First announced last March, the game is a free-to-play strategy card game based off Blizzard’s most popular game World of Warcraft. Designed to be an easy to learn and fast-paced game, players can collect and command hundreds of heroes and fight against other players around the world.
The game seems like a hit with over a million gamers already signed up for it. There is also word of an app for both iOS and Andriod phones so players can assemble and battle their heroes on the move.
The beta is open in the North American, Australia & New Zealand regions, you can sign up on the official site.
After a few months in beta testing, Blackguards is now available on Steam and GOG.com. The game is based on one of the most popular pen and paper RPG series in Europe, The Dark Eye. Blackguards is a dark tale about a band of hardened criminals who are attempting to escape justice while simultaneously being thrust in the role of saviour of the world. The player will take on the role of the lead character who is a convicted murder. Blackguards is a turned based strategic RPG with over 180 individually designed battle maps.
Blackguards was able to beat their original projected release date by two days and is now on Steam for $39.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the deluxe edition. A special DRM-free edition is available on GOG.com for $44.99.
You may remember that a few months ago Tecmo Koei announced that they would be teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to release a three part digital comic series for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, well today the first part of that digital comic has been made available to download either through the Dark Horse Digital Storeor through the Dark Horse Comics app that is available on both iOS and Android.
The first issue tells the tale of how Yaiba’s sword became known as “Heartless” as he tells his story to Miss Monday and it is written by Tim Seeley and Josh Emmons with all of the full color artwork handled by the artist Rafael Ortiz and the colorist Carlos Badilla. As for the cover art, seen to the right, James Harren drew that special cover. This comic helps kick off the story for the game which will be released on March 18th in North America for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Coffee Stain Studios, the team behind Sanctum 2, has stepped up to help Gone North Games finish and publish A Story About My Uncle. The first person platformer won critical acclaim, earning itself a nomination for Game of the Year in the Swedish Game Awards in 2012. However, the production of the game has been stalled after the demo was released to the public as a free download in 2012. Armin Ibrisagic of Coffee Stain Studios said:
“Coffee Stain Studios is primarily a developer, not a publisher. Other indie devs have approached us before, but we’ve been hard to convince. However, once we got a chance to play a demo of A Story About My Uncle, we were hooked. We just HAD to help these guys finish the development and publish the game on Steam.”
A Story About My Uncle stars a young boy who goes on a fantastic adventure looking for his missing uncle. Players will swing through caverns with a grappling hook in this non-violent game. With the help of Coffee Stain Studios, Gone North Games will be able to release A Story About My Uncle on Steam this year
Global leader and innovator in smart audio and wearable techonology Jawbone have announced a collaboration with the World Economic Forum that will see UP band wristband techonology and the accompanying app utilised to raise awareness of smart behaviours around health including exercise, sleep and diet.
Jawbone is supporting delegates of the 44th Annual Meeting taking place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland by providing this helpful tech that will monitor thier activities all as apart of the Davos Health Challenge that is all about people moving towards better health. The meeting will have a large focus on health challenges and Jawbone and The Forum are working together to inspire participants from more than 100 countries and highlight technology’s crucial role in helping to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone had this to say:
“Jawbone’s aim is to give people everywhere a tool to lead healthier lifestyles and achieve their goals, and we’re thrilled that the World Economic Forum is putting such focus on the big health challenges facing the world,” said “We’re proud that The Forum will be using UP as a tool to help people learn about themselves, and ultimately, live better.”
Eva Jané-Llopis, Director of Health Programmes at the World Economic Forum also had some encouraging words to say:
“Health is a cornerstone of the Annual Meeting 2014, and the Davos Health Challenge encourages its 2,500 participants towards making healthy choices for food, drink and physical activity. We are delighted that Jawbone, a Global Growth Company Partner of the Forum, is supporting our efforts with the latest wearable health empowerment technologies so the Davos Health Challenge can inspire people to change behavior towards a healthier lifestyle.”
Equipment that encourages healthier life styles such as Nintendo’s Wii Fit board has shown that these products can be a success and that users can find the results they are looking for if they put in the effort. It is great to see this trend continuing with more practical examples such as the UP bands and it will be exciting to see what else Jawbone can come up with in the future to help better understand peoples behaviours and improve their wellbeing. For more information on the UP band by Jawbone please check out their official website.
Bang & Olufsen joined hundreds of other companies at CES 2014 this year to unveil their new line up of electronic devices. To kick off 2014, Bang & Olufsen is releasing the new BeoSound Essence music system. The system comprises of the BeoSound Essence device which can be stored out of sight and a BeoSound Essence Remote that mounts on a wall. The device can accept music streams from internet radio stations, AirPlay ready iOS devices, NAS devices, computers, mobile phones, and tablets. The remote can be attached to a wide variety of surfaces and a quick touch will start the music immediately. Additionally, a iOS and Android app called BeoMusic will be available, allowing your mobile device to act like a second remote. The BeoSound Essence set will be available in Australia for $1095 AUD. Extra remotes will cost $220 AUD.
The Form 2 headphones have seen probably the most extreme change to the design in its 30 year history. The Form 2i has been updated for the smartphone generation and now sports a 3 button remote and in-line microphone. The Form 2i still maintains its classic design and razor accurate sound, all while being slimmed down to 90g. The headphones are available in black, white, red, blue, green, and grey. The Form 2i will be available for $175 AUD at Bang & Olufsen stores, B&O Play online store, and selected retail outlets in February 2014.
Finally, a new model of BeoPlay H3 in-ear monitors will be released in February 2014. The new model features a gold and black design, expanding the available colour options to four. The BeoPlay H3 in-ear monitors features a curved body for comfort across a wide range of ear shapes, Bang & Olufsen’s neutral and clear sound profile, an impressively large 10.8mm drivers, an internal pass port for optimum bass performance, a 3 button in-line remote, an in-line microphone, and a damage resistant metal body. The BeoPlay H3 in gold will cost $299 AUD and will be available at the Bang & Olufsen retail stores, the B&O Play online store, and select retail outlets.
Yesterday we learned that a demo for Toukiden: The Age of Demons would be released onto the PlayStation Network this week for North America and if you happen to sign onto the PSN now you’ll be able to download said demo. As for gamers in Europe, they will need to wait until January 29th to download the demo.
The demo includes full access to the character customization and six weapon types and upgrades available in the full game as well as access to the entire first chapter and part of the second chapter of the game, offering nearly ten hours of gameplay. There are also multiplayer missions available through the demo to give players a chance to test out the game’s online co-op modes.
Gamers who play the demo will be able to carry over their save data which will include their obtained weapons, armor, 30 pieces of material, story progress, and some of their money into the full version of the game which is set to be released on February 11th in North America and February 14th in Europe.
Also, to go along with the release of the demo Tecmo Koei has released a number of English screenshots for the game which can be found below.
The Elder Scrolls Online is looking to be one of the biggest MMOs to come out in recent years and with a brand new video the team at Bethesda have more to show fans of the series about the new game. The subject this time is group content that players can look forward to working on with their friends in-game, as well as some of there ideas to encourage the team play style.
Weighing in at a tad over 8 minutes the video shows off a decent amount of content from a couple different boss fights that can expected and how they got fast travel to work within game. While the video does come down more to how the three devs go about playing the game themselves, there is still plenty to see.
Those wanting to check out the new video for The Elder Scrolls Online can find it embedded below. The Elder Scrolls Online is currently set to release for PC and Mac in April of this year with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to follow in June.
inFamous: Second Son isn’t set to come out until March, but that hasn’t stopped Sony and Sucker Punch from collecting the accolades the game has accrued so far into the latest trailer for the upcoming game. With still a few months until its release, Second Son already has plenty of praise for its visuals and powers for players to explore in the open world game.
Those wanting to see what journalists are saying about the newest in the inFamous series from what has been shown at conventions and the like can see the accolades trailer for themselves embedded just below. In addition, to showing off the praise there is plenty of nice visuals in the trailer itself, so even those wanting to see more of the game can enjoy this new trailer. inFamous: Second Son is currently set to release March 21st, 2014 exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
It has been announced that anime studio Madhouse will once again team up with powerhouse Marvel, in order to bring yet another superhero story to life. This time around, the film will shine the spotlight on two of the more badass normals to grace the comic franchise: The Punisher and Black Widow.
After interfering with a top secret mission, The Punisher is taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Avenger Black Widow. At the orders of Director Nick Fury, Punisher and Black Widow are sent on a mission to stop Leviathan, a global terrorist organization that plans to sell stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to the highest bidder. Now, the vigilante and spy must work together to prevent this technology from falling into the wrong hands. The fate of the world, and of the Avengers, hangs in the balance.
Black Widow is set to be voiced by Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter’s Debra Morgan) whilst The Punisher will be portrayed by Brian Bloom (Arkham Origin’s Black Mask). Both of which you can hear when the DVD and Blu-Ray release on March 25th. Harrison Wilcox, producer of the most recent Marvel anime experience Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (as well as the Ultimate Spider-Man series), had previously revealed that more collaborations were underway. How many more are yet to come is still unknown. All we can do is hope. Check out the trailer below and see that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero…just years of combat training, access to top notch weaponry and insane levels of bravery.
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