Relic
Latest
THQ makes Dawn of War II official, coming Spring 2009
After numerous expansions to its Relic-founded Dawn of War license, THQ has confirmed that a medic has braved the field of battle and returned with the franchise's treasured gene seed, officially announcing Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II for the PC. While the game is not expected to drop until Spring 2009, THQ notes that players who pick up the current game's latest expansion, Soulstorm, will score themselves an invite to the sequel's upcoming multiplayer beta. According to THQ, Dawn of War II will be built upon the Relic's proprietary Essence Engine 2.0, and will feature a fully co-operative multiplayer campaign. As for what races this latest chapter in the RTS series will offer up, we're left guessing, though the publisher has confirmed that the Space Marines and the Orkish green tides will be included. More information is promised in the near future, and as we get word from the Emperor, we'll let you know.
Sisters of Battle, Dark Eldar lead charge in Dawn of War: Soulstorm
If comments are any indication, many remain unsure of the direction Relic intends to take the latest expansion for its tabletop-inspired RTS Dawn of War, Soulstorm. While some may have continued to hold out hope for a bug hunt against galactic menace and fan-favorite Tyranids, gameplay designer Shawn Frison has revealed via a dev diary that the game will in fact pit the previously revealed Dark Eldar against the estrogen-charged Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, otherwise known as the Sisters of Battle. The stand alone expansion's factions will join others from the series, from the genetically enhanced Space Marines to the Orkish green tides, and will offer additional units and vehicles with which to wage war in the 'grim darkness' of the 41st millennium. Among these new units will be the Sisters' Canoness, who is described by Frison as "a battle-hardened veteran" who is apparently able to call down the wrath of God at a whim to smite her foes, not unlike my mother-in-law. Not to be outdone, the Dark Eldar also come to play with their "lords of malice" called Archons who, along with a retinue of Incubi bodyguards, look to give the opposition what for by siphoning their souls and being generally unpleasant. So, given these two choices, which race will win your favor next spring when Soulstorm arrives at retail?
THQ continues Dawn Of War expansion with Soulstorm
THQ has once again returned to Games Workshop's well for a drink, announcing yet another expansion for the company's popular Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War real-time strategy franchise. The series, which launched in 2004 for the PC and already includes expansions Winter Assault and Dark Crusade, is based on the popular tabletop miniatures war game, though thankfully the electronic version is far less expensive. In development at Relic, Soulstorm is expected to launch in spring 2008. In addition, like Dark Crusade, Soulstorm will be a stand alone expansion, allowing players to jump right into the grim darkness of the far future without having to pick up the other games in the series to do so. Previous expansions added new armies like the Imperial Guard, Tau, and Necron, and Soulstorm looks to continue this tradition by introducing two new factions, bringing the series' total to nine playable races. While THQ remains tight lipped on one of these new races, the other will be the Dark Eldar. The game will also add new units across the seven other races, including air units, a first for the series. Finally, the scale of the game is swelling as well, with THQ noting that players will do battle across an entire star system. For the Emperor!
Druid epic flight form is live with patch 2.1
Patch 2.1 brought many treats to the adventurers of Azeroth, but one of the sweetest is the Epic Druid Flight Form quest. Unlike its predecessor, Flight Form, this ability isn't handed out to every high level shape shifter with the appropriate riding skill. The quest to fly at epic speed is long and complex. Revered reputation grinding, Heroic instance running, escort quests, exploding foliage and much more await the intrepid druid. Oh, and they have to pay the 5000g riding skill upgrade before they can even start the quest. When they finish, druids not only get the Swift Flight Form ability, but also a relic that works for any druid spec: Idol of the Raven Goddess - Increases the healing granted by the Tree of Life form aura by 20, adds 9 critical strike rating to the Leader of the Pack aura, and adds 9 spell critical strike rating to the Moonkin form aura.An excellent walkthrough, Wiki style, can be found here at the Servants of Seagis guild site.EDIT: Another reward received in the quest chain: Charm of Swift Flight, Trinket, Equip: Increases speed in Flight Form and Swift Flight Form by 10%. Thanks to Felixia from the Uldum Server for the heads up!
Not-so-secret projects probed
FiringSquad has done its best to out 18 high-profile "black ops" projects currently in development. While the site's sleuthing skills might not be up to par with Mr. Holmes', the report does a good job of rounding up under-the-radar titles that are begging for some attention.We'd like to direct the spotlight on two studios in particular: Tim Schafer's DoubleFine and Bungie expats Wideload, which are responsible for Psychonauts and Stubbs the Zombie, respectively (both titles landed in our top 10 'gems' of last generation). The two developers are hard at work on new projects; and with DoubleFine striking a publishing deal with Vivendi, its next game is sure to stir up more buzz (when it's time) than Majesco managed to generate for Psychonauts. Also, we can't wait to see what Warren Spector and Junction Point have under lock and key. Keep those ears (and eyes) glued to the street!
Relic looks into RPG's and MMO's, looks also for people
Relic is best known for real-time strategy, so in truth, this isn't a very major deviation from prior games. If you've not heard of Relic, some of their titles of renown are Company of Heroes and Homeworld. Now, Relic is looking for developers and designers to assist them in creating a super-secret RPG and an MMO game. Console announcements are completely mum, but Relic did release an action/strategy title for the 360 earlier called The Outfit, so it's a fairly safe bet to say at the minimum, the games will see light on the 360. Probably the PS3, too. That's about it. It would be cool to have an RPG with a similar setting to these other games. Heck, anything aside from the generic fantasy/sci-fi fare would be welcome. Give us a WWII RPG for once. It might not be that great, but it's different enough to warrant an effort. Anyone else have any good, moderately original settings for an RPG? Maybe you should apply to work on this. I'm considering it. Lightly. Very lightly.
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Crusade vids
GameTrailers has some new HD gameplay vids from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, THQ's latest entry in their sci-fi strategy series. Due in Q4, the expansion features two new playable races -- the undead Necron and the technological Tau -- which brings the number of playable factions to seven. Developer Relic Entertainment (Homeworld, Impossible Creatures) is also including a new single player campaign. Fans of Rise of Legends might want to check this out. See also: First looks at Warhammer: Mark of Chaos
Dawn of War today?
According to this press release, THQ announced that Dawn of War went gold close to two weeks ago. However, over at IGN it seems that this real-time strategy was actually cancelled. What's going on here? Well, according to several major retailers Dawn of War is hitting stores today. So what gives IGN? (Not that we expect an explanation...) In terms of DoW, it's actually an extension of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. So if you're looking for that dark, futuristic edge combined with quality RTS, then look no further.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War demo for adults only
All you Warhammer fans out there now have the chance to check out the brand new demo for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. The 319 MB demo includes a single-player campaign, as well as a couple of skirmish maps to test out how well the game has translated to the PC. We've taken a preliminary look at the game and can tell you it's worth checking out for a measly 319 MB.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Exclusive inside look at the beta
Thanks go out to "Pete" for an insightful and thorough peek at Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. His hands-on look at the beta has yielded a good post that should get all you fans excited. Heads up for RTS fans, this game has great potential for anyone interested in a good RTS. The graphics are reminiscant of Warcraft 3 but also has style similar to Starcraft. Using Relic's new graphics engine that was also used in Homeworld 2, this game looks great. Also the strategy implemented in Dawn of War is astonishing. Almost every unit can be upgraded to be used for somthing else (i.e. Space Marine Dreadnaughts can be upgraded for either anti-infantry or anti-tank purposes). Also, squad based infantry makes for interesting strategies. For example, if artillery rains down upon a squad of Marines not much damage will be inflicted on them - but it might as well have. It throws the Space Marines into the air and separates them, greatly diminishing the squad's effectiveness and rendering them almost entirely useless. At least, until the squad gets a chance to regroup, which can be deadly in a large scale battle.
