The Legacy of the Alien Franchise Continues with "Alien: Romulus" & "Aliens: Dark Descent"

 Exciting news for the Alien franchise fans.

With shooting having started back on March 9th, Director Fede Alvarez is currently in production on a new Alien movie, tentatively titled Alien: Romulus. The movie is set to feature young characters in peril, with the story taking place on a distant colony where a group of young people find themselves in a fight for their lives against the alien Xenomorph. While the previous Alien movies focused on adults in corporate, militaristic, and scientific roles, this ninth installment of the franchise will focus on young protagonists. The movie does not have any connection to previous Alien movies, except for the presence of the Xenomorph.

Alvarez's pitch for the new Alien movie made an impact on Ridley Scott, who is producing the movie. Apparently, Scott called Alvarez in 2021 and asked if he was still willing to make that Alien movie. The script for the movie was written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, and sources say that it doesn't have any connection to the previous Alien movies, including the Scott prequels, the adventures of Ripley, or the Predator crossovers. However, the premise of the distant colony being struck with a Xenomorph problem sounds similar to what happened on LV-426 before Ripley and the Colonial Marines showed up in Aliens.

Exploring the Dark and Dystopian World of Blade Runner

The Blade Runner movies are set in a dystopian future where humanity has expanded beyond Earth and colonized other planets. The Earth is depicted as a bleak, polluted, and overcrowded place where most people live in poverty and misery.

The first Blade Runner movie is set in 2019, a time when artificial intelligence has advanced to the point where it is difficult to distinguish between humans and robots, known as replicants. Replicants are genetically engineered beings created to do the dangerous and undesirable work that humans no longer want to do. They have a limited lifespan of four years and are forbidden from returning to Earth.

Mastering the Art of Realistic Slopes: The Ultimate Cities Skylines Design Guide!

Strictcoaster's tutorial video provides a comprehensive guide to designing realistic slopes in Cities Skylines. 

He covers various techniques to help players create stunning city layouts, starting with examples of unrealistic slopes to avoid. The video then delves into specific slope design tips, including using slopes for tunnels, combining terraforming and bridges, creating smooth slopes for overpasses and bridges, building road switchbacks, and designing tall inclines for railroads. 

This tutorial is perfect for anyone looking to take their Cities Skylines design skills to the next level.

Master the Basics: Top "Farthest Frontier" Tutorials for Beginners

Kysen's Farthest Frontier - Best Beginner Tips!

 "Farthest Frontier" is a simulation game developed and published by Crate Entertainment. The game was released in early access on Steam in September 2021 and is currently in development.

In "Farthest Frontier," you play as the leader of a group of settlers who have landed on a new planet. Your goal is to build a thriving settlement by managing resources, constructing buildings, and exploring the surrounding wilderness. You must also defend your settlement from dangers such as wild animals and hostile aliens.

Transform Your Cities: Skylines City into a Realistic Metropolis with These 9 Must-Have Mods

As you may have realized by now, I think that Cities: Skylines is a fantastic game! It allows players to create and manage their own virtual city in all of its complexity and beauty. Well, kinda for the latter part since making your city look realistic can be a challenge without the right mods. Luckily, there are several mods available on the Steam Workshop that can help you achieve a more realistic look. 

In this article, and based on the very helpful video from Gaseous Stranger, I'll list some of the best mods for Cities: Skylines that will help you make your city look more realistic. You should also check out his full Visual Mod list in the Workshop.

The Top (and Best) Must Have "Cities: Skylines" Mods

(Screenshot via reddit)

Mods provide players with more customization options, allowing them to create a city that is truly unique and personalized. City builders can add new buildings, props, vehicles, and other assets to their city, making it more diverse and interesting, as well as add new functionality to the game, providing players with more tools and features to work with. For example, traffic management mods can help players control and optimize traffic flow in their city, while building and asset mods can provide more options for construction and decoration.

So here's my list of the Top 15 Best Mods to use while playing Cities: Skylines - I've linked each to their Steam Workshop.

Cities: Skylines 2 coming later this year!!

As an avid player of the current Cities: Skylines game, I was (beyond) thrilled & excited to hear the announcement of Cities: Skylines 2, coming later this year from the original Finnish developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive. For those who don't know about the original, the game has been a huge success, selling 12 million copies since launch and receiving numerous post-launch updates and (tons of) DLCs, which have fundamentally rebuilt its systems for industry, education, parks, and airports.

The Silo Saga is about to be released on the small screen - but you should definitely read the books first!

Hugh Howey's Silo Saga is a magnificent science fiction trilogy that consists of three novels: "Wool," "Shift," and "Dust". It is bloody addictive and completely immersive. You will loose track of time. 

[No spoilers ahead. I don't go into any details and made sure to stay away any specifics. Read on.]

The series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the remnants of humanity is forced to live in a massive underground silo due to the toxicity of the outside world. The story follows a group of characters as they navigate the complex social and political structures of the silo while also trying to uncover the truth about their world.

"Arrival": A Meditative Exploration of Language, Time, and the Cyclical Nature of Beginnings and Endings

Denis Villeneuve's "Arrival" is a masterpiece of science fiction cinema that delves deeply into the mysteries of language, time, and the cyclical nature of beginnings and endings. At its core, the film is a meditation on the power of communication and the profound impact that language can have on our perception of the world.

The film follows linguist Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, as she is recruited by the military to help communicate with extraterrestrial beings who have landed on Earth. As Louise works to decipher the alien language, she begins to experience strange visions of her own life, seemingly out of order and disconnected from time. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Louise's understanding of the alien language is intimately tied to her ability to manipulate time itself.