After being in BETA for several years and without a publisher, Paradox Interactive have announced today that not only is Mount & Blade close to completion and scheduled for a worldwide release during Q2, 2008; but that they will be the publisher for TaleWorlds’ new third-person RPG. This single-player game focuses mainly on medieval combat with realistic horseback mechanics and sandbox gameplay. The latter enables players to roam the map freely in a medieval world that offers options ranging from hunting down bandits, trading for profit in the game’s economical system and becoming a commander and taking part in the wars ultimately becoming a great lord of the realm.
“We believe Mount & Blade could be a genre defining title and we are thrilled to be working with TaleWorlds Entertainment to bring the game to a worldwide audience, said Fredrik Wester, Executive Vice President of Paradox Interactive. “In BETA, the title has already garnered much deserved attention and excitement in the gaming community and this will be a release to look forward to.”
“Paradox Interactive has reached great success because they know their market and understand gamers, which is the main reason we chose to partner with them for this significant release, said Armagan Yavuz, Co- Founder and lead programmer of TaleWorlds Entertainment. “Our vision for Mount & Blade has been an ambitious one and now that we are so close to completion, we can’t wait to invite gamers into the world we have created”.
When playing Mount & Blade, you will venture through a world filled with enemies as well as friendly groups that will come to your aid or who are in need of yours. In a land torn by constant danger, raids and skirmishes, you will raise and lead your own war band, commanding dozens of soldiers. You will hunt down your enemies following the tracks they leave behind and you will fight epic battles where arrows, axes, and swords are the weapons of choice while horses and men clash into melee combat.
NPC groups in Mount & Blade are continuously active, journeying, looking for enemies and engaging in battles with each other, whether you are there to see them or not. It is, in a way, a very real world where events unfold and some quests are resolved through the world’s own dynamics. Battles are something that you need to play close attention to because a few powerful blows can take you down, and since there is no such thing as a “healing potion” you will have to stay alert at all times to parry or dodge each blow with your name on it.
For more information and some extra assets related to Mount & Blade for the PC, visit the official website.
To be honest, when I first heard there was a new Turok game in the works, my initial was mostly, “meh.” Now that more media has come out for it though, I’m kind of intrigued with how this FPS with dinosaurs is coming to together. This newest video from the developers of the new Turok game explores the AI of both the humans and the dinosaurs. Since the dinosaurs are programmed to attack any threats almost blindly, they can be tricked into attacking your enemies or even each other. Besides that, the human opponents in the game possess all the weapons and tactics that you have, which they’ll use to try and take you down.
Last week’s “Making of” video for Turok had the development team discussing how they first approached creating a brand new game for the franchise. This new video delves more into the details of the game, like story and the conceptual design. Apparently Turok is an outsider with his new squad and isn’t trusted by them initially, which might explain how he ends up doing a lot of solo missions throughout the game. The video also shows some of the initial concept designs that eventually became the game. Next week’s behind-the-scenes video is supposed to explore the AI in the game and the dinosaurs, which is really the main thing this game has going for it.
This teaser trailer for Stargate Worlds is, well, just a teaser really. It doesn’t reveal too much about the upcoming MMO based on the popular Stargate franchise, other than the fact that there will be a lot of bizarre alien races duking it out. Hopefully the cheesy dialogue will be kept to a minimum in the full game though. I’d have a tough time playing a character that introduces himself by saying, “We come in peace…wait, no we don’t.” It’s like something Homer Simpson would say.
This new trailer form Dark Sector gives a brief a outline of the game’s premise. Basically, you somehow get infected with a virus that is slowly taking over your body, forcing you inject yourself with a partial antidote periodically. On the plus side, the infection gives you a glaive, which you can fling at enemies and infuse with elements such as fire and electricity. So with your newfound abilities, you set off to take down a whole bunch of baddies. It’s an interesting twist on the third-person shooter formula, but I don’t know if it’s interesting enough to really make it stand out much.
The above trailer showcases Sniper: Art of Victory. We can’t even begin to count the number of World War II games on the market, but we can’t think of many where the sniper plays the primary role. Sniper: Art of Victory was developed and published by CITY Interactive and it has a lot of people talking. You take the role of a World War II sharpshooter in some of the most important missions and battles of the entire war.
Unlike many other war games with sniping capabilities, Art of Victory boasts a unique and advanced ballistic system, where you have to utilize wind and gravity to take out the enemy with various realistic sniper rifles from the era. The unique shooting system also requires you to take breathing and concentration factors into account. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a game with realistic sniping like you’ll find in this title. We hope you enjoy the trailer!
The full singleplayer component of Universal Combat is now free to the public with the omission of the multiplayer portion. If you would like the full single and multiplayer experience that Universal Combat offers, you can purchase the game on Direct2Drive here
