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Robot Entertainment celebrates 4th birthday with catalog sale
Robot Entertainment is celebrating four years of game development with a sale highlighting library of releases: Orcs Must Die, Orcs Must Die 2, and Hero Academy.Purchase of any item from the studio's official store will net you a Steam key to activate the item on Valve's digital distribution platform. Highlights include Orcs Must Die 2 for $3.74 and Hero Academy, with all DLC, for $4.24.Robot Entertainment rose from the ashes of Ensemble Studios, the Halo Wars developer Microsoft shut down back in 2008. When Ensemble was shuttered, the founders went off and formed Robot Entertainment; others would go on to form Bonfire Studios.
Orcs Must Die! franchise on sale for a little while longer
For another four-ish hours the Orcs Must Die franchise is 75 percent off on Steam. Robot Entertainment's original third-person tower defense splattertacular is currently $2.49, while the cooperative sequel is $3.74. Grab the whole franchise and its DLC for $8.74.Although the sequel can be played alone, as we noted in our review, it's best with a buddy. Good times guaranteed.%Gallery-166490%
Orcs Must Die for $2.50 on Steam this weekend, 10 percent off Orcs 2 pre-order
If your hatred of (and resulting need to kill) orcs has historically been outweighed by your commendably responsible fiscal nature in these trying economic times, you may not yet have acquired Robot Entertainment's Orcs Must Die!. You hate orcs, sure, but those $10 could be spent on something practical, like gas.This weekend though, Orcs Must Die! is only $2.50 over on Steam, and when a video game costs less than a gallon of fuel, all financial guilt associated with its purchase is essentially eradicated. Similarly, Orcs Must Die 2 has had 10 percent brutally chopped off its pre-order price -- think of it as an investment in a sustainable future-hatred of orcs. Investing is what grown-ups do.
Steam has midweek madness in the beginning of the week, sales abound
Steam's midweek madness sale has Orcs Must Die! and a bunch of L.A. Noire goodies on sale through March 15. Orcs Must Die! is 75 percent off, for $3.75. L.A. Noire, L.A. Noire Complete Edition and the Brady Guide are all half off: Snag the standard title for $15, Complete Edition for $20 and the Brady Guide for $10. The Complete Edition and Brady Guide combo is also 50 percent off, for $25.If that's not enough, today's Daily Deal is Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, on sale for 75 percent off, or $5.
Best of the Rest: Dave's picks of 2011
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP This masterpiece is 98 percent of the reason I bought an iPad. Okay, maybe not quite -- it's more like 99 percent -- but Sword & Sworcery is a puzzle so perfect in its assembly, I haven't fully recovered. I'm sad I won't ever again experience the drive for discovery I felt the first time I was thrust into its picturesque locales. At the same time, I'm grateful I could spin that vinyl so long ago and step into another world.
Orcs Must Die's 'Lost Adventures' DLC coming to XBLA in December
Have you already fulfilled the titular imperative delivered unto the player in Robot Entertainment's XBLA strategy-action title, Orcs Must Die? The joke's on you: There are always more Orcs. This time, they come in the form of the "Lost Adventures" DLC pack -- an expansion which came to PC last month, and will bring its five new fortresses, two enemies and additional collectible skulls to the XBLA version of the game sometime in December. Of course, the 400 Microsoft Points ($5) you drop on this bad boy will also net you a handful of new tools, like the energy-restoring Mana Well, the health-draining Vampiric Gauntlets and the Shock Zapper, which both shocks and zaps. We know, we always assumed those two were synonyms as well. We guess we'll have to see the thing in action before we understand the subtle differences.
Cheap Portal 2, Orcs Must Die! in Steam's 'Autumn Sale'
Starting today and continuing through November 27, Valve will offer daily discounts and deals on many, many titles in honor of the holiday. Such is the plight of the Steam user. Kicking off the sale today are a myriad of games including recent releases Orcs Must Die!, Portal 2 and, uh, Duke Nukem Forever. There are even a few games under $4, and one is actually a bunch of games together: The Oddboxx. Yet another highlight is the Sam & Max Collection, a bundle of the first three seasons ending with the The Devil's Playhouse, for $12.49. Valve will be switching up what's on sale every day, so ... be careful.
Robot: Orcs Must Die! on XBLA will get DLC
We're sure PC players were disheartened to learn that Orcs Must Die! is officially done with downloadable content. Of course, we imagine the news was more of a shock to Xbox users, as the XBLA version of the game has yet to receive any DLC at all. Good news then, as Robot assures Xbox users that DLC is still on the way. Speaking on the Robot forums – a few days prior to revelation that DLC was over, actually – community manager Justin Korthof stated that the company definitely has DLC planned for the XBLA version but isn't "quite ready to announce details yet." He added that players can probably guess the details if they use their "imagination." Presumably, the DLC planned for XBLA will match the two packs already released for PC.
Robot Entertainment reveals iOS game, Hero Academy
Orcs Must Die developer Robot Entertainment recently revealed to us the identity of its next opus: A two-player competitive iOS board game titled Hero Academy. It's a tactics game in which players move heroes across a staging area in an attempt to destroy their competitor's home base crystal before theirs, in turn, gets smashed. If that sounds a little too intense for your usual iOS gaming tastes, don't fret -- the action all takes place asynchronously. Check out the screens below for a first look at the downloadable title, and keep an eye out for the debut trailer in the coming days! %Gallery-139655%
Orcs Must Die done with DLC, dev working on two new projects
The latest episode of the Rocket Jump podcast contains more than its usual banter between the hosts. Special guest Justin Korthof, Community Manager at Robot Entertainment, drops by to talk about the studio's recent release, Orcs Must Die. In the discussion, he confirms that there isn't any more DLC planned for the game. Apparently Robot set out to offer two different DLC packs and that's it. Bummer. But that doesn't mean the studio is kicking back in Hawaii, counting the coin made off the genocide of the orc race. Korthof also explains that the studio is working on two new titles but, obviously, he doesn't explain what those are. That's fine by us, because we need more time to get five skulls on every Orcs Must Die map anyway. You can find the pertinent info right around the 34-minute mark of the episode; DLC discussion takes place around 44 minutes in.
Orcs Must Die's 'Lost Adventures' DLC comes to PC on November 8
While we can all agree killing orcs is a good thing, after a while it can get a bit monotonous. No one knows this better than Robot Entertainment, creators of orc-killing sim, Orcs Must Die, who has just announced a new DLC pack for the PC version, entitled "Lost Adventures." On November 8, $2.99 will net you five new killing grounds to populate with orc corpses, two new enemy types and the Mana Well, an emplacement you can put anywhere that will give you a "burst of magical energy at just the right moment." Great, now the guy who cleans up the orc corpses has to clean up bursts of excess magical energy too? Give the guy a break already!
Orcs Must Die! more than ever with the first DLC pack, The Artifacts of Power
It's time for the orcs to die deader than they've ever died before with the help of the first DLC pack for Orcs Must Die! (See? Told you.), The Artifacts of Power, due out Tuesday, Oct. 25 for $2.49 on Steam. The DLC includes two new weapons, two new traps and an item-upgrade upgrade, as listed by Robot Entertainment: • Vampiric Gauntlets: Armed with these grim gauntlets, you can drain the enemy's health while healing you at the same time. If you have a desperate need to use spells, you can also use the gauntlets to drain your health in exchange for mana. • Alchemist's Satchel: Toss a series of deadly acid bombs that explode on your command to melt flesh from the bones of multiple groups of orcs at once. • The Shock Zapper: Mount the Shock Zapper on the ceiling and zap fliers and ground units equally dead with this oversized pest remover. • Floor Scorcher: By the time they see the fire, it will be too late. Burn entire groups of complacent enemies with this pop-up flaming surprise. • New Trap Upgrades: You've got two new reasons to go back and earn those 5-skull ratings on War Mage and Nightmare levels. With the Artifacts of Power Pack, you can now spend skulls on new upgrades for Shock Zapper and Floor Scorcher. The Artifacts of Power is the first of two DLC packs Robot has planned for Orcs Must Die!, so keep on killin', Mages.
Orcs Must Die! springs a trap on Steam
The thing about Orcs is, as misunderstood as they possibly may be, they still gotta go. They must die. It's kinda like destiny. And, as was foretold (give or take a day) by the great seers at Robot Entertainment, Orcs Must Die! is now available for download on Steam. PC gamers, you no longer have an excuse for not doing your duty and killing a whole lot of Orcs -- well, unless you can't afford the $14.99 cost of admission.
OnLive is putting six new indie games online this fall
OnLive is feeling the indie love at Indiecade 2011 this weekend with the announcement of six new indie titles landing in its library this fall: Orcs Must Die Limbo Magicka Bastion Space Chem Avadon: The Black Fortress OnLive already offers popular-indie games such as Braid, Trine, World of Goo and The Maw. OnLive veep of games and media John Spinale said, "OnLive has long been a supporter of independent publishers. Simply put, they're making some really great, innovative games these days," because that's true, and the more exposure for the talented underdarlings, the better, at least in our book. Er, website.
Orcs Must Die review: Building a better Orc trap
There truly are few things more satisfying in a video game than watching a plan of your own invention be executed with immaculate success. For all its bells, whistles and promised hordes of greenskinned invaders, the real meat of Orcs Must Die happens in the moments before your fortresses doors are kicked down. You're given as much time as you need to survey the area, choose your traps and weapons, and begin crafting piecemeal your survival strategy for the waves ahead. There are far more layers than the game's straightforward, titular directive would suggest. Over the next few minutes, you don't just have to make all of the Orcs dead. You have to tend to that very first seed of strategy, growing it into an engine of impenetrable destruction.%Gallery-122837%
Orcs Must Die! on Oct. 5 for XBLA, Oct. 12 for PC
Orcs Must Die! will unleash the horde on October 5 and 12 on Xbox Live Arcade and PC, respectively. Robot Entertainment's third-person tower defense game charges the player with defending their castle from wave after wave of Orcish invaders, using diabolical and silly traps. Robot Entertainment has been showing off the game since early this year, so there's plenty of gameplay footage to check out. Most recently, the developer made a clever interactive trailer that gives the viewer a choice on what traps to place. %Gallery-126147%
Orcs Must Die! in interactive trailer
If you haven't had the chance to try Orcs Must Die! at a PAX this year, here's the closest you'll get before the game's October launch (or a demo). This interactive walkthrough trailer, with 30 possible combinations, lets the viewer choose traps and see the results.
Orcs Must Die players at PAX Prime get Cardboard Tube Samurai skin, comic book
Robot Entertainment is not only bringing tower defense title Orcs Must Die to PAX Prime later on this week, but the company is providing a show special as well. At the booth in Seattle during the show, they'll be giving out special codes for the game's War Mage character, designed after Penny Arcade's own Cardboard Tube Samurai, to visitors who sign up for the company forums. The first 200 people to play the game each day of the show will also pick up a prequel comic book from the company. The rest of us, at home, who can't play the game live on the floor of PAX? All we get is to wait until the game comes out later this year on XBLA and PC.
Orcs Must Die! coming to PC and XBLA this summer, Comic-Con this weekend
Robot Entertainment announced today that third-person tower defender Orcs Must Die! will be published by Microsoft Studios and available later this summer for PC and Xbox Live Arcade. The developer previously gave us a window of "late August or early September." Orcs Must Die! will be playable this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con in the Xbox Lounge, located at the Hard Rock Hotel, and Robot Entertainment will have an OMD prequel comic book available at the show. Not going to Comic-Con, but still want to get your hands on the transmedia companion fiction that is sure to deliver Great Gatsby nuance to the Orcs Must Die universe? Don't worry, the comic will be available in a digital format "later this summer, also at no charge."
Orcs Must Die! fire bracers trailer gets cooking
Robot Entertainment's Orcs Must Die! arsenal videos continue with the fire bracers. There's only one way to cook orc: well done. Although, a little olive oil rub with rosemary and garlic does help bring out the flavors.
