Best Royals to Marry in Videogames

So the Ginger One from the Royal Family and the Actor One from Suits are getting married, it’s official, they’re doing it. And there’s various hot takes out there, from ‘how dare a commoner marry a prince’ to ‘kill all royals’.

Well we here at Green Man Gaming are instead here for the videogames.

So we wondered, who’s the best royal to marry in all videogamedom? The best queen, prince, king, princess, whatever! Here’s the BEST ROYALTY that videogames have to offer, and some reasons why you should pop the question to them immediately.

Prince Noctis – FFXV

Pros: Floppy hair, magic powers, sense of responsibility (eventually), good at fishing so you’ll never go hungry, has a cool car.

Cons: Spends a lot of time moping, seems to be the least fun out of all of his pals, can blink away so if he wants to ghost you he can.

Verdict: Marry if you’re liking emo boys, avoid if you’re looking for someone a bit more substantial. He’s not best boy, but he’s a boy that gets better.

Bowser – Lots of Marios

Pros: Big boi, stable kingdom, very committed!

Cons: Prone to kidnapping. Also his castles tend to be very lava filled, which is good if you’re wanting some warmth in you life.

Verdict: Marry if you like moonlit walks (to kidnap princesses), good music (whilst kidnapping princesses) and fine dining (to recharge after kidnapping princesses).

Edgar Figaro – FFVI

Pros: Ladies man so you know he got them smooth moves, also very handy with DIY tools.

Cons: Might be too much of a ladies man – he has a bit of a wandering eye, and has some self esteem issues.

Verdict: He’s a lovely soft boy at heart, but it takes a long time to get to the real him. Marry him if you’ve got the time to devote to cracking his onion-like core.

Marle (Nadia) – Chrono Trigger

Pros: Handy with a crossbow and ice magic, has a ‘can-do’ attitude.

Cons: Has a tendency to lie about her name, also has a tendency to travel back in time and get erased from history.

Verdict: Marry only if you don’t mind time-spanning adventures, or the possibility of her being killed in the past by monsters and never having known her.

King Vendrick – Dark Souls II

Pros: Likes staying indoors

Cons: Likes staying indoors

Verdict: Marry if you too, like staying indoors.

King Cailan – Dragon Age: Origins

Pros: He fights for what is right, and has some BITCHING gold armour.

Cons: He can rush into things a bit hastily, and maybe doesn’t surround himself with the *best* advisors.

Verdict: Marry only if you want a short marriage, he might not be around forever. And then you’re stuck with…someone a bit grumpier.

King Helseth – The Elder Scrolls Series

Pros: Is ambitious, also quite wary and cognisant of threats, looks after his mum well.

Cons: Has a thing for poison, also has a thing for hiring assassins to deal with whatever he doesn’t want to deal with.

Verdict: Marry if you want to be part of something new, something bold, something…potentially lethal. Look, marry at your own risk.

Arthas Menethil – World of Warcraft

Pros: He used to be quite bullheaded but since then he’s cooled down a lot, has a lot of friends and an active social life, and has a cool-ass horse.

Cons: Keeps trying to murder all living things.

Verdict: Marry if the cold is your thing, and also if you don’t mind hordes of zombies covered in rotting flesh.

The Prince – Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Pros: Likes showing off his buff body, very agile, can travel backwards in time, also there’s a chance he’ll be Jake Gyllenhaal.

Cons: Kleptomaniac, also doesn’t believe in consequences for his actions as he can just nip back in time, also there’s a chance he’ll be Jake Gyllenhaal.

Verdict: Marry him if you can catch him, but he might just steal a kiss and then rewind time on you.

The Cast of Crusader Kings II

Pros: Hey at least they’re trying to build dynasties.

Cons: Might murder you, might imprison you, might replace you with a donkey.

Verdict: Look life can be a bit boring, so why not marry a royal from Crusader Kings II. Even if life’s short, it’ll be interesting.

So there you go! The best royals that videogames have to offer, which one are YOU going to marry?

Every World of Warcraft Expansion Ranked from Worst to Best

The next World of Warcraft expansion has been announced, so it’s time to look back, back into the mists of the past, and see what the previous expansions were like. Were they good, bad, or has time travel muddled our brains so we can’t remember just *what* they were like?

Well I remember, I was THERE man. I remember waiting in front of the Dark Portal for it to open, I remember hanging about in Dalaran for the teleport to happen, I remember getting flamed by a big dragon as I quested in some distant part of the world.

So here’s the definitive, 100% accurate, list of World of Warcraft expansions, ranked from worst to best. It’s worth noting though that none of them are *bad*, World of Warcraft remains one of the most polished and smooth MMO experiences, and even at its worst it’s a cut above most of the competition.

NOTE: Spoilers abound, so be warned!

Cataclysm

Cataclysm on one hand is a huge technical achievement, because it not only added new levels and new content, but they revamped the entire world too. Almost every bit of the old world was redone, questing was made more smooth, the levelling process was made easier, and the world was remodelled to allow flying.

Why’s it the worst?

Because the entire tone of the old world has been absolutely gutted. Instead of areas having local stories, they’re now mainly just ‘oh noooo some big dragon was just hereeeeeee’. Which is fine if you’re playing it when it came out, but now we’ve had a few years and it’s frankly getting a little tiresome to hear gnomes bleating on about dragons.

Combine that with the two new races, Goblins and Worgen having the worst starting zones (mainly because the Worgen one barely works and the Goblin one is just that bit too long), and you’ve got an expansion that while it’s got some good bits, the overall taste in the mouth is sour. Mechanically the game is better after Cataclysm, but the spirit, the feeling of World of Warcraft is just gone from the old world.

Also Deathwing just looks weird, what’s up with his chin?

Warlords of Draenor

Time travel is rarely a good idea for narratives. Sometimes, if it’s the point of the narrative, it can be pulled off. If you’re going to disappear 30 years into your timeline several expansions into the game, then get prepared for things to get CONFUSING.

Warlords of Draenor started off extremely promising, I mean apart from Garrisons not working on launch night. But as time went by the cracks started showing. Garrisons just meant that the playerbase which was already fragmented became even more fragmented as everyone had to just hang about in their instanced bases. There was a huge content drought at periods in this expansion’s lifecycle, and the story was absolutely all over the place. Just try and explain it to someone and watch their eyes glaze over as you talk about Gul’Dan but not THAT Gul’Dan but also Yrel who’s not from this timeline but is from that timeline and also Wrathion’s up to no good with the Infinite Dragonflight but who knows and then he disappears and AAAHHHHHHH

That said, some of the cutscenes and narrative beats they put in were excellent, highlight for me was the execution in Nagrand. You know the one. Good stuff.

Burning Crusade

I’ll tell you why this is in the mid-table of expansions. Two words. Hellfire Peninsula.

OK, it makes sense from a lore point of view, this is exactly what you saw in Warcraft III so of course it had to look like Mars has been hit with the ugly hammer, but good god that zone is torturous to level through, and remains so now 10 years on. See also: Blade’s Edge Mountains, another area you kinda end up in when levelling and then can’t wait to leave. If you managed to get exalted with Ogri’la you’re a better person than me.

But, on the other hand, Burning Crusade has Zangarmarsh, Nagrand, the ghosts and lore in Shadowmoon Valley, Black Temple, and so much more. It’s got such high points and it reverberates throughout World of Warcraft lore to this day, with the decisions made then affected storylines right up to the ‘modern’ day.

Also Draenei are cool and their starting zone is the best, and I say that as a Horde player.

Mists of Pandaria

‘Oh no’ we thought, ‘Blizzard surely aren’t doing a Panda expansion’. ‘Have they lost their minds?’

Yes they are and no they haven’t, because Mists of Pandaria is a cracking expansion that takes you on a trip to a world similar, but different enough from the rest of Azeroth, to be really interesting. It feels like a cohesive world, there’s farms and towns and people living their lives, as well as the threat caused by your arrival on the continent.

It really has a feeling of exploration, that you’re pioneers in these lands. You make friends and enemies as you progress through the zones, you learn more about Pandaria and learn hints of the danger that lurks beneath it.

The only real downside of this expansion was the lengthy time we spent doing Siege of Orgrimmar at the end of it. The wait between this and Warlords of Draenor was pretty long, and I think everyone was sick of Garrosh by the time we got there.

Legion

Legion on a technical sense is the best, and most polished, that World of Warcraft has ever been. There’s just so much to do and it doesn’t seem to be stopping, Blizzard have really pulled out the stops and they’re dripping content into the game regularly.

Finishing off baddies we first saw in Warcraft III, this expansion is all about taking the battle to the Burning Legion, and it’s actually delivering. Recent updates have put us on Argus, homeworld of the Draenei, to fight against Sargeras and his evil hordes. It’s great, from a fiction point and from a ‘doing stuff’ point.

The only criticism I really have of this expansion so far is that levelling multiple characters isn’t great, there’s so much plot, so much story thrown at you that I feel that doing it a second time will just drain me, so I’m down to one character for this expansion. But apart from that, this is WoW at its best. Mechanics wise anyway…

Wrath of the Lich King

And here’s World of Warcraft at its best, narratively. Not only having the best opening cinematic, Wrath of the Lich King is an expansion where every step, every arrow loosed, every sword swung, is aimed squarely at the neck of one Arthas Menethil, the Lich King himself.

The whole continent of Northrend is training you to fight him, it’s the anvil where your character is shaped into a deadly weapon designed to take out the Lich King. Completing a narrative arc that stated in Warcraft III, it takes you on a tour of the depths that Arthas has sunk to, while never letting you forget that it’s time to take him out and end the threat.

Not only does this expansion have the best narrative, one that sustains itself throughout the entire expansion, it’s got the best raids. Or rather, raid. Ulduar. If you haven’t done Ulduar then let me say this to you: go do Ulduar. I’ll wait.

WASN’T THAT BRILLIANT?

So yeah, Wrath of the Lich King. It’s good stuff. The best stuff. And World of Warcraft is still a brilliant game, despite being absolutely ancient now.

Do you disagree about these choices? Let me know in the comments below!

11 Games to Help You Avoid Black Friday

Black Friday is here and DID YOU KNOW WE HAVE A SALE?

Sorry sorry, I get shouted at if I don’t put that bit in.

But y’know what, Black Friday is horrible in the real world. Online at least you can buy some stuff and it’s either digital or gets delivered. Imagine having to go to a shop, imagine having to fight someone just to get a single finger on an Xbox One X.

Even online it’s a bit of a pain, how many emails have you had today from stores you didn’t even know the names of? (Apart from Green Man Gaming’s emails, they’re brilliant and you should read them right now).

So let’s just pretend that Black Friday isn’t happening, and cosy up with some videogames instead. Safe, warm videogames. You’ll never hurt us.

Here’s 11 games (see, because it’s November) that will help take your mind off the mindless and furious capitalism that’s going on outside your door.

Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale

OK so this one has just a little bit of capitalism in it. You’re Recette, and its your job to run an item shop in a fantasy world. If you’ve ever wondered how traders in RPGs run a profit, this game has the answers. You go adventuring of course! You descend into dungeons to grab items to bring back to your shop to sell, all to pay off your father’s debts.

As Recette herself says, Capitalism Ho!

Adventure Capitalist

OK right so there’s a little bit of capitalism here too, so this might not take your mind off what’s going on outside with the sales and so on. This game is a clicker, or idle game, and it’s all about getting FAT STACKS OF MONEY. First on Earth, then the Moon, then on Mars. Make more money, make even more money, then even more money than that. It’s perfect to get rid of those ‘I’ve got no money because I spent it all at Green Man Gaming’ blues.

Offworld Trading Company

Alright I’m sensing a theme with these choices. Offworld Trading Company is a strategy game about building, gaining resources, and initiating hostile takeovers of your opponents. You manage resources on the Martian stock market to make sure you play the odds and make a huge profit, eventually becoming the biggest company there is. Crush your opponents!

Cookie Clicker

I’m giving up the pretence that this isn’t just 11 games about capitalism. Cookie Clicker starts out nice and normal, click to get a cookie, click again and get another cookie. After a while though you automate it, and your cookie empire begins to take over the world and the known universe. It’s the poster child for clicker games and for good reason, cos it’s got a decent plot and a huge amount of upgrades. Give it a try!

Startopia

You’re in charge of a distant space station, and your employees are UNRULY. They wander about willy-nilly and pay no attention to your directions, instead you build rooms for them to work in (and to earn you some tasty money) and hope they’ll get on with it. Some levels require you to meet economic goals, so you’ll have to think capitalistically! Which is good, it’ll take your mind off Black Friday.

Transport Tycoon

Ah, there’s nothing quite like Transport Tycoon. Now available for modern systems in Open TTD form, there’s no excuse not to build up your very own empire of transport, more transport, and even more transport. Taking place over a hundred or so years, so you see your empire go from steam trains to maglev. Eventually you even gain control over some of the towns, or at least heavy influence over them, so you can build and build and build and RULE THE WORLD, ECONOMICALLY.

Turmoil

There’s nothing more capitalism than oil, so here’s a game all about drilling for oil, maximising profits, and running your opposition out of business. Ah, the sweet sweet smell of black gold, pumping up into tanks ready to be sold. There’s a reason oil has been the end of many an enterprise, but with careful planning and ruthless business activities, you can be an OIL TYCOON.

Capitalism 2

Capitalism 2 is about capitalism. Well, no surprises there. It’s an incredibly deep and immensely complicated game, as it simulates loads of different angles that capitalism touches in regards to your business empire, like marketing, importing, manufacturing, and so much more. If you get your head around this game, you could probably head out and make a billion on the stock market. Well, maybe not.

Machiavelli: The Prince

We’ve all ready Il Principe right? Well this has almost nothing to do with it, even though it shares the name. This is about trading goods across Renaissance Europe, starting from Italy and spreading out across the continent. It features transport, issues with bandits, politics in form of The Doge of Venice, and the religious side of things is also simulated. It’s fairly simple by modern standards, but it’s a good way to learn some capitalism basics. Like, sell fish for more than you bought it. Job done, I’m going to be a MILLIONAIRE.

Universal Paperclips

Similar to Cookie Clicker, Universal Paperclips is a game about clicking to manufacture paperclips, as well as managing your finances to do so. It starts off rudimentary but it won’t be long until you’re sucked in, messing with quantum computers, and sending probes out into an interstellar war. There’s a reason every website had a thinkpiece up about this recently, it’s damn engrossing!

Spelunky

Whilst the money you find in Spelunky is mined so really isn’t that ‘free market’, there are shops around in the game and you can spend some of your hard mined gold on them for goods and services, well, mainly goods. Or you can rob them blind, making an enemy of every shopkeeper in the game. Just like real life!

You can also try to get the achievement for not picking up any gold, but you don’t want that do you, you want gold, lovely gold.

Ah there you go, now your mind should be taken completely off the capitalistic mess that’s Black Friday, and I haven’t mentioned our Black Friday Sale for ages!

Oh damn.

Green Man Gaming’s Black Friday Best Sellers

Green Man Gaming’s Black Friday sale is underway and games are selling like HOT CAKES.

Well, like hot games.

Well, like games.

But we’re seeing some surprises selling better than others right now, so here’s what’s selling best in our store and my theories as to why they’re appealing to you, and why you should pick them up! (Apart from them being dirt cheap, that is).

Destiny 2 -40%

Obviously you’re all tired of Earth so you’re off to space, to battle some space dudes. That’s fine, if you don’t like it here anymore it’s time to head off where there’s no tiring politics, only space politics.

Mafia III  -60%

This is the second top best seller for us in the sale and erm. Well, you all seemed to hate it when it came out so why are you buying it now. What’s the deal. Answer me. ANSWER ME.

Skyrim Special Edition -50%

Elder Scrolls Skyrim

PUNCH A DRAGON FOR LESS

Civilization VI -50%

GET KILLED BY GHANDI FOR LESS

Mad Max -66%

The best driving-and-firing-harpoons-simulator ever

XCOM 2 -67%

Make your friends in excruciating detail, then watch them get horribly mutilated by aliens, the videogame.

Bioshock: The Collection -67%

There’s always time to cower in a hallway while Big Daddies patrol about.

No Man’s Sky -60%

They’ve updated this game a LOT so maybe the message is getting out at last, get it, go to space, have a nice time.

Hotline Miami Pack -65%

Maybe the message is getting out, do you like to hurt people?

DOOM -50%

BLAM RUN BLAM RUN KILL MUSH BLAM DAEMONS OH NOOOOOOOOOOO repeat x666 times. (It’s great)

Stellaris -60%

Meet aliens then SUBJUGATE THEM HORRIBLY HA HA HA HA HA

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege -50%

Team up with your friends and watch as they all die and you’re the only one left and it’s 4v1 and oh god run hide.

Fallout 4 -50%

fallout 4 mods

WHERES MY SON??????????? oh cool some ruins I’ll go look at them.

Rocket League -50%

Fly a car into space and then score goals, except without the space bit.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor -60%

Meet a host of friendly orcs and enslave them all in your bid to become the new dark lord of Mordor.

Killing Floor 2 -50%

killing floor 2

Kill zombies, with chums! Part 2.

Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited -50%

Elder Scrolls Online

Go to Tamriel with all your pals and meet some ghost chums along the way.

Cities: Skylines -75%

Build the perfect city, then find out you didn’t account for the amount of garbage they’d produce and watch as the city crumbles before your very eyes.

Life is Strange -75%

A hella good game.

This War of Mine -80%

This War of Mine Weapon

War is hella.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -70%

See what the world was like back when Handsome Jack was just Handsome.

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition -85%

Sleeping Dogs Whoops

The best-driving-about-punching-people simulator ever made.

Metro Last Light Redux -75%

Slightly less gloomy Russian underground rail simulator.

Metro 2033 Redux -75%

Slightly more gloomy Russian underground rail simulator.

Saints Row IV -75%

Who knows what even happens here but I made out with a robot so A++

Wolfenstein: The New Order -50%

B.J Blazkowicz

Not the new one nor the middle one but the old one, but not that old one, the old new one.

Civilization V -75%

MORE GHANDI FIGHTING.

Insurgency -85%

Imagine Counter-Strike, but more brutal.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – Who knows, it’s out of stock

Well it’s the best pirate game ever made so of course you bought it, you bought it so much I can’t even see it on the store anymore. Well done all.

Borderlands 2 -78%

Back when Hack was just Handsome Jack.

Europa Universalis IV -75%

Time to kill a lot of Europeans for FUN and PROFIT.

Crusader Kings II -75%

Crusader Kings II

Kill your wife, marry a horse, have beautiful horse kids, rule England.

Mount & Blade – Warband -66%

Buy this game, even if it’s only for the amazing ‘quest complete’ noise.

Killing Floor -75%

Kill zombies with pals, part 1.

So that’s the bestsellers and why I think they’re selling well or why you should get them. So go get them. Buy games. Buy games. Buy games. Buy games. Boss can I stop saying this now? Buy games.

Every Star Trek Film Ranked From Worst to Best

There’s Star Wars Battlefront II out right now, and there’s a new Star Wars film coming up in a few weeks, and there’s Star Wars: Rebels on TV right now.

But stuff all that, Star Trek: Discovery just finished until the next month, so lets talk Star Trek cos really, there’s nothing better.

There’s been a load of Star Trek films and the old rule of ‘odd ones bad, even ones good’ might not really hold true anymore. So what’s the best, what’s the worst? FIND OUT BELOW

Spoilers for all Star Trek films follow:

Star Trek Into Darkness

So, this is, to me, the worst film in the entire Star Trek series. Why? Because at its heart, it is just a remake of Wrath of Khan, even down to some of the story beats. The problem there is that Wrath of Khan already exists and is better, so why make a subpar version of an existing film? Just by changing a few details, having Spock shout ‘Khan’, having Kirk be the one who dies, doesn’t make this film new or interesting, it’s just retreading a story we’ve already seen, and seen better.

Add into that the ‘deception’ about Cumbulbund being Khan – as if we couldn’t guess – and the fact that they ‘cure death’ at the end of the film and have to rapidly forget about it for any further films, this is just a huge misstep and adds nothing to the new universe. Star Trek rebooted the series in 2009 into a brand new universe and timeline, and it was an incredibly exciting time. We could’ve got anything, we could’ve seen the universe change beyond recognition, and that was the promise. Instead we got a remake of a story we’d already seen. Wasted opportunity all round.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

I’ll give you a short version of this one. Shatner directs. Shatner goes a bit mad with power. Shatner meets ‘god’.

It’s bad.

Real bad.

Avoid.

Star Trek: Nemesis

Even though this has a very young and very skinny Tom Hardy in it, and has some decent stuff on Romulus, it again is basically just a remake of Wrath of Khan. And you know my opinions on doing THAT (if you don’t, read up).

The really bad part of this film is wrapped up in Data and B4. If you haven’t seen it or don’t remember, B4 is a basic Soong-type android they find on a desert planet, one that barely functions and can’t do basic things. By the end of the film, Data’s dead but before he went he (unsuccessfully) transferred his memories into B4, and you get a hint that Data lives on in B4’s body.

What’s the problem with this? Well firstly we already know that Data survives the film. The last episode of The Next Generation we see Data in the future, alive and well, with a grey streak in his hair. So do we assume that B4 entirely becomes Data and lives as Data from then on? If so, what was the point of Data’s sacrifice? It just undoes the entire premise of a sacrifice if by the end of the film, or even before, we know that it’s meaningless.

Also it’s not as good as Wrath of Khan so please stop remaking that film, please.

Star Trek: Insurrection

Insurrection isn’t a terrible episode of The Next Generation, it’d certainly fit in amongst the later seasons. It’s better than Sub Rosa, for example.

It’s just not any good either, there’s nothing outstanding or brilliant here, it’s just fine. Humdrum. Middle of the road. It happens. Things happen. It’s OK. Nothing terrible goes on. It’s alright. I don’t hate it. Do you hate it? You shouldn’t hate it. You shouldn’t love it.

Look I’ve run out of synonyms for ‘fine’ now. Moving on!

Star Trek: Generations

This caused a furore at the time because it’s The Film Where Kirk Dies Unceremoniously.

But that aside, it’s actually an OK film! I rewatched it recently and was surprised because I fully expected to hate it. Instead you get some really nice moments, Malcolm McDowell is a brilliant actor and a great baddie, and you get to see some really quite bittersweet moments with Picard wishing he had a family.

It’s not a perfect film, but it’s better than it’s reputation makes out.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

If you’re a fan of hour long shots of the refitted Enterprise, then this is the film for you.

If you’re a fan of films having pacing, then this might not be one to watch.

Again, like a couple of the films above, there’s nothing really that bad about this film, it’s just extremely ponderous and takes a long time to get going. The plot itself is simple, the Enterprise goes to V’Ger, the Enterprise stops V’Ger. That’s about it.

It just takes so long to get going, and even when they’re on their way there’s little stops and bumps in the journey that don’t really necessarily add anything to the plot.

But hey, the Enterprise Refit is damn pretty.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Another film that’s capable, it’s just fine y’know! The best thing about this film is that it features the Klingon Bird of Prey for the first time, the one that we’ve all grown to know and love. It’s got some drama with David, Kirk’s son, and some SPECIAL drama with the Enterprise getting blown up.

It’s a better film than you might think, and the only reason it suffers in the rankings normally is because it’s wedged between the absolute shining stars of IV and II. Without them to compare to, this’d be considered a decent Star Trek film.

Which it is!

Star Trek Beyond

The second best of the new Star Trek films, Star Trek Beyond is a lot of fun. Feeling a lot like an extended episode of the original series, it’s just a damn good romp through a strange alien planet. It even manages to tie together Enterprise and the Kelvin Timeline, which is no mean feat.

Honestly there isn’t a huge amount to say about this film, other than if you hated Into Darkness then this feels a lot more like the crew being on the correct path, it also ditches a lot of the Into Darkness innovations, such as death being ‘cured’ and interplanetary transportation. It just pretty much ignores the previous film, which is something I also try to do!

Star Trek: First Contact

First Contact is a good film.

First Contact is a bad Star Trek film.

It’s OK that these two things can be true, and it’s OK to enjoy this film, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But the actions of Picard and his reactions to the Borg are largely at odds with the Picard and actions we see through the rest of Star Trek.

Picard in this film is out for revenge, he’s Captain Ahab and the Borg is his White Whale. He’ll stop at nothing to destroy them, to make them suffer like he suffered, to see them BURN.

This isn’t the Picard we saw in The Next Generation, this isn’t the Picard who overcame his loathing to realise that there might be hope for the Borg in I Borg, this isn’t the Picard who constantly warned against this kind of behaviour, this isn’t the Picard who broke down in the arms of his brother, this isn’t the Picard who realised that family is his crew and he’d avoided them for far too long.

Star Trek is about responsibility, about growing up, about family, about what it means to be human. This film is about blowing up baddies and revenge and dealing with your own hatred, and that might be fine if this were a different crew, but we’d just spent 7 years with this crew and we know that they simply don’t act like this. It’s a good film. It’s a bad Star Trek film.

Star Trek

A bold new direction for the series! Star Trek is a great romp, a reset of the series that whilst it may have annoyed purists, it felt fresh, it felt new, it felt exciting.

The whole promise of the Kelvin Timeline is in this film, we’re seeing familiar characters in unfamiliar situations in an unfamiliar universe. Things will be the same, but most things will be different. Look, Vulcan’s blown up!

It felt like Star Trek was going off in an unexpected direction, so we could explore new worlds and new civilisations together, stuff we hadn’t seen before!

Admittedly that didn’t quite happen, instead we got a remake of The Wrath of Khan, but Star Trek is a brilliant way to reset the universe, whilst also keeping it linked to the old one. It helps that it’s a great film too!

Also Karl Urban does a *great* McCoy.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Otherwise known as ‘The One With The Whales’. It’s the comedy one! Earth is under threat from a mysterious probe that wants to talk to some humpback whales. But oh no, they’re all dead! It’s up to the crew of the Enterprise, and their cloaking Klingon Bird of Prey, to travel back in time and nab some.

It’s a brilliant film filled with touches of humanity and humour throughout. It’s a proper fish-out-of-water adventure with the crew of the Enterprise being largely completely unable to deal with life in the 20th century, apart from Spock of course, who gets a round of applause for Vulcan nerve-pinching some scumbag who was making too much noise.

It’s just unadulterated fun, with a decent message at its heart. See, Star Trek is at it’s best when it’s got a message, and the message here is about environmentalism. Look after your animals today, it says, because tomorrow…who knows.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Otherwise known as ‘The Cold War One’. We’re in full on metaphor time here, it’s filmed just after the fall of the Soviet Union and the film shows that, heavily.

Kirk has to battle with his own prejudices about Klingons to uncover a plot that threatens the Khitomer Accords, a peace treaty that’ll end years of cold war between the Federation and the Klingons.

Swap the Klingons for Russians, swap the Praxis disaster for Chernobyl and you’re there. This film, more than any other, is about moving on. About realising that yesterday’s enemy isn’t today’s. It’s about looking inside at your own prejudices and realising that those on the other side aren’t that different, and might really not be on the other side after all.

It’s got a beautiful message, and more than that, it’s the perfect sendoff for the original Enterprise crew. Try to be a Star Trek fan and not have a tear in your eye at the end of this film, go on, I dare you.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

No surprises here – The Wrath of Khan is an amazing film.

On the surface of it, this film is a bloody good adventure film. Khan comes back and turns the tables on Kirk, almost taking him to the brink before Kirk rallies and destroys Khan once and for all. A sequel to 1967’s Space Seed, it features the original, and best, version of Khan as they play cat-and-mouse across space.

But this film is more than surface, it’s got a lot more to it than that.

It’s got two main strands to it. One of those is not letting hatred and revenge blind you, both Khan and Kirk hate each other, at least they do by the end of the film, but only Khan lets it blind him to the reality of the situation. Kirk keeps a cooler head, and this helps him win the day.

The other strand of meaning is about experience versus intellect. Khan is smarter, there’s no doubt about that, but Kirk knows spaceships, he knows Federation ships, he knows 3D space combat, he knows how to fight. Khan doesn’t know any of this, and this is how Kirk turns the tables on him, how Kirk rises above this genetically engineered monster to blow him to Antares come.

Compare this to the remake in Star Trek Into Darkness. In Wrath of Khan, Khan is undone by his own actions and inexperience in space combat. In Into Darkness, ‘Khan’ is undone because…er…Spock hits really hard?

It doesn’t even compare. Combine that with some really heartfelt moments, such as Scotty’s nephew and Spock’s demise, there should be no doubt. This is the best.

 

That’s my list! Do you want to disagree or send me buckets of praise? Do both in the comments below!

Green Man Gaming’s Black Friday Sale Is Bigger And Better Than Ever

Green Man Gaming is proud and happy to announce that our Black Friday Sale is now on!

From 00:01 GMT on the 22nd of November until the 28th of November, we’re offering YOU the best and biggest savings on videogames, and it all starts right here.

Last year we saved you £1,400,000 during our Black Friday 2016 Sale, and this year we’ve gone back to the drawing board. Our Black Friday Sale is bigger, better, and packed with even more savings. We’re expecting to help you save even more on videogames this November!

It’s simple too! Just check out our Black Friday Sale page to see what you can save, you’ll be able to get up to 90% off the biggest games out there!

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! If you sign into your Green Man Gaming account, you can use the code GMGBLACKFRIDAY when making a purchase to get an additional 15% off certain select titles, that’s almost free!

With over a thousand games in the sale it might be hard to choose what’s best, so here’s our highlights!

Civilization VI – 50% Off

Have you been bombed by Ghandi today? No? Then get Civilization VI now and get in a nuking war with the most ‘peaceful’ man on Earth.

Oh and built a civilization, you can do that too.

DiRT 4 – 60% Off

DRIVE REAL GOOD AND REAL FAST AND DON’T CRASH too much

Rocket League – 50% Off

Drive real good but in the air and score GOALS

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands – 50% Off

Bolivia is full of drug dealers, in the videogame anyway, so go shoot them.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided – 20% Off

Are you human or are you a robot? Neither, you’re Adam Jensen, and you asked for this 20% off! (Sorry)

Sniper Elite 4 – 50% Off

Shoot more Nazis, this time from FAR AWAY

Rainbow Six Siege – 50% Off

Be the best team player you can be and smash through walls to shoot people.

Assassin’s Creed Origins – 17% Off

Climb up things and stab people, except the things you’re climbing up this time are at a 45 degree angle.

 

Watch Dogs 2 – 66% Off

Hack the world and frame a whole heck load of San Francisco-esque hackerbros

Resident Evil 7 – 50% Off

Scary house in the woods houses scary woods dwellers.

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite – 33% Off

Things smash up other things in this comicbook/videogame mashup.

South Park Fractured But Whole – 25% Off

You’re gonna see some wang jokes in this one. And poop jokes. Just so you know.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War – 40% Off

KILL ORCS FOREVER, ALSO ENSLAVE THEM I GUESS.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – 25% Off

The Chosen are after you in this expansion to XCOM 2, so grab your noobiest soldiers and feed them to the aliens.

There’s even more in our Black Friday Sale, so grab your wallet, open your purse, dig behind the settee for some change, then come get the cheapest and best games around in our Green Man Gaming Black Friday Sale 2017!

D&D Classes – Ranked Best to Worst

At the time of writing, there are at least three games of Dungeons and Dragons being played by various groups within Green Man Gaming – it’s clear that we like it a lot. I’ve written tips before on how to start a great campaign, and how to be a great roleplayer (we want you to be just great), but now we’d like to tell you the best classes in the game. This is absolute objectivity, and there is no reason to contradict what is hereby written, in the comments. Don’t even try it. Don’t.

And once you’ve figured out your class, head over to our new races ranked list to see what’s going to suit your brand new character.

Ranger


It doesn’t really matter who’s playing the Ranger – it may or may not be yours truly – but they are one of the strongest classes. After a recent re-balance from Wizards of the Coast, the ‘Revised Ranger’ is not only a very strong martial character, but has a wealth of skills to use out of combat that can greatly benefit the party. Mine- er, I mean, theoretically you can have 16 Armour Class (AC), +7 to hit with your longbow, and enough Perception and Stealth to lead your party out of a Fey enchanted maze whilst blindfolded. You also get mad respect for basically being Aragorn. With an animal companion.

“You can run but let me ask you, what do you think will kill you first: the desert, the heat, my bow, or Mr Prickles, my giant scorpion companion?”

Asir Kassam, Ranger

Paladin


Paladins are your go-to wall of metal that’ll keep you safe. And even if they fail in that, they can heal you up all nice afterwards. A spell-casting tank with fearsome damage, the Paladin is one of the strongest martial classes there is. Outside of combat, you don’t have to be all Lawful Good anymore. There’s even options to be on a path of vengeance, or wanting to rule with an iron fist for the good of the land. In our group a level 2 Paladin did 68 damage to a skeleton in one strike. Said skeleton had 13 HP. Then the Paladin buffed himself and healed the unconscious wizard. Strong? Absolutely.

“Everybody should aspire to be a Paladin. For what higher cause is there than RIGHTEOUS FURY. A mighty hammer-arm anchored by an oath of vengeance. Every day is a new battle against the greater evil. Room by room, hall by hall, we clear the dungeons of the corruption that soaks the land. More bones remanded to the abyss, for even the dead my die again…”

Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundson, Paladin

Cleric

If the Paladin is the front-line tank with some healing and support spells, then the Cleric is the front-line tank with lots of healing and support spells. One of the strongest healers in the game, they also benefit from wearing plate and wielding giant weapons just like Paladins. Where they differ though is their lack of damage. The weapons are more for show, since they’ll spend most of the time healing and shielding their more squishy comrades. But what healing. They also come with offensive spells from the get-go which can fill a gap depending on your party composition.

“*Exasperated sigh*”

Mearm, Human Cleric

Sorcerer

The Sorcerer, unlike other magic users, have innate magic that comes from within, and therefore do not rely on spell books and learning things. Instead, they summon great balls of fire from their own bodies, which they can augment to be even more powerful. If you want to sling spells and roast goblin fools, the Sorcerer is your best bet. Not only do you get high spell damage, but you have access to strong utility spells and use Charisma as your main attribute, meaning in social encounters you can also be your group’s ‘face’, instead of cowering at the back.

“Do you like your nuts…roasted?”

Anonymous Sorcerer rolling Intimidation

Wizard

The Wizard is your all-access spell caster. Do you have a specific type of magic you like, whether it’s fireballs, illusions or raising the dead? The Wizard fills all and any of these rolls. They can be incredibly powerful and useful, if played correctly. And that is why they are in the middle of this list. They take a lot of preparation and study (somewhat appropriately) to be effective, and you could always be caught short with the wrong spells for the job. Still, if you don’t know what you want to do but you know you just want to make magic happen, take the Wiz.

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

Sirius Black, Lvl 10 Wizard

Bard

The Bard AKA Bill, Bardo, Skill-Monkey, is a swiss army knife of skills. Thanks to abilities such as Professional, it’s not hard for a Bard to be proficient in nearly every skill. This makes them fantastic out of combat, which is probably thematically for the best since they’re artists in nature. In combat they provide buffs and debuffs galore and can make themselves somewhat decent fighters. However you do have to sing and make music a lot, definitely one for you aspiring actor players with a gift for flowery speech.

“S***bird!”

Princess Teatree Llewelyn, half-elven bard

Druid

The Druid’s biggest ability is that they can turn into animals. This gives them access to endless roleplaying silliness but also some combat prowess. If you don’t have a tank, why not turn into a bear and block the corridor, taking swipes at the enemy and taking all the damage? When you run out of health, you turn back into your normal self, who can still cast useful spells. If you wanted to combine the Ranger and the Wizard, you got Druid. Just make sure you have all the animal stats to hand. It’s a fun class but if you’re looking for the strongest, this isn’t it.

“To be druid is to know life. Druid knows life. Druid feels life. Druid is life. Druid kill when druid have to, like nature, druid fight to live, but not cruel.”

Krazkel, half orc Druid

Fighter

Oh, the Fighter. How many times are you skipped over because you’re considered “too boring”, or the player will be scared they’ll be called “too boring”? The Fighter is a broad class, just like the Wizard, and it’s limit is only your imagination. Ranging from knights on horseback, samurai, bandits and literally anyone from Game of Thrones, the emphasis is on you to create this character. If you don’t, you’ll get bored pretty quickly just hitting things over and over. We’ve already shown that many classes are strong martially, and fighters bring some utility to fights, but not more than others. No spells, not much skills, you could do a lot better.

“Ale, and onions!”

Ezgak, in the tavern

Rogue

Probably one of the most popular classes due to it’s classic status, the Rogue is a poster-child on the same level as the Fighter and the Wizard. Unfortunately, whilst the coolest (so so cool) it’s not necessarily the best. It has access to a lot of skills, but also tries to be a high damage dealer as well, but without armour. It’s an interesting but flawed mix. The Rogue doesn’t really top the Ranger or a Wizard once they get some good utility spells (like Invisibility), but it can be fun. Cranking up the sneak attack damage for those one-shot kills, or causing misdirection like Loki as an arcane trickster sub-class can definitely be great. Just please don’t be an edgelord about it.

“You know what’s great about being me? Basically everything. You just can’t argue with the blur of motion that is me in battle. A sword in each hand,sometimes also a lady in one or both hands. That’s just my style. Handsome. Dangerous. Charming. Modest.”

Victrix, Elven swashbuckler

Monk

This is painful because Monks should be really cool. How many martial arts films have you seen, and how much do you want to play as one of those characters? Exactly. Sadly the Monk suffers from being outclassed by all our star players, much like most of the classes down this end. Then fun is in being able to punch a goblin 8 times until it explodes, before running across a lake with your twin tonfa glistening in the moonlight. Like the Rogue, you’re buying into the fantasy rather than the stats, which is perfectly alright. Also, it may just be me, but it’s really hard to play a Monk that isn’t a stereotypical martial arts film character.

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it become the cup. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Bruce Lee

Barbarian

So you want to be Conan, I’ll give you Conan. The Barbarian is a fighter with less variety, and like the Monk, pigeon-holed by the archetypes it’s based off of. The Barbarian can go into a rage and do extra damage, as well as take less…which other classes can do by wearing armour or learning more spells. It’s very fun to be a character who goes into a rage and charges the enemy, but in a balanced party it’s more of a hindrance, and your out of combat presence is severely limited. Have you ever watched the bits of Conan between the fights?!

“Crom!”

Conan the Barbarian, Conan

Warlock

The Warlock sits at the very bottom of the pile, because the only thing it’s got going for it is Eldritch Blast. If you want 20 levels of varying power of Eldritch Blast, pick the Warlock. Frustratingly, the Warlock is actually significantly improved by multi-classing, where you take levels in another class as well. Take some levels in Fighter and you’ve got an Eldritch Knight, or a Rogue who can curse it’s enemies before plunging a knife in their backs. The Warlock’s reliance on a Patron is a cool roleplaying opportunity, but if you party is large you probably won’t get around to it.

“Oh boy, I love books!”

Mistiplitz, Gnome Warlock

Every Fallout Setting Ranked From Worst to Best

It’s been 20 years since Fallout: A Post Apocalyptic Role Playing Game first appeared onto computers, and since then the series has TRAVELLED. It’s not been content to stay on the West Coast of America, with different areas and different regions opening up as the series has progressed.

But what’s the best one? What’s the game area that, above all, is superior?

My criteria for this list is either the main area where a game is set, or areas added onto the main map either through DLC or through travelling off-map (though there’s only two of these). Also sorry, Van Buren doesn’t count.

So that’s the rules, LET’S GO!

NOTE: Spoilers for pretty much all Fallout games below.

Frankly Who Knows – Fallout Shelter

I’m putting this at the bottom because who knows where Fallout Shelter is set, your followers seem able to range far and wide across half the US. You see familiar names from Fallout 4, but other places also pop up every so often and you’ll come across characters that span the whole series.

It’s almost as if Fallout Shelter is throwaway and non-canon, BUT THAT CAN’T BE TRUE TODD, CAN IT TODD? TODD ARE YOU LISTENING?

Mothership Zeta – Mothership Zeta

Aliens have been a part of the Fallout universe since its inception and actually going on board a spaceship should’ve been an event. Instead it’s just tonally at odds with Fallout, and doesn’t feel like it has a place in the series. Aliens in Fallout should be kept to the periphery, something hinted at or left to strange encounters in the desert, not front and centre as the stars of their own DLC.

Alaska – Operation: Anchorage

Operation: Anchorage feels like a lost opportunity, to step back into a previous age before the bombs fell, but it’s just a series of corridors in the ice and that’s all you get. A promise, thankfully, a later Fallout game took better advantage of.

Lonesome Road – Lonesome Road

What you learn in Lonesome Road makes this DLC important for the wider narrative and the personal narrative of the Courier but the area you pass through just feels a bit flat. It’s nothing but a straight line, which as we saw in Operation: Anchorage is Fallout at its worst. Fallout is always meant to be about choice and exploration, and when the games deny you that, you really miss out. Lonesome Road is set in a dreary area, and never really presents you with anything interesting, at least in the setting itself.

Slightly More Southern California – Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

I couldn’t even get a decent picture of the game

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is set slightly further South than Fallout, and some almost familiar names crop up when you’re adventuring about. The problem with the setting for this game is that really all the life is sucked out of it, it’s just a backdrop for smacking mutants about instead of something that makes you think, something that’s interesting. Taking place in places like ghoul-infested Los and The Crater, it’s fine? I suppose? Just nothing special.

Zion National Park – Honest Hearts

Finally we’re onto playgrounds again, and areas with space to explore. Zion National Park is a place inhabited by small tribes and it’s rich for exploration. ‘But Alex’ you ask, ‘why is it so low down?’

Cos it’s ugly. It’s really not Fallout at its prettiest and yes, while that shouldn’t matter, it kinda does here. It’s just not a great place to exist in and frankly I cannot remember a single time I’ve played New Vegas where I haven’t blasted through this DLC as quickly as possible.

Adams Air Force Base – Broken Steel

You don’t spend a huge amount of time at Adams Air Force Base but it’s an excellent area to end the Fallout 3 story in. It’s nothing too special, but it’s solidly built and does what you need from it. It’s the Ronseal of areas, does exactly what it says on the tin. Can’t begrudge it, can’t love it either. It’s good! It’s fine! I’ve run out of things to say about it!

Poseidon Energy Oil Rig – Fallout 2

The end of your Fallout 2 journey will take place on the Enclave controlled Oil Rig, and it’s a good place to learn about the Enclave, who they are, what they want, and more. The problem with this area is that it’s quite generic once you’re inside, it feels suitably adventurous to travel there, but once you’re there and especially if you have decent speech skills it’s just another place to run about in and chat to people, with little threat until you come face to face with the last boss of the game.

Nuka-World – Nuka-World

Nuka-World’s a great place to visit but you wouldn’t want to stay there. Simply because whilst there’s a lot to do there – and there’s a lot, there’s not much to do of meaning there. But this isn’t about doing stuff, it’s about the area itself! Nuka-World is the Fallout equivalent of Disneyland, mascots and all, and it’s a fun place to see if nothing else. It’s just a little lightweight, but then isn’t that perfect for a Disneyland-a-like?

Chicago and the Midwest – Fallout: Tactics

This could be a good setting and it could be something to really explore and dig your teeth into, but the problem is due to the game being a mainly combat focused spinoff you’re not really given chance to see the area. This was the first time we’d seen a new setting for Fallout after the initial two, and it’s got an interesting setup (tribals joining the Brotherhood of Steel? OUTRAGEOUS!) but since you don’t get to do much outside of fighting, you just don’t see much of the area. It’s a shame and again, a bit of a wasted opportunity.

The Pitt – The Pitt

If grime is your thing then the remains of Pittsburgh are for you. This is where you go if nowhere else will take you, this is where you’ll go if you’re mutating rapidly and need a safe shelter. This is where you go if you’re scum and you want to join up with some other scum. It’s an irradiated nightmare of a town but one that hides riches. The only reason that this isn’t further up the list is that it’s a bit empty, a bit small, a bit…grim. Fallout is grim, but it often balances grimness with light, or with humour. The Pitt is just grim.

The Island – Far Harbor

A mysterious fog shrouded island lurking in the fog with mysteries and more fog. It’s a good place to be and it’s definitely shrouded in fog and mysteries. It’s really atmospheric and has a very 1950s-horror-film-vibe to it, but even with all that it’s not very Fallout. It feels like a sideshow to the main Fallout adventures, and while you might need a breather, I’m not sure if The Island has a place in Falloutery.

Point Lookout – Point Lookout

Point Lookout’s a similar place to The Island, except with a bit less fog. Filled with mutant hillbillies it’s a dangerous but again, extremely mysterious place filled with…radioactive swamps. Look if you’re looking for a holiday, avoid Point Lookout, but for some reason it feels a little bit more Fallout-y than The Island does, despite it sharing a lot of the same DNA.

The Big Empty – Old World Blues

ALRIGHT TIME FOR CONTROVERSY

Why isn’t this number 1? Simple, whilst it’s mainly a brilliant setting  (and I do mean brilliant, the jokes, the science experiments, the links to other New Vegas DLC), but it has one main issue. The actual area, outside of the ruins, the Big MT itself, is pretty sterile apart from being filled with absolutely horrible robots, deranged humans, and creepy skeleton-filled suits. It feels like half of it works, and really works, and half of it just doesn’t. It’s just a bloodbath outside, and while the combat may be what some people are there for, it never added up to a really great time for me.

BEGIN HATE MAIL

The Capital Wasteland – Fallout 3

The Capital Wasteland is a great setting for a game, it has lots to do in it, it has varied and interesting areas, and it’s home to a variety of people that give you quests and make you think about their motivations and what they’re up to.

So why isn’t it higher?

Because of two reasons. Firstly it’s just too small and too packed with interesting things, it feels more like a theme park than a cohesive world. It feels like you can’t take five steps without falling over a superhero fight or a secret hive of vampires. It’s just too busy.

The other reason is that the earlier Fallout games showed people getting it together a bit, they were out after the bombs had fallen and were trying to rebuild their lives. All that’s thrown away in the Capital Wasteland, apart from a couple of tiny outposts humanity is stuck in the dark ages, and that feels a bit like a step back after the previous games.

The Commonwealth – Fallout 4

Oh no I put a Fallout 4 thing about a Fallout 3 thing.

But it’s true, if nothing else for setting alone, The Commonwealth is a better place to exist in. It’s more varied than the previous game and it’s got that little bit of space, or feels like it, to make it feel like a world that could possibly exist. People also seem to be banding together a bit more, making a go of it, recovering their lives. It’s just that little bit more hopeful than the previous game’s setting, and I appreciate that.

Sanctuary Hills – Fallout 4

For people who’ve played Fallout for twenty years, getting to see the world before the bombs fell is something to be treasured. Operation: Anchorage had a go at this, but kept the action to a small part of Alaska. Seeing a bit of the world, even if it’s mainly a street, a house, a hill, is an opportunity that any Fallout fan will jump at. Thankfully it doesn’t disappoint, the setting has that retro-futuristic 1950s Americana feel down perfectly, and it sets up the rest of the game, when you see it in ruined, perfectly.

Sierra Madre Casino – Dead Money

You know how I was saying I liked a hopeful tone? Well that’s not here in Dead Money! The Sierra Madre Casino is a mixed bag, inside it’s smooth and filled with holograms and gambling (and a heist), outside it’s a cross between Silent Hill and Battle Royale. Both though are woven through with messages, morals, meanings, making you look at yourself and your character’s reasoning. Have no doubt about it, this is Fallout at its absolute grimmest, but out of it you can still find some light. The area is fascinating, layers of history laid on top of each other, and even if you don’t have a great time there you’ll probably have a valuable time.

Tranquility Lane – Fallout 3

What’s better than seeing the world pre-nuclear war? Seeing it pre-nuclear in black & white filled with people who are tortured minds being captured for eternity of course! Tranquility Lane is the twisted imaginarium of a madman genius, and it’s wonderful to explore. It gives you a bit of that pre-nuclear war taste, whilst mixing it with classic American TV, and slasher horror (if you go down that route). It’s one of those places where quest design and world design meet each other perfectly, and for that reason it’s one of the best settings in the game.

A Bit More North Than Southern California – Fallout 2

You all know I think Fallout 2 is the pinnacle of the Fallout series, as I said here. I, however, don’t think the world that the game is set in is *quite* as good as some other areas.

Simply because at times, it can take itself a little too frivolously, and whilst its highs are so, so high, as a cohesive whole world it doesn’t necessarily hang together so well. Look at Redding, a little mining town plagued by Wanamingos. And it’s not…great. To be honest it could be cut from the game and nothing really would be lost. San Francisco feels half finished and the Hubologists is just one long Scientologist joke. I love the game, but the world? Not quite as much.

It’s third because of New Reno, that area is so good it drags the rest up.

Southern California – Fallout

Ah, where it all began. This is second on the list simply because the world has a sense of adventure to it, of exploration. Whilst other games may take you to unfamiliar places, only the original Fallout takes you to an unfamiliar world. When you played this 20 years ago you knew nothing of the Brotherhood of Steel, of the Vaults, of the FEV, you just knew you had to get a water chip to save your friends.

It expands out, leading you from place to place until you build a big picture of the world you’ve found yourself in. It also feels vaguely hopeful, whilst there’s a lot of bad out there, humanity is genuinely trying to recover. Small settlements are being founded by dazed survivors and ex-vault dwellers, and they’re building a new world. It’s wonderful to see and be a part of, and that’s why Fallout’s original setting is the second best one.

Mojave Wasteland – Fallout: New Vegas

Why’s the Mojave Wasteland the best setting in my view? Because it feels like a real place. There’s a lot of nothing in the Mojave Wasteland, a lot of walking and a lot of desert. Y’know what else is like that?

That’s right, the Mojave Desert.

It feels real because it’s largely modelled on real places in and around the Mojave Desert, Goodsprings is real, the Dino at Novac is real, and so on. Whilst it’s not 100% realistic, it feels like a place that people could exist in, and it’s big enough to feel like individual settlements are actually individual, instead of a semi-conurbation like in Fallout 3.

OK yes, it’s not perfect, there’s about 4 people in New Vegas itself and the New Vegas Strip is 3 metres long, but the actual Mojave Wasteland is amazing. It takes my breath away to this day, and starting a game of New Vegas and seeing all that…nothing…stretch away, makes me itch to be out there.

So there you go, that’s what I think are the best, and worse, Fallout series settings. Disagree with me? Let me know in the comments below!

Your Favourite Robots!

We love robots at Green Man Gaming. Robots, mechs, giant robotic suits, androids, anything like that.

That’s why we’re proud to publish War Tech Fighters, an explosive space mech combat game where you take control of a giant mech, and smash other mechs up. IN SPACE!.

It’s recently received a major update bringing loads of new stuff to the game, you can check out what’s new here!

So obviously, we want to talk ROBOTS. We asked you on Twitter and Facebook what your favourite robots, mechs, androids etc are, and here’s what you said!

Mad Cat MkII – MechWarrior 4

The MechWarrior series is the poster child for realistic hot mech action, and one of the finest looking mechs is the Mad Cat MkII. It’s a perfect all rounder at medium to long rage, and can tear up the opposition in a multitude of ways. Basically, if you’re on the battlefield and you see one of these striding towards you? Run.

Jehuty – Zone of the Enders

The main Orbital Frame from the Zone of the Enders series, it’s a proper mech in true anime style. Basically, it looks like a human with a dog’s head but bigger and more awesome and with wings and a sword and yeah, Jehuty just oozes cool. It can fly, it can kill, it can do damage to everything it sees. Just as well Jehuty’s brilliant, because if you play Zone of the Enders you’ll be spending a lot of time in its company.

HK-47 – Knights of the Old Republic

Definition: HK-47 is a fun and friendly robot pal who loves to be around disgusting meatbags like you. HK-47 is definitely not a murder-bot with a penchant for murder served with a side order of murder, nope, definitely not. He’s definitely not disgusted by fleshy…things, like humans or other meaty…fleshy…squishy….wet things. Gross.

Destructor – Futurama

Destructor is big. Like, really big. If you can imagine a big robot, then you’re probably imagining Destructor. The second best fighter in the Ultimate Robot Fighting League, he’s a fighting master. So yeah, don’t fight him, because he lives up to his name. As he says: ‘I am Destructor!”

Marvin the Paranoid Android – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Marvin is smarter than you. I mean he’s smarter than everyone, brain the size of a planet don’t you know. Yet all he gets are menial tasks, carry this, meet this guest, park these spaceships. He’s capable of so much more, and yet he’s brought down every time by stupid humans giving him stupid tasks. By the end of the series he’s several times older than the universe itself, and he’s spent every single second utterly miserable. Here’s to you, Marvin, you glum bugger.

Giant Armoured Robot Friend – Olly Moss

Olly Moss is a graphic designer, art director, and creator of the Giant Armoured Robot Friend. We don’t know too much about this hefty chap (the robot, not Olly), but we know they are RAD.

Honestly I’m just tempted to link the tweet where Olly Moss debuted the Giant Armoured Robot Friend.

Yeah I’ll do that, look at this badass robro:

The Cast from Steamworld Heist – Steamworld Heist

The sequel to Steamworld Dig features a roster of varied robot pirates. Basically, cross steampunk robots with pirates and you get Steamworld Heist. You know that’s going to be good.

Megas XLR – Megas XLR

This is a robot with a car for a head.

No come back, listen to me. It has a car for a head and it’s driven by Coop and Jamie as they smash up, well, everything. But most often the evil Glorft. Megas XLR is an American cartoon that features mechs, aliens, time travel, and a lot of smashing stuff up. It used to be on Cartoon Network a few years ago (no-one tell me how long ago) and it was entirely essential viewing. Get it seen!

Major Motoko Kusunagi – Ghost in the Shell

The main character from Ghost in the Shell is Major Motoko Kusunagi, a lady who may or may not be real, and may or may not have had a real body at some point. Either way, right now she’s an incredibly heavy brain in a robot body who can also turn invisible, hack things, and shoot with pinpoint accuracy. In the Manga, Anime films, and Anime series, she’s this question mark in a humanoid form; is she still her, even though her entire body has been replaced? Ghost in the Shell asks questions about what it means to be human, and if that’s even important when AI is becoming real. Powerful stuff, and The Major is at the heart of it all.

Grimlock – Transformers

I’m not going to say too much about Grimlock.

Grimlock is a robot T-Rex.

That’s all you need to know.

Gurren Lagann – Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

MY DRILL IS THE DRILL THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS! This drill, will open a hole in the universe. And that hole will be a path for those behind us. The dreams of those who have fallen! The hopes of those who will follow! Those two sets of dreams weave together into a double helix, drilling a path towards tomorrow! And THAT’S Tengen Toppa! That’s Gurren-Lagann! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!!??!!?

brb rewatching all of Gurren Lagann.

So! That’s what you thought are the best robotic things out there, and if you’ve reached this point in the article you’re going to be FIRED UP for more mech action, so why not give War Tech Fighters a look? Go on, you won’t regret it.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Makes LEGO Feel Fresh

If you hadn’t noticed, and you probably have, there’s quite a few LEGO games out there. Starting with LEGO Star Wars in 2005, there’s been at least one LEGO game a year and most have been met with critical acclaim.

Having attended the launch event for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, I’m happy to report back that Traveller’s Tales have done it again. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is a brilliant game, one that takes the LEGO Traveller’s Tales formula and the Marvel universe and smashes them up in surprising, joyful ways.

I only got a couple of hours with the game, but what I played felt fresh and inventive, in part due to the huge roster of characters I was seeing and interacting with. I’m not the world’s biggest Marvel fan but even for someone like me it was wonderful to see a roster expanded far, far beyond that I’d seen in the Marvel films and tv series.

Lets talk about Justice League Unlimited for a second.

Justice League Unlimited was a tv cartoon show that was produced between 2004 and 2006, and one of the joys of it and the main selling point (apart from the wonderfully written storylines) was the expansion of the Justice League to include DC heroes that you might never have otherwise heard of.

One week you’d be watching Batman and Superman trying to take out Doomsday, the next you’d be watching Huntress and  The Question investigate Lex Luthor. It was this mashup of characters into different situations that really gave this series life, it took familiar characters and smushed them into stories with characters you might only know if you’re a hardcore DC fan.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 has some of that vibe. During the couple of hours I played I saw Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, The Guardians of the Galaxy and others from the films. But I also saw Ms. Marvel, Spider-Gwen, Man-Ape, Eson, Gwenpool, and many more.

It meant that whilst I was grounded by familiar characters, I couldn’t wait to try out other characters and see just what they were capable of and what they could do, often being delighted by their powers.

Ms. Marvel (the Kamala Khan version) in particular was a high point during the time I played of the game, her special abilities are all shapeshifting related, meaning she can grow tiny or big at the press of a button. During battles it became common for a giant Ms. Marvel to stomp across the screen, smashing everything with her LEGO claw-like hands.

The true delight from playing Ms. Marvel though is you can inflate her like a balloon and roll about. I have absolutely no idea what benefit this has for the game or the player, but it was never anything but hilarious.

Overall if you’re familiar with LEGO games, you’ll feel at home picking up a controller and diving into LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 and you’ll still be surprised about where the game takes you, the twists in the story, and the characters you’ll see. If you love Marvel this should be a no-brainer to pick up, and if you haven’t played a LEGO game for a while it’s a perfect point to jump in with characters you’ll likely be familiar with, but many that you aren’t.

If you don’t like LEGO games though then er. Why do you hate joy?

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is out now!

Chart Expert Game – Win a copy of War Tech Fighters

Welcome to this week’s Chart Expert Game. Last time only one single person managed to guess our top 3 games (you can thank this week’s prize for that curveball), but that person is now happily playing their free copy of Assassin’s Creed: Origins. This week, you have a chance to win a key too. You have a chance to be amongst our next Chart Experts.

 

Every Friday, we post our Top 10 Games of the Week. This is a ranking of which games sold the most on our store. If you want to win a key for War Tech Fighters, all you need to do is answer this question:

What will the top 3 games be in this week’s chart?

 

Simple as that. Just give us your answer in this thread before Tuesday 14th November, midday GMT to enter.

Rules

  • Every entry must contain 3 game titles.
  • Different versions of games will count as one (Destiny 2 Digital Deluxe and Standard Edition will be added together).
  • You must guess the Top 3 games in order of ranking.

Come back this Friday to see who’s guessed right, and who’s getting a copy of War Tech Fighters!

Green Man Gaming Top 10 Sales 10th November

Here are Green Man Gaming’s top selling titles for the week ending 10th November 2017.

A surprise hit as Nioh takes the number one spot against all the most recent AAA games, leaving last week’s Call of Duty: WWII and currently biggest seller of the season Destiny 2 behind. Assassin’s Creed and Shadow of War are staying steady in the middle, and because certain deals on our site, Cuphead, Men of War and Dungeon Siege make a unlikely appearance. Rounding out the chart is 2017’s most persistent title PUBG, and Wolfenstein II that has sloped down to 10th.

The chart can be found below. Please note that all versions of the game are combined, so standard and special editions are not listed separately.

  1. Nioh: Complete Edition
  2. Call of Duty: WWII
  3. Destiny 2
  4. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  5. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
  6. Cuphead
  7. Men of War
  8. Dungeon Siege
  9. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  10. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Chart Expert Game Results

Thanks to our shocking number one game Nioh, only one member of the Green Man Gaming community guessed the top 3 right. That person is going to be a proud owner of Assassin’s Creed: Origins. And that person is….

skatrzoo

Congratulations to them for beating literally everyone!

For those who didn’t win, better luck next week! Remember to use all your cunning and resources available to give yourself the best shot.

Green Team Streaming Schedule – 9th November

Looking for a stream to watch today? Well the Green Team is ready to entertain you! Check out below what games are being played by these mighty individuals, and what time you can catch them.

Game Name Time (GMT) Channel
Witcher 3 FuzzyFreaks 17:00 https://go.twitch.tv/fuzzyfreaks
ELEX Azeriath 19:00
Nioh/Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Kerzahd 22:00
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic legolicious 0:00
Mass Effect 3 Drogith 2:00

What’s New In The Store 8th November 2017

We are always updating the Green Man Gaming store with new titles. To keep you up to date with the latest additions we thought we would give you a peek at what has been added. So without further a-do here are the latest games to be added to the Green Man Gaming store.

I’m Titanium

Survival, ship modification, base defense, boss battles and player leaderboards table all this awaits you in the game I’m Titanium. Challenge yourself in procedurally generated space for the title of the Top Player. Every new game will never be the same!

Key Feature
One big procedural game level, like a 900 FullHD screens
Local Co-Op
4K display resolution supports
Enemy Biomes
Dozens of active enemies
Dozens of weapons
Collect mineral resources for upgrade Base and spaceship
Battle with big galaxy bosses
Steam leaderboards, achievements and trading cards
Photo Mode for capturing best game moments
No loading screen 🙂

Seven boys 2

Forget about the classical fairytales and a helpless and vulnerable heroine. There is no prince or an evil stepmother – you’re all alone and you need to survive in a new strange world.

Meet a young girl threw into the world she doesn’t belong to – without name and memories. Disclose the dark secret surrounding the island inhabited only by kids and find your way back home. It’s not an ordinary tale and you’re not an ordinary Snow White with her Seven Dwarfs. It’s a game that alternates between reality and illusion, showing the real world problems in a new, twisted way.

Play Seven Boys and discover more than 7 storylines by meeting orphans living on an Island. Every story is complementary and will give you the wider view and help you understand the game as a whole. As the story goes, the illusion and reality are overlapping gradually. Each ending will give you more information about the world and the characters that live in it, and will help you understand their motives.

FEATURES:

Rich story with many secrets for you to discover
Unique character design
Over 7 endings with different storylines
Unlockable extras
Ambient music
Colorful and diverse backgrounds

Fly O’Clock

Fly O’Clock is tiny, highly-addictive single & online multiplayer arcade endless jumper with innovative one-touch mechanics and unique pixel-art graphics.
The faster you play the more you risk and as you know: no risk no fun.

Check how long you will survive on the clock face, avoid the clock hands and jump between 4 points as fast as you can to reach the top of the leaderboards.

Unlock all the characters, watches and hats! Style your favorite insect with unique hat!

online multiplayer exclusively on Steam
16+ characters to unlock
5+ watches to jump on
15+ hats to try on
ultimate Rock & Roll soundtrack!
one-touch controls
brand new jumpy gameplay

Red Crow Mysteries: Legion

Your extraordinary gift is also your biggest curse. It is a burden you must bare. The ability to see things others cannot is an unbelievable challenge and responsibility. And evil never sleeps. Evil is never far away. He who has many names, has awakened again – hungry for victory and power. Can you past the test and prove you are the one who will defend mankind when judgment day comes?

But, remember, fear is your worst enemy! Never let him see your fear! He will use it against you and everything will be lost!
Dive into an alternative dimension alive with ghosts and demons in Red Crow Mysteries: Legion- a dark and thrilling puzzle, adventure game!

Features:

Confront ancient evil and prove yourself worthy to the afterlife spirits
Investigate eye-catching locations and solve dozens of puzzles
Search for clues and follow the path
Beautiful graphics and mysterious atmosphere
Fantastic music and voice-acting
3 fully customizable game-play modes: Easy, Casual and Adventure
Native wide-screen support

Pastry Lovers

Pastry Lovers is a Visual Novel set in the fantastic world of Carseland Kingdom. Play as a young girl Sakura aspiring to be a famous pastry chef. Pass the entry exam and join the prestigious St. Patras College to learn from the professionals and develop your skills. Train, bake and study diligently to achieve your biggest dream!

Along your journey you’ll make new friends and meet unique classmates – like prince William or a feisty boy Hannan Ye. Befriend fellow college students, find allies and work together to achieve your goal! Attend lectures and develop your skills by learning about the history of pastries or the elegant traditional ritual of making tea.

Play Pastry Lovers and visit the Carseland Kingdom and its inhabitants on a journey to become the famous pastry chef and to find a true love.

FEATURES:

Discover different storylines with over 10 endings.
Meet Sakura’s admirers with their unique stories.
Join the famous pastry academy and unlock recipes for the most delicious desserts in the Kingdom.
Help Sakura solve the mystery of her origins.
Develop your character’s statistics – such as intelligence and taste – to pass every exam in the St. Patras College.
Befriend townspeople, build your relationship with them and receive special gifts.

Shut Eye

A childs mind can be quite innocent and yet troubling. Take control of a young child as she spends the week away from her parents in a place away from home.

Keep her safe and awake, as things there may go bump in the night. These toys are out to play, but the question is are they real or is this just the innocent mind of a child.

You play as a young child, who is away from her parents as they are on a much needed holiday. The young child has suffered from anxiety most of her life, which leads to confusion and an over active imagination.

Which leads to trouble for the character when the light goes out an the moon comes out.

You must survive the nights an keep your aniexty down, as through out the night you will experience the mind of an over active childs imagination.

Each night you may encounter different types of creatures. But don’t let their cuteness fool you. As the higher you aniexty goes the harder things become.

Keep her calm. Keep her safe. Keep her in the light.

Discussion of the Week – Do loot boxes make good games bad?

We’ve had a few AAA releases now that have featured loot box mechanics. After huge controversy, we can now see if these games’ scores were affected by their inclusion. It leads to the question: do loot boxes make good games bad? Do loot boxes cause a game that would be a 9/10 or 10/10 become worse because of their presence? Metacritic doesn’t seem to think so, with Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Call of Duty: WW2 and Assassin’s Creed: Origins scoring in the 80-90% group, mostly higher than their prequels.

Get involved in the discussion of the week in this thread and let us know what you think.

What’s New In The Store 6th November 2017

We are always updating the Green Man Gaming store with new titles. To keep you up to date with the latest additions we thought we would give you a peek at what has been added. So without further a-do here are the latest games to be added to the Green Man Gaming store.

Frederic: Evil Strikes Back

Defeat famous opponents in musical duels. Immense yourself in fantastic story of Frederic’s endeavors. Catch all the Easter Eggs and subtle parodies hidden in the background. Practice your skills until perfection and become the Master of the Piano.

The world of music is once again threatened. The art of soulful music, the kind that touches your heart, is in grave danger of disappearance. The evil forces that you fought so bravely are back! And they are even more powerful and desperate. Once again you’ll need to step into Frederic Chopin’s shoes and face opponents that have only one agenda – to enslave the musical world, mass produce soulless artists with their same-sounding radio hits, and reap enormous profits, hindering any creativity in the process.

– 10 challenging musical duels with some of the most renown pop stars
– 10 fantastic, catchy tracks, inspired by Frederic Chopin’s composition and different music genres.
– Quirky story with tons of parody and twists
– Extremely easy to get to, but hard to master gameplay
– Hand-painted animated comic
– Achievements and leaderboards

Grimind

Grimind is a 2D, physics based, adventure, platform game in horror/creepy theme.

Grimind casts you into forgotten caves and ancient crypts, without memories. While being there you have to demonstrate great manual skills to pass obstacles and solve non trivial puzzles to get out of scary environment and additionally discover what are you doing there alone – but is it certain… that you are there… alone?

Features:

Dynamic gameplay combined with a frightening experience
Physics based gameplay – It gives you the possibility to do whatever you want. Every single dynamic object can be dragged, carried or thrown which gives you enormous freedom.
Narration – While playing, the character is talking, telling the player what he feels, if he’s scared, or what he thinks about the current situation.
Challenge! – Grimind isn’t an easy game, so you can forget about holding just one key and passing through the levels. Besides dexterity and input skills, there is also a large number of logic puzzles to solve. Your brain will be tested and you’ll not get bored.

Ghostdream

“When you die, you normally have only one simple wish – to return and tell them – “Hey, guys – it’s OK! No need to feel sad! Cause you know what? It’s actually OK on both sides, really.” But returning is not easy – the only way would be dreams – “half-dreams” – “ghost-dreams”. The problematic part is if you get stuck – you turn into a demon. Hard to say what exactly it is, but we presume it’s a painful and useless existence. Better to avoid doing this, really.
My personal “problematic part” is that I am already stuck here. No idea how I’ll get out this time…”

On his journey to the “Other Side” Reader (and his “natural companion” Writer) meets various Ghosts and Demons, Holy Spirits and Gods. He also meets Singer, who is neither Ghost, nor Demon. At some point she becomes important to Reader. Realizing this won’t stop him though.

The world of Ghostdream should be scary, but it is not – it is just dark. The story should be sad since all the characters are more or less dead, but it is not, because they normally remember nothing, except some minor detail or two (for example the protagonist remembers himself reading a book – this is why they call him Reader. It is his only memory after all).

Ghostdream is a retro-style Point and Click Adventure game with puzzles, exploration and story.

55+ entirely animated locations (rooms)
10+ characters
8 Major Puzzles (no items required, exploration of the whole accessible area is a must) + standard adventure actions (like get here, talk there, press this, press that…)
16 000+ words story (fully voiced)
about 10 hours to beat Ghostdream for the first time.
20+ songs OST
60 pages art book (with a puzzle guide)

Rift Coaster HD Remastered VR

The Legend is back!

Fasten your seat belt and take a ride in the iconic rollercoaster – now in a remastered version! Prepare yourself for chills and thrills with this intense experience. Sit comfortably and explore the medieval city while riding on the castle walls. Take a look on the beautiful surrounding landscape full of mountains and trees and admire the shimmering lake surface. Rift Coaster HD Remastered is a perfect way to introduce your friends and family to the rich world of virtual reality games – everyone will enjoy the ride.

Rift Coaster was one of the first VR coasters and with the Steam release you can now experience the game in an improved version. Running on the Unreal Engine 4, Rift Coaster not only brings new features and tweaks to the visuals and gameplay – but also if you have the HTC VIVE, Oculus Rift, or another OS VR device you can enjoy the game as it now works with the latest VR hardware.

Enjoyed the ride? Be sure to try our newest title – Dream Coaster VR, an unforgettable ride through magical grounds of Fantasy Land – now available on Steam!

Stars in Shadow: Legacies

It’s been three thousand years after the Great War and the collapse of the hyperspace lanes. The galaxy is reawakening, thanks to an unknown influence who has restored the warp lanes back into operation. Who restored the warp lanes, and for what purpose?

Legacies introduces a new playable faction, the cyborg Tinkers. The Tinkers are a race of cyborgs who worship Dzibix, an ancient mega machine located on their arid homeworld of the same name. Dzibix is — or was — an automated factory built by one of the ancient civilizations of the Golden Age.

The Tinkers worship Dzibix as a machine god and as result it has grown to cover most of the planet and has achieved at least minimal self-awareness. To appease their machine god the dutiful Tinkers have converted themselves into cyborgs and remade their society as a cybernetic civilization.

Tinkers’ ships have increased armor, self-repair capability, and special systems for handling missiles and fighters. The Tinkers will have a custom home world and a full set of custom spaceships to build, and will take special advantage of several new gameplay features.

Also joining the galaxy is new minor faction: the hyperspace-dwelling Arda Seed. The Arda Seed will employ a number of new starship and station types, and make special use of several new gameplay features.

The Arda Seed faction represents the next step in uncovering the story of the causes behind the Great War, which will continue to be expanded upon in upcoming DLC.

Legacies Features:

New playable faction: Tinkers
New population type: cyborgs
New planetary special: Planetary Debris Rings and Asteroid Bases
Space Habitats and Re-deployable Mobile Stations
New minor faction: Arda Seed
New “Hyperspace Anomaly” locations
Technology Boosts and Researchable Artifacts
Herald encounters
New technologies, components and encounters

Cat on a Diet

Soft, fluffy, and a little on the chunky side — the podgy pussycat Dr. Meow can’t stop munching on delicious cookies and needs your help getting his greedy little paws on more! While his owner sleeps, steal away into the kitchen and help tumble this tubby tabby cat into the prized cookie jar.

Get stuck in!

Swipe and prod to claw away at wooden blocks, unscrew bolts, control powerful magnets and explode highly volatile uranium – anything to reach those cookies!

The hand that feeds?

What are the owners hiding from you? Find out as this pot-bellied kitty’s journey for sweet treats takes him up into the attic and down into the secret laboratory.

Snack happy!

Munch all the snacks in each level and spend them on new power-ups, hats, masks and even more cookie-heisting helpers.

witness the shenanigans of Dr. Meow in a Physics Puzzler for all ages
visit 4 game worlds (Dr. Meows Home, Spooky Attic, Mysterious Laboratory and visit the middle ages!)
Over 100 challenging levels to complete
two diverse game modes
Collect over 50 fabulous cat costumes
Use fun tools and inventive methods to reach the cookie jar!

Chart Expert Game – Win a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Welcome to this week’s Chart Expert Game. Last time we had only three winners who predicted the top 3 games of the week, that was just 2% of all entries. They walked away with a key for Wolfenstein II. This week, you have a chance to win a key too. You have a chance to be amongst our next Chart Experts.

 

Every Friday, we post our Top 10 Games of the Week. This is a ranking of which games sold the most on our store. If you want to win a key for Assassin’s Creed: Origins, all you need to do is answer this question:

What will the top 3 games be in this week’s chart?

 

Simple as that. Just give us your answer in this thread before Tuesday 7th November, midday GMT to enter.

Rules

  • Every entry must contain 3 game titles.
  • Different versions of games will count as one (Destiny 2 Digital Deluxe and Standard Edition will be added together).
  • You must guess the Top 3 games in order of ranking.

Come back this Friday to see who’s guessed right, and who’s getting a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Origins!

 

Green Man Gaming Top 10 Sales Chart 3rd November

Here are Green Man Gaming’s top selling titles for the week ending 3rd November 2017.

Destiny 2 smashes it to the top of the chart once again, with Assassin’s Creed: Origins hot on its heels. Call of Duty: WWII is in third, with a surprise showing from the amazing Dragon’s Dogma hitting us up in fourth place. Wolfenstein II drops a bit this week into fifth, but it’s not out yet!

The chart can be found below. Please note that all versions of the game are combined, so standard and special editions are not listed separately.

  1. Destiny 2
  2. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  3. Call of Duty: WWII
  4. Dragon’s Dogma
  5. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
  6. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
  7. Nioh: Complete Edition
  8. No Man’s Sky
  9. GTA V
  10. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

Chart Expert Game Results

We had exactly 3 people who guessed it right this week, which means everyone who did gets a copy of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus! Here are the gaming experts in all their glory:

brewses

Agallian

godfather

The above members of the community should keep an eye on their message box for their key.

For those who didn’t win, better luck next week! Remember to use all your cunning and resources available to give yourself the best shot.

What’s New In The Store 1st November 2017

We are always updating the Green Man Gaming store with new titles. To keep you up to date with the latest additions we thought we would give you a peek at what has been added. So without further a-do here are the latest games to be added to the Green Man Gaming store.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar (PS4)

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an RPG inspired by the classic console greats, featuring deep dungeon diving, turn-based combat presented in a classic JRPG format, and a rich story driven by exploration of the world.

Classic turn-based combat inspired by the console RPG greats, with a unique overcharge mana system and incredible Battle Bursts.

Beautiful, randomly-generated dungeons loaded with traps, puzzles, secrets and loot.

Explore an overworld peppered with hidden dungeons, rare bosses and randomly appearing friends and foes.

Action oriented, randomly-generated dungeons loaded with traps, puzzles and secrets. Use each hero’s unique dungeon skills to survive

Build your adventuring party by choosing three of six available heroes from the classic Battle Chasers comic series, each with unique abilities, perks, items and dungeon skills

Dive into the deep crafting system, using the unique ingredient-overloading system to create epic items!

The best-selling comic book Battle Chasers was first released in the late 90s and quickly generated a passionate cult following.

Steep™ – Winter Games Edition

Steep™ Winter Games Edition includes Steep™, the massive open world of the Alps and Alaska, where you master the world’s most epic mountains with a snowboard, wingsuit, paraglider, and skis, and now Steep™ Road to the Olympics takes you on the journey to become an Olympic Winter Games champion.

With Steep™ Road to the Olympics expansion, freely explore a massive open world, including iconic Japanese mountains, and train to qualify for Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Steep™ Road to the Olympics is a licensed product of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Includes Steep™ and Steep™ Road to the Olympics expansion.

FEATURES:

Includes Steep™ and Steep™ Road to the Olympics Expansion.
Travel the world through the Alps, Alaska, and Japan while you experience what it takes to become an Olympic champion.
Compete for gold in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 in South Korea.
Discover new breathtaking gameplay opportunities across 12 Olympic Sports.
Freely explore a massive open world, including iconic Japanese mountains – the steep world doubles in size.

A Hat in Time

A Hat in Time is a cute-as-heck 3D platformer featuring a little girl who stitches hats for wicked powers.

A little girl and her spaceship
In A Hat in Time you play as a tiny space-travelling girl with a big tophat. Her adventure is halted when all her fuel, the Time Pieces, is lost and scattered across a nearby planet. Hat Kid must now jump, fight and stitch new hats to make her way into every nook and cranny of this new world in order to restore her fuel and resume her journey. On her way, she’ll bump into the menacing Mafia of Cooks, the goofy birds of Dead Bird Studio, the spooky shadows of Subcon Forest, and more!

Murder on a train! Parades! Trespassing in a movie studio?
Every mission in A Hat in Time is unique! At one moment you’ll be solving the Murder on the Owl Express by finding clues and interrogating the locals, the next moment you’ll be the band marshal in The Big Parade, or sneaking through the bird-run Dead Bird Studio!

Small child, giant worlds
Jump freely around in 5 massive worlds with new adventures to discover around every corner! Just like any child, Hat Kid loves to climb and explore, no mountain is too big for her sense of adventure. She can do multiple jump moves, as well as climb walls, and swing over gaps!

Cute hats, magical yarn and snappy badges
By finding and collecting rare magical yarn, Hat Kid can stitch new cute hats with a variety of abilities, including a witch hat that allows her to cook explosive concoctions, and a wooden ghost mask that allows her to peek into other dimensions. Hats can become even more powerful, by attaching badges that are found, sold and traded by the locals!

Community-funded, community-focused
A Hat in Time was successfully funded on Kickstarter, reaching nearly 10 times its goal! In order to celebrate our community, A Hat in Time is releasing with full modding and Steam Workshop support, an in-game screenshot mode, and more!

Safari Venture

Zoologist Erwin, founder of the “SERENGETI – FOR A BETTER LIFE” initiative, and his team of rangers need your help! Only if you manage to place all stones correctly in this colourful African-themed Match 3 game, you’ll be able to master all the challenges of Safari Venture and save the animals of the Serengeti from an evil gang of poachers.
Puzzle your way through 8 exciting chapters and solve over 100 challenging Match 3 levels. Spectacular power-ups and African rhythms create lots of excitement and real safari atmosphere!

105 challenging Match 3 levels
Exciting story spanning 8 chapters
Bonus mini games
Spectacular Power-Ups
Several levels of difficulty
Free the animals from captivity