The sanitisation of Skate reminds me how far counterculture has fallen and how hard it can be to stay inspired Do a kickflip! Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / EA I remember having a chat with my old barber last year about the Skate trailer. We weren’t concerned with the popular gripes. We were just stoked to record new edits and re-enter the classic Skate flowstate on a new engine that would hopefully have more grounded physics....

The Sunday Papers Image credit:RPS The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) videogames from across the web. Which is a terribly self-indulgent way of talking about another human being, who I didn’t know and who is gone, but it feels like a necessary precis to explain why this week’s Sunday Papers contains several articles to old pieces of music writing. Here’s the one I’ve been quoting the most on WhatsApp, on the revisionism of the BBC’s recent Britpop documentary , which builds to an important argument but opens with some gleeful vitriol I’ll quote in full....

The Sunday Papers Image credit:RPS Sundays are for more cat. She’s reached the “follow me into the bathroom when I go downstairs at night for a wee” stage, but still won’t come upstairs - which means I have to leave her alone for long periods while I work, which makes me feel bad. Before I unsuccessfully arrange yet more treats on the stairs, let’s read this week’s best writing about games (and game related things!...

The Zone is looking deadlier than ever in new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl trailer It’s still due for release on September 5th 2024 Image credit:GSC Game World S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl , the long-awaited sequel to the FPS that perhaps emanates the most shame in my backlog, has a new combat-focused trailer showing off the many dangers of the enigmatic Zone. You’ll also be pleased to know that the release date remains the same as the previous announcement : September 5th 2024, where it will be coming to Game Pass day one....

This 1000W PCIe 5.0 power supply is down to £140 after a £40 discount The MSI MPG A1000G is a great 80+ Gold unit with 12VHPWR support for RTX 40-series GPUs. Image credit:MSI Get the MSI MPG A1000G PCIe 5.0 1000W PSU for £140 (was £180) This spec sheet is ideal for high-end PC builds and supports any consumer graphics card, including the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX. With this much power on tap, you’ll have plenty left over to overclock your processor, even with power-hungry models like the Core i9 13900K or 14900K....

This farming sim sits at the bottom of your screen while you kid yourself you’re doing other things Rusty’s Retirement launched this week Image credit:Mister Morris Games Steam is lousy with farming sims that will absolutely destroy your productivity by ensnaring you within a compulsive loop of reaping and sowing. Rusty’s Retirement explicitly promises a less engrossing experience: it’s a farming sim that “sits at the bottom of your screen while you do other things....

This free Quake mod is also a prequel to hack ’n’ slash Slave Zero X, which is a prequel to a 1999 mech game Available now with Bethesda’s stamp of approval Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Poppy Works What’s the most 90s way you can market your retro-styled prequel to a 90s mech shooter? Other than an Acclaim-style stunt where you offer people £500 to tattoo their baby’s face with the game logo, I’d say perhaps releasing a Quake mod....

Today’s Highguard major update delivers a new hero who’s a wolf in all forms including physical, awoooo Fearsome howler Ekon arrives alongside a 3v3-only ranked mode Image credit:Wildlight Genre soupy shooter Highguard ’s second big update arrives today, February 6th. It’ll deliver a new hero to guard those pesky highs in the form of Ekon, a bloke who can transform into a wolf. Developers Wildlight have also aimed to ensure the game’s gang of established heroes don’t feel left out by adding a free wolf mount, alongside a new map called Skydrift and a 3v3 ranked mode....

Total Warhammer 3 without touching grass: Noctilus accidentally looks up ‘avast’ in the dictionary Zombies love me, fish fear me. <img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/vamp9.jpg?width=690&quality=85&format=jpg&dpr=3&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“A large cannon is destroyed in Total War: Warhammer 3 - 1”> Image credit:Creative Assembly Well, swaggle me horns and fasten me timbers so they stop shivering like that, because the noise is quite irritating. Welcome back to another edition of Plundertales - my quest to conquer strategy game Total War: Warhammer 3 without ever stepping foot on dry land....

Valve announce a new Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and the Steam Frame VR headset – and I’ve played them Dispatches from a three-pronged hardware assault Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun Ye gads, there’s three of them. You may have heard that a Valve hardware announcement was on the cards, but the Steam custodians’ biggest metal-and-circuits reveal since the Steam Deck actually concerns a power trio: a new Steam Machine, a new Steam Controller, and the Steam Frame hybrid VR headset....

Valve must address swastikas and other hate on Steam, writes US senator in a letter to Gabe Newell Improve moderation now, says politician, or face “intense scrutiny” Image credit:Valve A senator for the US government has urged Valve to answer complaints about the amount of racist, sexist and otherwise hateful posts and imagery shared by users on Steam. The digital store was the subject of a report by the Anti-Defamation League last week, which claimed to find millions of examples of “hateful or extremist” language and images hosted on Steam’s community....

Valve’s new Steam Controller aims to entice a broader field of PC players, which I fear already includes me Pad for it Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun Anyone who appreciated the weirdness of the original Steam Controller – and it still has its fans, despite ceasing production in 2019 – might look at this new version and think “Oi, that’s just a Steam Deck with the screen cut out.” An accusation to which Valve, one suspects, might respond by slowly leaning forwards, eyes so wide they resemble the old version’s trackpads, staring the increasingly frightened sceptic in the face and whispering: “Yes....

Video game voice actor union takes Fortnite’s Darth Vader chatbot to court They find the lack of notice for bargaining over terms disturbing Image credit:Epic / Rock Paper Shotgun Video game voice-actor union SAG-AFTRA are launching a legal case against the presence of generated AI voice-acting for Darth Vader in Epic’s battle royale Fortnite . They’re accusing the company’s subsidiary Llama Productions of using AI to “replace the work of human performers” - or at least, of replacing human performers without first haggling out terms with the union....

What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Do tell! Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hartford, Conn.: L. Stebbins, 1871 Aha! I have at last wrested control of the WAWAPs from the intruders! Let the smiley faces return! And also, be a star and let us know what you’re getting up to this weekend? I’ve missed our chats. Here’s what we’re all clicking on this weekend! Edwin I was about 15 minutes into Silent Hill f on Thursday when there was a power cut....

What’s better: health pick-ups looking like cartoon hearts or Doomguy’s pet rabbit, Daisy? Vote now as we continue deciding the single best thing in games Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun Last time, we conducted citizen science with a rare suggestion from a reader, and you decided that being able to reroll your build is better than instant-death bottomless pits . May you live a long and happy live refining by degrees, rather than slamming into hard lessons....

What’s on your bookshelf?: art game maker and level design expert Robert Yang read-only Image credit:oldbookillustrations.com Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! Books obviously come in many different sizes, but did you know that there’s an obscure law that dictates the legal limit for how long a novel can be?...

What’s on your bookshelf?: Game urbanist and author Konstantinos Dimopoulos read-only Image credit:oldbookillustrations.com Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! I’m currently reading Dorothy Parker, who did more for the language than I’d previously though. I’m having quite regular moments of “oh, she said that”. More proof, if any were needed, that the soul of wit is as much depression and alcoholism as it is brevity....

While you wait for an official update, Elden Ring Nightreign already has a two-player co-op mod It’s seamless! Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco Elden Ring Nightreign is, to the surprise of no one, off to a bit of a flying start (even if not everyone is completely in love with it just yet). I have no intention of diving into it just yet, in part because the solo experience doesn’t interest me all that much, and I don’t really want to be matched up with two other randos that would surely abandon me the moment I forget what my character can do....

Wordle hint and answer #1218 (October 19 2024) Stuck on today’s Wordle word for October 19? Read our hint or find the answer below! Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun This guide is for a previous day! Looking for today’s solution? Check out the Wordle hint and answer for Wednesday 11th February ! Need a hint for today’s Wordle answer? Wordle is a tough test of word acumen, but luckily we’re here to provide you with the tips you need....

Wordle hints and answer (#1057): How to solve the Saturday May 11 Wordle Stuck on today’s Wordle word for May 11? Read our hint or find the answer below! Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun This guide is for a previous day! Looking for today’s solution? Check out the Connections hint for Wednesday 11th February ! Need a hint for today’s Wordle answer? Wordle is an addicting but challenging test of word acumen....