A long, long time ago I became obsessed with watching people play rally games beautifully. It was a blessing to see those disembodied hands sling virtual cars around with grace and precision, kicking up dirt in a way I could only dream of.

Now, though, I am going through a different phase. A less blessed phase. One where I watched the popular streamer and influencer Ludwig attempt to climb to Platinum rank in League Of Legends, all because he wanted to prove another popular streamer, who thought he couldn't do it, wrong. I know I've already put you off, so I don't blame you if you stop reading. Just know that I couldn't stop watching his streams, even as it conjured up terrible memories of a time spent doing the exact same thing at uni.

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Dell has slashed prices on two configurations of its Alienware m16 R2 gaming laptop, offering significant value for those looking to upgrade their gaming setup. The model equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU is now available for $1,299.99, while the RTX 4070 variant can be yours for $1,499.99.

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Terrible news! Santa ignored all my letters asking for 2025 to be a year when no new videogames came out so I could catch up on everything I missed from the past several years. In fact, it seems like maybe someone else might have sent him a letter asking for there to be more big games coming than ever.

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Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! The longest novel ever written is generally agreed to be Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past - a coward’s pick, since it’s actually 13 different volumes. Don’t let Proust’s despicable lies sully the joy of literature for you, though. He did have a good quality moustache - a far more important literary trait than actually doing any writing, imo.

This week, it’s ITU Copenhagen Games Professor and Broken Rules co-founder, Martin Pichlmair! Cheers Martin! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

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Happy new year to you all! Let's make sure we collectively start off 2025 in the right way: that is, by playing games in our free time, and leaving no room for anything else. Here's what we're all clicking on this weekend!

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I'll be blunt: the only thing that really entices me about SpaceCraft is that it's from Shiro Games, creators of such robust RPG and strategy fare as Dune: Spice Wars, Evoland, Northgard and Wartales. As a concept, at least, SpaceCraft seems both flavourless and oddly inclined to overplay its own familiarity. I mean, look at that title. Consider its chilly blend of functionality and punmanship. Look at that capital "C", poking out of the middle like the bow on a present whose silhouette leaves nothing to the imagination. You already know broadly what this game involves, yes? Indeed, you do: it's a game about crafting spacecraft, so that you can travel to other planets and craft their resources into other, better spacecraft. This you may do eternally, for there are thousands of planets in store.

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The yearly speedrunning superstream Awesome Games Done Quick is starting this weekend, and it's set to be a musical one. The events will include a player who will beat a set of Elden Ring boss battles using a saxophone as a controller, and 16 minutes of Crazy Taxi with a live backing band rocking out as the driver collects their fares. Other notable events will see two players storming through The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild while sharing a single joypad, and an amorous attempt to clear "all romances" in Fallout: New Vegas within 30 minutes - wait, there are romance options in New Vegas?

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Indiana Jones is a man with hands. Deny this at your own peril. ‘Write what you know’ they say. Indiana Jones And The Great Circle’s writers knew> about having hands. They’d picked up a thing or two. Turned the odd key. Raised the occasional entire lemon to their lips and devoured it whole. Clicked a camera button. Placed an object upon a table. They had touched things, and beyond this, they had felt them. They knew that the player could never truly be> Indiana Jones, but they could be allowed to make a pretend man who sounded at least 83% like> Indiana Jones do things with his hands that very much resemble the sort of things Indiana Jones might do.

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My Selection Box picks are of three games that I did not vote for in the Advent Calendar. Two of them didn't come out this year, which is an easy disqualification, but the reality is that I also don't think any of them truly deserve a place in one of those hallowed chambers.

Yet all three are games that in some way defined my year, and I feel affection for each of them. Let me explain why.

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The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.>

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What did the Sekiro Fan Club say to the bartender at their Christmas party?

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