Creators of F.E.A.R. release new game, Betrayer, on Steam

A new action adventure through an abandoned New World colony.

Exploring a New World colony in 1604, you must put together what happened to inhabitants whilst encountering supernatural threats.


When speaking of Betrayer, the game’s designer and writer, Craig Hubbard said, “Betrayer is the kind of game we’ve been wanting to make ever since we shipped FEAR.”


Hubbard continued by saying, “You can explore large, open environments in search of clues and loot.


You can tackle challenges aggressively or stealthily. You can outfit yourself with the equipment that best suits your play style. It’s a very player-driven experience.”

Whilst the game has been available on Steam Early Access since August 2013, the time has been used to further tweak the experience – UI improvements, new game mechanics were added, and even contrast and colour sliders that allow players to customise how the game looks.

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Xbox One makes hot debut as console war revs up

Gamers in more than a dozen countries started snapping up new-generation Xbox One consoles Friday as Microsoft battled Sony to be at the heart of Internet age home entertainment.

Keenly-awaited Xbox One consoles launched in more than a dozen countries including Australia, France, Britain, Brazil and the United States as day dawned in respective time zones.


Xbox fans queued at consumer electronics shops to be among the first to get their hands on Microsoft's beefed up system that extends beyond gaming to online films, music, social networking and more.


A man in New Zealand, 24-year-old Dan Livingstone, become the first person in the world to officially own an Xbox One. He said he was immediately retreating for five days to play with it.

International time zones meant New Zealand was the first country to launch the console.

Australia was next in the global roll out. The distinctive Sydney Tower turned Xbox One green and another 3D projection beamed onto the water beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark the midnight launch.


In California, people were also eager to get one of their own.

"It's a big upgrade; a big change," said 23-year-old Jonathan Guerrero, who staked out a spot at the front of the line at a Best Buy electronics shop in Northern California 13 hours before the consoles went on sale a minute into Friday.


"You are jumping from okay to super great."

Hassan Ali, 34, said he queued to get an Xbox One because he has an ideal television for the rich graphics pumped out by the console. He described his set as a 3-D, high-definition, smart television with a 65-inch screen.


"It's kind of amazing that you can look at the game and it looks like real life," said 34-year-old Ali, who told of loving video games since his first Sega device in 1985.


Sony last week unleashed its new champion in the long-running console war, getting a slight jump on Microsoft heading into the prime holiday shopping season.


The Xbox One, successor to the Xbox 360, the top-selling console in North America, will debut at a price of $500 while Sony's PS4 is priced at $400.

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Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten leaving Microsoft

NEW DELHI: Microsoft Xbox One product chief Marc Whitten is leaving the company for Sonos Inc, the maker of wireless speaker systems. Marc will have the same title at Sonos, according to a company statement.

"Following the launch of Xbox One, the most successful launch in Xbox history, and the recent launch of "Titanfall," the most anticipated game of this generation, the Xbox team is sad to share today that Marc Whitten, chief product officer of Xbox, will be leaving the team to become chief product officer of Sonos," said the statement announcing Marc's departure.

March joined Microsoft in 1997 as a software design engineer for Windows 2000. He joined the Xbox team three years later in 2000 and went on to become Xbox chief product officer in 2010.

Marc and his software team were moved out of Microsoft's hardware and game studios unit during a management restructuring in July last year. They began reporting to Terry Myerson, who became head of the OS group, which spans PCs, mobile devices and Xbox.


Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Studios, said "I've had the pleasure of working with Marc for more than a decade and he has always led Xbox forward with a focus on our fans and delivering a platform that developers and creators can embrace to deliver incredible games and entertainment. We wish Marc well, while looking forward to the next chapter of Xbox."


The remainder of the Xbox leadership team will remain intact and Marc's team will continue reporting to Myerson. "I'm thankful for Marc's leadership on Xbox and the incredible team he's helped build," said Myerson. "I look forward to working with Yusuf, Phil and the rest of the team to find a great replacement."

Marc will reportedly join Sonos at the beginning of April.

This is the third high-profile exit from Microsoft's leadership team in the past one month. Recently, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella confirmed that Tony Bates, the company's executive vice president of business strategy and evangelism (and former Skype CEO) is leaving the company, as is marketing EVP Tami Reller.

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Idea Cellular and Gameloft ties up to offer quality games in India

Gameloft, a leading global publisher of digital and social games has partnered with Idea Cellular to offer quality gaming to Idea subscribers.

The tie up will enable over 130 million Idea subscribers to avail exciting games from the Gameloft Game Store and also through Idea’s mobile portal. Adding to the excitement, Idea subscribers will also get access to new content from Gameloft’s wide portfolio of games on a regular basis through the unique Gameloft Club subscription. As an inaugural offer, consumers will get 1 Bonus Game for download from Idea and Gameloft, in the first month of their subscription.

Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “The mobile phone is increasingly becoming the most preferred infotainment device for users in India. Gaming is one of the fastest growing and a popular category of service used on the mobile platform. Idea is the first mobile operator in India to bring out the best in gaming programs for mobile users, through our tie up with Gameloft”.


“We are delighted to partner with Idea Cellular, to bring Gameloft’s best titles and most popular licenses to their subscribers”, said Sarabjeet Singh, Country Manager for Gameloft India. “This partnership will enable Idea customers to enjoy high quality games from Gameloft for their JAVA & Android devices without the hassles of Credit Card billing. Also, Idea will be the 1st operator in India to launch our popular Gameloft Club games subscription service, which provides great value to consumers", he added.


The Gameloft Game Store will be accessible for Idea customers through the mobile internet connection on their phones at wapshop.gameloft.com/idea. The service will be available for both prepaid and postpaid users and can be accessed on all GPRS enabled feature phones and 3G smartphones.

The Game Store has all the popular Gameloft franchises like Asphalt, Modern Combat, Real Football, Gangstar and N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, as well as games from Gameloft’s extensive list of Hollywood movie licenses. Also, the Store will provide Freemium games, Try & Buy as well as Full Paid Games for download to Idea customers.

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Halo, Titanfall lead Xbox One games at E3

Microsoft has announced the lineup of games for its upcoming Xbox One console at its 2013 E3 press conference in Los Angeles, with highlights including Halo and god-sim Project Spark.

The first game announced at Microsoft's E3 press conference in Los Angeles was Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, featuring Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Snake.

The trailer opened with a scene on horseback reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption and detailed gameplay elements such as "deeper stealth action" and "tactical espionage."
The next exclusive Xbox One game to be announced was Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome, which is a first-person "sword-and-sandal" epic set in ancient Rome. It featured both hand-to-hand combat and massive battle set-pieces.
Ryse is compatible with SmartGlass and Microsoft used it to illustrate the new Timeline mode -- an expansion of Xbox 360's achievements.

Moving on, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available on the Xbox One and features a free-roaming fantasy experience. It will feature several exclusive features for the Xbox One, including optional voice commands through Kinect.

Though no official title was given, 323 studios announced that a "Halo FPS" will debut in 2014 on the Xbox One. It will run at 60 frames per second and feature cloud-based gameplay. The opening cinematic showed Master Chief dressed in a monk's robes wandering across a desert and ambushed by a large biomechanical creature.
Sunset Overdrive is an open-world shooter that incorporates Mirror's Edge-style free-running with a first-person shooter.

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PS4 in the spotlight again before release

While we are still yet to see the actual console is seems Sony’s decision to announce the PS4 release date earlier than expected will be welcomed by many potential customers, and from what we understand Sony has been busy sealing deals and revealing new games at the Game Developers Conference.

Just when we thought news on the PS4 was going quiet, Sony are currently showing off some new titles at the PlayStation Indie Arcade event which include Primal Carnage: Genesis and Blacklight: Retribution. In an article on Push Square they highlight Sony’s re-emergence at the GDC pushing the PS4 back into the limelight, and document the aforementioned titles being shown.


Primal Carnage: Genesis is a brand new title from Lukewarm Media, which involves being stranded on an island inhabited by dinosaurs much like Jurassic Park, and with the use of Epic’s stunning Unreal Engine 4 technology we can expect a decent looking game that could be a great launch title.

Blacklight: Retribution from Zombie Studios is a futuristic free-to-play FPS and both these games show the manufacturer’s commitment to smaller studios, as it seems Sony has changed, supporting and accommodating all sorts of developers producing content for their systems, no matter how big or small.

This means no limitations or restrictions are in place for those deciding to develop content for their systems, and this could be an ideal way for Sony to build up a user base on the PS4, providing a varied catalogue of games and applications for the next-gen console.

From what we are lead to believe Sony’s new positive attitude is starting to show signs of fruition, and plenty of developers are coming forward to sing their praises, which in turn holds the manufacturer is high regard, therefore, we hope this continues throughout the PS4 launch. Do you prefer Sony’s more developer friendly attitude? Alternatively, are you hoping the PS4 release date is brought forward?

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Dark Gameplay Trailer Unleashes Vampiric Powers

Realmforge Studios has released a new trailer for their vampire action game Dark just in time for GDC. This trailer demonstrates many of the supernatural powers that the main character Eric Bane wields in the game.

Dark is billed as stealth-action so many of the abilities allow players to be sneaky. They can see enemy's heat signatures through walls to keep track of patrolling guards. The player can also change into mist to leap from cover to cover. To throw guards off their trail, they can create a phantom noise in a far corner of the room.


If need be, the player can take the fight to his enemies. A "shadow grip" ability allows them to pick up a foe and slam them to the ground. Vampires have superhuman strength as well, so they can kill humans with their bare hands. They can also regenerate any lost health.


The third-person perspective and stealth-action gameplay gives it a Deus Ex: Human Revolution vibe. Just based on the footage released so far, though, I'm not convinced the game will be on DX's level. It remains to be seen whether the game has the richness of story or diversity of gameplay necessary to make it stand out.

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Angry Birds Seasons goes back to school; adds new levels, pink bird

Angry Birds maker Rovio had teased the pink bird last week, and with Thursday's update to Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Seasons HD, the latest addition to the Angry Birds family is finally here.

The version 2.5 update to Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Seasons HD also brings 20 brand new schoolyard level, based on the "back to school" theme, just in time as students head back to the university.


Rovio has been releasing regular updates for all its games in the Angry Birds franchise. Just recently, the company announced an update for Angry Birds Space taking the war to the Red Planet. The update was announced on the occasion of the Curiosity rover's highly celebrated touch down on Mars.


Here are the release notes for Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Seasons HD:

Pencils, apples, backpacks, playgrounds -- it's back to school time! But summer's not over yet: we've got some spectacular surprises in store! Brighten your day with 20 brand new schoolyard levels, new bonus levels, and a BRAND NEW BIRD.


Puzzle through TWENTY brand-new school levels!

Say hello to the UPLIFTING new bird! She's cute, pink, and bubbly -- but watch out, this girl is no pushover!


Groove to the new theme music in the fun new playground levels!

Angry Birds Seasons (for iPhone/ iPod Touch) is $0.99 and Angry Birds Seasons HD (for iPad) is available for $2.99 at the App Store.

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The Dark Man game now available for Android

The physics based shooter game is available for $.99 (Rs 54). However, 10 levels of the game are available free of cost for trial.

7Seas Entertainment, a Hyderabad based game developer, has launched 'The Dark Man' game for Android-based mobile devices. The physics-based shooting game is initially available at Google's Android marketplace.

The company says that the game will be offered on Samsung App Store, LG Store and all other Android-supporting app stores and distributor networks in phases.


Maruti Sanker, managing director of 7Seas Entertainment, said, "Priced at $0.99, the game was played by 1.5 crore gamers online in the last one year. The physics-based puzzle game has 30 levels. For now, it is offered for free with up to 10 levels on a trial-and-buy mode."


"The player dons the role of an archer and there are different interesting targets (apples) on the characters' heads. All a player needs to do is to shoot the apples off their heads without shooting the characters to move on to the next level," he said.

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