The Best Moments in Silent Hill

Some fans joined the series in the murk of the Playstation years, others stumbled into the wrong town as late as P.T. Either way, the Silent Hill series has ensnared countless poor souls since it debuted in 1999.

The cancellation of Silent Hills left these souls stranded in the Otherworld and, for now, Silent Hill seems to be lost in the fog.

Yet horror is all in the mind. So let’s give the horror of Silent Hill some power by revelling in the trauma caused by Silent Hill’s best moments—which is to say its scariest.

1. Siren Song (Silent Hill)

Silent Hill didn’t waste any time getting under our skin. One of Silent Hill’s best moments is also one of its first.

In the opening act of the first game, we join protagonist Harry as the town plunges him into a foggy, eerie reality, accompanied by vague moans on the wind. What follows is a masterclass in rising tension.

As Harry makes his way through town, pursuing glimpses of his daughter, the eerie stillness gives way to mutilated corpses and camera angles that would make German expressionists tremble. Worse still, the now-iconic sirens begin to blare in the distance as an unmistakable prelude to terror.

This culminates as we find ourselves trapped in a pitch-black, dead-end alleyway, in the shadow of a strung-up corpse. Then we’re set upon by terrifying things. Death seems inevitable—and, indeed, it is. That Harry “survives” this obvious death only makes things weirder, and it sets the tone for the whole game.

2. Satanic Mechanic (Silent Hill 2)

Silent Hill doesn’t lean on jump scares for its horror, but it’s happy to indulge now and then.

We get a reminder of this early in Silent Hill 2. As we grow used to the foggy streets and even the shambling things wandering around town, we let our guard down as we pass an innocuous van—only for a thing to shoot out from under the van at lightning speed, relieving us of any need we had for a bathroom break.

It’s a heck of a reminder that Silent Hill isn’t all moody atmosphere and psychological horror.

3. “B.A.R.S!” (Silent Hill 2)

Pyramid Head may be synonymous with the violent and sexual imagery of the Silent Hill series, but its initial appearance was almost placid—and scarier for it.

A silent corridor. A sudden scream. We pursue the sound to find nothing but this grotesque creature staring at us, unmoving, behind bars. Perhaps leering is the word. It’s like nothing else we’ve seen in the game.

It’s about the last bit of serenity we see from Pyramid Head, which only makes it creepier in hindsight.

4. Mirror’s Edgy (Silent Hill 3)

As a species, we have some hangups about mirrors: Bloody Mary, vampires, bad luck, and so on. So there’s nothing like a mirror gone wrong to invoke our primal fears, and one of Silent Hill’s best moments comes when it exploits that fear.

At one point in Silent Hill 3, we find ourselves in a hospital, standing before a vast mirror. We watch as the mirror begins to diverge from reality. Tendrils of blood creep across the ground, crawling up over our mirrored body, and then, impossibly, intruding into the real world. The room slowly darkens, bathed in blood.

We try to escape, but, as with Harry’s experience in the alleyway, inevitability is part of the horror, here. The counterintuitive escape route means many players will panic and die the first time they reach this room, fumbling around in full fight-or-flight panic.

To make matters worse, protagonist Heather has an avowed fear of mirrors. Turns out she was right to fear them.

5. Hellementary (Silent Hill)

Going back to school is a scary enough thought for some of us, but Midwich Elementary School took it a step further.

One of the most memorable locations in the original Silent Hill, Midwich was replete with moments of horror. We would list it multiple times here if we could. Rattling lockers, terrifying children, and weeping sounds emanating from the bathroom. It sounds like our school experiences, alright.

If the adrenaline is running high just thinking about it, here’s some respite: did you know Midwich is modeled after the school from Kindergarten Cop? Not so terrifying now, is it?

Okay, it’s still terrifying.

6. Monster Mash (Silent Hill 3)

Not all the horror of Silent Hill involves something terrible happening to you. There’s a good reason Silent Hill is the byword for psychological horror in gaming.

For instance: “They look like monsters to you?”

This insidious and powerful line is spoken midway through Silent Hill 3. It’s said as a joke, perhaps, and by a character we might not trust. But it’s enough to plant that seed of doubt.

After all, what if he’s right? What if the creatures we’ve been clubbing to death and stamping beneath our feet were innocent people? The residents of Silent Hill? Or something worse.

It introduces an element of the unreliable narrator, which in turn opens up a vast world of new and bizarre interpretations—a trick recently employed by 2019’s Joker movie.

7. Mommy and Daddy Time (P.T.)

P.T. may have been a short experience, but it wasn’t a sweet one. Not with Lisa hounding our steps, anyway.

The P.T.’s new first-person view only dialled up the horror as we explored an endless, recursive hallway. This made it so much worse when angry ghost Lisa finally got her hands on us after what felt like hours of jump-scares and haunting.

It was hard to tell exactly how she snuffed the life from us, but the extreme close-ups were terrifying. Let’s not even mention the questions we have about the sounds we hear next, as we’re lying there helpless on the floor.

Whatever was happening, we didn’t want it.

8. Left for Dead

If we might go meta for a moment, then let’s talk about the state of Silent Hill. After all, what greater horror is there for a franchise fan than to hear your franchise is dead—and not the temporary kind of death that pervades the genre?

Silent Hill fans were given a flicker of hope in the form of Silent Hills, a project helmed by the twin legends of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. We received P.T. to whet the appetite, which blew fans away with its minimalist yet terrifying design. It’s even tempting to think P.T. played a hand in the direction taken by Resident Evil 7.

But we all know that hope is a vital component of despair; the moment of relief before the monster strikes. In 2015, Silent Hills was laid to rest, and its attached names moved on to other things.

Dog Ending

Even twenty-five years from the blocky days of the first Playstation, the trauma of Silent Hill still lingers. Silent Hills might remain trapped in an endless hallway, but elements of Hideo Kojima’s involvement in the game still float like so many Beached Things over the universe of his latest project, Death Stranding. For now, that’s as close to the g(l)ory days of Silent Hill as we get.

Yet Silent Hill still lurks in the fog, looming yet unseen. In a genre where nothing ever stays dead, we hope our fears are enough to fuel its return.

Do you agree with our list? comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community Site to see what other gamers have to say.

The Legacy of Tomb Raider: Lara Croft’s Evolution from Icon to Modern Adventure Hero

Archaeology may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but don’t let Lara Croft hear you say that. She may not dig trenches or give lectures, but Lara’s contribution to video gaming history is unquestionable.

Tomb Raider is the product of a bygone era, but its most recent trilogy and the 2018 reboot movie prove that it still holds relevance today.

So let’s uncover the rich history of Tomb Raider, layer by layer, and dig into what the future might hold.

Inventing the Wheel

Few games are lucky enough to be era-defining, but the original Tomb Raider, released in 1996, was exactly that. It captured imaginations with its mix of platforming, puzzle-solving, moody atmosphere, and acrobatic gunfights. Available on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS, it reached a broad audience and became a household name—even among non-gamers.

Lara Croft quickly ascended to pop culture icon status. While mascots like Mario or Sonic were ubiquitous, Lara was something else: a believable, complex female protagonist who became synonymous with the very idea of gaming.

Tomb Raider II followed in 1997 and found similar success. But as the franchise settled into a yearly release cycle, creative fatigue began to show. By the time Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness arrived in 2003, technical issues and a confused narrative robbed the series of its momentum.

Oddly enough, Lara’s cinematic debut came during this dip. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) arrived just before the reboot era but still succeeded in revitalizing the brand, thanks in large part to Angelina Jolie’s magnetic performance.

Rebirth of a Legend

By 2006, it was time to hit the reset button. Publisher Eidos handed development duties to Crystal Dynamics, the team behind the Legacy of Kain series. They brought back series creator Toby Gard and went back to basics with Tomb Raider: Legend.

The reboot was a resounding success. It modernized controls, returned the focus to ancient tombs, and reintroduced Lara with a more grounded narrative. Two follow-ups followed: Tomb Raider: Anniversary (a remake of the 1996 original) and Tomb Raider: Underworld (a direct sequel to Legend). Though well-received, Underworld suffered from bugs and inconsistent performance across platforms.

After 2008, the franchise went quiet – except for a high-definition re-release of the trilogy – while Crystal Dynamics plotted the next big move.

Croft, Lara Croft

Meanwhile, Lara ventured into spin-off territory. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010) and its sequel Temple of Osiris adopted an isometric, co-op format with arcade-style gameplay. The mobile game Lara Croft: Relic Run also reached a new audience.

These spin-offs marked a first: two separate Tomb Raider continuities coexisted. The more arcade-style Lara ran alongside the grounded, character-focused reboot that would begin in 2013.

Another Rise of the Tomb Raider

In 2013, Tomb Raider returned once more, joining the decade’s wave of gritty reboots. This version of Lara was more fallible, human, and realistically proportioned. Written by Rhianna Pratchett, the game reimagined Lara’s origin as a reluctant survivor who gradually grows into a confident explorer.

Despite some tonal inconsistencies – such as Lara mourning her first kill only to later dispatch waves of enemies with ease – the reboot was a critical and commercial success.

Sequels followed: Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018. Both built on the foundations of the reboot, but played things safe. While still polished and enjoyable, Shadow in particular was seen as lacking innovation, and its launch underwhelmed.

Square Enix later pointed to this as a sign that the franchise needed a fresh approach.

Look On My Works Ye Mighty

It’s fair to say that Tomb Raider no longer occupies the cultural peak it once did. But that’s not a failure. Like a post-peak empire, it has transitioned into a phase of quiet influence and steady relevance.

Lara’s impact is visible across the industry. The Uncharted series, with its charismatic lead and globe-trotting escapades, clearly draws from the Tomb Raider blueprint. Likewise, Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy echoes Lara’s independence, curiosity, and combat prowess. Even Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order owes a debt to Lara’s tomb-raiding ethos.

Behind the scenes, Lara helped shape 3D animation, motion capture, and storytelling in games. She became a model for how video games could tell stories with depth, personality, and visual flair.

Fans have kept her legacy alive through mods, cosplay, fan fiction, and even indie-made remakes like OpenLara. Her influence is woven into the DNA of modern gaming.

The Next Adventure

Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that a new Tomb Raider is in development, and this time it aims to unify the timelines of the classic and rebooted series. Whether this means a more experienced Lara, a continuation of her origin story, or something entirely new remains to be seen.

What we do know is this: Lara Croft isn’t done yet. With a Netflix animated series on the horizon and continued interest in expanding the brand, the Tomb Raider legacy is far from buried.

Lara Croft remains gaming royalty – not just for what she once was, but for the trail she continues to blaze.

Surviving ARK: Survival Evolved

Alone on a beach is a good vacation. Alone on a beach surrounded by dinosaurs? Not so much.

ARK: Survival Evolved has been around for a while now, but it’s far from extinct. With a huge amount of content to plough through and a consistently strong player base, now is a great time to visit this land that time forgot.

Here’s our guide to getting started in ARK Survival Evolved.

Life’s a Beach

Once you’ve fired up the game and chosen a server, you’ll hit the character creation menu. Don’t fret about this, as it’s mostly cosmetic.

It’s more important to choose the right spawn location. You’ll get a choice of several spawn locations scattered around the island. Stick to the southern areas, as they tend to be safer.

ARK begins in the grand tradition of survival games: you wake up in the middle of nowhere with no context for anything. Even on the noob-friendly beaches, there are plenty of creatures (and players) here that will happily kill you. You might even die in the first few seconds. If so, don’t panic. Respawn and try again. It can be tough to escape enemies in ARK: Survival Evolved, so prepare to die many times over.

Start by gathering wood, stone, and thatch. To find supplies in ARK, gather stone from the ground and punch trees (yes, it hurts) for wood and thatch. With those, craft a stone pick. This will make future harvesting more efficient and net you some XP.

Player is Evolving!

You should gain your first level soon. This will give you Engram Points you can use to unlock Engrams, which represent the ability to craft the many items in ARK. You’ll also have the option to improve your character’s statistics, like Health and Stamina. 

Together, these represent your overall progress and take much of the sting out of dying at low levels. Unlike some survival games, you aren’t starting from scratch when you respawn.

Invest your initial Engram Points in essentials, like the hatchet, cloth armour, and spears. With your next few Engram Points, grab a campfire for cooking meat and some better armour. Follow the requirements of each Engram to know which resources to gather next. Trees and stone are obvious resource points, but you’ll also need to grab handfuls of foliage to obtain fibre and berries.

The Hunger Games

By now, you may be getting hungry. Berries will feed and hydrate you, but you should also try to get your first few kills. Start with non-threats like dodos, which will give you some raw meat. Toss it on a campfire and wait for it to cook before you eat it.

Check your map if you get lost, but beware: the map will complete itself as you explore, but there’s no handy YOU ARE HERE marker. You’ll need to navigate by landmarks in these early levels, so sticking to the coast is the smart play.

Survival of the Fittest

With some clothes on your back, food in your belly, and a weapon in hand, you’re ready to tackle the challenges of the island. Establish a base, craft a sleeping bag, and expand your operations by venturing inland. Soon it will be time to indulge in ARK’s main attraction: taming your first dinosaurs!

Ark: Survival Evolved is available on Mac and PC from Green Man Gaming. Still deciding if it’s for you? Stop by the Green Man Gaming Community Site and see what other gamers have to say.

An Introduction to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order isn’t just a great Star Wars game, it’s also a Greatest Hits package of the last decade in gaming. It lifts from such diverse titles as Dark Souls, Dead Space, Titanfall and Uncharted, remixing elements with the kind of cherry-picking spirit that created Star Wars in the first place.

Which is all to say that Jedi: Fallen Order has a lot going on. But calm your mind, padawan. Tap into the secrets of this holocron and you can learn how to become a master with our Jedi: Fallen Order walkthrough.

Falling Order

The brief opening cutscene will lead you straight into controlling hero Cal as he traverses the visual feast that is the shipbreaking yards of Bracca. That’s right: no opening crawl here!

This mission will teach you how to play Jedi: Fallen Order, introducing the environmental traversal actions in the game, including traditional platforming, wall-climbing, rope-swinging, and lots of sliding.

Follow the on-screen prompts when they appear as part of the excellent in-game tutorial. The trickiest part about this section is picking out environmental cues. If you get lost, always look for signs of dirt or weathering, which will indicate climbable ledges and surfaces.

This game is packed with visual detail and is gorgeous to look at, so don’t forget to be mindful of your surroundings as you move through the level.

This first sequence will end on an Uncharted-esque butt-sliding setpiece, leading you into the main attraction: Jedi stuff!

Force Multiplier

In this next sequence, you’ll learn the Jedi tricks of the trade. Cal is soon compelled into using his hidden Jedi powers, and this leads straight into another dynamic setpiece as you fend off stormtroopers on a moving train.

Again, pay attention to the on-screen instructions and make full use of your arsenal. Hold block to deflect blaster fire, but also try blocking at the last second to send blaster bolts back to their owners. Parrying is a vital skill, so use these low-threat punching bags to get your timing right. Keep an eye on your stamina. If you run out, you won’t be able to block.

This section also introduces the Dead Space-esque slowdown power, which you’ll use to slow dangerous environmental elements, opening up new paths to progress. You can spot these features by their vague blue aura.

A brief boss fight here will introduce you to the importance of dodging and parrying in more dangerous scenarios. Red attacks are unblockable, so keep that in mind for future boss fights if you want to survive.

Darth Souls

After you’ve wrapped up Bracca, the game opens up. You’re introduced to the Dark Souls-inspired level design on the planet Bogano, with open areas ripe for exploration. But Dark Souls was never generous enough to give you a 3D holographic map complete with exploration markers, so make the most of it here.

Don’t rush your objective, but take your time to explore. Listen to what your droid is telling you to help find hidden treasures like Force Echoes.

You’ll encounter your first meditation point here, as well. These play the role of the Dark Souls bonfires. You can level up here, but be aware that resting will respawn nearby enemies.

Oh, and watch out for Ogdo Bogdo…

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is now available on Green Man Gaming, and if you’re still not convinced you can head over to the Green Man Gaming community site to see what other gamers have to say about it.

Getting Started in The Outer Worlds

Colonists, Halcyon needs you!

If you’re planning a trip to the capitalist dystopia of Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, then you’ll want to know how to kickstart your career as a minimum-wage nobody. Luckily, we’re here to help with our guide to getting started in The Outer Worlds.

Character Creation

The Outer Worlds’ character creation is nothing new, though it has one or two unique features.

Your Attributes are the basic strengths of your character. As this is an Obsidian game with lots of skill-based interactions, we recommend focusing on the Mind and Personality attributes, which will open up your conversation options and give you advanced lockpicking and hacking skills for maximum loot.

Next, your Skills are tiered in groups of 20 points, so keep that in mind as you select them to maximise your returns. You’ll choose 2 skill categories at this stage and they’re functionally similar to Fallout’s tag skills.

Finally, Aptitudes provide a couple of final tweaks to your character. You can use these to double-down on specific areas of your character for utility or flavour.

Welcome to Halcyon

After you land, you’ll be set loose on the wilds. Follow the linear path and pay attention to gameplay tips as they appear. Loot as you go—you’ll want to get into the habit and it’s a key way of finding weapons and armour in The Outer Worlds.

You’ll soon encounter your first NPC. Head up to him and start a conversation. This game is conversation-heavy in the classic RPG style, so you’ll see how your stats affect the conversation as you progress through it. Choosing skill-based options will often reward you with XP, too, but your skills will need to be high enough to unlock said options.

After your chat, head outside to encounter some hostiles. This is a great chance to use both your stealth and your TTD, which is a hybrid of bullet-time and the VATS system of Fallout. Using TTD will help you target Weakspots (like human heads) and will show you an analysis of your foe.

You can dodge by double-tapping the jump button in a lateral direction.

This section will also throw you a few locked items, so you can test your lock-picking and hacking skills. There are no mini-games here: all you need is the appropriate skill level and either Mag-Picks and Bypass Shunts, respectively.

Securing a Promotion

When you get to your objective, you should receive a prompt to level up. You’ll be able to upgrade your skills and you’ll receive a new Perk Point to assign every other level.

Open your character screen to choose which Skills to level up. Remember that new bonuses come with every 20 points in a Skill. If you’re wondering what to upgrade in The Outer Worlds, then refer to some of the advice we gave during character creation. Select your Perk much like you did your Aptitudes.

You can receive Flaws through general gameplay, though you’ll always have the option to accept or reject them. Accepting a Flaw gives you a new Perk Point to spend. After gaining 5 Perks, you’ll open up new Perks to choose from.The game will start to open up as you reach Edgewater. By then, you should be equipped to handle The Outer Worlds. If you’re wondering how to fast travel in The Outer Worlds, just open up your Map to get started. Use it often so you’re not traipsing through cleared areas.

So what kind of character will you build in The Outer Worlds? Comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community Site to see what our other gamers had to say.

Green man Gamings Top 10 Games of 2019

2019, year of dreams, year of tragedies. No matter how good or bad 2019 has been to you, it’s definitely been a year we can all look back on and say ‘yes, that was a year’.

As we approach the end of 2019 it’s natural that we would all want to take stock on what we’ve learned, what we’ve played, and what made 2019 such a year. Other than the revolution of the planet round the sun, of course.

We’ve done all the hard work for you, ripping the year apart to feast on the tasty information nuggets that dwell deep within 2019’s body. So here, with some very scientific metrics, is our list of the top 10 PC games of 2019.

10. Best Expansion – Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

With a whole new dimension to explore along with a higher level cap and multiple new dungeons and raids, Final Fantasy XIV has never been better than during Shadowbringers. It proves that in the MMO world, Final Fantasy XIV is operating at the top of its game.

9. Best Remake – Resident Evil 2

Capcom must have known they were onto something when they remade the second game in the series.Taking the approach to the game of not just enhancing it for modern audiences, but improving the game in almost every way, Resident Evil 2’s remake is a template that tells the world how to do this right.

8. Best Words – Disco Elysium

Words make up how we communicate, how we think, and how we express ideas. So when something comes along that does something interesting with words, it’s time to sit up and pay attention. Disco Elysium this year showed us how a game can be dense with writing but also fun, playful, dark, depressing, thoughtful, and everything in between. 

7. Best Battle Royale – Apex Legends

2019 might go down in the history books as the year battle royales invaded every game out there, but it’s never been bettered than in Apex Legends. With an ever-increasing roster of characters and new seasons changing up the game, it’s always the best time to dive in. And if you need a little help, head on over to our guide to learn how to be the Legend you deserve to be.

6. Best Jokes – Borderlands 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av5Eyx3bGtM

The Borderlands series mixes up shooting, RPGs, and comedy in equal measures, and that’s never been more the case than in the brilliant third main game in the series. Filled with more jokes than you can point a jokey stick at, it get the award for most laughs a minute in any game.

5. Best Combat – Devil May Cry 5

The Devil May Cry series has always excelled at one thing, and that’s the granular moment-to-moment feeling of the combat. Mastery of it is incredibly rewarding, and Devil May Cry 5’s approach perfects the series’ long standing love affair with brutal and brilliant combat.

4.Best Goose – Untitled Goose Game

Honk. Honk honk honk, honk. Honk honk? Honk honk. Honk.

3. Best Oh God Are Those Rats? – A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence has a lot going for it, but it’s never better or more disturbing than when you’re dealing with boiling infestations of plague-ridden rats. The way they’re animated and the threat they represent makes them truly one of the most chilling and tense additions to any game in 2019.

2. Best Relaunch – Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Destiny has a history of relaunching itself to critical and fan acclaim, and rarely has this been so successful and radical than with Shadowkeep, the latest expansion for the game. This saw the game launch onto a different platform with a whole host of updates and improvements, and in addition saw the base game become free to play, meaning the world is now full of fresh Guardians, lending new life to the game as we go into 2020.

1. Best Selling – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

The Call of Duty series has taken us on a wild ride, but it’s never been better and more popular than in its Modern Warfare setting. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a bombastic and heavily detailed military shooter with a brilliant campaign, as well as the ever-astounding and addictive multiplayer modes, making it no surprise that it sold so well in 2019.
That’s what 2019 looked like for us PC gamers, what about next year? Let us know your predictions over on the community forum.

Video Games to play with the family

Christmas is coming, and you know what that means? Days and days of awkward family interactions where you’d rather be playing games, but instead have to listen to your racist uncle parrot on and on about how things were better back in his day. Ah yes, what joys await us all in the coming weeks, what pure and unadulterated wonders? 

Well, how about instead of doing that, you just spent some time playing awesome games with your family? If you’re a little concerned as to which games suit which family members, then how about we break it down for you, one generation at a time? How does that sound? It better sound good, because that’s exactly what we’re about to do. 

Parents – Overcooked Series

Playing games with your parents is either awesome, because they got you into games in the first place, or incredibly stressful because all they know about technology is VHS tapes. Either way, you can have a lot of fun with the Overcooked games thanks to an excellent mix of simple gameplay, and a steady progression into pure chaos. Plus, if you’re going to argue with them anyway, you may as well do it while having fun. 

Siblings – Jackbox Party Pack Series

There are good games in all of the Jackbox Party Pack games, but if you had to pick one game from them to play it’s probably Quiplash 2. That being said, you’ll get more playtime out of one of the proper packs, so have a look through them to see which one sounds good to you. These fit siblings better than parents, as it helps to have similar senses of humour, and that often comes from being extremely online. It’s a good one for cousins too, just in case you’ve got a big family. 

Kids – Lego Games

Depending on the age of your little ones, they might not be able to game at all, or they might just flat out be better than you. Either way, the Lego Games offer a good chance for everyone to get involved without things getting too serious. They’re definitely better when your kids are a bit younger, but the wide range of options means you’ll always be able to find one to fit their tastes, and that helps a lot. The Star Wars games are probably the best of the bunch, and the fact that there is a new film coming soon makes them more relevant too, but it’s really up to you. 

Everyone – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/ Super Mario Party

Both Mario Kart and Mario Party have always been excellent shouts for getting families to play together, but the most recent iterations have the advantage of being on the Switch. This allows them to be played by more people and at a lower cost thanks to the Joy-Cons. Which game fits your family will largely depend on the overall skill level, but you’d be hard-pressed to bear the plumber and his friends when it comes to having a lot of fun with your whole family.

Transport fever 2 and the rise of the simulator

Billing itself as the “gold standard” of transport simulation games, Urban Games’ Transport Fever 2 is fast approaching on the 11th of December for those of us partial to a bit of infrastructure management in this holiday season. If you’re a sucker for a good tram system, this game has you covered, with a variety of different methods of transport to manage and chicane around the environment. Think of it like Civilization, only you’re building an empire of steel and tires rather than land and colonies. In this article, we’re going to talk about the new features coming for Transport Fever fans and the rise of the simulator game in general.

The history of logistics

The best part about Transport Fever 2 is the logistical trouble you can get into and how you can work your way around those issues. The game ranges from 1850 to the present day with its campaigns, including over 200 vehicles available in Europe, America, and Asia. Transport cargo through the arid hills of the Wild Wild West, trains billowing black smoke as you launch your mining empire, then jump right into the present day and set up a sophisticated commuter system.

You can also get involved in the modding scene which will be handled via the Steam Workshop. If you want to make Boaty McBoatface a reality, Transport Fever 2 will welcome your ingenuity. Creative types with a mind for dreaming up wacky methods of transport will be at home here.

Absurdities in the simulation

Elsewhere, simulator games have only been growing in popularity, leading to more and more absurdity which might tickle those who aren’t interested in the other sect of the genre, which is approaching hyper-realism. Of course, there is the apocryphal, eternal Goat Simulator that most have played, but it’s worth considering some of the more fringe games available thanks to a legion of creative indie developers following in its wake.

Whilst Cooking Simulator at first may seem more realistic, it slowly descends into madness as you’re chucking bananas around your workspace, flipping patties and pouring tomato sauce all over your fruit salad. Smash wine bottles into your chicken carbonara and heat fish on a burning cardboard box. The choice is yours. For those wondering about the heights of absurd conflict, check out Totally Accurate Battle Simulator too, which lets you pit one-man armies against legions of elephants, among other ridiculous matchups.

The push for hyper realism

Yet, if you’re looking for more reality-adjacent simulators, it’s worth looking into such titles as PC Building Simulator, a metatextual piece where you dream of having the ultimate gaming rig from the comforts of your nearly-dead current machine. Just make sure you meet the recommended specs… Beyond that we have House Flipper, a popular new entry to the genre that lets you live out the life of a travelling tradesman, sorting out electronics and fixing up filthy homes. Roll your eyes if you want, but it’s hard to deny how satisfying the experience is, even if you’ve never picked up a tool in your life. Of course, you can always rely on the Truck Simulator series if you fancy a chit chat and a drive from Moscow to Glasgow.

The Top Indie Games Of 2019

This year has been something of a belter when it comes to good games, and nowhere is that truer than when it comes to the independently developed efforts that chart among the best games of the last twelve months. So without further ado, here are the top indie games of 2019! 

10. Blasphemous

With its macabre aesthetic, stunning 2D hand-drawn visuals and gloriously over the top violent spectacle, it’s easy to see why Blasphemous has drawn so much attention.

Look past the grisly veneer of Blasphemous however and a deeper, more sophisticated Metroidvania effort soon reveals itself, as players take control of The Penitent One, a damned warrior that must call on the powers of Heaven to free the tormented souls of an oppressed kingdom. Gore? Check. Pixel-perfect platforming and combat? Check. You know what to do.

9. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

An undisputed return to form for one Koji Igarashi, one of the creators of the legendary Castlevania franchise, it’s no stretch to say that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is better than anything carrying the Castlevania label to come out of Konami in the last decade or more.

Decked out in beautiful 3D backgrounds and character models set against a 2D plane with the exact same fantastic gameplay that helped cement Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as a classic all those years ago, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is essential for anyone looking for their next action RPG fix.

8. Cat Quest II 

With free time seemingly becoming a more and more precious commodity for most of us, it’s a relief to have games like Cat Quest II that fit snugly into our dwindling slack schedules. 

A bite-sized, charmingly realised lite-RPG stuffed generously with enough cat puns to destroy a small country, Cat Quest II is a soaringly endearing romp that can be played a few minutes at a time either by yourself or with a friend. 

7. Children of Morta

While you wouldn’t be wrong to infer that the Diablo-like template has been run into the ground in recent years, Children of Morta is very much keen to freshen the whole genre up a bit – and it succeeds too. The key to its successful reinvigoration of the genre is family. In Children of Morta players take control of not just one character but an entire family of heroes who find themselves fighting a grim, seemingly unstoppable corruption. 

More than just narrative fluff, not only does each member of the family play entirely differently from one another, but as each develop and mature in power, they unlock family-wide bonuses that can be enjoyed by all their siblings too. Fresh, challenging and ornately realised, Children of Morta is absolutely stellar. 

6. Deliver Us The Moon

Everyone likes a good apocalypse right? It helps us to band together and all that stuff, but more than that, it’s all about going off into the unknown in search of hope and salvation and it’s this maxim that Deliver Us The Moon takes very much to heart. 

With Earth in the grip of an energy crisis, players are cast as a lone astronaut that must traverse the moon in both first and third person perspectives, looking for clues regarding those who came before as well as trying to figure out how to resolve the Earth’s dire situation. Evoking the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Deliver Us The Moon is a romp absolutely overflowing in atmosphere that takes place in a setting that has none.   

5. Forager

A weaponised strain of pure, undiluted cute and whimsy manifested into a video game, Forager is a minimalist, top-down affair that combines the likes of Stardew Valley and The Legend of Zelda to grand effect. 

A true labour of love, Forager is effortlessly compelling – sucking minutes, hours and days out of your schedule like some sort of demented time vampire. Like building stuff, upgrading stuff, exploring stuff and killing stuff? Forager is for you.

4. Heaven’s Vault

A galaxy spanning archeology adventure, instead of shooting goons in the mush and stealing twinkly trinkets, Heaven’s Vault is actually an intelligent and sophisticated detective romp that is all about uncovering past civilizations by translating dead languages and appraising long lost relics. With a devastatingly sarcastic android by her side, archaeologist Aliya must traverse the cosmos, investigating long gone alien races as she attempts to locate a missing colleague. Make no mistake, Heaven’s Vault is the good stuff, adventure fans.

3. Indivisible

An opulent, hand-drawn odyssey that combines 2D platforming with turn-based, JRPG style combat and anime cutscenes, Indivisible is an affectionate and beautifully fashioned ode to Square-Enix’s seemingly forgotten Valkyrie Profile series. 

As Ajna, a rebellious girl who must fight against the evil threatening her homeland, Indivisible is a visually arresting effort that foundly and efficiently recalls some of the best elements from classic JRPGs. 

2. Mutazione

Of all the games in this feature, none of them can be considered even remotely similar to the blissfully offbeat Mutazione. A relaxing narrative adventure with a heart of gold, Mutazione casts players as teenage girl Kai, who must venture to the eccentric community of Mutazione to care for her ailing grandfather. 

Deftly juxtaposing world-scale events with small-town drama, in one moment you could be weathering a meteor impact, while in another, you could be making small talk with loquacious cat creature at a BBQ, Mutazione is the best, most warmly inviting sort of weird you’ll ever likely play.

1. Valfaris

If you’re one of the many folks mourning the absence of a decent Contra title, then you’ll be pleased to know that Valfaris brings the goods in a way that we haven’t seen for a good decade or so. 

Absolutely filled to brim with monsters of varying grotesquerie to murder and a devastatingly powerful arsenal of weapons to do it with, Valfaris is an exceptional side-scrolling platforming shooter that shows us all exactly how a new Contra style game should be done. Oh, and your character does a little headbang when he collects new weapons too, so extra points for that.

Do you agree with our list? Comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community page to see what other gamers have to say.

A beginner’s guide to learning video game music and sound design

Perchance you’ve been following our monthly column on getting into game design, a holistic approach for beginners to dip their toes into the mystical world of game development. In October, we touched on picking your first engine to start experimenting in, and during November we gave you some pointers on how to make your start with game art. This time around we’re touching on another cornerstone of your first game project: music! Read on as we introduce you to some useful software to learn to help you break out into the world of game music and sound design. This one’s for the budding disciples of Toby Fox out there, waiting to write their Megalovania!

Choose your fight-DAW

A DAW is a fancy name for a digital audio workstation, basically the modern standard for music production when you’re producing, editing or recording. They range in price but for introductory software packages, they’re usually quite cheap. There are plenty to choose from, but consider Ableton Live 10 Lite – a software package for creating music that often comes bundled with instrumental hardware. It’s easy to use, used by most professional producers and perfect for your first steps into composition. Other options include Cubase, Reason, and Reaper.

If you have an iOS device, you’ve technically already got a workstation to experiment with, Garageband. It’s full of virtual instruments, drum kits and has a means for you to record directly into the device via the phone’s speaker. Artists such as Steve Lacy create music this way with the use of the iRig, an accessory you can buy to connect a guitar to your phone. Consider this if you really click with Garageband.

Soundfonts and samples

Now you’ve got your workstation sorted, consult google and look for soundfonts of your favourite video games. This is essentially where people have ripped the sound files and effects from video games and turned them into VSTs, virtual instruments that can be played via a workstation. Download the files for the games you love and you can use those incredible sound effects as snare hits, cymbal crashes and more! 

Experiment with instruments

If you’re tinkering around with the software listed and are still raring for more, perhaps consider siphoning off some precious desk space for an instrument, namely a small MIDI controller to get a handle on creating chords and modifying pre-determined sounds whilst playing live. Your best choice here would be the AKAI MPK Mini Mk 2, which has drum pads, sliders, and launch pads. It’s a pocket powerhouse for beginner musicians who want to create within a DAW.

If you’ve got an old console laying around, you could also consider modding it to turn it into a chiptune machine. The easiest to tinker with is the GameBoy, but you can also mod the SNES, Atari and plenty of other old school consoles with some google-fu. Tutorials online are also your best friend. This one from Udemy I can personally vouch for – it takes you from zero to hero in a short space of time, and is very accessible for beginners.

Tools Up! could be the next Overcooked

Tools Up! is a game all about working together to renovate houses. That sounds a lot like work to some people, but the aim of the game is to have fun, not actually do work. It’s not like they’re asking you to actually go and move furniture or do the painting in real life, because that would suck. No, instead, you and up to three friends will be taking on the daunting task of helping people completely renovate their homes. This would be a relatively straight-forward thing to do if it wasn’t for some of the strange circumstances that these homes find themselves in.

How to Play Tools Up!

For example, while moving a sofa is easy enough with two people working together, it’s a lot harder to manage when you’ve also got to contend with pools of lava dotted around and throughout the house. If that’s how you choose to live your life then fair play, just make sure you have a stair gate or something to stop yourself from stumbling into it drunk. 

In the last few years, we’ve seen something of a resurgence of the local multiplayer game. Sometimes these are strictly competitive live Crawl, while other times they require adept teamwork like Overcooked. Tools Up! very much falls into the second category, and while you’re meant to work together with your friends, it’s probably going to cause a few arguments too. 

On the plus side, you’ll be able to solve these problems by, uh, throwing each other around or chucking chairs at each other. While the aim of each map is to do the best job possible as fast as you can, you can probably expect to have games where you simply spend the entire time throwing each other at walls. It’s good clean fun, except it’s not clean at all due to all of the paint, and wall, and lava.

What game modes will Tools Up! have?

The game will feature a campaign mode as well as a Party Mode. The former will have you taking on increasingly challenging jobs as part of Tools Up Co. who are eager, if not always particularly skilled. The latter will allow you to play through the levels you’ve already cleared with the aim of perfecting them and achieving the best possible score. This should mean a decent amount of replayability, and should also make it perfect for simply dropping in for a game or two every night. 

It’ll be interesting to see how Tools Up! builds (hur hur) on what other games have already laid down in this exciting new era of co-op games. If it can channel the same energy and frenetic sense of pace as Overcooked then it’ll be a sure thing for all parties everywhere going forward. Either way, we’ll find out when it releases on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on December 3rd.

The GreenManGaming Christmas gift guide for gamers

It’s hard to buy for a gamer. Most of the games they want they’ve probably already got, and there’s plenty of useless tat on the market to be bought and never used again by the lucky recipient. Most of their wishlist will be ridiculously expensive bits of hardware that aren’t suitable for Christmas, or more rudimentary gifts that won’t be much fun to open. Well, that’s where we come in. Here are a few clever gift ideas for gamers if you find yourself stuck on the puzzle.

Christmas jumpers and clothes

Everybody has a few random Christmas jumpers lying around in their wardrobe gathering dust, but that’s because they’re usually low quality. If a Crimbo jumper gets used at more than one Christmas, that’s a success, and you can assure this by appealing to your recipient’s interests. The best of the range is easily the Numskull set, which has a swathe of official Fallout, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and Pokemon pieces that will put a smile on the face of your family gamer. You could also buy them an Insert Coin gift card so they can buy some solid gaming-adjacent ensembles. It shows that you’re accepting of their hobby and that you want to see it around the dinner table. Brownie points!

Line their bookshelf

If you’ve got yourself a gamer with a more vested interest in the nitty-gritty side of the industry, educate them with these brilliant books about gaming. You should consider The Walkthrough by Doug Walsh, a memoir about writing strategy guides for a living – or Kurt Kalata’s Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures if they’re old school. If they aspire to be developers, grab them Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier, an excellent window into the realities of developing games.

Renew their subscriptions

The streaming revolution has come for us all, and it’s currently making its way into gaming circles with relative ease. Some of the most popular recent innovations include Xbox Game Pass, Google Stadia and PlayStation Now, massive game libraries available to players at a monthly fee. One thing that most gamers (myself included) hate doing is renewing these subscriptions. It’s boring admin. If you’re out of ideas, consider grabbing a 12-month subscription for your gamer relative to open and redeem. If they aren’t already subscribed, you’ve just gifted them thousands of games. If they’re subscribers, they won’t have to redeem again for a LONG time. It’s a win-win!

Beyond that, consider picking up more general online subscriptions like Xbox Live Gold, PlayStation Plus or EA Access to gift early access to games, multiplayer service, and free games every month that they can keep as long as the service is live. If all else fails, you can’t go wrong with a Steam Gift Card either!

Player two, three and four have entered the game

The Xbox One Elite Series 2 controller was recently revealed, and whilst this is a bit more expensive than most controllers if you’re buying for a gamer who has it all this is the utter pinnacle. You can’t get much better, they will most likely not have one already and it will make their Christmas, whether they’re an Xbox or PC gamer. If they’re in love with Nintendo, grab them an extra set of Joy-Cons. Even if it’s just for aesthetics, it’s a real crowd-pleaser.

Darksiders Genesis could change the franchise

It’s probably fair to say that the Darksiders series is a bit hit-and-miss. While many people lauded the first as being a very solid, and somewhat gritty, take on the classic Zelda formula, both the second and third entries weren’t received as well. This could well be due to the other popular things in gaming that they tried to incorporate, or it could simply be due to changing times and tastes.

Perhaps as a reaction to this, the next game in the series, Darksiders Genesis, is going to be a completely different genre. Rather than the over-the-shoulder third-person game you might be expecting, you will instead be playing along from an isometric perspective and engaging in a co-op adventure.

Darksiders Genesis – What it’s all about

You take on the roles of Strife and War, two of the Horseman of the apocalypse. Rather than being harbingers of the end of times, you instead are lackeys of a mysterious Council who apparently keep balance. It’s all a little bit shady, but this is the work that the characters have signed up to, and it’s the work they will keep doing as a result. 

This all comes off the back of a massive battle where the Horsemen have wiped out the rest of their kind because the Council demanded it. So, there are lots of complicated feelings tied up with their new job, the chances are that the devotion of the two will be tested as you play through the game. This is all set before even the first game as well, which makes it all the more interesting to long-time fans of the series, who’ll get a chance to find out just what happened before everything really kicked off. 

Who is Darksiders Genesis for?

It’s not often you see a series completely shift style in order to try and freshen things up. It’s a good thing to see though, as it could be that this change of perspective allows for a new audience to find and enjoy the world of angels and demons that Darksiders resides in. Better yet, the fact that this is a co-op game means that it could just be the game that lets a fan bring a friend into the fold. 

The game looks great, and while it’s a little odd to see things from above, the combat looks just as satisfying as ever, and the two Horsemen have vastly different styles to boot. Strife is a gunslinger and seems to favour long-range combat while War is a tank-like being who will be using his trusty broadsword to split the hordes of demons in two. Throw in some over-the-top boss battles, the biblical lore, and hopefully some charming writing, and this could be the start of something beautiful for the Darksiders world. You can check out Darksiders Genesis when it releases on December 5th on both PC and, uh, Stadia.

5 Things You Should Know About Death Stranding

Death Stranding has been out for a few weeks now, and that means you’ve probably seen or read a lot about it. It’s the first game from Hideo Kojima as an independent of sorts, with no higher-ups at Konami telling him no. It’s also one of the most star-filled games in existence thanks to a Hollywood leading man and a wealth of small cameos from big names in a vast array of different fields. If you’re still not sure what to expect, here are five things you should know about Death Stranding. 

The Soundtrack Slaps

It uses music in an interesting way, one that manages to be both surprising and also make perfect sense. Different songs are used throughout the game, but they often come in as you’re exploring certain places or when it suits. It’s not just the timing though; it’s the songs themselves. With bands like Low Roar, Bring Me The Horizon, and CHVRCHES involved, you know you’ll be listening to the soundtrack long after you’ve finished the game. 

It’s Very Light On Combat

While there are combat elements in the game, it’s mostly about exploration and the struggles that the terrain presents. The main enemy of Death Stranding is often the scenic vistas you’ll admire for a second just before realising you’ve got to make your way over them. Mountains, ravines, rivers, and wide-open stretches of land will all offer their own challenges, and your job is to meet them. Of course, you’ll have other people helping you out via structures they’ve created too, so it might be a little easier depending on when you play it. 

You’ll Spend A Lot Of Time Walking

As a result of the exploration, you can expect to spend most of your time simply journeying around the world. You do, after all, essentially play a delivery person. Death Stranding does an excellent job of simulating that walking and making it feel a bit more visceral though, so if you enjoy the controls, then you’ll enjoy the act of wandering around just as much. 

It’s Not As Weird As It Seems

Despite how otherworldly it looks from the outside, it’s actually not all that hard to follow. Once you’ve adjusted to the glossary of different names and phrases that are used in-game you’ll be able to follow it pretty easily. Don’t be put off by its seemingly impenetrable world; you’ll get to grips with it once you’ve been playing for a little while. 

Lots Of Games Inspired It

It seems to take a lot of inspiration from some of the greatest games of the last decade or so. The asynchronous multiplayer elements can easily be traced back to the messaging systems in the Soulsborne games. The reactive music is something that has happened before, but it was at its best when done in Bastion. Finally, it takes a bit from Journey too, with specific people being beside you for much of your adventure. It doesn’t copy these aspects though, it takes them in new directions and comes up with something fresh as a result.

Death Stranding is currently available on Playstation 4 and will land on PC sometime in the summer of 2020. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

The best beginner software to start your Pixel, 2D or 3D Game Art journey

Greetings, budding students! Perhaps you’ve been paying attention to our monthly blog series which dwells on beginner game development for the curious gamers out there. Last month, we talked about the best game engines to start your journey. Alas, even if you figure those out, you’re probably still looking at a bunch of ugly grey boxes hopping around a bland environment. That’s where our good friend Art Direction comes in.

Any good game needs quality art or people simply won’t play it. Don’t get me wrong, there are some awful-looking games with plenty of players, but it takes a whole lot of charm to make up for it, so it’s best to figure out what style of game you’re looking to create from an aesthetic perspective. Read on as we introduce you to some simple software to get you started with game art.

Aseprite

Whilst Game Maker Studio has a fairly robust system for painting pixels in the engine itself, it’s usually better to seperate your workflow so you have all of your ducks in a row when you come to create. Aseprite is by far the most user-friendly and fully-featured pixel art software for beginners. You can pick it up for the humble price of £10.99 on Steam, with no subscription necessary. With a robust timeline, a solid layer and frame system, onion skinning, and even scope to create animations and export sprite sheets, the software is perfect for beginners who want a cosy interface and a bustling community to back it up. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube to get started with Aseprite and start creating pixel art. If you can’t splash the cash, try the free Piskel browser app to get started.

Procreate

For the budding concept artists out there with an iPad lying around, you can’t really go wrong with Procreate. At £9.99 with no subscription necessary, this iOS app offers an excellent art studio that you can control with a stylus from the comfort of Apple’s UI architecture. This option is probably best for those more comfortable with pen or pencil drawing over true beginners, but with such a brilliant amount of resources to back up the feature-set, Procreate can be useful for all kinds of art useful for video games. Background art, concept and character art… even pixel art is possible with Procreate. It’s like Photoshop in your pocket.  it’s used by professionals the world over for a variety of disciplines, has an incredible community with lots of useful beginner tutorials, and it is seriously powerful despite the accessibility. Well worth it if you want to get into 2D art.

Blender

As the years have gone by, open-source software for 3D art has ballooned in scope, with Blender becoming almost industry-standard levels of excellent. The best part is that this software is completely free. As well as letting you quickly rig models and create 3D scenes, it’s also a fully-fledged animation studio for realistic 3D art pieces and short films. Blender is a tool for those with the imagination to back it up, but don’t be scared of the showreels, the foundation is known for its resourcefulness, and given its widespread use, tutorials are not hard to come by. Pick it up on Steam and start creating 3D game art without limits!

Movember Special: The best Beards in Gaming History

It’s November! 2019 is winding down, and men across the world are refusing to shave – not out of some sort of vendetta for kemptness and hygiene, but to change the face of men’s health. November is now Movember, where not shaving has become a movement to help men talk about their mental health and aid early diagnosis and treatment of prostate and testicular cancer. Given that we’re in the business of video games here at GreenManGaming, we thought we’d promote the cause by pointing out some of the best facial hair in gaming history.

Bill – Left 4 Dead

Starting off strong with William Overbeck, a Vietnam veteran who spent his retirement fending off legions of zombies with a rag-tag group of friends in Valve’s Left 4 Dead series.  His full head of hair and bushy white beard is just as unforgettable as his iconic green beret and gravelly voice lines, provided by the late Jim French, a legendary voice actor who also gave life to Father Grigori from Half-Life 2 (coincidentally, he also boasts a fine goatee.)

LeChuck – Monkey Island 

A tremendously evil undead pirate with a penchant for Voodoo, LeChuck is perhaps most well known for his unforgettable appearance. From his oversized hat to the skull accessories, it’s an arresting get-up, but nothing is more unsightly than his magnificent beard which stretches all the way down torso. Given that he can still grow a beard whilst being uh… deceased, LeChuck is inevitably destined to participate in Movember until the end of his days.

Mario – Super Mario Odyssey 

How could we talk about video game facial hair without mentioning Mario’s curious ‘stache? The way it quaffs underneath the nose and sticks up at the sides defying gravity… it suits such an intergalactic icon for facial hair, known by most players young or old. Of course, as polygon counts have grown Mario’s moustache has only gotten more detailed and satisfying to look at than in the days of Super Mario 64. In Odyssey, it makes its way onto the mugs of frogs, hummingbirds and even goombas!

Captain Price – Call of Duty Franchise

Call of Duties come and go but the Captains stache has remained a staple of the franchise over the years. Though it has seen some minor changes between titles, the basic style has remained the same and continues to be as identifiable as his name across gaming culture. Some have said it’s what gives him his strength and has a similar effect to Solid Snakes Bandana, giving him unlimited ammo. Regardless, it is legendary amongst facial hair and is a symbol of greatness too many.

So whats your favourite beard in gaming? Comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community site to find out what other gamers have to say.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays

If I was to say that SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays was coming over to the west, what would you think? It would either be a) bless you, or, b) hell yeah it is. If you aren’t at all familiar with the string of SEO-hating words I just vomited into the first line of this piece, then let me illuminate you like one of oh so many mech-based lights. 

What is Gundam?

Gundam is a massive franchise, so massive in fact that it kind of eclipses a lot of things that you might not expect. It’s set in multiple worlds, but each of them shares one thing; gigantic mechs that people ride around in to do battle. Sometimes these are toys; sometimes they’re war-ending machines packed full of melodrama and political intrigue. 

The thing they all share is a massive amount of customisation and style. More often than not, these games give you an absurd amount of things to tweak, change, and generally mess around with. It makes for an experience that leaves you feeling entirely responsible for any victories or defeats; after all, you put everything together. 

What type of game is Generation Cross Rays?

While some of the games that bear the Gundam moniker are action games, this one is part of the tactical role-playing skew of things. Not only that, but it’s also about the SD models or Super Deformed mechs. These are generally exceptionally chibi ones, which means they’ve got big old heads and tiny bodies.

Also, look at how many series are getting representation: 

  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The Last Outpost (G-Unit)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifists
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz – Glory of the Losers
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED MSV
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray R
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray B
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny MSV
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 ⊿Astray
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Frame Astrays
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED VS Astray
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray R
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray B
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00P
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00F
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00I
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00V
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00V: Battlefield Record
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie -Awakening of the Trailblazer-
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00I 2314
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Steel Moon
  • SD Gundam GX
  • G Generation Series

Yeah, that’s a lot. If you’ve never heard of Gundam, there are a lot of different ways to consume it, but anime is probably how most people find out about it. There is an absurd library of shows available now, so it’s best to do a bit of research if you plan on starting it. Of course, if you’re a fan already, you know all about it and are just excited to get your hands on the game when it releases on PC on November 27th.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays Trailer

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels 5 reasons you’ll love this Netflix Spinoff

If you have a Netflix subscription, you’ll know that biographical crime drama Narcos and its Mexico-set spin-off are both extremely good examples of engrossing top drawer TV (and if you don’t, then well, shame on you then really).

Encapsulating much of what makes the television show so compelling, Curve Digital and Kuju are set to bring Narcos: Rise of the Cartels to PC and consoles this month. Here’s why fans of the series and turn-based strategy games in general should be excited.

1. It’s Basically 1980s Drug War XCOM – What’s Not To Like?

An ideal fit for Netflix’s ambitious drama, Rise of the Cartels is a turn-based effort very much in the template of titles such as XCOM 2 and Phantom Doctrine. As you stalk your prey through the tightly knit streets and rooftops of 80s Medellín, you must use shrewd guerilla tactics, line of sight and cover to the best of your ability in order to be successful. In short, if you fancy some more turn-based tactical shenanigans in a fresh setting, then Narcos: Rise of the Cartels certainly has your back.

2. You Get To Play As Either The DEA Or The Bad Guys

One of the best things about the Narcos TV show is that it does a fantastic job of charting Pablo Escobar’s rise to power, not just from the perspective of the DEA (and real-life squad leader Steve Murphy), but also the numerous members of the Colombian drug cartels that allowed him to form his base of power. Rise of the Cartels is no different, as it allows players to experience the 1980s Colombian drug trade from both the perspective of the DEA and the drug lords in two seperate story campaigns. 

3. It Encompasses The Events Of The First Season Of The TV Show

With three seasons under its belt and not including the Mexico-set spin-off, the developers behind Narcos: Rise of the Cartels certainly have a fair amount of material with which to draw from. Sensibly, they’ve opted to use the first season and the events contained therein as the basis for the game, meaning that folks who have yet to watch the seminal Netflix show can hop in right away without any hesitation.

4. There’s More Than One Type Of Soldier

Again tapping into its XCOM and Phantom Doctrine influences, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels employs a class system that allows players to hire and use different types of soldiers and operatives. As you might expect, each class type lends itself especially well to varying roles too. The Search Bloc troops are essentially scouts that specialise in identifying threats and moving quickly, while demolition specialists excel at destroying cover and creating distractions, allowing other members of the squad to pick off the enemy with ease.

5. Progression, Lots of Progression

Like any decent turn-based strategy effort worth its salt, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels provides players with plenty of creative latitude for progression, too. With each successful mission, enemy killed and objective completed, your active squad gains experience points which can then be traded in for a wide variety of skills, that in turn expand their capability for dealing with the much more difficult missions encountered later on in the game. Like most efforts from the turn-based genre, you’ll need to be careful with your upgraded squad members too, since when they’re gone – they’re gone for good.

Out on PC November 19th, you can check out Narcos: Rise of the Cartels on our website, or head over to the Green Man Gaming Community Site and join the conversation.

The best Star Wars games released on PC

Not long ago in a galaxy near, near by, Star Wars games were two a penny. It felt like every time you turned around there was one popping out of the woodwork to shoot Han first or podracing down the high street.

These days they’re a little more spaced out. This week marks the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a game that looks to revitalise lightsaber combat and bring the action to life like never before. 

With a new Star Wars game on the cusp of release, a new Star Wars film coming at the end of the year which follows up on the amazing The Last Jedi, and The Mandalorian wowing audiences, it feels like the perfect time to look back over where we’ve been, and talk up the absolute best Star Wars games you can play on PC.

10. Star Wars Episode I: Racer

Podracing was probably the only good thing introduced in the prequels, and the resulting game was one of the few good games to come from them. Racing has never felt faster in this high speed high stakes game of jet madness.

9. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

More ambitious than the previous game, better characters, so why isn’t this topping the list? Unfortunately it fell victim to the early-Obsidian curse. They didn’t have enough time or money to finish it off, leaving whole parts of it incomplete. 

8. Star Wars Battlefront II

The first new Battlefront didn’t go down too well, but EA were listening and a whole raft of changes were implemented for the sequel. Battlefront II improves in almost every way, and even if you don’t play for long, it’s one of the most beautiful Star Wars experiences ever.

7. Star Wars: The Old Republic

‘But it’s terrible’ I hear you mashing into your keyboards. Ah but have you tried it recently? Approach it like a free to play single player BioWare RPG and trust me, you’ll be satisfied.

6. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

The main story allowed a huge amount of freedom after the linear Dark Forces series of games, but it’s in the multiplayer that Jedi Academy really shines. Lightsaber duelling became an artform, bringing with it a whole community of lightsaber masters. 

5. Star Wars Galaxies

Pour one out for one of the greatest MMOs of all time. Sadly gone before its time twice, once in a retool that was poorly received and then finally closing down in 2011, Galaxies was the dream of MMOs made reality. If only every MMO could have such ambition.

4. X-Wing Alliance

X-Wing Alliance had it all, space dogfighting combat, all the ships, and even a sassy droid companion. X-Wing Alliance took the multiplayer X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, added a compelling story that spanned half the galaxy, and even let you start in a YT-model freighter. 

3. Star Wars: Republic Commando

The dark years of Star Wars fandom saw all manner of abominations see the light of day, but a shining beacon amongst it all was Republic Commando. A squad based FPS with a team of loveable clone troopers sank you right into the action, and FPS games were all the better for it.

2. TIE Fighter

What’s it like to be a baddie? TIE Fighter asked that question in what was not only a great space-sim dogfighter, but it also had an expansive story featuring fan favourite Grand Admiral Thrawne. 

1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Knights of the Old Republic did that amazing thing that’s so rare in Star Wars. It did a prequel well. Set thousands of years before anything we’d seen before it introduced a great cast of characters and a plot that people still talk about to this day.
What’s your favourite Star Wars game on PC? Head on over to the forum and join the conversation and let us know.