Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is likely to be approved by EU regulators, according to a report by Reuters. Three people "familiar with the matter" have apparently said that the offer of licensing deals to rivals, such as Nintendo, Nvidia and Sony, have succeeded in addressing EU antitrust concerns.
The Alienware AW3423DWF is a monitor we've talked about a few times, as this 34-in ultrawide QD-OLED manages to outperform almost everything else on the market - albeit with a four-figure price tag that also> eclipses almost every alternative.
Now though, this 3440x1440 165Hz gaming OLED has dropped in price by a sizeable 26% or £310. That brings the monitor well into three-figure territory at £880, still pricy but a reasonable value given that this Dell monitor is head and shoulders above its IPS, VA and TN opponents.
Somehow, it's been almost a decade since the last numbered Age Of Wonders game. Despite dipping their toes into the sci-fi realm with Age Of Wonders: Planetfall three-odd years ago, developers Triumph are now returning to their fantastical 4X strategy roots with Age Of Wonders 4, due out on PC in just a couple of months on May 2nd - and what a homecoming it's shaping up to be. I've spent the better part of a week and half playing an early build of AOW 4, getting to grips with its enormous array of customizable factions and hero types in its generous crop of single-player realm maps.
There's a heck of a lot to get through, but rest assured: this is Age Of Wonders through and through - and thanks to the addition of those new, customizable factions, it's also the most RPG-like entry yet, which is good news for budding D&D-ers looking for a grand, 4X strategy game to sink their teeth into. Heck, I'd even go as far as saying it could be one of this year's biggest and most exciting fantasy games outside of Baldur's Gate 3.
Back once again to prove that I will literally never get tired of an "-er? I hardly know her!" joke, it's episode five of series two of the Electronic Wireless Show podcast. This week we return to a subject we've touched on before, but in more detail. With EA asking if people would like remakes of Dead Spaces 2 and 3, and The Outer Worlds getting a remastered Spacer's Choice Edition, we're having a big old thinkeroo about remakes and remasters - including which games we'd most like to see remade.
March means Springtime has begun and it’s finally time to say goodbye to Winter - and a fresh batch of Game Pass leavers. This month’s leaving soon list is bulkier than usual, with games such as Guardians Of The Galaxy, Goat Simulator, and Undertale all waving goodbye on March 15/16th.
We're three weeks away from the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake, and in preparation of its imminent launch Capcom chucked over a fresh batch of in-game footage for us to talk about. The 17 minute long video showcased various sections from the game, including a late-game boss fight and a greatly expanded early area that sees Leon exploring a series of creepy caves.
As Rock Paper Shotgun's Resident Resident Evil Liker, I took it upon myself to obsessively study each individual frame of this video file to uncover its hidden secrets. Surprising even myself, I was able to extract 17 new details about Leon's refreshed holiday to rural Spain. That's one new thing for each minute of the footage! That wasn't intentional! What a pleasing coincidence!
AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D processors are now available (in theory), so we're seeing some big discounts on previously-released options that bring them into newfound relevance. Such is the case with the Ryzen 7 7700X, the middle child of the Zen 4 lineup and an absolutely beastly performer when it comes to gaming thanks to its full-fat eight-core, one-CCD design. This chip launched at $399 but is now $100 cheaper thanks to a discount code at Newegg, where you can pick up the 7700X for $298.99 when you use code BTSCP2655 at the checkout.
The Elgato Stream Deck Mini debuted for £70 or $100, but now it's down to £54.99 on Amazon UK. That's a handy 21% off and a fairly decent cost of entry and a historic low price for a useful macro-pad, with easy integrations for streaming apps, media and general automation.
“I was deranged,” says Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw of his decision to publish the plot of Episode 3 as fanfiction. “I was living on an island, totally cut off from my friends and creative community of the last couple decades, I was completely out of touch and had nobody to talk me out of it. It just seemed like a fun thing to do… until I did it.”
Laidlaw first discovered that community in the mid 90s, in the office of Valve, where Gabe Newell and team were already hard at work on Half-Life. “I’d seen bits and pieces of the levels they were working on, but as soon as I heard the name, I just got this amazing buzz,” Laidlaw says. “I could see the whole world they were aiming at somehow, and I felt it was a collective vision. This is one reason it’s so weird to me when people try to attribute authorship to me that I’ve never felt. It was all there when I got there, in embryo.”
There's a sometimes hard to define line between a game that effectively establishes and embellishes its fiction (good, righteous), and one that has "lore" (tedious, lowly). It's a delicate art that warrants close consideration. It also warrants some good examples, which brings us to ΔV: Rings Of Saturn. Which, as it gets closer to release, I'm going to be nice to and call either Delta V or Rings Of Saturn. Even though Triangle Vee Colon Rings is more fun.
It's also fun, having played it, to keep up with how it’s doing in early access, not just because I'm looking forward to seeing it take off, but because its dev has spent the last few years writing delightful patch notes in the style of in-world news bulletins.