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Archived News:
3D Realms announces a January 29th release date for Bombshell, their
action/RPG shooter, just missing their planned 2015 release. They also drop the
bombshell that a retro-themed shooter prequel to the game is in the works, and
is also expected next year, saying this is using the venerable 1990s build
engine.
They unveil details about a Digital Deluxe Edition for Bombshell that will
include the soundtrack, a digital art book, and beta access to the prequel game.
Here's word: Bombshell is a digital-exclusive title that will MSRP in the
U.S. at $34.99, with the Bombshell Digital Deluxe Edition MSRP at $39.99.
Bombshell will launch globally on Windows PC via Steam and GOG.com on January
29th 2016, with console versions developed by partner Abstraction Games coming
to Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 TBD 2016.
Bombshell - Digital Deluxe Edition includes: The Official Bombshell Soundtrack
by Andrew Hulshult (digital copy), digital art book & world map overviews, and
early BETA access to the Bombshell FPS Prequel, a retro-style first-person
shooter that will be sold separately in 2016.
Bombshell FPS Prequel: Follow the events leading up to Shelly “Bombshell”
Harrison’s explosive encounter with Professor Jadus Heskel that cost her her
arm, her squad, and her reputation in a retro-style first-person shooter - built
in the classic 90’s era Build Engine known from Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow
Warrior. Then head online for some oldschool competitive multiplayer,
Bombshell-style! PC gamers get early access to the BETA when you purchase the
Bombshell Digital Deluxe Edition on Steam or GOG.com.
Mayan Death Robots is now available
on Steam for Windows, OS
X, and Linux, and the Worms-style action/strategy game carries a 10% discount
for the first week. The launch trailer
celebrates the news with a look at the game, and here's an explanation: Yes
the Mayan Death Robots are here, using heavy arms to shake the gods from their
eternal sleep, irritating the hell out of Spanish conquistadors, and generally
smashing everything to hell, including each other. Choose your robot and launch
into explosive one-on-one versus battles against friends in local multiplayer,
or go head to head with the alien robot AI. It’s PvP, but not as we know it. The
chaos keeps coming with both opponents taking their turns simultaneously for a
maximum of Maya madness every time.
Continue here to read the full story.
A big update to Endless Legend
on Steam adds Steam
Workshop support along with a bunch of free content for the 4X strategy game in
an update Amplitude Studios calls Forges of Creation. They also offer two new
paid DLC packs for the game,
The Lost
Tales and
Echoes of
Auriga. You can find details on all three packs on
this page, and here's a summary: In addition to introducing the
option to reskin 3D units, the free Forges of Creation Steam Workshop update
gives gamers the chance to create, store, and retrieve mods, offering creative
players an endless depth of replayability and exploration in an already deep and
enchanting universe. The update also includes content unlocked by the community
such as the new Sister of Mercy hero Valete, new hero items, additional custom
faction traits, a powerful ‘Guardian Killer’ unit (only available for Endless
Legend Guardians owners) and a great number of AI improvements introducing the
notion of ‘Faction Personality’. The ‘Forges of Creation’ update will be made
available on Steam today.
If Forges of Creation taps into players’ inner map-builder, The Lost Tales DLC
Pack is a unique offering that gives strategy enthusiasts the chance to purchase
a collection of more than 20 quests related to Minor Factions. For the
sonically-driven strategy enthusiast, Echoes of Auriga features seven new
musical tracks composed by our one and only FlybyNo, with related new hero
items, such as the “Harp of Noby Fly.”
Ars Technica - Analysis: Kotaku, blacklisting, and the independence of the
gaming press.
"Since Kotaku published the blacklisting details, many journalists and
readers have cheered the site for asserting its independence and arguing
that publishers should be less reactionary over a few stories they weren’t
able to control.
More and more, though, I’ve seen people making the kinds of arguments
discussed above. They're not especially sympathetic to Kotaku's argument
that publishers are trying to 'hamper independent reporting in pursuit of a
status quo in which video game journalists are little more than malleable,
servile arms of a corporate sales apparatus'."
Link of the Day:
Knife-wielding
tentacle. Just wait for the battery to die?
The
Australian
Classification website now lists Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Free to Play,
indicating Konami is kicking around plans for a new business model for the
association football/soccer simulation. The retail version of the game was
released a couple of months ago,
and this new classification was issued just yesterday, but there are no
additional details at this time. Thanks
GameSpot.
Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma is no longer being sold, so Redacted
Studios' action/adventure sequel is no longer available for Windows or
PlayStation 4 just two months
after it was released.
True to that, the game's
Steam page no longer has a link to buy the game, though there is no
accompanying explanation.
CGMagazine (thanks
DSOGaming) does have word on what's going on from publisher Versus Evil, who
say the game's poor reception lead to them yoinking it, and they are also
cancelling the two planned ensuing volumes, and figuring out how to provide
refunds. Here's word: I met with the General Manager of Versus Evil,
Steve Escalante during the Montreal International Gaming Summit to ask him about
the game’s disappearance. His response was surprisingly candid and inspiringly
honest. He said, “The game was a failure. We could not do, in good conscience,
volume 2 and volume 3. So we’ve begun the process, it’s been a long process to
figure it out because Sony has never really had to do this in this way, but
we’re returning all the money. So across the board we’re putting out an apology
saying ‘sorry about this.’”
Escalante added, “We’re Versus Evil; a company perspective, from a partnership
perspective and now we have to do it from a consumer perspective. So we pulled
it down, because we didn’t want to exacerbate it anymore and then we’re
refunding the money.”
Escalante also noted “if you look at the reviews, it wasn’t that the game was
broken or buggy, people just didn’t like it,” while in our own experiences with
the game, we did note several bugs and issues. It could be argued that any game
in a broken or buggy state should have never made it to consumers.
Keen Software House announces a free weekend is now underway for Space
Engineers on Steam,
offering the chance to check out the sandbox space game until midday Sunday.
They also announce a sale, saying both Space Engineers and
Medieval Engineers are
half-off over the weekend.
This new trailer offers a look at the latest updates to the game, and here's
the accompanying description: "After the release of Planets we are focusing this
week on bug fixing and improving the building process. Placing your first block
(base station) on a planet surface is now much more intuitive for newcomers and
returning players. Blocks are aligned with gravity by default. You can start new
grids (small/large ships, vehicles, base stations) from toolbar icons without
going to G screen. This is the first iteration and more improvements are planned
for the planetary building process." Continue here to read the full story.
Square Enix announces LIGHTNING RETURNS will come to Windows PCs next
month, offering the third installment in FINAL FANTASY XIII, the 13th
installment in the RPG series. There are further details on the
game's official website, and
here's word: In LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII for PC, players
will embark on their final adventure in the FINAL FANTASY XIII series, which
gives them the ability to have direct control over iconic heroine, Lightning. In
a constantly moving, expansive environment, players must journey on a quest to
save a doomed world from complete destruction - and in thirteen days, nothing
will remain. Blessed with incredible strength and an arsenal of weapons Lighting
has everything she needs for the coming battle - everything except time.
The PC release will also include all the amazing DLC content from the original
console version*, including Japanese voice-overs and various costumes, shields
and weapons.
The Witness website offers a
new video from The
Witness, calling this a "long screenshot" from the upcoming Braid follow-up. The
video is accompanied by a blog post discussing the sound effects and story from
the open-world puzzle game. In the post Jonathan Blow also discusses the absence
of music in the game, explaining this is a very important design decision: "The
Witness is a game about being perceptive: noticing subtleties in the puzzles you
find, noticing details in the world around you. If we slather on a layer of
music that is just arbitrarily playing, and not really coming from the world,
then we’re adding a layer of stuff that works against the game. It’d be like a
layer of insulation that you have to hear through in order to be more present in
the world." Continue here to read the full story.
Here's another new teaser
trailer from Paragon, introducing Sparrow, another character from
Epic's upcoming PC game. As before, this is a very short cinematic, and
doesn't provide much info about the game or the character, though it does show
her wielding a bow and arrow. Continue here to read the full story.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of Windows version 1.0, Microsoft's
initial baby step into the world of the GUI. To remind us of how far they've
come,
Network World dug up
this launch video from the time, showing Steve Ballmer at his wackiest,
which is saying something. And man did they pack in the free features for that
initial release, huh? The MS-DOS Executive, a clock, a control panel, and a
print spooler? Yeah boy!
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