Deep Silver
Latest
Sacred 3 launching August 26, gets new gameplay trailer
Action RPG Sacred 3 will hack and slash its way to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 systems in North America on August 26. Deep Silver offered a new trailer for the top-down brawling game, which is geared toward both online (four player) and offline (two player) cooperative multiplayer. Sacred 3 will be accompanied by a Malakhim class, which joins previous characters from the series, Seraphim, Ancarian, Khukuhru and the Safiri. Deep Silver will also offer an "Underworld Story" piece of downloadable content at the game's launch. In the Underworld Story DLC, players will ascend a tower to face Black Seraphim, a rival from the previous game in the series. [Image: Deep Silver]
Ghoulish MOBA Dead Island: Epidemic enters beta testing
Publisher Deep Silver has begun beta testing the free-to-play Dead Island: Epidemic, and it needs your help putting the zombies through their shambling paces. As its name would suggest, Dead Island: Epidemic is a spin-off of Deep Silver's Dead Island franchise. Instead of a first-person action game, Epidemic drops players into a multiplayer online battle arena (think: League of Legends) populated by the same walking corpses that make up the supporting cast of the core Dead Island series. Cooperative teamwork is key to surviving the undying hordes, but when your teammates fail you, you can also rely on over-the-top DIY weaponry, another hallmark of the Dead Island games. Gaining access to the closed beta is as simple as visiting the game's website and filling out a quick registration form. Those who participate in the beta test will be able to earn "exclusive in-game items and rewards" that will carry over into the eventual retail incarnation of Dead Island: Epidemic. [Image: Deep Silver]
Final Xbox Live Ultimate Sale includes Saints Row 4, Limbo and Metro: Last Light
Today is the final day in Microsoft's Xbox Live sale on Xbox 360, and includes discounts on nine games. The following six discounted items are available through Games on Demand: Saints Row 4, Metro: Last Light, Tropico 4, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon, Oblivion and Overlord 2. The other three games on sale through Xbox Live Arcade are Limbo, Puzzle Quest 2 and Rock of Ages. Head past the break for the full price breakdown of the discounted prices, which are good through the end of the day. Don't forget, 13 other games are on sale on the platform until tomorrow as well, including Portal 2, Batman: Arkham City and Mass Effect.
Sacred 3 brings co-op adventure to Xbox 360, PS3, PC this summer
The hack and slash role-playing action of the Sacred franchise returns this summer with the latest entry in the series, Sacred 3. According to developer Deep Silver, Sacred 3 has been designed with an eye toward co-operative play, both online and off. This allows the game to attract new players who may be on the fence about yet another action-roleplaying game without "compromising the rich lore and fantasy of the Sacred universe." Sacred 3 sees the return of the Seraphim, Khukuhru, Safiri and Ancarian character classes alongside the debut of the Malakhim. As in all Sacred entries, each character class offers a unique swath of skills and special abilities that can be customized to suit an individual's playing style. So far no firm release date has been revealed for Sacred 3, but to keep us occupied in the meantime, Deep Silver has served up the introductory trailer you see above. [Image: Deep Silver]
NASCAR 14 developer lays off 12, cites 'restructuring'
Eutechnyx, the British developer behind NASCAR '14, has dismissed a dozen employees, according to a report by Develop. As Develop points out, this is the second such round of layoffs to hit Eutechnyx in the last 12 months. In June, "about 10" people were released across a number of different divisions. Later that month, Eutechnyx closed its London office. CEO Darren Jobling regrets having to let people go, but states that these dismissals are a necessary part of the studio's ongoing restructuring efforts. "On Friday, we made unfortunately 12 people redundant. It was part of restructuring at the company," Jobling told Develop. "We've made no bones about the fact we wanted to move away from being a work-for-hire developer on consoles to publishing our own titles, so it's highly regrettable that we did have to make 12 people redundant." If there's one silver lining to this story, it's that NASCAR fans need not fear for the sake of NASCAR '14. Eutechnyx had finished development on the racing game long before these layoffs struck, and NASCAR '14 is still slated to reach the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC today. [Image: Deep Silver]
NASCAR '14 revs engines for online leagues, a series first
Just because the cars don't turn any direction but left in a real-life NASCAR race doesn't mean the NASCAR games can't change things up every now and again. NASCAR '14, developed by Eutechnyx, will be the first in the series to allow for players to form an online league. Up to 16 players can form a league and race through the Sprint Cup, according to Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard. "Without question, this was the most requested feature," Eutechnyx Executive VP Ed Martin told Extra Mustard. "We expect hundreds of thousands of people to be running their own season." Unfortunately, none of those 16 people will be racing on next-gen consoles. Martin said there aren't enough consoles out in the wild yet to justify development costs. "The nail in the coffin was when a guy from Sony talked about Gran Turismo, and how their new game was launching on PS3. He said something like, 'Why would we put Gran Turismo on a console that has zero units in the market when there are 150 million PlayStation 3s out there?'" "It costs us about $6 million to develop a next-gen version of NASCAR. You have to sell an awful lot of copies in order to meet the development costs, on top of all the licensing," Martins noted. "We own the rights, and we absolutely have plans, but it won't be later this year."
PC MOBA Dead Island: Epidemic seeking beta players
Deep Silver's free-to-play Dead Island spin-off, Dead Island: Epidemic, is now accepting applications for its upcoming closed beta. The free-to-play PC game is a multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) set in the Dead Island universe. Three teams of players fight against each other amidst mobs of CPU-controlled undead who equally hate all players. That's just how zombies roll, you know? Curious zombie slayers may head on over to the official site and sign up for the Dead Island: Epidemic closed beta today. If you're newly registered, you'll automatically get access to Dead Island: Epidemic's ongoing Alpha test – of which 30,000 players have joined – ahead of the closed beta. All participants will earn in-game goods that carry over into Dead Island: Epidemic proper whenever it launches. [Image: Deep Silver]
Saints Row 4 adds five DLC packs, including new weapons
Saints Row 4 players can now wreak heretofore unimagined levels of surreal havoc in virtual Steelport with five new DLC packs. Starting today, players can download the free Reverse Cosplay Pack, which adds the Genki Space Pimp outfit and Freckle Bitch's attire to the in-game wardrobe. Also launching today is the College Daze DLC pack ($3), offering frat boy and sorority girl outfits and a unique barstool vehicle. Sporty players may prefer the Game On DLC ($3), which adds a collection of hockey and golf gear in addition to new weapons. For $1, players can up their arsenals with The Polarizer, which won the GameStop Warped Weapon Challenge. The magnetized gun sucks in passers-by and turns them into deadly projectiles. Cash-strapped Steelport citizens may opt for today's final DLC offering, the Bling Bling Pack ($3), which equips players with money-themed superpowers and a literal Midas touch that turns enemies into gold. [Image: Deep Silver]
PS Plus: Outlast on PS4, Metro: Last Light on PS3 this week
Outlast, a PlayStation 4 survival-horror game set in a psychiatric asylum, will be available free to PlayStation Plus subscribers starting tomorrow. The service also has a prominent freebie for the PlayStation 3 with Metro: Last Light, the atmospheric first-person shooter based on the post-apocalyptic Metro series from Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. A PlayStation Blog post also reminds us of a discount for Dustforce, down to $8 tomorrow, and the imminent end of free downloads for the PS3's remastered Shadow of the Colossus. [Image: Red Barrel]
Toy Soldiers: Cold War, Dead Island free for Xbox Live Gold members in February
Microsoft's Major Nelson has announced next month's lineup of free games for Xbox Live Gold members, revealing that subscribers can expect to receive free copies of Toy Soldiers: Cold War and Dead Island in February. Signal Studios' Xbox Live Arcade strategy game Toy Soldiers: Cold War includes a series of tower defense-styled battles featuring miniature foot soldiers and combat vehicles. Dead Island, a 2011 retail release from Techland, is a first-person action game that challenges players to survive a zombie invasion at an island resort, with help from friends via online cooperative play. As with previous Games With Gold program releases, both Dead Island and Toy Soldiers: Cold War are free for users to keep once they are downloaded, even after associated Xbox Live Gold memberships expire. New games are added to the service on the 1st and 16th of each month.
Saints Row 4 adds Stone Age DLC on Steam
If you thought Volition couldn't dig deeper for a gag, you forgot about the bedrock. The Stone Age DLC pack has just launched for Saints Row 4, available now on Steam for $2.99. The pack features giant club and bone weapon costume, caveman outfits for male and female characters and a "Flintstone's like car." For those worried, Volition promises the DLC features "100% historically-accurate" content. Based on the pictures of said content, we're inclined to believe them. So, go forth my sex toy-swinging friends and have a gay old time with one of Joystiq's favorite games of 2013.
NASCAR '14 circling toward Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on Feb. 18
UK developer Eutechnyx has announced NASCAR '14, a new game based on the 'as American as apple pie' stock car racing series license, will launch on February 18. The racing title will arrive for $50 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Apart from the standard (or automatic) career mode and licensed everything, NASCAR '14 features a "Highlights" mode, that recreates events from the season right down to exact weather conditions and racer placement. And then you drive in circles, I guess, I'm assuming that's the majority of what the gameplay is, but I'm Canadian, so what do I know? Previously a franchise handled by Activision (and EA before them), the NASCAR licence is now in the caring hands of zombie and dildo-slinging publisher Deep Silver. With Activision out of the picture for distribution, Eutechnyx said it would self-publish the next game in its NASCAR series before Deep Silver jumped on board as publisher.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2013: Saints Row 4
Team Joystiq is barging into 2014 with a celebration of last year's best games. Keep reading throughout the week to see our assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs. Saints Row 4 is a deceptively smart, dumb game. The developers at Volition Inc. have successfully mated the tightest gameplay in the Saints Row series to date with its most over-the-top weapons (including flight, telekinesis and other superpowers), most drawn out, ridiculous celebrity cameos, and some of the finest funny video game writing ever scribbled down. Granted, the game has its fair share of lowbrow poop jokes (not to mention weaponized sex toys), but at the same time it's apparent that the writers at Volition are some very clever people. Saints Row 4 rarely relies on memes or easy humor, and the surprisingly deep level of satire underlying the experience is simultaneously welcome and totally unnecessary to your enjoyment of the game.
Best Buy's deal of the day discounts Gran Turismo 6, Saints Row 4
Best Buy is featuring discounts on two games as part of its sales for today only. Saints Row 4 is 40 percent off ($29.99) for both Xbox 360 and PS3, saving players $20 on the game's list price. Those that pick up the Xbox 360 version may want to act fast to get the game's season pass at a discount through Xbox Live, a separate deal that started yesterday. Additionally, Gran Turismo 6 is 33 percent off ($39.99) at Best Buy today. By comparison, Saints Row 4 is currently 33 percent off ($33.49) on Steam, a deal that lasts until January 2. The PC version of the game is not part of Best Buy's sale.
Robotic chimp, metal dragon aid sick kids in Saints Row 4 charity DLC
Sure, they're a bloodthirsty gang of polysexual criminals, some of whom literally get off on violence, yet the 3rd Street Saints also have a softer side, and a recent agreement to aid Child's Play proves as much in typical Saints Row style. Here's how things work: If you pay a visit to Steam, you'll notice a new DLC pack for Saints Row 4 entitled "Child's Play Pack." All profits generated by sales of the $3 pack will go toward the Child's Play Charity, which seeks to outfit hospitals and family crisis centers with gaming machines in the hopes that kids might find comfort and solace in one of Mario's colorful adventures. That's the happy, heartwarming bit, but this being a Saints Row joint, you just knew things had to take a turn for the wacky at some point. Included in that $3 charity DLC pack are two new skins for the PC iteration of Saints Row 4, a metallic simian named Robochimp and Digital Dino, which is either a clear homage to Mechagodzilla or proof that creating robotic dragons is just too cool for any development team to ignore for long. Finally, the pack also includes a new vehicle, dubbed the "Retro Racer." It's not much of a vehicle, and looks like a cross between an amusement park ride and that bullet ship George Méliès shot at the moon in 1902. Still, in a world of weaponized dubstep and the vocal stylings of Biz Markie, this new ride barely registers as "quirky."
PSA: Saints Row 4 'How the Saints Save Christmas' DLC out now
Saints Row 4's final DLC mission pack, "How the Saints Save Christmas," is available for download now on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. The DLC includes three new story quests, a Christmas dubstep gun, a Red Rider BB gun (you'll poke your eye out) and some vehicles: the Flying Reindeer and Santa's Sleigh. In the story missions, the Saints aim to help Santa Claus, who has become trapped in The Matrix-like simulation that is the setting for the main campaign. Owners of the Saints Row 4 Season Pass can snag "How the Saints Save Christmas" as part of that investment. Everyone else can grab the DLC pack for $7.
Koch Media acquires mobile developer Fishlabs
Koch Media – meaning Saints Row publisher Deep Silver – now owns mobile developer Fishlabs, the studio behind the Galaxy on Fire series. The entire Fishlabs staff of 52 will transition to Koch Media in an asset deal that should result in zero job losses, Pocket Gamer reports. "The mobile gaming market is strategically important to Koch Media," Koch CEO Klemens Kundratitz said. "These days, games are played anytime and anywhere – both at home and on the go. The know-how and brands which Fishlabs brings along give us the expertise required in order to establish ourselves in this exciting field for the long term." Fishlabs was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 2004 and is best known for Galaxy on Fire, a series of space flight sims made mainly for mobile devices. The mobile strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire: Alliances recently launched and has nothing to do with the Hunger Games or Alicia Keys. Fishlabs says in a Facebook post that it's happy to be part of the Koch Media family: "We still don't know how and to what extend the replacement of the ownership is going to effect the course our studio will take in the future, but Koch Media ... has already told us that they'll fully support the development and expansion of both Galaxy on Fire: Alliances and the next action-packed installment of the GOF saga. There's exciting times ahead of us."
Telekinetic time bombs, airstrikes join Saints Row 4 in new DLC
Flight is passé and heat vision is so "Clark Kent," so what's an aspiring, super-powered world leader to turn to when expanding his or her arsenal? Explosions, lots and lots and lots of explosions. The Element of Destruction DLC pack adds three new abilities to the already ridiculous arsenal found in Saints Row 4. First, an attack that allows you to lift and throw enemies, only unlike your normal telekinesis, when you fling this hapless foe, the poor thing will detonate, doing damage to anything caught nearby. If you'd instead prefer to explode dudes up close and personal, the second power turns any enemy who gets too close to your character into a walking (and running and screaming) time bomb. Exploding jerks is all well and good, but the pièce de résistance for this DLC release is the Airstrike Stomp. Like the standard Stomp, this moves allows you to leap into the air, then come crashing back to earth, dazing nearby foes and sending them flying into the air. In any other game that would be enough, but the Saints Row series isn't known for its restraint: Those enemies might survive being propelled into the air, but they won't survive the ensuing rain of explosive ordinance. The Element of Destruction DLC pack is now available for Saints Row 4 at a price of $3.
Saints Row 4 DLC aims to save Santa from the simulation
Saints Row 4 developer Volition will drop some holiday-themed DLC on December 11. The "How the Saints Save Christmas" DLC pack sees Santa Claus trapped inside the Matrix-like simulation that is at the heart of Saints Row 4's campaign, and only the Saints can save him. But there's just one problem: the boss isn't fond of Christmas, despite the visible exuberance for the holiday demonstrated in the art above. The DLC will be available as part of the Season Pass or as a separate download for $6.99 on December 11. Check out the gallery below for more festive shots of the Saints and a snow-covered Steelport.
X: Rebirth rockets into orbit, discovers new launch trailer
Drop the DualShock 4 for a minute - you've got an entire universe to explore. This week marks Egosoft's return to its cult-favorite space simulator franchise with the release of X: Rebirth, a PC game that can now be found on Steam for $50.
