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In the press today…
CLOUD PIRATES TAKES FLIGHT ON PC TODAY WITH FULL FREE-TO-PLAY RELEASE
The Allods Team and global publisher My.com proudly announce that their aerial action MMO Cloud Pirates launches today on PCs with its full free-to-play experience. With an impressive assortment of customizable airships, players can now navigate the clouds and take part in exciting aerial battles for free by accessing the title on Steam or the My.com website. Additionally, Cloud Pirates launches alongside with the “Stronghold” update providing new content and modes for players to enjoy.
The “Stronghold” update brings some exciting new additions to the Cloud Pirates universe including three-man teams, new ratings, Brotherhood Strongholds and Stronghold Siege mode! Also, Captains will now have the opportunity to modify their ship configuration prior or even during battle and to use powerful consumables!
For more information on the Stronghold update please visit: https://pirates.my.com/en/news/announcements/coming-soon-update-13-stronghold
New in the “Stronghold” update:
- Three Party Groups and Personal Ratings – Now you and two of your friends can take to the skies and hunt together! Also, players will have the option to compare their performance with each ship with that of other Captains! Leaderboards with the names and ratings of the best Captains will be posted on a dedicated portal page for all to see!
- League System – Stronghold rolls out an all-new league system where Captains can compete to advance through each of the game’s six tiered leagues. Replacing the previous Captain ratings, ranking will be tied to individual ships providing a more refined matchmaking system to ensure equally skilled opponents for each Captain and ship.
- Brotherhood Strongholds – Captains who have chosen to ally themselves with one Brotherhood or another. They will now get the opportunity to spend the Meteoric Ore obtained in the past in Convoy Mode on creating their very own Brotherhood Strongholds!
- Stronghold Siege – Available to all Captains, this mode takes place on a special Stronghold map during specific times. The new mode tasks players with protecting their own Stronghold or attacking the enemy’s. The attackers will be able to damage the enemy Stronghold by capturing points and destroying defensive structures with the ultimate goal of assaulting the heart of the enemy base. While the defenders must stop them at all costs! The winners will be rewarded with a new type of currency, allowing them to purchase special customization options – golden cannons.
- Combat Customization – Captains with Tier 2 ships or higher will have the option to change their ships’ weapon and gear configuration after the start of a battle! This will allow experienced Captains to better face their enemies and to adjust their ship load-out for the ultimate performance! Captains will be able to create several pre-sets before the battle and will be able to switch between these pre-sets during the battle start countdown and after dying when waiting for the respawn at a cost.
- Consumables – Rank 4 Captains of Tier 2 ships or higher will have the option to use one-time consumables, acquired in the Hangar via the Equipment screen. These consumables will activate automatically and will come in three categories – Offensive (providing an additional ability), Defensive (passive bonus), Special (passive bonus). The consumables available will be unique to each ship and their price will depend on the ship’s Tier.
Slash and Blast Your Way Through an Urban Battlefield – MechRunner Out on PS4 Today
Spark Plug Games, an independent developer based out of Cary, NC, is proud to announce that their latest title, MechRunner, is now available for the PlayStation 4. The game, previously released on PC, drops players into the cockpit of a heavily armed ‘mech as it races through urban battlegrounds in both tank and ‘mech modes. Each mode features powerful abilities, from a devastating melee weapons in mech mode, to swarm rockets and heavy cannons in battletank mode. Master each mode, as you’ll need them both to get through the unstoppable arcade-action of MechRunner.
MechRunner is a high-octane endless action game that casts you as a powerful mode-changing mech. Blast your way through decimated urban landscapes at incredible speeds while switching between robot and tank modes to rain punishment on endless waves of mechanical foes. MechRunner features exciting, non-stop action, stunning 3D visuals and a Hollywood-style soundtrack.
Review keys are available upon request.
Features of Mechrunner include:
- Switch between mech and tank modes on-the-fly
- Slice & dice enemy units with your sword
- Rescue civilians for extra points and awards
- Access an extensive arsenal of weapons, customizations, and power-ups
- Unique environments that blend seamlessly together
- Numerous enemy types each with different tactics (and weaknesses)
- Epic boss battles
- A dynamically shifting environment offers unexpected obstacles, cover and danger
- Unlockable skins, upgrades, and achievements
The game’s official webpage is at www.mechrunner.com .
AKIBA’S BEAT RELEASING ON PS4 AND PSVITA MAY 19th
Take a look at the at the recreation of Akihabara and the troubles brewing in AKIBA’S BEAT, the brand-new action RPG coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Europe on May 19, 2017!
Akihabara, perhaps the most famous district of Tokyo, is a place where technology and culture collide and create wondrous new experiences for residents and tourists alike. AKIBA’S BEAT developer, ACQUIRE, are situated right in the heart of Akihabara and have gone to great pains to recreate the world-famous district of Tokyo.
Every shop and sight in Akiba is represented and everyone who has been there will be able to walk the streets of Electric Town and recognize where they are, while those who have not yet been can familiarize themselves with the geek and gaming mecca quite intimately.
Akihabara has changed many times over the years: after World War II, it served as a post-war black market before it transformed into the musical centre of Tokyo. It then became the famous Electric Town before it turned into the gaming heart of Tokyo, the arcade mecca that we’re all familiar with. It’s arguable that Akihabara has changed again, becoming more focused on geek culture, the internet and memes than strictly videogames.
People are drawn to different incarnations of Akiba, with different ideas of what Akihabara is and should be. And recently, within this ever-changing Tokyo town, people’s desires, dreams and dismays have begun to manifest themselves in reality as delusions, with a mysterious man in an ostentatious hat surveying the changes from afar. No one but a select few chosen ones are even able to tell that anything is amiss, and it is up to them to do something about it!
Asahi Tachibana is a self-professed NEET who dropped out of school and spends most of his time playing games, watching anime and reading manga. He considers himself a career NEET and is quite proud of the fact that he doesn’t do anything but lounge around all day.
Asahi finds himself trapped in a time loop as he realizes that Sunday keeps repeating itself, and strange things start appearing in Akihabara.
As a chosen one it is up to Asahi to shed his NEET lifestyle and put in maximum effort in order to unite the other chosen ones and save his hometown!
Check out the gameplay trailer here:
https://youtu.be/O7oncYCcuNE
Tomb Runner jumps, dashes and slides its way on to Instant Games from Facebook
Spil Games announces Tomb Runner, a 3D adventure game for Instant Games from Facebook. Tomb Runner is Instant Games’ first endless runner game. The game was developed in HTML5 for the Messenger platform at the request of Facebook. It breaks new ground by bringing stunning 3D graphics to Instant Games. “Instant Games is off to a powerful start,” says Tung Nguyen-Khac, CEO of Spil Games. “People have really embraced the idea of sharing game play, particularly in the Messenger environment. We’re delighted to bring Tomb Runner to the platform as we believe it will very much broaden people’s Instant Games experience.”
Instant Games was launched in November 2016 and Spil Games was in at the start, immediately seeing the potential of messenger gaming. Its Endless Lake was one of 17 launch titles and has consistently been at the top of the most played games on Instant Games ever since. Facebook chose it as the best on the new platform in its 2016 awards. “Instant Games is the next big platform,” continues Tung. “Gaming is massively engaging while Facebook has enormous reach and a loyal audience of gamers. When Instant Games enables monetization, these strengths will combine and the potential for big brand advertising will be huge.”
Although Tomb Runner has been especially adapted for Instant Games it is already a massively successful game on the web with more than 30m game plays. This track record gives Spil Games confidence that it will be another major hit on Facebook’s gaming platform.
However, picking games with pedigree is only part of the strategy. Tomb Runner is eminently suited to Instant Games because:
- Gamers can get the hang of it quickly but will find it hugely engaging, so they’ll keep coming back.
- It is ideal for playing in groups and sharing in the social environment.
- It is easy to put down, pick up and play where you left off.
- The 3D graphics pushes Instant Games up a level in terms of gaming experience.
Facebook announced enhancements to Instant Games at its F8 developer conference yesterday. “We’re very excited about the new rich game features and the bots,” says Tung. “These will have a powerful impact on engagement and retention and we intend to apply them to Endless Lake and Tomb Runner over the next few weeks.”
Dead Cells set to hit Steam Early Access on May 10, 2017
Death is the new backtracking! The upcoming RogueVania game Dead Cells from the developers at Motion Twin will be available via Steam Early Access on May 10, 2017.
RogueVania: The threat of permadeath, balanced with a generous system of progression, the exhilaration of discovering new hidden areas, alternate paths to progress through the castle and a pinch of procedural generation to keep you on your toes.
Our main character is a green mass of sentient cells stranded on an ever changing island. The player must take over a discarded corpse and explore the prison, where survival is a precarious and ephemeral state. Death, however, is only the beginning in this alchemy afflicted world… just one more opportunity to unlock new powers, discover outlandish areas and plunder hidden secrets.
Watch the Launch Date Trailer:
https://youtu.be/KV6fBYuuPMg
Features include:
- Souls-like combat: Gameplay changing weapons, invincibility frames when rolling, pattern based bosses and monsters and of course, punishing difficulty.
- : Unlock new levels, secrets and abilities as you learn the world.
- : Permanent upgrades will allow you to go a little further with every run.
- : More than 10 levels, 50 weapons, spells and traps, plus tons of replayability.
- More to come: This is about 30-40% of the content expected in the final version.
“We’re a cooperative with no boss that’s been making F2P games for 15 years. It got to the point where we had to ask ourselves why we were doing it. After that there was no choice but to make something for us,” said Motion Twin’s lead designer Sébastien Benard. “We’re taking two genres we all love, adding our little twist and aiming for the best rogue-lite/metroidvania you’ve ever played. So far the feedback has been really positive, so we’re really really excited to see people playing!”
Dead Cells launches on Steam Early Access on May 10, 2017 for Windows PC. Mac and Linux releases are planned for full launch at a later time.
Last Regiment, a new strategy game from the creators of Legends of Callasia
After exclusive previews through Discord and during PAX East, Southeast Asian game studio Boomzap Entertainment officially announces the title for their new project!
Last Regiment is a fantasy-themed strategy game with single-player campaigns and simultaneous turn-based multiplayer currently being developed on PC, and later on Mac and mobile. It takes the best parts of Boomzap’s award-winning strategy game Legends of Callasia, makes a bunch of neat changes for a faster, deeper, and more strategic game, and allows player to design their own levels through its built-in map editor.
The game is still in its alpha stage, but they are opening its development progress and livestreaming it on Twitch. The weekly dev stream by Boomzap’s Creative Director Christopher Natsuume starts on April 19 10PM EST at twitch.tv/ninesquirrels!
A close-up portrait of the Last Regiment’s lead character, Olivia, was also revealed. Natsuume shares, “This character is obviously based on Olivia from Legends of Callasia. We thought she was such an awesome character there, that we wanted her lead in our new game.” The name was originally taken from Natsuume’s niece, who joined their family during the development of Legends of Callasia, and is now celebrating her 3rd birthday.
That’s all for news today!
~Ciao!