Magna Mundi sounds like a chewy candy bar from 1980s to my ignorant ears, but no synthetic toffee substitute here: it’s an impending grand strategy game from Paradox, based on the Europa Universalis III engine. ‘Grand’ is not a word bandied about casually, for Mega Munchies boasts no less than 400 playable nations politicking and warring across 300 years. One of them had better be Wales. The game’s due for release early next year, but a closed beta will usher lucky applicants through its Epic Door Of History next month.

But before you can reach lucky applicant status, you must reach applicant status, which you can achieve by popping over here and telling Paradox horrifyingly private details such as when you lost your virginity, your mother’s home telephone number and whether you’ve ever killed an animal. Oh, wait, sorry, I’m thinking of something else. This one just wants name, email and system specs. You also need to sign up for the Paradox forums, mind.

Magna Mundi footagey stuff below, too. (more…)

The cancellation of Introversion’s Subversion has at least borne some fruit. Our interview with lead programmer Chris Delay explain that a prison breakout level in Subversion, combined with a visit to Alcatraz, gave rise to an idea for a prison management game, Prison Architect. I’ve been playing some of the IGF build of that game – so far from release, but totally playable – and I’ve written up a few impressions below.> (more…)

It’s almost December now, and even though I’ve checked my hard drive thoroughly, again and again, there is no trace of Jagged Alliance: Back In Action on it. Which doesn’t make any sense, given the game was supposed to be out on October 18th. Let me just check again.

[Checks]Nope, there’s half of an Alanis Morrisette album an ex left on there years ago, but that’s all the Jagged I’m getting. Wha’happened?

[Checks] (more…)

Activate the rumour siren! Bee-WOOP! Etc. Kotaku have posted saying that an “insider” has revealed a multiplayer Dragon Age game in the pipeline. Here’s the vague heart of the rumour: “The insider wasn’t sure if Dragon Age multiplayer was going to be part of a full, stand-alone title (ala Dragon Age 3) or available separately as a downloadable game. It is apparently being developed on DICE’s Frostbite 2 game engine (used for Battlefield 3), and even early-on the game apparently looks stunning.” Apparently!> Apparently dragons will be playable, too. Take that>, other dragon-based gameplay experiences! It does make a lot of sense, though – a dragon’s tail whipping through a destructible building as you mill about with chums trying to kill it with hammers. We’ll find out of if this is a true thing soon enough.

The other day I was arguing that all new game trends trend toward adventure. What I’m saying is, adventure gaming is the natural form of game, to which all games aspire. And so it is that the infinitude of the casual gaming market is all gradually forming itself from a void into a desire to be adventures. They’ve just got to take that one leap of realising that adventures are really hard work. Another step closer for the hidden object genre is Elementary My Dear Majesty!, for which a demo is now available.

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Roving gangs of clever internet-users have tracked down the first Prison Architect video (below) thanks to the clues provided in Introversion’s treasure hunt. The video shows sped up footage of a prison being constructed, with prisoners and guards milling about at high speed. The Introversion-dominated Humble Indie bundle has also been updated so that you get the additional games, now including the excellent Dungeons Of Dredmor, if you beat the average offering for the pay-what-you-wantness, which is currently $3.96. (more…)

It might just be me, but the tone of this first Neverwinter MMO trailer seems like it’s about to break into being a send-up at any moment. I was sat waiting for the punchline that never comes. Anyway, it’s basically illustrating that the game’s dungeons will be heavy on the story elements, which seems to make sense, given the Dungeons & Dragonsness of it all. Also appropriate: a dragon>. The game – which was recently reworked as a free-to-play MMO – will appear next year. (more…)

Too many indie sales! THERE ARE TOO MANY INDIE SALES. Some of us poor PC journalists need to have dinner you know, but noooooo, here comes another announcement about bargain-priced electronic entertainments of most excellent quality. Back to the internet with you, Meer! This time around, the good tidings of money-saving are the third Indie Royale collection, aka The Really Big Bundle, and it’s a bit of a cracker. (more…)

Him:> silent, stoic, patient. “OK.”Me:> jabbering, confused, hectoring. “Go there, what about that, does that look like that?”

A right pair, Jim and I. Entirely inappropriate, surely, to tackle a co-operative puzzle and exploration game together. We did it, though. We conquered At A Distance‘s abstract shape-worlds, and we did it together. And creator Terry Cavanagh (VVVVVV) only had to give us big, fat hints around half a dozen times. Perhaps he was inwardly thinking “these feckless jokers run a website about videogames?”, but outwardly he was patient and understanding, so I’ll presume we weren’t quite the most pathetic pair he saw tackle his brain-teasing wonder.

Right: here’s the main problem with writing about At A Distance. You say how it works, you spoil it. I’m going to take a cowardly middle-ground and obliquely reference key elements without actually shining a direct light on them (and certainly not on how to solve the game), but if you want to go in totally blind to this 30 minute-long co-op indie game that requires two adjacent PCs to play it, stop reading now. (more…)

Arrowhead tell us that Magicka: The Stars Are Left should be available at online stores later today and to herald the alignment of the code, here is a pleasing video. The familiar robed figures are present but the combination of Lovecraftian and noir stylings makes them all the more entertaining, even if they’re not accidentally blowing one another to wizbits. Before the release of the DLC the game engine received what is described as a “major overhaul”. I haven’t had a chance to test that out yet, though I will be trying out this blasphemous content as soon as I get my claws on it.

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