Good News

We are also pleased to announce that Episode 2 - 'A House Divided' will release onTuesday, March 4th for PlayStation 3 via PlayStation®Network in North America for $4.99 USD individually, or as part of a season pass option including access to Episodes 1-5 as they are released. The episode will also release on Tuesday, March 4th for PC/Mac via Steam, the Telltale Games online store, and other digital distribution outlets as part of a season pass.

Good News but with a delay

Dates for Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation®Network in Europe, and the iOS App Store will be confirmed shortly. Please standby and stay tuned to @telltalegames on Twitter for further release date details as they become available.

Great News for Vita Owners

We can also confirm today that the PlayStation Vita version of The Walking Dead: Season Two is tracking for release towards the end of March. Episode 1 and Episode 2 will be available for $4.99 USD each, or as part of a season pass option including access to Episodes 1-5 as they are released.

Game Features:
- 50+ levels of corpse-filled puzzles.
- 12 types of traps to hurl your hapless knights upon.
- Challenge the speed-run times and death-minimums.
- 20 Achievements and hidden bonuses to collect.
- Music by Kevin Greenlee (StarForge).

Demo, trailer, and pre-orders at:
http://www.lifegoesongame.com/

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today unveiled the first details for Cold, Cold Heart; the action-packed story add-on for Batman: Arkham Origins. In this extensive story add-on, players will unearth the tragic origin story of Mr.Freeze and learn how he earned his role as one of Batman's arch nemeses. Cold, Cold Heart will be available for purchase on the PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE online entertainment network from Microsoft and Steam beginning April 22. This add-on pack will be available to players who have purchased the Batman: Arkham Origins Season Pass and are connected to the Internet, or it can be purchased separately.

Unfolding across iconic Gotham City locations, including Wayne Manor, Cold, Cold Heart equips players with the powerful Batman Extreme Environment (XE) suit and new gadgets including the Thermal Gloves and Thermocharged Batarangs. The game introduces several hours of all-new content in which players will battle through punishing, icy landscapes to witness Mr. Freeze's heart-pumping first encounter with the Dark Knight.

Following the success of its Velocity series of games for PlayStation Vita, FuturLab were invited by Abertay University to take part in a groundbreaking initiative that sees students embark on prototyping projects in partnership with the company. Students from separate courses including Production, Programming, Art & Design were brought together to form two game development teams to work on briefs supplied by FuturLab. The two teams totalling over 20 students are now working on prototypes with the company; the results of which will remain under FuturLab’s ownership.

FuturLab’s satellite teams (‘Velocity Raptors’ & ‘Sasquatch’) at Abertay University’s PlayStation Vita Lab, a new initiative to get students ready for the workplace.

James Marsden, FuturLab's Managing Director said:

“As a small team of ten working hard on Velocity 2X - our most ambitious title yet - it’s been quite a challenge to remain focused on what’s coming next, so having an opportunity to effectively triple our workforce to create prototypes for a year without risk is fantastic. It’s also a great opportunity for the students as they’re able to benefit from mentorship and regular feedback to hit the high standards that we set for ourselves.”

Professor Louis Natanson, who heads up computer games education at Abertay University said:

"Our students benefit enormously from the experience of working with the professionals from FuturLab. We are very grateful for the care they have taken to provide genuine mentorship to our students."

Dr Iain Donald, Abertay University course lecturer added: 

“Working with a creative, innovative and award-winning studio like FuturLab sets a level of professionalism for our students to aspire to.”

The two teams will be presenting their fully playable prototypes later this year, one of which is a spin off from the Velocity series, and one a completely new concept that carries the same design ethos as other FuturLab games. 

Milestone Interactive Group today announced Aero Birdies, a new physics action title of precision and speed coming to the App Store. Featuring touch and tilt controls with over 75 colorful missions, Aero Birdies asks players to use logic, skill and strategy to help Ziggy, Slim-Jim, Dooby and Le-Nerd escape the dangerous shredding machine that forces them to bounce higher and higher through the trees, avoiding obstacles and traps along the way. Aero Birdies offers hours of free-to-play fun and comes to iOS on March 6th. 
“At Milestone, we love making quality, fun games that provide countless hours of entertainment value for all ages”, said Jayont R. Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Milestone Interactive Group. “We know that Aero Birdies will be a hit with players of all ages, and with regular updates planned, such as new characters and environments, the fun will go on and on!”

As a mysterious shredding machine begins destroying their peaceful surroundings and puts their survival at stake, players must use skill and strategy to aim and bounce the Birdies higher and higher through the trees, avoiding obstacles along the way, such as falling branches, owls, ravens, porcupines and monkeys to escape the terrifying shredder.

The game has interesting power-ups which can be unlocked and upgraded by collecting worms in the game and will help these Birdies fly higher and the player score more points. The in-app store has worm packs, which are used to upgrade the powerups while golden eggs give extra lives. Additionally, the game has in depth integration with Facebook that enables a user to track highscores of his/her friends thereby providing a challenging and competitive game play experience. Aero Birdies is different from other bird games as it has well defined characters that not only have their own unique human-like personalities but also impact the gameplay dynamics according to their shapes and sizes.

$145,000 raised to finance projection mapping, Kickstarter-Editions, optional side quests and outfits, blog, making-of videos and partial orchestral soundtrack

KING Art has more than doubled its Kickstarter funding goal, with the current amount donated to back the project standing at an impressive $145,000.

The total funds – which also include contributions via Paypal that are not represented on Kickstarter – will now enable KING Art to create a dedicated production blog, behind the scenes videos and on top of that record several tracks from the game with a live orchestra. Benny Oschmann, composer of the Book of Unwritten Tales 2 soundtrack, received an Aggie-awardjust a couple of days ago, for Best Music on The Raven, another KING Art adventure game in 2013.

About BoUT 2
The story takes place one year after the events of The Book of Unwritten Tales. The four playable characters, Wilbur the gnome mage, elven princess Ivo, adventurer Nate and his companion, the Critter, each have their own problems to deal with. But then a new threat appears and the four work together to save the world of Aventásia once more.

Players will play each of our heroes individually but there are also times where two or even three characters are being played simultaneously, in order to solve some of the puzzles & quests. The game many new locations, like flying pirate cities, sunken desert-temples, an elven palace, the Seastone underground and many more.

Current Test Schedule
◦ Monday - 01:00 GMT - 07:00 GMT
◦ Tuesday - 13:00 GMT - 19:00 GMT
◦ Wednesday - 01:00 GMT - 07:00 GMT
◦ Thursday - 13:00 GMT - 19:00 GMT
◦ Friday - 01:00 GMT - 07:00 GMT
◦ Saturday - 11:00 GMT - 16:00 GMT    
◦ Sunday  1:00 GMT - 07:00 GMT & 11:00 GMT - 16:00 GMT 

Steam pre-orders unlock Deus Ex – Game of the Year edition for free

Everyone has their favourite games or franchises and for our staff writer Dorian Deus Ex is his choice. His review of the Directors cut of Human Revolution can be viewed here and sorry for the spoiler but it reviewed pretty well. So I'm pretty sure news of another Deus Ex title coming to PC will put a large smile on his face. Look out for more news as the time or release gets nearer.

After the success of DEUS EX: THE FALL™ on mobile, Square Enix is excited to announce the award-winning* action-RPG will be released on PC, and is coming to Steam on 25th March for £7.99/€9.99/$9.99. With 28 Steam achievements, Steam Trading cards, adjusted AI, added keyboard and mouse functionality, plus a whole lot more, fans can now take DEUS EX: THE FALL to the bigger screen.

Gamers who pre-order DEUS EX: THE FALL on Steam will get an extra bonus in the shape of, the original Deus Ex- Game of the Year edition for free, to keep, or gift to a friend.  To pre-order please click on the following link  http://store.steampowered.com/app/258180

DEUS EX: THE FALL is set in 2027 – a golden era for science, technology and human augmentation, but also a time of great social divide and global conspiracy. Powerful corporations have seized control from governments and command the drug supply needed by augmented humans to survive. In this chaos Ben Saxon, a former British SAS Mercenary who underwent physical augmentation, is desperate for the truth behind the drug conspiracy. Betrayed by his private military employers, the Tyrants, not only is his own life at risk but for all augmented humans, time is running out…

DEUS EX: THE FALL was developed in collaboration with the original DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION® team at Eidos-Montréal and N-Fusion.  It also features new music composed by Michael McCann.

*Winner of 7 Best Mobile/iOS Game awards at E3 2013

Piranha Bytes, the creators of Gothic and Risen, return to their origins with a new, classic RPG. Risen 3: Titan Lords pulls the player in to a handcrafted role-playing world full of rugged charm where every decision changes the course of the story. Risen 3: Titan Lords is set for release in August 2014 for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system as well as Windows PC. 

The key element of the cult Gothic series as well as Risen is the vivid world and the freedom to explore it. The world of Risen 3: Titan Lords will be diverse, authentic and full of life, providing the player with an authentic, classic RPG experience. 

“Like a carpenter with a handcrafted piece of furniture, we put together the story, the characters and the landscape until it all fits and the player has the possibility to discover things all around the place. You can try out and find things that others might not. Exploration is the key to our game”, says Bjoern Pankratz, Project Lead at Piranha Bytes. 

The world of Risen 3 is abandoned by all gods and suffers from the Titan Wars when a new threat rises from the soil. A young warrior is attacked from the shadows and deprived of his soul. He sets off to reclaim what is lost amidst the darkness that is spreading throughout the world. The banned Mages could be powerful allies on his quest. To get their help, he needs to find the Mage sanctuary on Taranis, also known as the Island of Thunder. Protected by the Guardians, the Mages search the mines of Taranis for crystals loaded with magic energy. Will the player join the Guardians to get in contact with the Mages? Or will he choose one of the other guilds in Risen 3 to reach his goals

Twitch on Xbox One

ÆRENA: Clash of Champions has relaunched on Steam Early Access, bringing new content, a new interface, and a progression system with rewards to the tactical game of multiplayer combat.

Available on Steam Early Access:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/247830/

With the launch of the new progression system, players can perform special tasks to earn badges that unlock new content, including access to new ships, increased AI difficulties, and Æther shell packs. There is even a badge for taking down last season's top player (good luck with that).

All in-game cash is earned by playing matches and completing objectives. Inside the new Shop are ships with unique abilities, specialized packs of Æther shells, and champions to add to your roster – starting with a huge discount on fan-favorite, Martel.

New Features:
• Player progression with XP and level-ups.
• Player profiles and achievements to unlock content.
• Opening of the Shop with Champions, Ships, and Æther Shells.
• New UI and in-game chat.
• Two new Ships with unique abilities.
• Multiple, upgraded AI difficulties.

Wargame Red Dragon's Offical site

In their review of 'Smoke & Mirrors' Nerdist said the episode "dials everything up to eleven," while Escapist described it as "deliciously dark." According to Joystiq, this latest installment in the season "guarantees we're in this for the long haul."

Showcasing a brand new racing engine specifically designed for mobile and tablet devices,Ridge Racer Slipstream features several gameplay modes, challenging races and tracks, revved-up music and customisation options to build the perfect racing vehicle. In addition to 20 unique racing tracks (10 tracks driven forward and backward), the title also incorporates tons of vehicle mods allowing players to create their own dream machine. To amp up competition, NAMCO BANDAI Games America will also be introducing new content in future updates, including a real-time online multiplayer mode that will host up to eight players. 

Other highlights include:

• Hundreds of customisation possibilities to enhance the performance and the look of your machines, across a variety of colours, rims, body kits and vinyls.
• 12 unique vehicles at launch, and more to come in future free updates.
• A full-featured Career Mode and three different race types in Arcade Mode (Regular / Time Attack / Knockout Races).
• Over 100 different racing competitions across 6 Grand Prix Series - all in stunning, high definition locations.

 
Published by NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Ridge Racer Slipstream is now available for free on Google Play. You can unlock the full game through in-app purchases.

For more information about Ridge Racer Slipstream, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/ridgeracerslipstream
http://www.youtube.com/ridgeracerslipstream
https://twitter.com/RR_Slipstream

The basic bundle, which costs a minimum of $1, comprises Dead Reefs, Safecracker, Aura 1 and Mystery Series: A Vampire Tale. Those prepared to spend a minimum of $6 will get Dark Fall 1 and 2, The Book of Unwritten Tales Deluxe, The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles Deluxe and Jack Keane 2 – The Fire Within, – all from Nordic Games. These are joined by Deponia and Edna & Harvey: The Breakout from Daedalic Entertainment.

Finally, for a minimum spend of $15 gamers will also receive The Raven Deluxe. The Adventure Company & Friends Humble Bundle will provide gamers savings of up to $164.

“We’re delighted to offer our second Humble Bundle and teaming up with no other than the great gals and guys from Daedalic,” said Thomas Reisinger, Key Account Manager Online Sales, Nordic Games. “There’s 12 fantastic titles competitively priced, including two from Daedalic. If you are into adventure games and charity, this is heaven on earth.”

“It’s great to be part of this adventure-party. This is a great opportunity for gamers to grab two of our classics, Deponia and Edna and Harvey: The Breakout, for a bargain price, plus doing it for a good cause,” said Tom Kersten, International & Digital Sales Manager at Daedalic Entertainment.
 
"Nordic Games and Daedalic Entertainment have great games.” said John Graham, Co-Founder and COO of Humble Bundle. “So we’re excited to be promoting them in The Adventure Company & Friends Weekly Sale.”

Gamers can also choose how their purchase is divided and contribute to one of two worthwhile charities. The choices are: Nordic Games, Child’s Play Charity and/or Electronic Frontier Foundation.

For more information on The Adventure Company & Friends’ Humble Bundle please visit:https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly

Independent French developer Hanakai Studio is proud to announce the return of world-renowned figurine modeller Jean Bey (Rackham, Confrontation) to the gaming world, with a completely new story to tell.

Prodigy combines the world of high-quality figurines with video games, and its extraordinary universe and design are just the start. Prodigy provides a new tactical RPG experience, allowing players to interact with the genre in a new and interesting way.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman™: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Deluxe Edition for the PlayStation®3 system, Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii U™ system and PC.  Developed by Armature Studio, the same team behind Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for handheld, the game delivers the same dynamic story and gameplay, now in high-definition. Fans will be able to purchase the game from 2nd April on the PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE® Marketplace, Nintendo eShop and Steam for £15.99. 

Activision is proud to announce the release of brand new customisation options for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Players can choose between four weapon Personalisation Packs, play as one of the Ghosts courtesy of the Special Characters pack or take to the stage as one of the most legendary Call of Duty heroes of all time with the Capt. Price Special Character and themed Personalisation Pack.

Details of each pack as follows:

·         Personalisation Packs: Fight in style with the Ducky, Space Cats, Inferno and Circuit Personalisation Packs. 

·         Special Characters: Intimidate your enemies as one of the Ghosts. Choose from Keegan, Merrick, Hesh and Elias.

·         Captain Price Legend Pack: Become one of the most legendary Call of Duty heroes of all time with the Capt. Price Special Character and themed Personalisation Pack.

·         Extra Slots Pack: Increase the number of Create-a-Soldier load out slots from 6 to 10 for each character.