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More from IGN's We Own the Sky week...



I think what strikes me, seeing more of the space portion here, is that they seem to have pulled off the holy trinity of space sims: space (duh ), visitable planets, and a character view to put you right amongst it. (I doubt we'll see a believable simulated society you can walk amongst, but touching base with the three main aspects is pretty impressive).

Possibly I'm being influenced by this mightily long rant by a man called Smart, (who is known primarily for failing to do all three. Repeatedly ). He makes some interesting points about how technically hard it is to do though. (And about Star Citizen being monumentally up against it in trying to ace all three while using the off-the-shelf Crysis FPS engine. His comparison with GTA, who've achieved a terrestrial version, having a war chest and dev run that puts even SC to shame are interesting too).

Elite might get somewhere close to this 'trinity' with their own conservative, modular, down-the-road approach (and using their own bespoke engine, perhaps crucially), but these guys seem to be already there using theirs. The streamlined gameplay doubtless helps, but I'm thinking the pseudo-cartoony, highly-stylised presentation must be part of their secret too. I found the space sections quite effective in this footage, despite the bare-meets-garish gloaming going on.

The main thing I'm thinking at this moment though is: Dear god I hope their procedural approach doesn't mean the game is CPU heavy rather than GPU. Would do my nut in if it ran like a pig on my lopsided machine

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

Derek Smart? Now there's a blast from the past!

A man with a dangerously average amount of talent (just enough to bring his grand visions to market but not enough to make them any good) and the internet sense of a wronged 13 year old with ADD. Now that his name has been mentioned MoFo had better prepare itself for a new user...

He's an argumentative Peter Molyneux. Sort of.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I picked up Ultra Street Fighter and Arkham City GOTY yesterday for $20 each. Got to test out USFIV with my buddie, and I'm loving the new costumes. Decapre is a pretty sweet character. We played the looser has to take shots of whisky, so we got pretty drunk. We switched to beer after 7 shots (I am a lightweight and don't drink often). I also got to test out Arkham City. Normal difficulty was a bit boring, so I'm playing on hard. I'm enjoying the gameplay, but the plot reminds me of your typical lame comic book or 16-year-old's fanfic. Two Face sneaks up on Catwoman and puts a gun to her head without making so much as a footstep noise on the filthy debris ridden floor or opening a door to get in the room. And lame stuff like that happens in every scene. The gameplay is enough to keep me playing, but I'm very dissapointed with the story.

Gave you rep just for that fact.

City disappointed me. Maybe it's because I thought Asylum was kinda perfect in that genre but City's open world added nothing but hindrance for me. Better than Origins, not as good as what I imagine Knight will be once they fix the PC version.

If anyone in the Colonies is after a cheap gaming PC which should compete with the new consoles, you could do a lot worse than this. I've used the Reddit link because there are some useful posts about its performance.

I'd give it another 4GB of RAM because you really need 8 in a gaming PC and newer stuff like Arkham Knight specifies a minimum of 6 but DDR3 (not Dance Dance Revolution ) is cheaper than it's ever been. The other thing worth noting is that you'll not be able to upgrade the graphics card. The 860M seems a pretty good entry level GPU but don't expect Witcher 3 on Ultra.

Still, for me to recommend a pre-built unit is rare but you'd struggle to assemble one yourself with those specs for anywhere close to the price. It's basically Alienware's entry level Steam Machine with a Windows OS and a console price.

Issues plaguing the PC version were known for months before Arkham Knight's release, Rocksteady decided to focus on the console versions first and the PC version was left in the cold. So it most likely will take time. Even though they are 'trying' to work on it.

If you are really anxious to play Batman: Arkham Knight as soon as possible, your best bet is to get the X-Box One or PS4 version. Whichever console you own.

I'm not.

I've got a gaming PC, don't need one.

I've slipped easily into the loot, shoot n scoot of Far Cry 3 now . All very familiar staples of course, but they're solidly done. The animal persistence & use of natural cover definitely form the main novelty though. Love that moment when you're tucked in a bush and an ominous growl emerges from another . The way the beasties appear mid-chase, and seem to persist off to the horizon when tagged, makes it really easy to believe you're sneaking through a genuine, dangerous ecosystem



I am beginning to feel a bit OP though. I spent my first few hours bombing through enemy territories climbing towers, mainly for the free gun unlocks. Now I've got the second tier silenced sniper, silenced SMG, and the LMG with blue-dot sight for extra accuracy and range (monstrous ). Add the lovely shark-skin holsters for the full load out, and the new 'perception' drug, and raiding these bases is getting a bit too easy.

Think I'm going to have to impose a Seds-style limit of not crafting extra chems mid-action. The next time I hear a growl, and I'm out of kit, I'm gonna just have to clench everything and tough it out . Tempted to not use the 'super sense' one at all for soldiers - it's the first time I've tried it and it's basically radar - not really the 'sniff out local soldiers' it claims. Shame it isn't much more localised, and liable to lose track of certain indivuals as they move, or only show a 'shadow' of their recent location etc.

PS komodo dragons are arseholes!

I'm enjoying the open world. I like the freedom of being able to explore and fight random bad guys. I like how the dynamics of the combat are evolving as I learn more skills. It almost reminds me of Spiderman 2 on the PS2, although honestly for it's time I think Spiderman 2 was better.

I have a pretty decent gaming PC. I might get Arkham Knight when it comes out on PC.

From what I've heard it'll take months for them to release Arkham Knight in a proper state - it's using massive amounts of VRAM. Never seen anything max out my 780's 3GB so quickly and, as a reference, Witcher 3 on Ultra uses less than 2. 4GB cards get maxed, so do Titan Xs, and there's not stable performance from any of them. What's astonishing is that the game is coded on Unreal Engine 3, which has been around since the PS2.

EDIT - To clarify, when a card's VRAM is maxed out the PC switches to your regular system RAM to load textures which is a lot slower and causes stuttering.

With the Arkham Knight and MKX PC launches, Warners has gone to the top of my publisher sh*t list.

Well, I'm in no hurry to play it. I can live just as easily without ever playing it.

Yep, I'm hooked once more on Trackmania.



Quite possibly the best race track ever created, even without the Obi Wan Action Cam™.

What the, how the, how do you know where you're going?

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This looks both amazing, and like nothing I want to play . 80s Transformers meets Dragon Ball?...

It's just a matter of learning the track and making sure you're going straight when Obi Wan Action Cam™ kicks in, which is at the same point every lap. It's all a glorified Time Attack mode so you're not directly racing against other people, although you see their ghosts in real time.

I'd highly recommend the free demo at least - full online functionality until September, the only thing you can't do is use Steam Workshop to change your car model. The Giant Bomb server is open to all and the only one I play on now.

There are some sick drops in there, and not just on the racetracks.

Oh yeah, because I'm an idiot with a new graphics card I'll probably be finding myself with a spare copy of Arkham Knight. I don't know how a key for a game that has been pulled from sale will work out (I might be able to trick Nvidia into swapping it for Far Cry 4 or something) but if I'm stuck with it I'll let anyone here have the code.

Hooray for idiocy

Well, they've sent me the code.

I'm going to throw a few emails to Nvidia, lying through my teeth that the value I placed on the order was a £40 game included which is no longer on sale. If they're not going to replace it with another game (which they've every right to do, I know) then it's up for grabs.

I've actually bought a game on eBay in the past which was someone's unwanted Nvidia freebie so I know it's possible, though convoluted, to redeem.

I'll rule myself out because I suspect there are some others who want it more than me . Plus I will be busy... busy obsessing over Battlefront you see ...

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I haven't jumped onto a hype train this far before launch since Battlefield 3. It is now beyond doubt that I'll collapse and pre-order it in the next few months. It is... my destiny

EA seem to have got a bit sloppy on the Alpha take-downs. Here's one that's lasted for a bit. The gameplay starts off off a bit chaotic and clueless, but in the end the Rebels rule the day. (While getting stomped by AT-ATs and jetpacking into strange cubby holes along the way )...



Not a bad showcase for the audiovisuals, even in 720p. Really does look pretty stunning and stable at times for an Alpha.

It is ridiculous that I'm fully primed given that the only other mode on show has been a wretched wave format (even though that did look pretty damn fabulous too ). I can just see I'm going to find stuff to dig in this. And I'm pretty certain the execution is going to be stonkingly high too, for what it is.

Just obsessing good-naturedly over on Reddit we've already unearthed a load of potential for tricks and traps involved in this particular asymmetric Walker map. It's going to be a proper old meat-blender, but I can see triumphing in it, or even coming close, will be a blast

And just... that vibe...

*EDITED FOR MORE VIBE*

Some snippets of the same guy playing HUDless ...

Just heard back from Nvidia - Today's announcement from WB that they're pulling out all the stops to re-release a game which should never have been shipped in its original state has done me no favours.

They won't swap the code for another game's.

Still, that means a lucky MoFo can benefit ... probably in September or whenever it's actually ready. In fact, you'll probably be able to download the present version right now with a Steam serial but I'd hold off unless you're absolutely desperate.

Aaanyway, interesting news from Ubisoft's accountants. They've published their quarterly figures and the spilt of their game sales is pretty intriguing:

PS4 - 27%
PC - 23%
PS3 - 11%
Xbox 360 - 11%
Xbox One - 11%
Others - 17%

If those stats are replicated (and we must remember the old addage: Truth, loads of truth & statistics) by the other big publishers then the Xbone looks ... well ... boned.

Holy crap that looks ominous for the Bone. That terrible launch just keeps on rumbling. Back compatibility and all that might help move some of those 360 numbers over, but looks like they need some truly tasty exclusives...

(Never fear, I'm sure the Elite Beta is working it's magic as we speak though )