Game of the Year 2018 – Awarded to the best of our Game of the Month winners of 2018.

Legrand Legacy – SemiSoft Studios

Our first Game of the Month title in the new scene and a worthy community choice for our first proper Game of the Year award aswell, massive congrats to Uwil and the team at SemiSoft Studios! 

For a reminder of our Game of the Month choices in 2018, here you go –

 

01-2018 Legrand Legacy – Semisoft Studios

02-2018 Fe – Zoink Games

03-2018 Surviving Mars – Haemimont Games

04-2018 Battletech – Harebrained Schemes

05-2018 State of Decay 2 – UndeadLabs

06-2018 Jurassic World Evolution – Frontier Developments

08-2018 World of Warcraft Battle For Azeroth – Blizzard Entertainment

09-2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix

10-2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 – Rockstar

11-2018 Fallout 76 – Bethesda Studios

12-2018 Just Cause 4 – Square Enix

Team Choice 2018 – Awarded by the station team.

Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

The station team thought long and hard over the new year break what they loved the most in 2018 and Marvel’s Spider-Man was the stand out winner from the team.  Insomniac Gaes bought us a blinder of an open world adventure for the web slinger that all the other great games this year just couldn’t quite top!

And for those interested, here’s the full list of the teams choices –

 

Lonesamurai –       Surviving Mars – Haemimont Games

Scarlet_Dragon –  Graveyard Keeper – Lazy Bear Games/TinyBuild

Crimsonshade –    Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.

Ca1t –                    Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

Isnotavampire –     Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

Phasechan –          Spyro Reignited Trilogy – Toys for Bob

TGB-Sirhc&Ar0n – Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

Darsch –                 Monster Hunter World – Capcom

Katoe –                   Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

Best Sony Playstation 4 Exclusive Game – Our choice for the best PS4 title in 2018

Marvel’s Spider-Man – Insomniac Games

As mentioned in the Team Choice section, Insomniac played a blinder with the new iteration of Marvel’s Spider-Man, bringing qualities we loves from way back in Spider-Man 2 to make a perfect free roaming open world.

Best Nintendo Switch Exclusive Game – Our choice for the best Switch title in 2018

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.

The latest Smash Bros. dominated the Switch owning members of the community and team in 2018, with challenges flying over in discord (we should have done a tournament), with a fantastic roster of fighters and clean, precise controls, it was one of the best fighting games of not only 2018, but also all time!

Best Microsoft XBox One Exclusive Game – Our choice for the best XB1 title in 2018

Forza Horizon 4 – Playground Games

Bringing us a good chunk of the north of England and the Scottish border, Forza Horizon 4 turned into the best racing game of 2018, but more on that later.  It was also the first in the Forza series also on XBox Play Anywhere that ran brilliantly on mediocre PC specs aswell, after the horrible showing by Forza 7 in 2017!

Best Action Game – For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.

Monster Hunter World – Capcom

The first Monster Hunter to make it to PC, albeit a few months after the console versions, didn’t arrive with fanfare’s, but it should have.  A great action game, even if a little shallow compared to other RPG’s, but still amazingly fun if you like chopping up huge monsters and using the parts to make new armour and weapons!

Best Independent Game – For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

Celeste – Matt Makes Games

An indie title we shockingly missed when it came out in January of 2018 on STEAM and other platforms, and then a free title on XBox Live (you can grab it now if you haven’t already) Matt Makes Games made a classic platformer that left us in awe of what Indies can do.

Best Multiplayer Game – For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth – Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard may have had some issues at the end of 2018 and into the new year, but WoW had a great launch to it’s 6th expansion, Battle for Azeroth. Learning from Legions up’s and down’s, it was a solid expansion, but felt a little lacking in places until patch 8.1 dropped.

Best Ongoing Game – Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth – Blizzard Entertainment

As mentioned above, WoW’s 6th expansion dropped continuing WoW’s dominance at the top of the MMO tree for another year!

Best Racing Game – For the best racing experience in 2018.

Forza Horizon 4 – Playground Games

As mentioned above, Forza Horizon 4 was a massive step up for the series, especially being cross platform, but as a really good racing game.

Best Role Playing Game – For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

Monster Hunter: World – Capcom

Again, as mentioned above, Monster Hunter has been successful for years on Nintendo systems, but finally branching out to the other consoles and even PC made it one of the best RPG’s of 2018!

Best Strategy Game – Best game focused on real time or turn-based strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

Battletech – Harebrained Schemes

One of our Game of the Month winners in 2018, Harebrained Schemes bought us a turn based Mechwarrior title that not only reminded us of the good old days of XCom, but has us excited for Mechwarrior 5 in 2019.  The Flashpoint DLC near the end of the year added a well needed Iron Man mode for those that wanted more of a challenge too!

Stinker of the Year! – The most disappointing game of 2018, not the worst, just disappointing

Fallout 76 – Bethesda Studios

We were unsure when Bethesda first announced Fallout 76 last year, but we wanted to give it benefit of the doubt.  Unfortunately, although not bad, it wasn’t great either.  With a bad, buggy start for most people and issues like duping and cheating carrying on into the new year and beyond, although it was good and even fun to play sometimes, it left a sour note on the franchise.

For the first time in history, the long-closed borders of Summerset are open to foreigners by decree of Queen Ayrenn. But darkness looms over the ancestral home of the High Elves, and whispers stir of Daedric followers organizing in the shadows. Rally your allies, brave champions. Summerset awaits.

Explore an all-new zone packed with adventure. Join the mysterious Psijic Order and gain powerful new abilities. Reunite with old friends, forge new alliances, and work together to unravel a conspiracy that threatens Tamriel’s very existence.

Summerset is the newest chapter to the The Elder Scrolls Online, and while it adds much new content, a new crafting skill line and a new skill line focusing on time manipulation from the Psijic order, new mobs, two beautiful zones to explore and an amazing continuation to the main overarching story, it does not do much else, which is a good thing. ZOS stuck with what makes ESO great and avoided trying to reinvent the wheel.

When I do a review I have one main question I always ask myself and set out to answer. Is this fun? And the answer is a resounding OH HELL YEAH. I have long loved the elder scrolls franchise and I love ESO, but the game is not without its flaws, which is true of all games, but I have to say that Summerset is some of the most fun I have had in a long while in an mmo, from new trash mobs with interesting combat mechanics in the open world too the amazing new coral crab mob designs and the quest stories and writing has gone a long way to making this one of the best expansions yet for ESO.

Underneath the beauty of the High Elven island lies a darker side, The high elves prejudice against the “lesser races” is on full display, their political intrigues show up in force in Summerset’s main story as it is both a continuation of the Morrowwind Clock Work City story picking up right where it left off with more daedric cults and daedric princes up to no good and a continuation of the Aldmeri dominion’s story lines surrounding queen Ayrenn’s ascension to the throne. The quests diving deeper into the motivations of the characters around you and not simply praising your prowess as a world-class savior brings a human quality to the game that helps you feel more connected and immersed in the game. One example of this is Razum-dar, a long time fan favorite, he is not just another NPC but a friend to the player. As a result, Summerset is both familiar and foreign. The new Public dungeons are a breath of fresh air in how they are designed and some of the new bosses look amazing. The new trial, Cloud rest, has you taking on one to the ancient long thought extinct sloads, a slug devil toad abomination that just wants to smash your face with the help of mind controlled minions and crazy daedric magic.

Summerset brings a host of new additions to the game, The main story as mentioned previously, 6 new delves, 6 new Fun world bosses, 6 abyssal geysers which function like dolmens. 2 new public dungeons which have farm-able collections that net you prizes such as the new ginger kitten vanity pet. A new trial that can be completed multiple ways. The new psijic order skill line which adds 5 active abilities, a new ultimate, and new passives. It also adds Jewelry crafting which allows you to craft your own jewelry and make set piece jewelry. Both of these new skill lines drastically open up build diversity. The champion point cap was also increased to 750 and the game adds several new interesting gear sets to the game.

If I had to rate Summerset on a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate it a solid 8, it just does so much right in terms of what an expansion should add to the game but it still has old flaws that still need to be addressed from older versions of the game and class balance & build balance issues that continue to still plague the game.

~Darsch

The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is available now on –

STEAM
XBox One
Playstation 4

As a gaming-orientated radio station whose listener and staffing base incorporates many people with disabilities both physical and mental, we at Sanitarium.FM champion any attempt by a major corporation to create technology that caters for the less able user. For that reason, when we heard that Microsoft have unveiled an Xbox One controller designed with the differently-abled in mind, we knew this was something we had to take a look at.

Officially named the Xbox Adaptive Controller, Microsoft’s latest creation – which will actually support both XBox and Windows PCs – is billed as ‘the most flexible adaptive controller made by a major gaming company’. As Microsoft tells it, When a customised controller from non-profit veterans’ organisation Warfighter Engaged caught the eye of a Microsoft engineer back in 2014, Microsoft decided to create its own disability-friendly controller for the following year’s Hackathon, which is where this project began. Refinements followed a year later; but it was the release of the Copilot function – which allows two Xbox One controllers to be treated as a single controller – that led Microsoft to declare their new controller concept ready for launch.

In fact, Copilot is actually the key to how this new controller becomes adaptable for a wide range of disabilities. Designed to be used on a desktop surface, the Xbox Adaptive Controller features all number of ports to allow additional controllers, headsets, switches and other assistive devices to expand on its base capabilities, allowing a user to create a custom gaming solution whereby a user can combine many different controls into a workable solution for their own body. The ports are labelled such that the user doesn’t need to turn or pick up the device to see what goes where; and each controller can function as one or more physical buttons according to the user’s needs. The Adaptive Controller itself sports two giant buttons, mapped to the A and B of a standard Xbox controller and with enough spacing to allow a hand to rest in between; along with a D-Pad and other smaller control buttons to the left side.

Microsoft have explained the full story behind the controller on their Story Labs, which also gives further details about the upcoming product. The Xbox Adaptive Controller will launch later this year, and will retail for $100 in the US, which is likely to translate to around £100 in the UK after the inclusion of VAT.

Following rumours earlier today that Microsoft is said to have an interest in acquiring several gaming-related businesses, Polygon has asserted that a “Reliable source close to Microsoft” believes that the Xbox One platform-holder is actually genuinely considering one such acquisition.

Earlier today, Twitter was awash in rumours suggesting Microsoft, perhaps fuelled by the fact that the Xbox One has found itself lacking in console exclusives, was potentially considering making purchase offers to three companies: Valve, PUBG Corp (the people behind Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds), and Electronic Arts – commonly known as EA. Polygon’s sources believe that the EA rumour is indeed true – that Microsoft is definitely in serious thought about the move, with the other two suggestions also being “whispered”.

Although Xbox One owners can anticipate exclusive releases this year in the form of Sea of Thieves (currently in a closed beta phase), Crackdown 3 and State of Decay 2, this small amount of confirmed titles pales in comparison to major rival Sony’s Playstation 4 line-up, which alongside a remake of Shadow of the Colossus, currently also lists exclusive such as Days Gone, Death Stranding, Detroit: Become Human, God of War, Spider-man and The Last of Us Part II. An aquisition of EA would bring many important franchises to the XBox One – although many of the bigger franchises, such as FIFA, Battlefield and the upcoming Anthem, are currently cross-console and Microsoft is likely to cause uproar were they to change the status quo.

The lack of exclusive content for the XBox One, however, is very likely to be weighing on Microsoft’s mind. Sony’s Playstation 4 has so far dominated this generation of console sales, with over 73 million sold to date; Microsoft, meanwhile, is believed to have only shifted around half this number of XBox Ones although the company refuses to disclose actual sales figures.

Further fuelling the rumours is Phil Spencer’s apparent appetite for an acquisition. Spencer, who was promoted to Executive Vice-President of Gaming late last year, is on record as having stated the following in an interview with Bloomberg:

“Our ability to go create content has to be one of our strengths. We haven’t always invested at the same level. We’ve gone through ups and downs in the investment.”

So what do you think? Do you think a potential acquisition offer is on the cards? Let us know in the comments!

Alongside claims that the service now attracts 10m users per month, Microsoft has announced a number of familiar-sounding features it plans to introduce to Mixer – its streaming service and rival to Twitch.

In order to allow videogame streamers to monetise their channels, Microsoft has announced plans to add direct tipping, so that viewers can donate to their favourite streamers as they watch directly through Mixer, without the need of external services.

For streamers who are playing games that are available through the Microsoft Store (for Windows 10 or XBox One), viewers will soon also be able to quickly buy a digital download of the game, or any DLC being played, with Microsoft planning to introduce new “Direct purchase” options.

While Microsoft is no doubt playing catch-up with Twitch, the service is quickly gaining popularity – helped, no doubt, by Microsoft baking support for the platform into both Windows 10 and XBox One (where it can be found directly on the console’s Dashboard). Even though the upcoming new additions may strike as copycatting, making it easier for viewers to both start playing games they like and donate to their favourite streamers may prove to be an important move in growing that audience even further.