A beginning is a very delicate time.  Know then that the year is 3000AD and the Benevolent Emperor Runz I has ascended the Imperial Throne of the United Empire, a race of terrans who have evolved in the Arcturus System  deep in the galactic south.  At this time the most precious substance in the known universe is the Dust; self replicating nanite machines left over from a long dead alien race known as the Endless.  Dust powers technology, dust can create and destroy with a thought, it can expand minds and it functions as an intergalactic currency as it is coveted by all who know of it in the universe.  The Empire must flourish, the dust must flow!

3000AD OK So I'm playing as the United Empire in this playthrough, or the Great and Bountiful Runz Empire as I prefer to call it, and I'm sat down on some little mudball fairly far in the galactic south.  The United Empire is something of a Corporate State which in theory is ruled over by an aristocracy but in reality is rather fractured and is largely run by the corporations.  However, this business mindset gives them large economic bonuses to dust production and exploitation.  They're also a fairly strong military force, although not as strong as some other races, and they gain bonuses on ship experience gains and on system defence from invasions.  There's a good chance I will be using the Empire's economic prowess to fund rapid colonial expansion backed up by a small but elite military force.  I've decided to play on a Huge Spiral Galaxy map with seven other empires, so all the races in the game are represented and it works out roughly one empire per spiral arm constellation and an empty constellation in the middle which will likely be the scene of early confrontations.  My starting position isn't too bad honestly, Acturus is a decent White Star system with five planets on it; one Terran (or earth like) planet, one artic, one gas, one barren and one lava.  I have an early supply of Titanium 70, which is a strategic resource used in later ship construction, and a luxury resource of Concrete Artifacts left behind from the Endless.  The early prospects look pretty good at this stage, I have shipping routes to four other systems, three of which are yellow sun systems which typically have easily colonisable worlds.  I may be able to very quickly establish some high population systems to give me an early start against the competition.

That's right, DICE has confirmed that they are hard at work on Battlefield 4 and preparing for the Beta phase which will likely come some time in 2013.  There's really not a whole lot to add as DICE are kind of keeping things under wraps at the moment and instead state that they "...hope you will continue to enjoy Battlefield 3 and all the Battlefield 3 Premium content still to come."  However, if you pre-order Medal of Hono(u)r Warfighter you are apparently guaranteed access to the Battlefield 4 beta when it is available.

If I am 100% honest it seems a little too soon after Battlefield 3 to start talking about Battlefield 4 but that's just my opinion.  I'm also slightly discouraged that EA/DICE is going down the route of offering beta access as an incentive to order other game titles.  It's a trend that seems to have started with Blizzard's WoW Annual Pass and the Mists of Pandaria beta access, and I'm becoming a little bit concerned that it it is becoming more and more prevalent as a marketing tool and essentially constitutes 'early access' to a game rather than as a genuine means to beta test games to evolve and improve them.  Although that's a topic for another day.

Sony Online Entertainment have released a pretty sweet CGI teaser trailer for Planetside 2, unfortunately though there's no gameplay footage here I'm afraid.  As you may be aware, Planet Side 2's Executive Producer, Josh Hackney, recently stated that Planetside 2's beta phase should start very soon.  Frankly I'm dead excited about the whole thing and having missed out on playing the original Planetside, which many have stated was just produced way before it's time unfortunately, I'm itching to get playing the beta and get my hands on anything Planetside related.

Can you guys see those two pictures at the top there?  One is a picture of a humble guy stuck in a dystopian hell fighting to free humanity as part of PC gaming's greatest game franchises, made with fantastic design, engaging storytelling and tight controls.  The other is some guy with two girls with very low self esteem who starred in last year's largest fetid pile of shit to be released on PC.  Can you see the difference between the two?  Can you?  Because apparently Gearbox's CEO, Randy Pitchford, is completely oblivious to the differences.

In a frankly astounding interview with Eurogamer, Mr Pitchford states that the pacing is identical for both games.  In the Runz Court of Are You Bat Shit Crazy, I present the following statement to the jury.