Joystiq

Toy Soldiers storm PC today, DLC for XBLA's Toy Soldiers: Cold War tomorrow

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:40:00 EST

Signal Studios dropped several information bombs today about its Toy Soldiers series, with the first volley announcing that the original Toy Soldiers will be available on Steam and Games for Windows Live Marketplace today for $9.99. The Steam version will be 25 percent off during launch week.

Wait a minute, but Toy Soldiers on XBLA is $15! Not anymore. The XBLA version is receiving a permanent price drop to 800 MSP ($10).

Signal Studios, which notes the Toy Soldiers franchise has had over 1 million paid downloads, also announced DLC for last year's excellent co-op XBLA sequel, Toy Soldiers: Cold War. The "Evil Empire" and "Napalm" packs will expand the single-player and co-op campaigns, having players take on the role of the USSR or Americans.

"As a thank you to our fans, we are releasing a Multiplayer DLC compatibility pack for free," said Toy Soldiers: Cold War Game Director Jason Ilano. "This will give them a chance to join matches hosted by players that have the new content, play it, and decide if it is for them."

The dueling side expansions will be 400 MSP ($5) apiece and the launch codes are set to execute tomorrow, April 25.

Continue reading Toy Soldiers storm PC today, DLC for XBLA's Toy Soldiers: Cold War tomorrow

Toy Soldiers storm PC today, DLC for XBLA's Toy Soldiers: Cold War tomorrow originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011

Arthur Gies — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:00:00 EST

Battlefield 3
I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players.

At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3?

But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011

Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Halo: Reach DLC 50% off this week, Toy Soldiers DLC and more next week

JC Fletcher — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:40:00 EST

If all the talk of Halo Anniversary has put you in the mood for more modern fare, the Reach map packs are down to five bucks each this week. Alternately, if the release of Dead Rising 2: Off the Record gave you a hankerin' for Dead Rising 2 spinoffs, you'll find those half off next week, starting October 25. Dead Rising the first will also be On Demand for 25% off.

There's currently a "Shocktober" sale happening, including Castlevania Harmony of Despair for 600 Points ($7.50), and Alan Wake On Demand for just $10 more than retail. What a deal.

Racing fans can get a rolling staaaaaaaaaaaaaaart on Daytona USA on October 26, and check out the Toy Soldiers: Cold War "Napalm Pack" and A World of Keflings DLC on the same day. And in Avatar accessory news, it's finally happening on October 20.

KISS Avatar clothing.

Halo: Reach DLC 50% off this week, Toy Soldiers DLC and more next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: August XBLA sales favor Fruit Ninja, Toy Soldiers

Ludwig Kietzmann — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:25:00 EST

Specific Xbox Live Arcade sales data remains elusive, so we turn to Gamasutra's analysis of leaderboard information to gain a rough idea of how August's new games performed. Diminutive soldiers proved to be the most popular icons, followed by the ingenious pearing of Kinect and ninjas.

Tower defense and shooter mash-up Toy Soldiers: Cold War appears to have sold 160,734 units by August's end, earning 115,448 players during its first week at the conclusion of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion. Gamasutra notes that this rate is actually slower than the original game's launch, which was paired with last year's "Block Party" lineup.

Fruit Ninja Kinect had 148,507 players for the month -- impressive in the context of Kinect-only downloadable games. And while it might not be as financially lucrative, the game's sure to expand its total player base in September while it's offered as a free bonus to owners of The Gunstringer.

From Dust and Bastion continued to do well in August, while Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet registered 48,389 players by the end of the month. Microsoft announced a DLC add-on called "Shadow Hunters" earlier this month, but it appears to have missed its (tentative) release date.

Report: August XBLA sales favor Fruit Ninja, Toy Soldiers originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Toy Soldiers: Cold War review: Back in the USSR

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:15:00 EST

When I was a kid, I loved playing with LEGOs. I didn't have many of my own, but my best friend, Matt, had tons of them, what seemed like dozens of huge plastic tubs brimming with building blocks. Together, we would build jets, tanks, spaceships and more than a few robots. Our elaborate army bases would take up entire rooms. Naturally, half the fun of playing with our creations was pitting them against one another.

The epic battles, complete with sound effects -- including what I still believe to be an incredible vocal impression of a machine gun -- would rage for hours, until we had to go to bed or I had to go home. Of course, the explosions, glorious victories and bitter defeats weren't actually real. All of it was in our heads.

Had we the ability to project our imagination into something real, I think the end result would have looked something like Toy Soldiers: Cold War. Though our version probably would have had more pirates.

Gallery: Toy Soldiers: Cold War

Continue reading Toy Soldiers: Cold War review: Back in the USSR

Toy Soldiers: Cold War review: Back in the USSR originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

XBLA Summer of Arcade releases dated, buy them all for free Crimson Alliance

JC Fletcher — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:45:00 EST

We knew which games were going to be part of this year's XBLA "Summer of Arcade" -- but not when. Today, Microsoft shared that information, allowing you to plan your season around buying video games.

The Summer kicks off with the isometric action-adventure Bastion on July 20, for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15.) Eric Chahi's volcanic god game, From Dust, follows on July 27 for the same price. On August 3, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will be available, also for 1200 MSP. August 10 brings a refreshing virtual fruit salad in the form of Fruit Ninja Kinect, for 800 Points. Finally, Toy Soldiers: Cold War arrives on August 17 for 1200 Points.

Like previous years, there's a bonus for buying all five Summer of Arcade titles, and this year it's a free copy of Crimson Alliance when it's released on September 7 (for 1200 Points). Fruit Ninja Kinect's inclusion in the promotion means that you must have a Kinect in order to take advantage of the free bonus. That's a bummer of Arcade for those who haven't picked up Microsoft's camera yet.

XBLA Summer of Arcade releases dated, buy them all for free Crimson Alliance originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2011 kicks off July 20

David Hinkle — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:23:00 EST

Can't have summer without hot new Xbox Live games, right? Microsoft has announced its line-up for the warmer months, kicking off July 20 -- strangely, in an email and not, you know, during its E3 2011 press conference. Regardless, a total of five games will be on offer. No exact time table for the games was announced nor prices but, hey, at least we know what's coming.

The first game listed is Toy Soldiers: Cold War, a sequel to one of 2010's most lucrative Xbox Live Arcade games. The next game listed is Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Fuelcell's stylish UFO simulator, followed by Fruit Ninja Kinect, a flail-tastic port of Halfbrick's darling mobile (and soon, Facebook!) title. Next we have Bastion, a game we suggest you all should keep an eye on. Finally, rounding out the list of games is From Dust, Eric Chahi's god game. An impressive list, to say the least.

It's important to know that this is simply how Microsoft listed the games in its press email and not indicative of when each title will launch throughout the promotion.

Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2011 kicks off July 20 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Toy Soldiers: Cold War revealed, coming to PAX East [update: now with video!]

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Remember that XBLA game Toy Soldiers? With the ... umm ... toy soldiers? Well, apparently it's getting a sequel set in the 1980s. As revealed in an email missive from Microsoft regarding the publisher's PAX East showing, "Toy Soldiers: Cold War" features the same blend of first-person action and strategy of the first game, albeit with a new '80s angle. A press release that we received this afternoon further detailed the upcoming sequel, specifically noting that it'll feature co-op and new minigun-based mingames.

The publisher also revealed that Toy Soldiers: Cold War will be included among other playable titles at PAX East this coming weekend. Which is when PAX East goes down, in case you didn't know.

To date, the original Toy Soldiers has moved over 500K units, meaning that it'll make the jump to PC at some point in "late spring/early summer."

Update: We've added the game's trailer after the break and some more info to the post above.

Gallery: Toy Soldiers: Cold War

Continue reading Toy Soldiers: Cold War revealed, coming to PAX East [update: now with video!]

Toy Soldiers: Cold War revealed, coming to PAX East [update: now with video!] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments