There are two, pretty obvious, factors by which I judge strategy games: how immediately satisfying they are to play, and how well that satisfaction holds up in the long run. Success in the first respect is often a trade-off for success in the second, as the things that dazzle on day one become dulled by the cumulative effect of small design problems. It’s hard, then, to take the measure of a big ol’ strategy game during a limited preview play session.

But after just a day with it, I have high hopes that Empire Of Sin, the extraordinary prohibition gangster simulation coming from Romero Games on December 1, is going to hit the big time on both fronts.

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We’re barely into November and the early [cms-block] deals are already here, including a couple of rather good gaming headset deals. Several retailers have started their Black Friday savings early this year, so if you’re looking to grab a gaming headset on the cheap before the big rush at the end of the month, then you’ll find all the best early Black Friday gaming headset deals right here. Naturally, we’re likely to see the greatest number of Black Friday gaming headset deals closer to November 27th, but we’ve already seen some good discounts on some of our top gaming headset recommendations, with no doubt more to come.

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A is for Alphabetised wargame and sim news.

Welcome to the cosy corner of RPS where the vehicular is valued, the historical is hallowed, and the paragraphs are shorter than 7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24 barrels. (more…)

Below is a list of “33 things wot are rare”. Entries have been stripped of vowels and numbers and had any inter-word spaces repositioned*. For example, if Inverted Jennies was present it might appear as NVR TDJNNS. Supercentenarians would be SPRCNTNRNS.

*Hyphens are treated as spaces. Apostrophes are ignored. (more…)

There are three headsets in Roccat’s new Elo family. At the bottom, there’s the entry-level Elo X Stereo, a simple, lightweight stereo gaming headset that costs just £40 / $50. Then there’s the £60 / $70 Elo 7.1 USB, which, as its name implies, adds a USB connection and 7.1 surround sound to the mix, as well as Roccat’s Aimo RGB lighting and extra sidetone settings. Finally, there’s the wireless Elo 7.1 Air, which pretty much does everything the Elo 7.1 USB offers without the wires for £90 / $90.

Crucially, they all share the same ultra comfy design, which mimics the ski-goggle-style design of my favourite Steelseries Arctis 7 and Logitech G733 Wireless headsets for hours and hours of headpinch-free gaming. It makes the Elo X Stereo a particularly great headset for those on a budget, but is it worth spending that little bit extra on the Elo 7.1 USB? I’ve put both headsets head to head to find out.

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Looking back at it now, 2020 doesn’t feel like a banner year for strategy games, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few gems. The list below – gathered by a panel of experts and regularly updated – contains games from as recently as 12 months ago alongside classics from as far back as 28 years ago. They’re all games we think you could play and love right now.

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Apex Legends

‘ seventh season dropped this week, and with it came a load of fun new things – a map, a character and even a vehicle. But it also brought some big changes to how the battle pass works. Unfortunately, these changes made the battle pass a whole lot more difficult to level up, making players need to do about twice the amount of work to get half the amount of progression. Last night, Respawn tweaked the new system, but players still have a huge grind ahead of them compared to previous seasons.

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You thought it was over. You believed the year of anguish would be a memory by now. I’m sorry, you were wrong. The carousel of disharmony will never cease, and neither will the bumper car motorcade of video games. This week, the United States of America chooses a President in a logistical process entirely in-keeping with the carnival metaphor I am here constructing. Even in video games – no strangers to ineffectual binary choice – there is a more varied selection of candidates. Here are 7 Presidents other than those offered on this week’s ballot.

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What happens when the turn-based tactical violence of Worms becomes a real-time shooter? See for yourself in the free Worms Rumble open beta weekend, which started today. This latest Worms spin-off is a 32-player side-on shooter with all the usual wacky weapons, throwing down in deathmatch and battle royale modes. I like Worms because of the game it is, not the brand, but Rumble could be good in its own right. The beta is also on PlayStation 4 and does have cross-platform multiplayer, so you can batter your PlayPals too.

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Want to know the best Apex Legends characters heading into Season 7? There’s never been a better time to get stuck into this hero-based battle royale now that there are 15 Legends to choose from, each with their own unique skillset, and each one can be used to lead your team to victory. But despite this, we’ve still managed to put together our own tier list of the best Apex Legends characters and abilities in Season 7, with write-ups on the strengths and weaknesses of every Legend.

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