Hey, don’t forget that Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/broken_sword_3__the_sleeping_dragon) was also released today. And last week saw the releases: Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/broken_sword_2__the_smoking_mirror) and The Feeble Files (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_feeble_files)
Silmarils’ Classic Series Tests Players’ Survival Skills for Just $5.99
GOG.com (http://www.gog.com), or Good Old Games, the digital distribution site with DRM-free PC classics, has announced another new deal that will add more games to the site’s growing catalogue. The deal with games emulation leader, DotEmu, brings a compilation of Robinson’s Requiem and its informal sequel, Deus, to the classic games site. The two action-adventure games were created by Silmarils, a French developer that created more than 20 titles in various genres for several platforms before ceasing operations in 2003.
Both games places the player in the boots of explorers who find themselves stranded on mysterious alien planets with a mission to survive. The notoriously difficult games put players’ survival skills to the test as they need to manage every aspect of their character’s body in an attempt to survive the hostile world. Thanks to GOG.com, playing these games on modern operating systems is easier than finishing them, thanks to XP and Vista compatibility, a lack of DRM and the unbelievably low price of just $5.99… for both games. We’ve probably mentioned that games at Good Old Games are cheap, right?
“Silmarils’ games are the ones our younger audience probably won’t remember, which makes this a great occasion to bring back these very difficult - and very fun - games to every RPGs, action and adventure game fan,” said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com. “Thanks to DotEmu and our programming team, everyone can experience the ‘fight for your survival’ atmosphere on their modern computers.”
Robinson’s Requiem Collection (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/robinsons_requiem_collection) is now available at GOG.com. More titles, as well as announcements of additional publishers, will follow in the coming weeks. Go to GOG.com and dive right into the world of classic PC gaming.
I was going to rewrite this, but the press release that they sent me was pretty funny :)
Reclusive gamers wanting to play War Plan Pacific from KE Studios and Shrapnel Games who live in fortified mountain compounds and think that members of the United States Postal Service are a secret paramilitary organization bent on world conquest through Pottery Barn catalogs take note! You, along with other gamers, will not need to deal with a shipping service to enjoy this great new wargame. Shrapnel Games is now offering War Plan Pacific for purchase as an immediate download. Those preferring a physical product can still order it as such.
War Plan Pacific, released in December, is a computer wargame for Windows developed by start up KE Studios and published by Shrapnel Games. One or two players command the air, naval, and (abstractly) ground forces of either Imperial Japan or the Combined Allied Effort (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands) in the brutal struggle for the Pacific between 1941 and 1945.
Battles rage across the vast expanse of the Pacific as players vie for control of twenty-nine strategically important bases using a historic order of battle, fighting with air groups, amphibious groups, and naval vessels of light cruiser size or larger. Both sides, while having the ultimate goal of defeating their opponents through force of arms, have very different approaches to achieving said goal, making War Plan Pacific almost feel like two different games. As the Japanese can you carry out the longest delaying action in the history of warfare? Or aggressively take the fight to the Allies and cut the Americans off before their massive war machine begins to take its toll? As the Allies will you need to fight for every square mile of island or will you slip the noose around Japan and strangle her?
A perfect companion for today’s busy gamer, War Plan Pacific plays out in a single session. No more coming back to a game and wondering what exactly your strategy had been last turn, no more multiplayer sessions that are never finished because your opponent vanishes after months of play. Highly intuitive in nature, gamers can jump right into the game without a problem. Of course War Plan Pacific also comes with a detailed manual, chock full of cool tidbits, for those who prefer to learn the game first. The only thing missing is beer and pretzels; you’re on your own to supply those.
Although only released a scant few weeks ago already early reviews have been showering War Plan Pacific with praise.
James Allen of Out of Eight says of War Plan Pacific:
“War Plan Pacific is a grand strategy game truly designed with the more casual user in mind. A lot of the tedium and frankly unnecessary complexity found in similar games is removed while still keeping a satisfying level of depth. War Plan Pacific is easy to manage, with great unit organization and simple mission assignment. The multiple victory conditions are fantastic and reduce the amount of repetition seen in subsequent matches. War Plan Pacific also doesn’t waste your time with drawn-out contests. For gamers on a time budget (or those easily distracted by other games or shiny objects), War Plan Pacific is a great way to taste strategy gaming without devoting too much time to the endeavor.”
Steve Butts of IGN echoes James with:
“War Plan Pacific nicely straddles the sometimes contradictory concepts of realism and accessibility. With a simple interface and gameplay that’s focused more on basic essentials, the game proves that you don’t need reams and reams of technical data in order to be successful. It’s true that we’d like to have seen a few more features here and there but, overall, War Plan Pacific is a welcome addition to the wargame catalog that makes good decisions in terms of sacrificing details and streamlining gameplay.”
Noted strategy blogger Troy Goodfellow of Flash of Steel has War Plan Pacific sharing his Wargame of the Year award. He writes:
“War Plan Pacific is new. Inspired by Avalon Hill’s Victory in the Pacific, WPP is much simpler. The Pacific Ocean is interpreted as nodes that must be controlled by the Japanese or the Allies. There are multiple victory conditions and some neat rules about reinforcement and building up bases. But it’s very simplicity means that you will be able to pick it up in an evening and still find new ways of doing things.”
You can find links to the full reviews at the War Plan Pacific forum. Or you could use Google, but we’d prefer that you go the forum because then you’ll see all the other cool games we have and also read the great comments from your fellow gamers.
For more information on the game, to download a limited demo (single player only, allowing play as either Japan or the Allies for four turns), or to purchase the game please visit its official product page.
War Plan Pacific is only $39.95 and is available only for Windows, either as a physical product shipped to your door in a nifty case or as a download (but you knew that since that’s what this entire release is about, right?). And like all Shrapnel Games products there’s no need to fear some sort of draconian DRM scheme. War Plan Pacific won’t phone home every seven days or kidnap your dear old mum and hold her hostage, and will still be playable in twenty years.
Be sure to stop by and visit www.shrapnelgames.com for our complete catalog of award winning independent games with a focus on strategy. Recent releases includes War Plan Pacific and the newest title from the masters of the bizarre, Digital Eel, with their own electric kool aid test, Brainpipe. Stay tuned for more great releases in 2009!
Every item on Steam is 10-75% off! 4.99 for Bioshock anyone? Fallout 3 for 39.99? All Ubisoft titles are 25% off! Check it out. Lasts until January 2nd.
Hothead Games today proudly announced that its well-received Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two is now available for download on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system in North America. Offered via the PlayStation®Network, this version of Episode Two features PLAYSTATION 3 system features such as trophies, score ranking and background music (BGM) support and sells at $14.99 USD.
The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues in Episode Two of the RPG-adventure game series! Players can jump right in with a fresh character and new customization options or carry over their look and stats from Episode One. Plus, there are more puzzles, areas to explore, levels to gain and new difficulty settings to make the journey more insane than ever before. Rejoin Gabe and Tycho to go crazy with a whole new episode, moving ever closer to solving the mystery in the heart of New Arcadia.
Key Features:
* The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues. Meet all-new characters and see newly revealed strip favorites from Mike Krahulik, while reading laugh-out-loud dialogue from Jerry Holkins.
* Pick up and play from any episode. Enjoy each self-contained story without having to play previous installments.
* Get value for your gaming dollar. Play the entire episode in 6-10 hours for under $15, getting tremendous value that fits into your busy schedule.
* Save what matters most. Carry over you character’s stats and look from prior episodes.
* Go crazy with a whole new level of customization. Check out even more options for you to design and develop your own character, seeing it come to life in 3D and in the comic-style 2D cut scenes.
* Play it safe or go insane! New difficulty settings put you in charge of the action.
* A deeper RPG-Adventure experience. Get into the game with more puzzles, areas to explore and levels to gain.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two has been rated “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for all platforms.
Celebrating the holiday season, GOG.com offers two classic point-and-click adventure games for FREE
Warsaw, Poland - December 18 - ‘Tis the season at GOG.com (http://www.gog.com), the digital distribution platform with DRM-free classic games, where “GOG.com fever month” continues with today’s release of two totally free games. Beneath a Steel Sky (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beneath_a_steel_sky) and Lure of the Temptress (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/lure_of_the_temptress), two classic point-and-click adventure games, are now available for download to every registered GOG.com user at the site’s newest price point - $0.00. That’s nothing. Like, totally free.
Both games were developed by Revolution Software and famously introduced the Virtual Theatre game engine, which enabled non-playable characters to interact with the environment without players interaction. The two games have been wrapped with GOG.com’s smooth and slick installers, and “Beneath a Steel Sky” even includes Dave Gibbons’ comic book inspired by the game itself.
“We’re very happy that we’ve managed to get those two great classics before the holidays. The free games are a sort of ‘thank you’ to GOG.com users who have been supporting us since our beta launch”, said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com. “We like to get things for free as much as anyone else, and we think that these games represent great introductions to classic PC gaming and to the entire GOG.com experience.”
Both games are now available on GOG.com. Everyone who creates an account at GOG.com can download both games and all additional materials for free. The release of free games on the service is part of the “GOG.com fever month” action which has seen the additions of classic PC games like Arx Fatalis, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and Simon the Sorcerer to the games catalogue. As always, expect news about new features, new releases and more in the coming days.”
It’s dragon killing time! The Strong Bad season finale — starring the infamous Trogdor the Burninator — arrived on WiiWare and PC this morning, bringing the first monthly episodic series for a console to an exciting close. And what a ride it’s been! Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People kicked off with a chart-topping performance on WiiWare (#1 on the most downloaded list for almost all of August!) and has remained a favorite month after month, proving that creative titles based on offbeat characters who dole out advice emails on the Internet really do have a place in the video game world.
Speaking of video game worlds, that’s exactly how the Strong Bad series closes. (Good segue there, eh?) In 8-Bit Is Enough, Strong Bad gets up close and personal with some of his favorite arcade classics on a quest to send the pesky, beefy-armed dragon Trogdor packing, and restore balance to Free Country USA. Sound epic? That’s because it is! If you’re a Strong Bad fan, a video game fan, or a fan of things that are hilarious, you owe it to yourself to check out 8-Bit Is Enough — and the rest of the Strong Bad series.
The finale is available for PC as part of the $34.95 Strong Bad season pass (available from www.telltalegames.com) or can be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel for 1,000 Wii points. (The WiiWare version is currently only available in North America).
Check it out, its a great way to end an awesome series. It’s been successful enough, let’s hope there’s a season 2 on the horizon!
Gift Certificates
Yeah, a little late for most of your Holiday Gift Guides, but I can still beg and plead for a special “OMG Last-minute deals!” update, can’t I? We’re finally introducing Gift Certificates to GOG.com… now you can buy your special someone that classic game you know they’ve been dying to play. Just go to any game page and click on the self-explanatory “You can gift this game to any friend” link on the right side.
Weekend Deal
Starting at noon EDT tomorrow (Friday) and ending on Monday at noon, you can buy the entire Earthworm Jim collection (Earthworm Jim 1+2, alongside Earthworm Jim 3D) for just $9.98. Remember - to qualify for the deal, you need to buy both games in the same order. We’re not ones to totally shaft the people who already bought one of the games: if you already own one of those titles, buy the other and get $1 off. Cheap games just got cheaper!
Surprise Thursday Release
Simon the Sorcerer 2 - $5.99 (Point-and-click adventure)
If you thought you would have to wait a week to get another dose of Simon, think again. After a mere two days we’re bringing you even more of your favorite teenage wizard in Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe. Our hero will once again meet some old friends, even older enemies and get into all kinds of trouble. Any more hints would be a spoiler, so just think of it this way: it’s like the prequel… Only better!
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/simon_the_sorcerer_2
And Tuesday’s releases of course:
Simon the Sorcerer - $5.99 (Point-and-click adventure)
Sit back, take a few deep breaths and prepare your diaphragm for Simon the Sorcerer, the first part of the classic point-and-click adventure game series by Adventure Soft. The game offers truckloads of parody and cliché humor and doesn’t mind breaking the old “fourth wall.” After all, what better way to prove someone is, say, a wizard, than to tell them “It says so when I move my mouse pointer over you”? To put a long story short, it’s hours of laughs for only $5.99.
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/simon_the_sorcerer
Port Royale 2 - $9.99 (Historical strategy)
No holds are barred in 17th century Carribean, full of opportunities and riches ripe for the plucking. You might want to be a merchant, but make sure you keep your convoys well-protected, as there may be pirates lurking about. If you think you’re prepared, you could teach those pirates a lesson and take the fight to them. More still, you could even become a fearsome buccaneer yourself! In Port Royale 2, your choices are limited only by your ingenuity.
Click here to buy:http://www.battlefront.com/redirect/sc_pac.html
Click here to download demo:http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=220&Itemid=335
Strategic Command WWII Pacific Theater Demo Demo Download Links:
Mirror #1 (USA) http://www.battlefront.com/u.php?647148570
Mirror #2 (Europe)http://www.battlefront.com/u.php?2016581440
This demo includes TWO playable campaigns: 1941 Operation Z is the main theatre campaign that starts on December 7, 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor followed by landings and advancement in South East Asia including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies. The demo campaign is limited to 6 months of game time. 1945 Operation Detachment was the United States capture of the island of Iwo Jima from Japan, producing some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific Campaign of World War II. This mini-campaign is included IN FULL without turn restrictions in the demo! Multiplayer modes are disabled in the demo but the campaigns are playable against the AI as either side.
WWII Pacific Theater the third, and newest, game in the award winning Strategic Command series. WWII Pacific Theater shifts the focus from Europe and into the steaming jungles and islands of Asia- Pacific. WWII Pacific Theater is a standalone new game and does not require any of the previous titles to play. For the first time, players will be able to wage war across the massive expanse of the Pacific Ocean. From British occupied India, Tibet, Nepal and China in the West to Pearl Harbor and the West Coast of the US and Canada. WWII Pacific Theater features the largest map yet in the series at 198×82 tiles in size.
NOTE ABOUT DUAL MONITOR DISPLAYS: SC WWII Pacific Theater can have problems with Dual Monitor displays which cancause the game to be unplayable. As such, we advise disabling a secondary monitor before launching and playing this game.
VISTA COMPATABILITY If you have experienced any issues with installation or running Strategic Command WWII Pacific Theater (in general) it is recommended to run the installation utility and/or the game as an Administrator. Either logging in with an Administrator account or using the following steps can achieve this:
1. Right clicking the Shortcut
2. Select Properties
3. On the Shortcut tab select Advanced
4. Then Select the “Run as Administrator” checkbox.
Additionally you may find that you need to temporarily disable Vista’s User Access Control (UAC). Please refer to your Vista documentation for further instructions on the disabling and subsequent re-enabling of UAC if necessary.
NEW VIDEO ACCELERATION SETTING If you play the game and notice unplayably slow map scroll speeds and unit selection time, then please activate the “Video Acceleration” option from inside the Settings panel. That option will use a different method to handle graphics and should put your game performance back to regular levels. If you have never noticed any extreme game slowness, you can leave this option set to OFF. –
