Stellar Forces is a squad-level, turn based multi-player strategy game. Imagine Laser Squad or X-Com missions being multi-player across the internet. Each player controls a squad of units and takes turns in an effort to complete their mission first and defeat their opponent. There are multiple missions available, as well as lots of different kinds of weapons and equipment.
This game is completely free to play; all you need to do is register on the Web site, which then allows you to connect to other players and play as many games as you want.
The Order is here, another expansion pack for Gratuitous Space Battles.
It includes:
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10 New ships. 4 Cruisers 3 Frigates and 3 fighters, all in a new graphical style by the same artist who did the original GSB artwork. The order ships use tractor beams to keep the different components together. Girders are so 2450's.
4 New weapon types: The radiation gun does impact damage plus ongoing internal radiation damage as its effects devastate your ship from the inside. Nuclear missiles provide the same entertainment in missile form. Firefly rockets give normal cruiser rockets a boost of speed, and lastly, cunning anti-fighter limpet mines latch on to incoming fighters and drag them down to speeds where everyone can take pot shots at them.
New ship bonuses. The order ships have pretty poor engines, but those big green throbbing powerplants kick out more juice on order ships. What could you design given more power and less speed? The order is your opportunity to find out.
2 New Scenarios. Two maps for you to fight against the order, One is a normal map, but with the fun and games of a nice aesthetically pleasing 3D style asteroid field (does not affect gameplay but looks cool), and the other is a 'survival' mode match where you play last ship standing and try to score higher than other players in the global high score table.
It does not include:
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Completely new gameplay modes, and major features that change how the game plays, any new AI orders... basically anything that is not listed in the list above. This is basically a data-pack with new ships, not a sequel or gameplay re-write.
NeFuRii (ufonef on our forums) and the team have released a demo of the upcoming project UFO: The Two Sides.
UFO:TTS is a semi-faithful remake of the original X-COM title but with a major difference - players will be able to play against each other as either X-COM or the aliens in PvP mode, or choose a side to play in a single player campaign.
The game aims to improve upon the original and makes important upgrades to certain aspects, and the demo shows off some of the faithfully reproduced graphics in a nice, high resolution. A non-exhaustive list of features can be found on the project's features page.
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As aftermentioned, this is a limted demo and works on unfinished version of the game.
Game minimal requirements: Windows family system, 2 GHz single core processor or better, graphics card capable of displaying graphics using shaders 2.0 or better. Extractor requires installed java.
The demo can be downloaded from the project's downloads page and you can read the full release notes in the news post.
As well as a sequel coming out on PSP, Sega has not stopped releasing content for the first game, and is doing another set of DLC, consisting of six new maps, each one challenging a different class.
Right now Subversion is austere and skeletal. I dont expect that will change too much, because its in the nature of what Introversion are trying to do. Nevertheless the core of things, says, Delay, need to be hand-crafted. The wider world, the noisy background of an entire city, will be left to procedural creation. It reminds us like all of Delays work of an earlier time in gaming. Delay is carrying on the procedural angle that began its work with Elite and Midwinter. But hes bringing in a lot of other influences too: games of infiltration and covert behaviour from years passed (sic) are all making their influence known. This is, in some ways, the sequel to Uplink: technology versus information versus infrastructure, only this time graduating to the physical, urban level. On a wider, genre basis, it sits roughly in the Commandos area of careful execution of planned procedures. Or perhaps it is to Syndicate as Thief was to the shooter tradition We need to see more. And were keen to see more, clearly, but another glimpse might be some time away. If there was one thing Introversion were sure they were unsure about, its how long it takes to make stuff.
Firaxis has just announced the fifth iteration of the Civilization series.
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Perhaps most significantly for fans, the series is making the jump to hexagons rather than square tiles to "allow for deeper strategy, more realistic gameplay, and stunning organic landscapes." The entire game is being built on an entirely new engine that's being built from the ground up to bring players "closer to the Civ experience than ever." Diplomacy is handled full screen now, with full leader animations and appropriate languages. Players who aren't inclined towards negotiations will find that war feels "more massive" and includes ranged bombardment from behind front lines.
Independent developer Mode 7 are currently making Frozen Synapse, a simultaneous turn-based top-down tactical game.
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You have full control over your strike team, directing their every movement. At the same time, your opponent is plotting to defeat you. Plan your moves, test them out, then hit the "Execute" button: both you and your enemy's turns are executed simultaneously.
Bite-size, hardcore strategy with a striking sci-fi aesthetic.
PAUL: Frozen Synapse is the ultimate tactical game: it's an indie simultaneous-turn-based strategy title. If you've played games like the X-com series and Laser Squad Nemesis, you'll have experienced the broad genre that Frozen Synapse is in, but it's something of a twist on the format. At the moment, the game is PC only but we're aiming to make a Mac version available and then look at other platforms after we release.
IAN: Frozen Synapse is a cross between Laser Squad Nemesis and Counter Strike - meant to be a deep turn based experience that is fast. To be honest, the trailer explains it much better than my words can.
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun released for FREE!
To help promoting Command & Conquer 4, Electronic Arts has released another strategy jewel of old, Tiberian Sun along with its expansion, Firestorm.
While this may not be the best game in the series, it sure is one worth playing, made with a style no longer existing in the industry; this game brings some warm memories to many of us, be sure to give it a spin!
C&C: Tiberian Sun joins the ranks of Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert and you can download these three wonderful RTSs here!