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Robert Edwards is a PC gamer, history buff, and a man who has almost certainly cancelled plans to play Civilisation at least once and felt no guilt about it whatsoever. In fact, if you're reading this, Robert, the dinner guests you were relieved to see cancel probably knew. He and AltChar's editor Semir maintain a group chat that functions less as a professional communication tool and more as an ongoing seminar on ancient Rome, Napoleonic warfare, and WW2 memes, which both of them take entirely too seriously and neither of them intends to stop.
Robert's library is essentially a history degree you can interact with. Civilisation, Total War, Manor Lords, Anno - if it involves building an empire, managing supply chains, or making decisions that would have made a 14th century feudal lord nod approvingly, Robert is already six hours in. He spent a formidable chunk of his life in World of Tanks, though he'll note it's grown a touch too cartoonish for his tastes these days, a sentence that tells you everything you need to know about the man. On the other end of the spectrum, DayZ has also claimed hundreds of his hours, because apparently, there's nothing like the collapse of civilisation to balance out all that civilisation-building.
Robert is AltChar's authority on strategy games. If it involves grand campaigns, resource management, or the kind of decision-making that pairs well with a long evening and no interruptions, he's your man. He covers the genre with enthusiasm and occasionally surfaces to contribute a review or two, if you remind him about it every now and then.
Continuing the theme of those who fought back against the powerful after Scotland got Robert the Bruce as leader, Lautaro leads the Mapuche, who valiantly resisted the Spanish Conquistadors and who retain their identity as a people to this day.
JANUARY 30Civilization VI continues its roll out of new civs and leaders with Scotland joining the pack, lead by Robert the Bruce. It's a strongly science-based civ that also enjoys production and culture bonuses. Perhaps most intriguing is the War of Liberation option in Casus Belli that it has. Freedom!
JANUARY 24
Wargaming's PVP game shows little sign of losing popularity - and recent graphics upgrades mean it's looking better than ever. For a new player though it's a steep learning curve, and can lead to many frustrating hours of getting inexplicably blown up by invisible enemies, or smashed into oblivion by visible ones.
JANUARY 19
Canadian native civilization the Cree join Civ VI with superb trade bonuses, an upgraded Scout unit, a pleasing colour scheme, great theme music and an interesting possibility of using alliances effectively. Are they the new Shoshone?
JANUARY 2
Genghis Khan is back in the saddle as the latest of the civs announced for the Civilization VI: Rise & Fall expansion. Does the game need another horse-hungry civilization? At least there's an interesting twist on the diplomatic visibility mechanic that accurately demonstrates the fear that the Mongols instilled in their foes.
DECEMBER 19With the nation's revered monarch Queen Wilhemina at the tiller, the Netherlands looks set to be a powerful trading and seafaring civ - and don't forget those all-conquering polders.
DECEMBER 12
News from the east sire! Queen Seondeok of Korea is to lead the first of the new Civs in the Rise and Fall expansion. Ready for some early game science boosting?
DECEMBER 5Popular World of Tanks NA player LemmingRush has put out a video showing a player from one of the wannabe top US clans openly using his illegal mods on a Twitch livestream
DECEMBER 4
If you want to enter AltChar's Player of the Month and showcase your skills, then you'll need to know how to capture and upload your gameplay to Youtube or Vimeo - take a look at our video for a simple guide on how to do it.
JUNE 21
For an early access game, PU:BG is insanely popular, with console players slavering at the thought of getting their hands on what is currently a PC-only title. However, such is the enthusiasm for playing, that the recent batch of crashes has left many gamers frustrated as they chase that Chicken Dinner
JUNE 2
World of Tanks controversial 9.18 patch has dropped on the EU and RU servers. With major changes to artillery, new tier X light tanks and the improved matchmaker - it should be good news. However, the new lights seem irrelevant when compared to tier X mediums and the new artillery stun mechanic has already upset a lot of players on the US server, where the patch dropped earlier.
APRIL 27
Brendan Greene, creator of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, has indicated he'd like to make a game with a truly massive map and put 2,000 players on it.
APRIL 15
