Ello ello, and welcome back to BaicunnPress. I hope you're getting through the week unscathed. If you've been here before, you're likely aware that I was highly critical of EA and their handling of Battlefront. If you're interested in checking out those posts, the links are below:
With the disclaimers out of the way, let's talk about what you came her for; there's been a disturbance in the Force. Today we get our first glance at Star Wars BattleFront 2, via an alleged 50 second leaked Sony ad. Stick around after the show for further discussion. Enjoy!
So what can we see. It appears that the trailer starts right after the Rebels' victory at the Battle of Endor. In the trailer we can see something else though... looks like this title may just span the Clone Wars up to were "Battlefront picks up?" and even some post Death Star play up to the Last Jedi. Looks and sound pretty amazing right? But let's not forget EA's backhandy bullshit, when it comes to ads. To be fair though, EA has made me feel a bit better about their brand. Battlefield 1 was a pretty solid title. I played the beta. Didn't buy the game out of principal,.... but I played it, and liked it. Then EA and Respawn dropped Titanfall 2 on us, and the game is stunning. Balanced gameplay, and free DLC... that's pretty hard to beat. And I know I've said I was done with EA/ DICE and their shenanigans in the past. But the Battlefront DLC that dropped toward the end of last year really did a good job at trying to salvage the disappointment we were given. So I'm skeptical, but if EA can keep it up... I may be interested.
That's all for now guys. I'll be putting up The Breakdown later this week, but wanted to get this out ASAP. I've also started a Monday series titled Back To School, where I'll be putting up educational content meant to teach you some cool shit. Monday's post was about the laws and regulations in the US regarding Unmanned Ariel Systems (UAS). It's been taken down for the moment, as there are some busted links. As soon as they are fixed, it'll be back up. Thanks again for stopping by. I appreciate all of your support. If you like what you see, please share, and make sure to follow on Twitter at @BaicunnPress. -Chali Baicunn
I've heard it said that games like Call of Duty just don't require enough skill to be considered ''hardcore,'' mostly due to their very narrow skill gap, and that developers need to stop pandering to ''casual'' players so that they'll learn how to play more complex games. Just the other day I watched a Youtube video in which a gamer decried the fact that Call of Duty has killstreaks, a ranking system, customizable loadouts, random spawn points, and gadgets that kill instantly, which - in his very popular opinion - allow unskillful players to have a better chance at beating skillful ones, thus destroying a balanced gameplay experience. It is also hypothesized that the reason Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's trailer stands at almost three million dislikes compared a few hundred thousand likes is also due to this pandering to ''filthy casuals'' and neglecting Call of Duty's hardcore roots, which are steeped in a more grounded and realistic archetype.
Even game developers have come out and protested against Call of Duty's domination of the FPS market. They say that because Activision is in charge of the #1 FPS franchise, they have the power to dictate gamers' expectations; and as long as Infinity Ward and Treyarch continue to make these chaotic, unrealistic, unstructured Call of Duty games, it'll be a long time before a truly hardcore FPS franchise can gain a major following because gamers have become spoiled. Call of Duty just doesn't have enough complexity to require that players go through a learning phase and master the game's mechanics. Instead, according to developers and gamers alike, Call of Duty just has too much randomness and too many unnecessary variables involved that narrow the skill gap.
Now, if I were to ask most Call of Duty players if they think the game requires skill, I think they would say it absolutely does - at least a little bit. Call of Duty's gameplay mechanics primarily revolve around quick reflexes; it definitely takes skill to manage your movement, aim, and observation of the environment during battles that last literally one to two seconds. Truth be told, just about every modern FPS functions in this frenzied manner. As soon as one player sees another, they either have the physical prowess to dispatch their opponent in an instant, or they're probably dead. So what makes a game like Battlefield strategically superior to Call of Duty? ''It's the killstreaks and ridiculous weapon loadouts that make Call of Duty cheap, and also the random spawn points.'' Ah yes, in this area Battlefield is far superior to Call of Duty....
...Except it isn't, because Battlefield also has customizable loadouts. It may be a more structured loadout system due to the basic classes, but killing enemies is just as frantic and instantaneous, regardless of which weapon you're using. And aren't vehicles like tanks, jets, and helicopters the same as killstreak rewards? Actually, isn't Call of Duty even more skill-based because it requires that players actually prove themselves worthy of an attack chopper or airstrike, whereas Battlefield randomly plops these items around the map? Come to think of it, Battlefield also drops .50 caliber sniper rifles and rocket-launcher emplacements around each map for anyone lucky enough to grab them first. How is this more skill-based than Call of Duty?
To be fair, the primary complaint regarding random spawn points in Call of Duty is that players appear right in the midst of unsuspecting enemies, and are able to get kills without anyone even being aware of their presence. This is a very fair complaint; I've experienced it firsthand on numerous occasions. The thing is, Battlefield has a much worse problem (and no, I'm not just referring to these same random spawns). Because the maps are so large, players are prone to sneak up on each other very easily, simply because no one can keep track of such a large environment at all times. And if you're not being sneaked up on, you're being sniped from someone on a tower five miles away. Be honest, Battlefield is even more cheap than Call of Duty at times.
But I've just got to address this fabled ''skill gap'' that everyone says has been narrowed by Call of Duty. Firstly, even developers will admit that a certain amount of randomness in their games is necessary to maintain balance; otherwise, more experienced players (in regards to both knowledge of the game and also physical prowess) would always dominate less-experienced players. Luck, they say, also helps curb the problem of games simply becoming mathematically-solvable equations, rather than varied, strategically-engaging experiences.
Secondly, rewarding skillful players with more weapons, gadgets, and abilities through leveling up doesn't narrow the skill gap; it widens it. Getting three kills in a row and then being rewarded with yet another useful asset is more of an exclusive snowball effect than an all-encompassing pooling-together of players' skill. It alienates less skillful and dedicated players all the more by elevating those who have succeeded even higher above the rest.
Thirdly, the so-called skill-gap exists for two reasons: Veteran players become more knowledgeable than noobies about each map's layout and how the game works, not to mention they get to hone their reflexes and master the game's mechanics over a long period of time. But if developers simply chose to make their games revolve around pure strategy rather than physical prowess, and empowered all players with access to exhaustive knowledge about every facet of the game rather than making them learn it all themselves, games would be both perfectly balanced and also very strategically engaging for everyone involved. We wouldn't have to have ''veterans'' versus ''noobs,'' and we wouldn't have to narrow the skill gap through randomness and luck.
A game's complexity ultimately boils down to how much it includes players in the decision-making process of play. As long as developers keep this in mind, they won't have to worry about realism or being ''hardcore'' versus ''casual.'' We gamers simply want a gameplay experience that's fun to play on its own merits.
Hello and welcome back to another episode 2 of The Breakdown. Just an FYI I've been working over Part 2 of my Pokemon GO series and Part 3 of the Nintendo series. I apologize for the wait on those, but I was not happy with the the initial work, and wanted to make sure that they were perfect for you guys. Sit back relax, and enjoy the ride.
In a quick bit of BaicunnPress news, BaicunnPress will be partnering with the RUM Gaming community to bring living streaming, let's plays, and community events. So stay tuned for future announcements.
In other gaming community news. Do you like MOBAs? Of course you do, the internet and eSports news outlets tell me that everyone loves MOBA's... But all joking aside, It appears that Smite is working to beating Paragon to the console market. As of today Beta keys are open to the public for Smite's Beta launch. Just go here to claim your prize.
And in other PS4 news, Sony just released the spotlight video for BroForce and Galak-Z as next month's PlayStation Plus Free games. Just check out the video below.
Up next in more PlayStation Beta news, in case you missed out on the Hitman Beta, never fear PlayStation Plus subscribers will get another opportunity to play. It was announced that the Beta will be open from March 4th through the 5th, with the title launching the next weekend on the 11th.
And just case you're wondering if today's posts are biased toward PlayStation, you're kinda right... Say Wat?! I can't help it, this was the news. Write your console manufacturers and game publishers and tell them to release more news. Or shoot me a tweet or message on Facebook with a bit of news, and it'll get covered.
And now into some more diverse news, YouTuber YourMKArcadeSource recently discovered that the classic Mortal Kombat 1, 2, and 3 arcade cabinets have a hidden menu that allows any player to access several easter eggs left by Ed Boon. Those easter eggs include what appears to be a thank you list, and Galaga clone. Just check out the video below.
And finally in Pokemon news, The Pokemon Company decided that it would be a wise idea to release Pokemon Photo Booth into the wild. As we all should know by now, you shouldn't give the internet nice things. Especially if those nice things have the ability to create fantastically offensive content. I recommend you visit the Apple App Store to grab a copy ASAP, and create your own inappropriate content. I foresee a future of several DMCA requests coming from the fine folks at Nintendo and The Pokemon Company in the future.
Well that's all for now folks! Thanks for stopping by again. As always, I love to get your feedback, please be sure to comment and share. If you feel I missed anything important, let me know and I will cover it.
Hello beautiful people of the Internet!. It's Tuesday. So that means you survived Monday... YAY!, but it's only day 2. To take the sting out of the of the soul crushing suckery of the early business day of the week. The Midweek Breakdown has been coming to you every Wednesday, and due to popular demand, it'll be coming to you every day of the week as The Breakdown. So site back waste clock hour time, and enjoy!
First up, Far Cry Primal released today, and the reviews are out. Across most outlets, Far Cry Primal is scoring at about 80 out of 100 (or 8 out of 10 for the math challenged). The biggest complaints abut the game is the inability to block and parry. A lack of compelling antagonists. As well as having so many side missions that you could fill out your skill trees and still have extras floating around on your map.
Last week at the DICE Summit, we got to see bromance Hideo Kojima and Gillermo Del Toro in full bloom. These two had a chance to do a sit down keynote and it was magic. Although the two speak different languages, it appears that their homies. During their talk, they highlighted the unifying force of media and story telling. I really suggest that you check it out, and a word to the wise, don't be surprised if we see these two working on a project together in the future.
And speaking of other creative works, The Walking Dead: Michone Episode 1 launches today on PC/MAC, PS4/PS3, and Xbox 360/Xbox One. If you some how don't have any of these or insist on playing on a mobile platform, check your market place apps on Thursday to pick it up on iOS and Android.
In other Walking Dead News, it has been reported that Robert Kirkman (story) and Charlie Adlard (art) are working on a 48 page back story for Nagan. No release date info available yet.
And while we're on the topic of things to spend your hard earned money on. Have you ever loved an eSports so much that you'd donate to the prize money. Well that's what happened when the Halo World Championships were announced. Initially Microsoft had offered a 1 million dollar prize for the winning team. However, the masses thought that it needed to be more. Through crowd sourcing the winning purse has been bumped up to 2.5 million dollars. Making the Halo World Championships the largest cash prize ever for an FPS championship. Check back later for more details. Currently the Championship is scheduled for March 18 through the 19th.
On topic with Microsoft news, Bill gates is not a a douche?... It was reported by the financial times on Monday that when speaking of Apple's battle with the FBI over breaking the encryption on iOS, Bill Gates was quoted as saying:
"It is no different than [the question of] should anybody ever have been
able to tell the phone company to get information, should anybody be
able to get at bank records,"
"Let's say the bank had tied a ribbon round the disk drive and said,
‘Don't make me cut this ribbon because you'll make me cut it many
times.'"
As of yesterday Bill went back on the record to walk back his previous statements, saying that he "disappointed" by the reports that he supports breaking the encryption. He also made the following statement:
"I do believe that with the right safeguards, there are cases where the
government, on our behalf — like stopping terrorism, which could get
worse in the future — that that is valuable."
So maybe he isn't a complete douche canoe, but personally, I think Bill Gates is talking like a man with paper asshole, but I'll leave the judgement of this to you fine/ borderline anarchist people. That's all I have for today, stop back by later for more content. I really appreciate your support. Please share, and make sure to follow BaicunnPress, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.
Hey guys! Thanks for stopping by again. Coming to you today with some pretty interesting gaming news.
You know how Amazon licensed the CryEngine from Crytek last year, and no one really knew why? Well it turns out that Amazon is getting into the video game industry with Lumberyard. But that's not the really interesting part.
The most interesting part of this project is that it's a free license to develop from. And not free like the
CryEngine, which was free for students and hobbyists, charged if you wanted to take a product to market. Lumberyard on the other hand is free for anyone to publish their game, whether hobbyist or business. Amazon's only serious requirement is that you register your game with them before release, and that web services, like servers be hosted through them. Long short they're playing the freemium game, but with servers instead of micro-transactions.
So, I know I brought up 2 dirty words to a lot of gamers; freemium and micro-transactions. However, none of the features of the Lumberyard tools will be locked behind a pay-wall, and from what I can tell there are no licensing fees either. To highlight these points, I've directly pulled down a few interesting bits from the FAQ section (I kept the existing links in so that you can click around if you want to. They will open in other tabs):
Q. What is Amazon Lumberyard? Amazon Lumberyard is a free
AAA game engine deeply integrated with AWS and Twitch – with full source
code provided. Whether you are a major studio, an indie developer, a
student, or a hobbyist, Lumberyard provides a growing set of tools to
create the highest-quality games, connect your games to the vast compute
and storage of the AWS Cloud, and engage fans on Twitch. Lumberyard
helps developers build beautiful worlds, make realistic characters, and
create stunning real-time effects. With Lumberyard’s visual scripting
tool, even non-technical game developers can add cloud-connected
features to a game in minutes (such as a community news feed, daily
gifts, or server-side combat resolution) through a drag-and-drop GUI
interface. Lumberyard is also integrated with Amazon GameLift,
a new AWS service for deploying, operating, and scaling session-based
multiplayer games. With Amazon GameLift, Amazon Lumberyard developers
can quickly scale high-performance game servers up and down to meet
player demand, without any additional engineering effort or upfront
costs. Amazon Lumberyard is free, and available in beta for
developers building PC and console games, with mobile and virtual
reality (VR) platforms coming soon. With Amazon Lumberyard, developers
only pay standard AWS fees for the AWS services they choose to use. With
Amazon GameLift, you simply pay for the standard AWS fees for Amazon
EC2, Amazon EBS, and data transfer you actually use, plus a small fee
per Daily Active User.
Q. How does Amazon make money with Lumberyard?
Lumberyard is free, including source. We make money when you use other
AWS services. We built Lumberyard to make it faster and easier to build
fantastic live, multiplayer, community-driven games – which naturally
connect to the cloud to provide these features to players. However,
there is no requirement to connect your game to the cloud. There are
also no seat fees, subscription fees, or requirements to share revenue.
You pay only for the infrastructure resources you choose to use. For
full licensing details, see Licensing below. Q. Can I use Lumberyard for non-game purposes, such as architecture, simulations, and animated movies? Yes, please do.
Q. If I build a single-player game that uses no cloud connectivity, do I have to pay to use the engine? No, in this case you would pay us nothing.
Q. Do I need an AWS account to use Lumberyard? No, but by downloading or using Lumberyard, you agree to the AWS Customer Agreement and Lumberyard Service Terms.
If you want to use Amazon GameLift or Lumberyard’s Cloud Canvas to
build connected gameplay features, you or someone from your game team
needs to register for an AWS account and provision services to your
account. Q. Do I have to run my game on AWS? No. If
you own and operate your own private servers, you do not need to use
AWS. You also don’t need to use AWS if your game does not use any
servers. For example, if you release a free-standing single‐player or
local-only multiplayer game, you pay us nothing.
Q. Is there a surcharge or other additional fee over and above AWS service rates for Lumberyard customers? No.
Q. Can my game use an alternate web service instead of AWS?
No. If your game servers use a non-AWS alternate web service, we
obviously don’t make any money, and it’s more difficult for us to
support future development of Lumberyard. By “alternate web service” we
mean any non-AWS web service that is similar to or can act as a
replacement for Amazon EC2, Amazon Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon RDS,
Amazon S3, Amazon EBS, Amazon EC2 Container Service, or Amazon GameLift.
You can use hardware you own and operate for your game servers.
Q. Is it okay for me to use my own servers? Yes. You can use hardware you own and operate for your game.
Q. Can I use the game assets that are included with Lumberyard in my game? Yes. Lumberyard includes asset packs that you can use in your games and prototypes. We also provide additional high-fidelity assets and samples that you may find useful on our website.
Q. Is Lumberyard “open source”? No. We make the source code available to enable you to fully customize your game, but your rights are limited by the Lumberyard Service Terms.
For example, you may not publicly release the Lumberyard engine source code, or use it to release your own game engine.
Q. Can I take Lumberyard and make my own game engine and distribute it? No.
While you may maintain an internal version of Lumberyard that you have
modified, you may not distribute that modified version in source code
form, or as a freestanding game engine to third parties. You also may
not use Lumberyard to distribute your own game engine, to make
improvements to another game engine, or otherwise compete with
Lumberyard or Amazon GameLift.
It appears that Amazon is really going in a new direction as far as game development goes. I went ahead and browsed over the documentation, and sample assets and their both pretty on point. Amazon is reporting that they are planning releasing more sample asset packs in the future. If your still not convinced here's a few more entries from their FAQs that might convince you that Amazon is really thinking forward:
Q. Can my Lumberyard game connect to services like Steamworks, Apple Game Center, Google Play Games, or console social services?
Yes. Your game may read and write data to platform services and public
third-party game services for player save state, identity, social graph,
matchmaking, chat, notifications, achievements, leaderboards,
advertising, player acquisition, in-game purchasing, analytics, and
crash reporting. Q. Can I include Lumberyard’s tools so my players can build mods for my game?
Yes. Your right to redistribute Lumberyard in your game includes the
right to redistribute pieces of the development environment in your game
too. A list of redistributable components is included in the documentation.
These rights also apply to companion products that you make available
to end users to modify and create derivative works of your game. If you
want to distribute Lumberyard components in source code form, please contact us.
Q. Does Lumberyard support integrations with third-party middleware? Yes. If you’re a middleware provider interested in integrating with Lumberyard, please contact us
After looking over everything that Amazon is giving away, you might be curious as to why would they do this. I think the real question is why wouldn't they. By requiring developers to register their games before release, Amazon gets a sneak peak at new games, and can decide to if they want to invest before any other publishers can get the drop on them. Plus this gives them the ability to make some serious cash for server fees. I recommend that you check out the project in full for yourself. Cruise on over to Lumberyard's site and check it out.
What do you think? You going to give it a go? If you heard about it here and do make something, let me know, I'd love to have a look. Thanks again for stopping by. Your support means so much to me. Don't forget to share, and comment. Please make sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Also if you want to game with me sometime, make sure you add me to your friends list on pretty much every platform, just search for Chali Baicunn. And as always, I'll see you next time.
Hello and welcome back my fine nerdy brethren. Thank you for stopping by! It's time for the Midweek Breakdown, where I serve you up with some tidbits of wonderfulness to help you make the final stretch of your work week toward the weekend.
First up on the list is a new Superbowl Commercial, from our friends at the Pokemon Company:
If you didn't know Pokemon has several major events coming up this month. On February 27th Pokemon will turn 20 years old. That's right, if you an OG trainer from back in the day, you're officially old... To celebrate their anniversary a special edition 3DS in the States with Pokemon Red and Blue pre-loaded on the device. In Japan, fans of the franchise will be able to pickup a 2DS bundles with choice of Red, Green, Blue, or Yellow theme, and matching game pre-installed. The American bundle price is listed at $199.99. As a side note, if someone sends me one of these they'll get free adspace on here for a year. (Can't blame me for trying. Haha!.. But no seriously.) The Pokemon TCG will also be receiving the next edition this month with XY-BREAKpoint. Honestly though, all of this doesn't hold a candle in the wind to the expected release of Pokemon GO. Widely believed, to be releasing on February 27th. If you're a Pokemon TSG fan checkout the video below, and if you're interested in some more info about Pokemon GO, please stay tuned for future posts coming out this week.
Also out this week, Bethesda has announced that it will be making a return to E3 this year. With the success of Bethesda's showcase last year, I'm expecting another great showing in 2016. If you're interested in speculations about the showcase, make sure to check out my post from last week; Pure Hyperbole: Bethesda's E3 2016 Showcase Speculation .
Over last weekend, The Division beta released and almost immediately got pwn'd. Specifically the PC version of the beta was compromised, by users that discovered that the game clients were running in a trusted status. Long short, this means that the servers didn't give a fuck about what speed, amount of ammo, or well any other player stats as long as the info was handed to it by the client. This was possible due to the fact that the servers were not checking the data to verify that it had not been tampered with. The beta was open to everyone who pre-ordered and a lucky few who made it onto the beta waiting list. No word from Ubisoft, if anti-cheating systems were left off on purpose or not. I recommend that you go check out the reddit devoted to the game here , as has a lot of great information posted on it.
I'd also like to remind you, that the Deadpool movie releases next week. So make sure you treat you're significant other to a romantic classic about a guy who'd do anything to stay alive for the woman he loves. And significant others, if you love your significant other, you'll recognize that it is a proper Valentine's Day movie. I now leave you with the following PSA:
Thanks again for stopping by. I really appreciate your support. If you feel that I missed anything, let me know. Please make sure you follow the site on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, And as always, I'll see you later. -Chali Baicunn
Hey you fine people of the Internet! Thanks for stopping by... And FUCK MONDAYS! Haha! Bethesda has announced that they will be doing another E3 showcase this year. I did some coverage of last year's showcase (links to the posts here: DOOM & Dishonored 2). In this post I'll be speculating what they may be showing this year. I'll be breaking it down by title. Let's jump in.
*On 2/4/15, Besthesda announced a release date of May 13th for DOOM. I think it's safe to assume that Doom won't be showcased this year.* - Posted 2/8/15
DOOM:
GameInformer has managed to snag some pretty nice exclusives with this DOOM. When you look past the hype and read between the lines, there are a few interesting details available from them. What we know so far is that the new DOOM visually feels like the classic we know and love... It's just been turned up to 20.
What We Know:
Classic single-player DOOM
There will be at least the following weapons: pistol, chainsaw, chain gun, super shotgun, combat shotgun, plasma rifle, heavy assault rifle, rocket launcher, and of course the BFG9000
Weapons are upgradable via items drops in the campaign
Multiplayer is available through the "Arena"
SnapMap feature allows users to create custom maps quickly and easily.
BaicunnPress Guess:
DOOM will be the headliner of the showcase (first presentation)
Bethesda and idSoft will specifically showcase multiplayer and SnapMap
Weapons will be upgradable in multiplayer via item drops from enemies
SnapMap will allow for multiplayer and single player maps
SnapMap may allow for demons to be placed in multiplayer games
More weapons will shown
(Out on a limb guess featured below. Keep reading)
Dishonored 2
First shown during Bethesda's E3 2015 showcase. This next chapter of the Dishonored series will return to the Empire of the Isles. Arkane Studios (dev) has promised to continue the sandbox mechanics, and the graphics appear to be highly polished. The game was originally set to be released in Spring of 2016 and now pushed back to December 30, 2016 (after being reported for a 2017 launch in November 2015).
What We Know:
Sandboxing mechanics will be present just like the first dishonored.
There are two characters to play as now (Corvo Attano & Emily Kaldwin)
BaicunnPress Guess:
Dishonored 2 will be the second presentation
The world will be more open world (think GTA but probably smaller)
The release delay is two fold. One, game was not released on time because online/ multiplayer was added. Two, release date was changed from 2017 to 12/30/16 to allow the game to be available for a 2016 Game of The Year award.
Fallout 4 DLC: I imagine that we'll be getting some Fallout 4 DLC this year, and if they drop it on the market around E3 the time would line up so that it would be about midway to the 1 year anniversary. I'd also expect a possible announcement of 1 year anniversary DLC.
New Skyrim: This is a total shot in the dark, but it's been since 2011 since Skyrim was released. I think we're do for another.
New Wolfenstein: I'm making this guess only because there has been a Wolfenstein title every year since 2014. It seems to me that both "Old Blood" and "New Order" have done fairly well for themselves. It may just be that Bethesda has decided that Wolfenstein is popular enough and profitable enough to make it a cheap cornerstone title that always keeps then relevant and is a constant source of revenue. Remember that "out on a limb guess" I mentioned before.... Here is goes... I'd speculate that if there is a Wolfenstein announcement, there will be an offer for beta access to the next DOOM title.
What do you think? Am I right? Am I wrong? Let me know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or in the comment section below. Thanks again for stopping by. I really appreciate your support. As a side note, I am working on a few ways to get more content out, and in different media forms. Stay tuned for more details. -Chali Baicunn
Hello and welcome back again! Thanks for stopping by. Brand new Star Wars Battlefront news just released, and oh boy is it good-ish news. I'm trying to be hopefully optimistic, but with the shit stain that EA keeps leaving in my life it's going to be hard to do. I have not hidden my feelings about this game. I have been more than disappointed. As an interesting side note, I did not lock down my PSN account, and over the weekend, myself and my 5 year old became the owners of the Season Pass. Although this was my fault and I do not expect any refunds, I am now $115 deep in this... So I'm going to keep posting on it, and calling out the bullshit when I see it, and give praise when it's deserved. With that said, this post and any future posts about Battlefront and it's Developer/ Publisher will be subjective, but I will present logical & possibly inflammatory arguments to support my opinion. You'll also see several times in my posts that I refer to EA and DICE interchangeably, and that's because EA owns DICE and so as a concept they are the same thing. So let's not delay any further and jump right into the post.
Battlefront is finally getting an update today, and EA is being a little more transparent. All of the details are outlined on in a post titled "The Road Forward" written by Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir;
Senior Producer for Star Wars Battlefront. And with this update comes a bit of renewed cynical optimism for me. I'm honestly not sure that EA/ DICE can save this title, as they are going to be restricted to what the engine can do. Also at this point, any of the changes asked for by the community are completely dependent on EA's ability to listen to it's audience.
First we'll start with the really bad. If you remember in last weeks Midweek Breakdown, I had mentioned that Battlefront Community Leader; Sledgehammer70, had congratulated the community in smashing the Christmas Holiday Community Challenge. He was so pleased to tease us with a special gift for the community, in the following post made on the Battlefront Community Page:
"Just before the holidays, we kicked off the first Star Wars Battlefront community event, where we asked you to play 500,000 hours as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Today, we’re happy to let the community know that you smashed the 500,000 hours played mark, playing over a total of 1.2M hours as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo between START and FINISH. Most impressive.
This achievement is worth a special reward that directly ties to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. What could this reward be? In true Jedi fashion, it will be revealed in the coming update this month. You will want to look to Hoth to show the fruits of your labor once the January update has been released. Stay tuned to our official channels for more details."
This tease left many in the community to speculate that the gift would be playable tauntauns. Well the wait is over. The update is coming today, and do you know what these def bastards gave us? Mother fucking Luke and Han themed outfits when playing as either on Hoth! Fucking really?! You know and I both know that the tease was masterful execution of PR bullshit.
To be fair though, there are more updates being released today. (Link to the release notes at the bottom of this post.) Along with some pretty significant balancing tweaks, we're also getting some well needed spawn adjustments. We can also now play Blast, Droid Run, Drop Zone, Hero Hunt, and Heroes vs Villains multiplayer modes on Raider Camp. This is the same map used in Tatooine Survival. EA also made the following promises in their announcement:
"In February, we will continue to add more free content for all
players, including a new Survival mission on Hoth, and a brand-new Hoth
multiplayer map that will support our larger game modes including Walker
Assault, Supremacy, Fighter Squadron and Turning Point. Speaking of
Turning Point, we are also excited to make this popular mode available
on all maps that currently support Walker Assault and Supremacy in the
February update.
In March, we will be adding another exciting new multiplayer map on
Endor that will support Walker Assault, Supremacy, and Turning Point,
and an additional Tatooine Survival map."
So it looks like we'll be getting a bit more free content. I believe these kinds of changes are great steps in the right direction. And I will even thank EA and DICE for do these things. But wait there's still more...
The other major parts of today's update have to do with adding private match functionality, Community Events, and Daily Challenges. I currently do not know how well or even the mechanics of private match making. I have so far been unable to find information on the number of players allowed, or game mode restrictions. I know people have been asking for it, but it does little for me as most of my friends have abbandoned this sinking wreck due to hollowness of the game. It's probably safe to say they won't be coming back just for private matches, a few maps, and some added balance.
Community Events and Daily Challenges are a whole other beast. Honestly this announcement makes me think that DICE/ EA are not really in touch with the realities of gaming. Especially when we look at what the follow section of their public announcement says:
"The introduction of Daily Challenges and Community Events. These are
designed to rally the Community around certain goals and objectives,
giving players the chance to earn credits and unlocks even faster. We'll
have more news regarding Community Events and Daily Challenges in the
days ahead."
Just let that sink in for second... If you've played Battlefront for any extended periods of time, you should realize that at some point credits become useless and stop adding any depth to the game. After unlocking ever gun and ever Star Card, the only thing to spend credits on are skins. As I and many other reviewers have pointed out, the skins are lazy and add nothing to the game. Many people have even argue that they may even take away from the game, as most of the alternative skins simple remove the helmet from the stormtroopers, and this is not ok with many a Star Wars fan.
So we've established that more credits are kind of meaningless in the macro-scope of the game. Then if history repeats, and we assume that community rewards for completing challenges and events will be more character skins. So this equation would then apply:
More Credits + More Skins = 0 Net Gain
This is speculation at this point. But it feels par for course when it comes EA and its subsidiaries, and is absolutely the dumbest way to reward people play for playing the game. It adds no depth or substance to the core game, and only pisses of those of us who purchased a over hyped product with high expectations. This shallow attempt at appeasement, will only further decrease interest. Thus setting up a scenario where EA cuts its losses and stops truly supporting the title.
The final bit of news released with the update announcement was details about the Season Pass DLC. As expected the DLC will be
released quarterly, with expected releases in March, Summer, and Fall of
this year, and one more release sometime in early next year. The
following list and descriptions are taken directly from the update post:
"Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Outer Rim (March 2016) - Fight among the factories of Sullust and battle within Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Bespin (Summer 2016) - It's hunt or be hunted in this action-packed experience set in the Cloud City of Bespin Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Death Star (Fall 2016) – That’s no moon! One of the most iconic locations in the Star Wars universe makes its debut in Star Wars Battlefront. Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Expansion Pack 4 – Title TBA (Early 2017) – We will have more details to share about this exciting new expansion pack in the coming months."
Many of these changes seem to indicate that EA and DICE are listened; at least some what listening to the community. But they've had since November to address these issues and have not. So why now? Is it because the swell of Christmas noobs that have beaten down the forums with complaints? Is it because of the hordes or vocal and disappointed reviewers? IDK...
EA ends their announcement with the following:
"At DICE, we're passionate about what we've created with Star Wars
Battlefront, and are committed to supporting not only the game but all
of our fans over the months ahead. We can’t wait to keep traveling
through the galaxy far, far away, with all of you."
The above statement just really rubs me the wrong way. Yeah it's a great sentiment. It makes people feel warm and fuzzies. But, after personally witnessing at least a decade of EA's consumer abuse. In their slowly escalating extortion campaign of releasing what can only be described as underwhelming and incomplete
titles with pay for DLC. Each proceeding title worse than the last, in content and in sales. It really just seems like EA and it's subsidiaries are seeing just how far they can push the line before gamers revolt.
So here are some parting thoughts for EA/ DICE: How many people in the Battlefront community have to tell you that they want substance, not skins? How many people have to complain about your lack luster performance before you supply their needs? And honestly you wouldn't be so bad if your marketing hype machine wasn't so good, and your business model so opaque. Again, I'll admit that you took baby steps today, but is it that you cannot provide for the wants your fan base due your inability to deliver? Or does your failure come from some morally abstract authoritarian concept that you alone may be the gatekeeper of the needs and wants of your customers? I'm personally leaning towards the latter. Your names have become synonymous with a concept of everything that is wrong with the gaming industry. If I'm wrong prove it! Own your mistakes, make good on your hype, and earn back the respect of not just your customers but the greater gaming community.
At this point, I'm a bit more hopeful. However, I'm not holding my breath. EA has screwed the pooch so far, I can't expect much more for the fixes. And with that I'm done for now.
Thank you guys for stopping by. I really appreciate your suppose. So what do you think. Am I over reacting? Should I take it a bit easier? Let me know on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or in the comments sections below. Please share, and as always, I will see you later. And as I said earlier you can expect more Battlefront content in the future. I'm going to beat this dead horse until it becomes a horse zombie, and starts trying to change other horses into zombie too. (Well that an excessively convoluted metaphor, but I think it works.)
Hello people of the Internet! Thank you for stopping by! I hope that you're all having a fantastic day! Yesterday we talked about the Independent Game Festival Awards, and today I have a list of the nominees for the Game Developers Choice Awards. You'll see that even some of the nominees for the IGF made it into the running for the GDC. Hope you enjoy, and I'd like to get your feedback on the nominees.
The 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards will be presented on March 16th starting at 6:30PM PT. The event will be hosted by Robin Hunick. Known for her work on Journey, Boom Blox, MySims, and The Sims 2. As well as being to co-organizer of the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at Game Developers Conference. This year both The Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid V managed to snag 4 nominations. Check out the whole list of nominees below. However, the nominees for the Lifetime Achievement, the Pioneer, and the Ambassador Awards have note been announced yet. Be sure to tune in at 6:30PM PT on Twitch (here) to watch the awards. Make sure you keep watching after the GDC Awards, as the IGF Awards are scheduled to start immediately after on the same channel.
Game of the Year Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Rocket League (Psyonix) Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super
Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox),
Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Life is Strange
(Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix) Innovation Award
Her Story (Sam Barlow)
Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo)
Undertale (Toby Fox)
Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
The Beginner’s Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.) Honorable Mentions: Rocket League (Psyonix), Keep
Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games) Cibele (Star Maid
Games), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Metal
Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
Best Debut
Studio Wildcard (ARK: Survival Evolved)
Toby Fox (Undertale)
Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest)
Moppin (Downwell)
Steel Crate Games (Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes) Honorable Mentions: Asteroid Base (Lovers in a
Dangerous Spacetime), Question (The Magic Circle) Thomas Happ (Axiom
Verge), Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Metro), MidBoss (Read Only Memories)
Best Design
Rocket League (Psyonix)
Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/ Bethesda Softworks)
Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo) Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super
Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox),
The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Ori and the Blind Forest
(Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
Best Visual Art
Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo) Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima
Productions / Konami), Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics /
Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros.
Interactive Entertainment), The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn / Sony
Computer Entertainment), Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese
Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios /
Bethesda Softworks)
Best Narrative
Her Story (Sam Barlow)
The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
Undertale (Toby Fox)
The Beginner’s Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.) Honorable Mentions: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
(The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda
Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), Until Dawn (Supermassive Games /
Sony Computer Entertainment), Cibele (Star Maid Games), Soma (Frictional
Games)
Best Audio
Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games) Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios
/ Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt),
Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), SOMA (Frictional
Games), Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment),
Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
Best Technology
Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios / Square Enix) Honorable Mentions: Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal
Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios /
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group
No. 2 / Nintendo), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 /
Nintendo), Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)
Thanks again for stopping by! What do you think? Do you agree, do you not? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or in the comment section below. I'm currently getting everything organized, so that I can bring you more content with more substance. Make sure you share if you like what you see, and I hope to see you back here in the future.
Hello, and how's it going out there! Thanks for stopping by. Today we are bringing another archival post from E3 2015, out of the vault. I've taken the liberty of updating the post some, and included some new info, and videos. Enjoy!
-Chali
From Bethesda's E3 2015 Showcase, the world was given it's first look at Dishonored 2, from Arkane Studios. In the next chapter of the Dishonored series, you'll be returning to the Empire of the Isles. Playing either as Corvo Attano, from the original title, or as the former princess Emily Kaldwin. The Empire is under attack again, this time by an "otherworldly usurper". Your return to the Empire take 15 years after the events in Dishonored, on the island of Serkonos. It's been revealed that this island is Corvo's birthplace. Arkane has promised that the new title will keep the original mechanics; allowing players the freedom of choice in the sandbox environment that they enjoyed in Dishonored. Arkane even announced that it will be possible to complete the game without kill anyone.The title originally was slated for a Spring 2016 release. However, the release has been postponed until December 30, 2015. Now strap yourself in, and let your optical cortex be assaulted the beautiful game trailer below:
Official E3 Trailer
What did you think? I think it's very pretty! Now what are we going to do for pretty much a full year?... Well shit! I guess while we wait for a year here's some more Dishonored 2 videos.
Who Is Emily Kaldwin
Welcome to Karnaca
Thanks again for stopping by. I'm sure there'll be more details released by the end of E3 2016. Keep checking back for more details. Please comment and share. I really appreciate all of the supportthe site has received. As always hope to see you in the future.
This is another archival post from BaicunnPress's E3 2015 coverage. Gameinformer is covering the newest iteration of Doom in their February 2016 issue, and with the title slated to be released sometime in the first half of this year; I thought this would be a great time to bring back this post. I've tied on a link to gameinformer's Doom coverage at the bottom. I typically don't care for their hype generating GameStop marketing style, but they have the exclusive currently, and I want you guys to be well informed. Let me know what you think. Please comment, and share. Your support and shares really help us build our following. -Chali Baicunn
At Bethesda's first ever E3 Showcase, the first 20+ minutes were dedicated to the pure adrenaline. The Doom showcase, featured 2 game play trailers separated by a little intermission of game feature delight. The video starts by dropping you in as a lone marine on a UAC lab on Mars. From the the first cut slapping on the Helm. To the grip and rip melee. The game play trailer delivered a truly impressive visceral experience. The mechanics and imagery feels like classic Halo turned up to 14. Powered by the idTech 6 engine, the visual delivery felt more action FPS rather than survival horror.
The first weapon shown is the trusty pump action and the first few minutes demonstrated the effectiveness of this can opener of a gun, and the interactivity of the environment. Shortly into the video the hero picks up up the "ol' trusty" the double barrel shot gun, from a lab member who appears to have chosen the business end of his gun rather than the horde of demons beating down the doors. To me feels like it will be the most gratifying in game gun in a long time. Literally bisecting enemies with a single pull of the triggers.
At one point, our hero hits a dead end. Unable to gain security clearance with a palm scan, he swiftly moves to a holographic video playback unit and follows a trails of carnage and blood to a human corps. Unable to move forward and willing to retreat, our hero has but one option... He promptly removes the left arm of his fallen comrade to gain the required clearance.
The melee fighting in this game also appears to be highly gratifying. With a shocking number of grapples and finishers, and enough variety that it appears that you'll never get bored. My favorite is where you pull and an enemy unit down by his leg and then use the foot of said leg as a skull splitter. And chainsaw?... Oh I forgot to mention it... You may be asking yourself why is there a chainsaw in a UAC lab on Mars. Simple answer really.... Because CHAINSAW! But all joking aside the chainsaw appears to be a hoss of a melee weapon. It has the power from the first swing to vivisect even the most suborn of the demon armies. The first video sequence ends with our lone hero being beaten to death with his own separated limbs.
A brief intermission was taken between game play videos (I assume to prevent heart failure from young children and senior citizens.), to discuss one of the coolest in game features that I have seen in very long time; Doom Snap map. Doom Snap map promises to help players create complex, unique, and expansive mission maps, ranging from single player "zombie" like missions to 4 player death match. All custom made and sharable cross platform.
The last game play video released was a trip to hell.... Literally Hell. After dropping off a cliff, our hero proceeds to pit fit with the armies of the damned. Surrounded on all side by the hordes, fighting for every inch, every imaginable weapons is employed from rocket launchers, to assault rifles. With the crescendo coming by way of grenade ripped from the chest of a Mancubus and shoved down its gullet for safe keeping. There's not much more to say. Just watch the video below.
As we would expect from any game worthy of the title Doom, the level of gore and carnage would make an ordinary man pass out. The majority of your supplies are obtained from the corpses of your slaughtered enemy. With the available 8 slot quick weapons swap menu, weapon changes seem to be effortless. idSoftware promises more information later this year, with a release of Spring 2016. We'll keep an eye on this title and update you as updates become available.
Thank you again for stopping by today. Hope you found this archival post imformative and entertaining! If you like the article, please comment and share. As always have a good day and hope to see you in the future.
Hey guys! How's it going out there in the spaghetti western that is the Internet?
Well it's a new day.. and.. I have a confession to make that's been eating at me for a few weeks. I haven't really told anyone because I feel foolish, but I've just got to get it out there, and the haters can judge me... I let EA put it in my butt, metaphorically speaking that is... There I said it; I admitted it. You see what happened was that EA took me out a few months ago. They let me play with their blasters, and we hung out every night for almost a week. Then EA told me that they had to go away on business for a few weeks. And while EA was away, all I could think about was how much I really wanted to hang out with them and their Imperial armor. Weeks went by and we finally got to hangout, it was fun but the date cost me $60. Halfway through the date things got a little steamy until I realized that I was participating in our very own Tijuana donkey show; Like a drug fueled night in Bangkok, I was being bent over. Then when I thought it was all over, EA asked me for another $60 to finish up!...
Dramatics flare aside. I'm pretty pissed at EA and myself at this point. I bought into the hype, and got sold a Star Wars scented bottle of snake oil. And since EA was totally OK with pedaling this turd for $60, I'm totally OK with publicly reviewing their product for free. I'm really going to try to be fair with this, but it'll be hard at this point.
To fully understand my point of view, I need to take you back in time to June 2013.... It was a hundred and stupid outside on that fine day in Oklahoma, and it that seemed nothing would break the drought. I remember fondly the joy I felt when it was announced that Battlefront would making a return. At that point, it didn't matter that the sun had seemed to park itself on the surface of the Earth, because I had found a drop of water in the desert. I resolved to survive the droughtpocolypse at least long enough to play it.
After E3 2014, time seemed to fly by. The sun had returned to it's normal point in the sky, and it seemed that every couple of months, more of its secrets were revealed. And the videos. Oooooo!... Shiny! They glistened in highly polish polygons, like blood diamonds in southeast Asian black markets.
You see, I had been itching for a new shooter for a little while by that time. I had left the caustic communities of competitive FPS/shooter gaming, resigning myself to a quiet retirement of RTSs, survival, and fringe indie games. (A man can only listen to so many unfounded and baseless accusations directed at his mother's honor. All the while dodging the vollies of pejoratives spewed forth from the mouths of 12-year-olds.)
With The Force Awakens just around the corner, the release of the Battlefront beta made October of 2015 feel so hopeful. The week of the beta seemed so right at the time. Walker Assault on Hoth felt like Star Wars. Drop Zone less so, but I was optimistic. It was a time of bonding with my 5-year-old. You see the Battlefront beta was his first shooter. He quickly decided that Vader is by far the BAMF-Y-EST BAMF that ever did BAMF. This set a light in him, a truly deep interest in the Star Wars universe. As we played, I was able to regale him with the lore from long long ago in a galaxy far far away. (feels....)
I had resolved myself to getting Battlefront. Christmas was coming up. The kiddo was on board. I was on board, and the wife approved. (Oh snap!) Then it came, bundled up nicely in it's bland brown Amazon.com box. The wife immediately deemed it to be a Christmas present, and threatened the life of whatever hero should try to liberate the fair maiden from her tower keep; known only as top of the closet. I protested! (Fuck it! I'm a grown ass man, and if I want to play the game I will!)
So Christmas day came, and the boy and I cracked the cellophane on the case. (I know... I know... What happened to all of that I'm a man shit? Do you want to piss my wife off? I don't.) Disc goes in, queue epic Star Wars Theme Song, and draw the shades... It's time to kill me some Imperial scum! To my surprise there appeared to be content missing, and I was already being hit up to drop $60 more on Season Pass DLC, all before I had started a single match. And there are no details given about the Season Pass. I ignored the instant irritation surging through my body, because it's Christmas, and I simply verify that there is not a missing companion disc in the case. I get a prompt that there's an update. Download it, and restart... Nope no more content than before. (I should have prefaced this by saying that due to the aforementioned cockblocking by the misses, I had decided to not go digging for details about the game after release.)
Fast forward to today. I'm now several hours invested in the game, and I've built out the following list of my likes and hates:
What I like: 1) It looks like Star Wars. The terrain and models are beautifully presented and pretty well polished. 2) It does feel like you're in the Star Wars universe, especially when playing on Endor and Hoth in first person. 3) The sound engineering is pretty spot on, with one exception that I hate (keep reading for more on that)... And that's about it. 4) Kid friendly. 5) Fun for a few matches here and there. What I hate: 1) There is a complete lack ofinteresting or populated game types; even Walker Assault is really just a moving point domination game. The populated exceptions being Blast (classic deathmatch) and Fighter Squadron (deathmatch with spaceships). 2) There's no campaign.. Nothing! Nada! Not that I was expecting a whole lot but seriously, nothing? 3) The maps are pretty, but there's basically only four maps to play on for any one game type. 4) With no campaign, this game is really forced to stand on large scale objective based combat. However, I find the lack of team chat disturbing. It's like playing Battlefield 2 circa 2004 with people running everywhere trying to figure out what to shoot next. 5) Remember how I mentioned that there is an exception to the quality? Well that exception happens to be the voice acting for the Heroes. They do not sound in anyway close to their movie counterparts. They really couldn't have just used one liners from the original trilogy? Come on EA! Is it too much to ask that Vader sound like Vader, and Han to sound like Han?! 6) So "deathmatch with spaceships" or as EA calls it, Fighter Squadron. I'm willing to concede that it can be a fun mode to play for a short time, but for whatever reason the devs saw it fit just not set up decent controls. There's no real roll command except for an evasive maneuver that has a god damn cool down timer before it can be used again! Oh, and your spaceships never get the opportunity to, you know, fight in space! 7) The spawns are terrible, and I don't mean that in a dramatic way. I mean that they are genuinely awful. With issues ranging from spawning in the wide open, and spawning in on a gun fight. Or my all time favorite; spawning in basically where you died! You know, so you can immediately die again, and your respawning teammates can also die with you.
8) There's no accuracy penalty for not going ADS, and there's no accuracy buff for crouching. Because fuck game mechanics. So basically it's just running around and hip firing. 9) Vehicles feel like an after thought. No Snowspeeders flying out of hangers on Hoth or TIE fighters dropping from the belly of a Star Destroyers. Not even an AT-ST being unloaded from a dropship, Instead teammates are stuck racing each other around the map trying to pickup floating blue "coins" in order to use the vehicles. And even then the vehicles feel forced at times. 10) There's a dick load of unlocks in this game. Unfortunately, they're mostly character customizations and, well.. lazy! Here's a video post to illustrate my point:
11) Did I mention that when playing as Palpatine, you're squishier than the level 5 healer you took on your last dungeon raid? And as a plus your only real attack is force lightning, which conveniently has a cool down timer. 12) So there's a ranking system, but it really isn't anything more than a timer used for your unlocks. It means nothing in the grand scheme. It doesn't prevent a noobie from being fed to the wolves and their much more powerful loadouts, as all ranks are tossed in the same lobby. And not having a real ranking system pretty much destroys the possibility of the game being recognized as a competitive shooter.
There's more, but I'm honestly just tired at this point. My son is still into it (It's just a shame his "first love" is so basic), and I guess I'm just playing the game out of spite at this point. If you have young kids they'll probably like it. Or if you're just looking to play a new Star Wars game, you'll probably like it. However, a franchise title from this publisher, with this title, and with the budget this one had, has absolutely no reason to be this lacking in substance.
I once had high hopes for Battlefront. In hindsight, I'm not real sure why. @PonStory had warned me to not get too excited. I'm also keenly aware that in recent years EA has become more and more hostile to their customer base. Hammering out title after title, with very little change or innovation, and then flooding the market with paid DLC. It seems that EA's marketing strategy is a pump and dump scheme; they push the hype, sell you half a game, and then extort you for the other half, year after year in a seemingly endless cycle of communal profiteering.
I guess what I got is what should have been expecting. To be honest, I would have been satisfied with re-skinned and updated Battlefront 2. Instead, EA's Battlefront appears to be a clear downgrade from a game made a decade ago. I think that a picture of EA's executives flipping you off--instead of the content on the disc--would have been more intellectually honest and less lazy then what they gave us.
I don't know who made this, but it paints a telling picture. It's a little old and is missing the game modes that are available
Thanks again for stopping by. Let me know what you think of my review. Was it fair? Was it not? I think it is fair to say that I fell prey to nostalgia and pageantry.
