- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: The new Life is Strange: True Colors will be dropping the the pace-ruining episodic format.
After the massive success of both Life is Strange and its prequel Before the Storm, the series has now returned in order to try to strike gold for the third time with Life is Strange 2. However, unlike the first two games which focused on a fairly similar cast of characters, Life is Strange 2 has opted to go with an entirely different setting and entirely new characters: brothers Sean and Daniel.
While I won't go into any details in order to avoid potential spoilers, I can tell you that the two brothers will be forced to run away from home after a tragic accident. And so during their attempt to flee into Mexico they will discover a mysterious supernatural power, a power that will offer them a way towards salvation... or perhaps even further danger.
- By Ash
- in News
Even though PC gaming is more popular and better supported than ever, that are simply some games that just don't function well with a classic mouse & keyboard combo. For me the best example of this would be action-RPG games like Dark Souls or Monster Hunter: World, because while they may be fully playable with a mouse & keyboard, the experience is nowhere near ideal when compared to the flexibility you gain by using a controller.
It would appear that there are a lot of other PC gamers that share this sort of sentiment, because according to Valve's recent blog post on controller gaming on Steam, more than 30 million Steam users have a controller! What might come as an even bigger surprise is that 15 million of those players have more than one controller at their disposal, which to me indicates that there is a larger intersection between console and PC gaming than most would assume.
- By Ash
- in News
After spending a little bit of time on the PTR, Overwatch's newest Control map Busan finally made its way to the live servers on September 11th. I order to give everyone enough time to adjust it was initially only available in Quick Play and Arcade game modes, though that restriction has now been lifted and Busan has been fully integrated into the Competitive Play map pool.
Before you rush into Competitive Play to check the new map out in a 'proper' setting, I would highly, highly advise you first explore it in a custom game. The reason I say this is because the third portion of the Busan map contains some of the most complex level geometry and the most flank routes of any map in the game. So unless you actually take the time to figure out where all of the various tunnels and hallways go, you might just find yourself at a significant disadvantage.
- By Ash
- in News
Battlerite Royale, as you would expect from the name alone, will be taking Battlerite's skillshot-based gameplay away from the tiny arenas and into a large, open world filled with items to loot, abilities to acquire, and naturally, enemies to clobber. If you've played any Battle Royale game then Battlerite Royale should instantly feel familiar, though also quite different as the playstyle of each hero is both unique and intricate, meaning that the gameplay is a fair bit more complex than usual.
While the recently posted trailer won't exactly show you all of the details behind Battlerite Royale, it should still give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. So if you're curious about how Battlerite's gameplay has been translated into a Battle Royale game mode, you'll find the launch trailer right below:
- By Ash
- in News
Despite their last few episodes receiving heaps of praise, Telltale Games have unfortunately announced that they are laying off the majority of their employees and slowly closing down their doors. As expected, this has resulted in the cancellation of the long-awaited The Wolf Among Us 2, as well as put the newly released and still unfinished The Walking Dead: The Final Season in a very awkward position.
Episode 2: Suffer the Children will be arriving later today as it was completed before the company went bankrupt, but the final two episodes are currently in a bit of a limbo. While nothing has been officially confirmed just yet, there does appear to be some hope on the horizon as Telltale has just revealed that they are actively working on making sure The Walking Dead: The Final Season ends up being completed, in one form or another.
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: After some delays, Death Stranding has now finally made its way to PC.
Death Stranding is Hideo Kojima's upcoming action game that has made quite a name for itself with utterly bizarre and yet still intriguing trailers. There are basically no details about what the actual gameplay will be like, but from what I can piece together from various interviews it would appear that we will be exploring a realm beyond death, and that our actions will have significant consequences on the world of the living.
How exactly all of that translates into action gameplay, I'm afraid I can offer you no answers, but what I can show you is the recently posted and rather gorgeous trailer. It mostly just shows off the 'big bad' and one of the gigantic monsters, so unlike the past few trailers you should have a relatively easy time following what in the world is going on. Have a gander and make sure to turn your volume up a bit:
- By Ash
- in News
In the olden days of Overwatch there was a hero Winston, D.Va and all of their flanking buddies dreaded to face. He was slow and fat, an incredibly easy target, yet his damage was so strong that they just couldn't randomly dash into the backline due to the threat he posed. The hero I'm talking about is obviously Roadhog, and back in the day he was an incredible bodyguard for his fellow supports as he just didn't take any nonsense from squishy heroes that would seek to harm them.
These days, however, Roadhog is objectively one of the worst heroes in Overwatch. His damage has been reduced to the point that his hook+shoot+melee combo is incredibly inconsistent and often fails against the targets he needs to finish off the most, while his hook has slowly but surely recovered all of the bugs Blizzard fixed throughout the first year of Overwatch. A truly sad fate for a hero to whom I owe my very first entry into GM.
- By Ash
- in News
If you've been itching to give MTG Arena a try but you haven't had much luck getting a Closed Beta key, worry not as the Open Beta is just around the corner. According to the most recent developer update, MTG Arena will be closing down its doors on September 24th, only to then blow them wide open on September 27th with the launch of the long-awaited Open Beta.
As previously announced, the start of the Open Beta will wipe all progress from currently active accounts. A bit unfortunate if you've invested serious amounts of time in the Closed Beta, but still something that needs to be done in order to keep the game nice and fair for both beginners and veterans alike. That said, if you've purchased any gems or welcome bundles, those will be returned to you despite the account wipe.
- By Ash
- in News
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be arriving this October 12th for both PC and consoles. While it will not feature a traditional singleplayer campaign, Black Ops 4 will bring with it various story-focused solo missions, the usual batch of multiplayer shenanigans including a massive new Battle Royale game mode, and naturally, a new and improved Zombies mode.
So if you're curious about what sort of insane abominations you'll be fighting against this time, as well as where Black Ops 4 differs from its predecessors, allow me to share with you the recently posted and fairly lengthy in-game trailer. Have a look, it really is quite an interesting video:
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: It took a while, but the classic horror game Alone in the Dark is a getting a modern reimagining!
THQ Nordic has recently announced that they have picked up the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur, an ill-fated and fairly forgotten RPG with a great deal of potential behind it. While we still haven't received any information about what they're actually planning to do with the Kingdoms of Amalur IP, you might be interested to hear that THQ Nordic has decided to continue expanding their repertoire even further!
To be more specific, THQ Nordic has now also acquired the rights to the classic Lovecraftian survival horror Alone in the Dark, as well as the turn-based strategy Act of War. I can't tell you anything about Act of War as I haven't even heard about it until now, but the original Alone in the Dark was a truly revolutionary game that unfortunately ended up getting its name tarnished with some buggy modern games and the 'classic' Uwe Boll movie.