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Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the expected launch window for Diablo III, the next title in the action role-playing series, will be delayed until early 2012. The game returns players to the world of Sanctuary, where they will once again take up arms against the forces of darkness.

"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn't put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we're taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers."

Blizzard will use the additional time to extend the Diablo III closed beta test, which began September 20, potentially adding more testers than initially projected. Players who have an active Battle.net® account with any Blizzard game attached to it should visit Battle.net account management to opt in for a chance to participate in the beta test. Additional testing phases, as well as further details regarding the launch plans for the game, will be announced on the company’s Diablo III community website: www.Diablo3.com.

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NCSoft and Paragon Studios has announced that inactive accounts for its City of Heroes super hero theme MMO, will be gradually reactivated as Premium accounts this week for the game's release as free-to-play City of Heroes Freedom. Those without existing accounts will have the chance to join in the fun when Freedom opens its doors to new players next week.

Do you remember your first time soaring through the skies above Paragon City or the rush of Superjumping over the streets of the Rogue Isles? Now you can experience the amazing features of City of Heroes Freedom™ for free...FOREVER! That's right; we're pleased to announce that as of this week we are beginning the process of reactivating all inactive City of Heroes/City of Villains accounts as Premium accounts for City of Heroes Freedom! Reintroduce yourself to the world's best Superheroic MMORPG experience and renew your friendships for free!

Starting this weekend, we are gradually reactivating all inactive game accounts. Over the next several days, more and more former City of Heroes players will find their previously lapsed accounts have been re-enabled as Premium level accounts! We've saved your characters, so you can pick up where you left off, and returning Veterans can check out the all new Paragon Rewards™ Program for exclusive perks just for having been a previous COH/COV subscriber! Please note that not all accounts will be immediately enabled. If you can't log in; Just check back at a later time!

If you don't already have a City of Heroes account, never fear! Starting next week we'll be opening the doors to new free players! So everyone can take to the skies and join in all of the action available at no additional cost in City of Heroes Freedom!

City Of Heroes Freedom Account Reactivations

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In a new blog post Almost Human has detailed its current release plans for the company's upcoming Legend of Grimrock RPG. Once they complete the Windows version of the game this year they plan to work on the Mac and iOS versions early in 2012. The game is an old school dungeon crawler which puts players in the role of a prisoner exiled to Mount Grimrock. To escape they must form a party and make their way through Grimrock's ancient tunnels and dungeons.

We are currently developing the game on PC-computers like pretty much any developer primarily does regardless of for what platform they are doing the product. And since our company is pretty micro-sized and we’re progressing at break-neck speeds (just the way we like it) we don’t have much bandwidth at the moment for porting the game to support multiple platforms at once. So what we intend to do is get the Windows version of the game shipped first on a 3rd party digital distribution channel and then move on to Mac and iOS platforms (and possibly some others at a later date). We’ve already done some work on iOS/Mac platforms, partly utilizing some freelance programming work, but for now getting to the finish line with these two platforms will have to wait to sometime early next year. We probably could squeeze in more platforms for the initial launch if we wanted to but that would be pretty risky since we’d have less time for polishing the game and we would have to utilize freelancers more which would eat our funds, and therefore our margin of error, quicker. So in a lot of ways this plan is primarily about eliminating risks and going through the path of least resistance and keeping things simple. All of which should result in a better, more polished game for you to play.

Legend Of Grimrock Release Plans

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Uncanny Games has announced the release of OIO, a new side-scrolling platform title. Based on concepts from mythology and fairy tales, the game puts players in the role of a small wooden man awakened from petrified sleep. The game features 12 scrolling levels to explore, a mystery to solve, and a variety of puzzles to solve.

Drawing inspiration from the mythologies of Icarus and timeless fairytales, OIO is the story of a little wooden man, awakened when a stray beam of sunlight pierces the twilight subterranean world in which he and his hand-carved compatriots stand frozen in time. Alone in being reanimated, OIO embarks on a perilous journey through the vast organic netherworld with only his wits and magical seeds to overcome the challenges before him and climb towards the light. As the journey unfolds, OIO will learn of the fate that befell his petrified companions, seek a way to free them from their inanimate tyranny, and come face to face with his greatest challenge.

OIO is a scrolling platform puzzler, with simple yet intricate gameplay elements that draw the player into their quest to collect 100 orbs and 3 fragments on each level, and ultimately put the pieces of the story together to unravel the mystery. The player will guide OIO through 12 scrolling levels in the twilight domain, using the seeds he acquires to grow and combine wooden beams and solve increasingly elaborate physical puzzles.
Jump over obstacles, climb, and master the propagation of fire in the wooden world, reaching ever higher through four different environments, including roots and natural wood, mines, and eventually a realm of metallic machinery.

The beautiful art of OIO has been created in a hand-made “art brut” organic style, using wood alongside other natural forms and materials to build detailed environments with depth and scale. The sensitively handled lighting and the hypnotic original music add the final atmospheric touch to environments that demand to be explored, drawing the player ever deeper into the OIO universe.

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