Rewrite history, your way with 2K’s Sid Meier’s Civilization VII.

In rich graphic detail and developed by Firaxis, three distinctive historical classes await you as you begin building up your Empire.

Civs veteran’s will be in familiar territory and for new comers, well, this is probably the one of the best in the series to start out with.

It’s fluid and easy to navigate menu’s leave no confusion within gameplay and before you know it your very own ‘civilization’ will be making a mark on history as you see it and direct it.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is a strategy simulated game where you build out and take on a small village, map out your village, through to town… then city and eventually Empire hex by hex.

Generally the folk in your growing world will live out their existence, providing you give them the means to do so.

You’ll have the ability to literally re-write human history as you want and as you progress you will unlock more resources.

In prior Civilization titles you have generally had to select one class or race, or similar and stuck with that for as long as you play the game. Which can be for an eternity. Civilization games are real addicitive.

Civilization VII lets you select a specific leader from an option of three and these are split into three eras; Antiquity, Modern or Exploration.

Being that I love to explore the world in any video game, Exploration was for me.

Naturally this will affect the resources that you have to start with as well as what you eventually unlock, as any new items or resources are within the time era, or class, that you selected.

This also offers up it’s various challenges. If you think the easy road is selecting a modern era, think again. Each era (or class) with their own attributes most definitely throws up some decent challenges.

As your townsfolk, or civilization, emerges from the basic human era new cultures will be unlock.

And before you know it, you’ll witness your own history in the making via split cultures either living in harmony or warring with each other.

But here, as I mentioned you can mix up history – and have Romans hanging out with Mongols. It’s entirely up to you – and is based on the selected leader and era you choose.

Graphically the game is amazing. Game options see Diplomacy as more of a currency by accruing and spending influence points. This in my view is actually more streamlined and you’re not needing to have convoluted negotiations.

The game sets you with goals, to grow your population and as your world grows, it will spread across the map.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is a change from prior editions. It’s almost a full rewrite infact. But it gives players a more fluid, entertaining play with mostly shorter wait times for your population to enact out a sequence.

Stunningly detailed whether in isometric view or zoomed in to see your created world in 3D. It’s also best played on a larger screen.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is so far the pinnacle in the series. Easy to get a grasp of for newcomers, yet challenging, rewarding and satisfying for veterans.

The post Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Your Empire awaits, but first you need build up a successful civilization.

2K Games’ is releasing Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on February 11th, 2025 and we at STG were honoured with an early code for preview on PC.

While there is a lot I cannot and will not say (so, there won’t be any spoilers), I can tell you that Civs veteran’s will be in familiar territory and new comers, well, this is probably the one of the best in the series to start out with.

In a strategy simulated game you take on a small village, map out your village, through to town… then city and eventually empire hex by hex.

Generally the folk in your growing world will live out their existence, providing you give them the means to do so.

You’ll have the ability to literally re-write human history as you want and as play you will unlock more resources.

In prior Civilization titles you have generally selected one class or race or similar and stuck with that for as long as you play the game. Which can be for an eternity.

Civilization VII lets you select a specific leader from an option of three and these are split into three eras; Antiquity, Modern or Exploration.

Naturally this will affect the resources that you have to start with as well as what you eventually unlock, as any new items or resources are within the time era that you selected.

This also offers up it’s various challenges. If you think the easy rod is selecting a modern era, think again. Each era (or class) with their own attributes most definitely throws up some decent challenges.

As your townsfolk, or civilization, emerges from the basic human era new cultures will be unlock.

And before you know it, you’ll witness your own history in the making via split cultures either living in harmony or warring with each other.

But here, as I mentioned you can mix up history – and have Romans hanging out with Mongols. It’s entirely up to you – and is based on the selected leader and era you choose.

Graphically the game is amazing. Game options see Diplomacy as more of a currency by accruing and spending influence points. This in my view is actually more streamlined and you’re not needing to have convoluted negotiations.

The game sets you with goals, to grow your population and as your world grows, it will spread across the map.

Civilization VII is a change from prior editions. It’s almost a full rewrite infact. But it gives players a more fluid, entertaining play with mostly shorter wait times for your population to enact out a sequence.

Stunningly detailed whether in isometric view or zoomed in to see your created world in 3D. It’s also best played on a larger screen.

And that’s where I’ll leave it for now. Stay tuned for the upcoming full review!

The post Civilization VII (PC) Preview appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K and Hangar 13 officially revealed Mafia: The Old Country, a new entry in the critically-acclaimed action-adventure franchise launching in 2025.

Mafia: The Old Country announced with a stunning, tone-setting trailer. Uncover the origins of organised crime with a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily. Fight to survive in this dangerous and unforgiving era, with action brought to life by the authentic realism and rich storytelling that the critically acclaimed Mafia series is known for.

“Across the first three entries in the Mafia franchise, we introduced players to the world of the Mafia through brutal stories set in different eras,” said Nick Baynes, President of Hangar 13. “In Mafia: The Old Country, we’re going back to the roots of what fans love about the franchise, crafting a deep, linear narrative with that classic mob movie feeling, visiting a stunning new setting, and delivering it all in a tight, focused package perfect for fans of immersive experiences.”

First established in 2002 with the launch of the landmark game Mafia, the Mafia franchise has sold-in more than 34 million copies across console and PC. Critics and fans alike praise the franchise for its rich narrative development, outstanding performances, and impressive attention to detail throughout period-appropriate settings.

Additionally, it’s a perfect time to revisit the critically-acclaimed Mafia franchise, as all released games are on sale on Steam until September 2, 2024.

Mafia: The Old Country will release on PlayStation 5 (PS5 ), Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

The post Uncover the Origins of Organised Crime appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K and Gearbox Software officially announced that Borderlands 4, the next entry in the iconic looter-shooter franchise, will launch in 2025.

Borderlands 4 was announced at gamescom’s Opening Night Live with a trailer providing players with their first tantalising glimpse of an all-new planet. Borderlands 4 is the fourth mainline title and seventh overall entry in the franchise. Players will once again assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they search for secret alien treasure while blasting everything in sight.

“The team and I at Gearbox have a lot we’ve wanted to do with Borderlands since we first introduced the looter shooter genre to the world with our original game,” said Randy Pitchford, founder and President of the Gearbox Entertainment Company. “All of us at Gearbox have massive ambitions for Borderlands 4 and are putting everything we have into making everything we love about Borderlands better than ever before while taking the game to new levels in exciting new directions.”

The Borderlands franchise has sold-in more than 87 million copies to-date, receiving critical acclaim from reviewers and fans alike. With unforgettable characters, deep world building, and more unique guns than can be counted, the franchise has cemented itself as a must-play series.

“We’re thrilled to be able to share with our fans that 2025 will mark a massive year for 2K and Gearbox Entertainment,” said 2K Core Games Senior Vice President and General Manager Catharina Lavers Mallet. “The Borderlands series is one of 2K’s most successful franchises ever and is beloved by millions globally. We’re excited that our already close partnership and collaboration with the Gearbox team has grown even deeper, and we look forward to delivering best-in-class experiences for both longtime fans and new players alike.”

Borderlands 4 will release on PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The post Borderlands 4 Coming In 2025 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K has just announced WWE 2K24, the newest instalment of the flagship WWE video game franchise developed by Visual Concepts.

As he burns a path through WWE in an effort to claim world championship gold and fulfil his destiny, “The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes will be featured on the Standard Edition cover. Multi-time champions and Women’s Royal Rumble winners Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley share the Deluxe Edition cover, marking the first time in history two women have graced a dedicated WWE 2K cover, while the Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition cover features original artwork celebrating the most iconic Superstars and Legends in WrestleMania history, including The Rock, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and more.

WWE 2K24 features several franchise advancements, including 2K Showcase…of the Immortals celebrating 40 years of WrestleMania, four new match types such as Ambulance and Special Guest Referee, two new MyRISE experiences, and much more. In addition, fans can also look forward to a massive roster of more than 200 WWE Superstars and Legends including Roman Reigns, Andre the Giant, Becky Lynch, Batista, Kurt Angle, Asuka, Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Chyna, and more. Incredibly realistic graphics and improved animations – with over 90% of facial expressions updated – plus improvements to Ramp cameras and Dive cameras, and the ability to move the camera during live gameplay provide the most visually impressive WWE 2K experience to date.

WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition and Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition are scheduled for worldwide release on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, followed by the Standard Edition and Standard Cross-Gen Digital Edition on Friday, March 8, 2024.

WWE 2K24 will release on PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

The post WWE 2K24 Celebrates 40 Years of WrestleMania w. 2K Showcase appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Vault hunters, there’s a lot of loot to be found on your Nintendo Switch, oh and like a bazillion guns on offer in 2K Games’ Borderlands 3.

Almost 12 months since first exploding on consoles and PC Borderlands 3 takes us back to Pandora on Nintendo’s portable The post apocalyptic wastelands dotted with outposts, rebels, rascals, cannibals and cybernetics.

The cross fused genre bending FPS RPG gives you the options of selecting your hero from four character classes; Fl4k who is mostly robot and has a penchant for Beasts, Amara who summons ethereal magic to battle with, Moze the ‘Gunner’ and a gadget wielding Operative.

With Handsome Jack long deceased and the fall of the Hyperion Corporation, you are guided for the most part by the memorable, witty and super annoying Claptrap droid as you pursue the long rumoured vaults containing tech and treasure.

The legend of these Vaults that contain an extreme wealth of booty has been the cause of demise for many a explorer (and Corporation), so naturally, you’re as keen as any of them to locate and pillage.

But you have an obstacle. Well… two.

Troy and Tyreen Calypso, who gave birth to the loosely organised group called ‘Children of the Vault’. A violent and crazed member filled series of satellite factions all made up of most of the bandits and no-gooders sprawled throughout Pandora – in search of the holy grail called the Great Vault.

You are answering the recruitment call by Lilith (Borderlands) who is in charge of the Crimson Raiders. A resistance movement designed to protect Pandora and any treasures within.

A multitude of missions are laid out in the free roam, destroy anyone and anything planetary explorer title with a huge RPG element.

Both your character (that you have chosen), weapons and unique abilities are upgrade-able via a simple to use skill tree. Further items can be purchased in-game, with in-game currency that you loot, at stores and/or traders.

Perks not only make up the voluminous amount of ‘a billion guns’ within Borderlands 3 but can add elemental power-ups aswell.

Online co-op has reduced from the console version, from four players to now only two in a squad, or single player offline equally results in the realisation of just how massively over-the-top super large and expansive the glorious cell-shaded Borderlands 3 is.

You will not always stay on Pandora and will gain access to a space-craft and go intergalactic. Remember, there’s Vaults on other planets too…

Borderlands 3 is an excellent port on to Nintendo Switch. For the main campaign play, everything is there, graphically looking mint with little to o watering down that I can see.

The characters that we know and love from Borderlands 1 and 2 feature as NPC’s – and I have to admit is a welcoming familiarity as you encounter personalities from the past, making you feel like you are a part of an epic legacy.

Borderlands 3, has a truck load of crazed and enthusiastic love put into this third edition, and this has spilled over in to this new fresh port, which also includes the DLC.

Your quests are before you Hunter – get looting, do a lot of shooting at home or on the go.

The post Borderlands 3 (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

For the first time ever you now get all six Borderlands adventures together in one package, and also announced, Borderlands 3 is coming to Nintendo Switch.

Today, 2K and Gearbox Software revealed two new ways to experience the Borderlands universe, that millions are still playing today.

Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box packages together all six base games from the iconic franchise: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Tales from the Borderlands, Borderlands 3, and New Tales from the Borderlands, as well as all of their add-on content, in one giant bundle for the first time.

In the Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box, fans will experience the iconic franchise that defined the looter-shooter genre with its over-the-top firefights, absurdly varied arsenals, and thrilling interplanetary adventures perfect for solo and co-op play. It is the perfect opportunity for lovers of the franchise and newcomers to experience this legendary series in one place.

Additionally you can make some mayhem at home or on the go when Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition hits Nintendo Switch on October 6th, 2023 with physical copies available for pre-order now.

Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition is the quintessential Borderlands 3 experience, featuring the award-winning base game plus all six content add-ons and the full collection of bonus cosmetic packs. Blast through multiple worlds as one of four Vault Hunters—the ultimate treasure-seeking badasses of the Borderlands, each with deep skill trees, abilities, and customization.

Play solo or join a friend in two-player local and online co-op to take on deadly enemies, score loads of loot, and save your home from the most ruthless cult leaders in the galaxy.

Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition on Nintendo Switch content includes the base game and all DLC as well as over thirty cosmetic in-game items.

Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box arriving on PC via Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on September 1, 2023. Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition coming to Nintendo Switch on October 6, 2023

The post Get the Entire Borderlands in one hit appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Build it, race it, smash everything.

LEGO 2K Drive from 2K Games places you, new racer, in to the plastic brick seat of many racing circuits and competitions in a huge catalogue of rides where you aim to win.

To start out with you’ll need to select your character then go through the tutorial with the legendary Clutch Racington.

This gets you familiar with playing the game, working out menu options and customising your rides at Monkey’s Garage.

The tutorial is embedded in to the actual gameplay, and here it feels that the tutorial drags on, but as you’re actually playing through and progressing it’s not so much of a daunting introduction.

While you never leave the vehicle that you’re in, LEGO 2K Drive feels a little bit like am adventure game.

If you’re not within a race you can drive around the huge map and explore. Thankfully the developers; Visual Concepts enabled the waypoint set function within the map,

There are not only hidden goodies to discover, also side gigs that can net you bonus rewards.

Almost everything in the environment is destructible. It’s so satisfying to drive through obstacles and see them crumble in to their individual LEGO parts.

Your vehicle can go across multi-terrains.

If you’re in a hotted up race car and go off road your vehicle will automatically change to a buggy. Take a dip, no worries, you’ll instantly be transformed in to a boat.

Racing also takes place over these said differing terrains as well and there’s pick ups items on the tracks in every race.

Customisation will see you donning new parts, a paint job and more to your vehicles as you progress through the game’s objectives and build up a collection of vehicles.

LEGO 2K Drive while slated for the younger gamers is super fun and a title where to maximise that competitive feel you can take on other racers in multiplayer.

All of your progress is followed and broadcasted in-game via the ‘Awesome News Network’ (ANN) and for us older gamers a few, more adult orientated  jokes are thrown in there.

LEGO 2K Drive is a massively huge game that has an endless replayable factor. a racing game literally for everyone.

The post Lego 2K Drive (Xbox Series X|S) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K’s latest instalment of the long-running wrestling franchise, WWE 2K23, promises more over-the-top action inside (and outside) the ring.

I can’t say that I’m much of a fan of WWE. But it is a credit to the developers at 2K that they can make a game that is entertaining and engaging to both fans and non-fans, alike.

It’s an open secret that WWE isn’t quite as it seems. That’s not to say that it isn’t performed by incredibly skilled athletes, but it is more like a cross between an outlandish reality TV show and a stunt show than a real contact sport. Regardless, WWE is still very entertaining and lacking the blood and gore of its more savage contemporaries.

WWE 2K23 gives us an interesting what-if. What if these herculean feats by skilled performers were actual contests instead of carefully choreographed theatre?

The game plays WWE straight, the only way it can, really. It has all the pomp and ceremony of a real wrestling bout.

The whole presentation is polished to a tee accurately mimicking the showmanship of the WWE from the extravagant entry sequences to the wrestlers’ characterisations and signature style. Even as a non-fan, the game sucked me into the world of WWE.

For this outing, 2K has hit its stride with the visuals. The animations are pretty much faultless. It’s only the slightly dead eyes of hyper-famous wrestling stars that are a creepy signpost to the uncanny valley.

The wrestlers move smoothly, overcoming an issue I had with the previous iterations of the franchise. Much of the player’s success is in turning around the advantage of the other wrestler. Better animations allow players to carefully time the essential press of the Xbox’s Y button, instigating a turnaround. This stops the player’s wrestler from getting a continuous pounding from their opponent.

Mimicking the action of a real WWE bout, the game is all about the seamless flow of dramatic set pieces. Capturing the real-life excitement, wrestlers can inexplicably switch the proceedings in their favour, even if moments ago they were literally on the ropes.

It’s a game that is easy to get into, but with plenty of depth with combos and signature moves requiring careful timing and muscle memory to execute. The game gives players plenty of visual rewards for outmanoeuvring their opponent in a way that is quite unlike any other fighting game. A detailed tutorial system (which I revisited many times whilst playing) does a great job of explaining the game’s combos and advanced moves.

The game doesn’t accommodate button-mashing, which is good. The downside is that sometimes onslaughts can seem relentless, like the game is creating manufacturing drama by making countering overly difficult.

Some of the moves are brutal with wrestlers seemingly pounding their opponents to a pulp. Whilst the real WWE is a campy and somewhat overacted tongue-in-cheek performance, the game, being more grounded, does come across as a bit more vicious. Just as in real WWE, though, the wrestlers shrug off the horrendous-looking assaults and come back for more without a bruise or drop of blood in sight.

As usual, as well as straight tournaments, choosing from a massive list of fight types, there’s the behind-the-scene management of MyGM, the customisable card-based MyFaction, the MyRise campaign, and the rival-based Universe mode.

WWE superstar-cum-moviestar, John Cena, headlines this iteration of the franchise with the Showcase mode. Fans are treated by filmed sequences of Cena looking back on his career, from his humble beginnings, warts and all. Players can then relieve the highs and the lows of the celebrity’s WWE history.

With WWE 2K23, the visuals finally match the game’s aspirations, giving players lifelike animations to better control the action in the ring. The entertaining over-the-top action of WWE is perfectly captured in the game as a bona fide and sophisticated fighting game in its own right.

With an incredible layer of polish and high production values, the game should appeal to WWE fans and non-fans alike.

The post WWE 2K23 (Xbox Series X|S) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Releasing at the tail end of 2022, Marvel’s Midnight Suns was I think eagerly, but skeptically, awaited.

There has been a general feeling of Marvel fatigue in general thanks to an overabundance of TV shows, movies and comics, and it seems there’s a wariness of superhero games since the acrimonious release of Gotham Knights.

There was also a feeling that Marvel’s Midnight Suns was an already known property. Developer ‘Firaxis licensed Marvel characters to do XCOM with a super hero skin’ went the thinking.

It would be good, but nothing revolutionary, surely.

I am very pleased to let you know that this thinking was entirely wrong. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is not just a fantastic Marvel game, but a fresh take and evolution of the tactical role playing game genre as a whole. 2022 saw a number of good RPG releases and Marvel’s Midnight Suns is the cherry on top of a year of revival for the genre.

So what is it all about?

Marvel’s Midnight Suns starts with the resurrection of your main character, The Hunter, drawn out of a three century slumber to fight against their… mother, a demon intent on taking over the world.

A bit of a fish out of water, you find yourself teaming up with members of both the Avengers and titular Midnight Suns, going on missions and deepening relationships with your supernatural acquaintances. And that last part was the most surprising part of the whole package for me – the strong focus of Marvel’s Midnight Suns on relationships.

In fact, Marvel’s Midnight Suns plays much more like a Persona title than any tRPG that I’ve come across. Between missions you have a lot to do. Beyond upgrading abilities, cards, and more, a key part of your time will be going on little “dates” with various superheroes.

Once your dates are over though, you’re thrust through into combat, and here you see some of the most major changes to the tactical tRPG genre that the game brings.

Gone are two staples – cover and percentages.

This is seemingly to fit thematically with superhero combat – does Iron Man really cower behind a wooden box? – and through that, revolutionise what a tRPG can be. I was smitten with these changes from the get go. No more save scumming just because a 95% chance to hit failed, and the lesser importance of cover has lead the developers to double down on elements such as environmental damage and knockbacks.

The other major change to combat is the use of a card deck, consisting of skills, attacks and support moves. I was initially wary of this, but in the end deck sizes are small, leading to the whole system feeling like a more powerful version of swapping skills in and out of a character screen.

You can upgrade cards, build your deck in a particular way to take your individual superheroes in particular directions, and it’s a surprisingly versatile system for having only limited numbers of cards in each deck. Within combat, deciding who gets how many moves, countered against what else is left in the deck to draw, always keeps combat fresh and interesting.

As you use these cards, you build up heroic points, which lets you either use the environment as additional attacks, or use more powerful cards, typically with larger attack radiuses and / or damage.

Despite all this good stuff, there were some parts of Marvel’s Midnight Suns that need addressing. First and foremost, there is no pausing in cutscenes. This was surprisingly infuriating and needs to be addressed in a patch ASAP. Even backing out to the PS5 home screen kept the cutscene running in the background. Given how long some cutscenes are, and their importance to the story, missing story beats because you have to look away for whatever reason is quite annoying.

And while the game looks pretty good, if not amazing visually, I feel more work needed to be put into most of the character models and their animation. For the amount of talking these characters do, most are very basically animated, leading to quite a few relatively boring A-B shot conversations.

Something to note is that Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a surprisingly long game. The wide variety of combat missions are augmented by the deep relationship development side of the game. A quick license tie in this is not.

This review is coming in a little bit after the game has come out, and it has gone on sale a few times, so you should be able to pick it up cheap. Even at its full price though, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a game that’s worth supporting. It revolutionizes the tRPG genre with care, so even if you don’t have any particular affection for Marvel properties, it will be engaging and a worthwhile adventure.

Does every game need to have the core structure of Persona though? We’ve seen the social sim aspect expand to genres other than JRPGs recently, such as Neon White’s first person platforming and now Marvel’s Midnight Suns. While not necessary, it can be a nice inclusion for those invested in particular superheroes, particularly the lesser-known ones featured in this game.

Still, I empathise if all you want to do is get to the combat, because it is excellent and there is a lot to sit through and manage in between each fight. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a refreshing, surprising release. It is absolutely worth your time, for Marvel fans and tRPG fans alike – including when that Venn diagram doesn’t overlap at all. If you’re in either, or both camps,, you would be remiss to let this late-2022 release pass you by.

The post Marvel’s Midnight Suns (PlayStation 5) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.