EA and BioWare Unveil New Online Action Role-Playing Game Shadow Realms

BioWare, a division of Electronic Arts, today announced Shadow Realms, a new 4v1 story-driven online action RPG, set in a constantly evolving BioWare world where modern meets fantasy. Four heroes adventure against another player-controlled enemy, a malevolent force called The Shadowlord, in dynamic 4v1 co-op missions, ensuring that no two battles are ever the same. Players will have the choice to play either as – or against – The Shadowlord, building experience and progression whether they have chosen good or evil. The over-arching narrative will be released episodically, playing out over time like a great TV series, providing players the ability to experience story-driven adventures as a community.

“This game brings us back to our roots in the realm of classic Pen and Paper RPG, but also delivers something that’s completely new and innovative for our fans,” said Jeff Hickman, General Manager and Vice President at BioWare Austin. “Shadow Realms is a new BioWare RPG that has the hallmarks of all BioWare games with a rich story, a unique world setting and deep combat progression, but built as an interactive experience that evolves the genre and broadens the appeal to online gamers all over the world.”

In Shadow Realms, Modern Heroes on Earth are being awakened and recruited, because of magical powers they never knew they had, to fight in a new and dangerous war against the Shadow Legions of Embra. The Shadow Legions, who have been battling on Embra for years against the members of the Radiant Empires, have gained new strength with the coming of a powerful, unknown force that we call the Shadowlords. And, they have just figured out how to leave Embra and invade Earth.

Join the battle with three other modern-day Heroes to fight the demonic Shadow Legions and a player-controlled Shadowlord to save all of humanity. Build both a Hero and Shadowlord that are deeply customized to the way players want to play.

Visit ShadowRealms.com to sign up for a chance to get into the closed alpha. Become a fan of Shadow Realms on Facebook and follow us on Twitter via @shadowrealms.

Sunshine & Slaughter: Dead Island 2 Debuts Gameplay at Gamescom 2014

Deep Silver revealed the first gameplay trailer for Dead Island 2 today , the next installment in the multi-million-selling Dead Island franchise. In the debut gameplay trailer, sunshine meets bloody melee violence once again, this time in the sunny realms of California. Dead Island 2 developed by YAGER is coming spring 2015 for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as Windows PC.

Fans at Gamescom will enjoy the Dead Island 2 zombie slaughter fest under the blue skies of Los Angeles, just below the iconic Hollywood sign in the first hands-on showcase at the Deep Silver booth in Hall 9.1, B11/C10.

Dead Island 2 picks up the Dead Island and Escape Dead Island storyline several months after the events on the Banoi islands. The United States military has put the Golden State under full quarantine which, for some, is a dream come true with a promise of a fresh start. California’s newfound bloody paradise is an action-packed playground featuring the acclaimed, seamless multiplayer for up to eight players who cooperate, compete or simply coexist in a truly social, new-gen multiplayer experience.

Zelda Wii U will be released in 2015. More details as it becomes available.

“Just to make everything clear,” Miyazaki tells a small audience assembled at Sony’s booth to see Bloodborne, his recently announced PlayStation 4 exclusive, “this is not a sequel to Demon’s Souls.”

After seeing the game in action, Miyazaki’s clarification comes across as perhaps a little unnecessary. Yes, this is a third-person action RPG, complete with thunderingly impactful combat and a delicately entwined world, but it’s also a departure from the medieval melancholy of King’s Field, Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. There’s melancholy here, for sure, but it’s a more toxic, brooding kind – the shadows here are blacker, the blood flowing more freely. Bloodborne’s set in Yharnam, an imposing, sprawling city that, with its verticality, has something of a deeply gothic 19th century Edinburgh to it (Miyazaki won’t be drawn on comparisons, though he admits they do exist, for fear of upsetting inhabitants of the cities that have inspired him with his dark, diseased vision). It’s grim, although its intricacy inspires the same level of awe as From Software’s other fantastical situations; hidden pathways unlock shortcuts, while you’re often granted fresh perspectives on paths previously travelled as you explore new parts of the city. It’s a city gripped by disease, as told by the coffins that line its streets and the infected that stalk its dark corners. Yharnam’s bleak architecture reflects Bloodborne’s downbeat premise: the city was known for a medical remedy, attracting the afflicted who are now permanent citizens, often unaware of the horrible plight that still consumes them. It’s a city told in exquisite detail, too. The legacy of the Souls games is evident in how fully formed Bloodborne’s aesthetic is – and it’s also evident in a frame-rate that makes some dramatic plunges from time to time – but the fidelity makes it feel like a clear generational leap. Clock towers glow orange on the horizon, while stonework glistens with an imposing damp, painted thickly with gargoyles and etchings that all help make Yharnam an architectural wonder. Some of that darker philosophy shows in your character, decked here in a flowing coat that over the course of the demo soon becomes drenched in blood. Miyazaki’s games have never shied away from violence, of course, but in Bloodborne it’s a more tangible, more sickening force that makes for an atmosphere somehow bleaker than the Souls series. “I want players to feel that every fight could be their last one,” says Miyazaki. “You’re going to see a lot of blood splattering. When you face an enemy, you’re going to face death. You’ll constantly face terror and horror.” Other enemy types patrol the slim area of Yharnam on display right now – oversized crows and aggressive bloodhounds were two particularly vicious opponents. The added emphasis on violence extends to a play style that’s another departure from what’s gone before. “In Demon’s Souls, you were equipped with a sword and a shield, so you could seek out an area and take a passive approach,” explains Miyazaki. “But we’re going to switch that up from passive to not aggressive so much, but more pro-active.” As such there’s no shield in Bloodborne – instead, you’re dual-wielding weapons that themselves have dual purposes. In your right hand is a saw that doubles up as a cleaver, transforming from one form to another with a flick of the wrist. The act of transformation is an attack in itself, suggesting that the shotgun in your left hand acts not as a cheap ranged weapon but as a perfect flourish to pepper off a counter-attack. The emphasis might be on the offensive, but it’s been complemented by a deepening of the strategic options at hand. Enemies, too, have more nuance. The diseased villagers that patrol the city have broader behaviour patterns – a mob of them may converge in a town square, working together in a hunt, before the familiar ring of a town bell will send them back out again on their own individual paths. It makes for a more organic, more emergent place to explore – enemies no longer simply spawn, it seems, but rather patrol the city according to their own internal logic. There’s tragedy to that logic too, their behaviour part of some ritual the citizens of Yharnam are unwittingly locked into. Unravelling how exactly that ritual relates to Yharnham’s own history is of course one of the core pleasure’s built into Bloodborne, and like Drangleic and Lordran before it this is a location steeped in enigmas. There are other, more straightforward enigmas surrounding Bloodborne right now, too. At one point you chance across an NPC locked in combat, and aiding them will grant you a little assistance when you face off against the area’s boss, a hulking hybrid of Pan and a werewolf dubbed the Cleric Beast. As to how exactly the process of fighting alongside other players will work, Miyazaki’s coy. “The key concept, or phrase, that we have right now is it’s an open explorative community,” is all he’ll give away. While many of Bloodborne’s systems are taken directly from the Souls’ series, some remain absent – for now at least. The demo runs without a UI, although each felled enemy sees a familiar whisp emerge from their corpse and enter the player’s body, and thanks to invincibility being enabled for this demo, player death isn’t encountered once. “The death penalty, and the concept, I don’t want to make it such a heavy thing,” ponders Miyazaki. “It’s there, but I don’t want it to cause undue stress.” Bloodborne’s a fascinating proposition, then, a clear continuation of the themes established by Miyazaki while a departure that’s relentlessly, almost impossibly grim. Is it all perhaps a little too dark? There’s no cause for alarm, it seems, as Bloodborne will stay true to another of the director’s other, more unsung traits. “One of the core concepts that I’ve had, even with Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, is my mission and my goal is to make a very beautiful game,” he says as the demo draws to a close. “I know a lot of people have a hard time believing it when I say those words, because that’s not the first thing that comes to mind. I always believe that there is beauty in darkness. And so with Bloodborne, I feel like the darkness is darker, which means the beauty is going to rise – and you’ll be able to really see that beauty out of the darkness.”

Greetings everyone! After keeping our lips sealed for such a long time I’m pleased to finally be able to tell you what we’ve been up to in the imaginative world of LittleBigPlanet. Today we announced that LittleBigPlanet 3 is coming toPlayStation 4 this November!

Sackboy is back and for the first time ever joined by three new friends – OddSock, Swoop, and Toggle. Each one of these new playable characters has unique abilities, which brings new dynamic gameplay and expands the inventive possibilities in Create mode.

These three all-new hand-stitched heroes will completely change the way you play…

• Bound up and over walls as the quick and agile OddSock!
• Glide through the skies as the majestic Swoop!
• Transform Toggle between Big Toggle, a heavy strongman and Little Toggle, a light speedster who can walk across water!

All the new characters are, like Sackboy, fully customizable and there will be plenty of quirky new costumes to collect in the game so you can express your own individuality.

Speaking of Sackboy – what about him? Well, our favorite knitted knight has been equipped with an all-new climbing ability and loads of brand-new power-ups including the amazing Pumpinator!

You’ll need the power of all four of these heroes as you explore all corners of the Imagisphere, meet the inhabitants of the mysterious planet Bunkum and face the nefarious Newton as he attempts to destroy a world filled with creativity.

And there is a sack-ton more; we’ve added even more features and are excited to tell you all about them in the months to come. As a kick off, we’ve added creative layers for increased depth in the game world so Sackboy and friends can now jump in and out of the screen right before your eyes, climb up stairs, skate down slides and zip-line on a puffy sponge! Getting to see some of the new gameplay in action is the best way to show you what’s new, so we’re excited to share with you this exclusive trailer we made to celebrate the announcement of LittleBigPlanet 3:

We hope this gives you an idea of the endless surprises that await you LittleBigPlanet 3. If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also made the millions of inventive levels generated within the LittleBigPlanet community so far to all work on PlayStation 4. There’s over 8.5 million, which you can enjoy from Day 1 and they all look better than ever on PS4.

And if you’re feeling inspired, flex your creative muscles with a whole bunch of new tools and tweaks which will allow the creators among you to create fresh experiences for the rest of the community to enjoy.

LBP3 is an excellent showcase for PS4, featuring innovative support for the DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller, stunning 1080p graphics and the ability to broadcast creations and gameplay clips with a touch of the SHARE button.

This is just a glimpse at some of the surprising new things in LittleBigPlanet 3. We can’t wait to tell you more later!

Gameplay Footage - Polygon - IGN - GameSpot - Kotaku - OXM - Eurogamer - Xbox Wire - Game Informer - Joystiq - VG247 - CVG

  

  

  



 

    



  

   

  

Gameplay Footage:

Press Release

Ubisoft Announces the Crew to Launch in Autumn 2014, Releases Worldwide Premiere Gameplay Trailer

Today, Ubisoft announced that The Crew will be available this fall for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and PC.

The Crew is a revolutionary action-driving game that takes gamers on an exhilarating ride throughout a massive, open-world recreation of the United States, brimming with exciting challenges and populated by other real players.

The Crew’s worldwide premiere gameplay trailer, released today, shows four cars, each with different tuning specs and riding in an iconic region of the United States, forming a crew to continue their journey together across the living, breathing open-world.

From April 8th, players will be able to win exclusive rewards through the Golden Plates treasure hunt. Golden Plates are license plates hidden within the game assets (screenshots, trailers, etc.) that have already been revealed or that will be revealed until the launch of The Crew. At launch, submitting the license plate code into the dedicated website hub will unlock in-game rewards, goodies and mystery rewards.

The Crew is now available for pre-order in two different editions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The Limited Edition will grant early access to rides that will prepare gamers for any road—and off-road—conditions. Players who pre-order this edition will receive early access to the BMW Z4 sDrive35is, Mini Cooper S, and Dodge Ram SRT-10 and their respective sets of full custom and performance parts. The Muscle Edition, which can only be pre-ordered at GameStop, will include all early unlock content from the Limited Edition and will also grant exclusive early access to the 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Both Editions include 10,000 bonus Crew Credits. Players can pre-order The Crew for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at their local retailers.

  

The game goes on sale later this year for PS4, Xbox One and PC.