Ubisoft have released a playable demo for The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the next iteration in the franchise developed by Blue Byte.

In The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the building and production systems allow gamers to expand their kingdom village by village, sector by sector, optimizing their creation by fine-tuning production chains and transport systems.

This demo contains one tutorial video and one map in three different versions: one for multiplayer, one for singleplayer, one as a free map without an opponent. It's now hosted at GP Downloads (2.5GB).

 

For many people, Dragon Age: Origins has most probably slipped under the couch by now.

It's unlikely that that majority of those who have finished the story arc will actively continue to play the game, no matter how great the experience may have been. In any case, it's timely that BioWare have now produced the Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion pack. This is considerably more than you would expect from average content packs, and though it may be downloadable (at a pricey 3200 marketplace points) it can be bought as a stand alone retail release as well. In addition, it appears to be playable without the original Dragon Age: Origins, and this certainly makes it interesting.

Awakening puts the players in the shoes of your previous character, or into a totally new character with a new back-story. Essentially you become a Grey Warden from Orlais sent to help other Grey Wardens rebuild Fereldon. We opted to import our character, he was familiar and homely which immediately provided a level of affinity with the new expansion pack. You are tossed gruffly back into the world of Fereldon just as the darkspawn begin to again plague the world.

 

Electronic Arts have announced that Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight is now available in New Zealand.

“For the last decade and a half, fans have followed the twists and turns in the Command & Conquer fiction. Now, they will finally get answers about the intense battle between the GDI and NOD as the epic Tiberium saga comes to a stunning conclusion in Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight,” said Lead Designer, Samuel Bass. “We can’t wait for players to experience the grand finale that’s been fifteen years in the making.”

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight promises to delivers a new approach to strategy gaming, including new missions that are streamed directly into the game. C&C 4 also introduces class-based systems that are persistent across all game modes, and features a new 5v5 objective-based multiplayer mode.

 

Precious few games exhibit the kind of refined balance, complexity and versatility to be played competitively by full-time professionals, and only one has had the staying power to be played in stadiums at full capacity – and broadcast on television to millions more – twelve years after its release.

Since 1998 Blizzard’s sci-fi real-time strategy title StarCraft has more closely resembled a sport than a videogame. For many it’s a form of entertainment that is as enjoyable to watch being played by talented practitioners as it is to participate in oneself.

The Korean StarCraft circuit has seasons, teams, corporate sponsors, match statistics, commentary and a zealous fanbase. Professionals such as Lim Yo-Hwan earn more than half a million New Zealand dollars annually – that’s the sort of paycheck an All Black has to sign to a European club to earn. Interestingly, it also happens to be more than Blizzard President Mike Morhaime earns before bonuses.

 

It's time to celebrate all things Sonic! Not only do we have a copy of Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing to give away (on your choice of platform), but one lucky winner will also take home a limited edition Ryu Hazuki figurine, as well as a Collector's Edition of the Sonic Classic Collection for DS.

About Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

Get ready for the ultimate racing showdown with Sonic and his SEGA friends! Can Amigo scramble Dr. Eggman? Will AiAi say bye-bye to Tails? Are you gonna be faster than Sonic?

In a frantic battle to the chequered flag, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sees Sonic and friends speed around tracks set in mediaeval castle ramparts, lush rainforests and bustling cities, all taken from the visually rich and varied universes of Sonic and SEGA. Fan favourites such as Dr. Eggman, Tails, AiAi, Amigo and many more will join Sonic in their custom built vehicles, revving their engines and jostling to stay ahead of the pack. Each character will race around the track in cars, planes, motorbikes, and in AiAi’s case – a banana mobile! Secret short cuts, swift handling and avoiding strategically placed obstacles are certainly the best way to get to the top of the podium.

 

Chaos Rising is another shining example of developer Relic's attention to quality when it comes to expanding the Dawn of War series. This, being the first expansion for the sequel, adds more of what everyone liked from the first game, and less of what people didn't.

There's far less repetition in the singleplayer. The downside is that it renders this aspect of the game a little on the short side, predominantly due to there being a lot less side quests. On a positive note however, what is included is of a much higher quality than most of the missions in the last game. There is also a lot less drudgery in the formula.

 

EA has announced that Need for Speed World has entered closed beta testing today.

The MMO racer will take place in a world that sprawls for 241 square kilometres (150 miles for those living in backwards countries), wherein players will compete for ranks against 12 others at any one time on servers that can accommodate 10 million users.

“Need for Speed World is the world’s first MMO racer – a completely new entertainment experience for speed junkies all over the world,” said John Doyle, the game’s Senior Producer. “We have expanded Need for Speed’s classic adrenaline-fuelled racing with an all-new power up system and deep RPG style progression to create a truly massive, socially-connected white-knuckle Need for Speed experience.”