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Gauntlet needs new release date, badly
WBIE's Gauntlet reboot is being delayed by a couple weeks so everyone can build up more rage against friends who will inevitably shoot the food. Originally scheduled for September 3, the game has now been moved to a September 23 launch.
Gauntlet E3 trailer joins party
In prep for next week's E3 extrabonanza, Gauntlet has unleashed a new trailer highlighting the game's relic system. The RPG-esque system grants players the ability to upgrade powers and weapons. Join up with three other buddies for the reboot of the original dungeon crawler on September 3.
Co-op shooter Helldivers drops this summer on Sony systems
As the weather clears up, we tend to break out our list of items well-suited for summer. Namely, we like to cruise in drop-tops and play top-down shooters once the sun is out and the temperature rises, and a recent PlayStation Blog post noted that Arrowhead's Helldivers will be one of those two to toy with in the sun (as a game, not a car). The multiplayer-focused, twin-stick action game will debut this summer for PS4, PS3 and Vita after it was first announced at Gamescom in August. Players on those three systems can come together in online cooperative missions to tear apart procedurally-generated levels thanks to its Cross-Save and Cross-Play support. Arrowhead locked in friendly fire for Helldivers however, so the term "cooperative" gets an extra point of emphasis for the game. There's still no word on whether Helldivers will be Cross-Buy-eligible, though. [Image: Arrowhead Game Studios]
Seen@GDC: Gauntlet needs food truck badly
A Gauntlet food truck can be found vanquishing hunger around the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week. Branded with the natural hashtag #NeedFoodBadly, the mobile food dispensary is serving smoked turkey legs, candied apples, old fashioned root beer and water. The truck also has buttons with each character's symbol. If you're hanging about the convention, you can track the truck at @PlayGauntlet. The game's reboot was announced earlier this week and is scheduled for PC on Steam this summer. Now, just don't let any elves shoot near the foodtruck or they'll ruin it for everyone.
Gauntlet reboot needs food badly this summer
Gauntlet, the original co-op dungeon crawler, will return this summer to a home-based arcade near you. Announced only for Steam on PC at this time, the game will also have full support for SteamOS and Steam Machines. Warner Bros. revealed the "completely modernized action RPG" will be part of its direct-to-digital WB Games Vault portfolio. The initiative will deliver downloadable games based on WB and Midway arcade brands, along with original intellectual properties "across multiple digital networks." "With Gauntlet we combined the arcade style of the original game with an entirely new look and feature set that includes emergent, local and online four-player gameplay," said SVP of digital at WB David Haddad. Gauntlet is being developed by Arrowhead Games, best known for creating Magicka. We'll hopefully have more details to share about the game this week after seeing the title at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Helldivers coming to PS4, PS3 and Vita with Cross-Play
Helldivers, the next title from Magicka developer Arrowhead Game Studios, has added the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita to its landing schedule. The top-down shooter was first shown on the PlayStation 4 during Sony's Gamescom press conference, "As part of the elite unit called the Helldivers, you choose your deployment zone and dive into battle on procedurally-generated battlefields," Arrowhead boss Johan Pilestedt said in a new PlayStation Blog post. Helldivers features "Cross-Play and Cross-Save" between the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita versions, allowing a mixture of up-to four players across all platforms either locally or online. Whether the game is Cross-Buy as well, however, is unclear. Arrowhead Game Studios says it is partnering with Sony Computer Entertainment and Foster City Studios - a development squad responsible for overseeing first-party development at Sony - to bring Helldivers to PlayStation.
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.
The Showdown Effect trailer dances the ballet of death
You may think that ballet means lots of twirling and dancers in tutus, but this trailer for The Showdown Effect attempts to prove it's much better as a vehicle for slow-mo gun jousts.
The Showdown Effect leaps into beta today
Pre-orders for The Showdown Effect will gain instant access to a closed beta test today, publisher Paradox Interactive has announced. Paradox will also be sending out invites to those who've signed up for the beta here.The Showdown Effect is the next game from Magicka developer Arrowhead Game Studios. It's a 2.5D arcade-style competitive multiplayer shooter that draws inspiration from '80s and '90s action flicks.The Showdown Effect launches in March in two different flavors: the standard $10 version and the $20 digital deluxe version. Pre-ordering the standard version includes an exclusive playable character and "Fusion Sabre of Light" weapon on top of the instant beta access; digital deluxe pre-orders get an exclusive character, a pair of costumes and weapons, plus a permanent in-game XP boost, soundtrack download, free copy of Magicka and (phew!) early access to play the final version of The Showdown Effect on March 1.
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%
Magicka is $2.50 today on Steam
You probably haven't logged as many hours playing Magicka as we have, which makes us wonder what you've been doing all this time. Don't worry, the action-adventure jam with a nearly endless combination of mixable elements from indie dev Arrowhead Game Studios is 75 percent off today on Steam.So, kick off your shoes and check out Magicka for $2.50 today (down from $9.99). Treat yourself. You work too hard not to.%Gallery-115067%
Magicka says 'WOOT' with new Olympics-themed DLC pack
Some new content for use in Magicka's Challenge and Versus mode is set to debut tomorrow, and takes a cue from the ongoing Olympic games taking place in London right now – well, kinda. The Olympics doesn't try to kill its competitors, after all.Magicka's WOOT Tournament DLC features four new PVP maps, three new challenge maps and a host of new items and magic spells for competing wizards. These items and spells include the Musketball Dunker – a gun that fires a volley of explosives – and the ever-important Wave maneuver, a mainstay at any sporting event.Tomorrow's content dump will be free to all Magicka players. In the meanwhile, we've got some screens courtesy of Paradox to help pass the time, available in our gallery below.%Gallery-161870%
Magicka shows us The Other Side of the Coin on June 14
Arrowhead Game Studios is preparing the next DLC expansion for its wizard-powered adventure, Magicka. The Other Side of the Coin expands upon the story of Magicka by placing players in the boots of Alucart, an evil vampire who is in no way related to Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.The Other Side of the Coin will cost $4.99 and also includes four new challenge maps when it becomes available for download on June 14.
Confronting The Showdown Effect and its Super Smash Bros. inspiration
The Showdown Effect, the new jam from Magicka developer Arrowhead Game Studios and newcomer Pixeldiet Entertainment, was inspired by '80s and '90s action movies, and even Nintendo's multiplayer-focused brawler, Super Smash Bros.Emil Englund, Design Director at Arrowhead Game Studios, offered some insight regarding the creation of the game as he watched me experiment with the shotguns, pistols, rifles, pool cues, stools and rocket launchers cluttering up Neo Tokyo, 2027. The future's a pretty violent place!%Gallery-149554%
Face off against The Showdown Effect beta this summer
We certainly don't blame you for wanting to play The Showdown Effect. Thankfully, here at GDC, Paradox Interactive was more than happy to oblige and sat me down in front of a PC next to Emil Englund, Design Director at Arrowhead Game Studios. But before I could place my fingers over the WASD keys and start shooting everything in sight, I had to ask one question: Will there be a beta?"Beta in the summer," Englund quickly responded. As for how the beta will work and who will get in, Englund says "that's still being decided" by publisher Paradox Interactive, and that more would be revealed later.Another question I had was in regards to controller support -- Magicka on the PC is compatible with Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller, and when asked if The Showdown Effect would support it too, Englund told me that the earliest testing on The Showdown Effect was done with controllers. "The first months of development we actually only used game pads so, yeah, it should be in there," he told me.The Showdown Effect is currently slated to launch "when it's done -- in 2012."%Gallery-149554%
Paradox reveals 3 new games: The Showdown Effect, Dungeonland and Red Frontier
Paradox has, as promised, revealed the next three projects in the pipeline from Arrowhead Game Studios, Critical Studio and Zeal Game Studio at GDC. Each is set to launch on the PC and Mac sometime this year.The first game is The Showdown Effect, from Pixeldiet Entertainment and Arrowhead Game Studios -- you may recall the latter outfit's previous effort, Magicka. Paradox describes the game as "a 2.5D multiplayer action game in which players will be participating in death-matches to gain glory and fame." It's set in Neo Tokyo in the year 2027, and focuses on a cop destined to meet his ... destiny.The second on the list is Dungeonland, from Brazil-based newcomer Critical Studio. Up to three players assault Dungeonland, a theme park where adventurers can go to hack and slash stuff together, while the fourth player takes on the role of Game Master, devising traps and overall trying to kill their friends -- sounds like the perfect role for that one passive-aggressive friend of yours.Finally, Red Frontier is a competitive RTS that tasks players with mining resource deposits in space. Sharing is caring, guys -- even in the future we can't get along? It seems so.Hit the jump to check out the rest of the announcement trailers and some screens, hot off the wherever screenshots come from.%Gallery-149554%
Grab Magicka for $2.50 on Steam, or free for the weekend
What's that? You still haven't experienced the boundless joy of mashing-up already hazardous incantations? That's inexcusable, but you'll be rewarded for your oversight: Steam has Magicka discounted for $2.50, and is letting users play it for free for most of the weekend!
Magicka: The Stars are Left trailer crafted with love
If the world's in danger from a creeping, Cthulhu-inspired nightmare, who you gonna call? Umm, perhaps not the four wildly powerful wizards ... imbued with a clumsy tendency to immolate one another.
Magicka takes on Cthulhu and Minecraft in The Stars are Left expansion
Have you and your three wizardly cohorts blown up everything in the universe using your crossbred incantations? No, friend, you haven't. Just ask the subtitle of Magicka's recently announced expansion: The Stars are Left. The add-on isn't just a commentary on your failure to destroy heavenly bodies; it will add a whole new campaign to the title featuring a "horror-mystery inspired by the popular Cthulhu Mythos." Cthul-who? (We kid.) The campaign, which is set to launch this Winter, will feature new enemies and (assumedly tentacle-faced) bosses, items and, according to a fact sheet sent to us by Paradox Interactive, "we make fun of Minecraft this time." Man, it's about time someone took that game down a peg.
Magicka PVP update released, new DLC available
As promised, new player-versus-player content has been released for Magicka. The free update features three new modes including Classic Deathmatch and a last-man-standing mode called Brawl. The Krietor mode, named after a Magicka modder, unlocks new spells -- and thus new strategic possibilities -- as the round progresses. New Magicka DLC is up for purchase as well. First is the Final Frontier pack, priced at $2.99, which includes the Vulcanus Arena map and some new sci-fi goodies (remember that episode of Star Trek?). Also, for $1.99 each, players can pick up the Frozen Lake map, the Watchtower map or the Party Robe pack.
