Special World Of Warcraft Statue Heading To Long-Time Subscribers

For some who have been subscribed to World of Warcraft since the beginning, Blizzard is sending out a very special gift.

According to the report from the MMO-Champion message boards, the statue is being sent to WoW players who created their account within two months of the game's launch 10 years ago. It's likley that if you haven't already received a statue, you may not have been eligible.

You can check out images of the statue below care of Smitti on Battle.net. It's a recreation of a statue that has a home in Blizzard's offices. On the bottom of the statue, there is a message to players:

The Orc statue is a constant presence in our life at Blizzard Entertainment. It’s where we meet to talk, to eat, to celebrate. As we celebrate ten years of World of Warcraft, we present this token of appreciation to you, stalwart adventurer. Thank you for being a constant presence in our lives as we adventure together.

[Source: MMO Champion, Battle.net, via GameSpot]

 

Our Take
Free stuff is always cool, and Blizzard is certainly indebted to its fans – especially the ones who have been playing World of Warcraft consistently for a decade.

Reader Discussion: Which Zelda Should Be Remade Next?

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D hasn't released quite yet, but it's never too early to start thinking about the future.

To be clear, we are absolutely getting ahead of ourselves. Next month we get to replay Majora's Mask on 3DS, and pending any delays, we should have a brand-new core Zelda on Wii U before the end of the year. Also, it's only been a little over a year since the release of Wind Waker HD and Link Between Worlds. We're not hurting for new Zelda titles, nor are we hurting for worthwhile excuses to replay old ones.

All of that being said, I still think we should share which Zelda we would like to see be remade next. Personally, I would love an HD version of Twilight Princess. Ignoring the nostalgia I have for the Nintendo 64 Zeldas (which is very strong) Twilight Princess is probably my favorite Zelda. I would love to have the game in HD on a Wii U GamePad with a few updated textures here and there, and the option to play with motion controls or the standard controls that were afforded to the GameCube version.

What about you? Would you like to see Link to the Past or Minish Cap in 3D? Or maybe a Wii U port of Skyward Sword? What Zelda would like to see receive a remake? Or do you just want Nintendo to hurry up and release an HD collection bundling the Super Mario Galaxies?

Trailer Roundup for January 12, 2015

Today's trailer roundup covers a lot of platforms, though most of the games are or will be on multiple platforms.

AGRAV

iOS | $TBA | Q2 2015

This game will ask the player to guide a ship indirectly, by creating black holes to pull it this way and that.

Anoxemia

Windows, Mac, Linux | $TBA | January 16 | Demo (Web Unity)

From the developer: "Anoxemia is a slow-paced exploration horror-adventure game. It takes place under the sea shortly after Dr. Bailey's submarine crashes, leaving him stranded on the ocean floor. It's a big, dark world out there, and the mystery of why your sub crashed isn't going to solve itself."

Blue-Collar Astronaut

Windows, Mac, Linux, Wii U | $TBA | Fall 2015 | Greenlight | Demo (Unity Web)

This physics game is inspired by Lunar Lander, but adds a dash of social commentary. After getting out of driving school, players will have tons of debt to pay off.

GRAV

Windows | reg. $19.99 | Early access

Not to be confused with AGRAV, above, GRAV is a survival sandbox in space. With all the co-op dance parties one could want, it seems. It's currently 30% off for its early access release.

Gunbrick

iOS, Android | $2.99 | Available now

A puzzle platformer in which the player controls a rolling cube with a shield on one side and a gun on the other. The gun can be used to propel oneself into the air and the trailer shows some movement along walls and ceilings.

The Mims Beginning

Windows, Mac, Linux | reg. $19.99 | Early Access on January 14

Though not the most exciting of trailers, this one shows off a god game which reminds me of Black & White (but with no giant pet creature). It'll be 15% for its early access launch week.

Poi

Windows, Mac, Linux | $TBA | Release TBA

Poi is to be "a 3D open-world adventure platformer inspired by Super Mario 64, Super Monkey Ball, and Shadow of the Colossus." There's very little information available about the game yet, but it looks like they have some cool platforming segments already implemented.

Socioball

iOS | $2.99 | January 15

This is to be a puzzle game in which the player must fill in missing tiles in a grid to get the ball from one place to another. It will have a level editor and social sharing capabilities.

SYM

Windows, Mac, OUYA | $2.99 | Available now | Greenlight

An artsy platformer. From the developer: "Sym tells the story of Josh, a boy affected by social anxiety disorder, as he tries to navigate and reconcile a maze of two equally dangerous worlds; his perception of the outside, and the emotions of his inner self. "

World of Warcraft ten year subscribers are getting a fancy statue

Believe it or not, there are players who have maintained a World of Warcraft subscription for ten consecutive years. While many of us dip in and out of the game when new expansions arrive, it takes a tonne of dedication–and a huge love for the game–to stick around for that long.

So it makes sense that Blizzard would reward those players, and reward them they have: the studio announced last week that physical gifts are being shipped to all eligible players who "created a World of Warcraft account within 60 days of the game launching in the NA or EU regions, and maintained their subscription or game time for all ten years."

They didn't specify what the gift would be, but according to Battle.net user Smitti it's a rather stunning statue, which you can see below. 

For everyone else, here's an hour long documentary on World of Warcraft, released last year to celebrate the game's decade milestone.

Technocrat and Wadjet Eye Games announce Technobabylon

Seasoned indie adventurers should have already played through the first, freeware and rather excellent cyberpunk Technobabylon adventures, though now both they and everyone else looking for some top quality point-and-clickable science fiction should prepare for the ultimate release of Technobabylon; sometime this Spring.

This new Technobabylon, an impressive audio-visual update of the original that will finally see the story reach its conclusion, features full voice-acting and tons of additions that have already earned it a place in my important adventures to look out for list. And, yes, I do have such a list. And big, clever, dystopian cyberpunk adventures by two of the best adventure devs always make it look all the more exciting.

But, I digress. To introduce you to the setting (and show off its beauty) Technocrat and Wadjet Eye Games have prepared an excellent this rather extensive teaser:

Freeware Pick: Get your competitive typing on with Typefighters

Typing games come in many shapes and sizes. There are comical murder mysteries and rail shooter typing games, to name a couple of examples. But Typefighters does something I haven't seen before: it takes typing and makes it a weapon in head-to-head combat.

Typefighters has eight game modes, each very well suited to use as a typing game. Stream mode, seen in the animated gif above, asks players to try to be the first to type as many words as possible out of a stream of words scrolling in from one side within a given time limit. Other modes include: Lines, a 5x5 grid of words with the goal of getting five spaces in a row even though your opponent can steal spaces; Tug, in which a line has a single word attached at any time and typing the word faster than your opponent gets the line pushed in their direction; and Projectiles, in which typing a word sends it flying towards the opponent and the match is a battle of creating new projectiles and destryoing the ones coming your way.

There is a single player mode with a customizable bot, but it's really not as fun as playing against a friend. Matches can be played via local network or the internet, though there's no matchmaking. You need to manually input the host's IP address. The game's color scheme is customizable, though, which will help colorblind folk. As an extra fun detail, the menus can be navigated almost exclusively by typing (and the one place I found where that wasn't true is just a spot where two words start with C and the first word in the list captures the keyboard input every time).

Typefighters is free and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux from its web site.

[Typefighters]

Freeware Pick: Beneath Floes (Bravemule)

She dwells beneath the ice. She's the fish woman, the stealer of children, the qalupalik. People have been telling dark stories about her for ages and now it's your turn to craft your own tale of the Inuit horror, via the fully scored, atmospherically illustrated and quite frankly brilliant Twine Beneath Floes.

It's a text-based game that expertly plays around with the ways tales and stories get distorted and changed as time passes, but also a properly spooky and atmospheric offering that is not afraid of violent descriptions and disturbing ideas.

Oh, and it's available as a downloadable file too over at itch.io.

Readers Tell Us What Modern Developers They Want On Classic Game Franchises

Two weeks ago I posted a reader discussion asking what modern developers should take over or reboot classic franchises.

The conversation was prompted by developers like Devolver Digital, who is attempting to make a Seaman game and The Odd Gentlemen, who are working on a new King's Quest. I put forward suggestions like Rocksteady taking on a Metroid game, DrinkBox Studios making a new Mega Man, and Humble Hearts bringing back 2D Castlevania. Readers had some other excellent ideas for modern developers, which you can read below.

Biminian89 wrote, “Ken Levine should make a new Tail of the Sun game,” which might be happening considering we don't know what Levine is currently up to. Fingers crossed.

LA, The Ambassador of Good Will Sunday wrote how he really wants Naughty Dog to take another look at Jak & Daxter, but also put forward what I thought was a fantastic idea: the Uncharted team on a Prince of Persia game.

Captain Bruisen wrote, “Turn 10 and F-Zero. CD Projekt Red and Zelda,” which I agree with partially. Turn 10 is great at racing simulation with the Forza games, but I don't know how well it would fare with a hyper-fast, science-fiction racer that laughs at the idea of realistic physics. Despite how impossible it is, I do however like the idea of the creators behind the Witcher games taking on Nintendo's medieval fantasy. In response to other commenters saying Nintendo should never let go of Zelda Captain Bruisen wrote, “Nintendo has done wonderfully. I'd just love to see where CD Projekt Red could take the franchise in terms of gameplay, tone, and story.”

ReptarAteYou had more CD Projekt Red love suggesting the developer should also take on a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which sounds awesome.

Webbo wrote, “Arkane/Splinter Cell,” which sounds like an interesting idea after the success of Dishonored.

HACK Benjamin has an interesting suggestion writing, “Platinum making a Star Fox game would be dope. Especially after playing Bayonetta 2. They showed they can do it.” For all we know, Platinum may have a hand in what's next for Star Fox as Nintendo has been very secretive about the whole project.

hirschsc wrote, “Rocksteady should totally do a new Darkwing Duck game," which would be perfect. It could basically be an E-rated take on its Batman: Arkham games. It wouldn't have to change the mechanics too much. This also serves as a perfect excuse to share one of my favorite episodes of Replay.

tstitan wrote, “[I've] said it before, I'll say it again: Earthbound/Mother done by Double Fine,” and I encourage them to keep saying it. Schafer tweeted about Earthbound a lot following its Virtual Console release. I choose to believe he was performing research in order to begin development on a new game. We can all dream.

Earthbound has renewed my faith. Not in the games industry, since it was made so long ago. But my faith that I can still enjoy things. :)

— Tim Schafer (@TimOfLegend) August 8, 2013

Dying Light physical copies have been delayed in some regions

If you're still attached to physical product and planned to buy Dying Light on January 27, then you may be out of luck. According to the official Dying Light Facebook page, physical copies of the open world zombie slaying adventure will be delayed in several regions. Which is to say: pretty much every region except America.

While the game will still release on Steam in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia next week, there's an unspecified delay on physical copies in those regions. We're assured that the delay is "short", but that could mean anything.

If you're determined to buy Dying Light on disc and can't bear the wait, there's over 90 minutes of gameplay footage over here, so you can sate your zombie violence urges ahead of the game's eventual release. 

Here's how long it will take to play through your Steam backlog

Got anxiety issues? Don't read on. Seriously, go read another article. For those still reading though, here's something neat: there's now a website which will predict how many hours worth of game you've got piled up in your Steam library. 

SteamLeft compiles data from HowLongToBeat.com–a database compiling estimated game length for thousands of titles–and then applies that to your Steam account. If you're sure you want to be privy to this information (and I know I don't) then you can check it out here. It also advises what you could be doing instead of playing those games, for instance watching Avatar about 500 times. There was a similar website for calculating Steam playtime a couple of years back, but its since been removed. 

Let me know how many hours you've got left in the comments. In the meantime, here's a meditation on the pile of shame and some potential strategies for battling it. If you're anything like me, you'll simply ignore the pile and play Spelunky instead.

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls now available and doesn't disappoint

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is the newest release from Spiderweb Software, a single-developer game studio that's been producing tactical RPGs for the PC since the mid-nineties. It takes place sometime after the end of Avernum: Escape from the Pit, though its story is self contained. The events of the previous game sparked an all-out war between the people of the underground caverns called Avernum and the tyrannical empire that rules the surface. Now, magical barriers have mysteriously appeared, cutting the caverns of Avernum off from each other, and the wizards have been unable to figure out how to remove them. The player is a soldier in the armies of Avernum, doing what they can to help amidst these difficulties.

Here's a gameplay rundown. Players start with a party of four characters whose classes can be chosen from nine prefabs or be completely customized. Party members don't have to be human this time, though; the lizard- and cat-like races of Avernum are playable and offer different racial bonuses than do humans. As players battle, characters will gain experience points and level up, at which time the player can increase stats, level up skills, and choose perks for the characters. There are skill trees, but all characters have access to the same skills. The starting classes are just predefined starting skill/stat combinations.

Battle is turn-based and grid based. When in dungeons, caves, towns, and the like, it takes place on the regular map. Only when in the overworld does combat take place in a separate environment. Friendly units and foes alike take turns based on individual initiative, each with a set number of action points that can be used for movement, item consumption, attacking, and such. When a character runs out of action points, their turn is over for the round.

If that sounds mostly standard... yes, it is. Spiderweb Software has been making PC RPGs since the early/mid 90s and specializes in giving gamers who like tactical RPGs more of that classical kind of gameplay wrapped in interesting settings and stories. The Avernum setting itself is the real sell here, and it's a good one. The empire that rules the world above has been sowing fear and consolidating power by throwing any troublemakers or people suspected of being troublemakers into a barely liveable system of caves for decades. They've essentially fostered a nation of people that hates the empire. Now that Avernum has proven that it can strike at them from below, the empire is responding in force and apparently has the ability to chop Avernum up into more easily conquered chunks. Or is it the empire? Nobody knows.

This game's predecessor did a wonderful thing, narratively speaking. It started at the point where the party had literally just been tossed into Avernum. The characters knew no more of the setting than did the player, which made every question they asked feel natural, feel right. Even as the player was learning about the setting, so were the characters. Everyone subsists on tasteless mushrooms cultivated by wizards? That's not at all like back home for the characters, and it's (hopefully) not something any of us have to deal with, either.

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls doesn't have that advantage. Instead, however, it introduces the setting to new players with well written exposition scattered here and there as tiny bits inserted into the regular story. Players of the first game get little reminders of how things work in the same way. They also get to trek through familiar places which have not just changed as a result of the passage of time, but also the events of the war. It still doesn't feel forced, a testament to the quality of the writing.

I haven't played the original version of Avernum 2 or the previous game, Exile 2, upon which Avernum 2 was based (yes, this is a remake of a remake), so I can't tell truly long-time fans of Spiderweb Software what sets this version apart from the previous ones. I also can't recommend this game to folks who haven't enjoyed PC tactical RPGs in the past. For those who do enjoy them, however, or who like a robust setting they can get lost in, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is a good choice. For people worried about the tactical gameplay, there are multiple levels of difficulty from casual to very difficult, which means everyone should be able to find a comfortable challenge here.

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is available for Windows and Mac at a $20 price point on Steam, GOG, and other game distribution portals as well as directly from Spiderweb Software. The Steam version is on sale for 15% off for launch week. An iOS version is in the works and currently planned for an April release.

Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons goes indie RTSing on Steam

Creating a shiny RTS with proper AI, interesting units and 3D graphics is far from a simple (or cheap) thing, but developers Camel 101 have done exactly that with Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons.

It's a tactical real time game that wisely features Mechs and a game that looked so polished and beautiful I simply had to try. Despite a few hick-ups and a pretty brutal difficulty curve, the thing did eventually win me over with its lovely graphics, interesting plot and its huge variety of mechanics; despite the initial control frustrations.

Sticking with it though, reveals a well designed, demanding and thus highly rewarding game with a detailed and realistic combat system that works brilliantly. Yes, Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons has been designed for the hardcore virtual tactician and it's all the better for this.

Also, it will run on both Windows and Linux PCs.

Free Steam keys for Neverending Nightmares, Pushcat, Bix

IndieGames and FreekeyFridays bring you another set of free indie games. Freekeyfridays was created as a way to garner exposure for indies through giving away a mix of well-known indie games and up-and-coming titles.

This week's games are Neverending Nightmares (Steam, Windows,Linux, Mac), Bik (Steam, Windows, Mac, IOS, Android) and Pushcat (Steam, Windows, Mac).

There are two ways to win:

Five sets of codes will be given for the raffle. Enter here:

Three sets of codes will be given for this Twitter contest: What would be the best game that could be directly translated into a real life sport? (Follow @Freekeyfridays and #FKF75 with response to enter)

Neverending Nightmares

Bik

Pushcat

If you are a developer with an awesome game and want to be involved with Freekeyfridays, fill out this Form.

Freeware Pick: The Bear, the Cat, and the Rabbit (Rostok)

The Bear, the Cat, and the Rabbit is an odd one. It has the look and feel of old, isometric PC games and is as unforgiving in its challenge as classic point-and-click adventures.

In a world overcome by dust, you take control of the three eponymous characters, anthropomorphic animals each stranded in a separate part of the game's "map."

Your first goal in the game is to unite the three, a difficult task due to the constant sandstorms, not to mention the eerie way the land tends to loop, over and over again, with nothing but strange pillars and the same crushed boulders as landmarks.

Navigating out of one loop and into the next is the game's first "puzzle," but solving it isn't as straightforward as most games. There's more experimentation and repetition involved than simply piecing together A and B.

Give The Bear, the Cat, and the Rabbit a try for free on itch.io. You can also download it for Windows.

Persona 3 The Movie: #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream Getting Subtitled Western Release

Anime publisher Aniplex is bringing the second Persona 3 movie, Persona 3 The Movie: #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream, to North America.

Much like it did for the the first movie, Aniplex is importing Midsummer Knight's Dream to North America with subtitles as opposed to an English dub. Two Blu-ray versions will be available – the standard edition and collector's edition. Both will have the extended and theatrical version of the film, commentary, trailers, and commercials. The collector's edition will also include a soundtrack, box art by Persona character designer and animation director Keisuke Watabe, a 48-page art book (with a translation booklet), 10 Persona 3 stickers, and three key art illustration cards.

The movie released in Japanese theaters last summer and arrives in North America on Blu-ray March 11. The standard edition will be $60 to $75 depending on where you buy it, and the collector's edition will be $80 to $100.

For more on how to get your hands on the movie in March, head to Aniplex's website.

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For more on Midsummer Knight's Dream, head here.

[Source: Aniplex, via Siliconera]

Next Halo: The Master Chief Collection Matchmaking Update Will Be Available Soon

343 Industries is still polishing Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and the next update for online multiplayer should be available soon.

In an update posted yesterday, 343 Industries said the the next content update is currently undergoing testing and will be available in the next few days. This latest update will focus on user-interface, matchmaking, game-specific multiplayer and campaign, controls, and stability when it is available.

You can find the full list of updates here, which details small changes like, "Lowered the music volume level in multiplayer menus," and bigger updates like, "Fixed an issue in Halo 4 where players could equip the same weapon as their primary and secondary weapons."

In response to the online multiplayer issues that have plagued The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft is issuing a free month of Xbox Live gold to those affected by the problems. Players should also keep an eye out for the upgraded Halo 3: ODST, as well.

[Source: 343 Industries, via Polygon]

 

Our Take
Things have certainly smoothed for The Master Chief Collection, but I am glad to see 343 Industries is still committed to making sure the game performs as best it can.

The Best Free Games of the Week

What better way to spend a gloomy January weekend than indoors, in the warm, playing games that won't cost you a penny? This week: a good old-fashioned scary story, a world of wireframe and darkness, a game of multiple, endlessly unfolding Russian dolls, a hunky dude sucking a lolly and potions, potions most delectable and foul. Enjoy!

Beneath Floes by Kevin Snow, Patrick Bonaduce, Priscilla White, Mike LeMieux, Pinnguaq

Kevin Snow wrote the extraordinary The Domovoi, a lyrical hypertext story supported by exquisite artwork from Patrick Bonaduce. They're joined for Beneath Floes, among others, by Priscilla White, who creates an immersive, haunting soundscape here that will transport you bodily to the frozen North. It's a story of stories, of old folklore tales passed down between generations, and how they warp and shift on each retelling. True to that you get to shift the game a little yourself, putting your own spin on a cold, sad story that feels perfectly at home in these Winter months.

If you'd rather download Beneath Floes and play it offline, you can do so here.

Im Null by Devin Horsman, Robin Arnott, Zak Ayles

A fascinating MMO of sorts that plonks you in a wireframe world with a bunch of other players, each represented by a number and a vertical line. Its stark environment is a vast-seeming, purgatorial void where if you wander far enough you'll bump into something interesting or upsetting, be it the sound of a sad and desperate woman on the phone next to a model house, a fly sitting on an iPhone, a spooky forest or an equally spooky graveyard. Follow the power lines, your instincts or other players to each installation—this is a world that demands to be explored.

Entire Screen of One Game by Tom Murphy

I missed this Ludum Dare 'Entire Game on One Screen' game back in December, but it's been messing with my mind today courtesy of Paradise creator Devine Lu Linvega's Twitter account. As it says at the side of the screen, you can't win this game, but you can run and jump and admire the developer as the perspective is pulled out endlessly before you. Every few seconds, the block you're controlling, really the entire game transforms into another block in another platformy environment, and then another, and then another, until you can barely move for transparent Russian dolls. An impressive, and fun, technical feat.

Succulent by Robert Yang

“It's a guy in his underwear, standing in an abstract featureless void, sucking on some sort of long orange thing.” And yep, this is exactly as Robert Yang describes. Is that a thing you're interested in playing? It is quite suggestive, and a little creepy, but it's also funny and ridiculous, a bit like his previous Hurt Me Plenty.

Moderately hypnotizing video of the game in action below.

Cureator by Simon Weis and Zoltan Haller

An innovative take on Match-3 (there's also a bit of Diner Dash in there too, I feel) that asks you create potions for a bunch of warriors, mages and monsters, who bust into your lab asking for such. I mean, that is only fair, as it's your job. To create potions, you need to drag and mix certain coloured liquids together, before dropping the resulting bottle onto your client, to exchange it with them for a pile of sweet, sweet gold. There are a couple of rubs, so to speak: the fact that you only have four bottles to play around with, and that you require gold to add ingredients in the first place. With only a certain amount of plate-spinning allowed as you multitask orders, it's often only a matter of time before you run out of space or gold.

The random number generator that seems to determine the next colour stitched me up a few times, but this is a smart and charming take on familiar puzzle territory.

Koei Tecmo's Toukiden: Kiwami Dated For North America

The enhanced Vita/PS4 version of Koei Tecmo's popular Vita monster hunting game now has a North American release date.

On the PlayStation Blog, Koei Tecmo's Chin Soon Sun revealed the news. The game will be available both as a retail game and digitally for PlayStation 4 and Vita on March 31.

The game is a massively upgraded version of Toukiden: The Age of Demons for Vita, which was quite successful in Japan, allowing players to team up to tackle fearsome monsters. This new version contains the entire original story mode from the original, plus a new story mode that Koei Tecmo says is equal in length. There will also be a slew of enhancements, including new characters, new weapons, new co-op moves, and special mission types.

To get an idea what Toukide's anime-inspired story has in store, watch the trailer below.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

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Saints Row: Gat out of Hell stars Shakespeare, Vlad the Impaler

Famed wordsmith, baldy, and legendary comedian William Shakespeare is to star in Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, the standalone expansion to the fourth game that's both free and very cheap on Steam for the next 10 hours or so. Look, there he is in the above, infomercial-style trailer, along with his bessie mates Blackbeard and Vlad the Impaler.

A reminder: Gat out of Hell takes the Saints down South (no, not to Australia), in a plot that sees Johnny Gat and Kinsie rushing to prevent the President—i.e. you in the previous game—from being wedded to Satan's daughter against his will. Because that's the kind of series Saints Row is now. It's also a bit like Frozen, amazingly enough:

Gat out of Hell releases next week, on the 20th, alongside an upgrade of Saints Row IV for the PS4 and Xbox One. Not that you need that, of course—you can pick up IV and all its DLC (minus Gat) on Steam for peanuts.

Richard Cobbett wrote about Saints Row's marvellous reinvention for his Critical Paths column yesterday.

European Ship Simulator setting sail on 20th February

I see the appeal of Euro Truck Simulator 2, but for me, there's something far more exciting to the prospect of being out on the water, fiddling with levers and dials in some manner of ship. Some manner of ships feature in the (of course) prosaically named European Ship Simulator, which has just been given a release date of 20th February. Control a giant hulking ferry! Or a tiny fishing boat or speedboat! Or several other ships in between. Take on missions, battle the elements, or simply lark about pretending you're Robert Shaw in Jaws. I'll be doing the last one, obviously.

European Ship Simulator is already on Early Access, and I see a lot of positive reviews. I just love games where you can swivel around and admire the cockpit/bridge/dashboard etc, and as the above video reveals, Excalibur's latest sim should be pretty good for that. Here's a pretty promising feature list:

• Mission Editor Create missions triggering changes in wind speed, weather effects and objectives
• Mission Mode Play through individual challenges and improve your time and score to earn rewards
• Ships Includes a fishing boat, container ship, tanker and ocean cruiser
• Ports Calais, Dover, Rostock, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gibraltar
• Weather A variety of ever-changing weather conditions from bright, sunny days to dark, stormy nights with lightning and sound effects
• Physics – fight against realistic water physics to maintain control of the vessel

There doesn't appear to be any free-roaming, unfortunately, but then you can't have everything. You know, unless you're Rupert Murdoch or whoever, in which case you probably already own all the boats and all the islands you could ever sail them to. For the rest of us, European Ship Simulator should do nicely—as long as it's any cop, obviously.

Thanks, Blue's News.

Hear Classical Piano Arrangements Made Up On The Spot From The Last Of Us, Castlevania, And Final Fantasy

Talented pianist Sonya Belousova continues to churn out impressive piano arrangements of familiar video game themes she's never heard before.

Belousova doesn't appear to be much of a gamer, evidenced by her general unfamiliarity with the assorted video games themes she's tasked with playing, but it doesn't matter – she only needs to hear a little bit of a track to return an impressive re-imagining of basically any theme. Below you will find some of her most recent works.

Castlevania - Bloody Tears
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Final Fantasy VI - Cele's Theme
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The Last of Us
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For more form Belousova, follow the links for her Tetris and Street Fighter themes, as well as more on the spot arrangements.

Thanks to Jonathan Martin for the news tip!

Zelda Producer Eiji Aonuma Walks Through 15 Minutes Of Majora's Mask 3DS

It's all in Japanese, but if you want to see lots of footage of the Majora's Mask remake, you're in luck.

In the video, Aonuma explores Clock Town, which has some rearrangements here and there from the original Nintendo 64 release.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

During last week's Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed a new trailer for Majora's Mask, a release date, and special Majora's Mask version of the New 3DS. The game will be available on February 13.

[Via: Siliconera]

Sony Online's H1Z1 Hits Steam Early Access

You can now get an early look at Sony Online's upcoming zombie survial multiplayer game.

H1Z1 is now available as a Steam Early Access title. There are two tiers of Early Access: Standard ($19.99) and Premium ($39.99). Standard gets you three event tickets, two crates, and one crate key, while Premium gets you 25 event tickets, three airdrop tickets, six crates, four crate keys, and an Aviator Hat crafting recipe.

SOE is very keen on getting feedback from players during this early access. It's posted a blog entitled "What You Can Expect From H1Z1 Early Access," which is a pretty detailed – and frank – evaluation of the game and its most notable flaws and areas for improvement at present time.

The developers are also encouraging Early Access players to leave feedback about the game on the game's official Reddit and the offiicial H1Z1 forums.

The H1Z1 Early Access is now available on Steam.

SOE has also released a new Early Access trailer for the game, which you can watch below.

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Our Take
There's no denying how popular Early Access passes are in video games today. On the one hand, it's great that developers are actively involving the community in the development process. It's obviously something gamers want. Still, the more cynical part of me thinks companies have basically just convinced everyone to pay to be in their public betas. Oh well, it's your dime.