Game designer and writer Chris Avellone has announced that he's finished up work on Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. He's also working on a secret project that may be announced in the next month.
I can't say 100% b/c of NDAs, but the ones I can say: I just finished up work with Jedi: The Fallen Order - and beyond that, there's another big bomb dropping in a month! Er, I mean, maybe. Ahem.
Jedi Fallen Order is being made by Respawn, the developer behind the first-person shooter Titanfall 2 and battle royale game Apex Legends. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella officially announced the upcoming Star Wars game at E3 2018. He described Jedi Fallen Order as a dark story that transpires between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. You'll take on the role of a Jedi Padawan that escaped Order 66, and, armed with a lightsaber, explore an Empire-ruled galaxy. Exact details haven't been announced yet, but there are certain characters, places, and storylines we hope to see unfold in Jedi Fallen Order.
EA has announced that more details about Jedi Fallen Order will be revealed at this year's Star Wars Celebration. The event is scheduled April 11-15, with the Jedi Fallen Order reveal set for Saturday, April 13 during a special panel. Hopefully, during the Star Wars Celebration, we'll get some more information about the new season for The Clone Wars. The animated series is getting a surprise seventh season--after being cancelled in 2014--but there hasn't been much talk about it since the Comic-Con 2018 announcement that the show was coming back.
Jedi Fallen Order is currently scheduled for Fall 2019. Previous announcements stated the release date would specifically align with the holiday season, but an EA financial report may have implied that the game could be coming out earlier than that. That same report revealed that EA has new Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed games planned as well.
Bethesda has some big content updates in store for Fallout 76 this year, starting with this month's Wild Appalachia expansion. That is slated to kick off on March 12 and will introduce some new content to the online RPG, most notably a Brewing and Distilling system, which the developer further has further detailed in its latest Inside the Vault post.
As part of a new quest called Wasted on Nukashine, players will be able to construct a Brewing Station for their CAMP. As you can imagine, the Brewing Station will give you the ability to craft a variety of different alcoholic drinks, from beer to various wines. These will provide a temporary buff when drunk, but Bethesda warns that they will also "bring a drawback and, just like real life, will result in a mild hangover."
Depending on what type of drink you're trying to make, you'll be able to increase their potency by letting them ferment longer. Wines and Spirits in particular will require a longer fermentation time than other drinks, but they can also change from "fresh" to "vintage" if aged long enough, imbuing them with additional properties.
In addition to the Brewing and Distilling system, Wild Appalachia will introduce two new quests over the next several months: Shear Terror and Ever Upwards. The former focuses on mythical monsters, while the latter has you join the Pioneer Scouts and earn merit badges.
In addition to that, Bethesda is holding the limited-time Fasnacht Parade event beginning March 19, which will give players a chance to earn "unique rewards." The previously teased Survival PvP mode is also slated to arrive on March 26 and will drop all the restrictions around player encounters, making for a much tenser experience.
There are a lot of super-smart systems and ideas in Apex Legends that improve on the overall battle royale genre. The inventory system makes it easy to navigate the many weapons in the game, the respawn system makes it possible for smart, brave, and lucky teams to save their teammates from the great beyond, and the Legend system gives everyone on a team a specific set of abilities to help out their squad. But the best thing Apex Legends brings to battle royale is its ping system, which allows players an extremely effective way to communicate even without actually speaking to each other.
The ping system makes team communication in Apex incredibly easy and fluid, whether you're playing with friends or with random people you squad up with. You can mark enemy locations, suggest where the team should go, and point out weapons and attachments your teammates might need. Having those markers show up in-game makes it easy to get your point across to other players, and in some cases, is even more effective than actually talking to your team. It's also highly accessible to players who might not otherwise have the means or ability to speak to teammates.
Others have taken notice of how useful Apex Legends' ping system is. Epic Games introduced a similar system to Fortnite in the game's latest update, making it a little easier for squads to talk to each other in the game. That might be considered an acknowledgment of how popular Apex has become in just a few weeks since its release, as well as how intelligent and useful the system can be.
Fortnite isn't the only game that should take a page from Apex's communication capabilities. Another recently released Electronic Arts game could greatly benefit from implementing something similar: Anthem. In fact, BioWare could seriously improve many of Anthem's problems immediately by adding a ping system of its own. It's actually something that should become standard in the shared-world shooter genre.
BioWare means for Anthem to be a squad-based shooter in which players are constantly working together to beat hordes of enemies. There's more to it than just shooting: Anthem has four classes of its javelin mech suits you can choose from when you start a mission, and each has its own special capabilities. Using your abilities in concert with other players can create combos that do extra damage, inflict status effects on enemies, and give you special bonuses like dealing extra damage or spreading those effects to even more bad guys. Especially at high levels, combos and team coordination are pretty important.
But like most shared-world shooters, such as Destiny 2 or The Division 2, it's very easy to go through most or even all of Anthem without talking to anybody. The game supports matchmaking all the way through it, which means you can drop into any mission with a group of three other randoms. And anybody who's spent even a few minutes in a game like this knows that almost nobody talks to each other. Like most online games, chats are often filled with annoying or even toxic people, so even those players interested in actually cooperating usually remain silent. If you're not in a party chat with other players, chances are, you're not communicating with them--especially since Anthem offers no text chat. Your only options are voice and a few character emotes.
That's annoying in most cooperative shooters, but it's especially problematic in Anthem. You can play BioWare's shooter solo, but that's not the way it was designed or intended. Play with other people you don't know, however, and it feels like you're just blasting away at things without any real organization between you and your teammates. It's even worse in those missions when Anthem expects you to solve a puzzle. Nobody talks, nobody knows what anyone else is doing, and everyone just floats around trying different things until, seemingly, someone has the good sense to look up the solution online and input it.
It's not hard to imagine how Apex's ping system would instantly mitigate all of these issues in Anthem, and make it a much more fun and cooperative game besides. Even just the ability to call out and mark enemies or call out locations for combos would go a long way. Anthem's combos require a Primer ability, which sets up the combo, and a Detonator ability, which triggers it; a ping system would make it very easy to tell your teammates which kind of ability you need and where. Since the javelin class that does the detonating also matters in executing the combo, pings would make it a lot easier to make a plan and execute it.
That's to say nothing of the benefits of being able to ping puzzles to work together on solutions, and its myriad potential uses in Anthem's freeplay mode, when you can just fly around with some pals getting into trouble and searching for loot out in the world. Marking locations, suggesting destinations, warning teammates about threats or showing them things they should stop and pick up--it all could be easily communicated with a system similar to Apex Legends'.
Respawn Entertainment has created a pretty major and extremely useful innovation for the shooter genre with its ping system, and it's something that even more games are surely going to emulate. And if the shared-world shooter genre is going to expand, it absolutely should capitalize on this idea. Pings in Destiny 2 or The Division likely would improve them in a lot of the same ways as Anthem could be, and lots of others kinds of games would benefit from similar communication tools. It might be tough to find ways to squeeze a ping button into those games' current control schemes, but the huge benefits of better communication would be worth reshuffling them.
Now that Apex Legends has cracked the code, imagining a similar game without a smart, easy, highly accessible way to communicate with other players is a little tougher. Games like Anthem that are serious about teamwork and cooperation should implement something similar as soon as possible. The ping system can make teamwork-based games smarter, more accessible, and most importantly, a lot more fun.
New games seem to be going on sale faster than ever these days, and two of the biggest games of 2019 so far are following the trend. Resident Evil 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3, both of which released just over a month ago, are already available for $15 off their launch price. Using the code EMCTWTU48, you can drop the price from $60 to $45 on both of these critically acclaimed titles.
Capcom's remake of Resident Evil 2 does justice to the original while improving nearly every aspect of the experience for the better. RE2's amazing visuals, expanded story, terrifying survival horror atmosphere, and challenging bonus modes have some claiming it could be a Game of the Year contender. "Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries," wrote GameSpot's Alessandro Fillari in his Resident Evil 2 review. Another reason to pick up RE2 now: its free DLC, The Ghost Survivors, just released for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the long-awaited culmination of a series that began 17 years ago. Like the other games, you explore various Disney and Pixar worlds as Sora with companions Donald and Goofy along for the ride. The plot is convoluted and the finale left some fans feeling underwhelmed, but GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain ultimately scored it an 8 in his Kingdom Hearts 3 review. "It's everything fans love about the series: a thrilling action-RPG that celebrates Disney and Pixar, all the while ensuring themes of friendship, heroism, and pure-hearted goodness shine bright," he wrote.
This promo code expires on March 4 at 11:59 PT / 2:59 ET or sooner based on availability, so don't wait if you want to snag these worthy games.
Buy Resident Evil 2 -- PS4, Xbox One -- $45 with code EMCTWTU48
Buy Kingdom Hearts 3 -- PS4, Xbox One -- $45 with code EMCTWTU48
A new month is now officially underway, and Niantic is rolling out a new set of Field Research tasks in Pokemon Go. Just as before, players will be able to encounter select Legendary Pokemon by completing enough of these tasks, but this time around there will be three new possibilities: Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
The Regi trio join the previously available Legendary beasts Entei, Raikou, and Suicune as well as the Pokemon Gold and Silver mascots Ho-Oh and Lugia as a potential reward for achieving a Research Breakthrough. If you complete enough of this month's Field Research tasks, you'll earn an encounter with one of the aforementioned Legendaries, giving you a rare opportunity to capture them outside of Raid Battles.
Unlike Special Research quests, which are distributed by Professor Willow, Field Research tasks are obtained by spinning the Photo Disc at Poke Stops. The first task you complete each day will reward you with a stamp, and if you collect seven stamp, you'll achieve a Research Breakthrough and earn an encounter with a rare Pokemon.
Along with the new Field Research tasks, a new Legendary Pokemon is now available in Pokemon Go: Dialga. The Temporal Pokemon has replaced Palkia in Raid Battles and will appear around the world until March 28. The elusive Gen 2 Pokemon Smeargle has also made its Go debut alongside the game's new AR photo mode.
The next Pokemon Go Community Day event takes place on March 23. This time, the featured Pokemon will be Treecko, one of the three starters from Ruby and Sapphire. Additionally, players will be able to hatch Pokemon Eggs at a quarter of their usual distance during the event.
Almost immediately following an update that addressed issues with Strongholds and the tethering system in Anthem, BioWare has released a hotfix for its multiplayer-focused action RPG. Unfortunately, according to USGamer, this latest patch broke the game for a while. Thankfully, according to a recent tweet, it seems like a fix should be rolling out shortly.
The patch in question introduces changes in how Anthem's loot system works. Specifically, inscriptions will better match the items they're on. Additional patches are planned to increase the drop rate for masterwork weapons and abilities, lower the crafting requirements for masterwork items, and remove common and uncommon items from level 30 drop tables entirely. However, as stated above, there was an unforeseen side effect to this first patch.
Somehow the hotfix caused enemies to stop spawning in Anthem's freeplay mode. If you join a freeplay session, there still a good chance you won't be able to find any signs of life in the game until the fix is live across all systems. Additionally, there have been instances where players have been kicked out of Stronghold missions upon spawning into the expedition.
Anthem has had a rough start. Prior to release, Anthem's private demo faced huge issues, and then when the game finally did launch, it was to less than ideal review scores. BioWare has remained committed to improving the state of its game, though, laying out a 90-day roadmap of planned content drops and regularly interacting with player complaints on social media.
In our Anthem review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing, "Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down."
Anthem is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Even though the game hasn't been out that long, the price has already been reduced for the PS4 version on Amazon.
Because, you know, when you're filing your taxes every year, you want to make sure you're getting the best video game deal along with it.
The tax software that come with games range from $40 to $80, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for PS4 listed alongside one of the most expensive software options.
If you're interested in, uh, taking advantage of these deals, there's a code that makes a few of these products cheaper. And thankfully (since Tax Day is fast approaching), three-day shipping is included. These deals are marked as limited offers, so there's no telling how long they'll be up.
Now in the final month of the Winter 2019 season, it's almost time to start looking ahead at what anime series and movies are coming in the spring. However, before then, there's plenty of excellent shows you should be catching up on right now. Between everything on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, and VRV, these are the anime that we think you should spend March catching up on.
Back in January, I described The Price of Smiles and The Magnificent Kotobuki as "keep an eye on this" recommendations, but both--especially The Price of Smiles--have proven they're worth watching as much as the anime listed below. Unlike the other anime on this list, these two are original stories that aren't based on pre-existing literature or media.
The Price of Smiles subverts expectations by presenting itself as a feel-good, cute anime, but is actually an emotional account of the cost of war. The anime follows two women that fight on opposing sides of the same conflict, with one being a 12-year-old princess who must lead her people after the death of her parents and the other a common foot soldier who just wants the war to end so people can be safe again. The Magnificent Kotobuki, on the other hand, is more light-hearted. The series follows a team of fighter pilots who sell their services as bodyguards for a trading company. You won't find much drama in this anime, but the series does have its occasional emotional gut-punch and it captures the feeling of aerial dogfights with its CG animation amazingly well. The Price of Smiles is available on Crunchyroll and VRV, while The Magnificent Kotobuki is available on Hidive and VRV.
The Promised Neverland is one of the best series this season, which comes as little surprise considering it brings to life one of Shonen Jump's better manga. This pulse-pounding thriller is best experienced without prior knowledge of the plot, so don't read up on it before diving in. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. The anime ups the tension of the manga with some stellar shots, which frame the characters in strange angles. It really sells the idea that everyone is being spied on at all times, and that something is very, very wrong with the orphanage that main characters Emma, Ray, and Norman call home. The anime, unfortunately, does little to fix its source material's poor portrayal of black women. However, it does wonders in bringing Emma, perhaps the best female protagonist Shonen Jump has ever had, to life. The Promised Neverland is available on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, Hidive, and VRV.
If you haven't already, you should also catch up on Mob Psycho 100 II, which is the second season to one of 2016's most popular anime. Made by the same folks behind One Punch Man, this series continues to deliver more hilarious misadventures of the young boy who's one of the world's most powerful espers. The beautifully wholesome nature of this season's plot is already shaping up to be one of 2019's best stories. This show is a must watch. Mob Psycho 100 II is available on Crunchyroll and VRV.
Anyone who knows a story that's focused on a beloved pet can probably guess almost every plot point My Roommate is a Cat explores. However, despite the cliche nature of the anime's story--a socially awkward man finds the push to open up to others after adopting and befriending a stray cat--the show is still quite compelling. Through the anime, we see the same set of events through both the perspectives of the main character and his feline friend, and it allows for moments of both hilarious misunderstanding and heartfelt connection between the two. They're both lost souls that learn to love again by being together. Yes, it's super cheesy, but it's also absolutely worth watching. My Roommate is a Cat is on Crunchyroll, VRV, and Funimation.
In terms of action-focused series, check out Dororo, which is a remake of the 50-year-old anime of the same name. Taking place in feudal Japan, Dororo is about a ronin outfitted with prosthetics after his eyes, nose, ears, tongue, skin, and limbs are all ripped out of his body by demons. Despite being a rehash of a half-century-old story, this series breathes fresh life into its narrative with well-animated action sequences and adjustments to the backgrounds of certain characters. Although it hasn't managed to reach the same heights as Devilman Crybaby--which won Anime of the Year in the Crunchyroll 2018 Anime Awards--Dororo is another great example that classic series can be modernized for the better. Dororo is an Amazon Prime Video exclusive.
Although its story is a little bit out there in comparison to the other anime on this list, Boogiepop and Others is another great series you'll want to catch up on. This new series has nothing to do with the first Boogiepop anime--instead it follows the original light novels. This makes it an excellent jumping in point for anyone who's missed out on the past two decades of this critically acclaimed supernatural series. You're going to have to trust me on this recommendation. Just get through the first episode--I know it's boring--and keep going. This anime seems dull and uninspired at first, but Boogiepop leaps between multiple points of view pretty much every episode to slowly deliver bits and pieces of its spooky narrative. You'll need to watch at least the first arc to realize there's way more to this story than a high school girl with an androgynous-looking split personality, her boring boyfriend, and a cannibalistic serial killer. Boogiepop and Others is on Crunchyroll, VRV, and Funimation.
Below, we've listed every anime that's airing in the United States this season, just in case you plan on catching up on absolutely everything. If you happen to be caught up on everything--kudos to you--check out our recommendations of what to watch from last season. There are some really good series in there for some weekend binging.
Warner Bros.' live-action adaptation of Detective Pikachu isn't the only Pokemon movie hitting theaters this year. The Pokemon Company has now shared the first trailer for the upcoming animated film Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution, a complete CGI remake of the very first Pokemon movie.
The trailer, which you can watch above, is a near shot-for-shot recreation of scenes from the original Mewtwo Strikes Back, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its North American premiere this year. We also get a glimpse at how the series' iconic trio Ash, Misty, and Brock look rendered in CGI for the first time.
Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution is set to premiere in Japan on July 12. It's unclear if the movie will air in theaters in other parts of the world as well, but the past two Pokemon films--I Choose You and The Power of Us--have both received very limited international theatrical runs. The official Pokemon Twitter account teased "international details [are] coming soon."
Mewtwo also plays a role in the aforementioned Detective Pikachu movie, which premieres on May 10. The Psychic Pokemon could be seen toward the end of the film's latest trailer, which also featured a number of new Pokemon that hadn't previously been seen, such as Snorlax and the disturbingly hairy Ludicolo.
This year is shaping up to be a big one for Pokemon fans. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company also recently pulled back the curtain on Pokemon Sword and Shield, the upcoming "core" RPGs for Nintendo Switch. The pair are slated to launch in late 2019 and take place in the Galar region, which is home to three new starter Pokemon.
Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the characters is important in Apex Legends, so you always know what you're up against and what you're capable of on the battlefield. Equally important, though, is knowing how you can help your squadmates in emergency situations and amplify their ability to win.
Just about any team composition in Apex Legends is viable, but it's smart to balance characters with different strengths and weaknesses. It's a good idea to bring along a defensive character or medic in almost all cases, for instance, although it's not essential. And picking characters that go well together can increase your odds of winning, especially if you're smart and work together with your complementary abilities.
We've spent a whole lot of time with all the characters in Apex Legends, and we've seen some of the cool things they can do together. Below is a list of ways you can use Legends in concert with each other to get the upper hand on your opponents and win those coveted championships.
Bangalore's smoke grenades seriously affect any battle she's in by completely changing the rules of engagement. When you lay down smoke, you can rob another team of visibility, confuse them, force them to change positions, or lose them as you make your escape. Bloodhound's ability to see through obstructions allows them to fight like smoke isn't even there--and that means you can go nuts robbing opponents of their ability to see and fight back while Bloodhound fires away unimpeded.
With Mirage Or Wraith
Obstructing an enemy's view makes it a whole lot easier to bamboozle them. Dropping a ton of smoke on an area works in perfect concert with sending out a Mirage decoy to cut through the cloud and further distract or confuse enemies. Decoys are already pretty tough to identify, and even more so when they go running through a smoke cloud--and overwhelming your opponents this way gives you plenty of room to flank an enemy team or escape.
The same is true of Wraith, who excels at opening up flanking positions on enemies. Smoke a location to give her cover as she phases through and drops portals behind another squad's position. Wraith's ability to phase makes her formidable, but other players can sometimes still see and identify her because of the trail she leaves behind. Bangalore's smoke makes it even tougher for other players to see her, allowing her to flank or set up portals without the risk of getting caught out of position.
With Lifeline
A pretty obvious combination, Bangalore's smoke screen makes it a lot easier for Lifeline to head into the fray to pick up a downed teammate, and the smoke can often help them get the damaged squaddie out of harm's way so they can heal. Bangalore gets two smoke charges per use of her ability, which means you can dump a lot of smoke on a Lifeline who's reviving, or spread it around so opponents don't just rush through the smoke cloud as soon as they see it appear.
With Gibraltar
The only two characters with airstrike abilities are Bangalore and Gibraltar, and while they're very different, both can be powerful. Bangalore's airstrike does less damage than Gibraltar's, but covers ground in a rolling, forward motion. Gibraltar's mortar strike is stronger but is confined to a smaller radius. Still, combining either airstrike with the other's abilities can make them more effective--dropping a dome shield and then Bangalore's airstrike can give your team a place to hide out for a second, and smoking an area before Gibraltar's strike goes down makes it tougher for enemies to avoid. You can also try using both strikes simultaneously to control a large area of the map. In chokepoints, use Bangalore's weaker strike to push people into Gibraltar's tougher one, or vice versa--or just drop them to cover a huge area and hit enemies as they try to flee.
With Pathfinder
Pathfinder's major contribution to the team is often information on the battlefield. With Pathfinder's Insider Information, you can set up ambushes against enemy squads by getting into the ring ahead of other teams. Knowing other teams have to come to you to avoid the ring gives you better chances for attacks like airstrikes. Pathfinder's grapple hook is also great for zipping through and over smoke walls, giving you chances to flank squads when they're not ready. Smoke is also useful for covering zipline escapes; by the same token, you can drop ziplines near or behind enemies and pair them with smoke to give teammates a path behind enemies.
With Caustic
Like Bangalore's smoke, Caustic's gas can obscure the vision of other players, including teammates. Bloodhound can mitigate that issue with Eye of the Allfather and Beast of the Hunt, which can cut through the gas to let you zero in on targets and take them out while they're blinded.
Bloodhound
With Gibraltar
Bloodhound's ability to find enemies and see their positioning can be very handy when you need to know where to drop a mortar strike. Bloodhound is best used to constantly inform teammates of enemy positions, so use that knowledge to either blast squads and flush them out of position with your strikes.
With Mirage, Wraith, Or Pathfinder
Using Bloodhound's ability to find hiding enemies can give Mirage and Wraith the upper hand when confusing squads and flanking them. Knowing where enemies are can give teammates the info they need to send a decoy in the right direction, distracting a team so you can approach them from another direction. The same is true of using Pathfinder's grappling hook or zipline or using Wraith's abilities--knowing where a team is set up is necessary to flank and create ambushes, which both characters excel at doing. also makes it easy to get into position for ambushes or to flank enemies. When playing as Bloodhound, try to provide your team with as much information as you can, and they'll be able to use their own abilities to help you.
Wraith's ability to get squadmates into new positions with her portals is especially good for Bloodhound. With Eye of the Allfather and Beast of the Hunt, Bloodhound does a phenomenal job ambushing enemy teams. Using a portal to flank a squad and then activating Beast of the Hunt can be a great way to take down a group of enemies quickly, too.
Lifeline
With Gibraltar
Throwing Lifeline together with Gibraltar is an obvious pairing since both carry defensive abilities that are great for saving the lives of their squadmates. Gibraltar's dome shield and mortar strike are great for protecting Lifeline while reviving other players (although be sure enemy players aren't going to charge straight up on you when you do). Gibraltar can also drop his shield on top of Lifeline's drone, which you can push forward to give yourself something of a mobile shield, too.
With Wraith
Wraith's portals are great for helping out Lifeline players. Squadmates who have been knocked down can still use portals, making it possible to get out of a battle and away to safety. With Lifeline's speedier revive times, that means you can get squadmates out of harm's way, revived, recharged, and instantly back into the battle with the help of a portal. The trick is for the other member of your squad to stay alive in the meantime.
Wraith
With Mirage
With comparable abilities about confusing enemies and sneaking around them, Wraith and Mirage play similar roles and they can be very useful together in a battle. Mirage's decoys can be used to misdirect enemies while Wraith sets up portals or gets around behind enemies, and Mirage can do something similar with his ultimate ability, which briefly makes him invisible. Executing both moves together means you have much better chances of repositioning, and even if one of your flanking characters gets spotted, the other's chances are improved quite a bit.
With Gibraltar
Gibraltar's mortar strikes are great defensive cover for Wraith's movements and flanking maneuvers. Throwing down a mortar strike can give Wraith the cover she needs to phase behind a team or to get out of harm's ways. Mortar strikes have a serious effect on visibility, making Wraith's movements a lot easier.
Gibraltar
With Caustic
Gibraltar's Dome Shield is really useful for stopping fire coming from down range, but it's vulnerable to players who close the distance and come rushing in with shotguns. That makes it great to drop a gas trap in Gibraltar's dome while you're using it, just in case the battle gets close. The trap will slow and blind enemies, hopefully giving you a chance to slip away and prepare to fight on your terms or use it as an opportunity for a spicy counterattack.
Activated gas traps and Caustic's gas grenades also highlight the enemies afflicted by them, which is great when you're trying to figure out where to drop a mortar strike. A quick reaction with Gibraltar's ultimate can add a whole lot more damage to a successful Caustic trap and help finish off a surprised squad.
With Mirage
Gibraltar's Dome Shield is handy when you want to make enemies think you're somewhere else, and a Mirage decoy inside the shield can help sell the illusion. You can also use Mirage's invisibility from his ultimate ability alongside a Gibraltar mortar strike, allowing Mirage to easily get up near an enemy position or to escape from one. Mirage decoys reveal enemy locations when they're damaged, which means you can use a decoy to try to pinpoint exactly where Gibraltar should throw his strike. You can also use decoys to distract while setting a strike, or when flanking an enemy flushed out of their position by artillery.
Team Ninja has released the first season pass for Dead or Alive 6, and it costs more than the game itself. Dead or Alive 6 released today at a retail price of $60 USD, while its Season Pass 1--which went live almost immediately after the game launched--costs $93 USD.
For that staggeringly high price point, you'll net yourself over 60 costumes for the roster of fighters included in Dead or Alive 6 at launch, as well as two new additional characters that will release sometime between Mach and June. Season Pass 1 contains both volumes of the special Happy Wedding Costumes and two additional extended costume packs for all characters. There are costumes for the two new fighters as well, of which only the first--Fatal Fury's Mai Shiranui--has been revealed. Season Pass 1 also includes bonus content for NiCO and Nyotengu.
Dead or Alive 6 represents a change of pace for Team Ninja, which wants its infamous fighting game franchise to appeal to a larger audience. The developer wants Dead or Alive 6 to be an esport contender, for example. In order to accomplish this goal, a new feature--called the Break Gauge--has been implemented into Dead or Alive 6 that allows you to pull off both devastating attacks and counters with simple button inputs. Also, the sexual fan service that the series has become known for has been toned down. A free-to-play version to help convince people to pick up the full game is scheduled as well.
In our Dead or Alive 6 review-in-progress, Heidi Kemps gave the game a 7/10, writing, "As of the time of this writing, the game's online servers haven't gone live, so we are waiting to see how the game's netcode and online interface stacks up before finalizing the review. For the time being, though, we can say that DoA6 is a fun, engaging fighter with great-feeling, easy-to-pick-up combat, a strong sense of visual style, and a lot of personality. If you're looking for a new fighting game to learn the ins and outs of--or perhaps a nice entry into the 3D side of fighting games--DoA6 is a fighter of choice."
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