Tag Archive

The Wins & Fails of E3 2017

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Another E3 has come and gone and now all of the developers and publishers have packed up from the LA Convention Centre for another year. After a week of impressions, live streaming videos and major announcements – what games & announcements can we can put in the ‘win’ column and which left a sour taste in viewers’ mouths?  Here are three of the biggest wins and fails of E3 2017. Let us know your pick the for win and fail of E3 in the comments section!

Win

Michel Ancel Finally Gets To Debut Beyond Good & Evil 2

BG&2 has become somewhat of a running vaporware joke at this point, with 13 years separating us from the original’s release it is no surprise fans have let this one go. Ubisoft shocked everyone when Michel Ancel took the stage after a CG trailer that introduced us to a brand new rag-tag group of bounty hunters. Instead of the sequel, starring Jade, that everyone was expecting – we’re getting an expansive game with a diverse cast of characters like Knox the chimpanzee. In the most tear jerking moment of E3 2017 – Ancel was joined by the entire BG&E 2 team who were at E3 after the trailer rolled, for an on-stage embrace that will be remembered for some time to come.

Samus Returns, Not Once But Twice

Metroid fans have waited a long time for their heroin to return to her space bounty hunting ways on a Nintendo platform. After missing the Wii U generation entirely, Samas Aran is coming back to Nintendo’s consoles in two big ways: The unexpected announcement of a Metroid II: The Return of Samus remake for 3DS due out this Fall and the news that development of Metroid Prime 4 has begun with the help of an unnamed development studio that is not Retro Studios. Here’s hoping that Prime 4 brings the excellent atmospheric First Person Adventuring that we’ve come to expect from the series. With more than a decade of anticipation behind it, Prime 4 is going to have some big boots to fill when it arrives sometime in the future.

The Force Is Strong With Battlefront II

A gameplay reveal for Star Wars Battlefront II could have been a by the numbers amalgamation of pre-recorded gameplay footage combined with fake e-sports commentators but EA went all on one of this Fall’s biggest shooters. By bringing together 32 of e-sports most talented players and live commentators EA created a sense of authenticity and excitement for Star Wars Battlefront II’s first time in the spotlight.  Sure there were some cheesy moments like a commentator announcing “this is why people play Star Wars games” as two ships circle each other in a dogfight that contained absolutely zeros shooting but the smiles on player’s faces and the on-screen action told a different story: that Star Wars BattleFront 2 is a blast to play and even as a pre-alpha early E3 build.

Fail

We’ve Seen Sony’s E3 2017 Line-up Before

Sony’s E3 2017 press conference almost felt like the greatest hits of games they’ve already revealed in years past. Sure the Shadow of the Colossus complete remake is pretty cool, but that game has been available on two generations of Sony hardware already. God of War and Detroit both got new gameplay demos, but those titles won’t be out until at least the 1st quarter of next year if not later. The only true surprise was the extended gameplay demo of Spider-Man but that doesn’t have a release date except for a vague ‘2018’. It wasn’t so much that Sony put on a bad show, it’s just that outside of a few smaller reveals and the wow of Spider-Man we’ve seen these titles before in extended on-stage demos. They do get a number of points from me for putting PlayStation VR up and center in a concise and easy to understand way. Shame they didn’t speak the word, PS Vita, even once, perhaps the time has passed for the 5-year-old handheld.

Destiny 2 Was Missing In Action

I’ve already shared most of my thoughts on Bungie’s next FPS being absent from major coverage despite being playable on the show floor. It seems that the content that Bungie brought to E3 this year was the same sing-player mission and strike that we saw raw gameplay of during last month’s reveal. The only new pieces of Destiny 2 information we got through the course of this year’s show was a month and a half delay for the PC version and the expected reveal of PlayStation exclusive content. Sony and Bungie could have done so much more here.

X Doesn’t Mark The Spot For The Xbox One X

Microsoft’s job at their E3 2017 press conference was to convince both existing Xbox One owners and those of us who haven’t picked one up that the Xbox One X (formerly Project Scorpio) would be worth the cash. Thankfully they spent a good amount of time prior to E3 2017 detailing the hardware specs and capabilities of Xbox One X with Digital Foundry. Rather than dedicate a good chunk of time going over numbers that didn’t mean anything (6 tera-flops anyone?) – Microsoft had to focus on games that would convince viewers that Xbox One was worth the wait. What they delivered was… well… I doubt Forza 7 and the promise of Bioware’s Anthem in 2018 are going to convince people that they should pick up an Xbox one right now.  Microsoft showed a lot of games, but nothing really screamed “you MUST play this in 4K” – and considering the Xbox One X is $100 USD more than the comparable PS4 Pro without demonstrable difference between the two – it feels like Microsoft kinda blew it with the Xbox One X reveal.

0

E3 Attendance Tops 68,400 ESA Announces

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

E3 attracted more than 68,400 attendees including everyone from developers, media, executives, hardware manufacturers, console makers, media and for the first time the general public as well. In a press release issued as the show floor came to a close the ESA (the industry regulatory body that runs trade shows like E3, as well as the ESRB) noted that over 2,000 products were demonstrated with over 120 exhibitors displaying VR specific products or games.

Speaking about the success of this year’s show, President of the ESA – Michael D. Gallagher was quoted as saying:

“E3 2017 was a huge success. The advancements in technology unveiled at E3 will redefine and drive worldwide growth of the most meaningful form of entertainment on the planet,”

Major announcements at this year’s conference included the reveal of Microsoft’s Xbox One X console, Nintendo announcing not one but two new Metroid games and Sony showcasing their Fall 2017 / Spring 2018 software line-up. Perhaps the most emotional moment of E3 2017 came during Ubisoft’s press conference when Michel Ancel finally got to show the world Beyond Good & Evil 2, which had been presumed to be in development hell since it’s original May 2008 reveal.

For those of us who didn’t attend the show several companies including Nintendo, Sony, Square Enix and others hosted hours upon hours of live content. Demos, interviews, and analysis were widely available and the ESA noted that 5.5 million hours of content were streamed from Twitch alone this year!

E3 2018 will take place between June 12th and 14th of next year.

0

How Was Destiny 2’s Showing At E3 2017?

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

With the 2017 entry of E3 coming to a close tomorrow let’s take a quick look at how Destiny 2 fared in terms of publicly available coverage coming out of the show. An in-engine “PlayStation Exclusive Content” trailer debuted at Sony’s press conference this past Monday, the PC version was delayed and Bungie devs took questions on PlayStation’s live stream but very little tangible video content came from the expo floor. It is likely that while anyone attending E3 can try out Destiny 2, video capture is probably not permitted.

Major Announcements Surrounding Destiny 2:

  • Player Vs. Player Combat will be divided into a more “casual” and “hardcore” set of playlists. Exact specifics were not announced.
  • Guided Games will allow clans to help prepare new Guardians for the trials ahead of them by learning from series veterans who are in the same clan.
  • In-game clans will be limited to 100 members.
  • Destiny players who invested 100s of hours in the original Destiny will receive some kind of flair or a small reward. Devs described these as “certain identifiers” but did not elaborate.
  • The PC version of Destiny 2 has been delayed until October 24th with the console version coming earlier than expected – September 6th.
  • Beta dates were announced with all platforms: PS4 July 18th | Xbox One July 19th | PC: TBA August 2017.

Exclusive PS4 Content:

  • “Lake of Shaows” Co-op Strike
  • Exclusive armor for all main classes
  • Exclusive Ship – “City Apex”
  • Exclusive Exotic Weapon with three different damage modes
  • Exclusive PVP Map

Overall Conference Rating: Poor

Unfortunate to see a game with such strong marketing muscle behind it falter when it comes to available media and coverage after a huge event like E3 –  but Destiny 2 did just that. After an absolutely explosive gameplay reveal last month – with dozens of journalists, streamers and influencers going hands-on with the game – this was Activision’s chance to really let people know exactly how Destiny 2 plays by allowing attendees to capture media. Sadly, most impression pieces – including IGNs – are vague at best: describing access to the opening mission of the game and one unnamed strike, without giving any in-depth details about what exactly happened within the Strike. Also, Destiny 2 didn’t get an on-stage demo during either Sony or Microsoft’s press conferences. Nor was a live streamed demo on used on the PlayStations channel when developers were releasing new information – all of the footage used was taken from last month’s “homecoming” mission reveal.

Guardians all around the world will get their chance over the summer to see exactly how Destiny 2 plays during the closed & open beta on all three platforms. Is it worth your $60? Hang on for a couple of weeks and decide for yourself during the open beta test.

 

0

Square Enix Dedicated An Entire Hour To Disidia NT Gameplay Premiere

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix dedicated almost an entire hour of their nearly seven-hour E3 live stream to their upcoming fighting game, Disidia NT, during day one of the conferences. Previously known as Disidia Final Fantasy Arcade, this newest entry in the cross-game franchise pits heroes and notable characters from almost every FF title against each other in teams of 3, using a unique battle system. Up until this E3 Disidia NT was confined to the arcades of Japan but now it will be released in North America on PS4 by the end of 2017.

Disidia NT’s battle system is quite unique when compared to other team-based fighters out there. After choosing your Final Fantasy favorites you’ll be paired against two other teams of three in an all out battle. Heroes are divided into 4 distinct roles – Vanguard, Assassin, Marksman and Guard. Each different character type has a distinct role and play style that also determines their position on the field. For example, Guard type excel at being tanks and are useful at the front of the party’s space, agro-ing enemies. Assassins are fast moving characters who excel at reaching the backline of an enemy team’s position and unleashing quick attacks before getting out. Disidia NT’s battles can take place either up in the air or on the ground, a team is eliminated when they suffer 3 deaths – but not necessarily one of each team member. Combine all of these mechanics with two different attack types (HP and BRAVE) and the fact that Brave Points can be traded between players and the ultimate attacks, Limit Breaks can turn the tide of battle and you have one of the most unique/complicated fighting game systems.

Confirmed Characters

  • Warrior of Light
  • Garland
  • Onion Knight
  • Cecil
  • Kain
  • Bartz
  • Exdeath
  • Terra
  • Brantford
  • Kefka
  • Cloud
  • Sephiroth
  • Squall
  • Zidane
  • Kuja
  • Tidus
  • Shantotto
  • Vaan
  • Lightening
  • Noctus

If the battle system sounds a little overwhelming make sure to watch through the entire one hour presentation. Disida looks like a lot of fun, even if I am not really familiar with the franchise up until Final Fantasy VII – yup I came into FF quite late so I’ve missed out on some of the great 16-bit entries.

0

Search For The Infinity Stones In The Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite Story Demo

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Fighting fans can go hands-on with Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite a full three months before its’ official release this September thanks to the surprise release of the Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite Story Demo exclusively on PlayStation 4.  The universes of Marvel and Capcom once again collide due to the use of two of the Infinity Stones by “Ultron SIgma” – a fusion of the Marvel villain Ultron and Mega Man antagonist Sigma.  Heroes and villains from both universes will have to band together in-order to stop this ultimate fusion from destroying reality itself. 

Team battles return from previous entries in the Marvel Vs Capcom series, however with the release of infinite Capcom is going back to the series roots by paring teams back to 2 Vs 2 rather than the 3 Vs 3 team compositions that made their debut in Marvel Vs Capcom 2. Rather than using predetermined partner assist attacks that are dependent on a player’s chosen characters – instead Infinite allows a player to call in their back-up at any time, even during long animations. In theory this means that chaining together combos between characters should be easier.  Hyper combos are also no longer activated by inputting a specific set of commands, but simply by pressing two of the face buttons on the Dualshock controller. It is clear that MVC: Infinite shakes up the established formula by changing the amount of total characters, drastic changes to controls + inputs and the removal of pre-canned assist abilities.  

Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite‘s Story Demo is now available on the PlayStation Store. The full version will be released on September 15th for Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4. As of the writing of this article there have been 24 confirmed characters on both sides combined with more expected to be revealed soon. 

Confirmed Capcom Characters:

  • Arthur
  • Chris Redfield
  • Chun-Li
  • Dante
  • Megaman X
  • Morrigan
  • Nathan Spencer
  • Ryu
  • Strider
  • Zero

Confirmed Marvel Characters:

  • Black Panther
  • Captain America
  • Doctor Strange
  • Gamora
  • Hawkeye
  • Hulk
  • Iron Man
  • Nova
  • Rocket Raccoon
  • Thanos
  • Thor
  • Ultron

Full 23 Minute Demo Footage

Official Trailer 

Official Screenshots

0

Massive Quake Champions Patch Adds B.J Blazkowicz From Wolfenstien

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Id Software and Sabre Interactive rolled out a massive patch for Quake Champions that should make returning testers and new players very happy. The E3 patch adds a brand new champion – the nazi slaying B.J Blazkowicz from the Wolfenstein series. Alongside B.J’s debut in QC this patch also adds 3 new maps for various modes, the much requested “custom games” option for parties of players and so so much more content than can fit into a single paragraph.

B.J’s kit includes the ability to dual wield any weapon in the game by using his ultimate ability. While the ultimate ability timer counts down BJ will spawn a copy of whatever weapon he has active. This duplicating effect carries over to any weapons he might pick up while the ultimate is active or have in his inventory. Want to run around with two railguns, killing everyone in sight? With B.J you can!

Here is a breakdown of B.J’s abilities as they appeared in the patch notes:

NEW Champion: 

B.J. Blazkowicz added to the Champion roster! 

  •    Dual Wield (Active) 

BJ calls for back-up and answers his own call. Double [censored] weapons, BJ takes turns firing them in rapid succession to lay down some heavy fire, but he will burn through some serious ammo to do so. 

  •    Regeneration (Passive) 

BJ can regenerate any damaged health inside one 25 HP block, if he doesn’t receive damage for 3 seconds. 

  •    Stats: 
  •    100 / 100 HP 
  •    25 / 50 AP 
  •    310 -> 560 ups 
  •    Customizations includes 3 outfits and 1 vanity item. 

If you’ve got a whole party of friends who want to play a specific mode or map with a different time limit, frag limit or default team size then perhaps the Custom Game mode is for you. Right now the custom game options are quite limited and there is no server browser or matchmaking for custom games. This isn’t exactly a replacement for dedicated servers, for those that care about that sort of thing. 

The following options are available for custom games:

Custom Game:
–          Party with friends to play private matches on the arena and game mode of your choice!
–          Party Leaders can pre-configure teams in the Match Lobby by dragging players between pillars.
–          Start Match button will be disabled if the amount of players present is lower than required
–          Start Match button will be disabled in Duel mode if players don’t have 3 Champions available

Also added in the E3 patch is the ability for visitors to a game to spectate. Friends who join a custom game can either be assigned to either Red or Blue team or in the “Spectator” role. Those in the spectator role can freely switch their camera either from room to room or between players regardless of which team those players are on.

The patch notes describe the spectator mode thusly:

NEW Spectator Mode: 

  •    Spectator mode added within Custom Game!

o    Invite friends to your party and drag them to the Match Lobby Spectator Box to allow them to spectate the match. 

o   Spectators can toggle camera modes between players, rooms, and free-float by pressing [L. SHIFT]. 

o   Players can cycle through players or rooms with [LEFTARROW] and [RIGHTARROW] or by pressing [1]-[0] number keys for specific players or rooms. 

o   Spectators can press [X] to toggle x-ray outlines to see players locations through walls to help follow the action.

So much more content makes up the large E3 patch than I can cover in one news article – including the three new maps, small bug fixes, a new tutorial system and some menu changes. If you’ve watched the B.J reveal trailer embedded above make sure to head on over to the Quake Champions forums to read the patch notes in their entirety.  

0

Spider-Man Does Whatever A Spider Can In First PS4 Footage

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

It has been awfully quiet on the Spider-Man front as of late. Oh sure, there is a huge co-produced Marvel & Sony Pictures film coming out next month but I meant in terms of Insomniac’s web-slinging simulator announced at E3 2016. A year later and Sony closed their press conference last night with an [X] demo, surely they were hoping to wow the crowd by recreating Spider-Man’s signature moves in video game form.

The demo picks up with Spidey taking on a series of henchmen on the inside of an unfinished skyscraper. Spidey dodges, leaps and performs acrobatics exactly like you’d expect someone with superhuman reflexes to react – seamlessly going from launching a henchman up in the air with a high kick, only to web-shoot him out the window mid-jump a split second later. All of this action is broken up by a mid-demo FaceTime conversation between Spider-Man and an imprisoned Kingpin. All of these henchmen that Spidey have been laying waste to are actually trying to take down Kingpin’s assets while he’s imprisoned and if Spidey wants to discover the true identity of this criminal mastermind Spider-Man will have to rescue Kingpin’s men and save the high-rise. Without giving away the climactic action sequence towards the demo’s end or the surprise post-credits reveal, it looks like Insomniac’s Spider-Man is going to be worth the wait until it ships sometime next year.

0

Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones Takes PvP Action To The High Seas

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Ubisoft announced a brand new IP at their E3 press conference this afternoon, the swashbuckling multiplayer title Skull & Bones. Players try to work their way up the pirate food chain to amass riches across multiple trade routes on the Indian Ocean as a freelance pirate captian. Taking place in an online open world that is persistent – the obstacles players have to face are ever changing – whether those are raging storms, rough seas or other pirates looking to sink their ship.

Players will create their own custom pirate avatar through a character creator and can play by themselves, solo, or group up with up to three friends for some high seas adventures. Like last year’s Division, Skull & Bones will offer both Player Vs Player combat and Player Vs Environment activities to enjoy. PVP is not turned on by default (like in The Division) there is a specific area of the map, called Disputed Waters, where it is permissible to sink another captain’s vessel. Ships will come in three sizes according to Ubisoft – Frigate, Brigantine and Sloop-of-War. Each type of ship has its’ own drawbacks and advantages so captains will have to build their armada will some strategy in mind.

Skull & Bones is being developed by multi Ubisoft affiliated studios including Ubisoft Singapore as the lead studio, Ubisoft Chngdu in China and Blue Byte in Mainz, Germany.  It is due out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC. It will have support for PlayStation Pro and Xbox One X enhancements. Interested freelance pirates can sign-up at the official website to be put in the queue for an upcoming technical test.

Screens

PVP In-Engine Gameplay

Cinematic Trailer

0

State of Decay 2 Brings Post Apocalyptic Scares Next Spring

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

State of Decay 2’s trailer asks us the hard questions about surviving in an urban post apocalyptic hell-scape like:  “who do you decide to save?” and “do you kill a friend or do everything you can to save them?”. Player choice, player action and the consequences of both of those are front and center during the gameplay reveal trailer shown at Microsoft’s E3 press conference earlier today.

We see the survivors make choices like where to build their settlements, whether or not to give a party member the last remaining antidote and whether or not to take revenge against the creature that just ripped your friend in two. Literally, there is a visceral scene near the end where we see a survivor get picked up by a large hulking zombie and then torn in half at the waist with visceral levels of entrails spilling onto the floor. Clearly State of Decay 2 is not for the faint of heart.

State of Decay 2 will release on both the Windows 10 Store and Xbox One Store in Spring 2018. It will feature enhancements for the newly announced supped up Xbox One X as well.

Trailer below:

0

Sea of Thieves Gets 9 Minute Demo @ E3 2017, Coming Out Spring 2018

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

We’ve known about Rare’s Sea of Thieves for quite some time now but now we know approximately when it will come out – Spring 2017. Rare’s colorful pirate world comes to life in an 8-minute gameplay trailer showcasing a team of four searching an island for an epic treasure. Players will collect cryptic riddle maps that will the player & their friends find epic loot, should they be able to survive the encounter. Perhaps my favorite moment in the E3 2017 Sea of Thieves demonstration was when the player shot themselves out of a canon and absolutely wrecked another crew’s ship.

Sea of Thieves will be available in Spring 2018 for Windows 10 PC and Xbox One and supports the cross-play cross-buy Play Anywhere initiative.

Watch the full game play demonstration in the embedded player below:

0

Assassin’s Creed Origins Coming October 27th

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Rumors about the Assassin’s Creed franchise making the trip to ancient Egypt with a pair of Assassin’s Creed: Origins videos unveiled at Microsoft’s E3 press conference this morning.  Players will witness the birth of the order of Assassins featuring the first person to ever don the hood of the order who oppose the Templars. The game’s protagonist is an “Egyptian Sheriff” of sorts according to the game’s Creative Director.

It will be out on October 27th, check out both the cinematic trailer and five-minute gameplay demo below.

0

MMORPG Black Desert Online Coming To Xbox One

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

As an MMORPG Black Desert Online is known for being drop dead gorgeous and if you have a PC with high enough specs to run the game on ultra settings, you’re in for a treat. Microsoft announced at their E3 press conference that the game will be coming to Xbox One later this year and will be enhanced by the power of Xbox One X (formally “Project Scorpio”).

Here is how the game’s Steam Page describes the game, which I feel gives a good rundown of how Black Desert Online differs from other Buy To Play MMORPGs. Also the PC version has native support for Xbox One controllers, so it makes sense that Kakao Games would bring it to the Xbox One family of consoles.

“Black Desert Online is a sandbox, living-world MMORPG. Experience fast-paced, action-packed combat, hunt monsters and huge bosses, fight with friends in a guild to siege nodes and region castles, train your life skills such as fishing, trading, crafting, cooking, and much more!

Players will enjoy jaw-dropping graphics, intuitive skill-based combat, and an immersive story encased in our expansive world that’s just waiting to be explored. Accompanied by a Black Spirit, a companion whose destiny is intertwined with their own, players will discover the secret of the Black Stones and the history of their corrupting effects.”

Here’s the trailer:

0

Need For Speed Payback Aims To Be The Grand Theft Auto of Racing Games

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

It’s an overused and clichéd shorthand to call any game the ‘GTA of [X]’ or the ‘Grand Theft Auto but [Y]’ yet after watching two different demonstrations of Need For Speed Payback that is exactly the direct comparison I find myself making.

Need For Speed Payback was unveiled during the EA Play Keynote and live stream earlier today. In what has become an annual franchise as of late, this latest NFS title sees the player take control of three different protagonists (just like a certain Rockstar game) who are down on their luck. To get the titular payback against a rival group the trio must stage elaborate, almost action movie like, heists (just like a Rockstar developed game that I won’t mention again in this article). Oh and Payback also happens to be “the most open-world NFS titled developed [by Ghost Games]” according to one of the developer during EA’s presentation.

From what they’ve shown of the experience so far, it feels like a mix between a high action movie, the burnout games of yore and the open world– “go anywhere”- gameplay of 2013’s Need For Speed: Rivals. All told this entry looks very promising and since Rivals was one of my favorites in recent memory next to 2010’s Hot Pursuit remake – Need For Speed Rivals could turn out to be a high-octane thrill ride.

Need For Speed Payback will be out on Xbox One / Scoprio, PS4 /PS4 Pro and PC. It will be released on November 11th 2017

0

New Kingdom Hearts III Trailer Still Lacks Release Date

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix released a brand new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III almost a full four years after it was originally revealed at E3 2013. My original headline about the game’s announcement so many years ago told readers that “no you’re not dreaming, Kingdom Hearts 3 has been announced” and now this latest trailer opens with “Don’t assume your dreams are just fantasy” – for the entire series fan base and enthusiast press playing KH III has been relegated to the realm of dream or fantasy since the title has yet to appear at a major industry convention or conference in anything but pre-rendered trailer footage.

As for the details about what’s going on in this trailer… well, I haven’t the slightest gosh darn clue. My wife and I are slowly playing through the series and I’ve still got three games left (Dream Drop Distance, Birth By Sleep, 2.8 Prologue) before I am completely caught up. So far the series plot (to me) is slightly disjointed but still enjoyable, if not a little off the wall.

If you want to see pretty visuals of Sora pulling off cool combo moves, Pete and Maleficent rendered in crisp PS4 HD and for the first time four party members active at once – watch the trailer below.

While there’s no release date the end of this trailer, Square Enix does promise the reveal of a brand new world and another new trailer at D23 this coming July.

Come on Square – can we have a release date now? Don’t let our dreams be dreams and give us a release date.. JUST DO IT

0

Search Your Feelings, You Know Star Wars Battlefront II Gameplay Looks Impressive

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

EA dedicated a very lengthy section of their four hour livestream this afternoon to DICE’s sequel to 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront reboot. This included an on-stage presentation and featurette about the group of skilled players who helped provide input to developers about the type of changes needed to make Battlefront II’s multiplayer a success. We also got our first look at an actual full multiplayer battle thanks to their Battle on Theed promotion.

DICE has made a number of fundamental changes to how the gameplay systems work in Star Wars Battlefront II. The most obvious is that units, heroes, maps and technology from all three eras (A New Hope Era, Prequels Era, The Force Awakens Era) are all present within a single match. Want to have Rey fight alongside Han Solo? You can do that! Want the Emperor to electrocute Jar Jar Binks, GO FOR IT (okay.. even in my wildest fan dreams we don’t know if there is an actual playable Jar Jar.) Power-ups and ship combat have changed as well – instead of picking up a token on the battlefield to spawn a special weapon, vehicle or hero, players are provided “battlepoints” for almost every action they perform . Whether you’re shooting an enemy player, blowing up a ship with a tracked missile or capturing an objective you’ll earn battlepoints for all of them – at one point during the livestream we saw a ship simply spawn and then crash into a building, and that player still earned BP. The amount of MP to spawn with a different class, weapon, hero or vehicles differs – so we don’t have a clear sense as to how much each of the specific types of purchases cost.

During the livestreamed Assault on Theed multiplayer match, which takes place on the planet of Naboo the Separatists (which include clone troopers from Episode II, the Rebels from A New Hope era and The Resistance from The Force Awakens era) must defend the palace from a large mobile bomb being escorted by the forces of the Galatic Republic (Empire from A New Hope Era, The New Order from Force Awakens Era). Matches on Theed are divided into three distinct phases: a large open urban area where aerial dog fights happen alongside multi-unit battles in the streets of Theed. If the Galactic Republics continues their push the courtyard near the palace gate will unlock, funnels ground units into a narrower space. The final phase of Assault on Theed takes place in the Queen’s throne room and is designed for full on close-quarters combat. It is quite interesting to see Battlefront II adopt three distinctly different gameplay flows and map styles within a single match, very similar to what DICE tried to achieve with the Death Star DLC for the original Battlefront.

Other interesting tidbits included the inclusion of Episode I’s Battle Droids and Darth Maul as selectable units after accumulating enough battlepoints. It was also confirmed during the match that both Han Solo and Boba Fett will return from the first title as Hero Units alongside newcomer Rey. With EA promising 3 times as much content as the original title and free Hero, Mode and Map updates for all players without a season’s pass Battlefront II should have Star Wars fans excited. Star Wars Battlefront II will be out on November 17th 2017 on Xbox One, PS4, PS4 Pro, PC and Xbox Scorpio.

0

Get the latest articles and news from BrokenJoysticks and a selection of excellent articles from other sources.

Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be on your way to getting our upcoming newsletter.