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Blizzard wants you to get a friend into the StarCraft 2 beta

by David Hinkle { Mar 18th 2010 at 8:40PM }

Has your former friend Billy been playing StarCraft 2 for the longest time before you've even had a chance to check it out? Well, you probably should have opted in for the beta last year, but we're not here to point fingers. We're here to tell you that Blizzard has sent out a wave of fresh beta codes to everyone who's already in the beta, so you should hold off on throwing that brick through Billy's window and make with the nice-nice.

The codes are coming via email right now, so log in and check your inbox for that hot new string of characters. And, hey, if you're the recipient of a fresh invite, give it away to a friend or somebody you don't even know -- don't be a jerk and try to profit from it or anything.

RUSE date a trick after all, release moved to June 8

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 9th 2010 at 11:30PM }

R.U.S.E. is quite a crafty game. It turns out that the recently revealed June 3 release date was nothing but a smoke screen for the real date. The fully legitimate, actual release date is June 8. The game's PC beta began today and, according to Big Download, Ubisoft also announced the change in launch schedule. Normally, this kind of thing would be upsetting but, given the title, it just seems appropriate.

The beta, incidentally, is available now to all Steam users. It allows both single-player and multiplayer action with six different factions on seven multiplayer maps.

Total Annihilation strategically (and exclusively) moving to Impulse

by Ben Gilbert { Mar 5th 2010 at 2:30AM }

Stardock has announced that Total Annihilation, Chris Taylor's classic RTS, has arrived on its Impulse digital distribution platform. 10 bucks nets buyers the Impulse client-based version of TA, replete with the game's Core Contingency expansion and modernized multiplayer support.

Stardock head Brad Wardell notes his love for the RTS in the release announcement, even going as far as saying, "Total Annihilation is personally one of my all-time favorite games." Additionally, while the game is currently claimed to be "exclusive" to Impulse, we have to imagine such a critically acclaimed PC title will end up on those other digital distribution platforms at some point in the future. Until that happens, you can pick up the game right here.

RUSE June 3 release date is no trick; beta next week

by Ben Gilbert { Mar 3rd 2010 at 5:20PM }

If you were paying close attention to Twitter this morning, you might've noticed Ubisoft community developer Aymeric Evennou noting that a R.U.S.E. public beta would be strategically moving itself onto Steam on March 9. More importantly, though, if you were looking way too closely into the French publisher's YouTube video details, it's possible you would've seen this little tidbit about the game's release date: "R.U.S.E. will be available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on June 3, 2010." (June 3, a Thursday, is likely the European retail release date. We've contacted Ubisoft to confirm the North American date.)

From Ubisoft ... ahem ... tricking us into believing the game would see release in Q1 2010, to a private beta last year, and now the announcement that we'll get a chance to play the game next week, it's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for us over the last year at Joystiq. Thankfully, Ubi also released five minutes of soothing fan service in video form that we've embedded after the break for you (and for our own well-being).

Gallery: R.U.S.E.

[Via Big Download]

Continued →

Supreme Commander 2 demo now available on Steam

by Mike Schramm { Feb 26th 2010 at 1:00AM }

As if you didn't have enough to play this week, RTS fans, with Starcraft II in beta and Command and Conquer 4 about to drop, here comes the Supreme Commander 2 demo, now available for download over on Steam. The demo features 4GB (!) of complex Gas Powered Games RTS goodness, in which you'll be able to try two levels of the tutorial, as well as play through two missions as the United Earth Federation faction. You'll also get to see some of those new units at work, and, we presume, do some supreme commanding. No peerless or incomparable commanders here -- supreme only!

One of those new units you can try out is a sea-based experimental submarine for the Cybran faction that's modeled and named after a legendary sea monster. So what are you waiting for? Go download the demo and get kraken!

See Kane's sparkly globe in this Command & Conquer 4 trailer

by David Hinkle { Feb 19th 2010 at 7:30PM }

No, it's not a bald joke. There are a lot of things worth highlighting in the cinematic trailer for Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, but, for us, it's all about Kane's pretty orb above. We like to imagine it houses the universe and everything in it -- kinda like the one from Men in Black. While you're reading this post (and heading past the break to watch the trailer afterward), some weird space creature is playing a game of marbles with our little blue planet. C'est la vie!

Continued →

Pre-order Dawn of War 2 expansion, get Saints Row 2 for free

by Ben Gilbert { Feb 18th 2010 at 9:30PM }

There's no getting around it -- THQ really, really wants you to play all of its games. After recently revealing that the code included in copies of Darksiders is redeemable for a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla, the publisher today announced that those buying the upcoming Dawn of War II expansion Chaos Rising will also snag a free PC copy of Saints Row 2.

That means slapping down your 30 buckaroos at GameStop or Best Buy (or your digital buckaroos at GameTap, Steam or Metaboli) nets you two games -- one of which we are assured allows you to spray human feces on anything nearby. If that isn't enough of a selling point, what is, you monster?

StarCraft 2 PC Beta client is now live [update]

by David Hinkle { Feb 17th 2010 at 3:59PM }

Quick, stop reading this post and head on over to Battle.net to grab the PC beta client for StarCraft 2! (It appears the Mac client is not available yet). Of course, you must have previously volunteered for the beta at Blizzard's site, so if this sentence is news to you, then ... sorry. You're what scientists call out of luck.

The client weighs in at 1.64GB and will take a while to download, so have a crossword handy. See you out there!

Update: Blizzard has revealed the minimum system requirements for the beta. Check 'em out past the break.

Continued →

Gas Powered Games announces 'Kings and Castles,' antics ensue

by JC Fletcher { Feb 15th 2010 at 9:30AM }

"We're doing something different this time," Chris Taylor, of Supreme Commander developer Gas Powered Games, said about the development of the company's new game, Kings and Castles. He's not really talking about the game -- it's another real-time strategy game, being developed for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 -- but rather of the development process.

The developer plans to be as open as it can while working on the game, promising frequent updates on Facebook and Twitter (from Taylor's account, @DeathBot9), as well as on the game's website. "Synergy will be leveraged, and paradigms will be established," Taylor said in the press release. "More importantly, buzzwords will be utilized." From the tone so far, you might expect the updates to be on the silly side.

The first effort in this initiative: a video blog in which Taylor does stuff on a farm for some reason. See it after the break.

Continued →

Last Flight devs announce 'Gender Wars: The Battle,' an iPad strategy game

by Ben Gilbert { Feb 9th 2010 at 5:00AM }

Remember back in late January when the world was all abuzz with iPad news and, more specifically, we named a handful of game genres we'd like to see on the upcoming tablet? If our spidey sense is functioning correctly, the recent announce of "Gender Wars: The Battle" -- a "turn-based tactic game" (read: RTS) -- seems to indicate Last Flight devs Bloober Team are avid Joystiq readers (obviously BT got its ideas from our post -- don't be so foolish!).

The game (as described by lead designer Peter Bielatowicz) is intended to be "easy to pick up and play" with what sounds like paired down tactical commands for "casual players." Producer Piotr Babieno explains the iPad development focus by saying, "We believe that tactic games will be one of [the] best and most successful games on [the] iPad platform." He also notes that the game will be released at a "very low price" to entice players to get hooked on the "series" and prepare them for future "Gender Wars" titles. And no, neither Beilatowicz or Babieno explain why it's called Gender Wars, but we'll hopefully find out when the game releases this March alongside Apple's new device.

Supreme Commander 2 screens and units ready for duty

by Mike Schramm { Feb 6th 2010 at 2:30AM }

click to see the whole battlefield

Big-time RTS Supreme Commander 2 is rolling ever closer to release next month, and to whet your appetite for (unit) production, we've got some new screens and descriptions of three of the units you'll be Supreme Commanding around the battlefield. First up is the Bomb Bouncer, a shielded unit that gains power as it's fired upon and can then throw all of that stored-up damage right back in the faces of any units around it. The Pulinsmash is a unit that creates a vortex to "pull and smash" surrounding units into it, damaging and disrupting them like popcorn in a popper.

Finally, the Kraken, as you can see on the right in the picture above, is a sea creature-shaped Cybran experimental submarine that can take down other subs, aircraft and even battlebots on land. Sure, these machines are awesome to go to war with, and we get the whole "commanding the troops" thing, but don't forget that every one of these rank-and-file units has a family. What about the supreme children, Commander?

Gallery: Supreme Commander 2

Combat abounds in this Command & Conquer 4 trailer

by David Hinkle { Feb 5th 2010 at 6:00PM }

EA's latest salvo of media on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight presents us with both the GDI and Nod's task-based units' setups: offense; defense and support.

Each is comprised of several different units -- an offensive group on the GDI side is comprised of heavy tanks and walkers; the perfect fit for anyone looking to storm a base. On the Nod side, its air support units let players rain hell from above. It's all very appropriate stuff for the Command & Conquer series, really.

Blizzard: StarCraft 2 supports PC and Mac out of the box

by David Hinkle { Jan 28th 2010 at 4:30PM }

"Blizzard's working on it."

StarCraft 2 may still be a long ways off (coming out in 2084, right?), but that thankfully hasn't stopped Blizzard from releasing a steady trickle of updates on the game. The latest involves platform support, as a Blizzard employee recently popped onto the game's forums to verify that SC2 support PC and Mac right out of the box. Sounds all well and good, but what about those who go the download route?

"Further details on digital download possibilities will be released as we get closer to the ship date," the forum post reads. While we'd like to speculate on what these "digital download possibilities" are, it would be just that: speculation. It's not really our bag and, besides, you've got better things to do than finish reading this post -- like organizing your collection of figurines by alphabetical order and taking the trash cans to the curb like your grandma asked you to do over an hour ago.

[Via Big Download]

Grab a friend and watch this Napoleon: Total War trailer

by David Hinkle { Jan 28th 2010 at 1:00AM }

The latest trailer showcasing Napoleon: Total War takes us for a decidedly multiplayer spin. Whether it's playing through the three multiplayer campaigns (Italy, Egypt and Europe) or one of the historic battle recreations for up to eight players, it's apparent that the quest for RTS enjoyment isn't one you'll have to face alone. There's even drop-in support for the main campaign, allowing one of your friends to take over for any of your ill-fated CPU opponents in a given match.

Gallery: Napoleon: Total War

Supreme Commander 2's European deployment date in line with America

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 26th 2010 at 8:20PM }

Supreme Commander 2 is set to storm European retail on March 5 and 19, 2010, on PC and Xbox 360, respectively. The release dates fall within the same week as the North American launch. As we noted before, Gas Powered Games' real-time strategy sequel will drop right in the middle of a retail war for consumer currency, the likes of which we've never seen.

The game's redeeming quality is that as an RTS -- available for consoles, as well -- it may just survive the 2.8 second life expectancy of a game without massive, effective promotion.

RTS posts(Subscribe to this feed)

Blizzard wants you to get a friend into the StarCraft 2 beta

RUSE date a trick after all, release moved to June 8

Total Annihilation strategically (and exclusively) moving to Impulse