Age of Conan gets major upgrade - new dungeons, PvP and much more

Today's update introduces several brand new high level dungeons to the Hyborian world such as ‘Xibaluku’, ‘The Slaugherhouse Cellar’, ‘Cradle of Decay’ and also opening up an additional part to the level 80 raid dungeon ‚Black Ring Citadel’. And there is a series of other significant updates to various game mechanics like raid loot options and GUI updates, PvP resources for tradeskills, tweaking of several raid boss encounters and quests.

New Dungeons

Headlining the bill in this update is a lot of great new high level content whether you are looking for some solo fun, an engaging group activity or ready to face some new raid challenges!

Thunder River is the location of the new level 80 dungeon instance for small groups. The Acheronians called it ‘Xibaluku’, and the Picts have found the blood magic of the Acheronians and seek to make the power their own. Xibaluku contains up to a dozen boss encounters, some are essential to progress while others are completely optional but all have been designed to try and provide a really dynamic and changing experience in the dungeon. Some of the bosses may even appear with different abilities or in different forms across different visits!

To gain access to Xibaluku players must first dare the brand new solo experience in ‘The Slaughterhouse Cellar’ at level 80 also in the Thunder River playfield. Players will have to go there on their own to look for the mysterious shards made out of an unknown metal, which can only be found in the cellar. But the ghosts of the fallen haunt this place and make it dangerous for both Picts as well as players.

Raiders will be happy to know there are new challenges for them to test their skills against! The ‘Black Ring Citadel’ Wing 3 raid dungeon instance is now accessible from between the already existing entrances to Wing 1 and Wing 2 and provides level 80 raid-groups with new challenges such as the sorceress Athyr-Bast and the demon Leviathus.

Last but not least: the ‘Cradle of Decay’ is a group instance that offers players around level 43 a brand new place to discover and test their mettle while hunting for experience and loot. All life seems to have been sucked out of this rotten place and the player group will have to stand up against a seductive mistress, a wrathful mother and a horrid master – among other dangers.


PVP Updates and new Lootable Resources

This update sees a massive update to the PVP systems with over fifty improvements, tweaks and additions to PvP Minigames, Massive PvP sieges and the PvP Notoriety system. The key new addition we also introduce a new game mechanic for PvP resources. This new feature will make it necessary to gather special resources in the Border Kingdoms which will be needed to build, repair and maintain battle-keeps. Adding further meaning to the open world PVP experience these new resources can be found in the Cimmerian End of the Border Kingdoms, be warned though any enemy killing you will be able to loot any PVP resources you carry from your corpse!


Raid Encounter Changes

In the ongoing process to update and improve the many raid boss encounters in the game, this update also features many adjustments to the behaviour of bosses such as Yakhmar, Kyllikki, Vistrix and others.


GUI Adjustments

Together with dozens of tweaks and adjustments to the User Interface, this update also introduces a brand new Master Loot option. This allows group leaders to designate one group member as the Master Looter who will then be in control of loot distribution during a raid. And there are also many additional options for every player to configure a personalized loot distribution during raids and group adventures.


Additional Updates

In addition to all the updates mentioned above this update brings many more changes on topics like combat, quests, items, tradeskills, mounts and guild features – just to mention a few.


For the full list of updates and changes please refer to the update notes available on the official Age of Conan forums.

We hope you enjoy this update as much as we do!

Official website

Killzone frame rate drops to 20fps - that's low!

Killzone 2 is arguably the most technically impressive game of modern times, but its engine can come under pressure.

By now you must have played the Killzone 2 demo. A perfect showcase for the game, but if you can believe it, it doesn't hold a candle to latter levels. Particle effects and hundreds of dynamic light sources abound; the attention to detail is stunning.

Video at end of post...

The game's engine performs relatively well throughout, with Guerrilla Games already admitting that they use the PlayStation 3's SPU processors to make sure the 30 frames-per-second refresh rate stays intact.

As the game progresses the special effects (usually a description used for movies) go into hyper-drive and it's almost unbelievable that the PlayStation 3 manages to keep up with it.



Full post on Gamezine here...

Jagged Alliance Nintendo DS video game

Empire Interactive today released a slew of assets, including box art, logo and screen shots for the upcoming, strategy role-playing game, Jagged Alliance for Nintendo DS. Expected to ship in North America in the Spring of 2009, the turn-based RPG combines a unique mix of high technology, tactical maneuvering and strategic planning with a compelling storyline that will test the limits of players’ strategy and role-playing skills.

The highly revered classic was originally released for PC in 1994 as part of a series of award-winning strategy games. In its DS debut, Jagged Alliance will boast a unique blend of turn-based combat, strategy and role-playing, creating a compelling and addictive playing experience unlike almost anything else. The non-linear gameplay will uniquely unfold based entirely on the player’s moves and decisions.

Releasing in Spring 2009 on Nintendo DS, Jagged Alliance will have an ESRB rating of “T” for “Teen” and will retail for $29.99.

NASA multiplayer video game - Astronaut

NASA wanted a massively multiplayer online game, and now they're getting one, signing three separate development studios to work on Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond.

While video game players have long dreamed of traveling into the stars and meeting exotic alien species, real outer space is relatively boring. Now NASA seeks to change all of that with the development of a massively multiplayer online exploration game called Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond. NASA has selected three development studios to work on the project - Project Whitecard, Information in Place, and Virtual Heroes - the last of which did work on America's Army.

Astronaut will have players team up in order to complete various missions involving the past, present, and near future of space exploration. How exciting is that?

"Players will pick a profession like a roboticist, space geologist, astrobiologist or mechanical engineer and work together as a team as they explore space and complete missions, establishing bases and outposts and traveling to the farthest reaches of the solar system," explained Jerry Heneghan, founder and CEO of Virtual Heroes, which has previously worked on the U.S. Department of Defense's "America's Army" videogame. "The game will offer both individual challenges and team-based objectives to encourage players to use real-life applications of science, math and engineering to unlock new in-game vehicles, spacesuits, robotics and mining apparatus that will propel them further into space."

Wow. Not that exciting at all. I mean, the robototicist and astrobiologist classes sound like a hoot, but space geologist? That's just geologist with the word space in front of it. That's lazy.

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond is being groomed for release sometime next year. Let's hope that between now and then they come up with a name that doesn't make me want to buy bath towels.

Source: Kotaku

Little King's Story video game on Nintendo Wii

Highly anticipated Nintendo Wii role-playing game to debut in Europe on April 24th

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Rising Star Games today confirms the release date of April 24th 2009 for the highly anticipated strategy RPG Little King’s Story.

In a move rarely seen for a new Japanese IP, the title will be released in PAL territories first, emphasising the growing importance of the European market.

Little King’s Story is a unique collaboration between the games industry’s most prodigious talents. Boasting a team of legendary designers – whose portfolios include a range of highly-acclaimed and much-loved titles such as Harvest Moon, No More Heroes, Final Fantasy XII and Super Mario PRG – Little King’s Story is a funny, charming and surprisingly deep PRG, designed to appeal to both casual and core gamers alike.

“With such a legendary team of designers behind it, Little King’s Story promises to be one of the games of the year,” says Yen Hau, product marketing assistant, Rising Star Games. “Our focus is on bringing the very best Japanese games to Europe – and we’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure that our gamers will be able to play this ground-breaking collaborative title ahead of its native release. Mark 24th April down in your diaries now – and cross out the following few weeks: Little King’s Story will be the game to play this spring.”

With an art style that is very ‘story-book’ in look and with a magical fairy tale quality, this ground-breaking collaboration of creative talent has created a game that will intrigue and delight gamers of both casual and core groups. By combining gameplay elements from life-simulation, real-time strategy and adventure genres, the many aspects of creating a vast kingdom come to life. As the King, players will manage and involve their townspeople in the goals of creating this new territory; enlisting them to dig for treasure, build new buildings and otherwise better their community.

Little King’s Story will be available throughout all PAL territories from April 24th 2009.

Operation Flashpoint - Dragon Rising much-anticipated military shooter

Operation Flashpoint - Dragon Rising, the much-anticipated military shooter that marks the return of the genre-defining conflict series, breaks from cover today with the reveal of its visual identity and the release of a studio insight video. Showcasing the cutting edge technology that will take gamers closer to war than they’ll ever want to get, the video is now available to view and download from www.flashpointgame.com.

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Set to deliver the most accessible, engaging and visceral sandbox shooter of the year, Operation Flashpoint - Dragon Rising is being developed using an evolved variant of the EGO™ Engine, Codemasters Studios’ proprietary technology platform. A cross-format iterative technical project, developed with accreditation from platform holders, the EGO Engine has previously been used to great effect in the creation of award-winning titles Colin McRae: DiRT and Race Driver: GRID. The EGO Engine video released today demonstrates how this technology powers everything from minute detail to grand landscapes; delivering the most immersive real world effects and environments ever seen in a FPS.

“The advantage of investing in our own technology is that we can custom-build major engine components specifically suited to each title; such as dynamically lit particle effects for gunfire and explosions, incredible vehicle detail and extensive worlds that you can literally get lost in” said Brant Nicholas, Senior Producer, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

“Everything that the EGO Engine does adds to the experience and tension of being in a serious conflict situation where one shot can kill. Using the engine’s rendering tech and customised audio systems, we can make players feel the danger and adrenaline rush of modern combat, immersing them in the battle as deeply as possible. The realism of the game and its artistic content goes along way towards that, but having tech driving the detail and effects will give players a real sense of what it’s like to have a 80mm mortar shell land 30ft away – it lifts the playing experience to a whole new level.”

A new high-impact visual identity was also unveiled with the reveal of the game’s logotype and pack design. “As a pillar title for Codemasters in 2009, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising benefits from a very stylish and focussed art direction that is reflected throughout the game, its front end and will be carried through to its on-shelf presence,” said Alex Bertie, VP Brand & Marketing, Codemasters.

“The logo is a reinvention of the original with an updated contemporary design to reflect a news ticker style and ties to the gritty documentary style of the game’s visuals. Dropping the ‘2’ from the logo is a further nod to the original and tightens the game’s title itself. The packaging also echoes the game’s dramatic and powerful imagery, combining mono photography of an ‘unknown soldier’, in authentic USMC uniform, with a treated in-game background. It’s a high-impact direction befitting of the game’s intense combat experience.”

Coming this summer for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Games For Windows, Operation Flashpoint - Dragon Rising will see players engaged in the lethality of a deadly conflict against the full force of the Chinese PLA on the huge open-world island of Skira. Take a step closer to war than ever before with the game’s trailer and the new EGO Engine video, along with the latest in-game screenshots, all available online at www.flashpointgame.com.

Gobliiins 4 - the Return of the Legend PC video game

Pierre Gilhodes, one of the creators of the original Goblins series of quests, kept silence for more than 10 years – drawing comic books, and also drawing a conclusion that the world has forgotten how to make funny and clever quests.
In 2006, Pierre lost his patience and decided to return Goblins into the world of computer games. He teamed up with a small studio from south of France, Société Pollene, and with an independent production fund from Moscow, Snowberry Connection, to work on Gobliiins 4.
In this forth chapter, the game returns to where it all began: the main characters are the three goblins, each a unique personality with his own set of skills. Tchoup can pick items and keep them in his pockets, and he’s a detective. His friend Stucco is not as good at the deductive reasoning (to be honest, he’s not good at all!) – but he is strong enough to do lifting and climbing. The third goblin, Perlius, is the one with the magic powers and a dark sense of humor.

GAMEPLAY CONCEPT

The games mix elements of adventure and puzzle gaming. In essence, the player must find the solution to each level, in order to progress to the next. An original aspect of the series is that the player usually controls multiple goblins as player characters, each of whom has a unique set of abilities (the number of letter it’s in the word "Goblin" of the title indicates the number of characters that the player may control). The player may only control one character at a time but, depending on the specific scene, may switch characters at will.

THE GOBLINS BEHIND THE GOBLINS

Gobliiins 4 is developed by Société Pollene (France), designed Pierre Gilhodes and produced by Snowberry Connection (Russia). It is a rare case of Russo-French co-production which puts Napoleon’s ambition to shame, look at the wonders these nations can do when they work together!

Genre: Quest
Release: Spring 2009
Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish,
Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian
Format: DVD-ROM (PC Windows) and also via digital distribution

Capcom set to announce new game

Capcom to Announce New Game...
A teaser message via Xbox Live states a new game will be announced in trailer form Feb 23rd.
Lots of site are speculating - we don't...

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. original music by Tom Salta

Salta Records with A-list Musicians in New York for the New Title in the Prestigious Tom Clancy's Video Game Franchise

Composer and music producer Tom Salta, whose previous credits include the MTV VMA-nominated original score for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (GRAW) and the acclaimed sequel Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, has written and recorded the exhilarating original music score for Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, the first air-combat game set in the world-renowned Tom Clancy's video game universe. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X will be available March 3, 2009 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. The Windows-based PC version of the game will be released the following week.

Developed by Ubisoft's Bucharest studio, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X delivers an intense and authentic aerial combat experience by fully leveraging the benefits of the current-generation platforms. To emphasize the game's cutting-edge technology, devastating firepower, and intense dogfights, Salta composed an adrenalized and emotionally-charged live orchestral / electronic hybrid score recorded at Legacy Studios in New York with A-list musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

"In Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X we had to explore five emotional dimensions: the patriot, the life of a mercenary, betrayal, hopelessness and open war on U.S. soil," said Emil Gheorghe, producer of H.A.W.X. "Tom Salta managed not only to tie all these elements together in an astoundingly rich and memorable score but he also crafted an acoustical identity for our game to stand up in the midst of the Tom Clancy's titles. Using orchestral arrangements, high-tech sounds and a mix of traditional instruments, he built an incredibly diverse soundtrack ranging from flavorful traditional themes to military tracks."

To preview samples of Salta's music for the game, visit the official website at http://hawxgame.com/.

Tom Salta's other video game credits include Ubisoft's exclusive first-person action title for the Wii home video game system from Nintendo, Red Steel, drawing from traditional and contemporary Japan for the game's original soundtrack which received IGN's Wii Award for Best Original Score. Recording under the artist name Atlas Plug, he is currently writing the follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut solo album 2 Days or Die. For more information on Tom Salta visit www.tomsalta.com.

Hello Kitty Online beta preview extended until 22nd February

"Helping Hearts" invites players to craft virtual items for real orphanage

Sanrio Digital today announced an extension of the current beta preview of Hello Kitty Online, the official massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) of the Hello Kitty universe. Hello Kitty Online will remain open to the public until 23:00 (11 PM) EST on Sunday, February 22, 2009. The current Valentine Day-themed event has been phased into a charity event named “Helping Hearts”, in which players will craft virtual items that Sanrio Digital will convert to real world clothing donations to an orphanage.

“Helping Hearts” starts at 21:00 (9 PM) EST on February 19, 2009. Hello Kitty Online players will have to use teamwork and organizational skills to collect resources and craft specific virtual shirts and bags. At the end of the event, items crafted and submitted by players will be counted and Sanrio Digital will donate a corresponding number of real, limited edition Hello Kitty shirts and bags to an orphanage. The three guilds with the highest donation values will be declared winners and will be featured on the Hello Kitty Online game site. To join this event or play the Hello Kitty Online beta preview, simply sign up to SanrioTown and download and install the game client from www.hellokittyonline.com. Log in to the game using your SanrioTown username and password.

“Helping Hearts” continues Hello Kitty Online’s efforts to recruit players for socially responsible causes. In the previous charity event, called “Food For Friends”, beta players were asked to craft virtual food items that Sanrio Digital then tallied and converted into a cash donation to charity. Thus, participants in “Food For Friends” effectively raised about USD 12,000 in charity donations to UNICEF and the Asian Youth Orchestra.

“Helping Hearts” begins at 21:00 (9 PM) EST on February 19 and ends at 23:00 (11 PM) EST on February 22, 2009. Hello Kitty Online will be closed after that time to continue work on the game. Contest results and further details will be provided on www.hellokittyonline.com.