Wildstar producer and Carbine boss Jeremy Gaffney steps down
Jeremy Gaffney has been Carbine’s president, executive producer and latterly the public spokesface for what might be the last great subscription MMO: Wildstar. But now he’s taking a back seat and allowing Carbine’s “current development stars” to lead their launched game into an update-heavy future.
Throw shapes: Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions will have brain-wringing 3D grids
Dimensions isn’t a name. Oh, I mean it is the name of the surprise Geometry Wars sequel Activision announced at GamesCom - but it’s not just that. It represents a shift in the rules of the Liverpool-made rainbow score-chaser.
A City Sleeps is a bullet-hell shooter from Rock Band lot Harmonix about a dream exorcist
Before Guitar Hero, Harmonix made music game curios that made onlookers go “Huh!”, but sucked their players into a rhythmic trance. Now they’re doing the same again. A City Sleeps is a beat-driven, bullet-hell shooter about a dreaming metropolis.
Firefall patch packs in the action making it much more fun to play
I gave Firefall a 4/10 when I reviewed three weeks ago. I thought the action was a repetitive grind and I spent far too long walking between missions. I also found that it didn’t foster much interaction between players, a lot of your time was spent solo and the missions simply didn’t require buddying up.
Well, Red 5 have solved a great many of my gripes in a single patch, fixing some deep flaws in the launch version. I’ve spent all morning playing and if you were on the fence about creating an account this could be enough to get you hooked.
Let me explain why.
Total War: Rome II to get new campaign map, "hundreds of hours" of free geopolitics
Was the existing version of Total War: Rome II fit for a king? Creative Assembly didn’t think so, so they’re bringing out an Emperor Edition sometime in September.
That'll collect together all the free updates Rome has had to date - which isn’t particularly remarkable for anybody with broadband and a spare day to leave Steam whirring.
But it'll also herald a brand new expansion campaign that’ll last players “hundreds of hours”. Called ‘Imperator Augustus’, it'll come to all Rome II owners for free.
Shadow of Mordor preview
Life in Shadow of Mordor goes on without you.
Most open world games only seem to have life when you’re looking, GTA’s cars only spawn into existence when you get close enough, Assassin’s Creeds’ pickpockets never spend the money they steal because they exist only as long as you can see them, and Skyrim’s denizens only complain about their arrow wounds when you’re within earshot.
Shadow of Mordor is different.
It has a world of characters that have ambitions, relationships, and enemies all of their own. Goals that have nothing to do with you that play out separate to you.
You get to see it all in play when you die.
Here's what to expect from Kerbal Space Program 0.25
Space news! At some point in the very near future, Kerbal Space Program will receive its next update. Catchily titled Kerbal Space Program 0.25, it's the largest update since the release of First Contract over a month ago, introducing a whole host of changes to the space-rocket-explosion-resulting-in-astronaut-stranded-in-orbit simulator.
Developer Squad has kindly shared with us the roadmap for their game's next iteration. Here's what to expect in Kerbal Space Program 0.25.
Watch Dogs mod for GTA IV is finished and impressively faithful
Everybody who owns Watch Dogs has spent a bit of time playing it like it’s GTA. Whether the UI’s to blame or the binary familiarity of hopping in and out of cars, it’s all to easy to fall back on long-perfected cop-shaking routines and machine gun solutions.
WatchDogsIV suggests we do it the other way around. The work of three modders, it infuses Liberty City with the closed-circuit paranoia, hacking mechanics and long, leather coats of future Chicago.
Elite: Dangerous shows off mucky, banged up spaceships
The latest teaser image from the folks at Frontier hints at ship weathering as an upcoming feature in Elite: Dangerous. The concept image demonstrates in three stages how your ship will go from its original pristine condition to "all scratched up" before finally reaching "hobo space-wagon".
This is important space business.
Prison Architect alpha 24 turns prisoners into snitches
Prison Architect is now up to it’s 24th alpha version, and one does wonder if it will ever hit beta, or if features will keep being added until it becomes sentient and imprisons us all.
Alpha 24 builds on the mod system, allowing architects to create almost anything, from new grants to new jobs; snitches, otherwise known as confidential informants; and remote access systems continue to be expanded.
Telltale cruelly teases Game of Thrones details with A Dance With Dragons quote
With The Walking Dead Season 2 wrapped up - take a gander at No Going Back review if you want to know how the finale stacked up - Telltale have moved on to teasing their Games of Thrones adaptation.
The studio tweeted an excerpt from the fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance With Dragons, which offers scant details but possibly reveals the game’s focus. Remember House Forrester? No, you probably don’t.
Valve's going up against an Australian watchdog in court over its refund policy
Australia and video games don’t have the most ammicable of relationships. Actually, that’s probably a bit unfair. I mean, I doubt Ayers Rock has an issue with games, and I suspect that most people don’t consider them dangerous. But some people of influence do, which is why developers sometimes end up jumping through hoops so they can sell their games over there.
Now an Australian consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has Valve in its sights. The group is suing Valve over its refund policy, which it claims breaks the country’s consumer laws.
PlanetSide 2 gets its first new aircraft since launch: the Valkyrie
In PlanetSide 2, I fly on instinct. This involves flailing around wildly while yelling “we’re all going to die!” It’s very relaxing. And now the dangerous skies of Auraxis are set to get busier, with the introduction of the first new aircraft to hit the game since launch: the Valkyrie.
Take a gander at the gunship in action, below.
Maia 0.44 ramps up the danger with catastrophic earthquakes and suspicious aliens
I haven’t played Maia since it first made planetfall and landed on Early Access, but that skeletal frame - which now has a lot more meat hanging off it - was shaping into something I think I’ll rather like quite a lot. It’s a colony builder and management sim set on an alien world. And it has space chickens and space cats.
The game just received a hefty update today along with a 22 percent discount, which you can take advantage of for the next 40-odd hours.
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell pits the gang against Satan
We were betting on Saints Row V, but Volition’s new project - just announced today at PAX - will not be the fifth entry in the open world criminal-turned-superhero caper. Instead, it’s more DLC for Saints Row IV.
The good news is Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell it puts lovable psychopath Johnny Gat in the driver’s seat, and sees him take a trick down to Hell with ex-FBI hacker Kinzie in an effort to save the President and leader of the Saints from the clutches of Satan. Big Red wants the Prez to marry his daughter, and this is just how courtship works in Hell.
GoD Factory: Wingmen launches on Steam, brightening up the galaxy
Flashy, hyperspeed-paced space shooter GoD Factory: Wingmen launched today on Steam. It’s a multiplayer affair with 4 v 4 matches and really bizarre, customisable space ships. Cooperation is essential - no Maverick or Hal Jordan nonsense here - and the combat’s tactical.
Direct your eyes towards the brightly coloured launch trailer, below.
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