Starwars: Battlefront trailer

Following on from the announcements of the upcoming Call of Duty and Deus Ex titles, here's the trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront:

I used to love jamming Battlefront II with my brother on the trusty old PS2 nearly 10 years ago. The maps set in Tatooine were some of my favourites.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided announced

Since I just placed a link to the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided announcement video in my previous post, I figured it would be more useful to just put the video here too.

One thing's for sure, the new Deus Ex will probably have a better a better campaign story than Black Ops III.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III announced

Yes you read that correctly, Treyarch have officially announced that the next title in the Call of Duty franchise will be Black Ops III. No big surprises there, given the huge success of Black Ops II.

Black Ops III will be set in the future, and judging by what's been shared on Treyarch's Facebook page, gameplay will feature cybernetic enhancements (Deus Ex anyone?), and possibly laser weaponry. The ever popular 'Zombies mode' will also be making a return.

A full reveal will take place on 26 April 2015.

Video of next Assassin's Creed game leaked

While Ubisoft are still trying to sort out the bugs from their first 'next gen.' exclusive Assassin's Creed title, Assassin's Creed Unity, it seems that the team over at Ubisoft Quebec are already getting themselves ready to announce next year's AC title, Assassin's Creed Victory.

News of next years AC release comes through leaked video, and images shared by Kotaku. According to Kotaku's post, Victory will be set in Victorian era London, and will only be released on PC, and new gen. consoles. 

I'll be quite interested to see which famous characters from the era will be included, and in particular if we'll get a chance to interact with Charles Darwin, his contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace, or even his opposer, Sir Richard Owen. Being tasked with hunting down Jack the Ripper, or even finding out that Jack's activities were Assassin/ Templar related, would be a really interesting story sub-plot to 'explain' the inconsistencies in the modus operandi of the Whitechapel murderer(s). 

This is the first time Ubisoft Quebec is heading up the development of an AC title, an I really hope they can bring some innovative new features to the gameplay and story telling. From the video footage described on Kotaku, it sounds like they've done just that, with the addition of a grappling hook device, and fight sequences that take place atop moving carriages and trains.

If the virtual London is rendered with same architectural accuracy as we saw for Unity's Paris, then I'd be really keen to be able to take a stroll down 'Exhibition Road' (and maybe even causing some raucous during the Great Exhibition with the likes of Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and George Eliot), and explore the British Museum (Natural History).* 

There are no recent releases that make want to upgrade to a new console, and with the exception of Evolve, there are no future releases exclusive to next gen./ PC that could tempt me to upgrade either. I'll be keeping an eye on the development of Victory though, as this may just be the first truly next gen. Assassin's Creed experience, and may just be the excuse I need to upgrade/ build a dedicated gaming PC.

For those of you not so sure about this title because you're still smarting after all the glitches Unity served up, here's an apology from Ubisoft Montreal's CEO, and some news about free DLC.

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* now the Natural History Museum

Header image from Kotaku

The Goliath guide

First there was the Big Alpha infographic. Now, there's the Goliath infographic:

This new infographic puts into perspective just how powerful a real-life Goliath would be. Except it doesn't really, because it uses imperial units. So for those of you not in the United States, Myanmar, or Liberia,* here's a quick 'translation' of the units to the metric system so that you can fully grasp the magnitude of Goliath's feats.

Height (1 metre ≈ 3.281 feet)

Goliath = 22.5' ≈ 6.858 m
Hunter = 6.5' ≈ 1.981 m

6.5' seems a bit tall for the hunters, especially given that the average height of a male, aged 20-29 in the U.S. is only 5'10''.

Perhaps in the future people will have evolved to become taller, or be genetically augmented in a Space Marine manner.




Leap Smash (Distance) (1 metre ≈ 3.281 feet)

Goliath = 52' ≈ 15.850 m

52' divided by 8 is actually 6.5'

Red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) can jump as far as 9 m (= 29.528') in a single hop, which means Goliath can only leap ~1.761 times that of a kangaroo. Not quite as impressive.


Bite Force (1 newton ≈ 0.225 pounds force)

The bite force of a Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is 22 kN (≈ 5000 lbf), while that of a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is 16 kN (≈ 3700 lbf). The data here are a little dubious, as salties are meant to have the highest recorded bite force in a laboratory environment, and the conversions have been rounded up.

However if we take the average for the two crocodile species, we get 19 kN, so Goliath's bite force would be approximately 247 kN, or 56550 lbf!



Weight (1 metric tonne ≈ 1.102 U.S. ton**)

Goliath = 9.6 tons ≈ 8.709 t
Killer whale = 9 tons ≈ 8.165 t

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are not actually whales, and instead belong to the dolphin family. The recorded weight of largest known male killer whale was ~ 10 t, or 11.023 tons. So Goliath is comparable in size to a large dolphin.

Speed (1 metre/ second ≈ 3.208 feet/ second)

Hunter = 23 ft/s ≈ 7.014 m/s

The fastest recorded speed for a human is 12.420 m/s (= 40.748 ft/s). This was achieved by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt during a 100 m (= 328.084') sprint event held in 2009.

The average walking speed of a human is 1.4 m/s, or 4.593 ft/s.

At a leisurely stroll (1.4 m/s), it would take approximately 17.853 seconds to clear the 24.994 m (= 82') radius of Goliath's flame breath. Therefore minimal chance of survival. At the hunter's speed of 7.014 m/s, it would take 3.563 s to escape, slightly better odds of surviving. At the record speed of 12.420 m/s, it would only take 2.012 s to escape Goliath's bad breath.

Since we don't know how fast Goliath can run, it is difficult to determine exact chances of surviving a flame breath by simply turning tail, and running. Having fire resistant armour, and a nearby medic, would no doubt greatly increase your chances of survival.


Distance (again, sort of) (1 metre ≈ 3.281 feet)

Goliath can lob a projectile 167' (= 50.902 m), which is pretty impressive.

While a majority of pine tree species reach heights of only 15–45 m (= 49.216–147.638'), the tallest ponderosa pine (Pinus pnderosa) has been measured to be 81.770 m (= 268.274') tall. So climbing to the top of this would put you well out of range of Goliath's missiles.

Conclusion

Goliath is pretty mean, but not as mean as the initial figures made him out to be. Still you probably wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley Shear forest on your own.

I'm really hoping Turtle Rock and 2K release similar infographics for the remaining roster of monsters, as well as some more background stories for the hunters. Actually an infographic detailing the various flora, fauna, and environments of Shear would be great too.

--

* These countries have yet to officially adopt the metric system, with the United States being the only industrialised country to not yet have adopted the metric system.

** Also known as a short ton.

I survived Kyrat 2014

Last night I managed to finish the story for Far Cry 4. I did so in about 15 minutes, without shooting anything (I didn't even get a gun), without driving a vehicle, and without even leaving the dinner table...

That's right, by following Pagan Min's instructions (as well as the audio cues courtesy of The Clash), and simply staying put, and waiting for him to return, I was taken straight to Lakshmana. Lakshmana is where Ishwari Ghale (your in-game mother) requests you take her ashes. There is a brief playable part where you get to place Ishwari's ashes, and open a door. Then there's a short cut scene, and before you know it the credits are rolling. Mission accomplished!

While the alternate ending skips all the fun parts of Far Cry 4, it enabled me to get a glimpse of the world before heading to bed last night. The opening scenes look really good, especially given that I'm playing on a old gen. console. It was at the dinner table where things started to look a little dated. Pagan Min looks as though he has had time to not only wash all the blood from his face, but also all the detail, texture, and life too. 

After Min had left the room, I took the opportunity to look around. Note I said look around, not walk around. I'm not sure if the alternative ending will play if you move from the dinner table. From my vantage point I could see three rather thick bank notes strewn on the table, several half eaten meals, some trinkets/ chimes blowing in the wind, and a flashing (collectible?) item in another room. I noticed that if I moved the camera around too quickly, the screen got glitched in half due to lag. I don't recall this happening at all in Far Cry 3, which also uses the Dunia 2 engine. I'm not sure if this phenomenon occurs in the game's outside world too, or if it is restricted to pagan Min's dining hall. I'm assuming due to the increased detail outside, it'll still glitch, but hopefully this will be fixed in the coming patch. 

Despite the graphic problems I'm looking forward to giving Far Cry 4 some proper game time, and am especially looking forward to tackling some honey badgers. 

2 Patches + 2 Days = Far Cry 4

Far Cry 4 has only been out for two days, and there is already a preview from Ubisoft giving some details of  Patch 2.

I pre-ordered Kyrat Edition for the PlayStation 3 mostly for the extra stuff, but also because many of the reviews were saying it played very much like Far Cry 3. In my mind that is a positive comparison, especially given FC3's many favourable reviews, and the extent to which I enjoyed it.

News of Patch 2 comes only hours after Alex Hutchinson (FC4's Creative Director) claimed that the Day 1 Patch was a means of preventing pirates from enjoying the game:

PC players! If you're online complaining about the lack of FOV control ... You pirated the game.

— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) November 18, 2014

It's a little disheartening to hear that almost every game to be release this year has come with a fairly substantial 'Day 1 patch.' It's great that developers continue to work on a game even after it has 'gone gold,' but why aren't these errors being picked up during play-testing and quality control before the discs are sent of to be manufactured? I completed the entire story of Far Cry 3 before I had figured out how to connect my PlayStation 3 to the internet. If there had been a Day 1 patch, I wouldn't have been able to download it, and essentially would have wound up playing an 'incomplete game.' I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the experience as much, nor spent nearly as many hours exploring the Rook Islands if the game had such fundamental errors as corrupted save data.

I will probably start a proper playthrough of Far Cry 4 this afternoon. I'm hoping that I wont encounter too many issues. If I do find the experience to be flawed, the I'll put FC4 aside for a few more days and wait for Patch 2. At least I still have Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel to keep me busy, and I'm quite enjoying my second run through Elpis.

Evovle's Big Alpha Infographic

Evovle's 'Big Alpha' event has come and gone, and from this infographic it looks as though it was a huge success:

These were the dates that the Big Alpha ran for.

At the moment it seems that playing as a hunter means you have a 56.75% chance of winning a game, versus only a a 42.25% chance if you play as a monster.

That seems to be a pretty balanced outcome. Given that most players would have been familiar with a 'hunting style,' it's not surprising that the hunters fared better. 

What will be interesting to see is how these figures change after a few more balancing tweaks, and after the games official release. I'm fairly certain some players (see below) will opt to become specialised monster players, honing their skills at evading hunters, optimising evolutionary progressions, and learning which abilities to use in particular environments and scenarios.

These figures really intrigue me. Assuming that every match had five players, four hunters and a compulsory monster, it's interesting to note that the Assault and Monster classes were the most favoured. I'm guessing the Assault class was popular because of flamethrowers, miniguns, and lightning guns. I mean who doesn't like flamethrowers, miniguns, and lightning guns?

Well me actually. Personally (and if South Africa hadn't been excluded from the Big Alpha), I would have chosen to play as either Griffin (Trapper) or Lazarus (Medic). Obviously harpoon guns, silenced sniper rifles, personal cloaking devices, and "slightly illegal" devices that effectively make your character a necromancer aren't as sexy as flamethrowers and lightning guns. Whatever.

That's a lot of rounds played. Just imagine how many more rounds there could have been had so many PlayStation 4 players not experienced issues.

It seems a lot of people like to watch with approximately 5 viewers per round played.

It definitely seems like a lot of people like to watch. Creepy bastards.

Were these just regular players, or was there a developer involved?  

If you like gaming orientated infographics here are a couple for Call of Duty and Diablo III.

Tales from the Borderlands is coming this month

I've spent quite a bit of time playing Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel since its release, but i'm not here to tell you about that today. Check back in a few days though if you do want to hear more about it. 

Today I'm sharing with you the most recent trailer for Tales from the Borderlands. 

As the timeline from the video (also below) explains, the 'Tales' from the Borderlands are set after the events of Borderlands 2. For those up to date with events of Borderlands 2, it hasn't yet been explained how Handsome Jack is able to narrate the trailer for Tales just yet (SPOILER: Jack dies in Borderlands 2), but I'm sure that that will be explained in the first episode. Given Telltales' success with The Walking Dead series, the possibility of Handsome Jack coming back a zombie can't be ruled out, but it is more likely that Handsome Jack left various ECHO recordings, or hologram messages to be found by the player, which would explain how he is able to communicate with the player from beyond the grave.

In addition to Handsome Jack, former vault hunter Zer0 also makes an appearance in the trailer. He is definitely still alive, and seemingly responsible for rescuing Fiona, Rhys, and Vaughn from a bunch of bandits. It'll be interesting to see how that interaction plays out in the first episode of Tales, as well the rest of the season.

I'm a big fan of the artistic style used in the Borderlands and The Walking Dead franchises, and I'm an even bigger fan of the stories from the Borderlands universe. While I'm really excited to see in which direction Telltale take the Borderlands story, I'm not as excited about the episodic nature of the release. I'll likely wait for the five episodes of Tales to be released on a single disc.

That's what I thought I'd do with The Walking Dead game too, but then my brother ended up getting it for Xbox 360. I figured that instead of buying the same release, I would rather save my money, and simply TWD in successive visits home. Instead during my last visit my brother and I ended up playing couch co-op. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Ironically RoS is a game we both have, and technically I have two copies of the base game.

Tales from the Borderlands will be available on old and new gen. consoles, PC, Mac, and iOS devices, with "other platforms to be announced." If you're intending on getting this for PC, then Steam is currently offering 10% off the regular price of US$24.99. I don't know if that is the price for episode one only, or the entire series, but the description leads me to believe it's the former. I could be wrong. Steam's 'pre-order special' is only valid until 25 November which could mean that that is the release date for Tales.

The only things still to be announced by Telltale is what bonuses will be made available to folks who purchase Tales, and have also purchased Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel? Could Tales hold the key to the hidden Baroness character?

Will you be buying Tales from the Borderlands digitally on day one, or will you be waiting for the compiled edition on a disc?

Overwatch: Blizzard's online multiplayer shooter

Following on from Blizzard's StarCraft II announcement, here's a look at their new IP, Overwatch. I get the impression this title has a very similar concept to that of Evolve, but instead of going up against one overpowered monster with a few friends, your team of six mercenaries will be up against another six mercenaries. 

Blizzard are well known for their epic cinematics, and the reveal trailer for Overwatch does not disappoint.

From the gameplay trailer the classes look very similar, and even some of the character design/ abilities seem to overlap heavily between the two titles. For instance Overwatch's Mercy looks quite a bit like Evolve's Val, but with Lazarus' resurrection ability. 

Overwatch's medic, Mercy, sizes up the sniper-medic, Val from Evolve 

One thing that will definitely set the two titles apart (as can be seen above) is the artwork style and animation. While Evolve's has gone for a more realistic representation of its environments and characters, the developers of Overwatch have gone for a more cartoonish-look, and I really like it.

While this is potentially the type of game I'd like to play (and I particularly like the looks of Reaper), I highly doubt my current PC will be able to handle running it. When Evolve was first revealed to be next gen. and PC only, I had seriously considered upgrading my PC. But then the whole idea of buying a console was so that I wouldn't have to get a new graphics card every 6 months as a new game came out.

So while Overwatch, Evolve, and to a lesser extent Battleborn look like great co-operative shooters, the chances of me purchasing any of them are slowly approaching zero. Now if one of these titles were to launch with a worthwhile single player campaign, then things might change.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void announcements

It's been nearly two years since the release of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, but finally Blizzard have announced the third, and final installment of the StarCraft II trilogy; Legacy of the Void.

I still haven't gotten around to playing the previous games of the StarCraft II saga, but now that the story is being wrapped up with the release of the LotV 'expansion,' hopefully it wont be too long before a StarCraft II: Battle Chest is announced. That is something I will definitely buy, especially if it has a few extra goodies, like strategy guides, soundtracks, etc.

Assassin's Creed: Rogue coming to PC, next year

Looks like Ubisoft have changed their minds, and decided to release Assassin's Creed: Rogue on PCs, but only in the new year. Rogue will however still be a last gen. exclusive upon release though.

What this means though, is that PC gamers will be able to enjoy both the "last gen." and "new gen." Assassin's Creed titles with possibly only a minor upgrade to their current gen. gaming PC set up, while console gamers will need to have access to more than one console in order to appreciate the entire story.

Here'a new trailer giving us a bit of insight as to which familiar faces we'll get to see again, as well as how the lead character, Shay Cormac becomes disillusioned with the Assassin's, and turns to the Templar order instead.

Rogue is looking very promising story-wise, but I'll wait a few more weeks before taking the pre-order leap of faith. I have however pre-ordered Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, which is set for release here on Friday.

Third Assassin's Creed game announced for 2014

Here's a trailer showing off the season pass for Assassin's Creed: Unity. The season pass will include some more missions set in Paris, as well as a darker story set in 1794 Saint-Denis, that will follow on from the events of the main game. Also included in the season pass will be some additional weapons and items to customise your character.

The most exciting season pass content has almost nothing to do with Unity, or revolutionary France. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a 2.5D, side-scroller set in 16th century China. This means that technically there will be three new additions to the Assassin's Creed franchise this year. I'm really hoping Chronicles will not be a new gen. exclusive, and would definitely buy this if it were released as a stand alone download for either PC or PlayStation 3. Hopefully Chronicles' will also open the door for the development of a full game set in a similar time period, covering some more historical events in China.

You can also pre-order the season pass to get extra stuff, which I'd be rather weary of doing, since the main game hasn't even been released yet. Each to their own I guess.

'Shock Drop Slaughter Pit' challenge map video

Here's a video from 2K giving us a quick look at the challenge map that is available when pre-ordering Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

Since the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit challenge map isn't included in the season pass, but will be available for a price at a later date, it's important to remember the Hyperion Company's motto, "Give us all your money right now, or we won't give you any of the cool stuff we make." Wait, I'm not sure Handsome Jack is quoting the right company.

I'm still deciding whether this is worth the pre-order, or whether to wait for the inevitable Game of the Year Edition. That said, I'm still waiting for the Borderlands 2: GotY to show up on local listings. Maybe an announcement of a collector's edition that includes a season pass, and some additional "cool stuff" (like a physical Psycho mask) could sway my decision.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel to get a season pass

In a recent post I mentioned that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is one of the few games coming out towards the end of the year that I have considered pre-ordering. One of the reasons I haven't placed a pre-order just yet is because I'm waiting to see if there are any collector's editions announced that may contain physical content. The reason I've been considering pre-ordering the game is for the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit challenge map incentive.

Now with the recent announcement of four DLC packs, and a season pass for the game, as well as the news that the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit will be "available for purchase at a later date," according to 2K, there is less motivation pre-order the game. Yes, pre-ordering will save me a few bucks, but nor pre-ordering will allow me to see some reviews before parting with my cash. 

Furthermore, it seems that there will be additional content available through playing Tales from the Borderlands, which is being developed by Telltale Games. So to get the maximum experience out of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, one actually needs to purchase the base game, the season pass, and a game from another development studio. 

On the plus side, it was also announced that the once "old gen. exclusive," may well get a current gen. release if there is enough of a demand for it. So while Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is being developed for older systems, there is some thought going into the process of making the jump to newer hardware.

I'm still pretty excited about the game, but I'm beginning to get a little less excited about the idea of pre-ordering it. Most of the DLC from the previous Borderlands titles has been incredible, but I still don't like the idea of a season pass, whereby you pay for something that hasn't even been fully thought out.

Q3-4 gaming release update. Now with pre-order details!

Since the news of the delay in release of Evolve, announcement of the development of the "old gen." exclusive, Assassin's Creed Rogue, and details emerging regarding various special editions of gaming releases I was already following, here's an updated list of gaming releases I'm looking forward to;

1. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (30 September) - pre-order exclusive: Dark Ranger skin
2. Alien: Isolation (07 October 2014) - Nostromo, and Ripley Editions
3. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (14/ 17 October 2014) - pre-order exclusive: Shock Drop Slaughter Pit challenge map
4. The Evil Within (21 October 2014) - pre-order exclusive: The Fighting Chance Pack
5. Assassin's Creed: Rogue (11 November 2014) - pre-order exclusives: The Ultimate Hunter Pack, and The Siege of Fortde Sable mission, as well as a Collector's Edition
6. Far Cry 4 (18 November 2014) - Limited, Kyrat, and Ultimate Kyrat Editions

I'm already starting to whittle down the list of titles I intend to purchase on, or near the release date. For now these are Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Far Cry 4: Kyrat Edition.* I'm still interested in the other titles, but the pre-order exclusives, or contents of the special editions, at present do not interest me. Now if either the Nostromo or Ripley Editions of Alien Isolation came with a replica Nostromo or Ripley, then I'd be interested. 

The Assassin's Creed: Rogue 'Ultimate Hunter Pack' content does look cool, but will the exclusive black Templar sails really change my gaming experience? I think not, although the additional mission may add an additional few hours of gameplay, so that could make pre-ordering Rogue at least a little more worthwhile than picking it up later. I'll continue to keep an eye on which content the various local retailers will be offering, as I have also seen a 'Commander Pack,' and 'Templar Pack' advertised locally, both of which share items with The Ultimate Hunter Pack. Sadly the Collector's Edition of Rogue does not include a figure of Shay Patrick Cormac, nor does it appear to include any of the item packs, but it does include physical copies of the official soundtrack, an art book, some lithographs, and a fancy box to keep it all in. Oh, and an additional single player mission entitled 'The Armor of Sir Gunn Quest.' I'm not sure these are enough to warrant an additional R300 for the Collector's Edition.

Guess my wallet isn't going to take quite as hard a knock, come October, as I had initially anticipated. Of the four games listed above with October release dates, I'm only actually interested in pre-ordering Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. The others can wait until they receive a price drop, or a 'Game of the Year' edition is announced. This will also mean others will have had time to review these games, allowing me to re-assess if whether I really need them in my collection. This pertains to Alien: Isolation particularly, as even though the information released looks very promising, there is still the abomination that was Aliens: Colonial Marine lurking in the back of many people's memories. 

This leaves only the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag remake, and Far Cry 4, which I'm not even sure will offer the same experience on older consoles. Perhaps I'll wait until after I've gotten my hands on Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel to decide whether to purchase them, as by then  there should be more than enough fresh information available to help me decide the pros and cons of these releases. 

The physical content of the Kyrat Edition does look pretty sweet though,* and I did have a lot of fun playing Black Flag, so the decision between the two titles will definitely require some thought. Maybe I can use the money I save in October to buy both.

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* I'm a sucker for collector's editions that include replicas of props from within the game, hence these purchases.

Mad Max - fourth movie, and a game coming in 2015

For the last couple of weeks I've spent most of my gaming time exploring the desolate future of Rage. In my opinion this game is an absolute gem. Yes, it has a few niggles, like a lack of an autosave feature, and the texture pop-ins, but it was exactly what I was after as my next game to play.

Rage is an open-world shooter with a terrain that essentially looks like a more realistic rendition of Pandora (Borderlands), with the vehicles and weaponry of the original Mad Max movie. In fact the game shares a lot of features with the original Borderlands, such as the bounty boards, looting, and of course, the various bandit enclaves.

Before I found out about the existence of Rage, I was getting quite excited over the future release of the open-world Mad Max game being developed by Avalanche Studios. While the in-game Max looks very little like Mel Gibson, and more like Joel from The Last of Us, I'm guessing the game's Max is actually modelled to look more like Tom Hardy.

What does the Bane actor have to do with Mad Max? Well Hardy is playing the titular character in George Miller's fourth instalment, Mad Max: Fury Road, which is also set for a 2015 release. I'm guessing it makes more sense for the game's Max to look more like Fury Road's Max, than like the original Max, Mel Gibson. This will help the game and film tie-in with one another, even if that was not the initial intention. 

We'll have to wait to see how these new additions to the Mad Max franchise will be marketed. But it looks like my desire for another open-world game, set in a dystopian future will be satiated by Mad Max. In the meantime though, I'll quite happily continue to get that fix from Rage.

Evolve delayed till February 2015

Evolve, the game that I was most looking forward to coming out this year, has had its release delayed until early next year.

I guess one of the advantages to the postponement, is that I'll now have more time to play Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Alien: Isolation, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Far Cry 4, etc.

The new release date is set for 10 February 2015, which means that it'll be out just before Valentine's Day. I've already been dropping my wife some massive hints about wanting this game, I hope she's been taking note...

Far Cry 4 will have honey badgers

You may be asking yourselves what's so special about a honey badger, well it's probably the most bad-ass animal of all time, Well at least according to this video:

I get the impression that the honey badger will take the role of the Komodo dragon from Far Cry 3, i.e. if there's long grass/ tall vegetation around, you're more likely to hear it than see it. And by the time you see the little blighter it'll be too late to run.

The distinctive 'hiss' of the Komodo dragon in Far Cry 3 is definitely what creeped me out the most while playing the game. I'd be aware of their proximity because of the hissing, but due to the vegetation I'd have no idea which direction the fast moving lizards would be attacking from. Even once located the buggers would absorb quite a bit of lead before dying mere metres from my feet. It seems I'm not the only one who felt this way about the Komodo dragons either.

I'm really looking forward to hearing more about Far Cry 4 before it's release, especially regarding how the "old gen." versions stack up against the "new gen.' versions with regard to gamelplay. I imagine there may be quite a bit of texture pop-ins, but if the PS3 version offers the same solid gaming experience, without the need to cut any content, then I'd consider a compromise in graphics acceptable. I mean both Borderlands and Rage (two of my favourite PS3 games) have noticeable texture pop-ins, but these don't have any negative effects on my gaming experience.

I'm still waiting to see whether I should consider placing a pre-order for Far Cry 4, especially since the Kyrat Edition looks pretty bad-ass itself, or wait for the first few reviews to come out.

Assassin's Creed Unity reinvisioned by Rob Zombie

That's right, Rob Zombie teamed up with illustrator Tony Moore (co-creator of The Walking Dead), and together they created their own bloody version of the Assassin's Creed: Unity trailer. I think I'm more excited about the game after watching this video, than was after watching the official cinematic trailer from Ubisoft.

What would get me even more excited about the release of this title would be if they announced that it would be getting a 'last gen.' release. So far Assassin's Creed Unity, and Evolve are the only two games that could persuade me to invest in a new console, but upgrading my PC still looks like a better, and cheaper option at this point.