Go fetch your finest wizard robe out of your closet, because it's never been a better time to be a Magicka fan. Not only do we have the hugely anticipated mobile adventure Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet finally releasing this week after a minor delay, but another new game set in the Magicka universe has also just been announced. The game in question is called Magicka: Wizard Wars and it's gearing up to bring the cooperative aspects of the Magicka series onto a competitive multiplayer field. The game is being developed by a new studio within Paradox Interactive called Paradox North, as opposed to the creators of the original Magicka, Arrowhead Game Studios.
Say what you will about Insanity, the new Facebook social RPG from Playflock, but you can't deny that its heart isn't in the right place. Consider, for instance, that it wastes no time in filling your screen with the sight of a nurse in bloody digs that have to be breaking some kind of dress code, or consider its creepy piano music that sounds like it'd be at home in the creepy PSP thriller Corpse Party. All this, mind you, before the loading screen has even finished its business. It's a pity that most of its potential is mired in gameplay that's better suited to Mafia Wars than today's flashier options, and its oversimplification of horrific action bores more than its scares.
When we first heard the name "Epic Battle Fantasy," we can't exactly say it grabbed us, as it doesn't sound like the name of a game with very high aspirations for quality or innovation. On the other hand, if there have been three others to date, then there must be something going for them, even if only a stubborn developer, right?
One of my favorite parts of Legend of Dungeon comes right at the beginning of a fresh round. Emerging from the video game aether through double doors at the top of the screen, your pixelated hero or heroine descends a stone staircase into the hearth of a cozy tavern. A fire crackles invitingly in the corner, adventurers of all stripes mill around the common area, and apples and ale line two central tables. It's here, for the first and last time in the game, that I feel totally safe.
There's usually a definitive moment in games that allows you to gauge how you're going to feel about them, good or bad. That moment in Doom & Destiny is its very first scene: a mysterious villain is attempting to open the demonic Ultraworld via virginal sacrifice, but is thwarted thanks to a party that got a little out of hand the night before. He declares a need for a virgin replacement—cut to our four heroes, on their way to a Dungeons & Dragons game night.
I was an enormous fan of the addictive action and light RPG elements of 2011's Bastion, and have fond memories of playing the game late at night in my college dorm room, while my roommate wondered who my new friend was with that deep and intimidating voice. So when Supergiant Games pulled back the lid on their latest gaming project this morning, I didn't need a voiceover narrator to tell me how excited I was.
When news spread that respected designer Ron "Lovable Curmudgeon" Gilbert had left his post at Double Fine to pursue unnamed passion projects and vague future opportunities, I'm not going to lie: I didn't believe him for a second. With The Cave having reaped rave reviews from all the most storied publications, it seemed more likely that Gilbert had taken the instant millions that come with positive press and run off to his own private Monkey Island. Upon further inspection of a recent post on his GrumpyGamer blog, however, it seems that there might actually be something to his claims of "toiling away." And to think, I assumed that was just code for "rolling around in piles of unmarked dollar bills."
Setting aside its mildly amusing title (you might as well call it "Kingdom of Crowns" or "Kingdom of Kings"), the first thing you'll notice about Kingdom of Thrones is how it looks like it first saw life when strategy video games were first popping up back in the 1980s. In some ways, that's part of its appeal. Too many contemporary social strategy games try to hide the limitations of their gameplay behind flashy visuals and animations, but Kingdom of Thrones has the guts to toss that fluff aside in favor of creating an engaging and immersive multiplayer experience. And to its credit, it usually works.