Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams was a Kickstarter platform game that John liked but didn’t love: the former because of the satisfaction of learning each Sister’s special skills, the latter because of issues like repetitiveness. If you’re of the same mindset and was gunning for an opportunity to do more with the game, developers Black Forest has just the thing for you: a competitive multiplayer mode.
Risk of Rain looks like a side-scrolling roguelite-shooter and in most regards that’s what it is. It’s also got a lot in common with ARPGs, in the way its characters’ skills function and in how a newly unlocked character can completely change the way you approach the game. The latest update, version 1.2, is significant because it i) switches the game to a new engine and ii) adds two entirely new classes.
All strategy games strive to reach a certain balance; the point at which the player feels responsible for their successes and failures, but where the simulation is so complex and alive that a perfect, static system can never be built. That’s apparently what motivates Prison Architect‘s 25th alpha, “one of the biggest updates” Introversion say they’ve ever done. The main new addition is prisoner reputations, a system of personality types that will make creating a perfectly functioning, forever peaceful prison practically impossible.
As ever, there’s a video talkthrough and some more detail of the changes below.
I don’t think it’s possible to have any misgivings over an update officially titled “Mechsgiving.” As for Portalmas, well, that one’s a bit more up for debate, seeing as it’s just a word I made up. But generosity’s officially in the air, and both Piranha and Valve are doling out fairly significant updates to their breadwinners, MechWarrior Online and Portal 2. Unfortunately, neither involves gigantic mechanized turkeys, but I suppose beggars in the midst of celebrating a decadent holiday of feasting and lethargy can’t be choosers. Still though, that’s far from a reason to mope. So let’s look under the ol’ turkey tree and see what we got.
I was thinking, seeing that World Of Tanks has unveiled its 8.1 update with accompanying video, that this isn’t a Halloweeny thing. What are they doing releasing it today? And then it occurred to me: tanks are actually scary. Ghosts and monsters may be the more traditional source of chills, but their overall efficacy at being frightening is somewhat limited by their not existing. Tanks exist. They blow people up. They could blow you up. Thanks are fucking terrifying. Everyone: dress up as a tank tonight.
The Secret World‘s second issue hasn’t exactly had the shortest journey to players’ virtual mailboxes, but – after one more brief delay – it should be arriving sometime today. Let’s be honest, though: seeing as it’s Guild Wars 2’s time now (Is that the point they were trying to make? I still don’t know), your TSW icon – cold and untouched by a mouse click’s caress – probably has the other kind of mouse living inside it at this point. You, I’m guessing, will require some convincing on this one. Funcom seems to think so too, so it’s put together a video overview of “Digging Deeper” – just for you, and you alone. And also hundreds of thousands of other people who are incredibly similar to you.
The Tribes: Ascend updates keep on rolling out, and so too does evidence of Hi-Rez’s continued commitment to filling this game with strange stuff. Sure, they’ve already added disco, but now there are costumes. And elaborate backdrops. And German. But anyway, as long as the game keeps being good, we should not question the nature of these updates. And there are some pretty intriguing new toys in this update, so here we are.
