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New CABAL Online expansion throws players into hell
Only the bravest or most foolhardy (or both!) would voluntarily step through a portal into hell, but ESTSoft is betting that many high-level players will do just that when Episode IV: Porta Inferno releases for CABAL Online. The latest expansion to the game will offer players a wide assortment of treats, from an increased level cap (up to 180), a revamped item upgrade system, new skills, and hellishly cool maps to explore. Porta Inferno is scheduled for release later this month, but if curiosity is pawing at the back of your neck, then hit the jump to see the exciting, blood-splattered trailer. Put on your flame-proof undies, it's about to get hot... very hot.
Faxion Online announced, promises a divine struggle
In most games that feature two factions in a PvP environment, there's plenty of room to debate whether or not one side or the other is evil or just misunderstood. Not so in the upcoming Faxion Online, however -- one side is evil. One side is irrevocably and entirely evil. But then again, when you're part of the forces of Hell, you kind of accept that as a given. Aiming for a beta later this year, the game is taking its setting as the eternal struggle between Heaven and Hell, with players taking sides as both factions seek territory. While a somewhat tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject is certainly welcome, most gamers are going to be looking for a little more from the title. It's slated to deliver on that front, with a PvP-focused game that heavily weighs on the aforementioned control of territory. The game also promises to remove some of the tedious level grind, a promise which is frequently made but not quite so easy to carry out. We'll have to see how Faxion Online fares in that regard as it moves through development -- but at least we won't be discussing which faction is really evil.
Dante's Inferno 'Fraud' trailer makes you fight for your life
We're ... we're just not sure we understand the reasoning behind Dante's Inferno's eighth circle, Fraud, depicted in the trailer above. See, Visceral Games has brought the concept of the circle's 10 Malebolges to life in the game in form of 10 arenas, where Dante must battle all the enemies he's fought in previous levels in succession. While doing so, he must navigate dark corridors where, according to art director Ash Huang, "you really can't see where you're going." Well, that actually sounds pretty faithful to the source material. It also sounds immeasurably frustrating. Check out the trailer above to find out where politicians go, and make sure you tune in for the final Dante's trailer in February to catch a glimpse of Mr. Beel Z. Bubb himself.
Europe getting Dante's Inferno 'Death Edition,' includes playable Isaac Clarke
In an inspiring attempt to try and take even more gratuitous liberties with the works of Dante Alighieri, Visceral Games has announced a Europe-only special edition bundle of its upcoming Hell-based action title, Dante's Inferno. The "Death Edition" bundle comes with a copy of the poem, some making-of documentaries, and an art book. However, its greatest bonus is a new skin for the game's scythe-wielding protagonist: The slot-helmeted outfit of Dead Space's hero, Isaac Clarke. Check out the full costume after the jump. Now that we think of it, there's something pretty similar to this cross-promotion in the text of Dante's epic poem: "I saw multitudes to every side of me; their howls were loud while, wheeling weights, they used their chests to push. They struck against each other; at that point, this space miner came in and killed them with this big scythe. Needless to say, it was pretty [expletive deleted] radical." Source: Console Planet (Google Translate)
Dante's Inferno demo burning up Xbox 360 and PS3 next month
Though Visceral Games' video game adaptation of the classic parable known as Dante's Inferno (which, fun fact, was actually a book adaptation of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) won't see the light of day until next February, we'll be getting our dirty, sin-soaked hands on a demo for the game in December. In 'The Gates of Hell,' players will be able to traverse the entire first level of the game, taking them from the surface world to the titular portcullis, where they must battle (and presumably kill) Death himself. We imagine the game gets much easier after, you know, there's no more Death.
Doom Resurrection on the iPhone now, lots more id games to come
Fellow shooter fans rejoice -- id software's John Carmack has begun delivering on his love of the iPhone with a brand new game made just for the platform called Doom Resurrection, available right now on the App Store for the price of $9.99. There's nothing small about this game at all -- it offers up 76 mb of original id shooter, including eight levels total, six on Mars, and two more (spoiler?) in Hell, all set in a graphics and control engine designed just for Apple's handhelds (you control aiming with the accelerometer while the game runs you around on rails, and hit the various on-screen buttons to shoot or jump into cover). Unfortunately, there's no lite version to test out (though we can probably expect one eventually, considering Wolfenstein Classic got one), but early reviews say that if you like Doom, you'll enjoy the game.And that's not all -- besides this original version of Doom, Carmack and id continue to have big plans for the iPhone: Quake and Quake 2 are headed there for sure, and Quake 3 probably isn't far behind, as well as a RAGE-related title. And that doesn't even include the rest of the mobile stuff they have planned: apparently Wolfenstein RPG is ready to go, and Carmack hints that they've got even more original titles like Doom Resurrection here up their sleeve. Good to see a major, established developer like id is really committing to delivering new games for the iPhone.
Infernal: Hell's Vengeance burning Xbox 360 in June
Playlogic's hellish third-person shooter, Infernal: Hell's Vengeance, will be burning a path to the Xbox 360 on June 30. The title, which was originally released for the PC in 2007, casts players in the fiery boots of a man recently deceased who gets caught up in a war between heaven and hell. Painkiller, is that you?What Infernal lacks in originality, it tries to make up for in self promotion, promising a "fascinating" story, "state-of-the art" physics and a "vast array" of weapons and powers, though we wonder if any of these can resurrect the game from the tepid reviews its PC version has enjoyed so far.
Ask a Lore Nerd: Life and Death
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week blogger and columnist Alex Ziebart answers your questions about the lore and history of the World of Warcraft. Ask your questions in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer it in a future edition. Today we're fielding a lot of questions on the Light and the Shadow, and Life and Death. I don't know why, really, that's just how things happened! Trends like that are always fun, like the week or two where we had nothing but dragon questions. It makes picking out themes really easy!Emorich asked... I was under the impression that C'Thun wasn't dead. I thought we simply stopped him. After all, we were attacking one of his eyeballs, hardly a vital organ. Is Kil'Jaeden dead too? I thought we basically just pushed him back through the portal and now he's really pissed.
Breakfast Topic: The Achievement from hell
I know not all of you are Achievement addicts, but you have to admit, it's kind of fun when you get that little golden plate show up on your screen. Some of them just happen, while some of them have to be worked on. As much as I hate to admit it, we have had to postpone getting Twilight Zone for another week. We were close, but for some reason we just couldn't get over the hump. Even though I'm certain we'll get it soon, it's gotten frustrating at some point.Before I got Master of Arathi Basin last week, I almost tore my hair out in dismay trying to complete Arathi Basin Veteran when I ran into a very long, excruciating string of very long, excruciating games that just ended up in losses. I'm convinced that there are just Achievements from hell. I'm not looking forward to grinding Alterac Valley Veteran, even though it's the only one I need for the meta. For the Achievement addicts out there, which is your white whale? For those who couldn't care less about Achievements, which one wouldn't you even dream of trying?
Ask a Lore Nerd: Things that aren't Deathwing
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below (or e-mail us!), ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer your question in a future installmentCowbane asked...Is there a Heaven or Hell in any Warcraft lore? Or is the swirly clouds when you die about it.That's a good question, and my answer isn't going to be very clear, because Warcraft itself isn't clear on it. Warcraft used to be based much more heavily on Christian concepts. There was a Heaven and there was a Hell, there was God and Angels and all that jazz. It's much more vague and nebulous now. It seems that the Twisting Nether is the current concept of Hell, but that might just mean it's a really bad place and not somewhere that sinful dead people automatically go. I have no idea if there is still a Heaven, but the Priest quest for Benediction/Anathema has you escorting souls of Stratholme's dead to the afterlife. So do they exist? Probably, yes. It is suggested that they definitely do exist. What are they like, exactly? We don't know.
Blizzard's icy splash screen changes as Diablo 3 and WoTLK speculation intensifies
We reported yesterday about the new icy splash screen which has appeared on many of Blizzard's corporate and gaming sites. There's already tons of speculation speeding around the web about it, and of course the pot was only stirred all the more this morning when the picture changed slightly: the light in the middle of the cracked ice became brighter, and there's some new detail that can be seen through the ice, including a rune of some sort just to the upper right of the center. we can probably assume that the picture will change more each day until something is announced at the Worldwide Invitational. However, the question remains: What is being announced? Right now, there's two major schools of thought about it: One school says that this will lead up to the announcement of the WoTLK Beta, while another says that this will be the announcement of Diablo 3. Each side has some pretty passionate arguments, and are bringing the analysis to back it up. Let's look at what we have after the break. %Gallery-25975%
TV shows that could be MMOs: Battlestar Galactica
Watching the final season of the new Battlestar Galactica the other night, and getting only a taste of the amazing, chaotic, shaky-cam ship-to-ship action left us wanting more. But even better than a full episode devoted to space combat would be an MMO based in that world. How would that work, you ask? We're glad you did! Keep in mind that this article assumes basic knowledge of the show universe and its characters. If you haven't seen it, get thee to a torrent, or a rental store immediately!First, consider some of the great two-sided rivalries in MMOs: Horde vs. Alliance; AFS vs. the Bane; Humanity vs. Hell -- Mankind vs. the Cylons fits right in. In fact, since the show itself manages to portray both sides as sympathetic, there isn't too much storyline massaging to be done; the universe of Galactica is nicely morally ambiguous. All that really matters is survival.
TurpsterVision: London is HELL!
Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalize it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)Welcome back to TurpsterVision! I'm lovin' it that you could join me for my second show; not a lot of people realize this but the video below is a live stream to my camera and I have to act out the episode multiple times a day for you, the lucky viewers. This week I have decided that it is finally time to find out which is truly the best MMO out on the market. If you want to find out, join us after the break to see what you should be playing!
