- By Ash
- in News
Much like it's predecessor, The Crew 2 is an open-world racing game that will allow you to explore a scaled-down recreation of the United States with a variety of vehicles such as cars, boats, airplanes, and so forth. If this sounds like the type of game you would love to mess around with, you'll be glad to hear that The Crew 2 has now been pinned for a June 29th release date on both PC and consoles.
There will be multiple beta tests ahead of it's full release, so if you would like to give The Crew 2 a spin make sure to sign up on the official website. Ubisoft hasn't announced when exactly the beta will launch or how they will handle the beta invites, so I would highly recommend you sign up as soon as possible. Chances are that pretty much everyone will be able to enter given that these 'betas' are more like demos nowadays, but I suppose it's still better to err on the side of caution.
- By Ash
- in News
Sonic Mania released back in September of 2017 to widespread praise from both fans and new players alike. Given it's reception, it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Sega has now announced Sonic Mania Plus - a minor expansion set to arrive this Summer alongside the physical editions of Sonic Mania.
There aren't that many details available just yet, but you can expect to see two new characters and a brand new Encore game mode that will apparently offer a darn good reason to do another playthrough. What might come as a surprise, however, is that the new characters won't be the series mainstays like Knuckles or Amy, but rather two incredibly obscure ones: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. You can learn a little bit more about them and where they come from over at the Sonic wiki.
- By Ash
- in News
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a prequel to the original game set three years before Max returned to Arcadia Bay. By all accounts it is a pretty darn good game, which I am very glad to say that it will be coming to Mac and Linux in the relatively near future as well, this Spring to be more specific.
However, the port isn't going to be handled by the developers themselves, but rather by Feral Interactive. If the name doesn't ring any bells, you might recognize them from their work on the Mac and Linux versions of Total War: Warhammer 1 and 2, XCOM 2, Tomb Raider, Dawn of War 3, and the list goes on. So far I've found their work to be extremely solid, so chances are the Before the Storm port will be a quality one as well.
- By Ash
- in News
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr is an action-RPG that combines the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40k universe with the loot-focused gameplay of the Diablo series. As you might imagine from that description alone, Inquitor - Martyr is all about exploring vast and randomly generated levels, collecting far more loot than a starship could possibly carry, and naturally, gunning down hordes upon hordes of Chaos abominations.
If this sounds like the type of gameplay you would love to mess around with, you might be interested to hear that Inquisitor - Martyr has now been pinned for a May 11th release date. As far as platforms are concerned, you'll be able to blast away Chaos forces on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
- By Ash
- in News
Sea of Thieves is a multiplayer focused pirate adventure and exploration game that's all about sailing the high seas, searching for hidden treasure, pillaging ships piloted by other players, and then hopefully making it back to port before someone else returns the favor. A fairly simple concept, but as the recently held beta tests have proven, it's one with a great deal of potential.
If you haven't given Sea of Thieves a try by now and you're wondering what it's all about, allow me to share with you the most recent gameplay trailer. It's not very lengthy or detailed, but it's a decent snapshot of what you can expect to see. Have a look:
- By Ash
- in News
After spending a mere two weeks on the PTR (Public Test Realm), it would appear that the freshly added tank/support hybrid Brigitte is just about ready for her full debut. To be more specific, you can expect Brigitte to arrive for Quick Play and the Arcade on March 20th. No details have been given about her inclusion in Competitive Play just yet, but if past releases are any indicator she's most likely going to be sitting in the sidelines for a week before being truly unleashed upon the world.
[Update]: Apparently Brigitte won't be available in Competitive Play until Season 10. In other words, we still have 5 more weeks to wait before she's 'actually' in the game. A truly puzzling decision.
If you're interested in all of her abilities and lore, I would recommend you head on over to the official website as it contains pretty much everything you'll need to know in order to be ready for her launch. On the other hand, if you're more interested in her design and origins, allow me to share with you the most recent developer video narrated by the Lead Designer Ben Zhang. Have a look:
- By Ash
- in News
Yesterday the official Witcher Twitter account posted a brief yet cryptic teaser: "Kaer Morhen’s old stones have witnessed many battles... Once more they'll feel the sting of sparks as blades collide... Check back tomorrow." The pervading theory among fans was that this is some of teaser for Soulcalibur VI, mostly because the quote was phrased in such a way that it would perfectly fit the Soulcalibur announcer.
As you might imagine given the title, the fan theory was 100% correct! In other words, not only is Geralt bringing his sharp wit and even sharper swords to Soulcalibur VI, but he will be doing so alongside a Kaer Morhen themed stage and Witcher 3 inspired music. Rather than babble on, allow me to show you how Geralt handles himself in battle via the recently posted teaser trailer. Have a look, the video's short but sweet:
- By Ash
- in News
Back in September of 2017 Square Enix announced a brand new Tomb Raider game, though sadly they didn't reveal any gameplay details or even the title. While the gameplay improvements are still shrouded in mystery, you might be interested to hear that the next Tomb Raider game will be called Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and that it will be arriving on September 14th.
This information comes to us from the recently posted teaser trailer, so if you would like to get a little bit of a sneak peek at Shadow of the Tomb Raider, you'll find the video right below. Don't get too excited, however, as the teaser trailer offers very little in terms of actual details. On the positive side, at least it's pretty to look at! Anyway, have a gander:
Gwent devs are working on restricting random cards from ranked play and restoring faction uniqueness
- By Ash
- in News
While Gwent was and still is a great game, the past few updates have clearly shown that the team is struggling to define what exactly they want Gwent to be: a silly game filled with random effects and crazy swings, or a competitive one with predictable results and a focus on planning and strategy. Thankfully, it would appear that they have now sorted out whatever internal issues they had as the recently held AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the official forums is filled to the brim with excellent changes that are coming in the next few months.
First and foremost, I am incredibly happy to say that the developers have realized how boring some of the archetypes have become and are now working on making each faction more unique and interesting to play with. The end goal is for each faction to have three different decks to play around with, which should go a long way towards preventing the ranked ladder from becoming stale.
Speaking of which, some of the highly random and controversial Create cards are going to be restricted from ranked play. You can still use them in casual play or in the Arena, but their massive variance will no longer 'compromise' Gwent's competitive scene.
- By Ash
- in News
Total War: Rome 2's recent Desert Kingdoms expansion has brought in four new factions to play around with, as well as a variety of content and improvements to the game itself. So if you were looking to give Rome 2 another try, now would be a very good time to do so, even if you don't own the Desert Kingdoms DLC as all of the new content is still present on the campaign map.
For the veterans among you that are looking for an extra bit of challenge, however, Creative Assembly has now revealed their video list of the top 5 hardest starting positions. The nominees shouldn't come as much of a surprise given how terrible some of their early turns are, but it's still worth checking out if you feel like trying to overcome the odds. Have a look: