CRYTEK CALLS NEW LICENSING DEAL 'HUGE,' WILL ANNOUNCE PARTNER SOON

From IGN.com 

After a rocky 2014, Crytek is getting ready to announce details about its future following a licensing deal it describes as "huge."

Crytek followed up on reports of its financial difficulty last year with a confirmation that it had obtained enough capital to secure the company's future.

The developer-turned-publisher is preparing to release more details about this now, namely a licensing deal that it says has been in the works for a while.

"A lot of people are under the impression we had to find a new investor or something, but that wasn’t the case," Crytek PR head Jens Schaefer told Develop. "We made a licensing deal."

Crytek co-founder Faruk Yerli explained, "It was a huge one, probably the biggest one."

IGN has reached out to Crytek for further comment and will update with any details.

Titanfall 2 Confirmed

Respawn founder and CEO Vince Zampella has confirmed Titanfall 2 is in development and will be released on multiple platforms.

Speaking to IGN ahead of tonight's BAFTA Game Awards, Zampella, whose title is nominated in three categories, acknowledged the game's existence for the first time.

 "I guess EA announced a sequel, so I could play coy and pretend I don't know anything about it, or… yeah. So we're working on a sequel. No official name yet, but we're working on that. That's the main focus but we're starting up a second team and doing some smaller stuff too. Small, exploratory, taking it slow! It'll be multiplatform."

It seems the decision the broaden the game's horizons in terms of platform was never in doubt. When asked whether or not the team wishes they could change anything about the original product, Respawn COO Dusty Welch said, "Platform for me comes to mind right away." Though Zampella then explained, "Well, we needed that, though. We couldn't do the game," Dusty clarified the exclusivity was always a business decision rather than anything else.

"If we could do it though?" he said. "It would have been prohibitive to do that - we definitely made the right choices for the right reasons - but if you're saying what would we have liked to have done? The opportunity to be multiplatform could have made it even more significant for us.

When it came to what we should expect from the next game in the series, the duo's lips were sealed, but they did promise to expand the lore. As for whether we should expect to see a single-player component, it's still not clear.

"I wouldn't have done it differently," Zampella said when reflecting upon the original's multiplayer-only approach. "We set out to do it and it was one of our goals. I mean it obviously prohibits a certain group of people playing the game, and as content creators you want to get into as many peoples's hands as possible. We put some single-player elements in there though, and tried to mix it up. Maybe we could have mixed things up a bit better because some people blew right by it and didn't even see it because there was so much action happening around it. It's tough, because if you hit people over the head with it it becomes intrusive, and there are people who don't want or care about it. Where does the needle fall? I think it takes a while to figure that out and we haven't figured it out yet."

One thing Zampella was keen to think about changing was the DLC model for the future, citing Evolve's commitment to keeping the community united via free maps for all as the ideal way forward.

"I think that's a fantastic way to do it," he said. "I think having the maps like that in packs, it does split the community and it makes it harder for matchmaking, it's messy. Yeah. I don't know we won't do it again, I can't say that for sure, but the idea would be to do something different."

Charity Arcade

From imgur.com

Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Galaga - at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Göteborg Landvetter Airport you can now play some of the most classic and loved arcade games. Play with whatever foreign left over coins you have in your pocket - and at the same time help the Red Cross. Behind the project is Swedavia Swedish Airports and the Swedish Red Cross, together they have developed a more refined version of the traditional collecting box.

For this and more check out igmur.com

Between Two Cities - Kiskstarter

Greetings gamers! I just wanted to take the opportunity to spotlight two games from some terrific local board game companies, here in the city of St. Louis that are running some very interesting kickstarter campaigns right now.

The first game that I would like to mention is a game from Stonemaier games called Between Two Cities. You may remember this from a preview that I posted in board game news but to refresh you, Between Two Cities is a semi cooperative tile laying and drafting game that will challenge players to construct the best cities they can by cooperating with the players on their immediate right and left. The twist is that a player can only score as high as their lowest scoring city so players will want to do well but make sure their competitors aren’t doing too well to win the game.

An example of a section of a city featuring homes, parks, offices, taverns and factories.

I’m mentioning this game again because I am truly thrilled by the ingenuity of it. Many tile laying games often feel like solitaire games being played in a group without any real interaction. This game will encourage you to work with or sabotage your neighbor to build strategically while keeping an eye on what all of your opponents are doing. I haven’t seen a game where a player is so dependant on others but also must be so wary of their motives at the same time. It looks like it will not only be challenging but also very satisfying given that it provides a ton of interesting gameplay in a short time frame.

The game does have some cool wooden meeples featuring various global landmarks. I love having different tiny pieces of wood to mix and match in other games. This one features a tiny version of the Gateway Arch, the symbol of my city, which excites me because I don’t feel that St Louis gets a lot of positive notoriety in different types of media, especially games. The other miniatures included in the base set are also very neat and feature the Roman Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, and Sydney Harbour Bridge among others. They are also offering a deluxe version of the game that will include many other monuments.

A preview of some of the cool monument’s that will be included in the game as player score markers.

Another thing that has me really pumped about this game is the way it will scale for multiple players. I have a weekly game group that can sometimes suffer from agonizingly slow turns due to some over analytical players (Mostly from me, apologies) This game will have all players drafting and playing at the same time which will vastly cut down on playing time. Play tests with inexperienced gamers playing without a designer or teacher other than the rulebook have clocked average playtime between 25-30 minutes. This is absolutely perfect for so many game groups that want to get in a quick game that has some very meaty strategy elements and not feel like they have to devote an entire evening to one game. Often times I feel lucky if I can get two games played in a night and if this game goes over well, like I think it might, I might be able to squeeze three in.

The price point on this kickstarter is also very fair. For $30 you can get the base game (With shipping within the US included!) This a great deal for how much custom material you are getting. The tiles and meeples all look fantastic!

Between Two Cities kickstarter will end on Monday, March 16th so I encourage you to jump on board quickly. As of writing this the project has already eclipsed it’s goal of $20,000 and is sitting on a nice chunk of change at nearly $160,000 and is starting to unveil some very enticing stretch goals such as variable art on all of the tiles and a single player variant.

Stonemaier games has built a strong reputation within the gaming community and is well known for delivering projects quickly, often within a few months of funding without sacrificing quality. I can’t recommend these guys enough.

I would like to add, as a caveat, that I, and Livingthenerdlife.com are in no way associated with Stonemaier games. We have not received nor asked for any advertising money or promotional items for any of the above comments. (Though if Mr. Stegmaier would ever like to offer some review copies of upcoming games I would greatly appreciate them. :) I am simply a huge fan of board gaming and the board gaming community and I genuinely believe that this is worthy project to get behind.

Thank you very much for reading. Keep checking Livingthenerdlife.com where I will be posting a follow up to this article showcasing Bottom of the Ninth by another St Louis board game company, Dice Hate Me Games.

Kickstart this gamer here 

Game Loading: Rise of the indies

GameLoading: Rise of the Indies is a feature documentary exploring the world of indie game developers – their craft, their games, their dreams, and how they have forever changed the landscape of games culture.

The film demystifies what goes into making a game and explores where this art form has come from and where it may be going.

Please help us get a screening in St. Louis. We must have enough people registered through Gathr.us by April 3rd to confirm a screening of this film! 

I already got my 2 tickets reserved go here to get your tickets reserved https://gathr.us/screening/11380

Mortal Kombat X: Jason Voorhees

From ComicBookResources.com 

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios confirmed this morning that the horror movie icon Jason Voorhees will be included in the downloadable content for “Mortal Kombat X.”

The “Mortal Kombat X” Kombat Pack will be included in the “Mortal Kombat X Kollector’s Edition” by Coarse, the Limited Edition and Premium Edition. Available for purchase separately for $29.99, the Kombat Pack also features the Samurai Pack, with three new character skins: Ronin Kenshi, Samurai Shinnok and Jingu Kitana.

Arriving April 14 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, “Mortal Kombat X” offers players the ability to chooses from multiple variations of each character, which affects both strategy and fighting style.

For this and more go to comicbookresources.com

Hawkeye Confirmed for Captain America: Civil War

From Nerdist.com

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo described their Captain America: The Winter Soldier as “Avengers 1.5.” And it looks like the directing duo’s Captain America: Civil War will further that trend by being — as Anthony Mackie calls it — “Avengers 2.8.” In addition to Mackie’s Falcon, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, newcomer Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, the film is now confirmed to include Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye (after the actor indicated last year that his inclusion was a possibility). Captain America: Civil Warwill be waged on May 6, 2016.

For this and more check out Nerdist.com 

 

Who Doesn't Love Ninjas?

Figma has hit another one out of the park. I absolutely love this new Ninja Slayer figure. The figure is based on a character that was actually written by Americans. I’ll admit I know nothing about the story though. But just based on the cool factor of the figure I’m going to look into it.

Even if you are not familiar with the character who doesn’t love ninjas. The last decent ninja I can think of was marvel legends Red Hand Ninja, but the articulation on that guy sucks compared to this master. The figure also comes with a treasure chest of accessories. Two pieces of sushi, nun-chucks, stand with about 5 comic speech bubbles, 3 heads, 1 dead ninja head, 7 sets of hands, throwing stars, one extra throwing star, extra scarf and the normal base that figma figures come with. 

You can get this guy into all types of great poses, I give it a fun factor of 10

If you like ninjas and are a collector this is the figure for you. Also would be great to army build with this guy, but at around 55 bucks that would be an expensive army. 

Posted by: Chris @cgoosy

"Tron 3" to Begin Filming This Fall

From comicbookresources.com

Director Joseph Kosinski isn’t ready to let Disney’s “Tron” franchise go just yet; according to local Vancouver blog VancityBuzz and later confirmed by Badass Digest, Kosinski will begin filming “Tron 3″ in Vancouver in the fall of this year.

VancityBuzz’s report also claims that Garrett Hedlund will also return to reprise the role of Sam Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn. No word on whether original star Jeff Bridges, who played dual roles as both Flynn and Clu in “Legacy,” will return for the third installment.

Kosinski’s past credits include “Tron: Legacy” and “Oblivion.”

“Tron 3″ will begin filming October 5, 2015.

For this and more check out comicbookresources.com

Southern Cross #1: Review

New from Image Comics this week is “Southern Cross.”  In the beginning, we find lead character Alex Braith traveling to the moon, Titan.  She is traveling aboard the Southern Cross in an attempt to bring back her dead sister, Amber.  So, immediately this series begins with a bit of a mystery.  We find out that Alex is the rebel and that her sister, Amber, is the good one.  Somewhat of a cliched storyline, but we'll run with it for now.  

This plot and storyline have certainly been told before and the question for this series becomes, how will the story be told?  Will the characters be fresh and pull you into the story? Unfortunately, that just doesn't happen here.  Alex isn't the most personable character and doesn't exactly interact well with the other characters that are introduced in this issue.  She's very stand-offish and cold. While you understand her desire to know what happened to her sister, there is nothing else that is you can relate to with her character. We do discover that she had some issues on Earth, but nothing is explained further.  It's like the writers drop a seed and seem to forget that it was mentioned.  The inner dialogue is dry and doesn't pull do anything to make you want to know more about the character, except to find out what happened to her sister, Amber.

Overall, the art is decent in this issue.  The drawing of the ship and the loading of the ship is impressive, those aspects really are well done. There are some other scenes with the Gravity Well that look pretty awesome as well. As a whole, the colors are VERY dark throughout the issue, but the coloring does match the general feeling and atmosphere of the issue. The storyline is dark and the colors reflect that well. There is a scene where Alex shuts her door on her neighbor and with the way the door is closing it looks like the neighbor should be pulling his arm through the door but the panel doesn't portray that very well.  Instead, it looks like he was just placed there and the scene was drawn around him.  Scenes like that add to the overall lack of emotion that permeates throughout this issue.

As a whole, I think that “Southern Cross” is a decent first issue that is off to a precarious start. I'm left wondering is whether or not future episodes will make this series a compelling read?

Posted by: Jeff @jeff201

PAX East 2015: Splatoon

 From IGN.com

I can't deny it: when Splatoon was unveiled at E3 last year, I found it hard to match the enthusiasm shown by much of Nintendo's faithful. Without getting my hands on it, the concept sounded novel...perhaps a little too novel. But now that I've played it, and seen how immediately fun, and deceptively smart Platoon is, I can understand why people were so excited, and why there was a 2+ hour wait time to play it on the show floor.

The first thing that sets Splatoon immediately apart from other multiplayer arena shooters, is that kills and deaths don't really matter - at least not in the usual, immediate sense. It doesn't matter ow good your K/D is, or how long of a kill streak you're on if you aren't covering every surface in sight with your team's paint color. This one simple concept fundamentally changes your approach dramatically. You aren't looking for enemies to kill, you're scanning the mini-map to find areas that need painting, and wherever blue paint meets orange paint, you can almost always expect a firefight to happen. This is one of the ways that Splatoon keeps you moving, and in the action. There's no wandering around in search of an engagement; there's always someplace that needs a new coat of paint.

Following through with the idea of keeping players constantly engaged, respawn times are short, and getting back to where you're needed is as simple as looking at the gamepad, spotting an ally, and tapping them. You'll promptly (and amusingly) transform into a squid, and catapult through the air right to your teammate's position, ready to go all Jackson Pollock on everyone and everything around you. In a game all about winning fights, this might seem overpowering, but in Splatoon, the trade-off for grouping up is leaving more of your turf susceptible to being painted-over. That mobility cuts both ways.

Even in combat though, mobility is a huge factor. Any painted surface - walls included - can be traversed rapidly by, uhhhhh, "squidding" through them. Holding the left trigger also transforms you into a squid, quickly refilling your ink (read:ammo) reserves and letting you make escapes, or advances that you just couldn't in other games. You might paint up a wall to give yourself a quick way up to the next level above, or move forward along the wall and pop out behind an advancing opponent. Trying to squid through enemy paint will slow and damage you though, so smart players will cut off your advance with some paint of their own. I can only imagine how nutty this will get when people start getting good at all of it.

For this and more go to IGN.com 

Slow Zombies Vs. Fast Zombies: The Struggle Of Real Fear

A topic that is widely discussed, but never has come to a conclusion, is who is scarier: a fast zombie, or a slow zombie? I’m not sure if this article will be biased, or debunk the struggle or what! But, what I do know is this……. The answer is slow zombies. Case in point, I’m more scared of the idea that is, no matter how fast I run, or how strong I am, that they could still over power me. Watch these movies below, you will see my point:

*Dawn Of The Dead (the original).

*Night of the Living Dead (any of them).

*The Walking Dead (TV show, still proves the point).

*Shaun Of The Dead.

*Resident Evil (the first one).

*Cockneys Vs. Zombies.

*Grindhouse Presents Planet Terror.

Now I’m fully aware of how many people are probably shaking their heads at this. So let’s look at the movies that have fast “zombies”. Yes, getting chased down by someone who wants to rip your face off SEEMS scary. However, I find it to be much less realistic. If I think of a virus that brings the dead back to life, I’d figure it’s only bringing back simple motor functions (like a newborn baby, learning to walk) and just has the urge to feed (in this case, on your pasty white ass). But I don’t think fast zombies are realistic, or have the sense of “anger” behind them. For instance, this listing of movies, portrays what are considered zombies, but are not realistic in my eyes, because of how they move:

*World War Z.

*Dawn of the Dead (remake).

*Quarantine.

*28 Days/Weeks Later.

*Warm Bodies.

*Zombieland.

Side note – the zombies in the movie above are slow when no humans are around. But when a human shows up, they start to run.

Please do not get me wrong in thinking I’m prone to picking slow zombies as being the winner because of my views. To try and take a non-biased opinion, I look at the facts from both sides, and try to make an honest assumption of what could be scarier. Also, one key factor that most misrepresent between the fast zombies and slow is kind of a major factor. If the dead return to life, they are decaying, muscles are weak, missing body parts, etc. Can you run fast with those factors hindering you? George Romero, a personal favorite, has directed most of my favorite Zombie movies. He takes the dead aspect, and truly brings to life something that is scary, horrifying, suspenseful, but realistic (if the zombie apocalypse happened).

While I speak of realism, I want it to be mentioned that I speak of which is more realistic, to make the point that if something is more realistic, it’s scarier. I am more than willing to have friendly debates if you are up for the challenge! Please follow me on Instagram at @lorneondrums. I hope this has provided some insight for you, and if you care to debate, I hope you bring you A-Game!!!

Your friendly Funko Collector and Zombie Movie Fanatic,

Lorne

Walker Wednesday

Episode 5:13 "Forget" 

House party anyone? 

SPOILER ALERT! 

*by continuing to read on you willingly know you may read something that might spoil your Walking Day episode 513 eperience if you have not watched it yet*

This episode found out group in a peculiar situation, one that may be more uncomfortable then surround by a group of walkers. This episodes central theme was a house party that Deanna was throwing for the group. The people of Alexandria have had the luxury of not really experiencing what is going on beyond the saftey the walls of Alexandria provide. This is evident by the party that is being thrown for our group. 

Our group struggles with the idea of attending a party, when just a few days prior they were held up in a barn pushing back a door keeping walkers away during a tornado. Now drinks, snacks and lively conversation with the neighbor folk? Sasha seems to be the only one holding on to life outside and is struggling more than Daryl to accept Alexandria and Sasha lets that be known during her Party Pooper meltdown. Speaking of Sasha and Daryl we may have a potential job for Sasha which is being on look out duty and Daryl was officially asked to be a recruiter with Aaron. Also, can you say Bro-mance? You'll see what I mean, spaghetti and a motorcycle? Watch out ladies Aaron is laying it on thick.

Carol officially became more awesome this episode during her talk with a young kid who followed her into the gun supply. Ill save this for you to see because it was the best part of the episode and writing about it does no justice. Let's just say I'd take the cookies.  

It's also official that Rick wants to get down on some Jesse. He proves it with one of the most awkward cheek kisses in probably TV history. Plus he almost gunned down #porchdick on the streets of Alexandria. If you don't know who that is you need to watch Talking Dead because #porchdick was trending.  

So what did you guys think? How about that snazy party?  Anybody else tired of Sasha? Do you like Daryl's new job? Let me know what you think and comment below now!

Posted by: Joe @thee.social.nerd

SciAnts by Tile Isle

We are super excited about the launch of SciAnts our friend over at Tile Isle have been working hard on this game and its really looking great! The St. Louis indie game community keeps growing and its awesome to see another great game come out of St. Louis.

Survive never-ending waves of superpowered ants in SciAnts, an exciting, fast-paced arcade game for mobile!

You are the sole technician aboard a Zero-G Genetic Engineering Facility. Your job was a relatively simple one: supervise the automated production of SciAnts, a new strain of bio-engineered commercial-grade worker ants.

Unfortunately for you, the SciAnts have escaped into the facility's automatic food dispenser, causing it to malfunction and constantly dispense food. Now the SciAnts are pilfering your limited food supply and bringing it back to their queen. You've got to eat as much food as you can, as fast as you can, before they get away with all your grub!

Download it for free here

Check out Tile Isle on facebook and give them some love.

How To Serve Man

The fires are lit, the silverware is polished, and the humans have been harvested...it's time for everyone's favorite Cosmic Cooking Show,HOW TO SERVE MAN!

Step into the shoes of an intergalactic Chef competing against other Chefs in a knock down, no-holds-barred Cooking competition! The featured ingredient for this contest… Human Beings!

Impress the Celebrity Judges with your culinary prowess while making sure your ingredients don’t run away. Do you have what it takes to beat out your friends to become the champion of Space Kitchen Arena?

In this light worker placement game, you will gather resources, cook them up, and combine them to create Dishes to present to the Celebrity Judge panel. Impress the judges and you will earn bonus points for future Dishes, and those judges will help shape your overall cooking strategy.

The Chef that earns the most points, while dealing with the inevitable hazards of outer space, wins!

What's in the box?

About Gateway Games

Gateway Games is comprised of 4 lifelong game enthusiasts throwing our hat into the ring years after we probably should have. Two of our number work in the hobby industry already, giving us a bit of insight that we hope will help your confidence in our ability to deliver you a quality product in a timely fashion. All we need is your support (and American Dollars) to make this happen.

Check out there facebook page here.

Game of the Week: Trivia Crack

Trivia Crack is a mobile app that allows users to compete against friends and people around the world. Modeled after popular games such as Trivial Pursuit, it became the most downloaded game in December 2014 from the Apple App store. The game initially launched on October 26, 2013 specifically to Latin America, until it had eventually been translated into English.

The game is developed by the company Etermax, whose offices are located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is available as an app on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Facebook, or the Amazon App Store. As of December 2014, the game is available in 10 different languages.

-Wiki

If you haven't heard of this game you have most likely been living under a rock for the last several months. This game has literally made gamers out of some of my family members that were not gamers by any means. This game has turned my mother as well as my uncle into gamers. Granted its a Trivia game but a game none the less.  

As a player you can challenge your either a random person to play against or one of your Facebook friends after linking Trivia Crack to your account. During the game you have to answer 3 questions in order to receive a crown. Questions vary between 6 categories: History, Geography, Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Science. Answer 3 trivia questions correctly and you get a chance to answer one question in a category of your choosing to win that crown. Or you can challenge you opponent for their crown by answering 6 questions. Whoever answers the most questions wins. The object of the game is to get all 6 crowns before you opponent does.  

Positives: 

- Free: you can pay for an ad-free experience but isn't needed

- Addicting: once you get in a rhythm you don't want to put your phone down

- Simple: games with a simple concept are the most fun and addicting

- Social: playing and beating your friends, no better pleasure

Negative: 

- Lives: if you have a bunch of friends trying to play you may have to wait for more lives

- Timeframe: you have 2 days to play your turn. Sometimes its frustrating to wait

- Geography & History Questions: I only want Sports & Entertainment questions! 

I would reccommend this game to anyone with a mobile device. It's something that is easy to play on the go or when just relaxing. However be warned it's highly addicting! 

Thanks for checcking out my brief review hope you enjoy Trivia Crack like I do. 

Posted by: Joe @thee.social.nerd

Toy Story 4

From Nerdist.com

Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 4 will be, according to Pixar President Jim Morris, “a romantic comedy.” The June 16, 2017 release–to be directed by original Pixarhelmer John Lasseter and written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (making their Pixar debut)–will, says Morris, be a continuation of Toy Story 3only “in temperament”; but, in placing its emphasis less on the relationship between children and toys, it will forge its own path as “a love story.” Could this be Pixar’s biggest attempt yet to broaden its audience? And just who will this love story involve? Has Woody finally found someone new after the departure of Bo Peep?

For this and more check out Nerdist.com