Rebellion has announced that Sniper Elite is on Steam for free for the next 24 hours. The promotion lasts until Thursday June 5th at exactly 10am PST/6pm BST. To get your hands on the game, all you have to do is open the page in Steam and click download. After that, the game is free forever.
Following a successful Kickstarter and launch of the open beta, Face of Mankind developer Nexeon Technologies has announced that the sandbox MMO will be coming to Steam. Launch date has not been set and details are sparse at the moment as Nexeon fills out the proper paperwork and navigates all of the legal mumbojumbo. More details will no doubt be coming in the following weeks, but until then you can check out Face of Mankind’s open beta at the official website.
(Source: Steam)
With its big show on Steam just over the horizon, Star Vault has laid out how the hardcore sandbox MMO will make its way to gamers worldwide. Before Mortal Online is allowed to release, however, Star Vault is implementing a number of updates and fixes. In the latest press release, Star Vault has laid down just how the Steam rollout will happen.
Each block, according to the release, has a lead time of about one month, noting that multiple blocks may run in parallel.
? Block 0 – Unreal Engine update
? Block 1 – Territory Control
? Block 2 – Territory Control Testing and release
? Block 3 – Continent Support
? Block 4 – Continent support testing and release
? Block 5 – STEAM API release on STEAM
Henrik Nystrom, Star Vault’s CEO, made the following comment (translated):
We continue our focus on working towards STEAM, it looks we all look forward to the team, but I also believe that our current players see the value in this. We will increase communication about the development work currently involves about 40 resources in our global development team. For transparency to our shareholders, we have teamed up with Axier, specialists in communication to the stock market. They have produced an analysis of Star Vault. I hope you find it interesting
(Source: Star Vault Press Release)
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, I finally had the chance to sit down with the early access version of Shadowrun Online. If you missed the campaign or didn’t want to get involved for one reason or another, you can grab early access at Steam for $30 at the following link. Make no mistake, this is a very early work in progress. There are two pre-made characters to use and a very short four mission campaign that will take less than an hour to complete, assuming you don’t die and have to restart any levels.
There are two versions of Shadowrun Online that will eventually be available, a campaign mode and free to play mode. The former, available now in early access, grants everything that the game has to offer with no cash shop or the related bits and bobs of free to play. What you do pay for are optional expansions that Cliffhanger Productions plans on releasing multiple times per year, granted they have the time and resources. The free to play version is just that, no client price but with the added cash shop featuring accelerators and various other items.
At this juncture, Shadowrun Online is basically an endurance run through four levels. The lack of inventory and healing powers makes it impossible to recover health, although one of the characters has a power that grants shields to his allies and himself, but it requires a three turn cooldown. The mechanics of the game, right now, are pretty simple and should be immediately familiar if you’ve played any similar titles. You move, get in cover, and choose from a small list of abilities to hurl at your opponents.
There isn’t much to say about Shadowrun Online at the moment. I like the graphics, the game runs pretty smoothly, and what is present so far is a great indicator of where the game is headed. I can’t wait to see what else the developers have in store, and look forward to more Early Access articles on this game.
Final Fantasy is now available on Steam, and deal seekers can log in now to nab the title for 50% off for the time being. Until February 25th, you can nab the standard edition for $14.99 and the Collector’s edition for $24.99, with the latter including several exclusive digital items. Each purchase comes with 30 days of free game time, providing the Square Enix account you register it to does not already have a copy of FFXIV registered to it. If you already own the standard edition, it is still cheaper to upgrade to the digital collector’s edition through the Square Enix website ($19.99) rather than by buying the edition on Steam even with the 50% off.
Offer ends February 25th.
(Source: Steam)
We love Eldevin here at MMO Fallout, so any chance to see the game reach a wider audience is just dandy. I think I talked about this back in our quick look, but the browser based MMO is hoping to expand its reach to the Steam platform with a downloadable microclient. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Eldevin, you can already play it through your browser here. If you like it, or even if you’d just like to support the community, throw a thumbs up at the Greenlight link below.
(Source: Steam)
[Insert December holiday here] is upon us, and that means the Steam holiday sale is invading our wallets and making us choose between dinner and a pile of cheap games. As always, prices are in USD and may vary slightly based on your location and may not be available in all areas. Most of these sales last until January 2nd.
If you haven’t picked up The Secret World, now is your chance to get your hands on an amazing deal. Funcom has made the Massive Edition available on Steam, and until November 1st you can get the whole package at 50% off. The Secret World Massive Edition includes the base game and four DLC “issues” it comes with, as well as issues five, six, seven, and the plague doctor Halloween costume. After November 1st, this package will go back up to its regular price of $59.99.
(Source: Steam)
Path of Exile is finally ready to shed off its skin of being in fake-beta mode (no wipes, open cash shop) with an official launch on October 23rd. Alongside its official release, Path of Exile will also be coming to everyone’s favorite digital download location: uPlay. Actually it will be launching on Steam, but uPlay is your favorite store, right? The launch of Path of Exile will also bring with it the release of the Scion, the seventh class to be made available. Unlike her fellow exiled souls, the Scion isn’t just a character you can jump in and play with. In fact, you can’t even choose her as a class until you find her out in the world. The Scion is the first in a line of prestige classes and will be more difficult to play than the others.
Players will also enjoy an addition to the game’s main story, as well as new zones and expansion on PvP and guild functionality. You can read more at Massively’s lengthy preview.
(Source: Massively.com)
RaiderZ is an action-combat game from the minds of MAIET Entertainment, the folks behind GunZ: The Duel and GunZ 2. Released in 2012 as a free to play MMO, RaiderZ features active combat which places an emphasis on dodging and blocking incoming attacks, as well as an emphasis on crafting and big boss fights. Sadly, RaiderZ has hit some hard times with the announcements that Gameforge and Neowiz would be shutting down their servers in Europe and South Korea respectively. What does this mean for RaiderZ? I had to know.
So naturally, I saddled up and went directly to the source with my pen, paper, and a box of Necco Wafers in case I needed a bribe. With Perfect World Entertainment as the only western host remaining, I wanted to know where RaiderZ stood in terms of support from its remaining publishers, and developer MAIET Entertainment. PWE was kind enough to hook me up with Senior Product Manager Mark Hill, who had no problem answering my questions.
Omali: RaiderZ has shut down in Europe and Korea, with both announcing their closure around the same time. How did Perfect World manage to come out unscathed?
Hill: We are highly committed to RaiderZ and to the fans of the game, so we haven’t even considered closing our servers at this point. We feel that we can build upon the current success of RaiderZ and continue to improve the game for current and future players.
O: What do you say to players who might be concerned over the fact that half of RaiderZ’s territories just shut down?
H: It is very unfortunate if they were involved in the closure of servers that they were playing on. As a gamer, I know how it feels when a game you’re passionate about is no longer available, and it’s not a good feeling. That goes double for MMOs, and for the players that dedicate hundred and even thousands of hours to the game, community, and the publisher.
While I wish there was a way that those affected players would be able to resume their progress on our servers, it’s unfortunately logistically and contractually impossible. However, we do encourage anyone that is able to start up a character on our servers. I think they’ll find a solid and dedicated community to experience the game with, and it may even give them a chance to level up a new character in ways that they didn’t experience before.
O: With Gameforge stepping out of the picture, has any interest been expressed in picking up European publishing?
H: We’re definitely always looking for new market opportunities, and seeing the feedback from European players that were affected makes it clear that they still want to play. There are license and contract restrictions still in place even after they closed their servers, but we have discussed the possibility of Perfect World Entertainment bringing RaiderZ back to Europe. Of course I can’t promise anything, but it is something we are interested in.
O: Is RaiderZ region locked to North America or are players from Europe capable of creating accounts and logging in?
H: European players are able to create accounts on the Perfect World servers. They can register by visiting raiderz.perfectworld.com.
O: Have you considered putting RaiderZ on Steam to bring in a wider audience?
H: Oh man, you’re reading my mind! Yes, we have considered it. But before we do, we want to make sure the game is in top shape in terms of bug fixes, player retention, and overall game experience, which is what we’re working on now. Keep an eye out on Steam, though!
O: Is MAIET still committed to developing content for RaiderZ?
H: Absolutely! As a matter of fact, we have big expansion coming soon that is current being QA tested. You can read all about it in the forums here. We talk to the developers at MAIET every day, and we are both committed to making the game a success.
O: If MAIET does cease development, is there any chance of Perfect World adopting a license similar to Neowiz in Japan, allowing for more in-house control of content?
H: That’s a great question, but it’s not something that we’ve considered at this point. We’ve heard great things out of Japan, and are always open to new opportunities in order to ensure the continued success of the game, and making a positive experience for the players.
I want to thank Perfect World Entertainment and Mark Hill for taking some time to answer our questions. You can check out RaiderZ for free at Perfect World’s website.
MMO Fallout 