Mythos MMO Attracts Over 250,000 Players In Two Weeks

A quarter found on the pavement of NYC, your favourite quarter of a beautiful European city, the first quarter slice of a delicious pizza - all indisputably good things.  But they pale in comparison when compared to the following quarter: a quarter of a million!  Only two weeks after release, Mythos, the hack’n’slash MMO, has garnered more than 250,000 players.

The numbers don’t stop there though, a quick peek into the statistical depths of the game revealed a host of other interesting facts and figures from the first fortnight of online carnage.

32% of players who have created a character thus far have chosen to wage war as the fiery Pyromancer, while 28% have chosen to play as the deft handed Gadgeteer.  40% of players choose to embrace the carnage, paint the town blood red, and then some, as the Bloodletter.  From the selection of races, 27% have chosen the Satyr, 28% the Gremiln, 15% the Cyclops and 30% of people have decided that they’d like to remain human.

Male characters also seem to be the order of the day, with only 1/3 of players choosing to go monster hunting as a female.

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Post-Apocalyptic Shooter Ruined to Open Beta

Bigpoint Inc. – the North American subsidiary of Bigpoint GmbH (http://bigpoint.com/), a worldwide leader in browser-based massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) – today launched the open beta of its first title built entirely in the United States, Ruined (http://www.ruined.com/). Set in wrecked venues inspired by some of San Francisco’s best known landmarks -- such as the Golden Gate Bridge -- Ruined is a fast-paced, tournament-style third-person shooter that pits players against one another in a competition to become the ultimate villain.

Created by a veteran game development team atop the Unity game engine, Ruined boasts an array of impressive features – such as high-end graphics, effects, and audio – designed to appeal to hardcore gamers. Playable through any web browser, gamers can satisfy their craving for action anywhere they have access to an Internet connection. Combat arenas allow up to 24 players at a time battle to the death with a range of traditional and exotic weapons, such as Bubble and Lightning guns.

In Ruined, there are two types of currency, Scrap (free) and Platonium (premium). Weapons bought with Scrap are available for a limited number of uses, while weapons bought with Plutonium have unlimited use.  Boosts that are purchased with Platonium have more strength than boosts bought with Scrap currency.Previously demonstrated at the 2011 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, Ruined currently includes six characters and three combat arenas, including The Bridge, The Prison, and The Fort where players can compete in timed deathmatch battles. Players can play as any character they want for free, each one with their own strengths and weaknesses. At launch, the Mad Medic, Mutant, Crawler, Samurai, Enforcer, or Assassin are available.

Players can play for free by visiting http://www.ruined.com/. Over the following months, Ruined will be localized in several languages, including German, French, Spanish, and Italian and new content will continue to be added.

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World of Tanks MMO Wins Best Game of GDC Russia 2011

Wargaming.net is honored to announce that its free-to-play MMO action game World of Tanks has been awarded the Best Game of 2011 and Audience Award at the annual Game Developers Conference (KRI 2011) that took place in Moscow from May 13th to May 14th.

Industry professionals and the GDC awards panel expressed positively high opinion on the game’s progress and company’s development that let Wargaming.net also win the Games Industry Award.

"It’s a big honor for us,” said Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. "We took our time to develop World of Tanks to make sure that we were putting out a top quality game, and the award for the Best Game of 2011 that we’ve been honored with is additional proof of what a great project we’ve managed to create. I would also like to thank the gamedev representatives for giving us the Industry Award. And, of course the most important, a very special thanks to the players who supported us and made the Audience Award possible. We are working 24/7 and won’t stop until World of Tanks reaches perfection”.

World of Tanks is the first and only team-based massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armored warfare. Throw yourself into the epic tank battles of World War II with other steel cowboys all over the world. Your arsenal includes more than 150 armored vehicles from America, Germany, and the Soviet Union, carefully detailed with historical accuracy.

A flexible system of authentic vehicle upgrade and development allows you to try any of the vehicles and weapons in the game. Whether you prefer to exhaust your foes with fast and maneuverable light tanks, make deep breaches in enemy lines with all-purpose medium tanks, use the force of giant tanks to eliminate opposing armored forces, or become a heavy sniper with long-range howitzers, each unit type has its own advantages and can be extremely effective when operated by a true tank ace.

But being a great tank commander alone isn't enough to win! In World of Tanks, it’s all about teamwork. Victory is achieved by combining your combat skills with those of the other members of your team, each playing their own role on the battlefield. Just add your favorite strategy to build your own iron empire and manifest the indisputable authority of the tank! Feel the TANK POWER!

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APB Reloaded Open Beta Launched!

GamersFirst launched the highly anticipated APB Reloaded open beta. In addition to the long list of closed beta improvements already launched during the redevelopment of the game, the APB Reloaded open beta adds a brand new skill rating system, redesigned “witnessing” game mechanics, new items and weapons in the Armas Marketplace, as well as an additional East Coast datacenter to host the game.

Upcoming improvements that are scheduled during the open beta phase include new clan-based combat mechanics aimed at higher level players, additional match making improvements, and brand new district and game modes giving the player more control over the game experience.

New In-Game Witnessing Mechanic: Open beta includes a much improved “witnessing” system that captures the core of the cops vs. robbers game mechanic. When Criminals commit open-world crimes they gain a stash of dirty money that must be laundered before it is earned as a mission reward. A stash multiplier grows with the Criminal’s heat rating as they continue their crime spree, while carrying an ever growing pile of dirty money. Enforcers can witness Criminals committing crimes and opt into a mini-mission to stop the Criminal. Should the Enforcer successfully arrest or defeat the criminal, the ill-gotten gains convert to evidence, necessitating the Enforcer to race to their randomly-selected Evidence Locker in order to earn the stash as a mission reward. As Criminals fight to protect and ultimately launder their dirty money Enforcers fight to requisition the dirty money, creating a furious back-and-forth firefight for control of the resource.

New Items and Weapons: San Paro’s in-game merchant, the Armas Marketplace, is expanding during the open beta phase and will launch with 10 never-before-seen weapons as well as a large catalogue of permanent clothing, icons, vehicles and accessories designed to enhance the APB Reloaded game experience. During open beta, players will also be able to lease weapons using in-game cash or using GamersFirst’s exclusive G1 credits.

New Hybrid Skill Rating System: In order to create more-balanced PvP gameplay, APB Reloaded is transitioning from a straight win-loss system to a skill-based hybrid rating system, sourced from several proven skill rating algorithms such as ELO and Glicko. This new skill-based hybrid rating system aims to better reflect all gamers’ actual skill levels when compared to the opponents they defeat.

APB Reloaded is a massively multiplayer online third-person shooter game based in the modern-day fictional city of San Paro. In a state of near anarchy, players choose between two factions, Enforcers and Criminals, in order to control the city. Criminals and Enforcers battle in this open-world environment to control territories, commit or stop petty crimes, and gain notoriety within their own organizations. Be it on foot or from the driver seat, APB Reloaded melds player-on-player combat within the immersive world of a city on the edge of total chaos. With a robust set of customization tools, gamers can choose the exact look of their in-game avatar, character crests, clothing and even the cars they drive.

Players can get instant access to the APB Reloaded open beta by creating a GamersFirst account, downloading the GamersFirst Live! game downloader and installing APB Reloaded. Once installed gamers choose a side and then create customized characters that fight over control of San Paro. To get up-to-date information on GamersFirst and APB Reloaded’s Community and Fan Pages, check out the following link: http://www.gamersfirst.com/apb/

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Bounty Hounds Online: Closed Beta announced

Bounty Hounds Online is set in the 25th century, when man´s first encounter with Extraterrestrial Intelligence led to a huge galactic war. With the birth of the Federal Government, war has officially ended and military forces have been reduced. The peace that followed, however, is merely a façade and the government now relies on Private Military Companies (PMCs) for their protection. These mercenaries, also known as Bounty Hounds, are uncontrollable and their numbers are growing. As one of the mercenaries who survived the galactic war the player will be part of the Private Military, fight for mankind and become a true hero.

The mercenaries on Clear Sky Planet protect the fickle peace. In order to enter the battlefield, players choose one of five unique mercenary classes for their male or female character. Each class is playable by members of all four factions. Bounty Hounds has already been a great success on the PlayStation Portable. Further information on the game is available on www.bountyhounds.com.

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