The latest update to the first-person survival game The Long Dark has come along with a number of large changes, including the addition of a new region – Desolation Point. Desolation Point also happens to be the name of the update.

Described as “a stretch of coastal highway pockmarked with the abandoned remnants of a formerly thriving whaling industry,” Desolation Point can be found somewhere beyond the end of the Coastal Highway, past the Commuter’s Lament. Along with this changes include the ability to properly place items rather than just dropping them all, metal forging to enable creation of a few simple tools and the Survival Panel has been replaced by a new Status screen that has access to the Backpack, First Aid, Bedroll and Fire-Starting functions. The weather system has also been overhauled to make transitions between different weather states smoother and adds visual cues which makes predicting different weathers much easier. There’s also the addition of five different sandbox game slots with a single save slot each along with the usual tweaks and fixes.

Fortunately old saves will still be compatible with the update, so if you’ve a save with a lot of hours ploughed into it you can still play without fear of losing everything you’ve worked for so far.

Rocket League is a good example of a simple game concept done really well. Good  controls, physics and general good fun factor means that the game has passed a million sales on Steam and has become a growing eSport. Now the game’s developers have announced the next DLC.

Psyonix announced the DLC, Revenge of the Battle-Cars in a trailer. It’s due for release in October and will add to the game two “fan-favourite” vehicles from Rocket League’s predecessor, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars: Scarab and Zippy. There’s also aesthetic content in the form of new paint types, decals, rocket boosts, toppers, antennas and wheels – all to be gotten hold of for $3.99 or the “regional equivalent” of that price.

At the same time there will be two new arenas (Urban Station (Night) and Utopia Coliseum (Dusk)) added free to the game regardless of whether or not you own the DLC as well as new Country and Community flags for you to use.

Expansions for games tend to be released at the most a few years after the release of the original game, so it’s a surprise to hear that Forgotten Empires and SkyBox Labs are working on an expansion for Age of Mythology – a game already 13 years old.

Called Tale of the Dragon, the expansion will be Eastern-themed. Not many other details are known yet, but the team will be having a livestream on October 2nd with the exact time to be announced later on. The expansion comes on the heels of the release of the Extended Edition of the game which came with a number of updates including day and night cycles, improved water and global lighting.

The same team is also working on another project: Age of Empires 2 HD: The African Kingdoms.

Mario is 30 years old! Can you believe it? His catalog of games is impressive. He’s arguably the most popular and recognizable video game character ever. To celebrate, we at Sanitarium.FM have gotten together and searched the dusty cobwebs of our addled little brains for our earliest or best Mario memories! Read on and marvel at how ancient some of us are!

Digmbot

I first saw Mario in a Pizza Hut. It was one of those sit down machines that had Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong on it. I drove my mother absolutely crazy to get the quarter I needed to play it. I even called her to confirm her irritation level for this article. She was mad. Ever since then, I’ve loved the franchise. I’ve played every core game and Mario never ceases to make me smile. The sheer pleasure of the pitch perfect platforming controls, the music, the incredible ingenuity of the levels.

There’s a reason everyone holds up the plumber as the gold standard of platformers. He practically created the sidescrolling platformer. He damn sure DID show everyone else how to transition to 3D. And the Mario Galaxy games are a master’s course on how to evolve level design so that nothing ever feels stale. In short, to me playing a Mario game is an exercise in the most simple joy of gaming. Tight gameplay, wonderful levels and pure fun.

Never change Mario. Never change. Except for the movie and cartoon. Never do that again. PLEASE. *turns up bottle of whiskey*

Lonesamurai

Although I’ve known of Mario since the early years of gaming, especially seeing Mario in movies and other geek culture (including news reports of video games rotting kids brains and being too violent (yeah, fuck you Mortal Kombat!), my first experience of playing Mario was actually Super Mario 3 at a friends house.  Before that I was relegated to my Atari until I could afford my own console.

I was actually well ensconced in the SEGA camp though, going from Master System and Mega drive (Genesis) upto the Saturn and Dreamcast, but I had friends and housemates with Nintendo’s through the years and played all the various incarnations.

One of my fondest Mario memories was working at GAME when the DS version of Mario 64 was released and we marvelled at the power in such a small handheld unit.

Of course, then there are the EPIC memories of drunken Mario Kart games at college…  But sober memories of DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D and Quake 1 during my networking classes, so yeah, there are some good hazy memories of Mario too.

But I am still a Sonic fanboy, screw Mario!

Also, love the movie!  RIP Bob Hoskins!  

~ Lone

PredictedCyborg

I remember growing up in the 90s seeing ads for Mario games from my earliest days of watching children’s television. To me as a kid Nintendo = Mario and playing Mario was an excellent and cool way to show off to your friends. Never got to be one of those cool kids though. The Mario cartoon is one I grew up watching though as a very little cyborg although god knows I don’t remember any of it anymore.

First time I got to play any Mario game was when Sunshine was releasing, playing a demo of the first level in a shop. Shame I didn’t have a Gamecube then because I did enjoy it. I’ve played demos of various other Mario games over the years too, mostly the handheld console versions and I’ve never really shown a great level of skill at them… although with practice maybe I could be better.

Also I used to entertain a section of a lunch club I was a part of as one of the ‘responsible older kids running things’ in high school by joining them for the daily Mario Kart DS races. The local wi-fi signals were great and although I can’t claim to have been the best player of that game, I wasn’t half-bad at it.

Crimsonshade

One of the things I will admire about Mario now that he celebrates the mature age of 30 is that, unlike some of the other popular video game mascots from time past that still remain around today, Mario has never really made a false step or been grossly mistreated by those who direct him now. (Crash! Sonic! Mega Man! WHYYYY?!?) Part of this is probably down to his versatility – an Italian plumber who also moonlighted as a carpenter in his earlier days, Mario has the skills to adapt to all kinds of different lines of work, and Nintendo’s various experiments over the years have cemented him as a man of many talents – yet, at the same time, his core series of games have remained steadfastly rigid and unmistakably “Mario” for his entire lifespan, while still managing to introduce enough subtle new tweaks that no two games ever feel the same. My personal favourite game is Super Mario Bros. 3 (which I have never actually completed, embarrassingly…); but the recent reboots – starting from the DS Era with New Super Mario Bros, all the way through to Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS – all reaffirm to me why I still maintain a fondness for Mario in my heart.

Still, I won’t forgive Nintendo for the movie; or for creating Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. That game’s a bastard. (He says after dying for the hundredth time playing the Wii Virtual Console port…)

Shelby

One of my earliest memories of Mario was snatching the controller out of Digm’s hands when he was trying to finish a difficult section of Super Mario 64. I thought it was the best game ever, because I could watch him fail in glorious 3D. Since then, Mario has given me countless ways to make him miserable. So thank you Mario. I’ll kill you last.

So evil… – Crimsonshade

RattlinMan

1996 or 1997 I think. My memory is extremely fuzzy but what I remember for sure is that on countless occasions before I reached double digits in my age, is that I would always endeavour to steal my sister’s Game Boy (one of the older, chunkier models that could knock someone out) and sneak back to my room and by lamplight try and fail ENDLESSLY to get even a third of the way through Super Mario Land 2. I seem to recall my favourite levels were the ones that included a lot of green jelly…at least I assumed it was green, yeah I’m gonna go with green, but that was only because they were so easy. But of course I would get found out and yelled at for borrowing the Game Boy without permission, even parental permission wouldn’t stop me from gaming back in those days. Oh what a maverick I was when I was a child. But yeah, Super Mario Land 2, Game Boy like a brick, theft and green jelly.

I’m hungry now. For green jelly.

• RattlinMan

Scarlet_Dragon

I wasn’t going to add to this sycophantic Mario-fest as I didn’t grow up with Mario. But needs must, and I’m not allowed to decline; so here goes.

I grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog. My family had a Mega Drive and I loved that over-heating black box of arguments so much. It brought me closer to my brother and father, and then further away again, when I lost.

I was the kid on the playground who argued against Mario. I couldn’t stand that mushroom eating, high jumping, red bastard. I didn’t want to go to the other children’s houses to play the newest incarnation of racing game or princess saving simulator. But I still couldn’t escape him.

I was very young when the film came out and it still scares me to this day. I didn’t enjoy it, and even my Mum later admitted it was crap and she shouldn’t have exposed her children to that filth.

I finally gave into the Mario craze 3 years ago. It was a dark night, and much alcohol was consumed. As anyone who finds themselves in that situation, you trust your friends. So one who shall rename nameless (Chris!) pulls out an old-style GameCube. I loved that silver box. It had so much Zelda nostalgia, I could cry. But then, those bastards put Mario Kart on, thrust the controller in my hand and whispered “play”. A character was already loaded, so with palms sweating, and bile rising in my gullet, I tried my best. But alas! All my years of Sonic platforming could not prepare me for the severe game-shafting I was subjected to that night. I was the laughing stock of the group for weeks to come. So, my first game of Mario involved not only my closest friend’s betraying me, but also the beautiful GameCube forsaking me.

Happy fucking Birthday you red bastard!

-Scarlet_Dragon

Big Punch Studios are at it again. The UK-based studio of comic creators responsible for 7STRING, Afterlife Inc., The Heavenly Chord, Cat & Meringue and Big Punch Magazine – among other projects – has taken to Kickstarter to fund a brand new project – but this time, the team is going down a whole new avenue.

Sandwich Masters is Big Punch Studios’ first attempt to create a brand new card game with a wacky, somewhat twisted style of humour only comic artists truly master. The game, which is for 2 to 4 players in standard form, involves using ingredient cards – some good, some bad – to construct sandwiches to order, aiming to be the first to fulfil a specific request and earn the cash, while sabotaging your opponents and hoping you won’t get sabotaged yourself – first to 50 “noshbucks” wins. Or, as the Kickstarter puts it:

Sandwich Masters is a fast-paced, colourful card game with a slightly twisted sense of humour for two to four players. Players race to build sandwiches and complete orders using the correct ingredient cards. The winner is the first player to earn 50 noshbucks.

 

But in the battle to earn the most money, standards are easily forgotten. You see, each good ingredient has an evil counterpart. Hungry customers won’t notice the difference (is that bacon or facon, sliced beef or a live cow?) but if someone plays a Health Inspector card, you’re in trouble. Throw in Attack Condiments (broken glass, a sneeze), Vegetarian Rats and the occasional Poop Flood and it’s a recipe for disaster!

(Poop Flood… ewww…)

The standard game will come with 180 Cards making up three decks, and printed instructions for how to play. Should the project beat its £5,000 target, further stretch goals tempt the prospect of additional cards; while a total of £8,500 or more will lead to the expected print run being doubled.

The Kickstarter is open for 30 days, with a backing of £15 or more securing one set of the cards, which aim to get delivered by January 2015. For the first 20 backers to take the perk, a pledge of £40 or more will earn you the title of SANDWICH LORD and allow you to design your own Attack Condiment, which will be turned into a one-off card to be included with your copy of the game, and the pack will be signed by the team. So what are you waiting for?