Today the Alpha backers of Elite Dangerous will be able to play the first phase of the Alpha process. Phase one – ‘Single Player Combat’ will be the first hands-on experience for gamers of Elite: Dangerous.

Backers who pledged for access to the Alpha release will experience different Alpha phases over the coming months, providing early access to Elite: Dangerous while it is being developed and the opportunity to give invaluable, focused feedback to Frontier and help further shape the game.

The aim of Phase One – ‘Single Player Combat’ is to test key aspects of ship control and combat systems. Piloting a Sidewinder with varying weapon configurations, players progress through 8 single player scenarios — initially designed to familiarize players with the controls, gradually increasing in difficulty and complexity.

Elite: Dangerous is the latest installment of the Elite gaming franchise and has garnered huge support from over 40,000 fans of Elite who have supported development of the game so far with both funding and feedback. So far they have raised an impressive $2.1 million!

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Sonic and Tails are back and they are coming to your mobile gaming platforms. This was a re-release I just had to tell you about, I grew up playing the Sonic games, they are some of the world’s most iconic platform games.

The game is available for the first time on Google Play, bringing a new way for fans to enjoy the classic game. This version is free as an update for fans that have already downloaded the game for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, don’t miss out! New players can purchase the re-mastered version from the App Store.

Speed run through the adrenaline pumping classic zones such as Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant and Casino Night (one of my favourites). Spin, dash and loop de loop with upgraded visuals and a silky smooth frame rate. Defeat deadly enemies as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles and even play the new content in the challenging Boss Attack Mode where you can now try and beat all of the game’s bosses in a single run.

The much rumoured and never-before-seen Hidden Palace Zone which was never included in the original Genesis version of the game, will now be playable for all. It features new enemies, hazards and an epic showdown with Dr. Eggman. (I’ve got to say, I’ll never get used to calling him “Eggman”. It’s Robotnik!)

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City of Steam: Arkadia is going live on Dec. 4th, 9PM, EST, along with new systems, new content and more.  For those unaware, after breaking ties to publisher R2 Games, the developer Mechanist has made huge changes to the game and is now self-publishing the game under the title City of Steam: Arkadia. We have teamed up with Mechanist games to secure our users 1000 gift keys to be given away immediately! Each key entitles you to a Growth Pack that contains the following;

• 10× Strong Health Quaff
• 10× Strong Steam Quaff
• 1× Level 1 Mod Box
• 5× Keys
• 5× Alloys
• 20× Transmuter Orb
• 2× Transmuter Coolant
• 1× Broadcast Ticket
• 100× Spiremarks
• 1× Spiked Goggles
• 1× Vented Goggles
• 1× Drum Tophat

To claim your key, enter your email address in the box below! (NOTE: Be sure to check spam folder if it does not appear in your inbox.)

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About City of Steam: Arkadia
City of Steam: Arkadia is a 3D industrial age fantasy MMORPG, the debut Unity3D-based MMO from Mechanist Games. It transports players to a world where clockworks, steam power, and arcane technologies suffuse every aspect of existence, from the half-organic, half-mechanical dwarves to the giant gears of the World Machine itself.

How to redeem your code:

1. After obtaining your gift code, go to City of Steam: Arkadia website here .
2. Register an account (or sign in if you already have one) and click on the ‘Play Now’ button when servers are up.
3. In game there is a Rewards window, and one of the selections there is a Promo Code option. Copy/paste your code into it, claim it, and check your backpack for the goodies!
4. Enjoy!

CCP and EVE Online are going to be hosting a 12 hour live streamed “telethon”, to raise money for the typhoon relief in the Philippines . By now I’m sure you have heard about the devastation over there. I respect how gamers and gaming companies can rally together to help our brothers and sisters around the world, I just had to tell you about this as soon as I heard about it.

“PLEX for good” has already raised over $43,000 USD, the 12 hour telethon will start at 13:00 UTC on December 7th, and can be watched live from here.

The schedule includes EVE developers getting shot with paint balls, having tattoos, shaving their heads, and my personal favourite, fighting Taekwondo masters! Find out more about the schedule here.

Lifeless, an up-coming MMO FPS zombie survival shooter created by Rigid-Soft studios is due for release sometime in 2014. We have obtained screenshots from this eagerly awaited game exclusively for the RaGEZONE audience.

For more information, visit the official website here.

Webzen have just announced the fourth expansion for their dungeon-based MMORPG, Continent of the Ninth Seal (C9). The expansion is called Rahkdan’s Counterattack. It’s due live tomorrow, November 27, 2013, right after the regular scheduled maintenance. This expansion is actually the first part of a much larger three-part content update, which will also include the upcoming announcement of a brand new basic class.

Rahkdan’s Counterattack features a server-wide character rebalance. The skill damage for most classes will be updated, as well as the monster difficulty. New quest lines will be added to Okapia and Sarad (the Fourth and Fifth Continents), presenting all players with new missions to complete. In addition, new Epic Items will be dropped from enemies on the Second through Sixth Continents.

The updates will continue with two more installments in the coming months. This includes the highly anticipated announcement of a brand new basic class (as well as the addition of a new advanced class), new levels for the Sixth Continent of Raebin and other exciting content. The next two parts will also include an item giveaway and a new in-game event that rewards players with prizes for participating in an intrusion. Exact dates and details will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

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Official site.

After some long and hard fought battles, the original 170 Combat Arms teams have been whittled down to the four top groups to battle it out on the offline ESL Go4 Combat Arms final on December 7^th. The triumphant four that fought their way through to the final round are 31337Gaming, MostTalentedPlayers, Team Def and Team EGO!, who will go head to head in an exclusive offline event in Cologne, hosted by ESL’s Sean Charles and casted by Jason Kaplan, where €30,000 is up for grabs.

“We’ve seen a huge number of players fight with real passion to reach this stage, with 170 teams competing over the recent months” said Damian Baran for NEXON Europe. “We’re really pleased with the turnout and excited to see the final result. May the best team win.”

31337Gaming, hailing from Poland, have so far dominated the tournament and enter the finals as firm favourites. They already have a sweet €7,000 in the bank and 25 wins under their belts. Only December’s finals will see a clear victor however, with the stage set at the ESL TV Studios in Cologne. You can watch the action on the day at www.twitch.tv/esltv

APB Reloaded has just updated to Version 14, adding multiple free in-game updates, a new purchasable bundle and new premium packs exclusive to the Steam network. The game is now boasting over 3million registered users.

Version 14 includes:

·         Two new contacts, Aletta & Gumball in the Financial District – increasing the level cap by 20
·         Radar tower car mod – Highlights enemies on your radar that pass near your vehicle
·         Blowtorch weapon – Heals damage done to your vehicle, burns enemies
·         Remote Detonator car mod – Blow your cars up from afar.
·         Muffler car mod – Keep your vehicle off radar while you coast
·         High Burn Point Fuel car mod – Being near your car if and when it explodes causes it to hurt less
·         Flare gun weapon – Previously only available via Joker Distribution, now available via progression.
·         Additional slot unlocks – for clothing, themes, songs, and vehicles

A brand new purchasable bundle is now available via the APB Marketplace. The bundle brings together the
·         Rocker Outfit
·         TAS20 Shotgun
·         Vegas G20 ‘Rhino’ Muscle Car and Body Kit

Play for free here.Find APB on Steam here.

Roberts Space Industries – Squadron 42 is not only going to be a reality but it keeps getting better and better. They have come a long way since hitting their first goal of $2million! Since each new stretch goal has been hit, new star systems have been added, new ships, and an ever expanding universe.

I played all the Wing Commander games growing up so this MMO is like a dream come true. I don’t think I ever expected them to exceed their original goal by so far!4 Star Citizen is going to be a huge game.

Get the official letter from RSI here.

The New Jersey attorney general’s office announced Tuesday a $1 million settlement with an online video gaming company that used malicious software to monitor subscribers’ computer activity and illegally mine bitcoins when users were absent.

The settlement with E-Sports Entertainment, LLC, of Commack, New York stems from the creation and deployment of a bitcoin trojan as well as software designed to gain full administrative access to subscribers’ computers.

The program could access files, track mouse movements and monitor activity even when users who subscribed to the company’s anti-cheat services for online video games were not logged in with E-Sports.

A botnet was also employed in subscribers’ computers to mine for the virtual currency bitcoin when users were not active on their computers.

“It is estimated that, during a single two-week period, E-Sports took control of approximately 14,000 computers in New Jersey and across the nation, and generated approximately $3,500 by mining for bitcoins,” according to the New Jersey attorney general’s office.

The 29 bitcoins E-Sports received in the effort are worth $15,000 at current value.

The company must pay New Jersey $325,000 of the $1 million settlement. The remainder stays in suspension for 10 years as the company is on probation, as long as it adheres to all settlement terms and does not break the law in the future.

Ironically, subscribers paid the company $6.95 per month to play its supported games on anti-cheat servers. To play on its servers, customers had to download and install E-Sports’ software, leading to the abuses.

“Consumers who subscribed to E-Sports’ video game anti-cheat services paid for protection from cheaters – not to be cheated by the very services they’d purchased,” said New Jersey Division of Law Director Christopher S. Porrino.

E-Sports co-founder Eric Thunberg and E-Sports software engineer Sean Hunczak were named in the settlement as being responsible for the software and botnet abuses.

According to the state of New Jersey, “Thunberg supervised Hunczak’s activities, provided Hunczak with input, and authorized Hunczak to use company time to develop, create and test the E-Sports bitcoin mining code. E-Sports apparently terminated use of the bitcoin mining code in May 2013 after an E-Sports subscriber discovered it.”

The company denied accusations in April that they had used a bitcoin-mining trojan on users’ computers, saying it was an April Fool’s Joke.

Yet the company, which bills itself the “largest competitive video gaming community in North America,” soon fessed up to the accusations, saying it experimented with bitcoin mining in its internal code, but then a rogue company engineer was to blame for releasing it on subscribers’ machines. The engineer – presumed to be Hunczak – was fired by E-Sports earlier this year after a class action lawsuit was filed against the company.

Thunberg would not comment to Forbes. Hunczak could not be reached for comment.

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