Funcom has announced that the MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures will become free-to-play later this year. This means that players can play the game for free or become a premium subscriber with access to additional content.
In addition, the studio will re-launch the game this summer under the new name ‘Age of Conan: Unrated’. Conan was already known for its brutality and nudity and these features will be given even more attention in this new release.
The game is quite popular and has received good reviews. It can be expected that making it free-to-play will significantly increase the number of players.
The online game will also include content from the upcoming Conan the Barbarian movie.
Press release on Ageofconan.com
Many years after the original game, the sequel Alice: Madness Returns is almost finalized and scheduled for a June 14, 2011 release in the US and a June 16, 2011 release in Europe.
Alice: Madness Returns is a sequel to American McGee’s Alice, which was made for PC in 2000. This game was quite a hit and sold over 1.5 million copies, resulting in high expectations for this sequel that will be released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
Important to mention is that the game is definitely not for children. It is rated PEGI 18 as the game has strong horror elements with lots of blood and suspension.
Trailers
A new trailer of the upcoming fantasy movie Conan the Barbarian has been released. It is the first real trailer with actual footage of the the movie. It looks quite impressive with a lot of action, which of course is to be expected of a Conan movie, but it remains to be seen if the story is any good.
Conan the Barbarian will be released to theatres on August 19, 2011. Jason Momoa, Khal Drogo in the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, will star as Conan.
See the trailer below!
By showing a dead King Kong, George R.R. Martin has let the world know that he has finished writing A Dance with Dragons!
The due date for this fifth installment of the highly acclaimed fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire is July 12, 2011.
The timing is of course great as HBO’s new TV series Game of Thrones, based on the first book of Ice & Fire and co-produced by George Martin, has just aired and is turning out to be quite the hit series. A Dance with Dragons with fly of the shelfs!
I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, read it and let you know if it is just as great as its predecessors!
Source: Not A Blog
Preview
The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.
In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.
Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.
To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark’s bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.
On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all…
After months, even years of waiting, tonight at 9PM Game of Thrones will premiere at HBO!
Tomorrow, April 18 at 9PM, Game of Thrones will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
The series, based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire, has been hugely hyped over the last couple of month. Reviews of those fortunately enough to have already seen the first episodes are mostly very positive, with only a few critics still claiming that fantasy is for geeks and should not be taken seriously.
I expect millions to hold their breath tonight and anxiously await if Game of Thrones can become the first major and successful fantasy TV series.
Enjoy!
HBO continues the ongoing stream of news, images and video clips of the upcoming TV series Game of Thrones.
This time a series of video clips portraying the most important Houses of Westeros and several of the main characters have been released.
Game of Thrones is based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R.R. Martin.
The first official poster and trailer for the 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake have been released.
The trailer and especially the poster look promising but of course it very much remains to be seen if this remake can live up to the original Conan movie.
The part of Conan will be played by Jason Momoa, known for his roles in the television series Baywatch and Stargate: Atlantis. Also, Momoa will play Khal Drogo in the upcoming television series Game of Thrones. He can act and definitely has the body for Conan but he is new to the big screen making him sort of an additional question mark for the movie. Other important roles are for Ron Perlman and Rachel Nichols.
Conan the Barbarian will be released in theatres on August 19, 2011 (also in 3D).
Trailer
Bethesda has announced that the game Hunted: The Demon’s Forge will soon be released.
The fantasy game can be best described as a third-person co-op dungeon crawler and will be released for PlayStation 3, XBOX 360 and PC. Below the story line of the game and the trailer, which looks really good.
Unfortunately, often a trailer is not quite a good representation of the game itself. Then again, as creator of the The Elder Scrolls, one of the best fantasy game series ever made, Bethesda has to produce something good.
Story
“The dark ages have become corrupted. Heinous creatures have emerged from underground. Townsfolk are disappearing.
Upon the promise of their fortune in gold, two mercenaries have taken on the daunting task of finding out where the innocents have been taken and to stop the madness. Their journey will take them on a dark and twisted path where they will encounter vicious creatures, death and sacrifice. This path will lead them deep within the world of Kala Moor…and to the secrets of The Demon’s Forge.”
Trailer
As of yesterday (March 1, 2011) a second novel of Patrick Rothfuss in the Kingkiller Chronicles is available, called The Wise Man’s Fear.
Based on what I have heard so far about the book, it is of at least the same level as the first novel, The Name of the Wind, one of the best fantasy novels of the last decade. That means that The Wise Man’s Fear will contain a complex and intriguing story and will be an amazing read.
The next installment in the series will be called The Doors of Stone. If Rothfuss continues like this, the Kingkiller Chronicles will definitely earn it’s place among the best fantasy series ever, making him one of the best fantasy authors around.
Official summary
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King’s road.
All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.
In The Wise Man’s Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
Yes, here is yet another Game of Thrones trailer. This time a new and improved theatrical version. For those who do not share my enthusiasm it may be a bit too much attention It now really has a finished look to it and personally I find it to be very, very good.
In addition, HBO has opened the website The Maester’s Path on which you have to complete five tasks/ challenges over the coming weeks to obtain the five links and complete your maester’s chain. Each obtained link also results in a unique reward.
Game of Thrones is based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire, written by author George R.R. Martin. The series will start on April 17, 2011.
HBO has released yet another trailer giving us a look behind the scenes of the upcoming series Game of Thrones. Only a couple more weeks till the first episode!
Game of Thrones is based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire, written by author George R.R. Martin. It is to be released on Apriil 17, 2011.
