The subtitle that became the name of an entire series has finally been given its rightful place. The next Total War game will be called Total War: Shogun 2>, and that’s the game I talked about with The Creative Assembly’s studio boss, Mike Simpson. We didn’t stop there, of course, because the conversation had to turn to Empire, Napoleon, problems with AI, the nature of multiplayer gaming on the PC, and the possibility of Total War: The 20th Century. So read on for some perspective from the strategy supremos of Sussex. (more…)

Instant Action may be dead, but their games aren’t necessarily buried. Legions: Overdrive announces the intention of the fan community to save Instant Actions’s Tribes-like shooter and to make it better than ever before. It’s losing the browser-based stuff and is going to be relaunched as a standalone client, and could feature new content in the near future. Keep an eye on the website for more news.

A last missive (for now, anyway) from WoW’s front lines from our embedded correspondent. Catch up with Bickers’ previous thoughts here.>

Hello again! Before I wiffle on about Cataclysm’s level 80+ dungeons, I just want to touch on a bit more of the experience I had on the way to 85.

If you’re playing Cataclysm, you’ve probably worked your way through Uldum in southern Kalimdor by now, and if you haven’t, I implore you to do so. (more…)

I’m currently listening to some of Nico’s solo jazz stuff so I’m probably finding indie point’n'click claymation showcase The Dream Machine a little more otherworldly than it is, but it’s still got a lovely, mysterious tone to it. Anyway, yes- chapters 1 and 2 have just been released, with the first being completely free (you could be playing it within 5 seconds via this link to the game’s site) and the second requiring an €11 payment that’ll also get you access to chapters 3, 4 and 5 when they’re released. I’ve been playing for the last half an hour and I’m really impressed. If you’re a fan of adventure games, dreams or clay, check this one out. Cockroach Inc. have done a beautiful job. There are a few trailers out now, but I’ve posted the one with the least spoilers below. (more…)

Bat Country is a great little browser game that tells the touching story of a helicopter pilot doing whatever it takes to get his men back, even if “whatever it takes” means defeating a whole sky full of massive bats, and even if you never find out who those ‘men’ actually are. You fly your craft around with the mouse, there’s a really nice bomb-throwing mechanic and the music’s pretty great. Have a play. C’mon, it’s Christmas! Let’s kill some bats! Thanks to the Indiegames blog for the tipoff. More bats please, Indiegames blog. I like bats a lot.

Or to use its full name, Dead Six: The Resurrection of Romance in the Skies. I’d have called it Dead Six: Love Is In The Air, but whatever. South Korean dev GPAX has unveiled its online arcade flight sim with a press release that wanders between sensible and eyebrow-raising, and also includes the term “mania fans”. Look, I’ve posted the full thing below the jump and bolded the important bits. (more…)

You’re going to die. And all your little friends too.

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Not sure how I missed a new Crysis 2 video coming out a few days ago, I guess I was entombed in ice, my face silently frozen in a scream… Anyway, this is the best of the single-player footage shown so far, I think, with lots of alien-whacking, and plenty of general showing off of both features and visuals, all from the perspective you will actually play the game in. It’s a trailer all about how that nanosuit does things. And it does things with violence. There’s also a bit of sliding around going on, which makes me wonder if CryTek are wanting to demonstrate that they can compete with Brink. It’s still not clear whether you can carry around a terrified Korean soldier by the throat, however.

Yes, you will want to watch this one. Go! (more…)

I think we mentioned that the Commodore 64 was being relaunched as a modern(ised) PC, right? As in the shell gets new internals? Well, it is. The official site tells us that: “It houses a modern mini-ITX PC motherboard featuring a Dual Core 525 Atom processor and the latest Nvidia Ion2 graphics chipset. It comes in the original taupe brown/beige color, with other colors to follow.” More specs here. The same company are planning to relaunch a bunch of Amigas, too.

Not quite sure if anyone I know if quite retro-tastic enough to get this, especially since it’s basically high-end laptop netbook power plugged into a monitor, but I guess the truth will be in the price, which has yet to be confirmed.

I had a bit of a blast on this last night. A few thoughts spring to mind: the map design is pretty good, although a bit chokepoint-heavy on a couple of the maps. I’m not that much of a fan of the flamethrower. It’s fun to use, sure, but you almost always get killed a few seconds after lighting up. Must make you easier to target or something. The overall Vietnam ambiance is great. Also, and I suppose I should have realised this, your level in BFBC2 carries over, which is a shame because I was kind of looking forward to having to unlock everything, and it’s already unlocked. Hmm.

We should have a server up later in the week, I will post when it’s sorted. For now: a launch trailer, with a deeply trendy interpretation of the Vietnam war. Mm, launch. (more…)