Review: Frozen Synapse (PC)

Frozen Synapse is one of the most engaging little strategy games I’ve ever played. Its multiplayer-focused, short and sweet battles are intense while also being strategic, and yet this is also a game that almost anyone can pick up and play. In short? It's got something for everyone, and even casual strategists can get into this one.

This game is awesome.

Review: Sega Rally Online Arcade (XBLA/PSN)

Most any teenage gamer in the 90’s will likely have fond memories of playing games in public arcades. One game that gobbled up loads of hard begged for quarters was the Sega Rally series; slipping into the plastic racing seat, gripping the steering wheel and tearing through the tracks was a blast in itself, but it was the competing player beside us in the double seated arcade cabinet that had us coming back time and again. The series is still going strong today, and a the new Sega Rally Online Arcade (SROA) lets you take the competition online from your home, and at a cost that is much less than what the arcades ate through years ago.

Kickin' up snow. Not the safest place for car racing

Trials HD Reaches 2 Million Downloads

In the time that its been available, Trials HD and all of its DLC added together have reached up and over the two million download plateau. Pretty impressive for a dirt biking game.

"It's been a little more than a year and a half since Trials HD was released,” said CEO of RedLynx, Tero Virtala. “For a digitally downloaded game, this is a significant milestone, and shows one of the many ways the digital space is quickly growing and the industry itself is changing and evolving."

We couldn't have said it any better Tero.

Xbox LIVE deal(s) of the Week

If you're a Bethesda fan, then you're in luck this week because the deals are ripe on the LIVE vine. There's Fallout, Oblivion, and even some Avatar gear to be had.

Review: Panzer Command Ostfront (PC)

If you’re patient, Panzer Command Ostfront is a game that will reward you – giving you granular level of control over reasonably sized armies and recreating some of the more intense battles between Germany and Russia during World War 2.

But you’re going to need to be patient, because this game plays out at a glacial pace. It’s a necessary side effect of having so much control over what’s going on, but it’s going to relegate this game to appealing to only a special kind of strategy gamer.

I think I'd rather be in the tank

Review: Roger The Flying Pig (iPhone)

Remember all the things you promised people you'd do “when pigs fly”? Well, its time to start delivering on those promises because Roger is here and he's airborne! Admittedly, he does make a speedy return to terra firma but let that not detract from the fact that he does fly at least for a limited time. How far he travels is up to you though, as you send him on his way with a few taps of your fingers. This arcade style “ski-jump” game is entertaining, quite challenging and allows for simple pass-and-play rivalry as well as measuring your achievements on a worldwide scale.

Aw, so cute. Now watch him fly

Last chance to win a copy of KISA!

If you're a fan of point and click adventures, then KISA should appeal to you - it's an indie game with some real soul.

Digitally Downloaded, in partnership with the folks behind the game, has two copies up for grabs, and to get in the draw, it's a simple process:

1) Sign up with our forums, and make a post to say "hi" in this thread: http://z7.invisionfree.com/Digitally_Downloaded/index.php?showtopic=81

2) Come back tomorrow to see if you've won.

It's your last chance to enter - the prizes are drawn tomorrow! Good luck, and thanks for reading!

What Happened to Xbox Live Last Night?

For a brief period of time in the early morning hours of May 26th (today), Xbox Live Marketplace went down in both it's console and online forms. What happened?

Edit: It's May 26th in the US, we can't all be from the future you know.

All-new Raptr site launched, becomes an incredible social network for gamers

Raptr, the social networking site for gamers, has had a major upgrade, and is now a hugely useful resource for gamers of all persuasions.

To give you an idea what it's all about, here's the official press release from the folks at Raptr. If you haven't already signed up, we highly recommend you do - it's a very easy and fun way to keep track of everything that's of interest to you in the world of games.

Bloodrayne: Betrayal trailer launched

Bloodrayne starred in a couple of gory action games, and a horrible couple of Uwe Boll films. Thanks to 2D artist masters, WayForward, however, her return to stardom looks absolutely incredible.

Frozen Synapse; available now (and at 2 for the price of 1!)

Frozen Synapse is a game that really grabbed our attention when it was announced. As a game with a really unique, cool looking visual style it looked like Matrix Games had a hit on its hands.

Why Dungeons and Dragons Daggerdale may just save the franchise

 Dungeons and Dragons Daggerdale might just be what the venerable RPG needs to get some relevance back with video gamers, after years of weak or unnoticed releases. (See more screens and photos here)

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale Hits Xbox LIVE

Atari Games has had a somewhat shaky track record as of the last few years, especially in the downloadable department - But the latest D & D might do a lot to fix all that.

Pride of Nations: new video walkthrough released

Strategy game, Price of Nations, is inching ever closer to its release date, and Paradox Interactive has released a new video to show off what to expect.

Looking for a JRPG that's a bit different? A look at the Valhalla Knights series

Looking for a new JRPG to play? Here’s one you could well have missed - have you tried the Valhalla Knights games? They’re readily available – Valhalla Knights and its sequel are available quite cheaply on the PlayStation Network for download to PSP, and Wii owners can pick up Eldar Saga.

Despite having a bad reputation, these games are actually very addictive and quite open JRPGs. Budget, yes, but the largely negative press these games get is unjustified – though they’re not perfect, they have a unique soul that means they’re worth a look.

Valhalla Knights 2 - one of the most underrated PSP RPGs

Frozen Synapse: ice cool looking tactical strategy game

Frozen Synapse, to be published by Matrix Games is yet another really cool looking tactical game from the publisher, with a funky Lasertag vibe and a skirmish and multiplayer focus.

Q & A with RPG veteran, Jeff Vogel

Jeff Vogel has been producing indie RPGs for many years now, and releasing them through his own publishing company, Spiderweb Software. 

His most recent release was Avadon: The Black Fortress, a game we at Digitally Downloaded enjoyed greatly. Jeff sat down to answer a few questions on his experience in the industry for us. Make sure you read next month's issue of the Digitally Downloaded magazine for the full interview!

Review: Zombie Ball (iPhone)

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m a little over zombies. Every game these days seems to throw in a zombie mode, and in many cases, it’s unnecessary. Whilst I’m sure zombie AI is easy to program (point in a single direction and shamble, shamble, shamble), its rapidly becoming a joke.

That said, if you do still get into the zombie thing, then Zombie Ball is a new way to kill swarms of the undead. This is a very simple tilt based game where the goal is to roll a big, heavy ball over some zombies that are looking to attack a house. Kill off all the waves, and move on to the next level.

Great balls of fire

New Orcs Must Die! video shows off some nasty traps

The more we see of Orcs Must Die! the more we look forward to its impending release. A new video shows off some nasty traps to inflict deadly wounds on the swarms of orcs.

Stone Prophet and Strahd's Possession: It's time for a return of the horror RPG

Writing the retrospective piece on Wake of the Ravager brought back fond memories of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Masterpiece Collection – a set of games that I lost much of my youth to.

Thinking more about those games, I realised something – two of them, Strahd’s Possession and Stone Prophet, would have to be the only two genuine videogame horror RPGs. Sure there are other RPGs that contain dark or horror elements (such as Demon’s Souls); and other horror games that are based on RPG franchises (Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, for instance), but SSI’s two little horror RPGs still belong to an intriguing little niche – statistics-based, slow-paced horror games.

Stone Prophet: Remember this game?

Review: Diversion (iPad)

Diversion is named perfectly. This simple little one button platformer is bright and charming, and utterly absorbing. Playing this on the train I had nearby commuters watching, when usually they have the good grace to at least pretend to be looking elsewhere. Playing this at home in bed, I realised to my great horror that the time had ticked over to 1am. It's one of those games that pull you completely out of reality and absorb you into a simple, but effective, arcade experience.

This game is crazy-addictive

Will we see a Suda 51 film? It's tantalisingly possible

Suda is one of the most creative minds in the game's industry. His successes, such as Shadows of the Damned, are literally mind blowing, but even is less succesful experiments, such as No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise had its strengths in its storytelling and aesthetics.

Retro Review: Yoshi (Virtual Console)

AKA Mario & Yoshi

When the title of a game is as vague as “Yoshi”, it’s tough to speculate what you’re getting into. Players take control of Mario and flip panels with the intention of using eggshells to form baby Yoshis. Yoshi was originally released for the NES after its successor was launched, so the game went largely ignored. Thanks to Nintendo’s Virtual Console, though, gamers can now experience one of the definitive classic puzzle games on the service.

This game is unbelievably addictive, even now

Review: Gamebook Adventures: Catacombs of the Undercity (iPad)

Gamebook Adventures: Catacombs of the Undercity (book #5 in the series), like its sequel, is a superb attempt to revitalise the gamebook genre of RPGs in a way that takes advantage of the Apple iPad’s capabilities.

Uh oh. Evil crab

Review: Dofus Battles (iPad)

Dofus Battles tricked me. The iPad App store shop had the game’s description in French, making it hard to figure out what exactly the game was about, but the fact there were cute anime characters on a square grid board make it look like a Tactics RPG.

Looks like a Tactics RPG, right? Looks are very deceptive

Don't forget - one week left to enter the contest to win a copy of Knights in Shining Armor!

Are you a fan of point and click adventures? Do you own a PC? Then you might just be interested in a competition we have organised for you!

In partnership with Fluff Entertainment, we're pleased to be able to offer our readers two copies of this new indie game. To win, all you need to do is sign up at our forums, and make a post to say "hi" (or more words if you would like) in this thread: the competition thread.

You've got until May 27 to join up and make the post, and winners will be randomly drawn, and then notified via the forum's personal message system.

We wish you the best of luck, and hope you like our friendly community enough to stick around!

Review: Steel Storm: Burning Retribution (PC)

Steel Storm's first episode, released by developer Kot-in-Action late last year, made a decent impact by offering old school isometric shooting for a great price- free. Now that the second release, Burning Retribution, is upon us (complete with retail price) should you climb back into the hovertank?

Old school gameplay, modern presentation = killer combination

Review: Two Worlds 2: Castle Defense

It’s funny how it works, isn’t it? Two Worlds and its sequel are very much B-grade games. Not necessarily bad, but lacking the refinement of an Elder Scrolls game. But use the franchise as the basis for a tower defense game and you end up with an awesome production – arguably the most involved tower defense game ever. It’s priced to match, but as a premium game, this is a must have for strategy fans.

'Mere' tower defence? I don't think so!

Hands On: Shadows of the Damned (including video)

Shadows of the Damned is Suda 51’s most complete work to date. Previous games have featured flashes of brilliance (usually around concept and storytelling) amongst some painful execution (usually the gameplay).

From what I played at the EA preview event, Shadows of the Damned still hasn’t got that pesky gameplay thing down, but it’s closer, and the vision and creativity in this game are utterly unmatched.