After a strong opening and then a long lull, Anno 2070 finally gets some cool new online content today. When the game launched, it had a really neat voting gimmick for global bonuses, a friends list, achievements, and the promise of free scenarios called world events. The first world event was about fighting pirates. The pirates got beat, the world event ended, and it was time for the second world event. The second world event was…uh…dilatory. For months, Anno 2070’s world was eventless.
Not to say that the game lacks content. It doesn’t. It’s a generous package, but part of that package is the promise of nifty new online features. The unfulfilled promise of nifty online features. The friends list is still useless, there’s no way to admire other people’s cities, and the world events stopped.
That changes a bit today with the next world event! The Eden Initiative wants you to repair some busted structures called formers (pictured), which are super eco-friendly anti-pollution devices. As you finish the three scenarios in the Eden world event, you’ll unlock plans for new devices including the formers themselves. You can then research these plans in your other scenarios and build the new doo-dads. At least that’s how I think it works. I finished the first scenario and then loaded up the neverending city I’ve spent 20 hours building. I didn’t see any option to research my new plans yet. I blame the incredibly intricate research and crafting in Anno 2070.
Ubisoft is also selling some cosmetic frippery, upgraded versions of the tech you get by completing the world event, and even the option to just buy your way around the world event. More details here. Or just boot up the game and read all about it on the front-end.
Finally, someone wake up the Senate. They don’t have anything to vote for? The World Council is making them look bad.
In Conquest of Elysium 3, the new turn-based strategy fantasy game from indie developer Illwinter due out next week, each of the 16 factions is unique. This means unique troops, unique leaders, unique abilities, and so forth. It also sometimes means unique resources no one else can use.
For instance, Hands of Glory. These are the severed left hands of executed murderers. Necromancers gather them from any settlement large enough to have murders. Cities are great for this. Peaceful hamlets not so much. The real motherlode is the occasional gallows, a location on the map apparently dedicated to hanging murderers. Necormancers start with a gallows next to their dark citadel. Track down a few more gallows, conquer a few cities, and soon you’ll be rolling in Hands of Glory.
After the jump, the horror, the horror Continue reading →
Crusader Kings 2 is the sequel to what is probably Paradox’s finest game. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with it, but I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. Which is par for the course for a Paradox game. But I can definitively say this is Paradox’s best interface yet. Not that I don’t have a list of improvements I’d like to see! It’s just that the list is shorter than it’s ever been.
Epic Quest is the new pinball table from Zen Studios for the Xbox 360, PS3, iOS, and Android. It’s a surprisingly simple and accessible table, but with a persistent RPG gimmick. I’m not convinced the gimmick adds much, but I’ve been playing it over and over and over just to be sure. I need an epic shield to round out my inventory. And I’m really close to dinging up to level 17, as I can tell by the xp bar at the bottom of the table.
Twisted Metal for the Playstation 3 is out this week. It’s a pretty awful single-player game, but it has potential as a multiplayer game, assuming you’re willing to meet it on its own terms. Sony hosted a few multiplayer sessions for media, but these didn’t really capture the full experience. So I’ll be back later this week with the final word. But for the most part, Twisted Metal sure is another Twisted Metal game! Take that as you will.
If you’re into Underground Farting Contests, which is what I’m told UFC stands for, THQ is releasing UFC Undisputed 3. Speaking of rhythm-based minigames, Rhythm Heaven Fever is not the throwaway Wii minigame collection you might expect. Check back tomorrow for more.
The Nintendo 3DS is going strong with Tales of the Abyss, a port of a JRPG from the Tales series, and Tekken 3D Prime Edition, a bona fide “yep, it’s Tekken” game. The release of Grand Slam Tennis 2 from EA surprises me, because I had no idea EA was doing tennis games. It’s hard to see over the towering awesomeness of Virtua Tennis 4. And because I missed its release last week, I should point out that the Jagged Alliance series is back in action with Jagged Alliance: Back in Action.
