HomeFeatures Halo’s NPCs are apparently ageing faster than the gameCombat Superannuated, more like Combat Superannuated, more like Good oldHalo: Combat Evolved. It’s like that one character archetype from American bro comedies, of the guy who’s sailing rapidly into his thirties, but can’t leave behind his jock glory days and keeps showing up at frat parties, whooping and getting messy-drunk despite not really knowing anyone there. Actually, that might not be an archetype at all - I think it’s just the plot of the 2003 movieOld School....

HomeFeaturesNight Call Have You Played… Night Call?A wild night out A wild night out Santa Claus got into my taxi last night. Not some bloke dressed up as Santa.TheSanta. With the reindeer and the sleigh and the presents. I wasn’t even aware it was Christmas Eve when my gruff taxi driver rolled out of bed that day, but there he was, his large hat slung over a tired, booze-addled eyelid and his beard all messy around the edges....

HomeNewsOverwatch Overwatch’s 3-2-1 experiment is finished and I’m glad to be rid of itExperiments good, Triple Damage bad Experiments good, Triple Damage bad Overwatch’s very first Experimental game mode has come to an end. Over the last week,the game featured a Triple Damage modeas a way for Blizzard to test how they could reduce queue times for folks who want to play damage heroes. For starters, what a great feature the Experimental card is!...

HomeNewsSea of Thieves Tread carefully over flame traps in Sea Of Thieves' next updateHot under the hull Hot under the hull We didn’t start the fire. It’s always burning since the wheel’s been turning. Oh yes, the flames rage on inSea Of Thieves. Last month’s update added that flamin' angry chest and ashen skeletons and whatnot. Next week, the silly pirates game is getting another update and yup, things are still hot around here....

HomeNewsHalf-Life: Alyx Valve Index restock rumoured for Monday - and folks have strange plans for how to buy itThat’s £919 in store credit That’s £919 in store credit Image credit:Valve Image credit:Valve The rumourmongers of the unofficial and unaffiliated Steam Database claimed last night to have the skinny on the restock: Valve Index VR kits will be available for purchase on March 9th starting at 10 AM PDT (5 PM UTC)....

HomeNewsTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege You can play Rainbow Six Siege free this weekendQueue up starting tomorrow Queue up starting tomorrow This weekend you can breach walls without also blowing a hole in your wallet. Ubisoft’s multiplayer shooterRainbow Six Siegeis having a free-to-play weekend where you’ll be able to take a spin on all its maps and modes. Pre-loading has already started, so you can queue up a download right now if you’re looking to hop in on the free weekend starting Thursday....

HomeNews Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now out on PCSurprise! Surprise! Surprise! With little warning,Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversarylaunched on PC today. This is the remake of Bungie’s very first game in the first-person shooter series, the one which started Master Ian Chief’s adventures on Xbox way back in 2001. I never played it but my god, the things I’ve heard about its powerful pistol… maybe I’ll finally see for myself. It is only £7, after all....

HomeNewsHalf-Life: Alyx Let’s pause to appreciate Half-Life: Alyx’s shotgun reload animationWith its weird mechanical arm With its weird mechanical arm There’s a lot ofHalf-Life: Alyxto coo over inthose three gameplay videos Valve released yesterday. Googheads might be smitten with catching grenades in mid-air, opening a car door to take cover behind, or lifting the lid on a portaloo then reaching in deep with your digiarm. Me, I have simple pleasures: I am well into the needlessly extravagant reload animation on what I believe to be a sci-fi shotgun....

HomeReviewsSkul: The Hero Slayer Premature Evaluation - Skul: The Hero SlayerHead ‘n’ shoulders Head ‘n’ shoulders Developer:SouthPAW GamesPublisher:NeowizRelease:Out nowOn:Windows, Mac, LinuxFrom:SteamFor:£11.19, $14, €13 A side-scrolling roguelike with a pixel art style and an adorable little skull person protagonist,Skul: The Hero Slayercould easily be mistaken for about seven thousand other early access games. After all, we’ve long since hit peak pixel, reaching the stage in society where lovely chunky squares are the mainstream rather than the exception, and aliased edges and bezier curves have to cower and beg in the street for hovering roast chicken sprites....

HomeFeatures The Final Fantasy 7 remake needs to give flowers the respect they deserveBunches and bunches Bunches and bunches Everyone from Taylor Swift to Tyler, The Creator has written a song about flowers. Fancy restaurants scatter them over melting chocolate bombes. Van Gogh even had a crack at painting some once, I believe. And after all, why not? Flowers bloom all around the world, and symbolise so much to so many different cultures....

HomeHardwareNews This terrifying gaming bed is just a toilet short of perfectionLevel up them Zzzzzs Level up them Zzzzzs Dystopian dread aside, thanks to the ever reliable services of Google Translate, Bauhutte’s description of their gaming bed does, at least, make for some entertaining reading. I do love a bit ofspace merit, oh yes. Mind you, that’s just the description for the “standard” gaming bed, which comprises of the bed, headboard with additional phone grip lamp thing, and the desk at the end....

HomeNews E3 2020 is going ahead as planned, organisers sayThey’re keeping an eye on things They’re keeping an eye on things “Everyone is watching the situation very closely,” the ESAtold Vice Gameson Friday after the GDC news broke. “We will continue to be vigilant, as our first priority is the health, wellness and safety of all of our exhibitors and attendees. Given what we know at this time, we are moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning....

HomeFeatures Have You Played… SimLife: The Genetic Playground?Wasp factory Wasp factory Both of them were fairly opaque, ambitious evolution simulators, marketed on the idea of creating your own life forms and seeing them develop over time. I guess the difference was, SimEarth was more about simulating the life of your planet - with oceans rising and falling, atmospheric temperature and composition changing, continents drifting and so on - while the creatures that evolved there were more abstracted, and didn’t have many characteristics beyond the taxa they belonged to, and their level of “advancement”....