Portal's turrets find their way into Bastion on
Steam

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Really, we shouldn't be shocked at this point when it comes to elements of Portal seeping into indie games. Even so, I can't help but find this footage of Portal's turrets in Supergiant Games' Bastion to be absolutely delightful. And I'm one of those guys who gets beyond irritated at the overuse of Portal jokes.

The skill that allows you to drop turrets is exclusive to the PC version of Bastion, reportedly unlocked upon starting up a new game plus. Serious props to Supergiant for the handling and continued support of this release. You just don't see that often enough, smaller studios or otherwise.

This is not a test: Portal turrets light up Bastion via Steam [Joystiq]

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Freak out, Minecraft has Pokemon

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One of the coolest things about Minecraft has to be the amount of creativity the game encourages, and there have been some great fan-made additions. So here is another one, possibly the best one. Someone modded Minecraft to add Pokemon. Watch the video and be amazed by the Pokemob mod.

I never got into Minecraft, I'm still not totally convinced it is as much the bees knees as everyone says, but I would be willing to buy it so I could run around collecting pokemon, making pokeballs and fighting Team Rocket. Not all features have been implemented yet, but right now there are three pokemon that you can catch as well as the ability to make a pokedex.

Pokemobs for Minecraft? Yes please! [ElectroPixel -- Thanks, DJKirsch!]

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Raven's Cry looks like a proper pirate action
game

TopWare showed a rough version of a live-action teaser trailer for Raven's Cry at gamescom this week and I got the chance to learn a bit more about the game. Rather than being yet another pirate-themed role-playing game or strategy game with a pirate ship, Raven's Cry is a third-person action revenge-'em-up.

You play as Christopher Raven who, as a boy, lost his family and his left hand to a pirate attack on the way to the New World. With a raven sidekick to scout for enemies, Christopher sets off on a path of vengeance to find the scoundrels who murdered his dear ones.

Raven's Cry (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: Octane Games
Publisher: TopWare Interactive
To be released: 2013

On your path, you'll hack, slash, and shoot your way through an array of environments such as typical Caribbean port towns and Aztec lands. Your missing hand has been replaced by a hook (naturally), which hopefully means you can use it to cut into enemies and throw them around. Raven's Cry is a really dark game, so don't expect any of that Pirates of the Caribbean PG-13 crap. People are going to die -- it's just a matter of when.

Systems for Fear and Notoriety make the world around you react to your actions and choices. Killing enemies makes you accumulate Fear, which you can use to scare enemies away or as a super attack. The consequence is that everyone in range becomes hostile, if you didn't scare them off.

Notoriety is increased as you do your murderous thing and although there aren't a lot of details on this system, at the moment it sounds a bit like Assassin's Creed's notoriety system with posters on the wall you can rip off.

Pirate charms will supposedly let you become invincible, summon ravens to rip enemies to shreds, boost attack speed and damage, and even cast some magic. 

Besides the typical third-person action, you can expect naval battles and mano-a-mano duels with certain enemies as well. Some of the weapons' concept art looks ridiculous, like a "sword-pistol" that is basically a big knife with a revolver attached to it, or an "axe-rifle," which looks like a 17th-century version of the lancer from Gears of War. Maybe you can chop it into a person's shoulder blade and then use that person to stabilize your shot, eh?

It sounds like the choices you make in Raven's Cry will affect Christopher Raven's soul (i.e., replayability), but it's already pretty clear that this game is about brutal pirate murder, plain and simple. I've been aching for a pirate action game for quite some time now, so I'm going to keep a close eye on this one. 

Raven's Cry only just started production and it's going to take a while before we get to see some gameplay, with a planned release for 2013. Please don't be shit!

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Preview: Masters of the Broken World

The story behind Masters of the Broken World is a fascinating one. Snowberry Connection, an international independent production fund that has been responsible for games such as Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword, picked up a prototype version from Russian designer Alexey Bokulev and hooked him up with Unicorn Games Studio to create a proper remake for the international market.

Then they funded the entire production and a booth at gamescom, where I took the time to see what this game was about. All I knew about the game was that it was a turn-based strategy title set in a fantasy world, which was reason enough for me to check it out.

However, I wasn't expecting to find out that Masters of the Broken World takes elements from franchises like Heroes of Might & Magic, Total War, and Galactic Civilizations to turn it into a PC turn-based strategy fan's wet dream.

Masters of the Broken World (PC)
Developer: Unicorn Games, Snowberry Connection
Publisher: Snowberry Connection
Release date: 2012 

The universe is shattered, with Shards of land floating around in space. As a "master," it is up to you to take control of all these masses and bring them together to forge a new world in your image. Meanwhile, others are trying to do the same. Taking control of a Shard yields you bonuses and advances for what was being described as a "tech tree," although some information may have been lost in translation. Either way, you want and need to control all of the Shards.

When you select a Shard from this galactic map of sorts, you enter a Total War-esque overworld with a top-down map divided into provinces. You and the AI opponents have one castle that must be defended at all cost, as the player who captures all castles wins control of the Shard.

Your castle has nine districts that can each be developed for your military power, economy, etc. If you've played a Heroes of Might & Magic game, it's a bit like that. Completely different from HOMM is how your army works. You are able to recruit up to four heroes, with every hero becoming increasingly more expensive to purchase -- and I'm talking a lot more expensive.

Contrary to HOMM, you won't build hundreds of weak-but-inexpensive units; instead, every unit is simply one unit with its own upgrade system. Essentially, they act as mini heroes. Units are of different alignments, and the units you use reflect upon your own alignment. Use creatures like orcs and other monsters -- instead of priests and human units -- and your alignment will shift accordingly.

On the Shard's overworld, you can move your hero's army around to other provinces, which pops up a kind of quest and choice screen similar to how King Arthur did it. Some provinces may ally themselves with you by fulfilling a quest somewhere else, others might need to be paid off, and if you want you can just attack them with brute force. When you choose the latter, you will enter a King's Bounty-like form of combat in which the terrain of that province on the overworld defines the terrain in combat.

Units line up on opposing sides of a 2D hexagonal map where the terrain gives different bonuses to different units. Archers receive a bonus on hills, mages are better off in forests where they have better defense, and so on. Since you only have one unit that you can become attached to over time, by upgrading and nurturing it, they are much more precious than the kind you just purchase by the dozens in a city barracks.

Every unit has three bars: health, stamina, and morale. If you use a unit, its stamina will drop. The consequence is that you can't use one super powerful unit to destroy all enemies while ignoring every other weaker unit. Morale is affected by how the battle progresses, but also by the type of units in your army. Throw "light side" and "dark side" units together, for lack of a better term, and morale will drop. 

The classes of heroes you choose can affect stats like army support, diplomacy, and magic. Maybe you'll want a mage to deal a lot of damage (heroes fight in combat themselves), or maybe you'll want a support class that allows you to support larger armies. 

If you do go down the dark path with an army full of monsters and keep selecting the "evil" choice in quests, your economy will suffer compared to the more light-side alignment that boosts your economy. After all, nurturing your cities and society does tend to lead to better economies than being feared as a warmongering dictator. You'll have to make your decisions according to your play style and whether you want to field large armies or develop your economy while resolving province requests through diplomacy.

Once you take over a province, you can also explore it with your hero. This will reveal things like hidden artifacts and dungeons that boost your economy even more. To top it all off, you can use diplomacy to form alliances on a Shard.

Masters of the Broken World seems to pick elements from some of my favorite PC strategy games, improves them, and puts them all in one game. It's a single-player game at the moment, but the producer mentioned that because they self-publish they can take their time to think about what they want to do for the final product.

It may take a while before we'll get to play it, but Masters of the Broken World is certainly one of the games at gamescom that I'm looking forward to the most.

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I Am Alive has a new leaked trailer

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If you have forgotten about Ubisoft's possibly-a-survival-game-but-maybe-not-because-Ubisoft-doesn't-want-you-to-know-about-it-game I Am Alive, that is okay. Considering that it was announced back in 2008 with very little news or updates provided since (most of it just delay announcements or reminders that it has not been canceled), the oversight is understandable. So here is another video, tweeted about by @supererogatory, to keep your hope in the game alive.

Before you start freaking out about the title coming out, keep in mind that this is a leaked video and Ubisoft has not released any sort of official word about I Am Alive as of the time of this writing. While I would like to think that this trailer is proof positive that I Am Alive has not become vaporware, until Ubisoft says anything, it is still just a cool idea with some nice trailers (though this one does have gameplay footage so who knows).

Ubisoft's I Am Alive is alive, leaks out a new teaser trailer [Joystiq]

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Nintendo launches 3DS Ambassador eligibility tool

The deadline has passed quite some time ago for all you Nintendo 3DS early adopters to get on the eShop in order to be officially recognized as a "3DS Ambassador." If you wanted those free original Nintendo and Game Boy Advance games, you've probably already done that and are eagerly awaiting 20 free games.

Some of you aren't, however. In fact, some of you might not be able to sleep at night because you're not sure whether or not you've been recognized. Just think about it for a second, what if you haven't? Okay, now that I've got you scared, allow me to introduce you to the "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Eligibility" tool.

The tool is easy to use, and only requires your handheld's serial number. Just type it in and you'll have peace of mind that you are an Ambassador.

Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Eligibility Tool [Nintendo Support]

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Gamescom Day 3 Wrap up

I don't actually know what happened to Maurice Tan, maybe he got trampled to death as gamescom attendees ran for the Battlefield 3 booth, but either way we managed to replace him.

Today Daniel Carneiro, Daniel Seto and myself discuss what we have seen on our third day at gamescom and start to tackle the all important decision of what game will be crowned game of the show -- spoiler: nobody can agree. 

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Valve: 'We try to make it easier for us to be
successful'

Unlike the last few years, Valve had a massive presence at this year's gamescom. In celebration of their newest game, Dota 2, they held a massive tournament called "The International." During this contest, we were able to talk to Valve co-founder Gabe Newell in an extensive 12-minute video interview.

Topics discussed include Valve's keen eye for new talent, the viability of the free-to-play model, the community around Dota, and what the company is planning on doing with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

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Preview: Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying
Fortress

The expansion for Two Worlds II is around the corner, but how does one do a pirate-themed expansion for a pretty large open-world role-playing game? It turns out you do it by adding a lot of new content to play with and play through, a new story, and a laarrrrge update on the tech side.

With a new area added to the existing world, Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress will take you on a side adventure with a pirate theme.

Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: Reality Pump
Publisher: TopWare Interactive
To be released: September 2011

Pirates of the Flying Fortress is about a group of pirates who have been stranded on a cursed archipelago, trapped for all eternity until someone comes along to resolve the situation.

Reality Pump has been working on a lot of improvements to the engine used in Two Worlds II, and the expansion looks really nice. There's better lighting with real-time refractions and better fluid dynamics for the water (what's a pirate game without water?).

Some gameplay elements that were scrapped or not fully implemented in Two Worlds II were put into this expansion, such as the Oculus, a flying eye. While walking around an area littered with petrified soldiers, you come across a basilisk. Hiding out of the beast's sight, you can use an Oculus to fly around to the basilisk's eyes and subsequently burn them to blind it. After doing so, it becomes safe to attack it as you would ordinarily do.

New weapons like a crossbow and pirate swords fill up the pirate atmosphere, although it seems to be more of a really large side quest to Two Worlds II than a standalone kind of expansion where you are a pirate yourself.

There is still some trademark ridiculous stuff in here, though, such as an undead bar filled with skeletons, zombies and mummies that has its own quest line. Find an eye for a rotting zombie, and he will give you a leg to trade it at another character. If you complete this quest line, you gain access to a VIP area, which is a smaller version of Mass Effect 2's Afterlife club, but with naked female zombie dancers.

A music minigame from Two Worlds II has been expanded a bit and you can play music to activate certain things. One of them was a Golem that you could wake up, who had tons of armor until you pull four levers in the room.

Besides walking and riding your horse, you can now use a boat as a mode of transport between the islands that make up the archipelago world of PotFF. It's not quite a full-on pirate ship with cannons and a crew of scurvy dogs, but then again, this is not that kind of game. Another key feature of the game: horse armor. Yep.

During a section in which you are playing through a dream, the camera has a slight fish-eye point of view with a bunch of post-processing effects to make it look more surreal. Small things like this on the graphical side will be all over the place.

Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress will also be the first open-world RPG to feature stereoscopic 3D, which should please the 248.6 people who play games in 3D. The graphical tweaks will also be included in an update to the main game, so if you are more of a ninja fan, you'll still be able to replay the main game with the higher visual fidelity.

It looked like PotFF will do what an expansion is supposed to do -- add new content and some new gameplay elements -- with the added bonus of all the work Reality Pump has put into the engine to make it look really good. I don't know if it's going to win over people who didn't care about Two Worlds II, but for the fans it should be a fun and better-looking expansion.

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Preview: Risen 2

The original Risen was pretty well-received when it came to the PC version. The Xbox 360 port? Not so much. Piranha Bytes is well aware of that, so it is developing the PC and console versions of Risen 2 side by side this time around.

The sequel is a full-on pirate role-playing game with pirate-y things everywhere, but it features the same protagonist from the first game. Risen 2's world is still the same as the first one, but set in the southwest region where a tropical climate holds sway over the coastal lands and islands that dot the map.

Risen 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Deep Silver
Release date: Q1 2012

Following the events in Risen, you are an Inquisitor soldier who goes undercover as a pirate, only to become disillusioned with the Inquisition and subsequently fall in love with the pirate lifestyle. 

Accompanied by the pirate wench Patty, who was a side character in Risen, you start your adventure proper at the island town of Puerto Sacarico. The island is one of many in the game, and while slavery is accepted and everyone is either a landlubber or a scallywag, the society there still has its own structure and rules.

Going around the island, talking to NPCs and doing quests, you slowly progress towards the goal of finding Patty's father, a pirate captain named Steelbeard who left her behind when she was but a child. After father and daughter are reunited in a true pirate fashion, your protagonist is accepted as a crew member on Steelbeard's ship.

Since the Risen games are about player freedom, the skill and leveling system from the first game makes a return in Risen 2. You'll slash, block, and kick enemies in melee combat, or throw magical javelins at giant monsters. This time around, you'll also be able to wield firearms to blast your foes to smithereens.

The pirate theme goes all the way to the RPG elements in Risen 2. Some offensive and defensive skills can only be unlocked by fulfilling quests for certain characters, who will then let you train with them. For instance, you can learn the "Silver Tongue" perk (a Persuasion skill) from a whore and pickpocketing from a scallywag. Animals are useful, too -- you can transform into a monkey, or even throw your parrot companion at enemies. 

While the first game was set on one big island, the sequel now features multiple islands and shoreline areas to quest on. You can use instant transport methods to get around an island, but when travelling between islands, you'll have to take your pirate ship.

Your ship isn't just a mode of transport, though; it also acts as a hub for a melting pot of creatures and companions. One of the criticisms of Risen was that characters popped in and out of the story without making the player feel like there was a lot of cohesion and progression in his path. Piranha Bytes wanted to remedy that by making such characters become a part of your life on the ship.

You'll still insta-travel between islands, however, so there is no naval combat between pirate ships as Piranha Bytes feels that plenty of other games do that already and the focus for Risen 2 isn't on the elements of those kinds of games.

The morality system works along the lines of player freedom, allowing you to make choices in the dialogue and quests. Unlike games like Mass Effect, pissing people off royally will make it really, really hard to complete your quests, since everyone will hate you and attack you.

With a larger area, 33% more quests, and a ton of pirate stuff to mess around with, Risen 2 looks like it's shaping up to be a great and pure pirate RPG for fans of both pirates and Risen, or haters of ninjas. Even for console owners, Risen 2 could be worth keeping an eye on.

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