Paradox Announces Multiple New Titles

Paradox Interactive has gone all announcement-crazy and thrown five new games into the ring for 2011.
First up, there’s a new add-on for the free-roaming horse combat RPG spectacular, Mount & Blade. Called With Fire & Sword, this new add-on will provide five new factions, a brand new campaign and several firearms for the title (as it’s set in Eastern Europe in the 17th Century.) I believe this actually began life as a mod for the game, but has now been updated to the Mount & Blade: Warband engine and features a multiplayer mode as well as other tweaks and polishes. It’s due in early 2011 for the PC.
Nitro Games (creators of Commander: Conquest of the Americas) are working on Pirates of Black Cove, a primarily RTS game that also has action-RPG elements. Players control a pirate captain who must recruit a crew, hunt down treasure, get smashed on grog and generally act all piratey. Ultimately, you’ll be trying to become KING OF THE PIRATES, which is a pretty lofty goal. Infamous pirates of legend may be making an appearance (the sea-going kind, presumably, rather than that guy who shows up in the pub with bootleg copies of Call of Duty.) This one is due in the second quarter of 2011 for the PC.
The Majesty universe is getting a spin-off Tower Defence game “with a twist,” entitled Defenders of Ardania. But what is the twist, exactly? Well, you’ll be able to control the attackers in each scenario, as well as the usual plonking down of towers to blow them up with. Up to four players will be able to play in multiplayer. Expect this for PC and PlayStation Network in the second quarter of 2011.
Have you ever wanted to play an MMO where you’re a fresh colonist off the boat in Boston, trying to survive in the New World? That’s quite a specific vision you have there – but luckily Paradox are right there with you and are publishing Salem. This has nothing to do with witches, and everything to do with a free-to-play crafting-based MMO in which you do, indeed, try to survive in New England. Excitingly, if you die in the game then you die IN REAL LI … well, actually no, but you’re really, properly, dead in the game and have to start again. It’s early in development at present, but due sometime in 2011.
Finally, I’ve always thought that the US Civil War was lacking in zeppelins and modern firearms. So too has developer Radioactive Software, the brains behind Gettysburg: Armoured Warfare which promises to bring massive battles and persistent elements in an RTS/FPS hybrid type style. Due sometime in 2011, we can only hope this will feature Abe Lincoln in power armour.