The Sims 4's pool-shaped gap has been filled
When Maxis revealed that there would be a pool-shaped gap in The Sims 4, there was much sadness. Indeed, the tears from pool-lovers everywhere could have filled several hundred Olympic-sized swimming pools.
That dry period is now over, though and our poor Sims can now cool themselves off in their new pools.
Blizzard see "positive signs" that they can "win back" subscribers with Warlords of Draenor
Shareholders, bless them, can be a panicky bunch. They see the graceful decline on World of Warcraft’s graphs and - forgetting that it remains the biggest subscription MMO in the world - ask Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime if there’s any chance of a free-to-play reprieve.
“I don’t foresee any dramatic changes to our business model,” Morhaime told investors last night - and added that Blizzard are confident in the steps they've taken to ensure players want to “stick around” after Warlords of Draenor.
Oculus VR have quadrupled in size this year
Oculus expanded a couple of times after the Rift was first Kickstarted, and have multiplied again since we learned of plans for Facebook to buy Oculus VR back in March. The firm footing provided by Zuckerberg and co. has allowed the company to swell to over 200 engineers - and to stuff more brains into research.
Oh my word: Grand Theft Auto V’s first-person mode delivers in first footage
In a list of uncomfortable places to be, ‘inside the skull of Trevor Philips’ would probably place pretty highly. But first-person Grand Theft Auto was a terribly compelling idea when modders first started fiddling with it in Liberty City, and it’s even more so now Rockstar are officially supporting it for GTA V’s PC port.
Early footage of the mode sees Rockstar’s latest prove itself as an unlikely FPS, racing sim and flight simulator - and all in its own inimitable style.
Activision are "optimistic" that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will outsell Ghosts
Activision are living in a marketing spin-off to Minority Report right now. They’re asking the big questions: does purchase intent always end in purchasing action? Can a capable developer improve the lot of Call of Duty, or are the declining returns of every successive game in the series predetermined?
Every analyst in America seems to think Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will fare worse than Ghosts - but Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is hopeful that Sledgehammer’s debut will outsell its predecessor.
Hearthstone has "far exceeded" Blizzard's expectations for it
Perhaps it’s not quite right to characterise Hearthstone as the little card game that could. With the spectacular machinery of Blizzard behind it, an armpit-fart simulator could become one of the most popular games in the world.
But the handful of Blizzard staffers I’ve spoken to this year have all expressed surprise at how large a part of their lives the CCG has become. Last night, CEO Mike Morhaime told investors that Hearthstone had dramatically outstripped its creators hopes for it.
Ken Levine lends a hand to former Irrational comrades Kickstarting The Black Glove
I’d like to be able to tell you that Ken Levine has thrown his support behind his former staff by donning a single black handwarmer and performing Michael Jackson numbers to camera.
Instead he’s walked the less obvious path, and recorded a short, static message of solidarity for Day for Night Games’ surrealist vaudeville adventure, The Black Glove. Think of it as an IRL audio diary.
Ubisoft’s new games aren't available on Steam in the UK. "UK customers wishing to purchase the game digitally can do so by visiting the Uplay store..."
The Crew. Far Cry 4. Assassin’s Creed Unity. Ubisoft’s three-pronged Christmas assault will be happening everywhere but on Steam’s UK store.
Steam versions of all three games are missing from the publisher’s UK listings for November and December, when they’ll be available to buy in shops.
Watch this Dragon Age: Inquisition choice and consequence trailer, or go and eat some ice cream; it's your call
Choice and consequence - BioWare does love to harp on about its love affair with RPG decision making, and with Dragon Age: Inquisition due out in a few weeks, it’s time to get a look at how you’ll be able to shape the world with the decisions you might be making in your pants, drunk at two o’clock in the morning.
Playing With Myself: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth launched late last night, and today I’ve been faffing around in basements - but mostly dying - for your amusement. I can’t say that I’ve ever proved to competent in any of the games I’ve tackled for Playing With Myself, but in The Binding of Isaac I truly sink to new depths of awfulness.
And I loved - almost - every second of it.
Here's everything you need to know about Assassin's Creed Unity crammed into one video
If you haven’t quite got the jist of Assassin’s Creed Unity from the story, gameplay, co-op and cinematic trailers that we’ve been bombarded with over the last six months, well then you’ve not been paying attention, but not to worry! Ubisoft’s put together yet another, this one covering everything.
It’s Assassin’s Creed Unity 101.
Make your dream ship in Galactic Civilizations III, and you might see it in the release version and win $1000
I will never build a structurally sound building or vessel at any point in my life. The skill required to even put up a shelf eludes me. Galactic Civilizations II made a digital shipbuilder, though. A good one. My conquest of galaxies was punctuated by delves into the ship designer, populating my empire with anything from fleets of Star Trek’s Sovereign class ships to strange spinning orbs connected by organic walkways.
Galactic Civilizations III might only be in beta, but the ship designer tool is well on its way to dethroning its predecessor. There’s nowhere near as much variety in terms of modules and stuff you can stick on your ship, but it’s already getting pretty sophisticated. And right now, it’s the only ship designer that you use to win $1,000 in Stardock’s ship designer contest.
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