PC Gamer

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons preview – solving beautiful puzzles with sibling teamwork

Starbreeze are making a game that doesn’t involve shivving someone. That alone should be remarkable, but Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a more unusual project still. It’s mechanically novel: you control two siblings simultaneously, one on each thumbstick of the (very much required) gamepad.

You’re guiding them on a quest to obtain medicine for their ailing father, navigating puzzles through a process of asymmetrical cooperation between the brothers – and your thumbs. Each obstacle is different, deploying tricks that are never seen again for the rest of the game’s four or so hours. It creates a lively pace to what might otherwise be a decidedly gentle adventure.

N v2.0 released, adding new levels and local multiplayer to the hardcore platformer

Let your attention drift from this video for even a moment and you’ll miss the feature list for the updated N version 2.0, which is appended to a slightly maddening gallery of split second level shots. Think of it as a test. If you can’t stay focused for the one minute and two seconds required to learn about the new levels, 2-player co-op, integrated level sharing and “Fun-lockables”, you’re going to have a really tough time progressing through the game itself.

Satellite Reign teaser promises spiritual successor to “Bullfrog masterpiece”

Static distortion, a night-time cityscape, the briefly appearing words “obey” and “submit”. 5 Lives Studios, the people behind this video teaser for an upcoming Bullfrog-inspired Kickstarter, aren’t exactly being subtle about the Syndicate connection. But let’s play along and see if we can’t break through their oh-so-cryptic clues…

Batman: Arkham Origins trailer contains gratuitous henchman violence

Do henchmen get medical insurance? If not, I just can’t see it being a viable career path. Sure, it’s fine as you go about the day-to-day business of thuggery and robbing – that’s the bread and butter stuff. But eventually Batman is going to come and pound your face into mush and, judging by this trailer – the full version of Thursday’s brief teaser – you’re in for some hefty medical bills.

It’s not just anonymous face crushing: we also get a big CGI fight between Batman and Deathstroke.

Hawken map overview takes mech warfare to the Front Line

I feel a bit guilty watching this video overview of the new Hawken map Front Line. Here’s level designer Tyler Buser giving a full tour of the chokepoints, cover areas, symmetrical avenues, contestable turrets and vertical combat zones that the team have painstakingly worked on. And yet, when I inevitably blunder into the map, my appreciation for their effort will be replaced with thoughts like: “there’s another robot. I’m going to shoot it. Hooray I shot it!”

Ludum Dare 26 round-up recommends over 260 games

The theme for the 26th Ludum Dare gamejam was Minimalism, which is a principle that doesn’t apply to the competition’s number of entrants: all 2,346 of them. While we’ve been seeding their sparse delights into the weekly Webgame RoundUp, my basic calculations suggest that, at the current rate, it’d take between 9 and 11 years to feature them all. Fortunately, Sebastian Standke of Superlevel.de spent two weeks playing every single entry, and has distilled them down into a still-mammoth list of 269 recommendations, delivered in a 20-minute chiptune backed video.

Obsidian working with Allods Online devs to make Skyforge

In news that’s likely to make you go, “wait, what?”, Mail.ru have announced that Obsidian Entertainment will be collaborating with Allods Online developer Allods Team on their upcoming free-to-play MMO Skyforge. Wait, what?

The announcement was made last week at KRI 2013, the Russian Game Developer’s Conference. While Obsidian are no strangers to getting involved in other people’s licenses – having previously taken on sequels for BioWare and Bethesda – this is their first MMO collaboration with a Russian development team. It’s an unusual move for the studio, who are also currently working on the Kickstarted Project Eternity.

Call of Duty: Ghosts redefines teaser with 6 seconds of wireframe footage

There’s been a break-in at Infinity Ward! Some ne’er-do-well has pilfered all their trailer recording equipment. Presumably it’s the same thief who made off with all Bethesda’s promotional tools last month. Just like Bethesda, the Call of Duty: Ghosts maker has been forced to use iOS app Vine to provide us with Important Information about their game.

Bats is back: Kevin Conroy returns for Batman: Arkham Origins [Updated]

Update: In a statement to IGN, Warner Bros say, “Roger Craig Smith is confirmed as the voice of Batman and Troy Baker is confirmed as the voice of The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins.”

In which case, Conroy’s part in the game is still unannounced. What we do know is that Arkham Origins is a series prequel, meaning Conroy could be returning as the older incarnation of Batman in some capacity. Until an official announcement is made, though, the nature of his involvement is speculation.

Original: Kevin Conroy has announced that he’ll be reprising the role of Batman [Update: involved in some unknown capacity] in Arkham Origins. While the actor had played the role in both previous Arkhams, as well as various animated incarnations, it had been reported that Warner Brothers had dropped him for the impending prequel. Conroy confirmed his involvement at the Dallas Comic Con; the rumour of his departure presumably started by some joker… Or, perhaps, the Joker…

Among The Sleep now among the Kickstarter funded

Among The Sleep has just been funded on Kickstarter, meaning it can begin its long crawl (you know, because it stars a two-year-old) to release. The exciting horror game managed to rake in nearly $50,000 over its $200,000 target, fulfilling most of its stretch goals along the way. You’ll be happy to hear that the game will feature “a proper implementation” of Oculus Rift, along with a commentary track and, er, ice cream for each member of the team. That last one isn’t so much a game feature as it is a tasty dairy treat. While we wait for Among The Sleep to wake up later this year, have a play of the alpha version, or read up on the many, many things we’ve said about the game.