Like the calm before the storm, we are now in a vacuum before the autumn onslaught commences. In a very short space of time, we will have an insane amount of games landing on us. This lull in releases is common around the time of E3 because most sensible publishers don't want to go up against the drums of the popular LA convention.
E3 was an interesting show for sure and while most conferences came off without many problems there was also a sense of disappointment in the air. I have covered E3 in three articles: each one covering two of the shows. Out of all the company's vying for our attention, I would say Ubisoft came out the strongest, with some excellent games on show and real emotions (not that fake crap we saw from EA). If you would like to read about my thoughts (complete with trailers) on E3 you can find all three pieces in the article section starting here.
Of course, there's never a month where no worthy games arrive at our shores and June was no different. Dead Cells was an early access game I’d played that the PC Gamer ‘Weekender’ event and it's been great to dive in this week. As I sat down to play I pondered whether or not to do a full review or preview piece; then I had an idea. With so many developers going down the early access route these days, why not have a special section on the website I thought. So I’m very happy to unveil ‘In the Oven’ this month, which will be all about games that are in the making. As these games leave early access they will then get a final review and head off to the review section. As updates happen and new features land, I will update my impression accordingly. Obviously, there are hundreds of new games on PC every day, so I’ll be cherry picking those titles that I think you need to know about: such as Subnautica or Astroneer.
The Summer Steam Sale has just come to an end and with it, I would hope we all have squirrelled away some juicy morsels for the winter ahead. As always, when you’ve survived a few Steam Sales finding those hidden gems becomes more like gold digging. It is a shame that so many games get released on Steam these days because it has become just impossible for even the biggest sites to consider them all: most being shovelware at best. In actual fact this onslaught of ‘nothing’ games does give sites like mine a new purpose, in guiding gamers through the darkness to those hidden gems; yeah I’ve been playing too many RPGs recently.
With Gamescom less than two months away I’m now getting myself geared up with all the kit I need. I’ll be flying solo this time so it is going to be a busy few days, but I’m hoping next year I can afford to take an extra pair of hands. I am also going to be attending the EGX event in Birmingham but will not be attending as Press because I’m not sure how knackered my legs will be after Gamescom. However, I’m really excited to see EGX as I’ve not been to this particular show before and it's only a two-hour drive from Manchester.
Last of all, I’d like to point you in the direction of my latest retro-review: Crashlands. A heart warming and inspirational story lies in the foundations of this quirky indie title. Even if you never play the game, Crashlands has a story all gamers should hear. Ok, that’s all for now folks, sorry for the delay since my last Blog post; I should be back on track for the foreseeable future. Don't forget to keep an eye on the Shooting Gallery this week as I’ll be updating this section with the latest games I’ve played. If you spot a PC game I should be covering please let me know at riggedforepic@gmail.com or on Twitter @riggedforepic where you can get all my updates.
Bye for now.