Bad news buccaneers, Risen 2: Dark Waters is going to be delayed until July 31st in North America and August 3rd in Europe. This delay only affects the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game as the PC version will still be released later this month on April 27th.
Unfortunately no reason for the delay was given when this news was revealed on Facebook, though we have contacted the publisher of the title, Deep Silver, to see if they would clarify the situation. Those who are interested in the title can read our preview for the PC version of the gamehere.
Yesterday Bethesda squashed any rumor that Prey 2 was canceled by announcing that the game had simply been delayed until 2013 because it did not meet up to their standards. However it seems that the actual reason for this was due to a halt in production because Human Head, the developers behind the game, chose to halt production because they wanted a better contract from Bethesda.
A source within the company spoke with ShackNews and stated that Human Head was unhappy with the deal that ZeniMax offered and had stopped working on the game since November. This caused many people to lose their jobs and things were looking alright for Human Head on March 1st as the team believed they would resume work soon, but that fell through on March 2nd.
Bethesda has refused to comment on this rumor, simply stating “we aren’t commenting on the game’s development beyond what was said in the statement that was released this morning.” Considering the source of these statements chose to remain nameless and no one else has come forward at this time, this reveal is best seen as a rumor at the moment.
Today a slew of new images, mostly consisting of concept art have made their way onto AllGamesBeta and they contain plenty of newly updated content. One quick glance at the images seen below will show that Grunts and Elites will be returning for Halo 4, but this time around the Grunts have undergone a serious character design change.
To be more specific, they are no longer wearing full body environmental suits as most of their skin is left open to the air. Also shown off are a few concept pieces of environments players will likely be fighting in when Halo 4 is released later this year exclusively on the Xbox 360.
Microids have had an official Facebook page for a while, but now thanks to the changes Facebook has been bring, they are adding an online store to Facebook as well. Anuman Interactive is adding this as a better way for fans of the Microids adventure games to easily access the library of content than just Microids Web Store.
The store is multilingual with English, French, and Spanish options, so that international fans can access the games in their native tongues. To sweeten the pot, Dracula: The Path of the Dragon – Part 1 will be available for free on PC from the Facebook store for the next 72 hours or until the end of Sunday, April 22nd. If you’re a fan of adventure games be sure to grab a free copy of the game and check out what else is available at the Facebook store HERE.
Facebook’s Lucky Gem Casino is getting another addition and this time it’s based on Hasbro’s MONOPOLY. MONOPOLY Party is joining PopCap Games’ Lucky Gem Casino casual slot machine game and it marks the first time third party content is being added to the casino, which is already home of slot games that feature popular PopCap properties like Bejeweled, Peggle, and Zuma.
Lucky Gem Casino is a free to play experience that allows Facebook users to play alone or with friends. With highscores to compare, chat functionality, mini-games, and unique game content; MONOPOLY Party on Lucky Gem Casino has everything expected from a Facebook social game. If you like casual slots be sure to check it out.
For this weekend only, Blizzard has decided to deliver the long awaited beta for those unfortunate players that have not tasted the essence of Diablo 3. This weekend should provide enough stress testing as anyone with a battle.net account can download the client and play. Once 10:00 A.M. PDT strikes on Monday, April 23, the stress servers will go offline, and participants will have only tasted a piece of Diablo 3.
Even if you have not opt-in for the beta, players can join battle.net and still be able to download the client. After the client had been downloaded, players can enjoy the gameplay of each of the five heroes to level 15. To find out more information about this open beta weekend, here is Blizzard’s FAQ.
Hell will be opened for merely three days… and unleashed forever on May 15th.
After a bit of a wait, Call of Duty fans who have yet to get Elite can now pick up Modern Warfare 3’s first content collection on the PS3. Included in the DLC is he brand new multiplayer maps Liberation, Piazza, Overwatch and Black Box along with new Special Ops Missions Black Ice and Negotiator, marking the first time Special Ops has been made downloadable online in franchise history.
Of course the Xbox 360 version of the same content has already been made available, with both versions being priced at $14.99, or 1200 Microsoft Points. The PC version’s first content collection is still listed as “Coming Soon”.
Calling all dungeon defenders! Trendy Entertainment is happy to provide you an opportunity to win some hard earned cash in their first “Dungeon Defenders Map Contest”! The first prize winner will have their map purchased for $1,000 that will be implemented into the game’s Ranked and Open modes.
Here is the simplified version of the rules:
Maps should be traditional Tower Defense, supporting 4-6 Heroes. Use of special mechanics like fans and magic carpets is fine. Boss fights are also allowed.
Use of custom materials is allowed.
Collaborations are allowed. Multiple authors can pool their talents on a single submission, and split any prizes that may be awarded. However, only 1 map per author is allowed.
Maps created prior to the start of this contest are ineligible.
Do your best to make the map actually work. You will not be disqualified if the map contains errors. I.e. a particular monster spawn is broken, last wave doesn’t end properly, whatever. However, you will suffer a small penalty in the scoring process.
Entries must be submitted no later than June 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
The judging procedure will be based on the following categories: Balance, Originality & Style, Detailing, and Optimization. Balance is necessary to provide a continual flow to gameplay. This means the map should be functional and planned out thoroughly. When thinking of originality and style, an author’s original touch is the focal point. Creating brand new content will definitely provide for an unique experience. Detailing will be judged by how the level is completed with created or provided objects as well as the compliance with the nature of Etheria. Lastly, optimization will be measured by lighting, monster pathing, border restrictions, and even file size. For example, an author would be docked points for having a pit that did not kill a character.
With the judging procedures discussed, authors then are ranked and scored by a collaborative system. Most importantly, the map is scored by a public majority. The viewing public’s vote will be worth 60% of the total votes as the Dungeon Defenders judges table will provide the extra 40%.
There must be more than just the $1,000 prize, right? You’re damn skippy there is! Here is the breakdown of prizes:
1st Place: $1,000 with map featured on Ranked and Open modes; Dungeon Defender pack (TBD)
Sentai Filmworks have announced that they have licensed Spring 2012 anime season series Tsuritama and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. Both series began two weeks ago, so Sentai were certainly very quick to pick up these two titles hot from Japan. Both series are set to be released digitally and physically. No dates have been confirmed for either series however.
Tsuritama is airing on the popular late night anime slot ‘noitaminA’ and is directed by the brilliant Kenji Nakamura (C – The Money and Soul of Possibility Control). The series itself revolves around a group of youths who decide to take up the hobby of fishing.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is based upon a manga of the same named created by mangaka ‘Maybe’. The series focuses on an academy that has a history of hauntings.
Both Tsuritama and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia are currently simulcast on the Crunchyroll anime streaming service. What do you think of Tsuritama and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia being licensed by Sentai? Let us know in the comments section below.
While we haven’t seen all too much of Hitman: Absolution since it was shown off last year, there isn’t much doubt that the follow-up is set to be one of 2012’s biggest releases. As a bit of a mysterious sneak peak, Square Enix recently revealed the first issue of Hope News Times, which is the newspaper for Hope, South Dakota.
The reasoning behind this odd reveal is to give fans a bit of a glimpse into the town, as well as big-wig Blake Dexter, who will play a role within the game’s main narrative. You see, this is the kind of preview I enjoy seeing, as it doesn’t show off too much, but builds an image of what we can expect to see as Agent 47 when the game comes out. Check out the clipping above by giving the image a click, and stay tuned for more updates as Absolution steadily gets closer to launching.
