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Humble's Nordic Bundle 2 delivers Darksiders, Titan Quest
Publisher Nordic Games headlines its second Humble Bundle this week with digital copies of Darksiders, Titan Quest Gold, and 10 additional PC games for a buyer-chosen price. Pay $1 or more for the collection and you'll get Volition's action-RPG Summoner, dark adventure game Black Mirror, both entries in the AquaNox series, and Supreme Commander Gold Edition and the Forged Alliance expansion. Beat the average (currently $6.18) and you'll unlock Darksiders, Red Faction: Armageddon, MX vs. ATV Reflex, and Titan Quest Gold. Pitch in $10 or more and you'll also get Darksiders 2, SpellForce 2, and Deadfall Adventures. Humble's Nordic Games Bundle 2 will be available through October 14. [Video: Nordic Games / Humble Bundle]
Nordic Games still working out plans for Darksiders, other THQ assets
Four months after parting with $4.9 million to pick up a number of big ex-THQ properties, Austrian-based Nordic Games is still working to finalize its transaction with the now-bankrupt company. If you were looking for announcements at Gamescom - as Nordic Games hoped to have - on the futures of Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, Titan Quest, and Red Faction, you may have a fair while to wait - although not necessarily in all cases . "It takes longer than expected getting everything together because THQ, there are not a lot of people there," explained Reinhard Pollice, the man in charge of business and product development at Nordic. "There are just like five people and they're mostly financial and administration guys. So the stuff that we need is really hard to get. I've been visiting them a lot of times, trying to make sure we get everything that we actually want, or that we should get." While Pollice said he's a fan of the franchises Nordic acquired, he feels THQ at some point became too big a company to make use of the talents it had; he noted the now defunct company made a lot of bad decisions with Red Faction after Guerrilla, for example. That may explain why he places the shooter franchise lower in Nordic's priority than Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, and Titan Quest, which he sees as first, second and third. That's not to say a new Red Faction isn't coming; Pollice said Nordic is in talks with former Volition members who left the studio over the last four to five years, and that Nordic is still evaluating what to do with the franchise. Meanwhile, Darksiders remains years, rather than months, away. Pollice said Nordic's been in good discussions with some members of the original Vigil Games Team, but a "certain core" are now at Crytek US and most likely won't be available.
Nordic Games explains who the f they are, plans for THQ assets
Nordic Games spent $4.9 million to acquire THQ's back catalog in April, but has yet to reveal any concrete plans for the intellectual properties, although it certainly knows what you'd like to see. And, with any luck, will announce some plans by Gamescom. "We want to carefully select which franchises are up for getting a sequel or new installment. We closely monitor the communities on that," said Reinhard Pollice, who handles Nordic's business and product development. He mentioned the games receiving the most feedback are Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, Red Faction and Titan Quest. Personally, Pollice would also like a new Deadly Creatures, but there are other challenges. Nordic has described itself as a "middle man," since the company doesn't have internal studios or the capital to make the AAA sequels that fans of these games would expect. This is particularly true in the case of Darksiders, which Nordic would need to seek another publishing partner to help out. "Darksiders is really big. We know we need a partner for that. An established development team that can pull out such a big action adventure. We obviously talked to former team members and, if they are free, we want to somehow involve them. If they are allowed to because, you know, some of them found other jobs or are with Crytek now," said Pollice. He expressed that Darksiders is the franchise Nordic wants to do right by, to continue the story that's already been established. As a fan, Pollice doesn't want to mess up Darksiders and he wants to make sure that nobody else ruins what's been started in the first two games. Although, with the road ahead, he said, "I would not look for a Darksiders 3 before two years from now."
Nordic Games involved with THQ since January, is talking sequels
Nordic Games picked up most of the IPs in THQ's back catalog auction, dishing out $4.9 million for Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs ATV, Titan Quest and a slew of unannounced games from THQ's long list of for-sale properties. Nordic was a surprise to some, especially next to Gearbox, which picked up the Homeworld franchise, and 505 Games, which snagged Drawn to Life and its sequel. But Nordic isn't new."We've been in conversation with THQ since January," Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors told Game Informer. "We signed all the NDAs in January."Wingefors has been in the gaming industry for 20 years, he said, and has handled "a lot" of THQ products during that time. In November 2011, Nordic acquired publisher JoWood, in charge of Painkiller and Torchlight, and also ended up with Canadian publisher Dreamcatcher, spawning Nordic's publishing focus.Nordic took part in the first THQ auction as well, which sold off properties such as Saints Row and some development studios for upwards of $20 million. That sale was too rich for Wingefors: "Saints Row went for $22 million and Koch bought that development studio with that burn rate on a daily basis. Even though I do have financial resources, I don't have those kind of resources."Wingefors didn't want a studio. Nordic is a "middle man" looking for the right team to make some new sequels; there's already been plenty of interest in Darksiders, he said."We have to be very honest," Wingefors said. "I am a business man within the games industry. We are not the creative, talented developer that brings out new versions in house. I understand the potential of the IPs. I respect the original creators and the creative people who are able to create sequels. In the past 24 hours, we have been contacted and there have been a few discussions (but I can't confirm names)."Nordic took home more than 50 former THQ games, but has yet to release the full list."As we still have some open points with regards to a couple of titles we will not publish a comprehensive list at this stage," a Nordic Games representative told Joystiq yesterday. "However, once everything is fixed and the ink is dry – around mid-May – we will go out with a comprehensive list of titles which we have acquired in the process."Nordic will hold talks this summer with different developers, during E3 especially. Don't expect any sequels too soon, though."You won't see a new Darksiders this year," Wingefors said. "I don't believe in bringing out a shitty sequel."
Diablo's Descendants
This is a weekly column focusing on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. With Diablo 3's release date set, I decided to take a look back as the series' legacy --and play some of the better Western-style action/role-playing games around. Last week I talked about how Fallout, not Diablo, became the model for a generation of blockbuster role-playing games.But Diablo did wield some influence. The first initial wave of clones didn't make much of a splash, but around the time Diablo II came out in 2000, the action/RPG style began to grab more attention. In 2002, Dungeon Siege and Divine Divinity were both released to some acclaim, but they never really fit the model of a Diablo clone. Dungeon Siege was as much Ultima VII and Baldur's Gate as it was Diablo, while Divine Divinity merged many concepts from Fallout and similar games with a real-time core. Missing from both? The constant clicking that, to me, defined Diablo.
THQ puts PC games on sale, including Metro 2033, Darksiders, more
The official THQ online store (which has the new logo that's look like it's asking, "THQ?") is sporting some spiffy sales this weekend, offering some pretty great games for just a few bucks. The highlight of the sale is probably Metro 2033, which for the PC is only $10. But you can also find Company of Heroes: Gold Edition for only $7.50, the underrated (I said it) Darksiders for $10, and Red Faction: Guerilla and Titan Quest: Gold Edition for only $5 a piece. They're not all winners (hey there, World of Zoo), but if you need to catch up on some PC titles, THQ (?) has you covered.
Still clicking: Our exclusive interview with the Mythos dev team
Considering Mythos' stormy post-Flagship past and its relatively low profile over the past half year, we were pleased to see the team at Redbana unveil a website revamp last month, complete with a slew of vibrant new screenshots to tease the upcoming closed beta. The infrastructure revealed in the images suggests that the game has come a long way since we last checked in with the team; although many players might once have pigeon-holed Mythos as "just another Diablo clone," it's now maturing into a hybrid MMORPG that seems to have as much in common with Blizzard's other fantasy game as with the click-fests of yesteryear. Curious, we commandeered the team at Redbana in order to ask about the progress of the game. Meet up with us after the break as we discuss the transition to Redbana, overcoming the Diablo stigma, camera perspectives, map travel, character customization, and the likelihood that Mythos will be free-to-play. Oh, and did I mention you can play satyrs and cyclopes?!
Former Titan Quest devs announce Grim Dawn
Crate Entertainment is a company made up of the old Iron Lore team that worked on Titan Quest, arguably the most popular of the Diablo clones to come out in the past few years. Crate has finally announced its latest project, and it's Grim Dawn, another action RPG (it even namedrops Diablo in the description) set in the world of Cairn, where two forces have "decimated human civiliation" and are "warping the very fabric of reality." Sounds appropriately epic, though as long as there's plenty of loot, we're not too bothered. Five classes? Check. Skill trees? Check. A crafting system and co-op multiplayer? Check and check. Considering that even the same Titan Quest engine and toolset are being used, Grim Dawn doesn't sound too far off the hack-and-slash loot-hunting reservation. But that's not a bad thing -- we'll have to see if it plans to mix up the tried-and-true formula as it moves toward a planned digital release in 2011.
Steam slashing prices on select THQ titles all week
Valve's Steam service is having a weeklong sale on all things THQ, allowing those of you with the gift of thrift to bulk up your collection of PC games on the cheap -- well, on the cheaper, anyway. Kicking off the sale today is Titan Quest and expansion Titan Quest - Immortal Throne, both of which are currently available for 50% off.Each day, a new THQ title will be discounted, while all week long you'll be able to acquire the massive THQ Collector Pack (a bundle of 13 different titles) for $90 -- 10% off its usual price. It's not a bad deal, though we must admit we have seen better.
Defunct Titan Quest dev lives on as Crate Entertainment
Like a phoenix, a new studio has clawed its way out from beneath the corpse of Iron Lore. The dev behind Titan Quest and Warhammer 40K Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm folded last February, citing funding as the chief reason for the company's demise. Now, however, former Iron Lore designer Arthur Bruno and art director Eric Campanella are picking up the pieces, quietly founding a new company called Crate Entertainment and purchasing the rights to Iron Lore's unfinished games.Among those titles scooped up by the duo is Black Legion, an action RPG for the Xbox 360 that Bruno hopes will repackage Titan Quest's gameplay to "make it sort of grittier and more appealing to the mainstream audience." The Journal of New England Technology reports that the studio is currently shopping a demo for Black Legion to unspecified publishers, though we hope whoever bites won't simply shake their finger at stupid people if things don't work out exactly as planned.[Via Shacknews]
THQ's Fitch plays the Iron Lore blame game
The death of Iron Lore studios (the devs of Titan Quest and Warhammer 40K Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm) was, officially, the result of "several unrelated events." But THQ creative director Michael Fitch was able to narrow it down a little bit in a forum post he made soon after the announcement. Public enemy number one? Unsurprisingly, it's piracy, which he said affected not only game sales, but the game's perception by a public that's playing a buggy, unfinished version.Fitch also puts the blame on hardware vendors more concerned with bottom line than creating a quality product, and we're 100 percent with him. But he loses us a little when he starts blaming "stupid people" who aren't savvy enough to make their PC gaming-ready. We see his point, but it seems to indicate more of a problem with PC gaming as a whole than the people who pay $50 for a non-returnable product and expect it to work.
The pros and cons of set loot tables
Hardcore Casual has a short but interesting piece up comparing EVE's loot system to that of WoW and EQ. WoW uses what's called a fixed loot table system, which means that everything you kill in game has a set list of loot that drops from it, in varying degrees. If you kill Illidan, you know exactly what he might drop, even if you don't know exactly which piece on that list will drop. But EVE Online apparently uses a much more random loot system-- when you loot, you might get anything.A better comparison (especially for Blizzard fans) might be Diablo, where almost anything can drop almost anywhere. The problem with a random loot system like this, however, is exactly what I ran into in Titan Quest (a pretty darn good Diablo clone): halfway through the game, a great item will randomly drop, and you'll get a thrill from getting a sweet weapon. However, because you randomly hit it big, you'll have the problem of nothing better ever dropping again, and the game is pretty much over. Diablo fixed this by having separate areas to go through (and I believe TQ got patched in the expansion to fix this a little bit). But in WoW, you don't have that problem-- every new instance you go into will have better gear than the one before it, guaranteed. You can look it up on WoW Wiki, or look at the loot lists, and know exactly what's there.In fact, some say WoW's loot tables are too random-- I always see Paladin loot drop whenever there's no Paladin in the group. But it does take a little bit of fun out of the game world when everyone is huddled around the Curator saying "cmon staff, cmon staff, cmon staff!" Giving us a boss or two where the loot is totally and completely random (out of almost any item in the game) could actually be fun.
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne update
The holiday issue of PC Gamer has some exclusive details on Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the first official expansion pack for Iron Lore's epic action-RPG. Due early next year, this new campaign serves as a continuation of the original game's storyline, and moves the action to an underworld environment inhabited by 20 new monster types. A ninth skill mastery will also be available, as well as 250 unique weapons and pieces of armor. No pricing has been announced, but Immortal Throne is expected to provide 10-15 hours of additional gameplay.If you already have the core campaign, don't forget to check out the growing list of mods available over at the Titan Quest Vault.See also: Metareview: Titan Quest
Titan Quest expansion announced, modders interviewed
THQ has announced that a Titan Quest expansion pack will be released before the end of Q1, but there are other options for extending your mythical adventures beyond the game's core campaign. Aspiring developers have started showcasing their mods at the Titan Quest Vault, and have offered some insight into their creative process through a series of interviews. German modder Toh Klidan, for example, is the author of Andromeda's Sacrifice, a retelling of the classic tale of the Aethiopian princess and her savior Perseus (of Clash of the Titans fame). According to Klidan, the Titan Quest tools appear more confusing than they actually are, so we should be seeing more independent campaigns and maps in the near future. There are over 40 available now. Let us know if you've tried any of them.See also: Metareview - Titan Quest
Single player RPGs are alive and well
WorthPlaying has posted 25 new screens from Mage Knight Apocalypse, which is now just five weeks from release. Namco Bandai's take on the WizKids IP joins a solid lineup of 2006 single player RPGs that began earlier this year with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Titan Quest, and continues with this week's Dungeon Siege 2: Broken World. The next few months will also see the releases of Gothic 3 and Neverwinter Nights 2, while a sequel to the underappreciated Sacred arrives in 2007. Although many of these games offer multiplayer components, their development teams have focused on producing deep campaigns that offer significant replay value. In Apocalypse, for instance, each of the five playable races will have unique quests to complement the main missions. How many of these titles do you plan to purchase, and do you think they are better values than MMOs?
Metareview - Titan Quest
When Blizzard introduced the seminal Diablo a decade ago, they single-handedly invented the hack and slash RPG (and, quite possibly, carpal tunnel syndrome). There have been many followers since -- Dungeon Siege on the PC, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath on consoles -- and while the graphics engines have evolved, the addictive gameplay has remained more or less the same. With Titan Quest, developer Iron Lore stuck to the principle formula, but in a setting that is more Age of Mythology than D&D. Yahoo! Games (90/100) appreciates the attention to detail in level design: "Although there are no random levels, the later game opens up with enough side quests that you don't feel like you're playing Dungeon Siege, being shunted from one canned encounter to the next. The flip side of not having Diablo's tile-based random-level generator is that every nook and cranny is built by hand. And it looks it: Titan Quest is a gorgeous game on many different levels." GameSpot (76/100) notes Titan Quest's potential longevity: "The gradual approach to character creation taken here is welcome, and the sheer scope of the single-player campaign, coupled with the cooperative play and tools to create your own campaign, means that players willing to commit to the experience will have a wealth of content to keep themselves busy with." GameSpy (70/100) recommends a hefty system configuration: "One wart in Titan Quest is its performance -- specifically, the game tends to chug when the lighting and particle effects are full-blast. It never became unplayable, but during the worst moments, it was definitely annoying enough for me to hope that some imminent patches will be released to address the problem."
Iron Lore reveals Asian map for Titan Quest
GameSpot recently visited Iron Lore to chat with company founder and Age of Empires co-creator Brian Sullivan. They also went a few rounds with the latest build of Titan Quest, the young company's Diablo-inspired action-RPG. The game will feature a six-player cooperative mode, user-friendly map and quest editors, and a newly revealed Asian-themed setting. The first two acts of Titan Quest take place in ancient Greece and Egypt, while the third and final setting will find your customized champion doing battle along the Silk Road and on the Great Wall. The epic quest begins June 1.Related links: Official site, Titan Quest Vault
