After multiple delays, Nintendo finally rolled out its paid online subscription service for Switch last September. While the company doesn't typically disclose usage numbers, it did share some insight on how the service has been faring thus far.
In its recent financial results briefing, Nintendo revealed that the Nintendo Switch Online service has more than eight million subscribed accounts. According to the company, this figure doesn't include accounts that only participated in the free trial, but it does factor in every account included under a family membership, which allows up to eight account holders across different Switch consoles to share the benefits of one subscription.
"Nintendo Switch Online has had a good start," president Shuntaro Furukawa said in the briefing. "In keeping with the goal of providing Nintendo Switch owners with 'More Games. More Features. More Fun,' we are working on continuing to expand the service offerings."
Nintendo didn't share any further details on how it will expand NSO, but during the briefing, the company teased that it is working on an unannounced Switch game that is "suitable" for the service (via Siliconera), presumably meaning it will emphasize online play. Rumors have circulated that SNES games could also be coming to the service, although Nintendo hasn't confirmed this.
Much like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live, the Nintendo Switch Online service is required to play Nintendo Switch games online. It gives subscribers a few other benefits as well, such as the ability to back up their save data to the cloud and exclusive access to a library of classic NES games. NSO subscribers are also eligible for "special offers," such as an exclusive set of NES-style controllers for Switch.
Sharing screenshots and videos from Xbox One has been notoriously difficult throughout the console's life cycle. Thankfully, Microsoft has listened to people's concerns and made it a little easier, though you'll need to use a separate app to take advantage.
The Xbox App--known earlier in its life as SmartGlass--has been updated, and it can now share media from your Xbox One to social networks and your smartphone directly. Xbox director of programming and community figurehead Major Nelson shared the news on Twitter with a screenshot that showed Instagram, Discord, iMessage, email, and Twitter as some of the sharing options in the newly updated app.
Steam is offering another free game to download through its client. This time it's the 2015 indie horror game Kholat from Polish studio Imgn.Pro. The creepy game is narrated by actor Sean Bean. You can pick it up now on the Steam Store until February 4 at 9 AM PT.
Kholat has you exploring the Russian Ural Mountains to uncover the mystery of nine students who went missing in 1959. The game is based loosely on the real-life Dyatlov Pass Incident, in which nine students ventured into the Kholat Syakhl ("Dead Mountain" in Mansi) and were each found dead over the span of four months. The game goes in a much more supernatural direction with their disappearance.
"In many stories, blizzards and the frigid cold provide a specific kind of terror, and Kholat's moaning winds cry out tales of lost souls that the game ignores in favor of shapeless nonsense," critic Kevin VanOrd wrote in GameSpot's review. "Its ideas reveal the game Kholat wanted to be, but its aspirations soar far higher than the game it became. What good is a mystery if you don't care about what it might tell you?"
Ubisoft is offering another new free game, for a limited time. This time it's the 2D stealth-action game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, one of the very few Assassin's Creed games that doesn't take place in Europe or the Americas. Make sure to claim your free copy through the Ubisoft Store anytime by February 5.
This was one of a trilogy of Chronicles games, which each featured a new setting and Assassin. China features the female assassin Shao Jun, who trained under the series' biggest star, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. She returns to her homeland to take out a group of Templars called the Eight Tigers. Subsequent Chronicles games would be set in India during the Sikh Empire and Russia just after the October Revolution.
Ubisoft has made a regular practice of giving away free games through its PC storefront, and this comes just as Epic Games has started to do the same for its own burgeoning store. Steam and Epic have been starting to battle it out publicly lately. Ubisoft's own store is competing with them to an extent, but as a publisher it's also able to partner with either store. The Division 2 is eschewing Steam for the Ubisoft Store, for example.
"Chronicles' passive pacing is a shame, because the pieces, combat notwithstanding, are mostly strong," critic Kevin VanOrd wrote in GameSpot's review. "Furthermore, the exquisite environments craft a setting that makes me eager to see the two upcoming sequels--Chronicles: India, and Chronicles: Russia--in action. If they follow in Chronicles: China's footsteps, they will be beautiful to behold. I hope, however, that unlike the first entry, they take the leap of faith required to make them play as boldly as they look."
Most of the Destiny 2 community spent this week chasing The Last Word, the latest Exotic weapon added to the game. Getting the legendary hand cannon from the first Destiny is quite an undertaking, though, thanks to a tough, lengthy quest called The Draw. Luckily, it's the weekend, and that means Xur is back with Exotics you can buy instead of earn.
As always, Xur is selling a random Exotic gun, plus one piece of Exotic armor for each character class. They're all from the Year One collection, which means they come from before the big Forsaken expansion. You'll find Xur this week on Earth in the EDZ, in the Winding Cove area. From the spawn point, head north and climb the cliff until you reach a crashed Fallen ship to find Xur waiting.
Xur brings The Huckleberry this time, an SMG that can deal some serious damage in a short amount of time. Holding down the trigger on the gun increases its rate of fire as well as recoil, meaning that at close range it's almost universally deadly. Racking up kills also refills part of the gun's magazine so you can fire even more.
In the armor department, Titans can snag An Insurmountable Skullfort, a helmet that kicks on your health regeneration and restores melee energy for every Arc melee kill you manage, making it great for Titans who love to punch things. Hunters get the Stomp-EE5 boots, which greatly increase jumping height and run speed--perfect for those tough platforming sections in spots like The Whisper quest. Finally, for Warlocks, there's the Claws of Ahamkara gauntlets, which offer you a second melee charge when equipped. Keep in mind that while Exotic weapons have set perks, Exotic armor gets random perk rolls, so even if you already have all the armor pieces that Xur is carrying, his rolls might be better.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they'll cost you:
The Huckleberry (Exotic SMG) -- 29 Legendary Shards
An Insurmountable Skullfort (Exotic Titan gauntlets) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Stomp-EE5 (Exotic Hunter leg armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Claws of Ahamkara (Exotic Warlock leg armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Xur also packs a couple of other handy items. One is a Fated Engram, an expensive pathway to a new Exotic. Dropping 97 Legendary Shards on the item will grant you one Year One Exotic you don't already have for that character. You can also snag a Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
If you're still working on taking home The Last Word, check out our guide to completing The Draw. The story tied to the gun is one of the best in Destiny lore, so you might want to get caught up with our story rundown about it as well. Destiny 2 players also have Crimson Days, the game's Valentine's Day event, to look forward to, which starts on February 13. After that, there's the Season of the Drifter, which starts in March--and which will bring back another Destiny 1 fan-favorite Exotic weapon, Thorn.
It's been something of a rough week for Xbox Live, which has encountered issues on multiple occasions (including one particularly severe incident). That's again the case today for Xbox One and PC owners, as sign-in issues have emerged on Friday that Microsoft says it's working to resolve. [Update: Microsoft now says these sign-in issues have been resolved, so you should be able to get online and start playing without any further problems. That said, not everything is working as it should, as Microsoft confirmed that you might have trouble buying things: "Previous issues with sign in should now be resolved. We're aware of users also running into issues with purchasing new content over Xbox Live and teams are actively engaged on that as well. We'll have additional updates to provide soon."]
While sign-in problems sound somewhat innocuous, that can mean you're unable to get online to play games like Fortnite or to even access certain content. In a tweet, Microsoft's support account stated, "If you're running into errors attempting to sign in or access previously purchased content, our teams are aware and working to identify the cause. We'll update here when we have more to provide."
A subsequent tweet provides a further update, stating, "We have teams actively engaged on issues related to sign in and accessing previously purchased content. We'll update again when we've identified the cause. Our status page will also have updates related to these issues."
The Xbox Live status page doesn't offer much more information, except to confirm that both Xbox One and Xbox services on Windows 10 in the "core services" category are impacted. Besides the sign-in problems, you might also have trouble creating or managing an account right now.
There's no word on exactly when the problems will be resolved; as always, it could be a very short wait or a matter of hours. Some small consolation is that these problems don't appear as serious as those earlier in the week, which caused some users to receive a black screen when powering the system on. This rendered it completely unusable, though some reports suggested that disconnecting the system from the internet would allow offline functionality to resume.
We'll report back with any further details as Microsoft shares them.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's first DLC character, Piranha Plant, arrived this week alongside the big 2.0.0 update. Nintendo offered the new fighter for free to players who purchased and registered their games on My Nintendo by January 31, but if you missed your opportunity to get it, you now have the option to buy it.
Piranha Plant is now available to purchase in the Switch Eshop. Unlike the other planned DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Piranha Plant isn't included in the game's Fighters Pass, so you only have the option to pick it up individually. If you do want to add it to your roster, it costs $5--slightly cheaper than the price of other upcoming fighters, presumably because it doesn't come with a new stage and music tracks.
Beyond Piranha Plant, Nintendo is working on five other DLC characters for Smash Bros. Ultimate. The first of these will be Joker from Persona 5. Each new fighter will come in a pack alongside a stage and multiple music tracks for $6. You'll also be able to get all of them at a discount through the $25 Fighters Pass. Picking up the Fighters Pass will also get you a bonus Mii costume based on Rex from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
All of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC characters are slated to arrive by February 2020. Nintendo hasn't officially revealed the identities of the remaining four fighters yet, but during the Game Awards in December, NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime teased they will all be newcomers to the series and are characters "who you wouldn't anticipate."
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched for Nintendo Switch on December 7 and has set new sales records for the series. Not only was it Amazon's best-selling video game of 2018 (and the US's fifth best-selling game) despite launching near the end of the year, it has already sold 12 million copies around the world, making it Nintendo's third best-selling Switch game to date.
Microsoft's latest Games with Gold offerings are now available, giving you a host of freebies for your Gold subscription. This month's inclusions offer a few retro throwbacks along with some action games from older generations. As always, some of the games are available throughout the entire month while others will rotate in and out midway, so check the schedule to make sure you don't miss out on any.
The Xbox One games include Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, an 8-bit style game modeled loosely after Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. It's a prequel, both spiritually and plot-wise, to the upcoming Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and we found it rather good. It will be available throughout the entire month. Super Bomberman R also joins the rotation on February 16 through mid-March. It's an update of the classic Bomberman franchise, best used as a madcap party game so you can curse your friends for bombing you.
On Xbox 360, you get Assassin's Creed Rogue, a game that came out alongside the widely derided Assassin's Creed Unity. It was an interesting game in its own right, though, and explored more of the Templars' perspective. It's only available through February 15, after which it will be replaced by the original Xbox game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
As always, the Xbox and Xbox 360 games offered through Games with Gold are playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility. You can still grab one of last month's games for a while longer as well: WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship for Xbox One is available until February 15.
Check out the full line-up and schedule below.
February 2019 Games With Gold
Xbox One
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Feb. 1-28)
Super Bomberman R (Feb. 16-Mar. 15)
WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship (Jan. 16-Feb. 15)
After cooking for half a decade, Crackdown 3 is almost here. Trailers have shown that it will more closely resemble the first game than its divisive sequel, and the prevailing opinion seems to be that that's a good thing on face value. Commercials play up the comic-book cop connection with help from Terry Crews' over-the-top personality, which effortlessly conveys the explosive attitude fans are apparently asking for. Now that I've played Crackdown 3 for a few hours it's easy to identify similarities to the 2007 original, but rather than the campaign stealing the show, it's the competitive multiplayer component that will be my reason for paying attention to Crackdown 3 at launch.
When Microsoft hosted the demo at a recent event, the plan was to get a taste of multiplayer before stepping into the campaign. At the heart of competitive Crackdown is the cloud, or more specifically, Microsoft's Azure server infrastructure. With the power of roughly a dozen standard Xbox One systems dedicated in the cloud to each multiplayer match, large, highly vertical environments are yours to destroy. Every structure can be punctured or completely leveled into rubble. It's an impressive calamity to witness, but it's how the new rules of engagement influence your approach to combat and perception of distance and obstacles that really counts, and that only works because every player is experiencing the same physics simulations in real time.
Everyone has the use of a generous lock-on ability that remains in effect even after an enemy leaves your line of sight, allowing you to strategize how you might use your destructive abilities to capitalize on your informed advantage. To balance the engagement, a visible blue tether connects target and shooter during lock on, turning red once the attacker opens fire. When you detect that you're in someone's sights, your reaction is either to mad dash for a boost pad or to explode through buildings to carve out a path to safety. But don't forget: With a predator tracking your every move, you might be better off facing them head on instead. Doing so leads to frantic bouts of blowing up buildings to disrupt movement or clear away a protective barrier so you can strike with lesser weapons while your heavy guns cool down.
Incorporating my destructive capabilities wasn't natural at first, but once the practice became habitual after a few matches it was like a lightbulb went off in my head: Destruction is at the heart of everything in multiplayer, and seeing how it elevates the core Crackdown experience made me realize how the cloud is capable of more than simply streaming games as we know them today.
No matter how fast, nor hard-hitting the action got in our matches, there was never a sign of the Azure servers buckling under pressure. Controls were responsive and there was nary a hiccup in frame rate or resolution to note. A real-world test this was not--we were in a Microsoft-controlled environment after all--but it was a promising sign of what's possible under ideal conditions. The only evidence that I was playing a game running in the cloud was the impressive destructibility on display, the likes of which I've never before seen in a multiplayer setting.
Despite only having access to a single map and match type, the 90-minute multiplayer session flew by. We were then given the keys to the campaign and, at Microsoft's suggestion, started off with a save file a few hours into the adventure. This was when my second revelation hit: Old Crackdown isn't as fun as I remember it, especially when compared to the exciting multiplayer component. I have seen only a sliver of the campaign, but what I saw was tepid and outdated. The world is rendered with some modern flourishes like bloom lighting and seemingly infinite draw distances, but it generally sticks very close to the original game's visuals. It's a stylistic choice for sure, though it's hard to say that it's an inspiring one.
The same goes for the reality of playing as a budding supercop: The powers you remember from the past, or those you can experience in multiplayer, will only be yours if you once again go through the process of searching a wide and tall city for orbs to build up experience/skill meters. Coupled with a generic objective system in the open world, which itself also feels like something pulled from 2007's open-world playbook, my time with the campaign was more underwhelming than I could have expected. To be fair, that gameplay formula is part and parcel of the Crackdown experience, the game a lot of us championed as the model Microsoft should follow for a sequel. In my case at least, it's clear I didn't realize what I was asking for.
One of my favorite questions to ask game developers is whether they, as creators, know better than fans what's best for their games. The most common answer I get is that they know best because the audience asks for everything without understanding the constraints of development. Crackdown 3 creative director Joseph Staten didn't hesitate to give fans the nod, because a launched game "becomes whatever people make of it." Considering the two halves of Crackdown 3, I then asked him whether his role as a creator is to innovate in tech or creative game design. "Microsoft is a big technology company," he replied, acknowledging the reality of his particular position. "Games are entertainment, but Microsoft has this capability that other companies don't."
In those two answers Staten pretty much summarized my understanding of Crackdown 3. Fans asked for something, and by all evidence, Microsoft is aiming to give them what they want: the experience of reliving the original Crackdown with a fresh coat of paint. It will be interesting to see how others revel or revile when confronted with the seemingly matter-of-fact approach to the campaign. I expect impassioned positions on both sides. Multiplayer, though, will be the real test of whether Crackdown 3 is a success, purely for how it validates Microsoft's almost-unique position in the industry.
Whispers about the future of cloud gaming are heard with ever-increasing frequency. As big companies rear up to deliver what they hope is the next evolution in gaming tech, now is the time to look out for the fruits of years spent experimenting behind closed doors. Perhaps smartly, Microsoft hasn't made much of ado about Crackdown 3's cloud-based multiplayer mode. It's almost tough to understand why that is once you get a taste of it in action, because it's so immediately awesome. Perhaps the reason is that Microsoft has been listening. Maybe it's heard the outcries of skepticism of the cloud, and our collective adoration of the old ways. So they give us what we ask for, but like a Trojan horse, Crackdown 3's attractive exterior belies an unexpected surprise. Only in this instance, that surprise is one worth welcoming with open arms.
The biggest test for Crackdown 3's cloud-based gameplay will be how it all holds up under pressure. In the recent case of Anthem's demo weekend, we saw how one of the biggest game publishers, if not the biggest, can still struggle with the crippling network demands that come with an influx of new players. Microsoft's challenge is even harder, given that players are not just connecting to servers, but also relying on their computational power to drive the gameplay. Staten told me that the Azure service is robust enough to support every Xbox One sold to date playing Crackdown 3 online at the same time. It's impossible to test that lofty promise, but if true, that means everyone with a good-enough internet connection should get the same experience I had under Microsoft's supervision just the other day. And if that happens, Microsoft will find itself in the enviable position of having proved that the cloud isn't just a buzz word or a fad, but that it's a worthwhile opportunity for the future of gaming.
The first trailer for Hobbs and Shaw is here. The movie is the first spin-off from the blockbuster Fast & Furious series and stars Dwayne Johnson as Agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as mercenary-for-hire Owen Shaw.
The trailer delivers a ton of action--it's three minutes long, so be warned if you don't want to know much about the movie going in. It sets up the bad guy played by Idris Elba, a villain called Brixton who has been given some kind of genetic upgrade. Hobbs and Shaw aren't exactly friends, but they are brought together to stop him, and the rest of trailer delivers a non-stop barrage of stunts, fights, and over-the-top action, plus a lot of self-aware one-liners. Check it out above.
Hobbs & Shaw is directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch, and also stars Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible: Fallout), Eiza González (Baby Driver), and Eddie Marsan (Deadpool 2). It releases on August 2, 2019.
In related news, it was confirmed this week that production on Fast & Furious 9 starts this month. The next movie in the main series is set for release in 2020 and stars Vin Deisel once more, but won't feature Johnson or Statham.
Sony has reported its most recent earnings to investors, including an update on the number of PlayStation 4 consoles it has sold worldwide and how many people subscribe to PlayStation Plus. More than 90 million PS4 units have been sold--a figure we already knew--and now we know over a third of those people subscribe to PS Plus.
As of December 31, 2018, 36 million people are paid members of PlayStation's premium membership plan. That's an increase of nearly 5 million people since the same date in 2017.
By comparison, Nintendo announced recently that a total of 8 million people are paid members of Nintendo Switch Online, though of course PlayStation Plus has been available for far longer, with a lifespan of close to nine years rather than Switch Online's four-and-a-half months. Microsoft says Xbox Live has 64 million active users, but does not disclose how many of those pay for Xbox Live Gold.
PlayStation Plus' impressive numbers are despite the company announcing it will stop giving away free monthly PS3 and PS Vita games next month. Conversely, PS Plus members will get an increased amount of cloud storage from March 2019.
Zen Studios has announced its upcoming RPG, titled Operencia: The Stolen Sun, will release as an Xbox One console exclusive. The game will also be enhanced on One X and launch day one on Xbox Game Pass.
"Much of our development team grew up on classic RPG series like Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, and Eye of the Beholder--and we're just not seeing many games like those these days, especially on console. So not only would creating a CRPG for Xbox One be something we want to play--it would also fill a void," Zen Studios creative director Chris Baker wrote in a blog post.
Operencia represents yet another title that the Epic Games Store has managed to nab away from Steam. The RPG was originally scheduled to launch on Valve's store when it was first revealed during the Kinda Funny Games Showcase. However, in a blog post, Zen Studios announced that Operencia caught the eye of Epic after the showcase, and a deal was made. Epic has quickly become a competitor to Steam's dominance of the PC gaming market by grabbing impressive exclusives, like Hades and Ashen, and securing triple-A games that were originally scheduled for Steam, such as The Division 2 and Metro Exodus. Valve described the loss of Exodus as "unfair" to customers.
Operencia takes place in the fantastical, titular place. The land of Operencia is referred to in several folktales told in Central Europe, and the game takes the concept of these fictional stories to deliver an expanded universe that incorporates both fantasy creatures and real historical figures. The game is played in first-person and has tile-focused, turn-based combat. For a more challenging experience, you can turn on permadeath mode and/or turn off automapping.
Operencia: The Stolen Sun is scheduled to launch on Xbox One and PC in Spring 2019.
The upcoming spin-off RPG starring an ensemble of Persona characters, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, was recently confirmed to come to North America and Europe later this year. It's the Nintendo 3DS exclusive that gives the casts adorable chibi designs and brings them together in an alternate, sinister movie-themed dimension for a wild ride. But despite Persona 3, 4, 5, and all other spin-off games having an English voice cast, Persona Q2 will not.
Atlus USA confirmed to us and other outlets that the game will only feature the Japanese voice track with English subtitles. This may come as a disappointment to some fans, especially since the localized versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4 had English voice work exclusively and didn't offer the opportunity to enjoy the Japanese voice overs. It's not entirely surprising, however. Considering the deep cast of characters spanning three other games and the fact that the 3DS is at the end of its life cycle, bringing in the necessary number of voice actors may not have been cost-effective for Atlus, unfortunately.
Along with the announcement of the North American/European release date, Atlus also showed off the collector's edition called the "Showtime" Premium Edition. It includes a plushy of good boy Koromaru, a deck of cards with character designs, an art book, a four-button set with each protagonist, and an exclusive box along with the game.
Persona Q2 launched in Japan on November 29, 2018 and will make its way to the West on June 4, 2019 for Nintendo 3DS. Prior to the announcement, I was confident enough in the game getting localized that I declared it my most anticipated game of 2019.
As usual, there's an added benefit to completing as many challenges as possible. If you clear all of the ones from a given week, you'll also complete a Snowfall challenge, which will unlock a special loading screen that contains a subtle clue pointing to a free Battle Star or Banner hidden somewhere around the island.
If you've finished all nine weeks' worth of challenges thus far, you'll receive the loading screen pictured below. This one features the Prisoner--the Legendary skin you'll earn for completing 60 weekly challenges--emerging from its cell in Polar Peak's dungeon. Look carefully at the ice wall on the left side of the image, however, and you'll spot an etching of a Battle Star above what appears to be a giant sled.
The sled in question can be found in the area to the south of Shifty Shafts. Glide there at the beginning of a match, head under the sled, and the Battle Star will appear. Collect it and finish the match, and your Battle Star will be leveled up by one tier. If you need more help finding it, we've marked its exact location on the map below.
As is the case with other Snowfall challenges, this Battle Star won't appear unless you've completed the required number of challenges. You won't be able to just head to the right location and pick it up until you've completed nine weeks' worth of challenges and unlocked the above loading screen. Fortunately, we have tips for this season's trickier missions in our complete Season 7 challenges guide.
There are only a few weeks remaining in Season 7, so you only have a little more time to complete any remaining challenges and unlock this season's Battle Pass rewards. If you need help finding any of Season 7's other free Battle Stars and Banners, we've put together guides leading you to their locations below.
The British Empire is on the verge of collapse. Government House, nestled on a headland just across the Thames from the center of London, is somehow simultaneously underwater and ablaze. Once the home of Oasis, the city of Manchester is now little more than a shrinking island as entire coastal neighborhoods disappear into the rising sea. Maybe the sun never sets, but it's getting awfully late in the day.
However, this is no post-Brexit apocalypse. It's simply the state of play in my game of Civilization VI. The upcoming expansion, Gathering Storm, introduces the concept of climate change and, as I and every other civilization on the planet burn through consumable fuel resources, global temperature rises precipitate the polar ice to melt and the ocean to breach the walls of London. Time to rethink my strategy.
Following last year's Rise & Fall, Gathering Storm is the second major expansion for Civ VI and, based on the evidence so far, it suggests a continuation of Firaxis' efforts to disrupt the established meta. Where Rise & Fall delivered the ability to transition from a Golden Age into a Dark Age and back again--a system designed to chart the ebb and flow of an empire throughout history--Gathering Storm is more concerned with a gradual accumulation of choices slowly building over the course of the game before unleashing fury towards the end. You can see the dark clouds approaching. The question is: how long can you keep them at bay?
"We usually look at the second expansion of a Civilization title as the one where we make sure our content is robust and complete all the way to the end of the game," explains Civilization franchise lead designer Ed Beach. "For Civilization V, that was the additions of ideologies in Brave New World, with an emphasis on the World War period.
"We're taking a different tack in Civilization VI--this time we are focusing on the present time and the ecological struggles with climate change that face mankind in the 21st century. That's the big new addition with Gathering Storm, confronting players with decisions about how they are relating to the planet. There are winning strategies both ways: the diplomatic player probably wants to treat the planet well and participate in worldwide climate accords; a more militaristic player may not care and may even consider the fact that rising sea levels could deal damage to some of his coastal enemies."
Beach says Firaxis built their climate model using the predominant scientific conclusions on how the Earth is changing. It's a fairly straightforward relationship: CO2 emissions from exploiting resources such as coal and oil add to the global temperature. As the planet gets warmer, polar ice melts, sea levels rise, and finally flooding, storms, and droughts become more frequent.
Weather events occur from the very beginning of the game. Settle on the floodplains of a river and at some point, the banks will break. Similarly, some mountain tiles are now designated as volcanoes, which can become active, erupt, and cover adjacent tiles with lava. More randomly, blizzards, typhoons, and dust storms can now spawn on the map and trace a path of destruction through your lands.
Early on, these events aren't too bad, and can even be beneficial. A flood might injure a warrior you had stationed along the river or require you to repair damage to a wheat farm. But once the flood passes and you've cleaned up the mess, it's likely the tiles' soil will have been fertilized, providing additional resources for the rest of the game.
The idea of "playing the map" was a big part of the design ethos driving the development of Civ VI. Opening specialist districts constructed outside the city center to all kinds of bonuses based on adjacent terrain, as well as restrictions on where World Wonders can be built, requires you to adapt to the specific circumstances in front of you. You're playing the map as presented, rather than relying on some pre-defined optimal strategy. This idea is explicitly reflected in Gathering Storm's climate change and weather events.
"These changes were indeed deliberate additions to accentuate this feeling of playing the map,"
"These changes were indeed deliberate additions to accentuate this feeling of playing the map," says Beach. "Settling in a floodplain or near a volcano is obviously fraught with peril, yet mankind has continued to do just this for centuries. Why? Well, these are some of the most fertile agricultural areas on earth. With these tradeoffs in mind, these two natural disasters were the first ones we prototyped for Gathering Storm. They proved immensely popular with our testers so we kept going and added coastal flooding, droughts, and four kinds of storms before we were done."
In the late game, as storms and floods hit with greater frequency and severity, these events can be devastating. In my game as England, I'd been engaged in a border skirmish with India when a freak storm ripped through the city of Bristol, pillaging my only Encampment district. At a crucial moment in the war, I was unable to resupply my frontline with reinforcements until the armory and stable had been repaired. Thanks to the weather, I had to pursue a peace deal or risk being overrun.
Worse, in the situation I describe at the top of the page from later in the same game, the rising sea meant my Government Plaza district was destroyed, presumably for good, taking with it the powerful bonuses of its Audience Chamber and other internal buildings. Meanwhile, Manchester lost five workable tiles, including a Neighborhood district, its sole lumber mill, and the very spot I'd planned to build a Theater Square, leaving it with a population of 23 but a housing capacity of just 14. The Civ late game has rarely been so unpredictable and dynamic.
Indeed, according to Beach, "Our primary goal with this expansion is to make the world and map seem more dynamic, more alive." He also helpfully points out where my England game might have started to go wrong, and suggests some of the choices I could have made to, if not prevent environmental catastrophe, then perhaps mitigate or decelerate it.
"Our primary goal with this expansion is to make the world and map seem more dynamic, more alive."
"Coal, and subsequently Oil, unlock much earlier in the game than their renewable alternatives," Beach says. "We have added extensive bonuses to the third tier district buildings if your cities are powered, so you'll want to get going initially with coal and oil so you don't spend three eras of the game missing out on these significantly higher yields.
"Once uranium and renewables come online, there are several more factors to consider. Solar and wind farms consume a tile around your city late in the game when such spots are very precious. A nuclear plant has high output and very low CO2 emissions, but you need to spend city resources maintaining it regularly or an accident could result. All in all, we have eight different buildings or improvements that generate power all with unique terrain or resource requirements, outputs and tradeoffs."
Along with some of the other existing civs and leaders, England has had its abilities revised to suit the new features found in Gathering Storm. Specifically, England gains extra Iron and Coal resources, and derives greater additional yields from powering its cities. In combination, this means England comes into its own during the Industrial Era and, to gain full advantage of the country's unique abilities, you should be building coal power plants in every city and, uh, filling the skies above London and Manchester with horrible black smoke. Needless to say, the first time I checked the in-game World Climate report, my empire was responsible for over 90% of the world's CO2 emissions. As the water lapped at the door of No.10 Downing St I really only had myself to blame.
Since the beginning of time--well, 1991, to be precise--Sid Meier's Civilization has tended to view humanity through an optimistic lens. Of course, it's a very Western Civilization-centric perspective that, amid depicting the atrocities of war and colonization throughout history, one can remain hopeful and keep faith in the idea of the march of progress. So, perhaps, all is not yet lost for England, just like all is not yet lost for our own planet.
"Our warming planet is a story that is still unfolding and will take at least the first half of this century before we get to any conclusive outcome," says Beach.
"So to give that phenomenon time to play out, we needed to extend our game 25 to 50 years into the future. That meant adding a few new steps or considerations to both our Science and Culture victories. It also meant the era needed to include new tools to battle climate change, help with these extended victories, and provide high-tech military options.
"Since all these items are advances that mankind hasn't yet fully unlocked, we felt it was a bit presumptuous for us to know their precise order. That's why we hit on the idea of shuffling their order and position within the trees each game. The contents of those nodes remain hidden until you research the prerequisite."
In previous Civ games, you would still pump Science or Culture into researching generic "future" technologies and civics once you reached the end of their respective trees. There was little point to this--it was merely counting down to the eventual winner. With Gathering Storm, there's the admission that, however hopeful we might be, we still don't quite know what the future holds. And as a strategy game, Civilization still has that one final curveball to throw our way. Will it be enough to save England?
Civilization VI: Gathering Storm releases on February 14.
Another fighter has been confirmed for Mortal Kombat 11: Kano. NetherRealm announced the character during a stream in Brazil, before confirming Kano's inclusion in the game for international audiences via Twitter.
Despite being one of the seven original characters in the Mortal Kombat series, Kano hasn't appeared in too many games. He was, however, a part of the last game in the series, Mortal Kombat X. Like Scorpion, Kano has a fairly good projectile attack and a fast moveset. His trademark attack, Kano Ball, has him roll into a ball and launch himself at his opponent, which does more damage at close range.
It's probable that Kano was supposed to be revealed during a Mortal Kombat 11 stream that was originally scheduled for this week, before being postponed due to the harsh weather in the eastern US. We got our first good look at the upcoming game's gruesome new gameplay during a January 2019 reveal event. Several series staples, such as Sub-Zero and Scorpion, return in Mortal Kombat 11's roster, alongside characters that haven't been seen in a while and brand-new fighters. NetherRealm also showed off some of the new Fatalities during the event, and they're just as bloody as ever. A new trailer for the game's story was revealed as well, which looks to be as filled with gore as recent entries in the series.
If you pre-order Mortal Kombat 11, you'll unlock both Shao Kahn and access to the game's beta--which begins on March 28. There are three editions of the game: the $60 standard edition, $100 Premium edition, and $300 Kollector's Edition.
If you're in the market for something new to play on Nintendo Switch, a bunch of games are on sale now in the US Eshop. Some of the system's quirkiest indie gems are discounted as part of the Weird and Wonderful sale, while Nicalis and NIS America are offering deals on a range of titles in their respective publisher sales.
As usual with Eshop deals, these sales are set to end on different days, so if you see something you're interested in, you should act fast and pick it up while you can.
Nintendo has announced a new expansion to its mobile games business. Following the release of its latest earnings report, which brought news that Mario Kart Tour has been delayed, the company revealed a new partner and game: Dr. Mario World.
Very little has been shared about the game so far; we don't have any screenshots, just the logo below. Nintendo describes it as an "action puzzle game" and says it's due out early this summer. It'll be free-to-play and available on both iOS and Android devices.
Dr. Mario World is being co-developed by LINE, a Japanese company known for a variety of things, including the development of games that have proven successful in Asian markets. Those include Disney Tsum Tsum and Cookie Run.
Nintendo had previously suggested it was looking for additional partners with which to develop mobile games as it seeks to make them a more prominent part of its business.
Eleven Arts has announced that A Silent Voice is finally getting a physical disc set release in North America. The anime movie is releasing in a deluxe package that includes the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital versions.
First premiering in Japanese theaters in 2016, the home release of A Silent Voice will be available for purchase in North America on April 2, according to Crunchyroll. The disc set includes both the original Japanese version of the film and the English dubbed version.
A Silent Voice rapidly gained popularity in Japan when it first released, and its emotional story captured American audiences when the film released internationally the following year. The movie is a condensed version of the story told in the seven volume manga of the same name--titled Koe no Katachi in Japan--that was created by Yoshitoki Oima. A Silent Voice follows the changing relationship between Shoko and Shoya, a girl who's deaf and the male peer who used to cruelly bully her in elementary school. Shoya reaches out to Shoko when the two are in high school in an effort to make amends, as well as come to terms with his own guilt, and the two eventually spark an unlikely friendship that begins to grow into something more.
While you wait for A Silent Voice to come out, there are plenty of other options for anime you can watch. If you're looking for something new, we've put together a guide of series to both watch and keep an eye on during the current Winter 2019 season. For older titles, consider looking at our guide for anime series from the Fall 2018 season or a list of our favorite anime from 2018. Sentai Filmworks also released several new home release disc sets in January 2019, including a cool-looking special steelbook collection for Land of the Lustrous--one of 2017's best anime.
Blizzard has announced the next set of balance changes coming to Hearthstone, and they'll have a big impact on the mainstays of multiple classes. This update is aimed almost entirely at the Basic and Classic sets--that is, the cards that never go out of Standard play rotation--and the company says it's because they've just proven too persistent over multiple expansions.
"We're changing these particular cards because each one has been highly prevalent, regardless of what strategies have been popular or what other cards have existed around them," the note on the Hearthstone blog states. "When Basic and Classic cards become this ubiquitous, they take away some of the flexibility players have when building decks, ultimately stifling the diversity of decks we see when playing Hearthstone."
These sweeping changes impact four class cards: the Rogue's Cold Blood, Shaman's Flametongue Totem, Paladin's Equality, and the Hunter card Hunter's Mark. Each one is having its mana cost raised by one, except for Equality, which is being raised by two. The actual card effects are going unchanged in each instance, but Blizzard hopes that by raising the mana cost they'll be less "auto-include" cards and encourage more diversity in those decks.
Finally, one more change was announced, this one hitting a non-Basic/Classic card. The Hunter's Emerald Spellstone, from the Kobolds & Catacombs set, will go from five mana to six. The Spellstone cards change their effect throughout a match as certain conditions are met, and this one had a big reward for fulfilling relatively easy conditions. Blizzard says it's raising the cost to make it more of a mid-to-late game threat rather than an aggressive early one.
Blizzard tends to announce changes like these, impacting Basic and Classic cards, in anticipation for a new Standard rotation. When the first expansion of 2019 comes out, the three released in 2017--Journey to Un'Goro, Knights of the Frozen Throne, and Kobolds and Catacombs--will all rotation out of Standard play. That also makes the change to Emerald Spellstone more forward-facing for Wild play, where it will still be playable after the changeover.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth has been confirmed for a western release, heading to the US and Europe on June 4, 2019. The 3DS exclusive will cost $40 at launch, and like its predecessor, it crosses over the casts of various Persona games.
Persona Q2 is a spin-off featuring the Phantom Thieves of Persona 5. The heroes have to battle their way out of dungeons, each themed after a movie genre with its own set of tropes. They'll join up with both original characters and notable names from the Persona series along the way. Those will include characters from Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, and Persona 5. Clever team-ups between characters will grant special rewards through a new "Unison" battle system. It will be Japanese-only with subtitles.
Atlus paired the announcement with word of a special "Showtime Premium Edition" for $70. That will include a Koromaru plush, art book, four buttons featuring the four protagonists, and a deck of playing cards with characters across the Persona series. Pre-orders also include the buttons set.
"It's an ambitious crossover that unites my favorite games, characters, and soundtracks in one place," wrote Michael Higham. "It's as if I had different groups of dearly beloved friends somehow meet each other, get along, and band together in a stylish fight for what's right. This might be the 3DS's swan song, and it'd be a hell of way for the storied handheld to end its tenure when it comes to the West on June 4, 2019."
Nintendo has indicated that we may not have long to wait before beloved RPG Final Fantasy VII is available on the Switch. In a new, rather short commercial, the game is shown on the handheld hybrid console, with the video's description reading: "Final Fantasy VII coming soon!"
Final Fantasy developer and publisher Square Enix originally revealed its intention to bring the game to the Switch in September 2018, when it was announced for the platform alongside Final Fantasy IX, the X and X-2 remaster, and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. However, they only gave a vague "2019" release window. While "coming soon" doesn't exactly give us a specific release date, at least we know we won't be waiting until the end of the year for it.
Square Enix previously confirmed that these versions of the Final Fantasy games will be based on recent ports either to other consoles or PC--obviously, this is not the in-development Final Fantasy VII remake. Final Fantasy VII was released for PC in 2013, with the game also available on the PlayStation Store digitally. Along with the Switch release, these games will also be making the jump to Xbox One, which is a first for a number of them.
Other Final Fantasy games on their way to Switch include the compilation game World of Final Fantasy and an updated version of GameCube title Crystal Chronicles.
This weekend, Anthem has its second and final demo before the game officially launches. Below, we've outlined every bit of information you need to know about the open demo, including how you can participate and what you'll be able to do.
Anthem is an upcoming multiplayer-focused, third-person shooter RPG developed by BioWare. You take control of a Freelancer, one of the disgraced heroes who protect the inhabitants of Fort Tarsis, who ventures out into the world to fulfill contracts, explore uncharted territory, and handle threats for others. You do this with the help of Javelins, powerful exo-suits that grant their pilots superpowered strength, reflexes, and abilities and come equipped with flight jets and deadly weapons.
There are currently four Javelins in Anthem, each of which gives you a different range of abilities. Ranger exists primarily as a support Javelin, but its assortment of powerful grenade, rocket, and laser abilities provides it enough explosive firepower to stand on its own. Colossus is the slowest of the Javelins, but it also has the toughest armor and is the only one strong enough to carry heavy weaponry and a near-indestructible shield. Interceptor, on the other hand, trades defense for lightning-fast speed that gets it into an enemy's face where it can deal massive melee damage before twirling out of harm's way. Finally, Storm also has light armor, but its personal force field and powerful elemental attacks gives it plenty of long-range potential.
Anthem releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game has a staggered launch, but will be available for all come February 22. Both of its editions are available for pre-order.
When Is The Anthem Demo?
The Anthem demo starts February 1 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET / 5PM UK. It ends on February 3 at 6PM PT / 9PM ET, which is February 4 at 2AM in the UK.
How To Participate In The Demo
To participate in the open demo, you'll need to download the client first. It's 26 GB on consoles and 44 GB on PC, and you can pre-load the client right now if don't want to spend time over the weekend downloading it.
When the demo is finished downloading, you'll need to sign into your EA or Origin account to access the game. On Xbox One and PS4, you'll need a Gold/PSN subscription, as Anthem, even when you play solo, is an always-online game. Microsoft is having a Free Play Days For All event this weekend, from January 31-February 1, so you'll be able to play the first day of the Anthem demo on Xbox One without paying for a Gold subscription.
What Can You Do In The Demo?
The Anthem demo takes place just before the halfway point of the full game's story, and you'll be able to play through two story missions. You'll also be able to explore a portion of Anthem's full map in freeplay mode, and take on one of the game's harder pieces of a content: a Stronghold.
With the exception of the Stronghold--which must be tackled with four players--every part of the demo can be done solo or as a group. However, you receive experience boosts when playing with others, so it's worth your time to team-up. You'll start at level 10 in the demo and be able to reach 15. Everyone starts with the Ranger Javelin, and at level 12 you'll be able to unlock one of the three others: Colossus, Interceptor, or Storm. You'll only be able to unlock one other Javelin the whole demo, so choose wisely.
If you played the Anthem VIP demo, your progress from that demo will carry over into this one. Your progress from either demo, however, will not carry over into the full game.
Both of this week's BC games originally released in 2012. Lego Batman 2 is a humorous open-world adventure that sees the Caped Crusader team up with other DC heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman to save Gotham from the combined threat of Joker and Lex Luthor. Port Royale 3, meanwhile, is a simulation game that cast players in the role of a sea captain.
As usual, if you have a physical copy of either game, you can pop the disc into your Xbox One, which will initiate a download allowing you to play them on the console. On the other hand, if you've previously purchased either game digitally, you'll find them automatically waiting in the Ready to Download section of the console's My Games and Apps tab.
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