Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 29.03.13

Pokemon It is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game games industry news round up!

In exciting news for Pokémon video game players across Europe, The Pokémon Company International announced the long-awaited dates and locations for the Pokémon European Video Game Championships. The English competition will be held in Birmingham on June 2. Players will battle for the chance to earn a Travel Award to the 2013 Pokémon World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, this August. Visit www.pokemon.co.uk for more information.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Infinite Crisis, an all-new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Turbine, the award winning studio behind free-to-play online games including The Lord of the Rings Online. Infinite Crisis is a free-to-play game that features a deep roster of DC Comics characters and is scheduled for release in 2013 for the PC.

In further news from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, they announced two of its biggest mobile games, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Scribblenauts Remix, are coming to Android, exclusively in the Amazon Appstore for Android. Expanded to and completely optimized for the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD offers gamers with new ways to connect to their favorite franchises.

Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network have started their Spring Sales. Xbox Live’s sale runs from March 26 – April 2, and includes such titles as Dead Rising 2, Walking Dead, LA Noire, Max Payne 3, Resident Evil 6 and some of their movie offerings. The PSN kicked off its spring sale yesterday and it is running until April 9. In addition to the sale, it’s going to have a number of limited time offers, the first of which is Killzone HD, available till the April 29. Some of its games up for sale are Rayman 3 and Trine 2.

Electronic Arts, Sega, Sony, Codemasters and more have pledged support for the first Game QA & Localisation forum, taking place June 25-26 in London. The event will focus on best practices for test plans, QA budgeting and strategy with a mix of keynotes, sessions, panels and workgroups. Paradox, Outplay, Ganz, Plarium and Abertay University are also involved with the event. Full details can be found at the official site.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 22.03.13

StarCraft 2 It is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game games industry news round up!

Today is the start of the Insomnia48 convention. Gamers are flocking to the gaming festival, for a weekend of gaming highlights including the ESET UK Masters StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm grand finals. With some of the best competitive gamers in the world vying for a share of the £10,000 prize pot, the tournament represents the pinnacle of the UK eSports scene. Jetting in from countries such as South Korea, Romania, Switzerland and Germany, the 12 gamers that have qualified over the last few weeks represent the cream of the international eSports crop and will provide some of the most exciting competitive StarCraft entertainment possible!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced a Season Pass for the upcoming DC Comics fighting game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The Injustice: Gods Among Us Season Pass grants purchasers access to four of the game’s upcoming downloadable characters for the price of three.

In further Injustice: Gods Among Us news, the developers are giving comic book and beat-‘em-up fans the opportunity to settle the age-old-question of “who will win?” in person at special Injustice: Gods Among Us tournaments being held in GAME stores around the UK during the month of April. The Injustice: Gods Among Us Tournament UK Final is in London and the International Final is in Paris.

Kickstarter has now had over $107 million dollars pledged to games with over $22 million of that just this year alone. Kickstarter cites the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter in February 2012 as the game project that really got everyone’s attention. While there are plenty of success stories on Kickstarter, it glosses over the fact that not all of these games are successfully produced. This proves that everyone can have trouble with developing a game, it is not an easy task and it shouldn’t be taken lightly!

Finally a different way to play some of your favourite PC games has surfaced. Peripheral company Stelulu Technologies have developed a controller that can use with your feet. The interestingly named, Stinky Board, has four buttons underneath that can be pressed when you lean your foot on them. The buttons can be mapped to any key on your keyboard and “in-game modifiers” are supported like Alt, Ctrl and Shift. That means up to 16 actions can performed and the device can automatically detect and load saved profiles. Additionally, the tension of the board can be adjusted and the board itself is made out of steel, aluminium and “heavy duty plastics” to withstand the kind of foot-related abuse you might expect when someone keeps dying over and over again in their favourite FPS.

Train2Game News: Injustice Gods Among Us – Quarter Finals

Green Arrow and Solomon GrundyIt is the quarter finals of the Injustice: Gods Among Us battle arena!! Train2Game students vote on who you want to win the latest matches of the week.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment reveal the fifth week of challengers in this week’s Injustice Battle Arena, kicking off the quarterfinal round of matches that will pit previous weeks’ preliminary tournament victors against each other to determine who will advance to the semifinals.

This week, first round champions Batman and Wonder Woman collide as technological prowess and peak physical condition meet superhuman strength and speed, while in another ring, the fastest man in the world takes on perhaps the most mischievous, as the lightning-quick Flash faces off against the unpredictable villain, The Joker. Additional matches this week include a brutal clash between preliminary round champions Aquaman and Green Lantern, and finally, a bout of raw Krypton power versus deadly precision as Superman takes on Green Arrow.

They should be epic battles with great destruction in them all!

You can view these all-new Injustice Battle Arena videos below, analyzing each contender’s strengths, offering celebrity commentary on the matches.

To cast your vote and be eligible to win prizes, visit: http://ema.io/MzAz

The victors of these legendary match-ups will be announced soon, with all new game play videos featuring the winning contenders.

Voice your opinion via Facebook, YouTube or Twitter and join the debate!

Train2Game News: Injustice: Gods Among Us choose your winner! – Week 2

AquamanTrain2Game brings you the results of the second week of the Injustice: Gods Among Us in game battles!

Last week we showed you a video with celebrity insights and asked you to choose who would win in a fight between some of the DC Universes biggest names! All the action was then played out in the up coming game Injustice: Gods Among Us.

In the first match the fastest man alive, The Flash faced the mysterious Shazam in an epic battle of speed versus strength. You can view the results of the match in the game play video below:

In the second battle it was a battle of the insane minds when The Joker and Lex Luthor faced off. You can be sure to see a lot of dirty handed tricks in this grudge match of the biggest villains!

This week’s pair of matches pit clever, gadget-laden specialists against brute force challengers, as the cunning Aquaman summons the powers of the deep to take on tech-heavy Cyborg, while intergalactic-traveling Green Lantern faces off against the brutish undead strength of Solomon Grundy.

You ca view these all-new Injustice Battle Arena videos below, analyzing each contender’s strengths, offering celebrity commentary on the matches, and posing the question – who would win?

Remember for participating in these show-downs, fans in the UK will be rewarded with an Injustice avatar item when they register on the site and an exciting piece of DLC content when they first vote. Voice your opinion via Facebook, YouTube or Twitter and join the debate!

You can learn more and vote at https://injustice.dccomics.com/

Train2Game News: The Dark Knight Returns

Arkham CityYou may or may not know that your Train2Game blogger is a massive fan of the Dark Knight so hearing the news that there is going to be a third Arkham game made me very happy.

The next entry in the Batman: Arkham series will be released this year, Time Warner quietly revealed in a financial meeting last week. A transcript of the company’s Q4 2012 earnings call, quotes CFO John K. Martin as saying:

“We expect [digital home video revenue] to grow close to 20% in 2013. And we also have a strong games release this year, which will include the next release in the Batman Arkham franchise.”

Batman: Arkham City, the previous game in the franchise, was released in 2011 and was a huge success thanks, in part, to the story being written by the Batman animated series writer, Paul Dini. The game play was also incredible and as you were battling with the thugs of Gotham you did feel like Batman. The game was then retooled for Nintendo’s Wii U and re-published last November.

Last year it was rumoured that the next game in the series would take the form of a prequel, with developer, Rocksteady drawing inspiration from the Silver Age of comics. However, VG247 claims the UK studio is not developing the next game in the series.

In addition, in August of last year Paul Dini, announced he also will not be working with Warner Interactive on a Batman: Arkham 3 and Mark Hamill said that he would never voice The Joker again after Arkham City. A few months after the games release however, in an interview with film director Kevin Smith, Hamill said that he wouldn’t be opposed to playing the insane villain again if the part was right.

Train2Game News: Marvel LEGO, Assemble!

Marvel LegoYour Train2Game blogger was very excited to get the news that there is going to be a Marvel Lego game coming later this year.

Marvel Super Heroes are assembling for an action-packed, brick-smashing good time!  Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment announced that LEGO Marvel Super Heroes will be available from autumn 2013 on all platforms. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is the first instalment in the highly successful LEGO video game franchise to feature famous Marvel characters.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes offers an original storyline in which Nick Fury calls upon Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and other heroes spanning the Marvel Universe to save Earth from such threats as the vengeance of Loki and the hunger of Galactus, Devourer of the Worlds.  LEGO and Marvel fans will enjoy classic LEGO video game adventure and humour, while playing as their favourite Marvel characters.

Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games Publishing said “We’re very excited to bring a myriad of classic Marvel characters to life in LEGO form for some fun, family-friendly game play in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes.

“Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the world as they explore famous landmarks in LEGO New York and take the adventure beyond Earth to iconic locations in the Marvel Universe.”

TQ Jefferson, Vice President, Games Production, Marvel Entertainment added “Fans of both LEGO and Marvel have wanted this game for years, and we’re addressing that demand with more Marvel Universe characters than ever in a console game,

“If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy or scores of other Marvel characters, this is the game for you.”

In LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, players will unlock more than 100 characters from across the Marvel Universe, including fan favourites like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus. The game will pack in a plethora of super-cool character abilities, combat-like action sequences, epic battle scenes, puzzle-solving and a unique story told with playful LEGO humor.

I for one, being a big fan of Comics and the Marvel universe, am really looking forward to this game.

Train2Game news: Gotham City Imposters open beta now on Xbox Live

Train2Game students asked ‘Where’s the Xbox 360 version?’ when we posted that the Gotham City Imposters open beta had gone live on PSN. Well, now Train2Game students with an Xbox 360 can get involved with the multiplayer Batman themed shooter too.

Train2Game students who wish to take part in the Gotham City Imposters Xbox Live beta just need to register their interest on the official website.

Gotham City Imposters is a download only multiplayer shooter which pits Batz, vigilantes dressed as Batman against Jokerz, criminal gangs dressed up as The Joker. It’s a light-title that looks to boast massive customisation and plenty of unlockables.

Train2Game students who take part in the Gotham City Imposters beta participants are encouraged to leave feedback on the Warner Bros. forum.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. Not only that, but in an interview with the Train2Game blog, Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars said that beta testing is potentially a way to get into the industry.

For more on beta testing and opportunities to get involved in it, see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, will you be getting involved with the Gotham City Imposters beta? What are your impressions of the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Gotham City Imposters open beta goes live

Train2Game students have the opportunity to get involved with the beta for Warner Bros. Gotham City Imposters, which is now open to anyone.

All Train2Game students need to do to be part of the Gotham City Imposters beta is download it for free from the PlayStation Store. The Gotham City Imposters beta runs from now through until 6th February 2012.

Gotham City Imposters is a download only FPS that pits vigilantes dressed as Batman against criminal gangs dressed up as The Joker. It’s a light-hearted multiplayer shooter that boasts massive customisation and plenty of unlockables.

Train2Game students who take part in the Gotham City Imposters beta participants are encouraged to leave feedback on the Warner Bros. forum.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. Not only that, but in an interview with the Train2Game blog, Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars said that beta testing is potentially a way to get into the industry.

For more on beta testing and opportunities to get involved in it, see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, will you be getting involved with the Gotham City Imposters beta? What are your impressions of the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Gotham City Imposters beta open for registration

Train2Game students have the opportunity to get involved with the open beta for Warner Bros. multiplayer shooter Gotham City Imposters.

Gotham City Imposters is a download only FPS that pits vigilantes dressed as Batman against criminal gangs dressed up as The Joker. It’s a light-hearted multiplayer shooter that boasts massive customisation and plenty of unlockables.

The Gotham City Imposters Xbox Live and PlayStation Network beta is scheduled to begin soon, and Train2Game students who wish to be involved should register at www.GothamCityImpostors.com

Those who wish to join the Gotham City Imposters beta will need to sign up for a WBID ID account before filling out a few details including whether they wish to beta test Monolith Productions multiplayer shooter on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. Not only that, but in an interview with the Train2Game blog, Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars said that beta testing is potentially a way to get into the industry.

For more on the significance of beta testing to the game development process, see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Gotham City Imposters? Will you apply for the beta?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.