Strategy

It's not like we haven't see space-based action-strategy games before; we have. But there's something about a game that calls itself "Gratuitous Space Battles" that makes us sit up, take notice and (hopefully) want to play the game. A new YouTube video showing off gameplay from the title certainly did that for us.

The game is the newest from indie game developer Positech Games, which is basically one guy, a UK bloke named Cliff Harris who has created quite a few cult hit titles on his own. Yet this new game is certainly more action packed than, say, Democracy 2. Hopefully we won't have to wait much longer to get "gratuitous" with it (we love that word).

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

The retail gaming web site GoGamer.com is at it again with its latest price cut sale. This particular one lasts until 3 am Tuesday and is filled with lots of PC games, both new and old. Perhaps the one that will generate the most interest is Left 4 Dead which can be picked up for $29.90 during the sale.

Other games on sale at GoGamer include the just released Overlord 2 for $34.90, The Sims 3 for $37.90 and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for $19.90. You can also grab some older games at rock bottom prices including Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for just $5.90 and the original Call of Juarez for a mere $4.90.

With all of the networking issues in Demigod now corrected, its publisher Stardock can now put more emphasis on their next major game release, the internally developed fantasy strategy-RPG Elemental: War of Magic. This week, Stardock head Brad Wardell posted up some new screenshots from the game on it's official web site and we have added those shots to our gallery. It's been a while since we have seen new shots with Wardell saying, "We've been hesitant to show too many screenshots until the shadowing is in."

Beta testing for the game should begin "in around 60 days" according to Wardell so expect it to start around the end or August or early September. As usual with Stardock's games, anyone can enter the beta by simply pre-ordering the game now.

Fallout 3 isn't the only game on sale on Steam this weekend, In fact there's a ton of games that have just been collected into a new game bundle via the download service. 20 titles from 2K Games are now available to purchase as one big game pack for just $59.99. If you bought each game individually it would cost $229.80. Oh, and did we mention that from now until July 7 you can get 10 percent off that already low price, making the bundle $53.99?

Here's the full list of games in the bundle:

Sid Meier's Civilization IV,
Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Shattered Union
Prey
CivCity: Rome
Civilization IV Warlords
Sid Meier's Railroads!
Railroad Tycoon 3
Railroad Tycoon II Platinum
X-COM: Terror From the Deep
X-COM: Apocalypse
BioShock
X-COM: Interceptor
X-COM: UFO Defense
X-COM: Enforcer
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Freedom Force
Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization.

This is a trailer that shows off multiplayer gameplay for East India Company, the upcoming historical strategy game from developer Nitro Games and publisher Paradox Interactive. The full game, which depicts Europe during the time of the dominance of the real East India Company, is currently scheduled to be released on July 28.

Download the East India Company Multiplayer Trailer (103 MB) at Big Download

This is the launch trailer for Dawn of Discovery, the recently released historical strategy game from publisher Ubisoft. While the game is in stores now you can still download a free demo right here at Big Download to see if you like the latest incarnation of the Anno series (as it is know in Europe).

Download the Dawn of Discovery Launch Trailer (206 MB) at Big Download

Eidos's recent WWII action-strategy game Battlestations Pacific was released last May and later this month folks who picked up the title will be able to download two new content update for the game. One of these updates is called the Mustang Pack which will add six new units to the game including the P-51 Mustang plane, the US Navy's Alaska Class cruiser and the Japanese Super Yamato Class, a bigger version of the legendary Yamato battleship that in real life was never made.

The second content update is the Carrier Battles Map Pack which adds four new maps to the game that can be played on all five of Battlestations Pacific's multiplayer modes. The map pack even includes a level set in Aleutian Islands near Alaska. PC owners can download the Mustang Pack sometime today for 160 Microsoft points on Games For Windows Live. The Carrier Battles Map Pack will be released on July 23 for 800 Microsoft points.

Have you ever wonder what it might be like to be a captain of a massive sailing ship 300 years ago? Well Paradox Interactive is giving you a chance to at least put a virtual version of yourself in that role in a new contest to promote their upcoming historical strategy game East India Company.

Simplle send a picture of yourself and why you would make the "perfect commander" for the Nitro Games-developed title and send that info into the address that's given in the official rules by July 16. Three people will be picked and have their likenesses put into the game as in-game characters in a patch after East India Company is released on July 28.

The July 4 weekend is just a few days away and it looks like some downloadable PC game sites are getting a head-start on offering deals from their library of titles. Impulse has put several of their games on sale for the holiday period including a Sins of the Solar Empire bundle (with the original space strategy game and its mini-expansion Entrenchment) for $29.99. It has also put all of the Unreal franchise games on sale for 25 percent off.


Meanwhile Strategy First has put all of their games on sale for 50 percent off at their online store. This includes their "Take No Prisoners" bundle which has a whopping 20 games. During the sale you can get the bundle for a mere $34.99. The sale lasts until July 12.

Update: GamersGate has annouced they will put one game on sale on their site every day in July for at least 50 percent off. Here is the list of games for the first week:

July 1: Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy - 75 percent
July 2: X-Com Complete - 50 percent
July 3: Atlantis Collection - 50 percent
July 4: Men of War - 60 percent
July 5: Arena Wars Reloaded - 50 percent
July 6: Painkiller Universe - 50 percent
July 7: Civilization IV: Colonization - 50 percent

Strategy games, especially those of the 4X kind (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) tend to be extremely difficult for new players to get into. Part of the reason for this is the incredible amount of depth, with a focus on every element of gameplay, not just combat. Things such as diplomacy, culture, and economics are just as important as warfare. This level of detail can cripple new players to the genre, which makes great interfaces and gameplay systems more essential than any level of depth. Light of Altair is a game of this genre, but interestingly enough, it doesn't follow the typical difficult norm of the 4X stereotype. No, Light of Altair is accessible through a good interface and a vast simplification of many gameplay mechanics seen in other 4X games. In a way, it is one of the first "casual" 4X games, and it is a great entry point for anybody looking to try their hand at complex strategy games.

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

The Might and Magic series has always been a popular one with the PC role-playing game fans. However, while the main series is certainly good, it is the Heroes sub-series that everyone remembers with such fondness. Randomized maps, economics mixed with fantasy warfare, and some excellent strategic options helped boost it over the Might and Magic series as a whole. While Heroes of Might and Magic V has been out for a while now, it's certainly not considered the best in the series. No, that honor is reserved for the one and only Heroes of Might and Magic II. So let's take a look at just why it is the best in a great series.

GoGamer.com has launched their latest 48 Hour Madness sale on their site and this time the PC game sales are mostly of recently released titles rather than those that are several years old. Indeed the sale includes the just released Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen game which is priced at just $19.99 for the sales time period.

Also cut in price is Spore Galactic Adventures, the first real expansion pack for the alien evolution sim. GoGamer has the title available for $24.90. Other games with price cuts include Fallout 3 ($32.90) Grand Ages: Rome ($12.90) and Terminator: Salvation ($24.90). The sale lasts until 3 am ET on Tuesday.

As they usually do the downloadable game sites GoG.com and GamersGate are offering some price cuts on a few of their items this weekend. Over at GoG.com they have a special bundle promotion on the games Spellforce Platinum and The Guild Gold. You can get both games together for just $13.98, a 30 percent savings. If you own one of the games already you can get the other game for a $3 discount.

Over at Gamersgate they are selling all of the Unreal games for 15 percent off their normal prices. Also on sale this weekend is Sid Meier's Railroads, Sword of the Stars Complete Pack and Dark Sector. All of those titles are currently being sold for 50 percent off their normal GamersGate price.

Games Workshop's combo of American football and fantasy strategy game Blood Bowl has been in development as a PC game for some time. Today the title, developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive, has been released as a digital download product for $49.99 at the game's official web site store.

As we have reported before, Blood Bowl is turn based strategy game where an American football-like game has been turned into a battlefield as orcs, dwarves and other fantasy creatures put on helmets, get their pads together and use spells, extra buffs and more to score. So far there's no word if a free demo of the game is planned.

[Via Blue's News]

The empire building strategy game, Dawn of Discovery, is available today. In it, players can build colonies into thriving civilizations using trade to build up a strong economy and constructing a military to defend it. The demo can be downloaded here.

"Dawn of Discovery takes place in the year 1404, when King George's land is suffering from severe droughts and brutal famine. Aware of his people's distress, the king calls on his two sons, William and Edward, to acquire new territories in order to produce enough goods to satisfy the needs of his empire's inhabitants. Whereas Edward suggests aggressive means to collect the precious resources, his brother William offers a peaceful solution, proposing to explore new and unsettled lands in the south of the kingdom."

Download HD Dawn of Discovery Intro Cinematic (87 MB)
Download Dawn of Discovery Demo (1.67 GB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads