From the release:
THE “BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME AT E3” IS NOW EVEN BETTER
Finnish game developer Frozenbyte and French publisher Nobilis Publishing are proud to announce the release of a patch for Trine on the PlayStation Network.
We received great feedback from the players and we listened. We are now thrilled to be able to offer them an even better experience playing Trine.
Enjoy the new background image, the all new custom graphics Trophies and many more improvements and optimizations to the game (including Finnish localization).
Trine™ is a fantasy action / platform game where the player can create and use physics-based objects to beat hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies. Three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil and the player can at any time freely choose whoever is best suited for the upcoming challenge or puzzle.
DOWNLOAD THE PATCH THIS FRIDAY ON THE EUROPEAN PLAYSTATION NETWORK
From the press release:
Steam users, rejoice! No more waiting for Torchlight: Runic Games Inc, developer of the-Action RPG Torchlight, is thrilled to announce their new agreement with Steam, allowing players to download Torchlight on the first day it’s available, October 27th. (more…)
From the press release:
FALLEN EARTH, LLC announced the commercial launch of its self-titled massively multiplayer online (MMO) game today. The game is scheduled to reach retailers nationwide by September 30. Additionally, fans can download Fallen Earth digitally from Direct2Drive, Steam and the Fallen Earth store for instant access to live service today. (more…)
From the press release:
SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 16, 2009 – ngmoco, leading developer and publisher for iPhone games, has added MySpace executive Jason Oberfest to its executive team to lead its expansion into the social web. Following his role at MySpace as the Senior Vice President of Business Development and General Manager for the social network’s open platform, Oberfest will bring his extensive knowledge of social applications and new media to ngmoco’s swiftly expanding network of games. (more…)
The fourth update for Flight Control is now available in the App Store. It features a new “Outback” map with special guest appearance from Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service, multiplayer over local WiFi network (as well as the existing OS3.0 peer to peer multiplayer), and the ability to play music from your iPod library while playing. (more…)
From the official press release:
Official Web site features new content, expansive game guide, special features and exclusive written content
Nexon America launched today its new Web site for the upcoming action-adventure title, Dungeon Fighter Online. Players can go to http://dungeonfighter.nexon.net and experience new content to help prepare for the upcoming early access beta for Dungeon Fighter Online, which begins on Sept. 15. (more…)
From the press release:
Durham, USA – September 1st, 2009 – Funcom is pleased to announce the establishment of a new development studio in Montréal, Canada, where it will build a strong and competent development team that will work on several games in the Funcom portfolio. Besides tapping into the excellent talent pool available in the region, Funcom will also move a certain number of key personnel over to the new studio.
“Montréal has established itself as one of the world’s most important locations for video game production, and we are looking forward to taking part in that success,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “In addition to strengthening our North American presence, the new studio will take advantage of the great incentive programs offered by the Québec region, incentives that makes Montréal one of the most cost effective locations in the world for developing MMO games. This will in turn allow us to better balance our costs, making it possible for us to continue to expand our investments into the MMO segment.”
Funcom is one of the most multi-cultural game developers in the business, with over 320 employees from all corners of the world employed at the company’s offices in Norway, the US, China, and Switzerland. The company is responsible for the best-selling MMO `Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ that shipped over 1.2 million copies to retail in 2008, as well as the pioneering sci-fi MMO `Anarchy Online’. The company has developed more than 20 titles since its founding in 1993; including the critically acclaimed `The Longest Journey’ and `Dreamfall’ adventure games. Funcom is currently working on the expansion pack for `Age of Conan’ called `Rise of the Godslayer’ as well as its new MMO `The Secret World’. Developers at the Montréal studio will play an important role in the development of both of these games.
“It has been a pleasure for us to work with Investissement Québec in setting up our Montréal studio and we are very thankful for the strong support they have given us throughout this process,” says Ole Schreiner, CEO of Funcom’s new Montréal studio. “We are excited about the opportunity that Montréal represents to our company, not only because of the great incentives offered by Québec, but also the authorities’ strong commitment to training qualified video games personnel and building a video games cluster in Montreal and Quebec.”
From the press release:
TWISTED PIXEL CTO INITIATES SPLODEJEMENT DAY
Title Update and Leaderboard Wipe Coming to Splosion ManAUSTIN, TX – August 31, 2009 – Frank Wilson, CTO of Twisted Pixel Games, learned today of an exploit that enabled cheaters to post impossibly good scores in his latest Xbox LIVE® Arcade game Splosion Man. With cold precision, he initiated a response: Splodejement Day.
On Tuesday, September 1st, at approximately 2 a.m. PDT, a title update will be released to permanently seal the exploit, and select scores will be wiped from the leaderboards, so that only legitimate scores remain. This purge will be in time for the “Speedy Splode” trophy contest, where the player with the best time in the single-player level 3-8 during the week of September 6th to 12th will win a unique Splosion Man statue and an autographed poster by the developers.
When asked, Mr. Wilson had this to say about his custom-built leaderboard-clearing application, which he affectionately calls Splodenet: “It goes on-line August 31st, 2009. Human decisions are removed from leaderboard defense. Splodenet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Pacific Time, September 1st. There is no score but what we earn for ourselves.”
Twisted Pixel also stated that this title update will not add avatar accessory awardable support to Splosion Man, as the timing of that release is up to Microsoft.
For those of you headed to PAX, here’s a fun way to win some serious goodies:
Poker fans that are planning on attending PAX should register for the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Texas Hold ‘em Tournament, taking place at booth #141 on Saturday at Noon. Everyone selected to participate in the contest will receive a Zune Digital Media Player. The Grand Prize winner will receive an Xbox 360, a Zune, and other swag like a t-shirt, soccer jersey and assorted Xbox 360 games.
To enter, just note that you are “attending” on the tournament’s Facebook page by August 31, 2009. A total of 18 players will be randomly selected from those who are marked as “attending” and will be notified on September 2nd through Facebook. If you are selected, you will be invited to participate in a series of round robin style challenges playing “Hoyle Texas Hold’Em” on the Xbox 360 console. Each entrant will have the opportunity to play a series of rounds (minimum of one round) with the top six finalists playing in a final round for the grand prize.
As part of the tournament, Microsoft will donate to Child’s Play, a charity dedicated to improving children’s lives by providing toys and games to a network of over 60 hospitals.
You can view the contest’s official rules here.
Gamescom has dished the accolades and Uncharted 2 emerges as the console victor from the event’s juried selection of the industry’s best. Also in the ribbons are Legend of Zelda: Spirit tracks for best handheld game, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for best family game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 nabbed best PC game and AIon won in the PC category. StarCraft 2 was awarded best of the Gamescom 2009 citing, “Certainly the game with the perfect balance of the game from graphics, sound, gameplay, fun and progress.”
(As reported by German site Videogames Zone)
The schedule for this year’s PAX has been posted! Looks like I’ll be keeping plenty busy that weekend. What panels interest you most?
As reported by Touch Arcade, Mad Monkey Studios has announced they will develop games exclusively on the 3GS. They released a video alongside the proclamation (possibly of their first title?) that shows the benefits of the 3GS hardware.
I try to empathize with developers, from websites to games, that truly want to deliver the best experience and are often held back by the patent need to write for outdated versions of system/browser/device/etc.
However…I have a 3G, and it’s only what, a year old? Browsers can be updated often and for free, systems can be updated cheaply (and infrequently), but a device? Well, I game more on my iPhone than I do my DS, and I would consider developers defecting a real shame.
Now, it’s pretty apparent that the iPhone does differ from other gaming handhelds simply because new versions of the hardware can be and are being released at faster intervals. Additionally, unlike other handhelds (and bear with me while I enter painfully obvious territory), the iPhone’s core purpose is not gaming.
As a gamer, however, I want developers to use the best stuff available to them to deliver the best gaming experience possible. Of course, I never thought when purchasing this emerging gaming tech it would be rendered obsolete in so short a time frame. Yes, I’m exaggerating, only one studio has gone 3GS exclusive, but I’m sure more will follow. I even think that maybe they should. I kind of just don’t want them too..
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the NewsBoiler Network, home to N4G, TechSpy, AnimeShinbun, FilmWatch and 11×2. I also write for network editorial site, ZTGD.