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'Crusader Kings III' brings medieval politics to your PC on September 1st
The medieval strategy game 'Crusader Kings III' releases on September 1st with more ways to protect your dynasty.
Epic Mega Sale loses two pre-order titles on day one
Yesterday, Epic launched a "mega sale," offering games at up to 75 percent off and additional $10 credits for purchases over $14.99. It looked like Epic was preparing to go head-to-head with the Steam Sale, which is scheduled to arrive at the end of June. But by the end of the day, fans noticed two titles mysteriously vanished from the Epic Store, and the price of another seemed to increase.
Paradox casts 'open beta' on Magicka: Wizard Wars
Those looking to murder somebody with arcane energies will be pleased to hear that the mano a mano magical duels of Magicka: Wizard Wars have now entered open beta testing. To celebrate the milestone, developer Paradox North has added a handful of new content to Magicka: Wizard Wars, including a new map set in the caves of Galdrhöll Halls, as well as new robes, staves and character skins. Additionally, the new "Raise Dead" spell does exactly what its name claims, by summoning a group of undead imps to torment your opponent. Though entry into the Magicka: Wizard Wars open beta is free, those who especially enjoy the game's novel take on sorcery can shell out real-world cash for a Starter Pack full of items useful to a nascent spell-slinger. From the $15 Apprentice Starter Pack to the $50 Archmage Starter Pack, there's a wide range of bonuses available to those with cash and poor self-control. For more information, take a look at the game's Steam listing. [Image: Paradox Interactive]
Magicka: Wizard Wars take to the betafield May 27
It's a what? Wizard Wars, Harry. A what? Wizard Wars! Beginning May 27, everyone, including boys who sleep under the stairs, can participate in Magicka: Wizard Wars. Paradox Interactive's "not a MOBA," which is currently available through Steam Early Access, will be free in beta. Set in the Magicka universe, the game finds two teams of four wizards engaged in player-versus-player combat. So, if this totally still sounds like a MOBA to you, feel free to try your wand at it on May 27.
Salem prepares for full wipe
The end of the world is nigh for Salem and it's rankling more than a few players' sensibilities. Earlier this month, the developers announced that they will be conducting a full wipe of Salem in an upcoming patch. This will reset the map and delete all characters in order to condense the population onto a single server. Currently the game is running on multiple servers, which the devs deem as "overestablished." Players are upset that the sandbox MMO is being wiped in light of the team previously promising that it wouldn't do such a thing. Seatribe is sympathetic but resolute: "We did not arrive at this decision lightly. We have considered all our options and for various reasons found them wanting." The good news is that the patch will add in plenty of new features and tweaks, including a rework of the gluttony system, improvements to character proficiencies, and the implementation of a new map generator. Every item that characters purchased from the store beforehand will be restored to them once the patch goes live. [Thanks to Nine for the tip!]
War of the Vikings trailer pays in blood
We imagine the thrill of the kill is its own reward in War of the Vikings, but there are also more tangible gains – like improved equipment and weaponry. In this trailer for War of the Vikings, we're shown how a soldier progresses and pays for new equipment with his opponents' blood.
Europa Universalis 4 'Conquest of Paradise' expansion up for pre-order
In case you just can't get enough or rewriting history, Paradox has opened up pre-orders for the Europa Universalis 4 expansion, "Conquest of Paradise." The expansion takes Europa Universalis 4 to the New World (i.e. the Americas), where players can guide the development of the Native American nation or Colonial Nation. You could always do your best to relive American history as we know it, or you could find out what would have happened if Spain really went whole hog. Conquest of Paradise will arrive on the shores of PC, Mac and Linux on January 14. It's available for pre-order now on Steam for $13.49, 10 percent off the normal price.
Twenty developers you don't know, but should
Between consoles, PC, mobile and everything in between, there are so many games released today that it's impossible to keep up with everything that's coming out – and it's even harder to keep up with the studios behind them. Even with a gaming public that's grown accustomed to following big developers like Valve and small studios like Double Fine, countless other studios slide under the radar. In the interest of sifting a signal from the noise, the Joystiq crew has selected 20 developers that deserve your attention. These studios are making games you should play, and their future work should be highly anticipated. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we invite you to share your own favorites in the comments!
Sign up for Magicka: Wizard Wars, help shape the game
Starting today, October 15, Steam users can jump into an Early Access version of Magicka: Wizard Wars. Interested parties simply need to sign up for a Paradox account through the game and should be able to dive right into the tutorial match afterward. Expect Magicka: Wizard Wars to change over the course of development as Paradox North looks to incorporate fan feedback during the Early Access run. Magicka: Wizard Wars is a free-to-play multiplayer-based affair where two teams of four battle over spawn points within an environment, though you do need to pay to get into the Steam Early Access version. The game is anchored by the original Magicka's unique DIY spell-casting system where players queue up an assortment of elements in a specific order, which then produces a spell. Once a team has captured all three spawn points and killed the other team, it's game over – or as soon as one team has burned through their 75 spawn tickets, and can no longer respawn onto the battlefield. We were able to sample Magicka: Wizard Wars back in July and found it to be an inventive and highly-competitive romp.
Knights of Pen and Paper now updated to +1 edition
The excellent iOS RPG Knights of Pen and Paper has been updated to the +1 Edition (as we heard it would be back at GDC) and is now available as a free update on the App Store. This new version, which is technically 2.02, brings lots of new content, game updates, new dungeons to explore and many other extras. For example, there's now a place called The Tavern, where you can keep old heroes and swap in new ones. Several new battle options nearly turned Knights of Pen and Paper into entirely new game. The +1 edition was spurred on by the game's new publisher, Paradox. Thanks to that collaboration, the game is also now available on Steam for US$9.99. But again, the iOS version is a free update, so if you've grabbed the game already, do be sure to download and give this version a try. If you haven't purchased it yet, you can grab it now for $2.99.
Paradox Interactive drops Salem; Seatribe to continue development
If a game has spent a year in beta with no launch in sight, good things are not generally around the corner. So it goes for Salem, the early-America-themed permadeath sandbox MMO. Paradox Interactive has decided to separate from the title altogether, leaving all costs and work associated with the game in the hands of the two-man development team at Seatribe. The split will be final on July 8th, with a slow phase-out in place until then. According to the official announcement, both Paradox Interactive and Seatribe feel that this decision is for the health of the game now and in the future, and there are no immediate plans for a shutdown or anything of the sort. Players will be given a discount coupon for Paradox Interactive's online store and a free bundle of Salem's microtransaction currency. What happens with the game after the handover is complete remains to be seen. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
The Showdown Effect adds pair of new maps, heroes in free update
Owners of The Showdown Effect can download some free DLC, adding a pair of new maps and playable heroes to Arrowhead Game Studios' latest. South Eastwood is an old west town, while Fort Fiesta follows a Mexican fort motif – both maps were heavily inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, Italian-produced films for Hollywood such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The first new hero to fight her way onto The Showdown Effect's roster is Thelma Vaine, a pink-haired British spy armed with a cloaking device. The other new combatant is Dr. Johnny Bionic, whose robotic drill-saw-arm is plagued with a murderous lust. Sounds like that'd be a benefit, given the situation. Finally, this free update is rounded out by a "series of Reddit costume pieces." These can be purchased through the in-game store using unlocked currency.
PS4 project from Paradox won't attempt 'cheap PC port'
Speaking to Joystiq at GDC, Paradox Senior Producer Gordon Van Dyke offered a few hints as to what shape the company's PlayStation 4 project may take. "There's something in the works – I can't say yet, but we are looking into it."Van Dyke pointed to a recent addition in War of the Roses, an online medieval battle game that he oversees. "Obviously we've added controller support [to War of the Roses], there's a proof-of-concept that definitely works." Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean War of the Roses is coming to PS4 – in fact, Van Dyke said Paradox still isn't sure what exactly it wants to do on PS4 yet."We first need to make sure we can get the game running on the hardware, but the hardware is much more easier to work with than it was previously when I was at DICE on Battlefield, where there were struggles with Sony's hardware – especially the way they allocated memory. They've eliminated a lot of these hurdles [on PS4] and x86 makes it much more plausible that we can do it."For now, "it's definitely a realistic possibility and something we'd like to happen, but we're not entirely sure we can deliver on that." He said it's a bit of an inverse scenario for Paradox, where the developer wants to ensure its PS4 game isn't interpreted as "a cheap PC port on console."
Magicka: Wizard Wars 'not a MOBA,' revenue model still up in the air
For Paradox North's Executive Vice President, John Hargelid, Magicka: Wizard Wars has been labeled improperly as a MOBA. It features themes seen in the genre, but for Hargelid the differentiator is the simple gameplay that provides a vehicle for high-level tactics."This is why we think we're not a MOBA," Hargelid said. "Magicka: Wizard Wars is much more skill-based, much more hardcore to be honest. At the same time, anyone who hasn't played this type of game before can simply be satisfied by gameplay. It's quite simple to get into it and it's not this 40-minute game mode you have to learn what the progression looks like and halfway through, you'll know if you lost or won."
Paradox announces Magicka: Wizard Wars
Paradox Interactive has announced the development of Magicka: Wizard Wars, a "PvP-focused multiplayer game based on the celebrated slapstick sorcery franchise." The game pits two teams of four wizards against each other and features "short battles, persistent character progression, and plenty of laughter." No gameplay footage has been released as of yet, but Paradox has produced a teaser trailer that you can watch by clicking past the cut. [Source: Paradox press release]
Seatribe handing out Salem beta keys
Want to get a free look at Salem, the scary hardcore permadeath crafting MMO from Seatribe and the devs responsible for Haven & Hearth? Head to the official Salem website and score a beta key while you can. There were 140 of them when we checked a few minutes ago, so make it snappy! You can also read through Massively's multiple hands-on impression pieces to see if Salem is up your alley. [Thanks to Nick for the tip!]
Paradox announces two iOS games for 2013, including a Magicka game
Paradox Interactive has been primarily a PC gaming studio. It has enjoyed success on Steam with titles like Magicka and Europa Universalis. But last weekend at an event in Iceland, Paradox announced that it's making the jump over to Apple's handheld platforms, with two forthcoming games. The first is a version of Magicka for tablets, which will appear on the iPad. It's subtitled Wizards of the Square Tablet, and like the PC game, it's about (up to) four different wizards combining seven different elements into spell groups, and tossing spells around that can be both helpful or harmful. The game looks excellent, and seems like a nice tablet-based twist on the popular and well-made Magicka series. The game promises lots of single- and multiplayer action, and should be available soon. Paradox is also working on a more tactical game called Leviathan Warships, which will feature some top-down multiplayer battles with 10-second turns. Each ship in a player's fleet will have a balanced set of strengths and weaknesses, making for a very strategic battlefield across a series of maps. This game doesn't seem as far along (or as close to release) as Magicka's tablet version, but it does look good, and we'll keep an eye out for it. Paradox, as I said, has been doing very well on the PC, and it's not too surprising that the company has started testing the waters on mobile platforms. This is a great duo of first releases, and hopefully we'll get them in our hands very soon.
The Showdown Effect targets March launch, $10 price tag; beta signups tomorrow
During a meeting with Paradox VP of business development Shams Jorjani last week, Joystiq learned that upcoming multiplayer action-shooter The Showdown Effect will cost $10 when it launches on Steam, which Paradox currently has lined up for March 2013. And starting tomorrow, Paradox will hold signups for an open beta for all interested parties.Jorjani sums up The Showdown Effect as "Worms in real-time" with a decidedly '80s and '90s action movie and television influence. "We've turned that into a 2.5D action online brawler – the closest game to date might maybe be Smash Bros. or PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale." He also likened The Showdown Effect to Soldat, a PC multiplayer side-scrolling shooter from back in 2002.%Gallery-173599%
World of Warcraft's Spirit Healer recreated in Minecraft pixel art
Nearly lost in the shuffle of patch 5.1's release, this Minecraft pixel art from Paradox (YouTube channel SpoofGaming) appeared on our radar back at the end of November. The recreation of World of Warcraft's iconic Spirit of Redemption took over 15 days of work and over 250,000 blocks (representing pixels) to construct. While the art surely could have been done easier and more quickly in something as simple as MSPaint, it's fascinating to see the build done in Minecraft's game world, which has a far more limited palette and requires manual placement of every single block. If you're impressed by this build, don't miss some of the other Minecraft builds we've highlighted previously such as scale recreations of Ragnaros and the entirety of Kalimdor.
Dungeonland and two sides of a very odd amusement park
The gates open wide, and three cheery adventurers step forward into Dungeonland: a stocky warrior; a thin and nimble rogue; and a big-bellied mage. Dungeonland is the titular amusement park where heroes can mindlessly slaughter hordes of ne'er-do-wells to their heart's content.However, beyond the groups of enemies and bright facade of the park lies a devious mind that controls the waves of brutes impeding the heroes' progress. This is the dungeon master, another player who has the same job as those controlling the adventurers. Kill the other guys!%Gallery-161426%
