Overwatch's 27th character, Brigitte, is coming to the game for everyone across PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 20, developer Blizzard announced today. Brigitte, who is Torbjorn's daughter, is already available on Overwatch's Public Test Realm.
Brigitte is an "an engineer with peerless armor-constructing abilities," and those characteristics shine through in her abilities on the battlefield. Her primary weapon is the Rocket Flail, which has an extended range and can smash multiple opponents at once.
In addition to that, she brandishes a Barrier Shield, which can protect any teammates directly behind her. She can also toss Repair Packs to heal teammates, while her passive ability, Inspire, heals nearby allies over time when she lands blows on enemies. A full list of her abilities, as outlined by Blizzard, follows below.
The new trailer for Avengers: Infinity War is here. The movie will see every major hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe team up to stop the evil Thanos getting his hands on the Infinity Stones, and causing the end of the world. You can see our Infinity War trailer breakdown for all the small details.
The trailer gives a good indication of just how epic the movie will be, with huge battles between the Marvel heroes and Thanos's armies, and some amazing-looking action. But there's also plenty of humor, as some of the characters meet for the first time. In particular, it looks like Star Lord and Tony Stark might have an enjoyably spikey relationship. Check it out above.
Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Holland. It hits theaters on April 27. It is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who helmed the last two Captain America movies, and will follow it up with next year's currently untitled Avengers 4.
Star Wars: Battlefront II was heavily criticised for the way it allowed players to pay real money to get loot boxes that could contain items that actually affected gameplay. Some cried out that this represented a pay-to-win situation. It was a lot of bad press for EA. In response to this, EA removed microtransactions from the game completely just before its public launch, with the developer saying it needed more time to adjust them before bringing them back. Today, EA confirmed that microtransactions are coming back in April, though this time around you will only be able to purchase cosmetic items--that is, those that do not affect gameplay. Previously, EA let you pay for an opportunity to get items that gave you a theoretical advantage such as improved grenades or shields.
Before microtransactions return, however, EA is launching an update on March 21 that significantly changes how progression works. Presently, Star Cards and other items that impact gameplay, can be acquired in loot boxes--called Crates in Battlefront II--that you can unlock through normal gameplay progression. But with the new update, the only way to get Star Cards is through standard progression. "If you earn enough experience points to gain a level for that unit, you'll receive one Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade the eligible Star Card you'd like to equip," EA said.
If you already acquired Star Cards, the good news is that you won't lose these when the update comes out. Additionally, all of the extra heroes and weapons you already unlocked will stay with you when the patch arrives.
Regarding Crates specifically, you'll get these in a number of ways, including logging in every day and completing the game's various timed challenges. Crates will only include cosmetic items--such as emotes or poses--as well as Credits.
Then in April, EA will launch a new in-game store where you can buy new character customisation options by spending Credits that you earn by gameplay or by spending Crystals that you can get with real money. As an example, EA said you'll be able to make a Rodian Resistance fighter, which wouldn't happen in the official Star Wars canon.
"If you did a bunch of cosmetic things, you might start to violate the canon," the executive said at the time. "Darth Vader in white probably doesn't make sense, versus in black. Not to mention you probably don't want Darth Vader in pink. No offense to pink, but I don't think that's right in the canon."
It remains to be seen how deep the customisation will go. Indeed, we wouldn't imagine Disney would be OK with the kind of situation Jorgensen offered up. Then again, this happened, so you never know what Disney might be OK with.
Whatever the case, EA said the updates to Battlefront II's progression system are a "major step" in the company's effort to "improve the core of the game and add new content."
In addition to the changes laid out below, EA said it is planning to add new modes to Battlefront II in the future to keep things interesting and fresh. Some of the modes will be "radically different" than anything that's come before. We'll report back with more details as they are announced.
The debate around Battlefront II's initial microtransaction system extended beyond gaming circles. Lawmakers from the United States and around the world launched investigations into loot boxes to, in some cases, try to determine if they constitute a form of gambling. In the wake of the Battlefront II controversy, the ESRB announced that it will put a label on games that will read "In-Game Purchases" to inform people, and in particular parents, that the game they are buying offers the ability to spend extra money. Some are questioning the effectiveness of this and asking if this new system will be effective at all.
Following a day-long delay, Epic Games has released the newest update for Fortnite. The 3.3 patch adds new content to both Battle Royale and Save the World modes, with the former getting several new features.
First up for Battle Royale is a new weapon, remote explosives. These are pretty self-explanatory, allowing you to place a bomb and then detonate it from a distance. These appear to be ideal for dealing with player-built fortresses. They are a Rare-level rarity item and their addition has resulted in Smoke Grenades being "vaulted," meaning those are no longer available in-game for the time being. Remote Explosives come in stacks of four, with a maximum of 10.
Remote explosives can be found in treasure chests or supply drops, as floor loot, or through Supply Llamas, another of this patch's new features. These are essentially treasure chests found in unusual locations that will reward you with good loot.
Also notable is that a new limited-time mode, Blitz, launches on March 19; it consists of more fast-paced matches that feature a 15-minute time limit. Various bugs have also been fixed, and Epic says it's made improvements to the visual effect when you're hit by a bullet that should make it easier to tell which direction it came from.
For Save the World players, a new Spring It On chapter, Luck of the Storm, is now available with new rewards, including St. Patrick's Day-themed heroes. Epic has also made some changes to stat caps and rolled back patch 3.2's adjustments to critical chance.
Patch 3.3 is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One--maybe Drake will be diving back in to check out its new additions. You can see everything that's changed in the full patch notes on Epic's website.
Geralt of Rivia will be a playable character in SoulCalibur VI, Bandai Namco and CD Projekt Red have announced. In addition, a stage based on The Witcher series, Kaer Morhen, will be available as one of the game's arenas.
The Witcher himself will, according to a statement, keep his "signature fighting style" in his transition from open-world RPG to fighting game. He'll be able to utilize a "combination of swordplay, ability-enhancing potions, and combat magic." In addition to having the character, his English voice actor, and his signature stage--based on the Witchers' training ground--there will also be the "iconic" music track from the series, Hunt or be Hunted.
"We've collaborated with Bandai Namco artists to faithfully recreate Geralt, and shared original Witcher 3: Wild Hunt assets like Geralt's model, animations, and weapons," said CD Projekt Red community lead Marcin Momot. "I think Bandai Namco did an outstanding job of capturing all the details and introducing The Witcher to SoulCalibur in a way fans of both series will enjoy."
Other characters coming to SoulCalibur VI include Ivy and Zasalamel. Ivy Valentine makes her comeback wielding the tricksy Ivy Blade, which has the ability to switch between a solid sword or a barbed whip. Zasalamel and his Kafziel scythe, meanwhile, looks like they're still just as devastating at mid-to-close range.
The last SoulCalibur VI characters to be revealed recently were Kilik, Xianghua, and Nightmare--all series veterans--and Groh, a newcomer. For more, read our hands-on with SoulCalibur 6's new characters to find out what we thought of them. A release date for the upcoming fighting game has not yet been announced; all we know is that it's coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC this year.
After a number of rumors and leaks, Square Enix has finally confirmed that the next Lara Croft game will be Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The company also announced the game's release date as September 14. It will come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC simultaneously, rather than being a timed exclusive to Xbox One like the previous game.
Square Enix says the game will be "Lara Croft's defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider," but few other details are known about the project as yet. A full reveal has been dated for April 27, and fans will be able to try the game out early at one of three events by registering at the Tomb Raider website. A teaser trailer has been released to hold you over in the meantime; take a look at that below.
The new Tomb Raider movie, meanwhile, hits cinemas on March 16. We enjoyed the film here at GameSpot; critic Michael Rougeau called it a "great video game adaptation and a decent action movie on its own." For more, check out our full Tomb Raider movie review or our review roundup.
Capcom has finally detailed the first major free update for Monster Hunter World. It arrives later this month and introduces the much-anticipated Deviljho monster--along with accompanying gear to craft--plus a variety of other changes and additions.
Prior to World's release, Deviljho (a returning monster for the series) was confirmed to be the first big addition through free, post-launch updates. Aside from having a different foe to hunt, you'll be able to use the parts from it to craft two full armor sets, Vangis α and Vangis β. Additionally, there will be a new "entry" for all 14 weapon types, which Capcom says on its blog include brand-new designs for Sword and Shield, Hunting Horn, Bow, Insect Glaive, and Charge Blade. You can see some of this gear below.
Deviljho will be released as part of a broader update launching on March 22 for PS4 (version 2.00) and Xbox One (version 2.0.0.0). The patch will also make balance changes to almost every weapon type, primarily those of the melee variety. For instance, Great Sword will get a buff to damage with Charged Slash abilities, while Gunlance will get an attack damage increase and a reduction to the amount of sharpness lost when shelling.
Capcom is also addressing complaints about online griefing, where players prevent their teammates from carving, thus robbing them of rewards. With this update installed, allies can no longer interrupt the carving animation, and players become immune to all hit reactions while carving after a quest is complete. Additionally, a new option to return to the gathering hub in single-player or to disband and return to the gathering hub in multiplayer have been added to the Return Destination menu after finishing a quest. You can see a full list of announced changes at the bottom of this post; full patch notes will be shared closer to the update's release.
Before the update arrives, Capcom will distribute a free Character Edit Voucher on March 16. This will be available from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store as a one-use item that lets you modify your character's gender and physical appearance, but not you or your Palico's name or your Palico's appearance. Additional vouchers will be available for purchase "at a later date" if you decide you want to make changes again after using the freebie.
Finally, Capcom unveiled details of the game's Mega Man crossover gear (available through a quest from April 13-27) and the winner of the community's weapon design contest (available starting April 6). These will come during the Spring Blossom event that runs from April 6-20 and offers "daily fun activities" and a new look for the Gathering Hub, as seen in the images below.
Monster Hunter World March 22 Update
Weapon Balance Changes
Great Sword: increased the damage for Charged Slash abilities.
Long Sword: improvements to Foresight Slash input timing and hitbox detection.
Sword & Shield: Roundslash damage increased and improved slinger usability
Dual Blades: adjustments to help maintain Demon Gauge active
Hammer: adjusted the stun values on charged attacks
Hunting Horn: general attack power increase
Lance: Counter-thrust adjustment to increase ease of use
Gunlance: Reduced sharpness loss for shelling, and made some attack power increases
Switch Axe: Zero Sum Discharge adjustments to increase ease of use
Charge Blade: balance adjustments to Impact Phial and Power Element Phial
Insect Glaive: improvements to extract attack power increase and extract effect length
Bow: fixed various bugs
Light Bowgun: no adjustments were made
Heavy Bowgun: no adjustments were made
Other Changes
Attacks from allies no longer interrupt you during the carving animation. Additionally, players are now immune to all hit reactions, including bombs, during carving animations after quest completion.
Added "Return to Gathering Hub" (single player) and "Disband & Return to Gathering Hub" (multiplayer) to the options for "Select Return Destination" after a quest has been completed.
Added the "Text Size" setting for changing subtitle text size, under Start Menu > Options Game Settings.
It seems that Fortnite's mobile test is expanding quickly. With the first invites having already gone out on iOS, Epic Games is now allowing select participants to begin bringing their friends into the game--so if you know someone who's in, now is the time to start bugging and/or bribing them.
Some Fortnite mobile players, including one of us here at GameSpot, has received an email informing them that friend invites are now available. "You have new friend invites ready to send!" the email reads. "Share them with your friend to give them instant access to the Fortnite Invite Event on iOS."
At least in our case, we received three invites. These aren't sent through the email itself; instead, you have to open up the game on your mobile device, log in, and send them out from there. As pictured below, if you have invites to send, you'll be alerted by a notification in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click that, and you're presented with links to send out each invite. Once it's accepted, you and the recipient will automatically be added to each other's friends list.
Fortnite mobile is only in beta currently, but as Epic promised, it does essentially deliver the full Battle Royale experience (as you'd expect, because cross-play is set to be offered with other platforms). It does feature some minor changes, such as a new indicator to point out things (like nearby chests) in case you're playing without sound. You can check out some Fortnite mobile gameplay in the video above. An Android version is also in the works and will be released in the coming months, and the ongoing iOS test will continue to expand.
Fortnite's explosive popularity over the last six months has seen a variety of celebrities embrace it. Drake just helped a Fortnite stream on Twitch to break a record for the site, and now Epic Games plans to bring both pro players and celebrities together for an event at this year's E3 that it calls Party Royale.
Details are still scant at this point, but it sounds like E3 will be home to a doubles tournament that pairs "some of the world's greatest athletes and entertainers with top Fortnite Battle Royale players." This Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am will take place on an unspecified date in LA during E3, which runs from June 12-14.
"One team will rise to the top for ultimate bragging rights," Epic said on its website. "Who will claim Victory Royale? We'll soon begin building the teams, so stay tuned for more information on the event." It also promised details on competitive play's first season will be shared in the next few weeks.
Epic's website promises there will be a total of 50 celebrities and 50 pro gamers. Finding 50 of the former may be an easy task--outside of Drake, we've seen NBA player Josh Hart showcase his love for the game with a special pair of sneakers. NFL star JJ Watt has polled fans on whether they like Fortnite or PUBG more. Meanwhile, numerous athletes have celebrated during real-world games by commemorating Fortnite in various ways. We've also seen other celebrities share their enjoyment of the game online; actress Roseanne Barr randomly announced back in February that she's won 20 matches of Fortnite. Provided they're available, Epic may have trouble whittling the list down to just 50 names.
Since an Overwatch update released in February, complaints have emerged about Sombra. Specifically, her hack has been deemed too effective following the changes made in that patch, and now Blizzard has confirmed that it plans to dial things back a bit in a future update.
Designer Geoff Goodman shared the news on Overwatch's forums in response to a thread calling for Sombra to be nerfed. Among other things, the February patch decreased the cast time of her Hack ability and expanded the number of abilities it blocks. Goodman confirmed that the next patch to be released will address some of the complaints about how Hack now works.
The first change involves imposing a two second cooldown whenever Hack is interrupted by damage. According to Goodman, "With this change, Sombra will have to be more careful about choosing when and who to hack instead of just holding down the button and waiting for people to miss and/or reload etc."
Blizzard's other adjustment involves line of sight. As it stands, there is a 0.1 second period of time at the end of Hack's cast where it can't be canceled by abilities like Tracer's recall or Zarya's shields, or by Sombra losing sight of her target. The video below was shared in the initial post of the thread and shows off cases where Sombra is able to complete a Hack in situations where she seemingly shouldn't.
Goodman explained that the 0.1 second window "exists so [Hack] doesn't constantly get broken by very small line of sight blockers such as light posts and signs, etc." Blizzard has decided to remove this window and instead use "multiple LOS checks to make sure the small LOS blockers are still not a problem. In addition to this, we're speeding up the update rate of her hacking so that it is more responsive in checking for these fail conditions. The combination of these things means it should be much more reasonable to respond to a hack targeting you."
He concluded, "The intent of all of her recent changes is still to increase her overall strength and viability. We're keeping a close eye on her to make sure she lands in a good place."
There's no word on when the patch with these changes will be coming. We also don't yet know when Overwatch's new character, Brigitte, is due out, but she's been available on the PC version's Public Test Realm for some time now. As such, a full PC, PS4, and Xbox One release for her may not be far off.
On the heels of the Western release of Kazuma Kiryu's last chapter with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Sega has announced that we'll soon be able to relive the earlier days--Yakuza Kiwami 2 is coming to PlayStation 4 in North America on August 28, 2018. The Japanese version, called Ryu ga Gotoku: Kiwami 2, has been out since December 2017, but the localized version is now on the way. Kiwami 2 is the remake of the original Yakuza 2 that came out for the PlayStation 2 back in 2006 (Japan) and 2008 (North America).
Yakuza 2 picks up one year after the events of the original game where Kiryu finds himself stuck in inter-clan drama yet again. Turmoil inside the Omi Alliance (rivals of Kiryu's own Tojo Clan), turns animosity into a war in the streets of series-long home Kamurocho. This is all thanks to a coup within Omi led by the main villain Ryuji Goda. The son of an old Tojo chairman has to return to the yakuza lifestyle to protect the families, with plenty of help from Kiryu of course. And the beloved, yet unhinged Goro Majima also has to pitch in to keep the clan afloat.
Familiar faces like Makoto Date, Osamu Kashiwagi, Haruka Sawamura are central characters to the plot, alongside the Osakan detective Kaoru Sayama who makes her series debut to keep a sharp eye on Kiryu. This is only the setup for the rollercoaster ride that is Yakuza 2.
A completely new addition in Kiwami 2 is a whole campaign called The Truth of Goro Majima where we get to play as the man himself and uncover how he became a construction business tycoon just before the events of Yakuza 2. Playing as Majima was a highlight in the prequel Yakuza 0, and fans got to peer into the personal life of one of the series' most distinguishable characters.
We get another dose of everyone's idol, Goro Majima!
Kiwami 2 uses the new Dragon Engine which is the graphical foundation for Yakuza 6. It provides the best visual fidelity the series ever had, but also allows players to enter shops and buildings without loading times, even during fights. Yakuza 2 brings fans back to Tokyo's fictional red-light district of Kamurocho and also takes us to the riverside Osakan town of Sotenbori; these two locations will look better than ever with the Dragon Engine.
Yakuza isn't complete without its minigames; Golf Bingo and Virtual On are a few of the smaller things to get into. However, the fan-favorite Cabaret minigame from Yakuza 0 makes a return along with the most-valuable platinum hostess Yuki. Majima will also get the Clan Creator minigame as seen in Yakuza 6.
This isn't the first time a PS2-era Yakuza game was remade. Yakuza Kiwami came to the West last year and modernized the series' first release with additional substories, the Majima Everywhere subplot, and tweaks that made the storytelling more cohesive. Voiceovers were re-recorded to capture the improved localization, one aspect the series is known for, and Kiwami 2 is getting the same treatment.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 will be available both digitally and physically for $50; pre-ordered and first-run copies will come in a special steelbook with artwork of Kazuma Kiryu and Ryuji Goda.
The growth of Netflix as both a production studio and distributor has been so fast that it's strange to think that it's only been five years since the company produced its first show. Since then, the service has delivered an incredible amount of original movie and episodic content, both its own productions and titles that it has bought for exclusive distribution.
That has its benefits--never has so much content been so readily available on one platform, with more titles being added almost daily. But the downside, of course, is that it's easy to miss stuff, especially when so many movies and shows are being released every month.
Case in point: two of the best horror movies of the past year--Veronica and Ravenous--have made their debut on the service in the past two weeks. Netflix has always been a great place to find modern independent horror, but these releases show that the service is also interested in providing a platform for great horror film to premiere. Both movies picked up impressive festival reviews last year and deliver fresh, exciting spins of well-worn formulas.
SPANISH SCARES
The Spanish-language Veronica is a ghost story, and it comes with an impressive pedigree--director Paco Plaza is one of Spain's most prominent horror directors, having co-directed the hugely successful [REC] series. Loosely based on real events, it focuses on the titular teenage girl, who makes the unwise decision to contact her dead father via a ouija board during an eclipse. Inevitably, she summons something else from beyond the grave and spends the rest of the movie haunted by a spectral figure.
So far so traditional, but Veronica's strengths lie not so much in a storyline that runs back through movies like Insidious and Poltergeist, but more in the characters and Plaza's ability to deliver scares. Veronica's mom must work long hours in a neighborhood bar, leaving the older girl to look after her three siblings. What starts as cooking their meals and getting them to school soon becomes a mission to protect them from whatever unseen force is following her.
Plaza imbues a real sense of danger around the children, helped by strong performances from the young actors. He wisely steers clear of much of the overt digital trickery of modern horror, instead using clever lighting, physical effects, and aural tricks to spook the audience rather than bombard them with CGI. It's a smart and scary movie that also comes with a real emotional charge.
THE QUIET DEAD
Ravenous' set-up is just as generic, but the movie is more unusual in its execution. It's a zombie survival thriller; as an undead virus sweeps across Quebec, a group of survivors come together to travel across the country and stay alive. With the sheer ubiquity of zombies in pop culture over the past decade, primarily through the huge popularity of The Walking Dead, it's hard to see a way to make the undead scary again. But director Robin Aubert manages it via a series of left field story choices and a strange, unsettling atmosphere.
These aren't the slow shambling zombies of The Walking Dead or George Romero's classic horror movies. In part they're more like the sprinting, snarling creatures of 28 Days Later or Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake. But they are more than that--seemingly possessed with strange intelligence, they communicate through otherworldly shrieks and perform strange rituals, such as stacking chairs into insane wooden towers. And while the more traditional zombie can spend what feels like hours catching up to their victims, the monsters of Ravenous have an unfortunate habit of suddenly appearing unannounced right next to their victims.
Ravenous also scares through its tone. The dialogue is sparse, and Aubert refrains from giving his characters any real backstories. It doesn't matter either--all we know need to know is that these people want to survive. There are long, silent stretches punctuated by sudden bursts of gore and screaming, plus a weird sense of humor; Ravenous is surely the first zombie movie in which a main character is saved by a woman playing an accordion.
Horror movies have never been more popular than they are right now--the massive mainstream success of both It and Get Out proved that audiences simply can't enough of the scary stuff. Inevitably that means plenty of flops, rip-offs, and subpar imitations, especially on the streaming platforms. But those services are also the perfect home for horror--the stuff that is perhaps too strange or too challenging for a wide release but will be lapped up by horror fans looking for the next cult classic. In previous eras those movies might have gone straight to DVD, but can now be found by an audience far bigger than they would ever have otherwise achieved. Veronica and Ravenous are perfect examples of this, and are a must-watch by lovers of the genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment