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Cyanide Studio announces, shares screens of Styx: Master of Shadows
Would you climb a multimile-high tower for a chance at wealth and learning your own origin story? Yeah? Alright, how about if it was filled with puzzles and tons of guards ready to grind your bones into the spaces of the stone floor? That's the peril the goblin Styx will face in Styx: Master of Shadows, a PC game with RPG elements from Cyanide Studios due sometime this year. In the world of Styx, a sprawling tower protects the Tree, a source of a mysterious, powerful substance called Amber. Players will face humans, orcs and magic-savvy elves as they try to clear levels and various objectives. The press release notes "murder, information recovery" and "thefts of precious artifacts" among the hurdles awaiting Styx. Levels will also be open to multiple methods of completion, leaving it up to players to sneak by stealthily or charge into all battles without reservation. As players ascend the tower, the experience they earn can be used to unlock skills, moves and weapons spread across six talent trees. That Amber substance won't be entirely useless in its mystery, either - players will gain power from the Amber, which can "help you out of a tight spot, make you invisible to the eyes of your enemies and ... generate 'disposable' clones of yourself!" We wonder if "disposable" is meant in the same way that Pikmin are "disposable," where you feel like the world's worst person as they're killed off.
First look at sci-fi RTS Etherium
Etherium is a new real-time strategy game in development at Tindalos Interactive that, like so many before it, sees players battling over a precious resource that is both futuristic and totally fictional: The titular "etherium." "The solo campaign in Etherium is non-linear: You are free to decide how your conquests progress," states publisher Focus Home Interactive. "Manage your resources, expand your colonies and extend your control of the map to assemble an army capable of crushing your opponents. Epic battles will ensue between formidable armies comprising numerous units: infantry, tanks, aircraft, and even gigantic colossi of war several meters high; real machines of destruction! You will also use scientific research to develop a tech tree enabling you to unlock new units and upgrades, access new structures to develop your colony and to use new special skills." So far, so typical of the genre, but where Etherium differentiates itself is in its "dynamic weather system." According to examples offered by Focus Home Interactive, players might use a rolling sandstorm to cover their advance into an enemy base, or wait for a river to freeze before using the newly formed ice bridge as a staging point for a sneak attack. Above you'll find Etherium's debut trailer while screenshots can be found in the gallery below. For more information, visit the game's official website.
Sherlock Holmes adventures dev bringing Call of Cthulhu to PC, next-gen
Frogwares announced the development of a Call of Cthulhu game today for PC and next-gen systems, presumably Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Published by Focus Home Interactive, Call of Cthulhu is based on the tabletop RPGs that are themselves rooted in the 1928 novel by H.P. Lovecraft. The developer is known for its series of Sherlock Holmes adventure games, its most recent being Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. Whether Call of Cthulhu is also in the adventure genre remains to be seen, but the developer did offer four pieces of concept art, which can be found in the gallery below. This isn't the first time a developer adapted the Lovecraft story to video game form. Bethesda published Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth on Xbox in 2005, bringing the game to PC one year later before re-launching it on Steam in 2009. Red Wasp Design also brought forth its own interpretation of the book in Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land on iOS in January 2012.
Farming Simulator makes hay on PS3/360 today, FS14 out now on mobile
Giants Software's down-home blend of wheat-harvesting, livestock-breeding action makes its PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 debut with today's digital and retail release of Farming Simulator. This week also marks the release of the latest series entry, Farming Simulator 14, for iOS and Android devices. Farming Simulator has remained a staple on PC platforms since 2009, though the series didn't make the jump to consoles until recently. Giants Software tested the waters with a PlayStation Vita digital release in July, and the Xbox 360 version saw an early launch in Europe and Australia earlier this year. Despite its niche appeal, the Farming Simulator series is supported by a dedicated community on PC platforms, with many users taking advantage of its modding capabilities to add new vehicles and other in-game elements over the last several years. Giants Software revealed that it will release many of Farming Simulator's most popular user-made creations as downloadable content on consoles. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Farming Simulator launch today at $29.99. Trophy hunters take note: you can earn an easy gold trophy by starting up your tractor, cracking open a beer, and honking 100 times.
Cast a silhouette from the light of this Contrast trailer
There's something lurking in the shadows of this Contrast trailer, and it smells like secrets. Well, and a fire-breathing shadow dragon, but we're not sure how to best describe that scent. Contrast is on Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace, PS3 and is currently free for PS4 owners with PlayStation Plus.
There'll be a short interval before Contrast performs on the PS3
Burlesque platformer Contrast will take to the stage on PS3 just a few days after it shows up on other platforms. The news comes as publisher Focus Home Interactive announced the game's final release dates, confirming it for November 15 arrivals on PS4, Xbox 360, and PC, and then November 19 on PS3. The shadow-orientated puzzler inadvertently took the limelight last month, when it replaced the delayed Driveclub as one of the PS Plus launch games on PS4. That means it'll be free to Plus subscribers along with Housemarque's Resogun, when the console dances its way onto retail shelves later this week.
Shadowy platformer Contrast coming November 15, says Steam
Contrast is now available to pre-purchase on Steam, which says the game will arrive on November 15. Compulsion Games tells Joystiq that the November launch date is "to be confirmed," and may change as it draws near. The game is 25 percent off ($14.99) until it launches. Contrast has players controlling a young woman named Dawn that can traverse shadows cast by all objects in the game. At the center of the 1920's noir universe is Didi, a nine-year-old and sole friend of Dawn, who unravels a story surrounding Didi's mother and absent father. Our time with the game at PAX East was pleasant, though there were a few rough spots on the puzzle-platforming side of things with Dawn's character model getting caught on the edges of shadows at times. Contrast will also come to PSN and XBLA in Q4 2013, though no solid release date has been determined for those platforms yet.
Humble Weekly Sale focuses on Cities XL, Game of Thrones
The latest Humble Weekly Sale serves up a pay-what-you-want collection of games from publisher Focus Home Interactive, headlined by the medieval fantasy RPG Game of Thrones and metropolis construction game Cities XL Platinum. Other bundled games include the orcish football sim Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition, real-time strategy game Confrontation, and the action-RPGs Divinity II: Developer's Cut and R.A.W. Realms of Ancient War. Generous buyers who beat the bundle's average purchase price (currently $6) will also get the World War II-themed RTS Wargame: European Escalation and point-and-click adventure game The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. The Focus Home Interactive bundle will remain available through October 17.
Bound by Flame hacks and slashes in new trailer
A new trailer has arrived for Focus Home Interactive's Bound by Flame. The action-heavy teaser trailer shows some of the game's dark, seemingly undead enemies being pulverized by two men prior to an enormous monster showing up. Bound by Flame was announced at Gamescom, and will come to PS3, PS4, PC and Xbox 360 this year. Developed by Spiders, the game has players controlling a character possessed by a flame demon, with the option of rejecting the demon to gain heroic strengths or embracing it to use evil powers.
2D co-op brawler Final Exam penciled in for November
Final Exam, formerly Obscure, will bring its mix of survival horror and 2D co-op action to the Xbox 360 Games Store, PlayStation Network, and PC on November 8. Final Exam is tied to Hydravision's perhaps ironically named Obscure horror series, developer Mighty Rocket Studio formed from the French team's ashes. Mighty Rocket promises "many allusions" to the Obscure series in Final Exam, despite the switch to sidescrolling brawling. Final Exam was first expected back in the spring, so hopefully the extra development time translates into a stronger game. The trailer suggests some promise, at least, and as long as Final Exam applies itself well in the coming months, it may well make the grade.
Steam weekend deals: Walking Dead, Fez, Mars War Logs
Some good deals are lurking in the Steam weekend sale section. Telltale Games' The Walking Dead headlines this weekend's deals, offering up its entire first season for $6.24. The 400 Days DLC is also half-off during this promotion, bringing it down to $2.49. Polytron Corporation's Fez has also slashed its price in half: The standard game is $4.99 while the bundle including the soundtrack is down to $7.49. Rounding out the weekend discounts are select games from Focus Home Interactive, including Mars War Logs for $10, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes for $10.19 and Game of Thrones, available on its own for $7.49 or in a bundle including a bunch of DLC for $10. All weekend deals are available until the Steam store updates on Monday, September 9 at 10am PT.
Bound by Flame makes demonic possession look pretty on PS4
Bound by Flame, the action RPG from Focus Home Interactive and Spiders (aah, run!), is coming to PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PS4 this year. The game was announced at Gamescom last week for current-gen consoles and PC. Bound by Flame inhabits a dark fantasy world where players embody a mercenary possessed by a flame demon, allowing them to either embrace the demon inside and gain evil powers, or reject it and earn heroic talents. As enemies grow more foul, the temptation to take on more demonic powers grows, and the heroes' bodies transform as they allow more evil into their souls. The world is infested with all kinds of grotesque enemies, including floating squid-like things and hulking beasts with hollow chest cavities and horns. Sounds fun.
Farming Simulator cultivates consoles Sept. 4
Farming Simulator, the enhanced console version of Giants Software's ubiquitous Farming Simulator 2013, will hitch up its plow and furrow the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360's fertile fields on September 4 and September 6 in North America and the UK, respectively. In addition to all of the content present in the PC version (read: cows, tractors, etc), the console port also includes a new American (!!) farm and more vehicles. While we can't really spot any huge geographical differences between the farm in these new screenshots and what we've seen of the game previously, we assume that its Americanness will become obvious once you reach the bald eagle husbandry portion of the game. What's that? There's no bald eagle husbandry or buffalo roaming? Well then.%Gallery-195906%
Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments' new mechanic inspired by BBC show
Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments is a departure from Frogwares' previous investigation game, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, in a number of ways. Crimes and Punishments aims to put players inside the mind of the world's greatest detective, to see the world as he sees it and deliberate the moral choices within Holmes' logistics of justice. It's emotional and dark, and in a demo showing off the story as told in Unreal Engine 3, it already appears insanely effective. One of the most obvious changes is the new "Character Portrait" ability, which allows Holmes to take a moment and examine a suspect or witness with his keen, investigative eye. As he scans the person, words in white appear over certain features, noting how expensive or worn down certain articles of clothing are, noting scrapes or signs of labor on limbs, and deducing relevant, personal information. This ability in particular is inspired by the BBC show Sherlock, designer Olga Chalovskaya told me. Sherlock is, itself, a dramatic interpretation of Holmesian detective stories, and Crimes and Punishments draws on many of the same, human-driven tones.%Gallery-190679%
Blood Bowl 2 announced, coming to PC
The deranged Games Workshop mixture of fantasy and football that was 2009's Blood Bowl is wide receiving a follow-up. Today's teaser confirms Blood Bowl 2 for PC, and once again French dev Cyanide Studios is at the helm. Publisher Focus Home Interactive says we can expect "much more detail in the coming months."
Contrast comes out of the shadows on PSN, XBLA, PC in Q4 2013
Contrast, the shadow-shifting puzzle platformer from Compulsion Games, will not be released in May as previously planned. After being Greenlit on Steam, the game has since been picked up by Focus Home Interactive for a wider release. Contrast will now be released on XBLA, PSN and PC in Q4 2013. We think Constrast could be pretty cool. Here's a new trailer to help you endure the longer wait.
Mars: War Logs brings the resistance back to RPGs
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. I probably wouldn't have noticed Mars: War Logs except for the PR email I received which included a line about how it had been influenced by the French film "Army Of Shadows." This piqued my curiosity for two reasons: first, it seems utterly astonishing to me that a game would advertise itself as being based on a 45-year-old foreign film that was buried for decades due to its politics. Second, after I discovered it via a feature on cult films, I watched it and enjoyed it, and have come to cite it as an excellent example of one of my favorite types of narrative: the resistance story. Role-playing games have a long and storied association with resistance stories. Many of the classic JRPGs of the 1990s began with the premise that an evil empire or corporation was taking over the world (and probably awakening an ancient evil), and only you and your ragtag band of spiky-haired misfits could stop it. Final Fantasy 6's Returners and Final Fantasy 7's Avalanche were two of the most famous resistance groups of their era, but they weren't alone. The Suikoden games, The Secret Of Mana, Wild Arms, and Grandia all had the equivalent of evil empires of their own. It's not limited to that era and type: there are also modern JRPGs like Radiant Historia, as well as classic PC RPGs like Ultima 5, Ultima 7 and The Magic Candle 2.
Farming Simulator planted on Xbox and PS3 in September
Unexpected PC sensation Farming Simulator is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 in September, bringing exciting new North American farms along with the familiar European terrain it features now. " New farming vehicles and many other new features will also make their appearance," publisher Focus Home Interactive reveals about a game that we swear is totally real.The gameplay involves keeping track of many of the duties of a real farmer: "animal husbandry, crops, harvesting, sales of your products, and of course buying new vehicles and machines."Perhaps convincing console owners, who don't have the same long history with deep simulations as longtime PC users, to try a game about farming is a tough row to hoe, but this game is all about hoeing rows.%Gallery-184872%
New Sherlock Holmes game announced, uses Unreal Engine 3
Focus Home Interactive recently announced a new game in the Sherlock Holmes series called Crimes & Punishments. In development by Frogwares, the adventure game will feature eight cases in which players will guide Holmes through "important moral choices instead of simply enforcing justice by the book."Frogwares ditched its previous Sherlock Holmes engine in favor of Unreal Engine 3 for this game, and opted for a more modern-looking Holmes, seen above. Crimes & Punishments will launch on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 sometime in 2013. Yes, even the release date is a mystery. %Gallery-177885%
This Mars: War Logs trailer shoots lightning
This trailer for Mars: War Logs shows the struggles of Roy Temperance on the fourth planet from the sun, conveniently set to a cool song called "Feel the Sunshine." The Spiders-developed game is coming to PC, XBLA and PSN in Spring 2013.
