Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Continues on iOS Today with New Interactive Adventure in Kharé: Cityport of Traps

New players can enjoy Sorcery! Part 2 as a standalone story, while Part 1 players can pick up where they left off

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. – November 7, 2013 – Independent developer inkle and author Steve Jackson are announcing that Sorcery! Part 2 is now available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The second installment in a series of narrative games that brings Jackson’s renowned 1980s gamebooks into the touchscreen age, Sorcery! Part 2 is an interactive story that can be continued from Part 1 or started fresh as a standalone adventure. The game sells for $4.99 USD (or equivalent) from the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/app/sorcery!-2/id627880433

inkle‘s Sorcery! games put you in the shoes of a hero or heroine on a quest to recover the stolen Crown of Kings. Part 1 involved a journey through the Shamutanti Hills, a perilous landscape that could only be survived with tactical swordplay, clever magic, and good old-fashioned brainpower. But those hills were a cakewalk compared to Part 2‘s Kharé, a bustling cityport where restless citizens and a brutal goblin army are about to come to blows. Secrets, traps, and trickery abound — and even if you do reach the locked gate at the far end of the city, it only opens for those who uncover the city’s most ancient secrets.

Sorcery! Part 2 is a highly flexible interactive narrative that writes itself around players’ choices. With more than 300,000 words (twice the content of the first game) and nearly 10,000 choices to make, the story can be played and replayed with unique outcomes each time. In a feature unique to Part 2, you can challenge the townspeople in Swindlestones, a dice game based on lies and deceit that yields clues to Kharé’s traps and enigmas. A detailed 3D street map with additional interior insets of key buildings lets you explore the city inside and out — a city whose locations change over time as you make your way through. There are also over 30 monsters to fight with swords or fists, more gorgeous illustrations by John Blanche, and an upgraded 3D spellcasting system.

When it released in May, Sorcery! Part 1 (https://itunes.apple.com/app/id627879091) was exceptionally well received by press and players, earning an 85% ranking on Metacritic and a 4.5-star user rating on the App Store. IGN cited it as “a prime example of what can happen when traditional storytelling gets along with contemporary game design”; GamesMaster called it “the best rendition of the gamebook format we’ve yet seen on tablets and a shining example of the promise the genre holds.” The series will debut for Android in December.

To learn more about inkle‘s Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! games, visit http://www.inklestudios.com/sorcery.

About inkle

inkle is a design and development studio from Cambridge, UK, founded by Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold, and specializing in interactive storytelling. Four of their previous apps have been featured on the App Store front page, and their interactive Frankenstein adaptation was praised as “brilliantly designed,” “beautiful,” “gorgeous,” and “the best interactive fiction yet.”  They’ve worked with Penguin, Profile Books, the BBC, English National Opera, among others, and their award-winning inklewriter website, allowing anyone to write and share their own branching stories for free, is used in schools all over the world. Before founding inkle, Ingold was a lead game designer for Sony, and the author of over a dozen interactive fiction games. Humfrey has designed and developed titles for all the major consoles in a career with PlayStation, Microsoft, and legendary studio Rare, where he co-created the BAFTA-nominated Viva Pinata DS. His independent games have appeared everywhere from iOS to Virgin Atlantic. Learn more at http://www.inklestudios.com.

About Steve Jackson

Steve Jackson is co-founder with Ian Livingstone of the massively successful UK chain Games Workshop, and co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series that sold over 25 million copies in 27 countries worldwide. He also co-founded Lionhead Studios with Peter Molyneux, and is now Professor of Game Design at Brunel University.

UBISOFT^® ANNOUNCES GOLD STATUS FOR ASSASSIN’S CREED^® IV BLACK FLAG™ ON WINDOWS^® PC

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — November 7, 2013 —Ubisoft^® has announced Assassin’s Creed^® IV Black Flag™ for Windows PC has reached gold status and will be available for sale on November 21, 2013 in Australia and New Zealand.

Three editions of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag will be available for PC:

–      The Standard Edition, available as retail or digital formats.

–      The Deluxe Edition, a premium edition including the game, as well as bonus in-game content including new locations to discover and explore, additional customization items and a new adventure starring Aveline as the main character.

–      The Uplay Deluxe Edition, an exclusive digital package exclusively distributed on Uplay Shop including all the contents from the Deluxe Edition, plus an additional in-game pack, Pride of the West Indies. This bonus content is exclusive to the Uplay Deluxe edition, available for pre-order here: http://shop.ubi.com/ac4deluxe

The Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition are both available in a digital PC download format. Players who pre-order the PC download version of these editions will get additional in-game bonus contents. The Uplay Deluxe Edition is only available in digital format and exclusively distributed on Uplay Shop.

Three Assassin’s Creed^® IV Black Flag Collector’s Editions will also be available for Windows PC versions of the game.

The Buccaneer Edition

This premium edition offers a selection of essential physical and digital items for the adventurers:

–       Premium Quality Edward Kenway Figurine on the Jackdaw’s Crow’s Nest

–       High Quality Artbook

–       The Official Soundtrack

–       2 Lithographs in their protective envelope

–       Collector’s Box

–       Additional Unlockable In-game Content

The Skull Edition

This edition includes physical and digital content for the Assassin’s Creed enthusiast:

–       Collector Jumbo Steel Case

–       High Quality Artbook

–       The Official Soundtrack

–       2 Lithographs in their protective envelope

–       Unlockable In-game Content

The Special Edition

This special edition will be available at the standard price and includes unlockable in-game content only available at game launch.

A Season Pass is also available for PC, including a package of downloadable contents, for a 20 percent savings off the regular unit price of these DLC to be released until March 2014. Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Season Pass can be pre-ordered here: http://shop.ubi.com/AC4SeasonPass

Players who pre-order Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Uplay Digital Deluxe Edition from the Uplay Shop will be granted an additional 25% discount off the Season Pass.

Ubisoft and NVIDIA have worked closely together to create a fully optimized version that runs on GeForce GTX graphics cards. The result is that gamers with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics card will get an Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag experience that features a wealth of NVIDIA’s advanced gaming technologies such as TXAA and more. The extra performance means more immersive gaming including life-like environments, realistic combat and spectacular, cinematic visuals.

“NVIDIA engineers work with their Ubisoft counterparts across the globe to ensure that PC games are the best they can be – and ‘Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag’ is a great example of that,” said Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of Content and Technology at NVIDIA. “We’ve integrated advanced, PC-specific technologies into the game to give mood and depth to scenes and bring buildings and landscapes to life. The end result is an unparalleled visual treat, and set to be an absolute PC blockbuster.”

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag will feature several NVIDIA Technologies: God Rays – which allowed Ubisoft Montreal to paint beams of light that illuminate a scene from above, horizon-based ambient occlusion + (HBAO+) for more detailed and realistic shadows around objects that obstruct rays of light, percentage-closer soft shadows (PCSS) for more lifelike contact hardening shadows, and temporal anti-aliasing (TXAA) for smoother edges. With the addition of enhanced 4K textures, there’s never been a better time to take to the high seas.

For a limited time, buyers of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, 780 Ti, 780, 770, 760, 660, 670, 680, and 690 from participating retailers and e-tailers will receive a complimentary copy of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in addition to Ubisoft’s other blockbuster title, Splinter Cell Blacklist. Details can be found at www.GeForce.com/Pirates

For more information on Assassin’s Creed, please visit: assassinscreed.com and facebook.com/assassinscreed.

Capcom® and Razer Goliathus Street Fighter special Edition

Essential Soft Gaming Mouse Mat

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Nov. 7, 2013 – Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced a special edition Razer Goliathus mouse mat dedicated to one of the most iconic classic video game franchises – Street Fighter™.

The mouse mat comes in special packaging that will appeal not only to PC gamers but to gamers in general and most importantly to fans of the Street Fighter™ franchise.

Capcom® created some of the most iconic video game franchises in gaming. Razer love and grew up with these games just as much as you did. That is why we are honoured to present the Razer Goliathus Gaming Mouse Mat, made with beautiful artwork for this gaming classic.

Product features:

• Advanced slick taut cloth weave for unbridled speed and effortless control
• Pixel-precise targeting and tracking
• Optimised for all mouse sensitivities and sensors
• Anti-fraying stitched frame eliminates rough edges and long-term wear
• Highly portable cloth-based design
• Anti-slip rubber base
• Available in four different sizes: small, medium, large, extended

Slick taut weave for SPEED gameplay

The weave on the Razer Goliathus is pulled taut to create a slick and seamless surface so your gaming mouse glides quickly with zero hindrance. The weave also provides a nice, comfortable feel under your hand minimizing fatigue over extended periods of play.

Optimised for all sensitivity settings and sensors

Low sense, high sense, laser, optical or dual sensor system – whatever your sensitivity setting or preferred gaming mouse, the Razer Goliathus offers total tracking responsiveness for consistently reliable in-game control.

Availability: Exclusively on Razerzone.com – order now

Price: AUD $29.95 / NZD $34.95

For more information about the Razer Goliathus Gaming Mouse Mat, please visit: http://www.razerzone.com/au-en/licensed-and-team-peripherals/street-fighter-razer-goliathus-speed-edition/

About Street Fighter™:

Street Fighter™ is the most iconic fighting game franchise played by hard-core fans at arcades throughout the years. This edition of the Razer Goliathus Gaming Mouse Mat is a collector’s item, showcasing the iconic, original cast of Street Fighter™ II.

“Go home and be a family man” – Guile

About the Razer Group:

Razer™ is the world leader in high performance gaming hardware. Founded in 1998, with its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, the company has offices in nine cities around the globe. Used by the most demanding professional gamers who compete in global tournaments, Razer provides gamers with the most unfair advantage of cutting-edge technology and award-wining design. We live by our motto: For Gamers. By Gamers™.