With Magicka, Arrowhead Game Studios showed when four well-meaning but inept wizards try to save the world: co-op antics with a whole load of fun and friendly fire. Surely four sci-fi futuresoldiers would fare better? Ha ha>.

Good news, fans of friendly fire: Arrowhead are bringing their Helldivers [official site] over to PC next month. Released on assorted PlayThings in March, it’s a twin-stick shooter with hordes of aliens, mechs, and a great many ‘incidents’ that would require difficult questions and mounds of paperwork. Look at this:

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There s something about Magicka s sense of humour that makes the series instantly likeable. The first game and all of its DLC was daft and fun and refused to take itself seriously. It helped that it was a cracking good game, as well. Judging from the Magicka 2 [official site] launch trailer, the sequel looks to follow the same vein. Only 96 seconds long and I definitely caught myself mid-chuckle at least twice. Bodes well.

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After a year of Early Access, Magicka: Wizard Wars [official site] has finally graduated from Hogwarts. We’ve already shared our thoughts on various versions of the game but there’s still plenty to say about this maybe-a-MOBA and its complex combo-based elemental magic system. Here’s wot I think.>

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The first time I killed one of my teammates, it was an accident. The second time may have been an accident as well. The third time was definitely deliberate and after that, the relationship was one of mutual murdering.

Magicka 2 [official site] is a brilliant, challenging cooperative game about killing your friends.>

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I have accidentally killed Peter Cornelius. I have accidentally killed him several times and this has included (but is not limited to) the time that I launched a rock at his head, the time that I electrocuted him and the time that I pushed him off a cliff. On each and every occasion it was an accident and I don’t think I was entirely in control of either my actions or my powers. I am sorry, Peter Cornelius, associate producer on Magicka 2.

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I appreciate anything that carves out a space for itself to be daft, and Magicka has long been entertaining with its silly wizards, clumsy co-op violence and self-deprecating trailers. This latest video for Magicka 2 is by far the oddest yet. Come for the new footage of wizards slaying magical beasts with beam-weapons, stay> for the retro karaoke-video-style.

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Wizard Wars has been scratching my mischief and magic itch for the past few months, but that doesn’t diminish my delight at the prospect of a full-blown Magicka sequel. Coming to PS4 as well as PC, the game will contain four player co-op, a story-based campaign and ‘relationship-testing friendly fire’. Paradox apparently have each of their studios working on a PS4 game (presumably for PC as well), which might well mean the debut of one of their grand strategy titles on a console. Stranger things have happened. Like that time a wizard accidentally exploded your cat.

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Pride comes before a fall. Worse, actually. In this game, pride comes before a meteor shower to the face, an icy blast to the particulars and a death ray to the heart. Magicka: Wizard Wars continues to entertain me on a daily basis but it has been cruel to me these past weeks and I can’t help but feel that I brought some of the suffering on myself. The tale I have to tell is one of ice and fire, and of cruelty and claws. It is a tale of cat and mouse.>

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The extent of my knowledge and understanding of strategy games is the breadth of smile they create on little Adam Smith’s cherubic face. So glancing at Bundle Stars’ Kingdoms Bundle, I could see a lovely, warm grin.

For 2.18 you get Europa Universalis III Complete, Europa Universalis: Rome Gold Edition, The King’s Crusade, Hearts Of Iron III, Sword Of The Stars Complete Collection, and Magicka.

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There was a time when I spent most of my day posting about bundles, to the extent that I didn’t actually play any new games at all. I’d just list the contents of whatever bundle landed in my inbox, embed a video and check that the ‘pay what you want’ offer actually let people submit less than a dollar. Then I’d hit the publish button and move onto the next big thing. Which would be another bundle. I thought all of that was in my past but the Super BR Jam has caught my eye, with a decent set of commercial titles for anyone paying more than $5 and the results of the jam (now finished) available whatever the price paid. Dungeonland, Magicka, The Showdown Effect and Knights of Pen and Paper all have Paradox in common, and plenty of people probably own them already, but the standout is Qasir al-Wasat, which I wish I’d pointed more eyes toward when I played the demo.

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