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Archived News:
SEGA announces Hannibal at the Gates is the next Campaign Pack for Total War: ROME II, the
historical strategy sequel. This is expected for release on May 27th, and they
are already accepting
pre-orders. In the meantime, here's
a reveal trailer
(animal cruelty warning), and here's word: Total War: ROME II’s second major Campaign DLC is incoming on March 27th!
Dropping players into the Western Mediterranean at the outbreak of the 2nd Punic
War, Hannibal at the Gates features a new campaign map focused on the tinderbox
geopolitical situation that brought two ancient world superpowers to all-out
war; with sworn rivals Scipio and Hannibal at the very heart of the conflict.
Five playable factions will feature a wealth of new units. Main protagonists
Rome and Carthage will benefit from a new civil tech tree based around
diplomacy, while the challenge in the shadow of these mighty empires for
newcomers Syacuse, the Arevaci and the Lusitani will be formidable.
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam news announces a
free weekend is underway in
F1 2013, coinciding
with a 75% off sale on the Formula One racing game. The game can be played for
free between now and Sunday at 4:00 pm EDT. Here's word: Make history in
FORMULA ONE™! F1™ 2013 features all the cars, stars and circuits from the 2013
FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ plus, for the first time, classic content.
F1 Classics is an expansive new game mode, introduced by legendary broadcaster
Murray Walker, in which you’ll race legendary drivers in famous cars on iconic
circuits from the 1980s. This classic content can be played in a range of modes
including split-screen and online multiplayer.
Konami Digital Entertainment announces plans for a Windows edition of
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD, an updated edition of the
second game in the Castlevania trilogy, saying this will hit Steam this month.
Here's word: Gorgeously re-envisioned in high-definition, Castlevania:
Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD is set 25 years after the events of
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and acts as a precursor to Castlevania: Lords of
Shadow 2, available now. The game will be available exclusively via the Steam
download service later this month.
As the middle title in the trilogy, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of
Fate HD tells the story of some of Gabriel Belmont’s descendants, including
Simon and Trevor Belmont, as they battle their own destiny only to discover
their true, shocking fate. Trevor Belmont, a knight of the Brotherhood of Light,
sets out to avenge his mother’s death at the hands of his father, who has
returned from years of exile to take up residence in a mysterious castle. The
powerful figure that was once Gabriel Belmont now stands as Dracula, a powerful
vampire. Dracula has declared war upon the Brotherhood and thus the scene is set
for a powerful showdown between father and son.
Matrix Games announces Distant Worlds: Universe, an upcoming
standalone bundle in their Distant Worlds series of 4X strategy games. This is
expected in May, and will include extensive modification support as well as a
new scenario, as explained here: Distant Worlds: Universe is the much
anticipated stand-alone package which gathers all previous releases of the
series. Emphasis was placed on the community as the game features advanced
modding tools to allow players to develop extra content and set up their own
galaxies and epic storylines. Thanks to a user-friendly in-game editor and a
comprehensive modding guide, even beginners will be able to create unique
galaxies with intricate plots.
This collector’s edition also introduces a new scenario covering the ancient
galaxy and the first war between the Freedom Alliance and the Shaktur Axis in
which players will get access to powerful technologies and new weapons,
including the ability to build planet destroyers.
EA has cut jobs at Plants vs. Zombies developer PopCap Games,
reports Kotaku,
saying they were told by one source that 30-40 employees lost their jobs. The
statement they got from EA does not confirm how many jobs were lost, though it
does confirm that some layoffs took place: The changes we made today at
PopCap were painful and we're sorry to lose some of our friends and colleagues.
But it was also necessary in order to stay on course with our future plans for
mobile games, live services, and new IP. PopCap is a studio that made its name
building great games that the world can fall in love with, and that's what we'll
continue to do.
Soldak Entertainment
now offers a Linux demo for Drox Operative, their sci-fi action/RPG,
and the game is now available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Here's word on the
demo: "In the Drox Operative demo, you can get a taste of the dynamic and ever
changing galaxy. There is no time limit, but it does limit everything to around
level 6. The demo is about 120 MB and is currently version 1.037. You can see
the minimum and recommended
System Specs here."
Here's a refresher on the game: In the new space race, the major races are
scouting, colonizing, and expanding, trying to take over the galaxy by
diplomacy, technology, war, or any other means their scheming minds can
contemplate.
As a Drox Operative it's NOT your job to manage all of those annoying people,
build thousands of buildings, play nice with your enemies, or balance the
budget. It IS your job to pick the winning side and maybe even help them conquer
the galaxy if you're being nice, more importantly though is to rake in as many
credits as possible, well that and build the coolest, deadliest ship in the
known universe. Not many screw with an Operative captaining a
Dreadnaught!
Publisher Versus Evil and developer Wyrmbyte
announce the launch of
Dragons and Titans, a free-to-play MOBA game featuring the titular
dragons (and you thought they were reptiles) along with RPG elements, including
a single-player campaign. The game can be found
on Steam and there are
further details on the Dragons and
Titans website along with media such as
this launch trailer.
Word is this is intended to be quicker than other games in the genre: "Our team
are big fans of online competitive games, but we wanted a faster match
experience that would let us play several matches over lunch, rather than just
one long one," said Scott Brown, President of Wyrmbyte. "We are also big dragon
fans here and saw an opportunity to build a new type of MOBA game around this
mythical creature. This is how Dragons and Titans was born and the game has
evolved from that basic concept into a unique type of MOBA with a variety of
game play options. We are committed to adding a lot of great new content
regularly, long after it has launched." Here's a description: In Dragons
and Titans players take on the role of a Dragon Lord who has been called into
battle to release their deity (a Titan) from captivity so they can rule for the
next 100 years. At launch, players can select from over 30 different dragons,
each with unique abilities and progression levels, as well as a range of weapons
which can be upgraded in the ‘Forge’ from elements scavenged during
battle.
Indie developer Petroglyph announces Grey Goo, a new real-time strategy game
they plan to release for Windows this autumn through Steam, saying this will
breathe "new life into the RTS genre by blending classic, established gameplay
mechanics and tropes with modern design tools and technology to create a
thoughtful, exhilarating strategy experience." The
Grey Goo website is online, offering
information and a teaser
trailer that scares some wildlife, but does not clear up any grey areas
about the plan. "Grey Goo has been a real labor of love for us for some time
now, and we’re incredibly excited to finally start talking about it," said Ted
Morris, Executive Producer at Petroglyph. "We have a rich, lengthy background as
RTS developers, dating all the way back to our time on the original Command &
Conquer at Westwood Studios. We want to bring back some of what made those
‘traditional’ RTS games great while addressing all the lessons we’ve learned
along the way. Grey Goo is an experience informed by the collective history of
the RTS genre, infused with innovative ideas and a forward-thinking spirit that
accomplish something original by incorporating new amalgams for the genre."
Here's more: Petroglyph is bringing decades of combined RTS expertise to
bear with Grey Goo. The game draws on the best aspects of base building, unit
management and all-out warfare for an all-new space saga, removing the tedium
and frustration often associated with the genre and focusing on deep, engaging
tactical systems modeled on vintage RTS gameplay.
Grey Goo features three distinct factions - the Beta, Humans and Goo - each with
its own truly distinctive style, strategies and “epic” units (very powerful,
rare combatants that tower over the battlefield). The game features an immersive
single-player campaign and competitive multiplayer options. Both single and
multiplayer modes require diligent planning and intelligent decision making to
capitalize on the sophisticated build tree system and multiple tech upgrades
available. Built from the ground up based on real-world Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) concepts, Grey Goo’s adaptive AI studies and
reacts to players’ actions, learning rather than running off scripts for a truly
unique play experience and near-infinite replay value. In short, every game is
different.
Continue here to read the full story.
Andy Schatz's Blog on
Gamasutra has word that an RTS game codenamed Armada (or as it's written in
the blog, "[ARMADA]") is the next project from Pocketwatch Games. He speaks of
the goal of streamlining real-time strategy to make it more accessible, while
retaining the complexity of the genre. "With Monaco, we took an old school genre
(Stealth), we simplified the controls, and then we built an incredibly complex
game that could be played at high and low skill levels alike. I want to do the
same with the RTS genre," Schatz explains. "[ARMADA] is the simplicity of Monaco
injected into a classic RTS." Here's the wrap-up, which explains why he doesn't
know when this should be expected: I honestly don’t know if [ARMADA] will
be another three year project
I don’t even know
if it will be longer than a 6 month project. Sound kind of familiar? That’s
how Monaco started out… as a 6 week XBLIG game.
But I do know that there is a game that I want to play that doesn't exist.
Monaco’s success has given us the leeway to make whatever game we want to make
next. I hope that our (amazing) community and new people will join us in
following along with development. And if I know anything about the internet,
you’ll steer us where we go wrong, give us inspiration, and join us in the
[ARMADA] community.
Respawn tweets
that they are on the case if you are encountering cheating in Titanfall,
their just-released mech shooter: "Finding cheaters in Titanfall? So are we.
We're logging them now and they will be rooted out shortly." They
enlighten one
newb on what constitutes cheating: "Using aimbots and such! Normal users
won't have to worry." Thanks
VG247 via
MP1st.
A blog post
by Robert Briscoe announces the Dear Esther developer is returning to
AAA development by joining Valve Software after a stint as an indie that
followed his earlier days at DICE (thanks
Gamasutra). Here's word, which does not provide any clues about what he will
be working on: So I’ve decided I need a break from the solitary life I’ve
been living these past years. I think I need to be around people for a while; A
lot of my energy and enthusiasm comes from being in the presence of people,
sharing different ideas, methods and techniques, different views, outlooks and
inspirations, and mostly by just being out of my comfort zone (which I have very
much slipped into).
Over the past 11 months I’ve been in the process of applying for a US work visa,
which was successfully approved a couple of months ago, and consequently, as of
March 20th,I will taking a break from indie development and moving to Seattle to
spend some time working on cool stuff with a company I’ve long since admired:
Valve Software.
So what does this mean for DE Unity? The bulk of the port is done, with just
some backend and scripting stuff remaining, so I should be easily able to finish
things off in my spare time, plus I have the team of talented people at TCR to
help me along the way if needed. So things will very much carry on as normal
with that.
As for my indie endeavours? I still have things I want to do in the future, both
independently and with TCR, so I know I’ll come back to it again someday, and
have no doubt I will be still tinkering with stuff on the side for some time…
but for now I think I just need a change… to make hats… cuz that’s what Valve do
these days right? ;)
We had some warmer weather the past week or so, and much, but not all, of our
backlogged snow is finally gone. It's really cold today, however, and checking
the forecast, I see it calls for a chance of snow Sunday night. For the record,
that will be six weeks to the day from Groundhog Day, making this winter a
Kobayashi Maru for Punxsutawney Phil and other furry forecasters, as their
binary choice does not allow an option for "more than six weeks of winter
remaining."
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