We embraced the cold wasteland of Capcom’s Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World during this year’s E3 – how do the changes and additions stack up?
source /preview/8618-monster-hunter-world-iceborne-hands-on-impressions-from-e3-2019
There are a lot of games RPG fans can play on the Game Pass for PC right now.
source /news/8620-here-s-all-the-rpgs-you-can-play-with-the-xbox-game-pass-for-pc
The celebration of Final Fantasy VII felt like a missed opportunity.
source /feature/8616-final-fantasy-vii-a-symphonic-reunion-review
We lead a group of wannabe-hero tourists through Heroland – does it feel more like a job, or a calling?
source /preview/8609-heroland-hands-on-impressions-from-e3-2019
FF7 Remake hits PS4 in March, but it sounds like consoles beyond that have been prepared for.
Gears Tactics is not dead, according to publisher Microsoft, despite its E3 2019 no-show. The Xbox One and PC game was first unveiled at E3 2018 alongside Gears 5 and Gears Pop, but while those were shown off again at Xbox’s press conference this time round, Tactics was not.
This prompted fears from some that the game was canceled or experiencing development struggles. However, the publisher has now reassured fans that the strategy title is still on the way.
Longtime series producer Rod Fergusson told Kotaku: “Last year we wanted to really talk about all three games [Gears 5, Pop, and Tactics] and show that Microsoft is tripling down on the Gears of War franchise, but now that we’ve had that we’re really trying to make sure it’s not always this three-pack … We’ll talk about Gears Tactics later.”
No release date has been revealed for Gears Tactics, while Gears 5 launches on September 10. Gears Pop, meanwhile, will come to iOS and Android in “late summer” this year.
Microsoft’s E3 2019 conference focused heavily on Gears 5, which will receive a Terminator crossover in which you can play as the T-800 himself or Sarah Connor. Players will also have a couple of chances to try out Gears 5 ahead of its release. In July, The Coalition will launch a versus multiplayer test that includes a new competitive game type called Arcade. Then the following month, on August 19, you can test out Horde Mode.
More E3 news:
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-tactics-still-in-development-despite-e3-2019/1100-6467774/
E3 2019’s press conferences are over. The Electronic Entertainment Expo delivered some huge news, including a Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, a new Xbox console named Project Scarlett, and plenty more.
However, it also contained some wacky moments none of us expected, and it gave rise to some stars we never thought would shine at a gaming expo. Let’s take a look at some of the people–and animals–that have brightened up our E3.
After Reggie Fils-Aime’s recent retirement, Nintendo needed a new star to present its E3 Directs. Thankfully, Bowser was there to take over–in style. Doug Bowser, that is.
The Koopa King thought he was the one to tell us about Nintendo’s new games at E3 2019, but it turns out there was a mistake, and D Bowser promptly put Mario’s longtime enemy in his place. Sorry, Bowser.
Keanu Reeves had already captured the internet’s hearts for being an all-round Good Egg. So when he emerged on-stage at Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference, everyone understandably went wild. The actor, perhaps best known for his roles in the Matrix and John Wick franchises, is in Cyberpunk 2077. He plays a character named Johnny Silverhand, who is described by developer CD Projekt Red as a “legendary rocker boy” who gets his name from the fact that he has a robotic, silver arm. Silverhand is a “key” character in Cyberpunk 2077, so we may see a lot of him.
Reeves not only provided the voice and likeness of Silverhand, but he also performed full-body motion capture. This means Silverhand will look and act like Reeves. That’s good news, because as behind-the-scenes John Wick training videos have shown, Reeves is a talented actor who commits to his craft to ensure the best possible result.
Ubisoft’s E3 2019 press conference was as varied as ever, bringing us news on Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and more. But by far the most adorable moment was when actor John Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street, Daredevil, The Punisher) arrived on stage accompanied by his dog, Bam Bam. Bernthal was there to discuss his role in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, while Bam Bam was merely there to be A Good Boy. Watch the wholesome moment above.
The grey clouds of Activision’s reduced E3 presence and Sony’s no-show seemed ready to unleash a shower of disappointment on E3 2019. And then the Bethesda press conference happened. Tango Gameworks creative director Ikumi Nakamura took to the stage, and like a beam of light from the sun, she cut through the miasma to energize and uplift us all. Nakamura arrived on stage to announce Ghostwire: Tokyo, a new game from the studio behind The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2.
Nakamura casually strolled onto the stage with an enthusiastic, “Yayyyyyyy!” This was followed by, “Wow, wow, wow, so many people.” Obviously, Nakamura was feeling overwhelmed by the size of the audience, but at the same time, she stayed cool, calm, and collected.
Nakamura’s minor case of stage fright belies her experience in game design and development. Though she may not be a familiar name or face to the greater video game fanbase as a whole, she has been involved in the creation of some of the most beloved games of all time, including Okami and Bayonetta, and of course The Evil Within.
Over the course of a few minutes, Nakamura’s earnestness and excitement won hearts and minds. She admitted her nervousness, said she’d give speaking English–which she is doing for our benefit–a solid shot, and then delivered a charismatic pitch for her new “spooooooky” game. People are vanishing in Tokyo, and we the player must find out why, unraveling conspiracies and delving into the occult along the way. She promised we’d meet spirits that were [ominous voice] “dangerous” and [playful voice] “peaceful.”
Ubisoft’s E3 2019 press conference had quite a few unexpected surprises–one of which we’ve of course been over already–but none seems to have hit as hard as an octogenarian with a mean streak. Helen, one of the showcased playable characters from Watch Dogs: Legion, has captured the hearts of the internet.
That’s no small feat, because the pitch behind Legion is that anyone is a playable character. All of London’s residents you find wandering around have their own stories, backgrounds, and habits, and you can hack into their lives and learn more about them to recruit them. Many of them have specialized skills like brawling or robotics expertise. Helen, according to the trailer, is a former assassin, and the wrinkles have made her no less deadly.
More E3 news:
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019s-top-5-unexpected-stars/1100-6467745/
Defining the story through your choices is at the heart of pen-and-paper RPGs, and that makes it the center of CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077. That’s nothing new for CD Projekt coming off the Witcher series, but what feels remarkable about what we’ve seen of Cyberpunk so far is the number of elements it mixes to make the story feel bespoke to the character you’ve created. None of the ideas CD Projekt uses to build out a flexible narrative are new–it uses dialogue trees, branching narratives, multiple paths through mission and combat encounters, and character stats. What’s impressive, though, is how many variations Cyberpunk 2077 seems to offer players, and how often the choices you make will influence your gameplay and the story the game tells you.
CD Projekt RED showed a new demo of the game behind closed doors at E3 2019. This one focused on gameplay, walking through a mission with two different versions of V, the player character. Even still, there were plenty of conversations to work through and decisions to make that influenced the story, starting with character creation. At the start of the game, you set your character’s gender (just male and female, it seems) and their proclivities. As previously detailed, Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t include set classes; instead, it sports a “fluid class system” that allows you to choose a variety of different abilities and perks as you level up.
You’ll define your character in a lot of other ways as well. There are three backstory options to choose from that fill out what your childhood was like, while also defining what kind of person you are by investing points in a variety of stats. There’s Nomad, a Mad Max-like roaming gang existence; Street Kid, an urchin upbringing in the city; and Corporate, an origin among the straight-laced life.
All those elements (and a whole bunch more) influence your path through V’s story in Night City. The demo showed a mission in which V headed to Pacifica, the southernmost of Night City’s six distinct districts and which is mostly populated by immigrants from Haiti, to try to enlist the help of a gang called the Voodoo Boyz. Pacifica is pretty vastly different from the Night City we’ve previously seen. The district was initially planned as a beach-side resort area, and corporations poured money into creating m hotels and malls. Somewhere along the way, though, plans fell through. The money dried up, the corporations moved out, and Pacifica became a mostly abandoned locale where some of Night City’s poorest live. There isn’t even really a police presence in the district, making it unsafe even by Night City standards.
As developers explained, V has “biochip” stuck in their head and needs it removed. It contains the “secret to immortality,” and something else–Johnny Silverhand. The “digital ghost” of the Cyberpunk 2020 character, played by Keanu Reeves in the game, was introduced during CD Projekt’s appearance during Microsoft’s E3 press conference. He resides in your head, and your relationship with him (and how you choose to shape it through your choices) will be a big part of the story.
Of course, help from the Voodoo Boyz doesn’t come easy. When you enter Pacifica, you meet with Placid, a high-level Netrunner (or hacker to non-cyberpunks) who means to put you on a job in exchange for the gang’s assistance. Your interactions with Placid includes lots of choices. You get standard dialogue options for your responses when speaking with him, while others open up based on context and the unique aspects of your character. For instance, if you choose the Street Kid backstory, your experience in gangs in your youth can give you insights into the inner turmoil of the group, which unlocks different responses. If you pumped points into Intelligence, V might recognize something technical in Placid’s interactions with an underling that adds another response.
Things going on in the room with you also add response possibilities, as do perks you unlock–being a skilled Netrunner might let you talk shop with Placid. You’ll also see all those options, whether they’re available or not, on the screen when you choose your responses, so you know exactly what you’re missing.
During their conversation about the job, there’s a moment when Placid reaches out and grabs V’s network link cable, a wire that slips out of V’s wrist that directly links to their brain. It’s how you “jack in” to networks and computers to get information, but using it carries a lot of danger–just as you can use it to access systems, systems can use it to access you. It’s a significant invasion of your space and safety for Placid to touch the cable and try to jack V in without their consent. The moment showed a different kind of interactive conversation moment: the player could choose for V to recoil from Placid’s reach, but a timer showed you only have a brief window to make that call.
Your actions and interactions also influence a stat called “Street Cred.” As you increase your cred through completing missions and doing other such things, you’ll gain access to more content, CD Projekt said. That might mean shopkeepers end up trusting you enough to offer you better, more illicit, or more illegal goods, or it might be new options in dialogue and new sidequests you wouldn’t get access to if you hadn’t built up a reputation.
Placid eventually dispatches you on a mission to figure out what another rival gang, the Animals, are doing in Pacifica. They’ve taken up residence in the Grand Imperial Mall, far from their usual territory, and he needs someone to go in and find out what they’re up to. There are plenty of choices for how you deal with the enemies there, and CD Projekt explained that you could complete the entire game without killing anyone if you so choose. Choosing between going lethal or non-lethal won’t necessarily have huge effects on the story, lead quest designer Pawel Sasko told GameSpot, but there are story moments where your choice to finish someone off or spare them will have lasting consequences.
After sneaking around and fighting (and killing) a whole bunch of gangsters, the mission ended with V discovering the secret of what’s happening in the mall: a government agency called Netwatch is using a surveillance van to break into the Voodoo Boyz’s network to hunt them all down. Your actual mission, which Placid didn’t fully explain, is to take out the Netwatch agent in the mall. When you find and confront the agent, he introduces another twist–he says the Voodoo Boyz call in outside contractors like you because you’re disposable, and if you link the Voodoo Boyz into Netwatch’s network as instructed, they’ll kill you.
V had several options for responding to Mosley, the Netwatch agent, including asking him for more evidence or distrusting him outright thanks to the Street Kid backstory experience. You can choose to side with the government (or stay off its bad side) in this moment, or complete your mission for Placid, and that decision leads to vastly different outcomes.
In the end, V chose to trust Placid and did as instructed. But Mosley was right, and seconds after making the connection, the Voodoo Boyz remotely cooked the brains of everyone on the Netwatch network–including V.
The betrayal didn’t entirely take, though. V woke up some eight hours later with the ghostly Johnny standing over them; it seems that biochip and the imaginary friend in V’s head might have helped them survive an otherwise lethal brain-hacking situation. Leaving the mall, V surprised the Voodoo Boyz lookouts waiting outside, who expected everyone inside to be dead. The player chose to let the gangsters drive V back to Placid to confront him. A handful of dialogue choices presented themselves, including one that had V just straight-up punch Placid in the face.
The last scene of the demo found Brigitte, the Voodoo Boyz’s real leader, making good on the promise to help despite the previous attempt to murder V. That would require heading into cyberspace to look for another Cyberpunk 2020 character who seems to be central to the game: Alt Cunningham. In the pen-and-paper sourcebooks, Cunningham developed a technology that could allow Netrunners to copy their brains into a fully digital form. Thanks to more murder and betrayal, Cunningham’s physical body was killed, but she survived as the first fully digitized person, escaping into the internet. To figure out the biochip and Johnny’s deal, it seems, V needs Cunningham’s help. V had the option to discuss the situation with Johnny before deciding to hop into cyberspace, a Matrix code-like realm, further emphasizing that for much of the game, Johnny seems to be a confidant and something of a partner. The demo ended just before V could determine if Cunningham, missing for some 50 years, is still alive–or still human.
None of the story elements in the Cyberpunk 2077 demo were major innovations. Franchises like Deus Ex, Mass Effect, and The Witcher have used all of these ideas to great effect in telling their stories. But Cyberpunk seems to use all the tricks and ideas in choice-based narrative games that have come before to greatly increase the ways the game’s story can feel uniquely yours, thanks to the V you create and your decisions along the way.
Of course, not every choice is monumental or triggering a significant change in the story; most probably don’t really matter. But Cyberpunk’s attention to detail in giving you so many options depending on different contexts looks like it’ll go a long way to making it feel very responsive. All these things look like they’ll go into helping players develop a V that will seem uniquely theirs. When the game finally launches on April 16, 2020, we’ll see how successfully those elements work together.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-cyberpunk-2077s-story-seems-highly-respons/1100-6467772/
The first impression of CD Projekt RED’s closed-door demo of Cyberpunk 2077 at E3 2019 is that it’s taken a lot of influence from similar titles, such as Deus Ex games. The hour-long session focused extensively on the kind of gameplay you’ll take part in as you adventure through Night City, with a specific look at the choices available to you in combat and story situations. The big takeaway: you’ll get lots of options for working through an area or dealing with combat depending on your playstyle and decisions.
Cyberpunk’s RPG underpinnings mostly come through in its “fluid class system,” which allows you to pick abilities and perks from a variety of areas to develop your own version of V, the game’s main character. That means you don’t have to be a specialized Net Runner (read: hacker) or Strong Solo (read: super-strong brawler) in particular; you can mix and match your abilities to fit your desired play style. The abilities you choose will give you a variety of options for dealing with combat, working your way through areas and missions, and interacting with other characters–similar to games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
CD Projekt’s E3 demo showed one such mission and the options available to two different variants on V. After seeking out a gang called the Voodoo Boys for help dealing with V’s “biochip” (which seems to contain a “digital ghost” version of Keanu Reeves’ character, Johnny Silverhand, who exists only in V’s head), V gets contracted to do a job for the gang. It entails venturing to the Grand Imperial Mall in the district of Pacifica, where a rival gang called the Animals have taken up residence. V’s job: infiltrate the building, figure out what the Animals are up to, and shut it down.
One version of V sneaked in through the mall’s loading dock, using cybernetic implants like an optical scanner to spot enemies and carefully move past them. Good thing, too–the Animals are known for bodybuilding and muscle-enhancement technology, and the weaker Netrunner V would have been handily pummeled if he’d been discovered. While you’ll have a lot of firepower at your disposal, as we saw in last year’s Cyberpunk demo, relying on stealth is an option as well.
A little further in, this version of V, who specialized as a Netrunner ran into a surveillance camera covering the hallway. A nearby network node offered an opportunity to hack in and take control of the camera by way of a quick hacking minigame–but slipping into the network offered its own problems.
Turns out, there’s a Netrunner hiding out in the mall somewhere running counter-hacking on you, and that’s no small thing. In Cyberpunk, hacking into people can be deadly; the only reason V survives this encounter is because of the help of the Voodoo Boys’ Netrunner, Placid, who is linked to your character during the mission to provide tactical support. Despite the interference, being connected to the network gives you the opportunity to mess with a number of devices throughout the mall.
Still undiscovered, V continued into a gym area where a few Animals were distracted watching one of their pals with a robot in a boxing ring. V’s “quick hack” skill allowed him to mess with the robot, ratcheting up its difficulty setting. That created a handy distraction as the bot brained his sparring partner, causing a handful of Animals to run over to see what was up. Just a little way further, the way was blocked by another Animal using a bench press station. Luckily, the Internet of Things is alive and well in the 2077–V quick-hacked the bench press to increase the weight, dispatching the poor enemy as the barbell choked him to death. That’s why you don’t lift without a spotter.
The quick hack ability has a lot of uses. V was able to commandeer a gun turret and switch off its friendly fire function, for instance. Quick hack looks very reminiscent of the remote hacking capabilities players get in the Watch Dogs franchise, with a lot of similar applications. He also carried a “nano wire,” a physical hacking cable he could throw at enemies at close range to jack into their brains, cooking them alive or causing them to attack their friends if you’ve purchased the right malicious software. Even cooler, though, was the fact the nano wire doubled as a laser whip–something borrowed directly from the cyberpunk movie Johnny Mnemonic (which also starred Reeves).
Switching speeds, CD Projekt showed the same mission with a female version of V who specialized in overwhelming force. Sporting cybernetic implants like gorilla strength, this V didn’t have the option to hack her way past the surveillance camera; instead, she ran to a nearby door and used brute strength to force it open. That created an alternate path into an elevator shaft, completely bypassing the Animals in the gym. The move gave off a very Deus Ex vibe, with alternate paths through areas accessible depending on your abilities and your playstyle.
That same access to alternative situations was true in the next room, where V faced the turret and nearby Animals. Instead of taking over the turret, this V simply ripped it off its moorings, turning it into a massive minigun and ravaging enemies with it. She also didn’t have the aversion to melee combat that her weaker Netrunner counterpart did and set about punching Animals to death, as well as stabbing them with broken bottles and other handy implements. You’ll also be able to wield things like swords, or deal with unaware enemies with stealthy takedowns–including environmental ones. At one point, V sneaked up behind an adversary standing next to a garbage chute, grabbed him by the neck, and bounced his head off a nearby wall before tossing him in, taking him out and disposing of his body in one move.
As with its many story choices, Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t seem to be breaking new ground with its approach to gameplay choices and playstyle iterations. A lot of similar games in the genre offer a lot of similar variations. But Cyberpunk’s balance of giving you lots of options that conform to your style, and making them all viable and interesting, makes it look pretty exciting. We only saw a small snapshot of what you’ll be able to do in the game, it seems–you’ll be able to play the whole game non-lethally, for instance, as well as mix and match a number of different abilities, too. All the different play styles and abilities look they’re receiving equal love from CD Projekt, which should make playing Cyberpunk 2077 a pretty responsive and individual experience, regardless of how you want to tackle Night City.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-cyberpunk-2077-gameplay-looks-like-deus-ex/1100-6467773/
Microsoft showcased a new Halo Infinite trailer, “Discover Hope,” at E3 this year and confirmed the game will be a launch title for Project Scarlett in Holiday 2020. But when will we learn more about Microsoft’s much-anticipated Xbox and PC game?
Probably not soon.
In a blog post, Halo Infinite studio head Chris Lee said 2020’s E3 will be a “big moment” for Halo Infinite. You should expect Microsoft to keep quiet until then.
“As for what’s next, E3 2020 will be a big moment for Halo Infinite,” Lee said. “Until we reach that destination in 2020, we’ll continue to embrace the mystery and wonder of Halo and the endless opportunity and potential of this engine, this hardware and, most of all, this team.”
Lee added that it has been “incredibly challenging” to develop Halo Infinite so he and the team were excited to finally share more of it at E3 this week.
Halo Infinite launches in Holiday 2020, but it’s not clear if this means the full Halo Infinite release or only the start of the game’s public beta. In his blog post, Lee re-affirmed that Microsoft still plans to launch a pre-release beta, or “flight,” for Infinite.
“We still intend to support an early flighting program that will give you a way to play the game and provide feedback that will directly impact decisions we make for launch and into the future,” he said.
You can sign up for Microsoft’s Halo Insider program for a chance to get into the Halo Infinite beta. Halo Infinite will release on Project Scarlett, as well as all of the Xbox One family of consoles. It’s also coming to PC.
While Halo Infinite might not release until 2020, Microsoft plans to start the first beta test for Halo: Reach on PC sometime in June. In other news, Microsoft recently announced the pricing details for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC.
More E3 news:
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-halo-infinite-will-have-a-big-showing-at-e/1100-6467771/
