Ahead of its launch on June 5th, I’ve been able to see the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection in action, and it certainly looks the part. The quarter-century-old RTS, as well as comrade Red Alert and their squad of three expansion packs, have been sent over the top of their pixellated trench, and into the high-res carnage of no-man’s-land. Malaysian art house Lemon Sky Studios have armed them with visual assets suitable for the rigours of combat in 4k resolution, and they’re entering the fray to a remade soundtrack by original series composer Frank Klepacki. Their FMV cutscene artillery has been digitally embiggened through a combination of digital archaeology and machine sorcery, while their archaic multiplayer setup (I guess it can be a metaphorical tank), has been scrapped in favour of a much more robust new system.

I’ve no doubt that fans of these two grizzled soldiers will be delighted that they’ve been commanded back onto the battlefield of PC games. But as faithful as their rearming has been, they’re still working to a set of mechanics that are old enough to join the army themselves. The question, and the reason for this whole tortured allegory, remains: will these very old games have what it takes to conquer new hearts? (more…)

XCOM Chimera Squad takes place in City 31, a colony that is always at risk of becoming unsettled. Enemy factions are stirring up unrest in each of the districts and it’s up to you to keep the peace. You can recruit field teams to assist with this, as field team abilities can be used to reduce anarchy or freeze unrest from building up in a particular district. (more…)

An XCOM-style squad tactics game spun off from Gears Of War isn’t a game I’d expect to be particularly good, but Gears Tactics launched today and what I hear is: it is particularly good. Our Nate was dead impressed, declaring in his Gears Tactics review that “it’s good to the extent where, as risky as it is to say such a thing, I’d argue it sets the new gold standard for turn-based tactics.” Huh! Now it’s out and we can all see for ourselves.

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As much as I think Destiny 2‘s Guardian Games is a disappointing grind-o-rama, I must concede that the event’s merch is cool. For each of the three classes, Bungie are selling a little supporter’s pack with a scarf, a felt pennant, and an enamel pin. I don’t buy merch but even I will concede that’s pretty neat. Bungie are good at merch in general, and I do like how some if the fanciest items are locked behind in-game accomplishments or achievements. If you want to buy the t-shirt, you need to have been there and done that.

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Sea Of Thieves

has a very good bug that can make ships spontaneously yeet themselves into the sky. Sometimes it occurs at outposts, presumably when another player’s boat is trying to spawn exactly where yours is docked. Other times it happens when you ram your ship into something and get it a bit stuck. The game is usually pretty good with course correction when these things happen, gently pushing you ship back out to a space it can actually exist in. Occasionally, however, players and their ships get not-so-gently thrown into the air at high speeds.

There’s some truly impressive physics-defying right here, so let’s rate some of the best ship flips out of 10, shall we?

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Omen is the jack-of-all-trades of Valorant agents. With his smokes, teleports, and blinds, he can be an accomplished initiator and flanker or a stalwart defender with a penchant for wrongfooting the enemy team. Learn how to make the best of all his abilities with our Valorant Omen guide and the below practical tips and tricks.

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XCOM Chimera Squad came out of nowhere didn’t it? The latest in the rebooted XCOM series opts for a more streamlined approach than its predecessors, focusing in on a fixed squad that must keep the peace in City 31. Things can quickly snowball out of control if you don’t know what you’re doing, but that’s where we come in.

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Predator – the furious boy who simply cannot get enough of spines – is up to his old tricks again in this, Predator: Hunting Grounds, a gory and asymmetrical multiplayer shooter from the creators of the equally gory and asymmetrical hide and seek simulator Friday the 13th: The Game. Four human soldiers embark on a mission to do a thing in a jungle, notionally unaware that they are being stalked by an intergalactic game hunter intent on boning them. No, not that kind of boning, get your mind out of the gutter, I’m simply talking about people having their hot wet bones violently ripped from their insides through their face and skin.

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After an unexpected journey away from Steam, both Lego Lord Of The Rings and Lego The Hobbit have arrived back, safe and sound. They were delisted in January 2019, presumably for annoying license reasons. Now they are back, presumably for slightly less annoying license reasons.

I’m vaguely irritated that licence Hokey Cokey is the reason I’m reminding you that Lego games make for some pretty good couch co-op, but here we are.

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In this current age of social distancing, making sure you’ve got the best gaming headset for playing games online with your mates has never been more important. Not only does a headset give your PC a big boost in the audio department, but its built-in microphone means you can easily talk with your team mates without the need for setting up a separate microphone. So let us help you find the best gaming headset for you and your budget with all of the best gaming headsets I’ve tested right here at RPS.

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