Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that Gauntlet will be reborn as a new action RPG this summer, coming to Steam with full support for SteamOS as well as the Steam Machines that will be going live… well, some time in the future.

The game is being developed by Arrowhead Studios, and will further improve on the base that the classic game established- there will be four character classes, each with its unique traits, and a distinctive artstyle. The dungeons will also all be procedurally generated.

“With Gauntlet we combined the arcade style of the original game with an entirely new look and feature set that includes emergent, local and online four-player gameplay,” said David Haddad, Senior Vice President, Digital Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Gauntlet will be the first title in the WB Games Vault portfolio, which will provide us with an opportunity to access emerging talent within the game development community and match unique skills and experience with our extensive library of properties.”

“To us at Arrowhead, Gauntlet is one of the most defining games from our childhoods, and it’s amazing to be able to work with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on a brand new version,” said Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios.  “Gauntlet is one of the original and best known video game properties and we are looking forward to creating a fresh, yet true to the original, take on a multiplayer masterpiece.”

We’ll have more for you on the game soon as it develops. In the meanwhile, check out the trailer above.

Paraodox have announced that the popular co-op action/adventure game has recieved a huge tech overhaul for the game engine itself and game balance improvements.

Any players who have purchased Magicka will receive, at no charge, this much-asked for update, which adds the ability to resume game progress from check points instead of starting over at the beginning of a chapter, incorporates the ability to revisit previously completed chapters, and, for the soloists, adds a fairy familiar that will revive players when they perish during campaign mode.

Full details for what is featured in the game engine update:
• Fairy familiar added, revives characters after death occurs in solo campaign
• Checkpoints now save progress even if game is quit
• Chapter select added to replay previously played chapters
• Several improvements to the server browser
• Physics and collision detection improved – less falling through the floor
• Frame rate stuttering – should be less noticeable for some users
• Extended particle system with particle lights
• Improved light performance
• Several minor bug fixes, game balance, and tweaks

Yesterday we reported the new DLC for Magicka – The Stars Are Left. Today we have the first trailer for you. Check it out above.

Designed for players who love to craft the hundreds of different spells available in Magicka, this new campaign will pit up to four wizards at once against a horror-mystery inspired by the popular Cthulhu Mythos. The Stars are Left will boast a much requested feature from the players – a new adventure campaign, including several terrifying new enemies, bosses awakened from the depths of insanity, and several other miscellaneous Miskatonic minions. Other spoofs ending in “-craft” may or may not also be included.

Paradox and Arrowhead Studios have announced new DLC for  Magicka – The Stars are Left.

The Stars are Left includes:

• An all-new adventure, several levels long, allowing players to get lost in space and time
• 2 new challenge maps
• 2 new robes
• 2 new bosses
• 5 new achievements
• 7 new enemies
• Considerably more than 2 new items and Magicks
• Also, we make fun of Minecraft this time

Magicka: The Stars are Left is scheduled to launch this winter.

Paradox Interactive and Arrowhead Game Studios have managed to focus their considerable powers and set a release date for the first major Magicka DLC, Magicka: Vietnam, as well as releasing new screens for the game.

Magicka: Vietnam will be available on all major digital distribution channels on the 12th of April for $4.99.

Three new screenshots of Magicka: Vietnam are given below. The cover art of the game is given above.

(Please click on the images to view them in full screen)

Here’s some info on Magicka: Vietnam as provided by the devs:

“Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if wizards were allowed to roam the jungles of war-torn Vietnam, attempting to bring peace and stability to the region by casting spells on all opponents?

Magicka: Vietnam features a lengthy challenge scenario that puts you in the combat boots and stylish robe of a Wizard GI. Venture deep into the Goblin-Cong jungle with up to three fellow soldiers in a heroic attempt to liberate prisoners from a POW camp and face off against deadly Vietnam themed enemies. Destroy enemy positions, escape the perils of the jungle and return safely to the evacuation helicopter (“Get to the chopper!!”).

Magicka: Vietnam also contains a new survival challenge map with increased difficulty in direct response to the request from the community. In the Magickal jungles of Vietnam you’ll have an array of Vietnam-era weapons and a special Magick that calls in a napalm strike on enemy positions. Players will of course still have access to what makes Magicka truly unique – the dynamic spell casting system and a healthy dose of humour.”

In our recent interview with Arrowhead Studios’ Community Manager Patrik Lasota, the game devs said that their were a lot of patches for Magicka on the way.

“We continue to do our best to make sure that the game becomes playable for as many people as possible,” he said. “We worked hard for 2 weeks to fix most critical issues.”

When we asked if there would be patches for Magicka, Mr Lasota said, “As many as possible, we will continue to patch Magicka for as long as we are able.”

We asked him if he though of the problems listed in the reviews as big problems. He said, “ For some, definitely, for others not at all. There are reports from players that have played the game flawlessly, in both single player and multiplayer, and then there are reports from people who can’t even start their game.

“We hope to solve everyone’s problems as soon as possible, but there are some problems that we just can’t solve. The integrated graphics issue is one of them, it would take a massive rewrite of the game engine and we would need to remake lots of the graphics as well.”

In the same interview, he said there will be announcements for DLC for the game at GDC. He also jokingly hinted at a Magicka sequel.

Stay tuned to GB for more info.

In our recent interview with Arrowhead Studios’ Community Manager Patrik Lasota concerning their recently released PC game, Magicka, we asked him if their game had seen success enough to warrant a sequel. While he did say that he “simply cannot give us an answer” he jokingly mentioned a second Magicka title.

When we asked him about the possibility of a Magicka 2, he said, “Hah, we get that question a lot. At this time, I simply cannot give you an answer. It is a running joke here in the office tough, whenever someone comes up with an awesome idea that isn’t possible to implement right now, we all say “Lets save it for Magicka 2.””

Is that just a joke? Or can their really be a Magicka 2? Tell us in your comments.

In the very same interview, he also told us their is DLC for Magicka on the way, and that they will be announcing more details during GDC.

We recently got the chance to ask Patrik Lasota, Community Manager at Arrowhead Game Studios some questions about their recently released Magicka. During our interview, we asked him if their’s DLC on the way for Magicka fans.

“We do have DLC planned,” he said. When we asked him for some details, he replied by saying, “I can’t tell you anything yet. I would recommend looking close on the upcoming Game Developers Conference for some clues.”

Whatever the DLC is, we sure hope it introduces more variations to the Magicka experience. Magicka sure was a great game, but a few more gameplay variations would just add greatly to the fun and complexity involved.

Stay tuned to GB for more info.

Magicka developers Arrowhead Studios continue to work on the game, working on patches to fix the current online issues, adding content and implementing player requests like keyboard mapping.

In the midst of this Paradox Interactive have a released a spoof trailer for the game titled “if Magicka was sold via infomercial – this is what it would look like,” which you can check out above.

Magicka is available for $9.99 from most digital distribution services.