Day 3 of the Windstorm Studios teasers – the Vehicular Strike Force. Plus news about the AOE-O retail box
Its day 3 of the Windstorm Studios teaser series for an upcoming announcement of a new game. This time we learn about the Vehicular Strike Force which has recently been set up in Atomic City. The VSF help to combat the vehicular based crimes in the city after it was determined local police forces were corrupt and ineffective. The VSF only answer to the Federal Council so there is less chance of any shenanigans. The VSF is lead by Hank McKenna a veteran police officer from Atomic City. My guess would be that players will be taking the role of Hank McKenna in his task to help clean up the city and deal with vehicular based crime. Lets wait and see what teaser number 4 has in store for us! Read more
Big update Friday: – Atomic City, Gnoll Hunters and something new from NewToy / Zynga
Wow we have a pretty big update from Ex-Ensemble formed studios today Friday 3rd June 2011, infact its so big we have three studios involved – Robot, Windstorm and Zynga With Friends. Incase your’re wondering the Zynga With Friends studio used to be called NewToy before they were acquired by the Zynga machine. The “With Friends” is a link to their previous titles, Words with friends and Chess with friends. Now that we know who we’re talking about lets delve straight into todays news! Read more
Windstorm Studios announcement coming in just 4 days!
If Age of Empires Online this August and Orcs Must Die! this Summer its not enough Ensemblite action for you then you’re in luck! Windstorm Studios was also formed after Ensemble Studios’ closure. Unlike other studios Windstorm is almost certainly the smallest studio run by just one man – Dusty Monk. After over 2 years of hard development work Dusty will soon be in a position to announce his brand new game to the world in just four days time. A few months ago Remember ES and Dan Griliopoulos at PC Gamer managed to catch up with Dusty in Dallas to see how he was getting on we managed to see some exciting new screenshots and learn more about the games retro-futuristic science theme. With a mix of futuristic flying cars combining them with classic car models from the 1950’s, Windstorm’s project was certainly something very unique. Refresh your memory by checking out the PC Gamer article. Read more
Orcs Must Die – trap spotlight: Wall Blades
PC Gamer has the latest exclusive for this weeks Orcs Must Die! trap spotlight. This week we have the wall blades, these are traps which can be placed on walls so that any Orcs passing close by are very much likely to be torn to shreds! These traps are best suited to smaller corridors where the chance of Orcs passing by is greater. Although, you can always “assist” Orcs on their path to death by combining things like the wind belt to give them that small nudge required to ensure they meet thier maker!
Check out the latest trailer on the PC Gamer website below. You might also notice some UI changes on this trailer compared to earlier trailers – its good to see the game progressing and taking shape. See if you can identify some of the new UI improvements at the link below!
Age of Empires Online launching August 16th!
Quick update here – Microsoft has just announced that Age of Empires Online will be launching this August 16th. This exciting news will certainly be something for Age of Empires fans to look forward to. With 40 hours of free gameplay and a whole bunch of extra downloadable content this Age of Empires could well be the biggest Age of Empires game in the series thus far. A vast majority of the core game design from art to game play has come from Ex-Ensembler’s at Robot Entertainment before Gas Powered Games took over towards the end of the development process. For Age of Empires, Ensemble and Robot fans gear up for an exciting August! Read more
AOEO and Orcs updates
Quite a few updates to make here for one post.. I guess I have been slacking and should of got these out sooner! I blame University for taking up too much of my time! In the last week we have had some new AOEO news and a new trap spot light for Orcs Must Die. So without further adue, here goes! Read more
Orcs Must Die – trap spotlight: Wind Belt
Believe it or not despite the blood and gore of menacing equipment and traps like the spikes, maces, cross bow and boom barrel – there is actually a much more greener way to despatch the Orcs. The Wind Belt is the latest edition in Robot’s OMD trap spotlights. This magic is truly for the eco-friendly conscious, blow the Orcs away with a gust of wind. Blowing them into strategic places like spikes and lava is of course, most recommended! The Wind Belt is the second type of magic the War Mage can use that we have seen so far, the previous being the fire ball.
Age of Empires Online launching this autumn
Microsoft has today announced to Eurogamer that they plan to launch Robot Entertainment and Gas Powered Games developed Age of Empires Online later this year towards the Autumn. The game was originally penned to be released in the Summer but it looks like the game might be pushed back slightly. The game is launching with two civilisations, the Greeks and the Egyptians. Indications from the open beta indicate that a third civilisation is almost certainly a possibility post launch. Read more
Orcs Must Die! at E3 this year – June 7-9th
In under a months time the some of the bots of Robot Entertainment will be heading off to Los Angeles to the world re-nowened entertainment trade show, E3. I’m sure everyone knows just how big E3 is and it is very exciting to see that Robot will be there at booth 447 showing off Orcs Must Die to the masses! So if you are planning to go to E3 this year you are in for a treat. Read more
Orcs Must Die – trap spotlight: Boom Barrel
Its round 2 of the weekly Robot Entertainment reveals of some traps featured in the upcoming Orcs Must Die video game. This time we have the “Boom Barrel”. This looks like a very cool trap and it involves planting a whole bunch of explosive barrels that detonate on impact or when shot by the War Mage. Remember traps can be placed at the beginning of the level or in real time when playing the game so you can always keep the Orcs on their toes. One of the best features of the boom barrel is the awesome physics effects players can acheieve with well placed barrels. You can send a whole bunch of Orcs flying to their doom if you can set the barrels up correctly. Check out 24 seconds into the video below – now that’s awesome. Read more
