William Murphy

I’m writing my review of the Razer Hammerhead V2 Bluetooth Headphones while I use them to catch up on the Flash episodes I’ve missed, and play the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 soundtrack. That right there, could probably be enough of a review if you’re just looking for an endorsement, but let’s dive into the details – the pros, cons, and what the set will cost you if you’re tempted.

If I ever tell you I’m good at competitive shooters, you can call me a liar. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of the new Countdown PVP mode on PC today at the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal. Sadly, video capture was only available on PS4, so we’ll be sure to post some videos of ours or others when they go live. But the new mode, Countdown, is the capture and defend option Destiny fans have been waiting for.

I feel absolutely privileged to be at the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal in LA today. Then I realized that literally everyone in the gaming press and influencer world is here, and realized “Holy sh*t… we’re finally getting Destiny on the PC.” I’ve spent my morning with both the PC version’s demo Strike, and the PVP, with my Campaign session coming later today. The Inverted Spire is the first new group content we’re getting hands on with, and I must say, Destiny 2 feels right at home on PC.

One of the biggest hurdles in providing a quality interactive stream is having to constantly jump around browser and application windows while still trying to play and keep the focus on the game you’re streaming. I’ve been streaming with MMORPG for years now, and it’s still always a fight to get the setup just right. Thankfully, the Elgato Stream Deck was just released and solves just about every issue you can think of when it comes to stream juggling.

To say that I am impressed with the power of ASUS’ AMD RX580 is an understatement. I’ve long been an NVIDIA-based PC gamer, but there was a time back in the AGP days where ATI (AMD) could do no wrong for me. On the verge of the Vega cards coming out this year, one would think the $279 RX580 wouldn’t perform so well, since it’s basically on par with NVIDIA’s 1060 line of cards. But that’s the rub…

Going to take a different tack with this week’s ESO column. We’re all just waiting for the launch of the Morrowind Chapter in June, wildly guessing what it’s going to be like and where the rest of 2017 will take us. But there’s one thing that I think might be fun to do while we wait – if you’re an ESO player, what’s your story with the game? No, this isn’t an RP exercise, but rather a poll to see how you got started in Tamriel and what keeps you playing month after month.

It's been announced today via press release that Kakao Games and Pearl Abyss are bringing their hit MMORPG Black Desert Online to Steam on May 24th.

Today marks the release of the latest update for Neverwinter on the PC, as the Shroud of Souls launches. Following the events of the Cloaked Ascendency, the Shroud of Souls will take players into a twisted mirror version of the city of Neverwinter. On top of all the new story updates, there are big quality of life improvements, new guild content, new stronghold updates, and a new story arc following the adventures in the River District.

Quake Champions is finally letting the press folks talk about their time in Closed Beta, and we’re happy to report that we’re absolutely terrible at the game. Normally, this wouldn’t be something we’d celebrate, but that’s the thing about Quake… its breakneck speed and over the top action mean that even when you’re dying every few seconds you’re likely still going to have a good time. Read on for our first impressions.

Of all the things I’m looking forward to most in Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind this June, the ultimate has to be starting over. It’s not that I haven’t made a new character in ESO before, in fact, I’ve probably played through the beginning lands of Tamriel Unlimited more times than I care to admit since the beta of ESO three years and change ago. And that, right there, is why Morrowind is vitally important to me as an ESO fan.

Let’s start a fire on a dead horse, folks. This week’s Weekly Watercooler topic is… "Should we still be arguing about what qualifies as an MMO?" To get back to basics, we first asked Portalarium’s Richard Garriott to put in his two copper. Who better than the guy often credited with inventing the term?

For years since launch, the island of Vvardenfell has sat on the Tamriel map in Elder Scrolls Online… taunting me, blank as the digital parchment it was drawn upon once was. But no more. Thought I traveled down to Maryland to see the official unveiling of the new ESO chapter, we didn’t get any time to actually play the new Warden class or the new zone. Now I can safely say that if you love ESO, Morrowind is set to give you heaps more of the game you adore.

Last week, Ship of Heroes was brought to KickStarter and pulled from KickStarter all in the space of a few days. Though that may seem like a setback for the team, they've taken the lessons learned to heart to form a solid plan for the future. Check out our exclusive interview to see where Ship of Heroes is headed next.

This won’t be a long tirade, I promise. Destiny, for all its faults at launch, became a much better game as patches released, DLC came out, and by the time The Taken King was released, Destiny 2.0 was exactly what most people hoped Desinty 1.0 would have been. But for me, there was something still missing… a cohesive social UI. I’m hoping that if there’s any big change in presentation with Destiny 2: Electric Boogaloo, it’s in its social management functions.

Let me start by saying yes – I’d love for there to be a non-gender locked class or possibly at least a male class with all the new ones being released over the past couple of years. But that complaint aside, the Valkyrie is awesome. Only Castanic women can be a Valkyrie – a massive polearm wielding melee fighter.