I will grab this. I've always wanted to replay SR2, but the lower res dissuaded me. Having HD res is a GO!

*Cross posted at Octopus Overlords*

Haven't seen a thread about this one, so I thought I would post some info.

http://www.confrontation-thegame.com/

A new tactical RTS by Cyanide Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive. Cyanide were the makers of Blood Bowl and A Game of Thrones Genesis. Confrontation is sort of like a mix of those two games and is in the style of Dawn of War II and Spellforce II. The game is based on a tactical minis board game that has seen multiple iterations over the past few years. Anyway, they just stated the game is set for release on April 5.

I got a chance to preview Confrontation, so if you are interested, take a look:

http://grogheads.com/articles/prev-confrontation.html

For fans of squad-based RPG RTS hybrids, such as Spellforce and Dawn of War, the future holds another dark and bloody battle in Confrontation. So gird your sword, hoist the standard of the fire god Merin, and prepare to fight in desolate deserts, unholy underground alchemical labs, werewolf haunted forests, and orc infested canyons. Keep your eyes open for their arrival, for the Age of Rag'Norak is at hand!

<---- Does not like.

Disappointed in the direction one of my favorite devs decided to take.

http://playstarbound.com/about/

it's an upcoming indie adventure set in SSSPPPPPAAAAAACCCCE!  after fleeing your planet, you find an abandoned space station and from there go on to explore an endless universe filled with procedurally generated planets:

Planets in Starbound are entirely procedurally generated and filled to the brim with unique content. We went into the planet generation with one simple goal: no two planets should be the same. By procedurally generating even the smallest details, we’re doing just that. Not only is the terrain of the planet procedurally generated, but the weather, the gravity, the difficulty level, the plant life, the behaviour and appearance of alien creatures, and much more all contain random or procedurally generated elements.

if the graphics look familiar it's because the company was founded by the graphics designer for Terraria.  it's only just been announced, but I'm kinda hoping they follow the Minecraft/Terraria model of getting into the alpha/beta if you pre-order the game.

Great find! I'm bookmarking this page and will be anxious for updates!

I was just watching the opening splash screen and noticed an odd similarity:

IIRC Curt Schilling was a huge UO player and fan. Possibly a connection there.

The digital version is $50 on Amazon.com, just FYI.

If you go in thinking of Diablo mixed with Fable, rather than Skyrim, then you will have far more fun with the demo. No doubt about it, the game is a bit lighter than some, but the demo does display a bit of depth. There is item creation, item socketing, and a pretty decent three-tree skill set (warrior, rogue, mage). Also you have alchemy. There is quite a bit more in the inventory system than Fable 3, more like other action RPGs with items that have various boosts.

Combat is arcady, but that is alright - as long as you go into it knowing that. I found it fun and challenging. A little like Space Marine, but not on rails.

The story is a little super-duper fantasy for me, at least from the demo. You are an awesome special case hero, magic is ubiquitous as to be absurd (do they magically brush their teeth?). Also the story is highly focused on "elf-like" beings - but, duh, R.A. Salvatore wrote it.

I think I will have fun. Part of me bought it because I want to see Curt Schilling succeed here.

I'm confused. The Steam listing said this released last week? (Jan. 16, 2012)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/71000/

Is this a 're-release' or something?

Release date on Steam. This one has been out for quite a while now.

stumbled across this voxel based RPG in development.  it looks to a mix of Zelda (in this case it really reminds me more of 3D Dot Heroes) and Minecraft, in a procedurally generated world.

IIRC, Mojang "bought" or invested or something in this project recently, to help the one-man dev team make this into an awesome reality. I'm excited to see the end result!

EDIT: Actual story - Mojang has hired the developer of Cubeworld to help them with future projects. Cubeworld is still in development as an independent game, but now the developer has a day job with the OTHER cube-based game developer.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/05/mojang-hire-cube-world-developer/

5 lock picks (not too thrilled with the lockpicking minigame, needs some sort of feedback as to if you're on the right track or not)

The closer you are to the right location, the further to the right the slider will move before the pick starts to shake and get ready to break.  It works almost exactly like Skyrim's lockpicking.

it seems like I'm not getting much, if any, shaking.  it seems to automatically break-  I wonder if using the keyboard is the wrong way to go for that portion.

I had the exact same experience. Not much shake, only break (and I helped?).

Actually, Arvoch Alliance is the next iteration of the Arvoch Conflict series. These are a separate series from Evochron. The Evochron series is a free-form, open-space, trade and mercenary simulator. The Arvoch games are a mission-based, space combat/flight simulator. So Arvoch is more like Wing Commander in style.

I haven't played the Arvoch games. Evochron is fun, but it always leaves me wanting to play X3 more.

Well, I played the demo and I don't know what to think. On one hand, the combat is fast and fun, the character customization seems like Diablo II and relatively extensive, and the story is sort of neat, albeit a tad "bad guy in his bad guy castle threatens the world. On the other hand, the graphics/aesthetic were like a cross between Fable and World of Warcraft (and I was a bit turned off by this), there were a few buggy bits, and the setting and game pacing felt off... sort of like a collection of things just hanging on a wall.

What I mean by that comment is something like this: I go into the town and I see a crowd. Nothing happens when I walk up, although I notice a girl writhing on the ground. I talk to a person nearby and I've been told there was an assault. I talk to another person and he tells me where to go. I go to the alchemist to get help, enter an empty room, pilfer a healing potion from a desk (with nobody watching) and suddenly a guard comes out of nowhere and arrests me. It all felt a little surreal and poorly connected, sort of like the steps where there but the characters a bit wooden and the situation staged.

Another example was when I walked up to a lorestone. I have no idea what this is. I click it and it begins to talk to me, but in a weird voice like I'm hearing a radio show in my head. One lorestone starts talking to me about a magical rooster, and it sounds like some peasant lady is telling me a story in a bar. It was so odd... and it jarred me out of the game a bit.

Maybe things get a bit more life to them as the game progresses. It is supposed to be "open world" so I would like to see how that plays out. I'll probably try the demo again, but if I don't get over this sense that the game is a bit unpolished then I don't think I am going to get it. IIRC, the game releases on the same day as Crusader Kings II, so realistically I will ignore this one to play CKII.

FYI, today on Gamersgate the X Superbox is only $10. So for people who don't have any of the games, want to start the series, or missed an expansion, you can buy the superbox and get Albion Prelude for free.

Offer ends in 16 hours or so.

Blackjack,

That is probably a good move. The CE skull is nice, but I already own D1 and D2, so largely irrelevant. Digital Download means instant gratification and the box for SC2 wasn't particularly worth having.

Just be warned, calling it a "game" is a bit of a misnomer. There are a few gamey elements, but it is more of an interactive story than a game. That being said, it is the best interactive story I have seen. A far cry from those run-of-the-mill "art house indie games" that try to be deep through shock value. To the Moon is the real deal - if you don't have some sort of emotional reaction to the characters, you are a robot.

EDIT: Also, Laura Shigihara sings. Nuff' said!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to pre-order? It looks like the CE is harder to find (so I might have missed my boat). Crunching the numbers, I can't justify the year-pass sub to WoW, as I don't actually want to play WoW (especially given The Secret World coming out within the next six months).

whoah, ninja X3 release incoming!  this is due out next week, and it's set to bridge the story between X3 and X Rebirth.  more importantly:

For owners of the X Superbox, X3: Albion Prelude will be available as a free download on Steam, while for owners of X3: Terran Conflict it will be available at the 'add-on' price of €9.99. For players new to the series, X3: Terran Conflict and X3: Albion Prelude will be available for purchase as a bundle. Time your purchase right and you could enjoy substantial discounts in the Steam holiday sale too!

pretty sure I bought the Superbox 

I'm looking forward to Rebirth next year and this might be fun to bridge the time before release.

Well, after reading a continuous stream of stunning reviews, I plunked down the $11.99.

I was going to test the waters for a bit and played for two hours.  And I was trying to stop for the last half hour, but I just kept playing.

I was expecting something somber and moving, and while that is certainly in there, the game is extremely clever and funny in parts, as well.  And it knows how to pace such moments, too.  Scripting-wise, it's incredibly tight.

Honestly, I'm going to do some other things now, but I may well come back and finish this today.

It's really phenomenal so far.  Go get it.

+1

I don't cry at things, I'm notorious for my lack of display of emotion during movies. But To The Moon almost had me bawling. It is, at turns, extremely moving and then very funny, with some ominous "creepy" thrown in. Best yet, it is the first of a series, so expect more of these in the future!

Except you can design every turret and unit in the game. You can also play as the turrets OR the attackers. Lastly you can chose your path in the fly and choose targets. So, yes, it has a base Turret Defense design, but there is a lot more going on here.

I remember the feeling o achievement I got when I finally managed to get the damned game to run with sound.  stupid VooDoo memory management system 

I hear that! I had to set up a special boot menu just for Ultima 7. We had just recently gotten a Soundblaster card, so imagine my surprise when the Guardian burst forth and said "Avatar!" I jumped back! U7 was the first PC game I played with full sound.

Nobody remembers Etherlords? It looks a lot like that.

I'm surprised at the lack of originality coming from the creator of Minecraft. Of course Minecraft was heavily "inspired" by that Infiniminer or whatever game.

I will be getting Starflight! I spent many a childhood hour on those two!

I am far less interested now. Online... Fairly boring looking board.

Am I missing it or are their "missions" you can activate with special cars like taxis and ambulances? I remember GTA did this but didn't know if this was an option with SR.

The towns are certainly a "for the future" thing, I think. I wonder how, now that Notch considers this "released" future updates will appear? In some way, he *should* get paid for continued development but in other ways the game still has that unfinished feel (even if it is more fun and polished than many AAA titles).

The strongholds and ruins have more of an impact on the game than the towns, so search those out.

until this update I never realized I didn't have 64-bit java.

How did you figure that out? Did you have 32 bit installed or something?

So is there still not a point in level in 1.0? I am level 3 but don't see what ti does.

Level points go into item enchants. You need to get diamonds and obsidian before you worry about that.

Question about the garage: If I take a car out on a mission and don't drive it back to the garage at the end of the mission, do I lose the car? I assumed so, and I'm worried about losing access to the Professor Cat Face Manapult if I inadvertently, say, drive it off a bridge. Also, I love the blue Tron-Like "Prius" (called Solar ingame)!

From what I've seen, this game truly shows Volition could successfully revive Freespace and Decent if only those games included giant dildo weapons.  

And really, what space game couldn't be improved with dildo missiles?

Wait... I've got it... LEXX: The PC Game!



Anyway, SR:3rd is still awesome. Played another few missions and it remains epic.

Yes, this HAD to come out at the same time as Skyrim. Seriously these two games look like a lot of game time between them.

GONE GOLD! https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/136078211284090881 

So it's finally done and feature complete... 

I wonder when they will let us DL the "final" version patch? I'm eager to move on from the pre-releases, as I tend to start a completely new map with each patch.

I'm sorry, but I knew that I was in for a great ride with the line:

Johnny Gat: "How many Swat guys do you think we will have to kill?"

Girl (can't remember name): "Oh, about two waves."

LOL!

It also helps to play the game with the Walter White/Heisenberg character I created (from Breaking Bad):

Yeah, I'm not seeing the downside of finding out a game has something extra included to extend the game but doesn't harm the core game or require you to use it at all if you don't like it.   

I'm with Hep. It sounds like it spawns bandits and baddies as well as just FedEx and fetch quests. So how is this a bad thing - given they will also have normal pre-made quests?

Seriously, I don't think the company even exists any more, so shouldn't it be pretty easy?

That's probably exactly why it's hard. Someone owns the rights, but when a company collapses it suddenly becomes very hard to figure out exactly who.

You and your "logical thinking!" Someone pass GoG.com a Wizardry 8 CD and let's get burning! 

Gamershell has a demo.

Great! This will help me decide if the changes are purely cosmetic or actual. Since Saint's Row the Third is also coming out, I can only get one.

Might & Magic 9: Writ of Fate



GT Link

I never played this one, but the graphics made me think of something else.

Why the heck hasn't GOG.com gotten the rights to WIZARDRY 8! Seriously, I don't think the company even exists any more, so shouldn't it be pretty easy?

Given my recent luck with Stronghold 3 and SotS 2, there is no way in hell I'm going to buy this one at release.

I'll bet your mothership has cobwebs on her. 

and this is out this week.  kinda hoping for a demo to pop up, otherwise I think I'll wait for a good sale on it.

Yeah, same here.  I don't have enough confidence to jump in for full price without being able to try it first.

Greenmangames had this for $39, so I jumped. I haven't gotten to play it yet though.

They could then contract the game to the UK corrections system.

[by a Grue.]

It is pitch black. You are likely to be buggered by a Grue.

Fixed that for you.