x2-the-threat posts

After years of working on the X series of space trading simulations, it looks like developer Egosoft is finally ready to announce something a little bit different for its next title. Today the developer's official web site announced that the announcement of its next game project will be made by its publisher Koch Media on April 28 at the FedCon sci-fi convention in Germany.

While the first announcement will be made at FedCon Egosoft states that all the info will also be revealed on the developer's web site. The game itself has the code name "TNBT" which likely is an acronym for "The Next Big Thing".

[Via Blue's News]

The team at development studio Egosoft seem to want to stretch out the support for its X franchise of space sim titles to its upper limit. This month the developer announced plans to releaseX Superbox (yep, that's its real name) a new retail collection of all of the games in the franchise.

And we mean all of them. The collection, to be published by Deep Silver in Europe on October 8, contains X: Beyond the Frontier, X-Tension, X2: The Threat, X3: Reunion, and X3: Terran Conflict. All of the games have been updated to their latest versions and also contain all of the expansion packs and official DLC releases. The collection also has a bonus DVD containing a bunch of third-party created content and mods for the games, an MP3 soundtrack, tutorials and walk-throughs for the games and more. And to top it all off the X Superbox collection has a 300 page encyclopedia describing all of the fictional backstory of the X-franchise. So far there's no word if this collection will be released in the US.

Monthly-pay-based service GameTap today added three games to its already vast library -- Dracula Twins, Alien Shooter Vengeance, and Dark Matter. Yeah, those don't make us fall out of our chairs from the force of the excitement, either. Well, they could be fun; you never know, right? Correct us if we're missing out!

But here's what's really cool: Egosoft's X2: The Threat has been made available to all users -- even non-subscribers. That means you can play X2 for free. If you don't know it, it's a pretty decent game, so long as you're attracted to the genre (3D space trading ala Wing Commander: Privateer or Freelancer). It's a bit daunting at first but give it a try if it's your sort of thing. Alternatively, you can buy it on Steam for a measly ten bucks.

For the uninitiated: GameTap charges a monthly fee to provide members with unlimited access to an enormous library of classic (and on some occassions, new-ish) PC and console games. It updates its library on Thursdays, hence "GameTap Thursday." Sometimes, as you may have gathered, certain games are available to non-paying members.