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Inscryption, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Wytchwood, and Echo Generation are big winners at the Canadian Game and Indie Game Awards, Weird West is an adventure game with panache, Max Payne is getting a remake.

2022 Canadian Game and Indie Game Awards winners

The Canadian Game Awards and Canadian Indie Game Awards were handed out last weekend, and among the big winners were Inscryption created by Vancouver’s Daniel Mullins and Wytchwood from Toronto studio, Alien Trap.

The indie awards were created to provide an opportunity to recognize games coming from smaller developers which sometimes don’t get credit over the larger studios like Electronic Arts, Square Enix, and Ubisoft.

This year, though, two of the big winners in both categories came from indies. Inscryption won for Best Game Design in both the main awards and the indie awards. It also won Best PC Game in the indie category.

Likewise, Wytchwood was recognized for Best Art Direction in both categories and also picked up Best Animation in indie.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, developed by Eidos Montreal for Square Enix, won Best Narrative, Best Console Game, and Game of the Year in the main category.

In the indie category, Echo Generation from Cococucumber (Toronto) got Best Score, Best Narrative, and Indie Game of the Year.

You can watch Marissa Roberto host the awards on playback on Twitch.

Weird West a compelling gothic horror sandbox in which to play

Blending a gothic horror sensibility with a wild west aesthetic, Weird West is a third-person role-playing game that has you playing five characters in the course of the game.

You start out as bounty hunter Jane Bell who comes out of retirement – digging her six shooters out of the ground she buried them in – to avenge the death of her son and abduction of her husband.

Jane’s story gives way to that of a person who’s been transformed into a bipedal pig hybrid, which leads to the path of an Anishinaabe hunter, then a werewolf, and finally a witch who is part of a mysterious cult.

Each of these characters connects to the others and it all ties together to create a strange world where you, as a player, can do anything.

And you can tackle problems any way you want, too. The developers at WolfEye Studios created the world and the rules and systems that govern it, but aside from giving you an objective there’s no single way to achieve it.

You can blast your way through – literally at times – or use stealth. But you can also find back doors to places, and other solutions that even the developers didn’t think of.

The ability to affect the environment and the story in the way you choose is one of the things that makes Weird West such an intriguing place. Decisions you make as Jane will change the world you interact with later as the Indigenous character.

And after you leave a character they stick around and can be recruited into your posse. This is the West after all.

With a distinct art style, writing that pays homage to pulpy westerns, and a story that has consequences for your actions, Weird West is a strange and compelling sandbox.

Weird West is available now for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One, and is part of Xbox Game Pass. Developed by WolfEye Studios and published by Devolver Digital. Rated mature.

Max Payne games being remade by Remedy

Max Payne and its sequel, The Fall of Max Payne, are being remade by the original developers, Remedy Entertainment. Rockstar Games will publish the new titles for PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.

The series was notable for introducing “bullet time” as a game mechanic. The effect, which comes from Hong Kong action films, is of time slowing down during moments of gunplay.

The first game, a noir tale about a fallen police detective who goes on a rampage, was published in 2001 and the sequel came in 2003. Both were written by Remedy’s Sam Lake and published by Rockstar. A third game in the series was developed and published by Rockstar and released in 2012.

This continues Remedy’s streak of getting financing to remake games from its library. Last year, the studio’s remake of Alan Wake was released by Epic, and the sequel to that game arrives next year.

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Microsoft has some seminars to sell you on Windows 11 for the future of work.

Windows 11 and the future of work

Last week, Microsoft held an online conference that served to promote how the company’s various products can be used in the modern workplace.

Titled, Windows powers the future of hybrid work, the event started with a keynote address by Satya Nadella, Microsoft chair and CEO, and Panos Panay, the chief product officer who also leads the Windows business.

Panay started by talking about how the workplace has changed in the past couple of years, and that flexibility is key so that people “can get work done from anywhere”. Hybrid work, he said, “simply means flexibility. Flexibility in how, flexibility in when and where you want to work. Or you have to work.”

The personal computer is at the heart of this, Panay suggested. Of course, Microsoft believes that the Windows 11 operating system and related software tools enable this flexibility.

In addition to the promotional keynote are three seminars on security, IT management, and staff collaboration that provide more details on how Microsoft products can be used within organizations to support work from anywhere.

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Tiny Tina is back as a manipulative game master, Kirby returns with greater sucking power, Shredders will have you on the slopes well into summer.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands a gift of mirthful mayhem

If you’ve ever played a Borderlands game before, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands should be on your must-buy list.

If you haven’t played Borderlands, but enjoy hilarious writing, outstanding acting, and a solid first-person role-playing shooter that is liberal with the loot, you should give Wonderlands a close look.

It’s true that Gearbox took a DLC concept from Borderlands 2 and turned it into its own full-fledged game. 2013’s Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep continued the outstanding storytelling from that game and has since been released as a standalone experience. (If you’ve played Borderlands 2 but not Assault on Dragon Keep, it’s worth playing as a prequel to Wonderlands. If you’ve not played Borderlands 2, you won’t miss anything,)

While all the characters developed by Gearbox in the Borderlands franchise are compelling in their own ways, the pre-teen Tina stands out for her borderline psychotic fascination with explosives. As silly as Borderlands gets, there’s always humanity in the characters, and if you pay attention to the dialogue you can sense the trauma that is at the core of Tina’s behaviour.

Assault on Dragon Keep and Wonderlands also double down on the meta-narrative that Gearbox plays with inn the Borderlands franchise. Tina is a game master for the other NPCs who are playing Bunkers and Badasses, a Dungeons and Dragons analogue. It’s a concept that provides incredible license for the writers and developers at Gearbox to go anywhere their whims take them.

Wonderlands is identical to Borderlands in terms of how the levels are designed, but I did find myself confused when trying to navigate the world. In addition to the fast-travel system and regular gates between areas, there’s an “overworld” that is presented as a tabletop. You can move your characters, which look like tabletop bobblehead miniatures, finding side missions to take on and triggering random attacks.

Both side missions and random attacks load up short arena battles where your characters face down waves of enemies to claim loot and mission items. As much as anything these are for grinding and testing out your new weapons, which, as with all Borderlands games, are plentiful.

But Wonderlands has made a change to the information that is provided when you’re managing your inventory, and I could not figure out the difference between the varous weapon types in the system.

These frustrations aside, Wonderlands was exactly what I wanted it to be. Mostly mindless mayhem with familiar mechanics and truly outstanding writing and acting. Plus, it lets me play local splitscreen with up to three friends. Not enough games these days give me a chance to play with my kids.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderland was developed by Gearbox for 2K and is available now for PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Rated teen.

Kirby shows his range in the Forgotten Land

The charming pink bubble creature that is Kirby is back, and for the first time ever the cute Kirby is rendered in 3-D.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land, exclusive to Nintendo’s Switch, has you navigating what seems to be an abandoned human world that has been repopulated with monsters.

Kirby has always been able to inhale objects, including enemies, and that ability is even more dramatic here. When Kirby absorbs an enemy, Kirby takes on their abilities.

As you clear the levels you’ll need to search for hidden areas to collect all the secrets and free the Waddle Dee creatures that have been imprisoned by the “Beast Pack”.

At any time a friend can join in and help out thanks to a drop-in co-op mode, and as you progress you’ll reveal challenge areas where you can complete timed activities for rewards.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a light, fun platformer with has plenty of replayability that leaves you with a smile.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land was developed by Hal Laboratories for Nintendo and is available now for the Nintendo Switch. Rated everyone aged 10 and up.

Shredders extends snow season into the spring

The spring weather is close – or already here – for those of us in the northern hemisphere which means the skiing and snowboarding season is coming to an end.

With Shredders you can stay on the slopes a bit longer.

Developed by FoamPunch and available for Windows and Xbox Series X/S and part of Xbox Game Pass, this is an open world game where you can ride with friends and with other boarders from around the world.

And what’s best about Shredders is that you don’t have to be a master snowboarder or a master gamer to play. This game was made so that anyone can enjoy the magic thrill that comes from careening down a slope and pulling tricks.

Accompanying you are a host of actual snowboard stars who were brought in to provide that authentic touch but as they aren’t actors, you’ll find yourself cringing at times. Do your best to get past that, though, because Shredders is authentic where it needs to be: in making you feel like you’re a snowboard star in your own right.

Shredders was developed and published by FoamPunch and is available now for Windows and Xbox Series X/S and on Xbox Game Pass. Rated everyone aged 10 and up.

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Twitter has revealed that an edit feature is in the works, and Apple Maps adds 3-D renders of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Elon Musk and his adventures with Twitter

On March 25, Elon Musk asked people on Twitter if they felt that the platform “rigorously adheres to” the principle that “free speech is essential to a functioning democracy”.

He replied to his own post with, “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.”

There was speculation that Musk, with all his wealth and influence, might be looking to start his own social network.

Instead, on Monday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Musk had acquired 9.2 percent of Twitter’s shares. On Tuesday, this, from new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.

Musk replied with this.

Fifteen minutes after the announcement that Musk was getting a seat on the board, he asked this.

To which Agrawal replied.

On Tuesday afternoon, Twitter revealed that for nearly a year developers have been working on an edit feature.

Twitter Comms says Musk had nothing to do with it.

Apple Maps introduces 3-D renderings of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver

One of the features that made Apple Maps so interesting when it was first announced was the promise of exploring places in three dimensions.

Well, now Apple Maps users can explore parts of three major Canadian cities in exactly that way.

Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver can be explored with “highly detailed” maps that present the cities in “unprecedented detail”. In the app you can get photo realistic views of landmarks including Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica, Casa Loma in Toronto, and the totem poles in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.

The 3-D maps can really make a difference to tourists who are navigating cities, and the experience is available for other world cities, including London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

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