Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

For serious fraggers who wish to challenge themselves and prove their chops, today’s Fortnite Battle Royale update introduces an in-game tournament system for regular automated competitions. For twats who wish to lark about making smashing things and making loud noises, the update also added a jet-boosted quad bike with a plough on the front which can smash through buildings. I know which I’m spending more time with.

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Assassin's Creed® Odyssey - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Xalavier Nelson Jr)

The argument raged for millennia. Titans clashed on an appropriately dramatic field, with internet armies raging between their massive feet. Will you choose to play as Alexios or Kassandra? my local grocer cried, eyes wild with suspicion. “They re both the same!” screamed a man set aflame. Yeah, I m picking Kassandra, said literally everyone else.

However, after playing through the three-hour opening of Assassin s Creed Odyssey nearly seven times for you> (and continuing to play over a dozen hours on a separate save) I can confirm that both Kassandra and Alexios are distinct, compelling, and valid protagonists. Choosing between Alexios or Kassandra colours the events of Odyssey in a multitude of ways, even moreso than FemShep and BroShep of the Mass Effect trilogy. Ways I am now going to describe, so that I can clear some of the several thousand screenshots on my hard drive.

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Matt Cox)

I’m glad that weird underwater planets are in vogue. Nothing brims with possibility like a good alien ocean, and if the Aquamarine Kickstarter succeeds then I’ll get to explore one more.

It’s “a small-scale, point-and-click exploration game” about moseying around the seafloor in search of your crashed spaceship, as well as answers to hidden mysteries in the planet’s past. Of course there are hidden mysteries in the planet’s past. (more…)

The Banner Saga - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Malindy Hetfeld)

From the outset, everything in The Banner Saga seems designed to encourage you to be careful. As you lead your caravan towards safety, you try to keep people alive by rationing food, managing the number of your followers and weighing the dangers of the unknown. Anyone who has ever given a soldier in XCOM a custom name knows that it takes very little to get attached, and The Banner Saga builds on this by giving you plenty of chances to get closer to the people in your army.

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Monster Hunter: World - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

If you’re a bad person, you dress your cat up for Halloween. If you’re totally rad? You transmogrify your pet into Mega Man – it’s fun for the whole family in Monster Hunter: World‘s next event. As listed on the official event page, this October 19th marks the arrival of the first silly crossover event for the PC Monster Hunter: World. By fighting your way through a new event quest (a toughie, with a fun twist), you’ll collect the parts required to transform your Palico into a goofy pseudo-8-bit Mega Man. Below, a clip of Mega Mog in action.

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Disgaea 5 Complete - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

I’m still unsure sure what happened to the PC version of goofy strategy-RPG Disgaea 5. Maybe an ancient curse? Maybe developers Nippon Ichi fell down a hole? Either way, it disappeared at the eleventh hour, after being initially planned to launch in May. Now (bar any further disasters) it’s due out next Monday, October 22nd according to publisher NIS America on Twitter. In an odd cross-promo deal with Alienware Arena, you can pick up a Steam key for a demo here.

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

“So, all the lights in the heavens are our enemies, huh?” – a Gurren Lagann quote, but it’s what pops into my head every time I see maximalist RTS AI War 2, which entered early access today, but was previously open to Kickstarter backers. Sequel to Arcen Games’s cult favourite AI War, it’s a solo or co-op space RTS about taking down a massively more numerous and powerful foe. While still played on a 2D plane, this sequel adds 3D graphics, making for some spectacular battles with thousands of little spacecraft shooting and exploding at once. Below, a launch trailer.

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

Old-school first-person shooters will always be my jam, and Project Warlock has already got my foot tapping. It’s a retro FPS by Buckshot Software with chunky Wolfenstein-inspired blocky maps, but more modern-styled combat, and due to make its debut (as a timed GOG exclusive) this Thursday, October 18th. While it’s hard to get a feel for the game without playing around with its weapons and grungy pixellated monsters, the launch trailer below definitely looks and sounds the part.

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Katharine Castle)

As 70 / $69 gaming mice go, the MSI Clutch GM60 is arguably one of the most adaptable mice I’ve seen in a while. It’s ambidextrous for starters, making it a good pick for right and left-handed PC peeps alike, but you also get not one, but two pairs of magnetic side covers, an extra USB cable (one braided, one rubber) and> an additional top cover. All right, the latter is possibly a slight misfire in that it doesn’t actually change the overall height of the GM60, but the rest bring a welcome touch of flexibility to this eight-buttoned gaming mouse that helps go a long way in justifying its premium price.

It is, however, weirdly flat. Despite measuring a sizable 130mm long, 65mm wide and weighing a hefty 170g, the highest point of the Clutch GM60 stands just 39mm off the ground. From there, it’s a steady decline down to a positively titchy 12mm or so, making the whole thing feel a bit like a pancake. Does its deflated shape make for best gaming mouse material? Let’s find out.

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Dreadnought - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

Fire the (plasma) broadsides, launch (nuclear) torpedoes and splice the (warp?) mainbrace – free-to-play heavyweight space naval shooter Dreadnought is out now after years in beta. Playing like a blend of World Of Tanks and World Of Warships with less gravity and more lasers, it’s an online team shooter developed by Spec Ops: The Line folk Yager and lesser-known outfit Six Foot. While Dreadnought has been available to play in beta one way or another for ages, it made its version 1.0 debut yesterday. Check out the release trailer below.

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