Every Monday, Rob Zacny calls out to the assembled masses of Early Access games but only a few are brave and hardy enough to respond to his summons.
Call to Arms [official site] has a lot to make up for. Its predecessor, Men of War: Assault Squad 2, was one of the most bitter disappointments I’ve ever had with a game.
When Street Fighter V [official site] came out a fortnight ago, it was a wee bit barebones. While some absent features are things we knew would come later, like the proper story mode, others were more surprising – like key rebinding, and punishment for rage quitting. Players being able to disconnect from matches they’re losing without ruining their ranking or win streak is… that’s a pretty big oversight, and no fun for their opponents. Capcom now say they have a solution coming, and punishments too.
Esports company ESL [official site] have partnered with Intel to found the AnyKey organisation. The group’s aim is “supporting diversity in and around the competitive gaming industry.”
ESL goes on to add:
“The organisation’s core goal is to create more opportunities and inclusive spaces, whilst advocating for the underrepresented members of competitive communities, such as women, LGBTQ participants, and people of colour.”
When I first caught wind of Vampyr [official site], an action-RPG set in the Spanish Flu-ravaged streets of early 20th century London, I was quite excited. When I discovered Remember Me and Life Is Strange developers Dontnod Entertainment had their name on it, I was really quite excited. We haven’t seen the game in motion yet, but we can today have a look at its style in the first set of screenshots. They’re a bit, um…. on the bland side? Come see for yourself.
Ridealong is our monthly feature where Brendan travels deep into game worlds to meet, question and journey with the inhabitants that dwell within. This week, he dives into the most notorious and offensive server Minecraft has to offer to meet an archivist who is trying to save as many creations as possible.
Minecraft [official site] murderers can enjoy a little more vim in their BAM! and a little more pow in their BIF! now version 1.9 of the mega-popular craft ‘em up has arrived. It’s nicknamed the ‘Combat Update’ for its focus on overhauling violence, with changes including adding shields and charged attacks so fighting is less about clicking frantically. But it also brings new blocks to build with, new enemies, and delicate wings which let people glide gracefully rather than plummet to their death.
Cinematic! What a loaded word it’s become. Once the game industry’s marketing buzzword du jour, the descriptor certainly earned its current status as a groanworthy sign that a developer would much rather be doing something else.
With such a disclaimer then, it’s safe to specify why It Came From The Desert, and in fact most games from its developer Cinemaware, had “cinematic” firmly in their sights. But in a good way.
Superhot [official site] is the uber-stylish, time-manipulating first-person shooter that you might’ve spotted Adam praising recently. It’s out now but developers Superhot Team aren’t slowing down, having revealed future plans that include free content updates and the small matter of virtual reality support.
Total War: Warhammer [official site], The Creative Assembly’s adaptation of Games Workshop’s warworld, will be storming a virtual battlefield near you in less than two months’ time. Until then, below is an almost-13-minute look at some of the key battle mechanics you’ll want to get to grips in your quest to conquer the war zone.
You can tell Ska Studios’ Salt and Sanctuary [official site] is a bit Dark Souls-y, because it’s got that Souls UI. Just as a gurning mug on an FPS’s UI in the ’90s let players know they were in for something a wee bit Wolfenstein-y, those red and green bars in the top-left corner say this is a grim game with plenty of mystery, parrying, and dying. And it is. Salt & Sanctuary may have missed plans to launch last year but here, look at this new trailer’s bit of co-op Soulsing.
Kiss your meatwife goodbye and take a photo of yourself for your meatdaughter to cherish, for you are soon to transcend the flesh and enter the cyberworld. I mean, if you have £700/$800/€900 spare, a powerful PC, and someone who’ll refill your nutrient paste tubes and empty your bucket.
The Vive – HTC and Valve’s virtual reality system which combines cybergoggles with motion controllers and sensors to track cyberusers moving around the room – has just opened pre-orders. They will start shipping on April 5th. They are expensive.
If you’ve wanted a game like Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing on PC, hey, Stardew Valley [official site] came out on Friday evening and is very much that sort of game. That’s you sorted, off you go.
If those names mean little to you… Stardew Valley’s a country life sim/RPG/thing about a simpler life of growing crops, raising animals, fishing, going on adventures to duff up monsters, befriending townfolk, finding love, crafting, collecting, building and all that. It’s proving quite popular.
Distracted as I was by the Oscars and an orchid festival and watching Casualty on catchup, I only dug back into week 7 of the North American LCS this morning. I’m so glad I did because the Dignitas/Renegades League of Legends match is now my favourite match in the whole world. This is because no fewer than four players died to an angry building and an even angrier bit of wildlife, and I will henceforth feel reassured that if I do the same I am probably exhibiting signs of “pro strats”. I’m going to share it here so that you may do likewise:
