Blizzard has launched the latest update for Overwatch. Dubbed Overwatch Archives 2018, it's effectively this year's iteration of the Uprising even from 2017. It introduces a variety of new content, but as always the case, the highlight for many are the newly added skins.
A total of eight Legendary skins have been added. Fans of Moira, Reaper, Winston, Hanzo, Mei, Doomfist, Sombra, and Lucio are all in for a treat, as those characters have new attire to equip. These can be obtained through the current loot box, which also contains a total of 60 new items. More than 100 cosmetics from last year's Uprising event are also available once again and include things like highlight intros, emotes, and more. You can see all of the new skins above, along with some of the other new cosmetics you can now get your hands on.
Another big component of this update is the Retribution Brawl. Along with the returning co-op Brawl from Uprising, this new limited-time PvE mode is set eight years before the events of Overwatch. It focuses on a mission involving Genji, McCree, Moira, and Reyes (who ultimately becomes Reaper, hence his new skin), whom you'll play as in this mode. There's also another version that lets you play as any character you wish. Either way, you'll be playing on a version of a new map, Rialto, that will also be available in PvP.
The update is live now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One and runs from April 10-30. You'll have until then to collect any of the cosmetics you want and take part in the Retribution Brawl.
With Hearthstone's Year of the Raven kicking off with the launch of the upcoming Witchwood expansion on April 12, fans of Blizzard's wildly popular card battle game are about to experience some of the most sizable changes to the game yet. Compared to the previous expansion, Kobolds and Catacombs--which introduced the Dungeon Run--The Witchwood expansion brings in a slightly spookier experience for its jaunt through the dark and dreary forest. Along with 135 brand new cards, new keywords known as Echo and Rush, special hero characters that can transform into Worgen (Warcraft's take on werewolves), and a new variation to the Dungeon Run called Monster Hunts--the thriller-themed expansion aims to switch up the meta of the game.
During PAX East 2018, we spent some time with Hearthstone's game director Ben Brode, where he showed off new cards and spoke about the big changes happening in the coming weeks. In addition to talking about the Witchwood expansion, he also reflected on the game's impact, how its expanding community keeps the studio on their toes, and why the new content and flow will make it great entry point for new players.
GameSpot: The Year of the Raven roadmap starts with The Witchwood expansion, which looks to change things up a bit. Can you elaborate a bit further on what's ahead?
Ben Brode: With the Hearthstone Zodiac, each year there's a different animal/creature, and it represents three different expansions in the year. The reason we do that is because it's important to--well if you keep releasing new expansions with new cards forever, the burnout rate keeps going up and up. We have a format where you can play all the cards, but we also have a format where our competitive scene is focused on the newer decks--but you can only use the last two years of content. It's to ensure that the barrier for entry stays capped, but it also makes sure that the environment is changing with each set. The percentage of change there that we release is small, so many cards we're adding--135 cards in this expansion--but in the standard [game type], it represents a huge percentage change to the environment so the meta totally changes. It's always very exciting, and because this is the first set of the year, three--the other sets being a bit older now--it's an even bigger change to the environment, and it's the best time all year to come into the game.
The last expansion for Hearthstone was Kobolds and Catacombs, which brought in a number of big changes such as the dungeon runs. Based on the reactions you got from the community, what was one of the biggest lessons you learned from it?
I'd say one of the biggest lessons we learned was that dungeon runs were way more fun than we actually realized, and the players really loved them. One of the things that's important for us with Hearthstone is that we have to have interesting stuff happen all the time, and so when the new stuff comes out--things get really exciting, and players really like that phase of the meta to tinker and experiment. We also try to have more stuff happen during that phase, like our crazy events, like the loot clash arena for Halloween that we did, and interesting Tavern brawls for people to really sink their teeth into. But one of the things we could be doing is launching our single-player content a little bit later on, so that we stagger the content--because there's already plenty to do in the game when the expansion comes out, so the new content could come out when things get less exciting for players to switch things up. I think stuff like that for when we roll out the Witchwood, and then launch new single-player content shortly after, that might stuff we'll consider doing in the future.
One thing that may put people off when it comes to diving into games that are continually updated is the feeling that people have to play catch up. Not just in terms of finding all their own resources, but also trying to match up to other players. Do you think that this expansion will a bit more lenient towards newcomers?
I actually think right now is the best time [to jump into Hearthstone], because at this point of the rotation, this is the smallest number of cards you have to collect to become competitive in the game. You're not really behind anyone, and there's still a number of ways to figure out how to manage your decks. Oftentime players believe they're behind and that they can't keep up--this is the moment where you're not. I highly recommend coming into the game now at this point. Plus, we also have these super fun single-player modes that are completely free. The dungeon runs from our last set, Kobolds and Catacombs, our players really loved those and had a lot of fun with it, which we continue on with in Witchwood. There's plenty to do in Hearthstone, and you can do so much without spending any money at all. It's the best time to come in.
One of the new Paladin legendary cards coming to The Witchwood expansion.
On the inverse of that, having an expansion that makes a number of new additions and adjustments to the systems can be challenging as well. Especially for players who are comfortable with the flow of the game.
Yeah, that's right. If you're the kind of player that doesn't want change, the Wild [gametype] is actually perfect because it doesn't change that often or frequently, and it's focused on the decks that you fell in love with whatever reason--you can just play them there. So that's an option. But it is complicated because there are 135 new cards and each of those cards interact with each in other interesting ways. We have a really good team--called the final design team--and they play a ton of games, all focusing on balance and clarity in the cards, all to make sure things work and everything is well-balanced.
I guess you can say this expansion offers a really dark and moody atmosphere to it. Can you talk about how it was trying to inject more of a clear narrative and tone, and whether it was challenging to do so within the medium of a card based game?
Yeah, I think it's challenging, but also not really that important. We talked a lot a about story versus vibe among the team, and I think the vibe is critical to get you sold on this idea that you're in this tavern playing a friendly competition against a player--with the background having this background chatter can hit hard for people. I think that vibe, that 'Warcrafty' feel, is critical. And having an actual story plot points don't really matter, and it's also incredibly challenging to have to deliver on that in a satisfying way in the medium we have. Every type of game has a different type of vector of tellings stories in their game. Like I'm too busy trying to micro my units, I don't have time. After an intense RTS match, you kind of want that story to be the reward for a fun mission. So each game has their own kind of strengths and weaknesses in storytelling, and in just the way you have to structure your story for that game type, and I think card games--especially with the nature of this one being quite difficult--tend to focus more on the characters and its setting, as those matter more. People fall in love with Hearthstone more for the vibe it's in.
"This is the craziest card we've ever made." -- Ben Brode, game director.
In terms of switching things up, and offering new ways to play the game, is there one thing in particular about The Witchwood that strikes you as really appealing?
What I'm really excited about is the new keyword Echo. With cards that have Echo, you can play them as many times as you have mana on your turn. For example, we have a card called Phantom Militia, it's a three cost card, it's got two attack and four health and a taunt--so it's a pretty significant defender if you're trying to stop your opponent from overrunning you. You can play it for three mana if you want to start off strong or if you want to stop an aggressive player, but if this match-up is not about staying alive and it's about getting the highest value out of your cards, then you want to wait till it turns six and play it twice, or want to wait till it turns nine and play it three times. As long as you got the mana, you can play every card over and over again. Choosing to wait to get more value out of it is a super interesting decision; there's a lot of types of those cards in this new set. I think this mechanic is something players are going to find really fun.
Hearthstone has been around for four years now, and the game's popularity is still growing rapidly. Do you have any comments about the impact it's had on Blizzard, and just what the general reception to the game means for you?
Well, I think one of the most interesting things about card games is that the way we release cards consistently, it's always exciting for people to see more added to the game. I've always believed that Hearthstone would grow and get bigger and bigger. Though I will say that not everyone was as confident as me [laughs], but I definitely could tell we had something special going on. Not many games can say they've been around like World of Warcraft has. So I think it's a difficult goal to shoot for, but I think we can easily go forever with Hearthstone. There's so many things we're excited about doing, we're actually working on in-game tournaments to allow friends and others online to get together and organize their own events. The game's got an infinitely designed space, and we're way, way far away from tapping out all the cool ideas we have. I can't wait to see what the game looks like in 10 or 20 years.
The latest free update for Overwatch has arrived, and it kicks off the latest seasonal event, Overwatch Archive 2018. It's live now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC and features both new skins and a special co-op Brawl mode called Retribution.
There are a handful of new skins--eight Legendaries--to get your hands on through loot boxes. Characters to get new looks in this update are Hanzo, Winston, Moira, Reaper, Mei, Doomfist, Sombra, and Lucio. More than 100 cosmetic items from last year's Uprising event return, with 60 new ones being added for this event. These include highlight intros, sprays, emotes, and more.
As for Retribution mode, it's a four-player co-op experience not unlike what we've seen before from Overwatch's limited-time PvE offerings. It takes players eight years prior to the events of Overwatch, when the Blackwatch group tries to capture a "high-ranking member of the Talon organization." Players will assume the roles of Genji, McCree, Moira, and Reyes (who ultimately becomes Reaper). Alternatively, there's a non-canonical version that allows you to play as any character from the full roster. Either way, you'll be playing on a new Venice map, while a PvP version, Rialto, will also be available as a new Escort map.
The new event runs from now until April 30. Alongside the returning cosmetics from last year, you can also take part in the returning Uprising PvE mode. Both of these, like the Junkenstein's Revenge mode release around Halloween, are only available on a limited-time basis because Blizzard doesn't think they offer the necessary level of long-term depth.
With Overwatch's next seasonal event, Overwatch Archives 2018: Retribution, now live, players will be able to dive into new PvE oriented fight for survival against the forces of Talon Organization. Set eight years before the events of the main game, Retribution focuses on an ill-fated mission headed up by Blackwatch, a unit comprised of McCree, Genji, Moira, and Gabriel Reyes--who would eventually become Reaper. Going on from now until April 30, you'll see a new side of some very familiar characters in this narrative focused event.
In the above video, we clear through a Hard mode run of the Retribution mission. Much like last year's Uprising event, the new story event is a co-op event that brings the traditionally multiplayer focused gameplay to a new venue, where players have to fight against hordes of AI enemies. With no tank characters to play as, Retribution has the flow of a run-and-gun level, where you'll have to keep moving and avoid as many enemies as possible.
In addition to the Retribution mission--which also includes a side mode allowing you to use any character in the roster for the level--the seasonal event also features 160 new items to collect, new skins, and a new PvP map set in Rialto, Venice. Be sure to check out our thoughts on the new game-type, along with our talk with the developers of Overwatch about their plans for future story focused content.
Tuesday again? No problem. From GTA 5 and Dark Souls Remastered to loot boxes and A Link Between Worlds, we've got another episode of GameSpot Daily, ready to go in 30 minutes or less.
First off, it's hard to forget the dreaded Blighttown from the original version of Dark Souls. If that game made players drop to their knees and cry, then Blighttown made their consoles do the same. Thankfully, one very helpful player tried Dark Souls Remastered out on the Switch during PAX East and made a beeline to the infamous area. We've got what happened in today's episode.
Now, loot boxes may not be everyone's favourite subject, but this story isn't about another game developer throwing loot boxes into their game. Instead, some are paying for the way they did so. Three Korean companies have been fined a combined $950,000 by the Korean Fair Trade Commission for deceptive loot box practices, including MapleStory publisher Nexon.
Speaking of money, former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies has hit a bit of a snag with his lawsuit against Take-Two. The Grand Theft Auto 5 boss filed a lawsuit claiming that the Rockstar parent company owes him $150 million in royalties and alleging that he was forced out of the company. The New York Supreme Court recently ruled that he's not entitled to as much money as he originally hoped; however, they haven't completely left his corner, as the case has not yet been dismissed.
Benzies was instrumental in GTA 5's development, and it's no secret that it's one of, if not the most commercially successful game of all time. However, one analyst doesn't believe Rockstar can strike that same gold again. While he believes Red Dead Redemption 2 will be very successful, he also noted that GTA 5 is a "wild outlier" in the video game market. We'll just have to wait and see what happens when Rockstar's cowboy romp saddles up this October.
As fans of The Simpsons deep-seeded love for the series, we decided to discuss the recent controversy around the show's response to some of the criticism around character Apu. More specifically, some fans aren't too happy with its response to a documentary from 2017 called The Problem With Apu, which highlighted negative racial stereotypes inherent to the character. The show responded to the documentary poorly and that's caused some disappointment among some.
To finish things off, we talk about the recent analysis of A Link Between Worlds' localization by Clyde Mandelin, who is best known for his fan translation of Mother 3. It turns out the Western version is more body positive than its original version. More specifically, when the Zora Queen grows to a rather large size after her gem is stolen, other characters comment negatively on her size and appearance. In the Western version, that is not present.
That's what you'll find in today's episode, but be sure to tune in every day of the week at 11 AM PST/2 PM EST/7PM BST/4 AM AEST for another episode of GameSpot Daily. We cover the most exciting gaming news in 30 minutes or less or we'll.
Overwatch's next major PvE event is now live. As a part of the Overwatch Archives series, Retribution takes cues from last year's Uprising event, pitting four players against an onslaught of AI-controlled enemies in a narrative-focused mission. Detailing one of the last missions conducted by Blackwatch, Retribution is set eight years before the events of the main game, focusing on a doomed operation with McCree, Genji, Moira, and Gabriel Reyes--who would eventually become Reaper.
"Right now the plan is to not have [Retribution] available after [the timed event]," said Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan during a press Q&A. "We are constantly revisiting those types of decisions with some stuff that we've done--capture the flag is a good example. In our previous event for Year of the Dog, where we introduced a brand-new map for it, we figured it was evergreen and kept it into the system. So right now the plan is to only have it available for the event for about three weeks."
Blizzard's experiments with PvE events have been something that fans have appreciated. Despite being a game with a strong focus on character presentation, style, and personality, the focus remains on its 6v6 multiplayer gameplay--which leaves little room for dedicated storytelling. Still, the developers at Blizzard relish the opportunity to try something different and experiment with new types of gameplay within the infrastructure of its multiplayer design.
"It's a 6v6 PvP game at its core, but throughout development we've had these little exercises that we do--like making the capture the flag mode, Uprising last year, and now Retribution this year--where we really get to explore what kind of gameplay we can have fun with and expand upon what Overwatch is," said senior VFX artist Rachel Day, who's previously worked on Diablo III and Starcraft 2. "So making stuff like this PvE content is really just a chance for us to dig in and find other ways for these characters to be fun, the gameplay to be fun, and I think we really succeeded with it. I hope people are really looking forward to it."
For the developers, making these events works as a way to steadily venture further into Overwatch's in-game universe--to define aspects of the characters, along with the space they inhabit. While the comics and short films they release online add extra flavor to the overall narrative, the game usually has the final say--and the developers are still trying to figure out just how to express that. Speaking with senior game producer Matthew Hawley, he explained that Overwatch is still very much in its infancy when compared to other Blizzard IPs, and that the hero shooter is still defining itself.
"I think for me, as someone who tends to be more drawn to co-op or story-driven games, and as someone who loves the potential of what the Overwatch universe can be--I think of Overwatch as our Warcraft 1 in terms of what was the story of Warcraft back in the original game, and it was just Orcs and Humans," said Matthew Hawley. "We've sort of dipped our toe in the water with the 6v6 shooter and found that the characters and heroes were very relatable to people, and that's why we started out doing the story missions like Uprising and Retribution to figure out how to get people who aren't into the PvP something to offer that tell the stories that we want to tell."
During the media summit, the developers were clear in stating that fan reactions have been a strong indicator of their successes, and they understand there's a yearning to have more unusual events and scenarios presented in the game. Still, Overwatch's game director and de facto face of the series, Kaplan, elaborated further on why Overwatch is going to remain solely PvP oriented game, for the time being.
"I think it's important to talk about why [it's a timed event]," he said. "I don't think players always understand why we don't want players to have access to it all year, and maybe this is just developer insecurity, but let me give you the reason why we don't these events to be available all the time. I honestly believe there's a big difference between creating PvE highly-replayable content that you're expecting somebody to get hundreds of thousands of hours of gameplay out of versus something that you think can be sustained for a couple weeks. I think what would happen if we put Uprising and Retribution just permanently in the game is that players would find that they needed more out of it. Like a progression system on top of it, or scoring, or items, or players asking when the next mission is. They would want more content [beyond Uprising and Retribution]."
Despite how firm Blizzard is on sticking with keeping the focus on multiplayer gameplay, the developers weren't opposed entirely to a story mode. With concerns about its present offerings--the Uprising, Retribution, and the Junkenstein events--not being deep enough, Blizzard may someday implement one that fans can sink their teeth into and won't leave them wanting more. But in their present state, the developers are content with only keeping it around for a limited time.
"At its core, Overwatch is a PvP game, so it's fun for us to explore PvE," stated Kaplan. "But as we've all worked on Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft, we've worked on a number of PvE games and know what player instincts are gonna be," he continued. "So if you said this was a year-round evergreen experience, we want to make sure it holds up to that before putting it out there for that length."
The second DLC expansion for Call of Duty: WWII is now available for some players. Activision has released The War Machine map pack on PS4, which introduces a handful of new maps, an additional War mode mission, and other content to the popular WWII shooter.
The War Machine brings three new multiplayer maps to the game: Egypt, Dunkirk, and V2. Egypt has players battling around the Great Pyramids and other familiar landmarks. Dunkirk features a "large, open and dangerous beach area flanked by tight interiors." V2, on the other hand, is an "ultra-fast paced map" set in a secret rocket test site in Germany.
In addition to those maps, The War Machine adds a new War mode mission: Operation Husky. Co-developed with Raven Software, the mission is inspired by the real-life Operation Husky and has players gathering intelligence on the location of enemy ports and transmitting their intel to HQ.
Operation Husky also introduces a new mechanic to the game: dogfights. If players manage to successfully clear the first two stages of the mission, they'll be put in the cockpit of a plane and must defend their bombers while the Axis tries to shoot them down.
Rounding out the DLC pack is a new chapter for Nazi Zombies called The Shadowed Throne. Activision teases that this chapter "takes the Barbarossa storyline to an entirely new level" and is set in Berlin, where Doktor Straub's undead army is attempting to purge the city of Allied forces.
PS4 players can download The War Machine pack now for $15 / £11.59 / AU $20.45. It is also included alongside the first expansion, The Resistance, in Call of Duty: WWII's season pass, which runs for $50 / £40 / AU $65. Activision hasn't announced an Xbox One and PC release date for The War Machine yet, but Call of Duty DLC typically arrives on those platforms a month later.
Silicon Valley alum andDeadpool 2star TJ Miller is facing some serious trouble and possibly jail time. Miller was arrested Monday night, April 9, after allegedly calling in a bomb threat on a train in early March.
According to a press release from authorities, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Miller is accused of "intentionally conveying to law enforcement false information about an explosive device on a train traveling to Connecticut." The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut says the comedian allegedly dialed 911 and claimed he was on a train traveling from Washington, DC to New York City's Penn Station and that a woman on the same train has a "bomb in her bag."
Authorities stopped and evacuated that train, searching for any sign of an explosive device, and came up empty. What's more, Miller was also not on the train. Instead, he was on a different train. The attendant of that train claims the actor and comedian "appeared intoxicated" and continued to drink during his travel. Before being removed from the train in New York, he allegedly had hostile exchanges with a woman in his car.
At this point, Miller has been released on a $100,000 bond, after appearing before a judge in Connecticut. The case is being investigated by not only the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Connecticut State Police but the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Should he be convicted, Miller could face up to five years in prison.
This is not the first time Miller has been in trouble with the law. In 2016, he was arrested due to the alleged assault of an Uber driver over a disagreement about Donald Trump. In late 2017, allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to his time in college surfaced. At the time, Miller and his wife claimed the maintained the accusations were false.
Miller recently appeared in Ready Player One and is next set to return to the big screen as Weasel in Deadpool 2, which arrives in theaters on May 18.
A whole new set of PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games has gone on sale on the PlayStation Store. In addition to the standard weekly sale, Rockstar has decided to mark its PlayStation games down as well. The sales will be live through April 16, so let's go through and find the highlights.
A number of deals are available this week, including the adventure game Thimbleweed Park, which is available for half off at $10. The well-received sprite-based game Owlboy is $20, saving you $5. A PSVR game that mixes real-time strategy with tower defense called Korix is $7, down from $20. And if you've been itching to jump into Star Trek Online, many of its Zen packs and ships are on sale as well.
Perhaps you'd enjoy trying your hand at some detective work. If so, you can pick up L.A. Noire for $30. If you'd rather skip classes, grab Bully for $9. Max Payne and Manhunt are also available on PS4 for $9 each.
With Westworld Season 2 less than two weeks from its premiere, showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan took to Reddit last night [April 9] to discuss the best way to deal with the inevitable spoilers that will emerge as the show continues and fans attempt to guess its twists and turns. Their radical suggestion was to release a video that detailed the entire plot from beginning to end, so that "the members of the community who want the season spoiled for them can watch ahead, and then protect the rest of the community, and help to distinguish between what's 'theory' and what's spoiler."
Joy and Nolan promised delivery of this video if their post got more than 1,000 upvotes. Inevitably it far exceeded that number (2,950 and counting), so they uploaded the 25-minute video. While it starts like it might be detailing the entire plot of Westworld Season 2, around 90 seconds in, it becomes something.... very different. Don't worry, there aren't actually any spoliers in the video, so you're free to check out the amazing moment below. Check it out below:
Nolan explained that main draw to creating this new park was his love of Japanese cinema, in particular the classic samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa. "It comes down to being obsessed with Japanese cinema as a kid and earnestly wanting to make an homage to Kurosawa and the other films I grew up watching," he said. "My older brothers and I watched Sergio Leone westerns and Kurosawa's classic samurai films and were fascinated to discover they had the same plot.
"You had this wonderful call and response between these two genres--with the gunslinger and the ronin. They have identical tropes but are set within different cultures. Frankly, this was just a great excuse to go and make a samurai movie with all the trimmings."
As well as Shogun World, the promotional Delos Experience site also revealed that there are a further four parks which are currently "closed to the public." There has been much speculation about what these other worlds could be. The 1976 sequel to original 1973 movie Westworld was titled Futureworld, and it featured a number of different parks, including Medieval World, Roman World, and, er, Spa World.
By Anonymous on Apr 10, 2018 10:17 pm An analyst says Rockstar may never top Grand Theft Auto 5, while Dark Souls Remastered and A Link Between Worlds both make positive changes.
This is a week of originals on Netflix. Each title being added to the service is exclusively available from the streamer, and there's a few of them you are going to want to pay very close attention to.
The biggest new release of the week is the arrival of Lost in Space Season 1. After the reboot of the classic TV series debuted its series premiere--which GameSpot's own Michael Rougeau called a "promising start" for the show in his Lost in Space review--at WonderCon, the 10-episode season will begin streaming on April 13, and it's one you're not going to want to miss.
Additionally, this week sees new seasons of The Magic School Bus Rides Again and AMO, along with original films Come Sunday, I'm Not an Easy Man, and Pickpockets--which is set on Bogota as a group of teens learn to be master thieves. For cooking show fans, a new episode of Chef's Table will debut, this one focused on pastries.
After Xbox One backwards compatibility support for original Xbox games was announced, Microsoft made it clear that we would not see new titles added regularly. To date, only one batch of games has been released, but another has now arrived--and it includes some quality additions.
Microsoft teased that new original Xbox BC games would be revealed during an Inside Xbox broadcast scheduled for tonight, April 10. Ahead of that, listings for several such games have been discovered on the Xbox Store (via Reddit user nuton) with release dates set for today, though they can't yet be purchased.
Official details on these releases will be shared later today. Original Xbox BC games work just like Xbox 360 games; you simply pop in the disc or download a digital copy and can play it on Xbox One without any real fuss.
Join Joey and Erick as they check out Overwatch's Retribution event which brings new skins and a PVE horde mode.
Watch as we fight our way through Overwatch's new PvE mode
An analyst says Rockstar may never top Grand Theft Auto 5, while Dark Souls Remastered and A Link Between Worlds both make positive changes.
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