Games

According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Microsoft isn’t trying to unify the Xbox One and Windows 10 platform.

“I wouldn’t say our strategy is to unify, because when I hear ‘unify’ I worry a bit that people will interpret, my own teams included, ‘Hey, we just want to say a game is a game and all games should run everywhere’. What I want to make sure is that gamers on our platforms, you feel like you have access to as many games as you can, and as a developer you feel like you have the tools and service to reach as many gamers as you can. We don’t think Forza 6 is what the PC racing fan thinks of as a racing franchise.” (PC Gamer)

Spencer has also suggested that while games like Halo Wars and Quantum Break are well suited to PC, something like Just Dance isn’t. Citing the recently announced Forza Apex, he also said that other games would have to be altered for Windows 10. This does make a lot of sense. Should be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

The story of the new Assassins Creed game finds itself cast amidst the trials and tribulations of The French Revolution set in Paris 1789 with the new character Arno as he goes on a journey to eliminate the powers that be that are causing terror to the population.

The game has been rebuilt on a new graphics engine called Anvil specifically for the next generation console (so it will only be available on PC / PS4 and Xbox One) with complete freedom to fully explore the artistically crafted and explicitly detailed cobble streets.

Not only are you able to play solo missions but you can play with up to three friends on missions, heist and much more to become a master assassin. Throughout every stage of the game there is ever expanding customisation to equip you with the right tools to execute your mission.

With the new WWE game out now, 2K Sports have confirmed additional roster additions. The roster listed below is shaping up to be the largest ever for a WWE game.

Bad News Barrett, Booker T, Colonel Mustafa, Daniel Bryan, Emma, Eva Marie, Finn Bálor, General Adnan, John Cena, Kalisto, Kane, Lord Steven Regal, Paige, Seth Rollins, Sin Cara, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Summer Rae, Tamina, Triple H, Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Brie Bella, Brock Lesnar, Goldust, Heath Slater, Hideo Itami, Jack Swagger, Kevin Owens, Neville, Nikki Bella, Ric Flair, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Stardust, Sting, Tyler Breeze, Ultimate Warrior, Zack Ryder, Alicia Fox, Bam Bam Bigelow, Big Show, Cameron, Cesaro, Darren Young, Diamond Dallas Page, Dolph Ziggler, Fit Finlay, Kevin Nash, Layla, Lex Luger, The Miz, Naomi, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Tyson Kidd

Fans who pre-order beforehand were lucky enough to receive two playable character versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A video game can take over certain people’s lives, and whether it’s because they want to unlock a certain level, or the individual is just having too much fun, gaming can cause serious addictions. You may have shrugged it off when news stories have appeared in the past, but this is a serious problem.

When you’re gaming you should think about the time you’ve spent playing a game. Time definitely goes by a lot quicker when you’re playing video games, but it could be beneficial to have little breaks every once in a while. Every gamer is different, and some will play for a couple of hours a day, others may play once every month, but for that one day they’re literally going to play it all day.

Each person varies, and no matter how much we love video games, and we do… It’s important to break up gaming, especially if you’re finding yourself playing it a bit too much.

I was recently playing a game at my friends’ house, a friend I usually beat! He hadn’t been playing the game as often as me, and I couldn’t work out why I was losing, but then it hit me. It was the TV.

Whenever I would play at home I would win, and it must be because I’m so used to my 55 inch TV. My friend had a non-HD 32 inch TV, so the quality just wasn’t the same, and it seemed to put my off my game somewhat. Some games need to be played in high definition, like FIFA 16 and Grand Theft Auto, you can see opponents clearer, and you can enjoy the game without thinking “something isn’t quite right here”.

A television is something you get used to, just like a game, and I know people will disagree and say something along the lines of “a good workman never blames his tools”, but this just isn’t the case in gaming!

Last year was a bloodbath. Such is the relentless rush for publishers to get their games out for the holiday season that extra hours are put in, people are worked to the bone and, just maybe, corners are cut. There have been several high profile examples over the past few years of games launching in an unfinished, buggy state and having to have subsequent patches over a number of months to try and get the game close to any kind of acceptable state. Driveclub, Halo: Master Chief Collection and Assassin’s Creed: Unity were last year’s main offenders, with only the first game “finished” while the other two still struggle.
This year looks to be no different with several major candidates already showing signs of strain. Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, Halo 5 and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate all running the risk of launching with errors. They’re so desperate to launch this side of Christmas – it’s costing them big time.

I love a good success story. You know the kind I mean; some plucky upstart, against all the odds, rises to the top thanks to whatever qualities they possess. Well this is the story of Rocket League. A game with no fanfare, just an incredible solid beta test that generated good word of mouth. Since then millions of players are enjoying themselves on the frantic, high octane world of cars smashing a giant football around a pitch.
Now, though, Rocket League is becoming competitive. Tournaments are starting to spring up, prize funds are being offered and celebrities are being born. Rocket League is becoming an esport. Tournaments are now being streamed on Twitch attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers each and every time. It is exciting to be part of the movement, one that I hope just keeps on rolling and gathering momentum. The sky is the limit for Rocket League.

Dota 2 is a game that I have written a lot about over the years; a successful reimagining of a cult classic that has now delivered itself to the masses, attracting over one million unique players every single day. August each year welcomes in The International; a collection of the best teams in the world competing for Dota 2’s top prize. The world cup of Dota, the international attracts millions of viewers from all over the world and has one of the biggest prize pools in gaming history.
Valve, the creators, put in some money, but the rest is funded by the fans who purchase items and support their teams of choice. The team that wins the International 5 will take home just over 6 million dollars – that’s more than Wimbledon, more than any golf major and ranks among some of the biggest prize pools in any sport.

There is one elephant in the room when it comes to digital distribution on PC. We can talk about Origin, we can talk about Battlenet and we can talk about Uplay, or even the rise of GoG Galaxy – but Steam is the only play that seems to matter. We see how many people are playing their games concurrently and how many people are online at any one time. The numbers are massive and intimidating.

Itch.io is a website dedicated to independent games. It allows the developers to set their own prices, have their own little sections dedicated to themselves and have games release for free should they so choose. It’s an experimental system but one that, I hope, will spawn a client. It will never rival Steam, but should give fans a good alternative.