Screenshot of the week – Stormrise

Stormrise was always going to fight an uphill battle, challenging people’s well-founded generalisations on real-time strategies on console.  However, despite being mauled by critics and still-born on the commercial front thereafter, Creative Assembly Oz hit the mark with this misunderstood, slightly flawed underdog.  Once controls are learned and the game play mechanics understood, it becomes a visceral, fast-moving tactical experience that takes no prisoners.

It’s Blitz! – The Return of Blitz1941

After briefly gaining cult international popularity then disappearing back to the Korean peninsula – where many good MMO games roost – Mowelsoft’s World War II armoured vehicle all-in brawl is set to roll back into the international arena.

Now under the control and administration of EFusion MMOG as TwoWar.com, who also manage the European version of NavyFIELD, Blitz1941 is set for a closed beta release sometime during the next few months, and fans could not be more happy.  For those who experienced those fleeting few months back in 2006, the news of this tank  en-masse MMOG returning has been an answered prayer due to the sudden disappearance of Blitz1941 three years ago.  But for those not familiar with the title, the fuss needs examination. 

Go tell it on the mountains – Super Hind Update

News just at hand – Mountain Sheep’s PSP gunship action game Super Hind is now available for download on the European PSN Store:

Super Hind (£15.99/€19.99)
What would you do if you were given access to the deadliest military helicopter created and the power to change the world? Now is your chance to find out.
PEGI 7+
(182MB required)

Timo Vihola, Mountain Sheep’s co-founder and art director, gave 4X.Scope this news with the following:

“…At the moment I don’t have info on other PSN regions but it could be coming elsewhere too!”

For the moment, it remains to be unavailable on the Oceania PSN stores and in the US.  However, with the launch of the PSP Go only months away, gamers outside of Europe might be firing up their helicopters sooner rather than later.  Still on the Mountain Sheep front, their iPhone arcade game Minigore is nearing submission to Apple.  Keep up to date with progress at the Minigore website.

High Flyers – Interview with Erik Measure

Nimbly Games’ Altitude is a thoroughly enjoyable arcade multiplayer title that deserves a lot of attention.  It is undoubtedly one of the favourites at 4X.Scope for its sheer drop-in fun-factor. 

One half of Nimbly Games, Erik Measure, has kindly allowed the interview crosshairs to be levelled as he talks candidly about the beginning, middle and future of Altitude.  From its roots as a reinvention of an Intellivision game to being a popular game around the globe and around the clock, Erik gives a peak into the Altitude arena and all that it entails – from balance to design to what’s next.

Sunburned Gaming – Interview with Guy Blomberg

4X.Scope is honoured to have Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg in the crosshairs for an interview on certain games, certain trends and the future of both local software development and Australian games journalism.

Australia can punch about its weight in most entertainment mediums, having shown great prowess in a number of films, in music, with art and with game development.  Growing out of big-name titles like Super International Cricket and other domestically-popular games, Australia has become a burgeoning  hotspot for game production.  AustralianGamer.com’s PR and Creative Director Guy Blomberg has offered an in-depth insight into the brave new world of where the medium is at in Australia today. 

Plane and Simple – Altitude

Out of the blue comes Nimbly Games and their stunning 2D aerial combat game Altitude.  Billed as stemming from a variety of multiplayer heavyweights of recent years, Altitude is competitive without being aggravating.  Fast and fun without losing a sense of skill-based accomplishment, Altitude is balanced and nuanced.  Altitude shouldn’t be this fun, but it is.

Nimbly Games, comprising of two ambitious gamer-developers, have created a genuinely exciting multiplayer title, falling under the oft-used cliche of bearing old-school sensibilities.  Inspired by games such as Call of Duty 4, Erik Measure and Karl Sabo crafted Altitude out of strong currents within the multiplayer arena.  While there might not be a visual compatibility between the latest competitive first-person shooter and Altitude, there are comparable  traits in terms of balance and user-defined nuance.  Altitude captured the recent fixation of in-game achievements by boasting its own slew of awards.  But the comparisons do not help to describe what Altitude really is, so a closer look at this clever little game is pleasantly warranted.

The Xenomorph Speaks – PSP No Go

Once more from the bowels of snark and spite GigersALIEN stalks forth, this time in reaction to the recent unveiling of the Sony PSP Go at the 2009 E3 convention.  What follows is a vicious snapping of jaws at the audacity of Sony allegedly trying to pull the wool over consumer’s eyes.

The PSP Go!  Woohoo.  Sony’s new revision of the PSP was shown at this year’s E3 for all to go ga-ga over.

Thunderous applause.

Nerds’ hearts skipped a beat.

iPhone lovers drooled.

$250 dollars.

I puked.

Screenshot of the week – UFO: Aftermath

ALTAR Interactive’s X-Com-inspired UFO trilogy began in 2003 with UFO: Aftermath.  A decimated world lies in twilight, with the Reticulans having laid waste to the global population.  While the trilogy only got better in terms of gameplay mechanics, Aftermath purveys an eerie desolate ambience as humanity tries to crawl back against a vastly superior and unsettling adversary.

To the Summit – Mountain Sheep after Super Hind

After the tireless effort put in by the small Finnish company to get their debut PSP title Super Hind into the hands of PAL-region gamers, the road ahead gave Mountain Sheep some exciting choices.  Even in the face of a global financial meltdown, Timo Vihola and his team learned from their experiences and have come up with something new.

As stated in the previous Mountain Sheep story on the trials and tribulations of getting their terrific Super Hind title from a concept to a tangible commercial product, a small developer faces incredible challenges when undertaking a project.  As yet, Super Hind remains unreleased in both Japanese and North American  markets.  Timo Vihola, co-founder and creative director of Mountain Sheep, as well as being a good friend of 4X.Scope, has granted a wonderful insight into where a small development house can go after a a major production and what was learned along the way.

Screenshot of the week – Homeworld 2

While Relic has gone on to contest Blizzard for RTS King via Company of Heroes and the Dawn of War series, their most artistic franchise will always be the Homeworld series.  Homeworld 2 touts stunning production values of equal amounts in all areas:  an engrossing story, brilliant aesthetics yet to be matched, a broad variety of units and tactics set inside a majestic universe.  Homeworld 2 epitomises elegance and style with substance to match.