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The upcoming Total War: Thrones of Britannia is going to be the very first of the Total War Saga series. In other words, instead of trying to capture an entire historical era, Thrones of Britannia will offer a much more detailed look at some of the most interesting events that happened in a relatively short time frame. What this means in gameplay terms is that you can expect to see the most detailed Total War map to date, ten playable and diverse factions, a variety of victory conditions that will align with each faction's history, as well as numerous improvements to politics, recruitment and research.
Trying to explain all of this through words alone is a bit of a difficult task, so allow me to share with you two of the recently posted preview videos for the Gaelic faction. The first one is a brief in-game cinematic that sets up the story, while the second is a developer-guided campaign playthrough that will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from Thrones of Britannia in general. Have a gander:
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[Update #2]: According to a recent leak it would appear that the next hero isn't Emre, but rather Reinhardt's 'squire' Brigitte.
[Update #1]: A second 'teaser' has now arrived, and sadly it brings with it very few details about the upcoming hero. You can check it out over here.
It is well known at this point that Blizzard releases new Overwatch heroes every ~4 months. Combine this with the fact that Orisa was first teased on February 21st last year and it shouldn't come too much of a surprise to hear that Blizzard has now begun teasing the much-anticipated 27th hero as well.
The details are still lacking so take everything with a few grains of salt, but apparently the next hero is going to be Emre Sarioglu. The only concrete thing I can tell you about him so far is that he's from Turkey, although thanks to an accidental leak we did also find out that Blizzard is either planning to add a new map set in Turkey, or at least some sort of PvE mission. I certainly wouldn't mind a new map because if we go by the current release schedule the map type is highly likely to be King of the Hill (Oasis, Nepal, etc.), and that is a mode I have never seen anyone complain about!
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Vermintide 2 is set to arrive this March, and as such the glory days of the original Vermintide are slowly coming to an end. However, instead of simply letting their older game fade away, Fatshark has just released a brand new (and free) mission that bridges the gap between the two games!
The aptly titled "Waylaid" mission will have you venture through a confusing maze of Skaven tunnels in order to face off against a familiar foe. It's a fairly short mission so I can't exactly tell you more without spoiling the surprise, but let's just say that it gives Vermintide 2 an excuse to start the campaign just about anywhere! And if you are wondering if Fatshark snuck in any Chaos Warriors for us to fight, I'm afraid they are adding more spikes to their armor and as such are going to be unavailable until Vermintide 2.
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Last month Paradox announced the Apocalypse, or rather a brand new expansion for Stellaris. As is tradition, the announcement only brought with it a comparatively tiny amount of information, thus leaving us to ponder over what exactly the enormous Titan capital ships are capable of, and perhaps most importantly, how the planet-killing weaponry will function!
While they're still not being as detailed as I would perhaps like, I am glad to say that Paradox has recently posted a brief developer video going over the features coming in with the Apocalypse expansion, as well as what the free accompanying update will have to offer. So if you're interested in creating your very own Death Star, you'll find the video right below. Have a look:
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The upcoming Thrones of Britannia is the very first of the Total War Saga series. What this means is that instead of trying to capture an entire historical era, Thrones of Britannia will offer a detailed look at some of the most interesting events that happened in a relatively short time frame. In terms of gameplay improvements you can expect to see the most detailed Total War map to date, ten playable and diverse factions, a variety of victory conditions that align with each faction's history, and perhaps most importantly, some major changes to how recruitment, politics and research is handled.
The Windows version of Thrones of Britannia is set to arrive this April 19th, but if you prefer to do your gaming on Mac or Linux there's no need to worry as the developers have just confirmed that it will be making its way there as well. Unfortunately, there is currently no release date set, but according to Feral Interactive the Mac and Linux ports are going to arrive "shortly after the Windows version."
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Vampyr is an upcoming vampire themed action-RPG from Dontnod, the studio behind Life is Strange and Remember Me. You'll be taking on the role of a doctor trying to cure a deadly plague that's sweeping through London, while also wrestling with the vampiric curse that forces the otherwise noble doctor to feed on his fellow citizens in order to survive. The more you feed the stronger you will be, though as a result the already chaotic state in the city is likely to get even worse as militias rise up in response to the rampant vampire attacks. In other words, expect to make some rather difficult choices!
If this sounds like the type of game you would like to try out, you might be interested to hear that Vampyr will be coming to PC and consoles on June 5th. This information comes to us from the most recent developer video, so if you're looking for a few more details you'll find it right below. Have a look:
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The classic Secret of Mana is an action RPG released for the SNES in the ancient times of 1993. While nothing special these days, Secret of Mana received quite a lot of praise back then for avoiding the genre standard turn-based system and going with a more action-orientated real-time combat. Combine this with a lengthy and story-focused campaign and it's easy to see why Secret of Mana got quite the cult following over the years.
Given its popularity it was only a matter of time before Square Enix attempted to do a modern version, which is where the newly released 3D remake of Secret of Mana comes into play. However, unlike the usual remakes that only offer improved visuals and support for widescreen resolutions, the modern Secret of Mana also brings with it a variety of gameplay tweaks meant to modernize the combat, as well as English voice acting. Whether these improvements were a success or not, that is currently the big question.
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If you're looking for a brand new shooter or team-focused game to fill your time with, you might be interested to hear that Overwatch is now having a free weekend on both PC and consoles. As you can probably guess from the title, the whole event will run until 11:59pm PT on February 19th, so if you're curious you might want to jump in as soon as possible.
In terms of content you will be given access to Overwatch's full roster of 26 heroes and 16 maps, as well as all of the various game modes. You will only be restricted from the competitive mode, even if you somehow manage to reach level 25, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem since it's not exactly the most beginner-friendly place anyway. Speaking of levels, all of your progress and cosmetic unlocks will carry over, so if you ever decide to purchase Overwatch you will be able to continue from where you left of.
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This shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that it was leaked multiple times last month, but Steam's Lunar New Year Sale has now arrived with a whole bunch of discounts. Unlike the usual sales, however, the Lunar New Year Sale will only last for a couple of days, or until February 19th to be specific. So if you were planning to fill out your backlog, you might want to hurry up lest you miss your chance.
If you're not exactly sure what to grab, allow me to give you a couple of suggestions. These are obviously going to be biased towards my specific tastes, but since all of them are fairly cheap games I'd say it's well worth giving them a look regardless. Anyway, here's the somewhat brief list:
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If you would like to help the heroes from Vermintide expand their pest control business to include the forces of Chaos as well, you'll be glad to hear that Fatshark has just announced that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will be coming to PC this March 8th. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions are also planned, though their release date has not been revealed just yet. The announcement is expected to arrive in the near future, however, so make sure to keep an eye out.
In terms of content you can expect a whole bunch of new maps, three new specializations for each of the heroes, a reworked equipment system that will give you far more control over your character's playstyle, and naturally, a whole bunch of spiky Chaos forces to endlessly battle against. If you're wondering what this might look like in-game, wonder no more as the developers have also released a brand new gameplay preview. Have a look: