A great development community has formed around the pumpkin studios game Warzone 2100. I actually bought this game back when it was originally released, and enjoyed it despite not being a big fan of the genre. Pumpkin Studios released the source code to the game and since then folks have been working on it. On April 1 they released version 2.06 and it’s worth checking out if you’re an RTS fan or just looking for something new and fun to tinker with. The game has a number of features that are still uncommon in modern RTS games, including the ability to develop custom vehicles made up of various components you research, a heavy emphasis on sensor systems and using them to coordinate attacks, and a focus on tactics more than strategy. The game has aged really well too, still looking acceptable despite being ~8 years old, and it has network play and an extensive single player campaign. It also has a really good user interface. It takes a little while to get used to but once it clicks you’ll find it a lot easier to understand than many RTS interfaces. The only downsides are that the original movies that were used to advance the plot in the single player campaign are not present (they’ve been replaced with text explaining what’s happening) and that the game was made back when 800×600 graphics were super high end, so if you crank up the resolution your units are very small and hard to distinguish – is that my artillery or my repair bot?

Anyway it’s a tiny download, it’s

Here’s a simple bit of flash based nostalgic blastemup fun for a friday – berzerk+robotron+smashtv+stylized graphics= Boxhead == fun.

One of the classic 80’s arcade games, Tempest, has had innumerable remakes and riffs on the general concept over the years. Today’s fun link is a 2d take on the core Tempest gameplay elements – a grid, enemies that make their way down it towards you, and spikes that can block your shots and your ability to escape the level. Great graphics, decent sound, and nice tight fast paced gameplay. Check it out! (pc only, tiny download).

Wow, talk about an end to an era – Paizo, the publisher of Dragon and Dungeon magazine, has announced that they will cease publication shortly after at least a 30 year run. While I haven’t opened a Dragon magazine in at least 10 years, there was a period between jr and sr high when I anxiously awaited the latest issue’s arrival at my library, and I periodically campaigned with my mom to get me a subscription. She wasn’t having it since Dragon was always ridiculously expensive. Despite this I ended up with quite a collection of issues that I picked up over the years, and they’re still sitting in a crate amongst my game collection.

The Dungeons and Dragons brand is still going strong (they’re at version 3.0 and rumors of the announcement of version 4.0 abound), so it’s not clear why the magazines are being killed off. There are rumors that Wizards of the Coast is planning to build a paid online service, so maybe this is related to that. Or maybe in the age of the internet it’s about younger gamers not reading magazines about their hobby. Whatever the cause, it’s a

I should have noted this earlier since I promised to do so. The former members of the Next Generation Online podcast, which was my favorite gaming podcast, have moved on to a new venture, the Game Theory Podcast. It’s been great so far, featuring an interview with a senior executive from each of the major console manufacturers. My earlier comments about the Next Gen podcast still apply, so rather than repeat them, I’ll just suggest you use the link above if you’re curious about it.

…courtesy of 1up. Retro gaming is ‘in’ these days as each of the new consoles (Wii, 360 and PS3) offer download and play services which feature much content from earlier consoles. 1up has started keeping track of the weekly releases on these platforms plus on the Gametap service (something I’ll need to write about soon – I’m increasingly loving gametap and it’s well worth the $5/month I paid) with screenshots and brief writeups of each game. Check it out!

To counterbalance my other Friday post’s grim tidings, I offer up a sunny little slice of super mario, courtesy of Super Maryo Chronicles. This is a well executed clone of the classic 2d side scrolling mario action first popularized in the arcades and on the original Nintendo. It’s available for windows and linux and possibly could be coaxed to run on mac since it’s using SDL and other libraries available on Apple’s OS, and there’s a strong community building content for the engine, providing you with an almost endless collection of levels to play through.

The Gothic series of action rpg’s on the pc have been some of my favorite games over the last several years. They released the third in the series shortly before Christmas this year and they’ve confirmed that they’re working on a 4th. Some fans spent the time to turn the cinematics and some in game clips from the first game into a ~45 minute movie that tells the full story of the first game. It’s an epic r-rated fantasy and worth checking out even if you haven’t played the games if you’re into the genre. The only downside is it’s only offered in .wmv, imo the absolute worst of the video file formats. You can download it here on the worldofgothic site – it’s about a 500mb download.

Today’s the day folks – head on over to the official site and grab yourself a copy of the new Lord of the Rings Online. It’s entering public beta today and everyone is welcome to play. I was admitted to the private beta and I enjoyed it enough that I pre-ordered a copy and have been playing. If you don’t have the time to check the link to my old post, I can sum it up in a few words: the game is a very competent if slightly less polished clone of World of Warcraft with a few interesting gameplay elements to differentiate itself. It’s definitely worth checking it out even if you don’t like MMORPG’s, just so you can run around the Shire as a Hobbit or help Gandalf deal with invaders in dwarven halls. Join me in the race to level 15 (the open beta level cap) on the Windfola server. I’m Siven the Hobbit Burgler and I’m still trying to help get the Shire postal service get itself back in shape.