strategy
Latest
Manning or Brady? Peterson or McCoy? You decide with the new NFL app
Millions of Americans anxiously await September 4th. That's when the National Football League kicks off its 2014 schedule and begins a four-month journey of joy and anguish for Fantasy Football players. So now is the time to prepare and get ready for the months ahead. The NFL has launched the latest version of its NFL Fantasy Football-Official NFL.com Fantasy Football App which is a free download for both the iPhone and iPad. It requires iOS version 7. This latest version offers lots of player information, statistics, injury reports, trends, and analysis. In addition, new features include Game Center where you can view in-season matchups, and a quick place to find NFL scores and information on any additional leagues where you are participating. Two other new features show up in this version, a 24/7 Draft Lobby that allows you to join and draft whenever you want and 24/7 Mock Drafts to provide you with the chance to practice your draft strategy. I found that setting up a new league and entering my team were easily accomplished using the app on my iPhone, however you are not allowed to edit the league settings from the app. For that you have to go to the NFL fantasy web page, find your team, and then make changes in the league settings such as rosters, scoring, trades, waivers, etc. According to the site's support staff, more management tools will be added to the app in the coming months. Once you sign up and register your team, NFL.com sends you an email with a link to your league's web page where the settings are easily changed. Once you have set up the league, it's time to get others to join you and hold your player draft. The app supports live standard draft and auction drafts. In the auction drafts team managers have a set amount of money and bid on specific players in each round. Additionally, the app allows for Autopick drafts. Each team manager can preset his or her rankings of players and the website will pick players for that team based on those rankings. The app allows you to use a variety of social media sites to send out invitations and updates including Yahoo!, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others. So there should not be any problem keeping team managers informed and up to date. The NFL app is just one of many similar fantasy football management apps. Others include Yahoo, ESPN, Rotowire, Footballguys, and CBS. The Rotowire and Footballguys apps cost US$4.99 while the others are free. All offer similar information and features including drafting choices, player stats and projections, injury updates, and the opportunity to set up your own league or join others. So if you already are part of a fantasy league you can check out the NFL.com Fantasy Football app to see if it's better than what your league currently uses or if new to the fantasy football world download the app and get started. Remember just two weeks to go before the season begins.
Sentinel 4: Dark Star is a tower defense star
Strategy and upgrades are at the forefront in Sentinel 4: Dark Star, a tower defense game that challenges players to think on their feet in campaigns. There are 26 maps in the game, each with their own interesting challenges. Some of these challenges include limited locations to set turrets up at and other unique strategy requirements. Sentinel 4 is compatible with iOS devices running 5.1.1 or later. There are two modes in Sentinel 4: campaign and endless. Each mode can have one of four difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard, and psycho). Easy mode is a nice introduction to the gameplay and enjoyable for people new to tower defense type games or those just wanting to play a less challenging level. Medium mode is a good intermediate mode and a stepping stone in difficulty between easy and hard. Enemies become stronger in hard mode and this increase in strength seems natural, adding a new challenge. This is especially noticeable if you are replaying a level you recently beat in one of the easier modes. In psycho mode, each enemy is much stronger and they take a lot more hits to be taken down. It is much harder to get a good defense started and also harder to continue building up that defense. Sentinel 4 rewards players with more weapons, upgrades, and enemy types when they continue to beat levels and progress in the storyline. There are four categories for the weapons (turrets, path, sentinel, and stronghold). The turrets are the basic line of defense for your base and they become stronger the further along in the game you get. The next category of weapons is path, these are droids that can be used in the middle of pathways to block enemies from progressing very far without being damaged. Sentinel weapons are used by the sentinel to attack enemies with more powerful blasts and repair structures and turrets. Finally, the stronghold weapons are similar to the sentinel weapons but is usually stronger and takes longer to charge. All of these weapon categories can be upgraded with anything from auto-repair to increased range and duration of attacks. The upgrading in Sentinel 4 is a lot of fun and enhances the gameplay considerable as it makes the strategy more important. Sentinel 4 features stunning visuals and effects as well which accents the gameplay nicely. The way the lava moves is visually interesting and the lighting looks very natural with the setting of the game. Level progression flows very nicely and fits well with the storyline. However, even though the story fit with the gameplay, defending the base seemed more exciting. Each commander you pick has its own special abilities. For example, the Hyperion, which can be unlocked after completing some campaigns, has the ability to convert enemies killed within its range to energy to charge up your Sentinel. You can upgrade each commander's strength, guns, and tech capacities each with their own benefits depending on how you will be using the commander. Depending on what the level's layout and enemy patterns are, you have to be prepared to adapt your strategy and be conservative with your efforts as a lot of the time you will be limited in your resources and have to make tough decisions. When a level has more than one gate protecting the Sentinel, sometimes you have to make the conscious effort to let the first gate fall in order to protect another area that is getting overrun if you only have enough money to build one turret. Building strong but agile strategies is crucial in this game and with so many options for upgrades Sentinel 4 feels more challenging and addictive than some other tower defense games. Sentinel 4: Dark Star is available on the App Store for US$4.99 and I would highly recommend picking up this addictive game.
Wakfu relaunch moves into open beta
Wakfu's continuing with its "relaunch" strategy by fine-tuning its free-to-play offerings and now announcing the start of its open beta program. As of today, anyone can jump into the game to see how the MMO's improved with its new format. Ankama Managing Director and COO Olivier Comte makes the pitch that Wakfu is definitely worth checking out: "As we open the updated world of Wakfu to an even broader set of fans, we will continue to focus on the core and essence of our gameplay –- the players. In addition to a broad range of classes to suit varying tastes, colorful environments and our well-known sense of humor, Wakfu gives players a chance to impact the entire game world through their strategic and even political decisions." [Source: Ankama press release]
Heroes & Generals hosting free veteran weekend
World War II shooter/strategy hybrid Heroes & Generals is celebrating its first 30 days on Steam by hosting a free veteran weekend. Reto-Moto's title is free-to-play, but of course you'll progress faster and probably enjoy yourself more if you pony up for the game's veteran access. Starting Friday, August 8th, you can enjoy said access for free through Monday August 11th. Veteran membership grants a 25 percent XP boost, 50 percent credit and warfund boosts, a 25 percent ribbon XP boost, and more. If you're already a vet, Reto-Moto is adding 72 hours to your membership!
Loot dungeons, pay your village's debt in The Nightmare Cooperative
Surviving in monster-filled dungeons is stressful enough, but in Nightmare Cooperative for PC, Mac and Linux, perseverance is about more than just your own survival. You see, your village's leaders aren't exactly savvy with budgets. They've built monuments for previous Cooperative members, but there are hefty interest rates involved. You'll need to join the Cooperative and go find some gold to keep the village funded, since they're unfortunately also in charge of protecting everyone you care about. Nightmare Cooperative's tile-based dungeons are filled with beasts, potions and ever-important bars of gold, but all movement is shared between your party. If you'd like your archer to move up and to the right, that's fine, but your warrior will follow the same route, assuming there isn't an obstacle in the way. You can't always spend a dozen turns regrouping your team either, as fresh enemies will spawn after a set number of turns. Clearing a room is a balance of gathering as much treasure as possible and getting out before a party member is slain. Or guided into a pool of acid. You might also stumble across previous Cooperative members in your journey, who can be recruited to fight alongside you. Nightmare Cooperative is currently on sale for $8.99 on Steam, but you can buy a DRM-free copy directly from Lucky Frame for $9.99. [Image: Lucky Frame]
Become a student of football in Madden 15
The "overhaul" to Madden 15's defensive controls announced in June is intended to make players more successful on that side of the ball, yet that won't help those new to the sport itself. For that, the development team at EA Tiburon is turning to the game's Skills Trainer mode to help players become better students of the game. "In Skills Trainer for Madden NFL 15, we are attempting to do something we have not done in the past, which is teach players basic football concepts in addition to stick skills," Madden 15 Assistant Producer Danny Doeberling told Joystiq. "When we playtest Madden year in and year out, we found out that a good chunk of players are not familiar with some of the terminology and some of the intricacies of the game, and football in general."
Heroes & Generals on Steam today
Did you know that Heroes & Generals was one of the first titles to ever be Greenlit by the Steam community? Yep, it was, and today developer Reto-Moto is launching the World War II shooter/strategy FPS on Valve's ubiquitous PC platform. But wait, isn't Heroes & Generals a browser game? Well, partly, but Reto-Moto says not to worry. "The browser version will also still be operational and both versions offer the same game and access to the same wars," the firm explains via press release. If you're already an H&G player, you can use your existing account with the new Steam version. Click past the cut to have a look at the Steam launch trailer! [Source: Reto-Moto press release]
Civilization: Beyond Earth enters orbit on October 24
Civilization: Beyond Earth will launch October 24, Firaxis Games announced today. Those that preorder the PC game will receive the Exoplanets Map Pack at launch, which features six maps that were inspired by real exoplanets, such as the Earth-like, forest-filled Kepler 186f, the arid Rigil Khantoris B and Tau Ceti d, a "planet of seas and archipelagos" that has a "wealth of resources." Beyond Earth was first announced at PAX East in April, and breaks free from history by having its roots in space exploration. The game is deemed a spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, as Firaxis Games discussed with Joystiq at E3 last month. It's also inspired by sci-fi authors such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. [Image: 2K Games]
Age of Empires Online now extinct following server shutdown
The servers for freemium real-time strategy game Age of Empires Online shut down this week. Published by Microsoft, the online RTS entered beta in May 2011 before its full launch that August for Games for Windows Live. Gas Powered Games took over the game's development from Robot Entertainment prior to that in February 2011. It arrived on Steam in March 2012, at which point its daily active users spiked by by more than three times. A since-deleted support article for the game in January tipped off a July 1 closure date of Games for Windows Live. Age of Empires Online was let down easy, as its closure was forecasted nearly one month ago. The developer reset the player-vs-player ranking ladder at the beginning of June and hosted a few events for the game, including a Capital City decoration contest and invitational tournament near the end of the month. The developer capped off its Age of Empires Online send-off with an "End of the World" event yesterday, in which it livestreamed the game's final hours of life. [Image: Gas Powered Games]
Wakfu details boost benefits for free-to-play model [Updated]
Wakfu has always had a free option for players, but the game is saying goodbye to subscriptions altogether with its relaunch, giving all players access to every part of the game from start to finish. Of course, there has to be some way to balance that, since the company running the game will still need to make money. That incentive will take the form of boosts, allowing players to gain bonus experience on their first and subsequent characters. Boosts will be available in several different durations, with the longest duration corresponding to the greatest overall bonus. Players will have improved drop rates, health regeneration, and battle rewards as well. Prices have not yet been announced, but the goal is for the boost days to be affordable. Players with subscriptions will also see their remaining subscription days converted into boost days, allowing everyone currently playing to reap the benefits early. [Update: The team has just posted another chart with all of the veteran rewards that will be distributed to current subbers on July 9th.] [Thanks to Avaera for the tip!]
Humble Weekly strategy style: Sang-froid, Space Hulk, Ironclad
The Humble Weekly Bundle is discounted strategically this time around, featuring Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves, Stronghold Crusader Extreme HD and Cubetractor for any price you want, and then Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign, Eador: Masters of the Broken World and Space Hulk for $6 or more. Finally, there's Ironclad Tactics for $9 or more. If you didn't catch that, these are all strategy games. Pay $1 or more and get Steam keys for the applicable games, too. This round of Humble sales benefits the American Red Cross and Child's Play Charity.
With the introduction of HomeKit and the Honeywell Lyric, a Nest acquisition by Apple would have been foolish
Google's $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest was interesting on a number of fronts. Not only did it result in a slew of ex-Apple employees finding themselves under the employ of Google, but it also prompted many to wonder, "Why didn't Apple buy Nest?" After all, on paper it appeared that an Apple/Nest acquisition was a match made in heaven. Not only was the company led by former Apple executive Tony Fadell, but the design of the Nest Thermostat itself was lauded for bringing a more intuitive and compelling user experience to an otherwise boring thermostat market. While it remains to be seen what Fadell and his team come up with now that they have the full weight of Google behind them, two recent events bear out that Apple acquiring Nest would have made a great headline, but wouldn't have necessarily been a smart strategic move. First, we have the Honeywell Lyric. Yep, Nest isn't the only game in town anymore as the company long associated with thermostats has decided to jump into the 21st century with its own take on a modern thermostat. The device looks awfully similar to Nest's design and was designed to be a mobile-based product. The Verge recently ran an extensive review of the Lyric and it looks like a serious competitor to Nest on all fronts. You can check out some of the Lyric's features over here. Now imagine, for a second, what the landscape would look like if Apple had acquired Nest. The team would be toiling away at new iterations of the Nest Thermostat, and just like that, Apple is expending resources to compete against Honeywell and other competitors. Which brings me to point number two; the recent introduction of HomeKit. Introduced at WWDC 2014, HomeKit provides a new framework for connected devices within the iOS ecosystem. HomeKit is expected to work with home items as varied as locks, lights, doors, thermostats and more. What's more, Apple at WWDC announced that it had partnered up with a number of big name companies, including Honeywell, Philips, iHome, Haier, and Osram Sylvania. Nest may be the front runner with respect to thermostats and the like, but HomeKit has a broader objective, namely to make iOS the central hub for all connected devices. More so than manufacturing and selling peripheral devices like thermostats on its own, Apple is aiming to make the HomeKit framework so prevalent and appealing to developers that all third party hardware peripherals will want to tie into it. From Apple's vantage point, competing in all of the areas where HomeKit is looking to make an impact would be an exercise in futility. A far simpler approach, and indeed the one Apple pursued, was to let third party manufacturers continue to do what they do best and develop an attractive framework they can tie their products into. Further, with Apple aiming to get HomeKit off the ground, what better way to scare away partners than to tell them that, "Oh yeah, we'll also be competing against you guys." Instead of selling a swing set, Apple is creating a playground for others to join. All together, the impending release of Honewell's Lyric thermostat and Apple's HomeKit suggest that Apple's ideal role in the burgeoning smarthome market is as a facilitator, not an active participant. To that end, Apple buying Nest would have made for a short term sexy headline, but a long term impediment on the company's longer term plan to make the entirety of the iOS experience more attractive than anything else out there on the market.
Microsoft hiring for a 'well-loved strategy game franchise'
Microsoft Studios is working on a new entry in an established, AAA strategy franchise at its Redmond, Washington, location. A job post dated April 28, 2014, describes the game as follows: "Microsoft Studios is looking for a highly experienced senior games developer to help build and lead the team for a new AAA title within an established and well-loved strategy game franchise." A series that isn't just loved, but well-loved. Microsoft Studios has a few established strategy franchises in its wheelhouse, including Age of Empires and Halo Wars. Both were developed by Ensemble Studios, which closed in 2009 after finishing Halo Wars. [Image: Microsoft]
Heroes & Generals trailer reminds you that wars aren't won by tanks alone
Reto-Moto already has one of the best-looking World War II combat sims on the market, but now it's firing a shot across the bow of its competition with Heroes & Generals' new "Wars Aren't Won by Tanks Alone" trailer. New weapons and vehicles are coming to H&G's live servers in short order, and Reto-Moto reminds you that "you need soldiers to win a war -- not just tanks and planes!" Click past the cut for the trailer and the full press release. [Source: Reto-Moto press release]
Hearthmind brings the 'Twitch Plays' phenomenon to Hearthstone
Ever since Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft launched on PC and Mac in March, we've been asking ourselves one question: How would this strategic card game behave if a democratic octopus were in control? That question is now partially answered thanks to Hearthmind, a website that blends Blizzard's CCG with the livestreamed, crowd-play-style of control popularized by Twitch Plays Pokemon. Hearthmind isn't quite controlled the same way Twitch Plays Pokemon is though, as players vote on actions in the game by dragging their mouse cursor over the playing field as opposed to entering commands in the stream's chat. An action is picked by the game every five seconds, so it retains a somewhat brisk pace compared to its Pokemon-based counterpart. As of this writing, the stream, powered by Hitbox as opposed to Twitch, is hovering around 100 participants. Hearthstone just launched on iOS for free this month after Blizzard detailed the game's single player campaign. An Android port of the game is still in the works. [Image: Blizzard Entertainment]
Hearthstone is not coming to consoles any time soon
Despite player interest, Blizzard has now officially said that a console version of the popular Hearthstone strategy card game is not in the works at the moment as the development team is focusing on the upcoming expansion and the game's Android version. "It's not something we're actually looking at right now," production director Jason Chayes told Eurogamer in a recent interview. "We feel like we have our hands full in the short term with getting onto Android as soon as we can, which is kind of one of the big priorities we're looking at right now." A spectator mode is also a possibility for a future patch after the game's wild popularity livestreaming on Twitch.tv. "Twitch has been great, all the streamer support has been awesome, and it's something that's really kind of surprised us a little bit," Chayes added. Hearthstone is currently available for the PC, Mac, and iPad with an Android version coming soon.
Now you can play XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Android, too
Android gamers who've been yearning for XCOM's deep, turn-based tactics just got their wish: 2K has released a version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for Google's mobile platform. Much like last year's iOS edition, you'll get to fight off invading aliens and build your bases in an interface optimized for touch. This is one of the pricier Android games on the market at $10, but our pals at Joystiq are already fans of the mobile version. It's likely worth the cash if you're looking for something engrossing to play on your spring vacation -- especially if you can't get enough of it on your PC or console.
Sci-fi RTS Salvaged takes two screens to play on PC, tablet
Opposable Games recently showed off Salvaged, a real-time strategy game that requires a bit of multitasking from its players. The tactical sci-fi game is played using two screens, one on any iOS or Android tablet or smartphone (as the controller) and the other being a monitor via PC, Mac or Linux. In Salvaged, players act as one of many operators for a Remote Interstellar Salvage Crew (RISC), boarding wrecked ships to locate loot and retrieve each ship's black box recorders. The touchscreen in players' hands offers a top-down view of the frantic, squad-based action, allowing players to issue commands to their team and assess alien threats as well as interact with the wrecked ships themselves by hacking terminals, downloading data and restoring power and lighting. The second screen on players' PCs shows the operation in real-time through the squad's shoulder-mounted cameras. The UK developer cited classic games like Captive and the 1993 version of Space Hulk as well both the original XCOM and XCOM: Enemy Unkown as inspirations for the game, though players may recall FTL: Faster Than Light and Spelunky when it comes to the game's replayability. Salvaged's crew, environments, enemies and spoils are all procedurally generated, and like the aforementioned roguelikes, once a crewmember dies, they will be gone forever. The developer is seeking $125,000 by Thursday, May 15 to fund the game, of which it is just scratching the $10,000 mark as of this writing. [Image: Opposable Games]
Hearthstone plays its cards on iPad today
Blizzard's collectible trading card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available for iPad. The free-to-play game was first announced at last year's PAX East event in March 2013 as a cross-platform, multiplayer strategy game intended for PC, Mac and iPad. The World of Warcraft developer revealed details for the game's single player campaigh just last week. Hearthstone entered open beta on PC and Mac in January. [Image: Blizzard Entertainment]
Hitman Go launches April 17 on iOS, Android 'shortly after'
Square Enix Montreal will launch mobile strategy game Hitman Go on iOS on Thursday, April 17. Based on the publisher's popular Hitman series, the diorama-style, turn-based game will cost $5 (£3 / 4.50 euros). Announced in February, the first game from the developer has players navigating fixed, grid-like spaces while using familiar tools from the series, such as Agent 47's Silverballers. Hitman Go will include eight special "Curtains Down" levels based on Hitman: Blood Money. While Square Enix didn't set a release date for it, the Android version of the game will arrive "shortly after" it launches on the App Store. [Image: Square Enix]
