A Full Review of The Division
When The Division was first announced, I knew basically nothing about it, nor did I care much about it. But after two years of hype as well as playing the beta and logging in over 24 hours in the first week, I think I am qualified to write a comprehensive and fair review. The game has many elements that I will break down and discuss individually. So sit back and grab a snack because this is gonna be a long one. The Division is an MMO RPG with combat elements similar to a third-person shooter. It is a console-based MMO, however, which means there are only social events in areas where players can congregate, such as Safe Houses, Hub, and Dark Zone. You can also team up with up to four of your friends, or matchmake with up to four people, to do missions, explore the open world, or traverse the Dark Zone together. The game revolves around finding loot that is better than your currently equipped loot, and like most RPGs, there are several attributes that dictate whether the game, or the player for that matter, considered the loot to be better. I won’t get into all of it, but just because a gun has a higher DPS, you may choose to keep your current one because it is more accurate. The same goes for gear. Even though the vest gives you more armor, your current one may buff your health so you choose to keep it. The ability to change gun attributes with attachments or the ability to re-roll gear stats using the Recalibration Station adds a bit more strategy to how you collect loot toward the endgame and make it more interesting. Loot is not solely based on Random Number Generators. As you progress through the game, you start finding higher level and higher rarity loot. What you get is more random, but enemies will always drop loot based on their level so just because you found an Uncommon drop, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is better than your Common item. The rarer the item, the more stats and attributes it has, but a Superior gun that is Level 15 is probably worse than a Common gun that is level 25. There are also a handful of perks and talents you can unlock. Perks are passive elements that will do things such as increase consumable duration. Talents are passive as well, but they have to be equipped. Up to four can can be equipped at a time and they include features such as taking 30% less damage when moving cover-to-cover. One talent slot is unlocked at the start of the game and subsequent spots can be unlocked as you progress. There are also a variety of gadgets that can be equipped. I won’t go into specific details about each one, but they allow for each agent to create his own play style as well as collaborate with other agents. Each gadget can be upgraded with different abilities so two agents can run the same gadget without running the same ability, further diversifying the choices and strategies employed by players. The combat system was clunky to me in the beta, but felt pretty smooth in the full game. I don’t know if anything was changed or if I just got used to it, but either way you’ll adapt pretty quickly. The game is a cover-to-cover based shooter. When you take cover behind an object, you have the opportunity to blind-fire, or pop up and aim at the enemies. The game has a neat little feature when firing from behind cover as well. If your crosshair is aimed around the cover, but the gun is still pointed into the cover (this happens sometimes when peeking near the edge of a wall) a small reticle will appear where your gun is actually pointed, allowing you to accurately move enough to move your gun out of cover without exposing yourself. The addition of sights make guns able to zoom, the majority of which just zoom in on the crosshair while a select few actually pull you into an ACOG style scope. There is also a cover based movement system. When behind cover, if you aim at another barrier and hold the Cover Button, you will automatically move to that barrier and take cover behind it. The one thing I wish this game had, which most games don’t, is lateral and reverse cover movement. It is possible to move around a corner while staying in cover, but it is not possible to move, say, from one railing cover to another without breaking cover. The same can be said for reverse cover. In order to move backwards, you have to break cover and jump over a barrier, then take cover behind it. It sounds complex and usually isn’t an issue, but in the heat of battle it can be a little tedious and dangerous. The Dark Zone is definitely where The Division shines the most. The Dark Zone is the free-for-all PVP area. In the Dark Zone, agents have a special leveling system and earn special credits. These can be used to open special loot chests and buy special weapons from vendors around the edges of the Dark Zone. The Dark Zone is crawling with high level enemies, most of which drop loot after being killed. This loot can then be extracted from any extraction point located around the Dark Zone, then later accessed at your Base of Operations. Sounds simple enough however, there is one major variable in the Dark Zone, other players. In addition to your group, the Dark Zone is teeming with random players, all of whom are looking for loot themselves. Most players are docile and will let you go about your business so long as you let them go about theirs. They will help you kill NPCs and just tend to themselves. However, some agents choose to go Rogue. By choosing to damage or kill another player, they have chosen to go Rogue. These players are marked on the mini-map and there
Windows 10 apps coming to Xbox One this Summer.
A lot of new information is coming out from GDC today, The Verge has reported that this Summer developers will be able to bring Windows 10 apps to the Xbox One this Summer. We knew that this would be coming but now we get a clear picture of when it really could happen. Expect Microsoft to talk more about this at Build later this month among other Windows/Xbox things. Apparently, Microsoft is planning to gradually open up apps for the Xbox One over the course of the year. Microsoft’s goal is to make game development for Windows easier for all the developers. Developers can create a single app for a PC, tablet, phone, and the Xbox, with changes required to suit each varied screen size. It’s going to be a challenge on getting the apps on your Windows phone to the quality to Xbox One. Microsoft’s Xbox Head, Phil Spencer, insists that apps for Windows 10 are a “fully open ecosystem.” Regardless of the criticism. Stay tuned for more Windows/Xbox news as we get deeper into 2016. Source
Joe Montana 16 information revealed at GDC!
Today at GDC developer Superstar Games was kind enough to provide some information on the upcoming remake of Joe Montana Football 16. Team member Damon Grow, who you remember from our E3 conversation last year, gave us some information via Periscope earlier today. The company announced that the game will also be made for VR through a partnership with Samsung. Speaking to us from the Samsung booth, we got our first glimpse at the Montana logo along with some menu items. Damon wasn’t able to provide any proper footage at this time, but was able to pop his Iphone in front of the Samsung Gear VR running the game. As a result, we saw the plays screen which is similar to your normal Madden game. We also saw that the game is going to be played from a first person perspective down on the field. Passing to your receivers has an interesting perspective, as you will need to tap your head while looking at the receiver in order to pass according to Damon. Unfortunately, his battery began to ran low, but he will be periscoping later on again today with some more information. Even though they have a partnership with Samsung, Damon stated that they still plan to bring the game to Ios. He did not elaborate, unfortunately, on the PC and console releases. We couldn’t get a good image of the logo since it was seen second hand through a Samsung VR unit, but we were told we should be seeing some more later today. We can’t wait for this game and have had little infomation put out since our interview with Damon last year. What do you most want to see with Montana Football?? Let us know
New information about new Gears of War 4 enemies.
So we talked about two new weapons coming to Gears of war 4; so now Gameinformer released more info on enemies in the game. One problem The Coalition had about coming up with new enemies was that how could they make it look as fearful as the Locust. Well they obviously came up with a new threat called: The Swarm and they don’t look so pleasant. In any game you’ve played there is always an enemy you see a lot. Well according to Gameinformer Drones as you see above will be your best friend. They resemble various modified Locust soldiers. The Drones seemed to have functioned the way the Locust did in the past Gears of War games. ” Some of them would try to pin JD down while others flanked him or tried to get him out of cover.” From what we see above this is a Juvie and apparently they are nasty vicious and most likely the most annoying enemy you will see. They are faster, harder to hit, and have a deadly ability. Based on the description they remind me of something like the jockey in Left 4 Dead. While you’re playing you’ll spot gooey pods and they are used for cover but if you shoot one a Juvie or Drone will pop out. Certain juvies can unleash a bloodcurdling scream that will pop all the pods if there are any others nearby. These will make the campaign interesting based on the information we received. This is the Pouncer, based on looking at it I think it would just jump all over you. Not only will they maul you or pin you to the ground they have deadly quills in their tails that they can whip at you as projectiles. If you’re someone that likes to run through the campaign these guys will be the ones to annoy you the most. What are your thoughts? Source
New Gears of War 4 weapons revealed.
Gears of War was always one of those games you loved because of its weapons such as the chainsaw, what is more exciting then to chop enemies down and see the blood go all over the place? Gameinformer has released more information on some new weapons, they have also said that the chainsaw equipped Lancer and the trusty snub pistol makes a return but it comes with some aesthetic changes. The Lancer now has a flashlight attached to it so now it’s easier to see targets. The Gnasher now has a shell rail attached to it. Two new weapons that were showed off was the Dropshot and Buzzkill: This is the Dropshot it’s somewhat of a replacement for the Digger Launcher from Gears 3 but, that weapon fired explosive creatures underground. The Dropshot fires an aerial mine that floats over the battlefield in a straight line as long as you hold the trigger. If you are able to get a direct hit at the enemies head the bullet will drill right through it. They describe it as “making you feel like a champion whenever you manage to score a direct hit.” This is the Buzzkill, from what we see it has the same construction theme style just like The Dropshot. As you can probably tell this weapon shoots out buzzsaws, if you hold down the fire button they will go all over the place. They bounce, ricocheting off surfaces and tear enemies to shreds. If you lose track sometimes you could end up killing yourself in the game. Gears of War 4 brings in new melee executions in the form of Combat Knives as you see above in the picture. The look of your knife will depend on which faction you’re playing as. You’re looking at the COG knife above. That’s pretty neat that every person won’t have the same generic knife look. What are your thoughts? Source
It now looks like Rime maybe coming to other platforms.
Rime, an upcoming open world, third-person view, adventure and puzzle video game being developed by Tequila Works. This game was supposed to be exclusive to Playstation 4 but now according to this tweet by Tequila Works it now looks like they are trying to reacquire the rights to their game. Tequila Works has chosen to reacquire the rights to its adventure game, RiME, and is working hard to realise its aspirations for it. — GYLT 👁️ Available now on Nintendo Switch (@TequilaWorks) March 16, 2016 This is an interesting move because recently Microsoft said they will allow cross-playing happen and now Rime may not only be on Playstation 4. Could this be a cross networked game? Who knows but we will find out more information in the coming days or weeks.
Turn based RPG Blackguards: Definitive Edition coming to Xbox One.
Daedalic Entertainment has announced they are bringing their turn based RPG Blackguards to Xbox One. As most PC ports, the game will be Blackguards: Definitive Edition and come with DLC in one package. Originally released in 2015 on PC, The game takes place in Aventuria within the Empire of Horasia. During the game, you are forced to solve the murder of a princess. No matter if you choose to play as a mage, warrior or create your own character, their story remains the same. You are an outlaw framed for murder and must clear your name. The manner in which your story proceeds takes a dark turn as you decide to murder everyone who smeared your good name. The irony in clearing your name by committing more murder is always a fan favorite in games, and Blackguards: Definitive Edition puts you on an expansive campaign in order to do so. With over 180 different battlefields to fight on, 40 upgradable skills, 90 spells and approximately 60 hours of game time, Blackguards: Definitive Edition sails under the radar as a truly, in-depth RPG. Along with the base game, it will also include the Untold Legends DLC, which contains new weapons, characters and story line. No release date has been announced yet, but the game is scheduled to release this Summer on Xbox One. Thanks, TrueAchievements.
Microsoft to let game developers run their own eSports tournaments via Xbox Live.
At a recent presentation at GDC (Game Developers Conference) which took place in San Francisco. Microsoft announced a brand new set of tools for developers that will make it possible for them to run competitive tournaments through Xbox Live. It’s called the “Xbox Live Tournaments Program” The service will supported on Xbox One and Windows 10, utilizing the Universal Windows Platform. Microsoft also revealed the partnership with e-sports groups FaceIt and the Electronic Sports League, and the company says that the program will feature “deep integration” between both of these groups. The ” Tournaments Program” software development kit is available to game creators starting today Microsoft announced. It’ll be interesting what games will use this as we see Halo is having a huge tournament with a 2.5m prize. Credit for the news: The Verge.
Rectify Gaming Podcast Episode #24: Gearing Up.
https://soundcloud.com/rectify-gaming/podcast-episode-24-gearing-up Hey guys welcome to yet another Podcast episode. This time we talk a bit competitive with Gears 4 and Halo 5. Plus more, come join Exstro, Tyboy, and Twizted. We also mention what we will be doing at PAX East this year. iTunes Stitcher Follow everyone: TwiztedShotzTV Tyboy17 ExstroGames
First Live content has been added to Hitman.
The Hitman team has added it’s first live content to their game, publishing two additional Escalation Contracts on our servers. These are sure to challenge your knowledge of Paris and will quite possibly force you into places you’ve not been before. If you’re confused, Escalation Contracts are something completely new for HITMAN and were created as a way to regularly provide a fresh challenge to players. You’ll need to master the location as well as the gameplay mechanics to complete a hit that will escalate in difficulty by adding new elements. “The Holmwood Disturbance” challenges you to eliminate Faustin D’Aoust with a firearm while wearing the vampire magician disguise. Escalations include adding an additional target, disallowing pacifications, limiting you to a single exit point and adding more security cameras. “The Mandelbulb Requiem” gives you a contract on Michel Charest while wearing a Palace Staff disguise. Making things harder, you will eventually need to find and hack a laptop, eliminate Lance Artois while wearing a different, specific, disguise, dodge more security cameras and finally get around deadly laser tripwires throughout the palace.
