Taking aim at E3 2012, City Interactive and their highly anticipated FPS sequel, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, are giving gamers an early look at what to expect when the doors open at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 5. Powered by CryENGINE®3, gamers at this year’s show will get to go hands-on with the only game dedicated to delivering a pure sniper experience.
Features:
Rift is set on Telara, a fantasy world which lies alarmingly close to a variety of other planes of existence In the final days of the Mathosian civil war, the Ward that protected Telara from planar convergence with these other worlds was severely weakened by a disaster known as the Shade. Since that time, rifts between Telara and other planes have been increasingly devastating the land, and old enemies in the form of monsters, held at bay by elemental prisons have begun actively clawing their way out. Telara's greatest enemy, the god Regulos, pounds against the outside of the Ward, seeking reentry into Telara to finish the job he once started. Meanwhile, Telara's own pantheon of gods has suddenly grown silent, and the world is descending into total chaos.
The people of Telara are now convinced that the end of the world is at hand. In these desperate final days, two major factions have arisen to battle the coming apocalypse: the Guardians and the Defiant. Though each faction wants to save the world, their beliefs and methods differ, and they war upon each other as often as they do other enemies of Telara.
Rift contains two main factions, the Guardians and the Defiant. Within either of these factions players can choose from four character callings, Warrior, Cleric, Rogue, Mage. Further, within these players gain access to a variety of different character possibilities known as "souls" - each soul granting players access to a unique "Soul Tree," which contains all of the traits and abilities that a soul had mastered during its life. As your character levels up, you earn soul points that can be used to improve that tree's soul level, granting players access to even more powerful traits and abilities. As a player's character grows in power, so does his or her ability to take on, or "attune" souls. A maximum-level player will be able to attune up to three souls of their choosing each with their own attributes. Souls grow in power as they become more specialized, and have well-rounded abilities that make them great for both solo and group play. The result is the ability to create your own class for virtually any situation.
Although it can be played on its own, Rift like all MMORPGs is designed to be played with others online. Players assume the role of an "Ascended Soul" - a Telaran slain during the great Shade War and resurrected to combat the forces of Regulos, the dragon god of extinction. Once a character's calling and initial soul(s) are selected players can take on quests alone or join together in loose confederations or more organized guilds to seek to defeat creatures that are spawned from rifts dynamically. Close the openings, and gain rewards to progress and level up. Rewards are given for all sorts of actions, including attacks, healing and more. Of course different guilds will also seek to undermine each other as well, leading to substantial player vs. player combat opportunities.
If you were hoping to make some extra cash with the Diablo 3 real-money auction house, you may be better off getting a new second job as Blizzard has just confirmed they will again delay the release.
"In light of the post-launch obstacles we've encountered, we have made the decision to move the launch of the real-money auction house beyond the previously estimated May time frame," Blizzard announced.
The controversial real-money auction house was originally supposed to release on May 22, but was delayed until May 29 due to some early technical difficulties. Now, for the second time in as many weeks, it has been delayed indefinitely. Time for an alternative job
"As we mentioned in our original announcement, our goal has always been to ensure everyone has the smoothest experience possible when the real-money auction house launches, and we need a bit more time to iron out the existing general stability and gameplay issues before that feature goes live."
The Diablo 3 auction house does still function (if you happen to catch it at a good time); however, you can only sell and buy with the in-game gold currency.
The auction house has seen some rough patches in Diablo 3's early release. Aside from the downtime, it looks as if the Diablo fan base is struggling to cope with the new "gold" currency so heavily emphasized in this game. Whereas previous Diablo games mostly relied on a barter system, Diablo 3 has attempted to make gold relevant again. Unfortunately, the pricing of items seems to be the big obstacle as slight variances in stats for somewhat similar items can result in extremely different prices.
Blizzard could offer no timetable for when the real-money auction house will release, but did promise more information soon. So much for using the "making real money" excuse as one of the reasons to play Diablo 3.
While Bethesda can't share details regarding Skyrim Dawnguard, the upcoming DLC set to release in June, they have announced that another new feature will make its way into the game.
Mounted combat will be the big addition for Skyrim update 1.6. And best of all, it will be free to download.
"Like the added Kinect support for Xbox 360 and new kill cameras, this highly-requested feature that was teased in the Skyrim Game Jam video is arrive by way of a free title update," Bethesda announced.
By opting into the latest Steam Beta Update, Skyrim players on PC can check out the new feature today.
Skyrim 1.6 won't just be about mounted combat, however. There are a ton of bug fixes heading our way as well. You can see the current 1.6 release notes below, but Bethesda has promised more details when it gets closer to arriving on consoles.
1.6 Update (all platforms unless specified)
NEW FEATURES
BUG FIXES
To download the 1.6 Beta Update on Steam follow these steps:
If you decide you don’t want to run the Beta anymore, redo steps 1 – 4. At the drop down, select NONE – Opt out of all beta programs. Let Steam restart, and Skyrim will automatically update itself back to the latest released version.
Total global sales of the smash hit adventure game Minecraft is quickly approaching 10 million sales.
Responding to a question from Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Persson, Mojang's business developer Daniel Kaplan announced Minecraft has sold 9.2 million copies. This number includes the PC, Xbox LIVE Arcade, iOS, and Android versions of the game.
The game, which originated as a PC game only, has now spread to several platforms. Although, I believe the PC version remains the best. Persson also revealed that the PC version alone has now sold over 6 million copies.
Meanwhile, the recently released Xbox 360 version of Minecraft has been a hit since arriving on XBLA. The console adaption to the hugely popular PC game originally developed by Mojang reportedly sold more than any other title in the first 24 hours on Xbox LIVE Arcade, breaking all previous digital sales records. Last week, Microsoft revealed sales for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition surpassed one million units globally.
Developed by 4J Studios in conjunction with Mojang and Microsoft Studios, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition introduces new gameplay experiences to fans like a unique crafting menu, game tutorials, and split-screen multiplayer gameplay (as long as you're on an HDTV). It also has online multiplayer for up to eight players over Xbox LIVE.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition can be downloaded from Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1600 Microsoft Points, or $20. You can purchase the PC version from the official Minecraft website.
Funcom's upcoming MMORPG The Secret World has been delayed by two weeks due to "marketing reasons."
The new release date will be July 3rd, the company announced today, with Early Access starting June 29th.
"The new launch date places The Secret World in a more positive launch window which will benefit the launch of the game," Funcom said in a statement.
Funcom also announced the dates and content of the remaining Beta Weekends.
The third Beta Weekend, titled 'Hell Raised', will begin on June 15th and run until June 17th. In this Beta Weekend players will be able to experience the Illuminati and Dragon starter experiences as well as the Templar experience. Players will also get to leave Kingsmouth and venture into the massive region known as Savage Coast, where they will soon find that the very gates of hell itself have opened up! This will allow players to experience the epic 'Hell Raised' dungeon where you will have to battle the demons of hell itself.
The fourth and final Beta Weekend will begin on June 22nd and run until June 24th. This event will focus on the player vs. player experience in The Secret World, and players will get to sample both the Eldorado battlefield experience as well as the massive warzone gameplay where over a hundred players clash together in persistent battle. Here the Illuminati, the Templars and the Dragon will get to duke it out and hone their battle skills on each other before the real conflict begins when Early Access opens on June 29th.
You can check out our preview of The Secret World from PAX Prime, but be aware the game has probably changed quite considerably since then.
In response to an "annoying bug" that made it hard to play Minecraft in single-player, Mojang has released a snapshot update.
"There are still problems, but we're getting there," Minecraft lead developer Jens Bergensten said.
The Minecraft Snapshot 12w21b adds the following:
We added a new creative mode inventory screen, please let us know what you think (target @Dinnerbone or @EvilSeph)! We also updated the language files to correct the diamond/emerald mix-up in the language files (diamonds were previously called emerald in the code, which caused a lot of confusion when we added a real emerald item). We had to ban another translator for griefing… it’s astonishing how much work some people put into these things… :)
You can download the updated snapshot here:
Meanwhile, it was revealed today that Minecraft on PC has surpassed 6 million copies sold.
