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Diablo III pushed back to early 2012
Editor's Note: The following article is reprinted from GamePro.com. For more gaming news, visit GamePro's news page.
The release date for Diablo III, the long-awaited new installment in Blizzard's popular role-playing game series, has been pushed back to early next year. Blizzard hasn't provided a specific release date, and traditionally the company has been one to release things "when they're ready" rather than teasing dates for months on end.
"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard. "The beta test [for Diablo III] is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we're taking to deliver and experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers."
Batman: Arkham Asylum coming to Mac on Oct. 13
2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum is without doubt a fantastic game, but Mac users who want to play the game must either use the version available on the OnLive game service or use Boot Camp and Windows. This will all change from October 13, as veteran Mac development and conversion specialists Feral Interactive will bring the game to OS X.
"Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game where all the individual elements, story, gameplay, design, music and voice acting all combine superbly to create an extraordinary experience," said David Stephen, Managing Director of Feral Interactive.
The game will be available directly from Feral's website as well as the Mac App Store. It'll cost $40, rather steep for a two year old game, though Mac rereleases often remain at a relatively high price point compared to their PC brethren for some time. You can preorder now direct from Feral and find out more about the game on the official mini-site. And, of course, you can check out our review.
Review: Avadon: The Black Fortress is an old-fashioned, fun RPG
The RPG genre has evolved quite a bit since its inception. To many of its fans, however, not all of the changes it's seen have been welcome ones. "Streamlining" has become a dirty word to many, as the roles of methodical strategic combat, statistical analysis, and character customization are downplayed, or have vanished altogether. Avadon: The Black Fortress, the latest release from prolific indie RPG developer Spiderweb Software, acts as an answer to the growing trend of streamlining RPGs. It may not be much to look at, with visuals easily outpaced by genre entries from ten years ago, but it can still be every bit as arresting and evocative as a modern, triple-A epic. And frequently, even more so.
The game's world is a tumultuous one. The Pact, an alliance of convenience forged between the five central nations, is at constant war with the neighboring Farlands. The center of The Pact's political and military power comes from the titular black tower of Avadon, ruled over by the ruthless leader known only as Redbeard. This is where your story begins.
As a newly recruited Hand of Avadon, it is not only your task to uphold the peace within The Pact, but to venture into the Farlands as an ambassador and a warrior, often both at the same time. Avadon is a game that is not afraid of dealing in shades of grey, with the lines between allies and enemies blurring with every conversation and encounter.
Review: Frozen Synapse features unique competitive tactical gameplay
Frozen Synapse plays like a futuristic board game lit by pulsing neon. It doesn’t get your adrenaline pumping like big-budget action games, but if you’re the type of player who likes to sit back and out-think your opponent with the leisure that only turn-based games allow, there is plenty here for you to get excited about.
The obejct of the game is to battle an opponent; the missions or matches take place between two players on a randomly generated map viewed from a bird's-eye perspective. Every side is given a number of units, each defined by the weapon it’s carrying; a machine gun, shotgun, grenade launcher, sniper rifle or rocket launcher. There are a variety of goals, like infiltrating/protecting a given area, or assassinating/escorting a specific unit, but invariably every scenario comes down to outmaneuvering your opponent, getting the drop on him before he gets the drop on you.
Don’t be fooled by the machine guns and slick visual design. Frozen Synapse has an old school pace and feel. Very old school—we’re talking chess, or any number of German board games. The point of the game is to think and test out many possible strategies using the game’s robust and ingenious user interface before finally committing to a plan. If you’re not prepared to endure slow, meticulous plotting, you’re not prepared for this game.
My initial impression of Frozen Synapse was that it satisfied a craving that is rarely catered to these days, but that the down time between turns in the multiplayer mode made it almost unplayable. This, as I soon found out, was the wrong impression, as the game is clearly designed to encourage players to have as many matches as possible going concurrently.
Review: Runespell: Overture RPG combines adventure and poker-like card play
Runespell: Overture (available via Steam) is the latest game to emerge from the trend of infusing an RPG with puzzle DNA. Upon first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking it was simply Puzzle Quest, but with poker substituted for gem matching. There's little point in denying Overture's inspiration, but that doesn't mean that it has nothing new to offer. While it may not capture the same spark as the original puzzle-RPG, it forges its own path enough to warrant a second look.
You play as the Changeling, a mysterious cloaked being who emerges in 11th Century England after apparently winning first prize in a Soul Reaver look-a-like contest. Having lost its memories, the Changeling ventures across frozen mountains searching for meaning, accompanied by a surprisingly deep backstory and colorful, though oddly anachronistic, characters, and engaging in plenty of card combat along the way.
Though I first compared Overture's gameplay to poker, it is more accurate to call it a cross between poker and Klondike Solitaire. Both the Changeling and its opponent have seven stacks of cards and take turns building five-card hands on their respective stacks. Each turn allows up to three actions, with the option to move not only your own cards, but also the opponent's cards if they have not already become part of a set. Standard poker hands are used, such as full house, straight, flush, and three of a kind, each with its own damage value. Power Cards, Overture's version of magic, can be used to add further damage or a range of effects such as healing, defending, and increasing the number of actions per turn. Actually attacking with a hand also uses one of your turn's three actions, allowing for a fair amount of strategy in terms of when to build and when to strike.
Browser-based Star Trek MMO? Make it so!
Think of browser-based games and your mind probably automatically turns to Zynga. What it probably doesn't imagine is a fully-3D Star Trek MMO with tactical combat; an in depth story penned by Lee Sheldon, one of the series' writers; and an authentic visual design straight out of the TV series thanks to collaborations with Michael and Denise Okuda, both of whom played a prominent role in Star Trek's distinctive look.
But that's exactly what Star Trek Infinite Space from Gameforge provides—and for free, too. Gameforge demonstrated the game at Gamescon this week.
Players can create a captain in the Federation or Klingon Empire circa season 3 of Deep Space Nine. They then begin their career of conquering the stars through three types of mission: those that advance the game's plot; self-contained "battle scenarios" that offer a compact, action-oriented mission; and "free exploration" mode, which offers the authentic Star Trek "seek out new life and new civilizations" experience.
Steam launches Game-and-Hat-Trading beta
Valve this week launched a beta test of a new Steam feature: Steam Trading. The new facility offers the ability for players to trade Team Fortress 2 items and Steam Gifts at this time, with a mind to rolling out the program across Portal 2 and third party games over the next few months.
The trading of Team Fortress 2 items is relatively similar to the current in-game implementation, with the difference being that it's no longer necessary to launch Team Fortress 2 to complete the transaction. Trades are now carried out either via Group Chat or the Steam Friends list. The new functionality also adds the ability for players to "tag" their friends with one or more keywords, so it'll be easy for players to organize their friends list into players they know well, people they've played with before and people they've just traded with.
Trading of Steam Gifts is a little different to item trading: any game that you purchase as a gift from the Steam Store or receive as an Extra Copy can be traded with other users, so long as the Gift has never been "opened"—i.e. played. Extra Copies of games are usually acquired when purchasing compilations containing individual items that players already own—often these sit gathering virtual dust until players are able to find someone who doesn't already own, say, Half-Life 2. Now it'll be possible to trade these games as a commodity and exchange them with other users either for a different game or TF2 virtual items. Over time, as more games support this program, it'll be possible to exchange games for virtual items in all manner of titles—perhaps even in Steam's growing Free to Play section.
Opinion: Apple's videogame future
Even the most blinkered of Apple skeptics will admit that the rise of the iPhone—and its close siblings, the iPod touch and iPad—as been nothing short of meteoric. Since the inception of the original 2G iPhone back in 2007, Apple has shifted an incredible 190 million units of its combined iOS range, making it one of the most successful platforms of the modern era, and the company recently overtook Google to become the most valuable brand in the world.
One area where Apple has enjoyed particular (and some would argue unexpected) success is in the distribution of games. The iTunes Store now boasts over 350,000 items available to download, a large percentage of which are focused solely on finger-friendly entertainment. Titles such as Angry Birds (), Fruit Ninja (), and Flight Control () have sold in the millions, making gamers out of people who ordinarily wouldn't even dream of picking up a traditional controller, let alone purchase a portable console.
Apple's conquest of the interactive entertainment arena shows no sign of relenting, either. Recently, the company acquired the services of former Nintendo UK Head of Communications Rob Saunders and Activision's Nick Grange. While neither individual is involved explicitly with games development—their expertise lies in the field of public relations—such bold moves are nonetheless a clear indication that Apple is keen to take control of its own destiny when it comes to gaming, and could hint at a wider attack which will leave stalwarts such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft reeling.
While it's tempting to assume that Apple's fresh gaming-focused strategy is merely to buttress its existing portable iOS business, we believe the Cupertino-based company has something a little more dramatic planned. Apple is a company that is constantly looking to expand into new and fertile territory, and there's another equally profitable arena that is just waiting to be dominated: your living room.
SteelSeries debuts Diablo III-themed mouse and headset
High-end gaming peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries announced its new Diablo III-themed mouse and headset at E3. We were able to get some hands-on time with the new gear, which is tentatively scheduled for an October debut.
Even if you've never considered buying a mouse specifically for a video game, SteelSeries knows that Diablo III, Blizzard's latest installment in their classic action role-playing game franchise, might change your mind. That's because Diablo II was such a mouse-destroying clickfest that wearing out your mouse buttons during prolonged game sessions wasn't unheard of.
While I wasn't able to try the mouse out in Diablo III (the game's not out yet), I did get to play around a little bit in World of Tanks with it. While it felt light compared to my Razer Naga, the Diablo III's buttons felt responsive and fairly easy to hit, and the click sound was slightly muted compared to other gaming mice. The latter is something which might turn off the gamers looking for a deep, satisfactory clicking sound, but anyone in the immediate vicinity of those gamers probably will appreciate the relative quiet.
Review: Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma headset
Creative’s $90 Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma is one of the best headsets to use if you want to tune out the world around you. Creative claims that the headset’s earphones let you hear sounds from multiple directions, (above, below, and around), so you feel almost fully immersed in sound environments. It does a great job at doing what it promises, though it could produce better bass, and its microphone could be less powerful.
The Tactic3D Sigma comes with high-resolution 50 mm speakers that are attached to a steel-core reinforced headband. A noise-cancelling microphone and a tangle-free flat cable are affixed to the headband. The cable has a volume control device that not only adjusts the volume of the speakers, but also controls the power of the mic. I found little problem with the design of the headset, but I did find its non-adjustable headband to be a little loose on my head. Right below the volume control device on the cord is a small clip that allows you to attach the control device to your shirt for easy volume adjustment.
Overall, the Tactic3D Sigma work well. The earphones do a great job at blocking outside noises, as I was able to listen to music, play games, and do other audio-related tasks without hearing much around me. While using the headset at a medium volume setting, I couldn’t hear my immediate desk mate’s typing or talking. Unfortunately, the earphones do almost too good a job at blocking outside noises—I suffered a bit of the occlusion effect when I talked to others around me.
I was quite pleased with the Tactic3D Sigma’s sound quality. Listening to games, music, and movie trailers, the headset does make you feel like you’re hearing sound from multiple directions. If you’re playing an RPG game and someone walks behind your character, you might actually feel like someone has actually walked behind you. If something explodes above you in the game, you might actually feel like something has exploded above you.
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