“It’s not just a game any more,” said Jones. “We’ve got data centres, we’ve got all the hardware. But if you wrap it all up, it’s probably a good $30 million investment.”

“Basically, you have to buy the client. It’s a traditional game that you buy,” he said.

“We’re not going the normal ‘you have to subscribe to play the game every month’ route. What we haven’t said is which route we are going, and in some respects we’re still looking.”

Jones said the eventually model will be “flexible,” “unique” and interesting, and will allow the player to “get” why they have to spend money to cover Realtime Worlds’ investment.

Whereas Zeno Clash was a relatively short and linear experience, ACE Team are looking to create a more expansive experience for the sequel. “[It’s] what we would have liked to do in Zeno Clash if we would have had the resources,” said Bordeu. “We really think that an open ended world is fit for the world of Zenozoik. Many games offer you the possibility to roam around freely, which is a great feature. But when you travel through those worlds many have very familiar and recognizable environments. In Zeno Clash the woods don’t look like a regular forest with green trees and bushes.”

“In Zeno Clash the cities are just plain insane. I think it will be extremely entertaining to explore a world where you a never quite sure what you will encounter next.”

So not only is the world of Zeno Clash expanding, but ACE Team’s ambitions as developers too. Not content to remain modest, digitally distributed indie devs, the studio are hoping to bring Zeno Clash 2 to retail to consoles as well as PC. According to Bordeu, “The sequel will be developed from a different perspective than the first title. Zeno Clash is a short indie game, whereas with Zeno Clash 2 we want to build a larger title; a game that’s big enough to go retail on the consoles.”

A more refined, similar experience would be my preference for the sequel. Far too many indie games get ruined by ridiculous ambition. Hell, look at White Gold...

"This is a fantastic limited edition exclusive for hmv.com customers for what is, undoubtedly, the game of the year," said Jonathan Hayes, HMV commercial manager. "We're absolutely delighted that we can help make such a special premium product available to fans of the Modern Warfare franchise. "We've been working very closely with Activision to make Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 one of the biggest entertainment events of all time. With this great exclusive and the upcoming launch we hope that everybody gets to play this brilliant game."

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “WW2: Road to Victory has enjoyed a strong and positive community response, so we’re very happy to see this exciting new game system progress. WW2: Time of Wrath is a massive improvement over its predecessor and anyone who was interested in Road to Victory should definitely check Time of Wrath! In cooperation with Wastelands Interactive, we’re also pleased to offer WW2: Time of Wrath as a free upgrade to WW2: Road to Victory owners as a thank you to them for supporting this series.”

From the front lines in France and Russia to the deserts of North Africa and the airfields and convoys of Britain, the campaigns of World War II are yours to command in WW2: Time of Wrath! This turn-based grand strategy title, the highly improved and expanded sequel to WW2: Road to Victory, puts the player in charge of the political, economic and military decisions of one or more Axis or Allied nations, including minor nations. A diplomacy system based on political points allows you to sway possible allies to your side. An upgraded and expanded naval combat system includes fleet engagements, combat patrols, massive aircraft carriers, elusive raiders and U-Boats as well as a convoy system.

• City of Villains: Re-Review @ MMORPG.com [7.8/10]
• ArmA II @ Boomtown [7/10]
• The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition @ GameSpot [8/10]
• Street Fighter IV @ VideoGamer [9/10]

360 Reviews

• Fight Night Round 4 @ GamePyre [80%]
• Battlefield 1943 @ IncGamers [9.2/10]

Wii Reviews

• Hysteria Hospital @ IncGamers [2/10]

Previews

• Resident Evil 5 (PC) @ IGN
• WET (360) @ IncGamers
• Hearts of Iron III (PC) @ IGN
• Dragonica (PC) @ IGN

What are you all up to this weekend? Aion for me. Leave your server and character names in the comments if you want some +1s on the friends list! Have a great weekend everyone!

On this day...

In 1970 Ralph Baer first demonstrated his revolutionary television-based video game system to electronics manufacturer Magnavox. The company will ultimately negotiate an exclusive license with Baer to manufacture and distribute the system as the Magnavox Odyssey, which will go down in history as the world's first video game console.

Videogame Factoidals

• In Kakiriko village in Zelda: A link to the past (SNES) a portrait of Mario appears on a wall inside a house.
• Sonic the hedgehog is not only a fast hedgehog in a video game. Sonic Hedgehog is also a name of a gene on chromosome 7 of a human genome.
• In GTA San Andreas, KDST radio host is performed by former Guns 'n' Roses stage clown Axl Rose. He was paid in electricity vouchers.
• It's only humanly possible to press a button on a controller 16 times per second. This record was set by Toshuyuki Takahashi, a Japanese gamer.
• Super Mario World for the SNES took 29,000 hours to program.

I laughed, I cried... click the pic below for a chuckle.