If you are a gamer like me, I bet you can’t wait for all of the new game releases that are expected this year, like Hitman 3, Far Cry 6, Stray, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and more, so let’s check some of them in further details.

Gotham Knights

After the apparent death of both Batman and the Police Commissioner James Gordon, the open world Gotham City is becoming a major home of crime with ongoing corruption and chaos. While adopting the roles of Batman’s allies – Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing and Red Hood, players must try to save the city from its downfall. With the help of more supportive characters, like Bruce’s butler Alfred, our players are the last hope of saving Gotham City. They will have to battle supervillains like Mr. Freeze and a legion of assassins, led by a secret criminal society – the Court of Owls. The game will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox series S and Microsoft Windows.

Horizon Forbidden West

The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn from 2017 is expected to be released this year, 2021. The previous game had won multiple awards and it became one of the best-selling PS4 games and therefore its sequel is highly anticipated among all of those who enjoyed playing the first game. Even if you have not played the first one, after watching the trailer you will almost certainly get intrigued. Horizon Forbidden West will be available for both PS4 and PS5. The game trailer reveals stunning nature and the adventure of the huntress Aloy. It is set in the distant future, stretching from Utah to the Pacific coast, where Aloy has to solve mysteries, while dangers are hidden in every corner. She must save the world as the biosphere is in peril, scan and study loads of animal-like machines that are found typically in the wild, but not only, and face new tribes, some of them peaceful, but others hostile.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

An original idea for a video game, where Kena is the main character that is a spirit guide, helping deceased people move from the physical world to the spirit one. She is possessing magical abilities that are helping her in her tasks. A long time ago, there was a tragedy that struck the main village in the game. The fictional location is not Kena’s birthplace, but throughout the game she is trying to slowly restore the area. Third-person perspective action-adventure game that will be available on Microsoft Windows, PS4 and PS5. The scheduled release is in March 2021.

Resident Evil Village

Following the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the upcoming survival horror game takes place few years after the previous installment and the main characters Mia and Ethan Winters are settling down in a new place, while trying to forget the past. They’ve had a daughter and are starting their lives anew when a tragedy happens and they get attacked in their home by no other but Chris Redfield. After the horrific attack Ethan must find his kidnapped daughter. Scheduled to be released on May 7, 2021 for Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Taking place in 21st-century Seattle, the sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines from 2004 is planned to be released in 2021. The player first creates his character and selects his background as a human, before becoming a vampire, which will determine the interaction options later on in the game. He will be revived as a “thinblood”, referring to the character’s weak vampire abilities. Later on, can join one of the five clans, each of them having a different combination of abilities, and he can upgrade his skills. Missions have to be completed, but a player can choose to take side tasks too. While needing blood to survive, the character is also given points on humanity, with the aim of sparing innocent lives. The blood can be obtained from humans, without necessarily taking all of their blood, while it can also be taken from rats and blood bags.
The character will be feeding on and enhancing his senses temporarily, from to the victims’ emotional state. After obtaining the same multiple times, that particular sense will get permanently enhanced. The players must hide the vampire existence from the rest of the world and be mindful in front of witnesses and police, as they can get penalized for exposure and get chased down by the rest of the vampires. Alternating to third-person perspective for some activities, but mainly played in first-person, the game will be available for Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

The casino industry and the gaming industry are among the biggest ones in the world, raking in billions upon billions of dollars every single year. Think about it – the combined sum that people spend on videogames and microtransactions in one year is almost as big as the money people spent on books! No, I’m not kidding, in 2016 the gaming industry generated $100 billion in profits, while book publishers only raked in $115 billion. That’s crazy! Well, not that crazy when you realize that, while the overwhelming majority of people can read and not that many people can game, people tend to be active gamers more often than they are active readers. Do you like to play a round of two of “Candy Crush” while waiting for the bus? Congratulations, you’re a gamer. Not many people read books with that frequency, and the results show.

But, unfortunately, it’s not enough. Games are becoming too expensive to produce, especially those on consoles where the $60 retail game that offers at least 50 hours of content and launches with a $40 season pass for DLC is the norm that all big publishers strive for. Those games often cost hundreds of millions of dollars to be made by a team of hundreds, the games that need to sell millions of copies in order to turn in a profit – which, of course, most of them absolutely won’t. So if you can’t make your money with sales, and you can’t increase the price from $60, and DLC is no longer cutting it, what else is left to generate revenue? For a while, the big fad was microtransactions. Want a better sword? That’ll cost you $1.99, please! But that fad quickly gave way to something FAR more profitable – loot boxes. Random items placed in blind boxes that you could purchase for a small (and very real) fee, some of which are cosmetic, while others will improve your stats. Maybe you’ll get just another ordinary sword like all of the others, or maybe it’ll be a legendary weapon that you can’t get anywhere else! It’s almost like… Gambling?

Yep, in a surprising move, many videogames (including huge titles like “Star Wars: Battlefront II” and “Overwatch”) are suddenly employing tactics usually reserved for slot machines – pay a flat fee for a completely random chance to win something good, or nothing of value at all. That’s literally gambling, even if you receive no monetary reward out of it… Which is weird because, while games are becoming more like casinos, casinos are, for the first time ever, introducing videogames. In an attempt to attract younger gamblers, some Vegas casinos have introduced skill-based games like Frogger, where you bet a certain amount of money and then your winnings depend entirely on how well you do in the game. It’s a bit funny to think that, nowadays, actual gambling relies more on player skill than videogames one plays for fun.

Of course, this likely won’t last forever. Multiple countries, such as Belgium, are currently trying to outlaw loot boxes, and chances are that sooner or later it’ll just be too much of a hassle for developers to plug them into their games. Similarly, skill-based casino games haven’t really had the impact that developers have hoped (which makes perfect sense – why would you go to a casino and bet money on Frogger when you can play it right now on your phone for free), so it seems rather unlikely that the legislature which allowed them to happen in Vegas in the first place will find its way out of the States and in other markets like the UK, especially in online markets where skill-based gambling can potentially be very easily exploited. Before too long, chances are that the industries will go back to the way they used to be, with certain changes here and there, but in any case, 20-30 years from now it’ll be kind of funny to remember that, at one point in the mid to late 2010s, the gaming and casino industries switched places for a bit.

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games of all time, and it is easy to understand why. It is exhilarating and engaging, yet simple and straightforward to play. There are some variants available at online casinos that take the much-loved game to a whole new level. Some feature branded content, making the game feel even more familiar and inviting. Some include twists to the traditional rules and gameplay, creating a unique and engaging playing experience. Others feature real dealers for a truly authentic playing experience to rival that which you would get in a real land based casino. In this post, I would like to introduce you to 3 of my favourite roulette variants that can be played at online casinos in the UK. If you want to get stuck into the games for yourself, you will find top casinos where you can play UK online roulette here.

Pinball Roulette

This innovative and unique game variant flips the usual roulette gameplay on its head. The wheel is replaced by a pinball machine in this game variant. Across the bottom of the machine you find the same coloured and numbered pockets that you would usually find on a European Roulette wheel. You place your bets and then launch the ball into the machine.

As with the traditional arcade game, you watch as the pinball bounces and ricochets around the game, until it eventually comes to land in one of the pockets. This unusual twist on the traditional game adds an extra element of fun as you play. What’s more, with each win, you get the chance to gamble your winnings by playing the bonus round. This offers the chance to win up to 10x your stake, making it potentially lucrative, as well as super exiting.

Monopoly Roulette Hot Properties

This unique variant brings together the classic game of roulette and Hasbro’s iconic board game, Monopoly. The basic roulette gameplay is as standard. You can place all the usual standard and advanced bets. Yet what makes this game special is the inclusion of the “Hot Properties” betting position. If you bet on this position, and the ball comes to land on the corresponding pocket, the hot properties bonus game is triggered.

In the bonus game 18 property cards are dealt face down, each concealing a different cash prize. You are then awarded a certain number of picks. Once this has been done, you are presented with an offer, based on the value of the remaining cards. In a nod to the board game, you then must decide whether to “collect” the offer, or take a “chance” to refuse the offer and continue revealing cards in the bonus game. Not only does this bonus game add a unique and fun element to the traditional roulette game, it can also be quite rewarding.

Immersive Roulette

Whilst there is no shortage of live roulette variants available online, Immersive Roulette is hands down the best you will find. For starters, it is streamed in HD quality and features numerous different camera angles, to get you up close to the action as it happens. This includes a slow-motion replay of the ball as it comes to land on the winning number.

What’s more, the dealers are attractive, friendly and professional and you can chat away with them as you play, making the whole experience even more engaging and entertaining. The game boasts a wide betting range, to cater to all types of players, from beginners to high rollers. It also features a race track, for quick and easy access to special bets. This game was such a hit with players and industry experts alike, that it won the title of Game of the Year at the prestigious EGR Awards 2014.

Video games that are based on blockbuster films should be awesome. After all you get to be in control, you get the chance to re-enact the actions of your hero. You are the hero! The sad truth is though, most movie tie-ins suck! Very often it feels like the game was rushed out with very little thought and care going into the finished article. One of the earliest examples of this is the awful ET game that was released for the Atari 2600 console back in 1982. The game was so bad that Atari actually dumped a large number of the cartridges into a large landfill in New Mexico. Finding a top-notch game based on a movie is pretty tricky but I’ve racked my brain, dusted off a few old cartridges and took a jog down memory lane to bring you my 3 favourite old school games based on films.

Spider-Man 2

Who has never wished they were Spiderman? Saturday mornings used to be all about your ‘Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man’. When the first Spiderman game was released it was terrible! It suffered from poor controls, camera angles that defied logic and bad voice acting from Tobey Maguire. So, when the second instalment was released, I like many others, had very low expectations, but wow!

Spiderman 2 was great. It was one of the first truly open games and the thrill of web-slinging from one building to the next was simply awesome. Its non-linear storyline allowed you to explore a huge cityscape and as an added bonus you got to beat up bad guys.

Tron

The arcade version of Tron is based on the 1982 science fiction movie starring Jeff Bridges. In the film Kevin Flynn, who is played by Bridges, is transported into a digital world and becomes a freedom fighter. The film was one of the first feature films to really embrace new digital technology.

The video game is not one game but rather a collection of four mini-games. In the I/O tower game you fight against spiders to get to the core. The MCP cone saw you shooting your way through deadly coloured blocks. Battle tanks saw you competing in a shoot-out with other tanks and the infamous Light Cycles game was like ‘snake on steroids’. Each game individually wasn’t anything special but combined it created an immersive experience.

Goldeneye

To me, Goldeneye was the turning point in video games. It looked simply stunning. When this game was released for the Nintendo 64, it just blew me away. The game had everything, beautiful graphics, top notch sound and its arrival heralded a new generation of first person shooters.

Perhaps the best feature of this game was multiplayer. Inviting friends round, hiding behind a wall and then unloading your Walther PPK into the back of your mates head never gets old. A true classic that paved the way for future blockbusters such as Call of Duty and the Battlefield series of games.

Hi there, I’m Jonny, welcome to my new blog. Let me start by telling you a little about myself. I work in advertising, have a dog named Dave and my major passion in life is gaming! My interest in games started as a kid. I have fond memories of navigating through Dizzy’s adventures whilst the green screen of the Amstrad flickered away. When my parents gave my sister and I a Sega Mega Drive for Christmas, I was amazed by the slick graphics and exhilarating playing experience of games like Sonic and Ecco the Dolphin. Now of course, gaming has come a long way since then and nowadays, cutting edge technology is used to provide thoroughly entertaining and immersive game play. What was already good just keeps getting better and better.

I take gaming seriously, and am forever on the lookout for the latest game releases, hints & tips and industry news. Given the many hours I spend in gaming related activities, I figured it would be a good idea to create a blog dedicated to this topic. That way, I can share my thoughts, experiences and advice with others who enjoy gaming. I have eclectic tastes when it comes to games, and enjoy a wide variety of different types. As such, in this blog, you will find plenty of variety. There will be posts on casino games, video games, mobile games, heck, I might even include an article on drinking games! I will aim to post updates regularly, so make sure you come back regularly to check out what I have added. I welcome any feedback you may have as well, and if there’s anything you’d like me to report on, just drop me a line and I will endeavour to include it.