Thank you for joining us once again for this, a rather belated look at what’s been going on in the world of gaming over the week. We’re a little late with our summary this week – we hope you can forgive us!
Just because we’re late, however, that doesn’t mean we can shirk our duties, and as usual, there’s plenty to take a look at.
Without further ado, then, grab that drink we’re always telling you to grab, pull up that chair that’s made familiar grooves in the floor from how much you’ve pulled it up over the years, and join us for our weekly news roundup!
Hey, Alien: Isolation 2 is still a thing
This week, we received a timely reminder that Creative Assembly and Sega are, in fact, still working on Alien: Isolation 2, although we didn’t get anything so juicy and tantalising as a release date, unfortunately.
In fact, all we did get was a brief teaser (which you can see above) showing one of the original Alien: Isolation’s iconic phone booth save points. It’s essentially a quick “we’re still here” poke.
Still, we’re very glad Alien: Isolation 2 is still here, and the quicker we get our hands on it, the better. We still haven’t quite recovered from the original.
PowerWash Simulator 2 gets some Star Wars DLC
Cleaning iconic locations from the Star Wars series would be pretty great, right? Well, FuturLab clearly thinks so too, because PowerWash Simulator 2 announced a Star Wars DLC pack this week.
The pack will cast you as a disgruntled cleaning droid who starts out working for the dastardly Empire and gets to watch the events of the original movie trilogy unfold (albeit through the lens of cleaning).
Expect to clean up legendary Star Wars ships and places while watching the Rebels and the Empire duke it out in the background. You won’t be taking part much, of course, but it’s an exciting place to clean!
Valve’s Steam Controller has a release date
The Steam Machine and Steam Frame might not have release dates yet, but Valve did announce when we can expect the Steam Controller to land this week, and by the time you’re reading this, it’ll already be out.
The Steam Controller’s release date is officially May 4th, so at time of publication, it’s already been on the market for three days. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible to get, largely thanks to scalpers.
Here’s hoping Valve can make more of these controllers before the entire market gets saturated by mean-minded folks trying to make a quick and nasty buck.
Arc Raiders has a big new update for you to check out
Are you still playing phenomenally popular extraction shooter Arc Raiders? If the answer is yes, you’ll be pleased to know that the game has a big new update for you to enjoy.
The Riven Tides update brings a brand new enemy type and a new map area to explore, and it’s got lots of bug fixes and other tweaks as well, so this is one you’re going to want to check out.
Given that the popularity of Bungie’s Marathon rather appears to be sinking, Arc Raiders could well be your next best bet for an extraction shooter fix, and there’s never been a better time to check it out.
GreedFall outfit Spiders closes its doors
Spiders, the French purveyor of janky but intriguing games like GreedFall and Steelrising, has apparently shut its doors for good following publisher Nacon’s failure to find a buyer for the studio.
French publication Origami broke this news first, citing sources who were familiar with the problems apparently being experienced by Spiders.
The studio’s closure is sad, of course, but it’s not particularly surprising; Spiders has never created what one might call successful games, even if they are interesting on a design level.
That PlayStation DRM doesn’t need you to check in every 30 days
Confusion and panic swirled this week as players began to suggest that Sony had implemented a new PlayStation DRM system that checked for online connections every 30 days and disabled games if said connections weren’t found.
However, Sony subsequently provided a statement to Eurogamer kibboshing that particular idea; a single online check is required after purchase, upon which a new permanent license will be issued to players.
Of course, that’s still not ideal; it would be great simply to be able to play games offline without any hassle, but that’s not the world we live in, so we’ll have to settle for “not as bad as it could have been”.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer now has a release date
You’ll soon be able to live out your space racing dreams, because Fuse Games revealed this week that Star Wars: Galactic Racer will be arriving in October.
The game is a racing sim that packs in a single-player campaign fraught with peril and intrigue, as well as several multiplayer modes to help you take down your friends with style and panache.
It’s launching on October 6th, and bringing with it a host of pre-order bonuses if you decide to podrace down that particular precarious canyon, so if you know you’re going to be picking the game up, you may as well grab what you can.
Leaks say Halo 2 and 3 remakes are also happening
In the wake of the announcement of Halo: Campaign Evolved, new leaks have emerged which claim that remakes are also on the way for the second and third games in the series.
The leak comes from Rebs Gaming, who has a reputation for reliable Halo and Bungie-related leaks, so while you should always take leak info with a pinch of salt, this one might allow you a smaller pinch than most.
Of course, plans are always subject to change, and it’s possible that Microsoft and Halo Studios have these games in the works now but will can them later, so don’t get too excited until official announcements darken your doors. You have been warned.
