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Riskternatives: Conquist and Strategery
I looked at two world conquest-style games that follow from the original Risk board game: Strategy and Conquist. Admittedly, I'm not a big Risk fan. I much prefer games that involve more building and planning and less random dice rolling. With that confession on the table, I did find that both games were well made and offered many nice features. For US$3.99, Conquist for the iPad offers an app that, of the two, is closer to real Risk. The map is the standard Risk world (see the screen shot above) and Risk-style grace notes like those cards you collect and trade in are included in game play. Conquist provides multi-player interaction using a single interaction board, so you don't have to "pass and play" your iPad around. If you don't have friends around, it's easy enough to set up two to five bots to play against.
Risk now waging war on the iPhone
There aren't many options out there for the modern-day Napoleon on the go. When your skills revolve around conquering and dominating everything around you, there just aren't many ways to apply your practice while you're commuting to work or standing in line at the coffee shop, waiting for your half-caf double mocha frap. But now that EA has released Risk: The Official Game on the iPhone and iPod Touch, hopefully you can get some relief. Risk: The Official Game is currently available on the App store for $4.99. The iPhone version features multiplayer -- take on up to six players by sharing one handheld or take on up to four through WiFi or Bluetooth -- and a more simple, streamlined UI and less cartoony presentation than the recent Xbox Live Arcade release, Risk: Factions. %Gallery-97991%
The Daily Grind: The consequence of PvP
PvP has been an important part of the MMO genre right from the start, but it hasn't stayed the same in any way. The earliest implementation in Ultima Online made PvP completely non-consensual and wholly one-sided: you could be killed at any time, and the victor gets to take everything on your person with impunity. At this point, the "default" standard is closer to World of Warcraft, in which the victor is rewarded, the loser inconvenienced at worst, and no real lasting damage is done. Of course, there are players who prefer the older style, where PvP has lasting consequences, and games such as Darkfall are specifically designed to cater to the older style. But there are PvP focused games such as Warhammer Online which stilll follow the low-impact model, with goodies for the winner but no huge penalty to the defeated. So what are your thoughts on the gradual erosion of high-stakes PvP from the mainstream? Is it a good way to keep more casual players from being annhilated needlessly, or does it remove too much of the game's excitement and unpredictability? What do you think is a fair penalty for getting killed, if indeed there is one?
Zombies enter the Risk: Factions fray
Well, naturally. This is how we assumed the make-up of the five different armies featured in Risk: Factions would evolve: first, there are humans, and then there were cats, who were bested by robots, and now somehow there are zombies. You wouldn't think them to be brilliant global strategists, but judging by their introduction cinematic which we've posted above, we think they won't have any problem holding their own. Until, of course, they start infecting the robot faction. The resulting zombie-robots (or, if you will, "zobots") could pretty much run the board in less than three rounds.
Robots to join the struggle for world domination in Risk: Factions
We'd like to take a moment to wish all of humanity (and felinity?) the best of luck when dealing with Risk: Factions' recently announced, third group of soldiers: the unfeeling, unstoppable Robot Menace. Check out the video above to see the origins of this once-domesticated group's violent self-awareness, and the screenshots below to see the Robots in action. EA also revealed an Avatar costume piece based on the new faction, which turns your online representation's typically dopey head into a Robot's horrifying countenance. We're sure it will strike fear into your wall of adversaries in 1 vs 100. %Gallery-91249%
Hands-on: Risk Factions (Classic Mode)
Risk: Factions is coming to Xbox Live Arcade this summer, and a version of the classic Risk board game, dubbed Classic Mode, will be included. The verdict? It's classic Risk, albeit with a couple of key tweaks. Most game-changing is a bonus star feature, which randomly awards players 1-2 "stars" at the end of a turn. Stars can be used to make additional troop movements. Additionally, Classic Mode abandons the card system of the original game. Getting rid of the cards streamlines the game a bit, and so does the option to skip the dice-rolling attacks (and just view the results), but the random star bonuses can lead to one player steamrolling the opponents rather quickly -- as happens to me and another human player in the video above. Just like in the original game, once a player builds up a powerful army, there's nothing to stop total domination of the game board. But that's always been a part of the game of Risk, and now, through Xbox Live, diehard tabletoppers can test their riskiest maneuvers on a truly worldwide battlefield, say, against an opponent from the Ukraine. One thing Risk: Factions is sorely lacking, however? Little wooden cubes. Toss in some DLC wooden cubes, and I'll be happy. %Gallery-89574%
Word wars coming to XBLA this year with the release of Quarrel
About a year and a half ago, we wrote about a fascinating title from Denki called Quarrel. The outline for the game tickled our board game-loving fancies -- you lead troops to conquer territories on a small island, building words out of tiles in order to destroy your opponents in a Risk meets Scrabble-esque fashion. We were pumped. We were 'gized. Then we didn't hear anything about the game for a year and a half. Fortunately, the game is still very much alive and kicking, as evidenced by the trailer posted after the jump. As an added bonus, it looks like it'll also feature Avatar support, meaning you'll really be able to soak up the shame on your friends' faces when they come at you with a "C-A-T" or a "R-O-C-K." [Via GamerBytes]
Hands-on: Risk Factions (XBLA)
I have an admission to make: I haven't played the original Risk board game. For hardcore fans of the game, that fact alone may discredit my opinion. However, after playing the upcoming XBLA adaptation, I wish I had discovered the board game sooner. Risk Factions looks and feels like a Penny Arcade game: the art style is similar, and the writing is just as irreverent. As evidenced by the shorts released by EA so far, the world of Factions is animated (in more ways than one). The Colonel, who's fully aware that he's in a game, is one of the funniest characters I've seen in recent memory. Knowing his audience well, he promised that if I kept playing, I'd see tons of nudity in the game. (An EA representative hurriedly reminded me that it was just a joke, though.) While Factions will allow players to play classic style Risk, newcomers will undoubtedly want to play through the main campaign first. The campaign does a good job of easing players into the basic rules of the game, and offers shorter, focused, objective-based challenges to conquer. The level I played didn't take place all over the globe: instead, it was a rather small map comprised of about a dozen tiles. One tile offered occupation of a missile silo, allowing you to launch a devastating area-wide attack against enemies. %Gallery-83207%
Risk: Factions sets the stage for war with two trailers
There's no gameplay in the two recently release Risk: Factions trailers, but the clips do give context to the previously presented and purrrr-fectly bizarre screenshots. With animation that looks like it's straight out of Penny Arcade Adventures -- not surprising, considering both are done by Powerhouse Animations -- the trailer sets the stage for a grand war between humans and felines. Of course, there are still three other factions yet to be revealed. We really have no idea what to think about Risk: Factions, but we're definitely interested. Sure, it seems a bit silly, but regular Risk is included in the package and the game is being developed by Stainless Games, the same studio that did XBLA's incredibly competent Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers. XBLA has been without Risk too long, so let's get this puppy (possible faction?) out the door. %Gallery-83207%
First Risk: Factions screens released, surprisingly cartoony
Click to Kitty-size Usually, when playing the physical, real-life version of Risk, we like to pretend that we're bloodthirsty conquerers -- ones capable of forging (and betraying) alliances with hated enemies, and eradicating the military forces of neighboring nations with extreme prejudice. We don't think we've ever envisioned ourselves to be person-sized felines during a heated global bout. Not that we have anything against the idea, per se -- it's just never occurred to us to try. The first batch of screenshots from EA's upcoming XBLA version of the strategic board game, Risk: Factions, depicts the scenario mentioned above in an unexpectedly animated fashion. If said fashion looks familiar, you've probably played the Penny Arcade Adventures series -- Powerhouse Animations, which brought Gabe and Tycho to life in those Hothead-developed adventure titles, also did the cinematics for Risk: Factions. Judging by the extremely Penny Arcade-looking soldiers seen above, we're guessing they had some input on character design, as well. According to the press release which accompanied the images, humans and cats are just two of the five factions featured in the game. Anyone wanna place bets on the remaining three? Our money's on Spartans, Huns and puppies. %Gallery-83207%
Risk: Factions 're-inventing' Risk on XBLA in early 2010
[Image Credit: Patrick Haney] EA has its mind set on "re-inventing" classic board game Risk for Xbox Live Arcade. Declared as Risk: Factions, the game is being developed by Stainless Games, best known for XBLA's Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers (which is on sale this week). This new version of the classic will offer objective-based and world conquest modes. We're also told that during "animated combat missions, enemies will be able to trigger 'Overkill' moments," whatever that is. The game will also include five playable factions, "each with different strengths," which will battle on "new maps" with "dynamic terrain." Sorry, hold up, are we still talking about Risk? The announcement makes no mention of vanilla, "build up in Australia and take over the world" Risk being included with Factions. We've contacted EA for further details and will share them with you as soon as we know more. Update: "You can absolutely play the classic board game if you like," an EA representative told Joystiq. "There's also the Risk 2008 ruleset." We'll hopefully have some assets and more details about how save games will be handled for the classic version soon. The game is also a standalone app and is not part of the Hasbro Family Game Night.
Galcon Labs in the App Store now
Galcon (App Store link) was one of the most popular games of last year -- it presented a fascinating mix of strategy and real-time arcade gameplay onto the iPhone just as it was starting out, and along with games like Fieldrunners and Flight Control, really cemented a place for the platform in the gamer's arsenal. It's been described as "real-time Risk in space." The basic premise is that you can drag little ships around from planet to planet, conquering planets of various sizes and thus producing more and more ships to take over with. And now it's back. Galcon Labs is available now on the App Store, and it's pretty much exactly what you want in a sequel to a game you love: updated graphics and sound, more game modes, more online multiplayer, and just generally more of the same great gameplay, in a nice new package. So yes, odds are that if you sunk quite a few hours into Galcon, Galcon Labs is a no-brainer. Just in case you don't want to make any financial commitment at all, there is a trial available for the original game, but given that Labs is just 99 cents right now, if you have any interest at all in dragging little ships around to fight wars between planets, it's probably worth the buck. %Gallery-74558%
Risk: Halo Wars gets a bombastic, gameplay-free trailer
There's enough fanfare in this trailer to make Michael Bay proud. Actually, make that a pre-CGI Michael Bay. Probably a film school-era Michael Bay. It has all the bombast and fanfare of a Michael Bay movie, just without all of the extremely fast intercutting and multiple explosions. We talked about Risk: Halo Wars back in January, and it's slowly but surely becoming a reality.According to the game's website, it's due out in August 2009 -- which is right now, last time we checked the calendar. One word to the creators: give us a trailer showing some actual gameplay, and not just rotating views of the gamepieces and some concept art. Maybe you can even hire an aging celebrity to be in a commercial for the game, just like Milton Bradley did with Dark Tower back in the day.Just a thought.
How not to apply to a guild
The Wordy Warrior covers a well-traveled subject in an interesting way in her latest post. We've already talked in-depth about how to get into a good raiding guild (and we've even covered some amazing guild applications), but straight from the trenches of guild leadership, Ariedan sends an open letter to anyone applying to her guild with, some might say, the wrong attitude.Here's the thing: especially if you're applying to a progression guild, odds are that they don't need you. They're progressing just fine, and bringing you in just opens the door for more drama. It's a risk, and it's your job to convince them to take that risk, hopefully for the benefit of both. So if you show up to an application and don't take it seriously, and flip out when they question your background, and expect them to take you on without any proof you'd be valuable to them, don't be surprised when they laugh you right out of their forums.We're probably preaching to the choir here -- if you're reading this site, you probably already have at least one clue, and are either in a guild you like that is not a raiding guild, or are in a progression guild that you got into because you were able to justify that risk. But if you're still having trouble figuring out how to get where you want to be, take WW's advice to heart: it's on you to justify your entry to the guild, it's not on them to put up with you.
Joystiq interview: the EA/Hasbro game agreement
When it comes to the realm of board games, Hasbro is quite the ... player. Over the past couple of decades, it has absorbed Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, Avalon Hill, Wizards of the Coast, Cranium, and others. Chances are that any board game, not to mention toys, you used to play with as a kid are now owned by Hasbro. In 2007, Electronic Arts signed an exclusive agreement with Hasbro to produce games based on some of the items in its vaults, and so far we've seen Scrabble, Hasbro Family Game Night, Trivial Pursuit, and more. EA also just announced Hasbro Family Game Night 2 for the Wii and DS, due out later this fall, which will add Pictureka, Bop-It, Operation, Jenga and others to the mix. But where are the titles like Risk, Axis & Allies, and Dark Tower? We spoke to Steve Flege, Senior Marketing Director for Hasbro Digital and Kyle Murray, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Electronic Arts about the deal, the first games we've seen, the pricing structure, and what's coming up next. The good news: we might be getting Risk on next-gen consoles. It's been on the PC, the PS1, the PS2, and the original Xbox, so it's about time. Roll those sixes! %Gallery-42087%
GDC09: Upcoming EA iPhone game list fully revealed, screens and info on Tiger
Just before the deluge of GDC 2009 news started this week, Travis Boatman, VP of worldwide studios at EA Mobile, confirmed the upcoming release of a veritable smörgåsbord of EA franchises coming to the iPhone. Today, we have confirmation from Meghan Rathman (representing EA) of the exact titles on the way to the iPhone/iTouch as well as a handful of screens from Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Unfortunately, according to Ms. Rathman, the rest of the games in development are "still too early" and don't have screens. Considering the turnaround time on iPhone/iTouch games though, we're willing to bet you'll see those shots by the end of the week pretty soon!The full list of games we received from EA is as follows: Tiger Woods PGA Tour, The Sims 3, FIFA, Madden NFL Football, Spore Creatures, Mystery Mania, Wolfenstein RPG, American Idol, Connect Four, Battleship, Need for Speed, RISK, Monopoly and Clue. Differing from reports at the GDC Mobile event earlier this week, we're seeing the addition of The Sims 3 and Need for Speed. In turn, we're losing the first SSX in two years, Red Alert, NBA Live 10, American Idol, Star Trek. But hey, Tiger Woods!The press release from EA on Tiger Woods PGA Tour tells us that the game is of the "touch" rather than of the "shake" variety, comes with achievements and offers a way to compare achievements with your friends. Of the key features listed, notably missing is "playing against friends wirelessly," though it does promise the ability to "affect your ball spin direction" using your finger. Those are comparable features, right? We'll keep on EA and let you know as soon as we find out more on their upcoming iPhone/iTouch assault.%Gallery-48706%
GDC09: EA quietly announces iPhone versions of major franchises
Of the many GDC 2009 announcements taking place this week, we were most shocked to see EA sneakily introducing some of the company's most popular franchises to the Apple device some are calling the newest gaming platform -- the iPhone. Travis Boatman, VP of worldwide studios at EA Mobile, made the announcement at GDC Mobile, naming SSX, Wolfenstein RPG, Red Alert, FIFA 10, Madden 10, NBA Live 10, American Idol, Spore Creatures, Clue, Risk, Mystery Mania, Connect Four, Battleship, Tiger Woods and Star Trek, according to reports from Patrick Klepek (former MTV Multiplayer writer) and Shacknews. While most of the titles are the to-be-expected EA mutliplatform titles like Madden 10 and NBA Live 10, the SSX series will be getting its first update in two years according to this announcement. Also of note, Wolfenstein RPG is of no relation to the just released Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone; rather, it makes up half of the two iPhone games id Software is purportedly working on. Details are unfortunately scant at the moment but we've reached out to EA for comment.On a personal note, we'd like to extend our personal "WHAT THE HELL?!" regarding Risk being announced for the iPhone and still not hearing a peep on it coming to XBLA/PSN. Seriously, EA. What the hell?![Via Shacknews]
Wormhole exploration hearkens back to EVE Online's early days
EVE Online's latest Apocrypha expansion has elevated the exploration profession to new heights. The addition of roughly 2500 new and uncharted solar systems, expanding the game's galaxy of New Eden to over 7500 solar systems in total, brings what can honestly be called 'true exploration' to the sci-fi MMO. Territoriality is a major aspect of EVE and wormholes allow players to emerge in far flung regions of New Eden -- sometimes places they're not supposed to be -- leading to all sorts of unexpected near-death experiences. Players have already reported emerging from wormholes and finding themselves hunted by the local territorial powers (player alliances claiming those regions of the galaxy) or by the NPC authorities, in those cases where players are involved in factional warfare. Some pilots have found themselves deep within enemy faction territory, leading to all kinds of insane chases across the galaxy.
The Daily Grind: How difficult do you like your crafting?
Once, long ago, when you wanted to craft in EverQuest, you had to know precisely what it was you wanted to put into your crafting box/bag/spit/etc. - or you could sit there swapping things in and out in combination for hours. Once you'd hit upon a combination that would create something, you then had the potential chance to lose your materials if you didn't manage to craft it. While this wasn't such a big deal when you were sitting around cranking out Batwing Crunchies, if you were making items that required hard to get materials, you can imagine the frustration when your combine whiffed. On the opposite side of things, we have the extreme ease of World of Warcraft, which allows you to pop to the auction house, buy everything if you have enough gold, and then craft piles and piles of items with those mats by pressing one button on a handy menu that shows you everything you can make. The crafting system there has no failures, nor does it have the chance of making a greater or lesser item; all of the items are exactly the same on the basic level. While many felt this was a great improvement, some others prefer at least some small risk for reward - making it more like a mini-game - and thus we still have at least marginally harder crafting scenarios in several MMOs. This morning we thought we'd ask you; do you feel that crafting should be easy, guaranteeing a successful combination every single time? Do you think there's something to be said for slightly harder crafting, where you may risk commonly-gathered materials, but not rare ones? Do you think we need a return to extremely hard crafting? Or do you just not really care, and would rather pay someone else gold to craft things for you?
Skirmish warfare coming to Pirates of the Burning Sea
The Flying Lab Software developers working on Pirates of the Burning Sea have done a lot of writing about the avatar combat changes of late, but it's clear that they're still aiming to improve ship-based PvP on the high seas. Pirates of the Burning Sea is going to get a major new feature as of patch 1.4: skirmish warfare, which is essentially a PvP environment where players can experiment risk free with various setups and tactics. The latest developer log on PotBS is "Enter the Skirmish", which breaks down what this new feature is and what it will offer players: "PvP action is the hottest part of our game, but the difficulty of 'swimming with the sharks' in the open sea has made for a significant barrier to entry. Skirmish gives players the change to learn how to PvP without facing all the dangers involved with conquest. Societies and veterans can use the skirmish system to teach newer players the ropes in a risk-free environment, which means more people who'll be prepared for port conquest and open sea PvP." For more on this upcoming feature, you'll want to read the "Enter the Skirmish" developer log on the Pirates of the Burning Sea website.
