The latest Arma 3 expansion pack has been announced by the developers at Bohemia Interactive. The First Contact expansion is scheduled for release on July 25, 2019 and will focus on a sci-fi campaign with extraterrestrial intelligence. This expansion will bring a new sandbox terrain, factions, weapons, vehicles, gear, and more.
The Arma 3 expansion “First Contact” story campaign is a single-player experience in which players will assume the role of NATO drone operator Aiden Rudwell, who is deployed to Eastern Europe as part of a military training exercise. He’s being sent to investigate a massive alien vessel that has suddenly entered the Earth atmosphere.
Something more important to note is that this campaign will focus more on non-shooting gameplay. This involves operating a mini UGV sampling laser and CBRN defense equipment to study strange alien anomalies, as well as controlling the electromagnetic spectrum with the aptly named Spectrum Device. The campaign will be centered on electronic warfare and reconnaissance rather than on straight up gunfights.
Of course, this Arma 3 expansion will also bring multiple additions to the game. One highlight is the massive new 163 km2 terrain set in the fictional Polish-speaking country of Livonia. This new location will also bring its own defense force and also bring the Russian Spetsnaz. Additionally, the expansion pack offers 5 new weapons, 2 new vehicles, extra gear, and much more.
There also will be a new collector’s edition for those interested in acquiring Arma 3. The Arma 3 Contact Edition bundles the base game (Deluxe Edition) and the Contact Expansion. Not only that, but the package also includes a rugged field case, topographic map, two-way radio transceivers, tin foil hats, and more.
The Arma 3 Contact expansion will be distributed as DLC for Steam. Players can pre-purchase the expansion right now for $27.99 USD. Those who pre-order the game will have Sneak Preview Access to the Livonia sandbox map as of today.
The Arma 3 expansion also brings a new trailer for players to watch, you can watch the trailer below:
Arma 3 is now available for PC on Steam. The game is available at a price of $29.99 USD. The game has received multiple expansions since release and Contact will most likely not be the last.
If you’re expecting a new PS5 VR headset to be available at launch, don’t. In fact, there won’t be a new PlayStation 5 VR headset until later during the lifecycle of the console. “There’s no reason for us to coincide it with a new console.” Said PlayStation R&D Global Head Dominic Mallinson to CNET. “From the point of view of the consumer, to be bombarded with many many things is a message that we don’t want to send.”
However, that wasn’t everything outlined in the current plans for the console. The latest PS5 VR plans have outlined the possibility of new controllers. “We knew if we went back into the R&D labs and we did something brand-new, we could have created something better than PlayStation Move, but it would have cost more,” Mallinson says. “We do recognize that does need to be evolved, and in the future we will obviously replace it.”
PlayStation also plans on adding support for eye tracking features for the PlayStation 5 VR. Especially because it’s still considered an untapped market even now. “That’s the one that excites me the most… I think there will come a point in time in the not too distant future when you cannot launch a VR headset without eye tracking.” Said Mallinson.
Finally, Mallinson stated that Mixed Reality could become a possibility in the latest PS5 VR efforts. “If you are more interested in mixed reality for gaming applications, then I actually think video see through is more compelling and a lot less complicated.” According to Mallinson, we might have new AR experiences in the near future.
The PlayStation 5 VR will also be backwards compatible with the current PSVR headset. Not only that, but apparently there will be a wireless attachment for the headset coming soon. There are still many things we don’t know about the future of VR. However, what we do know is that the PSVR wants to be at the forefront of innovations for the concept.
Just yesterday, we posted a story leaking the existence of some of the upcoming weapons that DICE will eventually release in Battlefield 5. Today, we’re taking it a step further. Thanks to another round of datamined info, we have the Battlefield 5 upcoming weapons stats and lots more!
Thanks once again to reliable dataminer temporyal, below are some of the Battlefield 5 upcoming weapons stats, 5v5 map names and more! Note that the weapons below are marked for the 5v5 competitive mode, though the chances of the stats being the same in standard multiplayer is quite high.
M2 Carbine
Assault Rifle
“The M2 Carbine was the select-fire variation of the iconic M1A1 Carbine. US troops loved it due to its firepower, light weight, and small size.” (Ingame)
General:
Fire Modes: Single & Auto
Rate of Fire: 830
Muzzle Velocity: 610 (690 with Fast Bullets Spec)
Magazine Capacity: 31
Max No. of Magazines: 4
Reload: 2 (1+ bullet left) / 3.05 (empty)
Damage:
0m – 11m: 21 dmg
12m – 50m: 20 dmg – 17.5 dmg
50m+: 17.5 dmg
Specializations:
Quick Deploy or Quick ADS
Improved Hipfire or Reduced Horizontal Recoil
Mag Dump Hipfire or Improved ADS while Moving
Fast Bullets or Fast Move while ADS
Breda M1935 PG
Assault Rifle
“The first burst assault rifle of the era. Fires an accurate and deadly 4-round burst.” (Ingame)
General:
Fire Modes: Single & Burst (4 Bullets per Burst)
Rate of Fire: 599.9 (720 with Rate of Fire Boost Spec)
Bursts per Minute: 128 (150 with Rate of Fire Boost Spec)
Muzzle Velocity: 700
Magazine Capacity: 20
Max No. of Magazines: 4
Reload: 2.3 (1+ bullet left) / 3.5 (empty)
Damage:
0m – 35m: 30 dmg
35m – 50m: 30 dmg – 27.78 dmg
50m+: 25 dmg
Specializations:
Quick Deploy or Quick ADS
Rate of Fire Boost or Quick Cycle
Fast Move while ADS or Reduced Horizontal Recoil
Improved ADS while Moving or Improved ADS while Stationary
Model 37
Shotgun
“Tactical shotgun. Alt-fire loads a single slug round in the chamber infront of the normal buckshot rounds.” (Ingame)
General:
Rate of Fire: 163
Muzzle Velocity: 333
Magazine Capacity: 5 (7 with Extended Mag Spec)
Max No. of Magazines: 7 (5 with Extened Mag Spec)
Reload: 0.67
Specializations:
Quick Reload or Quick ADS
Heavy Load or Slugs
Improved Penetration or Increased Headshot Damage
Extended Magazine or Improved Trigger
S&W Model 27 (short and long variant available)
Sidearm
“Powerful ammunition and a longer barrel allows the Model 27 to hit harder at longer range than other pistols.” (Ingame)
The following 5v5 class descriptions and perks were updated. Click here if you want to read about all of them.
Saboteur
“Tactical explosives specialist that operates in Close Quarters to clear enemy fortifications.”
Slug Shot: Load a single slug shell into the chamber to fire a precise shot.
Shock Trooper (previously named “Shock Assault”)
“Close quarters expert that breaches doors and denies territory with a Flame Pistol.”
Invigorate: Downed enemies instantly restore 30% of your health.
When It Counts: Reload 50% faster when below 50% health.
R.M.C Control Captain
“Directs the attack with a sharp eye for the enemy, a precise shot, and a resourcefulness to acquire a battefield advantage.”
Sixth Sense: Alerts you 3 seconds after you have been detected by an enemy. Can only alert you once every 20 seconds.
Captain’s Scope: Enables marking priority targets with the spotting scope.
Raid Leader
“Orchestrates aggressve attacks to quickly neutralize the enemy, while boasting a tactical Bazooka.”
Blinding Light: Flare gun impact will emit a blinding bright light and spot enemies in the area.
357 Magnum: An accurate, powerful, and quick to draw side-arm.
Location Reveal for the two 5v5 maps:
LOFOTEN ISLANDS
Norway
“Operation Claymore was a British commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands during the Second World War. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and glycerine, used in the German war economy. Through naval gunfire and demolition parties, 18,000 tons of shipping were sunk. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the raid was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an Enigma machine and its code books from the German armed trawler Krebs.” (Wikipedia)
AL MARJ ENCAMPMENT
Libya
“Marj grew around a Turkish fort built in 1842 and now restored. During the colonial dominance of Libya (1913–41), the town was called Barce and was developed as an administrative and market centre and hill resort. During the World War II North African campaign, the 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery won a battle for the region of Barce on 5 February 1941. The regiment commemorates this battle by naming the facilities at its base at Enoggera as Barce Lines. From 1942–1943, the town was the capital of British-occupied Cyrenaica.” (Wikipedia)
No word on when we’ll get these new content, but if I had to guess, it’d be with the start of a new Tides of War chapter or something tied to it.
Remember DayZ? The survival video game is finally making its way to the PS4! Over on the PlayStation Blog, Sony laid out the upcoming PlayStation releases for this coming week, and tucked away there is the DayZ PS4 release date, which is set for May 29, 2019!
Following a five-year Early Access period, DayZ officially was released in December 2018 for PC, with the Xbox One getting it this March 27. Finally, PS4 owners will get to see what all the fuss is about. Here’s the blurb that came along with the announcement along with a gameplay trailer that was released when the Xbox One version was made available:
The post-soviet country of Chernarus is struck by an unknown virus, turning the majority population into frenzied infected. Fighting over resources has bred a hostile mentality among survivors, driving what’s left of humanity to collapse. You are one of the few immune to the virus — how far will you go to survive?
DayZ is priced at $39.99 on PC, while it’s at $49.99 on Xbox One (digital edition), which the PS4 version will most likely be priced at as wel.
Those who’ve been playing the PC version, is it worth it to for PS4 to take the plunge? Or is the gameplay outdated compared to titles on the platform?
Regardless if you’re a fan of Anthem or not, it’s hard to deny how much BioWare — and in turn, EA — managed to mess everything up when it comes to Anthem. There are gameplay changes no one wanted, not listening to the community and more.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on Anthem news, you might have remember how BioWare issued an update from the development team regarding Anthem. Unfortunately, that doesn’t account much, as it has now been 30 days since that message, and it’s now been 30 days since the official Anthem account even tweeted! Yes, that’s not a joke. There has been no new content, no communication of any kind from BioWare regarding their game in a month!
Yes, that retweet from the account regarding maintenance for the game is the last time BioWare or even anyone from EA has communicated with anyone regarding Anthem — a game that was released just in February 22, 2019!
If that wasn’t enough, it’s now been one month since the last Anthem content update as well. Over on the Anthem subreddit, user DeltaIn3D made a post about this, and even pointed out how is “favorite moment” since the last update is how the content in the Act 1 roadmap has not been acknowledged by BioWare, and that we’re a week away from the Act 2 roadmap, which I highly doubt is happening given BioWare’s silence on the matter.
What makes this even funnier is how the Anthem’s Community Manager promised — yes, a month ago as well — how they were going to communicate better with the Anthem player base, which obviously has not happened.
What’s worrying here is, Anthem is a live services, looter shooter, and one that thrives with player feedback, and crafting future experiences with the player’s needs and wants in mind. How on earth will the studio do that by Remaining silent is beyond me.
With this past week’s Battlefield 5 patch, not only did DICE roll out a bunch of gameplay fixes and tweaks, the studio has also added in new dogtag challenges as well, though some of these challenges can’t be completed yet, as they’re for Battlefield 5 upcoming weapons set to be released at some point in the future.
Reddit user Jezzea managed to take a quick video of everything, which you can watch below (used with permission):
The Battlefield 5 upcoming weapons listed in the dogtag challenges are:
MAB 38 Master
S2-200M Sharpshooter
Karabin 1938M Sharpshooter
Lanchester Sharpshooter
Patchett Sharpshooter
Madsen MG Sharpshooter
There’s no specific word on when these new Battlefield 5 weapons will be available, but chances are, they’ll be part of the rewards for the weekly challenges.
In other Battlefield 5 leaks, go check out the minimap for the upcoming Mercury map as well as an early look at the two new Elite soldier skins right here.
Despite the Epic Game Store’s scandalous exclusivity deals. The Steam Store continues to get some magnificent games from multiple companies. The development team at Valve wants customers to be aware of this. As such, they have started to rank their Top games sold on the platform. With this in mind, let’s look at the Steam Top Games April 2019 list.
It’s important to note that this list includes only games that were released during April 2019. Additionally, this list includes games that sold the most on the platform during that month. There are many games that have found their way into the list like the Ace Attorney Trilogy, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, and Imperator: Rome, among other games.
Without further ado, let’s look at the Steam Top Games April 2019 list:
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (April 1)
Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission (April 4)
Islanders (April 4)
Marz: Tactical Base Defense (April 4)
Supraland (April 5)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (April 9)
Vacation Simulator (April 9)
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (April 10)
Pathway (April 11)
Weedcraft Inc. (April 11)
Staxel (April 11)
One Finger Death Punch 2 (April 15)
Forager (April 18)
Pagan Online (April 18)
Katana ZERO (April 18)
Driftland: The Magic Revival (April 18)
Paper Dolls Original (April 18)
Mortal Kombat 11 (April 23)
Imperator: Rome (April 25)
MORDHAU (April 29)
Valve explained the criteria behind the list of this month: “To generate this list, we started by enumerating all the games released between April 1 and April 30. We then looked at revenue earned by each of those games in the first two weeks following that game’s release” said Valve in their blog.
“We are continually fascinated by the number of amazing games coming out on Steam each month and how much variety there is in what becomes popular. In any given month, the most popular new releases represent a wide variety of styles, genres, and themes.”
May is rapidly coming to a close. As such, we can only wonder what the top picks for that month will be. However, fans are concerned about the games that are leaving the platform for the sake of its competition. In fact, there is a huge concern about the current status of Rocket League after the Epic Games Store acquisition.
Those playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Treyarch initiated a server-side Black Ops 4 update today, and it introduces the Nuketown playlist once more, enables quad feed XP for all modes, and lots more!
Check out the complete list of changes in the Black Ops 4 update today, below (via Reddit).
All Platforms:
GLOBAL
Quad Feed (May 24-28)
2XP in Multiplayer, League Play, and Zombies
2X Weapon XP in Multiplayer, League Play, and Zombies
2X Nebulium Plasma in Zombies
2X Merits in Blackout
Black Ops Pass Bonus
2X Tiers for Black Ops Pass owners and their party members continues through May 28
MULTIPLAYER
Featured Playlists (May 24-28)
PS4/Xbox One
Nuketown
Prop Hunt
Barebones Deathmatch Moshpit
Infected
Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit
PC
Nuketown
Prop Hunt
Barebones Deathmatch Moshpit
Maps
Arsenal Sandstorm
Reduced chances of Arsenal Sandstorm appearing in map rotation based on map voting data and player feedback.
BLACKOUT
Featured Playlists (May 21-28)
PS4/Xbox One
Hot Pursuit
Alcatraz
Solo
Duos
Quads
PC
Hot Pursuit
Alcatraz
Solo
In other Call of Duty news, it seems this year’s Call of Duty will be a soft reboot of Modern Warfare, and will simply be called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. In addition to that, a new report has surfaced recently that Treyarch will be in the driver’s seat for Call of Duty 2020 and here’s why.
(Opinions offered here are solely that of the author’s and does not represent the entirety of MP1st).
Five years ago, EA Access launched for the Xbox and PC platforms, giving players a large library of “free” games as long as they stayed subscribed, with additional perks such as game trials and discounts. However, one major platform, the PlayStation 4 was missing from the list of supported devices, which was later explained in a statement by Sony saying that the service didn’t represent itself as a “good value” for PlayStation owners. And now here we are with the service launching in a couple of months, the question still begs to be answered: Does EA access offer a good value for the PlayStation consumer?
The information researched and listed below is by no means to state whether the service is indeed a good value or not. It is information strictly for your own judgment and to decide whether or not it’s worth it for yourself. We’d like to try to be as thoroughly as possible here by showing you what is given, and tying a price value to it.
The data below is comparing known information of the service on the Xbox to what the PS4 version may be. While from a price standpoint both may seem to be offering the same value, this is in reality is not true due to the fact that Xbox One offers backward capabilities of older titles.
This table is reflection to the current content that is available. Do mind that categories with a “*” are more so estimated as the integers vary from title to title and in our model was limited (hours) to a designated value (Ea Trial Amount).
Looking at the info in this chart, we can determine that the Xbox One version of EA access does indeed offer more “bang for you buck” mostly due to the inclusion of backward compatibility. Otherwise when comparing the services by the same amount of content, in which case this console generation-only titles, the Xbox One only has one additional title it being EA’s Titanfall 1 since it’s the only console-exclusive game from EA. You would essentially be paying the exact amount for the same amount of content if we excluded Titanfall 1 from the equation altogether.
You can get a full breakdown of the information found in the chart below.
Xbox Model:
Yearly Cost/Monthly Cost: $30 a year at roughly $2.50 a month or $5 for the monthly subscription at $60 for a full 12 months if you stick to a month to month subscription.
Month to Month allows you to cancel anytime although the pricing of it would equate to a full year after paying for the equivalent of six months(6×5=30). The only major benefit is that it allows you to sign-up whenever you want and cancel whenever you want.
Amount Of Games: As of writing this today (May 2019), there are 71 titles available on EA access for the Xbox One console as listed below. Twenty-nine (29) of those titles are available via backwards compatible and one being console exclusive (Titanfall). You can find a list of them below, along with their current Metacritic and estimated time to beat (Not 100%) noted in the parenthesis. The data for each title were grabbed from Metacritics and HowLongToBeat. While the information from these two sites are subjective, it does give us a baseline number that many can almost agree on. The reason users reviews weren’t used here as they tend to take any kind of review into account, skewing numbers due to potential review bombing for said title.
Additional Note: Sports games and online-only titles all vary and all have been well reported over 20 hours to even upwards in the thousands. For the sake keeping the numbers somewhat consistent, we will keep sports titles at a minimum of 10 hours due to EA trial timer for new titles (most are well in the hundreds by the reported numbers).
Total: 71 Games
The Average Rating For Title Is 77 out of 100
Average Amount of Hours Per Title: 10 1/2 Hours
Army of two (Backwards Compatible) (72) (6.5 Hours)
Simple math equation to determine this is taking the cost of the service, dividing it by the total amount of titles available (subject to change as new titles are added over time).
$30/71 = roughly .42 cents per title under the yearly plan.
Average Hours Per Game
Estimate: Because every game is different, especially sports game and online games potentially racking up in the hundreds of hours, we took what was reported for single-player games and made every sport title at a max of 10 hours (per EA trial service). Taking this into account, this was our result.
(Total Hours)/(Total Amount of Titles)= (Average Hour Per Title)
753/71= Roughly 10 1/2 Hours Spent Per Game.
Now, of course this isn’t true for every title, as some can be beaten in less than a few hours, but it gives us a ball park estimate in what you are getting for your money’s worth in playable hours. And depending on how big of a sport fanatic you may be that number could be drastically different due to the potential hundreds, even thousands of hours you may get from a sport title.
Cost per hour
Equation: Cost/Total Hours
$30/753 Hours = Roughly .04 Cents per Hour for the yearly cost
What Kind of Quality Are You Paying For?
If you want to judge the service as a whole in terms of quality a game generally is, then in this case we take the average score (Metacritic’s) of every game to a whole sum and then divide it by our total amount of titles.
5486 / 71 = 77 (rounded to the nearest whole number)
This number tells us that on average, we can predict that a majority of EA Access titles will fall around that in terms of reviews based on Metacritic numbers. However, this does not account for some of the non-listed scores out there. So all data here is subjected to change like the rest, but once again it gives us a good look based on some general numbers.
PlayStation Model:
Yearly Cost/Monthly Cost: $30 a year, at roughly $2.50 a month or $5 for the monthly subscription. Essentially the same cost as it’s XBOX counterpart.
The Big PlayStation Issue
While the cost above definitely appears to be well worth the value, there is one major thing we need to take into consideration for EA Access on the PS4. As it stands, the console lacks PS3 emulation besides from using another paid service such as PS NOW. This takes out a whole lot of titles that are currently on EA Access and playable on Xbox due to backwards capability. There’s no word on how this will be handled, whether that means Sony potentially solving some sort of emulation nativity on the PS4 to play PS3 games or offering free (or discounted) PS Now streaming for EA titles. For now, this does indeed undercut the value of the subscription as we have broken down below.
(The data below will be updated if an alternative is announced to accommodate for the lack of titles)
Amount Of Games: Estimate Based On Today’s Available List – 41
From the list of games available on the Xbox One version of EA Access, we can determine which games will be potentially debuting on the PS4 side of the service. Removing all the backward compatible games (29), and exclusive (Titanfall 1) the previous list of 71 available games, drop down to a total of 41, or to put it into another perspective that’s 42% less titles being received for the same price.
We should to point out that come July’s launch date more titles will be added to the service. We Know A Way Out, FIFA 19 Battlefield V are launching on the service as suggested by one of our earlier findings. These will most likely be added to the Xbox One service as well.
Cost Per Game By Subscription
$30/41= $0.73 Per Title
Average Hours Per Game
Because of the lack of many other titles, the average hour is increased due to the decrease in titles.
461.5/41= 11.25 hours
Cost per hour
$30/461.5= 0.06
What Kind of Quality Are You Paying For?
Because the PS4 lineup would naturally have fewer titles, its overall average scores will differ. Although this isn’t by much, and should be more so be an indicator of the quality behind EA’s title in general.
3206.5/41 = 78 For Average Rating
How Frequently Are Games Added?
When the service originally launched back in August 2014, the list of titles available in its vault were just at a paltry amount of four. At the time, the service didn’t have a whole lot going on for it in terms of getting players to jump in, but since then, that number has grown. Unfortunately titles don’t get dropped on a regular basis like services similar to it like PS+ or Game Pass. The only titles that are frequently dropped more often are the annual sport titles such as Madden and FIFA, and even then that’s usually after several months from their release. Even more so surprisingly is that Origin Access (essentially the PC version) gets far more frequent title updates, a monthly basis in fact. The one major deal with EA Access though is that titles don’t rotate out for one another like PS+ and Game Pass do. So if you are ever afraid of potentially missing out on a title, every game available on it will forever be available on it.
Regardless, with 71 titles available on the Xbox One version we can go off the basis that at least one game is added for every month in the last 5 years (60 months), with 11 of those months receiving two titles rather than one. This likely isn’t going to change anytime soon as the service isn’t meant to provide titles as they hit the market. And again, this “one game a month” statement isn’t meant to be taken literal just more so what the numbers mean when taking its life to date data.
One example of backing this would be FIFA 19, A Way Out, and Battlefield V launching several months after their initial release with many months in-between not receiving a single new title for the service.
Other Perks
10 Hour Early Trial Period With 10% Purchasing Discount
In addition to the games found in the fault, subscribers are also given early access to new games such as Anthem, Battlefield and more, and up to 10 hours of accumulated gameplay before being locked out. And if you didn’t happen to already pre-order or plan on buying you get a 10% off the purchase of said title.
While many do view it more or less as a paid demo, keep in mind that demo’s don’t typically offer that amount of time in gameplay. However a vast amount of that time will most likely be put towards a title’s multiplayer, as the service has been known to restrict single-player to a certain point, well before you reach 10 hours. Battlefield V being a good example where early players could only play up till the end of Chapter 2 for the campaign, and the rest being out towards the multiplayer. It wouldn’t make sense from a business side to give the game away practically for free if you can beat it in less than 10 hours. Although looking at the data we calculated you can understand why EA didnt go the route of allowing you to play a title from start to finish when the time on average are about 10 ours a piece for campaign.
Is There Value In The Subscription Knowing This Information?
The answer to this question is entirely up to you. Looking at the numbers, its’ clear that the Xbox One version of EA Access has a lot more value going for it in terms of available content. I own the service on Xbox, and it is pretty nice being able to go back to play some of these older titles. I’m not a heavy sport guy though and that makes up a good chunk of the service alone. And even if I was a huge sport guy I don’t see much of a reason to go back to play any iteration of X sport franchise when the latest or newer one is available.
For me personally, you sacrifice being able to play the games when they’re new and having them sit in a backlog filled with plenty of other games. I would say getting a game at launch would have its perks since that’s when servers are typically filled, but EA titles never really struggle with this issue besides maybe Anthem. Although the additional 10% off and 10-hour trial before you buy perks are really nice, especially when games lack demos nowadays it helps you decide whether you should wait or not.
Alternatively you could buy all these games used after months of release but looking at a used copy of Battlefield V at Gamestop will set you back a large chunk of change, $50 or if your a smart shopper you could have picked it up from one of the several EA sales over the past months for far cheaper. If say you were to buy it today (May 2019), under the best circumstances you may be able to find it somehow at $20. That isn’t a bad deal at all for something you may buy physically and in the end, own. But at a dollar value, EA Access isn’t looking as a bad offer for either subscription options ($5, $30) regardless of which platform you buy. Just choose wisely because its a separate subscription for each platform meaning if you have it on Xbox One or PS4 then you’ll have to buy it on the other platform if you wanted it there also.
Many don’t like EA due to some of their questionable practices over the last decade. In which case, you may have already made up you’re mind solely based on their history.
Knowing this information, do you feel there isn’t value in the service? Let us know in the comments below or take our poll.
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.
The video game industry might just be the victim of the “tariff war” between the United States and China. The two nations have been involved for quite some time in intense trade negotiations. Both sides have attempted to get the upper hand by raising tariffs on the other, and the situation is still escalating. As such, the video game industry would definitely take a hit at some point.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has published the list of new tax proposals for the importation of the products in the American territory, prepared by the Trump administration. The list reveals something that might negatively impact the gaming industry as a whole: A 25% tax on video game consoles.
The reason behind this tax happens when you look at the places where consoles are manufactured from: China. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all manufacture many of their products in Chinese plants. If these new tariffs pass, all of those parts will be hit with a 25% import tax. This comes as a steep increase to the current 10% tax.
In other words, gamers will find Console gaming more expensive than ever before. In other words, console prices will rise. The Entertainment Software Association has intervened expressing its disapproval against the proposed measure. “The games industry has a trade surplus for the american economy. The tariffs hurt the american economy, its industries and its consumers,” writes the ESA in its press release.
What’s most alarming about the new tariff proposition is that the plans may be made official next month. The beginning of the public hearings is scheduled for the 17th of June, immediately after the conclusion of the E3 2019. Depending on the outcome of the debate, we could see this tax being put in place as early as June 24. What could this mean for the PS5 and the next Xbox? Only time will tell.
With yesterday’s latest Battlefield 5 patch rolled out, fans (and loyal MP1st readers) will know that this means another batch of new stuff leaked via the datamined files! Dependable Battlefield 5 dataminer temporyal has unearthed a bunch of new stuff.
First up, you can check out a leaked shot of the Battlefield 5 Mercury minimap of the upcoming map:
Battlefield 5 Mercury Minimap:
Additionally, the next two Battlefield 5 Elite soldier skins have been revealed as well.
Battlefield 5 Elite Soldier: Wilhelm Franke
Battlefield 5 Elite Soldier: Hanna Delacroix
Speaking of skins, Battlefield 5 gamers are in an uproar since DICE has pulled the Pit Crew skin from being obtainable via in-game currency, to only being obtainable by microtransactions.
Stay tuned to MP1st for more datamined Battlefield 5 info.
With rumors floating for months now that Call of Duty 2019 will be another entry in the Modern Warfare saga, people were quick to jump to the conclusion that it will indeed be called “Modern Warfare 4,” given the last entry in the franchise was titled Modern Warfare 3.
Apparently, Activision is dropping the numerical sequencing, and is instead going with “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.” Yep, that’s it. Given how the first Modern Warfare game was titled Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, maybe Activision doesn’t want to confuse gamers? Then again, I don’t see how they’d get confused.
Apparently, this new Modern Warfare game will be a “soft reboot” of the first game, and it’ll go heavy on emotional moments like that infamous “No Russian” mission in Modern Warfare 2.
This new report on the game has been leaked by YouTuber LongSensation, which was then verified by Kotaku. It’s worth mentioning that a bunch of press people and influencers have visited Activision HQ to get some face time with this year’s Call of Duty game.
According to Eurogamer, the official reveal of the game will happen on May 30th, next week.
The DC Universe Online is going to come to the Nintendo Switch! You’ve read correctly, Nintendo Switch players will have the chance to join in the fun with Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC players. There has been no full release date established as of yet. However, the developers have promised that DC Universe Online for the Nintendo Switch will come later this year.
DC Universe Online was originally released in 2011 on PC and PlayStation 3. Later, the game was updated to appear on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Thanks to the game’s multiple expansions, players will actually find a gigantic MMO with tons of content. Daybreak Games will now bring this game to the Nintendo Switch for people to enjoy on the go.
For those unaware, DC Universe Online allows players to make an original character that interacts with the heroes and villains in the DC Universe. The game’s story has been actively expanded through game updates and seasonal events. Additionally, this will mark the very first time the game is released for a Nintendo system.
CBR had the chance to interview the creative director and the executive producer of DC Universe Online. “Bringing the game to the Switch was something that’s very close to my heart.” Said Leah Bowers, the Executive Producer. “Nintendo was the first console I really connected with; and yet, I associated the brand with first party or platform games. But when the switch came out, it blew my mind and highlighted the possibilities that were there.”
SJ Mueller, the game’s creative director, also stated that the game’s success wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for a very important asset: The fan community. “Listening to the community about how to improve the experience – as both a fan and a creative director – has been invaluable,” Mueller says. “You have to listen to [the players] to know if you’re hitting the mark, if you’re achieving what you set out to do. I feel like that has made us even better at making content, making an experience where you’re not battling the UI, but fighting villains alongside Superman! I think that was a huge difference in our original launch versus our launch now.”
DC Universe Online will be available for Nintendo Switch players at some point during Summer, 2019.
By now, almost everyone who plays video games regularly most likely knows how much Anthem didn’t live up to expectations. While BioWare can still turn things around, it seems the studio is fast running out of time — and good will — with players.
Case in point: the Anthem player count on Xbox One has now dwindled to such a number that it’s now not even part of the Xbox platform’s top 49 most played games. For reference, this list includes titles like the SIMS 4, For Honor, and other titles that are years old, which doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Anthem.
Note that the stats here are for North America, but Reddit user _Robbie has chatted with people over on the Anthem subreddit, and they too, have not seen Anthem in the top 49 most played games on Xbox. In the NA most played list, EA’s Battlefield 1 is at the last spot, and thanks to BF1stats (which is fairly accurate), we can see how many players it fields per platform.
Given how that number was less than 2,500 for BF1 on Xbox One, this means that the Anthem player count has less than 2,500 gamers playing it. To put things in perspective, Fallout 76, a highly lambasted game since its launch, has more players than Anthem.
Of course, we don’t know for certain what the total is, since we don’t know the Anthem player count for the PS4, and PC. Even if you double the Xbox One player count for both platforms, it still doesn’t paint a pretty picture, no?
Who to play for Anthem’s current situation? Is it EA for allegedly rushing the game? Is it BioWare for making the wrong gameplay design decisions? I’d say the blame lies on both, though having said that, BioWare not communicating with whatever Anthem player base it has left, isn’t exactly helping things.
Are you surprised at this development or not at all?
When it comes to games that are far more narrative driven, I usually break them down into two style types: Ones that offers a really guided experience with very little effort of input aside from character guidance and interaction, where the story is key and there is little room for failure; the other is something more akin to the Uncharted franchise, or The Order 1886, which is still guided, yet with perhaps a more solid foundation of more in depth game play mechanics whether that be stealth, action or platforming. Of course there is a fine line between both styles, I think I’ve finally played a game that combines the two perfectly. A Plague Tale: Innocence is a game that not only captivated me right from the start, but I couldn’t put it down.
A Plague Unlike Any Other
The story here starts out with players assuming the role of Amecia, a young girl of noble blood out on a hunt with her estranged father. Here we get a simple glimpse of who she and her family are. Through various dialog and actions during this opening, players can start to suspect there might just be more skeletons in the family’s closet and with the plot itself. She doesn’t seem to know her parents very well, especially her mother and brother, who has been sick most his young life. Soon after arriving back home, a religious Inquisition arrives and the household comes under attack. With chaos, death, and panic setting in, it doesn’t look good for the two siblings. Amecia and Hugo soon find themselves on the run as their story begins, with much darker things happening in the world around them.
Hide and Seek
When players are not being guided by the narrative or watching one of the extremely well-acted cut scenes, the gameplay here is very linear in nature. The game is broken down into chapters, each one with unique game scenarios they through at players. Featuring elements of combat, stealth, puzzles, and even set pieces. Amecia and Hugo are mostly inseparable from each other throughout the adventure. Even though they are blood related, they don’t know each other very well, much like the player. Yet through the story moments and even gameplay elements, I found myself gaining a connection to her brother much as she did herself. This sort of tandem growing relationship only helped me connect more with the emotional story elements as I got further.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, having Hugo around might seem like a huge detriment to players. I mean, babysitting an NPC character in a game almost always feels like a hassle, right? Not so much here, as Hugo doesn’t find himself getting in the way, causing game overs, or issues in progressing. He feels much more as an assist to the player, even if the storyline would make players feel otherwise. Along the journey he and other characters will come help in solving puzzles or holding levers. It never felt like a hindrance the entire game. Instead, it really feels like a journey with an NPC helping along the way.
Amecia does have moments where she has to interact with enemies or the environment with her weapon, the sling. Using this will be critical in a multitude of ways. She will take it and swing it, building up speed before firing it off. From progressing via environmental puzzles, to having to defend against human enemies. She will also have to use it for distraction or lighting torches to fend off swarms of rats. This is one element that really sticks out. The rat plague is menacing and one that will continually show up in the game throughout and surprising ways. Honestly it’s just a sight to behold as hundreds of rats will show up on swarming on screen. I was always surprised to see these creatures show up, and find new ways of dealing with the nasty menace.
While the gameplay could prove to get rather repetitive in nature, upgrading the sling, and the ability of gaining new tools to attack will keep things fresh. Starting off with basic rocks, eventually players can gain use of explosive, sleeping chemicals, and acid attacks to name a few. Traversal puzzles will also keep folks busy trying to figure out how to proceed through a rat swarm or past certain enemies or environmental blocks. All this could wear out its welcome rather quickly, but the devs continually find a way to make experience interesting whether it’s gameplay dynamics changing or new interesting story elements. I also have to mention the pacing here is absolutely sublime; never staying in one location too long or one gameplay loop too often. Amecia is a fragile character and by that I mean she has no health bar. If she is caught, or attacked, that’s it, game over. This could come off as feeling too hard or challenging but it never felt unfair or hard to progress even during a few of the scripted attack scenes. Players are put right back into the game and to try again.
Audio Visual Treat
While the gameplay is satisfying and keeps things super interesting for its 8-10 hour duration, from a visual standpoint, this one is a stunner. From beautiful outside vistas, to dark and creepy dungeon like aesthetics, if someone told me this game was from a AAA, multi-million (nothing against Asobo Studio), I’d believe it. Asobo Studio has done work on a multitude of games, but this is the first huge game to come from them that delivers on this sort of quality and scale. Dark areas illuminated by the glow of fire or the moon. Beautiful areas of outdoor leaves that brighten the screen.The visuals alone are worth the price of admission and that’s not even talking about the wonderful voice acting and soundtrack. With dramatic melodies that provide both haunting and tension filled moments. Meanwhile the voice acting between Amecia and Hugo just pulled on my heartstrings as I deeply wanted to see what the game had in store for the two of them, and couldn’t be happier with their sibling relationship as it developed.
A Tale Worth Telling
It’s hard to really pull apart anything that A Plague Tale throws at me. It has outstanding visuals, wonderful varied gameplay, and a soundtrack worth paying attention too. Its story elements are heartfelt, mysterious, and tragic. There is a poetic feel to the game in both the way it portrays an extremely hostile, nasty world yet filled with captivation and hope. I didn’t expect the game to be as dark as it was in theme and plot. I was really taken aback by just how well told a story about young adults and kids, was mixed with such a dark oppressive mood, which only had me rooting for them even more. If I had to say any elements of the game that were sometimes frustrating, it was the checkpoint system and trial and error moments. Sometimes it seemed to put me back much farther than expect, having to attempt different tries at a solution. This issues sort of go together to make some moments come off more stressful than needed, but this is a mostly rare occurrence. Instead I’m left with a game that not only exceeded any small expectations I might have had for it, but blew those expectations away. A Plague Tale is THE surprise hit of 2019. A narrative driven experience I won’t soon forget and I was already wanting to start over with before I finished. With the quality Asobo studio has shown on this release, they have my full attention for whatever their next project is.
Continuing with SNK and Athlon Games’ character reveals for Samurai Shodown, we now get to see Yashamaru in action. Check out the Samurai Shodown Yashamaru gameplay trailer below.
He hates those who take from the weak. Because his father was executed for a crime he didn’t commit, he despises the Tokugawa shogunate more than anyone else. Even they must #EmbraceDeath
According to the press release, Yashamaru is a young man from a fallen warrior family, and he’s on the warpath against the Tokugawa shogunate who falsely convicted and executed his father. Utilizing the supernatural Tengu powers inherited from his family bloodline, and with his weapon Shanaō in hand, Yashamaru defends the weak from those who would do them harm.
During Sony’s latest investor relations Q&A, VP John Kodera talked a bit about backwards compatibility, and how it’s a “really critical success factor” for the PS5. Additionally, Kodera mentions how backwards compatibility is a good thing not only because it lets gamers play their old games on their next-gen PlayStation console, but also the community can enjoy games together via cross-generation gameplay.
This is definitely a welcome feature and ensures that multiplayer-focused games on both the PS4 and PS5 won’t cannibalize each other’s player base, and what’s more, guarantee that each platform won’t run out of players to engage with.
Of course, there is the issue of how one platform is significantly more powerful than the other, and how this might affect gameplay. But let’s leave that to the devs to worry about.
Are you excited about this confirmation and do you think this will make people choose not to jump to the PS5 if they can play with their friends even with last-gen consoles?
While DICE just released a big Battlefield 5 update earlier today, it seems there are still things not included in the patch’s massive patch notes! If you ever use the Battlefield 5 commo rose and wanted to be able to use even when you’re “downed,” well, now you can!
Over on Reddit user TenBensons mentioned that this feature, which was previously available in the game earlier this year before getting yanked out, is now back again! Yes, this means that Battlefield 5 commo rose downed situations are now available in the game.
This feature’s re-introduction in Battlefield 5 wasn’t included in the patch notes, which makes me wonder what other features and tweaks weren’t included as well. While this might not be a big gameplay addition in the grand scheme of things, it’s definitely a welcome one. Now players can thank Medics and their teammates even when downed.
Who wants another gaming device in their lives? While we already have the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile devices to play games on, it seems developer Panic is moving up from just making apps and games to now making a new handheld gaming device called “Playdate.”
While you can read up on the details on the official site announcement, we’ve listed down the important stuff below for an easy read.
Price is at $149
2.7″ Black and white screen and there’s no backlight (no joke!)
It uses a traditional directional pad and two buttons (A, B) with a crank on the site
Games are a “secret” for now, though Panic mentions some will be short, some will be long, some will be experimental, and others will be traditional (take from that what you will)
12 games included in “Season One” for “free”
Ships in early 2020
There you have it. Will it attract gamers? Not to be a downer, but with no backlight, and the device looking rather unwieldly due to its size and shape, I don’t see this catching on anytime soon. But hey, stranger things have happened.
Will you be picking a Playdate up when it launches next year?
