While video games are usually seen as toys or are meant to entertain us, sometimes, it does more than that and this is one of those cases. Over on the Destiny 2 subreddit, it was mentioned that user “killerklown736” died on January 25, 2020 succumbing to his two-year battle with colon cancer.
To honor his memory, a bunch of people on the Destiny 2 community will be gathering this coming weekend for a 24-hour stream in an effort to raise funds for the American Cancer Society (ACS). The schedule listed states it will take place on Satuday (February 22) at 12 noon EST and ending at 12 noon EST on Sunday (February 23). You can watch the stream on the official Spirit Animals clan’s Twitch channel (which the fallen Guardian was a member of).
Those interested to participate and donate, the community is using Tiltify, and can donate here (proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society).
Destiny 2 fan or not, this is definitely a very nice move on the clan’s part, and something I hope other people support as well. Band up, Guardians! And help commemorate the death of one of your own.
In case you haven’t been keeping tabs on Call of Duty news, a huge load of info regarding Modern Warfare’s battle royale mode allegedly called “Call of Duty Warzone” has leaked online.
While leaks are nothing new in the video game industry, apparently, Activision isn’t taking this one lying down. Not only has the publisher filed takedown notices for videos that showcased gameplay of Warzone, but it seems the company has even filed a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) subpoena from a US court and handed it to Reddit in order to weed out a user who leaked what seems to be promotional material for the mode.
The filing has been obtained by TorrentFreak which you can check out below.
Activision is trying to figure out the identity of Reddit user “Assyrian2410” who posted the leaked Warzone artwork.
Petitioner, Activision Publishing, Inc. through its undersigned counsel of record, hereby requests that the Clerk of this Court issue a subpoena to Reddit, Inc. to identify alleged infringers at issue, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (‘DMCA’), 17 U.S.C. § 512(h).”
“The DMCA Subpoena is directed to Reddit, Inc. Reddit is the service provider to which the subject of the subpoena – Reddit user ‘Assyrian241O’ – posted infringing Activision content.”
The filing was done on February 14, 2020 at a California district court.
Interesting to see whether Reddit complies with Activision’s demands, and it’s important to note that the Assyrian2410 user account has been deleted in the same day the image was leaked — presumably to protect his identity and his source.
Also important to note here, notable Modern Warfare leaker TheGamingRevolution has had his Warzone gameplay footage taken down by Activision, and even had his Twitter account suspended.
We’re keeping a close eye on this and will post any further developments.
While Sony launched the “PS Store Essential Picks” sale earlier this week, another new PlayStation Store sale has been unleashed today, and there’s two of ’em! The big one is called the “Big in Japan” sale, while there’s also the “Games Under $20” sale for those more budget concious.
PlayStation Store Sale – “Games Under $20” – Ends March 4
Guardians, it’s Friday, and that means a new Destiny 2 Xur location today and item post here on MP1st! For the full list of items that the hooded figure is selling today, as well as where he can be located, head on below.
New Destiny 2 Xur location today and items – February 21, 2020:
Xûr, Agent of the Nine
Description:
A peddler of strange curios, Xûr’s motives are not his own. He bows to his distant masters, the Nine.
Xûr, Agent of the Nine, is a strange vendor who randomly appears in a Public Sector in each of the Worlds, depending on the current Flashpoint. Xûr sells Exotic equipment and only takes Legendary Shards in exchange for them.
TL;DR: He’s the Santa Claus of Destiny and every weekend is Christmas. Sometimes he brings you what you want, sometimes he brings you coal. Mostly it’s coal.
When does Xûr visit?
Xûr visits every Friday at 17:00 UTC and departs at reset. If you would like to see all the live conversions of Time Zones, please follow this link here.
In other Destiny 2 news, make sure to check out this week’s reset of activities and more here.
Every games developer worth their salt knows that, to take a game from ‘good’ to ‘great’, there is a certain element of meta-gameplay that needs to be integrated. Rather than a solely linear style of gaming, with a narrative tied up nicely at the end, the gamer wants to feel like the game exists in its own universe. The better at world-building, the better at hooking people in and ensuring that they not only play the title to the end, but actively become excited for the next one. One way of doing this is through unrelated mini-games – but how can they keep players engaged?
Some games package their mini-games up as multiplayer experiences. These take nothing away from the game’s narrative, and lend nothing to it either, but help consolidate the world in which the game is set. For instance, Sly Raccoon 3 featured a pirate ship battle multiplayer mini-game, which took the essence of one of the actual levels and allowed players to compete with one another.
James Bond 007 Nightfire, a PS2 title, is probably most known for its multiplayer side-game and not for the narrative of the actual levels. This game took the likenesses of characters from the franchise’s lengthy past, and pit them in battle royale scenarios in locations found in the films. While Star Wars Battlefront featured its own battle royale-style mini-game (before they became so popular) doing very much the same thing.
There are other cases of mini-games appearing in-game in some slightly different franchises. For instance, the Pokémon franchise has, in the past, mini-games at the Game Corner in Celadon City back in the original releases, while Red Dead Redemption is known for its poker side-game, which also loosely fits into the plot.
Grand Theft Auto games are notably famous for their side quests, while expansive revolution game Just Cause also took this tack to the concept. These came in the form of standard gameplay, but for an additional prize. Furthermore, Minecraft and Fornite almost made an entire game out of a series of multiplayer mini-games, eschewing actual narrative and plot for the game mechanic that most wanted to engage with anyway.
A lot of these ‘side games’ are focused around popular casino game concepts, mainly because these are a mechanic that is familiar to most or is easy to pick up. Even popular zombie game Dead Rising 2 – set in an entertainment casino complex – featured casino-inspired mini-games with which players could interact with as part of the gaming environment.
Arguably, part of the fun of the mini-game, is that whatever happens has no bearing on the narrative itself. While some levels can ramp up the tension, the side game is a natural source of reprieve. This makes sense, as the theme of online roulette games, for instance, is that of reprieve and relief – escapism from otherwise stressful and more complicated gameplay options. Especially when considering other casino games, that require a level of chess-like strategy and thinking. Roulette, in particular, plays an important part in most casino environments, acting as an exciting, easy to pick up option for those who want to take a break from practising their poker face.
Adding multiplayer levels and mini-games to popular titles not only helps to build the world up, but it adds something extra to keep gaming fans engaged. Some mini-games are even receiving calls to be turned into actual fully-fledged titles themselves, such as the Crash Bandicoot multiplayer variety game Crash Bash.
Tags:
Alex Co
Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.
We are just a little less than a month away from the release of the final Kombat Pack character for Mortal Kombat, Spawn. And while NetherRealm Studios is preparing themselves for the Spawn’s debut gameplay next month, the team has released the official Mortal Kombat 11 Spawn character bio.
Discovered via the PlayStation 4 event page, down below is the character bio for Spawn.
“Early access for Spawn begins on March 17. Al Simmons, once the U.S. government’s greatest soldier and most effective assassin, was mercilessly executed by his own men. Resurrected from the ashes of his own grave in a flawed agreement with the powers of darkness, Simmons is reborn as a creature from the depths of Hell. A Hellspawn. Now he is thrust into the world of Mortal Kombat, where he will fight for supremacy against all Kombatants. Spawn will be available for a la carte purchase on March 24. “
Sadly this is all the information that was available from the event page, so no early peek at the skin pack that will also launch the same day as the character. As for when we will actually get to see more of Spawn? Well, the official date will be on March 8 during the Mortal Kombat 11 Pro Kompeition championship finale. A trailer is set to drop sometimes, though if you don’t fancy the wait, we will have it posted once it airs.
Spawn will be the final character in the Kombat Pass. No news has been announced whether or not NetherRealms will continue with DLC characters in a Kombat Pass 2, though with past datamines suggesting more characters, our bet is yes. Spawn will be available on March 17 for Kombat Pass owners. For non-pass owners, you can pick him up for $5.99 on March 24.
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Just yesterday, Techland released a rather chunky patch for Dying Light, which not only introduced a host of gameplay fixes and tweaks, but also the prep work for the Dying Light new event to mark the game’s fifth year anniversary.
Not only that, but Techland has also released a “Thank You” video thanking fans for five awesome years of supporting Dying Light! We see YouTubers, streamers and more play the game, and the studio also highlights the content it has released for the title over the years.
Keeping Dying Light alive and thriving for half a decade would be impossible without the undying support of our amazing community. Having that and the significance of the occasion in mind, we decided that the 5th anniversary celebration needs to be a large-scale experience that offers something for every Survivor. With this video we want to say ‘
Thank You’ for all these years you have been with us!
I have to admit, Dying Light’s post-launch support is possibly one of the best I’ve seen of all-time. This simple fact alone has me (and a lot of people) excited for Dying Light 2 even if was just delayed recently.
While Infinity Ward might have released a new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare server-side patch yesterday that included a fair number of fixes, the studio has rolled out the Modern Warfare update February 20 patch, which is also a server-side update and is for fixes once again.
Note that you won’t require anything to download, and you’ll see the “download update” bar when you connect to the game (you can’t skip it). Just what is the new patch for? It’s for two fixes apparently according to Infinity Ward.
A patch just deployed to fix two issues in Modern Warfare:
· Fix for Regiment tags showing as “3 3” · Fix for some users being unable to claim existing Battle Pass tokens pic.twitter.com/mcLl5SzXnC
· Fix for Regiment tags showing as “3 3” · Fix for some users being unable to claim existing Battle Pass tokens
Yep, that’s basically it. While there’s a chance of stealth changes made in this Modern Warfare update February 20 patch , I gather there’s not going to be any of that in this server-side patch. If we spot any though, we’ll be sure to let people know.
We’re on the look out for the big update that (finally!) brings in the Modern Warfare battle royale mode rumored to be called Call of Duty: Warzone. Recent reports have surfaced that this will be deployed in early March.
If you spot any changes not mentioned in the notes, feel free to leave a comment below.
For those playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) via crossplay with their friends, PUBG Corp. has something very welcome coming in patch 6.2, and that’s the PUBG cross platform party feature!
Aside from that feature, the studio has also outlined the upcoming changes coming in PUBG 6.2, and there’s gameplay tweaks, the introduction of team deathmatch (TDM) and lots more. Note that players can check these changes out via the PTS (Public Test Server) which they can download via the following:
For Xbox:
You can search and download the “PUBG – Public Test Server” on the Microsoft Store or the ‘My Games and Apps’ menu.
For PS4:
You can find the “PUBG – Public Test Server” in the ‘Purchased’ section of your Library.
As for the PUBG cross platform party feature, check out how the Friends list has been revamped and more.
Friends list has received a makeover:
Players can now search players from both the same and different platform to add friends
Players now can find 4 tabs on the friends list.
Platform: This shows your existing friends list for your current platform. Players you add to your platform specific friends list using their Xbox Live Gamer Tag (Xbox) or PSN Name (PS4) will show here.
PUBG: This is the new friends list which will help you organise your friends across platforms using Cross Platform Parties! Players can add friends by selecting “follow” when looking at another player’s profile.
Recent: This shows players you’ve met as a team in recent matches.
Team: Shows your current teammates
Players from both console platforms will now be able to join the same custom match created.
TDM is also coming, and it will be a round of 10 minutes or which team reaches 50 kills first, with two rounds needed to secure a victory.
Game mode overview:
8 vs 8
FPP only
Weapon Spawn Kits
Respawns
No knockdowns
No friendly fire
Gameplay
Grenade Changes
Frag Grenades:
Vests now mitigate damage received from Frag Grenades, but vest durability isn’t reduced when taking damage from Frags.
Damage mitigation amount is dependent on the level of vest worn by the player, with the same % reduction as for bullet damage.
Frags will deal 20% less damage to prone players.
Item weight increased by 50%.
Each Frag Grenade now takes 27 inventory capacity, up from 18.
Pulling the pin of a Frag is now louder and audible from further away.
Smoke Grenades:
Decreased fuse time from 3 seconds to 1 second.
Stun Grenades:
Increased indirect hit effect radius.
Up to 6.5m, from 5.5m.
Ringing sound now impacts players through walls
This matches the Frag Grenade mechanic, although the impact effects a smaller radius.
Added slight camera shake to players near the explosion.
Default fuse time mechanic:
Stuns now explode 0.7 sec after first impact, or after fuse timer runs out, whichever comes first.
Fuse time without cooking has been increased to 5 sec.
2.5 second fuse timer when cooking the stun remains unchanged,
Molotov Cocktail:
Increased the speed at which fire spreads by 50%.
Fire can now spread slightly further, with an increased damage radius.
Changed the way fire spreads around objects. Fire will now more consistently reach the back side of objects (especially thin objects like trees).
Re-introduced direct damage while standing in fire, in additional to existing damage over time.
Players in fire will now take an additional 10 damage per second
Fire now reaches higher and should be obstructed less by small objects.
Frag and Stun Grade visual effects have also been updated, alongside a more realistic Frag Grenade sound.
Karakin item spawn update
A few weeks ago, we implemented a loot adjustment for Karakin based on player feedback. Since then we’ve been monitoring games to determine if any further adjustment needs to be made and a couple things have stood out to us. First, healing items are still a bit too hard to find for how frequently people are fighting. Second, Snipers and DMRs are really strong on Karakin.
We’re going to try an updated loot setting that will increase meds, while reducing bandages, SRs, DMRs, and the Win94. We know many of you prefer these guns on Karakin, but we feel that Karakin needs a little more risk for the reward of these weapons. To help mitigate this adjustment a bit, we’re adding the G36C and MP5K to Karakin as requested by many of you when Vikendi started its vacation. Also, we have adjusted the care package airplane speed to move faster across the island.
Of course, your feedback is essential here. Try out the new settings and let us know how everything feels. Is it worth it for you to spend more time searching to get that SLR? Do matches feel more competitive without as many long range weapons? Let us know so we can continue to adjust!
Right Peeking/Leaning
Historically, when moving to the right around objects in PUBG (without peeking/leaning), much less of your character was shown than if you moved out to the left. This recently received increased visibility in the community, leading to players using this mechanic to their advantage more often, which has led to some frustration.
This mechanic is closely tied to the fundamental design of the PUBG gunplay system, making it difficult to resolve the issue completely without potential adverse changes to the feel of PUBG gunplay.
With that said, as we announced earlier this month in response to community concern, we’ll be making a change in this patch to reduce the advantage gained when peering at your opponent from the right side of objects, by exposing more of the player model.
Players viewing their opponent from the right side of objects will now have more of their body exposed
Player’s head will lean slightly more towards the scope when ADS, so that character’s head is more exposed
Made adjustments to some weapons to have characters body be more exposed when peering to the right of objects
We will continue to monitor community feedback regarding this change.
Way Point feature
The Way Point feature has been added to allow you to make strategic plans for the routes you take.
You can use the feature only when activating the waypoint mode by pressing (LB: Xbox One / L1: PS4) while the map is open
Press (R-Stick: Xbox One / R3: PS4) to mark Way Points on the map.
You can place up to 4 points per group of Way Points.
Press (Y: Xbox One / Triangle: PS4) to remove placed Way Points. When you place a new starting point somewhere else, the existing Way Points will all disappear.
In Duo/Squad Mode, when a teammate places Way Points, they will appear on the map with a Radio Message.
Updated Blue Zone Effects
Adjusted the Blue Zone effects
Distortion effect has been removed
Altered effect where the Blue Zone meets the ground, to more clearly identify the Blue Zone edge
Lowered the top wall of the Blue Zone
Updated visual shaders
Effects will become more intense as phases progress
Changed sounds for entering and exiting the Blue Zone
Parachute ‘Follow’
Added parachute follow feature to help teammates land together
During the pre-match countdown or before leaving the plane, follow UI will be shown at the bottom left of the screen.
Hold left on D-Pad to activate follow UI
Follow button will be highlighted once follow UI is activated
Scroll up/down with D-Pad to choose a teammate to follow
Teammates that already landed or yourself cannot be chosen
After selecting a teammate to follow, you can cancel by selecting the follow button on the selected teammate, or holding (B: Xbox One / O: PS4) while actively following a player in your parachute.
If you’re obstructed by terrain or an object, your follow will be cancelled.
PUBG LABS / Skill Based Rating Test
LABS: Skill Based Rating – Second Test
A big thank you to all the players who checked out PUBG Labs and took part in the first test earlier this year! We’ve poured through all your feedback and other data from the test and have made the following changes:
Players will need to complete 5 placement matches to earn a rank in the new test.
The highest initial placement rank is Platinum 4 (2,600RP).
The overall algorithm used has been tuned based on data and feedback from the first test.
Assists now influence your rating.
Assists are considered to be the same value as Kills for the purpose of RP gains and losses.
Any kills resulting from friendly fire will count as negative kills
The maximum amount of RP that can be gained or lost after a match is now dynamic per tier, with lower tiers having a larger cap than higher tiers.
The expected performance of players in the Master tier will now increase at every 100 RP above 3500, making it much more difficult to climb in Master tier the higher a player rises
The highest RP a player can reach is now 5,000.
Test Duration (PTS)
PST: February 19 6:00PM ~ February 26 12:00PM
CET: February 20 3:00AM ~ February 26 9:00PM
Test Duration (live server):
Start: (patch time)
PST: February 27, 2020 @ 3:00 AM
CET: February 27, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
End:
PST: March 12, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
CET: March 12, 2020 @ 8:00 PM
Survey Duration:
The feedback survey will be live for 1 week after the test is over for players to leave feedback on their experience.
Start:
PST: March 12, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
CET: March 12, 2020 @ 8:00 PM
End:
PST: March 19, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
CET: March 19, 2020 @ 8:00 PM
Matchmaking
Dev Note: When we introduced Karakin in Update 6.1 we mentioned that we would monitor the impact that adding the Featured Map queue would have on matchmaking times. Unfortunately we found that the addition of the Featured Map queue has negatively impacted matchmaking times, and as a result we will be removing the Featured Map queue and moving Karakin into the Random Map queue.
UI/UX
Key guide text displayed on the starting island has been modified
It will be displayed in nouns just like other options which have no direct effect on the game play (Map, Mission List, Inventory etc.)
Added brightness adjustment for Karakin.
Xbox players can now leave the squad in the lobby without going into friend tab.
News&Banner UI will show dots at the bottom to indicate how many banners are registered.
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy will be separated on PS4 and added on Xbox One.
Performance
Performance has been improved with additional WorldOriginShift optimizations.
Dev Note: We wanted to take this time to address the crashing issues that some of our players have been experiencing. During our investigation, we found that unnecessary memory was being used. We have optimized in this area and applied these improvements for Update 6.2 which should alleviate crashing. Memory optimization is a top priority which will be continuously worked on as we aim to improve overall gameplay experience for our players. We appreciate all of your feedback and reports. Please continue to let us know if you experience further crashing.
Custom Match
Erangel classic has been deleted
World
PGC 2019 champions and new contents have been added to the hall of fame, Erangel.
Picture of PGC 2019 champions, Gen.G and 2019 PGC panorama has been added
PGI key art insignia/banner has been deleted. Gen.G insignia/banner has been added on different location
Added posters of global events (PAI, PNC, PGC) run by PUBG in 2019
PGI 2018 FPP champion, OMG’s graffiti has been removed and replaced with 2019 champ, Gen.G
PGI 2018(OMG, Gen.G gold), PGC 2019 Champion’s (Gen.G) uniform has been added
The names of champions on the molding has been deleted
PGC 2019 trophy has been added
Survivor Pass: Shakedown
The 2nd track of survivor pass mission has been unlocked, along with 4 new Karakin exclusive missions!
Detailed list of missions
Survive for more than 3 minutes in Karakin
Destroy 2 destructible walls with sticky bombs
Survive 2 times in the black zone
Drop on to the landmark area once
Mastery
Weapon Mastery Balancing
Early levels of Weapon Mastery now require less XP to earn. As a result of this change, players may find that some of their Weapon Mastery levels are slightly higher than before.
Skin & Items
Improved parachute backpack model design
Improved backpack design will be applied to all parachute skins
After certain steps, the breath gauge recovers instantly when a character comes out of the water
Loot boxes block the explosion of grenades
Issue with care package cannot provide cover from grenade explosion
Headshot blood effects block vision in FPP
When you press the hot key to consume a healing/boost item, several times in row, at the same time you pick it up, the item is consumed without seeing its proper animation
World
Edges of some objects become transparent when close to the blue zone
Overall bug fixes on Erangel and Karakin
Skin & Item
When a female character wearing Rapture Squad Gloves with tattoo sleeve, wrist looks transparent
Visual issue with character model’s arm when wearing the Tenebres Combat Vest
UI//UX
Occasionally in replay, the mini-map won’t display certain players
In replay mode, grid lines of world and mini maps are displayed based off of 8×8 maps
Sound
The explosion SFX for the Sticky Bomb is louder than intended
Known Issue
There’s an issue where the bluezone size does not sync with the actual bluezone size in the match when the bluezone is decreasing while viewing deathcam. This issue will be fixed when the patch goes up on the live servers.
Whew! That’s a lot of changes! Once it’s live next week, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.
It’s Thursday, and that means gangsters in GTA Online are going to get a fresh dose of new discounted items, rewards and lots more! For the full GTA Online update this week details, head on below.
GTA Online update this week summary:
The Dinka Blista Kanjo Compact is now available atSouthern San Andreas Super Autos
Double Rewards on all Survivals, Special Cargo Sell Missionsand in VIP Work & Challenges
Doubled Salaries for Associates and Bodyguards
The Progen PR4 open wheel car is the latest Lucky Wheel top prize
A free Dinka tee for any player that logs in before February 26th
Ongoing Twitch Prime Benefits such as a 35% discount on the Fire Truck and Lifeguard Truck, plus a rebate for a free Pixel Pete’s Arcade property
Discounts on Properties, Vehicles, Weapons & Ammunition
See how far you can go by tackling Survivals head-on, with all of them paying out double this week.
Or perhaps you’re sitting on a Warehouse full of deadstock and you’re looking to offload some contraband, in which case you’ll be happy to hear that Special Cargo Sell Missions are dishing out twice the usual cash and RP payout.
If you’re looking for something a little more organized, there are plenty of possibilities from the top down available via the SecuroServ app on your iFruit, including 2X GTA$ & RP on VIP Work & Challenges, while Associate and Bodyguard salaries are doubled.
The Dinka Blista Kanjo vehicle is now available at the Southern San Andreas Super Autos. Also, anyone who logs in GTA Online this week will get the Dinka t-shirt shown below.
The Diamond Casino also has a new toy for you to win with the Progen PR4! Spin the Lucky Wheel for a chance to win this bad boy.
Full list of discounts and benefits are listed below.
Properties:
Executive Offices, Add-Ons & Upgrades – 40% off
Executive Office Garages, Add-Ons & Renovations – 40% off
Special Cargo Warehouses, Add-Ons & Upgrades – 35% off
Garage Properties – 35% off
MC Clubhouses, Add-Ons & Upgrades – 40% off
Vehicles:
Pegassi Zentorno – 40% off
Pegassi Oppressor – 40% off
HVY Insurgent – 35% off
TM-02 Khanjali – 35% off
Armored Kuruma – 35% off
B-11 Strikeforce – 35% off
All Yachts – 40% off
Buckingham Luxor – 40% off
Buckingham Luxor Deluxe – 40% off
Grotti X80 Proto – 40% off
Cheval Taipan – 40% off
Weapons & Ammunition:
All Ammo – 35% off
Shotguns – 40% off
Heavy Weapons – 40% off
Throwable Weapons – 40% off
We’ll be back next week for the latest GTA Online items.
Announced yesterday, the new Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled is now live on all platforms! Console gamers will see this as Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled update 1.19, and per the announcement yesterday, brings the Gasmoxia Grand Prix content into the fold.
Crash Team Racing Nito Fueled update 1.19 new content:
NEW TRACK: Are you ready for Oxide’s final challenge, the most technical track ever assembled in Crash Team Racing? Then prepare to take on Drive-Thru Danger! Not for the faint of heart, this track exists high above the skyline on Oxide’s home planet Gasmoxia and pits racers in the middle of a fast-food war between the planet’s two biggest conglomerates – Nuclear Pizza and Toxic Burger. Existing at the fringes of space, it’s filled with twists, turns and risky shortcuts for the bold. The ever-present gaze of Gasmoxia’s corporate giants hangs over the heads of all racers as they strive to beat the track (and each other) and escape this toxic dystopia!
NEW CHARACTER: As if Oxide’s presence wasn’t enough, he’s enlisted help from the Galaxy’s self-proclaimed ruler, Emperor Velo! Unlock this devious new character in the Nitro Gauge.
NEW TIME TRIALS: Velo isn’t just making an appearance this season, he’s providing a whole new challenge in Time Trials! See how fast you really are by beating Velo’s insanely fast times on each of Nitro-Fueled’s courses.
NEW KARTS: Your intergalactic ride awaits! Unlock three hovering new karts this season: the Void Manta, the Velo Chopper and the retro-vibing Galactic Cruiser.
PIT STOP ITEMS: When in Gasmoxia, do as the Gasmoxians do! Look like a local with a wide array of new Pit Stop items to swag out your racer and kart in the space-adventuring theme of the planet.
CHAMPION KART AND DECAL: Finish in the top 5% of the Grand Prix leaderboards and win the Champion Kart and Gasmoxia signature decal!
Aside from the content above, there’s no official patch notes from Beenox released yet regarding gameplay changes, but once we know of any, we’ll update the post.
What do you think of the latest Grand Prix for Crash Team Racing? Let’s hope Activision supports the game well into 2020.
It’s finally here! Fortnite players have a lot to take in today as Fortnite update 2.57 is live, and it brings the Chapter 2 Season 2 stuff into the game as previously announced. There’s a new Battle Pass, new content and loads of mysterious stuff, too.
Fortnte update 2.57 new content – v12.00 new content:
Battle Royale:
PLAY SPY GAMES
THE ISLAND HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY COVERT OPERATIVES -GHOSTANDSHADOW- AND ITS FATE IS IN YOUR HANDS.WILL YOU JOIN THE FIGHT?
Discover Top Secret Locations
Discover exotic new locations throughout the island! Go off-the-grid and discover the new POI hideouts in the map
Join Limited Time Operations
Infiltrate enemy bases, neutralize the henchmen guards and face off against their leader to snag unique and powerful weapons.
Surprise the Enemy
Break into hideouts with secret passages, take out auto turrets and security cameras, and use new gadgets like decoy grenades, proximity mines, and disguise to sabotage rival agents.
Save the World:
NO DANCING QUESTLINE
Major Oswald will not allow Homebase to suffer at the hands of the enemy – the dreaded Love Storm. Operation Broken Hearts begins at oh-eight-right now. Defeat Homebase’s most prominent enemy to unlock Stoneheart Farrah.
STONEHEART FARRAH
“Leave love to the professionals.” – Stoneheart Farrah
Standard Perk: Cupid’s Arrow
On Bow hit, arrows splinter, dealing 20% damage to 3 nearby targets.
Commander Perk: Cupid’s Arrow+
On Bow hit, arrows splinter, dealing 60% damage to 5 nearby targets.
WARGAMES
Major Oswald’s Wargames drills are back and in full effect! Revisit your Storm Shield bases and test your defenses against some destructive and challenging simulations. Complete both daily and weekly quest to earn your haul of Event Tickets, Gold, Banners, Evolution Materials, and PERK rewards.
DASHING HAWK
“Follow your heart… to Hawk.” – Dashing Hawk
Standard Perk: Absolutely Stunning
Lefty and Righty shots have a 37.5% chance to Stun the target for 2 seconds.
Commander Perk: Absolutely Stunning+
Lefty and Righty shots have a 37.5% chance to Stun the target for 2 seconds. Additionally, Lefty and Righty damage is increased by 100% against Stunned targets.
Available from the Event Store starting February 21 at 7PM ET until April 3 at 7PM ET
LOVE SONG BOW
Make the Husks Lovestruck with this new bow! Keeping the bow drawn past max charge will fire an arrow that stuns the enemy for 10 seconds. Weapon damage will break this effect. Does not affect Bosses or enemies that have recently been Lovestruck.
Available from the Event Store starting February 21 at 7PM ET until April 3 at 7PM ET
LUNAR LLAMA LEAVING SOON!
The might of the Dragon weapons and Chinese New Year Heroes .. Crammed into one tiny Llama. Grab them before this Llama blasts out of the store in the v12.10 update. Both Lunar and the new Llama will cost 500 Lunar Tickets. Use them or save them, the choice is yours!
Note: 2 of these were granted for players who were impacted by the early Winter Llama conversion and any remaining Snowflake tickets have been converted into additional Lunar Llamas.
GENERAL’S BOOTCAMP
“The Storm is starting to throw some new mixes of enemy waves at us, Commanders. I fully expect each mission you embark on to have varied Husk encounters going forward. We’re also seeing reports that the Nurse Husks are making their way into Plankerton, Canny, and Twine. Stay vigilant!
Smashers, can’t live with ‘em… Definitely can live without ‘em. It seems like they aren’t charging until they are a little closer to our structures. Best use that to our advantage!
Finally, some good news. Field reports show that ‘Sploders are running low on propane, and their blasts are dealing less damage to our structures!
-Major Oswald CLIP’S CORNER
WEAPONS
“Some of our schematics needs some major tune ups, so time to fire up the forge!
We’ve made some serious enhancements to many ranged weapons. Most notably shotguns, snipers, bows, grenade launchers, and some of our older weapons. These weapons should be much more powerful now.
Speaking of Bows… I’ve tightened their strings so their projectiles should travel faster than ever. I’m making some further adjustments to the Boom Bow, Vacuum Tube Bow, and Vindertech Seeker as well.
The Boom Bow was recalibrated to have lower base impact, damage, and projectile speed, but now deals even higher damage when fully charged. Make them count!
The Vacuum Tube Bow now triggers its lightning on hit, rather than elimination and has a longer lightning range. Only 2 Targets? No problem! The lightning will now bounce between both of them multiple times as long as they’re in range.
I’ve improved the Vindertech Seeker’s homing arrows with significantly better accuracy and reliability. They can also hit husks at a much larger distance.
Additionally, some small impact changes were made to the following:
RetroScifi Assault
Neon LMG
Neon Assault
RetroSciFi Pistol
Tiny Instrument of Death
Zap Zap
Fear not, I’ve made them eligible for reset in case the slight impact reduction isn’t your style.
Finally, Utility Perk slots on weapons (e.g. reload speed, magazine size, durability, stability) can now be rolled to damage if you want to go all in on those Husks!”
TRAPS
“Let’s move on to those under performing traps. I’ve enhanced the damage of just about every trap with the exception of Gas and Broadside traps… these were already extremely powerful and are seeing a minor reduction. Both are eligible for reset as well!
I’ve had a pretty big break through on Nature Traps. Turns out that you can put Energy Damage on them if you turn the capacitor flux just right. Either way, this is a new standard option for our Nature Traps.
I’ve tightened the spring load on Ceiling Drop Trap tires to have a little more bounce off their release. This will let them hit multiple times. Take that Husks!
My new favorite out of this change is the increased range to Ceiling Electric Field traps. It’s quite shocking how much stronger they are with this new range. Stacking multiple in an area will brighten up your day (or night).
Finally, the Anti-Air trap was lacking some proper range. I’ve fixed that with a new range increasing perk!”
-Clip
DIRECTOR’S UPDATE
“Well Commanders… I’ve had some time to think during the Business Wolf Dungeon Packstravaganza… What if this HUD was in other missions? Time to find out! Make sure you adjust your HUD settings for optimal efficiency.
There’s a new way to perform Batch Recycles in your inventory! The Batch Recycle interface has a new Auto-Recycle button which lets you pick a rarity and mark all the pesky schematics lingering in your inventory, at that rarity or below. Spring cleaning in full effect!”
-Director Riggs
BUG FIXES
The Southeast Amplifier in Twine Peaks Outpost Endurance will never be attacked from the North, eliminating overlapping spawns.
Neon Sniper no longer has a distorted scope when using aim down sights.
Crafting materials are properly returned when recycling Defender Pads.
Weak Spots are now working properly when struck by a pickaxe.
“A” button works correctly when using the emote wheel at the end of a mission on Xbox controllers.
Jilly Teacup can be placed in the collection book without being evolved.
Epic has also mentioned that changes are coming to Team Rumble:
All weapons blue or better
Bandages removed
Glider redeployment now a free ability (doesn’t take a slot)
150/150/150 mats granted at match start
Skill-based matchmaking turned off
Increased elim goal to 125
Creative:
Yacht and Shark Galleries and Shark Island
Join the yacht club and add some luxury to your island or make your own secret hideout on the new Shark Island with the Yacht and Shark Galleries. New Hub Islands
Two new Hub islands to allow for more options for creating your dream Hub.
ISLANDS
Added 3 New Islands:
The Shark – A sandy island with a secret base.
Flat Grid Hub – A flat grid island used to design featured hubs.
Floating Island Hub – A floating island used to design featured hubs.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where a tree was sticking halfway through the ground, on Horseshoe Island.
Fixed an issue where the lava, on Caldera Island, was not displaying correctly.
Fixed an issue where editing Player Built Structures would increase the thermometer memory taken up by those items.
Fixed an issue where Sun and Moon lighting would not respect island Fog settings on Mobile devices.
GAMEPLAY
Added team rotation support for 2-asymmetric-team games.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where players would get blocked from walking over terrain pieces on player built islands.
Fixed an issue where Shockwave Grenades would destroy particles.
Fixed an issue where devices would not appear properly when players would scrub through Creative Replays
Fixed an issue where players would not return to the hub when the island owner leaves the server.
WEAPONS + ITEMS
Added the Creepin’ Cardboard Consumable.
The consumable allows players to place up to 5 cardboard boxes, to hide in during gameplay.
Recharges over time.
Bug Fixes
Fixed players being unable to be shot after canceling the disguise of a small prop.
Fixed the prop gun manager option “Prevent Cancelling Disguise” so when enabled the user cannot unequip the prop gun to cancel the disguise.
Fixed the prop gun so you can now unequip it while in disguise as a prop and locked.
Chug Splashes no longer get stuck when thrown into the water.
CREATIVE TOOLS + PHONE
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where items multi-selected using the Quick Bar would turn all items of that type yellow.
PREFABS & GALLERIES
Added 1 New Prefab
The Yacht
Added 9 New Galleries
The Yacht Gallery
The Yacht Prop Gallery
The Shark Wall Gallery
The Shark Floor & Stair Gallery
The Shark Rock Gallery Large
The Shark Rock Gallery
The Shark Prop Gallery
The Shark Cliff Gallery
Grass & Dirt Floor Gallery C
Added purple water to the Elemental Cube Gallery.
Added bus seats, ramp, air conditioning unit and doors to Variant Car Gallery A.
Added enterable RV trailers to Variant Car Gallery B.
Added more street signs to Street Gallery A.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where several purple props, from the Art Deco Prop Gallery, had changed to blue.
Fixed an issue with the balcony handrail collision from the Lighthouse Gallery.
Fixed an issue where multiple props, from the Mega Mall Prop Gallery and NeoTilted Prop Gallery, would no longer glow during the day.
Fixed an issue where no resource materials could be harvested from the security cameras, in the Art Deco Prop Gallery.
Fixed an issue where the Art Deco Pillar Topper and Art Deco Pillar Corner would give brick instead of metal resource materials.
Gold can no longer be harvested from the Art Deco paintings.
Fixed an issue where the Dark Tilted smoke stacks could not be seen from far away.
Fixed an issue where the basketball hoop, from the Indestructible Gallery, could be destroyed.
Fixed an issue where the Village Roof Gallery and Dirt Floor Gallery B preview volumes were not large enough.
Fixed an issue where the Military Lights Gallery, Village Building Gallery A and Village Building Gallery B icon image was not up to date.
Fixed an issue, from the Art Deco Prop Gallery, where some assets were giving the wrong resource material.
The E.G.O. Hangar Prefab will not extend over the preview boundary line.
Fixed an issue where the Art Deco Pillar Toppers had been incorrectly resized.
Fixed an issue where the Art Deco Hawk Sculpture was not set flush against the Art Deco Bank Prefab pillars.
The back doors from the Haunted Manor Prefab now show the correct texture.
Fixed an issue with a description inconsistency for the Village Building Color Gallery A.
Fixed an issue with the snow material placed on rocks from the Nature Snow Gallery.
Decals from the Decal Gallery can now be customized again.
DEVICES
Added the Creepin’ Cardboard Device
The device allows players to place more than 5 cardboard boxes, to hide in different areas of maps.
Bug Fixes
Fixed Trackers not completing properly for players sharing quest progress with the person who was responsible for completing the final step of the quest.
Fixed the Elimination Manager not functioning for players who joined a minigame in progress.
Fixed Movement Modulator device taking damage rather than the building piece it’s attached to.
Fixed an issue where Teleporters would by occasionally be placed too close to the floor to activate when first deployed.
Fixed an issue where Particles could not be customized.
Fixed an issue where Volume effects would not be applied if the player spawned within the volume at the start of the game.
Fixed an issue where emoting within a mutator volume would not transmit on a set channel if the volume had no other effect.
Fixed an issue where the ‘When Control Change Transmit On’ option on the Capture Area had an incorrect tooltip.
Cannon Spawner now appears under the Vehicle filter in the device list.
Fixed an issue where Sentries equipped with the LMG or Pistol (Flashlight) option would instead spawn with an Assault Rifle and be invincible.
Fixed an issue where the RNG device would resize incorrectly if copy and pasted.
Fixed an issue where the RNG zone preview would not resize to the width of the volume.
Fixed a typo in the name and description of the ‘Color Change Time’ option on Customizable Lights.
Fixed an issue on the Score Manager wouldn’t update its hologram color correctly when changing the score type.
Fixed the following issues with Badge Style HUD Icons on Creative Devices
When set to the ‘Only When Damaged’ style, they will now correctly appear.
When set to hide at a distance, they will now correctly hide.
When set to any Badge style, they will now appear immediately (rather than have to change settings again or start a minigame).
When set to require LOS, they will now correctly hide when moving out of Line of Sight.
The damage readout will now correctly show when the description text is not set.
Fixed an issue with the HUD Message device that was restricting character limits to 80 characters. HUD Message device will now properly allow 150 character limits
Fixed an issue where triggers and music notes would not properly trigger while inside the volume of a sequencer device
Fixed an issue where Sentries would fire at players on the “Friendly Team” if they spawn within range of them
Fixed an issue where the Trick Tile would destroy structures directly underneath them when triggered
Fixed an issue where Triggers would be triggered earlier than expected by the sequencer device
Fixed an issue where Driftboards would be unable to jump
Fixed an issue where the “Times Can Trigger” and “Transmit Every X Triggers” settings would not increment correctly when using a Sequencer device
Fixed an issue where the “Quadcrasher” would be unable to move forward or backwards on Switch
Fixed an issue where the “Radio” device could still be heard by other players on an island, after being deleted by someone
UI + SOCIAL
Added Damage Dealt and Damage Taken options to the available scoreboard stats.
Improved messaging for players joining and leaving islands to help players better track where people are playing.
Added an in world Health Bar Indicator to Creative that will show over the head of the player being targeted. It can be configured through the Team Settings & Inventory Device.
New experimental feature: when creating new islands, you can browse through all the devices you have placed and see what channels are in-use.
Creators can now tag their islands with descriptors. The descriptors will have limited use for now, but will have a more significant role as we continue to develop the feature.
Bug Fixes
Fixed scoreboard showing all teams placing 5th or lower as having placed 1st.
Fixed a typo in the Dark Tilted Prop Gallery description.
Fixed scoreboard UI showing information about the previous game you played in if you moved between a Free-For-All game and a Team game.
We’re keeping an eye out for more changes and patch notes. If we get ’em, we’ll update the post. It seems Epic is continuing with their “no-patch notes” policy for Season 2.
We’re also checking out the new Battle Pass and will post anything news-worthy we find.
Players trying to log in to The Division 2 or Rainbow Six Siege, you’re probably experiencing The Division 2 and/or Rainbow Six Siege down on the servers if you’re on Xbox One. It sems people from around the globe are experiencing issues connecting, and it shows Bravo-09 for some.
Checking the official The Division 2 subreddit, it seems people from the US are mostly affected.
Hello everyone. We’re aware of an issue currently affecting connectivity in Rainbow Six Siege and The Division 2 on Xbox One. We are working towards resolving this. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience. Please be sure to check this thread for future updates. Thanks!
We are currently investigating technical issues which are preventing access to the game. Keep an eye out for updates.
As of the moment, only Xbox One players are affected. Once we know more or the issue has been resolved, we’ll update the post. While you’re waiting for servers go go back up, check out the Rainbow Six Siege Operation Void Edge patch notes to see what’s coming in terms of gameplay changes. We also posted about the new way Ubisoft Montreal is handling content drops.
As for The Division 2, make sure to check out the upcoming new expansion, Warlords of New York!
Update: 2/20/20: Ubisoft has resolved it just this past hour:
Update: This issue is now resolved, thank you for your patience!
If you’re a Battlefield 5 player and you’re playing on Xbox One, chances are you can’t log in. Well, it’s not really DICE’s fault this time, as there is Xbox One Battlefield 5 servers down time happening worldwide.
This has been acknowledged by the official Xbox Support Twitter account as well.
We're aware that some users are experiencing issues trying to connect in Battlefield V. We're looking into it & we will update you here & on our status page when we have more information. https://t.co/PzAdjUFMJj
We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues trying to connect in Battlefield V. We’re looking into it & we will update you here & on our status page when we have more information. http://xbox.com/status
Checking the Xbox status page, people will see that there is an issue for Battlefield V and it’s still in “Pending.”
No word yet on what’s happening here and when it’ll be fixed. Once we get an update, we’ll make sure to update the post to reflect it.
In the meantime, while you’re waiting, make sure to read up on our new feature where we talk about whether the next Battlefield game should be Bad Company 3 or not.
Monster Hunter World fans, Capcom has today released a new patch for Monster Hunter World, and both consoles and PC players got one! Console gamers will see this as Monster Hunter World update 12.11, while PC players will see theirs as 11.50.
Monster Hunter World updatem 12.11 patch notes:
Patch Details
A patch is scheduled to be released on the date listed above to address an issue that affects Observation Log photos for certain players.
This issue will not have any effect on your story progress, nor on the status of your observations.
Recommended Steps before the Patch
The issue occurs when deleting or submitting photos, so we highly recommend avoiding these actions while playing.
In the event that you encounter this issue, it is possible to restore your photo data. (see details below)
If you have already encountered this issue, it’s recommended to not delete or add more photo data, and to keep your current data.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause players.
Details
Conditions to trigger this issue
Complete any of the Lynian Researcher’s observation requests between #21 and #24 with all three conditions met.
(Acquire at least one of the rewards to increase your observation log size)
How this issue occurs
1. With the above conditions met, saving the game when you have 21 or more photos in your observation log.
2. Saving your data after deleting OR submitting a photo from the first or second page of your observation log.
3. Returning to the title screen or restarting the game.
How to avoid this issue
– Do not submit any photos to the Lynian Researcher.
– If you performed step 2 listed above, do not perform step 3, instead, take more photos until you reach the maximum limit, and then save your game.
– Do not delete your photo data. (On the PlayStation®4, pressing △ while looking at your observation requests)
– Save your data to the cloud. (Note: Game data and photo data are saved as a set)
If you are already experiencing this issue
We expect that most or all photo data that could not be read will be recovered after the patch is released, but if you have taken any new photos, you won’t be able to restore your old data (Lynian Observatory completion progress will be saved).
We recommend waiting until the ver.12.11 patch is released and do not perform the above steps.
Monster Hunter World 11.50 patch notes (PC):
[Notice]
We have released fix patch Ver. 11.50.01, addressing the following issues:
● Fixed an issue where Observation Logs photos would not be recognized correctly under certain PC setups.
● Fixed an issue where crashes would happen while using AMD graphics cards.
● Fixed an issue where DX12 users would experience rare crashes, regardless of the type of graphics cards.
Note: Some users may not notice an improvement, depending on their specific hardware or system. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we appreciate your patience as we continue looking into these issues further.
● Fixed an issue where players could not enter their Room under certain PC setups.
● Adjusted the frequency of your Palico’s voice dialogue while they’re on standby.
● Fixed an issue where Steamworks reward item numbers didn’t match the actual number of items you received.
Even if Dying Light is already five years old, Techland is still dishing out content for the game, and we’re getting that this month and more! The Dying Light update February 19 patch is live on all platforms and includes loads of changes! Check out the full Dying Light update February 19 patch notes below via the PS4 update history.
Dying Light update February 19 patch notes:
Added a new game difficulty: Story Mode
Decreased damage dealt by zombies by 25%
Increased damage dealt by player by 50-100%
Decreased fall damage by 50%
Normal attacks use 25% less stamina
Charged attacks use 25% less stamina
Medkits are twice as effective
Player loses 50% less experience points upon death
Days are longer by 25%
Nights are shorter by 25%
Traders pay 20% more for player’s items
Player earns 50% less Legend experience
Airdrops remain on the map twice as long
Fixed a bug with missing additional particles on:
Last Wish Revolver – additional smoke effect
Dragon Ji Polearm – additional fire effect
Leaping Tiger Dao Sword – additional fire effect
Added new weapons and blueprints
Added a new explosive device
Added new types of live event
Added new outfits
Support for additional dockets
Minor bug fixes
In addition to the changes made to the game, there’s also four events planned for the next four weeks as part of the Dying Light’s fifth year anniversary!
You may think that we have forgotten about our 5th anniversary…
Don't worry – we're getting ready for a 4-week-long party and everyone's invited! Who's coming? pic.twitter.com/00YOPg4DCM
Those attending PAX East later this month, you’ll sadly have to enjoy the festivities without Sony’s involvement, as the company has announced that PlayStation PAX East demos The Last of Us: Part II and Final Fantasy 7 Remake are being pulled!
In a new update on the PlayStation Blog, Sony has updated their PAX East announcement post, and mentions that they are cancelling attending PAX East due to COVID-19 (or otherwise known as the novel coronavirus), which is plaguing countries worldwide.
Here’s the company’s statement in full:
UPDATE: Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment made the decision to cancel its participation at PAX East in Boston this year due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as “novel coronavirus”). We felt this was the safest option as the situation is changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern.
While this is bad news for PAX East attendees, I completely understand where Sony is coming from, and I’m glad they’re looking out for their people first and foremost. At the end of the day, these are just games and are in no way comparable to anyone risking their lives.
Hopefully, we’ll get over this COVID-19 problem soon, and things will go back to normal.
Over four hours of hands-on experience, this Hellpoint preview leaves us wanting more from this Souls-inspired title. There’s a lot of the soul genre formula embedded in Hellpoint, which isn’t surprising considering that the developers, Cradle Games have been open about this being a Soulbourne-inspired title. From gameplay down to the way menus work, Hellpoint won’t be much of a stranger to fans of the genre since its rise in popularity.
The Lovechild of Dark Souls, Doom, and Deadspace
Right off the bat, the preview starts you off much like any other Souls title, completely naked with no true sense of direction. You get to roam freely in the opening level, learning the ins and outs all while leveling up. Combat functions the same, where you will always be cautious of every angle, slowly and carefully planning attacks around enemies. There’s a weak, fast strike and also a heavy one for each weapon. The game features a healing item and even rifts that are basically bonfires. Again, if you have played a Souls game then you will know how to play this game.
The difference, however, comes in a lot of the smaller mechanics that Hellpoint has to offer. Rather than enemies respawning at each checkpoint you touch, they work off a timer system and will sometimes even change their placements from their prior spawn. The healing item has “limited” uses, but can easily be recharged via killing enemies. There is a jump mechanic that is miles better than any of the Souls games we have played as it provides a level of platforming. In addition to character leveling, there is also weapon leveling that increases with each usage. And drop-in co-op is also available from the start, although in the preview build it was only split-screen. There’s also some roguelike features from titles like Risk of Rain and Dead Cells where depending on your action or speed, you may get a chance to explore new paths that could potentially lead to new rewards and even bosses.
Despite some of these differences, make no mistake, at the end of the day Hellpoint is a carbon copy of a Souls game. Whether that’s a good thing or not is entirely up to you, but as someone who has played other titles such as Nioh, Sekiro, and the Surge (and enjoyed them all), I’m actually quite fond of the decision to make it as Souls-like as possible. Unless it’s really bad, which Hellpoint isn’t, I’ve never been bothered by titles trying to cash in on the Soul games, especially if they are interesting enough to keep me engaged. The whole dark sci-fi fantasy setting that Hellpoint establishes is certainly a great setting that could provide some interesting story elements.
Hellpoint takes place on a now overrun by interdimensional entities space station that orbits a blackhole. You play as mysterious 3D printed character tasked with discovering what has happened on the station to lead to these unfortunate events. A pretty simple premise we could say, and yet despite taking place on a Space Station there is a lot of variety when it comes to visuals. I’m a huge fan of H.R. Giger’s work, especially on the Aliens series. There’s a beauty to his work that is both disturbing yet beautiful at the same time. Hellpoint makes me feel the same with how levels are designed and the visuals they use to blend cold machinery with human and other bio-life components. Enemy’s designs can look pretty terrifying with their horrific features. I get a very “Doom” and “Dead Space” vibe from the general atmosphere with how dark and cold it feels. The whole sci-fi setting really suits the game and sets it apart enough to really want to invest in the story once it’s finished.
What of the Difficulty?
The major key with a soul title that many come to love is the sheer difficulty they offer. They’re unforgiving, ruthless, and at times extremely frustrating to the point that players will break in a fit of rage. Hellpoint for the most is heading in the right direction for players seeking a challenge as danger crept around every corner. The real fun is, you can run past an empty corridor and feel safe only for several enemies to spring out to wreck your run. It feels very soul like, and if you happen to level up too much you can increase the difficulty by using effigies. My only complaint with the difficulty was with the bosses offered in the preview as they were far too easy to beat, especially when compared to some of the higher tier enemies found in the standard stages. Hopefully, something that gets addressed in the final build of the game, though it was clear that some of the later ones were still being worked on. This was after all a preview build that was only meant to give us a small taste.
Overall, I loved what I got to try out in this build. For someone who has played basically every Soulborne title out there, HellPoint can sit comfortably amongst them if it continues to go the direction it’s in. Sure it’s essentially a carbon clone of Dark Souls, but I don’t mind that as it’s still fun and engaging at the end of the day. It does have some rough patches here and there that need some more work, but I look forward to the final build once it releases. Hellpoint is scheduled to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this April.
Developer Recommendations:
Sound
Outside of the visuals, which will most likely be touched up as we approach launch, the one big component that bugged me throughout the entire preview was the sound design. It takes a lot to really get under my skin when it comes to sound, and unless there’s an obnoxious repeating of lines or sound cues, I’m usually not too bothered by it. There was some leather armor wear that made me want to pull my hair out as every step the character took you could hear it constantly rubbing against them. Something minor I just wanted to point out, and the easy fix was just not to wear it. I think the bigger issue was sound had to when it came to the soundtrack.
There’s a soundtrack in Hellpoint, one that surprisingly sounds good or at least it would if sounds weren’t muffled. It’s hard to hear and we aren’t sure if it’s because it’s part of the soundtrack or just the environment causing it. I do know that my friend and I found the bass to be too high in certain sections.
Enemies Hitboxes and Iframes
These can be a hit or miss as often we found ourselves attacking an enemy for it to miss or not do any damage upon impact. The Iframes can get a bit annoying as you can rush and attack enemies that are standing up. Very minor complaint.
Long Range Guns
Out of all the weapons in the game, I wasn’t as excited as I thought I would be when I unlocked the gun. When facing an enemy that uses them they’re pretty dangerous to deal with since they hurt a lot. It doesn’t work the other way however as DPS was rather low to make them not worthwhile. A buff to their damage would be great.
Co-op
This particular build didn’t have any online co-op just local play. Thankfully there are PC apps that could resolve this and the co-op experience just adds a whole layer of fun. Sure it made the difficulty easier, but that’s usually what co-op is intended to do. I would say some options to scale enemies count or difficulty (outside of effigy use) could be nice for those seeking a greater challenge.
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Heads up! Infinity Ward has released a new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare patch today, and it’s a server-side fix, which means players won’t be required to download a patch (though you’ll see a “download bar” pop up before connecting to the game). The Modern Warfare February 19 update includes a bunch of fixes, and they’re listed below.
Modern Warfare February 19 update patch notes:
GENERAL FIXES:
Fix for Regiment tags not appearing as intended
Fix for players receiving the “Jockworth” error while in Gunfight Tournaments
Fix for a bug where numbers on the team roster and numbers on the COD Caster minimap did not correspond
Pointman: Fix for an issue where Killchain scores were being given for killstreak kills without having Killchain equipped
Fix for a CDL Gunsmith exploit
And that’s basically it. Don’t expect any big gameplay changes as this is a server-side hotfix. That said, we are expecting a new patch to drop soon which will be for Call of Duty: Warzone.
If there’s any stealth changes included in today’s Modern Warfare update, we’ll let our readers know ASAP.
Virtual reality games are really coming into their own in this new decade, thanks in part to the increasing availability of VR headsets from various developers. VR games immerse the player in a new world, where the only limitation is the imagination of the game creators.
New titles are flooding onto the market this year, so gamers in 2020 are spoilt for choice. We have action, fantasy, social games and more on this list. There are even some online casinos getting in on the action, and developers have succeeded in creating fully realised virtual casino lobbies for players to explore. You can find out more about real money casinos at MrCasinova.com, including the sites which offer the VR experience.
So, let’s dive in and take a look at some of the hottest new VR games coming to your headsets this year.
Space Pirate Arena (Oculus Quest)
This is the kind of game that many of us have been waiting for – an arena-scale multiplayer experience to enjoy with your friends. You’ll need a big open space, indoor or outdoor, and of course everyone must have a Quest headset. Imagine a game of laser tag, but with an infinitely more exciting setting.
Half Life: Alyx (PCVR)
The team behind this stunningly rendered new game have really pushed the boundaries of what is possible with VR. The visuals are incredible, but the game also has real substance. The storyline is complex and engrossing, promising many hours of engaging gameplay.
Facebook Horizon (Oculus Rift/Quest)
2020 is the year that Facebook take their social network to the next level. They have made an enormous virtual world, where you can interact with your friends, play games or get creative. This is the first big social VR game to hit the market, so it will be interesting to see if it takes off.
Vertigo 2 (PCVR)
This new and improved sequel to the 2016 original has surpassed expectations, serving up an engaging, humorous and polished single-player game. Set in a huge research facility, you are provided with an assortment of unusual weapons to battle with the aliens that teleport in and out of frame. With echoes of Half Life and Portal, this is surely one not to miss this year.
Medal of Honor (Oculus Rift)
The Medal of Honor franchise is no less than iconic, so the announcement of a VR incarnation was greeted with plenty of anticipation. The game is set during WWII, with a deep storyline that takes the player through scenarios on sea, air, and land to thwart the enemy.
The Wizards: Dark Times (PCVR)
For the fantasy lovers amongst us, this new title is a stand-alone addition to the existing Wizards VR game. Taking on board the criticisms of the first incarnation, the developers have refined the gameplay and streamlined the levels. A magical virtual environment and gesture-based spellcasting make this game a real treat for fans of the genre.
Low-Fi (PCVR)
Borrowing its aesthetic from the future dystopian Blade Runner movies, Low-Fi is set in an overpopulated and dark mega-city, complete with flying cars and neon signs. It’s a massive open world game, where the player takes on the role of a rookie police officer and decides what criminal activity to pursue and what to permit. Anyone who enjoyed Technolust should give Low-Fi a try.
Iron Man (PlayStation VR)
We may not be seeing any more of Tony Stark at the movies, but with this new game you can do one better and become him. When you take control of the Iron Man suit, it’s a close as it gets to really flying.
Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners (PlayStation VR/PCVR/Oculus Quest)
This VR game version of the popular TV show is set in a zombie-ridden New Orleans. The Walkers may look like the most threatening inhabitants of the city, but it’s the other groups of human survivors that you really need to look out for. Choose to join them, or go it alone.
Tags:
Alex Co
Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.
