Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Ill-timed because 1) it came out over Halloween and we’re only just posting about it. That is, of course, because none of RPS have ever demonstrated any kind of fear about anything, hence we do not recognise Halloween as a OH GOD WHAT WAS THAT I’M GONNA DIE I’M GONNA DIE… Oh, it’s just a yogurt pot. Cough. And 2) Because I’ve heard a rumour there might some sort of sequel to Left 4 Dead due any day now. Anyone heard anything about that? Nonetheless, you probably couldn’t wish for a more delectably violent stopgap than this vast and lavish tribute to Dawn of the Dead – a super-spiffy Left 4 Dead 1 mod replete with zombie-infested shopping mall…
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Well, up to the first 10 levels anyway. It’s quite the move; replacing the traditional 10-day trial, you’re now able to play Warhammer Online as much as you like. You can’t go past the first ten levels, but that still allows you to try all the character classes to see if any fixes. Also, rather than the enormo-client download, the game’s been re-jigged to work on a Guild-Wars-esque streaming basis. So you can just go and get it here and start playing. If I get a chance, I plan to actually go back and have a nose – I’ve heard some interesting word on stuff they’ve been doing on the quiet, and I want to see if it’s true or not. How’s RPS’ Warhammer-playing readers finding it?

The delicately-named Mangled Eye Studios have gone and made an “old school FPS” from id Tech 3, and that means guns, demons, evil monsters, and lashings of neo-gothic architecture. You’ll be able to sample all these delights for yourselves, thanks to a 480mb demo, which is now up on the Mangled Eye site. I expect it’ll be mirrored elsewhere in due course, so do mention in the comments if you spot alternate sources. The full game is available for purchase on Direct2Drive, should you be so inclined. I’ve not had a chance to play this yet, thanks to yet more accursed connection troubles, so let us know what you make of it if you take the time to have a play. Does it match up to obvious rival, Painkiller Resurrection?

Interesting times indeed. Following the news that Unity3D went free for its indie package, Epic announce that you can now use the Unreal Development kit for non-commercial uses. Crikey. Reading the licentiate details, if you actually want to go commercial it’s in exchange for a 25% of revenue after your first $5000. Which is a hefty slice, of course… but considering how much an actual full licence for Unreal is, it’s still has to be tempting. Examples of how this could change stuff? Obvious stuff: mods for Unreal no longer would require you to buy a game. As long as a team makes everything, you can just distribute them… and you have to wonder whether now because they can do it, they’ll try to monetize them. Other random prediction: teams trying to remake classics like Deus Ex. Which will never be completed, but the thought’s there.

Alphaxion noted that old romantic partners of RPS, UK Resistance has broke the news of a new Sonic the Hedgehog PC game. It’s clearly an entirely legitimate product from Sega, and in a Modern-Warfare-2 piece of relevancy, the eponymous spiked-creature is now homeless, living under a bridge and doing drugs. Nice one Sega. Developed by one chap in four days, it’s simultaneously a revisionist masterpiece which makes us reconsider our relationship with the medium and total crap. More details over at UK:R. Send our love.

I’ve been wanting to post about Sacraboar for a while. Because I like its name. Alas, there’s been no video to link to and no demo, so little reason to do so other than “Crikey! Nice name, eh?”. However, with its release imminent (Steam, Impulse, Gamersgate if you want to pre-order), they’ve released a demo so people can have a taste of it. You can get it from here. What is it? Well, it’s a “real-time capture-the-pig strategy game”. The ghost of Psycho Pigs UXB lives. The full thing is actually on our Steam press accounts, but no-one on RPS has had time to have a crack yet – Jim did, but it crashed his PC (Which he thinks is a bad download rather than the game). Impressions will have to wait. But it certainly has a splendid name.

The release of a player-made plugin for ULTIMATE INDIE GAME Dwarf Fortress stirred brief debate amongst the hemispheres of the RPS Hivemind. “Worth remembering: it’s a visualiser”, attack-thoughted node-designation GILLEN. “It does at least run as the game is playing”, hypno-suggested node-designation MEER. “WE/I LOVE DWARVES. WRITE ABOUT DWARVES WRITE ABOUT DWARVES WRITE ABOUT DWARVES”, then throbbed the Mind in spiky unison. For yes, while it is enormously pleasing, Stonesense is not a graphical engine that replaces DF’s (in)famous ASCII appearance. What it is an add-on, displaying an isometric, cartoony image of the state of your stone-centric world alongside said ASCIIosity in something like real-time.
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This is both cute and scary. Cute, because for the 20th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit, telltale are giving people free access to the Muzzled Episode of their Grand Adventures. You can also order the full package for twenty dollars instead of the usual thirty-five, which include a charitable donation. The offer runs until 12pm on Monday the 9th. If you’re interested, go gets. Conversely, it’s scary because I remember the very first Wallace and Gromit and I don’t need a reminder of my own mortality when I’m still in my dressing gown. Muzzled’s trailer follows…
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Positech’s battlefleet manager game, Gratuitous Space Battles, is now available to purchase. To celebrate this space-fact the demo for the game has been posted, which means you can all have a play of the game without having to pay a penny. Get it here. Cliffski says to expect more development, as well as mods, in the coming months.

Kieron spotted this in the 2010 IGF list. Called 78641, it purports to be an English translation of the classic Esperanto game, Pato Viro Simulilo. It’s, um, sort of an adventure game, but mostly an exercise in surrealism. And unlike most things that people label “surreal”, this isn’t just “silly” or saying “fish” a lot – it’s a genuinely surreal and often unsettling experience. In the game you play Doug Beachez, a frying pan. Who sells dildos.

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