News, Reviews, Other Stuff Probably

Recently, I helped create and contribute to Mission Control, a campaign made to promote the games industry developments in Teesside (North-East England). The campaign focused largely on Launchpad , a games dev startup located in Middlesbrough, which houses/supports multiple developers, including Radical Forge , FoxByte Games , and Sock Monkey Studios . There, we interviewed Launchpad's founder, Steve Dougan.  We also met Olly Bennett (Radical Forge) and Bruce Slater ( Cardboard Sword ), both founders of Teesside games networking event Gamebridge , and talked to them all about their event.  Other video content we created for Mission Control included an inside look at Launchpad , and various promotional videos for the campaign. We also ran social media channels for Mission Control, which helped to promote our message. That message? Teesside is a great area for anyone who wants to work in the games industry. Thanks to the combined forces of Lau...

Today saw 2017's edition of The Game Awards take place, starting at the convenient time of 1:30am over here in the UK. If you were busy during the proceedings, want a refresher, or just like to sleep at night, then here's a run-down of everything that happened, and when. Also included are URLs to all the relevant trailers (and other highlights), should anything pique your interest. The Pre-Show 01:38 - Let the games begin! The show starts off with The Game Award's creator and lead organiser, Geoff Keighley, being interviewed about stuff including what's to come, what The Game Awards is all about, and how the soon-to-be winners are chosen. Pre-filmed promo stuff, basically. 01:45 - The actual live ceremony begins, live from The Microsoft Theatre in LA. Keighley's introducing the show, talking about all of the platforms the show is being hosted on. 01:47 - The first announcement, and world premiere, of the night is a World War Z game , developed by Saber. ...

Here once again (and fashionably late), is The Month in Gaming. Though perhaps not as many as last month, there are quite a few big releases to sink your teeth into. So, here are some of the games you should be keeping an eye on (or...are likely already playing) for the month of November 2017. Call of Duty: WWII Release Date: 3rd November Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One The fourteenth (!) main entry in the Call of Duty series brings the fight back to boots-on-the-ground, historical action; as opposed to the futuristic jetpack warfare of the last couple entries. As you've likely guessed from the title, that action has also returned to World War II.  WWII brings a notable new addition to the series with Headquarters, a social space and multiplayer hub akin (very akin) to Destiny's Tower area. Here, you can pick up challenges, customise weapons, open loot boxes, and watch other people open loot boxes. Also, you wander around in third-person. You know, like Destiny. ...

“I feel like I’m on Jonathan Ross”, my 1 st -year Games Design student interviewee quips as I direct him where to sit. Rather than a fancy expensive set however, both he, Aaron Ryan, and the 2 nd -year Games Development student I’m interviewing alongside him, Andrew Gill, sit in a small student house living room, on an also small sofa. I sit on another one, looking to build a profile on ‘the games student of today’, and to get some fresh perspectives on topical gaming issues from people yet to be crushed by the monotonous wheel of work. The gaming industry both are working towards being a part of, has been ever-evolving right from the start, since the days of the early arcades and the Brown Box, to the reign of Nintendo and Sega, to the debut of the PlayStation and the Xbox, right up to 2017 with the launch of the Switch. Throughout we’ve seen the jumps from black and white graphics, to the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, to our first 3D castles and tombs, and so much more.  What other...

This week, EA announced that the Star Wars game being developed at Visceral had been "refocused", and furthermore, Visceral was being shut down. While they didn't explicitly say so, whatever this game was going to be seems pretty much dead. The "broader experience" that it becomes will essentially be a new game developed by other EA studios. And so, Visceral's Star Wars title joins the pile of much-anticipated cancelled games, one that has been tragically growing quite fast over the past few years. Let's rip open old wounds and take a look at some of the other games on that pile. Star Wars: 1313 Announced: May 2012 Cancelled: April 2013 Platforms: PC. PS4, Xbox One A third person action-adventure title, 1313 was set to follow Boba Fett as he navigated underground Coruscant, presumably doing sick Bounty Hunter stuff.  The only existing gameplay footage  teased what looked to be Uncharted meets Star Wars. This was another way it echoed Visce...

Another year, another COD, another COD live-action trailer. You know the deal. Typically explosive, celebrity-riddled affairs, this year's instalments dial it back down a bit. Notice I said 'instalments'? That's because today, three similar, yet different trailers for this year's title were released. There's one for the  US , one for the  UK , and one for  France . They're all good fun, give them a watch. As with the Black Ops 'Replacer' ads, the focus here is on dropping whatever's going on in your 'real life' to play some good ol' Call of Duty. But with less Peter Stormare. Call of Duty: WWII launches November 3rd.

Microtransactions, and more specifically loot boxes, have caused quite a stir in recent months. This is largely because it's starting to seem like every other game has them, whether it's a multiplayer fashion show of death like Overwatch or even a singleplayer-only affair like Middle Earth: Shadow of War. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's no denying how popular loot boxes have become with AAA publishers like Blizzard and WB, and how topical they are in the industry at the moment. The ESRB's recently declared that it doesn't see them as gambling , after calls for them to label games that feature them as such. While many may dislike loot boxes, few might attempt to combat them using the British Parliament. Regardless, someone has done just that.  Reddit user 'Artfunkel' shared on /r/Games that after a productive talk on the issue, the Labour MP for Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner, has reached out to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, ...

While October may be traditionally known as the month of madness, all things horror-related, and eating way too much candy, it can be celebrated for another reason too. Namely, the mountain of games we're getting as the fall starts, and the run-up to Christmas begins. So, for the first instalment of 'The Month in Gaming', here's some of the games you should be keeping an eye on for the month of October 2017. Stardew Valley Release Date: 5th October  Platform: Switch Starting off we have a game that, in truth, has been out for over a year now. Originally released in February 2016 as a PC-exclusive, Stardew Valley has captured many hearts and minds with its farm and dating sim gameplay (it's sold over a million copies on Steam alone). There's also some monster-slaying thrown in for good measure. What more could you want? Since its initial release, Stardew Valley has found a place on PS4, Xbox One, and now, the Nintendo Switch. In the likely scenario th...

After much deliberation, relaxation, and (most of all) procrastination, I am back with another post, and a little update for what's ahead. Expect more frequent updates in the coming weeks, since as part of a Uni assignment, I need to maintain a blog much better than I have been in the past months. Don't all cheer at once. More news and reviews are on the way, as well as some video content, that has been in production for far too long. This blog is also going to be getting a little redesign soon, after which it will hopefully no longer look as bland as it does currently. That's it for now. I wanted to do a simple post like this to start off the new wave of content. Thanks.

Fuck 2017's been good for games. Horizon, Zelda, Mass Effect. I could go on. And we're only in March. Persona, Red Dead 2, Uncharted, and many more are still to come. 2017 could be one of the most hyped-up years for games in a decade. Shame I'm stuck in 2016. I look on my shelf above me, and see Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Far Cry Primal, and Dishonored 2. I haven't finished any of these; I've only started Primal. Yet, I'm going to play all of them, plus several more from last year before I move on to most of the games on the front pages of games news sites (I greedily bought a Switch and am very much enjoying Zelda). Such is my issue. I love games, and I wanna play 'em all. My OCD-like consumerism knows no bounds. It's gonna be months (if not years) before I end up playing some of the games in the spotlight now. What doesn't help is that when I find sudden interest in a franchise I've never really delved into, like Mass ...

In a stream today, Bungie detailed much of the new content coming in Destiny's final major update, 'Age of Triumph', including revamped versions of all of the raids, now confirmed to arrive on March 28th. All four of Destiny's Raids (Vault of Glass, Crota's End, King's Fall, and Wrath of the Machine) will have new 390 Light variants, with new challenge modes and rewards coming across them all. From March 28th, a 390 Light 'Weekly Featured Raid' will be available, well, weekly, for players to attempt too. Each one of these will have all challenge modes active, as opposed to just one each week as we've seen prior. So, expect a hard-fought victory. As with previous Live Events, progress in Age of Triumph will be tracked by a Record Book, which will also be the largest Destiny has had to date, with 13 pages of rewards and objectives covering all of Destiny's content since its release; Raids, Strikes, Crucible, Story missions, and more. The eve...

The original Variety DLC for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is set to come to its remaster this month, Activision has announced. All four of the maps from the original will be fully remastered and sold for the remade game that released with last year's Infinite Warfare. It will cost $14.99 (around £12 this side of the Atlantic), and arrives first on PS4 on March 21. Dates for other platforms are yet to be announced, but expect them around the same time next month. Alongside the maps, players who purchase the DLC will gain access to 10 Rare Supply Drops; the random item boxes players can grind their way up to unlocking or pay for as microtransactions. These boxes, in business speak, represent "a $20 bonus value (based on Rare Supply Drop suggested retail prices, actual value may vary)". What a deal. The original Variety DLC released in April 2008 (for consoles), and was the first and only paid DLC for 2007's Modern Warfare. Whether further original DLC cont...

After teasing such an update in their regular weekly update yesterday, Bungie today revealed Destiny's next content update, 'Age of Triumph', releasing at the "end of March", plus some details about Destiny 2. The largest piece of news concerning the latter is (finally), the confirmation that all players' characters from Destiny 1 will have their stats and equipment reset for the sequel. Though players who've reached Level 20, and finished the main story of the game's campaign, will be able to carry over their character's appearance. No DLC for the original is required to do these, so most dedicated players should have this option. Plus, accounts with these accomplishments will be awarded "honors that reflect your Destiny 1 accomplishments". No specifics on what these rewards will be as of yet. Going back to plain ol' Destiny 1, Bungie's social manager DeeJ, describing the impending Age of Triumph update, said: "We i...

Let me just start by saying: Logan is no traditional superhero movie. Get that image out of your head. James Mangold (also director of 2013's The Wolverine ) brings a feature that isn't full of explosive high-stakes action, nor cocky heroes saving the day, on a fun adventure for the whole family to enjoy. No, Logan is a grittier, more melancholic tale. But it’s a fantastic one, and one of the best films about superheroes ever made. Loosely inspired by the 2008 ‘Old Man Logan’ comic series, Logan features a significantly older, and more isolated James Howlett/Logan (Hugh Jackman) than when audiences last saw him. His healing factor is degenerating, and all the mutants from the ‘good old days’ are gone, with seemingly no more being born. To make ends meet, and so he can care for an increasingly insensate, debilitated Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Logan works as a limousine driver. Coming across a young girl/X-23 with similar powers to his own (Dafne Keen), being purs...

The Big Three [Source: http://bit.ly/2kWqhmm] There’s been a tide in the tech world. And this tide is virtual. Over the last year, three multi-billion dollar companies have launched a virtual reality headset for public consumption. In order of release, HTC with the HTC Vive (March 2016), Oculus with the Oculus Rift (April 2016), and Sony with the PlayStation VR (October 2016). Other companies might try their hand at VR too, perhaps most prominently Nintendo . Another league of VR headsets exists too, and includes the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, both more focused on smartphone games and apps. The other three, which I'm focusing on, are predominantly hardcore gaming-focused devices, but like any smartphone, they have social media and video entertainment apps available too. But are they here to stay? The tech revolution of the future, today? Or is the VR headset just another costly gaming device that will fade after a couple of years, like the Kinect, the...