Next Red Orchestra Title Announced
Tripwire Interactive is pleased to announce Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad, the sequel to the hit PC title Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, winner of multiple awards: Voodoo Extreme’s FPS and MP Game of the Year 2006, Wargamer’s Best Action Game 2006, IGN Editor’s Choice and many more.
Heroes of Stalingrad will take the Red Orchestra franchise into the next generation of gaming. Cutting edge graphics and audio built on Unreal Engine 3, inventive features and streamlined realism will deliver an unrivalled WWII experience. Focusing on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations, both German and Russian, from July 1942 to February 1943 the game allows the player to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history. For the first time ever in a first person shooter gamers will be able to experience WWII from the Axis side in a German single player campaign. As always with the Red Orchestra franchise, we will aim to deliver unrivalled accuracy and attention to detail, along with gritty, vicious combat in multi-player, co-op and solo modes. Again, we have listened to the fans and have designed a whole set of new features to make the game more accessible and easy to get into – all while delivering the tactical shooter realism fans of the original game loved.
There is more information available in the June 2009 issue of PC Gamer both in the UK and US, which will be on the news stands in May. The Heroes of Stalingrad forums are also now open – head to www.HeroesofStalingrad.com for the teaser website and access to the forums. We will be releasing more information about the game over the next weeks and months, so keep checking back! Tripwire Interactive are taking the time to get the game right, so the release date will remain “when it is ready” for the time being.
SECTION 8 Beta Burning Into Europe
Register now at www.JoinSection8.com to be one of the first to play TimeGate’s Futuristic Multiplayer FPS
SouthPeak Interactive Corporation is pleased to announce that the 8th Armoured Infantry is launching its recruitment drive across Europe. Potential troopers can visit www.JoinSection8.com to register their interest and enlist for the Section 8 beta on PC, which is taking place over the summer.
Developed by TimeGate Studios, Section 8 is an intense first-person shooter that gives players unprecedented strategic control over the battlefield, employing tactical assets and on-demand vehicle deliveries to dynamically alter the flow of combat. Set in the distant future when humanity is facing a growing insurrection among its colonies, Earth dispatches the elite 8th Armoured Infantry to turn the tide.
Utilising advanced powered armour suits, these volunteers are the only ones crazy enough to smash through enemy defences and drop directly into the battlefield from 15,000 feet. Their bravery earned them the nickname “Section 8”, an old military regulation where soldiers were classed as unfit for duty due to mental instability.
Now volunteers in Europe can sign up for the Section 8 beta at www.JoinSection8.com. With only a limited number of places available, those drafted over the coming months will be loaded up and sent out to the frontline. JoinSection8.com also contains vital intel about the game and is the place to stay active within the Section 8 community.
Section 8 is due for release on PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® later this year.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat announced
GSC Game World is glad to announce a new project in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series – S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (working title) for PC.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat will become a third stand-alone game in the highly-acclaimed Survival FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.
The project is slanted for release in autumn 2009.
The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat unfold shortly after the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Having discovered about the open path to the Zone center, the government decides to hold a large-scale military “Fairway” operation aimed to take the CNPP under control.
According to the operation’s plan, the first military group is to conduct an air scouting of the territory to map out the detailed layouts of anomalous fields location. Thereafter, making use of the maps, the main military forces are to be dispatched.
Despite thorough preparations, the operation fails. Most of the avant-garde helicopters crash. In order to collect information on reasons behind the operation failure, Ukraine’s Security Service send their agent into the Zone center. From now on everything depends on the player.
Key game features:
• Photorealistic exclusion Zone – Pripyat town, Yanov railway station, Jupiter factory, Kopachi village and more, recreated by their true-to-life prototypes.
• New story, a number of unique characters.
• Extended system of side quests.
• New monsters: Chimera and Burer. New behaviour and abilities for all monsters.
• New A-Life system, created using the players’ best-liked elements of the first two games in series.
• Emissions considerably influence the world of the Zone.
• Sleep function added into the game.
• New player’s interface.
• Possibility to continue the game after completion in a freeplay mode.
• The game is developed on X-Ray engine v.1.6
505 GAMES Armed For ARMA II
MILITARY SIMULATION SHOOTER IS GIVEN 26TH JUNE RELEASE DATE
505 Games and Bohemia Interactive today confirmed 26th June as the long anticipated European release date for ArmA II. The sequel to Bohemia Interactive’s celebrated military shooter promises to deliver more of the authentic battlefield experience the series is famed for, while developing each area of game play with expansive new features.
Featuring the most realistic warfare ever, ArmA II promises to build on the excellent features that have made Bohemia Interactive a respected name among gamers. Players can expect in-depth team-based combat, a comprehensive playbook of military tactics and an enormous battlefield to push strategy to the limit.
ArmA II benefits from a 3rd generation game engine that has been in constant development for 10 years; no other developer can offer such a great heritage in creating open-world military shooters. The Bohemia engine has been recognised as a benchmark in producing realistic warfare simulations to such an extent that the developer has used its Real Virtuality engine as the basis for training simulators used by armies across the globe, including the United States Marine Corps, UK Ministry of Defence and Australian Defence Force.
This experience is also helping Bohemia Interactive to craft an incredibly detailed storyline, full of political intrigue and plot twists, which blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction. Set in the near future in a fictional post-Soviet country called Chernarus, players take on the role of a United States Marine Corps Force Recon squad, who are called to the country as a peacekeeping force to prevent further civilian casualties and ensure ongoing stability.
“It has been a pleasure building on the success of the first ArmA title,” commented Alex Price, Senior Global Brand Manager, 505 Games. “ArmA has such a vociferous community behind it that we new we had to get this one absolutely right. We are confident that the dedicated fans won’t be disappointed as will as any newcomers to the series.”
ArmA II will be released for 26th June exclusively for PC. For all the latest information please visit www.arma2.com
Valkyrie Sky, holding Encore Beta Test
Yolim communication is extending the 1st CBT of MMO Shooting game Valkyrie Sky in the name of ‘Encore Beta Test’ at February 18 ~ 24.
This is for the passionate support of the testers who joined the 1st 3 day test on February 10 ~12.
[Valkyrie Sky] is the new game ambitiously developing by Yolim communication which has a slogan ‘Returning to the natural fun of game’. It is standing for MMOShmup which is built on the basis of Up-scroll Shooting Game adding the elements of MMORPG. It is filled with the systems like character level up, quests, items, which you can see from other RPGs, but the battle is just like an original Up-scroll Shooting Game.
Even though the two genres are mixed up, the control is not so hard so it may be possible to gather newbie, shooting mania and RPG mania all together in one game.
Valkyrie Sky is having attention for the close beta test in Korea which leaved a remarkable average play time. The value was hard to see even in MMOs and that broke the preconception like ‘Shooting game is hard to success in online’. It is presumable that Valkyrie Sky will make a big success starting commercial service after working on localizing and updates.
Valkyrie Sky is having continuous global tests at www.gamengame.com.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Supporting the inimitable Vin Diesel in his role as the galaxy’s most hard-ass criminal is a highly talented cast of seasoned actors who lend their voices to the rogues gallery of believable and memorable characters aboard the predatory Merc-ship Dark Athena.
Riddick: voiced by Vin Diesel
The self-confessed Dungeons & Dragons fan first stepped into Riddick’s shoes in cult hit film Pitch Black, which is honoured with a multiplayer mode of the same name in Assault on Dark Athena. Diesel found the shoes a good fit and subsequently starred in the film The Chronicles of Riddick and lent his voice to the acclaimed game Escape from Butcher Bay. Riddick is renowned as the toughest criminal in the galaxy – a man who walks a moral knife edge and isn’t shy of getting blood on his hands.
Dacher: voiced by Lance Henriksen
A versatile character actor equally at home playing blood-thirsty vampires or beaten-down detectives, Lance Henriksen made his intense presence felt early on with appearances in timeless big screen blockbusters Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Terminator and Aliens. He brings the weight of his voice to bear on Assault on Dark Athena playing Dacher, a prisoner on the ship who shares part of his harrowing life story with Riddick and comes to his aid as the plot unfolds.
Revas: voiced by Michelle Forbes
The Texan-born actress is known for playing tough women, a skill which has seen her take major roles in a series of acclaimed TV shows including Battlestar Galactica, Prison Break, 24, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Her unforgettable performance as Revas, the captain of the Merc-ship Dark Athena who shares a chequered past with Riddick, brings depth and a weary malevolence to the character.
Spinner: voiced by Wade Williams
Williams has appeared in numerous top-rated TV series including CSI, 24, Six Feet Under, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and most prominently Prison Break in which he played Bradley ‘Brad’ Bellick from 2005-2008. In Assault on Dark Athena Williams takes the role of Spinner, the loyal right-hand man of ship’s captain Revas, who is charged with holding the ship together while Riddick unleashes chaos.
Pavlo: voiced by Morgan Sheppard
The accomplished, British-born actor has made numerous appearances on stage and screen since the 1960’s including most recently 2007’s Transformers film, with an appearance slated in the forthcoming Star Trek movie. Following his voice work on 2004’s Escape from Butcher Bay, Sheppard returns to the Riddick universe lending his voice to the character Pavlo, a schizophrenic prisoner trapped aboard Dark Athena who brings clarity and confusion to Riddick in equal doses.
ABOUT THE GAME:
The newest title in the Riddick franchise, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena brings the hit first person shooter to a new audience and a new generation of consoles when it is released for the Xbox360®, PlayStation®3 and Windows® PC in Spring 2009. The action-packed game, a hi–definition re-imagined version of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena features an entirely new chapter in the Riddick Saga and for the first time, intense online multiplayer combat.
The Chronicles of Riddick series of games takes the player deeper into the universe of Universal Pictures’ films The Chronicles of Riddick and cult classic Pitch Black, which first introduced Vin Diesel as enigmatic anti-hero Riddick. In The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena the player takes the role of Riddick using stealth and action to overcome the merciless crew of the predatory Merc-ship Dark Athena which awaits its prey in the dark reaches of space. Cheating death through a series of spectacular battles and events, Riddick will fight for his life amid a storm of malevolence and horror.
Platform: Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION®3, Windows® PC
Release Date: Spring 2009
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Starbreeze Studios
Category: Action Stealth First Person Shooter
For more information about Atari’s entire product line up please visit www.atari.com
NecroVisioN – WW1 zombie shooter set to scare the masses from next month
505 Games Reveals New Details About the Game’s Tributes to Classic Horror Films
Zombies? Check. Vampires? Check. Ninja vampires? Check. Giant robotic scorpions built by mad German scientists? Check. 505 Games is today pleased to reveal more details about NecroVisioN’s horror-fuelled plot, which puts a whole new spin on the World War One genre.
NecroVisioN is a fast-paced shooter exclusively released on PC in February 2009 by 505 Games, under the 1C Company label. Developed by developer The Farm 51, it mixes historical accuracy with a twisted plot that sees you venturing into the very jaws of Hell itself to stop a zombie army and an evil demon overlord. Along the way the action-packed plot ticks all the right horror-themed boxes.
Set in 1917, the Great War has been raging for two long years and new recruit Simon Bukner, a US Army soldier, is the latest to face the harsh realities of war. His first mission sees him get lost deep behind enemy lines, alongside his battalion of Allied troops, after trying to break through the German positions and into Allied territory. The Germans attack hard and the Allieds get pushed deeper into enemy trenches until they’re ambushed and gassed.
Bukner manages to escape into an underground safe-house but everything has changed. The dead are rising from their muddy graves and attacking any living creature they can find. Now Bukner must try and escape through the scores of German soldiers, while fighting off flesh-hungry zombies. As Bukner shoots his way through the trenches, he uncovers a truly horrifying plot to create an army of the undead.
But, in a bizarre twist, Bukner discovers that the zombie force is actually being created for the benefit of humanity. A shadowy group of vampires has enlisted the help of a necromancer to make them their own personal army of the walking dead. This unlikely alliance is a final effort for the vampires who are struggling to stop terrible demons from opening up a portal to Hell and wiping out every living thing on Earth.
Now, armed with powerful vampire weapons and a magical artefact called the Shadowhand, Bukner must venture into the bowels of hell and stop the demons once and for all.
NecroVisioN will be released on PC in Europe in February 2009.
Gametrailers.Com Announces Winners Of Distinguished Game Of The Year Awards 2008
Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV Takes Home Coveted “Game of the Year” Award, Along with “Best Action Adventure Game,” “Best Story,” “Best PlayStation3 Game” and “Best Xbox 360 Game”
GameTrailers (GT) – the premier provider of video for gamers – announced the winners of the “GameTrailers Game Of The Year Awards 2008,” crowning Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV as “Game of the Year.” Other notable winners include Bethesda Software’s Fallout 3 and SCEA’s LittleBigPlanet.
Celebrating the outstanding caliber of games in 2008, GameTrailers revealed the nominees and winners of 28 game award categories during a ten-day series, culminating on New Years Eve. The GT editorial staff selected the nominees and winners after spending countless hours reviewing hundreds of games for their gameplay, design, artistry and innovation. In honoring the five nominees and ultimate winner in each category, GT produced informative video packages that showcase gameplay highlights and editorial comments on the merits of each nominee.
“This was yet another epic year for the gaming industry, and choosing a winner for each category proved to be very difficult,” said Shane Satterfield, Editor in Chief, GameTrailers. “It was a lengthy, yet fulfilling task to sit with our experienced editorial staff and pick the winners. We want to congratulate the many developers and publishers for their exceptional games and hope their great results carry on into the New Year.”
Log on to GameTrailers to watch all of the “Game of the Year Awards 2008” at www.gametrailers.com
Winners of the “GameTrailers Game Of The Year Awards 2008” are as follows:
Best Puzzle/Parlor Game
Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
Best Strategy Game
Sins of A Solar Empire – Stardock
Best New Franchise
LittleBigPlanet - SCEA
Best PlayStation 2 Game
Rock Band 2 - MTV Games/Electronic Arts
Best Racing Game
Burnout Paradise - Electronic Arts
Best PSP Game
God of War: Chains of Olympus - SCEA
Best Nintendo DS Game
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – Konami
Best Action Adventure Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Best Sports Game
NHL 09 - Electronic Arts
Best Role-Playing Game
Fallout 3 – Bethesda Softworks
Most Innovative Game
LittleBigPlanet - SCEA
Best Story
Grand Theft Auto IV – Rockstar Games
Best Third-Person Shooter
Gears of War 2 - Microsoft Game Studios
Biggest News Story
Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360
Best Downloadable Game
Braid - Number None Inc.
Best Music and Rhythm Game
Rock Band 2 – MTV Games
Most Disappointing Game
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - LucasArts
Best Graphics
Gears of War 2 – Microsoft Game Studios
Best First-Person Shooter
Resistance 2 - SCEA
Best Trailer
Resident Evil 5 Tokyo Game Show Trailer – Capcom
Best Software Lineup
PlayStation 3
Best Multiplayer Game
Rock Band 2 - Electronic Arts
Biggest Surprise
Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360
Best PC Game
Fallout 3 – Bethesda Softworks
Best Wii Game
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo
Best PlayStation 3 Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Best Xbox 360 Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Lock and Load! SAS: Secure Tomorrow Launches Retail Assault
New Tactical Shooter from City Interactive preps for insertion into stores this week
City Interactive, a North American publisher of PC and console-based video games, is pleased to announce the release of SAS: Secure Tomorrow, a tactical shooter for PC, to North American retail today. In SAS: Secure Tomorrow, players take on the role of the leader of a top SAS commando team as they attempt to thwart the plans of a secretive and deadly terrorist organization. In the game, players will have access to authentic SAS gear, weapons and tactics. For more information about SAS: Secure Tomorrow, please visit http://www.city-interactive.com.
“We are pleased to announce SAS: Secure Tomorrow,” said Mark Rudolph, marketing and operations manager. “The game is an example of the top quality interactive entertainment North American consumers can expect from City Interactive, and we will soon be following it up with releases of other titles on the PC and other gaming platforms.”
Faramix Enterprises to Release CellZenith Franchise September 30th
Faramix Enterprises debut release title!
Faramix Enterprises is proud to announce the release of the debut title CellZenith for PC on September 30th. CellZenith is the first title in a line of many Faramix has planned to develop in continuous growth into a full-fledged AAA developer.
As Faramix, we are calling out for the press’ attention to perform previews, reviews, or interviews on CellZenith in order to help get the title exposure for the growing company. We welcome contacts from the biggest websites, all the way down to the smallest, and are more than willing to participate in any requests you have. We appreciate any and all support in making our game to be the best it can possibly be.
“We’re proud with the quality we have incorporated into our first title CellZenith” explained Michael Dehen, President & CEO at Faramix, “CellZenith represents one of many original Intellectual Properties that Faramix is developing and it is only the beginning of our growth.”
Long into the future, the catastrophic Lunar War began over the ownership of the moon’s valuable colonies and starship fuel. At the end of the war, it was agreed upon that the CEL attack ships used would be deactivated and placed on CellZenith, an uninhabited station on Neptune. The Lunar Colony was created to oversee the deactivation of the CEL’s and control the distribution of the depleting starship fuel. On the final transportation of the CEL’s – the transportation cargo ship is shot down by an unknown source. Thankfully, the team was on the planet’s surface but now has no way home. It will be 2 months before a new transport ship arrives and with the CELs now mysteriously activated, it becomes a fight for survival to uncover the mystery of who is behind these attacks.
CellZenith gameplay is based on intense battles between CELs, futuristic advanced combat craft. Expect to experience heated, close-up engagements where survival will seem like a distant dream . You lead a team of 35 unique CEL units along with your captain in a larger more powerful Carrier CEL (which can be boarded and piloted). Strategically picking your units before each battle will give you a tactical advantage over the enemy. CellZenith’ vast levels will include objective tasks all while engaging an onslaught of fierce enemies. CELs come in two varieties: flying and ground based. The Carrier is crucial for getting ground based CELs over gaps. Every CEL has the ability to move in any direction while simultaneously shooting in another. Your CEL also has the ability to seamlessly change to a circle strafing mode, giving you a greater advantage while in combat.
When a CEL is destroyed, a number of special upgrades called “phyta crystals” are generated. Nearby CELs can collect these to gain shields, health, firepower, and other temporary abilities – 15 in total. They can be used to obtain one of 19 unique secondary weapons as well. When enough white phyta crystals are collected, upgraded versions of the CEL are attainable that will give you a tactical advantage and new permanent upgrades. Be careful, your enemies can collect phyta crystals as well.
CellZenith features a campaign mode where you will engage in 30 different story-driven levels to seek out and defeat the unknown force and escape back to Earth. Also included are 14 Instant action maps and four highly addictive minigames [Cel Attack, Tournament, Ball Escape, Black Hole].