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[Update]: The Surge 2 now has a lengthy and rather exciting developer walkthrough!
Much like its predecessor Lords of the Fallen, The Surge is a competent Souls-like RPG that's unfortunately plagued by some annoying design decisions. Despite all of its flaws, however, I had a great deal of fun with The Surge and its A Walk in the Park expansion, which is why I'm quite happy to say that Focus Home Interactive and Deck13 are working on a sequel!
The details are currently few and far between, but according to the original announcement The Surge will have larger and more ambitious level design, more brutal combat, an expanded limb-targeting system, as well as an arsenal of new weapons and abilities! While all of these additions are great, it is the promise of larger and more interesting levels that excites me the most. After all, one of the most enjoyable aspects of any Souls-like game is the random meandering about in search of secrets, something the original The Surge simply could not deliver on.
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Total War: Rome 2's Desert Kingdoms expansion is set to arrive this March 8th, bringing with it four new playable factions: Meroe (Kingdom of Kush), Saba, Nabatea and Masaesyli. Each of them will be getting new units, building chains, technology trees, as well as individual faction traits, which should go a long way towards fleshing out some of Rome 2's least interesting provinces.
If you're wondering how all of this translates into gameplay, allow me to share with you the recently posted developer walkthrough. There is unfortunately no combat to be seen, but it should still give you a good idea of what the new Desert Kingdoms expansion is all about. Have a gander:
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Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is an upcoming video game adaptation of the 'Mutant' pen & paper RPG that has been around since the 1980s. The premise, as you might imagine from the tittle, is that humanity has managed to nuke itself into oblivion, leaving the planet populated only by Mutants - deformed humans and animals alike.
It is a fairly basic premise, but as you'll see in the recently posted cinematic trailer, it's one that has a great deal of potential! So if you're even remotely interested, I would highly recommend you give the video a look:
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Continuing on with the steady stream of expansions, Paradox has recently announced that Europa Universalis IV will be getting the Rule Britannia expansion this March 20th. As you might expect from the name alone, Rule Britannia will add a whole bunch of new content and depth to the British Isles, as well as some minor improvements to the other countries.
What this means in gameplay terms is that you can expect to see new British missions, the ability to earn rewards for being the first nation to unlock new knowledge, the appearance of the Protestant faith in England, as well as new units and music. Naturally, since this is Britain we're talking about, there will also be some minor improvements to the naval system and trading in order to help you establish dominance over the world.
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If you're a fan of stylish yet insanely difficult action games, you might be interested to hear that the Devil May Cry HD Collection will be making its way to PC and consoles this March 13th. Since the name isn't exactly self-explanatory, it is worth pointing out that the HD Collection consists of the original Devil May Cry, as well as Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition.
The full list of features hasn't been announced just yet, but you can expect to see slightly improved visuals and the ability to play in 60 FPS. If you're wondering what this might look like in-game, you'll find the answers you seek in the recently posted trailer down below. Have a look:
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Creative Assembly has gone all-out with Total War games these past few months. Total War: Warhammer 2 recently got Tomb Kings as a brand new race, Total War: Rome 2's Empire Divided expansion launched with a whole bunch of new content, Total War: Three Kingdoms and the more focused Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia are just beyond the horizon, and if that wasn't enough, Rome 2 will soon be getting another DLC - the Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack!
As you might imagine from the name alone, the Desert Kingdoms expansion will bring with it four new playable factions that will help flesh out some of Rome 2's less interesting provinces. The kingdoms in question are: Meroe (Kingdom of Kush), Saba, Nabatea and Masaesyli. If the names alone don't ring any bells, allow me to share with you the recently posted trailer. It'll give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from these new factions. Have a look:
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The Humble Monthly is a $12 subscription service that instantly gives you access to a couple of major games, and then a whole bunch more once the next month rolls around. Last time the featured game was the excellent Dark Souls 3 and its equally fun DLC Ashes of Ariandel, while this time around you're looking at a combination of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, God Eater 2 Rage Burst, and Mafia 3 + Sign of the Times DLC.
If you're unsure whether this bundle is worth your time and money, I would say the answer is a definite yes. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided alone is well worth the asking price, so when you add both God Eater 2 and Mafia 3 as well as all of the games that will be coming next month, the choice really is quite simple. If you're not a fan of any of the featured games I can understand skipping over this month's bundle, but otherwise I would heartily recommend it because for $12 you really can't go wrong here.
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The free-to-play arena brawler Battlerite is soon going to become even more competitive as Stunlock Studios have just announced that the very first competitive season will be starting up on March 7th. The update will also bring with it a variety of balance changes, as well as new features such as regional leaderboards, a pre-game lobby to help you plan your champion picks and strategies, a VR observer mode, and perhaps most interestingly of all, a brand new champion!
While the exact dates haven't been given just yet, the current plan is for the seasons to last around 10 weeks, with each new season appearing every 2-3 months. In order to entice more people towards competitive play Stunlock Studios have also revealed that the seasonal rewards will be based on special quests rather than the end-of-season placement. A small change in the grand scheme of things, but one that I feel is going to have a large impact with the casual side of the playerbase.
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Overwatch's 27th hero, a tank/support hybrid by the name of Brigitte, recently made her way onto the test servers. As you might expect from a newly released hero, Brigitte arrived alongside a couple of major balance issues, as well as the ability to essentially fly if you aimed the Shield Bash in just the right way while near a small incline.
With that in mind, I am glad to say that Blizzard has now decided to speed up their usually glacial balancing process and release some much-needed changes to Brigitte. The patch notes aren't very long, so you'll find all of the important bits right below. If you're interested in all of the bug fixes as well, however, you should head on over to the official website. But for now, here's the short version:
- By Ash
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Northgard is a viking themed strategy game that made its way onto Steam Early Access in February of last year. Even during my initial review I found it to be a great deal of fun, which is why I am very glad to say that it will be sailing out of Early Access as a fully finished game this March 7th.
The release version will bring with it six different clans, singleplayer and multiplayer modes, and perhaps most importantly, the long-awaited campaign spanning 11 chapters! You can get a little bit of a sneak peek at what the "Rig's Saga" campaign has to offer via the recently posted trailer down below. Have a look: