The Top 5 Best Games Coming to PlayStation 4

Red Dead Redemption 2

Pitched as the prequel to Red Dead Redemption and the story of John Marstens criminal past with the Van Der Linde gang led by Dutch Van Der Linde you play as Arthur Morgan, a wanted outlaw. Red Dead first came out in 2010 so this is more than long overdue for fans of the original and should be an absolute smash hit when it arrives in Oct. See the trailer below.

Skull and Bones: The Hunting Grounds

If you've ever played Assassins Creed: Black Flag and thought just the pirate ship combat would make a pretty cool game all on its own then your prayers have been answered. Skull and Bones is just that, a full on tweaked game utilizing the Assassins Creed: Black Flag engine with some added improvements for open seas combat Galleon Vs Galleon, plundering and sinking enemy ships. 
The sea effects looks incredible, ship decks are awash with sea water as the bow plows through waves and the sheer level of detail really sets this apart from other pirate games. Customization options allow for some truly awe inspiring ships which can be fitted with a variety of cannons, sails and cosmetics. Combat looks familiar to Black Flag but with the added ability that the multiplayer aspect can see you team up with other ships for the take-down. Check out the E3 demo below.

The Last of Us: Part 2

If you're a parent then you'll have no doubt suffered the same emotional kick in the balls I did when you played the Last of Us, Naughty Dogs emotional and incredible looking 3rd person survival 'shooter'. The start of the first game was brutal and fans of the game have longed for a sequel. The recent E3 reveal shows a slightly older Ellie as she navigates the still very derelict environments that made the first game so atmospheric. Pistol and bows still make the grade as weaponry and Ellie performs some visceral enemy take-downs in her quest for survival.
The game looks absolutely stunning and the fluidity and movement of characters in the game is absolutely amazing, check out the E3 demo below, you won't be disappointed.

Anthem

When is a mech not a mech, depends on the size apparently, Anthem hasn't had the smoothest development ride but the latest E3 reveals that Anthem is firmly on track and Biowares first franchise title for several years bodes well. In Jan of this it was confirmed that Anthem would slip to 2019 but looks like this could be worth the wait and crucially moves it away from Battlefield V. Anthem is an always online based co-op multiplayer focused shooter that pitches humans against alien life forms on a not too distant planet suited inside 'Javeleins', armoured and weponized mech like suits brimming with all sorts of creative firepower (frost grenades). Teamwork play is encouraged and lone wolf tactics won't work here as you'll be up against multiple foes each time as well as powerful bosses. Check out the latest playthrough presentation below.

Spider-Man

If combo-led traversal moves are your thing from games like the Batman Arkham series and you're a fan of the web slinger then Insomnia's offering later this year is for you. Impressive visuals and the ability to pull off some truly awesome combat combo moves with the crawl and climb anywhere prospect of Spider-Man make this one to keep an eye on. Special combo attacks and finishing moves plus the ability to use the scenery around you with your web to smash villains of the criminal underworld adds some creative combat. Add to that a variety other things you can do such as tackle crimes in progress from high speed chases to wave based enemy attacks and you're all set for some web slinging action. The New York skyline looks epic and the free roam aspect of swinging around it should delight  Spidey fans, there's also a variety of Spidey costumes to unlock including the iron Spider suit developed by Mr Stark. Check out the latest E3 play through below.

You Won't Believe How Much Sir Alec Guiness Made From Star Wars as Obi Wan Kenobi

                          Art By Ryan Valle: https://rvalleart.myportfolio.com/

One of the most lucrative Hollywood deals ever made by an actor was the one Sir Alec Guiness penned on a contract with his agent Dennis Van Thal which stated that in waving a fee for the role as the wise old Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi he would take a 2% cut of the gross royalties. These royalties would also be in place on the sequels, The Empire Strikes Back, released in 1980, and Return of the Jedi, in 1983 as well as royalties from video sales.

However, Sir Alec could have earned himself even more money had George Lucas kept the verbal agreement he had mentioned to the late actor in a phone call the night before Star Wars was released back in 1977, so confident was Lucas that the film would be a success due to the positive test audience screenings, and so appreciative as Lucas was from the script changes and suggestions from a seasoned actor like Guiness that Lucas called the actor to offer him a raise which would  mean his royalty rate would instead be %2.5. But as everyone knows, unless you have it in writing a deal isn’t a deal until it’s in black and white, unfortunately that extra percentage never materialized.

Star Wars of course went on to be a monster hit at the box office globally and by 2009, nine years after the actors passing it was reported that the films had earned Sir Alec in the region of £56million, with royalty cheques continuing to roll in.

When the Star Wars movies were re-released in 1997 the late actor said “I still have a contract which says that I earn a percentage cut from the film and, of course, I’m very pleased about it.”

It’s no secret that George Lucas was on a small budget when he made Star Wars but was equally looking for actors who could carry scenes and add gravitas to their given roles, Peter Cushing was an experienced actor of stage and screen and commanded a daily fee of £2,000, which at the time was more than Mark Hamills daily fee of £1,000 and Harrison Ford who was earning around £750 per day. James Earl Jones who voiced Darth Vader had been advised by his agent at the time that Star Wars probably wouldn’t amount to much and to “just take the money and run”. It’s also been hinted that technicians who worked on the film turned down opportunities for gross royalties too.

The royalties for just the original Star Wars movies will have made Sir Alec Guiness more than his combined earnings from 40 other film roles over a career of sixty years. This included The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won an Oscar, not to mention other notable films such as David leans Lawrence of Arabia as well as A Passage to India, The Man in The White Suit and Oliver Twist. 
Eighteen years on and his presence in the original trilogy is as as strong now as it ever was.

Coffe Table Reads For Mancaves - The Art of Battlefield 1

The Art of Battlefield 1

With the forthcoming reveal of Battlefield V from EA and the most recent 'Apocalypse' DLC released for Battlefield 1 keeping current players occupied I thought it was long overdue I took purchase of another book on video game art I'd had my eyes on for some considerable time.The Art of Battlefield 1 from Dark Horse is an absolute treasure trove for the eyes in terms of illustrative and design work for Battlefield 1 which launched on PC and PS4, Xbox One back in late 2016.
At 184 pages its a stunning coffee table addition to any man-cave or study looking to add some laid back reading, especially which puts more focus on the art than the word if you're a lazy reader like me. Descriptions and design notes support a lot of the imagery giving a keen insight into the processes of bringing one of the most popular FPS games of recent years to life. Forr the most part, the book is a beautiful 'behind the scenes look at illustrative design and the historical factors that came into focus when creating a WW1 FPS game.

The book explores character design, showing the various design exploration of soldiers uniforms and in latter stages of the book, the ethos behind keeping the brand imagery in sync with other Battlefield games,but what really stands out is the way in which combat and map design create scenarios when combined with land, air and ground warfare. Pages are full of some truly eye popping digital renders and visualizations of how the game should look from air to air combat, tank warfare and the detail that goes into bringing the horrors of the World War 1 battlefield to life.

The book is a nice size and measures in at 23.6 X 2 X 31.2 cm, hardback with a matte finish to the cover, compared to Titan Book's  The Art of Battlefield 4 which featured a lot more architecture and locations The Art of Battlefield 1 feels like it presents and explores far more of the scenarios from the campaign and multiplayer that players will come face to face with in the game. 

If you can snap up a copy for under £30.00 / $40.00 then you've got a bargain because the book is difficult to put down, in fact these books are perfect for browsing in an evening or lazy afternoon.

Amazon have both kindle and hardback editions available and the price has been reduced from its original RRP: http://amzn.to/2px6V6B

Want to see more art from the DICE team?, check out Senior Concept Artist Robert Sammelin's portfolio here: https://robertsammelin.myportfolio.com/projects

BATTLEFIELD V Heads to WW2

Battlefield 1 has kept me hooked nightly since it launched back in 2016, yes nightly and I'm proud say I'm one of the 25 million users that has joined its ranks since I cannot abide Call of Duty or where it ended up with drones and sci-fi walking mechs and day-glow weapons. Modern Warfare was the last great outing, possibly Black Ops II which also played pretty decent. Visually the latest WW2 Call of Duty looked absolutely stunning but the TTK was crazy and I suffered a really bad case of motion sickness trying to play deathmatch games, something  I never get from Battlefield games. 

 Above: Call of Duty revisited the WW2 era for its 2017 release.

The World War 1 setting was a huge gamble for EA and DICE but they absolutely nailed what is quite possible the quintessential representation of warfare in the modern age where the advent of armored warfare may have been in its infancy but the industrial age paved the way for scary ways in which to wage war on fellow man.

There's been quite a bit of rumor floating around where Battlefield heads next, first up was the rumor that a Bad Company sequel / prequel would appear but money seems to be a safe bet on a WW2 setting with Battlefield V. 
Reveal wise this could happen at GDC in San Francisco in late March or anytime in the next few weeks.

Battlefield 1 has a glorious mix of air land and sea combat, sea combat only really came to the fruition properly with the inclusion of warships late in the games release with the awesome map Heligoland Bight as part of the turning tides DLC in December 2017, it is perhaps the most chaotic fight you'll experience in BF1.
Air combat in Battlefield 1 balances out between bombers and nimble fighters with differing payloads and paint jobs which creates a great way for players to mix up the fight. Battlefield V will most certainly contain air combat and it would be great to see the same format of a mix of fighters and  bomber here with planes not explored that much in videogame FPS titles such as the Ju87 or Focke Wulf 190D.

In terms of ground combat I'd love to see other theaters explored, such as Crete which could have German paratroopers facing off against British and Australian, New Zealand troops which could bring in a very nice mix of combat similar to Helogoland Bight.
Much like Amiens is the definitive street combat map the same could be said for a map set within Caen during the invasion of Normandy.

Uniform wise it appears that customization will be key to Battlefield V, would love to see some options here of swapping helmets out for berets in specific units such as paratroopers as well as being able to reverse the smocks for German troops who wore the Tan and Water parkas made famous in films such as Where Eagles Dare.

Weapon choice would be vastly improved for a WW2 setting, there were some pretty unique weapons in Battlefield 1, some of which carried over to WW2 such as the Lewis Gun which was eventually replaced by the more widely adopted Bren but aside for the 1911's and Lugers which will no doubt make another appearance it would be great to see weapons like the MP44, American M3A1 Grease gun and M1 Thompson get the battlefield treatment. other more unique weapons would be the FG42, the Panzerfaust, De Lisle carbine, Lee Enfield No.5 and Lahti L39 20mm anti tank gun.

 Above: The 1911 Colt 45 "The Care Package" skin -  Legendary

It'll be interesting to see how broad the scope is for either the campaign or multiplayer in Battlefield V, the campaign mix split between tanks, planes and ground combat in the campaign worked extremely well and tied in some key elements to the historic warfare not just on the Western front but in the Middle East as well. With the Eastern Front, the Pacific and Middle East theaters all providing some exciting options for dice it provides a huge diverse choice to pick from.

Above ; T.E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) Will historic characters also appear in Battlefield V?

The Ultimate WW2 Strategy Game for 2018

Armchair Generals of the world rejoice, there's a new WW2 hex based strategy game on the horizon which is looking to take the Panzer General crown, Klotzen! Panzer Battles was recently announced as a new addition to the popular hex based strategy gaming genre for PC and arrives during the summer of 2018.

Klotzen! Panzer Battles will offer a challenging turn based combat experience with a built in adaptive AI system that will look to capitalize on ways to attack the player when they least expect it. The game looks to provide a wide variety of historic engagements from WW2, all of which are based on historic engagements. Impressively Klotzen! Panzer Battles aims to provide players over 550+ unit types in the game  which are divided into 22 unit classes including infantry, Battleships, armored tanks, bombers, submarines, and fighter planes. Klotzens other unique approach to strategic combat will allow players to re-write military history by conducting historic military campaigns to play out a range of entirely new and unique outcomes such as the invasion of Normandy a whole year earlier in 1943 instead of in June 1944 or successfully invading England to take London or on the Eastern front to successfully steamroll the Russians in order to take Moscow.

Combat in the game takes into consideration things like supply lines which are crucial to moving units as well as being able to recycle knocked out units. Add to this the ability to coordinate multi task force initiatives with attacks from the air and sea by utilizing naval power parked off the coast. Attacking towns and supply lines from the air provide a tactical edge not seen before in other hex based games. The various Campaigns offered in the game can be fought over a variety of terrain options such as the brutal harsh realities of Winter combat on the snow covered Eastern front and at the other end of the scale, the unforgiving cooking pot of North Africa.

Map sizes in Klotzen! Panzer Battles look pretty substantial and vary from 200km to over 1000km in scale, (each hex represents 10km).

By far one of the biggest draws of the game is the way that developer Maxim Games has managed to visualize the game, typically most of the WW2 hex based games on the market cater for a 2D perspective, to do this Maxim Games have pre-renderded 60 images of each unit, by comparison Panzer Corps managed only 2, right side, left side. The 3D effect adds a nice bit of finesse to the game looking to make its mark in today's crowded strategy market.

Another nice aspect of Klotzen Panzer Battles is the fact that the outcomes of campaigns is different each time, there are two or three different outcomes to each map which increases the replayability aspect of the game. The role of Generals and Commanders all with various traits also shakes up the outcomes and ongoing tactical operations of the game which I think offers a nice spin.

From the looks of it Klotzen Panzer Battles has looked closely at what both Panzer General and Panzer Corps have already offered up to WW2 strategy gamers and decided to bring the WW2 hex based genre up to date with a really thought out strategy offering of its own. For any game looking to introduce something fresh into a heavily populated genre developers need to look at areas where rival games have made their mark and then improve upon that offering with their own unique ideas. The use of aircraft as an attacking asset on supply and towns is an interesting one, the visuals are fresh and really nicely detailed and the sheer number of units and proposed scenarios (60 scenarios at launch) make this a title to keep a close eye on for sure.

Panzer General has ruled the roost for many years and Panzer Corps DLC offerings have kept the lights on for a good while but this looks like it could really shake up the genre nicely.

Be sure to check out the Steam page for Klotzen Panzer Battles here 

X-Wing The Game Just Turned 25!

X-Wing the game just turned 25, how old does that make you feel, let that sink in for a bit  - February 1993 Star Wars: X-Wing launched on PC.Remember Gouraud shading, no?, okay, I'll move on then.
1993 was a stellar year in videogames actually, Star Fox using the new Super FX chip was launched on SNES, also launched in 1993 was Syndicate from EA and Myst not to mention Legend of Zelda: Links Awakeneing on Gameboy and of course the daddy of them all Doom which was launched on PC in December 1993.
1993 was the same year that Loaded Weapon, Army of Darkness and Bill Murray's Groundhog Day were out. That's right old timer, a looong time ago. A quarter of a century.

Graphically speaking 25 years is a long time ago when you compare X-Wing to more recent fare, Star Wars Battlefronts X-Wing VR mission add-on being probably the best example.

Above: Check out the comparison between the 1993 Version of X-Wing and the latest X-Wing VR mission in Star Wars Battlefront.

Packaged in a distinctive purple box with equally pronounced silver logo and marketed as a space combat simulator it proved to be one of the most popular games of the time. Space Combat Simulator was perhaps a little far fetched since much of the combat appears to be wave based rather than seeking out imperial enemy craft in a random free flight kind of affair but that didn't detract from the fact that you could dogfight imperial Tie Fighters.

 

Released in 1993 the current version available on COG gives you the option to jump between the classic 1993 version or the slightly upgraded 1998 Collectors series version which featured better graphics. Star Wars X-Wing was of course followed up by the equally impressive Tie Fighter and spawned other spinoff titles within the brand, Imperial Assault was the add on in the same year (1993) followed by B-Wing another expansion also in 1993 Star Wars X-Wing Alliance being the last in the series.

25 years ago I took out the first mortgage on my house, holy crap, time flies when you're having fun.

BSA R10 S.E Black Pepper .22 Air Rifle

After what can only be described as the longest time I think I have ever saved money for anything, and after much difficult contemplation and discussion I finally took the plunge in becoming an Air Rifle owner.
The device of choice, again, after much deliberation and contemplation was a BSA R10 S.E in Black Pepper in .22 calibre, I'd looked at the options from Daystate and Weirach, looked at various reviews for and against a small number of rifles and decided that the BSA was the one I'd like to marry.
Why?, well I have to admit that for starters I fell in love with the finish, the Black Pepper BSA is just a sight to behold and I wanted something that was different to the standard wood and composite rifle stocks that are typical with most rifles. Performance and reputation were important don't get me wrong and despite some early reliability niggles with product quality these appear to have been ironed out at BSA due to customer feedback.Aside from all that I see Air Gun Shooter Magazine guru Matt Manning uses one in some of his YouTube videos and if its good enough for him, its good enough for me.

For UK based shooters like myself and to stay within the legally required power output, air rifles are restricted to a power output of 12ft fpe (16 Joules). Unlike the USA where the majority of air weapons have an unrestricted power output except for city limits in some states. Our closest neighbors across the stream in France have a 20 fpe and sunny Spain has an 18 fpe power limit. Germany however is restricted to 6 fpe.

At 48 years of age I guess I've come into air rifle ownership and shooting a little bit later than I probably should have, the joints aren't as limber as they used to be, a niggling back injury and eyesight on the wrong side of 40 are challenges I'll have to adapt the shooting to. My father in law does clay pigeon with a guy who's pulls around an oxygen tank behind him from stand to stand with a golfing trolley, he's 76 and still knocks out a 38 out of 50 so maybe all isn't lost yet. Besides, 48 is a whole lot better than starting at 58 or 68 so I shouldn't complain that I'm entering a new sport at my age.

The BSA R10 SE Black Pepper is a laminate wood design, a process by which layers of wood are bonded together through adhesives and immense pressure. Rumor has it this process actually makes 'engineered wood' 50% stiffer than traditional sawn cut timber primarily because the adhesives and resins are pressed deep into the wood fibers.
The gun is a PCP powered bolt action 10 shot rifle fed by a small rotary magazine, both .177 and .22 versions have this mag fed system, blue for .177 and red mags for the .22. I'd contemplated a springer powered rifle but wasn't a huge fan of breaking the rifle after every shot to fumble around with a single shot reload, that's me probably being a bit lazy though more than a conscious design decision if I'm brutally honest.
The beauty with springers is you don't ever need to refill an air bottle but who knows, maybe someone will come up with some kind of Winchester reload function that can cock a springer with some sort of built in tech that works like a compound bow does and has a magazine capacity of 10+ shots.

I decided to opt for one of the rifle and scope package deals on offer from the Airgun Centre, an airgun specialist local to me, I didn't want the interest payment options on the gun, just an outright purchase and ownership. The process was pretty painless, a driving licence for I.D and a fist full of cash and twenty minutes later I was an air rifle owner.The rifle and scope package provides the gun in either .177 or .22 with a choice of stock options including traditional wood, composite and the Black Pepper variant. In with that you get a Debden sling and QD swivels, carry case, spare 10 shot mag, pack of targets, bipod and a choice of scopes which gives you either the Hawke Eclipse 3-12X50 AO IR Mil Dot or the Hawke Eclipse 4-16X50 AO IR Mil Dot, not to mention the Hawke Mounts for whichever scope you decide upon. Add to that free servicing for life and a lifetime guarantee and you're all set.

Two more additional purchases were made, I purchased a Hills hand Pump for refilling the air bottle on the rifle and air rifle membership and insurance through BASC ( done online through BASC online) which set me back 159.00 and 53.00 respectively. I figured the insurance was a good idea for joining a club as well as covering me if I do by chance get an opportunity to shoot on private land anywhere for rats or woodies.

All in, this little purchase spree came to just over a grand.
I had looked at BASA insurance but there were too many people on shooting forums telling anyone who would listen to avoid at all costs due to shoddy or late paperwork and lack of customer service.Overall I knew BASC more than any of the others and the work they do for shooting enthusiasts and conservation so it seemed like a better and more sound choice.

Some of you are probably asking why I chose .22 instead of .177 since my main hobby will be target, again, this was just personal choice, although the primary function for the gun will be target shooting I wanted something that would increase the element of  a challenge, the .177 has a flatter trajectory than the .22 does and is perfect for target shooting, being a heavier round the .22 drops sooner than the .177 so the amount of hold over on longer distance targets will be different.

Overall I'm blown away at the fit and finish of the gun, in the sunlight the BSA R10 Black Pepper literally shimmers as the sun reflects of the ash grey and silver tones of the laminate stock.BSA has a long history in terms of firearms dating all the way back to 1861, founded by a group of 14 gunsmith members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association, it was BSA that manufactured the famed Lewis Gun used by allied troops in World War 1 as well as engine parts and motorcycles, BSA went on to play an integral part in manufacturing parts, weapon components and transport related materials during World War 2 despite being bombed by the German Luffwaffte when its factory and barrel mill at Small Heath were damaged in one of many air raids that targeted production. Gun rights to BSA are now owned by Spanish gun maker GAMO.

The BSA R10 Black Pepper is shown here with the scope,mounts,sling,pidod and hard carry case which is a package deal from the Airgun Centre.