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Latest Titanfall Update Brings 12 New Achievements to Xbox One, Find Out What They Are

Titanfall has gotten a bit of a refresher as of last Tuesday when developer Respawn Entertainment launched a hefty new update for the game on Xbox One and PC.

Along with new game modes, new Burn Cards, new customization option, and a ton of other cool stuff that you can read up on detail right here, the update also introduced 12 new Achievements for Xbox One owners to hunt down, totalling an additional 200 Achievement points.

You’ll see the new Cheevos updated on your Xbox One dashboard now, but Xbox 360 users will have to hang tight until Titanfall’s Game Update 4 launches on that platform a little later on. For now, here’s a list of the new challenges to keep you busy:

Blood Water: Kill 200 enemies on Runoff – 30G

Titanfall

Runoff Connoisseur: Play every game mode on Runoff – 10G

2RunoffConnoisseur

Side Pipe: Kill 25 enemies while wall running on Runoff – 20G

Titanfall

Runoff Victor: Won a match on Runoff – 5G

Titanfall

Swampland Connoisseur: Play every game mode on Swampland – 10G

5SwamplandConnoisseur

It’s Safer Here: Don’t touch the ground for 60 seconds on Swampland – 20G

Titanfall

Tree Runner: Be airborne for 500 meters on Swampland – 30G

Titanfall

Swampland Victor: Won a match on Swampland – 5G

Titanfall

War Games Connoisseur: Play every game mod on War Games – 10G

Titanfall

Faded: Killed 12 Pilots in a single match on War Games – 20G

Titanfall

Super Faded: Killed 100 Pilots on War Games – 35G

Titanfall

War Games Victor: Won a match on War Games – 5G

Titanfall

Which challenges are you aiming for, and which ones have you gotten already?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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New PlanetSide 2 Trailer Welcomes you to Hossin, Check Out The Latest Patch Notes

Celebrating the launch of 80 new bases offered in PlanetSide 2‘s brand spanking new Hossin continent, Sony Online Entertainment has got spiffy launch trailer to show you, along with a hefty list of patch notes.

The free-to-play PC shooter’s latest update not only offers an entirely new play space, but also allows players to lock continents and makes recruiting to outfits much easier with the new outfit recruiting system. There are also a number of new outfit decal options along with plenty of other tweaks and bug fixes.

You can read up on the full update list below and check out the new launch trailer above.

PlanetSide 2 June 26 Game Update Notes

Continent Locking

  • Continents can now be locked to a conquering empire in one of two ways: When a continent locks, the conquering empire automatically captures all remaining regions on the continent
    • Dominate the continent by owning at least 94% of the territory
    • Win an alert
  • All players on the locked continent will be prompted to redeploy to another continent.
  • A maximum of 2 continents can be locked at any one time.
  • Whenever a continent is locked the oldest existing locked continent will automatically unlock.
  • A Continent Benefit is now only active while the continent is locked.
  • Continent Benefits have changed: To accommodate continent locking, Global Alerts have been removed from the game, meaning every alert is now specific to a continent
    • Amerish gives -50% Infantry Purchases (up from -10% Aerospace Purchases)
    • Esamir gives -50% Mechanized Purchases (up from -10% Mechanized Purchases)
    • Indar gives -50% Aerospace Purchases (up from -10% Infantry Purchases)
    • Hossin gives +25% XP (new) (It’s almost like we want you to play there!)
  • When a continent is unlocked the warpgates on that continent will rotate, and territory will be reset to a default starting configuration for each warpgate. (Tired of your warpgate location? Now you can fix it)
  • Warpgates will no longer rotate every other week and are now exclusively rotated via continent locking.

Outfits Recruiting

  • Do you run an outfit? Looking for some new blood? List your outfit in the brand new recruiting system.
  • Are you looking to join an outfit? Want to meet some new friends? Find an outfit to join in the brand new recruiting system.
  • To list your outfit go to the outfit screen and there is a Manage Recruitment button.
  • To view recruiting outfits, go to the outfits button on the social tab. On the main page is a button to find an outfit.

Outfit Decals

  • Your outfit can now select a decal to represent yourselves.
  • Purchase Infantry or Vehicle Outfit decals in their Depot categories for 100 SC or 250 Certs
  • Equip like a normal decal. If you’re in an outfit and the outfit has a decal selected, the decal will display as the selected decal. (How many times can we say decal? You’d be surprised!)
  • If you’re not in an outfit, the decal will not display. (So just join and stay in an outfit already)

Outfit Base Capture

  • When your outfit captures a base your outfit’s decal will be displayed on the faction banners at the base, on the scoreboard, and on the map. (We got tired of some of you “marking” the map. Infantry are provided latrines).
  • An outfit is recognized as being the captors by being the highest scoring outfit during the base’s capture
  • For now, this score is simply the cumulative score of the outfit members that participated in the base capture (i.e. the scores that are displayed on the scoreboard). (If you are bad at math, just have everyone try harder ok?)

Misc

  • The descriptions on the Medical Applicator now list the hotkeys required for healing and reviving. (Some of you were just mashing 5 keys and getting lucky).
  • Adjusted ranges of “Enter Vehicle” and “Equipment Terminal” interactions on Sunderer.A lattice link has been added between TI Alloys and Ceres Hydroponics on Indar.
    • Change reduces overlap and is intended to reduce the chances of accidentally triggering the interaction you don’t want.
    • When the vehicle is deployed, you will need to get closer to the terminal and closer to the vehicle.
    • When the vehicle is undeployed there should be no change in the enter vehicle interaction.

Bug Fixes

  • Desynch fix for multiple situations. (This should improve a number of issues some of you have been reporting but poor accuracy is still in your hands)
  • Fixed focus issues with the chat window after hitting escape.
  • Fixed an issue where thermal optics for the Dual-75 Duster were not set up like other belly guns.
  • The TR Honeycomb camo will now scale correctly.
  • Updated the descriptions for Liberator belly weapons to be more accurate with recent changes.
  • The unpurchasable magazine size certification should no longer appear for the Hyena Missile Launcher. (In this particular case, size didn’t matter)
  • Camo will now apply correctly to the Bruiser Plating and Scrapper Vanguard attachments.
  • Kills caused by explosions will no longer grant double experience. (This doesn’t mean you should stop doing it because come on…it’s entertaining right?)
  • Equipping the Ammunition Package during a weapon reload will no longer skip the reload animation.
  • Adjusted the Ammunition Package so that it it less likely to continuously shake when thrown on uneven terrain. (See? You thought you were just really nervous.)
  • Fixed an issue where tank reverse turning speed would change when toggling the ‘Invert Reverse Steering for Tanks’ option. (We really can’t make this stuff up….)

PlanetSide 2, along with all the latest update, will hit the PlayStation 4 soon. Get more details here.

Louis Thompson

Louis Thompson is a Senior Video Editor at Multiplayer First, in charge of handling all media related content on YouTube and other social platforms.

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Battlefield 4 – DICE Details New Improvements Coming to Rush, Netcode, and Core Gameplay

Battlefield 4 developer DICE is keeping up a pretty transparent demeanor when it comes to upcoming tweaks and changes the studio has in the works. Luckily, the game’s Community Test Environment is producing some pretty favorable results, and so the team has some positive notes to share.

This week’s update includes details on some of the upcoming improvements to the Rush game mode as well as core gameplay. DICE also notes that they are continuing work on Battlefield 4’s “netcode,” in addition to the game’s recent netcode update that began hitting PC and next-gen consoles late last month.

As seen on the most recent Battlefield Blog update, here are the specifics on these changes:

Improving Netcode

“Making improvements to the “Netcode” in Battlefield 4 has been a top priority for us. Some of the items we’ve been specifically looking at is how to decrease the feeling of getting killed when behind cover and getting killed without initially seeing a damage indicator. The improvements we did were released in June, and we’re looking at testing out additional fixes during the coming months.”

Core Gameplay

“The core gameplay initiative has started, and in the first phase, we’re looking at making improvements and fixes related to the new Dragon’s Teeth expansion pack. One of the main items that we wanted to test was the all-new Ballistics Shield, and based on the feedback that we received we made the following changes that’ll make it for the release of Dragon’s Teeth:”

  • Shield bash damage has been tweaked, it is no longer possible to one-hit kill enemies. The Ballistics shield now better matches with the initial design intent
  • Single tank AP-rounds now kill those carrying the Ballistics Shield, something that previously wasn’t possible.

Rush Tweaks

“If you’re a fan of Rush, you’ll want to jump into the CTE and try out the new changes we’re currently testing on the Siege of Shanghai, Zavod 311 and Operation Locker to start. The main focus of these changes has been to increase the balance and flow of the Rush round. Often, this means making it easier for the attackers to tackle certain MCOMs. Some general tweaks have also been made, such as:”

  • Commander has been removed by default in Rush
  • Radar sweep has been reduced around attackers base
  • Many per map specific changes, MCOM placement and cover passes.

Other Improvements

“Apart from these bigger initiatives, here are some of the areas of improvements that we will be looking at in the future:”

  • General Weapon tweaks/balance
  • Weapon Suppression tuning
  • 3P Head-flinch dampening
  • Visual recoil ADS tuning
  • Vehicle tuning/balance
  • Game modes: Rush, Continued tweaks to Obliteration Competitive and Conquest small
  • HUD improvements and bug fixes

If you’re a big fan of Battlefield’s Rush game mode, you’re likely quite happy to hear about some of the upcoming improvements. We sure are, and we hope this focus continues in future Battlefield titles as well. It’s also nice to see continuing work on Battlefield 4’s suppression mechanics, an area that has already seen a few tweaks recently.

Keep your eyes peeled for more Battlefield 4 updates, including news on the game’s upcoming Dragon’s Teeth DLC.

What are your thoughts on the incoming tweaks detailed above?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Become Legend By Completing These 40 Destiny Achievements and Trophies, Collector’s Edition Details ‘In The Very Near Future’

In Destiny, you will become legend, but not before completing these 40 Achievements or Trophies on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3.

The recently revealed list, posted by Bungie in a recent Weekly Update, drops everything you need to know to attain maximum completion in the studio’s massive shared-world shooter, at least in terms of Cheevos/Trophies.

The list doesn’t appear to contain any spoiler-filled material, so read on. Also, expect Destiny Collector’s details to drop soon, “ahead of Beta on an auspicious date in the very near future,” says Bungie’s Eric “Urk” Osborne.

Check out the list, as well as some brand new Destiny environment screens, below:

Destiny Achievements and Trophies

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New Screens

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Destiny

Destiny launches September 9, but you can get in on the action early by participating in Destiny’s official beta launching first on PS4 and PS3 on July 17. All you got to do is pre-order.

Keep your sights on MP1st for more upcoming Destiny details.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Call of Duty: Ghosts PC Update Improves Spawns and Weapon Balance, Here Are the Patch Notes

A new update is now live for the PC version of Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Ghosts.

The patch notes aren’t very big, but the update does introduce some significant changes to Ghosts’ spawning system and weapon kill time.

For starters, players will now spawn in better locations when valid spawn spots are limited. Developers have also disabled the ability for Assault Rifles, Sub-Machine Guns, and Light Machine Guns to kill in two shots (one shot to the body and one shot to the head), increasing the time to kill in that particular scenario.

You’ll also find a number of miscellaneous fixes and Extinction updates in the patch notes below, which you’ll find below. We’re still awaiting word on when the update might hit other platforms, so stay tuned.

Call of Duty: Ghosts June 27 PC Update Notes

Spawns

  • Spawn system has an improved ability to select better spawns when valid spawn locations are limited. 

Weapon Balance

  • One shot to the body and one shot to the head is no longer a kill for ARs, SMGs and LMGs. Increases time to kill in this scenario

Anti-cheat

  • Overall anti-cheat improvements.

Additional Fixes

  • Replaced Hunted victor operations and requirements to work with Gun Game.
  • Fixed 60 second match timer that could occur after playing a clan public playlist match then starting a Private Match with CODeSports disabled.

Extinction

  • Player class is now displayed in game above players’ heads along with their gamertag.
  • Kastet rounds now explode at any distance.
  • Fixed an issue where players that exceeded 10 minutes in Chaos mode would get lulls
  • Fixed drill not respawning at last place picked up after falling off the map while carrying it.
  • Fixed Gargoyle getting stuck in the air.
  • Fixed issue that allowed the player to use an IMS with a propane tank to teleport outside of the map.
  • Challenge adjustments and fixes.
  • Balancing updates.
  • Various bug fixes to improve stability and performance.
  • Kills are now correctly displayed on the Player Stats comparison screens

Remember, Double XP is now on through the rest of the weekend for all platforms, so soak it up while you can.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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New Battlefield 4 Image Serves Up Another Look at Dragon’s Teeth DLC

All out urban combat is coming to Battlefield 4 in the game’s upcoming Dragon’s Teeth multiplayer expansion.

It will offer up four new urban-themed maps, weapons, vehicles, and a brand new game mode called Chain Link.

Other than the first glimpse of the DLC we caught in Battlefield 4’s latest Premium trailer, we’re still waiting on more details, including the expansion’s official launch date, and more gameplay footage, which we anticipate soon, hopefully.

Giving us a small tease of Propaganda, a map themed around Juche tower in Pyongyang, North Korea, developer DICE has outed a new screen that you can catch below (click to enlarge):

BF4It looks like a small fire team of American soldiers are hoping to get the drop on a more sizeable Russian tanks squad. The new image is a follow up to last week’s unveiling of Sunken Dragon, which you can check out here if you missed it.

Stay tuned to MP1st as we learn more about Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Invasion DLC Brings Double XP To All Platforms This Weekend

As it goes, there really isn’t a better way to celebrate the launch of new Call of Duty DLC than with double XP.

So, this weekend, June 27 to June 30, Call of Duty: Ghosts developer Infinity Ward is hitting the double XP switch in anticipation of the game’s third DLC launch on PlayStation and PC. The event itself, however, will be open to all users across all platforms, so see you online tomorrow!

Invasion DLC lands on PS4, PS3, and PC on June 3, introducing four new multiplayer maps along with a brand new Extinction episode. You can catch all the details and watch all the trailers here.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Killing Ain’t Easy in Sniper Elite 3’s Launch Trailer

Killing ain’t easy and the launch trailer for 505 Games and Rebellion Entertainment’s shooter, Sniper Elite 3, shows you just a few of the things a professional World War II sniper needs to consider when on the job.

Sniper Elite 3 sees the return of Elite OSS Sniper Karl Fairburne during WWII, set mostly in North Africa. The game will offer both competitive and co-operative multiplayer with character progression that is tracked across all modes.

It is set to launch tomorrow, June 27th, in Europe for the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Sniper Elite 3 will launch on PC globally on June 27 in North America on all platforms July 1.

Louis Thompson

Louis Thompson is a Senior Video Editor at Multiplayer First, in charge of handling all media related content on YouTube and other social platforms.

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Titanfall Game Update 4 Now Live on Xbox One and PC, Wingman Last Titan Standing On The Way

Titanfall players on the Xbox One and PC are downloading the game’s fourth major update today, but are likely also wondering what happened to the other game mode that was supposed to make an appearance in addition to the new Pilot-centric mode, Marked for Death.

As we mentioned in our Game Update 4 preview, developer Respawn Entertainment was to introduce two brand new modes to Titanfall’s playlists; Marked for Death and Wingman Last Titan Standing. But where is Wingman LTS? Why is it not in playlists just yet?

“It’s still coming,” said Respawn in a recent blog entry, “but we’ll be featuring one new mode at a time and periodically replacing it as part of the new Featured Game Mode playlist.” According to the studio, it’s a matter of experimentation. Modes that sit well with Titanfall’s audience will end up making the cut into their own playlist.

“We will add modes we’re replacing into Private match when we remove them so fans can still play and if a mode really resonates with the community, we can look into giving it a playlist of its own,” Respawn explained. “We’re going to kick this off with Marked for Death and Wingman Last Titan Standing will follow.”

“The design team is busy working on some other great new game modes, so you’ll be seeing some more cool stuff in Featured Game Mode in the future.”

There’s a lot more to see and do in Titanfall’s Game Update 4, however. You can read up on everything there is to know it in this post right here.

Give it a spin and tell us what you think in the comments!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Battlefield Hardline Will Have “Plenty Of New Modes” and Unprecedented Map Variety, Next Beta Will “Showcase More”

The Battlefield Hardline PC and PlayStation 4 beta has come to a close, but developer Visceral Games says there is still plenty to look forward to, including more multiplayer details over the next few months, as well as a second beta this Fall that will “showcase more.”

“In the months ahead we’ll be revealing more details about what we’re doing in multiplayer as well as what the team at Visceral is bringing to the singleplayer campaign,” the studio wrote in a recent blog entry thanking fans for their participation in the beta.

They went on to stress that “The Battlefield Hardline beta was just a small portion of what is in store,” likely in reaction to remarks that Hardline should have just been Battlefield 4 DLC.

“We have plenty of new modes in the game that really play off the cop and criminal theme, as well as the return of fan-favorites. The variety in maps is also something that Battlefield fans have never experienced before, from subterranean grow labs to the streets of Miami, complete with all the vibe and flavor that city has to offer.”

We remember fans getting pretty pumped about a prospect of a Battlefield map set in Miami back when that “All-American” Battlefield 3 DLC rumor surfaced. More recent rumors suggest other Hardline maps will be set in areas like the desert, or even LA’s Hollywood Hills. We also take it that “the return of fan-favorites” indicates the return of staple Battlefield modes like Conquest and Rush.

The studio went on to reiterate that Battlefield Hardline’s second beta will arrive on all platforms that the game has been announced for this Fall and “will showcase more,” meaning we’ll likely get a peek at a different multiplayer map and game mode before Hardline’s full release on October 21.

What do you want to see in the next beta? Bigger or smaller maps? Rush, Conquest, or a new game mode? Tell us in the comments.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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New Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Update Incoming, Pistol Changes In The Works

Developers Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment are busy working on the next update for the popular online first-person PC shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the studios announced today.

Details aren’t out yet — they are coming soon — but the dev team is giving players a heads up on what’s coming by highlighting their learnings from previous patches like the Arms Deal Update. According to the team, results from data-tracking the relationship between players and new weapons like the M4A1-S, USP-S and CZ75-Auto are having a direct impact on CS:GO’s next update.

Thus far, the Arms Deal Update has been successful in adding variety to commonly used primary weapons in every day matches. Specifically, 10 months after the update’s launch, the M4A1-S is now seeing much more use in comparison with the M4A4, AWP, and “other” commonly used weapons. Here’s the breakdown:

CSGO_CTprimary_weapon

The CZ75-Auto, on the other hand, has had the opposite effect when it came to balancing out pistol usage among highly skilled players in Competitive Matchmaking. According to stats, the CZ75-Auto’s new-found popularity has cut into the usage of all other pistols — an unintended effect:

CSGO_CTsecondary_weapon

As a result, “you can expect us to make some pistol changes” in the next update, said the studio.

We’ll have to stay tuned for more details on other tweaks Valve and Hidden Path might have in the pipeline for the next update, so keep your sights on MP1st.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Destiny Beta Access Reportedly Coming to All PlayStation Plus Members in July [Updated]

Update

PlayStation Europe community manager Chris Owen has announced a correction to the recent news, stating that the UK PlayStation Blog was worded incorrectly. Destiny Beta access will remain available only to those who pre-order the game.

Original Story

Access to Destiny’s upcoming beta is reportedly coming to all PlayStation Plus subscribers on the PS4 and PS3, according to a recent entry on Sony’s official UK Blog.

The July PlayStation Plus preview indicates an alternative way to gain access to the beta, in addition to pre-ordering the game. NeoGAF user Matush noticed the entry:

Hi everyone. I hope you’ve recovered from the excitement of E3 and are ready for an epic July. Not only are we bringing you a great mix of games but there’s also the Destiny beta, which kicks off on 17th July exclusively on PlayStation. If you’re a PlayStation Plus member you will be able to fully experience Destiny and its incredible multiplayer. And if you’re not? Well, what are you waiting for, sign up now!

Matush went on to clarify with PlayStation Europe community manager Chris Owen who was able to confirm the news:

destinyxmkic

We’ve yet to hear word from Activision or Bungie, but we think the Blog and Owen’s remarks are pretty solid indications that it will be the case.

Keep your eyes out for more Destiny news on MP1st.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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New Art Reveals What Sledgehammer Games’ Cancelled Call of Duty Title Would Have Looked Like

Things weren’t always so ‘advanced’ at Sledgehammer Games’ studio. Before being hired on to help out Infinity Ward with the completion of 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, ex-Dead Space creators Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey were looking at a completely different set of blueprints laid out on their workbench.

Back in May, we learned a lot more about a unique third-person, Vietnam-inspired Call of Duty work-in-progress the duo had in the making. “We had spent six or eight months on it, and were really getting into the story,” said Schofield. “We had some really cool mechanics. We had a big moment that I would love to get into a game someday, but it’s not something we could do in first-person.”

It never quite saw the light of day, and maybe never will, but IGN was recently able to get a hold of previously unreleased concept art that peers into some of the unrealized ideas. Below is the work of Eddie Del Rio, who previously worked on projects like Star Citizen, this year’s Godzilla movie, and LucasFilm works.

Check out some of the concepts and tell us your thoughts in the comments. Do you think Sledgehammer should still make it happen?

cambodiavillagejpg-b68ca3_960w 0022jpg-6e4d3c_960w deathfromabovejpg-b68ca2_960wToday, Sledgehammer Games is busy bringing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 4.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Invades PC Today, Watch The Silly Launch Trailer

PopCap HD’s quirky third-person shooter based on the popular tower defense mobile game is finally making its way to PC.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is now available for download through EA’s Origin service or for purchase at various retailers. It contains an all-new co-op and multiplayer map called Jewel Junction, which we saw in action for the first time earlier last week. The PC version will also pack in all of the same add-on content previously released on the Xbox One and Xbox 360, including the Garden Variety and Zomboss Down packs.

The Digital Deluxe Edition will also offer up two Booster Packs, 150,000 in-game coins, and an exclusive character customization pack.

You can check out the goofy launch trailer above.

PlayStation users, hang tight. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare will also be making its way to PS4 and PS3 on August 19 worldwide.

PC players, have you had a chance to give it a spin yet? What are your initial thoughts? We thought pretty highly of it in our review.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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All Call of Duty Games Now Half Off In Daily Steam Summer Sale

For the next 45 hours, as of this writing, you can pick up the PC version of any Call of Duty title for half the price on Steam.

The discounts are in celebration of the currently ongoing Steam Summer Sale that slashes prices on a number of downloadable PC games for the remainder of the month. You can visit Activision’s page to see all the affected Call of Duty titles, or check out the list below and click on the links to be taken to their individual pages.

Now, might be a good time to fill in some of the blanks in your collection, or give Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Ghosts a spin if you’ve yet to make the jump.

You’ll also see Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare up for pre-order, if you fancy securing a copy early.

Be sure to tell us what you’re picking up and will be playing this week and weekend!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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DICE Ponders What Made Bad Company So Iconic, But We Already Know

From console-exclusive to multi-platform sequel, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the Bad Company series in general is regarded by many as some of the best titles in the entire Battlefield franchise, but developer Digital Illusions CE wonders, ‘Why?’

“…there’s one thing that lingers with Bad Company that we’ve been asking ourselves: what is it that the people really liked about Bad Company?” DICE head Karl-Magnus Troedsson recently told Eurogamer.

Before EA and Visceral arrived on the scene with their cops and criminals-themed shooter Battlefield Hardline earlier this month, many gamers anticipated the return of the quirky and more light-hearted spin-off series to return with Battlefield: Bad Company 3. DICE knows this, but it sounds like no solid plan is in place to bring the beloved series back just yet.

Troedsson continued, speculating on some of the selling points for the series: “Some people say they found the multiplayer controls faster and more direct, some people liked the single-player and the characters and the humor. People love different things about it. It’s starting to almost get to that place where, if we were to make a sequel to Bad Company, what would than even imply?”

Going on, he said that “It’s scary to go back and try to remake an old fan favorite when actually no-one can really put their finger on what it is people love. Bringing back the characters and creating a great single-player out of that, sure, I can understand that,” he explained.

“But some people say this: the Bad Company 2 multiplayer is the best you’ve ever done. Okay, why is that? It’s hard for people to articulate what that is, which is actually hard for us. It would be hard to remake something like that. Can we do it? Of course. We have our theories when it comes to the multiplayer.”

And so do we! DICE, if you’re really looking for some advice, we might have just the thing. Late last year, we described “5 Things That Made Battlefield: Bad Company 2 So Iconic.” So if you’re out on ideas, we recommend giving that a read.

Some of our points included more destruction, simplicity, memorable Conquest- and Rush-only maps, goofy character design, and over-the-top sound effects, among other things. So, tell us in the comments, what did you like about Bad Company? Maybe we can put together a nice letter to send off to Mr. Troedsson.

For more Bad Company news, Battlefield coverage, and all things multiplayer, be sure to keep your sights on MP1st.

Den Kovacs

Subscriber

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Sledgehammer Explains How Advanced Warfare’s Future Tech and Exoskeleton Will Redefine Call of Duty

Sledgehammer Games studio heads Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey are aiming to redefine Call of Duty with their upcoming launch of Advanced Warfare this November 4.

But exactly do they plan on doing so? One way is to peer into the future and to push Call of Duty to the edge of reality, bordering the world of science fiction. That certainly appears to be the approach the studio is taking this year, but with a focus on keeping things rooted and grounded by introducing future tech that’s real and is, in one form or another, in development today.

In a new video (above), Schofield and Condrey outline some of these new gadgets and equipment coming to Advanced Warfare, including tech like the Threat Detection Grenade, Mobile Barricade, Directed Energy Weapons, Hover Bikes, and Hover Tanks. We’ve previously seen all of these in action in Advanced Warfare’s various single player demos or trailers, but we wonder how much of it will be present in the game’s multiplayer.

We learned earlier that the Exoskeleton will play a major role in Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer, and that the soldier seen in the game’s E3 demos is the soldier you will see in multiplayer, so we know it’ll have a major influence. But in a competitive setting, it’ll be interesting to see how Sledgehammer will ensure balance among all these new elements, including the Exoskeleton and directed energy weapons.

While we wait to find out, catch the video above featuring a few clips from the game that have yet to be seen.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Game Update 4 is Coming to Titanfall This Thursday, Here’s What’s New – Patch Notes [Updated]

Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment has come out with all the details on the upcoming Xbox One and PC Game Update 4, which we got a sneak peek of earlier this month.

As Respawn art lead Joel Emslie mentioned, the update is bringing a lot to the table in terms of new features, including game modes, burn cards, Titan customization, and a whole lot more.

Covering every detail, the studio has posted the official patch notes for Game Update 4, “coming soon,” on their official blog. The notes primarily apply to the Xbox One and PC versions of the game, as the Xbox 360 update will be coming at a later date which has also yet to be specified.

Update:

Respawn Entertainment has confirmed that Titanfall’s Game Update 4 will begin rolling out on Xbox One and PC this Thursday, June 26, which will already be some time later today for many reading on the East Coast at this time.

Read on to find out what’s new, as seen in Respawn’s news post:

Titanfall Game Update 4

Featured Game Mode 

We’re introducing Featured Game Modes into our playlist rotation. These are game modes that will be available for a limited time only. New Featured Game Modes will be introduced periodically to replace any outgoing Featured Game Mode. Our first Featured Game Mode is Marked For Death, and Wingman Last Titan Standing will follow shortly after.

Marked For Death 

A player on each team will be marked for death! Kill the enemy mark while protecting your teammate.

Titan Burn Cards

14 new burn cards that add amped Titan weapons and enhanced Titan abilities. You won’t lose your selected Titan Burn Card if you die as a Pilot, only when you die as a Titan. There is an orange highlight around Titans that have Burn Cards equipped on the Titan Counter HUD and Titans with active Burn Cards have an indicator near their health bars.

Titan Insignias

Want to show off your accomplishments? You can now select from a host of emblems to customize your Titan. Insignias are unlocked by completing challenges but if you’ve already completed the requirements, that emblem will be ready to use when the update installs. Two emblems come courtesy of Penny Arcade (thanks, PA!) and another recognizes users who completed the “Gooser” challenge the hard way.

Matchmaking

We’ve made improvements to matchmaking & team balancing. Now, teams are rearranged just before the level loads, to further balance the teams’ skill and player counts. You’ll notice that you’re greyed out in the lobby until teams are set. You’ll also notice “Connecting…” as players join a match.

Titan OS Voices

Players now have 3 Titan V.O. options to choose from including the classic “Betty” as well as Jeeves and Lisa.

More Titan OS VO

New helpful warnings and observations from your Titan.

Challenge Tracker

You can now select which challenges you want to work towards and find them easily. You can review your tracked challenges during a match by bringing up the in-game menu.

Lobby Music

The ability turn lobby music on or off.

Updated Menu Art

Menus get a new coat of digital paint with additional art. The Main Menu background movie has been updated as well.

Audio

Killing a Pilot now plays a special sound effect to the killer and unique sounds are played when killing a Pilot or Titan via Titanfall.

Auto-Titans

Your Auto-Titan will now use all Titan abilities. If you’ve equipped electric smoke, it will deploy electric smoke when it gets rodeo’ed. If you’ve equipped the particle wall, it will deploy a particle wall when it is under fire.

Rodeo

You now see the name of the Titan you rodeo.

Burn Cards

You’ll notice a Triple Burn Card selector on bottom right of the HUD after you die. It’s a reminder to use your cards and a convenient way to select them.

Burn Card overflow protection

To protect players who have a full Burn Card deck from losing the opportunity to earn valuable rare Burn Cards, you may now exceed your maximum deck size. However, you must discard down to a legal deck size before you arm new Burn Cards. To make this less obtrusive, the maximum base deck size has been increased from 26 to 46.

Burn Card Deck Limit tied to Gen level

Maximum deck size is increased by 6 cards per gen on top of the base 46 with a maximum of 100 for Gen 10.

Drift Guard

New “Movement Drift Guard” gamepad setting in options.

Unlocks

You’ll still be able to unlock the Stryder and Ogre chassis by playing Campaign, but you can also unlock them in normal MP modes. The Stryder will unlock at level 15 and the Ogre at level 30.

Win/Loss Streak

Your win/loss streak for the last 10 matches is now displayed in the lobby over the image of the next map.

New Features – Xbox One

Achievements – If you bought the Expedition DLC for Titanfall you have a new set of achievements to unlock by playing the DLC maps.

Bug Fixes – All Platforms

  • Fix for no music playing when you join a match late.
  • Fix for Sonar Burn Cards not showing during kill replay.
  • Fix case for when “Titan Locking”/”Pilot Locking” indicator goes away.
  • Fix not being able to rodeo a Titan doing a synced melee kill.
  • Corporate: Restored Victory/Defeat music at end of match in Corporate on Campaign.
  • Fix for getting stuck in Titan deploying nuclear core and nuclear core not doing full damage when right next to Titan.
  • Fix cases where disembarking player directly from a Titan into the dropship leaves that player behind.
  • Fixed players not ejecting from where the Titan is if they dash while auto-ejecting.
  • Fix for Flyer ragdolls disappearing.
  • Fixed cases where punching would make a Titan fly. You might remember this one from being featured on Kotaku.
  • Fixed the Smart Pistol being unable to lock-on when the frame rate is low. (Thanks for reporting this one, forums!)
  • Fixed the Smart Pistol not being able to hit crawling Spectres.
  • Fixed occasional issue where Titan rodeo kills were not counted towards the Brain Surgeon challenge.
  • Fixed a case where player jump jet effects would spawn endlessly.
  • Fixed a crash when attempting to necksnap a Pilot who is rodeo’ing a Titan.
  • Fixed a crash involving Sonar.
  • Fixed being popped into Spectre tubes on Corporate after jumping off from a rodeo.
  • Fixed water not fogging properly.
  • Fixed cloaked players being too visible in heavy fog.
  • Fixed satchels skipping doomed state when set off with smoke.
  • Fixed hitching and fast forward motion when game has been running for a long time.
  • Fixed tearing happening more often than necessary when running close to 60 fps.

Bug Fixes – PC

  • Fixed crashes related to fullscreen mode.
  • Game window supports minimize.
  • Game minimizes when switched out.
  • Added very cheap low-quality water technique for min-spec PCs.

Bug Fixes – Xbox One

  • Fix for issue where going into XBox menus causes 2 music tracks to overlap.

Balancing – All Platforms

In this update we’ve made a few changes to Pilot weapons and Big Punch to ensure proper balance. Some weapons, like the Hemlok, were barely being used while other weapons were slightly overpowered. We’ve done another round of balancing based on feedback we’ve received from inside and outside of the studio. We’ll continue to listen to our community in regards to weapon/game balance and thanks for sharing all of your feedback with us. Here are the changes we’ve made this time around:

Satchels

Satchel damage has been reduced against Pilots only. They will still kill a Pilot caught close to the center of the explosion, but the fall-off is more severe now, allowing Pilots that are far from the satchel to survive more often than they currently do.

Shotgun

The shotgun now does a little bit less damage at midrange. It was proving to be able to win fights that it should lose when at this range. We also fixed a bug where the cursor would turn red, indicating it will hit an enemy when the enemy was actually outside of the range of the shotgun’s max distance.

R101

This weapon was designed to be an all-purpose weapon, and it does that quite well, too well, even. We’ve slightly adjusted it to make it a bit more uncomfortable to handle and hit targets at long distances. It will kick a bit more when fired but the effects are subtle enough to only be felt at long range. We’ve also reduced its mag size from 30 to 24. The extended ammo upgrade brings it from 24 to 30 (it used to go from 30 to 40).

R97

While it already had a higher rate of fire than the CAR, the R97 was pretty much inferior in all other ways. We’ve upped the RoF even higher to make it handle up-close fights better than it did. It also has the fastest time into ADS (aiming down the sights) now. The biggest change, though, is that it now does a lot more damage than it did when rodeo’ing, making it a better choice for Pilots who enjoy taking on a Titan. It is now the second best weapon to use when rodeo’ing Titans (behind only the LMG).

Hemlok

The Hemlok was one of the least popular guns in the game. Its role was intended to be the long-range assault rifle, but it wasn’t doing that quite well enough. We’ve made it so that it is never more than 4 bullets to drop an enemy Pilot (it used to be 5 at long range). The Hemlok will also kick less when fired. The drift when ADSing has also been reduced to allow easier use against long-range targets. The silencer MOD used to take 6 hits to kill an enemy Pilot at long-range, now it is 5.

AMPed Hemlok

The AMPed Hemlok already killed close-range Pilots in 3 bullets, now it will also kill long-range Pilots with 3 bullets.

G2

The G2 now kills Pilots with 3 shots, always. It used to take 4 at range. The G2 has slightly less kick now as well. When the silencer is attached, the G2 will always kill an enemy Pilot with 4 shots whereas it used to be 5 at range. The clip size has been increased when the match trigger attachment is used to give you 12, rather than 8, rounds per magazine.

AMPed G2

The Amped G2 will always kill an enemy Pilot with 2 shots now. It used to take 3 at a distance.

Titan Plasma Railgun

The FOV, while ADSing, has been pulled back some to allow players to keep more of their surroundings in focus. This makes it easier to maintain your “charge” while tracking enemy targets.

Big Punch

We’ve taken a look at complaints about the Big Punch kit, and decided to adjust it. Big Punch was especially problematic when an Ogre was dealing the punch. It did enough damage to destroy the shields of a Stryder and still do a chunk of damage to the Stryder’s permanent health. Spamming Big Punch as an Ogre also let it travel around at speeds higher than intended. As such, we’ve decided to weaken Big Punch’s effects significantly when taken as an Ogre. The Atlas and Stryder didn’t need as large of a change, so we’ve only made small adjustments to Big Punch’s effect when applied to the Atlas and Stryder chassis.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

Home > News

Report – Destiny PlayStation-Exclusive Content Will Remain Exclusive Until “At Least Fall 2015” [Updated]

Update #2

Scratch that last update, Activision has once again contacted Eurogamer to retract that statement saying it has yet to formally announce details.

Update

Activision has confirmed to Eurogamer that Destiny’s PlayStation-exclusive content will remain exclusive until “Fall 2015,” meaning Activision and Sony’s deal will run for one full year before the content is made available on the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Original Story

At E3 2014, Sony announced during their media briefing that Bungie’s upcoming shared-world shooter, Destiny, would receive content exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, which was later detailed in greater depth in a recent blog post.

An exclusive multiplayer map, a strike mission, and sets of armor, weapons, and ships were among those items that would come first to Sony’s platforms, before making their way to the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Now, thanks to a listing on Amazon, it appears we may have more details on the duration those items will remain exclusive.

According to the game’s official description on Amazon, the multiplayer map, Strike mission, weapons, armor, and ships will all remain exclusive to PlayStation until at least Fall 2015, roughly one year before it will show up on Microsoft’s consoles.

“Exclusive content for PlayStation 4 owners includes the Exodus Blue Competitive Multiplayer Map, Dust Palace Strike, Weapons, Ships and Gear that will only be on PlayStation until at least Fall 2015.”

This certainly does come as a surprise, as it was initially presumed that the items would make their way over perhaps a month later, as per the same deal Activision has with Microsoft and Call of Duty DLC. We aren’t marking this as an official announcement, however, as it was merely discovered through an Amazon listing.

Along with the items listed above, Destiny’s upcoming beta is also coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 first on July 17, opening up later to Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Thanks, NeoGAF

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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.

Home > Features

Forza Horizon 2 Preview – Seductive Open Road In All Conditions

This Fall, UK-based developer Playground Games is taking their love for cars, car culture, and open-world racing to next-gen with Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

In Horizon 2, sequel to the original Horizon that launched on Xbox 360 back in 2012, the studio hopes to meld the best of two distinct elements and worlds: the attention to detail and realism portrayed in closed-track simulation racers, and the sense of discovery, excitement, and exploration present in massive open-world games. But most of all, Playground Games aims to deliver on three key pillars they outlined to us in a behind-closed-doors presentation at E3 2014: Beauty, Fun, and Freedom.

E3-PressKit-02-WM-ForzaHorizon2-jpg

Horizon 2 sure is a pretty looking game. As was the case with Forza Motorsport 5 before it, rides like the all new Lamborghini Huracán have never looked so good, from the paint texture to the water droplets that shimmer off of it in the sun after a heavy rainfall. As Playground puts it, Horizon 2’s Southern Europe setting is “colorful, uplifting, and seductive.” It has it all: Nice, Tuscany, and 1080p. It’s in this exact sort of locale I can imagine James Bond and Vesper Lynd cruising the winding roads in an Aston Martin, top down, taking in the scenic vistas — that is, before a mandatory car chase scene ensues, of course. If I had things my way, I’d have pushed our driver demoing the game to keep on rolling off into the distance and into the game’s alluring backdrop, through fields, grass, and trees, as far as he could go. But, alas, the studio had other things to show us.

On Xbox One, Horizon 2 takes advantage of Forza Motorsport 5’s engine that was built from the ground up for Microsoft’s next-gen console, but also boasts a number of improvements that Playground tells us they just had to get in the game this time, including realistically generated atmospheric and weather effects. Having implemented a fully dynamic weather system along with a shifting time of day, the engine needed to be flexible, and so Playground developed a setup that accurately simulates Earth’s atmosphere, providing realistic lighting models that match all conditions. In Horizon 2, the sky is blue not because the designers chose the appropriate color, but because the atmosphere’s particle density when viewed at a distance dictates that’s the case. Even rainbows are “mathematically” generated.

E3-PressKit-07-WM-ForzaHorizon2-jpg

Forza 5’s Drivatar returns, but is now adapted to Horizon 2’s open-world nature. Not only does your Drivatar learn how you drive, it learns where you drive. In a connected world littered with other players’ Drivatars, you can use this to your advantage by tailing them during free roam and following them to secret locations, obscure shortcuts, or hidden car barns they might have found earlier. When you’re offline, your Drivatar earns you credits as it races and free roams all on its own and exactly in your syle.

In Horizon 2, Skill Points are earned just as frequently by driving stylishly as winning races. The points can then be used to unlock Perks. A set of basic ones are assigned to every driver at the beginning of their career, but you can progress to unlock abilities like fast travelling, earning cash at a faster rate, earning more cash for creating custom paints, or earning more Experience Points while in free roam. I counted 25 perks during our session, but I may have missed missed a few. In addition to “Bucket Lists,” or groups of challenges for players to work through that will be continuously added to the game post-launch, it’s another layer that Playground games hopes will inject more excitement into Horizon 2’s progression system.

Forza Horizon 2

Barriers in Horizon 2 only exist as they do in real life, which is a lot of ground to cover. As Playground explained, their new open world is three times the size of the original Horizon’s world and is filled with collectibles, challenges, and cars, of which there are over 200. And no matter what class of vehicle you feel most drawn to, there’s plenty of gameplay around it, including endurance events, cross-country races, and more unconventional races against other land and air craft like trains and planes. Playground told us there are over 700 unique racing events in addition to the return of Forza’s Showcase mode.

Horizon 2 may not quite be an MMO racer, but its heavy online experience comes front and center using Xbox One’s dedicated servers and Smart Match matchmaking system. I wasn’t able to get a good feel for the game’s online multiplayer during our hands-off demo, but we’re told Horizon’s 2 online experience will be seamless and only one button press away. Using the world map to find where your friends are at, it sounds like you’ll be able to race on over and join in on their shenanigans or invite them to an event on a whim with absolutely no loading period.

Car meets are back from the original Horizon where you’ll be able to share stats and car tuning specs while checking out others’. You’ll also now be able to create your very own Club of racers, up to 1000, who share similar interests. If you have that many online friends, you can fill it right up, or choose to stay more intimate with a smaller group of familiar friends. You have the freedom.

Forza Horizon 2

You’ll be able to hit the open road with Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox One or on Xbox 360, developed by Sumo Digital, this September 30.

We’re anxious to learn more about Horizon 2’s seamless online experience, so stay tuned to MP1st for more details as we get ’em.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber