PC Gaming News Message Board older than one year ago

Men Of War: Assault Squad 2, or MOWASTWO for short, is now available to those who buy into the ongoing beta. Full release is scheduled for the 20th of March. Needless to say, Jim dove in, headfirst.

I’ll admit that I’m a bit in love with the Men Of War games. It clouds my judgement. The series is flawed, even occasionally lame, but always so beautiful to my eye. Many games have attempted to sell us the idea of War, and even more the idea of Men, but it is only in Men Of War that these two ideas fused together, like desperate lovers, to produce a simulationist battlefield mutant that looks at us with terrible eyes and says: “Aim is in the reach zone!”

I’m sorry, it’s been a while since I wrote anything. All my metaphors seem to have become sticky from neglect.

… [visit site to read more]

Pinkerton Road's crowdfunded point-and-click adventure game Moebius: Empire Rising will make its debut on April 15 for WIndows and Mac platforms via newly formed publisher Phoenix Online Publishing.

Phoenix Online Publishing is the indie-focused publishing arm of Phoenix Online Studios, developer of Cognition and The Silver Lining. Moebius, indie RPG Quest for Infamy, horror adventure game The Last Door: Collector's Edition, and mobile puzzler Lost Civilization are the first games slated for release under Phoenix Online's new label, as additional projects for PC, mobile platforms, and consoles loom on the horizon.

Revealed in 2012, Moebius was one of many point-and-click adventure games that turned to Kickstarter for funding, surpassing its goal of $300,000 and earning more than $435,000 in backer pledges. Developer Pinkerton Road also plans to produce a remake of designer Jane Jensen's Gabriel Knight later this year.

[Image: Pinkerton Road]

My ears will always prick at news of a new Warhammer 40,000 game. One day, The Dream Game will happen. One day. This one I’m can’t quite draw a bead on, though. Is it a kind of casual moba? Or is it more Plants vs Zombies with Games Workshop dudes in? I suspect more the latter (and with an added multiplayer mode), but we’ll find out when Eutechnyx’s ‘lane strategy game’ Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance launches at the end of next month. Turn the dread eye of the Imperium towards the below trailer to see if you can get a clear sense of what this mobile-focused-but-also-on-PC dude-marching game is going to feel like. … [visit site to read more]

RPS isn’t quite so involved in Rezzed this year, but a couple of us will be popping along to the Eurogamer-organised UK PC & indie show (which returns to Midlands capital Birmingham next month), so possibly see you there? It bears a new name – EGX Rezzed – but retains a snazzy purple colour scheme and an intention to be the UK’s friendlier, calmer, more offbeat games expo.

You’ll also see and play some very exciting-sounding videogames from the worlds of mainstream and indie alike. … [visit site to read more]

I spend roughly half my waking hours thinking about detectives, watching detectives on TV and reading about detectives in books. The other half of my waking hours are spent very specifically thinking about what a detective game might be like. How do you create a mystery which is compelling for players to deduce the answers to themselves, without being handheld and thus making the mystery dull and rote?

Where’s An Egg? has an answer. It was released in 2007, was sort of made by a fictional game developer, and is about deducing the location of an egg. You can play it in your browser and get the measure of it in ten minutes, and you should. … [visit site to read more]

*It’s not really like that at all.

Perhaps Bad Golf 2 will prove to be the One Direction of Double Fine’s latest Amnesia Fortnight prototype-off. Not selected as a winning project in the X-Factorish voting, it seemed destined to never become a reality – until fans decided to make it anyway. And now it’s generating more headlines than any of the ‘official’ picks did.

Fortunately, Double Fine have given it their blessing. I.e. they haven’t sent a pack of lawyers after it. … [visit site to read more]

Blizzard has announced the pre-order bonuses for Diablo 3's expansion, one of which is a character unlock for Heroes of the Storm.

Star Citizen is going to be colossal. That was never in question. Then it became even more not in question with the crowdfunded additions of everything from first-person combat to facial capture tech to a collaboration with Kingdom Come to probably, like, the virtually reanimated consciousness of Chris Roberts himself, a beaming face of ceaseless encouragement winking at you from the stars. But those are all handcrafted bits and bytes. They are finite, limited by the work of human hands. Thus, given proper funding (which they will no doubt receive), Roberts and co would like to bring on a full-blown procedural generation team. The goal is to procedurally whip up “entire planets worth of exploration and development content.” And then Star Citizen was all the games.

… [visit site to read more]

While incredible, Grim Fandango‘s relationship with the modern era is a complicated one. Foremost, there is no easy way to purchase it digitally, which sadly signals its death knell in the eyes of many more convenience-minded folks. But even if you opt to acquire it and get it up and running, there’s still the issue of, you know, playing your videogame. Rose-tinted glasses might see only Grim Fandango’s sterling personality and solid puzzles, but there is a third suspect in the room: terribly awkward tank controls, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney, and no just kidding we’re tossing you in a furnace.

… [visit site to read more]

We've got the first wave of screens for Dungeon Defenders 2, the free-to-play sequel to the popular tower defense game. We got a little time with it recently and think it's shaping up to be a worthy successor. Check it out with us on an episode of Joystiq Streams, next Thursday at 4PM Eastern.

A few clues suggest it's quite possible.

Do you want a quick, dumb, one-note free game? Of course you do. Everybody does. Always. I have consulted with my friend, Representative P. Opulation, who is just one guy whose parents were really mean. But he swears that’s what you all want, so it’s what you’re getting. Monty Python holds a special place in many people’s hearts, often lodged right next to the thin mint that’s about to make them explode. And then of course, there is The Foot from Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Holy Stomping is a game in which you play as The Foot. It’s rather silly. Also, a landmark moment in interactive entertainment.

… [visit site to read more]

He'll be working on a "new breed of MMO."

The text adventure gets an overhaul for the social media generation.

Head of Devices and Services to move into new role as Nokia's former CEO prepares to take control of Xbox, Windows Phone, Surface, and more.

Blizzard has revealed a pair of new Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls pre-order incentives, sweetening the deal for players who plan to delve into the upcoming expansion during its first week of release.

Players who pre-purchase or redeem a Reaper of Souls key via their Battle.net accounts before March 31 will receive the Wings of Valor in-game costume artifact, along with other previously announced bonuses. Pre-order buyers will also get access to Valla the Demon Hunter, an additional playable character in Blizzard's upcoming free-to-play MOBA Heroes of the Storm.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls launches on March 25, giving players a week to redeem their pre-order goodies before the offer expires on March 31.

[Image: Blizzard]

Block-rocking beats typically don't spring to mind when engaging in swords and sorcery fantasy. We don't automatically associate Tolkien and the dancefloor. Why shouldn't we? Skeletons and cave dwelling beasts like to get done, and so do fated heroes questing for loot and glory.

Crypt of the NecroDancer dares to challenge both your dungeon diving skills and your sense of rhythm. Joystiq's Sam Prell has already spent time with Crypt of the NecroDancer, speaking with its creators about how to translate music into slick pixel art; now, Sam takes Joystiq Tiny Streams on a guided tour of an alpha version of the game. No easy task, as you'll soon see.

If you enjoyed this stream, you can follow Sam's Twitch channel and tune in for more Joystiq Tiny Streams right here every Monday and Friday at 4PM EST. If you hunger for the live experience and want to hang out with the Joystiq crew, Joystiq Streams broadcasts live every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST. [Image: Ted Martens]

Chris Roberts' upcoming space epic Star Citizen has surpassed yet another crowdfunding milestone, by attracting over $39 million to the game's development to date.

As with previous funding milestones, topping $39 million adds a new feature to the game. Specifically, a star system known as UDS-2943-01-22. "The object, once thought to be a single massive star, is actually a trinary star consisting of two white dwarfs and an active pulsar orbiting one another," reads the developer's official description. "Because of the complex gravitic factors at work, it is now believed that a jump point leading to the system likely exists in or near explored human space. Beyond the bizarre stellar makeup, the composition of the system is all but unknown."

With $39 million out of the way, Star Citizen fans can now set their sights on the next stretch goal. If Star Citizen attracts over $40 million in funding, developer Cloud Imperium Games will add an additional two star systems to the game. Beyond that, the development team has also added a new stretch goal at $41 million that will fund a team of developers to create procedural generation technology for "future iterations of Star Citizen." [Image: Cloud Imperium Games]

Elite: Dangerous is the crowdfunded re-birth of the classic Elite space trading game, which used ancient magics to cram an entire wireframe universe inside a computer. This new, modern magic is trickling its way through an alpha development process, and last week Adam and Graham got access to a series of singleplayer scenarios designed to demonstrate the game’s combat systems. Graham is playing it with the Oculus Rift headset, Adam is playing it with aplomb. They gathered beneath a moonlit asteroid field to discuss their thoughts so far. … [visit site to read more]

It’s taken an enormous amount of willpower to resist the charms of Divinity: Original Sin since the Early Access version arrived on Steam. It’s not that I’m worried about playing parts of the game before it’s complete – I’ve already spent two days in its company – it’s that I’m in need of an RPG partner. Far too many of my friends are either unnerved by the idea of traipsing through a fantasy world with me while I talk to dogs, cats and cows, or they’re digging their heels in and waiting for the full game to be released. A new video shows some of the environments due when that happy event occurs, sometime in Spring. There are also weather effects. Around thirty seconds in, a big ol’ monster slips on some ice and falls on its arse.

… [visit site to read more]

Airscape: The Fall of Gravity pulls an adorable yellow octopus from his beachside (see: in the ocean) home and sticks him on a strange, alien planet with dangerous enemies and wacky gravity physics. It's an action platformer that has players leap over and around obstacles such as angry robots, lasers, vast pits and happy little trees. Airscape is a mix of cuteness and devious things.

We're calling it now: 2014 is the year of the octopus.

Airscape's first three zones are available to play in the new demo, launched ahead of the game's appearance at GDC with the Indie Megabooth. This is Indie Megabooth's first showcase at GDC, and Airscape is one of 15 games hand-picked to be in the premiere booth. Very fancy.

Airscape comes from a team of students based around the world: project lead Daniel West in Australia, artist Claudia Starke in Germany and composer Sam Gossner in the US. It's due out this year for PC, Mac and Linux, and it currently has a Steam Greenlight campaign.

Broforce is also an acceptable alternative to Rambo but Tango Fiesta is a Jam success story every bit as invigorating as the (granny) rags-to-riches tale of Mrs Tuppence’s Old-Time Elderberry Preserves. Created during last year’s Rezzed livejam in eight hours, the original prototype involved burly men of the eighties shooting enemies and grass. Enemies moved more slowly when creeping through grass but were obscured from view, and the grass had apparently taken as many steroids as the soldiers, causing it to grow at a ridiculous rate. For a one-screen top-down Arnie-inspired shooter, it was a surprisingly tactical experience, and the full version is to be a “Rogue-like or maybe a Rogue-lite”, according to the developers.

… [visit site to read more]

Backers of top-down prison break game The Escapists are no doubt aware that Team 17 have picked up the title for publication. An alpha version will be tunnelling into backer inboxes soon and the game will also be playable at EGX Rezzed. The Lair of the Worms appears to be making a concerted move into third-party publishing, having already signed minimalist stealth game Light, which was also creeping through the crowdfunding process when Team 17 spotted it. My advice? If you’re an indie developer, the best way to attract Team 17′s attention is a spot of top-down sneaking. Perhaps it’s time to start work on that roguelike Casanova sim you’ve been planning for the last five years.

… [visit site to read more]

Originally released as a 3DS game in 2012, Fractured Soul took heavy advantage of the two screens by having you platform one character in two places at the same time. Brain ows. Tomorrow, as if from nowhere, it appears on the PC, employing the magic of splitscreen to achieve the same effect.

… [visit site to read more]

DayZ creator and project lead on the standalone edition, Dean Hall, will leave developer Bohemia Interactive by year's end. Hall tells Eurogamer that he plans to start his own studio in New Zealand.

"I have a specific use. I'm really good at risk-taking and making other people take risks, I've always been good at that in my life," said Hall. "But eventually, that's the bad person to have. Eventually, you don't want the guy telling you to go over the top and get through. So at some point I'll be a disaster for the project, at least in a leadership role."

Hall said he won't leave the DayZ community in a lurch, which now numbers over 1.5 million people, but he didn't intend to be with the project this long.

Hall says, "That's why it's better to just address the elephant in the room. It's also fairer for Bohemia as well, rather than for me to just turn around one day and say 'see ya'." Bohemia had no comment on Hall's departure.

Hall says DayZ can never be the multiplayer game with the spark he wants it to be and he'll continue to "chase that" in his new company.

The reboot has some good stealth mechanics, but it doesn't seem to know what to do with them.

Hail to the legal filing, baby. Gearbox, owners of the Duke Nukem IP, have filed a complaint against 3D Realms, creators of the Duke Nukem IP. That’s because, as Adam spotted earlier this month, 3D Realms have teamed up with developers Interceptor to make Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, apparently without owning any of the rights that would allow them to do that legally. … [visit site to read more]

In this episode of Tales of the Unexpected, we learn that DayZ creator and lead Dean Hall plans to leave Bohemia by the end of 2014, in order to set up a new studio in New Zealand. The early access version of the multiplayer survival sim passed 1.5 million players this weekend and I don’t think it’s dropped out of the top three sellers on Steam since release, but Hall told Eurogamer that his continued presence would become a hindrance to the project:

…maybe I’ve got the gift of the gab, so I can talk, I can explain something, I can talk people up to the ledge and get them to jump off it. That’s what I did with DayZ; I’ve done it twice now – two new code teams have separately done it. But eventually, that’s the bad person to have. Eventually, you don’t want the guy telling you to go over the top and get through. So at some point I’ll be a disaster for the project, at least in a leadership role.

Bohemia have acknowledged the statement but declined to add comment. More details below.

… [visit site to read more]

Since Nidhogg is finally out, the world needs a new in-development local multiplayer brawler to obsess over. I suggest that game should be Gang Beasts: a physicsy fighting game that seems to fall somewhere between the awkward shoving of Sumotori Dreams and that thing people do as kids/cool adults where they mash their jelly babies together in mock-fights before eating them.

Trailer and download link below. … [visit site to read more]

Any time I hear any variation on the word “Niko,” I just hear Roman from Grand Theft Auto IV going, “Niko! My cousin!” And then I get really upset about bowling. It is, as they say in the parlance of our time, A Problem. But perhaps NIKO: Through The Dream can help me get over it. It’s a first person puzzler so minimalist, clean, and free of corners that it looks like the world has been scrubbed clean with an Apple iSoap. The aesthetic is a soothing one, though, and it makes way for some brain-ticklingly Escher-inspired locales. There’s a certain element of aged majesty to them, though. An alluring mystique that hearkens back to the likes of Myst and – more recently – PS3 megahit Journey. Oh, and there’s a little hooded figure in there that may as well have been lifted straight from Journey. So that’s a thing too. Rather beautiful trailer below.

… [visit site to read more]