Category: Gaming

Exclusive: Popcap's PEGGLE coming to XBLA

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WBX: WinBreak Exclusive
It’s not quite as exciting as our first post of the day, but nobody has really made mention of this little headline. The game has been a huge success on the PC, but nobody has announced that it’s coming to the 360. Rated “E for Everyone” and confirmed by the ESRB, popular time waster “Peggle” will be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Rated by multple people’s favorites list (last link not work safe – ZeroPunctuation), there is no reason for Popcap to assume it will sell hugely on the Xbox Live Arcade. The game is widely available, even through iTunes now, apparently. So go ahead and check out their official site, and see just what you might be spending your Microsoft points on in the near future.

EXCLUSIVE: Moorcock's Storm Bringer saga coming to 360!

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WBX: WinBreak Exclusive:
I received this information prior to Christmas and have been waiting for the right time and place to bring it to light. Now seems about right. Author Michael Moorcock’s Storm Bringer, the Elric Saga is making it’s video game debut in late 2008 or early 2009. This information came from a source “directly involved with the development of the game” and seems quite reliable. Below is a copy of the information that was sent to me.

New game, Stormbringer, “The Black Blade,” is testing the waters. They have yet to decide whether they want to deploy the game on the Xbox 360 platform or the PS3 platform.

Stormbringer “The Black Blade”
An enchanted sword of unspeakable power, its edge will cut through any matter on earth. Cursed with chaos magic, Stormbringer drinks the very souls of those it slays, feeding its wielder with newfound energy. It is unstoppable. It is alive. And it hungers always…

Introducing: Stormbringer — a new 3rd person fantasy-action game for the PS3 & X360. In this game, you are Elric, the emperor of Melniboné, ruler of a once great but now decaying island country. Formerly a mighty warrior nation, it is now a slave to its own decadence and customs, and under attack from all sides. Desperate to save your homeland, you strike a bargain with Arioch, the Lord of Chaos, pledging your servitude in exchange for the ultimate weapon – in exchange for Stormbringer.

Unstoppable and all-powerful, Stormbringer gives you the might to enter battlefield crammed with soldiers and emerge victorious. The sword allows you to use your enemy’s numbers against them. The more souls you collect, the more strength is added to your body, visibly transforming you into an unstoppable machine of war. But with every gift you take, Stormbringer becomes that much harder to control, making you wonder if your own soul is indeed the sword’s ultimate prize…

Key features of Stormbringer include:
ENTER THE WORLD OF MICHAEL MOORCOCK – along with Lord of the Rings, the Stormbringer series has influenced an entire generation of fantasy fiction. Moorcock’s dark vision combines legend, science, and sorcery into a twisted realm unlike any other. Elric is a true anti-hero who plays a key role in the ultimate battle between Chaos and Law as he struggles against his own grim fate.

EXPERIENCE A VISUAL MASTERPIECE – The world of Stormbringer is spectacularly brought alive with state-of-the-art Unreal 3 technology, the same engine that powered Gears of War. Elric’s mysterious land is packed with epic locales, populated by exotic creatures and fused with an advanced physics engine that allows for deep world interaction as well as incredible destruction as you topple pillars or level buildings to achieve victory.

ENGAGE IN FANTASTIC COMBAT – You wield Stormbringer, a blade unmatched in the entire world, using a deep combo system that allows you to move quickly from foe to foe or juggle enemies with ease. Keep the momentum of the fight going by harvesting souls, growing visibly stronger, and cutting larger arcs of destruction, ending in staggering finishing moves. In distant lands you will build repertoire of combat styles, learning new moves as well as gaining unique advantages of your toughest foes.

HARNESS FORBIDDEN MAGIC – channeling the energy harnessed by your whirling blade,you can also unleash dark magic that can rain molten fire or unleash monstrous demons to rip your opponents limb from limb. Your journeys will lead you to forgotten lore of Chaos and Law that can combine with the might your sword to keep your enemies at bay or twist their minds. Gain the favor of demons or elementals that can give you the ability to travel to new realms, or fight in entirely new ways… for a price.

FIGHT ON AN EPIC SCALE – Neither size nor number matter to the might of Stormbringer… Your dark powers are enough to conquer any, a towering Melnibonéan war machine or even a hundred-foot-tall Burning God. Fight alongside your own legion and use your magic to spur them to victory, or rely only on your own chaos abilities and the hunger of your blade to conquer the vast armies laid before you.

STRUGGLE FOR YOUR SOUL – Stormbringer is the source of your strength, but also the root of your corruption. As you take more souls, your power intensifies, but your devastating attacks will make it difficult to keep the sword from slaying your friends as well… beware that your bloodlust may ultimately make them indistinguishable from your foes. If you instead embrace this dark fate, the most terrible powers can be gained by taking the souls of your closest allies, those which Stormbringer finds the most sweet. Taking this road transforms you into an instrument of destruction, but will drive the conclusion of your tale down a darker path.

Platform: Playstation 3 & X360
Rating: M for Mature (appropriate for ages 17+)
Price: $59.99

Upon first read, it almost sounds like the Fable sequel we’ve all been waiting for. But I’ll let you be the judge of that.

My source added that this title may end up being a PS3 exclusive, or an Xbox 360 exclusive, or it may launch on both consoles. At this time, however, it seems very promising that the 360 is locked in.

Welcome to WinBreak's Rebirth!

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Founded June 14th, 2006, WinBreak.com was founded as a Windows PC security website. We covered all sorts of news topics dealing with viruses, security exploits, you know, geeky stuff! As I grew more and more involved with my final year of college, I stopped working on the website. It later just became a ‘hobby blog’ – I would post whenever I felt like it, nothing major, just the occasional bit of news in my personal life or bit of news from the tech industry.

As time passed, I found my only ‘stress relief’ from my senior thesis (as well as my post graduation ‘unemployment blues’) came from video games. It was like being in high school all over again. I loved video games, I stepped away from my PC and PC games, and the cash it required to keep up with the hardware, and bought myself an Xbox 360, after being bugged by a buddy of mine.

Sure, I had played around with them, seen how the Xbox Live Arcade games worked and what have you, but once I bought my own, it was love at first game (which, by the way, was Gears of War). After all of the trials and tribulations (yes, the dread ‘3 red lights’), I still enjoy my Xbox 360, and have decided it was time to give a little something back to the community.

QUICK QUESTIONS:

What’s with the name?
As I mentioned, WinBreak was originally a Windows PC security site. WinBreak was taken by pressing the “Windows key” on a keyboard, and the “Pause/Break” key on a keyboard. This “Win+Break” combination is a keyboard shortcut to your device manager, the part of the computer that tells you about the hardware in your computer, all of the nerdiest details. After looking into multiple domains, and attempting various backorders, I have decided to simply “rebrand” WinBreak so to speak.

So, who are you?
That’s the fun question. I’ve gone by one name only, on the internet. NuAngel. It’s been my nick name since the days of Doom and Quake. When I owned NuAngel.net, and worked with other community members on PC gaming news related sites, I really built up a passion for working on the web, and wanted to continue that.

Where are you located?
WinBreak central command is located in a rural town in Pennsylvania, near lake Erie. I get snowed in a lot, so what better way to pass the time than playing video games and reading/writing on the web? Hopefully relocating in the next few weeks, but we’ll have to keep you all posted on that!

Why now?
Well, the original goal was to bring back my first website, NuAngel.net. I purchased that back in 1999, and let it expire once I got busy in college. Unfortunately, my ‘domain backorder’ fell through, and I had to push the launch of this site back a few weeks. Also, the more people I told about my intentions, the more contacts I developed, and I realized I was already creating a back log of work for myself, so I decided to move ahead with it, both ‘behind’ and ‘ahead’ of schedule (interesting how so many things really influenced my decision!).

That’s all for now, everyone. I will start the regular news posting VERY soon (including several exclusives I have lined up).

See you on Xbox Live!

New MS game to allow PC-Xbox combat…

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On November 12, [2004,] Microsoft Corp. filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the Shadowrun mark. Although this doesn’t confirm a game is in development, it is a positive sign for those waiting for a Shadowrun game.

Shadowrun is a fictional universe that was introduced as a role-playing game (RPG) by FASA Corporation in 1989.

Nearly two years after the application was filed, Microsoft’s Shadowrun is coming to life. Not only does it visually look good, the ideas pushing the game are finally starting to blur the line between consoles and PC’s. With Microsoft recently renewing their dedication to PC games, people thought maybe it wasn’t the end of an era – but with a promise like this, it’s very possible that not only are they not giving up on the PC gaming market – they’re breathing new life in to it.

In a May 9th, 2006 press release, Microsoft stated:

“Shadowrun™” (Microsoft Game Studios) brings the Microsoft vision of “Live Anywhere” to life. “Shadowrun” from FASA Studio is the first cross-platform game for Xbox 360™ and Windows Vista. It is a multiplayer, FPS that propels team-based combat into a new dimension with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic. “Shadowrun” will be available when Windows Vista is launched.

While I anticipated a former FASA game to find its way to the PC market as an MMoRPG, I’m not sure if World of Warcraft’s numbers have scared developers from trying to compete, or if the game was dreamed up as something different from the beginning. But it appears as though the game will be developed to have a “death match” mode.

From Shadowrun’s prelaunch website:
For the first time ever, Xbox 360 and Windows gamers can compete as a team or as foes. Experience a quantum leap in interactivity as console and Vista PC gamers battle for supremacy online via Windows Vista and Xbox Live®. As you battle endlessly for the right to be crowned the last man standing, you’ll also struggle to answer the age-old of question of which is the more efficient killer: Windows PC or Xbox 360? Through the unprecedented cross-platform functionality, up to 16 gamers using both Windows PC and the Xbox 360 console will participate together in the ultimate multiplayer frag-fest.

Essentially the goal is to turn your XboX live account into the new “Microsoft Passport.” Your Microsoft Live account will act as a ‘buddy list’ for you to communicate with players on either PC or Xbox 360. You should even be able to play the same profile on both machines. It’ll be expensive to buy the same game twice, but hey, who doesn’t have two copies of Oblivion, right?? …right?

Exciting stuff, more to come!

Peace on ya,
-G