Monday, February 19, 2018

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In the 02/20/2018 edition:

Black Panther Succeeds By Overcoming Marvel's Iron Man Problem

By Anonymous on Feb 20, 2018 12:00 am

If you've spent any time on the internet over the last week you'll know that Marvel's Black Panther has had what can only be described as a sensational reception. Reviews for the superhero flick have been overwhelmingly positive and, based on early figures, it's on track to be one of Marvel and Disney's most successful movies yet.

In our Black Panther review Michael Rougeau said it is "a top tier Marvel movie with all the humor, style, action, passion, and fun that the MCU has come to embody." Not to mention "a cultural event that's going to be hard for Marvel to top."

We've been thinking about where the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes from here, and while we can only take guesses at how the story plays out, we're confident that Marvel is going to change the way they make films. The success of Black Panther, which feels different to previous entries in the MCU, could serve as a new template for Marvel's movies, much like 2008's Iron Man established the framework for most of the films up until now.

That's the argument that Tamoor makes in the video above, where he talks through how he feels main character T'Challa is different from other heroes like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Stephen Strange, and what makes his first standalone film unique from a characterization perspective. On top of that, he discusses why, alongside Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel is starting to lean towards creating films with a unique identity, instead of a bunch of flicks that feel uniform.

In related news, Chris Evans, who plays Captain America in the MCU, has indicated that a standalone Black Widow film starring Scarlett Johansson is in the works. Prior to this, it was reported that writer Jac Schaeffer had been hired to pen the script. However, as of yet, there has not been official confirmation from Disney or Marvel.


WWE Superstar Elias's Slow Build Toward Main Event Status Is Brilliant

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 11:47 pm

Success in NXT does not guarantee success on WWE's main roster.

The bottom halves of Raw and SmackDown's rosters are a testament to an unfortunate truth: just because a gimmick worked in a small venue at Full Sail University, does not mean it will translate to a massive arena with less intimacy and higher stakes.

The Ascension held the NXT Tag Titles for 344 days--longer than any other tag team in NXT history. Today, Viktor and Konnor are perennial enhancement talents; the last time they won a 2-on-2 tag team match was on February 8, 2016, over two years ago. Or take Bo Dallas, for instance. The third-generation Superstar held the NXT Championship for 261 days. Now, he's a whipping boy and lackey for The Miz; he's the ringside replacement for Maryse ever since she went on maternity leave.

If a former NXT champion has that much difficulty? Imagine how difficult it is for the average NXT midcarder--a guy who never even held an NXT title--to get over on Raw or SmackDown. Such is the struggle of Elias Samson, who got his name shortened to Elias after debuting on Raw.

WWE has never treated Elias like a main event player. In fact, he tried out for the company four times before they offered him a contract. Once he got to NXT, he served as enhancement talent for Baron Corbin. And even when he started his unique "drifter" gimmick, Elias lost the majority of his feuds--most notably to Kassius Ohno, who defeated him in a "Loser Leaves NXT" match. It would have been reasonable to assume that Elias would fight on Raw for a month or two before being released. If he couldn't even get a title shot on NXT (let alone win an actual title), what chance did he have of succeeding on the main show?

WWE did something smart: They didn't make a big deal over him. For the first couple of weeks he was on Raw, Elias didn't even have any matches. The backstage camera would occasionally catch him in the background, strumming his guitar and humming to himself, but that was it. It was a master stroke of understatement; the NXT fans who knew him would cheer, and the casual WWE fans were left wondering, "Why is everyone else cheering? Who is that dude?" It created a sense of mystery and suspense for when the man would actually fight, without shoving him down people's throats as "the next big thing."

When he finally debuted, he lost more than he won. He put over Finn Balor. He put over Jason Jordan. He even put over Kalisto. But more importantly than winning (at least in this early stage of his Raw career), he got the fans to know who he was.

Every week, the WWE writers sat him in the center of the ring with a guitar, and they gave him approximately three minutes to do whatever he wanted. He made jokes. He played songs. He insulted the home crowd. These pre-match segments had a loose, improvised feel to them, especially compared to the rest of the tightly scripted show.

Wrestlers with guitars are either heels (like Honky Tonky Man or Jeff Jarrett) or comic relief (like Kurt Angle or The Rock). Elias manages the unenviable task of being both.

The comedy derives from Elias being the straight foil rather than from Elias being the clown. He has great reaction expressions and great timing, and that gives him narrative flexibility. If WWE ever decides to turn him face, he won't have to change much about himself. All he has to do is sing songs insulting his opponents, or sing songs insulting Boston in front of a New York crowd, and he'll be good to go.

Elias racked up two notable wins in recent weeks. The first came against Matt Hardy, who he defeated on January 29 to qualify for Elimination Chamber. The second came against John Cena and Braun Strowman, who he defeated in a Triple Threat match on February 5. He toppled both the top guy in the company and the future monster in a single night--no small matter, even if he had to play them against each other to secure the win. And since he will now be the last man to enter the Chamber, he will likely play a pivotal role in the match's finish.

Elias's slow narrative burn has finally paid dividends. Against all odds, the NXT midcarder, who never had a title shot, is fighting in Elimination Chamber's main event to determine who faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. He won't win, of course. But considering how far he's come in the past year, his involvement is an implicit statement from management to the fans. This guy is going places. And sooner than later (if they don't already), millions of fans will want to walk with Elias.


Transformers Movie Series To Be Completely Rebooted--Report

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 10:54 pm

Although the Transformers franchise has proven to be a hugely poplar one, 2017's The Last Knight was the least successful film by some distance, suggesting that audience interest in the series might be fading. The spin-off Bumblebee is due out later this year, but a new report states that beyond that, Paramount is planning to reboot the whole series.

As reported by Transformer World, toy manufacturers Hasbro confirmed at the company's Toy Fair 2018 Investor Preview that the series will be entirely reset. In addition, a new agreement with Paramount means that Hasbro will have greater control over the property, including greenlighting movie projects. The site also reports that no Transformers movies beyond Bumblebee remain on Paramount's release schedule.

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This is something of a change in fortune for the series. In October 2015, Hasbro announced that there would be at last four more movies, and that a "writers room" had been established to map out the next decade of Transformers across movies, TV, and digital. Following this, Paramount confirmed that Transformers 6 would arrive in 2019, which seems to be no longer the case.

The Last Knight made $605 million worldwide. This was well below the $1.104 billion haul for its predecessor, 2014's The Age of Extinction, and less than the first movie made back in 2007.

Bumblebee hits theaters on December 21, 2018, and stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena. It will be directed by Kubo And The Two Strings director Travis Knight, who is making his live-action debut. No footage from the movie has been revealed yet, but a first official image was released in December.


New Scribblenauts Switch Gameplay Shows The Power Of Words

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 09:40 pm

Earlier this year, Warner Bros. revealed a brand-new entry in the Scribblenauts series. Titled Scribblenauts Showdown, the new game is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on March 6.

Scribblenauts Showdown is designed primarily to be played with friends: up to four players can partake in "more than" 25 mini-games, which are served up in different forms depending on which mode you select. Showdown is a competitive mode in which finding the best word the quickest is the key, while Versus supplies various mini-games for you and one other friend to battle in, one-vs-one--check it out in the video above.

Sandbox is a more traditional Scribblenauts mode that will be familiar to fans of the series. Here you can summon a variety of objects--publisher Warner Bros. says over 35,000 items are available in-game--to achieve objectives either by yourself or with a friend. Eight new levels are included, as are hidden collectibles and achievements. Take a look at some Sandbox gameplay below.

The Scribblenauts series made its debut in 2009 on the DS, becoming popular for its creativity in letting you conjure a number of items by simply writing down your desired object. It has since spawned four sequels on various platforms, though none of those successors ever came to PlayStation or Xbox. The most recent in the series was Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, which came to 3DS, Wii U, and PC in 2013. A sixth game in the franchise was planned, but it was canceled after developer 5th Cell ran into financial trouble and was forced to lay off a number of employees. Showdown is being made by a Miami, USA-based developer called Shiver.


Top New Game Releases This Week On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC -- February 18-24

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 09:35 pm

This week's batch of new games have plenty to take on, whether it's the undead in Metal Gear Survive, rival kingdoms in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, or a bunch of ghosts in Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus. You can also explore a mysterious space facility in The Station, or throw down with some four-legged animals in Them's Fightin' Herds.

Metal Gear Survive -- February 20

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

The first Metal Gear game since Hideo Kojima left Konami is very different from Snake's sneaking missions. This open-world survival game is all about scavenging for resources to build weapons and defenses. You can take the challenge solo or with friends in co-op.

Further Reading:

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition -- February 20

Available on: PC

After a delay, the best way to play this classic strategy game is launching this week. It's souped-up for the modern era with 4K support, brand-new narration, and rebuilt sound effects--but you can always turn all that off and play in Classic Mode too. Definitive Edition includes the base game and the Rise of Rome expansion.

Further Reading:

The Station -- February 20

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

This first-person game has you exploring the titular station as it orbits above an alien planet in the midst of a civil war. For you, that means finding out what happened and deciding the fate of the alien race below. There's a lot to discover as you learn the truth and solve puzzles around the station.

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus -- February 22

Available on: Switch

Championship Edition 2 is coming to Switch with new features. First and foremost, you can hand your friend a Joy-Con and play co-op. And of course there are plenty of boards and bosses to complete in both Time Attack and Adventure modes. Watch out for ghost trains!

Further Reading:

Them's Fightin' Herds -- February 22

Available on: PC

If this cartoon-looking fighter seems familiar, that's because it comes from the same mind behind My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. But don't let the cutesy look fool you: this fighter takes cues from series like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, so don't expect an easy battle.


Fe Review: Strike A Chord

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 09:30 pm

In Fe, your most powerful tool is your voice. You, a small fox-like creature, can use your songlike call to befriend other animals, open up new pathways in the environment, and distract the game's mechanical enemies. But you also have to know when to stay quiet and silently read the signals of the other forest animals around you. Communication, and the connections between living things, are at the heart of Fe's gorgeous woodland world. That world is a delight to explore, and though the act of exploration never builds to something greater, it's a captivating and often melancholic look at our relationship with nature.

Fe drops you in the forest all alone, with no clear purpose or direction. You can communicate using a garbled, baby-talk sort of call, and you're given one small bit of instruction as you begin to wander the ethereal forest: "Sing gently with animals." The harder you press the trigger, the louder you'll "sing," and you have to strike the right note to communicate with the different species around you.

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Each species' unique song has its own use; certain plants respond to birds' calls, while others only open for deer's voices. In addition to being absolutely adorable, a baby salamander's chirp will open up a pink flower you can bounce on to get to high-up areas. Animals you befriend will follow you around, and their songs will give you access to places you couldn't reach alone. You need to work with the other animals--and eventually learn their various "languages"--to traverse the forest.

Exploring in Fe is very much a give-and-take. Early on, you can't get anywhere without the help of another animal, but typically, those animals (or the plants they interact with) are leading you to others who need help. In one of the most memorable parts of the game, following a deer through the woods will lead you to a giant deer struggling against its chains. You have to sneak your way past machines patrolling the area, destroy the machines' webs to break the chains and release the deer, and carefully climb the deer to communicate with it. The climb itself is breathtaking, as you're jumping from tree to tree growing along the deer's sky-scraping body, but the stillness afterward, when the deer teaches you its call as thanks, is stunning in its own way.

Those moments of peace--by way of the harmonies you've made with other creatures--are shattered quickly and easily by Fe's inorganic enemies, whose harsh industrial lights and abrasive noises pierce the solemn orchestral music of the forest. If they spot you, you have to find somewhere to hide and fast, or you'll be caught in their webs. It's not hard to stay stealthy and save yourself, but you'll end up watching at least once as the friendly animals you had in tow get captured one by one--and it's heartbreaking.

Fe is hauntingly beautiful, and as a result, it often doesn't feel like the relatively simple platformer-adventure game it is. Like a lot of similar games, you collect items--in this case, pink crystals--around the world to unlock new abilities. But finding those crystals is more a consequence of following other animals and seeing where the flora and fauna take you, not a primary goal or even a strictly necessary one. Only two unlockable skills, climbing trees and gliding, are required to finish the game, and you'll find enough crystals to get them in the first hour or so as long as you follow the surprisingly linear routes in front of you.

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The simplicity of Fe's mechanics becomes more apparent sometime after helping the giant deer. There's a distinct pattern: Save some animals, learn their call, and use that call to turn flowers into different kinds of platforms so you can move on to the next section. Very rarely does what you learned before come in handy again later in creative or surprising ways, even after you've learned every song. While this leaves room for you to think about the greater meaning behind what you're doing--rather than the discrete objectives in your path--it's disappointing that the skills you learn from each species never meaningfully combine, especially when the connections you make with each of the living things around you are so important at first blush.

But despite being one-note on a gameplay level, Fe's world, with its lush environments and wistful score, compels you to explore. Establishing fleeting connections with the creatures around you is both charming and a little sad, and learning the truth about the enemy machines is even more tragic. By the end, the most important thing you've learned is how to connect with nature, not just by singing with animals but by understanding the world around you.


Star Wars Battlefront 2's Update 1.2 Is Out Now On PS4, Xbox One, And PC--Here's What It Adds

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 09:27 pm

Star Wars Battlefront II continues to evolve, and it's now done so again with the much-anticipated 1.2 update. The patch is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it adds lots of new content including a new mode, additional skins, and more.

The new game mode is called Jetpack Cargo. It's only available for a limited time, and it grants every player a jetpack and a rocket launcher for the entire round.

Additionally, new skins have been added to the shooter. Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker can each now equip their Hoth appearances, which EA says are earned "through a series of in-game Challenges that will be available over time." All players will also receive two emotes for their Troopers, so while you can still unlock more, you will now at least be able to taunt your nemeses from the get-go.

Elsewhere, the new update tweaks a bunch of characters. Boba Fett's jetpack now has greater maneuverability, says EA, while his EE-3 weapon has received a damage and recoil buff. Rey, meanwhile, has seen her Insight ability nerfed, reducing its radius by nearly half. Luke's speed has been increased, as has Yoda's lightsaber damage, while Emperor Palpatine now needs line of sight to trigger his Lightning ability. Read more in the update's full patch notes, via EA, at the bottom of this article.

Beyond the new patch, developer DICE has said it is preparing "significant" progression changes for the game; more details on those will be shared in March. EA has also reconfirmed that microtransactions are coming back to Star Wars Battlefront II.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Update 1.2 Patch Notes

Hero And Villain Balancing

Boba Fett

We've made a substantial change to the way Boba Fett's jet pack feels when flying. We think you're going to love the increased maneuverability! Furthermore, we improved his efficiency at distance with the EE-3. Previously, it could be frustrating to try to shoot with the EE-3's high dispersion, especially while flying. As a result, we improved the EE-3 in a few areas and we hope this will combine with the jetpack changes to make Boba Fett even more fun to use on the battlefront.

  • Jet Pack - Jet Pack controllability improved
  • EE-3 - Reduced the minimum dispersion angle from 0.6 to 0.4
  • EE-3 - Reduced the maximum dispersion angle from 1.2 to 0.8
  • EE-3 - Increased End Damage from 20 to 25
  • Increased damage drop-off start distance from 15 to 20 meters

Iden Versio

We've heard your feedback that Iden's Droid Stun was very difficult to predict. We've made it much snappier and feel this should be a significant improvement to Iden, even though the droid's damage has been slightly reduced.

  • Fixed an issue where Iden's Droid Stun didn't give damage on the first attack
  • Droid Stun - Reduced the time between the ability activation and shock
  • Reduced the damage from 40 to 50

Bossk

Bossk's Relby V-10 had a somewhat awkwardly high recoil. We reduced it a bit while adjusting the animation to make it feel more responsive. We also reduced the damage output of the Explosive Traps as we felt it was a bit too high. The Multi-Trap Star Card values were incorrect and the Epic Star Card could increase the radius of the damage past what was listed on the card. This unintentionally lead to Bossk having very high AoE damage.

  • Relby V-10 - Reduced recoil from 5 to 2.2
  • Explosive Traps - Reduced damage from 80 to 76 per trap
  • Multi-Trap - Fixed the Blast Damage Radius to fit the star cards numbers

Rey

Rey's signature Ability Insight had an incredible range and could go as far as 75 meters when paired with certain Star Cards. This was a bit too much and we've decided to reduce it drastically. We'll monitor how this change affects Rey's performance.

  • Mind Control - Reduced Mind Control radius from 20 to 18 meters
  • Insight - Reduced Insight radius from 50 to 30
  • Far Sight - Reduced bonus by 10% (now 10, 20, 30, 40%)

Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren had two of his Abilities on a 25 second timer, effectively making him less efficient and fun to play than other characters. As such, we reduced the cooldown for Pull and Freeze. We also felt he needed some damage absorption while being close to his targets, so we gave him some while Frenzy is active.

  • Pull - Reducing Pull recharge time from 25 to 20 seconds
  • Freeze - Reducing Freeze recharge time from 25 to 24 seconds
  • Frenzy - Kylo Ren now has 40% damage absorption while Frenzy is active

Luke Skywalker

We heard your wishes to have Luke traverse faster so we increased his sprint speed as much as possible without breaking the animation. Related to that update, we decided to push Luke more towards a "Hit & Run" game style. He'll quickly jump into a skirmish and then bounce out to regain health before heading off for the next battle.

  • Increased Luke's sprint speed by .6 meters/second
  • Increased Luke Health from 700 to 750
  • Increased Health Regeneration rate from 50 to 110
  • Decreased Regeneration delay from 5 to 2.7
  • Decreased Max Regeneration amount from 250 to 200

Emperor Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine now requires line of sight on his target to trigger damage with his Dark Aura and default Lightning ability. Both abilities will no longer go through obstacles and walls. While we loved the fantasy fulfillment there, the frustration of not knowing what was damaging you was too high for us not to act on.

  • Lightning - Increased reach of the ability from 12 to 14 meters to compensate for the tighter collision check

Chewbacca

Chewbacca had one of the longest stun duration abilities in the game and it made him quite powerful. However, we wanted the stun to be a bit more tactical, so we reduced the duration.

  • Stun Grenade - Reduced the shock time from 1.6 to 1 second
  • Reduced Bowcaster side projectiles explosive damage from 25 to 21
  • Reduced furious Bowcaster side projectiles explosive damage from 12 to 10

Yoda

Yoda's lightsaber attacks were very weak compared to all other lightsaber wielders, so we have increased his attack damage significantly to bring him on par with the others. Additionally, in an effort to make Yoda feel more true to character, we've made a change to his Barrier ability. It now will break immobilizing effects upon activation.

  • Lightsaber - Increased damage from 80 to 115
  • Barrier - Added the functionality to break out of immobilizing effects on activation
  • Unleash - Increased energy holding time from 0.7 to 0.9 seconds
  • Unleash - Increased angle from 40 to 45 degrees.
  • Unleash - Increased first tier damage from 100 to 110, second tier damage from 125 to 130, third tier damage from 150 to 160, and fourth tier damage from 175 to 190

Lando Calrissian

We felt that Lando needed a boost to increase his effectiveness against lightsaber users. The best tool he had against them had a 25-second cooldown. To combat this, we significantly reduced the cooldown of Disruptor and of Smoke Grenade.

  • Disruptor - Reduced recharge time of disruptor from 25 to 19 seconds
  • Smoke Grenade - Reduced recharge time from 15 to 14 seconds

Darth Vader

We changed how Choke works in order to simplify comprehension for the player that is Darth Vader and for their target. In an effort to also make Darth Vader more "tanky" we granted him a health bonus when activating Focused Rage.

  • Focused Rage - Vader now receives 200 temporary bonus health when activating the Focused Rage ability
  • Reduced max health from 900 to 800

Captain Phasma

We took notice of your feedback regarding the utility of Captain Phasma's staff. We are improving it so that it feels faster and more fluid when used.

  • Staff Strikes - Increased the animation speed of the ability
  • Staff Strikes - Increased the transition speed between each strike
  • Increased how quickly Captain Phasma can use her blaster after performing a Staff Strike

Hero And Villain Bug Fixes

  • Lightsaber closers are deactivated while blinded
  • Fixed an issue where you would be in a "stun" state forever.
  • The maximum stun duration is now 5 seconds
  • Boba Fett - Fixed an issue that prevented Boba Fett from using his Jetpack ability when "For the Hunt" was activated while his Jetpack fuel was depleted
  • Luke Skywalker - Epicenter - The ability will now deal the proper amount of damaged when used
  • Yoda - Feel the Force - Edited the description of this ability to make it clear that all friendlies will receive a health bonus when used
  • Yoda - Enduring the Force - This ability will now apply the proper amount of bonus time
  • Yoda - Master of the Force - This ability will no longer damage players inconsistently and only when released at maximum power
  • Finn - Deadeye - The targeting crosshair should be properly removed after the ability has been used

Classes, Special Units, And Infantry Combat

The Dodge ability has been proven to be too powerful, which was not our initial intent. Dodging granted far too many benefits like damage reduction, the inability to transition into a hit animation, ignoring lightsaber damage, and the inability to be targeted by lightsaber closers.

In order to handle this, we added an "unstaggerable" window during a set period of time when you dodge. You will still receive the same benefits during that window, but now you have a narrow time in which to gain those benefits. Now you'll need to time your rolls better and predict attacks. While testing these changes, we feel good with the results so far and we really hope that you do too. This is a change that we will monitor closely.

  • All Classes - Fixed an issue on Blaster Rifles and the S-5, weapons that can be toggled with a high zoom level through Dual Zoom, where the scope glint would always appear when zooming. It now only appears when the dual zoom scope is equipped and toggled to its highest magnification level.
  • All Troopers have now received two default emotes.
  • Reduced the time it takes until you can shoot after executing a melee attack
  • Assault - Vanguard Shotgun - Lowered start damage per bullet from 14 to 12
  • Assault - CR2 - Fixed an issue with inconsistent Super Success triggers compared to other blasters
  • Heavy - Supercharged Sentry - Reverted the heat per bullet tweak made for 1.1 patch, from 0.17 to 0.15
  • Officer - Blurrg-1120 - Lowered start damage from 37 to 35 and end damage from 20 to 16

Milestones

Milestones are now claimed automatically upon completion! Furthermore, we changed how Milestones and Challenges are sorted. Now, all completed items are on the bottom of the Career tab and we sort the active items by the amount left until completion.

  • "Making an Impression" - Changed criteria from 25 to 10 kills
  • "Starting Heavy Training" - Changed criteria from 10,000 to 2,500 score
  • "Stay True" - Changed criteria from 40 to 20 kills
  • "Starting Assault Training" - Criteria changed from "Get 5000 Assist Score with Scan Dart" to "50 Targets Scanned"

Location Design Balance Changes

  • Kamino - Phase 1 and 3 in Galactic Assault has been made easier for attackers
  • Tatooine – In Phase 1 of Galactic Assault we adjusted spawn points, added cover, and tweaked the out of bounds area to make this phase easier for attackers
  • Hoth – In Phase 2 of Galactic Assault we adjusted spawn points to prevent players from being targeted by the AT-AT
  • Naboo - Phase 2 of Galactic Assault has had balance tweaks
  • Endor – Galactic Assault has extended the fallback timer from 30 to 45 seconds before the attackers' spawn points are moved forward

Location Design Bug Fixes

  • Jakku - Fixed an issue in Galactic Assault where the out of bounds warning message would not trigger correctly under certain conditions
  • Jakku - Tweaked the combat area on Jakku in Galactic Assault in order to prevent an exploit where players could circle around the map with the AT-ST
  • Jakku - Fixed several collision issues
  • Endor - Fixed a bug in Galactic Assault that caused the Endor AT-AT Orbital Strike to break
  • Endor - Fixed a bug in Strike where players could spawn outside the combat area
  • Crait - Added delay before attacker spawns are moved forward in Galactic Assault
  • Crait - Fixed several collision issues
  • Takodana - Fixed a bug in Galactic Assault that prevented the First Order AT-ST from being available in Phase 1
  • Hoth - Fixed a bug in Galactic Assault that prevented players from passing through doors when retreating during the last Phase
  • Kashyyyk - Fixed an issue where players could get stuck between containers
  • Kamino - Mobility improvements on platform ledges
  • Yavin 4 - Fixed an issue where Boba Fett could reach restricted areas
  • Fixed an issue where grenades could fall through the floor on Naboo and Kashyyyk
  • Fixed various collision issues across all locations
  • Fixed issues where players could get outside the intended play areas of various locations
  • Fixed an issue where AI units would move through objects in Arcade
  • Fixed an issue where environmental fire damage would not cause high enough damage to players standing in it

General Improvements And Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where players would not receive credits for duplicate star cards - Players who encountered this issue previously will retroactively be awarded with the proper amounts of credits over time.
  • Increased Credit payout for duplicate items
    - Common – From 200 to 300
    - Uncommon – From 400 to 600
    - Rare – From 800 to 900
    - Epic – From 1200 to 3600
  • Increased the glow of blaster bolts to make them look more vibrant
  • Increased the dismemberment probability of the B1 Battle Droids from 20% to 40%
  • Reduced the stretched bloom effect for a clearer image
  • Improved the glow, thickness, and lighting of lightsabers
  • U-Wing - when firing from the gunner position, the gun, muzzle flash, and blaster bolt are now shown properly
  • Fixed an issue where the camera would enter a bad state when being the target of Darth Vader's Choke
  • End of Round - Fixed an issue where the map would sometimes overlap with the intro video in Starfighter Assault
  • Fixed an issue where the wrong loading screen would be seen when loading a level
  • Fixed an issue where some menu options would disappear under certain conditions
  • Fixed an issue where the camera would stutter when spawning in with a Hero in Custom Arcade
  • Fixed an issue where the AT-RT Repair ability did not work correctly
  • Fixed an issue where players would not get the "Heroic Sacrifice" scoring event when defeated by a Hero
  • Fixed an issue where Darth Vader would not take any damage from Luke Skywalker's Push ability if standing near a wall
  • Fixed an issue where the AAT would take too much damage when colliding with surrounding objects
  • Fixed an issue where Turrets and Grenades could inflict damage after the round ended
  • Fixed an issue where players would not receive Score for grenade kills made after their character had died
  • Fixed an issue where a friendly First Order AT-ST showed up as an enemy on radar
  • Fixed an issue where players could survive when knocked down from a platform in Heroes vs Villains
  • Fixed an issue where players could equip class specific Star Cards to other classes
  • Tweaked the color-blind settings to make Squad members easier to distinguish on the minimap
  • Fixed an issue where Brawler boost card didn't refresh some ability cards.
  • Fixed an issue where players could force respawn during the Heroes vs Villains intro sequence and respawn in a new location
  • Reduced the amount of Battle Points you received when attacking the objective on Crait with a Ski Speeder
  • Fixed an issue where the character would disappear on the client after combat rolls
  • Fixed an issue in the Campaign where the weapon HUD wouldn't indicate when aiming at an enemy
  • Fixed an issue where AI troopers in Arcade would constantly melee attack each other
  • Fixed an issue where Assault troopers in Arcade would attempt to use the Scan Dart ability as a regular weapon
  • Various bug fixes in Arcade
  • Several performance and stability improvements
  • Fixed several localization issues
  • Various UI improvements and bug fixes

Known Issues

  • Yoda does not break out of several immobilizing abilities when using Presence
  • Darth Vader's Punishing Grip Star Card effect is not applied when Choke is used
  • Finn's targeting marker from Dead Eye will sometimes persist after the ability effect has ended
  • Emperor Palpatine's first basic and secondary attack deal no damage
  • Yoda's Feel the Force Star Card description is incorrect
  • Yoda's Master of the Force Star Card does not work as intended
  • Rey's Mind Trick ability can affect players further than intended
  • Rey's Far Sight Star Card is increasing Insight ability range more than specified in the Star Card
  • EL-16HFE scope glint does not appear with dual zoom equipped and is toggled to the highest magnification
  • If you open a crate that grants a duplicate item and it shows the old value for credits rewarded, you need to restart your game client. You did in fact get the new reward amount, but the client will show the old values in the UI until you restart the game.

Scribblenauts Showdown Sandbox Switch Gameplay

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 08:55 pm
Join up with a partner and create anything your imagination can think of to solve the fun puzzles in Scribblenauts Showdown's sandbox mode.

Captain America Star Teases Black Widow Movie

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 06:09 pm

Last month it was reported that Marvel is developing a standalone movie focusing on Black Widow, the Avenger played by Scarlett Johansson, and that writer Jac Schaeffer had been hired to pen the script. Now Captain America star Chris Evans has seemingly confirmed that the film is in the works.

In an interview with ET Canada, Evans was asked about the huge success of Marvel's latest movie, Black Panther. "There's nothing they can't do, man," he said. "I'm sure it's going to have the exact same effect when Captain Marvel comes out, and then the Black Widow movie comes out. Marvel just has the winning recipe."

No Caption Provided

To date, Johansson has appeared in five movies in the MCU--Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War. She will reprise her role in this summer's Avengers: Infinity War and next year's currently untitled Avengers 4.

There has been much discussion about a standalone Black Widow movie for some time. In October 2016, Johansson said time might not be on her side. "If I did it, I'd have to do it while I still actually wanted to wear a skin-tight catsuit," she explained. "I don't know how much longer that's going to be."

In 2017, Johansson said she had already spoken to Marvel boss Kevin Feige about the movie and that the initial discussions were positive. What's been keeping the movie from happening is the timing and schedules for Marvel and Johansson's other projects. For more Black Widow coverage, check out GameSpot's list of her 10 most badass moments.

In related news, Captain Marvel is now in production. The movie stars Brie Larson and will be released in March 2019. Last month, an on-set image and video were leaked. They showed Larson wearing a green costume, rather than the character's distinctive traditional red, blue, and gold ensemble.


Three Billboards, The Shape of Water, Blade Runner 2049 Score BAFTA Wins

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 05:22 pm

The acclaimed drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was the big winner at this year's BAFTA awards. The movie claimed five prizes at the British film awards ceremony, which is seen as an indicator of who might succeed at the Oscars next month.

Three Billboards won Best film, Best British Film, Best Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Rockwell), and Best Original Screenplay for writer/director Martin McDonagh.

No Caption Provided

McDonagh was also nominated for Best Director, but that prize was taken home by Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water. Del Toro's offbeat sci-fi fantasy actually led the pack in terms of nominations--12, compared to Three Billboard's nine. But in the end, it had to settle three wins--Best Director, Best Original Music, and Best Production Design.

Elsewhere, Gary Oldman won Best Actor for Darkest Hour, Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for I, Tonya, and Coco claimed Best Animated Film. Blade Runner 2049 won Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects, while Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya took home the Rising Star award, which is voted on by the public.

Check out the full list of winners below:

Best film

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding British film

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Leading actress

Frances McDormand--Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Leading actor

Gary Oldman--Darkest Hour

Supporting actress

Allison Janney--I, Tonya

Supporting actor

Sam Rockwell--Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Director

The Shape Of Water--Guillermo Del Toro

EE Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)

Daniel Kaluuya

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

I Am Not A Witch

Film not in the English language

The Handmaiden

Documentary

I Am Not Your Negro

Animated film

Coco

Original screenplay

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted screenplay

Call Me By Your Name

Original music

The Shape Of Water--Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography

Blade Runner 2049--Roger Deakins

Editing

Baby Driver--Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss

Production design

The Shape Of Water--Paul Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, Shane Vieau

Costume design

Phantom Thread--Mark Bridges

Make-up and hair

Darkest Hour--David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick, Kazuhiro Tsuji

Sound

Dunkirk--Richard King, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, Mark Weingarten

Special visual effects

Blade Runner 2049--Gerd Nefzer, John Nelson

British short animation

Poles Apart

British short film

Cowboy Dave

BAFTA Fellowship

Sir Ridley Scott


Top 10 UK Sales Chart: FIFA 18 Is Back On Top

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 03:58 pm

FIFA 18 returns to the top of the UK sales chart for the week ending February 17, "boosted by a heavily promoted Nintendo Switch version and smaller price drops across other formats," according to sales monitor GfK Chart-Track.

EA's sports title forces Deep Silver's new release, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, to settle for No.2 in its debut week. It manages to stay ahead of chart mainstay Grand Theft Auto 5, however. Capcom's Monster Hunter: World spends its fourth week in the chart at No.4, ahead of Bayonetta 2 for the Switch. The placement of this Switch re-release is the highest Bayonetta 2 has ever reached, as it originally debuted at No.7 for the Wii U in 2014.

EA Sports UFC 3 moves down four spots to No.6 and is followed by last weeks top performer, Shadow of the Colossus, at No.7. Rounding off the top 10 are Call of Duty: WWII, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Assassin's Creed Origins at No.8, No.9, and No.10 respectively.

You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

  1. FIFA 18
  2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  3. Grand Theft Auto V
  4. Monster Hunter: World
  5. Bayonetta 2
  6. EA Sports UFC 3
  7. Shadow of the Colossus
  8. Call of Duty: WWII
  9. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  10. Assassin's Creed Origins

A Tomb Raider Barbie Doll Arrives Next March With The New Movie

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 09:19 am

Toy giant Mattel has announced its next Barbie doll, and it's none other than iconic video game hero Lara Croft. Based on Alicia Vikander's version of the character from the upcoming movie, the collectible launches in March just ahead of the new movie, according to IGN.

The doll is priced at $30, and pre-orders open on February 19 through the Barbie website. There are a few accessories included with the Barbie, including her pick axe, journal, map, and more, as well as a certificate of authenticity. You can see an unboxing video below, courtesy of the Panic Pixie YouTube channel.

This is not the first video game Barbie. In 2016, Mattel launched a video game developer Barbie for its Career of the Year line. It does, however, appear to be Mattel's first Barbie based on a specific video game character.

The new Tomb Raider movie comes to theatres on March 16. Vikander, who won an Oscar for her role in The Danish Girl opposite Eddie Redmayne. Dominic West (The Wire), Walton Goggins (Sons of Anarchy, The Hateful Eight), and Daniel Wu (Warcraft) also star. The director is Roar Uthaug, who previously helmed the acclaimed disaster movie The Wave.

Like the 2013 video game reboot, the movie sounds like it will tell an origin story. "She has all the fierce, tough, curious, intelligent traits," Vikander said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "But we've stripped away all of her experience. She hasn't gone on an adventure just yet. She thought she was a stuck up businessperson living in the modern youth culture of suburban London, but then this whole box of information. This is the beginning."

A new Tomb Raider game is on the way. Official details remain a mystery, but last year, the title "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" was potentially leaked, though it's unclear if that was real.


Microsoft Talks Xbox One Keyboard And Mouse Support, Addresses Concerns

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 08:13 am

While the Xbox One does not have an official, Microsoft-approved plan for support keyboard and mouse controls (at least not yet), there are ways to do it. One way is through the use of adapters. Microsoft is apparently aware of this, but the company is not taking action in the case of multiplayer shooters--where keyboard and mouse players would theoretically have an advantage.

The reason? According to Xbox engineering lead Mike Ybarra, Microsoft could block keyboard and mouse setups on console, but won't do it because the company wants to give developers the freedom to operate their games as they see fit. Not only that, but a keyboard and mouse setup can be a helpful solution for players with accessibility considerations.

For a long time now, Microsoft has said it is considering bringing an official keyboard and mouse solution to the Xbox One. In September last year, Ybarra said keyboard and mouse support is "definitely coming" to Xbox One, but he didn't say when or in what form.

Crucially, Ybarra said Microsoft understands the concerns people have about keyboard and mouse users having the upper hand against people using a controller.

"We have to be very smart in how we do that. We'll leave it a lot up to developer choice," Ybarra said at the time. "A lot of people tweet me and say, 'You can't do this because of fairness,' and we understand that. We run two platforms; the Windows platform and the Xbox platform."

Ybarra said one solution is that developers can create systems in their games that allow players to decide if they want to play against people using controllers or a keyboard and mouse setup. In fact, Microsoft's Gears of War 4 supports cross-play between Xbox One and PC, and the company already tested the waters with controller versus keyboard and mouse setup. Xbox One players can choose whether or not they want to play with PC users.

Would you like to see official keyboard and mouse support on Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below!


PUBG Vs. Fortnite? This NFL Star Wants To Know

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 07:42 am

JJ Watt, one of the biggest names in the NFL, wants to know: PUBG or Fortnite? Posting on Twitter today, the Houston Texans DE asked his 5 million followers to weigh in on which Battle Royale game they prefer. He initially simply tweeted the question, "Fortnite or PubG?" before following up with a Twitter poll with the same question.

Right now, Fortnite is dominating PUBG in Watt's poll. At press time, 78 percent of respondents said they prefer Fortnite, compared to 22 percent for PUBG. Almost 20,000 people have voted so far, and the poll is open for another 22 hours.

It's not immediately clear why Watt posed the question today. It could be that he's looking for something new to play (it is the offseason, after all). And, as with many other people right now, the NFL star might be considering which of the popular Battle Royale games he wants to check out.

For a deeper dive on the subject, you can check out GameSpot's in-depth breakdown--"Fortnite Vs. PUBG: Which Battle Royale Game Is Right For You?" Additionally, you can see both games compared in the video embedded at the top of this post.

Watt suffered a season-ending injury in October, fracturing the tibial plateau in his left leg. He is expected to return for the 2018-2019 season. After going down with the injury, Watt kept busy, raising an incredible $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

What do you think, PUBG or Fortnite? Let us know in the comments below!


400-Player Battle Royale Game Gets A Teaser Trailer

By Anonymous on Feb 19, 2018 06:24 am

A new trailer for an upcoming Battle Royale game that promises to support 400 players in a multiplayer environment has been released, but unfortunately it doesn't deliver what we want to see. The trailer for Mavericks: Proving Grounds shows off some nice-looking visuals and environments, but, critically, it does not show any gameplay. 

Mavericks is in development at the new UK studio Automaton Games. The game was formerly known as Project X before getting its new name over the weekend during a PC Gamer event. Mavericks will have a 12km squared "living and breathing" world, the developer says. It also promises dynamic elements such as wildfire that spreads and more. 

"This year, we're coming out with our competitive, Battle Royale-style mode, which we hope will show that there is so much more for that genre than what people have seen today," Automaton's James Thompson told PC Gamer. "How much more we can do with the game world and the [Battle Royale] game mode as a whole."

Mavericks' Battle Royale mode is scheduled to launch in 2018, presumably for PC, but it is just one part of the game. The full game, described as an MMO that supports 1000 concurrent players in an "ultra-high fidelity world instance, is coming in 2019. 

"It is set in a huge, photoreal, and highly dynamic environment, with strong character progression, social hubs, intelligent mission systems and global-scale player-driven narrative," reads a line from the game's description.

Some kind of announcement about Mavericks is coming at the Game Developers Conference in March, and we will be sure to report back with more details then. A closed beta for Mavericks is coming, but there is no word yet about when it will start.

PUBG, which supports 100 players, popularised the Battle Royale movement and made it one of the most talked-about genres in gaming. It's no surprise to see other, similar games pop up with their own unique spin on the formula. Epic's Fortnite: Battle Royale has seen a lot of success, as the game recently surpassed 3.4 million concurrent players


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