Once the most prestigious of luxury tech, VR headsets have become both cheaper and more popular over the last few years. A combination of competitive pricing, more user-friendly devices, and more fleshed-out VR games like Half-Life Alyx has seen headsets push deeper into the mainstream within the last 12 to 24 months.
As you go to open today's door on the RPS Advent Calendar, you realise it's locked, and you'll need to get the keycard from somewhere. Plus you won't be allowed through unless you're dressed like a waiter, and even then you'll get frisked by a security guard, who would be none too pleased to find the poison in your pocket.
Sundays are for unknowingly watering a plastic plant. Before you pour, let's read this week's best writing about games.
Chinese game developer-gobbler Tencent have acquired Slamfire, the parent company of Back 4 Blood developers Turtle Rock Studios. In a statement about the acquisition, Turtle Rock say that "the Back 4 Blood franchise is here to stay and we will be working on it well into the future."
The court date for the eighteenth door of the RPS Advent Calendar 2021 has arrived. Now listen, I know it's normal to get nervous before a big trial - it's only our sense of taste on the line, after all - but trust me, I've got the best and most experienced defence team lined up for this one and - wait, what's that? They've only been in training for three months? And they're not even properly qualified? Oh no, what have we done...
I'm writing this on my last day at work before I get to go on my Christmas holidays. I'm going to take this opportunity to say something I've always wanted to, but never had the chance. I hate you, reader.
Only kidding! I mean, statistically speaking I probably wouldn't get on with all of you, but I actually really appreciate that you're taking the time to read this and check out what games we'll be playing this weekend. In fact, we'll probably play loads of games over our breaks, but we'll tell you about those later. Until I see you again, have a lovely time celebrating the end of the year, however you do it.
If you're looking to upgrade your monitor and want something that'll give you an edge in competitive multiplayer, the AOC C27G2ZU is currently down from £250 to £200 over at Amazon - a discount of 20%. This 27in, 1080p screen is notable for its blistering 240Hz max refresh rate, and is our pick for the best 240Hz gaming monitor.
Walking through the smoggy jerktown that is London a while back, the thought occurred that for all the building games I've played, I'd never seen one about remodelling an existing city. The closest I knew was NIMBY Rails, which isn't even close.
It turns out I was miles behind the curve, as The Architect Colon Paris already exists.
This week's episode of the Ultimate Audio Bang is both festive, but tinged with sadness. It's Imogen's final run of the pod and I'm very sad about it. But we (I) gather ourselves and chat FPS news, like how PUBG is going free to play, Overwatch actually has something new, and lots of Halo Infinite stuff. We also get one final update on Imogen's Apex Legends rank. I'd love to say it's positive, but it's actually quite crushing. Merry Christmas.
Don’t be shy about opening this next door – everyone behind it is friendly. Real friendly. Kind of surprisingly friendly, for people running a motorsports festival.