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Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity and The Crew will not be released on Steam in the UK

Sai Mealing
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Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity and The Crew will not be released on Steam in the UK

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It’s almost as if Ubisoft want the PC gaming community to hate them at times. After a botched Watch Dogs port earlier this year and some frankly insane system requirements for Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ubi have opted to take a further fifty shades of piss by announcing that their latest releases will not be available on Steam to customers in the UK.

This change is limited only to the UK market for now and essentially means that any subjects of the Crown who do want to play these games legally will either need to purchase them directly from UPlay, purchase a retail copy with a UPlay key included or obtain a Steam license from another region.

UPlay often receives a bad rep in gaming circles and with good reason since it is easily the single worst DRM platform out there since SecuROM. Of course, it’s fair to point out that most Ubisoft PC titles need UPlay anyway regardless of whether or not you own the game on Steam however this does seem like a kick in the balls aimed squarely at one market. It also really cannot help a platform that is already tied to massive piracy statistics.

Whether or not any future Ubisoft games will be available via Steam in the UK remains to be confirmed but chances are that a lot of people will not be happy with this and may look to less reputable sources for their copies this Christmas.

Majora’s Mask 3DS Remake Confirmed for Spring 2015

Daniel Delargy
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Majora’s Mask 3DS Remake Confirmed for Spring 2015

You’ve been met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?

Well…actually, we haven’t, thanks to an announcement by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. “This dark departure from the Zelda formula must have left some intense and scary memories in player’s minds,” he said. “As we worked on the remade version, we set out to maintain the original level of challenge while keeping the game accessible for anyone.”

Fans of the series have called for it for years now. And, this afternoon, Nintendo announced via Nintendo Direct a remake of quite possibly one of the most hyped sequels of all time for the 3DS.

With no explicit details released about the specific new features, we are just left to marvel at the glory that is…Majora’s Mask.

Majora’s Mask, a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, was originally released for the Nintendo 64 back in 2000. Ever since Ocarina of Time was released for the 3DS, fans have been waiting patiently for this remake to show itself. And, four years later, we will have our game.

And dear god in heaven it looks beautiful.

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…I mean, as beautiful as one can get with a face like that.

9755_10153292882593294_4822595094613883562_nOkay, that looks way better.

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And the Special Edition – which includes a special Majora’s Mask pin badge, steelbook case, double-sided poster, the Majora’s Mask 3D game card…oh and is slated for a Spring 2015 release – looks amazing.

As a big fan of the Legend of Zelda series, I can’t wait for this sequel…and guess I’m going to have to revisit Ocarina of Time to remind myself of just what young Link went through.

 

Dad Of The Year Surprises Son With The Master Sword

The_Dark_Mike
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Dad Of The Year Surprises Son With The Master Sword

Over at GP we love The Legend Of Zelda. One of the mainstays of the series is the Sword Of Evil’s Bane, colloquially known as the Master Sword. We especially love it when the sword is used to smite evildoers in real life.

A video recently surfaced of american father Will Johnson (hopefully “Willy” to his friends, fnar fnar) surprising his son in the woods with a replica of the the sword. His son is an avid Zelda fan, knowing the intricacies of the series including the relevance of the Deku Tree.

The video is worth watching for his son’s reaction alone, and should be an assurance that the next generation of geeks is something we won’t have to worry about.

Side note, this does mean that a three year old has greater knowledge of the series than some of the Link cosplayers at this years MCM. Just sayin’

Julian Glover, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and One Man Star Wars Announced for SFW6

Peter Ray Allison
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Julian Glover, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and One Man Star Wars Announced for SFW6

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The Sci-Fi Weekender is the annual science fiction festival – all the trappings of a convention, but with the atmosphere of a festival – in North Wales. Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and James Cosmo are already attending, but four more guests have recently been announced.

The first is Julian Wyatt Glover CBE, an English actor whose film roles have included a wide range of well known characters, including General Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the James Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, among dozens of others. More recently, he has played the recurring role of Grand Maester Pycelle on Game of Thrones.

In 1967, Glover featured as Professor Quatermass’s nemesis Colonel Breen in the Hammer Films production of Quatermass and the Pit, an adaptation of Nigel Kneale’s 1950s BBC TV original. He has also appeared twice in Doctor Who: as Richard the Lionheart in the 1965 serial The Crusade; and, in 1979, as the villain Scaroth in the original run’s City of Death.

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Appearing alongside Julian Glover will be John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, the team that created Judge Dredd and helped establish 2000AD as the biggest name in British comics. These two comic greats will be appearing at the Sci-Fi Weekender together to discuss their life in the comics industry.

Next up is the writer and performer of One Man Star Wars Trilogy. The project an Off-Broadway play based on the original Star Wars trilogy, created by and starring Canadian actor Charles Ross. It premiered in Toronto in 2001, and has since toured worldwide, with over 1,000 performances in 119 cities.

Charles Ross has toured and appeared on several television shows. Ross has also performed the show for Vin Diesel and the rest of the cast on the set of The Chronicles of Riddick, at the world science fiction convention masquerade half time show (Noreascon) in 2004, at Star Wars Celebrations III and IV, and Comic-Con International 2004 in San Diego.

Charles will be performing on both Friday and Saturday of the Sci-fi Weekender, with his second appearance being his One Man Lord of the Rings.

With these announcements, I am even more determined to go to next year’s Sci-Fi Weekender. Further information about this sci-fi festival can be found here.

Wulverblade – Best of Show @ PlayExpo 2014

Lendosan
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Wulverblade – Best of Show @ PlayExpo 2014

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I have saved, what everyone considered to be, the Best In Show at Play Expo 2014, until last.  Having met Michael Heald the day previous, I gave the game a good blast, both prior to the GP interview, and afterwards.  It is a very visceral, side scrolling beat-em-up, based on the good old classic games from the 90’s.  So lets have a look at Wulverblade shall we?

Wulverblade brings a modern twist, to a classic style of gaming.  When you start the game, the graphics remind you of that old style gaming, modern, but with a twist of retro thrown in.  You play a Gaelic warrior, fighting the Roman Legions who have invaded the British Isles in 120AD.  Your fighting the 9th Roman Legion, a Legion of 5000 brave, hardened and brutal warriors fresh from Rome, ready to conquer the Island.

To start the game, you have to kill, literally, an enemy that is stood still in front of you.  You dive straight in, no load screens, no introduction, just action.  There are several differing types of game, the two I saw where Story and Wave based modes of gameplay.

The Story mode follows Caradoc whilst he attempts to destroy the 9th Roman Legion during its campaign through the British Isles.  Caradoc is the Guardian of the Northern tribes and has rallied all the forces together to counter the Romans and destroy them.  What makes this even better is the fact it is based of military history, but there is an element of the mythos & lore of British history as well.

The Wave mode allows you to fight progressively more challenging waves of enemies from random Barbarians to well trained Roman Legionnaires.  The longer you last, the better your score and the high you will go on a Global Leader board.  This mode is also co-operative, meaning two of you can fight against the waves, but you can also attack each other.  The longer you work together, the longer you will last, but you’ll also be sharing score.  It adds a great element to a classic game.

The game looks fantastic, its beautifully rendered and uses cell animated characters.  Being able to play the game in 1080p HD really shows how fantastic the game looks as well, and it really displays the detail of the art put into this game.  The soundtrack is apt for the game and really gives the game a suitable grandeur that you would only get from a super blockbuster game, or film.  The game has 8 levels, spanning across typical English nature, but all based on Historical locations.  Michael actually visited the places to gain inspiration, facts and read into the history of the 9th Roman Legion, and any lore surrounding their disappearance.

After speaking with Michael, playing the game, and asking people who played it, I can seriously see why this won best game in show.  So much thought, passion and dedication has gone into this game, and that love could be seen.  The presentation of the stand, the presentation and passion of the game itself, and the engagement of Michael was the raw evidence.  This game is fantastic, a definite purchase if you have spare funds when it is released.  Check the game out at the website here and be sure to share and spread the word of this fantastic game.

It will be released on the Xbox One and Steam in 2015.

Indie Breakdown @ PlayExpo2014

Lendosan
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Indie Breakdown @ PlayExpo2014

A huge part of Play Expo is about Indie developers showing their games, and whilst I was there I managed to chat with some awesome up and coming developers.  I played some great games whilst at Play Expo this year, and I thought I would share the best of the bunch with Geek Pride.

Chompy Chomp Chomp

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Whilst getting lost at the Health and Beauty Expo I bumped into Sarah, one of the two developers (the other being her Husband Woody) of Chompy Chomp Chomp.  After finding our way back to the real world of games, I thought I would go and check it out.

This multiplayer eat `em up is based around different styles of playing maze, where you chase each others Chomps around.  Collecting various power ups, your mission is to eat your target, which is dictated by a coloured circle underneath your Chompy.  Its a fast, fluid, frenzied gaming environment that will have you coming back for more.

Its a nice, quirky looking game that has come along way from its original form.  Its homegrown, perfectly Indie and well worth a look.  Check it out over at their developers website Utopian World of Sandwiches, or at the dedicated website for Chompy Chomp Chomp

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Mutiny! 
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Imagine being Captain of your own boat, with your own crew, sinking other ships and collecting the gold!  We’ve seen games within a similar vein like this before, but nothing as fast paced and fun as Mutiny!

Mutiny drops you into the game as one of, potentially, sixteen crew!  Whilst floating around on the high sea, enemy ships and their crew will attempt to sink your ship and kill you.  You must work together in order to save your ship and keep your gold.  Grab the Captains hat to become Captain of your great vessel.  Alas the Captains hat grants you the power of teamkilling, rob your teammates of their gold and become to richest pirate, but be warned, kill too many and you grant your crew the right to MUTINY!

Mutiny played like a dream, had good looking graphics, and although the flowing, moving screen was a tad confusing, after a couple of games you got used to it.  Its currently in Kickstarter and well worth a look.  Go check it out at Hidden Armada, and maybe drop some money into their Kickstarter whilst your there.

Voxelfield
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Being a player of Dota 2, I enjoy MOBA’s (Not a League player sadly Geekers).  So when Pav, one of the developers behing Voxelfield, told me its a Cyberpunk inspired MOBA involving Mech’s, he didn’t need to say much more.  The first part shown to be was the ability to destroy EVERYTHING, yes really, everything.  You can level buildings, destroy bridges, carve a hole to climb through with your Mech.  The MOBA takes place in the far, dark future, where Corporations fight for supremacy.  You battle through City scapes that you can level, shape and destroy, whilst trying to destroy opposing Mechs.

Voxelfield, like most Indie games, is still in Kickstarter.  It has a long way to go, but I am sure if its up your street, you can check it out and put some cash in their pot.  Check them out at their website.

Tactics Forever

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From the creator of “Fortresscraft: Evolved” comes an underground game that has been lurking in the background for sometime.  Destined to be released on Steam in Feb 2015, I got a look at Tactics Forever.

You create your ship, depending on level, cash etc.  You work on all aspects, your location of weapons, shields, thrusters, everything.  Once your happy with your ship, you upload it and the ship automatically fights other ships.  You can also give your ship orders, ram the opponents or keep your distance.  You fight for global, or clan based, domination as you earn points and cash to climb the ranks.

Its a great little game, graphically its bright and instense.  It runs smooth, but due to its stage in development, it has a couple of steps to go (Ships chasing each other in circles for example).  Its well worth checking out if your into Science Fiction, Space combat and building/designing ships.  Check it out at the Tactics Forever website here!

Terra Tech

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Finally I touch upon Terra Tech, a cute little quirky game that caught our attention on the last day.  It has a great following, but I’ve never played it until Play Expo.

You control automated vehicles that collect resources to improve themselves, and their resource collecting ability.  However there are enemy factions also out there collecting the resources, and every now and then you will have to fight it out.  Kill the enemy vehicles and scavenge the blocks from them to improve your own vehicles.  The games physics engine is pretty slick, creating realistic physics for a futuristic game.  Its a nice looking game, and appeared popular with the Indie crowd at Play Expo.  Its still in Beta phase, and backing grants early access.  Check the game out at their website here, or grab early access on Steam here.

Conclusion

I think if I had to pick one of the above to play, at home, or back on a Kickstarter or funding, it would definately have to be Chompy Chomp Chomp.  Woody and Sarahs dedication to building their game is above and beyond the average Indie developers.  The game is smooth, fun, quick to pick up and addictive.

So thats my Indie round up from Play Expo 2014, I had a blast checking out all these titles, and I will probably go back to all of them at somepoint.

Overhyped or Overwhelming? Dragon Age Keep Beta Impressions

jesshealy24
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Overhyped or Overwhelming? Dragon Age Keep Beta Impressions

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Though The Dragon Age Keep, Bioware’s solution to replicating player’s world state on to multiple platforms was released among the world through open beta last week; I was lucky enough to be invited to test out the closed beta version as part of the final wave of those who applied previously. The Keep has been in development since the end of 2013 and fans of Bioware’s famous fantasy RPG are eager to see if this will solve the complications of importing their previous world state of Thedas. The real question is, however, does it live up to expectations? Below are my initial impressions of what The Keep will offer to die-hard and new fans alike, and whether or not this hugely significant addition to the Dragon Age saga has been worth all its hype.

As you can perhaps already guess, beta testers can be hugely helpful and provide fresh views to developers, whose extremely close proximity to the project often means that they see it solely from a certain perspective. So fresh eyes, particularly from fans, are more than welcome to a project that has such high expectations as The Dragon Age Keep. With this being the case, it must be said that as a Beta tester it can be easy to sometimes forget that this is still a product that isn’t entirely finalised and will no doubt be subject to change right up until Dragon Age: Inquisition’s release in November. The beauty of this being that it keeps us interested in what else Bioware has in store for fans; and more importantly how exactly we can use the Keep to manipulate plot choices in order to generate our perfected world state of Thedas.

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While many have been keeping up to date with all things Dragon Age via Bioware’s latest Twitch streams hosted by the developers, for those who want to keep an air of mystery until the open beta on Wednesday, you will not be disappointed by their efforts. To be bold, the Dragon Age Keep feels like a completely fresh look at interactive storytelling. It should be said however, that although the Keep has definite hints of Bioware’s previous interactive titles such as Mass Effect’s Genesis series through picking plot decisions, the developers have worked hard to bring a sense of familiarity to the program. One aspect that particularly sticks out is simply its aesthetics; the Keep itself has adopted the mosaic artwork that we have grown to associate with the franchise as we are greeted with tiled plot choices both pivotal and trivial in the style of what the developers refer to as ‘the tapestry’. It is here that we are given full reign of exactly what happened to our Grey Warden and Hawke during their epic outings which, if played through beforehand, will appear as avatars when synced up to an active gamertag.

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When met with the tapestry, it is hard not to feel a little overwhelmed by all the choices that shape the particular world-state of Thedas when translated in to Dragon Age: Inquisition. However, the Keep offers a less intrusive way of editing such plot outcomes in that of an interactive cinematic that is voiced by none other than Dragon Age VA Brian Bloom (Varric Tethras). Having a fan-favourite character feels like a nice touch to the Keep that reinforces familiarity and one cannot help but think that this replicates the formula of Commander Shepard’s narration for Mass Effect Genesis, giving the illusion of a bigger spectacle. What is also pleasing to see is that specific plot outcomes that were available through certain DLCs such as Mark of the Assassin and The Exiled Prince have now been enabled to be reflected for players who had not purchased them previously. This clearly implicates that Bioware wants their fans, of all calibres, to be given the chance to enrich their world state as much as possible.  So now, if a player ever wanted to stab Morrigan through the Eluvian at the end of the Witch Hunt DLC(and don’t lie, we’ve all wanted to do that at some point to Morrigan), the Keep has given them the option to do so.

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With the Keep being conceived as an extremely ambitious idea from the start, it is unavoidable however that the program would have its problems. More specifically, these issues have emerged through the program’s technical side. Understandably, with millions of players trying to access the Keep hourly, the browser-based program can fall victim to crashing and have difficulties saving when one tries to export their newly replicated world-state. Even in its beta stage this is something that the developers are fully aware of, and have therefore provided a helpful feedback textbox that proves handy when running in to any problems. Once again, it is understandable that a browser based program such as the Keep will experience problems from time to time; but if they are to add more plot choices over time, as they mentioned in The Keep FAQ, this is something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

In conclusion, The Dragon Age Keep has been a long time coming for die-hard fans of the franchise; due to this, expectations cannot always be fulfilled. However, it goes without saying that Bioware have worked hard to re-create and reflect aspects of their hugely popular fantasy RPG in a program that is on a lesser scale of spectacle. And while it has its problems, for the most part it succeeds, somewhat of a triumph for something that is still in its beta stage. The Dragon Age Keep will definitely tide fans over until Dragon Age: Inquisition’s release towards the end of this month, and will no doubt surge speculation further in to what choices will reflect what outcome in the franchises’ newest addition.

 

Dragon Age: Inquisition will be released on 21st November.

Arcade inspired music video is turned into playable game by fans.

Andy Haigh
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Arcade inspired music video is turned into playable game by fans.

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Back in 2012 electronic/EBM music artist Faderhead released the video for their song “Fistful of fuck you”. The video featured the likeness of the singer/musician and the likenesses of other music artists in a side scrolling beat em up which was inspired by Final Fight, Double Dragon and other classic arcade games.

The video was a hit with fans and led to calls for the video to be turned into a playable game. Building games takes time of course, as well as money and a particular set of skills which Faderhead didn’t have. Flash forward to 2014 and fan Trev Nethers contacted Faderhead and offered to program the game using the open Beats of Rage game engine.

Faderhead had this to say about the game:

It’s born out of love for trashy eighties/nineties beat ’em up games and I am very glad that I can make it available for free

The game is available for free download from the Faderhead website ,or rather it was, the game has proven so popular it’s crashed the servers with Faderhead posting this message via their Facebook page:

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Whilst the game is unavailable for the time being, keep an eye on Faderhead’s Facebook page for updates on the situation and you can check out the video that was the games inspiration here.

David Goyer talks Swamp Thing appearing on Constantine

Andy Haigh
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David Goyer talks Swamp Thing appearing on Constantine

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David Goyer executive producer of NBC’s new Constantine, which has just aired its second episode, has spoken about one of the things that Hellblazer fans have been speculating about, namely, whether Swamp Thing, the avatar of the Green who has a distinctly tangled history with John Constantine, will be appearing at some point.

Talking to Collider Goyer said:

If we were to do it, it’s a hard character to pull off, in terms of visual effects make-up.  We don’t have $10 million to do the CG.  We definitely wouldn’t see him in the first season.  If we’re fortunate enough to keep going and we feel like we can pull it off, that one requires a lot of creature design, so we need to make sure it doesn’t look dumb and is organic to the story.

Goyer’s honesty about how problematic portraying Swamp Thing on screen would be is refreshing. Whilst FX may have revolutionised the way comic derived characters, especially superheroes, can be realised on screen in film, doing the same on a TV budget will be distinctly more challenging. A digitally enhanced prosthetic suit would be a best of both worlds approach but context is the key.  Matt Ryan’s John Constantine meeting a poorly realised avatar of the Green would please nobody.

Idris Elba Confirms Heimdall and Loki for Avengers: Age of Ultron

Stephen Brewer
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Idris Elba Confirms Heimdall and Loki for Avengers: Age of Ultron
Heimdall & Loki in Avengers: Age of Ultron
Heimdall & Loki in Avengers: Age of Ultron

In a recent interview Elba gave with The Telegraph,  ‘The Wire‘ star confirmed that he and Tom Hiddleston were renewing their roles as Heimdall and Loki.

Elba chuckles. He’s not meant to talk about this, but he clearly enjoys doing things he’s not meant to do. “I’m in Avengers,” he reveals. He means that his Thor character, deity-cum-sentry Heimdall, appears in Age of Ultron, the second instalment of the superhero ensemble franchise. “And I’m doing a scene with Chris Hemsworth [who plays Thor] and Tom Hiddleston [Loki], and they’re like, [whispers] – ‘Aren’t you [meant to be] in Ibiza?’ ” That bassy chuckle again, followed by a frown. Elba came straight to Ibiza party-time from a mythical Norse god/Marvel universe that has made billions at the global box office. His head is all over the place. “That’s why I was p—– about my set yesterday. I really just wasn’t there. I was annoyed.”

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However it appears that the man from East London isn’t exactly enamoured with his role for Marvel, in fact he is pretty far from happy it appears.

“Mmm. Yeah. I mean, I didn’t quite shake it off.” It seems he didn’t have the chance. “It was really weird,” he begins. “I’d just done eight months in South Africa. I came to England and the day I came back I had to do reshoots on Thor 2.” He raises an eyebrow. “And in the actual scene my hair was different, my…” He stops and gives an exasperated sigh. “I was like, ‘This is torture, man. I don’t want to do this.’ My agent said: ‘You have to, it’s part of the deal.’ ”

In the scene in question in the superhero movie, “I’m actually falling down from a spaceship, so they had to put me in harness in this green-screen studio. And in between takes I was stuck there, fake hair stuck on to my head with glue, this f—— helmet, while they reset. And I’m thinking: ‘24 hours ago, I was Mandela’. When I walked into the set the extras called me Madiba. I was literally walking in this man’s boots. [Within] six months, the crew, we were all so in love with this film we had made. I was him. I was Mandela, practically,” he insists.

“Then there I was, in this stupid harness, with this wig and this sword and these contact lenses. It ripped my heart out.”

So whilst we have Idris Elba and the mighty Heimdall for now, chances are he won’t be around for long, at least not if he can help it.

 

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