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

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

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

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

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

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.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider Launch Trailer

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is out today and Bethesda has released a new launch trailer to celebrate its arrival.

The trailer showcases gameplay footage, as well as the new abilities and powers you take on as Billie Lurk.

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:

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.

Rocket League: 7 Tips To Perfect Your Game

Rocket League is as huge as it has ever been! So We thought now would be the perfect time to give the gaming public some of our top tips, so if you are new to the game or just want to brush up on your rocket car skills then, these tips should help you out!

Switch camera views

We suggest switching your camera view in order to get the best understanding of your surroundings. The game gives you a choice of two default camera views, one that follows your car’s view and the other which follows the ball from the perspective of the car (aka the ball cam). To get the best understanding of your surroundings we suggest switch views often to get a better gauge on your surroundings.

Keep calm and rocket on

It’s never a good idea to panic in Rocket League, make sure you try to keep calm at all times. It’s easy to rush full speed to reach the ball, but sometimes it’s best to hang back and watch what everyone else is doing and then plan your attack.

Gain more air in your jumps

Most players don’t realise that holding jump rather than tapping it gives you more air. This little trick can come in dead handy to give you that little bit extra in a sticky situation.

Don’t chase the ball

More often than not, players will end up chasing the ball at some point. Try to avoid doing this, if a teammate already has position think about supporting him or get in a defensive position, it is a team game after all.

Use the air jump

If the ball has been launched high into the air then we suggest that players press jump, wait a beat, and then press jump again. This always gets you higher up quicker than someone who doesn’t use the air jump and you will soon have an advantage over your opponents.

Somersault to success

Driving forward and and double tapping jump will perform a forward somersault, a few of these will get you up to supersonic speed. Do this instead of always burning all your boost, save that for when you really need it.

Keep an eye on your boost

Make sure your boost is always topped up, last thing you want to do is, run out of boost just before you are able to score an amazing goal (This may also result in ridicule by your teammates). So it’s best to keep your boost topped up with the various pick ups that litter the field. Take it from us, it is handy to keep collecting the boost pick-ups as it could result in your opponents running out before they can execute that perfect aerial.

How Does The Summer Sale Work?

Over the course of the next couple of weeks we will be running daily flash deals, some of these deals will last 24 hours, others will last only 12 so you have to get in quick in order to get the best digital PC game deals this side of the solar system.

We will be listing the current sales over on our Summer Sale page where you will be able to purchase great games at a discount.

That’s not all as we will also be giving everyone an extra 20% off of their flash sale purchases. Just use the code SUMMER2017 when at checkout to take advantage of this huge discount.

One more thing, when you receive our confirmation email, you will also be given a special reward as a thanks for using Green Man Gaming.

We will be offering a variety of deals across over 7000 games, whilst highlighting some of the best deals and titles here daily on the blog and over on the Summer Sale page. So make sure you check back regularly in order to get some amazing deals.

So what are you waiting for? Head to our hot deals right now for some amazing discounts, brought to you by Intel.

10 Weird And Wonderful Video Games You Need To Play Now

When it comes to video games there is a plethora of weird and fun titles out there. Join us as we take you through 10 strange but amazingly enjoyable games that you should be playing, and if you have, why not discuss your favourites in the comments below.

Goat Simulator

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were a goat? If yes, then Goat Simulator is probably the closest you are going to get to that answer… sort of. Goat Simulator puts you in the hoofs of a goat as you explore possibly one of the most buggy open worlds ever. What’s even more crazy is that the game is completely designed that way, so you will be able to blow up gas stations with your tongue, fly around in jet packs, benefit from the completely outrageous physics system and even challenge oncoming traffic to a fight. It sounds mental but it is crazy fun!

I Am Bread

If being a goat isn’t your thing then being a slice of bread must be! In I Am Bread players take control of a slice of bread as it has to make it’s way to the toaster in order to live it’s dream as a lovely piece of toast. Players have to navigate from one side of the kitchen to the other dodging various obstacles and trying not to land on the floor. It is a pretty addictive and challenging game that will have you wishing that you were a slice of buttery toast for hours.

Super Kitty Boing Boing

A local multiplayer game for up to four players. Super Kitty Boing Boing has players controlling spring loaded cats across thee various game modes such as death match, coin collection and a game mode where you have to fight over a slice of toast. If you like cats, 16 bit style graphics and your love of toast goes further than I am Bread then this is the game for you.

Golf With Your Friends

Because golf without your friends is pretty boring, Golf With Your Friends has up to 12 players playing crazy golf. Currently in early access , this is a relatively straight forward golf game that is surprisingly addictive. You will play across six levels which increase in difficulty in some crazy locations. So if you and 11 other mates fancy some virtual golf then this game should be right up your street/putting green.

Super Meat Boy

If you love platforming games that are ridiculously hard then Super Meat Boy is for you! This platformer has players controlling Meat Boy as he risks life and limb in order to save his damsel in distress. You will control our meaty protagonist as he dodges seas of buzz saws, crumbling caves and countless amounts of spike filled pitfall traps. Quick reactions are needed for this game and you will die a lot, but when you do finally succeed you will be greeted by an epic wave of satisfaction.

Kerbal Space Program

Do you think you have what it takes in order to build the best space craft? How about a space craft that is able to fly into space without killing any crew members? It may sound straight forward but Kerbal Space Program encourages you experiment with all the parts that are supplied to you. You have to think and work out which part does what in order to make your space craft fly. Its a great concept that will have you creating some weird and wonderful flying machines.

Surgeon Simulator

Surgeon Simulator isn’t the most accurate game when it actually comes to accurately simulating surgery. In this game you will be given the tools available to you in order to perform surgery. It is then up to you what to do next. Perform the surgery? Start waving a scalpel wildly in the air until something happens? Remove the patience’ organs and replace them with house hold items? The choice is yours.

Psychonauts

If you think your games library is lacking a psychic platforming game then why not give Psychonauts a bash. Players control a Raz, a psychic soldier as he journeys through peoples brains in order to become a Psychonaut. Players will be thrown into various psychedelic levels and will slowly uncover a sinister plot which is both gripping and amazing.

The Escapists

Escaping prison has been one of life’s great mysteries, Shawshank did a great job of it, as did Prison break. but when it comes to escaping jail in video games then one game has it nailed. The Escapists is a puzzle game like no other, which has players trying to figure out inventive and creative ways to escape prison. Players will be required to use tools and anything else they can find around them whilst carrying on with their daily routine and not raising suspicion. It is a pretty great game that will have you thinking of the ultimate escape plan for hours on end.

Costume Quest

Halloween is the time of year where almost everyone around the globe dresses up and goes to parties or more importantly goes Trick or Treating, Costume Quest takes the idea of trick or treating and makes it into an brilliantly fun action RPG. Players choose to control Reynold or Wren who are siblings that have just moved into a new neighbourhood. It is up to Reynold or Wren to embark on a quest to save their twin from the clutches of an evil monster before they break curfew. this is a light hearted RPG that anyone and everyone should play.

Have you played any of these games? Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.

What You Can Expect To Find In Shadow Of War, War Chests

Last month, Monolith and Warner Bros announced that Middle-earth: Shadow Of War will be featuring loot chests for players to purchase with in game currency. Whilst this move is a little controversial, both Monolith and Warner Bros have assured players that the loot obtained from these chests can be obtained in Mordor.

There are two types of chests that players can purchase, loot chests and war chests. Loot chests give you new runes, weapons and armour which Talion can equip, whilst war whests add orcs to your army, give you training orders to make your orcs stronger and spoils of war boosts that will make your army stronger.

After scouring the internet, We have broken down the types of war chest you are able to get in Shadow of War. Check out our War Chest break down below.

Note: The Mythril War Chest still remains a mystery, however this is what you are able to get from all the other chests. We will update this article as soon as we get more information.

Assassins war chest

Recruit 3 orc assassins to eliminate your enemies.

3 orc assassins: At least 1 legendary, and 2 epic orcs.
2 consumables: From any of our training orders and a two-hour spoils of war boosts.

Olog Reinforced War Chest

Recruit three orc followers including at least one Olog.

3 orc assassins: At least 1 legendary, and 2 epic orcs.
2 consumables: From any of our training orders and a two-hour spoils of war boosts.

Bounty Earners’ War Chest

Recruit three orc followers, ready to kill players seeking their bounty.

3 orc assassins: At least 1 legendary, and 2 epic.
2 consumables: From any of our training orders and a two-hour spoils of war boosts.

Silver War Chest

Recruit a pair of orc followers, including at least one epic follower.

2 orc followers: At least 1 epic orc.
1 Consumable: Either training orders or a two-hour spoils of war boost.

Gold War Chest

Recruit three powerful orc followers, including at least one legendary follower

3 orc followers: at least 1 legendary and 2 epic orcs.
2 consumables: from any of our training orders and a two-hours spoils of war boosts.

Act 2 Starter Bundle

This is a starter bundle of chests which Forge your Army with powerful followers and spoils of war.

Note: We can only assume that these bundles are linked to how far you have progressed through the story, with more bundles unlocking as you progress.

5 gold war chests
5 two hour spoils of war boosts
1 starter training order chest

That’s just a taste of what you will be able to gain form the Shadow Of War War Chests. Will you be investing in any on your travels through Mordor? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Best Rocket League Videos

Rocket League is as popular now as it was when it was first released. The amalgamation of football/soccer and car racing has captured the imagination of gamers around the world. It also has it’s own pro eSports league, and is the perfect game that any gamer can pick up and play. A true title that is easy to play but hard to master.

So when players manage to pull of epic goals, tremendous saves and some mind bendingly awesome tricks then it is truly something to behold. We have scoured the depths of YouTube in order to bring you some of the best Rocket League montage videos out there. You can check out our top 5 below.

JHZER is a Rocket League pro who specialises in freestyle play. You can check out his channel here.

Rocket League cinema is a dedicated community which loves to share montages, gameplay, fails and much more. Check out their channel here.

Rocket League FX specialise in the eSport league and pro gamer highlights. Check out their channel here.

https://youtu.be/x97oiLS8FzY

TheLlamaSir focusses on Rocket League news, trading, and more! If you want to know everything and anything about the car racing soccer game, be sure to check their channel out here.

Prestige Clips focus on games such as Rocket league, GTA V, Battlefield 1 and more. If you want a good dose of fail and stunt videos then check out the channel here.

Do you have a specific Rocket League montage video you would like to show off? Then why not throw us a link in the comments section below.

If these video’s have given you an appatie for Rocket League and you have yet to play this awesome game yet, why not grab a copy from the Green man Gaming Store.

What Is The Worlds Adrift Island Creator?

Yesterday, Boss Studios announced their Phase 1 update for the the Worlds Adrift Island creator. This update is introducing the first wave of new gameplay features and also expands on the customisation options players will have available to them in order to create some truly amazing islands.

What Is The Island Creator?

The island creator is a free tool that lets players explore and customise their very own floating island. As you can imagine, floating islands are land masses that are suspended in the sky which players are free to explore as they please.

Once you are happy with your island creation, it then has a chance to be featured in the full Worlds Adrift game for players to explore, as each island is hand picked by the developers. What’s great about the island creator is you are free to create almost anything you desire. From ship wrecked islands, to unexplored cave like structures.

Currently players have created over 8000 islands which are ready for exploration in Worlds Adrift. With the Phase 1 update, players will be able to add even more variety to their creations.

The Phase 1 Update

The Island Creator Phase 1 update adds a plethora of new features, such as non-climbable materials, spikes and barbed wire. This means that players will be able to create traps and puzzles for any unsuspecting explorer who has come to their island. Turrets have also been added to the island creator, three varieties of turret have been added which are listed below:

Light Turrets – Standard turret that will shoot players
Explosive Turrets – Equipped with explosive rounds, these turrets can also target ships
Tether Turrets – These turrets are able to reel in their target and shock them.

This is the first Phase update of three, the further 2 updates will be rolled out with the closed beta.

If the concept of creating you own island sounds a bit daunting then the developers have you covered with this handy video guide. Check it out below.

Worlds Adrift Closed Beta

Green Man Gaming and Bossa Studios have teemed up to offer our customers access to the Worlds Adrift closed Beta. Keys are available now through our website and will give you exclusive access to the weekly closed beta sessions that Bossa Studios will be hosting. Keys will be sold here on Green Man Gaming from 5pm Every Wednesday for a few days at a time, so if you want to get your hands on Worlds Adrift, now is the perfect time to do so.

Ever, Jane – A New MMORPG Set In The Jane Austen Universe

If, like me, you grew up in the wild green fields behind Northanger Abbey and lived through the sharp tongued Elizabeth Bennet and danced grandly through the halls of manor houses, swinging on the arms of young gentlemen as Emma, then you were an Austen fan.

Since the books, Austen’s work has been brought to life again and again through mini-series, films and book spin offs and now, there is a game, Ever, Jane. So what’s it all about? The open beta is out now, so read on to see how you can join in and live in Austen land, you’ll never want to leave.

Ever, Jane

Ever, Jane is an online RPG set in a virtual world of Regency England, combining the beautiful settings of Jane Austen books. Instead of a sword, you’ll have your words, instead of armour, you’ll have tea and instead of dungeons and evil creatures, there will just be dinner parties with awkward conversations.

Set in the quaint village of Tyrehampton, where the houses are fully customisable, so you can decorate to your taste are tree lined and perfect. You can play online with friends to explore the town and travel onto the Estate for special nights of dancing, or go to the local parlour for some chit chat. Now in open beta, Ever, Jane is the sophisticated MMO we’ve all been waiting for. The game is available in Update 5, with the team saying they are working on adding more stories and we hope, controversies, to the game.

What Can You Get Up To?

As with any Jane Austen novel, wit is the weapon of choice and the Austen characters have bundles of that. Since the game earned $110,000 in Kickstarter in 2013, the beta hasn’t been live long, kicking off in August and now you’ll be able to enter the Austen world and utter grievances under your breath, but politely speak up.

You’ll have a choice of just how polite is polite, a gentle nod, a light curtsy, or a deep curtsy? Your status, kindness, duty, happiness and reputation in Tyrehampton are all in your hands as you gallivant around town spinning tales. You’ll also have passive character traits, such as wit, wealth and beauty, which are affected by your actions throughout the game, such as learning language or dance.

The Gossip System allows you to ask about lies and gossip and spread your own news to fellow residents. You and other players will be alerted if your name crops up in conversations too much, so don’t get caught in your own lies.

You can sign up to the live beta now on the Ever, Jane website.

Why Frank West Is The Biggest Badass Of The Zombie Apocolypse

When it comes to surviving the zombie apocalypse, Frank West from Dead Rising has to be one of the best apocalypse survivors in video game history. With his in your face attitude and creative spark that enables him to kill zombies in a manner of different and inventive ways, Frank West is an inspiration when it comes to Zombie extermination.

But how did Frank West come to be? Why has he become one of the biggest zombie apocalypse bad asses this side of the 2000’s. Here’s a break down of what Frank has been doing since his debut in 2006 and why you should give the Dead Rising games a go if you haven’t already.

Who Is Frank West?

Before the zombie apocalypse hit, Frank was a highly renowned photo journalist. Photo journalism has its risks, especially for Frank as he was shipped out to all sorts of volatile locations including war zones in order to get the latest scoop. Unlike many photo journalists however, Frank loves danger and the sense of adventure that comes with it, he also is capable of handling himself in combat situations.

His thirst for danger and his ability to handle himself in violent situations has made him quite the celebrity in photo journalism circles.

The Events Of Dead Rising

Looking for his next big scoop, Frank is lead to the town of Willamette, Colorado where he is able to snap photos of the first known zombie outbreak in US history. Things take a turn for the worst however as Frank finds himself stuck in Willamette Parkview Mall whilst the outbreak escalates. He has to survive the zombie hordes for three whole days before his private helicopter can get him out and air lift him off of the roof.

During this time he is met by a whole host of psychopaths who have been driven mad by the zombie apocalypse. Examples of these deranged killers include; the resident mall clown who has an unhealthy obsession with chainsaws and a shopkeeper who will stop at nothing to protect his store, seriously he will kill anything!

After his three day residence with most of the zombie population of Willamette and an ever growing list of psychopaths. Frank West escapes with the photo snaps he needs, and a few more kills under his belt.

Dead Rising 2 Case West And Off The Record

Case West

Even though Dead Rising 2 is centred around Chuck Greene and his exploits in the Vegas-esque Fortune City, the ‘Case West’ DLC has Frank come to the knock off city of sin. He teams up with Chuck (after killing a zombified version of the main Dead Rising 2 antagonist, and reality TV host, Tyrone King). Frank and Chuck team up to take down Phenotrans Pharmaceutical company as they have framed Chuck for the zombie outbreak in Fortune City. What proceeds is a bonkers scenario where Frank is able to construct a whole host of different zombie slaying devices out of house hold items.

Off The Record

Off The Record is a ‘what if’ story, which puts Frank in Chuck’s shoes. The main idea behind Dead Rising 2 is that the whole of Fortune City has been changed into a reality TV show where contestants have to survive the zombie hordes against their will. As you can imagine, Frank makes light work of this using more crazy weapon concoctions such as a bike with mounted chainsaws. Nice!

Dead Rising 4

Fast forward to Dead Rising 4 and Frank is back as the lead protagonist. As Frank has been around zombies for quite a while now he is now more pragmatic, sarcastic, cynical and less sympathetic to humans. He is relentless in killing zombies this time around as he is able to use a hydraulic power suit as well as his keen eye for creating some completely off the wall weapons.

In Dead Rising 4 not all goes well for Frank as he is finally turned into a zombie, luckily he is found by Dr. Blackburne in order to give Frank control of his body back. Zombie Frank now comes with a hoast of super human abilities such as Enhanced Leaping, Increased speed, Acid spit and howl that can disorientate any humans in the vicinity.

As you can see, Frank West is possibly the biggest bad ass when it comes to the zombie apocalypse, especially when he is part zombie himself. Do you think anyone else is better? Leave us a comment below.

All You Need To Know About Black Desert Online’s Savage Rift

Black Desert Online has released its Savage Rift game mode. In this game mode players must defend the Sealed Tower from waves of monsters. If you are into your tower defence and are an avid Black Desert Online player, then Savage Rift is for you.

Who Can Play Savage Rift?

The Savage Rift game mode is available to players who are Level 56 or above. Be aware that a maximum of ten players will be able to participate in a Savage Rift event. Games will start automatically if at least eight players have joined. Once the 4th wave of monsters has been defeated then other players are able to join in on the action.

How Does Savage Rift Work?

Raids will last for about 30 minutes, with a total of 25 waves of monsters to defeat. The raid will end either when the Sealed Tower you are defending is destroyed, all players are defeated or the waves of monsters have been vanquished.

Each wave will be stronger than the last with some waves even including bosses such as Red Nose and Giath. Make sure you take down these bosses when you can as you will get the chance to loot them for rare items.

Points Mean More Defence And Also Prizes

When you take down any monster during Savage Rift you will be rewarded with points. These points can be used to purchase exclusive Savage Rift items that will help you on your ongoing quest to protect the Sealed Tower. An example of one of the many weapons you can purchase with these points can be seen below.

Note: Savage items that are purchased can only be used during Savage Rift.

Points can also be transferred between team members should you want to help a buddy out. You can even have multiple team mates transfer points to one team member in order for them to purchase a better weapon. This could be a tactical advantage should you want one member of the team to focus on flying enemies such as Harpies, with the best weapon possible.

Points will also need to be spent on items such as medical kits, as resurrection spells do not work in Savage Rift. It is also worth noting that defeating bosses will also resurrect team members as well.

Rewards

Players will be rewarded for completing Savage Rift. If players are able to pass stage four they will receive some Gold Ingot and Combat XP in relation to what stage they reach. If you are able to complete Savage Rift and protect the Sealed Tower through all of the 25 stages you will receive the maximum of 70 Gold Ingot for your team. Taking down bosses will also reward you with additional rare items and boss gear, just make sure you hit the boss at least once to reap the rewards once it has been defeated.

Now you know what to expect from Black Desert Online’s Savage Rift game mode, why not give it a go and let us know what stage you manage to make it to in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Mastering Combat In Absolver

When it comes to fighting games such as Absolver, it can be quite hard to master the combat system, especially under pressure. After getting some hands on time with the game and learning the ropes a bit, we thought it would be a good idea to come up with a breakdown of how to master combat in Absolver. Check out our handy guide below.

Note: We suggest using a controller to play Absolver in order to get the best out of the complex combat system.

Classes

Here is a breakdown of the three main classes you get to choose from at the start of the game.

Windfall – The Windfall class is fairly easy to use as these fighters are pretty nimble. Players who are skilled in Windfall are adept in avoidance and sidestepping which comes in useful when you are trying to find the perfect opening for attack.
Forsaken – The Forsaken class uses more reactionary based moves as these fighters are able to parry attacks. The class is great for players with lightening fast reactions.
Kahlt – The Kahlt can absorb some damage from attacks. Their fighting style is more straightforward, meaning this is a good entry level class if you are new to this type of game.

Not Your Typical Fighting Game

When it comes to fighting opponents, one of the first things you will probably try and do is button bash your way through combat. Fight this urge, as opponents will be able to counter you pretty easily. Think about your moves, and be sure to block and avoid where possible, look for opening and attack with precision.

Managing Stamina Levels

At the bottom of the screen, you will see a white bar which represents your stamina. It is important that you manage your stamina effectively. Depleting your stamina will leave you open to attack. Blocking uses stamina as well as attacking, so make sure you are avoiding moves in order to conserve your stamina and strike when the time is right.

Feint Attacks

Feint attacks are the perfect strategy should you want to bait your opponent, these are executed with a simple button press (left trigger on the controller). Executing feint attacks in this way can be super effective when used correctly. You will only have split second to take advantage of your opponent’s opening once a faint attack is successful. Remember, practice will make perfect, so don’t be afraid to pick yourself back up again in you fail.

Stances

Stances in Absolver allow players to attack and defend from different angles. Stance switching maybe a bit fiddly to start off with but once you get into the rhythm of it then it will become a staple for battle. The best way to think about stances is to compare them to a game of rock, paper, scissors. You will soon realise that some angles work against others and so on. Take the time to practise and analyse your stances accordingly.

Fight In Order To Learn New Skills

The only way you will be able to build up your arsenal of attacks is by fighting. Moves are learnt by defending against them in battle and if you defend against a move enough times you will learn it. This is the same for stances as well so the more you fight the better you will become.

Combat Deck

The combat deck is the perfect place to practise moves and customise your move set. Take full advantage of this when you can as you are able to customise your moves to fit your own personal play style.

These tips should get you well on your way to mastering Absolvers complex and satisfying combat. Do you have any tips of your own? Then let us know in the comments below.

If this guide has got you hungry for Absolver, then why not grab yourself a copy from the Green man Gaming store right now.