Rock, Paper, Shotgun

After slip-sliding into June like a typically graceful, majestic tank suffering from momentary tread lapse, Company of Heroes 2‘s march to completion is fully back on track. If you weren’t already aware, a closed beta’s actually been humming along in the background for a couple weeks, largely with pre-order folks (I’m sorry, I can’t use the word “pre-orderers”; there are too many rers) in mind. Now, however, there’s another guaranteed front-door entrance to the war room. Keeping with the desperate, blood-spit-and-iron spirit of the Eastern Front, it’s the most tangible symbol of the harshness of our times: Facebook. One simple “like,” and COH 2 beta access is all yours. Yes, it’s obnoxious, but the end actually justifies the means in this case.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the many unhappy aspects of the death (sort of – the name still exists and I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see it return in some form later on) of THQ is that it had several projects really very close to completion when the axe fell. Foremost, perhaps, of those were Metro: Last Light and snow-bound WW2 strategy game Company of Heroes 2, but fortunately (we hope) both have found new homes. Metro’s with Koch, and Company of Heroes 2 is with SEGA, as is all of Relic – making the house of hedgehog, who also own the Creative Assembly, an unlikely bastion of real-time strategy.

COH2 has a new release date – later than planned but not very far away. It is… Read the rest of this entry..

Nah, only joshing. It’s in June this year.
Read the rest of this entry »

THQ is dead. Long live… er, not THQ. But its motionless remains haven’t gone undisturbed. A number of major publishers descended, vulture-like, to make off with the choicest cuts money could buy. And also Homefront. Yesterday, however, we had no idea what exactly was next for the likes of Metro, Saints Row, Company of Heroes, Darksiders, and South Park. Sure, they’ve found new homes, but will they fit in? Or will they be forced to live in the cramped cupboards of neglect, with nary a wizarding school in sight? Well, it’s still a bit early to say for sure, but – based on comments from each publisher – things are at least looking up.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update: Helpfully, reader and probable Prince of Handsomeness The JG Man dug up the court form outlining details (including amounts, back-up bidders, etc) of each sale. You can peruse that here.

Original: Well, I suppose it was inevitable. After THQ’s attempt at averting a Humpty Dumpty sales situation failed miserably, the writing was pretty much on the wall. So now the grim reaper’s scythe has hacked the once-gargantuan publisher into itsy-bitsy pieces and scattered any remaining ashes to the winds. On the upside, pretty much every major THQ franchise and developer (minus Darksiders dev Vigil, sadly) landed safely in less-likely-to-kerplode homes. Also, Relic and Creative Assembly live under the same roof now. Can Company of Shoguns: Total Homeworld or some other dream team RTS be far off? Probably. It’s still kind of a silver lining, though, and anyway SHUT UP I’M SAD.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oh boy. Remember how things haven’t been going so hot for THQ lately? If you’ve somehow forgotten, do you remember your name or any key facts about yourself? Have you hit your head or recently traveled forward to this time period? Are you an amnesiac, infant, or ghost? AT ANY RATE, we’ve finally reached the expected conclusion of this rather depressing series of events, but – as ever – there’s a twist. In spite of how the word “bankrupt” – which is derived from the root “bank account ruptured and screamed in agony as warm monetary lifeblood erupted from its depleted tubules” – often connotates, THQ isn’t doomed yet. Instead, it’s merely employed some tricksy business maneuvers to dodge an avalanche of debt. For now, though, your favorite game series are safe.

Read the rest of this entry »

Company Of Heroes 2 is churning out the content at the moment. Alec recently got his hands on it, and Nathan had a chat with the developers to see where they may go next. And there’s a lot of emphasis being put into its multiplayer. You can see how it’s panning out in the brand new trailer, that’s absolutely packed with in-game footage, below.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to the surprisingly sobering (and unsurprisingly incessant) Christmas jingles currently spewing out of every speaker-endowed device on Earth, the weather outside is frightful. And while a veritable barrage of slight breezes has indeed caused me tremendous hardship during my trips between warm places to buy $6 cups of coffee, I think perspective’s important. For instance, soldiers on World War II’s Eastern Front braved inclement weather that was nearly comparable to my own. Forecasters, I imagine, declared it snowy with a chance of bullet blizzards and mortar hail. Then they got run over by tanks. Company of Heroes 2, meanwhile, is aiming to recreate that particular horror of war, and it’s looking like a pretty miserable time (at least, for your tiny popsicle army men) indeed. I bet their coffee was cheaper, though.

Read the rest of this entry »

From the Siberian news gulag at VG247 we received word that Company Of Heroes 2 got a gameplay trailer, complete with dakka boom and all those noises. Take a look.

Release is March 2013.
Read the rest of this entry »

Troubled THQ, as they must be sick of being called, have more bad news. Three of their biggest games have take a slip on this unseasonably early Wintry weather, with South Park, Metro: Last Light, and Company Of Heroes 2 all being announced as falling into the farther reaches of the future. But in better news – as Polygon spotted – it’s confirmed that a new Saints Row is definitely happening, along with the mysterious game from Turtle Rock, and a Homefront 2 for some reason.

Read the rest of this entry »