Following up on the release of an impressive trailer last month, the developers of the upcoming turn-based strategy-RPG The Banner Saga have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game’s creation. The Banner Saga is the debut effort for independent studio Stoic, founded by ex-BioWare employees Arnie Jorgensen, Alex Thomas, and John Watson. Described by its creators as “a mature game aimed at gamers who appreciate art, story and strategy,” The Banner Saga features hand-animated artwork throughout, and places heavy emphasis on dialogue and narrative. As of this writing, the pledge drive has earned $40,000 toward its goal of $100,000 in its first day of operation. Kickstarter pledge rewards range from desktop wallpaper to t-shirts to original animation cels. Supporters who pledge $10 or more will receive a digital copy of the game for Windows and Mac upon its completion.
2 months ago by
andariels
Tags: Alex Thomas, Arnie Jorgensen, John Watson, trailer
The folks at Holmade Games have demade the Greek roid-rager Kratos from Sony’s God of War series, resulting in the free Windows action platformer Bit of War . 8-bit Kratos begins his journey to once again rid the world of the gods he despises, armed with blades and Medusa’s petrifying power. He gains another power for each of the first three stages before reaching the final, fourth stage. Platforming and avoiding projectiles felt like the real challenge in Bit of War. And unlike God of War, there is no reward to killing enemies, so I often jumped over them. Like God of War, Bit has checkpoints at which I could save and resume the game, though the whole game didn’t take more than 1-2 hours to finish. Holmade has crafted a captivating narrative (relative to God of War canon) told mostly through pre-battle dialogue and cut scenes, the latter of which is accompanied by the most adrenaline-inducing chiptunes of the game. After three oddly fitting bosses, it was pretty hard to guess what the final battle would be. And though some may construe that battle as a partial-programming cop-out, I think the team chose what may be Kratos’ greatest adversary ever. Will you like it if you are not a God of War or Greek mythology fan? How about a (slight spoiler) Norse fan? There’s one way to know: give Bit of War a try now. [ Armless Octopus ]
2 months ago by
andariels
Tags: Holmade Games
A third-person multiplayer action game, Omegalodon feels mildly like a tribute to the monster movies of yore. In this game, players can elect to play as representatives of the human species or as a 100-foot shark monster and his entourage of healers. Choose whatever you will. The objective of the game is pretty straightforward. To win as a member of the monstrous Green team (who comprise of the Omegalodon and his Enviros), you’re going to help ensure that a certain nuclear containment facility explodes before the timer ends. As the humans, well, it’s your job to stop the invasion. Simple, eh? There are a fair number of vehicles to utilize, environments to obliterate and voice acting to relish. If you want to play the game, you’re going to have to fork over about 10 USD. Not sure if you want to? Check out the demo over here first. Official website here.
2 months ago by
andariels
Tags: action, demo
An expanded version of Radiangames’ XBLIG dodge-’em-up Fireball is now available in the iOS App Store as Fireball: Special Edition . In Fireball SE, players avoid swarms of enemies while detonating nearby explosives to thin the pursuing hordes. If the action gets too hectic, players can also slow down time temporarily by using Meltdown Mode. New to the iOS edition are Survival and Countdown gameplay modes, along with a set of Game Center achievements. Fireball: Special Edition is available as a universal app, and is priced at 99 cents.
2 months ago by
andariels
Tags: action, Fireball Special Edition, Game Center, Meltdown Mode
Trials series developer RedLynx brings its acclaimed WiiWare platform-racing game MotoHeroz to iOS platforms this week. An iPad version is also available. MotoHeroz takes the side-scrolling core gameplay of the Trials games and applies it to a cartoonish collection of twisty race tracks. Players perform ridiculous stunts and gravity-defying jumps throughout 30 included levels, and each of the game’s six vehicles can be upgraded with coins earned from races and in-app purchases. MotoHeroz is priced at 99 cents. The iPad version is available for $2.99.
2 months ago by
andariels