Rock, Paper, Shotgun

There’s a lot of kickstarter projects around, but this is one which I think some of you will find interesting. Hell, even the people who will bristle against it. Babycastles is a NYC-based indie-arcade project, and have been doing events for a while. What do they want to do with the money? Take it to central NY: “By presenting six consecutive 2-week exhibitions of independent video games at the center of New York, Babycastles is looking forward to showcasing international game development to a wide audience of game enthusiasts, students, press, curators, children, and especially to an audience that may never otherwise encounter the variety of activity in video game culture. It will be an incredible arcade in Times Square!” Go to their kickstarter for more details on what they’ve been up to, some footage and the benefits for pledging. Oh – and here’s the LA Times covering it. Really, this is like a transmission from another gaming dimension. I hope they pull it off, not least because I’m in NY then so will be able to go.

If your head has been turned by the mention of Race For The Galaxy as an inspiration for the coverage around Cryptic Comet’s Six Gun Shooter. What is this mysterious card-game? Well, you can go and buy it, but if you’re interested in a quicker nose, there’s a Rio-Grande-approved free version that lets you play against the AI. Lovely Reader Alan points us in its direction, noting that you’d need to know the rules before playing it. Thankfully, Rio Grande has them available as a PDF. The game’s very well thought of, so this is an ideal way to explore. I’m still digesting the manual, having had my card-playing organs absorbed by – er – something involving Space Marines. Man!

Dead Rising 2 is out in but six days (on PC – the consoles get it in two), and in the run up appears a deeply peculiar Japanese trailer for the game. It seems to be a sort of American daytime magazine show, dubbed in mad-shouted Japanese, with on-screen nonsense and the occasional clips of the game. And most importantly, two people (well, one person and one zombie) taping a chainsaw to a paddle. There’s also a couple of “outtake” videos, which appear to show only how little fun was had while recording.

Read the rest of this entry »

When RPS’ favourite indie strategy developer announces he’s making a new game, our response is somewhat predictable. First, we write about it. Secondly, we hang on Vic Davis’ leg mewling like sick children until he gives us an interview, revealing everything that we want to know about the aforementioned game. This is the latter. The game is Six Gun Saga, and on past form and what Vic reveals here, it’s sounding very exciting…
Read the rest of this entry »

With C&C4 leaving some big huge gaps in Tiberium-town’s long-running lore, it seems only right that the series’ fans would fill in the gaps. Better to do it with new game-stuff than with long, rambling fanfic, too. C&C3 mod the Forgotten is a three years in the making tale of a rag-tag band of space crystal-mutated lost souls, and the part they played in the Third Tiberium War. Introduced in Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, they basically got dropped from the story from thereon in. Forgotten, if you will.
Read the rest of this entry »

Mods have sometimes had a bit of cross-format compatibility issues. So when Steam launched for Mac earlier this year, I was curious to see what this would mean for mod teams. Frankly I don’t have the answer yet, as what lies below isn’t strictly a mod any longer – but it is lovely to see what was once such a pillar of the HL2 modding scene become available for a format other than Windows. Have a gander below the jump to see what I’m on about, and to take in the most intriguing mod news of the week.
Read the rest of this entry »

That’d be the same 10 minutes that’s been doing the rounds in assorted shadowy pressrooms for the last few months, and that Kieron flew to New York specifically to see. Go! Go! Feast your hungry eyes on the video waiting for you beneath the jump. Without wanting to spoil anything, it’s a bit stunning.
Read the rest of this entry »

Clearly, we didn’t mention the Civ V demo last night because Alec’s opinion carries much more weight than your own. Why would you need to “try before you buy” when Alec has crafted the one true objective opinion* to guide your buying hand? No reason at all. Therefore, this Steam-requiring demo is of no interest to anyone. The launch trailer beneath the cut is equally uninteresting, for it can convey nothing which has not been conveyed in the definitive Wot I Think. Quake before our majesty.

*Quinns offers a secondary one true objective opinion over at Eurogamer.
Read the rest of this entry »

So Eve’s next big update – the 14th such expansion – will hit in November. It’s called in Incursion, because one of the big features is, well, an incursion of NPC zombie-ships into the galaxy. The situation will create lots more co-op PvE in the normally PvP-focused universe. The update also includes a new character creator system, which will allow everyone to redo their avatar and portraits, and the first part of EveGate, which will act as the game’s new social functionality centre.

There will also be some new spaceships. I must not be tempted.

Anybody remember my less than buoyant impressions of Ship Simulator Extremes a couple of weeks ago? Well, the developers have since sent us a fairly comprehensive response, which only occasionally stops pointing out that I am awful at boats to defend their game and what they were striving to do with it. Good on them, I say. You can find the whole thing beneath the jump.

In other news, the Ship Simulator Extremes demo was also released today! Anyone who fancies taking control of a big ol’ Greenpeace vessel and harassing some whaling fleets is currently experiencing their lucky day.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s out in the US now, but in Europe we’ve got another two days on the clock. We have a different internet here, you know. It tastes of tea, bad teeth and snootiness. Perfectly understandable that they wouldn’t want to see its like in America. Anyway, it’s Tuesday, it’s five o’clock UK time, and that means I’m going to tell you what I think of the latest slice of history-spanning turn-based strategy. I haven’t made any Ghandi gags, though. Sorry about that. I know you were expecting them.
Read the rest of this entry »