By Craig Pearson on December 6th, 2012.
EDIT: THQ tell Eurogamer that they still hold 40K rights, so Creative Assembly are taking the Fantasy road. Skaven: Total Warhammer!
The distant rumble on the horizon is the sound of gathering forces. Specifically The Creative Assembly and the Games Workshop. Sega has just announced that the former has set up a special development team to work on the latter’s IP. This is like Everest climbing K2.
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Looking Back, Moving Forward
By Nathan Grayson on December 4th, 2012.
The Cave is right around the corner. Well, not literally – unless you live inside a rocky outcropping in the frigid wildness or are being stalked by some kind of sentient, not-completely-immobile cave. But Ron Gilbert’s Cave is rapidly nearing its January 2013 release date, and naturally, that raises questions. Fortunately, I was standing right next to the very same Ron Gilbert when those questions came up, so I decided to ask him. Find out after the break why – in spite of its platform-y looks – The Cave’s a PC game at heart and how that ties into Gilbert’s plans for whatever he ends up making next.
If At First You Don't Succeed...
By Nathan Grayson on December 1st, 2012.
Hell Yeah! isn’t really the sort of title you’d expect to see attached to something subdued and contemplative, and sure enough, Arkedo’s action-heavy Metroidvania is about as ridiculous, random, and fourth-wall-shattering as they come. But as the likes of Hamlet and Pee-Wee Herman have taught us, there’s an art to madness. It can be brilliantly amusing and useful, sure, but if it’s a crutch for something that’s fundamentally broken, well, you’ve just got a loud mess instead of quiet one. So, where does Hell Yeah! land on that spectrum? Here’s wot I think.
By Nathan Grayson on December 1st, 2012.
I visited a cave once. It was very dark and echo-y. Also, it made lots of drip-dropping sounds – perhaps in an effort to communicate its stalagmite-heavy cave agenda to the world at large. But it never spoke to me. Not in firm, authoritative English, anyway. And it definitely didn’t contain any carnivals, spooky murder houses, or secret science labs. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Ron Gilbert and I haven’t been to the same caves. I think I like his – aptly titled The Cave – better, though. I mean, it gives hillbillies with the apparently common hillability to breathe under water a chance to reunite with their lost loves. (Incidentally, Ron and I have also not met the same hillbillies.) Dig into the break’s rich, earthy soils to see a new trailer of the Maniac Mansion spiritual successor in action.
By Adam Smith on November 20th, 2012.
Gosh. A trailer just fell out of a vent in my study and upon inspection it appears to contain footage of yet another multiplayer mode for Gearbox’s Aliens FPS, Colonial Marines. Along with aliens vs marines deathmatch and a co-operative campaign mode, objective-based team combat has also been promised, and Survivor, along with the already announced Escape mode offers just such a thing. One team controls aliens, which now come in different classes, and the other controls marines, who grunt and occasionally panic. And panic they should because they are doomed. Alien players respawn, marine players do not. Or if they do, they probably respawn as aliens.
Streamline Technology
By Adam Smith on November 13th, 2012.
Forget about the media, forget about team talks. This is a tale of men, balls and boots. Football Manager Classic, a mode within FM 2013, goes back to basics. But is it actually classic, or is it more like one of those movies that nobody likes but that inexplicably finds itself in a ‘Classics’ range when it’s released on DVD?
Thor Fingers
By Brendan Caldwell on October 30th, 2012.
Viking: Battle for Asgard has been available on the Xbox for over four years now. Which of course means the game can be defined as a ‘classic’. As such, it recently qualified for PC port status. I can tell you’re pleased by this turn of events. Your cackle becomes a lot throatier when you’re pleased. You sort of laugh through your phlegm. It’s adorable. But does this saga from Sega live up to its illustrious name? Read on to find out Wot I Think.
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By Jim Rossignol on October 12th, 2012.
This is old news, actually, but we sadly missed it last week: Sega have put a demo for their side-scrolling action-platformer Hell Yeah! Wrath Of The Dead Rabbit up on Steam. It’s a game about an enraged rabbit fighting his way through a spectacularly colourful hell, which sounds like your sort of thing. Here’s what the game is for: “Hell Yeah! helps you clear your mind after a bad/frustrating/boring day at work. Achieve this by exploring the four corners of Hell and exterminating monsters in a cheerful yet challenging atmosphere.”
Why not see it in motion, below, or hell, even play it.
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By Jim Rossignol on October 11th, 2012.
Sussex-based strategy captains The Creative Assembly aren’t just making strategy games these days, no sir, they are also making some action-led games. One of these was their 2008 hack ‘n’ slash console game Viking: Battle for Asgard, which is now headed for Steam. SEGA studio Hardlight tweeted the news, revealing that the game will appear on PCs next week. It will apparently receive a graphical overhaul for PC, which is probably for the best.
There’s no PC-specific trailers yet, so you’ll have to forgive the blurry old console one that I’ve dug up to post below.
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By Nathan Grayson on September 28th, 2012.
Modding’s been a bit of a sore spot for Total War fans in recent times, but Creative Assembly – to its credit – has spent the past few months fixing up that rather glaring crack in its series’ armor. And certainly, Total War: Shogun 2‘s dedicated (and not-entirely-uninituitive) map editor was a nice start, but people demanded more. More breadth, more tools, more tiny virtual ant men throwing away their tiny virtual ant lives in the name of history. So Creative Assembly listened. Specifically, Shogun 2′s now packing full Steam Workshop support, some seriously upgraded map-making tools, and a brand new “Assembly Kit.” Find out about all the new ways you can make sweet, sweet war to your friends after the break.
By Jim Rossignol on September 26th, 2012.
Roooooooooome! Two. The ancient Empire is set to rise again next year. And again. And again, as millions of us click our way to dominance of the old world theater of empire-building. I’m planning on building an Empire of druids, too. (As it should have been.) Regarding the trailer, SEGA explain: “The year is 146BC, brilliant tactician Scipio Aemilianus is dispatched by Rome to break the three-year-long siege of Carthage, an unforgivable blight on the glory of the growing Empire. Ruthless determination and an almost suicidal amphibious assault is required, but the young consul is uncomfortably aware that the price of victory may be much higher than the senate realises.” The trailer apparently shows off the kind of detail you can expect from the game’s battles.
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