Ys IX: Monstrum Nox introduces Aprilis and other characters Adol will meet in the city of Barduk
The mysterious hooded woman gets a name.
Marvel Is Very Closely Involved With New Avengers Game For PS4, Xbox One, And PC
The new Avengers game from Crystal Dynamics and its other co-developers is being made in very close collaboration with Marvel, it seems. Crystal Dynamics studio head Scott Amos spoke to GI.biz about the origins of the project and working with Marvel on it.
He explained that Marvel opened a dialogue with Crystal about what kind of Avengers game they wanted to make. The idea from the start, it seems, was for the Avengers game to be an “original take” on The Avengers, so it doesn’t feature the likenesses of the MCU actors.
“Marvel showed up and said, ‘What do you want to do?,'” Amos explained. “That’s how it started. They really looked at us and said, ‘Crystal, you guys are experts at making games, we’re experts at The Avengers. What do you want to do? What’s the original take you want to do on visuals, on story?'”
Amos explained that in the development process, Marvel is the “truth north” as it relates to the direction of the new Avengers game. Marvel’s Bill Rosemann, who is the company’s vice president of creative development, helps direct the team about things like what Tony Stark might say or what kinds of battle moves Hulk might perform.
Amos went on to discuss just how much Marvel is involved with the development of the new Avengers game, and it’s a lot.
“They’re not just collaborators, they’re partners,” Amos said. “They’re embedded with us as a team. We talk to them daily. We send them everything we’re working on, we have builds they play and get feedback. We bring them to the studio and go through it together.”
“[Bill Rosemann] is 25 years at Marvel. He knows everybody. We’re like, ‘So we have a character, and this storyline we saw in issue x,’ and he’s like, ‘I can get you the writer, let’s go see what that person thinks’… We have this amazing collaboration with them that lets us do a little of the iconic fan service and a lot of doing an original take that makes it feel fresh and familiar.”
In other news, Crystal has confirmed that the Avengers game can be played offline. If you do want to venture online, you can team up with other players. Additionally, post-release heroes and locations are free, and there are no loot boxes, but the game still does feature microtransactions.
For more on the new Avengers game, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of every confirmed character so far. The Avengers game launches in May 2020.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/marvel-is-very-closely-involved-with-new-avengers-/1100-6468081/
Blizzard Founder On Why They Canceled The MMO Titan
World of Warcraft developer Blizzard cancels roughly 50 percent of the games it develops, and one of those projects was the MMO Titan.
Blizzard founder Mike Morhaime, who has since left the company, spoke about the project during the Gamelab convention in Barcelona this week. He said it was planned to be a “next-generation MMO,” but it proved to be too ambitious,.
“We failed to control scope,” Morhaime said, as reported by Eurogamer. “It was very ambitious. It was a brand new universe, and it was going to be the next generation MMO that did all sorts of different things, it had different modes. We were sort of building two games in parallel, and it really struggled to come together.”
Blizzard’s Overwatch was born out of the ashes of Titan, and Morhaime spoke more about how greenlighting that game was “one of the best decisions that we made.”
“We took something that wasn’t going to ship for a very long time, might never have shipped, and turned it into an awesome game,” he explained.
Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan, who worked on Titan, remarked, “We failed horrifically in every way … In every way that a project can fail. It was devastating.”
Titan was officially canceled in 2014, and at the time, Morhaime stated, “We set out to make the most ambitious thing that you could possibly imagine. And it didn’t come together.”
As for why Titan was canceled, Morhaime said Blizzard “didn’t find the fun … didn’t find the passion.”
The latest project that Blizzard canceled was a StarCraft first-person shooter, according to a report. Blizzard reportedly scuttled the project, which was said to be in development for two yeas, so it could focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-founder-on-why-they-canceled-the-mmo-tita/1100-6468080/
Arc of Alchemist to release for Nintendo Switch in Japan on October 10
The Idea Factory tactical Action RPG gets a new platform.
source /news/8670-arc-of-alchemist-to-release-for-nintendo-switch-in-japan-on-october-10
God Of War Reboot Considered Dropping Kratos — “He’s Annoying, He’s Done”
The God of War reboot for PlayStation nearly cut Atreus, and now game director has confirmed that there were discussions about doing away with the main hero as well. In an appearance at Gamelab in Spain this week, Barlog said people were telling him that Kratos had to go.
“Early in discussion, people were saying we had to get rid of Kratos,” Barlog said, as reported by Eurogamer. “It was like, ‘He’s annoying, he’s done.'”
Barlog went on to say that Kratos was purposefully designed at the start of the series to be unlikeable. Some people on the team thought it was time for him to go, Barlog said. Developers suggested they create a new protagonist.
In the end, Barlog got his way in part because he came up with a story about Kratos’ evolution and rescuing himself from his dark desires.
Kratos does star in the new God of War for PS4, and his relationship with Atreus was among the most meaningful and interesting elements of the title. “It took a lot of convincing to make them think it was a good idea,” Barlog said about bringing Kratos back.
As we already knew, some people at Sony Santa Monica also wanted to cut Atreus as well. Barlog said it came down to budget concerns, with animators and programmers finding it difficult to “make sense of” Atreus’ part in the story, according to Eurogamer. Barlog said he went as far as to write another story without Atreus “as a back-up.”
God of War launched in April 2018 and it was a smashing success; by Sony’s latest count, it has sold more than 10 million copies. Despite its massive success, there are no expansions coming.
For more on God of War, you can check out the GameSpot Audio Logs episode where Barlog breaks down one of the most impactful scenes that almost didn’t happen. Check it out in the video embed above.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/god-of-war-reboot-considered-dropping-kratos-hes-a/1100-6468078/
Call Of Duty: Black Ops Dev Responds To Report About Working Conditions
Call of Duty: Black Ops developer Treyarch has responded to a Kotaku report in which numerous developers reveal what they describe as a brutal work environment. Studio heads Dan Bunting and Mark Gordon released an email to staff in the wake of the report, informing employees that they are planning “significant improvements” for work-life balance.
The email goes on to state that Treyarch plans to improve working conditions through “better project planning, streamlined production processes, and rigorous decision-making timelines.” Bunting and Gordon added that they are committed to “increased transparency.”
The studio heads encouraged developers to speak with their managers if they have concerns, and if that doesn’t work, they should reach out to Bunting and Gordon.
“Game development is a wildly complex art and it requires a diverse set of people and skill sets to do it successfully. It’s important for all of us to foster a studio culture that treats all team members with respect,” the pair said.
In the report, which is titled “The Human Cost Of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4,” numerous current and former developers shine a light on how Treyarch’s contract employees, in particular those working in quality assurance (QA), say they are treated as second-class.
The developers say they are informed not to speak with developers from other units and that they have to park in a separate parking lot. They also reported working extended hours; around 70 hours per week.
In addition to complaints about crunch and general workplace conditions, the report reveals key details about the development of Black Ops 4. It’s reported that management decided to cancel the game’s campaign mode in early 2018. This was a tough blow for the developers, as their previous game, Black Ops 3, reportedly saw a big shift in direction, too; a planned open-world design was dropped in favor of a standard linear story.
Black Ops 4’s campaign was to feature a new spin on co-op and multiplayer with two players fighting against a pair of other human characters. One example of a gameplay scenario is one side would try to protect a journalist with the other side trying to kill them.
With the campaign mode canceled, Treyarch decided to release its own spin on battle royale in a mode that would go on to be known as Blackout. Development on the battle royale mode reportedly did not begin until nine months before release. “That mode came together by the seat of its pants. It’s kind of a miracle that it did,” one developer said.
In a change to the normal Call of Duty development schedule, Treyarch is said to be developing 2020’s Call of Duty title which is believed to be a new Black Ops title set in the Cold War. According to Kotaku, other Activision studios Raven Software and Sledgehammer were lined up to take the lead on a Call of Duty title set in Vietnam, but management decided to put Treyarch on the game as its lead and make it a Black Ops title. The title is said to launch in holiday 2020 as a cross-gen release for current and next-gen consoles.
2019’s Call of Duty game is Modern Warfare from developer Infinity Ward. It’s a soft reboot of the series, and it launches at the end of October on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-black-ops-dev-responds-to-report-abou/1100-6468077/
Final Fantasy 14 Online Boss Talks About What’s Holding Up Xbox Version
Final Fantasy XIV Online currently offers cross-play support between PlayStation 4 and PC, but one of the reasons the game hasn’t released on Xbox One yet is because Microsoft apparently won’t allow cross-play. Game director Naoki Yoshida told wccftech that he recently spoke with Xbox boss Phil Spencer and informed him that Square Enix is “prepared to do cross-play any any time.” However, Microsoft isn’t budging, it seems.
“Two months ago, I discussed with Phil Spencer. I have explained this before but we are prepared to do crossplay at any time,” Yoshida explained.
According to Yoshida, things like in-game chat and social networking in the form of creating and joining guilds are essential for MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV Online.
“I would like to have Microsoft change their regulations,” Yoshida said.
Yoshida told GameSpot in March that Final Fantasy XIV needs to support cross-play to have its playerbases united and offer the best experience. That’s currently possible on PS4 and PC, but not with other systems, which has presumably kept the game off Xbox and Nintendo systems so far.
Sony, as well as Nintendo, is beginning to allow cross-play with competing platforms for games like Fortnite and Rocket League, so it seems more likely than ever that Final Fantasy XIV comes to new platforms.
“Talks with platform-holders has been going on,” Yoshida said about Microsoft, Nintendo, and Google. “The fundamental philosophy with Final Fantasy XIV is we want it on labels with cross-platform play with any devices, hardware possible,” Yoshida said through a translator. “So as long as the regulations with the counterpart hardware companies … we can actually pass that, then the possibility, the chance is quite high [of Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox and Nintendo systems].
The next expansion for Final Fantasy XIV Online is Shadowbringers, which launches on July 2. Square Enix is going big to promote the game, bringing on Tom Holland and Hannibal Buress for commercials hyping the expansion.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-14-online-boss-talks-about-whats-hol/1100-6468076/
Steam Summer Sale Sees A Whopping 1% Discount On This Devolver Game
The Steam 2019 Summer Sale is in full swing, featuring huge discounts on thousands of PC games across a variety of genres, including some of this year’s biggest releases like Devil May Cry 5 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Indie publisher Devolver Digital, which has a reputation for doing some silly things (as evidenced by its strange annual E3 press conferences), is also offering deals on a variety of titles during the sale, including one that’s an absolute steal.
From now until the Steam Summer Sale ends, you can snag Devolver Bootleg for 1% off. That amounts to a whopping five cents off its standard price of $4.99 USD. Devolver Bootleg is a compilation that consists of “eight original rip-offs of Devolver Digital games.” The full game list (and the titles they rip-off) includes:
- Enter the Gun Dungeon (Enter the Gungeon)
- Hotline Milwaukee (Hotline Miami)
- Ape Out Jr. (Ape Out)
- Shootyboots (Downwell)
- Super Absolver Mini: Turbo Fighting Championship (Absolver)
- Catsylvania (Gato Roboto)
- PikuBiku Ball Stars (Pikuniku)
- Luftrousers 3 (Luftrausers)
The Devolver Bootleg collection launched earlier this month and was similarly available for 1% for early adopters, so if you missed out on this generous deal the first time around, you have another chance to take advantage of it. You can pick up Devolver Bootleg on Steam here. Of course, a number of other Devolver games are also on sale for more conventional discounts, including Katana Zero for $11.24, Enter the Gungeon for $7.49, The Messenger for $14, and Gris for $11.38.
The Steam Summer Sale runs until July 9, and as previously mentioned, it offers deals on tons of PC games. You can browse the full offerings on the Steam Store. This year, Valve has a Grand Prix-themed minigame that will let you pick a team and then earn various rewards and even free games on your wishlist. You can track each team’s rankings on the Grand Prix page.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-summer-sale-sees-a-whopping-1-discount-on-th/1100-6468066/
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 Has A New Patch Out Now
While Call of Duty fans await the upcoming Modern Warfare reboot (slated for October 25), Black Ops 4 has received yet another patch that delivers new content and features across all its modes.
Developer Treyarch posted a lengthy outline on Reddit of all the additions arriving in this new update. Chief among them are new maps like Hacienda Twilight, changes to weapons like the Daemon 3XB and the Switchblade X9 submachine guns, the introduction of Contracts, and more.
The outdoor map Hacienda Twilight is now in the multiplayer rotation. The outside is brighter than the inside thanks to the glaring moon hanging overhead, with fires, structural changes, and other surprises waiting in the twilight.
Pistols and SMGs have been tuned to be more competitive against assault rifles, with their ballistic profiles falling more in line with traditional hitscan models. Basically, SMGs and pistols should now hit faster and with higher accuracy without accounting for bullet travel time in multiplayer. Further, damage range on both the Daemon 3XB and the Switchblade X9 SMGs have been decreased, while the Daemon 3XB gets a third extra magazine.
Contracts are now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PC soon to follow in patch 1.18. There are 196 contracts to complete each week throughout all modes–Blackout, multiplayer, world league, and zombies–and doing so nets players experience, Merits, Nebulium Plasma, and reserves. For example, getting five kills with the Hellstorm Missiles grants 2500 experience points and two supply crates.
Black Ops 4 added a new Specialist called Spectre back in April 2019, a katana-wielding assassin who can see enemy outlines through their smoke grenades. The Operation Spectre Rising update also brought three new maps: Artifact, Masquerade, and WMD, all available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 June 25 Update Patch Notes
Summary
- Contracts now available featuring 28 daily rotating challenges across all modes.
- Hacienda Twilight added to rotation in Multiplayer.
- Weapon tuning for the Daemon 3XB, Switchblade X9, and MOG 12.
- Ballistic profiles changed to hitscan model for SMGs and pistols.
- More maps added to Prop Hunt and Capture the Flag rotations.
- Humiliation finishing moves added to Heist in MP and redeploy modes in Blackout.
- Medals added to Blackout with new Merit rewards.
- Sentry now available in Stashes and Supply Drops in Blackout.
- New “Numbers” Death Effect reward added for completing an Outfit Mission in Blackout
- MKII Weapons now properly track attachment and camo progression.
- Scorestreak improvements and fixes for the Drone Squad, Hellstorm, DART, and Gunship.
- Improved matchmaking in Domination.
- Featured Playlist updates on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
- Blackjack’s Stash now available only in limited-time modes (PS4).
- Hard Mode “Unsinkable” Gauntlet added to Zombies with 2X Nebulium Plasma rewards (PS4).
PlayStation 4
Zombies
- Hard Mode Gauntlets
- Hard Mode “Unsinkable” Gauntlet now available with doubled Nebulium Plasma rewards and Hard Mode-exclusive Medals and Calling Cards to earn.
Blackout
- Blackjack’s Stash
- Blackjack’s Stash now available to find and open in limited-time modes.
- Players can unlock only one of Blackjack’s Stashes per match, containing Black Market weapons currently in the player’s collection.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Global
- Contracts
- Contracts are now available in Multiplayer, Blackout, Zombies, and World League.
- Up to 6 Contracts to complete per mode in addition to each mode’s Daily Contract, for a total of 28 Contracts to complete each day.
- Up to three Contracts can be active at once, including two player-selected Contracts and one Daily Contract for each game mode.
- Daily Contracts will refresh every 24 hours. Players must complete their Daily Contract in each mode before the refresh, when a new Daily Contract will take its place.
- Players can jump from mode to mode to complete Contracts in any order they like.
- Possible rewards from completing Contracts can include:
- Reserve Case(s)
- Bonus XP in Multiplayer, Zombies, and World League
- Bonus Nebulium Plasma in Zombies
- Bonus Merits in Blackout
Multiplayer
- Maps
- Hacienda Twilight
- Alternate-lighting Hacienda map variant now in rotation.
- Hacienda Twilight
- Weapons
- Ballistic Profiles
- Ballistic profiles on SMGs and pistols changed to hitscan to create consistency with other weapon classes in Multiplayer.
- MOG 12
- Dragon Breath Operator Mod damage reduced to increase pellets required for a one-shot kill at long range.
- Daemon 3XB
- Now requires at least six bullets to finish off a target with full health (up from five).
- Added a third extra magazine.
- Switchblade X9
- Reduced 6-shot kill range from 19 meters to 13 meters.
- Reduced 7-shot kill range from 25 meters to 19 meters.
- Reduced 8-shot kill range from 31 meters to 25 meters.
- Ballistic Knife
- Addressed an issue preventing players from using Dual Wield and Extra Blades at the same time.
- Ballistic Profiles
- Game Modes
- Prop Hunt
- Added Morocco and Summit to map rotation.
- Addressed an issue in Prop Hunt where players could sometimes spawn inside of other players.
- Closed an exploit in Prop Hunt where props could hide under the map.
- Capture the Flag
- Added Frequency and Jungle to map rotation.
- Domination
- Players will no longer join Domination matches that are almost over.
- Heist
- Added Humiliation finishing moves to Heist.
- Prop Hunt
- Create-a-Class
- Addressed an issue where MKII Weapons were not progressing attachments and camos properly.
- Scorestreaks
- Drone Squad now takes longer to target players equipped with Cold Blooded.
- Addressed an issue where players using in the Gunship could have their camera stuck in a non-functional state.
- Addressed an issue where the Hellstorm would sometimes self-destruct upon deployment.
- Addressed an issue where a player using the DART could end up seeing a teammate’s Hellstorm deployment view.
- Miscellaneous
- Addressed an issue where players could bounce far away from one other when sliding into one another.
- Addressed an issue where Zero’s Ice Pick would not hack the Sentry or RCXD.
- Featured Playlists (June 25 – July 2)
- PS4/Xbox One
- Capture the Flag
- Endurance Moshpit
- Barebones Objective Moshpit
- Prop Hunt
- Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit
- PS4/Xbox One
Blackout
- Medals
- Medals now available in Blackout for in-game actions including reviving and assisting teammates, eliminating a Duo or Quad, taking down zombies, scoring a multikill, and more.
- Players earn Merits when Medals are achieved.
- Equipment
- Sentry now available in Stashes and Supply Drops in all Blackout modes.
- Sentry deals lower damage compared to its MP counterpart, acting as a nuisance/alert system in Blackout.
- Humiliations
- Humiliation finishing moves now available to use against downed enemies in redeploy modes.
- Death Effects
- New “Numbers” Death Effect now rewarded for completing Outfit Missions in Blackout.
- Featured Playlists
- PS4/Xbox One (June 25 – July 2)
- Alcatraz Quads
- Hot Pursuit
- Solo
- Duos
- Quads
- PS4/Xbox One (June 25 – July 2)
PC
Multiplayer
- Featured Playlists (June 25-27)
- Capture the Flag
- Barebones Deathmatch Moshpit
- Endurance Moshpit
Blackout
- Featured Playlists (June 25-27)
- Alcatraz Quads
- Hot Pursuit
- Duos
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-black-ops-4-has-a-new-patch-out-now/1100-6468068/
Sheer Coincidence Leads To Big Target Sale During Amazon Prime Day
Target is taking direct aim at Amazon Prime Day by launching its own storewide Deal Days sale, which competes directly with Amazon’s mega annual sale on July 15 and 16. As if the dates didn’t make clear enough Target’s intent here, no membership is required to take advantage of the sale, alluding to Amazon requiring a Prime subscription to take advantage of its sale. Target REDcard holders will also get an additional 5% off of everything, and there will be free, two-day shipping on all orders $35 and up (and all orders period for REDcard holders). We’ll keep you posted on all the best gaming and tech offers as the dates grow closer, both for Target Deal Days and Amazon Prime Day.
In the meantime, Target is now offering a sale with 30% off games for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch if you order online and then pick-up in the store. Soon after Target announced Deal Days, Amazon revealed that it is matching prices on many of the games included in Target’s pick-up sale, but without the need to go pick them up in a physical store. Spicy! While both situations are surely unrelated, an arms race on deals can only mean good things for your wallet.
With E3 2019 in the rearview mirror and the fall release blitz still in the distance, deals season for gaming is in full swing. While you wait for Prime Day and Target Deal Days, you can check out Steam’s summer games sale, which just launched with some of the biggest discounts on PC games all year. Plus, don’t miss Fanatical’s Red Hot summer sale, which generally matches or even surpasses some of Steam’s prices thanks to a 10% off promo code. Many Fanatical games are available as Steam keys. You can also check out our tips for getting the most out of Prime Day, since it’s just a few weeks away.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sheer-coincidence-leads-to-big-target-sale-during-/1100-6468069/
