ACTIVISION’S MOBILE SLATE GIVES FANS MORE WAYS TO BRING TOYS TO LIFE THIS SUMMER
Skylanders Battlegrounds™ Unlocks The Franchise’s Trademark Physical-Digital Play
Skylanders Lost Islands™ Introduces Character/Resource Management to the Franchise
Skylanders Cloud Patrol™ Continues To Soar With New Updates And Innovations
Sydney, December 4, 2012 – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., [Nasdaq: ATVI] announced the addition of two new mobile titles – Skylanders Lost Islands available now for download exclusively on the iTunes App Store and Skylanders Battlegrounds now available as a physical starter pack at Target stores nationwide, and will be available digitally as a standalone iOS App today.
Skylanders Battlegrounds notches another first for the franchise by bringing its signature blend of physical and virtual play from the console experience to mobile devices. The Skylanders Battlegrounds Starter Pack includes a special wireless Bluetooth Portal of Power® that brings your figures to life on iOS, and three characters: Jet Vac, Series 2 Cynder and Double Trouble, and a Platinum Treasure Chest stocked with digital items for use in Skylanders Battlegrounds.
Skylanders Battlegrounds features:
- An entirely new Action RPG experience designed from the ground up for mobile devices, featuring innovative team-up gameplay in which the player controls two Skylanders at the same time.
- Episodic content, starting with twenty levels and two mega bosses upon initial release. Additional levels and bosses will be delivered through app updates for free.
- Gamers who purchase the Skylanders Battlegrounds Starter Pack get to use the included platinum treasure chest that automatically unlocks loads of in-game loot including a coin and XP multiplier, health potions, bombs, and much more.
The complete Skylanders Battlegrounds Starter Pack is available at retail for $59.95, and includes a redemption code to download the game from the iTunes App Store. The standalone app is available in the iTunes App Store on iOS devices directly for $7.49; no peripherals or figures are required to play. However, the Bluetooth Portal of Power included in the Skylanders Battlegrounds Starter Pack will work with all of the available digital apps, letting players use their favourite Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure® and Skylanders Giants figures with Skylanders Battlegrounds, as well as Skylanders Lost Islands and the updated Skylanders Cloud Patrol.
Skylanders Lost Islands, an innovative character and resource management game, gives Portal Masters a chance to rebuild and customise their own slice of the Skylands. Players can play with their Skylanders by sending them off on quests and adventures, using them to ward off evil trolls, and chase away pesky sheep all while helping the peaceful Mabu rebuild their homeland in the sky.
Meanwhile, Skylanders Cloud Patrol continues to build momentum as a top casual title on iOS, with a massive new update that introduces an all-new social multiplayer Daily Showdowns mode. Challenge your friends to a Showdown, send them taunts via push notifications and beat them to earn in-game currency. Don’t worry if you lose, every day there’s a new Showdown. This is all possible with the debut of ACTIVATE – Activision’s new mobile gaming platform that delivers extended online features and services to mobile gamers, including cloud storage of user’s toy collection and save games across iOS devices. And even bigger enhancements are on tap for the game. Later this year, the Skylanders Giants characters will be joining the Skylanders Cloud Patrol.
For more information about Skylanders Battlegrounds, Skylanders Lost Islands¸ or Skylanders Cloud Patrol please visit http://www.skylanders.com/mobilegames.
Skylanders Battlegrounds, Skylanders Lost Islands and Skylanders Cloud Patrol are developed by Vicarious Visions Mobile, Activision’s mobile games powerhouse based in Albany, New York.
3DMark Fire Strike trailer – DirectX 11 – 2560×1440 resolution
With the current console generation set to drag on for another year, 2013 could be a year to test gamers’ patience. PC gamers, in particular, must be wondering when games will start taking advantage of all the power in their hardware.
We have a new 3DMark trailer for you today that should give them reason to hope. 3DMark Fire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark test designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what you can find in games today.
Some of the techniques used include tessellation, dynamic particle illumination and shadowing, smoke simulation using grid-based fluid dynamics, volume ray casting with shadows and a wide variety of post processing effects including depth of field, blooms, distortions and various lens effects.
Star Trek Into Darkess Poster
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.
With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Visit the official Facebook page facebook.com/StarTrekAU
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary and predictions for 2013
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary
By Chris Tyler for Impulse Gamer
So have we all recovered from the disappointment that was season 7? I barely have. To think that it’s been 7 years since Doctor who returned to our screens and…well….it’s come to this. In every season of the new series there have been disappointments but with them there have been some brilliant episodes as well. Never has there been a series devoid of greatness till this one. This whole season was “meh”.
It genuinely seems like the writes are saying to us “Wait till next year, we are saving all the money and ideas for then!”.
Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the television show that I love more than any other. I know the wheels are in motion and it should be a hell of a celebration but I just hope that Stephen Moffat doesn’t screw it up.
How many television programs can say that they have had a 50th anniversary and the program has still been on the air? Well ok…Blue Peter..but that’s practically Doctor Who anyway.
Er…and the Mexican cooking show. Hasta La Cocina …..what really? How many different ways are there to cook a Taco? No that’s not fair of course Mexico has as rich a culinary culture as any nation on earth and…started in 1958? REALLY?
And of course the Japanese historical drama Zenigata Heiji which as it’s been running since 1952 seems to be determined to relive the history in real time.
But the question on whovians lips everywhere is what will next year be like?
Here are my predictions.
Budget: Since the start of Matt Smiths tenure one of the less publicized things about Dr Who is that Moffat has had to do it all on a lower budget than Russell T Davis did. I think that for its 50th anniversary year the Beeb could easily kick some money back into the program that’s starting to look a little less ambitious than it did a few years ago.
Fan service: Steven Moffat has promised us fan service, which means giving the fans what they want to see although I doubt this means a live broadcast where they erase the master tapes of Time Flight. No what I think this means is that we get Daleks, Cybermen, the Master all the old favorites. Possibly a moving tribute to Sarah Jane that we seem to have missed in the last year even though the Brigadier has had several nods. And of course the most traditional, tradition…..multiple doctors.
Doctors: I feel confident that there will be Cybermen because it’s been confirmed that they will appear in Neil Gaimen’s episode. And I feel confident that there will be multiple Doctors because Moffat is not an idiot. But how many? Well at least one. And if there is only going to be one it’s going to be David Tennant. No question. Any others? Ok at a stretch….Christopher Eccletstone. What there won’t be is a Tom Baker (although I still think they should implement his suggestion to get him to play the Master) No Colin Baker, No Sylvester McCoy, I could see Peter Davidson come onboard but only because he’s done it before. What about Paul Mcgann? Well he’d be a maybe….for someone who only did one episode he has a fairly popular doctor and the way that he’s managed to resist ageing in the last 17 years is impressive.
Cybermen: Speaking of Cybermen I think that Gaimen might just throw us a bone on that one and we might be dealing with Mondasian Cybermen instead of the Cybus industries Cybermen that we’ve had to make do with for the last 7 years. And as I09 broke a few days ago the cyber men that will be seen in that episode have been redesigned.
And that’s about it, anything else would fall into the category of “wild speculation” and whilst fun I’m not Sylvester McCoy.
Kalypso and AFA Interactive gang up to bring their 1920’s mobster title to Australia
Kalypso Media is pleased to announce that their highly anticipated criminal empire building game, Omerta – City of Gangsters, will be coming to Australia for Windows PC and Microsoft Xbox 360® formats in February 2013. The game is currently in development by Haemimont Games, creators of classic strategy titles including the most recent Tropico titles, Tropico 3, Tropico 4 and Tropico 4: Modern Times.
Omerta – City of Gangsters for both Xbox 360 and Windows PC will place players in 1920’s Atlantic City, where they’ll spend their time building a criminal empire in an attempt to dominate the city. Players will construct, buy or take over buildings to turn them into speakeasies, distilleries, illegal boxing rings and much more, as they work to generate income. With dirty money come dirty jobs – and the game switches to a turn-based tactical RPG during blazing gunfights and elaborately planned and executed heists. Unique playable and non-playable characters will perform jobs for you, including spying on, fighting with and even fire-bombing the buildings of enemy gangs.
The game is scheduled for release on 14th February 2013. The Xbox 360 version will retail at $69.95 and the Windows PC version will be priced at $49.95.
Tomb Raider: Final Hours Video Ep. 3
SYDNEY 3rd December – SQUARE ENIX and Crystal Dynamics today announced that Jason Graves, an award winning composer with an outstanding pedigree across film, television and gaming is penning the original score for TOMB RAIDER.
Graves’ involvement is revealed in the third episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider. In The Sound of Survival, host Zachary Levi escorts viewers to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) London headquarters, and speaks to Graves about his role in the reboot of the iconic Tomb Raider franchise (BAFTA has previously recognized Graves’ work for Original Score and Use of Audio in Dead Space 2).
The composer reveals his vision for the game’s soundscape and speaks about infusing atmosphere, emotion and authenticity into Lara’s origins story through his musical score – and illustrates his search to find the perfect sound for the game, through his collaboration with sculptor, Matt McConnel who created a bespoke and wholly original instrument to aid Graves in bringing his unique sound to Tomb Raider.
In keeping with the tradition of Geoff Keighley’s signature THE FINAL HOURS series, viewers can gain a deeper, behind-the-scenes look at what Graves has to say by checking out this episode: http://youtu.be/zadNXgwqNnI.
For more information on Tomb Raider: http://www.tombraider.com/
New Daunting Screenshots for The Last Crown Released
Haarlem, The Netherlands – 30 November 2012 – Developer Darkling Room in conjunction with its publisher Iceberg Interactive reveal a set of new screenshots for their upcoming ghost-hunting adventure game The Last Crown – Haunting of Hallowed Isle (PC). The Last Crown is the 2nd instalment in a trilogy and the sequel to the acclaimed first part released in 2008: The Lost Crown. To keep horror adventure fans aware of the game’s steady progress, creator Jonathan Boakes has now made a new screenshot pack available that includes 11 brand new screenshots plus a brief description of what in-game scene they depict.
About The Last Crown
Set vividly on England’s windswept coast, the game is shot and filmed on location, in the author’s home county of Cornwall. Presented in crisp black and white, with vivid splashes of colour, the ‘Crown’ games explore British myths, folklore and ghost stories, providing a classic supernatural experience. The game is currently in production and set for a 2013 global release.
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For more information also visit: www.thelastcrown.co.uk
An all new trailer for New Super Mario Bros. U!
With New Super Mario Bros. U hitting the shelves in Australia and New Zealand today, Nintendo has released an all new trailer for New Super Mario Bros. U!
Darksiders II Released Today on Wii U in Australia and New Zealand.
THQ is pleased to announce that Darksiders II, developed by Vigil Games, has today been released on the Wii U in Australia and New Zealand.
Darksiders II follows the exploits of DEATH, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, in a weaving tale that runs parallel to the events in the original Darksiders game. This epic journey propels DEATH through various light and dark realms as he tries to redeem his brother WAR, the horseman who was blamed for prematurely starting the Apocalypse in Darksiders.
The Wii U version of Darksiders II includes a selection of Bonus Content not included on the disc for the other formats. This includes:
- Argul’s Tomb – The game’s first downloadable content pack featuring a unique area, three new dungeons and new weapons and armor to collect.
- Death Rides Pack – Three new side-quests for the Darksiders II campaign.
- Angel of Death & Shadow of Death packs – New legendary armor and weapon choices for the player early in the game.
- Deadly Despair Pack – Upgraded horse speed boost.
- Additional unique legendary weapon and armor sets for the player to use from the start of the game.
Darksiders II, currently one of the highest rated games for the Wii U on Metacritic, is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by All Interactive Entertainment.
For more information on Darksiders II please visit http://www.darksiders.com/.