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Command & Conquer F2P developer EA Phenomic closed
EA's in-house real-time strategy developer, EA Phenomic, has been closed and its 60 employees laid off, GamesIndustry International reports. The studio most recently developed EA's free-to-play, browser-based RTS Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances. Purchased by EA in 2004, it was originally founded in 1997 as Phenomic Game Development. "As part of EA's realignment in recent weeks, we have announced internally a small adjustment to some development staff to better focus our teams against priority growth areas," an EA representative told GamesIndustry International. "The decision to let people go is not something we take lightly and we are working to ensure that impacted employees are treated fairly and with respect for their contributions to EA, and with assistance to find other job opportunities." Thus far, this internal restructuring initiative has been responsible for around 900 lost jobs, including layoffs in LA and Montreal, as well as the closure of PopCap Dublin and the reported shuttering of BioWare's San Francisco component.
Command and Conquer F2P title enters open beta
EA's "play4free" Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances will roll out into open beta today, following the game's closed beta period which began late last year. Developed by Phenomic, the browser- and mobile-based strategy MMO can be accessed today at the official site.Updates planned for the title in the coming coming months include cloud saves for play across desktop and mobile.The publisher also reiterated Command and Conquer: Generals 2 is currently in production at BioWare Victory for launch on PC in 2013.%Gallery-141788%
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Alliances MMORTS announced
"I gotta present for ya!" What RTS fan doesn't remember the classic Command & Conquer franchise with extreme fondness? If you're one of the legions of supporters, then this is a good time to be alive. It seems as though C&C is slated for a revival soon, with BioWare working on Command & Conquers Generals 2 and EA prepping Command & Conquer: Tiberian Alliances. The recently announced Tiberian Alliances is being shaped as a free-to-play MMORTS in which players can choose one of three factions (The Forgotten, GDI, and NOD) and duke it out over a war-torn battlefield. Developed by German studio Phenomic, Tiberian Alliances will be playable in a browser and is currently accepting applications for its beta testing program. Will this be the MMORTS for you or will you call in an orbital strike on its prospects? Hit the jump to see the announcement trailer for your first taste of the latest chapter in C&C history.
Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances headed to browsers, mobile
EA continues the expansion of its "play4free" portfolio with the announcement of Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, developed by Phenomic. The browser- and mobile-based strategy MMO will begin a closed beta on December 15. Interested generals can sign up at the game's official site. The mobile Command and Conquer comes hot on the heels of last weekend's announcement of Command and Conquer: Generals 2, currently in production at BioWare Victory for launch on PC in 2013.%Gallery-141788%
EA launches Lord of Ultima browser game
Well, it's not the genre-saving 3D sandbox that many long time Ultima vets have been pining for, but it's a start. Electronic Arts today announced the availability of Lord of Ultima, a new MMO/strategy hybrid set in the revered Ultima universe. The free-to-play browser-based game features trading, alliance creation, army creation, diplomacy, and resource management. Developed by EA subsidiary Phenomic, the game was designed from the ground up to be accessible to a wide audience. "Lord of Ultima was designed to ensure that everyone, from strategy newcomers to diehard fans, can make it to the top of the leader board. Phenomic is committed to building dynamic communities that delight players as they interact with the game, each other and the legendary world of Ultima," said Volker Wertich, Phenomic Creative Director. Check out the official site for more information or to get started.
BattleForge trailer goes all tribal drumming on us, price drops
For those of you not playing that other fantasy RTS with giant beasts on PC (*cough* Demigod *cough*), there's always the card-based strategery of Phenomic's BattleForge. The newest trailer released (seen above) showcases not just the massive scale of some rather colorful battles but also some of the most dramatic music we've ever heard. And what does the sound of tribal drumming bring with it? Apparently a price drop, as EA announced today that the game's price is lowering to a more competitive $29.99. We'd love to tell you more about the online-only PC game but when we tried to get a hands-on at New York City Comic Con, wouldn't ya know it, the servers went down. We can, however, point you to the game's website where a free demo is waiting patiently for you to download it.%Gallery-44102%
NYCC 09: BattleForge hands-off / system-down
Know this: BattleForge is not a trading card game. BattleForge is an RTS. Correction: It's an online RTS -- it's not playable offline. And so, when producer Sebastian Nell connected to the server for a hands-on demonstration on the New York Comic Con show floor, the server temporarily went down, and we were left to chat in front of a blank screen. BattleForge is still in an open beta testing phase, so we'll forgive the technical outage for now -- but surely this is a key issue that needs to be avoided after the official game launch. The other issue is the general misconception that BattleForge is a trading card game. It's true, traditional RTS units are represented as virtual cards in the game, and players command "decks" -- and "booster packs" (8 cards: 1 rare, 2 uncommon and 5 common cards) can be purchased for $2.50 from an online marketplace; cards can also be traded between players. Still, there aren't physical cards to be collected, and the trading card aspect is more bullet point than innovation.%Gallery-44102%
BattleForge deals first hand on March 24
In all the rush to green our planet, perhaps not enough credit is given to games like BattleForge. Shouldn't being able to play a card-based game without the senseless murder of dozens of trees for actual cards be able to usurp at least Vampire Rain or M.C. Kids on Al Gore's Top 5 Games list?Regardless, as of March 24, you'll be able to build a jetpack out of aerosol cans or perform whatever other eco-terrorism you like, because BattleForge will be doing enough environment saving for all of us. It's got that ish locked down. That said, if you really want to be an EnergyStar, you can hop into the beta right here.
EA's Battleforge takes a nod from MMOs
Ambitious is a word that comes to mind after reading up on EA Phenomic's upcoming offering, Battleforge. A recent article on Eurogamer notes that it's something of an RTS, MMO, and TCG hybrid. On top of that, it would appear that the company is hoping to take advantage of the Eastern microtransaction model, offering their booster packs online, and giving players the ability to trade cards back and forth via their email. See? Ambitious.Sebastian Nell of EA Phenomic discussed some other interesting aspects of what they're working on to make Battleforge more MMO-like. One of the things mentioned was including co-op maps against a raid boss type of monster that will drop special loot. However, as they list the game as being for (at most) up to 12 people at a time in a battle, we're going to have to lean towards calling this on the "not an MMO" side of the house, despite their taking some aspects from the genre we love. Of course, if you're looking for an RTS/TCG with a nod to MMOs involved, you still may want to check out the beta. Sounds like it will be interesting - if only to see them accomplish all they've set out to achieve.
Electronic Arts enters the card-based MMO arena with BattleForge
With games like Magic Online and Freaky Creatures in the gaming consciousness, this variant on the concept of microtransactions is on the rise. Electronic Arts must think so too, because they've just announced their card-based MMO offering, called BattleForge.BattleForge will be an entirely Web-based card-game, where you'll build your fantasy army by the purchase of online decks, or trading them with other players, or even winning them in tournaments. Gameplay itself will feature the use of four elements and a mystical forge to do battle. Being developed by EA Phenomic, Germany-based creators of the SpellForce series, this upcoming MMO is expected to launch in the Fall of this year. [Source]
SpellForce 2 expansion announced
JoWood Productions (publisher of Arx Fatalis and Gothic 3) and developer Phenomic have announced Dragon Storm, the first expansion to the recently released SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars. Scheduled for a late 2006 release in Europe, Dragon Storm combines the well-received, RPG-strategy gameplay of its predecessor with intense dragon battles. SpellForce 2's North American distributor Aspyr Media has not confirmed a stateside release for the expansion pack at this time.
Metareview - SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars
With all of the attention given to Rise of Legends and Heroes of Might and Magic V over the past month, another strategy title quietly made its way to store shelves. Aspyr's SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars is the latest attempt to mash up the role-playing and RTS genres, and with their expansive maps and attention to detail, German developer Phenomic should give Atari's Dragonshard some healthy competition. IGN (84/100) is impressed by SpellForce 2's sheer amount of gameplay: "One thing this game has in spades is replayability. Not only is the single player story campaign very long and involved but there's also a free-mode which amounts to a second campaign. There isn't as complete a story as in the normal campaign, but there are a lot of new quests across 31 maps and all of these maps can be played alone or with two friends along for the ride." GameSpot (82/100) applauds the ease of use: "Command and control of all these different units is easy thanks to the slick interface. While you can use regular real-time strategy conventions to create unit groups, SpellForce 2 goes a bit further by letting you easily designate targets for various groups or telling a hero to unload a particular spell or skill on a specific target with just a couple of mouse clicks." Yahoo! Games (80/100) feels the mix of RPG elements is just right: "Unlike most role-playing games, Spellforce 2 doesn't limit your hero's advancement with a class system. So you can explore both the combat and magic skill trees as you wish -- hybrid characters are entirely feasible. Although the system is nowhere near as deep as, say, Diablo's, it is considerably more complex than most other RTS games can boast."
