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XCOM: Enemy Unknown invades early October

Firaxis Games’ action strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be hitting the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 12 October 2012. Those living in the US of A will get the game three days earlier on 09 October – whatever. The original X-COM series was released in the early nineties; fans of the first games were a little perturbed at the announcement of a first-person shooter remake of the series. Fortunately, shortly after the FPS was unveiled, Firaxis and Take-Two announced Enemy Unknown, which sticks to the series’ strategy routes.

The news comes via an official press release from the game’s publisher Take-Two. That press release also mentions a special edition that’s exclusive to the PC platform. You don’t see that every day! The special edition of XCOM: Enemy Unknown will include a copy of the game, a fold-out poster, an XCOM insignia patch, an art book and a bunch of digital goodies like soundtracks and wallpapers.

The press release is a little confusing in that it sounds as if the PC version of the standard edition of the game will only be available digitally. If you want a physical copy of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for PC, then you’ll have to buy the special edition. Dane and I have been trying to figure out whether the press release is badly worded, or in fact Take-Two has lost the plot. Either way, we’ll update this as soon as we’ve a) figured it out or b) read an updated press release from Take-Two.

Source: Take-Two

Posted by Miklós Szecsei May 22, 2012
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XCOM: Enemy Unknown First Look

Firaxis chat about their upcoming re-imagining of XCOM, and how they plan to stay true to the original.

Posted by Miktar Mar 06, 2012
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Review: King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

A combination of three things made me super excited about the prospect of King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame. Firstly, the screenshots I browsed through when it was announced looked absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful lighting and deliciously detailed textures being the order of the day.

Secondly, I rather liked the first game, and felt that with a little more development time to refine the core gameplay, it could have rivalled something from the Total War series. Which brings me to the third reason that I was excited: I’m a massive Total War fanboy, and King Arthur II more than just a little bit resembles a fantasy infused Total War release, at least superficially.

Read more ...

Posted by Nic Simmonds Feb 16, 2012
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Turn-based strategy XCOM: Enemy Unknown announced

When publisher 2K Games announced that the beloved X-Com franchise would be getting a reboot as an FPS, many fans of the original series were completely bummed out. Here was one of the best strategy titles being transformed into something completely different so as to cater towards mass market appeal – well, that’s what the pissed off fans would have you believe.

Sid Meir’s Firaxis Studio now rides in to the rescue as it’s been revealed (via a February cover feature in magazine Game Informer – where else?) that 2K will be publishing a true-to-its-roots, strategy title with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

The game sees you taking control of X-COM forces as you attempt to rescue civilians and combat the alien threat across the globe. The game will feature real-time tactical elements with turn-based combat – so it’s basically a traditional X-COM game. It’ll be out this year during our spring time on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Now if only it’ll be revealed that EA is publishing a top-down strategy Syndicate game as well, it’ll feel like the nineties all over again!

Source: Game Informer

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Jan 06, 2012
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An interview with Martin Slater of XCom

Even before this year’s E3, I have heard people rambling on excitedly about this new XCom game. I would like to say that I know what it’s all about, but in truth, I’d never heard of it. Whatever it is, it’s apparently a very well-loved stratgey game of some sort that fans are freaking out about with each new bit of information that’s revealed. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, or if you’re a fan, then check out the interview with Martin Slater, from the development team, here.2406 image 2

Posted by Matthew Vice Jun 24, 2010
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Retro review: Castles 1 + 2

Developer: Quicksilver Software
Publisher: Interplay
Year: 1991
Genre: Strategy
Availability:For Sale getitatgog

Castles are quite possibly the coolest buildings in existence, bar none. They’re those eponymous war huts which feature in just about every medieval fantasy you’d care to mention, from the romantic ramparts of a Cinderella story to the Gothic depths of Dracula’s Castlevania abode.

In post-Dark Ages Europe, they were astounding feats of deadly engineering and careful co-ordination which could break Viking armies and bankrupt paranoid noblemen. Killer moats, boiling oil and murder holes were just a few of the traits which could turn an entire structure into its own freaking weapon.

You can even name your castle "awesome." How awesome is that?

You can even name your castle "awesome." How awesome is that?

Long before the Stronghold series emerged in the first tentative years of the new millennium, a bunch of really awesome developers decided to create a DOS-based game called Castles. It was awesome. It put you in the role of an awesome king who built awesome castles and got into awesome battles with awesome armies while basically engaging in a whole bunch of awesome management tasks like raising taxes and executing annoying people.

It's role-playing time!

It's role-playing time!

Nearly two decades later, the game is still a strong representation of how fun an oldschool strategy/building title can be. It balances castle construction chores with a simple (yet interesting) combat system, some pretty juicy medieval politics and randomly-generated plotlines which add a huge whack of flavour to the whole experience.

Most of the game is spent managing the labour mix of your workforce, assigning sections of the castle to be worked on, fending off bunches of angry Celts (those darn Celts) and making sure that you can pay, feed and protect everybody given only the paltry funds available to you. At the same time you’ll grant audience to a whole variety of interesting characters who can affect your kingdom: from bumbling dukes requesting aid in military campaigns to malevolent sorcerers bent on destroying you. The decisions you make in these encounters can have a startling — and sometimes detrimental — effect on your castle-building progress.

The second game in the series, Siege and Conquest, is just as strong an offering, though it focuses more on territory acquisition and less on the minutiae of individual fortresses. While balancing resources, maintaining shaky alliances and carving out your own zones of military conquest, you need to compete against several other lords for the throne of Bretagne by expanding your empire and earning the pope’s blessing.

Colourful, crisp and classy -- the sort of strategy title you can easily get into.

Colourful, crisp and classy -- the sort of strategy title you can easily get into.

Compared to most sim-like titles reviewed on this site, the Castles games are startlingly lightweight — which can either be considered a boon or a curse. There’s not a hundred and one structure types to choose from and both titles have the extent of their functionality contained within a few tabs, which opens them up to the risk of monotony for hardcore genre enthusiasts. More casual players, however, will love spending time with their miniature armies of soldiers and workers as they go about stomping the king’s stone-and-mortar authority all over the countryside.

If you’re a fan of the Stronghold series and wonder what its grandparents would have looked like, get this two-in-one deal and try them both. They’re quite an odd couple, but each can easily be considered heroes of the late DOS generation in their own ways.

Posted by Rodain Joubert Mar 16, 2010
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Valkyria Chronicles 2 details revealed

It’s hard to believe in this day and age, but not everything Sega touches turns to poop. Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3 is a very interesting and unique strategy-based RPG with a cast of great characters and a compelling story. The sequel is due to land on the PSP in the next few months, so let’s hope that it turns out to be as good as its predecessor.

To make the wait even tougher for fans, Sega has released some enticing details about the sequel. It seems that, in addition to all of the gameplay mechanics from the PS3 version, the PSP sequel will include two new mechanics: Potential Ability and Morale. Potential Ability is a special ability certain characters gain when they meet specific criteria on the battlefield. These abilities are usually highly advantageous and will obviously force players to put an even greater focus on what each of their soldiers is doing. The Morale system, which they spelled “moral” but is quite clearly meant to be “morale”, is self-explanatory. If you’re doing well, the morale of your soldiers will be high, if you’re losing, their morale will be low. Apparently this can have any number of effects on the flow of the battle and players will be able to influence it in various ways.

Sounds good so far, doesn’t it? The PSP has one or two fairly decent strategy games, but we really need another, and Valkyria Chronicles 2 could just deliver us what we need.

You'll also unlock some extra content if your PSP contains save data from Phantasy Star.

You'll also unlock some extra content if your PSP contains save data from Phantasy Star.

Posted by Matthew Vice Dec 15, 2009
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Retro review: The Settlers 2

Developer: BlueByte Software
Publisher: BlueByte Sofware
Year: 1996
Genre: RTS
Availability: For salegetitatgog

The Settlers series is a grandaddy that brought aspects of gameplay which still feature in titles to this day, and part 2  (TS2) is arguably the best of the series.

The primary game mode follows a group of Romans who find themselves marooned on an island, and they must establish settlements and explore before discovering a way home. Gameplay is pretty straightforward, revolving around the gathering of wood, stone, food, and various ores, plus the manufacture of goods. Raw and refined resources are the primary focus of TS2, and good management is paramount – especially considering that many types are strictly limited. You can grow and harvest all the trees you please, but when you run out of iron – that’s it. It can be particularly frustrating if you exhaust some vital ore well into a level and are forced to start over.

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Buildings of varying sizes and functions can be constructed according to the availability of space. Every structure must be linked to the road system, which allows helpful serfs to fetch and carry goods. Here things can get interesting – each road has flags, with one serf between each flag. More flags, more serfs, and the faster goods get transported – a dense city will have hundreds of peons scurrying around like ants. However, each flag occupies precious construction space, so a balance must be struck. The route and number of roads combined with flags determine efficiency, so layout becomes critical when space is limited.

While TS2 has a strong military element and most levels require the defeat of enemy forces, the implementation is rather simplistic. Soldiers are the only unit type (but can be trained), and combat consists of simply choosing units, then selecting a target and letting the combat play out. Building military structures expands your control zone and permits you to launch attacks into opposing territory.

settlers2 02TS2 can be tricky at times due to the lack of any useful resource requirement indicators. Nowhere are you told what is needed to build or run a particular building, and only by trial and error can you figure things out. You might find yourself scratching your head over a half-constructed building, and only by scrutinizing the various detailed information screens would you discover that workers lack the necessary tools. While modern games allow us to take information exposition for granted, it does provide a barrier to entry for TS2.

The overall pace of gameplay is rather slow. It can take ages for industries to get up and running smoothly – and even longer for their fruits to become available. You will probably spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen, anywhere up to 3 hours per level.

Graphics are simple and colourful, and can go all the way up to 1024 x 768 (which was, like, HUGE in 1996!) with a lot of detail, considering the game’s age. You’ll see sheep and rabbits gambolling about, foxes hunting, and idle serfs reading the newspaper. On a par with many retro titles, music in TS2 is annoying right off the bat and is best left switched off. Decent-quality sounds accompany many occurrences in the game, providing the expected atmosphere. Occasionally, the timing of construction, forge, wood cutting, and other noises will create a cadence not unlike a pseudo-industrial remix, which is good for a chuckle.

settlers-bottom-line

Posted by Richard Jenks Nov 30, 2009
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Retro Review: Heroes of Might and Magic 3

Developer: New World Computing, Inc.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Year: 1999
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Availability: For salegetitatgog

The Might and Magic games have always been great. From the glorious World of Xeen back in the golden era of RPG classics, to the incredibly buggy (yet still pretty gosh-darn fun) Dark Messiah, these games have made a long-term impact in an ever-evolving market. For this delightful little review, we’ll turn our discussion to what’s possibly the greatest game ever offered under this umbrella: Heroes of Might and Magic 3.

HoMM is a game series without peer. Sure, certain competitors do exist. There’s Lords of the Realm, Lords of Magic, and some other games which have tried mixing turn-based strategy and empire building with the intense tactical experience of a fully-controlled battlefield (seasoned with just a dash of RPG goodness). HoMM, however, remains the cream of the crop, and its third installment is the finest of the lot.

homm01

Pegasus vs. unicorn vs. green dragon. Aaaaaand fight!

HoMM3 takes place in the oh-so-magical and fantastical world of Enroth, where the likes of necromancers and demons are making life difficult in a way that only necromancers and demons can really manage. In response, the Various Nations Of The World are clumping themselves into tight little units led by heroes of varying spellcasting and swordarming capabilities, running around a colourful game world, following giant green arrows for some or other reason, and basically getting into a fight every time their green arrow leads to another tight little unit led by some spellchucking, swordfighting scallywag. Along the way, they have to control resource points, manage town construction, and recruit the biggest, toughest fighting force around.

That describes the overworld bit. The real joy lies in the battle scenes. Every time two armies clash, they’re confronted with a screen that puts both forces on a grid of honour and glory. Sometimes, you’re required to lay siege to a castle. On other occasions, you’ll be fighting on cursed or rocky terrain. The basic goal is to fight your enemy until somebody surrenders or gets annihilated. Units are well varied: some cast spells, others can fly, and others just pepper enemies with projectiles. Standing on the sidelines will be the aforementioned heroes who (in lieu of fighting directly) will contribute to the battle with spells, special abilities, and passive stats.

While the game is quite complex, it’s fun for players of all levels. Beginners can just purchase the basic units, make a beeline for the enemy, and start whacking them really hard with swords and magic arrows, while those who take it seriously will find an astounding level of detail that can help them turn the most seemingly useless spell or trait into something that can actually decide a battle.

homm02

The entire game screams two words: "adventurous" and "colourful."

HoMM3 is currently available as a complete set of three games: the original Restoration of Erathia, its prequel (Shadow of Death), and another expansion pack called Armageddon’s Blade. Any one of these alone would stand as an excellent purchase, but having all three together makes this a shoe-in for anybody even remotely interested in this sort of game. I can’t think of a better way to introduce people to the genre, and I’ll eat my hat if anyone ever develops a title that does it better.

homm3-bottom-line

Posted by Rodain Joubert Nov 26, 2009
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Retro Feature: Jagged Alliance 2

JA2_info-bar

getitatgog

There are two sorts of contract killer. There’s the shady, scarred sort of guy with an eye patch and Eastern European accent who’s only ever glimpsed through a pall of cigarette smoke, hangs out in underworld bars with lighting problems, and has a nickname prefixed with Little or Lucky or The. He’d be prosecuted and sentenced to forever in prison if ever apprehended by the authorities, but that’ll never happen – guys like this guy don’t get nabbed by the rozzers, they go out in a dramatic and usually subtly ironic way that probably involves a helicopter or an empty dam or a grotty, abandoned tenement on the Lower East Side. Then there’s the other sort of of contract killer – that’s the rakish, gum-chewing sort of guy with shaggy blonde hair and perfectly straight teeth, who looks like the sort of guy who has lots of sex with lots of hot women because that’s what he does. Although both sorts kill people for hard cash, only one of these guys works for a Private Military Contractor. That’s all the difference between rotting forgotten in a hole and being totally awesome, boys and girls. If you’re going to kill people for hard cash, always make sure you’re a card-carrying member of a proper killing enterprise – a proper killing enterprise like the Association of International Mercenaries or, conveniently, AIM.

JA2_3

Cut scene to Arulco, a not-Central America now fallen on desperate times. Previously ruled by a democratic monarchy, the country’s former election candidate Enrico Chivaldori has been betrayed by his scheming wife Deidranna (who, perhaps not insignificantly, has an Eastern European accent) and abandoned the country, having faked his own death somehow. Left to her own nefarious devices, Dee Dee has set herself up as resident Queen of Everything and is generally being a huge bitch to everyone. Enrico hires a bunch of people to kill other people for hard cash, so his country can be a nice place again. Paragraphs one and two are, obviously, closely related to one another. ¡Y arriba!

JA2_1“They don’t make them like they used to,” goes the aphorism, and it’s only too apparent with games like Jagged Alliance 2 over here. This is the kind of game that, if you don’t read the manual, you’ll simply never be able to play it – and nobody makes games like that anymore. No, now it’s all about condescending tutorials and infuriating helpy-helpers who won’t let you doing anything without asking if you’re absolutely sure you want to do what you’re doing, then reminding you that you’re doing what you’re doing before you actually can. But this isn’t SimCity Creator on DS, it’s Jagged Alliance 2 – a sort of X-Com mashed with Fallout Tactics mashed with Risk, and it’s all that sort of massively complicated you haven’t seen around since 2001. Sure, kids today won’t get it at all – but they weren’t there, man. They weren’t there.

Posted by Tarryn van der Byl Sep 24, 2009
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