Biggest Age of Empires 2 tournament ever has $120,000 prize pool
It’s been 15 years since the release of Age of Empires 2 but it still has one of the most active, loyal fan bases of any RTS. The lobbies are still filled (and when the official lobbies went down the fans made their own multiplayer system), they coded their own mega balance patch, and they even created their own expansion pack in lieu of official support.
It’s no wonder then that the World Series of Video Games are funding a $120,000 prize pot for the Age of Empires 2 Championship, the biggest tournament in the game’s history.
Alien: Isolation Oculus Rift support enabled with a couple of .ini changes
Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation has been scaring our collective pants off and that was without strapping on a virtual reality headset. Now, with a couple of tweaks to the game’s .ini file, you can put on your Oculus Rift and have the xenomorph try to tear your eyes out of their sockets.
Kerbal Space Program update 0.25 lets you crush unpaid interns with bits of rocket ship
I’ve never paid too much care for where my rockets fall in Kerbal Space Program. Sure, what comes up must come down but, so long as it doesn’t fall on my crew as they fly into space, I’m good. Update 0.25, otherwise known as Economic Boom, changes all that by placing your space program facilities onto the surface of Kerbin.
If you’re not careful your falling fuel booster can take out the top floor of your administrative building and 20 unpaid interns with it. Think of the paperwork!
Grid Autosport Oculus support coming in next update
The next update for Grid Autosport will let you put your head into the driver’s seat if you have an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Potentially, this could make for one of the most engrossing driving experiences available on PC. Besides Euro Truck Simulator 2, of course.
The Flame in the Flood is a survivalist raft adventure from ex-Bioshock devs
Rafting down a forested river is considered a nice relaxing way to spend a summer. Set up camp each night and cook yourself something over the fire, maybe even break out the guitar for a few songs.
The Flame in the Flood paints a different picture.
The old America is dead, overgrown, and fast being forgotten, you must stay ahead of the changing seasons and the coming rainfall by rafting down a procedurally generated river, crafting equipment and foraging supplies as best you can.
If you die you have start all over again.
Hang out in the Batcave with the Oculus Rift this winter
Batman: The Animated Series is the Dark Knight at his very best, more faithful and entertaining than any of the films or that bewildering Gotham TV show that’s recently appeared. Come this winter, owners of VR devices like the Oculus Rift will be able to step into the Caped Crusader’s Batcave, based on the Animated Series version.
A “narrative experience” rather than an objective-based game, this VR Batcave is being designed by visual effects company Otoy Inc. along with Bruce Timm, creator of the “Timmverse”, DC’s animated universe.
The big, fat Battlefield 4 Premium Edition is only a fortnight away
If you wanted to get Battlefield 4 and all of its DLC right now, you’d need to drop just shy of £57. That’s for the Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe Edition and Premium membership, the latter of which is on sale at the moment. Hold onto your money.
Come October 21st, Battlefield 4 Premium Edition will launch, complete with all the DLC, personalisation options and 12 gold Battlepacks. And it will only set you back £39.99. That’s the same price as the Premium membership.
Dragon Age: Origins is free on Origin until October 14th
With Dragon Age: Inquisition just over a month away, now might be a good time to dip into the game that kicked off the series, BioWare’s fantastic Dragon Age: Origins. We recently added it to our 20 best RPGs on PC list for good reason.
Conveniently, it’s currently On the House over at Origin. Dragon Age: Origins, completely free. If you don’t already have it in your library, you’d be completely barmy not to pick it up.
Total War: Rome II - One Year On
When Total War: Rome II launched last year, it had big sandals to fill. It came after the most polished, focused Total War game, Shogun II, and was the sequel to what is probably the most fondly remembered installment in the series, the original Rome. Ultimately, it did not live up to expectations.
While the combat was spectacular, huge swathes of the game were bogged down by poorly implemented features like the politics system, and the turn based campaign was painfully slow and dreadfully dull. One year on, though, much has changed.
A slew of patches and updates culminating in the launch of the Emperor Edition last month have revitalised the game. A massive new campaign, a plethora of tweaks and broad, sweeping alterations necessitate a second look. It’s time to reinstall Rome II.
Warlock 2 is set to become a snake-filled waterpark with the Wrath of the Nagas expansion
Snakes get a bad rap. They are associated with sneakiness, death, poison, the Devil and a slew of nasty mythical monsters - even though they are totally rad. But sometimes they really bring it on themselves. Case in point: Wrath of the Nagas, the upcoming expansion for the wonderfully silly fantasy 4X game, Warlock II.
The expansion sees a new race, the titular Naga species, and a pair of new mages entering the magical fray. They’re a nasty bunch of water-loving snake folk, and they are driven by a single goal: drown the world. Really, guys, this isn’t doing you any favours.
Horror: The Evil Within will be locked at 30fps despite the steep requirements
The Evil Within is shaping out to be a very odd PC port. It’s a shame, really, as this “next generation” of consoles seemed poised to improve multiplatform releases thanks to greater parity between the platforms, but so far this has been far from the case.
Here’s the bad news: Bethesda had confirmed that the game will run at 30fps, and that’s all it will support. But much like Dead Rising 3, there is a way around this - it just isn’t recommended.
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