trenched
Latest
November adds Iron Brigade, World of Keflings to free Xbox Live Gold games
The next additions to Games With Gold promotion have been revealed as eclectic tower defense shooter Iron Brigade, and the whimsical city-building game World of Keflings. According to Xbox spokesman Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, World of Keflings will make its Xbox Live debut on November 1. While normally the game features a $10 price tag, anyone with an Xbox Live Gold subscription will be able to download it for free until the end of November. Iron Brigade joins World of Keflings on November 16, and will likewise be a free download for the remainder of that month. As with all Games With Gold additions, once you've download either of these games, they're yours to keep - unless you delete them from your hard drive. If this occurs while the game is still a part of the Games With Gold promotion you can simple re-download the data, but if you wait until after the promo has expired your game is gone forever. These two additions mark the second to last month of Microsoft's promotion. As the Games With Gold FAQ notes, "two free game downloads will be available monthly, starting on the 1st and the 16th of every month from July through December 2013."
Double Fine's Massive Chalice finishes Kickstarter campaign with $1.2 million
Double Fine's Massive Chalice has finished its Kickstarter campaign, funding the project and earning a total of $1.2 million (minus Kickstarter's various fees) for production. In addition to the core game, which sounds like an intriguing mix of turn-based strategy and large-scale kingdom building, the team promised to grow the project's scope based on the funding received rather than rely on stretch goals. Other features and platforms will be determined as the project goes along. Development is being led by the smiley Brad Muir, above, who also designed tower-defense shooter Trenched, later called Iron Brigade. This is Double Fine's second successful Kickstarter; the first was the Adventure Game project, which resulted in the upcoming Broken Age. Massive Chalice's $1.2 million isn't quite as big as the $3.3 million earned for the game that became Broken Age, but the latest project began with a goal of $725,000, much larger than the Adventure Game's initial goal of $400,000. Massive Chalice will now start production, so it'll likely be a while before we see the game ready for release.
Double Fine discounts: Psychonauts, Iron Brigade, Stacking and more
No matter where you like to purchase your games, odds are you'll find a Double Fine game on discount right now. The developer has announced its entire catalogue is on sale across Steam, Xbox 360, Amazon and its own shop.Discounts include Stacking and its DLC on Xbox Live Arcade, and both signed and stock copies of Brutal Legend on PS3 and Xbox 360 through the Double Fine Shop. Iron Brigade (formerly Trenched) is cheap on Steam and Xbox Live Arcade right now, and even Psychonauts is half-off through Steam and the Mac App store, and the soundtrack too.We'd never tell you how to spend those hard-earned duckets you covet so much, but at least we can rest easy knowing you're not spending as much as you normally would.
Iron Brigade makes an attack on PCs next week
Double Fine's Iron Brigade has crawled out from the trenches of Xbox Live Arcade and announced an assault on the PC, starting August 13 on the pivotal territory of Steam. Double Fine is bringing the heavy artillery, as the PC version will include the Rise of the Martian Bear expansion.To celebrate, Iron Brigade has been discounted to 800 MS Points on XBLA and Double Fine has some related t-shirts on sale right now. For those who had no idea there even was a war on at the moment, maybe check out our review from the front lines and see if this is the battle for you.
Double Fine remembers 'Amnesia Fortnight' in GDC postmortem
In a GDC panel called "Creative Panic: How Agility Turned Terror Into Triumph," project leads from Double Fine's quartet of "Amnesia Fortnight" projects each outlined the process and inspiration behind their games -- with the exception of Costume Quest's Tasha Harris, who didn't share her insights because she wasn't there. "Amnesia Fortnight is a psychedelic mushroom and we all took it," studio head Tim Schafer said, before adding that it was really a two-week team game design exercise held in the middle of Brütal Legend work.Born from a break in AAA development, the Amnesia Fortnight forged a new direction for the company when Brütal Legend 2 was canceled.
Iron Brigade 'Rise of the Martian Bear' DLC coming in at $5
Lumbering manly mech news now, with Double Fine and Microsoft confirming the launch price of next Wednesday's substantial Iron Brigade (Trenched) expansion, "Rise of the Martian Bear." In exchange for 400 MS Points, or five Earth bucks, the DLC grants you four new maps (two of which can be played in Survival mode), a new boss fight, a diverse armory of beefed-up weapons, more customization options and, most importantly, a sombrero.Those disappointed by Iron Brigade's lack of ambidextrous salutations will be pleased to hear about the free title update launching alongside the patch. It'll jolt your character's left arm to life, allowing it to perform gestures just like the one on the right. Oh, sure, the patch also ensures compatibility between regular and DLC-equipped players, but you have to appreciate the little things -- even when the game's about big stuff stomping around.
Iron Brigade 'Rise of the Martian Bear' DLC takes off Feb. 1
Iron Brigade's "Rise of the Martian Bear" downloadable content will be deployed on February 1, according to Double Fine project lead Brad Muir.As the title implies, the DLC sees the Mobile Trench Brigade blasting off to Mars in order to continue the fight with the Monovision. The price for the content has yet to be named, though Muir promises to tweet the news once it comes down from Microsoft.
Iron Brigade's 'Rise of the Martian Bear' on video
There has to a be a Yakov Smirnoff joke here, we just can't figure out what it is. "Rise of the Martian Bear" still remains without an official release date.
Best of the Rest: Dave's picks of 2011
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP This masterpiece is 98 percent of the reason I bought an iPad. Okay, maybe not quite -- it's more like 99 percent -- but Sword & Sworcery is a puzzle so perfect in its assembly, I haven't fully recovered. I'm sad I won't ever again experience the drive for discovery I felt the first time I was thrust into its picturesque locales. At the same time, I'm grateful I could spin that vinyl so long ago and step into another world.
PSA: Iron Brigade (formerly Trenched) available worldwide now
Double Fine has announced that Iron Brigade (which is the updated version of Trenched, renamed and revamped for sale overseas) is now available worldwide on Xbox Live Arcade. The game is available for 1200 Microsoft Points (about $15). Double Fine is also selling an official release day I-shirt (not a T-shirt, they say -- "that would get us sued") for $20 on its website. Anyone who already owns Trenched will find an update when they log into the game, changing the name and adding new items, leaderboards on which to compete, and a new survival mode. We loved Trenched back when it released in June, and we're sure that by spending a little sit-down time with Iron Brigade, we can probably learn to love it too.
Trenched -- no, Iron Brigade -- comes to Europe Nov. 30, everyone gets new survival mode
The official worldwide name change of Double Fine's XBLA mech shooter, from Trenched to Iron Brigade, will occur on November 30, the developer announced today. That's when the long-delayed European version will finally come out, bringing with it new Iron Brigade content around the world. In Europe, of course, that new content is all of the game, because it hadn't been released there previously. But even in places where Trenched previously existed, an automatic update will add an infinite "Survival Mode with ten new pieces of high-powered loot, along with a new leaderboard to track players on this Survival Mission." The leaderboards and multiplayer will be cross-region, allowing everyone to discover this new material together.
Iron Brigade DLC official, involves Mars and bears
That DLC for Trenche- er, we mean, Iron Brigade, that was kind of sort of revealed back in August is now official. And it's officially weird. At least, the premise is. Titled "Rise of the Martian Bear," the premise goes like this: nemesis and all-around poster boy for the evils of Monovision, Vlad, was defeated, but not before he had time to transfer his consciousness into his pet bear. And that did the obvious thing and ran to Mars in order to regroup and rebuild the forces of evil and what we presume is more red-tinged bad reality television. Rise of the Martian Bear doesn't have a release date, though Double Fine told us it should be "soon." Like, really soon. Meanwhile, once you do get your hands on it, you'll bask in the wonder of new missions and an objective-oriented wave-based survival mode. Which is kind of hard, judging by the small bit we played last week.
Trenched renamed Iron Brigade worldwide
Trenched is changing its name to Iron Brigade in all regions once it releases in Europe this month, Double Fine's Greg Rice and Brad Muir revealed on Whiskey Media's Big Live Live Show Live. By changing the name, Double Fine is averting a messy legal battle with the "Trench" trademark holder that was halting the game's release in certain European regions. Having two separate titles would prevent people from playing online multiplayer together, Muir said. The title update will include a new survival mode and weapons, costumes and gesture unlocks, and Muir confirmed more DLC is in the works. We have contacted Double Fine for more details about the name ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
Double Fine's 'Amnesia Fortnight' game design jams saved the company
The recent downloadable releases from Double Fine, as well as the upcoming Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, all had their genesis in the company's "Amnesia Fortnight" events, in which small teams would make quick game prototypes. Schafer says that if not for those informal sessions, the company might not still be running. "We had done one Amnesia Fortnight in the middle of Brutal Legend, and one at the end, so we had eight prototypes," studio head Tim Schafer explained to Edge. "I thought eventually we'd start working on smaller games with the extra money that we got from these huge games, and then we found out that Brutal Legend 2 wasn't happening." With nothing else going on, Double Fine started looking for deals for the best four Amnesia Fortnight prototypes. "The thing I like about it is that we had a catastrophic event and the company saved itself purely based on the creativity of the team. Lee [Petty, responsible for Stacking], Tasha [Harris, who came up with Costume Quest], Brad [Muir, of Trenched], and Nathan [Martz, the game design puppeteer behind Sesame Street]- their ideas." Had the Amnesia Fortnight not have been a success, we can only imagine that Double Fine would be forced to hold "Amnesia Fifteenminutes" within the fortnights, in which each employee rushed out prototypes while rushing out their other prototypes.
Trenched coming to Euro XBLA as 'Iron Brigade'
The general who advances without coveting trademarks and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his well-received video game and do good service for his customers, is the jewel of the kingdom. - Sun Tzu, from "The Art of Modern Warfare." Microsoft has announced at Gamescom that Trenched, Double Fine's cooperative tower defense game for Xbox Live Arcade, will stomp into Europe this September. It will arrive as "Iron Brigade," a reference to the game's lumbering mechs that might as well be fueled by pure testosterone. It also marks a retreat from the battle against an "intent to use" trademark for the board game "Trench," whose creators hope to adapt it into a video game. Rather than having burly, Microsoft-funded goons snap the puny and utterly fragile board game across their knees, the legal and marketing experts opted for a change in name instead. Let's just hope you weren't going to use "Iron Brigade" as the title for your upcoming American Civil War sim.
Secret Trenched content is 'awesome,' says Rebel FM
Trenched dug into our hearts and scooped out a big glob of love this summer, and it looks like the team at Double Fine are ready to take it to the next level. Matt Chandronait said he's playing some new Trenched content that he can't talk about, but that's "going to be awesome," on Rebel FM's Episode 108 (57:30). Double Fine has yet to make any official announcements, but we've reached out for confirmation on what this surprise content could be -- DLC, a Games for Windows or Windows Phone 7 version, or a life-sized trench equipped with a Sassy Basket grenade launcher and sailor hat. Update: The Rebel FM podcast is undergoing construction to remove Chandronait's remarks about Trenched content, but as we've already asked Double Fine for clarification, we're going to leave this story right here. Update 2: Double Fine responded with a more eloquent form of "No comment," adding, "We hope to have more to say in the near future."
Trenched Euro release struggles continue, lawyer explains background
The trademark holder of Trench plans to keep on fighting to protect the name, which has prevented Microsoft and Double Fine's XBLA title, Trenched, from being released in "select" European territories. The legal wrestling involves Trench, a board game (pictured) that's being turned into a video game. Trench completed its trademark filing in 2009 for Europe and 2010 for the United States, almost a year before Trenched applied in May 2011. "Because the application is barely 2 months old, the USPTO hasn't issued any actions on the Trenched filing. More than likely, the Trenched mark won't grant without some resolution to the Trench mark issue in the US," Law of the Game on Joystiq columnist -- and actual lawyer -- Mark Methenitis explains. "Here's where this gets a little tricky. The Trench mark is filed as a 1(b) mark, which is an 'intent to use.' That is, they plan to use the mark, but aren't using it yet. From the notice of allowance (issued March 15 2011), they have six months to use the mark, request an extension for six more months. The maximum time they have to get a product to market is 3 years. So they only have until March 15, 2014, at the latest. But if they miss a response deadline, the application is abandoned, and then they don't have grounds from that application to stop the Trenched application."
Trenched guide will help you dig in against the Monovision
The good folks over at XBLAFans have assembled a guide featuring everything you need to know about Trenched, Double Fine's excellent shooter/tower defense/World War I/mech mashup title on XBLA. From the Achievements to all of the various unlockable mech parts and soldier gear you can find in the game, this guide has you covered. They've even put some maps together on each of the game's levels, so you can figure out exactly where and when you want to put defenses down against each incoming wave. In other words, if you've got questions about anything in the game, the answers are right there. Now, as for any possible DLC ... well, there is going to be DLC, right, Double Fine?
Trenched delayed in 'select' European territories
Double Fine's latest downloadable game, the alternate-history mech and tower defense shooter Trenched, has been temporarily grounded in unspecified parts of Europe. A Microsoft rep told Eurogamer, "Distribution of Trenched in select European regions will be slightly delayed. We're working to resolve the matter as soon as possible." Xbox Live EMEA Editor Daniel Maher tweeted the "official line" about the delay: "Unexpected challenges with distribution in some European regions." He then said it "Shouldn't take long!" We've checked in with Microsoft to find out more details about what caused the delay and which regions, specifically, are affected.
Trenched review: Let's mech love
I wouldn't blame you if your reaction to the announcement of Trenched, Double Fine's downloadable tower defense title, was entirely non-plussed and even a bit disappointed. "Wow, how original." After all, this sub-genre of strategy games is approaching -- or has already reached! -- full saturation. I would blame you, though, if you didn't give it a chance, because it's honestly a desperately needed breath of fresh air in the genre. It's not just that Double Fine's trademark wit and humor is evident in every facet of the game's design; Trenched a seriously polished and surprisingly deep game, too.%Gallery-118276%
