“First and foremost we are very happy about this deal which also turns over a new leaf for the entire Nordic Games Group. In the long term, we either want to cooperate with the original creators or best possible developers in order to work on sequels or additional content for these titles”

“A very important point for us is not to dash into several self-financed multi-million dollar projects right away, but rather to continue our in-depth analysis of all titles and carefully selecting different financing models for developing new instalments of acquired IPs.”

Reinhard Pollice, Business and Product Development Director, Nordic Games GmbH said,

“We gradually geared up our company over the years in terms of our overall online and boxed business, our range of platforms, and our headcount. This substantial increase of our games portfolio is the next step to maintain and strengthen our position across a wide range of digital platforms, licencing partners in emerging markets, and in our European and North American core markets”.

Klemens Kreuzer, Managing Director, Nordic Games GmbH commented,

“In August 2013, Nordic Games Vienna will have been in business for two very exciting and successful years, and this transaction takes us to new heights and challenges for the years to come”.

Nordic Games has an open invitation for everyone (especially fans) who is interested to discuss on how these videogame titles should progress: http://forum.nordicgames.at/forumdisplay.php?909-Discussion-about-THQ-IPs

OUR TAKE: Finally! The remaining two Horsemen- Pestilence and Famine, can descend to Earth.

Assassin Creed IV: Black Flag Box Art

Source: Ubisoft Forums

SPECS

The system specs for PS4:

• Single chip custom processor: Low power X86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU – 8 Cores
• Supercharged PC Architecture
• Enhanced GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next Engine
• 8GB GDDR5 Unified Memory
• Local HDD
• Optical Drive (Read Only): BD 6xCAV / DVD 8xCAV
• I/O: Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0), AUX
• Communication: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) / IEEE 802.11 b/g/n / Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)
• AV Output: HDMI / Analog-AV out / Digital Output (optical)

The PS4 will take advantage of the GPU for processing which has been limited to the CPU in the previous consoles. PS4 will not be backwards compatible with PS3 games however old games can be played through cloud.

DUALSHOCK 4 CONTROLLER

• External Dimensions: Approx. 162mm x 52mm x 98mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
• Weight: Approx. 210g (tentative)
• Keys / Switches: PS button, SHARE button, OPTIONS button, Directional buttons (Up/Down/Left/Right), Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), R1/L1/R2/L2/R3/L3, Right stick, Left stick, Touch Pad Button
• Touch Pad: 2 Point Touch Pad, Click Mechanism, Capacitive Type
• Motion Sensor: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer)
• Other Features: Light Bar, Vibration, Built-in Mono Speaker
• Ports: USB (Micro B), Extention Port, Stereo Headset Jack
• Wireless Communication: Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Battery: Built-in Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery / Voltage – DC3.7V (tentative) / Capacity – 1000mAh (tentative)

The PS4 controller has a touchpad and motion control. The PS4 controller also boasts of a “Share” button as well as a “Light bar”. The design is similar to the prototype posted by IGN. PS4 will heavily use Youtube, Gaikai and social networking.

EYE CAMERA

• External Dimension: Approx. 186mm x 27mm x 27mm (width x height x depth) (tentative)
• Weight: Approx. 183g (tentative)
• Video Pixel: (Maximum) 1280 x 800 pixel x 2
• Video Frame Rate: 1280 x 800 @ 60 fps / 640 x 400 pixel @ 120 fps / 320 x 192 pixel @ 240 fps
• Video Format: RAW,  YUV (uncompressed)
• Lens: Dual lenses, F value/F2.0 fixed focus
• Capture Range: 30cm??
• Field-of-view: 85°
• Microphone: 4 Channel Microphone Array
• Connection Type: PS4 dedicated connector (AUX Connector)
• Cable Length: Approx. 2m (tentative)

ANNOUNCED GAMES

As of now, Sony’s Meeting 2013 is still going on. The games showcased yet are

Killzone Shadowfall

Killzone Shadowfall Screenshot

inFamous: Second Son

inFamous Second Son

Driveclub

Driveclub PS4

Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs for PS4

Destiny

Destiny PS4

Knack

Knack PS4

Stay tuned to ProGamist for more details.

Do you know the definition of BADASSERY?

bad·ass.erry/
Noun: Engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck. (Source: Urban Dictionary)

And we’re talking about videogames, it’s not like only men can do badass things. The opposite sex can too.

No! Not Princess Peach. There are other babes which can decapitate you and rip off your heart and chew it and spit it on your disfigured face and I’m serious. Presenting you ProGamist‘s Top 65 Most Badass Babes (Part 1) but first, special mention.

Special Mention

Aphrodite (God of War)

What? Aphrodite does deserve a special mention in this list. I know what’re you thinking – How is she a badass? First of all, can’t you see, she’s so badass that we had to censor some.. umm things in her picture. Secondly, she copulated with the videogame’s most badass character. Isn’t that enough for you, huh?

So, it’s time to move onto our countdown to Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes:

#65. Queen Myrrah (Gears of War 3)

 I know that this countdown’s opener is not precisely a ‘babe’ but just imagine an over-sized futuristic-weapons-wielding locust trying to exterminate the mankind by killing all the men, women and children.

Grrr

Now imagine millions of them. The bottomline is they obey the Locust Queen. Queen Myrrah leads them in the Locust Civil War, Locust War and the Lambent Pandemic on her quest to the destruction of mankind. ‘Nuff said.

#64. Madison Paige (Heavy Rain)

Ok, another not-so-babe-type-of-entrant. Madison Paige is one of the main characters of QuanticDreams’ hit Heavy Rain. She is a photojournalist, actually an insomniac photojournalist, checking in motels in late nights where she can relax. She displays her badassery in the game when she visits a club (I don’t want to spoil ).

#63. Elena Fisher (Uncharted series)

Elena Fisher is a reporter which is an expert in:

• Firing guns
• Jumping impassable distances
• Climbing hills/buildings
• Parachuting
• Flying planes
• Oh man! That’s enough.

Elena is one of the female leads of the Uncharted series and also the love interest of the series protagonist Nathan Drake. She’s 63rd in our list.

#62. Ekk (Project I.G.I)

Ekk is the antagonist of the game (remembered?) Project I.G.I. She is the head of the Russian mafia whose primary objective is to destroy Europe with an atomic bomb. She made our list in the number 62.

#61. Harley Quinn (Batman: Arkham City)

Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, otherwise known as Harley Quinn is one of the female antagonists of the Batman series. She is the accomplice and girlfriend of Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker. Harleq Quinn is ranked 61 in ProGamist’s list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#60. Lilian Evans (Urban Reign)

 Lilian is one of the playable characters in Namco’s beat’em up game Urban Reign (2005). Lilian’s counter is a sort of jump or fly or something else which she does very smoothly. One thing is pretty clear that don’t mess with her. Her continuous kicks will leave you tangling in air for several seconds. Lilian from Urban Reign is 60th most badass videogame babe in our list.

#59. Poison Ivy (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, otherwise known as Poison Ivy is one of the female antagonists in Batman: Arkham Asylum. She uses toxins from the plants as well as her bloodstream for her criminal activities. She is 59th in our list.

#58. Shaundi (Saints Row: The Third)

Shaundi is the lieutenant of the celebrity gangsters, the 3rd Street Saints in Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third (Saints Row 3) games. Ok, let’s put on some trivia for you:

• Shaundi is a former hippie (Crowd reaction – )
• She is one of the most wanted in the city of Stilwater (Crowd reaction – :O )
• She has her own reality TV show – “I Wanna Sleep With Shaundi” (Crowd reaction – OMFG :O :O :O )
• She has appeared in the Playboy magazine (Crowd reaction – x.x )
• She’s currently ranked 58th in ProGamist’s list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes (Crowd Reaction – )

#57. Ayumi (X-Blades)

Ayumi (Credit: agnidevi/DEVIANTART)

Ayumi is the protagonist of the 2007 action-adventure game X-Blades. She wields dual-pistol blades. She fights monsters. She has an arsenal of spells to use. She is badass.

#56. Kelly Bowman (Urban reign)

Kelly Bowman is one of the playable characters in the PS2 multiplayer beat’em up/fighting game Urban Reign. According to the storyline, she is the sister of another playable character Chris Bowman. Kelly has specialized herself in the Brazilian Martial Art - Capoeira. This high-flying and fast paced fighter girl is 56th in our list of Badass Babes.

#55. Xian Mei (Dead Island)

Zombie-beating, knife-wielding, martial-arts-knowing, westerners-spying, Xian Mei from Dead Island is our 55th most Badass Babe.

#54. Cassidy Sharp (Darkwatch)

Cassidy Sharp is one of the female protagonists of 2005 the Weird-West FPS Darkwatch: Curse of the  West. Jericho’s (Protagonist’s) apprentice who gets killed and then returns as a ghost in the game. She’s the 54th entry in our countdown.

#53. Farah (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones)

Farah is one of the female characters in the Prince of Persia trilogy. She’s the former princess of India and the current queen of Persia in the Prince of Persia universe. An expert archer and love interest to Prince. Farah is the 53rd entrant in our countdown.

#52. Purna (Dead Island)

Purna, from Dead Island, is a former Sydney Police Department officer who lost her career when she shot a child molester. Losing her job, she becomes a bodyguard for V.I.Ps and generally gets stationed in dangerous places around the world. Unlimited use of her revolver is one of her main skills while you play as her in Dead Island. Purna is 52nd in our list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#51. Tala (Darkwatch)

Tala is the second female protagonist, followed by Cassidy Sharp, in the game Darkwatch: Curse of the West. She is a power-hungry Native American Shaman-cum-Darkwatch agent-cum-demon. Should I need to say more!? She eventually (SPOILER INCOMING) turned out to be an antagonist and you have to fight her as a boss in her demonic form and the folks from Gamespot have rated her as “without question, the most difficult boss to battle”. Ooh, I’m scared. Literally.

#50. Andariel (Diablo II)

Aah, Andariel! From Diablo II. Hmm, I know she’s not a babe and that means she’s not a woman of your type, dude. To be precise, she’s more of a cougar. You don’t want to date her. I think no one will. Why? Just f**king look at her!

She’s some sort of spider-lady-demon living in the lairs of the Catacombs! This is not the thing, the actual thing is she’s a Boss. An ACT-BOSS. You have to defeat her in ACT-I in order to progress to ACT-II of the game. OK. People call her by the name Maiden of Anguish. Isn’t that enough for you not to date her. Andariel possesses a poisonous breathe. She lives by the lake of blood and that lake of blood is in her room, yes, in her throne room. I wouldn’t even think of stalking her Facebook profile. Anyway, she’s the 50th Videogame’s Most Badass Babe (Babe!?) of ProGamist.

#49. Alyx Vance (Half Life 2)

As we’re talking about spiders and demons, let’s talk about weird-looking-extraterrestrials and headcrabs. No, we’re not going to actually induct a weird-looking-extraterrestrial or a headcrab into this list but we’re talking about the Half Life series of games and the 49th entrant into this list is Alyx Vance from Half Life 2.

Alyx Vance is a skilled hacker (I’ve a thing for hackers). As you can see, her ethnicity is Asian. (I’ve a thing for Asians too. Heck, I’m also an Asian. We’re going in a right direction.). She can climb up the buildings and can jump off too, as you can see she’s very athletic (I like that. I love that actually) . Folks from GamesRadar awarded her Miss 2004 in their Sexiest New Characters of The Decade (HELL YEAH!). She has a pistol, a shotgun and a sniper rifle in her arsenal of weapons (Wait, what?). She’s a close friend and partner of one of The Most Badass Videogame Characters – Gordon Freeman. (Damn! ).

#48. Mona Sax (Max Payne 2)

Mona Sax is one of the main characters in Max Payne and Max Payne 2. She’s a contract killer residing in New York City and the love interest of Max Payne. She’s also the twin sister of Lisa Punchinello. So, literally, together they make “Mona Lisa”. Awesome, right? Mona Sax is ranked 48th in our list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#47. Jennifer Tate (Primal)

Jennifer “Jen” Tate is the protagonist of the 2003 action-adventure game Primal developed by SCE Studio Cambridge. In this game, Jen (She likes to be called Jen, so I’ll call her Jen) is in search of her boyfriend through the demonic domain. The most astounding ability of her is to turn into four different types of teddy bears and bunnies. Nah, I’m joking. Actually, she can transform into one of her four demonic forms.

• Ferai – Exclusively for melee/close combat. Increased speed. Higher jump.
• Undine – Exclusively for underwater. Gains energy tentacles.
• Wraith – Stops time. Increased melee combat. Gains energy whip and main-gauche.
• Djinn – Enormous power. Gains two energy blades, can be combined into one for increased power.

#46. Chloe Frazer (Uncharted series)

Chloe Frazer of the Uncharted series is not your typical “good girl” (like Elena Fisher). She has a kind of independent and aggressive personality. She helped Nathan Drake (Protagonist) on his quest to obtain the Cintamani Stone in Shangri La (Uncharted 2) as well as a small role in Drake’s pursuit of Katherine Marlowe (Antagonist, Uncharted 3) to stop Marlowe from reaching The Iram of Pillars/Atlantis of The Sands (Uncharted 3). Expert in guns, climbing, jumping and all that stuff, Chloe is 46th in our list.

#45. Lulu (Final Fantasy X)

Lulu is one of the main characters in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. She is a black magic user (That statement’s enough to keep you away). In a stereotypical voice, let me tell you that girls love dolls and it doesn’t surprise me knowing that she loves dolls too. BUT the thing which surprises me is that she uses dolls to cast her black magic spells (Another reason to stay away from her [and her dolls]). Lulu is 45th in ProGamist’s list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#44. Sonya Blade (Mortal Kombat series)

Sonya Blade is one of the original Mortal Kombat characters. She is a soldier and a member of Outer World Investigation Agency (OWA). She is a quick-paced combatant thanks to her Special forces training. She’s badass. That’s it.

#43. Jill Valentine (Resident Evil series)

Jill Valentine is one of the protagonists of the original Resident Evil. She is a member of the Raccoon Police Department’s Special Tactics And Rescue Service (STARS). She is also the protagonist of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. (SPOILER INCOMING) and she is also:

In Resident Evil 5

Jill is 43rd in our list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#42. Seong Mi-Na (Soul Calibur series)

Seong Mi-Na is one of the playable characters in Namco’s Soul series of fighting games. Specialized in a halberd-type of weapon called the Wol Do. Don’t worry she has the longest non-projectile weapon as well as one of the best unblockable moves in the game. Seong Mi-Na is ranked 42 in our list.

#41. Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)

Tifa Lockhart is one of the protagonists of Final Fantasy VII. She is the member of the resistance group AVALANCHE. When you look at her for the first time, it doesn’t seem but she has an enormous amount of physical strength which she showcases in the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Just like Cloud (Protagonist), she has a deep hatred for Sephiroth (Antagonist) for her hometown’s destruction. Tifa Lockhart is 41st in our list of Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes.

#40. Violette Summer (Velvet Assassin)

Violette Summer is the protagonist of the 2009 stealth game Velvet Assassin. There are some things which actually make her standout on this list:

• She was recruited by Secret Intelligent Service (SIS)  due to her beauty and athleticism.
• That means she is a spy.
• Her character is based on a real life secret agent Violette Szabo.

Yes, you heard it right. Her character is based on a real life female secret agent. Hats off.

#39. Alice (Alice: Madness Returns)

Do you have a life? If yes, then you might be familiar with the story Alice in Wonderland or at least have watched the movie or at least have heard about it. If not, then let me tell you that Alice in Wonderland used to be a children’s story, then take a look at this Alice in the Wonderland.

Ouch! But she’s that Alice, right? The only difference is she’s in a game, right? Umm, yeah but this Wonderland is kinda twisted. Leave that, I don’t want to traumatize you for describing this Wonderland which is completely parallel to your childhood’s Wonderland. Let’s talk about Alice. Alice is the protagonist of EA’s Alice: Madness Returns developed by Spicy Horse. Game is the sequel to American McGee’s Alice (2000). In this game, Alice returns to Wonderland with her main weapon vorpal blade (Yeah, I know it sounds weird). She also has a pepper grinder as her distant weapon (It sounds sick). Alice is 39th in our list.

#38. Kaileena (Prince of Persia: Warrior Within)

Kaileena is one of the main antagonists in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and protagonist in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. She is the empress of the time. She kicks butt. She gives Prince a hard time in one of the endings in Warrior Within. Voiced by Monica Belluci (Prince of Persia: Warrior Within), This “Damsel In Distress” is inducted in our list only for her role in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and is 38th in our list.

#37. Shun Ying Lee (Urban Reign)

Shun Ying Lee is the female protagonist of the 2005 beat’em up game Urban Reign. Leader of the Chinese Triads, she hires Brad Hawk (Protagonist) to prove her innocence for kidnapping KG from the Zaps gang. Long story, short. She is an expert swordswoman. Just give her a sword in the multiplayer mode and just look at her, JUST.LOOK.AT.HER.

#36. Juliet (Lollipop Chainsaw)

Juliet Starling is the protagonist of the Hack ‘n’ Slash game Lollipop Chainsaw. She’s a cheerleader ( xD )! She’s a student in the fictional San Romero High School ( xD ).  She’s a descendant of a long line of zombie hunters ( :O ). She carries the decapitated head of her boyfriend with her ( :O ). And she can do this:

Chainsaw in Zombie’s nut sack! Sweet!

#35. Christie (Tekken 6)

Christie Monteiro is one of the playable characters in the Tekken series of games. Christie is Eddy Gordo’s student. She is a Capoeira expert just like Kelly from Urban Reign. Christie Monteiro is 35th in our list.

#34. Fujin (Final Fantasy VIII)

Fujin is one of the characters from Final Fantasy VIII. She is a member of Balamb Garden’s Disciplinary Commitee. Why is she badass? Can’t you see the eye-patch, huh? She is best known for beating the crap out of Raijin. Fujin is ranked 34th in our list.

#33. Maria (Silent Hill 2)

Maria is one of the main characters from Silent Hill 2. Maria looks similar to James Sutherland’s (protagonist’s) deceased wife Mary. As some of the series fans say, Maria can also be said as an antagonist as she always tries her best to make James to accept her. So, why is she in this list in the first place? Just for resembling a horror-game protagonist’s wife? The answer is she is here because in [SPOILER INCOMING!] the final part of Silent Hill 2, Maria disguises herself as Mary and asks James to be with her in her final attempt but James refuses and she transforms into something like this:

What the…

Maria is ranked 33rd in our list.

#32. Rayne (Blood Rayne)

Agent BloodRayne is the protagonist in the BloodRayne series of games. Rayne is a Dhampir (Vampire father and Human mother). She is a member of the Brimstone Society which sends her to eliminate supernatural threats. Anyway her mother is killed by her father, her main objective is to seek revenge for her. Rayne is 32nd in our list.

#31. Nina Williams (Death By Degrees)

Nina Williams is the protagonist of the game Death by Degrees and (you guessed right) she is also one of the playable characters in the Tekken series of games. Nina is one of the videogame’s badass babes famous for having a sibling rivalry. Apart from that, she is a trained assassin and martial artist. Nina is 31st in our list.

#30. AJ (The Grinder)

AJ is one of the main characters in the First-Person Shooter game (WII) The Grinder. The game has not released yet. Anyway, AJ is an explorer seeking revenge upon the death of her sorority sisters. She is the sole survivor of  a slasher attack (seems like a plot of slasher movies anyway). AJ is 30th in our list. If the game never comes out, she will become the first and the only videogame character to be included in our list without a game. Now that’s badass.

Don’t forget to check the Part 2 of ProGamist’s Top 65 Videogame’s Most Badass Babes when it’s out. See ya!

The DLC adds a new Daedric realm, ability to ride dragons, ability to choose new paths for skills (new powers), new enemies, a new main antagonist, coastal island of Solstheim (from Morrowind) and more.

FUS RO DA, folks!

Screenshots

The fourth-quarter revenue showed $311 million in revenue with a net-loss of $48.6 million.

Our team executed well in the fourth quarter and made important progress in building sustainable new revenue streams and further aligning our company around our best growth opportunities.

Said David Ko, COO, Zynga.

In other news, Zynga announced during their conference call that it would be shutting down three recent games i.e. City Ville 2, Party Place and The Friend Game due to their poor reception. The recent departure of Zynga’s chief game designer Brian Reynolds from the company last month might be one of the factors for the cancellation of these games.

(My personal take: My thoughts and condolences go out to the large amount of money which has been constantly invested wasted by the “pro players” everyday, playing these games.)

“Prologue“