bandits and use your wits and skill to become a commander of your own army. The game story takes place in a carefully drawn colorful world, which the path of your hero will go through.
– Turn-based battles in old-school style.
– Story take place in three unique corners of the world.
– More than 25 warriors and creatures from Goblins to Golems and Ice Guards.
– Intense boss fights at the end of each story chapter.
– Evolve your hero, customize your army.
– Various artifacts and rage magic.
– High definition awesome illustrated cartoon art.
TECMO KOEI AMERICA UNLEASHES A NEW BREED OF NINJA – YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z FOR PLAYSTATION 3, XBOX 360 AND STEAM PC
From Famed Developer Team NINJA and Legendary Producer Keiji Inafune
Comes an Action Packed, Twisted Tale of Ninja Revenge
BURLINGAME, Calif. – MARCH 18, 2014 – TECMO KOEI America is extremely pleased to announce that YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z is now available in North America for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and will be available on Steam® for PC on March 21, 2014. In celebration of this momentous occasion, TECMO KOEI America has released the official launch trailer and created a brand new piece of artwork featuring the cyborg ninja, Yaiba Kamikaze.
InYAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z, players take on the role of YAIBA, an elite ninja warrior and master in combat. Cleaved in two and left for dead at the hands of the legendary Ryu Hayabusa, YAIBA is brought back to life by a mysterious organization through the use of cyber technology. Now, armed with a powerful array of mecha weapons and an unquenchable thirst for blood, YAIBA’s relentless quest for revenge finds him slicing his way through hordes of undead in a world ravaged by a zombie outbreak.
“Developed by the talented teams led by Team NINJA’s Yosuke Hayashi and comcept’s Keiji Inafune, YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z is an ambitious project, and we are excited to introduce this new type of ninja to NINJA GAIDEN fans and newcomers alike,” said Amos Ip, SVP and General Manager of TECMO KOEI America. “When it comes to creating an exciting new property utilizing ninja and zombies as source material, there are no better experts than Team NINJA and Inafune-san.”
Step into the stylized living comic book world of YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z where stunning visuals and fluid combat depict a world gone mad. YAIBA’s bloodlust is matched only by the deadly assortment of weapons in his arsenal. Shred through hordes of zombies by transforming YAIBA’s cybernetic arm into a razor chainsaw or tear off an opponent’s arms for a pair of make-shift zombie nun chucks. Each fallen foe brings YAIBA closer to the ultimate showdown with his rival as he leaves a trail of death and destruction in his tracks. YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z comes from the teams behind the famed ninja and zombie videogame experiences, Team NINJA, creators of the revolutionary NINJA GAIDEN series, and legendary producer Keiji Inafune, and developer, Spark Unlimited. Enter a world where ninja, zombies, cybernetic weapons, and cell-shaded comic book visuals clash and come alive in an action packed adventure that draws from the NINJA GAIDEN franchise with an original storyline and new style of play.
YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® is available for a suggested retail price of $59.99 in North America. The Steam® (PC) version will launch on March 21, 2014 and is available for pre-order at a special discounted rate of $49.99. This title been rated M (Mature) by the ESRB.
TECMO KOEI AMERICA CORP. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Burlingame, California. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TECMO KOEI HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. TECMO is best known for the Dead or Alive®, Ninja Gaiden®, Tecmo Bowl®, and Fatal Frame® series. KOEI is best known for its Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® franchises. On April 1, 2009, TECMO KOEI HOLDINGS CO., LTD was established as a result of the TECMO, LTD. and KOEI Co., Ltd. merger.
Nexon Europe invites all comers to take part from April 24th
Luxembourg – March 18th, 2014: Today, Nexon Europe has announced further details about the highly anticipated Lost Saga open beta, inviting all newcomers to join in the multiplayer brawler action as from 24th April.
A number of changes have been made based on player feedback from the closed beta. In particular, 15 new playable characters have been added such as Reaper, Rock Star, Ninja Assassin, Monkey King, Zorro, Dartagnan, King Arthur V-Mechanic, Gladiator, and so on.
Moreover, new maps—Angkor Wat and Construction Site, and new modes—Crusade (21stFloor), PVE Deep Forest, and Boss Raid will be updated to enlighten the joy of diversity in Lost Saga.
There will also be a special gift available to those players that took part in the closed beta, in the form of The Hero Scroll. Worth 3000 Peso (game points), the Hero Scroll grants the player access to one of the many available characters for a certain amount of time, be it two hours, ten hours, thirty hours or, if players are really lucky, permanently. Both the choice of character granted and the amount of time the character is available for will be randomly generated.
Participants that reached level 5 in the closed beta will receive their Hero Scroll in the first week of the open beta, while those that reached level 10 will be granted two Scrolls in the first week.
There are no pre-requisites or strings attached for getting involved in the open beta, everyone is welcome!
Lost Saga will be available in 6 languages: English, German, French, Italian, Polish, and Turkish.
The official Lost Saga site can be found at lostsaga.nexoneu.com.
### About Nexon Europe
Established in March 2007, Nexon Europe is one of the leading publishers of free-to-play MMOs in Europe. The company has brought the worldwide hit casual MMORPG MapleStory to Europe in May 2007, and the successful FPS Combat Arms in January 2009. With the launch of the 3D action MMORPG Vindictus in 2011, Nexon Europe has strengthened its position as a promising publisher in Europe. Next to these in-house franchises, Nexon Europe was also able to acquire and fully operate Atlantica Online, an innovative, tactical MMORPG; Dekaron, an authentic action MMORPG set in a grim fantasy universe; and the action-packed FPS War Rock. The newest additions to its growing portfolio are Navy Field 2 alongside the legendary FPS game Counter-Strike Online in Turkey. For 2014, the company’s first browser-based full-scale MMORPG Arcane Chronicles and fun-packed, action-fighting game Lost Saga will join as new line-ups. For more information on Nexon Europe and its games, please visit the official website at www.nexoneu.com.
About WeMade Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Established in 2000, WeMade Entertainment Co., Ltd., (KOSDAQ: 112040) is an international game developer and publisher with some of the most popular mobile games in Asia. WeMade has grown from a handful of passionate game pioneers to more than 1,000 game enthusiasts including one of the most robust mobile games development teams in the world. WeMade’s first hit title “Legend of Mir 2” drew more than 200 million online PC gamers into its world. Since debuting in the mobile games space in April of 2012, WeMade has released 27 high-quality mobile games including “WIND RUNNER”, which became the most popular mobile game in Korea and Japan with over 30 million downloads combined.
March 18, 2014 – Rome, Italy: The IndieGala Doorways bundle by Indiegala is available now. This new bundle sees customers paying as little as $1 for an incredible collection of games and, with IndieGala, customers not only decide how much they want to pay, but also how much of the proceeds go to the Able Gamer charity.
The IndieGala Doorways bundle consists of AirBuccaneers, Oknytt and Unhack. Choose to pay as little as $1, or pay over $3.49 for the bundle in the first 24 hours to unlock Doorways: Chapter 1 & 2, Fester Mudd: Curse Of The Gold, Huntsman: The Orphanage, Not The Robots and Postmortem: One Must Die.
About the games:
Tier 1: $1 minimum
AirBuccaneers – Welcome to the ancient North, once the cradle of culture and peace, but is now corrupted by magic and inhabited by nasty bandits sowing destruction in airships. Choose to be a vicious Buccaneer or an infamous Viking and take a glider to the skies. Your goal is to drop enemy vessels and secure dominance of the ancient North.
Oknytt – A point-and-click adventure game where the player takes the role of a small, seemingly insignificant creature, leading it through a dark world riddled with obstacles to help it find a place to belong. The game takes place in a Norse medieval world and contains a number of beings and areas inspired by Swedish folklore.
Unhack – A visual novel and puzzle title featuring a story of greed and self acceptance. Navigate mazes and destroy viruses alongside fully voiced AI companions! Uncover the culprit behind the 5K Worm over this ten episode tale.
Tier 2: $3.49 payment in first 24 hours, then $5.59 thereafter
Doorways: Chapter 1 & 2 – Doorways is an episodic survival horror game, featuring a complex story and deep atmosphere. Each chapter will challenge you with its fast-paced gameplay and breathtaking visuals and sounds, so prepare to immerse yourself in a terrifying psychological experience.
Fester Mudd: Curse Of The Gold – Set in Wild West, a three-part comic saga of exploration, reunion, and redemption…and a love letter to the classic adventure games of the 90s! Roused from a life of sloth to reunite with his long-lost brother in search of unimaginable riches, reluctant hero Fester Mudd somehow manages to be intrepid…
Huntsman: The Orphanage – Take a deep breath, dim the lights, put on your headphones… Non-linear first-person gameplay lets you explore Grimhaven Orphanage and discover the characters who once lived there. Voiced by Dan Bull, Chuck Huber and Raychul.
Not The Robots – You are a robot in an office building. You have to eat furniture and not get caught. A mysterious story unfolds. Not The Robots is this yearís most exciting Roguelike Stealth Furniture Eating Simulator. Itís a game with random levels, permadeath, and the goal of eating furniture. Same furniture is also your stealth cover.
Postmortem: One Must Die – Narrative-adventure playing an Agent of Death who must take ONE life that could change the fate of a conflict-torn Nation! Think The Walking Dead meets Home and The Last Express, with a dash of To The Moon! Freeform exploration with Rich dialogue What might you learn searching the fundraising Gala and talking to patrons?
About IndieGala IndieGala organizes bundle sales of amazing indie games, donates to charity and is open to every developer and artist on every platform.
Square Enix is thrilled to announce the award-winning* action-RPG, DEUS EX: THE FALL™is now available on PC, and can be purchased via Steam for £7.99/€9.99/$9.99. Originally released as the much acclaimed mobile version, the PC version boasts 28 Steam achievements, Steam Trading cards, adjusted AI, full keyboard and mouse functionality, and Microsoft controller support plus other optimsations.
PC gamers can now delve into the action a week earlier than scheduled and now take on the role of Ben Saxon. Available for a limited time only, gamers who purchase DEUS EX: THE FALL™ today, will receive DEUS EX ™GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION worth £4.99/€6.99/$6.99 for free. First released in 2000, the year is 2052 and the world is a dangerous and chaotic place, terrorists, collapsing world economies, and a gap in wealth see’s players fight to prevent the rise of age old conspiracy’s emerging from the shadows and to take control.
DEUS EX: THE FALL is set in 2027 – a golden era for science, technology and human augmentation, but also a time of great social divide and global conspiracy. Powerful corporations have seized control from governments and command the drug supply needed by augmented humans to survive. In this chaos Ben Saxon, a former British SAS Mercenary who underwent physical augmentation, is desperate for the truth behind the drug conspiracy. Betrayed by his private military employers, the Tyrants, not only is his own life at risk but for all augmented humans, time is running out…
DEUS EX: THE FALL was developed in collaboration with the original DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION® team at Eidos-Montréal and N-Fusion. It also features new music composed by Michael McCann.
*Winner of 7 Best Mobile/iOS Game awards at E3 2013
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
A hundred years ago, a wicked usurper doomed the strange land of Bellyworld by poisoning its queen. King Simon, heartbroken, died of grief. A century later, a strange witch resurrects him, setting him one task – save Bellyworld.
Quest in Peace is a classic adventure game where you control Simon as he explores his lost kingdom, makes new friends, and rallies his allies to defeat the demon Queen and her bizarre minions.
The world is a joy to explore, with charismatic characters to meet who are all vividly designed and professionally voiced. Every area is hugely immersive and packed full of puzzles to solve which will aid Simon in wreaking his revenge.
Help Simon save Bellyworld and foil the wicked Queen’s evil schemes in this majestic tale of love, death and adventure.
Game Features:
– simple touch controls
– top-notch 3D graphics
– Professional voice-overs for every character
– Six scenes to explore
– Vivid character art
– Intricate environmental puzzles
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Revolution announces Broken Sword 5 – The Serpent’s Curse: Episode One now available on Android
George and Nico return to Android devices
Revolution Studios has announced that the latest game in one of the world’s best-loved adventure series – Broken Sword 5 – The Serpent’s Curse: Episode One – is now available on Google Play for Android phones and tablets.
“Android devices are ideal for slide and tap gameplay, and for displaying the beautiful classic 2D hand-drawn locations and game characters,” says Charles Cecil, founder of multi-award winning developer Revolution Studios. “The challenging puzzles and engaging narrative of the adventure ensures people will be engrossed while on the go.”
“Traditionally our Broken Sword games consistently perform well with gamers who choose to play on handheld devices, so we’re excited to see The Serpent’s Curse available on Google Play,” he continued. “Almost two years ago, due to extreme demand by fans, B roken Sword: The Director’s Cut was the first mainstream, high production value adventure game to be available on the Google Play store. We’re proud to see the series continue on Android.”
Key Features:
The latest explosive episode in the iconic Broken Sword series
Follow the adventure across Europe, in classic 2D hand-drawn locations
Immerse yourself in the rich storyline and interact with unforgettable characters
Experience the very best in adventure gaming: from unique puzzles and deft subterfuge to cipher solving and time-honoured detective work
Enjoy the award-winning scripts, and widely praised voice-acting
When a mysterious painting is stolen during an armed raid on a Paris gallery, George Stobbart and Nico Collard are thrown, seemingly by chance, into the investigation together. From Paris to London and beyond, the trail becomes a race against time as dark forces from Europe’s turbulent past are woken from their slumber. Broken Swordcharacters old and new are encountered – but who can George and Nico trust? The journey they are on reveals a conspiracy as old as the written word, whose ancient heresies will cause innocent blood to spill once more…
Broken Sword 5 – The Serpent’s Curse: Episode One is out now for Android for £4.99. Episode Two will follow shortly.
Broken Sword 5 – The Serpent’s Curse: Episode One is also available now for PC, Linux and Mac from Steam and GOG.com and available on PlayStation Vita and iOS platforms.
Ends
Broken Sword 5: the Serpent´s Curse – The Adventure Continues
About Broken Sword 5: the Serpent´s Curse
Paris in the spring. Shots ring out from a gallery…
A robbery… a murder… and the beginning of another epic, original Broken Sword adventure.
From multi-award winning Revolution Software comes the latest explosive episode in this classic series. Playing as intrepid American George Stobbart and sassy French journalist Nico Collard, you find yourself on the trail of a stolen painting – and a murderous conspiracy. A conspiracy whose roots lie in mysteries older than the written word…
Armed only with logic, integrity and a wry sense of humour – can George and Nico save mankind from disaster?
Can you solve the secret of the Serpent’s Curse? A curse which, some claim, was forged by the Devil himself…
Broken Sword is one of the world´s best loved adventure series, having been played by over 10 million players and earned exceptional reviews (including a Metacritic score of 91% for Broken Sword – Director’s Cut – iPhone). Broken Sword 5 – the Serpent’s Cursebuilds on this rich heritage.
About Revolution
Founded in 1990, Revolution is a world-leading developer / publisher of narrative-driven adventure computer games, with titles such as the Broken Sword series, which has earned over $100 million at retail, Beneath a Steel Sky and numerous major licenses.
Overview
Have you ever seen a World War II documentary and as you were shown footage of tanks rolling over the blasted steppes of Eastern Europe you immediately thought to yourself, “Hey, what if that Panzer IV Ausf.D tank was actually crewed by a team of anime girls? Wouldn’t that be cute and interesting?”
I certainly have. Which is why I was delighted when a niche title like Girls und Panzer was brought to Aussie shores by Hanabee. So what’s this “Tankery” nonsense all about anyway?
Story
Oarai Academy isn’t your normal school, believe it or not. The students there are taking up a long-lost subject that involves oil and gunpowder rather than paper and stationary. It’s called “Tankery”, or Sensha-do, and it’s the art of using real military tanks to compete with other teams. Think of it as a game of footy, only with armour-piercing shells instead of leather balls.
Miho Nishizumi is our main character, a bashful and likeable girl but one who’s also intelligent and skilled in Tankery. Opposed to taking part in the sport at first, she agrees to form a team for Oarai Academy along with an unusual mix of friends. This kind of setup isn’t new and we’ve seen it before such as in the mahjong anime Saki, down to the superior older sister who is something of an antagonist.
Girls und Panzer isn’t really about a grand plot. The brilliance lies in the team competition, the strategy of each battle and most importantly the authenticity of the tanks. You can laugh until your heart’s content for putting little girls in war machines but the creators have done their homework and definitely know their stuff. The anime features tanks from World War II, as well as the instructor’s modern Type-10, in impeccable detail from the cockpit to the aiming sights and even the terminology. I learned from this show just how smart gunners have to be in order to calculate the distance to the target, and it involves a whole lot of math.
There are also clever cultural references placed throughout Girls und Panzer. Those familiar with tanks will smile when they see copious amounts of tea being drunk by the fancy team using British Churchills and Matildas while the feisty Russian team flawlessly recite (in the Japanese audio track) a famous song sung by the Red Army as they charge with their T-34s.
You’d think a sport like Tankery would result in fatalities but surprisingly that’s not the case. Girls und Panzer is all about fun, strategy and competition and no crew member is ever hurt when their tank is knocked out. How this is achieved is anyone’s guess but this is a deliberate design decision. The last thing you’d want to see is those girls get hurt!
Miho and her team start with a mismatched assembly of rusty tanks and learn through defeat how to achieve victory against teams that are technologically or numerically superior. They pick up upgrades along the way such as a longer barrel and armour skirts for the Panzer IV and by the end the girls from Oarai Academy are hardened vets with capable equipment. This is essentially a sports anime combining the military strategy and action we see in plot-centric shows with war elements.
Visuals
Girls und Panzer is pleasing to look at during its slice-of-life moments and even better when the action starts. Combining CGI with regular animation the tank battles are visceral, for want of a better word. The tanks are hyper-detailed, down to the individual nuts and bolts. The camera pans around the battlefield impressively and gives us awesome first-person views from the turrets of various tanks.
I actually haven’t seen any other anime use the camera pan quite as much as Girls und Panzer does. It gives us greater scope of the landscape and, more importantly, highlights the chessboard strategy during every intense tank match.
Audio
This is a show about tanks, so you’d expect the tanks to sound good. And they do. Main cannons sound punchy, treads creak and groan across terrain and the occasional machine gun fire sounds realistic complete with tracer rounds. The English dub performs surprisingly well, bar one annoying character, and the military terms used translate well into the English language. This is, after all, a method of warfare pioneered by the English-speaking West.
The music is lovely as well, with the soundtrack featuring military marches and themes remixed with a symphonic orchestra which adds to the authenticity of the show. The opening and ending themes are nice but a bit on the safe side. The opening is uplifting and catchy which is standard fare, but the ending is particularly cute with all the characters sticking out of their tanks in chibi form.
One complaint I have is that the famous Katyusha song which the Japanese voice actors sung so well isn’t even featured in the English dub. Whether it’s due to copyright issues or a decision made by Sentai Filmworks to not record the song with their voice actors. Instead we get traditional-sounding Tetris music which has no vocals while the mouths are edited to not move at all. My advice? Whack on the Japanese track just to hear the song at least once.
Extras Included on the discs are clean opening and ending songs along with bonus episodes 5.5 and 10.5, which are essentially recaps of the show in case you forget what happens every several episodes.
Overall
Do you know your stalwart Sherman tank from your mighty Tiger tank? Then this is a homage to you, the military otaku. The authenticity alone is enough to send those nerve chills running down the arms of military aficionados.
Even if you don’t know your tanks this has all the qualities of a great sports anime. The competition, the bonding, the strategy and the tactics that are shown in almost every episode is enough to warrant a watch for those that enjoy these sorts of shows.
Also I have to applaud the fact that for once, thankfully, we have girls and weapons together in an anime without the cleavage getting in the way of the hardware. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a pincer maneuver to proceed with. Panzer vor!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
