Aion 4.0 "Dark Betrayal" Coming to NA in June!

A huge announcement just came out from Massively and other sites about the release date for 4.0 in NA. The date is June. No specific date has been made yet, but it will be some time in June. This will include both the Bard and Gunner classes as well! This update is going to be huge, and I can't wait for it. I can't say I wasn't hoping for an earlier date, because I honestly was. NCSoft West is also moving their studio to Southern California from Seattle Washington, and that will include them hiring a new CM for Aion NA. Here is the full article. Credits: Massively Good news! (Well, at least for my police record.) As it turns out, I didn't have to resort to kidnapping to convince someone from NCsoft to talk to me about Aion at this year's GDC. I swear, Sean Orlikowski, the game's associate producer, came willingly. It does, however, appear that in the fine print of the meeting agreement, I agreed to be outfitted with a special electronic device that would send massive jolts of electricity through my system if I tried to speak about something I shouldn't. So let's see how much I can share with you before this apparatus leaves me unconscious. Can I tell you that Aion has a special celebration planned for the first anniversary of the Truly Free conversion? So far, so good, folks. Hmm... can I add that next big expansion has a North American launch date planned without going unconscious... oh, appears so! OK, let's push this a little further: How about if I happened to mention that 4.0 will hit servers in June 2013 -- would I be zapped? Nope! So there you have it, folks: 4.0 is indeed going live in just two short months! I know I promised you a guide to spy quests this week, but I'm sure you can understand why I just had to bump it. I mean, 4.0! This reveal is just too exciting to brush aside. And since I'm not feeling any twinges of electrical currents, I'm going to share everything I can with you. As with any major expansion (meaning all the whole numbers), Aion 4.0 has a title. Following in the hallowed footsteps of Assault on Balaurea and Ascension comes Dark Betrayal. Daevas who have been following the storyline thus far will see a continuation of the plots that have been revealed throughout the latest updates. According to Orlikowski, players will find some really good plot twists as the story develops. I'd like to add more about the revelations, but I'm getting this electrical tingling sensation... Aion screenshotWhen 4.0 hits here in NA, the build will actually correspond to Korea's 4.2; our version will start with two of the new classes right off the bat, unlike Korea's 4.0 launch. Players wanting to test their wings as a Songweaver (the official name of the bard class) or a Gunslinger have only until June to secure free slots on their accounts. My desire to play the healer/DPS hybrid apparently follows the statistics that NCsoft has noted; Orlikowski shared that between the two classes, interest in the Songweaver has been significantly higher than in the Gunslinger. And why not? According to Orlikowski, the Songweaver is a combination of many of the game's classes -- Sorcerer, Chanter, Cleric, and just a touch of Spirit Master -- rolled into one. "It's got some pretty powerful nuke abilities," he found while playing on the test server. "It's got this three-stage charge-up shot that does just as much damage as some of the Sorcerer's abilities of the same level." The DP ability has damage equal to the Sorc's Pandaemonium Focus. The SW also has sleeps and a mana heal. Apparently devs are in the same boat as ordinary Daevas: Orlikowski was also lamenting that he'd have to sacrifice some characters in order to make room for the new classes. Maybe he has some sway, then, to get us more slots? Well, he's been pushing for them. "That is actually something I have requested more than once. I would love to see more character slots," Orlikowski revealed. What about just splitting slots by server? "On the last proposal I sent in, that was a compromise: I asked, if you can't find a way to add more character slots, can we at least have eight per server? But I haven't heard back yet." We're crossing our wings for luck! As we get closer to launch, players can expect more videos highlighting these two classes, Orlikowski noted. The Aethertech (the mech class), however, has no information, either for NA or Korea, so those who want to play this class still have time before deciding which toons get the axe. Perhaps by the time it launches, there will be additional slots! Celebrating a year of Truly Free Announced in February 2012, the Truly Free model was a serious departure from the standard payment models in gaming. Get all content for free, no restrictions? Uh, huh, yah, sure. Plenty of players were sure there was a catch somewhere, but there wasn't. When Ascension launched with the new free-to-play model, Daevas found a distinct lack of restrictions along with the loads of content. Now, with the first anniversary fast approaching on April 11th, NCsoft is gearing up to celebrate the occasion alongside Daevas with some in-game events. From April 10th through the 17th, players will be able to participate in a Decorate the Cake event (collecting aether flames to trade for candles to decorate the cake, just as during the Daeva's Day event). Our captive-audience dev also noted that there should be special offers -- including free items -- in the NCstore. But that's all I know about it, honest! The information prevention device is currently dormant. Since I had him cornered, I took advantage of the chance to get a little insight on other things; I asked Orlikowski why the difference in dispensing information this time around as opposed to previous expansions. Seriously -- getting information from NCsoft went from like pulling teeth to needing to shore up against a flood. He explained, "We've decided to embrace the 4.0 news as it came out of Korea. That's why you're seeing things like 'beyond 4.0' when we haven't even been kind enough to give you a date yet." For those who want to remake characters in order to have new classes, I put in a personal plug for temporarily reintroducing Veteran Rewards (I so desperately want those fairy wings on my new toons!). Also, good news for folks who missed the limited-time Shugo dungeon: It is expected to return. "It's not a one-time limited thing," Orlikowski assured me. "I don't know when, but we'll be having it again." There's even a chance that the dungeon can be scaled down for lower levels, but that's only a chance. Oh, and just in case you wanted to know, Orlikowski stated that the recent layoffs at NCsoft "don't have any effect on its games at all." He told me, "The layoffs weren't a result of the games performing poorly or anything like that. The games are completely fine... it's just the company plan." I think it's safe to say that there is a lot planned for this spring and summer, so it's a good time to get back into Aion. Of course, just as with the lead up to any of the game's major expansions, NCsoft will be hosting a number of other festivities. And would you believe, I have all that information as well! So after the F2P anniversary celebration, Daevas can expect... *bbbbzzzzzzzzztttt* *ZAP!* As always, the wait entails a lot of anticipation. Try to hold yourselves together for the long wait to 4.0! Hopefully the days will go by quickly, so I can make my Bard!

Elder Scrolls Online PS4, Xbox One, PC: Tamriel Unlimited changes revealed

The new pack from ZeniMax Online Studios will launch first on PC on August 31, then Xbox One on September 15, followed finally by PlayStation 4 on September 16. The heart of the Cyrodiilic Empire has fallen to Daedric Prince Molag Bal and it is up to the three alliances to retake the Imperial City while still fighting amongst themselves. The Imperial City is the first DLC game pack for Elder Scrolls Online and has been promised to add hours of additional gameplay. New areas, quests, enemies, and exclusive items are set to be added, while pricing depends on the status of a players ESO Plus membership. The full Imperial City DLC game pack is included with an active ESO Plus membership, although if you are not an ESO Plus member, or your membership lapses, the Imperial City DLC game pack will cost 2,500 crowns in the ESOTU Store. The Imperial City will come in two parts-the DLC game pack, and the base-game patch, while everyone who owns The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited will receive the base-game patch at no cost.

EA Sports on FIFA 16: Carte Blanche on a Blank Canvas

After getting our hands on the latest version of FIFA, we had the opportunity to sit down with gameplay producer Aaron McHardy and discuss the introduction of women's football, rebalancing gameplay all over the pitch, the new training mode coming to the game, and how his own footballing philosophy has affected the game through the years.www.gmfifa.com Gamereactor: The demo that we just played (which you can read about here) was really polished, and it feels like, from an outsiders perspective, that you know exactly where you want to take this year's instalment. Would you say that's a fair comment? Aaron McHardy: Yeah, absolutely. I think we were committed from early in the year to our plan: innovation across the pitch. We knew what we needed to do, we needed to get confidence in defending back, because that was lost. We needed to make midfield matter, and we needed to do it by not nerfing-for want of a better term-the attack in the game. So that direction was clear; make it polished, make it balanced. We have that engine, so let's let that shine and let people play. We knew from the get and we started working on it right away. GR: Last year's effort was probably the most divisive game in recent times, certainly since you've been involved with the project. What do you think was the most important thing that needed setting right?www.gmusd.com

Breathtaking-First FIFA 16 Male Version Sceenshots

News: Electronic Arts has released a batch of new screenshots for mens version of FIFA 16 soccer game featuring improved models of Leo Messi, Kane, Augero, Koke and more. Story: One of the most highly anticipated sports game around the world is the FIFA series. First released back in the year 1993, FIFA was one of the very first games I remember playing and so it goes way back for me. Weather it does so for you or not, we have a new batch of FIFA 16 screenshots we'd like to share with our viewers. Amazing New FIFA 16 Coming to Gaming Consoles and PC in September 2015 www.6kfifa.com For the first time ever, Electronic Arts has released screenshots of the male version of FIFA 16 and its looks amazing. The game features amazing graphics and you can see characters perform skill moves in the screenshots below. And without further ado, lets take a look at the screenshots. The game will be hosting the following confirmed game stadiums; "Stade Velodrome and Parc des Princes from FRANCE, Borussia-Park from Germany, King Abdullah Stadium from Saudi Arabia, CenturyLink Field from United States" and more stadiums which EA has yet to announce. Finally, as previously reported, the game will also women's national teams, about which David Rutter, VP and GM at EA SPORTS FIFA, said: FIFA 16 will be making its way onto PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One coming September. FIFA 16 is the first game which allows its fans to edit its cover according to their choice. You can place any player of your choice alongside Lionel Messi on the cover of the game in Australia, France, Latin America, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Stay tuned for more information on Electronic Arts upcoming addition to the FIFA gaming series and do share your views with us in the comments section.