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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Tattoo Customization Confirmed, Factions, and New Character Details Revealed

by James Lara

August 12, 2019 4:13 pm in News

In a now available to pre-order Amazon listing for the “Making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” book, some new images have been released for the game, revealing some of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare factions found in multiplayer, along with a handful of new character details and customization.

Back in June we reported on some of the few factions that would possibly be available in the multiplayer of Modern Warfare. While at the time nothing had been officially revealed by Infinity Ward, it would appear that yet again some of those very same factions along with some new ones have been confirmed, via the official “Making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” Art book. Down below you can see some of the new factions logos that have been added since that June posting. We went ahead and compiled the image together, so on the left is the new one from the art book, and on the right is old image from one of the T-shirts that’s being sold along.

Judging from the text in the image, it would seem like this isn’t even the final list of factions that will appear in the multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare. Additionally the image also gives us our first look at “Body Art,” which are customization that we can select for our operators.

A few other images also showcased some of the locations that’ll be in the game, the first being “Hackney,” which we’ve seen during the multiplayer reveal. The other showcases a concept storyboard from one of the campaign missions. There isn’t a whole lot of details from it, but we do know at one point in the campaign we will be involved with an assault on an Embassy.

And finally we get some new character details. The first being around one of the single-player character, Farah and what went into her design while the others focus on the Operators Syd and Bale.

“Making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” is now available for pre-order on Amazon, and will launch October 22 — three days before the official release of the game.

More Modern Warfare Reading:

James Lara

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.

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World Record Scorchbeast Queen Kill in Fallout 76 Took Five Seconds

by Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp

12:15 pm in News

One clan of players have claimed the world record for the fastest Fallout 76 Scorchbeast Queen kill in the game’s history. This clan managed to take down the toughest enemy in the game in just five seconds, a feat that has never legitimately been seen until now. Check out the video below which highlights a few different viewpoints of the kill, as well as the name of the clan and its members, then read on for more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am8sG5HDmKY&app=desktop

As you saw in the video, the Scorchbeast Queen kill in five seconds was achieved by Queen Killers R Us: The Elitists, a Discord group who meet up to take down Scorchbeast Queens in Fallout 76. This might sound like a bit of a niche clan, but they really do exist. Their efforts have now paid off, and they’ve claimed this new world record, and judging by the video clips it doesn’t seem like anyone’s going to be able to beat their record.

Previous world records for Scorchbeast Queen kills saw single players destroy the enemy in one shot using a weapon called The Dragon. However, these kills were illegitimate, because the players in them used duplication glitches to duplicate Explosive Bobbleheads. These Bobbleheads increase a player’s damage with explosive weapons, and by using hundreds, if not thousands of them, they increased their damage levels to allow them to kill the Scorchbeast Queen in one shot.

Apparently the clan work to specifically push the Scorchbeast Queen to land exactly where they want it to, which is, as we saw, where a group of players are laying in wait to destroy her with their endgame weapons. On top of this, the clan works very hard to establish servers filled with just their Discord members, meaning that an extreme amount of time and energy has to go into coordinating just the gameplay sessions of this clan.

The Scorchbeast Queen can only be summoned y dropping a nuke on Fissure site Prime, which itself is a tall order because multiple players are required to gather all of the codes to launch said nuke. This enemy is currently believed to be the final boss of Fallout 76, with no tougher enemy present in the game to date, and the recommended number of players to battle her is eight. All this could change with the release of Wastelanders later this year, which will bring new quests to the game, and populate the wasteland with NPCs for the first time.

Don’t forget to check out the latest patch notes for Fallout 76.

Source: Reddit

Tags: Bethesda Game Studios Fallout Fallout 76

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp

Trying to be a games journalist, dad, and master of Destiny 2. Author

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Need for Speed 2019 Countdown Is Live Now

by Alex Co

11:25 am in News

After numerous confirmations that a new Need for Speed game is coming out this year, EA has finally kickstarted what appears to be the official reveal! Today, EA has started the Need for Speed 2019 countdown, which I assume will show us gameplay, the official title, and more for this new racing game.

Checking the website, it only shows the Need for Speed logo and a countdown ending on Wednesday. That’s basically it, no title, no tease, no nothing. Of course, if the recent leak we posted is to be believed, the Need for Speed 2019 game will be titled “Need for Speed Heat,” and will be released on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Given how we’re already in August, EA has a lot of ground to catch up in terms of hyping this year’s racer. While the publisher confirmed it won’t showcase the new Need for Speed game at this year’s E3, the chances of us seeing the game at gamescom next week is almost a lock — unless, y’know, they’re not a fan of players looking forward to their games.

What do you want to see from this year’s Need for Speed? Stay tuned for the full reveal on Wednesday.

Tags: Ghost Games Need for Speed

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Stop Shooting! Backgammon – a Different Take on Multiplayer Games

by MP1st

11:00 am in News

First-person shooters are by far the most commonly played multiplayer game online. They’re adventurous, entertaining, but the problem is, these types of games have been popular for so long, we’ve already seen it all and done it all. Perhaps it’s time to take a break.

If you’re tired of FPS games and are looking for some other kind of adventure, you’re in luck. An ancient, strategic board game has entered the digital world and is here to enhance your online gaming experience.

We’re talking about Backgammon – a game of skill and luck that will reshape the way you think about board games. Have a look.

An Ancient Game with a Modern Twist

Backgammon might just be the oldest board game in existence! We can trace its origins back 5000 years in Mesopotamia, and if that doesn’t spark your interest – nothing will.

The game has been enjoyed by cultures throughout the world, and in its long history, it’s never lost its charm. Millions of people still play it to this day!

This means that when you start playing free online backgammon, you’ll be joining a huge community. You can join tournaments, take on experienced backgammon masters, hone in your skills, and simply have fun meeting various different people around the globe.

The best part about taking this board game to the digital world is that you no longer have to organize game nights if you want to enjoy playing it. It’s free and easy to sign up and start playing the game whenever you want, wherever you want.

FPS Games – Step Aside

First-person shooters became popular because they offer excitement. You never know what’s going to happen, you don’t know how strong the opponent is, and you could lose at any given moment. While the outcome of these games heavily depends on your skills, there’s also a great deal of luck involved, and it’s basically a gamble every time you log in to play.

If you enjoy this type of gamble and would like to test both your skills and your luck, but in a different environment, there’s no better way to do this than through some classic casino games enhanced by new tech.

Online casino-style games have been popular ever since the invention of the internet. Games like backgammon never go out of style simply because they offer an entirely new and different experience every single time you play them. You’ll never meet the same “boss” twice, and regardless of how good or bad you are at these games, the outcome is always uncertain. You need a strategy, but you also need luck on your side.

Taking Multiplayer to the Next Level

If you’re competitive and enjoy the adrenaline rush of beating various opponents and enhancing your skill levels, you’ll love playing online backgammon. The more you play the better you’ll become, and with millions of players in the community, you can take on any opponent anytime.

When it comes to FPS multiplayer games, there’s one main thing that makes them inconvenient – you can’t pause them. This means that you have to set plenty of time aside if you want to play them, you never know if it’ll take you minutes or hours to finish.

With backgammon and similar games, this isn’t a problem. You can enjoy this multiplayer game whenever you want. Individual backgammon games are usually short, so you can play them during your lunch break, while you’re waiting in line, even while you’re in the restroom. Convenience and fun above all.

Adventure from the Comfort of Your Home

Backgammon and other magnetic games have a lot to offer. You might imagine them as quiet, peaceful games, but in reality, they’re actually thrilling and adventurous.

Those who love exciting games full of twists and turns won’t be disappointed. Classic 1-on-1 style games are great if you need to relax, but tournaments will get your adrenaline going. Take on up to 8 opponents to test your skills, or play in the Nitro mode if you want to enjoy a fast-paced environment. Playing in the Race mode allows you to test your skills by completing increasingly difficult scenarios.

There’s never a dull moment here, and you can enjoy these amazing games from the comfort of your home.

Conclusion

Online backgammon gives you excitement and adventure. It’s free to play, and once you start, you’ll be hooked. Join millions of other people in this community and enjoy this thrilling multiplayer game.

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MP1st

MP1st Staff

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Offline Bots & 3v3 Custom Games Confirmed, Realism Mode Not Just for Night Maps

by Alex Co

10:58 am in News

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare going back to its roots in order to deliver something new, some might be wondering whether this meant that some of the newer features might be pulled; namely, bots and custom games. Thankfully, we can now confirm that won’t be the case! Infinity Ward has confirmed that Modern Warfare offline bots and custom games will be available in the game.

This was revealed by Co-Design Director of Multiplayer Joe Cecot when answering fan concerns over on Reddit.

Cecot also confirmed that the maps in the 2v2 Gunfight mode will allow for 3v3 in custom matches.

Also of note, in case you didn’t see it, last week, Infinity Ward talked about the “Realism” mode in Modern Warfare. Given how it was presented, some assumed that this Modern Warfare Realism mode is only available in night mode, which, thankfully, has been debunked. In another Reddit thread, Infinity Ward has now confirmed that Modern Warfare Realism mode is a modifier players can turn whenever they wish.

This is definitely good news for those who want to test their mettle. It’s like hardcore, but without your traditional hardcore ruleset in place.

In other Modern Warfare news, Activision has mentioned that Modern Warfare post-launch support will be the biggest in franchise history. We’ve also posted some of the animated emblems from the game, which you can check out here.

Tags: Call of Duty Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Gears 5 Achievements List Revealed, Game Has Gone Gold

by Alex Co

August 11, 2019 5:08 pm in News

Those looking forward to Gears 5’s release date this coming September 10, you’ll be glad to know that the game has now entered gold status! Not only that, but Microsoft has also revealed the list of Gears 5 Achievements!

For those not familiar with the term “gold,” it means the game disc has been passed on to manufacturing, and is all ready to be shipped out to retail. Got that? Good. As for the Gears 5 Achievements list, there will be 71 in total spanning the Campaign, Escape, Versus, Horde, Map Builder, and more.

Check out the Gears 5 Achievements list below, and yes, it’s spoiler-free!

Campaign Achievements

Name	Description	Gamerscore
My Body Is Ready	Complete Boot Camp	5
It Takes Three To Make A Thing Go Right	Complete an Act of Campaign in 3 player co-op	10
Jack of One Trade	Complete an Act of the Campaign as playable Jack (any difficulty)	5
I Was Born In A Crossfire Hurricane	Use Jack’s Flash ability to stun 3 enemies at once in Campaign	10
Back Atcha	Get a kill with ricochet bullets using Jack’s Barrier Ability	10
Back On Your Feet, Soldier	Use Jack’s Stim upgraded ability to revive a DBNO friendly in Campaign	10
Shock and Awe	Use Jack’s Shock Trap ability to shock 6 enemies at once in Campaign	10
Seraninja	Use Jack’s Cloak ability to cloak and execute 3 enemies before de-cloaking in Campaign	10
An Enemy Among Us	Get a kill with a Hijacked Pouncer, Warden, Stump and Elite Hunter in Campaign	15
Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie	Use Jack’s Fetch ability to acquire each Heavy Weapon in Campaign	10
Jack of All Trades	Acquire all of Jack’s Ultimate upgrades in Campaign	25
JACKed Up!	Fully upgrade Jack’s Abilities and Passives in Campaign	25
Relic Hunter	Equip 3 Relic Weapons at one time in Campaign	10
Relics of the Past	Kill an enemy with every Relic Weapon in Campaign	20
Not There To Buy A Timeshare	Unlock during Act 1 of the Campaign	10
And… He’s All Yours	Unlock during Act 1 of the Campaign	10
Now I Gotta Get Up Again	Unlock during Act 1 of the Campaign	10
A Mouthful of Boom	Unlock during Act 1 of the Campaign	10
It’s Time We Fight Them Together	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign	10
Jameson Shipping Depot	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign	10
That Old COG Technology	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign	10
Let’s Get You Some Answers	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign	10
We Need The Old Plan	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign	10
Safe and Sound	Unlock during Act 3 of the Campaign	10
Cutting It Close	Unlock during Act 3 of the Campaign	10
Throw A Switch, See What Happens	Unlock during Act 3 of the Campaign	10
Let’s Keep Pissin It Off!	Unlock during Act 3 of the Campaign	10
Then We Watch Each Other’s Backs	Unlock during Act 4 of the Campaign	10
You Know I Ain’t Going Out Like That	Unlock during Act 4 of the Campaign	10
Discovered the True Threat To Sera	Complete all Acts of the Campaign (Any Difficulty)	20
All Aboard The Crazy Train!	Complete all Acts of the Campaign on Insane	25
It’s Not Hoarding If Your Stuff Is Cool	Collect all Campaign Collectibles	15
Pennies from Heaven	Scavenge supplies from all fallen Condors in Act 2 and 3	10

Escape and Map Builder Achievements

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Pass The Soap	Pass through a refuge shower with 3 Hivebusters in the same shower cubicle	5
Master Of My Domain	Complete an Escape Hive on each difficulty	25
Who You Gonna Call? Hivebusters!	Complete 5 Escape Hives as each one of Mac, Lahni and Keegan	10
The Three Musketeers	Inflict 9000 damage in Escape while 3 Ultimate Abilities are active	15
On The Razor’s Edge	Get 100 kills while inside Hivebuster Venom	10
Brought A Knife To A Gun Fight	Complete an Escape Hive without firing a shot on Master Difficulty	25
Who’s Your Escape Main?	Reach Character Level 15 with a launch Escape Character	10
Master Escape Artist	Reach Character Level 15 with Mac, Lahni and Keegan	20
I Made It All By Myself	Create and publish an Escape Hive	10
Homegrown Hive	Complete a Featured community build Escape Hive	10

Horde Achievements

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop	Beat 50 Consecutive Waves of Horde (any difficulty)	25
Who’s Your Horde Main?	Reach Character Level 15 with a launch Horde Character	10
Compulsive Horder	Reach Character Level 15 with Kait, JD, Del, Marcus, Fahz and Jack	20
And I’ll Form The Head!	Kill a Boss in Horde while all 5 players have active Ultimate Abilities	10
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle	As Jack, convert one of each weapon to Power using the Forge in Horde	20
Withdrawal Symptoms	As a team, collect Power from all 4 Power Taps within one wave of Horde	20
Perky’s Revenge	Get a kill with 3 Perks active in Horde	10

Versus Achievements

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship	Play a match of Arcade	5
One Sec, I’ll Be Right Back	Switch characters in an Arcade match and kill an opponent who previously killed you	10
Where’s My Product Endorsement Deal?	Win 5 matches of Arcade	10
My Place In The Machine	Complete placement matches for a Ranked Playlist	5
Grind Season	Win a Ranked Match in each week of a Ranked Season	25

Progression and Other Achievements

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Sire, Interrupted	Kill a Sire while it’s kidnapping a teammate (any mode)	5
A Good Plan, Violently Executed	Execute 100 Rejects (any mode)	15
You’ve Got A Friend In Me	Make a new Ally in Gears Allies	5
Did We Just Become Best Friends?	Reach Level 5 with an ally in Gears Allies	10
BFFs	Complete a Versus match with a team of four Level 5 Gears Allies	15
Once More From The Top	Re-Up!	20
One, Two, Three Sorties	Complete all 3 Objectives for Tour of Duty in a day	5
Corporal Punishment	Reach the rank of Corporal in a Tour of Duty	10
Sergeant at Arms	Reach the rank of Sergeant in a Tour of Duty	15
LOOTenant	Reach the rank of Lieutenant in a Tour of Duty	20
I’m The Captain Now	Reach the rank of Captain in a Tour of Duty	25
Generally Awesome	Reach the rank of General in a Tour of Duty	50
Seriously 5.0 – Chapter 1	Complete Insane Campaign, Master Horde & Escape Launch Maps & Characters, Get 20 Re-Ups and reach General in a Tour of Duty	100

Finally, Gears 5 will be present at gamescom this August 19! The Coalition will reveal the all-new Horde mode on Inside Xbox on Monday, August 19 at 8 a.m. PDT. Not only that, the world premier of the story trailer for Gears 5’s campaign will also drop on the same day at gamescom: Opening Night Live at 11 a.m. PDT.

Source: Xbox

Tags: "Gears of War" Gears 5 The Coalition

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Destiny 2 Shadowkeep File Size Is Listed at a Whopping 165GB

by Alex Co

2:08 pm in News

If you’re a Destiny 2 player, chances are you’re looking forward to the next big expansion for the game called Shadowkeep, which will be released this October 1. Now,if you’re planning on buying it at launch, and you’re someone with limited disc space on your consoles’ hard disk, you might want to start clearing space now. According to Bungie, the Destiny 2 Shadowkeep file size is at a whopping 165GB!

This was posted over on the PS4 subreddit, where the PlayStation Store listing for Destiny 2 Shadowkeep lists the same — that it requires 165GB hard drive storage space as of 9.17.19.

Now, before anyone reacts angrily at Bungie, note that the 165GB Destiny 2 Shadowkeep file size is not 100 percent entirely accurate. As Reddit user admiralvic explains, this big file size is most likely the entirety of the expansion along with Destiny 2, etc.

Well, yes and no.

The thing a lot of other commenters seem to forget is this is install size. Right now Destiny 2: Forsaken is 82.71GB, which is literally at that 165GB mark. There is literally no way Shadowkeep is the size of Destiny 2 and Forsaken combined. Odds are Shadowkeep will bring this up to like 100GB/200GB (it’s already more than 165GB, so it has to be wrong) or we already have all the parts of Shadowkeep and it’s just a matter of getting the key (very unlikely).

Not that this makes drive space acceptable, just that it’s far less than meets the eye.

I suggest keeping an open mind first before jumping to conclusions, but then again, I could be wrong and it really is 165GB. If so, well, get ready to clear some space or upgrade your hard disk.

In other Destiny 2 news, go check out the roadmap update for the Season of Opulence right here, and if you’re planning to play it on Steam once it’s allowed, check out the details here.

Tags: Bungie Destiny Destiny 2

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Microtransactions Revenue Earned Are Higher Than COD: WWII

by Alex Co

August 9, 2019 8:54 pm in News

It’s no secret that Activision earns a lot of money via microtransctions in its Call of Duty games. Now, while gamers might be annoyed at how these are implemented, it seems there are always gamers who are willing to pony up the dough to either have their character stand out from the pack, or just to easily earn a new weapon.

As part of Activision’s Q2 earnings call, the publisher announced that not only did Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has more MAUs (monthly active users) than Call of Duty: WWII, but even the hours played increased by more than 50 percent! Not only that, but the publisher mentioned that the Black Ops 4 microtransactions revenue are higher than that of COD: WWII as well.

For Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, net bookings^B from in-game items grew year-over-year versus Call of Duty:WWII and are ahead of WWII on a comparable life-to-date basis.

Given how Treyarch has annoyingly made new guns easier to earn by buying Reserves (read: loot boxes) in Black Ops 4, (which is what it also did in Black Ops 3), it shouldn’t be that surprising that the Black Ops 4 microtransactions revenue is higher than WWII, since, y’know, Sledgehammer Games didn’t pull off anything like that.

Related Reading: Activision Sees Call of Duty as “Best of Both Worlds” in Terms of Live Services and Yearly Releases

Let’s hope that Infinity Ward has enough control regarding over their game that we won’t see this pay-to-win scenario in Modern Warfare.

Are you surprised that Black Ops 4 earned higher than WWII in terms of MTX revenue or not at all?

Source: Seeking Alpha (login required)

Tags: Activision Call of Duty Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Call of Duty: WWII Sledgehammer Games Treyarch

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Layers of Fear 2 Review – Ready, Set, Horror

by Justin Celani

8:01 pm in News

Horror games have always been a favorite genre of mine. Finding a hidden gem that manages to surprise and scare is a guilty pleasure. Back in 2016, I stumbled upon just such a game, Bloober Team’s, Layers of Fear — A game that felt as if the player themselves were having a mental breakdown into absurd moments of insanity. Much to my surprise, was to see a sudden announcement for Layers of Fear 2 coming later this year. Well, here we are with our Layers of Fear 2 review! Is it worth diving into this madness again? Read on.

Immediately awaiting it with baited breath, I had no idea what the game was even about but knew I was going to play it. Was it a true sequel or a new story being told? Would it improve upon the formula? Would it be scarier than the first? With much anticipation and excitement, I dove right in to the madness. The answer isn’t quite as clear, like much of the plot, but as expected but Layers of Fear 2 still offers a good time with certain expectations adjusted.

Peel back the layers

As far as story goes, Layers of Fear 2 starts off very, very sudden. Players will find themselves on what appears to be a luxury cruise ship in disarray. There’s really no intro dialogue, no set up, it’s just you suddenly placed into the game, which is abrupt, but intriguing nevertheless.

Over time, much like in the original game, clues, notes, and audio dialogue will dive deeper into the character the player are portraying. I won’t lie, it comes off a bit confusing and very similar to the first game, if not even a bit more perplexing on what is even transpiring. Even after having finished the game, I’m still left feeling the intro and ending feel as if they just happen with little weight to either. One thing is certain though, the main character is an actor, and from what players will discover, a fine one at that having done many movies over their life…or have they?

The story here melds with the idea of someone who possible could be having an identity crisis but the show most go on, as they say. The game is cryptic and will take lots of analyzing to understand its’ complexity and I’m sure even as writing this there is probably some big discussion going on about it somewhere online. I was able to understand the core story line at the end of my time but it’s still not told in the most constructive way, confusion for confusions sake as I would put it.

It’s all just an act

While the storyline is a huge element to what will drive the player’s experience, gameplay here is basically the same as the first: Exploration, minor puzzle solving, and some enemy avoidance is the overall flow. There is no combat, very little in the way of traditional enemies, it’s more about the plot delivery and story narration. It’s not a problem, but for a sequel, if players expected anything a bit deeper or more, that’s not what Layers of Fear 2 provides.

Exploring the varied environments as they story hops around players is about the most elaborate element here. Doors becoming walls, lights turning off, visions of the past. There is a lot here to keep a person’s attention. Some of it unique, some of it par for the course for the genre. Offering spooky, creepy, and on occasion, downright terrifying moments peppered throughout the journey. It doesn’t always flow as natural as it could though. Sometimes offering confusing moments of feeling lost, but perhaps not in a good way. There are also quite a few moments of trial and error when the random moments an enemy or danger does appear leading to a loading screen. It becomes more of a way to break the flow of the narrative when dying, versus increasing tension, which I believe is a bit of a mistake when the story and atmosphere are crucial and what’s being focused on. Seeing the loading screen pop up in these moments just takes a player out of the experience abruptly.

While the game play experience seems rather similar in regards to the original, one huge area of improvement is in the visual department. The ship player’s traverse, the style and throwback nod to movies, and the variation in locations do add more color and life to the game giving it quite a bit more personality. I found myself constantly in awe of some of the visuals and interesting tricks on display. Some areas are in black and white. Others have a very musty and old look. Others offer an almost too pristine room, leading my mind to wander and ask, “when is this going to take a turn into the macabre?” This all correlates with the story elements being told and makes sense…eventually. That said, seeing the world transform, with the developers pulling off a certain penchant of scare intensity manifesting, this was definitely the highlight of the game.

Worth a viewing

I managed to finish Layers of Fear 2 in about five hours. It was a moderately paced experience that offered me a new story to reconstruct and figure out. While the first Layers of Fear really threw me for a loop in trying to know what Bloober Team was doing, here it sort of felt like a retread. That’s not to say the core story line is the same, but it felt like all the same tricks were being played once again. This will either please or disappoint folks depending on their viewpoint of the first game and what they want out of a sequel. As far as preference goes, I think the first title provided me with a scarier time. Offering a confusing but more cohesive story, and moments of pure insanity.

Layers of Fear 2 does the same and with more varied areas, but I can’t get over the fact that it feels like a lot of the same ground is repeated here. The first few hours of the game are definitely a slower burn as well. It felt around the halfway mark where things really got more interesting, starting with chapter 3. Even so, I’d recommend any fan of atmospheric games should experience this.

After finishing the game, it sort of ended on a whimper. Much like the start of the game when beginning suddenly, it ended suddenly. I personally feel I wanted a more cohesive story along with more investment in a main character for a sequel to care about and sadly didn’t get it. Instead I felt like I was just going through the motions of a typical haunted house experience, but a really cool one mind you. I hope if we see a Layers of Fear 3, we can see a bit more of a reason to care about someone falling into the depths of insanity.

Overall score: 7.5

Pros:

Visuals/Sound
Atmosphere
Voice acting

Cons:

Pacing
Trial and error moments
Disjointed storyline

Review code provided by the publisher.Walked the halls of insanity for around 5 hours on the PS4 Pro. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Bloober Team Layers of Fear layers of fear 2

Justin Celani

Editor

Home > News

Destiny 2 Xur Today – Location and Items for August 9, 2019

by Alex Co

5:48 pm in News

It’s Friday, and that means Xur is back to peddle his wares in Destiny 2! In Destiny 2 Xur today, the hooded figure is in Nessus next to the Barge.

Check out the Destiny 2 Xur items for sale this August 9, 2019 below.

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.

Location:

Nessus, next to the Barge.

Exotic Gear:

Name	Type	Armor Perk	Perk 1	Perk 2	Cost
The Colony	Heavy Grenade Launcher				29 Legendary Shards
ACD/0 Feedback Fence	Titan Gauntlets	Plasteel Reinforcement Mod – Restorative Mod	Pulse Rifle Loader – Sidearm Loader – Momentum Transfer	Sniper Rifle Scavenger – Machine Gun Scavenger	23 Legendary Shards
Shards of Galanor	Hunter Gauntlets	Mobility Enhancement Mod – Plasteel Reinforcement Mod	Bow Reloader – Enhanced Impact Induction – Enhanced Hand Cannon Loader	Rocket Launcher Scavenger – Sniper Rifle Scavenger	23 Legendary Shards
Chromatic Fire	Warlock Chest Armor	Mobility Enhancement Mod – Restorative Mod	Unflinching Fusion Rifle Aim – Unflinching Hand Cannon Aim – Unflinching Sniper Aim	Bow Reserves – Special Ammo Finder	23 Legendary Shards

Consumables:

Name	Type	Cost
Five of Swords	Challenge Card

Invitations:

Name	Type	Cost
The World	Invitation of the Nine	9 Legendary Shards

Tags: Bungie Destiny Destiny 2

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Battlefield 5 Rush Feedback Sought by DICE

by Alex Co

12:51 pm in News

In case you missed it, DICE brought back the Rush game mode to Battlefield 5 for a limited time. While the game mode is not available right now, that doesn’t mean it’s not coming back in the future. On the contrary, the studio is now seeking Battlefield 5 Rush feedback in order to make the mode more palatable and attractive to gamers.

Check out DICE’s Matt Wagner’s post below (via Reddit):

I’m Kenturrac, the Developer behind the latest Rush changes. Last time we spoke about those in this reddit post and since then, you’ve had 10 days of Rush during Chapter 4 to go hands on with it. Today I hope we can have a conversation on how you felt about the changes that I made!

I have a bunch of data and ideas already, but I would like to hear from you about what was great, but especially what you felt wasn’t. I can imagine there are a few obvious hot topics like:

Rush should be permanent.

Rush should be on more maps.

When the teams where unevenly skilled, games went one sided for the next few matches, unrelated to which side each team was on.

On these three points above, we hear you, and we are exploring and discussing across the team what we can do to address that feedback – but I don’t have anything to share with you on those points here today.

So with the obvious points of feedback out of the way, let’s get into the details of how those Rush adjustments worked out. What was great about Rush this time around? What was bad? What would you like to see changed, or added next time?

The Reddit post/announcement is where you can leave Battlefield 5 Rush feedback, and Wagner has already answered a fair amount of questions and concerns. As someone who played the game mode recently, I think my main concern there is how fast the MCOMs blow up, which meant that the defenders were screwed once a bomb was planted.

If you have any thoughts on Rush and how to make it better in BF5, head on over there and leave a comment.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Borderlands 3 60fps Support on PS4 Pro Confirmed Along With Other Options

by James Lara

10:27 am in News

For those of you who own a PS4 Pro and were hoping to see different types of tech “pro” options in Borderlands 3, you’re in luck as it has been confirmed that Borderlands 360fps (frames per second) support is possible on the PS4 Pro, among other options to suit your needs.

Talking to the PS Blog, Online & Social Product Owner for Borderlands 3, Scott Velasquez took to answering a short Q&A session performed by Playstation.One of the big highlights was that Scott detailed the different graphical modes, which you can read up below.

…players will be able to choose between “favor resolution” and “favor performance” on the PS4 Pro through a new setting called Graphics Preference. When “favor resolution” is selected, we aim for the highest resolution possible, capping framerate at 30 frames per second. In “favor performance” mode, we increase the framerate cap to 60 frames per second and render at 1080P.

And for those who don’t own a 4K TV set, you can still take advantage of the resolution feature as the Pro will supersample the image to make the picture more sharper as explained by Scott.

One interesting note is that when favoring resolution on a TV that only supports 1080p, the game will supersample from the higher resolution using the console’s hardware. Because of this, the 1080p output will look sharper in this mode than it normally would, again thanks to the power of the PS4 Pro.

In addition to the 4K support the game will also feature HDR support that will also work on 1080p sets that support HDR and even 4K sets for users who opt in to using the 1080p, 60fps option instead. From the comments made on the blog, it does sound like we will be able to turn off the HDR if we happen to not like the way it looks.

This news is certainly good, as many titles have been releasing as of late with Pro support, but no options to toggle between any specific mode, meaning we are forced to use whatever set option said specific game is using. This has certainly become an annoyance among Pro owners as some would prefer to take the lower resolution if it meant a boost in performance.

For more on Borderlands 3, make sure to check out the Vault Hunter profile videos and abilities overview right here.

Tags: Borderlands Borderlands 3 Gearbox Software

James Lara

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No Man’s Sky Beyond Launch Trailer Released and It’s Beautiful

by James Lara

12:45 am in News

The No Man’s Sky Beyond launch trailer is finally here, giving us a look at things to come in this free update that’s launching this month!

After shortly receiving its official ESRB rating, No Man’s Sky Beyond will be launching on August 14 on all platform, with VR support coming to PC and PS4. You can watch the launch trailer down below.

As you can see from the trailer, No Man’s Sky Beyond will introduce a number of new features, most notably the introduction of a social space called “Nexus”. Here players will be able to gather up with other fellow travelers and show off all the gear they’ve collected over the course of their journey. Plenty of other new features are fixes will be coming in this update, which Sean Murray, founder of Hello Games has stated they’ll share closer to launch.

We’ll be telling you a little more about some other elements of Beyond very soon.

BEYOND is not only our biggest update to date, but it also feels like our most important. It feels like all the different strands of the game have come together and unified the experience more than any other update before it.

The community has helped us get to this point in so many ways. Your feedback, encouragement and support fuels us and makes us strive for more and better every day.

It is never easy when the standards you set for us and we set ourselves are so ambitious, but the highs certainly outweigh the lows and it is a privilege to be on this rollercoaster with you.

This is another step on our journey and our journey continues.

Much love,

Sean

If you haven’t checked out the game yet, or were one of the many turned off by it when it initially launched we highly recommend you give it another chance as it has changed so much over the year, becoming closer to the original vision that Hello Games had for it.

Tags: Hello Games No Man's Sky No Man's Sky Beyond

James Lara

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Activision Sees Call of Duty as “Best of Both Worlds” in Terms of Live Services and Yearly Releases

by Alex Co

August 8, 2019 11:46 pm in News

With “live services” games like Destiny 2, The Division 2, and to a lesser extent, Rainbow Six Siege, some might be wondering whether Activision has plans to follow suit with its Call of Duty franchise. Well, the short answer is, no. In today’s Q2 2019 earnings call, Activision explained why they’re not stopping with Call of Duty yearly releases.

In the earnings conference call, Michael Ng of Goldman Sachs asked that given Call of Duty might have the potential to sustain over multiple years, is Activision considering not releasing a new Call of Duty game every year.

Michael Ng: Hi, thank you very much for the question. I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Specifically, it seems that with the focus toward Call of Duty titles that might have the potential to sustain over multiple years. We may be going toward a business model that it doesn’t necessarily involve annual releases but instead a few franchises that our perpetual live service gains. Would that be consistent with what’s your vision for the future of Call of Duty, it looks like? Thanks.

Thanks for the question and it’s a good one at that because we’re taking some important steps to grow the franchise overall, and there’s probably a few things I mentioned here. Now obviously Call of Duty mobile, it’s going to be an ongoing live services title. We’re building a huge stream of content and events, keep our players around the globe haven’t fun for the long haul on this one. But if I look overall on the console and PC side, we do still see new launches as a critical part of our future.

These new releases are, have been and continue to be a huge engagement drivers for our community because they bring a robust set of new experiences to our fan. So that said, obviously we want to also build player engagement here over time as well. We’re very committed on this front. You’re going to start seeing that in a few ways, first with modern warfare. – Robert Kostich, President of Activision

If I might just jump on to the question, just to talk more broadly, not just Call of Duty, but also the rest of the franchises in our portfolio, because I think the question is broader really about how we think about live services. And we recognize that the key to player engagement is really great ongoing and frequent content coupled with like core game play features and services that really keep the players engaged.

And you’ve heard that today, the investment that we’re putting against that initiative and the resources we’re bringing to bear and earlier results we’re seeing, I really meant, to think about our franchises as live services. That said, we do see across many of our franchises major upfront launches as a very effective and important way to refresh the franchise, to drive innovation, to reach out to new players, to expand the community and so in the resources there are putting into our franchises.

As you see in the additional investment, we think we can get the best of both worlds. We can get live services an ongoing way and then major upfront launches to really drive innovation and to refresh the franchise and expand the community.- Coddy Johnson, President, Chief Operating Officer

Well, there you have it, folks. Don’t expect Activision to stop pushing out yearly Call of Duty titles anytime soon even if live services games are becoming more and more popular. Then again, given how each release nets the company billions, why would they want to not release a new one every year, no?

For reference, this year’s Call of Duty title is none other than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which will be released this October 25.

Are you surprised at Activision’s answers or not at all? And do you think Call of Duty will still thrive being released annually even if we move to next-gen?

Source: Seeking Alpha (login required)

Tags: Activision Call of Duty

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Post Launch Support Will Be the Largest in Franchise’s History Says Activision

by James Lara

11:16 pm in News

Activision is going all out on this year’s edition of Call of Duty as they have confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare post launch support will be the largest in Activision’s history along with promises of more surprises to come after launch.

During the Q2 2019 earnings call, Activision’s own President of Publishing, Robert Kostich and COO Cody Johnson took to addressing some of the concerns that this year’s Call of Duty had in terms of content, since the company announced at its reveal that it wouldn’t have a traditional Season Pass tied to it. Cody stated during the presentation that fans could expect surprises after the launch of Modern Warfare, along with what they are claiming as their biggest post content support yet for a title.

…as we announced last week we think Modern Warfare delivers the industry’s ultimate multiplayer playground. The game will not only feature the multiplayer game play that our fans know and love, but also note that the game supports 2v2 fightv and an epic large scale experience that will support more than 100 players. The game also delivers the phenomenal built from the ground up PC experience and for the first time in Call of Duty history the game will support cross platform play.

Last week, multiplayer revealed between 36 of the world’s most prolific streamers play against one another under one roof, held the number one spot on the industry’s top gaming platform and the response from fans has been the strongest we’ve seen in years and fans will get the first taste of the action in our multiplayer open beta in September. We have a number of surprises in store after that including the largest post-launch content pipeline in franchise history.

Robert Kostich eventually touched upon this again when asked during the Q&A segment about the the vision for Call of Duty’s future, beginning with Modern Warfare.

We’re going to have cross platform play as Coddy mentioned and we’re also not having a season pass. Now this is important and we’re doing this because we want to build one massive community where everyone can come together and have fun each and every day and to support that community as we go forward.

We’re investing significant resources post launch content events and new ways to play that we think fans are going to really love. So what I’d say is, we’re really looking forward to the launch of Modern Warfare, it is a great game. And we believe it’s the beginning of an incredible journey for our community. Thanks.

They didn’t clarify as to what kind of surprises we may see, though we did publish an article recently covering a large rumor that suggest a free battle royale mode is coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in 2020. That is however just speculation, though we can expect a lot of the free content to come in the form of map packs and Spec Ops missions.

In other news Call of Duty news, we’ve recently posted what some of the animated emblems will be like in the game, which you can see right here.

Do you believe in Activision’s promises for Modern Warfare post-launch support or will this be similar to Black Ops 4? Sound off in the comments below.

Source: Seeking Alpha (login required)

Tags: Activision Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward

James Lara

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Rumor: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Battle Royale Release Date Set for 2020, Will Be a Free Separate Game

by Alex Co

10:08 pm in News

Just last month, we posted that according to a rumor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will have a battle royale mode. Well, it seems this Modern Warfare battle royale mode rumor won’t die down, according to a new report, the Modern Warfare battle royale mode won’t be out until sometime in 2020!

Yes, you read that right. Modern Warfare’s battle royale mode will allegedly be released sometime in 2020, while the game itself will be out this October 25. According to the new rumor, the Modern Warfare BR mode will be free, and will be a separate from the base game, which explains the different release date. This was mentioned by YouTuber LongSensation over on Twitter, where he also leaked that this year’s game will simply be called “Modern Warfare.”

https://twitter.com/LongSensationYT/status/1159067410344882176

He also adds that the likely intro will mention Raven Software’s involvement.

https://twitter.com/LongSensationYT/status/1159067541018435584

YouTuber TheGamingRevolution — who has leaked accurate info for Modern Warfare — also chimed in about the battle royale mode release date.

https://twitter.com/TheGamingRevoYT/status/1159099872890503169

Mind, these are all rumors and as such, treat them with a grain of salt, though the rumors these two have leaked have been legit. If it’s true, then this means we won’t see a Modern Warfare battle royale mode this year, but having said that, if it’ll be free, that should be alright, no? Imagine a free-to-play Call of Duty battle royale that offered cross-platform play? Yeah, I can already see doing very, very well.

Are you OK with this or do you want battle royale to be available on the same day as the game’s launch?

More Modern Warfare Reading:

Tags: Call of Duty Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Destiny 2 Steam Move and Cross Save Detailed

by James Lara

8:10 pm in News

In case you missed the news, Destiny 2 is making its PC move from Activision’s Battle.net over to Steam when the Shadowkeep expansion releases this year, and Bungie has revealed more details surrounding Destiny 2 cross save and its move to Steam’s platform.

Over at Bungie’s weekly blog update, the studio has outlined new details surrounding this move and has even published a short video explaining it along with the needed resource to do so. In addition, they have also outlined the details around cross-save for those that plan on playing Destiny 2 on multiple devices this fall.

You can find the details on how you can transfer your copy of Destiny 2 from Battle.net to steam below along with the information pertaining to cross save. Due note that the PC move feature won’t be live until August 20, with the cross save feature going live the day after (August 21st).

www.bungie.net/pcmove

“This is a resource for players who have been playing Destiny 2 on PC and will be moving with us to our new home on Steam. In keeping with the announcement from last week about our new launch window, Destiny 2 will arrive on Steam for the first time on October 1. Before that happens, on August 20, you’ll be invited to begin the process of linking your PC player accounts for a smooth transition of your Guardians and all your game purchases.”

www.bungie.net/crosssave

This is a resource for players who know they’ll be playing Destiny 2 in more than one place this Fall. Cross Save will finally let us unify our adventures across many platforms. The launch of Cross Save is planned for August 21. Before that happens, check out the new information we’re serving up about how it will work and what you’ll be able to bring with you. If you’ve been nurturing Guardians on more than one account, you’ll have some choices to make.

hDestiny 2 will officially be available on Steam October 1, which is the newly announced release date for Shadowkeep. For those playing Destiny 2, don’t forget to check out the Weekly Reset for the latest round of activities.

Tags: Bungie Destiny 2 Destiny 2: New Light Destiny 2: Shadow Keep

James Lara

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 August 8 Update – Here Are the Changes for This Server Patch

by Alex Co

7:38 pm in News

While Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 got a hefty patch that introduced new content a few days ago, Treyarch has now rolled out a Black Ops 4 August 8 update on the server-side, and it fixes a few things and more.

Before we dive into the patch notes, there is a nagging issue that players might be experiencing.

We’re currently tracking an unintended issue causing exaggerated sliding since Tuesday’s update, and are currently investigating a fix.

Also, PS4 Zombies players still experiencing prompts to re-download “Dead of the Night” and “Ancient Evil” should be on the lookout for the latest versions of the maps with the following file sizes:

5.264 GB for Dead of the Night

4.479 GB for Ancient Evil

If you’re still experiencing this issue, please be sure to finish your current downloads, then restart the game to begin downloading the newly-packaged maps. If you see the file sizes above, these are the latest files – finish your download and the process will be complete.

If you don’t see the file sizes above with your next download, the update is likely still in the process of rolling out in your region. Our partners at PlayStation are working to resolve this as quickly as possible.

PS4:

BLACKOUT

Pandemic
- Gameplay
  - Infected players can now break doors.
  - Melee attacks as an infected player will no longer break sprint.
  - The last survivor that dies in the endgame will no longer receive a “Defeat” screen.
  - Improved 3rd-person spawn camera for infected players.
- UI
  - Addressed an issue that sometimes led to zombies spawning with access to their Quick Equip menu.
- Stability
  - Multiple stability improvements.

ZOMBIES

Weapons
- M16
  - Diamond Camo will now unlock properly on the M16.
- Locus
  - Recon scope on the Locus will no longer lose functionality when Pack-a-Punched.
Gauntlets
- “Duck and Cover”
  - Addressed an issue that prevented zombies from dying to the Burned Out Elixir.
  - Closed an exploit related to Jolting Jacks.
UI
- Added missing Mastercraft icons in the Armory.

MULTIPLAYER

Weapons
- Havelina AA50
  - Addressed an issue that could sometimes prevent the Havelina AA50 from reloading the full magazine.

PS4 and Xbox One:

MULTIPLAYER

Weapons
- Rampart 17
  - Removed a white square that sometimes appeared on the Rampart 17 equipped with the Reflex optic.
- UI
  - Addressed an issue that sometimes caused Spectre’s Operator outfit to disappear in the menu.

GLOBAL

Paintjobs
- Restored previously created Paintjobs that appeared missing due to a visual bug.
Warpaints
- Added missing Warpaints for Battery, Ajax, and Torque.

If we get a new patch sorted out for the PS4 downloading issue, we’ll let our readers know ASAP.

Source: Reddit

Tags: Call of Duty Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Treyarch

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Activision Says “Stay Tuned” for Future Announcements on Remasters

by James Lara

5:40 pm in News

Are you one of the many fans that enjoyed the recent remasters by Activision, such as Spyro and/or Crash Bandicoot? Well, there’s some good news coming your way, as the publisher has commented on the possibility of seeing more Activision remasters!

In a Q&A session that Activision held at the end of their 2nd Quarter financial earnings call, representatives from the company were asked a variety of questions concerning the companies future. One of these questions happened to be about the possibility of seeing more remasters, given the recent success that Activision has had with both the Crash and Spyro franchises. Activision’s Publishing President Rob Kostich responded with the following.

The player response has been fantastic. When you look at Crash Insane Trilogy, that has sold through over 10 million copies, so they’re obviously having a big impact on our bottom line. I say whats really important is reaffirming the enduring nature of these franchises, when we look at our IP library we think there’s a lot of IP’s in there that fans are gonna want to experience again. To that one I say stay tuned for future announcements.

The latest remaster from Activision — Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled — has garnered praise so far for staying to its roots, but yet offering something gamers of today will like.

Given this statement, the possibility of seeing a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remaster seems highly likely, though Infinity Ward themselves seems to be re-doing the franchise in their own way.

Tags: Activision

James Lara

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Anthem Cataclysm Secrets Map Marks Where You Need to Go

by Alex Co

4:45 pm in News

In this week’s big Anthem update, BioWare introduced the Cataclysm event to the freelancers playing the game that’s most likely starved for new content. If you’re checking the Cataclysm out, and a bit lost on where to go next, perhaps this Anthem Cataclysm secrets map will do the trick.

Thanks to Reddit user xJVlayhem who created this awesome Anthem Cataclysm secrets map (and even sent us one that we can use for this post), you’ll be able to find new events, enemies and more, marked!

If a lot of the stuff there doesn’t make sense to you, or you started Cataclysm and have no clue what Inversions, crystals and the like are, head on over to this Cataclysm breakdown and walkthrough by xJVlayhem to help you with your trek through the storm.

How are you liking the Cataclysm so far? Impressed by it or underwhelmed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tags: Anthem Bioware

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.