E3 is coming to a close today but there is still tons of screenshots, trailers and news to go through. Namco Bandai reminds all of us that Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is coming to both PlayStation 4, PSVR and PC in 2018 with the release of a brand new trailer and a series of screenshots. This latest trailer gives us a lot more background into the story of Skies Unknown – with one of the military powers in the world of Ace Combat occupying the International Space Elevator the world is plunged into chaos and military conflict. The newly released screenshots give us a look inside one of the game’s hangers, a close-up view of an F-14 and several select screengrabs from the trailer itself.
There is still no confirmed release date for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
Youtuber PS360HD got a 10 minute direct-feed gameplay capture from this year’s E3 conference if you’d like to see how Ace Combat 7 Plays:
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.
Studio Wildcard will be bringing the prehistoric survival game ARK: Survival Evolved out of the Early Access age with the release of the retail version on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on August 8th. ARK on personal computers will be available for multiple operating systems including Microsoft Windows, MAC OS and various flavors of Linux.
Three different editions of ARK: Survival Evolved will be available for Xbox One and PS4 and are available for pre-order the company announced. They are:
ARK Survival Evolved Standard Edition – $59.99 USD
Includes the base ARK experience.
Access to all free content and updates that have been released to date.
Survival Evolved soundtrack as performed by the Philarmonica Orchestra.
Studio Wildcard development team poster.
Leather- bound Explorer’s Notebook.
With three different versions it might get a little confusing for new players to know exactly which version of ARK to pick up. Surely only the hardest of hardcore fans will choose to purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition since, as the name implies, it will be manufactured in limited quantities. Early Access backers such as myself seem to be funneled into the Standard Edition, this makes sense – Scorched Earth has always been add-on DLC since day one. Studio Wildcard promises that even the base ARK experience will provide players with 100s of hours of entertainment.
So Hover: Revolt of Gamers is a game Kickstarted in 2014 (remember this) inspired by Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge. While I have zero experience playing the evergreen classic of JSR, I have a lot of respect for the original Mirror’s Edge and a bit of it for its… requel.
Hover starts us off by waking us up in our customizable avatar from a Cloning Vat, and takes us through a short tutorial that gives us the basic controls in a small controlled environment before unleashing us out in the world of Trash Haven, where the “resistance” is led by… gamers. Yup. Because laws have made video games official contraband. Seriously.
You can find collectibles (like the “Gamegirl” handhelds) or destroy some “anti-leisure propaganda”. The game progresses both to new areas and through whatever story may actually be here through Missions, which are the typical checkpoint-relay variety, or one with the twist of throwing your delivery package “Gameball” at a wall magnet. Added into the mix is the ability to design your own missions for your friends or strangers to play through as well.
Its level design is very cluttered. There are jump-pads that aren’t lined up with anything so you overshoot, there are massive vertical climbs without actually giving you decent pathing to do so. The climbing over terrain itself is quite frustrating, at times I will line up a jump and it’s a coin flip on whether my character will try to climb over the ledge I land on, or instead position to wall jump off of it for no reason (one time I even wall jumped off of a slime waterfall?). These little mishaps will leave you tumbling down, and you either have to spend several minutes trying to climb back up to where you were, or burn through your suit’s “rewind” power (less Braid, and more Overwatch’s Tracer),
For a first/third person platformer that’s all about parkour and jumping, it feels very haphazardly thrown together in that regard and uses the Rewind to try and excuse its own poor level design with zero regards for consistency or fluidity of motion.
It seems to be more trying to be in your face about “We’re here and we’re gamers” over actually presenting a good product, and considering that it was crowdfunded in 2014 over folks “taking your games away”, it feels very much like at least one of its members was part of the culture that created that other “gamers revolt” in 2014. And really, we don’t need any more of that.
Hover: Revolt of Gamers developer provided Brokenjoysticks.net a code for the game for our consideration & Impressions
Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will see its conclusion with the release of episode 5 next Tuesday – May 30th and It will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS and Android.
What will happen to the residents of Richmond as everything hangs on the edge of oblivion? You’ll have to play the game to find out when it releases next week. Our reviews editor Meghan Kass has been reviewing the episodes as they’ve been released so make sure to check out a couple of her reviews to catch up.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier serves as both a sequel to the excellent The Walking Dead Season 2 for existing players and a fresh start for newcomers. As a treat for players of the previous entries, Clementine (the protagonist from Season 2) makes an appearance in A New Frontier.
Today, SEGA revealed the third gameplay style in Sonic Forces is a powerful gadget touting customizable character. For the first time in the Sonic series, players can create their own original Hero Character, and customize how the character plays and how it looks. This newly revealed playstyle in Sonic Forces is in addition to the previously revealed fast-paced action of Modern Sonic and the thrilling platforming of Classic Sonic.
Players will be equipping their custom Hero Character with one of a variety of powerful unique gadgets called Wispons. Wispons are an evolution of the Color Powers from Sonic Colors and double as both offensive abilities and as a way to platform through levels quickly. Along with the Wispon, the Hero Character will have a grappling hook they can utilize to quickly traverse across zones. Players can also customize the Hero Character’s looks by choosing and swapping between hundreds of accessories and outfit options to change the character’s appearance as they play through the game.
There are seven base animal types that players can select from, each with varying special abilities:
Wolf – Automatically draws in rings when near them
Rabbit – Has longer invincible time after receiving damage
Cat – Keeps one ring after being hit
Dog – Restarts with five rings after the player dies
Bear – Blows away enemies with a homing attack
Bird – Flies high with double jump abilities
Hedgehog – Collects rings when getting damaged
The created character will also be a key part of the story, appearing not only in cut scenes, but by being a crucial element in the story.
Sonic Forces will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, & PC this holiday.
Natsume and Rising Star Games today announced an all-new title in the long running Harvest Moon series, which will be making its debut on the Nintendo Switch, Steam, and PlayStation 4 later this year. The game will be called Harvest Moon: Light of Hope and will encompass twenty years of spirit that has made the franchise what it is today.
This is the first time the Harvest Moon brand will be on Steam and the Nintendo Switch. The title will be playable on both Switch and PC in the Natsume booth at E3 in June.
The Quake franchise was once a multiplayer staple during the early 1990s and while the franchise has tried to reinvent itself twice in the mid-2000s it has been almost a decade since we heard from this formally prominent frag fest. Now id Software in collaboration with Sabre Interactive and publisher Bethesda are preparing to bring back Quake for a new generation with the open beta of Quake Champions which launches this weekend.
Bethesda was courteous enough to invite me into the Closed Beta Test for Quake Champions and over the past five weeks, I’ve been able to experience multiple builds of the game – each iterating on the last. As well I’ve been able to participate in feedback & discussion with other Quake enthusiasts and developers to help improve the game. I figured with the public tech test happening an overview of how Quake Champions works, identifying what aspects set Champions apart from previous entries in the franchise and some tips/tricks would be welcome.
Multiplayer – Past, Present & Future
At its’ core Quake Champions is a multiplayer shooter with a higher skill ceiling that the competition. The game may have a heavy focus on e-sports later on down the line judging from the promotional materials released by Bethesda thus far. Knowing when to move, strafe, jump and activate abilities are all key concepts that players will have to master if they want to see their names at the top of the leaderboards. QC isn’t really a game where you can stick to a single weapon and charge around the arena with no situational awareness and expect to come out on top. Maneuvers like strafe jumping (pressing movement keys before making a jump to maximize velocity) and circle strafing (running in a circle around an opponent to avoid oncoming attacks) are not only valid strategies but have ben part of the franchise since the days of Quake II multiplayer. When playing a team based mode knowing where allies are in relation to objectives can make the difference between nabbing the Quad Damage and becoming a pile of giblets.
The titular Champions are front and center as soon as the game’s splash screen and opening menu present themselves. Each player no longer have the same in-game avatar, as seen in Quake II or simply a different model with the same hitboxes & statistics like Quake III’s multiplayer. Each champion brings a unique aesthetic, distinct personality, their own ultimate ability, and statistics. Fans of Quake I can step into the boots of Ranger, the protagonist from that game. His statistics are all around rounded and his ultimate ability Dire Orb allows players to either send a blast of energy at enemies or warp a long distance across the room. Players looking for a little more brute force can choose Scalebearer – a large hulking tank who has a large health pool, giving him a good amount of survivability, a slower movement than other agile Champions but an Ultimate that allows him to charge forward at a great speed instantly killing opponents below a certain health level. Ranger & Scalebearer are only two of the eight selectable Champions that players will have at launch and each of them certainly invites experimentation as well as a fresh reason to hop into a match.
Weapons receive some tweaking in Quake Champions when compared to previous iterations. Mainstays like the machinegun, gauntlet, rocket launcher, railgun, nailgun and lightning gun are all accounted for but Quake veterans may notice some omissions. The grenade launcher, plasma rifle, and the Big Fucking Gun are all missing in action but once you’ve played a few rounds of Champions it can be easy to see why some of these weapons might have been omitted. Having a projectile based weapon like the grenade launcher could result in splash damage kills which is antithetical of the skill based slaughter discussed earlier. Same goes for the Big Fucking Gun, while weapons like the railgun deal excessively high amounts of damage it is never enough to kill a player at full health in one single blow, even the rocket launcher is capped at 100 DMG when a direct hit occurs.
Monetization & Free To Play Experience
Before you run away, yes, Quake Champions will be free to play but as the developers have mentioned time and time again – they aren’t aiming to split up the multiplayer community into tiers. If a player chooses not to purchase any additional champions or loot boxes they will still have access to the core Quake Champions experience in the form of Ranger being permanently unlocked for use. If Ranger’s search for a slip-gate home becomes too exhausting additional Champions can currently be rented for 5000 ‘favor’ – the F2P currency earned at the end of matches. These rentals do come with some caveats, however. Paying 5000 favor will unlock a single hero for 24 real world hours, meaning that the clock begins ticking after you click purchase. It can also take some time to earn the required 5000 favor depending on the Daily Challenges presented to you and whether or not they are obtainable. Some challenges can be as simple as competing in 3 matches and earning enough favor for a free rental. Others, like getting 3 railgun kills in a row, can be more difficult especially for newer players. In my experience with the game – without using challenges it can approximately take an hour of game time to earn a free rental.
With id & Bethesdsa providing so much of the core game experience including maps, modes and one character entirely for free Quake Champions is monetized in three different ways. First and foremost is the ability for players to purchase random unlockable cosmetic items through three different types of loot boxes. Single items can be unlocked for 1,000 favor through the purchase of “backpacks” while two other chests that can contain 3 items of rare quality or higher, however, chests can only be purchased with real money. Individual champions will also be able to be purchased for real money as a permanent alongside a “champions pack” that will provide unlockable access to every character but not all cosmetic items.
In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about random loot boxes in games. It is well known that they exploit the dopamine bursts (the happy hormone released in the brain) that come with flashy rewards. These same centers of the brain trigger when players win at a slot machine and with the inclusion of a random element in terms of what is unlocked loot boxes can feel a lot like gambling. In the eight hours I’ve spent with the game prior to the tech test I was able to unlock enough red gems (the currency used for cosmetics) to purchase one of the classic Quake III weapons. The inclusion of Q3 weapons is absolutely awesome and I think it is a great nod to fans but I am sad that they are locked behind either hours of grinding out backpacks or until your wallet has been exhausted until you have enough red gems from duplicate items to purchase the cosmetic you want.
Quake Champions has a solid foundation that Bethesda, id Software and Sabre Interactive could mold into something fantastic. There is enough action, weapon variety, and skill ceiling to keep players coming back for matches for weeks – and in all honesty that is a good thing. It is clear the inclusion of the 1 Vs 1 Duel Mode, e-sports promotions and free to play model indicate that all three parties have sky-high ambitions for Quake’s return. In its’ current state Quake Champions strikes a unique balance between what defined 20+ years ago and elements that a newer generation of shooter fans have come to expect. Here’s hoping that the recipe id and Sabre have cooked up will be well received when it is released later this summer.
Blizzard has unleashed the largest update for Heroes of the Storm since their Multiplayer Online Battle Arena launched in the summer of 2015. After 22 months since the initial release, HOTS’ loot system gets a complete rework, the in-game shop has been completely redesigned, changes to skins, dozens of brand new collectibles and two new heroes. To cap things off both returning players and newbies can score 20 free heroes and $10 of in-game currency for simply logging in.
Loot Boxes & Overall Progression
Overwatch’s popular loot box system makes its way to Heroes of the Storm with the recently release 2.0 update. To accomplish this brand new feature the development team have made changes to how items are purchased / earned in game, how player progression & heroes levels work and a discontinuation of real world currency pricing for skins & other cosmetic items.
Individual hero levels remain in-tact with HOTS 2.0 but now all of your combined previous hero levels are totaled into a new account “Player Level” which also features a level cap much higher than the previous limit of 40. Player Level is directly tied to the reward of receiving a loot box, every time your player level increased by one you are rewarded with one “common loot box”. Meeting specific progression objectives (example: level Valla to 15) will also reward you a loot box that contains a specific set of items for that hero. Lastly, there is rare and epic level loot boxes that are guaranteed to contain a high quality item – these are usually tied to certain player level progressions every 25 levels or so.
Discontinuation of Real World Pricing & New Currencies
In the last version of Heroes of the Storm currencies were very easy to manage because there were only two: gold & real world prices on heroes/skins. With HOTS 2.0 things get a lot more complicated with the addition of two new currencies – Gems & Shards and the removal of the real world prices.
Here is a quick rundown of what the new currencies are used for and how to obtain them:
Gems – Purchased with real world currency in predefined blocks (minimum $5 purchase), can also be rewarded as a progression unlock. These are used for exchanging real world cash for heroes or loot boxes only, skins are no longer purchasable.
Gold – Earned at the end of every match, can be exchanged for heroes or to “reroll” loot boxes, regenerating the content inside.
Shards – A brand new currency that allows players to craft unlockable that can only otherwise be obtained through random loot boxes. Shards are earned by unlocking duplicate items from loot boxes and prices on items begin at as little as 50 shards (you get around 20 shards per duplicate) or as high as 1600 shards for the most coveted items.
Free Stuff For Every Player – 20 Hero Packs!
Between now and May 22nd any player who logs into Heroes of the Storm will be able to select one of four themed free hero packs from the in-game store. Each of these packs are based around specific roles that you’ll find in the game – Assassins, Supports / Specialists, Tanks / Bruisers or a “Flex” bundle which includes a little bit of everything.
Here is a rundown of all of the available bundles:
Assassins
Alarak
Chromie
Falstad
Greymane
Gul’dan
Kael’thas
Kerrigan
Li-Ming
Lunara
Nazeebo
Nova
Raynor
Sylvanas
Butcher
Tracer
Tychus
Valeera
Valla
Zeratul
Zul Jin
Support / Specialist
Abathur
Auriel
Brightwing
Chen
Dehaka
T.C
Johanna
Kharazim
Li Li
Morales
Lucio
Malfurion
Medivh
Muradin
Rehgar
Stitches
Tassadar
Tyrael
Uther
Zarya
Tanks / Bruisers
Alarak
Anub arak
Artanis
Arthas
Chen
Diablo
Dehaka
Illidan
Kharazim
Leoric
Muradin
Ragnaros
Rexxar
Samuro
Sonya
Stitches
Thrall
Varian
Flex Bundle
Abathur
Arthas
Azmodan
Brightwing
Diablo
ETC
Greymane
Johanna
Kerrigan
Li Li
Li Ming
Morales
Nazeebo
Rehgar
Rexxar
Sylvanas
The Lost Vikings
Tychus
Varian
Zul Jin
Two New Heroes and So Much More
If you’ve stuck it out this far into the article and aren’t totally lost – this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the changes that Heroes of the Storm 2.0 brings to Blizzard’s MOBA. If your eyes wandered off the screen after $200 of free in-game items and immediately started downloading the game, I don’t blame you.
If you’re still with me – HOTS 2.0 adds Overwatch’s Genji to the roster. This cybernetic Ninja has similar abilities to the ones that he uses in Overwatch, the dev team have done their best to adapt these characters as faithfully as they can. Genji can throw three shurikens at once, traverse over terrain and unleash his ultimate ability – the dragon blade! Next week D.VA from Overwatch will also be joining the multiplayer battle fun and the second week of the cross over Nexus 2.0 challenge continues as well.
For all of the changes to HOTS make sure to check out their official website and let us know what you think of Blizzard’s improvements in the comments section as well.
Tinybuild has released a public alpha version of their upcoming 2D slaughter-fest Party Hard 2 on both Windows PC and Mac. Fans of the first game, as well as newcomers, can try out the gameplay that developer, Pinoki Games, is working on. Even at this early stage of development both the publisher and developer seem confident in what this sequel has to offer.
Party Hard 2 Alpha 1 allows players to explore a nightclub environment as a “masked maniac” with a number of objectives. Differing from the formula of the first title, which required players to eliminate all targets, Party Hard 2 provides a number of different targets to chose from. Other enhancements in PH2 include the ability to see interactive objects in the game environment, an instant kill ability and the player character can now also carry up to 3 items.
Don’t have time to download the alpha for yourself? Check out 3 minutes of direct gameplay that TinyBuild has uploaded to YouTube:
Here is the official announcement tweet annoouncing the availability of Alpha 1:
Pre-ordering Party Hard 2 on the official website for $19.99 USD guarantees access to additional alpha builds as well as the full version upon completion.
Developed by Saber Interactive, NBA Playgrounds is a new, high-flying, arcade-style basketball game. This classic 2-on-2 action experience will be available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC (Steam) as a digital-only release in May 2017. The digital release is slated to eTail for $19.99 USD.
“Basketball is such a pick-up-and-play sport at heart – we really wanted to bring that spirit into gaming,” said Saber’s CEO, Matt Karch. “NBA Playgrounds has a lot of depth for pros who’ve mastered their game, but it’s accessible enough that anyone can jump in, have fun and feel competitive.“
All 30 NBA teams are featured in NBA Playgrounds, as well an extensive roster of current and retired NBA players that you can level up over time. The game can be played solo, with friends in local and online multiplayer, or against the world in online tournaments. There are hundreds of over-the-top dunks and moves to unleash for show-stopping displays of acrobatic skill on lively playgrounds across the globe.
The latest champion revealed for Bethesda / id Software’s Free-to-play FPS Quake Champions is Anarki – a hover board skating, transhumanism punk who appears to embrace the 90s surfer attitude alongside old school FPS action.
Anarki’s active ability is health injection which allows him to gain a temporary health boost, which would be great to use right after taking a rocket to the fact. His passive, Hoverboard Air Control appears to allow him to traverse small distances on his hover board at an increased speed. Other tactics that might be useful when playing Anarki include rocket jumps, which are featured prominently in this brief one minute introduction trailer.
Hoverboards, surfer slang and rocket jumps – it doesn’t quite get much more 90s FPS – unless you’re offered a Jolt Cola, of course.
Quake Champions will be entering a “rather lengthy” closed beta period soon before being released presumably later this summer for free. Players can sign up for the beta at the game’s official website.
It is no secret that Bungie & Activision are hard at work on a sequel to 2014’s Destiny, the loot-based shooter that launched 3 additional content heavy expansions that when combined with the base game have kept guardians busy for years. A set of new leaks, one comprised of promotional materials from an Italian retailer, and another from a shop listed from a German retailer point to Destiny 2 coming to Windows PC for the first time.
Originally appearing on the Italian website Leganetwork.it, the now removed poster showcases three helmet humanoid guardians – each brandishing a different type of weapon. Featured prominently on the poster in that familiar Destiny typeface is “Destiny 2 – September 8th“, adding further credence to speculation that the Destiny sequel will launch in the early Fall.
Via PCGamer here is a look at the Italian Destiny 2 Poster:
Yesterday according to this Reddit post on r/PCGamingDestiny 2 briefly appeared on GameStop Germany’s public facing website listed for Windows PC. The listing has since been taken down and clicking the provided GameStop.de will simply redirect you to the store’s homepage. The thread is still an interesting read, not for new information on the unannounced sequel, but rather to see just how polarizing a game like Destiny can be. Some in the thread enjoyed the original despite its’ lack of story content, some see the potential of an MMOFPS but feel Destiny 1.0’s approach got it all wrong and others deridde the genre hybrid all together.
None of this information is exactly new as industry veteran reporter Jason Schreier reported almost six months ago that Destiny 2 would indeed appear on PC. In his initial report, he stated that Bungie had decided that they wanted to shift the games’ multi-platform strategy to include PC in the full sequel even if that meant leaving behind all of the characters & content created for the first title.
In part his report said:
“Earlier this year, I’d also heard from a person familiar with Bungie’s plans that Destiny 2, which is currently slated for a late 2017 release, will be on PC…. Bungie’s leadership wants Destiny 2 to feel like a proper sequel, even if that means leaving old planets, characters, and activities behind. “
At the end of the day while we don’t have a lot of concrete details on the Destiny sequel these latest retail promotional material & listing leaks could point to an imminent reveal. Huge publishers do have a habit of sending promotional materials to specialty stores like GameStop ahead of product reveals, but these reveals are usually only days or at most a week separated from the shipment of said posters & promotional items. Remember how badly Ubisoft got burned a couple of years back when they shipped Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag posters early?
Lawbreakers, the brand new first person shooter from Cliff Bleszinski – the mind behind Gears of War – will have its first closed beta from March 16th thru the 19th. Alongside the announcement of the closed beta and confirmation that Lawbreakers will be playable once again at PAX East.
If you are in Boston this coming weekend for PAX East Lawbreakers will be playable on the Expo floor thanks to the efforts of publisher Nexon at booth #13055.
In the latest Lawbreakers developer update – which you can view below – both CliffyB and Rohan Revas give viewers a tease about what is coming with the closed beta. They are very clear that this is not the same game that we enjoyed during the closed alpha last summer. In the many months since that time the developers have added new maps, new modes and possibly a new support class.
A new logo and tagline for Lawbreakers has also been released. Nexon is now using the tagline “Gravity – Defying – Combat” to promote the title.
Obsidian Entertainment’s crowdfunding campaign for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has ended with the developer reaching over 400% of their original goal. Over 33,000 backers pledged $4,407,598 towards the development of the RPG sequel.
Obsidian updated the campaign to let backers know that the $4.25M stretch goal had been reached – meaning that players will be able to use a “sound board weapon” upon the game’s completion. Just how long will it take before that weapon becomes absolutely annoying?
As the final hours of the campaign came to a close Obsidian let fans know that additional stretch goals have been added. As well Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is now the highest crowdfunded RPG title of all time. In their own words:
“The final hours of the campaign are here! We are now the most funded crowdfunded RPG of all time! Thank you! As a gift, we have one more fun stretch goal for you – Sea Monsters and Fishing. We also have a message from Adam Brennecke with a fun video that shows off in development work from the team.”
If interested players missed the chance to contribute to the Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire crowdfunding campaign Obsidian is now offering a “slacker backer” where those who are late to the party can back the game via Paypal. The slacker backer campaign isn’t using Fig, as that has campaign has come to an end but rather one that Obsidian has set up themselves.
Here is how Obsidian describes the slacker backer funding drive:
“PAYPAL IS NOW LIVE! eternity.obsidian.net/backer -If you aren’t able to back through Fig and still want to become a backer of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, you now have the option to pledge via Paypal! Head on over and create an account, or log in using your existing forum credentials. We’ve exceeded the $4.0 million mark, unlocking a set of new, uncharted islands, as well as new ship types! And we hit the $4.25 million stretch that adds an Intelligent Weapon to the game! The next stretch goal is Ship Crew at $4.5 million!”
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is expected to be released in the first Quarter of 2018.
