The Best Of The AAA’s At EGX 2017

Like every year, EGX was pretty amazing. There were loads of great games to play, awesome photo opportunities to be had and the great atmosphere that comes with the event. True, each year it keeps getting bigger and bigger but it still manages to maintain that feeling you get as a kid at Christmas.

During my time at the expo I got my hands on a fair few of the AAA titles that EGX had to offer. Here is a break down of what I played and what I thought of each of these games.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

Being a fan of Ancient Egypt and the Assassin’s Creed games Assassin’s Creed: Origins was a pretty easy sell for me. During my fifteen minute hands on time with the game the task was simple, retrieve 2 golden statues of Sobek from the River Nile and return them to anonymous mission giver who seems to be punishing someone for losing them in the first place. One statue was situated under the water whilst the other was being heavily guarded on a boat.

Control wise, the game is very much what most Assassin’s Creed players are used to, a nice addition is that you are able to fire arrows whilst you are in the water which made things a little easier whilst taking out those pesky guards. However, it is worth keeping your guard up whilst splashing about in the Nile as Hippos tend to get hungry and angry easily.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

If like me you loved The Stick Of Truth, then South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a must buy. It takes all the elements that made The Stick Of Truth great and amplifies them by ten. The battle system is far more advanced and very intuitive. This time around players are able to move characters around the screen during battles, meaning you are able to potentially avoid the enemies next attack or get in prime position for your attack. You also have a variety of super hero themed attacks you can choose from in order to destroy your enemies.

The demo itself had us in a Strip Club where we had to get information from two drunk men. It was ridiculously funny, crude and just plain wrong in places. Standard South Park really, go play it!

Far Cry 5

With the current political climate in America at the moment it was only a matter of time before a game would touch upon this. Far Cry 5 doesn’t just touch upon the current issues, it has you trying to liberate Hope County from a tyrannical ‘Christian Prophet’ known as Joseph Seed.

If you have played any Far Cry game, you have played Far Cry 5 and this is not a bad thing. The whole ‘if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ attitude works well here. Sure there have been a couple of tweaks here and there and some new features but this is very much a Far Cry game. The buddy system from Far Cry 2 even makes a welcomed return here, making the game feel even more Far Cry than the previous couple of games.

Super Mario Odyssey

Changing the tone a bit, I had ten minutes to play Super Mario Odyssey. Granted I had to queue for well over an hour in order to play, but it gave me a good idea whether I should be adding it to my Switch library or not. In short, yes I will be getting this wonderful whacky game.

I was exploring the streets of New Donk City by jumping on cars, collecting coins, exploring sky scrapers and discovering puzzles. It was a joy to play, taking the best parts of Mario Galaxy whilst giving players the nostalgic and addictive feeling you get when playing Super Mario 64. The game has both motion controls and button function, depending on where you are playing your Switch at the time. It also has both 2D and 3D style platforming elements which change gameplay up nicely.

Also the possession mechanic is pretty addictive, allowing you to posses many things and experiment with the powers available to you. It’s pretty fun and a must play for any Mario fan.

Detroit: Become Human

I am not going to beat around the bush here, Detroit for me was the game of show. If you have played the likes of Heavy Rain then you will full well know that Quantic Dream are brilliant at story telling. True, a lot of gamers out there have slated Beyond 2 Souls as it didn’t give players enough variety. It seems as though David Cage has taken on that feedback with Detroit.

In the demo you play as an android who has been tasked with neutralising a hostage situation. Another android has gone rogue and is holding a human girl at gunpoint, and it is up to you to investigate the crime scene and save the girl. If you loved the ARI gameplay in Heavy Rain (I thought it was amazing) then this is perfect for you, as it takes that gameplay and adds so much more to it. You can reconstruct elements of the crime by investigating and analysing specific areas on the scene. This will then give you a better idea of what happened and a better chance of neutralising the rogue android and saving the day. I found myself immersed in this world and I only played 15 minutes of it.

After coming out of the demo I was pleased to hear that other players had a different outcome to me. Will Detroit: Become Human rival Heavy Rain? It’s on the right track at least.

 

What’s New In The Store 22nd September 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.

Fallout 4 GOTY Edition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4

Return to the Wasteland with Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. With all the latest gameplay updates, graphical enhancements, the ability to play Mods for free on PC and consoles, plus all official add-ons included, this is the ultimate way to experience the award-winning post-nuclear adventure from Bethesda Game Studios.

Resurgence

He was a drunk and a gambler who tried to leave his demons behind. But when his daughter Rosie goes missing after a car crash, Jason Dawn thinks his debts with the mob have come back to haunt him. His past leads him to a final confrontation where Jason learns the terrible truth.

Returning to Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2’s latest expansion, Path of Fire, is out right now. It adds many new features which, if you’re a fan of the game, should get you excited. Guild Wars 2 has been quietly excellent ever since launch, receiving regular updates including two expansions, and still being one of the best MMOs to jump into today. Forget that other one (Planets of Starcraft?), Guild Wars 2 brings the most varied MMO experience; now with even cooler features.

So, why should you play, or return back to Guild Wars 2 for Path of Fire?

Mounts

For the first time, mounts are coming to Guild Wars 2! This is a big deal, for a few reasons. Normally players will run across the landscape, or fast travel which means paying. This is such a shame! GW2 has some of the best zones of any MMO, and rewards players for exploring and leaving the beaten path. But sometimes you just…can’t be bothered. Now though, four new mounts allow you to travel to where you need to go without skipping out all the nice actual game. The mounts are: The Raptor, The Springer, The Jackel, and The Skimmer AKA The Dinosaur, The Bunny, The Dog, and The Weird Floating Fish.

Elite Specialisations

Specialisations are a way to divert from the standard path of your class. It allows warriors to become anti-magic, thieves to become snipers, or elementalists to combine several elements at once. Here’s what all the specialisations are, and the ultra-cool names they’ve been given:

Engineer – Holosmith – Create holograms of weapons that will explode when overheated.

Guardian – Firebrand – Summon tomes and use mantra to protect allies and set fire to enemies.

Thief – Deadeye – Mark targets from afar, then blast them with your rifle for massive damage.

Warrior – Spellbreaker – Using two daggers, deny enemy spellcasters their abilities.

Mesmer – Mirage – Become agile and invisible and flit around your enemy.

Necromancer – Scourge – Place life force in the ground, using it to deal damage and to protect allies.

Elementalist – Weaver – Combine multiple elements to keep your opponents off-balance.

Ranger – Soulbeast – Combine with the spirit of your animal companion to imbue your attacks with their power.

Revenant – Renegade – Summon the power of a legendary Charr to fire conjured arrows from unseen allies.

New Guild Hall

What does every guild need to show off their power? To separate the successful ones from the failed starters and the waning and dying? What does a guild need to build relationships between members and have dance parties? Why, a guild hall of course! In Path of Fire, there’s Windswept Haven. A veritable oasis in the harsh desert for your guild members, if you’ve left your guild behind, or perhaps want to have a go at creating a successful and profitable guild, start your journey in Windswept Haven.

Okay that totally sounded like a cheesy advert for a hotel, never mind.

Rewards, Bounties, Story

Path of Fire not only brings all of the above, but it has new armour sets and weapons for you to collect that are suitably desert-esque. It also introduces Bounties. So you can gather your friends, head off into the wilderness and take down a boss for a hefty reward. You could even come to call yourself a…bounty hunter.

The story also continues from Heart of Thorns. I personally think that the Guild Wars lore is pretty cool, and the story missions are varied and exciting. I look forward every time to getting to the right level so I can play them. God of Fire Balthazar is back with a vengeance, and he’s setting the world aflame, carving a path of destruction through the land with his fiery army of death. Expect some pretty epic story missions.

Path of Fire, then, adds a lot more of what makes Guild Wars 2 great, like a scoop of ice-cream on an already exceptional brownie. If this even sounds remotely interesting, then at least check out the elite specialisations trailer here to see if it makes you want to start a new character…I know I do.

It’s OK To Suck At Games

I’m bad at video games.

There, I said it. I’m not good at them.

That’s not to say I’m bad at all video games, I think I’m *OK* at some kinds of games. I can get through an FPS on normal and RPGs are usually fine for me, and I’ve actually completed VVVVVV (yes, including Veni, Vidi, Vici).

Outside of those though, I’m bad at games. You’ll find me completing point and clicks with a walkthrough open, or sticking games on easy, or just not even bothering to play some others which are renowned for difficulty. If you’re talking about the simple ability to excel at video games, I do not have this ability.

But y’know what else? It’s OK! It’s absolutely OK to suck at games. Here’s why:

There’s No Prize For Being Good At Games

winner

If you’re playing a video game, absolutely no-one on the face of the planet will care if you’re good at it.

Even in multiplayer games it doesn’t matter. If it’s a team multiplayer then it’s how you perform in a team that’ll make the difference. If you’re solo then…well no-one cares!

Other than achievements, which of course are utterly meaningless, there’s no reward for being competent at video games. So why worry?

It’s OK To Chill

chill

Why put yourself through all that hassle of getting good? Just be good enough to get through the game and have a good time. That’s all you need to do if you want to play a particular game. And if the game is still too hard, walk away! Don’t torture yourself over a video game or about not being good enough. If Dark Souls isn’t your jam then that’s absolutely fine, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Saying You Have To Be Good To Play Or Review Games Is Gatekeeping

gatekeep

So you’re good at video games. Congratulations! But now you’re saying that only people who are good at video games can make videos about them, that only people who are good at video games can truly enjoy them, that only people who are good at video games can write about them?

Stop.

Games are for everyone. E V E R Y O N E. That’s it.

It doesn’t matter if you’re bad at them, what matters is that you appreciate them.

This is especially true for reviewers. If you’re a brilliant critic who can understand what makes a video game good or bad, and accurately convey that to other humans then who cares if you’re bad at the game in question?

Not me.

The People Who Do Care About You Being Bad At Video Games Are People You Shouldn’t Listen To

angry gamer

Think about the times you’ve played a multiplayer game and someone’s been ragging on you the entire game.

Think about if someone’s been bad at a game, publicly, and think about the comments that it’s got.

Are those comments good? Do you get messages in the middle of a match that’re helpful? Are they well thought out, well written, sensible?

No. They never are. They’re usually bile filled screeds of hate, of superiority, of wanting to keep gaming for the few and to keep people who are bad at games out of gaming.

So sod ’em. They’re clearly not the kind of people you should be listening to. It’s hard obviously because they’re everywhere and they’re LOUD, but you gotta try. Gaming is for you, it’s for them, it’s for everyone. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

So What’s The Conclusion?

hearts

Here’s my plan for True Gaming Fulfillment and a Better Gaming Community.

If you’re good at games or want to be good at games, great.

BUT and here’s the important part, don’t be a dick to people who don’t care or who aren’t good at games. Just let everyone be. If someone sucks at a video game, don’t tell them off, don’t belittle them, don’t fill their Twitter or Youtube channel with a billion comments about how they suck and omg f u and worse.

Just let it be, laugh at the bad footage if you want, but just let everyone be. It doesn’t matter, it’s not going to change how much *you* enjoy a game, and gaming isn’t going to be ruined just because someone who’s not even reviewing a game had some problems playing it.

So while you think about that, I’m going to go play some games. Badly.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Impressions

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a game where the wheel is rolling happily along. The wheel has been invented, it’s round and it works, so why reinvent it? WB Games have taken this philosophy to heart. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a game where if you’ve played the first you’ll not be too surprised at what you find when you crack open its skull and feast on the Uruk brains within. It’s not a game where suddenly it’s turned into an RTS, or there’s MOBA elements, or it’s an MMO.

It’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor 2. It’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. It doesn’t need to be reinvented because what it is, is damn good.

We got a chance to go play Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and if you were worried that micro-transactions etc. were going to ruin the game, we’re happy to report back that we didn’t see a single thing regarding them. It was very much in the mold of the first game, with items, upgrades, and skills being unlocked by things we found in the game world, not by paying a fee.

The game’s had a visual kick up the arse, it was running beautifully at 4k and we had the chance to run around quite a lot of the map, and we didn’t have any frame rate dips or issues. Obviously it was playing on a super powerful computer, but it felt good and responsive as we ran around the map, slaughtering everything we could.

Everything’s had a lick of paint, everything looks a whole heck better, from the world itself to the UI. The map for example is now 3D, letting you rotate it and zoom in on bits. The world itself, whilst still having that Mordor tang of depression, has a fair bit more colour in it. Well, orange colour. There’s lava ok? Lava. Lots of lava. It looks GOOD.

Talion has had some work done too, now when you choose your upgrades for him you get 2-3 options alongside each upgrade. This lets you tweak how he plays and make more meaningful decisions to upgrade your character. You only get to choose one of these options for each upgrade, and it’ll cost more to unlock other options so you need to be sure and careful when upgrading, but this allows some flexibility and customisation to your character, something that was a bit missing in the first game where it was easy to unlock everything.

He’s also a LOT more brutal. Seriously, you’ll start to feel sorry for the Uruks after a while as Talion stabs them in the eyes, rips off their heads and stamps on their…well you get the idea. He’s really not happy about fighting Uruks, and even simple takedowns can have you going ‘mate, Tally, baby, leave it’.

The Uruks are a lot tougher this time around though too, before when you lost to them they’d learn, level up a bit, and get better. Now? Use the same move a few too many times and they’ll pick it up. Just check this video where I was ambushed by a couple of Uruk warchiefs, the shield bearing one learns one of my moves and is able to counter it.

This means that you’re having to vary your approaches, not only do you have to pay attention to the weaknesses and strengths of each warchief, but you also need to pay attention to how you fight them when you’re engaging them. It’s similar to the Mr. Freeze fight in Arkham City, they’ll get stronger the longer you fight them just by the dint of them learning how to fight you back.

There’s a lot more to pay attention to in each battle now, enemies can drop glyphs you can pick up to upgrade your abilities. This means you need to keep an eye out in battle, as you might want to hoover up valuables before fleeing, especially if it gets too much.

Overall it’ll be familiar ground if you’ve played Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, but that’s a good thing. That was a brilliant game, and this is shaping up to be just as brilliant, whilst throwing in a few things that’ll keep it new.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is available for pre-purchase now.

Stable Orbit Vs Actual Orbit

Stable Orbit is coming out of Early Access on the 27th September and promises to bring with it a huge update that will add disasters, research projects and much much more.

Since October 2016, players have been building some pretty amazing Space Stations whilst Stable Orbit has been in Early Access, the game has got a pretty core following and it’s great to see that people are enjoying it. This got us thinking, with everyone who has played Stable Orbit, what is the average number of Kilometres that players space stations has travelled around the earth?

The following is based off of the average time gamers have played Stable Orbit, we have also taken into consideration that players use the fast forward option a lot when creating their stations.

On Average, How Many Kilometres Have Players Travelled?

Collectively, players have travelled an average of 28 billion Kilometres. This is the equivalent to  220,000 orbits of the earth.

The Maths

In order to work this out, the Green Man Gaming Publishing guys had to do a bit of maths. Here’s what they used.

The radius of the earth is 6,371km. The radius of the ISS orbit is radius of earth(6,371km) + height of the ISS(400km) = 6,771km
Circumference of earth= 2 x π x radius
Circumference = 2 x π x 6,771 = 127630.235
Kilometres flown = 220,000 orbits x 127630.235 = 28,078,651,775 Kilometres

That is an impressive amount of space travel right there, and that’s just by orbiting planet earth

What Is Dissidia Final Fantasy NT?

Final Fantasy is a franchise which is famous for its in depth RPG games, where players embark on an epic journey to rid the world of evil. Final Fantasy games are synonymous with their in depth story arcs, great characterisation and immersive gameplay that has gamers hooked for hours on end.

What has been overlooked over the past couple of years are the Dissidia Final Fantasy games, first released on the PlayStation Portable. Dissidia Final Fantasy is a fighting game that pits all various characters from the Final Fantasy franchise against each other in battle. This is the ultimate fight against good and evil, and finally, the Dissidia series is getting a home console release in the form of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

Technically the third game in the Dissidia series, NT is a brand new story which is ideal for new comers. At its core, NT is a fighting game where players are able to put their favourite characters against each other. So if you ever wondered who would win a fight between Noctis from FFXV and Cloud from FFVII then this game will hold the answer, provided you have the skills to execute the perfect attacks.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT isn’t just about 1v1 battles however, as fights are team based where players will be thrown into a 3v3 brawl. These fights can either be offline with players joining the battle with two AI characters on their side, or online where friends can team up to settle scores against other players.

How Does It Play?

NT plays like no other fighting game as players have to focus on building their bravery stat in order to cause damage to foes. Bravery is built by using and connecting bravery attacks which in turn build up your bravery points. These points are then used to determine how powerful your HP attacks are, HP attacks are used to inflict damage to your foes and the more bravery points you have accumulated the harder you will hit. Bear in mind that every time you are hit you will lose bravery points which adds even more depth to this games fighting mechanic as you have to balance bravery attacks with HP attacks in order to best your enemies.

Dissidia NT wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy game without summons and your team is able to summon some classic Final Fantasy beasts such as Odin, Ifrit, Bahamut and many more. Players will have to work together in order to gain the ability to summon, by destroying summon crystals that appear around the battlefield in order to fill up their summon bar. Once full, the team can summon, just bear in mind you will be vulnerable once you start summoning.

Characters

Probably the most important thing of any Dissidia game is the character roster. Dissidia NT splits the characters into classes, these include:

Vanguard – Vanguards are powerful but can be quite slow on the battle field

Assassin – Even though their attacks are not that powerful Assassins are notoriously speedy and hard to catch

Marksman – This class specialises in ranged attacks

Specialist – Specialists have their own attacks that do not fall into any other class

The full roster has not been announced yet for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT but here are the characters that have currently been announced so far:

Vanguards

Warrior of Light – Final Fantasy

Firion – Final Fantasy II

Cecil Harvey – Final Fantasy IV

Cloud – Final Fantasy VII

Garland – Final Fantasy

Sephiroth – Final Fantasy VII

Assassins

Squall Leonhart – Final Fantasy VIII

Zidane Tribal – Final Fantasy IX

Tidus – Final Fantasy X

Lightening – Final Fantasy XIII

Kain Highwind – Final Fantasy IV

Kuja – Final Fantasy IX

Marksmen

Terra Branford – Final Fantasy VI

Y’shtola – Final Fantasy XIV Online

Shantotto – Final Fantasy XIV Online

Ace – Final Fantasy Type-0

The Emperor – Final Fantasy II

Kefka Plazzo – Final Fantasy VI

Specialists

Onion Knight – Final Fantasy III

Bartz Klauser – Final Fantasy V

Vaan – Final Fantasy XII

Ramza Beoulve – Final Fantasy Tactics

Noctis from Final Fantasy XV has recently been announced, there is no confirmation as to which class he will be as yet. Our money is probably on Assassin seeing as his Armiger in Final Fantasy XV was pretty fast.

Jecht from Final Fantasy X has also been spotted in trailers, we expect him to be in the Vanguard class as he seems like more of a power based character.

Here is the current list of summons for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Ifrit

Shiva

Ramuh

Odin

Leviathan

Alexander

Bahamut

That’s all we know about Dissidia Final Fantasy XV so far, do you plan to get the game? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Stable Orbit Launching Out Of Early Access

If you have been following any of the Green Man Gaming Publishing titles here on our blog then you will probably be more than familiar with Stable Orbit. If this is the first time that you have heard of this game, here is a quick description from the publishing team:

“Space is dangerous. Survival is a challenge.

Design, build and control your own space station. Mission command and control is in your hands and only careful planning and vigilant supervision will keep your crew and space station safe. Manage scarce resources, survive a multitude of disasters and fund your station’s growth by completing research projects.

Stable Orbit is a highly realistic space management simulation game. Set in 2034, an unprecedented ‘All Nations Space Coalition’ has been formed around a shared desire to rebuild mankind’s permanent presence in space. But space is a dangerous place. The only things between survival and your crew suffocating, blood boiling and radiation overdose are the thin walls of the space station.

As Station Commander, can the crew rely on you? In the words of legendary NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz: “failure is not an option!”

Stable Orbit first hit Early Access on the 14th October 2016 and almost a year later, the game is due for full release. On the 27th of September 2017, the game is set to launch and promises to bring a huge update with it.

Stable Orbit version 1.0 will bring some game changing updates such as strategic orbital management, disasters including meteor strikes & airlock failures and a sandbox mode to allow free form creation of the mother of all space stations.

If you want to check out what Stable Orbit is all about, you can still purchase the game whilst it’s in early access.

Death Of The Outsider – How Billie Compares To Emily And Corvo

Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider came out last week and has garnered some rave reviews. If you are still on the fence and want to know how Billie Lurke compares to Emily and Corvo from Dishonored 2 then we have you covered.

If you want a quick refresher course on the powers Emily and Corvo had at their disposal during the events of Dishonored 2, then you can check them out right here.

Powers

Here is a break down of powers the that Billie Lurk can use in Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider

Displace – Similar to Blink and Far Reach from Dishonored 2, Displace allows Billie to get to those hard to reach places. Whether its to escape the heat of battle or just survey the area this power has you covered. Unlike Blink or Far Reach, Displace allows you to set a marker only you can see. Players are then able to swap places with said marker in order to get them to the vantage point they need.

Void Strike – This charged up attack allows Billie to push foes away from her; think Force Push from Star Wars, This power also allows the player to assassinate an unsuspecting target should this power catch them by surprise.

Semblance – Billie’s equivalent of Corvo’s possession power, Semblance allows players to take on the identity of their foe. So much so that they are able to talk to allies in order to open locked doors amongst other things.

Foresight – If you are one for planning ahead then Foresight is perfect for you. This powers allows Billie to leave her body and see what enemies lie ahead. This is a great power if you want to plan your next attack.

Gadgets

Voltaic Gun – A wrist mounted electrified projectile launcher. The Voltaic gun can be loaded with both lethal and non lethal ammunition. This deadly weapon can also but upgraded to be even more effective.

Hook Mine – Once played on a wall, floor or ceiling hook mines have a nasty tendency of drawing enemies to it, you can even booby trap bodies with them.

Hyperbaric Grenade – If you prefer the non lethal approach to Dishonored then these grenades con compacted air are ideal for you, perfect for taking out several enemies.

Rat Whispers – Much like Varys’ little birds in Game Of Thrones, Billie has a special talisman that is able to gather useful clues from the Rats roaming Karnaca.

How Does Billie Compare To Corvo

Billie has quite a lot in common with Corvo in that her powers are the most similar to his. They are however, not exactly the same, as it feels like Billie has vastly more superior versions of some of Corvo’s powers. For example Corvo’s possession allows the player to take control of one enemy/animal in order to remain undetected, however, semblance allows the player to interact with other enemies.

How Does Billie Compare To Emily

As Billie shares more similarities with Corvo, it is fair to say that both her and Emily feel and play pretty differently. Where as Emily uses more despite powers such as mesmerise, Domino and Doppleganger. Billie has a more offensive power set and is the better character to play as should you a higher chaos run.

Why Not Mix And Match?

If you feel like you want to mix and match power from Death Of The Outsider and Dishonored 2 then New Game+ is for you. Players are able to combine Billie’s abilities with Emily and Corvo’s move set make Billie the ultimate assassin. True you have to complete the game first in order to unlock this mode but this gives players even more incentive to play through and see what Death Of The Outsider has to offer.

If you haven’t picked up Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider yet, why not grab a copy from the Green Man Gaming store.

The Shadow of Micro-Transactions

Middle Earth: Shadow of War is coming out real soon, and we can’t wait. The first game, Shadow of Mordor, was a great mash-up of the fighting, climbing and stealth action we’ve learnt to love in the Batman: Arkham series, as well as the world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. There are some aspects of the Shadow of War game that have upset certain groups of gamers, making them swear off the title. In this article we’ll go into a little of why we think Shadow of War will be an excellent follow-up to the original game, but we’ll also talk about some of the more divisive topics that have arisen in the run up to its launch.

Before you read on, let’s address the elephant in the room; we at Green Man Gaming make our living by selling games. Therefore, we’d quite like you to buy this game… ideally from us. While this isn’t the reason for this article (you can make your own decisions, after all) it felt prudent acknowledge that we might be trying to persuade you to take a particular course of action.

Okay? On with the show.

Shadow Of War

Everything we’ve seen so far makes Shadow of War look like it’s going to be everything we loved about the first game, multiplied several times. There’ll be more huge fights, stalking enemies and nursing massive grudges against specific orc captains.

Introducing the new sieging gameplay, Talion will get to storm enemy strongholds and take them over, setting up his roster of orc and troll mates to look after it in his stead. Not only are you a wraith-possessed ranger-assassin, but now you are a commander of a full army, or even several, and your posse of randomised warriors will serve you as you command. The much-loved Nemesis system is getting upgraded, your lieutenants will even start turning against you, or being resurrected to fight on the enemies’ side. Ride dragons, fight a Balrog, chill with Shelob.

This game is going to be huge, and filled with intense Middle-earth action.

The Shadow Around The War

If we left this article here it would surely sound like a slam-dunk for anyone who enjoyed the original game. In the run up to release however, there have been several news stories emerge that have shaken the confidence of some players that were potentially viewing the game as a must-have. Revealing that the game would have a loot chest system, the presence of a $300 special edition, the poor communication surrounding the release of a charitable tribute. All of a sudden we’ve stopped talking about the game and all we can think of is how much we’re being hit in the wallet.

The announcement that a beloved member of the development team would be transformed into the optional DLC character Forthog Orc-Slayer with all the proceeds going to the family of the developer should have been seen as a nice gesture. Instead, it rapidly emerged that it was a little more complicated than that: some US states were exempt, as was the rest of the world outside the US, leading to the belief that the publishers would be pocketing the cash. As much as this isn’t the case, that it was unclear furrowed the brows of the exact same people who would have been most likely to donate in this way.

The presence of loot boxes in full priced games (and we’re no innocents here, but we’ll be talking about that soon) is not something that is widely welcomed. Okay, that’s an understatement, but there has been some acceptance of reward crates, loot boxes, call them what you like that offer cosmetic items. While not exactly seen as a Good Thing™ neither were they viewed as a reason not to pick up a game except by a hardline few.

When unveiling the contents of these loot boxes it turns out that as well as cosmetics Shadow of War will be offering captains for your army, training boosts, and weapons for Talion to use It’s okay though! You can buy these boxes with in-game currency, and as milestone rewards instead of real world cash – although real world cash can also be used. Is that actually okay?

Your wallet, Your Vote

If you disagree with games containing these kind of options you may think the best thing for you to do is to not buy the game in order to voice your discontent. You know what, in large enough numbers you might still have an impact and yet, it looks like being a really good game, and this means the likelihood any protest non-purchase may not be significant.

There is another way however.

What if almost nobody bought loot boxes? What if, rather than a rejection of the game as a whole, only the point of contention was vetoed? What if you only acquired the items you felt were acceptable, rejecting the others?

This is what I mean by voting with your wallet – every purchase you make is a vote. If you buy the game, it’s a vote that says, “this is the kind of game I want”. Every loot box purchased states, “I want to have this loot box in my game.”

Data Decision Making

Modern game development involves a great deal of analysis as to how different systems perform. From weapon strengths and weaknesses, to chapter lengths, player progress and, you guess it, in game purchases.

Changes to the game and all its trappings are dictated as much by this data as they are by public sentiment online, and by how the design team wish to evolve the game. If you’re not in that ecosystem, you’re not voting at all.

To Game Or Not To Game?

My opinion is that Shadow of War looks like being truly amazing, a potential game of the year, and I’m not going to miss out on that. I’ll decide whether or not to invest in loot boxes once I’ve got further into the game.

In-game purchases, whether you like them or not, are here to stay. How they evolve from here is up to you. It’s your decision to buy a game, or not. To buy an in-game item or not. Ultimately the choice is yours, but the way in which they evolve will be dictated by those who are voting… with their wallets.

 

The Cuphead Prototypes They Don’t Want You To See

Cuphead is coming! Finally after a lot of development, the Disney-esque platformer is coming to Xboxes and PCs near YOU.

But did you know this isn’t the first version of Cuphead? Before the design was finalised and the Cuppy Boy we now know was created, there were several different versions planned out.

Here’s just a few!

Cuphead FMV Game

cuphead fmv

Originally a horror game, this version of Cuphead featured an intense and dark atmosphere with a live cast, all made up to look like their heads had been replaced by Cups. As everyone knows, cups are one of the great fears of the human race, along with spiders, heights, other people, and Gordon Ramsay. Chilling.

Platehead

platehead

Cups weren’t the first crockery thought about after the team shifted to making a platformer, originally Cuphead’s head was going to be a plate! This went down well with the team and they even got so far as to make a test level. Unfortunately it was found that Platehead had a face that was just too big and devoid of emotion, so they went back to the drawing board for a more friendly eating item.

Spoonhead

garakhead

The third variation on Cuphead saw his head replaced with the humble spoon. This had life and a joie de vivre which the development team loved. They game was nearly complete when it came to light that Spoonhead is a derogatory term for the Cardassians from Star Trek. It turned out they’d even managed to replicate Garak from Deep Space 9’s head pretty perfectly, entirely by accident! Paramount’s lawyers are a fearsome thing, so the decision was swiftly made to alter Spoonhead’s head, again.

Duckhead

duckhead

Late in development, a focus group who played the game complained about being unable to empathise with a simple cup, so the development team went back to the drawing board again. This time they came up with the idea of using the most lovable creature known to humanity – the simple duck. Everyone loves ducks, they thought. Alas trouble reared its head again, as the duck implemented as the head wouldn’t stop quacking, giving everyone who played the game a splitting headache.

Cupheadhead

cupheadhead

The most avant-garde period occurred next, with the development team giving Cuphead an entire body, of Cuphead. The plan was that he would be able to shoot twice as many bullets out of his tiny Cuphead hands as before, and lend the whole game a Terry Gilliam-esque level of whimsy. The issues here arose from the fact that Cuphead’s body isn’t so strong, so he kept falling over, propelled downwards by the mighty weight of his tiny homunculus perched atop his shoulders. Shame!

That’s your lot! All the Cuphead versions that nearly existed but never did. It just goes to show that making a game is hard, and there’s a lot to think about when putting Cup to Head.

Cuphead’s available from our store right now, and it’s coming out on the 29th of September – this time with an actual cup for a head, none of that Duckhead nonsense, what were they thinking.

(Note to Cuphead lawyers, again, please do not sue us).

NBA 2K18: MyTEAM New Features

As NBA 2K18 is out next week we thought we would go ahead and break down the MyTEAM feature. There have been a plethora of new features added including two new game modes. Check out the break down below.

Player and Coach Packs

This year NBA 2k18 has a draft mode where you will be able to select players for your team. The draft mode can be compared to your classic trading card game, in that you will be given packs of cards to open and within those packs you will find top NBA players.

Peter Cornforth, the Associate Producer for NBA 2K18 stated in a dev blog, that “the fun of a pack draft is the excitement of building the best team possible with what you are given. Sometimes the universe throws you all-around superstars and sometimes it throws you role-players and unproven rookies.” The developers believe that this is the most realistic way of drafting new players into your team, as you have to focus on what you have in order to create the best team. There will be five position slots for gamers to choose from for your squad, so make sure you make the best decisions for your team and your lay style.

Coaches are also featured in card packs and play a bigger part this time around, one of the game modes that feature in NBA 2K18 will feature a new proficiency tech that will optimise teams on eight different systems. So the coach you pick from the pack will determine which system your team will run on. You need to make sure if your players are a good fit for your coach and vice versa. The players you select will have an effect on your proficiency system so bear this in mind when selecting your squad.

Playoffs

Playoffs consist of 5 on 5 games against other drafted teams. There will be four rounds of games which will then lead to the finals, each of the four rounds is a best of seven elimination where if players win four games they will advance to the next round, where as if you lose four you are eliminated. Every time you advance you will get to draft new players into your squad should you want to.

Prize boards will be making a comeback from MyTEAM blacktop as well as the addition of new exclusive players that you will not be able to get anywhere else. The prize ladder has also been added, so the further you advance in the playoffs, the better the prize you will receive.

Super Max

Super Max levels the playing field for everyone who is playing NBA 2K18. This feature adds a salary cap and season gameplay to competition online. This in turn creates an experience which will stay fun for all players. Each time a new round starts the cap in salary will be updated and players will have to build the best team possible with the cards that come under the salary cap.

Super Max incorporates a system that adjusts individual card cap values based on how often they are used by players. So if everyone uses the same card the cap value for that particular card will increase, if a card is popular enough it will then hit “super-max” levels.

The Super Max game mode itself will be a 13-man roster online game. In order to start this game mode players will be put into placement matches to determine their skill. From there you will be placed into a league with other players who are at the same skill level, this means you will always be paired with other teams that are at a same skill as yourself.

The more matches you win, the better your skills which means you will be able to progress through the leagues and have a shot at being the ultimate NBA 2K18 champion.

That is just some of the new features that are coming to MyTEAM in NBA 2K18. You can grab your copy of the game right here from the Green Man Gaming store.

 

Death Of The Outsider: Who Is Billie Lurk?

With Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider out this week we thought we would give you a crash course on who is Billie Lurk. So if you need a refresher course on the protagonist for Death Of The Outsider or just want to know who the heck she is then you can read more below.

Billie Lurke In A Nut Shell

Billie is a highly trained assassin and second in command to a group of assassins known as The Whalers. She is companion to the groups leader, Daud aka The Knife Of Dunwall who is the main protagonist for ‘the Knife Of Dunwall’ DLC for the first Dishonored game. Daud is one of the few characters who has been given the mark of The Outsider which grants him supernatural powers and through every mission he takes on Billie is right by his side.

After the events of ‘The Knife Of Dunwall’, Billie becomes boatman to Anton Sokolov in Dishonored 2 and aids Emily/Corvo in their missions.

The Knife Of Dunwall

Spoiler Warning: Knife Of Dunwall spoilers below

During the events of The Knife Of Dunwall, Billie performs recon and gathers information for Daud in order to help him out on his missions. Billie acts as Dauds eyes and ears and will comments on his action as the player progresses through the DLC.

At the end of the game, it is revealed to the player that Billie has betrayed Daud and planned to murder him. Billie believes that Daud has grown weak and unstable and plans to usurp him as leader of The Whalers. Billie challenges Daud to a duel where he defeats her. She then slips away without a trace.

Dishonored 2

Spoiler Warning: Dishonored 2 spoilers below

In Dishonored 2, Billie keeps her identity secret and disguises herself as Meagan Foster, a one armed sea captain and boatman to the philosopher Anton Sokolov. Foster aids Emily/Corvo in their missions in Karnaca and reveals herself as Billie Lurke and her affiliation with the Whalers in the final mission should the player maintain low chaos throughout the game. Players are able to tell her that she is a monster or that she has changed. If players tell her that she has changed, she will then seek out Daud who she considers as her true family.

Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider

Months after Dishonored 2, Billie finds Daud, He asks her to help out on his new mission to kill The Outsider. Billie is given powers of her own, both her missing arm and her right eye are replaced by Void technology. It is not known how Billie has got her powers but she will stop at nothing until The Outsider is defeated.

You can grab your copy of Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider from the Green Man Gaming Store right now.

Rocket League Introduces Tournaments

Psyonix has announced that Rocket League will be getting new features as part of the Autumn update and Rocket League’s season six.

The developers announced new Party and Tournament LAN modes will be coming after the Autumn update, which will allow PC players to organise competitions within the game’s client. Psyonix has also announced 90 new game items, a limited time Arena map and the Decryptor, which is an item players can use to open crates without using a key. These changes will come after the Autumn update.

NBA 2K18: The Neighborhood

NBA 2K18 has a wealth of brand new features, which makes the game not just about playing Basketball, but living the life of a true NBA star. One of the biggest features that has been added to NBA 2K18 is The Neighborhood. A social space for players to meet up with their friends, take part in activities and really build their character from the ground up. Here is what you can expect from The Neighborhood.

First off lets have a loot at the trailer to see what this game mode has to offer.

https://youtu.be/3EPHnjHu77g

What Do You Need To Do In The Neighborhood?

The overall goal of The Neighborhood and the MyCareer is to get your player to a rating of 99 as demonstrated in the trailer above with ‘The Road to 99’. There are a variety of things you can do in the Neighbourhood in order to rank up your character, such as mini games, street basketball in the parks, going to the gym, getting a tattoos at the tattoo parlour, heading to the barber shop, checking out Foot Locker for new shoes and you can even head on over to the clothing store to kit your player out with new clothes.

People who have tried out The Neighborhood say that the mode lacks direction in what to do next, surely this is a good thing as this open world allows you to do whatever you like, whenever you like.

2K have provided an infographic to give players a better idea of what this mode can offer. You can check this out below:

NBA 2K18 Neighborhood

Dive Into Create-A-Player

In order to experience My Neighborhood you are going to need to create your own NBA player. The character creation in NBA 2K18 has been changed around a bit since the previous game and now adds 189 different archetypes to choose from including hybrids, this gives players even more options when it comes to creating their perfect NBA superstar.

Players can earn bronze, silver and gold badges for each of the archetypes available. This gives an extra level of diversity and goes a long way to help players individualise their character. Players will also be able to use a face scanning app in order to give their character their very own likeness on screen.

NBA 2K18 is set to be the best Basketball game on the market. The Neighborhood feature looks like a great feature which will add even more depth to 2K18’s My Career mode.

You can pre purchase you copy of NBA 2K18 from the Green Man Gaming store right now.

Exclusive StormWorks: Build And Rescue Alpha

Stormworks: Build and Rescue is the latest title coming from Green Man Gaming Publishing and we are offering exclusive alpha access to the game.

What Is Stormworks: Build And Rescue?

Stormworks is the game where you design and pilot your own sea-rescue service, in a rich and dramatic physics playground.

Steer or fly your custom-designed, block based, programmable vehicles into fierce oceanic storms. Plan and execute thrilling rescues in a variety of challenging crisis scenarios.

Players will be able to design vehicles by placing blocks in a rich editing suite, decorate with paint, and program the behaviour using the powerful logic system. Choose from a wide array of tools and components for designing planes, helicopters, boats, and more. You will then be able to test your designs to their limit in a physics driven sandbox simulation, where your vehicles performance is a direct result of your design. Use the dial and indicator components to display feedback on the vehicles logic system, while examining your vehicle’s handling, buoyancy, and stability in fierce weather.

The day-night cycle, and dynamic weather system creates diverse environments, from calm still sunny mornings, to fierce stormy nights. Strong winds can turn the ocean simulation from gentle ripples to fierce heaving waves, all while the vehicles simulate a physically based displacement-buoyancy system.

How Do You Sign Up For The Alpha?

All you need to do is head to the Stormworks: Build And Rescue website where you will be able to sign up for the alpha. SO what are you waiting for? Sign up now and see what Stormworks is all about.

 

Tips For Tuning Your Car In Project CARS 2

Now that you have read what Live Track 3.0 has to offer in Project CARS 2, it will come to no surprise that tuning your car is essential. Fine tuning can make all of the difference from shaving valuable seconds off of your lap time to besting your rival. As you would expect, Project CARS 2 has a massive amount of tuning options which some drivers may find a little overwhelming. Fear not, as we have some top tips on how to tune your car to perfection.

Race Engineer Is Ideal For Newcomers

The tuning menus in Project CARS 2  come with a Race Engineer option. This option will give you a helping hand regarding your tuning options and will suggest the best tuning for your car based on some simple questions.

These questions are related to your driving and your perception of the car you want to tune. For example if you are having trouble with breaking in time you can state to the engineer that the car isn’t stopping in time before a corner, the engineer will then tune your breaks accordingly for you. The same can be applied to every aspect of the car including gears, wheels, suspension and more.

This is a great opportunity for players to learn how the car tuning works, as you are able to observe the adjustments that the engineer makes. This is the perfect way for newcomers to learn how the tuning options work so at some point, they will be able to tune cars without the Racing Engineers help.

Don’t Stick With The Default Gear Ratios

In a nutshell, gear ratios determine how quickly your car moves up through the gear box. The shorter the ratio is the faster your acceleration which helps with tracks that are riddled with tight corners. Likewise if a track has a lot of straights, you are more likely to prioritise your top speed over your acceleration meaning you want to assign longer gear ratios for your car.

With this in mind we suggest that you should change your gear ratios based on the track you are going to race on. We do suggest experimenting with gear ratios though as the general make up of your car and driving skill will also need to be considered. A couple of practise runs should help you come up with the perfect formula.

The Best Way To Approach Rallycross

You will soon find out that rallycross is a very different driving discipline compared to the other race types available to you in Project CARS 2. As rallycross is so different it requires a different type of tuning set-up altogether.

We suggest adjusting the resting hight of your cars suspension, so much so that your cars centre of gravity is as low as possible. This will make your car more responsive when turning corners as there is a high frequency of turns. This also helps with drifting which you will be doing a lot of in this game mode.

You should also consider adjusting your dampers as well. Go into the dampers menu and firm up the bump stop setting on both the front and the back. This will lessen the risk of bottoming the car out.

As well as the suspension we also suggest setting your rear tyres slightly higher than your front ones, this will help when drifting around corners, as the down force on the car will be more exaggerated on the front than rear, this leaves the rear wheels to focus on getting the car back to speed.

Manually Choose Your Tyres

The easiest way to get extra performance for your car is be selecting the correct tyres. Players are able to choose from slick, wet, ice and all terrain tyres, so make sure you choose the right tyres you need for the track you are racing on.

This may sound self explanatory but wet tyres are perfect for the rain whilst slick are great for dry tracks. You can then select the hardness of your tyre, once you work out what hardness of tyre works with what track you will have the extra performance you will need.

Bare in mind that the softer the tyre, the more grip you will have. This is great and all, but soft tyres tend to wear down easier. This means that in longer races you will be driving into the pits more frequently.

Hopefully this crash course in car tuning in Project CARS 2 will help you get the performance boost you need in races. You can pre-purchase the game from us right here.

What Is Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider?

Over the past couple of years we have had some pretty great standalone expansions, such as Wolfenstein: The Old Blood,  Halo 3: ODST, FarCry 3: Blood Dragon and more recently, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

With the success of the Dishonored franchise, Besthesda are set to release Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider. A stand alone DLC that has Billie Lurk on a mission to put an end to The Outsider once and for all. Here’s all we know about the upcoming expansion and why you should be excited for it.

What Is Death Of The Outsider About?

Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider is set a couple of months after the events of Dishonored 2. We join Billie Lurk who was Emily/Corvo’s partner in crime in Dishonored 2 as she embarks on a quest to end the “bastard responsible for all the chaos.” She is refereeing to The Outsider, a supernatural being who bestowed metaphysical abilities to both Emily and Corvo in the previous Dishonored games.

In an interview with IGN back in June, Harvey Smith the head of Arkane studios hinted that Billie’s new powers are related to the events of Dishonored 2 which left her “in one state and in another at the same time, which causes kind of a distortion around her”. This idea was first hinted at in the Dishonored comics.

This then clears up the mystery behind Billie Lurke’s new powers as it seems to insinuate that she has not been given the mark of The Outsider and has obtained her powers through other means. As we know the mark was given to both Emily and Corvo in the previous games, and we also learn in the Dishonoured expansion ‘The Knife Of Dunwall’ that Billie’s mentor, Daud was given the mark of The Outsider back in the year 1820.

Why Is The Outsider Billie’s Target?

That clears up how she got her powers but why is The Outsider her target? No official information has been released as to why she wants him dead, however fans have speculated that the chaos that has taken place over Dunwall and Karnaca was due to The Outsider bestowing his mark on Emily and Corvo. If The Outsider never got involved then events could have been dealt with in a calmer fashion.

Who Will Billie Come Up against?

Even though The Outsider is the main target. there will be several enemies you must take out before you come face to face with the supernatural brute. Players will take on the Sisters of the Ocular Order who are a holy chapter of the Abbey of the Everyman. You will also come up against the Eyeless-Gang who are obsessed with the Outsider and brand new clockwork soldiers.

Through out the game Billie will also receive additional contracts during missions. These are side quests which players are able to take on should they want some additional gameplay, the rewards for these additional contracts have not been confirmed however.

It has also been confirmed that, should you want to play the game again once you have completed it, you can do so with abilities from the original Dishonored 2.

That is all you need to know about Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider. Are you looking forward to the game? Do you have any theories as to why Billie Lurke wants to put an end to The Outsider? let us know in the comments section below.

If you still haven’t pre-purchased Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider you can do so from the Green Man Gaming store. We are currently offing 20% off of the standard and the deluxe bundle, so make sure you get your order in quick.