open-world posts

It's nice to see a developer talk about their games, and this video interview (trailer? diary? what should we call it?) of Danny Bilson reveals more about THQ's plans for the upcoming Red Faction titles. We loved Red Faction Guerrilla, so the tidbits mentioned in this interview have us excited. Granted, this is not from Volition, but rather THQ, but the sentiments are still the same. After all, THQ is funding the series!

There's no big reveals in the interview, but there is certainly info to get thrilled about. THQ is partnering with Syfy to launch a television series and collection of webisodes, titled Origins, that get into the events between Guerrilla and Armageddon. There is also the downloadable title Battlegrounds, which is multiplayer and unlocks content in Armageddon when played. Bilson's excitement over the property is infectious, and we can't help but get more pumped for the game.

A follow-up interview with Jacques Hennequet is after the jump, and details a few of the changes that have been made to the Red Faction world and gameplay. Once again, it's not really anything we haven't heard before, but it's great to get it straight from the developers mouth. Some of our favorite bits: lakes of ice and lava, inclusion of the nanoforge, and the aliens.

Mafia is one of those sleeper hits one sees on a fairly frequent basis on the PC, but its sequel doesn't look like it'll be a quiet, quaint release like the first was. The latest video in an ongoing developer diary series chronicles the efforts of the developers to make the Mafia 2 world more realistic and important for players. It's nothing particularly revolutionary, but it definitely shows how much care 2K Czech has put into the game.

Several interesting bits are mentioned. First, you can only take 2-3 hits, which is a big difference from the relative immunity to bullets most sandbox protagonists have. Second, cars are intended to handle more realistically, which both makes them "heavier" to control but more satisfying. Third, melee combat will be context-sensitive in regards to take-downs, which means you will be able to do things like smash someone's head into a wall.

Download Mafia II 'Tools of the Trade' Developer Video HD (253 MB)
Check out all Mafia II downloads

Red Faction Guerrilla was one of our favorite games of 2009. It combined some of the best environmental destruction we've seen in a game yet with fun - although slightly flawed - open-world gameplay. Volition has been hard at work on the sequel, and while there hasn't been any concrete gameplay videos, this new trailer from San Diego Comic-Con sure comes close!

While the trailer itself is rather vague, it does show off some important information. You play as the grandson of the protagonist from Guerrilla, and the people of Mars have been driven underground by some disaster on the surface. When they retreated below the surface, they found a rising tide of monsters out to exterminate them. The trailer doesn't really show the monsters in any detail, but they are referred to as "nightmares," which should be a good indication of the general design! All in all, a great trailer.

Download HD Red Faction Armageddon Comic-Con Trailer (76MB)
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Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Feed your head after the jump.

Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Feed your head after the jump.

Check out our collection of APB related downloads here on Big Download!

The world of STALKER has gone through some precarious ups and downs since its original release. The original game was though to be vaporware for quite a long time. When released, bugs crippled people's enjoyment of the game and the game lacked promised features from the previews of years before. Still, the atmosphere drew players in like crazy, and despite its flaws, STALKER was a hit. Clear Sky expanded the game in some areas, such as the A-life system or the factions, but was definitely worse in others. It lacked the atmosphere that made STALKER so great, and only about half the areas were new. Call of Pripyat is the latest in the series, and its goal was to merge Shadow of Chernobyl's environment with Clear Sky's improved gameplay. The result is a game that is vastly better than its two predecessors, and a fantastic stand-alone game as well.

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Most of the browser games that have been talked about on Freeware Friday have been by the esteemed Flashbang Studios. However, it's time to break that trend with a game that is just as good as anything Flashbang can or has come up with. Farbs' Captain Forever was released a while ago to those who have donated, with the promise of it being released for free at a later date. That later date has arrived, and Captain Forever is now available to the general public. It's an excellent game, and one that you can easily lose a lot of time to, which makes it both a great freeware game and an amazing browser game.

Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Feed your head after the jump.

Check out our collection of Assasin's Creed 2 related downloads here on Big Download!

Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Feed your head after the jump.

Check out our collection of The Saboteur related downloads here on Big Download!

Volition has been at it for a while now. Created from the ashes of Parallax Software, the folks behind Descent, they have had a rather convoluted history, going everywhere from space combat sims to open-world gang games. However, no game series has defined them quite as much as the Red Faction series. Despite all of their fooling about with other genres, it is this series which has established a sort of miniature continuity for them. With the latest entry having been on consoles for a while and being released to PC soon, it's a good time to take a look back on the first two games and just how much they are reflected in Volition's work. This is not a review of any kind, but rather a retrospective on the life of an extraordinary series.