Night-mayor nearly over: SimCity offline mode is just a spot of "final testing" away
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“Too little, too late” is the refrain I hear most often in the comment threads for articles like this one - and perhaps that’s true. Maxis certainly have a long way to go in re-earning our faith, and there are still inherent problems with SimCity’s simulation that will likely never be solved - at least not in this iteration.
But in the very near future, it’s going to become a game you can play on the train, or for 40 minutes during a power cut until your laptop battery drains to nothing. Which is something, right?
Diablo III director hints at ladder support post-Reaper of Souls
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Blizzard have been teasing a competitive ladder for Diablo III for absolutely yonks. On the first anniversary of the game’s release in May, designer Wyatt Cheng said the dev team were “definitely looking into” the possibility of ranked seasons - but warned it “wouldn’t be viable until an expansion”.
Well, guess what comes out at the end of this month? The imminent release of Reaper of Souls, and the fact that game director Josh Mosqueira’s tweets have turned cryptic of late, give us reason to believe in seasons.
Microsoft say there'll be official Xbox One controller support on PC this year
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Some of Microsoft’s most important announcements for PC gamers continue to come from the gutter. While DirectX 12 looks to occupy two stages at GDC, we have to look to a pokey corner of NeoGAF for word on the Xbox One controller - already in our lounges, but not in conversation with our computers.
The news is good: Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello says we can expect proper support for the gamepad on PC this year - and it won’t require any extra gadgetry before it starts accepting our inputs.
Blustery day: Heroes of the Storm has entered technical alpha
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Heroes of the Storm is the on-screen manifestation of BlizzCon - a place where demons hack at marines healed by Knights of the Silver Hand. It’s the MOBA formerly known as Blizzard All-Stars - now finally playable to a select few battle.net users. Though still very far from finished.
“Don’t worry,” says Blizzard community man Kevin Johnson. “Uther isn’t really going to sound like that”.
Any port in a storm: Elite Dangerous moves into alpha 3.0 and shows off docking
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Elite: Dangerous has moved into phase 3.0 of its alpha, which adds docking, hyperspace jumps and ship outfitting. Normally docking wouldn’t be all that interesting, but getting a vessel into a space station in the original Elite was an absolute bugger, and Elite: Dangerous attempts to stay true to the original’s spirit by making it a very hands-on affair.
Dock your space-weary eyes on the tutorial video below.
Transformers Universe closed beta begins this weekend; play and get two exclusive bots
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Fancy commanding burly robots to beat the oil out of other burly robots this weekend? There are definitely worse ways to while away the hours. If you are the type of person who goes in for that senseless robot-on-robot violence, then you’re in luck, because Transformers Universe is kicking off its closed beta on the 15th and 16th.
Sign ups are first come, first served and limited, so you’d probably go and pledge your allegiance to the Autobots or the Decepticons post-haste.
Pre-load Valve's Free to Play documentary on Steam now
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I’m not sure why it seems loopier than pre-loading a game, but the fact that you can - right bloody now - pre-load Valve’s Dota 2 documentary, Free to Play, seems a bit bonkers. But you can do it. And that way you’ll be ready when it launches on the 19th, a day after it premieres in San Francisco.
Battlefield 4's platoons are now open to the masses
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Previously only available to Premium members, Battlefield 4’s platoon system separated the haves from the have nots. DICE couldn’t have some random pleb making a platoon. That would be like any old nutter creating a religion or leading a political party. Preposterous.
But fearing revolution - or more likely just because much of Battlefield’s content eventually trickles down - DICE acquiesced, and now any old person can put together a platoon.
The Elder Scrolls Online will launch "lag-free" promise Bethesda
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Come launch day for The Elder Scrolls Online, no one will be (s)lagging it off for latency issues, provided Bethesda make good on their promise. In the run up to D-Day, developer Zenimax have been making the most of the data gained during beta testing to ensure servers are prepped for the huge initial blast of players throwing orcs and lizard people onto them.
Satellite Reign footage showcases lovely cyberpunk dystopia
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It’s odd how often you look at dystopia on-screen and think “Wow, that’s lovely”. Obviously we don’t mean lovely as in let’s go move in straightaway, but there is something alluringly pretty about the likes of Blade Runner’s future LA. Satellite Reign - spiritual successor to the original Syndicate games - has got that feeling crack on, as demonstrated in this beautiful little bit of pre-alpha footage.
The Elder Scrolls Online's first microtransaction will be a horse
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Should you be rolling in enough wealth that you can afford to buy The Elder Scrolls Online game, the monthly subscription, and still have money left to spare, then Zenimax Online may have something to satisfy your retail cravings in its Elder Scrolls Online cash shop. There won’t be a massive selection available on day one, but one of the things guaranteed to be on sale is a horse.
If you wish to gallop around the starting zones, sat a whole ten hands higher than other newbie players to exert your dominant dollar, then step this way.
FFXIV: A Realm Reborn patch 2.2 video previews Leviathan and more
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Square Enix has released today a new video detailing the contents of the new patch coming to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - Through the Maelstrom. The headline feature: the appearance of the water serpent primal, Leviathan. Along with additional quests, more hard mode dungeons and gear glamouring, the patch will also introduce the The Second Coil of Bahamut: a continuation of the games end-game raid.
Valve's Steam Controller has received an update; it's shiny
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Yes, that was a Firefly reference. Valve have posted an announcement showing off their most recent design prototype for their Steam Controller. The new prototype incorporates much of the feedback from the Steam Box testers, who’ve been tinkering with it since last year.
World of Warcraft player hits 85 on his "neutral" Pandaren; aims for 90
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Somewhere in the world of Azeroth is a lone warrior with no allegiance. Doubleagent, a Pandaren Shaman, is on his own quest to reach the games max level without allying with either the Horde or the Alliance. This introduces some pretty harsh limitations to his leveling ability, as he’s never allowed to leave the starting zone. His only way of gaining the gargantuan amounts of experience he now needs to level up is solely by gathering.
Supergiant Games are close to "content lock" with Transistor; "these days we're zeroing in"
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At the back end of 2013, Supergiant Games had reported that Transistor - their new action RPG - was in an alpha stage. Fast forward to the present and it’s getting closer to that all important “content lock” status: where the game is “near shipping quality”.
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