Robot Entertainment at PAX (Part 2)
Following on from our first part of Robot’s PAX Panel review we now move on from looking at the studios history to present day to looking at some of the interesting prototypes they have been working on in-between OMD2 and OMDU. For the first time we get a glimpse at some of he games that could have been from the creative minds at Robot. Read more
Robot Entertainment at PAX (Part 1)
Some of the bots from Robot Entertainment have been hanging out at PAX Prime this weekend, hosting their very own PAX panel titled “An afternoon of fun with Robot Entertainment”. In our first part of our two part series we cover the first part of the panel which looks at Robot history including their time at Ensemble Studios and the games that lead up to Orcs Must Die! Unchained. For anyone who was in attendance there were plenty of free things being given out including a bag, poster, buttons, t-shirt, band and “Founders PAX” access to the Closed Beta. Read more
Ex Ensembler’s thoughts on AOE 2 HD and AOM:EE
If you’re a Steam user you have have seen for a while prominent features of Age of Empires 2 HD and Age of Mythology Extended Edition available to play on Steam. Its great to see these classic Ensemble titles back in the game for purchase. Joining Age of Empires 3 which is also available for purchase on Steam there are now three major games in Ensemble’s legacy in the modern day Steam store and audiences both old and new can enjoy these great games. Read more
Age of Empires Online no longer available from August 22nd after GFWL closure
Many gamers will have heard that for a while Microsoft has been aiming to replace their currency for Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live from Microsoft Points to real local currency. Ie. Dollars, Euros and Pounds Sterling, or what ever your local currency is. In doing this the Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live services will need to make the switch over. This is scheduled to be be kicking off on August 22nd.
However, the bad news is that Games for Windows Live will not be making the transition to local currency and as such, Microsoft is infact closing the GFWL service all together. Infact as of just August 22nd the Games for Windows Live Store will be closed to new purchases of any kind. This means that no additional copies of Age of Empires Online or any DLC will be available via this store from August 22nd. It would seem that any DLC purchased through Steam would also not be available based on a now removed article on the AOE-O support website as reported by Age of Empires Online Heaven. Although the Steam issue is still awaiting official confirmation. Read more
Age of Empires 2 HD announced!
Microsoft Studios have today announced that an HD edition of Age of Empires 2 is in the works. This may not come as a surprise to many who noticed that the Age of Empires Online website has featured articles and blogs about Age of Empires 2 recently *cough* Retro Sunday *cough*. With Ensemble Studios sadly closed many fans will be wondering who is developing this title. Perhaps one of the studios to form out of Ensemble? Well, no, not so I’m afraid. Microsoft Studios are working with Hidden Path Entertainment (developers of Counter Strike). That said, there is at least one Ensemble staffer on board – Mark Terrano was Lead Game Designer at Ensemble Studios during Age 2’s development. He now works as Design Director and Chief Creative Office at Hidden Path. Read more
Kenny Newell interviews Tony Goodman. Ensemble Studios, Robot Entertainment and PeopleFun founder
Fantastic news for all Ensemble fans. Our expert audio interviewer Kenny Newell has managed to bag an absolutely superb interview with Tony Goodman, founder of Ensemble Studios. Tony was kind enough to invite Kenny into his house to talk about Ensemble and his newest venture, PeopleFun over dinner. The hour long interview takes fans right through Tony’s video gaming career starting right at the beginning when Tony first formed Ensemble Studios with close friends and colleagues from Ensemble Corp. This interview is an absolute must listen for all Ensemble fans where for perhaps indeed the first time you can listen to Tony first hand explain how the Ensemble journey began and his motivations. There is great insight into life at Ensemble and how the Age games came together. The Ensemble Studios acquisition by Microsoft is also discussed at length. Read more
News bite: Orcs Must Die! XBLA Sale + Skirmish Hall launches for AOE-O
Orcs Must Die! features on this weeks Xbox Live sale. Now is a great time to tell all your friends about the need to go Orc slashin’, from just 600 MS Points! Be sure to check it out and spread the word! http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Orcs-Must-Die/
In other news Hero Academy is due to launch globally in the next few days. Your nickname for Hero Academy will be the same as that on your RobotEntertainment.com profile. Why not encourage your friends to sign up online so that they are ready to go into battle when the game launches for iOS devices in the next few days? Read more
Age of Empires 3 Complete Collection released on Steam!
Great news for Age of Empires 3 fans! Today Microsoft Studios have announced the release of the compete Age of Empires 3 collection on Steam. The full collection includes Age of Empires 3 and both expansions, The Warchiefs and The Asian Dynasties and is available on Steam today with a 50% discount on the price. The standard price is £29.99 but the game is £14.99 with this time limited launch offer. Currently the complete collection is available in stores for around the £22 price range so there is good value in picking up the Steam edition with the discounted price. Read more
Persian civilisation launches for Age of Empires Online today!
Great news for Age of Empires Online fans – Microsoft Studios and Gas Powered Games are today pushing out the brand new civilisations, the Persians! The Persians will be the first “pro” civilisation. This means players start straight away at level 20 allowing players to immediately tech up and start with gear already attached. Players will be able jump straight into the action with Persia with no worries about having to trudge through the early levels for experienced players. This does come at a cost though as there is no story driving campaign quests with the Persians. Microsoft Studios clarified on the reasons for this as follows:
Persia won’t have a story campaign, since our goal was to get players access to high level content quickly. We’d love to create some Persian story content later, since that culture has an amazing history, but for this launch, we wanted to focus on a way to accelerate advanced players into gameplay. Read more
Orcs Must Die! to be playable at Gamescom on Xbox 360
Robot Entertainment has today announced that Orcs Must Die will be playable at Gamescom in Germany August 17th to 21st . Gamescom is one of the biggest gaming events of the year, it was previously used by Microsoft and Robot Entertainment to announce “Age of Empires Online”. This time Orcs Must Die will be playable at the Microsoft booth, who were recently announced to be publishing the game on Xbox Live Arcade and Steam. So if you’re around in Germany be sure to stop by the booth in Messe, Hall 8. Read more
