The library of Linux games available on Steam is small but growing – though the same does not appear to be true of the platform’s market share. 1.70% of Steam users in March were reported as Linux users, though this figure collapsed to 1.56% in April. The May figures, following the beta release of these two games, will be particularly interesting.

You can find out more about Steam on its official website here.

The package is set for release in Europe and Australia on the 7th of June across PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The console versions are set to retail for £39.99 GBP, €49,99 EUR, or AU$69.95, while the PC version is set to retail for £29.99 GBP, €39,99 EUR, or AU$49.95. You can find out more about the package on the official Elder Scrolls website here.

“We stand only 400 years from the fall of Rome, and a mere 200 from the revelations of Mohammed and much of the world still clings to an ancient code written with iron and blood,” reads the description of the expansion’s new trailer, which you can check out below.

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You can find out more about Crusader Kings II on its official website here.

“We want audiences to be charmed and leave the cinema feeling great, so it’s fitting that our film will be a very happy finale to what will be an exceptional year at the Festival,” said the film’s producer, Claire Mundell.

Chris Fujiwara, Artistic Director of the festival, added: “Speaking as somebody who, before coming to Scotland, knew Scotland partly through its portrayal in films, I’m really excited to find in Not Another Happy Ending a fresh, interesting, and almost idyllic take on the cultural vibrancy of Scottish city life. The film also shows how well the time-honoured genre of romantic comedy can work in the contemporary Scottish context. The film will add just the right note of celebration with which to close our festival this year.”

The film will be shown on the 30th of June. You can find out more about the film on its official website here. You can also read our interview with director John McKay from last year here.

This may sound far-flung from BioShock, 2007’s award-winning underwater shooter, but a connection exists. Even though the ties are tangential, Infinite feels fundamentally like its predecessors. In some ways, this is bad: Infinite’s second act is a chore, breaking up the flow of the game’s excellent plot by asking players to back-track across levels and go through dozens of uninspiring fire-fights, much like in BioShock and BioShock 2 – and it feels even less forgiveable, given the relative vastness of Columbia compared to Rapture. The reprisal of BioShock 2’s dual-wielding system of superpowers and conventional weapons is welcome, though. These supernatural powers are now called Vigors rather than Plasmids, and they’re fuelled by a bountiful resource called Salts (presumably like smelling salts).

Vigors, of which there are eight, spice up combat by encouraging combinations of supernatural attacks and your usual guns. Some Vigors can even be chained together: Murder of Crows, for instance, sends a pack of killer birds after your foe, and a subsequent shot with Shock Jockey turns them into even deadlier Electric Crows. There’s also a dedicated mêlée attack now, rather than a single mêlée weapon, which is especially deadly when paired with collectible Gear that’s assorted around the city; certain pieces of Gear offer unique effects like giving a mêlée attack a 70% chance of setting a target on fire. There’s no direct equivalent to BioShock’s Big Daddy in Infinite, although a great mechanical bird fulfils a similar role in the story; in combat, you’ll mostly come up against magma-throwing Firemen, Handymen (whose beating hearts are displayed under a glass dome), and automatons in the likeness of George Washington called Motorised Patriots.

Combat is made even more interesting by the Sky-Hook, an interesting hand-held device which not only allows Booker to attach himself to hooks on the side of buildings, but also travel along the Sky-Line, the city’s comprehensive monorail system which winds between and above various hostile areas. Escaping a confrontation by latching onto and swiftly accelerating along these metal lines (assuming a Handyman has not electrified them) is a useful tactical manoeuvre, and leaping from one to crush an enemy in a “Sky-Line strike” is particularly rewarding. The Sky-Line is Columbia’s most visually distinctive idiosyncrasy, and makes for a city with novelty value far beyond the fact that it floats. Tears also mix up the combat; they’re holes in the fabric of the universe through which Elizabeth can draw certain useful items, ranging from cover to medkits to gun automatons. Only one Tear can be opened at a time, and they are incredibly useful – but they occasionally feel a little too conveniently placed, taking away from the game’s challenge.

Undeniably, though, the biggest attraction in Infinite is the presentation of its story. The trans-dimensional setting and tightly developed characters create a compelling narrative which is all the more engaging for the gorgeous character and environmental design that complements it. Booker’s arrival in Columbia makes the city out to be a delightful, utopian place, and the dashing of that vision side-lined me with an emotional kick as potent as the Salts that replenish Booker’s Vigors. BioShock addressed interesting political themes with its depiction of Rapture, and Infinite does something similar: shining a light on a dark section of America’s past through the propaganda in which Columbia is plastered. Although the opening’s intensity doesn’t quite carry the relatively insipid middle portion, the moments leading up to and including the game’s conclusion are quite possibly the most riveting in any game I’ve played. Ken Levine and his team clearly have a thorough understanding of Chekhov’s gun, sowing the seeds for the finale throughout the game, with juicy yet extraneous tid-bits included in collectible audio logs (now called “Voxphones”). The Lutece siblings are a particularly interesting pair of recurring characters whose cleverly orchestrated banter makes them highlights of Infinite’s diverse and well-voiced cast of characters – and that’s to say nothing of Elizabeth.

Although the ending is admittedly a little self-indulgent, BioShock Infinite left me feeling satisfied in way that most other games don’t. I’ve now contemplated it for longer than I’ve played it, since I completed it over the larger chunk of a single day – and my only criticism of its length is that it would perhaps pack a stronger emotional punch as a shorter game. What disappointment I faced that the game was over so soon has doubtlessly been outweighed by the hours I’ve spent mulling it over. Infinite gives new context to its predecessors and sets a new standard of storytelling for first-person shooters in the same way BioShock did in 2007. Can the genre live up to it? Perhaps. Buy BioShock Infinite and address a more salient question first: bird, or cage?

“We were prepared for this as it was always a possibility when establishing an entirely new European tax scheme, especially as games are so different to film and TV,” said UKIE CEO, Jo Twist. “We are confident of the government’s commitment to implementing the tax breaks as soon as possible. But we hope that the delay will be a short one and shall now be doing everything that we can, working with UK government, the European Commission and TIGA, to get the state aid approval that we need as soon as possible.”

The “cultural test” proposed by the UK Government is used to determine whether or not a game is “British”. It’s a points-based system which rewards games that are set in the UK or another EEA state, or feature characters from the UK or another EEA state, and rewards developers concerned with “the promotion, development and enhancement of British culture”, among other criteria.

“It’s such a brilliant achievement securing both Mark and April for the project,” said the film’s young director, Fraser Coull. “I’m a huge fan of their work and to be able to bring them up to Glasgow for the project is exciting. You want to cast the best people possible to bring your characters to life and I’m really lucky that we’ve got April and Mark on board.”

Creative Talent Connections are currently attempting to raise money for the film’s production through crowdfunding website Bloom, with the goal of raising £2,000 by the 29th of March. So far, the campaign has accrued pledges to the total value of £1,155. Speaking on the fundraiser, Coull said: “It’s really important that we reach our crowdfunding target. If we don’t reach the target, then we don’t get any of the money promised and the backers who have supported us so far don’t get any of the amazing rewards they chose.”

You can find out more about One Year Later on its official website here, and on its crowdfunding campaign page here.

As Lara, your job is to make sure their plot to kidnap Sam doesn’t go to plan, and that means solving puzzles and killing enemies, all within the structure of a high-octane action-adventure game – think Uncharted with a fashionable infusion of quick-time events and pretty visuals (plus a spunky leading lady). Most appealing to me is the game’s early focus on stealth, with Lara’s iconic dual pistols missing-in-action and replaced with a bow, which can take out enemies without a sound. There’s a strong focus on sneaking behind waist-high walls and using clever tactics to isolate guards and then despatch them. For instance, you can shoot an arrow at a wall behind two guards; while one goes to check it out, you can quickly take out the other with an arrow to the head, and then kill the other once he returns. Neither spots you, so neither have the opportunity to raise the alarm.

After you’ve picked up more destructive weapons, like a shotgun, a machine gun, and even a grenade launcher, the game develops an inclination to force you into violent confrontations. These demand effective use of available cover, the ability to aim quickly, and a good handle of the scramble and roll mechanics. In these combat-oriented segments, Tomb Raider becomes an all-out third-person shooter, perhaps convincing some players that its action-adventure shell was just a convincing façade. For the most part, these confrontations come in bursts, in the form of drawn-out ambushes. This is something of a lazy tactic to extend the length of the game, and it usually feels like it – but it also indulges the more action-oriented players out there, so I can’t complain too much.

In any case, those who prefer adventure games are already well catered to. Countless collectibles are scattered across the island, including relics, documents, and GPS caches, which are of variable merit to the game’s narrative. The collectible documents unlock a lot of the game’s back-story, and even expand the stories of the other survivors, like Alex and Reyes, who are genuinely interesting characters (though not necessarily likeable). Although some, like expedition leader Whitman, are undeveloped caricatures, there’s a noticeable trend of well-written and thoroughly developed characters in the single-player campaign, and the opportunity to hear more about their tribulations makes the documents worth reading. The collectible relics, on the other hand, will be exciting only to history fans: they are genuine historic artefacts, mostly from Japan, which can be viewed in detail.

The adventure aspect of the game is well complemented by the level design, which incorporates zip-lines and craggy rocks into the environment, allowing players to quickly move between distant points and indulge in some rock-climbing. The craggy rocks are implemented particularly well in terms of their integration into the environment; more-so than in any other game, they don’t look out-of-place, but remain easily identifiable. While players can only create zip-lines between certain poles and platforms at first, the viable candidates indicated by white rope, you later gain the ability to create zip-lines to craggy rocks, which combine these two idiosyncratic elements of the game world.

Square Enix have been quite vocal about the action and adventure portions of the game in its promotion, but in doing so, they’ve come to gloss over something I found a little unexpected: a definite fantasy horror vibe, which manifests itself in creepy shacks and alarming amounts of gore. Tomb Raider’s 18 certificate isn’t a surprise to anyone who buys video games – what doesn’t have an 18 certificate these days? – but I took a major double-take when I, as Lara, was forced to swim through a sea of blood in a valley of bodies, and emerged with my clothes, hair, and skin soaked red. The game is brutal. It’s not so evident in combat, which features a fairly standard level of blood spatter, but it’s noticeable again should you ever die: you’re sometimes treated to brief, gory images of your death, like seeing your body slammed against sharp rocks should you fall into the ocean. These horror moments succeed in creating an uneasy and uncomfortable atmosphere that feels appropriate for the main theme of the game: the reluctant and unwilling transformation of Lara, from a girl described as “innocent”, into a strong woman with the capacity to defend herself. The game is filled with Lara’s first times, including her first time killing a man, and her first time killing a deer for food, and each is delivered in a hard-hitting, emotional way.

It’s worth pointing out that like most other triple-A console games on the market today, Tomb Raider suffers from an over-abundance of quick-time events and overly cinematic “gameplay” segments. The convergence of big-budget games and big-budget movies is becoming more and more evident, especially when there are a fair few portions of the game which are packed with impressive visuals and an emotive score, yet demand only a few easy button presses and analogue flicks to complete. This is an after-effect of story taking the front seat, but Tomb Raider’s crimes are redeemed by its vast cache of optional content. If the apparently misleading nature of the game’s title upsets you, you’ll be pleased to know that more than a few tombs are included, but they are absolutely optional and involve veering off the main path. They’re centred around puzzle-solving and are rather satisfying to play through – but it’s likely due to their optional nature that these quiet brain-teasers weren’t vetoed during pre-production, given the intended mainstream audience.

That desire to placate a wide audience is probably responsible for the inclusion of the game’s multiplayer mode, which lacks the charm or polish of the single-player campaign. It’s identifiable only as Tomb Raider by its playable characters, and the majority of the game’s cast are locked until you’ve gained enough levels. It’s third-person shooter madness with typical and uninspired game modes like “team deathmatch”, which predictably plays out in the style of “Survivors vs. Solarii”. It feels more like a quickly built interpretation of Gears of War than anything else. The matchmaking system contains some issues as well, including a propensity to create teams with unbalanced distributions of high- and low-level players, plus teams uneven in size. It’s a good thing multiplayer isn’t a main focus of the game.

The term “reboot” doesn’t apply particularly well to Tomb Raider because it doesn’t go out of its way to retroactively change the franchise’s continuity, but it does bring across one key element of this game: it’s used a major departure from the series’ status quo to return credibility, attention, and respect to it, and that makes for a very promising future. While Tomb Raider is reasonably long (particularly by triple-A standards) and packs a ship-load of additional content, no doubt ready to be expanded through downloadable content, its conclusion begs for a sequel. With a new film on the horizon, there’s hardly a doubt in my mind that we’ll be seeing a lot more of Lara Croft in the near future – and that’s not bad at all.

The Blu-ray and DVD also includes commentary in Inside The Episodes, and features on True Bloodlines and True Blood: Autopsy. A brand new boxset of True Blood: Seasons 1 - 5 will also be available in both formats from the same day. You can pre-order the complete fifth season and the seasons one to five boxset from Amazon.co.uk here and here respectively.

Since launch, SimCity has been plagued with issues relating to its online functionality; unfortunately, the game requires that players connect to its online servers and remain connected in order to play the game, meaning the online issues have led to thousands of players being unable to start the game at all. The negative response has been strong: SimCity currently stands on Amazon with an average review score of only 1 star, based on 1,835 customer reviews.

“Tonight and tomorrow we’ll be monitoring each server and gameplay metrics to ensure the service remains strong and game is playing great,” continues Bradshaw’s update. “We need a few more days of data before we can assure you that the problem is completely solved and the game is running at 100 percent. The good news is that tens of thousands of new players are streaming into the game every day and the confidence our fans have shown is truly humbling.”

The update concludes: “You bought the game with the understanding that we’d quickly fix the server issues. For that support – that incredible commitment form our fans – we are deeply grateful. As the general manager of Maxis, I want you to know that we cherish your faith in us, and the love you’ve shown for this franchise. Thank you very much.”

Notably, the project managed to achieve the last of its funding “stretch goals” before the end of the campaign. This goal of $1,500,000 USD was titled “the Director’s Cut”, and “adds back all the content we had to cut for cost reasons, along with a director’s commentary of the game”. The developer explained that by reaching this target, far beyond the original $850,000 USD goal, they can “hire more people [… and] bring back the locations, characters, puzzles and conversations that were left on the cutting room floor”.

You can find out more about Dreamfall Chapters, which is currently slated for release around November 2014, on its Kickstarter campaign page here.

The limited edition mouse can also be paired with the Collector’s Edition “Razer Goliathus” mousemat, which is designed to enable swift movements by virtue of a “slick speed-enhancing surface”. Both the Naga Hex and the Goliathus come with a special code which unlocks the Tryndamere champion and one of his skins, which usually costs in-game Rune Points.

“We’re ecstatic to be able to bring to market peripherals that are custom-designed for domination in the most competitive e-Sports title today,” said Min-Liang Tan, co-founder, CEO, and creative director of Razer. “Partnering with Riot Games is a step forward for hard-core PC gamers everywhere. We have been strong supporters of the League of Legends scene since its inception and continue to sponsor some of the world’s top teams.”

You can find out more on the League of Legends section of the Razer website here.

The game is slated for release in the UK on the 15th of March on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. You can check out the new trailer below, or follow a link direct to YouTube by clicking here.

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“Creating something truly special is incredibly challenging,” said Crystal Dynamics’ Head of Studio, Darrell Gallagher, in response to the launch. “You have got to really want it: you have to be passionate; you have to care about it, and you have to dedicate yourself. We have a studio full of talented people who put their hearts into making this game […] We hope that the game we’ve built will endure and that this is a well deserving renaissance for Lara Croft.”

You can check out the latest trailer for the game below. Our review of the game is incoming; you can subscribe to our Tomb Raider series page to be notified once it is published.

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Castle abandons his friends at the 12th Precinct to travel to Paris and track down Alexis with the help of some sketchy individuals who once helped him with research for a novel. This marks the first problem with the episode: its location. It seems that Fillion wasn’t actually flown to Paris, even though Molly C. Quinn was; as a result, exterior shots involving Castle either feature a dodgy green-screen background, or are so distant we can’t distinguish Fillion from his stunt double. This feels weird, and makes it harder to engage with the story.

Then we’re onto these sketchy individuals with whom Castle is trying to track down his daughter; one is a near-blind audiophile who shacks up in what basically amounts to a dungeon, surrounded by computer screens and speakers (one can only imagine his problems with humidity). His appearance and demeanour, not to mention his discovery of impossible proportions, completely destroy the episode’s realism – the character is a ridiculous caricature, the like from which Castle is usually free. That feeling of surreality continues into the episode’s resolution, which had me wondering: “Is this really it, or is this a joke?”

Hunt’s strengths basically lie in the quality of the acting, which remains stellar, and the novelty value of the series’ foray to France. The execution of its conclusion features a minor ruse which subverts the audience’s expectation in a way that deserves a little praise, but it still lacks the finesse of some past episodes’ endings. It develops a previously sparse area of Castle’s backstory too, but the revelations have no apparent significance outside of this episode. Ultimately, this is a remarkably average episode, and that’s especially disappointing considering it’s the direct follow-up to the brilliant Target.