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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Most games would be content to play host to a series of Wizard Wars and frantic tactical multiplayer arena combat is almost certainly the focus of Magicka’s immediate future, but the wizards at Paradox have a few other tricks up their sleeves, and hidden beneath their robes. First up is the Dungeons and Gargoyles DLC, a continuation of Dungeons & Daemons. There’s a trailer for that below, as well as a video of Wizards of the Square Tablet, which is now available on PC following its debut on the titular tablets earlier this year. I didn’t play it back then but it sounds like a devious little time-killer, like Bruce Willis in that one film. I might take a look this weekend and I’ll definitely be playing some Wizard Wars. A multiplayer killathon that I’m not terrible at!

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I don’t think anything else has quite gripped me in the same way this year. The current version of Magicka: Wizard Wars features only one map, and is suffering some network woes, but the Early Access release of Paradox’s arena-PvP reboot of slapstick spell-combinating hit Magicka is shaping up to be a triumph.

Let me combine the magic of words with the arcane energies of meaning, and use a ray of physics to put them all in your face.> (more…)

UPDATE: I am having trouble connecting to games, seems it might be over-subscribed.

And I am going to jump right in, so expect some thoughts on it soon. I’ve been itching to get my hands on Magicka: Wizard Wars – Paradox’s pared down team combat version of Magicka – since I saw it in action at GDC earlier in the year, and I believe it could well be the arena-combat type game that suits my personal sensibilities as a giant dork. Paradox explain: “two teams of four wizards each will do their best to incinerate, refrigerate, and defenestrate one another in chaotic combat, utilizing the versatile, element-combining spell system of Magicka. With friendly fire in full effect, wizards will have to think on their toes and mind their aim as they contend with imps, enemy players, and each other.” A frankly rather weird new trailer creates fanfare for the appearance of the game, which you can see below.

The early access page is here and there’s a Steam page here.

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I killed all of my friends when playing Magicka. Sometimes I even did it on purpose. Fingers dancing across keys to program arcane combinations into a staff, which then unleashes…something. Maybe a flaming boulder that is determined to explode, perhaps a jet of steam that sears the skin off any sorcerers in its path. If Magicka were a fighting game, slipping up slightly mid-combo would cause your character to chew his own leg off or punch himself in the face so hard that both fist and face were reduced to powder. Wizard Wars is a PvP Magicka game. You will> be reduced to powder, ashes and fragments. Jim is already a believer and I’m ready to join him. Alpha signups are now open and you can see the game in action below.

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Moments ago, Warner announced the existence of a DC Comics MOBA called Infinite Crisis and Paradox have now announced the existence of a Magicka MOBA called Wizard Wars. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to learn everything there is to know about the genre in between those announcements so I’m just going to copy some words from the press release and pop the live action trailer below.

In Magicka: Wizard Wars, two teams of four wizards each will go head-to-lightning-bolt on the field of battle, wielding a wealth of magic spells as players adapt their tactics on the fly in response to their opponents. In true Magicka fashion, victory will go to the team whose wizards can combine the craftiest casts – and who can avoid the most friendly fire.

Element combinations are still the basis of spells, which means comically misplaced explosions should be par for the course.

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As the ice-god Wulþuz is exacting his revenge on the blasé warm bodies of Britain, it might be a good idea to sort yourself out with a game this weekend. You might get dripped on. You might nearly slip! Why even give yourself the option of leaving the house when you could be inside and away from the icy danger? You could just plug your name into Steam Roulette and see what pops up. Or, if you’re not one of the 1.8 million people that bought a copy of Magicka, then you could pop over to Steam and grab the free weekend. (more…)

The last we heard of The Showdown Effect, the new side-scrolling and cartoony shootybangbang game from the makers of the reliably silly Magicka, was back in April. Now, it’s spooling up its beta-testing mini-gun, and hopes to lure in passers-by by revelling shamelessly in as many action movie cliches as it can conjure up. CONJURE LIKE IN MAGICKA. (more…)

I think we’ve all – at some point or another – turned on the television during a major sporting event and thought to ourselves “You know what? If I really put my nose to the grindstone and trained like a madman, I too could be an almighty elemental demigod wizard.” But that also sounds hard. And to that, I raise you videogames – specifically Magicka, whose WOOT Tournament DLC is mixing Arrowhead’s motley band of magicians with, well, pretty much the only thing left that they haven’t been mixed with: The Olympics.

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