Like our fair, occasionally fire-breathing John, I also recently saw Dragon Age: Inquisition in action, and – against all odds – I came away very impressed. Dragon Age: Origins was a very important game to me for a number of reasons, and the crazy thing is that BioWare actually seems to *get* why its return to fantasy’s pointy eared realms made people like me chant(ry) its name to the high heavens. There’s action-y stuff in Inquisition, sure, but also plenty of tactical options (TOP-DOWN VIEW YEAH) and yummy conundrums to scramble my moral compass. But it wasn’t until I spoke with lead designer Mike Laidlaw that I really began feeling good about Inquisition. His favorite game? Planescape Torment. And, if Laidlaw is to be believed, the Black Isle classic’s influence is strong in this one. >

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Sometimes you realise it’s just a tricky situation for a developer. You want to show your game, but you’re a year away from finishing, and you’ve got a year’s worth of press to rustle yet. So what do you show? You pick between a few reveals, a lot of what people were expecting, and a healthy dose of ambiguity. And so it was for BioWare’s first reveal of in-game footage from RPG epic Dragon Age: Inquisition. Everything we learned is below.

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I’ve been having a bit of a clearout this week, so in addition to the wide array of fantastic deals on downloadable PC games, let me give you a hot tip: Pop along to the Oxfam charity shop in Urmston, and they’ll probably have a big stack of old PC games for something like a quid a pop. For those of you who don’t happen to be in a very specific geographical area, read on to find my usual summary of the best deals from a wide range of digital distributors, and visit SavyGamer.co.uk for all the best deals on games across all formats. (more…)

Nearly two weeks ago we received a press release from Ubisoft boasting about a new deal with NVIDIA, mysteriously described as a “gaming alliance”. This deal, they said, was designed to “offer PC gamers the best gaming experience possible for Ubisoft’s biggest upcoming titles.” The piece goes on to explain how the PC is the world’s most popular format, that gamers “demand a truly elite experience”, and how much they value their PC gamers. Or, 51% of them, at least. We got in touch with Ubi straight away to find out how this deal would affect the third of gamers who use AMD/ATI cards, and indeed the 14% who use Intel’s on-board graphics. (Source.) Reply came there none.

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Hello youse.

TRAINS! TRAINS! TRAINS! You there, young man! Do you like TRAINS?! You there, young lady! Do you like TRAINS?! TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS!TRAINS!“Just picked up a new game.”“Cool. What’s it called?”“TRAINS.”“Goodbye.”You, Rock Paper Shotgun reader! Do you like TRAINS?! Read on, regardless. TRAINS. (more…)

Last week I finally got a chance to meet two heroes of the Stalker years, Joe Mullin and Oleg Yavorsky, who are now working hard as Vostok on the free-to-play shooter, Survarium. There’s an immediate tension when you mention the F word, and I think the legacy that resides in Survarium means that Vostok have to go that extra mile to prove themselves. Good looking shooters with a touch of persistence are becoming increasingly common in this new era. That said, Survarium is looking promising, and I was fascinated to see the game in play for the first time.>

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Weeeee-ooooooo, weeeee-oooooo, weeeeee-ooooooo! It’s the news alarm! Prison Architect’s latest update has escaped the seemingly impenetrable holding cell of Introversion HQ and come running to us for somewhere to stash the goods. Ha! Little bastard’s going straight back to the hole once he’s told us everything he knows. Like about the new tunneling system that’s forcing prison redesigns the world over or customisable punishment regimes that finally let you create the fascist nightmare of your dreams. You can take a glance at everything we got out of that scum bucket before we sent him off here or video evidence once you’ve been searched.

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I’m very sad: there are people out there playing Starbound and they are not me, and unless you part of the development team, some of the Yogscast, or an evil hacker, then they are most likely not you. Are you sad, too? Would that sadness you’re feeling to end? I can’t really help with that, because a hug from another sad person is usually wet and broken. Best I can do is post an hour of footage of the game and fake a smile. This is taken from a presentation at Insomnia Gaming Festival, where three of the internet’s popular Let’s Players gave the first proper public demonstration of the space-faring co-op adventure game. (more…)

If I had just the right test tube and one of Mr Bunsen’s Bestest Burners, I reckon I could scientifically prove that FootLOL: Epic Fail League is the worst title since Henry VIII appointed a young cleric as his Royal Glans Grater, purely to irritate the delicate sensibilities of Pope Clement VII. As it is, all I have is a broken slide rule and a warped protractor so you’ll have to judge the title for yourself, without the guiding hand of Science to enlighten you. The game itself is currently loitering in the vicinity of Steam Greenlight and there’s an online demo. It has little in common with actual foot-to-ball, although there are teams of men hoofing a sphere about the place, being more concerned with landmines and comedic chaos. It’s quite good.

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Some words from Mr Stanton.>

If there’s one thing you expect from a Castlevania game, it’s Patrick Stewart. Sorry I mean vampires! Definitely vampires. Lords of Shadow has coffins full of the buggers, though it’s shy about the fact and sticks them behind one of the most turgid and over-extended openings I’ve ever had the misfortune to play through. Things do get sexy, but to find out about Gabriel Belmont’s combat cross you gotta jump, jump. (more…)