d3-publisher posts

This relatively minor update for the sci-fi themed Puzzle Quest: Galactrix brings the game to v1.01. It mostly includes crash preventing bug fixes, but it also enhances the game so that players can spend PSI points to bypass the hacking puzzles. The list of changes is shown after the jump.

Download Puzzle Quest: Galactrix v1.01 Patch (14 MB)
Download the Puzzle Quest: Galactrix Demo (132 MB)
Check out all Puzzle Quest: Galactrix downloads

It's been over a month since Dark Sector was brought over from consoles to the PC, but if you're still on the fence about purchasing the game, despite the 33% off sale on Steam, then this super violent gameplay trailer might help you make a decision.

Download HD Dark Sector PC Gameplay Trailer (49 MB)

Yet another instance of publisher consolidation is about to occur. In February, Namco Bandai Games announced their intention to acquire D3Publisher and today Namco Bandai has announced it has already gotten control of 95 percent of D3Publisher's stock.

Gamesindustry.biz reports that Namco Bandai does plan to get control of the remaining 5 percent of D3Publisher, making their acquisition plans complete. The deal will include buying D3Publisher's US operations and their in-house game developer Vicious Cycle Software. That company also develops the Vicious Engine middleware product for game developers. Namco Bandai stated, ""D3Publisher operations will remain unchanged at this time. Development of our current and unannounced titles is ongoing and will move forward as planned."

Galactrix takes the Puzzle Quest experience to the final frontier by launching players into deep space. The heart of the what made the first game, Challenge of Warlords, so enjoyable remains the same. Galactrix still combines elements from a role-playing game with the interaction of a gem matching minigame, complete with a variety of puzzles to keep players engaged. We had a chance to try out Galactrix and match our wits against the galaxy.

Today's news of Square Enix's planned purchase of Eidos isn't the only publisher consolidation news out there today. Namco Bandai Games has announced its intention to purchase D3 Publisher, according to a statement from the Japanese arm of Namco Bandai.

Gamasutra reports that Namco Bandai already has an agreement to purchase 70 percent of D3 Publisher's shares and is now trying to get control of the other 30 percent. D3 Publisher is best known at the moment for the Puzzle Quest series and has a fairly solid North American presence, including their own in-house developer Vicious Cycle Software.

Big Download was the first site where you could download the demo version of Puzzle Quest Galactrix and today word has come out that the full retail PC version of the game will ship out to stores on Feb. 24. Publisher Aspyr Media will handle the PC release of the game in the US and will also offer the full version for download via their own game download service Gameagent.com. D3 Publisher will continue to handle the game's distribution everywhere else.

A sci-fi version of developer Infinite Interactive's popular Puzzle Quest game, this new version combines puzzle solving with a sci-fi setting and RPG gameplay features. Again you can download a demo right here on Big Download to give you an idea of what the full game is like.

Last year D3 Publisher released Dark Sector, a game from developer Digital Extremes that began life as a space based MMO, then turned into a sci-fi action game and finally morphed into a third person near-future super hero-like title. At the time the game was a console exclusive but there is evidence now that the game is being ported over to the PC for the European market.

The evidence comes from a message board threat where a supposed screenshot of the game (with Russian fonts) was posted that has PC-like graphics options. There's also a YouTube video floating around that is labeled as "Dark Sector PC" (although the visual evidence doesn't really prove it came from a PC version). We will contact both D3 and Digital Extremes to find out if this is indeed the real deal.

Update: A D3 Publisher spokesperson has told Big Download that questions about a PC port of Dark Sector should go to Digital Extemes.

[Thanks to Christian for the tip]

Cheating in a PC game is almost never considered a good thing. It can make others upset, ban you from servers, make your wife leave you...well, maybe not that. But developer Wideload and publisher D3 Publishing are hoping people will think cheating is a good thing when they play the upcoming downloadable title Texas Cheat 'Em.

Wideload is known for goofy game concepts like Stubbs The Zombie and last year's console game Hail to the Chimp. Texas Cheat 'Em sounds like a natural progression, Players can do things like "x-ray vision, pre-cognition, chip stealing, card swapping" and more to win a game of Texas Hold 'Em poker from opponants, Cheat attacks are earned by playing mini-games like Roulette, Slot Machines, Dice or Rock, Paper, Scissors. The game will also support up to eight player in online multiplayer. While Texas Cheat 'Em will be released first for consoles this spring it will also be released for the PC "at a later date".