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Ascend: Hand of Kul to remain playable on 360 until November
Despite the game being discontinued on Xbox 360, existing owners of Ascend: Hand of Kul will remain able to play it until November 18, after which it will officially close. The news follows Microsoft's removal of the free-to-play action-RPG from the marketplace, a decision developer Signal Studios only learned of as it was investigating player troubles. "We can confirm that effective November 18, 2014, Ascend on Xbox 360 will close," a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer. "Players will still be able to play Ascend on Xbox 360 and use any content they have already acquired until the game closure date.
Microsoft abruptly removes Ascend: Hand of Kul from Xbox 360
Free-to-play action-RPG Ascend: Hand of Kul is no longer available on the Xbox 360 after Microsoft discontinued it this week, apparently without informing developer Signal Studios beforehand. In what's seemingly less a case of "So long, farewell" and more Jazzy Jeff leaving the Fresh Prince's house, Signal Studios said the news only surfaced when the team was investigating player troubles from the weekend. "We are deeply saddened by this decision and the impact it has on our community," Signal Studios said on its site while urging players towards the Steam version released in May. The studio didn't note what Microsoft's reasoning was behind the decision, and when we approached the publisher a spokesperson told us Microsoft had "no further comment."
Toy Soldiers: War Chest brings rainbow doom to the diorama
War is an unrelenting gauntlet of hell, I think, watching a band of heavily armored rainbow ponies spill over a grassy field. Bursts of mortar fire end their horror-trotting advance, but the opposing men can't replenish the ammo quickly enough to stop what's next. A shadow crawls over the European countryside, darkening the prospects of all who look up to see a great, looming doom. It's a castle floating on a cloud, primed to end the war with a devastating slash adorable glitter-nuke.
Ascend: Hand of Kul spreading Titans to the realm of PC
The fight to be recognized as a mighty Caos, a brand of powerful warriors serving the gods in Ascend: Hand of Kul's universe, has been waged between players since September on XBLA. That fight will soon envelop PC users, as Signal Studios is bringing the action RPG to Steam on May 20. In case you're wondering why anyone would strive to be on call for a higher power's war-oriented needs, Ascend's world is plagued with immortal giants called Titans. You'd think Titans would use their unlimited span of life to master every skill they ever wanted, right? Nope, they're stuck on the "savage killer" trait, devouring human souls in their endless state of being jerks. Considering the other option is to wait around in a village for a Titan to digest your very being, life as a Caos doesn't sound so bad. [Image: Signal Studios]
Signal working on next-gen Toy Soldiers, acquires IP from Microsoft
Signal Studios has acquired the rights to its original intellectual property, Toy Soldiers, from Microsoft. "That was our first game, it was our baby," said Signal Community Manager Becky Taylor. "We are working on a future game in the franchise, we have a large publisher interested who we haven't announced yet," she told Joystiq today at GDC. Taylor tells us the next game is planned for next-gen systems. She continued, "Since we acquired the rights back, we've put out Toy Soldiers Complete, which includes the original game, Cold War and four DLCs... and it's 10 bucks through 'early access'." The original tower defense shooter hybrid Toy Soldiers and its sequel, Toy Soldiers: Cold War, have sold a combined total of 2.5 million units.
Toy Soldiers Complete advances onto Steam Early Access
Signal Studios is on standby for a full Steam release of Toy Soldiers Complete after launching it on Early Access over the weekend. The bundle includes tower defense/shooter mash-up Toy Soldiers, follow-up Toy Soldiers: Cold War, and the two games' downloadable expansions. The Early Access price is $10 in North America, and £7/10 euros in Europe. While both games launched on Xbox Live Arcade, you can already find the little plastic paratroopers on PC; Toy Soldiers is available as a Steam standalone, while Toy Soldiers: Cold War is on Windows 8. So it's a bit curious to see Signal taking the Early Access route, but the Ascend: Hand of Kul studio says it's looking for players to "help us find bugs, give feedback and most of all – help us shape the game before its full release!" [Image: Signal Studios]
Toy Soldiers: Cold War, Dead Island free for Xbox Live Gold members in February
Microsoft's Major Nelson has announced next month's lineup of free games for Xbox Live Gold members, revealing that subscribers can expect to receive free copies of Toy Soldiers: Cold War and Dead Island in February. Signal Studios' Xbox Live Arcade strategy game Toy Soldiers: Cold War includes a series of tower defense-styled battles featuring miniature foot soldiers and combat vehicles. Dead Island, a 2011 retail release from Techland, is a first-person action game that challenges players to survive a zombie invasion at an island resort, with help from friends via online cooperative play. As with previous Games With Gold program releases, both Dead Island and Toy Soldiers: Cold War are free for users to keep once they are downloaded, even after associated Xbox Live Gold memberships expire. New games are added to the service on the 1st and 16th of each month.
Free-to-play Ascend: Hand of Kul out tomorrow on XBLA
Free-to-play action RPG Ascend: Hand of Kul will launch on XBLA tomorrow. Developed by Signal Studios, the game was originally known as Ascend: New Gods until being renamed in May. Ascend: Hand of Kul features both single player and asynchronous multiplayer modes, the latter allowing players to invade the worlds of other players. Among the other games being offered on Xbox Live this week is Alpha Protocol, which is now available via Games on Demand along with Viking: Battle for Asgard, Phantom Breaker Extra and Hot Wheels World's Best Driver.
Ascend: New Gods renamed to Ascend: Hand of Kul
Signal Studios' free-to-play asynchronous multiplayer XBLA strategy game Ascend: New Gods has had its name changed to Ascend: Hand of Kul. "A year has passed since our big unveil at E3 2012, and the New Gods are no longer 'new,'" as Signal Studios representative explains in a lighthearted update on PlayXBLA. "It was a tough decision, but during their board meeting in The Sanctum a couple of weeks ago, the New Gods decided to step down from power." Aside from the fact that Hand of Kul is a "more story-centric name," no further explanation was given for the change. Well, no further real explanation. At any rate, please adjust your complicated, all-encompassing video game databases accordingly. Y'all have those too, right? It's not just us?
'Ascend: New Gods' coming from Toy Soldiers dev Signal Studios [update: trailer]
Signal Studios, best known for the Toy Soldiers series on XBLA, just revealed its next project, Ascend: New Gods, during the Microsoft press conference. It's a turn-based strategy game with asynchronous multiplayer (like Draw Something, you know?) that works across Xbox and Windows Phone.
Toy Soldiers storm PC today, DLC for XBLA's Toy Soldiers: Cold War tomorrow
Signal Studios dropped several information bombs today about its Toy Soldiers series, with the first volley announcing that the original Toy Soldiers will be available on Steam and Games for Windows Live Marketplace today for $9.99. The Steam version will be 25 percent off during launch week.Wait a minute, but Toy Soldiers on XBLA is $15! Not anymore. The XBLA version is receiving a permanent price drop to 800 MSP ($10).Signal Studios, which notes the Toy Soldiers franchise has had over 1 million paid downloads, also announced DLC for last year's excellent co-op XBLA sequel, Toy Soldiers: Cold War. The "Evil Empire" and "Napalm" packs will expand the single-player and co-op campaigns, having players take on the role of the USSR or Americans."As a thank you to our fans, we are releasing a Multiplayer DLC compatibility pack for free," said Toy Soldiers: Cold War Game Director Jason Ilano. "This will give them a chance to join matches hosted by players that have the new content, play it, and decide if it is for them."The dueling side expansions will be 400 MSP ($5) apiece and the launch codes are set to execute tomorrow, April 25.
Toy Soldiers: Cold War review: Back in the USSR
When I was a kid, I loved playing with LEGOs. I didn't have many of my own, but my best friend, Matt, had tons of them, what seemed like dozens of huge plastic tubs brimming with building blocks. Together, we would build jets, tanks, spaceships and more than a few robots. Our elaborate army bases would take up entire rooms. Naturally, half the fun of playing with our creations was pitting them against one another.The epic battles, complete with sound effects -- including what I still believe to be an incredible vocal impression of a machine gun -- would rage for hours, until we had to go to bed or I had to go home. Of course, the explosions, glorious victories and bitter defeats weren't actually real. All of it was in our heads.Had we the ability to project our imagination into something real, I think the end result would have looked something like Toy Soldiers: Cold War. Though our version probably would have had more pirates.%Gallery-118731%
Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2011 kicks off July 20
Can't have summer without hot new Xbox Live games, right? Microsoft has announced its line-up for the warmer months, kicking off July 20 -- strangely, in an email and not, you know, during its E3 2011 press conference. Regardless, a total of five games will be on offer. No exact time table for the games was announced nor prices but, hey, at least we know what's coming. The first game listed is Toy Soldiers: Cold War, a sequel to one of 2010's most lucrative Xbox Live Arcade games. The next game listed is Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Fuelcell's stylish UFO simulator, followed by Fruit Ninja Kinect, a flail-tastic port of Halfbrick's darling mobile (and soon, Facebook!) title. Next we have Bastion, a game we suggest you all should keep an eye on. Finally, rounding out the list of games is From Dust, Eric Chahi's god game. An impressive list, to say the least. It's important to know that this is simply how Microsoft listed the games in its press email and not indicative of when each title will launch throughout the promotion.
Toy Soldiers: Cold War revealed, coming to PAX East [update: now with video!]
Remember that XBLA game Toy Soldiers? With the ... umm ... toy soldiers? Well, apparently it's getting a sequel set in the 1980s. As revealed in an email missive from Microsoft regarding the publisher's PAX East showing, "Toy Soldiers: Cold War" features the same blend of first-person action and strategy of the first game, albeit with a new '80s angle. A press release that we received this afternoon further detailed the upcoming sequel, specifically noting that it'll feature co-op and new minigun-based mingames. The publisher also revealed that Toy Soldiers: Cold War will be included among other playable titles at PAX East this coming weekend. Which is when PAX East goes down, in case you didn't know. To date, the original Toy Soldiers has moved over 500K units, meaning that it'll make the jump to PC at some point in "late spring/early summer." Update: We've added the game's trailer after the break and some more info to the post above.%Gallery-118731%
Toy Soldiers' final add-on 'Invades' XBLA September 29
Signal Studios has announced that the final DLC expansion for its successful XBLA strategy title, Toy Soldiers, will launch next Wednesday, September 29. The pack, titled "Invasion," will add a new, three-level mini-campaign, 50 Gamerscore worth of new Achievements, some additional enemy units and new driveable vehicles -- most of which are based around the main campaign's alien invasion motif. You can check out some screenshots of the new, otherworldly content in the gallery posted below and a trailer after the break. If you're jonesing to bust up some more playthings, you'll be able to grab "Invasion" for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).%Gallery-102811%
Swag Saturday: Toy Soldiers! (XBLA)
Signal Studios' new game Toy Soldiers might sound like any other tower defense game at first glance, but it has art direction that will knock your socks off. It's one thing to pit the Kaiser's forces against the boys from England, but Toy Soliders turns them into little clockwork toys, full of cogs and springs. Combine that with addictively fun gameplay and Facebook integration and you have a winner. So worry not if you have moral objections to pumping howitzer shells into approaching baddies, they're just toys! We want to share this toybox full of fun with you, so we're giving away three codes for this game on Xbox Live Arcade. All you have to do is follow the rules below, and tell us what your favorite toy was. Or is. There's no shame in still playing with toys, is there? Leave a comment telling us what your favorite toy was (or is). You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, at least in part due to our vehement opposition of the Montreal Canadiens). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 7:01PM PT on Sunday, March 7. At that time, we'll randomly select three winners to receive a code good for one copy of Toy Soliders on XBLA (ARV: $15). For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here. %Gallery-73953%
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Toy Soldiers
Tower defense fans, rejoice, for Toy Soldiers has arrived. Take note, however, because Toy Soldiers adds a few twists to the standard tower defense formula. First and foremost, players can take direct control of the various towers, turrets and vehicles that are placed on the map. Whether it's sniping army men from the sniper tower or dogfighting enemy planes, there's plenty of variety. The game even packs Facebook integration (note: stay away from the Facebook app if you value productivity). Watch the latest XBLA in Brief and decide if Toy Soldiers is worth 1200 ($15). Shortcut: Download the trial version of Toy Soldiers [via Xbox.com] [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
This Wednesday: Toy Soldiers storms XBLA
This week Toy Soldiers kicks off Microsoft's month-long XBLA Block Party. While a tower defense game at its core, the game adds a small twist to the genre, allowing players to take control over individual towers and units. In other words, if you think your sniper tower is focusing on the wrong units, you can snap into first-person control and do something about it. Toy Soldiers lands this Wednesday on XBLA for 1200 ($15). In the meantime, be sure to check out our impressions of the title back from TGS.
Stay for the entire XBLA Block Party and receive parting gifts
Microsoft has announced more details about its Xbox Live Arcade "Block Party," which is ... right around the corner. Next month's lead-up to the launch of the Xbox Game Room will see a promotion similar to the one offered during last year's Summer of Arcade, and then some. For Xbox Live Silver members that purchase all three Block Party titles released next month -- Toy Soldiers, Perfect Dark and Scrap Metal -- and then download the free Game Room "client," Microsoft will credit your account 400 ($5). So, 3200 ($40) spent on the participating XBLA titles will get you back five bucks. If you're a Gold member, though, the deal gets a little sweeter: Purchase the three titles, download Game Room, and you'll get the 400 refund and a free month of Xbox Live Gold service (worth $4 and change if you're an annual subscriber) credited to your account. A free "everyone's a Gold member" (no, not that Goldmember) weekend is also scheduled, permitting Silver members to play the three Block Party releases online (but only the Block Party releases) from 12pm ET on Friday, March 26 through 12pm ET on Monday, March 29.
TGS 2009: Impressions: Toy Soldiers (XBLA)
While it has become an extremely popular style of game over the last few years, tower defense titles have always struck me as a boring concept, personally. Perhaps it's my penchant for firing weapons at moving targets in first-person, but I can't really articulate my lack of enthusiasm for the strategy-style gameplay. My initial reaction to Toy Soldiers -- a tower defense game in a World War I setting -- in a behind-closed-doors Microsoft demo? Snore. Imagine my surprise, then, that I soon got genuinely excited to play the game when it lands sometime next year.%Gallery-73953%
