Colony of Gamers - Gaming News

Colony of Gamers - Gaming News http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/ Gaming News en Sat, 18 May 2013 20:59:45 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/images/misc/rss.jpg Colony of Gamers - Gaming News http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/ Deal-O-Tron 5000 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29150&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 04:12:27 GMT

This week's Deal-O-Tron 5000 was totally, definitely not late because I was watching Star Trek. Pinky swear.

Steam
Borderlands 2 is 66% off this weekend, time to hit up Pandora's sights for a discount.

Counter-Strike Global Offensive is down to $7.49. The bomb has been planted.

Ace of Spades is $4.99 this weekend, worth a look.

Hitman: Absolution is half off for your assassination pleasure.

The Book of Unwritten Tales collection is down to $10. That's quite a deal for one of the more charming adventure games to release in the last few years. That includes The Critter Chronicles.

GoG
I'm fairly certain the entire Ubisoft catalog is on sale over at GoG this weekend. There are some real gems in here, from the Might and Magic games to Beyond Good and Evil. Hit the link for the full list.

Xbox Live
Battlefield 3 and all of its DLC is half off for gold members on XBL this weekend.

Gamefly
Lots of Focus Home Interactive titles are on sale at Gamefly this weekend. I recommend Blood Bowl.

PSN
I will refer you to Gorvi's thread for all PSN deals.

Gamersgate
It's a Men of War weekend on Gamersgate with the entire series 75% off.

Gamestop
Heroes of Might and Magic VI are half off this weekend. Recommended.

Operation Racoon City is half off.

Street Fighter X Tekken is also half off.

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is another Capcom game that is half off.

Amazon
Here is a giant Amazon sale!

If you find any more gaming deals be sure to hit up the thread and tell us all about them. ]]> Gaming News Ghostbear http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29150 Trion Hit With Massive Layoffs http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29149&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 21:06:14 GMT Trion Worlds the developers of MMOs Rift and the recently released Defiance, has been hit with a round of major layoffs. IGN... Trion Worlds the developers of MMOs Rift and the recently released Defiance, has been hit with a round of major layoffs. IGN reports that between 50%-80% of the company's total staff has been let go just today. They also report that senior staffers are being denied severance due to "undelivered services."

Things seemed to be going so well for the company. Just yesterday they'd announced that Rift would be going F2P, and the announcement that SyFy had picked up Defiance for a second season should have been good news. Except things can't be going that well at a company that culls a majority of it's workers in one shot. Trion also went through a much smaller round of layoffs at the end of last year, with most of those axed employees coming from the Rift team. This time around it's the devs on Defiance, a game which shipped only 6 weeks ago. Kotaku's sources say the retail performance of Defiance, and it's just released expansion Storm Legion, were the major force behind the layoffs.

Trion just issued a statement:

Quote:

To best position Trion in a rapidly changing industry, we have reorganized our teams and are expanding our free to play offering. With Defiance, we delivered a great game that more than one million gamers registered to play and continue to enjoy. As we progress from launch to ongoing development of the game, we are adjusting our staffing levels to deliver new content and improved features. RIFT, and our other titles in development, were unaffected by these changes. We are very much looking forward to the free to play release of RIFT and are excited by the other new titles currently in development.

Trion has one other project in the works, the MMORTS End of Nations, which had been set for release later this year.

Sources - IGN; Kotaku ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29149 Uh-Oh. Gamestop Removes Listing for Rainbow Six Patriots http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29144&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 12:49:51 GMT

Well this likely isn't good. IGN is reporting that Gamestop has removed Rainbow Six Patriots from their database, halting further pre-orders and possibly cancelling existing ones. IGN's tipster says this sort of removal has to be done affirmatively, unlike some other retailers, who automatically remove entries after a given period of inactivity. The same tipster says that Gamestop "tends not to remove big-name games from major publishers without an official confirmation that a title is dead."

Patriots was announced back in 2011 with the above trailer, which controversially seemed to be referencing both the American Tea Party and Occupy movements as inspiration for their antagonists. The game more or less disappeared after that, skipping the major trade shows last year and meriting only a single comment from Ubisoft that the game was still in development.

It may be hard to believe now, but not too long ago, Rainbow Six was Ubisoft's flagship franchise. The Tom Clancy titles were a major part of Ubisoft's catalog, and Rainbow Six was the leader of the bunch. That was - more or less - a generation back, and the intervening years haven't been kind to the series. Splinter Cell passed it for the lead Clancy title, and Assassins' Creed supplanted it as Ubisoft's crown jewel. Ghost Recon and Far Cry would probably be seen as the publisher's leading shooter franchises. The last Rainbow Six title was 2008's R6 Vegas 2, which was a lifetime back, relatively speaking.

Ubisoft has so far refused comment.

Sources - IGN; Polygon ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29144 <![CDATA[[Preview] Rogue Legacy]]> http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29139&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 18:24:04 GMT Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7398/8727979462_f798b4af29_o.png (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?p=1155363) How...

How long might it take you to get through a dungeon full of deathtraps and monsters? A lifetime? Two lifetimes? An entire legacy of lifetimes? Rogue Legacy, a new game from Cellar Door Games challenges you to get to the end of one seriously dangerous labyrinth. Come read our preview and find out just how epic your legacy can be! ]]> Gaming News Lekon http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29139 EA Ditching Online Pass http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29136&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 13:17:59 GMT EA has announced that they're killing their Online Pass program. Going forward EA titles won't require you to enter in a one-time use code or buy a piece of DLC to play their games online.

So that's a good thing. Gamers didn't like it, and clearly EA wasn't seeing much revenue from sales of Online Pass DLC. However, it doesn't mean that pack-in codes are going away completely. It just means you won't need a code to play Battlefield 4 or Madden 25 online. Each of those games - and likely most future EA games - will still lock some content away behind a code to discourage the second hand market.

It also begs another question: is EA ending the program now because they realized it isn't profitable, or are they killing it because they know that some sort of used game protections will be present on the new generation of consoles?

Sources - Venture Beat; Game Informer ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29136 Around The Colony 5-15-2013 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29133&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 02:58:07 GMT Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7836182562_94ca7d7037_o.png This week Around the Colony: Pop-Culture Zoo wants YOU...to listen to...

This week Around the Colony:

Pop-Culture Zoo wants YOU...to listen to the new Popcast! They also have a trailer for the new season of Copper, info on BBC America's scientific new season of Bang Goes The Theory, and last but not least EVERYONE'S FAVORITE: Dr. Who spoilers!

Co-Optimus has some hands-on time with the new Borderlands 2 DLC character, co-op detailsfor Splinter Cell Blacklist, a Sanctum 2 preview, some cool info on Monaco's scrapped multiplayer modes, and the newest episode of the Co-Opticast!

Speaking of podcasts, have you listened to the newest episode of In-Game Chat yet?

Or maybe you aren't the talking kind. Maybe actions speak louder than words. Well, fine, buddy, if you're gonna be pushy, HERE. CLICK THIS LINK, HEAD OVER TO RAINWAVE, AND LISTEN TO DULCET VIDEOGAME TONES. ]]> Gaming News http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29133 Gran Turismo 6 Announced, Coming to PS3 This Year http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29132&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 19:47:17 GMT ZM-8_N8gcaw Sony took over the Siverston track in the UK today to announce Gran Turismo 6. The game will ship with all of the tracks and cars...

Sony took over the Siverston track in the UK today to announce Gran Turismo 6. The game will ship with all of the tracks and cars from GT5, with new additions bringing the totals up to over 1200 total vehicles and 33 tracks (with 71 total configurations). The game is running on a new engine that will allow for easier integration of DLC and an extensive second screen experience.

Now here's the somewhat surprising thing: GT6 is coming this year to the PS3. Not next year, and not the PS4. I would have wagered a pretty penny that Sony would have GT6 on the PS4, even if it also released on the PS3.

Sony also announced that a demo of the game will be released in July.

Sources - Shacknews; Joystiq ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29132 Ubisoft Suspends Development on 1666 After Desilets Firing http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29131&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 19:37:27 GMT Ubisoft has announced that development on *1666* has been suspended following their termination of project lead Patrice Desilets... Ubisoft has announced that development on 1666 has been suspended following their termination of project lead Patrice Desilets last week.

Quote:

"After more than two months of discussions with [Desilets], we couldn't align our vision both on project development and team management," said Guillemot, "so consequently our collaboration has ended, and we have suspended 1666 for an undisclosed period of time."

Ubisoft acquired the studio formerly known as THQ Montreal, the rights to unrevealed titles 1666 and Underdog earlier this year after the dissolution of THQ. Their current statement makes no mention of Underdog, so it's possible the studio has simply shifted all resources to that or an all new project.

Ubisoft says development on the game is suspended, for now, but most titles which are put on hold never see the light of day. If that's the case, then Ubisoft isn't going to get much return back on the $2.5M investment they made acquiring the studio and it's assets out of bankruptcy.

Sources - Joystiq; Polygon ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29131 DICE Opening New LA Studio To Make Star Wars Titles http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29129&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 13:12:05 GMT EA subsidiary DICE has announced plans to open up a Los Angeles-based studio tasked with creating new Star Wars titles. Just last week EA announced... EA subsidiary DICE has announced plans to open up a Los Angeles-based studio tasked with creating new Star Wars titles. Just last week EA announced a deal with Lucasarts to develop new Star Wars games, and specifically listed DICE as one of the studios working on the franchise.

The new studio is already open, with staffers from the now apparently closed Danger Close (Medal of Honor) forming the core, with DICE hoping to have a total of 60 worker at the LA studio by the end of the year. DICE GM Karl-Magnus Troedsson specifically noted that the new studio would be drawing talent from some of their biggest competitors: Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward and Treyarch (I should also point out that EA Partner Respawn Entertainment also operates out of Southern California).

Sources - WSJ (sub required); Gamasutra; Eurogamer ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29129 In Other News...May 14 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29126&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 00:18:37 GMT - Developer 505 Games says that Payday 2 has grown so big that they're giving it a retail release on the 360 and PS3.

- A new Adventure Time game will be hitting the Wii U, 360, PS3, PC and 3DS this fall. Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! features 4 player co-op and all of the voice actors from the show.

- Trion Worlds' Rift will be joining the ranks of F2P MMOs starting in June.

- Penny Arcade Report asks: how do you define Rogue-like?

- I'm in hell, part #5893. Will Smith is in talks to star in and produce a modern day remake of Sam Pekinpah's The Wild Bunch, one of the all time best Westerns. Note that this is the same Will Smith who declined the lead in Django Unchained due to the excessive violence, so don't expect a faithful retelling here. ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29126 US PlayStation Store Update 5/14 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29123&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 20:33:24 GMT For once it’s an early update this week, and with it comes... well, games. Star Wars Pinballs makes its standalone debut this week, and Dust 514 is... For once it’s an early update this week, and with it comes... well, games. Star Wars Pinballs makes its standalone debut this week, and Dust 514 is finally out of “beta”. On 5/14, get it? Anyway, the Vita gets episodic adventure game Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mysteries, and Plus members can enjoy Knytt Underground, another in the long line of charming indie platformers, for free this week. Sleeping Dogs DLC is on sale for a good chunk off, which is convenient for Plus members who got it for free last week. The full update from the PlayStation Blog:

PS3

DUST 514 (Free)
Star Wars Pinball [With Demo]
Tiny Token Empires ($9.99) [With Demo]
Resident Evil Revelations Demo
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny ($29.99)
Metro: Last Light ($59.99)
Manhunt ($9.99) [PS2]
GRID 2 ($59.99) [Pre-Order]
Resident Evil Revelations ($49.99) [Pre-Order]

Vita

Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery ($2.99)
Star Wars Pinball [With Demo]

PlayStation Plus

Knytt Underground (PS3/Vita) (Free)
GRID 2 Pre-Order – PS Plus Price: $53.99
Metro: Last Light – PS Plus Price: $47.99

On Sale:

Price Drops:

PS3 DLC:

Vita DLC:
]]> Gaming News Gorvi http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29123 <![CDATA[[Rumor] The PS4 May or May Not Hit Europe in 2013]]> http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29121&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 19:47:38 GMT An insider with knowledge of Sony's plans tells CVG that the console will launch in Europe in 2013, refuting reports from earlier this year that the system will follow the trend of past launches and skip the European market this holiday season. To which I say: no duh.

Yes, just about every major console or handheld would, at one time, launch in Europe last, after Japan and North America got their turns. The belief was global manufacturing capacity for complex hardware like this couldn't keep up with demand for a multi-region launch. That may have been true at one point, but it's not any longer. More and more factories make the sort of high quality components needed for a new console, and they can handle a worldwide launch. But even if they couldn't, I can't see any situation where Sony would put Europe at the back of the list.

I generally hate doing numbers posts but here are few that illustrate the point I'm making: 34, 16 and 7. Those are the estimated total PS3 units sold through 2011 in Europe, North America and Japan, respectively. Even though it launched a year after the 360, it has pulled ahead of Microsoft's machine in total worldwide sales, largely on it's huge popularity in Europe. Meaning that there is no chance in hell of Sony potentially squandering that lead by launching in 2014. We'll likely find out for sure at E3, but don't act so surprised when a (more or less) simultaneous global launch is announced for both new consoles.

Sources - CVG; Joystiq ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29121 Dated: Nvidia Shield http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29118&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 13:59:12 GMT Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/8737452587_575e0fb25e_z.jpg Nvidia has announced that their Shield portable Android gaming platform...

Nvidia has announced that their Shield portable Android gaming platform will be available sometime in June at a cost of $350. Nvidia also announced a new quintet of games which will be available for the system's Nvidia Zone storefront.

Double Fine's Costume Quest and Broken Age
Steel Wool Games' Flyhunter Origins
Dedalord's Skiing Fred
Niffler's Chuck's Challenge 3D

We covered the Shield back in January when it was announced. It's a beefy system - both from a processing perspective and sheer size - with a 5" multitouch display and a full sized controller. In addition to the custom games on it's Nvidia Zone storefront, it will play all Android apps and let you stream games from your PC (so long as that PC has a GeForce 650 or greater GPU).

So it's got a lot of bells and whistles, but $350 is quite a lot for a handheld that you really can't stow in your pocket (unless you have, like, giant pockets). I can see the appeal of playing your PC games from your deck on a nice day or your bed on a bad one, but at this point I don't see it becoming a ubiquitous gaming platform.

Source - Joystiq ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29118 In-Game Chat Welcomes: Energy Hook http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29116&goto=newpost Mon, 13 May 2013 19:38:54 GMT Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7297/8735348947_1f8a91732d_z.jpg More than most of you probably remember the Spider-Man 2 video game from...

More than most of you probably remember the Spider-Man 2 video game from WAY back when (2004). The biggest take away from that game was the web swinging. A mechanic that every Spider-Man game since then has tried to live up to, but have either fallen way off the mark or just not quite nailed it.

Well, the guy responsible for that gameplay is Jamie Fristrom and he's decided to take that concept and make another game out of it called Energy Hook (links to the Kickstarter page for the game) from Happion Labs. Jamie will be joining us on this weekend's episode of In-Game Chat and if you have any questions or comments, you can leave them in this thread, send us an email, tweet, or post the questions to our Facebook page. You can also join us in the chat room live during the broadcast to ask your questions. ]]> Gaming News Psykoboy2 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29116 <![CDATA[[Preview] Card Hunter]]> http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29113&goto=newpost Mon, 13 May 2013 16:57:28 GMT Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/8726322233_82276f0d42_z.jpg My very first experience with Dungeons and Dragons was in computer form. I...

My very first experience with Dungeons and Dragons was in computer form. I played many of the “Gold Box” games years after they released. Between those games and other classics like Quest for Glory 2, a love for gaming in fantasy worlds took root and has never let go. I, of course went on to play the pen and paper versions of D&D and I have a lot of warm memories of late gaming nights surrounded by snacks and soda. It’s clear that Blue Manchu Games has shared these experiences and wanted to share them in their own way. ]]> Gaming News Ghostbear http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29113