In most cases, driving, and this is true of both real life and games, is about the act of getting from point A to point B with your car. It s about doing it efficiently, safely, and in as little time as possible. In games, your vehicle of choice might be a car with a jet engine under the hood and even a drive from place to place might be somewhat risky, but the point remains – just get from here to there, usually before your rivals.

One of Burnout Paradise s greatest achievements is allowing you to do something else entirely. You can, and are encouraged to, just get behind the wheel and drive, without enemies, timers, or competition.

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Three new characters and one new map will arrive in Rainbow Six Siege [official site] on August 29th with the launch of its ‘Operation Blood Orchid’ update, Ubisoft confirmed on Friday. Visiting Hong Kong, this content was once expected in May but Ubisoft delayed it to focus on improving the base game. Operation Blood Orchid seems to be off to an amusement park, which should be a lark. (more…)

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.>

Helldivers [official site] is probably my favourite cooperative game after Left4Dead. A playable pastiche of Starship Troopers from the developers of Magicka, its procedurally generated missions provide great flexibility for of arranging quick or longer games with friends, while its relentless alien enemies and ridiculous weaponry make for breathless and often hilarious bouts of cooperative shooting. (more…)

It’s never been easier to buy things you don’t want. Back in the day, random purchase enthusiasts would tour village f tes to play lucky dips and tombolas. Hardcore ‘luckers’ (as they called themselves) would even visit Argos to order random item numbers. Now with subscription services delivering boxes of tat to your door monthly and loot crates offering random skins for video games, it’s never been easier to buy things without even knowing what they are. Digital store GOG are in on the fun too, today launching another ‘pi ata’ sale where 2.39 buys a random game.

If you don’t want to do any of that, you can simply swing by for a free copy of Deadlight: Director’s Cut. (more…)

As a certified wanderer (50m silver certificate), I’ve been keeping an eye on Shape of the World [official site]. It’s a digiwalk through lands which reveal themselves as we stroll, trees growing, plants unfurling, and critters popping into sight, with the soundtrack shaped by our travels too. It looks a bit like Proteus mixed with something out the demoscene. The game’s already a year behind the plan from its successful 2015 Kickstarter, but the end is in sight. Developers Hollow Tree Games have now announced that Shape of the World is due some time in “early 2018”, and shared a wee new video with some wonderful wandering: (more…)

The Steam Charts is the only place on the internet to find out the most up-to-date information about the games you care about the most, the latest rumours of upcoming changes to early access hits, and secrets that can see your way to coming top of the gaming high score tables! (more…)

Dutch former footballer Edgar Davids has slammed a dunk on League of Legends developers Riot Games in the legal arena. Davids claimed that his likeness was inspiration for the footballing ‘Striker’ costume sold for gunslinging LoL character Lucian and he should be compensated for it, and a Dutch court agreed. Eurogamer report that Riot Games must now calculate how much money the skin made in the Netherlands, then the court will decide how much Riot owe Davids in damages. (more…)

Moons of Madness [official site] wants to be a lot of things: a Lovecraftian horror game set on Mars, a mature exploration of mental health issues and a hard sci-fi space simulator. Gulp. Its trailer certainly looks scary to me, although I’m the kind of person that can only play horror games in 15 minute bursts (I’ve been on Alien: Isolation for the last two months and still haven’t finished).

You’re astronaut Shane Newart, who is battling hallucinations to try and solve the supernatural goings-on on research station Trailblazer Alpha. From the looks of it, the gameplay will be a mixture of environmental puzzles (some of which will be very “technical”, apparently) and exploration/spooky segments.

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Megaton Rainfall [official site] will let you “become a supersonic indestructible interdimensional superbeing”. Which sounds alright, if you ask me. It’s a first-person superhero game in which you have to repel an alien invasion by firing energy missiles at them from your hands.

It was first announced back in 2015 developer Pentadimensional Games has gone a bit quiet since but has popped up with a new trailer and a PS4 release date of 26 September. It sadly can’t be more specific for the PC release date than “later”. Hmph.

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Dead in Vinland [official site] is a survival game about managing a band of exiles on a faraway island, and it looks pretty neat if you ask me. It’s the sequel (ish) to Dead in Bermuda, which put you in charge of eight plane crash survivors. You had to assign them tasks, research and craft new gear and explore the island. Dead in Vinland is not a direct follow up, but expect the same sort of thing in a fantasy settings: more cloth tunic than beach shorts.

Its hand-drawn art style looks great, like something straight out of a comic book. It’s out early next year.

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