News

Dungeons Runners gets an update...and advertising

Posted by: Dan at 12/12/2007 8:24 AM - Comments (0)
NC Soft announced yesterday that the second content update for Dungeon Runners (called Chunk 2) has been pushed out to the game. Chunk 2 will focus on in-game advertising in on-member worlds to offset the primarily free service. In addition, the update also include more back space, item trading and improvements in the Player combat system. Check out all the details after the jump:


Dec 11, 2007 11:25

NCsoft Launches Chunk 2, Adding Advertising, New Content to Dungeon Runners Game

AUSTIN, Texas --(Business Wire)-- Dec. 11, 2007 NCsoft(R) today announced the release of Chunk 2, the second content update for its successful free-to-download and play game, Dungeon Runners(TM). This update includes in-game advertising in non-member worlds, more bank space for members, item trading, increased access to prime loot, and overall Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP) balance refinements. 

Dungeon Runners is a free to download and play online multiplayer role playing game in a satirical, fast-paced sword-and-shield setting, where defeating monsters and evil enemies results in piles of loot, treasure, and non-stop fun.

The hallmark of Chunk 2 is in-game advertising which will help fund future development of the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) and keep it free for players. The in-game advertising will be visible to non-members in loading screens and in a banner that sits on top of the game window during play. Dungeon Runners members, who can subscribe to the game for only $4.99 per month, will not see any of the advertising.

Advertising in Dungeon Runners will open up new content and functionality for all players. Non-member players will gain access to new content previously unavailable to them, including dungeons and valuable items. Also, non-members will now have access to one page of bank slots, enabling them to store more items. Members will increase their bank storage space from one to three pages.

Also, by popular demand, a secure trade system has been added to Dungeon Runners. This new feature allows everyone to easily trade items (with the exception of gold) with other players through a simple interface.

"Chunk 2 unlocks an enormous amount of playable content for non-members that they didn't have access to before thanks to the addition of in-game advertising," said Stephen Nichols, NCsoft's producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners. "Our non-member players are very happy they can now use what was previously members-only loot, and our members are really excited about receiving additional bank slots to hold their items. These changes, plus our new secure trade system, make this update a win-win for everyone!"

Further enhancements include increased rare item drops and stackable potions for members and non-members alike, which lead to more success in this hack-and-slash game.

Dungeon Runners can be downloaded for free at http://www.dungeonrunners.com/join.html. Players can play for free or subscribe to the members version at any point for $4.99 a month. Members have access to such benefits as log-in queue priority, members-only servers, and the most powerful items, weapons and armor. Membership status also includes three bank pages for hundreds of loot items and the ability to stack potions in one inventory slot to save room for even more loot.

To find out more please visit the Dungeon Runners web site at: http://www.dungeonrunners.com.

The game is rated Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

About NCsoft

NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles and continues to support its franchises that include Lineage(R)/Lineage II, City of Heroes(R)/City of Villains(R), Guild Wars(R)/Guild Wars Factions(R)/Guild Wars Nightfall(R), Guild Wars: Eye of the North(TM), Dungeon Runners and Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa(R). More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.PlayNC.com.

NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, Guild Wars: Eye of the North, Dungeon Runners, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The first DLC is officially announced for Grand Theft Auto IV

by: John - - Comments (0)
While I've stopped playing Grand Theft Auto IV, the first episode in a long line of DLC has finally been announced. On February 17th, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned will finally be released only on Xbox 360. You'll be playing a new main character with a storyline that intersects with IV. Not only will there be new missions but new weapons, vehicles, and multiplayer modes will come into play as well. No info on the pricing yet but it's about time Microsoft started getting their money's worth.
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Are you John Conner?

by: John - - Comments (0)
Well you can be as Terminator: Salvation has been announced. The game lets you play as John Conner and as from the title suggests, it will be a tie-in with the movie. Not much is known about the game save the basics of the plot so let's hope we see some screens of this third person shooter soon. [READ MORE]

Retailers feel Wrath of the Lich King (in a good way)

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King sold over 2.8 million copies last week, making it the fastest selling PC game ever (until the next World of Warcraft expansion ships).   Blizzard didn't break out the sales by unit type but that's about $84 million or so in sales (based on $30 a copy) which just throws more money into the giant Blizzard money making engine.

The only semi-negative for Blizzard is that it looks like only 25% or so of it's installed userbase of 11million users upgraded.  I'm sure the rest will take their time but it's interseting to see the breakout.  [READ MORE]

Gaming Gibs for 11/20/2008

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed watching bears play hockey:
  • Bungie advises against installing Halo 3 to your hard drive
  • MTV digs up the most popular Xbox 360 DLC by title, free stuff surprising at the top of a lot of lists
  • Capcom wins Dead Rising lawsuit, Romero to eye Left 4 Dead next
  • Google Lively to be much less lively after 12/31
  • Apple once again pins it's hope on video games, FAIL sensor pegged
  • People using smartphones more for gaming than business applications, John and I could have told you this months ago
  • Bionic Commando getting some sweet pre-order items
  • The Analog Gamer rises from the dead to talk about the undead
  • NXE Avatars getting bi-weekly clothing additions, hopefully will be free
  • Gears of War 2 rankings explained

EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey Brings Classic Dungeons Back

by: Eva - - Comments (0)
Everquest II: The Shadow Odyssey is live and Sony Online Entertainment has released a launch trailer to go with it. Some of the big changes in the fifth expansion are 20 new zones which include the overland zone of Innothule Swamp. TSO also brings back dungeons from the good old days of EverQuest such as the Ruins of Guk. Catch a full list of changes after the break.

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LOTRO: Mines of Moria Travel Guide

by: Eva - - Comments (0)
With Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria officially live, Turbine has revealed a rich lode of video and screenshots for the game. Screens of Lothlórien display the wonders of the Golden Wood, home of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. She may be Arwen's Grandmother but her beauty is ageless.

Several of the new areas in the Moria expansion are showcased in videos. Delve into the depths of Moria with fly throughs of the Redhorn Lodes, Great Delving and Zelem-melek. Then fly through Lothlórien beyond the gates of Khazad-dûm. All these travelogues are included after the break. And now the Mines of Moria Launch Trailer:

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Nyko lets you charge up four Wii controllers at once

by: John - - Comments (0)
For those that have the full compliment of WiiMotes for their Wii, Nyko's finally producing a charger that charges them all at once. The Charge Station Quad for the Nintendo Wii comes with four covers, four batteries, and a charger that holds them all. The new covers have a rubber grip so you can have an easier hold on the controller. I use the first charger from Nyko with great results and really like the rubber grips on the back. The only thing I'd like to see this have is USB charging but then again I don't know if the USB port can output enough juice to charge four controllers at once.
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Poor G4saurus

by: John - - Comments (0)
I used to love, love NVIDIA cards. Lately, AMD is kicking all kinds of major ass with their Radeon HD 4800 series of cards. Here's a nice little video to explain the current situation for everyone. Some of the terms and jokes might go over non-techy heads but it's still cute.

 

 



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Not surprisingly, there are some issues with the NXE update

by: John - - Comments (0)
Have you updated your Xbox 360 to the NXE? A few of us have experienced problems with the update and you know I expected this since it's a pretty major rollout for them. The one problem I am seeing is being unable to access certain parts of the Marketplace. Major Nelson has info on the ongoing saga and has provided a small update on the situation. The team is looking into it right now so let's hope they clear things up. I was surprised it didn't take that long for the update to get to me though so that's good. How's everyone digging the new interface and avatar system?

Street Fighter gets its own little place on NXE

by: Dan - - Comments (0)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has its own little world on the Xbox 360 NXE. You can visit the destination experience and learn anything you want about the game including trailers, themes picture packs and DLC.
[READ MORE]

PSU Expansion gets a lower price

by: Dan - - Comments (0)
The Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus, expansion for PSU, has gotten a new price. It is now available for download from Xbox Live for 800 points, which is a 50% discount. The expansion contains a new single online mission where your character is now the main focus of the storyline. In addition, the online multiplayer also was beefed up with 25 new missions, 5 new bosses and 100 added weapons and items. As always, the original PSU disk and an active Guardians license are required to run the expansion. [READ MORE]

'Tis the Season for Street Fighter

by: Dan - - Comments (2)
Capcom opened the "Season of Street Fighter" last week with the availability of the Street Fighter Pinball FX DLC to celebrate the approaching release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. The remainder of the season will feature assorted Street Fighter-esque downloadable content packs on Both Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Some of the upcoming downloads will include a Street Fighter UNO deck, direct-to-download music from the series and a little surprise coming to PSN this Holiday Season. Check out the video in the interim:

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First Impressions -- The Legend of Spryo: Dawn of the Dragon

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Hearing Elijah Wood's boyish intonation come out of the wide-eyed Spyro's mouth requires no stretch of the imagination.  What does, however, require a re-meshing of mind over matter is The Legend of Spryo: Dawn of the Dragon's deceptive control schemes. 

Sharper minds than my own have argued the necessities of direct, immediately-understandable controls in a platformer.  Mario and Luigi, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank ... these are now-iconic duos that will attest to that need.  But Spyro and the newly-redeemed Cynder both subscribe to floaty, imprecise movements that are at once an aforementioned necessity (they are both dragons) as well as an unmentionably temple-throbbing headache.  Single-jumps are decidedly unnecessary.  Double-jumps are mushy.  Flying is inexplicably tethered by gravity when you need height, and unfailingly floaty when you need to land.

Moving about lava-carved caverns is a great start to any abrupt and unexplained intro:  Both Spryo and Cynder are encased in an enormous amber jewel, communicating telepathically, and then able to shatter their way out moments later.  This is likely a continuation from the previous entry in the Legend of Spryo series, but I'm coming at this with fresh eyes and no context for current events.  Without a detailed history of Spyro's past, I'll see if Dawn of the Dragon will sink or swim on its own merits.  And so far?  It doesn't look like dragons can swim.

The decidedly Balrog-looking thingy that attacks Spyro and Cynder -- surrounded by a cheering arena of goblin-thingy onlookers -- is a momentous beginning.  There's barely time to learn that you can grab enemies and spin them around before the Balrog-thingy decides it's seen enough.  Too bad its white-hot anger and molten-hot skin comes up with nothing more creative than to swat haphazardly at the two hapless dragons.  And to retaliate, Spyro (or Cynder -- you can interchange rolls or play co-op at will) attack the Balrog-thingy's hand.  It's po' widdle hand.

It's some constantly-interrupting Tony the Tiger of a hooded ranger than keeps tossing in all the cutscenes and making the cool bow shots like putting an arrow into the Balrog-thingy's eye socket.  Plus, as Tony the Tiger (not his real name) makes beautiful bounds from ledge to ledge, I'm in a constant battle with a camera that sometimes swings in an almost-360-degrees (though it's rare) to a camera that's more often riveted to some less-than-convenient angle against a wall.  The camera invents new inconvenient angles as I pop into a new room, and every fifth or sixth jump seems to have yet another cutscene intervene before I fully pull off my landing.

French developer Estranges Libellule (also responsible for the Asterix & Obelix games) has made it very clear that you, the player, are not allowed to have control of Spyro for any reasonable length of time.  Estranges Libellule has also made the mistake of positing a camera that wants to play the game for you.  I'm sincerely hoping that this is an indoor environment issue only, and that exterior environments will lend more of the freedoms that seem inherent to flying a dragon around.  As far as the introductory chapter goes, Dawn of the Dragon's lack of trust in the player makes it very difficult to navigate the too-tightly leashed environs.  Though, for unintentional laughs, it is always great to see your AI-controlled partner (be it Spyro or Cynder) constantly missing jumps and plummeting inches away from the targeted ledge.  Pretty much couldn't land a single jump.  It's as hilarious as it is incompetent.

Yet the heartwarming artwork gives me a flicker of hope, despite everything.  It's what made me accept the review assignment from Chuck in the first place.  And even though Spyro has shown me that he can't be controlled yet, perhaps he'll also show me some marvelous locales.  I haven't lost all hope that this dragon, after all, might be sleeping on a mound of treasure.

Lara Croft faces standard adventure game peril in new trailer

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
There's no doubt that Tomb Raider:Underworld looks bad ass in this trailer, I just wish the puzzles they were showing off in the game were a little more interesting.  It's almost like every ancient civilization in the world hid their secret palaces with various large swinging objects and stone creatures.  Hopefully there's some other cool stuff in the game.

Capcom releases web based demo of Neopets Puzzle Adventure

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
If you want to try Neopets Puzzle Adventure before purchasing the game you might want to check out this cool flash game that gives you a quick taste of the game.

Update (Chuck) - Click on the title to play the demo as it starts in noisy mode for some reason. [READ MORE]

PhysX effects show off in new Mirrors Edge trailer

by: Chuck - - Comments (1)
It broke my heart to ship Mirrors Edge to Cyril last week as the game was one that I really wanted to play (of course Cyril loved it in his review).  I was going to pick of the PS3 version once the game storm quieted down but after seeing this trailer for the PC version I might just pick that version up instead.  The trailer shows off some of the new physics effects that Nvidia owners will be able to get.  These include some new fabric, water, and gas effects that I don't remember from my brief run through the 360 version of the game. 

News Roundup: Quantum Duty Call of the Lich King

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
  • Defunct Games implores, "Don't F***ing Buy That Game!"  A non-gamers guide to getting the wrong gift.
  • The steps to take in order to get my hands on WAR's Knights of the Blazing Sun weren't so apparent, at first.
  • Massive Gamer launches into the EVE Online: Quantum Rise expansion.
  • Every MMO has its good and bad launches -- even if it's from Blizzard.  Even if it's WoW: Wrath of the Lich King.
  • For a CPU cooler that performs as good as it looks, Legit Reviews presents the 180W-capable Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler.
  • Treyarch may have recovered their sullied name with Call of Duty: World at War.
  • All in all, the Termaltake BlacX External Hard Drive Docking Station is a "fine piece of hardware."
Thanks to Defunct Games, Massive Gamer, AtomicGamer, Legit Reviews, and Tweaknews for today's news roundup.

Guitar Hero World Tour Live Weekend starting this Thursday

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Starting this Thursday, November 27th, Guitar Hero World Tour is kicking off a Live Weekend on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.  Online activities include:
  • Xbox All Nighter -- Thursday, 11/27, from dusk until dawn
  • Play & Win Sweepstakes -- Friday, 11/28, through Saturday, 11/30
  • Game with Developers -- Saturday, 11/30 from 2:00 - 5:00pm PST [see the list of devs after the jump]
Throughout the weekend, guitarists, drummers, and vocalists who register and play the Guitar Hero World Tour multiplayer (co-op) session can also win some sweet prizes.  Stuff like a Samsung television home theater package, collector's edition World Tour drum sticks, 1GB memory sticks, and Guitar Hero portable USB/battery powered speakers. [READ MORE]

Sins of a Solar Empire version 1.1 available now; pre-order "Entrenchment" and get in the beta

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Stardock is still making good on their promise to release meaningful content for their games, post-release.  Now available is a major free update to Sins of a Solar Empire, upgrading its sins to version 1.1.  Highlights to the 1.1 change log include:
  • Alloy Networking Technology -- allows for seamless multiplayer without needing to deal with port forwarding or other router settings
  • Major upgrade to the graphics engine for better performance on all systems
  • Updated/improved graphics (textures, new models, explosions, and more)
  • Mini-Underground Window -- allows you to buy/sell resources and make pirate bids on the main gameplay screen [Hallelujah! - Ed.]
  • Improved game balance
  • Improved AI
  • Bug fixes and much more
Plus!  If you pre-order the Sins of a Solar Empire expansion, "Entrenchment," that guarantees you some early-access beta time.

Cities XL "Point, Shoot -- Win 2!" contest launched

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
It's likely that your city hall doesn't garner much of your time and attention throughout the day -- unless you're like one of my coworkers who, when Congress was sketching out the banking bailout plan, thought it was Take Your Daughter To A Protest Day and ended up standing alone in the rain with cardboard signs outside of our city hall.  Oh, and her kid got a cold that day.  What's the lesson here?  It's that Cities XL has started up their "Point, Shoot -- Win 2!" contest, and this time their accepting photos of your favorite city hall.

From November 17 - 30, members of the Cities XL community are able to post images of their city hall in the hopes that it'll be voted as the winner.  Developer Monte Cristo then goes to work, taking the winning entry and giving it to their artists to put into the final game. [READ MORE]

Cooking Mama: "I would never put rat in my Ratatouille."

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Looks like PETA made enough of an impression with the Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals flash game that Majesco responded, but responded politely and in character.  Just as Cooking Mama World Kitchen was hitting store shelves this week, Mama Kills Animals ripped through the gaming community in an attempt to slander Mama and her purportedly meat-heavy menu.  Mama said, "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences.  My only goas is to ensure you leave the table well fed."  Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipies spread across breakfast, dinner, dessert, and snack options.  Mama won't cop to being a vegetarian, but she fully supports the humane treatment of animals -- especially now with her canine companion, Max, who makes his debut in World Kitchen.

I'd like to congratulate PETA for blanketing a decent amount of buzz on a Wii title that would've otherwise fallen completely by the wayside this week. [READ MORE]

Evasive Space Screens Unveiled

by: Dan - - Comments (0)

YUKE’S Company released the first look at their upcoming Space Action title for WiiWare called Evasive Space. The game will be a top-down scroller that uses the Wii remote to control your ship through 20 missions over five environments. The game will also feature four-person local multiplayer and online leaderboards. The new screens show off Acts I and II. A specific release date hasn’t been announced (Q1 2009), but when it hits WiiWare it will cost 1,000 Wii Points.

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Latest Hearts of Iron 3 Dev Diary

by: Dan - - Comments (0)
Johan Andersson, lead developer of Hearts of Iron 3, has his latest developer diary up over at GiantRealm.com. This installment in the series (no. 6) focuses on intelligence, diplomacy and convoys as well as the politics in the game. Checkout these recent screens while we wait for the game to hit the PC in late 2009.
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GameTruck Coming to C-Bus

by: Dan - - Comments (0)
GameTruck announced today that they are bringing their mobile gaming service to the Columbus, OH market, which is also the HQ of GamingNexus. Effective December 1st, central Ohio gamers can order the rolling platform for party’s or corporate events. The trucks feature four 50”Plasma TVs, surround sound and capabilities for 16 players at any given time. Columbus is the fourth franchise awarded, joining Orange County, CA, Phoenix, AZ and San Diego, CA. Check them out at GameTruckParty.com.
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Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge screenies surprsingly lacking in guns or jagged edges

by: Nathan - - Comments (0)
Trisynergy, makers of such well named titles as Limbo of the Lost and UFO:Extraterrestials, bring us screen shots from another excellently named title Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge. This is a turn based war game focusing on the action at squad level. Basically it would be Rainbow Six or Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway mixed with Civilization Revolution or Fire Emblem. This is very much a PC title as indicated by the screenies. I would wait for a demo to see if this game was worth playing but those of you who like experimenting with Strategy games may want to check it out.
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