THQ TO ACQUIRE BIG HUGE GAMES

You know gang, I don't know how to feel about this next bit of news… according to Gamasutra, THQ has entered into negotiations to buy Big Huge Games. Now I know that the two have been working closely together since March of 2007 or so on some unnamed RPG, but I still have to say that I get an uneasy feeling about this one. I don't know, maybe I was just hoping to see Brian Reynolds and company come back to the Rise of Nations franchise following 2006's somewhat weakly received Rise of Legends.

One thing of interest in the article is the statement that it was actually a new intellectual property Big Huge was working on that prompted THQ to make an offer;

"We asked what else Big Huge is bringing to the table, given that one of THQ's stated goals in addition to increasing its internal development capabilities, is to expand its portfolio of owned IP.

He replied, "I would say that the RPG was enough, but what definitely sealed the deal for us on both sides is the next one. It's more innovative, more unique, and we just felt like it requires both long-term thinking from both sides. But also from THQ's perspective, it showed us that this is a studio that can gen some new concepts. Anything else coming out of Big Huge is icing on the cake."" – Gamasutra

Now being as big a fan of Big Huge and Brian Reynolds as I am, I've got to say that the idea of some new concept coming out of the studio is more than enough to snag my attention. I remember talking with a good friend of mine back when Rise of Legends came out that while the game made wasn't the best RTS title I had ever seen, it would certainly be a great backdrop for a massive multiplayer online game.

I almost wonder if this new, long-term game would be just such a thing. Certainly, the profits coming to Activision Blizzard from World of Warcraft are more than enough to make anyone consider trying to grab a piece of the pie. Admittedly, there's been nothing to make me think that's whats going on beyond that conversation – in fact, I'm not even sure if the "Rise" IP is actually held by series developer Big Huge or publisher Microsoft Games.

Getting back to the matter at hand, there is one (hopefully) bit of good news to be found here – according to the Gamasutra article, THQ currently plans on taking a hands-off approach to managing the company. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out in the end.

• THQ – Company website
• Big Huge Games – Company website
• THQ Acquires Rise of Nations, Catan Developer Big Huge Games – Gamasutra
• THQ to Acquire Leading Developer Big Huge Games – Official press release

RISE OF LEGENDS $34.99 AT CIRCUIT CITY

Intrepid reader drkphreakx let us know that this weeks sale circular from Circuit City has Rise of Legends listed as on sale for $34.99. Check the Circuit City website for your local circular, and it if it’s on sale, head on down and pick it up – I plan to. The sale is scheduled to last until the 20th, and there seems to be some type of bug with the online ordering at Circuit City’s website, which results in the game not appearing with the sale price in your basket. Hopefully they’ll get that fixed soon. Click here to head on over to Circuit City’s site. Big thanks to drkphreakx.

RISE OF LEGENDS NOW IN STORES

Big Huge Games follow up to Rise of Nations and Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots should now be in stores. If you’re a fan of RTS games, it should be high on your list already, if it’s not, go download the demo from the official Rise of Legends website.

New Rise of Legends demo available

Second Rise of Legends demo now available!

Good as their word, Big Huge has released a second demo of their upcoming RTS game Rise of Legends. I’m still in the download queue over at Fileplanet, so I haven’t seen if it runs a bit smoother than the early beta demo. Hopefully they’ve added the ability to zoom out a little further than you could in the last demo.
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4/29/06
I just finished my first game with the new build of the demo. While the zoom out maximum is pretty much the same, the demo has a much tighter feel to it and moved along at a much faster pace. Definitely an improvement from demo #1.

4/30/06
The more I play this new demo, the more I’m liking Rise of Legends. The “Battle for the Core” map allows a much better zoom out than the previous maps, and the sheer variety of unique units makes it appear that every map is going to need it’s own strategy. Bottom line? while I’d like to see the game handle huge numbers of units better and the AI still seems a bit “off” when your units are defending an area on their own, Rise of Legends is starting to look like a worthy successor to Rise of Nations once again.