10 to Watch
ORC ASSAULT DEVELOPER GHOST MACHINE PUBLISHER GHOST MACHINE DUE 2016 www.ghostmachinevr.com
Orc Assault promises to be an animation-inspired tower defence game in which you have to survive through various waves of invasion, while researching sophisticated tower systems to take down your Orc foes. If things aren’t going to plan you can switch to first person mode and unleash heck with a machine gun. You can also enter the world in virtual reality via the Oculus Rift headset to plan out your strategy in a fully immersive way.
LIFE OF ROME DEVELOPER BREAKOUT STUDIO PUBLISHER BREAKOUT STUDIO DUE 2016
www.lifeofrome.com
Soon you will be able to don a toga and explore the streets of ancient Rome in an MMORPG. Life of Rome will be a third and first-person experience set in 320AD Rome. Players can choose to be Roman or Rebels and gameplay will focus on player-driven politics and a faction system. History buffs will be pleased to know that the in-game world will feature a 50km2 representation of Rome and its surrounding villages, including Rebel camps and Roman forts.
ORIENTAL EMPIRES DEVELOPER SHINING PIXEL STUDIOS PUBLISHER ICEBERG INTERACTIVE DUE APRIL 2016
www.orientalempires.com
Oriental Empires is the brainchild of Bob Smith who worked as developer of the Total War series and Armada 2526. It’s a 4X strategy based on the rise of China, combining the best elements of empire building with epic tactical battles on huge maps with hundreds of soldiers. As well as 16 different factions there will be diplomacy, an elaborate tech tree and players will have to consider cultural, philosophical and religious developments to expand their empires.
AFTERSHOCK DEVELOPER INDIE PUBLISHER FOCUS STUDIOS DUE AUGUST 2016
www.aftershockthegame.tk
We really liked the parkour in Mirror’s Edge so the announcement that this open world MMOFPS would also have parkour got our attention. Focus Studios have just switched from Unity to using the Unreal 4 engine which they say is “better optimised to making a survival game.” They’ve also included dynamic looting, basebuilding and are planning to include land, sea and air vehicles and moving AI missions.
TANZIA DEVELOPER ARCANITY INC PUBLISHER ARCANITY INC DUE 2016
www.playtanzia.com
Tanzia will be an old-style, single player RPG with MMORPG-like controls for movement and itemisation. Videos show a 3D world full of magic and monsters and modern tech, which should make for an interesting combination. You play a shaman who must save your home of Tanzia from being overrun by ancient evil. There will be a main questline and an open combat system where players will be encouraged to experiment by combining all kinds of dazzling spells.
BLOCK’HOOD DEVELOPER PLETHORA- PROJECT LLC PUBLISHER PLETHORA- PROJECT LLC DUE 2016
www.plethora-project.com/blockhood
In 2012 Mojang and the United Nations launched Block by Block – a project which proposed to use Minecraft for the development of urban spaces. Block’hood is another building simulator that could be used the same way. Players are in charge of a library of 60+ building blocks and have to build a thriving urban neighbourhood. It sounds simple, but each block has inputs and outputs and if the combination of blocks is wrong, your urban dream may end up slumsville.
MODBOX Developer ALIENTRAP publisher ALIENTRAP Due 2016
www.alientrap.org
The possibilities in Modbox might just be endless. It’s a VR physics sandbox where you start off with a blank space and then go about filling it with toys and contraptions to amuse yourself. You’ll be able to construct complex devices by touching items together, add levers and pistons to control them and use a bunch of projectiles and sports equipment to make things interesting. This could be the closest thing yet to creating a real Holodeck experience.
DUNGEON RUSHERS Developer GOBLINZ STUDIO publisher GOBLINZ STUDIO Due 2016
www.dungeon-rushers.com
A 2D turn-based RPG that will undoubtedly have fans because it has lots of dusty dungeons, armies of monsters and it supports cross platform multiplayer. But the dungeon editor that lets you build your own dungeons is sure to be the real prize. With it you can spread traps and add in any number of ghastly, creatures to protect your treasure and then let others have a go at conquering it.
GIANT Developer WRECK TANGLE GAMES publisher WRECK TANGLE GAMES Due MAy 2016
www.wrecktangles.com
Use your ‘Antdar’, a natural radar that all ants possess to help you find your next piece of candy in this ant simulator. Other ants will help you along the way, even building ant bridges to cross deadly drops. You’ll need to avoid other insects, vermin and pesky humans that want you squished. Don’t forget to pick up power ups as you go, because running faster or jumping higher may save your tiny life.
ASTRONEER Developer SYSTEM ERA SOFTWORKS publisher SYSTEM ERA SOFTWORKS Due 2016
www.astroneer.space
Astroneer is an indie offering in the genre of space exploration and aerospace industry. Technological advances have opened up interstellar travel to the far flung reaches of the galaxy and you must explore and exploit distant worlds while surviving random events. The planet visuals look like dreamscapes but don’t daydream too long because there’s important business to be done uncovering mysteries, discovering precious artefacts and precious materials all in a bid to become a wealthy baron of the stars.