We have great news for all of those that have not yet been able to access the closed beta for Neverwinter Online. Starting April 30th PC gamers will be able to access the free-to-play title’s open beta! Could this get any better? Well, Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment have announced that there will be no more character wipes after the start of the open beta.
Those who have been dedicated enough to purchase a Founder Pack will receive exclusive access in testing the new professions system on Friday, April 12th. This will mark the start of the 60 hour “Beta Weekend 4” event allowing the Founders to simultaneously advance in four separate professions: Leadership, Mailsmithing, Platesmithing, and Leatherworking. CEO of Cryptic Studios, Jack Emmert had the following to say:
We’ve never been in a better place launching a game. While the entire team is focused on launching Neverwinter’s Open Beta on April 30, we still wanted to thank those committed Founders who stuck with us. Since the beginning of Neverwinter’s Beta Weekends, our Founders have shown us that Neverwinter offers engaging game mechanics, unique features and a gameplay experience that is parallel to subscription or paid games. They have become our biggest supporters and we wanted to give them Beta Weekend 4 as a token of our appreciation.
Upset that you are not a Founder? Don’t you fret because anyone is still able to sign up and purchase a pack (here). Gaze at the new Dungeons and Dragons “What is Neverwinter” trailer below to see what new adventures await you.
Coming out of Versailles, France is the news that BulkyPix and French publisher Les Editions Albert René are working on two new Asterix titles for mobile platforms.
The humorous and vivid world of Asterix and Obelix that has endured for over 50 years will be revisited with the titles set to grace the App Store and Google Play sometime this year.
Licensing Director for publisher Les Editions Albert René Baptiste Cazaux stated;
“We have high hopes of seeing Asterix perform well on the various digital platforms and we are proud to work alongside with a partner such as BulkyPix. Asterix is a phenomenon in the publishing world. Very few characters have created such a stir and continued to capture public’s imagination 50 years later. The humor and values conveyed by the characters may be instrumental in the series’ success, but it is the rich graphical world that makes Asterix so contemporary and ideally suited to all digital platforms. We have no doubt that these apps will prove a tremendous success with the legions of already impatient fans.”
No further information has bee given regarding the style of game or approximate release dates, but fans of the world’s most famous Gauls won’t have to wait too long.
I owe King’s Quest a massive debt. ‘King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow’ was the game that piqued my interest in the medium and I’m not even into fantasy. Deus Ex and Mass Effect’s press-one-of-three-buttons alternate endings have nothing on Kings Quest VI, where decisions you had made long ago significantly impact how the final sequence played out, as well as the final outcome.
When I heard the news that Telltale had dumped their plans for a reboot I was dismayed. Having acquired the King’s Quest licence in 2011, you would have thought they’d be too far through development to dump it. Alas, that wasn’t the case. The closest we’ve come to a point-and-click puzzler from a major would be L.A. Noire and let’s be honest – that game looked really nice but sucked really hard when you actually looked at the mechanics.
Fear not, classic Sierra lovers, for there are still a few remaining pathways to release for the game. Replay Games president Paul Trowe mentioned today that Telltale wanted to sub-licence the property to his company. Even better, apparently Activision has said no, as they want to pursue publishing a King’s Quest game themselves. Imagine that, a major producing a triple A game that emphasised nifty word play, complex fantasy universe machinations and a mechanic that hinged on you actually reading the fucking manual.
Until Activision confirms however, we can only dream.
Beyond Home Entertainment here in Australia have announced that they will be releasing the upcoming Robotech: Love, Live, Alive film set in the Robotech universe. The film is to utilise unused footage from the 1985 OVA Mospaedia: Love, Live, Alive film as well as splicing in some new and modern footage, making this a hybrid film of sorts.
Robotech: Love, Live, Alive will follow the story of Lieutenant “Lancer” Beumont just before the events of the events of Robotech: New Generation. This will see humanity dealing with the aftermath of Rick Hunters Expedition, as well as dealing with the characters journey before meeting with the esteemed Scott Bernard.
To help promote the upcoming film, Beyond Home Entertainment will be hosting a panel and stall/booth at the Gold Coast and Melbourne Supanova events. At the event, producer Steve Yun will be available at a Q&A session to discuss the film and showcase clips, trailers, images and background info.
It is also worth mentioning that a documentary for the Robotech franchise titled: Mark Strycek’s Robotech Universe will be playing at the Gold Coast Film Festival. Check out this link here for session times and dates.
Be sure to check out the Official Supanova website for more info on the event.
What an apt name for the situation at hand…Doom. After 5 years in development hell, more details have come to the surface about what exactly has been going on inside id Software during this tumultuous time, still with nothing to show for all their work on Doom 4.
Kotaku reports via four sources with connections to the doomed title, that the studio has been stilted and road-blocked by mismanagement and a pure lack of communication. Bethesda – parent company ZeniMax’s video games branch publisher – even confirmed that Doom 4 had been completely retooled after three whole years of development back in 2011, as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Pete Hines stated;
“An earlier version of Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that Id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect. As a result, Id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we’re ready to talk about the Doom 4 Id is making, we will let folks know.”
Among inside jokes that the early versions of the title reminded them of something out of Call of Duty, there were also some bright moments and ideas that had the potential to create a new experience for gamers and fans of the franchise;
“There was lots of concept art and prototype missions set up showing different parts of the earth being taken over, being warped and twisted into a hellish re-imagining… It’s not just the demons: everything around you is changing. Humans are starting to struggle to go through an environment that is partially familiar, partially unknown now.”
Once Rage was shipped, the studio heads returned some of their focus to Doom 4 and discovered that many elements were not as they envisioned or hoped and so Doom 4 was rebooted. Then, at a big group meeting held with the intent of stirring and building motivation, John Carmack reportedly said something to the effect of; “Doom means two things: demons and shotguns” when asked what the franchise truly means to him. This is obviously not an encouraging sign of the future of id titles if such a simple, narrow-minded outlook on the genre is prevailing within the team.
The thing was that Rage 2 was being prematurely planned, but ZeniMax cancelled the sequel due to lacklustre sales and critical response and ordered everyone to refocus on making Doom 4 a reality – not only a reality, but a success that “can and should be as big as Skyrim.” Unfortunately, a power struggle and culture clash erupted once the two teams (Doom and Rage devs) combined and so any sort of morale boost created by ZeniMax’s rallying had been lost.
Now, we’re hearing that Doom 4 is to be expected on next-gen consoles and PCs, but only if the work of the team at id live up to the expectations of ZeniMax, who have given them an ultimatum. The specifics aren’t known, but it is likely to be to the effect of; ‘make something happen or you will cease developing games and move on to working solely on tech’. The whole story (which can be found via the link at the top) is fascinating with so many more quotes on the process that you may find intriguing.
Personally, I believe id are past their time…Rage all but proved that. What do you guys think? Do you have hope for not only Doom 4, but id Software as well?
Taito announced the DLC release schedule for their free to play music game Groove Coaster Zero. The first pack has already been released to iTunes and is called niconico Muisc Pack 1. The pack contains four VOCALOID songs shared on the site Nico Nico Douga. The pack costs $4.99 and is available as an in app purchase. The second DLC pack will be available on April 11th and will contain four more tracks from the Nico Nico Douga website. The pack will also be priced at $4.99.
Groove Coaster Zero is a music game for the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone. Players will need to tap the screen at correct intervals as they travel on a trippy line. The game is free to download with additional paid content available as an in app purchase.
Warner Bros. have announced that Guardians of Middle-Earth now has new downloadable content available. The new DLC features star of the Lord of the Rings, the tiny hobbit ring-bearer, Frodo Baggins.
Frodo Baggins was a crucial part of the ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ and was the one tasked with journeying to Mordor in order to destroy the ring. The DLC adds Frodo Baggins as a new playable Guardian in the game.
The Frodo Baggins DLC is available now for Guardians of Middle-Earth on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace. Be sure to pick up the DLC so you can duke it out as the ring-bearer Frodo Baggins.
Kyoto Animation announced the newest volume of an award winning light novel, and plans to adapt it into an anime.
KyoAni releases the second volume of Kyokai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) in April, however no dates have been set in regards to the anime. An official website for the LN, written by Torii Nagomu and illustrated by Kamoi Chise, has been set up which includes a brief synopsis, lists of the characters and even a special section offering un aired scenes, delivery book covers and character icons for Twitter profiles.
Kyokai is a slice of life/supernatural light novel based around high school students Akihito Kanbara, who is invulnerable to wounds and Mirai Kuriyama, who can manipulate blood. Strange things begin to happen when Akihito meets Mirai, thinking she is about to jump off the rooftop of the school. The LN was given an honorable mention by KyoAni in 2011, who then proceeded to publish the first volume within the same year.
JBL is continuing to fill their line up with portable speakers for the smartphone toting crowd. The new JBL Charge is a Bluetooth enabled speaker that can recharge USB devices with the Charge’s on board 6000 mAh Lithium ion battery. The battery charges in approximately three hours and lasts for approximately 12 hours of playback. The speaker accepts audio from either a Bluetooth device or a 3.5mm cable. The speaker has a built in bass port for thundering bass reproduction. The JBL Charge comes in blue, black, and green and will be available later this month for $199.99 AUD.
The JBL Flip is the smaller sibling to the Charge. It accepts input from both Bluetooth and 3.5mm analog cable. The Flip contains a built in microphone for answering calls or talking to Siri. The Flip is available in black, white right now. New colours such as red will be available in mid 2013 for $149.99 AUD.
The World Is In Play in 2013, and Sony is leading the charge with some major releases. Below is an updated AU release schedule for this year’s Sony published titles across all PlayStation platforms.
