Total War: ROME II DLC - Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack Free for the first week

Featuring new playable factions the Royal Scythians, Roxolani and Massagetae, the Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack (normally £5.99/$7.99/€7.49) is available now and will be free if downloaded before the 29^th Oct.

Grab your copy here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/258270

“We’ve had more gamers playing ROME II, and for longer, in its first month than any other Total War to date. We are going to continue to work on gameplay feature balancing with our community who have been hugely helpful in feeding back on the game. Offering this DLC for free for the first week it’s on sale is a celebration and a small thank you to them for helping us make this the biggest TW yet.” – Mike Simpson, Creative Assembly.

The Nomadic Tribes favour cavalry, exclusively in some cases, providing for swift hit and run and massed shattering charge tactics on the battlefield. The three playable factions come with new buildings and building chains, technology tree, campaign objectives and new units both unique and for general mercenary use : for more information see this trailer http://youtu.be/3lQdDw-7RDE or please visit:http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Factions

Free ‘Seleucid Empire’ & Steam Workshop Mod Update for Total War: ROME II Released‏

For those that have been enjoying Total War: Rome II, you will be please to know that more content is available in single player starting today.

The next in a series of free content drops to ROME II is available today in an automatic update; The Seleucid Empire is now a playable faction in single-player campaign and multiplayer games.

This update includes Patch 5, delivering further performance and gameplay balancing improvements, for full patch notes please visit: http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_Notes

Also featured is Steam Workshop support and activation of the mod manager in the Total War Launcher, making the sharing and loading of mods a breeze, please visit:http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse?appid=214950

Renowned for their civil engineering and city-building feats, the kings of the vast Seleucid Empire rely on expert cavalry regiments to enforce and expand their borders. This content update includes new unique Seleucid units, building and technology trees, Campaign Objectives and the Paradise of Daphne; a unique new wonder. For more details on this faction, please visit: http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War:_Rome_II_-_Seleucid_Faction

Total War Rome II - MAxi Geek Review

The Total War series is known for being a little on the punishing side of things, but if you take the time to learn the game you are rewarded with an experience unlike any other. Rome II takes that fact to heart, that if you know the game you will be granted an amazing time. But is that enough?

Gameplay

So, when you get down to brass tacks, Rome II is very much part RTS and part Turn based games. With the RTS parts taking place in the battles, and the Turn based when you’re at the world map level. Each part has a pro and a con that don’t hurt the game, but if addressed could have made it so much better.

When viewing the world map, you are shown the Italian country side, with various towns and cities around as well. Looking at the mini map, you can see which regions are led by which faction, and while you do get a sense of this when you approach the border for your lands, you need to check the mini map to see if others have changed. Having this feature outside of the main view is a little distracting, but it does not break the game.

Controlling the camera of the RTS portion of the game is a little confusing to begin with, but after almost no time at all it becomes second nature. However, playing on multiscreen does pose a slight problem as there are no boundaries for the mouse to stop, which loses your ability to use the sides of the screen. Controlling multiple units is easy, using the common word, or text document shortcuts, and getting the units to move is just like other RTS games, which is good.

As this was my first ever play with the Total War Series, I was impressed at the simplicity of the unit controls, however there are so many facets to the gameplay, including micro army management, city reconstruction, upgrading cities, units and your generals that the game does a pretty bad job of explain most of it. There are in depth tutorials in there, however they are not presented at the time of each introduction to a new element. You are presented with a synopsis of each function, but anything other than that requires you to look it up yourself.

There was one moment, where I was feeling quite cocky and thought that I would be able to swamp the opposing army, so I sent some units to the right, some to the left and the bulk up the middle. However, the Fog of War kicked in and I was shown the error of my decision. The opposing army was massive. Thankfully, I was able to split some horse units away and send them around the back and managed to take the city, but it was that moment that I realized I can’t take this game lightly.

Presentation

Graphics in any RTS to me have always been hit or miss. Sadly in Rome II they are both. In the overview map, the graphics are quite beautiful, with lots of detail on the cities and world map. It is in the battle maps that the graphics suffer. And I know what you’re thinking, who really cares. Looking at the battle from the highest point and you will see some fine textures and some great lighting effects, however zooming all the way in shows some spotty textures as well as some really bad animations, in that they are almost identical between the armies.

Of course, this does not distract from the overall gameplay, but as you can zoom all the way down to the battlegrounds, it’s a real shame that they did not put more effort into that part of the presentation. The detail on the actual characters is quite plentiful, but again suffers when you’re watching them fight.

Thankfully the sounds fares a lot better than the graphics, and should you have a very nice sound system, zooming all the way in, allows you the chance to hear the battle raging all around as if you were right there. The world effects are quite great, in one level the storm raged and the sound of the rain and thunder sound great, and the whole thing is brought to life by the advice and shouts of your advisers and generals. However a downside to that is all the voices are British. And while that’s not a complaint on the voice of the British people, it does irk me that in almost all of the historical games the people are British.

Overall

Is this game worth your time… Yes. Without a doubt this game is worth it whether you’re like me in hat you don’t play RTS games, or you do and you’re looking for the new thing. While playing it I was finding surprising moments that made me smile, and that’s the point of a good game.  

Total War Rome 2 - Launch Trailer

Sonic Lost World - "Play Together" Trailer

Total War: ROME II - Collector's Edition War Dog Unboxing

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - Out September 4th

Sega Europe and Sega of America today announced details on the release date, price and pre-order for Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, the fantastical reimagining of the original Sega Mega Drive classic. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse will be available worldwide for digital download on September 4th, 2013 for PlayStation Network, the Xbox Live online entertainment network as an Arcade game for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and for PC digital download for £9.99/€12.99/$14.99USD/1200 Microsoft Points.

For a limited time only, customers in Europe who pre-order Castle of Illusion on PlayStation Network from August 21th to September 3rd will receive an exclusive downloadable emulated version of the original Mega Drive game, one pre-order exclusive dynamic theme and three avatars. Customers who pre-order the game will be able to download these items from launch.

With all-new HD graphics and gameplay, Castle of Illusion brings Mickey and his magical world to life. When the evil witch Mizrabel kidnaps Minnie, it’s up to Mickey to brave the dangers of the Castle of Illusion to rescue her. Gather your courage and take on hordes of rebellious toys, traverse enchanted forests and navigate mazes of living books.

WORLD'S GREATEST MANAGEMENT SIM RETURNS WITH MOST AUTHENTIC RELEASE TO DATE‏

Sports Interactive and SEGA Europe Ltd. today unveil Football Manager 2014… the most feature-packed and technically advanced release in the series’ history. Benefitting from more than 1,000 improvements and enhancements over its most recent predecessor, FM 2014 is the most realistic simulation of football management ever released.

In addition to enhanced gameplay, FM 2014 also delivers a range of technical innovations, with the game available on Linux for the first time and the introduction of ‘cloud save’ technology, which means that managers can now pursue a single career from any computer, anywhere in the world.

The FM experience is also more customisable than ever before, as the integration of Steam Workshop tools make it easy for managers to create and share customised FM content and experiences such as photo/logo packs, new and custom competitions and even tailor-made in-game challenges using the new Challenge Editor which has been incorporated into the free-to-download Pre-game Editor.

“Our unchanging goal in the development of the Football Manager series is to deliver the most authentic and immersive simulation of real-world football management wherever you may be in the world,” says Sports Interactive’s Studio Director Miles Jacobson. “Players can now take charge of their team anywhere they can access a home computer, and with huge improvements to existing features plus the addition of loads of new stuff, can have the best Football Manager experience to date while doing so.”

Some significant FM 2014 highlights include:

-          An improved 3D Match Engine

-          A tactical overhaul

-          More realistic transfers and contracts

-          More sophisticated board interaction

-          More complex interaction between staff, players and rival managers

-          A revamped news system

-          An enhanced user interface

-          Evolution for Classic mode

-          Additional community features

-          Extensive tech improvements

Football Manager 2014 will be released for Windows PC, Mac and Linux before Xmas 2013.

Fans who pre-order a copy of FM 2014 from a participating retailer (high street or digital download) will enjoy early access to a fully-playable Beta version of the game, available roughly two weeks prior to the official release date. Careers started in this Beta version will continue in the full game. A list of participating retailers can be found at www.footballmanager.com.

Further details on the game’s 1,000-plus new and enhanced features will be revealed over the coming weeks via Facebook (facebook.com/officialfootballmanager) and Twitter, from both the Football Manager account (@FootballManager) and from Miles Jacobson directly (@milesSI).

There will also be weekly updates and video blogs detailing many of the key features at the game’s official website (www.footballmanager.com) while more detail on the headline features announced today follows below.

More detail on FM 2014’s major new features

-          Improved Match Engine

The 3D Match Engine has seen extensive improvements, including enhanced AI, improved lighting and player animation, individual player character and kit models, more realistic player reaction to on-field incidents and a range of optimisations which combine to make this the best looking and fastest FM Match Engine yet.

-          Tactical overhaul

There has been a complete redesign of how tactics are created, selected and implemented with player roles and team strategies becoming even more prominent, definable roles for players for multiple positions, new player roles and instructions and improvements to rival managers' AI so that they’ll adapt their tactics more readily over time.

-          More realistic transfers and contracts

FM 2014 features a revamped transfer module where opposing clubs and managers adopt a more realistic approach when making or responding to transfer offers. In addition, a number of new ‘real world’ transfer clauses have been added, such as the facility to loan a player back to the club he’s just been bought from and the option to offer a combination of cash and loan players, as well as new contract clauses such as a sub bench appearance fee. On top of this, the old ‘turn-based’ system of transfer negotiations can now be done two ways, the tried and tested system and a new ‘live’ system, similar to that used in FM’s contract negotiations.

-          More sophisticated board interaction

Contract negotiations are more realistic in FM 2014, as managers and boards can now make demands and lay down their respective visions for the club in both initial job interviews and contract renewal discussions. Managers can also attempt to renegotiate transfer and wage budgets as a reward for staying loyal if they’ve been offered a job by another club, with the outcome helping aid their decision on whether to move or not.

-          Improved interaction with players, staff and media

There is now better interaction between players, managers, their rivals and the media; for example, members of the coaching staff now offer feedback on how reserve and youth team players are performing. Managers can also ask key players to have a word with unhappy squad members, while the introduction of an end-of-season meeting allows the manager to let the squad know how they have performed and set targets for the coming season.

-          News system

The news system has been overhauled so managers can now deal with many club matters directly from their inbox. In addition, news is now colour-coded, based on category, and contains more detail – for example, scout reports now appear as a single news item with a top-line report on all players scouted and the facility to shortlist or make an offer for each of these players.

-          Enhanced user interface

Major changes have been made to FM 2014’s user interface. Key areas have been redesigned – including the training overview page, the transfer centre and the news homepage – while widespread changes have been made across the game’s user interface. The language employed throughout the game has also enjoyed a major overhaul and now corresponds more closely to the language of real world football.

-          Football Manager Classic evolved

Managers can now choose more than three playable nations in Classic mode for a more immersive experience. In addition, FM’s ‘fast play’ mode now includes Transfer Deadline Day, a Match Plan wizard and new unlockables.

Total War: ROME II - Find a Way Trailer

These were the words of Hannibal; Rome’s greatest enemy, and one of the finest minds in military history. He would come to conquer much of Italy during his wars with the growing Republic, but before this, he achieved the impossible. In one of the most daring gambits the world has ever seen, he attacked Rome in her own backyard.


Total War: ROME II launches worldwide on September 3^rd 2013

Langres returns to the front with Company of Heroes 2

One of Company of Heroes’ most popular multiplayer maps is making a comeback, with a suitable Eastern Front twist.

Created for the original game as part of a Relic map design competition, Langres quickly became one of the most popular small-scale multiplayer maps.   Over the years Company of Heroes players have clocked up over 3.2 million matches and 1.2 million hours battling for control of this unassuming rural location.

Now Company of Heroes 2 players will be able to experience this classic for themselves. Reimagined in both traditional summer and new winter variations, Langreskaya will be patched into the game for free later today, Tuesday 30^th July.

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Gameplay

Rally Point - Episode 15: Suebi Campaign Spoilers & Rome Event

PAX Australia 2013 - Retro Gaming Round-Up

One the great parts of all the Penny Arcade Expo's and not just Australia's, is how they celebrate the future of gaming but also the past. On display in the Classic Games area where a massive range of consoles, from the classic Commodore 64 all the way up to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.

Sonic Lost World - Colors Trailer

E3 2013 - Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse HD

E3 2013 - Castle of Illusion - Interview and Demo

A Tour of Sonic Lost Worlds - IGN Plays

Sonic Lost Worlds - Debut Trailer

Project X Zone - A Lethal Surprise

Yakuza 1&2 HD - Trailer and 9 Minutes presentation

No word on if this will be released outside of japan, but still nice to see.