The game also offers an online mode, in which you can test your ped-crunching skills against actual humans, who are smarter and deadlier than any CPU opponent. Here you are privy to all game modes, save Classic Carma, with the only major change being that resetting your vehicle takes three seconds instead of happening instantly. I didn’t get as many hours into the online portion as I wanted, mainly because I rarely found a game with people to play against.
So, with poor performance, stiff controls, and relatively dull game modes, I suppose the only thing Carmageddon: Reincarnation has left to offer is its dazzling sense of humor. Perhaps I have simply grown up, but I no longer chuckle at splattering dumb pedestrians against the hood of a digital car, with heads and viscera flying in all directions. I remember playing the original Carmageddon in my youth, giggling at a flying severed arm or three as I tore down a street. It’s all the same in Reincarnation, and I can’t get over how tame it feels. It’s not just that other games do violence better; this is the game’s humor, and it just doesn’t cause a reaction. During your travels, you will also spot a phallic-shaped building in the distance or hear frightened people screaming on a runaway elevated train as it tears around a city. There are rare chuckles, and I am not completely humorless, so hearing my car squeezing out a mine to the tune of a gurgling fart as it pummels disco-dancing bovines did provide a short laugh. But there isn’t much beyond that. After playing for a few hours, the humor was all but spent, as was much of the game.
Carmageddon: Reincarnation has the same flavor as the Carmageddon of yore, but not much attempt has been made at a revolution. It’s the same as it always was, and that isn’t exactly a point in its favor. Mowing down hundreds of the same meandering pedestrians demonstrating the same lousy animations is no longer as fun. Some games today, such as anything from Saints Row, do a much better job at car combat, racing, and killing heaps of pedestrians. Instead, the only thing Reincarnation actually achieves is standing as a reminder of how far gaming has come. The vehicular manslaughter of thousands of listless fodder swiftly falls into tedium after only a handful of hours, long before reaching the end of the game’s surprisingly lengthy 16-chapter campaign. The rose-tinted glasses are off; I was glad to have experienced Carmageddon all those years ago, but that’s where it should have remained.
Lincoln Chafee, the man gamers may know from his involvement in the 38 Studios controversy, has announced that he's running for president. He announced his bid for the Democratic nomination this week during a speaking event at George Mason University.
that brought 38 Studios from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010.
Blizzard's free-to-play card game is adding its first new hero since launch. Rather than functioning as a new class, this $10 hero serves as a cosmetic replacement for an existing one.
Magni's card back
Dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard is coming to Hearthstone to take the place of the existing Warrior class character, Garrosh Hellscream. Like other new heroes on the way to Hearthstone, Magni costs $10 and provides you with several ways to distinguish yourself in-game without impacting gameplay. Blizzard makes it clear that new heroes don't offer new cards or hero powers, and thus "are not considered new classes."
Instead, playing as a new hero replaces your hero portrait, as well as your hero power animation. They also add new emotes, voices, themes for the play area, and a unique card back, the latter of which can be used with any deck.
Magni's hero power animation
A release date for Magni was not announced; Blizzard simply stated he'll be "coming soon." There's also no word on how soon we can expect the next hero, or whom that might be. Based on the switch from a Horde character to an Alliance one, we might also be seeing similar switches for other heroes in the future.
"Ultimately, it's a game for the same folks who still cackle with glee whenever there is a new Sharknado, or that still watch Snakes on a Plane," reviewer Justin Clark wrote. "The joke is in the premise, in the title, and it won't stop winking and snickering with you for hours on end. But all it takes is one moment of clarity, one second-guess 'why was I laughing' for the whole thing to fall apart. And in this game's case, all it has to do is remind you of how irksome it can be and often is to go from being a goofy joke to a serious headache in a flash."
Based on the trailer, we do know that a dog will apparently play a significant role, and that familiar Fallout trappings like Vault-Tech, bobbleheads, and the iconic "war never changes" line are all here. It also looks as if Boston will be the game's setting, and as you can see in one of the screenshots above, the Mysterious Stranger appears to be making a return.
For more, check out our trailer breakdown in the video below.
Valve today announced the launch dates for the first official Steam Machines, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link. You can now preorder all of these devices, and by doing so, you can potentially get your hands on them early.
All of this will arrive on November 10 in the United States, though you can begin placing preorders today. For a limited time, if you ($50), meanwhile, aims to make it possible to play PC games with a controller that were only designed for a keyboard and mouse.
The first trailer for the upcoming movie Macbeth has arrived, giving us a first look at Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in their lead roles. It's a powerful trailer. I've watched it twice so far.
Marvel: Contest of Champions developer Kabam has announced Star Wars: Uprising, a mobile game set in between Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: Uprising is pitched as an RPG that allows players to create a unique character and embark on missions to develop skill while collecting gear.
Although the studio has released a teaser for the game, there is no actual gameplay in the video. It is currently unclear what the gameplay entails, though expansion on December 1, while everyone else will get to play it on December 7. This content is themed around upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
Competitive gaming company Electronic Sports League, in partnership with ReedPOP and Twitch, has announced this year's ESL One, a tournament featuring eight of the world best, wraps up in August. At the time of writing, the prize pool for The International has surpassed $10 million.
The first inductees for the "World Video Game Hall of Game" have been revealed. No surprises here, as classics like for games that should be included in the Hall of Fame.
Watch extended gameplay footage from Hatred featuring the Giant Bomb crew.
This week on Reality Check, Lucy investigates how developers use middleware like SpeedTree and Umbra to create video games.
Watch extended gameplay footage from Magicka 2 featuring the Giant Bomb crew.
Fight the evil forces of the Empire in Star Wars: Uprising for iOS and Android.
