Secrets Of Games

We looked to the future as part of Epictober back in, er … October, but suffice it to say, we’re still looking forward to 2011. We’ve updated these posts with the games that were announced since then, and here’s what you can start looking forward to in 2011 and beyond. Just as a friendly reminder, 2011 starts in less than a week. So start your anticipating right now.

Strategy games might seem like they’ve been slowly fading into the background as console shooters and MMOs dominate the hardcore market, but the strategy gaming market hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, there’s a lot on the horizon to be excited about, coming hard on the heels of the successful launches of games like StarCraft 2 and Civilization V

A lot of people say that the strategy market needs to expand on the consoles to really be successful, and we’re beginning to see small steps in that direction. Last year’s Halo Wars proved that strategy games can indeed work on a console, a concept that R.U.S.E. followed up on, but the double whammy of StarCraft and Civilization proved that the PC market can still churn out strategy titles that cause waves throughout the industry.

But what’s coming in the future? What should you be planning for that’s already on the horizon?

A Game of Thrones: Genesis

Release Date: TBA 2011

Adapted from the extremely successful George R.R. Martin’s “Song of  Ice and Fire” novels, A Game of Thrones: Genesis will let you take control of the kingdoms of Westeros. While very few details have been released about the game, developer Cyanide Studios has given us a tiny glimmer of what to expect.

The game will allow the player to use different types strategies, kind of like in Civilization 5. So you can win via a military, economic, or diplomatic victory. However, as in any good story, there is always treachery afoot, and in Genesis you’ll always have to be on your toes as to who’s doing what.

Defining Feature: As details on the game are still few and far between, we can’t exactly determine one overarching defining feature. That said, if the game is an engrossing as the novels on which it’s based, and the backstabbing mechanic is implemented well, then this could bring a very interesting new twist to the RTS genre.

Stronghold 3

Release Date: April 2011

With gorgeous new graphics, new physics, an updated building system, the new night-time mechanic, and of course, the ability to yet again fling cows from catapults, Stronghold 3 is looking to be exactly what fans of the castle town building RTS have been waiting for.

The best part about Stronghold has always been about being able to bring your very own castle village to life all the way down to the smallest detail. But this time around, there’s also a sense of morality. Your choices will have an effect on units depending on what you choose; place things like gardens and you’ll become a good lord, place things like gallows and your subjects will see you as an evil lord, changing how they react in battle.

Defining Feature: The most interesting new addition to Stronghold 3 is its fog of war system. Other games have used it in the past, but from a medieval strategy perspective, the idea of having to hold off an attack until dawn because there’s no light is fascinating. It will be really fun to see how all of the different types of missions incorporate this new feature, and if it will lead to any innovative gameplay.

Kingdom Under Fire 2

Release Date: TBA 2011

Kingdom Under Fire II is one of the few medieval strategy games slated for PC as well as consoles in 2011. The game, featuring a single player campaign mode as well as an online MMO mode, combines elements of both the RTS and RPG genres into a single title. KUF 2 will also introduce a new faction to the series: The Encablossians.

What’s great about Kingdom Under Fire is that you get to play amongst the units you’re controlling. Not only do you get to control your favorite character, but you control hundreds of troops as well. The game will also offer a new war system where you can expand your territory via other players until you become the ruler of the continent.

Defining Feature: Not only is there a new faction for players to mess around with, but now, there is the whole added MMORPG element too. You can make guilds, advance your territory, declare war on other territories, and so much more. For a title that’s being released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC it’s great to see a game try to step outside the box and bring more gamers into the realm of strategy games.

Dawn of War 2: Retribution

Release Date: March 2011

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has been around since 2004, and it eventually had three expansion, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm through 2008. Then 2009 brought us Dawn of War 2, which has already had two expansions of its own: Chaos Rising and the horde mode-ish The Last Stand. So what is Retribution all about? First of all, it’s a standalone, just like Chaos Rising was, meaning you won’t need Dawn of War 2 to run it.

Secondly, it trades in the Space Marines for the Orks, giving you a chance to beat in some Eldar head while you quest for loot. Or you can play as the Eldar and kick Ork butt. There’s also a third, unrevealed playable race coming to the game, most likely the Imperial Guard or the Inquisition.

Defining Feature: New playable race(s) will give us something to chew on until Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III comes out in 2012 or beyond. Of course, we’ll also have the third person action/RPG shooter Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and the MMO Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online by then as well, giving us lots of Warhammer immersion options.

Age of Empires Online

Release Date: TBA 2011

Microsoft surprised audiences at gamescom by announcing that the 13 year-old franchise Age of Empires was going online. The entire series has seen the release of seven main games such us The Rise of Rome, The Age of Kings, The Conquerors, The WarChiefs, and The Asian Dynasties, as well as the direct sequels Age of Empires 2 and Age of Empires 3. Then there were the spinoffs like Age of Mythology, Age of Mythology: The Titans, and the DS titles Age of Empires: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires: Mythologies. Suffice it to say, it’s a popular series.

People thought that when Ensemble Studios shut down after shipping Halo Wars, that it would be the end of Age of Empires as well. Not so. The game has a brand-new look and feel to it, bordering on the cartoonish, and will introduce tons of new units to the co-op and PvP gameplay. Like everyone else, we were afraid that Age of Empires had vanished, and now it’s going online as a digitally distributed game, which is good news. We wish Microsoft would embrace Steam, but AoEO is going to be Games for Windows: LIVE enabled, which is a step in the right direction.

Defining Feature: You have a persistent capital city that continues to expand and grow, even when you aren’t online and playing the game. It’ll even continue to gather resources and build units for you,which is definitely a nifty feature to have. Especially for things like “sleep” and “a social life.”

Might and Magic: Heroes VI

Release Date: March 2011

It’s been four years since we’ve had an entry in the Might and Magic series, but that will all change in 2011 when Might and Magic Heroes VI appears. It’s a prequel of sorts to Heroes of Might and Magic V, and is being developed by Black Hole Entertainment in Budapest, who had previously worked on EA’s Armies of Exigo and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos as well as its Battle March expansion. The prequel part comes in the form of this game occurring 500 years before the main campaigns in Might and Magic V. The game will still feature resource gathering, but only in the form of crystals, and the screen will shift to a grid as you move into combat to hurl magic at your opponents.

The game will be made up of roughly 50% brand new units, with the other half being a mixture of the familiar. The campaigns will be led by five different members of the Griffin dynasty, and can be played in any order. We’ve seen a necromancer named Svetlana as one of the heroes, doing battle with an army of vampires, skeletons, and specters featured in the screenshots so far. Good stuff.

Defining Feature: Might and Magic is finally coming back. Do we need more of a reason to be excited? New innovations coming to old school sorcery. We like the sound of that.

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Shogun 2: Total War

Release Date: TBA 2011

The original Shogun: Total War came out ten years ago, so it’s more than ripe enough for a sequel. Shogun 2 follows the path laid down by the original, and sets the game in 1545 with over 30 units that are based on actual historical units. There isn’t a lot of complexity to the combat as units do battle in what the developers call a “very obvious rock-paper-scissors” mechanic where one unit trumps another, and that unit trumps another, and so on. But it’s these very simple mechanics that give the game a great element of strategy. Consider chess where there aren’t that many different pieces, but there’s an infinite variety of ways to play the game. That’s what Shogun 2 is aiming for.

The game also has a siege system, where attackers lay siege to a castle (of which there are three types, and each one can be upgraded five times) and literally have to hack and slash there way through multiple passageways in order to work their way deep inside the structure. There are also naval units in the game, although of course without gunpowder. Since it hadn’t yet made its from from China to Japan yet.

Defining Feature: Departing from the normal routes of fantasy or modern warfare, Shogun 2 gives you historic Japanese combat with deep strategy. And ninjas! All wrapped in a gorgeous graphic package.

Dungeons

Release Date: TBA 2011

At last year’s Board Game Geek Convention in Dallas, Texas, one of the most popular games by far was Dungeon Lords from Vlaada Chvatil. In it, you try to be the best possible dungeon owner in the land by building traps and hiring monsters. In Dungeons, you … do pretty much the same thing. Not that it’s an entirely new idea, as Dungeon Keeper from EA back in 1997, and designed by Peter Molyneux himself, was basically the same thing. But who says it’s not a terrific idea?

Kalypso Media definitely agrees, so in Dungeons, you’re playing a Dungeon Lord who tries to lure heroes into his lair so he can toy with them … and then later harvest their souls for energy. It’s a family game, right? I mean, a Dungeon Lord’s gotta earn a living, just like anyone else. In fact, in Dungeons, you’re not only trying to build the best dungeon, but you’re plotting against your evil ex-girlfriend, who put you in your current predicament. Dungeons? Evil exes? We love this game already.

You have goblin minions at your disposal to do your bidding and construct your chamber of ultimate torture, but you’ll also have to slog yourself through other dungeons and face bosses so you can pull yourself to the top (bottom?) of the dungeon racket.

Defining Feature: With more than 50 different objects to use in your dungeon, you’ll find a lot of different options throughout the 20 single-player campaign missions. Building your own custom dungeon and catching good guys? Heck, yes.

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Rock of Ages

Release Date: Spring 2011

Of all the strategy games on this list, it’s nearly impossible not to be the most excited about Rock of Ages, and that is due in no small part to the fact that it is entirely off the wall. In this game, you use a giant boulder to blow through 30 different unit types in an effort to destroy your enemy. But, these unit types are meant to stop your big, giant, rolling, round rock. It’s just that simple. You set up your ball and try to squash your opponent and pound his castle into splinters, while he sets up obstacles in your bath to throw your ball off course.

Yet this game goes beyond its own simple mechanics and sets itself in the middle of art history. The look and feel of the game is based on the art era that you’re currently playing in. From Renaissance to Rococo to Gothic and more, the art style of the game will morph to match wherever you happen to be. So, it’s both educational and bizarrely fun! We always enjoy that combination. ACE Team, creators of the wacky Zeno Clash, are developing this and it will be published by Atlus through “digital distribution.” Which actually means XBLA, PSN, and PC, because this game needs to be seen by a lot of people. Even if just to prove, “Yes, it really does exist.”

Defining Feature: While the boulder-rolling gameplay isn’t anything new, having the game set through evolving time periods set in art history is a stroke of brilliance. Those two-dimensional units are simply hilarious.

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Kings and Castles

Release Date: TBA

Chris Taylor had been involved with games long before he founded Gas Powered Games, having worked on Total Annihilation while he was at Cavedog. He then moved on and founded Gas Powered Games, which put out Dungeon Siege and Dungeon Siege 2. Then he developed the RTS title Supreme Commander, a sort of spiritual successor to Total Annihilation, since Atari wouldn’t let go of the name rights, and it went on to to be a big success. We say big because your base is a gigantic mech suit.

Kings and Castles is a return to the fantasy realm, and they are offering up a lot of transparency as they develop the game and chart its progress with video blogs, their Twitterfeed, and their Facebook page (which needs a big shot in the arm right now). They haven’t offered many details right now, but they do promise the ability to zoom to any level, and have eye-popping visuals and incredible maps. The gameplay trailer below sheds a bit more light on the subject, offering up massive battles, airships, and destrucible environments. Oh, and dragons. Always with the dragons.

Defining Feature: Chris Taylor’s pedigree alone makes this a game worth paying attention to. While we don’t know too much about the title yet, we do love the fact that Taylor is dutifully putting up a lot of video blogs for it.

Go to Source (G4TV.com)