News

As promised, Oathbreaker is out for Legends of Norrath

Posted by: Randy at 6/20/2008 12:27 AM - Comments (0)
More On: Legends of Norrath Sony Online Entertainment
With nine months and over one million matches under its belt, the EverQuest-based Legends of Norrath online collectible card game has fulfilled its promise of releasing Oathbreaker.  This is the fourth expansion set of cards introduced to LoN, which is just in time for the world championship LoN event at Gen Con Indy, August 14 - 17, where up to 32 finalists are bracketed to compete for up to $100,000 in cash prizes.  Oathbreaker features:
  • More than 250 new cards (210 base set cards, including 16 new quests, three random rares, ten scenario rewards, new loot and promotional cards)
  • Play for free (complete details as legendsofnorrath.com); 58-card digital starter decks go for $9.99, and 15-card digital booster packs for $2.99.
  • New raid play (Four players versus Chel'Drak the dragon turtle in the Antechamber of Fate)
  • New gameplay ("Charge" is a new keyword, and linked cards can be linked again to a new target)
  • New faces (Froglok and Erudite)
Here's a peek at some of what's in store:













WITH MORE THAN ONE MILLION LEGENDS OF NORRATH™ MATCHES PLAYED TO DATE,

EVERQUEST® FRANCHISE ONLINE STRATEGY GAME INTRODUCES OATHBREAKER TO THE VIRTUAL PLAYMAT

 

Release Precedes $100K World Championship Event at Gen Con Indy 2008

 

 

DENVER, COLO. – June 19, 2008 – Sony Online Entertainment LLC announced the release of Oathbreaker, the fourth set of the EverQuest® franchise online strategy game, Legends of Norrath™.  Oathbreaker continues to draw upon the influence of SOE’s groundbreaking EverQuest® franchise, adding fun and familiar elements, including items and characters beautifully illustrated with high-fantasy flair.  Oathbreaker will enthrall players with a tale of corruption from within, and redemption that comes at a terrible cost, providing an unprecedented level of drama in the ongoing saga. While Oathbreaker brings the story of your Oathbound hero to a dramatic finale, new gameplay builds on existing functionality and allows for even more creative strategies to emerge.

            "In just over nine months since launch, Legends of Norrath has had more than one million matches,” said Scott Martins, director of development, SOE Denver.  “And, with the introduction of Oathbreaker, many more matches are on the horizon. There are more ways than ever to enhance your strategies, explore different decks and try out new combos. We're eager to introduce the new raid and open up cooperative play. And, with the Monthly Sprint Tournaments that started in early June, there are more opportunities for players to climb the rankings and earn special promo cards and free loot.”

             Not only does Oathbreaker complete the story arc which originated with LoN’s first set, Oathbound – it’s also the last LoN release before the World Championship event at Gen Con Indy, August 14-17, where up to 32 finalists are slated to compete for up to $100,000 in cash prizes.  July 12-13 marks the last opportunity to compete in a monthly online Championship Qualifier tournament before the World Championship event. At Gen Con, two days of qualification heats, open to all Gen Con attendees 18 and older, will take place before the final championship day.

Developed at SOE’s Denver studio, Legends of Norrath is the only online strategy game based on and playable from SOE’s popular EverQuest® and EverQuest® II MMOs, as well as from a stand-alone client using a free SOE Station Account (available at www.station.com). Players can challenge opponents on their game server and across other EQ and EQII servers.

 

Oathbreaker’s features include:

 

New Cards – More than 250 new cards for your online arsenal! Collect all 210 base set cards, four starter decks featuring 16 new quests and three random rares, 10 scenario rewards, fantastic new loot cards for EverQuest and EverQuest II and lots of new promotional cards.

 

Play For Free - SOE is providing all registered LoN users even more complimentary content and bonus features in the game client, including ten new scenarios that tell the tale of Oathbreaker and a brand new raid. Go to www.legendsofnorrath.com for complete details.

 

New Raid Play – In the Antechamber of Fate, up to four players can face off against the powerful island guardian Chel’Drak, the dragon turtle!

 

New Gameplay – “Charge” is a new keyword that provides additional bonuses to cards while players have, or get rid of, their charge tokens. Re-linkable navigation offers greater flexibility in play by allowing linked cards to be linked again to a new target.

 

New Faces - Delve into new avatar races (Froglok and Erudite), unit types, legends, keywords and abilities. Explore more of your favorite EverQuest and EverQuest II classes with the introduction of “unarmed” Monks, Coercers, Templars and Beastlords (with their warder pets)!

 

Oathbreaker cards will be available via digital download from SOE’s Station Store in both 58-card digital starter decks for $9.99 (plus any applicable taxes), and 15-card digital booster packs for $2.99 (plus any applicable taxes).

To get started, players can download the client for free, test their skills 24 hours a day against AI and real opponents, and then head over to the tournament lobby to compete. Monthly Championship Qualifier eligibility limited and subject to Official Rules. Residents of certain territories are not eligible to participate in LoN tournaments with rewards. Please see the EULA for details. For a schedule of events, rules and further details, see the Events Calendar and the Tournaments page. 

GameTruck Coming to C-Bus

by: Dan - posted: 11/19/2008 4:22 PM - Comments (0)
GameTruck announced today that they are bringing their mobile gaming service to the Columbus, OH market, which is also the HQ of GamingNexus. Effective December 1st, central Ohio gamers can order the rolling platform for party’s or corporate events. The trucks feature four 50”Plasma TVs, surround sound and capabilities for 16 players at any given time. Columbus is the fourth franchise awarded, joining Orange County, CA, Phoenix, AZ and San Diego, CA. Check them out at GameTruckParty.com.
[READ MORE]

Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge screenies surprsingly lacking in guns or jagged edges

by: Nathan - posted: 11/19/2008 2:40 PM - Comments (0)
Trisynergy, makers of such well named titles as Limbo of the Lost and UFO:Extraterrestials, bring us screen shots from another excellently named title Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge. This is a turn based war game focusing on the action at squad level. Basically it would be Rainbow Six or Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway mixed with Civilization Revolution or Fire Emblem. This is very much a PC title as indicated by the screenies. I would wait for a demo to see if this game was worth playing but those of you who like experimenting with Strategy games may want to check it out.
[READ MORE]

Wheelman driving into stores on February 16,2009

by: Chuck - posted: 11/19/2008 12:02 PM - Comments (0)
Midway announced today that Wheelman will be hitting stores on February 16, 2009.  The game features the likeness of "action-film megastar" (their words) Vin Diesel and has players playing a professional driver for hire.  So basically it's a game based on the Transporter series but with Vin Diesel instead of Jason Statham.  [READ MORE]

Gaming Gibs for 11/19/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 11/19/2008 11:57 AM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while being passed over again for sexiest man of the year:

News Roundup: Pacific Rift Shadow Odyssey

by: Randy - posted: 11/18/2008 10:48 PM - Comments (0)
Thanks to Defunct Games, TheTechLounge, Massive Gamer, Legit Reviews, Digit-Life, Techgage, and I4U News for today's news roundup.

Ultimate Band releases full track list, forgets artists

by: Randy - posted: 11/18/2008 10:25 PM - Comments (0)
The official release date for the Wii's Ultimate Band is etched in stone for November 25th.  And while developer Disney Interactive Studios put out a full song list, they neglected to mention the artists.  One of the track titles is "Song 2."  Do they mean "Song 2" from Blur?  DJ Krush?  Miles Davis?  Vyacheslav Guyvoronsky?  "Whip It" is on there too.  My first guess (and probably yours) would be Devo, but it could be Inner Circle, Lil' Cyco, or the US Air Force Band of the Rockies '80s Medley version -- who knows?

Ah well.  It's not my job to teach Disney how to put together a press release.  And kidding aside, there are some pretty slick tracks on Ultimate Band:  The Killers' "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" from Hot Fuss; The Raconteurs' "Steady As She Goes" from Broken Boy Soldiers; and The Who's "My Generation."  But if it turns out it's Limp Bizkit's "My Generation," I'm gonna be pissed.

Full song list for the Wii and DS versions after the jump. [READ MORE]

Afro Samurai renders not-yet-seen game characters

by: Randy - posted: 11/18/2008 8:43 PM - Comments (0)
These character renders of Afro Samurai, Namco Bandai's upcoming cut-'em'up (and which now vaguely totes a Blood is Beautiful subtitle), shows off several characters that haven't made it into previous batches of screenshots.  Along with Afro Samurai himself, we've got pics and character biographies of Daimyo, the mustachioed fellow in samurai armor; Jinno, with small black topnot and twin swords at his hip; Justice, packing two six-shooters full of it; Kuma, the bear-headed cigarette smoker; Ninja Ninja, with the Black Flys and white afro; Okiku, the female on the phone; Otsuru, the little girl clutching the teddy bear; Sasuke, with strapped-on bifocals; and Sword Master, sporting his Christopher Walken good looks.
[READ MORE]

Mirror's Edge goes 2D

by: John - posted: 11/18/2008 4:15 PM - Comments (0)
There's been some great Flash games that take a 3D concept and turn it into a fun and addicting 2D experience. Portal comes to mind as one but we have another one here. Head on over to Bourne Games and play a 2D side scrolling version of Mirror's Edge. It's very nice looking and has some awesome animation. Right now it's a beta so expect a few quirks here and there but so far I've had a blast playing it and I can't wait for the final version to be out.

The last word on Beyond Protocol

by: Nathan - posted: 11/18/2008 3:48 PM - Comments (0)
This is the last installment of Beyond Protocol stories on the site. What's next? Screen shots, user guides, and a game trailer! WooHoo! This time its Brandon Bachner telling the story from the front lines of the galactic campaign for president. Intrigued dear reader? You should be! Head on over to the next page and read how Democracy finally comes to the galaxy. [READ MORE]

Epic addresses Gears of War 2 multiplayer matchmaking issues

by: John - posted: 11/18/2008 1:28 PM - Comments (0)
I've run into a few times when trying to find folks to play in Gears of War 2 where it would just cycle or trying to a game would take about five minutes. Epic is aware of this problem and they've posted some work arounds to the issue. One of the main things is try to have more than one person with you when looking for games. Also, if you have multiple folks, make sure that you have less than four or five total. In the meantime, Epic's looking into the issue to try and remedy the problem.

National Wii Nightmare Over?

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 12:25 PM - Comments (0)
While perusing a few game stores and big box retailers like Best buy over the last few days I've noticed something I haven't seen before...piles and piles of Wii's ready to be purchased for the holiday season.  Ben was able to pick one up last week without any problem and it looks like that's the case all over the country.  No longer will people have to lurk at their neighborhood Best Buy waiting to purchase white boxes of over-hyped gaming goodness. 

This may be due to Nintendo finally shipping more units to the Us (something that the latest NPD numbers seem to indicate).  This may be because Nintendo has finally figured out how to make them in large enough numbers or is now re-allocating more supply to the US now that the dollar has strengthened against the Yen and Euro.  Either way this will hopefully end the price gouging on Ebay and other sites

Congrats Nintendo, it's only taken you two years!  I hear there are plenty of copies of Wii Music to go around as well.

Gaming Gibs for 11/18/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 12:18 PM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while being transfixed by the puppy cam:
  • Age of Conan to get dungeons and DirectX 10 support in next release, finally
  • More people don't get why Ensemble was closed, this may become one of the next great gaming mysteries
  • Raph Koster talks about why corpse runs suck in MMOs
  • Looking for deals on Black Friday?  Here's a full list of all of the know deals.
  • Lips microphone won't work with any other music games, hopefully this gets fixed
  • Mirrors Edge will make you puke, but in a good way, learn what proprioception means while you're there
  • Video games now in danger of the yo-ho-ho type of pirates
  • Ubisoft to make a Massive move towards MMOs...yes it's a horrible, horrible pun

New Prince of Persia screenshots

by: John - posted: 11/18/2008 10:46 AM - Comments (0)
Here's some brand new screenshots for the new Prince of Persia game. I think they actually look really good and the details in the monsters are nice. I know cell shading's not everyone's cup of tea but it looks like it works here.
[READ MORE]

Nintendo launches Animal Crossing City Folk, try to be excited

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 11/18/2008 9:30 AM - Comments (0)
The latest game in Nintendo's esoteric Animal Crossing sim, City Folk, is now available for the Wii.  Per usual Nintendo is talking it up and all of its casual appeal, with all the "community building" and endless items to collect.  The unfortunate truth is that City Folk is the only thing approaching a hardcore game that Nintendo has this holiday, and it's basically a rehash at that.  The general consensus is that it's pretty much the GameCube and DS games with a few new features, like the WiiSpeak peripheral.  It doesn't really take advantage of the Wii's features in any respect, from graphics to music to controls.  Nintendo can talk about community all they want but it's kind of hard to build one with those fiddly little friend codes.

I know I'm pretty down on this game but it's a huge disappointment, considering how long Nintendo's had to work on it.  It doesn't even feel like a real Wii game, more of a port actually.  They had the opportunity to create a PS3 Home-like application and they didn't capitalize on it at all.  If this is what we can expect from Nintendo in terms of hardcore games, then I'm glad I bought a 360.  If you've never played an Animal Crossing game before you'll probably really enjoy City Folk, but if you're expecting any other big games from Nintendo this holiday prepare to be let down. [READ MORE]

Check out the finishing moves for Liu Kang, Batman, and Baraka

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 9:19 AM - Comments (0)
It looks like Midway really did tone down the violence to get the DC license as these fatalities aren't quite up to the level as previous Mortal Kombat games.  That said I do like what they've done with some of the ones in this video for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe as they are on the clever side.  I'm not sure what Heroic Brutalities are but they are a bit different.

Hendrix won't be on Guitar Hero World Tour on the Wii

by: John - posted: 11/18/2008 8:57 AM - Comments (1)
Sorry Wii folks. You're going to miss out on some DLC. Speficially, Jimi Hendrix DLC won't be making the rounds to the Nintendo system as explained in this entry in MTV Multiplayer Blog. Nintendo doesn't allow for duplicates and it doesn't allow for anything other than singles. The Hendrix songs will only be available as a track pack so that essentially leaves out the Wii. Rock on Wii folks.

NXE now available for those who applied

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 8:37 AM - Comments (0)
If you "successfully" applied for the NXE beta and didn't get in last week check your Xbox because Microsoft has opened the preview to everyone who applied to get in.  This is actually a fairly cool move by Microsoft as it allows people to sample the NXE ahead of time and it should distribute the load a bit so that people don't kill Xbox Live when the update is officially released tomorrow.  If you want to see what the install process looks like here's a video that Microsoft released last week.

MLB Superstars trailer shows baseball players playing some kind of golf/baseball mash-up

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 8:27 AM - Comments (0)
Here's the latest trailer for MLB Superstars that shows a few of the games biggest names playing some kind of weird golf/baseball hybrid mini-game.  It's kind of an interesting twist on baseball mechanics and gives you some flavor of what you can expect from the final game.

Good Old Games gets Epic

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 8:22 AM - Comments (0)
The folks at Gog.com have signed a deal with Epic games to allow you to purchase some of their old PC classics without the hassle of DRM.  Starting today you'll be able to purchase Unreal Gold, Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition, Unreal II, and Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice Edition from the site.  If you've ever wondered how the folks at Epic made their money before the Gears of Wars games this is the place to start (although I would skip Unreal II...it's not so good).  John and I played the hell out of the Unreal Tournament games and they are still a fixture of any LAN party we have and the original Unreal still kind of holds up today.  Well worth your time if you're looking for some FPS gold. [READ MORE]

Skate It, perfect for those of you with Lobster hands

by: Chuck - posted: 11/18/2008 8:20 AM - Comments (0)
One of the cool things about Skate It is that you can use the Wii Fit board to play the game instead of the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo which makes the game ideal for those who don't have opposable thumbs.

Ultimate Game Chair Unleashes the Reactor Mini for Kids

by: Dan - posted: 11/18/2008 8:00 AM - Comments (0)
Ultimate Game Chair unveiled today the first game chair specifically for kids. The Reactor Mini Chair features Sonic the Hedgehog as part of the SEGA and Ultimate Game Chair marketing deal. The chair is small and light (only 13 pounds) and designed for kids aged 3-9 years old. It also features four vibrating motors and 3D sound. The chair can be purchased online at www.ultimategamechair.com starting on November 21st and will have an MSRP of $69.99. If you purchase Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 (which also comes out this week), then you will receive a coupon for a 10% discount.
[READ MORE]

Games for Windows Update brings new Interface

by: Dan - posted: 11/18/2008 7:11 AM - Comments (0)
If you recently logged into any Games for Windows from Vista, you will be prompted to download an update with a new, pimped out user interface. Major Nelson posted some screens on his Flickr account that show off the new menus, profile, message and achievement windows. Looks like they are trying to refine it to become more inline with the NXE that drops this week for the Xbox 360 dashboard.
[READ MORE]

Zapper out as an Xbox Original

by: Dan - posted: 11/18/2008 7:02 AM - Comments (0)
Zapper, the Atari published Cricket inspired title, has been brought to the Xbox Originals program. That means for a mere 1200 MS points you can download this game onto your Xbox 360 hard drive (taking up valuable space) and NOT earn any achievements. Definitely a possibility especially if you get bored hunting locusts or playing Hendrix on those other games.

Buy Batteries, get Rock Band 2 DLC

by: Dan - posted: 11/18/2008 6:40 AM - Comments (0)
Energizer is giving away free DLC for Rock Band 2 to anyone that purchases their new Rock Band Branded Energizer Advanced Lithium AA Batteries (4-Pack). The code will work on either Xbox Live Marketplace or PSN. Check out the details Here.

Mission Of Burma and Dead Kennedys on Rock Band

by: Dan - posted: 11/18/2008 6:38 AM - Comments (0)
Looks like the folks at Harmonix have a little something different this week on Rock Band DLC, as it is a 3-pack mania with songs from Mission to Burma, Dead Kennedys and more. Check out the list, as all songs are $1.99 (160 MS Points) each, $5.49 (440 MS Points) for each three-pack except the Crooked X single, which is $99 (80 MS points). The Xbox 360 songs are out today and PS3 songs out on Thursday.
 
Dead Kennedys 3 Pack!
California Uber Alles
Holiday In Cambodia
Police Truck

Mission Of Burma 3 Pack!
Mica
That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate
That's When I Reach For My Revolver

Century Media Girls of Metal 3 Pack!
In This Moment - Forever
Lacuna Coil - Closer
Lacuna Coil - Swamped

Crooked X Single!
Crooked X - Gone