Ubisoft Announces Closed Beta for Anno Online

Players have been able to world breathtaking worlds in Ubisoft’s Anno franchise for a number of years and now the publisher is targeting a wider audience with the launch of the closed beta for Anno Online. Now anyone with an internet connection will be able to jump into the strategy action as long as they have a working internet connection and a modern web browser.

Anno Online is based off of Anno 1404, allowing players to experience build and develop medieval cities using a highly detailed economic simulation. Starting out with just two building, a warehouse and harbor, players can trade with others using ships. These trade routes are key to success and comprise the social componet of the game. As your cities build and flurish new inhabitants will move on in and you’ll need to unlock new buildings and capture new islands, to help your community thrive.

Check out the official website to sign up for the closed beta or watch the game’s new trailer after the jump.

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Dota 2 On Your ipad? It Could Happen Says Valve Boss

Dota 2, Valve’s upcoming free to play MOBA game has been in closed beta for a while. According to Kotaku we could be enjoying the game on the next generation of tablets if a quote from Gabe Newell is spot on.

Valve tried to get the game running on some current tablets but they weren’t up to the job. Mr.Newell speculates that tablets of the not so distant future will have the horsepower to make Dota 2 run smoothly in the palms of your hands.

“We were working on getting Dota 2 running on some tablets .. That ended up being kind of a disappointment. But the good news is that tablets are getting faster very quickly, so I think we’ll get the kind of performance we want and other game developers want in the near future.”

I wonder what kind of hardware they are testing it on. Perhaps they are using the ipad 4, that is certainly one of the more powerful tablets out there. Then again there is always the quadcore Asus Transformer as well if they are playing with android. We’ll just have to wait and see if this project comes to fruition. Valve is known for playing with various ideas, even if they never pan into commercial products.

Source:Kotaku

Zynga Layoffs Hit Multiple Studios; 100+ Laid Off.

Zynga seems to be hit with the worst luck, it seems. It appears that Zynga has announced layoffs on nearly 100+ people within multiple departments within the company. Zynga has announced that a major scale down of their game The Ville and has pulled the plug on another IP called Zynga Bingo and laid off all of the team that was working on the game.

Another horrible part of this is that the Boston studio has closed completely. The Boston division was working on title called: Indiana Jones Adventure World  and a Chicago based office may also be into trouble, but there is no confirmation. (more…)

The Next Command & Conquer Game Will Be Free To Play

The battle over ore and tiberium has raged on our computer screens for the past 17 years almost unabated. Even with the closure of original developer Westwood Studios in 2003 publisher Electronic Arts was able to bring the series back in true form with Command & Conquer 3 just four short years later. Can they re-invent the franchise once again after failing to resurrect the Generals sub-series?

The shift from a “premium experience” (ie. full $60 disc based games) to an all digital, free to play platform has slowly engulfed some of the PCs biggest multiplayer titles . Following the footsteps of converting Star Wars the OId Republic into a free to play title the next C&C title will also be available free of charge. (more…)

MechWarrior Online Community Day and Centurion Mech Announced

Mechwarrior Online Developers Piranha Games have been very busy this week. First, they released a video showcasing the upcoming free-to-play game’s latest Mech, the Centurion. This medium sized Mech is sort of like the T-34 of Mechs, boasting a good mix of speed, armor, and firepower. You can watch the video with some pretty gameplay footage below.

Additionally, Piranha games, Nvidia, and Infinite Game Publishing (the publisher of Mechwarrior online),  are hosting a MechWarrior Online Community Day in Santa Clara, California at 5 p.m. on July 27th. The event, an invitation only affair, will let the chosen few join the developers for drunken debauchery, beer, pizza, and some Mechwarrior Online lanning. There will be a tournament, prizes, and chances to play around with unrevealed Mechs as well as the newfangled Razer Blade laptop. Read on to see how you can score an invite to this event.

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New World of Warplanes Dev Diary Released

Wargaming.net has released the fourth developer’s diary for their upcoming free-to-play aerial combat game World of Warplanes. This diary focuses on the game’s control schemes: keyboard, keyboard and mouse, gamepad, and joystick. The developers promise that while “every control option comes with its own unique style and feel,” none will “grant you any in-combat advantage.” Certainly, an individual’s skill will play a great role, but we here at Broken Joysticks, after rigorous and totally unbiased testing, have come to the conclusion that joysticks are inherently superior.

You may watch the developer’s diary after the jump, but beware! It is in Byelorussian, so you’ll have to read subtitles. (more…)

Phantasy Star Online 2 Now Live, Here’s How You Can Sign Up

Phantasy Star Online 2, Sega’s decade long water torture  sequel to one of the most addicting console action RPGs has finally launched in its native Japan. Over independence day Sega flipped the switch on the final build of PSO2 and even if you don’t speak Japanese or can’t read Kanji you too can join in on the fun with a little bit of technical wizardry and patience. (more…)

Mechwarrior Online Launches Founder’s Packages

The MechWarrior franchise has heated up recently. From fans creating the Crysis modification Living Legends a few years ago to the upcoming Free to Play action title MechWarrior Online coming to windows PC later this summer it is a great time to be a mech fan.

Developer Piranha Games have released three different tiers of founders packages for those looking to gain early access to the game. Not only will pilots who are willing to fork over a little of their cash be able to access the game early but they’ll also get a special title, a few months of premium access and in game currency.

Check out the different packages after the jump. (more…)

League of Legends EU Accounts Compromised

We are no strangers to Riot Game’s PC MOBA title League of Legends here at Broken Joysticks. It’s disheartening to hear that the games West and Nordic European servers have been compromised and encrypted passwords & email addresses have been placed in the hands of those who would use them for harm.

The company says that no billing related information has been obtained by the hackers but if they were to un-encrypt the passwords used for the small number of LOL accounts compromised, that would be bad.

If you live in Europe and have an active LOL account it wouldn’t be a bad idea to simply login and change your password. You also might want to make sure that the same password is not used for any other online service.

World of Mercenaries Enters Closed Beta

City Interactive, the developers behind the upcoming free-to-play FPS World of Mercenaries, have announced that the gamer has entered closed beta.  If you happened to be one of the lucky few who were able to snag a beta key via the games website you can enter it into steam and begin playing.

World of Mecenaries was developed using Epic Game’s Unreal Engine 3 technology and asks the player to  pay special attention on team work and related FPS skills. City Interactive promises that both casual and hardcore players will be able to enjoy the game equally.

You can find more information on World of Mercenaries at their official website. Why not sign up for the closed beta while you are there?