Author: Tom Buxton

Writer for Nitchigamer and lifelong fan of all things virtual. Used to be an adventurer like you but then took an arrow to the knee. If outdated jokes like those make you cringe then you'll find the door between my typewriter and NES.
Warhammer: End Times – Verminitude

Fatshark manages super-sized expectations in Warhammer: Verminitude 2

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

Unlike many indie studios out there focused on crafting original IPs to suit their own creative visions above all else, Swedish developers Fatshark haven’t shied away from delving into pre-established universes in the slightest since their 2008 birth. The team leapt headfirst into Capcom’s Bionic Commando brand with platformer Rearmed 2 in 2011, then presented a bold new take on survival horror with 2014’s Escape Dead Island. But easily their most esteemed project to date has been Warhammer: End Times – Verminitude, a multiplayer-centric FPS set in the realms of the titular table-top strategy saga. Earning itself a strong 80% Metacritic score in 2015, this apocalyptic adventure built no shortage of goodwill for a brand with a hit-and-miss track record for video game adaptations, making the studio’s just-announced next project, Warhammer: Verminitude 2, a no-brainer…

Takeaways:

  • Yes, you’ve probably already guessed it – Fatshark is hard at work on Warhammer: Verminitude 2 as we speak over the interwebs.
  • Some Warhammer diehards are already speculating that the narrative will herald from the physical strategy game’s classic Old World setting, rather than End Times’ Age of Sigmar.
  • As for the current-gen consoles set to grace themselves with this likely long-in-development fantasy experience in the near future, expect to see Verminitude 2 hit PS4, Xbox One (and PC).

That’s essentially our lot for now, with plenty more details promised by Fatshark for Verminitude 2’s worldwide gameplay reveal this October 17th. In the meantime, be sure to take a gander at the long-awaited sequel’s debut trailer below, and let us know in the comments whether the title might end up in your online shopping basket come 2018.

Meet Red Dead Redemption 2’s understudy – L.A. Noire hits VR, Switch and more

by Tom Buxton, posted in Nintendo, Posts

As the hallowed philosopher Jagger – and Dr. Gregory House – once said, you can’t always get what you want. Until May of this year, Rockstar Games’ fan base was eagerly anticipating the autumn launch of Red Dead Redemption 2, the long-gestating follow-up to the hit 2010 Western shooter, only for the studio to delay the project that month to spring 2018.

But for better or for worse, we’ve now learned that Rockstar doesn’t plan to completely starve its community of new content during this extended wilderness period; instead, they’re reviving an arguably long-forgotten IP for mainstream current-generation hardware and emerging platforms alike, bringing period detective dramas back into cultural discourse…

Takeaways:

  • Remember L.A. Noire, the studio’s 2011 third-person-shooter centring on slow-burn detective investigations and packing some of the most uncannily realistic facial animations ever seen by the industry? If so, and if you’ve craved a return to WW2 LA but ditched the 360 / PS3 version when you traded in those consoles, then take solace in the news that the title’s making a comeback with a full-fledged remake. Just as we predicted!
  • Creatively dubbed L.A. Noire once again, the upgraded version of the mystery-driven thriller will launch this November on Nintendo Switch with bonus features like a gesture-based Joy-Con mode, touch-screen controls and widened camera angles, plus on Xbox One and PS4 in 1080p – and Pro / X in 4K – with “cinematic camera angles”, enhanced graphics, superior textures and more technical touch-ups.
  • Whereas both of those remakes will simply feature the title’s original campaign and all of its subsequent DLC, a VR edition – L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files – is also inbound with all-new re-workings of seven classic cases from the 2011 narrative, allowing budding detectives to solve heinous murders aplenty with a full 360-degree outlook on each crime scene.

Try as they might, it’s safe to say Rockstar will have a tough time at best to convince their most ardent sceptics of the value of a high-resolution but otherwise largely unchanged re-release of a half-decade old project, especially one which split opinion at the time of release – with some critics maligning its padded narrative – moreso than recent GTA or RDR entries.

That said, given the publisher’s statement back in February 2012 that they were “considering what the future may hold for L.A. Noire as a series” and the lack of subsequent updates on what lies ahead for the brand, those who did adore the original title six years ago might well have to make do with what they get here. As for those who didn’t contribute to its original 5m sales, they won’t find a better opportunity to discover what all the fuss was about than this.

Keep your magnifying glass trained firmly on D-pad Joy in the coming weeks and months for plenty more news on the return of L.A. Noire this November, the belated but no less anticipated launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 next spring and the all-but-guaranteed resurgence of the GTA franchise – no matter how much fake news surrounds its assured development – in the not too distant future.

Looking Back at Max Payne 3

by Tom Buxton, posted in Past Blasts

Right from the off, Max Payne 3’s writers pitch the main narrative as a high-speed, intense character drama led brilliantly by its protagonist’s crude and satirical variety of quips. Those players who have already experienced Remedy’s original Payne efforts will know exactly what to expect in terms of the titular anti-hero, yet it’s to Rockstar’s credit that they make the character accessible to series newcomers. Indeed, it’s virtually impossible not to strike some form of sympathy towards Max as he finds himself helplessly drawn into an underworld conspiracy where death waits around every corner.

And speaking of death… boy, is there a lot of death in this game! Whether or not you’ve committed gratuitous atrocities in GTA before, it really is difficult to name many other titles that have featured such magnitude of bloodshed as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque experience that is the main campaign. Such an incredible degree of violence is complemented by Rockstar’s use of a slow-motion camera at the climax of every battle, adding to the genuine cinematic feel that the storyline segments possess in great measure.

That said, unless you’re in a particularly aggressive mood for the majority of the playthrough, there’s a good chance that you’ll find the mindless slaughter that so frequently ensues begins to grow old in the final chapters. As with so many other examples of their back catalogue, Rockstar managed to mix things up in terms of the narrative so as to keep things feeling fresh, however.

The bulk of the storyline itself revolves around Max’s journey into the Brazilian favela of Sao Paulo and his attempts to free a wealthy businessman’s daughter from a world full of corruption and betrayal. For the most part, the balance of narrative-based cut scenes and gung ho gameplay is pitch perfect, just as accomplished in its exposition as in GTA IV or Red Dead Redemption, if not more so.

As anyone who knows Rockstar might have guessed, the supporting cast of this epic action piece regularly consists of satirical, bordering on hilarious stereotypes of the various threads of modern society. Whether this occasionally comedic take on some of the darkest portions of humanity is to your taste will really depend on your personal preferences. Again, for me, it just serves to represent the incredible talent the developer’s script writers have for representing the social archetypes that form the basis of our living, even if some of the new additions to the Payne franchise of characters aren’t quite as relevant or memorable as their predecessors.

maxpayne3-2071-2560.jpg

One thing that you can definitely not fault, however, is undoubtedly the grand production values that this title boasts. For starters, the graphical technology on display here was, and is, incredible. Every ounce of pain, ammunition and location details is masterfully handled by the game’s designers, making for an incredibly immersive world to encapsulate the already sublime gameplay mechanics and the skilful narrative.

Looking at Max Payne 3 as a whole, it’s certainly hard to shake the feeling that there’s just a little something holding it back from attaining the high ranks that its predecessors reached. None of GTA or Red Dead’s glitches are present here, and in no way does it suffer from the same problems of narrative pacing as those iconic predecessors do. And yet, beneath all of the cinematic design, thrilling gameplay set pieces and unexpected plot twists, the lingering sense that we’ve seen all of this before in some form still pervades the experience.

I must hand it to Rockstar, they most definitely have the ability to make even the most simplified gameplay experience seem damn near masterful. To call Max Payne 3 simple would be to call it a disappointment, which it most certainly is not. I’d place it at the very least on a par with Red Dead thanks to a tighter and more compelling storyline, but there’s still a notable leap in quality between this and Grand Theft Auto IV.

If you haven’t given Max Payne 3 your time yet, then I highly recommend you take advantage of it.

Sledgehammer fights COD: WWII bugs on the beaches with post-beta update

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

Beyond allowing series veterans to gain a tantalising taste of the full product and drum up hype – not to mention pre-orders – ahead of release, multiplayer betas generally serve a wider purpose for developers, allowing them a near-unparalleled insight into gameplay faults which sorely need remedying before the rest of the public plunge into the finished package.

Take Sledgehammer Games, who appear to have jotted down notes aplenty on potential areas for improvement over the course of historical FPS Call of Duty: WWII’s PS4-exclusive first private beta. Only so many changes can be made in the three months remaining until release, of course, but suffice to say the developers don’t look set to rest on their laurels…

Takeaways:

  • Writing on COD: WWII’s community page, the studio has announced a bevy of gameplay revisions, some likely to have only an incremental effect upon the player experience come November, others sure to be all but unmissable.
  • On the former front, as one would expect Sledgehammer promises to remedy any bugs highlighted by beta participants in recent weeks, along with optimising elements like hit feedback, the strength of imbalanced units like paratroopers and the vulnerability of recon aircraft to rifle gunfire and incendiary shells.
  • More importantly, though, their biggest admission was this: “You know what else would help to improve [WWII]? More maps and modes.” No further details have been provided just yet as to the precise implications of this vague mission statement, but even if the umpteenth COD instalment – we’ve lost count by now – debuts with as many gameplay modes and maps to roam as originally promised, chances are more are forthcoming via DLC packs sooner rather than later.

Sledgehammer clearly intend for this evolving learning process to continue throughout the final stages of WWII’s development too, since September 1st-4th saw a second beta weekend in operation for the studio to gather further data on the strengths and weaknesses of the project in its current form.

Time will tell whether the team tasked with restoring faith in the Call of Duty brand after 2016’s space-bound Infinite Warfare failed to reach its recent predecessors’ lofty commercial heights – despite its Special Edition’s inclusion of a long-awaited Modern Warfare remaster – though that they’re so intent on constantly learning from their mistakes could if nothing else bode well for a franchise too often obsessed with maintaining the status quo.

Look out for plenty more coverage of Call of Duty: WWII, gameplay tweaks and all, in the run-up to its November 3rd release on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Sonic Forces spin dashes onto consoles with Bonus Edition in tow

by Tom Buxton, posted in Nintendo, Posts

What with nostalgic 2D platformer Sonic Mania’s sudden success in restoring the previously rock-bottom reputation of SEGA’s most prized mascot, earning itself a full 5/5 score from D-pad Joy and an 86% Metacritic average so far, one would’ve hardly blamed the publisher if they’d lounged out on a hedgehog-shaped reclining sofa for the remainder of 2017.

But even if Mania’s development team at PadogaWest Games intends to take a well-earned rest along those lines, that notion evidently hasn’t occurred to SEGA. Quite to the contrary, their game plan is seemingly to keep capitalising on the newfound success of gaming’s most iconic non-Italian protagonist, rolling out another AAA Sonic adventure before year’s end…

Takeaways:

  • Enter Sonic Forces, a current-gen hybrid platformer combining Mania’s side-scrolling escapades with the oft-explosive 3D hijinks for which the franchise has – for better or for worse – become known since its Adventures and Heroes iterations in the late nineties and early noughties.
  • This spiritual successor to 2015’s roundly applauded Sonic Generations will hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on November 7th worldwide, launching both in physical and digital form for a healthy reduced RRP of $40 / £30 rather than the usual $60 / £50 price tags most of the autumn’s big-hitters pack.
  • Anyone who pre-orders Forces in its boxed incarnation is in for a pleasant bonus surprise, though. On top of the main campaign, they’ll get Bonus Edition content such as a free themed controller skin and costumes for the title’s third playable hero – a customisable companion to Modern and Classic Sonic – based on classic SEGA characters like Super Monkey Ball’s AiAi and NiGHTS’ eponymous magician.

Make no mistake, launching in November presents SEGA with a huge uphill battle, even if they want to seize upon the substantial goodwill generated by their best Sonic entry in years. Between Call of Duty: WWII, Need for Speed Payback, LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and The Sims 4’s PS4 and Xbox One ports, even the bravest studio might consider moving their release date elsewhere to save face.

There’s an admirable sense of carpe diem bravado about their move, though, and while we sincerely hope the franchise doesn’t once again fall flat on its face – critically or commercially – after finding such rare light at the end of the tunnel this summer, SEGA has just guaranteed that whatever happens, this’ll be an autumn for the industry to remember.

Take a gander at the full offerings of Sonic Forces’ Bonus Edition below. D-pad Joy will stay abreast of all the key news surrounding the project leading up to November 7th.

Looking Back at Spec Ops: The Line

by Tom Buxton, posted in Past Blasts

“I’m trying to work out who’s more full of s**t,” says Captain Walker to his loyal teammate Lugo in the opening level of Spec Ops: The Line, “you or intelligence.” Lugo quickly responds that “if [he] weren’t a hardened killing machine, that might actually have hurt”- it’s moments like this that highlight the subtle wit and banter between the comrades at the heart of this military shooter, setting it apart from its competitors. No more will you have trouble distinguishing this deceptive pro-war experience from the browns and greys that litter annual, outstayed returnees like Call Of Duty and Medal Of Honor or indeed the science-fiction elements that have been recycled from the Halo franchise into other weaker rip-offs since its inception. Indeed, if gamers are looking for a shooter that differentiates itself in terms of narrative and empathetic content, this will most certainly fit the bill.

The main plotline focuses on the country of Dubai as it is thrown into chaos by sandstorms in a near-future setting. Sent into the ruined nation in order to retrieve a renegade faction of the United States’ military forces, Walker and his men soon discover that all is not at its seems, as the horror of an intense civil war begins to emerge on the surface and they are caught right in the middle of it. It’s hard to do this hugely compelling narrative justice on paper without spoiling its best twists, yet sufficed to say that Spec Ops packs a deep emotional punch the likes of which you probably haven’t seen since the original Modern Warfare, or perhaps ever in a military shooter.

Not only do the characters and locations you come across prove both memorable and realistic, the effect the war of the 33rd has on these plot elements as the lengthy 10-12 hour campaign progresses is startling and impressive to behold, resembling that of a blockbuster action movie done right (so more Apocalypse Now than Battleship!). If there’s one snippet of knowledge that you will take away from The Line’s single-player mode, it’s that decisions really can have dire consequences, but sometimes the ‘right choice’ is either taken out of our hands or indeed often non-existent. One particular action I took at around the game’s halfway point seemed like the only course of reasonable attack, and perhaps it was, and yet that didn’t stop the monumental impact it had on my view of this fictitious conflict shifting dramatically, and it will do the same for players if and when they allow themselves to be immersed into the rich world.

This core narrative strength would mean little if the gameplay itself couldn’t match it, so it’s a good move on Yager’s part that they learnt from the best. As we’re talking about a cover shooter, I think you’ll already know which franchise I’m talking about, but in case I have to spell it out for you, then know that this game has the words ‘If you like Gears Of War, you’ll love this’ written all over it. The cover system is fluid and responsive, even if there are times when the ‘invisible barriers’ of the various levels are more notable than they might have been in Epic’s hands. I rank the aforementioned technical inspiration and Spec Ops on the same level, but this shortcoming is sadly something which holds the latter back a little for striving to be the first masterful third-person shooter in a long time.

Layered over the strong narrative and linear – but-impressive gameplay is an eye-pleasing graphics engine. The environments were and are near photorealistic at times, the AI for the most part wonderfully animated and the sand textures that Yager spent so long working on impressively put to good use. Admittedly, some of the textures on characters’ clothing do look a little pixelated when viewed closer in cutscenes, but this is a minor drawback that only slightly reduces the level of immersion for the overall experience.

There’s a good degree of replay value to the main campaign, with dozens of intelligence reports littered across the various levels and a multitude of game-changing decisions that will actively affect its endings. A ‘Spec Ops’-esque mode (don’t worry, the irony of that name choice isn’t lost on me) a la COD wouldn’t have gone amiss here either, yet it’s clear that Yager and 2K spent the majority of their time working on this story mode.

Moving onto the multiplayer, there’s no doubting that the gameplay and graphics engines laid in place for the campaign carry over efficiently into what is unquestionably a very competent component. As a solo gamer at heart, the strength of online offerings is sometimes of little relevance to me, but I can at least credit the developers for handing us a functional, if not entirely innovative multiplayer mode.

Although the multiplayer modes don’t break much new ground, they’re strong enough to last players for some time, and quite frankly it’s the shockingly innovative solo campaign that’s the main attraction here. Those players fearing that this is just another COD lookalike should rest assured that this is no such pretender – in fact, as someone who has all but left that aforementioned tired franchise behind, I can safely say that this improves upon its lacklustre campaigns in every possible way, making for a breathtaking adventure that won’t soon be forgotten.

Had Spec Ops: The Line entered the shooter fray a little earlier in the game, I would imagine it would have gone down a storm back in the day, but as it is by copying the tropes of Gears rather than making its own way in the gameplay department, this brilliant shooter can’t hope to be the revolution this genre still sorely needs.

Strategy MMO pre-registration opens to plug the Gap of Thrones

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

“The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” That poetic sentiment, last uttered by Sansa Stark in the Season Seven finale of HBO’s TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones this week, rings especially true of developer Turbine’s latest project, a licensed strategy title taking place in the realms of Westeros and launching exclusively for mobile devices.

Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment alongside HBO Global Licensing, strategy MMO Game of Thrones: Conquest carries the bold ambition of appeasing fans of dragons, Dothraki and Benjen-shaped deus ex machina moments until the show returns for another run in late 2018 or – the Old Gods and the New forbid – early 2019.

Those players eagerly awaiting its launch won’t have their patience tested for too much longer either…

Takeaways:

  • As of this week, long-running aficionados and newcomers to the worlds of George R.R. Martin alike can pre-register to try out Conquest, meaning they’ll have access to the first Thrones video game effort since Telltale’s 2014 episodic series.
  • Not dissimilar to Telltale’s spin-off saga, Turbine Games plans to place registered players at the helm of a new House, tasking them with “navigating the dangerous political landscape of Westeros and claiming the Iron Throne”, commanding the loyalty of “powerful armies” and striving to “sabotage their enemies from within”.
  • The incentives to pre-register don’t end with instant access, either; anyone who takes the leap of faith before Conquest’s launch will additionally earn themselves an appropriately named Prepare for War bundle, granting them exclusive Night’s Watch training gear as well as plentiful helpings of gold and resources with which to begin their campaign of domination across the Seven Kingdoms.

Turbine Games have something of a hit and miss track record when it comes to ambitious MMOs along these lines, with the likes of 2007’s The Lord of the Rings Online reaping far more in the way of praise than last year’s Batman: Arkham Underworld, but they’ve at least got plenty of experience under their belts, offering hope that their latest production will suffice as the ideal means to help anyone already suffering from GoT withdrawal symptoms.

Either way, given that Telltale confirmed their ongoing Westerosian odyssey to have been placed on ice this week while they focus on expanding their Batman, The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead series, Conquest looks set to represent one of the only licensed slices of Game of Thrones fans can expect for a while in any medium – unless those Gamestop-fuelled rumours of Bethesda developing a Thrones tale of their own are true, of course!

Head here to pre-register for Game of Thrones: Conquest and stay tuned to D-pad Joy, where we’ll endure clashes of kings, storms of swords and the winds of winter to bring you all the latest details as its mobile and iOS launch nears later this year.

They’re only human after all – Mass Effect devs cancel Andromeda DLC

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

Remember when we reported trouble at sea for Mass Effect: Andromeda, with its BioWare Montreal development team attempting to lift fans’ spirits with multiplayer DLC despite rumours of its staff having been transferred to other projects? At the time we contemplated whether Mass Effect could “delay facing its final frontier”, using updates like the introduction of Platinum Difficulty mode and playable Batarians to alleviate fans’ fears.

Unfortunately, it would appear those franchise veterans worried at the time had reasonable cause for concern. After months of silence on the subject, BioWare has officially passed judgment on Andromeda’s future; suffice to say that those devotees who adored the fourth entry in the studio’s sci-fi RPG series – despite its much-maligned technical and narrative hiccups – had best take a seat before reading the jury’s verdict…

Takeaways:

  • Rather than following in the path of past Mass Effect outings with single-player DLC like ME1’s Bring Down the Sky or the sequel’s Arrival mini-campaign, BioWare Montreal plan to cease producing narrative-driven content with immediate effect, making update 1.10 the last to contain updates for Andromeda’s solo component.
  • The development team predictably refuses to offer clarity in their blog post as to the rationale behind this long-speculated decision – despite rumours abound of the lukewarm critical reception Andromeda reaped playing a crucial hand – but does offer some hope for those yearning for the campaign’s loose plot threads to be resolved, confirming that future licenced comic-strips and novels will reveal the quarrian ark’s final destination and answer other mysteries in the months ahead.
  • Nor will the stories players have invented for themselves online with comrades-in-arms come to an end, either; in fact, we’re told to expect further character kits, missions and N7 Day-themed surprises from the project’s multiplayer team soon, meaning the tales of the Andromeda galaxy can continue long beyond August 2017.

To see any ambitious title lose its developers and publisher’s support just months after release always seems a disappointment at best, but for that fate to befoul a project so widely anticipated, heralding from a franchise so widely acclaimed – ME3’s ending aside – will only harshen the blow for many. Indeed, much as Andromeda’s tales will continue in other mediums, one has to assume the Montreal team would’ve loved to develop follow-up entries themselves, and thus will share fans’ dismay at their once-ongoing narrative’s lost potential.

As for the implications the move could have for Mass Effect’s future as a AAA franchise, don’t be surprised if EA and BioWare spend a decent few months – or perhaps years – taking stock of how a series which once could barely move for all its Game of the Year gongs has since experienced such an unexpected peripeteia. In the meantime, the latter studio will almost certainly focus its efforts on ensuring that Anthem doesn’t meet with a similar fate, particularly after accusations of their new IP’s E3 2017 demo taking a little too much in the way of inspiration from Activision’s Destiny franchise.

Either way, we’ll have all the latest news and views on whether BioWare and EA’s respective upcoming output shows signs of avoiding its predecessors’ mistakes.

Planet of the Apes ditches long-winded titles for new spin-off Last Frontier

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

First came Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011. Then Dawn of the Planet of the Apes arrived in cinemas three years later, followed by the explosive trilogy finale War for the Planet of the Apes just last month. What connects these three blockbusters, aside from their intelligent simian protagonists or the largely universal applause with which each met? Why, their hideously elongated names, of course.

But performance capture studio The Division are making a bold move this year, proposing that new Apes entries don’t need seven-word epithets to craft compelling expansions of the prequel saga’s canon. Of greater significance than syntactical semantics is the medium through which they – and first-time developer Imaginati – will convey the next instalment; prepare for the first licensed spin-off since Fox Interactive and Ubisoft’s PS1 tie-in to the loathed 2001 Tim Burton reboot.

Takeaways:

  • Not unlike Telltale Games’ various episodic sagas, Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier will place a greater emphasis on storytelling than gameplay mechanics. Players make narrative-altering decisions – both physical and verbal – every 15-20 seconds, but relieve control of characters’ movements and the camera to allow director Steve Knoiebihly to guide the visual action with big-screen-esque aplomb and the same dazzling mo-cap facial technology as the movies.
  • The storyline in question won’t directly adapt the events of the trilogy, instead set between its latter two chapters’ narratives and focusing on a hitherto forgotten conflict between a rebel band of apes who’ve separated from Caesar’s war-torn tribe and a similarly wearied crew of misfortunate humans.
  • Both groups are depicted as wayward “families” in Last Frontier’s debut trailer (below), suggesting we’re in for another intimate, personal drama akin to Matt Reeves’ heart-wrenching Dawn and War, as opposed to a mindless FPS (First Primate Shooter) eschewing everything series devotees have come to know and love about the brand since its 2011 revival.
  • Speaking to IGN, Imaginati founder Martin Alltimes branded this cinematic narrative as “super-intense” in its pacing, with the characters and emotional set-pieces at its core. “There’s no opening and closing draws, no searching through inventories,” he said. “It’s all about you making choices that affect relationships with other characters and, in the long-term, how these relationships play out, and how the story plays out.”

Will Imaginiti’s “creative risk” pay off? Given the support of The Division, the performance-capture studio who helped Andy Serkis bring Caesar to life, we’re optimistic. But if their estimates of a 2-3 hour runtime prove accurate, then the largely hands-off narrative will have to captivate at every turn – as will the multiple endings on offer – so as to justify a similar price-tag to AAA rivals like Battlefront II and Assassin’s Creed: Origins boasting 10-20 hour storylines at the time of the project’s release.

Speaking of which, look out for Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier on PS4, Xbox One and PC this autumn, as well as for D-pad Joy’s coverage of all the latest news on the spin-off outing’s development in the interim.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War gets tautological with Shadow Wars missions

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

How do you solve a problem like Mordor? Specifically Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions’ 2014 fantasy RPG which took The Lord of the Rings into uncharted territory via its refreshingly unpredictable Nemesis System and grim prequel storyline. Much as Shadow proved a critical darling, reaping Game of the Year awards aplenty, one shortcoming kept cropping up in reviews – the lack of additional missions for Ranger-spirit hybrid Talion to wade through once he’d bested all of Sauron’s minions.

Indeed, that minor reservation appears to have played a substantial hand in the thinking behind the narrative structure of Monolith’s impending follow-up, Shadow of War. Case in point: a just-announced series of bonus missions set to bridge the final moments of the sequel’s main campaign with the opening sequences of the iconic trilogy of novels from J.R.R. Tolkien which first inspired this sub-franchise.

Takeaways:

  • When players finish conquering Mordor with the help of Talion’s newly-forged ring – and Celebrimbor’s incorporeal support – they’ll have the option to defend the fortresses they’ve claimed against waves of ever-toughening adversaries, defending capture points and slaughtering oncoming war-chiefs until the siege subsides, then rescuing any Orc allies taken hostage in the interim.
  • Perhaps “option” isn’t the right word, though, since, in order to experience the full ending of Shadow of War, you’ll have to complete all of these so-called Shadow Wars challenges, maintaining control of those fortresses regardless of the odds until such a time as Monolith deems fit.
  • Quite what these coda scenes will depict that warrants their exclusion from the core campaign’s final moments Monolith won’t say, but they have teased that we’ll discover how Talion’s quest for revenge on Sauron for tearing his family apart segues into The Lord of the Rings – perhaps Gollum and Torvin the Dwarf are due return appearances to set up the former and Gimli’s roles in the trilogy ahead?

If the divisive delayed plot resolution of Batman: Arkham Knight proved anything, it’s that Warner Bros-published projects can frequently provoke just as much irritation in fans with the inclusion of an extended endgame as with its omission. While many players will rejoice at the news of more Shadow of War narrative content, the Eye of Sauron now seems firmly fixed on Monolith in terms of meeting expectations with the finished product, especially given their recent struggles to justify the presence of micro-transaction content here too.

Keep following D-pad Joy for more news and views on Middle-Earth: Shadow of War in the run-up to its October 10th launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC, including Daragh Payne’s report on the new Terror Tribe trailer from earlier this week.

From Claptrap to card combat – Gearbox returns with Project 1v1

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

How does Gearbox Software plan to round out an eventful decade packed with ambition, from the long-awaited misfires of Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines, to the hilarious thrills of Borderlands 2 and Battleborne, to the nostalgic re-treads of old hits with The Handsome Collection and Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition?

With a hybrid of two genres, apparently. This time around the Texas studio are treading territory both familiar and alien, yet promising a gameplay experience quite unlike anything we’ve seen from them to date – a rare feat unto itself, given the eclectic diversity of their output.

Takeaways:

  • Perhaps inspired by BioWare’s success in uniting third-person-shooter and RPGs under one roof with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, Gearbox plans to play God – or Frankenstein, arguably – by combining their tried-and-tested FPS mechanics with “the meta-game strategy of a collectable card game”.
  • Enter Project 1v1, a currently PC-exclusive creation set to debut its three core gameplay modes – Ranked, Challenge and Arena, the first of which allows players to gather new cards for their decks depending on how many opponents they best – later this year, specifically via a Closed Technical Test.
  • The beta’s primarily available to North American players for registration, as well as any Gearbox devotees based elsewhere who’re willing to endure the “decreased performance” of its domestic servers.

Few could likely accuse Gearbox of refusing to take risks 18 years on from its 1999 inception, with their commitment to pursuing a new IP – rather than simply rushing out further Borderlands or Duke Nukem instalments – a refreshing departure from the industry trend of prioritising easy franchise profits over innovation.

Will the gamble pay off? That’s another matter for sure, particularly when hallowed veterans of the strategy card genre like The Witcher 3’s Gwent spin-off, Yu-Gi-Oh and Dragon Quest have had their fair share of time to achieve market dominance already. Nevertheless, we’ll watch Project 1v1 with intense interest as more details emerge, and report all the major developments along the way.

Stay tuned to D-pad Joy for the latest updates on this intriguing PVP-RPG cocktail as they come, and head here to sign up for the online beta on Gearbox’s official website.

New Friday the 13th: The Game update smells like team spirit

by Tom Buxton, posted in Posts

You’d be forgiven for assuming that staring into the face of death would bring a wearied band of unlikely massacre escapees closer together than ever before. But that doesn’t appear to have rung true for Friday the 13th: The Game, judging by its just-announced latest gameplay update.

The multiplayer survival horror – based on Paramount’s long-running slasher film franchise – first launched on Xbox One, PS4 and PC back in May, imploring its courageous players not to go gentle into that good night, but instead to beat back the deadly advances of the psychopathic Jason Voorhees until an escape route emerges. Simple, right?

Well, some members of the title’s devoted fan-base clearly didn’t get the memo on the cooperative nature of this desperate endeavour…

Takeaways:

  • Developers IIIFonic plan to scale back each protagonist’s ability to commit unprovoked atrocities upon their unsuspecting teammates come Friday the 13th’s next update, or as they’ve taken to terming this approach on Reddit, “rampant team-killing that has unfortunately been abused by all players on all platforms”.
  • As such, to avoid future online matches being “turned into more of a Battle Royale scenario” than the relentless quest for survival they’d originally envisioned, the team will ban players from damaging their fellow counsellors with machetes, shotguns or virtually any other wieldable weapon capable of inflicting brutal flesh wounds.
  • All hope isn’t quite lost for the more sadistic members of society, though; no such restraints will be imposed on your arsenal in private matches – “for now, with the hope of better options in the future” – and better yet, you’ll still have the gratifying option of using traps or car crashes as fatal means of friendly fire.

Much as gameplay revisions along these lines are sure to split die-hard fans – provoking sighs of relief from those tired of pointless deaths and yells of infuriation from their perpetrators – the logic behind them is nevertheless sound, particularly if Friday the 13th has drastically departed from IIIFonic’s original creative vision based on recent online behaviour.

Even so, whether you’re a long-running franchise veteran who’s seen every film since the 1980s, played The Game to death – pun fully intended – and abhors this pacifistic update, or a newcomer who previously stopped playing due to the friendly fire issues, be sure to let us know your thoughts on the story via our comments section or on Twitter.