Dungelot 2 announced weeks after the first game's release

Dungelot 2 announced weeks after the first game's release: Red Winter Software has shared the first image from Dungelot 2, the sequel to a tile-flipping roguelike that came out...

Microsoft, Aaron Greenberg reveal impressive lifetime Xbox 360 statistics

Microsoft, Aaron Greenberg reveal impressive lifetime Xbox 360 statistics: Amid countless next-generation console rumors and speculations, one should not forget how significant our current devices...

You Can Play Assassin's Creed Of The Future. With Guns. Sort Of.

You Can Play Assassin's Creed Of The Future. With Guns. Sort Of.:

A DLC pack for the oft-forgotten Ghost Recon Online will for the next few weeks make the online PC shooter (technically still in beta) substantially more interesting. Provided you like Assassin's Creed, that is. And the prospect of Assassins using assault rifles. More »

Indie studios publish letter detailing exploitative nature of Mamba Games Ltd. (Mac)

Indie studios publish letter detailing exploitative nature of Mamba Games Ltd. (Mac):

Amanita Design, Colibri Games, and Daedelic Entertainment, the studios behind Machinarium, The Tiny Bang Story, and the Deponia series, respectively, have published an open letter chronicling the ways in which Lace Mamba Global and Mamba Games Ltd. (allegedly these are separate companies – more on that shortly) appear to have abused and oftentimes ignored contracts signed with the studios. As requested, we’re sharing the letter in its entirety.

Apple testing iWatch - Report

Apple testing iWatch - Report:
Company reportedly exploring designs for watch-like device that would feature some smartphone functions.
Apple's next device could be an iWatch. Sources have told The Wall Street Journal that the Cupertino technology giant is currently testing designs for a watch-like device that would be capable of performing certain smartphone functions.

According to the report, Apple has been in talks with manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (Foxconn) about the device. The discussions were reportedly part of a broader exploration into product categories outside of the smartphone and tablet markets.

The sources added that Apple's exploration of this new market is nothing new. The report states Apple has hired new employees with backgrounds in "sensors and related technologies" in the past few years.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

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"Apple testing iWatch - Report" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:42:11 -0800

With Four Days To Go, Chris Taylor Cancels Wildman Kickstarter

With Four Days To Go, Chris Taylor Cancels Wildman Kickstarter:

Designer Chris Taylor has canceled his troubled Kickstarter, just four days before funding was scheduled to end. More »

World of Warcraft: Battle Chest, Cataclysm & MoP On Sale

World of Warcraft: Battle Chest, Cataclysm & MoP On Sale:

Blizzard Entertainment has announced a screamin' sale on all things World of Warcraft. For the next two weeks, players can get their hands on the Battle Chest for $5, Cataclysm for $10 and Mists of Pandaria for $20. It's a deal that seems too good to pass up.

Pet Rescue Saga snags top spot among this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU

Pet Rescue Saga snags top spot among this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU:

King.com’s Pet Rescue Saga continues its winning streak this week, taking the top spot on our list of fastest-growing games by monthly active user (the best gauge of a title’s overall reach on the network). Pet Rescue Saga showed the largest growth in the 10 million MAU tier, moving up six spots to the No. 19 position among Facebook apps with a 24 percent gain.

Real Racing 3 is Even More Attractive Now That It's Going Free-to-Play

Real Racing 3 is Even More Attractive Now That It's Going Free-to-Play:

The latest entry in Firemonkeys' Real Racing isn't just going to be the nicest looking entry in the series when it drops on February 28 — it'll also be the first one that's completely free to play. More »

Metal Slug 2 Review (iPhone, iPad)

Metal Slug 2 Review (iPhone, iPad):

Gamezebo Rating: The simplest way to describe Metal Slug 2, and the Metal Slug series in general, is to say that it takes a page out of Contra's playbook, but makes the idea its own in some ways.

Age of Wushu gets a UI and localization overhaul

Age of Wushu gets a UI and localization overhaul:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Patches, News items, Sandbox

North American players and fans of Age of Wushu are in for a treat. In response to player feedback from the closed betas, the development team has been working on a major overhaul of the game's localization and UI.



The localization and UI changes are among the updates that kept the game from its original February launch date, but Snail Games is placing more emphasis on a smooth experience at launch than pushing the game out the door as quickly as possible. These updates are in their final testing stages and will make their way into the ongoing beta soon.



[Source: Snail Games press release]

Age of Wushu gets a UI and localization overhaul originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rotolla Review (iPhone, iPad)

Rotolla Review (iPhone, iPad):

Gamezebo Rating: When a developer describes their game as "Super Hexagon meets Tetris", there could only be one reaction to such an elevator pitch: "Bring it on."

Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved

Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved:
Filed under: Betas, Classes, Culture, Game mechanics, Launches, New titles, Reviews, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, First Impressions, Dungeons, Diablo III

Like many gamers in their mid-20s, I spent countless hours in my teenage years smashing through dungeons and hunting for loot in Diablo II. The dark visual style and deep itemisation system made building effective characters a real challenge, and periodic ladder resets kept the loot-hunting economy fresh. Fast-forward 10 years and the highly anticipated sequel Diablo III was released to some serious complaints. The servers were unstable for weeks at launch, the always-online DRM caused a stir, and the endgame item grind was severely underwhelming.



Indie developer Grinding Gear Games aims to beat Blizzard at its own game with its new free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile. The game boasts a dark art style and an unprecedented level of character customisation that lets players build truly unique characters. Each skill is itemised as a gem that can be slotted into your gear and augmented with dozens of different support gems. The sprawling passive skill system is better described as a "skill octopus," with millions of different ways to build a character. I've spent the past few weeks smashing up monsters in the Path of Exile open beta and absolutely loving it.



Read on to find out why I can honestly say that Path of Exile is the sequel Diablo II deserved.
Continue reading Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved

Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mars Frontier review

Mars Frontier review:
Mars Frontier is a Facebook game from SpinPunch, Inc. The game has been showing activity since May of last year, but has recently been undergoing a hefty advertising push through regular appearances in the Facebook ad sidebar. The game makes use of the somewhat misleading “Must be 21+ to play!” ad format, implying the game has considerably more adult content than it actually does. It has also been designed as a showcase title for HTML5, working in Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari without the need for plugins.

World of Warplanes dev blog shows off 'massive visual improvements'

World of Warplanes dev blog shows off 'massive visual improvements':
Filed under: Betas, Historical, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, World of Warplanes

Wargaming.net's Dmitry "Overlord" Yudo has hinted at World of Warplanes' next major update on his development blog. The free-to-play World War II aviation shooter is due for some substantial upgrades including a new UI, "enhanced controls," and "massive visual improvements."



Yudo focuses on that last bit in his latest dev diary, and he even provides a series of before-and-after screenshots to showcase the game's upgraded aesthetic. World of Warplanes is Wargaming's free-to-play followup to World of Tanks, and it is currently in beta testing.

World of Warplanes dev blog shows off 'massive visual improvements' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: Overlord's blog

In Hungry Oni, Your Meals Are Color-Coded

In Hungry Oni, Your Meals Are Color-Coded:

As far as sharp looking iOS games go, Hungry Oni must be one of the most dazzling I've seen all year. And yes, I know it's only February. (It is only February.) More »

Nintendo's hard path to third-party support in 2013

Nintendo's hard path to third-party support in 2013:
We'd like to see the Nintendo Wii U attract great third-party software support -- but Nintendo's shrinking share among third-party publishers' revenues is difficult to ignore. ...

Massively Interview: TERA's Patrick Sun on free-to-play

Massively Interview: TERA's Patrick Sun on free-to-play:
Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, TERA

Action-MMO TERA officially went free-to-play last week, and with the transition came a number of questions regarding payment tiers, transition plans, and En Masse's vision for the future of the game. Will TERA turn into a "pay-to-win" graveyard, or will it be another shining example of how to do free-to-play just right?



We sat down with associate producer Patrick Sun to find out.
Continue reading Massively Interview: TERA's Patrick Sun on free-to-play

Massively Interview: TERA's Patrick Sun on free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ancients of Fasaria: Release Date Announced

Ancients of Fasaria: Release Date Announced:

Folks looking forward to trying out indie-developed Ancients of Fasaria: Lords of the Forgotten Moons will want to head to the official site to join in the discussion of the February 27th release date announced earlier today.

Galaxy on Fire Strategically Goes Massively Multiplayer

Galaxy on Fire Strategically Goes Massively Multiplayer:

The premiere mobile space sim, Galaxy on Fire and its sequel have pleased countless fans of Privateer-style combat and trading. Now German developer Fishlabs Entertainment prepares to open up the universe to colonization in Galaxy on Fire: Alliances. More »

Neverwinter: Off to a Good Start

Neverwinter: Off to a Good Start:

With the first Neverwinter beta weekend behind us, we take a look back at our experiences in the Forgotten Realms and review the answers to questions we had before we played. Of course, with every answer came three new questions. See what we came up with before adding your thoughts in the comments.

Xbox Live Arcade sales in 2012: All you need to know

Xbox Live Arcade sales in 2012: All you need to know:
Halfbrick's Ryan Langley takes an extensive look at Xbox Live Arcade sales during 2012, breaking the figures down into separate publishers, developers and promotions. ...

Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech

Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech:
Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Consoles, World of Tanks

Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi took the stage at last week's DICE Summit to talk about the ongoing evolution of free-to-play. He's what you might call an expert on the subject given that the company he founded features 1.2 million peak concurrent users as well as 1,400 employees and 12 offices world-wide.



Kislyi's 40-minute speech featured World of Tanks, but it also made mention of the firm's recent acquisition of Day 1 Studios. The move was made with an eye towards cornering the console F2P market, something Kislyi says that traditional console makers would be wise to do as well. "They keep their own prejudice and they keep to their old ways," he said. "If they keep holding to their old way, single-player box ideas they may pretty well drop."



You can view Kislyi's DICE speech in its entirety after the cut.
Continue reading Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech

Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: YouTube
• Via: Polygon

First impressions of Neverwinter's beta

First impressions of Neverwinter's beta:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions, Neverwinter

Neverwinter is all the rage these days among MMO fans as the promise of a Fourth Edition D&D MMO in the Forgotten Realms setting has many old-school tabletop gamers jumping at the opportunity to get into the early testing stages. Thanks to last week's short press beta and this weekend's first early head-start glimpse, I was able to play through the game for a few days to get a feel for what to expect when the game launches later this year.



We first heard rumblings of a Neverwinter MMO in 2010 and got to see a live demo of it at E3 2011, just before Perfect World Entertainment took over Cryptic Studios. It was a very early build, but I was so excited to see a comprehensive drag-and-drop dungeon builder that seemed to work beautifully. Even during the demo, I was daydreaming about what I could do with this thing and the adventures I could have with my friends.



Of course, that all changed when Cryptic announced a complete overhaul to the original incarnation of the game. Luckily for us, this meant that the dungeon-creating RPG was turning into a full-fledged MMO.
Continue reading First impressions of Neverwinter's beta

First impressions of Neverwinter's beta originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parkour-Powered Vector Races Gracefully to Android

Parkour-Powered Vector Races Gracefully to Android:

Nekki Games' stylish free-running platformer Vector is one of the coolest games on Facebook. In December it became one of the coolest games on iOS, and now it's one of the coolest games on Android. Funny how that works. More »

Namco Bandai and Codies expand distribution deal

Namco Bandai and Codies expand distribution deal: Namco Bandai to distribute GRID 2 in the UK

YouTube App Joins Free Satellite TV Channel In U.K.

YouTube App Joins Free Satellite TV Channel In U.K.:

Google's online video portal is tackling traditional TV head on, in the U.K., with a smart TV app.

Google has landed a deal with Freesat, a British free-to-air satellite service, to put a dedicated YouTube channel, via an app, on air alongside much more traditional TV sources. Freesat is a joint venture between different broadcasters in the U.K. and already offers 60 channels for free.
Google's channel will be built using HTML5 technology and will be optimized for TV as well as offering a "fully interactive viewing experience." Google is evidently chasing new avenues for YouTube to lead viewers to watch its money-making ad content, and the tech-forward U.K. TV industry seems like an ideal proving ground.
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Gree: Top mobile devs earning 4x more than a year ago

Gree: Top mobile devs earning 4x more than a year ago: Anil Dharni says that successful devs are reaping the rewards of mobile growth

APB: Reloaded has 3m registered users

APB: Reloaded has 3m registered users: Resurrected free-to-play MMO pulls in up to 30,000 players every day

Zynga stock spikes on New Jersey online gambling bill

Zynga stock spikes on New Jersey online gambling bill: Social firm sees 11 per cent increase thanks to potential of real-money gaming