Warhammer-40K
Latest
Warhammer 40k MMO details emerge from cover
PC Gamer drops a few new details on the in-development Warhammer 40,000 MMO that was announced in March 2007. This MMO will play more like an RPG than an FPS, even though there will be extensive gunplay elements, such as flanking, suppressive fire, and cover. Additionally, fans of the franchise will be happy to know that their favorite race, no matter what that might be, will find a home in-game. "All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented", says creative director Joe Madureira, formerly of Marvel Comics. He adds that there will be "Tons of stuff hanging off your character, weapons, scrolls ... we are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever. Once we begin releasing images, feel free to call me on that." That's tempting fate, like saying 'At least it's not raining'. But given that it sounds as though THQ's taking their time in developing this game, it could very well be true. We'll keep up to date with further news as it arises.[Via computerandvideogames]
THQ thinks WoW has probably peaked
Apparently THQ executive Jack Sorenson is pretty sure that World of Warcraft has hit its peak. He goes on to admit that there will likely still be millions of people playing WoW in a couple of years, but says that its subscriber count will have diminished. This would supposedly be the perfect time to launch a brand new game. Why? About two years from now is of course when THQ is looking to launch their Warhammer 40k MMO, however as anyone who follows MMO development can tell you, the market can change rather rapidly.WoW may be severely less of a threat in a couple of years time, but there are plenty of other MMOs that could take its place between now and two years out -- including Blizzard's next MMO. So while WoW may have hit its peak, in a couple of years time THQ could find themselves staring down the barrel of yet another juggernaut title: current or upcoming.
THQ: WoW has peaked, Warhammer 40k MMO years away
THQ executive Jack Sorenson tells Eurogamer he believes World of Warcraft has "peaked." He's not daft though, recognizing that there may always be millions of people playing it and that WoW is a great business. On that note, Sorenson is playing the good cheerleader for THQ's upcoming Warhammer 40,000 MMO and says it's still years away. THQ CEO Brian Farrell told investors in 2006 that the company wasn't going to take on Warcraft until it was in a "downward slope." Sorenson backs that up by echoing the same thoughts of many MMO producers over the last couple of years that titles need to launch "great" now. It appears THQ is in no rush to get the Warhammer 40K MMO out the door without more than a prayer to the Emperor that it'll survive.
The sun rises on a Dawn of War II trailer
THQ has unleashed a teaser trailer for Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II to imbue the masses with the righteous fervor of the Empire. The real-time strategy sequel was officially confirmed just a couple days ago and will apparently feature a fully co-operative multiplayer campaign. Don't go getting too excited just yet -- DoW II won't be out until Spring '09. In the meantime, for those who need a 40K RTS fix stat, there's always Soulstorm, which will grant entry into the sequel's multiplayer beta at some point in the future.
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.
Warhammer $18: Sale Command
THQ's Warhammer 40K: Squad Command may have earned a Metascore of just 57, but today it's also earned a $17.99 on the crucial "How much does this game cost on Amazon" scale. That's, well, less than the $29.99 you would normally have to spend to try the turn-based strategy title. It's just 44 cents per K of Warhammer! It's almost worth $17.99 just to have a constant reminder of how great the custom Warhammer 40K DS Lite was. But of course just printing a picture of it would be significantly cheaper. Alternately, it could be worth picking up if you want to play a strategy game or something.
Update on the Warhammer 40k MMO
Buried way at the bottom of an article on the Gamasutra site about an investor call with THQ was a small update on the progress of the in-development Warhammer 40k MMOG. You may recall the game as one of our Top Ten MIA MMOs from 2007. So where is this THQ-licensed, Dawn of War-inspired title nowadays?THQ president Brian Farrell notes that he just recently saw the game at the Austin studio in November. He was "pleasantly surprised" by its progress, but also noted that the game was "still very early". Despite that, it sounds as though the folks at THQ are ready to take the time to do this right. So, while we shouldn't expect the game out any time soon, the developers are definitely being given the time they need to do right by this license.
WRUP: Squad-based vehicles edition
This week, the new releases pretty much deal with squad-based combat or vehicles exclusively. So, if you aren't down with that, you're likely to not be picking up a new game. But, have no fear, as the holidays come next week and you're likely to receive some kind of gaming gift, if you were a good boy or girl. There's that to look forward to as you spend the weekend without a new game.So, what are you playing?
Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 - part 1
In the waning weeks of December, we've already started turning our eyes towards the new year. 2008 is already showing a great deal of promise for the MMO community, with the impending release of Pirates of the Burning Sea, Wrath of the Lich King, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Though most of these titles are still a good ways away from hitting retailer shelves, we've already got a pretty good idea of what's in store, not just in terms of assets and information that's already been released, but also from hands-on impressions and beta testing. In other words, as excited as we are, there probably won't be terribly many surprises as it concerns these titles. They're practically a given.As luck would have it, those aren't the only titles we'll be drooling over next year – this much we know. There are a number of games in development out there that have shown up on our collective radar screens over the past few months, but only as tiny blips. For the most part, they still represent riddles wrapped up in mysteries with a side of question mark. We've assembled a list of the top 10 MIA MMOs - those mysterious games that represent the future of the MMO... if only we knew what they were.In the first part of this feature, we'll take a look at the first half of the list.
THQ to give away Warhammer 40K themed PSPs
It seems THQ read our latest post about its lack of publicizing Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command because it's now actually starting to do its job as a publisher. On its website, THQ is holding a contest to give gamers the chance to win a very limited supply of Warhammer 40K themed PSPs.You see, this is the kind of thing it probably should have been doing during the weeks leading up to its release, but we have to give them props for at least getting its act together before it's too late. That's something that can't be said for Sega and its horrible job at pushing Crush.For a chance to win one of these awesome PSPs, copies of the game and t-shirts, you must be a registered myTHQ member and go here to answer a "fiendishly difficult" trivia question about the game.
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?
Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command launches, does anyone care?
To be perfectly honest, Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command has flown under the radar around here as evidenced by its exclusion from this week's Worldwide PSP Releases feature despite its Nov. 12 release date. In our defense, though, publisher THQ didn't exactly break the bank in publicizing the game or ensure very many assets made it into the gaming media's hands.However, Games Workshop did manage to sneak out a short demo that gave a very small taste of what gamers can expect from the game. In spite of its length deficiency, the demo definitely showed the game had promise. To show our remorse, we present you with the game's launch trailer, which THQ kindly sent out two days after the game's actual release.
Warhammer 40K: Squad Command gets PSP demo
THQ has announced the availability of a free PSP demo for Squad Command, the publisher's upcoming portable take on Games Workshops' lucrative Warhammer 40K tabletop license. As demos go, the 6MB download offers a taste of the larger game by placing players in control of a squad of five Space Marines and a mechanical dreadnaught taken from the game's larger Ultramarines chapter. The full game will be available at retail in November, and will allow you to play as either the Imperial Space Marines or the their more evil (read: more spiky) cousins across a 15-mission single player campaign or on nine different multiplayer maps. Of course, if cleansing the universe of chaos for the Emperor while on the go is not your cup of tea, take solace in the knowledge that THQ will revisit its Dawn of War PC franchise next spring, while the company is also working with Texas-based Vigil Games on a 40K-themed MMO as well. In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only license whoring.
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!
THQ announces Warhammer 40k MMO
From Gamespot, the same people who brought you the fake World of Starcraft, comes the announcement of a Warhammer 40,000 MMO -- this sci-fi MMO based on a popular franchise is real though. The Warhammer MMO should also not be confused or compared to the orcs and humans Warhammer: Age of Reckoning MMO by EA Mythic, expected this holiday season.THQ will develop the game with Austin, Texas-based Vigil Games. All of this Warhammer 40k MMO stuff is just in the talking stage at the moment, so expect the game sometime near the next decade. By then we should have hoverboards and Duke Nukem Forever.
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.
