EVE: Valykrie's Carrier Assault game mode

EVE: Valkyrie, one of the most feature-rich VR games out there, has been expanded with its first free content update - Carrier Assault. As you can probably guess from the name, in the Carrier Assault game mode you will be required to coordinate with your fellow players in order to cripple a gigantic Carrier, and eventually blow up its core by doing the equivalent of the famous Star Wars trench run, but this time in VR!

If you're wondering what all of this looks like in action, here's the recently posted launch trailer. It unfortunately won't give you the same sense of scale and speed as a VR device, but I think blowing up huge ships is a universally awesome thing anyway:

Roadhog from Overwatch destroying Torbjorn

While the balance might not be perfect just yet, Overwatch is one of the most finely tuned new releases I've had the pleasure to play in quite a while. As such, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that ESL has announced the first big Overwatch tournament.

The showdown between the top eight teams from across the US and Europe will take place during this year's Gamescom, from August 20-21. Even though Overwatch is still in its infancy this isn't the first serious tournament the game has witnessed, but it is the first one with a $100,000 prize pool for the teams to compete for.

Gabe Newel as the prophet of sales

Nothing is officially confirmed as of yet, but it seems that the long-awaited Steam Summer Sale is going to start next week, on June 23. This was first rumored back in May when someone supposedly leaked an official Valve message, but since no one could prove anything it simply remained as just that, a rumor.

However, while I can easily see some individual faking a Valve letter in order to mess with people, I highly doubt PayPal is going to stoop to the same level, so I do believe we can consider their short announcement as an official confirmation. As you might expect, given today's day and age, the announcement was made via a short tweet. Here's what it says:

Screenshot from The Technomancer RPG showcasing some raiders

The Technomancer is a sci-fi RPG set on Mars, or rather a version of Mars where the outside conditions are seemingly perfect for human life, though with the small issue of there not being enough water to sustain everyone. As you might expect, this eventually led to the entirety of Mars splintering into multiple factions, each one attempting to eek out a meager existence amidst the barren wastes.

This is where you come in as a Technomancer, a formidable warrior capable of harnessing various destructive electrical powers, in order to shape the destiny of Mars, or at the very least the destiny of your own wallet. Rather than drone on about the premise, here's the relatively recent E3 trailer to give you an idea of what to expect:

Rock of Ages 2 screenshot showcasing a castle being destroyed

The original Rock of Ages always struck me as something Monty Python would come up with if they were forced to make a historically accurate game. For those of you that are unaware, Rock of Ages is all about taking your giant god-rock and smashing through the enemy's defenses in order to smush their leader, a 2D caricature made out of a historical painting. In a way you can think of it like Angry Birds, but instead of the birds its one giant boulder, and its really pissed off!

Even though the gameplay was about as dead simple as it gets, I still consider Rock of Ages as a fun experience, and as such I'm glad to let you know that Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder has just been announced. Before you ask... yes, that is the actual name. If that doesn't tip you off on what exactly you're getting into, the announcement trailer should help hammer in the point:

Vampire attack from the Vampyr game

Ever since Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines the world hasn't seen a complex vampire themed RPG, or even many vampires at all, at least the non-sparkly kind anyway. This is where the creatively named Vampyr comes in to play as it offers exactly that, a complex and nuanced world that will let you have a glorious power-trip over the lovely humans on one side, and make you feel like a horrific monster on the other.

Until recently all anyone knew about Vampyr came from the brief descriptions posted alongside the official screenshots, but during the recent E3 IGN managed to sit down with a couple of developers from Dontnod and go over the gameplay in detail. You can find the video right below, but do be warned, its fairly dark given that our protagonist tends to spontaneously combust during daylight:

Halo 5's Master Chief posing

After a decade of "totally standing behind PC gaming" I don't think anyone believed Microsoft when they stated, once again, that this year they would redouble their efforts and finally treat PC as an equal to the Xbox. Yet here we are, and despite a couple of poorly thought out "features" Microsoft has remained true to their promise, much to everyone's surprise. The majority of Xbox One exclusives have already either been ported to PC or are currently in the pipeline, and the initially lackluster Windows 10 gaming environment is slowly getting the improvements it needs. 

If that isn't enough to convince you they're actually serious this time around, allow me to just say that Microsoft has recently all but announced Halo 6 for the PC. This news comes from a short interview PC Gamer did with Xbox head Phil Spencer, in which they briefly touched upon the differences between the Xbox One and PC, as well as the future of the Halo series. Here's the most... intriguing quote Spencer gave:

Fallout 4's raider from the Nuka-World expansion

I have to admit, I never understood the raiders in Fallout games. Instead of simply robbing trade caravans and farms, or just picking up a shovel and doing some gardening in their spare time, all they seem to do is attack random settlements in order to pillage their meager supply of scrap-metal or some other nonsense. Why take such a massive risk for a comparatively minuscule benefit?

This continued to puzzle me until I finally played Fallout 4 and got to experience the wonderful life of a settlement manager. After seeing how incompetent everyone is, and how they seem to somehow lose a battle against two ghouls even though there are 20 gun-turrets guarding the place, I've come to realize that I hate settlements and all they stand for. Yet even though we share a common enemy, and an equal fascination with explosive weaponry, the raiders still continue to attack me on sight, and simply refuse to invite me to their overly-angry club!

If you've ever found yourself in a similar situation, and given that Preston Garvey is a character I have a distinct feeling that you probably have, you'll be delighted to hear that the upcoming Nuka-World DLC is all about being a wasteland bandit, conquering settlements, and bending the Commonwealth to your iron will.

Official artwork for Planetside 1

Planetside 1 was one of the first "MMO" games I've ever laid my hands on, and as such it will forever hold a very special place in my heart, but there's no denying that its heyday has long since past. With almost no active players and the last important content update being nearly a decade ago, I don't think anyone should be surprised to hear that Planetside 1 is closing down its doors for good.

According to the recently posted announcement, the Planetside 1 server will be taken down on July 1st, at 4:00 PM PT. Here's what the brief message reads:

Blood Angels from Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada features one of the best "early adopter" systems I've seen in recent years. Rather than lock away DLC behind pre-orders or other such nonsense, every single person that buy the game by June 21 will be granted the Space Marine and Tau factions for free once they are finally complete.

June 21 doesn't just mark the cut-off period for this promotion, however, its also the date when the venerable Space Marines will be joining the fight against the mutants, the xenos, and the heretics. Here's the recently posted trailer showcasing their grand cathedral ships, massive weaponry, and the five Chapters that will make up the majority of your forces in the Gothic Sector: