Archive for October, 2011

Blizzcon 2011 kicks off today, here’s what to expect

The annual festival celebrating all things Blizzard is set to kick of later today. We’ve flown Rich out to kill ten wordboars and level up his reporting skills till he finds us some news, and there’s sure to be plenty. Blizzard are pretty guarded as to what’s on the agenda, but there are some huge potential announcements. We’ll be covering them all for you throughout the two day event.

Dungeon Defenders demo released

Co-op tower defence/third person action hybrid Dungeon Defenders, which came out on Wednesday, has released a demo for you to sample. The demo, spotted by RockpaperShotgun limits players to a single map and caps them at level eight, but is otherwise the same as the full game. You can check it out at GamersHell.

Have any of you been playing Dungeon Defenders readers? What did you think?

Rumour: Doom 4 ‘indefinitely postponed’

Update – RockPaperShotgun let us know that Peter Hines has called this rumour ‘complete bollocks’.

Kotaku are reporting that id Software’s Doom 4 has been put on hold following Rage’s launch issues. Kotaku’s unnamed source tells them that Bethesda felt that the problematic launch demonstrated a “a serious lack of confidence” in the id management. These rumours are of course just that, and must be taken with a grain of salt.

In our Rage review Rich enjoyed the game, but found it very linear and old fashioned. While opinion was more divided over it during the our recent podcast. What do you think?

Mass Effect 3 demo coming for January

Mass Effect 3 will get a pre-release demo in January, giving players an early look at both single player and the newly announced Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode. The announcement was made in a post on the Bioware Forums, spotted by Eurogamer. Earlier access to the multiplayer will be available to anyone who has bought Battlefield 3 and activated their online pass (automatic for Orgin customers), although alternative methods of gaining access will be announced at a later date. The single player aspect will be available to anyone all when the demo is launched.

It’s great to see a big budget game commit to a pre-release demo, an increasingly uncommon occurrence these days. With a lot of fans asking questions about the multiplayer it’s a smart move from Bioware to give them a chance to try it out before the game launches on March 6th.

Interview: EVE Online’s Kristoffer Touborg

Note: This interview was conducted right before CCP’s recent lay-off announcement. We’re currently seeking comment from CCP on that unfortunate turn of events.

In this age of being everything for everyone and attempting to one-up competitors by continuously lowering the barrier to entry, it’s rare that you encounter a game with real focus. For a while, EVE Online was that game. Players, of course, absolutely adored it for that. But then CCP charted a new course, and things got downright ugly.

There’s something to be said, then, for a back-to-the-basics approach. After a heartfelt apology, CCP has set its sights back on the final frontier. But is it a matter of too little, too late? And is this the real deal, or merely silver-tongued lip service? I sat down with lead game designer Kristoffer Touborg during GDC Online to find out, as well as discuss the current state of the MMO scene, the stigma against virtual item sales, the rivalry between console and PC gamers, and tons more.

Skill, abstraction, and the complications of mainstreaming

Gamasutra puts the shotgun-marriage of action games and RPGs underneath the microscope, and tracks how gameplay changes as games adjust the ratio of action elements to RPG elements. Author Josh Bycer also demonstrates some of the issues that arise as games approach the balance point between the genres, like Mass Effect 3 promises to do.

Defining “skill abstraction” as “the degree to which player skill (or input) has an effect on gameplay”, Bycer then goes on to argue that action games and RPGs traditionally existed on opposite ends of the spectrum. For the sake of this argument, non-abstracted games (think Asteroids) are at -100, and hardcore RPGs are at 100. Most games in either genre tend to hover between 75 and 50, but as publishers and developer seek wider audiences, they increasingly approach 0.

“As we move to 0 percent on the chart, the lines between the genres begin to blur. Games like The Witcher 2 or the ultimate direction of the Mass Effect trilogy are examples of this. At this point, the traditional description of the genre is not enough to describe these games.”

Composite images tease new MechWarrior reboot; robo-battle enthusiasts rejoice

If you’re a fan of the classic MechWarrior series—and something tells us you are—get ready for some intel that will make you motorized head spin. Recent tweets by @InnerSphereNews, the news source for the human homeworld of Terra, show a string of images resembling components to a gargantuan killing machine. Put all the pictures together, and you get most of an announcement for the long-awaited return of the MW series in 201X, alongside a Mech complete with shoulder-mounted rockets and laser-sighted machine gun fists. Could we be seeing the first glimpse of the new BLR-1G Battlemaster or PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk? No matter the Battlemech, we’re fervent with anticipation to hop back into the cockpit of a five-story, 100-ton weapon of mass destruction.

Cities XL 2012 trailer shows stunning natural beauty replaced with dense urban planning

Cities XL 2012′s launch trailer for today’s release offers some beautiful vistas and gorgeous skylines. I’m not even sure I need it to be much of a game, provided I can just play around with building my perfect megalopolis.

Still, am I the only one slightly disconcerted by all these lovely river valleys, meadows, and mountains being paved over with highways and high-rises? When I look at gorgeous natural landscapes, I never think, “This would look better with more commercial zoning and highways.”

Perhaps that will be how I challenge myself now that Cities XL 2012 is out: building cities that complement their environment. I will be the Frank Lloyd Wright of urban zoning.

And in other PC gaming news…

So, Introversion’s new game is Prison Architect? What could it entail? Deep social commentary or silly fun? Perhaps you’ll manage prisoners like Darwinians, carefully directing movements as they run around mindlessly… actually that seems quite sinister in the new context. My bet is on a throwback to classic Bullfrog style management games, with a cartoony style that sees you trying to keep hold of over the top super villains. If that isn’t Introversion’s plan, I hope it’s someone’s, because is sounds like a lot of fun.

Check inside for a selection locked down, maximum security PC gaming news.

Introversion’s new game is Prison Architect

Recently Introversion’s Chris Delay announced that their emergent bank heist sim, Subversion was on hold, and that an entirely new project was in development for submission to this year’s Independent Games Festival. They’ve just sent word that their next game will be called Prison Architect. As the title suggests, it’s a game in which you “build and manage a maximum security prison.” The first screenshot, of sorts, is above. There’s no more information just yet, but from the first image alone, it looks as though it has a different vibe to Introversion’s traditional neon blue universes.

When Chris wrote about Introversion’s new game in the IV blog, he said “I could see most of the core game design straight away. I could see how much of the tech that we’d designed for Subversion was directly applicable, if properly turned on its head.” So instead of breaking into a high security building, we’re stopping others from breaking out. Intriguing. We can’t wait to see more.

Dawn of War 2 Last Stand Tau Commander abilities detailed, new chapter DLC incoming

A new blog post on the Relic Dawn of War blog details every ability and piece of wargear that the new Tau Commander Last Stand hero will unlock on his quest to reach level 20. It looks like Relic have not only nailed what the Tau are about, but have created a high-risk, mobile, ranged devastator that should provide new challenge for anyone who thinks they’ve mastered Dawn of War 2′s superb three-man survival mode. This is a character who does ZERO damage in melee, but has access to a plasma gun and jump jets from the start, and abilities with names like “sky ray barrage.”

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim screenshots have magic battle axes, magic bows, furious Orcs

Just three weeks remain before we get to explore Skyrim. Three long, agonising weeks. Why can’t it be November 11 today? Why does time have to be so remorselessly linear? We’d happily break the space-time continuum to get a bit closer to release day, but instead we’ll have to settle for ten new screenshots showing some gorgeous, muted vistas, ice golems and assassinations. If you want a preview of our facial expressions when we boot up Skyrim for the first time, look no further than the first image of an undead warrior so excited to be in Skyrim that he just can’t hide it.

If these screenshots fail to quench your Skyrim hunger, check out our huge Skyrim preview, a tale of theft, murder, exploration, alchemy and more theft.