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Fire Emblem: Savings Day

by JC Fletcher { Jul 2nd 2009 at 11:40AM }

Have you thought about purchasing Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, but decided to wait until the price dropped to exactly $14.98? If so, today is the day you've been waiting for. Amazon, for its Deal of the Day, has marked down the tactical role-playing remake by 50%. It's a very cheap way to occupy like a million hours.

A warning, though: if you buy it now and one of your friends challenges you to a multiplayer match, that person has probably been playing the game since February or so. You can expect a few seconds of humiliating punishment, is what we're saying. Have fun!

Gallery: Fire Emblem DS

Blame World of Warcraft for StarCraft 2's tardiness

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 29th 2009 at 1:05PM }

We already blame World of Warcraft for most of the problems in the world -- loneliness, social atrophy and, generally, man's inhumanity towards man -- but now we've got another grudge to harbor against the MMO juggernaut: It delayed StarCraft 2 development for an entire year. That's 365 days of sweet, sweet strategy (by which of course we mean constant, unwavering zerg rushes) that we could have already been enjoying.

This startling revelation came to Eurogamer by way of Blizzard vice president of game design Rob Pardo, who explained, "A fair amount of the design team went onto World of Warcraft for a year to really help finish that game off." We guess that explains why Starcraft 2 took six years to finish. See, and here we assumed it was because they were all hopelessly addicted to WoW, not because they were actually making it.

PSN Battle Tanks revealed by German ratings board

by Majed Athab { May 20th 2009 at 2:45PM }

The last time Germany's USK ratings board hinted at a new Gameloft-developed PSN game, it proved to be completely accurate. So, there's a good chance that Gameloft's recently discovered Battle Tanks for PSN is totally legit, too.

So far, all we know about Battle Tanks is that it's for PS3 and it's a downloadable strategy game, given its "arcade" and "skill" classifications. Oh, and lastly, it will most likely feature battles and tanks to some degree. Call it a hunch.

[Via GamerBytes]

Joyswag: Strategic double pack [update]

by David Hinkle { May 19th 2009 at 9:16AM }

Update: Our contest has come to an end. Be sure to keep an eye on your email to see if you won!

For our DS fans, we've got two strategy games up for grabs in our latest Joyswag giveaway: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (ARV $30) and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (ARV $30). It's a pretty sweet combo, if we may say so ourselves, and should provide you with hours upon hours of distraction. So, check out the rules below to enter and best of luck to you!

Leave a comment telling us what your favorite tactic is (examples: stealth, guns blazing, hang in the back and hope your team doesn't die, etc)
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day
This entry period ends at 11:59 am ET on Monday, May 25

At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon ($30) and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ($30)
For a list of complete rules, click here

VC in Brief: Nobunaga's Ambition (SNES)

by David Hinkle { Apr 27th 2009 at 3:15PM }

Nobunaga's Ambition (Super NES, 1-8 players, 800 Wii Points)
We say: Only for the diehard strategy fans

This week, we've got one new game to play on the Virtual Console and, depending on the type of gamer you are, it's either going to be a real snoozer or an incredibly deep experience. If you love some strategy, then consider yourself in the latter group. If you're more of the type of person that shoots from the hip, then consider this game an overdose of Ambien.

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.

Joystiq impressions: Ubisoft's RUSE

by Kevin Kelly { Apr 21st 2009 at 12:21PM }

Randal Graves: I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am.
Indecisive Video Customer: I beg your pardon?
Randal Graves: Your ruse. Your cunning attempt to trick me.

Clerks (1994)

Ubisoft is betting against Kevin Smith and hoping that you will appreciate its cunning attempts to trick you with this real-time strategy game that feels like a board game on steroids. Ubi announced the game at GDC earlier this year, but besides the strange Euro-trailer and a few screenshots, there wasn't much to go on. Thankfully, the publisher has released the above gameplay video that shows off the new IRISZOOM engine that powers the game -- now you can see what the game's all about.

RUSE has a very robust tabletop feel, and opens up to an impressive scale. Read on after the break to see just how the "ruses" work.

Gallery: Ubisoft's RUSE

Continued →

DEFCON still headed to DS (if someone publishes it)

by JC Fletcher { Apr 20th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Remember Introversion's plans to port DEFCON to handhelds? Yeah, we didn't either, because that was like two years ago. It turns out that that a DS version of the stylized strategy game was actually completed in conjunction with Pinnacle Software, who ran into some ... trouble, of the all-too-familiar financial variety.

Introversion has reacquired the rights to the DS game and now hopes to find a publishing partner, in order to get it out worldwide in the third quarter of this year. "With the DSi flying off the shelves recently," Introversion's Mark Morris said, "we believe that there will be particular interest in a finished DS product with such a great track record, especially as the RTS/Strategy sector is so poorly served on the platform."

Square Enix delivers one Order of War

by JC Fletcher { Apr 16th 2009 at 2:00PM }

For its first effort publishing a Western game outside of Japan, Square Enix has picked something as stereotypically Western as it possibly could have: a PC strategy game ... about World War II ... with the generic title Order of War. This isn't coming from the publisher's new LA studio, or from Eidos -- but rather from developer Wargaming.net, who is beating Supreme Commander 2 to the punch.

Order of War recreates two WWII campaigns: "American versus German forces on the western front and German versus Russian on the eastern front." It allows players to control forces both on the ground and in the air and will release simultaneously this fall across "all territories."

This may be Square Enix's first Western release of a Western-developed game, but it isn't the first for the two companies that became Square Enix. Square's first was Secret of Evermore in 1995, and Enix's seems to be a SNES game based on King Arthur & The Knights of Justice.

Gallery: Order of War

Konami announces Ant Nation and WireWay

by JC Fletcher { Apr 13th 2009 at 4:45PM }

Aside from all the huge stuff (Silent Hill, the war one, etc.), Konami revealed a few smaller games at its Gamers Night event. Ant Nation is a kind of Pokémon/strategy/ant farm thing for DS and WiiWare, in which you train ants by torturing them with hammers, fire, water, and other annoyances, in order to strengthen them enough to survive against nature and invaders.

WireWay is a DS platform action game in which you control Wiley, an alien with the ability to launch himself around by bouncing on wires. It features both Puzzle and Quest modes, in addition to local four-player races.

WireWay is scheduled for a fall release. Ant Nation has no announced release date as of yet.

Gallery: Ant Nation (DS)

Gallery: WireWay (DS)

Sega officially reveals Bleach: The 3rd Phantom

by JC Fletcher { Apr 8th 2009 at 11:25AM }

We spotted Bleach: The 3rd Phantom on GameStop's "coming soon" list a month ago, but it's taken until just now for Sega of America to make an official announcement. According to the press release, The 3rd Phantom will be out this fall. We have the first English screenshots in our gallery.

The 3rd Phantom, unlike the last two DS Bleach games, is a strategy RPG, with an original storyline that "shed[s] light on events that transpire before the animated series begins," focusing on two Soul Reaper twins named Fujimaru Kudo and Matsuri Kudo. The new RPG will feature voice work from the Bleach anime cast.

Over fifty playable characters are available, with many unlocked through the management of "personal relationships through in-game dialog interactions and various other conditions." Exactly what Bleach fans want out of their fighting manga series!

Gallery: Bleach: The Third Phantom

Rumorang: Riddick dev helming new Syndicate game

by Jason Dobson { Mar 31st 2009 at 5:45PM }

A new report suggests that Starbreeze Studios is working on a new Syndicate game, with Electronic Arts set to publish. Word of the Riddick and The Darkness dev's involvement with the title first made the rounds last October. Possibly related is a new casting call posted on superannuation for actors in an upcoming "futuristic" Starbreeze/EA title called "DART," which according to the post will be set in a "high tech city."

Though nothing has been formally announced, sources tell GI.biz that the Syndicate series is behind EA and Starbreeze's mysterious Project RedLime, which was originally referred to as a "classic franchise" for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

While that project was said to be "already deep in development" in February 2008, don't expect to revisit the classic cyberpunk series anytime soon. According to the report, the new Syndicate title won't be released until Starbreeze finishes up its current project based on Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne. Until then, the four gentlemen in the corner giving us the crazy eyes will just have to wait.

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Calm waters

by JC Fletcher { Mar 17th 2009 at 9:30AM }

Japan has it pretty rough in terms of downloadable game releases this week. Gamers have the choice between a super-niche strategy game from Koei or a Master System Sonic game. Uncharted Waters II will make an appearance on the North American Virtual Console, by the way, as Uncharted Waters: New Horizons -- it was rated by the ESRB back in November.

Uncharted Waters II (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Sonic Chaos (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

The slim pickings on Virtual Console are a feast compared to Japan's WiiWare offerings this week:

Nothing

Second Sins of a Solar Empire micro-expansion might take a while

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 14th 2009 at 5:00PM }

With one out of the three planned "micro-expansions" for their flagship strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire under its belt, developer Ironclad Games has begun discussing changes included in the second batch of new content. Here's the good news: Ironclad is deep-sixing the current diplomacy system in favor of a deeper, more functional one. There's other minor changes as well, such as the inclusion of new terms of victory -- but peaceable relations seem to be the name of the game in expansion part deux.

Here's the inescapable bad news: Due to the radical changes the second expansion will bring about, it'll be a while before its ready to launch. Considering the first expansion missed three of its tentative launch windows, Ironclad co-founder Blair Frasier was gunshy when it came to revealing the release date for the new expansion. In his own words: "It'll be done when it's done." Brilliant.

Europe to learn 'Little King's Story' first

by JC Fletcher { Feb 19th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Marvelous is still assuring everybody that Little King's Story is coming out, announcing yet another release date. Unless another delay is in the forecast, the latest news should make European Wii owners happy: European publisher Rising Star Games is planning to release the game on April 24, before it comes out anywhere else.

The last announced North American release date for the town-building RPG was February 17, but XSEED said even before then that the game was likely to be delayed -- which it obviously has. GameStop currently has a May 15 release date -- not to mention an adorable pre-order bonus!

Gallery: Little King's Story

More WiiWare Crystal Defenders in Japan next week

by JC Fletcher { Feb 17th 2009 at 2:00PM }

The WiiWare release of Square Enix's Crystal Defenders tower defense game is episodic, based (loosely) on the three releases of Crystal Guardians for cell phones. Square Enix released Crystal Defenders R1 in Japan last month, and it is following up with R2 next Tuesday.

The new episode swaps out some character classes, adding new classes like the Hunter, Flintlock, and Berserker, while leaving others like the White Monk out. R2 adds a "Power Crystal" system that uses crystals of different colors to boost character stats. The new game comes with more difficult maps, as well.

Square Enix has yet to announce a release for the WiiWare Crystal Defenders games outside of Japan. But since it released the iPhone version here, we doubt it will pass up the opportunity to earn our Wii Points.

[Via Siliconera]