Rome 2 looks to continue building Total War's empire

Showing off a strategy game like Total War: Rome 2 at a convention can't be easy. With only so much time to show off to the awaiting journalists, games have to rely on spectacle. Yet the greatness of Total War derives from longer play sessions. There, the series' two halves - tactical battlefields and grand strategic decisions - work in harmony. Those moments are impossible to achieve in a single gameplay demonstration, but developer Creative Assembly still has to make that attempt, which it did, with the historical Battle of Teutoburg Forest.

The most notable part of the demonstration was that the game's graphics are fantastic, but that's also the least surprising aspect of a new Total War game. After all, the Total War series has taken major leaps forward in graphics ever since its inception over a decade ago. 2011's Shogun 2 may still look great, but Rome 2 appears to surpass it. The background geography, like the trees, cliffs, and marshes look particularly detailed, while the soldiers had a slightly grittier, less cartoonish look than their samurai counterparts.

It was left to a question and answer session after the demo with three of Rome 2's developers to understand what might make this installment particularly interesting. Much of what they said indicated that they understood the series' flaws and were actively working to fix them. Although not directly stated, many of their statements implied a move away from micromanagement, the bane of Total War and many other strategy games.

Gallery: Total War: Rome 2 (10/4/12)

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Rome 2 looks to continue building Total War's empire originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unfinished Swan's scrapped ideas and the future of Giant Sparrow

The Unfinished Swan originally had a river-painting mechanic and a playable library full of unfinished books, but Ian Dallas and the team at Giant Sparrow couldn't figure out a way to make these aspects fun, he told Joystiq at GDC. The river-painting tool allowed players to throw paint and create puddles 10 feet deep, and "it seemed cool. We had a whole playable prototype, it worked, it was there," but it wasn't fun, so Dallas removed it.

The library of unfinished books would have been a space with "a million letters everywhere, running around," with tomes that contained the first chapter of brilliant novels, wonderful opening sentences or vague ideas only, nothing complete. While this would have been pretty, Dallas said, it didn't have a place in the game.

The blueprint mechanic almost didn't make it into the final build of Unfinished Swan, but it made the cut, so, "Yay!" Dallas exclaimed.

Giant Sparrow isn't in charge of the Unfinished Swan brand anymore, so if there's a Vita port on the way Dallas isn't aware. Sony isn't obligated to tell him if there's anything in progress, but it's generally up-front about these things; Dallas knew about the Unfinished Swan DLC for PlayStation All-Stars nine months ahead of time.

"I would be ecstatic if there were ports," he said. "If someone wanted to make a port of the game, it's awesome that we don't have to do that. I don't know if there are ports or what the plans are, but that's one of the nice things about having a publisher."

As for that leak about "Edith Finch," Giant Sparrow's purported next game, Dallas can't say much. "We may have contracts, there may be a publisher involved, they may have people with feelings that may get hurt from time to time," Dallas said. "We can safely announce that we have an unannounced game that we're working on. I'm very excited about it."

The publisher that Giant Sparrow "may" have might be Sony. Dallas said other publishers - Nintendo and Microsoft, specifically - are generally open to publish indie games but not fund them, while Sony goes all-in. "We've been so happy with Sony," he said. "It's amazing that Sony can do that and really put faith in these things. God bless Shuhei and Scott Rody and all these people ... They just really want to make interesting games."

Unfinished Swan's scrapped ideas and the future of Giant Sparrow originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Divekick preview: The two-button brawler

Iron Galaxy Studios' Divekick, which started out as a purely independent Kickstarter success story, pokes fun at the aspects of the fighting genre that people both love and loathe. It competes well in the genre it trivializes, and it does so with both hands in its pockets.

The build I played at PAX East used a fight stick with two buttons slightly larger than the palms of my hands. That underscores the key ingredient to Divekick: it introduces an appropriate level of depth for a fighter that only uses two forms of input. Smacking one button down would tell my character to jump in the air, while the other had them hopping backwards. Combinations of these buttons resulted in jumping in the air and kicking downward at an angle, or activating a character-specific ability when the "kick meter" filled up. Successfully kicking my opponent just once in the cat-and-mouse fighter won a round, with the match going to the first character to win five rounds.

Instead of memorizing button combinations, the playing field is leveled for all combatants, as timing is everything in this game. I found myself adopting familiar fighting game strategies, attempting to lure my opponent in before nailing them with a quick hop and kick. Other times, I would close the gap between us with a high vertical jump and kick, a risky proposition given the amount of time available for my enemy to counter. Kicking my opponent in the head wasn't just satisfying, it was a tactic that carried over to the next round, as the player suffering the blow began the first four seconds of the round in a daze. The daze slowed their movements, giving me a clear, but not absolute advantage.

Gallery: Divekick (3/27/13)

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Divekick preview: The two-button brawler originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Mar 2013 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halfbrick's Fish Out of Water coming to iOS soon

Halfbrick's next mobile game is ready to hit the iOS App store "very soon." That's according to Chief Marketing Officer Phil Larsen, who handed me an iPad running Fish Out of Water, a new game which expects you to fling some fish as far as you can.

That's really all it is: you touch a fish to snag it, then swipe to fling. The further your fish goes, and the number of skips it makes on the surface of the ocean, both factor into your overall score, which is calculated from three separate tosses.

The fish are not only aesthetically different, they're functionally unique. Pointy fish tend to dive down more depending on the arc of your fling, while the puffy blow fish fella is more prone to skipping across the surface.

Fish Out of Water features the same mission system found in Jetpack Joyride, and it's one of the many systems included to fuel replay. The game also has competitive leaderboards through Google+ and Facebook, hourly weather changes and unlockable treasures.

Fish Out of Water will debut on iOS devices first for $.99, and though there aren't any ports in the works right now, Larsen said "it's only logical to think it'll be on other platforms later."

Gallery: Fish Out of Water (iOS)

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Halfbrick's Fish Out of Water coming to iOS soon originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag unveils gameplay trailer, collector's editions

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is shaking its booty today with a new gameplay trailer, and the unveiling of five different collector's editions to plunder; one for North America, and four for EMEA territories - that's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Ubisoft also revealed a VIP pre-order program bonus for the UK and Ireland.

As for North America, Ubisoft has the GameStop Edition which includes the 'Black Island Pack,' which offers a few in-game items to fill your boots with. It includes the Black Island quest, the Black Ship, Captain Morgan's silver flintlock pistols, and multiplayer items that include the good cap's costume, picture, and title. If you're after something more physical, GameStop pre-orders also bundle in a Todd McFarlane-designed collectible poster.

Now onto the EMEA region, where the biggest treasure trove is the Black Chest edition, only obtainable via Ubisoft's Uplay service. It includes - take a deep breath - a 55cm Captain Edward diorama, an exclusive steelbook, an artbook, a soundtrack, two lithographs, two canvas prints, all "existing additional" in-game content that can be unlocked, a collector's box, parchment world map, and an "original Black Flag replica" - and breathe.

If you can't hold your breath that long, you can always try the Buccaneer Edition, which includes the artbook, soundtrack, lithographs, in-game content, collector's box, and an Edward Kenway Figure. That's available at GAME in the UK and GameStop in Ireland. Another UK option that's market-wide is the Skull Edition, which swaps out the Kenway figure and collector's box for a "Jumbo Steel Case." Finally, the standard-price Special Edition comes with all the existing additional unlockable in-game doodads, and it can only be found at GAME in the UK and Xtravision in Ireland.

On top of all those pieces of eight, Ubisoft has a VIP program as a pre-order bonus at GAME and Amazon in the UK, and GameStop in Ireland, or via uPlay. The program, rather menacingly called 'The Watch,' grants access to "additional information, bonus content, rewards," and an exclusive quest. You can find rustle up more info on The Watch here.

Continue reading Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag unveils gameplay trailer, collector's editions

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag unveils gameplay trailer, collector's editions originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Joystiq Podcast 043 Live: ARMA 3, Metro Last Light, StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm [Update: Watch the replay!]

Update: The live show is over, watch the replay above!

This week on the live edition of the Super Joystiq Podcast, the team talks about a few games that have been taking up their time just before major industry events like GDC and PAX East.

Xav enters the realistic world of ARMA 3 and has some closing thoughts on Tomb Raider which Ludwig is also playing alongside God of War: Ascension and Metro: Last Light. On the strategic side of things, Mike Schramm gives his thoughts on the second installment in the StarCraft 2 trilogy, Heart of the Swarm.

For those looking to increase their own game collection, this week the team gives away three games to three lucky viewers: a PS3 copy of Black Ops 2, the Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition for PS3 and God of War: Ascension.

To enter to win, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and send us a private message with your name and email address with "Episode 43" in the subject line. Winners will be randomly selected and contacted next week.

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What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. All winners of Joyswag are selected randomly. Only comments in the podcast post linked above will be entered in the random drawing.

For more info on our policy, along with rules and regulations associated will all giveaways, click here.

Super Joystiq Podcast 043 Live: ARMA 3, Metro Last Light, StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm [Update: Watch the replay!] originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Swapper takes a spin on Steam this spring

The Swapper, an indie marvel more than two years in the making, is coming to Steam for PC this spring, and later to Mac and Linux. If the gameplay demonstrated in The Swapper's Steam launch trailer looks funky to you, that's because it is - developer Facepalm created the entire game using photos of real-life clay models. The above video offers the first glimpse at gameplay since May 2011.

The Swapper is backed by Indie Fund, the company behind high-profile indies Dear Esther and Q.U.B.E., and it already has a wall full of accolades, including a featured spot in PAX Prime's PAX10 last year and IndieCade's Special Recognition award.

Facepalm previously mentioned PC, Mac and "maybe something else" as potential platforms, and co-founder Olli Harjola tells Joystiq he's looking at other, mysterious consoles: "Let's say I'm currently open to putting the game on new platforms where we don't need to make compromises regarding the experience. There's nothing concrete yet."

The Swapper will be a part of Indie Megabooth at PAX East (which starts on Friday, March 22), along with an appearance at GDC the following week.

Gallery: The Swapper

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The Swapper takes a spin on Steam this spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution boss fights on Wii U 'as they should have been'

Eidos Montreal didn't mess around when it came to fixing one of the most widely criticized aspects of Deus Ex: Human Revolution in the upcoming Wii U Director's Cut.

"The boss fights are now as they should have been," Emile Pedneault, game designer on the Director's Cut told us today at PAX East. "We took them and completely rebuilt them. We couldn't change [the boss' character] model and the way they need to die because of the story telling, but we changed the level layout. We tweaked their AI and we've added tons of ways to deal with them."

He continued, "You can deal with a boss fight in a stealth way, you can deal with a boss fight in a hacking way. We even have for each boss fight a way to kill them without firing a single bullet."

Pedneault showed us the first boss fight, pointing out all the different ways that it could now be completed using other skills beyond "throw every grenade in your inventory and just keep shooting." There are several corridors now for stealth attacks and turrets for hacking, along with other goodies for players to discover.

The boss fights were widely criticized when Deus Ex: Human Revolution originally launched, with Eidos Montreal eventually admitting it farmed out that portion of the game to an outside developer. Deus Ex DLC "The Missing Link," bundled with the Wii U version, designed in-house at Eidos Montreal gave a far more flexible experience.

Gallery: Deux Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut

Deus Ex: Human Revolution boss fights on Wii U 'as they should have been' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gone Home sets the stage with two original Riot Grrrl bands

Gone Home uses an atmospheric, introspective exploration game to tackle one of the most mysterious, emotional and twisted phenomena of human existence - being a teenage girl in the 90s. Trust us, it's terrible.

Regardless of gender or decade, one thing that alleviates the confusion of adolescence for millions of teenagers worldwide is music. For Gone Home's narrative, a teenage girl discovering herself in the 90s Pacific Northwest, this means Riot Grrrl. Riot Grrrl is a feminist punk movement that hit Washington and Oregon beginning in 1991, which spawned an influx of new bands and written publications focused on female empowerment.

Developer The Fullbright Company - formed by three ex-BioShock developers - snagged two original Riot Grrrl bands, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy, for Gone Home. It's an important get for Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor.

"It's really goddamn amazing to have the opportunity for this music to be in Gone Home," he says. "Authenticity is our No. 1 priority, and the inclusion of tracks by Heavens to Betsy and Bratmobile really drives home the era and the place and the feelings surrounding the story of Gone Home. We're psyched."

Gallery: Gone Home

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Gone Home sets the stage with two original Riot Grrrl bands originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut announced for Wii U, 'coming soon' [Update: Straight Right developing]

Eidos Montreal officially announced Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut for the Wii U this morning, noting it as "coming soon" to the Nintendo console. The Wii U version includes Tong's Rescue mission and The Missing Link DLC, which the Square Enix studio says are integrated into the Director's Cut narrative.

Today's announcement reveals the Director's Cut employs a selection of GamePad features, such as "touchscreen hacking, interactive map editing, augmented sniping, grenade throwbacks, and many other neural hub enhancements." Eidos Montreal also says the Wii U version brings improvements to the game's boss fights, balance, combat, AI, and visuals, along with developer commentaries, in-game guides, and Miiverse integration.

DX:HR Director's Cut was leaked by Amazon yesterday, which listed the game's release date in the United States as May 7. While today's announcement comes via Eidos Montreal, the developer isn't yet specified. Australian studio Straight Right is reportedly bringing a major Square Enix game to the Wii U, so it may well be involved.

Update: According to a piece on Eurogamer, Straight Right - the same studio who ported Mass Effect 3 over to the Wii U - is co-developing this along with Eidos Montreal. Some more information is also provided about the retooled boss fights, which players can now overcome without having to fire a single bullet - alternate strategies and such will be put in place to offer players variety beyond direct conflict in Deus Ex: Human Revolution's three boss battles.

Gallery: Deux Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut

Continue reading Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut announced for Wii U, 'coming soon' [Update: Straight Right developing]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut announced for Wii U, 'coming soon' [Update: Straight Right developing] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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