Well-thumbed: the Steam Controller has grown an analog stick
The Steam Controller, as it was first pitched to us, was a totally alien way to play a game. Two flat radar dishes, resembling the subwoofers in the back of a an 18-year-old’s car, represented the promise of mouse-controlled games on the couch. A touch screen at its centre stood in quiet tribute to the Dreamcast. Possibly.
Nowadays it looks much more familiar. Four Xbox port-friendly letters sit below the Steam Controller's pause button, and a thumbstick - a new addition - in place of the last prototype’s d-pad.
Chat restrictions increase win rates for a "large number" of League of Legends players
Riot Games have loud ways of dealing with the very worst players in one of the best free PC games around, League of Legends - like the tribunal, and the head-on-a-spike reports that follow their rulings.
But one of the quieter tools in their arsenal is the temporary chat ban. Not only does it dissuade players from bad behaviour, say Riot, but it actually tends to improve their performance in the lanes.
Star Wars: The Old Republic preps for largest story expansion since Rise of the Hutt Cartel
In retrospect, overarching MMO plotlines can sound like supervillain whack-a-mole. The Galactic Republic and Sith Empire might be at war, but together they’ve bopped the Hutt Cartel’s invasion of Makeb on the head, and given the Dread Masters of Oricon a good malleting.
For now, though, Star Wars: The Old Republic’s next major storyline is swathed in mystery, preceded by two new flashpoints that make up its prelude. It might be time to take another look at Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The Sims 2 is now free on Origin, swimming pools and 18 expansions included
A decade ago, you might have complained that The Sims 2 had turned the PC games charts into a permanent expandaland. But a comprehensive version of the game might be exactly what you're looking for today, on the eve of a Sims without swimming pools or toddlers.
Boot up Origin this afternoon and you can be adding Maxis’ finest hour of the 21st century, stuffed with Stuff Packs, to your library for free.
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