The first of three expansions for Tom Clancy’s The Division – Underground – is now available on the Xbox One, PlayStation and Windows PC. Massive Entertainment’s first paid add-on for the game adds a number of new additions that will hopefully please high-level players who have worked their way up to level 30 and conquered even the most challenging Incursions.
Agents who deploy into the Underground will be tasked to investigate a secret war that is happening below the streets of Manhattan. With our to three friends players can take on randomly generated missions filled with new hazards and traps. A new level 30 incursion is also available in Hell’s Kitchen regarding a weapon that the Cleaners faction might be able to use to shift the balance of power in the Big Apple. Four new gear sets and one new weapon is also added in Underground for high-level agents.
The Underground expansion ships alongside game update 1.3 which is available for free to all players on all platforms. Below are the official notes and trailer for Tony Clancy’s: The Division Underground.
EXPANSION 1: UNDERGROUND
Please note that you must own the Underground DLC to gain access to this content. This is available on June 28 for Xbox One and PC, and August 2 for PlayStation 4.
Underground
There is a secret war going on in the uncharted and claustrophobic depths of Manhattan. Root out the threat and earn unique rewards.
Explore the Underground of New York in solo play or up to four player co-op.
Operations: Experience randomly generated levels with all new environmental hazards and traps.
Directives: Add a unique twist to your gameplay experience by changing the rules of engagement for both your enemies and your own team and combine more Directives to unlock better rewards.
Underground Rank: Earn Underground experience and climb in Rank to unlock new Directives, Operation types, and exclusive Vanity Items.
New Incursion: Dragon’s Nest
Travel to Hell’s Kitchen and investigate rumors of a new Cleaner weapon that can wreak havoc throughout Manhattan.
You must be level 30 and have completed the mission “General Assembly” to access the incursion.
The encounter is balanced for a team of four players outfitted with high-level gear.
Heroic Mode will be available one week after release.
New Gear Sets and Weapons
Added four new Gear Sets:
B.L.I.N.D. – Control the battlefield with an improved Pulse skill and flashbangs with this hybrid gear set.
DeadEYE – Dictate long-range engagements with powerful critical strikes or accurate headshots.
FireCrest – Set your enemies ablaze with this offensive gear set.
Reclaimer – Boost your entire group with the ultimate support set.
Added one new Weapon:
B.L.I.N.D. System MDR Rifle: Please note that while it will be implemented in the game, you will not be able to acquire it until a future update.
Team-based, hero focused first person shooters are all the rage right now and the undisputed king is Blizzard’s Overwatch. In an interview, CliffyB compared Blizzard’s latest success to a digital game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Our comrades at Eurogamer had a chance to sit down with CliffyB at E3 last week about his new game, Lawbreakers.
Comparisons to Overwatch wasn’t the only thing that CliffyB discussed, he was asked about the chance that the game might have cross-play between a potential console version and the already playable PC game. He shot the idea down saying:
“We like money and we like to keep the lights on .. we’ve talked to them [Microsoft & Sony] .. The thing about controllers is that it is going to be tricky. If we get around to doing a console port we don’t want to do cross-play. If you do keyboard & mouse VS controller the person on keyboard & mouse is going to win 9 times out of ten.”
Another tidbit that Cliffy dropped was the fact the developers at BossKey Studios are considering removing Iron Sights from the game:
“The other thing that we are looking at is ‘will we keep Iron Sights in the game?’. It is debatable right now, when you give players Iron Sights they play it like Destiny or Call of Duty.”
Towards the end of the interview Overwatch was brought up. The interview asked Cliff if the constant comparisons were tiring, as they seem to come up quite a bit. Here is what CliffyB said:
“People, when they see something, they want to put it in a bucket with something else. There is some overlap that we have characters, guns & what not. Our art style is very gritty, [Blizzard’s] art style is super bright colors, very cartoony – almost animeish… them as a game is so much Rock, Paper, Scissors. If I have the wrong character, I’m dead!”
How do you feel about this comparison between Overwatch and Lawbreakers? No cross-play between a potential console version and the PC build does not really surprise me given the fact that Lawbreakers feels like it was built with a keyboard & mouse in mind. For my initial impressions check out my write-up from E3 2016 where I played the game against developers from BossKey Studios. The next playable alpha for Lawbreakers is expected in July and potential players can sign up for the next alpha test on the official Lawbreakers website.
Capcom’s take the team based competitive FPS, set in the Resident Evil universe, Umbrella Corps, has only been available for a little more than 24 hours and it seems like overall response from the community can be summed up as a collective “meh”.
Over on the Steam user reviews section Umbrella Corps has been met with 67% of reviews bearing a ‘negative’ rating. In order to leave a review for a game users must have it in their Steam library, which means the visible reviews on the Umbrella Corps page reflect the opinion of players who have at least some time into the shooter.
Some have complained of broken aiming when using a mouse & keyboard as well as limited in game options:
Others have said that movement feels rather clunky, the over-the-shoulder camera feels limiting and that the mouse anchors in the middle of the screen:
In terms of server population players are finding that there are less than 300 concurrent players on at one time, at least for the PC version. Others have noted that Capcom has pretty muched butchered the marketing of this game with little in the way of advertisements, trailer spots or other pre-release hype. When we visited Capcom’s booth at E3 the game was nowhere to be found and instead the company had a large booth dedicated to the newly unveiled Resident Evil 7.
This post from Reddit sums up Capcom’s marketing failure when it has come to Umbrella Corps quite well:
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So, In the end did Capcom know that they were sitting on a turd of a game and that is why they chose not to throw any marketing muscle behind it? If you’ve played Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps please let us know your experience with the game in the comments section. I am probably going to steer clear of this game, I got burned with Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City a few years back and the low server population does not instill confidence that this game has any staying power – although, from the look of things it barely rose from the grave.
I had the chance to hook up with Rebellion and to try out their newest entry in to the long running Sniper Elite series. Sniper Elite 4 will be releasing Feb 14th 2017, but Brokenjoysticks was part of a select few who were able to try the game in its alpha state today. The demo was about 30 minutes long and featured a wide open Italian country side setting, with a primary mission being to blow up a viaduct by placing a satchel charge and then shooting it to blow it up.
see the beautiful Italian country side through the scope of your rifle.
Loading in to the game the first thing I noticed was we were not in Germany anymore. For anyone else that has played Sniper Elite game, the usual setting is a blown out western front city, with bomb craters and grey mats all over the place. Italy by contrast is vibrant and green. The developer who was assisting us on the demo mentioned that the was in Italy in 1943 and although it was not an “open world” but it is an open philosophy for the game. The maps are quite large described as being at least 100 square meters, with no real boundaries and plenty of secondary objectives to explore.
Since we only had 30 minutes I mostly concentrated on the main objective of the game which was to blow up that bridge. Players familiar with the series will be happy to hear that combat is still very sniper rifle centric, targets are marked with binoculars, and depending on the type of target an icon will appear over their heads and allow you track them as they move across the map. Since I have already played the Sniper Elite line, the first thing I did was drop prone and use my binoculars to scan the area around me for enemies. I found quite a few and in particular one sniper. Just like pervious sniper elite games, these snipers have a rage that’s so long it actually goes out of your radar range (increased in this game to 70m) so its very important to mark and hit these guys as early as you can to avoid any problems that might come from them spotting you later on.
Xray Kills now work with melee as well as longer shots
I was playing on a PS4 controller which is much different than my normal Xbox one controller so I took some time to get used to the controls, most of the things from the previous series are here, you have to carefully monitor heart rate, which allows you to use slow time and focus so that you can easily hit your targets. Equipment is still very important, with health packs, grenades, stones for distractions and a variety of traps making an appearance.
I was playing with the intention of being stealthy, but just like previous titles, occasionally I just had to whip out my Thompson and mow down a few enemies. The developers promised that there were over 100 enemies on the large map we were playing on, I only managed to kill 30, but in a 25 minute demo I think that’s pretty good. I also was the only one of our testing group (and only the 5th of E3!, to complete the level in the allowed 30 minute time slot.) Stealth is still very important, and its still very important to crouch and use cover.
From the moment I started the game, I painted my objective, and the enemies near it, and they stayed as icons on the screen guiding me over to my eventual victory. As with all of the other Sniper Elite games, bullet drop is in the game, and I assume that just like other games you will be able to select a mode with out the ever present in this demo red diamond that tells you where the bullet will hit. In Sniper Elite 3 you were able to play a mode with out the assist, and I am eager to see if this game also features it. Also returning is searching bodies, I was surprised to find that one of the bodies had on it a duty roster. This roster highlighted several enemies I hadn’t spotted through the binoculars, making my journey a bit easier.
There is an emphasis on being able to do a sort of parkour in this game, you can mantle, climb, and move about quite easily.
Many items are returning favorites, traps and the like are back in game. Flare gun, trip mines, S Mine, Stick Grenade, TNT, and the Silenced Pistol all make returns. Players of course can also strip off any items or weapons the find on bodies around the map.
Though it was still subject to change there was also a progression system in place as I played that gave me ribbons and little appointments when i did something that took more effort or work than a simple kill shot. Cover is classed in to separate systems, with wood being able to be penetrated and rock and other harder surfaces impermeable.
enemy AI seems to have been improved considerably, at one point I was forced to play a sort of ring around the rosie with an enemy who was dodging me around the back of a train, I ended up laying a mine down to kill him, and just running off to the next objective.
The standard alert system is back an arrow will appear when there is danger, yellow for when its getting close, and red for when you are noticed. I was noticed twice during the demo, and both times found it fairly easy to slip away from the people whom had noticed me with just a few minutes of clever hiding and shooting.
Italy is a beautiful shooting gallery.
Fan favorite X-Ray shots return, with a serious vengeance, now everything from melee kills to the sickest sniper shots will trigger the signature mode which shows exploding bone, organs and flesh. I really enjoyed the feeling of nailing that one single shot that got me away from being noticed, or using a well placed burst from the Thompson to take down an enemy.
I Was able to finish the provided demo level, and according to the developer who was assisting with the demo that was better than most. My time was bout 25 minutes, but I did manage not to die at all. Though i did not do it, the game offers a variety of weapons to try, I stuck with the old reliable Springfield, knowing what it was capable of and how it could do damage. But, if you want to be experimental, you can always pick up weapons off of dead bodies and try then out instead of your trusty Springfield and Thompson.
Overall I really enjoyed the demo, I am by no means a skilled player of games such as this, but I found myself able to adapt fairly easily, I really liked the X-Ray feature, as well as what appeared to be very much improved AI in the enemies. I can not wait for the arrival of this game on Valentines day of this year.
Square Enix brought not one but two demos for the upcoming Final Fantasy XV. Microsoft and Sony both secured exclusive demos for Squeenix’s next huge game but in different way – MS’ demo video showcased the world smashing battle with the soon-to-be summon Titan. Noctus can be seen warping, slashing and dodging his way past titan’s ginormous ground based attacks. Sony’s demo took things in a lighter direction with the series’ memorable chocobo music opens their demo with the later half consisting of the reveal of PlayStation VR support for the game.
Final Fantasy XV will be out in North America on September 30th 2015. A PC port is “possible” but not confirmed at this time.
Check out the trailers in the embedded players below.
Square Enix has released several new trailers, b-roll footage and screenshots prior to the release of Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness on PS3 and PlayStation 4. With these new videos you can get to know Relia, one of the characters in the game as well as meet the actors behind the voice talent that bring the characters to life.
Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness is the fifth entry in the long running RPG franchise that has been around since the days of the original PlayStation back into the 90s. Utilizing a real time battle system players are able to take control of 1 of 7 characters in combat seamlessly with a new system that allows Square to have the game seamlessly transition between gameplay and cinematic cut-scenes. Story wise the main protagonist comes from an ‘under developed’ planet with another species that has highly advanced technology.
The game will be out on June 28th in North America and was released on March 31st in Japan.
Sitting in the massive crowd at Sony’s E3 press conference was surreal, when the event wrapped up my hands were shaking and my heart pounding but in the back of my mind it felt like there was something left unsaid. In the world of games journalism you have to take every leak, slip of the tongue and rumor with a dump truck of salt and even then that isn’t enough skepticism. Here is a quick run-down of three of things that the internet told me I should have expected to be announced.
#3 – More Details About The Final Fantasy VII Remake
Square Enix and Sony shocked the world with a remake that fans have been requesting for nearly two decades last year. This year? Everything was oddly silent, not a word was mentioned about Squeenix’s trilogy of titles that will spin the tale of Cloud, Aerith and Barret in a new direction. Instead we got a generic zombie shooter that used the same two enemy models over and over that could have passed for any of the countless Day-Z ripoffs on Steam.
#2 – An Update On Shenmue III
After not one but two successful crowdfunding drives for Yu Suzuki’s next chapter in this long running franchise and we didn’t hear anything this evening,, not even a glimpse in a one of the brief sizzle reels. Sony answered the prayers of Dreamcast fans fourteen years after the console exited the market with a hail marry announcement no-one could have expected. As one of the announcements that “won” E3 for Sony last year it was odd that Sony’s executives were so silent on this one.
#1 – Read Dead Redemption 3
A lot of people expected this one given the fact that the game’s “Map” leaked a weeks back. Hell, even some have joked that they’ve seen horses and cowboys walk out of Rockstar’s offices. Once again Rockstar has proven that they can still skip one of gaming’s biggest events simply because we will all be listening whenever they have something to say.
What do you think of my list of disappointments? Let me know in the comment and be sure to keep checking Broken Joysticks for more E3 coverage.
Respawn Entertainment has confirmed that DLC for the game’s multiplayer will be free according to a statement given to our fellow games journalists at Game’s Radar.
Details about the exact nature of the post-launch add-ons will be confirmed closer to the game’s October 28th launch date according to EA executive Dough Wightman. The previous Xbox Exclusive Titanfall had 4 DLC expansion packs that eventually shifted to a free model as the player base for the multiplayer only first game dwindled.
Titanfall 2 is playable at EA’s “EA Play” events in Los Angeles, CA and is separate from the E3 conference which is happening all this week.
It is official – Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts will unleash an assault upon both online & offline players in the form of Titanfall 2 on October 28th. Unlike the first title, which was released exclusively for Windows PC & Xbox One, Titanfall 2 will include both a single-player campaign and multiplayer component.
In the narrative driven portion players enter the shoes of Jack Cooper, a member of a paramilitary militia that links with a one of the titular Titans after its’ pilot is killed. It appears that this link between robot & pilot will be front & center in the single player portion of the game. In Titanfall 1 the link between the two wasn’t really emphasized save for the ability to have your titan defend you through an automated A.I if you ejected during combat.
On the multiplayer front things appeared to have evolved quite a bit since the last time pilot’s strapped on their uniforms. The parkour movement system that helped set the original apart from the pack of other sci-fi shooters has been upgraded with the ability to use a grappling hook and then slide into a safe space. EA will also launch a network test for the game’s multiplayer ahead of release but no solid information on that has been confirmed at this time.
Check out the two debut trailers below from EA’s E3 press conference.
Rumors of an upgraded PlayStation 4 have been floating around for a quite a few months and have even included leak technical specs. Those rumors can pretty much cease now that Sony’s Chief Global Executive, Andrew House, has confirmed to The Financial Times that the upgraded console will debut alongside the existing PS4 model from November 2013.
“It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4 … We will be selling both [consoles] through the life cycle.”
Confirmation of the PS4 Neo comes ahead of Sony’s upcoming E3 press conference, according to house the upgraded PlayStation will not be making an appearance. He did however confirm the longstanding rumor that PlayStation 4 games will have a ‘Neo mode’ as well as backwards compatibility with the existing console once the Neo ships.
Whatever Sony announces in Los Angeles we will bring it to you. Both Fionna and myself will be at the Sony press conference on Monday evening.
Simplicity, thy name is Score Rush Extended. For those not familiar with Xona Games‘ previous Xbox LIVE Indie Games entry, Score Rush, Score Rush Extended is a 2D wide-screen bullet hell shmup that while it’s simplistic, it’s fun as heck to play. A lot of shmups I’ve played over the years usually kept getting more and more things added to them to try to keep them unique with their own flair, like upgradable attacks, defenses, various art styles, and so on. While this can keep players playing the game, or back in my day, feeding arcade machines quarters, bullet hell shmups can get overtly complicated. Score Rush Extended does the opposite and keeps overall gameplay quite simple with gameplay, design, art style, and music.
developer Blue Isle Studios have released the first trailer for their upcomming game ValleyThe new trailer, which we have embedded above this article, showcases several minutes of gameplay footage, and features a mix of combat, freerunning and environments from the game. It sure does look pretty, but with only previous micro-horror title Slender under their belts you have to wonder if such an expansive game is too much for Bue Isle to take on.
Set for release this summer for PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One, Valley will introduce players to an mysterious and magical world, filled with secrets and danger. Through the powers of the L.E.A.F. Suit, a special exoskeleton that grants users incredible speed and agility, players will leap to great heights, explore secretive spaces, battle dangerous foes and even bring back the dead.
Parkour wunderkind Faith Connors returns in this reboot of the 2008 classic, Mirror’s Edge which is out today on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I got the chance to sit down with the game for six hours this past weekend and jump into Faith‘s shoes as she runs, runs, zip lines and slides around the City of Glass. DICE’s latest entry in the franchise not only tinkers with the narrative but also opens up the gameplay with a gigantic open world environment that players of the last game could have only dreamed of on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Here are my initial impressions.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is not a straight retelling of the original title, DICE has decided to tinker with key elements of the game’s narrative – when things kick off we meet the defiant young Faith as she is about to be released from juvenile prison. This technologically advanced prison features futuristic neon displays that advocate for the various corporations around the City of Glass and reminds prisoners that they “should reform and consider employment with any corporation of their choosing.” Once Faith is released from prison she is informed that she was two weeks from release to find employment with one of these corporations or she will be locked back up for an extended period. This version of Faith is very different from the one we saw in 2008, In the 2008 game she was driven by the need to clear her sister’s name for framed murder the plot of Catalyst centers more on corporate espionage than the bond between sisters. This lack of a key motivator and a change in voice actress makes Faith less of a compelling protagonist based upon the time I spent with the game.
Once released from prison the bulk of Faith‘s early story in Mirror’s Edge centers around her reconnecting with the group of runners that she was once acquainted with. In the world of Mirror’s Edge runners are an anti-corporate movement that believe that the average citizenry have been become complacent thanks in part to advanced augmented reality technology that provides the user with a constant stream of corporate approved information. Runners try to subvert this system of iron fisted control on the citizenry visa hacking billboards with anti-corporate messages, trafficing prohibited information to the lower class citizens of the City of Glass and partaking in the more than occasional corporate espionage adventure. Ideologically it is very clear where the runners are and how the player is supposed to react to the presence of these large corporations. While the game stays on point when it comes to underlying political messaging and themes, unfortunately, the cast of side characters don’t convey a lot of personality to the player. Faith’s former contacts serve as Mirror’s Edge Catalyst’s method for providing new story missions and none of these side characters feel like fully developed human beings and could probably be swapped out for one another if it wasn’t for the fact that certain NPCs deliver certain types of activities.
The City of Glass is a gleaming white futuristic monolith to the advancements of technologies that have been produced by the various corporations in Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. Tall, seemingly never-ending skyscrapers shimmer as their glass reflect the in-world light sources while yellow accents adorn the area’s that Faith is able to traverse when running from rooftop to rooftop. Top this very pleasing visual aesthetic is topped off with colorful cars and pedestrians which can sometimes be tiny specks below from some of the higher vantage of points available in the game. Combine this with a slightly punk look for some of Faith‘s fellow runners, and her initial outfit at the beginning of the story, and you have a game that knows how to visually define itself.
Traversing around the City of Glass is accomplished through the series’ signature first-person parkour. Unlike the last game, which gave Faith access to all of her abilities from the onset, Catalyst opts to give our heroine a basic set of movement, combat and defensive abilities from the get-go and locks the rest behind a progression system that is tied to an experience level. I could see why players who enjoyed the openness of the 2008 title would be disappointed with progression based unlocks, considering the fact that a number of abilities that were once standard are now locked behind the XP grind. However, I can also see how this would extend the life of the game and slowly teach players about their parkour maneuvers and allow them to master them before moving onto to more advanced skills.
So what abilities did Faith have access too over the course of the six hours that I played? The left bumper allows Faith to climb up objects, contextually jump off of nearby objects and climb up pipes or ladders. Left trigger allows Faith to kick descend ladders, jump down from ledges and slide along the ground. Like in the 2008 version running forward and then tapping the left trigger will launch Faith into a sliding forward dive that allows her to fit under narrow spaces and avoid combat with NPCs. More advanced techniques like rolling from tall heights by pressing the left trigger upon impact and using a wrist-mounted retractable rope become key to completing some of the side objectives and can be woven into Faith’s cityscape acrobatics as needed.
Here is a small sampling of some of the activities that await players in the brand new Mirror’s Edge:
Main Story Missions – These missions are delivered by Faith’s comrades in the Runner’s hideout, which also serves as the main safe zone, or by various NPCs located through the rooftops of the City of Glass. For the most part of the time I spent with these missions they typically revolve around corporate espionage or teaching Faith new game-play mechanics.
Package Delivery – Faith is able to pick up packages at automated drop-off points and then deliver them to a designated location with the time-limit. Really the package delivery missions are timed obstacle courses with various paths, failing the course will give the player the option to retry.
Hackable Billboards – Located throughout the City of Glass are billboards displaying corporate messages. Faith is able to hack these billboards to display messages for the runners in exchange for XP points.
User Created Trials – Using Faith’s augmented reality contacts users are able to create custom trials using up to 4 droppable checkpoints. These courses will then be populated randomly into other players games it seems. Once you’ve completed a user generated trial your score is placed on a leaderboard that is specific for that trial.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst tries valiantly to take the parkour formula that was so well received with the original game and extend that 6 – 8 hour length into an open world experience that players could potentially lose 100s of hours in. There are dozens upon dozens of collectibles for Faith to collect and exchange for more moves, skills and pieces of gear. Longtime fans who enjoyed the first game might find the addition of an XP system and seemingly pointless collectibles to be padding used to lengthen the time spent with the game but honestly it feels like a fair tradeoff given the open world nature of the City of Glass..
Broken Joystick’s staff will be heading to E3 for the next 8 days but expect a full review of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst after our return!
Final Fantasy XII can be heard rejoicing as Square Enix confirmed the long rumoured, and at one time accidentally leaked, FFXII Remaster for PlayStation 4.
Titled Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age this revised version of the 2006 classic includes the Zodiac Job System originally introduced in Final Fantasy XII: International, upgraded models / textures, higher resolution cinematics, 7.1 audio support and an auto save system.
No other platforms other than PS4 has been confirmed and a release outside of Japan has also not been confirmed. It is quite possible that we will see an expanded trailer for this game at Sony’s E3 press conference.
2017 is going to be a big year for the Final Fantasy brand as the first chapter of the FFVII remake is expected to be launched in time for that game’s 20th anniversary. The next numbered instalment, FFXV will be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this fall.
Starbreeze Studios the developers behind the popular Payday series have announced a deal with former publisher 505 games that would see Starbreeze acquire the full rights of the Payday franchise in exchange for $30 Million USD of stock.
The next game in the franchise Payday 3 is currently under development as the terms of this deal will see 505 & Starbreeze split revenue from the console versions of Payday 2: Crimwave Edition until their [505’s] marketing / promotion costs have been recouped and Payday 3 released. Revenue generated from the Steam release of Payday 2 will be in the hands of Starbreeze retroactively as of May 1st.
For fans wondering about the horrendous micro transactions that received absolutely piles upon piles of criticism, they’re being removed from all versions of the game. Introduced last October, Payday 2 would present players with locked “safes” that contained skins & stat bonuses but could only be opened with a $2.50 USD drill item. Despite other games using a similar model for cosmetics – most notably Counter Strike: GO – the addition of stat boosters on skins caused an uproar within the community., especially since the developers previously said they would NEVER EVER INTRODUCE MICROTRANSACTIONS.
Now, those nasty microtransactions are gone and Starbreeze has pledged to add new content to Payday 2 for at least the next 18 months.
Check out the “E3 Teaser” released by Starbreeze for Payday 2 below:
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