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'Warcraft III: Reforged' modernizes another real-time strategy hit
Blizzard isn't about to stop its trip down memory lane with a remaster of the original StarCraft. The studio has unveiled Warcraft III: Reforged, a top-to-bottom refresh of the landmark real-time strategy title and its Frozen Throne add-on. As Blizzard is updating a 3D game this time around, there's a lot of room for improvement: the company has redone all the characters and environments in much greater detail, complete with reworked in-game cutscenes. You'll also find a modernized interface (including an updated World Editor), up-to-date multiplayer match creation and "hundreds" of gameplay tweaks.
Microsoft delays its 'Age of Empires' remaster to 2018
Were you planning your gaming calendar around Age of Empires: Definitive Edition's release on October 19th? You'll... need to find an alternative. Microsoft has pushed back the launch of the remastered real-time strategy collection at the last minute, anticipating a launch sometime in early 2018. The developers pin the sudden delay to a desire to tweak the game as much as possible. They want to invite "thousands" more people into the closed beta to adjust everything from the multiplayer balance to the lobby system.
'Brass Tactics' is a VR RTS that puts you in a clockwork battlefield
Real-time strategy and VR don't seem like they would go together. After all, the key attraction to virtual reality is feeling like you're in someone else's shoes in a faraway land of make believe. The top-down view of typical RTS games doesn't quite lend itself to that level of immersion. Or does it? After a few minutes playing with Hidden Path Entertainment's Brass Tactics at an Oculus demo event, I found myself so engrossed in a cutthroat tabletop battle that I almost forgot I had a headset on at all. Now, there have been other real-time strategy games in VR -- Tactera and AirMech come to mind -- but Brass Tactics has a decidedly more medieval feel. The developers describe it as a "clockwork battlefield," as your buildings and minions appear to be built out of parts of a clock, gears and all. Yet, the design of Brass Tactics reminds me very much of tabletop war games -- living soldiers take the place of miniature figures while 3D-modeled landscapes replace plastic terrain. Gameplay itself should be pretty familiar to anyone who's played a real-time strategy. You start out with just your warriors and your archers, but you can upgrade them over time. To attack, you simply direct your battalion to a spot on the table with the Touch controllers. As you capture more regions, you can build more towers to create even more units like a flying squad or cavalry tanks. If you like, you can also use catapults to launch fire balls at your opponent. With Brass Tactics, you can also actually move "through" the landscape like an omniscient god, so you can get up close and get a better idea of how to manage your resources. You also need to move from region to region in order to build and maintain towers. It was pretty cool to be directly in the middle of everything, sending off troop after troop to capture or defend regions. I felt a little bit like an orchestra conductor, except instead of cueing violins, I was deploying archers. As engrossing as it was though, I'll admit it can be a little chaotic. It seems like it would be easier to hotkey or mouse your way through a battlefield than it is to figure out where to flail your arms. That said, it's probably a matter of getting used to it, and I can see improving my skills over time. If you're an RTS fan who also likes a bit of tabletop gaming from time to time and you happen to have a Rift, then definitely take a look at Brass Tactics when it comes to the Oculus Store later this year. Click here to catch up on the latest news from GDC 2017!
Gearbox's beautiful 'Homeworld' remake reaches PCs February 25th
If you're a long-time PC gamer, you probably have a soft spot for the Homeworld series. Relic's epic saga was both eye-catching and proof that real-time strategy could work in the void of space. However, time hasn't been kind to the games -- the first came out when 3D graphics cards were relatively new, and THQ's acquisition of Relic (plus its eventual bankruptcy) made follow-ups difficult. At last, though, you'll have a way to relive the Mothership's journey while doing justice to your modern gaming rig. Gearbox, which bought the rights to the series, has revealed that its previously teased Homeworld Remastered Collection will reach Windows PCs on February 25th. The remake spruces up just about every aspect of the two Homeworld games, ranging from much better-looking ship models and effects to reworked cutscenes. You also get a beta multiplayer experience that merges the online modes of both titles.
SRK contest produces a 26-button Starcraft II arcade controller, probably won't stop Zerg rushes (video)
Almost as a dare, Shoryuken (SRK) challenged its fans to produce a fighting game-style controller for Starcraft II. Mauricio Romano took them up on that contest and won with a surprisingly polished arcade stick of his own. Its cornerstone is a heavily modified Ultrastik joystick that's turned into an on-controller, two-button mouse. You didn't think a PC gamer would cling to a plain joystick, did you? In the process, the usual 101 keys of a typical keyboard have been pared down to a set of 26 buttons most relevant for Blizzard's real-time strategy epic. Packaged up in a single, polished USB peripheral, the one-off prototype's design is good enough to imagine a Major League Gaming pro taking it out on the road. We'd put that idea on ice for now, though: as Mauricio shows in the video below, the learning curve is steep enough that most players won't be fending off diamond-league marine and zergling blitzes anytime soon.
Daily iPad App: Total War Battles brings big-time RTS to iOS
I first saw Total War Battles (now out on the iPad and iPhone) at GDC earlier this year, and walked away excited about its potential. The Creative Assembly has been making phenomenal Total War games for the PC for years, with deep, intelligent war strategy across several time periods. Now Creative Assembly faces the challenge of bringing an involved, deep strategy game meant for a mouse and keyboard to iOS. Their answer is Total War Battles. It's been streamlined a lot, but all of the elements of real-time strategy combat are still there. You build bases, hire units, and lead them forward onto a (very compressed, hex-based) battlefield. What Creative Assembly actually came up with is somewhat similar to the popular Legendary Wars, but I think it's a bit cleaner and nicer than that one. That's not surprising, given how experienced Creative Assembly already was at making great games. Aside from the hex battle maps, there's a ten-hour long, story-based campaign to play through, and as Creative Assembly told me at GDC, the basic storyline is fairly easy, meant for more casual players. More difficult maps are available to those who want a challenge. Total War Battles also offers local multiplayer. You can face off against an opponent 1v1 on the same iPad screen. It's not quite as deep as the core game, but it is kind of a wacky take on strategy that's worth a try. Total War Battles is US$6.99, and despite its quality, I'm pretty sure that Creative Assembly won't get nearly the audience they're hoping to at that price. Still, it's a great game -- if you like real-time strategy games, it's a must-play, and if you play PC games at all, TWB is worth a look just to see the choices Creative Assembly made in translating its work to the iOS screen. And if all else fails, just wait -- the next time Sega runs a big sale, this will likely be a little cheaper.
TUAW's Daily App: Stenches
We talked to Thunder Game Works way back at this year's WWDC, and they mentioned that they were working on a zombie version of their popular Trenches war strategy game for the iPhone. And it's now out on the App Store. Stenches is much like Trenches in that you guide a group of World War I soldiers through the trenches, but it's unlike Trenches in that it's fully focused on killing zombies. There are over 200 different levels to fight through, special zombie bosses made just for the game, an unlimited mode to fight on through, and everything else you may have played in Trenches. If you didn't play Trenches, you might want to give it a try anyway -- it's a unique little twist on real-time strategy that features some real depth in the action gameplay as well as a grim sense of humor and style. Stenches is only US$1.99, and for that price, you get both the game and future updates, which will include more game modes, co-op and competitive play, and some more zombie bosses to tangle with. The current game also has Game Center integration, so your friends can check your progress on achievements as well. Great game -- definitely check it out.
Machines at War: light RTS
I suspect like a lot of you I spent a lot of time visiting family this Christmas season, and while I love to see the folks sometimes you just need a little break from the togetherness. Unfortunately, however, my road machine is a MacBook with its anemic graphics, so I went looking around for a decent game that would run on limited hardware. And I found it. Machines at War is a light-weight 2D real time strategy game in the tradition of StarCraft. While it's not the deepest RTS available it runs great on the MacBook. The graphics, while limited, are quite serviceable. It doesn't support multiplayer and the total number of units is limited, but it's prefect for whiling away an hour or two on the road. Recommended.Machines at War is $19.95 from isotope244 and a demo is available.Incidentally, Apple has suggestions for gaming on various hardware, including the MacBook. What games have you found to run well on limited hardware?
No StarCraft 2 this year
In an interview with MSNBC, Bizzard's vice president of game design Rob Pardo reveals some juicy details about the development of StarCraft 2. The first design steps were taken back in 2003, nearly five years after the release of the original game. It wasn't until 2004 that development was in full-swing. The team also considered adding a fourth race to the mix but in the end decided to stick with the tried-and-true trio.And the question everyone wants to know: when will we get to play StarCraft 2? Pardo initially responded with Blizzard's usual response: "It'll ship when it's ready." A gentle coaxing later, he elaborated with "The only thing I can give you [that's] concrete is it's not going to be this year."Joystiq am cry.
iConquer 2.4
iConquer is one of those applications that I can't have on my Mac. Is it because it is too lame to sully my precious Mac? No, hardly! iConquer has this uncanny ability to steal time. I side down at my Mac with the intent of doing some work and 5 hours later my eyes are blurry and I have lost the Sub-Sahara for the 15th time.iConquer 2.4 adds some cool graphing abilities, as well as real time scoring. The full version costs $19.99 but there is a free demo available.[via MacNN]
