Zombie games are to today’s gamers what World War II titles were before the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – you just couldn’t escape them. Now, with a zombie TV show in the form of AMC’s the Walking Dead, and a huge multi-million dollar Brad Pitt film in works, World War Z, the great zombie renaissance of the 2010′s seems to be spreading throughout the expanses of all our media. With the Day Z mod, gamers could add open-world zombie-game to the list and now even that has company…

Undead Labs (appropriately named) has officially announced State of Decay after two years of development. Unlike traditional zombie inspired games, Stay of Decay won’t focus on heavy shooter action or horror but instead present players with a large open world experience overrun by the undead where players will have to use their wits to survive:

“The end is here. Life as you knew it has gone to hell after the mother of all zombie outbreaks. Now you and the few scattered survivors must band together to survive and rebuild in a 3^rd-person action game set in a dynamic open world. You choose where to make your stand, designing and fortifying your home base, performing daring raids for food and ammunition, and rescuing other playable survivors with unique talents. The open, sandbox world develops in real-time, shaped by your actions, dynamically generating content based on your choices and the ever-increasing zombie threat.”

There is no release date for State of Decay as of yet. It is slated to be released on Xbox 360, Xbox Arcade and PC.

Stay tuned to OWNT for more information in the future.

At E3 this year fans got a treat from Ubisoft as they revealed the first gameplay footage of Splinter Cell: Blacklist. However, the original seven-minutes have been surpassed by a new release of 11 minutes of stunning stealth gameplay, from the series that redefined the genre.

The video begins the same way as the E3 video: Sam, carrying a dead body infiltrates a terrorist camp before quickly moving at breakneck speed, gunning down and snapping necks and arms like it was going out of style before we witness a brutal interrogation scene early in the demo (being a badass never felt so well). Still, one of the more interesting sequences showcases Sam tagging abilities as he locks onto numerous targets before performing a series of super-fast stealth kills, all set against a stunning game engine, gorgeous lighting and wonderful character and environmental models that bring the series out of the shadows and into the light.

The sneak-peek ends with another grueling interrogation sequence that has a surprise twist, all done using in-game graphics.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is scheduled for a spring 2013 release for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC.

More than likely all self respecting Star Wars nuts out there (myself included) are excited about the 2013 release of 1313, a bold, cinematic action adventure-shooter that hopes to reveal a new side to the Star Wars franchise with its truly stunning graphics. Now 1313 has a new trailer, featured at Gamescom 2012 that finally reveals the deep subterranean level under Coruscant dubbed, 1313.

The new trailer, much like we saw during its initial reveal during this year’s E3, features some of the same footage shown on the showroom floor, and it still looks amazing! But, at the end of the new trailer, the primary location which the game pulls its name from is seen for the first time – the depths of 1313.

Having been down on its luck lately with numerous employee layoffs and recent disappointments of The Force Unleashed II and Star Wars: The Old Republic (which is going free-to-play fall of 2012), LucasArts hopes that 1313 will reignite fan’s passion for the franchise.

With a nearly perfect blend of CG quality graphics that seamlessly shift from cinematics to gameplay, 1313 puts players in the boots of a bounty hunter – a much needed departure from the typical lightsaber and Force powers of traditional Star Wars games. And with a stronger focus, hardcore, gritty and mature themes filled with a deep genre-rooted story, 1313 looks like it might be the Star Wars game fans have been hoping for.

[Source, Machinima]

With the MMO extravaganza in full force this year, Trion World’s recently celebrated the one year anniversary of their popular online role-playing game RIFT by announcing its first full-fledged expansion, “Storm Legion,” to be released in the coming months. Among the new content being added, including two additional zones that more than triple the size of the existing world, a handful of new 5-man and raid sized dungeons, player housing, and a 10-level cap increase, Trion is also adding four new souls into the mix – one for each existing class.

Today, Trion Worlds unveiled the first of those four: the Mage Harbinger. “Gifted with future-sight, this grim weapon master spells doom for enemies in close combat. Commanding blades of conjured energy, an advanced arcane repertoire, and myriad defensive abilities, the Harbinger is poised to carve a path across Storm Legion – and all who would stand in the way.” The Harbinger is a melee DPS role offering Mages a unique new play style and some much-desired survivability. The Harbinger specializes in transmuting its existing weapons into new, ethereal swords, scythes, and axes (below).

The synergy with current souls like Pyromancer and Elementalist gives the Mage great versatility, allowing the player to weave magic attacks with specialized melee abilities, while the support-roles like Chloromancer and Dominator have the potential to give Harbinger a very unique defensive style. In addition to the new souls being added for each class, existing classes will receive varying degrees of refinement, including additional abilities and even more synergy. Future soul reveals will be announced in the coming weeks along following the upcoming PAX Prime and Gamescom events.

For a quick look at the Harbinger in action, check out the recording of their live stream here. And for more information on Storm Legion, visit their website or keep an eye on their Developer Diary.

Stay tuned as more is revealed leading up to Crucia’s return with RIFT: Storm Legion.