The Mayhem Missions will be the big feature that will be upgraded for people who have an AGEIA-based hardware physics PC card. The GDC demo was in software mode only but still showed a fair amount of interaction from things as small as crates and mailboxes to large objects like cars flying in the air. When the patch for AGEIA supported PCs is released (no specific word yet on when that will happen) we are hoping that there will be even more destruction seen on our monitor screen.
More goodies
That would be enough expansion content for most players, but Cryptic and NCSoft plan for even more additions in Issue 7. City of Villains players can get new electrical-based abilities for the Brute class, Dark Armor and Dark Melee for the Stalker class, and new thug pets for the mastermind class. City of Heroes and Villains players get some new base features including storage items, support for super group banners all over you base and more. In addition, City of Heroes players get some graphical upgrades including higher resolution textures, bump and specular mapping and more. And even though the games' character creation system has without a doubt the most costume options ever for an MMORPG, Cryptic plans to add even more costume items to both games.
As we stated earlier, Issue 7 is the last free expansion for the game that will be heavily tilted for City of Villains players, but when we asked what the ratio was for playing the two super hero MMORPGs we were told that so far its been 50-50, which the development team admitted was somewhat surprising. As for the future of the franchises, Cryptic is already working on its next free "issue" but what about paid expansions (which City of Villains was originally supposed to be)? When asked the developers admitted they are in discussions now on how to proceed with the addition of paid content but have not yet announced any plans.
Based on our GDC demo, Issue 7 of City of Heroes/Villains will be a huge upgrade with some interesting multiplayer PvP play, some cool single-player oriented quests and even some of that new fangled hardware physics stuff that all the kids are talking about. If you haven't played either game there is still time to get in on the action and have your super-powered character ready when Issue 7: Destiny Manifest will be released for free sometime in April.
Batman: Arkham City PC Review Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009’s smash-hit action game Batman: Arkham Asylum. As the name suggests, you will be reprising your role as the Caped Crusader and going against an even larger 'prison' filled with Gotham's criminals and villains. A textbook example on how to do a proper sequel, Arkham City takes what worked in the original, excised or improved upon what didn’t, and elevated everything to an even greater scope. The PC version suffered from a few months of delay, but in that time, Rocksteady worked closely to NVIDIA to implement some familiar technologies from the last game, such as PhysX and 3D Vision, along with new DirectX 11 optimizations. But how well was the whole package executed? Read on to find out!
Saints Row: The Third PC Review Saints Row is one of most unique series of games to build upon the open-world action template forged by Grand Theft Auto, and has met with plenty of critical and commercial success since it began on consoles back in 2006. This latest iteration, titled Saints Row: The Third promises the most outlandish fun and freedom of customization of them all, and in a much more PC-friendly package than its predecessor. Does it live up to those expectations and, more importantly, is it worth the price of admission? Find out in Will's latest review!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda Softworks’ latest offering in their series of epic fantasy RPGs, as well as one of the most highly-anticipated PC titles of 2011. As the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, prepare to take the fight to the mythical beasts that have returned to the realm after centuries of slumber, all the while exploring a huge and highly-detailed open world.
The PC version of the game promises enhanced graphical fidelity, standard RPG trimmings such as hotkeys and quick-save, as well as unbridled mod support, something we’ll all be thankful for once they release that SDK. Skyrim has already sold millions of copies and set records for play-time on Steam... Find out why in today's review, which happens to be one of the biggest and most in-depth articles on the subject out there!
L.A. Noire Complete Edition PC Review L.A. Noire, as the name clearly states, is a video game built on the tropes of one of the greatest periods of American cinema: film noir. Developed by the now defunct Australian developer Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, this title has been out on consoles for a full six months before finally making its way to the PC. This “Complete Edition” of the game features improved graphics, keyboard/mouse controls, and every bit of previously-released DLC for free. But was it truly worth the wait? Read on and find out!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Xbox 360 Review
The self-appointed "most anticipated game in history" launched worldwide this past Tuesday. Why, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, of course (of course), what else? Unsurprisingly, the military FPS debate between this and Battlefield 3 rages on, but now that both have been released, surely we can take a look and objectively evaluate them both? Luke's taken the Xbox version of MW3 for a spin this week, so to find out what he thinks of it in today's review!
Stronghold 3 Review
The latest sequel in the long-running real-time strategy franchise from FireFly Studios, Stronghold 3 is all about building your dream castle and defending it against sieging enemies. Almost exactly one decade after the first game was released, this new title promises a return to the classic and well-received gameplay that has been strayed so far from in more recent iterations. Does it live up to those expectations? Will (AKA Synchronous Failure) tells us all about it in his first official FiringSquad review, so read on!
Battlefield 3 PC Review - Single-player Impressions
One of the most highly-anticipated PC games of the year is upon us; Battlefield 3 is now available in North America! EA/DICE have finally delivered a sequel to the core Battlefield franchise, a proper follow-up to BF2. Having played through the game's single-player campaign already, ahead of the multiplayer festivities kicking off around midnight, I figured I'd share my impressions ASAP. Is it really a worthy addition to the core Battlefield series, or just another bullet point on the back of the box? Read on and find out!
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited Supersonic Software Interview
Following up on our hands-on preview from earlier this month, here's an interview with Supersonic Software, creators of Wrecked: Revenge Revisited. The game's coming out on XBLA and PSN in a matter of weeks, but for now, Luke chats with the developer about its predecessors Mashed and Micro Machines, how difficult it can be to get an indie game published, the closure of Codemasters' Guildford branch, and more!
Orcs Must Die! PC Review Orcs Must Die! is the first release from an independent developer named Robot Entertainment. Fans of classic real-time strategy games may have heard that name before, as the outfit is comprised of many veterans from Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series.
Equal parts action and strategy, this is a tower defense game that not only puts you in command, but on the front lines of combat, as well. Slaughter thousands of orcs, ogres and other vile creatures of fantasy that invade your fortresses through 24 levels of the story-based campaign. With high levels of replayability thanks to its scoring and leaderboard functionality, multiple difficulty levels, and various styles of play, it sounds a steal at only $15. Does it deliver on all that’s promised, though? Read on and find out!
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited Hands-on Preview
FiringSquad’s new correspondent from across the pond, Luke Kaile, takes us hands-on with Supersonic Software’s upcoming downloadable racing combat game Wrecked: Revenge Revisited. Coming soon to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, this charming 4-player free-for-all is the spiritual successor to cult classic Mashed, released seven years ago for PC, PS2, and Xbox.
![City of Villains: Issue 7 Preview [ @ 1600 x 1200 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/07-s.jpg)
![City of Villains: Issue 7 Preview [ @ 1600 x 1140 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/08-s.jpg)
![City of Villains: Issue 7 Preview [ @ 1600 x 1140 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/09-s.jpg)
![City of Villains: Issue 7 Preview [ @ 1271 x 969 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/10-s.jpg)
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