XboxSold.com BLOG

Paradox Interactive’s latest Mount and Blade, Warband, might tickle KOEI fans in their special hidden place. The combat in particular has that breezy, disconnected feel of a hollow Dynasty Warriors title. But Warband has its share of differences. Foremost is the choice of its medieval setting, and of course, the class-based MP mode that support up to 64 players in a single match.

I saw Warband earlier this afternoon and left the demo unimpressed. The long and sweeping attacks of either melee class made for several uninspired battles against players participating in the game’s beta. And while I think the tactical options are there to exploit (for example: hold this castle), it’s nigh impossible to get 32 players on the same page without a robust reward system like MAG. And that’s not to mention that the maps felt dead. A lone castle in a sea of green grass was all that I could find. I need, and want, more time with this one. Give it a spin before I can if you’re interested.

Until this afternoon I never had the opportunity to check out Fat Shark’s downloadable shooter Lead and Gold. But I thought I had an idea of what it was: a Team Fortress 2 clone set in the Wild West.

The journo shorthand seems wrong. Lead and Gold doesn’t cash in on the addicting action of Valve’s class-based shooter or otherwise rip ideas. For me, it’s a solid third-person competitive shooter with just a dash of meaningful class-based tactics. Sure, using the four classes in each map has its advantages (for example the Blaster heals others when near) but the core of the game leans on simple and satisfactory shooting — the most important part of any competitive shooter. In short, Lead and Gold feels and looks great. I can’t wait to hit up a full server later this year.

Earlier this week, ex-Volition vet Luke Schneider of indie studio Radiangames announced his first game: Radiangames JoyJoy, a dual-stick shooter set for release over Xbox LIVE Indie Games. It’s the first in a series of unique games Schneider hopes to hopes to bring to the platform. Schneider took some to talk to us during his busy week and gave us a good idea of what to expect from his shooter.

What is the big idea behind Radiangames? How will it approach it games?

The big idea is to make lots of very fun but very small games as quickly as possible. I also want to establish Radiangames as a brand in videogames that pretty much means that.  Only one studio, Arkedo, has tried this strategy before that I know of, and I think it’s one that suits my strengths and abilities very well.

I think when people play my games, they’ll come appreciate that what I’m also presenting is a unique “flavor” of action games.  That flavor will be fluid and very satisfying action with a unique visual/audio style.

JoyJoy seems like a fun twin-stick shooter, but will it be a unique one? How does it differ from, say, Geometry Wars 2 or Death by Cube? What does it do that you believe will “click” with gamers the most?

I’ll start with the easier comparison: Death by Cube is the complete opposite of Radiangames JoyJoy in terms of approach to making a fun twin-stick shooter. Death by Cube is punishing, stiff, and a little hard to look at and listen to. JoyJoy is player-friendly, fluid, and very easy on the eyes and ears.

As for Geometry Wars 2, I love that game! But my favorite submode of GW2 was actually Pacifism. The rest of the game is great, but it’s also a pretty specific style of gameplay. I think there’s plenty of room for both Geometry Wars 2 and JoyJoy in the twin-stick genre, just like there’s room for Halo and Call of Duty in the first-person shooter genre.  And really, if GW2 was the last great twin-stick shooter, I think it’s about time for another one.

In terms of gameplay features though, the differences are easy to describe: 6 upgradeable weapons, charge attacks, multiple difficulty levels and modifiers to alter gameplay, and bosses. There are also differences in overall structure and gameplay feel that aren’t as easy to summarize.

How will this “series” work? Will you re-release the game every month with new levels and music? Or will we be seeing different shades of JoyJoy and new approaches?

There will actually be one other color scheme in JoyJoy, and I may add a little more color to the rest of the game as well, but it’s just one game in the series.

Additional games in the Radiangames series will all be separate from JoyJoy, though there will be stylistic similarities. They’ll all be 2D action games for the foreseeable future.  My goal is to release one new game a month, but until I get a couple games out the door I won’t know for sure how realistic that is.

Can you tell me about the advantages of going indie and using Xbox LIVE Indie Games?

Xbox LIVE Indie Games has a few great attributes that really drew me to it: I get to develop console games for my favorite platform.  There’s no concept approval process or finding a publisher.  The payment system is done and reliable.  And the XNA development environment is very easy to use.  Basically I get to spend the majority of my time making games.

While the iPhone has lots of similar advantages, including a reliance on charts to achieve sales success, I’m just not a big fan of playing games on the iPhone.  I think by doing what I’m passionate about, I’ll be much more successful.

Why did you leave Volition?

I really enjoyed my time at Volition, particularly at the end of Red Faction Guerrilla and on RFG DLC.  Volition is geared towards building large, awesome games, and they do it very well in my opinion.  It’s a much more difficult task than what I’m doing, if you ask me.  I left on great terms with them, and I wouldn’t rule out returning there far in the future.

But there are so many small games I want to make, and that just wasn’t possible while at Volition.  I’ve never been more excited about the future.  I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I’m in complete control of it.  It’s a weirdly awesome feeling.

In one of the coolest moves within the last two years, a developer has decided not to slap an MP component into its shooter. In a recent conversation with Eurogamer at a Tokyo event, Platinum Games’ Shinji Mikami confirmed that Vanquish would not have a competitive online component for fear of stripping down the title.

“Vanquish is very intense, full of action. There are just so many things going on,” Mikami told Eurogamer. “When you take that into a multiplayer environment, then you have to realistically consider shaving a lot of things off and putting them into your multiplayer environment.” He added that it’s all about balance. Platinum plans to go for details and visuals and don’t want to bother with keeping MP on that level.

No multiplayer modes for Vanquish [Eurogamer]

Want to know what’s going down in Metro 2033’s tunnels? The wait for the FPS isn’t much longer.  The title hits North American shelves on March 16. And if you needed proof that the date is in stone, well, here you go: publisher THQ announced that the game has gone gold. It’s been pressed and all of that business.

Hitting alongside the announcement this morning was a cool little teaser trailer that shows off a bit of Metro 2033’s post-apocalyptic world. From experience, I can say that they got the whole radioactive tunnel thing all wrong. I would elaborate, but then I’d have to kill you all. Time machines and whatnot. You understand.

There’s been a lot of talk about how Iron Man 2: The Video Game will sport an original narrative, as well as be much better than its predecessor, but it looks like Sega is still set to borrow from its movie tie-in. Earlier this afternoon, the publisher announced that Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson will do the voice acting for their respective two film characters: War Machine and Nick Fury.

Will it rock? That much remains to be seen. But at least the box art is colorful.

Postponing Alpha Protocol might not have been the best move. It will exist in the same space as Mass Effect 2, a spectacular title that combined sharp shooting and core RPG mechanics into one tight, narrative-driven package. The last time we checked on Alpha Protocol, we heard something similar being promised.

Alas, it’s been a long time since we’ve played the espionage RPG. But at least we have rather fresh-smelling footage to soothe some of our fears. Earlier this week, SEGA released yet another dev diary for the game, this time focusing on some of the gadgets and weaponry users will be employing to kill, stun, trap, or confuse foes. It looks good, but we’ll definitely need this one in our hands to make sure it is as much.

It seems unwise to use a keyboard and mouse with Street Fighter IV PC. Something tells us that spinning kicks and fireballs just won’t feel the same. But if you’ve got a Mad Catz Fight Stick lying around, and 20 extra bucks, you could be kicking it like a pro in a matter of a download. Capcom’s popular fighter is the next Games on Demand sale item, hitting at $19.99 instead of the usual price.

It’s also $19.99 on Stardock’s Impulse platform, which we’ve heard is actually kind of cool if you’ve got a stick up your arse about Steam for whatever reason. The sale for both platforms ends this Monday.

Street Fighter IV on PC 50% Off this Weekend [Capcom-Unity]

It’s time to scream, drool, or whatever Cupertino enthusiasts. Apple announced this morning that Wi-Fi-enabled models of the iPad have been slated for an April 3rd release in North America, with pre-orders beginning next week, on March 12th. 3G + Wi-Fi models will be a bit late out of the gate, now pegged for a “late April” launch.

The Apple tablet will probably launch with its own share of delicious and platform-specific downloadables, but keep in mind that most iTunes Apps will work with the device. It’ll just look crappy, like playing a DS game on a DS XL. Hit below the fold for some pricing information or stare at Apple.com and its pretty pictures and charts.

iPad Wi-Fi Model prices (all available on April 3rd)

16 GB – $499

32 GB $599

64 GB $699

iPad 3G + Wi-Fi Model prices (available in ‘late April)

16 GB $629

32 GB $729

64 GB $829

You can get these, of course, through select retailers, Apple.com, and Apple Stores.