worms-reloaded posts

The co-founder of the long running UK-based game developer Team17, Martyn Brown, has decided to leave the company he helped to create over 20 years ago. Brown first announced his departure on his Facebook page, VG247.com later chatted with Brown who was vague on his reasons for leaving Team17, saying only that it was "time" for him to depart. He added that he had a good idea of what he would do next but he "can't talk about it yet".

Brown helped develop the long running Worms series of turn-based strategy games for Team17 which started in 1995 and have had countless entries across tons of different platforms, including the PC. It also developed the Alien Breed series of top down sci-fi shooters. In 2010 Team17 announced that it was abandoning traditional retail game publishing to work exclusively on digital download-based games. So far it has released Worms Reloaded and the Alien Breed trilogy of games for the PC via Steam.

Developer Team17's recent release of its turn-based strategy game Worms Reloaded via Steam seemed to be pretty popular among fans of the long running series. Now Steam has put the game on its weekend sales list, cutting the price of the title from now until Monday to just $9.99, a 50 percent reduction.

But that's not all. The game also got a new and free update on Steam that adds some new in-game items. Namely, the game now has forts, hats and gravestones that are "inspired" by the characters in Valve's multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2. The update also comes with a speech bank editor as well.

Tomorrow we learn what this new Battlefield game is all about. Personally we just wish that EA would either admit that Battlefield 1943 is canceled or give us a real update on its status beyond some vague statement that it's still in production.

• A new update to the Steam client has been released.
• An update for Worms Reloaded has been released on Steam that adds Steam Cloud support along with some other fixes.
• A small bug update for the Mac version of Trine has been released.
• The full version of Football Manager 2011 is now available on Steam.
• Irrational Games' newest interview podcast has Ken Levine chatting with Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski.
• Check out some of the weapons to be found in Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam.

It was yet another busy new day here at Big Download, where every week is We Love PC Games Week :)

• Microsoft will officially shut down its Massive in-game ad service by the end of the year.
• Blizzard reveals its next gen MMO at BlizzCon 2010 (Ok, not really but it's funny).
• Steam has a new Worms Reloaded patch update available for download.
• Dark Horse Comics has release an original Mass Effect comic book online at the USA Today web site.
• The third and final behind-the-scenes video for the upcoming Back to the Future game is now on YouTube.

So we are getting a graphical remake of Defense of the Ancients with some enhanced community features. But will Valve continue to support the original DoTA? How much will DOTA 2 cost? Will the game be a downloadable only title? Will it support third party mods? There are still lots and lots of questions.

• Want to read Jordan Mechner's script for the Prince of Persia movie before the Hollywood types got a hold of it? Now you can.
• New Stream updates to Alien Swarm, Recettear, Shattered Horizon, Lead and Gold, Team Fortress 2, Worms Reloaded, and Booster Trooper have been released.

With DC Universe Online being pushed back to early 2011, it looks like this fall's PC game lineup is looking a bit sparse than in previous years. On the other hand the first quarter of 2011 is looking like it will have plenty of new PC game titles.

• New Steam bug patches have been released for Puzzle Quest 2, Mount and Blade Warband, Puzzle Dimension, Galcon Fusion and Worms Reloaded.
• The Steam client also got a bug fix update.
• You can also pre-purchase the upcoming PC port of Lost Planet 2 via Steam and save 10 percent. off its normal price.
• Former Glu Mobile CEO Greg Ballard is now the new head of Warner Bros. Interactive's new senior vice-president of digital games.
• Disney Interactive now has two presidents, John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro.

We are down to the last days of the baseball season. Any predictions on who will win the World Series?

• New Steam bug updates are now available for Fallen Earth and Worms Reloaded.
• Gamasutra has a new (and funny) post-mortem for the hit indie game AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity.
• Civilization IV's catchy theme song now has some lyrics. Really.
• You can read or listen to an except from the upcoming novel of Star Wars The Force Unleashed II.
• Derek Smart gives his very detailed version of the timeline of his involvement in the ongoing Alganon MMO saga.

If the Worms series proves anything, it's that simplicity can go a long way. Like all games in the long standing series, the point is straightforward. Using a handful of worm soldiers and an arsenal of over-the-top weaponry, eliminate the other team while keeping your own losses to a minimum. Weapons include rocket launchers, grenades and airstrikes along with signature devices like the Holy Hand Grenade, banana bomb and the sheep bomb that runs across the screen before exploding. Half the challenge comes from using the game's physics, like wind, to your advantage in order to take out all the enemy soldiers. The part is in trying not to blow up your own troops in the process. Worms: Reloaded doesn't mess with the classic gameplay and builds out content and features around it.

Check out all Worms: Reloaded downloads

Indie games got a one-two punch of promotion today with today's announcements from IGN and OnLive. And let's face it; the indie game scene is still pretty much centered around the PC platform. So much for the death of the PC game platform.

• As expected, the family-themed free-to-play MMO Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures has officially launched.
• Also, Nexon has launched the second beta phase of its fantasy MMO Vindictus.
• A new Steam client version has been released.
• Also a new bug fix update for Worms Reloaded has been released via Steam.
• There's apparently going to be a fifth Resident Evil live action movie.
• Want to listen to a cool song? Here you go.

Another busy day brings the work week to a close. Next week is the Tokyo Game Show which should have a couple of PC game-related announcements even though its mostly a console-based show.

• This week's Left 4 Dead 2 Mutation gameplay mode is a repeat of Follow The Lifer.
• Steam bug patches are now available for Plants vs Zombies: Game of the Year Edition, Team Fortress 2, and Worms Reloaded.
• Minecraft and its server also has a new update via its auto-updater.
• Just a reminder: The official StarCraft II custom map contest closes for entry on Saturday.