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Path of Exile's upcoming The Fall of Oriath expansion will be the biggest update the ARPG has ever seen. Just from the stuff Grinding Gear Games have announced so far we know there will be six new acts to explore, a whole bunch of new enemies to conquer (including bonewheel skeletons!), new ways of customizing and improving your character, and the list goes on.
All of these features will bring with them new art and music, and it is exactly this that the brand new teaser trailer showcases. So if you're interested in seeing what The Fall of Oriath has to offer in terms of design you'll find the video right below. Have a look:
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In the most basic terms GOG Galaxy is a competitor to Steam that allows its users to define what exactly they want out of it. GOG Galaxy has been in beta for quite a while now, but with the recent arrival of the massive Update 1.2 it is just about ready for an official release in April.
As for Update 1.2, its biggest and most exciting addition is universal cloud saves. In other words, no matter what game you play, and no matter how old that game may be, you will always have a way to keep your precious save files close at hand. Besides cloud saves the update has also brought with it the ability to customize which features you want used, a new hibernate mode to minimize CPU usage, an improved chat client, a bandwith limiter and scheduler, and FPS counter, and the list goes on for quite a while.
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If you're like me and you're better at smashing the ball straight into the ground rather than towards any sort of goal, rejoice as Rocket League devs have created an entire game mode with us in mind! In Dropshot you first need to break the opposing team's floor, essentially creating a bunch of barriers for them in the process, before scoring a goal through the newly created gaps. Its a simple twist on the standard game mode, but it does bring with it some interesting gameplay, so it is well worth checking out.
And speaking of 'interesting', you'll also be glad to hear that Neo Tokyo has now been removed from Casual and Competitive playlists. The competitive side I can understand as the map really didn't pan out well, but I'm not sure I agree with it being removed from casual play as well. Then again, Psyonix has access to a vast amount of stats, so its quite possible that Neo Tokyo was disfavored among the casual crowd as well.
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Resident Evil 7 is significant not only because its a good game, but also because it represents a return to what the series became famous for initially - tense survival-horror gameplay. Given how Resident Evil 7 turned out it might come as a bit of a surprise to hear that it actually started off as yet another action game, but that's exactly what it was before Executive Producer Jun Takeuchi joined the team and shifted the focus from action onto pure survival.
All of this, and a whole bunch of other interesting details, is covered in the first part of the Resident Evil 7 documentary, so if you wish to peek behind the curtains of game development I would heartily recommend you give it a look. There is some fascinating stuff in there! Here's the video:
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Toukiden 2 is an open-world demon-hunting RPG most similar to the Monster Hunter series. As you might expect from that comparison alone this means tracking down giant monsters, smacking them around with a wide variety of completely ridiculous weapons, and then using their most spiky bits in order to create even greater weapons and armor.
If this sounds like something you might enjoy you'll be glad to hear that Toukiden 2 has now officially released for the PC and consoles. Here's the launch trailer to hopefully give you a good idea of what Toukiden 2 is really all about:
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Civilization 6 will soon be getting a Civilization and Scenario Pack, though the release date and pricing haven't been revealed just yet. What the developers did reveal, however, is two of the nations that will comprise the "civilization" part of the pack: Persia, and the newly revealed Macedon.
I must admit that the announcement of Macedon comes as a bit of a surprise given how over-represented Hellenic nations are in Civilization 6, but since Alexander the Great conquered Persia I suppose it makes sense. As you might imagine, Macedon will be a civilization primarily focused around prolonged warfare and conquest. In order to ensure this doesn't leave you weak and exposed each city you conquer will give you a variety of bonuses, while Macedon's passive ability helps reduce war weariness so that you can stay at war for much longer.
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Halo Wars 2 is not so good that it will influence the direction of RTS games for decades to come, but its also not bad enough to be something you should actively avoid. It sits in that strange middle-ground, and if you're like me and you're not sure whether its worth your time and money, you'll be glad to hear that Halo Wars 2 now a free demo available.
You can find it by heading over to the Microsoft website, but before you even begin the download its probably worth mentioning that the demo is ~17GB in size. As far as content is concerned, the demo features the opening mission from the campaign, as well as a good look at the Blitz Firefight game mode where you'll get to "use decks of cards to summon vehicles and troops to fight against waves of AI-controlled enemies."
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[Update]: After some technical troubles, online features are now back on the PC version of Dark Souls 3, while the rest of the series will follow soon.
The Ringed City, Dark Souls 3's second and final piece of DLC, is coming on March 28th, and in order to prepare things for its arrival FromSoftware will be issuing a sizable patch on March 24th. If you've pre-ordered The Ringed City DLC, or if you have the Season Pass, the most important part of this update will be the arrival of two PvP arenas: Dragon Ruins and Grand Roof. You can find out what Dragon Ruins is all about by heading over here, but long story short, the two arenas are going to be the best way to get some organized PvP action.
And in order to make all of that PvP as enjoyable as possible the developers are also planning to release a whole batch of balance changes and bug fixes. You can find the full patch notes by heading over to Steam, but if you're just interested in the highlights I'll list out all of the important changes below. Have a look:
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After spending three whole weeks on the PTR Overwatch's 24th hero Orisa is now finally available on the live servers! You can't pick her in Competitive Play until next week for obvious reasons, but don't worry as you can get your fill in any other game mode, and this includes custom games as well.
Along with Orisa this update has brought with it some much needed balance changes, including a minor nerf to Ana, as well as a whole bunch of slight buffs to underused heroes like Winston, Sombra, and Junkrat. The Lucio rework, new Eichenwalde flank, and 2CP (Assault) map changes are still on the PTR, however, as it is obvious that they require a second balance pass before they are ready. As for today's update, you can find the full patch notes over at the official website, and a brief version down below:
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Its a bit strange that Persia wasn't present at launch given how it was once the largest empire in the world, but according to the most recent announcement that little 'mistake' will soon be getting corrected. The Persian Empire, led by Cyrus the Great, will arrive to Civilization 6 as a part of an upcoming Civilization and Scenario Pack, though the release date and pricing haven't been revealed just yet.
What the developers did reveal, however, is all of the units, upgrades, and special abilities you'll be able to mess around with. The first and most iconic feature is the Immortal, a replacement for the Swordsman that is able to fight from range, while still boasting a considerable defense. In terms of improvements you have the Pairidaeza (Persian Gardens) which proves culture, gold, appeal, and additional bonuses depending on adjacent tiles. To further help out with your economy researching Political Philosophy will give you a free trade route, as well as a bonuses to internal trade routes.