Fallen Earth Enters Closed Beta Testing
Thousands of testers stand ready to get a glimpse of the post-Apocalyptic future
Fallen Earth, LLC, developer of the self-titled post-Apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth, is excited to announce that the game has now transitioned into closed beta testing. Interested testers can sign up for the opportunity to receive a closed beta key at www.fallenearth.com and join thousands of fellow Fallen Earth players each week as the online community expands to accommodate more closed beta testers.
“This is a critical milestone for our team and an opportunity to showcase updated content and features,” said Colin Dwan, project manager for Fallen Earth. “We are excited to see how players progress through all three sectors without any interference, and anxious to see where we can improve the overall experience.”
The Fallen Earth team has been working very hard to improve and polish all aspects of the game. Recent updates include the creation of a comprehensive user tutorial and continued enhancements to balance the in-game crafting system. With the move to closed beta, players will have the opportunity to piece together aspects of the storyline, play freely through all three sectors, and gain a better understanding of how the game will look and feel at launch. Closed beta testing also allows the development team to better observe overall game play, perform system stress tests, and ultimately perfect the Fallen Earth game experience.
Set in the Grand Canyon in 2156 after a lethal disease destroyed most of mankind, the game features a classless advancement system, six factions and a unique crafting feature in which players can make 95 percent of game items. With 70 towns, real-time settings and interesting character modifications, all taking place within a post-Apocalyptic plot, Fallen Earth provides the ultimate player experience.
Fallen Earth will be released in Q2 2009. An exact launch date is forthcoming.
The Video Game Bible Returns With Launch of Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition
Amazing Guitar Hero Attempt in New York City Kicks Off International Release of New Book
The globally-recognized authority on record-breaking achievements, Guinness World Records, reveals the latest and greatest in video gaming with the publication of Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition on February 4th for $21.95 (15 UK pounds Sterling). The so-called “video game bible” is back with all new records, facts and trivia sure to keep any gamer occupied when they’re not playing on the latest game system. To celebrate the US launch of the new book, the world’s greatest gamers will attempt to shatter some of the most amazing video game records. Meanwhile, as Great Britain experiences the heaviest snowfall in eighteen years, launch celebrations for the UK version are postponed until 11th February.
Now in its second year of publishing, Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition is a unique companion volume to Guinness World Records – the world’s bestselling copyright book – dedicated solely to video games and gaming records. The book is a comprehensive guide to record-breaking video games on all consoles, and also offers a broad range of features ranging from the history of gaming to interviews with key figures in the industry, designed to appeal to gamers at every level.
In this year’s book, readers will find everything from a special section on banned and controversial games (pinball machines were banned in the U.S. for 34 years) to the First Superhero Game of All-Time (Superman), the Longest Drum Marathon On Rock Band (26 hrs, 40 min) and much, much more. Other special sections in the book include War Games (Metal Gear, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor), Superhero Games (Batman, Spider-Man, Superman), Space Games (Star Trek, Wing Commander, Star Wars) as well as a feature on the development of healthy gaming.
Record-breaking video game feats in New York and London will commemorate the release of the new book. Guinness World Record-holder Danny Johnson will attempt to reclaim his “Guitar God” status on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock in New York City. Johnson will try to best the previous record of 899,703 points on Guitar Hero’s toughest song – “Through the Fire and Flames”. New York’s Comic Con convention will also play host to several record-breaking attempts including The Largest Gathering of Cosplayers, which currently stands at 342.
To celebrate the UK launch on the 11th of February, British eccentric motoring inventor Edd China will unveil his latest wacky creation on four wheels – the Fastest Mobile Gaming Rig. Complete with all three “current generation” consoles and monitors, this unique piece of mobile furniture will tour the streets of London with three gamers onboard after setting a speed record on the A40. Also as part of the UK celebrations, the world’s Youngest Professional Gamer; Lil Poison (Victor De Leon III), is due to visit London for the very first time and receive his official Guinness World Records certificate. 10-year old, Long Island (NY) native, Lil Poison, claimed the title after signing with MLG recruiters as a Pro Gamer at the age of six.
“The idea was for Gamer’s Edition to be more than a compendium of high scores and bestselling games – although of course they’re in there,” said Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief. “While the book contains thousands of unique facts and records, it also presents the world of gaming through uniquely Guinness World Records eyes. Gamer’s Edition is as suitable for casual and hardcore gamers as it is for anybody who is interested in a snapshot of the evolution of video games.”
Video game sales in the US totalled more than $16 billion in 2008 as the gaming world continues to solidify its stake within the entertainment industry. In one of the year’s biggest successes, Grand Theft Auto boasted $500 million in worldwide sales in its first week of release, surpassing box office receipts for “Spider-Man 3″ by more than $100 million. Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition is on the frontlines to capture these records as and when they happen.
The first edition of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition was published in February 2008, and received critical accolade from gaming industry reviewers. PC World said: “If you truly want to prove your mettle in the gaming arena…your name in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s edition is the only way to go about it,” while critics from Popular Science praised: “If you care about gaming, something here is going to fascinate you.”
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. Guinness World Records also annually publishes the Gamer’s Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements. The Guinness World Records website (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is part of the Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada’s largest privately owned companies which is a conglomerate of interests, including advertising, broadcasting, grocery stores and automotive retailing.
Codemasters Online Unveil The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM Referral Programme
New friend referral scheme offers FREE Amazon vouchers for current LOTRO players
Codemasters Online have today unveiled a fantastic, new “Refer a Friend” programme for its award-winning, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO).* Now players can earn themselves Amazon vouchers simply by encouraging their friends and family to join them in-game by creating their own LOTRO accounts.
“With its immersive storyline, innovative features and breathtaking world to explore, The Lord of the Rings Online is well regarded as one of the world’s premium MMOs and a game that really excels when experienced with friends,” explained David Solari, Vice President & General Manager, Codemasters Online. “What better resolution to make for the start of the New Year than to encourage your friends to start playing with you, while earning rewards for yourself at the same time?”
To take part in the programme, which launches on 4th February all current players need to do is visit the LOTRO Refer a Friend page at www.lotro-europe.com/refer and enter their friends’ email addresses to send them a personal invitation to a fantastic 14-day free trial and a 25% discount off the game.** In return, players can look forward to a £5 or €5 Amazon voucher for each friend who goes on to create a full game subscription for themselves.
The Lord of the Rings Online is the ultimate online adventure and has just celebrated the launch of its first retail expansion pack, Mines of Moria™, which continues the epic story of Middle-earth and introduces new character classes, hundreds of new quests and the revolutionary new Legendary Items system. For more information on The Lord of the Rings Online™: Mines of Moria™, please visit www.lotro-europe.com
For full terms and conditions for the Player Referral Programme visit www.lotro-europe.com/refer
Championship Manager Launches A New World Of Football Online
New website launched with free copy of Championship Manager 01/02 game for all those who register on the website!
Designed to offer the ultimate one-stop-shop for football data, stats, news, editorial and networking the newly launched www.championshipmanager.co.uk is the comprehensive portal for all football fans.
To celebrate the fantastic new website, Championship Manager is giving away the classic ‘01/02 edition of the game to every visitor that registers on the website before February 28th 2009.
Roy Meredith of Championship Manager said: “If you love your stats, news, trivia and discussions, you will not find a more comprehensive football website anywhere.
“Championship Manager is a game for all fans of football who want to delve deeply into the sport and our website is an extension of that and much more. The insights from members of the Football Council will be fascinating and the analysis you can draw from the site’s data makes the website a genuine homeland for all fans of the beautiful game.”
New features of the website include:
1. A unique Football Council – a group of people from all areas of the football world who will write regular articles about life in the real world of professional football. The CM Football Council is: Manchester United and Celtic legend and Youth Academy Manager Brian McClair; former West Ham United assistant manager Mervyn Day; former Premiership and World Cup referee Graham Poll; Ajax midfielder Howard Nedd; Dagenham & Redbridge striker Mark Nowekji; and Daily Mail journalist Mark Alford. In addition to their insights into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ activities in the world of football, the Football Council are also providing their expertise and unique experience into the design of the Championship Manager game, ensuring it retains it’s authenticity and provides fans with a firmly realistic experience of managing a football club
2. On-going real team and player data from across the leading UK and European leagues, building as they happen for every match throughout the season. Determine the truth behind the performance!
3. Create your own avatar, take part in matchday predictions or challenge “Cappo” in “Cappo’s Quiz”. Users will also have the opportunity to comment on Football Council blogs, share their football experiences and opinions across the network and meet new supporters of their teams.
4. Championship Manager forums for gamers to discuss new games, demos and patches together with genuine fans forums for discussion about real life football
5. Regular football news stories, features and blogs, updated on a daily basis and written by football journalists from the UK and abroad
Championship Manager has been the leading brand in football management simulations since 1992 and the new site will herald a new direction for the most established name in football gaming. The new website features a bold and striking new design, with new logos and graphics, signalling the game’s return to the fundamentals that have firmly established it within the hearts and minds of football audiences for nearly 20 years.
The website is live now at www.championshipmanager.co.uk and with many more changes still to come it will continue to be the innovative home of football and Champ Man news.
Razer And Raptr Partner To Enhance Millions Of Gamers Experience
Leading Gaming Peripheral Company Razer Leverages Raptr’s Social Platform For Deeper User Connection
Razer™, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, announced a new partnership with Raptr, the first social platform that allows users to know, in real-time, what games they and their friends are playing across multiple platforms. When combined with Razer’s precision keyboards and mice, the joint offering provides Razer’s millions of customers the opportunity to seamlessly join Raptr’s community and build friendships, compete and connect while gaming.
The partnership will also enable Razer to communicate directly with its fan base and better understand their gaming habits with Raptr’s innovative unique social network integrations. Razer will be able to reach their fans wherever they are and forge a deeper user connection. With Raptr, users can also automatically broadcast this information via the Internet’s most popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, thus extending users’ ability to reach their friends.
In addition, Raptr and Razer plan to hold contests that give Raptr users the chance to show off their gaming skills and win special Razer gear. Raptr will be bundled with three of Razer’s most popular products: the Razer DeathAdder mouse, the Razer Lachesis mouse, and the Razer Lycosa keyboard, with more products to be added over the coming months.
“Razer’s products have traditionally been created and marketed for hardcore gamers and with this new partnership, Raptr is providing us with the best way to build a deeper connection with our existing gamers as well as reach new gamers in a consumer-friendly and innovative way,” said Razer president Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff. “We feel incredible synergy with Raptr, specifically in our goal to continuously engage new gamers and introduce them to the very best gaming products and services available.”
“With this partnership both companies are embarking on an exciting new growth opportunity. By making Raptr accessible through Razer’s products we’re able to reach additional gamers who may not yet be members of Raptr,” said Dennis Fong, CEO of Raptr.
Ntreev USA Announces The Young and the Wrestless PvP Tournament for Grand Chase
Enter to Win Ultimate Game Cards from PlaySpan
Ntreev USA, Inc. announced “The Young and the Wrestless” player-versus-player tournament for Grand Chase, sponsored by PlaySpan. Starting on February 1, Grand Chase players will be able to compete for prizes including PlaySpan’s Ultimate Game Card™, the prepaid gift card accepted by more than 200 online multiplayer games. The tournament will be divided into two main competitions, the “Young Blood” tournament and the “Bad Blood” tournament.
The “Young Blood” portion of the tournament is accessible to all players with a valid Grand Chase play account in good standing, regardless of character, job, level or equipment. The map used for the tournament will be chosen by an online vote on the Grand Chase forums, and the qualifying round will consist of a six-person survival battle. The last player standing in each match will move on to the playoffs.
The playoff round will consist of a single-elimination bracket. The winners of each round in the playoffs will receive Ultimate Game Cards, each worth $10.00 in credit. Winnings are cumulative, so the more rounds a player wins, the more Ultimate Game Cards they win, with up to $120 in credit awarded to those who reach the finals. Also, those who manage to claim victory in the semifinals and finals will receive Champion Armor sets.
There will also be a separate “Bad Blood,” invitation-only competition featuring the top six winners from the four previous Grand Chase tournaments. These elite Grand Chase warriors will compete in a winner-take-all survival tournament. The winner will receive an armor set, a statue in the in-game Park, a custom illustration of their character by an Ntreev artist that will become the loading screen for Grand Chase for two weeks, and a plaque signed by the entire Ntreev USA staff bearing that illustration.
All tournaments will take place on the Gorgos server.
Grand Chase
Grand Chase is an online action brawler set in a medieval fantasy world. It follows the story of a few brave young knights who join a group of nobles known as the “Grand Chase” to defeat an evil usurper to the thrown, a villainess known as Kaze’aze. Grand Chase combines traditional side-scrolling dungeon crawling with intense, skill-based player versus player (PvP) matches.