Page 66 – Green Man Gaming Blog

Why It’s Time To Revisit Fallout: New Vegas

If you’ve been on the internet at all over the last few years, you’ll have heard a rumbling in the distance. Every time the words ‘fall’ and ‘out’ come together, the rumbling coalesces into words. New Vegas they chant. Fallout: New Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas. FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS.

The sound becomes a cacophony, you can only hear the syllables echo through your head, FALLOUT NEW VEGAS the voices shriek, blood begins to pour from your ears, darkness comes from you. The last thing you hear before you fall to the ground is Fallout. Fallout: New Vegas.

So why does Fallout: New Vegas cause such passion amongst fans? Take a look at the reaction to our Fallout Games Ranked article, universally the response was ‘New Vegas should be top’.

Maybe you’ve played it but not touched it for a bit, or maybe you’ve never played it. Here’s why you should revisit Fallout: New Vegas, cos they’re right. It is brilliant.

It’s Been Patched

It’s no secret that Fallout: New Vegas was a bit…buggy on release. Enemies spawning inside rocks was common, quests were unfinishable, the game would crash occasionally, and the physics engine couldn’t quite cope with people being blown apart, Robocop style.

Thankfully since then we’ve had some patches which have improved the stability of the game no end. It’s in a much better condition than previously, and whilst yes, enemies still like to spawn inside rocks and attack you, most of the bugs that would actually interfere with your ability to play the game are gone.

That said, if you do come across bugs…

Mods Exist

Modders love to mod, and Fallout: New Vegas has a billion mods that can turn the game into anything you fancy. Even at a basic level, there’s a few quality of life mods that are probably worth taking no matter what, such as the Unofficial New Vegas Patch, which fixes pretty much everything that Oblivion weren’t able to.

But if that’s not enough for you, why not update the textures? How about making the game more difficult and varied? How about more weather? More weapon mods? New missions?

Look basically, if you want a thing, there’ll be a mod for it.

With The World Right Now, It’s Appropriate

What are the Fallout games about? In general themes.

The first is about saving your people.

The second is about saving your people.

The third is about finding your dad.

The fourth is about finding your son.

New Vegas is about deciding which ideology you think should take a pivotal role in rebuilding the post-apocalyptic West USA.

This isn’t a politics blog but due to the range of values and ideologies present in New Vegas, there’s certainly parallels you can draw between the in-game fiction and the real world. Maybe the idea of a demagogue riding the wave of popularity using people’s worst tendencies strikes a nerve? Not that we have anything to say, of course. Wouldn’t dream of it.

The Soundtrack Just Gets Better and Better

The New Vegas soundtrack lacks the jolliness and ‘funny’ songs that you get in Fallout 3 and 4…and it’s all the better for it. With the wide open deserts in front of you, a soundtrack full of cheer wouldn’t fit. Instead you get songs about Johnny Guitar, Sin, being Mad About the Boy, it’s soulful stuff and it hits hard, and as you get older it’ll just hit even more chords.

Well, there’s also spurs that jingle jangle jingle, but you need a little light with the dark.

The DLC Is Not Always Great But When It Is…Wow

I’ll be honest here, some of the DLC is troubled, especially when it comes to actual play. Honest Hearts is a bit simplistic, Lonesome Road is a corridor shooter, and Dead Money takes a turn into survival horror with a game engine that creaks around the edges.

But forget how they play. Lets talk themes.

Honest Hearts is all about pacifism and how to deal with a threat, it’s about dealing with your past and either running away from it or facing it.

Old World Blues is palate cleanser, it’s comedy in a wasteland that has little. It’s a laugh when you’ve been surrounded by guns and misery for hours. It’s needed. And also it’s about finding your place in a world that’s changed around you.

Lonesome Road is about providing a dark parallel to your own journey, about showing you the consequences of your actions, even when you didn’t think those actions had consequences.

It’s Dead Money that hit hardest for me. It’s about letting go. It’s about moving on. It’s about realising that you can’t have everything, and maybe having everything isn’t always the best. It’s about greed, and the follies of greed.

I’m going to link the ‘good’ ending of Dead Money here because it’s beautiful. SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED IT.

I er…I’m not crying. You’re crying. Shut up.

BRB Reinstalling

New Vegas is a brilliant game and one that, despite some of the visuals, has aged incredibly well. It’s like a fine wine, it gets better all the time.

Also right now, it’s currently dead cheap in our summer sale. So maybe check it out if you haven’t, and if you have checked it out, maybe give it another go. The Mojave desert is waiting for you, courier.

5 Reasons Watch Dogs 2 Is Better Than The Original

Watch Dogs 2 was quietly a success, mostly overlooked because of the average-ness of its predecessor, it didn’t do enough to convince gamers that it was that much of an improvement, as well as coming out alongside some heavy hitters like FFXV, Dishonored 2 and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. However, I’m here to tell you it’s the Watch Dogs game you deserve, and you definitely deserve to pick it up in a sale and give it a go.

The Setting

Watch Dogs 1 took place in Chicago, whereas the sequel has moved the game to shiny San Francisco. Not only is the topography more interesting in SF, but the city is well-known as the home of the tech industry, Silicon Valley lies just outside the city, and therefore fertile ground for a story and characters that revolve around being on the cutting edge of technology and a all-connected world. Nothing against Chicago, but it was quite grey and, as far as I’m aware, does not have a high number of tech giant HQs and campuses. San Fran is colourful, varied and has a permeable atmosphere that is the best ground for a Watch Dogs game.

The Characters

You play Marcus Holloway, and unlike Aiden Pierce, he has a personality and a dress sense. In fact you can buy new clothes like in GTA, so even if you don’t like the character you can change his look. But why wouldn’t you like Marcus? He’s witty and clever, he has a group of cool hacker friends and is just as likely to sneer and make a jab at that person taking endless selfies and pictures of their food as you are. Personally I like his style and his agile movements, he feels like a young criminal out to undermine the huge organisations that are totally taking over the world, man. The characters may be more larger-than-life than before, and that may turn people off, but let’s face it, would you prefer too much personality or too less?

The Story

As I’ve already mentioned, Watch Dogs 2 takes place in San Francisco amongst the fictitious tech giants that closely align to our own. Super corporation Nudle is their Google equivalent, and the game addresses several topics that concern us today like privacy, security and an always connected world, but fronted by an innocent, altruistic, almost religious marketing. Even bugbears such as not being able to use a gadget because the new version has removed the port make an appearance, it feels like Watch Dogs 2 definitely knows it’s audience. Marcus is part of a hacking group called DeadSec, which is a more glamorous version of real-life hacker group Anonymous. They have cool branding, even cooler outfits and Marcus can put headphones on during missions to listen to music. Because what young person doesn’t wear their earbuds at every opportunity?

Hacking 2.0

The world of Watch Dogs first captured the imagination of the gaming industry when it promised a city that was entirely connected, and hackable from your character’s phone. Traffic lights could change, cameras could be switched off, even intercity trains could be controlled. What resulted was a lot of shoot-outs, car chases and admittedly cool melee takedowns, but hacking was seen as just too much effort. Now though, you can sit across the street from your objective and, using drones, hacked self-driving cars and other gadgets, you don’t even need to draw a gun. This fits the fantasy of being a master hacker. You don’t need anything apart from your phone and wits. You’re like the bad guys in Die Hard 4.0, scaring everyone shitless with your ‘e-bombs’.

Cool Tech

Like most Ubisoft games these days, drones are there in all their glory. I think the Tower Designer at Ubisoft was sacked and then brought back on with a fake moustache as Drone Designer. Either way, drones and more tech means that the hacking potential is so much higher than before, and Marcus controls a mini-army of robots and electronic systems to overcome his missions. It’s not just mission critical stuff either, Marcus can use his phone to call Uber-like taxis, create music playlists and snap selfies. Watch Dogs 2 has taken the premise of the first game and really ramped up the parts that should’ve made it stand out in the first place.

Have you played Watch Dogs 1 or 2? Do you agree that 2 was better? You can pick up Watch Dogs 2 in our Summer Sale right now.

Why It’s Time to Revisit XCOM 2

Let’s face it, nothing beats the feeling of sending your favourite squad out to complete a mission, take out some aliens and miss at point-blank range. It always happens. But with the expansion coming soon and The Long War mod out right now, there’s no better time than to start a new run of XCOM. Yay!

War of the Chosen

The major expansion is coming to XCOM at the end of August, so there’s enough time to finish up whatever game you may be playing, and get ready for a playthrough. If you haven’t bought the game yet, but you want to start off with the new content, you can buy it right now in our sale! War of the Chosen will add more content than any other XCOM expansion, with 3 new bad guys each with their own sect of soldiers, factions you can sway and recruit from, new soldier types, weapons, and levels, as well as a new type of mission that takes place in a zombie-infested map. Gunfire attracts the zombies, so it’s finally an opportunity to bring that 6-man melee squad you’ve been dreaming of.

The Long War

The Long War is a mod for XCOM that increases the difficulty, complexity, and content for the game. It gave the original XCOM bucket loads more replayability, making the game longer but also more customisable. The same people are back again for the sequel, and quickly added so much to the game that it could be a new sequel in itself…and yet it costs nothing! Adding in new weapons, modifications, character customisation, mission types, and coming complete with a suite of minor upgrades that people should really get to things like AI, UI, and skipping those annoying camera movements that make you watch your soldier for 3 days after he missed his shot. For God’s Sake Roboute you had one job.

Raving Rabbids

You may know that Nintendo are making an XCOM-esque game with Mario and Raving Rabbids. If you’re a fan of these franchises, then you’re going to be incredibly excited and want to get as much practice in as possible in XCOM….or, you’re not eight years old, and you want to play the proper version as it’s meant to be played with proper guns, story, cool abilities and difficulty. So whilst the world of gaming media is creating endless articles about “Actually, it’s really fun!!!!” you can be sure that you’re playing the proper title of this strategy genre, the one that started it all, and the one that every gamer actually cares about.

Are you picking up War for the Chosen? Is it going to convince you to play another run of XCOM 2?

Wolfenstein: The Evolution Of B.J. Blazkowicz

With the announcement of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and the hype train slowly ramping up for Wolfenstein once again. We thought we would delve into the background of the series and protagonist B.J Blazkowicz. As you can imagine, Wolfenstein: The New Order was not his first outing, so here is how the character has evolved over the years.

Wolfenstein 3D

Back in the days of Wolfenstein 3D, Blazkowicz’s pixel count was a lot lower than what he is used to in this day and age of gaming. As Wolf 3D was the dawn of the first person shooter, most of Blazkowicz’s air time was devoted to his head, which featured at the bottom of the screen and acted as a visual health bar, getting sadder and bloodier the more health you lost.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Fast forward to 2001 and B.J. Blazkowicz has been given a PlayStation 2/Original Xbox era make over. Blazkowicz teams up with his best American agent buddy Agent One (maybe his birth name?) must escape castle Wolfenstein. Also battle through an oncoming horde of the undead, because it wouldn’t be Wolfenstein without some mad hatched Nazi plan. With the inclusion of a more thought out story and some pretty good looking graphics, B.J. Blazkowicz got a reasonable make over compared to his 1992 counterpart.

Wolfenstein RPG

In this iOS outing, B.J. Blazkowicz’s head has returned to the bottom of the screen. In a game which can only be described as a shiner Wolfenstein 3D. Blazkowicz has to escape ‘The Tower’ and then infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein to put a stop to the supernatural evil that the third reich is conjuring up. By this point you would think that Blazkowicz would be getting a sense of ‘Ground Hog Day’ the amount of times he has had to stop the Nazis and save the world.

Wolfenstein

Released during the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation, Wolfenstein 2009 was a reboot of sorts that put Blazkowicz in an alternate timeline where the Nazi’s were tapping into a alternate dimension in order to harness its power to create some pretty awesome looking laser guns and anti gravity weapons. With it being the Xbox 360 and PS3 era the graphics looked pretty top notch with Blazkowicz himself looking pretty hi-rez. Those green lasers were pretty as well.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

As Wolfenstein didn’t do as well as the developers wanted, the series received another reboot in the form of Wolfenstein: The New Order. Now running on the IdTech 6 engine (it’s so pretty) Blazkowicz is looking the best he has ever been. What’s also quite cool is most of the game is set in an alternate 1960 where the Nazi’s won the war. There is also large fire breathing mechanical dogs known as Panzerhunds which are pretty awesome. The game also got a stand alone DLC called Wolfenstein: The Old Blood where Blazkowicz is tasked to infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein (would have been rude not to).

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

The sequel to The New Order, this game will carry on the story, yes that’s right a Wolfenstein game that isn’t a reboot or an alternate storyline. Huzzah! The game should be releasing on October 27th. You can also check out what bonkers things we saw in the trailer here.

So that is how B.J. Blazkowicz has evolved over the years, from a simple pixelated man to the Nazi killing power house you see today. Still kind of wish they carried over some of the weapons from Wolfenstein 2009 though, those were great.

Wolfenstein The New Order and Wolfenstein The Old Blood are both in our Summer Sale!

Top 5 Reasons to Play…Dragon’s Dogma

Dragon’s Dogma is a game that’s talked about in hushed tones, no shouting from the rooftops here, it’s just a whisper. Play Dragon’s Dogma people will whisper to you. You take a wrong turn in your home city and before you is graffiti saying ‘Dragon’s Dogma’. The Scrabble tiles fall on the board and they read out D R A G O N S D O G M A. A skywriter leaves Dragon’s Dogma in cloud letters from horizon to horizon.

But why should you care? Why does anyone care? What’s special about Dragon’s Dogma?

Heres our Top 5 Reasons to Play…Dragon’s Dogma.

Best Dragon

The titular dragon from Dragon’s Dogma is called Grigori, and he’s a lad. Big of chin and big on eating hearts, he certainly stole mine when he first turned up. He’s not a pretty boy, but that’s a good thing. He’s no sylph like creature from Pern, or a two legged Skyrim flapper, he’s a big boy who wants to nom on your heart and make you prove yourself to him. He only really appears a few times throughout the game, but what an impression he makes on you every time you meet him.

Best Pals

Pawns are your player created buddies who join you on your adventure, and who tell you what’s happening at all times. They’re a chatty bunch and their cheery companionship really makes the game. Want to know if a tree is big or not? The pawns will know! Want to know if your pawns are wet? They’ll tell you!

You can turn their banter off but only monsters do that, and you’re not a monster are you?

Best Plot

I’m not going to spoil the plot for you, but Dragon’s Dogma is a sneaky old thing. It starts off a bit weird but generally standard, ‘a dragon has eaten your heart, go kill the dragon’. From there it goes nuts, and it really goes nuts in the endgame. What starts out as a quest for dragonslaying becomes a meditation on player choice, as well as making every single person’s experience of the game canon. It genuinely is amazing how the game shifts in narrative, and it’s got to be experienced to be believed.

Best Beast Fights

You’ll encounter big ol beasts from the tutorial onwards, and when you do they’re always thrilling. Towering over you, often your only choice is to scale them and thwack at their body parts up close. Playing like a version of Shadow of the Colossus but with good controls, you’ll often find yourself upside down on a cyclops’ face trying to plant your sword in its face. And that’s before you get to Bitterblack Isle and meet what lurks there.

There are also few joys like discovering that a beast you feared and ran away from is actually defeatable. Coming back with your pawn mates and giving the big bosh on a chimera that was troublesome earlier in the game is a joyful thing, and cathartic as heck.

Best Rooftop Noises

You can do a surprising amount of parkour in the main city of Gran Soren, and the little click of your feet on the tiled rooftops is honestly the best sound in videogames. It’s almost worth the entry fee just to hear that.

So there, if you’re not thinking about grabbing Dragon’s Dogma now, then read this article until you buy it. It’s in our Summer Sale too right now, so get it while it’s hot!

Sleeping Dogs – Why It’s Top Dog

Sleeping Dogs will probably never get a sequel. That’s something we’ll just have to live with, the world is falling apart, it’s cold out there, wolves are at the door, and Sleeping Dogs will never get a second entry in the series.

It’s not all bad though, because Sleeping Dogs still exists. My name is Alex, and I’m here to tell you why Sleeping Dogs is the best GTA game that’s not made by Rockstar, and why you should play it if you haven’t.

So sit your pork buns down on your favourite motorcycle and get ready to head to Hong Kong.

What is Sleeping Dogs?

Sleeping Dogs is an open world GTA-like by sadly defunct United Front Games. Set on an almost-real-life version of Hong Kong, you play Wei Shen, an undercover cop who’s returned to Hong Kong after years abroad working for the police in the US. Your job is to infiltrate the Triads to bring them down from within, all the time trying to balance on the tightrope between being a cop and the growing empathy Wei Shen feels for his criminal compatriots.

Haven’t I seen this film?

And you’d be right, it definitely channels Infernal Affairs, which was remade in the US into The Departed. It also channels things like Jackie Chan’s Police Story series, given that there’s a whole HECK load of kung fu going on in this game.

So tell me how Sleeping Dogs looks

Sleeping Dogs is beautiful. There’s no other way to describe how well realised its world is. During the day it’s all bleached greys from the concrete, which isn’t pretty but it’s accurate to the setting.

Then the sun sets, night covers the city, the heavens open, and the neon shines out from every building.

That’s when you know you’re somewhere special, that’s when it all makes sense. During the day the game is good looking but so what right? A million games are good looking.

It’s the night that brings the wonders out, and Sleeping Dogs sells its setting well and it sells it hard. It knows it too, because the game starts at night in the Night Market, and it uses the engine to full effect. The wet floor reflects the neon, there’s people everywhere, and your jacket sticks to your skin with the rain.

Everything else looks good too don’t get me wrong, but it’s the night-time that’ll really take your breath away.

You mentioned fighting

And there’s a lot of it! One of the wise things that United Front Games did was basically use the Batman Arkham series as a basis for the combat system. Just like in Batman, it works perfectly here feeling fluid and responsive and giving you loads of options to batter your way through Hong Kong. Sleeping Dogs’ system also ties in a lot of environmental attacks, allowing you to grapple people and smush their face into nearby fans, or throw them in dumpsters, or toss them on an unlikely-but-vicious nearby crate of upturned swordfish.

It’s a rewarding system that’s gruesome at times, and as you progress through the game there’s optional unlockable moves you can learn which will see you breaking bones, stunning enemies, and smashing them with roundhouse kicks.

The map’s filled with little red dude markers which indicate a gang of thugs that you can just drive up to, hop out of the car, and then have a bit of a barney with. The world of Hong Kong is apparently just aching for you to go smash people in the gabber.

There’s also side stuff like a series of arenas, as well as a whole DLC section set on a mysterious island that’s inspired by 70s kung fu films.

How do the vehicles feel?

Nippy.

OK you’ll want more than that, this game came out between GTA IV and V, and after IV the vehicles are a joy to drive. They’re quick and nimble, at least the faster cars are, and they have that slightly-arcadey feeling to them when you’re zooming about Sleeping Dogs’ Hong Kong. You can drift and pull handbrakes, and you can even jump from car to car hijacking them.

Motorcycles are where my heart lies though, just because you are so incredibly nimble on them. You can zip in between oncoming traffic, hop over ramps, slide down side streets and alleys and then ramp them up into your house.

The trucks feel like trucks, the cars feel like cars. Do they feel realistic? Probably not, but they feel good, and that’s what matters here.

There’s loads of races and challenges to complete too, so if you get into the cars, you’ll be rewarded.

There are challenges?

So there’s challenges from the game, and there’s also meta-challenges.

The game has races, side missions, Guitar-Hero-esque karaoke, gambling, cock fights, combat arenas, gold stars to unlock for achieving certain tasks, and a million collectables to get through.

But if that isn’t enough for you, there’s also meta challenges that activate when you’re doing certain activities.

Say you’re driving along, minding your own business, and you haven’t crashed or gone under a certain speed for a little while. A little timer will pop up which’ll be measuring your “Safe Driving” time, and it’ll start counting up.

Now that’s not too special by itself, but what it’ll do is compare that time to your friends list, and then rank you appropriately.

This means that almost anything you’re doing, you have this nagging voice in the back of your mind that if you keep doing it, you can beat your friends. For example, this led to me being chased by the police for over 9 minutes across the city as I tried to outdo my friends. Conversely, I still haven’t managed to beat the half an hour my friend Mick has managed to achieve for driving safely, and I have absolutely no idea how he’s managed that.

What’s Sleeping Dogs’ story like?

So I mentioned this a bit earlier, it’s influenced by Hong Kong kung fu films, as well as crime dramas like Infernal Affairs.

SPOILER WARNING

The story starts off with Wei Shen being arrested after a drug deal goes wrong, where it turns out that the whole thing was a setup so you could meet up with a former friend who’s joined the Triads, who is now languishing in jail.

This is your way into the world of the Triads, where your job is to bring them down and see them arrested. Which over the course of the game you’ll find increasingly hard to do, as Wei Shen’s sympathies and actions draw him ever close to becoming a criminal.

The mechanics of the game also play into this narrative, by rating you as you complete missions on how well you satisfy the Triads, as well as how well you satisfy the police.

Run over someone or smash up a car, and the police will be less happy with you and you’ll get fewer rewards for your police progression at the end of the mission. Similarly though, if you’re not brutal enough or do enough takedowns, the Triads will rate you lower. Since your rewards get turned into progression on a skill tree, you really want to maximise both trees.

Overall though it’s a satisfying story with a payoff in the form of a roaring rampage of revenge, and the bittersweet ending that films like this often have. It satisfies, but it isn’t happy. Wei Shen is a bland lead, but by being bland you can project your own personality and reasoning onto him, it avoids the GTA: San Andreas pitfall of having a character be so obviously a nice guy, followed up with hour after hour of running over grannies while you drive police cars. Wei Shen is dull, but because he’s dull, you can be anything, you don’t have to be nice or nasty, you can just be whatever you like.

SPOILERS OVER

What skills do you get then?

Honestly this is one of the few weak points, most of them are either obvious so you feel you have to take that one, or they’re a bit unappealing so neither option really matters. For example, one police upgrade allows you to take weapons from the boots of police cars. I can tell you how many times I used that on the fingers of a hand without fingers.

On the other hand, there’s an upgrade that lets you steal cars without smashing the window. It’s a no-brainer that, especially for that un-smashed window aesthetic.

Even the new combat moves don’t matter that much, as outside of breaking limbs I didn’t end up using too many of them. But that’s me, and I enjoyed blocking and countering enough without having to delve too deep into learning moves.

I heard it’s a bit sexist

Yeah it is a bit. It’s a videogame, and you know videogames haven’t got a great handle on female characters. You get to have multiple girlfriends and romancing them gives you a bonus, such as showing all the hackable security cameras on your minimap. You date them a bit and then you get awarded a bonus, which means the women aren’t people in this game; they’re just momentary barriers on your way to more rewards.

The only good point for women in this game is when one woman you’re dating breaks it off with you because you’re seeing multiple women, so why can’t she see multiple men? It’s the only real moment of life for female characters in the game, which is a shame given the rest.

You’d still recommend it though?

Too right I would. That aside, the storyline is solid, the game mechanics are rewarding and fun, and there’s an almost never ending series of things for you to do but rare for this kind of game, you end up wanting to do them. It’s the only game I have ever got every achievement for (humblebrag) and that should tell you something. I love this game, flaws and all, and you owe it to yourself to check it out.

If you like films set in Hong Kong or GTA games, this is a game you definitely should be playing.

I haven’t even mentioned the hacking minigames, the boats, the size of the world, the pork buns, the clothing options, the pork buns, the mission variety, the pork buns, or the pork buns yet.

Sleeping Dogs is available now in our Summer Sale!

Top 5 Reasons to Play…Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 are the best zombie co-op shooters you can get.

Don’t @ me, that’s fact. Cold hard facts taken from my fact barrel from which I take all my facts.

They’re also in our Summer Sale, so you can grab ’em at undead prices. Which is a phrase that doesn’t make a huge amount of sense but to be honest I’ve written it now and I’m not going back and changing it. They’re cheap OK, go buy them.

If that doesn’t whet your appetite for some zombie shooting action or you haven’t played them before, here’s my Top 5 Reasons to Play…Left 4 Dead. Let me try to convince you.

It Forces You To Work Together

A lot of co-op games are really just single player games in co-op clothing. You run along and do your own thing and you get through the level anyway.

Not so in the Left 4 Dead games. You have to work together, if you go running off the AI director will see that and will launch a special infected at the outlier, or send a horde in, or just ruin your day some other way.

In Left 4 Dead you need to cover each other, you need to have a plan, you need to make sure you’re healing each other, sharing pills, saving them from infected. It’s a true co-op game, one where failure or success is defined by your ability to work with your zombie killing colleagues.

It’s Never The Same Game Twice

Left 4 Dead has an AI director, meaning that it’ll change up how the game goes depending on how well you’re doing and your actions in-game. If you’re doing well, it’ll throw tougher enemies at you. If you’re struggling, you might find that the game gets a little easier. In the sequel it even stretches so far to do things like change the layout of a graveyard or how much rain comes down during a flood, so the levels, in a limited sense, change up between plays.

In addition to that, just the variety of infected you’ll face mean your game changes depending on what you’re facing. You’ll walk around a corner and a Boomer will be there, causing a panic. You’ll be stood on a cliff when a Charger knocks you off, causing a panic. You’ll wander off to investigate something and a Smoker will strangle you, causing a panic.

All this means that while you can learn the game, you can never be wholly at peace with it. It’s scary out there, and there’s surprises lurking in the night.

Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!

If you hate your co-op partners you can use the voice commands in-game to shout a character’s name, over. And over. And over. And over.

Let me tell you, it never gets old. Especially if someone’s playing Bill in the first game. Yelling Bill at them over and over while zombies run at you? They’ll hate you forever.

Great stuff.

You Can Hit Things With Pans

In the second game Valve added a lot of melee weapons, including pans. Now if you’ve been playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds you know that pans are OP. In Left 4 Dead 2…it’s not, but still it makes an incredibly satisfying ‘spang’ noise when you hit someone. Much like when Vic and Bob used to wail on each other back in the 90s. Imagine this:

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

But with zombies.

They’re Just Brilliant Games

Look here’s the hard sell. They’re both incredibly tight games, with pacing that varies and keeps you on your toes, with weapons that are fun and satisfying to use, with enemies that are varied and often hard to kill, especially when they team up.

You end up relying on your fellow humans in ways you often don’t in other co-op games. No team killing here, you’ll just die when the zombies turn up on your doorstep.

And that’s before mentioning that you can mod them, that there’s other game modes than just the standard campaign, or that the story’s actually pretty decent even though you only see it in little segments.

Also Nick’s the best character in it, don’t @ me.

Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 are available in our Summer Sale for a heavily discounted price. Go grab ’em, you won’t be sorry!

Best Games You Might’ve Missed In Our Summer Sale Part 1.

So yes, Summer Sale. By now you probably have heard of it. If not, go check it. There’s a lot of games being discounted as part of it, and we’ve got new deals on some top games every 12 hours.

But what about the other games? The ones that aren’t getting a fanfare behind them, that aren’t getting a trumpet blown their way. What about those games?

Well here’s what I think are some smaller games, some unsung heroes, that you should check out as part of our sale.

Warning: This article has been written by Alex who is a notorious opinion-haver.

Anachronox

Made by Ion Storm, those who made the superb Deus Ex (and the less-than-superb Daikatana). It was heavily mismarketed at launch and you’d be forgiven for thinking it a dull corridor game set all in grey. It’s not, it’s the most imaginative space sci-fi hardboiled detective cyberpunk game there is, and it needs to be played to believe just how many ideas they throw at the screen in this game.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

It’s the best Assassin’s Creed game and the best pirate game and probably one of the best games. FACT.

Batman: Arkham City

Arkham Knight is the biggest and largest, Arkham Asylum has the benefit of focus, but Arkham City does the best at making you feel like Batman. From the beginning to the very end, you’re Batman in this game. You are Batman. You’re Batman. Look if you’re not excited about being Batman then I don’t know how to talk to you anymore. Buy it.

Beyond Good and Evil

Pick it up and see just why everyone’s been shouting about a Beyond Good and Evil sequel for the last decade. It’s good, combining third person action, stealth, and puzzle solving, with a semi-open world, great characters, and a cracking story. And you get to take a lot of photos. Great stuff.

Call of Juarez – Gunslinger

The Call of Juarez series doesn’t get great reviews, and for mostly good reasons. But Gunslinger’s different, it’s a tale set entirely in flashback, being told by a person with a slightly…hazy…recollection of events. This means that the tale skips and changes as you play it, meaning that while it’s basically an FPS, it’s one with incredibly interesting narrative trappings around it. Worth a look.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Before Arkane did Dishonored, they did the Greatest Kicking People Into Things Simulator. If you like kicking people into things, this is the game for you.

If you don’t, then this isn’t for you.

But still the swordplay is excellent as well.

Dropsy

Scary/funny clown has point and click adventures and he can’t talk much and doesn’t understand why people are a bit..unnerved…by him.

Great art style and a brilliant sense of humour about it all. If you like point and clicks, get it.

Gray Matter

Otherwise known as What Jane Jensen Did Next, you know you’re in for a great point and click adventure when Jane Jensen’s involved. The legendary creator of Gabriel Knight’s at her best here, so grab it if you’re even slightly interested in her work.

Jalopy

You’ve got an old car, an uncle, and you’re travelling across the country in a Soviet-bloc inspired world. It’s got heaps of atmosphere and a wonderful world made of roads to explore as you putter across the landscape.

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days

The sweatiest and most offensive game yet made, with an aesthetic taken right from handycam footage and Hong Kong action films. It’s an interesting game to play, even if it’s not maybe the best game you’ll play. But at this price, it’s worth taking a look.

That’s part 1 of the best games you might’ve missed in our Summer Sale…part 2 will follow soon! Did I miss your favourite? Hit me up in the comments!

RPGs In The Summer Sale You Should Own

RPGs are great, aren’t they? A lot of games these days have taken the best parts of RPGs, like levelling, tech trees, branching stories, inventory management, literally all the best parts. Sometimes though you find a proper RPG that nails all the right things, and you feel as excited as someone about to roll a d20 to see if they hit a gelatinous cube with a hammer.

We’re covering a lot of games in our Summer Sale, and I’ve picked out some RPGs that if you don’t own, then you owe it to yourself as a gamer to check them out immediately.

Fallout 4

The Fallout series is well-known for its sprawling post-apocalyptic maps, it’s interesting characters and stories, as well as branching questlines that you can pick up inanely and lead to a world-changing event. Fallout 4 continues the trend of putting you in the shoes of a vault-dweller who is coming out into the sunshine and toxic environment to steal, murder and mod your way to finishing a semi-interesting main quest, and the vastly more fun side-quests. Separate factions rule the overworld, and it’s up to you if you want to join one, or not at all. For example, Brotherhood of Steel get awesome mech suits, but they’re apparently ‘not nice’. Or you can join some other guys, if you want. I guess.

Pillars of Eternity

Pillars was kickstarted and made by RPG veterans Obsidian Entertainment. They wanted to know if gamers were interested in an old-school CRPG, and the resounding answer from around the world was “Hell Yes”. What resulted was indeed an old-school CRPG using the DnD d20 system, and featured quirky party members, traps that kill you unfairly, mad difficulty spikes and millions of lines of dialogue. A younger gamer may find this hellish but to a certain audience this is the best kind of nostalgia – the kind that is used as a foundation to bring what made the old games great into the modern gaming scene.

Tyranny

Like Pillars, Tyranny is a CRPG but made by Paradox. They took all the familiar mechanics but made one solid difference…you play the bad guy, and you’ve already won. What follows is you trying to put down a rebellion by dealing with your boss’s two bickering armies. He’s sent you to whip them into shape, and pretty much under pain of total annihilation, work together. You can choose to side with one or the other or neither, but it’s a very interesting way to play an RPG, you almost never start as the most authoritative person in the land. There’s a bunch of other mechanics as well that are genius and show that it’s not just a CRPG with pretty textures. Give it a go and see for yourself.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Cyberpunk is, probably, one of my favourite eras. The blend of present day with unknown, futuristic technology, the commentary on our own society and where it can possibly head, and playing a edgy cyborg with retractable Oakleys and swords coming out of his arms. The plot may be a bit convoluted but it looks great and the customisation means there are so many ways to play the same level. The levels are designed to cater to different play-styles too, so you can go all shooty-shooty if you want (if you’re BORING), or stealth around, hiding in vents, finding secrets, chopping up enemies from behind and hacking their own turrets to shoot them. It’s a solid shooter and if you’ve dabbled in cyberpunk and have the itch, this will definitely satisfy.

Heroes of Might and Magic III HD

You guys, just stop whatever you’re playing. I don’t care if you’re in your promos for Master League or nearly finished Persona 5. You need to play Heroes of Might and Magic III. This is one of the most brilliant RPG strategy games. I first played this when I was 10 years old, and now the HD remake is out I still play it, with the same friends. Everything about it is satisfying, to going out exploring the map and nabbing all the resources, to fighting the wild creatures, building up your city and heading out with massive stacks of creatures before finding your mate who’s gone Necropolis and taken all Vampires. Ugh, forgot to say no-one can pick Necropolis. The single-player campaign is great too, and will take you a lot of hours to finish. Once you’ve done that, there’s Chronicles that has 8 more campaigns, and 2 expansions. This is the 90s.

Those are definitely not all the RPGs in our sale, but they are some of the best. And if you buy something and end up hating it, let me know and I’ll convince you to have another go, but definitely make sure to check out these RPGs in our Summer Sale.

Top 5 Reasons to Play…The Orange Box

For most of you I can imagine that this article won’t mean much. You’ve played The Orange Box and you know what it’s all about, so great, I hope you have a lovely time playing it. This article isn’t for you.

It’s for the others. Those out there who missed out on those heady days in 2007 when Valve announced that they were going to package up some smaller games and sell it as The Orange Box. Those who didn’t get the games then, or maybe have been so saturated by bad memes and references that the idea of dipping into The Orange Box is anathema to them.

This is for you, it’s to convince you that despite the bad memery, the nonstop cake references, the hat memes, that there’s something wonderful in this box for you to dive into. It’s 5 Reasons to Play…The Orange Box.

Portal’s More Than Cake

Ha ha the cake is a lie ho ho ho ho what a fun time we have with that meme.

No.

The spawner of a million tired jokes about cake, people often focus on the comedy in Portal which is brilliant, but they often forget that Portal is also a wonderful and smart puzzle game.

Played almost straight at the start, it’s only later that the comedy comes to the forefront. For the first few section of the game the atmosphere is more oppressive, with a focus on twisty puzzles that send you hurtling through portals like a bullet through a windsock.

It’s a smart game that has brilliant writing, but that shouldn’t overshadow that it’s a game first, and a narrative experience second.

Half Life 2 Is The Best FPS

You’ve probably heard everyone banging on about Half Life 2, and for good reason. It’s still brilliant and still holds up today. The lessons that Half Life 2 teaches us, about showing not telling, about setting a scene, about telling a story, about how to engage the eye, still aren’t listened to by the majority of videogames. So if you haven’t played it before, now’s the time to dive in and grab some Half Life 2 action. And you’ll get to experience Highway 17, officially the best part of the game (and almost the best part of any game). I envy you.

Find Out Why Everyone Wants Half Life Episode 3

You’ve probably heard people shouting about Half Life 3 or Half Life Episode 3…well play the second episode and find out why! I won’t spoil the ending for you, but surely you want to join in with the yelling and believe me, after you finish Episode 2, you’ll be yelling. And you’ll understand why some of us have been yelling for ten years.

Team Fortress 2 Is Still Great

It’s still one of the best team based FPS games out there, don’t let the internet tell you otherwise. It has clearly defined classes and everything is balanced to perfection. It’s free now too, so if you haven’t given Team Fortress 2 a shot yet, give it a shot now. Then read the comics, because let me tell you, Valve know how to make a comic.

The Cake is a Lie

Ugh ok you can play Portal for the memes too, I can’t stop you. They’re good memes Breen.

So there you go, 5 reasons why you should play The Orange Box. If you haven’t picked it up yet, it’s part of our Summer Sale, so go check it out!

Games You Wish We Had In Our Summer Sale

Sooooooo we’ve got a Summer Sale happening right now. Oh you didn’t know? Well here’s the link, go on, have a browse and see what’s there. There’ll be some cheap games and new deals every 12 hours.

Right that’s the selling bit out of the way, let’s go onto the things you wish we had in our Summer Sale.

I asked you on Twitter what games, from anytime and for any platform, you wish we had in our Summer Sale. Here’s what you had to say!

No-One Lives Forever

The best stealth 1960s FPS that has ever existed, NOLF is pretty hard to get these days and it’s not clear who owns the rights to it. This was pretty popular amongst our followers, so yeah, I agree, it’d be brilliant to bring NOLF back to the masses, to let you roam free across the rampant spy-scape that is No-One Lives Forever.

Spider-Man 2

NOT the PC version. Got to make that clear. The PC version was much simplified compared to the webslinging delight that was the PS2 version, and it’s that version that you asked could be remastered and stuck on sale as part of our Summer Sale. We’d love to oblige! Someone tell…er…Spider-Man?

Rock’n’Roll Racing

Blizzard’s best racing game has been mysteriously absent from Blizzard’s own platforms for a while now, so go on Mike Morhaime, give us the rights and let us whack it up, we’ll sell it. No problem, we’ll even give you a cut. That tasty tasty Rock’n’Roll Racing money Mike, you know you want it.

Goldeneye

I’d be very happy to see this on our store, a PC version all remastered and done up nice and pretty. Just as long as you can’t choose Oddjob. That’s my only rule. Rare and Nintendo? Get on it, ta. You’ll make our followers very happy.

Battletoads

Well you said you wanted Battletoads, but I bet a billion dollaroos that 99% of the people saying Battletoads haven’t played it, because if you’d played that racing level with the jet skis you wouldn’t be asking for Battletoads. But hey, we want to make you happy, so maybe we’ll stock Battletoads.

We won’t.

Probably.

Robowarrior

Alright hands up, I don’t know this one at all. But googling it, I’ve found out that it’s an action/puzzle game for the NES, and the person who suggested it says that “Once you figure out the way the game is played it’s a hell of a good time!” so that’s enough of an endorsement for me to take a closer look at it!

Starlancer

It’s made by Wing Commander supremo Chris Roberts and it’s a space dogfight sim like Wing Commander, so that’s a ringing endorsement right there. The world needs more space, and with Elite Dangerous and Chris Roberts’ future project of Star Citizen on its way, it’s the right time for Starlancer to make a comeback.

Well those are the games you’d apparently most like us see put into our Summer Sale. Which to be honest…feels unlikely. But it’s good to have goals right? Gotta strive, and maybe one day we’ll be able to announce that Battletoads and Spider-Man 2 are coming to our store. So keep an eye on our Summer Sale page, as it’s changing twice a day with new offers!

Top 5 Reasons To Play…Mad Max

Mad Max is the unsung hero of the car driving dude punching desert genre. Well, it’s probably the only car driving dude punching desert game, but what a game it is. It came out to a muted response, but it knows what it is and it does it incredibly well.

So you’re on the fence, you want a new game and you’re looking at our Summer Sale, but you don’t know what to get. Here’s 5 Reasons to play…Mad Max.

The Cars are Great

You get a load of cars, or at least you *can* get a load of cars, but the Magnum Opus which is your main companion throughout your dusty adventure is just a brilliant vehicle to get behind the wheel of and go on a little rampage. You can customise its loadout and how it handles, stick different wheels on it, get heavier armour, and this all changes how you drive. If you’re heading out into the desert you’ll want tyres that can handle that, but if you’re assaulting a base maybe you want to be armoured in layers of thick steel. There’s upsides and downsides to almost every decision you make regarding your car, but it never ever feels like a chore. Your car is your baby, it’s your mobile home, and it’s made to kill.

It Steals From The Best

Arkham Asylum has the best melee combat in the business, and there’s a reason why everyone nicks it. Sleeping Dogs did it, Shadow of Mordor did it, and Mad Max does it. And it’s great! It works, you have varied enemies and it’s never not fun to absolutely smash their heads in with brutal takedowns. It’s got the level of brutality that I’ve only really seen in things like The Last of Us, and here it really works in this post-apocalyptic setting. It’s challenging too, there’s quite a few bases where you’ll have to fend off hordes, and it might take you a few tries to get through them. Throw in a few weapons you can pick up and an unlock system that lets you determine how good you want to be with those weapons, and you’ve not only got yourself a combat system that’s brutal and fun, but one that’s also got surprising depth.

The Story’s Alright

Look it’s an open world action driving game with RPG elements so you don’t expect that the story will be any good, but surprisingly Mad Max’s story is alright, it works for the setting and the character. What’s his motivation? He wants his car back. That’s it, no save the world, no save yourself, just he had his car nicked and he wants it back. OK there’s side stuff and as it’s a prelude to Fury Road it’s got some stuff that adds context to some of the events of that film, but the main motivation is simple for a simple man. Man not have car. Man wants car. The end. Brilliant.

It’s Utterly Beautiful

I’m not going to say much here, just look at it. LOOK AT IT. It also has the storms from Fury Road in it, and they’re ridiculously good to look at and be in too. No matter what else, if you want a game to take your breath away from, this is it. From sulfur pits to desiccated shorelines, Mad Max is stunning.

Chumbucket

Your mechanic buddy serves two purposes in the wilderlands of Mad Max. Firstly for the game itself he repairs your car when you’re out and about, meaning you don’t have to waste time driving back to outposts to get the dents ironed out, which is great. Secondly, he’s just brilliant fun to be around. The man is obsessed with cars and explosions, and his ridiculous joy whenever you do something cool in the Magnum Opus is a tonal counterpoint to the grimdark Max who’s just bitterness in human form. He also acts as a little bit of a tutorial, letting you know about the various threats and things to do as you travel the wasteland.

Right so if you’re not sold by now, go read the article again because you should be. Mad Max is a game that knows its strengths and plays to them, so if you’re interested in a good open world action game with decent driving and a beautiful open world, then Mad Max is for you. It’s in our Summer Sale for a great price too, so check it out!

Why War For The Overworld Is THE Dungeon Keeper Sequel

There have been a few games that have tried to capture the essence of what made the original Dungeon Keeper great. There’s the black humour, the mining out your dungeon, the training of your myriad evil forces and the crushing of the foolish overworld dwellers. None have really come close and nailed all the elements so much that Dungeon Keeper creator Peter Molyneux has given them his blessing as a spiritual successor…

…until War for the Overworld.

It’s Good to be Bad

The thing that everyone remembers from Dungeon Keeper was the whole “Hey, you’re the bad guys now!” But it’s not done in a way where you are the anti-hero, you are actually the dungeon-dwelling, monster-recruiting, killing, raiding, torturing and imprisoning Keeper. The Overworlders (AKA the good guys) will come and try to wipe you out and take your gold, and you’ve got to stop them. The narrator/advisor had flawless evil and cunning in his voice, and he’s back again (really, the same guy!) to teach you how to fell the Heroes. Creating large mazes of tunnels laden with traps, luring them where you want them and then dropping all your level 10 creatures either side of them when they’re nearly dead is a unique feeling still to this day.

Carve out the Earth

Building a dungeon has never been so much fun. You simply click on the tiles that you wish your Imps to mine out (don’t forget to slap them to get them to work harder!) Mining out the right sized rooms shouldn’t be this satisfying, and then attracting new creatures through your Portal depending on what you’ve built. Build a Library to get Warlocks, build a prison to capture the goodies and turn them into skeletons, and build a lair to watch your creatures set up their weird individual beds and get some kip. Watch out though, some creatures don’t like each other and will not want to be close. Also, you need a Hatchery, which is a room full of chickens that your hungry creatures will visit. And, just to show how relatable they are, even creatures in pitched battle will rather head to your treasury on Pay Day to pick up their wages. This is a real Sim game.

Dungeon vs Dungeon

Multiplayer is back as well, and even in the single player you will regularly fight other Keepers for the right to slay the pitiful overworlders. Multiplayer Dungeon Keeper was hilarious, but also highly strategical. With all the rooms open to you from the beginning, different keepers will try different tactics and mixes of monsters. Depending on your play style, you may forego things like traps or spells altogether. War for the Overworld features multiplayer, as well as a Crucible Mode with regular challenges and ‘gameplay mutators’, to add more variation and randomness to the dungeons you play.

Campaign for the Overworld

The single-player campaign is back, and so is the map of the overworld that you will slowly conquer. Each land has a lovely name like Cosyton and Neversmile, and is screaming to be undermined…literally. Each level introduces a new mechanic through a unique level. One of the earlier ones sees you trying to take out a cowardly Hero who will not leave his base if he senses danger. Therefore you must learn to build traps to lure him out of his base. This introduces the Workshop room, and the Trolls who will come and build traps, doors and bridges for you. Each level is unique and has plenty of secrets to find. So get mining and exploring!

Your Creatures Need a Bigger Lair

Your creatures are your bread and butter, and also the real stars of the show. Not many strategy games will have you build your base in order to attract your units instead of directly being in charge of their quantity. Because they are of limited number, you want to train them up too. They can reach a maximum of level 10, and each level makes them more powerful, and learn new abilities. You’ll have that one Chunder who’ll turn up and eat all your food and take up all the space in your lair, but you’ll grow fond of him and train him up to win all your battles. Even your Imps will gain a place in your cold, black heart. You may even stop giving them a slap.

War for the Overworld is currently in our Summer Sale, pick it up now and start loving being the Bad Guy.

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.

Aporia: Beyond the Valley Available Now

Aporia: Beyond the Valley the puzzle adventure game from Investigate North and Green Man Gaming Publishing has now launched! The game has been backed by Ole Søndberg, the producer of Wallander and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Aporia has a unique approach to storytelling, by visually telling a story, without using text or dialogue in the game. It has interesting puzzle mechanics and a stunning, immersive world to explore and create your own story.

You play as a character who wakes after hundreds of years of sleep in an ancient, abandoned world, alone and with no memory of your past. You have to discover who you are and how you ended up in the valley by embarking on a legendary quest.

Why Broken Sword 5 Is The Best Point ‘n’ Click

When I was a young lad growing up in the English countryside, there wasn’t a place to buy games for many miles around. The (high-speed) internet had yet to be invented, and so one of the biggest sources of PC entertainment outside of the actual full-price games that I would occasionally receive, were the demo disks that came with my dad’s PC magazines. I remember getting the demo for Broken Sword 2, and it lasted me approximately 3 weeks. That opened up the world, and incredible value, of Point ‘n’ Clicks to me.

Here’s why I think Broken Sword is one of the best, and also why Broken Sword 5 is worth your attention if, like me, you haven’t ‘Picked Up Tissue’ or ‘Looked At Three-Headed-Monkey’ since the 90s.

The puzzles made sense

You mention Point ‘n’ Clicks to a gamer and they’ll huff and puff, and start telling you about the days they spent trying to get past a bit in Grim Fandango, which they only solved because for some reason they did Use Pumpkin with Flock of Pigeons. In Broken Sword, and especially in 5, you never feel like the game designer was a drunk surrealist out to get you. You can work through the puzzles with logic and knowledge. It makes you feel smart, like most puzzles should. There’s no spamming every item with every interactable part of a level.

The characters were great

George Stobart and Nico Collard were gaming’s favourite couple way before Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher came along. One is a floppy haired American tourist, the other is a curious Parisian journalist, and together they have solved enough mysteries, and had enough banter to fill a Joss Whedon TV show. Most NPCs are fleshed out and interesting, funny or sinister. And playing George is unusual in video games. He doesn’t like violence, he has no authority, and yet his wits and friendships see him through to solving huge conspiracies.

Globe-Trotting

The game may start off in good old Paris like the first one, but like most of the entries to the series, you travel all over the world. Most of the locations are self-contained too, so don’t think you have to fly between Istanbul and London several times trying different keys in different doors. They’re like chapters in the story, and it let’s the game show off some real pretty scenes (more on that later).

The stories are intriguing

The games stories will always start off small: a robbery, a stolen painting, a phone-call from a long lost friend. But they will eventually lead to a massive conspiracy that will put the heroes in danger, and solve a Dan Brown-esque mystery including art, religion, ancient orders and giant wealth. If you’re interested in things like finding the hidden meaning in The Last Supper or foiling the plot of the secret Templar order, then definitely give Broken Sword 5 a go.

It looks really good

The fifth entry to the series sees a return to 2D scenes. After a foray into 3D like 98% of IPs that made it out of the 90s, the original developers kickstarted a new project that brought back the old magic. As a huge fan of the first two games, starting the game and being back with George and Nico in Paris was so great. It looks so colourful and pretty, and each new location is a blatant attempt at showing off for the art team. Revived titles like Day of the Tentacle and Double Fine’s Broken Age update their pixelated graphics or introduce an artsy style, but this feels just as you remembered (but better).

Have you played Broken Sword? Where do you fit it in the list of good Point ‘n’ Clicks?

How Does The Summer Sale Work?

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.

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

You’re Not A True Game of Thrones Fan Unless You’ve Played These Games

Game of Thrones is back and we’re careering towards the end with a rapidity the earlier seasons wouldn’t lead you to expect. With every new season the same problem occurs, you’ve had the horrible long wait between seasons and now you have the horrible but even keener pain of having to wait each week for the next episode.

So to ease your pain, and to give you a little more Game of Thrones in your life, here’s some games that’ll give you that sweet sweet Game of Thrones fix while you wait.

Game of Thrones – Telltale Games

Probably the best Game of Thrones video game, or at least according to most people, it takes the format developed for The Walking Dead and plonks it down in Westeros. With you taking on the role of a member of House Forrester as you try to navigate the Great Game during seasons 3-5 of the tv series. Will you lead your family to greater fame or will your family fall from grace? Or will you annoy Cersei so she has your head struck off, careful now.

Game of Thrones – Cyanide RPG

Strangely beloved, this Game of Thrones RPG has you cast in the role of two characters, Alester Sarwyck and Mors Westford. You switch between these characters at various plot points, with one being a knight and priest of R’hllor, the other being a member of the Night’s Watch. It has its problems, but in later years has won some acclaim for the variety and depth of its decision based narrative, and its deep and tough combat. It reviewed quite poorly at release, but if you’re needing your Game of Thrones fix, this might do it for you.

A Game of Thrones: Genesis

In 2011, Cyanide also released a strategy game based on the books, letting you play through the battles which forged Westeros into the union it is at the start of the first book. Each house has its own abilities, such as House Stark having direwolves, and the game lets you play out the formative battles over the course of a thousand years of Westeros history. Based around capturing nodes like castles or towns with characters, it has a rock-paper-scissors approach to balance.

Crusader Kings 2: A Game of Thrones

There’s already no greater A Game of Thrones game than Crusader Kings 2, so making a total conversion for it is almost a no brainer. It not only adds the characters and map from Game of Thrones, it changes up the game so that you’re vying for control over the Iron Throne instead of taking over countries in the original game. This is a battle for Westeros, not the world. It allows you to make your own changes to the world, letting you take A Game of Thrones in your own direction instead of following the books. It’s almost a professional level mod, and well worth checking out if you own Crusader Kings 2 (and if you love A Game of Thrones, why on earth don’t own Crusader Kings 2?).

A World of Ice and Fire

Another total conversion for the OTHER game that’s incredibly Game of Thrones-y. Mount and Blade! It’s already a game manoeuvring armies about and intrigue, so why not add a little Game of Thrones into the mix? A World of Ice and Fire lets you build your own house in Westeros and Essos, and take them to victory! Or if we’re going to be more realistic and knowing Mount and Blade like we do, you’ll take your house to the gutter and take everyone down with you. But that’s part of the fun.

A Game of Thrones: The Board Game

Created by Fantasy Flight, the board game based on A Game of Thrones is a battle and intrigue focused board game about seizing power for your house. Taking place over Westeros, you battle opponents, make alliances, and watch for the ever present threat from the North beyond the wall as you try to build your own powerbase and seize the Iron Throne. It’s one of those games that just *gets* the source material, with each rule and turn you play exemplifying the books and the tv series perfectly. Easy to learn and impossible to put down, the board game is essential for any fan.

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

Also made by Fantasy Flight and also absolutely beautiful, the card game is a Living Card Game or LCG, allowing you to choose a faction and plot your way to the top. Combining deck building with a hefty amount of intrigue, it’s something you can dip into and get swept away by, as it’s continually updated due to its living nature. Winning many awards for best card game when it was released and continuing its popularity even now, it’s well worth a look.

A Game of Thrones: Cluedo

Like Cluedo (or ‘Clue’ if you’re one of our cousins across the pond)? Then you’ll like this, it’s Cluedo but with a little Game of Thrones twist. Not only are the characters, weapons, and board different, there’s intrigue and extra cards added into the mix so that you’ve got that flavour that you’ll be missing when you’re not watching the TV series. There’s not much to say about it because it’s Cluedo! But even better.

Did we miss any or do you know of another Game of Thrones game that we should include in future lists? Let us know in the comments below! But until then, get your dragons, get your intrigue hat, and get plotting in one or more of these great and interesting Game of Thrones games!

A Fun Ride In Arizona Sunshine

I strap on my VR headset, my mate places headphones over my ears and threads my hands through the strings of the controls. They clear the area, anticipating my lunging, bending, throwing, running?

I step into a bunker and walk slowly around getting used to the controls, easing myself through the paces. I take a tape and find a VCR to slot it into. Now, I’m transported, lost in the Arizona sunshine. I can almost feel the heat from the relentless sun beating down on me and I’m awkwardly waiting for a zombie to show itself.

I look around and find a well placed gun on the edge of a table. I’m in a campsite and the bows of cotton tents sweep above me. There are empty barrels and a small one person tent caught up in it all. I look to my left and looming in the distance is a screen, with the words ‘PLAY’ and I think, why the hell not? I aim my gun, I fire.

I think my mates are speaking to me, but I can’t hear them, they are just fuzzy noises in the background and I am here, in Arizona. Amidst the scraggly dry mountains and sickly warm winds that I swear are brushing my arms. The game has begun. I look around frantically, which direction will they come from? Is it random? I don’t know, I’m new to this. I’ve still got my gun and it’s hanging on the end of my tense arm. I’ve got one eye closed, as if that will help my aim, but I don’t see anything to aim at! I feel that I would go mad out here.

I look down and I have a holster strapped around my waist, it has a grenade attached and I think that will come in useful later, if I make it that far. The distant wavering of my friends voices are louder now and I jolt my head upright. I don’t see anything, what is going on, why the commotion? Oh, there it is. Staggering slowly towards me, it’s arms outstretched and with my arm raised, I clench my fist tight, I fire.

Now there’s more of them and they are coming from all directions and I’m panicking. I’m moving as fast as I can, swinging my body from side to side. Shooting, bam, bam, bam, click. I’m out of ammo, shit. I rush to the table and there are mags resting on the edge, I grab them greedily and thrust them into my pistol. But, they are in the tent area now and I’m sweating more and they are getting closer, bam, bam, bam. Wave One, over.

I take a moment, I’m exhausted and scared. Wave Two is starting and my legs feel like jelly and I think how unprepared I am for a zombie apocalypse. There they are again, heads bobbing on the horizon, meandering towards. They are always so deceptively slow, until they’re not and it’s too late. I shoot, bam, bam, bam, click. I need more ammo, from my holster? I reach down and grab wildly at my belt. I look up and they are so close now. I can almost feel the breath from its dead mouth. It’s eyes are hollow, it’s skin is grey and decaying and it is limping, struggling towards me, with all of its might. I close my eyes, what else can I do?

How Does The Summer Sale Work?

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.

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

☀️ Summer Sale World Emoji Day = 👍 👾 ☀️

Today is, of course, World Emoji Day. These little symbols are fast becoming a substitute for the written word and deep human interaction. So, before our civilisation descends into a handful of smileys and pixelated culinary items, and an entire breadth of culture and literature is lost forever and deemed ‘TL:DR’, let’s look at some games in our sale using as many Emojis as possible.

Killing Floor 2

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 🔫😱

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 🔫😡

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 🔫😑

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 🔫😩

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

Golf With Your Friends

🌤 🎪 🎪 🏰 🏰 ⛳️

🌴 🐫 🌴 🐫 ☀️☀️ 🏝 ⛳️

🌚 🌚 🕸 🎃 🕸 🎃 ⛳️

I Am Bread

🍞

Monster Slayers

🐙🦁🐗🦂🐊😈 💳 😡

👿👻🐊😈💀🦂 ⚔ 💳 🤕

🐙👻💀🦂🦁🐗 💳 😄

Slain

⚡️🔮😑🗡⚡️ 🤘👹 💥👹 👻💥 👿 👺💥🤘

Do you have a favourite emoji? What exactly is the correlation between emoji use and motherhood? What is my life? Let us know in the comments.

How Does The Summer Sale Work?

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.

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