When Deadpool 2 hit theaters, you might have assumed it would be impossible to somehow load in more dirty jokes or gratuitous violence. How wrong you were, though. While the film is certainly raunchy, perhaps even more so than the first Deadpool, there's always room for more.
That's proven by the Super Duper cut of the movie, which has been released on Digital HD. This version of Deadpool 2 first debuted at San Diego Comic-Con and will arrive on Blu-ray on August 21.
The new cut of the film adds 15 minutes to the running time. That includes not only scenes completely omitted from the theatrical cut of the film, but alternate lines of dialogue, new and longer fight scenes, and even some new music choices. Of course, the new material also includes the fabled "kill baby Hitler" deleted scene that the film's writers discussed back when the movie hit theaters--and it's even more bizarre than you might have imagined.
There's a lot more to be found in the over two-hour running time, though. Finding every single little difference is a difficult task, though. Thankfully, GameSpot has done the work for you. After studying both versions of the film closely, we've found every change made in the Super Duper cut. Save yourself some time and let us guide you through this new cut of Deadpool 2.
The first change comes when Deadpool faces off with the Chinese gangsters at the beginning of the film. Upon crashing through a window, he apologizes and says he thought this bar full of villains was an "anal bleaching party." In the theatrical cut, he simply counts the men in Spanish before they open fire.
After being pumped full of lead by the gangsters in the theatrical version, he quickly jumps up to fight back. In the extended cut, though, he plays dead for a bit.
He also tells the bartender that smoking is bad for her, because Deadpool cares.
This is where the changes get more difficult to point out. Different angles and takes are used throughout this fight scene, showing Deadpool dealing even more mayhem.
The scene at the funeral in Sicily is extended, as Deadpool says "Let's see Captain America do that" after firing a ton of bullets.
Additionally, the fight in a Tokyo bathhouse is also much longer in this cut, featuring far more carnage. And when he comes face to face with a massive man's groin, an alternate line is used. "Looks like you left a little landing strip there," Deadpool says. "I like it." In the theatrical cut, he made a joke about being molested by his Boy Scouts leader.
The strip club scene is also extended and includes nudity that was cut from the theatrical version.
After reuniting with Dopinder, the cab driver asks if it was a mission accomplished. "In a George W. sort of way," Deadpool jokes, referring to the former US president.
Deadpool's pep talk with Dopinder, who wants to become a contract killer, is also quite a bit longer in the new cut.
In the theatrical version, Weasel says Wade smells like someone "s*** in a Civil War wound." In the new cut, he instead says, "You smell like sour kraut left in the warm rain. Like wet garbage and hot urine. You smell like a dog ate kitty litter and farted his way out of the living room. You smell like Rush Limbaugh's couch cushions after shark week."
When Wade says he's happy David Bowie is alive, Dopinder almost spoils that particular celebrity death for him, before being waved off by Weasel. In the theatrical cut, the two simply nod at each other, agreeing not to tell Wade about Bowie's demise.
After being made to mop up Deadpool's urine, Dopinder questions Weasel's contract killer lessons, which he doesn't do in the theatrical version.
While Deadpool attempts commit suicide by blowing himself up in the theatrical cut, the extended version includes two other failed attempts. In one, he takes a dive into a polar bear habitat at the zoo.
The other attempt shows Deadpool drinking a bottle of drain cleaner on a building, before hopping off to his hopeful death--which fails.
A scene removed from the theatrical version shows Russell's arrival at the evil mutant school.
The dialogue between Deadpool and Colossus when they first get to the X-Mansion is altered.
As Deadpool explores the mansion in Charles Xavier's wheelchair, he makes a different joke after noticing all of the painting that are hanging. "All these old guys on the wall," he says. "Who lives here, Calista Flockhart?" In the theatrical cut, he says, "All these elderly white men on the walls, should've brought my rape whistle."
There is also an additional joke when Deadpool gets mad at the lack of X-Men cameos. "You'd think the studio would throw us a bone--one that doesn't end up in my mouth," he says. "The first movie made more money than the guy who invented pants."
Cable's arrival in the current year is moved up quite a bit in the film, and that scene plays much longer as the two rednecks--played by Matt Damon and Alan Tudyk--go on at length about the paper products they use in the bathroom.
Back at the X-Mansion, there is a new scene of Colossus working out in the yard.
Meanwhile, Deadpool is going through the X-Men refrigerator and replacing the paper labels on foods with velcro. It's all an attempt to show Colossus he's become nicer--he hasn't.
While the theatrical cut shows flashbacks to Russell being tortured at the mutant school, that scene plays out in its entirety in this version of the film.
In the theatrical version of the film, Wade is wearing Cerebro when Colossus comes to tell him they have a mission. In the new cut, he's actually reading an erotic novel titled "The Canadian Mounted" and smoking.
Once at the mutant school, Deadpool calls the creepy employee a long list of names. However, the extended cut adds one more: Miguel.
When consoling Russell, Deadpool had a different line in the new cut. Harking back to the words of Blind Al earlier, he tells the kid, "A wise woman once said to me, 'Speak up, I can't hear you with the pity dick in your mouth.'"
When told Russell would be sent to the Ice Box detention facility, Deadpool had some unkind words for the location. "That place makes Hitler's anus look like Waikiki," he jokes. As we'll learn later, he's kind of hung up on Hitler.
After being tackled by Colossus for firing on the mutant school staff, Deadpool calls the metal giant "Shiny Gandhi" when told he's not X-Men material.
The scene in which Wade is shown to his cell in the Ice Box is extended, giving the Merc plenty of time to joke about his new home. "I see myself as more of an east coast Hufflepuff," he says. "I've made a critical error on my Airbnb reservation. This is not what the website looked like at all. I love the decor, though. I had no idea hopeless was a color."
There's also an alternate line once Russell enters the cell. In the theatrical version, Wade says, "Another disgusting mutant off the streets. We'll sleep well tonight. Let's get a taco." In the extended cut, he says, "Another disgusting minority off the streets. We'll sleep well tonight. Let's get a bagel."
After getting his powers back in the Ice Box, Deadpool looks at the camera and says, "Donde esta la biblioteca," which he believes means "I don't bargain." It does not. This is a callback to his fight with Chinese gangsters earlier in the film.
During his first fight with Cable, Wade asks the soldier different questions about the future. "Is Dubstep still a thing?" he wonders. "Do people still homebrew? Does Dopinder ever find love?"
When talking to Deadpool about building a team of heroes, Weasel has some big plans for who they should pick. "A team of some highly-skilled motherf**ers," he says. "I'm talking some Ocean's 14 s**. Rogue Two, John Wick 3, but with the original directors."
Domino's introduction is extended to include more of her and Deadpool fighting over whether luck is a superpower.
Peter also gets more of an introduction, in which we learn he has both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Cable explaining people's threshold for pain to Weasel is extended. Weasel still has no threshold whatsoever.
After the massive failure of the X-Force skydiving entrance, Deadpool has a very funny line. "Whoever planned this stunt was smoking a lot of jazz cabbage, I'll tell you that much," he jokes.
While fighting on the prisoner transport truck, Cable tells Deadpool, "There's nothing I can't kill." In the extended cut, the response calls back to the Tokyo bathhouse fight. "As Scoutmaster Kevin used to say, there's a first time for everything, son," he jokes.
After Cable unloads a clip into Deadpool, the Merc gets an alternate line where he simply says, "Whoa, those bullets are super fast."
In the alternate cut, when Cable asks Wade if he'd stop those who killed Vanessa if he could go back in time, he says, "No, I'd buy them all a bouquet of handjobs." Then he says, of course, he would. But he wouldn't kill a kid. The scene also includes Wade farting after he and Cable come to an agreement. Who doesn't love a good fart joke?
Another scene dropped entirely from the theatrical cut finds Russell and Juggernaut after they destroyed a big and tall store while looking for matching outfits. Sadly, there was nothing in Juggernaut's size.
When the movie returns to Deadpool and the team in the car, headed to the X-Mansion looking for help, an alternate line is given. "And that is just the first five steps to a prostate-assisted orgasm," Deadpool jokes.
The entire sequence in the cab is also extended, as Deadpool continues to rail against what he believes is Cable's racism, while Domino gets a few more lines of dialogue about what a mistake this all is.
Once at the mansion, it's revealed that the X-Men are still using the velcro labeling system he implemented in an earlier deleted scene.
Meanwhile, back at the mutant school, Russell and Juggernaut arrive. While the scene is almost identical, it gives the headmaster the line, "They will not replace us."
When Deadpool and company arrive, there's an alternate line when the Merc sees the teddy bear attached to Cable's belt. Staring at it, he says, "I've been meaning to ask you, what's with the dirty, disgusting hobo bear?"
As the team begins their attack on the school, the hip-hop song in the theatrical version if replaced by Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle."
The scene of Domino fighting Juggernaut is extended in the new cut, showing her putting the playground to good use.
When Colossus rescues Deadpool, the Merc does more than make dirty hand gestures as thanks. He also attempts to perform oral sex on him, before Colossus stops him.
Colossus and Juggernaut's battle is set to a different song in the new cut. The new track is "Fight Dirty" by Guignol & Mischief Brew.
As he's dying, after taking a bullet from Cable, an alternate take of Deadpool's goodbye to Negasonic Teenage Warhead is used. In it, he tells the teenager that he liked her hair better in the first movie. "I think everyone did." Additionally, Yukio offers a different "Hi Wade" than the one used in the theatrical cut.
During his goodbye to Russell, Deadpool says he can have his superhero suit. "You might want to get it steam cleaned, especially around the pants," he says. "And let it out a little in the waist."
When Wade is reunited with Vanessa after his death, the cover of A-Ha's Take Me On isn't used. Instead, the song Ashes, which Celine Dion recorded for the film, plays.
In an alternate take, Vanessa gets new lines when explaining heaven to Wade. "It's pretty f***ing awesome up here," she says. "I can have anything I want!" He wonders, "Can every day be International Women's Day?" She quickly shoots back, "It is heaven."
Before they part, sending Wade back to the world of the living, he asks her not to have sex with Elvis. In the theatrical version, she asks the same of him and Colossus. In the new cut, though, she simply says, "Ooo, too late!"
After going back in time and saving the day without dying, Deadpool says goodbye to Negasonic. In a rare moment of appreciation, she replies, "Our door is always open." Naturally, he can't have actual feelings and fires back, "That's kind, but I'm not ready to date again. Let alone two women."
There are a few changes in the post-credits, as well. The first happens when Deadpool goes back in time to save Peter from dying with the rest of the X-Force. In the alternate take, he tells his Sugar Bear, "X-Force is just a marketing tool designed by Fox executives to keep Josh Brolin employed."
After killing the Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Merc had a lot more to say to Logan in the new cut. "Look, eventually you're going to hang up the claws and it's going to make a lot of people very sad," he tells Wolverine. "But one day your old pal Wade's going to ask you to get back in the saddle again. And when he does, say yes."
Ryan Reynolds, the actor, gets an alternate line after reading the Green Lantern script--before Deadpool puts him out of his misery. Looking at the script, he says, "God d***, that's beautiful." It was not.
The last major addition is an all-new sequence in the credits, in which Deadpool goes back in time to kill baby Hitler, though it proves to be more difficult than he expected.
One final scene revisits Deadpool trying to kill baby Hitler. Instead, he says he'll just send Cable back to do it and changes the baby's diaper. He really is a kid person.
Bethesda's upcoming multiplayer RPG Fallout 76 aims to switch things up in a big way for the post-apocalyptic series. However, one new feature, and its ensuing ramifications, has gotten many players talking. First revealed during Bethesda's E3 2018 press conference, Fallout 76 will allow players to gain access to a stockpile of nuclear weapons hidden in post-apocalyptic West Virginia, and use them to decimate areas of the map. While talking about the new mechanics of Fallout 76 at QuakeCon 2018--which includes the new leveling and perk systems--game director Todd Howard and project leader Jeff Gardner elaborated further on just how nukes will work, and how they designed it to be less of a hassle than you may think.
To gain access to the nuclear weapons, you'll need to find a set of codes from specific enemies in the world. These codes form a sequence, which grant you passage into one of the hidden nuclear launch facilities in the wasteland. Once you're ready to launch, you can select a specific spot on the map to send the bombs, which will lay waste to the area and everything in it. While this may seem like a largely gimmicky move, there is a benefit to letting loose with the atomic bombs. With the ensuing nuclear fallout in full effect, it will grant players access to new items, rare materials, new locations, and even more powerful enemies to fight. As a part of the end-game, the materials and resources found from these irradiated places are vital to continuing progress for high-level characters. However, the chase and immediate aftermath of dropping the bombs had fans worried that it would more of nuisance than an interesting gameplay mechanic.
During the Fallout 76 panel at QuakeCon, the developers stated that they spent a great deal of time enforcing anti-griefing measures--which includes blocking players that harass others online. While nukes sound like the ultimate way to mess with others, the process of acquiring these nukes are elaborate enough to be events that occur only once in awhile. Furthermore, structures and settlements that players build can be saved via the C.A.M.P tool--which is an evolution of the building system from Fallout 4. With the new system, you're allowed to pack up your creations at anytime, and transport them to another spot. You can also save your settlements in the form of a blueprint, and pull them up again when you want to rebuild. This will be especially helpful in case of an enemy raid on your base, or when the bombs fall.
Releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and as a Bethesda.net exclusive for the PC, Fallout 76 will launch on November 14, with the pre-release beta scheduled for sometime later this October. For more info on our coverage on QuakeCon 2018, including the first footage of Doom Eternal, check out the links to our coverage below.
Only a couple years after Fallout 4's release, Bethesda surprised fans by officially announcing Fallout 76, the next entry in its beloved post-apocalyptic RPG franchise. The new game was revealed in a trailer after a series of teases, and Bethesda discussed it in more detail at E3 2018 and more recently at QuakeCon 2018. While there's still so much we do not yet know about Bethesda's upcoming game, the company has offered some clarity on Fallout 76's most curious features and additions to the Fallout formula.
To ensure you're kept up to date on everything there is to know about Fallout 76, we've compiled all the information we have on the game so far: the platforms it's on, its online functionality, its anti-griefing features, and where the game falls in the series' timeline.
Fallout 76 is a prequel to all of the previous Fallout games. Set in 2102, you play an inhabitant of Vault 76 who emerges from the shelter 25 years after the bombs fell on America. Your task is simple: explore what remains of post-apocalyptic America and rebuild civilization.
Longtime fans will likely recognize Vault 76; although it's not a place we've visited before, this isn't the series' first mention of it. Both Fallout 3 and 4 reference it and, according to the Fallout Wikia, this West Virginia-based vault was occupied by 500 of of America's best and brightest minds. Unlike the more grotesque experimental vaults in the Fallout universe, Vault 76 is a control vault intended to be opened 20 or so years after a nuclear war. But if the Vault was supposed to open 20 years after the bombs fell, why have 25 years gone by? The story likely has a few surprises in store.
Fallout 76 uses the Creation Engine, the same engine used to make Fallout 4, but it will purportedly feature much more graphical detail than its predecessor. Game director Todd Howard has said that Fallout 76 has new rendering and lighting technology, which allows for "16 times" the detail.
Who's Developing It?
Bethesda Game Studios, the Maryland-based developer responsible for the Elder Scrolls series and both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, is at work on the game. In addition, Bethesda Game Studios Austin--formerly BattleCry Studios--assisted in fine-tuning the Creation Engine to support multiplayer functionality.
Is It An Online Survival Game?
Fallout 76 is a much different sort of game from its predecessors. It's "entirely online," but don't worry, you'll be able to play it solo too. According to Bethesda, the idea to take this approach to open-world survival came four years ago, when it started to work on building a multiplayer Fallout experience. Howard described the game's approach to survival as "softcore," which means death doesn't equal loss of progression.
You can form a party with up to three other players. You won't be able to manage your placement in servers when you login, as you'll automatically be inserted into a session with others upon booting up the game. Of course, you also have the option simply join alongside your friends and play together.
Howard commented that Fallout 76 will have dedicated servers that will support the game "now and for years to come." At launch, there will only be public servers, but Bethesda plans to introduce private servers that will allow players to invite friends to play in order to prevent undesirable behavior.
Some classic mechanics from past games will be changing to accommodate the shift to online play. For example, V.A.T.S has been reconfigured to work in real time, while still allowing players to target specific enemy body parts. But this time around, it has been updated to be more of a tool that allows you to spot out dangers in the environment.
How Big Is The World?
According to Howard, Fallout 76's world is four times the size of Fallout 4. There are six different regions to explore, and each has its own unique style, risks, and rewards. Confirmed areas include the West Virginia State Capitol, The Greenbrier, Woodburn Circle, New River Gorge Bridge, and Camden Park. Contained within each area is a variety of new creatures to encounter, some of which are based on West Virginian folklore.
What Can You Do?
Like previous games, players will spend the majority of their time exploring and completing quests. However, Fallout 76 will not feature any human non-player characters, as all surviving humans will be controlled by active players. Instead, the game will use combination of robot NPCs, collectible recordings, and environmental storytelling in order to give players what they need to piece together quests and the story at large.
Given the game's premise of rebuilding the world, there will be base-building elements similar to Fallout 4. You will be able to set up a bases anywhere using an item called the Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform, or CAMP. These can be placed down in the world and allow you to construct an impromptu camp. At E3, we got to see the player laying down walls and decorating the base with pool tables, toilets, and other household objects. As the "mobile platform" part of the name implies, your CAMP can also be picked up and relocated, allowing you to move your base anywhere in the world.
While you can help build the world, you can also destroy it. If you have the necessary nuclear launch codes, it's actually possible to access a missile silo to fire a nuke at any point on the map. Doing so irradiates the chosen area, but it also allows for the opportunity to discover rare weapons, gear, and items. Be wary; nuking an area also causes more powerful enemies to show up, making it more difficult to survive. But don't be discouraged by this, the CAMP blueprint system makes it easy for players to quickly rebuild their homes, and if they're privy to an incoming threat, they can pack their things and move to a new location.
As an online experience, player choice is said to be incredibly important, going as far as giving players the freedom to choose who are the heroes and who are the villains. Early footage showcased multiple players engaging in combat and participating in friendly activities, which seems to indicate that players have the freedom to choose their paths in the world of Fallout 76.
How Does Character Creation And Progression Work?
You'll have similar character creation tools as Fallout 4. However, you're free to change your appearance at any point. In addition, you can also utilize the game's new photo mode during the creation process to better see how your character looks, as well as snap some shots you can share on social media.
The SPECIAL system returns and it's a bit different. Like previous games, SPECIAL encompasses the following stats: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. You're given one point to put into any of those stats every time you level up. The first thing you do when you emerge from the vault is pick a SPECIAL and then you pick a perk in that particular SPECIAL. Essentially, every SPECIAL is a pool of points for your perks.
But unlike previous games, perks are now cards you can equip and unlock as you rank up in a given SPECIAL; though, you're free to swap cards out at any time if you want to alter your build. Each SPECIAL characteristic you develop has a perk card cap of 15. These perk cards can be enhanced further from one to five points to increase their power.
You can obtain additional perk cards via Perk Card Packs (four random cards), which you earn every two levels initially (1-10), and then every 5 after that. You can also pick one perk card per level, usually from your SPECIAL choice. There are hundreds of Perks cards you can unlock, so naturally SPECIAL ranks cap out after a while (you gain a rank up in a SPECIAL each time you level up). At level 50, you'll stop increasing SPECIAL ranks, but you'll still get card packs.
How Does PvP Work?
When you shoot someone you do a little bit of damage, which can be equated to lightly slapping them in order to challenge them to a duel. In response to this, the other player can choose to ignore or engage. If they engage in a battle with you, they'll start to take full damage. The one who is killed in this consenting PvP match has the option to seek revenge. Doing so gives that person the opportunity to get double the rewards granted they're successful.
If you'd rather choose to ignore a PvP match, there's no way to escape being killed--despite the small damage dealt to you during the initiation phases. However, if you are killed by a player under these circumstances, that player becomes a Wanted Murderer and will receive no rewards from having killed you.
A Wanted Murderer is marked on the map as a red star and a bounty is placed on their head. Players looking to cash in on this bounty aren't visible on the Murderer's map. If the murderer is killed, the money from that bounty is taken out their stock.
In order to give players time to properly acclimate to how Fallout 76 plays, PvP won't be available to players until level five. And if you perish from any PvP encounter, the only thing you'll lose is the junk you've been collecting, which can be reclaimed after death if not already picked up by other players. You can always store junk in stashes found around the world, so as to safeguard a portion of your stock. Armor and weapons are retained in your inventory after death.
Any Voice Chat?
It's possible to chat with your teammates and even strangers you discover out in the world. It's area-based so your ability to hear other plays will vary. But if you want nothing to do with strangers, it's possible to mute their voices entirely.
When's the Beta?
Falout 76's beta will be available exclusively to those who preorder the game. Bethesda said that it will begin selecting participants from the pool of pre-orders in early October. The plan is to start small and expand over time. Xbox One owners have a slight leg up on the beta compared to other platforms. For more details, you can check out Bethesda's Fallout 76 FAQ for more details on how to redeem your code.
Release Date
Fallout 76 is being developed for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and is currently scheduled to be released on November 14. Unfortunately, there's no word about a Nintendo Switch release, which didn't seem out of the question after the Skyrim re-release made it to that platform.
Just like the forcibly stretched grins of its inhabitants, the joy found in We Happy Few is a facade. The game's fascinating setting of a drug-fueled society wasting away in fake happiness is squandered on repetitive environments, poorly paced and downright boring quest designs, and a variety of confusing mechanics that never find harmony with each other. Its three individual tales of survival manage to deliver some surprisingly poignant moments, but We Happy Few does its best to dissuade you from wanting to play long enough to see them through.
We Happy Few takes place in a timeline where Germany reigned victorious after World War II and has England bowing to their whims. Children are sent to the German mainland without reason, and the quiet town of Wellington Wells is plunged into a drug-induced mirage of peaceful, happy co-existence. With pills called "Joy" helping citizens forget the atrocities of the past, uprising is far less likely. But this fake sense of tranquility brings about its own problems. Citizens refusing to live under Joy's medicinal spell are outcast to the borders of city, forced to live in decrepit, crumbling houses while they wait to starve to death. The citizens of Wellington Wells are always happy to see you, but only if you abide by their rules.
Enter Arthur, Sally and Ollie--the three characters you'll control throughout three acts that show all sides of this horrific society. Arthur suffers from post-traumatic stress, reliving the moments where he lost his brother to the German kidnappings. Sally hides a secret within the walls of Wellington Wells while also providing black market drugs to those who pay enough. Ollie is just a confused war veteran, disturbed by events of the past that have shaped his future. The more personal aspects of each character end up being more interesting than the mythos surrounding them. Each new perspective lends context to previously puzzling interactions to create clever "aha" moments, and the stories have powerful themes of abandonment, parental sacrifice, and overbearing guilt. Each finds a satisfying (if not always happy) end to their journey, despite the mechanics fighting actively against you reaching their climax.
In Early Access (where the game sat for nearly two years), We Happy Few was a survival game. That's mostly stayed the same, despite the structure of its design changing around it. As any character, you'll need to manage meters for hunger, thirst, tiredness, and more (Ollie actually needs to watch his blood sugar, of all things), which impose penalties and buffs on your fighting and movement abilities. Early on, managing these statuses is difficult, with a scarcity of resources while you're still coming to grips with We Happy Few's many rules. But they soon end up being just frustrating. The resources to replenish them aren't hard to find, but constantly having to tend to them when you're just wanting to get along with the story is arduous.
There is an unbelievable number of items to pick up and carry in We Happy Few, but only a small handful end up being useful. You'll frequently be forced to pick up flowers to craft healing balms or bobby pins for lockpicks, for example. But vials of toxins that can knock out or kill enemies don't give you a reason to choose one or the other. The crafting menus for each character change based on their abilities, but the core items that are shared between all three are likely the only ones you'll actually utilize--the specialized items hardly necessitate their complex requirements. It feels like such a waste having a vast crafting system attached to a game that never puts you in a situation where it feels necessary. We Happy Few has many ideas strewn across its menus but nothing mechanically that requires their use.
This frustration is only exacerbated by the lack of interesting quests to undertake in We Happy Few's relatively large open world. Its inhabitants treat you as their delivery boy, never giving you anything more complex than walking to an area, picking something up, and walking all the way back. Quest design works counterintuitively to the idea of having to scrounge to survive. Even if you wanted to reach into the world's nooks and crannies to find something interesting, inquisitive eyes are rarely met with any rewards aside from the plethora of items you probably already have stashed in your inventory. There's a point in Arthur's story where he exclaims, after a multi-staged questline, "All that, just to reboot a bridge?" and it feels like he's crying out for help from you directly.
What attempts to break up this straightforward structure are the rules of Wellington Wells. Outside of its walls you'll be forced to don tattered clothing to fit in with the rest of the depressing crowd, as well as fighting off temptations to steal from their strewn-about dwellings. Inside is another story entirely. The inhabitants of Joy-infested cities will be quick to throw up arms should you do anything but walk. Haunting guards and eerie Joy-sniffing doctors pose a threat to your blending in, which can force you to pop some pills from time to time. Their effects keep you hidden for a time but have devastating withdrawal symptoms that prevent you from masking your depression, which can have an entire city on your tail in mere seconds.
The setting sounds intriguing on paper: a system where stealth is managed by social interactions and conformity. But its execution is lacking. Obeying the strictly imposed rules is trivial and only slows down your progress towards the next quest marker, negating any sense of tension they might have imposed. Outside, the rules are looser, but there's also far less to look at. You'll spend a lot of time simply sprinting through empty fields with no discernable landmarks, only to be greeted by another bridge into another strict state that brings progress to a crawl. It's a disappointing misuse of a system that might have otherwise been engrossing.
It feels like We Happy Few understands many of its mechanics are a chore to begin with.
The character progression system is even more underdeveloped. While each of the three characters has some unique characteristics, the abilities you're able to purchase are largely shared between them, and many give you ways to turn some of We Happy Few's rules off entirely. One allows you to sprint through cities without rousing alarm for example, while another lets you ignore annoying night curfews entirely. It feels like a concession--like We Happy Few understands many of its mechanics are a chore to begin with.
When rules aren't being (mercifully) stripped away, they often just don't work. The night curfew, for example, will have guards turn hostile should they spot you. But conceal yourself on a bench, and they inexplicably ignore you entirely. Melee combat is monotone and predictably boils down to you exhausting your stamina swinging your weapon and then simply blocking until it recharges. When you're not being forced to contend with that, you'll be sneaking around enemies with a barely functioning stealth system. Enemies are inconsistent in their ability to spot you, sometimes walking across your path without a whiff of suspicion. Their patrol lines are easy to spot and never deviate, making the reward of a successful infiltration feel remarkably hollow. Most times they're just far too predictable. They'll stare for extended periods at distractions you conjure and fail to search an area after spotting you briefly. We Happy Few's stealth is so transparently binary that it just feels like you're cheating the system most of the time.
It's a shame that so many of these systems never fit together in a cohesive way, especially when the world itself is overflowing with potential. There's some rich environmental storytelling in We Happy Few, even if its visual variety is shallow. It's striking to transition from dilapidated walls with mad ravings written across them to neatly structured hollows parallel with rainbow roads. The way We Happy Few mixes up its visual representation based on your character's mental states is clever, too. On Joy you'll witness double rainbows as far as the eye can see, with a shiny veneer encapsulating the overly cheery nature of your character. Withdrawal sours this into a dreary grey world where the sounds of flies and visions of decay replace usually unremarkable facets of the environment.
This blends well with We Happy Few's interpretation of the era. Monochrome television screens hang from awnings and play the propaganda-filled ravings of the enigmatic Uncle Jack swing towards you as you pass with a startling red hue. The stretched faces of Wellington Wells' most behaved citizens are off-putting in a brilliantly creepy way, even if there's such a lack of distinct character models that you'll find multiple identical faces hanging out on a single street corner. Cartoonish robotic contraptions mingle in more strictly secure areas and whistle off cheery tunes as they pass by. They also tend to mess about with the pathfinding for Wellington's human inhabitants, which is hilarious only the first few times. For everything that We Happy Few gets right in terms of world building, its gameplay leads it astray.
For everything that We Happy Few gets right in terms of world building, its gameplay leads it astray.
Technical issues plague We Happy Few too, ranging from mildly annoying to borderline game-breaking. Characters will often clip through the floor or disappear entirely as you approach. Shifts between night and day see characters appear and disappear from one second to the next. The framerate suffers on capable PC hardware. Quest logs will sometimes not refresh, while getting an item at the wrong time failed to trigger a quest milestone, forcing me to reload an older save. Audio can disappear from cutscenes entirely for long stretches of time. From numerous angles, We Happy Few is in rough shape.
But even if you are able to overlook its technical shortcomings or perhaps wait for more stable patches in the future, We Happy Few's biggest problems are ones that are hard to remedy. Its entire gameplay loop is underpinned by boring quests and long stretches of inaction. And even when it forces you to interact with its world beyond just walking to waypoints, combat, stealth, and otherwise fascinating societies fail to impose the right balance of challenge and tension. There's a clear lack of direction that We Happy Few is never able to shake, which wastes its intriguing setting. It does manage to weave each of its three stories cohesively into a larger tale, but it's also one that's never critical enough to earn the right to repeat "happiness is a choice" any chance it can. There are just too many hurdles to overcome to enjoy We Happy Few, and not enough Joy in the world to cast them aside.
The upcoming Fallout 76 will be one of the biggest leaps forward for the much-loved series, moving it into an always-online multiplayer environment where every other character you'll encounter in its wastelands is a real life human being. But it's also introducing something else never seen before in a mainline Fallout title: card packs.
As revealed at the Fallout 76 panel broadcast during this year's Quakecon, Fallout 76 will feature a progression system that uses perk cards to build out a player's character. This is how it works: upon leveling up, a player earns a point to allocate to one of their SPECIAL abilities (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Intelligence, Agility, Luck). Players can then use perk cards they've gathered to assign to one of those abilities. Each perk card has a cost to use, however, with the number of points you've allocated to each SPECIAL ability being the cap to how many (and which) cards you'll be able to use.
You'll get to choose one perk card every time you level up, but Fallout 76 will also periodically reward you with a perk card pack that features four random cards. In a neat touch, each of these packs will also feature a joke and a piece of gum (which of course can be used within the game to stave off hunger, if only for a little while).
Perk card packs will be rewarded regularly at the beginning of your adventures in Fallout 76: they're given every two levels up to level 10, and then from every from levels earned from that point.
Game director Todd Howard stated during the panel that there will be hundreds of perks available, which will allow players to mix and match their perks to modify their build at any time during the game. What wasn't mentioned, however, were any details that specify whether these perk cards can be bought with real world money, or whether they'll be kept as something you can strictly earn in-game. You can, however, swap cards with other players you encounter in Fallout 76.
QuakeCon 2018 is now in full swing and we've already had some big reveals, with the first Doom Eternal gameplay video making its debut and confirmation that Doom Eternal is coming to Nintendo Switch. Bethesda's other major upcoming game, Fallout 76, is also set to have a big QuakeCon. The post-apocalyptic online RPG was the focus of a panel and Q&A session taking place at the event, and there was a great deal discussed about the game.
The Fallout 76 panel will feature series producer Todd Howard, was joined by development director Chris Meyer and project leader Jeff Gardner. Who delved deep into the world, character customization, PvP, ability progression, and more. You'll can see all of that by watching the video below.
Fallout 76 was officially revealed in June and took center stage at Microsoft's E3 press conference. Todd Howard appeared on stage during the Xbox press conference and revealed Fallout 76 is an online multiplayer game that tasks players with rebuilding the Wasteland. The actual world is purportedly four times the size of Fallout 4, and it's set before the events of the other mainline Fallout titles. Players emerge from Vault 76 and find themselves responsible for forging a new beginning.
Fallout 76's release date has been confirmed as November 14, however a beta will be held before its release. Bethesda has said the Fallout 76 beta will be accessible to Xbox One owners first, followed by other platforms. Interestingly, Bethesda has opted to bypass Valve's Steam platform for the PC version of Fallout 76 and its beta.
"The PC version of Fallout 76, for both the B.E.T.A. and the launch, will be available only via Bethesda.net, not on Steam," a Bethesda representative previously said. Previous entries in the Fallout series have been available on Steam, but distributing the game through Bethesda's own services would allow the company to avoid paying Valve a cut from sales.
Bethesda doled out several new details on how character progression and abilities function in Fallout 76 during a panel at Quakecon 2018. By nature of it being an online multiplayer survival game, the systems we know from previous Fallout games are changing. Series staples like the SPECIAL system and Perks return, but you'll have to get reacclimatized with them.
SPECIAL encompasses the following stats: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. When players level up, they're given one point to put into any of those stats. The number of points in these stats affords players the ability to equip Perks that are specific to each of the SPECIAL stats.
Perks are relegated to cards which give players specific abilities, and each perk card has a value that requires a certain number of points in its relevant SPECIAL stat. Think of SPECIAL stats as a pool of resources to attach perk cards to. Perk cards are awarded each time a player levels up. Individual cards can also rank up so they can be boosted in effectiveness.
SPECIAL points are no longer given past level 50 and each stat is capped at 15. However, perk cards are still awarded after level 50. To mix things up a bit, perk card packs (containing random perks) are given every two levels up to level 10, and every five levels afterward. This is to encourage experimentation with abilities players may not have considered otherwise. Card packs also come with a stick of gum (containing a joke), which alleviates hunger, which is a nice touch.
Perk cards can be swapped out at anytime, which allows for experimentation with different character builds or adapting to certain situations. For example, the Lone Wanderer perk gives players additional experience points when playing solo, but can be swapped out for another perk since it'd be a waste when joining a group.
To hear the details explained straight from the Fallout 76 panel, see the video below:
The Charisma stat was specifically addressed since it was mainly used to NPC interactions in previous Fallout games (note that Fallout 76 has no NPCs, and all real players). Charisma will allow players to share perks and stat boosts with their squad when grouped up, and will certainly be key for forming an effective squad.
There are hundreds of perks, too. Capping SPECIAL stats limits how powerful players get, which is especially important in an online game, but the expansive perk system leaves room for creativity in builds.
No word was given on whether or not there will be microtransactions or a monetization element when it comes to the perk card system.
Bethesda is coming up with a clever way to deal with bad online manners that's quite punishing; read about how Fallout 76 handles griefing.
Fallout 76 launches for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on November 14, and a pre-release beta is scheduled for sometime in October. Bethesda stated that the Fallout 76 beta will be available on Xbox One first, followed by other platforms. The beta and full game will be distributed directly to consumers by Bethesda instead of using Valve's Steam platform.
Bethesda has discussed how Fallout 76 will deal with griefers, namely players that are intent on attacking and killing others, even when their target isn't interested in player versus player combat. As discussed during the game's QuakeCon 2018 panel by game director Todd Howard, Bethesda decided to turn griefers into content for other players by giving them a taste of their own medicine.
"We want this element of danger, without griefing," said Howard, who continued on to explain that when you shoot someone you do a little bit of damage. He equated this action to lightly slapping someone in a bar to see if they want to fight. The other player can choose to ignore this slap or engage, and if it's the latter you start doing full damage.
Those that don't want to engage in PvP but are still killed do receive some in-game justice. The player that kills someone who doesn't agree to combat becomes a "Wanted Murderer" and receives no rewards from their kill, whether it's caps or experience. This player also then appears on the map as a red star and has a bounty placed on their head. The money from that bounty is taken out the murderer's pool, and also, other players looking to cash in on that bounty aren't visible to the murderer on the map.
Players that are a higher level offer better rewards if engaged and killed. If you decided to do some PvP and are killed, you have the option to seek revenge. Doing so gives players the opportunity to get double the rewards, if they're successful on a second attempt.
PvP doesn't activate until level five, and there are options to block and ignore players. Additionally, you can choose to completely turn off the so called "slap" mechanic. When you die, the only consequence is that you drop the junk you're collecting, which is used to build. Armor and weaponry isn't lost upon death, so the only decision you have to make after dying is whether you want to go back and collect your resources.
However, there are stashes around the world and at your camp that can be used to store junk and keep it safe, so smarter players will no doubt be seeking these out and using them frequently to store precious materials.
Fallout 76's release date has been confirmed as November 14. A beta for the game will be held before its release. Bethesda has said the Fallout 76 beta will be available to Xbox One owners first, followed by other platforms. For both the beta and the full game, Bethesda will distribute directly to consumers instead of using Valve's Steam platform.
Path of Exile's unique approach to loot-based action-RPG gameplay on both PC and Xbox One has become increasingly more ambitious over the years. With the developers at Grinding Gear Games diving into new content focusing monster-hunting, time-travel, and even the exciting world of cartography--each major expansion that introduced new gameplay and league features showed that there's still places for the game venture out to. But now, the creative team behind the free-to-play action-RPG aims to dig a bit deeper by focusing on the dangers and riches hidden in the darkness below the earth.
In the upcoming Delve expansion--set for release August 31 on PC and September 3 on Xbox One--players will discover a vast and ever-growing dungeon known as the Azurite Mine, which houses rare minerals and lost treasures from the lost ages. In this sprawling cavern, the titular Azurite mineral comes in abundance, which can be turned into the merchant above ground for new upgrades to your character that aid them during their descent. But unlike the other dungeons that you'll come to find in PoE, the Azurite Mine is shrouded in an oppressive darkness, devouring those that stay within its grasp for too long.
Distinguishing itself from earlier content, the Azurite Mine of the Delve expansion is essentially an infinite dungeon. Opening up early into Act 1, newcomers and veterans alike can dive into the dungeon and chart their progress on the Subterranean map. With the aid of an automated mine cart, which gives off a light source that keeps the darkness at bay, it will guide players through the caverns. Along the way, you'll fight off monsters that lurk in the shadows, all the while uncovering loot caches and hidden walls that lead to valuable resources. Spread across multiple sections of an underground network with branching pathways and some dead-ends, the different areas of the underground range from low-level fodder to end-game tier foes. While a low-level character can certainly make progress, they'll eventually hit a wall where they'll need to become stronger to overcome the odds.
Eventually, you'll reach an end point for a particular path you've chosen, leading to a climatic encounter with some elite foes. However, things don't end there. By backtracking to earlier branches, you can venture off to entirely new areas, going beyond the dark caves into ice caverns, and ancient ruins lost to time. Despite certain pathways coming to a conclusion, there will always be different places to explore created by the game's randomly generated environments. But the deeper you go into the mines, the more potent the darkness becomes.
In addition to the new dungeon and narrative, the Delve update will also include a set of quality of life improvements to Path of Exile. Along with new visual improvements to the early Acts of the story campaign--updating character designs and lighting to be more consistent with recent content--new skills and improvements have been added to the existing classes and their different builds. For instance, the new skill Smite for the Templar allows players to attack enemies and simultaneously buff party members. Furthermore, you may even be able to come across the ultra rare Timeworn Reliquary Keys, which open portals to chests yielding unique rewards.
When looking back at its 2013 launch, Path of Exile has certainly grown a lot. The developers have stated that the continued growth of the game is due in part to its passionate audience, which continues to increase with every year thanks to its free-to-play model. With the Delve expansion, the developers aim to focus more on pure loot driven gameplay, which will have players face some unexpected challenges while exploring an unnerving environment and claustrophobic area.
2016's Doom surprised folks when it first launched. Touted as a franchise reboot, many had not anticipated that the game would fare so well, as the limited footage people had seen only gave brief glimpses of what to expect. But when the game finally released, it received glowing reviews. GameSpot's Peter Brown praised the game, saying, "It captures the essence of what made the classic Doom games touchstones of their day, and translates it to suit modern palates with impressively rendered hellscapes and a steady influx of tantalizing upgrades."
Bethesda recently confirmed Doom would receive a sequel titled Doom Eternal. For a while we didn't know much about what the game would be like, but creative director Hugo Martin and director Marty Stratton recently took to the stage at QuakeCon 2018 to finally show off gameplay.
To ensure you're kept up to date on everything there is to know about Doom Eternal, we've compiled all the information we have on the game so far. Be sure to keep checking back often as we update this feature with more details.
Doom Eternal is a sequel set sometime after the events of 2016's Doom. Not much is known about Eternal's exact premise aside from fact that it takes place on an Earth overrun by the forces of Hell. You'll also be spending time in space on Phobos, the innermost moon of Mars.
How Does It Play?
From a gameplay perspective, Eternal will play much like its predecessor, once again challenging you to fast-paced firefights against an onslaught of demons. Speaking of which, it has been confirmed that there will be twice as many varieties of demons as there were in the first game. Based on the early footage, Cacodemons, Barons of Hell, Pain Elementals, Arch-Viles, Arachnotrons, Imps, and Revenants are set to return. There will also be new demons coming in the form of reimaginings of enemies from Doom 2, as well as completely new enemies entirely.
There are going to be a ton of new weapons, but a few old ones from the previous game will return albeit with some subtle changes. For instance, the Plasma Rifle now shoots orbs that electrify enemies. While some weapons have been slightly changed, others have been revamped, like the Ballista, which is a new version of the Gauss Cannon that shoots explosive energy bolts.
Doom Slayer looks to play exactly as you remember him but with an expanded roster of mobility options. You now have the ability to quickly dash/dodge ala Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare; you can even climb certain surfaces and swing on poles in the environment to clear wide gaps. In addition, you can use a grappling hook to latch onto enemies and nearby surfaces. There are also new suit abilities, such as an arm blade and a shoulder mounted launcher that can shoot grenades and fire. Lastly, power-ups are returning and it appears they can enhance your physical characteristics permanently.
Any New Modes?
The biggest new addition in Eternal is an invasion mode where other players can jump into your single-player campaign as demons, basically forming hunting parties to take you out. The mode will allow you to join friends to invade or be invaded. Of course, you can also play alone if you don't want to deal with it.
In an odd twist, there appears to be a lives system of some kind. Based on the debut footage, this doesn't seem to directly impact normal single-player play, but we're thinking this item might come in handy during the invasions where you could easily die at any moment and lose your progress.
Is It Coming To Nintendo Switch?
A Nintendo Switch version of Eternal has been confirmed, but it's unclear if it'll release alongside the for PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions. In addition, it appears that Panic Button, the studio that handled porting the first game, will be returning to port Eternal--at least if this humorous tweet teasing at the possibility is to be believed.
Release Date
Bethesda has not confirmed a release date for Doom Eternal at this time, though it's set to launch sometime in 2019. We're hoping that a release window is confirmed sooner than later.
By Anonymous on Aug 11, 2018 08:30 pm Veteran voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Dana Snyder (Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) interview each other at RTX Austin about their new Netflix animated comedy, Paradise PD.
There are a ton of new games released every month. Some are highly-anticipated big-budget releases while others are smaller, more surprising independent titles. There's a wide variety of other experiences in-between as well. You get games from medium-sized publishers and even the occasional port or remaster of gaming's most iconic adventures.
With so many games coming out year-round, it can be tough keeping track of what's worth playing. To help keep you in the know, we've compiled all the best new games you absolutely need to play right now. The point of this feature is to focus on the latest and greatest games, so the choices you'll find here have been limited to the past couple months.
What you'll find in the slides ahead are games rated 7 or higher by GameSpot. However, you'll occasionally find some lower-rated ones that have been chosen to be included by an incredibly passionate member of our team. We won't hesitate to highlight experiences some members of our staff absolutely love--even if there are others who may not agree. The games included in this feature are ones we personally believe you should check out in some capacity.
As the months go by, we'll be continually cycling out the older games with the most cutting-edge experiences out now, so be sure to keep checking back as often as you can. Which new games have you been playing recently? Let us know in the comments below.
Unavowed -- 9/10
"But Unavowed's greatest strength is that it maintains an admirable focus on incredible characterization that feeds into every quest and conversation. Every question you ask, every decision you make, and every sacrifice you make carries you and your team members on an impassioned journey that epitomizes the best qualities of an adventure game. It never rests on tropes, a strong sense of empathy is present through its entirety, and not only do you come to wholly understand character motivations, the way these people deal with supernatural situations helps to build a bond between them and you as a player. From its wonderfully realized locations and its inviting, three-dimensional characters, Unavowed will have you eager to discover the captivating stories lurking in the demonic underworld of New York City." [Read the review]
-- David Rayfield
Monster Hunter World (PC) -- 8/10
"Ever since the title was first announced, it was clear that Capcom was gunning for something grander than Monster Hunter Generations. It has succeeded, and this is likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been. It's not just the comparative depth of the narrative; it also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large." [Read the review]
-- Ginny Woo
Overcooked 2 -- 8/10
"Overcooked 2 undoubtedly shines in local co-op and the versus arcade modes. New recipes and obstacles provide a fresh challenge for veterans, but it remains approachable for new players with simple controls and short playtimes. The new throwing mechanic, too, adds a new dimension to both strategy and the inevitable chaos without overcomplicating things. It's a strong foundation, and with the right friends, Overcooked 2 is one of the best couch co-op games around." [Read the review]
-- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
Dead Cells -- 9/10
"Dead Cells is a phenomenal effort to blend together some very disparate genres into a tight, cohesive whole. It's one of the better examples of how to remix ideas without losing their individual strengths." [Read the review]
-- Daniel Starkey
No Man's Sky Next -- 8/10
"At its absolute best, No Man's Sky is a measured, gentle experience where you are rarely the agent of change, but a perpetual visitor who's constantly dwarfed by the magnitude of a universe neutral to your presence. It is not your job in these stories to colonize the universe. Your job is to comprehend it. Your job is to recognize the spirituality in it. The primary gimmick of No Man's Sky, since day one, has been awe. The best things about the Next update feed that gimmick. While features like multiplayer and base-building certainly put more proverbial asses in seats, they're also the least memorable additions to an otherwise thoughtful experience." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Warioware Gold -- 8/10
"WarioWare Gold might not be entirely new, but it's the best representation available of what makes this series special. It's a true greatest hits package that showcases Wario's unique weirdo vibe, and this style of play remains inventive and thrilling 15 years after the original Game Boy Advance game. We're still hoping for an entirely new title on Switch in the future, but for now Gold is a compelling, generous victory lap." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Chasm -- 8/10
"Even when its flaws are obvious, Chasm is a well-crafted adventure, and during the more than 12 hours I spent playing through my first time, I got lost only once. That's a huge bonus in a genre where getting lost is often the most frustrating aspect. Even after I finished, I was eager to venture forth on a new adventure, to test my combat mettle against harder foes and find the one secret that eluded me the first time through. It's a shame the randomization of the world isn't that big of a deal and the challenge could be better balanced, but the superb combat and visual design ensure your time with Chasm will be well spent." [Read the review]
-- Tom McShea
The Banner Saga 3 -- 8/10
"As things come down to the wire the two separate groups become more and more interconnected, the consequences of one group's choices directly affecting the potential of the other. This exemplifies the best part about The Banner Saga 3: the feeling that every action you've made in regards to your clan for three games--the friends you've kept and lost, the decisions you've made, and the battles you've picked--will likely influence how well this finale is going to fare. The Banner Saga 3 won't have the same kind of meaningful impact if you haven't experienced the rest of the series. But if you've taken the time to journey with these characters from the very beginning, this finale is a worthwhile and cathartic end to your long journey." [Read the review]
-- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor
Semblance -- 7/10
"Because it's so short, and the puzzles never get particularly fiendish, Semblance is an enjoyable but light experience. This isn't necessarily a bad thing--it's a relaxed game, a good one to clear over a few sessions in bed or on the train if you're playing on Switch--but it also means that it doesn't feel like the game realizes its full conceptual potential. But the fact that I desperately wanted more, and that I was disappointed when Semblance abruptly ended, says more about the game's strengths than its weaknesses. This is a good idea realized and executed well, even though you're likely to come away from it wishing for just a bit more." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Mother Gunship -- 8/10
"With the game's clever gun crafting system added into the mix, familiar tropes and techniques from classic shooting galleries feel super-charged in the game's randomized bullet-hell dungeons. When Mothergunship is firing on all cylinders, it's a satisfying and thrilling shooter where it really counts. With an incredibly fun and never uninteresting gun-crafting mechanic, it certainly goes a long way with its clever hook and an endless flow of enemies to gun down." [Read the review]
-- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
Fighting EX Layer -- 8/10
"On a pure gameplay level, Fighting EX Layer is an absolute treat. What it lacks in bells and whistles it delivers in pure, fun combat. This is a game made for the sort of people who will spend hours perfecting an impractical, extremely-precise combo in training mode simply for the satisfaction of having done it. If that describes you, then Fighting EX Layer will be worth everything you put into it." [Read the review]
-- Heidi Kemps
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker -- 8/10
"Despite a smattering of minor complaints, Captain Toad stands as a pint-sized version of Nintendo's stellar first party pedigree. It's among the best Mario spin-offs around and a delightful iteration on old ideas." [Read the review]
-- Daniel Starkey
Octopath Traveler -- 8/10
"Despite the lackluster stories that pull you through the world, Octopath thrives on its character progression and the temptations of high-level challenges and rewards. The promise of new jobs, exciting boss fights, and powerful gear will inspire you to poke around every corner, and there are no shortage of discoveries to strive for. And all the while, you're treated to one of the most interesting and effective re-imaginings of a retro aesthetic around. Octopath will likely be a divisive game due to its fractured storytelling, but it's one worth playing despite its lesser qualities. Its high points are simply too good to ignore." [Read the review]
-- Peter Brown, Managing Editor
Sonic Mania Plus -- 9/10
"Beyond these additions and small tweaks, including balancing fixes and the ability to use secret options in any of your save files, Sonic Mania is the same exuberant celebration of Sonic's past. While it was already a fantastic package on the outset, this new update makes it even better than before. If you missed Sonic Mania the first time around, now is the perfect time to catch up." [Read the review]
-- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor
The Crew 2 -- 8/10
"I'm annoyed by the game's lack of public interaction and meaningless gear system, but I'll fondly recall both the tension of flinging sprint boats back and forth through the narrow, artificial canals of The Venetian in Las Vegas, and the easygoing satisfaction of an hour-long hypercar race from New York to San Francisco, where I listened to a podcast and enjoyed the rolling scenery. Despite its shortcomings, The Crew 2 still displays admirable strengths, which lie in its player-friendly features, freedom of movement, and its willingness to bend the rules in order to make things exciting and varied for an accessible, American-themed thrillride." [Read the review]
-- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor
Wreckfest -- 9/10
"It's rare when a racing game manages to modernize and reinvigorate an old formula with spectacular confidence, but Wreckfest does just that. Minor issues with menus and its soundtrack aside, it wows with a gorgeous look and wonderful driving feel, along with a damage system that satisfies in the most brutal of fashions. With its array of different cars, tracks, and event types, Wreckfest is a brilliantly fun and frenetic racing game that can be thoroughly enjoyed by anyone, not just racing game fans." [Read the review]
-- James Swinbanks
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (Switch) -- 8/10
"As long as you're able to play the entire game in docked mode, The New Colossus is the same fantastic game it is on other platforms. It runs well and, despite some minor visual compromises, it still looks pretty good. Handheld mode is unfortunately far less optimized, and the Joy-Cons simply don't feel as good to use as the Pro Controller. If Switch is your only way to play it, The New Colossus is absolutely worth your time--just not on the go." [Read the review]
-- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
Lumines -- 8/10
"Lumines is the kind of game that temporarily rewires your brain, splicing together its ability to recognize visual patterns and audible rhythms simultaneously and forcing you to do the hard but delightful work of putting that ability to use. Having that experience so lovingly presented--and on the Switch, having Lumines handheld again for the first time in six years--is an occasion worth celebrating." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Mario Tennis Aces -- 7/10
"It speaks volumes that even the multiplayer limitations don't entirely dampen my enthusiasm for Aces. The Tetris Effect is in full swing here; days after the credits rolled, I still crave the satisfying thwack from a Power Shot, mentally replay matches and imagine how I might do things differently given a bit more focus and know-how. Mario Tennis Aces does what this series has done best, and for the most part, improves what it's rarely gotten right prior." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Nier: Automata Become As Gods Edition -- 9/10
"Nier: Automata has released on Xbox One as the Become As Gods Edition, which includes the 3C3C1D119440927 DLC along with several cosmetic items for the main characters and pods. We tested the new Xbox One version by playing through the first three hours of the game, and it runs at a stable frame rate at 4K on the Xbox One X. Most importantly, everything we love about Nier: Automata is, of course, still here: the evocative soundtrack, unique narrative style, and affecting story are as strong as ever. We have updated the score to include the Xbox One version." [Read the review]
-- Michael Higham
The Adventures of Captain Spirit -- 8/10
"Life is Strange gained a huge cult following, and whether you're a veteran or a newcomer, Captain Spirit captures a lot of the original game's appeal. Regardless of how you classify The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit--whether it's a standalone adventure, a demo, or a prologue--it's a beautiful game, and one that leaves you all the more excited about Life is Strange 2." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Jurassic Park World -- 7/10
"If there's one word that could easily describe Jurassic World Evolution, it's "faithful." Taking control of a ranger behind the wheel of a Jeep in the rain and sidling up to a pack of socializing Stegosaurus is as epic as it sounds and is a definite highlight, as is releasing a newly recovered species into your park. Despite the campaign stumbling over itself and losing focus towards the end, Evolution captures the essence of Jurassic Park while being a good park management sim in its own right." [Read the review]
-- James Swinbanks
Unravel Two -- 8/10
"With its charming yarnlings and a newfound style of platforming, Unravel Two remains welcoming even at its most foreboding. Sure, a forest fire breaks out in one of the latter stages, but even then, the race to keep ahead of the blaze is fun and frantic instead of stressful. In almost every moment you're given ample time and space to breathe and take in the stunning photorealistic world from the viewpoint of the tiniest creatures. It's a game with boisterous birds, chases through meadows, and most importantly a cheerful partnership with a companion who's always got your back. With only six chapters that run roughly 30 minutes apiece, Unravel Two doesn't last long, but it's a game where the time you have is meaningful, memorable, and downright pleasant from beginning to end." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Moonlighter -- 7/10
"In some ways, the same could be said of the keeping the shop running at peak efficiency, but there's enough interplay with managing your limited baggage space and just enough anchored in supply-and-demand systems that it comes together nicely. It's a shame, then that Moonlighter's also a bit on the short end, as some of these ideas would do well with simply more--but then the combat would like thin out even more. Still, what's here is refreshing, and the balance struck between crawling through dungeons and working with the economics of the town are a good combo while it lasts." [Read the review]
-- Daniel Starkey
Sushi Striker -- 7/10
"Despite its imperfect transition to Switch, Sushi Striker is one of the more enjoyable puzzle games in the console's library. With a substantial campaign that's propped up by clever mechanics and a charmingly ludicrous story, the game offers a wealth of single- and multiplayer content to dive into. The controls suffer a bit in the move to Switch, and the campaign is stretched out for too long, but the fast-paced puzzle-matching gameplay offers a surprising amount of depth and is a real treat." [Read the review]
Pokemon Go's next Community Day is almost here. This month's event features Eevee and takes place across two days--August 11 and 12--rather than the usual one, and Niantic has revealed what special move the Evolution Pokemon will be able to learn during the event.
Despite being held across two days, August's events will still only run for three hours each day. During that period, Eevee will appear much more frequently in the wild, and each one you capture will know Last Resort--an attack it normally isn't able to learn. You'll also have a chance of encountering Shiny Eevee for the first time.
Eevee won't be the only Pokemon capable of learning Last Resort during this month's events, either. The Pokemon Company says that any Eevee that evolves between the time the Community Day begins on Saturday and ends on Sunday will also know Last Resort, so you'll need to take advantage of that extra time if you hope to pass the move on to the Pokemon's many evolutions.
In addition to increased Eevee spawns, players will be able to take advantage of a few other bonuses during this month's Community Days. Each Eevee you capture during the event hours will reward you with triple the normal amount of Stardust. Lure Modules will also last for three hours rather than their usual 30-minute duration.
Both of this month's Community Days will run during the same three-hour period each day, which will vary depending on where you live. You can see the full event hours for each region below, while more details can be found on the official Pokemon website.
We need to talk about Fortnite. Epic Games' world-conquering battle royale shooter has a problem. Whether you agree with this or not depends on whether you take umbrage with the meta infamously known as "Spray and Pray," which stems from various factors introduced in Season 5 that have altered the way the majority of firefights play out.
So let's start from the top. Fortnite's shooting mechanics are centered around a system known as "bloom," which affects each weapon's accuracy. Where you aim isn't the deciding factor in where your bullets will hit, as there's also a random element of luck involved. The shots you take will always land somewhere within your crosshair, with the size of each crosshair varying depending on whether you're aiming down sights, moving, standing, crouching, or jumping. First-shot accuracy (which guarantees your first shot is more accurate than the rest) is also something to take into consideration, but beyond that there isn't anything you can do to ensure each bullet successfully hits its target. Crouching and standing still helps, but you'll still have to pray to the RNG gods if you want your bullets to connect.
As you can imagine, bloom is already divisive on its own, with one alternative being PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' utilisation of mechanics like weapon recoil and bullet drop--offering a more authentic and skill-based depiction of weapon firing. However, it's clear Epic implemented bloom to reduce the skill gap between dedicated players and newcomers--at least when it comes to straight-up firefights. This makes sense when you consider Fortnite is the most popular video game in the world right now, with its availability enticing people from all walks of life to hop into the fray. But recent changes have intensified bloom's impact in a much more negative way.
The two key factors to consider here are the increase in power for SMGs, as well as the nerfs to building and the amount of crafting materials you receive. The new P90 Compact SMG is, of course, the leading major here, with its large magazine and high fire-rate giving it a distinct advantage over most other weapons. But the P90s fellow SMG brethren aren't far behind either. With simple firefights regularly boiling down to a healthy dollop of luck, the rapid-firing SMGs reign supreme in the current Fortnite meta. Just hold down fire and pray for the best. More than anything, however, the emergence of SMGs as the be-all-and-end-all of weapons has made the nerfs to building even more pronounced.
Epic has tinkered with the health of buildings and the amount of materials you receive from knocking down trees, walls, fences, and so on. However, with fewer materials to work with, and less health for each structure you build, the general consensus is that building is gradually being nullified.
SMGs can easily tear through structures with little issue, forcing you to burn through resources just to keep out of the firing line
SMGs can easily tear through structures with little issue, forcing you to burn through resources just to keep out of the firing line. This has led to fights becoming much less dynamic and more predictable, while protracted battles of wits and proficiency are few and far between. There's a clear skill gap when it comes to building that might deter some, but it's also the fundamental aspect that makes Fortnite so unique. And it's being undermined by the SMG-heavy Spray and Pray meta.
One theory being bandied about is that Epic are nerfing building to make the game more welcoming for new and casual players, especially with Fortnite now available on smartphones. Again, this would make sense, but it also feels like a misguided move. Pro players and popular streamers have voiced their concerns about the current meta, along with the hordes of other dedicated players putting in the hours every day, and it's hard to argue with them. Getting good at building is tough, sure, but implementing a tutorial, or making Playground a constant fixture, would give people the opportunity to practice and improve their building skillset without Epic needing to quash its effectiveness.
It's always going to be difficult to please everyone, but deferring to those who have put in the time, money, and effort sounds like a solid strategy. Fortnite is constantly changing, and this meta won't last forever, but it could set a disappointing precedent if Epic sticks to this path going forward.
This week Jake and Jean-Luc look at the cult-classic action adventure game, Beyond Good & Evil.
Veteran voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Dana Snyder (Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) interview each other at RTX Austin about their new Netflix animated comedy, Paradise PD.
No comments:
Post a Comment