Flash of Steel header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Developers'

The Slitherine/Matrix Merger

May 10th, 2010 · 5 Comments · Industry, Matrix, Slitherine

My life has been a bit of a mess lately, so this is my first opportunity to post on last week’s big strategy business move. From the press release: Slitherine Ltd and Matrix Games today announced that they have signed a comprehensive agreement to merge the companies creating the world’s largest wargaming specialist publisher. Both […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Civilization 5 Makes You Pay More for Babylon

May 6th, 2010 · 50 Comments · Firaxis, Industry

I love Civilization. Millions of us do. I love Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar. Hundreds of us do. But the idea of paying for a Digital Deluxe Edition if I want the Babylonians as a playable Civ? Not nice, 2k Games. Not nice at all. I get the business thinking here – bonuses for special editions or […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Command & Conquer 4 Review: Breaking Rules

April 22nd, 2010 · 15 Comments · Electronic Arts, Gameshark, Review, RTS

I hated writing this review. I hated playing this game. I hated thinking about playing this game because I had to write the review. When people talk about strategy/RPG hybrids, I wonder how many of them mean a game like this where you need to play for hours and hours and hours just to see […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Three Moves Ahead Episode 59: Distant Worlds – Space is Big

April 7th, 2010 · 12 Comments · Matrix, Podcast, Sci Fi, Three Moves Ahead

Troy, Tom and Rob talk about Code Force’s Distant Worlds, a 4x Space RTS that tries to tackle the challenge of ceding control. How can a game get past player paranoia about letting the AI handle things? When does a player choose to intervene? How can the AI failure at basic tasks undermine your confidence […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Civilization 5 Preview

April 3rd, 2010 · 18 Comments · Firaxis, Gameshark, Preview

PAX East came right on the heels of the Game Developers’ Conference, so the presentation that I was treated to was very much like the one that GDC attendees saw. There is nothing in my preview that you haven’t read somewhere else. Actually, that’s not entirely true. It’s amazing what little things games journalists miss. […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Three Moves Ahead Episode 57: Supreme Commander and Command & Conquer 4

March 23rd, 2010 · 9 Comments · Electronic Arts, Gas Powered Games, Podcast, RTS, Three Moves Ahead

Troy, Tom and Julian devote the hour to dissecting the surprisingly good Supreme Commander 2 and the disappointing Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. Why does SupCom 2’s deviation from the franchise formula make the game better? Why is it like Sins of a Solar Empire and Demigod? Do we want to gain experience points […]

[Read more →]

Tags: