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New StarCraft 2 screenshots

Blizzard has released a bunch of new StarCraft 2 screenshots, and boy does this game look pretty. Expect a lot of Koreans to upgrade their PC rigs in 2010, when the game hits the stores.

Supreme Commander 2 walkthrough trailer

After announcing Supreme Commander 2 for a February 2010 release, Gas Powered Games released a lengthy walk through trailer for the game, explaining the details about the new tech. Very informative stuff.

Supreme Commander 2 coming Spring 2010

Square Enix, the new publishers of Supreme Commander 2, have announced that the Gas Powered Games RTS will be released during Spring 2010 on PC and Xbox 360. As you may recall, the original Supreme Commander was released during Spring of 2007, so a good three years without a great sci-fi RTS. SupCom 2 is set 25 years after the original game, and features a ton of new units, maps and campaign missions, in addition to a much more streamlined game engine.

Top 10 original video games of 2010

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Hollywood usually takes most of the slack when it comes to criticism for lack of originality, but in fact, the video game industry is even worse at creating original content, it’s a world dominated by franchises of every kind, from sports to action games, publishers and developers are usually taking the easy and safe way: sequels. And spin offs. And remakes. Etc.

We’ve compiled a list of top 10 original games that are scheduled for release for 2010 — and it was quite a challenge: out of the 130 games confirmed for 2010 by major publishers and developers, we found 19 that were original. Just 19.

10: Brink (Spring 2010)

Brink, an FPS developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, centers around a two sides: Resistance and Security, and is a team based multiplayer shooter much like Quake Wars, which was also developed by Splash Damage. It looks promising as a multiplayer game, as it’s story based, much like Quake Wars, where one battle takes place over several maps, with a story connecting everything together.

9: Alpha Protocol (Spring 2010)

Alpha Protocol, developed by Obsidian Entertainment — developers of Star Wars: KOTOR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 — is a third person action RPG where the player assumes the role of Michael Thorton, a CIA agent who’s been betrayed and must not only fight his way through enemies, but also uncover the conspiracy that set him up.

8: Singularity (Q2 2010)

While time travel is a known concept in games, albeit underused, it’s still something that is difficult to fit in wiht the overall storyline, and the time feature never seems to be used properly. In Singularity, the player will have control over a TMD (Time Manipulation Device), a “weapon” which will be used to solve puzzles, for instance, if a door is locked, instead of looking for the key, you use the TMD and speed up time for the lock only, which will rust, and voila, door opened! Or use it on an enemy and watch him turn into a skeleton. The concept certainly seems intriguing, and offers some truly original puzzles.

7: Dante’s Inferno (February 9, 2010)

Dante’s Inferno has already caused a lot of controversy, from the fake E3 2009 protest, to gameplay elements where players can slay children. The gritty, hell based game is loosely based on the actual Inferno by Dante in The Divine Comedy, and the player assumes the role of Dante, who has to fight his way though monsters and demons in the 9 circles of hell, and decide whether he’ll be good and spare some (like children) or go reckless. It definitely looks as one of the darkest games of 2010.

6: MAG (January 26, 2010)

MAG (Massive Action Game) is a PS3 online FPS multiplayer who’s main feature is a massive 256 player online matches, with 128 players per team, divided into 8-player squads, 4 squads into a platoon, and 4 platoons into a company. With 256 players on the map, MAG is set to deliver some of the most intense and frantic combat yet, and will offer detailed stats and rankings, where higher ranked players will be able to command the battle and give orders to individual squads and platoons.

5: LA Noire (Q3 2010)

LA Noire, an open ended adventure game set in a recreated 1940s Los Angeles, which players can freely roam around, and chose to solve a number of murders around the city. The game has a great feeling of classic noir films based in LA, like LA Confidential, The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown, and draws inspiration from such works as well.

4: Rage (Q4 2010)

It’s been a while since Id Software has made an original game — actually, the last original game Id Software made was Quake, back in 1996. Id finally shows something new with Rage, a fusion between a first person shooter and a racing game set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max styled world. It’s built with the all new Id Tech 5 engine, and shows very promising visuals, to say the least.

3: Heavy Rain (Q2 2010)

Heavy Rain has been on the radar since it was originally showcased at E3 2006, and will be released almost four years later, in Q2 2010. The gorgeous looking game centers around a serial killer known as “The Origami Killer”, and players assume roles of different characters who try and solve the murders. It’s one of the most stylish and atmospheric games to come out in 2010.

2: Alan Wake (Q2 2010)

What Heavy Rain is for the PS3, Alan Wake is for the Xbox 360. Developed by Remedy, Alan Wake is a psychological thriller inspired by the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King novels, where players assume the role of Alan Wake, a writer who seeks refuge at a quiet place where he can write his next novel (much like Stephen Kings “Misery“). However, when his wife vanishes, it’s up to him to get her back.

1: APB (March 2010)

APB is not only the most original MMO game to his the stores in 2010, it’s also the most original game overall. It’s the classic cops vs. robbers gameplay, but on a massive scale, with endless customizations and options, tons of missions and weapons. Created by David Jones, the original creator for GTA, APB is hailed as everything he wanted to do wince he made GTA, and while originally trying to pitch and sell APB to Rockstar as GTA Online, it’s good that APB is on its own now, we need a great, original game. And an MMO that’s not fantasy based.

C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight launching on March 16

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, has received an official release date, and will be in stores on March 16 in North America and March 19 in Europe. While those are dates on the release, they’re also dates on when the C&C 4 team will get sacked, as EA plans to let go the entire team behind the game as soon as it wraps up.

StarCraft 2 beta delayed until 2010

StarCraft 2 producer Chris Sigaty revealed at Russian game expo IgroMir (yep, they got game expos over there too), that the StarCraft 2 beta has been pushed into next year. Blizzard has previously announced that StarCraft 2, or rather, the first chapter, named Wings of Liberty, will be released during Q2 2010, which begins in March.

Brutal Legend review

Legendary game maker Tim Schafer, who’s known for taking some wild chances and coming out on top in terms of game design, brings his latest endeavor, Brutal Legend, and alongside it, a piece of Jack Black as well.

Brutal Legend can best be described as an adventure game with a lot of rock elements with the humor from Jack Black, who’s not only known as an actor, but also a rock enthusiast. The game is a third person adventure game where you control Eddie Riggs, a roadie who’s on a mission to save the heaven of heavy metal from an evil lord who’s holding the whole thing hostage. It even includes a great cameo from one of the best known heavy metal characters, Ozzy Osbourne. The feeling of heavy metal is present in every fiber of this game. And even if you’re not into heavy metal, the great story, the funny dialogue and the gameplay will draw you in. More »

Order Of War review

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a WW2 real time strategy game, so Order Of War is a highly welcomed addition to the RTS base. While most RTS games are either focused on the ancient times (Age of Empires) or the future (Command & Conquer, Supreme Commander), WW2 RTS titles are few and far between. While Order of War brings some decent and fun WW2 action, a few bugs and a lacking multiplayer prevent it from becoming a great game.

Order Of War lets players control either the US Army during the invasion of Normandy (and onwards. towards Berlin), or the German Army during the Russian campaign into Nazi Germany — yep, you can play as the Nazis and defend the “Fatherland” from zhe Russians. The game will instantly immerse you into the action, from the brief and snappy mission descriptions, to the polished action itself. You will control anywhere from a few troops going into a covert battle, to hundreds of soldiers and several divisions, when landing on the beaches of Normandy, for instance. More »

20 games to look forward to in 2010

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While 2009 is drawing to an end, and with all the great AAA titles only weeks away, keep in mind that 2010 is going to see more top-notch titles released than the last few years. Here are 20 games that should/will make an impact next year, and while a lot more games are coming out, we obviously couldn’t include them all — our list grew from ten games to twenty games simply because even we were surprised how many title are lined up for 2010. Here’s our 20 games for 2010, in no particular order.

Postal 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Running With Scissors, Q2, 2010)

The original Postal was both hailed and damned for its controversial content, and the sequel, Postal 2 only made it better (or worse, if you’re a politician looking for some media attention). Postal 3 will expand on the sandbox style gameplay, and will even feature director Uwe Boll (who made the 2008 Postal movie) in a cameo role.

APB (PC, Xbox 360, March 2010)

After developing Crackdown for the Xbox 360, which has since become a cult classic on the console, Realtime Worlds shifted all their manpower to APB (All Points Bulletin), a revolutionary MMO set in a huge city where players battle each other as either law enforcement agents, or criminals. A kind of GTA online, as creator David Jones (the man behind GTA) is noted saying APB is “the bastard child of everything we’ve been striving towards over the 15-20 years”.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, March 2, 2010)

Battlefield: Bad Company almost managed to perfect something no other FPS had done before: creating a fully destructible battlefield, where walls would no longer provide infinite cover — one tank shell and you better be looking to hide somewhere else. Coupled with a single player campaign and a solid multiplayer, Bad Company has been one of the most played FPS on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Bad Company 2 will bring “destruction 2.0″, taking destruction to a whole new level, this time, entire buildings and towns can be leveled to the ground.

Heavy Rain (PS3, February 2010)

Heavy Rain has been highly anticipated ever since it was first showcased at E3 2006 for the PlayStation 3, the film-noir, thriller-styled game will feature an intertwined storyline, with four playable characters, all looking for a serial killed going under the name “The Origami Killer”.

Halo Reach (Xbox 360, Q4 2010)

The next chapter in the Halo series and Master Chief’s battle against the Covenant was unveiled at E3 2009, without any further details other than the game would be the last Halo game to be developed by Bungie. Owners of Halo 3: ODST will have a chance to check out the game’s multiplayer beta in the middle of 2010, by then we should have more details on Reach.

Red Steel 2 (Wii, February 16, 2010)

The original Red Steel was the very first Wii game that was revealed, and rode a wave of anticipation until its release — as a Wii launch title — where it showed a flawed control scheme, dated visuals and uninspiring gameplay. Red Steel 2 is said to correct all those issues, and will require (and be bundled with) the Wii Motion Plus accessory, giving it a true 1:1 control input, paving the way for some great sword fights. We sure hope so.

Crysis 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Q4 2010)

The original Crysis is still bringing even the most powerful PCs to their knees, and is still hailed as the best looking game available, at least if a tropical island is what you crave. Crysis 2 continues the story where the original left off, and will use the new CryEngine 3, creating an even more immersive world. There aren’t many details of the game yet, but one thing is for sure: start saving for a new PC rig.
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Command & Conquer Red Alert coming to the iPhone

One of my all time favorite RTS franchises is none other than Command & Conquer. Couple this with the fact that the iPhone (and iPod touch) is quickly becoming one of the premiere hand held gaming devices and you have yourself a match made in heaven.

Later this month EA will be putting Command & Conquer Red Alert up for sale on ther App Store which includes 12 different levels and two different sides; the Soviets and the Allies.are they dow

If the above screenshot is anything to go by, this game is sure to be a hit.

Defense Grid: The Awakening review

Tower Defense games have seen an explosion in popularity ever since the first Flash game was released. They’re now practically everywhere, from consoles to the Iphone, however, only one game based on the Tower Defense concept can be found on the Xbox 360, Crystal Defenders from Square Enix, which was never that good to begin with.

Defense Grid: The Awakening is the second Tower Defense game on the Xbox 360, and it’s one of the best tower defense games to date, not just on the Xbox 360, but on all platforms.  Defense Grid was originally released on the PC last year, and even though the XBLA edition includes bonus maps, it retails for half the price: $10. In case you’re new to Tower Defense games, the player must build defense towers of all kinds of towers — usually certain towers are best against certain enemies — and wait for the enemy to arrive. The enemies travel alongside paths, and must not reach their destination, as it’s up to you to take them out before they do. While there usually is no story to such games, at least Defense Grid tries; it’s a story of humans vs. aliens, and you need to stop them from reaching their goals. More »

Plants vs. Zombies free online version

Plants vs. Zombies was, like many other PopCap games, has been a hit ever since it was released earlier this summer (read our Plants vs. Zombies review), and now the developer is offering the game to play for free on the official website. While it’s only a “trial” version, it still offers lots of play time, and you owe it to yourself to at least give it a go.

Antic Entertainment emerges with Junk: Battles in tow

It seems that the guy who founded DICE, Fredrik Liljengren has moved onto bigger and better things with his latest game studio, Antic Entertainment. You may be familiar with DICE as the studio behind Battlefield: Bad Company and Battlefield: 1943.

Anyways, Antic Entertainment is to be a studio that specializes in free-to-play games with their first title being Junk: Battles. This browser based RTS will let players create their own ship and then duke it out against other players as they collect parts to upgrade said ship.

If you want to read more about Junk: Battles and Antic Entertainment, head over to the game’s official website here.

via gamasutra

Top 10 games to look forward to this holiday season

It’s almost that time of the year; the period of a two month interval where tons of highly anticipated video games are released. And even though lots of games this year have been pushed to early 2010 because it was simply too crowded, there’s still a ton of great, quality AAA titles which will be released in the upcoming months. Here are our ten picks:

10: Avatar (November 15)

James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi epic Avatar has been in production for years and sci-fi fans around the world are looking forward to its December premiere. The game adaptation, developed by Ubisoft, uses the same technology as the film, and will be in 3D as well.Very little is known about the game, mostly because it follows the movie closely, which itself has been a tightly kept secret.

9: NBA 2K10/NBA Live 10 (October 6)

The rivalry between NBA basketball series NBA 2K and NBA Live has been ongoing for several years, and for the 2010 versions of the respective games — which will be released on the same day — the stakes are even higher. 2K Games and EA have added a ton of new features to their games, which will make this years line up even more compelling to basketball fans around the world.

8: Aion: The Tower of Eternity (September 22)

Korean developer/publisher NCsoft is known for creating lots of MMOs, from Lineage, to Guild Wars, to the failed Auto Assault. Aion is their latest creation, and unlike many other MMOs, the main attraction here is that combat will, for the most part be airborne. Unfortunately however, unlike Guild Wars, Aion will be subscription based, and will cost $15 a month to be a part of.

7: Halo 3: ODST (September 22)

Halo 3 ODST (”Orbital Drop Shock Troopers”), doesn’t follow the main protagonist Master Chief, instead, it centers around an unknown soldier, “The Rookie”, who crash lands on a hostile planet and must find his teammates. While it’s not a true sequel, rather something in between Halo 3 and the upcoming Halo Reach, it’ll most certainly satisfy hard core Halo fans this holiday season.
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Age of Empires III: Complete Collection on store shelves September 15th

When I was younger one of my favorite RTS franchises was undoubtedly Age of Empires. I remember you were able to enter a cheat and unlock a sports car carrying a guy with a rocket launcher. Well, here we are, years later and the game has definitely made some progress with the latest major release being Age of Empires III.

For those of you who missed out on 2005 release, Microsoft is giving you another chance to experience it with the forthcoming release of Age of Empires III: Complete Collection. The game will hit store shelves on September 15th for $49.95 and include Age of Empires III along with it’s two expansion; The Asian Dynasties and War Chiefs.