How Capcom Created The Perfect Remake With Resident Evil 2

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ll probably be aware of the fact that Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 has been doing the business both critically and commercially since its release at the end of January. Key to the success of Resident Evil 2 is the fact that the long tenured Japanese publisher/developer has managed to pull off that rarest of feats – a full-bodied remake of a beloved property that not only preserves its essence, but simultaneously iterates on it sufficiently enough to allow it to appeal to a new generation of gamer folk.

Though it might have pleased the franchise hardcore to technically migrate the fixed perspective survival horror beats of the 1998 original to newer and shiner hardware, doing so would also have been somewhat ignorant of the positive changes wrought to the franchise by the game-changing Resident Evil 4.

By proving that its legendary survival horror IP could be translated into the third-person perspective, and not lose any of its verve but rather gain a frenetic brand of action that many other genre efforts would later seek to emulate, Resident Evil 4 served not only as a new watermark for the series, but also as the blueprint for Capcom’s superlative remake of Resident Evil 2.

A masterstroke of design, the new perspective that has been lent to this year’s Resident Evil 2 remake not only sensationally underscores its contemporary action shooter sensibilities with aplomb, but also allows Capcom to both honor and evolve the sense of sheer dread that the 1998 original emanated so effectively. Perhaps nowhere is the Japanese developer’s dedication to maintaining that foreboding atmosphere of fear that the 1998 original more obvious than in its rendition of terrifying big bad, Mr. X.

Freshly realised by a transformative visual upgrade and bolstered by the fresh immediacy afforded by the new over the shoulder perspective, the towering Mr. X in this year’s Resident Evil outing is nothing less than pure terror incarnate. Not only does his slow stalking of the player perfecting evoke his original leisurely gait, but it also presents him as a bastion of fear for new players and arguably the closest the franchise has ever gotten to having the Terminator as an actual antagonist.

Visually too, Resident Evil 2 is in equal parts a homage to the original as it is a big, leaping evolution from it. From the moodily lit corridors of the Raccoon City Police Department, to the rain-streaked streets which lay beyond, Capcom have not only maintained the essence of its beloved source material, but have leveraged current technology to lend this classic setting the level of polish that it truly deserves.

And then there are the more subtle doffs of the cap to the 1998 original, too. From the inclusion of Tofu and Hunk, through to the return of the terrifying and iconic Licker creature, this year’s Resident Evil 2 stands as a gold standard for both preserving the original game and meaningfully evolving it for a brand new audience.

More of this, please.

What you need to know about Far Cry: New Dawn

For the second time in Far Cry history, a direct sequel has come out. Far Cry: New Dawn is the sequel to Far Cry 5, and it’s out now.

Here’s what you need to know.

Release Date

Far Cry: New Dawn was released on February the 15th, 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

What is Far Cry: New Dawn?

Far Cry: New Dawn is a direct sequel to Far Cry 5, set 17 years after the events of the previous game.

Spoilers for the ‘good’ ending for Far Cry 5.

At the end of Far Cry 5 a nuclear bomb is detonated, causing the game to end and we presume, chaos. The game picks up years after the bomb went off, in the post-apocalyptic landscape of nuclear Montana.

Father isn’t back as the main villain, instead you’ll be facing off against two sisters who will be the main antagonists of this entry.

Far Cry: New Dawn Features

Far Cry: New Dawn focuses around an entirely new story that picks up the action of Far Cry 5 years later, revolving around new characters in a Montana that has been utterly transformed by atomic power.

Players who finished Far Cry 5 prior to playing Far Cry: New Dawn for release on the 15th of February will have unlocked a new shotgun skin and a special outfit.

Co-op has made a return in Far Cry: New Dawn, though of course you can play solo if you choose. Recruiting animals or people to join you has returned, as have a vast amount of drivable vehicles.

What is definitely new is that the world is more post apocalyptic than before, due to the nuclear blast from the previous game. Some weapons, vehicles, and locations are more ramshackle and obviously cobbled together by ragged survivors as a result.

The best new feature though: a dog that can actually get in your vehicle with you, instead of trotting behind your car awkwardly.

Far Cry: New Dawn launched on the 15th of February, and you can purchase it here.

What you need to know about Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, that is.

The second official expansion pack for Civilization VI will be launching soon, with a whole host of new features and additions for your game.

Release Date

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm will be released on February the 14th, 2019.

New Weather

Gathering Storm will introduce new weather effects, environmental disasters, and the world itself will react to the way civilisations affect each era.

The environment will change over time, both randomly and in reaction to human interference, leading to new challenges both the player and AI opponents will have to face.

New natural disasters will also be a part of the expansion. These include volcanic eruptions, river floods, rising sea levels, hurricanes, dust storms, blizzards, tornadoes, and droughts. Players will have to learn to either cope with the effects of these disasters, or mitigate them through improvements and technological discoveries.

In addition to this, the way a civilisation behaves with the environment will also have a factor in how the map’s weather develops and the frequency of natural disasters. Players may need to watch the CO2 levels in the atmosphere, and the emissions produced by their civilisation, in order to head off some of the worse environmental effects.

New World Generation

The terrain features that can be included in a generated world will be increased. Geothermal fissures and volcanoes will spawn on mountain ridges which separate continents, and floodplains will cluster along rivers.

In addition to the new features, they will be named by the civilisation that discovers them. For example, if the English discover a river, it may be named The Thames.

Revamped Diplomacy

Diplomacy will be revamped in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. Some features present in previous games but absent in the base game will be back, such as the Diplomatic Victory condition and World Congress.

Diplomatic Victory Points, Favours, and Grievances will all help you navigate the diplomatic seas, replacing the current Warmonger score amongst others.

World Congress allows you to build consensus or division between the world’s civilisations, garnering votes and courting help on weighty decisions in order to impose the will of the people.

New Civilisations

Eight new civilisations will be included in Gathering Storm, with new units, new wonders, new technology and civics era, and two new scenarios to play through. The list of new civilisations and some of their defining characteristics are:

  • Hungary – units gain attributes when alliances are made.
  • Mãori – start at sea and get science and culture before settling.
  • Canada – unique abilities within cold tiles.
  • Inca – unique benefits near mountains.
  • Mali – wealth generated from deserts and trading routes.
  • Sweden – benefits to tourism and culture.
  • Ottoman Empire – siege specialists.
  • Phoenicia – benefits from ocean tiles and can move capital.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm is available for pre-purchase here, and will be releasing on the 14th of February.

5 things we want to see in The Division 2

The Division 2 is coming, but before you get your hands on the full game there are beta tests.

The private beta starts on the 7th of February and lasts until the 11th. You can read all about the beta here and get all knowledged up.

We’ll be dipping in to the beta too, and we’re excited to get our hands on some post apocalyptic Washington action.

We know a little about what the beta contains, but there’s still a lot of questions about the full game content.

Here’s our wishlist of stuff we’d like to see in The Division 2:

More varied loot

One of the criticisms over the original Division was that despite being functionally better, loot was rarely that exciting. You’d battle through hell for a reward, and that reward would be a…better pair of jeans.

It fits with the theme, but there must be something that can spice that up. We’re not saying ‘go full Destiny’ but there must be a middle ground between realistic loot that fits in with the atmosphere and magic space trousers.

More focus on the RPG side of the game

Something that was lost in the reaction to the original Division was that, at its heart, it was an RPG.

Yes you shoot things, but there’s loot, there’s damage numbers, there’s classes. It’s an RPG, and we think that The Division 2 should embrace that. It would ameliorate some of the criticisms levied at the original game. Bullet sponge enemies? You just need to think tactically. Change things up. Don’t just rely on outright damage. Treat it like an RPG in other words.

More story

It’s nice to have a bit of context, isn’t it?

Something can be all the fun in the world, but without a reason to be doing it, it loses something. Giving you plot reasons or an advancing story that propels you into the various activities in The Division 2 will mean you’ll stick with it that much longer. It’s all about interest, and for some just the activity and the loot is enough, but for some of us we need a little more. Give us a reason to care, and we’ll be there.

More incentives for PvP

The Dark Zone idea for The Division was great. Unfortunately in practice it became a little rote. This meant that people got into ruts and more than that, it almost encouraged you away from indulging in PvP.

We’d like to see Dark Zones revamped, which they are, with more reason for you to actually do PvP. It’s not enough just to be in a Dark Zone and come away with loot. There’s got to be a reason for you to want to dive into PvP. As a result we’d like to see Dark Zones in particular given real focus in The Division 2.

An end to capitalism

A disease ravages the population of the world. It’s a disease that’s spread by contact with money. And so begins the world of The Division.

We’d like to see the antagonist in The Division 2 be money. It’s money’s fault after all, in a non capitalist economy maybe the disease wouldn’t have spread like it did. Rise up, tear the resources you slave over away from those in power. Burn all money, that foul material that only exists to commoditise your time and effort. Bring the system down. Tear power away from those who hoard it and distribute it to the people.

Uh, in the game that is.

Please buy The Division 2 from Green Man Gaming, available here.

Can Anthem Bring Back BioWare?

In 2018 EA made 5.15 billion dollars in net revenue (up from 4.84 billion in 2017). Despite this, the company still remains one of the most hated companies in the world. Known most widely as the purveyor of numerous sport games – like FIFA or Madden – EA has a lot on its shoulders with plenty of big-name titles releasing throughout this calendar year. However, even under the one of the most hated companies on the planet, BioWare has managed to make a name for itself, often being heralded as a fan-favourite studio.

Thanks in part to the firm’s long-history in the industry (Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, etc.), it wasn’t until Mass Effect’s launch, that BioWare really started mould itself into what you see today. Fast-forward to March 2017 and BioWare had become arguably EA’s crown jewel. Dragon Age was established as another brand-new IP that could stand on its own merits, alongside the widely successful and critically adored Mass Effect. Though a controversial ending may have soured the end of the trilogy for some, there was great anticipation for another entry that utilised new-gen technology.

Andromeda promised to continue the series trend of top-notch sci-fi experiences. Sadly, this was not the case, as numerous technical issues, a troubled development and a story that struggled to elevate anything prior doomed what was expected to be an easy-win. The leap to new hardware proved difficult for BioWare. A situation very familiar to lots of developers i.e. Bethesda and Fallout 4. Mixed reception across the board meant that Andromeda became the worst reviewed game in the franchise, giving BioWare plenty of food for thought going forward. Now as we prepare for the launch of Anthem (a Destiny-esque online shooter), questions are starting to arise whether BioWare can return to its former glory status.

When we talk about BioWare struggling, we mean returning the company to the top of the spectrum. Dozens of games release yearly to astronomical acclaim. Just think about the last couple: God of War, Horizon, Breath of the Wild, Spider-Man, Celeste, Monster Hunter: World, Nier: Automata, the list goes on and on. There’s no room for the middle ground anymore. You need to come out of the gates flying, which Andromeda simply didn’t do.

It’s fair to say that there is a good buzz surrounding Anthem, with positive impressions coming out of E3, besides the expected press events leading up to launch. This counts for a lot but BioWare cannot afford to rest on its laurels. The early demo/beta has seen both good and bad feedback, leaving room for scepticism. BioWare need to be prepared. Those first two-weeks essentially can make or break a game. Anthem needs to be everything Andromeda wasn’t.

Taking lessons from games like Destiny, while listening to fans quarrels seem to be at the forefront for making Anthem a hit. In the run-up to release, EA’s ex-vice president, Patrick Söderlund, spoke about how the game could be the start of “a 10-year journey”. Additionally, steps have reportedly been put in place to ensure Anthem has a more enticing world, enhanced gameplay, and fun combo system – not to mention a new DLC rollout plan. Regardless, BioWare know they have to make amends for Andromeda, if they wish to achieve Anthem’s long-term strategy. Whether the firm gets to realise its ambition is something only time will tell.

This Month in Indie Games – February

WARGROOVE IS FINALLY HERE!!!

Sorry, what I meant to say was it’s February and love is in the air, love of indie games. Love of weird ideas, spiritual successors, and probably cool art. Not of people; people are monsters, and usually dirty. Go have a bath.

Anyway, let’s have a look at what will be stealing our hearts this month shall we?

Wargroove

Come on, put it in my Switch, all the way inside. Yeah, I’m not meant to be biased but I’ve played this game at two separate conventions now and the fact that it is actually being released is wonderful. Wargroove is an Advance Wars inspired turn-based strategy game in which you can be a doggo commanding other doggos to destroy a no-doggo nation. It looks great, it plays great, and if it isn’t a GOTY contender I will be surprised. It is here 1st February (PC, Switch)

Macrotis: A Mother’s Journey

It’s rare you get to play as a mother in a video game. Annoyingly rare – games industry, make more of this kind of game. In Macrotis you play as Mother Bilby, an adorable little rodent who just wants to find her children. To do this you will jump, gnaw, and dig your way through platforming sections and puzzles alike. You even unlock some supernatural abilities as you go, the things a mother can do eh? To be honest, if the story ends sadly then I’ll probably never recover, so here’s hoping it’s a happy ending when it releases on PC 8th February.

Arcade Spirits

So, we finally reach a romantic visual novel in these little lists. Arcade Spirits is set in the year 20XX in a world where the 1983 video game crash never happened. You play an incredibly unfortunate person who has just landed a new job at Funplex. It is from here that your custom character will get into a plethora of awkward situations and maybe find love. Awwww. You can see what happens 12th February (PC)

Degrees of Separation

We’ve got another pretty platform puzzler. It’s a good job this looks like it’ll be great to play too. Degrees of separation has you controlling Ember and Rime, two people who love each other, but are kept apart by unknown forces. You’ll have to progress through the beautifully animated world in order to see if you can solve the mysteries that are plaguing them. Degrees of Separation is being released on the thematically appropriate 14th February (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

Fimbul

Norse mythology is cool. Comics are cool. Video games are cool. (Cool is a relative term, not sure what scale we are using but it helps the writing so go with it.) Fimbul is what happens when you smush all three together like some kind of nerdy smoothie. Set in the final winter before Ragnarok, Fimbul has you trying to save the world from the impending end. You do this by both hacking and slashing your way through anything that stands in your way, human or otherwise. See if you can avert the apocalypse 28th February (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

Everything you need to know about The Division 2 beta

As we move from January into February, The Division 2 beta gets ever closer. You can sign up for a chance to enter right now, or get a confirmed invite by pre-purchasing The Division 2 from authorised retailers (like us!).

Want to be prepared for The Division 2 beta? We’ve got the lowdown.

Gaining Access

There are two ways to get entry into The Division 2 beta

If you pre-purchase you’ll get your The Division 2 key immediately, which will allow you access to the beta.

Beta Dates

The beta will start on the 7th of February 2019 with a simultaneous worldwide opening of the beta. The beta will end on February the 11th. Here’s the times:

US Pacific

  • Start: Feb 7 at 1am PST
  • End: Feb 11 at 1am PST

US Eastern

  • Start: Feb 7 at 4am EST
  • End: Feb 11 at 4am EST

UK

  • Start: Feb. 7 at 9am GMT
  • End: Feb 11 at 9am GMT

Central European Time

  • Start: Feb 7 at 10am CET
  • End: Feb 11 at 10am CET

Eastern European Time

  • Start: Feb 7 at 11am GMT
  • End: Feb 11 at 11am GMT

Preloading

Preloads will be available 24 hours ahead of the beta, on the 6th of February, meaning you’ve got a day to install. If you have purchased The Division 2, you’ll be able to begin installation on the 6th. If you are successful in gaining entry to the beta through a signup, you’ll receive your beta key on the 6th as well.

Beta content

The beta will begin with a mission to set up a base of operations in the ruins of the White House. After that you’ll be able to travel freely around the Eastern area of the map and level up, until you hit the beta cap of level 7.

The activities you can participate in are:

  • Two main missions (Story, Normal, Hard difficulties)
  • Five side missions and further open-world activities
  • Three Dark Zone (PvP/PvE) areas to explore
  • Organised PvP Skirmish mode

Endgame mission

On February the 8th, further content will become available allowing players to jump into endgame content and try what The Division 2 has to offer for high level players. This’ll start on Friday, February 8 at at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET / 6pm EET. You’ll be able to activate a mission from this point which’ll give you access to a level 30 character and explore the game’s specialisations, including Survivalist, Sharpshooter, or Demolitionist.

The Division 2 is coming to PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on the 15th of March, and is available for pre-purchase now.

Your favourite flight simulators

Ace Combat 7 is coming to PC on Friday the 1st of February, bringing the long-serving flight sim series to a computer near you for the first time.

It’s got us thinking though, people don’t talk about flight sims that often. At least not publicly.

So we went to you, our beloved followers on social media, and asked what your favourite flight sim was?

Here’s what you had to say:

Falcon 4.0

Made by the sadly defunct Micropose, Falcon 4.0 focuses on a highly detailed simulation of the Block 50/52 F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter. Taking place in Korea, well, above Korea, it’s been maintained scrupulously by the community, updated, and eventually re-released in 2015.

Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series

Yeah yeah you can just fly your plane about, and Microsoft Flight Simulator is good at simulating flight (though don’t use it as your only flight school, Fyre festival, we’re looking at you). But what we’re here for is something a bit more violent. MCFS was released in 1998 with both single player and multiplayer, and was an absolute smash of a success.

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe

Back in 1991 we knew who the Luftwaffe were, and that’s because of this game. Featuring battles between the 8th United States airforce and the Luftwaffe challenge during World War II, it featured a huge amount of features including a custom mission creator.

Elite: Dangerous

Spaceflight is still flight, that’s what we’re sticking to. Elite: Dangerous features not only a load of different paths for you and your spaceship but something infinitely more magical. The best UI in games. Fight me, it’s true.

The Ace Combat series

Honestly we’re just glad some of you chose the Ace Combat series, considering they were the impetus for us to ask this question. Featuring a mixture of simulation and action, the Ace Combat series has been with us for a long time and the newest version, Ace Combat 7, is coming to PC for the first time ever. Definitely a fan favourite for console gamers, it’ll be interesting to see what the series does on computers.

TIE Fighter

I’m still sticking with spaceflight counting, and what’s better than TIE Fighter? Showing you what life’s like on the other side of the rebellion, TIE Fighter also dives deep into the systems that power your twin ion engined fighter. You’ll have to balance things like your ship’s power levels as you open fire on rebel scum, and that’s why it definitely falls into the flight sim category.

DCS World

DCS World, or Digital Combat Simulator World, is a free to play combat flight sim featuring heavily detailed flight craft such as the Spitfire LF Mk IX and A-10C Warthog. Mission editors and a constantly evolving series of planes coming out for it mean that it’s still not stale, over ten years since its release.

Harrier Attack

Featuring multi-angle vector attack, by which we mean it’s 2D, Harrier Attack emerged onto the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Oric 1 way back in 1983. Each level was a terse battle of managing not only your Harrier jump jet’s health, but also your ammo and fuel as you flew over the Falklands below. The real test though? Landing your damn plane on the aircraft carrier at the end. Chilling stuff.

Did we miss your favourite? Hit us up in the comments below. Don’t forget that Ace Combat 7 will be released on the 1st of February on Windows PCs.

RAGE 2 Preview

RAGE 2 is the surprising sequel to Id Software’s 2010 shooter. Surprising because nobody thought we’d ever see a sequel, and surprising because of how it approaches the task of being a sequel.

RAGE 2 is coming out later in 2019 and despite being a direct sequel to RAGE. It’s abandoning much of the original RAGE formula and changing things up considerably.

At a recent event hosted by Bethesda UK I was able to get my hands on a build of the game and put it through its paces.

What was RAGE?

The original RAGE was released in 2010 to a mixed reception. Regardless of any issues it may have had, it was at its core a fundamentally solid shooter. With the best shotgun of 2010, by a long way.

Set after a meteor ploughs into the planet, the original RAGE focused on the Arks. Hidden buried underground, these bunkers held enhanced survivors from before the collapse. Waking up in one, the player explores this blasted, desolate world, bringing justice to the downtrodden and directly fighting the Authority, a group focused on preserving human genetic purity armed with advanced technology.

The end of the game shows Arks across the globe waking up, lights turning on in abandoned areas. Setting up the sequel.

What’s new

Set years later, RAGE 2 picks up with some familiar themes. The Authority is still causing problems, the land is still mainly desolate, raiders are everywhere.

But things have changed. You play as Walker, the last of the Rangers of Vineland. The first thing that’s definitely changed is that this character is fully voiced, and also can be either male or female, not locking you into one gender as in the previous game.

The main difference, however, is powers. You aren’t just a soldier with a load of guns. You have a series of powers that enhance your abilities and help you control the battlefield. Here they are:

  • Dash – Lets you zip out of the way of danger. What’s noticeable, if you’ve come from shooters like DOOM etc, is that your movement speed without sprinting is a little slower than in some games. Dash fills that gap, letting you dodge and make your way in and out of combat.
  • Shatter – Smash an enemy. Like a little pushback, but not so little, and with a lot of pushback. Can be used in conjunction with dash to be a quick way to traverse and smash someone in the face.
  • Ground Slam – Does what it says on the tin. Smash down on the ground and cause an AOE knocking enemies back and damaging them. Increases power with the height you fall from.
  • Barrier – It’s a barrier, one you can plop down in the battlefield to provide cover or shape a blast around you. It’s not just passive though, you can upgrade it to be a lot more offensive.
  • Vortex – Toss a grenade out, watch enemies get sucked in then tossed out into the sky. Helps you control the battlefield, and your opponents.

Armed with these, and some well crafted weapons, Walker is a force to be reckoned with.

And those weapons? They feel good, solid. Just like in the original RAGE you can tell time and attention has been put into making these guns feel like, well, guns. The shotgun especially, that’s still excellent.

Upgrades and factions

The main meat of the game comes through performing tasks and missions for three different faction heads. These not only advance the story, but each faction head is tied to an upgrade path.

Instead of having a standard upgrade tree, you earn resources through running missions for these faction heads. These can then be cashed in for upgrades along three different upgrade trees.

That means that if you want X upgrade, you’ll need to be doing missions for Y faction. Meaning if you want a balanced character, you may need to do some juggling.

A massive open world

There’s a huge amount of things to do on the map, all with their own rewards. When I played I performed a couple of missions for the mayor of Wellspring, and even then I stopped multiple times when travelling for diversions and side quests.

That’s the main thing I took away from playing RAGE 2 – how busy the world is. It’s not the world of RAGE where very occasionally you’d see a few bandits driving past, this feels much more bustling.

There’s cars passing you by, often shouting for help as they’re assaulted. Missions dot the map with rewards for capturing locations, driving out bandits, or performing other tasks like assaulting heavily armoured convoys.

It definitely feels like a fundamentally different creature to the original RAGE. And that comes through most in the tone.

Pink all round

By now we’re all probably aware of the more virulent pink that Id and Bethesda are using in their RAGE 2 videos. But it’s not just in colour that the game differs from the original, the tone is completely different.

Part of this is a side effect of having a more bustling, more busy, more green wasteland than the first game.

However, there is definitely a lighter tone at work here. The original RAGE was quite serious in how it portrayed the world after the end of the world. RAGE 2 seems to have dialled things up a bit. Characters are larger and make a lot more jokes, everything’s more colourful, and the world just feels more…more.

Pinks and neons are everywhere in fights, and especially in the main hub of Vineland during the night. Then the game goes from a wasteland-style Mad Max look to an almost Vaporwave look. Imagine walking through a Kavinsky track, that’s the vibe I got.

RAGE 2 is looking bigger than the original and it’s shaping up to be a completely different animal. Whilst retaining the DNA of the setting and some of the factions (and wingsticks), the game itself feels almost like a new entry in a new series, rather than a sequel.

If you bounced off RAGE or are just looking for a big meaty open world shooter to get your teeth into, RAGE 2 might just be the thing you’re looking for.

RAGE 2 is coming to PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on May the 19th.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 and the best space battles in Warhammer 40k

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 comes out on the 24th of January, bringing a bigger and better look at the space battles of the 40k universe right to a PC near you.

The original was a great RTS but Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is a true monster. It’s a true adaptation of the spirit of the board game, as well as the atmosphere and hyperbole of the amazing 40k universe. Bigger in every way than its predecessor, if you care about ship battles, space battles, or 40k, this is going to be something that demands your attention.

With its imminent launch, its the perfect time to whet your appetite for some naval-inspired space-combat, all served with a side of grimdark. Let’s take a look at five of the best space battles ever in Warhammer 40k.

Note: Some may notice that these are mostly set during the Horus Heresy. I’m going to make a ruling here that the Horus Heresy falls under the umbrella of the 40k universe. Also they had to be from Horus Heresy novels as there are fewer battles described so well in other novels.

Note 2: Spoilers for the following books: Battle for the Abyss, Betrayer, Blood Reaver, Betrayer, Know No Fear, and The Crimson Fist.

Battle for the Abyss – The Battle

Unlike most novels in Warhammer, this one focuses entirely around one huge space battle, the titular Battle for the Abyss.

Spanning multiple systems and with a huge toll in ships, the battle to prevent the Furious Abyss from pulverising the Ultramarines core systems with virus bombs.

There’s a real sense of desperation throughout the multiple skirmishes that make up the larger battle. If the Furious Abyss makes it through, that’s it for the Ultramarines, they’d be crippled beyond recovery.

With limited resources and many desperate plans, the loyalist forces eventually prevail. Showing that sometimes you can win even with a bad hand.

Betrayer – The Conquerer’s Claws

The universe of Warhammer 40k is ridiculous. That’s part of why everyone loves it so very much.

But there are few things as ridiculous as the Ursus Claws,

The World Eaters’ Gloriana-class battleship The Conquerer comes equipped with a full array of Ursus Claw systems, vast harpoons attached to giant chains that spear the enemy and drag them in range of boarding actions.

In Betrayer, we get to see these claws in action. The World Eaters, thirsty for blood as always, hunt in space much like they do on the ground. Up close, spitting blood in their foes’ eyes, and tearing their opponents to pieces.

It’s entirely fitting that their flagship is equipped with vicious tearing weapons that shouldn’t work, but absolutely do. Seeing them described in action is absolutely stunning.

Blood Reaver – Covenant of Blood

No-one really likes The Exalted, the commander of the Covenant of Blood, but you can’t deny he knows his strategy.

A smaller ship than many, the Covenant of Blood relies on hit and run tactics to stay alive. But that doesn’t mean it can’t hit back, and hit back it does.

During the recovery of the Echo of Damnation, a former Night Lords ship the Red Corsairs had commandeered, The Exalted knew that the Covenant of Blood wouldn’t survive. But that didn’t stop the ship diving into battle, over and over, to protect the boarding crew retaking the Echo of Damnation.

Through skill and cunning – and a truly thrilling space battle – the Echo of Damnation was recovered. The Exalted and the Covenant of Blood, however, faired less well, but they took their toll in Red Corsair blood before their destruction.

Know No Fear – Treachery

Know No Fear is probably the most thrilling book in Warhammer, it’s tense throughout and the first half of the novel where a battle is coming, we know it’s coming, but the unsuspecting Ultramarines don’t, is astounding.

The first shot of the Battle for Calth happens personally, privately, between friends. But it’s what happens up in space that makes the moment of treachery that much more impactful.

Imagine this, the Ultramarines don’t know they’re at war with the Word Bearers yet, so when the Word Bearers arrive at Calth to join forces and refit their ships there’s no suspicion of a problem. Except you know, reader, you know that shit is about to go down.

The Word Bearer ships are docked, a cruiser approaches but won’t answer hails. It all seems normal.

Then it happens. The cruiser speeds up. It had been captured hours before, and was now a ship-shaped bullet aimed at the heart of Ultramarine defences. Those Word Bearer ships? They were still running hot whilst in dock, their weapons ready to unleash hell.

It’s terrifying and exciting and honestly, needs to be read. The treachery in space at the start of Know No Fear is absolutely Warhammer at its finest.

The Crimson Fist – The Battle of Phall

Sometimes there’s no clear winner in space. Becalmed in the Phall System, an Imperial Fists fleet spent its time drilling and waiting for the Warp to clear again.

The Iron Warriors found them first.

Deadly enemies who loathe the Imperial Fists, the Iron Warriors launched a surprise attack with the aim of cutting out the heart of the Imperial Fists fleet.

Careful preparation meant the Fists were not so easy a prey, and launched a counterattack. The Battle of Phall raged on with neither side able to land a decisive blow. It was only upon hearing Rogal Dorn’s psychic message that the battle ended, leading the Imperial Fists to retreat under heavy fire and sustaining losses.

Like other legions, both fleets here behaved exactly like their ground counterparts. The Imperial Fists were prepared and well defended, and the Iron Warriors relied on numbers and attrition to win.

Though neither side truly won, that the Iron Warriors couldn’t pull off a victory here is said to rankle the Iron Warriors primarch Peturabo still.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is launching on the 24th of January 2019. Pick it up now, and maybe you’ll be spinning your own tales of the wars you’ve fought in the Gothic Sector with your own fleet.

What have you been reading on Green Man Gaming in 2018?

This is the last one, we promise.

2018 is, by now, long gone. We’re almost a month free of the Year That Never Ended, so let’s look back one last time. This time at the things you read on our blog and newsroom.

Below you’ll find the top five for both the blog and the newsroom, so let’s remember 2018 and the words wot we wrote.

Blog Top Five

Every Warhammer 40k Faction Rated From Worst to Best

A secret (well, not so secret) about Green Man Gaming is that we’ve got a fair few people here who are obsessed with Warhammer, especially 40k. Here we decided to put every 40k faction in order from worst to best. Were we right, or are we talking out of our Cicatrix Maledicta?

DnD Races ranked worst to best

D&D is a popular game where instead of having adventures, you imagine them. Similar to Warhammer above, we’ve got a couple of lively D&D groups in the company, so we took time to let you know what races are the best in the whole of Faerûn.

Everything you need to know for Monster Hunter World PC release

Monster Hunter World was one of the biggest games for us in 2018, and you obviously agreed as this is the third most popular post on our blog for the entire year. Sometimes, you just gotta get that info.

Steam privacy setting changes: Linking your public account

There were a few changes related to privacy in 2018, and one of them is that Steam accounts were set to private by default. Which is absolutely fine, but if you link your Steam account to your Green Man Gaming account then set it to be public, you’ll get a load of benefits. So we told you about that in 2018, and you read the blog article loads.

Everything you need to know about the new, updated World of Final Fantasy Maxima

World of Final Fantasy was expanded in 2018, with Maxima, a brand new version of World of Final Fantasy that made everything bigger and better. We gave you the facts here, and you must’ve wanted them because you turned up to make this our fifth most read article.

Newsroom Top Five

Valve bans 90,000 Steam accounts

The Great Steam Purge of 2018 happened in July, where 90,000 accounts were removed from the service. Most were found to be in contravention of rules relating to the VAC anti-cheating service. This made it as our number one news from 2018, which we can assume you all clicked in a panic.

EA sets out Clone Wars roadmap for Star Wars: Battlefront II

Poor Battlefront II, it hasn’t had the best of times. But apparently learning of a Clone Wars roadmap was enough to get everyone checking out news about it. Either that or y’know, rubbernecking a car crash.

Free-To-Play Lord Of The Rings MMO Coming From Athlon Games

A Lord of the Rings MMO? From the makers behind Warframe? OK yeah I can see why this one was our third most popular news post of the year.

Trihex given Twitch ban for using derogatory term

Yeah, I ain’t commenting on this one. For my sanity.

Battlefield V Developer Banned From Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Multiplayer For Being Too Good

What if you’re just too good at a game? You might get caught out by anti-cheat systems! Sometimes the amazing happens in gaming, and this seemed to be one of those stories when it broke way back in October.

That’s our year in review, look at all those articles. For more this year, don’t forget to keep checking out our Blog and Newsroom.

Every Resident Evil film ranked from Worst to Best

Resident Evil 2’s remake is coming out on the 25th of January, and if the demo is anything to go by it’s going to be something absolutely special.

I’ve had a different Resident Evil experience, however. I recently watched the final Resident Evil film in the Paul W.S. Anderson / Milla Jojovich series.

This means I have finally seen all of the Resident Evil films, meaning I can tell you, dear reader, which ones are any good, and which ones aren’t worth your time.

Here’s every Resident Evil film, ranked from worst to best:

Note: All films seen voluntarily. No torture involved. There will be spoilers.

Resident Evil: Retribution

The issue with this film is that by this point, it’s just a little tired. A fight fails to really happen (again) Alice gets captured (again), lives out a fake life (again), gets cloned (again), and even Raccoon City’s under attack by zombies (again).

Surprise appearances from previously-killed characters doesn’t do much to save what’s a lacklustre entry in the series. It’s not just that most of what happens feels superfluous, it’s that for the first time in the series it’s become a little boring.

We’ve just been here before, and five films in, I want to be somewhere else.

Verdict: 2 ink ribbons out of 10

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Otherwise known as Resident Evil: 3D Is Popular Now, Let’s Cash In. More objects come flying at your face than if you protested a Trump rally.

Other than that, this film is filled with disappointment. It feels like an ellipsis in the story. The big fight promised throughout Extinction fails to materialise, and the rest of the film leads up to another big fight…which fails to materialise.

Apart from landing a plane on a prison, there’s not much memorable about this one.

Verdict: 3 ink ribbons out of 10

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Ah the conclusion, it’s over.

The Final Chapter heads back to where it all began, the remains of the Umbrella facility underneath Raccoon City. Time to end Wesker and finish off the zombies once and for all.

It’s great seeing the old place, including one standout action scene back in particularly memorable location. That said though, it’s just fine. There’s nothing really great about this film, nothing really terrible either. It just is. The only real low point is a lot of late-film clone chat which frankly at this point, who cares about?

Verdict: 5 ink ribbons out of 10

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

We’re onto the ‘more good than bad’ part of the list now.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is probably a bad film, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Very much the Resident Evil 2 to the original film, this follows up the underground action with what happens when zombies get out in a populated place.

Everything about this film is ridiculous, from the way Alice is reintroduced to the series, to the action, to the appearances by Nemesis.

The second film in the series is definitely where things went from a focus on action-horror to a more comic-y approach. But that’s no bad thing, at least not in Apocalypse.

Verdict: 6 ink ribbons out of 10

Resident Evil: Extinction

The later Resident Evil films give the impression that the post-apocalyptic T-Virus world is a meaty, dank world full of zombies.

In Resident Evil: Extinction, it’s all gone a bit Mad Max. And that’s no bad thing, because this film works pretty well for it. Searching for survivors in the wasteland is something that looks good for the series, and for a large part of the film it’s a refreshing change in direction.

It’s also helped by being three films into the franchise, so by this point we’re not tired of Alice’s powers, or clone storylines. Instead they’re intriguing, something that unfortunately for the series does not last.

All in all, it’s a solid action-horror-post-apocalyptic film.

Verdict: 7 out ink ribbons of 10

Resident Evil

Was there any doubt that this would be the best in this list?

Resident Evil is that rare thing, a video game film that’s not terrible. It deviates pretty strongly from the source material but it does so with style.

Set in the warren of The Hive, Umbrella Corporation’s research laboratory deep underneath Raccoon City. Alice and a team of soldiers infiltrate to work out why it’s gone dark, and find out what’s going on.

Hint: it’s zombies.

Resident Evil’s not the best film in the world, but it never wants to be. It’s an entertaining scifi-action-horror and that’s never a terrible thing to sit down to. Featuring some genuinely exciting set pieces and some memorable scenes, it does what later films in the franchise can’t. It makes Resident Evil worth watching on the big screen.

Verdict: 9 ink ribbons out of 10

Also it has hamdogs, the finest undead canines that look entirely like someone’s just thrown ham at a dog and gone ‘fuck it, that’ll do’.

Resident Evil 2 is releasing on the 25th of January, and is available for pre-purchase here.

Everything you need to know about the Resident Evil 2 remake

Resident Evil 2 / Biohazard RE:2 is the remake of the original survival horror game which was released by Capcom in 1998. It’s not just a remaster, the game’s been entirely rebuilt from the ground up. It’s time to go back to Raccoon City, it’s going to be a trip of a lifetime.

Resident Evil 2 – More than before

Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 2 Remake

Resident Evil 2 was initially released on PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Gamecube, and the utterly forgotten Game.com. Released in 1998 it was the follow-up to the smash hit Resident Evil / Biohazard, the first in what would become a zombie slaying juggernaut franchise.

The new Resident Evil 2 remake retains much of what made the original great, whilst also putting a modern spin on the game with some additions. Tank controls and fixed camera angles aren’t the only way to experience Resident Evil, there’s now added third-person over-the-shoulder combat, akin to Resident Evil 4.

With improved controls, graphics, and gameplay, Resident Evil 2 will bring Resident Evil to a whole new generation.

The Story

After the events of the original Resident Evil, most of the citizens of Raccoon City have been mutated into zombies. The T-Virus, developed by the Umbrella Corporation, has been unleashed and the city is rapidly becoming a wasteland.

Leon S. Kennedy, a police officer on his first day of duty, and Claire Redfield, a student looking for her brother Chris, are the two playable characters. Each has their own reasons for being in Raccoon City and for exploring the ruined environ.

Splitting up to look for survivors, each character’s story intertwines with the others through ‘A’ and ‘B’ scenes throughout the game. Additional characters, such as Sherry Birkin and Ada Wong, pop up and flesh out the roster.

Mysteries, secrets, and conspiracy awaits you in Raccoon City. Will our heroes survive the day and find what they’re looking for, or will the evil Umbrella Corporation have the last laugh?

Downloadable content

Though there haven’t been any significant content updates to the Resident Evil 2 remake since release, they have put together a little Resident Evil 2 – Extra DLC pack. The Extra DLC pack includes two new skins for Leon, three new skins for Claire, a unique weapon and the option to replace all the new music and sound effects with the original music and sound effects, for that extra dose of Nostalgia. All additional content is also available with the deluxe edition.

PC System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7,Windows 8,Windows 8.1,Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4460, 2.70GHz or AMD FX™-6300 or better
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 or AMD Radeon™ R7 260x with 2GB Video RAM
  • DirectX: Version 11

Recommended Requirements: 

  • OS: Windows 7,Windows 8,Windows 8.1,Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3770 or AMD FX™-9590 or better
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 480 with 3GB VRAM
  • DirectX: Version 11

Pick up your copy of the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 2 RE:make on the Green Man Gaming store.

PC games with vegan themes

Veganuary is here, the time we all (or at least, some of us) put aside our chicken bones, pork ribs, and other meaty products for a month of eating a little less carnivorously.

But what about your video games? Well obviously the games themselves are vegan, apart from the blood, sweat, and tears of developers, there’s few animal products in code.

There might be vegan themes or characters in those video games though. Let’s take a look through the pantheon of video gamery, and pick out some games with vegan themes that you can play on PC.

Note: For this list we’re not going to choose games that you can play in a vegan style but it’s optional, like Minecraft. Because that’s cheating. Obvs.

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

What’s it like to be the meat? That’s what Abe’s Odyssee asks.

Not nice as it turns out.

Upon finding out that the main ingredient in a new line of foodstuffs will be Abe and their fellow slaves, they decide it’s time to escape. This new line of snacks is being developed due to the rapid extinction of the animals which make up the other foods. Evil corporations, insatiable and monstrous consumers, living creatures being killed for food, it’s no wonder Abe wants to flee.

Abe’s Odyssee combines empathy for a species destined for the abattoir with a strong environmental and sustainability message. It’s even been remade so it’s prettier and better on PC than ever before.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic’s friends have all been stolen by the evil Dr Robotnik (yes, I’m still calling him that. Bite me.) and it’s up to him to get them back.

Whilst the main focus of Sonic is managing speed and platforming, the narrative focus is about freeing animals from servitude. They’re toiling away, without rest or comfort, in horrible metal cages designed to look like other creatures.

Thankfully a bop on the head and they’re free, and that’s where our hero Sonic comes in. No-one is better at bops on the head. Probably.

That Cow Game

Ever been to an abattoir?

In That Cow Game, that’s exactly what you do. It’s a low-poly jaunt through a charnel house of meat, and it’s all the more affecting for it.

It behooves you to play this, vegan or otherwise. If only because more knowledge of where your food comes from is important.

Whilst a lot of animals are killed in this game, the point is awareness of the cost of the meat industry. And that’s probably the most vegan thing games can do.

State of Decay

Whilst State of Decay isn’t inherently vegan throughout its core mechanics, you can come across vegan survivors who can join your ramshackle group of zombie slayers.

Not only do vegans eat less than your other survivors, they get more morale from an upgraded kitchen unit.

That means you get happier people, for less! Maybe vegans really are better…

In the zombie apocalypse anyway.

ABZU

ABZU is a game about exploration and wonder, but it’s also a game with a fundamental lesson about nature in it.

You see in ABZU you’re surrounded by fish most of the time, the game even gives you specific moments where you can just sit and look at them. Admiring the sealife as it goes about its life.

Later, however, ABZU has a specific lesson for you in it. That you’re tiny. That nature is big and absolutely beautiful, but also terrifying.

It teaches respect for your surroundings, a lesson, regardless of whether or not we eat meat, we should all learn.

Green Man Gaming’s Year in Review – 2018

2018 is over! If you’re only just finding this out, you’re late to the party. But it’s true. The year to end all years has gone at last.

In January of 2018 we showed you 2017 in review, and now it’s time to take a look back at 2018 and see what we’ve learned from our community and from running a gaming website.

We’ve crunched numbers, compiled data, and we’ve got loads of Green Man Gaming community information to share with you.

The categories are:

  • Most Played Steam Game
  • Top Five Most Popular Games
  • Total Playtime
  • Top 5 Most Popular Games by Country
  • Top 10 Countries by Average Player Playtime
  • Top 10 Best-Sellers

We used data gathered from our community of gamers to find out what they’re playing, what each country loves, and how much time gamers are putting into games. This means that the information below is unique in that it gives you an accurate look at 2018 in gaming trends.

But that’s enough about how we got the data, let’s take a look at the data itself. We present to you, 2018, a year in review:

And finally, let’s go to our Founder and CEO, Paul Sulyok, for a comment on 2018 and our community data: “Video games as a form of entertainment has truly come into their own with revenues 2.5 times that of the film industry and 6 times the size of digital music. Gamers are playing even more games than ever before and our community data shows this with an 88% increase in playtime year on year. Games developed in Edinburgh are played by gamers in London, Los Angeles and Lagos simultaneously and the range of games available today is at an all-time high. 

We are truly living in the golden age of video game entertainment today and I can’t wait to see what 2019 will bring.”

Why is Dragon’s Dogma a big deal?

So, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is coming to Switch. You might not know about Dragon’s Dogma and be wondering why this is a big deal.

Well, sit down whippersnapper and open up your eye-holes for some sweet knowledge about this brilliant game.

It was released initially in 2012 for the olden day consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but was then re-released with the subtitle Dark Arisen a few years later on pretty much every console – and on PC. The remastered version contains some extra content, some quality of life changes, as well as full Japanese voice acting, which is nice for those of us who don’t like the English version.

The game puts you in the role of a human, one who very quickly has a series of unfortunate events occur that lead to them becoming the Arisen. You are tasked with defeating the Dragon (capital D because it is very important) and set off on a quest to do so. It’s a fairly standard high fantasy save the world kind of gig, however, that is where the run-of-the-mill stuff ends, and the game starts to emerge out of its cocoon and become a really weird butterfly.

One of the key parts of the game involves recruiting Pawns – not the chess kind – these are strange sub-human beings who exist solely to serve you. Not just you though, oh no, they travel across a plethora of universes in order to help out other Arisen too. You get to create one at the beginning of the game, but the other two can be plucked from any other player’s dimension to complement your preferred build.

You have the usual rogue, warrior, mage thing going on, but you can choose to be a hybrid class too. There are a huge amount of choices to make as you get stronger, each one informing how you end up taking down the various monsters that roam the world of Gransys.

The one thing that is true of all classes is that they can climb. If you imagine the Breath of the Wild’s climbing mechanic, you’re pretty close. Instead of clambering up rocks you will be clinging on for dear life to the side of a manticore, a cyclops, or even the scaled skin of a giant hydra. This allows you to hack away at a specific body part, or just avoid certain attacks if you’re quick. It’s always a ridiculous amount of fun to sunder a limb or smash a giant foe into the ground whilst Shadow of Colossus-ing around them.

The further you progress into this weird world, the more you start to get the feeling that something isn’t quite right. As you beat down some of the bigger threats the story goes from cliché to what-the-hell-is-this-nonsense very quickly. It has one of the best multiple ending choices around and the “true” ending is one that makes you question what it means to be human, what it means to exist, and to live, at all.

It is an absolute rollercoaster of a story that you need to play. Yes you, you need to get this game. You’ll have to wait until April to get it on Switch, but if you own another console or you have a PC you can always play it there. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m off to go Dragon hunting.