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The Settlers 7 pre-order bonus and gold edition detailed
While you wait for the seventh Settlers game to arrive on March 23, Ubisoft would certainly like you to contemplate the pre-ordering of said game, nonetheless a full on pre-order of the digital-exclusive "Gold Edition." As to entice you die-hard fans to drop the extra $10 on the special edition (bringing the price to a more Modern Warfare 2-ey $59.99), the publisher has offered up an exclusive map, a handful of extra "castle forge elements" and a digital copy of the game's soundtrack. With just over one month left until the game arrives on both PC and Mac, we suppose you could just put the trailer above on loop until the time finally comes (it does feature Bruce Shelley, after all), but that'd probably make you a lunatic. Also, you might die. And then how would you settle a vast kingdom? Hmm? Didn't think of that, did ya? %Gallery-73725%
Ensemble's Bruce Shelley working on The Settlers 7
As spotted by Joystiq's sister site Big Download in a recent gameplay trailer, ex-Ensemble Studios co-founder Bruce Shelley is working on Ubisoft's next installment in the Settlers series, The Settlers 7. Oh, what's that? You've never heard of the Settlers franchise? That's okay, we're right there with you. Popular in Europe (like Jerry Lewis, but less obnoxious), the city-building sim developed by Blue Byte Software will apparently get Shelley's input as a "game design consultant" -- and considering the pedigree that comes with Shelley, we have to imagine that, If you're into that kind of thing, it's time to start getting totally psyched. The game is currently in beta and will be headed to PCs in "late March."
Ubisoft to introduce new online-enabled DRM for PC games
image source: Comedy Central PC gamers have long been vocal about intrusive DRM programs hidden in their games. With illegal game downloads in the millions, publishers are desperately trying to find new solutions in the war against piracy. Ubisoft's upcoming The Settlers 7 will introduce a new DRM model for the company, one that doesn't require disc authentication and allows multiple installations across multiple systems. "If you own a hundred PCs, you can install your games on a hundred PCs," Ubisoft's Brent Wilkinson told GameSpy. Central to Ubisoft's new DRM plan is its online integration. Like select Steam games, Ubisoft will require players to log-in with a Ubi.com account in order to play, even for single-player games. As a plus, the online connectivity allows saves to be stored on Ubisoft's servers, meaning players can resume a game from any computer they own. Wilkinson dismissed concerns that some players may not have a ready internet connection: "We think most people are going to be fine with it. Most people are always connected to an Internet connection." But just in case you aren't, may we suggest AOL dial-up? It's the future, we swear! [Via BigDownload]
