Today Logitech has announced the G810 Orion Spectrum which is a full-size mechanical gaming keyboard that integrates our industry-leading technology and quality of construction in a uniquely crafted design to deliver peak performance for a pure gaming experience.
The G810 features Logitech’s exclusive Romer-G mechanical switches, offering 25 percent faster actuation than standard mechanical keyboards, as well as customizable RGB lighting and dedicated media controls.
With the launch of the keyboard, Logitech is teaming up with Ubisoft to celebrate the release of Tom Clancy’s The Division. Also Logitech is participating in full game bundle promotions and releasing a new Arx Control applet and custom RGB lighting profiles, giving The Division fans an enhanced PC experience when the game is released on 8th March, 2016.
Key Features
Pure Performance-Driven Design: Every aspect of the keyboard – from the simplest details, such as fingerprint-masking matte texture and a durable braided cable, to the most complex details, such as advanced RGB lighting and ultra-fast, ultra-durable Romer-G mechanical switches – is precisely engineered. The result is industry-leading technology and quality of construction in a clean, sophisticated design.
Exclusive Romer-G Mechanical Switches: With an actuation point of 1.5 mm, Logitech’s exclusive Romer-G switches register your key presses up to 25 percent faster than competing mechanical switches. You also get improved durability at 70 million keystrokes, which is up to 40 percent better than others on the market.
Intelligent Full-Spectrum RGB Illumination: Use Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) to select and personalize each individual key light from a spectrum of over 16.8 million colors, and synchronize lighting effects with other Logitech G gaming gear. Mark keys by color to keep track of spells and other commands, or change colors to match your setup. Central backlighting makes it easier to find the right keys in game and in the dark. LGS comes pre-loaded with custom lighting profiles for over 300 games, so all the work is done for you out of the box.
Easy-Access Media Controls: The Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum features dedicated media controls that can be used to play, pause and mute music and videos instantly, so you can control your background track without switching out of your game. Use the roller to adjust the volume, or skip to the next song with the touch of a button.
Tom Clancy’s The Division takes place weeks after a devastating pandemic sweeps through New York City on Black Friday. One by one, basic services fail and in only days, without food or water, society collapses into chaos. The Division, an autonomous unit of tactical agents leading seemingly ordinary lives among us, is activated to save society.
The Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning February 2016 for a suggested retail price of £159.99.
XCOM 2 and the time to take back Earth from the aliens is nearly upon us – broadcasting from the Avenger’s communication deck, veteran television news reporter and How 2 presenter, Fred Dinenage (MBE) is here to brief recruits of XCOM on strategies that will defeat the enemy.
In the first of such transmissions, How to Strike from the Shadows, Dinenage details how to use concealment and Overwatch in XCOM 2 to get the drop on your adversaries.
XCOM 2 is currently available for pre-order, with those who do so receiving the Resistance Warrior Pack, which will offer additional soldier customisation options such as bonus outfits and facial war paint, as well as a Survivor of the Old War, who will instantly show up as a new recruit in the Avenger’s barracks.
XCOM 2 is coming to PC worldwide on 5th February, 2016.
Codemasters & Koch Media has today released a new gameplay trailer for DiRT Rally and confirmed the additional content that will be added to the game when it launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC(DVD) on 5th April.
In addition to the wealth of game content added during DiRT Rally’s Steam Early Access programme, console and PC players will be able to enjoy substantial new additions to the game in April. New Classic Mini and Super 1600 series will introduce the thrills of rallycross racing from the start of the game and 21 advanced rally driving video guides will help gamers maximise their rallying performance. Players will be able to drive the vintage full gravel surface at Pikes Peak for the first time in the game and three of Colin McRae’s most iconic liveries will enable them to relive the exploits of a legendary rally champion. The DiRT team have also added seven extra cars, including some much-requested fan favourites:
· Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak
· Renault 5 Turbo
· Renault Alpine A110
· Opel Corsa Super 1600
· Peugeot 207 S1600
· Renault Clio S1600
· Mini Classic Rallycross
Available to pre-order now is the limited run DiRT Rally Legend Edition, which includes the full length feature documentary Colin McRae: Rally Legend. The film tells the full story of the rally icon that inspired the DiRT series from the man himself and charts his career from the earliest days, through to his domination of the rallying world and his involvement with the famous Codemasters games. Also included in the Legend Edition is the Fully Loaded MINI Pack, which unlocks and fully upgrades the MINI Cooper S from the start of the game, gives an exclusive livery for the car and provides a unique team mechanic with perks. Gamers pre-ordering the digital edition of DiRT Rally will receive both the Fully Loaded MINI Pack and the Fully Loaded Rallycross Pack, which unlocks the Mini Classic Rallycross and provides the same benefits as the other packs.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Lucasfilm has today official announced LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, allowing players to relive the epic action from the blockbuster film in a fun-filled, humorous way that only a LEGO game can offer.
Launching on 28th June, the game will introduce brand new gameplay mechanics to build, battle and fly through the galaxy like never before, as well as new story content exploring the time between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, providing additional insight about the new movie and its characters.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will be available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, the Wii U, the Nintendo 3DS and Windows PC.
“We’re extremely proud of the LEGO Star Wars videogames, truly an incredible franchise that has sold more than 33 million copies and helped ignite a passion for numerous fun-filled LEGO games enjoyed by countless gamers around the world,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games. “LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be pushing the series forward with innovative new gameplay mechanics, while also exploring new parts of the universe that are sure to excite and delight both LEGO and Star Wars fans, as well as newcomers to our games.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing back the LEGO Star Wars videogame franchise, which kicked off such a beloved series of LEGO titles more than a decade ago,” said Ada Duan, Vice President, Digital Business & Franchise Management, Lucasfilm. “LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens allows players to experience the new film in a unique way that only TT Games can provide, combining signature humour with epic Star Wars action. With exclusive story content exploring new details about the movie and its characters, it’s a perfect fit for fans young and old.”
“We are delighted to return to the Star Wars Universe and continue the journey with the franchise that started it all for LEGO videogames.” said Niels Jørgensen, Vice President, Digital Games for the LEGO Group. “LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens will offer an amazing gaming experience covering not only the movie but also exclusive content with all the fun and humour you would expect from a LEGO game, while delivering the epic Star Wars adventure fans expect”
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes players deeper into the new film than any other game with all of the heroic characters from the movie, including Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and BB-8, as well as Kylo Ren, General Hux and Captain Phasma, while also exploring iconic Star Wars locales, such as Jakku and Starkiller Base.
This action-packed adventure introduces new gameplay features, including the enhanced “Multi-Builds” system, where players can choose from multiple building options to advance the game. Gamers will be able to engage in intense new Blaster Battles for the first time, utilizing surrounding environments to drive back the First Order. Fans can also experience the thrill of high-speed flight gameplay through arena-based battles and dogfights in space, while utilizing a multitude of vehicles along the way, including the legendary Millennium Falcon.
PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 players will have access to exclusive downloadable content, the Droid Character Pack and the Phantom Limb Level Pack.
Destination Star Trek Europe, is the premier Star Trek fan event in Europe, will once again open its doors to thousands of Star Trek enthusiasts from across the universe for a three-day celebration of Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary. Set for 7th-9th October at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, Destination Star Trek Europe will pay tribute to the characters and stories that have inspired generations of fans, joining a year of celebrations in honour of this milestone year for the franchise.
Destination Star Trek Europe, under license by CBS Consumer Products, will offer fans the opportunity to meet cast and crew, explore interactive exhibits, learn about Star Trek’s impact on science, space and technology, and enjoy parties fit for a golden anniversary. The legendary William Shatner (Captain Kirk), will headline the event and be joined by Christopher Lloyd (Commander Kruge), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Jonathan Frakes (William Riker), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Alexander Siddig (Dr. Julian Bashir), Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) and Nicole de Boer (Ezri Dax). Additional guests will be revealed in the coming months.
In addition to autographs, photos and panels, fans will be able to take command of the bridge on the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 or NCC-1701-D, investigate a Borg hive, take charge of a Klingon bird-of-prey, explore a shuttlecraft, and see original props and costumes in the Destination Star Trek Museum.
World of Tanks has been around as a free to play game for a few years now. It has finally been released on the PS4 but joins a console that is already rich with free to play titles. Can World of Tanks make enough noise to stand out from the pack?
For those not aware of World of Tanks, the basic idea is to build a collection of Tanks to go up against other players in a battle to the death across battlefields. Originally a PC Game, World of Tanks is very much a game of strategy and precision with a simple premise, pick a tank, take it into battle and use the XP and currency earned to upgrade and buy new tanks. The game mostly has the player spending time in their garage. From here tanks can be upgraded and bought before the easy process of picking a tank, pressing A and going straight into a match lobby and game.
The matches take the form of a Team Death match style where two teams of Tanks leave their respective Home Bases with the two objectives of either destroying all the enemy tanks to win the match or capturing the enemy home base to win. Matches run for fifteen minutes and at the end of the match any XP or Currency earned via killing enemy tanks, spotting them or capturing the base will be dished out to all.
What does make World of Tanks different is that players only have one life in a match, there are no respawns. But the game does something very clever with this restriction. Should your tank fall in battle, you are immediately given the option to return to your Garage where you can instantly pick another tank and go join another match. Should you fall early in the match, your tank will not be available to use again until that match has ended, but if you do leave the game and go to join another, any XP and currency will still be deposited to you once that match ends.
The XP earned during battle comes in two forms. Tank XP and Free XP. Tank XP is tied to the tank you use in battle and can only be used on that particular tank. Free XP and currency can be used to buy or upgrade any other Tank in your garage. Each tank has a tier system consisting of ten levels. Buying ‘packages’ with XP or currency will upgrade the tank. Once that tank’s tier tree is completed, you will then have the option to buy a new tank in that class. I found that the first three to four tiers were quite easy to obtain via normal gameplay, but the higher tiers required much more careful gameplay to get maximum XP from each match by destroying enemy tanks, spotting tanks for your team and capturing the enemy Base which adds to the strategy of how you play each match.
The matchmaking system is also very balanced in this regards. Higher graded tanks will be put in lobbies to fight other high graded tanks so you will not find yourself in an entry-level tank going up against bigger more powerful tanks, so the matches remain balanced as you work to level up your tanks and earn XP without the fear of being instant cannon fodder.
As a Free to Play game there is naturally an elephant in the room, Micro Transactions. This comes in the form of being able to use real cash money to purchase in-game Gold coin packs which can then be used to fast track tier progression and unlock unique tanks. Rather than this being seen as a ‘Pay to Win’ style of micro transactions, I would say it is simply a way to avoid grinding through low tier tanks and boost to more advance tanks. Other than the unique tanks, all other tanks on the roster from the USA, Germany or Great Britain, can be unlocked and bought using normal gameplay and XP. Gold Coins can also be used during the customisation of your tanks, from camouflage skin options to emblems and symbols. Whilst you can fast track to more powerful tanks using gold, the way that the match lobbies work, as above, means just having a tier 8 tank will not mean instant win in a match as you will be placed in a match against other tier 8 tanks, so skill and strategy are very much the key elements to success.
World of Tanks is more simulation then arcade. Movement is very much as you would expect from Tanks, and depending on the class and size, will change the way in which you approach combat. The Left stick controls movement of the tank and the right stick controls the turret. The game has a good tutorial which gives you the basic principles of gameplay but it does a poor job of giving real instruction to the much deeper aspect such as types of shell you can use, consumables which can enhance attack and defence options and repair your tank during battle.
The controls are easy enough to use and follow, but it will take time to learn how a tank will move across the maps. A few times my tank was stuck in a convoy of team mates as everyone shot off at the start of a match and there is nothing more annoying then when you have an enemy tank in your sight then a team-mate driving in front of you and blocking you. The maps themselves will have various different terrains and obstacles such as vegetation and buildings. The buildings can act as good cover but can be destroyed by cannon fire and should you get trapped in a location with no escape route then you will be cannon fodder if spotted by the enemy. Knowing and understanding how your tank moves, what it can do and is capable of blended with good map knowledge are all essential.
Visually the PS4 version of World of Tanks is stunning, from the detailing on the tanks to the environments you battle on. Having originally played the Xbox 360 version, the graphical upgrade is immediately striking on-screen and is complimented by a terrific audio system that makes every cannon shot hit and miss so impactful during the fighting.
It can take a while and patience to get the hang of the gameplay style and earn a more powerful and fun tank to use but with such quick access to matches and garage you will always find a match quickly and that adds to the playability. The more time you devote to this game the better the game will become for your gaming experience will be and it will take time to master it even if you purchase Gold packs to speed up progress.
World of Tanks can be a fun pick up and play game to begin with but will take strategy and practice to get the best out of it. A good percentage of the tanks and upgrades are obtainable without the micro transactions but progress to the higher levels will take time and grinding but will feel more rewarding when you get there. You can fire it up and be in a match in a matter of minutes, but the more simulation over arcade action means you wont find yourself getting mixed up in the action and killing tanks with every shot you fire, but that is something that I actually enjoyed about the game.
World of Tanks has a select appeal and it will not be to everyone’s taste even as a Free to Play game. Not a game I would fire up on a daily basis but would fire it up on a weekend for an hour or so with friends. As a free to play game I would fully recommend giving it a try to see if it grabs you but it has stiff competition from other free to play titles available and the recent PS Plus free online shooters.
Following the huge success of LEGO Dimensions comes the next traditional style game from WB Games and Travellers Tales, LEGO MARVEL Avengers. Joining other cinematic adaptations such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jurassic World, LEGO MARVEL Avengers brings together the big screen MARVEL universe of the Avengers. As a huge fan of LEGO games and MARVEL I was interested to see how this would play out, I was not disappointed:
I loved how the MARVEL universe was first brought together in LEGO MARVEL Superheroes back in 2013, featuring every hero and villain across the MARVEL comic book range. It had the freedom to use all the popular characters that long-term fans knew and loved as well as feed the passion in new fans that the big screen MARVEL films had made. It was purely a matter of time before that cinematic universe would be the inspiration for its own LEGO game and here we finally are.
The main story telling campaign of the game focused on the two Avenger films, Avenger’s Assemble and Age of Ultron. The levels are based on key moments in both films and brilliantly bring the full LEGO magic to bring the levels to life with humour, fun and great little details that fans of the films will love. The game uses the actual dialogue from the films to great effect both in cut scenes and in clever random moments as you play through LEGO MARVEL Avengers. I really loved the humour injected by Traveller’s Tales as they always do when they adapt a popular film series and you really see the affection they have for the source material with the little touches thrown in.
Gameplay has been updated since Superheroes with new Avenger Team up combos now between characters that can take out multiple enemies at once. These will be different depending on the characters being used but they can be visually stunning when triggered and trying out different characters to see their team up moves is great fun, personal favourite is teaming Black Widow with Hulk!
LEGO MARVEL Avenger’s also features storylines from four other films in the form of story levels can be played outside of the main campaign. Captain America: The First Avenger is integrated into the main story campaign but Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier can be accessed from the central mission hub area access by going to space. These are around twenty to twenty-five minutes long in standard play but as with all LEGO games there is Freeplay mode.
Free play mode for me has always been the highlight of LEGO games which is unlocked once that level has been completed normally. Freeplay allows the player to pick any character unlocked on the roster in any level to help collect mini kits, red bricks and new characters. As you play through each level normally you can see puzzles that will require a certain power or skill only particular characters will have. A returning feature from LEGO MARVEL Superheroes is the ‘Rescue Stan Lee’ from each level, adding a nice element to Freeplay. In fact the inside joke of MARVEL films having a Stan Lee cameo is used to great effect in the game, perhaps a little overused, but still a nice touch.
The open world side that allows players to explored hub locations taken from the featured MARVEL films such as Asgard, Sokovia, South Africa, Barton’s farm, Malibu and Washington DC are full of side missions to complete, races, gold bricks to find and new characters to collect. There are even crimes to stop as well adding even more gameplay as you strive to fill the roster and find every collectible for the full 100%. There really is an abundance of things to do that will keep fans busy for hours on end.
That being said however, as a result of now focusing on the MARVEL cinematic universe for level content, I felt that LEGO MARVEL Avengers was limited in the choice of films as it focused on the Avengers. It would have been amazing to have had a Guardians of the Galaxy story level to enjoy but as they have yet to feature with the Avengers it simply was not an option, for now. With so potential with the next batch of Avenger films introducing more characters and bringing them all together for Infinity War, I sense that a sequel to LEGO MARVEL Avengers will organically be focused on Infinity War. What a prospect that is!
Overall I really enjoyed LEGO MARVEL Avengers as both a fan of LEGO games and MARVEL. Travellers Tales has once again successfully blended their style with a cinematic series to deliver a superb game experience. A nice surprise was discovering that the season pass is priced at a very reasonable £7.99 adding 40 new characters and five new story levels featuring Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Captain MARVEL and Masters of Evil.
This game serves as a brilliant experience for fans of the MARVEL films and MARVEL comic books. Full of content with a door left open to follow-up with more Avenger films in the future. The wait has been worth it and yet again Traveller’s Tales has built upon previous work with MARVEL to deliver an experience that compliments the film universe well and provides the foundation to continue when the next group of Avenger films are released.
The Collector and Thanos will be most eager to grab this game!
It seems like I’ve been waiting forever but XCOM 2 is finally here. It hasn’t been that long to be honest but there’s no such thing as too much XCOM. The aliens are back and this time they’ve started off with total control of the planet and its inhabitants. Nice. You’ve already lost and you haven’t even started yet. Very XCOM.
Your time at XCOM will be split between managing your new base (an awesome, stolen, alien ship called the Avenger), struggling to complete objectives on the world map and getting your arse kicked on the ground by enemies with hugely superior weapons and equipment. That’s basically XCOM for you. There’s a difficulty that goes hand in hand with Xcom that somehow makes it enjoyable. Perhaps it’s the fact that overcoming such odds is satisfying. If that’s the case then XCOM is one of the most satisfying games there is.
XCOM 2 has an absolute ton of new features and all of them are significant. The four soldier classes have changed so now you have the Ranger armed with a machete and shotgun, Sharpshooter with a sniper rifle and (genuinely good) pistol, Specialist with hacking, healing, combat drones called Gremlins and the Grenadier with a cannon and multifunction grenade launcher. There is also the new and improved Psi Operative who now comes with a mind numbing array of telekinetic abilities that you must teach in a special facility rather than gaining XP in the field.
Everything has been scaled up. The Aliens have more tech than before, more aggressive forms and will certainly not hold back in any way. But more equipment, fully featured weapon customization and powerful new abilities create much more freedom and choice of strategy than before. Balancing is better too and no class feels overly strong like the Assault class from Enemy Unknown. Each class has something to contribute and I often found myself taking different combinations on missions rather than reverting to the same setup each and every time.
The new weapon tiers are balanced well too and the rush to the final tier weapons no longer means victory. Damage goes up significantly with the more advanced weapons but intelligently using your upgrades and levelling a strong team is far, far more important. You can actually get quite a long way with your standards ballistic weapons in XCOM 2, if you use them right.
Managing the often huge list of objectives whilst trying to complete ground missions with your squad in tact is tougher than ever. I had some really nasty mission reports as you can see below. I lost more troops than with Enemy Unknown but somehow it was rarely irritating when I did. Less dodgy spawns and other tedious moments lead to more legitimate loss that is what makes Xcom so great. And even though the ground missions are tough enough keeping ahead of the aliens on the strategic map is more difficult still. You cannot do everything and even late game there will be tough decisions to make.
Dark Events are a new feature and are the best way XCOM 2 offers up tough choices. The aliens will try to complete 3 objectives and you can stop one of them. Often it will be a choice between slowing the Avatar project, which forms your loss condition in XCOM 2, restricting enemy troops from better equipment or even reducing your monthly supply drops by 50%. There’s no correct choice and sometimes there isn’t even a good one. Still, you will have to pick no matter how bad the consequences.
The mysterious Avatar project shifts the feel of XCOM into a much more attack oriented experience. You’re fighting back now so sitting around defending isn’t going to achieve anything. There’s something extremely disconcerting about your loss condition being in the hands of AI and some random events. It certainly does well to shake you out of complacency and XCOM 2 rarely, if ever, lets off the pressure. It’s more comfortable after your first play through but there doesn’t feel like that one perfect build order like there was for Enemy Unknown that leaves you relaxing after a few campaigns.
The Avatar project also provides a nice plot that is much better than before. Plot isn’t the most important aspect of XCOM but XCOM 2 definitely has a vastly superior narrative than the previous XCOM. There’s some nice explanation that gives the alien race a greater depth and there’s actually a very logical back story that emerges throughout XCOM 2. It’s nice to seem some old faces returning as well.
Another returning feature are bonuses when Xcom is in contact with each region in a continent that might reduce the cost of goods, increase income or provide quicker research times among many more. One of my favourites gives you the ability to re-attach weapon mods rather than them being permanent upgrades. I searched in vain during my second campaign before I realised I had an entirely different set of bonuses. One allowed an extra upgrade slot for each and every weapon which makes a huge difference to my squads ability. It’s a great way to keep things fresh rather than constantly prioritising the same continents for the same bonuses every single time.
So everything seems to be going perfectly and then you notice the frame rate. It’s so painful to have a game this good run so badly. Everything’s fine at the start but things definitely get worse the further through a run you get. It gets so that certain scenes run at around 15fps, especially the soldier customization screen. For the most part combat missions run reasonably well but there are more than occasional lost frames. It’s frustrating at times, problematic at others and for the rest just stops XCOM 2 looking nice.
Visuals have taken a nice step forward without moving away from XCOM’s distinctive style. Aliens have had either a serious makeover or have been completely redesigned. The new XCOM uniforms and armours have had the same treatment and nothing at all has been lazily ported from the first game. It’s a real shame the frame rate gets in the way so badly because it’s just so hard to enjoy the looks when you’re wondering why your GTX970 can’t run an isometric shooter on the lowest settings.
The even bigger shame is that it can stand in the way of really enjoying the new customization. Even given the DLC and extra options that were added to Enemy Unknown there are infinitely more options for you on XCOM 2. The customization is awesome and with the nice new visuals you can finally make the squad you’ve always wanted rather then nearly the squad you’ve always wanted.
XCOM 2 is nothing short of brilliant. It strikes a balance that so many sequels get so wrong so often. Enough of the original is intact that veterans like myself are comfortable and at home but enough is new to keep things exciting and fresh. Randomized elements to the Geoscape and procedural maps go a long way to keeping you coming back for more. Still, for new players XCOM 2 will be challenging but rewarding. XCOM 2 feels like a much more complete package than Enemy Unknown but once you’ve got over the overwhelming pressures of being in charge of XCOM there’s plenty of content to keep you interested for a long time.
Firaxis has struck the perfect balance for a sequel and XCOM is packed with new features that are thoughtfully implemented. Everything has been redesigned or improved in some way. Base management is more concise and strategic with fewer buildings. Staff now need to be managed and are no longer nameless numbers. The guerrilla tactics that form the core of the objectives and soldier abilities offer new challenges and the strategies to overcome them. But it’s not just the quantity of new features but the quality of them that ensure that XCOM 2 is probably the fullest and most considered sequel I’ve ever played. Be assured I’ve only covered the most important stuff in this review, there’s plenty more for your to see.
By far XCOM 2’s biggest problem is the frame rate. It really is terrible and I expected better from a team so experienced with PC titles. It’s all the more irritating when the team has avoided a multiplatform release to make sure the PC version is up to scratch. Hopefully patching will solve the problems but it’s my only problem with this extremely brilliant sequel which is a true shame. Despite this, XCOM 2 is easily one of the best strategy games I’ve ever played. XCOM is back and it’s still the best.
Today Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Identity, the franchise’s first Action-RPG, will launch on iOS devices on 25th February. The mobile-exclusive game takes place during a fan-favourite time period, the Italian Renaissance.
Assassin’s Creed Identity challenges players to solve The Mystery of The Crows through a combination of thrilling story missions and countless quests. Players will create and customise their own Assassins and take them through numerous adventures in iconic settings from the Italian Renaissance, such as the Santa Croce area in Florence and the Colosseum in Rome. The Assassins will evolve throughout the game and progress from a novice to a master assassin. Characters can be chosen from four individual classes: Berserker, Shadow Blade, Trickster and Thief.
Assassin’s Creed Identity transports the fun, the freedom of movement and parkour to iOS devices using a variety of different controls: tap-to-move, dual virtual stick controls or with a gamepad. Assassin’s Creed Identity uses the Unity game engine to create stunning graphics never before seen on a mobile device, through amazing custom-made HD textures, shaders and models.
On 3rd February, a Q&A video with the Creative Director of the game will be published on the Ubisoft Youtube channel, giving more details about the game and how Assassin’s Creed was re-imagined on mobile.
Developed by Blue Byte, a Ubisoft studio, Assassin’s Creed Identity will be available on the App Store for £3.99. The game requires iOS 7 and an iPad 3 or a later model, or an iPhone 5 or a later model.
FunstockRetro.co.uk has announced this exquisite new book, “Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection”. This stunning hardback book comprises around 250 classic Super Famicom games (the Japanese version of the Super Nintendo – SNES), presented in glorious lithographic print and encased in a Charcoal Grey wibalin cover with gold foil blocked logo.
It features many rare examples of classic Super Famicom artwork and some that have never before been documented in print!
All of the artwork has been professionally shot from the archives of renowned collector Stuart Brett (aka Super Famicom Guy) and features text and features overseen by long-time games journalist Steve Jarratt, launch editor of Edge and Nintendo magazine Total!
Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection is an unmissable treat for anyone who had a passion for Nintendo’s 16-bit games console, and who came to embrace the distinctive Japanese artwork adorning these iconic games.
It is available to pre-order now for just £24.99 here. All pre-orders will include an exclusive ‘Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection’ bookmark.
Thrustmaster today brings a unique offer for flight and aerial combat enthusiasts, granting them access to a world of unrivalled sensations and precision: the T.Flight Hotas 4 including the War Thunder Starter Pack.
With this truly unique offer, Thrustmaster will provide PlayStation 4 (PS4) gamers with a high-performance joystick and in-game boosts to help them progress in the free-to-play MMO combat game War Thunder. In War Thunder, players can re-enact the most intense battles of World War 2. This is an ideal opportunity for Thrustmaster to bring PS4 gamers its long-standing expertise in the field of joysticks with the T. Flight Hotas 4, a genuine Hotas (Hands On Throttle And Stick) controller, designed by the very inventor of this concept. Gilles Raulet, Development Director for Thrustmaster, explains: “To celebrate the launch of our first joystick for PS4, by combining this new release with a safe value such as War Thunder, we are offering gamers a new, accessible experience that will allow them to swiftly rise throughout the leaderboards, using in-flight controls that are directly recognized.” This opinion is also shared by Igor Khаchaturyan, Global Marketing Director at Gaijin Entertainment, who states: “We are very satisfied to offer buyers of the T.Flight Hotas 4 and War Thunder Starter Pack a number of in-game items that will instantly allow them to enjoy excellent performance in the world of War Thunder.” These converging opinions are materialized in a Plug and Play joystick that is preconfigured for the game – a powerful controller that is ready for immediate take-off!
The T.Flight Hotas 4 perfectly combines performance and realism. To this end, it offers ergonomic controls, suited to all types of flight: the handle features a wide handrest and adjustable resistance. The full-scale throttle is detachable. The rudder is actuated by a dual system, and can be controlled by a rotating handle or using the progressive tilting lever. Flight controls are very comprehensive, with a total of 5 axes, 12 action buttons, 1 rapid-fire trigger and 1 multidirectional hat switch. As the joystick is produced under official license for the PlayStation 4, it features the console’s official buttons (PS / SHARE / OPTIONS). Finally, the joystick’s internal memory allows users to update the firmware.
The Starter Pack offered with the purchase of the T. Flight Hotas 4 consists of:
500 Golden Eagles (the game’s currency), allowing users to make many in-game purchases.
A one-week Premium account that makes research of new vehicles faster.
A XP-38G Lightning plane. This US fighter plane, built to 1462 units from 1942 to 1943, was a full-metal, single-pilot and twin-engine aircraft; it featured two tailfins and boasted unique aerodynamic capabilities at the time of World War 2. It was equipped with powerful weapons, and its swift climbing prowess made it a formidably efficient aircraft. Piloting this plane with the T.Flight Hotas 4 will allow gamers to experience epic aerial battles with unrivalled realism
The T.Flight Hotas 4 War Thunder Starter Pack is available at the suggested retail price of €79.99 (taxes included).
Watch the new clip from Deadpool called “Superhero Landing”, based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humour, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller and Ed Skrein out on the 10th February.
Deep Silver and 11 bit studios today release This War Of Mine: The Little Ones. A harrowing tale of true survival, the critically acclaimed This War of Mine: The Little Ones finally makes its debut on PlayStation4 and Xbox One £24.99 /$29.99/€29.99.
As a pocket of survivors living amidst the ruins of a besieged city, it’s up to you to decide how to survive the harsh realities of war, and live with the consequences…
This War of Mine: The Little Ones offers an unflinching portrayal of wartime survival, viewed not through the eyes of an elite soldier, but the surviving civilians with the added unique perspective of a child. The introduction of children to the lauded mix of survival-strategy gameplay forms the basis for a wealth of new strategic action and emotional narrative content.
Pretty much the only time I compete online is in the world of MOBAs. Fractured Space has been going through a huge amount of changes, tweaks and updates but is heading firmly towards the ultimate goal of a final build. It’s a good start setting off in a sci-fi universe as pretty much every single MOBA worth playing is set in a fantasy world. There’s nothing wrong with orks and elves gameplay but giant capital ships blasting away at each other in deep space holds a greater appeal to me. First though, Fractured Space has a lovely new video to take a look at so sit back enjoy.
A few alterations to the core MOBA gameplay set Fractured Space apart from the rest. Team wide resources are a consideration with the team holding the most outposts generating the most resources. The key to winning the battle of resources is undoubtedly to maintain control of the gas mining station that resides in the centre of the map. There are only short windows of opportunity to take control of the station however and you can be sure that a battle will take place whenever the timer allows it. It’s such a valuable resource that you just can’t ignore it.
Towers work differently from a standard MOBA too and in Fractured Space you will be concerned with taking control of space stations rather than destroying towers. You will need to control at least one of the stations to have the ability to travel to the enemy main base. Defeating enemy ships and capturing points is refreshingly tactical for a MOBA and also makes sure battles keep taking place. Conventionally once a tower is gone it’s gone but in Fractured Space control can be won, lost and regained which makes sure battles keep taking place throughout the match and goes some way to ensuring the winning team still has to work to win.
The way the map is split up adds even more to the back and forth battles as even a team with a huge amount of map control can quite easily lose if all their ships are in the wrong place. The enemy can simply get into your base and capture it if your team has nobody to get in their way. It takes a significant amount of time to switch zones, even for a MOBA, so careful planning and map reading will be needed to make sure you stay ahead of the enemy team.
Combat with capital ships is tactical and satisfying. Each ship has a selection of abilities that you will absolutely need to use correctly in order to win. You’re not likely to blag your way through a fight without any knowledge of what your guns do and how to effectively use them. Probably the most important thing to remember is the correct range for your chosen ship. If you’ve got a sniper you’re not going to want to let a close range enemy fight back. You might feel like you’re holding your hand on a short persons head while kicking them repeatedly but hey, that’s what the sniper is for. And you know you’ll pay for it if they get close up.
Learning the ships, their abilities and any strengths and weaknesses is just as fun as any other MOBA although I have to say it’s more manageable and accessible in Fractured Space than most MOBAs. Instead of being greeted with 100 or more characters to learn intimately before you even dare go online and let the Koreans thrash you there is a well sized but manageable roster of ships. There’s definitely a ship for all occasions but having a concise roster means you get the sense of progression and improvement that often seems so far out of reach for new players in a MOBA.
Manoeuvring so that damage is spread across all your armour while protecting any weak sections of your ship and also maintaining accuracy are definitely key to winning a fight. The feel of the ships is amazing especially considering I was using a mouse and keyboard. Keyboards don’t often give a real sense of feedback but you can very quickly learn to feel accurately how fast a ship will turn, accelerate and stop. It’s so rewarding when your manoeuvring wins you a fight as an opponent sits still and gets thrashed.
A good majority of the bugs and issues that where present have been addressed and fixed and the team continues to do a fantastic job of staying on top of them and improving the game. It’s nice to see a developer use early access as it’s meant to be with obvious and clear movement forward for the game. One of the biggest issues that Fractured Space is currently addressing is matchmaking.
I had the chance to talk to the team at Insomnia 56 and we discussed the intricacies of creating a functioning matchmaking system. One of the greatest challenges is the divide between experienced and high levelled players and those who are just starting out. It’s a difficult balance to strike between finding a game quickly and finding the right game for a player. The team knows it and are handling things in the right way, once again making sure Fractured Space keeps moving forwards towards a full release. Hopefully the influx of new players from promotions will help to get enough players to operate decent matchmaking.
But it’s nothing that makes the game unplayable even as it is. Fractured Space is a genuinely unique look at a MOBA title from a team that understands the genre well from both their personal and professional experience. There is a sense that Fractured Space has been created by someone that plays MOBAs and knows what they would want. Fractured Space is looking very promising and I strongly recommend it to any MOBA fan. Provided the game keeps striving towards a full release, addressing issues and fixing things the way it is at the minute Fractured Space will be a great MOBA and is definitely one of the most promising Early Access titles I’ve seen.
