The internet-based gaming platform Steam shall be hosting once again the highly-anticipated launching of the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game “Otherland” when it formally launches on August 26.
Based on Tad Williams’ cult science fiction books of the same title, “Otherland” was supposed to be released in 2010 but was pushed back in 2012.
In 2012, it was further pushed back. Finally, after five years from the time it was supposed to come out, “Otherland” has been confirmed to be released on Steam as part of an Early Access title on August 26, reports Eurogamer.
Polish game developer Drago Entertainment has built the rebooted “Otherland” game using the Unreal game engine.
Apparently, the release of the game was delayed because “Otherland” transitioned from one developer to another. The game’s previous developer was the now-defunct RealU before it was taken over by the current game developer Drago Entertainment. The Polish game developer has already released two beta tests of “Otherland” and it is optimistic that it will not have any major problems with the game.
“Otherland” will be released initially in Early Access, but its full release would be made by Drago Entertainment by early next year.
An online gaming platform
Unlike the gaming consoles which are physically within the reach of gamers, Steam is merely a software. It is an internet-based digital distribution platform developed by gaming company Valve Corporation offering digital rights management, multiplayer, and social networking.
The software offers free and available application programming interface called Steamworks which developers can use to integrate many of Steam’s functions, including networking and matchmaking, in-game achievements, micro-transactions, and support for user-created content through the Steam Workshop feature of their respective products.
Steam provides the user with installation and automatic updating of games on multiple computers and community features such as friends lists and groups, cloud saving, and in-game voice and chat functions.
The software was initially developed for use on Microsoft Windows, the OS X, and the Linus operating system. It also has a limited-function version for the PlayStation 3 console. A chatting and shopping application has also been developed for iOS and Android mobile devices.
As of early this year, there are over 4,500 games available through Steam which has 125 million active users worldwide. As of June 2015, Steam reported that it has had as many as 10 million concurrent users all across the globe.
A close look at three new more games on Steam
Kotaku took a closer look at three of the latest games on Steam and made a review of it, nor for anything but just to give Steam gamers an overview of what they can expect or totally just shun it in favor of the thousand other games in the platform.
The first one is “Energy Hook” which is a game about swinging and soaring from the person who designed the web-slinging stuff in the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the Gamecube, which is no other than “Spider-Man 2.”
Unlike the game in the consoles, “Energy Hook” on Steam is just way off. The physics are all over the place and there is very little collision detection. However, the fact that the game is still in Early Access means that that its game developer is still working on fine-tuning it, which the game badly needs at this point.
The second game is “Ubermosh” which is more of a theme than a gameplay element. It is basically an arcade game with a twin-stick shooter with a no-nonsense punk soundtrack and a cool bullet-cutting mechanic, making it fun and great. But just like “Energy Hook,” the game does not have meat on it, just plain bones.