It’s a Christmas miracle: AI War 2 [official site] has hits its crowdfunding goal on its second attempt, its wonderful creators Arcen Games will live to dev another day, and we’ve probably all learned a little about feelings or some other sappy nonsense I guess. The original AI War is a fascinating RTS – and one of Adam’s favourites – with a wealth of options in a war against an AI overlord who’s playing entirely differently to you. Given the first Kickstarter’s failure and Arcen’s recent troubles, I’d worried about both this game and the whole studio but thankfully all is looking up. … [visit site to read more]

If you own a pair of cybergoggles and plan to jack your family into cyberspace this holiday season for giggles, plus do thump Thumper [official site] right in their eyes. The excellent musical hellride, which our Alec described as “knives in my skull” and which made John physically anxious, has now added support for Rift and Vive goggs, y’see. Please do share your videos of Uncle Sean stumbling round the tree holding, Event Horizon>-style, his own plucked-out eyes. … [visit site to read more]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s THE mosssssssst wonderful tiiiiiiiiiiiime ahaahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I wish I had a machinegun ho ho ho ahahaha, get stuffed 2016. … [visit site to read more]

Botolo [official site] – a two player landgrab game with a kind of stylised quilt aesthetic – is out now and it does look lovely. You might need to bear with me a bit today because insomnia has resulted in a vastly diminished vocabulary. I’ve already called the fridge the “cold oven” and the washing machine a “clothes masher” today. Anyway! What do you do in Botolo? … [visit site to read more]

Street Fighter 5 [official site] is sending mixed signals with its first content update of ‘Season 2’, adding returning fighter Akuma with his iconic ‘Raging Demon’ combo while also adding new punishments for rage quitting. So is rage good or bad? Perhaps the distinction is that it’s fine if you hang around to pose moodily at the end. The update launches today, also rebalancing a bit and adding official support for Direct Input controllers. Oh, and a sleighload of Christmassy paid costumes. … [visit site to read more]

Every Monday we abandon Brendan in a forest with a map and an early access game. This week, the hardcore orienteering of Virtual-O [official site].

These rocks are definitely the correct rocks, I think, as the sun glares down through the trees of a Czech wood. A flock of birds passes through the sky in the distance. Grass and twigs rustle under my feet as I look around for the control a small orange and white square that serves as a checkpoint for this countryside time trial. Ah, there it is. I run towards it, feeling relief that I am not as lost as I previously thought. The checkpoint buzzes with disdain. A message flashes up. Wrong control, it says. I frown and look helplessly at the forest. The rocks lied to me. … [visit site to read more]

Here we are, almost in 2017, with official new expansions still coming out for a game from 1999. Age of Empires 2 HD [official site] today launches Rise of the Rajas, the third new expansion since the real-time strategy game was revamped and rereleased in 2013. Rise of the Rajas is off to Southeast Asia for historical warfare with four new civilisations, each with their own campaigns and so very many battle elephants. … [visit site to read more]

If Frozen Synapse and Battlerite had a baby, it would bear an uncanny resemblance to Atlas Reactor. Think turn-based MOBA-style combat with an emphasis on predicting and responding to your opponent’s next move. If you re not sure what MOBA-style combat really means, have no fear: Atlas Reactor is a unique creature, and experience with its genre-spanning inspirations won t give you much of a competitive edge. It certainly hasn t for me.

… [visit site to read more]

The next door on the Advent Calendar might be dangerous…or, to be more precise, what’s behind it might be. We haven’t examined the contents yet and would advise that you do not approach it until it’s been fully scanned. Why not send in a drone to open the door while you hide in the bedroom. That way if anything terrible emerges, you’ll be safe, hiding under the duvet.

It’s the game with 2016’s best interface, Duskers! … [visit site to read more]

SureAI’s huge Skyrim total conversion Enderal: The Shards of Order [official site], which builds a whole new game upon Bethesda’s foundations, is getting an expansion of its own in 2017. Enderal’s launch this year was dang impressive – “play this excellent mod,” said Cobbo – but a few bits were cut from the initial release. Now the game’s lead writer has picked those up off the cutting room floor and is polishing them up for Forgotten Stories with 10-20 hours of new quests and new quest lines, along with a few other nice odds and ends. Have a peek in the announcement trailer below. … [visit site to read more]