Savage Moon – Coming this Fall to PSN [PlayStation.Blog]

Savage Moon [USK, thanks everyone who sent this in!]

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul [S2 Games]

S2 Games Announces Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Beta

Highly Anticipated Sequel to Acclaimed PC Game Now in Testing Phase

(Rohnert Park, CA) - October 4, 2007 - Independent game developer S2 Games announced today that Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, the sequel to its first PC title, Savage: The Battle for Newerth, has entered its beta testing phase and is nearing launch.

Testing of the online multiplayer game, which is a unique combination of three different game genres (real-time strategy, first-person shooter, and role-playing game), is open to gamers who pre-ordered the game. The final version will be available to the general public once the beta testing has been completed and S2 is satisfied with the quality of the gameplay experience.

"After much hard work, we are proud to say that Savage 2: A Tortured Soul is now ready for beta testing," said Marc DeForest, co-founder and lead designer, S2 Games. "As an independent developer and publisher we have the luxury of creating and changing our own deadlines based on when we reach individual milestones. This project is really a labor of love for us so we want it done the right way."

Loyal fans of the original Savage and new players alike will be impressed with Savage 2's new advancements and enhancements. The game will include a bevy of new features, including the ability to control spells while maintaining the action nature of the game with "snap casting," fully automated clan administration through the Savage 2 Clan League (SCL), and features that records and saves every single game of Savage 2, match stats summary, and persistent player statistics. All the information for every game ever played is stored in a huge, searchable, online archive, thus allowing players to download, watch, rate, and comment on these matches while also reviewing statistics for each game. Additionally, the game is being simultaneously designed for Linux Client users.

S2 Games will be self-publishing and independently distributing the game. The game client can be downloaded anytime, anywhere, on any PC for free. The client can be used to watch replays, play the tutorial, practice modes, and LAN games with absolutely zero obligations (no account necessary). Users may also create an account to have 3 hours of free online competitive gameplay with some feature restrictions. Those wanting unlimited online play with automated statistics and use of persistent items pay $29.99USD via the game client or the S2 Games website.

When playing the beta, S2 Games wishes to impart to its fans to remember that they will be playing an unfinished version of the game. Users should expect to encounter certain bugs and other issues inherent in any beta version of a game. The purpose of beta testing is to help S2 Games find and correct these problems so that they are not encountered after the game's launch.

For more information on Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, please visit http://savage2.s2games.com.

I've seen a lot commercials in my time, but a commercial for a commercial? OK, so The Wizard was a movie, but it's widely regarded as being a ninety minute commercial for Nintendo which, essentially, it was. Now I invite you to set your Way Back Machines to 1989 and enjoy the awesome Nintendo thrill ride that is The Wizard. Free Nintendo Pocket Power Magazine while supplies last... awesome!

The formula worked to an extent, but there were several flaws in the game that kept it from being all that the concept promised. During the meeting, S2's Jason Morales and Jesse Hayes detailed how they attacked the problems of the first title and improved upon it while creating the upcoming sequel, Savage 2: A Tortured Soul.

Assholes: The Online Plague

One of the main issues I had with the original game was one that plagues many online games. Assholes. Nothing can ruin a good online game like griefers, and doubly so in Savage, where communication between the commander and the troops on the field is paramount to success. The original title gave the role of commander to whoever hit the button first. As you can probably imagine, there are some really fast jerks out there. When the first message you receive from the guy running the show is, "Dance my little puppets! Dance for me!" you know you're in trouble.

Savage 2 addresses the problem of griefers with a two-pronged solution. First off, commanders are now voted for instead of leaving it up to reflexes. It makes sense, since you'd ideally want the guys with good reflexes out on the field in the first place. As for general griefers, S2 is implementing a karma system, where good players will accrue good karma over time, leading up to minimum karma score servers, where you can be relatively sure you're playing with folks who care about winning and teamwork over how many times they can type the word 'poop' in five minutes.

The Learning Curve

Learning a new online game can be a truly humiliating experience. While the rest of the team takes up the task like a well-oiled machine, you're left sitting there, trying to figure out which buttons do what. There is a certain breed of veteran gamer that enjoys teasing, ridiculing, and downright insulting players without as much skill as they supposedly have. I experienced this when I first launched Savage the first, having picked up the game months after release. It was so bad that I nearly didn't play again after the first time.

Luckily for me, Savage 2 is coming with a single player tutorial that familiarizes players with the game controls and interface, allowing players to test the waters before diving right in to a full-fledged online battle, as well as a practice mode that lets you take units for a spin in battles against NOC opponents. On top of that, players will be able to utilize experience level matchmaking, ensuring that most or all of the people you play with are just as clueless as you are.

Power to the Players

The goal of the original game was to take an RTS game and make it completely player driven, and for the most part they succeeded, but then there were those pesky NPC workers, running around gathering resources. S2 has done away with those completely this go round, making resource gathering the job of the players on the fear. Don't worry though...instead of running back and forth endlessly, the player only needs build a collector at a resource point to get things started, and then defend them of course. Players are also fully responsible for building new structures now, which leads me back to...

Resources and Decay

In Savage 2, buildings now require upkeep to keep them in working order. As long as the gold keeps flowing, your buildings will keep producing. Once the upkeep begins to falter, the buildings begin to decay. This new mechanic essentially prevents turtling, or keeping all of your forces at the base not to win, but to keep the other team from doing so. Now your enemy just has to take your resource points and wait, adding a whole new strategy element to the game.

Putting the Soul in A Tortured Soul

Savage 2 introduces a new race, playable by both sides of the conflict, called the Hellbourne. As players kill NPCs and members of the opposing team, they will gain souls. Your side must first wrest a "Scar" from high-level demon guards, and then build a sacrificial shrine atop the scar. Players can then spend souls to become super-powerful Hellbourne units, capable of making even the most stalwart of units soil their britches.

Community is Key

Any completely online game thrives or dies based on the strength of its community, and S2 plans on treating its already fiercely loyal community right. On top of the expected stat-tracking for players and clans, there will be a fully automated tournament / ladder system integrated with the game, as well as custom website tools to allow clans to have their own highly customizable web pages. What I found most exciting was their intention to have the data from any game of Savage 2 played available for download. While I have to repeat that this is something they really want to do and not a confirmed feature, it would be an invaluable tool from the standpoint of guild recruiting, strategy building, or simply learning how the game is played from the POV of a more experienced player.

The Way A Sequel Should Be Done

I'm extremely excited about the potential of Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, mainly because every single gripe I had regarding the original game has been completely done away with. It is a textbook example of how to make a successful sequel. Take what people loved from the previous game, fix what they hate, and then bring in new ideas that serve to enhance gameplay without changing it completely. Michael Fahey

S2 Games - Savage 2 Website, free download of Savage 1

What happens when some genius Hollywood exec decides to take the story of 'Rain Man' and apply it to video games? Ah, The Wizard. It's just so bad. And we don't mean that as an 80's style slang term for 'good'.

Up until now, it's only been available on crusty VHS tapes in the damp, smelly backs of Goodwill stores. But come August 22, 2006, it'll be unleashed on DVD. Let's just pray for a Fred Savage commentary track. "Ha, this right here is about the time I first got to third base with Jenny Lewis! Ah! Memories!"

Amazon.com's offering a pre-order for $11.19. It's probably not worth even that, but rounding down for inflation, that's practically free. Florian Eckhardt

The Wizard [Amazon]

Hey radical dudes! Dust off those Powergloves. 1Up brings news of the most important DVD release of our era. The Wizard will be released on August 29th on digital disc. The campy classic starred a young Fred Savage (he'll always be young in my book) as he, his half-brother and a run-away hitchhike to a game tourney in California. Along the way, they encounter a very special peripheral that merits its own catch phrase: "I love the Powerglove. It's so bad."—Brian Ashcraft

More Here [1Up]