Sins of a Solar Empire was one of the best strategy games on the market last year.  It took the strategy and civilization building of Galatic Civilizations and put it into a powerful RTS game.  If you liked the original, then I have some good news.  They’ve officially announced an expansion pack to be released around November 18th.  It will only cost $10 and add a lot of balancing features to the gameplay.  The main focus is on defensive options.  Minefields and extremely powerful star bases are now available alongside superweapons to lead your fleets and destroy said star bases.  It should really mix up the gameplay and make for a better, more challenging, game.

This is just a quick mention for Brother’s in Arms: Hell’s Highway.  A full four levels of gameplay were shown off at a pre-release demonstration.  With the September 30th release date approaching, it should be reassuring for you to know that everything looks on track.  It’s basically the same old style with new graphics, bigger battlefields, and better Ai.  The developers are also putting the camera to better use with a more cinematic cut to show off the devastation you’re causing.  Fans of the series should definitely seek this release out in a few weeks.

This one shouldn’t be much of a shock for anyone.  The Lego series is now going to pick up Batman for their line.  There’s plenty of missions where you play as Batman or one of his villains trying to do stuff.  You’ll grapple and punch through the plastic world and have a fun arcade time.  Everything so far shows a fun little romp through the world without a whole lot of changes.  If you liked the Star Wars or the Indiana Jones versions, then you’ll probably like this set.  It will be coming out next week on the 23rd, so keep an eye out.

Well, any fan of the original probably knows that this sequel is about to have its main release in America on the 15th.  Some lucky people already have their pre-ordered version and the comments look pretty good.  If you haven’t looked at the game before, it basically added a bunch of features to the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.  The biggest of these is the battle for the zone between the various factions.  This seems to have been pulled off well with various early release players confirming different accounts of the war on the sidelines based on AI decisions.  A lot of bugs have been reported though, so let’s keep our fingers crossed for a quick patch.

There isn’t a whole lot to be said about this sequel.  It’s the Sims.  It sounds like they are finally getting to expand it to the massive scale that they’ve always wanted.  You will no longer follow one individual Sim necessarily.  The massive neighborhood will run simultaneously as all your little Sims interact.  The focus has been taken off of micro management with everything being a bit simpler.  There are only four basic needs now (sleep, food, fun, and bladder) and general wishes don’t play as much of a role.  The one nice aspect is that it really seems to be a focus on having a Sim world.  Social interactions are more natural and all of the options have gotten some serious upgrades.   I just wonder if moving away from the family-focus idea is the right direction for the series, since watching a neighborhood might get old quick.

This looks like a surprisingly good release for the city building genre.  Cities XL tries to follow in the footsteps of the Sim City franchise by allowing an in-depth scenario with a solid interface.  They are being a little tight-lipped over the actual controls, but there are plenty of other cool bits to talk about.  The biggest draw is that it offers a huge multiplayer side.  You can choose to stick to single player and build your own city from 500 buildings, or you can go online and become part of the massive world.  You are able to do standard things such as negotiating for limited resources, but you can also jump into a chosen avatar and explore a friend’s city.  Unfortunately, it isn’t expected to come out until December 31st of 2009.  Let’s hope that they make good use of the time.

This game’s release is far off in the future, but some nice details were released at PAX.  Jumpgate Evolution takes a view of space simulations similar to Freelancer.  You have a standard command system with a whole lot of options for combat.  The difference is that it will be an MMORPG with all the blessings, such as a complex economy and plenty of room for missions and combat.  The nicest touch seems to be a fully explorable environment.  Comets and asteroids have openings that allow for fairly free adventures for the interested pilot.  If nothing else, it should give EVE a good run for its money.  Keep an eye out for more developments on this new space simulation.

There’s some more screenshots and general news about Red Alert 3.  The Allies were discussed in the latest interview.  This balanced side will be considerably different than the Soviet or Rising Sun counterparts.  There is already talk of amphibious battleships and black hole generators.  Throw in plenty of planes, spies, and tanks and I think you have a good empire.  It looks like everything is falling into place for this classic RTS.

Penny Arcade: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness – Episode Two isn’t just know for its big name.  The sequel to their funny first episode should be a great addition to the budding series.  There are already some new screenshots and story bits available.  The scenes will include a wacky insane asylum, a posh gated community, and a science seminar.  Should be plenty of craziness to go around.

There’s some new information about the role that space will play in the game.  Everyone interested in this game probably knows the basics.  You move through the stages from a single celled organism to a full-sized civilization.  The space stage was never well elaborated though, other than the fact that you could terraform planets and spread out more.  There’s finally some good news on that front.  Statements in recent interviews state that there will be a complex mission system for opening trade routes with new civilizations.  It will range from military operations to exploration and abductions.  The process sounds like a fun arcade-style addition to the end game that switches up the standard civilization parts before it.  There are also reports that 4 million stars will be in the game, so you’ll have a lot of exploration to kick start.