april-fools-2010 posts

UK-based developer Team 17 is staying busy with a number of projects, including a new PC installment of their Worms franchise called Worms Reloaded. However that's not the only Worms game they might be working on. Their Facebook page has some screenshots posted on this April Fools Day for Worms: Crawl of Duty.

It looks to be Team 17's first foray into the first person shooter genre. Even though all we have to go is screenshots it looks like it will be an historically accurate retelling of worms fighting in World War II. There's no word yet on a release date but if we were betting men we would guess this game is a long, long way from being done.

Some game developers like to make games that have old school gameplay designs. Not UK-based Splash Damage. The makers of the upcoming shooter Brink have just announced on this April Fools Day another game they are working on: Tapir Wars 3: It Just Got Chilly. The shooter about a really mean and heavily armed tapir will use the T.R.A.M.S button.

T.R.A.M.S (Totally Repeatable Automatic Movement System) basically will get rid of all that decision making gamers have to go through to play a game. The AI makes all the decisions for you so all you have to do is, well, enjoy the game on a rail. It sounds terrific, if you are into that whole "no controller" trend the kids are talking about.

We really liked what Timegate Studios did with their 2009 sci-fi shooter Section 8 so it was a bit of a shock to learn on this April Fools Day that the developer's next game was going to be a prequel to that title. Furthermore, Section 7: Into Harm's Way isn't going to be a first person shooter but an RPG game.

The game, as you can see from the above screenshot, is very much of an old school RPG. In fact Timegate seems to believe that "linear storylines, pausable combat, mandatory food and drink usage, level-grinding, and inventory management" will make Section 7 special. Or at least give it a quick trip to the bargain bins.

We've seen attempts to make a PC game controller based on human though before but today, on April Fools Day, Blizzard enters this genre with their just announced Battle.net Neural Interface. Now you can control your World of Warcraft character or use Blizzard's Battle.net matchmaking service with the power of your mind.

The helmet is apparently pretty trickly to use. In fact Blizzard states, "Once this neural link is formed, do not attempt to remove the Battle.net Neural Interface for any reason." So we wouldn't suggest this for players who actually like to go outside the house for a break. Blizzard's online store has this item on sale for a mere $14,999.

While the folks at BioWare gave us the impression that all of the player character classes were revealed for their upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic they gave us a little surprise on this April Fools Day. The game's official web site has revealed details on the Sarlacc Enforcer. You may remember the character from his big appearance in the movie Return of the Jedi.

The web site has details on the Sarlacc character (we didn't know they were telepathic, for one thing) but it might be a bit tricky to play him (or her or it) in the game when it launches. It's supposed to be so patient that it could wait a thousand years to take out its enemies. We don't think many players will be latching onto the Sarlacc . . .in fact we don't think any of them will.

Sure, you have tried to find love via internet sites before but the truth is that when you play an MMO or an RTS with your friends you are already using the internet to find friends to play with. Why not use the same services to find the person of your dreams? Developer Blizzard has launched their new Battle.net service, Matchmaking, on this April Fools Day to do exactly that.

Could you find your true love while battling him or her with a Zerg unit rush in StarCraft II? Hey anything is possible. At least they are in some sort of parallel dimension where this service is actually live.

If you live to play PC games 24/7 chances are you need to, you know, eat. Not anymore. This April Fools Day brings word that Razer, best known for their gaming PC mice products, launches the Razer Venom. It's not a controller. It's a special intravenous bag that's full of stuff designed to keep gamers playing for a week.

The Venom is full of "oxymialterxin and doctixilin" that will keep gamers "fit as a fiddle" through long LAN parties. Side effects include excessive hair growth, massive ear infections and the ability to laugh even when others are laughing at you when you juice up with this thing.

It's going to be a long wait before Blizzard comes out with their action-RPG sequel Diablo III. In the meantime, it looks like Blizzard is using this April Fools Day to launch some new Diablo-themed products. You can see one of them above; the Diablo III Deckard Cain X-Treme Gamer Blanket. It's perfect for those long hours of dungeon crawling you will be doing sometime in the next 18 months or so.

You might also want to consider getting the Diablo III body pillows for when you finally go back to sleep. And while you can't play Diablo III while driving your car (legally) you can buy yourself a Deckard Cain GPS Voice Pack to keep that gaming feeling going.

If this were Earth Bizarro.

Some April Fools jokes are just silly but in this case, we actually want this to happen. 2K Games sent over a press release and screenshot promoting the upcoming "Extreme Diplomacy" gameplay mode for their turn-based strategy game Civilization V. Yes, it's a fighting game mode with world leaders taking on each other with special moves and combos.

Some of those special moves include George Washington's Wooden Tooth Chomp Attack and Cleopatra's Phalanx of the Leopard Army. Anyone here hopes developer Firaxis Games actually decided to put "Extreme Diplomacy" in the final version? Because we really want to use Otto von Bismarck's Hurricane Helmet Spike Attack.

IGN has gone ahead and prepped up their April Fools joke early as the site claims to have the next major title from developer Epic Games. It's a "reimagining" of PBS's most famous show as "Epic Sesame Street" We especially love the concept artwork of the various characters. Big Bird looks particularly good.

While this article might be bogus, the truth is Epic is prepping to really announce their next game. A week from today their lead designer Cliff Bleszinski is set to make the reveal on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon talk show. Fallon is a known tech and game geek so having this announcement on his show seems like a natural.