StarCraft 2 will be going free-to-play next week, and yes, this includes the competitive versus mode
- By Ash
- in News
If you ever wanted to give StarCraft 2 a try, but you didn't really feel like buying three 'different' games in order to do so, you're in luck as Blizzard has just announced that StarCraft 2 is going free-to-play! You can go through the entire Terran campaign, play as all three races in casual or competitive multiplayer, experience the co-op missions as a variety of different characters, and naturally, mess around with custom maps in the Arcade when you get tired of all the competition.
You can get a good glimpse at what all of this looks like in-game, as well as more details about each of the free-to-play game modes, in the announcement video below. Have a gander, its not a very long:
November's Humble Monthly Bundle has now arrived with H1Z1 as the early unlock
- By Ash
- in News
The Humble Monthly Bundle is a $12 subscription service that instantly gives you access to one or two games, and then a whole bunch more once the next month rolls over. Last time around the featured games were an awesome combination of Quake Champions, The Elder Scrolls Online, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends, while this time you're looking at H1Z1 and two of its in-game Loot Boxes.
While I have recommend every single Humble Monthly Bundle so far because I thought it was genuinely good value for your time and money, I'm not so sure about this one. H1Z1 is currently $20 on Steam, so you're not getting much of a discount, and its also a bit of mediocre game given the consistently mixed reviews over the course of its lifespan. I'm not sure how valuable those two Loot Boxes truly are, but I can't imagine its enough to push this bundle over the edge, at least not for me.
Hearthstone's Kobolds & Catacombs expansion is bringing a bunch of new cards and a replayable single-player adventure
- By Ash
- in News
It was known for a while that Blizzard will announce the next batch of cards during Blizzcon 2017, but what no one could've guessed is that they will also reveal a repeatable single-player adventure! Each run through the dungeon will help you strengthen your hero and your pre-built deck, with the end goal being to defeat eight progressively more challenging bosses. A pretty damn good concept in my eyes, especially since all of it will come for free to all players!
The recently posted trailer won't exactly give you a good look at the gameplay side of things, but I would still suggest you give it a look as it helps set the tone quite nicely. Have a look, its a rather fun trailer:
Creative Assembly is teasing some sort of Total War: Rome 2 announcement
- By Ash
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Creative Assembly is currently working on Total War: Warhammer 2 and its DLC, an unannounced historical Total War game, and Total War: Saga - a spin-off series focusing on pivotal moments in history. What might come as a bit of a surprise, however, is that they are apparently working on Total War: Rome 2 as well!
This announcement comes to us via a rather intriguing Tweet that simply states: "Is this the end of the Empire? Or just the beginning...". I would love to tell you more, but I'm afraid there are currently no details available. This could be an update in order to bring Total War: Rome 2 up to par with Attila, or it could even be a brand new expansion, we simply do not know right now.
The samurai action-RPG Nioh now has a new trailer showing off the improved PC visuals
- By Ash
- in News
Nioh is a samurai action-RPG released on the PlayStation 4 back in February to some overwhelmingly positive reviews. People often compare it to Dark Souls or Bloodborne, and while there are definitely some similarities when it comes to the combat, the overall experience is a lot different, albeit still enjoyable. As such, I am very glad to say that Nioh is soon coming to PC via Steam!
Besides all of the content and expansions bundled into one neat package, the PC version of Nioh will also bring improved performance, high-resolution graphics, and naturally, support for resolutions up to 4K. Depending on your PC configuration it will offer you two different modes to choose from: Action Mode that ensures a stable 60fps, and Movie Mode that goes all-out in terms of visuals. Its not exactly a common, or even sensible way of doing things, but if the Action Mode can truly keep a stable framerate on middle-of-the-line configurations I'd still call that a net positive.
Total War: Warhammer 2's latest beta update fixes the ridiculous Chaos behavior in Mortal Empires
- By Ash
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Total War: Warhammer 2 has recently been updated with the Mortal Empires campaign. It brought with it a massive world that consists of campaign maps from Total War: Warhammer 1 and 2, as well as all of the Legendary Lords and factions they lead. The end result, as you might imagine, is a world filled to the brim with battles to fight, regions to conquer, and ancient enemies to annihilate.
However, while the concept behind Mortal Empires is beyond amazing, the actual campaign arrived alongside a plethora of bugs, some of which are so major they can completely ruin a playthrough. For example, the massive Chaos and Norsca invasions do not declare war on anyone but the player, which means you have to fight off an absolutely gigantic stack of armies without a single shred of help. Its not exactly fun or fair, which is why I'm very glad to say that the newest beta build has now corrected the issue.
Runic Games, the developers behind Hob and the Torchlight series, have now closed down
- By Ash
- in News
Runic Games just recently released Hob, an action-adventure with a focus on exploration, puzzle-solving, and beating up a variety of adorable little aliens with a giant robo-fist. It received some very positive reviews, especially on Steam where it currently stands at 88% approval rating, but apparently it wasn't much of a commercial success.
As such, and with great sadness, I have to announce that Runic Games is now shutting down. There aren't many details available, especially since the decision came from Perfect World, but here's the official farewell message from Runic Games: