Review: King Arthur - Fallen Companions (PC)

King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame has got to be one of the most underappreciated RTS games out there; it’s a lovingly-crafted RPG hybrid that is just different enough thanks to those fantasy elements to differentiate itself from the more realistic Total War games.

As we wait for the proper sequel, Paradox Interactive has released King Arthur – Fallen Companions to fill in some additional backstory of the alternative history, Celtic Wonderworld the budding franchise is rooted deep within. At $10, you’re only going to get so much content, but as a chance to revisit a vibrant world, and whet your appetite for the sequel, this is a safe investment.

Digitally Downloaded poll results #1: Do you prefer to download games, or buy retail?

You might have missed it, but Digitally Downloaded has started to run a series of polls (check the sidebar of our website). The first asked do you prefer to download games, or buy retail?

And it was a very even result:

Download (50%)
Retail (50%)
Neither - I prefer streaming games from the cloud (0%)

I think a few years ago, that result would have been far more skewed towards retail. I think in a few more years people will start to prefer the third option; the games industry is changing quite dynamically.

What are your thoughts? Be sure to check out our next poll - it's a good one; "What is your preferred gaming device?"

Review: NyxQuest HD (iPad)

NyxQuest is one of the better games available on the Wii’s WiiWare download platform – a puzzle platformer with a striking art style and a cool setting. Chillingo, following the cue from parent company EA in bringing Max and the Magic Marker to the iPad, has done a great job in bringing Nyx in glorious HD to a platform that lacks buttons entirely.

Not that NyxQuest really needs buttons, Mario this game is assuredly not. There’s a left and right movement button recreated virtually on the bottom left of the screen, and a jump button on the right. The jump button can be tapped multiple times, because our hero from Greek mythology has wings, and the limited ability to fly. The rest of the interactions with the game happen by tapping and swiping on objects in the levels themselves. Fireballs can be “grabbed” from the air and hurled at enemies. Massive, crushing columns can be tapped on and frozen in place to allow safe passage underneath. Blocks can be guided across the burning sand so that precious Nyx doesn’t scold her feet.

Review: Avenging Spirit (3DS Virtual Console)

Hosting retro downloads on a service like Virtual Console sometimes throws up a nice surprise; a game you hadn’t had a chance to play when it was new, and perhaps never even heard of. 

Avenging Spirit is one such pleasant surprise. Jaleco’s forgotten platform classic has more than a few resemblances to the Kirby games, only with some actual challenge thrown in. In fact, what Avenging Spirit pioneered doesn’t appear in games nearly as often as it should, and when it does (Square Enix’ woeful Mindjack) it doesn’t work nearly as elegantly as this.

Frozen Synapse demo; there's no excuse not to play this game now

We love Frozen Synapse here at Digitally Downloaded. We gave it 5/5, and it's one of those rare 5/5s that really does represent a game that's nearly perfect.

And now you're able to try the game for free! What do you get in the demo?

- A randomly generated single player skirmish
- Three specially selected missions from the single player campaign

And if you like that, you can get the full game (which includes the incredible multiplayer mode) for half price on Steam until August 15.

After you get yourself addicted to the game, please pop into our forums to organise a game - we're always up for more!

Review: OMG-Z (PSN Mini)

It’s about time zombies are put to rest. They’re no longer frightening, funny or original; more importantly, they’re no longer interesting. They’ve been shoehorned into every genre known to mankind, and while they often still work, it’s at the point now where if I see “zombie” in the title I’m rarely going to bother with the game.

OMG-Z is a zombie game. I’m glad I found an excuse to play it (this review), because it’s quite good fun, and the zombies even suit the theme without feeling unnecessarily forced, but it was still a sour taste to deal with in that crucial first impression stage.

PC board game, Bronze, to get tabletop release

Bronze, a video game board game by Shrapnel Games, is about to be defy a trend; where most board games later get video game equivalents, this board game is making the move from video game to the tabletop.

Not that we're complaining, Bronze is actually really good (check out the review on Digitally Downloaded). Like the best Eurogames, Bronze is easy to pick up, difficult to master. In the hands of Spiral Galaxy Games, we have high hopes the table top game will be a success.

In a release, Spiral Galaxy Games' Dave Gilham said, “Bronze caught my eye on BoardGameGeek and having played the demo, and then the full version, I was intrigued with the game play. It’s enjoyable, it’s fast, there is no luck , you win or lose based entirely on your planning and tactics. The different maps and tribes leads to a great replay ability. All good points for a Euro style game.”

It's going to be a while before it hits stores - it's currently on the way to play testers for the initial run through. The commercial release is expected for the second or third quarter of 2012.

The promise is that the game will look like its PC equivalent, again that's not a bad thing.

Stay tuned for more news as it comes in.

Keen to check out the new Driver? Demo imminent!

The quality of the Driver games has been very, very hit-and-miss over the years. Thankfully, you'll be able to try before you buy with Driver San Francisco.

The demo is due on August 10 for download via XBLA and PSN, and that will give you 21 days of play before the full version hits retail on September 1.




The single player demo features three missions:

· Team Colours - Shift between your cars to finish 1st & 2nd in a race
· Escapist - Escape the police with your VIP passenger
· Prove It - Execute stunts and tricks and a cop chase

Should be enough to get some decent impressions. Stay tuned for what we think of the game. 

Madden 12 demo out now

August is always a big time of the year for fans of the American-style version of that wacky game called football. The Madden Football series has even spawned whole 'holiday' (not to mention a curse) called Maddenoliday around it. People take off from work, they ditch chores and tasks... It's kind of a mess. For these masses of followers, the wait for release day can be an excruciating one.

But take heart pigskin fanatics, because EA just ran a Quarterback Sneak and released a little something to tide you over- the Madden 12 demo is now available for your 360 or PS3. As in right now. No, really- log onto the PSN to nab the demo for your Playstation or click here to add it to your download queue on the Xbox 360.

Prepare to experience the thrill of a roster update with a couple new modes.

Two more Australian development studios shut down

R.I.P Buddy

Two Australian studios that have provided global publisher, THQ, with some superb games, have been shut down.

 As part of the restructure: Company Increases Emphasis on High Potential Categories; Reduces Focus on Kids and Movie-Based Licensed Titles for Consoles, THQ has shut down THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tounge Entertainment. The latter was behind the superb De Blob games.

Following the departure of Krome Studios, Australia's quickly running out of high profile studios. There's Firemint, and at least the future of that one is fairly secure thanks to its acquisition by EA. Then there's Team Bondi, but rumour is that they're about to step out of games development and into a broader multimedia corporation.

It's sad to see the Australian games industry struggle - but that's the downside to having such a strong Australian dollar, I guess. 

New "social strategy game," King's Bounty, hits Facebook

We all like strategy games here at Digitally Downloaded, so we're still hanging out for the first Facebook game to really give us something to sink our teeth into, especially since Civilization World has been disappointing so far.

King's Bounty: Legions is probably not that game, but it might be a decent start. For one thing, the game features hexes instead of squares to determine unit movement. Hexes are, as we all know, mana for real wargames.

Review: The Lost Town – The Dust (DSiWare)

Why The Lost Town – The Dust was developed for DSiWare, I have no idea. It’s an indie production with some great ideas under the hood, that is also severely hampered by the limitations of the platform.

It’s got a nice (if utterly cliché) setup. There’s a village in South America that has been isolated from the rest of the world and, thanks to an industrial chemicals accident, beset upon by monsters. Then one night a girl with serious attitude and weaponry rocks up ready to defend the town. Thankfully, this plot doesn’t overstep its bounds and fades right into the background once the game starts.

Review: Puerto Rico (iPad)

Puerto Rico is a massive disappointment. Not because it's a bad game - far be it, it's one of the greatest board games ever made, but rather, it's disappointing because the developers have made poor use of the iPad's screen and capabilities. The end result is a game with poor, unappealing interface and useless multiplayer.

The game is one of the modern classics of board games - a Eurogame that is both competitive and at the same time casual, challenging but at the same time features a manual smaller than Monopoly's.