‘STELLAR PHENOMENA’ DLC now available for SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE: REBELLION
Award-winning strategy game expands with deep space anomalies and random events
PLYMOUTH, MI. – Nov. 6, 2013 – Explore the mysteries of deep space in the second downloadable content (DLC) pack released for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion. The Stellar Phenomena DLC is available now from Stardock, Steam and other third-party digital distributors for $4.99.
The ever-expanding conflicts within and between the TEC, Vasari, and Advent have pushed the battlegrounds into uncharted space. The sectors now being drawn into the war feature the most dangerous and powerful natural phenomena in the galaxy.
Nine new deep space anomalies populate the void. Skirt the boundary of a deadly black hole, mine the riches in the wreckage of a devastating fleet battle or recharge at an inexplicable fountain of antimatter tearing apart the fabric of space-time. Each anomaly’s all-new gameplay effect adds variety and strategic opportunities to every map.
In addition, Stellar Phenomena lets players seize the moment with 11 optional random events that can alter the fate of not just your empire but the galaxy at large. Stars launch volatile gases that shut down orbital operations, mobile storms wreak havoc across the solar system, and conquered factions sense your weakness and seek to reclaim their worlds.
Exploit what resources remain in these dangerous sectors while you can. The uncharted depths of space hold threats beyond any natural phenomenon, and not all of them wait to be explored.
In a move that many Atelier fans have been waiting for but will still confuse some, Gust has announced that an anime adaptation of Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is going to begin airing in 2014 and is being created by Studio Gokumi.
The confusing part of this announcement is that, rather than touch upon the already completed Arland trilogy or start with Atelier Ayesha, they have begun with this game. Anyways, this is great news for fans of the Atelier series and keep in mind that Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is currently set to be released in the West by Tecmo Koei on March 11, 2014.
As any Android user knows, almost every app is developed for the iOS first while Android is more of an afterthought. Thankfully the wait for the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn‘s companion app, Libra Eorzea, only took a few extra months compared to its iOS counterpart.
Today Square Enix made the app available on the Google Play store as a free download. The application allows players to view the game database as well as their character profile so they can check out their character’s gear and their attributes even if they aren’t playing the game at that exact moment.
Gamers who are looking for a difficult but charming gameplay experience or fans of Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilmanwill be happy to hear that a new roguelike has been released in North America by NIS America and it just so happens to be called The Guided Fate Paradox.
The story of The Guided Fate Paradox follows Renya, a high school boy who becomes God after winning a lottery. He must grant the wishes and prayers of numerous beings with the help of his personal angel assistant Lilliel. Gamers interested in picking up the title can find our full review of the game here.
Hamburg, November 6th, 2013. Today marks the start of Daedalic Entertainments Blackguards in Steam’s Early Access programme, giving gamers the opportunity to try out the game three months before the official release. A new teaser, published today, gives a little taste of the captivating battles, the game has to offer:
Blackguards will be published chapter by chapter while in Early Access: Today Daedalic Entertainment releases the first part of the game, all other chapters of a total of five will follow after three weeks’ time each.
Early Access is designed to allow players to play a game before its official release, and to influence the development process by mailing in their feedback based on pre-release builds.
Daedalic Entertainment offers several packages for interested Early Access participants – in any case, players will secure access to the final version of Blackguards, by paying a lower price as when purchasing the game after its official release. Additionally, they have the opportunity to purchase exclusive extras that will only be available before the official release: For $24.99/£18.99/€24.99, players receive the Standard Early Access Edition of Blackguards, including all chapters for PC at their earliest availability, and the full PC & Mac version of the game after the official release. For $34.99/£26.99/€34.99, players receive the Blackguards Early Access Deluxe Edition, additionally including an approx. 150 page artbook, as well as developer interview videos and six exclusive wallpapers. Priced $49.99/£29.99/€49.99, the Blackguards Early Access Contributor Edition additionally includes an appearance of a buyer’s name within the game’s credits, as well as the first Blackguards DLC and a copy of the The Dark Eye point & click adventure Chains of Satinav for free.
All additional contents will be accessible after each item’s completion.
The official release of Blackguards is scheduled for late January 2014. The game will be available for PC & Mac, priced €39.99, further local prices to be announced. About Blackguards
Blackguards is probably one of the bleakest stories ever told in the universe of ‘The Dark Eye’:
What if the only remaining hope of a world is not a company of virtuous heroes, but instead a bunch of outcasts and criminals? Blackguards will answer this very question. The player takes on the role of a convicted murderer, accompanied by a group of no less dubious characters.
They may spare the world its grim fate, but their good deeds are neither acts of kindness nor heroism, but according to their roguish nature rather a result of their attempts to save their own hides.
Staying alive is a feat of its own, since not only the long arm of the law wants their heads, but there are also other, mysterious powers with much more sinister intentions on their trail. As if all this wasn’t enough, Aventuria’s south is crawling with dangerous beasts and monsters…
Blackguards is a turn-based RPG with strategic combat and combines the studio’s high standards of storytelling and unique characters with thrilling action and an elaborate 3D environment.
Challenging quests lead the player through a dark story of doubt, treachery and loss.
Daedalic Entertainment is a Hamburg-based indie-studio that develops and publishes high-quality games worldwide, focusing on the projects with strong narratives. Over the last few years, Daedalic has collected 17 German Game Developer Awards (incl. “Studio of the Year 2009”), five German Computer Game Awards (incl. “Best Game 2011”), and more.
The Dark Eye has been Europe’s most best known fantasy RPG universe since 1984. In addition to the popular pen&paper adventures the Dark Eye is the basis for a successful series of videogame adaptions. The Dark Eye is licensed under Chromatrix GmbH.
The Dark Eye is a trademark of Significant Fantasy Media Rights GbR.
Mercenary Kings, for those who don’t know, is a game Developed by Tribute Games that, as of right now, is in it’s “Early Access” stage on Steam (PC only) and is actually set for a full release on the PlayStation 4 sometime this Winter for North America. Mercenary Kings is set to be one of the many awesome independently-developed games to star on the PlayStation 4 close to or on it’s release.
It’s a cool and quirky shoot-em-up that is very reminiscent of the Metal Slug series, it’s sprite work and art is headed by Australian artist Paul Robertson who you may know from his work on the “Scott Pilgrim Vs The World” game which came out on the XBLA and PSN quite some time ago, in fact, a great deal of the people who now work at Tribute Games worked on the Scott Pilgrim game.
The game sports some incredible yet old-school style and some fantastic looking action alongside an almost infinite amount of customizable weapons and characters. Tribute Games has released another trailer for the game and it looks down right crazy, you can check it out below in our Featured Video Section and be sure to head down to our comments section to let us know what you think about this game.
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK® CELEBRATES 18th BIRTHDAY WITH MASSIVE RETROSPECTIVE STEAM® SALE
Groundbreaking interactive game show reissues nine individual titles plus new Classic YDKJ Pack
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – November 6, 2013 – Independent developer Jackbox Games today announced that YOU DON’T KNOW JACK®, SPIKE TV’s reigning ‘Social Game of the Year,’ is celebrating the franchise’s 18th birthday with a massive sale on Steam® including the reissue of nine individual titles for PC.
“In September 1995, we launched YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Volume 1 and, somehow, our studio has become even less mature,” said Mike Bilder, GM, Jackbox Games. “But we continue to be humbled by the love millions of gamers still have for our franchise and we wanted to find a way to recognize and celebrate our fans at this meaningless milestone in our history.”
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK has been credited with breaking new ground in video game development at a time of major evolution in the industry, through an experience that allowed players to feel that they were interacting directly with the game’s host.
The franchise also became a game that was very much a part of the era’s pop culture and helped bring gaming into the mainstream. “I can’t tell you how many passionate gamers I’ve met over the years who have told me ‘YOU DON’T KNOW JACK was my very first video game,’” added Bilder.
From inception, the franchise has been met with both critical and commercial success. On PC and console, YDKJ sold more than five million units, and the social and mobile apps have been downloaded more than 4.5 million times. YOU DON’T KNOW JACK has won numerous awards in its many incarnations including the aforementioned SPIKE TV award and last year’s Best App Ever award on iOS in the trivia category.
The reissue and Steam sale will comprise nine individual titles, including the expanded original version, from 1995 – 2003:
Title | Year | Price YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Vol. 1 XL | 1995 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Vol. 2 | 1996 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Vol. 3 | 1997 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Vol. 4 The Ride | 1998 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK MOVIES | 1997 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK SPORTS | 1996 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK TELEVISION | 1997 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK HEADRUSH | 1998 | $2.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Vol. 6 The Lost Gold | 2003 | $1.99 YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Classic Pack | 2013 | $19.99
About Jackbox Games
Jackbox Games, formerly Jellyvision Games, is a developer and publisher of games on leading consumer gaming platforms. The company is located in Chicago, Illinois.
Irvine, Calif., November 06, 2013—The hit free-to-play action MMORPG Elsword, will be boldly entering “A New Era of Skills” as the recently announced program completely reimagines Elsword’s skill customization system. Players will find some skills dramatically improved and other skills entirely new as the skill system becomes easier to use and the action-based gameplay becomes even deeper.
As part of the new skill system, every character will gain brand new skills, as well as chance to reallocate their skill tree points to take advantage of the new array of abilities. Six of Elsword’s classes will see a variety of upgrades to existing skills to make them even more dynamic and versatile than ever before. The new skill tree interface will become easier to use and players will see skills reach new levels of destruction as their maximum power level is increased.
Additionally, players can participate in a new fall friend referral program also launching on November 6th. By inviting their friends to play Elsword, all players can receive amazing prizes. Elsword players on Steam are also eligible to purchase exclusive item packs recently launched on Steam.
To play Elsword for free please visit ElswordOnline.com and keep watching the official Facebook page here. For more Elsword information and assets please visit our press kit here.
In Elsword, gamers can choose from six specialized and customizable characters as they explore an immersive world and battle rivals to complete dynamic quests. As players progress through the game, they can evolve their fighting styles by upgrading to new job classes, learning deadly new abilities and mastering combo attacks. With intuitive and straightforward controls, Elsword offers players of all skill levels the ability to experience the thrill of victory in combat either on solo missions or cooperatively in a party of up to four players. For those who welcome a challenge, Elsword also delivers action-packed PvP combat.
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About Kill3rCombo
Based in Orange County, California, Kill3rCombo is a division of KOG with a mission to deliver multiplayer online action games. KOG is a leading game developer located in Daegu, South Korea, and the creator of popular titles including Grand Chase and Fighters Club. Kill3rCombo, which was founded in 2010, combines the team’s extensive game publishing experience with the development expertise of KOG to introduce gamers to Elsword, a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game.
ALBION ONLINE ADDS NEW TWIST TO EQUIPMENT CUSTOMIZATION Create A Unique Character Quickly With Crafting
Berlin, November 6, 2013— Sandbox Interactive has shed some light on the unique equipment and crafting customization system in their upcoming cross-platform Sandbox MMO, Albion Online. With a player-driven economy and territorial-based PVP, crafting and equipment are a centerpiece of the Albion Online experience. Players can find out more and sign up for the upcoming closed beta test at www.albiononline.com
In Albion Online, players craft items and onto these items spells, which are then available to them once an item is equipped. Because any item can be combined with any spell, and vice versa, there are nearly endless possibilities for combination! Needless to say, this system offers a huge depth in terms of combination and how each individual player opts to set up their individual characters.
“Let’s say you want to craft a tier-two broadsword: currently, there are 30 different meaningful spell setups for this sword with room for expansion,” says David Salz, Technical Director for Albion Online. “What was important for us in designing this is that a weapon, although it has a lot of possibilities, still has a certain characteristic. So our broadsword is a bit more of a defense-oriented weapon.”
This Rock-Paper-Scissor style equipment division is seen throughout the game. In comparison, a one-handed battle axe is focused more on close combat, direct damage spells; to complete the triangle we have a Paladin Hammer onto which players can craft a variety of healing spells and buffs. This system makes it easier to read players during fights just by looking at a character: when someone with an axe is charging, you can anticipate some heavy damage, while if an opponent is wielding a one-handed hammer they’re more likely to be a healer.
These comparisons also extend to gear load-out, so that cloth armor leans more towards mana regeneration, stealth, energy shields, or cleanse, while plate armor is more about armor, instant self-heals, and survival mechanics. Whether players will play up the natural enhancements of a piece of equipment or choose a spell or attribute that will give them a more balanced approach will be up to individual choice – and there’s no single “cookie cutter build” that will be the one correct answer.
Albion Online is the first true cross-platform MMO, running on different devices including Windows, iOS and Android at the same time and in the same world!
About Sandbox Interactive We are Sandbox Interactive, an independent company founded in January 2012 and based in Berlin, Germany. We believe that the creation of your own world and interaction with other players are paramount to entertainment — and both creating and interacting are best experienced in sandbox games. That’s why we are extremely passionate about sandbox MMORPGs. Currently, we are a team of 12 full time employees and 9 freelancers, all working hard on our project Albion Online. Most of us are coders and artists. We believe that delivering a great product is most important. That’s why we focus on our game rather than on marketing or a huge B2B network. And even more importantly, everyone on our team is still a gamer and loves games. We hope to be able to convey this love in our game.
Based on Llyod Jones award-winning novel, ‘Mister Pip’, Andrew Adamson (The Chronicles of Narnia) brings to screen an inspirational true story of Mr. Pip and the imaginings of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. The emotional drama delves deep into the South Pacific Islands of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea; where one man, Mr. Watts, takes the initiative to teach children the importance of embracing their imagination to escape the horrors of war. Although Mr. Pip tells an exceptional story, the question now is whether the film stays true to the viewer’s great expectations.
Story
To grasp the context of Mr. Pip, the audience is briefly introduced (via on-screen text) to the origin of the civil war during the 1990’s blockade, enforced by Papua New Guinea on Bougainville, over copper mining and land rights. However, the story begins in a completely different world, a snowy London that belongs to Dicken’s hometown. Here we become acquainted with the beautiful, young teenager, Matilda, (Xzannjah) who wanders into a Museum dedicated to the author himself, and comes across the profound quote, “It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home.” Written in Chapter 14 of Great Expectations, this quote creates a pathway for the audience to follow, as they travel back in time to where this influential fictional work changed Matilda’s life forever.
The man that sets the story into motion is Thomas Watts (Hugh Laurie), also known as Mr. Popeye, Mr. Pip and Mr. Dickens within the film. As an actor, comedian, writer, musician and director, it is fitting that Hugh Laurie takes on more than one role. At first glance, Mr. Watts comes across as an unusual and funny character; considering the red nose he wears when escorting his wife, Grace, through the island village. However, it is Mr. Watts who seeks to be the first person to make a difference for Bougainville; as the only teacher (and dare I say only ‘white person’), willing to dedicate his time and effort into sharing Dickens invention, Mr. Pip, from the novel Great Expectations with his class of students.
During the reading sessions in class, the audience enters Matilda’s mind and we see the story run with her vivid imagination. Matilda meets her own version of Mr. Pip at the churchyard and from there is swept away into the mystifying tale of the orphan in Dickens thirteenth novel. The transition between Matilda’s alternate and real world is seamlessly translated to the audience, as if they themselves are part of the story. Of course, there is no better compliment to pay to the author, than to believe that you truly know their main character in person. Mr. Watts admits to Matilda that he too has met Mr. Pip and reawakens his impression of the character to the class through improvisational narrating.
Despite the teacher’s impact on Matilda, her mother Dolores –an irrational religious woman, disapproves of Mr. Watt’s educational methods and significantly implicates his position (don’t worry, I won’t mention any specifics here) within the community. The film unfolds rapidly when rebels invade Bougainville, in search for the ‘person’, Pip, whose name is engraved on the beach. The armed and dangerous men tear down the houses and destroy the literary fantasies Mr. Watts reinforced upon the children. In the event of tragic loss and suffering, Matilda strives to recover Great Expectations in her own writing and is inspired to continue the story of Mr. Pip from her own imagination.
The most dauntingly beautiful scene within the film occurs at the point of realisation for Matilda, when she stands between the lead rebel and Mr. Pip, and must choose whether to escape her reality for a fictitious dream. Despite everything that has happened, Matilda remembers to follow the guidance of Mr. Watts and create a life she always wanted in Australia with her father.
Visuals & Audio
The magnificent wide-panning shots of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea Islands of Bougainville, establish the perfect location and atmosphere to film the movie. Cinematographer, John Toon uses an Arri Alexa camera to capture each shot with richness and precision; producing a remarkable cinematic experience for the audience. The opening array of visuals surrounding the village from up high in the palm tree tops offered the audience the best view of the island. Whereas, the close up shots were more effective in the classroom and during the invasion to capture the confined space and limitations within developing countries and during times of war.
Tim Finn, composer of the original music and songs within the film creates a wonderful western overlay to accompany the emotional warfare throughout Mr. Pip. Having collaborated with Harry Gregson-Williams for score on the original soundtrack, both composers were able to incorporate elements of Bougainville to craft their own touching music and show the local people in their village embracing their voices in church choruses. In contrast, it was uncomfortable during the scenes of torture, where the audience cannot escape the sound of pigs gnawing on human flesh and the agony that accompanies a brutal death… (shudders in thought of this particular flashback).
Overall
The moving and brilliantly constructed film offers a memorable experience for the audience, whether you have read the highly praised book or not. Andrew Adamson does an excellent job at illustrating Llyod Jones powerful true story of the civil war between Papua New Guinea and Bougainville. With a stunning cast, including Hugh Laurie and first time appearance from Xzannjah, the film creates an authentic and heartbreaking portrayal of the 1990 blockade. It is from these tragic events, that the audience is able to understand the main message of the film; that you will never lose your mind and your imaginations in life and will always be able to create a new story of your own. I would definitely recommend watching the film and taking the time to read Mister Pip, as both stay true to the audiences great expectations.
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