Stefan Hinz strengthens Frogster as Online Marketing Manager

Frogster is intensifying its online communications with the appointment of an experienced new colleague. Appointed to the post of Online Marketing Manager at beginning of July, Stefan Hinz reinforces the Berlin publisher's marketing team. The 29 year-old Bachelor of Communications brings his competencies in national and international marketing to the Frogster MMOG portfolio. His wide-ranging wealth of experience in the field of social media should furthermore guarantee the rapid and successful integration of the games into viral media.

Having already acquired specialised professional experience in the course of his studies, Hinz used this working from 2004 as a freelance writer, graphic designer and concept developer for both agencies and individual clients. He has been active in the games business since 2005, up until recently heading up the Online Marketing department for Ascaron Entertainment GmbH.

We have been looking for the right experienced team player for our marketing department for a long time. Someone who can help us both creatively and efficiently in marketing our products. Now with Stefan Hinz, our team gains yet more clout and our search has come to an end, said Rolf Kl'ppel, Head of Marketing & PR at Frogster.

Re-release of the Penumbra Series for Mac & Linux - USD 5 launch offer!

With a brand new installer the three Penumbra games will be available as a single download starting this Friday the 17th. The new release will improve the user experience compared to the original "three downloads with three serials"-installation procedure.

During the launch weekend of Friday the 17th to Sunday the 19th the Penumbra Collection for Mac & Linux will sell for a mere USD 5! Windows users recently had the same offer available to them and due to numerous inquires from Mac & Linux gamers we hope that this offer will achieve full cross-platform horror enjoyment. After the launch weekend the Penumbra Collection will sell for USD 20.

The Penumbra Collection will be available in the Frictional Games Store for Mac & linux. In addition the Mac version will also be available from the Mac Game Store, Mac Games Arcade and the recently launched Gamer's Gate for Mac. All stores are participating in the USD 5 weekend launch!

Frictional Games Store - http://store.frictionalgames.com/
Mac Game Store - http://www.macgamestore.com/
Mac Games Arcade - http://www.macgamesarcade.com/
Gamer's Gate - http://www.gamersgate.com/

Topatoi: The Great Tree Story: Take an unforgettable journey through secrets and mystery!

Boolat Games, an independent game development company, after a long delay from winter announces the release of “topatoi: The Great Tree Story” for PlayStation 3/PSN, which is now available at PlayStation Store in EU. The specific release dates for US and Asia will be announced soon.

It is the first part of the saga “topatoi”- the dynamic arcade game on the one hand, and a unique blend of puzzle and platformer on the other. It combines the best features of the predecessors and provides absolutely new gameplay experience. Being exciting, nice and highly captivating, this game appeals to everyone.

“topatoi” puts you at the controls of a fantastic gyroscopic hovercraft, which handles much like a futuristic whirligig. Spin it around a mysterious, unexplored corner of a remote world in an effort to repair your crashed airship and attempt to rescue your girlfriend. Help the hero, Raph, through the intricate and dangerous world of the Great Tree, combat hostile natives and negotiate with the inhabitants of a fantasy world. Success in your main mission will unlock more than ten bonus levels and an interesting multiplayer split-screen mode to further shake-up your playing experience.

It is a really great present for all PlayStation 3 owners, who interested in playing on their powerful consoles. Puzzle, platformer and arcade fans will be gladdened by a great number of unforgettable adventures in the mysterious worlds built around immense pillars. Classic platforming action and a lot of interesting puzzles played out across a variety of colorful storyline and bonus levels – it is “topatoi: The Great Tree Story”.

At the moment, the second episode is in development. All details of the sequel will be announced soon, but some “in development” screenshots are available on Internet from our first announce in 2008. Much more breathtaking adventures, interesting puzzles and arcade fun are waiting for Raph.

Darkest of Days Gets Official Launch Date for 360 and PC

Phantom EFX, the world’s leading developer and publisher of PC-based casual game titles, and independent game development studio 8monkey Labs announced today that their highly anticipated historically-based first person shooter, Darkest of Days, is set to launch on September 8, 2009 for both Windows-based PC and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

“Working on Darkest of Days has been, without a doubt, the crowning achievement in both my personal career and that of Phantom EFX,” said Aaron Schurman, CEO of Phantom EFX. “The past few years, everyone here and at 8monkey Labs has been working incredibly hard to create this title, one that we feel will give gamers plenty of memorable entertainment and serve as a gigantic breath of fresh air into the FPS genre.”

Have you ever wondered what could happen if time travel was a reality? Have you ever thought about the possibility of going back in time to rewrite history for the better? That possibility is a reality in Darkest of Days, where players will travel back and forth through the annals time to relive some mankind's most dire hours. By fighting through terrible events such as The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest conflict of the Civil War, and both World War I and II, the player will attempt to save certain key individuals who were never meant to become involved in these truly monstrous events and thereby change human history for the better.

In Darkest of Days, you take on the role of Alexander Morris, an unlucky foot soldier who gets transferred to General Custer’s regiment days before the Battle of Little Bighorn. Moments before his inevitable demise, a futuristic time agent warps in to save Morris and transports him to the future where he is told that time travel is now a reality. However, an unknown faction is attempting to re-write history for their own benefit. Your job is to stop them, and you’ll fight your way through eras spanning thousands of years to do it.

Key features of Darkest of Days include:

• Brand New Engine: The dedicated team at 8monkey Labs has created an all-new, groundbreaking game engine known as Marmoset. The Marmoset Engine not only breaks from the all-too present Unreal engine FPS clones flooding the market, but also allows for some amazing graphical capabilities. You’ll fight through epic battles filled with literally hundreds of NPCs on the screen at the same time, all with an advanced AI and all without a hint of graphical slowdown and all set against wide-open environments that are lushly detailed and dynamically lighted.
• Compelling Storyline: Darkest of Days is a compelling, action-packed first-person shooter to be sure, but it’s not just mindless run-and-gun, blow ‘em up gameplay. You’ll have to not only think about how to approach certain key battles and situations, but you’ll also have to take care when fighting – certain key people that were never meant to die will be marked with a special blue aura. If you kill them, you’ll face dire consequences…
• Wreak Havoc with Future Weapons in Antiquity: Something nearly every gamer that’s ever played a shooter based in the past has always wanted is the ability to bring a futuristic weapon back through history and kick some major butt. How differently would Custer’s last stand have turned out if the General was equipped with an M-16 assault rifle? You’ll be able to answer questions like this in Darkest of Days. While not every battle and situation will allow you to wield weapons from the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to unleash futuristic fury on your unsuspecting foes.

For more information about Darkest of Days, please visit www.darkestofdays.com. For more information about Phantom EFX, please visit www.phantomefx.com. For more information about 8monkey Labs, please visit www.8monkeylabs.com.

2029 Online: Team vs Team Royal Rumble on PC

You end up getting sucked through a rift in time. At the end of your journey, you find yourself deposited onto an alien world, in the future – the year is 2029.

Over the course of your long journey across this strange land, you have found yourself engaged in many ferocious battles, hardening your heart and turning you into a grizzled warrior eager for the familiar adrenaline rush of battle.

Not getting the same rush from encounters with the enemy anymore? Need a little extra boost to get your heart racing? Well, we’ve got just what you need! Team vs. Team PvP! These battles will test your limits, as well as your ability to work together in a team.

Event Location

PvP Battlefield

Tournament Style

Single-round elimination, Team PvP

Awards

All teams will receive 6 Red Name Erasers; The winning team will be awarded 20 Martial Items, as well as 6 Super Exp Potion 1; Team leaders are responsible for distributing prizes.

Before Engaging in Combat...

Make sure you register! There will be a thread set up for players who want to register and all you have to do is reply to that thread. The information in your post must include the name of your team, as well as who will be accompanying you in battle. Teams will be limited to 7 players at the most and 4 players at the least.

Once registration has closed, pairs of teams will be randomly chosen by our GMs to compete against one-another. The list of registered competitors and their match status will be posted on the official site.

The competition style is group PvP combat. Participating teams MUST show up on time, or they will forfeit their match. Before the competition starts, GMs will confirm that everyone participating has registered properly for the match. During the confirmation process, players must make sure they have no buff effects activated.

The GMs will then announce the start of the competition. Players who are engaged in combat will be allowed to utilize buff effects on each other, but not until combat starts!

There is a level requirement of 14+, if you do not meet this requirement, you will not be able to sign up.

Check out this chart detailing how the competition will proceed.

For more details about this event, please visit http://2029.igg.com/news/view.php?aid=488