Fortified From Clapfoot Games Releases Next Month

I should of thought something was up when Clapfoot Games started posting some videos about Fortified. The Toronto indie studio went ahead and announced their 1950's inspired tower defence game will be hitting Xbox One and Steam early next month. Check out the launch trailer below!

Watch the official launch trailer for Fortified, available worldwide on Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 for Xbox One and Steam. Invasion is imminent! Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/334210 Twitter http://www.twitter.com/clapfoot Facebook https://facebook.com/clapfoot

Fortified is an explosive strategy shooter where players will defend the Earth against a menacing Martian invasion in the 1950s. Play as one-of-four pulp inspired heroes as they fight swarms of terrifying robots with an arsenal of Cold War era weapons and experimental technology. Protect the city by building a network of defensive structures, commanding an army, and jumping into battle against dangerous sky scraping attackers. Fight for Earth alone or with up to four players for the ultimate co-op defense experience.

I got to play Fortified last year and really enjoyed my time, and was my most anticipated game for this year.  Fortified is out on Xbox One, and Steam on February 3rd. There is also a 15% discount if pre-ordering on Xbox One.

Fortified Developers Chat About Theme, and Infantry Powerup

Clapfoot games is busy working on Fortified, the third person tower defence game that I got to play last Fall.  They'e gone ahead and released and videos, one going over the Infantry power-up, and the other going over the 1950's theme of the game. Check them out below!

Coming to Xbox One and Steam in early 2016 Join us on our Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/334210 We take a deeper look into the Infantry system, one of the unique strategic options available in Fortified.

Coming to Xbox One and Steam in early 2016 Join us on our Steam page: http://goo.gl/fvsGqv See how 1950's pulp fiction and sci-fi inspired the look and feel of Fortified.

Fortified is currently planned for an early 2016 release on Xbox One, and Steam.  I really enjoyed what I played last year, and even named the game as my most anticipated title of 2016.  You can follow along with the developers on Twitter and FaceBook.

Mayor John Tory Plays Far Car Primal

Twitter follower Alex Gram let me know on Twitter that Mayor of Toronto John Tory swung by the Ubisoft Toronto offices to play Far Cry Primal.

Testing out soon to be released @UbisoftToronto game Far Cry Primal on tour of Ward 18 with Councillor @anabailaoTO pic.twitter.com/xgG9DqUn7p

— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 15, 2016

Checking out motion capture at @UbisoftToronto where they are digitizing the movement of a dog. pic.twitter.com/ry7caKnn6I

— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 15, 2016

Thanks to Mayor @JohnTory and Councillor @anabailaoTO for taking a tour of our studio #TOPoli #JunctionTO pic.twitter.com/AKPMJjZBe8

— UBISOFT TORONTO (@UbisoftToronto) January 15, 2016

Far Cry Primal is being assisted by Ubisoft Toronto, and is slated for release on February 23rd 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Explore A Charming Post-Apocalyptic Future In The Great Emoticon

Thanks to the fine gang at 13AM Games, I found out about The Great Emoticon, from the gang over at Hit That Switch.  You can check out a the trailer and some screenshots below:

"The Great Emotion is a top down action adventure game set in a charming post-apocalyptic future. Powered by the three prime emotional energies — glad, mad and sad — play the last Science Knight of an oddball world ruled by the nefarious and passive aggressive King of the Emoticons. Wielding a mysterious battery powered sword called the Battery Blade, switch between the three emotional energies to defeat all sorts of emotionally volatile enemies including glitchbugs, slombies, flutterscreens, and existentially-confused bots."

http://thegreatemoticon.com http://twitter.com/greatemoticon

This game looks awesome, and is currently slated for a 2016 release date on Wii U, Xbox One, and PC. Make sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Game of the Year - Fan Vote Results!

So for the last few weeks we have been doing a Game of the Year voting, and the results are in!  The Game of the Year voting resulted in the highest traffic for the site since it's creation, and I've posted the top five games below. Here are the official top Toronto developed games of 2015, as voted by you!

Number 5: Super Time Force Ultra (PS4/Vita)

The game was originally released in 2014, but a rerelease back in September on PlayStation resulted in getting the number 5 spot on our poll.  If you haven't already, make sure to check out this game on the large list of platforms its avaliable.  Be on the lookout for Below from the studio in 2016.

Number 4: Runbow (WiiU)

The 9 player party platformer was one on of the first games I ever wrote about, and was also one of the first I got to play before it came out. The game oozes with charm, and style, while boasting a lot of other indie characters.  Stay tuned to 13AM Games who are busy working away on DLC for the game.  The game is also on sale until January 14th.

Number 3: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (PC)

To be quiet honest, I didn't know this game was developed over in Ottawa.  Someone had put it in as a write-in and so I had to add it (the list was updated through out the week with other write-ins).  This multiplayer puzzle game pits one person in a room, with other players outside who have instructions for the specific part of the bomb to defuse.  You can pick it up on Steam right now, but make sure to check out the developers on Twitter.

Number 2: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Xbox One, PC)

Our runner up for this year was one that I recently started playing, and I can see why it made so many people's lists.  The game is great single player, but shines with a friend to play with.  The game is currently on sale on Steam, but you can also get the Xbox One edition as well.

Number 1: N++ (PS4)

Woot! A big congratulations to Metanet Software for winning this years Game of the Year voting on TorontoGameDevs.com.  N++, the ninja platformer that is easy to learn and difficult to master, will make you die over and over again, and apparently that's what people love about it.  While the developer is busy working on a PC version, make sure to pick up the PS4 version here.

Thank you to everyone who voted. As I mentioned, this resulted in the highest amount of traffic in the history of the site. Make sure to listen to our podcast, and follow us on Twitter. On to 2016!

TorontoGameDevs.com - Our Personal Game of the Year Picks

While the voting for the Game of the Year is going on right now, Bret, Dan and I sat down the other night to discuss our personal Game's of the Year. I've decided to list them here.

We did four categories. Game of the Year non-Toronto games, Most Anticipated Game for 2016 non-Toronto games, Game of the Year Toronto games, Most Anticipated Game for 2016 Toronto games. So drumroll please...

Game of the Year non-Toronto developed:

Dan: Witcher 3 - "I'm going with it cause...I haven't played, and I really really want to"

Bret: Super Mario Maker - "Sticking with Nintendo for life, we're going with Mario maker...I have to go with Mario, that's a game I've been waiting my entire life"

Steve: Fallout 4 - "It was the right game, at the right time."

Most Anticipated Game for 2016 non-Toronto developed:

Dan: Uncharted 4 - "I am so so ready for Uncharted 4, the final chapter"

Bret: The Legend of Zelda (Wii U/NX?) - "It's Zelda, wherever it's coming, Wii U, NX don't care...I cannot wait"

Steve: The Legend of Zelda, and NX news

Most Anticipated Game for 2016 - Toronto developed:

Dan: Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King - "It brings me back to my old school Link to the Past days, and I'm really excited for that"

Bret: Below - "I'm really looking forward to that one"

Steve: Fortified - "I actually got to play Fortified...really really fun solid multiplayer shooter"

Game of the Year - Toronto developed:

Dan: Runbow - "Well you know I got to go with my boys, 13AM boys, Runbow...I really enjoyed playing it"

Bret: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime - "Based off of purely visuals...I look forward to playing it still"

Steve: the Castle Game - "I can't sing enough praises about this game, I loved it"

Capybara Games' Below Delayed Until Next Year

Capybara Games, the developer behind Super Time Force, and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, has delayed Below to 2016.  The adventure game was originally planned for 2015 on Xbox One and PC, but with only a few weeks left in 2015 it seemed doubtful. President of Capybara Games, Nathan Vella spoke to Game Informer about the game:

When asked about Below's status, Capy's Nathan Vella told us: "Below is indeed coming in 2016. Past that I can’t share much, yet. We’ll certainly have a lot more content to show and news to share in the new year."

While certainly disappointing, delays are always bitter sweet.  In the meantime, you can always check out the first 18 minutes of game which we wrote about back in October.

Far Cry Primal Trailer Shown At The Game Awards

Having been announced a few months ago, Far Cry Primal was featured last night at The Game Awards 2015.  Far Cry Primal is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with some help from Ubisoft Toronto.  You can check out the full trailer below:

The world premiere of Far Cry Primal from the 2015 Game Awards. For more videos, news, previews and reviews, go to http://kotaku.com

Far Cry Primal takes you way, way back. Back to a time when man was an insignificant blip on nature’s radar and beasts were larger (and meaner) than those we know today. Back to a time when the simple ability to make a fire meant the difference between life and death. Back to the Stone Age. And today, during The Game Awards, Ubisoft announced the special Far Cry Primal Deluxe Edition, packed with bonus goodies and additional content. 

You can check out the full details of the Deluxe Edition on Ubisoft's blog.  Far Cry Primal will be out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 23rd, 2016.

Preview: Fortified From Clapfoot Games

Last week, my girlfriend and I got to play Fortified from Clapfoot Games, a third person shooter with tower defence elements.  We managed to play the first five levels of the campaign, and while there were bugs and oddities in the early build, the game is shaping up to be a solid offering from the Toronto developer.

Personally, I've never played a game like this. A mix of fast-paced third person shooting, and strategic tower defence building. The beautiful classic-looking comic book style cinematics introduce you to the 1950's USA where you must defend your rocket ship from waves of aliens.  You choose from four different classes, including the Agent who is sort of your machine gun/assault character, and Rocket Scientist who is your explosives expert.  Once this is done you can pick your loadout of weapons and tools. To start out you only have a few weapons at your disposal, but as levels progress you can upgrade your current weapons or buy new ones.

The first level starts off pretty slow and steady, while the designs of future levels include multiple spawn points, and paths for aliens and multiple rockets to protect, the first level is a small alleyway with a small route to the rocket where you can set up your turrets, mortars, snipers and more.  Your characters control tight, and with the lack of a cover mechanic, it's meant to be a fast-paced shooter which is does really well.  Placing your defensive items is quick and easy, and upgrade points let you customize your play-style.

Co-op was key for us. At first we had evenly spent our upgrade points to both include anti-air and ground attacks, while also splitting the map to have one person cover each side. After some mission failures, we decided to focus our points and spread our attacks evenly through the map which saw greater success. The game does include up to four player online co-op, and while the game doesn't have split-screen, two player online was really silky smooth.

Check out this brand new trailer for Fortified, the team defense shooter set in a retro sci-fi universe. Meet Fortified's four pulp inspired hero classes!

Fortified was a lot of fun and now one of my most anticipated games. It is currently slated for an early 2016 release on Xbox One (which is the build we played), and Steam. You can follow the developer on Twitter, and stay tuned to TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest on Fortified as we get closer to its release.