Did you know that Riders of Icarus [official site] was getting an open beta test this week? Me neither. Apparently, it’s your typical free-to-play Korean fantasy MMORPG, and it’s now open to the public.
There is one enticing twist, though. Riders of Icarus lets you tame, ride, and fight mystical beasts, including dragons. Sold! What’s that? Becoming the veritable mother of dragons doesn’t quite do it for you? In that case, you might be pleased to know you can also drain the souls from the creatures’ bodies and use them to strengthen your weapons and abilities. That’s pretty sick in my opinion, but to each their own.
How many bros can there be? Will they keep coming? Where do they even come from? As a wee tot I knew no bros, then suddenly I had one living in my home, and it was all downhill from there. How does Broforce [official site] convert real people into bros, and could they do it to you and I? Developers Free Lives show no signs of stopping. The run ‘n’ gunner has a new update adding bro versions of Bruce Lee, Tank Girl, Dirty Harry, and Snake Plissken (again). If they can conquer of our mightiest heroes, what hope do we have? We’ll surely all be bros soon.
I’ve fought many wargames acrost the years, An’ some of ‘em was good an’ some was not; But when it comes to ‘exes an’ new frontiers, Koger’s Age o’ Rifles was the finest o’ the lot. It’s a daisy, it’s a ducky, it’s a lamb, It’s an injia-rubber idiot on the spree, It’s the on’y title that doesn’t give a damn For a Regiment o’ British Infantree! So ‘ere’s to you, Age o’ Rifles, an’ your battles so diverse; Though you’re o’er-bloody, an’ your retreats can be perverse, I gives you your certificate, an’ if you want it signed, I’ll come an’ ‘ave a romp with you whenever you’re inclined.Read the rest of this entry »
Goblins and Grottos [official site], a game that turns the dungeon crawler on its head, has just graduated from Early Access to full release. The game was playable in Early Access for about six months, and received warm reviews. Playing as an innocent, unassuming goblin, you look on as your family is murdered by a level 100 paladin. Tired of the unending injustice wrought upon your brethren by power hungry adventurers, you must set out on a quest for revenge. It’s a cruel world though. The dastardly knights and adventurers level up as you progress, but as a mere goblin you’re stuck with what you’ve got. Realism!
Would you like to own a “Lord British Blood Reliquary” containing Richard Garriott’s actual blood? Now is your chance! The Tabula Rasa developer is selling artwork containing his blood for the low-low price of $5000 (around £3852) via eBay alongside a selection of items from his new MMO, Shroud of the Avatar.
I made a silent promise to myself that I wouldn’t post every single new leader/civ reveal for Civilization VI [official site] because, really, do you need a video to tell you that France is likely to have some big cultural advantages based around museums, and that Japan might have its own warrior code, and cities that enjoy the benefits that come from island life and seafood? The Egyptian video is a good one though, teasing out some details of the new adjacency bonuses for improvements, and the ways that early game strengths might change through the course of a campaign.
One of the many nebulous concepts that spring up when writing about games is “a sense of place”. We talk about worlds and locations and settings, but often these boil down to unusual geography or art direction – surface details and imagery rather than a real identity.
Gothic, by contrast, wasn’t particularly pretty. Its setting wasn’t the singular underground world of Arx Fatalis, nor the varied alien landscape of Morrowind. Instead, Piranha Bytes recognised back in 2001 that a place is a place not because of its landscape or biome or buildings, but because the people there make it one.
