Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Announces LEGO(r) Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for Wii U
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games are excited to announce that LEGO® Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes, one of 2012’s best received family games, will soon be making its way onto the Wii U™ system from Nintendo this Autumn 2013. Releasing to critical acclaim in June 2012, NBC News hailed it as “the best LEGO game yet,” while IGN called the story “…entertaining from start to finish.” Since its winter 2012 debut, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes has sold more than 3.4 million units worldwide to date.
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will take advantage of the innovative Wii U™ GamePad controller. Players will navigate through Gotham City using an enhanced interactive map and select their favorite DC Comics characters to assemble a powerful team of heroes, all with the use of the controller’s touchscreen. They can even enjoy the entire game experience on the GamePad in off-TV mode, or have a second player join in on the TV, so they can fight crime together without having to share a single screen.
The award-winning LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes gives players the chance to step into the shoes of the Caped Crusader and fully explore a LEGO version of Gotham City. Once again under threat from the Joker, Batman must defend Gotham with the help of powerful friends like Superman and Robin, to put a stop to the diabolical plans of his nemesis and his entire team of super villains including Lex Luthor, The Penguin and Harley Quinn. Encounter all of the Dark Knight’s iconic allies and enemies in a charming, hilarious, family-friendly adventure full of exciting gameplay.
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is also available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ system, and Windows PC, as well as the Nintendo DS™ handheld system, Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system, and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system.
TAKE OFF AND EXPAND YOUR NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EXPERIENCE WITH THREE GAME-CHANGING DLC PACKS LAUNCHING TODAY
Fairhaven City will never be the same again. Today, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted, winner of more than 30 industry awards, released three unique downloadable content (DLC) packs that introduces a brand new Airport world expansion, legendary classics from favorite action movies, and heroic rides from Need for Speed franchise history. Watch more friends become foes as players out-drift each other around planes, smash through each other’s faces on billboards like a Hollywood hero, or beat each other to the finish line with the speed and power of classic Need for Speed vehicles.
The following DLC packs launched on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and PlayStation®Network today and will be available on Origin March 14:
• Need for Speed Most Wanted Terminal Velocity – Need for Speed Most Wanted Terminal Velocity introduces players to Hughes International Airport, an expansive new location in Fairhaven City that gives players more opportunities to race, jump and drift their way to becoming the Most Wanted racer. Take on new single player modes with heightened levels of maneuverability in some of the world’s most coveted new rides including the Porsche 918 Spyder 2013, BMW 1 Series M Coupe 2012, Audi RS3 2012, Ford Fiesta ST 2012 and Alfa Romeo Mito QV 2012. The cars have been hand-picked for their tight controls, enabling them to bust through airport gates, while also being quick and light enough with the new Jump Nitrous mod to jump through and over everything else. Need for Speed Most Wanted Terminal Velocity is also packed with 136 new multiplayer milestones, 10 new multiplayer speedlists, 40 new billboards, 8 new achievements and more. Need for Speed Terminal Velocity will be available for 1200 MS points.
• Need for Speed Movie Legends – Always wanted to drive like your favorite action movie star? Now you can! Need for Speed Movie Legends features five of the world’s most iconic cars to have graced the silver screen. Gamers can take out rivals with debonair style in the luxurious Aston Martin DBS 2008 and Aston Martin DB5. Those who want to make like bandits and elude the police can get behind the wheel of the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am Special Edition 1977. Players can also harness the power and aggression of a Dodge Charger R/T 1970 for fast races and furious chases. Finally, for racers who want to know what it feels like to disappear in the blink of an eye, comes an all new Need for Speed Most Wanted car: the Shelby GT500 1967. Need for Speed Movie Legends also comes with 8 new single player sprint events, 136 new multiplayer milestones, 50 new license plates and more. Need for Speed Movie Legends will be available for 800 MS Points.
• Need For Speed Heroes – Take a trip down memory lane in five famous cars from Need for Speed history: the raucous Lamborghini Diablo SV from Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit, the terrifyingly powerful Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) from Need for Speed Underground, the ‘drift-a-licious’ Nissan 350Z from Need for Speed Underground 2, the ferocious Porsche 911 GT2 from Need for Speed Undercover and the ultimate Most Wanted car, the BMW M3 GTR from the 2005 Need for Speed Most Wanted. Players can test the limits of these Need for Speed throwbacks in 8 new high intensity Races and Speed Runs. Need for Speed Heroes also comes with 25 new liveries, 136 new multiplayer milestones and more. Need for Speed Heroes will be available for 800 MS Points.
• Deluxe DLC Bundle – Get all three packs in one! Players will have full access to all the content from Need for Speed Terminal Velocity, Need for Speed Movie Legends and Need for Speed Heroes with this DLC. Need for Speed Deluxe DLC Bundle will be available for 2000 MS Points.
For more information on Need for Speed Most Wanted, visit http://www.needforspeed.com/en_AU/most-wanted. For more information on Need for Speed, visit http://www.needforspeed.com/en_AU or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/needforspeed and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/needforspeed.
Injustice Battle Arena Week 4 Challengers Announced, Sinestro Revealed As Playable Character
Today, in the final week of February, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment reveal the fourth week of matchups in this week’s Injustice Battle Arena, kicking off the final round of the preliminary tournament matches.
This week’s challengers include none other than the Man of Steel himself, Superman, who will need to call upon all of his Kryptonian strength as he faces the master of fear and leader of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro. Rounding out this week’s matchups, the always vigilant archer, Green Arrow, faces off against the immortal and acrobatic Hawkgirl.
NGV | Monet’s Garden: The Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
On May 10, the National Gallery of Victoria will open this year’s highly anticipated Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, Monet’s Garden: The Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris.
Exclusive to the Melbourne, this stunning exhibition will feature more than sixty works devoted to Claude Monet’s iconic garden at Giverny.
Monet’s Garden traces the evolution of these garden motifs over a period of twenty years, revealing the transition of Monet’s purely Impressionist style to the more personal pictorial idiom that he adopted in later life.
NGV Director, Tony Ellwood, said the exhibition would feature Monet’s most well-known works, from a stunning suite of enormous waterlilies paintings to his iconic garden motifs, as well as some rarely seen late paintings.
“Monet’s Garden is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the world of Monet and the garden that became his lifelong obsession.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the Musée Marmottan, home to one of the largest collections of works by Monet in the world, to bring these masterpieces to Melbourne for the first time,” said Mr Ellwood.
The exhibition then takes visitors on a journey beginning with Monet’s arrival in Giverny in 1883 and the first steps taken towards the creation of the garden that would serve as inspiration for the remainder of Monet’s life.
Monet’s Garden: The Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris will be on at the National Gallery of Victoria from 10 May until 8 September 2013. Admission fees apply. Tickets now on sale.
Plans for Arma 3 in 2013
Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday 26th February 2013
Bohemia Interactive today announced their plans for the upcoming PC-exclusive tactical military shooter game, Arma 3™. From next week onward, Tuesday March 5th, all are welcome to try out the authentic military gameplay and assist in the game’s development by participating in the Arma 3 Alpha. The Alpha will feature a limited amount of playable and sandbox content, receive regular updates and remain accessible until Arma 3’s Beta starts – which is expected in the second quarter of this year. The full and final version of Arma 3 is scheduled for release in Q3 2013.
Featured in the Arma 3 Alpha are four showcase missions (Infantry, Vehicles, SCUBA and Helicopter), a limited subset of weapons and vehicles, two multiplayer scenarios, the powerful scenario editor and modding support. The 20 km² island of Stratis, which is positioned right off the coast from Arma 3’s main destination ‘Altis’ (270 km²), will form the backdrop of the Arma 3 Alpha.
Jay Crowe, Co-Creative Director on Arma 3, elaborates:
“The Arma 3 Alpha is a big milestone in the project’s development. Testing early and often puts us on the right track towards improving performance, stability and delivering on our goal of creating a robust final release. It’s also a big opportunity to get the game in the hands of our passionate community, which enables them to start work on their own creations, tailored to the fourth generation of the Real Virtuality engine.”
To participate in the Alpha, people can purchase the Arma 3 Alpha or Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition on Steam. Extras in the Digital Deluxe Edition include a digital soundtrack*, digital maps*, digital tactical guide*, and a Steam Gift of Arma: Cold War Assault (formerly known as Operation Flashpoint™: Cold War Crisis). Both versions include access to the Arma 3 Beta plus a digital copy of the final game upon release. The price of each edition will increase once the Arma 3 Beta and final game become available.
Those who would like to sponsor development further, also have the option to purchase the Arma 3 Supporter Edition from Store.bistudio.com. Besides the additional Arma development support, this edition ships with all the extras from the digital deluxe edition, a Steam Gift of Arma X, all future Arma 3 DLCs, a special forums medal and the opportunity to have their names featured in the game’s credits. The full overview of editions, and their conditions, can be found on Arma 3’s new website.
Last but not least, Bohemia Interactive also intends to release a free, limited version of the Alpha, named Arma 3 Alpha Lite. The Alpha Lite will be available one week after the initial Alpha release, on Thursday March 14th, and does not include a multiplayer component and modding support. Access to the Alpha Lite is invite-only and can be obtained from people who have purchased the Arma 3 Alpha. Invites will also be randomly distributed via the Arma 3 social channels and as giveaways by selected media outlets. The Arma 3 Alpha Lite expires on June 15, does not provide access to the Arma 3 Beta and does not include a copy of the final game.
The Arma 3 Alpha will be available on Steam next Tuesday March 5th, 2013. For more information on the Alpha, be sure to visit the brand new Arma 3 website at www.arma3.com
Guardians of Middle-earth Announces New Mode and Map Skin
We have news to reveal from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions: Guardians of Middle-earth will deliver a brand new Survival Mode!
The new Survival Mode enlists a one to five player co-op in intense combat in the Glittering Caves nestled deep in the White Mountains. Teammates must rely heavily on each other to fight and survive waves of enemies with increasingly destructive power. Players must defend their towers, fight enemy control on the field and defeat boss waves to complete new challenges. Rally your best troops in a mission to perfect team composition, strategy and loadouts, while taking on a deadly swarm of enemies.
In addition, gamers can play on the one-lane map with the new Goblin-town map skin, which lands players into the dark tunnels within the Misty Mountains, near the dwelling of the Witch-king.
The Survival Mode trailer can be viewed here.
The Goblin-town map trailer can be viewed here.
MEDIA ALERT – Uncharted 3 multiplayer goes free-to-play
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Naughty Dog are have announced that tomorrow UNCHARTED 3 multiplayer goes free-to-play.
SCE and Naughty Dog want to introduce everyone to the world of UNCHARTED multiplayer. To date, over 3.5 million people have played in over 37 million matches of UNCHARTED 3 multiplayer.
All free-to-play gamers will become a part of this same player pool of over a half a million active users of the game every month. Now players will have no excuse to not be experiencing one of the most exciting multiplayer games on the PS3— it’s free for everyone to join the adventure today!
For more information, head over to the PlayStation blog for full details on downloadable content and unloackables. You can also check out the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer trailer here.
New AVG Study Reveals 25% of People Store Intimate Images On Their Mobile Device
AVG Technologies N.V. (NYSE: AVG) has released a study* which reveals that one in four average mobile users stores intimate photos or videos on a smartphone or tablet. Furthermore – and despite the obvious risks to personal privacy if a device is lost or compromised –70 per cent of consumers are unaware of security features that allow such data to be deleted remotely.
Michael McKinnon, Security Advisor at AVG Technologies AU, said: “Clearly, consumers are embracing the photographic and video capabilities of their devices, however, the mobile survey also revealed a marked conservatism among consumers when it comes to more practical, everyday features.”
For example, among the 5,000 smartphone users questioned in the UK, US, France, Germany and Brazil, fewer than 40 per cent use their device for either online shopping (35 per cent) or online banking (38 per cent).
The primary reason given by those holding back from using their device to shop online was a perceived lack of security – nearly 50 per cent of smartphone users feel that using a mobile device isn’t as safe or secure as using a computer. Similarly, only 36 per cent would consider checking their bank balance from a smartphone, compared to 78 per cent when using a PC.
“This survey has clearly demonstrated that there is confusion in the minds of consumers about what is and isn’t safe or sensible to do with a mobile device,” said JR Smith, CEO of AVG Technologies. “It is already limiting the appeal of mobile shopping, banking and ticketing, and this is in turn hampering the industry’s efforts to drive innovation and new monetisation methods. At the same time, millions of consumers are exposing themselves to risk of personal and professional embarrassment by storing sensitive images on their devices.
“It is time for the industry to wake up and start educating consumers about privacy and security,” Smith continued. “If it does not, mainstream consumers will remain sceptical about mobile commerce, potentially wasting billions of dollars of investment into new features, and the manufacturers, networks and developers will face the wrath of wronged consumers when their digital privacy is compromised.”
Key Findings
· 80% of consumers are unaware of the risks posed by malware
· 25% of consumers store intimate or very personal photos on their mobile devices
· 70% of consumers are unaware of the security threats posed by public WiFi, yet this doesn’t change consumer use of public WiFi
· Nearly 90% of consumers avoid using public WiFi when banking online
· Only 40% of respondents use their device for either online shopping (35%) or online banking (38%)
In conclusion these results indicate that consumers need to be educated on the importance of mobile security, and importantly act on this education.
MEF Global Privacy Report
A separate Global Privacy Report from MEF**, sponsored by AVG, reveals consumer attitudes towards the use of their personal information by mobile app providers.
The explosion of the apps ecosystem is driven by new business models where many apps are free or heavily discounted which, of course, consumers love, but this is where developers monetise the information they collect on their users.
The report identified:
- Only a third of consumers (37%) are comfortable sharing personal data with an app.
- The majority of consumers consider it important to know when an app is gathering (70%) and sharing (71%) their personal information.
- Perceptions are that security around data is robust with only 18% stating they are not confident that their personal information is being protected.
- Females and older consumers (over 35s) are more likely to have concerns over privacy.
- Growth markets – including Brazil, Mexico and South Africa – are least comfortable sharing personal information.
Andrew Bud, MEF Global Chair, said: “Two main themes emerge from the research: consumers demand transparency when apps are sharing their data, and importantly the app community needs to do a better job of explaining to consumers why it’s in their interests to do so.”
Commenting on the report, Michael McKKinnon said: “The report really packs a punch for all those who have a stake in the future of the mobile app market and delivers a stark message, but one that is also filled with opportunity. In essence the report outlines the dichotomy of where consumers think they are in terms of controlling what data they share with apps, and the reality of where they actually are, and how much control they really have.
“The mobile app business is the business of Big Data. We already know how highly our advertising and e-commerce partners value data. This survey shows us just how valuable it is to consumers as well.
Iconic Sound Blaster headsets now available at Australia’s leading gaming retailers
Sydney, Australia – 26 February, 2013 – All Interactive Entertainment and Creative today announce that Creative’s Sound Blaster range of gaming headsets are now available in Australia through EB Games and JB Hi-Fi.
Designed for the serious gamer, the Sound Blaster range caters to every gamer’s budget, from the high performance Sound Blaster Recon3D Omega to the high value Sound Blaster Tactic360 Ion.
Creative Sound Blaster gaming headsets now available at EB Games and JB Hi-Fi:
Sound Blaster Recon3D Omega Wireless for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 $279.95
- Powered by the revolutionary Sound Core3D™ quad-core audio processor – The revolutionary Sound Core3D™ Audio and Voice chipset allows for the first time ever the advantages of an internal sound card in an external USB device
- Hardware Accelerated THX® TruStudio Pro technologies – THX® TruStudio Pro sound technologies create unprecedented levels of audio realism and includes stunning surround effects that go far beyond standard 5.1 or 7.1 audio, producing hundreds of virtual speakers around, above and below you
- Cross Platform Gaming with hardware Dolby Digital decode – Transform any stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 source into high fidelity THX enhanced surround sound for your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac
- Tactic Link™ Wireless Gaming with the headsets – Tactic Link™ uncompressed wireless technology delivers lag and static free gaming audio from your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac
Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 $199.95
- Cross Platform Wireless Gaming Headset – uncompressed wireless technology delivers lag and static free gaming audio from your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC or Mac.
- 50mm Full Spectrum audio drivers – High powered, no holds barred gaming audio. Massive bass and crispy highs, just how the game designers want you to experience the game.
- Built like a tank – Built around a steel core, the Tactic3D Omega headset is fabricated to withstand the living room, desktop or backpack. Keep it at home or take it with you without any worries.
Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage USB for PC $99.95
- 3D Surround Sound – Unchain yourself from the limits of 7.1 audio. SBX Surround positions audio in a 360 degree true-to-life sound stage
- 16 Million Colour Illuminated Ear Cups – When 15 million colours just isn’t enough, choose from 16 million colours to match your team, rig, or aura.
Creative Draco Headphones for PC $59.95
- Finely Tuned 40mm Neodymium drivers by Creative acoustic and gaming designers to deliver the most realistic environmental sounds with explosive bass.
- Full sized earcups wrapped in soft leatherette
- Detachable mic booms turns the Draco into pair of street styled headphones that delivers exceptional digital music playback on your portable media device.
- Sensitive noise cancelling microphone and an east to reach in-line volume control with mute switch
Sound Blaster Tactic360 Ion for Xbox 360 $59.95*
- In-Line stereo amplifier with independent audio and chat controls – Powered conveniently via USB port from your Xbox 360, the Sound Blaster Tactic360 In-line stereo amplifiers come with built-in volume controls to adjust both the game audio and incoming chat levels separately allowing you to hear what matters the most
- Lightweight frame with 40mm Neodymium magnet drivers and a flexible, noise-cancelling microphone for accurate and clear Xbox LIVE communication
*Only available from JB Hi-Fi