PC Previews

            Paradox Interactive and Neocore Games’ Lionheart: Kings’ Crusade is set to arrive in just under a fortnight’s time, and takes players back into the very familiar territory of medieval real-time strategy (RTS). The PC market is well catered for in this genre, so it would take a strong contender with more than a few new ideas to become a leader in the field. In Lionheart: Kings’ Crusade, such new ideas may be rare, but what is there at present does represent a culmination of the best practices for genre convention.

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The Oxford Dictionary describes a veteran as a person who has had long experience in a particular field. In the videogaming world, there aren’t many games around that allow their players to use this moniker correctly. Sure, you can call yourself a veteran at Call of Duty or FIFA, but with annual iterations it really does stretch the definition of the term. However, there is one sector where this can be used perfectly – Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games. One single gaming environment, constantly updated but still the same game, a self-perpetuating virtual world. To be a veteran at one of these time-sinks is to spend years on one game. Not buying this year’s latest version – the same game that was purchased at the beginning, buggy landscapes and login queues included.

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            Paradox Interactive’s Commander: Conquest of the Americas is set to launch later this month, and has an eager audience awaiting it. Nitro Games’ naval-based adventure blends the conventions of Real-Time Strategy (RTS) and management simulation games, and with that fairly unique pitch has developed a keen following. Quite whether it manages to gather enough confidence from fans of either genre remains to be seen, but on the evidence of the preview build Electronic Theatre has experienced, the signs are at least positive.

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            Deep Silver and Animation Arts’ Lost Horizon has been bubbling under for some time, seemingly closer to release with every new announcement or screenshot, and yet similarly to the title the Adventure game has been granted remaining out of players reach. On August 27^th 2010, a release date is that is now apparently set in stone, players will be able to get their hands on the game for themselves and see if it’s been worth the wait, but judging by the sample build that Electronic Theatre has received, the landscape is currently looking very inviting indeed.

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            Muzzy Lane’s Making History: The Calm & The Storm’s muted success in 2007 may not have made the headlines, but the turn-based war-themed management and strategy game certainly built a strong following thanks to it’s ease of use and scaleable depth. That success later lead to a Gold Edition of the game being released featuring three new scenarios, and now this, a fully-fledged sequel. Making History II: The War of the World is a detailed game of domination, diplomacy and defence of your hard-fought assets.

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            The release of Beatnik Games’ debut videogame title is creeping ever closer, and following yesterday’s look at the team behind the project, today Electronic Theatre turns it’s attention to the game itself; the fantastically manic Plain Sight. Coming first to PC, with the possibility of adaptations for release on console-based digital distribution services not too far from Beatnik Games’ collective mind, Plain Sight will put your reflexes to the test in a game where fast fingers are as necessary as keen perception and quick thinking.

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            The sequel to 2008’s widely appreciated Mount & Blade, Mount & Blade: Warband, is set to be available to UK gamers on April 2^nd 2010, via all major digital distribution portals. Publishers of the series, Paradox Interactive, are well known for their willingness to listen to the wants and needs of their audience, and regularly make efforts to meet those demands. Mount & Blade: Warband looks set to be no different, adding a number of new gameplay mechanics and intense multiplayer warfare to the warmly received original.

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            Realtime Worlds have taken some time to demonstrate the nature of their new project, APB, of late. Due for release in early 2010, APB was originally unveiled in 2005 as the then newly established developer’s flagship title for Xbox 360 and PC. The interim period saw the often misunderstood Crackdown come into play and, at Edinburgh Interactive earlier this month, the possibility of APB arriving on consoles was voiced as being decidedly unlikely.

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TimeGate’s Section 8 is due to launch on Xbox 360 and PC in little over a month, courtesy of SouthPeak Interactive. Those who have been following the title across the last few weeks here on Electronic Theatre will have been expecting this, a hands-on preview of the PC, but for those yet to have turned their attentions to the game, cast your eyes below to see exactly what all the fuss has been about. Read More…

            Trine is the latest title from Frozenbyte, the independent Finnish developer responsible for the Shadowgrounds series. Due for release on PC and PlayStation Store this summer, the Platform/Puzzler has more than a few tricks up it’s diminutive sleeve.

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