April has been a pretty big month for me. The first big news is that I’ve passed the 500 followers mark on Twitch! Largely thanks to Steel Division: Normandy 44 and Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator. More on those games later, but those games were definitely good choices! My next big news is that I am now a Twitch Affiliate! I got in during the first wave, and within the first hour! I was so excited that I filled out all my info during the stream while running battles in the background. Being an affiliate means that people can cheer for me now, in the future I will get a share of revenue from games bought via my stream on Twitch, and that I will also eventually get a subscribe button which in turn means I need an emote! Any ideas, leave ’em in the comments! Finally I’ve added a currency bot at the request of some people to bet on games. It’s something I’m trying out, so feel free to give feedback. There are a ton of uses for it beyond betting, we’re only limited by our imaginations.

Games On Deck

There are some quick mentions  I want to make. Star Wars: Battlefront II made it’s little announcement. Not sure yet whether I’ll participate, but I wasn’t really wow’ed by the trailer. Next up is a game called Starfall Tactics. It’s a space RTS that also calls itself a wargame. Dunno what a wargame is, but the description sounds interesting. You can check out Starfall Tactics here. Another little news announcement is the Heroes of the Storm 2.0 launch. Lots of additions to the game, though it appears mostly cosmetic.

As I mentioned above I’ve been playing a lot of Steel Division: Normandy 44, and I’ll definitely be playing more in the future. It’s in early access now, but this may easily be my favorite strategy game when it fully launches. I’ve played two of the US Divisions so far, and had a ton of fun. I can’t wait to see what other divisions are in store. Eugen is slowly releasing new divisions as the game approaches full release on May 23rd.

Probably the most popular game right now is the Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator. I’ve created a little game that pits viewers against each other. If you’re interested in checking out the viewer battles, you can find out the basics here. You can also check out the YouTube video below, it’s one of the better battles I think.

• Link to UEBS Viewer Battles Rules & Info

Update: New T-Rex unit is AMAZING!

As for games I’d like to play more of in the next month, there’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, Helldivers, For Honor (which has a Roman soldier and Shinobi being added), and finally I’ve gotten multiple requests to play ARK: Survival Evolved. I’m gonna try and make that happen, but it seems like no matter what I plan, something unexpected always comes up.

Warhammer 40,000

Since there seems to be a sizable Warhammer 40,000 sub-audience, I’ve kept all this info together. There’s lots of big 40k news this month. The biggest probably being a new edition (8th, specifically) of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game coming out. I’ve got a buddy who wants to get into it, so I’m strongly considering joining him. I’ve wanted to put some tabletop gaming content on my site for the longest time, or just create a separate tabletop site. I’m really pushed for time though, and starting this hobby would only make it worse!

Of course the biggest news in the video gaming world is the launch of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III. I have decided not to purchase it for now. I’m going to watch some gameplay, then evaluate it again come Steam summer sale time. I’m mostly concerned about the base building. Not sure if I enjoy base building RTS games anymore.

Since I really enjoyed Helldivers more than I thought I would, I’m looking a little more cloesely at Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr. It’s basically Diablo in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Lots of procedurally generated worlds, and a massive galaxy to explore. It’s in early development, but as it progresses it may be something I pick up.

I’m still hoping to find a group to play through Space Hulk: Deathwing. I’d really love to tackle this game again with some multiplayer. If you’re interested, be sure to check out my Tactics & Strategy guide. Don’t stumble around a deadly space hulk, storm it like a pro!

Update: Update 5 just hit for Space Hulk: Deathwing! New ‘Special Missions’ assigns random objectives for you to complete so it’s got a LOT more replayability. If you still need to pick it up first, here’s my Green Man Gaming affiliate link (Space Hulk: Deathwing is 15% off) and you’ll even help me out with a commission.

Finally, I came across a mobile game called Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade. You get to play as an Imperial Knight. I checked out the tutorial, and found the gameplay to be fun, and the graphics looking great. It’s free to play too so you can check it out for yourself.

Miscellaneous

A few more odds and ends. First up is this awesome study that says gaming at work may make you more productive. Read the article, show it to your boss, and lemme know how that works out for you. Next up is something for those that read comics. I got an email announcing Comixology Unlimited. It’s Amazon.com’s unlimited access service to digital comics. It’s not for every comic, so search the site for your comics of choice and look for the ‘unlimited’ banner. It’s just $5.99 so even if you just sub for a month to do some reading and then cancel, it may be worth it to you.

April Games Play and Purchase Data

As some of you may know, I keep track of my personal gaming habits on spreadsheets. I thought i’d try and turn it into something fun and interesting to look at. Check it out below, and if there are any other stats you think might be fun to track, let me know in the comments. I plan to add and iterate as time goes on.

Monthly Stats

That’s it for this post. I’m gonna try and do something like this each month. I’ve debated whether to do it at the end of the month, or the beginning of the month. If I do it at the beginning of the month, I can just add news as I come across it. The downside is unless people check back regularly, they’ll miss that news. Alternately if I do it at the end of the month, I can provide a more comprehensive update, it just won’t be as timely. Let me know what you think in the comments, along with any big news you think should be passed on.

Have a good one ladies and gents, and thanks for all your support across all my channels!