Why Attending Conventions Like EGX is Good For the Soul

Currently London here in the UK is abuzz with video games. The annual celebration of the video game industry is popping off in the ExCel centre – that’s right; it’s EGX time.

We’re in attendance this year meaning if you’re there you can get some hands-on time with Pride Run, Skybolt Zack, ShockRods, or you can just stop by and say hello. 

But maybe you’re not there, maybe you’re asking ‘Alex, why should I care about gaming conventions? Why would I bother?’ Well, firstly, I commend your audacity. Secondly, here’s why you should give a damn about gaming conventions like EGX, and why they’re truly good for the soul.

5. It’s good to be bounced around in the Brownian motion of society

We could do all our shopping on the internet. We could go to school at home. We could do our jobs in our pyjamas, and often we might need to do those things for our sanity or health. But it really is generally good to be out and about amongst others at least when you can. Conventions like EGX are an ideal place to just get out for a bit, meet some people, or don’t. It’s up to you.

4. Everyone’s there for one reason

Conversations are easier at conventions like EGX, because everyone’s there for one reason. Saw a game you like? Excited about something? Well, so are they. Everyone’s got a story or a thing they want to talk about, and so instead of spending time on small talk, you can go straight to Big Talk about things you love and things you are excited for.

3. Video Games are great

Let’s not underestimate this: video games are absolutely fantastic. Getting to go to a place and play and see games that aren’t out yet, or even ones that are old and being played on retro systems is just brilliant. You love games, the convention organisers love games, everyone there loves games. 

2. People don’t fit into one mould

You’ve seen the stereotypes. Gamers are male shut-ins wearing 1999-era Matrix leather coats. But, go to a gaming convention like EGX, and you’ll see just how stupid and out of date that stereotype is. Gamers come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages. Yes of course there’ll be a few nascent Neos walking around, but that’s just one type of gamer, you’ll see so many that you’ll realise ‘gamer’ is a tag that just applies to what you do, not who you are.

1. It’s a respite from negativity

The world’s a lot sometimes. Disasters, both natural and manmade ravage the world, political unrest is tearing countries and communities asunder, and frankly things are just a bit rubbish most of the time. But at a gaming convention, that stops at the door. Everyone is there to just see something new, see something they love, and it’s genuinely refreshing to soak up that atmosphere. 

Gaming conventions like Gamescom, EGX, Rezzed, or PAX can be expensive, tiring, and busy. But they’re also good for the soul, they’re energising, they recharge your love of gaming and can give you a new outlook on those who game alongside you.
What’s your favourite convention, or are you still just not interested in them? Let us know in the comments below, or head on over to our forum to join in the conversation.

WWE 2K20 Everything You Need to Know

WWE games are about as reliable as EA’s roster of sports franchises. They arrive every year with all the inevitability of the setting sun, with similar gameplay mechanics, graphics and incremental systemic improvements. This years instalment marks WWE 2K20, and it’s fast approaching its launch on October 22nd. If you’re wondering whether this years offering is worth the upgrade, we’re going to run through some of the new features coming to the game.

MyCareer 

Gracing the cover of WWE 2K20 is Becky Lynch, and to complement this the game is affording players the ability to create a female MyPlayer. This tracks for MyCareer too, where you’ll play as both a male and female wrestler and deal with the tribulations of becoming a superstar grappler. You can also play as female wrestlers in Mixed Tag matches.

This years 2K Showcase mode is also focusing on The Women’s Revolution and the Four Horsewomen, so you can relive a number of adrenaline-pumping moments from the female perspective, for the first time in the series history.

2K Towers 

Proving popular with fans, 2K Towers is back once more in 2K20. The mode is a lot like the towers seen in games like Mortal Kombat where you battle through a gauntlet of opponents for prizes. In previous offering you could play as a certain famed wrestler or your MyPlayer and push through a series of fighters, with mixed modes and eras to keep things fresh. For this years 2K Towers the developers are teasing “exciting new challenges” including new tower modes like Fatal-Four Way and Triple Threat. Story-driven towers will also make an appearance, with the developers already revealing a specific tower ahead of launch that focuses on the rise of controversial superstar Roman Reigns.

2K Originals 

WWE 2K20 will be supported post launch with what 2K is calling WWE 2K Originals, a series of content packs that bring “new arenas, superstars, story towers, unlockable character parts, arenas and more.” The first pack is titled “Bump in the Night” and will feature Bray Wyatt. You can get access to the first original for free by pre-ordering the game.

Roster and controls

As well as the above, 2K20 will contain a whopping 238 wrestlers, so you’re sure to find somebody to play as, whether that’s a legendary 90s stunner like Steve Austin or a popular modern titan like AJ Styles.

The developers have also tweaked the control scheme in the game to make it more accessible. Climbing and object interaction are now controlled by separate inputs, meaning you won’t get mixed up as often and perform the wrong action. There’s also the Assist Mode option which uses A.I to automate strong strikes and grapples, choosing the attack for the player. This simplifies the combat for players who may be new to the series.

If this has piqued your interest, watch out for WWE 2K20 when it launches next week on October 22nd for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Monkey King: Hero is Back

There’s a surprisingly rich history of games that interpret the classic story of Journey to the West. A few years ago we got the magnificent Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, with a slightly darker interpretation of the tale (pun intended). Enslaved is possibly the best interpretation so far, which is in no small thanks to the efforts of Ninja Theory, who made it. It took inspiration from the story but placed you in the future in a post-apocalyptic world instead of the days of yore. It was also fairly well received. 

More recently we’ve seen the representation of the characters in side-scrolling Unruly Heroes, which felt as though it got the art style spot on for such a classic story. In that game, you took control of one of four different heroes traversing through the beautiful world and even had a PvP mode. When you also consider the fact that Goku of Dragon Ball fame is also clearly influenced by this fable, it’s clear to see just how much we owe to the original Journey to the West. 

Monkey King: Hail to the King

Well, thanks to the mammoth success of Monkey King: Hero is Back (it’s one of the highest-grossing animated films in China), we’re getting yet another entry in this sub-sub-genre of games that are heavily-influenced, or just completely about, Journey to the West in the form of Monkey King: Hero is Back.

Rather than telling the normal story, or even following alongside the events of the movie, this game is going to be telling a new chapter in the Chinese legend. It’s going to be an action game all about unleashing kung-fu combos and QTE-counter attacks. It also promises not to take itself too seriously, which will be good news for fans of Jackie Chan films and the somewhat slapstick nature of them. 

Monkey King: Not Just an Action Hero

It won’t just be an action game though, there will be a wealth of different skills and super moves to unlock as you get stronger, as well as having to master all of the tools at your disposal. It’ll be a great chance to play a new take on this much-loved tale, and is sure to be a good choice for fans of all things Monkey. Plus, how often is it that we see movie tie-ins anymore, they used to be all the rage, but they’re far rarer nowadays. 

The game is set to come out October 17th on most platforms, and nestles nicely into the double-A space and is cheaper as a result. It could be a great game for little ones as a chance to keep them in the world of Journey to the West, and will probably be an essential pickup for fans of the film who just want to spend a little more time with it.

Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair: A Progressive Love-Letter To The Classics

In case you’ve been having an extended stay under a four-star rock, you’ll know that Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is not only out on store shelves right now, but also that it’s very good.

More than that though, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is as much a loving and glorious love letter to the classic titles of old, as it is progressive in the various aspects of its surprisingly sprawling design. Here’s why.

The Closest You’ll Get To Donkey Kong Country On A Non-Nintendo Machine

Ditching the 3D worlds of the previous game, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair instead shifts the action to a 2D plane for the most part in a way that will be familiar to anyone who has indulged Rare’s side-scrolling genre classic, Donkey Kong Country. 

From the thickly set and somewhat weighty feeling of the platforming, that evokes fond memories of Rare’s classic genre effort, to the challenging (though not unfairly so) level of difficulty, and finally the focus on jump attack chaining between enemies as a traversal mechanic, Playtonic’s latest is an unabashed tribute to Rare’s 1990s SNES platforming shenanigans. 

The Overworld Map Is Straight Outta Hyrule

If the platforming aspect of Yooka-Layee and the Impossible Lair finds its roots in Donkey Kong Country, than so too do the overworld sections of Playtonic’s sequel secure itself from the heritage of another well-known title in Nintendo’s back catalogue.

Between its platforming aspects, In Yooka-Layee and the Impossible Lair the perspective switches to a top down view as the player explores a decently sized overworld map, solving puzzles, uncovering secrets and vanquishing nasties in just the same way that erstwhile Nintendo hero Link has done in the Legend of Zelda games, past and present.

A Drinking Game Like No Other

One of the main reasons to seek out secrets in the game, the numerous tonics that you’ll either come across in hidden pockets of the environment, or purchase with Yooka-Laylee’s hard-won currency of feathers, each affect the game in different and interesting ways.

From the purely cosmetic tonics that simply produce an amusing visual filter, to those draughts of a more functional variety which introduce new moves or affect the difficulty of your foes, the tonics act as an ingenious kind of difficulty slider for the game. Beyond just making things more or less tricky, these fluids introduce a risk and reward dynamic too, whereupon the easier you make it for yourself the less feathers you earn at the end of each level and vice-versa.

It Boasts A Rare Sense Of Humour

Tapping into its rich history of breezy comedy when the bulk of its number still worked at Rare, Playtonic has brought its substantial talents at soft wit and turn of phrase to Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

Often twee, and never anything less than charming, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair’s heartwarming sense of humor is not only immediately recognisable from Playtonic’s distinctively British heritage, but also oozing a sort of innocent cleverness that makes it resolutely suitable for younger audiences too. 

A Tale Of Two Worlds

Not content to merely wear classical inspirations on its digital sleeve like an array of lovingly detailed, if somewhat faded tattoos, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair innovates significantly off of its own merits too. 

Nowhere is this ingenuity better on display than in the dual level structure that is threaded throughout the game. Each level in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is commenced by opening a storybook, however the levels that you’ll be presented with entirely depend on the real world condition of said tome.

A book laying on a dry riverbed might whisk our duo off into a vibrant forest realm for example, but should you open a nearby dam in the overworld causing the area to flood, players will then get the opportunity to attempt an all-new version of that level, half-submerged and stuffed with new challenges and secret opportunities. It’s clever stuff to say the least.

Yooka-Laylee and the impossible Lair is out now on the Green Man Gaming store. To find out what other gamers have to say, visit our community pages

Fortnite’s Map Disappears into Black Hole

Fortnite has never been a game to shy away from shaking things up. They’ve had changes to the map before, a Stranger Things crossover, the Avengers turned up, and even a live concert that broke all sorts of concurrency records. If you can remember back to the dusty distant days of 2017 the game was a fundamentally different beast, being overhauled to be the battle royale everyone knows and loves today.

Day of the Girl: The 10 Best Female Characters in Games

The 11th of October marks the internationally recognised Day of the Girl, and as part of that several video games companies have teamed up with the charity War Child to help raise money to help support young people affected by conflict. You can get more information on the War Child website.

As it’s the Day of the Girl, we thought it would be the perfect time to look at ten of the best female characters to ever grace the video gaming world. 

10 – Tifa Lockhart – Final Fantasy VII

Armed with little other than her fists and a devastating kick, Tifa Lockhart can hold the line at the front of battle with ease. Not only that, her care and tact around protagonist Cloud’s confused recollections is beautiful and caring.

9 – April Ryan – The Longest Journey / Dreamfall

With one of the best personal arcs ever seen in video games, April Ryan goes from struggling art student to dimension-hopping potential saviour of reality, but as the masterpiece The Longest Journey shows, nothing is ever that easy.

8 – Kate Archer – No-One Lives Forever Series

Kate Archer lives in a sexist-trope filled universe and she’s well aware of it, as one of the most aware protagonists in any game she supplements that with a sideline in spying and kicking enemy arse.

7 – Tandi – Fallout Series

Going from wide-eyed teenager in the original to president of the nascent New California Republic in the sequel, Tandi never lets adversity, or the apocalypse, get in her way. An inspiration to everyone.

6 – Commander Shepard – Mass Effect Series

Commander Shepard is the space-faring alien-punching hero we all want to secretly be, and despite there being a gender choice option, femShep is everyone’s canon, right?

5 – Sylvanas – WarCraft Series

She may have a bit of a troubled past and er, well, present, and possibly future, but Sylvanas overcame death itself to rise again and lead the Horde (and the Alliance, I suppose) to victory over the intergalactic threat of the Burning Legion. You have to give her props for that.

4 – Piper Wright – Fallout 4

Caring deeply about people and the truth, Piper is the heart of Fallout 4. She runs a paper, looks after her little sister, and still finds time to go hunting feral ghouls with you. 

3 – Bayonetta – Bayonetta Series

Bayonetta is in control. Of her image, of her actions, and of the bullets and kicks she sends shooting off in combat. Her games are incredibly over the top, but Bayonetta herself is always in a commanding position.

2 – Emily Kaldwin – Dishonored Series

She may have needed a little help in the first game, but Emily Kaldwin in the sequel fully embraces not only her power but her ability to choose life and death over the minions and mooks she comes across. She’s an Empress you could really vote for, if empires worked that way.

1 – Lara Croft – Tomb Raider Series

You can’t have a list of women in video games or female characters without mentioning Lara Croft. A mirror held up to male protagonists, she kicks arse and adventures and makes no apologies for it. At her best when firing two guns or locking her stalwart butler in a freezer, she’s our choice for best female character ever.

Who is your favourite female character in video games? Let us know in the comments below, or head on over to our community forum to have your say and join the conversation.

Scandimania – The Best Scandinavian Games

We love our friends from the more Scandinavian countries, you might even say we have Scandimania. Which is perfect as we’re currently running a promotion showcasing the absolute best games made in those countries, with prices cut so low you’ll think Beowulf is swinging the price-slashing sword.

With so much on offer you might need a little help finding the cream of the crop. So sit back, get yourself a warm drink, soak up your hygge-decorated room, and check out what we’ve got for you.

Hitman 2

Hitman 2016 was a masterclass in returning to the roots of the genre, and Hitman 2 improves on the formula in every way. Every level is a Mousetrap-style cavalcade of death and opportunity, meaning you can spend hours setting up the perfect kill, or ‘accident’. 

Inside

Limbo was a brilliant and utterly spooky game with a monochromatic art style, the follow- up – Inside – is both much more heartwarming, and much more terrifying. With evil scientists chasing your lone child protagonist through a mad science-filled universe, it’s chilling and gripping stuff.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

The world is broken, but it’s ok because life still exists, albeit in a mutated form. Take control of a team of mutants, including our favourite – Dux, in a post-human adventure with rich tactical combat and multiple gameplay options meaning two missions are never the same.

The Longest Journey

April Ryan is having a tough time of things, she keeps having these weird dreams that get in the way of her life. Maybe, just maybe, they’re more than dreams. With a dimension-spanning story that frankly has yet to be beaten, The Longest Journey demands to be part of any adventure game fans’ library.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Everyone loves the Skaven, those chittering hordes from Games Workshop’s Warhammer setting. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 doesn’t just give you the Skaven from the original game, Nurgle’s blessed diseased troops are also ready for you to swing an axe, blade, or fling fire at in this co-op survive-a-thon. Bring a friend, bring three friends. You’ll need them.

Kathy Rain

Set in the 90s, Kathy Rain stars a college student who’s investigating the death of her grandfather, or rather, the mysteries surrounding his life and the illness that kept him in a wheelchair, mute, for decades. Kathy Rain is an adventure game with heart, a cracking plot, and puzzles that’ll have you scratching your head for hours.

Stellaris

Everyone loves space, well, almost everyone. So head to space in Stellaris and build your ideal society there, maybe a race of alien warlords, maybe you’ll be a peace seeking Federation. It’s all up to you, space 4X games have never been so complete.

Cities: Skylines

The Cities series has been going from strength to strength, but never better than in Cities: Skylines. It fully embodies the dream that the older Sim City games began to explore and lets you build shining metropolises, or crime filled slums, if you wish. With a tonne of DLC and full mod support, it might just be a permanent install.

Now you should have all the information you need to go and check out our Scandimania sale with deadly laser focused precision. What’s your favourite game developed in Scandinavia? Let us know in the comments below, or over on our community forum.

Deliver Us the Moon: Truth is Scarier Than Fiction

First things first, Deliver Us the Moon is neither a game about Deliveries nor about the almighty power of yeeting. Instead, it is a sci-fi thriller set after an apocalypse caused by a lack of resources. You see, we – the people – have successfully used up all of the Earth’s natural resources and instead of having an achievement pop up (You Done Goofed), it turns out that we have to take to the stars to try and keep everyone alive. We could have just switched to greener energy a few years before all of this happened of course, but hey. 

If that sounds a little far-fetched to you, then you’re obviously not paying attention. Deliver Us the Moon isn’t scary or unnerving because it’s about some unfathomable evil, or having to change yet another nappy, it’s because of just how close to home it is. Space demons and whatnot are good and all, but true fear comes not from the unknown, but from the all too realistic, or at least a riff on it. That’s what Deliver Us The Moon is going for. 

The story of Deliver Us the Moon

In the wake of the horrendous conditions on earth, the World Space Agency is created (thankfully it’s not called the Space Force). Among various other missions they undertook, they managed to secure a new source of energy from the moon. It’s all going well until the station suddenly stops communicating back to Earth, leaving the planet wondering just what happened. 

You take on the role of the last astronaut, one sent to the moon to try and find out what happened. You’ve got a lot of pressure on your shoulders on account of the whole ‘saving the Earth’ thing, so they send you along with a robot called ASE. 

The two of you get to do everything from launching the rocket into space, landing on the space station, and even casually strolling around the moon itself. At least, it would be were it not for the fact that the moon isn’t exactly accommodating to your needs. You’ll have to contest with constantly depleting oxygen tanks along with the cold, hard, uncaring void of space. So, that’s nice. 

Deliver Us More Puzzles and Exploration Please

At its heart, the gameplay will involve a lot of puzzle-solving and exploration, but the atmosphere will maintain that creepy vibe that permeates so much of our space-based literature and media. After all, in space, no one can hear you scream. Especially after you’ve cut off communications. 

It could well turn out that the whole thing has just been caused by space-kittens, which are like normal kittens, but without gravity holding them back. If that isn’t scary, then I don’t what is. You can get stuck into Deliver Us The Moon is out on the 10th of October, just in time for the season of spooky games.

For more information head over to the official website then join the Green Man Gaming Community to see what other gamers have to say.

How Video Game Sounds and References Work Their Way Into Modern Music

Most of the modern public have played a video game, so it’s no surprise really that many musicians have got their mitts on a controller or two. From The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’ to Lana Del Rey’s less subtle ‘Video Games’, we’ve come a long way when it comes to carefully homaging our beloved hobby, and there’s plenty of receipts. Talking about video games and even including sound effects and samples from them has become commonplace in the music industry. Perhaps this stems from a realization that addicting soundtracks can be co-opted into platinum earworms, or maybe it’s personal taste and the gaming lineage of artists that colours their seminal work. Let’s get into it.

Rap’s ties to video game culture

It seems that most often its hip hop and rap that allude to gaming in the most common capacity. At some point, Kanye West’s work (and by proxy, the rap genre in general) became infested by Street Fighter II sound effects. Yes, that’s right, “You Win,” “Perfect” and “Fight!” can be heard in everything from Charlie Heat’s ‘Facts’, Bryson Tiller’s ‘Sorry not Sorry’ and the now iconic Kanye cut ‘The Life of Pablo Part 2.’

Whilst most famous video game samples in music tend to stem from the pre-millennium era, there are a smattering of modern samples that have cropped up in recent years, pertaining to some games from the previous console generation. One of the most strange incidents involves the use of the song His World by Tomoya Ohtani, a track on the soundtrack of the much-reviled Sonic 06. Impeccable taste!

PK Fire!

Drake producer Ness sampled and flipped it, turning it into the backing track for Drake and Peckham rapper Giggs’ bars on 2017’s KMT from the album More Life. Seriously! If you thought that was wild, consider that two albums before this, Drake rapped over a sped up version of David Wise’s ‘Haunted Chase’ from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest. All of this sounds like one tremendous joke, but trust me when I say that this happens, and it’s frequent. Recently, Virginia rapper DRAM broke onto the scene with his addictive earworm Cha Cha, only to sample Koji Kondo’s ‘Star Road’ from Super Mario World. The list is endless.

Samples as art

Instead of sampling, sometimes artists will simply use video game sound effects as staging on their projects, uninterrupted and in full. Frank Ocean’s critically-revered Channel Orange project released in July of 2012, yet the opening track ‘Start’ is background noise of Mr. Ocean receiving a phone notification and booting up his PlayStation. An unavoidable part of the DNA of that album is now video games, which is a startling, fantastic homage to the hobby we all know and love. Whilst sound clips and quotes from movies often make the cut in music, it can be fun to listen to your favourite songs and try to figure out where you heard that familiar sample from. You never know, it could be tied to something in your Steam library…!

Do you know of any artists, perhaps from other genres that have added video game sound effects and samples to their music? Let us know!

The Outer Worlds: How it builds on Obsidian’s New Vegas Formula

One of the most exciting games to be revealed in the past few years was Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds. Announced during The Game Awards in 2018, it looked to be a deeply unique take on the open-world format. Obsidian, unchained from a particular franchise and allowed to run free with their wild ideas. 

The game is set in an alternate future where mega-corporations have doomed society thanks to political apathy, leading to business-owned colonies and capitalist ruin. Your character is a rogue unfrozen from cryosleep, let loose to figure out the murky dealings behind the corporations that control The Outer Worlds.

One of the reasons many were excited for this game was due to the success of Fallout: New Vegas, the Obsidian-developed darling RPG that has loomed heavy on the gaming subconscious ever since it’s release. The game is widely revered as one of the finest RPG games of all time, and that’s without delving into Obsidian’s back catalogue where there are plenty more of that criteria to pick from. 

The Outer Worlds looks like much more of the same, but there are particular areas in which the studio are building on the formula they found great success with.

Tactical Time Dilation

You either love V.A.T.S or you’re a liar. In Fallout, there’s not many better feelings than eviscerating the limb of a mutant with your rifle from miles away, or popping the head off a fellow town dweller when they try to turn on you after a haggle gone wrong. Obsidian know this and have decided to create their own system for The Outer Worlds. Tactical Time Dilation is a much less intrusive tactical aiming system which affords the player the ability to mitigate the flow of time, study an opponent and line up the perfect headshot whilst you direct your companions to sweep up the mobs.

Spaceship hub space

Another intersesting facet of The Outer Worlds is the fact you can have a hub space in the form of your spaceship, which is unlocked early in the game. Where you could have a home of some description in New Vegas, this travelling home base will create another layer of immersion and allow you to feel like you’re truly part of Obsidian’s world. The ship also doubles as your fast-travel system, which is a more natural method of traversing the varied environments,

Companions

Living on your spaceship hub will be your companions, with many to choose from throughout the game. Obsidian has built the companions to have their own personalities, and they will often butt in on conversations to give their opinion, and can potentially leave your party if you judge a situation poorly in a way that affects their moral code. You can also follow the ‘leader’ skill tree to receive perks that will be focused on making your companions more efficient in battle. 

Honourable mentions

Stealth has received a bump in efficiency thanks to the ability to wear disguises tied to each corporation, so you can explore compounds and keep hidden to engage in sneak attacks or get an advantage during a mission. Special weapons also return including a working shrink ray, and the perk system has been enhanced thanks to the introduction of flaws, where players will suffer a discrediting ailment if they are damaged during combat by a specific enemy, essentially a de buff to offset the power of perks.

The Outer Worlds will launch on the Epic Games Store, PS4 and Xbox One this October 25th.

Scandimania – Five Of The Top Scandinavian Developers In The Industry Today

It’s certainly fair to say that great developers can be found in more places than just on this lovely island of ours, and indeed, perhaps nowhere is the concentration of great industry talent more keenly observed than in the Scandinavian countries. 

So with that in mind, here are five such outfits that are at the top of their game on the Scandinavian games development scene.

Avalanche Studios

Famed for the raucous Just Cause games which seem like the sort of spectacle stuffed efforts that should act as the bedrock for a Mission Impossible title, Swedish outfit Avalanche Studios has long carved out a niche as one of the very best purveyors of open-world mayhem.

Somewhat reflecting the fact that the developer finds itself nestled in the idyllic, dual locations of Stockholm’s beautifully water surrounded townscape and also within the hustle and bustle of Malmö’s spellbinding coastal metropolis, Avalanche’s open-world aspirations fittingly extend across a broad spectrum. From the loud brutality of Mad Max and Just Cause, through to the fantastically chilled and much underrated stealth gameplay of the Hunter: Call of the Wild, the Swedish developer is in every way at the top of its game when it comes to crafting open-world shenanigans.  

Fatshark

Almost single-handedly managing to make Warhammer fantasy interesting again by virtue of its superb Left 4 Dead style Vermintide games, Stockholm based Fatshark is most assuredly a force to be reckoned with within the games industry.

Embodying the creativity and drive that has become eponymous with Swedish culture, Fatshark has gone from strength to strength, having recently caught the attention of investment giant Tencent who invested some $56 million into the company back in January 2019, safeguarding its prospects for the foreseeable future in the process.  

Funcom

Founded all the way back in 1993, the Oslo based Funcom is perhaps best well known for its licensed titles – Age of Conan and most recently, the really rather good sandbox MMO, Conan Exiles. Significant investment in the company (again, from Mr. Moneybags Tencent), has meant that the company has been able to spread its wings somewhat when it comes to new and varied IP, allowing them to publish intriguing titles such as the well-received turn-based tabletop effort, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.

Though Norway has a notably lower gaming population than Sweden, the culture is one that prides itself on resilience, and perhaps no better is that steadfast virtue reflected than in Funcom itself – a company that has endured for over 26 years and shows no signs of taking its foot off the gas anytime soon.

IO Interactive

Based in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, and originally beginning its existence as a seven-man team, IO Interactive has managed to define itself, more than any other company in this feature, on the back of a single IP – Hitman. 

Effectively precipitating the creation of the stealth sandbox genre with the Hitman franchise, IO Interactive has nonetheless dabbled in other IPs too. From the sorely missed likes of Freedom Fighters and the Kane & Lynch series, through to the twee Mini Ninjas, though the Danish developer realises that the murderous escapades of Agent 47 are its bread and butter, it’s encouraging to see that since its separation from Square-Enix, this Danish superstar developer still craves the need to sail those uncharted waters from time to time.

Paradox Interactive

In Scandinavian countries there is a lot of pride in doing things well or if you can’t, simply don’t do it at all, and it would seem that Swedish based Paradox Interactive has taken this maxim somewhat to heart. Originally starting off from humble beginnings in 1995, Paradox Interactive has arguably grown into one of the largest Scandinavian developers out there, with offices all over the world, from Seattle to Stockholm.
Responsible for mammoth strategy titles such as Stellaris and also for publishing a range of excellent games from smaller developers, such as jailhouse sim Prison Architect and next year’s Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, Paradox Interactive’s star looks to be permanently ascendant.

Destiny 2: 5 Reasons Why It’s The Perfect Time To Jump In

Destiny 2 has launched into a new era, with the latest expansion, Shadowkeep, the beginning of the new Season of the Undying, and most importantly for new players, it’s free to play the base game.

All this means that there are big changes afoot for Bungie’s superstar shooter, but why should you care? You’ve not played a Destiny game before, and you’ve seen the news scroll past you like rain on a car window.

Well it’s time to care, here’s five reasons why it’s time to make the plunge into Destiny 2 and see why it’s worth your time.

5. It’s free to play

The initial investment in Destiny 2 now is only time and hard drive space. Everyone has been asking for demos to return in some form or another, and what better demo is there than a huge amount of content and game, all for free? You can play tonnes of Destiny 2 before hitting anything you might feel you need to pay for, so why not?

4. The intro’s been revamped

One of the criticisms historically aimed at Destiny 2 was that for non-fans, its onboarding process was a little obtuse. Packed with lore and references to objects you’d have little idea about, it was probably a bit of a turn-off. Now the intro’s much more streamlined, you make your character, you do a mission, and you’re off. The lore’s still there if you want it, but you can get to the game that much faster.

3. New armour system means more options

There are a great deal of changes inbound for armour in Destiny 2, but the long and short of it is; you can now customise it to be more applicable to you. What this means is that no longer will you have to ‘make do’, you’ll be able to tweak your armour to better fit your class and your playstyle. Now finally, you can get loot for you and nobody else, with a few changes, of course.

2. A new expansion means everyone’s exploring together

As anyone who’s played an MMO knows, expansion time is the most exciting time to be playing. Everyone’s at roughly the same place, everyone’s exploring at roughly the same speed, and people are finding things out for the first time together. With Shadowkeep having just launched, it means that the game, whilst new to you, is also new to a lot of experienced players as well. So you’re not going to be alone – everyone’s going to be asking questions.

1. Did we mention it’s free to play?

The best price is free, and Destiny 2 as part of New Light is free to pick and give a whirl. There’s no downside, if you don’t like it, it’s just a bit of time lost. But it might be your new favourite game, and you might make friends there. So why not, what’s stopping you?

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is out now and Destiny 2: New Light means you can play the base game for free. Wanting to start out for the first time or meet like-minded Guardians? Head to our forum and start the conversation.

How Cuphead Has Evolved into a Cultural Phenomenon only Two Years After its Release

When Studio MDHR’s Cuphead was revealed, it felt like a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle was simply falling into place. With an unforgettable art style and old-school gameplay to please a wide demographic of gamers, it seemed like a sure fire hit, and as such, it launched to widespread critical acclaim, leading to a jolt in sales and a massive player base. The game has now launched on every platform beyond mobile and as of September 29th, sold five million copies, a neat milestone to reach by the game’s second anniversary. 

Cuphead is Not Just a Game Anymore

As well as taking home a number of gongs at The Game Awards and the BAFTA’s, the game has somehow gone beyond the scope of its video game boundaries, and that’s even without the release of its final forthcoming DLC. Cuphead and Mugman are seriously recognisable characters in the gaming space, so much so it wouldn’t be too wild to say that they could certainly fit in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. 

One of the finest things about Cuphead is the electrifying jazz score, which when seperated from the game managed to top the Billboard jazz charts last month, showing just how much of a cultural phenom this indie gem is. It’s a mystery as to what is so attractive about the concept, but it’s without question that the game is seriously stylish, pleasing on the eyes and ears and even more haptic in the hands. 

The Cuphead Show

This has unbelievably led to a deal with Netflix, in which King Features are working on the aptly named ‘The Cuphead Show!’ which seeks to develop the charming characters found in the game and add a sense of scale to The Inkwell Isles. From the limited information available at the moment it looks to focus on the under spoken personalities of the lead two characters. Whilst this isn’t developed so well in the game itself, an animated series is a perfect place to give these characters a voice, and define their morals and character. Cuphead is naturally seen as the more brazen, adventurous part of the duo, whereas Mugman is supposedly “cautious but easily swayed,” creating quite the dynamic duo in the leading roles. 

Granted, this is all without talking about the amount of merchandise available for Cuphead fans. Given the Disney-esque art style of the game, creating plush toys, t-shirts and models must feel fairly natural. Somehow the game and it’s long development cycle captured the imagination of many gamers worldwide, who have took a liking to Cuphead and Mugman even if they can’t quite topple some of the game’s most difficult challenges. 

Not many games have managed to escape the confines of their medium and worm their way into the hearts and minds of the public. Another recent example would be the Untitled Goose Game, starring a waterfowl which has now become a viral superstar thanks to countless memes and the silly nature of the honking-good gameplay. Who knows, given that Blink 182, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have already co-signed Panic’s mischievous goose adventure, it could itself go beyond the medium of video games and much like Cuphead, excel in the realms of TV and music.

To find out more about Cupheads 2 year anniversary celebrations, head over to the Cuphead Game hub on GreenManGaming.com.

How Nintendo is “Changing The Game” by Merging Virtual Fun With Physical Activity

Ever since the company’s establishment in 1889, Nintendo has been innovating in the games space. From playing cards to motion controls, Nintendo is known as the main publisher in games that captures the wistful childlike wonder of play, and in 2019 it’s plans are only becoming more experimental.

Nostalgic design

It’s hard to argue with the fact that we probably wouldn’t remember the Nintendo 64 or GameCube so fondly if they didn’t look so alien and interesting, with their squid-like controllers and experimental gaming experiences. We’ve now come to terms with and adore the Nintendo Switch, which at first earned the glare of many sceptics. In its own way, the physical action of slotting your controllers into the device and retrieving them to play anywhere is peak Nintendo, who have always pioneered the confluence of physical activity with virtual gaming.

Wii Sports is an easy example to point to, a game that everyone and their grandma can play with ease, and burn some calories whilst doing so. Yet it doesn’t feel like you’re actually putting in any effort as the fun keeps your mind occupied. This developed into the Wii Fit balance board and most recently played host to Fitness Boxing, where the Switch Joy-Cons are used to stimulate an intense boxing workout.

Cardboard creativity

It might not seem so important, but with a global loneliness and obesity epidemic, Nintendo’s focus on physical multiplayer is refreshing, especially when it’s on a par with the rest of the gaming spectrum. Playing PUBG in a pitch-black room sure is fun, but the inactivity of a typical evening of gaming isn’t going to stimulate your brain as much as a detour into invention or fitness will.

This was most recently seen with Nintendo Labo, the company’s cardboard workshop series where players can build fully usable vehicles, mech suits and even musical instruments out of bits of recyclable tat, leveraging simple elastic bands and the Joy-Cons haptic HD Rumble to simulate the crank of a fishing rod or the engine of a motorbike. At first people thought it was totally insane, simply because it dared to be different, but it’s seriously understated how important it is for developers like Nintendo to think outside of the box and provide ways for children and adults to stimulate the inventive or physical side of their brain, getting them to build, invent and explore their ideas all through the medium of gaming. You can say it’s just for kids if you want, but let me ask you again once you’ve built something and seen the results of your work, and I bet you’ll be grinning.

Adventure time

Whilst more and more Labo kits have been rolling out (the most recent offering a swathe of physical VR experiences) Nintendo has not stopped dreaming, with the most recent experiment being a hula-hoop device and a leg strap into which you slot your Joy-Cons. This is in service of the Switch’s apparent answer to Wii Sports, known as Ring Fit Adventure. 

With clever, sticky RPG systems underpinning intervals of physical activity, you’ll take part in yoga poses, plank on the floor to defeat monsters and work different muscle groups to progress in this fascinating physical adventure. As well as a cohesive RPG experience, there’s also more rudimentary mini-game gauntlets and exercise modes to work your body and help you get slim. 

The game is due out later this month on October 18th and is indicative of Nintendo’s unique approach to physical activity which blends virtual fun with physical engagement. What other games do you think offer this wonderful blend of activity? Let us know in the comments and head over to the Green man Gaming Community site for more.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Comes to PC

Good monster collecting games are surprisingly sparse on PC. It’s an annoying fact of life for those of us who don’t own consoles, we simply don’t get to train up our little beasts, and evolve them before un-evolving them then re-evolving them into a new kind of dog with machine guns. What’s that? Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition is coming? so that’s exactly what we’re going to be able to do? 

Well, That Changes Everything

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition contains not one, but two fully-fledged Digimon games for you to sink your digital teeth into. The original story has you saving the world as part of a mysterious detective agency, standard stuff really. Although the characters you’ll meet along the way are genuinely interesting, and there are even a few somewhat horrifying moments thanks to the strange almost horror-esque setting. It’s a good game on its own merits, but it’s not all you get. 

You’ll also get to play through Hacker’s Memory, which, rather than focusing on a traditional hero, has you playing a rather bland-looking side character. It’s a unique set up, and one that tells a story that runs alongside the main game. It gives you details about the background goings-on in the world of Cyber Sleuth and shows a side of RPGs that players rarely get to see. 

So What’s It All About?

Each game has an incredible amount of quests to undertake, items to find, and stories to uncover. Of course, the main attraction here is the Digimon themselves, who you can easily spend hundreds of hours training and growing them in the perfect way to make them far outclass any of the villains you’ll have to overcome. 

The key to victory is to figure out which of the strongest Digimon you want, and then the requirements your baby monsters need to meet before you can Digivolve them. Sometimes just being a high enough level is enough, but more often than not you’ll need to have spent a certain amount of time with them to make them like you more or raise their stats by raising their level cap. The best Digimon are a combination of two high-level ones, which means you’ll have to be prepared to fuse two of your favourites together if you want the most powerful team possible. 

This is a game made for those who have a love of stat management, one for people who adore seeing the new forms their companions can take on, and one for anybody who just loves a good JRPG. The fact that you get to play both of these excellent games for just one price is almost unbelievable, but you’ll be able to do so when it releases on PC and Switch on October 18th.

Indivisible: Getting to know This Unique Indie Hit

After the successful Indiegogo campaign in 2015 Indivisible is finally set to release on the 8th October. Indivisible tells the tale of Ajna, a courageous and rebellious girl living in the village of Raswat. Her normal village life is soon disrupted as local warlords attack her town forcing her to leave the comfort of her home and on to an epic adventure to confront her attackers. 

Not your average RPG

Indivisible combines platforming with turn-based RPG elements to create a new and exciting experience as you take control of over 20 playable characters. Soon after the attack Ajna discovers a mysterious power that allows her to absorb individuals – known as Incarnations, into her being. Fusing with them not only allows Ajna to summon them during battle but will also grant her new abilities and weapons. 

Verticality and fluid movement across the platforming areas plays a large part in Indivisible and Ajna will be able to run, jump and dash her way through the world with wonderfully vivid and bright hand-drawn animations. 

Hand-drawn World

There is no doubt that Indivisible is a beautiful game to look at, with each of the characters being hand-drawn in immaculate detail. Each character has a distinct look to them with a fully fledged back story to go along with them. 

Inspired by Southeast Asian mythology the game is full of wonderful locations to visit from the lush greens of the Ashway Forest, and hot dunes of The Almutah Sands all the way to harsh peaks of Mount Sumeru and Fortress Vimana to name just a few. 

There are an abundance of locations to visit all with their own feel, enemies and secrets to find.

Unique Combat

The combat in Indivisible allows for a vast range of customisation as you can have up to four characters each mapped to a button or key. As a result your party functions like a single, customizable character. The key to ensuring success is trying out new combos and mastering your Incarnations abilities to get the best out of them in any situation. 

Whilst not strictly a turn-based game your attacks will use actions that recharge over time. Ultimately making the combat feel more real time but waiting for more actions to be available will allow for more devastating combos to be unleashed.

Inner Realm

Away from the fighting and platforming Ajna can meditate to visit her inner realm. Here is where the Incarnations will reside and it will act as the main hub of the game for quests, saving and applying upgrades to weapons or armour. It’s a nice twist on the traditional need to visit towns or safe areas and gives players the chance to get to know the Incarnations a little better. 

The more Incarnations that join you the larger and more developed Ajna’s inner realm will become. Speaking with them will unlock new quests that will resolve some of their personal stories. Furthermore some will provide you with quests that grant upgrades to your equipment. 

Whilst traditional experience points are in the game, they aren’t the main source for helping Ajna to become more powerful. For example your damage will increase for all your characters based on the number of Incarnations you have acquired.

Indivisible is trying to do things a little differently in the RPG world and looks to have nailed a lot of interesting sounding mechanics. Couple that with a fantastic looking world to immerse yourself in and you’re on to a winning combination.

Top 10 Wildest Promotional Campaigns in Gaming

There’s a lot of games out there, so the race to catch your eye has never been as important as it is now. Publishers and developers need you to notice their games, pause for a moment, and then have that info lodged in your brain.

With the race on for your limited attention, it’s understandable that sometimes game publishers get a little wild when it comes to marketing games to you. Here are the ten wildest promotional campaigns in gaming, ever.

10. Agent 47 Kills Your Friends

Agent 47, international man of murder, is here to bump off your pals. A campaign launched to promote Hitman: Absolution saw Facebook friends hiring Agent 47 to bump off their pals. Unfortunately it didn’t go down well, with many people alarmed at receiving messages that their beloved friends had taken out contracts on them, and was soon cancelled.

9. Power Gig’s Hot Guitars

You know what’s more rock and roll than throwing a load of plastic guitars into a volcano via helicopter? The marketing team for Power Gig don’t think there’s anything more metal, so that’s what they did.

8. One Million Dollar Saints Row

To promote Saints Row 4, a sole million dollar version of the game was produced, which included items like a Lamborghini, plastic surgery, and a trip to space. Now that’s a collector’s edition.

7. Daikatana’s Bitchiness

If you’re of a certain age, and might I say, I am. You might recall being told that Mr Romero will make you his bitch. One of the most, shall we say, forthright campaigns ever attempted, it at least was memorable. Even if Daikatana wasn’t.

6. Dante’s Fake Inferno

Protesting is a human right and one to often be applauded, but Dante’s Inferno was promoted via a paid protest where actors pretended to be a religious mob angry with EA. You can understand that this neither went down well with the intended audience, nor religious groups who felt mocked.

5. Resident Evil Butchers

Wesker & Son, for a brief time, became a real butcher shop in London. Specialising in meat shaped into human form, it’s one of the more stomach-turning promos we’ve seen. Though it has a happy ending, all proceeds were given to a charity that aids amputees.

4. Burnout’s Speed-a-thon

Everyone loves Burnout, the game series about driving fast and doing slow-motion crashes. So when Burnout 2 was released on PS2, Acclaim decided a good way to promote the game was to pay off any London speeding tickets gained while racing to buy the game. 

3. God of War Goat Death

To celebrate the launch of God of War 2, someone decided that the best thing to do would be to hold a faux-ancient-Greece party, complete with dead goat. The Daily Mail got their hands on pictures of the event, and you can imagine how well that went.

2. Shadowman 2 Grave Desecration

To promote Shadowman 2, publisher Acclaim paid for advertisements to be plastered on real gravestones. Yep, you read that right. You’ll be surprised to learn that the relatives and friends of the deceased affected by this had a few choice words for the now defunct publisher.

1. Code Vein Blood Drive

Ending on a more positive note, Code Vein are running a blood drive today, the 27th of September, at TwitchCon. If you’re there and want to help out this good cause, you can get a copy of the game for free. 

What is the wildest marketing campaign you’ve seen for games? Let us know in the comments below, or head over to our forum to have your say.

Meet Opera GX, the world’s first browser built with gamers in mind

When I sat down to chat with Opera product manager Maciej Kocemba, one of my first questions was “How hasn’t anybody thought of this?”

Opera GX is a browser built with gamers in mind. As well as a robust VPN, users can enjoy a network, CPU and RAM limiter built into the browser. No longer will you have to deal with Chrome weighing down your computer whilst you’re gaming.

Already convinced? We don’t blame you, but we’re merely scratching the surface of this browser’s features. Kocemba tells me that “gamers have different needs” when it comes to browsing and that other browsers are more of a “general-purpose tool” designed to please as many as possible. The concept for GX came from the clever observation that many players don’t turn off the browser when they game, so they wanted to create something that didn’t limit users who wanted to have their cake and eat it. After many meetings at Gamescom 2018, Kocemba told me that the team had a moment of realization. “We knew this is something people wouldn’t expect, maybe they don’t feel that they need it right now, but once they see it, they love it.”

Opera GX focuses on Gamers needs

GX has it’s own demographic in mind that they are focusing on, but after switching myself I would say it’s a no-brainer for the performance increase even if you don’t game regularly. Chrome and its ilk are famous for their memory-leaking capabilities, and there’s even a use case here for artists, designers and those who use high-intensity programs but also want to keep their browsing intact. You see, GX is built with Opera as a base, so you can expect all the trimmings of the standard experience as well as the handy video popout system & screen capture functionality you’re used to, tweaked to be even more useful to gamers.

Opera GX – Whats in the box?

Twitch is integrated right into the sidebar, meaning you can easily jump into a stream and be notified when your favourite stars go live, and in the ‘GX Corner’ you can see gaming news pulled from the top sites, a release date calendar to see what games are upcoming, and even a deals aggregator to get you the best discounts on popular games. 

Perhaps the sticking point for many is swapping from Chrome and keeping all of your bookmarks, data and extensions. This was my worry too, but there’s actually a tool in the browser settings where you can import everything in one click and an extension within the Opera store that allows you to download Chrome extensions, which means that switching is seamless.

The design is also clean and customizable to suit the (most likely) RGB lighting surrounding you at your gaming pc, and it has cute sound effects recorded by Ruben Rincon and the band Berlinist, who worked on the soundtrack for indie darling Gris. 

“If you’re a gamer, or even remotely interested in gaming, you should use it so you’re closer to the content. There’s nothing to manually configure.”

Whats next for Opera GX?

In terms of how the future of GX is going to develop (despite the feature set, it is still in early access!) Kocemba tells me that they have a number of “aces up their sleeves,” and that the team have plenty of interesting ideas they’re batting around, from Discord integration to the potential for a mobile browser.

“It’s not important that the integration would be technically possible, it’s about how useful it would be for GX’s user base,” Kocemba tells me. Clearly they want to listen to their users, and this is just the start of a promising journey. Kocemba noted that the typical version numbers seen in browsers will be known as levels in Opera GX, with the current ‘about’ page displaying Level 1.

The team want a level up to feel like a level-up, so expect even more useful features when GX finally dings and hits level 2! For now, you can download the browser over on the Opera GX website and give it a test drive yourself.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep The Moon and Beyond

We’re drawing ever nearer to the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, the latest expansion to Bungie’s space shooter. The expansion brings with it a huge slew of changes, not just limited to PC storefronts and new boss battles, but it actually changes a lot about how you’ll be playing the game itself. 

New Armour system

One of the most notable changes comes in the form of the new armour mod system. While previous years have had us all searching for a specific piece of armour, then a specific role of a specific piece, it looks like those days are behind us now. Instead, the new system introduces a system that RPG fans are going to love. 

Along with this, they are bringing back the old stat system. This means that there are six things to focus on when picking your armour: 

  • Mobility – Increases movement speed
  • Resilience – Increases total health
  • Recovery – Increases your recovery speed
  • Discipline – Decreases grenade cooldown
  • Intellect – Decreases super cooldown
  • Strength – Decreases melee ability cooldown

These will be the things you’ll be hunting down new armour for, so get ready to grind for the perfect set of gear that suits your playstyle. Destiny just wouldn’t be Destiny without something to grind for, though many players will just be happy to see their Light Level climbing again. 

Modding your gear

The new mod system is where things get really interesting. While each set of armour has fixed stats, you’ll be able to fully customise the mods they have. Different mods require different energy types, which means you might not always be able to use the mods you want on the armour you want. The energy type that a piece of armour has will be randomised, so you may need to hunt for the one you want, but once you’ve got it the fun begins. 

You’ll be able to use the energy to equip the piece of armour with different mods – all of which are reusable – this will let you completely control which buffs you have and should make for a far more varied pool of playstyles. If you just love punching people, then you can completely deck yourself out in melee mods. 

Each mod uses a set amount of energy, with more powerful ones requiring more energy, so you’ll have to consider that when planning your build. It should be a lot more fun for those of us who love a good bit of customisation, and the fact that the mods are reusable should keep things less frustrating for those who don’t love the grind. 

The new systems should make for a completely different feel to the RPG side of the game. It also feels as though they’re embracing the MMO part of the MMOlite game that Bungie have been developing all of these years. Whether or not there will still be ‘perfect’ builds remains to be seen, but it’s good to see a bit of genuine innovation from the team behind the game.

The game goes free to play on Ocotber 1st along with the release of the new expansion Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. Come find your perfect squad on the Green man Gaming Community Pages. You can also check out the new Destiny 2: Shadowkeep story trailer released this week.