After months of silence, Nintendo finally shed more light on its premium online service for Switch. The subscription service launches this September and is required to play games such as Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online, but it also comes with some additional perks for subscribers, including a library of classic titles.
Nintendo will offer subscribers to the Switch online service access to a selection of NES games as part of its "NES - Nintendo Switch Online" program. At launch, the lineup will consist of 20 titles, although the company says that more games will be added to the library "regularly."
Only half of the titles in the initial lineup have revealed thus far, but they consist of some of Nintendo's best-known NES games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario. The remaining 10 titles will be announced "in the future." The full list of confirmed NES games includes:
Balloon Fight
Donkey Kong
Dr. Mario
Ice Climber
The Legend of Zelda
Mario Bros.
Soccer
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Tennis
On top of being able to play the classic NES titles solo, each one is playable online for the first time thanks to newly added online features. According to Nintendo, "Depending on the game, players can engage in online competitive or co-op multiplayer, or take turns controlling the action. Friends can even watch each other play single-player games online, and 'pass the controller' at any time." The NES games also support voice chat through the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.
In addition to the classic NES library, the Switch online service offers subscribers the ability to back up their game data via cloud saves. As mentioned above, it will also be required to play Nintendo games like the aforementioned Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe--as well as the upcoming Mario Tennis Aces and Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido--online. However, Nintendo says that other Switch games "will vary," and players will not need to have a subscription to continue playing Wii U and 3DS titles online.
The Switch online service rolls out this September. Subscriptions will be available for one month (US $4 / £3.49 / AU $6), three months (US $8 / £7 / AU $12), and one year (US $20 / £18 / AU $30). Nintendo will also offer a Family Plan for US $35 / £31.49 / AU $55, which allows subscribers to invite up to seven other Nintendo Account holders, even on different consoles, into a family group and have access to the same membership benefits.
Nintendo has yet to announce if classic games from other legacy consoles, such as the Super NES and N64, will be offered on Switch, but the company did confirm that it will not bring back the Virtual Console service. In a statement to GameSpot, Nintendo said, "There are currently no plans to bring classic games together under the Virtual Console banner as has been done on other Nintendo systems."
However, while the Virtual Console moniker won't be returning, that doesn't necessarily mean that other classics can't appear on Switch in other forms. The company also reiterated, "There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch, such as through Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo eShop or as packaged collections."
Season 4 of Fortnite: Battle Royale's Week 2 challenges are now live, providing players who own the Battle Pass with seven different objectives to complete. Some of these make use of new Season 4 gameplay elements (such as Hop Rocks), while others offer more challenging tasks that could require the use of a map. Here are the locations for all the key objectives and some tips on how to complete them.
Among the challenges is the aforementioned one to consume Hop Rocks. You'll need to use seven in all--a task that's not especially difficult, provided you know where to look. Hop Rocks can be found in a number of places, but they're most abundant in Dusty Divot, the crater formed as part of Season 4's map update. Head there, and you'll find purple objects floating outside the fenced-in area surrounding the comet. Simply walk up to one and hold the same key or button you'd use to open a chest, and you'll consume a Hop Rock--temporarily granting you the ability to jump much higher than usual.
Another challenge is to dance in front of different film cameras. You'll need to find seven cameras in all; these are another new element introduced as part of Season 4, which features a moviemaking theme. This is as simple as it sounds--just find a camera and perform a dance emote in front of it. The only tricky part is tracking all of these down, and many are not in named locations. Luckily, there are more than seven total, so it's not as difficult as it could be. We're working on a map now, but among the areas where you'll find them are:
Risky Reels
Moisty Mire
Haunted Hills (two)
northwest of Shifty Shafts
northeast of Junk Junction
west northwest of Greasy Grove
The other more involved challenge for Week 2 is labeled by Epic as a Hard-difficulty one, meaning it nets you 10 Battle Stars, twice the number as most challenges. It asks you to search between a scarecrow, pink hotrod, and a big screen. This requires you to have either a strong knowledge of the island or a map--either way, you simply head to a point in between all three of the stated objects to find a Battle Pass icon you can collect by holding the Use button/key. This can be found directly east of Risky Reels.
The remainder of the challenges are fairly straightforward, though they may require some time and luck. You'll have to search chests in Greasy Grove, which is really just a matter of spending enough time in the area. (As always, check out attics when looking for chests.) Another asks you to deal damage with suppressed weapons to opponents (500) total, which is just a matter of happening upon the right weapon and then making use of it.
Similarly, you'll need to rack up three explosive weapon eliminations, which includes both things like grenades and rocket launchers. (Your best bet may be in a solo playlist, where you don't have to worry about downing enemies that can be revived.) And finally, you'll need to eliminate three opponents in Tomato Town. Just drop there at the start of a match and try to track down a weapon before anyone else.
For more help, you can also check out our Week 1 challenges guide, as well as our roundup of all Season 4 challenges. Completing these is the fastest way to level up your Battle Pass, allowing to get your hands on this season's skins and rewards.
Fortnite Season 4, Week 2 Challenges
Search Chests in Greasy Grove (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Consume Hop Rocks (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal damage with Suppressed Weapons to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle Stars
Dance in front of different film cameras (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Hard: Search between a Scarecrow, Pink Hotrod, and a Big Screen -- 10 Battle Stars
It's a new week, so Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with a whole new set of discounts on downloadable games. For some of the deals, Sony is offering a small additional savings for PS Plus members. For others, everyone gets the same sale price. You can view the full list of PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games on sale here, or read on for our picks for the best deals in the bunch.
To kick things off, Ubisoft has sliced the prices of a bunch of its big games, ranging from the medieval brawler For Honor to the shooters Tom Clancy's The Division and Ghost Recon Wildlands; they're all available for about $20 regardless of your PS Plus status. For Assassin's Creed fans, you can get Origins, Syndicate, and the Ezio Collection on sale as well, for between $20 and $30 each.
As is often the case, Grand Theft Auto V is on sale for $30 this week, while the turn-based strategy game XCOM 2 will only set you back $20. Additionally, a bunch of smaller and/or indie games are on sale, including The Witness, The Disney Afternoon Collection, and Undertale. See below for details on the deals.
As promised, Nintendo has shared more details on the Nintendo Switch online subscription service, which is due to roll out in September. A post on Nintendo's website explains that the service will offer "Save Data Cloud" backup, which sounds a lot like cloud saves.
This is great news, as it means you don't have to worry about losing progress. Cloud saves are available with Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus as well, along with Steam and others.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 8, 2018
Additionally, you'll get access to a library of 20 NES games at launch, and more will be added "regularly," Nintendo says. This service is called "NES - Nintendo Switch Online," and the launch titles include the 10 listed below--including Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda--and 10 more to be announced later.
Soccer
Tennis
Donkey Kong
Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
Balloon Fight
Ice Climber
Dr. Mario
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros. 3
According to Nintendo, "every classic game" in the NES catalog will have some form of online functionality. "You can compete (or cooperate) online with friends, share your screen, or pass the controller, depending on the game," Nintendo said. Additionally, using a dedicated app for the Switch online service, you can use voice chat.
The Switch's paid membership program was originally supposed to launch in late 2017 before Nintendo delayed it to 2018. Subscriptions will be available for 1 month (US $4 / £3.49 / AU $6), 3 months (US $8 / £7 / AU $12), and 12 months (US $20 / £18 / AU $30). Additionally, a Family Membership will be available for US $35 / £31.49 / AU $55. The family plan allows a Nintendo Account holder to "invite up to seven others to join a family group," and every member of the group will have access to the online membership benefits.
By comparison, Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus cost US $60 / £50 (£40 for Xbox Live Gold) / AU $80 for a year.
Since launch, online play for all Switch games has been free. That will change in September when the paid service rolls out. At that time, you will need a membership to play Splatoon 2, Arms, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis Aces, and Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido online. Other games may or may not require a membership, Nintendo said. Nintendo will share more details at a later date about how you will know if a game requires a paid membership or not.
Here are some other important details about the Nintendo Switch online membership, as pulled from a FAQ on Nintendo's website:
If you own multiple Switch consoles, you do not need a separate paid online subscription. "Nintendo Switch Online can be used on any device by signing in with the Nintendo Account that purchased the membership," Nintendo said.
Individual memberships are only available on the basis of one per Nintendo Account. But as mentioned, you can buy the $35 family plan to get a subscription for up to seven other Nintendo Accounts.
You can create a Nintendo Account Family Group starting on May 15. As mentioned, a family group can support up to eight Nintendo Accounts.
The Switch online membership only pertains to Switch; not Wii U or 3DS.
You don't necessarily need a Switch online membership, as things like access to the eShop, friend registration and management, and screenshot-sharing on Twitter and Facebook will remain available without a membership.
By Anonymous on May 08, 2018 11:36 pm The latest expansion for Destiny 2 has arrive and this time we head to Mars to find new clues about Rasputin and destroy the Hive.
The second big DLC expansion for Destiny 2 is now available. Bungie has released Warmind along with update 1.2.0 and hotfix 1.2.0.1, bringing a variety of new content to the game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC--both for those who own the DLC and those who do not.
Warmind introduces a new campaign set on Mars, where players have to deal with the Hive as they explore the birthplace of Rasputin, a Warmind that's been involved with Destiny's story before. Satellites still in orbit from the Golden Age begin crashing into Mars, causing glaciers to melt, revealing Rasputin's core and Hive enemies that had been frozen. There's new gear to acquire--including a variety of Exotic weapons and armor--Crucible maps, a Raid Lair, and a new horde mode-style activity called Escalation Protocol.
Those playing on PS4 will, as in the past, get more content than Xbox One and PC players for a period of time. Warmind comes with an additional Strike and armor for each class on PS4. These will eventually come to other platforms, but not until at least Fall 2018.
Warmind's new Crucible maps are actually available to all players due to a change made with update 1.2.0. All DLC maps can be played in matchmaking, but you'll need to own the expansion to play them in private matches--another newly added feature. The patch makes numerous gameplay changes, including updates to most of the game's Exotic weapons to help them feel more viable and distinct.
Update 1.2.0 also marks the start of Season 3 in Destiny 2. It introduces Crucible rankings, giving you new means of progression--and ways to acquire rewards--in the PvP multiplayer mode. You can see everything that's changed in the full patch notes on Bungie's website. The update is followed up by a small hotfix patch, 1.2.0.1.
By Anonymous on May 08, 2018 11:16 pm We finally learned more about the Nintendo Switch online service and its free NES games, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies Mode got confirmed.
In the months following its September launch, Destiny 2 developer Bungie has been in a tight spot trying to keep its community happy. Despite a solid start that showed stronger storytelling, quest variety, and sense of progression compared to the original, the sequel eventually fell into the same pitfall that its predecessor did: there's just not much to do in Destiny 2 if you're in it for the long-haul.
During the developer's recent livestream showcasing many of the points of interest in the upcoming Warmind expansion, they were frank about their attempts to address the problems regarding challenges, content diversity, and the steep grind the Destiny 2 community has been unhappy with--me included. While I really enjoyed Destiny 2 in its early months--even clearing the game's story and reaching Raid status with three characters--my enthusiasm for the game quickly dropped after Curse of Osiris.
As the May 8 release date for Warmind draws closer, it's worth considering whether Bungie's recent seasonal updates and the upcoming expansion can fix the game's issues relating to its grind and the resulting fatigue.
To start, let's take a look at the current state of Destiny 2. Since the release of December's Curse of Osiris DLC, which included forge weapons, new story missions, and a new Raid Lair (an additional area to explore in the Leviathan Raid), Bungie has introduced seasonal updates, offering scheduled tweaks to improve the core game. During the ongoing Season 2, quality-of-life updates such as new Crucible and Nightfall rewards, weapon and class rebalancing, Masterwork weapons, tweaks to Exotic drop rates, and changes to the sandbox exploration were introduced. Destiny 2 is all the better for these additions. However, the game still needs to make larger attempts to figure out how to combat the slump that makes it hard for players who may have fallen out with the game to want to come back.
One of the biggest problems with the original Destiny was that it was easy to exhaust much of the game's content given its relatively brisk campaign and focus on repeating missions and events. This was a symptom of the original game's growing identity, which it slowly developed over the course of its first year--resulting in the fantastic, game-changing expansion The Taken King. Destiny 2 has a greater sense of itself and is smart about how it manages to make things interesting during the early months, but it quickly falls victim to the recurring issue of player engagement, along with a series of poor matchmaking, quest design, and shallow endgame content.
One issue that's arguably worse in the sequel is that it's difficult to measure progress gained after reaching a certain point after the campaign's completion. While reaching Raid status was the benchmark, the pursuit of that often forces players to go through a series of hurdles to make it. Players will eventually find themselves having to repeat the same content with continually diminishing returns--made worse by some odd drop-rates and occurrences of repeat loot that Bungie have attempted to address with recent patches. While this is inevitable for many online games focusing on the grind, other titles have made that pursuit of fresh loot engaging in the long-term, but Destiny 2's approach to the endgame cycle makes for a largely futile and exhausting experience. When your efforts to progress seems to conflict with the game's grind--which is supposed to fun and challenging, but comes off as taxing--then it creates a sense of angst among the community, making them feel like their time isn't being well-spent.
The Warmind expansion shows more of an earnest attempt on the developers' part to address these concerns. Focusing on a return trip to Mars, players will explore a new region called Hellas Basin and take on new missions and world events. In addition to new story characters to interact with, new bosses to fight, and new Exotics to find, the expansion also features a different approach to world quests. With Escalation Protocol, you'll be able to tackle a horde-mode style mission in the sandbox, taking on waves of Hive in order to reach the boss of the world event. Unlike other world events tied to specific schedules, Escalation Protocol is activated at any time after finishing the main story. Moreover, you can join other players who are engaged in their own events--even if you haven't reached the DLC campaign's conclusion.
While this side mission is a smaller remedy to Destiny 2's issues--and it's similar in design to The Taken King's Court of Oryx event--it still represents one of the more reassuring aspects of Warmind. As one of the key ways to acquire higher-end gear outside of the new Raid Lair, Escalation Protocol can be done at your leisure--which cuts back on general fatigue and frustration, making it feel like you have more control over what kind of rewards the game can offer you. This is a stark contrast to how gaining higher-end gear worked in Curse of Osiris, which placed its Lost Prophecies behind arbitrary gating. By leaning into systems that focused on grinding and sticking players in situations where they had to wait for stuff to happen, it personally made me less inclined to want to finish playing through more of the campaign's endgame content.
This also goes into the heart of the issue with Destiny 2, in that it has trouble respecting the average player's time. With Raids being commitments of several hours, PvP rewards being mostly middling and too dependant on whether you have a good team, and Nightfall and Heroic quests requiring players to repeat the same tired quests over and over, the game struggles with allowing meaningful gains to be made in short bursts. When the systems designed to keep players playing are too tiring to enjoy in the long-term, then it calls into question the structure that houses all the content you want to explore.
Warmind doesn't sound like a major revision, unfortunately. Having said that, what I find interesting about the expansion is that it feels awfully nostalgic of Destiny 1. With the return to Mars, the Rasputin AI finally being given some more attention, and Exotics like the Suros Regime making a comeback, the expansion seems to know how to perk up some returning players. But in truth, making Destiny 2 more enjoyable and less of a slog isn't just about adding in more weapons and armor, new areas to explore, and new story quests. It's about offering those great heroic moments and making them feel like they matter long after your quest's completion--as opposed to being just another moment in a long series of moments during a grind for better gear.
Destiny 2's new expansion seems like a step in the right direction. Not big steps, but movement towards progress all the same. With Season 3 starting on the same day as the DLC's launch, Bungie will be adding in more quality-of-life changes including additional vault space, private matches, an emote wheel, and Exotic Masterwork weapons. Destiny 2 is still a solid first-person shooter with some of the best-controlling action and gameplay in the genre, and while it feels like we're about due for this game to have its own Taken King-style expansion that fleshes out its core in the right ways, Warmind does show a greater awareness of what Destiny 2's issues are--and how it best tries to improve itself.
It only took nearly 27 years but, at long last, a new Bill & Ted movie is officially in the works--with original stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter signed on to return. The project has been in the works for several years, though it never seemed to quite come together. Things have changed, as the threequel--Bill & Ted Face the Music--is now in pre-production.
The news comes from Deadline, which reports the film's international rights will be sold at Cannes. In the United States, Face the Music will be released by MGM under the Orion Pictures banner that distributed the first two movies. The script for the new installment has been written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon--the scribes behind the original films--and Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot helming the next adventure.
"We couldn't be more excited to get the whole band back together again. Chris and Ed wrote an amazing script, and with Dean at the helm we've got a dream team," Reeves and Winter said in a statement. Winter further commented on Twitter, writing that he and Reeves were tuning up their air guitars.
The movie sees Bill and Ted all grown up and having failed at writing music to bring the world together. According to a plot description from Deadline, "With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns the duo that only their music can save life as we know it." That leads the two best friends on another trip through time to find inspiration--and this time their daughters go along for the ride.
There is no set release date for Billy & Ted Face the Music at this point--or even a production start date. However, for longtime fans of the franchise, this is the good news they've been waiting for. The much-anticipated third Bill & Ted movie has moved beyond the stage of simply talking about it--the work has finally begun.
Rockstar Games has released even more new screenshots from the studio's upcoming and highly anticipated western Red Dead Redemption 2. The images, which were released on Rockstar's own website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, show off main character Arhur Morgan and other members of the Van der Linde gang. They also show Morgan hunting with a bow, a dramatic shootout, a quiet moment around a campfire, and Red Dead Redemption 1 protagonist John Marston.
You can see all of the images in the gallery below. Click each image to show a full-size version. You'll want to do that, as the images are quite lovely to look at and include some interesting details in the background. Have a look:
These images follow a batch of six fresh images from last week that showed a snarling bear, brutal combat, and hanging ducks--check them out here.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set in 1899 America, 12 years before the events of 2010's Red Dead Redemption. The story picks up after a robbery goes wrong, with Morgan and the gang on the run; federal agents and bounty hunters are tracking them down. "As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him," reads a line from Rockstar's official description of the story.
Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on October 26 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In other news, PS4 players will get to play some of the game's online content before Xbox One users.
Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show is one of the biggest productions currently in the works across the entire landscape of television. Per the supposed terms of an agreement between Amazon and Lord of the Rings rights-holders, the show must enter production within two years, so Amazon is understandably eager to get things going.
Now, Lord of the Rings fansite The One Ring is reporting that Amazon is "actively" connecting with "established" writers, directors, and showrunners to hear pitches for the show. Intriguingly, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson is apparently on the list.
The One Ring didn't name any names outside of Jackson's, but it's exciting to think about being a fly on the wall at Amazon's offices as they hear pitches for the show. We know it's going to be a prequel set before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. But nothing else is known at this stage. The universe that J.R.R. Tolkien created is rich and vast, with seemingly endless storytelling opportunities, so we're excited to learn more.
We have confirmed that Amazon is actively reaching out to multiple established writers, directors and showrunners for their visions of the billion dollar LOTR series. Peter Jackson is of course on the list... But one of many currently pitching. Tag who you want in the mix
J. Michael Straczynski--who created or co-created the shows Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah, and Sense8--says he would "give a lung" to work on Amazon's Lord of the Rings show. Straczynski, who wrote the Clint Eastwood-directed Changeling, is a huge Lord of the Rings fan--he wrote a term paper in college completely in Elvish.
Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson, who plays Gregor Clegane AKA The Mountain on Game of Thrones, is a force to be reckoned with in the novels and on the show. He's also a force in real life, as the actor, 28, recently earned the title of World's Strongest Man at a competition in the Philippines. Björnssonn, who is 6' 9" and weighs 400 pounds, won the title on Sunday, improving from his previous second- and third-place finishes over the years.
The event took place this month and was taped before its airing in the United States on CBS in June. You can see amateur footage of the finals in the YouTube video below. Among other things, Björnsson pulled a bus with a rope and deadlifted a car. You can see these incredible feats and more in the footage below in the video from Power Mafia (via NYT).
Celebrating his achievement on Instagram, Björnssonn quoted the Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happyness. He wrote: "Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can't do something themselves, they are going to tell you that you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period."
Björnssonn joined Game of Thrones as The Mountain in its fourth season. He's the third actor to play the character after HBO recast the role twice.
Twitch Prime is like the gift that keeps on giving. Each month, Twitch users with Amazon Prime get numerous freebies, ranging from free games to free in-game items--including free Fortnite gear. Epic Games has just announced Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack #2, which includes exclusive free cosmetics and other items for Fortnite players with Twitch/Amazon Prime subscriptions. Here's what you'll get and how to get it.
Starting May 9, Twitch Prime subscribers will be able to grab Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack #2. To claim your pack, link your Epic and Twitch accounts, then click on the crown next to the search bar on Twitch. Here's what you'll receive:
Exclusive Battle Royale Trailblazer Outfit
Exclusive Battle Royale True North Back Bling
Exclusive Battle Royale Tenderizer Pickaxe
Exclusive Battle Royale Freestylin' Emote
Note that, according to Epic's announcement, "While you can only claim your Twitch Prime loot on a single platform (PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One), your content is shared and available to use across PC/console and mobile, as long as you use the same Epic account. Content is not shared between Xbox One and PS4, even if you use the same Epic account."
Now is a good time to hop into Fortnite, thanks to the arrival of Thanos from Avengers: Infinity War. If you'd like some help completing this week's challenges, be sure to check out our guide to Fortnite's challenges for Week 2 of Season 4.
Pillars of Eternity was something of a herald for the second golden age of classic computer role-playing games. It was an inspiration, and was quickly followed by games like Torment: Tides of Numenera and Tyranny, and plenty more have filled in the gaps since then. And that's before we even get to the reboots and re-issues of some of the genre's aging classics like Baldur's Gate.
All of this is to say that the standards have shifted quite a bit since Pillars of Eternity released in 2015. It's remarkable, then, that Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire not only keeps pace with its contemporaries, but brings its own vitality and character that sets it apart from a genre that has been feeling a bit crowded of late.
Deadfire is a direct sequel to Pillars of Eternity, but you don't need to have played the first game, as you'll get solid recaps as well as the ability to make some general choices that will affect how Deadfire plays. That said, having a familiarity with the characters and world greatly adds to the game's overall appeal. These folks have aged, wizened, and grizzled a bit in the pirate-infested Deadfire Archipelago--the expansive, maritime stage on which our adventure is set. One old friend has taken to smoking a pipe, for instance, growing a bit more lax and observational, punctuating thoughts and commentary with tokes to help process his thoughts.
For the most part, character progression and the nuts and bolts of play work just as they did before. Character creation is deep and complex, designed to mimic the process of mapping out a character in a tabletop RPG. From there, you play a half real-time, half turn-based adventure, with exploration done in the former style and combat in the latter. If you've played just about any of the iconic CRPGs of the last 20 years, you'll be immediately familiar with the basics in Deadfire.
On top of that, though, Deadfire blows out everything from its predecessor. There's more of anything you can think of--more options for character setup, more classes and skills, more specialization, more items, and more levels. You can also explore open waters on a ship that you manage, from crew to cannon. In much the same way that an advanced player's guide adds fundamental upgrades to the way a tabletop RPG works, Deadfire is bigger, but also deeper. New character sub-classes and the ability to multi-class your character will allow you to refine your options in combat or play more nuanced roles.
That said, the real value of Deadfire is how its setting tees up new stories and tales of exploration and adventure. The Archipelago has been settled throughout, but plenty of islands still contain ancient secrets and eldritch horrors. Moreover, the rough-and-tumble atmosphere demands sturdy defenses and plenty of able bodies to maintain your new ship. Life on the seas is brutal, and your first major craft will barely have the gear needed to survive even minor engagements. Kitting out your mobile base of operations becomes another major focus, and you'll always have to worry when another ship comes into view.
Your ultimate goal is track down Eothas, a god who has possessed a stone colossus. Mysteriously, your spirit and life force is tied to the god, and only by chasing him to the archipelago were your companions able to keep you alive. Now you must set out and figure out how all this happened and why, while trailing Eothas. This works particularly well as a means of pacing out the journey and developing a strong throughline of adventure.
So you set out for whatever towns and islands you can spot, and build from there. At this stage, curiosity is a virtue. Questions and probes yield small, intimate stories and clues for tracking down the big bad alike. These arcs build out the texture of the world and offer some of the most beautiful moments in the game. Plus, having extra gear and experience can only add to your proficiency in the game's main thrust. How and when you engage with the world is up to you, but you'll be partially limited by the capabilities of your ship and the information you've gathered.
Deadfire's characters are bright and nuanced, and their descriptions weave personality into the simplest interactions.
Ship combat, perhaps the single largest mechanical addition in Deadfire, is well constructed. Bouts are turn-based and will be determined by everything from the abilities and experience of the crew you've gathered, to the tactical choices you make. These largely center on positioning, which is important to keep in mind when attacking or defending. Most vessels will have a few different types of guns, so you'll be working on closing or creating distance and repositioning so you can get the best shots off at the right times. Boarding, of course, also plays a huge role, but that works more or less the same as any other battle on land.
All of this, too, feeds into systems that impact how successful you are at general pirating. Your crew's morale will need to be kept high, for instance, or you could run the risk of a mutiny. While that could have been little more than set-dressing, Deadfire pulls those threads into the rest of the game--primarily through its art and writing.
Rich, detailed prose focuses on setting the scene and building an atmosphere. Deadfire's characters are bright and nuanced, and their descriptions weave personality into the simplest interactions. All of this makes for an enriching read--if you've got the patience for it. Like the first game, the writing is phenomenal overall, but some sections can be unnecessarily verbose, and that can occasionally strike as a weakness. But, more often than not, vivid text is a means to help you escape to this fantastical world. Thankfully, though, it's not the only trick Deadfire's got.
While the isometric view is a bit of a throwback, the art and visual detail of the world stands abreast with the writing as one of the adventure's strongest points. Not only is this a visual feast, mostly because of its imaginative settings and application of the arcane, but its direction is poignant and gripping. The seaside shacks and exotic, otherworldly creatures are a stark departure of the classical fantasy setting of the previous entry's Dyrwood. The cliched stylings of Caed Nua castle give way to Treasure Island, with all the monsters and magic of DnD. In other words, this is more a fantasy adventure in a pirate-y tone than the other way around. And that works just fine--keeping enough of the original appeal intact while folding in sharp new ideas and ambiance.
Deadfire is dense, and it isn't a small game, easily dwarfing its predecessor in terms of scale. There's a lot to do, and it's easier than ever to get lost in the little stories you find, without following the arcs that the game has specially set out for you. Still, it's worth taking your time. The richness of Deadfire takes a while to appreciate, and like the brined sailors that call it come, you'll be left with an indelible attachment to these islands when you do finally step away.
Here's some good news for anyone who owns an Xbox One and likes to save money: Amazon is running a massive sale on digital Xbox One games between now and May 19. It features tons of big recent games at discounts of up to 75% off. So if have some free hard drive space, take a look at these discounted titles to see if you want to add any to your collection.
In addition to all of these discounted games, many of their expansions and DLC packs are also on sale for similar savings. We've picked out some of the best deals below, but you can find the full list of sale items here.
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