Sam & Max 202: Moai Better Blues and Hard to be a God may have been the more high profile demos to hit FileFront this week, but we also received quite a bit more than usual. As with patches, nothing could have been more popular this week than the latest ones for WoW, Crysis, or Prey. Within all of these big name games, some others trickled in as well and I have listed them below.

Demos

• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men: Eidos Interactive has released a playable demo featuring the Retomoto Tower mission, also playable in co-op.
• Ghost in the Sheet: Ghost in the Sheet is a comedy adventure game of supernatural proportions. Become a ghost and master your new paranormal skill set to unravel the secrets of your life-after-death adventure! Mystery, intrigue, comedy and adventure await…aren’t you just dying to play?
• Evochron: Renegades: StarWraith 3D Games has released a new demo for Evochron Renegades, a freeform first person 3D space-sim.
• Lucky Luke: Go West!: Atari’s Lucky Luke: Go West! is an action platform game based on the adventures of legendary animated cowboy Lucky Luke in the forthcoming full-length animated feature film ‘Go West!’.

For more demos click here.

Patches

• Monster Jam: Updates game to v1.01.
• Depths of Peril: A beta patch has been released updating Depths of Peril to v1.006.
• Aurora – The Secret Within: BluMiAl Studios has released a patch which adds Windows Vista compatibility.

For more patches click here.

 

For months, we have been reporting news regarding Akella’s Hard to be a God, and while the slated December release date came and went without any word from the developers, some of us were starting to get a bit concerned. Well, I was anyway. Yesterday, Akella sent us the English demo for the game and I was finally able to get a taste of what the game is offering. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Hard to be a God, I will give you the basic rundown.

Hard to be a God is a non-linear RPG for the PC with several story branches and 4 endings depending on the main character’s in-game behavior. One of the gameplay features is the interference of two epochs in the game universe – the medieval and the alternative future. This provides the peculiar variety of different weapons and armors; from swords and bows to mini-guns, from full plates to force fields and equipment-like binoculars and night vision goggles at characters’ disposal. The standard RPG equipment “doll” is amplified with slots for swords, shoulder belts and hidden weapon scabbards on wrists and arms. The events in the game take place in a universe depicted in the novel of the same name, written by the Strugatsky brothers. But the storyline of the game doesn’t repeat what’s happening in the book, but rather continues it. The action in the game takes place about two years later after the events described in the novel. Hard to be a God is a third-person-view game featuring dynamic combat, many weapons and fighting techniques and also a well thought-out and diverse role-playing system. Also, special attention has been paid to in-game dialogs and the storyline.

Ok, now that you have been reintroduced to the game, I will give you my impression of the demo.

Read the full article

It has been a while since Hard to be a God has been mentioned, but with the December release date just right around the corner, our friends at Akella sent us a batch of new screenshots to get your interest piqued once again. As you can see from these fresh assets, there are multiple options to tear your way through the obstacles in becoming a god– you can negotiate for a peaceful solution, sneak to disarm and take advantage of a favorable situation, or just jump in and start hacking and slashing your way through to vitctory.

With a non-liner storyline with up to 5 endings, real-time combat, a wide dialouge tree, free movement through locations with random encounters and sci-fi technologies instead of the traditional magic system popular with RPGs, Hard to be a God is definitely not going to be your run of the mill hack and slash. The interference of medieval and alternative future epochs in the game universe along with simulation of independent life of of the game’s population, this interactive gameworld decides how the hero develops during the course of game and the game also develops around a character.

But you know what? We have told you all of this before in our previous posts, and heard about specific game elements in our interview with lead designer Stephan Vakhtin. So, if you want to learn more, click on those links and check back with us later on in the year as I am sure we will have much to discuss when Hard to be a God is released. Hopefully we will have a game review for you as well – enjoy the new screens.

Back in June, Jonathan told you about the new RTS game from Black Sea Studios called WorldShift. The developers were kind enough to send us some new screenshots of the game, and along with these new assets comes the news that they now have publishers. RTL Games under their label Black Inc., will publish WorldShift across the globe, except for in Russia where it will be published by our friends at Akella (Hard to be a God) and Bulgaria where Black Sea Studios will self-publish.

The developers of WorldShift have also added two new Human units to the game, these being Judges and Rippers.

For storyline and more screens, keep reading after the jump.

Read the full article

There are new screens up for the upcoming hack n’ slasher from Akella, called “Hard to Be a God.” We’ve been following this game for the past couple of months, and it still looks to deliver an interesting twist on a tried-and-true formula. The story, based on a novel by the Strougatsky brothers, revolves around an agent in the future who is sent to a planet that is much like Earth, except it is stuck in medieval times. What this means in terms of gameplay is that, instead of the usual magic powers in most RPGs, you’ll instead have different technological gadgets and weapons at your disposal. Hopefully we’ll get to see how this all comes together when the game ships later this year.

Hard to be a God is a new RPG from Akella (Tales of Pirates) slated for release sometime in December, and recently we here at Gaming Today were given the opportunity to speak with Hard to be a God lead designer Stephan Vakhtin. This interesting RPG is not going to be your average hack and slash or dungeon crawler, but something more in the realm of science fiction at its most intriguing.

GT: Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell them a little bit about Hard to be a God.

Stephan Vakhtin: Hello! My name is Stephan Vakhtin, and I am the leading designer of project Hard to be a God. Well, Hard to be a God is both a hack’n’slash and role-playing game. The events in the game take place in a universe depicted in the novel of the same name, written by the Strugatsky brothers. But the storyline of the game doesn’t repeat what’s happening in the book, but rather continues it. The action in the game takes place about two years later after the events described in the novel. Hard to be a God is a third-person-view game featuring dynamic combat, many weapons and fighting techniques and also a well thought-out and diverse role-playing system. Also, special attention has been paid to in-game dialogs and the storyline.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Read the full article

Hard to be a God is a non-linear RPG for the PC with several story branches and 4 endings depending on the main character’s in-game behavior.One of the gameplay features is the interference of two epochs in the game universe – the medieval and the alternative future. This provides the peculiar variety of different weapons and armors – from swords and bows to mini-guns, from full plates to force fields – and equipment like binoculars and night vision goggles at characters’ disposal. The standard RPG equipment “doll” is amplified with slots for sword shoulder-belts and hidden weapon scabbards on wrists and arms.

Features:

**A medieval universe and non-linear scenario based on the science-fiction novel, Hard to be a God, published in 1964, by the Soviet writers Arcady and Boris Strougatsky.
**A role playing game cleverly combining, adventure, espionage and science-fiction.
**A real and living world thanks to an advanced NPC system.
**Encounters of great depth: the attitude toward the hero changes considering the clothes he is wearing and his appearance, opening up a wider range of dialogues and leading to different possible results.
**A climatic change system featuring day/night alternation.
**More than 200 types of weapons and 200 types of armours. Access to futurist technology replaces the magic system.
**Journey throughout the Empire on horse back and fight.

Hard to be a God will be available fromAkella for the PC in December.

MORE SCREENS

Hard to be a God E3 2007 Trailer
Awhile back, we reported on the first details and a website for the upcoming RPG, Hard to Be a God. Now we have a new trailer, which may look like it’s based in a fantasy world, but it’s really science fiction. The story, based on a novel by Soviet writers Arcady and Boris Stroutgatsky, revolves around an alternate reality where two planets similar to Earth exist. One planet evolves into a technologically advanced society, while the other somehow remains stalled in Medieval times. In the game, you’ll play an agent sent to find out why. You’ll also have access to some futruristic technology to help you out, though you’ll have to try and keep it hidden from the locals. Granted, it looks like a fairly typical RPG, but the very untypical storyline could make this one stand out a bit.

 

The Hard to be a God website is up. Jonathan did a great job of giving the background information on this upcoming hack and slash RPG. The website is well designed and contains a wealth of information on the backstory, weapons and characters of the game. Its so nice to go to a newly opened website and find actual content. The only word of warning: Akella is not a native English speaking or writing company so be prepared for some bad phrasing that is sometimes even a bit funny to read.

There are some new screens up for the upcoming hack ‘n slasher, Hard to Be a God. The game may look like it takes place in a fantasy world, but it’s actually science fiction. It’s based off a novel by Soviet writers Arcady and Boris Strougatsky that was published in 1964. The story deals with an alternate reality, where a second planet very similar to Earth exists, called Arkanar. Following a great war however, the two planets cut off all ties to each other developed seperately. Somehow, Earth evolved into a highly-advanced, futuristic society, while Arkanar’s development stopped at around medievel time. You’ll play an agent sent from Earth to Arkanar to investigate the cause of their slowed evolution. You’ll have to keep your futuristic gadgets hidden though, in order to avoid being discovered by the locals. Too much attention might lead to you being revered as a god (hence the odd-sounding title).

So how will this story affect the gameplay? Well for one, the usual magic spells found in fantasy games will be replaced by futuristic technology. While you’ll have the usual medievel weaponry at your disposal — swords, bows, etc. — you’ll also be able to use miniguns and force fields. The game will follow a non-linear path as well, with different outcomes for each scenario. For example, people will react differently to you depending on how you’re dressed and how you act. You’ll also be able to ride and fight on horseback.