Regardless of what you think of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, you must admit that Ubisoft's rendition of Bolivia makes for beautiful, vast landscapes. The wild lands are lush with foliage that flutters with the wind to accompany the detailed particle effects during intense firefights. With features like turf effects, temporal anti-aliasing, god rays, and ambient occlusion, the PC version is a showcase for what games are capable of today. But there isn't much of a point to those features if your PC isn't powerful enough to render playable framerates.
To give you an idea of how well your PC can handle Wildlands' visual flourishes, we tested nine of the latest graphics cards using the the game's built-in benchmark tool. This one-minute in-game scene takes you around two villages, up a hillside past the forestry with explosions sprinkled throughout, and ends in a pan of the far distances, all in an attempt to simulate the performance demands of actual gameplay. Similar to For Honor's benchmark tool, Wildlands gives you a detailed analysis of your machine's performance with minimum, maximum, and average frames per second (FPS) data. It also outlines your CPU, GPU and memory usage, along with GPU temperature.
One part of the benchmark sequence in Ghost Recon: Wildlands with performance data in the lower screen.
Test Bench and Methodology
The rig that we used consisted of an Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake CPU clocked at 4.0GHz on a Gigabyte G1 Z170X motherboard. We were also equipped with 16GB of HyperX Savage DDR4 2133 MHz memory in dual-channel and a Western Digial Blue solid-state drive. The following is a list of the graphics cards included in our tests:
Nvidia cards were tested using version 378.78 WHQL of GeForce drivers and the AMD cards were using 17.3.1 Radeon drivers. Reference cards were used when possible.
We approached this series of benchmarks using three resolutions: 1920x1080 (1080p), 2560x1440 (1440p), and 3840x2160 (4K). Initially, we tested with the "ultra" graphics preset which includes the following quality settings:
Temporal anti-aliasing (TXAA)
16x anisotropic filtering
HBAO+ (horizon-based ambient occlusion)
God rays
Subsurface scattering
Draw distance maximum
All quality settings set to maximum (bloom, depth of field, shadows, textures, etc.)
V-sync OFF
As expected, budget-level graphics cards struggled at 4K, especially with "ultra" settings, so we also tested these cards with the "very high" preset to find out if we could achieve playable framerates. The "very high" preset still includes TXAA and several special effects, but instead uses 8x anisotropic filtering, SSBC (Ubisoft's version of ambient occlusion), and knocks all the quality settings down a notch. The game still looks tremendous, though.
If you need a refresher on definitions for some of these graphics settings and effects, feel free to check out our graphics settings explainer. If not, jump right into the results below.
Benchmark Results
1080p Test
Even at 1080p, "ultra" settings in Ghost Recon Wildlands is substantially taxing on powerful systems. The newly released GTX 1080 Ti--the most powerful video card on the market--was the only one to never dip below 60 FPS. The GTX 1080 and 1070 still put out playable framerates, staying above 45 FPS throughout and averaging about 60 FPS and 50 FPS, respectively.
The GTX 1060 hit a 40 FPS average and AMD's RX 480 was able to hold a 34 FPS average, bordering on a playable frame rate. The GTX 1050 Ti, and RX 470 and 460 couldn't maintain an average above 30 FPS, so we'd recommend turning down a handful of settings. Due to the limited VRAM on the GTX 1050, "ultra" settings just aren't possible on the card.
We toned things down a bit for the cards that had trouble with maximum settings. There's a dramatic improvement in performance when we turn down the preset to "very high." The GTX 1060 averages above 60 FPS, and the 1050 Ti maintains a decent 47 FPS average. We also get the RX 480 stay above 45 FPS and it nearly hit a 60 FPS average. The following is the data for these tests:
Graphics Card and Settings Preset
Min FPS
Avg FPS
Max FPS
GTX 1060, 1080p very high
50.4
61.2
68.9
RX 480, 1080p very high
45.3
55.2
65.3
RX 470, 1080p very high
35.5
48.6
58.9
GTX 1050 Ti, 1080p very high
38.8
46.7
52.7
GTX 1050, 1080p very high
35.6
43.8
51.0
RX 1050, 1080p very high
26.2
37.7
43.7
For the low-end RX 460 and GTX 1050 cards, we tried to see if "medium" settings would make for a smooth experience. Keep in mind that the GTX 1050 has 2GB of VRAM, while the RX 460 has 4GB. At 1080p/medium, Wildlands demanded less than 2GB of VRAM. With VRAM not being a bottleneck, it allowed the GTX 1050's faster clocks to pull ahead.
1440p Test
No video card was able to hit a 60 FPS average in our 1440p test, which speaks to the demand of Wildlands' "ultra" graphics settings. Nvidia comes close with the GTX 1080 Ti putting up an average of 58 FPS, while the standard 1080 and GTX 1070 wade around 47 FPS and 40 FPS, respectively. This results in playable framerates, but any other cards is going to struggle.
At the "very high" preset, we have the higher-end Nvidia cards breeze through the benchmark. The GTX 1060 and RX 480 begin to perform admirably by staying above 40 FPS on average. Lower-end cards like the GTX 1050 Ti and RX 470 cut it close, middling around a 30 FPS average, but we'd still recommend tuning graphics settings down a bit more. Keep in mind, Wildlands still looks great. This is what performance looked like:
Graphics Card and Settings Preset
Min FPS
Avg FPS
Max FPS
GTX 1080 Ti, 1440p very high
73.8
83.6
92.6
GTX 1080, 1440p very high
57.8
69.8
79.2
GTX 1070, 1440p very high
47.5
58.5
66.5
GTX 1060, 1440p very high
34.6
44.3
50.4
RX 480, 1440p very high
32.6
40.5
47.3
RX 470, 1440p very high
24.5
36.5
44.0
4K Test
Judging from the results of our 1080p and 1440p benchmarks, you can probably guess that all our cards struggle at 4K with every setting maxed out. The high-end GTX 1080 Ti and 1080 can maintain 30+ FPS on average, but the non-Ti card does dip to mid-20 FPS at times. Unfortunately, no other card can produce playable frame rates, even the GTX 1070 falls short with its 24 FPS average.
Results are much better as we go down to the "very high" preset. While we still can't hit a 60 FPS average, the GTX 1080 Ti sat around 52 FPS, which makes for relatively smooth gameplay. The non-Ti version maintained an average around 40 FPS. The GTX 1070 cuts close with about 34 FPS on average, but it occasionally dipped down to the mid-20s. Other cards simply aren't able to keep up at 4K, with even the respectable GTX 1060 and RX 480 failing to produce playable results. Data from these tests are in the chart below:
Graphics Card and Settings Preset
Min FPS
Avg FPS
Max FPS
GTX 1080 Ti, 4K very high
39.5
51.7
57.7
GTX 1080, 4K very high
31.6
41.4
46.8
GTX 1070, 4K very high
24.8
33.5
38.1
GTX 1060, 4K very high
17.2
24.3
27.8
RX 480, 4K very high
16.1
23.0
26.7
Conclusion
Ghost Recon: Wildlands is an incredibly demanding PC game when you crank all the graphics settings to their absolute max, even for the latest and most powerful graphics cards. The GTX 1080 Ti is the fastest card ever released, but it's still challenged by this game at 4K resolution. It seems the games asks a bit too much of current hardware at "ultra" settings, and further optimization and future drivers could help performance.
These benchmarks give us an idea of just how powerful each video card is, but also tell us that games are increasingly stressful on hardware with more special effects and higher grades of detail. However, Wildlands maintains fine visuals when you go down to the very high and high preset settings, which is what we'd recommend if you're trying to strike a good balance between performance and graphical fidelity.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is almost here. Now, some new gameplay footage from the RPG has arrived.
During a PAX East panel this week, BioWare showed off the squadmate Liam's loyalty mission, which you can see in the gameplay video below captured by DualShockers. There's a good amount of combat in the video, including some sequences were the player dies, so we know what that looks like now. As usual, if you're worried about any kind of story spoilers, you may want to avoid the video.
Mass Effect 3 did not have loyalty missions, but BioWare confirmed last year that Andromeda would. Loyalty missions were one the of best aspects of Mass Effect 2, as they let you take part in a missions designed to flesh out the backstory of your various squadmates, with each character getting their own.
"As a writer, one of the things I loved was the freedom to say, 'I know this character is coming along,' so they can carry a lot of the narrative," creative director Mac Walters said in the past. "That made my job easier, but it also made it more fun, because I could tell a more specific story in one of those missions."
With the launch of Mass Effect: Andromeda coming up very soon, new image and details about the spacefaring RPG have emerged.
Coming from Prima Games, the strategy guide sounds very in-depth. It will have step-by-step walkthroughs, illustrated maps that mention things like routes and structures, as well as a lot of information about your quad and combat tactics. Go to Prima's website to learn more.
In addition to a standard edition, Prima will offer the Andromeda guide in a collector's edition that comes with extras like commentary from developers, a hardcover, and a DLC code for a multiplayer booster pack. Additionally, a Pathfinder Edition comes with even much extras such as an Andromeda Initiative backback, an 11" x 17" galaxy chart, a 32-page field journal, and other bonuses.
Go to Prima's website to see a full rundown of what's in every bundle and to see some images.
According to Prima's website, the Pathfinder edition launches on March 28, while the others go on sale when the game does, on March 21.
Did you step away this week? Here's a recap of some of the week's big news and other stories you may have missed.
THE BIG STUFF:
The next major PlayStation 4 update, 4.5, came out this week, adding support for external hard drives, a "Boost" mode for PS4 Pro, and a lot more. [Full story]
We learned even more about Mass Effect: Andromeda this week, including the fact that its multiplayer DLC maps will be free. Additionally, a new trailer showed off the Nomad vehicle, another video highlighted the Tempest, and the launch trailer arrived. You can see all of our Andromeda video and written coverage here.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is getting a DLC pack next week in the form of the Variety Map Pack. Sound familiar? That's the same name as the first one that came out for the original in 2008. And it has all the same maps, but with better graphics, of course. [Full story]
THE OTHER STUFF:
Hey, this is pretty cool. The MMO WildStar will let you push a character to level 50 for free. Get all the details here at Game Informer.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the next game from Koji Igarashi, is heading to Switch, apparently. Get the scoop here at Nintendo Everything.
Another cool thing: Joy Con controllers for the Nintendo Switch work as controllers for PC and Mac games. Sweet! TechCrunch has all the details.
With Game of Thrones set to return for Season 7 this year, we've now learned a little more about it. Harry Potter actor Jim Broadbent has revealed the character he's playing in a new interview with ScreenCrush.
Korean developer Joycity has released a 3v3 basketball game called 3on3 Freestyle for PS4. It's a half-court, arcade-style take on the game--and it looks pretty fun.
Why can't you control the machines in Horizon Zero Dawn? Now we know, as the producer offered an explanation in this interview with Kotaku.
Not all of Nintendo's ideas for Zelda: Breath of the Wild made it into the game--this new Kotaku report has an outline of what didn't make it.
A movie theater with a playground in it. Movie purists may not like it, but it's happening. Get all the details here at the LA Times.
The newest trailer for Better Call Saul Season 3 has arrived--and Gus Fring is in it! Watch it and get more details about the season, which premiere in April, here at EW.
Activision has again been named to Fortune's annual list of 100 Best Companies To Work For, coming in at 66, moving up a number of spots from last year. Here's the full list.
Each week we search and gather up the coolest comic book art you won't see in actual comics. The reason you won't is because professional artists often draw sketches for fun or commissions and post them on their websites, blogs, and Tumblrs. Some artists even arrange commissions through their sites so be sure to check them out. This is a way to see the artists working on one book draw characters from other comics or publishers.
Mike Henderson posted new art on his Instagram, including a Logan sketch.
Todd Nauck also posted Logan commissions along with some others on his Tumblr.
Joel Gomez posted Logan and Batman art on his Tumblr.
Chris Giarrusso put new art up for sale including Logan on his website.
Andrew Robinson posted commissions from Emerald City Comicon on his Instagram.
Dustin Nguyen posted a Joker and Harley sketch from ECCC on his Instagram.
Paolo Rivera posted a Captain America commission on his blog.
Ryan Ottley posted some of the weird commission requests he gets on his Tumblr.
Marcio Takara posted more daily warm-up sketches on his Tumblr.
Mike McKone posted a Batman/Superman commission on his Twitter page.
The PAX East 2017 trailer above shows off more gruesome executions like those we've seen in the past. It's not for the faint of heart; a poor camper gets her jaw torn off, just to name one example.
We also get a first look at a new Jason Voorhees model from horror legend Tom Savini. The model is based on the events of Friday the 13th: Jason Goes to Hell and is the first new Jason model since the 2009 film reboot.
Friday the 13th: The Game features asymmetrical multiplayer that casts one player as Jason and the rest as campers. It's coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One this year.
If you missed Final Fantasy XII's original PS2 release, you'll have a chance to play the remaster, The Zodiac Age, this summer. It's the story of Vaan and company taking down the evil Judge Gabranth, all done through the game's unique and deceptively deep Gambit combat system. We sat down with producer Hiroaki Kato and director Takashi Katano to talk about why now is the right time for a remaster and what it has to offer over the original game.
GameSpot: Why bring back Final Fantasy XII over other mainline titles?
Kato: Several reasons, but since we worked on the original XII, we have a lot of memories associated with that title. And when Final Fantasy X came out as an HD remaster on the PS4 and became a successful title, we thought that maybe we should bring this one back as well. So we brought together the core members of the original development team.
And then another reason was that when we created the original XII, we actually made it relatively high spec. So we were always thinking that we wanted to create an HD version of it sometime in the future. But if we did that, I wanted to have the original members work on it as well. It was difficult trying to find a time when everyone could work together again, just because everyone was on different projects.
We've seen a lot of love for XII from our readers and viewers. Why do you think that is? Is it a cult following? Is it people who missed this the first time around? Why the sudden surge in popularity?
Kato: When we released the original, it was around when the PS2 was changing into the new generation of PS3s. So we really utilized the PS2 system to its fullest, to the maximum.
The mechanic that we had in there, called the Gambit System, was very unique. There were no other games that had that kind of system at that time. So with the unique game system and world that we created in XII, I believe it left a strong memory inside of people.
I feel like there are similar thoughts about Final Fantasy IX, since that released at the end of PS1 life cycle. Do you see those parallels as well?
Katano: I worked on VIII and then X, so I wasn't really on IX, but in general, the change from PlayStation 1 to 2 was really big, and then compared to that, PS2 to PS3 was not as much. So there probably is a little bit of a difference there. From PS1 to PS2, what you could do in a game just drastically changed. But from PS2 to PS3, especially when PS3 had just come out, it was more about increasing the expressiveness of games, like adding shaders and being able to do more with the game system. Games that utilized physics came out later, but initially it wasn't like that.
Kato: It's weird for us to call our title a masterpiece ourselves, but usually, the titles that are called masterpieces come out at the end of the generational cycle, just because it takes so much time to develop a game.
For people who played the original, what's going to be new for them this time?
Kato: The Zodiac Age is based on the International Zodiac Job System, which was only released in Japan. So especially for the Western audience, we changed the entire gameplay balance. The battle design was passed onto Hiroyuki Ito. We talked about Final Fantasy IX earlier, and he was the game designer for that title as well as The Zodiac Age. He's historically worked on battle design for the past Final Fantasy titles.
And for those who missed it the first time around, what do you hope will hook new players?
Kato: How fun it is to play an RPG. From fighting, to field exploration, to character growth, The Zodiac Age has all that. It will feel good to have your characters grow. And while you're leveling up your characters, you'll find more items that you want to equip and then use them to fight stronger enemies. And so all the elements that you would consider normal for an RPG are included in this game in a really great balance.
You've commented before that you'd like to see another Final Fantasy game use the Gambit System. Is that still something you want to see? Maybe a Revenant Wings 2?
Kato: I feel that the Gambit System is very complex, so it's been really hard to implement that in other titles. But I do really want to utilize the mechanics somehow, maybe in a different form. It's very difficult to develop around, so that might be a difficult thing to do.
There's a bit of a running joke that Final Fantasy XII's plot is essentially Star Wars. How do you respond to that?
Kato: [Laughs] I've heard that as well. But we weren't really thinking about that during development. One thing we were thinking about was creating an easy-to-understand plot line that you could really just grasp immediately. And Star Wars in a sense does have that too. But because Star Wars is such a great title, such a great film, that also means that Final Fantasy XII is a great title, right? [Laughs]
So not including XII, which Final Fantasy is your favorite?
Katano: My favorite title is Final Fantasy V. That job system is just superb. The person who created it is actually Ito, whom we mentioned earlier, and he just brought over all that experience from the past. But I was a student when I played it, and I was just surprised that there was something that fun to play. I was just so immersed in it, and I'd play for hours and hours.
Kato: [Laughs] Oh, that must be why you've ended up here.
And which Final Fantasy do you want to see remastered next?
Katano: The PlayStation 2 would probably be the only hardware that we could really remaster from. Anything before that probably wouldn't be a remaster anymore, but a remix because of all the polygon models and sprites, like Final Fantasy VII. That's probably why they're doing a remake, instead of like a remaster.
Kato: [Laughs] I'd love to see a remaster of Final Fantasy I and all the numbered titles, but that would be difficult to do.
At PAX East, Nintendo showed off the game ahead of its (surprisingly soon) May release. This provided us with a look at two of Echoes' major new features, both of which were teased in the announcement trailer back in January. Rather than moving directly from mission to mission, a world map allows you to have some freedom in choosing what you do next.
Among the things you'll find on the map are dungeons. These abandon the standard top-down camera view and allow you to explore them in 3D with a third-person camera. Destroyable objects and treasure chests hide items and money to find, and you'll also encounter enemies. Engaging one takes you into a standard Fire Emblem battle. It's almost like a mini mission, as you still have access to your squad and face multiple enemies, rather than simply taking part in a one-on-one fight. You can gain an edge by attacking the foe in the dungeon before combat begins, reducing their health to start the battle, but they can also do the same to you.
Rather than playing as a single character of your creation, Echoes follows a pair of "dueling" protagonists that you'll swap between. Celica and Alm each set out to defend their country, but they take different approaches to doing so. You'll be able to swap back and forth between the two routinely, or you can spend longer stretches of time playing as one before jumping into the other's story. We didn't see much of the story, but Echoes is notable for being the first Fire Emblem game to feature full voice acting (some very minor characters aside).
Two other changes will either be greeted warmly or harshly depending upon the types of units you favor. Archers can now counter-attack from a single tile away, potentially allowing you to be more aggressive with them. On the other hand, mages now expend a portion of their health in order to cast spells, forcing you to much more careful about how they are deployed and utilized.
A Nintendo rep wasn't able to confirm as much, but what we saw suggested that weapon durability won't be making a comeback after it was excised from Fates. And, true to its roots as 1992's Fire Emblem Gaiden, it also doesn't feature a support system during battles; that wasn't introduced until later in the series. Also absent was the traditional weapon triangle, although the rep did say there are ways to gain an advantage in battles without offering any specifics.
"Well, 2018 is not happening," Cameron said in an interview with the Toronto Star (via The Hollywood Reporter). "We haven't announced a firm release date. What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases."
"So we're not making Avatar 2," he said. "We're making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It's an epic undertaking. It's not unlike building the Three Gorges dam. (Laughs) So I know where I'm going to be for the next eight years of my life."
Cameron added: "It's not an unreasonable time frame if you think about it. It took us four-and-a-half years to make one movie and now we're making four. We're full tilt boogie right now. This is my day job and pretty soon we'll be 24-7. We're pretty well designed on all our creatures and sets. It's pretty exciting stuff. I wish I could share with the world. But we have to preserve a certain amount of showmanship and we're going to draw that curtain when the time is right."
Also in the interview, Cameron said you shouldn't expect Avatar 2 to have an Atlantis theme. This came up because Cameron is working on the new documentary Atlantis Rising, in which he and Simcha Jacobovici try to find the lost city.
"Probably not," Cameron said about the next Avatar having "echoes" of Atlantis. "The Avatar films are very specific about certain themes. In a very broad sense if you stand way back, Avatar is about human hubris and how we use up the resources of our world and try to take it over. The Avatar films are about our sense that we can dominate nature, when we should really learn to be a part of nature. Or we simply won't survive. So there are thematic connections."
Worthington went on to emphasize the "family" aspect that Cameron has previously spoken about. "This is going to be Jake [Sully, Worthington's character] eight years later, and he's got a family now'" he said. "The world is bigger than the first one, but essentially, it's a movie about family.
But what do critics think of the multiplayer game? Reviews have now gone live, including GameSpot's own verdict. Editor-in-Chief Randolph Ramsay said "Snipperclips isn't a Switch showstopper," but stated that "when a game is this inventive and appealing, it doesn't need to be." Read more in our full Snipperclips review, or take a look at the roundup below for a selection of critics' reviews.
Alternatively, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic for a look at the game's wider critical reception.
Game: Snipperclips
Developer: SFB Games
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release: Out now
Price: US $20 / £17 / AU $30 (game only), £80 (download code + Joy-Cons bundle)
GameSpot -- 7/10
"Snipperclips works best as a shared experience. When you're working with friends and you do finally complete a tough level together, the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie is palpable. Unfortunately, there's no real reason to replay levels--once you've figured out a solution, there's no incentive to try again, since there's no tangible benefit to finding out more efficient solutions. Snipperclips is indeed engaging, but it's likely something you'll only ever play through once. It isn't a Switch showstopper, but when a game is this inventive and appealing, it doesn't need to be." -- Randolph Ramsay [Full review]
Eurogamer -- No score
"While it lasts, Snipperclips is unquestionably worthwhile, both as an imaginatively designed puzzle game, and as a strong showcase for Switch as a hub for ad hoc social gaming. Snipperclips is smart and witty, and its focus on on-the-fly creativity makes for an inclusive, unexpectedly engaging multiplayer game. It's a little insubstantial, and rather too limp as a solo endeavour, but there's real heart to its raucous, collaborative core. If Switch's underlying ethos inspires more games like this, then there'll be no complaints here." -- Matt Wales [Full review]
IGN -- 8.0/10
"With a clever idea for 2D physics-based puzzle solving and a bright and colorful personality, Snipperclips is a good experience by yourself and a great one with friends. Solving every puzzle won't take too long, but Snipperclips is continuously clever in its puzzle design and adorably fun to watch play. It left me eagerly waiting to reunite more frogs, put together more cat puzzles, and solve whatever other odd challenges developer SFB Games might have in mind." -- Jonathon Dornbush [Full review]
Destructoid -- 9/10
"Snipperclips is a terrifically charming package. It's one of those rare games I can flat-out recommend to everyone because odds are you'll have a blast with it, and so will anyone you share it with. If you're a Nintendo Switch owner, this deserves to be your next game after Zelda." -- Jordan Devore [Full review]
Trusted Reviews -- 4/5
"Snipperclips won't go down as the biggest or most ambitious Switch game ever, or even the one that best demonstrates the console's features. However, it's a game that knows what it wants to be--a smart, inventive co-op puzzle game--and does a great job of being it. Played solo it isn't all that enjoyable, but pair up or find a foursome and you have one of the most enjoyable, if stressful, co-op games since Overcooked." -- Stuart Andrews [Full review]
A sequel to the hit zombie game State of Decay was announced last summer for Xbox One and PC. Since then, developer Undead Labs has shared a lot of concept art, but has not said much about what fans can expect from it. Now, CEO Jeff Strain has opened up on the sequel's ambitions and more.
Speaking to GameSpot at PAX East 2017 in Boston this week, Strain talked about what the team learned from the first game and discussed how the sequel will still focus on entropy, the idea that you're up against a monumental task of staying alive in a harsh world.
With the sequel adding four-player co-op, we wondered if there would be any form of competitive multiplayer. Strain confirmed there won't be, though of course players can freely grief each other.
Also in the interview, Strain revealed that the development team is four times as big as the first game and that State of Decay 2's map is larger as well. He also discussed why Undead Labs decided to abandon the State of Decay MMO, Class4, and said you can expect the studio to continue to make zombie games in the future, though he hasn't ruled out projects in other genres as well.
You can read our full interview below.
State of Decay 2 launches this year on Xbox One and PC. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so buying it digitally on one platform provides access on the other at no extra cost. All progress, including save data and achievements, moves between platforms.
GameSpot: Are there any particular lessons that you took away from the first State of Decay that you were looking to improve upon?
Jeff Strain: Oh yeah... When we started working on State of Decay 2, we sat down and put everything into three buckets. We had [to think about] what are things that work well the players loved that we're gonna double down on, what are things that we want to innovate on and bring new things to it, and then what are things that didn't work well that we either need to completely overhaul or ax? Of those, the offline progression system was by far the most...the feature that players were most ready to see go, because the thing about State of Decay is, it's permanent.
The way that works is we have a contract with players, and that contract is: "If you die, it's your fault." It's not the game throwing some random thing at you. You have all the tools at your disposal to see the threat, to make your own decisions, and if you die, we want you coming away from it thinking, "Ah, if only I'd done X or Y!" Or, "Here's where I made the mistake or stayed out too long." The offline progression system kind of broke that, because that stuff could happen while you were logged out of the game. It violated the contract, and it didn't work well. That was probably the biggest area that we had to address.
Have there been any games that have come out since State of Decay that you've looked to for inspiration for this one?
You know, inspiration for us is always the really well done, big, open-world games. Red Dead Redemption, the GTAs--those games do a phenomenal job of making you feel like you're in a world that's believable and real. Beyond that, we've actually been a little bit surprised that this genre we've built, this survival fantasy genre, is still very much home for State of Decay. There's no other games that really bring that blend of role playing elements, third-person action, and the simulated world and community-based character development. Lots of inspiration, yes, but we're also very happy that we still feel like the State of Decay experience is fairly unique within the industry.
With co-op, what does the game do to balance or compensate if you're playing four players versus just one or two? Does how many players you have affect how tough enemies are, anything like that?
You know, there's not, and that's very much intentional. The thing about State of Decay is that, and State of Decay 2 in particular, it's a game of entropy. We're modeling a real world. Resources are finite, your stamina is finite, gasoline is finite. All of the resources are finite. If you have friends playing with you, that should be a bonus. You should be able to get farther and do more in a similar amount of time. We don't want to just automatically up the zombie density or adjust things so that you feel like, in terms of how much progress you're making or what you're able to do that, it just all balances out in the end.
Playing with your friends should be more fun, and you should be able to do more things. All of those entropy rules are still there. Eventually, mistakes will still be just as costly, and now you have more people to possibly make mistakes.
And it's still entirely cooperative--there's no adversarial type of multiplayer mode?
That's right. As far as the multiplayer component, it is very joyfully cooperative multiplayer.
I remember hearing previously that, if you wanted to screw with your friends, you could try to attract zombies or things like that. You could, in a way, grief your friends.
You can playfully grief each other yes. Can you line up and make a headshot on your friends? No, it's just not that kind of game. There are some great games out there that really focus on that hardcore PVP experience, but that's not what State of Decay's about.
"State of Decay 2 in particular, it's a game of entropy. We're modeling a real world. Resources are finite, your stamina is finite, gasoline is finite" -- Jeff Strain
What's been the most challenging aspect in development? Has it been incorporating multiplayer, or is there something else that's been really challenging?
The challenging aspect of development is, because the game is so strictly simulated, we work very hard to make sure that nothing is deterministic--that there's no tripwires, there's no trigger sequences. All of the behaviors in the world are modeled for both the zombies and the NPCs that inhabit your community. There's 14 to 20 different interlocking systems that contribute to all this. For AI behaviors and world conditions, those all have to be perfectly in sync in order for the experience to feel believable and right. Constantly tuning all those knobs so that everything is working well is a real challenge.
How big is the development team on this game versus the first one?
It's about four times as large.
On the same note, do you have an estimate or rough idea of how much bigger this world is than the first one?
We'll be talking more in detail about that, but you can bet that it's still to scale, the size of the development team will give you a feel for probably how much larger things are
Do the multiplayer aspects at all draw in what you had done with the Class4 MMO that you were working on previously, or does that not carry over at all?
This is not Class4 as it was originally envisioned. That was to be more of an MMO type of experience. What happened was that State of Decay did really well. Over five million people have played it at this point, which far exceeded our wildest hopes, dreams. What we did when we started on State of Decay 2 was we were like, "Okay, let's do Class4." We took a step back and really looked at what people were asking for. People were not asking for a completely different type of game. What they were asking for was, "We want it bigger, we want it more polished, and we want to play with our friends." That is literally 95% of all the feedback we got on the game. At some point we just decided, "Hey, you know what? Crazy idea. We should probably just build the game that people are asking for." That was the design genesis for State of Decay 2
Has Project Scorpio support something that you have in mind, or is that not gonna come until later?
[PR person] It's something we'll talk about at E3.
You've been doing the concept art releases over the last few weeks. Is there anything else that you're gonna do between now and E3?
We'll continue that. We didn't start that stream in order to just dry it up. We will be releasing selective tidbits about the game and pieces of information like that just so that people can see that it's coming and get excited about it. I think that it's fair to say that at E3 there'll be a lot more information.
Is it still coming to PC in addition to Xbox?
Yeah, it'll be on Windows 10 and Xbox One. That's what we're talking about today. It will support the Play Anywhere initiative: buy once, play on either platform, and players on both platforms can play with each other.
With a name like Undead Labs, you would safely assume that you're probably going to make more zombies games in the future. Do you see yourself branching out at all in terms of either genre or theme, going beyond zombies? Is it just kind of the identity of the studio?
When we formed the studio we had State of Decay on mind. I would say that our gig is survival fantasy. That's what makes State of Decay unique. It's not zombies; it's survival fantasy. I think that future projects would probably play into that theme. But no, it's not necessarily always gonna be zombies.
Creative director Tim Willits shared the news with GameSpot today at PAX East. Users can play one character, Ranger, for free, or they can buy a Champion Pack to get unlimited access to him and all others. Pricing for the Champion Pack was not shared. Free players can spend in-game currency, called Favor, to unlock the other characters, but only for a certain period of time.
Id Software has yet to decide on a length, but he said he doesn't want to use the word "rent."
"At its core, it's a free-to-play game, with the option to buy the Champion Pack and just get in and play with all the Champions," he told Polygon. "There are a number of Quake players that just want to play their Quake, right? And they are familiar with the business model of our previous games, and they are totally fine. 'I want to buy the game. I want to start playing. I want to have access to all the Champions.'"
"But then we also understand that we want to get as many people into the game as possible, especially outside of North America and Western Europe, where we have a massive fan base. So we want to have the flexibility to have a free-to-play option for those people."
People who pay and those who don't won't be put into different matches, and each group will get to play on the same maps. The difference, as mentioned, involves the characters outside of Ranger.
Quake Champions is playable at PAX East this weekend in Boston.
In other news, a closed beta for Quake Champions is coming up--here's how to sign up. The full release of Quake Champions is scheduled for later in 2017.
"We want to make sure that we have as many people as we possibly can," Willits said previously. "You'll be able to turn down your specs and get a decent game at lower-end. But we want to shine on good systems."
For more on Quake Champions, check out the stories below:
The last decade or so has seen Marvel conquer almost every corner of pop culture, but paradoxically, the reverse has happened in games. Once a key brand in console and PC gaming, the House of Ideas seemingly retreated in recent years, all the while making huge strides in film and television. The Marvel brand and its roster of characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, and more have never been stronger. But in games? Marvel was a shadow of its former self.
That is, of course, until recent months, with Marvel making several big announcements about upcoming games, signalling its intent to finally get back into AAA gaming. Marvel currently has a Spider-Man title on the way from Insomniac Games, a Guardians of the Galaxy series from Telltale (with new details being announced only yesterday), and has a partnership with Square Enix to create more titles (kicking off with an untitled Avengers project). It looks like Marvel is embracing the games audience again, and we recently spoke with Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann about the company's recent moves.
When it comes to video games, Marvel has had its up and downs over the last few years. But there's obviously been a recent ramping up, especially in the console space. What's the overall aim for Marvel in the games space now?
Bill Rosemann: Our philosophy going forward is that we're gonna match the best characters with the best partners to create the best games at the best time. We're trying to no longer do any transactional deals, and we're trying to avoid adaptations of films which can be a very tricky, tricky thing to do.
What do you mean by transactional deals. As in, when you simply go to a developer and say "here's the IP, do what you want with it."
Exactly. Even though what we do is licensing, it's not about just taking someone's money and walking away. We are very collaborative, and we seek partners who are very collaborative, and we want to stand with them every day.
So what would the relationship be, for example, with someone like Telltale Games, who are doing your Guardians of the Galaxy title? What level of input do you guys have on the creation of that game?
From a high-level, I can say it very much depends on the partner. Each studio works differently. The common denominator is that every partner we're working with right now--especially Telltale--wants to work very closely with us. On the one hand we want each partner to own the game, to bring their vision to it, to show why they're different, and to bring that extra spice to it so a player says like, "This is a Telltale game."
At the same time, we want to make sure--and so do our partners--that since these characters have such long running fandom that goes back many years, they want to make sure that when they build the story and build the experience that it feels right. It feels authentic. That we get the characters right, we get the locations right, that it's filled with Easter eggs. That it's filled with all the things they love about Marvel.
Is there something that you want to maintain across the games regardless of developer, or platform, or publisher? Is there a Marvel Games overarching stamp that you want gamers to be able to feel?
What's really fun about Marvel, and all of our stories, are the differences that they have. When you look at the films: Ant-Man's a heist movie, and then Guardians is sci-fi, Doctor Strange is supernatural. So they have those different elements, but underneath it all, the key thing about Marvel is our stories are heroic. They are inspirational. They are accessible. You understand who the characters are. You know what they want, you know who they are before they get powers, you know who they are after, you know what their goals and motivations are, and their challenges. And they're fun. It's not just dark. There are serious moments in our games, but that comes from the stakes. But what we can't forget is the fun, the humor. You want to be in this universe.
But not a shared universe, necessarily, across the different platforms in the games?
Yeah, it's the same thing when it comes to TV, Netflix, film, publishing. We want to give our creators room to tell their stories. We don't want to box them in and say, "You have to set this Spider-Man game between this movie and this movie." That said, again we want it all to feel very Marvel, and feel connected so that you can go from game to game, and feel like you're in the Marvel Universe, and things will be consistent. But not necessarily box them in, and make them connect certain dots.
So in the way the cinematic and TV universes share the one reality...
They do, but they're in different areas. Avengers are up in their tower, and the Defenders are down in Hell's Kitchen. And they reference each other, but they're not limiting the new stories you can tell.
It's different with games though, correct? It's not one reality that all these games are playing within the sandbox?
Exactly. I'd say they're separate, they're all original stories. They may be set at different time periods. But they're all set in the Marvel Universe. And so there are certain things that might be consistent, like S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, and different institutions and locations. Wakanda, Asgard, et cetera. But again, we don't want to limit them, and box them in.
Is that something that you think want to be a goal for the future? To have a shared universe within the games?
It really depends on the partners, what sort of games they're working on, and whether it would be a benefit or not. On one hand, when I'm reading the comic books it's very fun to see how they all connect. On the flip side, if you're trying to create a story that connects, then that can often not be a very fulfilling story. And again, we don't want that intention to then impact the story, and not allow each partner or each studio to really spread their wings.
I guess what I'm getting at is we won't see Spider-Man in Insomniac's game, for example, refer to something that's going to happen in Square's Avengers games?
I would say in the Marvel Universe, anything is possible. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? But for now, today, we're just focusing on each story, each partner, letting them tell their story so that the player gets a complete and full story. They won't feel like it's incomplete, and, "I had to buy something else to get the rest of this story." So step one is just deliver the most awesome game, fulfilling game possible.
So the big news over the last couple of months, obviously, has been your announcement with Square.
I think fans were quick to connect the dots of like, "wait a minute, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite. The Guardians Telltale series. Spider-Man with Insomniac and Sony, and now the Avengers project with Square Enix." They're like, "Marvel is serious."
This is a new era of modern games. Which I think was one of the intentions, to announce these games one after another. To really show it is a new era of Marvel games. And by seeing that collection of talent--you got Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, all focusing on one group of characters--it's gonna be amazing.
Can you at least confirm whether it is something that is more tied in with Marvel Cinematic Universe version of these characters, or is it more from the comics? Or is it an original creation?
As we've announced it's an original, all new story. I'll leave it at that.
Alright. You did mention that over the past six months you have made quite a lot of big splashes, really signaling your intention to go back into the console space particularly. One of the big questions is why has it taken so long for you guys to get back into it? The MCU has been resurgent for the last 10 years, so ...
I think it's all about timing, and luck, and it takes a lot of time to have stars align. We're gonna be very selective about who we work with. There are partners who we want to work with them, they want to work with us, but they're booked. They're working on something else. So it just takes the time for them to become available, and to make sure that they have the passion, and they have the vision.
I would assume partners are banging down the door now trying to work with Marvel.
That's part of it. There's a give and take. Sometimes we reach out to the partner, sometimes a partner will knock on our door. And again, just being very thoughtful, and deliberate, and making sure we're making the right choices for the characters and for our fans.
Speaking of characters, is it your intention to tell new stories in the games, or adapt existing stories for games?
We want to be a content leader for Marvel. The pillars of Marvel: there's publishing, there's TV (both live-action and animation), there is film, and there is games. We all want to be telling our own original stories. We all want to be the tip of the spear in putting these new stories out there. I think all of us look upon Marvel history, and look upon the great ingredients that are available to us, and we're like a chef. You look at these ingredients, you pick the best ones, you put it together. Sometimes you're trying to create a classic dish, sometimes you want to reinvent the dish, or come up with a new dish. So we want our Marvel fans to have the opportunity to experience an all new story, and we want to give our partners a chance to tell an all new story. In that way, the gamers don't feel like they know exactly where it's going.
Does Marvel Games have complete control of all your characters and IP? Or is a similar situation with film, in which certain studios have certain rights, and you won't see those characters cross over?
I would say that there are some characters that are available, and some characters that are not.
So there are still some restrictions you work around in terms of what character can appear in what stories?
Yeah, for various reasons some characters are available, and some are not.
Do you look at what the DC is doing in games? Is there anything that you look at and think, "Hey, that's a really good idea, we should do that?"
We are students of entertainment, period. I mean, we look at everything. We look at every new console game. We're looking at who made it? What does it look like? What's innovative? What works? What doesn't work? And we want to beat everyone. We want to be the best. And so to be the best, you have to know what your competition is, you have to be a student of the game. But we think as broad as possible, and we look at everyone all the time.
One of the best things DC has done is be able to incorporate ideas and writers from the publishing side of things into their games. I think Paul Dini did a great job with the Arkham games, for example. Is that something you want to pursue?
There are names I can't reveal at the moment, but I will say this. We look upon the entire Marvel family, whether they're writing for TV, or film, or comics, and if they have the passion, and if they're available, and if they're gamers, we want to work with everyone in the Marvel family who knows and loves Marvel. So eventually we'll make some revelations, and you'll be like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't know this person is working on this game." But it's happening.
Without giving too much away, personally, which characters would you want to see in a game in the future?
Untapped. So these are untapped? I'm just spitballing? Just me as a fan.
Just you as a fan.
I think it's time for Blade to come back. I think that'd be an awesome game. I would love to do something from the villain's point of view. Even working your way up, like, "I'm a Hydra agent, I'm gonna work my way up Hydra." Or "I'm a henchman, I'm a minion for MODOK, and I'm gonna try and survive and not get killed, and make my way up." I think that would be fun from a villain's point of view. I think the whole Defenders family. Something very street level connecting those characters would be a lot of fun. Even our core characters. I have a soft spot for Morbius, and Man-Thing. And what I love about the Marvel core characters is that mix of the monster and the person. And to show the humanity within the monster, I think that's very compelling as well.
Have you considered dipping into your back catalog and resurrecting old franchises. I'm talking specifically about Ultimate Alliance, which has a huge fan base.
I would say that on one hand, there's a lot of behind the scenes history, and legality, and trademarks that some things become available, and some things don't. It'd just be out of our control. That said, for the first two years, every convention that I went to, it was, "When are you bringing back Marvel vs Capcom?" and "When are you bringing back Ultimate Alliance?" I would just say we are really aware of the love for these franchises, and it all comes down to planets aligning, and stars getting into the right position. And if they do, awesome.
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