Weekly Byte for 5/10/2010

Release List

• 5/11 – Age Of Conan : Rise of the Godslayer – $29.99
• 5/12 – Rocket Knight – $14.99

News Bytes

RPG on the high seas? Propaganda games will be releasing Armada of the Damned, an action RPG set in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe, in a timeframe prior to the Disney movies.  The game is set for and early 2011 release, and looks stunning at first glance.  Borrowing heavily from the Fable series, players control Sterling–son of a poor family destined for sea captain greatness.  Your choices will not only decide whether Sterling becomes a respected captain or the most feared man to hoist the jolly roger-they will also shape what kind of appearance and attacks your character adapts.  For example, the good captain can toss a whiskey barrel in the air and ignite it with a shot from his pistol to burn his enemies, where the evil captain can wield an anchor more deadly than a Belmont’s whip.  Equally intriguing is the strategy to the ship to ship combat implied, allowing players to sink ships, or simply disable them from fighting or escaping so they can be boarded and plundered for your pirating pleasure.

Spore on the Dark Side? Apparently, EA has registered trademark’s for the title ‘Darkspore’.  One can surmise that this could be a darker take or expansion on Will Wright’s Spore franchise.  Are we ready for more Spore?  Is there enough following, or should it be put to rest?  Will this be able to resurrect the damage done by Galactic Adventures?  Allegedly, this year’s financial reports hinted at another Spore release, could this be it?  Sadly, there is nothing more than speculation at this point, but I’m sure Darkspore will sprout legs and emerge on land at the upcoming E3 conference.

Want to switch from Mafia Wars to Starcraft II Multiplayer? Apparently, Blizzard has leaked details about Facebook integration for July’s Starcraft II release.  The only feature mentioned is the ability to add Facebook friends to a Battle.net friends list, but the statements from Blizzard seemed to hint there would be more features involved.  Let us know your thoughts about this decision with your comments or your emails to Chris@everydaygamers.com.

Space Paranoids Update! The game Space Paranoids, released last Thursday as a browser based game.  If you are able to finish the game, you can access some unique pics from this November’s movie.  I’m sure this is bittersweet news for Tron fans, who were probably hoping the game would get a more lauded release, but it’s still a fun distraction.  Head over to this site and start blasting those recognizers!

Geared Up

Who needs motion control when you can feel the realism of the game with a shotgun blast to the chest, right?  TN Games has manufactured a product, called the 3rd Space Gaming Vest.  The vest has 4 zones each, front and back, that will impact your body with the feel of a gunshot, relative to it’s origin to you in the game.  I’d say this brings the term ‘courage under fire’ to a whole new level.  The vest retails for $139.00, and boasts compatibility with nearly every major FPS title released in the last couple years–including titles like Borderlands, Call of Duty World at War AND Modern Warfare 2,  Bioshock 2 and Resident Evil 5.  An air compressor powers the feedback of the vests’ 8 zones to vary from gunfire to explosive blasts and even fine tactile human touches.  One can only wonder the level of interactivity you can reach in a game such as F.E.A.R.2, where you would not just jump at the vision of Alma appearing from nowhere, but feel her touch as well!  The vest comes in black, pink or camoflage colors, and even includes a copy of Call Of Duty 2 to demo the units features.  Below is a picture of the vest, but head over to TN Games to get all of the tantalizing details.